Well everyone, I am very happy to announce that Ike, our favorite rare buckskin roan gelding, sold to a happy couple down in Colorado. It was sad to see him go, after Dale raised him from birth and my attachment to him through our training sessions. He is a very special horse, very attached to his human counterparts and always the first horse to the gate in the morning. He is prepared to be a great mountain horse, has lots of arena riding and silly desensitizing stuff done. I made a special trip to drop him off, I feel better seeing where the horses will be living. I’m sure that Francie and her husband will be glad to have him for years to come.

As well, Jerry Lee sold locally to a woman determined to get back in the saddle. Jerry Lee is such a gentle soul and will provide lots of entertainment. He is such a hustle foot and will go over, under, through anything. I believe the two will be a fantastic match on the trails.

We also sold Blues Art this spring. He is residing in Smokey Point, WA as a trail horse and gets lots of arena work. It was a match made in heaven since Art is a dead ringer of the woman’s previous mount. He was so tolerant during her first ride on him, when she was really figuring him out. I felt really good watching them ride, and when I dropped him off, he couldn’t have been happier out in their grass with another playful gelding.

We still have other horses for sale, for riders of all types and skill sets. Contact www.thehorsebarn.com for more information.

Dale sent me this video because he is very happy with my horse training and wants my prospective clients to call him if  they have any questions on my abilities to train their horses.

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Today was a beautiful day to ride a horse. It made me very thankful to be training horse in Snohomish Washington where the sun was shining. I took this opportunity to work with one of my colts in training on trailer loading and ponying at the Pilchuck Tree Farm.

This particular gelding knows how to load and really doesn’t have a trailer loading issue. He does have some ground school issues that sometimes come out when presented the trailer. I played with him by sending him around the trailer, back and forth. I placed him nose on the sides and on the gate. I then opened the gate and sent him around by the back of the trailer. In a sense I built his confidence to be in the presence of the trailer. In that moment, it was not about getting in the trailer, it was about moving his feet under my direction in the presence of the trailer.

Once he let down and relaxed he began to seek the trailer. He was wanting to put his nose on it, his feet in it and he wanted to load. This is exactly the response I was looking for. I don’t want my horses to get into the trailer, I want them to want to get into the trailer. I want to send them from a distance, out of harms way, into the trailer. The gelding loaded and stayed. Door wide open, slack rope. He wanted to be in the trailer.

After a while I caught and loaded The Red Baron and down the road we went. Once at the trail head I saddled them both. The gelding has the inclination to pull on the lead when he becomes resistant. I worked his feet left and right, disengaging his hindquarters when he got stuck.

We went over bridges, logs and trees. We went under branches and through bushy ground cover. We crossed running creek water and boggy mud. It was a great day for both geldings, the The Red Baron got more practice ponying on his second trail ride and the gelding got outdoors exposure.

On Sunday my sister and I hauled our horses from Snohomish to the Pilchuck Tree Farm in Arlington to ride. It was a beautiful day, a little cloudy but it was warm enough. She brought her dun mare Tabbie and I rode The Red Baron. The trails were clear and there was some mud but not too much. It certainly didn’t bother our horses, who were more than willing to bog through the deepest parts, right up the center of the trail. It felt good to just get out of doors, out of the arena and cover some ground. It was The Red Baron’s first ride in the woods. He has been ridden in fields but not on a trail. At first he was a bit of trail blazer, he tried every deer trail he saw in the first five minutes. He quickly gained a vision of the days goal, follow the big wide path!

Overall, it was a great ride. I even took The Red Baron up this blue metal loading ramp. It clanked and rumbled. He was very cautious but went up like a champion. I enjoyed the challenge of the day, not that The Red Baron took much note of my challenge! I can hardly wait for more rides like Sunday’s. Such fun, good weather and great companionship. Here’s to spring weather and good rides!

I’ve been riding with Dennis Reis since 2006 and I enjoy the information so much. I have been playing, dabbling, not putting enough effort into the Horseman’s Course for about a year and a half. I love the thought of the course, but I always find other things to work on instead, commonly citing confusion as my excuse. Though last week I turned over a new leaf, I’ve began watching my DVDs in course 4. Its a small first step towards my goal but its the right first step. It has been eye opening and the Red Baron is fun to play with. He is smart, quick and intelligent. Its like he has the natural instinct to understand. Every time I play with him I get a deeper connection, some new understanding. With enough effort and perseverance I will understand the information better and be able to gain the relationship with my horse that I am desiring. How fun!

Blue Jack had another fantastic week. Lots of hard work and some great rides out in the woods and in the fields. It was awesome to get him out of the pen and be in outdoors. He is such a fun horse, lots of effort comes from him each ride. He is soft, willing and is a great partner. Its hard to ride all these horses, build bonds with them and know that they will go on to other people. I just love them all! Being that Blue Jack is a full brother to my gelding, The Red Baron, its even harder not to get attached. He feels like extended family.

When we were out and about on our rides Blue Jack encountered lots of scary stuff. We rode past the other horses who were running around. He walked past without batting an eye at them. We rode through mud, puddles, sinking hog fuel and sloppy gravel. He was a champ the whole way. We did lots of circles around trees and stumps, over logs and through bushes. It was good to see how strong his skill set was outside a controlled area.

I have been advancing JJ daily. He is coming along very nicely and gets softer daily. JJ and I have a good thing going on, he really tries to work hard. I like his attitude, very positive guy and he has the most expressive face! I’ve been working on his lope, keeping him vertical and soft through upward transitions. He is doing really great. I installed a big stop on him last week, I think its his favorite thing to to now! Stop= JJ gets a break!

We’ve been having lots of fun, I’ve been taking him through the woods, over and under things. He is fearless and a real trail blazer out here. Which is really necessary because there are no trails! With all the nice weather we’ve been having I hope we can take these horses on a camping trip soon!

Brickhouse Bonnet is a 2004 sorel gelding that we call Red. He is a smooth lined, slow legged gelding that will excel as an all around show horse. I believe his top classes will be in the western division but he will perform quite well in the hunter equitation and pleasure also.

Red is going nicely under saddle. He and I have a good bond and connection. He has a lot of heart and tries very hard every day. He has a great feel for energy and listens to my body language. His gaits are full and he moves softly around the pen. I can’t wait to get him out on a trail ride, I’ve been riding through Dale’s woods but I want to get him out in some open land. I’ll keep you posted on his progress!

Blues Nick is a red roan gelding we call Sparky. He is a 2007 gelding out of Blue Canal Fisher. Sparky has the most endeering horse-ality. He is funny, playful and a hard worker-an unlikely combination! I believe that Sparky has the talent and potential to become a top all around horse, not just locally but at higher levels.

When I started Sparky it was a done deal before I even started. I flanked him, saddled him and rode him within an hour. He never broke a sweat, bucked and became bothered by anything. He is totally desensitized to objects but is perfectly sensitized to body energy. He is a trip to ride becuase he moves like a dream and he is pretty quick on his feet. He has a good feel to him and works really hard to be accurate in his movements. Overall this gelding is a catch and will never hold you back. There is a really nice horse here.