DAY 1: 6:00am
– Annie is a social mare. Currently she has her own pasture (almost an acre
with a run in shelter and LOTS of tree coverage). Still, she is pretty focused
on the geldings whom she can see across the driveway. She ate and drank a
little last night but the location of her food and water was not (in her mind)
conducive to here seeing the boys. So we rearranged her feed/water location and
that seemed to help. She dug into her feed and had a few healthy drinks of
water. She nickered at us and met us at the gate, so that too is a good sign.
Anytime there is a transition it is good to be aware of food/water intake and
the “production of waste” to ensure that everything is flowing as it should. So
far, so good.
10:00 am - A new adventure for Annie and a new facility to
explore for Ronan, Argent and their humans. We hauled over to Twin Rivers
Equestrian Center in El Dorado, California to play with another local “study
group” (an off shoot of the Brumbies) that was focusing on Fundamentals. This
seemed like a good opportunity for “Annie” and the boys.
We started at 10:00am and we wrapped up about 3:00pm. THAT
IS A SESSION! Since the focus of the session was "Fundamentals" we
figured it would be great for Annie and a review is always good for the boys.
Our good friend Leo Van Sistine led the session. He was a rock star helping
folks with their horses. Ronan was rock star #2 being a great T.A. while I got
to work with my new Flame (Annie) in the REALLY NICE round pen! We worked on
establishing a consistent (that is the key word my friends) direction at the
trot and lope. We worked on getting “two eyes” and then establishing a consistent
change of direction at the trot and lope. We got some good “locking on” a few
times. The distraction of new horses and a new place made things a little
challenging at times (Annie has not been to many new places) but she did a good
job checking in. Once we felt that it was a good as it was going to get in this
first real round pen session Annie got to take a break while I helped a novice
horseperson with a LARGE Belgian/ Quarter Horse cross gelding address some
issues the horse was having. That was a learning experience for all involved!
After the break Annie got introduced to Lunge for Respect I,
Lateral Flexion, three (3) of the four methods of Backing and Yield the
Hindquarters. Combine that with the Round pen work and you think she would be
mentally full, right? Nope! Another short break to nibble on some grass and
drink some water and then we all headed out to some of the OBSTACLES the ranch
had to offer. Annie got to try her hooves at TWO different water crossings, a
low jump and some tractor tire pedestals! For the first time experiencing these
items she did well. She crossed the water, did a few nice little jumps and even
got up on the tire twice! Could not ask for more!
3:30 pm - This was a long day for the new girl. She has not
been away from home much but she loaded up like a champ. Had some itchy feet
when we were not moving but that will settle down because we hall all over the
place! All three horses got really good
workouts today. The worked well in the areas, managed several water crossings
and event played on tractor tire steps! Could not be more proud of all of them.
We hope to go back to Twin Rivers Equestrian Center in the near future!
We think Annie is going to shape up REALLY well and be an
awesome horse! When she got home she had a nice long drink and seemed to be
enjoying her evening meal. Everything is going smoothly. Good times! Sadly we were so busy we didn't get to take pictures! Hopefully one of the folks with a camera who was in attendance will share some!
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