Guess Training Journals

Follow My and Guess's progress on youtube! Weekly updates

From Guess and I

We Bought The Wrong Horse!!

This video is pretty funny, but outlines a serious issue. Don't buy the wrong horse! Consider all horse buying decisions CAREFULLY and remember there is no such thing as a FREE HORSE!

ENJOY :D

Reasons Everyone Wants a Horse *Funny*

1. They're cute! and even cuter when you accessorize them with LITTLE KIDS!

2. All the cool kids have horses. You can tell because they have them in their Facebook profile pictures.

3. Horse's won't take it personally if you tell them how you REALLY feel.

4. You will no longer need to take the bus.

5. So that it can help you with your car troubles.

6. No more need for a guard dog. + most people find horses much scarier anyways.

7. To scare your children into obedience.

8. They can help you with your yoga plan.

Do we really need any more reasons then that!?

Thanks for reading I hope you had a good laugh (or at least a chuckle)

Next time over and out

Why Checking Tack Matters * Making a Safe Run*

I know that people preaching safety religiously is sometimes annoying, but lets get real. Being safe is for our own benefit and it doesn't take much to check our equipment every once in a while! Just recently a good friends of mine had an off-billet snap in half in the middle of what would've been a beautiful run. Long story short she fell off (she's okay) but was pretty banged up and sore. It could've been so much worse, but she was one of the lucky ones.

 

Above is a picture of her off-billet. This is the second time I've seen this happen with this kind of off-billet. The other time it happened to be a brand new off-billet and it broke as a Rodeo Queen was doing her run in at her home rodeo (you can imagine how embarrassing it would be to fall off in front of a big crowd at your own rodeo as the announcer is talking about how great you are).

Now I know it wasn't these girls fault that their billets broke as their horse was running at high-speed, and in the Queen's case the billet was brand new! Here's the scoop: Leather off-billets that are not stitched around the edges are NOT safe. I myself prefer synthetic off-billets; they may not have any 'give' to them, but you can make up for that with your cinch and latigo leathers. Leather off-billets can rip at the most inconvenient times, and leave you riding your saddle right OFF of your horse.

The only other LARGE tack malfunction I have experienced is having a rein snap breaking in the middle of a barrel run. Please please please check your rein snaps. If they seem old and brittle don't use them! However, that doesn't mean they couldn't snap anyways, and I now prefer to attach my racing reins directly to the bit. Luckily my horse is pretty well mannered and we finished the run with one rein (and one stirrup!) Which brings me to my next topic . . . Rubber bands

Rubber bands (thin ones) can be looped together to attach your boot to your stirrup. My original fear was that the rubber-band would not break if I fell off; which in turn would lead to me being dragged. The TRUTH is if you fall off the rubber-band will break (as long as you aren't using BIG thick ones). Better safe then sorry! If you are in the habit of losing your stirrups rubber bands may not be a bad idea! (Though some people just need to adjust their stirrups to the 'proper' length).

Lastly but not least, CHECK YOUR CINCH!!! Do not turn your poor horse into a peanut by making it so tight it cuts him in two, but please please please check your cinch and make sure it is snug!!!

There's always more to be said when it comes to horses, but hey this is a good start!!

YIKES! Bad gaming and how to fix it!

There is a lot to be said about these photos and I'm sure I won't cover all of what could be, but bear with me! I didn't want to use pictures of anyone else (so to my own embarrassment) I dug up some pictures of one of my first times gaming to share a critique with you all!

 

In the above picture I am coming out of a turn. My reins are too long, and I have a light contact with my horses mouth. Depending on the horse this may not be such a bad thing, but this horse in particular would've been fine without the contact. If my reins had not been so long it would've been easier to have my hands in proper position, and then I would have been better prepared to move them forward and out of my horse's way. Always remember: In gaming every fraction of a second count! If you make little mistakes like these making up time or missing steps is too much wasted time! Luckily if you have a good horse you will likely get away with the little mistake, but you definitely wouldn't want to do this on a green gaming horse!

As you can see in this picture (take immediately after the above) I have shifted from what was an 'OK' position to a terrible one! Reaching for my saddle horn I have taken my attention away from keeping my butt planted! Using the saddle horn correctly is OK and often times necessary at higher speeds, but you should always use it to stay down on your horse (not how I am demonstrating above). You can push against your saddle horn to stay more deeply seated (a technique often used by cutters). Meanwhile I have taken my attention away from my hands that weren't in the best position in the first place and I am now slowing my horse down too much, not preparing for the upcoming turn, and probably irritating my horse who just wants to run and do her job. I should be: looking ahead, seated deeply, using two hands to guide my horse forward into the next turn, and rating her with one hand to prepare her.

Ouch! it hurts to pick on yourself ;) MOVING ON!

Here I am coming into my first barrel. It's too bad you can't see my hands in this picture, because it would be nice to know what they look like here. I can tell you I have too much weight on my inside stirrup, causing my horse to compensate to balance herself around the turn. My shoulder is picked up but my outside heel should be down and I should have more visible weight in it. My horse is rating nicely and other then being a little too wide it is looking like a decent turn.

OH NO! I have just realized because I came in too wide my horse is going to hit the barrel on her way out if I don't do something about it! Too bad I reacted in all of the WRONG ways! First off: LOOK AT THOSE REINS! Wayyyyy too long! If I had shorter reins this whole problem could've been remedied a lot easier! Now I do not have time at the speed I was going to save this with the level of experience I had at the time. My next mistake is I am tipping my horses nose away from the barrel causing her shoulder to drive straight towards it! If I had picked up my inside rein (or both evenly) and drove her off of it with my inside leg I could've got her around it better.

 

Oops! By the time I get those long reins sorted out I'm already knocking it over. We didn't see that coming did we ;) 

. . . . .

Hundreds of dollars in barrel racing lessons a few clinics and over one year later!

Well I've still got that great rate going on for me! Now in this picture I am ALMOST crossing my hand over my horses neck (which is bad) but we will see in the next shots that I don't (which is good) BUT I should not have picked it up that far anyways. I'm looking into my pocket, rating my horse, and pushing him with my body where I want him while SITTING. (weight is shifting to the outside stirrup, maybe a little too much I'm loosing my inside ;) )

Can we say woohoo! Good job me! I am looking around my turn and guiding my horse forward with my inside hand. I am not jerking his face off or holding him back, and I am using my outside hand to push myself down into my saddle to sit the turn. My horse has his ears back listening to me and things are looking good! (I have lost my inside stirrup, emphasizing the weight on the outside a tad too much but at-least I'm not hindering my horse)

Can I get a YAHOO! I finish the turn and my horse launches himself out of it using his hind end (good thing). I am looking at my next barrel (but I should be reaching up for my outside rein by now especially because we are on a big pattern) I am also SITTING good and am not going to pop up out of my saddle and hinder my horse.

Well friends like I said there is so much more to this sport then what is on the surface, but at least we had a good laugh at the antics of a newbie gamer ;)

I am proud to say that since those beginning pictures I have improved IMMENSELY and am looking forward to continue learning on my journey to that 1D paycheck!

The take-away from this is there is always more to learn, and seek out the most knowledgeable help you can afford when learning something new!

Thanks for reading!

The Best Christmas Gift of Them All

This Christmas I enjoyed the time spent with my family, and took part in our annual gift exchanges. There's nothing like eating a good meal with the ones you love, and there is a lot of fun in receiving those gifts you really wanted . . . but my favorite gift this year came in the form of an email.

When I opened it up and saw these pictures it almost brought tears to my eyes.

 

 From Twister and Dawson Merry Christmas!

Twister you are one special horse. I am so happy you have a loving home, and my heart feels full knowing that someday I may just bring you back home.

But for now you are taking care of your current owner, teaching him to be a cowboy just like he always dreamed of. 

Merry Christmas to you too Twister and Dawson! You will always hold a special place in my heart. You're that steady eddy horse that gave me my confidence, and a great start.

Merry Christmas everybody!