It's been quite some time (June of 2008) since I last updated Roo's blog. New work activities, causing more on-the-job travel, and keeping up with my student's riding lessons have given me little time to post. I've had to maintain two work-related blogs and you find that when you are posting to blogs each day, you really don't want to post at night.So I'll admit, I've been lax in posting. But I haven't been lax in my work with Roo. I haven't been able to work him every day as I once did, but I did make a point of working him three times a week (no matter what). Roo has to his benefit, a good memory, and an incredible will to please. We never really had to start over two days later when we learned something new, just practice it again.
In that time I've worked Roo both on and off line, and with and without saddle/bridle. Finally in March of 2009, just a few months shy of Roo's 4th birthday, I began sitting on him regularly. First bareback and then with saddle. I had to buy him a special draft bridle because the bridge of his nose is quite wide. It's a handsome black, buttery leather bridle and we opted for a Myler comfort snaffle as his first bit, mostly because the one I purchased is acceptable in the dressage ring.
Most of our in the saddle (or bareback) work was simply letting Roo wander around, with an occasional whoa change of direction using the bridle. As work activity became increasingly hectic during the growing season with an Agricultural program I work on, I realized that Roo needed CONSTANT and CONSISTENT work from me and I could not provide it. So I called my friend Stuart Rybak and arranged for Roo to spend a few months with him.
On August 16th we transported Roo to Stuart's Northeast Horsmanship Training Center near Damascus and the photos you see above and below were taken four days after Roo got there.
Stuart is a very tall, lanky young man. He works with Craig Cameron and has appeared on RFD TV. Stuart and Elizabeth Rybak worked with my horse Eagle as well, once I had brought him home and worked with him for six months. Eagle is such a good and admired horse today, I thought...why not the same for Roo?As you can see, Stuart and Roo are getting along just fine. In the photo at the right, Roo has a great head set already. There are cows in the arena and Roo is fascinated with them. Before long, he may be actually working to "move" them around in the arena.
Roo will be at Stuart's for 60 days. I will be visiting twice or three times a week, and learning the follow up I will need to keep Roo working in his new regimen.
So here are some neat stories in chronological order since Roo moved to Stuart's training center:
- On day two, after working Roo on the line, Stuart saddled him up and saw a boarder taking her horse on a trail ride. He decided to follow her horse along. He noted that Roo walk, trot, cantered on the ride, crossed a bridge and went into water up to his belly and all was well.
- Roo has since been on many trail rides and on the dirt roads. He is not afraid of deer or turkeys and Stuart says very little bothers him. The last trail ride he went on, he was the leader.
- Roo has had the chance to be turned out with a mare. She's a cute little pony mare and I got to rider her this past Saturday. He likes her. Stuart believes that geldings (especially young ones) who may have not been turned out with mares need to be as they "get over" them and then you have no problems in the show ring.
- Roo can do a lovely turn of the forehand, and is getting mighty good at side passing. He can almost spin as of this Saturday (8/29/09).
- Roo got his FIRST PAIR OF SHOES this past week while at Stuart's. Stuart's farrier said that in his 30 years of shoeing horses, this is the first "big horse" he's liked. No issues at all for the first shoeing. (I religiously picked up and cleaned Roo's feet and also pounded on them with my hands and tapped on them with my hoof pic.)
- Roo has learned to tie quietly. He has always been good in crossties, but I haven't spent as much time tying him to a solitary object. I always smile when I walk into Stuart's barn and see Roo, this large horse, waiting patiently while fastened to a round pen panel (which he could easily make short work of) in order to be saddled. Eagle is the same way. I never have a problem even looping Eagle's lead rope over my stall saddle rack and he just stands there.
- Roo is a much different horse now. He is light in his front end, easy to lead (two fingers on the lead rope) and has unhitched his back end and front shoulders to become more fluid.
I promise to keep this blog updated as Roo progresses through this training, as well as his dressage training, which is to follow.
Hope all of you following Roo are well! I love the big guy more than you can know. He has always been a joy. He is my heart horse.
Happy Trails!Elaine and Roo
