Whiskey and Self Preservation

Whiskey is home from the trainer! Back in the day, I would have trained him myself. The older I get, the more my brain reflects on what I can handle, what I need to handle and what I need to contract out. It seems that self preservation only increases with age! So I contracted out the first 60 days on my colt! He was gone a while but he came home with that 60 day foundation! Thank you Lord!

Even though he has been ridden, I’m still taking my time to get to know him. So far, I have been on his back 3 times! Today, I ventured out of the round pen and I have to say, I felt comfortable with that! He is a smart kid. He has a lot of personality and seems to like me! This is great news because I kinda like him too. He is smooth and athletic! Today was a nice warm day so I decided we needed to ride!

Now only having 60 days is not ideal for someone like me. I like them a little more polished. I like one that will drop when you say whoa. I like one that responds to leg with the slightest touch. I like one that I can drive into the bit and collect them and he isn’t quite there yet. But we made big strides today! We worked on a simple cue I use to ask one to turn. I use a “shhhhh” command. I teach it from the ground and most of the time it take a bit of work to get them there under saddle. Not for Whiskey! At the end of our ride, I had him turning a barrel or pole with just the shhhh command! I love it!

We will be working on his stop next ride. He stops when you say whoa but it’s a four feet plant for a stop. I just prefer one to stop on their hind end first. It takes time for that. And first we have to get collected in the bridle. He collects but doesn’t really drive into the bit. I have some tricks so we shall see what works for him.

He is a hair lazy. I love lazy colts! You can always speed one up. I like that he is constantly checking with me to see if I’m happy with what he is doing. He seems to really want to make me happy. I haven’t put spurs on him yet simply because I don’t feel comfortable enough yet. However, I have used my split rein to lightly pop his shoulder when he broke down from a trot to a walk. He seems to like that better than me kicking and that is good because kicking hurts my knee! I have a lot of hopes and dreams for this one. I have a feeling our progress will continue with each ride. He is smart. He has already figured out things that I do differently from the trainer and accepted that. With just THREE rides! I hope to continue to ride him on a regular basis and get him to the point that we can lope circles outside of the round pen collected and with him staying in frame. Time in the saddle is what we both need now. My self preservation will keep me from rushing things. And that is ok. We don’t need to be in a hurry. I rather work as a team and build the bond together with him.

I didn’t think he would be my next barrel horse but the more I ride him, the more I feel like he can do anything I ask of him. He is cow bred with some all around on the dam side. He has a stride that will make him a good runner! So we shall move forward of work on polishing this Diamond to get him to his full potential! I hope to keep this blog going on his progress! We have rain coming tomorrow and the farrier is due. So, I might not have much to report this week. However, I will do the best I can to sneak in training around the rain! May the Lord keep me safe and be with us every step of the way!