Showing posts with label Wildwood Sable. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wildwood Sable. Show all posts

Horse Camping at Beaverdam Lake

Posted by Sharon Labels: , , , , , ,



     It’s been a while coming, but I finally managed a brief “holiday” – with horses, of course. On the weekend of June 1-3, I met with friends at Beaverdam Lake for a weekend of campfires, camaraderie, and trail riding. Some things don’t change, though – I co-ordinated the trip to include dropping off another horse after the camp-out and I brought the greenest horse I have on the property to ride (for the experience, of course because I would not want to miss a training opportunity…)

     Arriving at the campsite at around 5:00 PM on Friday, I talked briefly with my friends, Mandy and Shawn, about where and how to overnight my mares. Prima, an aged broodmare, had never been on a campout and Sapphire, a four-year-old mare, had never been hauled prior to the 250 km I had just hauled her. She was brand new to everything.

Beaver Dam Lake as seen from our camp site
     After weighing all options (including pens at a facility across the lake), I decided I would high-line both a short distance from my outfit. I’m happy to say they adapted to the high-line right away.

Sapphire and Prima high-lined. Mischa went too!
     The next day, we saddled for a ride. I started before the others so I could test the waters – how Sapphire would react to the new country and how Prima would cope with Sapphire leaving. Prima was not happy but I was occupied with Sapphire, who did not want to leave the camp site. A few well-placed smacks lined her out and we headed away from camp into a meadow at a ground-covering long trot broken by sudden halts when Sapphire tried to head back. How very much like her dam this mare is! I went back ten years to the first rides out I had on Silk . . . and I love them for their grit! When I returned to camp, Mandy, Shawn and Lacey were ready to ride. Prima, still not happy, would have the company of another horse and Mandy’s mom to monitor the situation.


Sapphire and I 
     After the somewhat reluctant start, Sapphire was good on the ride, in part because she had company. Mandy, Shawn and I all rode 2008 offspring of Running With Wolves. The three - Wildwood Sable, Wildwood Cactus and Wildwood Sapphire - are from his first foal crop and all out of daughters of Tamarac. How cool is that!

Me on Sapphire, Shawn on Cactus, Mandy and Sable

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Just Stay Out of The Way...

Posted by Sharon Labels: , , , , ,

Several years ago, when I was training a three-year-old reining prospect, I asked my husband if he would like to get on and try a sliding stop. After a few coached rundowns to the fence, I told him he was ready to run Cimarron at full speed and "stop short".

"Collect him for a few strides, slowly lower your hand, keep riding all the way to the stop, say "whoa" and stay out of his way," I instructed. It was one of only a few times Don followed my instructions to the letter. . . and Cimarron slid 30 feet!

A lot of horse training technique is exactly that - staying out of the horse's way. I watch my young horses running and playing (my barometer for their talent) and it's pretty obvious that most of the ones I raise now can do what I will be asking of them - if I let them do it! Check out these two photos of week-old foals doing what comes naturally...

Wildwood Sable stopping (and ready for a rollback!)

Wildwood Sapphire going "down the fence" like her mother does...

...and Wildwood Liberty, first photo as a yearling in 2007, then as a three-year-old "trained" reiner in 2009!

Wildwood Liberty running free 2007 - one year old. (Photo by Verna Allinson)

Wildwood Liberty and Terry Lee Sapergia at the Canadian Supreme 2009 (Photo by Sharon Latimer)

Horse training is simply putting a horse in a position where it is easier for him to do the maneuver than not do it - and staying out of his way so he can! Cimarron's stop was like that, but so are circles, a spin or a lead change. I can "fix" or position before or after the maneuver but it generally works better if I stay out of my horse's way when he is actually executing the maneuver. When I start my colts, I don't want to mess up that natural talent they were born with!

Sable and Sapphire are two year olds now. Sable has went on to another home and, from all reports is going to be a fantastic reiner. I am riding Sapphire and she is super athetic and sweet. I'm showing her what I want and trying to stay out of her way so she can show me she can.

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