Tests

Things have been coming along well with Mr. B. We are enjoying our lil walks to the round pen. He's also not as annoyed by the transitions. He's such a sweet lil boy.

I had him out yesterday. I went out to take a couple of photos of him but got distracted by my phone. I saw him walk up to me and I started scratching him but my full attention wasn't on him. Yes I know bad me. Once I stopped scratching him he felt like he should heed me. The lil bugger tried to nip me as he tried to make ME do a turn away. I didn't smack, yell or get loud. I did something I know would make more sense to him and do a more efficient job. I immediately made him do turns away from me. Now it wasn't a hard nip it was a "I think I have the cajones for this" nip. So I calmly asked for the turns away. No touching just a lil "shhhttt" to back to get him moving and BAM we started the turns away. Not a happy camper I might ad. He tried to duck out once so we just did them the other direction. As soon as he relaxed and went neutral I stopped. A min max and a good lesson taught with no blow ups.

I'm rather enjoying this. Not only am I teaching him quite a bit. He's teaching me boat loads. I got my point across without being loud. I'm not a loud person anyways. But with as quiet as I am when I do up the "pressure" it almost comes across as a scream. He's teaching me the middle grounds and I'm loving it.

Now a jump to today. THE FIRST FARRIER VISIT!!! DUH DUNNNNN!! I've been working with Bentley pretty much everyday. As I've stated before I'm very proud of how well he is doing. Well today was the day for the first farrier visit. I was a nervous wreck. No one would know it because I hold it in. But still if I could have expressed it....well they would of told me to leave. Haha.

When it came time for me to get Bentley the farrier wanted him out of his stall. *Butterflies* Mind you Tecate is getting her feet done. She's getting hot shoed at that. So we have the big truck. The acetylene going. The journeyman banging away on shoes on an anvil. Plus the dogs are running around looking for the yummy trimmings. When I get Bentley I make sure to do some transitions. Mostly for me really. haha. As we approach everything he's a little unsure and has a slight hesitation but comes willing enough. I ask him to stand and he does. He has a moment where he things about a bolt but I breath out to him and he stops. Bill, the farrier, comes over and starts talking to him. He explains to Bentley what he's going to do and funny enough Bentley listens with intent like he understands. First leg goes up and he stands for a min. He feels the hoof knife and rasp. He's a little over stimulated with all the noise and goings on he tried to take his leg away. Bill holds it firm but kind and talks to him. He nips and rasps. First foot done. Such a good boy. Left hind comes up. Poor Mr. Man is going through another growth spurt and is having a hard time holding himself and focusing on all the noise. He almost knocks himself over trying to catch his balance but Bill helps him regain it without lettin go. He then explains to me when they go through the growth spurts they just don't have the strength to properly balance and hold themselves up. We do a small circle and Bill finishes the Left hind. Now comes the right hind. We start the same slow lean followed by the "ACK I CANT HOLD MYSELF". So the Journeyman comes over and almost lays on Benltey. Right arm over his back and cupping his belly. Left arm around the front of his chest. His upper body resting on Bentleys back. Benltey sighed and relaxed. He still wobbled a little and tugged a bit. But there was no bronking, no major fights, or freaking out. Just curiosity, a little unsure, gangly, but calm, cool, and a damn good boy for his first trimming.

After getting done I walked him around the truck. Let him sniff anything he wanted if he wished. Which he could of cared less. He watched Tecate get put up and that was it. I put him in the round pen and he munched on the new grass that was growing. What a trooper!! We have a few things to work on but for the most part I think he passed with flying colors.

While I was taking Bentley out today I decided to try something new. He doesn't like the halt transitions too much. He does them when asked but he's getting impatient with them. He also is getting use to his surroundings. Which it looks to be boring him. Soooo......

First I decided to take him on a different path to the round pen everyday. He's getting comfortable with the route we usually take. He's starting to let his attention wander more when we repeat the path. So I switched it up for him. He was very happy with this. Still had his attention on me the whole time. Just enough new to perk him up. But not enough to disrupt his focus. He just seemed more upbeat about it. His ears didn't say he was irritated. Plus this gives us a chance to work on focus when new things come up. I think it will be fun to go for little walks.

Second I decided not to do so many halt transitions. I don't have to do a complete down transition to actually accomplish one. So I'm varying the tempo. I'll pick up the pace of the walk and ask him to keep up. Then I'll bring it back down and ask him to stay with me. This caught him off guard a little. He seemed confused about slow instead of stop. Or a hesitate instead of the complete down transition. But he picked up on it fairly well. Once he understood the "game" he was more attentive. I think it was enough of a change up to keep him thinking.

I think I just have to remember to mix things up for him a bit. I know sometimes I can get into a habit of just doing something a certain way. Or if I get distracted by anything I tend to go on auto pilot. My mind isn't totally on him when it should be. I expect his full attention when I'm out there. I should give him the same. I think it will work good for both of us.

A lil change

Yesterday I worked Tecate in a surcingle and side reins. Prior to me doing this I had Bentley out. I decided to take the equipment over to the round pen. Why not let him get use to seeing these things right?

I set the equipment on the rails and proceeded to roll up the polo wraps. While doing this Bentley came over and started to inspect the gear. I flapped it around a bit. Banged the D rings from the surcingle on the pipe. He didn't spook. He was more curious than anything.

DO YOU SEE THE CHUNK OF MANE HE RUBBED OUT?! UGH!

At this point I get curious and decide to see how willing he is. I got into the pen and took the blanket down. He moved his head back but didn't really back way. So I gave his neck a good scratch and kept the blanket there. I then started to rub his chest with the blanket and moved up to his neck and along his sides. This boy loves nothing more than a good scratching. So he stopped worrying about the blanket. I casually set it on his back. Nothing. He just stood there. So I took it off opened it up and put it on his back like I would Tecate. Not even a head raise. So I took some more pictures.

Needless to say I got a big kick out of it. He followed me around while I tried to get pictures of him. It was rather hard to get far enough away and not fall on my butt to get a pic. I adjusted it a few times and got nothing from him. I didn't want to get too greedy so I went ahead and took it off. Put him up and worked Tecate.

I love this lil guy. :D

On a side note. I hope to god he looks better after he sheds his winter coat. He looks like a lil pop belly pig. Haha. Plus that chunk of mane missing doesn't help either.

Hissy Fits

Things are moving along quiet well with Bentley. He is getting out of his stall on a regular basis. I'm happy with the pace we are going. Its not rushed but its not lacking either. One issue I've always had was not knowing if I was headed the right direction. Training class was always frustrating for me. I always felt I didn't get very much direction. Thus frustration would set in and I had a hard time seeing the big picture.

For once I can actually see the big picture. I can see the baby steps its going to take to get where I want to go. I know how I want Bentley to progress. He'll have some say on that as we go. But for the most part I feel I have a pretty good grasp on it. I'm very excited to see how this goes. I know I keep saying that. But its very true.

I always ask for transitions on the way to and from the round pen. Bentley listens to me quite well when I'm leading. I ask for the transitions when I feel his attention is wandering away from me. As of recently he seems to be...annoyed...with these transitions. I guess like your typical kid. Doesn't understand why we have to keep stopping. The pen is right there why cant we just go straight to it? So I've been making it a point, when we halt, to give him a good rub and praise him. I want to keep this "training" positive. He's always much more willing and calm on the way back to the stall. So I think its just the anticipation of "play" time that gets him ancy.

A couple of days ago Bentley decided to test me. On the way to the round pen he decided he wanted to go visit Tecate. I was without my whip. So I just wiggled the end of the lead line. Normally that's all the pressure I need to get the steps forward. Not this time. He still said no and wouldn't move. (Now on a side note I'm heeding him not dragging. So there is no tension in the lead at all. There is always a loop.) I then put a bit more pressure on him with the lead from behind and he did something that I thought was hilarious. He splayed out this front feet and dug in with his hind. I couldn't help but laugh. I have no pressure on his head at all. Yet he was planted like I was dragging him. The best part of it was he just kinda slumped into that position. Didn't do a spook or jump into it. Just kind melted into it. His nose was pinched his body tense and he was set in not moving. So I went to the end of my six foot lead. I walked from his left shoulder to the opposite side. We were right by the shed that my whip was leaning against. I then picked up the slack and walked back to his shoulder. This whole time he hasn't moved a muscle. Once back to his shoulder I lift the tip of the whip enough so he can see it. He stands up and we continue on to the pen. What a dork.

Now yesterday I anticipated the same reaction so I changed our route. Not by much just where we passed Tecate. I put a bit more distance between them. After passing Tecate it seems that Bentley realized we didn't walk right past her as usual. He seemed a little peeved. He thought about stopping but I caught it. Entertained the thought of turning away from me to go back but again I caught it. So he opted to just walk past me and go around the other way. He didn't bolt but he picked up the speed and tried to make me do a turn away. I closed him off to that idea and he got upset. Since I had stopped everything he tried so far he swung his butt around and faced me. With that started to go sideways. Not running just a fast walk. He wouldnt let me get back to his shoulder. Instead of making it a fight I lunged ( at a walk) him in a circle. Making him do transitions from the end of the lead.

One I was surprised that I could, at the end of a six foot lead, still get transitions. Even though he didn't want me right at his shoulder I technically still was. He tried to trot off but I asked him to stay at a walk. He swapped directions and we did the same on the other side. His next evasion was to try come in and lean in on me. Push me around basically. I used the butt of the whip to make that uncomfortable. I didn't jab just let him put the pressure on it. He stopped and faced me again. So I sat there and let him relax. He was starting to get tense. Everything up to this point was calm. He was peeved but he wasn't spazing out at this point. I wanted to keep it as calm as I could. He sat there for a second and slowly came up to me licking and chewing. I gave him a good scratching for it and we went on our way.

All in all I think it went well. I didn't take it personal that my lil colt wasn't listening to me and was trying to avoid listening. His head was held high, his nostrils were flared and he may have picked up the pace. Not once did he bolt, spook or really spaz out. In the end the came back up to me on his own will. Nothing has been set back. If anything I feel like we took a nice step forward.

Round pen YAY!!

Our round pen is finally up!! Wooo!!

Well its been up for about a week now. But still its an exciting event for me. I now have a place to really work with Bentley. I wont be doing anything major (lunging etc) with him for a while. But its going to be nice to have room to actually do more than walk in a tight circle.

I was anticipating some issues while walking to the pen. Why? I think I anticipate the worst as to not be caught off guard too bad. This was a longer distance to walk than to the previous turn out area. We had to pass some "scary" new things on top of it all. Not to mention there is more going on over on that side of the property. More noise more than anything really.

For the most part Bentley is at my shoulder the whole time while leading. When he gets unsure he wants to duck behind me and "hide" his face. He has never spooked up to this point. So it hasn't been an issue. Although he has in his stall before (not with me in it). That's one point we have been working on. Getting him confident enough to stay at my shoulder and not duck behind me. Don't really want him to spook and run up behind me. He may only be 6 almost 7 months old. But that's a lot of horse coming up on your butt.

I personally don't want that kind of back massage. I don't understand those who lead the horse with it a good couple of feet behind them. That's asking to get run over. At least if the horse is at your shoulder your out of range of the front hoof and rear hoof. Along with the fact they CANT run you over from behind. They can bump you but if you have your horses attention...hint hint... That shouldn't be too much of an issue. If it does happen a horse that respects its lead "mare", so to speak, will immediately get out of your space. On the same note you have better visual tabs on your horse if its right there with you. I personally cant stand it when someone is dragging the horse behind them. Not giving two hoots about how close that horse is coming to you and your equine. I cant tell you how many kick matches I've seen because of this. Its just dangerous. Period.

Anyways back on topic. Bentley was great going to the round pen. He didn't shy at anything. I did take him up to the things I thought he might scoot away from just to see his reaction. He's different in the fact that if we pass something on his left then pass it on the right he doesn't give a different reaction. I cant tell you how many horses I've handled that are very much left or right sided. Its OK on the left but not the right. Not with him. He doesn't mind me leading him on either side. He doesn't give a different reaction to an object he's seen if I'm on the opposite side. He doesn't shy at something on the right that was OK on the left. He has the "yeah I've seen that before...whatever..whats next?" attitude. That I am very grateful for.

It took him a few turn outs in the round pen to fully use it. To actually play in it. When he finally did. Good lord! That boy can drop it and take off. I always love watching a horse play. Cant help but make me smile.

I've started working the heeding with no line. He enjoys my company enough that he is willing to stand with me. He'll let me switch sides randomly and take it in stride. Although he likes to keep his head at my shoulder if we don't have a lead. Working on that for the time being. I've considered (a little down the road) working the start of lunging. No trot or canter. He's in no way shape or form old enough for that kind of work. Just putting a bigger gap between us and still getting the results I want. I'll see how it goes. He's still very much a baby. What he has given me so far I'm VERY pleased with. He's given more than some "trained" horses have.

I keep our "work" sessions fairly short. I don't want to make him sour about the work. I alternate between work and grooming. Which in a sense is still a work session. But he loves the grooming so much its more like fun than work. I also know his lil mind can only focus for so long. Plus he still needs to be a horse. I don't want to hinder his personality or mental stability by putting too much on him too soon.

Outside adventures

Our round pen is on order. So for now Bentley gets turned out in a fenced in area. Not really horse proof, well Bentley proof, so he has to be supervised. Couple days ago was his first outing to that area. He hasn't been out of his stall since getting here. One the breeder hadn't taught him to lead. Two I needed help with the swap.

Since this was going to be his first outing. I was anticipating a lil bit of ....excitement? Yeah..I guess I was. First off when I opened the gate and asked him to come out. He wouldn't step past the opening. I let him take his time. I didn't want to rush him any. After a couple of min he took his first step out. I asked him to walk along with me and he did. Such a good lil boy. I asked for some halt transitions. Which he did without hesitation. Even with tecate walking on the other side of the fence. AND the goats being asses right along side of her. The only real hesitation he had was walking into the pen. We have an oak tree that over hangs right there. It really needs to be trimmed but...we have yet to do that. Right where that one branch over hangs there is a trash can. So visually it looks cramped. Bentley stopped and looked at everything. You could tell he was a bit spooked by it. But he was thinking it over. I dropped a bigger loop into the lead and started to walk through. Like a champ he followed. He had the look of OMG OMG OMG OMG on his face but he trusted me and walked on through. So proud of him.

He ran around for a bit but was mostly interested in the goats. He tried to cut them. It was so damn cute. He's also a easy one to catch. Didn't matter where he was or what he was doing I could walk up to him at any point. He would even follow me if I asked.

I've also started working Tecate near him. From just grooming, picking feet, tacking up and leading. To actually working her on the lunge in front of him. He always watches with serious intensity its too cute. This may not actually help but I think it does. Cant hurt right?

A good few days

We have been working on the heeding the past few days. Bentley is doing real good.

Had a little bump the next day when I went out and messed with him. He wanted to be a bit more pushy with me. Now his pushy isn't bad at all. But still none the less he was trying to push me around. I think it had to do with my other half leading him that morning. He's just trying to be involved, but Bentley can easily get away with things with him. So we re schooled on the heeding. Didn't take long but you could tell just how quick he is on picking things up. Small lil bump but nothing that cant be nipped in the bud. :)

Now jumping to today. He's gotten more comfortable with everyone. But he seems to favor women more. Probably has to do with the fact the breeder was a female. I've decided to take off the catch rope. One it was annoying me it was getting muddy and soaking wet every time he drank. His water was getting nasty and fast. He doesn't really need it anyways. He greets you when you come in. Has no objections to you approaching him. Or clipping the lead back on at any time. He also gives to pressure like a dream so its just......pointless to me. All its doing is tugging on his head and rubbing hair off. So off it goes!!

Worked on more heeding as always. This round though he didn't need a tickle from the whip at all. I got at his shoulder and leaned ever so slightly forward getting ready to step and he went smoothly. It took half the time it did previously for him to sigh and start his licking and chewing. Even with the chickens running around like freaks. He lifted his head and flicked a ear and went back to listening to me. I was a bit sluggish when I switched to the right side though. Been having issues with a muscle between my ribs. So I was a bit distracted. He did want to lean in a bit more going to the right. So we did a couple quarter turn aways and he took a step off and held himself up.

Also today he felt a bit froggy and tried to pull his feet away after picking them up. It wasn't hard to hold them. He wasn't actually trying to walk away just pulling. Two or three tugs and he let me do my thing and waited for me to put them down. I'm sort of glad he's starting to test a bit. Haha I'd get those lil tests out of the way before he gets too big. Now I know they will continue. Hell Tecate still trys once in a while. But with good ground manners starting at a young age. Along with respect for my space and a good bond forming. I'm hoping those tests wont be too drastic come time to start mounting work. Two years from now....*sigh*. Haha

Okie dokies

Alrighty then....I've decided to combine multiple days into one blog. It was just seeming too.....blah for me. So here is an update from the last post.

I've been working on heeding with lil Bentley. I've been worried about doing too much and making things unpleasant for him. So I've been taking major baby steps. Leading was him following me without me having to pull on the rope. Once that was done with no hesitation. I would move to the shoulder and ask him to step forward and I would mirror him. Things were going fine.

Today I was teaching my husband how to heed Tecate. He was doing rather well. His one mistake was his tentativeness with Tecate. He didn't really ask her to go forward into the walk. It was more of a "Walk....forward?..maybe...please...one step...ok we'll stand." Kind of asking. So I demonstrated how you to properly ask then tell. Well while I was watching Tecate be the best teacher ever I had a light bulb moment. Tecate knew what he was asking but acted half asleep and would just arch her body around his. Kind of blocking him from asking. Which in turn Troy was content petting her. That right there reminded me of someone. ME. When I've been asking Bentley to walk forward he was doing what Tecate did. Hellloooooooooooooooo. DUH.

So with my retarded self I went into Bentley's stall with a dressage whip and a new goal. I was nervous I was gonna spook him but I know I needed to be less tentative with him. Guess what. THAT LIL BUGGER HAS BEEN PLAYING ME!! I got at his shoulder leaned a lil forward and asked him for a step. He wen to wrap his lil neck around me. I gently pushed him off and asked again this time touching a lil whip (rubbing the rump). He sighed looked forward and about fell asleep. Tapped a few times and he started to walk. Grrrrrrr. Here I am feeling like a total retard beginner. I was treating him like MY horse...like MY baby. I made it personal again. DAMN IT!! Because I'm such a tard and was kicking myself I stepped it up and asked for halt transitions. HE WAS PERFECT. WEENIE!!!

In conclusion....Don't make training YOUR horse personal. Christ on a cracker I feel like a newbie. *sigh*

Yesterday I was a slacker and didn't do much with Bentley. I actually came home exhausted and fell asleep until feed time. Horrible mom I know.

Today went well. I gave him a good curry right off the bat. Its been so hot they are shedding out again. Of course he thought this was heaven. Picked up all four feed again today. Only hesitation was to catch his balance. Other than that he kept his head low and waited for me to set his feed down. I hope he keeps this up.

We got a bit more serious with the leading today. I started off at his shoulder and mirrored his movements. I'm a bit rusty at it so I was the one who was a bit sluggish. What can I say...Tecate is my other horse and shes a damn near perfect. I can tell I've gotten sloppy. Anyways...Mirroring him was alright until he realized I was. Then all forward movement stopped. He ignored me by "eating" hay that wasn't really there. So I cheated a bit. I know I'm a sinner. I called rosie over to us. (he's cant get enough of her even though shes like WTF ARE YOU?!?!) I used her to get forward from him. Once he was walking I shifted his attention away from her. We did a few rough transitions and we switched sides.

The left side is a hit or miss. It seems to be his off side. But then days like today its not so bad. I worked him a bit with just getting some forward steps. Its funny he gets uncomfortable if you pat him with your hand. But if you touch him with the lead rope he doesn't even flick a ear. I tossed the rope over his neck and dragged it to his back. Nothing not even a flinch. Dragged it back over his back and let the end tap his belly. Same reaction. He noticed it but didn't care.Nor does he mind if I lean on him to scratch his opposite side.

My biggest issue right now is knowing when its..Too much too soon..or too little too late. I don't want that. I guess I should do as Shan says. Just listen. He'll let me know when its too much.

Dos.....

Alright I'm lagging a bit on this post but I was too tired to write one last night.

As always we started out with the grooming. He loves it and I love the bonding time. He's doing really great with it too. I can take the brush over his face and all over his body. I'm really pleased with that. Small I know....but after some of the horses I've come across..You learn value those small details. Nothing like a horse trying to cave in the top your head with her teeth because she doesnt want to be touch there. Thank god for helmets. Haha.

The grooming also gets him very relaxed. Major key there.

With him relaxed I decided to try picking up of the feet. I asked the breeder if she ever messed with his feet. Nope. My thoughts....WONDERFUL!!! All they did was groom him. So I was either going to be kicked, bit, or things would go well. He's got a wonderful temperment and a great disposition. But I cant expect everything to be easy.

Here we were in the center of the stall and I dont have a hold of the lead rope. I went straight from grooming to sliding my hand down his leg and asking him to pick it up. Just like I would my mare. The bugger lifted for me!! So I held it for a second and he tried to pull away but when I held he just settled in. I tapped and rubbed his lil hoof then moved onto the next. He was a damn star. His hind end was easier than his front. Not that it was hard. But I did get more hesitation from him in the front. Such a big lil man. So damn proud of him.

After our lil foot session. We worked on leading again. As soon as I pick up the lead he starts to follow. He still wants to just walk behind me. Which for now is alright. But once his lil cajones start to drop I want his shoulder even with mine. No back massages from lil Bentley thank you. With that in mind after we get some forward motion on a consistant basis I move back to his shoulder. There I dont really ask for any steps. I just mirror his movements. It baffles him and he looks at me like I'm nuts. Which is fine...lord knows I am. But he's getting the idea.

My main focus is keeping everything repatitious and calm. Or as you MM Girls will know...Rhythm and Relaxation. Your basic training tree. Obviously he wont come close to doing some of these until he is old enough to be under saddle. So for the most part rhythm and relaxation. Simple and sweet.

Rhythm

Relaxation

Freedom of Gaits

Contact

Straightness

Balance

Impulsion

Suppleness

"On the Aids"

Collection

A few pictures of the B man.

Day Uno......

Well.....the first five min today in the stall was me just lovin on Bentley. Look at him! How could you not? I'm still learning his personality. For gods sake he's only been here two days. But its a great excuse to love on him.



After the inital scratch session was over, he loves to be scratched, we started our baby steps. Now obviously I'm going to teach him how to lead. No shit right? Well, for the life of me I couldnt figure out where to start. I had a total brain fart, omg, wtf, what do I do, where should I start, am I doing this right moment. Total panick mode. So I croutched in the middle of the stall and just watched him. My brain was getting in the way. I always think way too damn much!! Just freakin go on damn auto pilot and you'll be fine. BUT I CAN NEVER FIND THAT SWITCH!! It always has to go on its own. I have to know no one is watching. So damn frustraiting!

Well I finally got my head outta my ass. Bentley looked over and gave me a soft lil nicker. Melted my damn heart instantly. So we took baby steps. Well I took them Haha. In about five min I had him heeding on his right side. He wasnt too sure about me being at his shoulder at first while we were walking. But in a few strides he had his head low and relaxed. We ended with a few down transitions and two back up steps. When I turned and took a step toward him and he took one back I called it quits. I got the back step with no hesitation. End on a good note woman. So all in all the "training" session was only five min at that. I figure he's still a baby. He needs time to still be a baby. His attention span is just about five min. So we wont push it past that. Lil bit at a time and consistant. Thats my goal. So far......its workin.

Bentley comes home

Yesterday Bentley was finaly brought home. I was anxious to see how he was going to handle his first ever tailer ride. Not to mention his first time away from mom. He couldnt hear her, see her, smell her, and to top things off Tecate would be screaming her head off (shes my QH mare). I anxiously awaited to see what would happen.

To be honest I was expecting a living terror to come off of the trailer. That is a ton for a five month old to take in. I was pleased with how he acted. Tecate was running around screaming at him(as I expected). Both goats where right there with her hollering(they never shut up anyways...why would this be any different). I figured he would B-line it for Tecate. Instead he did a power trot to his stall with the breeders husband right along side him. After about two min he was calm enough to nibble on the hay sitting in the feeder.

Now I would like to add that I was a very good girl. I didn't, no matter how bad I was dying too, go into the stall and start bugging him. I waited two hours before going outside to really inspect him.

He warmed up rather well to me. Enough that I could start rubbing on him. One thing this lil boy loves, and will stand forever for, is to be scratched. I started at his wither and moved up his neck. Eyes stayed soft and lip was hanging. I rubbed his ears and ran my hands all over his face. Not one moment of hesitation on his part. I worked my way back to his hind end. Along the way I rubbed his girth area, chest, belly, and his legs. I stopped when I got to his knees as he started to stiffen up. It was his first day and I thought we did damn well with him staying calm and dozing off. I was expecting at least a lil cow kick. Not once did he even threaten a nibble, kick, or bite.

With that I called it a day and left him with his dinner.

Intro (lame heading I know)

As some of you may know, I bought a five month old dun QH colt. Bentley, as we call him, stands 3'6" at the withers (Who knew show jumping class would come in handy for that). His registered name is Shiny Smart Formula. For those of you who know a bit about QH breeding....He's out of a Shining Spark and Smart Chic Olena Mare. ANYWAYS....he's damn purdy if I dont say so myself. I must also give credit where credit is due. Shan Bowe helped me find this lil bugger. Three days later I had a down payment on him. Haha

So basically this blog is going to be my training log. If I try and write this down I'll lose the journal. I know I wont ever lose my computer so here I sit blogging. So anyone whos bored enough to read my ups and downs working with this colt....enjoy. I'm sure they will be entertaining more often than not. Or scary...depending on your point of view. Either way if anyone reads this or not.......I pray I do right by this lil colt. My Bentley Butt.