Hello everyone,

Yesterday, I just received another horse from a client. His name is Roudy and is a two year old going on three.  The first day is always going to be the hardest, but yesterday it went pretty smoothly. For the first time in the round pen Roudy did great. He got the hang of turning and giving me his attention. One thing that we are going to have to work with is his feet. He doesn't want anyone to pick them up, or mess with them. Although that is a problem there are going to be other issues, such as baths, being tied, and getting him to trust me. Having respect, trust, and patience towards me will give me an advantage of being able accomplish the goals that I have set forth for this horse. My first goal in trying to successfully succeed establishing my groundwork and gaining his attention of not running me over.  The way that I will do this is obviously do groundwork and use a Clinton Anderson rope halter, which has four knots. These knots are on the rope halter for control as well as hitting the pressure points. The pressure points grab their attention when one decides to be pushy. I recommend if you are training a horse to get this halter. It will save your life, as well as getting the horses attention. 

Mikayla 

Good Morning,

I would love some feedback of what everyone thinks about my blog and what all you want me to talk about. If you would please feel free to leave a good commit about my blog.  And if you have any questions you would like me to answer, as well, feel free to leave a commit too. 

Thanks,

Mikayla 

Issues

Hello everyone! By no means do I want to rant and rave about anything, I just want to clarify issues. Over the past month, I have had the privilege of training and bonding with a mule. After obtaining the privilege of getting to buy her, I passed. I then received a horse to ride. Not knowing anything about this horse and his abilities, I started groundwork. After four days of groundwork the owner became upset, because I was taking precautions of the horse's capabilities. It it essential to get to know your animal and it's problems. Knowing nothing about this horse, and only knowing just what the owner told me, I knew there was something wrong with the horse. For starters the horse was only a two year old with a horrible suede back already and knees that were already big. The owner said it had been ridden before, but the last day he was there in the round pen he kicked up and moving his head back and forth. Meaning he was trying to buck. Back to the point I am trying to convey is people don't see the good in training and getting to know your animal. Just by cowboy busting (no groundwork, just twisting the ear and hoping on) a horses or mule doesn't get you anywhere. You obviously don't have a friend or pal that listens to you and respects you. Plus your horse will have problems such as blowing up with you. Even though you have a trained horse, they can still blow up with you, but they are less likely too. What is wrong with having a friend, pal, and a respectable horse? People shouldn't have to twist the ear just to get on and ride. Once that is done, you lose the greatness in the horse and abilities that one might possess. Think about this for a minute. If you owned a ranch and had a great line of cutting horses and placing in competition; would you want a horse to be cowboy busted or a horse that is trained properly.

Update

Sorry that I have not been able to post a lot of information about my training. I have been busy riding and fixing problems. Your probably wondering about why I say "problems." Well, as everyone knows, I have been training a mule named Kate. Mules are built differently than a horse. Most use western saddles on a mule. Which a mule's withers are made entirely different than a horse's. Due to this fact, when using a western saddle on a mule, it ends up hurting their back. For and example, if you have a small mule that is not made like a horse (meaning that they are not brawled and thick boned), and put a western saddle on it you cause the back to get sore. Not only that, but the saddle hits the withers on the wrong spot. Leading to the mule buckling when taking off the saddle. I have seen this several times. Especially with Kate. The man that I am ridding Kate for wanted me to use a western saddle, which caused Kate to buckle her rear to the ground. Once one does this you need to quit using the saddle and find another saddle to fix the problem. So this is what I mean by problem.
Ways to take the soreness out of the back is use Epsom Salt and Apple Cider Vinegar. For a five gallon you use a cup of the Epsom Salt and Vinegar. Then fill the bucket up with water almost full. But before you pour it on their back, one must take the water hose and soak them down (according to the weather). Then take a cup or something to pour the mixture on with and go down the back with the water. Do it on both sides. At first you need to do it for at least twice a day for about a week. Then one can go back to once a day until the soreness is out.

Beginning Groundwork

I began working with Kate today. She is a previous client and came back to me for a refresher course. We started with groundwork, which includes turns and attention. Kate quickly grasped the concept, and we picked up right where we left off last summer. She is an amazing animal, powerful and strong. I can't wait to see what she can achieve.

Starting Training

Hello everyone! Welcome to the beginnings of my summer training. I want to document and share all of my training techniques with you. Hope you enjoy and look out for my next posting.

Mikayla