Picked up a new guy today (Autumn Warrior, a 2015 Orb gelding). He’s HUGE, and still full of himself. He has a tendon strain that needs downtime, but I really need to start handling him a lot. What are your favorite groundwork books/sources to help get the brain engaged without being too hard on the body?
John Chatterton 10 commandments.
You know a post like that is mandatory to have piccies of the new guy!
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Hoping to get some today! 
hubba hubba!! good luck with him!
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Oooooh la la! What a good looking guy!
Ues it worked. Nice.
Wow! Looks good!
Handsome!
Beautiful! Congrats!
What, they don’t come already ready to throw on a saddle and go to a show or clinic??? :winkgrin: I know people who are surprised to find out that it takes actual work, and time, and a lot of it! :lol:
Right From the Start, by Michael Schaffer. I found this to be an excellent reference book, for starting both my boys.
And , Congrats! He is a lovely looking boy!!
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Thanks everyone! I’m super excited!! He’s settling in quite nicely.
Nice looking boy! I do love the Orb (and Malibu Moon) horses in general, great brains – but your guy has a great damside too. He’ll make a nice boy for you. :encouragement:
When I pick up one that I know will have downtime I do a lot of in hand work. For most a walk up/down the driveway or around the bridle-path is fine (check with your vet) and is a great way to keep them busy and trained without stressing whatever is healing. Clicker training is fun too, I’ve done it with my last couple of projects from the track and it’s been very handy in teaching them to ground tie, stand at the trailer, come when I whistle, and just be an all around better citizen for handling.
Good luck with him!
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Hey I have 2 Orbs…they are almost twins and look exactly like the sire…while 1 is a naughty cheeky handful to lead in and out ( even after being off since 10/2019 think chain over gums) and the other is very sweet. They have identical jaw dropping gaits, a propensity to flip their tails over their backs, huge egos and will be a bit challenging under tack. My track Peeps tell me they are often very tough on the track…Keep us in the loop. Orb certainly stamps them conformation wise.One of my Vets worked on Orb himself and she said he was lovely and even tempered while in training to work with in barn.
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This guy is a straight up turd to lead to and from the paddock. He will be walking along all relaxed and then have all four off the ground before you can blink. Lol. He is very inquisitive and friendly though, and loves attention. He was apparently very difficult to deal with as a stallion, and based on his current behavior he was probably pretty difficult to deal with at the track. The guy who started him said he was a tough one, but ran really well once they got him into a race. I’m expecting some challenges under tack with this one. He seems kind of lazy, but also really bossy. That’s one of the reasons that I want to start from the ground up. He’s absolutely gorgeous, but I’m also thinking I’m a little too old for this. :lol:
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Thanks! I was thinking about clicker training, which I’ve never tried.
I had one of the Orginal clicker trained horse when the craze hit years ago…was even featured in a clicker training book…horse had zero work ethic, unless it involved a click and a reward…got past it to a point but will never ever teach a horse this way again…My Orbs were both recently gelded…the one who rears on shank sounds like your guy he is hard to predict. The one certainty is he will wheel whirl and kick out every time when turned out you have to beware and step back after you unclipped shark. But he is lovely to ride just a bit uneducated about forward. It does nothing bad when reminded what go is. I do think they will be worth the effort…the second on is just sweet quiet all day long. Lovely stable manners and just jaw dropping gorgeous horses. I want a filly now to bred for sport…
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She is a cutie!
A tall well balanced stunning more feel into my lap via ReRun and already vetted and had a repro survey completed. Waiting for her to cycle in…
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