# My training journal....



## Wallaby (Jul 13, 2008)

Subscribing! I'm excited to read about your progress!


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## Erin_And_Jasper (Jul 5, 2008)

Subscribing


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

Subscribing!


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

WooHoo, had my first little mishap today. Like my dad said, you can't drive a new car and not get a ding in it so now I am officially broke in LOL. Just got back from the ER where I got my first stitches ever. Saddled a different horse today and found out that she is a bucker. She saddled fine but when I asked her to move, she did her best saddle bronc imitation and shouldered right into me. Down I went but fortunately, my forehead broke my fall against the pipe panel. I jumped right back up to keep from getting stepped on but soon realized that I couldn't see cause everything was red and that's when I noticed that my forehead was gushing blood. So into the house I came to grab a towel to try to stop the bleeding. So as soon as I grabbed a towel and rinsed the blood out of my eyes so that I could see, I headed back out to finish what I started. I finally got her trotting some circles around me without trying to buck and I went ahead and tied her head around to one side. Then I came in and sat down with the towel on my forehead. About that time, my Dad got home and was all set to play nurse for me when I went to the bathroom and actually looked at it. It was about 2 inches long and probably a half inch wide between my right eyebrow and my hairline and it was all the way down to bone . I don't mind having a scar but I didn't really want one that big so I opted to go get stitches instead of just taping it closed. So here I am with 6 stitches and a numb head and that mare is out with her head tied around again. I don't know if I will have a chance to ride her today or not, I have a dinner to go to this evening and I really need to wash all the blood and iodine out of my hair before I go. LOL. On a good note, DoSiDo is doing really well, he is a whole different horse now and doesn't try to spook as much.


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## Plains Drifter (Aug 4, 2009)

Wow! Glad to hear that your ok.


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## speedy da fish (May 7, 2009)

eek sound scarey! glad you were ok though


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## Erin_And_Jasper (Jul 5, 2008)

glad your a-okay. pics of the stitches?


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## Plains Drifter (Aug 4, 2009)

How's it going?


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Wow, sorry I haven't updated in so long, I been really busy. Between receiving about 500 yearling cattle and spending time over there going through them and helping brother brand calves, I haven't had as much time as I wish but I am progressing slowly. Kathryn is coming to pick up DoSiDo this afternoon and take him home. She came and watched me ride him for a while yesterday and was really happy. She is planning to turn him out now until later this fall or maybe next spring and then bring him back to be finished. After all, he is only just barely 3 and she can't compete on him until he is over 4 though she may wait until he is 5. The gray mare is doing pretty well, I have only had time to be on her a couple of times and she has tried to buck but hasn't really tried hard.  Sorry no pictures at this time, when I am outside, usually anyone who takes my pix is busy elsewhere :?. Now that everything has slowed down a little bit, I will have some more time, I hope. I am expecting 3 more horses sometime on Sunday (along with a horse that is being given to me by some old friends). It is funny that I will be riding horses from the same bloodline, just 2 generations down, from the horses that my Dad was riding years ago. My head is pretty much all healed up and it doesn't look like there will be much of a scar. As opposed to going back to the Dr. and spending another 80 bucks to have the stitches taken out, I just did it myself the night before last. Still a little sore but at least I can get my hat on now LOL. For the first 3 days, I couldn't.

Anyway, that's my sad story ;p. I am remembering now that I have muscles that haven't been used in years and I am getting stronger and more in shape. I will try to keep updating more often since things are kindof levelling out.


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## kevinshorses (Aug 15, 2009)

Good job! I hate it when you stand up after a wreck and realize you're bleeding, bent or broken. A horse bucked me off last fall at a roping and when I went to climb back on one of my fingers was dislocated. I might have waited but the finger was on my roping hand so I was out anyway. 

I would rather brand than just about anything but unfortunately the branding is done here. It sure seems like the training portion of the horse market is picking up. I have 5 horses scheduled for june and 4 this month. If this keeps up neither one of us will have to get a real job! My dad told me that if I learned how to shoe a horse and ride a colt I would never starve and so far he's been right.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

That is very true. I don't have the upper body strength nor the desire to learn how to shoe them but fortunately, my brother does and he only lives about 15 miles away. So I always know I have a good farrier that I can call. 

One thing about the people that are sending me the horses on Sunday is that they may say "Yeah, we have 2 we would like to send you" and then when they pull up, they have 5 in the trailer LOL. "Well, soandso wanted to send a horse and then somebody else heard and wanted to send one too. Since we were coming this way anyway, I figured I would save them the trip." But, hey, keeps my business going LOL.


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## grayshell38 (Mar 9, 2009)

Subscribing! I may have to look into sending Mana your way in a couple years.


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## speedy da fish (May 7, 2009)

wow smrobs you have my dream job!!


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Ugh, I have been such a bad girl. Lazy Lazy me for not updating!! For the most part, it has been pretty uneventful. The gray mare is progressing nicely and hasn't offered to buck again (though we will always just see what tomorrow holds LOL). Been messing with 2 of the 3 horses that were brought on Sunday. The bay mare had been ridden some but sometimes that is worse than the ones that have never been saddled. It is fairly obvious that whoever rode her did nothing more than try to "sneak" rides on her (meaning that they just sat there, didn't ask her for anything, and did their best not to do anything to make her realize that she had a rider). Everytime you would touch her butt or move a leg, she would jump around like you were trying to kill her. Dad showed me some tricks today to work that out of them with minimal risk to the rider. She is the only one that I rode today as the wind is a killer again but boy she travels nice. I am so used to riding short horses that now that I have some that are around 15 to 15.2, it takes some getting used to LOL. The little chestnut mare that they brought had never been handled at all so it has taken some time just to get her to not be terrified of everything I do around her. Finally got her saddled today and tied her head around but the good news is that she didn't seem very interested in going bronco. Maybe ride her tomorrow, depending on what her eye looks like. I am gonna have to get some more panels so that I have enough for another roundpen LOL. And another saddle too. Mine is on the chestnut and the one that I am riding is way to wide for me and hurts my hips .

Anyway, just a few pix from today.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Also, I forgot to mention that I got a card in my mail today from the new owner of Prissy, the little paint filly that I rode for a while.
(just to refresh some memories)









Anyway, the original owner that I rode her for passed away a few months ago and his wife gave this filly to his son who works on a ranch up in Montana. He sent me a card saying that he had been using her and is completely in love with her. Also, he said that his daughter sat on her bareback for the first time the other day and he is very happy with how she rides and that made me feel good.


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## damnedEvans (Jan 23, 2010)

really interesting to read this thread... I love your job.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Today I had my first real embarassing moment. I have got this really tall, lanky QH gelding that I am training. Today was his 3rd ride and I didn't warm him up much before I got on. Mistake on my part. He got to bucking and I couldn't get his head cause I had my rein too darn long. I stuck with him about a circle and a half around the pen (probably 8 or 9 jumps) and then I starting losing it. I ended up finding the softest place that I could and that's where I landed :?. He immediately stopped and I jumped up and brushed myself off and proceeded to work his *** off from the ground before getting on him again. The second time, he wasn't terribly interested in trying to buck but then again, he was having a bit of trouble getting enough oxygen. Other than that, everything has been pretty uneventful. I have just been pretty busy working and sweating. It is terrible that I have to take 3 or 4 breaks in the day to come back in here where it is cool and sit with a cold bottle of water for a while. It sucks being fat and out of shape.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Geez, I have been so horrible about updating this thing. Somebody needs to prod me with a hot shot every now and then to get me off my butt . Everything has been going pretty well. The bay mare from the above post is doing exceptionally well. She had a lightbulb moment a few rides ago and everything has been smooth sailing since then. My Dad is helping me with the chestnut mare because she is one of the most challenging horses I have ever messed with. She is not only mortified of people (even after all the handling she has gotten since she's been here), she is a bit of an obnoxious ***** and will get mad at the drop of a hat. When she's mad, there is no hope of teaching her anything because all she wants to do is fight *sigh*. The gray mare is going pretty well, she is challenging too. One of the curses of messing with an older horse, if they want to do something and you tell them no, they will get mad and go to fighting. That's not like fighting a 2,3, or 4 year old either. The more you try to tell them no, the more they want to fight. At least she doesn't resort to bucking every time she gets mad anymore LOL. Although I am unable to lope her as long as she really needs it. GOD her lope is horrible. It is almost like one of those cartoon horses where all 4 feet leave the ground at the same time and all 4 land at the same time. So for that reason, I can't seem to lope her for any extended time at all and when I try, I usually have to stop for a breather every couple of minutes or so LOL. But on the other hand, she is a natural at that nice easy little jog and it is nice to ride.

Here is a funny little video I found and Yosemite Sam's horse/mule/donkey (whatever it is) fits her lope almost perfectly LOL.


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## stacieandtheboys (Jan 6, 2009)

OMG you are so right!!! LOL I am cracking up right now. I have always thought when she is running around with her buddies how short and choppy she looks. I figured it would be really awful. The cartoon though right on! So glad she doesn't buck much anymore. We miss her and are so excited to see the end result!


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

She is making progress but it is slow. She is kindof a resentful horse (due to her age) and doesn't much like being told what to do. BUT, if I just encourage her to do what I want instead of try to give orders, she does great.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Okay, so yesterday, Dad and I went to go through the cattle. He asked if he could ride one of the colts (he misses it terribly) and I couldn't refuse him. So I got on the bay mare and he rode the gray. We spent most of the day loping through the pastures and counting cattle. That is the very best place for a young horse because there are windmills and trees and pretty rough country and creeks to cross. We spent quite a bit of time apart going through separate pastures to save time but Dad said the gray mare did really well. She is a little sluggish with her mouth but that is getting better every ride. Bay and I had our very first knock-down, drag-out fight over crossing the creek. She didn't want to go and unfortunately one of her tricks is to just run backward whenever she sees something that she is scared of or when she gets mad and doesn't want to go somewhere. That is a horrible byproduct of the 30 days "professional" training she had before she came to me. So anyway, the side of the creek that I was trying to cross was pretty rough. It had really deep cow trails and trees. I fought with her there for about 20 minutes but after the second time she tried to flip over on top of me because she would go to running backward and get tangled in a cow trail, I decided that there was a better place for that fight. I whopped her *** for about a half a mile down around the end of the creek and back up the other side to a place that was nice and wide and flat leading down to the water and there, we had about an hours worth of a 'meeting of the minds'. She got mad and we both got hot and very tired but she did eventually cross the water. It was the most amazing thing, I could see and feel the instant that she decided to quit fighting. She dropped her head and eased right up to the edge of the water with minimal urging from me. Even though she did half lunge across the creek, she _did_ cross and _did_ get her feet wet. I counted the cattle that I was trying to get to and then came back across. She half lunged across again but didn't offer to refuse so I'm making headway there.

Whew, today was kindof a hard day. It is really hot and unseasonably muggy so the horses got worked but not terribly hard. The bay mare's attitude after yesterday is so much better. She is more willing and doesn't get that mareish "I don't wanna" look when I ask for something. Loped some circles on her and she is picking up neck reining pretty quick. Got on the gray mare and worked circles on her today. I went easy at the start because after the long day yesterday, she was pretty sore. After she warmed up and loosened up, I just kicked her up into a lope and did some circles. Her lope is a lot better after yesterday, still not good, but at least bearable now that she has flattened out some. As I was cooling her out, I put her to one of my tests and she passed with flying colors. The cemetery test. There is a pretty good sized cemetery just down the road from the barn and that is an excellent place to desensitize green horses. There is big headstones, flags, flowers, horse-eating trees, reflective surfaces that sometimes make suns appear right beside us, etc. I walked her around on the road and she never batted an eyelash. The only thing that she even looked at funny was the half covered culvert under one of the drives but even then, she just kinda cocked an ear and kept going. She is a very sensible horse and doesn't see the boogeyman in ridiculous places like a young horse will. All in all, a pretty darn good day (tiring though. Loping old gray will put knots in your back LOL).

Now just a few pix from today.















































Edited to add: See Stacie, I told you she would get over all that extra tack flopping around on her.


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## stacieandtheboys (Jan 6, 2009)

Look at my girl!! Super impressed with how she is doing. I knew it was going to be a longer road with her due to her age. I am also honored that your dad rode her! WOW! She looks great. Looks like I am going to be shopping for some new tack now that I can use it! LOL


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## reining girl (Jan 30, 2009)

i am subscribing. smrobs, i wish so bad that i could of sent duchess down to you =(


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Stacie, she is gonna make a really nice horse. She will probably never be as soft in her mouth as what I would like but she is smart. Now that she has kinda figured out that all I really want her to do is just move out a little bit, she is progressing in leaps and bounds

I took some video yesterday and spent all evening laughing at myself because there are a couple of times that I stop and kinda just lean on the saddle horn for a minute to get my side to stop cramping but the first time I had to stop, I had actually been loping for about 15 minutes. I am trying to load it but I am fighting with youtube right now. I will post it asap.

RG, I do too (mainly cause I wanted to steal her anyway) but oh well. She may have never been the right horse for you. Anyway, last I heard, you and Cricket? are getting along well, right?


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## reining girl (Jan 30, 2009)

ya, her new owner absolutly loves her, i tried to buy her back but she said no lol. Yep cricket it doing really good. I just made a thread of her in horse pictures title "cricket pictures". stacie your girl is really cute. smrobs, i love that bay mare.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Okay, so I got part of the video of the bay mare loaded (her vid is 22 min and the gray horse is like 37 so it will be in several parts). Youtube is still fighting with me over the vid of Lucy but I will get it on her eventually LOL.

Anyway, here is Foxy. She's a 4 yo QH that came to me with some serious issues from previous "professional" training she received: complete with head tossing, running backward, and laying on the bit. I would guess that she has maybe 13-14 rides on her at this point and though it may not look it, her lope is actually pretty rough. She travels around on the forehand and it feels like I'm loping into a hole LOL.

Be advised, it looks a little funny but I edited out parts where I was out of screen to shorten the length some. That's why I am really quick to make it from far away to really close on the right side.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Okay, finally had to just leave the computer completely alone overnight to get Lucy's video loaded but here it is. She is going through a stage right now that she doesn't want to stand for mounting (probably because she is sore) but she'll get over that. And for some reason, even with all the circle work I have done on her, she is still convinced that cutting across the middle will make less work for her LOL.


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## stacieandtheboys (Jan 6, 2009)

Ha ha little does she know! She looks really good


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Yeah, I apologize for having to get into her mouth at the first of it, but she can be a bit snotty about bending and giving and if I don't check her on it from time to time, she is content to just kinda lay there on the bit. Even the change from this vid to today is remarkable. She is already neck reining decently and her lope is sometimes pretty nice and other times hell on wheels LOL.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Okay, finally got the rest of the video parts up and going. I really should get some more but oh well. If anybody wants to just sit around watching video of a person riding a horse for the next 45 minutes, then this is the thread for you LOL.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Got a few new pictures from today. Foxy and Lucy are both doing great. One day of working on it and Lucy is neck reining nearly like an old pro LOL. Her lope is still improving every day. It actually isn't so bad when she keeps her shoulders up and stays slow but as soon as she drops a shoulder, it gets bad again. Though she is looking like an old work horse under saddle now . 

PS, anybody that needs a western saddle broke in, just send it to me for a few weeks. I have had my new one for about 2 weeks? I think. It is already broke in and super supple. Now that the stirrups are nice and set, it is the most comfortable saddle I have ever had the honor of sitting my *** in LOL.


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## kchfuller (Feb 1, 2008)

i loved reading this- i am totally an english rider but it is great to get some insight into western... btw it makes me laugh how all of the horses look SO tired when you are done with them and take the pics haha


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Haha yeah. They learn better and the lessons stay with them longer that way.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## AnnaLover (Sep 27, 2009)

Hey smrobs, what brand of saddle is that? Did you get it online or is it custom?


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

I finally talked my Mom into coming and playing photographer today while I rode. She only got about 120 pictures ;p so I will sort through and pick out some of the better ones.

Foxy:

(walking)









Trotting in a turn









Loping


















And now the other way
trotting









Loping




































Walking back toward the camera after calling it quits.









Barely even picking up the weight of the reins


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

And now, Lucy:
Haha, perfect timing on my Mom's part









And again, good timing 









Walking, nice and relaxed ;p.









Trotting









Another good trotting pic









Loping: this is her ghost 'let me float across the ground and just drag my toes as I come to get you' picture 









Much better









A little more walking so I could catch my breath before going the other way.









Nice little jog









Loping









I think she decided to crossfire for this pic LOL


















Even old horses can learn to be soft









Calling it quits









Easy as pie to unbridle the old girl.









If anybody wants, more can be seen at 
http://s551.photobucket.com/albums/ii462/smrobs/Customer%20Horses/?start=all


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Anna, I ordered it custom from Corriente Saddle Company and I am very happy with it.
(www.corrientesaddleco.com)


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## grayshell38 (Mar 9, 2009)

Great pictures! I'm curious, what is that bit that you are using?


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Thank you . I am actually using 2 different ones but they are virtually identical. The only difference is that the one I am using on the gray mare is a little wider (her head is bigger). But here is a pic of the one I have on the bay. I absolutely adore this bit. The shanks are short enough to be mild and they swivel so I can still use a one-rein correction on those greenies.


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## reining girl (Jan 30, 2009)

they look like there doing so good! Did you get a thunderstorm after you rode? the sky looks rather scarry lol.


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## AnnaLover (Sep 27, 2009)

smrobs said:


> Anna, I ordered it custom from Corriente Saddle Company and I am very happy with it.
> (www.corrientesaddleco.com)


It's a really nice saddle :wink:


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

RG, most of it went north of us but we did have some nice sprinkles and rolling thunder just after I called it a day.

Anna, thank you. I think so too.


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## wild_spot (Jan 30, 2008)

Looking good! i quite like that bay mare, especially her head. 

It throws me how similar your position is to mine - Especially at the canter/lope - Seriously like a spitting image of me! 

I'm very jealous of that nice big open flat area you have - I would kill for a space like that to let latte figure her canter out in a huge circle - but I only have paddocks where we can canter straight or dodge the thistles!


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Haha, well come on down to TX and bring your whole crew. We don't have MG, but we do have a bunch of cattle and lots of wide open spaces.


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## wild_spot (Jan 30, 2008)

TX is Texas, right? Lol! Careful what you wish for! I could easily forgo games for some cattle to chase and miles to ride :]


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Texas indeed. You would be more than welcome here. Some of what we have are semi-wild cattle too so there is occasionally lots of chasing to do.


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## stacieandtheboys (Jan 6, 2009)

I am so in awe of my old grey girl! I wish I could leave her for a little while longer. I am excited about seeing her Saturday though  Great work!


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## stacieandtheboys (Jan 6, 2009)

When I went to pick up Lucy clouds darker than the ones in the above pictures seemed to come out of nowhere and when we were on our ride down the road the lightning came (did you ever find out what it hit?) so we had to cut it short and head back. We got loaded up and set out down the road and I didn't even hit the city limit sign when the bottom fell out of the sky. It rained for about an hour more and then we had clear skies for the rest of the trip. Got home unloaded and went to bed! That is a long round trip but so worth it. When I went out this afternoon to wash out the trailer I noticed the tread was missing off of one of my tires! It couldn't have happened to far away from home because there is no way the tire would have held much longer. Thank goodness because I would have been up a creek with no cell phone reception and no jack (note to self buy a jack to go in the trailer). 

Anyway Lucy spent most of the morning sleeping in the hay. I thought something was wrong with her at first but I guess 2 rides yesterday and the trip did her in. She was fine the rest of the day. I hopped on her this afternoon and of course she tried to get away with whatever she thought she could but she was very wrong. I do need some longer reins. She doesn't like the contact and any contact she thinks that means stop. Boy does she stop fast. I wasn't expecting such a quick stop and almost hit my nose on her head LOL. 

I can not say how happy I am with the work that you have done with her. I hope that I am able to continue with the foundation that you have built and send my gelding to you  I wish that we could have had a longer ride. Maybe next time! Or maybe we could meet somewhere and spend the weekend camping and riding. 

Thank you again!!


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

I am very happy you are getting along with her. From what I found out from my Dad, the lightening hit a tree and started a grass fire a few miles out but before the fire trucks could get there, the rain had already put it out LOL. We might have to find somewhere close to the halfway point someday and go out camping for a couple of days. That would be so cool.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

I have been so horrible about updating this thing. The bay mare that I have been riding went home yesterday and they brought me 2 more. I am keeping their sorrel filly that they brought with the bay because she is significantly more challenging than any horse I have ridden in a very long time. She was completely unhandled when she came and so is naturally scared of everything. I have spent a lot of time with her just getting her okay with being touched. She rides okay so long as you let her keep her head bent to the side so that she can keep one eye on you all the time but if you ask her to straighten out her neck or change directions (anything that will make her lose sight of you for an instant), she freaks out and feels like she wants to try to run off with you. As soon as she gets an eye on you though, she's okay again.

The 2 that they brought yesterday are a beautiful little brown 3 year old filly that is the spitting image of the bay mare they just took home and a big stout 4 year old gelding that has been rode but apparently will sometimes just take his head and run off with you ? not looking forward to that). I don't have any new riding pictures but I can at least share some of them in the pens.

This is the sorrel mare that is so spooky, she is sure big and stout for a 2 year old.




































This is the 3 year old mare that is the spitting image of the bay.



























And here is the 4 year old gelding that has some problems.


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## reining girl (Jan 30, 2009)

sounds like your going to have your hands full....


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## Plains Drifter (Aug 4, 2009)

Smrobs...I'm so jealous of your blue sky and having time to ride. Last week I finally got that roan gelding...but it's been raining or completely nasty outside. I haven't been able to start him yet.  Please send some blue sky and warmer weather my way.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Okay, been horrible about updating. Everything is going well and they are progressing nicely. I only got pictures of me on big chestnut since I am mostly by myself. I kinda feel sorry for the big guy. He is nice enough but lazy as all get out. Has also been harpooned with a spur a time or 2 according to owners and he acts like it. Put leg on him too hard or too quickly and he will certainly squirt.

Anyway. Here he is under saddle (nice traveling booger).


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## reining girl (Jan 30, 2009)

hes a big handsome boy. how tall is he? How are the other ones doing?


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

I would say he's a little over 15 hands. The others are okay, the snorty sorrel mare is getting better (finally learned what a pleasure being scratched on can be) and the brown mare is moving along fairly well. She's pretty snorty too but nothing too bad.


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## wild_spot (Jan 30, 2008)

I really like the look of that chestnut boy. Good looking horse. Wonder how he would have been if you got him fresh at the start, poor guy!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Ugh, I am so horrible about updating this thing. I had completely forgotten all about it. So, instead of trying to update on everything that I've done, I'll just dive right in to what I'm doing now. Still have the big chestnut and the little sorrel mare. Trying to work through some of their issues because the folks that own them, while they know a lot about horses, they don't know much about handling problems. Got another little brown mare that is almost identical to the one in the earlier post. So many of their horses have the same breeding that they all look so much alike. Anyway, I had a successful first ride on the new brown mare yesterday. She hadn't had much handling at all and was extremely snorty about everything. It took me nearly 10 minutes of slowly working up to being able to reach for the cinch under her belly. I really need to get me a new stick that I can use. Anyway, after all the hooplah about accepting the saddle, she was surprisingly nice about everything else. Since she was so touchy about everything, I ran her around with the butt rope for quite a while before I even thought about doing anything else. I was pleasantly surprised about her reaction to the butt rope too as boogery as she was about everything else. She just kinda tucked her butt a few times when I would bump her with it and after that, it was old hat to her. Most horses will at least kick out a few times (though sometimes they go bronco) and she didn't even kick once. That's a good sign.

Just figuring out the whole 'give to pressure' thing









And totally relaxed with the butt rope









I also set up my camera and recorded what I consider her first ride. I had been on her for a few minutes just before I started filming and just stopped long enough to go get my camera and set it up.


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## grayshell38 (Mar 9, 2009)

Awww! Why can't you be closer?! Mana needs starting next fall and Deja needs a good butt kicking by someone more experienced than me. Sifting through the crazies and pseudo trainers isn't fun and I'm not looking forward to it in the slightest. You need to come vacation in the midwest for a while!


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Okay, holy wow. I had forgotten all about this silly thread LOL.

Things have been going good, trucking along. The brown mare from the last post went home a while back and is apparently doing well for her new owner. She ended up having a bit of a twitch about her right shoulder that she just wouldn't get over. She would ride along great and then you would move your leg just right or a rein would bump her and she would spook...big. I'm sure she would have gotten over it with a few thousand more miles, but the owner got full disclosure and was happy with how she rode otherwise.

Others have come and gone since then as well so I will just update a bit on what I'm doing now.

I just put the second ride on a pony yesterday. My first experience with a pony and so far, it has been rather pleasant. He can be a bit of a turd, but he learns quickly.




 
Also have started riding Rafe a bit, put the second ride on him yesterday as well. He's going to be fun and he'll end up nice but he's a bit of a lazy ****** right now. This video is from his first ride a few days ago.




 
Anyway, I think that's pretty much updated now . I'll try to be better about keeping it going.


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## Plains Drifter (Aug 4, 2009)

Omg!!! Rafe under saddle!!! He looks so good!!! I can't believe how huge he looks or how small you look next to him!!! Previous pictures didn't do him justice. Congrats on Rafe's first and second ride. I will be haunting you now for updates! 
Ps... How's my little black monster, Taz???


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Taz is fat and ornery, like always .

Thanks for the compliments on Rafe, I'm awful proud of him as well .


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## AnnaLover (Sep 27, 2009)

Rafe needs his own undersaddle thread! I saw your profile pic and was certain that you were riding him


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## Plains Drifter (Aug 4, 2009)

I have never wanted to ride a big horse until now!!! I am dying to ride Rafe!!!! He looks like a pro under saddle. I can't get over how good he looks!!!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

LOL, he's a long way from a pro and I've found it's hard to get him to do much because he just wants to fall asleep all the time :rofl:. Let him sit for longer than 10 seconds and you have to wake him up before he pays attention to your cues.


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## Plains Drifter (Aug 4, 2009)

ROFL! I took Lyric out to bring in the cattle, but since they pretty much came in on their own, I thought I'd give her a treat once we got back to the barn. After getting her unsaddled and cooled, I gave her her treat in her bucket. Left her there to eat, while I did chores and I swear when I checked on her a few minutes later, she was sleeping with a cheesy grin on her face. Her teeth showing with pieces of her food plastered all in her mouth. I thought for a minute something was wrong but when I asked her to move she "woke up" & start eating again.

I swear she loves those cows!


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## reining girl (Jan 30, 2009)

oh my goodness i cant believe your already riding rafe! seems like just yesterday you were posting pictures of him as a new born. and same to you plains drifter. time just flys.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Okay, took a trip to Kansas yesterday to take 2 horses home and pick up 3 more. I was a little worried about the 2 I was taking home and that they would act differently than normal in front of the owners because of all the new things they would be asked to deal with. Trailer trip for about 4 hours, indoor arena, other horses being worked in the arena as well...etc.

Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised, with both of them, I just walked them around the indoor a few times to let them gawk at the roping chute, the tractor in the corner, the pictures and signs on the walls, the bleachers, the announcers box in the corner, and everything else they had never really seen before. After that, they relaxed right down and got their mind centered. Trotted and loped around in circles for 20-30 minutes on each, rollbacks, sidepasses, spins, the whole deal and they were calm cucumbers the whole time. _Very_ good for relatively green horses . Owners had also brought some of their other horses to ride and I smiled inside to see that the ones I was riding were much better trained and better behaved than the others they had.

All in all, owners were very impressed and everyone left happy, them with 2 broke horses and me with 3 green ones (handled a bit but not even halter broke).

The more horses I see from these folks, the more I love their breeding program. Holy cow they turn out some **** nice, athletic horses.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

smrobs said:


> The more horses I see from these folks, the more I love their breeding program. Holy cow they turn out some **** nice, athletic horses.


Okay, ^^this is an incomplete sentence. It should say "turn out some **** nice, athletic horses....if you can get them gentled down." I can already tell that some of these horses in the wrong hands could be turned into monsters rather quickly. One of the fillies I got is the full sister to the sorrel mare I just sent home that I liked so much. Because of how she was at the end, I had forgotten what she was like at the start :shock:. 

Well, her sister is exactly like her, maybe a bit worse. Won't let you touch her past her forehead, then once you finally get a halter on her, all she wants to do is rear up, spin around, and run off the instant she feels even the slightest pressure anywhere on her head *sigh*.

I just have to remember that Big Momma was just like that and she turned out so incredibly nice...and this filly (lovingly dubbed ***** for the time being:lol has a much nicer body, IMHO. Not so tall, a little broader, more muscle, etc. B* has a cow-working body, whereas her sister had a barrel running body.

Anyway, I've been working with her for the last 3 hours or so. Had to run her out in the roundpen from her own pen and then rope her to get some semblance of control over her actions. After I got her facing up to me from pressure on the rope, I would slowly work my way up to her and put a hand on her forehead and stand like that for a few minutes. Then I'd try to move to either side and she'd freak out and go to running again. 

After about 45 minutes of that with zero sign of her getting any better, I began to force her around the roundpen as fast as I could keep her moving. Round and round and round one way, then the same thing the other way until she finally gave me both eyes of her own volition. Then, I was able to work my way beside her head and SLOWLY put a halter on only to find out how quickly she makes up her mind to fight :?.

Anyway, 3 hours later, I've got a halter on her, she will tentatively let me touch her all the way back to her flanks on both sides and she'll face up to me from pressure on the halter. She will also tentatively lead a bit. Currently giving her a bit of breathing room in the roundpen while I came in to get a drink and cool off for a few minutes


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## kevinshorses (Aug 15, 2009)

The thing about those kind is that when the job really needs to get done they have the bottom to last all day. A horse that will fight like that won't likely quit you when things go to hell.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Exactly!!  It can sure be a bear to get them really broke, but when they are, it's all completely worth it. Her sister was the exact same way and I ended up falling completely in love with her and wished I could have kept her.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Oh, and apparently something happened with the brown mare from the above posts since the last time I talked to the owner before my post about her on the 26th. I guess she did something to scare her new owner so mare ended up back with the breeder (who I trained her for to begin with) :?. They had her up there as well when we swapped horses and they wanted to see me ride her so they could evaluate and see what kind of buyer they needed to look for when they sell her. She'd been turned out for about 3 weeks so I worked her on the ground for a while before getting on. Got on and asked her to move out and had a bit of a rodeo LOL. Anyway, got her past that and spent a bit of time trotting and loping circles on her as well. Super nice mare...until something grabs her. Bad thing is that you never know what it is that grabs her, she'll just clamp her tail and jump (big if she's fresh, small if she's tired). Maybe she'll get over it with time and work, maybe she won't, I don't know, but they wanted rid of her.

Even my Dad, who's ridden thousands and thousands of horses in his life, said he's never ridden a horse like her, that just won't get over that little grabby thing, even when we were completely melting her down every day.  *shrug* Oh, well, she rode nice otherwise and they still like my work.


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## pintophile (May 18, 2011)

Subscribing. I have a ton of respect for you, smrobs.


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## reining girl (Jan 30, 2009)

do they just breed these horses and dont touch them till its time to break them?


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Pretty much. These horses had been handled just enough to not knock down panels in terror when they see a human, but they aren't comfortable with us and with being handled. Truthfully though, I kinda prefer it this way. For as tough as it is to get them where I can handle them, it is much easier than trying to deal with a spoiled thing that walks all over you.

Managed to snap a few crappy cell phone pix of the girls today. By the time I was finished with B*, I was pretty worn out (and a little rope burned:lol so I didn't do much with the other two other than just scratch on them for a few minutes. The one I messed with is the 2 year old that was quite a bit more skittish than the others, who are 3.

This is B*. Beautiful horse and I can't wait to see how she rides.



























And here are the other 2 fillies, both are 3 years old.

Filly 1 (neither has earned a name yet LOL)


















Filly 2


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## Plains Drifter (Aug 4, 2009)

Boy are you gonna have your hands full! Wish I lived close enough to visit. I can only imagine the things I could learn. These new girls make my girls seem beyond tame in comparison. And I would love to be able to teach a roll back. *sigh* one day.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

LOL, yeah, they are certainly handfuls until they get worked down a bit LOL. These lines make what Dobe was like as a greenie look tame :shock:. By all means, if you ever need some time away from home, come on down and bring your saddle and even a horse or 3 :wink:.

I've been learning a ton of stuff from my Dad this summer. After we went to swap horses yesterday, he got to talking about the days when he was young and some of the stuff that he did when he was my age and younger. Of course, it doesn't hurt that the customer that owns all these horses is a close friend of his and was a customer of his as well back in the day .

As for rollbacks, they aren't terribly complicated, just get the horse turning on their butt (which is really the toughest part with some of them LOL) and responsive to leg pressure, then start on large half-circles. W/T/L one way, then stop them and ask them for the turnaround and the same gait you stopped them from (of course, start slow and work your way up to faster). As you move up to faster gaits, their turnarounds get faster and smoother. Before you know it, you stop from a lope, lay a leg and a rein and give them a smooch and voilà, they've spun around on their *** and are loping off the other direction just like a good reining horse.


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## Sunny (Mar 26, 2010)

Subscribing, finally! Been stalking for awhile.

Maybe one of these days I'll be able to call my horse green. Sunny's main issues stem from lack of ground manners, which is why I haven't been doing any saddle work lately.
If you have any advice on how to teach a three year old to stand still, please feel free! :lol:
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## outnabout (Jul 23, 2010)

Likewise, I am also subbing after I found this thread when it resurfaced. Smrobs, always loved your horse pics and how awesome is it to follow your horses and you working with them!


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Okay, dredging this thread up out of the graveyard again to update .

I've been taking little pony to the feedlot recently when they ask me to come day work. He has improved exponentially since then. I think it's just having a job to do and stuff that needs to get done that helps get them broke faster and better. I swear, he's like a 17 hand tank in a 13.1 hand body. He can open and close gates better than most of the broke horses the other help has been riding, he's really trying to be cowy (I can sometimes feel him dropping down when one faces up to him), and today he got roped off of for the first time.

I'll skip the whole long story (if you really want to read it, it's on my blog in my signature) and just say that he handled the entire thing like an old broke horse that's done it a million times. Other than hesitating and questioning for a moment when the rope came tight and pulled the saddle in ways he wasn't used to, he did amazing. The cow we pulled was about half his size, maybe bigger, and he really dug down to pull her out of the pen...and succeeded until she went down when we were walking into a slippery mud hole. He tried but couldn't get any traction so we had to wait until she got back up to finish pulling her out.

I'm mighty proud of the little ******. I think the hardest thing about training these horses is falling in love with them and then having to send them home .


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