After Madigan made his debut at a Future Event Horse class last year, he went back in the pasture to eat, grow, and learn to live in a small herd. I handled him at least a little bit every day. Most of the handling was super basic- haltering and leading, picking up and cleaning his hooves, brushing him. He took it all in stride; when I put a blanket on him for the first time, he barely lifted his head from his feed pan.
Now that he’s approaching his second birthday, he’s looking and acting more like an adult than a timid baby. His favorite activity is playing bitey-face with Moe (who is thoroughly sick of him). When he gallops around with Candy, he looks like he knows what he’s doing and not like he’s going to fall down. He had a growth spurt and is now the same height as Moe, just over 15 hands. (Which is great- I was paranoid that he would end up large pony size forever.) Madigan is still friendly and easygoing, too.
Earlier this year, it seemed like it was time for Madigan to start learning some new things, like how to wear a bridle and how to self-load in a trailer. My friend next door has a super reputation for starting youngsters, so it was an easy decision to start bringing him over for groundwork lessons. Richal is patient, consistent, and fair with babies and greenies, and it’s been fun to see her work with Madigan.
Nothing terribly exciting happens in their weekly lessons. He always needs a refresher on personal space- he wants to be right next to the people (because the people scratch him and pet him and feed him cookies sometimes). He’s learning how to walk and trot on the line. Last week, Richal introduced him to the mounting block and a saddle. Madigan remains cheerful and curious- he seems to like investigating all the new things.
I’m excited about the future with him. He’s sensible and pleasant, and it’s nice to know he’s getting good training from the start!
What a great resource your neighbor is! I’m glad Madigan’s introduction to ‘real life’ is going well 🙂
She’s fabulous! I’ve seen her break several young horses over the years, and I’ve always been impressed at how quiet and unfazed they seem to be throughout the process. She has way more experience than I do, so it was definitely the right choice!
Curious babies — fun but also a pain in the ass, haha! Enjoy all the fun!
Right?! I’m glad he’s curious, though- it’s a nice change from Candy, who runs in terror, or Gina, or generally ignores anything that isn’t directly affecting her.
So exciting! I think he’s so handsome and can’t wait to follow along as he grows up.
Aw, thanks! I really love his weird face marking (except when his pink nose burns in the summer because he’s rubbed all the Desitin off).
So exciting!! Looking forward to hearing about his progress as he learns to horse! 😉
I’ll do my best to keep blogging about even if it stays pretty boring for a while! 😀
What a good baby! Can’t wait to see what else he learns 🙂
This is the perfect way to bring along the baby. He’s so very adorable.
Such a good baby horse!