Mojito training video

[sbutter]

I was able to grab a camera last time we ground drove Mojito around. It was his second time out of the arena and we went through some areas and obstacles that were new to him. He did not like our cement pad in front of the house, so I had to stop recording and lead him up and then record from there. The video was about ten minutes long, but I edited it down to the interesting stuff so you don't have to watch him walking to everything.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDk5JYWbv4Y

Then I made another video of when we turned out our stallion No Points (chestnut) with Will Power (gelding). No Points is about 26 years old and has been retired from the breeding shed for several years, but now he really is retired, because he is no longer interested in being our teaser. He was a really good teaser and was great at talking to the mares over the tease boards and while he waited, he would just munch on grass. This last spring he decided he was not interested in talking at all and just wanted to eat grass no matter how much of a hussy the mare was. He has always been a good looking stallion and we were actually going through a little ordeal when we got him. I will tell the story a little later, but for now, here is his video.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOm90x8m7T4

[stlkigers]

Awesome fun ground driving.....makes me want to get out there and ground drive mine all around!! It's so great for them tool.....And WOW No Points is one good looking old man....still has the presence!

Angela

[angelsdream]

I love the automatic lead changes that "No Points" does in the video. He looks like he's having fun and enjoying that!!!

[dunbnwild]

Wow--Mojito is doing so good! And what a cutie!!

[sbutter]

No Points has always been athletic and very photogenic. For several years I have been tempted to throw a saddle on and see what happens lol. He was broke for the track, so it would be interesting, but he is very low key, so it probably won't be a rodeo.

So, the story for No Points actually begins with another stallion. We had a young grey stallion that we got from Kentucky and his name was Silent Dignity. He had a full book of mares the year before and had no problems getting them all pregnant. It was the beginning of the breeding season and he bred his first batch of five mares. None of them came back pregnant. So we immediately got the fertility vet out to check his sperm and he was completely sterile. He never was sick or had a temp and he didn't have any injuries that would effect his fertility in any way, so it was a mystery. Needless to say we started panicking since we had over 40 mares booked to him and they were all shipping in for the breeding season. We started calling around to see if there was anyone who had a stallion that they wanted to stand that was of the same caliber as Silent Dignity. This was the worst time of the year to do that, but we figured it wouldn't hurt to ask. A trainer contacted us and said he had a colt that needed some time off the track and he was a multiple graded stakes placed horse. I can't recall what he earned, but I think it was in the $300,000s. He was a son of Miswaki who was a very popular stallion and he had no sons in California yet. They told us he was 16.2 hands and a very good looking colt. We pulled up all his info and contacted everyone that was booked to Silent Dignity to see if they would be interested in breeding to him instead. The majority were very excited about the switch, but there was only one person who didn't want to, so we gave him the breeding fee back. We were so nervous to see him in person so we could tell everyone that we were for sure going to stand him. When he unloaded from the trailer we were standing a ways back, but he did not look like he was 16.2...he looked more like 15.2. But as my mom walked right up to his withers she said "OH!" and stood back again. He really was so well proportioned that he hid his height. When clients came out to see him we made sure they got a good look at him so they realized how tall he was. He was a very nice stallion and got all of his mares pregnant. So, it was a really good ending to a potential disaster and everyone was happy with the switch.

[DianneC]

No Points is a really athletic and lovely boy. I like that he kept wanting to climb in your pocket for safety. Not safe at all, but shows how much he thinks of you.

[fantasykiger]

great videos..I love ground driving I really think it is a great tool to help build a horses confidence. While keeping me safe on the ground
No Points is truely fun to watch