Another trip west

One more mare pg. Reminics Nicci is in foal to Smooth As A Cat. Gave up on the icsi procedure. Two times the ovum didn't divide. I will have to settle for one Smart Little Lena. Leaving soon to get Nicci home.
Hope to stop and observe the Cutting Clinic in Kansas. Buster Welch, Dirk Blakesly and Shannon Hall are the trainers. Should be fun.



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Rain Rain and ???

On the way to Ok. to watch CC Liza Marie cut at Ada. Hope she can show how good she can be. No luck with the Smart Little Lena breeding this year. They got eggs several times but after sperm injection they failed to divide. So plan B. Will try breeding her to Smooth as a Cat.
On the weather front, several old maples in our yard fell in the storms. Tough to lose all our shade. The hostas will feel it the most. All animals and people safe.


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Oklahoma/ Texas

Picked up my mare at DLR Stallion Station. Very nice, professional place. Hot here as it usually is in the summer. Too hot to work horses very long.Lots of driving but guess there's no other way to move a horse?? Using all that gas makes me feel guilty when I see the problems that the oil spill is causing. We are all responsible in some ways I think because of our increasing need fort energy. Good old fashioned greed ?


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Fun

My three year old Smart Little Lena is getting fun to ride on cattle. I want to keep it fun for her but also to challenge her. Lately our Holsteins have had some zip. The five year old has to hustle once in awhile. I look forward to riding them and I think they like it too, although the older one is LAZY!!Suppose to get hot here soon. Then they will slow down ( the cattle as well as the horses).


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Success

Two mares pregnant!! Looking forward to some foals next year. Maybe others are holding off breeding their mares so I'll have a market for my foals. I see in the Quarter Horse News that many stallion owners have reduced their fees. Will that make people breed their mares or just more skeptical about the worth of the foals already here?
JOE COUGAR





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Success

Good news today. Babes Smart Mate is pregnant !!! Next March if all goes well I'll have a High Brow Cat. Hoping for a filly but can't control that. No news from CSU on Reminics Nicci. Last I heard she had a big follicle. Wendy's Jae Bar is bred to Wild Haired Cat but not checked yet.2011 should be a fun year. Maybe other people are worried about the economy but I'm a farmer and I'm used to ups and downs. You have to keep on going and looking forward to next year.


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Spring Flowers

Spring is about three weeks early here. The perrenials are popping up.Completed my marathon trip to deliver mares to Colorado and Texas. Saw alot of beautiful country, especially the high plains of Colorado and Kansas.
Back home and catching up on my work. Gelded my yearling High Brow Cougar colt. Now maybe he'll go back to being the sweetheart I know is in there!
Riding all over the hills and enjoying the cool, crisp air of spring. Took the 3 year old through the woods for the first time and she was good. Decided she's going to be all mine till I think she's ready to go elsewhere. She has some growing up to do.





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Mares and the Economy

Maybe the horse market is down but if the number of mares at the breeding farms means anything the market may be improving. Then again, horse lovers might just be overly optimistic. Lots of mares at CSU and DLR Stallion Station. Saw High Brow Cat. I think he looks like Smart Little Lena. He's 22. Drove for 4 days getting them to the breeders. Now they just need to get pregnant. I guess I'm one of the optimistic ones....or crazy!!



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Location:County Road U,Waumandee,United States

On the Road

Starting out on a road trip tomorrow. Off to Colorado then Oklahoma and then Texas. Two mares to be bred and one to show( maybe). Looking forward to trying out my new trailer with my cozy little living quarters. Took me a week to pack it. Should be fun!!! Will write more as I go along.


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Location:County Road U,Waumandee,United States

Now It's Spring

The weather is turning nice. Suppose to be in the 70's this week. Worked up the outdoor arena. Really early for March. Ninth warmest March on record. Surprised the horses aren't shedding more. They must know something I don't. No foals for this year. Seems weird not to expect a foal. Hopefully will have three next year.



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Read this Article

Read " Best of Both Worlds"  on page 56 in the March 15, 2010 issue of the Quarter Horse News. Boyd Rice tells the cutters that the reiners aren't all wrong. He trains his cutting horses to be supple and give all parts of their bodies. I was so happy to see this article.As a reiner my hero was Bob Loomis and he taught that the horse must move all parts of their body when asked. I saw him ride Topsail Cody as a three year old and it was my inspiration.Everyday I ride I use the things I learned from numerous reining horse trainers. I believe they must accept my direction even if they are going to cut.I think it's easier for them to understand the fundamentals and to be able to give their heads and necks and turn around so that I don't have to pull on them like crazy when there's a cow in the pen.My 5 year old mare tends to get stiff in the circles and if she's stiff there she'll be stiff turning around too. I've been working to get her to be soft in the face but it's not her favorite thing. I finally remembered Bob Loomis's words about raising up their rib cage to get them moving in a circle better and it worked. Roger Wagner must believe the same thing as Boyd Rice.His horses are broke!

Riding Outside

Finally I can ride outside. Some of the fields that are mostly sand are dry enough to ride on but most are muddy yet. My outdoor arena is wet but I'm desperate to get outside so I'm riding there and planning on working it up when it dries completely. Both my 5 year old mares have been goofy outside. After three months of looking at arena walls there's too much going on outside for them to concentrate. My three year old was better than both of them put together. She's a bit lazy but that's good out in the big,noisy, scary world.Here's a little reminder of spring!


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Location:County Road U,Waumandee,United States

Spring in Wisconsin

This water is not suppose to be rushing through my horse pasture! The mares are on higher ground for luck.Every spring the whole valley drains through our yard.I've raised the road to the horse barn but cannot afford the cost of excavating the field across the road that would divert the water elsewhere. Oh the joys of the seasons!!

Go for a Big Show?

My five year old mare is doing really well. At least I think so. She's interested in her job and feels good. I brought her home from the trainer's about a year ago. She had been in training for more than two years, been to the Futurity in Fort Worth, and rested for only a few weeks and she wasn't liking her job much. I rode her all over the hills last summer and have worked on making her more flexible and responsive. She's strong and willing and I want to try her at a show again. Thinking of a larger show in May ...the BI in Tulsa.


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Location:County Road U,Waumandee,United States

Congratulations Fitzsimons !

Flash !!! One nice One Time Pepto filly born in Wisconsin. Mom is Missuma a great daughter of Smart Little Lena who is the dam of Play Miss a tough little mare owned by the Slate River Ranch. The new filly is owned by Lenis and Nancy Fitzsimons from Pepin Wis. We have great horses here in the north too.

Trained Versus Cow Trained

If I understand Roger Wagner's training program correctly he wants them broke first. Broke in the face and turning 180 degrees back where they were coming from lightly and with no tension. It makes sense to me because you'll be able to help put the horse in the right position to cut and what's more important to me the horse will be able to go ahead and do other things if he won't make a great cutter.
In a recent article about Cory Pounds training methods he advocates pretty much the opposite. He learned from Buster Welch and Mr. Welch was a great trainer who pretty much let the cow train the horse.
Maybe you need to be an even greater trainer to make a cutter this way I sure won't say Buster Welch was wrong but everything changes and one method can't fit everyone or every horse.


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Location:County Road U,Waumandee,United States

Hauling Horses

Have you used a horse hauling company? What have been your experiences?
A friend was very unhappy with one company last year when it took an exceptionally long time for his filly to arrive at her destination.She was sick when she arrived as well.I need to send a mare to Colorado next month and have a quote from one company.Their website says they take the shortest route etc.etc. but who knows. The horse world needs an Angie's List so prospective customers might be able to more accuarately choose a service.

Will Winter Ever End?

February is almost gone but winter is not giving up without a fight.Colder again tonight.Dreary and snowy today. Riding in my arena is getting old and dusty.At the beginning of the cold weather I work compost into the sand to keep the dust down.It works for about 3 months and then it doesn't.I end up with a very dirty face.Soon I can add water to keep the dust down and the horses will be happier too.Have tried salt but have had no luck.Any ideas?

Selling Horses

Have you had any luck selling horses lately? The current wisdom is that you have to have a good one.How good? How much does the mare need to have won to make her offspring worth more? It isn't enough anymore to offer one sired by a good horse.Most of the cutting horse studs offered in the Chatter or Quarter Horse News have won over $100,000 but how to pick the right one? Maybe it makes a difference who you are and maybe where you are located?

Is Showing the Only Way to Enjoy your Cutting Horse?

I have the problem that I'm terrible at showing.I struggled for years to show reiners and finally got were I could do it without a total disaster.I never really enjoyed it. I tried showing cutting horses a few times.I know, I know ..not enough times but I wasn't very good and didn't enjoy it.
I like training two and three year olds.I like seeing them learn and grow.I like raising them and having them here.I even enjoy cleaning out their pens.When I turn out the lights at night on a clean horse barn with horses munching away it gives me a feeling of satisfaction like no other.However if I'm to sell them they need to compete and win and there's the rub! Hence my blog: Choosing a Cutting Horse Trainer

Darn Holsteins!

We are dairy farmers so I train on holsteins....sort of.They are exasperating! My husband doesn't ride but he is going to have to soon so he can turn back.Hope our marriage survives.They only move for the first 10 minutes when they run into the arena and then nothing. I guess that's great for the dairy barn.I would hate for them to run over me in the freestall barn but definitely not what I need for my horses.Will need to get a herd of beef cattle some day.

Smart Little Lena

Niccalena by Smart Liitle Lena out of Reminics Nicci by Reminic

What do you think a Smart Little Lena breeding is worth in 2010? The only semen left is icsi frozen straws. The icsi procedure is done at Colorado State University and is expensive. I have 2 rebreeds and I am considering the procedure using a donor mare owned by friends.

Letter to Lindy Burch

Lindy Burch is the chair of the Horse and Cattle Welfare Committee for NCHA.I wrote to her to ask questions about the NCHA's position on drugs.The way things are now the NCHA actually condones drug use but just doesn't want it out in the open. Interested to know their thinking.Will see if there is a response.

Are They Friends

Trainers are celebrities to many of us want-to-be trainers/non-pros/owners. I imagine we irritate them to no end. We call about our horses, we probably show up at bad times, we expect a bit of attention. In fact I think most of us are trying to buy a little friendship. After all isn't it just the kind of friendship we want because it involves one of the biggest thing in our lives?



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How Important is The Two Year Old Year?

Shouldn't a two year old get a well rounded education? I feel sorry for the colts that are tied to a fence half the day, ridden in a round pen for 30 minutes, tied to the fence again and the next day do it all over again. They need to go out in pasture. They need to be ridden out somewhere a few days a week so they don't turn into zombies.


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Location:County Road U,Waumandee,United States

Drugs

The AQHA uses the United States Equestrian Drugs and Medications Guidelines.
Check them out at www.usef.org
Isn't it time the NCHA adopted these guidelines instead of the "don't ask don't tell" policy they have now? Who's going to "rat" on a trainer for using drugs? Just seems it might be more painful for the whistle blower than the guy with the needle the way things are now.

How Do You Choose A Cutting Horse Trainer?

Tell me how you chose your trainer.
Did you ask for references?
Did you visit the facility?
Was it important how much the trainer had won?
Have you ever had a contract ?
Did you discuss the use of drugs ?
How often did/do you visit your horse ?

Should we wait until they are 4 years old?

Do you think that the cutting horses are shown too soon. Actually most of the three years olds have been shown many times before the futurities.They just call them pre-works! If you've paid a trainer you've been billed for these and you know what I'm talking about. Many of these young horses are exhausted and sick of the whole deal before they get to the big one in Fort Worth.It's no wonder that few of the entries in NCHA Futurity are ever shown again.It's a tough business for horses and trainers alike.