Photo Friday!

Opening gates..."all by myself"!!

okay, i couldn't help but make a blog post about this! I walked out to see Roe the other day and saw that he was standing right by the gate that leads into the barn. Well i went over to get a closer look and saw that he was acctually trying to open the gate..."all by himself!" It was soo funny to watch!He would shove it open about 4 inches then it would slam back shut on him and he would start it all over again. He must have thought it was a game because he kept at it for over 15 minutes straight. I just get such a kick out of all the crazy things that my horses and other animals sometimes do...they just crack me up!
here's some pictures i snapped of him and his crazy gate opening game.


Yay!! He got it opened a little bit farther this time!!
Just in case anyone was wondering, he did get it open and into the stall.....

...BUT THEN THE GATE SHUT ITSELF ON HIM AND HE COULDN'T GET BACK OUT!! =)

Happy trails!!

May all your rides be Blessed!!

khr<><

Photo Friday!

Happy Trails!

May all your rides be Blessed,

khr<><

Recipie for horse treats

Here's a recipe I came across for horse treats. Try them sometime and see how your horse likes 'em! Feel free to try different ways of making them to suit your horse's taste,and let me know what you come up with!=)
Nuzzle Nuggets
1 c grated carrots
1 grated apple
2 tablespoons corn oil
¼ c molasses
1 tsp salt
1 c rolled oats (you can add some of your horse reg. feed in place of oats)
1 c flour
1/4 c ground flax seed (this helps make for a heathy coat and skin)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet sheet..In a large bowl, mix carrots, apple, corn oil and molasses together.Fold in salt, oats and flour until well mixed.Spread dough in one big piece on the cookie sheet.Score dough with a knife to make it easier to break apart after baking, or you can use the mouth of a mason jar to cut out circles.Let cool, and break apart , or let them cool on a wire rack.
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These are something good to feed a horse as a small reward for good behavior, but as always use in moderation so you don't upset your horses delicate digestive system.

Happy Trails!!

May all your rides be Blessed,
khr<><

Lesson #1 under saddle

This afternoon i decided to work with my 3 YO gelding 'Roe' and begin with a lesson on saddling.I caught, haltered and brought him in from the pasture and tied him. Then i gave him a good brushing and then proceded in picking his feet. He stood still an manerly during all this and only gave a little trouble when i was picking up his right front foot he kept acting like he was wanting to yank it forward. It's very important to keep a horses hooves up until you are ready to set it down. Never ever let a horse, especially a young inexperianced horse, think that they're in control for even a second. That one second of him being in control could lead to many unnessesary hours of re-training to gain back that lost ground in his training. If you need to let down a hoove before you're done working on it keep your hand on it until its set back on the ground, then let go. Doing that will ensure that he still thinks that you are in control and that you are telling him "Okay! Lets set this hoove down now" and then you are still in control. Remember this when working with your horse's feet.After i finnished the prep-work of brushing and picking Roe's hooves, I went and brought out a saddle and pad. First i gently rubbed his whithers where the front of the pad would placed. Then i let him sniff the pad and sort of see what this new thing was all about. I gently set the pad on his neck and slowly slid it back into place to ensure that none of his hairs would be rubbed the wrong way, which could be uncomftable for him.Then i set the saddle on him. Be sure to never swing a saddle on a young horse. Doing this could scare him and make him jumpy the next time you try to put a saddle on him.Then i tightened the cinch, not too snug, just enough to let him 'feel' the cinch but not enough to nock the wind clean out of him. You should be able to slide your whole hand with a bit to spare inbetween him and the cinch.I stood back and just let him move his hind-quarters around some. It wont hurt him none to move when he's tied, just so long as he's not yanking on the halter, but let him get a feel for the saddle on him. Roe stood calm for about 5 minutes so i dicided to turn him loose in the stall. (it was about a 18'x40' stall, so there was plenty of room to wander around.) I left him alone in the stall for about 15 minutes or so,just to let him move around some. Then i tied him back up and unsaddled him before turning him back out in the pasture, and that was the end of 'Lesson #1' under saddle. I was very pleased with him, he behaved himself very well, and i was happy with the way things went.I took a few minutes to snap some pictures of him all decked out in his 'get-up' while he was saddled.^"what the heck is this??"
^Watching the 'goings on' outside.

^After he settled down and was standing calm with the saddle still on his back , I took off his halter and turned him loose in the barn and let him just walk around with the saddle on and get more used to the cinch being tightened up some.

Happy Trails!!

May all your rides be Blessed,

khr<><

Meet the horses!

Howdy, and welcome to my new blog khrhorses!! Here you'll find my thoughts and observations from a horse lovers point of view. Anything from little stories that i have of my horses lives, or recipies for home-made horse treats,training tips or anything really that is horse related!!I'll now introduce you to my horses and my best friends, The four legged friends that make my life worth living...

First i'm going to introduce you to Gunner, Gunner is my 5 YO half arabian half QH palimino gelding. I've had Gunner for about 2 years now. He was green broke when i bought him and i spent many many hours out on the trail as well as in the pasture with him getting some more miles under his cinch. He is a wonderful companian and trail partener to me and i can't imagine what my life would be with out my 'Boy'! Gunner Ruby

Next is Ruby, Ruby a 3YO sorrel filly who i've had since she was just a foal. She was born here and i've raised her up since she was a baby. I started her under saddle last fall and she just needs more miles on her. Ruby is such a sweetheart!! She doesn't have a mean bone her body. She was a little spitfire after she was born but she settled down when she was about 6 months old. She'll make an amazing speed event horse someday.

Pyro

Here is my 3 YO gelding Pyro (Roe for short) He was born the same year as Ruby and the two of them are best buds. I have some wonderful memeries of watching the two of them playing together out in the pasture when they were babys. They havn't been separated since their birth for more than maybe a few hours at a time Roe is a dark bay gelding about 15.2 HH and has been worked some under saddle. I've been concintrating more on his training this fall and hope to make him into a trail horse/family horse.Thanks for taking some time to read my first blog entry and to let me introduce you to my four-legged friends!!

Happy Trails!!
May all your rides be Blessed,

khr<><