The horses at WGA Equine are some of our best teaching assistants and “Mushu” is already following in Mama Mini’s hoof-prints. Minuette (a daughter of DS Major Afire bred by Mr. Bradley Herman) was shown to multiple Regional titles by the students members of the WGA Equine (the equine department of The William George Agency for Children's Services, Inc., ) is a member of our lesson and recreational riding cadre and this year produced this fancy chestnut colt by Macnificent RS.
Mini's registered name is Minuette in E Major, her name is a nod to her ilustrious sire, DS Major Afire.
Mushu's sire, Macnificent RS, is a black Arabian stallion owned by Rancho Sonado Arabians located in Amado, Arizona. Mushu is "Nifty's" first chestnut foal and based on the colors of both parents, there was only a 6% chance of getting this color! Both sides of his pedigree are known for producing horses of great quality and very trainable dispositions and we're looking forward to future lessons with Mushu!
At less than 3 months of age, Mushu has already been a part of the WGA Equine program, teaching our vocational students how to properly handle and train foals. Almost every day, Mushu and Mini are lead out from their stalls in the barn to the turn out paddocks where they join Frosty and Mulan, providing valuable daily hands on training. Because the foals are consistently handled with age appropriate "mini lessons" about "wearing stuff" and "yielding to pressure" they quickly become pretty good equine citizens. Above you see one of students preparing to lead Mushus using a "butt rope". This system helps to show the foal how to go forward properly without pulling on their face (yielding to pressure from the halter will come shortly, a little bit at a time). As the weeks go by we'll post more about teaching Mulan and Mushu to pick up their feet, having their feet rasped and learning that a fly spray bottle isn't anything to make a big deal about.
Having another foal to play with combined with our hot, hot weather means that Mushu is ready to enjoy his cushy shavings come night time!