Cow Horse Anderson?

First sighting…

OK OK… so maybe there aren’t any rodeos in our near future but let me tell you this boy was SO BRAVE and well behaved working with cows for the first time. The truth is… I was more scared of getting run over by one of them than Anderson! The only time he really got concerned was when they first came into the arena. After that, he was interested but remained with me and listened to my direction. MAN I LOVE THIS HORSE! It is things like this that show me what an amazing riding partner he has become and will continue to develop into over time.

We had a some really great riding sessions with Joel while visiting in Ellensburg and quite a bit of homework to do. Overall Anderson did extremely well hauling over the pass and getting settled into the farm and was ready to work. The next goal in our training is to increase his promptness to moving forward when ask and to keep his life up during the movements. Anderson, our fiery Arabian boy, has a dullness to him. He would mush rather stand and watch the action then get out and go. It’s important to continue to make sure he doesn’t become dull and when I ask him to move forward he needs to do it in a timely manner. Changing paces even within the gait can help keep him lively and at this point in his training it is still important to remember to stay away from using two reins. Pulling back with two reins will only stop him and not allow him the freedom he needs as a young riding horse. While we can start asking for softness with both reins he still needs to be going along for the majority of the time with a soft rein and if needed just the inside rein to help him bend and shape up around the inside.

I am extremely proud of Anderson’s improvement over the past few months and it is good to have a check up with Joel. He has really come quite a long way and is a testament to the foundation that the horsemanship training is providing for our SAFE horses. He is ready to take on whatever style of riding his adopter wants to take him into. And while he is still best suited for an intermediate to advanced rider he is starting to fill in more for the rider. I am hoping to start introducing some of the volunteer riders to him and see how he does with different riders on his back.