Serena

2005-10-05T21:40:00.000-07:00

Today we ventured to the outdoor arena, and I rode Serena for quite a while. P.K. rode a flea bitten gray Arabian gelding named Clipper, so our horses kind of 'matched.' I worked on Serena's walk and trot, but we haven't advanced to canter yet. She also needs work on going in a straight direction instead of this way and that way, etc. I can really tell that this mare has not had any real formal training, at least not any real quality training. Much more work still to be done . . .

2005-09-30T18:25:00.000-07:00

Serena had her second trim by the farrier today. She was a very good girl!

Back in the saddle again

2005-09-22T17:50:00.000-07:00

Well today was the day for ride #2. Before I got on her, P.K. ponyed her from another horse. She wanted to work on her giving to pressure and to get an idea of how she would do when I got on her. Serena was definitely more relaxed than ride #1. She did well when I mounted her, but she really didn't want to move. I got her to take a few steps and then decided to end on a good note.

2005-09-17T20:00:00.000-07:00

After completing our ground school exercises with Serena today, I decided to wash her mane again. She had gotten something dark and 'gooey' in it, plus I was trying to get it a little whiter. After I turned her loose, you can guess what she did almost immediately - roll in the dirt!

2005-09-15T17:20:00.000-07:00

We did our ground exercises today in the outdoor arena. Serena did very well, and after we got through I had her go over come cavalletti (small/low jumps). I don't think jumping is in her future, but it was good foot work for her.

A visit by the dentist

2005-09-13T16:40:00.000-07:00

Today's 'fun' was having Serena's teeth 'done' by an equine dentist. This is much more involved than having a vet just float them. She did pretty well considering; he did have to give her a little more 'happy juice' when she got restless. The dentist did confirm her age as being about 16 to 18, with 18 being more likely.

Seeing double?

2005-09-12T20:30:00.000-07:00

Today I worked not one gray horse, but two. The other one in the pictures is Promise. She is a thoroughbred that is also boarded at Hillside Stables (www.hillsidestables.com). From a distance she looks a lot like Serena. Sometimes when I walk out to the pasture, I have trouble distinguishing which one is which. After working both grays (to save time P.K. and I worked them at the same time), P.K. worked a client's Friesian stallion, Batman. He is more than a handful, but oh is he handsome!

2005-09-09T21:00:00.000-07:00

Today we worked again in the covered arena. It does make such a difference to not be working out in the sun. We worked again on walk, trot, back up, change direction, etc. on a loose line. P.K. helped me a little on refining my technique in training her correctly. After I worked her, we let the two babies out in the round pen for some exercise. They are having to stay up due to being weaned. They had such fun. The sorrel colt is Charlie and the black filly is Shia.

Expanding our horizons

2005-09-05T20:01:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the covered arena for the first time. It was GREAT to be out of the sun. We worked with walk and trot in both directions with 'float' in the lead line, as well as stopping, backing up, and changing direction. After we worked on our lesson for the day, we tried a harness on her. I just recently acquired it in the hopes that if we have Serena long enough, she can learn how to drive and pull a cart.

Time to reflect

2005-09-02T19:50:00.000-07:00

No pictures today, but we worked in the round pen. It has been 4 weeks today that she was rescued. When I think about it, she has made good progress in the time she has been here. We are still using the Dennis Reis techniques to train her. She obviously had not been trained properly, so we pretty much started from the beginning. She will be a much better horse because of all the ground work we have put into her.

Road trip!

2005-08-31T16:40:00.000-07:00

P.K. had to take one of her horses to the vet, so Serena and I tagged along. I had wanted to have the vet check her for pregnancy when he did the exam and vaccinations a couple of weeks ago. Everything got done except the pregnancy check. I just wanted to know in case we placed her this fall and then someone got a big surprise next spring. We don't have any background on this horse, so I thought it would be thorough to do this. Well, she's not in foal, so we don't need to plan for the pitter patter of little hooves. It was also good practice to load and unload from the trailer and take a little trip.

Rain, rain, go away

2005-08-29T18:45:00.000-07:00

It was a rainy day today due to the remnants of Hurricane Katrina. Working outside in the round pen was out of the question, so we worked on some things inside the barn. We did more work on getting her to back up standing in front of her a few feet away. We also worked on lateral flexion from the ground. Today was the third or 4th time I brought her some Sprite. I had a Quarter Horse several years ago that loved Sprite. Serena didn't think much of it the first few times, but she seems to really like it now! Today was also a big day for Serena since she got to go 'out' for the first time. She was being quarantined for a few weeks to make sure she didn't have anything she could give to the other horses. The picture above is Lacey the alpha mare making sure Serena went where she told her to go. I think Serena will integrate nicely into the 'herd.'

A Wonderful Day!

2005-08-26T17:10:00.000-07:00

Serena did just awesome today! I was so proud of her round pen work. Hopefully it won't be too long until we are ready to try riding her again, although we want to re-train her in the right way and not rush her.

On a roll . . .

2005-08-24T17:30:00.000-07:00

Today's session went pretty well. It was SO hot again. P.K. stepped in and worked Serena when I got worn out. She's so much more advanced in her horse training skills than I am. Serena did very well with some exercises and not so well in others. Overall, she is doing well with her training, but it just takes time.

More ground work

2005-08-22T16:44:00.000-07:00

After Friday's not so good session on her back, we won't be riding her again any time soon per my horse training guru sister P.K. So today was back to ground work only. We used a combination of Dennis Reis and Pat Parelli in today's exercises. She was feeling so much better and moving so much better; she even had a couple of bucks and *arts in her at a canter in the round pen! After work at the walk, trot, canter in each direction we worked on asking her to move over nicely when we asked her to (this was done in a halter at close range when we asked her to step over and let us change sides). Then we started teaching her to back up from the ground standing a few feet away from her. I am learning as much as she is. It's been about 5 years since I last had a horse. All in all, I am pleased with her progress so far.

Time to ride

2005-08-19T19:30:00.000-07:00

Well, this day was very interesting. I worked her in the round pen as usual, and she did very well. Then we brought in a saddle and saddle pad and slowly saddled her up. She seemed to have no problem with this process. P.K. assisted as I mounted and immediately dismounted. Serena tensed up as soon as I did this, but we went very slowly. I mounted and dismounted several more times. We waited until she had relaxed to try a walk. She tensed up again even more than before. One 'trip' around the round pen and we were done. We will continue our ground work before we try that again! We have no idea how long it has been since she has been ridden, or really even that she is broken to ride. We are working on trying to get in touch with a previous owner, but we are not having much success. We have so many questions that we would love answered, but we are not sure if that is going to happen.

Coming nicely along

2005-08-17T20:10:00.000-07:00

Today was another good day. Serena continues to improve each time I work her, both physically and mentally. She still needs to gain some weight and get back into riding shape. She is nice to work with, and I am enjoying the time I get to spend with her. I just wish this heat would let up. It's been in the upper 90's way too much.

A good day

2005-08-14T14:00:00.000-07:00

Today was session #3 in the round pen. She did well, but really didn't want to canter in one direction. We will have to work on that. Today was another hot one, so we decided it was a good time to bathe her back legs and tail since we didn't do that last Monday. She was much better this time (we have been working on picking up her feet and moving her tail). We also discovered she loves apples! We cut up one and put it in her feed bucket, and you could just tell she enjoyed it immensely.

A new look

2005-08-12T19:15:00.000-07:00

We worked Serena in the round pen for the second time. She did really well; she was much more relaxed today. It has been so hot lately that we can't work for very long at a time. After her morning session, we shortened her mane, trimmed her a bridle path, and clipped her whiskers to make her look so much prettier!

Round pen work

2005-08-10T19:45:00.000-07:00

Today was Serena's introduction to the round pen. We have no idea of any prior training she has had, so we are doing some 'foundation' work with her. Before we ride her, the round pen work is also serving to work some back muscles that probably haven't been used for a while. We are guessing she has been 'out to pasture' for a while, maybe being used for a brood mare. P.K. uses the Dennis Reis universal horsemanship techniques with her horses, so that is what we are using with Serena. She was a little nervous, but she did well.

A much needed bath

2005-08-08T20:25:00.000-07:00

Today's agenda included giving Serena a bath. She probably hasn't been bathed in ages. She did very well considering, except she was pretty touchy about her back legs and tail. We decided to save those parts for another day. We wanted to end the 'bath experience' on a good note. She looked and felt much better after getting clean. After I left the barn, I found out that the vet could come out that afternoon. I couldn't go back, but our FSSR secretary and barn owner P.K. was there to have Miss Serena fully checked out. The vet did confirm that she was about 16 years old, but that she was in pretty good shape. He gave her the suggested vaccinations and did a thorough exam.

We are still waiting the results of the Coggin's test, and we probably will have the equine dentist out, too. She continues to be sweet and well behaved! She will make someone a wonderful horse.

New rescue - it's a horse!

2005-08-05T20:00:00.000-07:00

It's a long story, but we rescued a horse today! If we did not rescue her today, she would have been put on a truck to the slaughter house tomorrow. She will be put up for adoption soon, by a similar process to what we use to find homes for our rescued Shelties (application, interview, home visit, and adoption fee). Here is what we know so far:

Name: Serena (we named her that; have no clue what her name used to be)
Sex: Mare
Color: Gray
Age: was told that she was 9 or 10, she's probably about 16
Breed: maybe Arabian/Thoroughbred, also could have some Appaloosa in her
Height: 15.1 hands
Temperament: seems very good with what we have seen so far

The farrier came out to the barn after we got back from picking her up, so we had her feet trimmed. They were not in horrible shape, but were definitely overdue for some hoof care. She did very well with the farrier. We got her settled into a nice clean stall with some yummy hay and she was happy. She probably had no idea how close to death she came.