Living A Farmer's Life: The Horses

Chrome

________________________________________

Registered Name: Beebee's Chrome Chevalier TTT (FSHR)
Nicknames: Chromey Baloney, Chromelin, Chromeish, Chrominator and TestosteChrome
Sire: Hertog Jan v.d. Paddensteeg (FPS/FSHR/AFA)
Dam: Beebee (Quarter Horse/Arabian)
Breed: Friesian/Quarab
DOB: May 19, 2009
Height: 14.2hh
Weight: 700lbs
Color: Dark Bay, going Gray
Likes: Eating, Nicker Makers, sugar, being brushed, playing (with anything he can get his teeth on), grazing and getting dirty.
Dislikes: Being alone, four wheelers and motorcycles.
Chrome's Blog: http://rdxhorses.blogspot.com

If you're not a very avid reader but would still like to follow Chrome's progress be sure to check out his Monthly Progress Reports on the nineteenth of every month. If you want to see his growth and the process of graying out be sure to visit his Gray Progression page on the other blog.

________________________________________

A picture of when he was young before he turned gray.

________________________________________

Me and Chrome

(through the years)

________________________________________

I've been in love with the Friesian breed for over ten years now. My dream come true would be the opportunity to have a purebred Friesian gelding, but financially that's just not possible for me. I'm almost afraid to own such a valuable horse. I would be constantly afraid of something happening to him. Putting aside my concerns the Friesian Fever is not that easy to ignore. After having been horseless for two years (after having had horses for nineteen years) I decided I couldn't take it anymore. I was miserable without a horse.

So I started researching Friesian crosses in my area (there are not many) and I finally found someone in my state. She had two Friesian crosses for sale. A black Friesian/Missouri Foxtrotter colt and a bay Friesian/Arabian colt (Chrome). I wanted the black colt (favorite color), but he was promised to the stallion's owner, so we started talking about the other one (Chrome). I love Arabians too, so I wasn't put off by that. I think the two things that put me off about Chrome were the fact that he would turn gray and also that his dam was only 14.3hh tall. I figured color isn't that important and since his sire is 16.2hh that size shouldn't be an issue. Smaller horses are easier and cheaper to care for anyway. ;)

After seeing pictures and video I decided to visit. I loved his personality in the videos. When I got there I was a little put off by his indifferent attitude, but I think it's because he was just weaned. He was very well mannered, calm, gentle, well trained for a baby. I knew when I saw him that he would be going home with me. Heck I was in love with him before I ever met him. :D I'm so happy I ended up with him over the other colt. He has so much more personality and brains I think, but I am totally biased.

So I brought my first ever Friesian cross Chrome home on October 19 2009, the day he turned five months old. Although my family had raised one filly when I was a kid I really didn't have any experience with weanlings. Chrome taught me a LOT and I'm sure he still has a lot to teach me. :) So that's how my modified, realistic dream came true and I couldn't be happier. I started the blog before I even brought him home so you can go back through the archives to read about our adventures and feel free to follow along as we grow and learn together.

________________________________________

What we've taught Chrome so far . . .

(using clicker training)

Basics He Knows - Standing tied, leading, no biting, fly spray, grooming, cleaning hooves, baths, etc.
Target - Cues: Present orange cone or target stick in any position and he touches it; Will also follow the target.

Back - Cues: Hand on chest; Backwards pressure in halter; Rope wiggle; Hand signal. Working on: Lowering head while backing; Backing for light pull on tail; Distance he will back.

Grownups Are Talking "No Mugging" - Cue: Cross arms or put hands behind back, no eye contact.
Lower Head - Cues: Gentle squeeze of his crest in front of the withers; Downwards pressure from halter; Free shaping. Working on: Voice cue.

Follow - Liberty or Halter; Both sides; Targets his shoulder to mine. - Cue: Vocal cue "Walk on". Working on: Not crowding; Not forging so far ahead or trying to cross in front.
Trot in Hand - Liberty or Halter; Both sides (I think); - Cue: Vocal cue "Trot", me jogging and slight lead pressure (fading this out although I want him to know what it means I don't want it to be necessary). Working on: Consistency and speed of upward transition. Lagging.

Halts - Cue: Vocal cue "Whoa"; Hand on chest; Light lead pressure backwards. - Does this from both sides while leading. Working on: Using vocal cue only; Consistency; Speed of halt (takes several steps).

Stand Tied

Pick Up Hooves - Front Cue: Light tapping on chestnut - Rear Cue: Light tapping of my toe on his fetlock (to get him to rest his toe), then pick it up myself. Working on: Stretching forward to rest hoof on a hoof stand for trimming/rasping.
Come - Cue: Vocal cue "Chrome Come", light lead pressure and "come here" hand signal (at liberty).
Lateral Flexion - Cues: Rein (or rope) cues, follow a target, a tickle on his ribs from opposite side I'm standing on (when cueing the side I'm standing on he thinks I'm asking for a shoulder yield). Working on: Improving stiffness when flexing right.
Hindquarter Yield - Cues: Pointing to hip, light pressure on hip, knows both sides. Working on: Consistently crossing one hoof in front of the other and keeping his head straight.
Shoulder Yield - Cue: Light pressure on ribs right behind shoulder with finger. - Knows both sides. - Working on: Taking more steps; Yielding shoulders towards me; Consistency.
Trailer Loading - Cue: Leading him on while following me. - Working on: Sending him into the trailer without me; His comfort level while on trailer; Increasing duration.
Ground Tie "Stay" - Cue: Flat palm, dropped rope and voice cue "Stay". - Working on: Distance, duration and distraction.
Chase the Tiger - Knows to follow the "Tiger" target (handkerchief on whip string) and to interact with it (stomping, etc.).
Smile - Cue: Raise pointer finger above his head. Working on: Voice cue only.
Pedestal - Knows how to stand on it with both front feet (even does it by himself in the pasture for fun); Knows how to circle rear feet around with fronts on pedestal. Working on: More steps around with his rear hooves and putting all four hooves on the pedestal (need a bigger, more stable one).
Desensitizing - Things we've worked with are ropes, whips, surcingle, saddle, blankets, plastic bag, umbrella, boxes, feed bags, trash bags filled with paper or plastic, sticks, canes, tarps, water, hoses, buckets, toys, cat (hehe), etc.

Working On: Putting hooves on hoof stand, ground tying, comfort level around trailer, etc.

________________________________________

Chrome's Sire

Hertog Jan v.d. Paddensteeg

"Jan"

(Brandus X Natasja E.)

2002 Friesian Stallion

FPS, FSHR, AFA Registered

1st Premium Keuring

USDF Reserve Regional Champion

Jan (pronounced "yawn") is a 2002 Imported Friesian stallion. He's 16.2 hands (a hand equals four inches) tall and was 1st premium at his keuring and was the 2007 USDF Reserve Regional Champion. He lives at 413 Ranch in Shady Point, Oklahoma. Jan's sire is Brandus 345, a gorgeous Friesian stallion standing 15.3 hands tall and born on May 13 1995. Brandus was World Champion Friesian in 1997 and 1998. He was also Reserve World Champion Friesian of 1999 and 2003.

________________________________________

Chrome's Dam

Beebee is a beautiful flea-bitten gray Arabian mare standing 14.3hh tall. I only met her once, but she left an impression with me. She has a personable nature and from what I've heard is a fantastic trail horse.

________________________________________

Rocky

Name: Rocky
Nicknames: Rocks, RockStar, King of Side Eye
Sire: Unknown, but was pinto colored and registered AQHA or APHA, not sure which
Dam: Unknown, but was black and registered AQHA
Breed: Quarter Horse/Paint
DOB: 2004
Height: 14.3hh
Weight: 1278lbs
Color: Black Sabino
Markings: Front socks to knees and rear socks to fetlocks, black hooves with left hind half white (on inside), tiny snip/disconnected stripe on lower face, ermine spots, white ticking all over, but especially on flank and withers, some white whiskers, white lips, some white mane hairs near the ticking on his withers, partial white tail.
Date Aquired: 5-30-15.
Likes: Food! Being boss. He was always the low man on the totem pole so he's loving ruling the roost here.
Dislikes: Leaving his herd and having his hooves soaked for thrush.
Barn Colors: Coming soon. Hubby hasn't decided yet.
History: His sire (a show horse) broke into the neighbor's pasture, so the breeding was not planned. The old man who owned the mare died and the family sold his dam to a friend of my friend C. After Rocky was born the friend sold his dam. C played with and trained Rocky from the day he was born. She started him under saddle and did all of his training. Eventually the friend gave him to C and she's had him ever since until she gave him to me.
To see more about Rocky see my other blog: http://rdxhorses.blogspot.com

Rocky after stepping off the trailer for the first time here.

__________________________________________________

How I Got Rocky

I met Rocky in 2011 when I met my best friend C. When I went to her house to go riding for the first time together she asked me which horse I wanted to ride. I chose Rocky, because you know me, I love black horses! We tacked up and went for a long ride out on the roads around her house. We came to a field and she asked if I wanted to go for a gallop. I said sure and urged Rocky on. He BOLTED!! I had no control and no brakes at all. It scared me to death. I struggled for a minute to try to stop him, but realized it was pointless and just gave up and went along for the ride (she still laughs at how I went from fighting him to just relaxed riding in the space of a minute lol). I have to admit it was fun and exhilarating because I hadn't galloped a horse in years. He stopped when C stopped her horse, which I knew he would.

Come to find out after it happened that he has a bolting problem... would have been nice to know ahead of time lol. Rocky was actually her husband's horse and she didn't really ride him that much anymore. Her husband was possessive and didn't want people riding him so he had intentionally taught him to bolt and never trained him to have brakes. So annoying!! C wasn't happy about it because she'd done all of Rocky's initial training, but she was so happy her husband was riding with her that she just kept her mouth shut. Rocky wasn't dangerous. He didn't buck or anything. So that was my first experience with Rocky. Exciting huh?

I rode him quite a bit over the next couple of years and then a lesser amount after I moved away in Feb 2013 and my friend started working on the road out of state. So from somewhere in late 2012 until shortly before I brought him home he'd been living like a wild horse on 100 acres that belonged to a friend of C's. Without going into a lot of personal details C ended up getting a divorce and could no longer afford to keep all of her horses. She asked me if I wanted any of them, but at the time I was still getting over rehoming Faran and didn't want any other horses.

Fast forward to May of 2015 and hubby shocked me by saying he would like to have a horse to ride. We had originally gotten Faran to be his riding horse, but it became obvious fairly quickly that he would never make a safe riding horse. We kept Faran anyway because we loved him. In the end we ended up rehoming him because he was just so unpredictable and I was terrified hubby would get hurt, even on the ground. A teleporting 1500 pound Percheron can be dangerous even if you're not on his back. I thought hubby had given up on the idea of riding, so like I said I was shocked he wanted a horse.

The horse he had in mind was one that a neighbor was selling, but when I found out how young he was and that he was an auction horse that they hadn't had very long I was leery. The whole point was finding a safe horse. I didn't want to deal with a bunch of unknowns again. My husband is a great rider and perfectly capable of dealing with a young horse (probably more so than I am because he's not scared), but I can't risk him injuring his back again, so I said no.

After some thought I remembered C asking if I wanted any of her horses and I immediately thought of Rocky! I'd loved him since I set eyes on him and would use any excuse at all to have him. I brought it up with hubby and he agreed. Rocky is a really solid, dependable horse as long as you don't gallop him haha!

So we brought him home and the rest is history.

__________________________________________________

The many faces of Rocky!

Rocky really is the king of side eye. Look at his expressions!

Nom Nom watermelon!

He's so expressive hehe.

__________________________________________________

The best part is he and Chrome love each other. :D

It's a dream come true, riding horses with hubby!

________________________________________

Led Zeppelin

Name: Led Zeppelin
Nicknames: Zep, Zeppers, Donkey
Sire: Unknown
Dam: UnknownBreed: Standard Donkey
DOB: 2007
Height: Unknown
Weight: Unknown
Color: Gray (not sure what the official names are for donkey colors lol)
Likes: Treats, eating and playing with Chrome.
Dislikes: People, sudden movements, being approached, etc.

When I decided to get Chrome I knew I would need a companion because a weanling just can't be alone. So we asked around until we found out about a guy selling off his donkeys because they were basically wild, living in his junky yard and were getting to the age where inbreeding was becoming a possibility. We got him really cheap and even though we bought him I still feel like he's basically a rescue because he wasn't getting cared for properly.

So we brought Zep home in 2009 when he was two, but he didn't have a coggins yet so we left him with my parents and the goats. Then we found out a coworker was giving away young horses with coggins because she couldn't care for them anymore. That's how we got Galaxy. After Galaxy tried to kick us several times and then kicked Chrome in the jaw we found her a new home and finally brought Zep home. I was making good progress taming him down and then we got the lease land and being on thirty acres reverted him back to being wild. I've considered stalling him or putting him in the round pen, but I'm afraid he would bray constantly and disturb the neighbors.

So our plan is to tame him down eventually..... somehow lol. Keep following along as we get to know each other and learn to trust each other. To see what we've done together so far check out my posts about Zeppelin on Chrome's blog.