Corrie! Corrie! Corrie!

That is what Madison and the rest of minis are thinking right about now. Every post is about Corrie! Corrie! Corrie! They insist that they are important too!

I have to agree. Although I am not doing a whole lot with them right now.

So this post is about the minis.

The minis are in seventh heaven right now without a "big" sister around. They have way more grass than they can possibly eat, just looks at them!

Even Rocky who is always a skinny mini:

They honestly are enjoying their new little band. Madison and Sophie, Ike and Rocky. Perfectly matched up. Not chased around, well Madison chases Sophie, but then they are back to grazing together again. I think Madison is really liking being able to be boss mare. Like it while you can kid!

Unfortunately I am not driving Ike because I have no shafts for my cart. Sugar Rock Farm cashed my check for a new pair of shafts, but now won't respond to phone calls or e mails. So I am out the money for the shafts and I can't use my cart. Sort of annoys me, but they are located in AL so I can not really just run over there and demand a refund. Anyway.

I have been doing working to get the pasture ready for, er, well just in better shape. :) Last fall I had plans to split to pasture into some smaller pastures and put in the T posts in. Then I broke my wrist, and then it was winter, finally they all knew where the posts were so I didn't bother to take them down. I was still planning on putting the electric tape up but, well plans change. I plan on doing my first several drives out there with, er, well just out there. It is enclosed and a fairly safe placed to drive and ride too. So with all the rain softening up the ground I was able to pull the last of the posts up. I would also like to put the goats out there some so I have been putting up that snow fencing that has wooden slates on the three rail part of the pasture so the goaties can't escape. Also there are some trees that needed to be trimmed so I don't hit my head on them while riding or driving. I have been very thankful for the cooler temperature to start on this work. Still not done, but good start.

Another first

My mini herd is just so cute out there on their pasture. They have more eats that is safe for them to even eat. I send them out for only half the day and then back to dry lot to digest. Even with only that Madison is getting fat. I think she needs a grazing muzzle. I have to admit that I do like my mini herd. Small, don't break fences, and the amount of hay in the barn right now should last most of the rest of the year! I keep saying I want to sell a mini, but I honestly love all these guys so much. I do want to geld Rocky. The problems this past spring have shown me that he is always at risk being a stallion. Even now he is not normally with the rest of the herd, in the same field but stand on his own. Poor lil guy. I won't geld him before fall at this point though. Not will all the flies.

I had another first today, two actually. I rode all on my own and in my own saddle. It was so nice. Corrie passed the saddle test, it fits her. I worked with her on going forward, going around on the rail, backing, giving to pressure, and just generally got to know her better. Steering is not a big thing right now. You wanna talk plow rein, not pretty at all. What I really want is forward and at a constant rhythm. I am thinking of taking her into the round pen next, which is outside. I want to not have to think about steering. We spend a great deal of effort on staying on the rail. Apparently there is a black hole in the middle of the arena that sucks horses in. At least that is what Corrie tells me. It apparently makes it very hard to keep going, so maybe it is very sticky in the middle of the arena too. All in all though we had great improvements. Actually got a rising trot out of her.

I will say that she was much more forward that the first time. I have a hard time using the whip just yet. I did have it. I rode with it, but the lurch forward is something I am still not ready for and the last thing I want to do is urge her forward and then snatch her mouth. I also still feel uncoordinated. Every once in awhile I feel like I am every where at once. I have to stop and regroup.

As you can see Corrie is a draft type Haffie. She is really broad in the chest and broad in the back end. Lil' darlin' wore Abby's girth! Seriously! But even though I thought I had it on good and tight, when I got off the whole saddle slipped. I am so happy that I have relatively good balance and was able to keep the saddle on the correct side of the horse as we rode. I think Abby's girth may have been a bit big, but Hope's (my former 15.3hh qh) was too small. I think that she is more drafty makes me like her more. I mean look at that sweet face! She has a personality to match.

R doesn't know if she had been ridden prior to coming to him. He has not done too much with her under saddle. Which is fine. When I talked to him about training, his response really made me respect him even more. He said he didn't think he was the right trainer for her, if I wanted to ride her, because he knows that I ride differently than him. He said I would just have to retrain her anyway. I really have to respect a trainer that can respect what I want to do with my horse. Oh by the way, she is not my horse yet. It was just an "what if" We were talking about. I am sure you can tell I am a bit smitten though.

After the ride I was untacking her. She knows how to stand. She didn't even have a halter on. I gave her a few cookies for being a good girl and then brushed her tail a bit. She knew where the cookies where. You could see in internal struggle, looking at the cookies but knowing she was supposed to stand. It was hard, but I am proud to say that she was strong! She got a few extra cookies for that!

Corrie wants to know if this saddle makes her butt look big. Personally I think it is really flattering! Maybe a different saddle pad. Oh and I need a bridle. I don't have a horse size black English bridle, so this is one of R's western ones, but still just a snaffle.

Rock My World

Just for fun I wanted to show off my stallion. Oh yeah baby, I have a stallion! And here he is:
What a big stud, huh? Rocky is a miniature horse. Don't worry he is not used for breeding. I have had Rocky since he was 4 mos. old. He is now 5. Believe it or not, he has not grown much since I got him. I believe he is 27 in tall. Slightly taller in the winter with all that hair. Rocky is just one of those horses that really stole my heart. I may be a mare person but this little stud has squeezed in there too. It's all good, he isn't that big anyway.

I got some miniature horses after I sold my ottb. That was when I was starting to notice I was more concerned around my horse than I used to be. I was hoping to drive some. I have Ike, you have seen him, but Rocky is just too small for me to drive. My thinking was smaller horse less fear. It was true too.

Rocky is actually a well bred lil guy, but he has two major flaws. When he was just a tyke, before I got him, he got a burr caught in his eye. He still has a little ulcer on that one eye. It causes him to have limited vision in that one eye, but has not caused him any other problems. It is another reason that I chose not to train him to drive. His other major fault is a low tail set, not desirable in the mini world.

I am doing some clicker training with him. He is learning to target and eventually I want to teach him to rear. One of the few horses I would even think of training to do that trick, but since even when he rears his head hardly reaches my shoulders I am not too concerned about it. Plus I have no plans to ever sell this little guy. Heck I figure if I ever have to live in an apartment again I'm just going to call him a big dog.

Actually miniature horses are a great if you have developed a fear of riding the big guys. There is actually a lot you can do with a miniature horse. From halter and driving to in hand trail and jumping classes. Miniature horse eat a whole lot less then the big guys and don't need as much room, although you better have good fencing, minis are terribly cleaver and can open gates. Plus they are as cute as the dickens!

Miniatures were originally bred for pit ponies and small mounts for children. Unlike ponies, minis normally have very good temperaments. Yes there is some Shetland blood in there, and mini are just ponies under 38" in some registries, 34" in others, but minis have been selected for good temperaments as well as size. There are two major registries for minis the American Miniature Horse Association and the American Miniature Horse Registry .

I will try to remember to post some summer pictures of Rocky. You will be amazed at the difference. He actually looks like a little horse instead of a sheep.