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[abbypeaches]

Just thought you all would like an update:
 11 months ago I brought our now 6 yo MFT mare,Kate, to the trainer(Susan) 45 minutes away. She is very dominant so the trainer has been rotating more dominant horses through her paddock every few months. Kate had tried charging at Susan for the hay during feeding time but that has been dealt with. She doesn't do that any more. Kate is realizing that has to respect other people and horses.
  I was able to participate in an obstacle clinic in May with her at the trainer's facility. It was a good experience for us. I got to work on keeping her walking slower in hand(she isn't saddle-trained yet). That got my confidence up. She has run me over in the past so I am watchful of her when I am with her. Found out she doesn't like the sound of the bubble machine or the bubbles. She is very good at pushing a pole with her chest that was weighed down with bags of sand. We got through the other obstacles(even walked over a line of flames) okay. It was good to spend time with her.
 I go see her as often as I can which ends up being only monthly. I usually bring a pickup load of hay for her then. I hold her for the farrier visits too. Being retired means that I am driving our son to & from work(he is handicapped and doesn't drive). My husband is experiencing issues with his hips(at least his back is healed from surgery in January) which limits his ability to walk very far or stand for long. At least he can mow the lawn on the zero-turn mower and drive himself to PT and his other appointments. I had to move my older MFT gelding,Sam, back to the nearby farm he came from so he can be with other horses. I borrowed a pony from there last winter so I could move Sam back here for a while. She wanted her pony back in June so I moved Sam there again until Kate gets back here. So I go there twice a day to feed and medicate him(he has Cushings). The farm is a cow-calf operation so Sam gets exposed to many tractors and other farm machinery. Plus I am still the secretary of the MI Foxtrotting Horse Association so I am busy doing paperwork for that and helping with the various clinics that we chose to offer( 3 obstacle clinics, a National Trail ride and a Western Dressage clinic). Susan brought a Peruvian paso for me to ride on for  the NTR since Sam's arthritis prevented me from riding him there. That mare was smoooooth!
  We got our hay stacked in the barn a few weeks ago. Glad I had helpQ
  Trainer Susan severely sprained BOTH of her ankles at a friend's house stepping off of her porch on the fourth of July so she can't do much training as as she is on crutches. She can put hours on some of her horses that she has in training though. Can't keep her off of them-lol. At least she was able to retire early from the MI Army National Guard. She turned in her paperwork this month. She has an adorable boy who is 7 now. He is autistic/non-verbal and very busy. She can't train horses while her son is home from school in the summer. Her husband is not in the picture(they are getting divorced). So, training is delayed. Susan is an awesome trainer once she gets her hands on the horses. The boarders and I help her when we are there. She has 17 horses at her facility. She manages to keep things going somehow. She has a positive attitude through all of this.
 Last winter was SO cold and now it is SO hot so training is held up more. At least Susan hasn't billed me for anything yet. I pay the farrier and vet when they are there for Kate. At least Kate is with other horses. She was at my place for three years by herself after my 32 yo MFT gelding passed away.
 So my retired life is busy. At least I get horse time daily.
  Thanks for reading all of this.
Marilyn

[ponymare]

Sounds like retired life is really busy! Ouch to spraining BOTH ankles. I can't imagine the pain. She sounds like she doesn't let it get her down! I guess any forward progress is good in training even if it's slow.

[fargos handmaiden]

Wow! You and your trainer sound like you are both flying in a hundred directions at once. Bless.both your hearts. Hang in there.

[abbypeaches]

My mare,Kate, has finally mentally and physically matured to resume training. She turned 7 yesterday and is alot calmer. My trainer and I had her walk through the various obstacles set up in the arena. She was mostly unfazed. Then a couple of weeks later I brought a High Horse Daisetta saddle to try on her. It fit! We lunged her wearing it in the indoor arena. She bucked a few times but got used to it quickly. I use this saddle on my gelding,Sam usually.  At the next session we put a surcingle on her and long-lined her with her halter on. She was bit confused not having me walking beside her. After a while she got used to taking cues from behind. I'll practice the ground driving more  before we do anything else. I am thankful to finally find time with the trainer to make progress with my mare.
Marilyn

[kckc]

Wonderful !

[misstux]

Great news!  Sometimes things happen slower than we would like, but you are heading in the right direction :-)

[KysaSD]

I’m very glad to hear things are working out for you, and I want to give you encouragement. I bought a five year-old Florida cracker horse in the summer of 2020. He was small, so the previous owner, Rita, had mostly done groundwork with him and only taking him for saddle training finally when he was 4 1/2. I did ride him that first summer, but not very much. There were just so many other things in my life. And that continued for a couple years. I did spend time with him, brushing him, caring for him and training him to stand still for the Ferrier. And I certainly rode him just not very much. I will say that overtime this horse has bonded so tightly to me. The first fall I had him he did a spook in spin and I came off. It absolutely shocked him to his core. He did not want me to come off!
 
Willie just turned nine this week. And I have to say he is finally mature. His brain is where it needs to be. And he has turned into an awesome trail horse. I actually think it’s a good thing that I couldn’t spend as much time with him as I wanted in the previous years When he had age, but not maturity. I’m hoping the same thing is true for your Kate.