April 2020 Horse Report

In the four weeks since my last horse report, we have been on lockdown. Most Americans, and indeed people all over the world, are affected by this pandemic but for each of us, the effects are different. Some of you are separated from your horses, because boarding facilities are not allowing access. Some of us are stuck at home with our horses, and grateful for that. Maybe you are at home but not able to work from home, or perhaps you’re stuck at home and working all day. Still others are going to work as usual every day because you perform an essential service—THANK YOU! For me, our horses are right outside the door and things are operating somewhat normally around here except that some of my crew are working remotely and that I am home during what is normally my busiest travel time of the year.

I’ve been enjoying producing my Daily Doses of Horsemanship Homework, but I’ll be honest, it’s a lot more work than I originally  thought! I made a commitment to post a horsemanship lesson every day during this shutdown, not fully comprehending how long this thing would last (if only we knew a month ago what we know now). But a promise is a promise, and with the help of my far flung crew, we are delivering. I’ve really enjoyed the LIVE posts I’ve been doing 3-4 times a week—we’ve had good turnout and it’s really satisfying for me to connect with everyone in the live posts—to know that you are out there and engaging with me and enjoying the lessons we are posting. I love answering your real-time, real-life questions on the live posts and to debrief the arena lessons I’ve offered you.

I’ve been using Pepperoni mostly for the arena lessons—this is his first serious media job and he has performed quite well, almost like a grown-up horse. When we are producing content, the horses have to do a lot of waiting– repositioning for the camera, trial runs, stops and starts– while we get set up. Young horses aren’t always that patient or cooperative, while my mature horses have learned how to pose for the camera and when to turn it on. Pepper is four years old now and he’s more mature and more reliable and I am pleased to see that he is learning to be in front of the camera.

In order to mix it up a little and to produce some real-time training content, we’ve been using Woodrow for ground manners lessons. He’s a 3 year-old QH gelding that belongs to my barn manager and assistant trainer, Melissa. He’s quite a character, he’s very brave and opinionated, and he hasn’t had much work in this department, so he’s been an excellent demo horse! We’ve done some entertaining ground lessons with Woodrow on establishing boundaries, standing still, leading manners, ground tying, rating speed on the lead line… and there’s much more to come! He’s even developing his own fan club.

If you’ve missed any of the Daily Doses of Horsemanship Homework, you’ve got some catching up to do! There are plenty of lessons to keep you busy—both arena and “living room lessons,” that you can pick through to find the lessons that help you the most. You can find every single one of the Daily Doses here. Please join me on the LIVE posts on Facebook, to share your story and ask questions @JulieGoodnight. The LIVE posts are always announced ahead of time on my Facebook page. I look forward to connecting with you there!

February 2020 Horse Report

We are in the midst of a long, hard winter! Typical this time of year, one day might be sunny and warm with highs in the 40s or 50s, and the next is single digits, snowy and high winds. If it weren’t for the indoor arena, not much riding would be happening at all. But even with a cozy indoor, when high temperatures are single digits or below, we do not work horses. One reason is that when the air is that cold and dry (often below 20% humidity), it can “scorch” the lungs of both horses and people if they start breathing too hard. Also, if the horses work up any kind of sweat when it’s that cold, it’s very difficult to get them to dry before nightfall. But even on the coldest days, it doesn’t hurt to get the horses out, tie them up, give them a good grooming and do a little slow-paced ground work (see my blog this month on Winter Whoas).

Rich’s new horse, Casper, is in-training as a mounted shooting horse and although gun-fire is not his favorite thing, he’s accepting it just fine with a little positive reinforcement. He’s now starting to associate the loud noise and strong smell with the good feelings he gets from eating a delectable treat. It will be a while before Rich can haul him anywhere, since our hauling truck was stolen in December. It was recovered a month later, but with a lot of cosmetic damage, so it remains in the shop. Don’t get me started on this subject…

My horses, Dually, Annie and Pepperoni, are all doing great. Dually is in full retirement now and although he still enjoys a high status in the herd, it’s gradually slipping with his age. Annie has become my go-to horse and is the only finished horse I have. She’s an awesome little horse—uncomplicated, fun to ride, and just my size at 14.0 hands! Not much to “work” on with her—she’s pretty finished but we ride her daily to maintain her fitness. My youngster, Pepperoni, is maturing nicely as a four-year-old. After his latest accident back in December (kicking out in his stall and entangling his foot high up on the stall grate, ultimately ripping the stall wall down), he seems to have become much more sensible during his moments of exuberance. Fortunately, he did not sustain any significant injury from that episode, but it did seem to have a positive effect on his maturity and sensibility.

Pepper is still relatively green for a horse of his age, partly by design and partly because of his propensity for injury. I intentionally bought a young horse because I enjoy training colts but also because I want to control how much pressure is put on him in his youth. Without a competition deadline looming, I’ve been able to ease up on his training and take breaks when needed for physical reasons. Currently, Pepper and I are working on collection at the canter, bending, shoulder-fore, haunches-in and leg yielding at the walk and trot. He’s naturally a big stopper and not something we’ve worked on much, but we are starting to work on the slide. Same with pivots. In preparation for starting him on the cutting machine (a fake cow suspended from cables that you can control with a remote, so that it stops and turns like a cow), we are working on stop-back-turnaround. This all comes pretty easy to Pepper since he is line-bred to work cattle. It’s in his DNA.

Speaking of DNA, I was excited to find out that Etalon Genetics www.etalondiagnostics.com was doing additional research on Annie’s DNA. The domestication of horses is a fascinating subject to me and one I’ve been studying a lot lately (as well as the domestication of dogs). This additional information from Etalon includes an Ancestry report and a lot of factual information on breeds around the world. Just as with an ancestry report on humans, if you go back far enough, horses are all related! And just like with humans, my ancestry report might vary slightly from my sibling, in terms of which genes expressed themselves. I’m including Annie’s ancestry report here, so you can see what it looks like. The initial DNA report includes color genetics, health markers and behavioral traits—very fascinating! This is a supplemental report.

December 2019 Horse Report

I’m happy to report that after several cycles of injury/treatment/rehab and two months of stall rest and hand-walking, the Adventures of Pepperoni are back in full swing! Thankfully, we were able to start turning him out with the herd and riding again last week, because stall-rest and hand-walking was getting old for Pepper (and for those of us on the end of the lead trying to stay clear of his “airs above the ground”).

The good news is that he is now sound and healthy, and his under-saddle training is picking up right where we left off. Pepperoni is coming 4 years old now and his maturity is starting to kick in—less silliness, more coordination, more responsiveness. Time off doesn’t cause a horse to lose its training—it stays right where you left it. Poor handling and riding will un-train a horse fast (or train him something different) but leaving him alone does not. Sure, he may be a little fresh when you return to riding, but he knows exactly what he knew before the layoff.

Pepperoni is an unusual horse in many ways. He’s wicked smart and a lightning-fast learner. Be careful what you wish for. If you don’t make many mistakes, the smart horse excels in his training. But mistakes are often illuminated in a very smart horse. Pepper is exceptionally aware of his surroundings. Not in a distracted way—he’s very calm and focused and he’s always taking stock. He rarely displays fearful behavior; but he has an intense curiosity. These are traits bred into the cow horse, and while they may sound good when you read it on paper, do not be fooled. These are the very traits that cause some to say cow horses are “difficult” and “challenging.”

Pepper also has a very strong sense of right and wrong (some might call this bull-headed, but it is a trait I like). Most of the time we agree on what is right, but occasionally there is a dispute. At times, when he believes I am wrong and he is right, his red-headed temper flares. In those moments, I’ve learned to 1) check to see if I was wrong (it happens) and take responsibility, and 2) do not yield to a tantrum but do not throw gas on the flame.

Sometimes us riders find ourselves at odds with a horse and in those moments, it’s important that we prevail, lest the horse learn he can do whatever he wants. But it is never wise to start a fight with a horse, because it may be a fight you won’t win. At the end of the day, they are much larger, faster, more athletic and more lethal than humans.

Pepper is not argumentative, difficult or challenging to train. In fact, he is full of enthusiasm for the job—any job, eager to please and a joy to ride. But he is not a horse that will suffer fools and not a horse you want to fight with. Most of the time when he gets testy, there’s something I’ve done to contribute. I’ll admit that on occasion, I am the one that gets testy or impatient first, and his subsequent ire is justified. I can always count on Pepper to let me know when I’ve made a mistake. He makes me a better rider.

I’m super happy to be back on track with Pepperoni and I am hopeful that he will stay out of trouble for a while. He’s lost a lot of conditioning in the past few months, so we are in a rebuilding state now. We lose conditioning much faster than we gain it, so I expect that it will take 2-3 months to get him back into shape. Right now, our daily rides consist of a long walking warm-up, then 10 minutes of long-trot on a free-rein, followed by 5 minutes of collected trot in a “training frame,” followed by five minutes of canter on each lead. If he’s not completely gassed out by then, I’ll work on bending, shoulder-in and/or leg-yielding at the walk and trot.

By this time next month, I hope to be back to collection at the canter, departures and lead changes. But I am patient, and I have no deadlines looming. It’s all about the joy of training, about building a strong relationship and developing a high-level athletic partner. It doesn’t get any better than that!

November 2019 Horse Report

Since this time last month, I’ve been away from home for 25 days, in the normal course of my job attending clinics, expos, conferences and teaching at CSU Equine. Fall is a busy time of year for me. Needless to say, it hasn’t left me much time to work with my own horses. Fortunately, Melissa manages and rides my horses in my absence and helps keep them fit and pampered (and she occasionally stands in as my body double, LOL).

Pepperoni is still confined with no-turnout, lest he get wound-up, running hog-wild, and re-injure something. It’s probably just as well because we’ve had a lot of snow, ice and single-digit temps in the last few weeks and the footing is sketchy at best. He gets 30-40 minutes of hand-walking in the indoor arena every day and for the most part, he has settled into his new reality. He’s a little froggy at times when he gets bored with walking and airs-above-the-ground seem more appropriate. Fortunately, those episodes are short -lived and he is happy to get back to walking. In a few days Pepper gets his next checkup from Dr. Potter, Elite Equine, and we hope he is cleared for riding.

Annie, Dually and our newest herd-mate, Casper, are all fat and happy and hairing up for the winter. Rich and Casper are still getting acquainted and Rich is introducing him to gunshots (in preparation for mounted shooting). I haven’t even had a chance to ride Casper yet, since I’ve been gone so much. I hope to rectify that soon.

Annie remains my go-to finished horse and she is a sweet ride, as always. Often I only have time to ride one horse a day and I usually opt for the youngster (I’m a glutton for punishment), so Mel keeps Annie tuned-up for me. Dually doesn’t do much these days, but keep the herd in-line and occasionally pose for photos. He’s earned his retirement and he’s enjoying it fully.

October 2019 Horse Report

I rode my horses a lot less than I’d hoped last month, since I was on the road more than home. We were not able to take the horses up to C Lazy U for the Ranch Riding Adventure, due to an outbreak of Strangles at the ranch and because of an outbreak of contagious disease elsewhere around Colorado (vesticular stomatitis). All indications were that it was a good time to leave the horses home. I really missed having my horses there, but I also have a great horse at the ranch that I enjoy riding. So, it just was not worth the risk to our herd’s heath.

Speaking of health, we’ve had our ups and downs around the barn, recently. My three-year-old, Pepperoni, is proving himself to be a high-maintenance horse. No sooner did we get his S-I joint feeling better and his back strong enough to start riding again, than he developed some minor soreness in his suspensory ligaments (possibly from some exuberant bucking in the round pen). Right now, he is on stall rest, with 30 minutes of hand-walking daily. That can be a bit of a wild walk with a young horse that’s full of himself! People often ask me how to deal with this type of situation (hand walking an injured horse that is wound up), so I thought this might be a good time to make a video on the subject.

The other horses are great. My little mare Annie continues to be my go-to horse, since she’s the best trained and most sound horse I have. At 14.0 hands and quick as a rabbit, she’s a blast to ride. Although guilty as charged, as far as being a mare, we’ve managed to train her away from most of her “mare-ish” behaviors. She’s a horse I can put almost anyone on, at least temporarily, and she’ll take care of them. If it’s a novice rider, she’ll eventually figure out she can get away with stuff but at least for a while, she’ll be a good mount. I don’t do that very often, but it’s nice to know that I can.

Dually, one of the best horses I’ve ever had, is fully retired now. He’s got one crooked knee that has serious arthritic changes, and it is now bone-on-bone. He runs around and carries on out in the pasture, but riding isn’t really an option anymore. We’ve done years’ worth and thousands of dollars’ worth of advanced medical treatments, which bought me a few more good years with him, but now it is clearly time for him to rest on his laurels. We still get him out occasionally, to model in front of the cameras, and it makes him feel important. He still occupies the best stall in the barn and gets all the preferential treatment, so in his mind (and in my heart), he’s still #1.

Rich’s new horse, Casper, is clearly becoming the dream-horse he thought he was when he bought him last month in Montana. He’s settled in nicely to our herd and Rich is really enjoying riding and getting to know him. It takes a long time to get to know a horse, especially one with a lot of training (a lot of buttons you must find). This horse is kind, steady and has a solid work ethic. Over the winter, weather permitting, Rich will start hauling him about, maybe to a reining show or two, since that is his primary training. His goal is to start mounted shooting off this horse, but he will take his time to introduce him to that sport. It’s best to stick with what the horse knows while you get in-sync with him, before venturing off on a new path.

Winter is rapidly approaching up here in the high mountains of Colorado, so the riding season is winding down. We’ve already had our first frost (which was late this year) and the pasture is changing slowly from green to brown. Thankfully, we have a toasty indoor arena to keep us going through the winter and I am hoping that over the coming few months, I can get Pepper back into shape so that we can start him on cows later this winter.

September 2019 Horse Report

It’s been a busy month around my barn! We welcomed a new member into our herd. Well, Rich and I welcomed him. The other horses, not so much. Rich and Mel drove twelve hours to Montana, rode a bunch of horses, watched a bunch of roping and cow work, and then drove 12 hours home with the prize—Casper, a 6 y/o AQHA gelding, trained as a reiner but schooled in all phases of ranch work. He’s a lovely horse with a stellar temperament and Rich has already really bonded with him. I did have to lay down the law with Rich to say that Casper could not sleep in our bedroom.

We are letting Casper settle in slowly and get rested up after a long period of hard training and a long trip to his new home. But Casper has already starred in his first video! It was about reducing the static shock build-up in your blankets by using the right blanket wash and by spraying your horse with ShowSheen. Around my barn, horses have to be camera ready!

Pepper is recuperating from yet another injury, making me wonder, how big of a roll does bubble wrap come in? Honestly, I could be back to riding him now but I am taking some extra time to get him in better condition first. Between the green grass that’s lasted all summer, the lay-offs from injuries and my travel time, one of us has gotten a bit soft (and it isn’t me). I’ll spend about another week just doing conditioning groundwork, then I’ll start the same program under-saddle. Hopefully by this time next month, we’ll be back in full gear.

Meanwhile, my good horse Dually continues to rule the roost and look pretty—this is what he does best now, and we occasionally pull him out to model for the camera. Annie has become my #1 go-to horse rather reluctantly (it’s way more work than being #3). Although I like to joke about her marishness, I’m very happy to have such a lovely little mare who can do anything I ask and at a moment’s notice. She’s right-sized for me and a blast to ride, so what more can I ask? I can find something to love about any horse. Can you?

Ready to Get Started on Your Riding Goals? 

Spring is almost upon us, and my team and I are getting ready to tackle our goals for this year in earnest! It’s easy to set the goal and promise yourself that you’re going to work with your horse X days a week, or practice really hard to get ready for a big ride or competition. But it can be really hard to actually START—whether it’s Day 1 or Day 25. Life happens—we get busy, things come up, and we excuse away making ourselves and our horses a priority.

If you need a little extra encouragement and support to meet your goals, join my new #HorseGoals Or Bust Facebook Group! This is a community where you can come to share your goals and updates, find support through frustrations and set-backs, be a cheerleaders for others, and celebrate accomplishments. See you there!

Horse Report August 2019

eddie and julie
Eddie and Julie

It’s been a sad month around the barn. We lost Eddie, my good ranch horse, my best teaching horse, and one of the most honest horses I’ve ever known. I wrote about him recently in my Equine Good Citizen blog. It happened fast—literally within minutes, he was dead in his tracks. Although I’ve seen many horses euthanized over the decades, I’ve never seen a horse go from seemingly “healthy-as-a-horse” to no signs of life in under three minutes. All my life, I’ve heard of horses dying suddenly—with no signs or symptoms, but this is the first time I’ve actually witnessed it. It’s not common, but it happens.

Sudden death in horses is sometimes caused by a rupture to the aorta. In the case of Eddie, my best guess is that he sustained a sudden disruption of oxygen to the brain, which may well have been caused by an aneurism, although we saw no outward signs. Why he died, we’ll never know. There are few answers because necropsy is not often performed on horses. Even when it is, we don’t always find the reason why a healthy horse would drop dead. The sad fact is that Eddie is gone, but at least he did not suffer much.

To say we are feeling the loss around the barn is a HUGE understatement. Since Eddie was the de-facto herd leader, the other horses are a little bit lost. Since Eddie was one of our best trained horses—a true Western bridle horse—we’ve also lost one of our most reliable team members for the media production that we do around here.

We felt the loss just two days later at a scheduled video shoot for Showsheen, but our second-string stepped up. Annie carried the big load as the only “broke” horse (photo and video shoots can be scary for a green horse), Pepper was there to fill the role of the horse that needs Miracle Stain Remover, and Mel’s 2-year-old, Gus, (with his Fabio looks) was our supermodel. Even Dually came out of retirement for a cameo role.

I’ll miss Eddie a lot. So will Rich, who’s been riding him for the last couple years. Even my friend and colleague, Barbra Schulte, who’s been teaching clinics off Eddie when we work together, feels the loss. He was the kind of horse you could put anyone on and he would try his best for them. Consequently, many of my family and friends have ridden Eddie when they visit us. I know they will miss him too. RIP Eddie’s Pick.

July 2019 Horse Report

For the summer, I am focusing all my barn time on my colt, Pepperoni. Dually is now fully retired, Rich rides Eddie and Mel rides Annie for me. When I am only riding one horse a day, I don’t get as much exercise as when I ride several—like at a clinic or expo. That’s why I can look at it as beneficial to my health, well-being and fitness-level that Pepperoni likes to run around the arena like a dust-devil for the first 20 minutes of our ride—the equivalent (according to my FitBit) as riding three horses!

Pepper is happiest when he’s going fast. We start every ride with a 10-minute long trot followed by a 10-minute gallop. On some days, that barely moves the needle on his gas tank. On other days, mostly when he’s had time off, his tank is full of rocket fuel and the 20-minute ride is a little like a roller coaster. But even on the “exuberant” days, once he’s burned a little fuel, he’s a fabulous ride.

He’s sensitive to the slightest cue. He’s quick and athletic and tackles maneuvers with enthusiasm. He’s wickedly smart and quick-learning—making him both a joy and a challenge to train. And he’s one of the most present, aware and courageous horses I’ve ever ridden. If he were a cop, he would definitely run toward the gunfire. If he were in the military, he would no doubt be Special Forces. He’s a challenge for sure, but the payoff could be huge.

Sometimes I yearn to ride my push-button old horse, to have some relaxed and refined riding. But for now, Pepper is keeping me young.

Ready to Get Started on Your Riding Goals? 

Spring is almost upon us, and my team and I are getting ready to tackle our goals for this year in earnest! It’s easy to set the goal and promise yourself that you’re going to work with your horse X days a week, or practice really hard to get ready for a big ride or competition. But it can be really hard to actually START—whether it’s Day 1 or Day 25. Life happens—we get busy, things come up, and we excuse away making ourselves and our horses a priority.

If you need a little extra encouragement and support to meet your goals, join my new #HorseGoals Or Bust Facebook Group! This is a community where you can come to share your goals and updates, find support through frustrations and set-backs, be a cheerleaders for others, and celebrate accomplishments. See you there!

 
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June 2019 Horse Report

Dear Friends,

With my summer break (from travel) ahead of me, I’m eager to get more time in the saddle! My youngster, Pepperoni, is doing well given the sporadic ride time I’ve had in the past few months. Turns out, twice a week of riding is not adequate for him (it rarely is for a 3-year-old), but when I am on the road, sometimes it’s all I can manage. When that happens, usually the first day is spent taming the wild beast, then the second day we can actually get some work done.

Now that I will be able to get on him 5-6 days a week, the tone of our rides will change a lot, and the wild beast will hibernate. I always start my training sessions with ten minutes of long trot, to warm the horses up and get them in a working frame of mind. Pepper is at the stage where our main training focus is on canter work—departures, rating speed, circles, simple lead changes—and we’re just starting to think about collection at the canter.

We are riding out of the arena a lot more—either down the road or around our “virtual trail course.” Pepper is still occasionally prone to “exuberance,” shall we say, and every now and then his red-headed temper flares, but most of the time his head is in the game. It’s a challenge with a young green horse to ask enough of them to advance their training, but not so much that they become frustrated and hate being ridden.

Before the summer gets away from me, I need to set some new goals for Pepper and me. Otherwise, how will I know when I get there?

Ready to Get Started on Your Riding Goals? 

Spring is almost upon us, and my team and I are getting ready to tackle our goals for this year in earnest! It’s easy to set the goal and promise yourself that you’re going to work with your horse X days a week, or practice really hard to get ready for a big ride or competition. But it can be really hard to actually START—whether it’s Day 1 or Day 25. Life happens—we get busy, things come up, and we excuse away making ourselves and our horses a priority.

If you need a little extra encouragement and support to meet your goals, join my new #HorseGoals Or Bust Facebook Group! This is a community where you can come to share your goals and updates, find support through frustrations and set-backs, be a cheerleaders for others, and celebrate accomplishments. See you there!

 
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May 2019 Horse Report

Julie teaching at her C Lazy U Ranch clinic on Pepper.
Julie teaching at her C Lazy U Ranch clinic on Pepper.

It’s my busiest time of year, and most weeks I’m only home a couple nights—which makes owning a colt challenging. Pepperoni is the kind of young horse that needs to be ridden daily and kept busy. He’s the equine version of a Border Collie (busy-minded, afraid of nothing, smarter than his own good and on the lookout for trouble) . Often this time of year, due to my travel schedule, I might go a couple weeks without riding him. He gets daily handling, exercise and ground work in my absence, but typically we have a few wild rides upon my return.

He’s still prone to exuberance (bucking) on occasion and sometimes his red-headed temper rears its ugly head. He’s not a horse you want to pick a fight with, but if I ride it out and quietly but firmly lay down the law, he usually complies. So as I headed up to the C Lazy U Ranch earlier this month (in our brand new LQ trailer!), with both Pepper and Eddie in-tow, I was a little unsure of what kind if horse I’d have to ride at the clinic. This was Pepperoni’s first trip to the ranch, and since I also had to teach off him, I was counting on a drama-free weekend. I was thrilled with Pepper’s performance at the clinic—there were plenty of distractions to keep his mind occupied (keeping track of the comings and goings of 200 horses and 100 people) and back-to-back 4-hour days of riding meant he wasn’t looking for extra work.

I took Eddie up to the ranch for the first time at the same age—he was a rock star then and now. He’s now 11 years old and this was his 24th trip to the ranch, so he was a great role model for the red tornado and a great mount for Barbra Schulte to teach her clinics from. It was a wonderful weekend—Barbra and I love working together and the ranch is the perfect spot for everyone to come together to enjoy horses, people and good times!

Ready to Get Started on Your Riding Goals? 

Spring is here, and my team and I are tackling our goals for this year in earnest! It’s easy to set the goal and promise yourself that you’re going to work with your horse X days a week, or practice really hard to get ready for a big ride or competition. But it can be really hard to actually START—whether it’s Day 1 or Day 25. Life happens—we get busy, things come up, and we excuse away making ourselves and our horses a priority.

If you need a little extra encouragement and support to meet your goals, join my new #HorseGoals Or Bust Facebook Group! This is a community where you can come to share your goals and updates, find support through frustrations and set-backs, be a cheerleaders for others, and celebrate accomplishments. See you there!

 
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Horse Report March 2019

This is not a winter we will soon forget. More snow, ice, wind and cold weather than I can remember for some time. Thankfully, we have a nice toasty indoor arena, but after a few months of riding inside, the horses are eager for a different point of view.

It was awesome to spend a week up in Fort Collins at CSU Equine with my two horses, Annie and Pepperoni. We had some quality time together and managed to make it home, driving 200 miles through the mountains, in between the snow storms. Pepper is coming along nicely—working on collection at the trot and canter, beginning lateral movements like shoulder-in and leg yield, and refining his pivot on the hindquarters, which is a natural talent of his. Canter departures still leave something to be desired, but I know this will fall into place too. He’s such a joy to ride and train—he’s eager to learn and has a fun-loving attitude.

Dually has had a tough winter, too much cold and ice for him. He’s healthy and comfortable, but he’s very tentative on the frozen ground. No one’s more eager for spring than Dually. Eddie, on the other hand, is true to his breeding—he’s a tough, stoic ranch horse and not much affects him.

Ready to Get Started on Your Riding Goals? 

Spring is almost upon us, and my team and I are getting ready to tackle our goals for this year in earnest! It’s easy to set the goal and promise yourself that you’re going to work with your horse X days a week, or practice really hard to get ready for a big ride or competition. But it can be really hard to actually START—whether it’s Day 1 or Day 25. Life happens—we get busy, things come up, and we excuse away making ourselves and our horses a priority.

If you need a little extra encouragement and support to meet your goals, join my new #HorseGoals Or Bust Facebook Group! This is a community where you can come to share your goals and updates, find support through frustrations and set-backs, be a cheerleaders for others, and celebrate accomplishments. See you there!

 
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Public group · 43 members

Join Group

 

February 2019 Horse Report

Pepper and Mel's horse, Booger
Pepper and Mel's horse, Booger

I’ve had a little more time on my horses this month. Pepperoni, now a 3-year-old, is progressing nicely after a small setback from a stifle sprain. After treatment from Dr. Potter (who was kind enough to treat him on Christmas Eve so I didn’t lose another week of training), some rest and rehab, Pepper is back to 100%. We did lose about three weeks of training, which will make it tough for us to be ready for the Legends of Ranching Futurity in April. But I won’t push him—if he’s not ready, we won’t enter.

However, in the last week, Pepper has really surprised me. He’s such a fun horse to train—he’s very willing, but somewhat opinionated. He’s sensitive, athletic and wicked smart. If I could avoid making mistakes (nearly impossible on such a fast-learning horse), and just teach him one important thing every day, his training would go so fast.

At this moment, we are working on basics (forward and straight), collection at the trot (starting to think about it at the canter), shoulder-in, canter departures and pivots. I have not yet worked on stops and rollbacks, because of his stifle injury, but these maneuvers will be easy for him, due to his natural talent.

The Legends Futurity involves working cattle and this is where I run into a time crunch—I’ll have to get him working the flag before live cattle, and he’s not quite fit enough for that. But just in the last week, things seem to be coming together for us.

I am headed up to Colorado State University this week to substitute teach, and I will be taking Annie and Pepper with me. Annie will help me work with the colts (32 of them), and Pepper is going for the road experience and so I can continue his training.

It will be a fun week—I get to ride my horses every day, and I always enjoy working with college students!

 

Ready to Get Started on Your Riding Goals? 

Spring is almost upon us, and my team and I are getting ready to tackle our goals for this year in earnest! It’s easy to set the goal and promise yourself that you’re going to work with your horse X days a week, or practice really hard to get ready for a big ride or competition. But it can be really hard to actually START—whether it’s Day 1 or Day 25. Life happens—we get busy, things come up, and we excuse away making ourselves and our horses a priority.

If you need a little extra encouragement and support to meet your goals, join my new #HorseGoals Or Bust Facebook Group! This is a community where you can come to share your goals and updates, find support through frustrations and set-backs, be a cheerleaders for others, and celebrate accomplishments. See you there!

 
#HorseGoals or Bust Community
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January 2019: Horse Report


At the moment, all my horses are healthy and sound (knock on wood), but we’ve been contending with injuries and various lameness issues rotating through my herd.

Dually is looking better than he has in a long, long time. Just when I had given up on being able to ride him again, he seems to be sound! I still won’t ride him, but I’m going to start some light exercise with him to see if we can get him in condition. If he holds up well, I may be able to use him on occasion for some “cameo” work.

After Annie’s stifle injury in October, she received IRAP treatment, rest and rehab, and is now 100% and fit as a fiddle. She’s fallen into the role of my go-to horse (although Dually remains #1 in my heart).

Eddie and Rich are training for mounted shooting, but the competition was cancelled this month due to a snow storm.

Then there is my little red-headed Pepperoni, now a 3-year-old, who continues to make me laugh on a daily basis. Poor Pepper also had a bout with a sprained stifle. Like Annie, he had IRAP injections, rest and rehab. On his follow-up visit last week, Dr. Potter pronounced Pepper 100% sound.

Be careful what you wish for! Pepper is back to his enthusiastic self—sometimes still a bit of a handful—I call his third gait the “Buckalope.” But he is coming along nicely, figuring out his world—the way I want it to be—which he is not always in agreement with. So far, I have prevailed in every debate.

I’m still undecided on whether or not I can get him ready for the futurity in April, but I will forge ahead and see where we are in a month.

December 2018 Horse Report

Now that I am home for an extended period, I’m getting a little more time with my horses. I’m happy to report that my old man, Dually, is feeling well and trotting sound. I don’t think I’ll be riding him, but it’s great to know he feels good.

Rich and Eddie continue to work on their aim with mounted shooting. With one schooling shoot under their belts, their training goals have gained some clarity, and they are busy getting ready for the next shoot.

My youngster, Pepperoni, is proving to be a “chip off the old block.” His sire, Peptoes, is a fine looking stallion from the renowned Spur Cross Ranch, and it appears that Pepper is a lot like him. He’s still a green-bean, however, and has a long way to go to fill his daddy’s shoes.

Currently we are working on 1) going forward, 2) going straight, 3) transitions-transitions-transitions, and 4) starting to introduce a tad of collection at the trot (it will be a while before he is ready for collection at canter). I need to chart out a training plan for him on paper (there’re lots of charts in my head), so that we have a clear training path to prepare for the futurity he is registered for in April. And that sounds like a good New Year’s Resolutions sort of thing, so expect to see a more detailed plan, this time next month!

October 2018 Horse Report

Julie with the vet and Annie

I had a great time with all my horses last month, but we had our ups and downs. Annie has just recovered from a minor performance injury at the end of September—a sprained stifle. She stepped off the trailer at C Lazy U slightly off, and right away I knew what had happened.

The day before traveling, I was working her as normal and at the end of our workout, when my horses are trying really hard (because they know I will not put them away until they put maximum effort into something I ask them to do), I asked her to make a big stop. She did a beautiful sliding stop and I remember thinking, wow, that was really something! She put so much into it that she put a little strain on her stifle and had some fluid buildup there, which we could see on ultra-sound.

Dr. Potter, a performance horse vet that I thank my lucky stars to have treat my horses, suggested rest, confinement and an IRAP injection. I’m happy to report that she is now back to 100% and is out with the herd again and ready to get back to training.

Eddie, my ranch horse gelding, is my fallback horse now, so I pulled him into service. We had to do a Garrocha demonstration at the CHA conference, and since Annie is my Garrocha horse, we had to give Eddie a crash course in pole dancing. He rose to the occasion and the demo went great! I’ve enjoyed riding him more this month—he’s such a steady, reliable and willing horse.

I’m happy to report that my little Pepperoni is the highlight of my day and a blast to ride. We’re still working on the basics, like power steering, but his talent is coming through loud and clear. Without any effort whatsoever on my part, he is already stopping big and beginning to pivot on the hindquarters. He occasionally still crow hops like a porpoise when he is feeling froggy, but it is not hard to ride and it cracks me up. He certainly acts like a 2 year old most of the time, but he is brave and bold and loves to perform.

My old guy, Dually, is still the star around here (even though he is resting on his laurels now), and his main job is taking care of the colt. Pepper has big shoes to fill, and Dually is happy to keep a constant eye on him and tell him how to act.

I am so fortunate to have such amazing horses and I will never take them for granted. What are you thankful for when it comes to your horses? Share your pictures and stories with me on Facebook or @juliegoodnight on Instagram!

September 2018 Horse Report

Pepper and Julie

Pepper and Julie

Lucky for me (not really luck; more by design), I have Melissa to keep my horses working in my absence and my son, Hunter, to keep them secure, comfortable and well-fed. My horses live at home with us, and since I am on the road up to 150 nights a year, you can imagine how important it is to me to have people I trust to take care of the horses. So while Rich and I were gallivanting in Ireland for two of the past four weeks, my horses were still groomed, turned-out, exercised and well-attended every day.

Annie is looking fit, sleek and is well-tuned, just in time for me to ride at the Ranch Riding Retreat at C Lazy U last weekend and at the CHA Conference coming up this weekend. Eddie is getting plenty of work, between Mel and Rich, and is a buff, handsome ranch horse. I’m proud of the bridle horse he has become. In anticipation of working cattle, they’ve been practicing together—Mel on her horse Booger and Rich on Eddie—shadow-boxing to practice their cutting moves.

And then, there’s Pepperoni, the star of the show. I’ve only worked with him a handful of days, but I continue to marvel at what a great mind he has. He’s curious, brave, eager to please, but quick to out-think you, if you’re not careful. He’s very athletic and forward, traits that are important to me in a horse. We’ve gotten lots of great feedback on The Adventures of Pepperoni video series on my YouTube Channel, and we plan to continue the series. So be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss an installment. I’ve started riding Pepper in the indoor arena and he hasn’t missed a step. I’ve been working on bitting him up, which I talk about extensively in my podcast this month.

My #1 horse, Dually, has been relegated to semi-retired. His performance days are over, but he will always be #1 around here. We parade him in front of the camera periodically, so he still thinks he’s a rock star. He gets the best dressing room AND the blue M&Ms!