Seamus

I am so happy that we went to Kentucky to find this beautiful gelding.  He's going to be such a great partner!  He arrived this past Friday the 24th, earlier than expected.  We had him shipped from KY since another trip to KY would mean another weekend for us and we still need to get the barn and workshop rewired so we are still without power out there.  I may not have mentioned it in this blog but yeah, we cut the power 4 months ago since there was a short and my hubby is working tirelessly to get everything rewired and we are also updating the lighting.

Anyways......my new horse we've decided to go with the barn name of Seamus.  It just fit him.  I'd dreamed of getting a horse named Brego (Aragorn's mount in the LOTR movies) or Rhaego (the unborn child of Daenerys in GOT) or even Tybalt (Shakespeare "Romeo and Juliet").  Rhaego would have been really fun since I have a horse named Daenerys.  But low and beyond he just seemed like a Seamus to me, I like Irish names. Names often just happen.

The first day he was just in the barn yard with the other two horses across the fence from him.  Squeals galore from my mare and even a few from the gelding.  Oh my poor neighbors!  Our little neighborhood had just enough hilliness to make some fun echoes. When they all seemed to be doing well I put them all in the Shire, our northern pasture.  Only for about an hour though since I didn't want Dani getting too much of the green grass with her issues.

The second day I let the horses be together in the Wormhole which is the area between the north and southwest fields and includes the smaller barnyard.  The horses can come and go from the stalls and they also have access to the run-in shed.  They all seemed to be doing very well, Dani was mostly chasing Chance and Chance on occasion made Seamus move. I was inside to let them do their thing but could see the barn yard from my seat on the sofa.  Seamus came galloping through the barnyard and jumped the wood fence, knocking out the top rail.  OMG!!!

I went outside to find him between our two sheds grazing some grass, a little freaked out but seeming fine.  I went into the barn to get a halter and Steve had come out to prevent Seamus from getting to the road.  We got him back to the barn and I checked him over.  Thank goodness he was unharmed.  Not a single hair scraped off.  Chance had jumped this same area back in September when he got his tail caught in the spring gate and he was all banged up.  I was relieved. 

Later we had an incident after feeding.  We were trying to figure out the best way to feed everyone since Chance has to eat 3 lbs of grain each sitting since he'd been losing weight last summer. It takes forever.  Anyhow, the horses were done so I released Seamus from his stall and we went to the bucket where there were still tidbit of food left.  Chance came over a little aggressively and our old dog Loki got in the way and Seamus turned around and struck at him.  I flung my hands up and Seamus backed off so I could grab my poor dog and get him out of there.  Loki is always under foot with the horses but I should have known better.  This is a new horse who is scared, in a new place with new routines, new horses and new humans.  I felt bad for both him and Loki.  Luckily Loki has a thick head and aside from a scrape by the eye seemed to be alright.

Those two events were enough for the weekend.  Things have calmed down and we have come up with a good routine to move the horses to the two stalls or barnyard in a certain order for feeding.  We also then release them in a certain order too.  With two horses it was easier but with three we are using a catch halter to quickly grab one at a time (Seamus and then Dani) into a stall and then leave Chance in the aisle to eat their grain. Why I've never heard of these before a Stacy Westfall podcast I don't know but this thing is so handy and better than just a lead rope to quickly maneuver a horse.

Seamus is settling in and is already proving to be a very in your pocket horse.  I was racking old hay, and he wanted to help.  Mucking the yard, he wanted to help. I entered the barn yard, he came up to sniff me and say hi.  So far we've just done work on the ground, his front feet aren't as easy to pick up so we are working on that. I'll be getting a saddle that fits him this weekend I hope. 

I just hope Dani isn't too jealous!  I love her dearly but I'm so excited to have a young horse that I'll be able to go do things with and meet other horse people.  Welcome to Geek Acres Seamus!

Great Horse Shopping in Lexington, KY

Part I Lexington Horse Shopping

We took a trip to Lexington, Kentucky this weekend to search for a gaited horse. Either a Rocky Mountain or Kentucky Mountain. I'd looked at several in NC and in VA. I started actively searching probably in mid-October.

I went to two places in NC that were Rocky Mountain breeders/stables.  The first one I arrived at to find that two of the horses I wanted to look at were on a trail ride. There was a miscommunication I guess that I was coming between the trainer and the trail ride boss....

I told them we'd be back in a couple hours then since we could run over to this other place to look at a horse and it was only 20 minutes away.  So I looked at a nice black gelding that was very calm.  He didn't lead well and eye balled us a little but didn't threaten to shy or react.  His trainer rode him and gaited him.  Then I hopped on.  We walked around and then I did some serpentines on him.  He was very stiff but responded well.  He needed some work and his trainer said he needed a lot of lateral work which would help.  I didn't have the courage to ride faster at that time.  The horse just felt very hesitant under me.  Not a good combo with my nerves.

We went back to the place we started at and the trail ride was over....but the trainer said she really didn't think that horse A a nice grullo gelding should be sold (even though the owners wanted to sell him and he has since been sold) and then the other horse B a black gelding (they decided not to sell, even though I had just talked to them on the phone that week about him).  I ended up riding a chestnut gelding and got to ride him and gait him on the dirt road.  The trainer was telling me he wasn't trained leg cues since he's a trail horse so when I was having trouble have him move over his haunches apparently that was part of the issue.  He kept trying to head back towards either the trainer or the barn and I was just not feeling it with him so we finished up and headed home....a little frustrated honestly.

About an hour from my house I was contacted about a Rocky Mountain mare that was coming 5 years and not ridden as much....husband horse (I know that story!).  So we tried to make plans and couldn't align until after the Thanksgiving holidays.  Then her household was sick and we went into more holidays.  I contacted her in January and she said things were just crazy at there house she didn't have a moment to get anything ready to sell.  She'd reach out to me.  I haven't heard from her but I certainly know how life can throw everything at you to the point you can barely breath.  The mare's pictures were gorgeous though so I was bummed.

Since I was going to north of the Roanoke area for Christmas with the family I posted on a Facebook group and found that a Saddlebred show and training stable on the south of Roanoke had just received a cute grade Rocky Mountain gelding in a trade. We went to see him.  He was very sweet and affectionate.  His hooves were way overdue for a trim and the seller was planning to do that soon.  She rode him and he didn't really gait, he seemed to sort of pace or trot.  The video showed that he was maybe gaiting or stepping pacing, which is four beats but not evenly timed.  The previous owner and even the one before that who I was able to reach out to apparently had never ridden gaited and really didn't know what they were doing so it seems he got into some bad habits.  As I'm new to gaited as well I'm learning that it's easy to get a good gaiting horse and then have issues if you don't really start understanding the gait and how to correct if the horse starts step pacing or pacing.  It will be a learning curve for me. I wasn't too worried, I was planning to attend an Ivy Starnes gaited horse clinic in late March if I purchased him and could work out some of those issues.  I also had reached out to a local trainer since I know I'll want to get educated on gaited horses and learn this new area of horsemanship.

Anyways, long story short, he was a great horse, I liked the connection and feel I had with him so wanted to move forward.  The vet exam showed that whatever hoof care he'd received or not received and probably just general conformation led to very unbalanced front hoof that was already causing structural bone issues. That was a hard since I really liked the gelding but the vet questioned his long term soundness and possibility of injections and I knew I wasn't ready to take that on with two old horses already in the barn.  The search continued.

I almost forgot I rode a beautiful young 3.5 year old, thought she was 4 at least. She was only 30 minutes from me  Nice little filly but way too green.  I did well riding her for a bit and even gaited a bit but then she just stopped and didn't want to move.  The trainer eventually swamped places with me and I got on her again outside of the roundpen...they said it was hard for her to gait in there....  Anyways I mounted up, she did a quick spin silly spook thing almost unseating me and I got off immediately.  Nope, too green for me.

There also was a 6 year old mare an hour away that went for sale and I planned to see her in 4 days, that Saturday.  A guy came up from Charolotte NC and rode her a couple days before me and loved her so she was under contract.  Man, good ones go fast!!!

 Steve and I headed to Kentucky this past weekend to horse shop. That Friday my first stop I saw a beautiful and sweet mare.  Her trainer hopped on her and rode her.  She wasn't the best for mounting, he'd told me about that.  She had a nice gait but was very very green under saddle and I started having my heart race just thinking about riding her.  I got teary, just remembering the experience I had horse shopping years ago.  It was one horse that bolted back into the barn and caused me to fall hard into the stall door and on a cinder block.  It is enough to make me extremely cautious around new horses.  I didn't want to ride her.  The trainer was so kind and understood.  We chatted a bit since we had to wait for my hubby to return from a Bourbon place.  He had another horse that was 5k above my limit but he said she was everything I would need in temperament and training.  I'm sure she was but I wasn't ready to raise my budget yet again.  The horse sale prices in general and now a rarer breed have really caused me sticker shock. I thanked him for his time and some advice he gave me.  I was going to several people he knew so he said I was in good hands.  I also knew who to avoid and he'd agreed on that!

 

The next place I went to had two Rocky Mountain mares, the first was a black 9 year old.  She was very cute and had a little gait that reminded me of a Paso Fino. When it was my turn to ride I got on and rode her in a smaller round pen in the indoor arena and also tried out the gait.  She was very soft and responsive.  Then I rode around the larger arena and moved her around some poles and turned and stopped and backed etc etc.  She was great.  She did have a habit, and her owner told me about it, that when she was stopped she would take the bit and pull quick a couple times.  Dani sometimes does that but this mare did it a bit harder.  We'd have to work on it.  The trainer told me to bop her outwards with the reins when she does that.  After the I was done with riding her we discussed the other mare and trainer said that he thought she would not be a good fit for me with my fear issues and I appreciated it.  I definitely thought this mare was a contender.  Then we got to chatting with him about the eye issues that are genetic in the breed.  He showed me a normal eye and then another horse he had that was MCOA positive.  He is able to see but sometimes if a horse is positive it can be at a greater level.  Good thing is it's not progressive and the black horses I've seen so far cannot have it and do not carry it either, which is good if I wanted to breed any mare I purchased.  Which I don't have the desire (or knowledge to breed) but that's good to learn that stuff for my curiosity.

The next barn I went to had two mares and a gelding that they had just recently decided to sell.  When I got there I asked which was the calmest, steady one.  It was the gelding.  Okay then.  He had a find eye and a nice way about him. He was tacked up and then the owner hopped up on him even in the small confines of the prep stall.  He didn't bat an eyelash.  She walked him a little and then gaited him around.  He was quick to gait and went about happily.  Apparently he loves gaiting and will just go on auto pilot if you want.  I hopped up and starting working with him.  He wanted to gait right away but I told him "No not yet" and began walking him.  I felt his response to my legs to move over and at first he thought I wanted gait but eventually realized what I was asking.  I did a sloppy serpentine and changes of direction.  I stopped, I backed him. Then I gaited him and stopped him from the gait and changed direction etc etc.  He was great.  Some stuff he and I will need to work on to get on the same page for communication but he was so willing and kind. I was feeling "it".

The trip was great.  I met some great trainers I would recommend to others if they are looking for a RM or KM horse.  I was given time to see each horse and get a feel for them.  I felt like I had a great mare and a gelding to consider. 

I made the offer on the black KM gelding.  As I type this I am really excited about him.  His registered name is KO Lowrider aka "Tate".  I haven't picked a barn name for me to use but I'll need to get a better feel for what his name should be. Everyone likes making there own barn names....  I have some ideas. His owners and trainers were very nice and let me work with him and get a feel for him.  I then asked them a lot of the questions I needed.  I just had that feeling, that connection. He did well in the pre-purchase exam and will head to NC on Friday!  I am over the moon with excitement!

Micromanaging Sellers- a personal rant

Part II Lexington Horse Shopping

I had to make this it's own post....  This may have been a personality thing or maybe some horse trainers out there feel like they need to be the ones to help someone connect with a horse....like people can't do it on their own.....sure I want to know a horses past and hear about their training but to feel like I'm under complete scrutiny is not a fun feeling. If you don't want to read a rant just move on to the fun post about my Lexington shopping experience here

I had an appointment in Lexington on Saturday with another breeder about an hour out from Lexington.  I'd chatted on the phone with her before and had been stressing out about meeting her.  The way she talked about her training process, and then the selling process where she was saying I would need to spend a full day or more looking at her horses (there is only the one for sale that I was interested in.....).  Let's just put it plainly; I felt this was going to be a very particular and picky lady.  

I gave her the benefit of the doubt though and arranged to see her Saturday instead of her being the first one we saw on Friday. That was our first day in Lexington I wanted to make sure I saw the number of other horses that sounded great in the area vs. having her monopolize my time. We arrived on Saturday to meet this horse.  The trainer had told me we would take an ATV out to the 70 acre pasture to get him so I could see him being caught.  Okay fun.  But that ATV ride was up and down some really steep hills and I was clinging to her and holding on for dear life.  I was expecting the same type of rolling fields I saw in Lexington but I guess it's far enough out to be in the foothills. The huge gelding came right up to us and was very friendly. He was only 15.1 but to me he seemed huge; how 2 inches makes a horse that much larger I have no idea! The lady handed me the halter, a standard one but with the throat latch unhooked so you put in on differently, not the way I do it so I struggled and she had to help. Immediately I felt like an idiot. I don't find that an easier way to put on a halter honestly...I've always found that odd.

We then headed back to the gate with horse in tow. She had me lead him through the gate and then she brought the ATV through and I wasn't sure if she was going to drive down first and us follow but apparently I was to lead him in front of her (under scrutiny...) Immediately I was told I needed to lead him differently.  He needed to be behind me with his nose at least two feet behind me.  I couldn't see where he was, it was the oddest thing.  I should have just said hell with it and led him the way I know to lead a horse...but with her I felt like I had to wait for her instruction.

  I felt like I was just holding a rope but I "led" him to the barn.  I want to see the horse so I know where they are while leading if they are way behind me they could plow into me with no warning.  I was starting to get on edge with this lady.  We went to the barn and stood there talking while I held the gelding and pet him a bit.  I don't even remember what she was saying at that point, I was already so nervous and shutting down.  She lunged him and he was being a little silly and even plowed into her at one point like he wasn't seeing her.  She then had me give it a try.  We just had the long lead rope, no stick and string which I'm used to since you get a bit more distance between you and the horse....it's an extension of the arm.  I slid my hand down the rope and up and did a point and cluck and got him moving but he was too close and I just had the rope to use to move him out of my space. 

Immediately she said I was doing it wrong I didn't even have a chance to ease into his way of going and mine and get my self situated with only the lead rope (which is limiting at least to me). I lunge Dani all the time but I have a 15 foot lead rope and a stick and string to communicate with her. Sometimes we have moments where it looks like complete crap until we get into the groove of communication.  I've never been good at twirling the rope end for lunging. The lady drew a circle on the ground and said I needed to stay in there and not chase the horse around, yes I understand that is the goal but new horse, different equipment, give me a moment.  I'm trying to get into the groove and not being given a second to think without her saying I'm doing this wrong or I'm doing that wrong, I'm too green with ground work etc etc. I can't think straight with that type of "instruction". Tell me what to do and give me some time to figure out what you are saying.  Everyone does stuff slightly different.

I was done with that shit though and was getting hot in the face and knew the tears were coming; I was pissed.  I felt like I needed to explain but couldn't fully.  I don't know why I said stuff about my past two years of being off from riding because of my parents deaths, my horses health issues etc. like I needed to apologize to her why I was rusty;  I don't owe this lady anything!  I left.  I was embarrassed and humiliated...and I'm a pussy. Why can't I just say "Hey give me a moment to digest what you want, it's different, I have different tools than I'm used to using and I disagree with some of what you have been telling me".  Also why can't people just let you have some time to feel things out? I have to learn to ask....no....I have to learn to TELL.  I need this....give me this...or I'll move on. I would have gotten there with the lunging, there is always the second of fumbling with the tools even with my horses.  I'm furious looking back about how I should have "fixed the halter first", just led the horse the way I've been taught since age 8 and then asked for what I'm used to for lunging a horse.  It's rough looking at other people's horses.