Tag: horse update

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.

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!

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!

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!

Our newest addition to the herd, Pepperoni (SCR CD Peptoes), is a two-year-old AQHA gelding, bred at the renowned Spur Cross Ranch and donated to the Legends of Ranching program at Colorado State University. I went to the horse sale back in April, because I am on the CSU Equine advisory committee and also to help my friend Helen buy a horse (she got an awesome 4 yo gelding). I didn’t plan to come home with a horse, but Pepper stole my heart! I was smitten by his athleticism, his beauty and his temperament. The student trainer that handled him was definitely a top-hand and had clearly done an excellent job starting him. He was working well under saddle and clearly had a BIG motor (which I like).

I got Pepper home at the end of April and between my travel schedule and the fact that Pepper needed resting after a hard semester at college, I’ve done very little with him since. He’s well settled into our herd, with Dually (Uncle Daddy) and Eddie (Uncle Brutus), supervising his every move.

Now that I am on my “summer break,” and spending more time at home, I am able to start working with Pepper on a more consistent basis. He’s still quite young and it’s not my intention to push him, but he’s got a great start in his training and I don’t want to lose ground. The other day, I saddled him and worked him in the round pen for the first time. I’m very specific about what I ask a horse to do in the round pen, so he had to work at understanding what I was asking. Fortunately, he’s smart as a whip and a real thinker. In a few minutes, he was doing outside and inside turns, depending on what I asked. He bucked the saddle a little bit—nothing too dramatic. I noticed his bucks actually looked pretty smooth—almost like a porpoise arching out of the water. Since I haven’t yet figured out a bit/bridle for the colt, I didn’t do much more with him other than mount and dismount a few times.

I’m very eager to start riding Pepper! But I really want to bring him along slowly. He is entered in the LOR Futurity in April of next year, but we’ve got plenty of time to get ready for that over the winter. If you’re interested in watching Pepper’s progress, check out his new web series, The Adventures of Pepperoni, on my YouTube Channel!

I’ve spent lots of time in the saddle this month; sadly, not much of it on my own horses. I always enjoy riding other people’s horses—whether it’s getting on a horse in a clinic to help the rider figure something out, or riding a loaner horse for a demo at a horse expo.

One of the perks I love most about my job is how many different horses I get to ride. Every horse has something to teach you—even if you’ve literally ridden more than a thousand different individuals.

At home, my horses are mostly enjoying their brief time to graze on green grass (we are officially in a drought, so once the irrigation dries up, the grass will turn brown if it doesn’t start raining). My mature horses are getting their regular work load, thanks to Melissa and Morgan (our summer intern).

My new colt, Pepperoni, is still having some R&R—hanging out with Uncle Brutus (Eddie) and Uncle Daddy (Dually). They are keeping him straight. We bring him in with the older horses, to stand tied and learn patience.

Once this month is over and I am home for a while, I plan to get started riding him. I can’t wait!

On April 21st, I attended the Legends of Ranching horse sale at Colorado State University. It’s an awesome program that I’ve been a part of since its inception, as a member of the Advisory Board for CSU Equine. For the LOR program, legendary ranches and QH breeders donate yearlings and 2 year olds in the fall, which the students prep for sale and train, and in the Spring they are auctioned off as 2 and 3 year olds (the proceeds go back into scholarships and the equine program). I was actually there to help my friend Helen buy a horse, and we found an awesome 4 y/o gelding for her. But as luck would have it, I fell in love with one of the colts, proving once again that I cannot sit on my hands at a horse sale. To me, there’s nothing more fun than that—the hunt, the find, the buy—it’s all incredibly exciting (did you see the FB live post?).

So meet SCR CD Peptoes, a 2016 QH gelding from the Spur Cross Ranch in Montana, who came home to my ranch on April 23rd. He’s by Peptoes, an own son of Peptoboonsmal, out of a Doc Olena bred mare. This boy’s bred to be cowy! But what attracted me to him the most was his conformation and his temperament. He’s athletic and fast—I like that in a horse! But he’s freakishly calm and thoughtful—nice traits in a “hot” horse. He’s a lot of horse—highly sensitive and with a very big motor—but I like that in a horse! He reminds me a lot of Dually when he was young and I am super excited to have a new project.

The first business of order was to find a good barn name for him since SCR CD Peptoes doesn’t just roll off the tongue (and no, Jeff, I am not going to name him “Toes”). We had many great suggestions for names, and we tried a few on for size, but when Dr. Potter examined him the other day for the first time and we had to start a file for him, his nickname became his official name—Pepperoni! It fits him well—he’s got lots of Peppy San Badger and Dual Pep in his pedigree, he’s the color of red pepper (Cayenne was one of the names we considered) and he’s spicy! I like the names Pep, Pepper, Roni (did I mention he’s red roan?) and my favorite pizza is pepperoni!

For now, Pepper is just having some time off. He’s had a hard few months leading up to the sale and was being ridden pretty hard for a two year old. Now it’s time to rest up and be a youngster. Dually has already taken him under his wing and has become somewhat possessive of him. I won’t ride him for a while, but he had a great start from the CSU student that trained him, Makayla Dahley, so I am not in a hurry. Makayla is from a ranching family here in Colorado and is truly a “top hand,” in my opinion. I watched closely how she handled him and rode him and I would not have bought him if I had not been so impressed with the work she has done on this colt. By this time next month, I’ll have more of a plan in mind for Pepper, so stay tuned!

Be careful what you wish for! I have to say, Dually is feeling fresh as a daisy these days. Although I have not pushed him terribly hard this year, we’ve worked him hard enough that he is fit and perhaps a wee bit cocky. He’s got the attitude of a much younger horse and I like that. Now if they would just approve the same treatments for humans, I might feel young an cocky enough to ride him! My other horses are doing well too. Annie continues to be a redheaded mare some of the time, but she’s gradually becoming more and more like a sorrel gelding. So I guess my training is working. I took Eddie, our ranch gelding, up to C Lazy U for a clinic last month. Even though I don’t ride him much at home, he’s become my best horse for teaching off of, since I started doing it when he was just a three year old. Now he’s coming nine years old and has many clinics under his belt, so he’s an old pro. Having a reliable teaching partner, patiently waiting on my next move and always ready to do something or nothing, is a real blessing to me. Eddie is my Easy-Button.

After returning from a four-day clinic at C Lazy U, where I was teaching horseback for 5-6 hours a day, I am quite happy with the health and performance of my horses. Dually stayed fresh and cocky all weekend long, which thrills me to no end. After almost two years of him feeling cranky and depressed (so bad that I stopped riding him for 18 months), it’s incredible to feel his abundant energy underneath me and to see him showing off and strutting his stuff. At 17 years old, he outworked my younger horses, both in endurance and performance. It’s amazing what modern veterinary medicine can do for older horses and while these cutting-edge treatments are not available to every horse yet, some day they will be, and I am eternally grateful to my vet for giving me my horse back.

Annie also made me proud at C Lazy U. She worked hard at keeping her head in the game and living up to my very high expectations of her (I expect her to act like a gelding, which is hard for a busy-minded mare). She required an occasional reminder not to look around and not to get worked up about all the other horses, but she came back to me quickly each time her focus wandered. I told you last month about the genetic testing I had done on Annie and the interesting results I received with the double curiosity markers, and as  result of your interest, the company, Etalon Diagnostics Etalondx.com contacted me to invite me to be part of their advisory board. So thank you! I’m truly excited to learn more about their research.

My boy Eddie, now Rich’s main ride, also performed well at C Lazy U, switching back and forth between my arena and the herd work that Rich was supervising. It’s a lot of work to keep my horses going at the training and fitness level I need from them, but after a fantastic weekend on the road, that hard work seems to have paid off!