Taking a young horse from his mother all the way to the show ring is a daunting and rewarding task, says rider Nikki Beatty.
The 20-year-old Saskatoon university student accomplished the feat through the Young Horse Development Project offered by the Farm Animal Council of Saskatchewan.
“It’s a lot of hard work but it’s really rewarding to see how much progress has been made,” she said.
The former 4-H light horse club member wanted to learn how to raise and train a horse through the program, which offers foals to participants for $800.
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Beatty started by buying Zac, a weanling Quarter horse, after visiting three pregnant mares’ urine farms.
Looking for a good riding horse, she carefully weighed Zac’s bloodlines, looked over his parents and examined their show records before deciding on the gentle brown horse.
“I liked the way it was bred,” she said.
Beatty said checking out the parents gives riders a good idea of how the offspring will turn out.
She started the horse with another program rider, Kirby Cates, and her young horse.
Their horses are kept on a farm west of Saskatoon owned by Cates’s father, Don, who is also the girls’ project mentor. He has been showing horses since the 1970s.
Beatty noted his invaluable help in supporting their training and offering practical advice.
The training plan depends on how the horse will be used, said Beatty, who wanted to enter Zac in western pleasure and other events at Quarter horse shows.
The process begins by spending several hours a day with the animal, getting him used to being touched and handled.
“They have to learn to trust you,” Don Cates said.
“They have to learn discipline and respect, not fear, as they are bigger than you are.”
While they will often be led within days, it can takes months or years before they are ready for the show ring, Cates said.
Beatty’s selection of a gentle-natured horse made it an easier task.
“Zac didn’t take too long to quiet down,” she said.
She started working him on a lunge line, moving him in a circle at the end of a rope.
Then she advanced to walking behind him holding reins and teaching him voice commands before eventually strapping on the saddle and bridle.
“When he starts accepting everything you do, he’s ready to ride,” Don said.
Once in the saddle, the rider works on varying the horse’s speed from trotting to galloping.
Beatty entered Zac in a yearling showcase in 2003 and as a two year old in 2004 in Moose Jaw.
She won $600 of her initial $800 investment back at horse shows, she noted.
Her other horse costs include $100 to $150 in monthly feed, health care and bedding costs.
During the two-year program, Beatty maintained records of the horse’s feeding regime and researched horse-related topics for a speech she delivered.
On cool days, she keeps him wrapped up to maintain the quality of his coat.
In the coming months, Beatty plans to keep working on skills training with Zac, who is now three years old.
“I’m training him to compete and achieve something,” she said.
