Scooter is doing great!

I got an email from Scooter's owner Erin yesterday.  Scooter is Miras - Murgab x Anastasia, 2010 purebred AT gelding born here at CGAT.  She gave me permission to share:

I was so proud of Scooter yesterday.  And so proud to be his person, which he clearly feels.  Every lesson we have had (they are monthly as my trainer comes up from FL) Scooter has just flown through everything we ask of him.  We ask something new & he just sets about doing it with no fight or fuss & he enjoys doing it.  I was cracking up (everyone was who was watching) because while my trainer was explaining the theory behind long-lining & getting the horse balanced & working from the hind end I was holding the lines & his bridle in my hand and hte entire time Scooter was standing next to me pestering the heck out of  me to put the bridle on him.  As soon as I did & clipped the second line he was literally stepping forward to start working.  He just couldn't wait.  After an hour lesson of him offering what we had been asking & watching him experiment with movement & using his body differently, I stopped him & stepped forward to take the lines off & he turned & nickered at me & started rubbing all over me, yawning, blinking, just really processing what we had done...  my trainer remarked "could you two like each other any more?"  It's just really cool to be the person training him.  He is really something else & I hope you take pride in what a great-minded horse he is...  I am truly honored to see how he is blossoming with the slow steady work we are doing together, both his body & mind.

OK enough of my gushing.  Just wanted to share because I get such great positive feedback from him but also the folks at my barn are amazed at his attitude & ethic & how sweet & friendly he is.

 

A good boy!

Erin

 

It is always great when a horse you foaled and raised goes to a loving, happy home.  I'm hoping for great things from the two of them in years to come!

 

Scooter leaping for joy - Karen Wegenhenkel photo, taken in 2012 I believe.

Photoshoots!

Monica and I (Monica Bretherton) did two photoshoots in the past week or so.  Now is the perfect time, with the horses being sleek and shiny and the light staying until reasonably late.  Monica always takes nice photos.

These are of Rocket (barn name still!) 2014 purebred colt by Salam out of Tulah.  Rocket is almost 6 weeks now and is really a nice colt.  Stallion prospect, Fakir Pelvan line.  For sale, $5000, sale pending!

This is Sabyr, aka Stanley, 2013 Salam x Aishet.  Sabyr is just over a year old, and is obviously still growing (look at that butt!).  He's a bit over 15 hands right now and should mature 15.2 or 15.3 at least.  Excellent sport prospect.  $4500

Both boys are lovely horses with bright futures ahead of them!

Off to College

I always think that when a horse heads off to a new life/owner/job, it's kind of like sending your kids to college.  You've done the best you can from child(foal) hood on up, bandaged skinned knees and hocks, taught them right from wrong, put some good ground manners on them and depending on age, sent them through elementary, middle and high school.

All those years of prep work and then one day, you're waving goodbye:

The very fancy 'bus' to Goshen's college.

 

I waved goodbye (after giving him a good lunge and lots of scritches) to Goshen on Wednesday.  He's heading to Indiana to see if he can make it as an eventer with Eron Owens of Greystone Eventing.  I think this is a great match-up, as Eron is not only a talented rider and competitor, but she competed with Goshen's sire, Goklen for many years.

 

 

While here, Gosh has gone through elementary and middle school, gone on one trail ride, done a little bit of a lot of things. This year, he's really grown up in a lot of ways (including hormones, lol), but has really come into his own.

 

He's a little bit thinner than I like ideally, those hormones have kept him moving and moving some more!

 

From what I hear, he will spend a while with the talented Kevin Wallin, getting his mind back to work.  Then we'll see what happens next!

 

Graduate school, perhaps?



More Foal Photos!

I've been slacking in the photography department, sad to say.  But, yesterday, my friend Wendy came out to visit so I took a few cellphone photos of her and Rocket.  He's in the 'I'm so curious and fingers are great for getting spots I can't get" stage. 

He continues to grow (like a weed) and is such a nice boy!  Too bad he came out the wrong sex, but as he's a colt, he is for sale.

Photos from August 10, 2014, Rocket asking Wendy for 'scritches'.

 

More Foal Photos

The sport around here lately has been 'Taking Rocket Photos'.  While I'm not very talented in that department, Angela Davenport and Monica Bretherton have taken some really nice ones.

Here are a few:

Two days old in the arena, Angela Davenport photo

Whispering secrets in my ear - Monica Bretherton photo

Enjoying his first day in the pasture, Monica Bretherton photo

 

He really enjoyed the running around, Monica Bretherton photo

One of my favorite photos, Monica Bretherton photo

And, one more for good measure.  Monica Bretherton photo

 

There are a whole bunch more on my Cascade Gold Facebook page.  Rocket is for sale (He's not a filly, sadly!)

 

 

 

 

Youngsters!

Monica and I have been doing some conditioning to get ready for our first endurance ride of the year, which is on March 31st. This will be Danny's (Madgan) first ride, although he did spend the night at a ride last year. We'll be doing the 25 mile limited distance ride and expect to finish towards the back of the pack - no racing for us! Danny is getting the lion's share of the work these days, as he is coming six and really blossoming. Andre is the distant second, although he's showing improvement with every ride. The other youngsters would like to be on the roster, but there is only so much time during the day. Scooter (Miras) and Reggie (Sazanda) get their 5 minutes a day of grooming and ground manners, which is really all they need right now. Mahri would LOVE to get even 5 minutes - she and Slari get a few minutes and a good scratch every now and again. Once our competition year starts, we'll cut back on our conditioning rides, so we can work more with the younger horses. Goshen is getting some arena time with Monica - he's lunging with the saddle and bridle on, has been long-lined and is generally learning how things go. We'll probably back him sometime this summer and let him get the idea that people sit on him.

Aya (Aishet) is due to foal within the next few weeks, so we'll have a new baby to play with also.

They are all keeping us busy, but that is ok - it's a lot of fun.