# The biggest project may start soon



## secuono

Yeah, I was looking for a pony resale project to further my horse training experience...

This showed up, know next to squat & we may be picking her up this Thursday. 

Supposedly 10yrs old, branded mustang mare, calm. Previous owner claimed she's broke, but led in sale, so probably has issues...That's all the info we got. 
See? I've lost my noodle! 

Anywho, meeting her at my trainer's place & then hauling her home.  Hoping she doesn't maim anyone or any critter... 


   
You guys may need to pray for me...






Also, did we get 4 new smilies??


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## Mini Horses

Pretty little thing.  Nice hip on her.  Why not let your trainer give her a "test ride"  ?


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## secuono

Mini Horses said:


> Pretty little thing.  Nice hip on her.  Why not let your trainer give her a "test ride"  ?




I don't want to kill my trainer! I actually like her.

But I will ask to use her dog as a guinea pig to see if she's dog friendly & maybe even see if I can borrow her Bucking Dummy later on. 
http://www.ardall.com/ardall-sr1/

She'll be helping me out as needed, but most will be on my neck...


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## promiseacres

She is cute!! That bucking dummy is awesome! Though I wonder about a horse that would buck/bolt  with that but not a person.... my Richie might be one of those.... interesting though. Mustangs are definitely independent so I personally would spend a ton of time on the ground with her. Keep us posted.


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## RollingAcres

She is beautiful and good luck. I hope you end up picking her up on Thursday and hope she works out for you. 
And yes we have some new smilies and they are cool!


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## secuono

Flipper is dropping her off at trainers for the night & we're picking up Thursday. 
Oh, the anxiety!!


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## secuono

Trainer pics, about to arrive. 
"Spunky" is not what I wanted to hear...lol.


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## Bruce

I don't know much about horses but I think she is pretty. You will be fine because you have a trainer, you aren't going in ignorant thinking you can figure everything on the fly.

And yes 4 new smilies! They were requested and the staff provided them. They already existed on BYC which is run also run by those who run this site.


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## secuono

Butt high, curvy, my old saddle don't fit.


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## Bruce

new horse AND a new saddle! Congratulations 

@Baymule needs to see your new horse


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## RollingAcres

Really beautiful horse!


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## GypsyG

She's a really cute little mare!  I'm looking forward to keeping up with your journey with her.


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## secuono

Don't have a saddle for her yet, that can wait a good while. I'm still sour about my gelding's saddle search, lol.


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## secuono

She met the cat & dogs, no issues. 

We walked through the ewe pasture filled with sheep, she didn't mind.

She does not approve of the alpaca! 

She flew around me when Derrik ran over to us, but she's great on a lead, as she didn't pull the lead from my hands, simply teleported to my other side. 

She's about 14.2~ I'll measure her later.

Need to use wee disposable razors to shave her brand, did not approve of trainer trying to use electric ones.


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## secuono

Went back out.
She's got bad hinds or very much so not used to hills!
She made it halfway up on her own, then I went over to coax her up the rest of the way. 
She's hard to catch. It's been awhile since I've had to deal with that! 
Herded her up all the way after coaxing her past the rock with cookies became impossible. 
She stomped at the cat in frustration, spooked at who knows what, spooked at me touching her side when I was on a rock and thus taller than her, also doesn't seem to be used to deer, as 3 have come by again. 
Bachelors are locked out of the adjacent paddock to give her more room to get used to the idea of pacas. 
She's now gone back up to the gate on her own.


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## secuono

This forum has been so slow the last few days...


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## Bruce

Yes it has, at least in the evenings.
OK I give, what is circled in that picture? 

Was she afraid of Derrick or did he just scare her by running up fast?


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## secuono

Bruce said:


> Yes it has, at least in the evenings.
> OK I give, what is circled in that picture?
> 
> Was she afraid of Derrick or did he just scare her by running up fast?



Three deer.

She's afraid of both of the alpaca.


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## secuono

From the 26th, fairly sure it's the same 3.


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## Bruce

Just doesn't like animals that are closer to her in stature? My alpacas sound an alarm when they see deer... and turkeys ... and cats WAY out at the edge of the field that I can't even see without binoculars.


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## secuono

Bruce said:


> Just doesn't like animals that are closer to her in stature? My alpacas sound an alarm when they see deer... and turkeys ... and cats WAY out at the edge of the field that I can't even see without binoculars.




Black paca, Ty, only has a cow when I touch Krillin, "his" lamb. Derrik hasn't made a peep. Derrik wanted his daily grain, that's why he rushed us.

We walked by my 4 ponies as well, she didn't mind them, though, I didn't let her have time to think of them. She's in QT for as long as I can manage before I cave and try to get her to make friends with the others...Would be nice to be able to let them all free on the 20acres, since she's the biggest & as much space as possible will be helpful. 

Going to get her height tomorrow and do a little ground work. Will wait a week or so before I lead her over to the pacas again to work on her fear of them.


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## secuono

Wet horse, it rained/snowed a bit...


 

 

 


She'll come up wanting to be pet & she doesn't like when I touch her brand.


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## Bruce

Bad memories of the pain of branding? 'cause I know nothing I'll say I thought horses and cattle were branded on the hindquarters, not the neck. 

Since she is a herd animal she, hopefully, will want to be with the other equines. Do the ponies get along with the pacas?


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## secuono

Bruce said:


> Bad memories of the pain of branding? 'cause I know nothing I'll say I thought horses and cattle were branded on the hindquarters, not the neck.
> 
> Since she is a herd animal she, hopefully, will want to be with the other equines. Do the ponies get along with the pacas?



She's a BLM mustang, Bureau of Land Mangement, they brand all rounded up horses & burros on the left side, up high by the mane. It's a freezebrand, supposedly doesn't or shouldn't hurt to have it done. 

Pacas are kept with the rams, since the ewes get the hay field & I don't need them getting injured or worse by pacas. But the ponies & pacas get along through the fence, they seem to like licking the pacas...its weird. 
Horses are too frisky to be with them, especially now....


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## secuono

Or rather....The baby gelding is too risky, as seen in above picture. The minis are usually mellow, but have their moments, like they're having lately. Eldest gelding would be safe, he's incredibly lazy & a total pushover....


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## secuono

Yup, I caved and started introductions. She's a squealing demon!
Poor baby gelding was so confused as to why she was being so witchy! She had the most violent reactions towards him. 
Seems like pinto mini and eldest gelding may make friends with her the easiest.


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## secuono

She also got brave when Derrik came by.


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## Bruce

Just takes a little time I guess.


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## secuono

She seems to be a good horse, but badly cared for. She's careful not to run me over. Has front hoof issues...

So...I used the horse tape measure and...13.3h....
Top of wither over shoulder, right before her neck starts, that slightly flat area. I kept feeling, leaning back, questioning my sanity and trying again...
I moved her to a flatter area, tried again, same thing. I stood straight up and measured her against my chest, then went over to my gelding and repeated it. She's 1 inch shorter than him...
I made sure my foot was in the right place on the tape, too. 
I can't wait until I can stand them side by side, as i can't seem to believe it. She looks taller just looking at her! 

I think I'm gonna make myself a horse sized measuring stick...lol

  

 

Watching me play with the cat.


 

It rained, she made a bunch of mud. I could tell she was telling me to fix it. So, I moved her to another paddock and she drank n ate! Princess!


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## Mike CHS

She is a powerful looking one.  I hope she works out for you.


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## secuono

My internet is so poor lately...
Working on her feet. She's finally eating hay. But she's cold today, more rain/snow.


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## Bruce

Sounds like she's getting accustomed to her new home.


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## secuono

She's also no longer petrified of the alpaca.


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## secuono

Hopefully these finally upload...


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## Bruce

secuono said:


> She's also no longer petrified of the alpaca.


Yay!!!! All in good time. Probably never saw an alpaca before, kinda frightening to see a "monster" running right at you.


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## secuono

She flung the net over fence, I put it back, then she somehow ripped the net down...


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## Bruce

I guess she knows what she wants!


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## secuono

Hmm
This seems to say ?05 513855.
Which makes her 14 yrs old.


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## RollingAcres

secuono said:


> She's also no longer petrified of the alpaca.


They will become BFFs in no time.


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## Bruce

secuono said:


> This seems to say ?05 513855.


If you say so!


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## secuono

Bruce said:


> If you say so!



I don't understand this comment. What do you mean by it? Can you read the brand, what does it say?


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## secuono




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## secuono

She's a kicker, for sure, when it comes to other horses. Ugh.
She's also a jumper over water.


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## Bruce

secuono said:


> Can you read the brand, what does it say?


Nope, can't read it.


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## frustratedearthmother

Great pics!


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## goatgurl

she's a beautiful girl and by the time you two are thru you'll have a new best friend for life.  she has to learn to trust you in this wild new environment she's in.  and she will i'm betting.  from everything I know about mustangs they are on a level of intelligence with arabs so you don't want to force them to do things you need to make them think its all their idea.  lots of ground work and round pen work would be my suggestion.  you're gonna have so much fun with her.  i'm just a little jealous.  enjoy


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## goatgurl

forgot to say that that's a lot of air over a little trickle of water.  that's gonna be fun.  someone must have told her about puddle piranhas nibbling at horses feet, lol


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## secuono

Walked her back up the other day, on a lead through the low area, no banks to it, nearly lost my boot, anywho. As we approach, I see her wiggling n weaving like she's thinking of jumping it, but isn't sure from which area is best to do so. Then she sees me dredging through the mess and I glance back to see what her decision is and I see her go "ohh, we walking this?? D*mn...okay then..."
So, clearly she will do it nicely, not graceful in either instance, she just rather not. And I can't blame her, I don't like walking through them either, since they've been a boot suckin' disaster for awhile now. But if I tried to jump them, a worse disaster would happen.


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## Bruce

goatgurl said:


> so you don't want to force them to do things you need to make them think its all their idea.


Like husbands?


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## secuono

Slow net again...
Worked on some things with her.


 

 same pic as above, but slant fixed.


 
Backing up-


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## secuono

Geese flew just a couple yards from our heads, she only lifted her head. Very mellow girl.


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## secuono

Loves scritches. Got her to bring her head over and even follow me over to get loved on.


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## Bruce

Gotta like that! She's coming around fast.


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## secuono

Someone that works in the BLM program contacted me & if below is her brand then-
"05593766. She was born in the holding facility in Palomino Valley in Nevada."

But I'm going to try shaving it better. I see different angles/numbers, lol. 14yrs still stands. Idk when she was adopted, though.


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## secuono

So, I made my own horse stick...of sorts. Its an 18h white metal pole that is used for adjustable shelving. 
After I got her to accept it, it read 14h! 
That's a much more correct number, lol.


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## secuono

05 593766 seems to be correct!
Unless the 66 is 55.

Also, I didn't bring my phone, battery was real low. Totally missed all the excitement and fire breathing madness!! 
Sarcasm.

She did excellent! Hardly cared! I'm so proud, she seems to trust our work we did that led up to this.


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## secuono




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## Bruce

secuono said:


> She did excellent! Hardly cared! I'm so proud, she seems to trust our work we did that led up to this.


That's GREAT!

"05 593766 seems to be correct!
Unless the 66 is 55."

No, it is clearly 66 based on the graphic you posted. They got pretty sloppy with the 5 under the 0 ( though. Not sure what the U on the far left is but I'm sure you do.


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## secuono

United States is the U thingie. I believe Canada has their own mustangs?

More info!
Born in facility in 2005.
Adopted in late 2007. Out of Lorton Va event.
Rehomed start of 2008.
Rehomed to a saddle trainer at some point. Then used as a western lesson horse for a little bit.
Sold due to downsizing at some point. 2009, possibly. 
Then unknown if this last person was the one who took her to the Orange auction house or if there were more homes in between.
At sale, sold to some guy.
Some guy sold her to me. He was going to take her to NC if I hadn't of gotten her.


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## Bruce

I bet she has the best home now that she has ever had.


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## secuono

So hard to get nice pics of her alone in the snow...Follows me around, lol.



 

 

 

 

It's kind of funny how horses respond to alpaca, since pacas tend to have ears back, horses misunderstand easily.


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## secuono




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## secuono

It seems "the biggest project" will just be her feet & getting her integrated into my herd...lol.


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## Bruce

If my pacas' ears are back it means they are not happy.

Looks like she's getting along just fine with the cat.


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## secuono

I've been told back means indifferent, back flat angry. But pacas quickly and regularly flop their ears down, enough to look like an angry horse to a horse, so...

She tried to bite him the other week, she's a moody thing...


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## secuono

Trimmed front feet some, then out she went!


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## frustratedearthmother

Love that last pic!


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## secuono




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## secuono

Trimmed Mustang's fronts yesterday, between meeting horses, but not before playing "catch me if you can" for 20mins. She really doesn't like you if you have a lead and/or harness in hand, ugh! Then picked out hinds real quick.
Today, halfway trimmed hinds, from heel forward, while off-lead & surrounded by the others. They need a little more work to be finished, but she's a bit hairy & I'd like to stay alive to see winter off...lol


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## promiseacres

Love the pictures of the horses on the hill


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## secuono




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## Bruce

Looks like she's fitting in really well! Cat in the kiddie pool , I notice on the side with no water.


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## secuono

Should of made a round pen, attached to the main yard, before getting the horse. So, soooooo annoying dealing with a hard to catch horse...


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## secuono

Okay, last night, I put up some tape n posts for a rough layout. This morning, I measured it out to be 60ft, added 13 tposts, will steal some others from an area I'll be taking down anyway. 
It'll connect to a current fence and go straight out from it for one corner, but larger than a 90°,so that it can continue the curve. 

Since this is hard to see, marked up the 2nd pic.
Dark green is straight fencing.
Red are gates, one on right I need for sheep n such.
Grey are posts.
Light green is outline of circle.
It's on a slope, but oh well.
What will it be made of? Idk yet...Won't be permanent, so I don't want to spend a ton on it.


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## secuono

They decided to go into the barn this AM and the fox hunters are here.


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## Bruce

Done already! Now all you have to do is catch her so you can bring her into the ring for working.


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## secuono

Supervisor Meow.


 
Pen is done.
Mutual grooming with the geldings, but she's confusing the heck outta them with her random grumpy squealing mixed in. Poor guys...

 
They came down as I was evenly spacing the ropes.

 
They had red, blue, green and yellow. Ugh. Might add the white hot tape between the top and bottom rows, just so it's more visible...
Gate area just needs some clips for those ropes.


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## secuono

So, pen works, ignore the goobers...


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## Bruce

Um, is that horse supposed to be biting at the other?


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## secuono

Bruce said:


> Um, is that horse supposed to be biting at the other?



That's how they play.


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## Bruce

No blood, no foul?


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## secuono

Bruce said:


> No blood, no foul?



Well, I mean, they shouldn't be doing that while lunging...lol, but yeah, it's just play. Taller one is older and rather not play, but pesky younger brothers tend to nag and be a pain...


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## secuono

Searching for wider white tape to use instead, 1/2" isn't visible enough.


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## Bruce

I guess the horses need something more visible? Do they tend to run into it if they aren't paying attention?


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## secuono

This morning, I snuck a line over her to catch her. Then tried to lunge on the line in the pen. She did what she did before, moving herself so I couldn't drive her forward, several times. So, a little pop on the butt to directly tell her to move that-a-way and off she went. The tricky hussy...She later had a couple seconds where she confused herself and wanted to go in all 6 directions at once, but then she took a moment to think and followed the direction of my arm. Whoo! No further issues. Didn't bother with controlling speed or doing turns yet.

Later in the day, I setup the camera, but Phoenix was messing with the stuff on the fence, so camera flopped down. =/ 
Had to sneak a rope again to catch her, but did start reintroducing it with treats, before and as I'm taking it off.
After yielding bum to crop taps, we lunged at a walk with the long lines, did fine. They're annoyingly long when ground driving, though. Just walked while ground driving.
She's a head tosser. Maybe why she's got a mark across her nose, from a tiedown strapped to her face she constantly fought? Speculation, of course. She can't just tell me, but that just means I'll have to be more careful with her face.
Stick to the wall. Why, also, how? 
Walk a straight line. Can do.
Now to turn. Sure.
Time to stop. *head toss* What, why?
Time to back up. *head toss* C'mon, why?
We did get the backing w/o any head tossing to end the day on. 
Adding some holes will probably make it a better fitting halter and should help some, too.


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## Bruce

Can't say I know much about training horses but it seems to me that she is coming along pretty quickly. Might be she already knows some of what you want and needs to decide if she wants to let you to tell her what to do or not.


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## secuono




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## Bruce

Beautiful sequence!!


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## secuono

Whoops, forgot the video.
Was surprised by how quickly they responded and came in! Haven't called them in w/the new girl before.


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## Bruce

Nice! (Except next time, no walking with the camera pointing at the ground ahead  )


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## secuono




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## secuono

Earlier in the day, I worked with her about not avoiding a lead or halter. Lots of approach, sniff, retreat. Then adding scritches, then rubbing with and tossing on those items. 
I was the cow-horse and she the cow, at first, lol.
Also picked everyone's feet, she started to let me do her right front, then drug me off. So I ran her away from the herd. Picked half the herd's feet when she crept back. Finished everyone and then was able to pick all 4 of her feet w/o issue. I've been using this method for a little while now, she wants to be with us all, but if she doesn't behave, she's told to get away from us. Repeat until she agrees to be nice. 
Later, I rode the potato and new missy showed that she's getting too attached to potato. 
Had to do the approach n retreat a few times before I could catch her to work with her in hand/on the ground. 

OMG, don't leave me!!


 walking n stopping.


 trotting in hand.


 girth/cinch pressure work.


 head down cue.


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## Wehner Homestead

She’s making progress! I’m so glad she ended up in a knowledgeable home that is showing her how to act without beating her into submission. I can’t imagine the connection you and her will have by the time you have spent a year together!


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## secuono

Since she'll be living in it and respecting hot wire is training related, I'll put this here.

Started putting up the track again. It will go around the hill ditch that leads to the pond, the pond itself and then the pond's runoff area. It will reconnect at the new round pen and the original track by the easement. 
It will also cut over that weedy, rocky hill with the trees on it that the track was expanded over during winter.

Pics of it tomorrow.


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## secuono

Ordered a High Country Plastics Farrier Stand. Its metal, high county plastics is the company name. Should arrive next week. 
*

 *


Also ordered a 
9" Shinto Saw Rasp, too. Arrives Friday!
*

 *


She fits in with the others when it comes to being picky about where and how I hold her feet. But hoping I can use the stand for all & make it a bit easier on myself. Which, in turn, will make it a shorter experience for the ponies.


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## secuono

I thought of sawing it shorter & drilling more holes, but sitting on my legs(asian fashion) on the ground for the minis is no issue. ♡  They're good girls.

Back to the Missy, shaved the toes back and evened the heels. She was a bit of a turd, so I did some of it with the foot on the ground. Hmm, not something I know anyone to do, lol. I place the rasp on the ground and shave away what's needed vertically to bring the toe back, then lift the foot and work on the underside. I first did that with my oldest gelding, back when he had trouble keeping a foot up long enough & needed toes to come back.

It's weird, the more I worry & try to get things perfect, the more things fail...Doing less & not perfect seems to, some magical way, keep the foot on track. I guess it comes down to over thinking?


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## Bruce

Maybe. I don't know how much 'latitude' there is between good and perfect.


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## secuono

I've been leaning on her for awhile, but from the ground.
Then did several leans from a bucket.



 




Got into a pony huddle for a bit...


 

Some more bucket leaning. 

 

Then first moment of full weight on her!


 

Her relaxed back height...


 

Her back height once engaging muscles. 


 

First semi hop to a lean.


 

Laying for 2 seconds.


 





Oh, she is humpy & wants to kick if you try to lean on her offside.


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## Bruce

Seems like she is progressing well!


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## secuono

Bruce said:


> Seems like she is progressing well!



Yeah, besides scaring me crapless when I work on her offside, lol, she's great.
Seemed like she was telling me to get on already, hah.

I noticed lumps yesterday that look like they're from saddle on her shoulders.
Chatting with RodNickle about it, since I remember reading his website about this in the past.
http://www.rodnikkel.com/content/sa...p-and-desk/wither-conformation-seeing-damage/




This is why the saddle goes BEHIND the scapula, not on it!

And I wonder if that was part of her problem in the past.

And the new rasp arrived! Sucker gots teeth!!


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## secuono

Oh yay! The stand will arrive tomorrow instead of next week.


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## Bruce

secuono said:


> And the new rasp arrived! Sucker gots teeth!!


They work better that way


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## secuono

Stand came in!
Reviews said the magnets suck, but mine seem to be able to hold the other attachment and my new rasp w/o issue.


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## secuono

New rasp is okay for minis, but doesn't remove enough hoof at a time.


First arrival & today. 




She has SO MANY things going on with each of her hooves all at once that I don't always see it until I'm reviewing pictures.

And here's the mark/scar on her nose that isn't photogenic.





Lastly, her foot scar, by my thumb & it goes around. There's a lump above it, too, you can see it.


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## frustratedearthmother

She has picked up some condition since you got her - she's looking great!  Good job with her!


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## secuono

So. Close.


Sniffing my foot.


 
Quick scritch. 

 
Almost all the way up...


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## Bruce

She's really doing well!


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## secuono

Had a close call today. 
Groomed her, moved onto others. Was grooming little gelding and she came up, wanting to be groomed some more. 
I told her off. She moved away a little. 
I decided to ask her to move her butt over, except she didn't agree with it. 
IDK if she thought little gelding was nipping her hip or what, but she squealed, moved away a touch and up went her back feet. Halfassed, but still.
I pelted her with the only thing I had, the grooming brush. Then yelled and had her trot away from the area.
Got out my crop and continued to groom others, telling her to back away any time she came by.
Will keep it around for a bit while I work on remembering to stay further from her and telling her to give space.


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## secuono

Hmm, does it fit?? Donno, seems like it.
She got super humpy the first time I put it on her, so I started over as if she's never had one on. 
Asked some FB groups about its fit, if they like it, I'll cinch it up and get to working with her about accepting it. I think she may buck some over it.


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## Bruce

Small bump in the road!


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## Wehner Homestead

That middle pic of two horses above worked out at just the right time! It appears that there’s one head to two bodies. Like perfectly! 

I love watching her progress!


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## Bruce

Opposite of a pushmepullyou


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## Wehner Homestead

I haven’t seen that movie in years! I’ll have to get it out and watch it.


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## secuono

Got stuff to expand the horse track around the pond! 
58 new posts, two new rolls of hot tape, caps for the round pen, splicing clamps.

  

You can better see the ropes, now that the grass is greening up.

 


 

And returned the other saddle and got another.


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## secuono

Got two bags of caps, 10 in each. Turned out to be exactly how many I needed.
White ones cost more than yellow. Cap only cost nearly double vs cap w/hot tape clips! =/


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## frustratedearthmother

Busy, busy, busy!


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## secuono

Woo, well, that 2nd saddle 100% not a fit! 

Track is almost ready!


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## Mike CHS

In the next to last picture it at least showed that they were trying to help get the posts out of the box.


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## secuono

Need one more role of hot tape to be done...So close.
Returning the 2nd saddle.


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## Bruce

Maybe you need to bring the horse to the saddle store


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## secuono

Bruce said:


> Maybe you need to bring the horse to the saddle store



Yeah, but with just two that were 14", why bother? Other store is in a horrible location and never has seats in the 14" range.
She's also afraid of saddles. Don't need her to spook and run down the road to the highway.


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## secuono

"Trapped" on the wrong side. 


 

Tried mr potato's saddle on her, confirming she is curvy. And potato is too fat for his saddle now...fabulous...


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## Bruce

I guess she's a girl that likes to go natural, ride her bareback


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## secuono

Done with the track!
3 new rolls, still not enough to go around the far trees and include the gates. Ah well, I'll be shrinking its width some as the ground dries, so may be able to include that back area.


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## Bruce

Horse playground.


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## secuono

Everyone came to see what was happening. 




 

 

Then Kasia _fell asleep_ while the clippers ran. She even got a dream in!


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## secuono

It happened again!

Finished bringing toes back & treating for thrush, then decided to practice yielding hindquarters before letting her go.

Lifting feet for picking out, no problem.

Left side? Zero issues, light n easy. 

Right side? 

She wrings her tail, pins ears, then if I ignore her, head swings around & leg comes up into the air. 

I'm hardly touching her with the hoof pick, or even my fingers, over the hip. Technically it's the broadside of the thigh. I tried different spots with the same results. 

She was fine before, before that one day she kicked out at me. So, I'm not sure what the issue is. First guesses would be she was kicked or somehow injured and she's still not over it. 

I wonder what else could be the cause...

I had brushed her before starting & she didn't mind the metal comb over the hip.


----------



## Bruce

Does sound like it is pretty tender there. I guess you were able to lift that leg before? Maybe she did get kicked by one of the other horses.


----------



## secuono

Bruce said:


> Does sound like it is pretty tender there. I guess you were able to lift that leg before? Maybe she did get kicked by one of the other horses.




Was able to pick out that leg & brush that hip, but tapping it to get her to move over was that no-no. =/


----------



## secuono

Oh. Come. On!

I set up my phone to record her reactions, so that I can use it when I ask about it. 

*SIGH*

Nothing!

She did it fine!
A little slow, but otherwise zero reaction!

So annoying how they like to make me look like a liar!

My dog did the same on shearing day. Told DH that they like to eat the poopy wool, so I tossed him(the dog) some and he walked away!
But today, I got it on video! W/o the dog noticing it. 


Anyway, you can see how apprehensive I am in the linked video below. 

So, I'm not sure what it was about...


----------



## Bruce

I see you are wearing traditional pasture footwear 

Guess she just did want to make a liar out of you. Or maybe whatever was bothering her has improved enough.


----------



## secuono

Lunged all 5 ponies together!
Maybe 10min in all, yard isn't a neat square, so it was chaos for a bit.
Dunie knew what I wanted. He's almost always a good boy.
Phoenix had his head in the clouds when he wasn't gnawing on Dune's butt.
Kasia was slow to get with the program, but I had to call her name a few times then the command for her to understand.
Slodka took a bit of time to remember when to stop, also called on her individually for it.
I don't understand people who say horses do not respond to verbal communication. They must be doing it wrong. 
Phoenix only stopped when he would run into Dune, heh. He's such a pain.
And Flugi was all over the place. She eventually figured out when I wanted her to stop, but not before getting after her arse for being a .
Managed to end on a good note with everyone and Flugi stepped in when asked(by accident).
In conclusion... Phoenix needs individual work, so does Flugi, especially for stops. Phoenix also needs to sit out of herd lunging for a bit. And I need to re-enclose the yard or use the round pen the next time I want to do herd lunging.


----------



## Bruce

That would be an interesting video.


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## Bruce

Looks like they are working really well!


----------



## secuono

I think I'll be removing the round pen. 
I put back up the easement fence by the barn & been using that odd shaped yard instead. It is about an 80ft round? So better for joints. =/

And, I've been getting nowhere with her hooves.... Took pictures yesterday and realized that I wasn't being aggressive enough. So, this morning, I went back and removed heel and toe much further & there's finally a bit of progress going again! *phew*
On rubber in today's pics, so it's a mess to see the flat heel bottom.


----------



## Bruce

I don't know much about horses but I recently watched a video where someone had a rescue horse with TERRIBLE hooves. Looks like you have a way to go, bit by bit.


----------



## secuono

Marked up to show plan of action, guess you could say.


----------



## secuono

Did exactly what I assumed she would!

Which one of you guys wants to hop on first? 

I'm not even surprised...


 
And back to insisting on forward. 

 

 
Stressed herself out. 


 

 
Oh, we're  doing this again, huh? 

 
Alright, forward!!


----------



## frustratedearthmother

Silly girl!


----------



## Bruce

secuono said:


> Which one of you guys wants to hop on first?


Ladies first! 

Love that first picture, looks like the cat has decided to buck and skedaddle outta there.

Is that standard footwear for training horses?


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## secuono




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## secuono

Taking Flugi to my trainer's place this week!


----------



## secuono

Had a friend join me while I watched.


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## secuono




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## secuono

Oh, our homework!
Tons of, preferably, daily w/t long lining with a saddle on. For at least 30 days, then bring her back for Mr Bucky session & go from there.


----------



## Bruce

I guess since none of us volunteered to ride her, you found some dummy to do it 

And you found her a friend (i think it needs feeding, looks all bones, not even any skin).


----------



## secuono

Skelepony is actually #6 in my herd. He's been boarding at Trainer's, lol. I got him a toupee of sheep's wool today.


----------



## Bruce

Boy you really need to find another boarding place, they clearly are not feeding him enough


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## secuono

Used my old fugly saddle. It still rolled a touch, maybe a thinner pad might help with that. It hardly flopped around on her, which is great! 
One stride worth of a buck missed on the left right at the start. Then after several laps of trot & canter, she tossed in some bucking that lasted 7 strides, then she was done.
Sweat pattern wasn't perfect, but far better than expected.


----------



## secuono

10min of ground driving. Or maybe I should call it 10min of head tossing, ducking & bulldozing.
I bought a pony w/many problems

No real stop, probably would take the bit and run away with you. Listen to directional changes? Hah, no need! We're blindly bulldozing our way through life!


DH was supposed to tell me "No!". So...yeah, here I am, with my can overflowing with worms...


----------



## Bruce

Going fishing?


----------



## secuono

Went better the second time.


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## secuono




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## Bruce

Maybe she was testing to see who was the alpha horse and who was the most stubborn.


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## secuono

Bruce said:


> Maybe she was testing to see who was the alpha horse and who was the most stubborn.



She doesn't know how to ground drive.
And has issues against reins telling her what to do.


Updated the previous post. It said "long lining" when I meant "ground driving".


----------



## Bruce

because long lining is a method of fishing in the ocean  Of course it might also exist in the horse world.

And I suppose she's never been taught ground driving so there is no reason she would know how. But she's learning.


----------



## secuono

Lunging on a circle with 2 lines. 
Near side, line goes through suringicle, then to person, blue. Other line goes either to suringicle and then to person, red. Or through suringicle, behind the horse, then to person, purple.


----------



## Bruce

And what is the purpose of long lining and ground driving?


----------



## secuono

Bruce said:


> And what is the purpose of long lining and ground driving?



Everything can technically be taught from the ground, except maybe seat/leg cues & having an actual human aboard.


----------



## secuono

From yesterday.


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## secuono

From today.


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## secuono




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## Bruce

Looks like she's doing pretty well with a light hand on the "reins".


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## secuono

Bruce said:


> Looks like she's doing pretty well with a light hand on the "reins".



If she doesn't want to turn or stop, head goes up. Or it bolts down to the ground. Seems like previous rider(s) let her get away with it or never tried to get her over her moods.


----------



## Bruce

Are you happy with her progress?


----------



## secuono

I tried the GoPro today...Had issues with where it was pointing...ugh.
She did really well on the way back! We trotted twice, she slowed to a walk each time w/o any problems! Of course, camera was facing the clouds...It kept stopping the recording...
Anywho, here are video stills from it. Once I'm able to review it to make sure I'm not saying inappropriate things, I'll post the videos, too.
Camera stopped at about 3min & I had to delete a bunch of videos. Flugi turned to face me during that time. Once I was done, you'll be able to see it in the video, I had her turn 180 and walk on, she did great!
These should be in order!


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## secuono

Bruce said:


> Are you happy with her progress?



After today's session, with the surcingle & in the straight way, yes. I need to keep it in that straight area until she really understands, then I can add in areas of openness more and more. She seems to get into a good working mind until her buddies get her off course, lol. I'm guessing that I'll do a lot of this before trying the saddle again. And then eventually add my own dummy onto the saddle or any weight. I'm guessing 6-8wks instead of 4wks that was the original plan, but that's okay.


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## secuono




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## secuono

Video cut out after last pic.


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## Bruce

secuono said:


>


Uh oh, Highwaymen ahead!


----------



## secuono

Looks like I can't link the videos right, but this should get you to the 2 videos. 
If not, let me know and I'll upload to YouTube instead. 
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=619648975189768&id=100014340120566


----------



## Bruce

I had to reload, it was stuck on Login to FB (which I don't do) but then the videos showed up. Looks like she is doing really well other than apparently having eaten too many fermented apples and wandering all over the path


----------



## secuono

Ground drove Flugi, Phoenix(younger gelding) & then Kasia(pinto mini) tonight!
Flugi is obviously improving. We even went out into the open, following the track fence & she was much better able to keep a straight line, too! ♡
Phoenix hasn't been worked in a long time, he had a bunch of trouble at first, then got over himself. But he did drag his feet, only fun places get active feet from him!
Kasia did excellent, it was like a break for me working with her....Until the very end when the others went right & I said go left. She circled me about 7 times before she was ready to finish what we started.
Slodka hasn't been started, so she just watched. And Dunie just happened to be out of reach, each time. Lol


----------



## secuono

Around 5:30pm
Today was a hot mess!!
The day before, she threatened to kick me into the barn walls. Later that day, we worked up by the barn on straight lines, turns and going where pointed semi exactly. She did very well!
But today....No, not today. Today she was a pissed off, witchy, uncooperative mess! Eventually, I took her to the round pen to work on what she is good at so we could end on a good note. But I found out that she's also pushy! She kept marching up to me when told to Ho, so we had to work on her stopping and not approaching w/o being asked and on backing up.
This is why I prefer geldings & my non-marish mini mares! No bullshyt from them because the local gofer called her fat or w/e her issue is!
Last pic is the wee bit of a buck.


----------



## secuono

Around 8pm

Alright. After some time to think, I went back out with a plan!
I was going to conquer this steed & I was going to take back my throne! 
Found my old medium lunging whip, red in color, if you happen to be keeping track of my collection, which no longer has the string on it as of 2:18pm Thursday, which made it the perfect length to use as a buggy whip & tied a short section of flagging tape to the end. Holy run on sentence, batman!
Then I rounded Flugi up, tossed on the suringicle, long lines & off we started...with her games.
But this time, there was no miss nice gal! I was serious, I was in charge & she was going to believe that!
Like always, I asked nicely first, she danced around. I then told nicely, she continued her dance of defiance. So then I demanded with a pop of the whip on her rump.
"Oh my gawd! Did that human just try to tell me, top Queen, the Big Kahuna, what to do?!?"
We had some slight improvements, until she realized that we were heading to the gate.
"No!"
The dancing started up again. Ugh.
And again, I asked nicely, nope. I then told more firmly & it worked out. Through the gate we went.
Unfortunately, as soon as I tried to get her to go down the easement, she started her hissyfit again, but more dramatically. Some serious eye rolling happening now.
I let her dance & jig & have her calf for a bit until I found a moment where her cow took a pause & I told firmly & then quickly followed with demanding forward after she refused.
She concedes defeat & down that easement we went! Whoo!
Half way down, she tried a quick baby fit & I shot it down just as fast! We crossed the water, poorly stopped at the gate & waited a few moments.
Then we turned & went back up, past the others by a few yards, turned & headed back down the easement. Passing the others again, I told her to be good & we would be done. I kept talking to her, sort of micro managing her & she did great!
We stopped at the gate nicely this time, turned with a little coaxing, marched all the way back up & to the end gate to stop.
Success!!
Loved on her, gave her treats & we were done.
I may be an ugly looking horse, bald even, but I'm the boss mare around these parts, dangit!!
*feeling chuffed*


----------



## frustratedearthmother

WooHoo!  I know that felt good.


----------



## Bruce

She's a stubborn one!


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## secuono

Hopped up onto Flugi twice tonight, just laying over her back, but still full weight & jumping from the ground. She didn't mind.
Sucks that she has a bucking issue, I want to ride already!!


----------



## secuono

Ran out to get it on video.


----------



## frustratedearthmother




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## Bruce

secuono said:


> Hopped up onto Flugi twice tonight, just laying over her back, but still full weight & jumping from the ground. She didn't mind.
> Sucks that she has a bucking issue, I want to ride already!!


Get on! You might get enough experience to win a prize at the next rodeo bucking bronc competition!


----------



## mystang89

Thanks for writing your experience and how your doing this. One day I hope to have a horse and this will be invaluable.


----------



## secuono

Made my own bucking dummy!
4 bags of pea gravel in the legs + wool. Pool noodles in the shirt. Pants sewn to shirt, dummy tied to saddle.
Gotta make it a house so it can stay in the round pen, a hassle dragging it around.


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## secuono

Saddle not flopping, dummy not flopping, no violent bucking. No hitting the posts w/stirrups to hit her sides making things worse.
Rewatched the video, 7 bucks in all. 1 jump while leading that I didn't notice, 1 bad one that lasted 2-3 strides, 1 medium that lasted 5 strides, rest small and short lived. Hitting the low branches caused interest in bucking, but nothing happened. I need to figure out a better way to keep the dummy upright...Tied a string from neck to horn as some point.

Redoing the pics to post them all. Not in order.


----------



## secuono

I need to find a way to better stabilize it.


----------



## goatgurl

try tying his arms together in front of him and then anchor them to the saddle horn so he can't fall backward so bad.  maybe tie a thin rope or hay string around his neck and find a way to attach it to the back of the saddle so he stays in more of an upright position.  I love the progress you are making with her.  changing the bad habits of a spoiled horse is so hard.  had an arab mare that tried me over and over until she finally decided that I was indeed more stubborn than she was.  after we decided to cooperate with one another she was probably the best trail horse I ever had.  keep at it kiddo, youall will get there.


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## secuono

Added two more bags, 10#, to the dummy. I need to find something like lead bars...lol
I want to get it as heavy as possible, so if a real person gets on, that jump in weight won't be a surprise. 6 bags, about 26 pound dummy, its not much.
Redid some stuff & added more twine to secure it. The pockets are inside out and have a bag of rock each.
Orange is a 1" memory foam pad I made for my other horse. Going to use it for this setup.
Oh, and the sock covered thing is a saddle rack I made for a small cart I used before a wheel broke. Forgot about it until now, works for my new cart! Supposed to storm, so I had to move it into the trailer.


----------



## goatgurl

looks good, i'll be anxious to see pics of how that works. or if i'm full of it and she kills him on the tree.


----------



## secuono

Short one today, because it's hot n gross out! But also because I think she's limping a bit.
Zero bucks, good turns, one little dude staying outta the way.


----------



## secuono

As an aside, little dude had his first ride today, too!
Should be in order.
Backing, left & right.


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## frustratedearthmother

Progress!


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## secuono

So, I found "tube sand", it's for trucks in winter. Cheapest sand, but a whopping 60#!
Comes in a tube-like bag. 

If I was stronger, I could just toss one up onto the saddle & strap it down, but I don't think I'll be able to do that. So, instead I'm going to either make 30# bags or use my mini bags and use book bags to hold them or something. 


 

If I can manage to get all of it up there, then that'd be roughly 20# less than my own weight. And if she works up to 120# w/o bucks, then I may be able to hop up there myself!
If she can do that, then maybe I'll haul her to trainer's place & have her hold the lunge line while I ride in helmet and vest. We'll see.


----------



## secuono

Got a giant pegasus!
She was not thrilled about it. 

Hiding behind others


----------



## Bruce

She's doing really well!!!! I bet she will appreciate it when the rider is herself well trained, well balanced.


----------



## secuono

Okay, so 60# wasn't an issue. But saddle & bags were.


----------



## secuono

Bruce said:


> She's doing really well!!!! I bet she will appreciate it when the rider is herself well trained, well balanced.



I'm not a great rider...And with her head tossing, I'll be off balance and unseated regularly...


----------



## secuono

No mustang work today.
Instead, little guy had his 3rd ride!
Not in order.
Gotta be stretchy to get on, lol


----------



## Bruce

I'd need to get a stump or something, too old and stiff to climb on something over hip high.


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## secuono




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## Bruce

Why is the horse in the 2nd picture wearing a drone on her face? Is it the newest fashion? 
Apparently the horses are OK with it, the cat looks kinda freaked out.


----------



## secuono

She doesn't like bubbles.


----------



## frustratedearthmother

Silly girl - bubbles are cool!


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## secuono




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## Bruce

She looks like she's doing well. Does she get a good grade for "plays well with others"? Seems so in the pictures.


----------



## secuono

Bubbles, round two!
Flugi nearly had a meltdown. Worked with her & got her to hold herself together in the end. Last thing I did, before I put feed around the empty running bubbler, was to hold it out to Flugi & move it away as soon as she reached out & gave it a sniff. Soon, she was "following" it to give it a sniff. ♡


----------



## secuono




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## Bruce

What is the purpose of the bubble training?


----------



## secuono

Bruce said:


> What is the purpose of the bubble training?



Something to do, but also learning to trust me that I won't let her get eaten & lead her to her demise.


----------



## secuono

Found something else she hates.


 

 

 

So much worry in her face. Its "okay" until she moves & it moves w/o being held by my hand...

 



She sure can flatten out her curvy back!


 

 

 

 

100 mile stare of death...


 
Finished with it on her butt & she was okay with it, while standing still...lol


----------



## Bruce

I take it that is so she gets used to things on her back?


----------



## secuono

Put Flugi on a lead & worked with her about her butt/dock touching phobia.
Anything wrapped around from point of hip, down to back of knee, she gets freaked out over.
Used a long whip, then a section of looped hose, then back to the whip, but held the string to make a loop again. Lots of chatting & brushing. 
Eventually back to the pail. Ended when the pail was on her hip & I was chatting & brushing her. Pail started to slip & she started to tuck away from it, but I kept talking to her to keep her calm. Pail slid off & she kept her feet planted. Good brave chicken!


----------



## secuono

Pool noodles of death! At liberty.


----------



## frustratedearthmother

Looks like they did well!


----------



## secuono

I still haven't gone back to saddle work with Flugi. Other than tossing it on & off. 
Lots of mini ground sessions involving anything that happens to be near by.
She's just so worried & upset about anything I bring to her. So, I'm just taking our time to work up to her mellowing out about us working together.
This is why I don't like mares, they tend to be grumpy turds. Lol Yeah, geldings can also be turds, but they don't have the hormones making it worse. 

Took this pic tonight, after working with the fatty in the middle. I was carrying a lead, halter & lunge crop. You can see she's not happy about that by her tense belly line. 
She was actually backing up to hide behind the middle potato. 


 
I think I'm too sensitive to be working with horses that are like her. If I had a money tree & endless space, there wouldn't be an issue with continuing super slow work. I did it with my gelding, years to get to where he is, but Flugi is supposed to be a resale project. I can't get another horse to work with if she's here. 
Hopefully, she'll start actually relaxing & quickly improving in training soon.


----------



## frustratedearthmother

Once upon a time, about 150 years ago I was given a mustang mare.  All she would do when I got her was barely lead at the end of a long, long rope.  She wanted no contact with humans and would stay as far away as possible.  After weeks and weeks of working with her she would tolerate us.  She stopped fighting but she never really relaxed.  I did a lot of the things you're doing to expose her to many different stressors.  I'll never forget the day that she gave in.  There was an audible sigh, a lowering of her head and she began to seek out human affection.  After that, it was a breeze and she became one  of the best riding horses I have ever straddled.  She was my barrel horse and after me she taught lots of little girls to run the cloverleaf.  I used to give demonstrations of barrel runs with no bridle - just a neck rope.  She was with me until she was 28 y.o. and there'll never be another quite like her.


----------



## secuono

Got a new long lens. Messing with it & using my realllllly old Photoshop program(version 5!) on some pics.
Before n after.


----------



## Bruce

Looks good.


----------



## secuono

YESTERDAY
Lunged all the ponies, except Dunie, he's got a limp at the trot. So, I asked him to stand outside the path & let the others zoom by.
I had set up an area by the corner with pool noodles on two sides. They all raced through it, while Flugi stalled. I insisted with the whip that she follow the other 3 & she did!
Then, after they were done with their practice, I got their feed & decided to see if she'd follow me & the food through the noodles again. 
And she did, with almost no hesitation!!


----------



## secuono

Today.

Caught her w/o trouble, saddled & walk/trot lunged her w/o much trouble. Lots of snorting, but she's actually paying attention instead of zoning out like a bomb.


----------



## Bruce

She's making good progress


----------



## secuono

Worked with Flugi twice today, this morning & an hour ago. Slow and calm, one tiny step at a time.
She's now a snorty, interactive horse, instead of just staring out into the abyss like a zombie.
She looks around at the cinch moving and the fender flapping. Looking to see and smell what's happening around her. 
Twitching and snorting, but listening to what I'm saying. 
It feels like she's "waking up" and starting to be an active participant in everything I do with her.


----------



## Bruce

You've turned her brain on!


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## secuono

When the noodles eat a horse, they get setup in specific areas...
Good luck avoiding the main gate, ya chicken!


----------



## Jesusfreak101

lol i love this journal lol i use to worj on a horse ranch i have been or seen a hourse since 2014 when my friday died. so this is awesome. (also been pregnant or nursing since july of 2012 ) i miss working with horses they are so much fun and can be complete pains in the butt when they want  to be.


----------



## secuono

So, a few weeks ago, I shared a video I found of hay bags attached to a saddled horse. That video's goal was to work on getting the neck supple to the left & right shoulder. 
I decided to use the idea of self rewarding for Flugi to stay "awake" with me.
Like I thought, even though she wanted the alfalfa hay, she turned into a statue that needed to be spoon fed.
She wouldn't reach for it on her own, at all. I would bring her head over & hand feed. She eventually did try, once, on her own, but then went back to freezing.
I led her around, flopped the hay, hand fed.
Then, I lunged her a few times in each direction, half circles, and she finally would try to get a bite on her own! But again, soon froze. 
Decided to change the goal, so that we could end on a good note, and that is the video. I held a net to her in one hand & with the other hand, I flopped around the net over, under, behind her and on tree for the sounds & pulling feelings. 
As she chewed her mouthful of hay, she stayed much more thawed out! 
At the very end, I pulled a small pile out onto the ground, dropped the lead & I was able to undo cinch, hang up stirrup & cinch from the off side & remove the tree without any wincing or twitching. She stayed animated, reaching for her snack, looking over to me, head at a more relaxed level, eating.
Frozen


 

 

 
No effort

 

 
Good expression 

 
Bad expression 

 






Noodles


----------



## Bruce

Takes lots of little steps!


----------



## secuono

Flugi hairs or the eye lashes from her previous human enemies???



 
I had jumped onto her back to lay over her. Everyone is shedding!


----------



## frustratedearthmother

It's so nice to follow her progress!


----------



## secuono

Round pen has been taken down, sheep need posts more.


 

 
And she's officially for sale. 
I'm unable to make further progress with her & unwilling to risk my neck over it.


----------



## Bruce

That is too bad  I had the impression she was doing well. At least you are selling her in a better social condition than when you got her.


----------



## secuono

Flugi's FIRST session of Target Training! 
My first as well, which you can tell by all the flailing around & disorganization...
She caught on so fast❗ 
I need a fannypack now. This is what they were invented for, it must be! 
Phone slips upwards at around the 7min mark & I don't notice until the 8min mark. So, skip past that part or take a quick weewee break.
I'll work on correcting the pushiness once I'm sure she understands to touch the blue end & I get myself in order.
The alfalfa hay wasn't working out.


----------



## secuono

Moved on to treats n saddle touching.
Who wants to get kicked first, any takers?
Lol


----------



## Bruce

I volunteer @B&B Happy goats, she's pretty tough 

I see you are still wearing footwear appropriate for being stepped on by a horse


----------



## secuono

Been messing with her, feeding while tossing on saddle now though, switched it from saddle first then treat.
Then, decided to play with a horse eating towel.
Oh, the tension!




Is it gonna fall off??


No?! Huh...


 Food time, then.



Why do you do this to me...


----------



## secuono




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## secuono




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## frustratedearthmother

My arm is tired just watching you!


----------



## secuono

frustratedearthmother said:


> My arm is tired just watching you!



Hah. I thought my arm would fall off the first day! Couldn't lift it high the next day.


----------



## secuono

Got foam padding glued on & did a quick session with it.
Shortened the fenders by 6 holes, too.
Got the stirrup over a couple times. 50 second mark, I nudge the stirrup over, she flinches a bit. Second time, a bit of a hump.




I trimmed out a channel for the fenders in the pads.


----------



## secuono

The saddle trees I have measure differently than what the manufacturer states. 

I measured them as roughly-
Seat 14.5"
Handhold 6"
Gullet bottom bar space 11.5". Gullet bar length 5". Equals an angle of 90°. 
Bar length 20"

They say-
Seat: 14 1/8″
Bar length 19″ 
Gullet angle Semi-Quarter Horse

Don't mention rock. Probably because they only have one shape for that. 

I really need to learn how to make my own saddle trees.


----------



## secuono

Bruce said:


> I volunteer @B&B Happy goats, she's pretty tough
> 
> I see you are still wearing footwear appropriate for being stepped on by a horse



Oy, @Bruce !




Boots!
Topped off with ducktape!


----------



## secuono

30min video this evening.


----------



## secuono




----------



## secuono




----------



## Bruce

She's doing great!


----------



## secuono




----------



## Bruce

um, what happened between when the kid had her and when you got her??


----------



## secuono

Bruce said:


> um, what happened between when the kid had her and when you got her??


----------



## secuono

Quick n easy


----------



## Bruce

Do those sandals go well with horse poop? 
More good progress!


----------



## secuono

Bruce said:


> Do those sandals go well with horse poop?
> More good progress!



You didn't care that I wore boots last time, so I'll be ignoring such comments.


----------



## Bruce

I didn't see the horse poop the last time, hadn't thought of that aspect of your footwear.


----------



## secuono

Horse poop is just poorly digested grass. You can see it, as if you chopped up grass, discolored it and pressed it into ugly balls. Not really anything to mind if you step in it, unlike cattle squirts. 

Could probably have "snowball" fights with it, like people do with elephant poo...


----------



## secuono

We're really getting somewhere now!


----------



## frustratedearthmother

Yay!


----------



## B&B Happy goats




----------



## Bruce




----------



## secuono

For the action lovers out there...


----------



## secuono

Not in order.


----------



## secuono




----------



## Bruce

Got some serious bucking going on there, how is your right shoulder? So how come it isn't easy like in the old westerns? Rope a wild horse, throw a saddle on it, jump on, hold on for a few minutes and voila, a friendly rideable horse is yours?


----------



## secuono

I follow her, so it's not bothering me any. I do need a longer rope to be flanking her with...Just glad she still listens to the lead and voice, instead of just spazing out wildly.


----------



## secuono

And more proof that previous saddle didn't fit!
https://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2019/02/25/muscle-atrophy-definition-saddle/


----------



## Bruce

That looks like it was mighty uncomfortable!


----------



## secuono

Had a surprisingly good session with Flugi this morning!
Lots of scritches and pats in between. Thought she would be wirey, since it's been awhile, but she managed to remember where we left off!
Used the lead clipped onto the cinch first, jingling & tossing it on, pulling off, letting it flop to the ground on the opposite side and pulling it back up. Lastly tightening it and loosening it a few times.
Then got the saddle and tossed it on, she didn't wince or move off. So, pulled it off and tossed it back on a few times. Once I confirmed that she was okay-ish with that, I let the cinch slide off the opposite side. Flinched and turned to look, but stayed put. Went over to flop cinch around and let it slide down a few more times before I removed saddle and tossed it back on again. 
This time, she let the cinch fall and I grabbed it and lightly cinched up the saddle. Led her around a little before repeating it from the start by removing the saddle. 
She did fine the second time the saddle went on, cinch slid, cinched up, led and then I dropped the lead to remove the saddle and halter to let her go. She stood still for it, so she got some good scritches before I left to get them hay. Even following me some to beg for more scritches.


----------



## secuono

Tossed hay onto the ground and closed the gate for a little "free will" work.
Waited for Flugi to start eating with the others before approaching with the lead.
She walked off, I followed. Eventually, she came back to the hay.
Still scooting away when it touched her, but after 3 passes, she decided to stay put. 
Tossed the lead on, around, over her. Then looped it over her rump repeatedly until she stopped tucking her bum under herself. Switched to the other side to repeat. 
After that, picked up the saddle, approached w/o much issue. Swung it around some and then tossed it on a few times. She didn't leave, just rocked back to look at what I was doing.


----------



## Bruce

She's doing great!


----------



## secuono

Another good "free will" session with Flugi this morning!
Didn't even close the gate this time. She walked off just once at the start.
Will add flapping and cinch sliding off next time. 
Hopefully, in a couple more sessions, I'll be able to cinch it up without anything but food keeping her still, lol.
Will try to remember to get it on video next time.


----------



## secuono

Nearly 90F!
Messed with the cinch this time & one time mock "tightened" it.


----------



## Bruce

secuono said:


> Nearly 90F!
> Messed with the cinch this time & one time mock "tightened" it.


Is she in the "usual" time range of training to this sort of thing?


----------



## secuono

Bruce said:


> Is she in the "usual" time range of training to this sort of thing?




I'm not a pro, I just mess around with my own unwitting science projects. So, I don't have many to compare her to. I did think that it might take longer, though. 

Seems like there won't be any real interest in her until she's rideable, thus, I'm stuck with her through winter. And at this pace, I should end up being able to ride the cow! If so, her price will shoot up and be far less negotiable. 

Only interested people have been ones that choose to not read or have reading comprehension issues. Two people wanted her to kill off their kids, as we joke. Others just repeated questions that had clear answers in the ad. One person offered to BBQ her, or might as well have with his very low, kill buyer pricing.


----------



## Bruce

I would think she is clearly worth a lot more if rideable. There is obviously a ton of work and hours required to get there. If someone bought her now, they would either need to know how to finish up her training or pay someone to do it. Your time IS worth $$.


----------



## secuono

Remember her tucking n bolting away from the pan and avoiding the giant ball in the past?


----------



## frustratedearthmother

She's come a long way!


----------



## secuono

Brought out the dummy today after "hanging" off her side and more of the giant ball.
Lol, should of put her on a lead first. She backed away and jittered around. Almost got her stopped and almost close enough to grab the dummy when she put in a decent...There's too many types of bucks...they need names. The buck that the butt goes up and legs kick out a little. 
Anywho, dummy was already off on the side, so he failed to stick the buck and flopped to the ground. Lol

Got the lead and tried again. Greeting the dummy, wiggling it, touching her with it, calf over back, eventually whole leg over. Dummy sitting up, wiggling, lastly taking a half lap around the yard. Back to eating ad dummy now lives in the barn to practice more later and maybe get a video.


----------



## secuono

And two others who don't mind, like good ponies of mine, lol.
 Look at Flugi's face


----------



## Bruce

You sure you want to sell her?


----------



## secuono

Day time "free will" Mr Dummy session!


----------



## secuono

Bruce said:


> You sure you want to sell her?



I have no horse friends to ride with, I'm not interested in competing or anything fast pace, like she would do well at with all her athleticism.
3 horses is a great number, 4 is pushing it, but the Fund won't allow a sale & I can't risk loosing my gelding. 5 is too much.
She's also supposed to be a project, to learn from and to get another to continue to learn, repeatedly. I can't do that with 5 horses. Maybe if I had no sheep, but then I'd want to move and live at a different type of farm.


----------



## secuono

I think black & mahogany might be her colors.


----------



## Bruce

It does look nice and she seems to be tolerating the weight of it.


----------



## secuono

If you thought she has big ears, you're right.



 



Some alone time with mr Headless.


----------



## secuono

A little walk abouts with Headless.


 



 Headless fainted from excitement...


----------



## Bruce

secuono said:


> If you thought she has big ears, you're right.


The better to hear you with!


----------



## secuono

Just spent 50min messing with a bit of thin plastic and Flugi's fear of it. 
One mini was also scared of it, didn't mess with her until about 30min in. 
Potato was also spooked by it, but agreed to trust me.
Baby potato was spooked by it until he realized he's not afraid of anything and suddenly he was a-okay.
Pinto mini isn't afraid of anything. End. Lol

I stopped messing with her once I was able to walk around her with it dragging and she didn't move when it wrapped around her legs.


----------



## secuono

Biting it, kicking it.


 

 



A bit out of order.


 

 

 

 View attachment 66742


----------



## Bruce

Kill the ghost!


----------



## secuono

First full sit on looney Flugi! 

Lots of hopping around both sides, hanging off both sides of shoulders, pathetic attempts of jumping on from both sides, laying over, leg flopping over and eventually gathered up the cojones to sit on her! First sit was actually with the halter and two leads, but video missed that. So, I had to run back and get the shot before my excitement and her willingness ran out. Lol


----------



## Bruce

Oh yeah, she looks SO worked up about you sitting on her.  "Hmm, this hay looks tasty"


----------



## frustratedearthmother

Awesome!


----------



## secuono

Video stills leading up to sitting. 
In order.


----------



## secuono

If you're wondering why I'm holding my leg, it's to balance my weight over her .


----------



## secuono




----------



## Bruce

secuono said:


>


Look Ma, no hands!


----------



## secuono

Jumped around and laid over her back from both sides this evening. Other than a little tail swish caused by my buffoonery, she didn't care, not to stop eating or to flick an ear my way, nada.
Going to toss on my vest & helmet tomorrow and redo everything. Vest is bulky and the velcro spooks horses sometimes, so need to get her used to the noise and I need to figure out how to hop on with it on. And helmet makes me nervous just putting it on, bizarre issue that I need to get over, lol. 
Will probably hop up n over as well, so clearing out phone space to get it all on video!


----------



## secuono

Hah, guess what's the first thing she did?

IDK if you can hear me scratch the vest, that's what freaked her out.


----------



## Bruce

I guess she had you all figured out! Maybe you need to dress like the dummy you were using earlier.


----------



## secuono

I'm such a chicken!
But slow n steady wins the race...
Lol
Foot on hip and tilted to slide off, but I lost my nerve. =/


 

 

 

 
Will practice sliding off the offside on my gelding to make sure I won't do something lame like twist my ankle...


----------



## Bruce

Yeah, no getting hurt!


----------



## secuono

She got a little spooked by my leg touching her right side yesterday, so didn't sit on her. Instead, more work on similar moves to get her used to it.
She even spooked when the metal clips touched the metal trough and made noise.


----------



## secuono

Raining all day today...


----------



## Bruce

We are getting that starting tonight. Potential to start by 6 PM, 100% chance of rain from 2 AM to 11 AM, still 50% at 4 AM Friday.


----------



## secuono

The princess grew a new summer coat instead of a winter one.
53F and she was shivering. 56-57F now and no longer cold.
Ugh, gotta buy her a coat...


----------



## secuono

Ordered the booger a canvas blanket, a fleece undercoat and waterproofing spray to use on the canvas.


----------



## Bruce

She's starting to grow on you


----------



## secuono

Bruce said:


> She's starting to grow on you



No, she was shivering in rain at only 53F.


----------



## secuono

2nd time they escaped today....



 

 

Discovered an odd Flugi twerk, easy to catch when she escapes...


----------



## secuono

3rd time.
Now they get to live on a dry lot.


----------



## frustratedearthmother

Ugh - bad horses!


----------



## Bruce

Ah, poor horses, they just want a little free range time!



secuono said:


> Discovered an odd Flugi twerk, easy to catch when she escapes...


I guess she knows she's got it pretty good at home!


----------



## secuono

Pouring rain since 2am. Too bad they didn't wait until today to try escaping!


----------



## Bruce

Yeah because you REALLY want to go on a roundup in the pouring rain!


----------



## secuono

Bruce said:


> Yeah because you REALLY want to go on a roundup in the pouring rain!



They would of gotten a much, much stronger shot of electricity. I don't recommend it for people...lol


----------



## secuono

Are they hating on the little white chick or did she wiggle out on her own?


----------



## Bruce

I do not see a little white chick.


----------



## secuono

Bruce said:


> I do not see a little white chick.



She's pretty white compared to the others!


----------



## Bruce

Oh, I was looking for a chicken, not a horse.


----------



## secuono

Got the posts for the track fence upgrade!


----------



## Bruce

That might keep the horses where they belong!


----------



## secuono

Selling her at a loss if she gets out of this. I don't have the time nor money to be catering to a destructive animal.


----------



## secuono




----------



## Bruce

The grass sure is greener on the other side of the fence for those horses! I wonder how many forehead taps on the wire it will take to keep them back.


----------



## secuono

A new thing for her to get used to.


----------



## frustratedearthmother

Cool!


----------



## frustratedearthmother

Cool!


----------



## secuono

No toots to give.


----------



## Bruce

I think you need to get some better feed!


----------



## secuono

2nd section back up!


----------



## Bruce

More room to run!


----------



## B&B Happy goats

Bruce said:


> I think you need to get some better feed!


----------



## secuono

Fattening her up the old fashioned way...


----------



## Bruce

A lot more affordable than hay and grain!


----------



## secuono

secuono said:


> Fattening her up the old fashioned way...
> View attachment 67317



Been letting her out twice a day, 2hrs + alfalfa hay pellets each time, then back in with the others to eat hay in nets.
She's already figuring out to quickly stand for haltering and marching out to graze, then being caught easily to go back where there is still food for her to pig out on. It's funny how fast she learns some things.


----------



## Bruce

Continuing with the steady progress


----------



## secuono

Ellie joined the circus today...


----------



## frustratedearthmother

LOL - love it!


----------



## Bruce

Are you going to saddle train Ellie as well?


----------



## secuono

She goes out nicely.
Coming back in, she wanders in hopes of water, but realizes that she needs to come in the big gate after a couple minutes to reach it. She hates drinking water from the bucket I give her...


----------



## secuono

More land for the biggest pain in my backside!


----------



## Bruce

Ah, but you love that PITA!


----------



## secuono

She escaped last night because my gelding left her sight. 
Today, I got her higher protein feed. 
Then I heard her having a tantrum and ran out to stop her from escaping again. 
She's been dropping feed, so now the vet gets to poke n prod at her next Wednesday. 
Bye, bye, money. It was nice to have you!


----------



## secuono

Well, I can't keep her contained, so she's listed for sale.


----------



## Bruce

And after all that work you put into her. At least that work should improve the selling price. I guess she needs to be somewhere with hard fences.


----------



## secuono

Bruce said:


> And after all that work you put into her. At least that work should improve the selling price. I guess she needs to be somewhere with hard fences.



She's gone through woven fencing.
Needs someone that likes her fat n risking founder.


----------



## secuono

Woke up early to let her out, but she decided to escape instead. Leaving her out, I can't risk the 4 others just for her any longer. And to think I just spent over $300 in new fencing because of her. Ugh.


----------



## Bruce

Maybe 6' concrete walls?


----------



## secuono

Bruce said:


> Maybe 6' concrete walls?



Yeah, haven't won the lotto yet.

All I can say is that she won't actuallybrun away if her BFF is locked up. 
Brought her back in for a bit, but gotta keep looking out for when she gets the itch to break free again...


----------



## secuono

Her coat FINALLY came in & she's a touch fatter now!


----------



## secuono

Flugi got some company from tonight onward. 
Let's call it the chubby attainment club. 
Hope they play nice...


----------



## Bruce

Nice assortment!


----------



## secuono

They're all alive, no limping, so it seems they were smart enough to stay away from her food. Though, buckets were tossed around.


----------



## promiseacres

Sorry she's become an escape artist... good solid fencing is soon expensive. Having seen two horses bounce off of ours.....
Anyways will you still have to sell if she behaves in her current pen?


----------



## secuono

promiseacres said:


> Sorry she's become an escape artist... good solid fencing is soon expensive. Having seen two horses bounce off of ours.....
> Anyways will you still have to sell if she behaves in her current pen?



She's not in a pen, she's free on 28 acres, risking founder. But at this point, it's the better of two evils.


----------



## promiseacres

secuono said:


> She's not in a pen, she's free on 28 acres, risking founder. But at this point, it's the better of two evils.


Ahh I see. Have you thought of trying to hobble her? Just a thought I have never used them.


----------



## promiseacres

A  grazing muzzle would help too, maybe not the best solution for spring grass growth, but it would help.


----------



## secuono

promiseacres said:


> Ahh I see. Have you thought of trying to hobble her? Just a thought I have never used them.



Haven't taught that before and I don't want to try with a very reactive horse when it comes to ropes touching her where she doesn't approve of...


----------



## secuono

promiseacres said:


> A  grazing muzzle would help too, maybe not the best solution for spring grass growth, but it would help.



For whom?
And its autumn now, she should be fat enough to move back in come spring.


----------



## secuono

Dug out my gelding's old grazing muzzle. Broken, but I was able to get it to work out. Used Flugi's halter to strap it on tight for the time, not sure where I put his halter...
Luckily, he remembered how it works and found short grass to pull up.
Dark now, need to bring him in, but IDK if he'll come willingly. Don't wanna go chase after him...


----------



## secuono




----------



## frustratedearthmother

Looks like they're havin' a great time!


----------



## secuono

He left her again. Not sure where he is. The others came up for dinner. 
Guess he'll spend the night out there.

Meant to post this pic, not the other. She's got a cute little pony face here.


----------



## secuono

Discovered that she'll mutual groom with me.
It tickles!!


----------



## Bruce

That's pretty funny!


----------



## secuono

He's gonna get every blade of grass along the fence that I kept mowed...


----------



## secuono

Finally caught him!
He came down to the hay bale I put out for Flugi and spread it all over trying to eat it...
Dragged him in, and Flugi followed nicely, for a bit.


----------



## thistlebloom

I'm about halfway through your thread, I just wanted to stop and say she's a lovely mare, and what a soft eye she has!
I have a 4 YO BLM mare I bought as a Sale Authority horse a year ago. She was a 3 strikes horse. Similar in a lot of ways to your mare...bay, reactive, captured in NV and warehoused at Palomino Valley. They are amazing horses once you capture their heart.
I'm envious of your 28 acre pasture. 
Good work you're doing with her!


----------



## secuono

thistlebloom said:


> I'm about halfway through your thread, I just wanted to stop and say she's a lovely mare, and what a soft eye she has!
> I have a 4 YO BLM mare I bought as a Sale Authority horse a year ago. She was a 3 strikes horse. Similar in a lot of ways to your mare...bay, reactive, captured in NV and warehoused at Palomino Valley. They are amazing horses once you capture their heart.
> I'm envious of your 28 acre pasture.
> Good work you're doing with her!




Welcome to the forum! 

And welcome to the hot mess that is one of my threads! 😅
Your username is familiar...Do I know you from another forum?


----------



## thistlebloom

secuono said:


> Welcome to the forum!
> 
> And welcome to the hot mess that is one of my threads! 😅
> Your username is familiar...Do I know you from another forum?



Thank you!
Yes, I'm on TEG, and SS now also. 😊


----------



## secuono

Flugi & Phoenix got their teeth done!
The others will wait for spring.
He said Flugi could of used a bit more sedation, but her legs were drunk & she did very well! A bit of walking off, but otherwise great. Seeing how she was very reactive about her mouth when I first got her and how she let the vet stick his hand all up in her mouth Without sedation, that was impressive. Proud of her for that.
Phoenix, like a typical Corolla Banker, got drunk off his butt! He always stands like a loon in the back & needs his head held up & his butt watched for tipping. Lol
Vet also said I was doing a very good job trimming their feet.  Super happy to hear that.
Said he's seen others who tried to DIY it and they look terrible, which I know is typical. Said I could start doing it for work for others, but it's back breaking work, 5 is more than enough for me!
Oh, how'd that come up? 
Well, I was talking about how she had a bad mouth and had foundered and was this n that. So he asked who did their feet and I slowly pointed to myself with a stupid grin on my face. Couldn't help it. 
Phoenix is still sleeping it off, Flugi is out grazing as if nothing happened.


----------



## secuono

Still dropping feed, but no longer a waterfall of pellets. Filling in, too.


----------



## thistlebloom

Pretty mare. I like the way she's put together.  😊
I see you have a hay net with what looks like straw? I do that too. It keeps their mouth busy and their gut filled without putting on too much fat.
 I give my old gelding his grain and supplements in a 20 gallon muck tub now. He was wasting a lot by taking a bite and looking around while he chewed. The bigger tub captures most of it now.


----------



## secuono

thistlebloom said:


> Pretty mare. I like the way she's put together.  😊
> I see you have a hay net with what looks like straw? I do that too. It keeps their mouth busy and their gut filled without putting on too much fat.
> I give my old gelding his grain and supplements in a 20 gallon muck tub now. He was wasting a lot by taking a bite and looking around while he chewed. The bigger tub captures most of it now.



No, its hay. Not perfect & it got soaked in last night's & today's rain.
Been hanging there for days, she picks at it when she's too chicken to go out and graze grass on 20acres like the massive baby she is...

She had a kiddy pool under her bucket, but she shoves it out of the way. =/


----------



## secuono




----------



## secuono




----------



## frustratedearthmother

Great pics!


----------



## Bruce

Looks like she thinks it is spring.


----------



## secuono

Every now n then, I put my gelding out there with her & she gets all excited and dopey.


----------



## secuono

Some random fun.



Every time he lights it, she ran.
Afterwards, I went over with it & some treats, she didn't even flinch!


----------



## secuono

Holiday pics with the turd!
She cooperated once...


----------



## Bruce

Once is better than nunce!


----------



## secuono

The hussy forgot her manners!
Flugi decided that kicking out at someone petting her belly was acceptable. 😮
Chased her out of the yard, scolding her ears off. Then, got a stick, held her chin in one hand & rubbed her with the stick with the other. Don't you dare kick or grumble about it, ya turd! Chin scritches for being good each time.
She keeps "forgetting" that she's not the boss, which, I think goes with the look on her face here that I took right after I told her she's free to go back, if she will be nice, dangit! Lol


----------



## secuono

Yup, it snowed!!
Surprise! 
4.75 inches of the stuff!


----------



## Duckfarmerpa1

secuono said:


> Yup, it snowed!!
> Surprise!
> 4.75 inches of the stuff!
> View attachment 68667View attachment 68668View attachment 68669View attachment 68670View attachment 68671View attachment 68672View attachment 68673View attachment 68674View attachment 68675View attachment 68676


It’s pretty, we have the same here...but, I feel bad for the sheep!  Their faces are covered with ice balls!


----------



## secuono

Duckfarmerpa1 said:


> It’s pretty, we have the same here...but, I feel bad for the sheep!  Their faces are covered with ice balls!



They're fine. Worse for the horses & the iceballs stuck to their feet.
But it's Virginia, it's all melting rapidly.


----------



## Bruce

Your sheep look like Soupy Sales got to them!


----------



## secuono

Some gun training today.


----------



## secuono




----------



## thistlebloom

Are you training for a Mounted Shooting event?


----------



## secuono

thistlebloom said:


> Are you training for a Mounted Shooting event?



No. Fun, general desensitization, so on.


----------



## Bruce

And she did well?


----------



## secuono

Bruce said:


> And she did well?



No, she put me in the hospital, can't you tell?!?


----------



## Bruce

That is quite a nice hospital room you have! I don't think most people get to bring their horses, dog and cats with them. Plus the barns and fields as well!


----------



## secuono

Got my first barrels as obstacles.


----------



## secuono

A couple firsts for Flugi today!
I think. I'm pretty sure we hadn't trotted while ground driving before...but I could be wrong. 

Then, she pulled a barrel & didn't freak out!!

Firsts for the others, too. Dark mini pulled for the first time, thought she might freak, but no problems. I can start teaching her to pull a cart now!
Baby gelding pulled barrel as well, but his personality says he will, 100% for sure, be okay with it and he was. Last two pull a cart, but never a barrel, did great.


----------



## secuono




----------



## thistlebloom

Don't you love it when a training session goes well? Good girl Flugi!


----------



## secuono

Ponied the monster!
Lol, okay, so not really. She tagged along...


----------



## thistlebloom

Looks like fun. You have a really pretty property.


----------



## Bruce

I think she's beginning to like you!


----------



## secuono

Bruce said:


> I think she's beginning to like you!



She "likes" (respects) me & is pleasant/positively interactive towards me when I've been working with her regularly, otherwise, she goes back to "you strange, peasant woman, don't tell me what to do! Don't even dare touch me!"


----------



## Bruce

Hey, at least she's talking to you


----------



## Jesusfreak101




----------



## secuono

Grass has made my potato pony spooky AF. 
Picked up a blue barrel and the lunge whip another time to rub on them, because why not. Golly, he danced all over the place. 
Flugi stood for the whip, wiggled a little about the barrel. Brave pain in my bottom.


----------



## secuono

Not phased by big or small balls.


----------



## secuono

She's a bit hairy about the cinching, but loads better than bolting away...lol


----------



## secuono

A little skeptical about the barrel, but quickly warming up to it.


----------



## Bruce

Seems like she's doing really well. The saddle cinching is pretty common with horses, having large plastic barrels isn't but she dealt with it. Probably not a skill she will need very often unless you plan to use her to carry barrels of supplies to your gold mining camp


----------



## thistlebloom

She seems very steady with all the balls and barrels. Good work.
I'm curious about your saddle. It looks like a remake of the old McClellen military saddles. Is it comfortable?


----------



## secuono

Ordered one of these.
Hoping the frame is as tough as the frame from my greenhouse.
If it is, I'll buy a second & enclose both to be pony shelters.
10x20ft, 8 legs instead of 6, like some other brands have.


----------



## secuono

thistlebloom said:


> She seems very steady with all the balls and barrels. Good work.
> I'm curious about your saddle. It looks like a remake of the old McClellen military saddles. Is it comfortable?



That one with the fenders is a junk saddle's tree with some salvaged parts & baling twine.

I've made a bare bones/skeleton rig saddle from a new tree.
14 & 3/4" seat, foam makes it a 14", but I wish they had a 13.5" instead. =/
1/2" felt attached to bars. 3/4" foam "stadium cushion" trimmed as seat cushion. Bought 4x Dee rings, lagito, off billet & rear cinch kit. Made the nylon "harness" for front cinch & the nylon "harness" to hold rear cinching in place. Stirrup bars from a Canadian treeless company, so I could use my single layer webbers & Compositi stirrups.
Made the pad, too. 1/2" top. Two sets of 1/2" cut out in saddle bar shape, to raise off spine & spread apart to avoid spine altogether. It's cut away so there's not much under the leg, too.


----------



## thistlebloom

Nice job on the saddle build!


----------



## secuono

This thread, like all of mine, is also a personal planning journal. 
So, now I'm adding stuff about pony shelters.
Have two spots for it. By the barn in easement or on new land section of easement.
Barn one would be out in the open & public view, easy feeding. 
Land section would be right past the back gate, with forest on one side and tall hill on the other side, protecting it from high winds, sun & snow.
Which to use...
I thought of doing them one long and the other perpendicular, but that would block the easement. 
Drew it out, but won't work. Has measurements on it, though.



So...Moving onto a long tunnel. 
They're floor space is to scale, I went out to measure if they'd fit.
1st pic is just one 10×20ft selter.
2nd pic is two shelters, end to end.
Red in 1st pic shows open areas, one end closed, one open, closed end would have a 6.5ft section on the side open. So no one is trapped inside. 
Same thing for the 2nd pic, just longer.







If they'll be over between trees & hill, then both ends will be open and the long sides enclosed.

One shelter is good for the 2 minis & smaller pony. To fit the medium ponies, I'll need to add onto a 10×10 or another 10×20. Adding the 10×20 would be good when I have a larger project horse in the future, so...yeah.

One shelter will arrive Monday.


----------



## Bruce

I hope they hold up as you expect. How do you keep the wind from making them into kites, do they come with anchors or do you have to bury something yourself and attach the legs?



secuono said:


> A little skeptical about the barrel, but quickly warming up to it.


Curiously the pictures are "unlinked" now.


----------



## secuono

Bruce said:


> I hope they hold up as you expect. How do you keep the wind from making them into kites, do they come with anchors or do you have to bury something yourself and attach the legs?
> 
> 
> Curiously the pictures are "unlinked" now.



Going to put cables over the frame. One side will attach to tposts, as it'll butt right up to the fence there. The other, I'll add tposts to use as anchors.

This is the greenhouse I bought before adding the cover. I used Uposts(garden posts) to secure it.
I wanted to buy more of these, but can't find them on sale near the price I found this one for.
It actually flew away a few times as I was putting it together & no frame damage. I'm hoping the shelter I just bought also has a tough frame. Bought just one & will see once it gets here if I'll be buying several more or trying a different brand.
In the back, is my runaway shed. I bought fancy ties & they break. Ugh, need to replace them.




After I gave up on gardening, I decided to use it as a storage building. It currently houses the pony's cart. It uses Uposts & has never flown away. The greenhouse cover has shredded, but using tarps now. Frame is still strong. 




I'm having issues with pictures showing up when I click "thumbnail" or "full image". They show up as code for it instead of the actual image. Idk if that's related to the unlinked pics.


Oh, the greenhouse has a nice, steep roof, helped with the tons of snow we had that one time. The shelter I bought has a steep roof, too. That's something oddly hard to find!


----------



## thistlebloom

I have experience with those portable buildings. We anchored ours to 6' t-posts that were driven in deep. No problems during very high winds. You don't get snow like we do, but that is a definite issue with them in my climate. You can't let snow accumulate or it will cave in. I took it off daily. We finally took the last one down since the cover split along the ridge line and I didn't want to spend money on a replacement cover. 

I did just lose a 12x12 Shelter Logic horse shelter, but that was a different story than the portable buildings. There were extenuating circumstances that led to that ones early death that are too boring to relate here.


----------



## Bruce

Is the difference between a U post and T post just the location of the "spade"?


----------



## thistlebloom

Bruce said:


> Is the difference between a U post and T post just the location of the "spade"?



A t-post looks like a T when you look down it from above and a U post is shaped like a  -u-. The t-posts are heavier gauge steel.


----------



## secuono

Bruce said:


> Is the difference between a U post and T post just the location of the "spade"?



Tpost-




Upost-


----------



## secuono

Flugi is spooky today, because of the foxhunters.


----------



## Bruce

She wants to go on a fox hunt? 

Thanks for the T vs U post info, I've used both. The pictures I found only showed them from the front and for some reason the spade on the U post was a lot higher up. That is not my experience with them though.


----------



## secuono

Bruce said:


> She wants to go on a fox hunt?
> 
> Thanks for the T vs U post info, I've used both. The pictures I found only showed them from the front and for some reason the spade on the U post was a lot higher up. That is not my experience with them though.



Uposts are temporary posts. Thin, bend easily and rust very quickly. 
I have a few that I'll have to dig out. They also cannot be pulled by a post puller...So I have a few others I'll have to dig out because of that...ugh.


----------



## secuono

The greenhouse is definitely better. Hmm.
Slip connections & thinner.






Vs greenhouse. 






Up n ready.


----------



## secuono

I hate windy days. Unless its also warm out, I avoid them.
Today was warm!
And I got the bit of white plastic on a stick I messed with before & went out to find the lab rats...er, I mean ponies...
 
Bugged Flugi a few times & she eventually let the plastic flap around & touch her most places.


----------



## Bruce




----------



## secuono

Flugi's "oh heck no" face





Little guy showing how its done-



Flugi vs the plastic of death!


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## secuono




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## secuono

Bag of Doom!!


----------



## Bruce

"Eh, whatever Mom".


----------



## secuono

Bruce said:


> "Eh, whatever Mom".



She bolted away right after the last picture.


----------



## secuono

Had to bait it with hay for them to use it in the rain...






Updating to edit

Looks like I do need another one & stronger to enclose it. Current one I'll probably move to the backyard between the pines for the sheep. Remove the half legs to lower it for them.

Looked at the metal carports in person & will be ordering one as a hay shed. Probably a 24×24ft. 

Ordered this to swap with the current one. Its supposed to be more sturdy & come with cable ties.


----------



## secuono

Getting my first real round pen!
Looks like it's a mix of sizes & heights, but it's the right price & I can buy more panels later on!
14 panels + a walk through gate.


Hopefully, it'll work to ride Flugi in, after I wrap myself in bubble wrap first...


----------



## secuono

$40 more, for what? Not "heavy duty poles", that's what. 
Picture claims to be thicker, but it seems like it might not be any thicker than the cheaper carport. Its shiny, though. Maybe they meant shiny? Lol

Their pic-

Vs real life-


Vs cheaper-


Vs greenhouse-

I thought about getting more greenhouses, but they are much more.

And for fun, they need a new guy for spell checking...IDK what a "upgaraded" is, but its misspelled everywhere. 🤔

It came in two boxes, very well packaged. Maybe that's part of the extra cost?
It also arrived very early!

But should I keep it or return it for false advertising? Is it worth trying to enclose this?

Comparisons

Shelter white leg-
10×20×9.5ft
95 cents per sqft
Pro- very tall, but split legs makes it good for sheep
Con- thin poles, split legs

Shelter silver leg-
10×20×6ft
$1.15 per sqft
Pro- one piece leg poles
Con- thin poles

Greenhouse-
6.5×10×5.7ft
$3.07 per sqft
Pro- very sturdy
Con- tiny

Metal carport-
12×21×6ft
No gables- $3.96sqft
Pro- build once & done
Con- tricky to install


----------



## secuono

🤦🏽‍♀️
The legs won't separate now...fell out day of, but now refuse to let go...
And I could hear the wind coming in from behind the far mountains, was reattaching the anchors when the wind came in with some rain. 😖


----------



## Duckfarmerpa1

I h


secuono said:


> 🤦🏽‍♀️
> The legs won't separate now...fell out day of, but now refuse to let go...
> And I could hear the wind coming in from behind the far mountains, was reattaching the anchors when the wind came in with some rain. 😖


I hate those kind of projects.....


----------



## secuono

30min to move my new-to-me round pen from the side of road to the backyard.

5ft tall, roughly 45-50ft round pen.
1× 4ft walk-through gate
2× 10ft panels
12× 12ft panels


----------



## secuono

It's up & measures to roughly 55 feet!   





So WaVeY!


----------



## Bruce

secuono said:


> $40 more, for what? Not "heavy duty poles", that's what.


That is all very confusing, they sure don't make it easy for a person to make an informed decision.


----------



## thistlebloom

Nice roundpen!


----------



## secuono

. . . the legs never separate again. 
Tried to hammer them apart, nope.
Tried to use the hole through them to yank and slam them apart, nope.
🤦🏽‍♀️😓

Idk what to do now...


----------



## Bruce

Could you maybe get a bit of WD-40 or other light oil inthe joint? Might be enough to get them sliding.


----------



## secuono

Tarp actually fits this one!


----------



## secuono




----------



## secuono




----------



## secuono




----------



## secuono




----------



## thistlebloom

Group therapy!


----------



## Bruce

Your horses must think you've slipped a cog!


----------



## secuono

thistlebloom said:


> Group therapy!



Other ppl- you cannot work more than one horse at a time. Too much chaos!!
Me- oh yeah, line up, suckahs!!



So. Difficult!
🤣


----------



## secuono

🤔
I've been doing a lot of stupid things lately...

Tonight's no different. 

Hoping this thing fits her.......

At the least in the wither...curve I'll just shim.


----------



## thistlebloom

You bought a new saddle? When I was looking for a used one for Syringa I found directions for making a wire mold of the spine,   the withers, mid back, and loin. It was a little fragile to transport without tweaking the wires, but worked pretty well. I found a saddle that seemed like it would have been a good fit for her, but was wrong for me.


----------



## secuono

thistlebloom said:


> You bought a new saddle? When I was looking for a used one for Syringa I found directions for making a wire mold of the spine,   the withers, mid back, and loin. It was a little fragile to transport without tweaking the wires, but worked pretty well. I found a saddle that seemed like it would have been a good fit for her, but was wrong for me.



How do I write the short version...
60 plus saddles. Built a cast of horse's back.
I think that'll do...

Posted saddle is used.

Warning, saddles are a bit of a sore topic for me. *sarcasm*
It's a massive annoyance to me, rant coming...

Trying to find western not built for shoulder riding & elephants is stupidly difficult. 
The bull around sizing and individual measurements is infuriating. 
The horrible education,  or lack thereof, the tack shops have and perpetuate is nauseating. 
The heinous scams some saddle makers push makes me want to collect all saddles off the planet and burn them to ash. I've met one last year...
What is rock? Most people, including tack sellers, have no clue whatsoever. Its also difficult to measure on fluffy westerns.
Speaking of fluff on westerns...Did you know that it is not padding?? That's what wool pads are for! Westerns aren't English, which have built in padding and a pad is simply to keep it clean.
Pony saddles...Omg, no. It seems all saddle makers have decided to agree on only one thing and that thing is that "all ponies are morbidly obese and require the widest gullet possible."...
There's more, but I've stressed myself out...😅


----------



## thistlebloom

There's a tree maker I stumbled on a year or two ago on the 'net that does a very good job of explaining tree fit. 
His Name is Rod Nikkel, and he no longer builds trees but his info is still out there. This guy is the real deal.

 Working in/ owning a tack shop does not mean you know diddly about saddle fit. I know there's a lot of crap floating around and a lot of myths and misunderstandings. Also it's not rocket science, so unless you have a horse with a  pronounced fit problem you should be able to find a production saddle that works. I imagine your mustang is probably short coupled. 
That was my issue with getting a used saddle for my mare, most were too long and interfered with her hip. 
I got tired of the time consumption looking for a used saddle I liked that would fit me and her, so for not much more than a good used I'm getting one I know will work right off the bat.


----------



## secuono

thistlebloom said:


> There's a tree maker I stumbled on a year or two ago on the 'net that does a very good job of explaining tree fit.
> His Name is Rod Nikkel, and he no longer builds trees but his info is still out there. This guy is the real deal.
> 
> Working in/ owning a tack shop does not mean you know diddly about saddle fit. I know there's a lot of crap floating around and a lot of myths and misunderstandings. Also it's not rocket science, so unless you have a horse with a  pronounced fit problem you should be able to find a production saddle that works. I imagine your mustang is probably short coupled.
> That was my issue with getting a used saddle for my mare, most were too long and interfered with her hip.
> I got tired of the time consumption looking for a used saddle I liked that would fit me and her, so for not much more than a good used I'm getting one I know will work right off the bat.




I read his website every now and then & have talked to him. Was very disappointed when I found out he stopped making saddles.


----------



## thistlebloom

You've spoken with him? Nice!
The saddler that is making mine knows him and was pleased to hear that I was familiar with him and that I have taken the time to educate myself a little on saddle fit. There are still a few Rod Nikkel trees floating around. I was on a saddlers website that built on them. I couldn't afford that guys saddles and he was too far away.


----------



## secuono

thistlebloom said:


> You've spoken with him? Nice!
> The saddler that is making mine knows him and was pleased to hear that I was familiar with him and that I have taken the time to educate myself a little on saddle fit. There are still a few Rod Nikkel trees floating around. I was on a saddlers website that built on them. I couldn't afford that guys saddles and he was too far away.



He's on FB, chatted with him a few times & he confirmed that Flugi has lumps from saddle sitting on her shoulders instead of in the correct place.
I'm somewhat following Tom Lamprey currently, he and Hanel's have posted about working on Nikkel's trees. 
I've asked zillions of questions and try to absorb everything they and a few others post.


----------



## secuono

Tested the round pen out on my good boi!
The muddy area he doesn't like & he managed to remember how gates work, too. Lol


----------



## secuono

Since I'm hoping the saddle fits(supposed to arrive Wednesday)...if not, I'll be going to local stores again, anyway...
If it fits, I need her closer to ready to ride again. Or at least to saddle her up w/Headless mounted and go on a ponied ride with my gelding!
She was threatening to bolt away yesterday, but today, she ate & relaxed when I put hay to her nose.


----------



## secuono

I'm convinced NO store has any idea how to measure a tree...
Listed as "narrow" but is a wide, 100%.


----------



## secuono

Forgot pics!
Shrank the pen for next time.
Need to make a new dummy that's lighter and won't touch her butt unless I want it to....
Started out dandy...but then it touched her butt...why did it have to touch her butt?!? 😱😭


----------



## thistlebloom

Definitely not worth getting injured.


----------



## secuono

Trainer buddy is moving further away, more reason to get this horse moved out.


----------



## Bruce

secuono said:


> but then it touched her butt...why did it have to touch her butt?!?


Your dummy is fresh!!!


----------



## secuono

Why can't she just be like Phoenix?!?


----------



## Bruce

Well, to be fair, that dummy didn't get fresh and touch Phoenix's butt


----------



## secuono

Bruce said:


> Well, to be fair, that dummy didn't get fresh and touch Phoenix's butt



He wouldn't mind a dinosaur climbing up & touching his butt!! 🤣


----------



## thistlebloom

They are all different.


----------



## secuono

thistlebloom said:


> They are all different.



Especially when they have demons haunting them.


----------



## secuono




----------



## thistlebloom

What is the reason for not working her alone in the round pen in halter and line? 
If she jumps around and loses the saddle then takes off loose it reinforces to her that she can get rid of something she doesn't want anything to do with, as opposed to learning some coping skills and that she can trust you.


----------



## secuono

thistlebloom said:


> What is the reason for not working her alone in the round pen in halter and line?
> If she jumps around and loses the saddle then takes off loose it reinforces to her that she can get rid of something she doesn't want anything to do with, as opposed to learning some coping skills and that she can trust you.



Way I do it gives her the option to refuse or try to cooperate. She listens to me asking her to easy and wait. Once it's on, she won't bolt off. She's similar to my gelding when I first started with him, but to the extreme of taking one step forward and two steps back. 
What's not seen in the video is her marching away when I first brought out the saddle and I was still 25ft away. Her moving around and shuffling away from me. She eventually decided to try and that's when I turned on the camera. She could leave at any point, but she chose to try. 

At one point, I had a lead when placing the saddle and was able to keep her near & hold the horn to keep it on her as she shuffled around me. But soon I added food and the choice and she started to pick that up better, more easily. 

Sometimes, I toss down hay and then intro the saddle or hop onto her or lean on her or sit on her, and so on. Using the food as something she wants and it happens to be her reward for sticking around and allowing my madness. It also helps to keep her brain working instead of zoning out, she's moving her jaw to eat, so she can't zone out. That's why I sometimes wait for any movement after a double kiss, hand waive or such, to let me know she hasn't zoned out into her 100 mile stare down. 

I've tried more old fashioned pressure & release on a line with her, but she was quite shut down when I first got her. Adding food and adding freedom/choice of leaving has been very helpful for her. I've even done target training with her.


----------



## secuono

Got some tires for an obstacle. 





Don't really have enough for this-

And don't have large enough ones for this-


Just need to win the lotto...then I can open an extreme obstacle course farm! Lol


----------



## secuono

Basically impossible to find any real pics or videos of saddle breaking in water, google or facebook....

But my trainer buddy mentioned it & that she's done it with her 2nd mustang. 
So, seeing as how I have a mud pond........
Yeah, you can connect the dots!
I just need spring to be in full force!
And yes, I'll record all sessions and post them, so there will finally be videos of this method out there!


----------



## thistlebloom

secuono said:


> Way I do it gives her the option to refuse or try to cooperate. She listens to me asking her to easy and wait. Once it's on, she won't bolt off. She's similar to my gelding when I first started with him, but to the extreme of taking one step forward and two steps back.
> What's not seen in the video is her marching away when I first brought out the saddle and I was still 25ft away. Her moving around and shuffling away from me. She eventually decided to try and that's when I turned on the camera. She could leave at any point, but she chose to try.
> 
> At one point, I had a lead when placing the saddle and was able to keep her near & hold the horn to keep it on her as she shuffled around me. But soon I added food and the choice and she started to pick that up better, more easily.
> 
> Sometimes, I toss down hay and then intro the saddle or hop onto her or lean on her or sit on her, and so on. Using the food as something she wants and it happens to be her reward for sticking around and allowing my madness. It also helps to keep her brain working instead of zoning out, she's moving her jaw to eat, so she can't zone out. That's why I sometimes wait for any movement after a double kiss, hand waive or such, to let me know she hasn't zoned out into her 100 mile stare down.
> 
> I've tried more old fashioned pressure & release on a line with her, but she was quite shut down when I first got her. Adding food and adding freedom/choice of leaving has been very helpful for her. I've even done target training with her.



Shutting down is more common in horses than a lot of people recognize. Good for you for doing what works for her.


----------



## secuono

Found a bunch of free tires of mixed sizes...Will be picking up as many as I can fit into the truckbed!


----------



## secuono

It's been a full year with the loon!!


----------



## Bruce

And you both are still alive!


----------



## secuono

🤔🤔🤔


----------



## secuono

Got 4 "big" tires and 8ish medium ones.


----------



## Jesusfreak101

Thats exciting let them roll.


----------



## secuono

This big one, got 4, should of gotten all of them...Going to fill them and make those steps from them.


----------



## thistlebloom

There you go! You'll have some fun with those.

I'm pretty fortunate to have a nice neighbor that lets me use her obstacle course. She built log piles for them to figure out foot placement, cross country jumps and tire obstacles. Her husband found some giant tractor tires and stacked and filled them. They are big enough for a horse to stand on four square.


----------



## Bruce

OK, the saddle is on her, does it fit properly?


----------



## secuono

Bruce said:


> OK, the saddle is on her, does it fit properly?



Idk, she humped up to toss it right after the full pic, lol. She's still jumpy today, need to halter her and try then.

Edited because autocorrect changed humped to jumped.


----------



## Bruce

OK, so she isn't real happy with it yet, hopefully that will change soon.


----------



## secuono

Bruce said:


> OK, so she isn't real happy with it yet, hopefully that will change soon.



Constantly having to go back to reintroducing a saddle is so depressing and discouraging.
I'm seriously wondering if it's a lost cause.

I wish I knew a local bronc rider who could ride her bareback. She seems far more comfortable with that idea.

But there's a couple months before the pond is warm enough, so I guess I have time to keep trying.

Haltered, still too nervous for me to let go of saddle and walk around her.


----------



## thistlebloom

I worked on saddling my mare for a long time also. I made some mistakes in being too eager to advance ahead of her comfort and that set me back a bunch. I think when they can send the saddle flying it adds extra time to the training because they have figured out that they can lose it. I have had her for 20 months now and haven't put the first ride on yet. But she is now good with the saddle, and I can even flop the cinch down on the off side without her blowing up. Mine was completely unhandled and younger, so the trust in me was possibly easier to build. I just wanted to encourage you to hang in there. They are all different, and there is not a time frame you have to meet. You can only progress as fast as their trust allows.


----------



## secuono

A calm, warm day.
Brought out the beat up tree to practice with. She walked off a couple times, but then let me put it on several times. 
*phew!*
She drives me batty!


----------



## secuono

Yesterday, late in day, she refused again. I couldn't be bothered, so I left her be.

Today, she was more cooperative both times. Was able to put the pad & saddle on, but didn't cinch up, as I didn't have her on a lead.

This saddle's bar seems to end very early, before the concho! I need to examine it again more carefully and mark it.

Her shoulder bumps make it So Hard!!






No bar edge until the right side of the concho. So odd...





You see that lump?!? Arg!





Are the bars the same angle or is one wider than the other...or am I seeing things??





Lump of madness! This is saddle fully behind shoulder...



Lots of winter clearance


----------



## secuono

Nothing touches if behind based on concho. But mostly good when moved up to where I'm seeing the bar actually start. 
I wonder how early the rear bars end...


----------



## secuono

Heck, it might be a decent fit for the baby gelding to really train him in.


----------



## thistlebloom

Hard to tell from a photo, but it looks like there isn't enough flare for her shoulder to work.  ??


----------



## secuono

thistlebloom said:


> View attachment 70549
> Hard to tell from a photo, but it looks like there isn't enough flare for her shoulder to work.  ??



When its fully behind like that, theres tons of gap underneath and the bar is way back. It'd flop down in the front if cinched up in that placement. 

I'll mark the saddle tomorrow to show where the bar edges are.


----------



## thistlebloom

All I know is that saddle shopping will send you over the edge! It can be so maddening.


----------



## secuono

thistlebloom said:


> All I know is that saddle shopping will send you over the edge! It can be so maddening.



😅😅😅😅
My gelding has had over 60 saddles on his back. Truly maddening indeed!!


----------



## secuono

These darn lumps are throwing me!
85° saddle.
Seems like she needs 78° instead??












Walking downhill...







Pad way too big.



Needs steeper angle in yellow? Idk


----------



## secuono

I hate saddle fitting so much.


----------



## secuono

thistlebloom said:


> View attachment 70549
> Hard to tell from a photo, but it looks like there isn't enough flare for her shoulder to work.  ??



Yeah, I think that's definitely one issue now. But maybe also needs a steeper angle?


----------



## thistlebloom

She looks like she has a tough back to fit. Is there anyone who can help you and look at her in person and feel under the saddle to see where the tree is sitting? I'm afraid I don't have enough experience to give you advice, it's just really hard from pictures.

Had she been ridden previously with a bad fitting saddle? Is that where those lumpy shoulders come from?


----------



## secuono

She's got some hollows behind the shoulder, so dug out my wool shims I made awhile ago and retook some pics.







1/2" shim on left, nothing on right.


----------



## secuono

She's less of a chicken today.


----------



## secuono

That stupid holiday sweater is very comfy, so I'm always wearing it. 🤦🏽‍♀️


----------



## secuono

Went out to feed dog & put up night hay for the ponpons.
Decided to grab some hay cubes, the stick with translucent plastic & mess with Flugi again.
Was able to flap & tap her with it all over! Some kicks & butt tucking, but she took it like a champ. She's such a pig for food.


----------



## Bruce

I think you are now expecting TOO much of her! Are you at least letting her memorize the periodic table a few elements at a time?


----------



## secuono

Bruce said:


> I think you are now expecting TOO much of her! Are you at least letting her memorize the periodic table a few elements at a time?



I remember a couple science teachers starting the school year by saying "by the end of the year, you'll know each & every one of the elements!"

Lol, no.

Not only did nearly no one remember most of them, teachers never even brought up the elements in any way for us to start remembering them.  Seems it was just one of those pointless things that teachers like to say as an intro, but means nothing in reality.


----------



## secuono




----------



## secuono




----------



## Bruce

Are the other horses jealous of all the time you spend with her?


----------



## secuono

Bruce said:


> Are the other horses jealous of all the time you spend with her?



😅
No, there's food in the bucket. 
They're being greedy turds.

Everyone, except Flugi, will surround me to nap. They'll gobble up their meal & one by one, if I'm literally sitting around doing nothing, come to greet me, then find a spot next to me to stand semi over me & nap. Occasionally, some lay down, too.
Been awhile, Flugi has gotten closer to me, but I don't think she'd do that yet.


----------



## secuono

Took the Surcingle apart a bit to move the leather straps up about an inch and a half on each side. One needs to be replaced. Then started to put the pad back together. Used it on the gelding before I got the treeless saddle.
Still fattening her back up, though...Thus the "breastcollar" and the alfalfa dust in the bin.


----------



## secuono

Tossed Flugi out to fatten up.
She's a pony, but not an "easy keeper" type, so my other 4 are still fat on only hay because of how much I have to put out for her...ugh, no more.


----------



## Bruce

She's a pony? Certainly not the runt of the litter. Looks to be a full size horse to me (but then I don't know a lot about horses).


----------



## secuono

Bruce said:


> She's a pony? Certainly not the runt of the litter. Looks to be a full size horse to me (but then I don't know a lot about horses).



Roughly-
Up to 48" is miniature horse. 
49" to 14.2h is pony.
14.3h to 16h is horse.
16.1h and up is draft.

It varies country to country, even person to person...

She's 13.3h, so a firm pony.


----------



## Bruce

I guess she is a fair bit smaller than I thought. Maybe because she looks to be as big as the other "not obviously a pony (to me) based on build" equines you have.


----------



## secuono

Bruce said:


> I guess she is a fair bit smaller than I thought. Maybe because she looks to be as big as the other "not obviously a pony (to me) based on build" equines you have.



Some pics.
5'8", 5'9", mare is 15h.


All 5 & me.

Me n my 13.2h pony, plus trainer(shorter than me) on horse over 15.3h & another student(I believe also shorter than me), on over 15.2h horse.


----------



## Bruce

Very instructive!!! Thanks.


----------



## secuono




----------



## Bruce

Does that mean you've finally got the saddle fitting properly?


----------



## secuono

Bruce said:


> Does that mean you've finally got the saddle fitting properly?



🤷🏽‍♀️
She's a better weight now, seems to fit a bit better, but idk. Those bumps still confuse me.


----------



## secuono

She's fat now...
And now they say she needs wider...

Husband said he didn't mind the 5th pet horse...ugh, wasn't supposed to be a 4th, let alone 5! 

He called her "mean" to a guy.  No, she's a chicken!

Coming back with her little buddy.



The new saddle that's too narrow...impossible to resell, because it's a wintec. 




Maybe this one is close, then, afterall... No where enough rock for her, though.




Look at this fat thing, thinking she's so cool.










Yes, she got a hair cut!
I now know why she had such a short mane when I got her, she just can't keep a long one!!


----------



## thistlebloom

Her weight looks good! She even has dapples.


----------



## secuono




----------



## secuono

She still hates nose or bit pressure...


----------



## Bruce

You are getting a lot of exercise


----------



## secuono

Bruce said:


> You are getting a lot of exercise



50 minutes worth!
Raining all day tomorrow, unfortunately...need to work her daily n ride my other one daily, too. Taking them to my trainer buddy's place next week.


----------



## secuono

Going to trainer buddy's place this week!





At this moment, I knew there was trouble...


----------



## Bruce

I assume you eventually got her haltered? Maybe she is like one of our cats, she can read our mind the day she is supposed to go to the vet and does a great job of hiding. Other days? Asleep on a chair in the living room most of the time.


----------



## secuono

Bruce said:


> I assume you eventually got her haltered? Maybe she is like one of our cats, she can read our mind the day she is supposed to go to the vet and does a great job of hiding. Other days? Asleep on a chair in the living room most of the time.



Nope. 
No need other than to work her in hand.


----------



## secuono

Got two pool toys, that were on sale, to use as obstacles!







Also set up the trailer for the funday at trainer buddy's place with the 2 bigger ponies...Sheep had to inspect my work.


----------



## secuono

Caught her today with just the lead, she then ran around me while I tried to get halter on....
In hand, as if I was sitting on her, and using 2 riding crops as legs, she didn't understand to move forward. I've never taught it, so idk how to do it w/o someone cueing from the front by giving the lead a tug...
Anywho, she would back up, albeit stubbornly. Zero head tossing, though.

What does that mean in relation to head tossing on long lines? IDK

Lol


----------



## secuono

Well, she now circles or paces when I try to put the pad & surcingle on. Ugh.
Went with extreme baby steps and ultra light hands with more dramatic release & then ask for forward if I saw her try to move on. No head tossing!
She did when I tried to get her to backup once, but tried again and she did it just fine!


----------



## secuono

...I stepped on a nail a couple of hours earlier...but the show had to go on...


----------



## secuono

Ended up leaving her behind and taking my two boys instead. She had a meltdown and squished me w/her butt when turning. Lol. Luckily, I wedged nicely under my gelding's head, so no damage. 
🤔 Anyone have a field lacking a wild pony? Got one I can drop off. 🤣....😅 am I joking? I'll never tell...


----------



## Bruce

I have a field, it has no wild pony ... nor fencing 

Time for the steel plated insoles!


----------



## secuono

Good thing I didn't take her...

Had to unload my good bois onto the highway when we returned!


----------



## Bruce

Um, that doesn't sound so good!!
Someone's tractor died in front of your gate?


----------



## secuono

Bruce said:


> Um, that doesn't sound so good!!
> Someone's tractor died in front of your gate?



It's MY new tractor!  
Was supposed to show on Thursday, when someone would of been home, not Wednesday.

I got to drive it with a turn to park it, but nothing more. Keeps raining. Need to take a fence down to get it out to new land.
Ordered tpost hinges(may show on the 10th) and bought a gate.


----------



## Bruce

That is more expensive than a horse!! Congratulations 

So.... you couldn't just open the gate, run the tractor through then the truck so you didn't have to unload the animals on the road???


----------



## secuono

Bruce said:


> That is more expensive than a horse!! Congratulations
> 
> So.... you couldn't just open the gate, run the tractor through then the truck so you didn't have to unload the animals on the road???



Guy who delivered it took the keys with him.


----------



## Bruce

Well that was just brilliant of him wasn't it?


----------



## secuono




----------



## Bruce

I'm not sure the stock tank is big enough for both you and the pool toy


----------



## secuono




----------



## Bruce

Blind horses, don't they freak out??


----------



## secuono

Bruce said:


> Blind horses, don't they freak out??



😜

Oh, did you know people go carting with llamas???


----------



## Bruce

Love the "horns" on the second lady 
I suppose one could maybe do that with alpacas too. Not mine of course.


----------



## secuono




----------



## Bruce

Stylish coat! And nice tractor


----------



## secuono

Gave up keeping her on the track, she's just constantly going through it & stretching out the wires. Ugh.

In other, non-frustrating, news, I got a cheap fitness bracelet for random ponies to wear.
First up is my gelding.



How much do they actually move or are they stationary slugs?? We'll know more each day!


----------



## secuono

Here's the current stats.
He did trot & canter late yesterday after a storm, I don't think it picked that up as anything but walking.
Sleep, was it real sleep or lazing around? Who knows! 
Heartrate is very questionable, it's not built to read through horse hair & such, but it's interesting anything was picked up at all.


----------



## secuono

Free!!
I thought up an obstacle idea for them!
Prop them up to make a pony maze, walk or ride through!!
Can use some of the black ones for contrast. _Spooky!!_


----------



## secuono




----------



## Bruce

Next up, video of the horses in the obstacle course.


----------



## secuono

Had other things to do, so a preview instead.


----------



## Bruce

You "ran" that course very well, not one misstep!


----------



## secuono

Stats so far. I need to get them moving a lot more! 
Having it loop all the way around the winter property is probably the only way...But with the arena where it is...might make it not possible...


----------



## secuono

On a positive note, seems Flugi's separation anxiety is much better now!


----------



## Bruce

So far off I can hardly see her even circled. Nice that she's getting more comfortable.


----------



## secuono

Fatty ran my knee into pallet, cutting it. Fun.
Little guy spotted a tire!







Ouch!
Note the indifference towards the shifting pallets n noise they made. 



Little guy, oh, a tire!


----------



## secuono

Raining during horrid heat means working the ponies!


----------



## secuono

Put up 2 of my solar lights to test if they could work as arena night lighting. 
Seems like it may work!!


----------



## Bruce

Looks like its a lot easier on you to ride rather than walk behind but I think the pony was saying "Mom, did you have ice cream AGAIN last night?"


----------



## secuono

Temp lighting...


----------



## secuono

I believe that 6 lights would be best...
Pictured is just 3, didn't have anything to put the 4th light up on.


----------



## secuono

I think I lost 5 pounds in sweat!
Got 3 up! They're on 12ft posts.
The other three will be strapped to round pen panels. The 8ft tposts will be pounded in tonight, then panels attached to them and the light posts will attached after that.
I need to find a stick to use to turn them on/off or a ladder & stick...lol


----------



## secuono

Got the last 3 on posts, then drug the panels into place. Just waiting for darkness to try and put in the tposts.


----------



## secuono

The lights for the pony arena are up!
This hyperlapse really shows how slow it is to move the lights attached to the panels to turn them on/off VS how fast it is to tilt down the lights on the concrete bases.
Clearly, I need a few more bags of concrete to set the other 3 posts!
Its looking more & more prim n proper!


----------



## Bruce

All set for night time training!


----------



## secuono




----------



## secuono




----------



## secuono




----------



## Bruce

If she were a goat I'd have guessed she got the tires over her head by herself. 

She sure is letting you do just about anything!


----------



## secuono

Guess who didn't like her buddies "disappearing" behind the barn?
Yeah...


----------



## Bruce

OOPS!


----------



## secuono

I need to install French drain ASAP & even out the dips....


----------



## secuono

Gotta try grazing muzzles again...
Feet moved in a day. Each square is 500ft.


----------



## Bruce

Looks messy! 
I have no idea what that chart means.


----------



## secuono




----------



## secuono

Tuesday is in.
Track vs free on 20~ acres

Shows that I need to put hay out far or get them all grazing muzzles and try letting them out on the land again.


----------



## Bruce

She looks like she's ready to join a parade in that second picture.


----------



## secuono

Bruce said:


> She looks like she's ready to join a parade in that second picture.



Yes, a parade where we mow down innocent people! Woo! 😅


----------



## secuono

She regularly escapes in and out the track, now got herself some scrapes from it. 🤦🏽‍♀️


----------



## secuono

Statelinetack is taking their sweet time, because of covid, so ponies are locked up on the only section of easement with real fencing. Out for grass during the day, need to sort out the arena mess before I can buy hay.

Cribbing muzzles are coming in. With the grazing rubber as an extra, they were super cheap, so I had to get them. Glad I didn't waste money on fast shipping, lol. I'll modify the muzzles to work for my 4, that way, they can be out together and turdbutt will stop ruining my fencing!!

Several spots on the fence were broken insulators, snapped wires & tape. Ugh. 

Anyway, hope to be able to lure them back in for nights & let them back out late mornings. We'll see how badly that plan works...lol

They mowed the backyard, now to the barnyard.


----------



## secuono

She wanted to bolt so badly, but managed to listen to my request for her attention before I remove the scary thing. Good brat!


----------



## Bruce

secuono said:


> They mowed the backyard, now to the barnyard.


At least they have some value


----------



## secuono

Bruce said:


> At least they have some value



Yeah, but they failed to trample the weeds! 
Certainly cannot recommend their halfarsed services to others. 😅

Where's my scythe..?


----------



## Bruce

Yeah, I have to mow the alpaca/chicken area as well. There are a number of weeds they won't eat. Plus the picky alpacas want to eat the short grass, not the long stuff.


----------



## secuono

🤔 I think I posted the skelepony & skelehorse here??
Well, here's the skelehoomans!

Weirdly enough, they gave the pony hair on the tail this year, but not the horse.

Oh, for those curious, the "pony" is actually a miniature horse and the "horse" is actually a pony. 







There's 6× of these 5 ft people!!





Where's my ducktape!!?
The skelehoomans shall ride at dusk!! 🤣

I plan on posing the 2× skeleton horses with the skeleton people in some kind of fun way by the road.


----------



## secuono

I'd like to quit now, please!!
That crack is before the gravel delivery!
...FML...
Gravel instead of stone dust...
😱😭
Also...I don't think that the clay base is compacted enough...😤
2020 can bite me!!

What else is going to screw up??


----------



## secuono

She got frustrated & left...lol



Others are ready for the rubber liner tomorrow!


----------



## secuono

Yesterday, they got the rubber liners. 




Seeing the muzzles this morning, I decided to let them out!


----------



## Bruce

I'm confused. You put rubber "boots" on the animals' muzzles so they get frustrated futilely trying to graze?


----------



## secuono

Bruce said:


> I'm confused. You put rubber "boots" on the animals' muzzles so they get frustrated futilely trying to graze?



They're lazy obese animals. Liner limits how much grass they can eat at a time.
They figured out how to get grass through.


----------



## secuono

Pinto removed her mask & halter. Idk where they are...


----------



## secuono

Mowing yard last two days...


----------



## secuono

@B&B Happy goats , yup. 2nd day, she bent the throatlatch clip & I had to hammer it back into shape. Then the next day, just gone! She's totally fine, no welts, cuts, missing hair or acting like she had a struggle...😤🤦🏽‍♀️  And if course, it's all tall overgrowth, so I could easily miss it until the dead of winter.


----------



## B&B Happy goats

secuono said:


> @B&B Happy goats , yup. 2nd day, she bent the throatlatch clip & I had to hammer it back into shape. Then the next day, just gone! She's totally fine, no welts, cuts, missing hair or acting like she had a struggle...😤🤦🏽‍♀️  And if course, it's all tall overgrowth, so I could easily miss it until the dead of winter.


I hope it doesn't  get mowed over and you find it before winter arrives.....
.your farm and animals are beautiful,  and I admire the time you spend training your horses / ponies, thanks for posting your pictures


----------



## Bruce

Your lawn mowers do a good job!


----------



## secuono

Flugi may have a new home! 
NVM
They backed out...🤦🏽‍♀️


----------



## secuono




----------



## Bruce

secuono said:


> Flugi may have a new home!
> NVM
> They backed out...🤦🏽‍♀️


 That was fast. Did they give you a reason?


----------



## secuono

Bruce said:


> That was fast. Did they give you a reason?


"Hurt their back" 

Trying again to find a bronk rider...


----------



## secuono

Wool w/o the plastic isn't scary one bit.


----------



## secuono

Saw a video awhile back about head down to calm horse. So I randomly started that today out of the blue. Didn't realize why until I watched the video. Heh
She's much better than before. Can cinch up or toss it on and walk away w/o her tensing up.


----------



## secuono

Somebody is gonna live, semi-permanently, in the round pen soon...


----------



## Bruce

She was born to be free!


----------



## secuono

Bruce said:


> She was born to be free!



She was born to be dog food...😑


----------



## Bruce

Hmmm, let me guess, you are (rightfully) a bit frustrated??


----------



## secuono

Bruce said:


> Hmmm, let me guess, you are (rightfully) a bit frustrated??



A bit is an understatement. 

Spent 3 hours fixing & replacing the track fence yesterday. 

I can't really complain on FB, as my trainer buddy will flip her 💩, even though she knows I'm joking. She's a bit serious over mustangs. 

Even if I get her ridden, I could never keep her because of the fence destruction. 

I'll be flat out of this ownership if she breaks out of the round pen, wash my hands of her, done-done.


----------



## Bruce

You need Stoney Ridge Farmer to come over and build you some fence! Metal posts pounded in, metal pipe bracing welded to the posts. High tensile woven wire.

Yeah I'm sure it costs a bundle.


----------



## thistlebloom

Why don't you see if your trainer buddy would look for a new home for her?


----------



## Bruce

I know a great place in Idaho


----------



## secuono

thistlebloom said:


> Why don't you see if your trainer buddy would look for a new home for her?



She is/has, I've seen the posts. 

She said come spring, she'll finally, should, have someone to ride her. So, if we survive until then...😅


----------



## secuono

Got all, but 3,  panels in place.


----------



## secuono

Tomorrow, practice starts.


----------



## secuono

She escaped and in-caped, lol, before I could get her. So had fence to fix.
I added a bare, ground wire right below the lowest hot wire, too.


----------



## Bruce

She is a determined girl!


----------



## secuono

Bruce said:


> She is a determined girl!



She bumped the panels 3-4 times, getting zapped each time, before she decided that wasn't fun.


----------



## Bruce

So she CAN learn


----------



## secuono

I need to get much heavier gauge wire to add to the track.
If Flugi isn't breaking them, the sheep are, and if not sheep, the little gelding finishes it off. Ugh


----------



## Bruce

Yep, sounds like the security system isn't strong enough.


----------



## secuono

Has anyone seen either of my bolt cutters??
100 POUND roll....
I'll be unraveling roughly 50ft at a time to attach.


----------



## Bruce

That will keep you busy for awhile. I bought mine as a ~1/4 mile spool at TSC. I know where my bolt cutters are but that won't help you much. Do you have fencing pliers? They should be able to cut that wire.


----------



## secuono

Bruce said:


> That will keep you busy for awhile. I bought mine as a ~1/4 mile spool at TSC. I know where my bolt cutters are but that won't help you much. Do you have fencing pliers? They should be able to cut that wire.



Small ones.

I found my short handled bolt cutters! 🎉

I didn't measure how many feet I'll need, they were so busy today & were practically whispering...so I just got the big, beefy roll & left. 
TSC has smaller rolls, but only on special order. So...2-8wks, depending on them doing their job or needing weekly reminders...🙄


----------



## Bruce

Have fun stringing the wire. Did you get any "tighteners"? I found that mine sagged a bit over time, I guess the posts moved a little.


----------



## secuono

Didn't realize that I'd need them.
Today, I cut roughly 200ft coils of wire & laid them out along the fence. 
Tomorrow, I'll be buying the clamps & tool to attach them


----------



## secuono

Yup...money well spent...
Anyone have horse burger recipes?...and a chest freezer to borrow?


----------



## secuono

She's stretching it...!!!
How??
She's out...& will now live permanently in the pen until sold...

The Energizer seems to of broke, too. Have a few more things to test it with & then I'll know if she killed it or what.


----------



## secuono

....Yup, back in the round pen. 
She broke under the fence right next to me...
This was when I was inside for a bit.


She broke in while I was checking every single insulator by hand. Fence is full zap again, but that means little when the horse is now exiled to the pen.


----------



## Bruce




----------



## secuono




----------



## Bruce

Jail, I hope she doesn't break out.


----------



## secuono

Took down hot wire in her pen.
Then removed one panel, that butted up to 3.5ft mesh fence, to start moving her pen to fresh grass.
The heifer immediately tried to bust out...
I put the panel back into place...

Started putting up a 2nd thick wire. Buying a bunch of stretchers tomorrow. Maybe there will be enough wire for 3 of those wires. Then I may be able to keep the sheep out, too. I'd hope 3 in a 2ft space would work on the turd...lol.


----------



## secuono

Not related to her, but I don't have a post for it, or do it? Idk.
Going to start working more with the little gelding to get him w/t/c so that my niece can ride him one day.


----------



## secuono




----------



## secuono

Someone should be coming tomorrow to meet Flugi.
🤞🤞🤞
Hope they want her.


----------



## Bruce

Those are what I used on the brace wires.


----------



## secuono

I think the arena updates were here? Idk anymore. Reposting it here anyway.

Guy should be coming this week to regrade around The Pit. Finally!!

Once he's done, I'll be ordering this building.

I'll probably add a carport on the property line side for the tractor. Hoping the mini & pony carts can fit in there as well.

Edited, correct colors, roof type & rear window as vent.


----------



## secuono

They said they liked her!
🤞🤞🤞
Now I'm hoping that they do, in fact, come back with their trailer!


----------



## Bruce

Here's hoping! She's a far better animal than when you got her.


----------



## secuono

Progress around the arena pit.


----------



## secuono

Alright, I need a lot of heavy rain again to see if this helped any!
Blue line is the widened n lowered new path for water to drain to n flow out from. Hopefully. 🤞🤞🤞
Once I know it works, I can spread the gravel at the building site & order it.


----------



## Bruce

That will be really nice when it is done.


----------



## secuono

Bruce said:


> That will be really nice when it is done.



If it ever gets done. Lol


Rushed to get the fence somewhat up to let the sheep back out. 

I'm wondering if I should bother with more round pen panels as the permanent arena fence or do something else. 🤔


----------



## secuono

Gotta move her pen over in the next couple of days. She'll also get hay from the alfalfa/grass mix bale, as the sheep hate it.


----------



## secuono

Moved the pen. Let her out to be with her friends & she escaped 2 minutes later...🙄 Should of just let her out on grass. But walked by as soon as I finished, so back in she went.


----------



## secuono

Messed with some things beforehand.


----------



## secuono




----------



## Bruce

You haven't mentioned her Houdini skills to the potential new owner have you?


----------



## farmerjan

If you don't mention her lack of respect for the electric, then you run the risk of having to take her back.... do not hide that fact from a potential buyer.  They need to be prepared to deal with her.  Also, one of the reasons she is constantly out is that she has not been hit hard enough to put her on her knees to learn to respect the fence.  I am serious.  It needs to hurt her to the point of her realizing it WILL HURT if she tries it.   Had a mare like that and then one day she got hit hard by a charger that was plugged in.... the fence was HOT.... and it put her on her knees and a scream out of her that you thought she had been shot.....  when she would get close enough to smell it, maybe felt the electric in the air around it.... but would not get close enough to touch it for love or money.   BUT if the fence wasn't on.... and she knew it.... she would go over or through it.... she could tell.    2 strands wire only.   Had one that got zapped once and would not even walk over a piece of wire on the ground.... she was afraid it would jump up and get her after going through wire many times that did not have enough bite to it.

And you are dealing with an animal that is bored to tears.... she has a higher intelligence than many average, domesticated from birth,  horses.  You are not challenging her enough, and she is frankly fed up with the baby games.  She wants to be out there, going..... not standing around.  Her acceptance of the different things you introduce, and put on, over, under her, are an indication that she gets it.... trusts you to not do something that is going to hurt her, and says okay.... NEXT.... it is like a kid with a genius IQ in 6th grade who can do calculus..... she is bored.... That is one reason that mustangs make such exceptional endurance horses... they are constantly being challenged....tested....

I have had a couple over the years  that would only stay in a pen like you have.... or put into a pasture with woven wire with a strand of barbed wire on top  that was electrified.... HOT ..... I can tell you that there are those horses that will not respect the output from a solar charger... it is not hot enough.... and that the tape doesn't impress them.... had one that learned that if she went through it she only got zapped once.... until I used a plug in charger that was hot.  And if your grounds on the electric aren't good enough then you need to increase the number of rods.... most good fences need a minimum of 4 rods, 6 ft in the ground to be considered properly installed.  Dry ground, or rocky ground need more ground rods.


----------



## secuono

farmerjan said:


> If you don't mention her lack of respect for the electric, then you run the risk of having to take her back.... do not hide that fact from a potential buyer.  They need to be prepared to deal with her.  Also, one of the reasons she is constantly out is that she has not been hit hard enough to put her on her knees to learn to respect the fence.  I am serious.  It needs to hurt her to the point of her realizing it WILL HURT if she tries it.   Had a mare like that and then one day she got hit hard by a charger that was plugged in.... the fence was HOT.... and it put her on her knees and a scream out of her that you thought she had been shot.....  when she would get close enough to smell it, maybe felt the electric in the air around it.... but would not get close enough to touch it for love or money.   BUT if the fence wasn't on.... and she knew it.... she would go over or through it.... she could tell.    2 strands wire only.   Had one that got zapped once and would not even walk over a piece of wire on the ground.... she was afraid it would jump up and get her after going through wire many times that did not have enough bite to it.
> 
> And you are dealing with an animal that is bored to tears.... she has a higher intelligence than many average, domesticated from birth,  horses.  You are not challenging her enough, and she is frankly fed up with the baby games.  She wants to be out there, going..... not standing around.  Her acceptance of the different things you introduce, and put on, over, under her, are an indication that she gets it.... trusts you to not do something that is going to hurt her, and says okay.... NEXT.... it is like a kid with a genius IQ in 6th grade who can do calculus..... she is bored.... That is one reason that mustangs make such exceptional endurance horses... they are constantly being challenged....tested....
> 
> I have had a couple over the years  that would only stay in a pen like you have.... or put into a pasture with woven wire with a strand of barbed wire on top  that was electrified.... HOT ..... I can tell you that there are those horses that will not respect the output from a solar charger... it is not hot enough.... and that the tape doesn't impress them.... had one that learned that if she went through it she only got zapped once.... until I used a plug in charger that was hot.  And if your grounds on the electric aren't good enough then you need to increase the number of rods.... most good fences need a minimum of 4 rods, 6 ft in the ground to be considered properly installed.  Dry ground, or rocky ground need more ground rods.



You're welcome buy a $700+ energizer and hook it up, but I'm not going to do that.


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## Bruce

How many joules do you think it would take to keep her off the fence?


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## farmerjan

I have never owned a $700 charger.... but it needs to be a plug in type that will give her a jolt.   The solar ones have to grounded exceptionally well, and I have not always gotten ours grounded good enough.  I don't know the joules, but we have 2 that are relatively inexpensive....plug in chargers cost much less than solar ones, and they will keep our mature bulls in with no problem.  If it isn't on, then they will tear down fence like it wasn't even there.  The solar chargers just didn't cut it.  But the plug in stopped it quick.  The solar ones also have "pulses" and they animals seem to know it.  The plug in ones don't seem to work the same way.  I hate electric fence in general.  We have constant problems with deer tearing them down and it takes alot of time to walk them.  This time of year is a nightmare with the does starting to come into season and the bucks are coming into rut and traveling and acting like "bucks in rut"... they don't learn the fences usually because they don't travel the same area everyday.


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## secuono

This was my strongest energizer, which she ignored. 3× 6ft ground posts, always reads full zap anywhere unless something grounds it out. 


I touched it once, never made that mistake again. But lightening killed it, so I got the 30 model, as I didn't have enough $ for the 50. Two more lightening breaks & I got the solar.
I could get an even stronger one to plug in again & baby it obsessively, but I don't want to waste any more money on this problem.


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## farmerjan

I don't blame you for not wanting to continue to deal with her.  And I got to thinking, she may not feel it.  I remember a friends' dad , used to be able to grab onto a hot electric fence  and then invite us to touch him.  Not knowing any better, we would touch his hand and get a jolt that would really set you back.  He didn't wear rubber boots either.  Something in his body would "ground him" and he never would feel the jolt.  He obviously took care of all their electric fences on the dairy farm.  So maybe something in her system makes it not affect her in that way.  In that case anything you do would be futile as you have found out.   
I hope that the people that looked at her like her enough to buy her and let you get on with your other animals.   
The pad for the building looks nice and I hope that the drainage situation is fixed.  It has been rather wet for a good part of this fall after the hot dry July we had.  Hard to get things done when you go from one to the other.


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## secuono

I don't usually post the stuff before success, so here's today intro to daisy reins...and reintroducing the surcingle, again, for the millionth time. Like many things, she's reactive and bolty. And if I don't continue using that scary thing, _daily_, she will need to be reintroduced again and again and again and...well, you get it. 
Sure, some of you may think she's bored with my antics, but that's not actually true. Or at least not fully true. I can see why you think that because I only show you the good, calm moments. She escapes out because she refuses to live on a hay only diet, that's what started it. She escapes inwards because she is obsessed with her friends. She used to be dangerously attached to them, in hand, too. It's not because she is bored or because she has a feral family tree or w/e else telling her to roam the countryside. If she did, I'd expect her to of been roadkill by now or something. She doesn't run n frolic when she's out alone nor when everyone else is with her, she doesn't even pace. She just wants things on her terms. We both figured out early on how to deal with each other, I won't force her into a corner and in return, she won't blow up and instead tries to deal with my crap.

Anyway.

Actually, here's the tarp video. You'll have to excuse my expressions, mumbling & outfits...







And the mat & pineapple video. 







And the mattress at 12:40 video, no spooking there, tho.







Today's video, fine with the tool, not fine with surcingle. Idk if you can tell, since you can't see her head the whole time, but she's being careful & responsive about the reins. That's the first thing I noticed. I already know she's very sensitive & responsive, but I was worried about possible rearing. And I'll keep worrying about that until after I see she's okay with not being able to stretch down whenever she wants. It seems the length its set as may work for her, time will tell. Rained last night, so not the best time to do it, but that's why we didn't keep at it nor try to canter. Hopefully, it'll be more dry later tonight & I can toss on the saddle tree & later the reins again & see how we feel. She likes stretching down when trotting, so that's when we may run into issues. And that's what I'm working up to seeing.


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## secuono

Made a browband for her halter, to keep the daisy reins in proper place. Need to test fit it before sewing the other end closed tomorrow morning.


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## secuono

Too loose the first time, as you can tell by her fun little fit.


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## secuono




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## secuono

She's listening to them very well...Makes me want to close up a small circle, toss on my gear & give it a shot. Certainly not getting any younger or more limber...


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## Bruce

secuono said:


> Makes me want to close up a small circle, toss on my gear & give it a shot. Certainly not getting any younger or more limber...


Right, that is why you have to do it now before you get older and less limber! 

Seems like she's doing really well, compare these videos to those from when you hadn't had her long. Though I will say that I'm pretty sure the thought bubble over her head often says "What ARE you thinking woman?"


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## secuono

Practiced some patience once on the trailer. No pics of that, no free hands.


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## Bruce

patients or patience?


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## secuono




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## secuono

The journal is officially over now, no, really, I mean it 100% this time!
We dropped her off at her new home today. Thanks for reading. Cya.


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## promiseacres

Glad she got a new good home and will give someone else some headaches.  You could just start a new journal, or change the title. Share what you're doing with your other critters.


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## secuono

promiseacres said:


> Glad she got a new good home and will give someone else some headaches.  You could just start a new journal, or change the title. Share what you're doing with your other critters.



This thread was just about her & life relating to her. 


My sheep have their own every year. 
Wool has its own.
If people really want to hear about my horses in general, I'll make their own journal to post to.


If new owners update me on Flugi, I will post that here.


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## Bruce

You are going to miss her even though she was a PITA.


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## secuono

Since I was updating the arena work here, I'll post it here now, too.

Guy returned for more digging. 

Should rain soon, waiting for it to see if it helped. 



If it fails, I'll see if he can just rent a backhoe or something and just dig a trench.


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## secuono

Should just get someone to bring in a backhoe & dig a trench all around n call it a day...
Loosing too much land that's for the building and arena. 
I feel like I need to add a lip of dirt on the dropoff side to stop the ruts.
Obviously, arena still isn't level...

Ruts returning to same spots...I bought 19 ton to fix this, clearly didn't put it in the right spots or it simply doesn't work.

New rain, longer puddle...

The little trench I had to dig to get the water out.

Leftover water

Look how much gravel & land I've lost to this "fix" that isn't working...


Google pic....Headdesk


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## Bruce

It does seem you need a berm of some sort.


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## secuono

Bruce said:


> It does seem you need a berm of some sort.



Right?? 
To redirect the flow, since adding more dust clearly doesn't work...


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## secuono

Update on Flugi, now known as "river".


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## Bruce

Maybe the name change will make her more amenable to sticking to the proper fields/pens.
Oh wait, NOTHING stops a river from wandering!


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## secuono

Trying to do it myself now...More tomorrow.


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## Bruce

it works!


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## secuono

Y'all, I *seriously* need to _grow some balls_!!
I can't let this happen again...🤦🏽‍♀️

I'm not mad, I'm really happy for her. But damn, I cannot let my fears stop me any more...

I hope she continues to do well & they keep her!


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## secuono

Bruce said:


> it works!



Me, making it ugly, worked! 🎉 Rained a day n a half, dried quickly!


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## Bruce

secuono said:


> I'm not mad, I'm really happy for her. But damn, I cannot let my fears stop me any more...


I guess you needed to try. But you know she wouldn't be carrying a rider without all the work you put into her.


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## secuono

Bruce said:


> I guess you needed to try. But you know she wouldn't be carrying a rider without all the work you put into her.



I've sat on her a few times, but too terrified of potentially getting bucked off & breaking something to ask her to move her feet. 🤦🏽‍♀️ Gotta learn to live!!

Seeing her freak out at the trainers is what first killed my confidence. Gotta make sure to never do that again!


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## secuono

Flugi update!


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## Bruce

Wait just a minute, that is a CHILD riding her? 
You did a much better job of "breaking" and training her than you thought.


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## secuono

More Flugi updates!
First 4 are most recent.


I'm incredibly disappointed in myself, gets worse each Flugi update...😅













						flugi update
					






					youtube.com


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## Bruce

I guess you just didn't recognize how much you had accomplished.


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## secuono

Another update!


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## Bruce

I don't suppose you could buy her back for twice what you sold her for


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## secuono

Bruce said:


> I don't suppose you could buy her back for twice what you sold her for


Lol, you can, I have zero interest of her on my property again. 
My idiot younger gelding still remembers the shyt she taught him. AKA, escaping hot wire.


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## secuono

Flugi update-


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## Bruce

Nice to know she is doing well!


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