I Have A New Friend!

How many of you know what a Hydrabull is? Don't worry-I didn't know what it was either until yesterday! But OMG! It is my new best friend that is going to help me and Hayden accomplish our goals!

Briefly,a Hydrabull is a 3-wheeled cow simulator that moves like a zero-turn lawn mower! It can go forward and back and move like a cow with great speed and agility! It saves trainers big bucks too as they don't have to spend as much money on fresh cows! Also it helps young and novice riders go slower so they can "get it" faster!

Luckily, Steve Foley has one and was kind enough to suggest a group lesson for all who wanted to better themselves and their horses for cutting,penning and other cow events!We had 5 of us working it one at a time for about 4-6 minutes a piece. For several of us it was the first time our horses had ever seen such a device! But each run we did,our horses got better and better each time! It was fun to watch everyone have a go and to hang out with folks that have similar goals with their horses.I can't wait to do this every week as my lesson! Plus to be able to see other's progress as well is rewarding too!

I told Steve before we started that my goal last night was to ride Hayden in the bridle (vs. the snaffle)and to keep him soft and relaxed.If that meant just walking the whole night then so be it. But as it turned out, in our first go he was loping after the Hydrabull and was relaxed and doing great!

By our 4th time he felt so confident and relaxed that I was giddy! He far exceeded my expectations of him especially in the bridle! At one point I felt like I could have ridden in one hand! Not "drop my hand" one hand but still! I tried for a few seconds but had no idea what to do with my free hand! Pushing on the horn didn't feel natural yet either so I just concentrated on keeping my hands together and low on his withers. Seemed to work! He was stopping on his own except for me cuing with my seat and legs. It was an awesome feeling!

Here are some pics that Miss Shannon took! Thanks Shannon!






For more info on the Hydrabull:http://www.hydrabull.com/

It's still pretty hot here in Alabama even in the evenings. We all had small coolers filled with water,sodas and ice.On the way to the arena from the trailer I put my little 6 pack cooler over my horn and Hayden carried it no problem. By 9:30p.m when we were headed back to the trailer I put the cooler back over the horn.Well the ice had somewhat melted and there was more room in the cooler minus 2 waters so it was making a racket as well as dripping water all over Hayden! I am not sure what he hated worse-the water or the noise but he went ballistic on me! He was headed to highway if I had let loose of the reins! I was talking to him,telling him "Easy", but it wasn't until I said,"Hayden-WHOA!" that he stopped and planted his feet! Thank you Karen Jones! I have been working on him with his ground tying a little bit (not like I should mind you) but I have been trying to get in the habit of saying,"Hayden Whoa.Hayden Walk.Hayden Ok.",etc. so that he'll get it. Well last night was a good test!He got it and it saved our tail!

Happy riding everyone! Keep reaching for those goals!