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The Challenge | The Trainers and Students | Event Information Friday, August 14 Splash has continued to improve all week. He is moving well at all three gaits. Steering is becoming easy and there is less fighting and head tossing. Splash usually chews on the bit when he does not want to listen. That action now only occurs when I ask him to pivot to the right. Splash pivots well to the left and backs easily. We have also been practicing showmanship skills on the ground. He can do most any pattern with the exception of trotting from a standstill. I introduced that concept last night and when we finished he was trotting within three strides. Splash still only tolerates fly spray, but he no longer moves quickly away from it. Wednesday, August 12 Splash has continued to improve. He politely told me his saddle was not fitting right, but initially I could not tell if it was just bad attitude. I checked several saddles on him. Yesterday we walked, troted and loped with no problem changing gaits.
Splash has a great confidence with crossing and dealing with obstacles. He willingly walks over plywood, tarps and poles. I took him to a Northwest Saddle Club show and we practiced using their bridge. We also opened their trail gate and mail box. As always Splash had perfect manners at the trailer. He stands without pawing or fidgeting and always drinks well. Trailer loading is also not a big deal. Tuesday, July 14
Splash also came with us to another show. This one was up a Broken Bit Arena and there was a lot more to look at. There were cows and an extreme trail course with many people and horses around it. I longed him for 10 minutes and finally got his attention, he was able to concentrate long enough for a decent ride. He still continues to have great ground manners and is getting lots of practice loading and unloading from the back stall of our trailer. He is no longer scared when he sees the fly spray bottle. Monday, July 6 Splash has been improving. We now spend most of a riding lesson moving forward and in the direction I want to go. He is a bit stubborn, but is beginning to decide that it is just easier to do what is asked. We have even trotted several times. He is a very bold horse and does not spook easily. Splash went with us to a show on Saturday. He was very well behaved. The day began with him getting a bath, he stood quite well. Then he walked right in the trailer and backed out well when we arrived. He stood tied to the trailer very well. I only caught him pawing twice, and he was not very concerned when the other horses left. I took him on several leading trips around the grounds. He was not spooked by much, we even walked calmly by the announcer stand with people in it. I am also happy to report that he was not very interested in the other horses. I rode him at the end of the show and he behaved like we were at home. Tuesday, June 30 When Splash arrived he was overwhelmed with the mares and stallions we have and forgot that he had been gelded. He also forgot many of his manners. They began to come back slowly and for the last 3 weeks I have had a very nice horse to work with. I can lead him anywhere and he has great manners. He now allows me to pick up all four feet in succession; to begin with I could only have one a day. Fly spray is still scary, but he is beginning to stand for it. Splash was surprised the first time I cinched him up, but he has been great about saddling ever since. I can longe and ground-drive him without any problems. He does not mind at all when I get on him. However, he is not yet convinced that he should walk out when I ask, reverse seems to be much easier. > Back to the Trainers and Students
About Donna Broberg: Hello, I am Donna Broberg and I am working with Splash for the Trainers Challenge. I have been working with horses my entire life and I am excited to see how much Splash and I can accomplish. I was born into the horse business and have learned many things from my Mother. I began riding very early on a bratty pony and eventually graduated to big horses. My first really good horse was Cisco. From him I learned how to always ride with two hands on the reins and to expect shying from ordinary things (he was going blind so shadows were a problem). I have shown at WSCA shows for many years, and placed second in Pee Wee pole weaving at Champ Show, two years in a row. I have continued to show in both game and pleasure events. In 2005 I was honored to become WSCA Ms. Horsemanship. My mom and I raise Appaloosa horses; you can see some of them at www.cloverdalefarm.net. The babies we don’t sell, eventually need to be started under saddle. I have refined my training skills by working with them. Eventually, I began starting horses for other people to help pay for my college education. I have started and/or trained 28 horses and 6 of them were rescue horses. I currently spend most of my time working on our farm. I will be pursuing a Masters degree in Soil Science beginning in September. And for the truly curious, my favorite color is purple, I like a wide variety of music and movies, and the best movie I have seen recently was Star Trek.
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I had some pictures taken of Splash last week. He has been slowly improving while working under saddle. We have shorter and shorter "make me" tantrums.