This is Assurance his first Morning home. He was really
tired after the long drive from Oregon.
tired after the long drive from Oregon.
Assurance meeting Oscar for the first time. Oscar LOVES all of
the big horses. (hes not so fond of the mini's they chase him) I
know one of these days I will go outside to find Oscar sitting on
the back of a horse.
the big horses. (hes not so fond of the mini's they chase him) I
know one of these days I will go outside to find Oscar sitting on
the back of a horse.
Sorry its not a very good picture but I wanted to post it anyway. It was interesting, I had to move
horses around today because of possible flooding this evening.
I moved Assurance into a pasture next to Dreamer, our 27 year old quarter horse gelding. At first
there was alot of screaming going on, mostly coming from Dreamer, hes old but he's the alpha
male around here. After a few minutes it got very quiet, I noticed that Assurance was standing
next to Dreamer. Assurance must have yawned 10 or 11 times in a row. It fascinated me because
thats something horses and people do when they are releasing. Dreamer made Assurance feel
safe and relaxed. It was not the reaction I was expecting, I was pleasantly surprised. After the
yawn fest, they groomed each other over the fence.
If things continue to go well between them I may try to put them together in Dreamers pen.
March 1, 2006
Assurance has turned out to be a bit more of a challenge than I expected. Hes on automatic pilot
most of the time. Hes very conditioned to his life as a race horse. The minute I walk him out of
his paddock, hes on. Hes ready to go run a race, its like a switch has been flipped and his
adrenaline starts pumping. I am going to have to get very creative with his retraining.
He has a hard time paying attention to me. Hes very mouthy, likes to chew on the lead rope and
anything else that I am holding. He threatens to kick if I run my stick down his back right leg. Hes
afraid of my stick and doesn't really like ropes either.
Now for the good news, hes very smart. I decided I would have to make things far more
interesting for him and to surprise him a bit. Instead of the stick I usually use I got a big water
noodle from the pool. You know those long flexible foam floaty things. I let him play with it for
as long as he wanted, chew on it, toss it around, step on it. He seemed far less threatened by
this than by my stick. Once he was done playing I used it like I would use my stick. Rubbed his
neck and shoulders, legs, etc. I left it in his paddock on his feeding mat so he can get very
comfortable with it.
March 4, 2006
Gratefully it didn't rain today. Assurance and the other horses were thrilled. Assurance spent
most of his day laying down and resting in what little sun there was. I gave him the day off, we
will work tomorrow on his re-training.
March 9th, 2006
Things are going good with Assurance. He is beginning to trust me and I am beginning to
understand him. We've been doing just basic ground work inside his paddock. I won't take him
out to work in the arena for a while. He gets very distracted and I don't want to put him in a
situation where he panics and can't listen to me. At least not until I trust his ground manners.
Hes becoming more quiet at grooming time. Its hard for him to stand there, reminds him to much
of his life at the race track. I try to do things differently every time I groom just to keep him
interested and thinking.
Today I felt he was ready for me to try and do a little hoof trimming. He was calm and listened well
unfortunately his left leg is really bothering him and he didn't want to put to much weight on it. so
I wasn't able to do to much. Its going to take a while to get to all of his hooves, since I can only
work on them for a minute or so at a time.
Assurance Page - 2
horses around today because of possible flooding this evening.
I moved Assurance into a pasture next to Dreamer, our 27 year old quarter horse gelding. At first
there was alot of screaming going on, mostly coming from Dreamer, hes old but he's the alpha
male around here. After a few minutes it got very quiet, I noticed that Assurance was standing
next to Dreamer. Assurance must have yawned 10 or 11 times in a row. It fascinated me because
thats something horses and people do when they are releasing. Dreamer made Assurance feel
safe and relaxed. It was not the reaction I was expecting, I was pleasantly surprised. After the
yawn fest, they groomed each other over the fence.
If things continue to go well between them I may try to put them together in Dreamers pen.
March 1, 2006
Assurance has turned out to be a bit more of a challenge than I expected. Hes on automatic pilot
most of the time. Hes very conditioned to his life as a race horse. The minute I walk him out of
his paddock, hes on. Hes ready to go run a race, its like a switch has been flipped and his
adrenaline starts pumping. I am going to have to get very creative with his retraining.
He has a hard time paying attention to me. Hes very mouthy, likes to chew on the lead rope and
anything else that I am holding. He threatens to kick if I run my stick down his back right leg. Hes
afraid of my stick and doesn't really like ropes either.
Now for the good news, hes very smart. I decided I would have to make things far more
interesting for him and to surprise him a bit. Instead of the stick I usually use I got a big water
noodle from the pool. You know those long flexible foam floaty things. I let him play with it for
as long as he wanted, chew on it, toss it around, step on it. He seemed far less threatened by
this than by my stick. Once he was done playing I used it like I would use my stick. Rubbed his
neck and shoulders, legs, etc. I left it in his paddock on his feeding mat so he can get very
comfortable with it.
March 4, 2006
Gratefully it didn't rain today. Assurance and the other horses were thrilled. Assurance spent
most of his day laying down and resting in what little sun there was. I gave him the day off, we
will work tomorrow on his re-training.
March 9th, 2006
Things are going good with Assurance. He is beginning to trust me and I am beginning to
understand him. We've been doing just basic ground work inside his paddock. I won't take him
out to work in the arena for a while. He gets very distracted and I don't want to put him in a
situation where he panics and can't listen to me. At least not until I trust his ground manners.
Hes becoming more quiet at grooming time. Its hard for him to stand there, reminds him to much
of his life at the race track. I try to do things differently every time I groom just to keep him
interested and thinking.
Today I felt he was ready for me to try and do a little hoof trimming. He was calm and listened well
unfortunately his left leg is really bothering him and he didn't want to put to much weight on it. so
I wasn't able to do to much. Its going to take a while to get to all of his hooves, since I can only
work on them for a minute or so at a time.
Assurance Page - 2
