Saxon is SOLD!

 Saxon has found his new forever home, and he got there safely yesterday!  Congratulations to Mark and all the folks at The Village Club in Denver, you will all get a tremendous amount of joy from this big guy!

Saturday morning I loaded Saxon into my extra large trailer to head south to Denver to his new home.  Thankfully the trailer is plenty large enough to accommodate the big guy!

When we arrived at Saxon's new barn we got there about five minutes before Mark, his new owner.  We took the time to capture some glamour shots.  

Once Mark arrived and we had finished the last of the paperwork I unloaded Saxon from the trailer. 

As they were getting Saxon's new stall ready with fresh shavings, water, and hay Mark led Saxon to the arena so he could get a good look at his new home.

Pointing out the barn to Saxon as he's given the tour.

Saxon will have a special place both at the barn and in his new family's heart.  About two months ago they unfortunately lost their previous horse at nearly thirty years old.  Saxon is the new equine member of the family, and is already touching the hearts of everyone who meets him!

Once the stall was prepared, we all headed to the beautiful stone building where Saxon's new stall was located.

Saxon happily went right into his stall, then through the door into his run on the back side of the barn.  To his delight, with his height he could easily reach over the fence into his neighbor's feed tub to have a mouthful of hay.  It was a simple matter to scoot the hay feeder over to the other side, and Saxon got his own pile of snacks inside his stall.

We left Saxon with his new fan club adoring him, feeling quite happy with how things turned out for this special horse. 

The following morning I got this text with a photo from Mark: "Very spoiled!  He is incredibly affectionate.  Yesterday we were talking and he had to be in the mix."

I'm so pleased we found such a great match for Saxon.  Congratulations to Mark and his family, as well as the other folks at The Village Club.  We wish you all the best and are so pleased you found your newest family member!

Saxon Riding

Saxon is such a lovely forward and light ride for a draft horse!  I'm enjoying him tremendously, and he is continually getting more balanced with every workout.  This fairy tale horse is available to purchase, he is as kind and gentle as they come. 

Saxon is For Sale!

SOLD!

Saxon

DOB 5/6/2007
Registered with American Drum Horse Association as OMF's Encore
Gypsy:12.5%, Shire: 25%, Clydesdale: 62.5% 
Lifetime registration with Rocky Mountain Dressage Society #5423
Skewbald, chestnut/white tobiano
17.0 hands
SOUND

Solid training level dressage mount, has competed through Training Test 3
Vaulting experience as a walk/trot mount, could easily do canter work
Trail riding experience, ground driving experience, has taught many children's riding lessons
Loads, ties, bathes, clips, good for farrier and vet, 
Extremely gentle and friendly personality, temperament 2
Has always been barefoot with excellent hooves
Current on deworming, coggins, vaccinations, farrier, dental work, etc. 


Video of Saxon riding in the arena can be seen here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gS1p7i7fzpI

Video of Saxon opening the gate, riding out in the field with the dogs, and walking over logs can be seen here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWETdl6iRLY

Saxon arrived at Bit of Honey Training in mid-November 2018.  He is an absolute pleasure to have around the barn and catches everyone's eye!  With his kind temperament and gentle ways he is absolutely the unicorn you are looking for.  He has had the same owner since he was a yearling and she unfortunately has had life get in the way, which is the only reason he is for sale as he was her dream horse.  He is completely sound and is easy, quiet, and uncomplicated to ride. He has given many riding lessons to children, and he is careful and a wonderful confidence booster for any rider.

Saxon has vaulting training and is steady as a walk/trot horse, comfortable with moving mounts and even back flips off him!  It would not take much to finish him as a vaulting horse with canter work.  He rides out quietly alone or in a group on the trails, and has shown at training level dressage through Training Level Test 3 with positive comments from the judges on what a nice mover he is.

Saxon will remain at Bit of Honey in training until sold, and will resume competing in dressage in the spring.

Video to come!  Contact Kim for more details or to schedule a time to come meet him.  
bitofhoneytraining@gmail.com
970-231-9999

Strolling in the Back

Now that the horses are covered with their winter woolies, after we get done working in the arena I have to take them for long walks in the back forty so that they can cool out and dry off completely before I put them away.  Atlantis's first ride to the back was a combination of exciting and boring.  We began by riding over to the fence line that we share with our neighbors' llamas.  He was concerned about them, the suspicious noodle-necks.  Miles and Forrest went along the fence to show him that it wasn't a big deal, but the rustling of tall dry grass didn't do much to assuage his fears.  He spooked a couple times, so we just walked back and forth until it wasn't a big deal anymore.

Once he had gotten over the llama drama we headed out to the back.  As usual Miles was leading the way.  When we got to the top of the hill Forrest caught up with us from behind, which startled Atlantis and I got another spook out of him.  As soon as he realized it was his friend the dog he sheepishly went back to walking on a loose rein for the rest of our ride.

Saxon has had some lovely rides in the arena, and has also taken some long walks in the back forty to cool out.  Most recently we have been working on getting him softer and rounder through his topline, and asking him to take some contact with the bit.  He does this most easily when we come down from a canter into the trot.  It's a striking gait change, and he flows forward lightly and in a very round frame.  With a little bit of cheering and praise from me and he will sustain the posture as long as he can, and his core muscling will develop better the more we do it. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOD4bnMRzi4

One of the rides in the front field before a big storm moved in gave me these dramatic shots of the sky and impending weather.

Introducing Saxon

I'd like to introduce Saxon, he is one tall gorgeous unicorn of a horse!  I'm waiting on a warmer day to get him washed and sparkly for his conformation photos for his sale ad which is coming, but I did get a stick on him today and he measures at 17hands high. He also had his first ride with me, and wow is this gelding a nice mover. He has vaulting training too, and was such a gentleman on the lunge line!

I rode him in the arena today and cooled him out by walking in the front field.  The arena ride was a bit of a conversation as he asked me why on earth we were riding with two predators? I answered that my border collies are "helping" and he would get used to them.  Once we were out in the field, though, he grew to appreciate their supervision as they proved that the neighbor's llamas weren't as scary as they could have been.  

Before the Storm

We have a storm moving in, so tonight I got all the horses into pajamas who needed them.  Among them is a gorgeous new horse named Saxon.  He is a Drum Horse, which is cross between a Gypsy Vanner and a draft.  He arrived this afternoon for training and to be sold, so keep an eye out for more details to come on this stunning boy!

In other (smaller) news, Dancer and Walsh had beautiful lighting on them this evening so I got a shot of them, too.