Hi Gail,

I'm way overdue for an update and wanted to let you know that Kinetic is doing awesome! He had a great summer up in the mountains being my wrangler horse, and is now wintering with me in the warmer climes of Ft. Collins. He looks GREAT for an older TB in a CO winter....he's actually downright chunky!

As always, everyone at the barn the loves him. Their second remark, right after saying how big he is, is that he's such a gentleman. And he truly is. I love this horse. We're both eagerly waiting for spring weather and trail rides. One of these days I'll send a picture of me actually riding him. Hope things are well with you and your ponies.

Take care,
Lauren

Just wanted to drop you a note and let you know that Kinetic is loving life as a Colorado snow horse. The move was uneventful and he settled into the herd quite nicely. He had a chilly first week but then sprouted a winter coat and is doing fine even in the single digits. He is as happy as I have ever seen him. He loves having REAL acreage instead of southern California acreage and has made buddies with everyone in the herd. Everyone that's met him has commented on how happy he looks, let alone for a socal hothouse horse. Here are some pictures of the furry beast.

Looking for treats

His love and affection are very much motivated by treats

He's a huge photo hog

Kinetic (on left) and his new best friend Brevit

Perfect snowflake, but imperfect focus

Just wanted to drop you a note and let you know that Kinetic is doing great. I can't tell you how much he loves being a "ranch horse". He has access to 250 acres in the summer and fall and 100 other horses to become best buddies with. It's such a treat to see him interacting with a real herd. He was one of my wrangling horses over the summer and we got to traipse all over the Rockies. He's really hardy for a Thoroughbred! He's getting to rest for the winter and spring and is keeping his weight (also unheard of for a TB in the high country of Colorado!). I'm counting down the days until the snow and mud clear and I can ride again. My goal for the summer is to show him some in the local circuit. I'll have to hunt down some pictures of him from the summer. He looks great. Anyways, just letting you know he's fat, fuzzy, and happy.

Hope things are going well in sunny California!

I can't believe that it's been almost seven years since Kinny and I first paired up. Time sure flies. Kinny is just as wonderful as ever. He's one of the sweetest, most honest horses I've ever met. Everyone who meets him thinks he's absolutely adorable. It's hard not to fall in love with those bedroom eyes and tiny ears. Kinetic has perfected the role of laid back trail horse. He loves to amble and galumph on trails happily popping over fallen logs and doing long lopes through dried up stream beds. He's just such a happy, personable, laid back horse. I luff him.

He loves trail so much that he's going to follow me to Colorado, where I'll be working as a wrangler on a dude ranch. He'll get to be my wrangling horse :) . He'll have access to about 600 acres of pasture. Sure beats the So. California version of "pasture".

Here are some recentish pics of Kinny (this past summer).

Well, Kinny is doing great. He is such a big lovable doof. The woman who owns the property where he lives says he is "adorably short of brain cells...but the sweetest horse <she's> ever seen". I forgot to tell you that I moved Kinetic. I moved him about a month ago to a property that is a lot closer to school so that I can see him more. He's on a two acre mini ranch with two other horses. I was afraid he wouldn't acclimate to herd life, but he took to it great. He and the two other horses (a 5 yo TB and an older QH) make up a little heard affectionately known as "The Boys". Kinetic acts like he is attached to the other TB at the hip. It's impossible to get a picture of him alone. I'm so happy that he's in a little herd now instead of a stall. He seems much more content. He's having fun spending his days romp around with the other horses and going on trails (we braved a goose farm the other day and he was perfect!). I just wanted to let you know that he is healthy and happy....and currently as furry as a woolly mammoth.

Kinny goes western!

Here are some more pictures. I don't know why I don't have more pics of me and Kinny together. I'll have to remedy that. I need to get some pictures of him all decked out in Western gear :). And yes, we moved him up the road a bit. It's a lot more low key than where he was, but he enjoys actually getting to be a horse. He gets to poke noses with other horses a lot more and enjoys his big coral and turnout. It's absolutely gorgeous there. I can't believe so much open land actually still exists up where I live. Stalls get cleaned twice a day, the horses are fed an alfalfa/timothy blend twice a day, and they have access to fresh water all the time. They are turned out on a rotating schedule....usually a few hours every other day. I'm currently training with Billy Camarillo, who understand Kinny so much more than the other trainers. Here's his website: http://www.billycamarillocuttinghorses.com/default.htm. He's a man of few words, but they're always well worth hearing :). An itsy bitsy part of me misses hunter, but the tradeoff of having a happy beast is well worth it. There are a few days where I crave that feeling of nailing a hunter course perfectly, but I have the rest of my life to be able to do that. Right now I just want to enjoy my own little beast. He's enough work as it is. He keeps me on my toes. Many thanks for such a beautiful animal.

Each ride I have on Kinetic makes me wonder why I'm not spending every waking minute in the saddle. I luff the beastie. He makes the cutest little (well....maybe not so little) western horse. He would have made a great hunter, but his heart wasn't in it. He's very very very laid back and too much excitement or stress makes him nervous and unhappy. So now we're going at a much more relaxed pace and riding has become so much more fun for the both of us. At times he still thinks he's a race horse even after ten years, but for the most part we have good days. We've had our issues, but its so worth it when after a great ride he lowers his head and leans up against me so I can scratch behind his ears. Here's a picture of him after a bath checking out the mares.

Kinetic is doing beautifully. He looks so.....professional. It's easy for me to superimpose his face on the horses you see in magazines. He is currently in full training and loves it. I was a bit worried that he would be stressed or burn out with all the work, but he seems to thrive on it. He needs constant activity and always needs to be thinking. He really keeps me on my toes :). I don't think he'll ever be a horse I can just zone out on. If I become to boring or I'm not paying attention, he'll find a reason (real or imaginary) to make things more exciting :). He's such a good teacher. I've learned to become a lot more than a pretty rider on him. He forces me to be an effective rider. He's such a great teacher. He doesn't tolerate me being offcentered, and will scoot out from under me if I'm not paying enough attention to where my body is. And he's as loveable and quirky as ever. My trainer loves him. She says he has "character". ) It's nice to see her smile when she gets on his back after I know she's had a long hard day. He LOVES having his ears and face pet. I can put him to sleep by rubbing his ears and stroking between his eyes at the same time. He's too cute for words. I'm also looking forward to doing IEL on him (www.theiel.org) . He looks great in checkered polo wraps in our school colors. <eg> He'res a picture of the beast freejumping. Not the cleanest jump in the world, but there's no denying that horse has scope :). I love the beast so much :). And he has beeeee-yoo-tiful ground manners. I work on a one-finger pressure system. I never exert more pressure on him than I can with one finger. He has to listen to me on his own accord. Without having to touch him or pull on him, we can walk forward, halt, walk backwards, turn on the forehand, and sidepass all based on my body positioning and voice aids. It's really helped us build a great bond because we have to be sensitive to one another. Thanks for this absoultely wonderful perfect horse ! :)

Kinny continues to be a favorite among the barn and is currently excersising his telepathic powers in commandind people to give him treats. Seemingly overnight, he sprouted a winter coat and is looking more like a chia pet than the sleek shiny horse he was a month ago. Oh well, he is all the more cuddly. Due to a mysterious (hip ?) problem, he has been enjoying a semi-retirement and is just starting to get back into work. He can look forward to three months of ground driving this winter and hopefully in the spring, I'll be back on and we can continue as before.

I usually never punished him for bucking, seeing as it wasnt malicious and was his way of playing. I had always told him in my own way that it wasnt appropriate and would he please save such behaviors for the turnout. He was fine for a while, and then the bucking came back. Trainer and I assumed it was his old habit starting back again, and we went through the routine of asking him to do it at a more apporpraite time than when I was on his back. Then the bucks started to become a bit more forceful. And occured only when he was cantering. And he started to cross canter on his right lead. This was not a behavior problem, it had to be a pain problem. So three chiropracters, a vet, and a farrier later, we determined he had a hip problem which was because of his feet wearing unevenly. Boy did it take a lot of time and tears to figure out what was wrong with him.

So, he got new shoes and when I turned him out for the first time after that, it was as if i had a new horse. He was moving in a way I hadn't seen him move for months. :) His attitude has changed for the better as well. His moving is great except for on his right lead, where he continues to cross canter. The vet and my trainer said that this was probably due to lack of muscle on that side and thus lack of balance. So now we are ground driving in hopes to see improvement. If not, then back comes the chiropractor and massage therapist. At least we've isolated the problem area.

Kinny though, is in love with himself even more now that he has been treated like a king. He firmly believes that the entire barn is his domain and that his subjects owe him many a treat. He is thorougly offended when after a body search for a treat, he finds none. Despite his new found kingly demeanor, I still spy him enjoying less dignified activities. The other day I spied him running full speed aroudn the turnout triumphantly holding and shaking a large tree branch in his mouth.

He is King, he knows it, and he knows the rest of the world knows it. I have a horse on an ego trip. Watch out world.

All is going well for the beast and I. He finally made friends with Sweetie, the gelding next to him. It's so cute. Sweetie whinnies and whinnies for him when Kinny is gone and vice versa. I got Kinny a traffic cone to play with and he just goes to town with it. I need to get some pics scanned of that :). He is very healthy and shiny and all aroung bee-utiful !

Our training is progressing wonderfully. We spent the first months going over the very basics: basically getting to know and trust each other. Linda told me that once we were able to trot and canter on the buckle, at a nice and relaxed gait with full attention on me, we would start doing basic obstacle work and low jumps. Well, yesterday that is what we did, so Linda started us over ground poles and a small cross rail. The first few times, he got excited and played around after clearing the jump. By the end, he was jumping quietly and happily. He knows when he does a good job. He will walk up to my trainer Linda, lower his head, and wait for cuddles

Kinetic is doing AWESOME !!!! We just had our first REAL lesson this past Monday, and I'm having another lesson on Friday. My trainer is in love with him. She treats him like her baby...she baby talks him and is always petting him and telling him he's a big, handsome boy. She says he's a gorgeous horse and a great mover...just needs some tuneup. So we decided to stick with two, thirty minute lessons a week and a I ride him twice a week only at the walk and trot for twenty minutes to condition him a bit. Linda (trainer) says that by the end of summer, we should be ready to show.

Kinny has really gotten used to his surroundings now, and is a lot more responsive and receptive to my signals. I have a pretty strict schedule that I stick to while with him.....basically, it is:
turn him out while I go get his tack
let him run a bit
On the way from the pasture to the hitching post, work on ground manners and leading
groom him, body rub
put the saddle tightened to the first girth hole on
let him walk around to adjust the saddle to his back better
tie him up again and tighten the girth
untie him and do stretches with him
put on the bridle
free lunge him to get the bucks out and his attention on me
ride five minutes in the roundpen
ride rest of time in the arena...finish on a good note
cool off trail
handwalk him back to the roundpen
untack him and let him roll while I put tack away
brush him again and handwalk him to the uper arena and back
while I put his brushes away, I take his bucket to my feed bin and then he gets his vitamins and etc.
he's always done by 6:00, and then there is some food waiting for him :)

He is a huge lovebug and he knows when he did something right. He will trot up to my trainer and put his head on her until she pets him. He's so great. I love the big oaf. Thankyou so much.

Kinetic, a 16.2 bay TB gelding. He was adopted from the TIER foundation, an organization I really support and root for. VISIT THEM ! I adopted him Feb.3 after having wished for him since last summer. I won't say much more about him. You can develop your own opinions after you've read our stories. Just know this: I'm head over heels for him, and you'll be tempted to sneak over here and steal him. :)

I think I have thoroughly disgusted my friends and family with my endless talk about Kinny. He settled in very nicely, and promtly began to eat. Then he made his rounds, and sniffed noses with neighbors. He seems quite fond of the pretty mare to his right, but she's playing hard to get and remains aloof. After his food, and a bit of confusion about the ways of the automatic waterer, he stuck his pretty head out the window, and watched the sunset. (ultimate pampering:view of sunset from the stall)Well, maybe he was watching the bicyclists, but I like to think it was the sunset :). I am busily working on a schedule to get Kinny fit and conditioned. We'll start out slowly...walking long periods of time w/ about five-ten minutes of trotting 3-4x a week for about two weeks. With the aid of my trainer, we'll work up from there when Kinny gives us the go ahead. Our first official lesson together is on Thursday !
Today, Kinny got the grand tour of the place. He recieved turn out for a while, where he impressed everybody with his antics, and then we went around the barn, sniffing things here and there. Everybody commented on what a big and handsome boy he was. Linda said he was a very good match for me and had an "adorable face" Kinny has figured out the auto waterer and I think he presses his nose on the lever JUST to hear the whoosh noise. I hope he is happy here (that is my main focus) and is ready to be pampered within an inch of his life.

Kinetic has gone to his new home with his young adoptor Lauren. Lauren has been coming to TIER for the past couple of months to work with Kinetic in order that TIER, herself and Kinetic are comfortable with the new partnership! It was obvious from the beginning that Lauren understood Kinetic's playfulness and his willingness to work at the task at hand. Lauren and Kinetic were jumping over 3ft..........considering that "Kinny" hadn't really jumped before.......we were all surprised at his ability and the fact that he was actually enjoying himself! This is a great match and we are looking to hear good things from Lauren and Kinetic in the days to come! Congrats Kinny & Lauren!!!

Adoption pending!!!!!!!!!

Kinetic has found his new mom! Lauren has been coming to TIER to work with and get to know Kinetic for some time now. They work well together. Lauren is a sensitive and talented rider who tunes in to Kinetic. Kinny (Kinetic) is blossoming with the added attention that Lauren is providing. In fact, he saw no problem with clearing a 3 ft. jump for her this past Sunday!!! He enjoys showing off and after each raising of the bar on the standards, successful completion of clearing the bar, Kinny would almost do the "chicken dance" as he seemed to think he had made the winning touchdown! HA! You could almost see him smiling with glee each time as he pranced and dashed! You could definately see the smile on Lauren's face. She would take him back to the jump and say "Look what you did!!" Kinny seemed to say....."That's nothin! What else can we do?"

ALLERGIC: to neoprene, it will cause third degree burns (professional choice boots, girth, etc.)

PRONE TO: thrush even in desert climate (with our little bit of rain). Also prone to dry tail and rubbing of upper tail. You must earn his trust through love and consistent attention and then he will take care of you&hellipGets nervous on trail with too many horses, dogs and trotting or cantering. Falls on the forehand if allowed when cantering. He can rear up coming in from a turnout if excited, around dinner time or if he has not been turned out in awhile (he just goes straight up and then down). Also, in turnout he may rear and do a 180 come down bucking and jumping and then immediately lay down

LOVES: baths, brushing, attention, blow in nose, kisses on nose, eyes and ears rubbed, trail rides, free jumps (sees a 2 ft. jump in the arena and will go for it) and is a character with turnouts (loves to play chase with humans), loves dogs and children and being stalled next to a Mare

GREAT AT: clipping, sheath cleaning, fly spray (even able to spray on his face), blanketing, turnout, cross ties, ground tying. He will come out of the pasture when called and will stand in the pasture with the gate open and will not run out. On the buckle at the trot on trail. Does best with just one other horse on the trail.

UNBOTHERED BY: wind, rain, heat or cold, motorcycles, trucks, plastic bags (unless he is looking for an excuse to spook). If not sure on trail of something will turn to look at rider on back. While eating you can brush, put on blanket, walk in stall, etc.

PERSONALITY: an alpha teddy bear who is sensitive and gets his feelings hurt if you get mad and holler at him (he then tries to kiss and make up). He loves to pick up things in his mouth including whips (which he will flip up and down in the air), buckets, trash cans, sprayers. He becomes very attached to humans and knickers when he hears my voice.

EASY KEEPER: only fed alfalfa in am, grass in eve and two coffee cans (1 lb.) of barley. Too much alfalfa or any grain (alfamo, etc.) makes him very spooky, hard to handle and more alpha behavior.

BUTTONS: getting in an argument and attempting to force him, aggressive use of lunge or riding whips, lunging with side reins through the girth up to and through the bit and side reins (he will accept draw reins). If afraid will try to sniff arm or hand to make sure O.K. Horses (more than one) cantering on trail towards him or behind make him nervous. Best to make him go ahead of leg and moving forward then you can keep his attention. FOOD TIME cranky if try to take out and work right before feeding or if he has not eaten (best to let him eat for hr.) and will be an alpha with other horses at food time

TRAINED IN: walk, trot, canter (can become unbalanced if allowed to run into the canter depart), some leg yielding and shoulder in (just learning) basics of dressage. Listens to the seat very well in downward transitions. Listens well to the voice and will tune in if afraid or unsure. He would do best with lots of trails and maybe some jumping.

NICKNAME: Love Bug! Twinkle Toes (stands on his toes to pee with legs behind and tucks legs under when poops)