Hi Dale and Suzy,

I just had to write and tell you what a great couple of days Jack and Monty have had. There was a 4H gaming show at the fairgrounds on Friday night. They opened up the indoor arena for "Ride Night" on Wednesday evening so the kids could come up and practice and get their horses used to being in the arena before the night of the show. I loaded up the boys and Monty and Sugar and took them up there because I didn't want any unpleasant surprises on Friday night. Monty handled the new environment, including the fairgrounds, the indoor arena and all the horses like a champ. We did ground work first, as always, and then Jack rode him around with all his friends in the arena. Jack said Monty was a bit up, but he did not look to be having much trouble with him and Monty stood beautifully in line with the other horses while Jack was waiting his turn to practice the different games. On the advice of his gaming instructor Jack did not let Monty run any of the games. He just walked and trotted them to help Monty get used to the patterns.

On the night of the show, Jack rode the five games (Poles, Idaho Figure 8, 2-Barrel Flags, International Flag and Key) in the intermediate age bracket. He just walked and trotted them. He could have done the schooling bracket, but opted not to as they only run three games for schooling. Near the end of the long night (we left at midnight) Jack was getting the itch to run after seeing most of the other kids doing so and because he was feeling so comfortable. I advised him against doing so and told him to ask his instructor for her opinion. She told me later that he came up to her and asked her for her honest opinion and told her that he could accept whatever her answer was. She told him she thought it was a bad idea. So he just walked and trotted the remaining two games. Once again, Monty stood beautifully while Jack was waiting his turn or while he was watching the other kids. There was also the added excitement of the car racing noise just on the other side of the arena. I didn't see it happen, but Jack also told me later that a pipe gate that was leaning up against a fence came down when another rider bumped into it and that it hit Monty on the butt as it was coming down. Jack said Monty just sort of jumped up away from it and calmed right back down when he petted him. I work down in the loading paddock during the gaming shows, which gives me a close-up view of all the horses and riders. Some of those horses I would not come close to riding myself, let alone letting my kid ride. It also makes me sad when I hear kids blaming their horses for being "stupid" or seeing them smack them. It makes me all the more grateful for a good match between my boys and their horses.

I was so proud of Jack for sticking to what was best for his horse and for his continued and (in my view) remarkable patience with Monty. Throughout the night I repeatedly saw him reach down and rub Monty's neck and talk encouragingly to him.

So, it was a great night and although Jack didn't win any ribbons, I think he came away with some great prizes all the same.

Jeanine

February 16, 2007

Hi Dale and Suzy,

I am so sorry I haven't written sooner. I kept thinking I would have time to sit down and send you a detailed email about Monty, but life is going a million miles an hour these days. Plus I didn't have much to write about at first because we had snow and then such long-lasting ice here that we couldn't ride for several weeks.

We had no trouble getting home over the pass in the snow. When we arrived, he did not want to back out of the trailer, so I let him turn around and come out head first, figuring I could work on that later, which I was ultimately able to do in very little time. Monty picks up on new things quickly. He was calm going into the new environment. I left him separate from Boone and Sugar for a couple of days and then put them all out together. Things shook out pretty fast. As I had guessed, Sugar is boss, Monty next and Boone last. Monty is really fun in the field. He is a busy guy and curious. He will pick up pine branches and play with them. He is also always the first one to come up to us when we come in. He and Boone play together and eat out of the same pile.

I took Monty for his first trip to the covered arena where we ride. He was very alert, but calm. There were several other horses in there. I did lots of ground work and then got on. He was nervous about the piles of stuff (barrels, poles, jumps, etc.) in the corner, but each time I circled the arena we got a little closer and I made that the place he got to rest, so he got over that fast. He scared himself and jumped away the first time we went past the mirror, which was pretty funny, but after that didn't bother him.

I think Jack and Monty are going to be a great team. Jack has had several lessons on Monty and things have gone well each time. They have had one gaming lesson together so far. Monty was worried about the white poles and the yellow cans with the flags at first, but I cannot begin to tell you how patient Jack was with him. He got him going around the poles pretty easily and then let Monty rest by the cans, which were set up against the rail halfway down the arena on each side. Jack petted him and talked to him as he had him get close to each can. Then he'd carry the wooden flag pole around the arena and go to the other can and do the same thing. He was able to get Monty closer and more comfortable each time, until by the end of the lesson he could rattle the wooden flag pole around in the can and strike the outside of the can with the stick from the saddle and Monty was fine with it. Jack focused on what the horse needed because he understood that doing those things now would pay off later. He also said he figured it would be a good start to getting Monty ready to carry a big flag in the drill team. I was thoroughly impressed by his patience, which he is usually rather short on.

One gorgeous sunny day I thought we had drill team practice but had not gotten the word that it was cancelled. We hauled Sugar and Monty out there, only to find that we were the only ones there. The boys were disappointed, but it was such a blessing because it gave Monty a chance to be in that environment without a bunch of other horses in there. Adam got to mess around and just ride Sugar around wherever he wanted to. I turned around at one point and he was galloping her down the middle of the arena, relaxed as could be. I was thrilled! His confidence has soared since Sugar became his horse. He is also not having trouble making her go, which he did last year the few times he rode her. Jack went out on the track to ride around. Monty spooked once at a dog that jumped out of the woods suddenly, but Jack kept his seat no problem and was not rattled by it. He was frustrated though because Monty kept turning around suddenly and wanting to go back the other way. We finally decided that it was when he got just a little farther from Sugar than he was comfortable with, he would turn around. So I got on Sugar and we rode together, then with Sugar moving ahead and then behind Monty, then moving Monty ahead and then behind Sugar, trying to increase the distance a bit each time. Then I got on Monty and Jack got on Sugar and we started increasing the pace and the distance. I would have Jack and Sugar leave and go way ahead of us...halfway around the arena. Then I would let Monty come around to meet her. Then Jack would leave again and then Monty got to go back to Sugar again after she had gone far away. Monty never got out of control trying to get to her and soon figured out that he would survive if she was farther away. We got to where Jack could gallop Sugar away and Monty wasn't trying to turn around to get to her any more. We had fun.

We have now taken Monty to drill team practice twice. That is held at a huge uncovered arena nearby, with approximately sixteen horses. The first time Monty was very up but not crazy...just very alert and wanted to move his feet a lot. Jack was anxious to ride because all the other kids were warming up and he was so excited to show off his new horse. I was not about to let him ride until I worked Monty on the ground because he was not safe to get on yet as his mind was on everything else. Jack could see that I was not just being overly cautious, which I know he thinks I am sometimes. It was a new environment with lots of horses and other stimuli and it was a rainy day, so a couple of umbrellas showed up. Those were scary! I had two people hold umbrellas and stand outside the fence, about 20 feet from each other and about 15 feet away from the rail. I just kept sending Monty back and forth between me and the fence, with the umbrellas on the outside until he settled down and wasn't rushing through. Then I had the umbrellas come a bit closer and did it again. He got comfortable with it. I will work him more on that at closer distances. I did some other circling and sideways games with him, then got on him myself before Jack rode. One girl was riding in a long bright yellow slicker. I figured that might be scary, so I had her ride ahead of me and followed her for a bit. It never seemed to bother him. I did the same with a lady on foot who was wearing a scary red hat. I think having a horse follow something it is concerned about gives them confidence because they can look at it at the same time they feel like they are pushing it away. After they look at it for awhile like that it becomes less scary. I felt that Monty was settled down by then, so I let Jack get on. He hopped on, waited a short time (I always make my kids "hurry up and wait" when they first get on) and checked his lateral flexion so he would know his brakes were there. He then started riding around and chatting with his friends. He has so much confidence around the horses now that I think that really comes through to the horse. Monty did just fine with all the other horses, riding in pairs and 2 or 3 abreast and passing and doing the wagon wheel. He is very agreeable around the other horses. The next time we went to practice Monty acted like he'd been doing it forever. They will work up to doing the routine at the canter before long.

We also went on a 4H trail ride (fifteen horses) this past weekend. It was the first time ever that I got to go for a ride with both of my boys at the same time. I have been working toward that goal for a long time, so I was happy. It was Adam's first real trail ride, but knowing he was on Sugar allowed me to relax about him. I was more concerned about keeping tabs on Jack and Monty. Jack did have some trouble in that in some open areas and on many of the down hills Monty got pretty chargy. Jack just kept one-reining him. There were a few times I wished I could have switched with Jack, but I have 3 horses and only 2 saddles, so I was on Boone in a bareback pad, which I would not have put Jack on under those circumstances. So I had to just watch Jack work with Monty and talk him through it. It was good because it forced Jack to work through it and it forced me to let him. By the end of the ride, Jack had Monty walking down the hills. I was once again so impressed with Jack's patience and tenacity. He never got upset with the horse and was generous with petting and sweet-talking once Monty started getting it right.

They had another riding lesson this week. Jack is still learning about leads, and he practiced cantering Monty around making sure to pick up the correct lead, which Monty did almost every time. They make an incredibly handsome pair! Monty is such a good-looking horse. Jack also messed around with the flag cans again and got Monty standing with the can under his belly. They also had an incident which could have been bad but thankfully wasn't. Someone had left a folding metal step stool out just a bit too far off the rail. As Jack cantered by it, Monty's back hoof caught the tip of it and flipped it over with a loud clang right into the back of his legs and it kind of folded up under his back feet. He jumped ahead for a moment and then settled right back down. That just reinforced for me once again the importance of choosing a level-headed horse with good training. Many other horses I know, including some of the been-there-done-that ones, would not have handled that as well as Monty did. I was a bit concerned about going against the conventional wisdom that says don't buy a young horse for a kid, but I felt it was worth the gamble between Monty's calm disposition and Jack's confidence. I would take a young horse trained by Dale over some of these older horses with bad habits any day! We have lots of wet saddle blankets to go before Monty is a seasoned horse, but between his good start with Dale and his good mind, I'm sure he'll just keep getting better.

So, that is the oh-so-long version. The short version is that we are very happy with our third Dale Cossman trained horse!

I hope you are both well.
Jeanine