Lightning's 2nd training session

Yesterday I had my second training session with Lightning Bug and my fantastic trainer.. our first session (about a month ago) we worked on in hand, hips over and shoulders in... yesterday, we did more of the same.. well... shoulders in and having him give to the bit, lower his head... I have been working very hard with him on manners, respect, and lowering his head.. usually on ground, with a rope halter.  He lowers his head like a dream as soon as I even get close to his poll using the verbal "head down" cue..


showing off his mad head down skills, very light almost no pressure when using halter

Well, the stinker made me look like an azz last night.. hahaha! Leeandra said we should work on having him lower his head when he had his bridle on.. sort of like training him into him a "diffuse" button....I applied downward pressure to the bit, and he attempted to ignore me.. too funny!! I increased pressure.. he continued to blow me off... keeping pressure constant, I moved his head slightly and slowly from side to side... he dipped and gave.. I immediately released... Interesting to see.. honestly, the last thing I expected from him was obstinance, especially considering how great he is with his head down cue when using the halter and slight pressure on his poll.  I guess that serves as a reminder to me that we have work to do.  Now when we had movement and I asked for the give on the bit, he would lower his head.  It was primarily when standing still that he would blow me off.  I'm really looking forward to how he does under saddle.  Leeandra said this in hand training will make quite a difference and I will notice it immediately!  We shall see!!  He does seriously need a "diffuse" button as he can just blow up and lean into the bit under saddle.. totally ignoring my aids... Yes, learning brakes and speed control will benefit the both of us.


Move out of the way DH!!! He's about to BLOWWWW!!!!

He was very ouchy and "lame" in September  (due to a serious hack job... I was livid and out of my mind paranoid he was going to road/mechanical founder~ especially considering how hard I've worked to get his feet "right"... will save that for another day)and I wasn't able to work/exercise him as much as he needs.  I have determined that LB needs at a minimum of 4+ days of serious, heart pumping, sweat building cardio to keep him in shape and his IR tendencies at bay.. (IR= insulin resistance... another topic "we" will tackle in a later post).  Without careful management of his diet and regular exercise he starts to "crest" out and is prone to laminitis. Of course the fact that we are in the "seasonal" rise doesn't help his case.  Since he had most of September "off" due to a hack job by a "substitute" farrier while my farrier was out for back surgery, I have found it necessary to bring out the "big guns"... his grazing muzzle...

I asked my DH to put it on him the first day and this is the result:


Poor LB!! LOL!! Thank goodness DH sent me a photo of his handiwork!



When I received the photo from my VERY proud husband, I couldn't help but laugh (I was at work), then hit a brief moment of panic when I realized that hubby was leaving for work soon!! After hurriedly sending DH pics of how the muzzle looks on real horses (had to do a quick copy and past from online websites.. thank goodness for my blackberry!!), DH sent me this:


Much MUCH better!!!

Whewwww... thank goodness for text messaging!!!  When I came home and removed his fly mask Lightning was very much chagrined that I didn't take off his muzzle too... he gave me the most disgusted look!!  Since both he and Kopper Top are in "fat camp" they are put on the dry lot to be fed and eat their hay out of "hay pillows"... no worries, I take off the muzzle when they are "in camp."

Here are some of the shenanigans that go on!! 



harassment by the pick pocket Arabian



Hey there Hannibal Lector... let me help you!



Aiding and abetting.....

 It's all fun and games now Kopper... wait until next spring and summer when we will turn you into Hannibal Lectors little cousin...bwwaaaahaaahaahaaaa.....


[[edited to add: this is actually 2 posts... 2 different days...]]

and then we have Lightning Bug.........

About a year after bringing Kopper home, I added Lightning Bug, registered name Grosse Pointe Lightning, to my herd last May (2009).  He was supposed to be for my (very green) beginner rider husband; husband had gotten it into his head that he wanted a black and white Tennessee Walking horse... well..it hasn't quite worked out that way.  Lightning is quite a handful and NOT for the beginner... essentially, his story is, he was purchased as a 3 year old by a beginner/first time horse owner.. this was after he had been sent to a Tennessee show barn for "training."  Previous owner and Lightning "clashed"... she "loved" him, but did not "like" him (more story there).. he literally walked all over her and had no respect for her; she was intimidated and fearful of him (which he took great advantage of).. even so, she kept him for 10 years... and rode him a handful of times (maybe the same amount of rides as years, 10+?).  She has a minature horse farm, and said he didn't like her minis.. therefore, he was kept in a separate paddock by himself.  Well...through a circumstantial chain of events I found out about Lightning, he fit the bill (well at least the description) of what my husband wanted for his horse.. I called about him in January, went to see him in March, rode him in April, and brought him home in May..

Lightning when I first met him March 2009

He wasn't the "prettiest" horse...I'm a sucker for typey Arabians, and he wasn't a "happy" horse.. All the same, something about him said "take me home"...so two months later, I did...fully knowing that he was not the "right" horse for my husband... nor was he the next horse I wanted for me (I planned to add an OTTB, or Arabian to possibly event with)

Lightning May 17, 2009~ 1st day home

He has been a marvelous "teacher" for me...because of Lightning, I discovered the best farrier in the world, learned a ton about PPID and IR, learned about equine nutrition and diet, and learned more about hoof make up, and laminitis (more on those chapters later)..the list goes on and keeps growing....

Lightning in July, 2009, taking him for a walk around the neighborhood

Lightning has been one a heck of a challenge.. In the beginning, I even doubted why I had him... and kicked myself for bringing him home... Now I am grateful, Lightning is an excellent "teacher"... not schoolmaster teacher, but teacher as in, due to our "discoveries" I am inspired to learn more about a numerous array of subjects (equine related~training, diet, trim, ailments, saddle fit, etc.). I have discovered that he hasn't had any "real" training... both on the ground and in the saddle.. I have been working at that and have "restarted" him from the ground up; I am working on giving Lightning a solid foundation from which we can build on.. Lightning is eager to please me and learn, yet, when he doesn't understand, he had/has the tendency to "blow up." We have worked alot on ground manners and respect, I have employed "natural" horsemanship methods for much of that.. Clinton Anderson, John Lyons, Pat Parelli, and Kenny Harlow to name a few.. Seriously,it's really more of a common sense approach..thinking like a horse, getting into their minds so to speak...and they all have the same basic principles and ideas behind their "methods."  I have morphed their methods to suit our needs, tweaking them and combining them....in addition, I also incorporate more "traditional" training methods.. under saddle he has no real speed control or brakes, he does not understand transitions and was not taught w/t/c under saddle (or rather w/gait/c)... we are working on that as well...I have enlisted the help of a trainer I like and respect whose  specialty is dressage, bio mechanics, core, and balanced horsemanship.. she does it all though... dressage, jumping, reining, driving, eventing... AWESOME!!

We are in partnership now, Lightning and I, and are teaching each other ... He has done a complete 180 degrees from the horse I brought home..

Lightning now...August, 2010

 It has not been easy and we have a way to go.. He has changed though, I see it in his demeanor and in his eyes.. he has learned to respect and trust me..and I say, even love me... I look forward to our journey together...

Where do I start?!??!

So I've been writing in my head for quite a while now...thoughts and stories and dreams....

This is the first time I've attempted to blog (well outside of my head, that is..) so be patient with me... Hmmm..where to start?!?!  Well, I guess I will just jump in wherever....


A little background first... I learned to ride when I was 4, I rode off and on every summer when I went to my grandparents farm on the eastcoast. I lived in California most of my life, until 1995. November 4, 1995, I "planted roots" on the East coast. At that time I met and acquired my first "once in a lifetime" horse, Kasey Lee, a wonderful OTTB that was my heart horse (his story later). 

My Beloved Kasey Lee

 When I lost Kasey in December,1999, I had Gayla Girl, an off track arabian, that I bonded with and loved dearly (she belonged to my aunt).  We lost Gayla in October, 2003, I then went on a horsey hiatus until October, 2007.  To this day I still miss Kasey (he was THE BEST).  

and Gorgeous Gayla Girl

Throughout this time I missed having a horse and ached for another one, and at the same time I wasn't "ready"... (yes, I'm afflicted with the "horse gene," you're either born with it or you're not).  I married my husband in 2005, shortly after we purchased our "farm"... 16.38 acres of paradise for me, but not ready or equipped for horses.  In 2007, my horse-sickness became unbearable and I jumped back into "horse-dom" with Kopper Top, my little bay Arabian gelding (his story is also later). I "boarded" him at my grandparents for about 8 months, enough time to clear more of my "wilderness" and put up some fencing; in September, 2008, I brought him over to my property/farm, which I have named Unicorn Dreams (I have an affinity for unicorns).