Fabio is Home! And 100 Posts

This is my 100th post since starting Grace Equestrian! Since starting this blog I have gone from 1 horse to 3. I have had 5 different touching horses in my life. From my sweet Roxy mare who I will have the rest of her life. My Gideon came next. He is the most special little gelding I have and probably will ever meet. Next came Nova, who is my Roxy replacement and perhaps my parade horse. After was Blossom, the pony that loves me such an incredible amount. Unfortunately due to her tinny tiny size I just needed a pony that was a wee bit bigger, so enter the newest member of my herd- Fabio. Fabio is so sweet, I can already tell he is just a very gentle, methodical pony. I am excited to have a project pony and I see a lot of potential in this little fella.

We went for a hand walk yesterday, and he was a little anxious when we left the property, but did fairly well. I think he's used to driving and pulling because he'd just lay down on the lead rope and tuggggg. Hopefully we can break that habit. He is going to spend the rest of this week just cuddling with me, following me everywhere that I go. I am excited to finish up this cute pony!

Fabio's cute little blaze! 

In 100 posts from now I hope to have very little herd turn over, happy finished horses, and maybe even a Rodeo Queen. Where do you hope to be 100 posts from now in your own life?

Visit with Gideon

Sorry it took me a while to get this post up! I went up to see Gideon last Monday! He is doing so well, he has gained about another 100 pounds I would say. He is doing so well, and they love him so much. We arrived, and rode for a while. He lives with two Peruvian Pasos an older mare, and a gelding. They have mare motel stalls, attached to a large pasture. My mom, 7 year old nephew, and I went out to see my little boy.

He looks so good, and he rides really well! I also rode his new owner's Paso mare- so smooth! She had a crazy little lope.

Gideon is doing well, I am so thrilled for his great life! I rode him around their property, they have a big field where they grow oat hay, and a western village. The husband (Gideon's true owner) does western reenactments. They are actually taking Gideon to try out for a movie in January, so I hope that they do well. Gideon jumps in and out of the trailer for them, crosses water, and just goes everywhere they ask with grace. They told me that he loves water, he crosses it and plays in it while riding.

This is the story of a perfect rescue and re home situation. Gideon is doing so well, this is the perfect life for him, trail riding, and living with other horses. Here are some pictures of me riding him.

And to imagine, this is where he started out. This graceful and gentle natured animal, that wasn't even respected enough to be fed. I am overjoyed for the opportunities, and life that I have given to him. I saved his life, he will always hold a special place in my heart. 

Little Fella

I have been receiving updates and photos about Gideon since selling him, which I absolutely love! And today, I am going out to see my little fella. I am so excited to see him all filled out, and beautiful. He's been trail riding regularly, going on 16 mile trail rides through the mountains, crossing rivers, big meadows, and he's loving it. I'll be sure to take lots of photos and tell you all about it! I am thrilled to see Gideon again!

The Fantastic New Life of Gideon

Gideon was re-homed about 5 months after being rescued. I started him on barrels, and he had absolutely no interest in being an arena horse. So up went the craigslist ad. It just didn't seem fair to force Gideon into an arena horse life that he didn't enjoy. I am so thankful that I found him the great trail family he lives with now.

Gideon lives in an absolutely lovely pasture in the mountains with two beautiful mares. He trail rides nearly everyday! He is his new father's first trail horse. Gideon is finishing filling out nicely, while in their care. I have regular communication with his new owner, and we are even planning a trail ride in the near future. I'll get to ride him too! I am so excited to see how far they have taken him. It is impossible not to be happy when I found him such a wonderful home.

Here are the most recent photos that I was sent of my handsome little boy!

I'm Back!

Sorry about that long hiatus. Life just got a little crazy. Let me give you an update.

Gideon- 
He had absolutely no interest in being an arena horse. So I didn't think it was fair to try to make him into one when he would just be miserable. So I sold him. I found him a fantastic home as a husband's first trail horse. He lives up in the mountains, I get pictures and updates about him often. He has a great life, and his new dad just loves him.

Roxy-
Roxy is retired. She still hasn't really come back from her injured stifle. She's retiring to the life of a lesson horse. And she's doing really well at it! She's in two lessons a week. Both girls love her- they are young teenagers. One of the girls had her first lope on Roxy last Saturday! It is so fun to have trained my horse well enough that these kids can ride her, and equally as fun that I trained the kids well enough to handle her.

And I have some very exciting news. *drum roll* I bought a filly! She is a 3 year old buckskin Appaloosa. Registered name is RER Justa Fantasea. Her sire was Justa Cowboy, dam was Sea Freckles. She is absolutely stunning. This mare has the most elegant floaty gaits I have ever seen. She's 15.1, and right now 990lbs. That will be changing- this mare is OBESE. Here are some photos of this beauty. She needs a name. She is very elegant, she needs a name that fits. Something hopefully fast since she's a gymkhana horse. I was thinking seriously about Comet and Melody but those just don't fit her. I was also thinking Fancy, but I feel like that's a big thoroughbred name. Also thought about Fantasea but I know that we'll be calling her Fanta. Any ideas?

Update on the Herd!

Dolly is still awaiting her shoes. We are quite sad that she needs them, but she is getting older and it'll help her to have them.

Roxy is not nearly as lame as before! Two weeks later, and she is showing signs of improvement! I am so so excited. I thought for sure that she was going to need the $200 stifle injections. She is still quite lame, but so so much better. Please send happy thoughts her way.

It was super poor timing for Roxy to lame herself because if she was wound I would get to run flags at a rodeo! They are a girl short for flag runs. We literally don't have any other horses that will do it. So sad.


Gideon is doing quite well. I bought him some rice bran, so we can start packing on the pounds. He's looking amazing too. I emailed some photos of Gid to the boyfriend and he didn't even recognize him! All of the horses are 90% shed out, and Gideon is especially beautiful. He's looking less dappled on one side, but his other side looks very dappled, so it's a mystery! His coat is looking super shiny and beautiful too. I've had him about 2 months now, here are some before pictures.

Emaciated, depressed, and extremely poor overall. Gideon needed some serious TLC.

2 months later, I am happy to say he is doing great! His ground manners are improving drastically, his coat is so shiny (a sign of health), he has gained about 50 pounds, and he is such a happy little guy!

 Here is a video of Gideon turned out. 

I got a new phone! It's an HTC Vivid, quite a step up from my little samsung strive. This phone is super cool. I took that video with it, and most of the pictures that I have recently posted I took with it. I can give it verbal streaming commands, like "send text to mom, how are you?" or I can search google automatically. It's super cool, I highly recommend buying one. It's a million times better then the iphone and for far less moola.

Anything cool happening to you?

All That I Know

Hello everyone, my name is Gideon, otherwise known as colt, mustang, Gid, and now less often- bad horse. Here are all of the wonderful things that I know.

 I know that I am happy with my new mommas! So happy in fact, that I smile every time I roll (which is often).

I know that the sun feels good against my shiny new coat.

I know that wormer tastes awful!

 I know that baths won't really kill me.

 I know how to be lunged. But I still get confused often.

I know how to be so freaking handsome it might kill you if you look for too long.

 I know that I might always have this permanent reminder of my horrid past. This dip in my between my hips might never go away.

I know that my hooves don't hurt anymore. 

Oh did I mention that I know how to be ridden? While these silly two leggers are bouncing around me, treating me like a baby I already know all of this stuff. On Sunday they discovered that I could be ridden. I know leg cues, verbal commands. I am a very good boy under saddle, on the ground I might try to out muscle you.

I also know that those two ladies are my moms, and they love me very much. They feed me hay, groom me, pick out my hooves, and just enjoy me. In return I'm super handsome, and do not hurt them. It's a good deal.

The Vet

Today was madness at the ranch. I left work early, hoped into my car, and then prepared myself for the crazy!
I as soon as I jumped out of the car I was giving a list of pretty much all of the horses to halter and leave in their stalls. My fantastic vet went from stall to stall giving 2 shots, and checking teeth on over 30 horses across the ranch. Some (like all three of mine) were getting a little extra. Here is what he said about them.

The hole under Dolly's chest is still open because there is some foreign body still in it. But he doesn't want to do surgery again since it's really fine (I've been meaning to tell Dolly's story forever! I promise I will eventually). My BO/trainer says that she wants it to close up. So we are going to shoot peroxide into it, hose it off, and blue coat it every day! I don't think that it will ever close up all the way, but at least her mouth did!

Roxy's lump will probably be there forever, and her lameness is in the stifle. It pops, and has fluid in it. He said to give it a week, my BO says she will probably need injections. This kills me. Only partially because of the cost, but mostly because Roxy isn't even 10 years old, she already has one condition and she doesn't need one that will affect her comfort for the rest of her life. She is a gymkhana horse, her stifle gets a lot of use. And she truly loves to be ridden, and to run. I would hate for that joy away from her.

So what about Gideon? I haltered him with a stud chain- he is super rude on the ground, so he'll be in a stud chain for a few weeks as he learns to be respectful. I told the vet that he was a rescue, we've had him for a month. The vet says just to feed him alfalfa to gain weight, but at nearly $20 a bale that's a little out of my budget. So I'll be putting him on red cell and rice grain, bran? I forget which. Beet pulp was suggested by a friend, but my BO instantly vetoed it. It is really hard on a digestive system, and Gideon is not strong yet. He does not need his teeth done, and I found out his age!

So how old do you think this handsome boy is? 

Mustangs Like to be Dirty

With Roxy still up, I've had time to really work with Gideon a lot. Don't worry, the vet will be out on Tuesday to give shots, and to give an exam to both of my horses. Unfortunately that means I have to stop buteing her so the vet can see exactly where she hurts. My BO/trainer says that if Roxy's lameness is permanent Gideon's getting a bullet to the head. He's not winning any points from her. As for me, I can't even begin to think about that option.

So due to all my spare time, I decided that Gideon would received his first bath yesterday! I knew that it would be tough, but he really needed one, so I armed myself with a stud chain, a hose, some dandruff shampoo (poor little guy was having some dander issues!), and a rubber curry. Off to the turn out with went!

He doesn't tie very well, and I knew that the water would scare the bejeebies out of him, so I held him the whole time. I tried it at first with a little sprayer on the hose, but I couldn't get the pressure right so I ended up taking that off. I hosed him down the first time, and he was scared, but he did ok. I shampooed him up, and curried him like crazy. His rump with still quite dry, which I found kind of funny. I didn't clean his mane or tail, that's for another day.

Once he was all lathered up I went to hose him off. Oh my lord. You know how people ask who's the one getting the bath, the horse or the human? Well I got the shower. I was so wet. But it was hot so I didn't mind too much. Poor Gideon fought so hard, he got a little cut on the side of his cheek. :( I couldn't leave him soapy though, so I quickly did the best job that I could, loved on him like crazy, and then took him home where some I gave him an appetizer to his dinner. Tomorrow I'll get a sponge out to get the rest of the shampoo out of his now beautiful fur. Who knows, that could have been his first bath ever!

Haven't my people noticed? Mustangs don't like clean!

The First Sit

For the sake of time, this will be a quick little post. Yesterday I had the first sit on Gideon McBadhorse (did I mention Roxy is still lame?). I turned him out for about 15minutes, I cleaned his stall, I laid out new shavings (it is FINALLY starting to dry out!), I tacked him up, and lunged him in both directions. Then I lowered a stirrup quite a bit. I put my foot in it and paused. Gideon's feet froze, not out of fear, but out of obedience- because that is what he knew he was supposed to do. I lowered my foot back to the ground. I wiggled the saddle (pretty aggressively), and then I placed my foot back in the stirrup. I popped up, then back down. Up, then back down. I lowered my foot to the ground once again. After a few more aggressive shakes, and some high jumps beside him, he continued to stand frozen. So I put my foot in the stirrup one last time, and this time I swung my leg over him.

Wow. There is nothing comparable to the feeling of sitting on a horse that has been labeled 'crazy'. He didn't move a single inch.
"Good boy!" I told him, along with severely strokes against his neck. Then before it could turn sour I landed back onto the ground. This was where Gideon was rewarded with more pets, and more 'good boys'. I also joked with him that if he seriously injured Roxy he would need to step in as my new riding horse, so he better get the hang of this quick. Maybe he isn't Gideon McBadhorse after all...

Who me? I am an angel! 

The Diaper

Oh my goodness, my colt is spirited. My BO just about killed me today over the mustang colt- WHOM IS PROUD CUT! Who the hell invented proud cutting? Just whack 'em all the way off the instant that they drop- that's my philosophy. If they aren't going to breed, don't let them think that they are. The mustang is literally the dirtiest horse I have ever met, and he is free fed right now, so he poops are pees all day long. Oh did I mention his favorite game is dump the water bucket often he does it THREE TIMES A DAY!! *sigh* Moving right along. Well my BO moved him across the way to see if he'd do ok there. He tried to jump the mare motel stall to get to the mare next to him. So he went right back into his shit hole. Don't worry I pulled out more then 2 wheel barrows of wet muck. Including dirt that was just so pee saturated, and that he had mashed his own poop into. It's a stinky disaster zone.

So I turned him out for a good 3 hours, and he ran the whole time. I figured that he would be nice and tired when I went to pony him on Roxy. Wrong. He was feisty as ever, and Roxy was in season recently- which he just loved. She is no longer in season, and she is no longer so forgiving of his shenanigans. But being a really well broke, solid mount, she puts up with him, and listens to me. She even angles herself how I tell her, and pulls him in the right direction when I make her drag him along. Roxy is fantastic, I love that mare.

Gideon wanted to pony super close, he always does. And it is usually fine, it allows me to rub on him, and get him used to me being above him- it is great pre-riding stuff. He was dropping behind us a little, and she didn't like his position, and what he was telling her. She usually just pins her ears, but I felt her kicking at him a little. Had I told her to stop, I know that she would have, but I let her because he needed to be put into his place. Well somewhere along the track he must have kicked, or struck Roxy's rear cannon.

When I put him away, I went to actually ride Roxy, and I could feel that she was lame. So I walked her around, let her really stretch it out. Took her around the block with a friend, then went to hop of and hose her leg down. Sure enough she has a huge welt on her rear right cannon bone. And it was rock hard.

Poor Roxy horse!

I took her over to my BO/trainer after running water over it for a while. And she asks if I have a T-shirt. "No..."
"A diaper?" She asks knowing it's a long shot.
Sure enough, I had a diaper in the car! One of my nieces was with us, and my sister sent one just in case she had an accident. I run to my car and grab it, as well as a standing wrap.
I rubbed some mineral ice on the lump, and then wrapped the diaper around it, and the stand wrap on top of that. My poor little Roxy horse! I'm not really too concerned, she'll heel just fine. I am heading out tomorrow to love on her though.

I suck at wraps. We'll see if they are still on tomorrow. My BO/trainer approved of my wrap job, and I was super excited that I actually had a diaper! Hopefully Roxy feels better tomorrow. And hopefully Gideon does not get any more spirited.

An Old Cowboy and his Mustang

I had a fantastic day at the ranch last Tuesday. Roxy was great, Gideon was good. All three of my nieces were well behaved, and so was Dolly. Then it got even better.

My ranch has three areas, the front (pipe corrals), the barns, and the back/mare motels. It's 5 acres; Roxy and Dolly live in the front, while Gideon's stall is in the mare motels. I also clean the barns Tuesday and Saturday. So I am always all over the place. Well when I went to put Gideon away I asked Roxy to stand in front of his stall. Repeatedly telling her "Stand." "Don't even think about it." "Roxy, whoa." and a whole string of stuff like that as I unhaltered Gideon.

A boarder, who was waiting for a friend to arrive so they could ride together, proceeded to ask me how Gideon was coming along. I told her about his progress and how well he was doing, asked her about her horse, and such. Then I went to put Roxy away. I came back over to the mare motels and did Gideon's stall.

When I was done I noticed this cowboy on a lovely palomino horse talking with the boarder. I went over to compliment him.

To make a long story short, the horse was a mustang. We related instantly, and he pretty much threw me onto this horse. It was probably the most well trained horse I have ever ridden. He then tells me about this video of Martin Black that he has. And he asks "Will you be here for a little longer?" I told him yeah, I still had some things to do. So he trots his horse home, which I knew was about a block away, I did all of my stuff, started getting my nieces in the car, and he trots on back with this Martin Black video.

I watched it, and it was fantastic. I learned a lot, and riding that mustang was fantastic too! Overall it was just amazing.

I was just comparing Gideon's 'Day of Rescue' photos, with this very current photo. He's about 30 pounds up, has done lots of shedding, has been working quite a bit, all trot/walk, just a few steps of the canter so far, and I have had him just a month yesterday. I am so excited for the horse that I know he will become!  

Roxy Rant #4

My girl has been making me do icky gross head on the ground pleasure stuff lately. I hate this, but I am (barely) a good Roxy horse so I listen. Today was gymkhana day! Roxy horses love gymkhana days even more then carrots, and almost more then grain. So first things first, I had to pee. Then I did super good all day and was a very happy Roxy horse. We trotted barrels, and then we loped them, then we went fast! My girl even let me gallop home once! Roxy horses get very excited about galloping so we don't get to do that much.

My girl's mom took this video of Roxy Barrels, but I had been doing other stuff right before and was a confused Roxy. 

After all that barrel stuff my girl ponied a bunch of little girls around on Dolly. Dolly knows that Roxy horses are in charge and did not challenge my dominance.

After the little girls all rode we did some reining. We did small slow, large fast- possibly my favorite exercise right now. I did a really tinny tiny small circle sooo slow, then we did a big fast circle. I was very nice and collected. I've been learning not to run everywhere I go.

After I had to pony wild horse around. He thinks he's in charge, bad horse has no respect for Roxy Dominance. Roxy is in charge.

Wild horse is getting fatter. 

My girl's mom says wild horse and I look cute together. Well duh Roxy horse makes every thing cuter. 

Ok wild horse, you are cute.

I was already sweaty from gymkhana day, but took wild horse onto the track. This was where he tried to seduce me. My girl reminded me to be a lady, and I put wild horse back in his place.

After 6 trotting laps around the big giant track my girl put wild horse away. She then un tacked me, hosed me off, and let me stand. I stood nicely for an hour, it's a nice time to catch up on some beauty sleeps. I caught a glimpse of her on a pretty wild horse that I had never seen before. Maybe my girl will tell you guys about that later.

Roxy horse is tucking in for the night, even though I get lots of beauty sleeps at the hitching post, I get most in my stall.

A Beautiful Week

Last week was BEAUTIFUL. I helped run a birthday party with my trainer/BO. It went super smooth and was fun! I also rode Roxy pretty hard. I have decided to show her again.

We are going to take the summer to train the spots off of her! Oh wait she wasn't born with spots... I have started pleasure training her really hard. Really riding her ass and getting her to collect, and keep her head down. I'm using running reins through my super nice o ring snaffle right now. She does so good too. We had one horse at the ranch that would literally drag her dirt in the nose when you free lunged her, she was just a natural born pleasure horse. Roxy has a good head set, and with a little work it will be great.

The last of our Show Days (2009)

We are also doing a lot of reining. I am planning on showing the tumbleweed circuit next season. Roxy's 10, if I'm really serious about training and showing she'll start doing fantastic at shows.

On to Gideon! Wow my little guy is doing GREAT. He is so stinkin' cute too. He's growing quickly, tomorrow I'm picking up some red cell to feed him so we can really pack the pounds on. My trainer said another 50lbs and I can ride him! I put pressure on his back for the first time on Saturday. I brought him close to the railing in the round pen, climbed up, and then leaned over him. I stroked the opposite side of his barrel, and pressed with my hands against his back. Then, while keeping a hand on the railing, I leaned over him. He put his ears back slightly, and raised his head, but his feet didn't move! I am just amazed by his bravery. I imagine it'll take about 2-3weeks to get him 50lbs up, so I am using that time to get him super ready to be ridden. I want his first ride to be the most uneventful thing in the whole world. He still worries me a little. But lots of people love mustangs, they really are a completely different breed. His mustangness just continued to amuse me.

How's the weather where you are? Is it starting to warm up yet?