Amy L. Wink, Ph.D.

amywink December 3rd, 2011

More mud means no driving. I’m still happy to see mud but I suspect in a few more days, I’m going to be a little less happy about it. I didn’t think I’d be stalled on my 100 hour goal because of rain but it is still the best reason to be stalled.

Will’s happy enough but I’m not sure how long it will take me to get the mud off of him. It’s probably going to take a bath to get him clean but we’re about to start winter temperatures so it’s just going to have to be a good brushing.

Blessing’s training is turning out to be nicely timed since I have to stay off the carriage for a while. Visiting her is making up for the time away. It’s also giving us time to bond nicely and give her some Only Horse time. She was quite affectionate today and seems pleased with her own progress, though some of it is icky and sort of confusing. But she’s a smart girl and figuring stuff out without a great deal of argument or anxiety.

This week, she’s been learning more about the bit, including learning to deal with side-reins that teach her how/where to hold her head. The exercise is also making her neck quite shapely! She is filling out nicely all over, developing her chest and hindquarters.

Here she is with her side reins, learning how to hold her head correctly

Interestingly, the side reins also seem to make her move more carefully at her trot, encouraging her to gather her legs under herself correctly and move her entire body in a more balanced way.

As well as the new tack, she continues to learn to move away from pressure, the key directional mechanism for horses. She did several nice side moves today as Malen worked her. And she finished up looking a little tired but fitter and happy enough–and expecting treats!! Which she did get after she had a nice brushing.

• nature , Carriage Driving , Morgan horses , Driving Training
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amywink November 27th, 2011

After Friday’s drive, I hit 98.75 hours in my quest to hit the 100 Hour milestone for the ADS Hours to Drive Program. And then, rain and winter arrived. Saturday, a cold front blew in with heavy morning rains (yay!!!!) and piercing northerly winds (boooo!) in the afternoon. Temps overnight dropped and we are steady in the upper 50s with winds creating a windchill somewhere around 43. So. Too cold to drive today, which means I probably won’t make the November 30 deadline to submit my 100 hours for the year. I will be e-mailing ADS though to see how late I might be able to send that info in. It may take a few days….because this is what the pasture and Will look like after an inch of rain:

Those are actual balls of mud on Will’s back. He clearly rolled around in ecstatic enthusiasm for the rain. His own little rain dance.
But if I had to trade driving for anything at this moment, I’d happily trade it for rain. It’s good to see mud again.

Blessing, however, is nicely clean and dry since she’s tucked safely inside for her training. I went to visit her again Saturday to see her progress. She was, this time, more enthusiastic about seeing me and did seem to really enjoy her Only Horse time with me yesterday. She doesn’t get much of that with her pesky brother around at home but now we can spend some quality time bonding.

She’s progressed very nicely this week and has learned a great deal, including learning to have a bit in her mouth:

And to wear a surcingle and crupper!

Malen reports no issues with the crupper, which surprised me–pleasantly!–because there had been some reports of her temper and I suspected that the crupper would be the trigger for a big nasty temper tantrum.

She also exhibited a very good stop and stand, which might seem dull but is probably the most important gait for any horse.

But she also has a pretty nice “go” as well. Here she is cantering for a bit and doing a nice job of it.

She stands very nicely as well, patiently getting her tack straightened, also an important skill for a driving horse.

And she can still go in both directions!

I’m very pleased with her progress and glad her calm demeanor is coming out well in her training. We’ll see how she progresses next week when I visit again for her 3rd week in training.

• nature , Carriage Driving , Morgan horses , Driving Training
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