We are very proud of Preacher!
He has been doing very well for us. Samantha did some great work trying to find his brand, we figured out that Preacher came from Cornville/Page Springs - a ranch called DA Ranch or "Dancing Apache Ranch". We unfortunately couldn't find much on the ranch, but maybe one day we'll meet someone who knows more!
Preacher is now 100% walking and never even offers to jig. He is also trotting about 80% of the time, occasionally offering to jig or break into a canter. We are working on getting his rhythm at the trot, both as a slow jog and working trot. We noticed Preacher has an extreme amount of muscle on his right hip and nearly none on his left hip. We feel a couple things could be the cause of this... One could be that he appears to prefer his right lead and maybe cantered mostly on that side, causing overmuscling there. Another cause could be some arthritis in that leg, causing him to carry it slightly differently and giving it more muscling. The third possible cause would be a previous injury, in which he healed strangely and the muscling came from that. In either case, it isn't too much of a big deal because he is going sound, although a bit stiff. We will work on teaching him to reach under himself with his hind end and work both sides evenly to see if we can change the lopsidedness.
Here's a short clip of him cantering. I even look back at his hind end at one point to see how if it looks odd while cantering!
Today, Samantha rode Preacher for the first time in a few days and noticed quite a difference in him! She felt he was an easier ride than Cutter, one of our other lesson horses who is quite a jarring ride. This was somewhat a "first lesson" for Preacher. Here's the video:
We hope to use him next week for an official first lesson and see how he does with our intermediate level riders. We will continue working on his gaits, re-training his muscles, and getting Preacher to the level of being a solid lesson horse!
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