How have your horses changed since last year?

[susanne]

In addition to all the adorable babies...

What's new with your other horses? As you begin clipping and conditioning, or just digging out after a long winter, what have you noticed to be different about your horses? Maturity? Color? Attitude?

I was very surprised when I first began clipping Mingus to see how beautiful his neck has become. I wouldn't think he would change that much at the age of 6...I think more that he is using it more and developing more muscle definition, but WOW, what a difference.

Thelonius has become even more of a lovebug, and has developed the confidence to no longer be ruled by the other two boys. He also has filled out very nicely, so the old "pear shape" is a thing of the past. His topline now looks and feels great.

Flash (Pastorius) is maturing into a very nice horse (although he'll always be my baby, and is a bit spoiled because of that). Like any colt, he's a bit mouthy, but so sweet that he never gets out of hand. He makes up for Mingus' relatively thin mane and tail, satisfying my need for hair with his lush flaxen locks.

So what changes have you noticed?

 

[Jill]

Some of mine lived in AR this time last year :bgrin

 

[Shari]

I am itching to clip the minis!

Theia has started her harness training. So her temperament is getting better...which is nice.

Same old, same old with Dyfra.

Maggie's cart is stuck in the garage...hubby needs to move his stuff. Maggie is NOT happy about that.

DS is learning to ride on Dustenai. She is also going to get a grazing muzzle this week, that way she can go longer periods of time out in the main pasture.

And Ella,,, is the princess as always. She would love to show...the more people that pay attention to her,, the more she likes it!! She would crawl in peoples laps if she thought she could get away with it.

 

[minimomNC]

We aren't showing as much this year as last and our show string is really small. But this is our biggest change with a horse.

Our 3 year old gelding, KNells Spin To Win is a World Champion Futurity Gelding and now that he is a big boy, he has a new job. His first show was in Camden and he was High Point Horse and with my daughter Samantha, he was High Point Amateur. He has been in harness for just a very short time and he placed in open country pleasure driving with Bobby Bridges, the person that has made him the driving horse he is, and then Spin and Samantha took two firsts and a fourth in amateur country pleasure driving. I am so proud of how well he is doing, how great his training is coming along and how well Samantha is learning how to drive him. Can't wait to get him to the Mike MaCabe Clinic later this month.

Here he is as a yearling halter horse

And now as a three year old in harness (yes I have ordered the Liz pictures before I used it)

 

[hobbyhorse23]

I'm with you, I wouldn't have thought a horse could change so much at 6 years old. Kody's birthday is this Saturday and he's still changing every day.

In late June '04 when I first saw him, he didn't know how to canter, how to lunge, how to drive, how to do anything. I got to watch him have all the "firsts" they usually get as foals and was there to teach him many of them. He was a scrawny little thing too, very narrow and under-developed from having been tied all his life.

By summer of '05 he was cantering well on the lunge line with decent transitions but still having a tendency to pull hard on the line and be very stiff with his hind legs moving together like a rabbit instead of in a three-beat gait like a normal horse. When I clipped him I was shocked at how much more muscled his hindquarters were and how broad his chest had become. He had become a very attractive little horse and was really full of himself.

This year we've been working hard on suppling and really reinforcing manners on both the lead and the lunge and the little man is suddenly pretending to be a gentleman. He will always be mouthy and still gets in trouble but he doesn't pull much on the lunge anymore and he's finally leading on a loose line and whoa-ing instantly and calmly. :aktion033: His chest is even broader this year than last without losing his refinement and I swear somehow his legs are longer than before. :risa_suelos: Maybe they are, his blanket that fit perfectly last year is two inches too small this year! :new_shocked:

More importantly he's learning to lunge in sliding side reins which are helping him to balance himself so all of a sudden his canter is smoothing out and becoming a true and correct three-beat gait which he holds easily and moves into and out of at will. Heck, this last weekend the horse who literally didn't know how to canter two years ago was doing perfect flying lead changes all on his own every three strides while running a hazard at Happ's! We were all "Oooooo...Aaaaaahhhh...." :lol:

That same day he learned to trot through deep water with the cart, haul it up a steep hill at a gallop, do beginning leg yields on long lines with the trainer, etc., etc. etc.! He's learning so fast it's making my head spin and he's going to be a heck of a dressage horse and hunter. If he was big enough to ride he'd be worth three or four figures even with his stifle problems because he'd be an incredible competition pony on the hunter/Pony Club circuits. As it is we'll have to settle for kicking butt at the CDE's.

:

So mostly I'm noticing how strong his skills are and his increasing balance and nice gaits. His trot is even longer, his canter better, his jumps higher, his chest broader. And he's STILL got a gorgeous neck and natural on-the-bit posture! LOL

Yes, I love my boy.

:

Leia

Oh yeah, and he's discovered clicker training so we've gotten over the whizzing out when being brushed in his stall, we're learning to stand still for hitching with the clicker, he's begun carrying his tail away from his body and even swishing it at bugs like a normal horse. Our slogan for 2006: "More horse-like every day!" LOL

 

[susanne]

I'm really glad I asked this question -- I love the responses!

Shari, I think you already know that I love all your equines -- they are all such loves...even the problem child Dyfra. And I adore Ella -- she truly is a princess, and absolutely beautiful as a princess should be!

minimom, Spin is a gorgeous boy, and a blast to show, I'm sure! I hope you keep showing him in halter as well as performance. I'm on a crusade to show that halter is NOT just a young horse's game.

Leia, it sounds like CDE and dressage really agree with Kody, and that you two are a great team! He sounds as if he is absolutely blossoming, and having more and more "Helen Keller" moments (those Ah Ha moments when they suddenly understand what you've been trying to tell them...). I can't wait to see him at one of the CDE events (and at the beach!).

painthorselover, I can't wait to see photos of your mare!

I have pre-planned next year's big changes...Mingus will be driving and jumping )and behaving, LOL!), Flash will make his show debut in performance...and Thelonius will fulfill his destiny as the ultimate therapy horse -- each doing what they truly love to do...

 

[Marty]

Has anyone noticed that they haven't seen Timmy in a very long time??????

I got him under wraps.

Nah......he's been in juvi jail again.....another hubcap incident..........

He's barely 8 months old but my has he changed and that face is more kissable now than ever.

I don't think you guys will recognize him.

 

[EAD Minis]

[SIZE=12pt]Marty I notice there was no Timmy!I was gonna ask u to post pictures of him!Tell him to behave so he can get outa Juvi and pose pretty for the camers!! :bgrin [/SIZE]

 

[mountain_waif]

...

 

[kaykay]

last year i bought back in black as a weanling and this year hes finally filling in and not looking quite so gawky. He is the hoodlum of the herd!! Full of beans and such a brat

Ill be clipping him off this week to see whats under all the hair. training is going well on him most days so im happy with that too

moonlight bay has finally come into her own this year and really matured and filled in. Shes 3 this year and took awhile to really fill in. Most people last year thought she was a yearling

Finally had patches weight better last fall after thinking she was in foal all summer. But now her weight has crept back up again. Getting ready to finally breed her to D&S nestlies crunch. They talk to each other over the fence and like most couples love each other one minute and hate each other the next LOL

Tiny is doing great and looking great. Think im going to go ahead and show her again this year and breed her late summer. She still has that "im all that" attitude but is still struggling a bit to find her place in the herd after colic surgery

Ill stop there as I have too many to tell about

 

[ChrystalPaths]

Big changes in the hollow, there were 8 and now only 3 :no: , that's ok for now with lifes many changes. We'll get back there one day...BUT.....the 3 I do have what changes! Thera is my momma mare, she has matured so much. Treasure is my "pony" built like her GGdad GMB she is a whopping 37" of gorgeous palomino with 4 straight legs and a neck to love, she is my belgian in temperment, then Halley! :new_shocked: Big changes for her. Last year we had yrlg uglies and this year she is almost shed out and sleek and gorgeous black black with such an old soul. Love her!

 

[Crossbuck Farms]

Well my gelding Starlakes Mr. Move It is coming along nice. In Candem he got 1st and 2nd in all Country Pleasure Driving and Ammy Country Pleasure. In Stakes he got 3,4,5. I am very pleased with him. He gets better and better.

 

[MooreAcres]

I haven't done any clipping yet this year, but as far as attitudes go...everyone has been so awesome.

Chip is become more handsome with every passing day. He'll be 5 in May, boy how the time flys. He's finally beginning to get a grasp on his hormones while around the mares (he's still not perfect, but inproving). He's always been one who likes attention and loving, but in smaller quantities than most. I'm going to start him under harness this summer.

Since being gelded, Tango has transformed into a little love-bug. He thoroughly enjoys being brushed, kissed, hugged, and generally fawned over. His got a forever home here with me because now that I've seen this side of him, I couldn't live without it. He's 6 this August.

Rosa, the mare I'm leasing, is just as sweet as ever. A few nights ago, I had a little 3 year old girl on her bareback (the girl has her own big pony that her rides on trails with her mom...this girl can ride better than most professonals, LOL). Rosa hasn't had anyone on her in a couple years, but she did great. The mom walked with them around the arena adn when the girl said "Whoa", Rosa stopped. There was a slight hitch when she asked Rosa to walk off. The little one gave a tiny kick like she does her pony and Rosa gave a little jump because she didn't know what the girl was asking. The girl slid off into the dirt. Rosa turned her head to the girl as if to say "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you fall off". Rosa stood there, "hugging" the girl until she stopped crying and climbed back on. What a horse! And what a brave young girl! Rosa will be 6 this April.

Sandi, the mare I'm planning to buy, is becoming more friendly every week. No one can touch her in the field, but once she's in her stall at night she doesn't flinch and turn away anymore. Once she's shed out and groomed up real nice, she's going to be oh-so-pretty. I think she'll make an awesome driving horse, but it will take time. Sandi will be 7 this year.

Erin

 

[nootka]

Well, my pregnant mares have foaled, and they have not changed much other than to be a bit trimmer than before, but I do notice Cherry Bomb, at 9, does not lose her baby belly even after foaling, like she "used to" poor thing, good thing horses don't care about trim waistlines and flat tummies.

She is a wonderful mother and an excellent, easygoing driving horse who throws foals better than herself, so I can't find fault with her in that respect. She's got straight legs if a long back, a beautiful head, large, kind eye and a nice, long, clean neck.

Lailah is pretty much herself, too, and getting back to pre-pregnancy shape since she's just a youngster (five this year where does the time go?).

Kyan clipped out to a gorgeous young man, the best of both parents and what a wonderful attitude. He is like his big brother in that he seems to drink in and eat up the show atmosphere. When he was at the Schooling Show, he made a huge leap forward in his socialization and really made me proud how he approached the young kids, the infirm and the elderly that all visited his stall and never once did he get nasty or nip.

Bella, well, she's still fuzzy and little and since she was just a little embryo/fetus last year, she's gone through some major changes! *LOL*

Mouse is just more mouselike. He is eager to hit the shows and we're working on growing out his mane a little bit more though I will undercut it again for show season, I had cut it down his neck a bit far. His coat is gorgeous this Spring, and deeper black than it's ever been at this point. He's fit and sassy, but could use some tucking up which he'll get with the jumping training and I believe he's very ready to learn to drive.

Lark is the one that's changed the most. She was such a finely built little weanling, but she's filled in some, though I'm not 100% satisfied with her neck, it is what it is. Her topline is beautiful and with some tucking up on her belly, will look even better, I think.

Gramma Pony is just beginning to shed, but she appears to have kept her good condition and seems to look forward to her meals and her time with her grandson as much as always, so she's wintered well and looking forward to her 30th birthday party this Summer.

That's about it for the horses here1

Liz M.

 

[CountryHaven]

I am just thrilled with how my 3 year old stallion, Mark, is maturing. I can not WAIT to show him this year. And he's behaving himself so much better... well, better, anyway. LOL

My two year old shetland is developing really great too. I had kind of hoped he'd stay B sized so I could bring him into the AMHR next year, but... not happening, he mini measures at 38" NOW as a two year old (and he's not even 'really' two until July). If he completely stopped now maybe, but he's still a bit lanky looking like he could still shoot up another inch or two easily without breaking a sweat. Boy he shot up over the winter though. He's so much fun to be around though, and such a comical spirit. He moves like a dream too, and is going to be awesome to drive, I think. I just love him.

No real changes in all the ladies (okay, except for their ever widening bellies. I can't wait to see my first Mark, and maybe first Beemer foals, not sure if Beemer actually got the job done, but I know for sure Mark did).

My yearlings are just awesome. Can't wait to show them either--

Flair, my snowcap appy colt STAYED the color he was born. I was worried I'd loose some of the pattern, or it would change. I so love it the way it is. I think that's one of the 'could be good, could be bad' things about appaloosas. If you aren't totally thrilled with the original coloring, the fact that it could change is a good thing... however, if they're born just the way you like them... it can leave you on pins and needles worrying that it might/would change. Beyond the color issue though, he is really gowing up nice! I love his refined head, his long neck, and his body is really put on nice. Can't get enough of that boy.

Roller, my silver bay colt, I have loved from day one. I wish I could keep him, because I think he's going to be AWESOME. His color not only surprised me this year, but thrilled me. His body was no surprise, I just knew he was going to mature well (okay, hoped, lol) and he did.

My little shooter man, is such a gentle spirit, and almost too 'pretty' to be a boy. I haven't clipped him, or Roller completely yet though. That's going to be next on the list as I just finished Mark, and Flair late last week, and it took my back a few days to recover. (Yes, I'm just that old. haha).