Welcome back to my blog! I know it's been a few months since I last posted but our winter dragged on and on. Then after the snow and cold went away it wouldn't stop raining. May was one of the wettest months on record and there's a lot of flooding near us.
The fillies were handled a lot since my last post. Every day they were led to and from their stalls to the outdoor lots for exercise. Each grew over the winter and began to fill out. It took awhile for their winter coats to shed but they are now slick and shiny. Dakota does not like mud or getting her feet wet so it's sometimes a challenge to get her into the lots with all of the rain we've had. She is also pretty impatient at feeding time. Faith seems to be developing a more laid back attitude.
In April Dr. Young came for spring shots and to float the teeth of our older horses. Jr., one of the older geldings, has a mouth that is a "train wreck". It was really neat to watch and assist Dr. Young during this visit.
On May 1 our farrier came and trimmed their hooves again. Both did really well.
Over the Memorial Day Weekend my family and I went to the Denison, Iowa AQHA Show Circuit. I had a BALL! I made a lot of new friends and can't wait to show more, especially with Faith and Dakota. I rode Dunny and showed her in Novice Showmanship, Youth Aged Mares, Youth Ranch Horse Pleasure, Youth Barrels, Youth Poles, Youth Stakes and Open Barrels. My scores in the Ranch Horse Pleasure class weren't all that great, but they weren't that bad either considering I really had not had much time to work with Dunny. It was the first time I had entered Poles since last July and had not ran Barrels since October. It was also the very first time I had ever entered the Stakes class. Dunny's really hard to ride in the poles and I gave up trying last July. Since it was a flat fee show I entered and she did great for me. I changed from spurs to bumpers and I think that made a big difference. It was really exciting to earn a 1/2 point in the Youth Barrels on Saturday night and then another 1/2 point in the Open Barrels on Sunday. I've now earned more points on Dunny than my dad did when he was showing her! One of the best parts of the Denison show was watching the ropers. My goal for next year is to enter the Youth Break Away Roping on one of our geldings.
The fillies were handled a lot since my last post. Every day they were led to and from their stalls to the outdoor lots for exercise. Each grew over the winter and began to fill out. It took awhile for their winter coats to shed but they are now slick and shiny. Dakota does not like mud or getting her feet wet so it's sometimes a challenge to get her into the lots with all of the rain we've had. She is also pretty impatient at feeding time. Faith seems to be developing a more laid back attitude.
In April Dr. Young came for spring shots and to float the teeth of our older horses. Jr., one of the older geldings, has a mouth that is a "train wreck". It was really neat to watch and assist Dr. Young during this visit.
On May 1 our farrier came and trimmed their hooves again. Both did really well.
Over the Memorial Day Weekend my family and I went to the Denison, Iowa AQHA Show Circuit. I had a BALL! I made a lot of new friends and can't wait to show more, especially with Faith and Dakota. I rode Dunny and showed her in Novice Showmanship, Youth Aged Mares, Youth Ranch Horse Pleasure, Youth Barrels, Youth Poles, Youth Stakes and Open Barrels. My scores in the Ranch Horse Pleasure class weren't all that great, but they weren't that bad either considering I really had not had much time to work with Dunny. It was the first time I had entered Poles since last July and had not ran Barrels since October. It was also the very first time I had ever entered the Stakes class. Dunny's really hard to ride in the poles and I gave up trying last July. Since it was a flat fee show I entered and she did great for me. I changed from spurs to bumpers and I think that made a big difference. It was really exciting to earn a 1/2 point in the Youth Barrels on Saturday night and then another 1/2 point in the Open Barrels on Sunday. I've now earned more points on Dunny than my dad did when he was showing her! One of the best parts of the Denison show was watching the ropers. My goal for next year is to enter the Youth Break Away Roping on one of our geldings.
On May 31 Dr. Jessica Young performed some minor surgeries on the fillies. Dakota had developed some skin flaps made of scar tissue on her right shoulder and Faith had a growing cyst on her left shoulder.
As summer comes I'll keep working with them daily on their halter and in-hand trail skills plus ground manners. One of my goals is to show both fillies in the in-hand trail class at our county fair in July. We have a lot of work to do!
Thanks for visiting my blog and be sure to check back in July for another update!
Thanks for visiting my blog and be sure to check back in July for another update!