What to do?

I got a text message from another trainer a couple weeks back.... Are you still interested in selling your mare? I have a client looking for a ride & drive horse. So we have been texting back and forth and she requested video.  

Since I have needed to get Casey going in harness, I dragged the cart out to the barn. Two birds, one stone and all that. The cart is easier to manage and I can leave it at the barn out by the arena where it is easily accessible and the weather won't bother it.

So Saturday night I brought out the harness also and figured- Let's DO This! 

Drag out Mazy and dust her off....

Harnessed up, get her boots on....

Let her pack all of our gear out to the arena, 

Yes long lines included.

Both directions

Before putting her to the cart I tried turning on the arena lights, which decided not to work for whatever reason. 

Of course she stayed put, but gave me a disapproving look of Why aren't we Doing this yet????

So before we lose any more daylight.... 

For not being driven 6 months, less than 20 drives total so far and I can just dust her off and go? Yeah she's quite the pony. 

While she did really good, she was not exactly thrilled. The footing in the arena is hard packed, two opposite corners are deeply rutted and not good for riding or driving and the arena is a bit small. Being pressed for time & light, I couldn't really open her up and put her to work like we normally would do- working trot, lengthened or extended trot, slow trot or jog, working and lengthened walk, all the gaits in both directions.... Circles, serpentines, up & down transitions, halts, back up a few steps. I am hoping to debut her at Prelim. Kick the door down and let everyone know We're Here! kind or thing, because that's how she rolls.

Do I want to sell her? I'm on the fence about it. Does the trainers client have the budget for her? Well it's about 1/3 to 1/2 her price short. And out of curiosity I asked the trainer the other day- what are they planning to do with their new horse? Trail riding and lower level CDE's. 

To be honest- I have my reservations. If I sell, of course I want it to be a good fit for both the buyer and more importantly- my pony. Do I think she is well suited for lower level competition? Not really. Her mentality is that of a Type A, Overachiever and Perfectionist. She is full of Try and usually gives me 5,000% effort All the time, when 50-75% would do fine on any given day. Opinionated mare much? Yes. Yes she is. Lol 

Derailed

My apologies for not posting recently. I had an out of town visitor and then contracted a hella stomach flu and have been feeling the effects for the past week already. Never fun. 

It has gotten me off track with getting Casey started in harness so that has me annoyed too. But since she has a year to go before she can really compete at any legit events, we're good for now. The heat has also had everything on hold and that sounds like an excuse too, but it is what it is. 

Hopefully I will be returning to posting soon with some awesome pics of the ponies working like da bombshells they are. Be safe. 

Just wanted to share a couple pics of something I found interesting with my ponies. 

Both Casey and Mazy have a spot under their jaw. 

Just something I noticed the one day. 

Not to be outdone

Oh Mazy! Goodness knows what I'm ever going to do with you, my crazy girl.

I love the Crazy look in Mazy's eye in this shot. She was obviously blasting around like a rocket and having fun. 

She may only be 14h but she is such a solid & thick built pony. With nothing to really scale her size against, she looks like such a Big horse. 

And round. The word round just comes to mind looking at her, but not in the sense of her being a keg with legs. She just has a correct roundness in her way of moving. 

Yes of Course she has 3rd gear! And probably several more we haven't discovered yet....  

Which is why it is not a good idea to name horses/ ponies for sports cars people. They try to emulate the way the cars handle and should be handled. Mazy has always given 10,000%. 👀 Seriously I would be happy with 50% or 75% like normal horses. 

What plans?!?!

 

I'm not sure what I was thinking or had in mind for Casey when I bought her. I mean she was a 3 y/o barely started under saddle. I think I wanted a horse I could just be chill with.

A horse that I could putz around on, wander down the trails and just relax with. Pick up a nice easygoing lope and cruise around. 

I mean she just vibed like that in the pics and IRL when I got her. Then when I added good food, grooming and hoof care... Casey came to life. 

She found 3rd gear and makes a Lot of use of it. Obviously she feels good! 

Her trot has also taken on a different kind of mojo. 

No complaints here. While she is still a bit smaller than Mazy in some ways, she has also really developed a motor and has similarly become a little powerhouse in her own right. 

Yet she still remains as sweet as can be. 

With such a pretty face! So soft, sweet and easy to get along with. 

Then there's moments like this where her stride, suspension and reach. are. just. Oh. Hell. Yeah!

All thoughts of a chill and relaxed western horse go right out the window. A trainer friend of mine a few states over said- Two things- 1) Bell Boots are a must! And 2) Dressage! + Her! = YES!!

  

Harness up!

With a marathon carriage on order it seems time to get Casey fitted for a harness and start teaching her to become a driving pony. Maybe I can get 20 drives on her and then both mares will be at the same point in training? Lol. 

All joking aside, even if they both have 15 or 20 drives to their credit- they will not likely be at the same point in their training. They are both smart, but we all learn at different speeds and some of us pick up things more easily than others. Horses are the same.

The first fitting went pretty well. I brought out my harness and a bag of spare parts. Since Casey is a little smaller than Mazy, I was expecting to have to take everything up a notch or two. Most of the spares are larger so I may have to swap out this for that. 

The harness saddle fit without having to adjust too much. Up a hole on each side and thats it. The backstrap needed to be changed out- the crupper was a couple holes long with no more to adjust. The same with the breeching.

My friend and mentor hit up her friend and mentor... and he suggested the backstrap shortened would help bring the breeching up closer to where it belongs. Adding holes would put it in its place.

Whole spare bridle sans a bit (which there was another in the box) and it all fit Casey perfectly! Just need a few things and there's a whole 2nd harness- reins, neckstrap, traces & saddle. 

As the pics show- we went out to ground drive and work her in the long lines. She did So Well! At one point she was rocked back and almost Bouncing along with such freedom in her movement. 

Yes I was gobsmacked and speechless for a bit at what I seen her doing. If she continues with that? We're going to slay dressage! 

The next day we swapped out the backstrap to put the crupper in place, used the breeching and breastcollar adjusted for Mazy and no adjustments needed. 

This pic is after she half slid to a stop. I still think she would be a fancy reining pony too. My friend told me her pony usually slides into his stops in long lines. Highly frowned upon in driving! 😊😳😔

Excited energy

There's a new edition to the herd at the barn. Two barns ago Mazy was nearby a mare with her foal and man does she get super pumped up about the little ones. 

So with this one Mazy is once again intrigued and curious about the baby. The mare is not letting anybody near it so she will have to wait. 

Instead she can sulk a bit and run off to play with Casey. No doubt in my mind that Mazy will be an incredible mother some day. 

And play they do! Jumping and kicking, tearing around the arena... I just like this pic with Casey's mane flying up and the various colors of her big spots. 

Goofy at her best Goofiness! 

Although there's only an inch difference in their height and 3 years in age, these two pics show the difference in their build, structure and muscle. 

They're just a bit too different to be a team or pair. Besides the added expense, I've heard driving a pair is a lot more work. 

I have always said that if this mare decides she's ever 'Done' with someone, they won't stand a chance. 

A friend of mine wants her as a barrel horse. No doubt she has speed and could turn 'n burn. 

Casey shows bursts of speed but just doesn't seem to care to maintain it. It's like she's saying, I can, I just don't have to. 

She's just a bit more reserved in that respect. I'm also still trying to crack the shell she has. It's like she has been thru some kind of trauma and still isn't sure about letting people in yet.  

Backstory

I was able to take a couple of short videos the other day while I was working Casey. Frame by frame and screenshot pics below. 

When I first got Casey, there's a funny story. I was shopping online in a place where you are not allowed to post or sell animals. Yet there she was and her ad had been up for almost 3 months. 

There were only 2 pics with the ad and I obviously inquired. "Yes she's still available." Something just struck me about her. I looked at those two pics at least a few hundred times.

I tried to be objective. What did I see that I did not care for? Could that be dealt with? Could that possibly change? With time? With work? 

The only three things I could fault her on from those pics were 1) she has more white than I care for. She's such a colorfully marked pony and it suits her well.  This made up, personal taste "issue" does not in any way make her run any faster or not, jump any higher or not, play any harder or be any more or any less anything. 

2) The second thing I could see that I wasn't too sure about was her heartgirth area. It looked shallow. Gotta remember she was young. She's 3 and this could change. Besides- who knows how long ago the pic was taken and if she was in a funky growth stage? She could be shallow but wide. Who knows? 

3) The third thing I found was her hind feet had too much heel. Could this be dealt with? Certainly. Would this change how she is built? A little. How she moves? Absolutely! Soundness? Yup! Would this take time? It should with a good farrier, which I have. 

Her owner seem to act like they could not get her out of there fast enough. Looking back- I never even asked what her name was? When I assured them that Yes, I do want the horse, picking her up was the issue- when could I make it??? They even offered to deliver her, but that fell thru. I was asking people if they could go get her for me as I had plans that could not be changed- business trip to the east coast. 

One of the guys from the barn agreed to go get her for me. Funny enough we were both coming home the same day. 

In the few days leading up to my trip the guy going to pick her up asked me- When I get there, is there anything I should look for that would be a deal-breaker? Wait. What? I hadn't thought about that. I thought about all the horses I had over the years that I bought or picked up from looking at a picture and some not even seeing a pic at all. 

I knew in my gut that she was a nice enough pony/horse and may or may not come with issues. I could deal with her issues and baggage. Deal-breakers?  "I guess if she only has 3 legs? That would be a deal-breaker." 

Clearly she has all four. Whew! 😊