I'm not even sure where I left off, to be honest.
Everyone has been doing fabulously. Amanda has been coming out to ride Patrick like it's her job (and I wish it was, because it saves me a ride!). But she goes back to school next week, so that means I either need to find another minion, or SELL HIM! Things have been very quiet lately, however:(
Bailey is improving by leaps and bounds. I started her over 2.80m canter poles yesterday, and you would have thought she was born to do them. I hope this translates into "born to jump, baby!"...but I'm not going to jinx it! She's just so powerful, and such a blast to ride. I know I should put her on the lunge more often, so she learns to balance herself without me interfering, but I just can't help myself...I'm sure Jess can relate on that note! Sometimes, you just can't help but crawl up there and ride.
My trainer is hopefully coming out on Tuesday to set some jumps, give Amanda and I a lesson on our respective 5 & Dime horses, and ride Bailey. That will be interesting. Bailey is very skeptical of strangers, and extremely loyal. I hope he brings his helmet...
On another note, Nathan and I have officially (kind of...) put in our offer on the house. There are a few stipulations that they came back with, but I hope that means they're going to take our offer! It could be the start of something all new for us both!
And here's my questions for the day...has anyone had experience with the Royal Rider stirrup knock-offs? I really love their stirrups, but I don't want to pay $150 for them if the $20 cheapos work just as well! However, I also don't want to waste $20 if the cheapos are just going to fall apart after day two of riding four horses a day...
Also, every late summer through early spring I consistently have problems keep weight and muscle on my older horses. Bringing in round bales to graze helps a bit, but does anyone have a feed-through suggestion for maintaining their condition all year? I've tried sunflower seeds, and that works pretty well, but most of the horses don't like the taste of them. Any ideas (that won't totally break the bank)??
Friday, August 13, 2010
Sunday, August 8, 2010
A day spent with horses is a day well spent
I can't even begin to put into words how physically exhausted I am right now. But it's not that 'sleepy' tired...just an, 'I worked hard today' tired. I love that feeling. I can rest easy knowing I got a lot done.
For some bizarre reason, I woke up two hours early this morning and putzed around like a zombie with my coffee mug in hand. By the time I was awake enough to do something productive, I had a massive case of the shakes from drinking four cups of my black liquid gold.
Early on, I ran to Wally World to buy some cheapy shampoo for a good ole' fashioned bath day (which, of course, didn't really wind up happening). I had good intentions, anyways.
I rode Bailey (who, after a day of walking was fabulous) and Bella, and gave Patrick a really good lunging workout. I really don't like flatting him much anymore. He just hates me so much, it's much easier to let someone else ride him so they can all be happy. I guess that's just part of being a professional...grrr.
Patrick went around the lunge amazingly. I don't even have words for it. He was floating on air. I wish I'd had a video camera so I could stick it on YouTube (fyi-he's now listed on Craigslist! Haha). Bella was average; a little tense, a little stiff. About what you would expect from a horse that's had two weeks off because of bad feet. However, I'm relatively happy with how they look now, so we'll see where we are in 6 weeks.
So, I was pretty proud, after all that I cleaned all my tack and gave Bella the bath of a lifetime. So I guess I didn't totally bail on the Walmart shampoo...She's seriously almost white, for the first time in a long time!
On a different note, there's a "B" show coming up on August 22nd, and they have a $1,500 Adult Am. Jumper Classic. I figure, with as well as Bella has been jumping, it could be worth it. First place gets something like $475...and we all know how poor I am. Plus, I wouldn't even need a stall because it's only 40 minutes away...Food for thought.
Also, I want to tell everyone my exciting news:) I decided to blab about this in light of Jess's recent engagement, because it's pretty exciting for me! My boyfriend of 3 years and I are looking into buying a house near my parents place. It's a little 1900's farmhouse that's been partly renovated and it sits on 5+ acres in a really great area. It already has a big, old red barn and a run-in shed with three stalls and a storage area. The entire property is fenced in and has really great pasture land. We're in the process of putting in an offer (and it's a foreclosure, so it's a great price!). It's a huge investment, financially and emotionally, but I'm so excited about it. Quinn, Fiesta, and Scooter would all have a happy little retirement farm, and Nathan and I would have a super fun project on our hands finishing up the house. Cross your fingers for us!
Hopefully it works out, because at the end of August I have a boarder horse moving to the farm!
And, one last time, congratulations to Jess, Bill, and Jimmy Choo on their new-founded, soon-to-be official family:)
For some bizarre reason, I woke up two hours early this morning and putzed around like a zombie with my coffee mug in hand. By the time I was awake enough to do something productive, I had a massive case of the shakes from drinking four cups of my black liquid gold.
Early on, I ran to Wally World to buy some cheapy shampoo for a good ole' fashioned bath day (which, of course, didn't really wind up happening). I had good intentions, anyways.
I rode Bailey (who, after a day of walking was fabulous) and Bella, and gave Patrick a really good lunging workout. I really don't like flatting him much anymore. He just hates me so much, it's much easier to let someone else ride him so they can all be happy. I guess that's just part of being a professional...grrr.
Patrick went around the lunge amazingly. I don't even have words for it. He was floating on air. I wish I'd had a video camera so I could stick it on YouTube (fyi-he's now listed on Craigslist! Haha). Bella was average; a little tense, a little stiff. About what you would expect from a horse that's had two weeks off because of bad feet. However, I'm relatively happy with how they look now, so we'll see where we are in 6 weeks.
So, I was pretty proud, after all that I cleaned all my tack and gave Bella the bath of a lifetime. So I guess I didn't totally bail on the Walmart shampoo...She's seriously almost white, for the first time in a long time!
On a different note, there's a "B" show coming up on August 22nd, and they have a $1,500 Adult Am. Jumper Classic. I figure, with as well as Bella has been jumping, it could be worth it. First place gets something like $475...and we all know how poor I am. Plus, I wouldn't even need a stall because it's only 40 minutes away...Food for thought.
Also, I want to tell everyone my exciting news:) I decided to blab about this in light of Jess's recent engagement, because it's pretty exciting for me! My boyfriend of 3 years and I are looking into buying a house near my parents place. It's a little 1900's farmhouse that's been partly renovated and it sits on 5+ acres in a really great area. It already has a big, old red barn and a run-in shed with three stalls and a storage area. The entire property is fenced in and has really great pasture land. We're in the process of putting in an offer (and it's a foreclosure, so it's a great price!). It's a huge investment, financially and emotionally, but I'm so excited about it. Quinn, Fiesta, and Scooter would all have a happy little retirement farm, and Nathan and I would have a super fun project on our hands finishing up the house. Cross your fingers for us!
Hopefully it works out, because at the end of August I have a boarder horse moving to the farm!
And, one last time, congratulations to Jess, Bill, and Jimmy Choo on their new-founded, soon-to-be official family:)
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