I just wanted to brag and let you know the latest with Brando. It took three sessions to get him to long line. I have done 8 trail rides with him by himself with no problems. One ride was way up in the mountains. He crosses water. My wife can ride him. His trot has smoothed out. He is somewhat gaited, like a Friesian. We are still at the trot level and soon I will be trying the canter level. He can pony my other horse. I am able to shoe him myself and he only needs front shoes. He stopped his pawing.

We are working on his bending in turns through leg cues rather than over using the bit. He responds to light leg cues on the trail but not in the arena. He stands still when mounted. He likes his ears touched. He has bucked when my Corgi went for his back feet. However, his buck was nothing and it was easy to stay seated. Soon I will be working with a dressage trainer to fine tune things. He is always willing. He does not hold a grudge and likes to hang out with me more than my other horse, thus not herd bound. He has slimmed down a bit which is healthier. After having him I am sorry I ever got into Saddlebreds.

Please feel free to use me as a reference. Please let his owners know I really appreciate all that you and they have done for me. This horse has been the best out of the five I have owned. Also know he seems quite happy with his new life here. He also likes to follow me around, pick up my tools and throw them around. A real character!

I am pleased to announce that Brando is driving! I probably went too slow because every time I introduced something new he got it calmly the first time. One of his problems though is he is not that forward which is also an asset. He just stops if anything goes wrong. I have had shafts break on him, the tugs attached to the cart come off leaving one shaft pulling out of harness, long lines wrapped around his feet and he just stops and stands until I fix it. I can hitch him by myself and he does not have to be tied (I don't do that a lot it just turned out that way a few times.) The best part is I am not using blinders, he just accepts this thing with me and wheels behind him. I want to get him more forward now without having to use the whip too much or too hard. Keeping him willing is important. I do have to keep tapping him to keep going. I have only driven him in the arena. I have seen when horses get out of the arena they get more forward like when they are on a trail. Any suggestions?

Here are a few pictures that her new owner sent over. Erin is doing amazing with her. They are jumping her 3 foot right now and hoping to be able to go to their first show this month. Mary Rae Fuller is the trainer. She loves Violet and thinks that she has a ton of talent and is a perfect fit for Erin. Erin intends on showing Violet in jumper and maybe some hunters next year. Erin loves to trail ride and she has been riding 3 day eventing horses for about 12 years. Erin is a good rider and not scared at all. She is a perfect fit for Violet because Violet needs confidence from her rider. Erin thinks she is the best thing that ever hit this earth and is just thrilled that I would sell her for a price that she could afford.

Thank you for selling Violet to me so cheap so that I could pass this on to Erin. Erin was not able to afford very much, but because of your generosity I was able to sell Violet to her very affordable because it was the right home for Erin and Violet.

Violet's show name is going to be "Say La Ve' "... I love it!!!!!

Thank you again for your generosity. Violet is doing amazing and truly has the best home in the world! It is a perfect match and Violet was made for Erin. They are really amazing together!

Hey Vickie hope that things are good for you. I caught and rode Herrin this week after a month of her being laid off (other than being trailered and hauled numerous times on short trips) as I had no time to ride and she did awesome. I was a bit nervous and expected her to try to dump me on my butt. She tried to trot off with me once and acted like she might want to get froggy with me a couple times but quit as soon as I corrected her. I was tickled as you can probably guess.

I am sending you a few photos that we took that day. Lexus is doing good at the slow pace that I have chosen for her. She is actually very people oriented and very sweet just a bit slow to trust. One thing I love about her is you can't even tell when she is in heat unless a guy comes around and really flirts it up with her. She also is very amicable with the other horses unless they are real jerks with her and then she tends to put them in their place. I really feel like she will be my forever horse.

They both trailer tied very well now and are doing good at being backed out. They are both such nice beautiful mares I want to thank you again for hooking us up with them. How are things going at the ranch? Would still like to come and visit(drool) again sometime.

Herrin has been doing very well. She has been very patient with me as I have also been in training along with her. It is strange being taught as I am riding a green colt but she is awesome and takes my bumbling in stride. Her trainer uses the Clinton Anderson method and I learned on my own and then eased into the Ray Hunt style after Luke and I got together. They are quite similar thankfully so I haven't had as much trouble with the transition as I might have.

Lexus is doing much better, she approaches us out in the pasture now without much encouragement. She is a very sweet mare just a little bit slower to trust. I have high hopes for both mares and am so grateful to you for sending them both home with us. I had to pick Herrin up today though as I could not afford to keep her with him anymore. He charges $32 a day and that is just more than I can come up with. We will keep her moving along as well as we can though.