CountryJackG

During the last line driving session I began introducing the voice commands of "Gee" (right turn) and "Haw" (left turn) so in this session I continue using them so that he will connect the voice command with the action he is doing. In this session we are working on steering at a walk, backing up, steering while backing - after working towards standing unrestrained while feet are put in every farrier position and tapped on. Training horses always involves some risk of injury (or even death) to the horse, the trainer, any spectators, equipment used, etc. - this risk is totally your own as you will be making your own judgements on what to do. As with any suggestions on any subject you must weigh them out for yourself and proceed accordingly - at your own risk. I apologize that a good bit of what I am saying is difficult to hear. I was wearing one of my earbuds connected to my phone thinking that automatically the earbud mic would thus get used. But the Camera app folks have now made the app so you have to go into settings and select the bluetooth mic each and every time and I learned that AFTER filming this video. Sorry. Remember to intentionally, on purpose, learn of God each day by prayerfully reading, studying, and pondering upon God's word each day. Talk to God in prayer as your Heavenly Father who would like for you to be His friend. Find out what He would like you to do for Him as His friend and go and do it for Him as His friend. Yes very intentionally, very much on purpose, become the friend of God. And have a blessed day!! Jack Griffes Certified Farrier accepting new clients in my core area https://griffes.tripod.com/farrier.html Colt Starting Trainer - contact me to get your horse on my waiting list https://griffes.tripod.com/startright.html Constitution Coach Freedom is the cure - Learn, Love, Live the Principles of Liberty https://griffes.tripod.com/Learn-Founding-Principles.html .

This is an old video from Spring 2010 taken by one of my daughters while I harrowed the upper garden with my now late mare, Kate, whom I trained as a ride/drive horse. Video quality is not great but my then young daughter was doing her best and she did an excellent job considering her age and inexperience at the time - and of course phone video quality was not nearly as good in 2010 as it is now in 2023. Remember to intentionally, on purpose, learn of God each day by prayerfully reading, studying, and pondering upon God's word each day. Talk to God in prayer as your Heavenly Father who would like for you to be His friend. Find out what He would like you to do for Him as His friend and go and do it for Him as His friend. Yes very intentionally, very much on purpose, become the friend of God. And have a blessed day!! Jack Griffes Certified Farrier accepting new clients in my core area https://griffes.tripod.com/farrier.html Colt Starting Trainer - contact me to get your horse on my waiting list https://griffes.tripod.com/startright.html Constitution Coach Freedom is the cure - Learn, Love, Live the Principles of Liberty https://griffes.tripod.com/Learn-Founding-Principles.html .

So what can you train a weanling to do which will help get him ready to be a saddle horse or a ride/drive horse two or three years later? One thing you can do is teach him to line drive - so that he already understands the concept of steering via direct reining. This video is completely raw unedited uncut - you see the entire short second session and it needs to be short for a weanling just learning - they do not have a long attention span. Training horses always involves some risk of injury (or even death) to the horse, the trainer, any spectators, equipment used, etc. - this risk is totally your own as you will be making your own judgements on what to do. As with any suggestions on any subject you must weigh them out for yourself and proceed accordingly - at your own risk. Note that prior to starting to teach this weanling to line drive he has been taught several other things. His owners very thoroughly did Foal Imprinting during his first 24 hours of life per Dr. Robert Miller, DVM. He leads very well including at second gait. He has been ponied off my mare several times including on short trail rides through the woods where at times it was a narrow trail where he had to be sent behind to follow single file - on command. He knows the beginning basics of Stand-Stay. In other words - a foundation was laid before simply diving in and line driving him. This weanling is also quite calm by disposition and he absolutely trusts people and loves being around people. As always "You don't practice until you get it right - you practice until you can't get it wrong." Which means MUCH practice done in a way that keeps the horse engaged in the learning process - so that it does get to the point where your team - you and your horse working together - can't get it wrong. And yes even if you hire a trainer you the owner are going to have to develop the skill required so that the team of you and your horse can't get it wrong. Remember to intentionally, on purpose, learn of God each day by prayerfully reading, studying, and pondering upon God's word each day. Talk to God in prayer as your Heavenly Father who would like for you to be His friend. Find out what He would like you to do for Him as His friend and go and do it for Him as His friend. Yes very intentionally, very much on purpose, become the friend of God. And have a blessed day!! Jack Griffes Certified Farrier accepting new clients in my core area https://griffes.tripod.com/farrier.html Colt Starting Trainer - contact me to get your horse on my waiting list https://griffes.tripod.com/startright.html Constitution Coach Freedom is the cure - Learn, Love, Live the Principles of Liberty https://griffes.tripod.com/Learn-Founding-Principles.html .

This video was shot while riding Ashur while walking doing the Flat Foot Walk - just hoping I had the phone camera pointed so it was catching his footfall. If you watch the video on a large enough screen watch the point where he picks up his front hoof - sometimes you can see the hoof print and then see the overstride - where his back hoof lands well in front of the front hoof print. In this video Ashur is doing the Flat Foot Walk which you can learn more about here https://www.horsesandus.com/ambling-horse-gaits/ Remember to intentionally, on purpose, learn of God each day by prayerfully reading, studying, and pondering upon God's word each day. Talk to God in prayer as your Heavenly Father who would like for you to be His friend. Find out what He would like you to do for Him as His friend and go and do it for Him as His friend. Yes very intentionally, very much on purpose, become the friend of God. And have a blessed day!! Jack Griffes Certified Farrier accepting new clients in my core area https://griffes.tripod.com/farrier.html Colt Starting Trainer - contact me to get your horse on my waiting list https://griffes.tripod.com/startright.html Constitution Coach Freedom is the cure - Learn, Love, Live the Principles of Liberty https://griffes.tripod.com/Learn-Founding-Principles.html .

This video was shot while riding Ashur - just hoping I had the phone camera pointed so it was catching his footfall. He was standing still at first then walked a wee bit then went into his smooth gait and later put more energy into his smooth gait (sped up a bit but not a lot.) If you watch the video on a large enough screen watch the point where he picks up his front hoof - sometimes you can see the hoof print and then see the overstride - where his back hoof lands well in front of the front hoof print. So do you know what smooth gait he is doing? Here is some help https://www.horsesandus.com/ambling-horse-gaits/ Remember to intentionally, on purpose, learn of God each day by prayerfully reading, studying, and pondering upon God's word each day. Talk to God in prayer as your Heavenly Father who would like for you to be His friend. Find out what He would like you to do for Him as His friend and go and do it for Him as His friend. Yes very intentionally, very much on purpose, become the friend of God. And have a blessed day!! Jack Griffes Certified Farrier accepting new clients in my core area https://griffes.tripod.com/farrier.html Colt Starting Trainer - contact me to get your horse on my waiting list https://griffes.tripod.com/startright.html Constitution Coach Freedom is the cure - Learn, Love, Live the Principles of Liberty https://griffes.tripod.com/Learn-Founding-Principles.html .

Ashur - listen to smooth gait rhythm - 30 Sept 2023 If (by way of analogy) you think of gait as "musical talent" then walk-trot-canter horses know how to play just 3 songs - a four beat walk - a two beat trot - and a three beat canter. They can play those 3 songs faster or slower - but just those 3 songs. Smooth gaited horses have more musical talent - they can play more songs - and some of them will improvise (mix songs together). So listen to the rhythm of the "song" Ashur is playing in a smooth four beat gait. Do you recognize the gait he is in by that rhythm? Remember to intentionally, on purpose, learn of God each day by prayerfully reading, studying, and pondering upon God's word each day. Talk to God in prayer as your Heavenly Father who would like for you to be His friend. Find out what He would like you to do for Him as His friend and go and do it for Him as His friend. Yes very intentionally, very much on purpose, become the friend of God. And have a blessed day!! Jack Griffes Certified Farrier accepting new clients in my core area https://griffes.tripod.com/farrier.html Colt Starting Trainer - contact me to get your horse on my waiting list https://griffes.tripod.com/startright.html Constitution Coach Freedom is the cure - Learn, Love, Live the Principles of Liberty https://griffes.tripod.com/Learn-Founding-Principles.html .

Gemma ponying Ashur across the Creek at Waterloo - 26 Sept 2023 "You don't practice until you get it right - you practice until you can't get it wrong." On the return leg I was riding Ashur and ponying Gemma and he did not hesitate crossing the Creek. Remember to intentionally, on purpose, learn of God each day by prayerfully reading, studying, and pondering upon God's word each day. Talk to God in prayer as your Heavenly Father who would like for you to be His friend. Find out what He would like you to do for Him as His friend and go and do it for Him as His friend. Yes very intentionally, very much on purpose, become the friend of God. And have a blessed day!! Jack Griffes Certified Farrier accepting new clients in my core area https://griffes.tripod.com/farrier.html Colt Starting Trainer - contact me to get your horse on my waiting list https://griffes.tripod.com/startright.html Constitution Coach Freedom is the cure - Learn, Love, Live the Principles of Liberty https://griffes.tripod.com/Learn-Founding-Principles.html .

Bandit the weanling pinto TWH eating his evening grain - 26 Sept 2023 Remember to intentionally, on purpose, learn of God each day by prayerfully reading, studying, and pondering upon God's word each day. Talk to God in prayer as your Heavenly Father who would like for you to be His friend. Find out what He would like you to do for Him as His friend and go and do it for Him as His friend. Yes very intentionally, very much on purpose, become the friend of God. And have a blessed day!! Jack Griffes Certified Farrier accepting new clients in my core area https://griffes.tripod.com/farrier.html Colt Starting Trainer - contact me to get your horse on my waiting list https://griffes.tripod.com/startright.html Constitution Coach Freedom is the cure - Learn, Love, Live the Principles of Liberty https://griffes.tripod.com/Learn-Founding-Principles.html .

Bandit the weanling TWH learning to be ponied off Avi - 22 Sept 2023 Ponying horses in training helps them to learn from the more experienced horse which is ponying them. Ideally you want the pony horse to be a calm well trained good example. The pony horse needs to be rock solid neck reining and doing lateral movements especially if teaching a youngster to be ponied. You are working towards the ponied horse accepting responsibility to keep itself positioned correctly in relationship to the horse it is being ponied off of. IMO the ideal position is with the head of the horse you are ponying near your leg or barely in front of it. This translates to very similar position as if the rider was on the ground leading the horse - where it is responsible to keep the human handler between its head and shoulder. The horse doing the ponying should NOT try to boss around the horse being ponied off of it. That takes training work - especially when riding the boss mare who is ponying a horse that is not part of her herd. So at times you may have to drop the lead of the ponied horse and do some hard hip yielding turns on the pony horse to let it know that when it is working for you it may NOT boss other horses around - it has to simply let you be the boss of both horses (or all three if you are ponying two horses at once). Training horses always involves some risk of injury (or even death) to the horse, the trainer, any spectators, equipment used, etc. - this risk is totally your own as you will be making your own judgements on what to do. As with any suggestions on any subject you must weigh them out for yourself and proceed accordingly - at your own risk. Remember to intentionally, on purpose, learn of God each day by prayerfully reading, studying, and pondering upon God's word each day. Talk to God in prayer as your Heavenly Father who would like for you to be His friend. Find out what He would like you to do for Him as His friend and go and do it for Him as His friend. Yes very intentionally, very much on purpose, become the friend of God. And have a blessed day!! Jack Griffes Certified Farrier accepting new clients in my core area https://griffes.tripod.com/farrier.html Colt Starting Trainer - contact me to get your horse on my waiting list https://griffes.tripod.com/startright.html Constitution Coach Freedom is the cure - Learn, Love, Live the Principles of Liberty https://griffes.tripod.com/Learn-Founding-Principles.html .

Four days after being taught to pick up his rider from a raised mounting platform the question is - has Ashur accepted it as his responsibility? Will he just do it - without being told? Come Over! How to teach your horse to pick up its rider from a raised mounting platform. https://griffes.tripod.com/comeover.html Remember to intentionally, on purpose, learn of God each day by prayerfully reading, studying, and pondering upon God's word each day. Talk to God in prayer as your Heavenly Father who would like for you to be His friend. Find out what He would like you to do for Him as His friend and go and do it for Him as His friend. Yes very intentionally, very much on purpose, become the friend of God. And have a blessed day!! Jack Griffes Certified Farrier accepting new clients in my core area https://griffes.tripod.com/farrier.html Colt Starting Trainer - contact me to get your horse on my waiting list https://griffes.tripod.com/startright.html Constitution Coach Freedom is the cure - Learn, Love, Live the Principles of Liberty https://griffes.tripod.com/Learn-Founding-Principles.html .

Ashur the 5yr old blue roan TWH gelding was ridden into the village of Onsted to gain experience - to see a LOT of new things - to meet new people - to get passed in both directions by a lot of cars and trucks. And to stop at the hardware store, stand tied to a sturdy light pole, while I went in to buy some Thank You cards. On the way home I shot a short "ride along on Ashur" video for you to enjoy. You can see he is very curious about stuff - we did NOT come down this street on the way into the village - so everything he is seeing is for the first time. Not upset about traffic and generally just curious about all the new sights and sounds. When we first started into the village he was a bit more hesitant - but he has come to see that all those new sights and sounds are not so scary and quite a few people loved on him by petting him - this helped increase his personal courage while also increasing his trust in his master. Remember to intentionally, on purpose, learn of God each day by prayerfully reading, studying, and pondering upon God's word each day. Talk to God in prayer as your Heavenly Father who would like for you to be His friend. Find out what He would like you to do for Him as His friend and go and do it for Him as His friend. Yes very intentionally, very much on purpose, become the friend of God. And have a blessed day!! Jack Griffes Certified Farrier accepting new clients in my core area https://griffes.tripod.com/farrier.html Colt Starting Trainer - contact me to get your horse on my waiting list https://griffes.tripod.com/startright.html Constitution Coach Freedom is the cure - Learn, Love, Live the Principles of Liberty https://griffes.tripod.com/Learn-Founding-Principles.html .

Picking up your rider from a raised mounting platform is an always helpful and sometimes essential skill to teach a horse. This video is Session Two - so if you missed Session One this is the link to it https://rumble.com/v3h6ke6-pick-up-your-rider-session-one-ashur-12-sept-2023.html Session Two was done the very next morning. Ashur was brought out of the pasture - put on Stand-Stay https://griffes.tripod.com/standstay.html for currying, saddling, bridling and then completely cold (no warm up of any kind) we set up the tripod and did Session Two which you can see in full, unedited from the moment I press start to the moment I press end. What you don't see is that after I lead Ashur back to put away the tripod I then had him pick me up off the horse trailer fender. After our training ride he dropped me off on the horse trailer fender and then picked me up off a couple round bales of different heights - one quite a bit taller than the other. And he picked me up off those completely new places without getting all worried about it - he understands what I am asking him to do - and he has agreed to do it when I ask. And that makes all the difference IMO. Every horse learns at a different speed. And often as you work with a horse a LOT they get so they learn quicker for you because you have developed a working relationship of trust with them. So you can see a couple other horses being taught the same skill here https://griffes.tripod.com/comeover.html so you can see horses with different learning speed getting taught the same skill. Training horses always involves some risk of injury (or even death) to the horse, the trainer, any spectators, equipment used, etc. - this risk is totally your own as you will be making your own judgements on what to do. As with any suggestions on any subject you must weigh them out for yourself and proceed accordingly - at your own risk. Remember to intentionally, on purpose, learn of God each day by prayerfully reading, studying, and pondering upon God's word each day. Talk to God in prayer as your Heavenly Father who would like for you to be His friend. Find out what He would like you to do for Him as His friend and go and do it for Him as His friend. Yes very intentionally, very much on purpose, become the friend of God. And have a blessed day!! Jack Griffes Certified Farrier accepting new clients in my core area https://griffes.tripod.com/farrier.html Colt Starting Trainer - contact me to get your horse on my waiting list https://griffes.tripod.com/startright.html Constitution Coach Freedom is the cure - Learn, Love, Live the Principles of Liberty https://griffes.tripod.com/Learn-Founding-Principles.html .

Picking up your rider from a raised mounting platform is a handy skill to teach a horse. The concept is to get your horse to accept responsibility to move itself into position so the rider can easily get on from whatever raised mounting platform is available (picnic table, pickup bumper, trailer fender, tall stump, etc.) Ashur is a 5yr old blue roan TWH gelding. He gives no indication of previously having been taught this skill. After a basically half hour session he is doing it pretty well - another session or two and he should have it perfect. This video shows the whole process start to finish - aside from a less than one minute portion I edited out when the tripod blew over (fell over) and I went and set it back up - this spot is noted by a title card. Every horse learns at a different speed. So if you want to see the training done on other horses go to this webpage https://griffes.tripod.com/comeover.html Training horses always involves some risk of injury (or even death) to the horse, the trainer, any spectators, equipment used, etc. - this risk is totally your own as you will be making your own judgements on what to do. As with any suggestions on any subject you must weigh them out for yourself and proceed accordingly - at your own risk. Remember to intentionally, on purpose, learn of God each day by prayerfully reading, studying, and pondering upon God's word each day. Talk to God in prayer as your Heavenly Father who would like for you to be His friend. Find out what He would like you to do for Him as His friend and go and do it for Him as His friend. Yes very intentionally, very much on purpose, become the friend of God. And have a blessed day!! Jack Griffes Certified Farrier accepting new clients in my core area https://griffes.tripod.com/farrier.html Colt Starting Trainer - contact me to get your horse on my waiting list https://griffes.tripod.com/startright.html Constitution Coach Freedom is the cure - Learn, Love, Live the Principles of Liberty https://griffes.tripod.com/Learn-Founding-Principles.html .

We love playing horseback tag. Our rules are simple. You must tag the rider NOT the horse. IF the rider is a walk-trot level rider then when being pursued by them or when pursuing them you may only walk-trot. Gotta be safe for everybody - which means paying attention to your horse so it doesn't try to bite or kick another horse. IMO it is wise to wear riding helmets anytime you are riding horses - whether a beginner or a very experienced rider like myself - you will note that I am wearing my Resistol RideSafe Helmet that is built into a REAL western straw cowboy hat. We have found that playing horseback tag helps fairly new riders very rapidly gain confidence and very naturally gain a good seat. Where they had struggled with sitting the trot - often during tag they just find their seat because they forget about bouncing and get into the game and then start riding more naturally correct. We have also found that playing horseback tag helps horses and riders start working like a team better. My hunch is that it forces the rider to think ahead a bit and that helps them communicate better with the horse they are riding. Because they NEED to work as a team to either avoid being tagged or to tag someone. And a horse that is very solid doing lateral movements definitely has an advantage in keeping the rider from being tagged as well as in getting in and tagging someone. Remember to intentionally, on purpose, learn of God each day by prayerfully reading, studying, and pondering upon God's word each day. Talk to God in prayer as your Heavenly Father who would like for you to be His friend. Find out what He would like you to do for Him as His friend and go and do it for Him as His friend. Yes very intentionally, very much on purpose, become the friend of God. And have a blessed day!! Jack Griffes Certified Farrier accepting new clients in my core area https://griffes.tripod.com/farrier.html Colt Starting Trainer - contact me to get your horse on my waiting list https://griffes.tripod.com/startright.html Constitution Coach Freedom is the cure - Learn, Love, Live the Principles of Liberty https://griffes.tripod.com/Learn-Founding-Principles.html .

Cinnamon, the 3yr old Gypsy-Shire, was curried and saddled while on Stand-Stay - then immediately mounted up and worked a gate to get into the front pasture. Yes I believe the horse should calmly understand its job so that it can simply be saddled and go do that job cold - no warm up - no lunging - saddle up and go to work. So we did exactly that - we walked over to the gate into our small lot we use as an arena and I put Cinnamon on Stand-Stay by that gate - dismounted from the off side and rigged up a way to use a nearby post to hold my phone to take a video. You see me mounting from the off side (the "wrong" side) because that is the safest way to mount when the horse is pretty close to the gate. We then work the gate twice - first by the push away walk through method - second by the push away back through method. Yes on a 3yr old filly with just 3 months of starting level training. This is not a finished horse - this is simply a well started youngster - a 3yr old filly. She knows how to neck rein. She knows the basic lateral movements - pass around the forehand (hip yield) - pass around the haunches (shoulder yield aka pivot) - and side pass. When asked to canter she knows how to take the requested lead even if there is no visual cue. She has done a lot of wading level water crossings, stepped over many logs of varied sizes, gone up and done moderate to quite steep hills. She loads into a horse trailer by the send in method. She unloads from the trailer by the tail tug back out method. She did one dally and drag of a small tree limb downed by a storm - just a real quick intro by pulling it beside her while leading her - then get on and do it - and she drug it the best part of a quarter mile to the brush pile in the woods - just like it was perfectly normal though it was her first time ever. In addition to foundational training in the arena Cinnamon has logged 89.6 road miles including going to the grocery store and she has also logged 151.4 trail miles here on Lenawee County farmland plus at Waterloo Recreation Area and also at Oak Openings Metropark. That is a total of 241.1 miles logged on roads and trails in addition to foundational training done in the arena. Yes I VERY much believe it takes REAL miles going somewhere to make a good horse and this young filly though not a finished horse has a VERY good start. Her owner has wisely taken me up on the offer to come over weekly to work on horsemanship and when this filly goes home tomorrow I am pretty certain her owner will be happy with her. Remember to intentionally, on purpose, learn of God each day by prayerfully reading, studying, and pondering upon God's word each day. Talk to God in prayer as your Heavenly Father who would like for you to be His friend. Find out what He would like you to do for Him as His friend and go and do it for Him as His friend. Yes very intentionally, very much on purpose, become the friend of God. And have a blessed day!! Jack Griffes Certified Farrier accepting new clients in my core area https://griffes.tripod.com/farrier.html Colt Starting Trainer - contact me to get your horse on my waiting list https://griffes.tripod.com/startright.html Constitution Coach Freedom is the cure - Learn, Love, Live the Principles of Liberty https://griffes.tripod.com/Learn-Founding-Principles.html .

Ride along on Avi 9 Sept 2023 Remember to intentionally, on purpose, learn of God each day by prayerfully reading, studying, and pondering upon God's word each day. Talk to God in prayer as your Heavenly Father who would like for you to be His friend. Find out what He would like you to do for Him as His friend and go and do it for Him as His friend. Yes very intentionally, very much on purpose, become the friend of God. And have a blessed day!! Jack Griffes Certified Farrier accepting new clients in my core area https://griffes.tripod.com/farrier.html Colt Starting Trainer - contact me to get your horse on my waiting list https://griffes.tripod.com/startright.html Constitution Coach Freedom is the cure - Learn, Love, Live the Principles of Liberty https://griffes.tripod.com/Learn-Founding-Principles.html .

Kendalyn's 3yr old Gypsy-Shire filly, Cinnamon, needed her shoes reset on 23 Aug 2023. Kendalyn (14) had ridden on a 5.8 mile trail ride and was planning on holding her horse while I reset the shoes all around after the trail ride. But she very happily took the opportunity to learn to pound horse nails, set the nails, and clinch. That is hard work - she is tough. Her filly stood very well. Remember to intentionally, on purpose, learn of God each day by prayerfully reading, studying, and pondering upon God's word each day. Talk to God in prayer as your Heavenly Father who would like for you to be His friend. Find out what He would like you to do for Him as His friend and go and do it for Him as His friend. Yes very intentionally, very much on purpose, become the friend of God. And have a blessed day!! Jack Griffes Certified Farrier accepting new clients in my core area https://griffes.tripod.com/farrier.html Colt Starting Trainer - contact me to get your horse on my waiting list https://griffes.tripod.com/startright.html Constitution Coach Freedom is the cure - Learn, Love, Live the Principles of Liberty https://griffes.tripod.com/Learn-Founding-Principles.html .

Ashur - first ride assessment - 17 Aug 2023 The owner of Ashur was told that he was a very well trained horse. This is a first ride assessment made to determine what level of training he actually has. Even if they have not been ridden in many years it is rapidly obvious if a horse has been well trained because horses purportedly have the second best memory of any land animal. You can see that someone did do the first part of training quite well with him - he is not the least bit scared of the saddling process. The rest of what happened suggests that possibly much of the training he had done on him was done ONLY or primarily in a round pen. He gives not the least hint of understanding neck reining. And while he steers moderately well at a walk his steering ability degrades in his second gait. After this First Ride Assessment in the small lot we use to do arena work I led him outside our pasture system. Outside the fence he was more anxious about being mounted - harder to get him to stand still - and worse about walking off while you are in the middle of mounting. He walked down our East lane pretty well - quite willingly but as we approached the woods (wet with many puddles due to hard rain just a couple hours earlier in the day) he began loudly proclaiming "I am not a trail horse" because he was scared to walk in the puddle strewn mud. With much green horse reasoning I did get him to go through the puddle strewn entry to the woods. And when we hit a spot where he needed to actually do a water crossing it was all brakes and all "let's turn and leave" and with MUCH green horse reasoning - working to NOT bump up his anxiety further while saying "we are NOT turning and leaving" and "we are facing the water - because once you get your wits about you we are fording that water" I eventually did get him to ford two different water crossings in a very green horse manner. Training horses always involves some risk of injury (or even death) to the horse, the trainer, any spectators, equipment used, etc. - this risk is totally your own as you will be making your own judgements on what to do. As with any suggestions on any subject you must weigh them out for yourself and proceed accordingly - at your own risk. Remember to intentionally, on purpose, learn of God each day by prayerfully reading, studying, and pondering upon God's word each day. Talk to God in prayer as your Heavenly Father who would like for you to be His friend. Find out what He would like you to do for Him as His friend and go and do it for Him as His friend. Yes very intentionally, very much on purpose, become the friend of God. And have a blessed day!! Jack Griffes Certified Farrier accepting new clients in my core area https://griffes.tripod.com/farrier.html Colt Starting Trainer - contact me to get your horse on my waiting list https://griffes.tripod.com/startright.html Constitution Coach Freedom is the cure - Learn, Love, Live the Principles of Liberty https://griffes.tripod.com/Learn-Founding-Principles.html .

The "An Appeal to Heaven" aka "Pine Tree" flag predates the flag of the USA. I encourage you to study a bit more of its history by sharing a few links with you to start your study. https://wallbuilders.com/an-appeal-to-heaven-flag/ https://tenthamendmentcenter.com/2017/04/16/john-lockes-appeal-to-heaven-its-continuing-relevance/ https://www.appealtoheaven.org/ May we in our day wisely Appeal to Heaven and also do our part in the cause of Liberty. Let it not be said by future generations that we let Liberty die because we did not know the Principles of Liberty and we did not act to re-enthrone them. Remember to intentionally, on purpose, learn of God each day by prayerfully reading, studying, and pondering upon God's word each day. Talk to God in prayer as your Heavenly Father who would like for you to be His friend. Find out what He would like you to do for Him as His friend and go and do it for Him as His friend. Yes very intentionally, very much on purpose, become the friend of God. And have a blessed day!! Jack Griffes Certified Farrier accepting new clients in my core area https://griffes.tripod.com/farrier.html Colt Starting Trainer - contact me to get your horse on my waiting list https://griffes.tripod.com/startright.html Constitution Coach Freedom is the cure - Learn, Love, Live the Principles of Liberty https://griffes.tripod.com/Learn-Founding-Principles.html .

Ashur - intro to the herd - 18 Aug 2023 Ashur is a 5yr old blue roan TWH gelding. When we intro a new horse into the herd (very small herd) we first put them in an adjoining lot - so the horses all first meet each other across the fence. Before we let the new horse loose we lead or pony them around the inside perimeter of the fence - in a small lot on foot we lead them twice around in each direction and we tap/flick the top wire of the fence to make it move so the horse, with vision keen to notice motion, sees the high tensile electric fence. By the time you have walked the horse around the small lot four times it is generally calm - no longer excited about being in a new place - and if it is calm we turn it loose knowing it knows where the boundary fence is. If we are introducing a new horse to a large pasture we generally pony the new horse off an experienced horse so that the new horse is closest to the fence - can see the fence - and we go around twice. We don't go the other direction simply because it wouldn't be likely to pay attention to the fence when the pony horse is blocking direct to the side view of the fence. We put the herd in the small lot. We turn the new horse loose ALONE in the large pasture so it familiarizes itself with the pasture without any members of the herd pushing it around. Once the new horse is used to the large pasture then we turn the boss horse in with it and once it understands who the boss is then other herd members are introduced. This video is raw unedited video segments spliced together which I took as Ashur was first introduced to the boss mare, Avi, and many hours later was introduced to Cinnamon, a 3yr old Gypsy-Shire filly. In the video you hear me repeatedly say that Avi made no contact in her initial charge with teeth bared as Ashur invaded her space. That is assuredly how it looked as I watched in person. In the video it looks like she did bite him. I checked Ashur very thoroughly with my eyes and hands and if he got bit it took off no hair and it left no mark nor bruise. So if he did get bit as it appears in he did in the video it was VERY mild contact if any actual contact was made at all. Any time a new horse is introduced to an existing herd there is HIGH likelihood of physical confrontation. The way we go about doing the introduction helps REDUCE the severity of the physical confrontation - because the horses have already tended to figure out who the boss is across the fence before they actually are together. Remember to intentionally, on purpose, learn of God each day by prayerfully reading, studying, and pondering upon God's word each day. Talk to God in prayer as your Heavenly Father who would like for you to be His friend. Find out what He would like you to do for Him as His friend and go and do it for Him as His friend. Yes very intentionally, very much on purpose, become the friend of God. And have a blessed day!! Jack Griffes Certified Farrier accepting new clients in my core area https://griffes.tripod.com/farrier.html Colt Starting Trainer - contact me to get your horse on my waiting list https://griffes.tripod.com/startright.html Constitution Coach Freedom is the cure - Learn, Love, Live the Principles of Liberty https://griffes.tripod.com/Learn-Founding-Principles.html .

Ashur - intro to small lot - 16 Aug 2023 When introducing horses to new to them fenced areas I lead or pony them around the fence twice in both directions. So they have opportunity to clearly see the boundary from each eye. If I am on foot I will tap the top wire so it vibrates to ensure the horse sees it better OR if it is a small pony then vibrate the wire that is at near nose level to it. This also give the horse a chance to walk calmly around the new pen rather than dash around it not knowing the boundaries. The objective is to GREATLY minimize the chance the horse will run into or through the fence. Remember to intentionally, on purpose, learn of God each day by prayerfully reading, studying, and pondering upon God's word each day. Talk to God in prayer as your Heavenly Father who would like for you to be His friend. Find out what He would like you to do for Him as His friend and go and do it for Him as His friend. Yes very intentionally, very much on purpose, become the friend of God. And have a blessed day!! Jack Griffes Certified Farrier accepting new clients in my core area https://griffes.tripod.com/farrier.html Colt Starting Trainer - contact me to get your horse on my waiting list https://griffes.tripod.com/startright.html Constitution Coach Freedom is the cure - Learn, Love, Live the Principles of Liberty https://griffes.tripod.com/Learn-Founding-Principles.html .

Oliver (11) was visiting us along with his parents and took the opportunity to learn to ride a horse. Instruction began in our small lot we use as an arena. Oliver first rode Cinnamon a 3yr old Gypsy-Shire in her 2nd month of training. Cinnamon was cooperative but seemed to be feeling a bit peppy so we switched horses and Oliver then rode Faith a 20yr old Quarter Horse mare with nearly two months in training. Faith went in to "dog along" mode and tolerated Oliver learning to ride much better. So once Oliver got the basics of steering and brakes - being able to guide Faith where he asked her to go and being able to stop when he asked to stop we then went on a 2.1 mile trail ride which included riding around the Butler Prairie which is beautiful with wildflower bloom. On the trail ride we forded through water in three different places - and two of those places we forded both heading out and coming back - so in total we forded water five times on Oliver's first ever horseback trail ride. Remember to intentionally, on purpose, learn of God each day by prayerfully reading, studying, and pondering upon God's word each day. Talk to God in prayer as your Heavenly Father who would like for you to be His friend. Find out what He would like you to do for Him as His friend and go and do it for Him as His friend. Yes very intentionally, very much on purpose, become the friend of God. And have a blessed day!! Jack Griffes Certified Farrier accepting new clients in my core area https://griffes.tripod.com/farrier.html Colt Starting Trainer - contact me to get your horse on my waiting list https://griffes.tripod.com/startright.html Constitution Coach Freedom is the cure - Learn, Love, Live the Principles of Liberty https://griffes.tripod.com/Learn-Founding-Principles.html .

Madie riding Dakota - Western Equitation - 27 July 2023 - Lenawee County Fair Remember to intentionally, on purpose, learn of God each day by prayerfully reading, studying, and pondering upon God's word each day. Talk to God in prayer as your Heavenly Father who would like for you to be His friend. Find out what He would like you to do for Him as His friend and go and do it for Him as His friend. Yes very intentionally, very much on purpose, become the friend of God. And have a blessed day!! Jack Griffes Certified Farrier accepting new clients in my core area https://griffes.tripod.com/farrier.html Colt Starting Trainer - contact me to get your horse on my waiting list https://griffes.tripod.com/startright.html Constitution Coach Freedom is the cure - Learn, Love, Live the Principles of Liberty https://griffes.tripod.com/Learn-Founding-Principles.html .

Luke riding Clara - Western Equitation - 27 July 2023 - Lenawee County Fair Remember to intentionally, on purpose, learn of God each day by prayerfully reading, studying, and pondering upon God's word each day. Talk to God in prayer as your Heavenly Father who would like for you to be His friend. Find out what He would like you to do for Him as His friend and go and do it for Him as His friend. Yes very intentionally, very much on purpose, become the friend of God. And have a blessed day!! Jack Griffes Certified Farrier accepting new clients in my core area https://griffes.tripod.com/farrier.html Colt Starting Trainer - contact me to get your horse on my waiting list https://griffes.tripod.com/startright.html Constitution Coach Freedom is the cure - Learn, Love, Live the Principles of Liberty https://griffes.tripod.com/Learn-Founding-Principles.html .

Nora showing Elle - mini Liberty - 27 July 2023 - Lenawee County Fair Remember to intentionally, on purpose, learn of God each day by prayerfully reading, studying, and pondering upon God's word each day. Talk to God in prayer as your Heavenly Father who would like for you to be His friend. Find out what He would like you to do for Him as His friend and go and do it for Him as His friend. Yes very intentionally, very much on purpose, become the friend of God. And have a blessed day!! Jack Griffes Certified Farrier accepting new clients in my core area https://griffes.tripod.com/farrier.html Colt Starting Trainer - contact me to get your horse on my waiting list https://griffes.tripod.com/startright.html Constitution Coach Freedom is the cure - Learn, Love, Live the Principles of Liberty https://griffes.tripod.com/Learn-Founding-Principles.html .