# Erick as a 4 year old



## Dream (May 17, 2009)

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to share some photos of Erick (JEM Nite Dancer by Lucky Hart's Be Bob N Baby) from this weekend. He really filled out over the winter and has put on 40 pounds since this time last year. Some of it's fat but he needed it<G>. I started him on a new feeding program and he loves it. Has lots of energy too. I'm looking forward to a fun year with him starting with an arena driving trial next weekend!

Thanks for looking!


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## 5StarRanch (May 17, 2009)

VERY nice looking boy you have there! You should be very proud and looks like he is ground driving nicely. I do have to ask, since I am actually in the middle of purchasing a four year old gelding myself, what are you feeding him? He looks to be in fantastic shape and I am researching everything out there to see what will work the best. Again, congrats on your boy and thanks in advance for any help.



Dream said:


> Hello everyone,I just wanted to share some photos of Erick (JEM Nite Dancer by Lucky Hart's Be Bob N Baby) from this weekend. He really filled out over the winter and has put on 40 pounds since this time last year. Some of it's fat but he needed it<G>. I started him on a new feeding program and he loves it. Has lots of energy too. I'm looking forward to a fun year with him starting with an arena driving trial next weekend!
> 
> Thanks for looking!


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## Nigel (May 17, 2009)

WOW!





He looks FANTASTIC!! He has filled out and looks absolutely stunning



And of course he is second to none when it comes to driving


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## Dream (May 17, 2009)

5StarRanch said:


> VERY nice looking boy you have there! You should be very proud and looks like he is ground driving nicely. I do have to ask, since I am actually in the middle of purchasing a four year old gelding myself, what are you feeding him? He looks to be in fantastic shape and I am researching everything out there to see what will work the best. Again, congrats on your boy and thanks in advance for any help.
> 
> Thank you! Erick is a pro ground driver<G>. He has actually been showing in the cart for a year but I still do a lot of long lining with him. I think it is a very useful part of the training process even after they have been hitched. Early in the season it allows me to work him a lot longer before he poops out and I can work him up and down hills for conditioning before he is fit enough to haul my butt along with him. It also allows me to watch him, see how's he's moving and carrying himself. I like working him long and low with the lines through the tugs and around his hindquarters. He is naturally up and I have to work to get him to relax and stretch. As the season progresses he spends more and more time in the cart as he can handle longer drives.
> 
> ...


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## Nigel (May 17, 2009)

Dream said:


> Thanks Nigel! I'm glad to see you are enjoying your lovely new boy.


No problem



And yes, I am thrilled with him


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## 5StarRanch (May 17, 2009)

Thanks so much for the feed info. I am not sure if my guy is going to be a hard keeper or not, but I do plan on working and ground driving him 5-6 days a week, so I know that he will need a little something. I used to show minis years......and years ago ;-) and am getting back into them after a knarly big horse accident left me with lots and lots of broken bones and not much confidence in the saddle anymore.

I work for a Purina dealer and I have not yet heard of Tri Max. I know that they are in the process of coming out with a lot more feeds, I will have to check in to it.

Thanks again!!!

I totally agree with you on the ground driving. Back when we used to show a lot, I really enjoyed ground driving my horses, even the finished ones. Taking them back to basics now and again really pays off sometimes.


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## Dream (May 17, 2009)

Here is the link to Trimax. Purina Canada carries different products than the American version. You may be able to find something similar.

Purina Tri Max


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## jleonard (May 17, 2009)

He is gorgeous! Reminds me of a little Thoroughbred. His weight looks wonderful, it is such a great feeling when you get a thin, hard keeper where they need to be! Good luck at your ADT, I would love to see pics!


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## 5StarRanch (May 17, 2009)

AAAH! See, you learn something new every day!





Thank you for the link, I will check out which feed is closest to it down here.



Dream said:


> Here is the link to Trimax. Purina Canada carries different products than the American version. You may be able to find something similar.
> Purina Tri Max


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## twister (May 17, 2009)

Michelle, Erick is looking wonderful. Where is the indoor driving trial you are going to? Maybe I will come along and watch.

Yvonne


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## dreaminmini (May 17, 2009)

Handsome boy, Michelle. He looks great and very grown up now. Good luck at your trial!


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## Jill (May 18, 2009)

He looks awesome


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## Dream (May 18, 2009)

Thanks everyone! Yvonne the trial is at Carson's Horse Sales in Listowel. It is on Sunday May 24th and starts at 9 or 9:30. If I get some good pics I will be sure to post them.


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## MiLo Minis (May 18, 2009)

He is looking really good Michelle! He sure did need that weight and it looks good on him. I would imagine he is feeling much better with himself too. Good luck with your trial - I know you will do well! You two are a good team!!!


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## susanne (May 18, 2009)

Now...THAT is a driving horse!

I loved how he looked when you previously posted photos, but now...you're obviously doing all the right things. He's a gorgeous horse who has learned to carry himself beautifully.

Since I'm such the inveterate gearhead, I have to ask: What harness are you using?


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## BannerBrat (May 18, 2009)

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Erick is extremely handsome,





& it looks like he's coming along beautifully.


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## Dream (May 18, 2009)

susanne said:


> Now...THAT is a driving horse!
> I loved how he looked when you previously posted photos, but now...you're obviously doing all the right things. He's a gorgeous horse who has learned to carry himself beautifully.
> 
> Since I'm such the inveterate gearhead, I have to ask: What harness are you using?


Thanks Susanne!

The harness he has on is the Sport harness sold by both Camptown and Chimacum. I have the Camptown freedom collar to go with it. I use this harnes for everyday work and to show in CDE type stuff. For the breed ring/dressage I have the fancy rolled show harness from Ozark.


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## susanne (May 18, 2009)

Silly me! For all the times I've studied that harness on both sites, you'd think I would have recognized it! (I'll just blame my horrible vision...it has to be good for something!)

Even though I really can't justify $600 for a harness, I keep coming back to that one...all that come close are nearly as expensive, and I've learned from experience that betathane is a much better choice than leather for our wet climate and lack of barn, tackroom or other storage.

Back to the subject...great horse, great job!


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## hobbyhorse23 (May 19, 2009)

Michelle, it's so GOOD to see you and your horse again!! You've been way too quiet on here.



I've got to agree with MiLo- the only thing I've ever disliked about photos of Erick was how lean he was so now that he's filling out he looks great. I can't wait to see him later in the year with more muscle mass.



You always have him turned out so neatly and I love that field you took the pictures in.



> I like working him long and low with the lines through the tugs and around his hindquarters. He is naturally up and I have to work to get him to relax and stretch.


Have you worked him with sliding side reins? He's still ducking behind the bit at this point rather than accepting contact and working through his topline so those might be helpful to encourage him to really reach and start tracking up better. Some of it, of course, is his age and the early season. He hasn't had time to develop enough muscle to really shift his weight to his hindquarters and hold himself up properly but I'd still like to see him working through the back a little more at this stage. Long and low, long and low!





Kody was driving me nuts this spring because he finally discovered ducking behind the bit as an evasion. It's so hard to get them out of that once they figure out they can bow their noses into their chests and keep right on going!



Little brat. A few sessions with sliding side reins reminded him of proper body posture.





Leia


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## Dream (May 19, 2009)

hobbyhorse23 said:


> Michelle, it's so GOOD to see you and your horse again!! You've been way too quiet on here.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks for the tips Leia! I've been waiting for your reply



. I will look into the sliding side reins and see what I can do.


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## GREENWOODMINIS (May 20, 2009)

Very nice job...beautiful...I wish you all the luck...keep up the fantastic job!!!!






lis


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## 5StarRanch (May 20, 2009)

OK, I am a newbie here, so have to ask. Please explain to me what "sliding reins" are?!

I have trained many driving horses, mostly sound, quiet, safe horses. I am trying to learn as much as possible about "real" driving training Thanks!


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## MiLo Minis (May 21, 2009)

Sliding side reins run from the saddle through the bit and down between the front legs to the girth, back up to the other cheek and to the saddle. They allow the horse to move his head up and down as well as side to side with no real restriction but he will be most comfortable when he has his head where we want it to encourage self carriage. They don't create stiffness or allow bit evasion the way fixed side reins do. They can be used while longlining or while driving and essentially replace the action of an educated hand.


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## 5StarRanch (May 21, 2009)

Aaaah! Lik draw reins for a big horse. Perfect! Thanks a bunch.


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## hobbyhorse23 (May 21, 2009)

They're very like draw reins, except that they are fixed to the saddle and don't run back to the hand. That eliminates the unfortunate leverage effect of draw reins which so often teaches the horse to duck behind the bit unless they're checked up.

Here's a couple of photos of Kody working in his sliding side reins this spring over cavaletti.











As you can see, I adjust my homemade set by tightening or loosening the knot on one side. Not very high tech, but it works!





This is the kind of stretching I'm trying to encourage. He isn't engaging in this photo, but I like the way the muscles in his neck are working all the way back to the wither.






This is Kody back in June of 2006 when he first was introduced to sliding side reins. Not working well:






Figuring out how to stretch down as he races off the bottom of the hill:






See how he went from using the bulging muscles of his underline to using the ones on the top of his neck? Over the next year he learned to bend and find his balance somewhere in the middle instead of rooting around near his feet and being stiff behind the saddle, but he still had stifle problems at this point and lunging (especially downhill like that) was very difficult for him. You want to keep your sidereins low until the horse finds his balance, then you can start attaching them higher on the surcingle depending on the horse's conformation and what you're trying to teach him. They should be loose enough that the green horse can stretch comfortably and in fact may only catch him when he goes to raise his head and hollow out. When he's built up enough muscle you can slowly tighten them until he's on the bit all the time like Kody is in those first two photos. Keep your sessions short at that point though, side reins do not allow the horse to have a stretching break like a driver's hands will. Warm him up, put on the side reins to accomplish a specific purpose, then take them off and let the horse stretch. Only keep them on if they're so loose that they only prevent throwing the head way up.

Leia


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## 5StarRanch (May 22, 2009)

Thank you very much for the pics and the info. I will definately be putting it t effect when I get my boy home.


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## MiLo Minis (May 23, 2009)

Thank you so much for responding to that Leia!!! I kinda went GAAK!!! NO!!! NOT LIKE DRAW REINS!!!



Very good photos.


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