May Journal- In-Hand: This was a great month to work in-hand. It does not take a lot of time or great weather. I practiced putting her in different trailers, bending and backing from the ground, and keeping feeding her hay with a group of horses. I find that working on what I want in the saddle from the ground is really helping her understand the overall concept. I worked with her to side step her back to me for easier saddling. The downside is she is super hard to lunge now. This will be a goal for next month as we finalize our routine. Health: She did get back sliders put on but lost one this month in the mud. She was fed with other horses in the pen so she did not get individual grain and it shows. She has lost some cover and is back on Omelene twice a day. She still gets alfalfa hay or grazing all day. We have had a steady amount of moisture that has made footing ideal and the grass green. I will also give her a wormer this next month because of the extra grazing opportunity she as been afforded. Under Saddle: This month was simply basic riding maneuvers. The video shows stretches, two-track, walk, jog, lope, and stop and back. She is so easy going in or out of an arena. She is no different with other horses or by herself. She is learning to engage her core so that she is not dependent on my hands. I have lofty goals in this last month to be able to get some nice moves. Besides her overall acceptance to try so many new things, she is great on her feet. She does not trip over poles, takes the bridge well, and is not startled by tarps or other objects on the ground. Video: https://youtu.be/uHs4ljB0Rqo

April Journal Riding- Overall, there is nothing that does not amaze me about this mare. She put up with an impromptu evening of roping a sled this month. I have used a set of romel reins and a different bit with a shank this month. I added a tie-down to the list of equipment used. She had a hard time going forward with it so I took it off pretty fast. However, she did not fight from a contact perspective, so I count it as a win. On the ground- I have been working in-hand more this month. I decided to be able to get her to back from the saddle, we need to have a solid cue from the ground. So far, it is working fine. She still has her “lock up” mentality when she is frustrated, which frustrates me, and Paco is laughing at us both. Seriously, I am practicing bending from the ground, backing, and a little trick I learned online. She also got a new pair of shoes- Sliders. As a recommendation from last month’s video, we decided to go ahead and try them. They do make it much easier for her to gain ground and draw the lines out. I think it helps her overall foot growth to encourage a steady more secure foundation. She was not going to tolerate all four feet, so for now, she has back slides. Overall health - Health and nutrition are consistently strong. I still grain her Equilene Bluebonnet and keep alfalfa in front of her. I have added some grass dining opportunities with the springtime growth. It is a short-lived opportunity here so if there is an afternoon to graze, we take advantage of it. Video: https://youtu.be/JJs01qSosMg

I emailed my specific ideas and logic in the more in depth 250 plus word requirement.

March Journal Riding- Overall, there is nothing that does not amaze me about this mare. She has put up with a variety of tasks and riders this month. During spring break, she was worked intensely with bending and moving forward. Since our discussion post this month is to try to decide on our freestyle, trying different maneuvers was our focus. She is very receptive to everything and does not seem bothered by any task asked. She is willing to walk, jog, or lope over poles and raised poles. I did have spurs on in the beginning of the month but have since taken them off because I want her to yield to leg pressure and not just the spur pressure. However, the challenge seems to be she does not back without a bit in her mouth. My goal is to make her as well rounded as I can in the next five months. Therefore, I want her to respond in English, Western, bit, and bitless. On the ground- Trailering has never been a big issue. I have a VERY friendly open extra tall and extra wide trailer. I have never had a horse not go into it, including Madison's Theo. However, since she does not own a trailer, she borrowed a couple and had bad experiences a few times. This got me thinking I should try different trailer styles. Afterall, my overall goal is to make Hazel as well rounded and versed as possible. Madison left another trailer here that was far more confined and had a ramp. With permission to experiment, I asked my mom to try to load Hazel if the opportunity presented itself. Hazel walked into the trailer after a brief moment of deciding about the ramp. This is encouraging of her overall attitude to trust us. She has come so far since November. Anything she shows reluctance to, she works out with a couple of consistent days. Of course, less hope involves the tractor. She is still quite upset when it comes to the tractor. Also, she does not necessarily want to be caught, so she is penned right next to the arena and is exposed to the tractor every time we drag or drop bales. Her pen is smaller making it easier to approach her to put on the halter. . Overall health - Health and nutrition are consistently strong. I still grain her Equilene Bluebonnet and keep alfalfa in front of her all the time. She has shed out nicely, has a great shine, and her urine and feces all are normal with no extra calcium deposits, so I am staying with this feeding protocol. I have some amazing pictures of her and am posting them on Instagram and Facebook and getting interest in her future adoption. https://youtu.be/Zt4NCgj1Po8

https://youtu.be/y-YcvttC3j4 February Journal- This month I had three goals overall: bit, behavior, and bending. Bit- I went back and forth with a bosal and a snaffle bit. She is clearly happier without the bit, but the fact that she is accepting in in her mouth is a huge win. She does fight it off and I am careful to try to not add any unnecessary pressure because the win is that it is even in her mouth. Regardless, we focused on her moving her body off of leg pressure so either option will work. Bending- Yielding to leg pressure on turns, pivots, and poles was our main objective adding to last month where I just wanted her to move forward off of my leg. Poles seemed a natural practice that provided a balance of moving over and 180 turns while maintaining forward momentum. Behavior- This is where her true character shines. In her first month, she jumped the fence when the tractor went by so to be able to ride her in the arena while it is being worked is a compliment to her coachability and the desensitization lessons from last month. Beyond that, practicing the first aid lessons showed her trust in our relationship. I had never done leg wraps and she stood there at took my practices like a champ. She also easily bathed and let me just handle her for TPR. She is most uneasy about temperature (which I do not blame her) and oral dosing. She also stalls calmly and eats in a corner feeder which is a huge improvement. She really is beginning to feel comfortable, trust, and listen. All these will make the rest of this project a success. Health- She is a great weight and has a pleasant amount of cover. After taking her TPR, all her numbers align with normal statis. She is being feed free choice alfalfa. I also have her with other horses in the pen, so she is socializing and sharing food and space much improved from when she first arrived. .

February Discussion: In our barn, we have two lockers dedicated to medical needs. #9 and #11. Get it? 911? Anyway, being prepared with the basic supplies is vital where I live because the closest vet is a 45-minute drive. Furthermore, it is important to expose horses to the basic treatment procedures ahead of emergencies so that I am working straight to healing the horse rather than training (fighting) and then treating it. Two of the things I learned about medical supplies were to use diapers for hoof bandaging and the difference between polo wraps and standing wraps. Enjoy the video, I had to mute the TPR video due to the wind but included the information on the slides. https://youtu.be/MhwVcmJZP8E

https://youtu.be/oOXyYZtQQwQ January Journal- This month we were given the heads up to start early and I am glad we did. The minefield task was extremely helpful in teaching me how to work with young, untrained horses. I faced two challenges overall. First, is we are all taught the flight or fight response, but my horse has a third one: FREEZE. I have already submitted to not putting in a bit and she is completely unresponsive to my leg, even with spurs! Therefore, I submitted this blooper real for your entertainment purposes. She simply locks up. The good news is that this response is not dangerous to either one of us. However, we will need to work through this over the upcoming months. My second challenge is that I do not want to push her too hard because I do not know her history. She is not mean, just defiant. Typically, given 2 days to try something, she is more responsive the second day. I did seek help from a hay customer for a bit of this month so that he could ride her and tell me what he thinks while I was out of town. Hopefully, this next month we work out how to go, turn, and back. Health wise, she is still looking great. She is happy, easy to catch, I have found a stall she is comfortable in, she loads in three different types of trailers (including a half-top), and she lets me put pressure on all her limbs. She did get her feet trimmed again this month and I was able to clip her bridle path. Furthermore, I have worked on socializing her. She shares a pen for hay but is too food aggressive when it comes to her grain, so she is fed separately then (typically in the stall). I also have been mounted on her in the arena when my mom is giving lessons to get used to other horses around her. Another big accomplishment is that I can mount her from the ground. Somebody keeps moving my mounting block to the back, so I gave up using it. Stick is not tall, and it is not a reach for us, I just was being protective to her back. Real ranch life does not include such items, so we are adapting well. I do want to investigate her jumping ability this season. She seems to be very comfortable moving that way and she has NEVER picked up the wrong lead, so I am hopeful to see how that goes. However, I will need to work with a bit in her mouth before I try too much English riding.

Article Questions – 1. After reading the article please list 3 reasons why it is important that you desensitize your horse. It is important to desensitize your horse for three basic principles: health, safety, and bonding. Health - If my horse is injured, I need to be able to pick up her feet, clip her for doctoring, or load her in a trailer to get to the vet. I also need to do regular maintenance for her overall quality of life such as farrier work, worming medications, and grooming. Safety – When riding or traveling with my horse, I need her to not be easily skittish or spooked by the environment. This avoids overall dangerous and harmful accidents from happening. Bonding – If my horse is scared of something and reacting in panic, she is paying attention to the object and not to me. Freeing her from overreacting ensures complete communication with me and a pleasant riding experience overall. 1. My Awareness list- small animals like goats, lambs, and my corgi, tractors, children, noises from guns and fireworks, clippers, and oral dosing syringes. 2. What is the first step before you start working with your horse for Desensitizing? Boundaries – I need to establish respect for personal space so that the horse’s reaction does not put myself in danger. The primary step is for me to be able to apply pressure on each of the limbs and not have the horse run into my space and push me away. 3. "Instead of releasing the pressure when they step away, you should keep the pressure on until they stop moving away from the object”. 4. True or False- As a trainer your goal should be to rush or “flood” your horse in order to get to your end goal in a training session. False – While I should not avoid conflict or busy, chaotic situations, there is no short cut to speed up the overall process. What I do need to do is create an environment where the easier choice is to pay attention to what I am asking for rather than fester over refusing to go into the trailer, around the pole, over the bridge, etc. Furthermore, rushing through the task could end up causing more harm than help leaving a sour impression to my horse’s perception of the object we are desensitizing. Video #1 Questions – #1 He starts with the stick before the bag because that would be too much too soon. To get a better feel for your horse, you must first establish boundaries and build experiences that are stressful in the process and calm, survived at the end. #2 A and B You should release pressure when they release resistance and validate with a pet that they did a good job. #3. The prime example of release from a horse is licking their lips. If they are doing that, it means they are relaxing a level and not clinching their teeth together in “flight” mode. Video #2 Questions 1. If your horse is afraid of an object you should turn into it. 2. Clinton says to get a horse to calm down you keep moving his feet and change direction often. 3. What are 2 items you used to test your horse’s confidence? The tractor is something my horse is deathly afraid of. I also want to introduce a flag. Video - https://youtu.be/rbiPYiYepVQ

https://youtu.be/9snjrOimjgU

This month started with a site visit and ending with our fifth ride. It was a month of vast improvement in trust. Stick has been very agreeable on the ground and cooperative with in-hand trail. She goes over poles, the bridge, and yields to weave the cones. At the site visit, I was able to show our successes and was able to sit on her back. Previously, she has been quite skittish to the touch. To help her get more used to the process, I would groom her each day when I brought her in to grain. Focused more on the food, she was more willing in letting me brush her cinch area and legs. Once used to being handled and touched more, it was time to put a saddle on. The first ride lasted 8 seconds, at least that is my story. Soon after I sat in the saddle, she took off bucking. I did manage to get back on her and had help leading at a walk in both directions. I called it a day and went back to the drawing board. I am certain she has not been ridden before coming here so I analyzed the equipment, specifically the bridle. My first ride included a snaffle bit and I felt like this is what she was resistant to since I have sat on her back before this without challenges. Therefore, I switched to a bit-less bridle, a bosal. She has not bucked since so I am reassured that was the main issue. Currently, I am riding with my hands more up and forward as to teach her leg pressure. For turning, I do need to pull a bit on the bridle still. However, with five consistent days, she lets me mount from the ground and travels in each gait in both directions. Healthwise, I am pleased in how she is filling out. I will be keeping her on the same feeding program for next month. I did switch to full feed alfalfa and still bring her in daily for her complete feed grain from Bluebonnet feeds. I feel more comfortable with her always having forage available for her to eat. It is a more natural way to feed and beneficial for us both in regard to needs and schedules. It is remarkable how well she is looking from a cover and coat shine perspective. https://youtu.be/DTLiNpac56w

Hey, My name is David Kendrick. I have been riding horses since I can remember. This year I am paired with Hazel, a grade buckskin paint mare. She is super smart and willing to learn, just lacks some experience so I hope to grow both my and her abilities through the year. Follow our journey at homesforhorses_hazel on Instagram.

This first month with me and Hazel has been slow. we spent the first three weeks in quarantine, meaning that we weren't able to do as much as I desired. We were able to do some small things, such as desensitization. She has had a rough past and this had led to a fear of humans so overcoming this is the first major hurdle. With regular feeding and grooming her as often as possible, this bond and trust between her and me is growing. I have worked mostly on being able to brush her and being able to touch her, and it has been slow, but steadily progressing. I have also made some dietary changes, the first of which is her concentrates. I exchanged the truecare that she had been receiving for a specialty feed from bluebonnet, which is designed to build mass on a horse. She has also been receiving oil, which is extremely energy dense and is helping her gain weight. I have also started the process of moving her over to an alfalfa-grass mix but waited until we had swapped grains before starting this process. We also had to spread this out throughout the day so she does not get founder from sugar overload. Again this is done to help her put on more cover and reach a 5 as her body condition score. I hope within this next month I will be able to get a saddle and saddle pad on her and start riding and continuing with more groundwork.

Attached is My and Hazel's BBP 1-4 https://youtu.be/sIcQ2cu4viw

I conducted the profile myself and acheived the same results