# The Road Less Traveled [Progress Journal]



## SeemsLegit (Oct 26, 2012)

As many of you may or may not know, I just became the new owner of a lovely albeit immature, massive, registered, _free_, ten-year-old unbroke paint gelding. He's lived majority of his life as a pasture-ornament, doing little more than groundwork, but his potential is so obvious to me; the boy's brimming with energy and, not only that, but he will serve as a perfect introduction into the world of training. I've never started a horse myself, but I figure it's about time I try; so here I go, taking the road less traveled - it may not be easy, but I'm open-minded and absolutely elated. 

We went to pick up the big guy (known as Blaze by his owner, but that will change once I get to know him) last night, and it took half an hour - at which time it started to snow, might I add - to get him loaded. He'd only been loaded once before when he was _tiny_, and it was with mom so he followed blindly. I'm super fortunate that I have my step-dad, Phil, because he handled the situation so well. I've never met a man more patient. He was a dream once he got in, and has settled in here quite nicely. 

I need to get at least 100lbs on him and get his teeth done, but we wormed him tonight so hopefully he can start to gain some of that needed weight. Since we got him, though, we've been working here and there on leading and basic respect. In two days he's gone from a horse who I watched crowd, nip, and paw at his owner to a horse who respects space and will stop, back, and disengage without any sort of trouble. He hasn't even tried to attempt nipping and/or pawing, likely because he realizes we will not put up with it. After our little "session" tonight, he followed me afterwards which is a good sign! He seems to be a a really fast learner, but terribly stubborn; so, we'll see where things go!

On another note entirely, I'm considering naming him Roman (Rome for short), due to the little roman nose he's got going. I hadn't realized it until now! And, for those who had been asking in my previous thread, he doesn't seem to respond to "Blaze" or "Baba" which were the two his owner called him by. The woes of attempting to name an animal though, man. 

I didn't get many pictures (mainly because by the time I had time, it was dark) but this is what we've got so far! The pink on his face is from bumping his head on the trailer, but not to worry; the only thing seriously hurt is, perhaps, his pride.(; I plan to get some pictures of him all squared-up as a starting point, to compare to in the future.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Subbing to follow your progress with this gorgeous leggy guy!

I generally like to give it a few days until I can get a feel for their personality before deciding on a name. I might have a few that I like in mind, but I play "wait and see" to find the one that suits them best.


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## Cacowgirl (Feb 19, 2011)

I like him! I just brought a new horse home also. Took about 15 minutes to load her. She came w/a name I love that really suits her. Other than adding a few pounds she's already perfect for me & that says a lot since she's only seven! I didn't get any "papers" w/her & she wasn't free, but I'm absolutely thrilled w/her. Good luck w/your new guy & I wish many wonderful miles w/him. Are you asking for name suggestions?


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## SeemsLegit (Oct 26, 2012)

smrobs said:


> Subbing to follow your progress with this gorgeous leggy guy!
> 
> I generally like to give it a few days until I can get a feel for their personality before deciding on a name. I might have a few that I like in mind, but I play "wait and see" to find the one that suits them best.


Thank you! And I'm definitely the same way, not rushing it at all! Everyone keeps on asking for a name, and just say that one is pending.(': 



Cacowgirl said:


> I like him! I just brought a new horse home also. Took about 15 minutes to load her. She came w/a name I love that really suits her. Other than adding a few pounds she's already perfect for me & that says a lot since she's only seven! I didn't get any "papers" w/her & she wasn't free, but I'm absolutely thrilled w/her. Good luck w/your new guy & I wish many wonderful miles w/him. Are you asking for name suggestions?


Haha, thank you! And aw, that's wonderful about your new girl. She sounds fabulous, and good luck to you as well! I had a previous thread up asking for names, but I'm always open to more ideas.(;


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## SeemsLegit (Oct 26, 2012)

Didn't do too much with the big guy today, but we were able to bring our mares over to the property finally! Blaze has been separated from other horses for _years_ - even then I believe he was only with his mother until she passed - and so it was wonderful to see him being social. The two girls are together because they adore one another, but they showed little interest despite his desperate calls, haha! We're going to keep them separated but within eye's view of each other for a few weeks at least, if not more. They won't go together until the man has some more training under his belt, and comes to understand respect a wee more. If he's put in with my girl, Willow, without having learned respect -- he'll be in for big trouble! 

Some more pictures from today!


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

SeemsLegit said:


> They won't go together until the man has some more training under his belt, and comes to understand respect a wee more. If he's put in with my girl, Willow, without having learned respect -- he'll be in for big trouble!



I just wanted to mention that putting him in with a strong alpha horse might actually help with his respect toward you. I know it made a huge difference with Rafe when he was a weanling. He was too big for his britches with all the other horses in his pen and I had to struggle to keep even a tiny bit of respect. I finally put a strong alpha horse in with him and got him whipped into shape in a hurry. After that, my struggle for respect ended and he was much more obedient and mellow minded.


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## SeemsLegit (Oct 26, 2012)

smrobs said:


> I just wanted to mention that putting him in with a strong alpha horse might actually help with his respect toward you. I know it made a huge difference with Rafe when he was a weanling. He was too big for his britches with all the other horses in his pen and I had to struggle to keep even a tiny bit of respect. I finally put a strong alpha horse in with him and got him whipped into shape in a hurry. After that, my struggle for respect ended and he was much more obedient and mellow minded.


I super appreciate your input, so thank you! It's funny, actually, because the stepdad and I were talking about this over dinner. We'll give them all time to adjust and whatnot (considering the fact he's still staring at the two girls bug-eyed, haha) but, if respect is an issue, we'll definitely throw them together to teach him some manners. Gotta love bossy mares, eh?(;


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## SeemsLegit (Oct 26, 2012)

Day six! 

The last few days have been pretty eventful! Blaze is finally starting to mellow out, despite becoming all worked-up by the mares as soon as he's removed from his pasture, haha. Phil tried lunging him yesterday, which went well.. We were told that a "trainer" had attempted to lunge the big guy and ended up being scared off, and this became clear with how _aggressive_ Blaze turned on the line. He learned that aggression equated to doing less work, so he was throwing a tantrum majority of the time. He even whirled and tried to back into Phil so he could buck him, but the stepdad handled the situation flawlessly and, after half an hour or so, the gelding was dong as told and minding his manners. He lunged him again today, and we were all surprised when the big bay offered not a single buck. He wasn't pleased, but had smartened up and was acting completely different. A fast learner he is, just stubborn.(': 

Some more pictures (because I cannot stop taking them)! 

Creeping on the ladies...


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## SeemsLegit (Oct 26, 2012)

We are doing so well! 

Blaze is taking to regular lunging wonderfully. Phil had to lay into him that first time, but as of late he's been behaving to the point where I've been the one taking over the ground-work entirely. We were able to saddle him without problem, as well, and lunge him in that following a regular session; and, I must say, he continuing to surprise us with how good he is! He's a testy guy, for sure, but he is one of the sweetest horses I've ever met. Feisty, for sure, and yet the type who is happy to sit with his head resting on your shoulder after a day of work. 

I have some videos of us lunging and blanketing, which are all great and wonderful except for the fact I am dressed in_ pajamas_. I don't know why I didn't put two and two together to realize that there would be video being taken, but oh well. I promise I don't always look grubby. Anyways, here you can see his movement and such! 

He's slowly starting to put on some weight, so that's nice. 

Here's the lunging video, I may add the blanketing one but it's really not too exciting. Ignore my mother chatting about her pants that are clean from the wash as well as Phil talking about why he won't put Blaze in with the other horses, haha! In fact, I almost just suggest muting it entirely lmfaooo.


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## SeemsLegit (Oct 26, 2012)

A quick update for those interested! 

Blaze (I'm seriously leaning towards calling him Finnegan or Rookie now), is doing very well! The lunging has been going wonderfully, aside from a few days back where he thought it would be wise to rear at me -- his coping mechanism for _all_ stresses -- to which we had a come-to-jesus meeting and all was solved smoothly. We were able to introduce him to the bit and he's been mounted several times now without any sign of bucking, rearing, or bolting. He's taking everything on in stride and is a really intelligent guy; he's just stubborn. I'm super proud of how he's coming along. 

With that said, I've fallen ill with pneumonia which means very limited horse-time for me for at least another week or two. I've had it for several weeks despite just finding out, but it's at the point where I get to go for a chest x-ray and am on three different prescriptions, woo.(': 

So, it's likely that I may not be updating this for a bit. We'll see, though! I get to watch Phil train him through the window. 

ANYWAYS. I have a picture of him and I that I took for a project, so I figure I may as well link it up. Should give you all an idea of how he absolutely _dwarfs_ me, even with his head down haha!

*Keep in mind that he hasn't had much of a chance to put on weight yet*, but he's slowly starting to show improvement. He's a hard keeper, but we've ramped up his diet to try and get him to gain some.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

So sorry to hear that you're down for the count for a while. I hope you get to feeling better quickly.

He's one heck of a gorgeous boy. Good luck getting your foot in the stirrup from the ground though ;-).


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## SeemsLegit (Oct 26, 2012)

smrobs said:


> So sorry to hear that you're down for the count for a while. I hope you get to feeling better quickly.
> 
> He's one heck of a gorgeous boy. Good luck getting your foot in the stirrup from the ground though ;-).


Thank you, and I hope so too. Everyone's been sick - this is five weeks and counting for me - so the gelding has turned into a wee bit of a tyrant due to not being worked. The ground is ice for the most part, too, so it makes things a we challenging. And aha, we'll see how that goes! I might need to carry a stool around with me.(': 

Restlessness aside, he's still handsome and thus pictures are needed.(; 










His body, slowly starting to fill out 









And another, awkward lookin' big guy(;


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## SeemsLegit (Oct 26, 2012)

I've neglected this thread for far too long!

Due to the weather, training's been put on a complete old. We've had snow for months, now, and it doesn't make things easy - especially when lunging/moving around is so essential. With that said, we've learned a lot about the big guy.

And, much to my dismay, his name has somehow become _Dufus_. 

He is dominant and pigheaded, but I love him. We had some haltering issues to work through - it was taking an hour to halter him - but he finally came around and will now meander over when I call him. Thank god. 

His weight is coming up too, which is lovely. I was comparing pictures from when we first got him and the difference is present, which is nice. 

First few weeks









Somewhat recently (ignore how wet he is, the snow was bad)









And now, without further adieu, allow me to spam with images and videos.(; They're not all recent, but you get the jist. 














































As for video... I suggest muting it, because mom & I are having a conversation in which I repeat myself multiple times because she can't hear. The only action is in the beginning and near the end, though Willow's face in the middle is hardly approving. She was very wary of Dufus being in her spot.(; 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONp8ogS6ZFM


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

He's looking so much better!


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## EquineObsessed (May 24, 2013)

He looks so much like a horse I'm working now, named Dublin. They appear to be quite alike in temperament, so I'm looking forward to watching you two progress!
He and Dublin could be twins! Dublin and Dufus!


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## Zexious (Aug 2, 2013)

^Dublin is a doll.

I'm loving all the pretty blazes


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## morganarab94 (May 16, 2013)

Subbing!!! What a beautiful boy.
and I agree they could be twins!


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## SeemsLegit (Oct 26, 2012)

We decided to let him in with our more tolerant QH mare, Gypsy, to see how the big guy would do. He's been around the mares for months now, but never actually in with them until now. Needless to say, the two seriously took to one another. A few warnings from Gypsy aside, there was tons of loving-on happening. I have a ton of video to put up, but I need to get it sorted through and uploaded to youtube first.(':







































































































EquineObsessed said:


> He looks so much like a horse I'm working now, named Dublin. They appear to be quite alike in temperament, so I'm looking forward to watching you two progress!
> He and Dublin could be twins! Dublin and Dufus!


They do look alike! Aw, Dublin is a seriously handsome guy. Love it!(': 

And to those of you subbing and keeping tabs, thank you! Hope you enjoy!


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## SeemsLegit (Oct 26, 2012)

And, the big man had his first ride! It was brief and within the confines of our (currently sloppy) arena, but he did very well and took everything in stride. We still have a ton to work on due to him being so reactive and headstrong, but we're making progress! His weight is coming up wonderfully as well, so it looks like we're on a road to success.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Gosh dang he looks even taller with a rider! LOL

Wonderful progress, I'm sure he'll make a good one


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