Background

In 1974 we bought our almost 5 year old daughter a pony, had no idea what we were getting into, knew absolutely NOTHING about a horse. We were the poster folks for Parelli's get on, kick to go, pull to stop, use the reins to turn left and right, an education was coming. Quickly decided we needed a couple more horses so my wife and I could ride with our daughter. After picking very badly a few times I decided the only way to get a horse I liked was to train it myself, so I bought a 3 year old Arab/Quarter unbroke filly and with Williamson's Training the Western Horse book in one hand and the filly in the other I began a new life. This was so much fun we decided to breed the mare and raise a baby. Over the next several years we owned several brood mares and raised Appaloosas. A few we sold as babies, most I broke as 3 year olds and sold as 4H or pleasure horses. Our daughter wanted to join 4H and I wound up a 4H leader for 5 years. All during this time I read a wide variety of horse training books, and attended several clinics, especially liked the Monty Foreman clinics. In 1980 I had been looking for a stud for our breeding operation and had decided on the Bright Eyes Brother breeding and found a weanling colt that I could afford named Flags Bright Fianle so I brought him home in the fall of that year, little did I know what a major long term change this would be in my life. I started him under saddle as a late 2 year old and wanted to pursue reining with him. It soon became apparent that I would need more training than he did. In 1984 we had a business opportunity that made keeping all the horses impossible, so I gelded Flag and kept him and a mare my wife rode and went to trail riding whenever we could. I rode Flag hundreds of miles a year right up to the end of 2009. He did so much so well I had little incentive to ride another horse. On Jan 7, 2010 he died suddenly and now I have to get going with a new ride. My intent with this blog is to relate stories from the past and progress with new horses. By accident more or less I have a 9 year old Keiger Mustang gelding that is virtually unhandled and an 8 year old AQHA gelding in the same condition. I have been preping for this for over a year as I knew that at 29 Flag may still be going strong but couldn't keep it up forever so have been following the new "natural horsemanship" movement, should be a fun spring and summer.