So I made a feed store run and bought a video camera. Why are they still $350? It's 2010 people! Sheesh. Oh well. I'm sure it will come in handy on down the road...or so I can hope.
Since I didn't get to ride today, it's kind of a random 'talk about stupid things blog'...but it comes complete with videos and pictures! Hooray!
First off, I spent considerable time yesterday looking for Youtube videos of Bailey's half-brothers and sisters. I had very limited success, but it wasn't completely hopeless. There were a few I recognized from the stallion's (Coromino) website as Thoroughbred crosses. They were dreadful. No, really...like, super not classy. Skinny necks, weak hip angle, almost no 'warmblood' to be seen. I got a little worried, but I also reminded myself that Bailey is pretty far removed from the Thoroughbred bloodlines, so I persisted in my search and found another gelding I was familiar with, but they had some new footage of him. See his first jumping experience here: Commotion SPF. He's a year older than Bailey, and built a little different. I don't like his topline as much as I like Bailey's, but there are definitely similarities. There was another half-sister somewhere in the midwest region that looked like it could have been a nice horse. It definitely had power. But the rider and trainer were just terrible, so it's a total waste. Oh well, it's better than being totally blind I suppose!
I also started thinking about breeding Bella and Bailey next spring. I have access to a very nice 6 year old stallion in North Carolina. The idea of losing out on both of my horses for a year is a little daunting, but the end result would definitely be worth it. I'm thinking of talking to my trainer (the owner/competitor of the stallion is a close friend of his) and seeing what kind of stud fees the big boy has. Here's a video of him: Quincy Car. The boy can jump, no doubt about it. He'll be going Grand Prix in the next two or three years and I figure, I may as well get him while he's cheap. He comes from a really exclusive bloodline, too. I think it could make my year off a worthwhile experience, especially if I can sell them both as weanlings to help fund my never ending horse project...
Just for the hell of it, here's a video of Patrick's second trip at his show, and Bella's third trip.
I gave Bella a massage the other day. Before I was totally broke, I was paying a massage therapist to come out every three months (she was dirt cheap!) to work on her. I don't know if it made a physical difference, but she certainly loved every minute of the hour I paid for, so I kept it up. I decided to spoil her a bit, and did a few of the exercises. As you can tell from her lip, she rather enjoyed it:)
I want to say she's pushing a solid 15.3 to 16 hands these days. She's starting to stretch out again, so everything is out of proportion =/ Oh well, it will all work out in the end, right?
So here's a crazy picture, but first, the story. We got some crazy, wicked storms the other day. One came complete with a tornado warning and everything. After it passed, I drove to Virginia to stay the night with a very good friend of mine. We went into Middleburg for dinner, and took a different route home afterwards. We were driving down this rural, dark road, and we saw flames and smoke up ahead...
This old barn had apparently been struck by lightning and burnt to the ground. As you can see, it was still going with a vengence. You can still see the two silos standing on either side of the photo, but the rest of that was just charred rubble. Must have been devastating for the owners.
Sooooo I start work tomorrow =/ Wish me luck!
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