Cyrus Cassidy #45437 Posted May 25, 2020 Share Posted May 25, 2020 The Garden of the Gods is a scenic tourist destination in Colorado Springs, about 45 minutes drive from my house (longer with a horse trailer). Last weekend Mrs. Cassidy and I loaded up the horses and went on a ride through there. One of our boys rode his bike, because we only own two horses. My horse, named Remington, is a papered quarterhorse, contrary to his rather large appearance. People always ask me if he is part draft horse, but he is not. He is a complete idiot, but that's a different story. He is all quarterhorse. Funny, I know his bloodline going back to the 1600s! About 7 years ago, we bought him for $200. His story: He descends from high dollar, well-known cutting horses, and people pay a lot of money to get horses from these bloodlines. That's why he's papered. A high end horse trainer bought him and trained him, and then sold him for profit. But an inexperienced rider bought him. She was thrown once, and tore her ACL, so she decided maybe horseback riding wasn't her thing. So she left him in the pasture. She fed him and had his hooves trimmed, but did NO training and NEVER went riding again. He became what we call a "pasture pet." Pasture pets are nothing but a drain on your finances and can even be dangerous. He lost ALL of his training and was almost wild. That's why we got him for $200. Heck, I paid $450 for a *used* saddle that fit him, more than double the price of the horse. I can stay in the saddle, but Mrs. Cassidy is a no-kidding horse whisperer. She adheres to a method known as "natural horsemanship," the idea of which is to learn how horses communicate with each other and communicate with them in that way. That way they don't see you as a predator; they see you as a partner. The old school methods of force work, but they can be cruel, and they don't work as well. In natural horsemanship, you don't force your horse to do anything; you ask him, and he does it because you are his leader and friend, not because you made him. Go to YouTube and check out Pat Parelli, Buck Branaman, and a few others. Using the natural horsemanship training method, we started him from the ground up. The aforementioned Pat Parelli always says, "the easiest way to ride a bucking horse is from the ground," meaning you have to get a bunch of training in before getting on his back. So we spent 3 months doing ground work. I finally got on his back, and it was a little early still. We had a little bit of a rodeo, but I stayed on. Mrs. Cassidy has done most of the work, because horses are her thing in our house, but Remington is my riding buddy. Despite his high dollar bloodline, he failed out of cutting training and won't really be anything but a trail horse. That's all I want! My days of being 10 feet tall and bullet proof are over. By the way, the bridle and the pommel bags you see on Remington were made by yours truly. Mrs. Cassidy got her first horse when she was 14 years old, and that horse died last year. The one you see her riding is her new one, and she was also trained using the natural horsemanship method. That mare is about average sized for a quarterhorse, so you can see why people mistake Remington for being a draft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smoken D Posted May 25, 2020 Share Posted May 25, 2020 Always neat stories, thanks. Many years ago my younger sister got one headed to the glue factory for $50. Like I said was a few years back. He turned out to be one heck of a barrel racer and loved running. She would win 1st in like 90% of the races she ever did. Not bad for $50. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyrus Cassidy #45437 Posted May 25, 2020 Author Share Posted May 25, 2020 Oh, by the way, it's funny to see myself with facial hair. I've been in the army since I was 17 years old, so I've never known what it's like to have facial hair. With the lockdown I've been teleworking, so I decided to find out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Riot Posted May 25, 2020 Share Posted May 25, 2020 Pretty country. Nice horses. Looks like a wonderful day with family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-BAR #18287 Posted May 25, 2020 Share Posted May 25, 2020 I was born and raised in Pueblo, still have cousins in the Black Forest suburb of the Springs. Our family had many picnics in the Garden. Thanks for the photos and story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyrus Cassidy #45437 Posted May 25, 2020 Author Share Posted May 25, 2020 10 minutes ago, J-BAR #18287 said: I was born and raised in Pueblo, still have cousins in the Black Forest suburb of the Springs. Our family had many picnics in the Garden. Thanks for the photos and story. J-bar, I'm just outside of Black Forest by about 1/4 mile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linn Keller, SASS 27332, BOLD 103 Posted May 26, 2020 Share Posted May 26, 2020 Well written, well done, many thanks ... resurrected some memories of Granddad's Apple-horse, many moons ago! It is well that a man should have a beard at least once in his life. Do admire your leatherwork, and my profound respect and admiration for your wife's natural gift as a Whisperer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noz Posted May 26, 2020 Share Posted May 26, 2020 Evil place! bad juju!! Killed my grandmother is 1924. Rented a tourist horse and buggy. Green horse ran away, buggy flipped, she died. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt. R. Hugh Kidnme Posted May 26, 2020 Share Posted May 26, 2020 Good looking country. Good looking horse. He's a biggun'. What's he about 15 hands? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyrus Cassidy #45437 Posted May 27, 2020 Author Share Posted May 27, 2020 2 hours ago, Capt. R. Hugh Kidnme said: Good looking country. Good looking horse. He's a biggun'. What's he about 15 hands? 15.2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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