I never thought I would have Paints. I've always had gaited horses, fancy Tennessee Walkers, Spotted Saddle Horses and even a Standardbred. Smooth horses with lots of heart and a super calm temperament. I always liked paints, the colors were neat but they lacked something, they still kind of fall short compared to the gaited breeds in my eyes. I never wanted a Quarter horse or a paint though. Too common. But now I have two paints and yes, I do love them but they still lack that smooth ride that I so love. Don't get me wrong. My paints are smooth horses to ride, but they are lacking something.

When I first started riding, everyone had a Quarter horse, a Paint or an Appy. I never cared for any of them. Once I got my fist paint though, I learned how cool they can be. The slow trot, the neat colors, the lazy "whatever" attitude. Paints ARE neat horses. Imagine my surprise when I learned this!

So now here I am, learning about Paints and stock horse breeds. Something I never thought I would be doing. But things change and ideas change. I'm ok with this. I'm looking forward to my adventure with my new breed of choice.

Good horses today

I have been working with the horses almost daily. Today I was able to get a ride in on both of them and I am seeing marked improvements on them both. Gypsy is learning to move forward more and we even managed a small canter! It was small, but I have had such a hard time getting her to canter that I was starting to wonder if she could even do it at all! I'm learning not to be so tense and give her more reward when she does something right. I tend to tense up when I ride. I didn't realize I was doing this until the clinic I went to and the trainer pointed it out. It was like a light went on in my head. I'm making my horse tense so she doesn't want to go! I need to relax. I'm getting it and I think Gypsy is too.

I rode little miss Doodles in a halter with a lead rope tied to it. She did much better then she does with a bit. It makes me think there may be a tooth issue. She knows what I want from her, she just hates the bit so much that she loses focus. I like the halter lead rope thing for now. I'll see how far I can take it. When I tried riding her today like that I thought "this is either the smartest thing I've ever done, or the dumbest" lucky for me it turned out to be a smart idea. Both horses got a good workout today. I hope tomorrow I can put in some more ride time in the afternoon. I have to go to the DMV to get a new licence since I lost mine and I know that's going to take up more time then I would like. I get out of work early tomorrow so I should have lots of time for everything I need to do.



Oh and I have a tackroom now!!! I love it! I have a place to keep my stuff safe from the roaming band of chickens! I love having saddle racks and bridle hooks and everything in it's place. It's just so nice. The barn is getting so close to being done. I can't wait! At the same time though I will be a little sad about it since then Steve won't be around anymore and I do like talking to him. He's this biker type guy who's just really nice.

Sunday Stills

Getting going...on training!

I've been lazy. Lazy with this blog, lazy with working with the horses, I'm making myself snap out of it. I will work with or ride one or both horses everyday. No excuses. None. I want awesome ranch-like horses that are trained to do about anything, I have two green horses. Nothing will get these horses trained to do what I want them to do other then me training them to do it. I can't get them to read a book or anything (though that would be cool) to get them where I want them to be. I have to put the time, sweat and energy into it. Now I can't promise that I'll write every day, but I can promise I'll be working with horses everyday.

My gardens on the other hand are getting lots of attention. Weeding and tending to happen every day. I want fresh tomatoes, potatoes and other veggies so I am working on keeping the gardens good. Now I just need to get myself on track with training for the horses. I have been slacking and it stops now.

I did some groundwork with Gypsy today and she seemed a little lame. They just got their feet trimmed the other day so I am hoping that she is just a little tender footed right now. I'm going to be keeping an eye on that. Her legs seem fine, no puffiness or anything so I'm thinking her feet are bothering her. Or she stepped on a rock or stick. Hopefully it's something little and dumb. Doodles is doing good. The last time I rode her she was great, she is learning so fast. She did get nervous and half heartedly bolted with me, but she stopped when I asked her. She hates the bridle and the bit. She raises her head and it makes it hard for me to bridle her. We need to work on that. I need to get her teeth checked out soon too. That may have something to do with it. Both girls need their teeth looked at.