I'm gunna be dead tomorrow

I should be dead now, but for some reason I find myself perusing the internet. I guess it's a good thing. It's been ages since I left you all with something to read!

Now, I know I don't have time to update everything, but here's the gist of it.

I hate my job. I know, I know. It's only the start of week 3, but trust me. I had a lot of trouble in college finding roommates that I could tolerate living with. They all turned into good friends, but I just had to accept that I can't live with certain people. Apparently I'm the same with my work environment.

I tried to show initiative and take care of a few things, and I got patronized and chewed out. That's fine. I'll just do what I'm told, when I'm told, and nothing more. Easy enough.

Now my plan is to move my geriatric horses onto the new farm as soon as possible, and begin to advertise for boarding, training, and breaking. I don't need a ton of money, just enough to survive, and I refuse to be miserable trying to make money when I don't even have the time to enjoy spending it on my horses. What's the point?

Enough of that. My little sister took a lesson on Patrick today, and they were both phenomenal! I was so proud of her. Now I know who's going to take my place when I become an old cripple:)

I jumped Bella on Saturday for the first time in several weeks. I was a little nervous that she'd be put off by the change in fences, but she trooped right down my oxer/oxer/oxer triple (all set at 6.5m. Great exercise for horses that lack power in the take-off). I was thrilled, to say the least! Everyone else has been consistently well-behaved, even Patrick, who tried to take me to the rodeo the other day.

I have noticed that I'm beginning to develop a bad habit on Bella. I blame my lack of lessons in the last five months, but really, what can I do? I've begun to ride a little crooked, which is natural. We all stabilize more on one side of our body, but without eyes on the ground it's become tough for me to hold a neutral position over a jump. I didn't think it was drastic, but Bella's bad feet combined with my weakness has made her almost impossible to get to land on the right lead. Thankfully, this weekend I made two new horsey friends: Sarah and Kate. They're both excellent horsey girls, and they love beer. My kind of women! So we're all going to try to get together to help one another, since none of us pay for regular lessons, and we're all young adult professionals in the industry. I'm excited about the idea! P.S.- Sarah has a GORGEOUS Irish gelding for sale, if anyone wants a super fancy prospect...

All in all, I can't complain. My 'full-time' work schedule kicks in tomorrow. I'm not happy about it. There's no way I can ride all three horses, eat lunch, and drive home and back in 3 hours, so I've given Becca the responsibility of riding Patrick. Thankfully it's a great match, and I think it'll do them both good to spend some time together. Urgh. How is everyone else been doing these last two weeks that I haven't been updating??

Oh, here's that video I promised:) Others are listed under my Youtube: Anner1121

We wanted to see the mechanics of Bailey's natural jump...I'd say she has what it takes;)

'Night all!

Ahhhhhhh!

I swear, sometime soon I WILL update! I think all of my time has gone down the tubes...Hopefully this weekend I'll have a few minutes to load the videos I promised and let all of you know what's going on in my life.

Now, I must try to force myself to sleep. No more venti White Mochas before bedtime...

Nicole, this is for you, only because you asked!

I'm deadddd tired!

Anyways, it was requested that I discuss the first few days of my new working experience, so here I am, typing like a tard out of exhaustion!

I don't whine, nooooo way ;)

Anyways, I started my first day on Monday afternoon, and I only worked a few hours to cover the p.m. turn around and 'get my feet wet', as I so delicately put it. It was pretty standard stuff. Feed, bring some in, turn some out, clean a few stalls (and seriously, just a few. Like...three. AND she beds super light! Booyah! As we said in the nineties!) So all in all, it was very straight forward. No one was hovering and supervising, it was just do the work and you're free to go. Pretty fantastic! She does ask that we clean the manure out of the fields regularly (6 fields, 2 per day). I find this a little strange, though I understand the philosophy behind it, worms and all. But hey, if she wants to pay me bankroll to pick piles of poop out of the grass, I'm A-Okay with that!

When it was all said and done, I felt pretty darn good about the day.

Tuesday I had off because there wouldn't be anyone around to continue to show me the ropes because they were all going to school Waredaca (xc facility, for those of you not from MD). I had planned for my trainer to come out and help with my horses, but as most of you know, that of course didn't wind up working out. Instead, Amanda came over and jumped Sir Patrick around a bit and played with the bounces some more. I let her hack Bella, too, just so she could start working on her feeling a bit more. She's such a good little rider, she just needs to ride horses that help teach her, instead of the usual vice versa. Bailey worked in the chambon like a superstar, and continued to be amazing through the 2.80m canter poles. I. Love. Her.

Then this morning I had my first 'long' a.m. shift with the current manager, Megan. I really like her. She's knowledgeable without being cocky or patronizing (which all of you know is a rare combo in the horse world), and my own age, which is pretty great. She has a good routine down at the farm, and it kept us busy for the full 5 hours we were set to work. We did the basic barn care (in the pouring rain, and guess who didn't have a raincoat and wore a tank top? Yup, this girl) and then lunged two horses. When I say lunged, I mean stuck on a lunge line and let work in a circle. Nothing fancy, just plain 'ole 'stretch your legs' kinda stuff. So. Easy.

Everyone is super nice there, too. This is like the twilight zone for me. I'm so used to backstabbing, jealous individuals who are instantly skeptical about your motives upon entering 'their territory'. It's like a snarky wolf pack, 'ya know what I mean? None of these people are like that, and everyone is more than willing to answer questions or help you out. Ahhh, so refreshing!

Then Amanda came over again today and my trainer finally showed up. Can I get a 'hooray'?!?! It's about time!

He had Amanda jumping Patrick over some pretty amazing stuff. I video taped it all, so you'll get videos tomorrow when I'm not dead ;) They jumped over a 3'6" oxer, which is 6" higher than either of them had ever jumped before, and man let me tell you...that little $500 chestnut boy of mine can JUMP! I was literally standing there picking my jaw up off the floor.

My trainer says if I get auto lead changes on him (aka two weeks of work, at the most) that he'll take him to the shows and I could probably get $15,000 for him. Uhhh. What? Like, are we talking in yen....? My little boy is all grown up!

Then, since he conveniently forgot his half chaps, I hopped up on Bailey. Of course, being the impatient South American he is, he set up a little tiny baby cross rail for her. I whined and protested the idea for about 15 minutes before giving into my curiosity about her jumping ability. I have it on video, which will also come tomorrow, but that's all I'm going to say.

I'm leaving you with a cliff-hanger...stay posted for a followup. Hahahaha, I'm mean! Sorry!

A dull, rainy day makes Anna a sad girl

I was supposed to jump Bella and Patrick today, in preparation for our lesson on Tuesday, but alas, I awoke to drizzly, gray skies that have been relentless all day long.

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 took an updated photo of Bailey as well...

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!

I feel like it's been ten years since I posted last...

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)??

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:)

A Good, Relaxing Day

Today was pretty quiet on my part. I took Bailey and Bella for a walk around the property, just letting them relax. It was Bella's first day back into work, since they got their feet done yesterday. The farrier actually did wind up calling me and rescheduling. Apparently he tried to leave me a voicemail...I'm skeptical.

Anyways, Bella had pulled a shoe and broke her foot up a bit, despite my best efforts to keep it in tact. So when they went to trim it for the shoe, it got a little short and ouchy. So I gave her yesterday off again, and just planned on walking her today. I let her trot around a bit, and found that she was feeling pretty good. Hopefully tomorrow we can do a full work out! It's been too long. I miss my girl.

Then in the afternoon, Amanda came over and took a lesson on Patrick. We did some different lines and jumps, and even raised a few of them up. They both looked fantastic, and I was really pleased. Patrick was jumping great, and Amanda is really learning how to ride him well. They even did a line to the coop! One time, Patrick hit the pallet and it had a square rail on top. The next time she brought him around to it, he jumped the thing like it was four feet tall and totally launched Amanda. Thankfully, she stuck like glue and brought him around again. After that, he decided it wasn't out to eat him alive, and they jumped down the line beautifully. I don't want her to go to school! She does such a great job with him.

Anywho, I'm buying tickets for the WEG tomorrow!! Yayyyy! Now I just have to inform my new boss that I already need a week off...eek. Any tips? Haha.