Merry Christmas!

Hope all had a lovely Christmas and Happy New Year!

Confession

So I have a confession to make, till I got Ace I never really liked Arabians... I thought they where high strung fire crackers. All though one of my favourite books growing up was Marguerite Henry's King of the Wind. It tells the story of the Godolphin Arabian, ancestor of the modern Thoroughbred.

Oh and that scene from The Black Stallion! Who didn't want to be that little boy, riding a Arabian stallion bareback and bridle-less down a beach.  

So I never hated Arabians, they just weren't my cup of tea. I would prefer a easy going Quarter Horse, till I got Ace. He is so easy going loving smart cookie of a horse.

I was told by someone "you shouldn't have got an Arab for your first horse" and "Arab's are scared of everything"

While Ace isn't necessarily spooky he does take a lot more notice of his environment than the other horses. Originally, the fact that they noticed something different could have meant the difference between life or death.

I have for a while tried to scare Ace with plastic bags, tarps, ropes and flags. He don't care about much, just the water from the hose on his back legs (we are working on it).

So never judge a book by it's cover I guess... oh and there is never a "bad" horse or breed just bad training, riding and handling. 

Picking Aces

For awhile I've been trying to decide what model would be Ace's mini me. If I had money for resins my favourite would be Indian Silver but alas I'm sticking with plastic.

Ace is pretty much your standard Arab: refined shaped head, dished profile and small muzzle. An arched neck, compact body with short back and naturally high tail carriage. 

 

So the search is on for a plastic body for me to customise into Ace's likeness. 

Never a huge fan of Justadream but after seeing this Breyerfest auction special in this colour, wow! The weird double shoulder would have to go but I do like the head down version better. 

Then there is Weather Girl, I real like this sculpt but its doesn't say Ace to me...

Now Ethereal is chunky and not perfect but I do see Ace in there.

Ashquar is awesome but real Ace would find that pose involves way to much energy.

I know there are some other Arabian sculptures I'm missing. Does anyone see one thats fits Ace that I'm not seeing?

Thanks to Identify Your Breyer for the photos.

Coming up Lame

Sadly Ace is a little off in his front right. I have only been working him gently, taking time to bring him around. Keeping a close eye on his tendons because they are adjusting to his new correctly trimmed hooves. A good long soak with a cold hose works wonders on tendons.

Also I'm a little worried about his joint health. After some research I decided to start him on a joint supplement. I want one that had a good amount of Hyaluronic Acid (HA) for joint fluid and articular cartilage. Majesty's Flex HA Wafers seemed a little costly at first but if you do the math it's only $28 a month. Compared to the monthly cost of Platinum Performance $220 and Cosequin $216 the flex wafers are a good buy.

At first Ace disliked the taste but after some crumbling up in his grain he now gobbles them up plain. He has been on the wafers for a while now and I'm noticing a big difference. He is moving more freely and his front right is doing much better.

Round and Round

So with Ace settle into his new home, it's time to start seeing what he knows. We started in the round pen with ground work. Truth be told I dislike the word 'natural' horsemanship, please tell me what is natural about strapping a cows hide onto a prey animal and then a predator sitting on it? I think I will just stick to horsemanship/partnership terms.

Now I would like to point out I do have a wonderful friend that studied under Buck Brannaman. She is wonderful at guiding us when we run into holes. She keeps me on point and makes me ask for more because she knows we both can do better. 

I let him be lazy at times and kind of nag him to much, instead of one good correction. We are still learning and working each other out. 

 He likes to keep me in his left eye, so I work more on the right to get him use to seeing me there. Very smart, responsive and he does listen quite well. 

So this is round penning, getting him back into shape and connecting with him. Soon will be adding the saddle and continuing our journey. 

Ace of Spades

So I was debating whether or not to start a new blog about my role as a first time horse owner. I think it will just be easier to combine the two together, I mean what model horse person doesn't love real horses?

 So apart of my blog will focus on my new boy Ace. Ace came to me by a friend, he was inherited by a guy who didn't want horses. His hoofs where overgrown so badly that they started to curl up and over all not a lot of care. Lucky the old owner did keep him fed, he is a good weight just needs muscle.

First thing I did once Ace was with me was call the vet out to float his teeth and clean his sheath. The vet and knowledgeable horse people say he is roughly 16 years old. He is an Arabian, don't know if he is pure or not. I also gave him his shots and a dewormer, then time to settle into his new home.

Still Alive

Sorry for the lack of posts. I'm still alive and kicking, it's just this guy takes all my spare time...

I haven't even been thinking about model horses of late but I was in our local tack store the other day and I saw this family set.

I have been wanting Dungree ever since her release for Breyerfest. I love the simple but rich paint job breyer gave her.

To make me even happier they have the reining model as the "Dad". It seams like forever since they have made this little guy, so glad he was in the set. 

And this is the little cute baby with his big star.

I have been forcing myself to paint, I'm trying to finish this portrait piece. I hopefully have him finished in the next day or so.

I haz pony!

I wasn't looking for a horse right at this moment in time. Our yard is far from ready to stable horses but a friend messaged me that I had to come see this horse and that he would be the perfect match for me. So I just went to have a look...

And maybe a little test ride... I took him on his first trail ride in years and he acted like an old pro. Plastic bags blowing in the wind, rabbits and dogs didn't worry him one little bit. Smooth trot, canter and mostly he has so much try, just wants to please. When I was leaving he called out for me, oh man I knew he had to come home with me. A few calls where made and he was mine, living just 5 mins away till we get the yard ready.

I'm not a huge Arabian fan but this little guy won my heart. He doesn't really act like a Arabian so he might not be pure, he acts more Quarter then anything. He was inherited by a guy who didn't want horses so he dumped them at my friend's house. His hoofs where so overgrown that they started to curl up and he hadn't been properly care for in a long time.

 

I'll be getting him healthy, his winter coat shed out and all the time, love and care he needs for the rest of his life.

Wordless Wednesday

(Well almost wordless) Photo's taken at the BLM Mustang corrals, enjoy.

Horse Expo Pomona

I was very lucky last weekend, I was able to attend the Horse Expo at Pomona, CA. The highlight was watching Chris Cox start a colt in under 1 hour. The colt had never been ridden and was only just halter broke. When Chris asked him to move to the right the colt lashed out with both back hooves (didn't get it on camera) and was a very pushy, sour guy. Chris worked his magic with the most timing and feel I have ever seen and had that colt started without a drop of sweat off both of them.

My husband turned and looked at me with his mouth open (my husband isn't into horses and I thought he was reading Game of Thrones) and said "Wow that horse wanted to kill him and now he is following him around like a puppy dog!" At that point Chris had taken the saddle and halter off and was walking around with the colt following his every move. I have watched a lot of colt starters but Chris was truly amazing and totally in tune with this horse.

I also got to see Julie Goodnight talk about cantering with confidence. She was on a beautiful Quarter Horse gelding, check out his mane and tail! He is pure Quarter Horse though he don't really look it. Julie talked about cueing, the correct leads and having control while cantering.

Craig Cameron was also there on a young palomino filly. He talked about different patterns you can ride to develop a better horse. He had a good message of having soft hands and to stop nagging your horse. He rode in a soft rope bosal on a lose rein the whole time which was nice to see on a young horse.
 

BCS Winter Photo Challenge

Braymere Custom Saddlery is so awesome because she is putting on a fun photo contest. Check it out: http://braymere.blogspot.com/2015/01/bcs-winter-photo-challenge.html

I had way to much fun coming up with creative photo ideas!

1. Vintage

2. Nekkid (hats don't count right?)

 3. Scale issues (are you my Mommy?)

4. I see spots (Someone call the vet!)

5. Unbridled passion

6. Rare breed (My Little Ponies are real)

7. Portrait (Big Chex to Cash)

8. Conga

9. The great outdoors

10. Best in show