Buckhorn Ranch Show

So, I hauled Halo and Mack up to Buckhorn last weekend for an IBRA event. This was my first time hauling Halo and I wasn't sure what to expect from her. However, once we got there, she did surprisingly well! I got on her right away and took her to the outdoor pen for warm up. She was a little nervous but after she burned off her energy she settled down considerably and rode nice. I took her into the arena for two exhibition runs, even though she has never seen a barrel. We turned three cans both times at a trot without taking up half the arena or running away. After that, I tied her off to the trailer and she stood patiently the rest of the day without any fuss at all!

Mack on the other hand, was as hot tempered as always, digging ruts by the trailer. Considering his fire, I expected fast runs from him. We ran poles first, about the second time in 8 months. He lost his footing at the first pole but after he regaining grounded he really took off and motored through the weave. He was flying so fast he nearly lost me! We kept them all standing and ran a 22.1 that easily would have been a 21 minus the slip on the first pole. We ended up getting a check for 2nd place 2D. After poles we made our first barrel run in the 2D Warm Up. We had a good solid run and clocked in with a 15.4. Our last event of the day was our Youth run. Mack and I ran in hard, turned three tight cans and ran a 15.353. We ended up first in the 1D, taking home a pretty penny but lots more pride than anything else. Unfortunately, he ripped off his shoe in that run and we had to pack it in early before the Open division.

All in all, it was a very successful day all the way around and I couldn't be more happy with my gang.

Halo is a registered thoroughbred mare I picked up about a week ago. The chestnut 16hh mare had raced on the track for the first 5 years of her life, competeing in the rigorous, demanding races with other thoroughbreds in hopes of making it big. But like many racehorses, Halo's career did not amount to much. She was retired as a broodmare and birthed three healthy colts. She was sold about a year ago to a gentleman and his 15 year old daughter. When the girl lost interest and became more preoccupied with boys, Halo found herself in my hands.

The first day I worked with her, just ground work, was no good. She must have never of been taught any ground manners. This huge thoroughbred was dragging me around the arena, giving me a decent whiplast.  I'm pretty certain she threw my back out as I still feel it throbbing to this day. The follow day, after enduring the same brutal groundwork routine, I started jumping up an down beside her and laying all over her to see how much she really knew. She didn't flinch at all so on the third day, after again having little progress on the ground, I saddled her up and took her for a spin. The mare was hot-blooded and tense. She didn't know how to stop or back up and any time you tried to turn a circle to the inside she'd take off and use up half of the arena to complete the turn. Leg pressure or any kissing was taken a a signal to run full speed and it was a constant struggle between horse and rider for control. It was a mess and at that point I was about ready to ship this girl back to where she had came from and count my losses.

After a day of rest, I set out to make a final attempt at accomplishing something productive with the mare. I skipped the ground work, a little short on time, and saddled her up. I made an ajustment with the bitting (switching her from a full cheek snaffle to a s-hackamore) and hopped on. She was still prancy and tense but she was understanding the "whoa" command and stopping hard when asked. Her backing was also highly improved and she was taking multiple steps in succession. Satisfied with the response I called it quits for that day. The next day also warranted encouraging results. I repeated the previous days actions but this time tested out her turning. She maneuvered wonderfully, turned as sharply or as wide as I asked. Now today, I went back and worked her from the ground once again, not certain what to expect. She worked well though. The pulling and jerking had relented - much to my spine's relief. Finally, she is starting to lighten and understand. I can only see Halo excelling from here.