# The Golden Boy Times



## HeroAndGunner (Jul 25, 2016)

Hey everyone!

I have been toying with the idea of starting a journal. I'm not a writer nor a great rider but I have goals, which I would like to keep track of. 

It will mostly be about my horse Gunner. He's my main riding horse now as my TB is unsound. 

*Background:*

I met Gunner back in 2012. He was a horse bought from auction by my inexperience "step aunt" who I didn't really talk too. But she invited me out to see her daughter ride Gunner in a fun show. This is when I first saw him, this young girl was about 4 years old and didn't have much control of Gunner but he was still a saint and took care of her. After the show my step aunt invited me to trail ride with her a few times with her friend. Gunner was ridden by her friend and was always the lead horse. I noticed how this beautiful palomino was bold and eager but never put too much thought into him. I went on and didn't see Gunner for a few years.

I saw Gunner again in 2015. I finally decided to get another horse, I was searching around and was actually contacted by my step aunt. She was over her head with 5 horses and did not have the time nor money for them all. Her friend who was the experienced rider ended up with cancer and stopped riding. This lead my step aunt to stop riding as that was the only person she wanted to ride with and wasn't experience enough to go out on the trails by herself. I didn't quite understand this as there were many other boarders at this barn she could of rode with but chose not too. Buttttt anyway I decided to check out Gunner. I was a little upset to see his leaving situation. He was no longer used so he was thrown into a small dry lot by himself with minimum interaction. He was still getting fed, farrier, and vet care but he was caked in mud and was wanting to run all over me. 

I went ahead test rode him, it was his first ride in 2 years and he did alright. I got there and they already had him tacked up with such a harsh bit in his month, He was over bending horribly the entire ride and I felt so bad for him. He wanted to please me so bad but he just didn't know what to do, he was so eager to try. Which at that point sold me and I decided to bring him home.

Here is a picture of his first day home with me. 

There was mud caked on his back legs and under his belly that would not come off. I had to wait till spring when it was warm to scrub the heck out of those spots to finally get the mud loose enough to pull the clumps off. I was a little annoyed by that. But so our adventure began...


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## HeroAndGunner (Jul 25, 2016)

When I first brought Gunner home it took some time for him and my TB (Hero) to get along. Hero is a very dominant horse and made sure to keep "his" mini horse away from Gunner. It was rough for the first 3 months. Gunner was too over bearing and pushy and Hero was(is) overly dominant. I can tell you I sure was glad when things started to settle down and Hero and Gunner learned how to handle each other! LOL

Gunner is an unknown everything horse. I do not know his history, exact age nor breed. I and the vet think he's around 7-10 years old. I think he's a Quarter Horse cross with maybe some walker in him.

The first year I didn't do much riding with Gunner, we had to re-establish ground manners, personal space, who was boss and all the wonderfulness of a horse that didn't have much interaction for 2-3 years. He still tried to get away with somethings but gets put back into his place quick.

So riding started this past summer and is NOW going well! We were stuck for a bit with training but something finally clicked and he's back to progressing. I took him on his first trail ride in years and I was reminded how much he loved the trails. He was bold and eager like I remembered him to be but still listen, it seemed like a dream. 

So anyway I will be more in detail with our future rides instead of just an over view of our rides like I just did. Our goal is to get into endurance! I have a mentor I have been working with and we are going to _try_ to point Gunner to a LD 25 mile ride in the spring. So fingers cross all will go well!

Right now Gunner is a bit ouchy... he has a cut on his left front that is being a pain to heal... I hope that it will heal up quickly so we can go back to training!

We also have been dealing with the saga of saddle fitting. He's wide, short, flat backed horse with no withers. So we are on a search for a nice saddle!

*OH and if you haven't noticed by the title Gunner's show name is Golden Boy!*

So here are some more update pics of the golden child. :biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:


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## BlindHorseEnthusiast4582 (Apr 11, 2016)

Subbing, Gunner is such a handsome boy.


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

I need to sub as well- yay!  Gunner is so handsome!!!


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## HeroAndGunner (Jul 25, 2016)

Thanks guys! I think he's cute too but I'm biased! LOL


I am extremely excited to start working towards our first endurance ride in the spring! It will actually be a limited distance ride of 25 miles but it's a start! I'm going to an endurance clinic in January with him, I will be meeting up with a very experienced endurance rider and she is going to help me plan a program to get him condition well for the ride! Of course if everything goes smoothly and works out! Like I said right now he has a cut on his fetlock that seems to be a bit more painful then I thought it was. So hopefully he will have a quick recovery.


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

*This journal has been closed due to prolonged lack of participation by the author. Journals that have no active participation by the author for a period of time greater than 18 months will be considered abandoned and will be closed until the author asks for them to be reopened.*


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