We have two horses: QT and Mia. QT is the mother and Mia is her daughter. Josh has had QT since he was 12 years old; she is now about 25 years old. Mia is her daughter, and she is just 4 years old. QT and Mia have a lot in common: they both have similar markings, they are both stubborn, and they both like to bite. 
Josh started training Mia last year, and he started with putting the halter on her, that way she could get used to being caught and handled. Then he tied the halter to the fence so she could get used to standing and being tied up. This year, he continued with breaking her (teaching her to be ridden). Every day for a week at the end of June, Josh worked with her! He rubbed her down and put a blanket on her, so she could get used to being touched. Then he put a saddle on her and tied her up so she could get used to standing with the saddle on. Then he put the bridle on, and led her around so she could get used to the bit in her mouth. Then he attached two tires onto the saddle, and led her while he was riding QT and she followed behind. The tires give the saddle weight, so she could adjust to having things move and flop on her back while she is walking and moving. The last step in breaking a horse is to climb on and hang on!!! Josh started in an enclosed corral, so he could teach her how to go and stop and how to turn without her running out of control. Josh is amazing on a horse, and I liked watching him and admiring how he handled the horse!
The hardest part for Mia is standing still while Josh mounts and dismounts. I personally LOVE this photo of Josh getting on Mia...I think it has a very nice angle!
When he felt like Mia was doing really well in the contained corral, he wanted to ride her in an open space. He knew that it would really help Mia to follow behind another horse in the open. None of the boys wanted to do it because of a scary experience riding horses last fall. They were riding bare-back, and the horses got spooked and took off running, and the boys barely stayed on. So this year, they only wanted to ride the horses around the yard; they were afraid to ride them in the fields again. So, even though I don't like riding horses, I volunteered to help him. I rode QT and he followed behind on Mia. We went on 3 rides together during that week, and I actually quite enjoyed it! I hadn't ridden a horse for years and years, but it was actually quite nice.
One day when Josh and I were riding the horses in a field, we happened to be wearing identical shirts. Edward (my father in law) was swathing hay on the opposite end of the field, and he said it looked like we were practicing for the upcoming 4th of July parade with our matching shirts and matching horses! Mia was doing amazing well by the end of the week, but she was definitely not close to being ready to walk in a parade! However, Josh is an excellent horse-trainer, and she did come a long ways in a short amount of time!
1 comment:
Pretty horses!!! We will have to come visit sometime so we can ride horses...I remember when I was little for the reunions we used to horseback ride. I miss it :o( How many horses do you have?
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