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Post by cat67 on Jul 23, 2009 16:45:39 GMT -5
That's so cool that you're fostering her! I look forward to seeing her under saddle.
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Post by pk on Jul 29, 2009 8:43:21 GMT -5
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Post by schwung on Jul 29, 2009 9:05:56 GMT -5
Yay!! She looks great Kristi! I am glad to hear she is sensible on the trails as well!
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honeydofarm
Full BB Member
SAFE Volunteer
Trooper
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Post by honeydofarm on Jul 31, 2009 8:29:24 GMT -5
She looks great, Kristi. She looks quite flexible already and from the pics, she is responding well to all the new experiences. Amazing what they can do when given the chance.
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Post by cat67 on Aug 1, 2009 17:05:08 GMT -5
She looks fantastic! I am so glad to see these old broodmares riding. The heat has set back Thai's progress but I am hoping that now that things are cooling down we'll get back on track with her. On the plus side, she has finally gained a few more pounds. It is hard getting those old broodmare ribs covered over the way we would like!
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Post by kdunham on Aug 3, 2009 13:30:13 GMT -5
She looks great Kristi! Keep up the hard work!
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Post by pk on Aug 9, 2009 21:03:56 GMT -5
This weekend brought more work for Class Act. We decided to give her some new challenges on Friday, so we loaded her and PK in the trailer and went to Soos Creek. In my opinion, Soos Creek is a great training trail as it offers A LOT of obstacles for trail horses – bicycles, kids, strollers, the occasional rollerblader, joggers, street crossings, bridges, running water, mud, dogs and goats, plus other unexpected stuff along the way. The parking at Soos Creek isn’t good. Luckily Classy loads perfectly in the trailer every time. Here she is tied to the back of the trailer in the parking lot. She seemed to be having an off day on Friday. One reason may have been that I rode her in a sidepull instead of her usual bridle. She goes fine in the sidepull, and I wanted to see how she does with no bit. First she refused to walk down a hill that got dark on the bottom and went into the trees. She stood at the top and pawed the ground. Finally she went down and was fine until…we were loping along a grassy section and she saw some goats in the distance. She came to a screeching halt and began to back up. One of the horses behind us bumped into us. She eventually went by the goats and passed them without incident on the way back. There are several bridges on the trail. Classy did OK on most of them, but on the way back there was one bridge she didn’t want to go across (although she had already crossed it earlier). It took several minutes before she walked across it. Here she is looking at the bridge, and finally crossing it. We rode about 12 miles in 3 hours. Classy seems to have some arthritis in her left hind leg and will kick it out to the side occasionally. She never slows down or seems uncomfortable with it. The work we’ve been doing with her is moderate difficulty, but I think it may be in the upper limits of her physical capabilities. Class has done quite a bit of trotting and cantering, as well as hills and rides on rocky terrain. She does very well on these, but I don’t think I’d recommend her for high mountain riding or taking her on 30-mile rides. In any event, she is very responsive to cues and moves out nicely. When we got back we tied both horses to the fence in the grass (probably a “no no”, but they both did their business in the grass and not in the trailer). Classy drank water from her bucket, nibbled some grass, and was very cooperative in everyway. On Saturday we were going to take the horses to a local farm to practice on their trail course. I found out the parking isn’t that good there, so we practiced at home instead. Classy did everything perfectly – I was thoroughly impressed. We added some new obstacles to try and throw her off, but she went though it all with flying colors. Today my friend (who considers herself a beginner) took Classy out on a trail ride with our other horses. She went by dogs, highway traffic, junk on the road, etc. She also stopped and stood for a period of time while we waited for other horses to catch up. Classy walks very fast and also likes to trot. According to my friend, she is very smooth and extremely nice to ride – absolutely recommended as a “husband horse” or a beginner safe trail horse. One thing that I should add is I’ve found a vice Classy has: she occasionally pulls back when tied to the hitching post. She is fine most of the time, but if she feels threatened by a person, she will pull back. She was also very reactive and nervous with the longe line when she first got here. Obviously someone has hit her while working with her on the ground. Poor Girl. She doesn’t freak out, and will relax as soon as the person steps back. She hasn’t broken anything – the knot on the lead rope isn’t even tight when you untie her. She is fine tied in or to the trailer (as you can see above). One day she stepped into my space and I yelled, “Hey” at her. She immediately expected to be smacked with something and pulled back for a couple of seconds before relaxing again. On a positive note, one day Classy knocked into her brush tote, flipped it over, broke it, stepped on, and then got her foot through it so it was stuck on her leg. Of course I expected her to completely flip out. She just took a couple of steps back and forth until it fell off - never even panicked. Classy is very nice to be around. I think she will be more comfortable being tied after she learns to trust people a little more. She is easy to catch and very willing to please!
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Post by cat67 on Aug 10, 2009 1:18:32 GMT -5
I admire you and Kdunham so much for being willing to put trail miles on these rescue horses! It helps so much in getting them adopted.
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shekaberry
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Post by shekaberry on Aug 10, 2009 10:57:04 GMT -5
Does she pull back in cross-ties? I only took her out a couple times and she never behaved like she bore any physical abuse. She jigged around in the cross-ties, but they are elastic so there is some give when she put pressure on them.
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Post by pk on Aug 10, 2009 19:50:15 GMT -5
We don't have any cross ties, so when she is tied here it is either to the hitching post or the trailer. Her behavior isn't what I would consider excessive or unprovoked. She really is fearful of being smacked or hit with the rope. When she was first lunged here and I asked her to stop and face me, she threw her head up in the air and backed away from me. She did the same thing when I tried to reward her by patting her on the neck. She is completely relaxed now while working in the arena. I saw Ken Mcnabb or someone similar working horses, and he kept popping the horse with rope making it look excited and intimidated by the handler. It is kind of what Classy was doing, but she was a little too reactive. I really don't like my horses reacting to people in this way. IMO horses should be relaxed and comfortable around people, not on edge all the time.
In any event, Classy ties fine most of the time, and I've never had any problem with her tied to anything other than the hitching post. One problem may be that she can't see the other horses when she is tied there. I do feel that over time she will become more comfortable and stop pulling all together. While it isn't a huge issue for her, I think it is something people should be aware of if they are intersted in her.
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Post by schwung on Aug 24, 2009 23:55:43 GMT -5
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Post by schwung on Aug 26, 2009 19:04:47 GMT -5
Pending Adoption!!! Cross your fingers, but I think Classy may have her forever home!!
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Post by cyann100 on Aug 26, 2009 19:06:12 GMT -5
Way to go Classy!
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Post by horsewatcher on Aug 26, 2009 23:07:12 GMT -5
That is great news! I heard the show was WONDERFUL! Kristi my friend/roommate saw you there but she said you were busy so she didnt get a chance to say 'hi' however she said PK looked great. I guess she saw the lead line class.
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Post by pk on Aug 27, 2009 20:25:50 GMT -5
Here are some more pics of Class Act. The night before the show Classy's special friend came over and banded her mane so it would all lay to one side. It looks so much better than it did before. Classy after she won second in the western pleasure walk only class. Going through the "waterfall". No Problem! The lead line class.
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