I saw this picture of German Calvary horses in the 1930’s on Facebook and it made me giggle. These are Cruz’s people. They even look a bit like him. Leggy, smaller in body, longer head, with good bone. I jokingly showed the photo to my husband and he commented that it wouldn’t take that long to train Cruz to do this. Seriously, I don’t think he is wrong. The cart/calvary horse runs strong in this one.
So far I have been on him three times. He’s been sensible but I still have a ground person helping me. I’d like to get steering, better brakes, and possibly some trot steps before we take a hiatus for cold weather. We loaded him in the trailer the other day easy-peasy. His other ground work is getting pretty polished and I’m starting to realize how smart he is with picking up patterns. He continues to be an amiable and friendly guy who comes running to the gate EVERY DAY when I go to get him after turnout. He’s gained 50-100 pounds and is starting to get some muscle. I’m really pleased with his progress and enjoying using all I have learned over the Internet to be a more educated horse trainer.
That's a cool pic! I hope they had earplugs for the horses but I doubt it.
ReplyDeleteSteering, brakes and voice commands- long line work! It puts all of these in place while you remain safely on the ground. You can also do this when the weather turns. There is a lot can be accomplished at the walk and long lines can always be used as a refresher after a long break, when trying a new bit, get them into shape before the real work starts, keeping our older horses in work without as much tack or us on their back.... So many uses, benifits and an awesome tool to have - yet it is so often skipped over or left out altogether. When working the youngsters or rehabbing a problem horse I have no problem using long line work to fix the horse before I think about throwing a leg over. If you need any help, have questions, etc. I'm here to help
Thanks! I'm actually pretty conversant with long lining as I spent my teen years working on a Morgan farm helping start many horses in harness or under saddle. I tend to go quickly to the riding after a ton of ground work but as you say long-lining can be a great bridge, good in cold weather, or less risky remedial work. I think Cruz is still growing, so I think winter will be mostly low key but thanks for the reminder of something I tend to skim right past and could add into my rotation.
DeleteI quite like the smaller bodied Hanovarians I've seen over the years.
ReplyDeleteI do too. I'm not sure though, how Cruz will ultimately look with his"interesting" breeding of Hanoverian/TB/Welsh. He could stay long legged and smaller bodied or really fill out or even grow a few more inches. It will be an adventure, but I do love his temperament and his gaits, so there is that 😊.
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