Blitz Training Update
Chesapeake Lightning aka Blitz doesn’t always appear on this blog quite as often as Minnow & Boomerang. The reason for this is that technically I don’t own Blitz, my mom does.
Me working on trick training with Blitz
While I’m still very much responsible for his “trick training” education (I taught him to paint, play fetch, shake hands, kiss, etc), my mom works with him on all other parts of his training.
Blitz during a Natural Horsemanship Clinic at our farm last year
My mom and I have similar training methods, but while I primarily use clicker training, she opts for a more “Natural Horsemanship” Direction. I don’t really like to put labels onto the types of training methods we use, because really we gather knowledge and inspiration from TONS of different sources. We watch DVD’s, attend clinics, take lessons, and pretty much absorb everything that comes towards us. I’ve even used methods taught in my dog agility classes with my ponies. Every horse we work with is different, and we tailor our training to what works best for them. It’s about using techniques that are kind to your horse, and aide them in the best way possible in learning with you.
Anyway, since Blitz hasn’t had any action on this blog as of late, I thought I’d give a little update on what he’s been working on.
Recently my mom started taking him to some Natural Horsemanship Lessons at a local trainers place. Blitz is very herd oriented, and as the leader of our small band of Chincoteague Ponies, he very much assumes the role of head “Stallion”. One of his biggest issues is confidence, and he lacks it when away from his herd and the safety of the farm. So my mom has spent time working on making Blitz confident in any situation, so that he will be a safe and reliable mount when put into any uncertainty.
Blitz and Boomerang share the same father, and although both ponies are similar in many ways, they also have some big differences. Boomerang is fearless, he wants to touch everything, try everything, and then do it again! Blitz on the other hand is a bit more cautious. Once he is comfortable with a situation (or scary object) he’s more than willing to do it over and over again. But it sometimes takes him a bit longer to be ok with things. One of his biggest fears have been things in and around his feet.
The video below really shows how different the two brothers are. This was shot in 2009, during their very first introduction to their new tuff ball from our sponsor, Toys for Horses. Watch how each pony reacts.
My mom has spent MANY hours working on desensitizing Blitz to things that make him nervous. One of his biggest obstacles has been tarps. He spent months living with a tarp outside his stall door (which he had to cross on a daily basis), and my mom worked with him day after day on making the tarp a relaxing (and safe) experience. I wish I had a video of him with the tarp last year, because it would make this next video that much more impressive….
This was shot last week when my mom trailered Blitz to a new arena (that he had never been to) and asked him to cross a tarp set-up that he had never seen. Within a matter of minutes she had him crossing it calmly.
My mom has really been working hard at making Blitz into a wonderful mount for herself. Her work with him is also proof, that taking your time and listening to what your horse needs to be able to succeed makes all the difference. I’ve always valued the horses I had that were the most challenging to train, in the end they taught me the most.
Giveaway! CSN Stores
THIS GIVEAWAY IS NO LONGER ACCEPTING ENTRIES!
Happy Friday Everyone! This past Tuesday was my 27th Birthday – so in celebration – I have a little gift to share with you! My loyal readers! We love sharing our adventures with everyone and we appreciate (and read) all of your comments. It inspires us to make more paintings, learn more tricks, and try harder!
Our giveaway is a $50 gift certificate to CSN Stores, that can be used on ANY product and in ANY of their stores. Woohoo! CSN Stores carries products from over 200+ stores, you can seriously find everything on their site.
Organic Horse Shampoo for all those dirty ponies out there. Check.
Outdoor Lighting for your stable. Check.
Dog bowls for your trusty farm companion. Check.
Details below on how you can win $50 to CSN Stores! Yeah for free stuff!
How to Enter:
All you need to do is leave a comment on this blog post for a chance to win. Be sure to give us a way to contact you, via your website or an e-mail address. Giveaway Ends on March 16, 2011, 11:00pm (EST)! The winner will receive a $50 gift certificate to CSN stores to use on any item that they wish. Winners will be drawn at random and notified by e-mail. Good Luck!
This giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents only.
Thanks to CSN Stores for sponsoring this giveaway.
Horse World Expo – Highlights
While at the Horse World Expo, competing in the Extreme Cowboy Race wasn’t the only thing I did. There were lots of things to see and do, and even more to learn. I wish I had seen EVERYTHING, but it just wasn’t possible. Here are a few things I got to experience that you might find interesting.
Cowboy Mounted Shooting was a pretty popular demo to see. And don’t worry, they said that all the horses had their ears plugged and they don’t use LIVE ammunition.
I also got to watch the spectacular night show, Theatre Equus. My favorite part by far was Guy McLean, who flew his horses here all the way from Australia. I didn’t get to learn much about his training methods, but none-the-less his demonstrations with his horses were AMAZING.
He had a horse that could canter backwards. Seriously.
USDF Young Rider Championships - Super Hero Pas De Deux - Kyley & Megan
We also got to hang out with our friends from El Brio Vanner, home to Odd Job Bob, the star of the movie – The Greening of Whitney Brown. El Brio Vanner is actually right down the street from our farm in PA, and I grew up taking riding lessons with one of their trainers. We always have fun reminiscing about pony camp days and playing with Breyer Horses. 🙂
We also spent some time at the Dr. Cook’s Bitless Bridle booth, as they were excited to learn about Boomerang competing in the Extreme Cowboy Race in one of their bridles.
Our Horse Trailer
Surprisingly I bought nothing at the expo, as much as I wanted to. I think my biggest temptation would have been one of the horse trailers. Swoon. Any horse trailer dealers want to sponsor a couple of trick ponies? We’ll take it all over the country! haha. Our little old rusty maroon trailer has seen better days. And man wouldn’t I give anything to have a tackroom! At least it’s still a step up from my childhood horse trailer……
My Childhood Horse Trailer
Yes, that’s my first pony, Oreo Cookie, in the back of our “Horse Trailer”. We were on our way to a show. It’s a wonder I have any friends! haha
Well we had a great time at the Expo, and hopefully we’ll be back again next year! 🙂 I hope you enjoyed sharing in on the adventure with me!
Lariat
I’m constantly learning something new. There will ALWAYS be something I don’t know, so why not try to learn EVERYTHING I can? It’s sort of a sickness I have, I want to try everything.
So while competing in the Extreme Cowboy Race was something totally new and different for me, I couldn’t leave it at just that. While at the expo I jumped at the chance to learn how to throw a lariat. After all, I could have been asked to rope a “cow” during the competition for all I knew.
I was sort of relieved we didn’t have to rope something, because I think I could use a little more practice.
I’ve added a Lariat to my Birthday wish list (which is tomorrow!) because it was so much fun I can’t wait to give it a try while riding a horse!
After trying my hand at tossing the lariat I made sure Boomerang was ready for roping too. During one of our schooling sessions in the indoor I practiced throwing a lead rope around his head, ears, and sides. Just to make sure that should I NEED to throw the rope in the race, he would be fully comfortable with it. You can never be too prepared!
Anyone else out there know how to throw a rope? Any secret pointers so I can look super cool throwing my lariat off an english saddle?
Extreme Cowboy Race Winner
The winner of the 2011 Extreme Cowboy Race at the Horse World Expo was Wayne Yoder. He was actually the only rider to be undefeated the entire weekend too!
After the preliminary rides he was in first place, with me tailing right behind him by about 10 points. But after his amazing ride in the finals he jumped to a huge lead on his Stallion, Ornery.
Boomerang was fortunate enough to be stabled next to the winner in the barns, which meant I got to learn all about his “story”.
Wayne is a horse trainer from Ohio, where he trains between 12-14 horses a day with his business partner at Lonesome Hollow Stables. He works with problem horses, as well as starting young horses under saddle. When he’s not training horses his favorite thing to do is compete in Extreme Cowboy Races. Wayne said that at the Horse World Expo he was going on his 9th competition.
Wayne actually had his own rescue Stallion that he used to compete in the races, but a few months ago he died unexpectedly. He later discovered the horse had an abscess in his stomach, something that probably developed when he was malnourished years earlier.
Wayne’s friend Morgan, a horse chiropractor and masseuse, decided to offer him use of her Stallion, Ornery. The palomino stallion’s registered name was something like TC’s Golden Mist – but I can’t remember for sure, Morgan calls him Ornery or “Orn” for short. Orn’s story is also a rescue story as well. He was in a situation where his owner’s were not caring for or feeding him, the owner was forced to surrender their horses, and Morgan rescued the now 15 year old Stallion.
6 weeks ago Wayne started working with Orn, who’s previous experiences were mostly in trail riding. And this would be the stallion’s very first Extreme Cowboy Race.
I was immediately impressed with how quiet Orn was. He had never been around the applause and cheering (like most of the extreme cowboy race participants), yet when I saw the horse experience it for the first time – he was nearly unfazed.
Unfortunately I don’t have any videos of Wayne competing, but through most of his rides Orn was just as steady as ever. But what I was most impressed with was Wayne’s initiative to better himself and his horse through this competition. After the preliminary rounds, Wayne realized that there were some areas he could improve in with his horse while at the Expo. He set out and found a riding instructor that agreed to give him a jumping lesson after the expo closed for the day. So the night before the finals this cowboy attempted to learn the proper way to release his arms over the jump so as not to catch his horse in the mouth. And when I saw him take the big jump on Orn in his western saddle the day of the finals I was so happy for him.
Wayne, if you ever read this, I think you deserved this win! I know you were just as nervous as all of us, as we all huddled in the arena entrance breathing deeply. I wish you much success in your Extreme Cowboy Race endeavors, and I hope we meet up again soon!
Here’s an article I found on Wayne and his efforts to organize an Extreme Cowboy Race in his area.
Photos curtsy of Black Rock Photography.
Find out on monday what I did to better my horse and myself at the expo! I’ll give you a hint, it involved a lariat! 🙂
