Charmer

Charmer is a seven-year-old Tennessee Walking Horse that belongs to Renata di Pietro. Because of her health, Renata can no longer provide Charmer with the care, attention, and exercise that he needs. Charmer is for sale to a permanent loving home.

Charmer has been ridden on trails. In the past year, he did not have much riding or handling time. Renata and I were concerned that this would be a problem in trying to place him. I decided to try to raise enough money to board him at Serenity Creek Farm, where I live, to put enough clicker education on him to make sure he is safe and pleasant on the ground and under saddle.

Thanks to financial help from people who took Charmer's case close to heart, he is now at Serenity Creek Farm.

Charmer's name says it all. It is impossible not to love him. He is vibrant, athletic, and wide open to new experiences.

 

He views the world as his playground. I had not realized that the pasture where my horses had lived for 5 years was such a fun place, until Charmer arrived...

Left: playing with a feed pan. Right: "Look what I found!". Charmer is trying to entice Ogeechee to play with an old rag that he had dug up somewhere. Bottom: chasing a goose - what fun!

 

Charmer is a lot of fun to work with. He is a quick learner and loves this work that engages his body and mind. Here are some of the things we worked on during his first month with me.

Showing off his food manners: I am offering him a piece of carrot without having clicked (left). He tucks his chin refusing to take it until he hears the click (right).

 

Here, I am in the process of teaching him the forward cue. As I slide my hands apart on the lead rope, he steps into the contact on the snap (left). My left arm should be fully extended pointing to his hip, but I am still working on my technique... On the right, we continue to walk together. Charmer will get a click and a treat in a few moments.

The "forward" cue in place, Charmer is now calm and relaxed when I ask him to walk a circle around me.

 

Our first ride together. On the left, I am releasing the rein as he steps back softly. On the right, he adds a flexion at the poll to his stop.

 

My leg did not mean much to Charmer. By asking him to give to the rein and then to yield his hip, I got his feet unstuck, and now we are moving forward.

 

April 2, 2008

We have been riding in the arena, mainly exploring the mechanics of one-rein riding. Charmer is getting wonderfully light on the bit and finding his balance under saddle. For those familiar with Alexandra Kurland's work, we have been working on WWYLM under saddle, progressing to 3-flip-3.

I have been taking Charmer on walks to the confidence course beside the arena, where we are working on crossing a tarp, walking over ground obstacles, and loading into an imitation trailer.

Working in the arena when other horses were coming and going was a problem in the beginning. Now Charmer has gained enough confidence to keep engaged in our work regardless of what other horses are doing.

May 28, 2008

Charmer and I have been enjoying riding in the fields around the farm. There was a definite point when he decided that he was comfortable with me having the controls. All of a sudden, it did not matter what other horses were doing, and spooky things became easily negotiable. Now we are ready for some trails.

 

I will keep updating this page to keep you posted on Charmer's progress.

 

Charmer's boarding at Serenity Creek Farm is made possible by donations. Heartfelt thanks to everyone who contributed to this project! If you would like to contribute or are interested in buying Charmer, please contact me.