Lil Painted Horsemanship

04/24/2025

Penny Lane April update:

We brought Penny home at the beginning of the month, and she is continuing to excel. Here are a few of the "skills" she has acquired recently.

✅Quietly standing tied
✅ Happily haltering/catching
✅Confidence with ropes
✅Allowing me to cut off the muddy hair from holding
✅ Walking over a "scary" bridge
✅Wearing a saddle pad
✅ Leading by the feet
✅ Yielding hind quarters
✅ Yielding shoulders
✅ Lunging W/T/C with/without the line
✅Flexing/bending her neck
✅Mounting block work/leaning over her back

Next we will work up to picking up her feet, wearing a surcingle, ground driving/long lining, and first saddling!

04/21/2025

04/08/2025

Cider and I had the perfect ending to a very productive week!

On Friday Cider and Ruby got looked at by the saddle fitter. Ruby is fitting pretty well in our jump and dressage saddle, so she is all set! Cider is significantly wider than she was last time, and is now fitting really nicely in Ruby's jump saddle after a slight flocking adjustment.

We finished our week away with a dressage clinic on Saturday. Cider and I learned a lot, focusing on getting her bending and keeping a consistent rhythm. Then we worked on our canter for awhile, making sure our transitions were smooth. I was so impressed with the difference in Cider from the start to the end of our ride, she really is a special girl!

I have a few videos of the clinic I plan on posting soon!

04/04/2025

The horse that shows up today
..I can't remember when in my horsemanship journey I learned this, but it's an important one.

I was chatting with a friend and sent this pic.
"Ohhhh who's that? Are you training a new one?"

Well Kinda 🤷‍♀️
I'm working with the horse that showed up today. He's loaded dozens of times with lots of successful trips. He loads and hauls like a dream, but that's not the horse that showed up today.

This horse "knows" how to trailer load, but in this moment he told me otherwise. He told me he was irritated and lacking confidence. It would be so easy to get frustrated because my horse "knows" better... right?

The last couple times he hauled, Lucky was stuck in the trailer across state lines. Lucky "knows" how to trailer, but maybe today he didn't know he wouldn't have to stay in the trailer all day. Maybe he "knew" his last trailer ride was long and uncomfortable. Maybe he was worried it would be the same today. It could have been that or something else. What I do know is that my normally happy horse was irritated and uncomfortable TODAY... that's the horse that showed up.

While I could have insisted he comply with my expectation, I decided to meet him where he was at TODAY. Today he told me he wasn't okay... and I believed him 💚

I believed he didn't feel okay and he needed help. Sometimes the answer isn't to insist on meeting the original "goal." Sometimes the answer is to break things down into more simple steps... this way we can build back his confidence.

Soooo... I'll look forward to trying again tomorrow to see what horse shows up 😉

03/31/2025

Cider and I have an exciting week planned. She is having a little "boot camp" to get her schooling again before show season starts up. We started it off well with a little Western ride tonight 🤠. I was pretty impressed that she got her correct canter leads, since she hasn't really cantered under saddle since last summer. Now that she is turning 5, she feels ready to start doing a bit more. I can't wait to get this girl trotting down the centerline in her dressage tack soon, she is going to be fancy!

02/04/2025

I am so proud of this horse today! While it might not seem like a big deal to some, those who know Mac know how big this is for him.

Today Mac had the lead rope on, and allowed me apply pressure without freaking out. This is so big for a horse that used to panic at just the sight of rope, and at the slightest bit of pressure. I was able to hook and unhook the lead multiple times, and he even took a few steps toward me from the halter pressure. If I would have done this just a month ago it would have been a big set back for him, but he trusts me so much more now and is overall so much more comfortable than he used to be. He still has a long way to go, but we are getting there one step at a time. It is so awesome to see your dedication start to pay off, even in just a small way!

01/31/2025

I wasn't able to get to the new mare today due to snowy weather. So here are some recent pictures of the horses, and a little update.

Cider and Ruby at home are mostly just hanging out and trying to stay warm. I work with them when I have the time to, but without access to an indoor arena at home, they don't get to do as much as I would like. When we have some better weather they will come back into consistent work. I have some big goals for these girls this year!

The new mare met the lead rope for the first time yesterday. It didn't go quite as planned (does it ever?). Let's just say she definitely knows how to pick up her front feet, and we now know what we have to focus on for the next few sessions. Otherwise she is doing great with the full body touches!

Mac has been making slow and steady progress. He has had a short rope on him a couple of times, and handled it really well, plus his liberty leading is getting better and better! We have been working on our vocal ques so we can bridge that que with the halter pressure. He is loving his carrots and will now take treats from me, which is a huge win! He definitely looks forward to his sessions with me now, which is great.

01/29/2025

Day 3 out of holding, day 2 of working with her.

This mare is the sweetest thing ever! She is letting me touch pretty much all over, and absolutely LOVES the bum scratches. We got the halter on and off, and the mane brushed and braided to the right side. I am pretty sure I have a name for her, so I will be announcing that soon!

01/27/2025

Surprise! Meet tag number 5665, a 5yr old Mustang mare from Black Rock Range, NV. She has been hard to keep a secret! I won this girl in the Internet Adoption on the Online Corral, back in December. I was tempted to announce her then, but decided it would be best to meet her first.

Today, on day one, we got the tag off and she is accepting scratches and pets on her face and neck. I can already tell that she is a going to be a sweetheart. I can't wait to get her brushed out and all cleaned up. I have hopes that this sweet mare will be my horse for the Mustang Classic, if she is up for it.

Don't worry, I still have Mac and have been working with him daily. I will have an update soon on what we have been working on lately. I will tentatively be searching for a new home for him, only if the best of situations comes up. I want to do my best to make sure Mac is set up for success, which might mean finding him someone else that can give him all of the time and attention that he deserves ❤️.

Ps. Let me know your name suggestions! I have a couple of ideas, but am still undecided.

01/02/2025

Here is a little overview of my 2024 equestrian year!

January:
Picture 1 - Traveled several hours to ride a horse I have never met in a dressage clinic with Stephen Hayes.

February:
Picture 2 - First sit on Cider!

March:
Not pictured - more training with Cider, working on getting on and off.

April:
Picture 3 - IEA Western Regionals. I helped my team qualify for Nationals by getting first in Horsemanship and Ranch Riding!
Picture 4 - Cider's first time leaving home. Cider and Ruby got fitted for saddles.

May:
Not pictured - First official rides with Cider. Now that our saddle fits, we start asking for a bit more.
Picture 5 - Ruby's first hunter Pace. We went with a friend.

June:
Picture 6 - Combined training show on a horse I had never met.
Picture 7 - Liberty clinic with Ruby and ridden Clinic on Cider with Sam Vanfleet.
Picture 8 - Ruby got reserve champion at the ranch show. Cider's first show in the halter classes.
Picture 9 - IEA Nationals in Texas, I got third in Horsemanship.
Picture 10 - Ranch Riding at IEA Nationals.

July:
Not Pictured - The barn flooded at the county fair, luckily we all worked together to keep the horses dry!
Picture 11 - Ruby won her English Halter class at the fair.

August:
Picture 12 - Ruby went on her furst solo Hunter Pace. She loved it!

September:
Picture 13 - Last Hunter Pace of the year. Had a great time with a lot of friends. Ended up riding around it twice.

October:
Picture 14 - Riding Sam Vanfleet's horse Lynx in Florida.
Picture 15 - Training Boot camp in Florida.
Picture 16 - Bought myself a mustang gelding I named Macchiato.

November:
Picture 17 - Ponied off of Cider for the first time.

December:
Picture 18 - Moved Mac closer to me so I can work with him easier/more often.

2024 was an awesome year! Hoping 2025 is even better!

12/27/2024

Mac Update.

Mustang Macchiato moved barns on Christmas Eve! He is now being kept at my aunt's barn, so he will be much closer to me. Now I can do multiple sessions a day with him, and he gets to be out in the snow! He is settling in well so far, and we have just started back up with our training again. It is so nice to not be driving 2 hours everyday anymore, for now anyway 😉...