Follow your dreams and live your life's adventure!

Cathy doing a film shoot for the Bill Porter TV show.

Hill View Farms and Bill Porter team up to present our Wild America by horse back.

To watch Bill Porters Adventures and live your dream visit Bill on line at www.wildlifevideo.com

Join US and Live The Adventure!

Well the big ship lollipop needs yet another tow into the shop... seems like the drive shaft that runs into the transmission needs work.  Ahh the life of RV ownership.  The one rule of thumb is; one must be good with tools.  And YES  horse camping is all worth it!

Well the Ol' gal (big ship lollipop - 1983 Pace Arrow RV) gave up her transmission after 135 thousand original hard pulling miles.  This was the last thing that was still original.   You can see that nasty crack in the transmission housing. Now on to 200,000 miles with her great new engine from last year and her new transmission.  As long was we keep the roof from imploding we will be in good shape! 

Soina joined us in the Montana Mountains - Bob Marshal. 

Packing out of the Bob Marshal after 4 days of riding and trout fishing.  This time we had two pack horses for just our stuff.

Bella's first ponied experience - 4 miles around the section.

We refresh the lesson from last year of ponying our 2 year olds (Sita and Hernando). The next time it will be with a saddle on.

Rhea lawn grazing with her blue-eyed Peruvian Horse, Sita. 

Tony Lama baby sitting Bella.

Forbidden Love.

Tony all done with his hair cut. (you need sheep sheers to do this job)

Our 2009 selling crew of saddling and equestrian specialists, from left to right:  Annie, Sonia, Rhea, Patti, Cathy, Laura, Susan, Pepper and Don. Missing are Kelly and Harley.

2009 crop: A fresh one! just 8 minutes old -a SWEET filly and a keeper. "Bella"

Don and Cathy with trusted friends crossed the Montana wilderness.  All the equipment that was designed was outstanding and performed to perfection. All their equipment was designed for this kind of riding and it performed to perfection. For more on this adventure  click

Cathy is testing Hill View Farms New Pack Saddle Assembly and also training Charlie to carry the load.  When the saddle completes the 4-day - 90 mile trek across the Bob Marshall/Scape Goat wilderness area it will be ready to market for sale or lease

Tractor training

Our new 6,000 plus square foot building facility that will house:  an expanded retail store, a huge show room for the Brenderup Horse trailers, a manufacturing/assembly room where saddles and tack will be made, an enormous amount of storage space for inventory with a shipping and receiving area. A state-of-the-art fitting room for horses with stalls and flooring.  An outdoor wash station for trailers and horses and a 60 x 60 riding arena.

Cathy and Susan love to ride.  So off they went to a bar and grill for lunch. These two ladies rode hard over 30 miles round trip into Deadwood SD. 

After a tour we purchased 6 bottles of award winning wines to share with friends back home.  Colina the Peruvian, carried all the cargo home safely!  What a great ride.

Sonia assists Princess in bringing Hernando into the world. 

Rhea and Cathy riding to castles in Southern France.

As teenagers, Kelly and Sonia, work on perfecting their horse tricks using Colina.

A new birth - a colt that Don named Pizarro - named after the man who conquered Peru.

Below Cathy is taking Arenosa and Pizarro out for a walk.  Cathy hops on horses just as she is... in a dress or not!  The kid inside lives on!

For you horse owners who haul horses, take heed.  Yes you have a good strong hitch and a ball for pulling.  You may even have sway bars.  You may even go further and have a special hitch made so that it is welded in 7 areas onto your vehicle included directly to the frame itself.

Above you can see the areas of our custom hitch that was made to pull 12,000 lbs of horse flesh, feed and tack.

In the yellow circle the frame is cracked and pulling apart, about broken through.  Blue arrow points to the black water tank.  Pink arrows, the monster frame of hitch.  Green arrow where we are replacing the muffler on the generator.

So PLEASE everyone.  CHECK your ball, hitch and what it is attached to!!  I have since received an email from a dear friend whose friends husband died from following a trailer that came free from the vehicle and was killed as the trailer came through his windshield.

Kelly carried a 5 # puff ball mushroom back 3 miles on Henry.  It was good.

Colina map reading - actually she thinks she can eat it.

Yes, horses do like going over bridges that are covered!

Wash time.  After the foals have been out for a walk with their moms and are hot and tired, we line them all up.  Putting two babies together in-between their moms.  That way when the foal moves it will either move into its own mom or sibling, neither of which will kick or upset them.

I start with spraying the mares and move to the foal, beginning with the legs first.  I brush and spray at the same time.  They know brushings and love it.  Now they will make the water association and accept that too.

I move up with the spray and brushing.  If the foal gets up-set I stop with the misting and continue with the brushing while offering encouraging words.  I then will start back by spraying their dam next to them - spraying the feet / legs at which time I move back over to foal.  When the foal is still and accepting I stop spraying and brush and love them up and move on to the next horse.

I finish up with full body spray for all and for those who really loved it, a mouth and chest misting.

Here I am with two of the girls going out- prepared for buggy conditions to pony one of our 2-year olds.  We pony them during the age of two over bridges, through water, down roads with traffic, up and down hills, through mud and over logs.  They spend a long weekend on the picket line learning about blankets, feed bags and working a rope and staying back alone.

Umbrella training.  I water the horses on the line holding my umbrella.  They sniff it and me, then after they realize it won't eat them or they can't eat it, and that it hasn't eaten me, they relax and drink.

What are the odds? Within a year and a half, the fan has blown off the engine and gone through the radiator - twice. Oh well.  "shit happens"...  Nothing like being over 90 miles from home, with 2 girls and 3 horses. Just makes for another campfire story! And remember if you decide to get an RV, the question you need to ask yourself is, are you good with tools? Why? Because you will be shaking your house down the road.

Some parks they have their own cable hi-lines.  I find that in many cases the lines are too high for me to reach.  So I use the Horse Positioner  with a ring, making one loop over the cable thus lowering it,  allowing me to reach up and hang the hay bag.  However I DO NOT use the cable for picketing my horse.  The cable does not give and does not allow for any play that is needed for our horses’ comfort.  Using the poles provided, I run my own picket line rope as you can see in the photo.

During spring riding when the lilacs are in bloom, we hunt for Morrel mushrooms from horse back.  These mushrooms are delicious sautéed in butter with garlic.  We serve them with steak, on hamburgers or any red meat. 

After a long ride the horses go flat. Resting up for the next whirlwind ride. We unhook them from their leads and they just seem to stay put.  But we always have a one horse on the line.  The others will not leave their "leader" behind. 

Here is why I like the "sleeping halters" with the safety snap. When the horses sack out for the night, sometimes they do not lie down just where their head can rest on the ground, so with the wider straps of the halter their head is gently cradled.

Henry takes advantage of his down time. He seems to know that he better rest when he can, because a 20 plus mile ride - at a fast clip - is just ahead.

Bringing two herds together: When the youngest foal is about 3 weeks old we start to integrate the mare herd with the main herd.  We take the youngest of our stock, in this case our 2-two year olds and put them in the "Mares" pasture.  They literally get an ass chewing, but all is well and we have plenty of hay put out in piles. We do this for just the one day and move to the next step.

The next step to mixing the new herd is to take the mares to the main pasture/paddock.  We take out all of the older horses out except one, the top gelding (or mare).   So now we have the 2-two year olds - who have been educated as to how things will operate, and the heard leader all together in the main pasture/paddock. Other than a squeal or two between the top gelding/mare from the old herd and top mare from the temporary mare herd. The mares and babies are comfortable with their new surroundings.  This new situation  is for two - three days and then we move to the next step.

Across the fence from the main paddock is the remainder of the herd looking in. They can stiff the mares and babies when they come close to the fence for a visit.  These remaining horses are without their herd leader and are very well behaved, looking in from the outside - wanting to belong.

The last day in the week of mixing is uniting all of the horses.  By this time, they are all very happy to be together and things are wonderful.  They are all so happy to be together in one big family.

At night the mares and babies still come in for extra feed and time alone.  Later we will just bring the babies in alone for extra feed morning and night.

Only a face TWO mothers can love.

The last of 4 births for the 2005 year

I'm here! Naturally my name is Espara which means wait in Spanish, since I was 3 weeks over due!   And to keep the Hill View Farms tradition alive, I'm another filly.

When we bring in the horses for their spring vaccinations, we give them a good curry (brushing).  Just look at that pile of fur!  They had a positive experience and never object to getting shots.  Each time you handle a horse (even if it is just for maintenance you are training), you must ALWAYS end on a positive note.  Horses LOVE grooming and they will equate that with what ever you just did to them.

When the foals are about a month old we start halter training them.  We have their mom cross tied in the alleyway so they can see each other and the baby can be right next to her.  We start by first putting the halter on allowing them to toss their head around.  A day or two later we repeat that step, allowing them to remember.  Then we attach a lead rope to the halter and loop it around their butts.  The babies like to  back-up, pull and flip.  Do not pull against them for that will cause them to panic and pull harder. Go with them and have someone stand behind them or put their butt up against a wall.  Use that lead rope as a pull-a-long  and the halter as a pull-back.  You are the throttle and the rope is what you use to speed up and slow down your teaching to lead training.

Here you can see just how that butt rope is looped. We loop it around the butt just above the hocks pulling that baby along.  It takes no time at all and they are leading great.  This also costs you nothing in extra supplies. No fancy gimmicks, just good ol' common sense. (In this photo, Rhea is standing on the off side.  The rope arrangement is set up for leading on the near side*.  When changing sides-(another day of leading training) you will need to reverse your rope loop for leading from the off side*.)

* Near Side = side you mount up from.
* Off Side = side that you do not mount up from

We give vaccinations shots in early spring. We use only one type of combination  vaccine and that is EQ ( Eastern and  Western) combined with Tetanus.  All the others we give separately - alternating sides- to avoid possible adverse reactions.  We will wait a week before giving the additional injections necessary. Giving more than two shots all at one time or in the same location may result in terrible inflammation, temperature, swelling, drug reaction, and loss of your horse for several weeks (or a season), for they will not be able to walk, carry their head properly or flex.  Each year I receive (3-5) calls from frantic horse owners on what to do.  I can only advise as I have done here.  This is what works for us.

Within the first 1-12 hours after birth the foal will pass poop that is tar black in color.  This is called the meconium.  If they do not pass this, they are constipated.  Contact your veterinarian.  After this fecal passing,  the poop will turn into a color that we call Dijon mustard, - a yellowish color. 

Diarrhea can and does happen occasionally in foals.  It may only last a day or two, but if you have severe case of diarrhea a foal can quickly dehydrate.  So you have to plug them up.  4 oz of Pepto-Bismol twice a day. (2-days usually does the trick, but consult with your veterinarian.)

Diarrhea is like acid on a foals butt and their delicate vulva, and the manure will eat the skin and hair right off - raw.  So after a good bottom washing and a towel dry, apply a nice coat of Desitin diaper rash ointment.  No more problems and their butt stays silky smooth.
 

A day old.  Rhea is holding her boy.  At last after 7 fillies a BOY!  Don says; "He is broken, the pee just runs straight down!" 

After the delivery, we wait for the after birth to pass. During this time we use a latex glove and apply an tincture of iodine solution to the foals navel.  After the placenta passed, we lay it out, making sure it is all there. Look for the rupture spot.  If the placenta is not there or passed within the hour, you will need to contact your veterinarian for an oxytocin shot / & cleaning.  If a mare retains her placenta, she runs the risk founder among other issues.  The white mass to the left of the placenta is the embryonic sack. 

About a week - 10 days, after delivery mares go into what is called a foal heat.   (During this time foals may exhibit slight diarrhea - that is of no consequence.)  Many breeders will breed-back their mares at this time.  Since we are not "breeders" we do not do this and allow our mares a complete recovery.  Also our mares are some of our best riding horses and we USE them. So it is for both our benefits to stagger foalings.

As we clean stalls and add shavings we let the foals sniff the new thing.  Then we will move the bag around and bang on it.  As you can see, Malina - less than a week old, is tasting and kicking at the bag. This is initial plastic bag training.

Several days later we lay this empty plastic bag in the alleyway and as we pitch stalls the foals can walk on it and taste it.  When they are older and weaned we will expose them to this again.  We do not leave loose plastic unattended with foals.  They can and will consume a variety of things as they are tasting and exploring their environment.  Remember, horses are suicidal until they are 2 years of age.

Kisses and face rubs.  Even Don - who does not kiss babies, kissed and kisses this little filly! As Don said "She is so special." Even though this is the 6th filly in a row, (poor Don, he just wanted a boy...sometimes all that estrogen is too much)  he would not give-up this little girl, he is really in love with her.  Another keeper! 

This is new... Imagine my surprise when Don turned my 2-horse trailer into a chick trailer- home.  I do have to agree, it works great until they are big enough to join the flock.

Here she is, Malina at 2 days old who has the "itches".  She adores people.

2 days old! Look at the size of that filly! The mare is 15 hands. Don says that our mare had a yearling!  He had only one day to lift and carry this filly around, cause she was well over 100 lbs!

20 minutes old.  Notice that we wrap the mares tail to keep all that beautiful Peruvian tail hair clean during delivery.

10 minutes old and imprinting begins.

Here I am stall sitting. Just getting low and being there makes a huge difference.

Lucia out for a walk at 2 days old. She gaits!  Naturally.

Lucia giving kisses.

What we feed our pregnant mares: Daily allowance based on body weight of 1,100 lbs & adjust accordingly. During pregnancy until 90 days prior to foaling we feed a nice quality grass hay (13 lbs).  For the last 90 days we feed 6 lbs alfalfa and 3 lbs of hay with 2 lbs rolled corn and 3 lbs oats, (or use a mixed feed).  During lactation  we switch over to 20 lbs of alfalfa and 2 lbs of clean oats.  They have both a salt and mineral block available to them at all times and plenty of fresh clean water.  We vaccinate (tetanus, EQ etc) 3 weeks prior to delivery (alternating injection sites) and will worm the mares 2 weeks to 30-days after delivery. (That is also the time when foals like to eat/taste poop! -YUCK)

LuCia, See the C.  She is just one day old.

When to breed? We wait until our mares are 5 years old, (the average age a horse is physically mature) before we breed them.  If not, you will need to adjust  your feeding for not only a pregnant mare but for one that is still growing.

Kelly and Cathy riding in Peru.  These horses make us realize how lucky we are to have our horses back home.

When my "babies" turn 2 (beginning of the year,) I build on my "jumpy-jumpies".  That is while they are eating, I put pressure on their backs and jump up and down, where as earlier I would just jump up and down next to them. I followed that training session by setting my hands on their backs and repeated the process, doing each side. This lesson is broken down into 4 parts.

After the pressure of the "jumpy-jumpies". I now  apply slight weight by jumping up against them and sliding down.  I do this with each baby, each side.  This will be the extent of weight they will have on them until late fall when we will actually sit on them bare-back, sliding off each side and their rump. This fourth part of the lesson "jumpy-jumpies".  I always take small bite size lessons and always build on the prior lesson taught.  Always, ALWAYS, end on a positive note, even if you have to repeat an old lesson. And remember a horses attention span is about 30 minutes.  Do NOT burn them out.

Here is our official foaling stall isolated from the other stalls.  The windows are 6 feet high and have "hog panels" across them so that horses cannot break the glass with their noses.  As you can see, the walls are SOLID from floor to ceiling.  This is the ideal.  Solid 2-inch thick oak planks you have to drill nail holes on the bottom 5 feet, then plywood above for a smooth finished surface.

Here is our official foaling stall double doorway.  The top door is open; the bottom 5-ft. high oak plank door is closed (ideal would be bars up to the ceiling).  When the top doorway is open care must be taken with horses that are aggressive.  I lost a college colleague due to a stallion who stuck his head out and bit him on the neck, the next day they found lying dead in the alley way.  Mares can also be VERY aggressive with their new born so be very careful. We installed a foaling monitor and also have a fan for air circulation during the hotter times of year.

All of our stalls have Stall Skins installed. There is no better flooring for foaling. Period.  When wet, they are NOT slippery and foals have no trouble at all  getting their footing, taking those precious first steps.  There is also no "dirt-floor dust" to get sucked into newborn lungs. An outstanding Product.

We did not space out our mares deliveries this year as we had in the past,  and so several mares are due foal within days of each other.  Therefore we must convert our other stalls into foaling stalls.  To do this we need a solid wall 5 feet high.  We cover the bars in order to prevent a small hoof from a frisky foal from getting through, becoming stuck.  A foot that gets stuck generally breaks the foals leg,  which then leads to their death. Remember a horse is always looking for a place to have an accident.

Here Don is "fixing" the other stall (a foaling stall needs to be at least 12 x 16)  to be adequate.  Photo's show both inside and outside with finished walls that are 6 feet and  5 feet high at the door.

After the foals are larger - the feet, we will remove the temporary safety plywood.

As we have our temporary stalls completed for foaling, we installed monitors above the corner feeders. The safest divide between horse stalls should be a solid type of floor-to-ceiling divide.  This can be be modified for air circulation but still must have a solid wall 5 feet up then bars or some other form of "open divide".  We chose a 6 foot solid wall with no other barrier to the ceiling. This is not the safest, but we have our own horses and do not take in others.

If you have any type of tube gate, this too must be made safe for the baby foal.  Don fastened plywood onto this metal gate by first drilling holes into the gate and then screwing on the wood, making a solid wall. We made sure that there were NO gaps anywhere from top-to-bottom wider than 3 inches.  Any space wider than that could possibly entrap a young foal’s hoof.  Remember, your wall needs to be to the floor!  Babies lie down and get stuck very easily! And they can die from being cast under or in a gate. (Even big horses.)

Here is an inside view of the same gate,  as shown in the photo to the left.  Solid wood to the floor and 5 feet high.  We have installed the "stall skin" and now just have to bed it down with wood chips.

Riding in Peru.  Beautiful people, food and culture, but we sure missed OUR horses and tack; yes we are spoiled Americans!

Equine dental care is just as important as yearly vaccinations. Every year or at the very least, every-other-year horses need their teeth floated.   You either  hire a proper dentist or do it yourself.  Having the correct tools - to open the horse mouth wide enough is crucial to getting to all of the teeth, as is having a float with extensions in order to get to the back teeth for hook removal.  The float must also have a proper rasp which is the part that does the filing,  and costs $100.00 + and is good for aprox. 10 uses and can be sent in for re-sharpening.   Also a cocktail of tranquilizer is necessary (your veterinarian can draw one up for you). This way you can take all the time necessary to file down or remove, in young horses the wolf teeth and/or caps-if any. (Before I start my young horses in bit, I hire a veterinarian to remove these teeth since I do not have the specialized tooth removing tools, but in a pinch a hammer and screw driver will do the job.  Lastly, proper lighting is needed.  The use of a head-lite works great.

After administering the drugs, wait until they take effect. Start by feeling with your hand, the outside the top edges of the teeth and on the lower teeth, the inside edges next to the tongue. File those sharp edges off, and rinse your file often in water to remove tooth residue.  Then check the front and rear top edges of all the molars. The edges must be smooth and not have hooks. These hooks can cause real trouble and must be either filled or cut off-in which case you will need the services of a veterinarian as with, smelling anything bad, which may indicate rotting or abscessed teeth. 

Floating teeth - correctly, is hard work. Period.  
Don and I take turns until the job is done.

Turtle our RV kitty is wanting out for her morning walk (she is using the door handle).  Bengal cats make good companions, highly trainable, travel well and have many "dog like qualities" . Also notice where we use the "tidy pockets", just inside our door to hold loads of stuff.

In training our horses we have two areas in which to work them.  One is this open grassy area which they will be worked on a lunge line.  This teaches them, that I am the "center post" and that they will yield to the line and not look for a wall to work off of.

We put barrels near the area where the horse feed.  That way they are familiar with this item and not fear it in the future.

We do not shoe many of our horses and do not have shoes on during the winter months.  This makes for a healthier foot.  To keep the hoof cuticle healthy we designed our barn so that the horses will have to walk though moist earth and mud to get up under the barns lean for water.  You can see the darker area of earth, where water run off from higher ground is being surface drained around the barn.

Here is our round pen.  The safest pen is one where the walls are 6-8 feet high and solid.  In that way you have the horse's complete attention.  But we used cattle tube gaits.  You can make your round pen any size, but the best is the length of your lounge line that you are comfortable with.  Footing is important, use a clay base, sand, or a sandy loam, or a wood by- product is good.  There are many good choices out there.  We use this pen for lessons, jumping (you can see the equipment on the ground) and for green horses or outside horses that come in and need a place to remain isolated.

Here is where we have our outside water. It is located on a concrete slab, so that the horses without shoes can wear their feet down naturally. This stainless steel automatic water dispenser is heated during the winter. We have blocked off the back corner so that the horses cannot get behind it.  It also keeps them away from the water line going up into the hayloft to our water heater.  There is an angled board attached to the wall, that is the cat ramp for the kitties to get up and down from the hayloft.  Also there is a squirrel cage fan set on a shelf angling down. This keeps the air moving on very hot days.  These fans are readily available, and cheap. They are found at salvage yards and are leftovers from old livestock barns.  They move HUGE amounts of air.  We have floodlights up there too.

Having a sand pit or rolling area is very important for the health of your horses.  They roll to keep their coats healthy, to dry off after bathing or sweating and after being ridden.  They roll to re-align their backs, fix a tummy ach, remove biting insects and just for fun.  Horses love rolling and kick up their heals afterwards, especially after a rain!. It is a joy to watch this behavior.

Once each day our herd is found rolling in the sand pit.

You would never believe that this horse can so dead on the picket line, but put her in bit and or under saddle and I challenge any one to tire her out! She is an endurance and dressage riders dream, competitive and a ham at the same time.  She is gorgeous, she knows it and demands to be ridden!

Kelly conquers yet another horse.

The Tauer family in Montana

Colina our very broad 3 year old.

Swimming Colina.  When swimming you must take care to allow the horses head to stay up.  One breath of water up the nose and it can be curtains for your horse. That is why you must remove a tie down from your horse when crossing water and why so many horses can drown so quickly.

Rhea with Sadie in a Montana stream.

Kelly and Henry taking a nap.  Henry is one very special horse for a very special girl.  Together they have ultimate trust and love.

We hang pieces of plastic from the rafters to desensitize our young horses.  They have to go by it to get water or eat.

Don with his buddies.  His "little buddy Dick" and his "older adopted son Walt".  The wild bunch in Montana with their "pistolas"

The Ranch Handler Cart finds yet another use. Don rinsing laundry using bio-degradable soap -of course. 

Don and his "little buddy", calibrating their G.P.S.

Don in the wild with his wild riding Joya.

"Turtle" out on her morning walk.  Naturally she is on her leash.

Cathy getting the signal - consulting with the vet for a friend.

Cathy delivering catalogs on her beloved Tito. May 8, 1996 – September 3, 2004.  "He never has really left me, for he is with me in my dreams."

As we continue our training, when our babies are 1.5 or so years, they still come in twice a day for extra feed.  Since this is routine for them we begin exposing them to the scary things in life.  Such as the horse eating paper or plastic bags.  They must walk over, between and on these bags.  After a week of this we take this away and show it again to them when they are 2 or 2.5 years.  Before you know it they play with these sacks.  But initially getting them into the stall may take a little coaxing.  They give in quickly because they KNOW that there is FOOD waiting for them in their feeder.

The best mothers day present!  Don put in a hot water heater for me and my babies. He ran the lines from the horse water dispenser up into the hayloft where he then added 2 more floor joists to the loft floor to support this added weight.  He installed an outlet for the water heater and a separate on/off lighted switch down by the door.   He ran the water lines down with both hot and cold taps, running them together with a laundry hose.  My curly hose is attached to that.  He put in a washtub - with cut off legs, which fits below the water hydrant and allows for a 5-gallon pail to hang.  This tub drains into a gravel hole and out of the barn.  What a guy!  I love him and my horses LOVE their warm baths.

Our RV Traveling cat named Turtle.  Hits the Montana wilderness.

Here is one feeder located under our lean-to. We push hay bales from above into the feeder.  You can see pink strips of fabric (old pillow cases) hanging.  This keeps the birds from flying into the hayloft.  We have an automatic fly spray system with one nozzle in the lean-to area.  You can see the white hose going to that nozzle at the top left corner of the photo.

Here is our sitting and waiting area.  Notice the leaf blower?  This is what I use with an extension cord to blow out the barn.  Our concrete floors have ridges for proper footing and to sweep them is very difficult. This leaf blower is the best thing since sliced bread. I store it on top of our ox yolk.  Above that is one of our stereo speakers -  a leftover from college days.

Here we are training the babies to flapping plastic.  We have this plastic first on the ground for a couple of days in the corner, and then rustle it around while they and the others watch.  Then we hang it.  It will blow in the wind.  They will have to go around it to come in the barn for their daily feedings, go behind it to get hay from the feeder and go by it to get water.  This is a good review for all horses.

Wash training begins with having our babies next to other horses who are use to bathing.

As we wash we start with the font feet and move up - we use positive reinforcement with sweet feed in a bucket so they learn to LOVE baths.  Later we will drop the feed and use stroking,  rubbing and patting while speaking lovingly so they will always love this activity. Age is 17 months

Here we have our curly hose that will wrap and touch the rear legs as the babies get bathed.  They are already use to this feeling from the long lead ropes that we exposed to them to earlier during their halter and rope training. Age is 17 months.

Cathy in Kansas, finishing up on Colina's training. She had at 5 different riders, Ponied a strange horse and traveled with out any of her herd mates.  The next step in her training will be finding the correct bit that she likes and will give the collection that I am looking for. 

Here we are in Montana heading out on our overnight in the wilderness.  We use the garment bags (fully opened) that hold ample hay cubes, clothing and other gear.  We make sure that they are balanced and securely clipped and tied on to our saddles.  They worked great.  But before using them this way - fully opened, make sure your horse is use to having stuff set way back on their rump or riding double.

 Colina after two rides, has just a thin rope attached to her halter bridle and hooked around the horn of my saddle.  I will ride the season this way, for  if needed I can pull with out hurting her delicate nose.  Later I will add a three piece snaffle bit and work on head and neck positioning, followed by either another finishing bit or return to the hackmore. But only after she has the basics down which includes all leg and seat cues.  I do not teach leads and lead changes - cantering or heavy riding until the horses are 4 years of age due to the fact that the knee capsule is not developed and stressing this area will cause knobbed knees and horses that are over in the knees as well as arthritis later in life.

By the time my horse are 3 years old, they know their verbal cues.  I will saddle, lounge and pony them for a ride.  The next step is mounting up, getting down and mounting up again.  Next I have Don pony us along for a ride.  The following ride will be free of the pony rope but I will still have a lead rope along for the tricky spots.  Colina  is showing how we do this.  On the halter bridle, I have a strong lead rope attached and I have my reins first attached to the halter bridle's side pulls, and then later to the hackmore. After which I will add a bit when the young 3 year old is ready.

2004 the Tauer family is now complete with our youngest daughter working the booth at the MN horse expo

Don used his Cushman truck to move about the pastures carrying tanks of Propane and Oxygen.

Don is filling the gopher holes and will detonate the mixture of oxygen and propane. The very large explosion destroys the nasty rodents and our horses will then have a safe pasture in which to run.  This activity is a must for maintaining safe pastures and great sport for those of us who have a warped sense of humor and get thrills out of blowing things up.

Here is "Shorty" he is the Peruvian Stallion we used to cover 4 of our mares. 

We arrived after a 4 hour drive and I unloaded  mares.  My one mare - who was ready for Mr. Right, stood right there for servicing.  Don't we wish all mares were that easy! Here are 4 of my mares checking out Mr. Right aka "Shorty".   I have their tails  wrapped up and so they will be ready when the "time is right". 

We start the riding season early in MN.  Easter weekend and there is snow.

When the temps are in the mid to upper 20's we have to use straw and extra horse blankets, to keep our holding tanks from freezing.

In the spring we will take our 3 year olds out for our yearly garbage walk abound the section of 4 miles. We walk the road ditch picking up trash on both sides of the road.  Not only does this get the environment clean, but we get in shape and our young horses learn to follow pick-ups and not fear them, even as other traffic passes by.

As you can see, "Colina" is tied to the back of the truck, short enough that she can not get her front feet under the rear tire. We drive slowly.  As Don dumps garbage, he will occasionally give Colina a treat of new grass from the ditch.  She learns very quickly that there is sometimes good stuff in this mess and noisy cans and floppy plastic and noses through it all.  We also have the kids ride bike along side and the bike too ends up setting in the back of the pick-up as well. 

Colina, walks calmly after about a mile of garbage walking and the rest of the time she learns to follow, riffle through trash, stand next to the pick up and watching cars and bikes go by.  After the 3 hour walk she is considered done with this training session, and will be exposed to this again when under saddle.

Customers welcome;  out from Chicago trying saddles. We saddled up 7 Peruvians and went riding, and we still had some horses "leftover" we could have saddled up!

After we have gotten our young horse to handle a rider bareback, we will put on the training bridle and review our ground cues, followed by our new cues  from horse back.

"Turtle" Sleeping- 2003 RV kitty.  Yes, we haul: 6 horses, three kids, one dog and a cat when we go riding...

THE TAUER FAMILY

Winners at orienteering!

Kelly reading with Henry at sunset

Picketing

Don in Costa Rica

Another option is hobbles.  We use these on  the horse who likes to run-down and chase the new horse. After 2 days of being  hobbled, they get a clue on what is and is not acceptable.  But do keep in mind that some horses can really learn well how to get around with hobbles on and can gallop full out! As for where to place hobbles on the horse I have always gone around the pasterns, some prefer the cannon bone area.  I have not found one area any better than the other.

Not introducing new horses carefully and slowly can result in costly vet bills or take your horse out for the season. You may think our methods are cruel, but we have not yet had a horse run  through a fence, lose (instead of loose) riding time or incur \ vet bills.  Although, we have had the occasional bite. 

 Introducing new horses to the herd can be a challenge.  For those horses who like to bite, we put the grazing muzzle on.  We attach this to one of our halter bridles - bit not attached, and leave them wearing this for a a day or two. For those horses who like to run down and bite the new horse, we add the 3 pound log chain to the halter.  After a day-or two of this, their heads and necks so tired - hanging so low,  they just give up do not care at all about the new arrival.

Cathy on Denny, life before a flexible panel saddle and when I had 7 saddles - naturally for the various horses.

A new aluminum trailer! Much lighter, much nicer and easier to pull.

1989 Kids on the way, moving up to a pick-up camper.