I've got a beautiful buckskin mare out of a Peppy San Badger descendent, Holy San Prom. She is absolutely calm, but more cowy than any horse I've met, except for her sire. She was a dream to train. She is also a very affectionate, people oriented horse. My husband picked her out as a baby and started lobbying to buy her. When she was a weanling, we had saved the cash and went over to see if we could buy her. The only downside to the transaction was that the husband forgot his wife had mentioned she had decided to keep her. The wife was out of town the night we bought the filly. Our friend told us later that he was in a lot of trouble when his wife got home. The filly's mother had slipped her foal for the first time that year and they were holding their breath she would breed again so they could have one more foal out of her. She did and they got a nice baby.
This mare was the first horse I had ever done the ground training on. I asked lots of questions, and worked her a couple of hours about every other day for much of the summer. When I took her to the trainer (folks I had bought her from originally), he saddled her and let her stand for about an hour. She never protested, just licked her lips.
After that first hour, he smiled and said he was going to try getting on her. He took her over to the round pen, worked her for about 5 minutes, then climbed on. She just stood there. He nudged her with his heels and clucked her on, but she didn't move. I told him I had probably desensitized her to a fault by thumping on her sides with my hands, so when I told him she knew her voice commands, he told her to step. She started around the pen in a nice walk. He did the same for trot and canter. By the time he whoa'd her, he was laughing with joy. Then he started trying to get her to back, using all the body english he could muster. I reminded him she knew her voice commands. He looked surprised, then told her to back. She backed the circumference of the 45 foot round pen without complaint. There's not a lazy bone in her. She's just a very, very calm horse, as are her sire and dam.
We spent the day on the mountain last weekend, helping to gather and drive 2000 head of cattle down the mountain. She went to work with attention to detail. We didn't leave any cows on the mountain, to my knowledge. At least, we didn't leave any in any of the pastures we worked!
She was to be my husband's horse, but he gave her to me a couple of years ago for Christmas. I was astounded. But, he knew I was riding an Arab who was very well trained, but who had more energy than I did. And, my knees were starting to give me trouble. I'm very appreciative of his caring and thoughfulness. She has been the perfect horse for me. My knee started really bothering me last October after the yearly roundup, and progressed to knee surgery in January, then again on the same knee in June. So, she hadn't been ridden more than a couple of times for an hour or so since last year. She carried me well, despite the nearly one year gap in riding. She's 5 now, and will be in our family for life.
This mare was the first horse I had ever done the ground training on. I asked lots of questions, and worked her a couple of hours about every other day for much of the summer. When I took her to the trainer (folks I had bought her from originally), he saddled her and let her stand for about an hour. She never protested, just licked her lips.
After that first hour, he smiled and said he was going to try getting on her. He took her over to the round pen, worked her for about 5 minutes, then climbed on. She just stood there. He nudged her with his heels and clucked her on, but she didn't move. I told him I had probably desensitized her to a fault by thumping on her sides with my hands, so when I told him she knew her voice commands, he told her to step. She started around the pen in a nice walk. He did the same for trot and canter. By the time he whoa'd her, he was laughing with joy. Then he started trying to get her to back, using all the body english he could muster. I reminded him she knew her voice commands. He looked surprised, then told her to back. She backed the circumference of the 45 foot round pen without complaint. There's not a lazy bone in her. She's just a very, very calm horse, as are her sire and dam.
We spent the day on the mountain last weekend, helping to gather and drive 2000 head of cattle down the mountain. She went to work with attention to detail. We didn't leave any cows on the mountain, to my knowledge. At least, we didn't leave any in any of the pastures we worked!
She was to be my husband's horse, but he gave her to me a couple of years ago for Christmas. I was astounded. But, he knew I was riding an Arab who was very well trained, but who had more energy than I did. And, my knees were starting to give me trouble. I'm very appreciative of his caring and thoughfulness. She has been the perfect horse for me. My knee started really bothering me last October after the yearly roundup, and progressed to knee surgery in January, then again on the same knee in June. So, she hadn't been ridden more than a couple of times for an hour or so since last year. She carried me well, despite the nearly one year gap in riding. She's 5 now, and will be in our family for life.
