Bandero!

 
These pictures are from May to June of 09. Bandero is now a year old, and finally starting to loose that baby fuzz. He's getting taller and more elegant by the day!  He's a beautiful, classy little guy...very refined and definitely more like his Thoroughbred sire then his Percheron Mom.  Next to Cinders and Indigo, he almost seems delicate with his long slender neck and soft sweet face. He is Randy's special boy, that's for sure and the two of them are so bonded! Bandero loves to run, and when turned out in the big arena, we seldom see him without his tail flagging in the air. We plan to start doing some long rein ground driving with him very soon. He's getting SO big, we'd better get started before he's 16 hands!
Bandero is looking more and more Thoroughbred as he grows up. He's nothing but legs for now, but just look at that wonderful sleek neck!  He's a good colt. We haven't done a lot with him the past couple of months...mostly just leading him around and picking up his feet, bathing, etc.  He's very quiet and sweet like his "uncle" Ricky, the little Peruvian gelding we had him in with while he was being weaned from Cinderella. Ricky is a therapy horse and he taught Bandero  how to understand human affection and to allow us to hold his head and hug his body without being afraid. We're going to start ground driving him in the next month or so...he's getting taller by the minute!
Bandero gets to spend alot of time racing and chasing in the big arena with Little Ricky. He is magnificent to behold. He floats so lightly and his animation at the trot is absolutely breathtaking. He snaps those front feet out in front of him just like an Arabian! He's quite an athlete, too...he can spin and buck and race off in the opposite direction....and always with his tail curled over his back, of course! I love to tell Randy...."That's YOUR horse, honey"!  What a powerhouse. He is really going to be something!
One of the best things that happened through the winter of 09 and into the spring of 2010, we were able to take Bandero for some simple ranch-type training with our favorite handler, Logan Beers. Logan helped Bandero gain confidence about many things, like loading in the trailer, crossing water, and being ponied off another horse. That patient old Quarter Horse sure put up with alot of that colts antics! Bandero got worked in the round pen and ponied all over the ranch. We feel it's important for Bandero to understand he can trust and obey other people and not just us. He was respectful and attentive when we got him home, and that's a GOOD thing since he's a high spirited boy and quite large for a  2 year old! We are thankful we could trust Logan to work kindly with Bandero and we visited many times to be sure Bandero was "OK".
One my favorite things to do is watch Randy work Bandero at liberty in the big arena. They are so bonded, Bandero never takes his attention off Randy and it is almost funny to watch them 'play'.  Randy can turn Bandero, stop him, send him in another direction, speed up, slow down, back up or come in with very simple gestures or voice. Bandero LOVES to trot!  He is doing perfect with his feet too. I really need to get a video so you can experience his animation.....
As some of you already know, Randy is also an artist. We were given the opportunity to add the details to this Warmblood horse sculpture already started by artist Kitty Cantrell, so what better "model" then our OWN Warmblood, Bandero?  Sculpting from life is the best way to go and our "model" was more then willing to oblige. He didn't even mind the sound of the dremel near his feet!  He sure has his momma Cinders beautiful mane, doesn't he?  And at a little over 2 years old, he's now well over 16 hands.  Oh my, he'd make a terrific jumper! He's absolutely awesome to watch and a nice guy to hang out with too.