Events

Mondays
Jumping Fun Classes at Canterbrooke, (Ames)

Tuesdays
Riding Communication Classes at The Paddock (Truro) .

May 8-9
Clinic at Catalpa Corner

April 10 and 11
Clinic at Catalpa Corner.

June 4-6
Clinic and Schooling Show Catalpa Corner
(Iowa City)

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Waiver form

"Only way that horses will win is to sit there and spend time with them. Show 'em that you're trying to help 'em. Love 'em. Talk to 'em. Get to know 'em. Now that's what you gotta do. You love 'em and they'll love you, too. People might call me crazy, but that's the way it is."

-Eddie Sweat, groom for Riva Ridge and Secretariat

Training Log for Goldie Stroburg

8/28/08 Completely no drama today when I mounted up and just a little bit of jigging to start off with, but she got over it. We had a nice trailride and she was mostly relaxed.

8/27/08 The horses were kept in today because of the morning rain. I tacked up and got on and when I did, she hopped around and reared very slightly. She was reprimanded, but her behaviour was mostly due to being in a stall all day. Horses are horses. We went out and had a walk trailride. She would very much like to jig occasionally, but we discussed that and it stopped. She was quite good.

8/25/08 Tacked her up and rode her outside. We had a little discussion about her standing still when I get on, but she figured it out. She was a little jiggy at first, but started to understand that her job was to walk. She did pretty well going past the hay baler too and walked better on the way home.

8/20/08 Took her for a hack on a breezy day. She was on her toes as the breeze always makes them suspicious. She gave a little buck when she didn't want to go forward and got a boot for it, then went forward and did fine. Did some halting and just standing out in the middle of the pasture, which is hard on greenish horses, and she did alright at it for the first day.

8/18/08 Tacked her up and took her straight out for a trail ride. She actually bucked once when we turned down the tractor lane to go away from the barn. She got a pretty good bump with my leg in the ribs and she got over herself and went forward. She did some very nice trot and canter work in the big hay field. Once, a deer jumped out and she spooked, but got over it quickly. Nice walk home on a slack rein. I put on the Equi-spot long acting fly spray.

8/12/08 She was a little nappy on the way out for a trailride, but improving. Once we got going she was fine. She is starting to relax.

8/11/08 Went straight out for a trailried. She was again a little nappy on th way out and managed to buck once, for which she earned a boot to the ribs. Then she went forward nicely and got much praise. We went out in the pasture and when she went over a muddy spot she bucked on the other side. Not much of a buck, but worth comment, so she got another boot to the ribs and she got over herself. Much praise. Then a nice quiet ride home.

8/9/08 Took her straight out on a trail ride with no warmup in the arena. She was quite nappy at first (didn't want to go away from the barn) and actually bucked once, for which she rec'd some negative feedback. She got over herself and then did quite well, walking between the abandoned spreader and pickup truck in the pasture and past the xc jumps that scared her before. She was much more relaxed about it. She had som moments of going forward into trot rather than flat-footed walking, which we will have to continue to discuss.

8/8/08 Rode her in the indoor with a lot of work in canter, which is coming along, and some transition work. Then out in the pasture for a ride where she was deeply suspicious of the xc jumps that are out there. At one point, she chose to turn and do a mild bolt, but she got over herself and eventually went by it, without much fuss. She just needs more experiences with news things. I'm really starting to warm up to her. She is smart and willing.

8/7/08 Rode Goldie in the indoor where we did a lot of work in canter and in lateral work (sidepassing). She did quite well, learning right along. Then we went out on a short trail ride and she was a little more relaxed than yesterday.

8/6/08 Rode her in the indoor. Her canter is coming along. She is much more balanced. Still quite quick, but that will come with balance. Lots of neck rein and sidepass work and a short trail ride outside. I suspect she hasn't had much experience out riding alone as she got a little skittish. Not bad, but she could use some confidence.

8/4/08 I am delighted with how her left hind is growing hair and continuing to mend. Wonderful. I tacked up and rode in the indoor, working on neck reining, which is coming nicely, stopping, some backing, some moving off the leg and some canter work. Busy day and she is coming along just fine.

7/30/08 She clearly carried yesterday's lesson to today which is great. Stopping improved and we worked on getting lighter to neck reining aids, which went well. Her canter work is a long way from balanced, but improved. Very good. Cool rinse at the end.

7/29/08 Rode in the indoor when a lesson was going in, which is great for her because she got to learn about horses being near her going a different pase. Then we did a lot of work on halting politely, which came along a bit. Some canter, which was unbalanced, but coming along.

7/28/08 Took the wrap off for what I hope is the final time today. The scratches really look good. Will continue to monitor. I rode her in the sidepull and she did well. Getting better with being lighter to the aids and did some cantering which was unbalanced, but willing. This mare has nice gaits, appropriate for her type.

7/26/08 Rode in the arena again and introduced some more complicated figures to work on and she did well. Starting to relax.

7/25/08 Rode her in the arena and worked on neck reining and rhythm in the trot. Also did some canter, which was unbalanced but acceptable. She has a good attitude.

7/24/08 Brought her in and unwrapped her leg to show to Nancy and Emily. We are all pleased with how it looks. Then I rode her in the arena while talking to Emily and Nancy and Chely about what a good horse she is, but how she needs a lot more experience before she will be an appropriate mount for Chely at shows. I have no doubt that Goldie could be excellent with the correct continued training. I'm a big fan of her attitude. After the ride, Randy Hoy, the farrier, was kind enough to look at her feet which I suspected had thin soles. He concurred and suggests shoes for her front feet, which we will have put on Monday.

7/23/08 I brought her in and tacked her up and rode, which went well. We walked, trotted and cantered in both directions. Her canter is pretty unbalanced, but her trot is quite good. She learned how to give in her poll today and we did some backing, especially with referencing to stopping. I unwrapped, treated and re-wrapped her left hind leg, which looks quite good. Maybe by the end of the weekend we will be able to let it go without a wrap. Depends on the mud situation. On a lifestyle note, she has eaten half her Purina 12/12 block, as has Belle. I've found that if the horses haven't had a block for a while they tend to eat it up. The second one will likely go more slowly. I have been thinking about her lack of a tail, which inspired this.

7/22/08 Yay, Goldie is, for the most part, sound today. She took 2 bad steps in the indoor and she is short-strided in front, but I think that is due to hoof tenderness. Tomorrow I will bring out a hoof tester to check it out. But, her wrap stayed on beautifully overnight, so I left it on until tomorrow and will check it then, and she was sound enough to work slowly under saddle. She was quite good. We did some walk and trot work. Her biggest issue is a tendency to lose focus. After we get the hooves squared away we will see how the canter goes. I am just delighted that she is feeling better and can get into work!

7/21/08 I left the wrap on all weekend to keep the leg protected and I delighted with how it looks today. Lots of good pink skin and some hair regrowth. It is important to continue to keep it covered so that it stays healthy and doesn't dry out and crack. But we are on the right track. I lunged her to check her soundness. She is much better behind, but now seems a little off in front. Arg! I will recheck tomorrow. I fly sprayed her which she appreciated very much.

7/17/08 I used triple antibiotic yesterday, as I wasn't very impressed with the results we were getting with nitrofurazone and I had had good results with triple antibiotic in similar cases in the past. I was delighted with how it looked today. Much quieter. I treated it again and rewrapped it, put some swat on her belly and upper back legs and turned her out.

7/16/08 Brought her in and treated her left hind again. The flies are simply unforgiving with her short tail. They bite her legs and her udder. I treated her with long acting fly spray. Her leg is slowly continuing to improve. I did a little soundness check after I put the new wrap on, but it was hard to tell if she was a little funny because of the wrap or still a little off.

7/15/08 Brought her in and cleaned up and treated her left hind. With being treated and wrapped over the weekend, it faired quite well with some good improvement. I treated it again and wrapped it up again.

7/9/08 I bought the Purina Mills 12-12 mineral block we discussed and a holder for it and put it in her stall. I treated the scratches and re-wrapped it with vet wrap and duct tape on the bottom of her hoof. I was pleased with how it looked today. The swelling had decreased by a third and the scabs had not returned. Wonderful. She is getting better about being handled. The process of treating the scratches is not wasted time as she is getting handled a lot and learning about being polite, and getting better at it!

7/8/08 Checked the scratches which were at least not worse. I cleaned and treated it in the morning and then wraped it to keep it clean and keep flies out. I will check it tomorrow.

7/2/08 Made a special trip out to treat her scratches and put the long acting fly spray on her. She is set for the muggy weekend ahead.

7/1/08 Treated her scratches in the morning and ordered the supplies she needs.

6/30/08 Brought her in and treated her scratches. I would like to order some swat and some long term fly repellant to help her with her lack of a tail and to treat the scratches. I will chat with you about it tomorrow.

6/27/08 Brought her in and treated her scratches. Did some in hand work. I did not ask her to physically work hard or do a lameness evaluation, as the evaluation itself can worsen a healing situation. We'll reexamine on Sunday.

6/26/08 I examined her left hind after I got off all the scabs from the "scratches" on her right hind. I had treated it with nitrofurazone yesterday to loosen them. The "cut" you are seeing is simply inflammation around the area where the skin bends. Now that the mud is mostly under control and with continued treatment, we should be able to get a handle on it. With the mud this spring though, scratches are common. I lunged her briefly. She is better on the left hind, but NQR. We'll keep monitoring and treating.

6/25/08 Checked her at a walk and she seemed improved. Tomorrow I will check her at a trot and if that goes ok, on turns.

6/23/08 Goldie and she have been in a dry lot while I was gone for the week. They have both lost some weight, which is great. She was lame on her left hind and had a scrape by her stifle (knee). I will monitor and keep you updated.

6/14/08 Went out and played "catch the horsie" much to her chagrine. I caught her, gave her a cookie, let her go, caught her, gave her a cookie, let her go, caught her, gave her a cookie, let her go. Not surprisingly, she got easier and easier to catch.

6/13/08 Work in hand with Nancy present. Ground work, which went well, then on to lunging, which had some moments of recalcitrance, but we worked through it and it ended well.

6/12/08 Worked her in hand and on ground manners. She is coming along and starting to accept a human as her leader. Very good.

6/11/08 I took her out, groomed her and took her to the outdoor to work on ground work. She is learning to pay attention to her handler and to be polite and forward. She's a smart girl.

6/8/08 Got her out of her stall and now she is lame on the left front. I examined her leg and hoof and found nothing obvious. She might be a little bit sensitive in her hoof but it is not marked. I gave her two grams of phenylbutazone to cut any inflammation. I suspect that she probably got into a discussion with another horse in the pasture, which is common with new horses in the herd.

6/6/08 I worked her in hand in the arena and she gets better all the time. She has a nice air of quality about her and she is smart, so putting more solid ground basics on her is going well.

6/4/08 I worked her in the evening so she was in her stall and I didn't have to catch her. That was just coincidence. There will be more practice catching her in the pasture in the near future. I groomed her, during which time we had some discussions about personal space issue and yielding to pressure. She is quite bright when given clear direction. Great. Then took her out to the arena and worked on her moving around me in a circle on a halter, yielding parts of her body, and leading appropirately and backing. She is doing fine.

6/3/08 She and Belle were out with a group of horses in the D paddock. The two of them were trying to see how they were going to fit into the herd, some drama going on in the paddock, but nothing unusual. Goldie was not interested in being caught. I followed here for 20 minutes until she finally gave up. She got much praise and a bit of petting for letting me catch her. Then we went out and working on ground manners. She is oblivious to what is appropriate with respect to body space issues. Her attention is seldomly on her handler and she thinks it might be a good thing to call to other horses while being handled. We worked in hand and got a start on those issues. She is actually quite a sweet horse. Her issues are a lack of education, not any individual shortcoming.

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