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 :)

TWO Great Rides!

I never got around to posting about Sunday's ride, but it was really good. He hasn't been ridden since December, so I thought he'd be nutty, but he wasn't. I lunged him, and then hopped on. There were two other horses in the arena, and the radio was blaring, and he did really well. We mostly just walked with a little bit of sitting trot. He spooked once, but other than that, he was really good.

I had a lesson tonight, and it went really well. Mandi rode him first, and he picked up the correct lead every time. Yay for improvement! I hopped on and did lots of trotting, working on going between more collected vs. more extended, not just faster. He was so cute, and so good. I got a 1 minute crappy quality video of her riding, but I'm uploading it now. Here it is!

Luke is loving being able to stick his head over the door. He doesn't even try to crib anymore, which is AMAZING. I never thought I'd see the day. He still wears the collar, but I haven't seen him try at all. Jodi on the other hand, has apparently become more of a die hard cribber over the past few months. We took his feed tub out and replaced it with a rubber dish so it's one less thing for him to crib on. I think that will cut down on the cribbing. I'm not sure why he doesn't stick his head out more - I thought he'd love it! He seemed happy to see me yesterday though - he was at the far end of the outdoor, and when he saw me, he looked up, starting walking, took a couple of trot steps, and then came full blast cantering at me. He did a sliding stop at the fence, and stuck his head in my face. It was so cute. I hadn't seen him canter in months, so it was an amazing feeling. I was also told that this morning, when Mandi was taking Luke down the hill to the outdoor, his front legs started sliding forward, and he just sat down on his butt and slid down the hill. I'd give anything to have video of that!

All Moved In!!

The boys are moved in, finally!

We moved them yesterday morning, which was torture since I had volunteered at an overnighter on Friday night. I was so dead on my feet, and then my feet hurt once Jodi stepped on one!

They settled in well, and are getting acclimated to the new place. I'm heading out in an hour or so to ride Luke if he seems calm enough (I'll lunge him first!!), and feed. I'm also stopping at TSC to buy some No Chew spray for their stalls. Apparently Luke can't figure out how to eat with the muzzle on, so I think I'm gonna send it back.

I'll try to post pictures later!

Yay Spring Cleaning!

Wow, two posts in one day.

When I got home from work tonight, I brought all my horse stuff in from my car and the garage, and dragged out the stuff from the basement. I went through it all, and chose what was coming to The Hollow with me, what was trash, and what I wanted to keep. I'm proud to say that not much is coming with me (Most of my important stuff is already out there), and I have everything else packed away in rubbermaid boxes with labels on the front clearly stating what's in each box. No more lost or forgotten stuff! I found my winter riding pants and a new pair of splint boots, so I'm a happy camper!

I also threw away a big bag of stuff....yay for not being a packrat anymore! I still have a few more things at Nickajack that will need sorted, but for the most part, I'm done! I have waaay too much stuff. New rule...anytime I buy something, I have to give away, sell, or throw away something first. Good plan?

Almost Moving Day!

I'm so excited! The boys are moving on Friday morning - we're supposed to get 8 inches of snow tonight - Eek!! I'm supposed to go to Schneider's tomorrow to pick some stuff up, but I don't know if I'll make it because of the weather. I'm so excited for Friday, I'm like a little kid the night before Christmas.

Starting next week, Luke will be in half training for 2 months, I can't wait to see his progress! There's a dressage show at Chagrin Falls in March that we're shooting for! Yay!

I hope that Jodi handles the move well...I'm going to start him back on supplements next month, I just don't know which ones yet.

I just want it to be spring!

Moving Day is coming up!

And I can't wait! I set an official moving date of January 30th, which will be here before I know it! And I still can't wait! I'm going to Schneider's on Saturday to pick up some things for the new place...a couple of blanket bars and bridle racks and a cribbing muzzle for Luke. I also ordered dewormer and a new quarter sheet from Dover, plus I have all my horsey stuff from Christmas that I'm saving for after the move. Anyway...nothin much going on horsey, but I thought I'd update!

Yay for lessons!

Last night I went out to the farm and took a lesson on Valentine, since my guys won't be out there for a couple more weeks. It was the first time I had ridden in almost a month, and man am I sore today! We did a lot of trotting and cantering, with some little jumps. She's so much smaller than Luke, so it was a big change for me. It was nice to jump a horse that will jump no matter what though...it gave me a chance to really work on me.

Every time I go out to the new place, it feels more "right". I can't wait to have the boys out there, I think they're going to be so happy!

Time to update, even though not much is going on here. I went out on Thursday and visited Luke and Jodi and fed them treats and rode Jodi for a little bit. They seemed to like the attention, but Luke is really headshy, which is new. The boys are moving in a couple of weeks, I can't wait. On Sunday, I went to feed horses at the new place, and it went well, much smoother than last week. And there's nothing I love more than the sounds of happy horses eating :)

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!