Oliver Twist's training/showing journal

Okay thought I would start a member journal for Oliver.

So I don't have to keep going over things, here is a brief bio about him.

Oliver 2006, 15.2 hand Trakehner/TB cross. He is a stunning seal bay with very little white. In the winter he looks black.
I got Oliver August 2nd 2011. Best desision I have made in a horse buy!
Oliver was a pasture accident, and as of last march he had not been handled unless mandatory, he was a pasture pet with hidden potential! Everything is new to him and you wouldn't think he is so green because he takes everything in as if he's been there done it before, "let me show you how it's done" attitude. He is so gentle and not. Mean bone in his body!

Oliver was almost ruined before I got him, his owner before me had him for about 3 1/2 months before I met him and was given him. The trainer who started him (and his daddy) did a great job, this is why he is so well minded. She put a good solid 90 days on him and posted him for sale, he had shown amazing scope and a love for jumping, with little fear! He was soft to the ids and forward. So this gal bought him from the trainer for a lot of money. (I would not pay this much for a green young horse with such little experience) but she did, lucky trainer, not so lucky Oliver (mark was his name at that time) Anyways, the gal had promised to keep him in full training after she purchesed him (clean legs in X-rays, and flexed a 0 in all legs)
She did not keep to her word, even after the trainer and many people at the barn tried and tried to get her to keep up his training with this amazing trainer! She took him home, had her amateur friends get on and work with him for his training....this resulted in him bucking 3 people of multiple times each, and eventually broke the last riders arm cause the rider pulled him over on top of him. They did vet checks again, pain tests, chiro was out, farrier was out, nothing was physically wrong with this guy, so they deemed him a psyco crazy horse and threw him out to pasture for five weeks or more with little handling.

I came along, tried him out, just ground work and lunging the first time, then had a trainer I know come out and ride him the second time. He tested her, but I don't blame him last three months if his life he had been ridden by people who don't understand a young green sensitive horse....the trainer I took out, worked him out of his tiny bucks and what not, she looked at me and said I know you are a pataint, calm, quiet rider who has a great seat...I think he'd be great for you....as long as he is in training.

So that week he was later dropped off and I was the proud new owner of "the devil horse"

I have since hooked up with a trainer who was not the one who came out and rode him, as we had slightly different ideas of what needed to be addressed first in his training.

I have now owned Oliver for almost 3 months, not a single buck out of him under saddle or on the lunge. He does not kick, bite, paw...just great over all.

So fallow along to see how our training is going :) My plan for him is to become my shown horse in dressage and jumping, maybe try out some eventing. Right now we take it day by day and loving every moment of it!

Thanks! Sam and Oliver Twist!

Hi all! So since it's almost November I will do a short summery of what we have been working on :)

Moved him to my trainers barn on the 15th of October so here where we have been doing since then!

In my lessons we have been getting Oliver to keep a even tempo and relax I to the correct body frame, streching and forward forward forward! He responds so well to inside legbto outside rein and if you dare think walk you best be ready for it be fore you ask for it! Haha such sensitive smart boy!!

We got a new bit, one that fits his very small mouth! He is a different horse with it!!

Lots of figure eights to help him balance and keep him temp even. He does great at this. Last week we started adding in halt trantions before the change of bend, I will tell you this is something we will be working on...he likes to creep forward. Once he really halts and stands for a minute we get back up I to trot, at first he was like, no walk!!! And now he is like a spring bored into trot....so we now have to get him to calmly go into trot from the halt!

In the canter we have been getting him to relaxe through the poll and carry himself, with him being lazybthis tends to be very hard for us, recently (I think because of my riding flaws) he startednto really be on the forhand in the canter...so lazy and on the forehand....needs work!!

That's about it, been keeping it basic and simply get his foundation as solid as it can be!

Pictures soon!

Here are some progress pictures and the videos are from his sale add. The rider, on him was the trainer who started him, she is a very talent event rider. In the video Oliver has been umdersaddle for about 4 maybe 4 months, his name then was High Mark, now Oliver Twist.

Video-Date is wrong. It was March 7th 2011 not 2010 :)

First picture was when the gal who I got him from first saw him in March of 2011. Second picture, was taken August 2nd. 1st day of owning Oliver, Third picture was taken October 15th, first day at my trainer's barn. Picture under saddle, was taken October 16th. This was our 2nd ride at the trainer's barn, he settled in super! This ride was a break through ride.


* No spooking
* No (or every little) buldging of the outside shoulder
* First time in almost three months some one besides me rode him (with his history this is big) He was unsure but did walk trot well.

These are very big break throughs!

He has lost waight and gained muscle. I hope to soon get a video of him undersaddle to compare to his sale video.

First video - Jumping, at end of video is some flat work (this is the video where the date is wrong)

"Mark" March 7 2010 - YouTube

Second Video is his first, and only time (so far) going XC schooling with the trainer who started him.

"Mark" AT TULIP SPRINGS - YouTube

Thanks, Sam

He's beautiful and it sounds like you're making some great progress!

Thank you I really am :)

This weekend we started him back into jumping since he is now much more relaxed and balanced! He was so good. He can have a big jump! He tends to get really bored with the little cross rails but as soon as you make it a "real" jump he is all for it! By the end of the jump I had him going so well beofre the jump, during the jump and after the jump! Came into it witha steady rythmic canter, clean balanced jump and landed on the coreect (left) lead with the same good canter, nothing canged! Felt soo good!!! To the irght is is hard way at the moment. But picking up the canter to the left can bea problem too somtimes. He thinks its a fun game to have me try try and try again on a 20 meter circle and he's like: "right lead....right lead...right lead..." so I didnt wnat him to get in the habbit of that!!! SO I halted him, backed him up a few steps and looky here I have left lead canter from the halt! Works alot better then going around the corcle and kicking and opending hands huge and all that stuff, all I have to do now is halt, back halt hold the outside leg with the inside and we are off at a good canter. We did this alot in our lesson and then when I hacked him out I put him through his gates and we did a little bit more work on it, but I didnt even have to bring him back to a halt all that much, I would be going on my figure eight at the trot ask for canter, do one circle and then on the chnage of bend bring him down to trot and at the next change, all in about 4-6 strides he would pick up the other lead and we would go the other way! He got the hang of it pretty well and wasnt hanging on my hands! Yay for mini transtion breakthrough! Hehe

So my 20th birthday is on monday :)
Im sure when its your birthday you get things for your horses not so much thyings for you lol Here is what I am getting from my family and I still don't know what else is to come...

Roma open front fleece font/hind boots
Red ear net veil
New dressage sgow pad
New purple/blue turnout blanket
New leather halter with Ollie's show name on it "Oliver Twist"
New breeches
New red restyle all weather jacket
Custom made fleece cooler
GLOVES....finally lol

That's the for sure list so far I don't know what I am getting from the bigger part of my family who lies in OR for my extended family. I know my boyfriend is taking me out to Mizu for dinner next week :) My mom and our friends will do dinner one night, eaither Cheesecake factory or California Pizza Kitchen

My best friend is going to spend monday with me and we will either go to the barn or go shopping or to a movie

I have the coolest family and friends :)

Some cute pictures :)

I gota video from last weekends 20 minute ride, trust me we can do better then this, just a dayto get him out stech his legs and not really drill him in the ground with any thing...not that I do.

Just worked on our canter transtions and then went around the property a few times to take in the fresh air and get him out of the arena!

Videos from last weeks lesson, nov 2nd

Okay so last weeks lesson went pretty darn well! Along with the fact that I am so relived cause I have someone to help me work him besides my trainer, she will work him in wesndays ina lesson with my trainer, I will be able to start coming out to the barn Tuesday evenings next month so Ollie will be getting worked 4 days a week :)

I should be getting my clippers here soon (FINNALLY) only been waiting forever LOL so I can get all the hair off Oliver! Took me an hour to towl him down and wait for him to dry and not have any sweat marks on last saturdays hack, that turned into a slight workout for him.

We used spurs on him for the first time on friday and he was great! Finnally forward! Didnt react to them in a bad way at all either (ima proud mama) So saturday afternoon I put them on again and worked with his transtions and staying forward off my leg the first time I asked since he had gotten the feeling all I do is kick or smack him forward witha crop he would go forward a little and then die down again and I was simply just working way to hard each ride to keep him forward. SO saturdays ride went really well :) by the end of the ride I had him going into trot the first time I asked him my seat and thoagh it :) Left lead canter is still slightly an issue but more of a balancing thing now then a game, but after a few halts and backing him up and asking again and not ina rushing manner he got it! I love to see his little brain work and when he understands I he is so cute, and is like Look I get it, this is how you do it!!!

So Good lesson! Good hack, got another A on a paper, did better on a test last week then the last test in that class, gota job so I can pay for my horse alot moe then my mom and go out more :) Life is good!

Now just wiating on the clippers and my new costum made fleece cooler!

Nice to hear of all the good things coming your way. Good to share good news, as well as bad.