Getting started . . .

I have been thinking about writing a blog for some time now.  There are so many things I can think of to write about, but one keeps coming back to me.  I am a horse trainer and riding instructor at my own small farm.  I have enjoyed horses in a wide variety of disciplines, including hunters, jumpers, dressage, eventing, saddle seat, western pleasure, english pleasure, halter and carriage driving.  I have worked with a number of different

LA Baltic Sundance

breeds of horses, including Paints, Swedish Warmbloods, Quarter Horses, Thoroughbreds, Arabians, Mustangs, draft crosses, mules, Welsh ponies, Canadian Warmbloods, Saddlebreds, Tennessee Walking Horses, Hanoverians, Oldenburgs, Appaloosas, Morgans, Hackneys, as well as a number of crosses. I have taught students to ride in hunters, jumpers, dressage, eventing, western, saddleseat and carriage driving.  I have foaled out at least a dozen mares, and started horses from the ground up for many years.  In this day and age of instant gratification, everyone thinks that if they practice really hard at something (for one day), then they will get really good at it.  With horses it doesn't work like that.  Ever.  Sometimes you have to practice really hard at something for MONTHS before you start to see a little

CF Baltic Royal Tee

improvement, much less get really good at it.  My goal with this blog is to show people what actually goes in to training a horse from the ground up.  All the blood, sweat and tears put in, day in and day out.  And what makes it all worth it in the end.  I have selected one specific horse, whose training I will be writing about.  I hope to open up people's eyes to the reality of what it's like to truly work with a horse to accomplish a goal.  And we are starting at the VERY beginning.  In fact, the horse that I will be writing about is not even born yet!  As I have previously mentioned, I have had several broodmares and raised dozens of babies.  About 13 years ago, I came across a Swedish Warmblood stallion whose lineage, temperament and jumping ability I fell in love with - LA Baltic Sundance.  I had bred two mares to him myself, and have competed both offspring in eventing (in addition to several other colts and fillies by him that I have worked with for clients).  My current competition horse - CF Baltic Royal Tee, aka "Butch" - is by Sundance, and he is, by far, the best horse I have ever owned.  So, several years ago, I set out to find another broodmare that I could breed to Sundance so that I could produce my next competition horse.  I looked for several years, but none of the mares I ever found fit the criteria I had set for a mare that would make the perfect match for Sundance.  I finally found a mare last year up in Canada - Josephine!  Josephine, aka "Fiona", is a Canadian Warmblood by Warkanson,

Josephine

out of Savanah by Salut.  Fiona's bloodlines include horses who are high performing in dressage and jumping, and she also traces back to Cottage Son, who sired several horses that competed in the Olympics.  When I bought her last year, she was already bred, and had a beautiful filly who is now a year old and HUGE!  I rebred her last spring to Sundance, and I am now, impatiently waiting for the arrival of my new foal (hopefully a filly).  Fiona is due on April 21st, but based on previous foalings, she could definitely go early, maybe as early as April 13th.  So, that brings me to my blog - I plan to write about the training of my new foal from birth to . . . whatever she or he becomes.  Of course, my hope is that this baby will become my next eventing superstar, but, as one of my Equine Science professors once said, "The only thing predictable about a horse, is that they are unpredictable".  Only time will tell what this young horse becomes, but regardless, I hope to show folks the actual, daily effort that goes in to making these dreams come true.