Back to work!

Ah, vacation, I miss you! But more often than not, I was ready to come back and ride!

So today was my first day putting my nose back to the grindstone. Let me tell you, one week off and I was DEAD by noon!

Despite the heat, humidity, and stagnant air, I had a fairly good, productive day. I fixed my jumps up (most had been knocked over) and set a few new things. I relocated my single vertical so I can jump it off the other lead, and set up some more canter poles at 2.60, which is .20 meters shorter than Patrick is used to. I figured I should start challenging him again. Onward!

Everyone got a good, solid flat today, and I thought I was going to die. Side cramps combined with heat exhaustion is not a fun mix! Even my legs were all loosey goosey, not cool guys! Thankfully, my horses picked up the slack. Patrick was super about the shortened canter poles, and figured them out pretty quickly, provided I could keep my leg on long enough to find him a distance.

Bella was her usual self, calm, quiet, and fairly laid-back. She's so difficult to ride when you're out of shape because she's just so round. I'm going to be sore tomorrow, you can count on it!

Bailey did a lot of walk work today. She's finally beginning to learn that leg pressure doesn't always mean 'go forward', and by the time she was tired and less 'jumpy', she was starting to show the hint of a bend around my leg. I even trotted her over some ground poles and a little 1ft jump! She clacked her feet against them more often than not, but she didn't mind going over them, even when they're painted neon orange and black. I hope that's a good sign!

Anyways, this is all in preparation for this coming weekend. There's another show at my old farm, and I plan to bring all three of my training horses there. Bailey will go to school on Saturday morning, and Bella and Patrick will show on Sunday in the jumpers. I'm going to take Patrick in the 2'0" stuff (and maybe a 2'6" if he's stupendous!) and Bella will move back into the 3'6" stuff, provided all goes well this week. I finally got ah hold of my trainer while I was in North Carolina. He's going to try to come up this week to help me school my two jumping horses, and he's going to ride Bailey. I have a fear that she'll become a one person horse, because she's so leery about strangers. So I decided I needed someone as good as, or better, than me to hop up on her. Hopefully he keeps his word and comes out. I could use the tune up.

Also, tomorrow afternoon I'm going to call this farm looking for a barn manager. I'm not sure if I'm interested; there's little information provided in the ad. However, I figured it can't hurt to inquire about their facility, and maybe I'll get lucky and it will sound promising! I hope it's a low key H/J facility that does some local 'A' rated stuff, that way I can get my horses out to the shows without taking time off from work. If it's too time consuming or not a competitive barn, I think I'll have to pass on it. It would have to be really good to get me away from my own training program.

And lastly, Patrick is officially listed on Dreamhorse.com as 'for sale':( I'll be so sad to see him go, but I know he needs someone who can really appreciate what they have in him. He's listed at $8,000, which is a bit more than I expect to get for him right now, but if I've learned anything about selling horses online, it's ask for a lot more than you expect to get. Plus, I did a search on horses in the area, and judging by what I saw, it's really not that far out there. Go figure. Hopefully a girl can get lucky!

Oh! And Bailey started trailer training today! She walked right in and ate her lunch:) Yay!

Babies are so destructive!

Today, while sweatscraping Patrick off after his rinse, he tore down my dry erase board, tried sweeping the aisle with a push broom, and kinked the hose. He's such a character, but I can't chastise him for it because making harmless mischief is when he gets that happy little glint in his eye. I really love this little horse. I hope he finds a good home with some little girl that will play with him. Yesterday, he pulled the hose out of his water trough and squirted Scooter and Bailey with it. Who wouldn't laugh at that?!

Speaking of Patrick, he's been so phenomenal lately. Absolutely no issues with his leads (which means I finally feel comfortable advertising him as for sale!). He's super stretchy at the trot, and actually starting to understand how to collect and extend. Sometimes, though, I worry that I'm pushing him to be a little too forward. He doesn't have the natural ability to jump big fences, and he's too small for a big adult. I have to remind myself that I don't need a 3'0" jumping horse that flats like a Grand Prix stallion. I need a 3'0" jumping horse that flats for someone capable of maxing out on that height! Eek. It's hard to get myself into that mindset, so occasionally I slop it up a bit, and he actually did settle right into a putzy little trot. So hopefully my fears are unfounded.

Anyways, once again I showed him the trailer. Today he walked right up there, knowing that he was going to get a little lunch inside. I know a lot of people aren't big fans of using bribery as a training technique, but I think when it's applied properly, and with direction and discipline, it's very useful and rewarding. Hell, these days even dietitians say you have to eat that one sweet treat every once in a while or you fall off the wagon! So tomorrow I'm going to load Scoots up with him and take him for a ride around town.

I have nothing to say about Bella. She was amazing. After a three day break, she came back ready to focus. I worked her really good on the flat, starting with a lot of big stretchy trot work. Then I collected her up and did a lot of bending around the jumps, eventually working into a super collected canter, with some lead changes and transitions. Then I interspersed some extended canters into that and finished with a beautiful square halt. Ah, sometimes I just love that mare! I only wish she had the ability to jump bigger fences! Then I'd be in the money!

Poor Bailey still has hives. They started to go away, then came back in full force and haven't started to recede since this afternoon.

 You can see the texture of her coat in the photo. Poor lumpy baby. She seems so unenthusiastic. So I cold hosed her entire body, which she appreciated (while spooking at the noteboard Patrick dislodged previously). I finally caved and called the vet as well. I'm not one to overreact about hives, or usually medicate them. I feel like most horses get so used to dex that after a substantial time on it, everything gives them hives. So he said to try giving her some banamine if they aren't reduced by tonight, and if that doesn't work, I can run out to the office and get something different to try. You know what they say about the best laid plans...So yet again, she had a day off.

Anywho, does anybody know of a good way to market equine products online? My mom makes just about anything you can think of for horses: saddle pads/covers/carry bags, bridle bags, garment bags, trunk covers, polos, wraps, etc. and I'm trying to figure out the best way to get word out to the public. Any ideas?

One of our barn cats, Cloud, making himself comfortable...or maybe not.

I've been a little lazy

So yesterday Bella had off and remained outside all afternoon with Quinn and Fiesta, but for some reason she didn't feel like lounging. Ignoring her leg wraps and day of rest, she continually ran around her field, bucking and carrying on like a two year old. It was a little annoying, but if that's what she felt like doing in her free time, hey, have at it, I suppose.

I had a fantastic flat on Patrick. He was totally stellar, and I'm starting to really increase my opinion of him. He's really starting to push from behind, and threw out some insane extended trots down the long sides, really reaching into the contact. I honestly never suspected he'd be anything more than a little kids backyard horse, but my efforts to make him into something fancier are really paying off. I saw some pictures my mom took of him on the flat, and he's actually quite cute! I'll have to get my hands on them to put up here. Anyways, I was super pleased with him, and made a huge fuss over him afterward, which he reveled in.

This weekend there's another county show at the barn I used to ride with. Saturday is the junior day, while Sunday is the adult and jumper day. I'm planning on bringing Patrick over early Saturday morning for the 7:30 schooling. He hasn't been off the farm before, so I'm starting to really put the pressure on myself to expose him to different things to get him sold. I figured a local schooling show session would be perfect for a place to start. So I guess I should probably teach him how to trailer, right? Haha, he hasn't been on one since he was 6 months old, and that was the only time. I opened it up yesterday after our ride and planned on showing it to him again. He put his front feet on the ramp, but was content to just stand there until I shook a bucket of grain in his face. Then we walked right up, stood on it rather calmly to eat his little lunch, then backed off smoothly and went out to his field. I plan on doing that again a few times, and then putting Scooter on there with him if need be. I knew I kept that little brat around for a reason!

Bailey was a little fiery yesterday, and by that I mean she did her super slow clunky warmblood wanna-be gallop instead of her putzy little trot for one lap, then settled into her usual self. I cantered her a little more than normal, continually pushing her just a little bit harder, but I kept it short. She had a minor case of hives when I tacked her up, but it got worse as the day wore on. I didn't have anything to treat it, so I just left her be so I could see if it got worse. This morning most of them were gone except the ones by her face and neck, which kind of worried me, but I'm not one to overreact about vet situations, so I'm just keeping an eye on it.

Of course, today was supposed to be Bella's day back, and it's been raining all day. Since I'm not a grand prix rider in Florida or trying to sell a high a/o horse, I feel absolutely no need to ride in the rain (I say that with only a small amount of resentment!). So the training horses are inside, while the retirees mow my lawn in a nice sprinkle and I've been exceedingly lazy all day long, but I'm certainly not complaining!