# Sassy's Tale



## Ray MacDonald (Dec 27, 2009)

Such a beautiful mare! She's soo calm too! Wish my horses were like that  And I'll have to look that up!


----------



## DSJ46 (Aug 11, 2010)

That's the amazing thing about her, her natural composure, especially after such a dreadful racing career...and this vid was only one week after we started riding. I was VERY nervous the first time I got aboard, having heard all kinds of horror stories, but she just went along like a dream from the beginning, and my 8 year old can ride her in the roundpen (with my direct supervision) with no problems.


----------



## justinebee (Jul 21, 2010)

your use of the reins looks a little funny, but she seems like a very calm/relaxed horse. she's doing very well and you both look like you're enjoying yourselves


----------



## DSJ46 (Aug 11, 2010)

I am up for constructive advise--tell me what you mean by the rein handling


----------



## justinebee (Jul 21, 2010)

i just noticed at about 20 seconds when you are turning to the right you used both hands to signal. it seemed like you were still getting your seat/leaning foreward so maybe that's why? using both hands to steer may confuse her, so relaxing the opposite hand and pulling the signaling hand back (instead of outwards) may help.


----------



## KatCashen (Aug 17, 2010)

Hey i Named my horse Sassy too.. well its Sassy Brat..lol R.Name is Sedona Circle!!


----------



## justinebee (Jul 21, 2010)

oh! and just adding this because it always helped me when riding bareback (not because you're doing it wrong)- keep your heels down and toes up even though you arent using a saddle because it flexes your muscles and helps your seat/balance. using this technique i'm able to trot/canter in circles with complete balance and no worry of sliding off


----------



## payette (Jun 3, 2010)

I read the story of her adoption- that is awesome! She looks like a friendly and easygoing girl!


----------



## DSJ46 (Aug 11, 2010)

Thanks, Justinebee. I am still struggling with my seat. And for whatever reason, keeping those toes up is very difficult for me (though not when I have stirrups). Is there any way really to approximate saddle-sitting while riding bareback? I have no difficulty with seat in a saddle, but I find I move around more bareback. I am trying to keep a saddle off of her for now but plan to get an English saddle when I do.


----------



## payette (Jun 3, 2010)

Hey, the book Centered Riding, by Sally Swift is AMAZING!!! It offers so many suggestions, visualizations and excersizes for riding from your "center", which is the goal be you an english, western, or bareback rider. 
One mental image that she suggests, which helps me with developing a more secure and balanced seat, is to imagine you have "stubby legs"- legs which end just above your knee. If you picture this, it allows your thighs to loosen and drop, which helps your legs and seat be in their most effective positions. 
Anyway, I can't say enough positive things about that book. Definitely read it if you haven't- and buy it if you don't own it. It is a must-have.


----------



## justinebee (Jul 21, 2010)

i don't really know how to help you out with finding your seat, as i've been riding for a long time and don't really think about it lol but i can post pictures of me riding bareback if it helps? btw i ride veeery loose-reigned with this horse, which i dont reccomend unless you are very trusting of your horse and have an understanding of eachother..


----------



## DSJ46 (Aug 11, 2010)

Thanks for the tip on the book Payette. I will lay hands on it. Justinbee, since this video was shot (about a month and a half ago), I have switched from the closed set I am using there to split reins, which I let her have a lot more of, and she does seem to respect the looser reins. I noticed that at the end of an hour session with the short closed reins, she would start head-shaking a bit. I switched to the open, split and started loosening up a lot more, and the head-shaking stopped, and she hasn't taken advantage of my giving her her head more.


----------



## justinebee (Jul 21, 2010)

yup sounds right lol diego and i "fight" more tighter reigned than looser


----------



## Northern (Mar 26, 2010)

Not to be mean, but to help: only the gunsel kicks his horse to go & pulls the reins to stop. I'm sure that she'll appreciate it when you stop kicking her. I wish you all the best with her!


----------



## DSJ46 (Aug 11, 2010)

Gunsel? Wow, you sent me to the dictionary for that one. That was actually what I was told to do with trail horses I have ridden. But it will please you to know that since that video was taken, she has taken to verbal cues, and a simple "Forward" gets her going now, and a "Ho" gets her to stop.


----------



## Northern (Mar 26, 2010)

Looking words up is a wonderful habit! Good job that the kicking is over; I am pleased that she's no longer thinking "What a gunsel!" whilst enduring kicking! 

I've no doubt that some gunsel told you to kick her to go; that's what gunsels do!


----------



## DSJ46 (Aug 11, 2010)

I would like more feedback on the "kicking." I just started looking about on the internet, and there are several places where I found it as a recommendation for a green trail horse or a stubborn horse (which she is not)--and, as I said, she is working with verbals now, so it is moot for my case at this point.

I know I have been shown this technique before, and the last time my daughter and I went trail riding, the (very reputable) owner/trainer gave my daughter the same advice with her stubborn horse that wanted to stop and eat along the way. To lay into him with her feet and call "Forward!"

More input on what you all have heard/use/believe to be best?


----------



## DSJ46 (Aug 11, 2010)

Well, this guy is hardly a "gunsel." He is a seasoned trainer of racehorses and trail horses and is widely respected up here in the Northwest.


----------



## DSJ46 (Aug 11, 2010)

"If your mare does not instantly go forward – without the braking feeling – then quickly sting her with your leg, three to six times in a row, until she jumps or runs forward. Let her go freely forward, then bring her back quietly to a halt. 
Repeat the same initial correct signal. If there is no response, add the whip behind your leg. When you use the whip, don't kick at the same time..." Finding this kind of advice all over the Internet in what seem to be reputable places.


----------



## nrhareiner (Jan 11, 2009)

First she looks like a very nice mare. she should make you a nice horse.

As has been mentioned the way you are holding the reins is wrong. You need to turn your hands over and use your first finger or 2 to hold the reins and then next finger and pinkie to take slack when needed and give a subtle cues to your horse. Also you are not giving any slack to the reins and that is why her nose in in the air like that. If you turn your hands and bumb her nose a tad bit with the reins she will drop her head and will be more collected and comfortable for both of you.

Next your legs. A cue to go can be done is several ways. The norm is a light squeeze once she takes a step take your lower leg off just a bit. Then just a light bumb to keep her going at a walk. What you are doing now will dull her sides and make you and her off balance.

Just b/c all you wish to do is trail ride does not mean you should not ride correctly. In the end you will have a better trained horse who will work better for you for a longer time.

Keep riding and enjoy.


----------



## DSJ46 (Aug 11, 2010)

Thanks for the tips. I do, in fact, want to ride correctly and do better all the time. I learn bit by bit. I am working much better with the long split reins now, as I mentioned above. The closed set were too short for her giraffe neck and did hold her head to high.


----------



## Northern (Mar 26, 2010)

Thank you, reiner! You saved me a bunch there! OP, reiner gave you great instruction here.


----------



## DSJ46 (Aug 11, 2010)

I will say this, though. Rider technique does have its idiosyncracies too, and that there is some variance from rider to rider and should be. Marathoner Frank Shorter ran like a duck. Bob Cousy shot a jump shot like he was trying to kick himself in the head. Boxers George Foreman and Roberto Duran lumbered around like Frankenstein. Which, I guess, one might add: it's got to work when you break the rules--you can't just break them out of laziness or ignorance. But just like with training, I don't think one style down to the finest point fits all.

(I say all this very gently. I actually do appreciate the tips!)


----------



## nrhareiner (Jan 11, 2009)

No one way works the best for each rider or each horse. However there are certain things that by the nature of horse will work better then others. High hands will give you a high head. Not being balanced especially when stopping will pull the horse off balance and the rider. Which can lead to big problems and someone getting hurt.


----------



## DSJ46 (Aug 11, 2010)

O, I do agree that there are certain essentials, especially in regard to balance and reining and leg prompts. I am working on those things. At this point, I simply can't hold my reins in the classic style and control my horse. But I do work on it. And I do accept little idosyncracies in my horse and in myself. I suppose it is developing the wisdom to discern the differences between the essentials and the idosyncracies. I am working on that too.

One thing that has led me to having to learn so much on my own is the high price of good trainers and the poor quality of less expensive ones. And anyone with a business card has "natural horsemanship" on it anymore. I find this means everything from meditating and smoking weed with your horse to whipping it into submission, as far as some trainers are concerned.

So again, I do appreciate the tips.


----------



## nrhareiner (Jan 11, 2009)

If you are using split reins take them and cross them over. Use 2 hands. Put the reins one in each hand and the tail of the rein that is crossed over and hold it with your pinkie. This way you can direct rein your horse and also teach her to neck rein. Take your rein and lay it on the side of her neck then bump her nose with the other rein if she does not respond to the rein on the neck. Then bump her again with the rein on the side of the neck and if she does not respond use the direct rein again to reinforce your neck rein.


----------



## DSJ46 (Aug 11, 2010)

Yeah, I am working much better with the splits. (Consider the vid was from a while ago.) The only part that doesn't work for me is holding the reins between my pinkie and ring finger. Doesn't feel right and I don't feel like I can shorten rein if I need to. But I do a little more of it every day to get used to it. Same with holding my toes up while riding bareback.

So does anyone else have any fun riding vids or stories about how they came to get their horses? I will mention again that Sassy's story is on the Second Chance Ranch website under the title "A Family Rescues A Racehorse That Rescued Them." Hope to hear some more stories of people and their horses.


----------



## Deerly (Apr 18, 2010)

I just read the whole story and all I can say is wow! What an amazing journey together and how special that after all that time she's all yours and you can give her a good home!

I bet you could sell the story as a movie, especially with your humor and wit in coming up with a screen play!

That was the best way to end the day  Thank you for sharing! My heart is all warmed now!


----------



## Gidget (Jan 19, 2010)

I like your horse..very pretty. Reminds me of my husbands horse..we unfortunely had to put her down but we have an ex race horse/ex ranch horse now along with my horse 

Btw, I use spurs and sometimes have to kick her to get her to go( i usually just tap or roll em) I also have to use a crop but when she sees it you don't have to do anything cause she will do anything you want cause you mean business. I ride bareback sometimes but my horse is short so if I fall off it like falling off a bike.

Hope you have many happy trails with sassy


----------



## DSJ46 (Aug 11, 2010)

Thanks, Deerly...

Believe it or not, there are two people down in California (one of whom actually worked on the upcoming Secretariat movie) who are knocking around the idea of a movie treatment of the story. I am not quitting my teaching job at this point over it, as 1 in a 1,000 treatments become films and 1 in 1,000 of those become hits, but wouldn't it be something if it DID happen???

Glad you enjoyed the story.

Funny side story: before I even thought getting Sassy (then Warren's Sassy Cat) would be a possibility, my family and I took a trip down to Santa Anita, and I accidentally collided with Mike Smith (the jockey--he was quite nice about it, incidentally) leaning over a rail just trying to get a picture of Sassy's half-brother...now I actually get to ride THE horse herself every night...sometimes it is rather surreal, she became such a legend with my family...and now she is ours...


----------



## Gidget (Jan 19, 2010)

i can't find the story


----------



## DSJ46 (Aug 11, 2010)

I will try to post the link here, Gidget

Second Chance Ranch - Equine Rescue, Rehabilitation and Transitioning - Elma,WA


----------



## DSJ46 (Aug 11, 2010)

And I will throw in one more video: her big race. It is strange now to see her in this context:


----------



## Gidget (Jan 19, 2010)

Wow, what a good story!
I read it all and now my eyes hurt since it is late.

I'm glad you have found your dream horse and that your girls and your wife are happy and healthy


----------



## Gidget (Jan 19, 2010)

okay,just watched the racing video and I ...being excited was holding my breath,tensed up,and saying" go,go,go!" in my mind.

I bet she is glad she doesn't race anymore and she can be a happy sassy


----------



## DSJ46 (Aug 11, 2010)

Yes, and I am glad she doesn't have to race anymore too...her owner was an idiot and nearly ran her into the ground


----------



## Gidget (Jan 19, 2010)

This is Ludo...Our ex racehorse/ ex ranch horse.

003 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

and

002 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!


That was shortly after we got him. He is now fatter but has really bad hooves(needs shoes all his life) and he ended up sawing off his heal through a fence so he might always be slightly lame. We now have them at a nice stable where he can't hurt himself since he is accident prone.

Here is Whimsy-

This was when we first met her and decided to take her home. The owners weren't very honest and it's a very long sad story..she had a bone infection,ring bone,and severe arthritis which we weren't aware of. We gave her a good home for awhile but the vet said she would only get worse so we donated her to the Big Cat Park so she could be put to a good cause...I know..a lot of ppl might give me crap about that but we felt that it would be a good thing...btw, I know the saddle does not fit her.
133 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

134 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!


RIP WHIMSY!



And there are lots of pictures of my horsie,Gidget in my barn.


----------



## DSJ46 (Aug 11, 2010)

That is really too bad about Whimsy...there really was nothing else you could do there...good for you for taking her to begin with! Ludo has such a gentle, intelligent face! Great pics!


----------



## Ray MacDonald (Dec 27, 2009)

What an amazing story! I think it would also be an amazing movie!


----------



## DSJ46 (Aug 11, 2010)

Thanks Ray!


----------



## Ray MacDonald (Dec 27, 2009)

No prob!  Its such a sweet story and pretty ironic! <3


----------

