August 21, 2011

 Kirstin is still working of perfecting the jump.  Remy will now jump from a standstill.

 Kirstin was shocked the first time she tried to get Remy on the pedestal and she walked right onto the pedestal.  Not this time, she was having nothing to do with stepping up on the pedestal. 

 After several tries, Kirstin was finally able to get Remy to step up onto the pedestal. 

And then both of them took a much needed break!

Remy was outfitted with her protective boots today.  She didn't mind having these on at all. 

Remy jumping the barrels.

Working on a bow! Not real good looking just yet, but will keep working on it.

Pedestal training.  Kirstin was shocked when Remy walked right up to the pedestal and didn't hesitate taking the step up onto the pedestal.

She gets a short break while on the pedestal!  What a good girl Remy is!

Remy update

Remy meeting Eli!  Eli wasn't too sure about her sniffing his ear.  I think he was afraid that she would bite him. 

Remy the first time Kirstin tried to make her jump.  She is now jumping barrels.  Pics to come soon!

Kirstin's nephew; Daniel, sitting on Remy!  He loves all of Kirstin's horses but claims Patriot as his horse.

Kirstin using the one and only domestic horse that is on our place to pony Remy.  Trigger is the most reliable horse in the world; calm with an easy going attitude! Trigger is the first horse that Kirstin took an interest in 11 years ago!  He is the horse that turned her into the horse person that she is!  The remaining 5 horses on our place are all Mustangs!

What a difference a year makes

Patriot a year ago; July, 2010

Patriot now; August, 2011!!! He has grown so much in just one year!  He is a beautiful horse!

Bath time

Kirstin had the neighbor's girl hop on Remy's back.  Remy doesn't mind having someone on her back. 

After this training session; Kirstin decides it is time to introduce the water to Remy.  Remy is very itchy so Kirstin wanted to give her a bath with some special shampoo.  Remy did very well with the bath. 

Trailer loading

 Remy has been in this trailer once and that was the long trip from Oklahoma.  This is Kirstin's first try to load her since she started training her!  Most horses will not go in on the first try without fighting it a little bit, but not Remy.  She really trust Kirstin and follows her right onto the trailer.

 She loaded Remy 2 different times just to make sure Remy got the lesson.  Kirstin was even able to back Remy out of the trailer the first time.  Usually she turns them around and then leads them off because they don't have the backing down real well, but Remy learned backing in the first week and backs willingly off the trailer even better than some of our older, more experienced horses!

Remy meeting Eli!

Trotting

Trotting at a lead always seemed to be a problem with other horses that Kirstin has trained, but not Remy.  She loves to trot at a lead!

Remy's first time in the open arena!

When I received a portion of my inheritance, the first thing that I had done was a riding arena!  With a total of 6 horses, and plenty of people coming out to ride all of the time I felt it was important that we had an enclosed riding area.  But also knowing that Kirstin might be training a yearling again was a major reason I wanted the arena.  The nearest arena is 30 miles away and was hard to get to on a regular basis so Kirstin never got to do much arena work.  Now she has a full size arena that if the horse escapes, can't get out of! This was Remy's first time out of her pen since she came home a little over a week ago.  She was a little nervous at first, but calmed down very quickly.  Kirstin walked her around the entire arena. 

 Then she trotted the arena.  Remy did great!

 Worked on stops.  Remy has a great stop!

 Fly spray and spraying medicine on Remy has never been a problem! Kirstin started using Vetericyn the very first day we arrived with Remy.  The cut that she received on our trip home is looking great.  Hair is already starting to grow back. 

Chilling while Kirstin talks to all of us onlookers.

Working on standing still!  She is doing really well. 

Working on turns. 

Picking up hooves.  She doesn't mind this at all.

What horse doesn't love to be brushed??? Remy loves the grooming time.

Picking up the rear hooves.  She doesn't mind this, but she loses her balance very easily!

Progress update on Remy! End of week 1

One week since bringing Remy home and she is doing amazing.  She is a very smart horse.  Kirstin already has the basics down.  She is leading at a walk and a trot, stopping, backing, picking up all four hooves, turning on both the fore quarter and hind quarter. She has started lunge work on her and Remy is responding nicely. 

 Remy doesn't mind sprays either.  Here Kirstin is treating Remy's cut that she got on her way home from Oklahoma.  We use Vetericyn for all wounds now and love how quickly it works.   The cut is directly above her eye and then she also has a small scratch on her nose.   One week of treatment and the hair is already growing back. 

 OK, so Remy is learning ground tying which she does really well.  On a whim, Kirstin decided to see if she could cross under Remy's belly.  No problem, didn't even phase Kirstin.  The little girls in the picture are our neighbor's daughters.  They absolutely love Remy and are trying to talk their dad into adopting her when the competition is over.  They love to groom her.

 The youngest; Brianne, asked if she could go under her as well.  Kirstin said yes, told her what to do before she crosses under and she goes.  No big deal for Remy!

Just a really sweet picture!  Remy is just so well behaved! She loves people and especially loves to be brushed.