Photography with Kaillee

Meet my good friend Kaillee and her horses Shadow and Ellie May!

 Believe it or not this was an impromptu shoot. We met up to ride together, and I offered to take some pictures of Shadow to help her sell him. After taking a few conformation shots of Shadow we decided to have some fun since the sun was out!

 Kaillee was so happy with how Shadow's pictures looked she wanted some with her favorite mare Ellie May. Isn't she pretty?

 Ellie is very photogenic and has a lot of charisma!

 and once again the sun was behaving so well . . .

 Kaillee has had Shadow since he was a yearling, and trained him herself.

 I love good hair shots . .

Ellie poses without being asked ;)

What one do you like most?

Falling For You

Well I know this is a little late, but better late then never! Pictured is Guess with all the pretty fall colors! The pictures came out quite a bit different then originally planned . . . but considering I did this shoot without help to handle/ position the horse I am happy :)

 

^ I had fun messing with the colors in this one

 ^ Close Up

 ^ <3 That nose

 ^ More Color Fun

 ^ Round pen (photo shopped a pile of poo out . . . LOL)

 ^ Not my fav

 

^ Hooves n leaves

 

^ My personal favorite :D

 

^ Mane action! <3 her mane

So what's your favorite?

All About The Horses

Hello all! I've decided to start a new blog just for my horse stuff! This way I can have my photography and horse blogs separate :D Please go to my new blog and check it out!

The Dedicated Equestrian

A Winter Morning

I had a wonderful time driving around this morning taking pictures with my friend Miss Raquel . . Enjoy

 These were my favorites :)

I Love Old Barns

Jacob took me out to the Kalama River in WA to photograph the beautiful river. It was a wonderful date, and I did get a few good pictures of the river. But my favorite was this picture of an old barn with the sun behind it just right. <3

Whatta Life

So I know, three posts in one day might be a bit much! I just would like all my readers to have a chance to get to know me :) Here is a video of me and my various horses, enjoy!

The Automatic Pole Horse

Think your horse could do this?

Milo The Great!

Truly great horses deserve to live on in our hearts forever, and that's why I'd like to tip my hat to my girl's Grand Daddy Milo AKA Fire Water Flit.

Fire Water Flit passed away in his stall from natural causes on December 20, 2005

 

 

 

His progeny have won over 3.6 million dollars, and he has produced 3 National Finals Rodeo (NFR) qualifiers. He has often been called the 'peoples horse', because his offspring have been successful for all ages and skill levels of riders.

I know I haven't been disappointed with my Fire Water Flit. Who is your favorite stud?

Thanks for reading - next time :)

What's Natural Horsemanship?

In this world there are a lot of different 'types' of people . . For instance there are 'Horse People' vs 'Not Horse People', but even within the horse world there are so many different kinds of people . . . There are 'Barrel Racing People', 'Dressage People', 'Jumping People', 'Equitation People', and so many more. In my experience most 'Horse People' work towards the same goal: a well behaved horse that responds to the riders 'aides'. Many horse people also don't understand other horse people's methods, and I think a lot of this has to do with the language used. I work for a dressage instructor and most my language is based in 'western horse people' terms yet I continue to astound the dressage trainer that I understand what she wants in the horse I just speak it in a different language. Our methods are really quite similar . . . So lets get down to the topic of today! What is 'Natural Horsemanship'?

Meet Pat Parelli. Pat has quite the following and is currently probably the most famous 'Natural Horseman'. Yet . . A lot of people really don't like him, albeit, a lot of people really love him. I have to hand it to him Pat puts on some pretty impressive demonstrations, and his methods work for a lot of people. 

They also don't work for a lot of people. Is it because people are training their horses wrong? People watch Parelli's hunkey dorey shows and think they are going to make instant best friends with their horse, guess what, WRONG! Training a horse is a long-term commitment and everything isn't going to be perfect instantly. Also, all people have their own 'style' so the chances of being a Parelli clone aren't very high. Be yourself, use what works for you. 

Look on the internet and try to find some down to earth practical horse-training by Parelli. Chances are you won't find it. His Parelli games can be a lot of fun and a good bonding/ desensitizing game for you and your horse, but overall I find the rest to be pretty yuppy-ish. Granted every person and every horse is an individual every trainer out there has something to teach you, but that doesn't mean you have to be a fan of their whole method.

Now meet Stacy Westfall. Here she is doing her infamous 'Live Like You Were Dying' freestyle reining stop. Ready for the shocking news? Stacy doesn't call her methods 'Natural Horsemanship' at all. She starts her horses in a good old western saddle and bridle. But Stacy has something going on here? What is it that gives her such good communication with her horses? Because you know Stacy has been successful on several horses not just the one.

Stacy is an incredible horseman (or horsewoman) she has what I like to call 'good horsemanship', and I'd love to be able to say someday that I even came close to her riding ability. She teaches her horses to be responsive to her aides in a real and attainable kind of way.

In fact Stacy makes things look so easy bareback and bridle-less on her beautiful horses a lot of us lose sight of what is real. The truth is Stacy puts a lot of behind the scenes work on those horses to make them what they are. Her training videos are a great place to start when looking for a practical start to horse training.

Now I know, I know, there are a lot more trainers out there! John Lyons, Clinton Anderson, Tom Dorrance, and Dennis Reis to name a few. But the man I want to recognize is one of my own personal heroes. His name is Monty Roberts.

Monty has too many accomplishments to list here. In my mind he is one of the 'founding fathers' of GOOD HORSEMANSHIP. His round penning join up method is considered today as one of the most crucial steps to starting a green horse.

Monty had a very troubled child-hood. Part of what inspired him to truly learn the language of horses was watching his father cruelly train horses (as shown above). Monty knew there had to be a better way, and his methods work because they are based on the language of the horse.

So you tell me. What is Natural Horsemanship? Is there such a thing? Or is there just 'good horsemanship' and 'bad horsemanship'? And if so what is considered 'good horsemanship' and what is considered 'bad' in your opinion?

Well folks, thanks for reading.

"Show me your horse and I will tell you who you are." ~ Anonymous

The Broken Road . . . Straight To You

I'm pretty much famous. I have TWO loyal followers who probably read my random few and far between posts . . . hopefully :) Anyways I have this horse named Guess:

(named for her face marking) (Photo Credit to Miss Raquel) and I LOVE this horse . . . She is a 2 year old AQH and she's convinced I am mom and holder of all yummy things. I was counting a couple days ago and I have had 17 horses in the past 8 years. Some I kept and loved for several years and some I rescued and found good homes in short period of time . . . Some were young prospects that I re-sold after starting them. My point is it's taken me 17 horses to find this one and I thank God every day for the privilege of calling her mine. Each of those horses had something special to teach me and I'd like to recognize them here:

 So we may as well start from the beginning . . . My first horse was a half mustang half appaloosa named Smokey. He taught me how to ride, and also that it didn't matter how many english equitation lessons you take on a thick necked stubborn 24 yr old horse, he is still going to do what he wants.

Next came Mikey, a bay arab gelding with a  questionable past. The opposite of Smokey in every way. He was curious, energetic, and VERY bouncy. He taught me how to sit on just about anything, and was always up for anything I wanted to do.

After selling Mikey I began a search for the 'right horse' in earnest. A local trainer helped me to find a young off the track thoroughbred named Armani, and told me he would be a PERFECT rodeo horse . . . He taught me patience and humility.

Next came my game changer. A 4yr old cutting horse named Twister. Twister taught me to be a Jack of all trades. He carried me safely through 4-H, Equestrian Team, and Rodeo Court and I will always have a special place for him in my heart. Years Later I would move on from him for a more competitive horse to further my career on.

Meanwhile came Trixie. A pony rescue . . . her previous owners had used her as target practice for their air-soft pistols. I broke her to saddle and sold her as a lead-line pony. She taught me it isn't the size of the horse that matters it's their heart.

And then another rescue named Kinoah. His pasture-mate had recently died of colic and I'm afraid he was heading in the same direction. He taught me how to teach a horse to load in a trailer, and that long backs make for smooth rides but poor conformation isn't good for much except trail riding.

*sigh* and then Rianna. My first young horse! She was by the same stud as Twister and I had big goals for her. I made the mistake of thinking a cowboy could do a better job training her then I could . . and by the time I got her back I just wanted to find her a good home.

Another rescue! My Nappy Appy taught me that appaloosas are some of the most rugged and tough horses out there! And his Tennessee Walker side gave him the SWEETEST disposition. Sadly he was over 17hh! and I didn't want to have to lift my saddle so high every time I wanted to go for a ride.

And then came Sue. A Quarter Horse mare who was a been there done that but had a bad reputation . . I found out horse's aren't always what people make them out to be. She carried me to state level competitions and helped me to win horsemanship the year I tried out for Rodeo Queen. 

I was preparing for my summer as a Rodeo Queen and I had always dreamed of owning a big and beautiful black horse.. .(I'm partial to black horses) Jack taught me color isn't everything.

This list wouldn't be complete without Shawnee . . . I gave this horse my heart, he was impeccably bred, beautiful, and a joy to be around. He came up lame in both front feet and the vet bills were more then I could afford to maintain . . He now lives at a home that can afford his maintenance. He taught me not to throw your heart at something you haven't had vet-checked.

Meet Shooter. This is her pictured with her current owner who absolutely adores her. I learned that I don't mind losing money in order to find a horse the perfect home . . .

I needed a pony to teach the young ones around the place. I found Missy the best gaming and kids horse you could ever hope for. I learned that just because a pony is a great kids horse doesn't mean they like big people . . .

This is Tuff. He was an impeccably bred prospect that I just HAD TO HAVE. He taught me how to properly feed and condition a horse.

Grace, another extremely well bred mare that I 'rescued'. Meaning I paid a bunch of money for an underweight horse who hadn't seen a vet or farrier in a year. She taught me that with proper care and training a horse can make a complete turn-around.

WOW we are finally to a member of the current herd. With Royal I learned horses aren't always what they appear. I bought this horse as a 'rope' horse without looking much into his history. Turns out he was a successful college rodeo and up and comer pro-rodeo horse. His past owners didn't know he was a bit sore and needed regular maintenance for some of his joints. He ended up getting passed through a bunch of hands in a short period of time and ended up here where he is going to re-start his career as the top notch horse he is.

That's all folks. Stay tuned ;)