Spring?!

It looks like spring has sprung in Ohio, for the most part at least. I'm sure we'll get some more crappy weather, because it's Ohio. But for now, I have six weeks to get my horse back in shape before he goes into training. That does not sound like much time at all, especially with how busy I've been lately. At least it's staying light longer. I see lots of lunging in side reins in our future...he can get in shape without me bouncing around on his back while *I* get in shape.

It looks like our first show of the year will be a CT at South Farm at the end of May. Hopefully BBN...I don't really want to ride an intro test again if I can help it!

The boys survived the winter, although they probably feel very neglected since they haven't been ridden. I'm trying to figure out how to get Jodi back in shape at the same time, since I don't have much time. We might try some ponying.

The goal for the summer is

May 29th/30th - CT at South Farm, BBN?
May 31 - Stone Gate hunter pace

June 20 - Grand River mini trial - BBN hopefully

July 18 - South Farm mini trial - BBN
July 25 - Bath Pony Club mini trial?

August 1 - Grand River mini trial?
Agust 22 - Bath Pony Club mini trial - BBN?

And then in September, hopefully either the starter division at South Farm or Stone Gate, or moving up to BN at one of the mini trials. That's IF all goes according to plan, which it never does!

Hopefully I'll have some updates in the adventures of restarting Luke coming up soon :) Our first ride was pretty interesting, he decided steering was optional, but we fixed that pretty quick.

Cannot wait for the month of May! :)

Barefoot and Sound!

Knock on wood, I now have two barefoot horses, both being totally sound! Luke was due for a trim yesterday, and I just had the farrier keep his shoes off, because I haven't been riding, and probably won't be riding anywhere but the sand arena for a while. I had to leave before he was done, so I didn't get to see how Luke moved out, but my dad said when he put Luke out in the pasture, he immediately ran off to be with his buddies. Crossing my fingers that he isn't ouchy on it - I'd LOVE to have a barefoot Luke. I'm thinking about experimenting in the spring/early summer with putting him on a biotin supplement and seeing if that keeps his feet hard and able to be barefoot - I do do a lot of trail riding, but at the same time, he's always been fine barefoot in back.

That's really all that's new here. School is kicking my butt. I think I've sat on my horse once in the past two weeks, and I've been horrible about getting out there. The barn owner told me the other day that Luke's been disruptive lately, and I think he's just bored - he's used to having a job. So I'm going to make an effort to spend more time with him, and see if that helps. I can't ride unless it's light outside, and that doesn't happen much while I'm out there. Can't wait til the time change. Already.

Jodi's good, maybe a little skinny, but it could just be my imagination. I added weight builder to his smartpak for the winter, so we'll see how he does on that. I might have to add some senior feed, or up his grain. They're both getting safe choice, which I've heard good and bad about, but it seems to be working out well.

I think that's all...hopefully I'll have a riding update eventually...wishful thinking probably!

Congress & Luke update

I went to QH Congress on Wednesday and then back on Saturday. Fun fun! I spent way too much money, but really, I didn't get anything fun...new sheets for the boys (okay, they're pink plaid, so kind of fun!), dewormer, vetrolin shine, 2 clips (www.theclip.info), lead ropes to go in them, and a couple things for my mom and dad to give me for Christmas. My feet are tired from walking and my arms are sore from carrying bags!

And it's been entirely too long since I've ridden my pony. Since my lesson last Saturday to be exact. It's gotten to the point where he's been such a jerk on the ground, I haven't wanted to deal with tacking him up. And I know that he won't get better unless I work on it. But I'm scared to discipline him for fidgeting in the ties, because then he pulls back and breaks his halter. So I bought two clips and hooked them up last night. And decided that now that I have that taken care of, and he won't get hurt if he pulls back, we're going to work on respect.

My parents came out to take fall pictures, and Luke was fidgety brushing him off, fidgety tacking up, and tried to drag me outside. So I popped him with the crop, and after he got over the initial scare, he behaved himself. And we managed some very nice pictures.

I went back out last night after all my homework was done (yuck!) and played with them. Got Jodi out and detangled his tail...I have no idea where he finds the burr bushes, but his tail was one big mat. We were able to get it out, sacrificing only a few hairs in the process. Then I put him back and went to get Luke. I told him that he couldn't be pushy. Not like he heard me :) I put him in the ties with the clip, and just messed around with him. At one point, I went out to turn the arena light on because I was going to ride (I couldn't get it turned on..boo), and he must have pulled back while I was gone. The clips did their job, and I came back to one calm pony, still attached but with slightly longer ropes. So I tightened them back up, and made him stand some more. He stood while I organized my locker, mixed up new moisturizer, swept the aisle, checked his bucket, etc. He was standing pretty calmly by the end. When he started dancing, I got after him, and after trying to pull back a little, he realized he had nothing to pull against and gave up. Yay! I am FAR from trusting him, but this is a BIG step in the right direction...last night, I enjoyed my horse again. For the first time in a while.

I'm going out tonight, to hopefully ride while the weather is nice and it's light out!

New Home

The boys are all settled in their new home. They go out by themselves in a huge grassy pasture, and both seem very excited to have it all to themselves. Sometimes they'll come to the gate when they see me coming, but usually they stay out grazing.

Melissa rode Jodi yesterday, but I left my girth at home so I didn't ride Luke. I brought him in and groomed him and fly sprayed him, and then put him back out to graze. I don't think he minded. I'm going out to ride tonight, and I will hopefully have a good ride. I lost my lunge line though, so it could be an interesting ride...

I'll try to get some pictures tonight...it's been too long since I've taken new pictures!

Nothing much new here...

I haven't been updating, because I haven't really been riding much. I need to kick myself into gear though...I probably won't be competing Luke until September, but still.

I'm moving the boys next month...I'm really sad to leave where I'm at now...I love everyone there so much, and I'm going to miss a lot of things, but I found a place right by my house that's super cheap. I love feeding the horses, but with school starting soon, I won't be able to do it, and I can't afford to stay there without feeding. This new place is nothing spectacular, but they have nice pastures, nice stalls, a (small) outdoor, and I'm allowed to ride in the pastures. It's close enough to home that I can run out and do blanket changes and stuff, so that should work out.

Molly rode Luke on Saturday, and said that he got his leads right away. Maybe it's just me that can't get them. I need to work on them. He needs his feet done soon though. She said she jumped him, and he was okay going up to them, but he wanted to run away after them. So she worked on slowing him down, and it sounded like she was successful. I'm making my dad build me some standards so I can still jump at the new place. I need to get back into riding shape first though!

I might get to go to Bath Pony Club's mini trial on August 23rd...if not, South Farm on September 13th! :)

Updates!

Let's see...I got to ride both boys last night, which was awesome.

Jodi...Jodi, Jodi, Jodi :) Melissa and I had to go to the back pasture to get Jodi and Luke in, and being lazy, I thought it would be a good idea to hope on Jodi and let him carry me back to the barn. Probably wouldn't have been a bad idea if I'd bothered to tie the lead rope to the other side of his halter to make reins. He got confused when I asked him to turn, and somehow I slid off even though he wasn't really moving. Fall one. So I had Melissa boost me back up..but she was laughing, and somehow she threw me up even though Jodi was walking away. Fall two...I hit the ground in the same position, almost the same spot. Jodi just stood there. Third time was a charm though, and we safely made it back to the barn...it was a piece of cake once I had "reins". So I'm sore today even though I thought I wouldn't be.

I think his supplement is starting to work already. He was full of energy yesterday, and didn't seem nearly as stiff. I actually got to canter him undersaddle! It was the most cantering he's done in years, and it was all I could do to make him stop to cool out. He was charging around like a wild man.

Luke was pretty hyped up too. He wasn't bad, but he made it clear that he wanted to go. We did lots of walk and trot, and I could tell he was starting to anticipate the canter, so I made him do trot/walk transitions for a while. When I finally asked him to canter, I asked for the right lead, which he gave me, but he LAUNCHED into it. Once I got over the initial shock (and laughter), I let him hand gallop for a little bit and made him canter nicely. Second time, he picked up the wrong lead, but when I stopped and asked again, he got it right. Still wanted to go go go though. I switched to the left, and he gave me the wrong lead, did a flying change, and then did another change back onto the wrong lead. So I regrouped and asked again and he gave it to me. I think he's starting to get more balanced, because he's been better about leads lately. After I was done, Molly hopped on him and rode for a while. He definitely had lots of energy left. He was spooking at stupid stuff, but she just laughed about it. He got his leads for her, and she cantered him for a good long time.

It was so cool to see someone else ride him...he looked amazing. He's starting to accept contact more. Now instead of getting offended and tossing his head around, he'll settle down and reach into it. I don't think I need spurs anymore either. He was moving off of my leg pretty well yesterday. I think the grass and the alfalfa hay are giving him loads of energy. He's starting to pick weight up though, and he's looking nice. Except for the sun bleached look, but that's okay.

It was an awesome horsey day yesterday...so good to see Jodi acting young again!

Dressage Fun! :)

I decided to really work on Luke's flatwork, and try riding in my dressage saddle to see if I'm more comfortable cantering. I don't know why I don't ride in that saddle more often...I'm definitely going to now!

Molly & I decided to work on the Intro & Beginner Novice dressage tests, which I got laminated the other day. Yay! :)

We started with a warmup, and Luke felt better right from the start. Maybe this saddle puts me in a more effective and correct position. Hmm. He was accepting contact well at the walk and trot, and was doing some great shoulder out. He's starting to understand shoulder in a little bit more as well.

Then we rode Intro A & Intro B. Luke decided that he was going to be prissy and NOT walk or trot through the puddles from the dripping rain in the indoor. Ugh...circles were not very good, since the puddle was right in our way. Intro B was a little better, but not much. The rail work and diagonals weren't too bad though.

I did a few canter transitions, and I felt much more relaxed. It was great to see him slow down and accept contact....amazing what a difference it makes when I'm not cranking on his mouth from being tense and scared! He picked up the correct lead both times in each direction, and then it was onto Beginner Novice Test A. It was the first canter dressage test I've ever ridden! It wasn't perfect, probably couldn't even be considered good, but it was decent, especially for our first try. We still had the circling problem cuz of the puddles, and he did two flying lead changes during the right canter circle. I didn't steer well enough, and he thought that I was asking for a figure 8. But once he was back on the circle, he switched onto the correct lead. Good boy!

After the test, I asked for a right lead canter transition, just so we could do a circle on the right lead without swapping leads. Once he did that, we cooled out and were done. It was a really successful ride I think!

The barn is having a schooling show on the 2nd of May, I'm so excited! I'm going to half dress up - Breeches, Tall Boots, and a polo with my show helmet. I'll braid Luke (I think, anyway...I'll try!). I'm going to try to get Beginner Novice A well enough to ride it, and I'm going to ride Intro A & B. I'm also going to do the Intro jumping class - up to 18". I'm trying to decide if I want to try a walk/trot equitation class...it will depend on how many other people are in it...Why press our luck. Maybe I'll show Jodi just for fun..there's an idea!!

I'm excited :) There's even going to be someone there with a really nice camera to take pictures that they'll sell as a 4-H fundraiser...I'll probably end up buying all mine!

I have a lesson tonight...hopefully it will go as well as my last ride did!!

Updates!

Oh man...I have so much stuff, I don't even know where to start. So it'll probably be a long, boring entry!

Let's see...last Sunday we went on a trail ride, which is becoming a weekly Sunday occurence. I was supposed to be the responsible adult and say that we should stay inside because it was gonna rain on and off all day, but when Molly said "Look Kim! No clouds!", I couldn't resist...so across the street we went. We meandered over to the trails, and about twenty minutes in, the skies opened up. Sprinkles at first, but it didn't take long before it was flat out pouring. So off we went back home at a good clip. Both the boys were excited to get back to the barn, and were looking at us like "My human is an idiot". So we threw coolers on them, put them in their stalls, ran to Speedway for hot chocolate, and then turned the heat in the lounge way up until we were [mostly] dry. Man it was fun doing chores in wet jeans...not!

Then Monday, he got his teeth done. I feel awful. I knew that they needed done, but they were reallly bad...he actually had cuts on both sides of his mouth. :( Poor baby! So he got a couple days off, and then back to work we went, with much improvement. I had a lesson this past week, and he was wonderful. Lots of trotting and cantering on the bit, and he gave me correct leads, and *sort of* had collected transitions. Progress takes time, I keep telling myself. I should probably not let him gallop around so much on trails...he tends to forget what a slow canter is, and gets heavy on the forehand.

On Friday, I rode for a while before I did chores. Molly and I put up a little crossrail, which we flipped to a vertical later. Luke has figured out that the PVC poles don't really hurt, and that he doesn't have to put forth any effort on little fences. So he halfheartedly trotted/hopped over them, taking them down with us several times. Next time I'm breaking out the wood poles, and leaving his splint boots off, I think. He is actually a really cute jumper when we canter to the jumps, or when they are wood poles. Otherwise, he thinks it isn't worth his time. Molly and I traded and I got to ride Atticus for a little bit...I hope Luke grows up to be like him! He's so even and doesn't speed up like Luke does.

On Saturday, Jodi's old mom came out to visit. It was super fun for her to see him, and it made me feel really good that she kept saying how good he looked. We gave her son a pony ride, and then took a bunch of pictures. I had to do a double take when I logged onto facebook and saw Jodi as her profile picture. He's famous! :) He's such a good soul...even when he's a jerk about stuff. But he'll be 25 on the 30th, so basically, he gets to do whatever he wants :)

Yesterday, we rode in the outdoor, and had fun. Both of the boys were WOUND though...maybe it was the weather? They both pretended that they didn't know how to canter on the correct lead, and were both pulling so hard that it was next to impossible to sit down and canter. I finally gave up, gave him his head, and let him blow off some steam. Once we got that out of the way, it was a good time. I'm so glad I'm riding more, and seeing the boys more.

I was told last night that I need to get some new pictures of Luke, so I'll try to do that in the next week. I took a cute picture on my phone last night of Luke with his head over the stall door, standing by his new stall sign. I'll try to upload it.

Whew! That was loooong!

The Best Trail Ride!

I'm a little late updating from it, but I had a great trail ride with Molly on Sunday.

She was on Brandy, and I was on Luke. We decided to check out the trails across the street. I was nervous to cross the street and walk through the allotment, but Luke is totally traffic safe, and only got a little tense when he heard dogs barking behind a wood fence and couldn't SEE them.

We crossed another street, and turned onto the dirt path, and off we went. We had a nice canter through a field to start off with, and then went up a hill into the woods. It was gorgeous back there. I am so excited...the trails are AMAZING, and are there any time I want to go! Much better than just riding around the farm, which is fun too. There are some steep hills, but it will be great to do trot sets and get Luke in shape. We cantered up hillls and then walked back down them, looped around, galloped along the edge of a cornfield, walked around some more hoping we weren't lost, and then wound our way out of the woods, going back the way we came. I was glad for my helmet, cuz I got whacked on a few branches, but no biggie.

We walked around in the outdoor for a bit, and then decided to hit the back pasture to go canter in since it was empty for the afternoon. Luke couldn't figure out how to go down hills faster than a walk, and basically slid down a couple before figuring it out. We cantered laps up in two point, and then I let him gallop a bit. It was an awesome feeling, and he was totally manageable. The only thing that threw me was that I forgot that they're trained to gallop by balancing on their riders. So I was up in two point, and he stretched down and started pulling. I almost slid down his neck! But I got my balance back, and we had a blast. It was a wonderful horsey day!

I am getting so so excited for summer! We're building more jumps, and putting cross country jumps up, and now that I know about the trails...this place just keeps getting better and better! I am so in love with it there...and the boys seem thrilled too! I need to take some new pictures...oops :)

Tomorrow is the tack swap, which I'm going to head to for an hour or so before I go babysit for Caroline. Then I'm gonna hang with her until it's time to go feed horses, then I'll go back over and Mandi and I are going to finish making stall signs. yay! :)

Jodi got a nosebleed the other night, poor guy. He seems fine now though, so I dont know what's up. I guess he's just trying to take years off my life. First his eye, then this...I can't take much more!

Spring is in the air!

Yikes, I haven't updated in a while. I've been meaning to keep up with this better, but I forget about it sometimes.

Spring is coming, and it can't get here soon enough. The only thing I'm worried about is getting too hot while doing chores this summer and passing out, but I haven't passed out recently so I should be okay.

Jodi had a swollen shut eye on Thursday, and I was pretty worried. We put compresses on it through out the day, and some clear eyes in it when it opened up. We were planning on calling the vet Friday morning, but his eye was about 70% open in the morning, and by afternoon, it was at 95%. Maybe he just got some hay in it? He's fine now, which is a huge relief.

The vet came out yesterday to do spring shots. I'm doing my own this year, but I did have her pull a coggins on Luke. She checked both boys, and Jodi doesn't need his teeth done, but Luke does. So that will be next Monday. Maybe that's why he's getting so skinny. I hope so. He gets a bale of hay a day, and six pounds of grain, plus some grass outside. If he doesn't pick back up in the next month, I'm going to look into cool cals or something like that. I'm going to stop and get some corn oil tonight I think.

He's been going really really well though. He never spooks, which makes him so nice to ride because you don't have to worry. One of the younger girls at the barn has been riding him now and then for me, and she took him on two trail rides this week. She said that he was even good when he was cantering behind another horse, and he didn't try to speed up or catch up. I'm so proud of my boy. We have a lesson tonight, I can't wait!

I'm hoping to have a massage therapist or chiropractor out for him in the next couple months. He's sound, and doesn't seem sore, but I'm wondering if that would loosen him up. We're still having trouble with the right lead. More likely, I've just built up some mental block against it, because he's fine on the lunge line.

Anyway...that's what's new here!

Update Time!

Wow, it's been a little while since I've updated! It's just been cold and yucky and I haven't been too motivated to ride. I had a lesson last week, and then didn't ride at all after that, and then had another lesson on Tuesday.

Lesson #1 was not my best ride ever. I was stressed out and frustrated about other things and I think that tension was carrying over to Luke. Plus, I just couldn't get my position right. Poor Luke. He really was trying hard to please me and do what he thought I wanted him to. He's such a sweetheart. He's still a little head shy which makes me really sad...I want to know what they did to him to make him that way. He's improved SO much since coming to the new barn though.

On Thursday I hopped on Jodi bareback for a little bit. I love that old man, he's such a sweetheart. We mostly just walked with a little bit of trot. On Sunday when I was bringing horses in, he was going nuts out in the pasture. Full out galloping...I didn't know he could still move that fast. He stretched his neck out and got low to the ground and everything. Melissa got some great pictures that I'll try to get uploaded. He paid for it though, I think, cuz he was off last night. Not bad, just pretty stiff. So Melissa walked him around for a while when I was riding Luke.

Lesson #2(Last night) was 100% better than last week'sl. I had a better mindset going in, and I was really focused. I also rode him in his new bit, a KK ultra, and I think it's really going to work out well. We did some trotting, and he's really starting to accept contact nicely, it feels great. We also started a little bit of shoulder-out at the walk, and he's doing much better than I thought he would. It also really seemed to help him stretch out. I got some great canter work on his left lead, and his right lead is improving. He picks it up correctly every time on the lunge line, so I guess I'm just not asking right. We're getting better though.

I am so happy with the barn...everything is better than I thought it would be, everyone is super friendly, I'm so glad to be getting back into regular lessons, and it's awesome to see the horses more. I can't wait until nice weather where I can ride outside, go trail riding, and start to think about summer shows. It will be great!

Can it be spring yet?

I haven't updated in a while...oops!

I had a lesson last Tuesday, and Luke was really good. We did lots of trotting and cantering, and at the end jumped some little crossrails. He's settling in really well, I'm really impressed with him. It took him maybe one ride in the indoor before he was ready to get down to business. He's such a fun horse, I can't wait til warmer weather.

I rode him on Sunday, and had a great ride. We did a line of three jumps - crossrail, vertical, crossrail. He was great to the left, but to the right, he had a tendency to pop his shoulder and run out. Once I realized that that's what he was doing, he was perfect. It just took someone telling me, "Hey - more leg and rein!". He was like a little kid - once he realized he'd been caught, he did it perfectly.

Tonight I'm headed out to ride, and want to work on his right lead canter, and do some bending with him. I really want to get him more comfortable at the canter, because we can't show at intro level forever! Hopefully he just needs more muscling. I can't wait to get out to the hunter paces...I'm tired of riding in the arena!

Yay Luke

The boys are doing well. They've both settled in really well. Jodi was so cute today when I fed and brought in horses. He came trotting up to the fence, stuck his nose in my face, and demanded to be brought in first. Who could resist that?

Melissa rode Jodi yesterday and he was really good for his first time in the arena. He was lazy, but he's old, he's allowed to be. Luke was kind of a brat yesterday so Mandi rode him for a few minutes and we were able to end on a good note.

I went out today to feed and after I was done, I hopped on Luke. He was really really good tonight. I rode him in a kimberwicke, and he was respecting me a lot more. We mostly trotted, did a little canter, and a couple trot poles thrown in, to see if he'd forgotten what they were. Nope, he's a superstar. Then one of the younger girls hopped on him and rode him for a bit. It was nice to see someone else on him. I told her she can ride him whenever she wants...he goes really well for her, and he needs the exercise! Poor boy. He's not sure what to think about being back in work, but I think he's enjoying himself. He looks SO cute. Not that I'm biased :)

The boys

I need to seriously stay motivated with Luke's progress over the next few months, so I thought keeping a journal about the horses would work well. I didn't like my old blog, so I thought I'd start a new one :) I transferred all my old entries over, but lost the pictures :(

Jodi is my first horse, and first love, a 24 (almost 25) year old QH gelding. I've had him for 5 years now, and I've loved every minute of it.

Luke is a 7 year old TB gelding. He raced for a couple of years, and wasn't very good at it. I got him as a scrawny five year old. He's come a LOOOONG way in the past 2 years.

The boys are moving to a new farm next month, and I can't wait to be back with my friends :) We have lots of stuff planned for the summer, so winter needs to hurry up and go away!

Updates to come!