Winnie's Blog
"What were we thinking?!!!!" That’s the question my husband, Bill, and I asked ourselves when we brought home Zelador and Zeloso, two weanling Lusitano colts, at the end of December in 2004. Our combined ages exceed 112 years and our other two horses were eight-years-old and seven when we bought them. We had never worked with youngsters, didn’t know how to work with youngsters and there we were...
To say that we are having the time of our lives would be an understatement. The two Z's led us to liberty training, Working Equitation, tricks (including the bow, the smile, mounting pedestals, pushing large balls) and with any luck, carriage driving. They will begin their jumping education this month and for the past two years have explored classical horsemanship (work in-hand, long reining and work under saddle).
Their adventures and misadventures are chronicled in this blog. I hope you enjoy watching how quickly these two are training us!
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Floor Piano
July 26, 2010 | No CommentsWe placed a protective cover on one of the floor pianos (which is now attached to a firm backing, a ¾ inch plywood board) and put the floor piano at nose height in the arena. It’s sitting on two stacks of three bags of shavings. We introduced Kye to it and he was very soft with his nose. Sometimes he activated the piano, sometimes not. Read more »
Ostermaier and Bell Exercises
July 16, 2010 | No CommentsLately we’ve been working on Albert Ostermaier’s method for teaching the piaffe which is done in a stall. Along with this I’ve spent a few minutes doing the first three steps of Frank Bell’s Seven Step Safety System in the stall before I turn them out each horse. Steps 4-7 require more room than a stall provides. Briefly its: 1. Bonding. You Read more »
That Was Easy!
July 5, 2010 | No CommentsThe other evening we had a group ride in the arena. Five people on their horses. We’re doing this so that at some future date we can create a quadrille. After the ride I asked an observer, Barbara McKnight (Ciara’s mother), if she’d seen Zelador laydown. She hadn’t and wanted to. Well, I knew the conditions were right as far as Zelador being relaxed Read more »
Earthquake Day at Winsong
June 24, 2010 | No CommentsDuring the earthquake Wednesday we were privileged to have Pierre, a drummer, come to Winsong Farm to play with the horses. Two other people, Ann and Gabby, were here to help. We began the session with Zelador. We weren’t exactly sure how the day would evolve. I do know that horses are musical and figured they would enjoy drums. At one point Zelador Read more »
Laydown
June 21, 2010 | No CommentsJames, a man from Texas that Bill works with, came to the farm. James was here in October and saw us practicing for the Hula-Hoop routine. His wife has a few horses. Today he watched Zelador do tricks and liberty (he hadn’t seen that before). Lindsey came in during the demonstration. I went to the laydown area and, of course, Zelador laydown. I got a “feeling” that he wanted to do more. I walked around to the back of his head and neck. I placed a hand lightly on his upper neck and he laydown flat. Wow!!!! I had three witnesses: Lindsey, Bill and James! And, as we were walking back to the people near the arena door, you could tell that Zelador was extremely proud of himself!
Lie Down on Command
June 15, 2010 | No CommentsLast week I asked a few people to give me their reaction to things my horses do. Ann Clifford said she loves it when Zelador lies down. It shows such trust. A few days later we learned that several documentary film makers were curious about what we do at Winsong Farm. They were due to arrive Tuesday. Ann suggested I show them Zelador’s lie Read more »
Go Slower
June 10, 2010 | No CommentsThis morning the temperature is nine degrees. A bit crisp. I had to dig out a turtleneck! I know it’ll warm up, but…! During the heat wave last week there was a delightfully, unexpected bonus: Zelador was rideable at the canter! With a humidex of 34 he was similar to a horse on a windy, cool autumn day as opposed to his usual freight Read more »
Canter Call Demo
May 31, 2010 | 1 CommentAt 2:00 this afternoon Lauryn Tambling’s barn, Canter Call, (plus assorted “others”) were here today in this hot, muggy weather to watch the horses play. About fifty people came! We started with Lindsey and her Andulasian mare, Airosa. The clean, white horse decided that the first “trick” would be ROLL and get one side of her body delightfully dirty. She accomplished that in less Read more »
