Here is a quick snapshot of my new horse. I had just finished bathing him when I figured this was my best chance to take a photograph. He's buckskin and white with a black mane and a black and white tail. He's actually a lot lighter, especially on his haunches, when he's dry. Of course, right after this was taken I put him in the turnout paddock and he promptly rolled. You can imagine what he looked like after that!
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His name is Wyatt, which I think fits him as he's very much a western-type riding horse and his name makes me think of Wyatt Earp, the western gunslinger hero. And now I have Wyatt and Wally!
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Wyatt is only 3, so he has a lot to learn. But I like his basic temperament and he has been well started. He's certainly not ready to be ridden along the streets and trails in my neighborhood, but I think very soon I can haul him out to a park for a ride in the Great Outdoors. First, however, I want to spend some time working with him on the ground and in the arena. Step One is teaching him how to longe and be bitted up in side reins to help him become more supple. Problem? He's been worked in a round pen, which is nice, because he grasps the concept of moving around me in a circle. But he has never been officially taught to longe. And I'm trying to longe him in my turnout paddock, which is very much a large rectangle. So we do fine 3/4's of the way around the circle, when the fencing forces Wyatt to turn. But when he doesn't have the fence to guide-- or contain-- him, he tries to retreat to the far end.
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Believe me, Wyatt is about the 87th young horse I've taught to longe, so absolutely nothing he can pull is new to me. He will learn to longe. I am the Borg Queen. He will be assimilated. In fact, by the end of our first session today Wyatt was walking, trotting and halting quite nicely ON A CIRCLE. The canter? Not so much. But give me a week.
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I always enjoy reading your comments. You can share your thoughts by clicking "comments" below or emailing me at: hc-editor@bowtieinc.com
11 comments:
he is absolutely gorgeous. now Wally has a new friend, Wyatt. great name by the way :)
Hmmm ... how'd you wind up with a horse who looks pretty much the exact copy of MY Paint trail horse, Cookie the lawn ornament?
I told you you could have her since she's doing nothing but standing around and eating (which she has nooooo problem with!), but you didn't seem keen.
But congrats on Wyatt. He looks and sounds very cute and just what you needed and wanted.
What a handsome lad!!! And I love the name! Very distinquished!
I love it!! He has very interesting coloring...Good luck with getting him to canter in a cirlce...
What a cutie. =]
One week... we'll hold you to it. And Congrats. He is a beautiful horse.
And I know how you feel about bathing horses, you wash them and then they roll. I desided that I would hand walk mine around till they were dry, I think it lowwered they desire to roll
Is there a way we could get some motion-picture of Wyatt?
What a cutie! I can't wait to hear about your adventures with him! He looks like a perfect match for Wally.
I love him! He's looks like a really nice horse.
Wyatt's VERY handsome!!! And his temperment sounds like the absolute IDEAL. Love his name, too.
I understand completely about wet, rolling-in-dirt horses. Thankfully, Sas doesn't do it much though. Once, I knew this mostly-white, paint filly who was turned out one muddy day, and when we brought her back in, she was a bay piebald!
Just a follow-up on ami's movie suggestion: if you use photobucket you can put in short videos.
~Sasfrass (intentional mispelling BTW)
He's beautiful!! what a cutie. I love his name too, Wyatt and Wally, it's perfect. Good luck with the lunging lessons!!
Thanks for all the comments! As you can see by reading my latest post, the longeing sessions have improved... somewhat. Three Advils later and really, my arm isn't hurting that much anymore. *sigh*
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