Tallman Training Centre

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Changing Focus

Posted by jouLe at 11:16 PM on November 11, 2008

You may have garnered from other pages on my website that my career focus is going through some changes. Foremost, I am not booking any outside horses for training next year, but rather hoping to train people to train their own horses. I have several reasons for this change, not the least of which is that it is so obvious to me that every one who handles a horse is in effect a trainer, and most of them don't even realize it. How many times I have heard someone say, "well, I am no trainer, but..." The fact is, if you have a horse, you are a trainer, if you do anything more than just feed it. My goal for the next season of my career is to help people realize the effect they have on their horses through different actions that they may not even know the horse is noticing, and teach them to communicate and work with their horses, not against them. For information on lessons, clinics and camps that I will be offering, please check the fees and guarantees page.

My holiday was wonderful. It was not quite long enough, however, and when I got home after 2 weeks of longing to ride every time I saw a horse and dreaming of my cow at night, I had to go again. I spent 5 days at home, milked the cow, caught up on a bit of farrier work, then headed up north for another 5 days in the bush. Through all this holiday time I figured out what I needed to do. No more outside horses. Focus on hoof trimming and horse/human interaction education. I am going to try it for one season. I already feel my resolve slipping from time to time, I have a hard time saying no and am addicted to training, but I will stick to it.

When I got home from second holiday, I went to work for 3 weeks straight, doing various things including hoof trimming and shingling, and enjoyed every minute of it. Getting hay in was a bit of a nightmare and a major part of my reason for not taking outside horses this fall, but I got it done. Now I am in a lull between intense farrier dates and taking advantage of this time to winterize the place. I have been blessed with a long fall which has given me some much needed time to get caught up and I finally got the third water bowl installed! What a long time coming that was! So I now have automated water in all but one corral. I am still hoping to get a shelter built in the first pen, but not sure if it is going to get done, as I have some priorities in the trailer, but we'll see how long the weather holds.

The winter residents include 6 (or maybe 7) horses, DayZ, Dahlia & Davenport -er- House for bovidae and about 16 chickens. The chicken coop has been renovated so the flock has a cozy little room on the north end which will be equipped with heated water, nest boxes & roosts, as well as a feeding station. They will still have access to outside if they want it, and access to the south half for sunning when it it too miserable to go outside. Those birds are tough though, and still nesting in the tree! Cino, of course, will also winter here, and a select few cats. My dear old dad is talking about moving out, and a friend of mine is moving in from December until March. It will be nice to have someone around on the chilly winter nights when the blizards blow through.

Stone and Wilbur were supposed to be going to sale in October, but I was a little slow on the uptake and missed the sale deadline, so I guess I will feed them, and hopefully ride them, through the winter. I have been riding Chutney and she is coming along very nicely. She walks about like her mother and I am toying with the idea of her being a keeper. Danza is not doing as good as I had hoped. She is good to ride at a walk and slow jog, but any exhertion and she breathes horribly. She still, of course, wants to rip up the neighbourhood in traditional Danza fashion, but I worry about her well being. I have been riding the black bandit, also known as Tandu, son of the great Dancing Queen, who has been known to some to be a bronc fit for the rodeo circuit, bareback with a halter. He is quite good under these conditions, though we are still walking. I just can't quite give up on this one, and if it takes me till he turns 10 I will get a partnership out of him. I have a few rides on Wilbur, and he is a real gem. Stone I haven't ridden since summer. John is talking about moving Pride, but hasn't said when, so who knows?

I still maintain ownership of one little ewe, though she stays at Gillian's. Some of you may know of Tinkerbell, the Cheep Sheap who thought she was a chicken for the first 3 months of her life. We are currently looking for a ram to sire her first offspring as the shetland Gillian has is her daddy and her other ram is quite big, Arcott, and perhaps not the best choice for first lambs. So, if anyone knows of a wool ram who is looking for some girlfriends, we have about 5 I think.

I have decided to give up on leaving for the time being and start living here, making it home finally after 4 years. I am looking for various bits of furniture as well as will have various bits of this and that to rehome over the next few months. That which I am seeking includes: shelving! practical and functional, and not unattractive, preferably solid wood. I am open to picking up unwanted bits for free and also paying reasonably for pieces I most crave. Like a solid oak table, for example. Preferably 48" with a leaf or 2. Chairs with it would be awesome. Prefer a pedestal, or a sturdy (not wobbly) legged one. And bookshelves. Not particle board. I will be redoing the kitchen as well and looking for cupboards if you or your neighbour happens to be renovating.

One of my spring projects will be a greenhouse, and if you have any old windows or heavy plastic you would like to get out of the yard/garage/shed/bassment, do let me know. I am also looking for 16' rails to complete the arena.

That's all for now. I will try to be more current. I know, I know. I say that a lot.

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