# Iris - From the Ground Up



## Paintedponies1992 (Nov 17, 2013)

I'll be honest, I'm terrible at keeping blogs and journals up to date; mostly due to the fact that between work, the horses, and working on my own little creative writing projects. I will try my best to keep posting here, but bare with me if I don't post daily. 

This will be Iris' growing up thread, and I'll probably put anything new with Chloe and Maddie here as well, but it will mostly be pictures and updates of Iris.

For anyone who hasn't seen Maddie's thread here it is: 

https://www.horseforum.com/stallions-broodmares/maddilyns-foaling-thread-802169/

I guess to begin; 

Iris is about 3/4 Quarter Horse with French Canadian and Percheron mixed in from her mother's side. The stallion is a Registered Quarter Horse with Doc Bar and Poco Bueno lines. 

She's going to be a trail horse and maybe do a few open shows if I'm interested in that down the road (I'm not a big horse show person). I wanted something with a great mind and conformation to do trail riding that's not so laid back (Hills, rocky terrain, water/mud) and I think I got all of that with her (especially the brain). She's super smart, curious and has a slight sassy attitude. All in all, I got exactly what I wanted in looks, colour and mind. 

I will have pictures to add to this hopefully tonight, but i probably won't post anything for a few days (12 hour work shifts Monday and Tuesday).


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## Paintedponies1992 (Nov 17, 2013)

Got some half decent pictures tonight, my camera wouldn't work without the flash in the stall. 

Second time with halter on and for longer; as you can see in the pictures below it's apparently itchy to have a halter on lol. 

She already picks up her front feet when you run your hands down her legs, is giving to pressure to back up when pushing on chest. Loves having her ears and head rubbed, and actively seeks it out. Apparently I'm not allowed to give her mother any attention, at least that's how she sees it . 

Hopefully by Thursday we can get her and Maddie in the indoor arena by Thursday. They won't be able to go out into their field until at least the weekend, but they're both doing great.


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## JoBlueQuarter (Jan 20, 2017)

Oh gosh, she sounds like the sweetest baby ever. Only a couple days old and already so good at everything. Amazing. Keep up the good work!


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## Paintedponies1992 (Nov 17, 2013)

Thanks, she is a doll. Fortunately I board with a BO who has bred Quarter Horses and Paints in the past as well as used to buy, train and resell horses; so lots of knowledge and help. I probably wouldn't have bred unless I was boarding at their place.


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

Yes, that's a real nice baby.


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## Paintedponies1992 (Nov 17, 2013)

Got off work tonight from a rough shift so decided to pop in quickly just to see Maddie and Iris, and got catch Maddie showing her mommy side. 

And Iris is starting to show her little baby spunky side; romping circles around Maddie and 'hopping' around.


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## Paintedponies1992 (Nov 17, 2013)

Maddie and Iris got out into the indoor arena to stretch their legs, and Iris stretched right out tearing around the arena while Maddie jogged around in the middle of the arena. The BO and I cleaned out the stall and then spent some time in the arena with them getting her picking up her feet. 

I think she's turning into the barn favourite, though, everyone loves her. She loves people, and will willing leave Maddie when called for rubs and scratches. I only got video today, and I'm not comfortable uploading videos so no pictures today. 

I have a slight cold so I'll make this short but, helped BO with one of their horses and then worked Chloe to get her ready to put up for sale. She's the little dun Quarter horse mare I bought when she was two. She's well bred with Genuine Doc, Doc's Editor and Doc Bar right on her papers, but she's only 13.3 maybe pushing 14 HH and I like my horses with a bit more size. I feel she'd be better off at a home where she'll be used for more than just trail riding as she's likes having something to do that will keep her brain busy.


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## Paintedponies1992 (Nov 17, 2013)

*Lots of pictures*

After a week of being in the barn and only getting out in the indoor arena, I'm happy to say both Maddie and Iris are out in their pen now. Iris had quite a few firsts today. She had her first leading lesson in the arena, her first ride in the trailer, and first time in grass. 

To explain a bit, we had to use the trailer to move them since the pen they were going in was on the other side of the yard and with the way Iris likes to leave Maddie's side to explore, and that there's a busy highway in front of the property, we thought it would be easier to just make a quick trailer ride from barn yard to the pen on the otherside of the property. 

I have pictures of her in the arena today, but my mom has the outside pictures on her camera so I won't have those til she uploads them onto her computer (It's been a long day and we both just got home). 

I also have a question for everyone; about Iris' colour. I thought she'd be buckskin, but the dorsal stripe is confusing me. My opinion is that it's counter shading, but I'd like more opinions on the matter; if she's buckskin or dunskin. The stud is Cremello and wasn't tested all colours, so I don't know if he'd carry Dun. My mare is black, her dame is black, her sire is black, and her sire's sire was black. Basically I can't see there being any Dun in Maddie's line. 

Now don't get me wrong, I love her regardless the colour she is, this filly could seriously do no wrong as far as I'm concerned. (Level headed, smart, affectionate, fearless; the entire package). And really, a dunskin horse would be amazing , but I'll let more experienced people help me out XD.


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## Paintedponies1992 (Nov 17, 2013)

She's already starting to lead, and we're working on her respecting personal boundaries when interacting with people. She's learning what whoa means, giving to pressure to back up, and we've gotten her to the point that she's learned the routine to pick up her feet (already anticipating and having her next leg ready to be picked up; balancing on three legs). I honestly haven been thinking of registering her through the AHQHR since she is more than half quarter horse. The website looks legit and I think it would look good for her to be registered in something. Only problem is that the stud owner won't give me a Breeder's Certificate :/ BUT I found a loophole (I think) that if the horse is over 12 months I don't need it. I don't know, I can try, maybe call them and find out or email them. Heck, I'd even get Maddie registered through them since her dam is Quarter Horse and to DNA test parentage wouldn't be too hard since I know where both her parents are. 

Anyways, I'm exhausted, and rambling, I have another 12 hour shift tomorrow starting at 7am. Hopefully I'm not too tired to quickly go over to the barn to see Maddie and Iris.


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## Paintedponies1992 (Nov 17, 2013)

They're finally outside, well they've been out for since Monday, but between working and handling her, I kept forgetting to take a few updated pictures. My mom still has some nice shots on her camera, just have to wait to put them on the laptop. 

It's becoming routine now for her to have me pick up her feet that she's readying the next foot and balancing accordingly for me. She loves being rubbed down and brushed. Leading we're still working on, she's still anchoring at times, but she's understanding what whoa means and moves away from pressure. And since Maddie nickers whenever people are in the vicinity, Iris has started nickering to people. 

As soon as she's a bit bigger, Iris and Maddie will be going out into a bigger pasture for the summer.


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

She seems to have a bit of attitude, too.


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## Paintedponies1992 (Nov 17, 2013)

Attitude? Where do you see that? What I see is a healthy filly with some spunk; which is not a bad thing. She's a sweetheart to work with. If you mean by her head being up in the last pictures it's because I'm up on a slight incline looking down on her.


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## Paintedponies1992 (Nov 17, 2013)

Finally got the pictures off my mom's camera from the night they were let out. She got two nice actions shots, one that I want to frame later, and she got a nice picture of the two of them standing together. My aunt finally got out to see her early this week and she's a photographer so she also got some pictures, but i don't have those yet. 

Going out to see them tonight since yesterday rained so bad that I only got out with a work friend to see them; just have to wait for dinner to cook.


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## Paintedponies1992 (Nov 17, 2013)

*Picture Heavy Warning*

Here's the pictures of Iris and Maddie from my Aunt.

Haven't been out at all this weekend due to work, but have tomorrow and Tuesday off. 

Not doing much with her besides working on what I've already posted about.


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## Paintedponies1992 (Nov 17, 2013)

*Officially 1 Month Old*

Iris is a month old now, and today I finally got out to see and continue working on her ground manners. Not much to report except she made my bad day at work end good. 

The one picture is with me uphill looking down; I forgot to take update pictures while in with her again because I was so excited to see her -_-


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## buckskinbaby (Aug 16, 2017)

Aw she's adorable ! Look at those big ole ears in the second pic <3 

Is she still loving the head rubs?


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## RidingWithRuby (Apr 18, 2019)

Soooo sweet. She has the kindest eyes. Wise beyond her years!


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## Paintedponies1992 (Nov 17, 2013)

@buckskinbaby oh yeah, as well as the whole body rubs she gets, can wrap my arms around her neck and belly and she just stands there. Brushing, fly wipe, just plan pats and rub; I think she just enjoys all the attention - Maddie's already got her nickering when she sees people nearby lol. Now I forgot to mention she did get a little lesson in why it's important not to grab my clothes with her teeth. She's also already eating hay, grass and her mom's grain.


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## Paintedponies1992 (Nov 17, 2013)

@RidingWithRuby I was just talking with the BO about how she has an intelligent eye this evening! I hadn't been out to work with her for about a week due to work schedule and the weather, and it was like i'd worked with her the entire time. She did have a little bit of a tantrum when I led her a little longer than she was used to - started grunting like a pig a bit.


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## RidingWithRuby (Apr 18, 2019)

Paintedponies1992 said:


> @RidingWithRuby I was just talking with the BO about how she has an intelligent eye this evening! I hadn't been out to work with her for about a week due to work schedule and the weather, and it was like i'd worked with her the entire time. She did have a little bit of a tantrum when I led her a little longer than she was used to - started grunting like a pig a bit.


Awww. She certainly likes her cuddles, hmm? She sounds very sweet.


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## Paintedponies1992 (Nov 17, 2013)

@RidingWithRuby Thank you  And yes she does. So far she's the barn favourite with everyone.


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## Paintedponies1992 (Nov 17, 2013)

This post isn't Iris related, but I did say that I would be putting things about the other horses in here. 

I took Chloe out for her first ride since the rain and bad weather started; so about three weeks of no riding on a green horse with only a handful of trail rides under her belt. 

I went out expecting some spooking or worrying over how overgrown everything was (Don't ride on groomed trails and the last time we were out was before everything started to turn green), but that little 13.2-13.3 mare just went along as if I'd rode her almost every day. No spook, no attitude, just down to business. Chloe is going to make someone a very nice riding partner one day when she sells.


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## Paintedponies1992 (Nov 17, 2013)

Iris is ten days away from being 2 months old, and she's growing like a bad weed. She's such a smart girl and is always the first to the gate when she sees someone coming. Leading's become smoother, she picks up and holds all hooves when asked. So far that's all she's having done until she's older. Hoping soon to get her and Maddie out on the bigger pasture for the rest of the summer, so she'll have plenty of room to run. 

Also the BO has told me she's quite the little performer for the people driving by, loping around the field and carrying on XD.

Here are a few pictures, not the best though.


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## Paintedponies1992 (Nov 17, 2013)

I haven't forgotten about this journal, just been super busy between work, the horses, and plans this summer. 

Iris turned 4 months old on the 18th this month, and has been weaned off of Maddie. It was the smoothest weaning I or the BO's have ever seen. We went to picked Iris and my pony mare, Chloe, up with the trailer to bring back to the main farm. I expected a bit of a freak out from either Maddie, Iris or both. 

We got the complete opposite with both Chloe and Iris being led from the feild to the trailer and loaded with no fuss about where mom was. As for Maddie, she didn't even realize that Iris was missing until the trailer was gone, but even then she never ran the fence line; just called every few minutes until it became less and less. 

As for Iris, I was told she went into the pen with Chloe without any fuss. 

I know Chloe is her security blanket at the moment, and is probably why it was so easy, but we wanted to get her off the milk and Chloe is refusing to let her try and nurse. 

The first few pictures are from earlier this month, before weaning, and the last few are after weaning with an added picture I took of Chloe.


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## Paintedponies1992 (Nov 17, 2013)

I embarrassingly forgot my password for my account, and finally figured out where the emails were being stored when I tried to reset it lol 

Iris is 5 months now and doing great in regards to desensitization and working over and around obstacles on the lead, picking up her feet and tying. She has to be at least 12.3 HH now as she's almost as tall as Chloe who's around 13.2-13.3 HH.

Speaking of Chloe. She's been sold as of yesterday to someone at the boarding barn I board at. Long story short, I liked her, and I was going to keep her for my mom to ride, but I was hoping my mom would help me with the board on her if she was going to solely ride her. For me, she's just a tad too small for my taste, I like more around the lines of 14.3 and up. At 7 I don't really think she's going to grow anymore. I also have the opportunity to buy a nicely put together and papered AQHA palomino mare. 

So I'll introduce her here, and get more pictures later as I need to get on the rode really soon. This is Ivy. I'm also going to add a picture of Iris wearing a blue tarp


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## Paintedponies1992 (Nov 17, 2013)

Long time no post and super sorry I haven't been updating this, but not a lot has been going on since the last time I posted (weather related mostly and busy with work). 

So Iris will be 9 months in 10 days, and I've been just going out, brushing her and playing with her feet, and spending time with her. 

Now today I'm going to do a bit more with her and start working on her to teach her Showmanship. I'm working on it with Ivy and it can't hurt Iris to also learn. Maybe in the future I'll even show :think: 

And this brings me to another thing, I plan to breed Ivy next year for a 2022 foal by a Lazy Loper son. I've asked someone with knowledge in the show ring and they told me it would be a nice cross. For this year I just want to enjoy Ivy and ride her while I saddlebreak Maddie so I can still have someone to ride while Ivy is pregnant.


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## Paintedponies1992 (Nov 17, 2013)

Iris is officially 9 months old now and growing like a weed 

Had a pamper day yesterday with a tying lesson added in, and she's been an angel for everything. Can't wait for all the winter woollies to go away though lol.


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## Paintedponies1992 (Nov 17, 2013)

I'm going to admit I completely forgot about this thread, but I haven't had much to put down since covid and not being able to go over and see any of my girls. Iris turned a year old in May and has bloomed into a very nice looking filly in my opinion. Until closer to winter she will be out on pasture, but once she's back home I'll start getting her used to the saddle and doing more ground work with her in prep for starting her hopefully late next year.


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## Paintedponies1992 (Nov 17, 2013)

Iris got her first experience with the saddle and with the pressure of the girth around her, and she did excellent, so excellent that I was too excited and never got a picture of her all dressed up unfortunately 😩. She was more curious of the pad and saddle that when I went to place the pad and saddle on her back she never even flinched. Then took the next 10 - 15 minutes slowly cinching her up and chatting with my boyfriend and the BO while she stood relaxed at the hitching post. 

It was a bittersweet moment, as my great uncle passed away this fall and he was very....I'd say interested...in hearing about Iris from the day she was conceived. He was an amazing horseman who rode gymkhanas. Always believed that you need to be firm, but gentle with the horses. If he was still alive today I would have definitely remembered a picture of Iris in her saddle so I could have sent it to him....

So my plans for this year are to get Iris used to tacking up, and doing ground work tacked up, then later this year, when she's two, lightly back her. Hopefully I can get her down the trails on property when she's 3 years old and by 4 I can get her off property.


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## Paintedponies1992 (Nov 17, 2013)

Iris is doing well with the lunging without the saddle now, hoping this weekend I can incorporated the saddle with the lunging. I also finally snapped a pic of her tacked up, but forgot to post it. Sticked her the other day and she's 14hh at the withers and 14.1hh at the rump already . So far the biggest long yearling/two year old I've ever worked with. She shouldn't get any taller than 15.1hh as daddy is 15.1/15.2hh and Maddie is only 15hh. As you can see from the picture she doesn't really mind the saddle much.


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## All About Hope (Nov 10, 2020)

She's so fluffy and adorable! I bet she's really soft.  She looks great all tacked up. 

Is she a bay? In a couple pics she looks like a buckskin, but the one you just posted looks like a bay... She's very pretty whatever she is.


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## AbbySmith (Nov 15, 2020)

Oh she's so cute! 😍 I love her! You have done so much with her and she looks absolutely amazing!


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## Paintedponies1992 (Nov 17, 2013)

@All About Hope She's a Buckskin, sire is a Cremello and dam is Black. Think she has a touch of sooty.
@AbbySmith Thank you, she's a smart cookie that's for sure, and so far no ugly stages, but she's not yet two (May 18 is her birthday) so she still could end up having an ugly duck stage.


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## AbbySmith (Nov 15, 2020)

Paintedponies1992 said:


> @All About Hope She's a Buckskin, sire is a Cremello and dam is Black. Think she has a touch of sooty.
> @AbbySmith Thank you, she's a smart cookie that's for sure, and so far no ugly stages, but she's not yet two (May 18 is her birthday) so she still could end up having an ugly duck stage.


Well hopefully she stays amazing forever! Lol!


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## Paintedponies1992 (Nov 17, 2013)

Haven't done much lately with Iris, besides having her feet done recently and pulling her out to brush once in a while. It's raining all week here so it'll be hard to get out to see her or the other two much unless the rain lets up either today or tomorrow and the weekend. I have no pictures, but she's growing like a weed at at least 14 hh now, and she doesn't turn two til May 18th.


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