I can't believe how good my filly is being! I have already ridden her more than I had expected to at this stage, but I have to keep in mind that she isn't very old. On the other hand, I know many Quarter Horses are started before they even turn two, and I feel she is capable of what I am asking of her so far. As long as I don't push too hard!

I do have some fairly serious goals for this filly though, and the two main ones are to compete on her in the Canadian Supreme Reining Futurity, in October 2004, and to maintain her over the long term as a competitive reining horse. While the one goal is an easy one to focus on, I need to also keep in mind - every single time I ride her - that keeping her sound of body and mind in the long term is the most important.

In order to do that, I have to concentrate on keeping her lessons short enough so as to be fun for her, rather than a real grind. On a longer ride, I will work for a few minutes each on several different exercises, rather than drilling her over and over on the same thing.

I will also try to utilize the great outdoors - the roads and trails near where she is boarded. I have already taken her on one longer trail ride, as well as started riding her to and from the round pen where we are working.

Photo credit: Chris Hassell

These rides provide her time to just pack me, and get out of her pasture, while along with the safety of the other horses and without the boring humdrum of the round pen or arena.

I wouldn't usually recommend taking a horse this green out on the trails, but she is exceptionally sensible and I was very pleased with how she responded during the ride. The nice thing with a trail ride is that it offers many opportunities to teach small things, without it seeming to the horse like they are being drilled. We sped up and slowed down as required by the pace set by the other horses, we went left and right across the trail rather than just plodding down it, we went through a few muddy spots, and we even made it through a few minor spooks. Every moment of that trail ride was building both her confidence level and her understanding of simple rider requests.

I do hope that I can keep this filly sound in the long term, as so far she is (in my humble opinion!!) the best horse I've ever owned. She is so very athletic, so willing, so confident, and so trainable, that I really have to admit to some pretty high hopes for her!

And in the meantime, I'm going to enjoy every ride!
'Til next week,
~ Kristi :)

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Last week I mentioned the trouble that my farrier had while trying to put Karisma’s first set of shoes on. It made me realize that I have been very lucky over the years to have some really good farriers - not only capable of their jobs, but helpful and personable as well.

So how do you go about choosing a good farrier? Read on for some helpful tips and things to watch for.

You need to prioritize to begin with - what are the most important reasons you will pick the farrier you hire? I think the most important is that the farrier has a good reputation with other horse people in your area, people whose opinions you trust, people who are experienced enough to know who does a good job and who is still learning the basics of the trade. Another very important question for some owners is whether or not the farrier is able and willing to do any specialty work you may require.

While many people never run into a need for anything other than routine trims and keg shoes (preformed), there are riders out there who have special requirements depending on their particular discipline. A reiner, for example, will need a farrier comfortable with making sliders, while a jumper may need special caulks for jumping on grass or other slippery surfaces. A draft horse owner may search for a while before finding a farrier willing to work underneath nearly 2000 lbs of horseflesh (would you??).

Some horses will need corrective trimming or shoeing early on in their development, some horses will need a special brace shoe to recover from an injury later in life, and still others may need trimming or shoeing to help alleviate discomfort from navicular, laminitis, or other lameness problems.

If you have any specialty requirements, you should discuss these with a prospective farrier before ever having them come out to your place. If they are not comfortable with specialty shoeing, you may need to keep looking. However, many good farriers who may not have had much previous specialty experience are willing to research and learn in order to better serve you and your horse - any farrier who is willing to further their education to help you out is a huge help!

More next week....


If you have comments or suggestions along the way, please share with me at kristim@hiway16.com

If you have information to share, please email me at kristim@hiway16.com

Northern BC Horse is sponsored by local businesses who support equine sports in our area including:

• Baerental Ranch
• Burns Lake Building Supplies
• Hoskins Ford
• Northern Horse Supply
• Reimer Ranch
• Ridennoure Paint Horses

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