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Too Many Horses– Not Enough Time!

Greetings!

Boy, it’s great to be home and to be able to ride every day! Rich’s new horse arrived Monday night. It was dark by the time they got home so our welcoming committee, consisting of my friends and neighbors, couldn’t see much of the liver colored horse in the dark. But first thing Tuesday morning, we were all eager to see him again. He’s a gorgeous horse and a sweet heart—at least to people. I hope to have some pictures to post soon.

His name is “Chics Dig Him” but he’s called Diggs. I don’t know what it is about Rich but he’s going from a horse named Tuckers Loverboy to this. I can just hear the announcer now as he rides into the show ring, “And now, here’s Rich Moorhead and chicks dig him!” (I know at least one chick digs him—that’s me!). Actually, I think that mare’s (and the chicks) would really dig this horse because he’s one handsome hunk of horse flesh.

Diggs let the geldings know right away that there was a new kid in town and that he would be a force to be reckoned with, posturing and squealing for their benefit. Most of them went the other way, wanting no part of this stallion. But my younger horse, Gunner, thought he’d strut his stuff in front of Diggs.

While the geldings were out yesterday in their turnout, we put Diggs in the alleyway that runs behind the barn so he could stretch his legs a little. There was a gate that prevented him from getting too close to the turnout pen. He went up to the gate and pushed on it twice with his shoulder to see how much give hit had. Then he calmly turned around, walked back about 100’, turned back toward the gate, ran at it full speed and bumped it off the hinges with his shoulder. Not a mark on him but the gate went flying! It was an impressive show for the geldings and by that time even Gunner decided it was okay for Diggs to be king of the mountain.

Although Diggs has no qualms about being strong to the geldings, as soon as you put a halter on him, he’s mister manners and you can stand him right next to another horse and he won’t even look at him. Nonetheless, his little display yesterday may have bought him a date with the vet and a sharp knife a little sooner than we had planned.

Today Diggs will have his vet exam and we’ll know for sure at that point that we’ll keep him. I don’t expect any problems, even though I’ve been having bad dreams about that. We are fortunate to have known this horse for some time, know the sellers well and know that they have stellar reputations.  So I am not too worried.

Dually and I had a good work yesterday. I’m working a little more on practicing his reining maneuvers. This is not something I practice too much because he’s pretty good at it all. But I’ve noticed that if I don’t practice enough, his maneuvers become a little rusty. We did a lot of counter bending, counter canter, then worked on spins, roll backs and stops. It’s a couple weeks before our next competition, so we’ve got some time.

Maybe I’ll have new horse pictures tomorrow!

Until then,

Julie

 

 

Please visit Goodnight’s sites for more information and training tips:
http://www.juliegoodnight.com
http://www.horsemaster.tv
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6 Comments

  1. Glad to know that Diggs is fine but your gate isn’t. I would probably choose replacing a gate over a vet bill any day 🙂
    Look forward to seeing pics of Diggs whenever you post them.

    Happy 4th of July!

  2. I managed, each day you were at Cactus Creek Ranch, to arrive intending to audit clinic sessions just as you broke for lunch. My loss.
    I did get to watch you the previous weekend participating in a VRH cutting clinic at CCR; and I know you and your husband compete in VRH; and I just learned from your newsletter (thanks for that, btw) that you are “a member of the Circle Y team”. So my saddle question seems to fit within your wide-ranging experience/expertise.
    I ride, on a 4 y/o AQHA gelding I’m training with one of the Pro trainers at CCR, an ’06 Circle Y roper. My goal with my colt is to eventually do some version of VRH events. I’m 6’2, 240 lbs; the saddle is comfortable, I seem able to communicate well with seat and legs with my horse, and after a pad change, my colt moves well under it. The only “problem” is the saddle is heavy. My question: would one of Circle Y’s lightweight (or at least, lighter weight) Flex-tree saddles work as well for a fellow my size with my intended goals? Thanks.

    Lairie

  3. Thank you so much for all your help with riding issues. I really enjoy watching your show on RFDTV. I look forward to it every week.

    Recently some friends and I started taking dressage lessons. We all have gaited horses; theirs are Tennessee Walkers, mine is a Missouri Fox Trotter. Each of us are in our 60’s. Right now we are borrowing the instructors saddle for our lessons so we want to purchase our own. We are having difficulty deciding which type to purchase; dressage, all purpose, jumping, eventing or close contact. Each one of us is 5′ 2″ – 5′ 4″ tall and weigh in the range of 120 lbs. to 150 lbs.. We all have short legs and want to be able to have contact with our horses sides.

    Can you help us decide which type of saddle would suit us best? None of us plan to jump with our horses. When we trail ride we use western saddles. There are no English tack shops in our area in rural central Missouri so we are doing all of our research on the Internet.

    We would really appreciate your input. Thank you again for all your good work.

    Phyllis

  4. Good thing you got to watch the episode with Diggs and the gate. Imagine seeing the gate on the ground and trying to unravel the mystery of ‘how’d he do that??’

  5. Great post Julie, I can’t tell you how much I’m enjoying all your knowledge, and have been, (the website Q@A, I read every word last year.) That incident with the new stallion was eye opening. Also, loved the great answers to the two excellent questions on the most recent newsletter, (horse throws head when cantering, and the “proud cut” question.) Had a good LOL about telling her to “cover her eyes”. That was a riot. Did ya ever consider entering the colt starting contest in Murpheesville? Looking forward to hearing more about Diggs. you’re the best, thanks.

  6. Julie,

    Great post, especially your comments about you digging your man. I look forward to the pictures of your new horse. I’m a new blog reader, but a long-time fan of your training methods. My wife, Betty, and I just finished your first DVD on balance and we learned a ton. We were thrilled you took the time to respond to our e-mail. If you’re ever back in the Albuquerque area and want a good home stay with great home cooking (Betty, not me), our door is always open.

    Regards,

    Dan
    Corrales, New Mexico


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