Rainy is 3 years old in 2017 and ready to start her under saddle training. Although she has had the basic handling and groundwork techniques performed she hasn't mastered all of them. She still looks at her humans from the ground level... not on top of her like a cougar! All that will change for my little red girl.
Wintertime is always a difficult time to ride, but when you are devoted to the horse business you have to start early as I have other peoples horses to ride over the summer. Winter is when I can actually enjoy my own animals. I thoroughly enjoy Rainy. This Blog will be about my horse business and specifically the undersaddle work I will be doing with Rainy. But let's digress and talk about why this filly is so special to me.
Reserve a Rainy Day is her registered name with the Rocky Mountain Horse Association (RMHA). Her Dam is an old mare (born in 1991) named Smith's Misty Rose. Misty is kind of crabby, mareish and the best mother there could be. She is entitled to her opinions and I will tell you why in just a bit. This old mare produced over 20 foals... I do not think I have known of any other mares to make that many in their lifetime. Misty is still with us but I do not think she will produce another foal due to the shape of her uterus. She will settle a pregnancy but it will slip due to a minor infection. This is so unfortunate because everyone that I know of that has owned a Misty foal has loved them! They are trusty mountain trail horses as well as the best companions. I definitely wanted more than one! I have Rainy therefore I am very lucky.
What do I know about Misty? She must have been broke out as a 2 or 3 year old just to get gait certified with the RMHA. I would assume she did not get a natural horsemanship upbringing. This is a conversation for later as I found many Rockies are broke in a traditional fashion and are affected very differently for their entire lives. I will speculate she may have been ridden for a week or two, then most likely turned out.
At this time it was common to turn your Rockies out in the "Strip Joint", a large portion of Kentucky that was devoted to coal mining and horses were turned out free to roam and graze on a large mountain top acreage since poor RMH owners did not have much. Misty lived here during summers. As a 3 year old she was bred to Nuncio (presumably) and foaled out a popular stallion Fox Hall's Moon Dancer, sire of The Comet. Many, Many grand foals were produced with these lines. Misty most likely was not ridden again but produced foal after foal. She really stamped her protégé with a strong body and mind.
Misty stayed in KY for most of her life until she was purchased by a client of mine that bred her to Duke of Gold, a palomino stallion. She was 22 years and may not be able to produce many more babies so my client donated her to my newly developing breeding herd. She was bred to my young stallion, R Squared Special Reserve, a chocolate stallion out of a Maple's Squirrel mare. I feel lucky to own this stallion as well as he has been lovely and has the old lines I love.
Rainy was born on the afternoon of June 11th, 2014, after a decent rainstorm the night before. The mare let the ground dry up all morning and dropped her foal outside in a nice dry spot under the barn's eve. Rainy was a strong foal! She was imprinted and handled daily. Misty protected her well and allowed us to handle her foal like her many before Rainy. We watched her run for the first time, legs went everywhere! But what movement! As Rainy and her sister (Coby- born 2 days later from another grand old mare) grew, we trailered them and gingerly exposed them to the world. We typically handle them just enough, they receive trimming, vaccinating and routine haltering. Even though these two foals were full of life from the day they were born, they are the most loving creatures now.
From the past paragraph you may deduce that Rainy was spoiled, not too much, but yes she was groomed and fed premium feed and given treats. She was spoiled. We adore her. She is my stallion's first foal and the first one I get to ride. She will not only carry on Misty's legacy but be the riding and fun loving horses Misty was not allowed to be.
In January, Rainy (as seen in the photo) was saddled for the very first time. She was prepared with a rope and desensitization. Did not even flinch... I saddled her.... Did not flinch..... I moved her feet.... did not buck..... What??? I love her. Did I mention this is winter in Wisconsin, so the ground is not the best for colt starting. She is very aware of this and did not execute unnecessary movements that may undermine her ability to stay on her feet.
Second saddling session: UNEVENTFULL sorry for the poor, anti-climatic conclusion to my blog but to tell you the true gentle nature of my filly, she cantered with a saddle on as well as allowed me to put weight in the saddle. She did this like an old broke horse would do. She did not move a muscle, or even breath deeply like she was holding her breath. She unquestionably accepted anything new I tried. I think she truly trusts me... BUT my professional nature will not allow me to take a risk with even Rainy. Stay tuned for next time... maybe I will step into the saddle?
Thanks for reading!
Cassie Rose
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