The Horse Forum banner
Status
Not open for further replies.

Apollo, Zane, and a little dash of Spirit.

1K views 4 replies 1 participant last post by  Hailey1203 
#1 ·
Hey guys! So I’m officially leasing 1 horse, taking lessons on another, and very likely about to start leasing a third! So first of all, I’m going to tell you about each horse, then I’m going to right an entry every day or so and keep you updated on their progress. Sounds good? Good :)
First off is Apollo. He is a 5 year old 17hh Hanoverian gelding. He’s completely black with no marking at all. He used to be ridden regularly and was being jumped, but it’s been a while since that. I’m riding him 3 days a week, and his owner is riding him once, so he’s gonna get back in shape pretty quickly. Right now, we need to work on getting him moving nicer off the leg, and not crow hopping while cantering!
This horse is seriously a sweetheart though. When I tried him out, it was my first time riding English in almost a year, and every time I lost my balance, he would slow down until I was good again. I’m hoping to get him jumping again, and maybe do a couple small shows at the end of the summer!

Second is Zane. He is a 7 year old quarter horse stud. He’s about 15.3 and a lovely cremello! Well, he wasn't advertised as a stud, so imagine my shock when I found out! He is probably the mildest mannered stud I’ve ever seen though. He walked past the mares no problem, and when we lunged him, there were mares everywhere and he was fine. This horse needs to be more or less restarted. He was broke w/t/c over a year ago, and has only had a few rides back since. However, she does have a trainer coming out next weekend that’s going to put a few rides on him before I get on. His owner wants him to eventually be ready to show in lower level dressage and hunter shows.

Third is Spirit. He is about 15.3 and is an Arab draft cross I think? He’s a really pretty bay with a star. Spirit is the horse that I take lessons on in exchange for working a few hours at the barn. He has been jumped up to 3’3 and shown up to 2’9, but frankly, this horse scares the crap out of me. He is headstrong and spooky and fast. And the way he’s trained, he doesn't slow down when you ask with your hands, he just braces on the bit and speeds up. You have to use your thighs to stop him, which is so foreign to me. However, I am getting better at riding him with every lesson, though I can’t say I'm enjoying it much.

And those are my boys!! I’ll post pictures and give you guys an update after my next ride. Which is on Apollo on Wednesday I think!
 
See less See more
#3 ·
Ok, so i know i have sucked at this so far. But i actually havent seen any of them yet! However, i am going out to do some ground work with Zane tonight! Im gonna start with join up, then do some desensitizing.

There was supposed to be a trainer coming out to put a few rides on him this weekend, but that never happened. So it looks like i might be doing it myself. Awesome.

Anyways, I'll have an update for you guys (if anyone is actually reading this) tomorrow morning!
 
#4 ·
Ok, so last night i went out to work with Zane. There was a mare up by the grooming/tacking up area, so considering it was only my first time working with him, i decided to not cause trouble. I caught him and decided to do some groundwork in his field.

For the most part, he's really good. Respects my space really well. He does try and walk ahead of me while im leading him, but after i made him walk backwards really quickly the first time, he stopped that.

After this, the mare was gone, so i decided to bring him up and groom him. To get there, i had to walk past like 7 mares, and a haybale. He was awesome! didnt even look at the mares, or the haybale for that matter. He stood nicely while i groomed him, then i took him to the round pen.

I did join up with him, which took freaking forever. For anyone that knows about join up, is it typical for it ti take longer for a stud? Im assuming its a dominance thing. After this I worked on rubbing a crop all over his body. Funny thing is, he was fine with me being inbetween his back legs and around his manly bits, but would dance and move away when i ran it down the back of his legs. We kept doing this until he stood quietly, which really didnt take too long, he learns quickly.

Then, i started waving the crop around. Not like a crazy lady, but like slowly rising it to chest height, then letting it fall against my leg. Well, this he did not like one bit. Like, jumping away, trotting circles around me, giving little rears. But, i kept going till he calmed down, then as soon as he did, i stopped. He kinda seem surprised like "Oh, i stopped... and the scary thing stopped....huh". But after that, he figured out pretty quickly that him standing still means i stop.

So yeah, i decided to end it there, he had calmed down and i wanted to end it on a positive note :)

Oh, and for Apollo. Whether or not im going to be leasing him is kinda up in the air right now. Apparently hes been bucking and rearing, and i really dont wanna deal with that!

Thats all for today, love you all!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
Top