Having Fun on the Ground

With the cold, windy, icy days we have not been able to get into the saddle for any good adventures so it has made time for some great groundwork with some of the younger guys. First up for me-OYY Jockomo, he is a 3 yo gelding out of  OYY Tippateena and the big man Mead's Chocolate Chip This beautiful bay was bred to be driving. His dam Tippy, as we call her, is an awesome driving mare who started her career as a driving horse by her mother's side. Jock's granddam was the champion of all driving horses and seemed to pass on the gene for it to every one of her babies. Chip of course took to driving like he had done it his whole life.

Since Jock was a February baby he has had a lot of handling right from the start so he is pretty respectful and willing to try new things. Although he is for sale on the winter sale page we are really hoping he goes to a driving home just because we know that is where his talent will lie.Not to say he will not make a great riding horse as well because almost everyone in his family does both-rides and drives. 

Since driving can be a very dangerous activity but very fun it is really important to us that we expose and desensitize the horses to anything we can possibly think of. Jock and I start out with the basic stuff of giving to pressure, turning his haunches, turning on the forehand, and having a swinging rope around his legs, body over his head, and behind him. This is all nothing to him so it was time to step it up a notch.

First up the bridge, I had thought maybe it might take more than a half a second to get him to cross it but all he did was sniff, sniff it and head right over.

The bridge was too easy time to bring out something else- noodles.  I had two in my hand and rubbed him everywhere. And even used them on either side like shafts in a cart. At first he didn't love them in between his hind legs but got over that very quickly and stood like a champ for all of it. He even thought to try and take a little nibble out of them to see if it may be something yummy.



Time to bring out the big scary blue tarp. Or at least I thought it  was going to be scary. First swing it all over his body. Then time to wear it.  He had it draped all across him and walked around with it sliding and moving and didn't care one bit.

 

So then time to see how he did walking on it. Again there was no trouble. A little sniff, sniff and headed right across it like he has walked on a tarp his whole life.   

 

If any one is interested in seeing a video of him completing all his work here is the link to that-

Jock's Ground video 

Doing this different ground work with so many of the up and coming horses once again shows me if the genes to be great horses are there the work is so much easier. Chip has had something like 40 babies for the farm and all of them have been so easy to train and work with. The biggest and, I think, best thing he passes down to all of his get is a willingness to work and learn and when you have that you can do anything.