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.