# Growing up baby......Robertson LOL *very pic heavy*



## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Then his first rides at a little over 2 years old




Then, turned out to grow into a ruby colored Adonis as a 3 year old


Then, this spring as a coming 4 year old, I brought him back in to go to work in earnest (which turned out to still be very sporadic LOL)


But, he did really trim down and start looking rather elegant while I had him in the barn and off the full access feed


Thankfully, he's got his mother's temperament and has been very patient with my scrambling mounts from day 1


Since it became painfully apparent he would not survive a working life without shoes, he got his very first set and stood like a pro


Because he is so big, sometimes it's just too much trouble to throw my heavy saddle up there. Good thing he took to bareback like a fish to water.


Unfortunately, he won't fit in the trailer with a saddle on, so whenever I take him to work cattle, I have to tack him up when I get there and unsaddle when it's time to leave


Even took trains going by in the dark on a strange road like a star. No spooking at all


Even though he's still a little shy of 30 honest days riding, he's my baby boy and I wouldn't trade him for anything.


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## Muppetgirl (Sep 16, 2012)

This might be a bit 'forward'......but can I have him?:lol:


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## Chevaux (Jun 27, 2012)

Good pictorial, smrobs. You've kind of got a Jessica Biel thing going on in your last photo!!


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## HorseLovinLady (Jul 18, 2011)

Gorgeous!!


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

*Taz*

Now, for the second of my youngsters. Taz was a "woops" baby that came into being just before John got gelded. Thankfully, the neighbors, whose paint mare John had jumped the fence to cover, weren't angry about it. They were actually rather excited at the prospect of a foal by John.

Taz was born sometime in the late spring of 2010, I guesstimate somewhere around the first of June and I was seriously concerned about his legs as a baby.


Even at 2 months old, his front legs hadn't straightened up hardly at all.


Thankfully, his front legs began to straighten out after that and turned out very nice
*4 months old*


Shortly after that, the owner husband passed away. The wife was very non-horsey so she was trying to get rid of the ones she had. I felt some responsibility for the foal since it was our fault he even existed and agreed to bring him home with me. So, he came to my house as a honestly ugly 4.5 month old weanling


Even as he grew, I became more and more concerned about his appearance and possible future usefulness as a ridden or driven horse (forgive the big belly, he needed wormed and had a grass belly on top of that)
*6 months old*


His hind legs, especially, scared me as his hocks would rub together when he walked.


As a yearling, his appearance certainly wasn't improved LOL. I honestly don't know how that big old honkin head didn't just tip him over on his nose


Then, of course, he started having growth spurts which would leave his butt a foot or two taller than his shoulders
*14 months old*


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Then, at 18 months, after bringing him home from the vet where he was gelded and had his umbilical hernia fixed, I began to have some inklings of hope for him.


When I caught him up a couple of weeks later to remove the stitches from his hernia surgery, I decided to give my saddle a shot. He didn't take it quite so well as Rafe, but there was only some fidgeting, no real misbehavior.


So, I turned him out into the big pasture to finish that winter with room to play and grow
*21 months*


Then, it seems like one day I just walked out my door and suddenly there was an ebony Adonis standing beside the ruby one.
*25 months old*


Even his hideous back legs seemed to straighten out overnight.


Then, when he was just shy of 3 years old, it became very apparent that his Daddy's genes were making an appearance
*33 months*


Giving my saddle another try in hopes of getting him started riding. Turned out that, in spite of being over 15 hands, he was still too narrow for my saddle, but I can see the future cowpony hiding in there.




Dad had the idea of breaking him to ride when his horse came up lame...only to realize that Taz appears to have the same bone-jarring trot that John does so it appears that breaking him will be my responsibility when I have the time.
*right at 3 years old*


Now, it is very comforting to know that he's not a little ugly duckling anymore. He's blossomed into a very impressive black swan.
*latest pictures taken in the last few days*


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## Muppetgirl (Sep 16, 2012)

Oh gee......don't want to sound needy.....but could I take him too?:lol: Seriously, either of these guys!!! Let me know when you're selling!!


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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

Muppetgirl, you'll have to fight me (and Aires) for Rafe. He's Aires' brotha-from-anotha-motha. ;-)
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## my2geldings (Feb 18, 2008)

Those are fun photos! love them. What happened to that youngster I was interested in buying from you last year?


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## JustDressageIt (Oct 4, 2007)

Jen great photos!!! I adore Rafe.. It's been such a pleasure to watch him grow up. Taz, too, but Rafe holds a special place in my heart.


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## Paintlover1965 (May 22, 2009)

Smrobs, really nice to see the progression of your horses. They're both lovely.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

*Talyn*

And finally, my youngest: Talyn.

For her whole story, you can look at this thread
http://www.horseforum.com/horse-talk/hmm-decisions-decisions-lol-135381/

Anyway, she was born feral sometime last spring (2012) and I first saw her when she was, I'm guesstimating, right around 5 months old. She caught my eye in spite of her faults. At first I think it was the blue eye and the belly splash, but the more I studied her and her momma, the more I fell in love with her temperament as well.


So, when the owners suddenly decided to round up the entire herd and ship them off, I was determined to get her. She came home in February of this year as a bounce-off-the-wall wildling.
*about 11 months old*




She was relatively quick to gentle at first, getting her roped, haltered, and leading tentatively that first afternoon.


Her first human touch




After that, she progressed quickly....with some help from the old respect-teaching babysitter, Dobe




She became more and more confident to approach me on her own without fear


She and Dobe quickly bonded as he took her under his wing (he's a Pegasus with invisible wings, didn't you know? LOL)
At this point, she'd been here a little less than 2 weeks


That was also the time of her first excursion out of the roundpen on a lead. Took all that like a champ


In an attempt to train her mane to all lay on one side, I braided it...which put a huge flashing neon sign right on her poor neck LOL
*12 months old*


Then, it was time for her to re-join a herd as a domesticated horse, so she got turned out with Dobe into the draft pen.
That caused a rather hilarious amount of shenanigans on their part


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

But they eventually all relaxed


So, she ate and drank and was merry...until her mare-itude began to show itself (the look is directed at the mule behind her, not at me)


Then, spring came and she began to shed off but mostly just looked like a moth-eaten sweater LOL
*14 months*


I've had to battle with worms on her worse than any other. She just kept getting darker and darker as spring progressed









Then, she finally slicked off and got shiny.









The first attempt to turn her out into the big pasture was a bust, but she and Dobe had a lot of fun while they were out there.
*15 months*


She'll stand for the farrier with only the barest hint of initial tension, and that's only there because I'm the only one who's ever really handled her


She's a long way from perfect, but I do see some potential there.
*almost 17 months*


The second attempt to turn her out in the big pasture went a lot better and that's where she's staying now.


She's finally growing into herself a little bit and starting to look more like a real horse instead of a conglomeration of different animals LOL
*18 months*


And though she's not grown much, height wise (only about a hand since February), she's sure matured and looks a ton better.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Thanks all . Muppet, Drafty, I'm sorry, but Rafe is staying here LOL. Not quite sure about Taz yet. He might be needing a home someday after he's going well under saddle. I've already promised that if the day comes I ever do sell him, my friends from HoFo have first dibs :wink:.




My2Geldings said:


> Those are fun photos! love them. What happened to that youngster I was interested in buying from you last year?


Which one is that, do you remember? I can't seem to think and R and T were the only young'uns I had at the time.


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## Roperchick (Feb 1, 2010)

Talyn looks like a different horse! shes growing into herself nicely (finally) haha

LOVE. this thread


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## Muppetgirl (Sep 16, 2012)

I have enjoyed the Talyn photos! I can't wait to see how she ends up!!


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Thanks . I've been pleasantly surprised with her. She's looking so much better this year. Gives me hope for her in 2-3 when she's big enough to ride *giggles giddily*.


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## AngieLee (Feb 20, 2011)

I thoroughly enjoyed this whole post! i especially love your youngest! just because she's so pretty! But all your horses are beautiful!


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## LindyPhoebeRuby (Aug 29, 2013)

GREAT post!  

Do you want to adopt a sister? LOL


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

^^Sure! Come on down .


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## LindyPhoebeRuby (Aug 29, 2013)

What area of TX are you in? I have family in Houston and Corpus Christi.


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## Endiku (Dec 6, 2010)

Holy cow, where did half-formed funky Talyn go and who replaced her with this shiny bay yearling?!

And WHERE has time gone?! These yearlings are growing up way too fast. Talyn is 17 months old, Rafe is an adult now, Kenzie is nearly 2...It seems like you were just introducing Talyn to us as a PROSPECT, not even caught yet!


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## amp23 (Jan 6, 2011)

smrobs, I absolutely love all your horses so I was happy to see this thread  I especially love Rafe, he's just my kinda horse. Taz and Talyn have definitely grown into their bodies and are looking good!


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Lindy, I'm in the extreme northeast corner of the panhandle. Way out here in the boonies LOL









Endiku, I know! If time flies when you're having fun, we all must be having a blast LOL. It seems like just yesterday that _Rafe_ was still just a tubby baby. Before we know it, I'll be riding her too LOL.


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## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

Love this thread and all of your horses! Can't wait till I can get home to Sky and show pictures on his progress of becoming a better educated horse!


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## Plains Drifter (Aug 4, 2009)

Aww! I *LOVE* the growing up thread. I swear it was just yesterday that Rafe and Taz were babies. I SUPER ADORE Talyn. You are very blessed with some amazing horses.


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## franknbeans (Jun 7, 2007)

I just love watching yours grow and progress. Thanks for sharing them with us. THey are truly beautiful, and we know they are being trained the right way too, so they will all grow up to be responsible adults. ;-)


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

New milestone for Rafe and Taz today. Rafe got bumped up to a curb bit. The one I've got doesn't have quite enough room for my taste, but it will be functional until I can afford a custom. He took it like a champ and I couldn't even tell the difference in the way he handled except I had to use less rein.





The worst part of the whole thing is that I had to make a new browband for that bridle because the one on there was a few inches too small LOL





And Taz had his first ride! It was about as uneventful as his first real day of saddle work. Had sticky feet at first, but then moved right on out with some coaxing. I was also glad that I could move Rafe up to a big boy bit because Taz needed his 6 incher and I was too lazy to want to re-adjust the bridle every time I changed horses LOL.













And he's truly grown up. 15.2 and about 1100. Never thought I'd feel huge on something that big but after riding only Rafe for a while, even Taz feels dinky LOL. Oh! His trot isn't nearly as bad as I was anticipating. I worried that it would be as bad as John's. Taz is rough, but he's not hard to ride and it will smooth out some with work and collection.


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## Zexious (Aug 2, 2013)

I love this thread and its photos! <3


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## Rmaree (Sep 2, 2013)

Wow!! So many beautiful horses!! Love seeing baby photo's of everyone's horses!


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## GreySorrel (Mar 5, 2012)

Smrob I love your posts..you do so well with your horses, your honest and calm, you can tell the time you take too in which to make a great mount to ride. Than you for sharing these...

Also nice to see I am not the only cowgirl sporting a long braid either from under my baseball cap! You ever have someone come by and pull it? My husband does that and he gets "The Eye".


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## KayceeJo (Mar 10, 2013)

I love how big they are!! Beautiful!!


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## amp23 (Jan 6, 2011)

I love them!!


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## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

Yay how awesome!!! Rafe looks seriously soo lovely and content in those photos

Taz still looks concerned..  But very handsome!


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