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Post by Shelly on Jan 17, 2015 22:39:38 GMT
I was hoping to post this last week as it happened but I figured I would just make a thread so I can keep and the "Sheldon" updates together  Alrighty! So last Sunday I trailered Sheldon in to Trevella to ride. He was great!!! Took him about 5 mins to load on to the trailer the way there. He was a bit fresh and dancing around when we got there (still understandable). I got my mom to join me so it was nice to have a helper to either grab stuff or hold Sheldon while I tacked him up and ect. Only thing with that though is that Sheldon doesn't respect my mom very much  . He's already learn't that he can walk all over her which is not a good thing! I gave my mom a few tips on how to get him to stand still and it seemed to be working but again, he was really fresh lol. So I got him tacked up outside. He danced quite a bit but he let me do it. Then I brought him in the indoor walked him around quickly then I bridled him in there. After he was bridled I walked him around some more, walked him over flowers, let him sniff the jumps and so on. He was still acting pretty fresh so I put him on the lunge for a few minutes to let him get his "sillies" out. I was expecting him to explode! I was almost disappointed, he just casually trotted around nice and collected. It was almost like he was waiting for his job and once he knew what he was doing he got slow and focused (which is great! I just wanted to see him run and buck LOL). I got him to trot both ways and canter a few strides. The one way he barely got two canter strides in and I was ok with that because I didn't want him too exhausted for our ride either. After we had our calm lunging session I decided to get on. We worked on circles, lots of circles. We did 10, 15 and 20 meter circles both directions at the walk. Once trotting I got him to do 20 meter circles both directions but he is still very off balanced with me and I really had to watch myself on circles (i tend to lean in a lot). Sheldon still has a lot of straight to build yet. Then I got him to canter all the way around both directions. We cantered the large ring about 3 times each direction. It was amazing. I've never been able to keep Sheldon at a canter for that long of a period. He was so energetic and I could feel he was enjoying himself so much. I am so proud. We didn't do any circles at the canter because I feel as if he still has a lot of straight to build for that yet. After our warm up/work out I got him to walk and trot over a few single poles on the ground and I got him to walk over a couple 18inch x-rails just to expose him to all of these new things. He is such a champ. I was able to get him to trot over a ground pole to and other ground pole with flowers and an other ground pole. It was all set up on a type of circle and he did great. He was having so much fun. He wasn't crazy about the flowers but he got over it When all was said and he cooled off, I untacked him and put all his trailer gear on. He tried to roll a couple times but I would not allow it so I had to keep him moving. I got a little enthusiastic and when I was walking him on the ground I decided to try and line of 3 x-rails. Oh my! Sheldon got so excited going over them! After the last jump he tossed his head and tried to take off! That was the first time I got him to jump over anything ever and boy he loved it!! He's not going to be doing that for the next while. Curiosity got the best of me lol My mom took some pictures and videos for me. I have to get the videos loaded on my computer and hopefully I can post them Sheldon after being lunged  Circles -- you can see the 3 ground poles we where walking/trotting over nicely in this picture  walking over flowers  |
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Post by carshon on Jan 18, 2015 1:25:02 GMT
Love the pics- and your smile says it all!!!
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Post by horselady on Jan 18, 2015 2:17:09 GMT
Yes your smiles says it all. he looks like a good boy and is willing to please you . keep up the work with slow steady and one step at a time.  |
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Terry
Junior Member
Central Illinois, USA
Posts: 1,466 
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Post by Terry on Jan 18, 2015 2:35:51 GMT
Love the pics! It sounds like Sheldon did a great job. blue ribbon What a nice indoor arena to ride in! I'm a little jealous.  |
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mistersmom
Junior Member
Abita Springs, LA
Posts: 3,749
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Post by mistersmom on Jan 18, 2015 15:00:40 GMT
Sounds like a great day! Good job!
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Post by diamondgirl on Jan 18, 2015 18:10:18 GMT
Wow. Great pictures. You looked like you were having a great time. It is so cool that Sheldon loves to jump. You guys are going to have so much fun. |
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Post by Shelly on Jan 18, 2015 21:23:22 GMT
Ya I'm very lucky being able to use the indoor. That is the farm I take lessons at so my coach lets me use the indoor for free because I am already one of her clients (which is amazing!!!). And right now I borrow a friends trailer which is also really nice! And if I trailer in for lessons, i only pay $25 instead of $30 because I use my own horse, again huge bonus and my coach is awesome! OH and this is probably the best part... the farm is only 10 mins away from mine So it's a short trailer ride for Sheldon too! I am so proud of my little horse <3 And I'm really excited to continue moving forward with his training. One day we will get to jumping but still not for a while yet. Glad to see he was excited about it though!! I got him hoping he would be my "jumper" but we will see. I have a feeling he's going to be an all-rounder. I am just so proud. Sheldon is the first horse that I get to start under saddle and now worry about him being taken away from me. It's really a great feeling. I've literally owned him since he was 3 months old (I met him when he was just a month old for the first time). I don't always have as much time to spend with him as I would want to but he has such a good temperament and if very forgiving when I make mistakes. He's also a really good trail horse too, he keeps his head nice and low and is very aware of where he's walking. Oh and he prefers to lead lol. He hates being at the back of the group. anyways if it was up to me I could go on and on about Sheldon! LOL he's definitely my once in a lifetime horse <3 smileys-hearts-532620 mini-graphics-valentine-940295 apple |
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Post by Shelly on Jan 19, 2015 4:30:16 GMT
it really is!
Honestly, I can't say I've ever had a bad training session with him yet. Other then the whole taking an hour to get on the trailer again to go home.... Tips are definitely welcome in that department!!!!
I want him to get to the point where he can just self load.. It will take time but I dunno. I've been very patient with him but when your 45 mins in with an audience it's really hard to keep your cool sometimes.
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hugs
Junior Member
Posts: 2,647
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Post by hugs on Jan 22, 2015 2:29:12 GMT
I'm with the other folks about your smile, especially that first picture, you two are just so gosh darn cute! :-S
I sure don't have any advice about horses and trailer loading, goodness, I just stand there asking and Peaches rears and avoids for about 20 minutes and then she loads, that's pretty much how we do it 467029
Indoors are really nice aren't they, especially with such nice toys and boy that one is all bright and cheerful, that sure is a good thing. What is it like during a storm, or haven't you been? And what about snow load? I wonder if its less expensive than a pole building?
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Post by Shelly on Jan 22, 2015 14:13:38 GMT
I think the dome's are a bit cheaper then pole buildings, As for  loads, it's great -- just slides off like most of the winter! LOL yep.. this is great for desensitizing.... I've had a few " falling" related falls LOL both while doing jumping courses.. Yay me LOL It's survived a few canadian winters so far and from what I can tell it's doing really well. We got a ton of last year too. The dome being clear ish really lights up the place during they day. I know my coach was saying she really only has to use the lights at night which on it's own saves a Ton of money. On an other note--Sheldon update!! Did I ever tell you that I love my horse LOL Last night I spend the night at my mom's again and I did the barn chores in the evening (yay! I'm lucky I love chores just because I don't do them everyday) So after I fed all the horses I was itching to ride Sheldon SOO badly but it was dark out.. So I rode him anyways LOL Please excuse my laziness lol I rode him bareback (he has his blanket on still - that was the extent of my laziness) in his sidepull which I trained him in and he does really well in but I just haven't used it in a while. So I grabbed my helmet and rode off into the darkness. To my amazement, Sheldon was PERFECT! it was my first time riding him bareback and riding at night was also a first. We didn't do much, rode him past the field to the outdoor. In the outdoor we walked both directions and did some walk - halt transitions and 10 meter circles in each corner of the ring. After we did that I asked Sheldon to trott and after 5 strides that was more then enough for me and we walked back. Just so proud! Love my horse <3 |
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hugs
Junior Member
Posts: 2,647
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Post by hugs on Jan 22, 2015 21:53:15 GMT
Ahhhh is it goofy I have tears in my eyes?
Yay you for sure!
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Lipizzan
Junior Member
Europe, Croatia
Posts: 2,572
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Post by Lipizzan on Jan 23, 2015 8:18:55 GMT
I love to ride bareback too. When the days are rainy or cold ,I just don't feel like tacking up and put on a blanket and just hope on . Done that for last few days as it is always raining during the nigh and day after everything is wet. It is amazing how much a love for our horses can make us happy and complete!
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Post by Shelly on Jan 23, 2015 15:13:54 GMT
It sounds silly but I feel as if Sheldon and I needed that bareback ride. I was actually able to feel all his movements. He actually feels pretty solid now and wide which when you have a saddle you don't really notice those things as much if that makes sense.
Definitely a great feeling that's for sure! And just knowing I can trust him at night too is an other big thing. I trust that horse so much, he's such a good boy (for me anyways - he tends to give my mom a hard time LOL)
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hugs
Junior Member
Posts: 2,647
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Post by hugs on Jan 23, 2015 15:53:01 GMT
That trust issue is one I think about a lot. Both Peaches and I are nervous nellies but we do what are asked even though we feel agitated and it shows. So that being said I don't know if I trust Peaches. But isn't that in a sense unfair? She consistently follows my lead so that shows she respects me but does she trust me? I'm rather nervous to test that. I mean I know what I would do which doesn't include riding at night on ice LOL and I've hired a trainer to test that trust or level of training. How much the same are those two things?
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Lipizzan
Junior Member
Europe, Croatia
Posts: 2,572
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Post by Lipizzan on Jan 23, 2015 21:47:38 GMT
Being able to trust your horse have many meanings. It is not just riding. Riding is just a small part of being a horse lover. I have horses for 11 years, and riding them for only 6 years. I was so obsessed with them I just liked to spend time in their company, that was always enough. I am sure Peaches and you trust each other enough, and that riding is something that will just happen when you feel ready enough.
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hugs
Junior Member
Posts: 2,647
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Post by hugs on Jan 24, 2015 1:34:31 GMT
I love being with horses too Lipizzan. I love to simply watch them and get to know them, they are just so very beautiful and athletic, all of them. Like you say, in due time but every minute is an hour and every day a week when you want something so bad you can't think of much else.
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Post by Shelly on Jan 24, 2015 1:50:01 GMT
I agree Lip, Sheldon doesn't really know anyone other then me as his handler, I'm really lucky with him that way. For Peaches knowing she's naturally a nervous horse It would be very different. Sheldon takes in new things with a grain of salt. I've seen him spook once under saddle and he just jumped on the spot and then continued on forward. He really isn't a flighty horse at all. With Peaches just doing every day things like walking her, grooming her all those things for her might take a lot more of her trust then it takes sheldon to do a whole ride if that makes any sense. They just naturally have different personalities. On that same note, I had to opportunity to expose Sheldon to a lot of things when he was still very young. This is a good old photo share moment! Here's a few old pics of baby Sheldon This one was the first week I got him (about 4 months old), I was getting him used to being groomed/handled.. Exposed him to a few "props" LOL  This was one of many walks down the highway-7 months old (in the pic we had turned on to a side road but my road is an 80km zone with lots of transports)  Sheldon's first "rider" LOL he's about a year old.  |
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hugs
Junior Member
Posts: 2,647
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Post by hugs on Jan 24, 2015 2:13:37 GMT
Oh Shelly! He is such a cutie pie! What a precious little face, oh gosh, SO ADORABLE! 8D
Ya know, I understand exactly what you mean about differences in personalities. When we bought Penny the sellers insisted we take Peachie too and Gerald and I looked at each other and knew she didn't have a very good future. I'll never regret helping her out but gosh now is finally when I have enough time and the opportunity to help Peaches and work to where I can ride a "normal" horse. I know that sounds funny but things others take for granted I have to kind of start over again for myself.
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Post by Shelly on Jan 24, 2015 2:30:26 GMT
I understand completely. Peaches give you challenges like my first horse did for me. I loved her to death. I'll never forget Chella but she taught me a lot and I eventually gave up. Something I regret now but then I'm thankful because it in a silly way has lead me to sheldon.
Chella was a handful. My first horse was actually 2. I was 16 and bought myself a team of percheron mares that where previously abused. They where broke to drive but that's about it. Chella was not spooky but let's just say it took me 4 months of bonding/trust exercises just to get her to take a step forward. I never told Chella what to do, I asked and hoped that today was the day.
I have changed a lot since then and if I had my current experience and her I think we would have been just fine but at the end of the day, I was tired of fighting. I mentally couldn't do it anymore. I was tried of restarting how to walk a straight line every ride, never mind when she would just do what she wanted. It didn't help at that time I was living out of town for college so I lost a lot of time with her (it wasn't her fault, I had to go to college) and out of town I found an other barn and I worked some of her horses for free which was nice. But that was kinda the breaking point for us.
Anyways all that to say I can imagine what you're going through. It's really hard to "undo" behaviours that developed before you even had her. I know with Chella I couldn't. When I had the time for her and was dedicated to spending time with her every day she was awesome and we went really far. After having time off and time away from me when I was living out of town and couldn't afford to bring her with me. I just didn't have the energy to restart anymore. So with Sheldon, I really wanted and want to do things right.
I'm committed to him and I'm going to work my bum off to keep him going well but life happens and I have a baby so I can only commit so much time right now--his easy going ways helps me so much with that!!! I don't want to have to face the stress of saying goodbye to an other horse. I still wonder where Chella is, the girl I sold her to also sold her so I have no idea where she is. I check Kijiji every so often hoping to see her. An other thing that kills me too is now that Stella has passed I'll never get to reunite them either. but anyways I'm rambling lol
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. He's already learn't that he can walk all over her which is not a good thing! I gave my mom a few tips on how to get him to stand still and it seemed to be working but again, he was really fresh lol.
Great pics and isn't it a great feeling when they decide to have a good training session... Keep up the good work!!! 
loads, it's great -- 
