Friday, October 7, 2011

I'm A Big Girl Now

I felt kind of bad that the last few pics I have have put up of Miss Beretta have not been exactly flattering. So I asked her to give you her best race horse pose...


It's not difficult to determine she takes after her mother's side of the family...







I am hoping the weather holds up because it's definitely time to get little sister started under saddle. I've been busy getting all of the new trim primed and painted for the house though. It's been tough to keep up with the contractor. But I'm not complaining. As hard as it was to find someone who shows up and gets things done (and done right)...I was more than happy to give up some of my own time to save a few bucks and keep them on a roll.

I can't really afford to let Beretta mature too much on her own though. The one thing I have found with these blockier made kind of horses is that if left to long, they get really stiff bodied and start to lose maneuverability. If you start them lightly when they are this age and work with them consistently, it goes a long way toward them developing into a more limber and agile adult.

The Lady Bug's Moon's that I have rode seem to have a propensity to want to be a bit heavy on the front-end. Beretta doesn't seem to be so inclined...so far...but both the Leo's and LBM's are heavy shouldered horses. It's going to take consistent work to keep Beretta mobile in the front as she develops even more. Luckily, she has that strong stifle and a good hock-set. She may never be sweepy in the front, but from the way I have seen her move, she seems more inclined to keep her center of balance off her front-end and uses her stifle and hocks to really stop and get turned around.

The stinker can fly too. Watching her run is interesting. She moves very differently than my other horses. She carries that head and neck very upright and all of her speed comes from under her. She reminds me of my friend, L's winning little barrel mare. I don't know if Beretta will ever get a real opportunity to show what she can do. It depends on if she stays sound on that hind leg where she shattered her sesmoid bone, but every since the chiro adjusted her hips a couple of months ago, she has been sound and traveling square. She may hold up better than the vet said she would as a riding horse, but I'll only know if she'll hold up for barrel racing years from now.

First things first though...gotta get her started and riding.

10 comments:

Sherry Sikstrom said...

She sure is a nice looking girl! I like 'em solid like that . Keep us up to date on her progress

Crystal said...

Wow has she ever growed up! I sure like getting a start on them then giving them a little time off.

Shirley said...

Genetics sure are strong in her. She's a pretty girl too, it'll be fun watching her progress.

NeighGirl said...

She is a beautiful horse, Awesome photo. :)
Neighgirl

Vaquerogirl said...

Love those old style QH's! Looks like she's going to carry on the family traditions!

Cut-N-Jump said...

Big difference in the old type horses in the photos and the stuff we see out there today...

Get her started and see where she goes. Time will tell and if it is meant to be, it will happen. I have always heard where the bone breaks, it mends stronger. If that is the case, she just may be your next barrel horse. It could happen.*shrugs*

Carroll Farm said...

She is sure grown up. I can't believe how big she has gotten. Good luck getting her started. She sounds smart though, it should be pretty easy. We got a 5 month old filly about a week ago. Wade (Mikey's other half) keeps telling us how gorgeous she is. You will have to hop over to our blog in a couple of days and check her out. She doesn't pose well for pictures though.

Leah Fry said...

I also like the solid look of her. Nice chest and nice caboose.

Danielle Michelle said...

I like her! My best barrel horse carried her head high. She was faster than anything I've ever seen. Used to do gymkana on her also - and ran her on a round-the-barrels (standard pattern but around rather than the clover leaf) race once at a 7.20. It was nice...

There's some power there!

Fantastyk Voyager said...

She's a beauty! Looks just like her momma.