Colt Cam 2016 – Get your horse ready to bridle

February 25, 2016 by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~ Leave a Comment

It’s been a year or better since we’ve had a Colt Cam Post. And not even because I haven’t put any first rides on horses, because I certainly have, but in case you’ve not noticed I’m a big time slacker in the blogging department lately.

But, I’ve made a couple videos of some recent rides on a colt, so I thought I’d share these, but first — here’s a quick little clip of some things we do to get our colts ready to be bridled the first time. Of course we need them to be good with having their faces rubbed and we need to be able to touch their mouths – but getting them ready to take the bit can get a “bit” tricky.

The colt below is a 6yo stallion, DX Nutter Butter. When he was about 3 days old, he left his mama in a big-wide open pasture, came over to me, and let me rub his chest. I started him the summer of his 2yo year, putting about 3-4 rides on him that week, and then turned him out for two years. He has been ridden on and off since then. When I cracked him out the past couple weeks, his ride count was at 12. We are now approaching the 30 ride mark. He’s awful cool, and I really really hope I can continue to do right by him. Comfortable doesn’t begin to explain his gaits. He’s also soft, eager and obscenely athletic.

Now, let’s get to the meat and potatoes of this post: how to get your horse ready to bridle.

I sure hope the tip above helps you. Please let me know if you have any questions. You know I’ll help you out if I can!

Happy Trails!

About ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~

Jenn Zeller is the creative mind and boss lady behind The South Dakota Cowgirl. She is an aspiring horsewoman, photographer, brilliant social media strategist and lover of all things western.

After a brief career in the investment world to support her horse habit (and satisfy her mother, who told her she had to have a “real” job after graduating college), she finally took the leap and stepped away from a regular income; trading the business suit once and for all for cowgirl boots, a hat, and jeans. She has not looked back.

When Jenn first moved to The DX Ranch on the South Dakota plains, she never imagined she’d find herself behind a camera lens capturing an authentic perspective of ranching, and sharing it with others. Jenn has always been called to artistry, and uses music, writing, images, home improvement, and her first true love of horses to express her ranching passion.

Horses are the constant thread and much of her work centers around using her unique style of writing to share her horsemanship journey with others in publications such as CavvySavvy, the AQHA Ranching Blog, the West River Eagle, the family ranch website, and her own website.

Using photography to illustrate her stories has created other opportunities -- Jenn’s brand “The South Dakota Cowgirl” has grown to the level of social media “Influencer”. This notoriety has led to work with Duluth Trading Company, Budweiser, Wyoming Tourism, Vice, Circle Z Ranch and Art of the Cowgirl, to name a few. She also serves as a brand ambassador for Woodchuck USA, Arenus Equine Health, Triple Crown Feed and Just Strong fitness apparel. Her photography has been featured by Instagram, Apple, TIME Magazine, The Huffington Post, and Oprah Magazine. Jenn’s work has been published internationally, has been seen in several books and has graced the covers of several magazines.

Jenn became a social media influencer by accident when she started to explore Instagram as a way to share her life on the ranch with folks that don’t get to experience it. It’s grown into an incredible platform that she uses to empower women, create an environment for self improvement and share life on the ranch.

When she’s not working, she loves to drink coffee, play with her naughty border collie named Copper, start ranch colts, and run about the country chasing cans. Her mother still thinks she doesn’t have a “real” job.