TAMU Ima Smokin Dual

01/12/2022

Check out Zipper on the sale page!

12/05/2021

Week 12:
This week Zipper and I focused on getting ready for our practical next week. The main things that we focused on were:
- lunging: changing directions, transitions, stopping
- feet: being comfortable with all 4 feet being held
- bridling & brushing
At the beginning of the day I brushed Zipper and cleaned his feet to try and keep him looking good for when we present our skills in front of potential buyers. We worked together a little less than 4 hours. Next we saddled, which zipper did great with. One challenge we faced was when I tried to make him change directions Zipper wanted to run through my hand. I think it was a combination of him not responding to cues and me not communicating them clearly. I lateral lunged him to clear the issue up and was a little more aggressive with my cues. With bridling he was great and hardly noticed. I think we’re ready for next week and I’m confident in Zippers skills!

12/01/2021

** EDITED WITH SALE DAY INFORMATION ** READ BELOW!

HOWDY!!
Are you wanting to own your own Aggie Horse?
We will be selling the Yearlings (2020 foal crop) and two 2-yr olds in an online auction hosted by Pro Horse Services!!

Bids will start Monday, January 17 and will close Thursday, January 20

The horses are the 2020 Foal Crop that will have completed the ANSC 311 C**t Training labs this semester. All horses have had ground breaking tactics mastered, loaded into trailers, and saddled.

Be sure to be following the TAMU Horse Training Class Facebook and Instagram pages to see additional information and photos of the horses.

Horses will be available for viewing and discussion with their students on Tuesday, December 7 3:00 - 5:00 at the N.W. Dick Freeman Arena!

The following horses will be available:

2020 Horses --
TAMU A Peppy Delight, aka Goose (TAMU Peppy Rey Jay x Niftys Delita White by Nifty Valentine - a red roan overo stallion, APHA); sorrel gelding

TAMU CatchinDiamonds, aka Duchess (Fletch That Cat x TAMU Queenofdiamonds by Chicoutmyblingbling); bay filly

TAMU Ima Smokin Dual, aka Zipper (Ima Smokin Zipper x Plain Dual Miss by Mister Dual Pep); chestnut gelding

TAMU Peppy Rawhide, aka Drago (TAMU Peppy Rey Jay x Rawhides Rosita by Dunit Rawhide); red dun gelding

TAMU Shesa Pepytwist, aka OZ (TAMU Peppy Rey Jay x Twist It With A Dun by Dun It With A Twist); red dun mare

TAMU TopBlueMaverick, aka Maverick (Kid Mecom Blue x TAMU Topsailingmarla by Eds Cody); sorrel gelding

"Maximus" -- (sire: TAMU Peppy Rey Jay / dam: registered Quarter Horse but papers were lost before our ownership. Mare is a research/recipient mare in our herd. Big mare with nice bone); sorrel gelding ** DISCLAIMER: this horse will not be selling in the online auction; please email for price [email protected]

Also included in the group:
Two 2019 Fillies --

TAMU Sonitas Eclipse, aka Eclipse (Sonitalena Rey Jay x TAMU Somekinda Queen by Millennium CD); sorrel mare ** this filly has been broke to be saddled and was ridden by student in round pen and in the indoor arena; very quiet and gentle, but remember she is still a 2-yr old! (Disclaimer: she has not been ridden since May 2021)

TAMU Weebita Time, aka Martini (TAMU Peppy Rey Jay x Wee Bita Blaze by Blazing Hot); sorrel mare ** this filly has also been broke to be saddled and was ridden in round pen and indoor arena by student at the end of the spring 2021 semester (Disclaimer: she has not been ridden since May 2021)

Be sure to go to https://prohorseservices.com/2021/2021-december-internet-auction/ to get registered to bid to take home an Aggie Horse!

Gig'em!!

*All horses will be branded with the Texas A&M brand.

11/21/2021

Week 11: Bridling

This week we worked on getting comfortable with a bit, and continued to build on the progress we were making with lunging and saddle desensitizing. I worked with Zipper for four hours this week, and we started with the bridle on Tuesday. Our main goals this week included:

- desensitizing to the bridle
- lunging at a steady pace with sharp transitions
- being comfortable being saddled and unsaddled

With bridling, Zipper did great. He picked up the bit pretty quickly, and we were able to smoothly transition to lunging with the bridle on the first day he had it on. Lunging is continuing to improve, but we did have some issues come up from earlier in the semester. Zipper was cutting the circle and ignoring my cues to move out, so we had to work through that challenge. I just had to be a little more aggressive with my asking and he moved out of the inside circle. His transitions are improving, and stops are slowly but surely getting better. We also worked on picking up feet for a little bit on Thursday and Friday, and Zipper is getting very comfortable with me holding and cleaning his feet. As far as saddling goes, I was able to saddle and unsaddle him by myself with no issues of him moving away, and I left the stirrup down so he'd get used to it touching him when swinging the saddle onto his back. All in all, it was a great week!

11/14/2021

Week 10: Saddling Week

This week we worked on saddling and lunging all four days of class. We started the week on Monday with basic saddle desensitizing, and reinforced some lunging skills. Tuesday we got the saddle cinched up, and Zipper had a little trial period. Luckily, the cinch strap held up nicely and he settled down after a few changes of direction. After our break on Wednesday, Thursday went a lot smoother. He was able to lunge on the line, and only ran faster when he felt pressured. Friday we had a really good day. After lunging in the round pen with the saddle on, we went out to the outdoor pen and walked through some obstacles. Zipper did great with the outdoor pen, and hardly reacted to the saddle after we got walking.

Challenges: Zippers only evident challenges appeared at 1. tightening the cinch and 2. trotting with the saddle on. After a few times tightening and releasing the cinch Zipper eased up a lot, and did well with this stage of the process. When I asked him to trot the first day that we saddled he took off and jumped around a little. To work through that process I took the lunge line off the halter and did my best to keep him moving forward. The next thing was to change his direction frequently to keep him thinking. We worked through these problems well, and I think if we face them next week I think we will be able to overcome them.

11/07/2021

Week 9: Lunging Practical

This week we had our lunging skills tested and worked one hour Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. The goals we had were:

- transitions between paces in the round pen
- maintaining speed in the three different gaits
- sharpening commands for starting and stopping when lunging

Challenges: We had a lot of frustrating moments this week. One of Zipper's biggest challenge is maintaining a constant speed. He was also having a lot of difficulties staying focused and responding to my commands. I was having a hard time responding to these problems and correcting them quickly, and I ended up desensitizing him too much to the go pedal. During the practical he was bringing up old habits like trying to turn around and take advantage of any slack in the rope. Our transitions were going great at the beginning of the week.

Moving forward: I was disappointed in our progress this week, we may have regressed a little on a few things. I think we just need to spend more time on lunging to work out the problems, and try making smaller circles and a slower pace until he corrects. I also need to reward his small victories and make it clear when he does something right.

10/31/2021

Week 8: Spooky Edition

Zipper and I had some fun this holloweek, and used some new desensitizing techniques as shown in the pictures.
This week we worked together a little under four hours, and used the crazy wind to get some desensitizing in.
We worked in the round pens on transitioning between gaits, and made huge progress with setting a saddle and pad on Zipper's back. On Thursday we had some pretty crazy wind in College Station, so we used that opportunity to get acclimated to objects sudden movements. We worked in the arena on desensitizing with a tarp and several different props like pool noodles and halloween costumes.

The main goals that I had for Zipper were:
- setting a cue for slowing down to a trot or a walk when lunging instead of a stop
- desensitizing to setting a saddle on his back
- desensitizing to a tarp and other objects

A challenge that I unexpectedly ran into with Zipper was picking up his feet. He had been doing great with this, but decided to act a little difficult on Friday. To combat this I just waited for him to stand still while I was holding his foot to release the pressure by setting it back down. With the other goals he made some great progress, especially with the cue for slowing down. He got that cue a lot faster than I thought he would, and I'm ready to keep working on it on Monday.

10/24/2021

Week 7: We spent about 4 hours on our skills this week. The main goals were:
- loping in lunging
- picking up all 4 feet
- introduction to the saddle and people on the fence

A few challenges we faced along with their solutions are as follows:

1. Accelerating to a controlled speed in a lope. Zipper struggled to maintain a constant speed when I asked him to lope, so I made the circle smaller and it helped a lot. We were able to lope a full circle both ways on Friday.

2. Picking up hind feet. The first day I tried to pick up his back feet he would put them down as quickly as possible. With consistency and practice I was able to pick up and hold all four feet by Friday.

3. Saddle introduction. At first Zipper was unsure about the saddle, but he did great the second day we introduced it. As far as being above him on the fence, he couldn’t care less. I was very impressed with his progress in a short amount of time with these tasks.

Summary: I was super proud of Zipper this week. We will have to work on smoother transitions in the round pen, but I think we will move fast progressing with desensitizing.

10/16/2021

10/16/2021

Week 6 Update: Zipper and I spent about five hours together this week, and we had picture day on Wednesday. A few goals that we worked towards include:

- sharpening lunging cues
- picking up feet
- desensitizing to water hose
- loading in the trailer

The main challenge that we faced this week was maintaining a constant speed and distance when lunging. Towards the end of the week we had some major improvements in this area, and to get better it’s just going to take some more practice. Staying persistent and quitting on a good note were very important to make progress this week. His stop in the round pen is getting pretty sharp, and I hope to maintain that as we speed up.

We went in the barn to get exposure to the water hose, and Zipper did a lot better this time. We were able to wash his entire body off without him having a major reaction. I also picked up his front feet and cleaned them. He did okay with this, but we’ll continue to work on it.

In the trailer Zipper did really good, we just took things slow and made it a positive experience. On picture day our goal was to showcase Zippers good qualities.

Summary: Zipper is continuously improving, and he’s developing some great skills. He’s really starting to trust me and my commands, and he enjoys having a job and learning. I’m confident in hip and shoulder yields, and he’s gotten pretty good at lateral lunging. I’m excited to start exploring increasing and decreasing speeds in the round pen in the future.

10/09/2021

Week five and we're continuing to improve! This week we worked together for one hour on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. This week our goals were:

- lunging in the round pen
- moving further and closer from me while lunging
- stopping and starting lunging, as well as going from a walk to a trot

Some challenges that we faced during these lessons were as follows:

- lunging: Zipper had a hard time staying focused. My positioning was farther back behind his hip when I was trying to keep him going, but this provided an opportunity for him to stop and turn away.
- Solution: I adjusted my positioning, moving more towards his midsection right before his shoulder. To keep him from gaining leverage and turning away, I worked on keeping his head inside the circle, slightly tugging on the lunge line when he was getting distracted.
- My cues on moving further away were not clear at the beginning of the week, but more concise reactions to him moving closer to me helped. It also worked to step towards him and push him away when he tried to cut the circle.
- Again, my cues for stopping and starting need some sensitizing, but Zipper did fairily well with this. I was able to keep him in a trot for a consistent amount of time.
- Solution: to make Zipper give a snappy response to commands, getting a little more aggressive with the tail of the lunge line helped. Instead of lightly tapping him several times, one good pop prevents him from getting too desensitized to cues.

Summary: Zipper had a great week full of many new good habits. In addition to our goals this week, we worked on sharpening hip and shoulder yields as well as starting and stopping while walking and trotting in the arena. Desensitizing to grooming tools and picking up feet were a few other things we addressed. I'm looking forward to improving the round pen lunging skills, and hopefully next week we can sharpen starting and stopping, and figure out advancing to a lope.