For What Its Worth: Dirty Little Secrets

Okay so here are some of my dirty little horse ownership/training secrets.
Yep, I’m gonna come clean, at least about some things ;) I was thinking about the things that I do/or have done that are ‘against’ the grain of traditional horse training ‘rules’. There are many trainers and horse persons who are against both of these practices and with good reasons.
So my confessional is that I hand feed my horses (not that controversial) and I have trick trained one of my horses to rear (way more controversial).

The hand feeding issue is interesting. I know a lot of people who will swear up and down that horses should never be hand fed. NEVER. Period, end of discussion. Well I hand feed and especially make a habit of bringing cookies out for the few horses we have owned that don’t want to be caught. I always tell the hard to catchers that you won’t live long at my house if you don’t want to be caught. The hand feeding even has a name: Cookie Therapy. I don’t take cookies out every time unless the horses are hard to catch. A normal workout session starts with being caught in the pasture (riding the horse in if they are safe enough to do so). Maybe a cookie in the barn while brushing (more likely they get their grain if they are on any). The horse gets ridden and then when ready to be turned out will get a handful of cookies on the way back out to the pasture. I am a firm believer that horses don’t ‘do’ anything untoward that they don’t mean to. AKA if Princess bit you, she meant it. Same thing with when a horse kicks, strikes and any other hospital worthy injuries. I have spent my life with horses and have seen horses aim to hit and aim to miss each other. I even (pause…wait for it) hand feed my stallion (audible gasp). Do I think this is okay for all horses? Nope. Do I think everyone should do this? Nope. I don’t hand feed all the time and I am pretty confident that I am the alpha in terms of my horse relationships. I don’t put up with pocket excavations or the full nose pat down that many horses learn through hand feeding. It seems that my horses are confident in the boundaries that I have set up with them. So the jury for me is in. Hand feeding works in some situations and is okay if you are a dominant horse person with clear boundaries for your horses.

Okay the juicier one….rearing. I have a 7/8 Arabian mare who is super smart and super athletic. I have had her since she was a yearling and plan to keep her for her entire life. ‘Hailey’ had all the normal groundwork and riding as a three year old. She was even shown a little as a three year old in western pleasure and did very well. I made a mistake. I sent her for training with a professional that I had a great deal of respect for and still do in many ways. Hailey and this trainer were a bad, bad combination. After a month my super soft little western horse was like riding a steel girder. The trainer told me to ‘meat’ her as she was dangerous and would never ‘get’ anywhere. I took her home with a pretty heavy heart. When I turned her out into a paddock I didn’t recognize her. No she wasn’t starved or even physically beaten. My mare, my lovely little filly who liked to wash my hands with her tongue was gone. Instead I had a whites of the eye, nostrils flared, get the hell away from me wreck. At that moment I knew. Her fate was on me. That was my first realization. What I did or didn’t do for this mare would stay with me for the rest of my life.
I turned her out for a month to see if some decompression therapy would help. By the end of the month she would come up to the fence to sniff my hands but that was it. The old Hailey would push her head into the halter and beat you to the gate. Realization two: who she was is the past. Who can she be in the future is where I need to focus on. With that in mind I brought her into the barn and saddled her up. Waves of anxiety came off of her. Dancing back and forth barely standing still and shaking her head the entire time. Hailey relaxed a little as we walked by the arena and stepped into the sunshine. I knew one thing; this mare would never step into a show ring again unless she could mentally handle it. I checked my cinch, took a deep breath and swung up into the saddle. I don’t think Hailey or I moved or even took a breath for what seemed close to 5 minutes. Finally taking a whale of a deep breath I settled down deep into my seat and pushed her forward with my seat. Up until that moment Hailey felt like a powder keg, solid on the outside but you just knew that on the inside things weren’t so safe. The explosion came when I picked up the reins. Sideways and backwards at mach 9, Hailey did everything to get away from the wide soft snaffle I had in her mouth and the link it made between the two of us. I set down my reins, sat down a little deeper and must have had a death grip on the horn. After my hand came down she stopped and gave me a big signature snort. Okay. Now what? I knew her teeth were fine as I had them done before she went to the trainers. Shakily I dismounted and laid a hand on her neck. Two things were becoming very clear: I had more thinking to do and Hailey had more damage than I thought. Heading back to the barn I switched out my snaffle for a rope halter. I had felt a frightened horse not a mean one although both are equally dangerous. What the hell lets try this again but with even less control (rope halter). I didn’t have much experience with bosals or rope halters. Deep breath and up I go again. This time when I asked Hailey for forward I got it. One step. Then two. I hopped off and gave her a shaky stroke on the neck. Oh boy, we both survived that one! Slowly over the next two weeks Hailey and I worked out the forward but anytime I picked up the reins I got a hard halt on the forehand and if I pushed it I had my own version of Pegasus. Not straight up or even close to over backwards, just her front feet off the ground up and down until the pressure was released. That summer I happened to take a job on a guest ranch in southern Alberta. I was allowed to take a horse with me. Hailey was the best choice (what else was I going to do with her?). Two months of chasing cattle, crossing rivers, dragging logs and lots of wet saddle blankets settled her mind and brought me a reward of seeing glimmers of hope for her recovery. Time on the ranch had proven her to be a tough all day, all terrain riding horse with more cattle sense than most horses could shake a quarter at. I have never had a horse that was so brave! Hailey would get in between two 2000lb bulls fighting; ears back and neck snaked out shaking her head. Another thing our long days together had given me an appreciation for her uncanny ability to sense cattle and wildlife long before I or the other horses noticed them. One time out gathering yearling cattle in the Porcupine Hills by ourselves Hailey stopped dead still and assumed what I call her ‘pointer’ pose. Just like a bird dog Hailey was ‘pointing’ to the trail two hundred yards up the trail where I just got the last two feet of a cougars tail slip into the heavy brush.
That fall after a couple of months off I brought Hailey back in for more work. As I rode her around that fall I found her to be more settled but still very shy of full rein contact. The Pegasus moves were still there. It was like her thinking brain shut down and her panic flight response took over. Hmmm more thinking time on my part led me to try and make rearing more work than it was worth for her. Since pulling back on the reins could mean a variety of things (besides rear) I decided to add a ‘rear button’. I would grab on to her mane up near her ears and tug on it. After two rides focusing on making Hailey rear she was quickly figuring out that this a lot of work and than rearing on cue was rewarded and rearing without cue would get her into trouble. Two weeks later I was moving into a new stage of my relationship renovation with Hailey. I could confidently ask her to back or rear without a cue mix up 95% of the time. Within a month we were at 100%.
So there you go. My dirty little rearer secret is out. Again would I teach this to every horse? Nope. Is this dangerous? Sure could be. Would I recommend this? Nope. Did it work out in the end? It worked for this mare and for me. To this day every time I ride her I do so with the knowledge that I am betting my life on how clear my training was. Since that summer/fall Hailey has become a regional 4-H champion in both western and hunter, ridden some of the toughest trails through the Rocky Mountains and remained my favorite horse for moving cattle. Do I let just anyone ride her? Nope. Every one who rides her is advised of her ‘button’ and now at the ripe age of 13 you REALLY have to ask her to rear. I think she figures its more work than its worth. Take a lemon and make lemonade.
For What Its Worth that’s how I see it.

Waygu! – Bless you? – No….WAGYU!

So this spring we’ve been busier than normal with some Wagyu. Nope we didn’t get some crazy form of Japanese flu – we got Japanese cattle instead! We have been busy with bottle calves! We started out with one and then she was lonely so we got another….then I saw an ad for another (Charolais cross heifer), a friend heard we were doing it so sent us one more (Red Angus bull calf). So magically we have become cattle ranchers overnight! The adventures of bottle feeding have kept us tied to the place and on call at least twice a day for feedings. The first months were pretty stressful with tubing and scours. I of course get extremely attached to anything including the ducks (but that’s another story for another day). So in total we have four bucket calves two wagyu heifers –Miss Moo and Mini Moo, one Charolais cross heifer – Lambchop Moo and a Red Angus bull soon to be steer – Wilbur Moo.

I have been researching the Wagyu cattle and am very impressed with the meat quality and flavor. The cattle are not finished until 36 months (give or take), have a high % of marbling and the fat they have is very healthy fat. These cattle finish really well on grass and I can taste the difference. Good friends of ours raise them and have meat available if anyone’s interested. These cattle are the original ‘Slow Food’ cattle! The proof to me was cooking the ground beef the other day when I was finished I didn’t need to air out the house to get rid of the ‘ground beef’ smell. Don’t get me started on how mouth watering the steaks are!

Here is are the two Wagyu first thing this spring.

This is Mini Moo.

The Ten Comandments by Sheila Varian

1. Breed toward your ideal horse. Don’t be swayed by the voices of others. If you have done your homework, in time others will appreciate what you have accomplished.

2. Recognize that you are breeding Arabians and stay within your interpretation of the breed standards.

3. Breed equally for Arabian type, performance qualities, disposition and trainability.

4. Never forget: No foot, no horse.

5. Always strive toward a horse of usable disposition, plus beauty. Neither is good without the other. However, if forced to make a choice, I’d keep the usuable disposition.

6. Follow the lead your horses set for you. The next generation need not be similar in phenotype to the generation before, but each generation must be consistent in overall quality.

7. Breed forward. Look ahead. Wonderful new surprises may be awaiting you. Recognize them when they occur.

8. It is not difficult to improve the produce of a poor quality mare in one generation. It is not even difficult to improve the produce of an average mare in one generation. What is difficult is to improve the produce of an exceptional mare generation after generation. That takes real skill, knowledge, gut instinct, and vision.

9. Don’t be afraid to appreciate the qualities of other’s horses. Breeding is a competition with yourself, not with others.

10. Consider your horse’s attributes before you consider his/her negatives. All horses have both. It is for you to determine how positive his/her good qualities are before you dwell on the negatives.

Varian Arabians and Shelia Varian have produced some very talented horses that have excelled in many areas.  I especially appreciate her dedication towards horses remaining usable.  These are some great things to consider before breeding.
Cheers,
Adrienne.

At long last: some welcome rains!

Well its getting to the point now where I can tell that its not going to be a drought year.  We have had enough rain in the last little while to make up for the huge drought we had last year.  2 inches just in the last storm.  Its great to see the pastures growing again!  Chris showed Foxy at an Appaloosa show last weekend and had a great run.  That mare is worth her weight in gold!  Whew is she ever cowy!  I am thinking of heading down to a working western arabian show in July with Shady and Hailey (my old show mare) for working cow horse and reining classes. 
I took a couple of spare moments to work on a little piece on trailer hauling.  Just some tips, tricks and trips to share.  If it does nothing else but get people to think then thats good enough for me!  If people like it then maybe I will write a few others.  Requests are appreciated.  Check it out on the FWIW page and let me know if it helps you any.
Cheers,
Adrienne.

Well The Rein Dancin Has Paid Off!

We have had two big dumps of rain and very wet snow in the last two weeks.  This moisture will go along way to helping pastures and hay prices this year.  We are lucky to have moved onto the new land and managed our forage levels last year so that we are in better shape than some producers this year.
For our local friends please keep your eyes open for our ad in Pacific and Prairie Horse Journal for May and June.  Here is an advance proof of the ad.
Stay warm and think of all the green grass this snow will bring!

Updated Sales Page

Almost to May and Chris and I have updated some of the photos on the Sales page.  Check out our two fantastic fillies for sale!

Last weeked we were busy riding with Mike Boyle and Curt Pate at the Mane Event in Red Deer.  What a great show and great clinics.  I picked up some great drills from Mike to use with our horses and Chris had a blast slowing down his cattle work with Curt.

We are about ready to start rein dancing.....er, I mean rain dancing to help with the moisture levels.

Take Care and Ride Fun!

News Pictures of Juan Kool Diamond

I have taken some rough'n wooly pictures of our 2009 Juan Kool Diamond gelding for sale.  Check out the updated pictures here.

Puro Who?

We are pleased to announce our purchase of ‘Puro Foxy Chic’ a 1997 AQHA mare sired by Puro Chic and out of the dam Ima Foxy Wilson and is an earner of nearly $7000 in limited showing in the NRCHA. Please click on her name to go to her page.
Chris and Foxy are looking forward to tearing up the cowpen this year in the open bridle class. I think Foxy might be the most fun Chris has with his boots on! We will get some new pictures of her soon!

April Snow Storms

Well we had quite the snow storm blow through last night. The little bit of moisture it brought will be most welcome with the dry pasture conditions. I am excited to announce the sale of 'Solanos Peppy Sailor' or Pepper to the Schmidt family. I know that Pepper will be a great partner for them and that he has found a great home! Stay warm and enjoy the spring!
PS. I am working on a new 'News' piece with some exciting news!

The Old Meets New! (at least in equine id)

I have been meaning to post on this sooner….last fall I had a fantastic offer come through my email for a free micro chip reader from Destron Fearing. I have eyed up microchiping the horses before but found it would be pretty expensive all said and done. After looking again and the lure of a free reader I gave the nice people at Destron Fearing a call and ordered some chips (and my free reader worth $400 US). The neat thing was the chips themselves, once implanted they will give you a superficial body temperature reading using the microchip reader. What a great thought! Well in reality the temperature reading is not as accurate as I would want to rely on but a nifty idea none the less. I have also pondered a freeze brand for the horses (in case of theft a brand can make or break getting your horse back). Alberta had recently allowed the re-use of arbitrary brands. Two trips to the provincial archives and we found a beautiful brand for the horses. Right hip and blue bells! I will post pictures when the white hair starts to come back in. The traceability benefits for theft aside, we are also proud of the horses we train and raise and want you to know a QLH horse when you see one. Old and New we’ve got it covered at QLH!

New Sales Video Added

Here is a rough video of Solanos Peppy Sailor taken this spring.  Check his quiet attitude and excellent brakes!  'Pepper' is for sale and will be in training until sold.  Please contact us if you are interested!

We've Been Busy!

So I just realized that I haven’t updated our ‘News’ section in a very, very long time. Well better late than never! November was a great month for heading south to the NRHA futurity in Oklahoma City, OK. Mary from Mara Arabians was my partner in crime and we had lots of fun scooping out horses and shopping! Sadly I didn’t get a chance to ride ‘Wimpy’s Little Step’ but the Clinton Anderson clinic was fun anyways. The sales were very interesting as well. Given the state of the horse market and the prices of prospects we will be holding off from breeding for a couple of years.

December found us moved into our new home. We have been very excited to get our system online and running. The wait was worth it! Our new facility is off-grid. We have solar panels up on the hill, super efficient appliances, propane automatic waterers, and of course a propane back up generator. The new building turned out fantastic with excellent passive solar light and heat in the day. The entire south wall has both windows and a sunshine door. Now all we have to work on is dry wall, painting, un-packing, fencing, etc. The list never seems to end. I love living in the country!

January is always a long cold month. As a late Christmas present I would suggest everyone on a budget check out dewormers for your horses at Jeffer’s Equine Supply. The Canadian dollar is almost at par and their shipping is always reasonable.

February found us boarding two horses at a very small local stable with some very dedicated young riders. Mel and Aries were our ‘victims’. Aries was started and Mel continued his training foundation. I am continually pleased with Mel and his easy going attitude in training. Aries is always a sweet heart and didn’t disappoint us with an easy start.

March is turning into a warm month and a busy one! Check out theCalgary Stampede website for the Craig Cameron clinic at the farm and acreage show. I decided to enter the Craig clinic to learn more about ‘Extreme Cowboy Racing’. Sounds like fun!

Well the snow has started!

Sad to say that winter has already started here in Alberta!  Chilly temperatures started the night before my runs at the Canadian Supreme.  LB and I had some great runs.  I am very happy with him.  He will make someone very happy as an excellent reiner and an all around great horse!
Pat and Keith Cake were so happy with Hollywood Habit that they came back and bought Mister Mello.  We wish them the best of luck in the future with these talented young horses!
Stay warm,
Adrienne and Chris.

First Frost of the Season!

It has been a while since I had a chance to write about the adventures with the horses but first off:
Congratulations to Pat and Keith Cake of Voyageur Arabians in Ft. Saskatchewan, Alberta on their purchase of Hollywood Habit. I know he will be great for you Keith!

Its been a slow summer in terms of showing horses but a great one for getting reacquainted with old friends both two and four legged. July saw myself (Adrienne) and Finnahgin (C.M. Callisto) my old Morgan show gelding head out with our old neighbor to the Benalto fair. I entered the jeopardy trail and won 3rd! No small feat since I pulled Finnahgin out the week before. For those who don’t know about this type of trail it combines obstacles that you would never see on a show course with a strict time limit. Each obstacle has a value and the final obstacle is worth 100 points win it or lose it! Some of the obstacles included a dummy ride (ride around the outside of the arena behind the saddle with the ‘dummy’ sitting in the saddle), water gun and pie plate target, popcorn bridge and many more. This kind of trail is a blast and Finnahgin and I entered it for several years while on the Morgan battle of the breeds team at Spruce Meadows.

August was fun also; I pulled another old show horse ‘Hailey’ and whipped her into shape for a 25 mile competitive trail ride in the West Country. An unfortunate fall took us out of the ribbons but I wouldn’t have traded that day for anything! Congratulations to Rhonda Lemmon and Promise on finishing second!

The new place is turning into quiet the adventure with building, planning and general chaos!

Hollywood Lights is still for sale and I will be showing him this year at the Canadian Supreme. Should be a great show! Look forward to the trails ahead.

Adrienne.

Hottest Spot In Town is Sold!

We are happy to announce that Hottest Spot In Town or 'Brady' has been sold to an excellent home in Northern Alberta. We are sure that Christine and Brady will do well at the local shows as well as on the Alberta Appaloosa show circuit. We look forward to hearing about their future success!

Chiconita finds a new home!

'Dial a Chiconita' or Chic'n has found a new home in Valleyview, Alberta.  We know that his new home will enjoy him as much as we have. 

We have finished the move and are now living full time on our quarter section east of Innisfail.  Please give us a shout and come for a visit!