==== ==== Want a Recap of the 2012 Road To The Horse? Here 's Day 2 http://www.naturalhorsemanshipinfo.com/ ==== ==== Road To The Horse 2012-Day 2 Recap Well, Day 2 of Road to the Horse has just concluded and it was another demonstration of excellent horsemanship skills. Although a couple of unfortunate things happened. Pat Parelli's original colt seemed to have a health issue, so the veterinarians determined he was unfit to finish the competition, so Pat had to choose another colt and start over. He said he would rather start over on his second choice colt that to endanger the health of his original horse. I was disappointed because that was my favorite colt of the six. Good news by the end of the day. The horse perked up and it was decided he had just had a belly ache. He was feeling better and back with the herd tonight. His second colt was a gentle palomino. He took his first round with this horse during the first half of the second round. The second unfortunate circumstance was that Dan James fell ill and was very dehydrated. So, he traded places with his team mate, Guy McLean. By the time the second half of the second round rolled around, Dan was feeling well enough to continue. Pat will have to take his second half second round at 5:30 am on Sunday, which because of Daylight Savings Time will feel like 4:30, ugh! I don't know if I'll make it up to watch. In addition to Pat and Guy, Jonathan Field was in the first half today. Pat's colt was gentle and quiet. He didn't seem to have any major issues that Pat had to work through. We'll see how he shows up tomorrow. Pat thought the majority of people in the audience would like a horse like this colt. To me, he seemed very lazy. He may be a little too laid back for me, but will make an awesome horse for someone who just wants a solid riding horse. Guy had to rope his horse to catch him, which would have been disappointing to me. He seemed to go with it and it was a good choice not too waste too much time. Once he was roped, Guy easily haltered him and moved on with his training. Guy's big issue with this good looking bay horse was no forward movement yesterday. He worked with him on the ground first and got him moving well. This seemed to translate well to the saddle and Guy made great progress with him today. Guy was a bit giddy this afternoon, he was so relieved that the horse was moving well today. I think he will probably have an excellent test and obstacle course tomorrow. Jonathan was able to halter his colt right away. At first, the colt still fought pressure on his head. Jonathan made good progress getting him to be softer in the face by the end of the session. He still seemed very fearful and skittish. He is just a very sensitive horse that will need much more confidence building. Jonathan did a great job with him. I don't believe he will have as much success tomorrow as some of the others. Jonathan was very entertaining because he was just so thrilled to be there and wasn't afraid to say so. The second half of the second round included the other 3 horseman. Glenn Stewart, Craig Cameron and the re-hydrated Dan James. Craig's colt was again gentle and easy going. His biggest issue was probably his feet. Throughout the session Craig went back to lifting his feet over and over again. Craig got some good forward motion and nice walk, trot and canters both directions. He had the colt going over poles and barrels, through a horse car wash and over tarps; all quite easily. I think he will have an excellent final round and obstacle course. Craig is always a crowd favorite with his good ol' boy personality.
Glenn's colt seemed so much better today than yesterday. He wasn't nearly as pushy. He was much more curious and way less fearful. This colt loved the barrels and would actually just run over them rather than go around, maybe not the best barrel prospect. After Glenn saddled him, he let him just wander around the pen and get the feel of the saddle. All was well until Glenn ask him for a canter, then the bronc took over and there was a lot of rodeo sound effects while the colt figured out the feel of the saddle with all that motion. Once he got it figured out, that was the end of it and Glenn had no bucks when he was riding. I believe Glenn's horse will do well tomorrow, he is a lovely colt and will make someone a great partner. Dan's colt has been the hardest for me to classify. He is not overly sensitive and not too lazy either. Kind of a middle of the road type of horse. Physically, he is probably my least favorite colt. His neck seems too short for the rest of him, but he has great lateral flexion as I said yesterday, so maybe it was just how he looked from my vantage point. This colt's big issue from yesterday, the kicking out when asked for forward movement was still there today. Dan gave extra time to getting him moving on the ground before getting in the saddle and I believe it was beneficial. Even though the colt still kicked out each time Dan tapped him on the rump or hip, he was moving out at a nice canter. I think tomorrow when he has more room, he will move out well and maybe won't need so much motivation from behind. I don't have a good feel for how he will do on the test and obstacle course. Dan is an awesome horseman and I'm sure he will get the best from his colt. The horsemen each gave presentations and they were all incredible in their own way. I thoroughly enjoyed the day. I'm exhausted just from watching, so I'm sure the participants are as well. Looking forward to the finale! Naturally, Susan
==== ==== Want a Recap of the 2012 Road To The Horse? Here 's Day 2 http://www.naturalhorsemanshipinfo.com/ ==== ====