Yonka - My Last Chance at Equine Sanity

[Tuddy]

Hey everyone!

I don't know if I have introduced Yonka, he was showcased as Horse of the Month once, and did have his picture up on the banner. He is also a registered cheval Canadien. His registered name is TH Javier Yonka, and his Instagram hash tag is #blondebastard He will be six in May and is coming into more serious work now. I had bought him as a barely 3 year old, let him grow, had 3 months of ground work put on him when he turned 4 and then introduced a rider when he was 5. He will most likely end up being my daughter's Pony Club mount as her old QH is retired now. He is mellow, yet curious, aware but confident. Typical Canadian Horse.

I think spring is finally on its way to Saskatchewan, March is around the corner, and while the weather can be awful, it's nice to know that we only have to suffer it for four weeks, not four months. We started tacking up Yonka to remind him that he can be a good citizen and will haul to an arena when it dries up a bit to get him used to be travelled and to ride him more.

Yonka and Maddie this past Monday.... he remembers his job and she was riding him a couple weeks ago bareback with her dad leading him.

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This is from a cattle clinic we took Yonka to last August, it was one of his very first rides. He loved working those cattle, as a breed who naturally use their shoulders for throwing their weight around, being allowed to enter someone's personal space (the cow) and move it at will, he thought it was the best game ever - YOU MEAN I AM ALLOWED TO PUSH THIS AROUND!?

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And for those of you who may have been wondering about Tuddy, my #warhorse, he is enjoying his time off, I have started to tack him up again and we are enjoying groundwork sessions in the comfort of our own home barnyard. Here he is wondering why he wasn't allowed in the barn to help us trim the donkeys feet.

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[PaulaO]

Yonka is gorgeous. How tall is he? Do you need oversize tack for him?

[Tuddy]

Yonka is gorgeous. How tall is he? Do you need oversize tack for him?

Thanks for your kind words. He is just over 15HH at the moment. He may grow another inch, but I think he is maxed out. When he is fit, he fits a Wide tree. My Collegiate Convertible on the XW bar is at the limit at the moment. The saddle that is on him in the picture with my daughter is one I found on consignment at my local tack store. It surprisingly fits him (barely at the moment), but once some of the winter fluff comes off, it should fit him well. The western one he is wearing in the riding one was tight, I wouldn't let him wear anything like that for any length of time.

[Sue B]

Lovely pictures, thank you for sharing him wit us.

[orono]

How old is he now? Looks like a nice horse, he deserves a better nickname!!

[Tuddy]

How old is he now? Looks like a nice horse, he deserves a better nickname!!

Oh, believe me, if you met him, it wouldn't take you long before you are muttering under your breath, "you little bast@rd", either in annoyance, or absolute wonder. It would depend on what he had done. Lol.

He will be 6 in May.

[Tuddy]

Whew - been a while since I have been on the board.... not much to update, but I have been working with Yonka when I get the chance. I know it isn't as consistent as I would like, but I figure, every time I work with him, whether it is for 5 minutes for 45 minutes, I am teaching him something. My failures and setbacks with Tuddy are my lessons with Yonka.

I rode Yonka in a clinic in May and haven't been doing any riding until August. I worked with him on the ground getting him used to life lessons and reminding him he can be an adult now. He is such a quick learner and it takes me by surprise sometimes. He gets this look - yeah, I got it, why are you asking me over and over, lets move on.

I took him to another clinic (Trina Campbell) a couple weeks ago where I really worked on just getting him to move forward from the saddle. I can get him to move any direction on the ground, but there seems to be a communication disconnect when I get in the saddle. I am not a colt starter, so not knowing what buttons to push and how long to push them is new to me and gets overwhelming at times, but in a clinic setting the support is there and I was able to get him to move a little more freely. Learning to get to his feet will be a life long lesson.

There were a few times in the horsemanship class where he was getting a little overwhelmed and with my anxiety, things were about to fall apart really fast and one of the other participants just said, "change his mind" so I asked him to bend and disengage his hind end, and we were fine.

We were able to work cattle again and I found that having a task to work on helped me relax a lot and just let things happen. And what do you know, we had forward, back, turn on the forehand and haunches (greenie style), and even a little bit of walk/trot transition.

I'm learning that it if something isn't working, just stop, organize yourself and try again. This is hard for me as I was always taught to push through until they did it. I've heard the late Peter Campbell say, "The operation was a success, but the patient died", in regards to some training methodology, and I realized that this is the type of training I was used to, and now would like to leave behind me.

Anyways, rambling now, so here is a picture of me on my little #blondebastard, and with the clinician as well (note, I did have a helmet on but I had taken it off because we were done - so I thought - but I hopped on for picture taking). We had a great weekend, Trina awarded me with a gift card after the clinic was done because she knew I was "scared shitless" to get on Yonka at one time, but I did it and was able to go outside my comfort zone and make progress.

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[Racetrackreject]

He's so cute and I love his bird catcher spots!!

[Tuddy]

He's so cute and I love his bird catcher spots!!

Thanks! He seem to get more every year. He also has a couple of Bend'or spots on his leg. Very uniquely colored this guy. Now if he would quit rubbing his mane out!!!!!

[Tsavo]

Okay when I saw Yonka's picture on the other thread, I found this thread. What a nice type of horse! And birdcatcher spots! OMG.

I like the Canadian Horse and was wondering if it was hard to find one. Where I lived in Canada, there were more draft crosses than you can shake a stick at which was great. But I don't think I saw a Canadian Horse. Are they rare?

And congratulations on constantly chipping away at your anxiety. That is a great accomplishment.

[Tuddy]

Thanks Tsavo!

The Canadian is starting to gain some popularity. There are more small breeders popping up trying to promote and save the breed. Breeders are a tight knit group, but if one doesn't have what you are looking for, they are more than happy to help you find one through fellow breeders. I love them, I think they are quite handy and their personalities are so creative.

Link to an article that was recently published in the July/August edition of Horse Canada:

https://www.horse-canada.com/magazine_a ... the-north/