Update!

Hey guys, so just a little update, so last night after moving the parade float to my house to keep for this mornings parade I finally got to use my trailer! I was VERY nervous pulling the horses because they are live animals... I have pulled trailers before but not very much and I have only pulled my trailer once before last night and that was to bring it home from my grandmas last year! Anyways I forgot to show you guys awhile back what it looks like now that its all painted and finished.

Anyways I pulled Chuck and Jet to Brushy... We got there tacked up and got on.... we rode around the campground for a bit looking for my dad until we found him, then we stopped and talked for a little bit. I led one of my dads friends kids around on Chuck she really liked that. Apparently her mother has been looking for a place for her to take lessons, so I of course recomended High Bridge, so maybe they will have a new rider there soon. The girls little sister (probably 2 or 3) really wanted to ride with her sister, but was scared of the horse it was cute she would reach out and up towards her sister who was sitting on chuck but then when her mom moved her she would scream and cry.... it was kind of cute haha... anyways we were standing there and talking and Jet got a little study... aka "hanging out and "smaking" himself"  so I lunged him a little bit to take his mind off of it... we havn't lunged much lately... he was doing good and then decided to kick up turn and do a small rear... so a smack in the neck with the rope and some backing fixed that and he gave me a nice trot and even backed and came in with just slight cues.... then he just fine if not really good after that... we even showed off our little "party trick" to my dad and all his friends.....  My dads friend James was really impressed.... he asked me what I was planning on doing for schooling... he went to the same school I am thinking about getting my animal science degree from and he really liked it. He told me how talented I was and that I should definatly keep at it and I thanked him... Working and being around horses is something I love doing and I sure will keep at it as long as I can. I will have some videos up on Monday I think of our brushy trip and lots more too so be sure to keep tuned for that, I will also do an update about what I spent today doing, but I think I will save that for tomorrow or Monday we will see, but thats it for now... thanks for reading!!!

Equestrian Terms

Hey guys! I know I haven't done many informational/training posts or videos lately so for those of you who are new to horses or just want to expand your vocabulary here are some terms myself and other equestrians are likely to use. I kind of tried to put them in alphabetical order but some of them may be switched around.

Aids or Cues: Signals or cues by which the rider communicates their wishes to the horse. The "natural" aids include the voice, the legs, the hands and the weight. "Artifical" aids include the whip and spurs.

At Liberty: At liberty work is work done with a horse without any physical restrictions like halters and lead ropes. This should not be confused with round pen work where a horse is in a small space and has no choice to be with the trainer. It should be done in a large space where if the horse chose they could run away otherwise its round pen work.

Bald-Faced: US term used to describe a horse with a predominantly white face.

Barn Sour or Buddy Sour: Horse that objects to being ridden away from the barn or herd bound horses that object to leaving their pasture mates.

Bit: Mouthpiece, of made of metal but may be made of rubber or other man made material and held in place by the bridle, by which the rider conveys instructions to the horse.

Bosal: A braided noseband  or a Western bitless bridle.

Breaking, or Breaking-In: The early education of  a horse, where it is taught the skills it will for riding or driving.

Bridle: Item of equipment worn on the horse's head, which lets the rider to communicate his or her wishes through use of the bit and the reins.

Buck: A leap in the air with the head lowered and the back arched. (can be confused with crow hopping)

Castration or Gelding: In this case the act of removing the testicles of a male horse.

Crow hopping: When a horse hops or leaps repeatedly in the air, with all four feet off the ground at the same time.

Canter or Lope: Three beated gait of the horDouble Bridle: Traditional English bridle with two bits (snaffle and curb) giving the rider a greater degree of control than a single bit.se in which one hind leg strides first, followed by the opposite diagonal pair and finally the opposite foreleg in western terms this is called a Lope

Colt: Uncastrated male horse up to four years of age

Dam: A horse's female parent.

Diagonals: The horses legs move in pairs at the trot, called diagonals. The left diagonal is when the left foreleg and right hindleg move, the right diagonal is when the right foreleg and the left hindleg move. When on a circle, the rider rises as the outside foreleg moves forward.

Double Bridle: Traditional English bridle with two bits (snaffle and curb) giving the rider a greater degree of control than a single bit. (FOR PROFESSIONALS ONLY)

Farrier: Skilled craftsman who trims horses hooves, or shoes them.

Foal: Colt, filly or gelding up to one year of age.

Frog: Triangular, rubber pad on the sole of the foot which acts as a shock absorber. (this is prevented when wearing shoes)

Gait: The paces at which horses move, usually the walk, trot, canter and gallop.

Gallop: Four-beated gait of the horse, in which each foot touches the ground separately, as opposed to the canter, which is a three-beat gait.

Gelding: Castrated male horse.

Girth or Cinch: A strap by which an English saddle is secured to the horse, which attaches to the saddle on one side, running under the barrel just behind the legs to the other side. Called a cinch in Western Riding.

Grade: Term used to describe an horse that is not registered with any breed association.

Greenbroke: Horse that has been accustomed to the tack and the rider and has begun initial training. 

Hand: Unit of measure used to describe a horse. One hand equals 4 inches, partial measurements being described as 14.1, 14.2, 14.3.

Irons or Stirrups: The metal pieces attached to the saddle by means of leather straps in which the rider places his or her feet. May be made out of wood and covered in leather in western riding.

Lead: Term used to indicate the horse's leading leg in canter i.e. "right lead canter" or "left lead canter".

Longe or Lunge: The act of training a horse by working it in the various paces on a circle using a long longe or lunge rein. 

Mare: Female horse aged four and over.

Neck Reining: The art of turning the horse by using the indirect, or opposite rein against the neck.

Offside: The right hand side of the horse.

Paddock or Pasture: An enclosure in which horses are turned out for grazing.

Pony: A small horse, standing 14.2 or less

Posting Trot or Rising Trot: The action of the rider rising from the saddle in rhythm with the horse's trot.

Round Penning: Round penning is doing ground work or training with a horse in a smaller pen usually about 60 feet in diameter. The horse can be worked on or off a line  but still does not really have an option to leave the trainer. Not to be confused with at liberty training which is done in a large open area where the horse has the option to leave.

Sire: A horse's male parent.

Spurs: Small metal devices worn on the rider's boot to help enforce the leg aids. Come in a range of severety, from very mild blunt spurs to severe roweled models.

Stall: A small indoor space where horses are kept usually only 12 by 12 feet.

Stallion: Uncastrated male horse.

Tack: Refers to the equipment of a riding horse - saddle, bridle etc. 

Transition: The act of changing from one pace to another. Walk to trot and trot to canter are known as "upward transitions". Canter to trot and trot to walk are known as "downward transitions".

Trot or Jog: Moderate-speed gait in which the horse moves from one diagonal pair of legs to the other, with a period of suspension in between. Known as Jog in western terms.

Whip Crop, or Bat: Artificial aid by which the rider may emphasize and back up the natural aids of seat and legs. It can sometimes be used to encourage the horse to move forward but only as a last resort.

Vice: A habit making a horse difficult to work with or keep. These may include biting, wind sucking, kicking, or any "bad habits".

Yearling: Colt or filly between one and two years of age.

Video!

Hey guys sorry I didn't get you the video! It uploaded, but it was set on the private setting and I didn't have time to blog last night because it was late and I had work in the morning anyways here it is for you guys. I plan on making it a regular thing! On the bright side I rode this week too and I had a great time it went amazing! Its like they have been ridden this whole time even though that is not the case they did great! I will do another more detailed update on that when that vlog comes up so be sure to look for that!!!

Videos!

Hey guys, so I should have a video up for you sometime tomorrow and a post after I do some editing... anyways Im going to try to put some other videos here quick that are kind of old!

Hello!

Hello everyone! Sorry I havn't posted in sooooo long. I have had a very busy start to the summer. I have worked some, baby sat, and done quite a bit with the chickens and the ducks. I also have a possible buisness trade... if you guys have followed my blogs for some time, then you may remember Copper the horse. His owner would like me to work with him so he can sell him. I was going to ask for cash, but he is the one who butchers our chickens so I decided that in exchange for training he could butcher our next group of chickens for free. I just got 100+ more chicks, my counting may have been off buy 10 but not more than that and I counted 119 live chicks when I took them out of the box, and 1 died during shipping. Sense then two more chicks have died, one I didn't know if it was going to make it because it had a bum leg... it could get around to eat but I guess he wasn't strong enough. The other one died from pasty butt. Anyways thats it for now, I have been slacking on my blog,  but my youtube channel is always being updated, so if you want to be more current go there!

Update!

Hey guys! So I figured I would give you another short update, anyways my ankle is healing pretty good, I am doing pretty good. School is almost out, only one more day, I hope to ride for a little bit tomorrow, I don't think we will be taking the horses anywhere soon because I won't be able to ride much to get them into shape, and then Nick has annual training for about 2 and a half weeks, he is working werid hours for them from 1pm to 1am and he obviously won't be able to do much with us.  Anyways thats kind of it for now, not to much else to update, I hope to ride here soon like I said hopefully tomorrow (fingers crossed).

Hey!!

Hey guys, I know it has been so long sense I have updated! I have been busy and stressed and making some pretty big decisions... Things are finally quieting down and looking up though! So last time you heard from me was the day after my surgery, and I have progressed a lot sense then, so I went back to the Drs a week later and got that splint/cast off, then I got a walking boot and was not able to put weight on it for another 2 weeks when I went back, when I went back they took my stitches out and I started walking with the walking boot, and now another 2 weeks later, I am walking without my boot and I am back to just a brace! Here are some pics from all that!

So like I said, I have made some big decisions, I decided to drop band for next year, and I have decided that I will be taking classes to become an EMT in the fall, and I have even been accepted to one of the two colleges I would like to go to, (havn't applied for the other one yet haha)!!!
Things are starting to look up, I will be able to get back on a horse next Monday if I want (just a walk though nothing crazy yet haha) and that I can start slowly getting back to work!!! My chicken buisness has also been going well, I think the next batch of chickens we get is going to be pretty large and it may be our second to last batch before winter hits, I am super excited for summer to start. I am going to get a loan to buy a new vehicle, my current truck is technically my dads and I need something of my own. I also have a full class schedual for next year for the most part, after next year I will have taken all but one Agricultural class in my school and that is crop science, it is a new class for next year that will be taught by a diffrent teacher other than our Advisor Mr. Olson, so I can say I will/will have taken all of Mr. Olsons classes. Speaking of Mr. Olson and FFA we also had our FFA banquet, I got my first choice of office again this year which is vice president, I don't like to be in the spotlight, I like to do all the hard work behind the scenes, ya people may not see it or acknowlege it but that doesn't mean its not worthy :) we are mixing it up with 3 vice presidents this year, with each VP heading one of the 3 overall committees, Community, Chapter, and Student. I also won 3 SAEs I won Equine Entrepenureship, Swine Placement, and Diversified Livestock (cant remember if entrepenureship or placement), It was a very sucessful banquet, and I can't believe that this will be my 4th year as a FFA member and my 3rd officer position!!! Anyways, I hope to be blogging more as school winds down and I have time afterwork, also one more side note my horse trailer is almost done, it just needs to be painted, the front window put back on, and the one tire put back on and it will be ready!!! Anyways here is a picture of what I got in the mail today!