2017 Summer Highlights

We are now on week three of it being too cold to let the horses out of the barn. Ice is all over the pens and the wind chills your bones in a matter of seconds. During this time I can’t help but miss summer like crazy. In honour of our beloved warm temperature, here’s some of my highlights from this past summer!

PC: Hailey Bergin

Last summer I was able to work with many great horses and had the opportunity to learn about how to sell and market sale horses. Max (above) was a project horse I got mid July and sold in mid September. I didn’t know anything about him when he showed up at the farm and I had to try and fail in order to understand what he knew. When he stepped off the trailer we did not know if he had ever had a saddle on. First I put the saddle pad over his back, taking it on and off over and over again. Max did not care about the saddle pad and soon I put the saddle on and turned him loose in the round pen. He was fine and went off jogging before turning into a rodeo bronco. He clearly had at some point been under saddle, but we had to take things slow in order to find out what he knew. He was a handful do to not being worked with in a couple years, but he taught me a lot about being passionate, patient, and willing to listen. I was sad to sell him, but I knew I wouldn’t have had time to work with him during my senior year of high school.

PC: Jaksen Curtin

I also continued to work my project mare, Idgie (above), who is owned by the barn owner until she lamed herself in August. Idgie taught me a lot about when to stop pushing a horse. She can only take so much and doesn’t do well with being kicked and whipped around. This is because she is sensitive and stubborn at the same time. We did many trail rides, ground work, and desensitizing to scary things, like the tractor. By working with her she taught me how to take things slow. I learned a lot of tools and tricks from working with this senetivie horse, that I am able to now apply to each horse I ride.

PC: Gayle Scheel

The third horse I focused on last summer was a rescue Appaloosa mare, Suki (above). She had learned to make her previous owner nervous by spooking, being naughty, and flipping her head. I spent a lot of time getting used to her and building up her confidence. Once I felt comfortable with her, we started to trail ride around the farm, down the road, and down laneways. Suki was a great horse to work with over summer. I never felt rushed to get results right away. Instead I was able to take my time and help her concor tasks that would cause her to be belligerent. She taught me a lot about working with the horse’s needs while knowing the end goal that the owner wished to have.

PC: Lauren Johnson

Last but not least I have was able to work my favorite Quarter Horse mare, Whisper (above), who’s owned by my close friend Lauren. Lauren and I were able to work on helping Whisper improve her balance and teach her how to help her along with different pressure. Something we worked a lot on was teaching her to let me manipulate her hips, back, and spine. I also was able to sort cows on her and ride many miles with her each day. This mare improved a good amount over summer and I can’t wait to get back on her. Weather permitting, of course.

PC: Hailey Bergin

Last summer was the year of my getting out of my comfort zone and taking chances on my twenty-two year old mare, Sally (above). To start things off, I took my mare out to sort cows. This is what she was bred for and did for many years as a currere. She was very successful and traveled all over the US winning prizes at different shows. During the first round of sorting, we walked in with Lauren on Whisper and another girl with her horses. Sally knew exactly what to do as long as I got out of her way and let her choosing which cow to cut from the herd. I held on and like many times I learned more letting Sally show me how it was done.

PC: Jaksen Curtin

Another thing Sally and I did a lot together this summer was ride down the road. We’d ride two to three miles every other day during August and September. First her and I would go a mile and a half down the road to my friend’s farm. My friend has four wheeler trails that lace along the pumpkin, soy, and corn fields. It was our “breathing time” and we could spend hours walking and running by ourselves.

PC: Jaksen Curtin

Sally was never spooked by a truck, car, or even the occasional garbage man. I trusted her each time to listen and be willing to work alongside me this summer. We conquered scary creeks, hunting blinds, and with each ride I could feel Sally’s confidence grow.

PC: Jaksen Curtin

I would time us to the first stop sight (which was exactly one mile). The first time it took us an hour because she was nervous and wanted to turn back. At the end of the summer we were making the stride in fifteen minutes and during the long straight away, full out running in the ditch. We constantly improved each other, built trust, and burst out of our comfort zone with every step.

PC: Jaksen Curtin

My favorite memory from last summer was the day I took my senior photos. It was a beautiful eventing and my mare looked amazing! I’ll just let the photos taken by Art of Life Photography, speak for themselves.

PC: Art of Life Photography

PC: Art of Life Photography

PC: Art of Life Photography

PC: Art of Life Photography

This summer was a blast and I spent a lot of time working with great horses. I got out of my comfort zone and learned a lot from the hours I spent working alongside these horses. I can’t wait for next summer and the opportunity to work with Whisper and Lauren’s new horse Starbucks, ride Sally down the road, and I hope to get another project horse.