If Wishes Were Horses

Day 2

2012-01-28T20:25:00.005-06:00

Well, I am making progress, slowly but surely. She is not what I would consider easy. She is still very fearful. Tonight I hopped on my good mare and decided to teach Oakley a little more about leading and finding the release when pressure is applied. She did pretty good, but in the video she looks rough. She was relaxed and leading on a loose rein before the family that leases one of my horses showed up to see her. I am okay with that though, she needs to overcome her fear of people, it was a good experience for her. I know I look rough too, but I do what I need to to stay safe. My mare also gets an attitude when she's ponying another horse and I'm okay with that. She is doing her job and showing Oakley what is and isn't acceptable. When Oakley rushes forward, Risk lays her ears back and moves forward to try to stay ahead. I ended up having to snub Oakley up to the saddle horn because she was so fearful of the people taking video in the arena. She didn't want to lose sight of them so when we turned away from them she would rush forward. I'm a little apprehensive to post video like this because it may look like I'm pulling on her a lot, but the releases came when they were needed and I wasn't any harder on her than I needed to be. Still a long way from throwing a leg over her!

More Mustangs

2012-01-28T05:24:00.002-06:00

If you're looking for a place to find more mustangs competing in the Makeover, here is a link to the facebook page I created for the competition.

Extreme Mustang Makeover Trainers - MWHF 2012

I will try to get some links up to trainer's blogs and personal pages on my sidebar later today.

I woke up at 3 and couldn't fall back to sleep, so I went out to check on Oakley. I was a little discouraged yesterday when I left her without being able to slip a halter on. So many of the other trainers were able to accomplish that right away. Of course one of my goals was to not worry about the progress of others, only my own, but it's hard not to. So this morning I decided to work Oakley in her stall instead of the larger arena. I had more success this way even though it can be intimidating to work with such a large animal in such a small space. I was able to rub her shoulder, neck, and head from both sides and get a halter on. I didn't attempt to rub her hip, that will come. I was also able to remove some of the burrs from her mane. The burrs in her forelock will have to wait though. I was out there for about an hour before I decided we had made the progress I was hoping for.

Oakley in her halter!

Day 1

2012-01-27T20:21:00.004-06:00

What a long day. It started this morning at 4 am because I couldn't sleep. I decided to head out to the barn and get some extra chores done before the mustang arrived. I was so nervous, I just had to keep busy. The plan was to leave at 6 am. I would be driving and hauling Jessica Davis' and Tracy Schmidt's mustangs as well as my own. My friend Amanda came along for the ride as well. Everyone arrived on time so we hit the road at about 6. The weather was perfect for driving and we made good time after a small detour (wrong turn). We arrived at the holding facility in Mequon at 8 am. We were the 5th trailer in line.

We had time to go check out the mares. They were all stunning. I liked many of them, and would have had a hard time choosing one if I actually had a choice! Since we were 5th in line we had to wait to get our paperwork until the trainers in front of us got theirs. I was quite anxious to find out which horse I had drawn. My turn in line finally came and I quickly filled out my information. I was handed a piece of paper with my horse's number and description. I drew number 1042, a brown mare with a star and a snip. She is from Murderer's Creek HMA in Oregon.

After I found out my horses number and markings, the search was on. I eagerly scanned the pens looking for a mare that matched this description. After what seemed like forever, I was finally able to locate her. She was everything I had been hoping for. She is small and dark with beautiful, kind eyes.

Oakley and her forelock full of burrs :-(

Oakley is on the right with the big star.

Me, Jessica, and Tracy

Trailer loading and unloading went as smooth as we could have hoped for. I worked Oakley today with the bamboo pole and lariat. She is a difficult horse to predict. One moment she seems okay with me, and the next she is spinning and bolting the other direction. I think tomorrow I will work her in the stall a little before I take her into the larger arena like I did today. We weren't allowed to put halters on our horses, so she is naked right now.

I am beat, so I don't have much time for details, but please watch and enjoy the video I made for today.

I'll have more updates tomorrow! Now it's time for sleep!

Counting Down the Days

2012-01-17T17:48:00.002-06:00

Well, only 10 more days. I can't even begin to describe my excitement! I am still apprehensive about getting my hopes up too high. I worry about things. I don't want a big horse. I don't care about color, though I wouldn't mind something dark. I hope that my horse is sound and healthy. A good mind would be appreciated as well.

There is also the question of income. My last unemployment check will be the week after I pick up my horse. I won't get benefits once I complete my certification. I will be able to substitute teach, but I'm not sure what districts I'll be able to get into. I have a lot on my mind, needless to say. I suppose I just have to have faith that things will happen the way they do for a reason... that's never been a problem for me in the past.

Enough about those worries. I have been thinking up names for quite some time now. Originally I planned to name the mustang after another artist (like Remington). Once I learned it would be a mare, my selection of recognizable artists was depleted to only a few. I thought about calling her Frida, after Frida Kahlo. Then I thought about naming her "The Surrealist" and calling her "Surry" or "Dream". Next I thought about the art of music. Maybe calling her "Lyric". Lately though I've been thinking of naming her after Annie Oakley. My uncle does cowboy action shooting in his spare time and he's been teaching me about guns and shooting. I want to get my mustang to the point where I can shoot off of her. Annie's nickname was "Little Sure Shot". I like that name. I would call her Oakley. It all depends though. Just like with Remington, her name will come to me when I see her.

The Importance of Arena Work for the Trail Horse

2012-01-09T17:58:00.001-06:00

Horse owners often send their horse for training to become better trail horses. They want their horses to get the necessary experience out on the trail in order to be safe, reliable mounts. When I get a horse intended to be a trail mount in for training I spend 75% of my time with this horse in the arena and 25% on the trail, at least for the first 2 months. Owners are sometimes disappointed to find this out because they want their horse to have experience on the trail, but I have good reasoning for my method.

If my horse doesn’t respond to my cues in an arena (a controlled setting), you can bet he won’t respond to my cues out on the trail. The trail offers so many outside stimuli that the horse must process, it is important that he learns to listen and respond to me before he responds to the stimuli found out on the trail. This foundation must be built in a safe environment where learning can occur, such as an arena.

I want my trail horse to know 4 vital skills before he ever sets foot in the open. These 4 skills are: Forward, whoa (including the one rein stop), the start of collection, and yielding to leg pressure. My first priority in training a horse is safety. By practicing these developing 4 skills in an arena, these requests become second nature to both me and the horse. That is why it is also important that the owner takes lessons and learns the cues that I teach the horse. When I need to make the request out on the trail, for example, if the horse bolts, the horse will rely on the prior knowledge he learned in the arena instead of following his original instinct to flee. I will describe each skill I teach my trail horses below and include why it is important to set the foundation for each skill in the arena first.

Forward – Forward is the first thing any horse should learn. I teach my horses forward first on the ground with verbal and visual cues, then from the saddle with seat and leg aids (and the ends of my reins if needed). If I point my horse in a direction and ask him to go forward his only question of me should be “How fast?”. This is usually easy to get in an arena free from distraction. The horse feels comfortable going around, following the fence on nice even ground. The horse learns to carry me at all speeds without worry of losing his footing. He also learns to follow my direction at any speed. It is unfair to ask my young horses to learn to carry my weight out on the trail on uneven terrain. They must first learn to carry me and move forward at all 3 gaits on flat ground. How many times have you heard someone complain of a horse that will not leave the barn? Simply put, this horse is refusing to go forward. This type of horse did not develop a response to the “go forward” cue, or he was spoiled by someone who did not enforce the “go forward” cue. Once the horse is comfortable going forward off of a cue in an empty arena I will begin adding obstacles that I expect my horse to go over. These obstacles can include tarps, bridges, poles, water etc. The horse learns that no matter what is in front of him, he must trust me to move forward at the pace I ask him to go. Now that he’s learned to go forward in a controlled setting, he will have the confidence to go forward out on the trail.

Whoa – Whoa is the second thing any horse should learn. A horse can’t learn “whoa” until he can go forward. Again, I teach my horses on the ground first with verbal and visual cues, and then from the saddle with verbal, seat, and rein cues. I should be able to use any single one of those aids (verbal, seat, rein) or all three together to stop my horse. I probably do not need to go into great detail as to why it is important that my horse knows how to stop out on the trail. Anybody who has ever been on a horse that bolts can tell you how dangerous this situation can be, not only to the horse and rider, but to anyone else who may be in the bolting horse’s path. I teach my horses to be soft, supple, and light in the bridle. If I pick up on a rein, I expect my horse to give me his face. If I move a leg back I expect my horse to disengage his hindquarters as well. Those two cues together are what is known as the one rein stop. If a horse bolts and he does not respond to my verbal, seat, or rein cues to whoa I know I will be able to stop him with the one rein stop. I practice this in the arena. He knows how to give his face and disengage his hip before I take him out on the trail. By taking his face from him and disengaging his hip he has no power left to propel himself forward and bolt. This technique can also be used to stop a bucker.

The start of collection - I say the start of collection because this can take years to develop, but it is very important that a trail horse knows how to give his face, round his back, and use his hind end. Imagine riding down a steep embankment after a rain storm. Would you rather have a horse that blindly throws his head in the air and charges down the hill on his forehand or a horse that gives his face, rounds his back, and sits on his haunches to slide down that hill in a controlled manner? I would much rather have a horse that knows how to collect and sit on his haunches down that hill. The same is true for going up hills. Do you want a horse that scrambles up the hill, practically dragging himself up it by his front legs, or a horse that powers from behind with his rear end and propels himself up the hill. The horse who knows how to use himself will be sure footed on the trail. Horses need to be taught how to correctly carry themselves and the weight of their rider.

Yield to my legs – The next thing I will teach my young trail horses is how to move off of my leg aids. Imagine heading down a narrow winding trail (such as those found at Magnolia Bluff). Trees are on either side of you making the path seem as if it is closing in on you and your horse. If your horse moves off to one side or the other you’ll end up needing a knee replacement. A horse that moves off of leg aids would have no trouble negotiating through a trail like this safely, but if your legs mean nothing to your horse you are in a dangerous situation. I teach my horses lateral movements such as the side pass and leg yield. I also teach them to move their front end independently from their hind end and vice versa. Again, all of this is done in order to prepare the horse to be a safe mount out on the trail.

I teach my trail horse all of these skills before we venture out on the trails so that I truly set him up for success. It would be absolutely unfair to ask my horse to do any of these tasks without first practicing at home. One of the best qualities in a trail horse is confidence and the only way to get that confidence is to prepare the horse for what lies ahead.

Thoughts

2011-12-10T06:53:00.002-06:00

Thoughts of the competition are already consuming me. I am praying for a good horse and mild weather. I am keeping a list of all the things I want to accomplish with this mustang. I am also thinking about things I will do differently compared to the last time, with Remington.

Going into the competition with Remington I felt like I had a solid bond that would help carry us through, but when it came to the competition, my emotions failed me. My nerves got the best of me and I failed to be Remington's source of comfort due to my own shortcomings in such a chaotic atmosphere. I will not let this happen again.

Once again I've been doing research on what works and doesn't work for the top trainers in this competition. I was reading a blog about the training of a mustang for the Tennessee makeover in 2010. The trainer was explaining how her mustang was reacting to new surroundings and she talked about getting the mustang to the point where it is not worried about it's surroundings so that it's only concern is what she is asking it to do. I thought this was a great way to look at how a horse should respond to a trainer. They should have that trust, no matter the circumstance.

I also can't wait to apply all of my new knowledge to this mustang. Remington taught me so much in the years after the competition. He opened up so many doors due to my desire to continue training him. I now know more about finishing colts instead of just getting them to a solid green-broke... which is what Rem was at the competition. I took dressage and reining lessons. I have seen the benefits of cross training to keep horses fresh. I also see the huge value in continuing education of both the horse and the trainer.

More than anything though, I want this to be my own journey. I do not want to worry about the progress of other trainers the way I did last time. I need to throw those insecurities out if I want to do my best for me, and the mustang. I have goals in my mind and I am working out how to meet those goals every day. Of course they'd be a little easier to work out if I had my mustang already... but alas, I must wait until the 27th. So until then, I will ponder, and wish, and hope, and dream.

Here We Go Again!

2011-12-09T19:53:00.001-06:00

I was accepted as a trainer for the 2012 Extreme Mustang Makeover at the Midwest Horse Fair! I am so excited! I can't wait to try out all of the new things I've learned on another Mustang :-) Pick up date is January 27th. Stay tuned for more updates!

Hagmania Photos 2011

2011-10-27T08:31:00.002-05:00

Trust

2011-10-25T23:17:00.000-05:00

I am going to school to be a teacher. It is something I know I will enjoy, but I am a little nervous about honing my skills as an instructor. I do give riding lessons, but sometimes I don't believe my verbalization of how to do something is understood. I want to get better at communicating my thoughts as well as the physical process it takes to truly understand horses and horseback riding.

I know this blog is a good tool to do that, so I thought I would try to explain some of my thoughts on trust and horses.

When I get a horse in for training, the first thing I am concerned with is gaining their trust as a competent leader. I know that most horses will not immediately trust me (nor will I immediately trust them). In gaining their trust, I am also giving them my own, that is what a partnership is built on, after all. How can I expect to teach a horse anything if his only concern is a)avoiding me or b)trying to dominate me? By establishing a trusting relationship as the leader, his only job (to respond to training) becomes quite clear to him.

So, how do I go about establishing this trust? I use a couple of methods. I like to use "join up" but I approach it a little differently than Monty Roberts. He seems to be okay with just running the horse until it's ready to give in, but I don't want my horse to be that used up. In order to get the point across a little sooner I will do lots of direction changes in the round pen. Every time I make that horse change direction, I am controlling their body. I am particular about a lot of things when I am teaching a horse to join , but I won't go into too much detail here. The main idea I am teaching them, is that I am the "safe place". If they are away from me, they are working and I am directing that work, but if I invite them in, and they accept that invitation, they get a break.

This lesson is very important, it is the foundation I use when I am teaching horses how to stand (for saddling, for grooming, for mounting, etc...) When I invite them in, and they do accept ( I first expect them to take a few steps, but eventually want them to come all the way to me and eventually follow me anywhere) I will give them a short break where I take all the pressure off and ignore them, maybe even turn my back. After that, I will go on to rub them all over, wherever I want. Most horses will be slightly offended by this at first and will want to walk off, so I start over again with the join up. I am still allowing the horse to make his own decisions, whether he wants to stay with me or not. Fairness is key in building trust. I have never had a horse who didn't want to be with me after this exercise (though, I am not saying that will never happen). Also, once this lesson is learned, it seldom has to be repeated.

What I have described above is the first step I'll take in the training process. Once a horse learns to trust me, and understands that I am in control, it is much easier for the horse to learn and catch on to other training methods. He looks to me for guidance, and that is so important in training. I am not saying that this is the only way to teach trust, but I have found it works best for me. It is something I easily understand and know how to communicate to the horses. Most respond very well to it. Of course this is just the first step in a long process, but it is an important one!

Thinking

2011-09-22T20:40:00.001-05:00

So I just found out that the Mustang Makeover is coming back to the Midwest Horse Fair in 2012. I've got that itch to enter again. Things are going good, that is all for now :-)

A late post for a new year

2011-01-17T15:08:00.005-06:00

I am on my last day of winter break... sure seemed like it went by fast. I did a whole lot of nothing, which is kind of disappointing, but it was nice to relax. Now I'll be heading back to school tomorrow with new classes and another semester full of deadlines... Deadlines are the one thing I never missed about school. Oh well, it will be worth it in the end.

Enough rambling! Sheesh! So, I have been continuing my dressage quest with Remington. We are going to do the breed demo for the horse fair again this year. I am planning on riding dressage since it will give a little diversity to our group!

Steffen Peters is also going to be at the horse fair and he is taking applications to be in his clinic demo. I am thinking of applying because he is looking for training level through PSG. I have to send in a 5 - 10 minute video of me and my horse walk/trot/canter. I tried to get one this weekend, but unfortunately it turned out a bit shaky since Kate's horse would not stand still. So, I am thinking next week I will try again... I should try to find some more flattering breeches in the mean time. Haha. Cream is so not my color.... oh well.

Anyway, here is the video of me riding Rem, if you're interested in seeing how he's going.

http://s1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee405/riskie3/?action=view&current=dressage2.mp4

Dressage update

2010-12-10T14:08:00.003-06:00

So, here is a video of my trainer riding Rem. I wanted her to ride him, just to get a feel for what he knows and maybe to find out what he needs to work on. He is coming along nicely and our first show will be in May. I think we'll probably show training level, but we might do an intro class as well because they added some canter work to the intro tests this year.

I need to work on my position most of all. I have to remember to sit back and not lean forward. As a rider that is my biggest fault. It's something I picked up riding roping horses and since I grew up riding them, it's going to take a while to correct.

I really do think Dressage has helped Remington out as far as balance goes. It's only the beginning, I hope he will continue to develop as we work our way up the levels.

I have been super busy with school. I am down to my last week and a half. I have 2 more days of class and then 4 days of finals. It will be a relief when winter break rolls around! I am signed up for my Spring courses and after next semester I will be student teaching. I am really excited. I had a lot of fun this semester because we got to spend 8 Tuesdays at a middle school observing a classroom.

Well I just wanted to do a quick update since it's been so long. I'll be writing a 10 page paper all weekend, but hopefully you all will get to enjoy your weekend!

Extreme Play Day

2010-11-08T17:33:00.002-06:00

Well the big day came and went, and I am glad it's over with. I was getting so nervous about spending $70 for both horses to enter and then possibly not winning it back that it really wasn't as fun as it should have been.

I made a lot of mistakes that could have been prevented if I had just slowed down and concentrated, but my nerves got the best of me. I went with Remington first (draw 3) and then I had to wait a while before going with Risk (draw 24). There were 26 entered total.

The course was all things that I had done before.

You started by working the gate, then you went to the middle of the arena where you did a figure 8 at the trot, and then the lope with a simple or flying change in the middle. Both of my horses did this fine, but Rem wanted to look at the course obstacles, and Risk just wanted to rush.

After that, you continued on to start the course and the clock started.

The first obstacle was a tire walk-through. Rem was hesitant but walked forward just fine, Risk was a little more confident than Rem, but she still gave it a good look.

Next was the water bucket dump and bridge crossing. There was a full water bucket hooked on the fence that you had to go unhook and then carry over a bridge to the other side, dump the bucket in a large tub and then hook it on the fence again. I had trouble unhooking the bucket when I went with Remington, so that obstacle was not one of my best with him. When I went with Risk, we did it very well. Both horses crossed the bridge just fine, but it gave many others trouble because there was a pool "noodle" stuck under the bridge for some added scariness...

Following that was the "?" cone weave. You had to weave through cones shaped like a question mark. This was relatively easy, but it took some precision and you had to do it at a walk. I got through this with both of my horses without knocking down a cone.

Then it was on to a turn on the forehand with your horse's front feet inside of a hula hoop type hose. That obstacle didn't go well for either of my horses, they both ended up walking on the hose.

The next obstacle was a box made out of ground poles with cones at each corner. You had to do a 360 both directions and then side pass with your horses front feet outside and the hind feet inside. Both horses did the turns well, but on the side pass, Rem destroyed it and Risk just ticked the last cone before we finished.

Then it was on to some weave poles that were really close together. You had to weave forward and then back. Rem did this really well. Risk did okay up, but back she knocked a pole over.

Next up it was 2 jumps made out of half-barrels. My horses jumped them, but it wasn't pretty. There was plenty of air between my butt and the saddle... that's all I have to say about that!

Following the jumps, we had to drag a log around some cones. I went at a trot with Rem, and galloped with Risk. They both did really well.

Then it was on to rope the dummy. Of course my horses are familiar with rope work so this was a cinch.

The beach ball toss was next. They had a giant beach ball that you had to knock out of a circle drawn on the ground. Your horse had to push it, you couldn't use your feet or your hands. My horses have that giant soccer ball at home, so this was no problem!

Finally there was the tennis ball drop. You had to pick up 6 tennis balls out of a bucket on the table and then ride over to another bucket and drop them in. When the 6th ball drops in the bucket your time stops. Rem was way better at this than Risk was. He did it really well, Risk on the other hand... knocked the table over after I picked up all the balls. Then some of the balls bounced out of the bucket when I was dropping them in... oh well.

The course awarded bonus points for being fast. As long as you completed each obstacle in under 40 seconds... if you took longer than that at an obstacle you wouldn't get bonus points. So, you got 20 extra for being under 6 minutes, 15 extra for being under 7, and 10 extra for being under 8. I got 15 bonus points on Rem and 20 bonus points on Risk. I think Risk had one of the faster times, but we were pretty sloppy. A lot of people ended up staying at an obstacle for more than 40 seconds so they didn't get any bonus points, in the end, I think the bonus points are what saved me.

I made my money back by the skin of my teeth... they paid out 6 places and I placed 5th with Risk and 6th with Remington. So I got $30 and $40 back to make up for my entry fees. If I do this again, I think I will only take one horse, then I won't be so worried about making money back, and maybe my nerves won't be so bad!

It was a fun experience though! Sorry I don't have any pictures... maybe I will be able to post one later. The owner of the show grounds took a picture of all the winners, but I haven't seen it posted yet. Hopefully I can get it up here once it is.

Fall

2010-10-25T20:31:00.003-05:00

So here's a picture of Rem, pretending to be a dressage horse... but with a close contact saddle... it's all I've got right now, and I guess it's closer than a Western saddle, so I'll take it. I have been riding him a lot lately, practicing our working trot and leg yields. He's doing well, and I've noticed a big improvement in how he accepts contact. He is even starting to gain some self-carriage without me having to hold him.

He's going to have to revert back to a western pony two weekends from now though. There is an "Extreme Play Day" competition that I am going to enter with him and Risk. It pays out to 6 places, so I'm hoping to do well. I have confidence, but hopefully I'm not over confident... I need to practice a few things, but most of what they say is involved, my horses have done. The thing I am worried most about is the jumps, which aren't supposed to be taller than 2 ft, but that's one of the things I've never worked on with my horses.

Last Friday I took Flirt to a Friday night fun show. It was the first show I've taken her to and she did really well. We didn't place (the class we entered had 23 horses) but she was really consistent. I was proud of her! She is going to be one of those horses you can take anywhere and you don't have to worry about a thing.

Well, that's my update for now, I'll let you all know how the play day goes. Hopefully I can bring someone along to take photos... though I'm not sure who yet.

Have a good week!

Dressage Lessons

2010-10-14T20:29:00.003-05:00

So my dressage lessons are going well. I've taken two so far, and I think this is something I can really enjoy with Rem. I am already seeing improvement in the way he accepts the bit. The biggest thing I need to work on is keeping him forward in the trot, and focusing on my own position as I ride. I need to find someone to take some photos of my rides! Here is a pic of Rem in his new bridle...

Sunday was Hagmania, the fun show I attend every year. I brought Rem and Risk for my lesson girl to ride. Rem and I got third in Egg and Spoon. He did really well, I was proud of him. My lesson girl and I did the ribbon race together, we ended up placing third in that as well. I was pretty proud of her and my horses, we did what most teams had a lot of trouble with, we kept the ribbon intact!

Just wanted to give an update on my lessons, like I said I would. I'll have to check in later this weekend for a more in depth update on my horses :) Enjoy your weekend!

Busy!

2010-10-05T20:52:00.003-05:00

I know it's been so long since I've posted, over a month! I have been so busy with school, but I am enjoying it so much. I am enjoying school more this time around since I am at home and I can be with my horses. When I went to River Falls, I was 4 hours from my horse and my family! I have been riding just about every day after school, so it's been really nice.

I have my first dressage lesson tomorrow, I can't wait. I am going to take Remington. I know he's not going to make much of a reiner, so I figured I could use dressage to help him get stronger. Dressage is also something anyone can do. There are different levels that you can work up to, unlike reining, where you horse had better be talented if you want to compete. I don't expect to take Rem to the top of the dressage levels, but I am sure we can work towards mastering the lower end. I don't have a dressage saddle or anything fancy like that, but I will work up to it if it's something I do end up pursuing.

Anyway, the photos up above are of my horses, all ready for work :-) I will let you all know how the lesson goes! I can't wait!

Happy Trails

2010-08-22T17:49:00.002-05:00

School starts on September 2nd, so I'm enjoying my last few days of freedom with my horses!

Riskie Does Flying Changes

2010-08-17T23:23:00.003-05:00

Monday nights I've been giving lessons to some members of the saddle club I belong to. I took Riskie along last night since I haven't ridden her in a while. I was warming her up and I went to lope off on the left lead, well she picked up the right lead. As we were coming around the corner, before I could bring her down to a trot and ask her to pick up the correct lead, I noticed she did a flying change on her own. I had started teaching her last year, but we never quite finished... so I wasn't really expecting that. Aubrey was at lessons last night too, so I had her watch me and Risk. Turns out Riskie does some pretty awesome flying changes :-) Way better than Rem anyway! Poor Rem just isn't very athletic. Today I went out and rode Risk to get some video. You can see her do a couple flying changes in the video. She is really easy to change leads on, so that make me happy. I also ended up using Cinch as a cow. Riskie likes to track dogs I guess. :-)

Procrastination - New Art

2010-08-12T16:11:00.004-05:00

I should be completing my work for the last 2 days of my Summer courses, but I think procrastinating is more fun. So, I decided to get some photos up of my latest artwork. I've added them to my sidebar, but I thought I'd include some larger versions as well. :-)

These are mostly just studies, done for fun. I like messing around with the bright colors. I have so many pastel colors that I don't get to use because I usually use pretty muted colors when I draw horses and dogs, so I decided to give them a try.

Flirt

2010-08-10T17:16:00.005-05:00

Well, again it's been so long since I've posted, but here I am. I have been so stressed out lately, but I'm hoping things will get easier for me by the end of the month. Hopefully then I'll be all registered for classes... School is the biggest stress I've got right now, besides the whole trying to live off of unemployment. Heh, oh well. Things will work out, they always do.

Anyway, on to my horses! They are all doing well despite the heat and bugs. I am taking it easy on them because I'm not a fan of the August weather. Not only do my allergies act up, but the mosquito population seems to explode about this time of year. All the rain we've had doesn't help the situation. I am actually looking forward to the Fall weather, but then again, Winter is soon to follow, and that season seems to take so long! Oh well, I always have the Midwest Horse Fair to look forward to in April, that seems to get me through the Winter just fine. The Wind Rider Challenge is coming back to the horse fair this year. I have thought about applying with Remington, but then again, I think back to the Mustang Challenge, and I don't really like to be on stage (by myself) with tons of onlookers. The breed demo is nice because I get to ride with everyone else, being singled out isn't really my thing.

Wow, I am all over the place today, as far as subject matter. Notice the title of this post? I was going to talk about Flirt! Haha, so here I go... She is doing really well, big surprise, seems like I say that every time I talk about her! I took her out on the trails last week with Aubrey (she's home for the month of August) and she did really well. Flirt lead the whole way, and we even did some loping on the trail. It was really fun. Eric was a good sport and he tagged along on Risk. They are really getting along good. It's so nice to have a horse that I can put anyone on and not have to worry about a thing. Flirt has the potential to be that kind of horse. Rem, I sometimes worry about with beginners, just because he will react a little quicker if he does get spooked.

Well here are a few photos of me and Flirt from the other night. She looks like a real horse now :-) Hope you all enjoy the rest of your week! I'm sure I'll have more photos to post soon.

Been so long...

2010-07-05T20:59:00.003-05:00

Does anyone read this anymore? Haha, I feel like a terrible blogger. Well, if anyone is still out there, thanks for sticking with me. I'm sorry I don't make it to more of your blogs, I am sure once Winter rolls around that will change. But, for now it's Summer and I've just been so busy!

I am still riding colts and learning tons. It's hard to find time for my own horses, but I still like them best. It's probably a good thing to like your own horse best when you ride other people's all day long.

I have been working on getting flying lead changes with Remington. I've been working on it for about 4 days now and he's coming along okay. What he prefers to do is change in front and leave his hind end in the opposite lead. You'll see in the video that he just about changed both at the same time, but the front still came first. In a correct lead change, they need to change back to front. I'm working on it, but I think I'm going to need a lesson from my trainer before I go too much farther. Rem is the most forgiving horse in the world, so I don't have to worry too much about screwing him up, but I would prefer to do things right the first time.

Well, tomorrow is my first day going back to school. I've got a Summer math course to take :-( My least favorite subject. Oh well. I hope it goes by quickly... though then it will be Fall just around the corner.

I better get some sleep, I'll try to blog more often!

A Day at the Horse Show

2010-06-20T07:15:00.006-05:00

Riskie and me, trotting through the cones in the trail course.

The horse show I'd been looking forward to for so long is finally over! It was a good day, and I had lots of fun, thank goodness!

The day started off, bright and early at about 5:45 am. I headed out to the barn to see what my horses looked like after the storms we had the night before. Risk stayed pretty clean, so I just had to rinse her off and wash her spots and tail. Rem on the other hand, decided rolling in the mud would be a great idea the night before the show... so he got a full bath. Aubrey came down around 6:15 to give her pony a bath as well. I wanted to be on the road by 7, so we had loaded everything the night before. We had the horses loaded in the trailer by ten to 7, so we were right on schedule.

We got to the fairgrounds right on time, so we unloaded horses and got them settled at the trailer with hay bags. Then we went to register for our classes. I signed up for...

Sr. Showmanship (with Risk)

Egg & Spoon (with Risk)

Jackpot Open Walk/Trot Pleasure/Equitation (with Rem)

Sr. Western Horsemanship (with Rem)

Open Western Horsemanship (with Rem)

Sr. Trail (with Risk & Rem)

Quite a few more classes than I would normally do, but I figure if this is the only show I go to all year, I may as well do a lot.

So, here is how the day went...

The 4H girl who is showing Riskie showed up to do a showmanship class with Riskie. We got her and Risk all ready to show, and practiced the pattern a few times, just to let her get a feel for it. I told her not to expect a placing since it was her first time showing and there were 14 kids in her class (placings from 1-6). She just needed to do the class to get a feel for what it's like to show. She understood this well, I think. Her pattern went PERFECT up until her setup. When the judge began her inspection, Riskie stepped out of the setup. I feel like the judge wanted her to fix it, because she paused and waited. However, after a few seconds she continued her inspection with Riskie not standing square. It's hard to know what a judge wants, some prefer you to fix a misstep and others want you to continue showing like nothing happened. Either way, I was happy with how the girl and Riskie did for her first time showing.

Next up was my Showmanship class. We had 9 entries in the class, I think. Our pattern was okay, but not as sharp as it could have been. I understood this, so wasn't disappointed when I placed 5th.

There was a 30 minute lunch break after showmanship so I went and saddled both my horses up. I got Rem and warmed him up a little in the arena. It was a grass arena and with all the rain we had the other night it was getting pretty torn up, so they kicked us out of the warm up before I could get on Risk to give her a warm up. My next class was Egg and Spoon with her, but I wasn't too worried. She's the kind of horse you can get on and go. And that's what we did! There were 19 horses and riders in Egg & Spoon. Most of them dropped their egg at the trot. Riskie and I made it about 10 strides into the lope before ours went, but that was good enough for 3rd place :-)

Rem in walk/trot

Next up was the Jackpot Open Walk/Trot - Pleasure/Eq. I probably shouldn't have entered this, but since I won last year, I had to give it a try. There were 10 riders in the class. We had a pretty solid ride, but I know it could have been better. The judge chose two Huntseat riders for her top 2. The rest of the placings weren't announced because it only payed 2 places. Oh well, better luck next time.

Rem doing a pivot in Horsemanship

After walk/trot, I watched Aubrey do a pony class with Chocolate, then it was time for Trail. Trail is hands down, my favorite class to do. I took Rem first, then Risk. The pattern was...

Walk over the bridge (which was setting on top of tarps) to the mail box. Open and close the mail box and continue on to the cones. Trot through the cones. Pick up the right lead and lope over and through the logs. Stop in the box and do a 360. Walk out and through the brush.

Sidepass over the zig zag and trot to the barrel. At the barrel dismount and ground tie your horse. Exit leading your horse.

Both horses did really well. I couldn't have been more proud of them. They didn't even try to eat the grass when I ground tied them. They were good enough to tie for 1st place. They both scored 96/100. The tie breaker is the time in trail, so Rem had the faster time by 2 seconds!

Risk sidepassing

After trail, I decided it was time for a lunch break. I unsaddled my horses, refilled their hay bags and watered them. Then I changed into a t-shirt and got some lunch for myself.

After lunch (and all the english classes) It was time to get ready for Horsemanship. The patterns were pretty simple, and there was no straight line loping, which I was happy about. Our first pattern didn't go the greatest. There were 8 in that class. We picked up the wrong lead at one point, but I was able to fix it... I thought for sure that would drop us out of the placings, so I was surprised when my name was called for 4th place! Some others must have had their own trouble with the pattern. The next class went better, but at one point we were supposed to extend the trot and Rem just picked up the lope... oh well, he did everything else really well. We placed 2nd out of 4 in that class.

What a day it was! I was beat and ready for a shower! I had such a good time, and I think the horses had fun too... especially since their hay bags stayed pretty full. Ha.

Horses, horses and more horses

2010-06-05T07:50:00.005-05:00

Me and Rem in the pasture

I need to get back in the swing of blogging on a regular basis! But, it is summer, I find it much easier to blog in the winter.

Here is an update on how my own horses are doing...

Risk is mostly enjoying the back pasture, and getting very fat. I take her and use her as a lesson horse for a young girl once a week. Other than that, she has had it easy these past couple weeks because I've been so busy. I need to get on her and try some of the new training techniques I've learned. I think she could benefit from quite a few of them.

Remington is getting ridden more than Riskie, but probably not as often as I should. The Open 4 H June show is coming up on the 19th and I'd like to have him ready to show. I want to do trail and Western Horsemanship with him, and possibly a jackpot walk/trot class. We'll see. He was doing really good for a few weeks and then I gave him a break. The next time I got on, he had quite the attitude, so I had to work through that. He did really well for me last night though. I have been stuck in the small indoor arena because of the rain, and there isn't a whole lot I can accomplish in there. Hopefully things will dry out soon!

Flirt is a Rock Star! She has had a little break too, but she has NO problems picking up where we left off. This little 3 year old has quite the mature mind. It's so nice when they are like that. I ponied her down the road and through a creek the other day. At first she didn't want to go in the water, but once she finally did go in she was fine and walked right in the next time. I have tried out a few of the things I've learned from my trainer on her and she picks them up right away (faster than Rem did!) Her personality is rather aloof on the ground, but it seems to me she does her best to please me when she's undersaddle. I'm just really happy I found a horse like her to work with.

Well, that's about it as far as the horses. I am looking forward to the show in 2 weeks. Hopefully I'll have some pics and maybe video to share! Hope you all have a great weekend!

Been a while...

2010-05-26T13:54:00.002-05:00

Holy cow! I have been so busy I've just about forgotten about blogging. It's good to stay busy though... So, I am happy to say that I've got my sh*t together! I was finally contacted by someone from the TAA program and I've met with them twice. I was approved for schooling and I am now enrolled in some summer courses at UW-Whitewater! How exciting... well... sort of. I am not looking forward to the math class, but I HAVE to do it. I am going back to school to get my teaching license, so I suppose I should brush up on my math skills.

Anyway, other than that I've been riding A LOT... almost too much, if there is such a thing, ha. I'm not gonna talk a whole lot about the situation other than to say I'm helping a trainer ride colts. It's a really good experience for me and I'm learning tons. I look forward to applying some of the things I've learned on my own horses... haha, when I get a chance to ride them!

Well, I just wanted to give everyone an update since I've disappeared for a while. Hope you're all enjoying your horses and the nice weather (even though it's HOT)

Motivation

2010-05-03T14:32:00.002-05:00

That's what I need... Motivation to do something other than ride horses all day... Wouldn't it be nice if I could go on doing that the rest of my life? I would love it, but alas, horses cost money and I need a job in order to make money. Grrr.... Oh well. So I called up the University I want to attend. The lady I needed to speak with is only in her office on Tuesdays from 9 - 5, hopefully she'll call me back tomorrow. I also need to get in contact with the lady in charge of the TAA program. I have heard from my ex-coworkers that she is very tough to get a hold of and she is not good at returning calls even though it is her JOB... oh well. I will do my best to contact her this week and if I don't hear from her... I'll show up at her office... or call her boss. Heh heh heh.

The weather has been beautiful and I've been taking advantage of it. I don't remember the last day that I wasn't up on a horse. It's been lots of fun. Can't say that I'm not enjoying unemployment... But there is still that nagging voice in the back of my head wondering if I'll be able to make all the payments I need to make to stay on top of my bills... I hate that voice.

Anyway, I hadn't blogged in quite a while so I wanted to throw in an update to let you all know I'm still alive and well. Hopefully I'll have some pictures to upload this week. Maybe some team roping... or trail riding... who knows! It will be a surprise!

Have a wonderful week!!

Flirt Update

2010-04-23T19:50:00.003-05:00

I finally got around to my Flirt update that I promised. She is coming along just fine, I really couldn't ask for more. For the most part I am asking her to just stay between my reins and my legs, but I think soon she'll be ready to start collecting up. She gave me quite a bit of trouble with her left lead the first few times we cantered, but she got over that after I went back to the basics and made her move her hips away from my leg. She is a smart girl and once a lesson is learned she really retains it. I am doing a few of the techniques I learned in my lessons to teach her how to spin, and she is pretty good at that too. She always keeps her feet moving for me, which is where Remington had trouble. He is so lazy compared to Flirt!

Well maybe next week I'll get some video up so you can see how far she's come. Hope you all have a great weekend!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-04-21T20:48:00.002-05:00

Another Horse Fair Done and Over With

2010-04-19T18:10:00.003-05:00

What a weekend! It seemed like it took so long to get here and yet it went by so fast. Wednesday it got up to about 80 degrees, perfect weather for a bath, so Rem was nice and clean for the horse fair. Unfortunately, our first demo wasn't until Saturday evening, so he didn't necessarily stay clean... oh well.

Our practice was on Thursday, and everything went really well. I was happy with the way the soccer game idea was turning out. Of course that was with an empty coliseum and no nerves to add to the mix.

Friday I spent most of the day looking at vendors and shopping. Silly, I know... shopping while I'm unemployed... but a cowgirl needs a nice pair of boots... mine were getting holes in them, so I figured I could justify that expense. The new spurs and bridle were probably a little foolish... but, it's over and done with now! At least I didn't go crazy and buy a pair of chinks that I had my eye on all weekend... I really wanted them... maybe next year.

Saturday I was anticipating the demo all day long, so my stomach was in knots. It wasn't necessarily nerves, just excitement and adrenaline. Silly for just a breed demo, but I knew the coliseum would be packed since our time slot was right before the Liberty presentation. I started getting Rem ready at 3, our demo wasn't until 4:50. I put a running braid in his mane and put his tail up like a polo pony. I put his polo wraps on and saddled him up. Eric showed up and braided my hair so me and Rem matched. At about 4:20 we headed down to the coliseum as a group. The demos were running about 10 minutes behind, but it didn't seem like we had to wait long for our turn to go in.

I wasn't mistaken about all the people there on Saturday. The stands were packed and that made most of the horses pretty nervous. I could feel Rem was fired up, but he still listened to me, thankfully. A couple of our other group members weren't so lucky. The crowd really got to a few of them. Nash and Jess put on a show and lived up to our team name of the "Blue Broncs". He really looked like a bronco out there on the soccer field. Other than the horses being hyped up, the demo went okay. Not as smoothly as I would have preferred, but that's usually the way it goes. I should just be happy that Rem kept his cool for the most part and did his job.

Sunday went much smoother, there were no broncs in that demo. The crowd was much smaller and we were all more relaxed. I was thankful our demo time was pretty early in the morning at 9:40. Then I had the rest of the day to relax and enjoy the fair.

Now that horse fair is over, I don't have any big events to get ready for... I guess that means I've got lots of time to get Flirt going good. I'll have an update on her later this week!

Blah

2010-04-12T23:57:00.002-05:00

Oh boy, I feel like every year about the time the Horse Fair rolls around, there's got to be drama in my life! And here I am again, dealing with it, but hopefully it's resolved now... I don't want to get into it a whole lot, but it's probably my own fault. I can be insecure at times, and that is never a good thing. Like I said though, it is resolved, so I am hoping I can enjoy the Horse Fair without worrying about anything.

I had a busy weekend, and no pictures to show for it! Go figure. Saturday, Kate and I took our horses to a FFA judging clinic. Riskie and I did a pleasure class with Kate and Torque, and 2 other friends. Floyd rode his mustang Scout, and Shannon rode her Halflinger, Wookie. Riskie did really good for me. She isn't much of a pleasure horse because of her straight shoulder and quick, short stride, but she did a good job of pretending. I was proud of her, anyway.

After the judging clinic, I had a lesson with the girl who wants to show Riskie in 4-H. She is a very timid girl. I can see how much she loves horses, but at the same time, her timid attitude towards them sometimes hinders her ability to learn. I am hoping that she can conquer her fear in order to learn what it takes to ride and work with horses. Her groundwork skills are coming along very good, but her time in the saddle is where she is the most fearful. Only time will tell...

Sunday I spent a good deal of time with Flirt. I worked on her canter (which needs a lot of work). She is having a hard time picking up the left lead, so it took quite a while before I could get her into it. Then she decided that she doesn't know how to follow rein cues at the canter, so we worked on that. By the end of our ride she was covered in sweat, so she got hosed off, which she seemed to enjoy.

After that it was time to head to our final Mustang demo practice before the Horse Fair. It went alright, but there are still some kinks we need to work out. I am hoping we can all get together on Thursday and get things ironed out. I know it will all turn out alright, but leaving it until the last minute isn't the best idea.

So, that was my busy weekend... today I got to ride my friend's horses before the rain clouds rolled in. Then it was off to my barn. Kate and I sat and talked for a good hour or so before I finally got motivated to go get Flirt out of her pen. I just rode her inside and she was really good. Her stop is getting to be really good.

Well I'm struggling to keep my eyes open, so I guess it's time for me to call it a day! Good night!

Brr!

2010-04-07T22:23:00.003-05:00

Me and Risk at Gibbs Lake (taken Monday)

I thought the cold weather was done with... but alas, they are calling for snow tonight! Sheesh... I wish the weather would just make up it's mind! Oh well. It's not supposed to stick, so I'll just have to deal with it.

Since it rained all day, I stayed inside for most of the day and did some things I'd been putting off. My room is clean now! How nice! The afternoon rolled around and I'd had enough of being inside so I decided to head to the barn, if only just to brush off my horses. I got Rem brushed and then decided I'd go ahead and ride Flirt in the small indoor arena. She has really come around and now she walks right up to me when I go to catch her... That's one of the things I've always taken pride in. My horses always come to me when I go out to catch them. I've never had to hide a halter behind my back when it came to Risk and Rem. I'm glad Flirt has decided that she enjoys our time together.

I didn't really do anything new with Flirt today, but I did get to work her through some distractions, so that was good. Kate came over with her other colt, Torque, so Flirt was quite interested in keeping an eye on them and not necessarily me. She wasn't distracted to the point where she was being unruly, but she definitely wasn't giving me 100% of her attention. She was good though, us women are much better at multitasking than men, so I called it quits and let Kate and Torque use the arena.

After the horses were fed and put away I went to a friend's house for dinner. Boy am I ever stuffed! Steak, onions & mushrooms, cheese curds, green beans, and Hershey PIE! Probably not one of my best ideas to eat all that in one sitting... it was SO good though! I've got to watch it or I'm going to gain back all that weight that I lost! I sure hope I know better than to get back to that point. I learned my lesson the first time! Anyway, enough babbling! Here's hoping for warm weather again! Good night, everyone.

Rain, rain, rain

2010-04-06T20:48:00.002-05:00

Rain has been in the forecast since last night. We had some strong storms roll through. It was kind of nice to lay in bed and listen to the thunder... despite having my 70lb dog shivering beside me. He hates thunder storms... poor dog.

The rain is supposed to stick around until tomorrow. We've had some dry patches though. In fact, it stopped raining long enough for me to get a ride in this afternoon. I had a choice between Rem and Flirt, and although I probably should have saddled Rem up to practice for the Midwest Horse Fair, I picked Flirt instead. She was a good girl. I trotted her quite a bit, mostly because she didn't want to stand still when Aubrey's dad came to the gate to talk to us... so it was off to work for her. She must be feeling good because she trotted right off and then decided to throw in a few canter strides. I didn't stop her because I was curious to see how her lope is, and it's just as smooth as her trot. I can definitely tell she is pleasure bred. By the end of our ride, she was thankful for a chance to stand still. She's a quick learner... I'm sure she'll remember that standing still when I ask the first time is going to earn her a lot less work.

Midwest Horse Fair is coming up fast. I still have quite a few things to accomplish before next weekend, I hope I can fit everything in!

A good weekend

2010-04-05T01:11:00.002-05:00

Well I hope your Easter weekend was as good as mine. Of course the best part is having an excuse to eat candy without feeling too guilty... I may have over done it though... oh well. I'm going to pick up some hay tomorrow, so I'll work it off, right?

Flirt is coming along nicely. She's such a calm horse. She could care less when I take her away from her pasture buddy. She doesn't carry on whinnying or get nervous at all. Neither Riskie or Rem are herd bound... sure I'd like to take credit for "training" them that it's okay to be away from their buddies, or maybe I'd like to think that they see me as their "lead mare", but really, I think I've just got good horses.

Anyway, after spending our first few rides in the small indoor arena, I figured it was time to venture out to the large outdoor arena with Flirt. She didn't disappoint and did very well. I've been keeping our rides to about 15 minutes, just to keep things simple for her. I'll gradually increase the time as she becomes comfortable... I've also been riding her two times a day.

The video below shows us out in the pasture. I asked her to trot for the first time today. She did really well... She was a little uncoordinated, but I can't blame her. She's still trying to figure out how to carry my weight. She has the smoothest trot though, and such a long stride.

Well, I should get some sleep I guess. Happy late Easter... eat some more candy!!

Flirt's First Week

2010-04-02T19:54:00.002-05:00

Well I've been keeping busy with horses all week. I've ridden so many I can't even keep track of them all. Last night I went to team roping and got to rope off of Brady and Willy. They were both a lot of fun. I even caught a few steers :-)

Flirt is doing really well, she gets better every day (as she should)! I've almost got her convinced that what we do is fun, but she's still a little unsure when I come out to catch her. Doesn't take her long to give in though. She is a very brave horse, and not much bothers her, so I am confident she's ready to accept a rider. I've done quite a bit of ground work with her over the past several days. Today, I decided, would be the day to get up in the saddle. I take things one step at a time, so I had her used to the saddle on Wednesday. Yesterday I stepped in the stirrup, but didn't swing up. She learned to stand for that, and today I decided to swing up and sit on her. Tomorrow I will probably ask her for movement. Anyway, Kate was out at the barn, so she was kind enough to take some photos of Flirt's first "ride".

Jumping up and down alongside Flirt.

Standing in the stirrup on the left side.

Standing in the stirrup on the right side.

Swung over... "Hey! What are you doing up there??"

Good Girl! Time to unsaddle.

New Kids

2010-04-01T11:22:00.003-05:00

So, for those of you wondering about the horses pictured in yesterday's post, I'll tell you about them. One of them belongs to my friend. She's keeping her at the barn to get her started under saddle. The small indoor arena is a great place to start colts. Her name is Parleigh, she is a 3 year old Quarter Horse, though she doesn't have papers. She is the red dun with the big diamond star and snip.

The other horse is my project for the summer. I may have been a little foolish in buying a 3rd horse while I don't have a job, but I've had an itch to start another colt for quite some time. She is a 3 year old Appaloosa filly. Her registered name is Flirtini, but I'm calling her Flirt. The big plan is to train her and re-sell her, but that is a risky thing right now in the horse business, hopefully I can pull it off. She hasn't had any training other than being a pasture pet for 3 years. She seems to catch on quickly though. She is on the skinny side so I really need to work on fattening her up.

Anyway, I've been spending most of my time out at the barn, working with my own horses. I'm also riding a few horses for a friend of mine. She just had knee surgery and she wanted someone to condition her horses for her trip to South Dakota. They do a lot of riding there, so her horses need to be in shape.

Well, today is going to be the warmest day of the year so far, so I'm going to head out and enjoy it! Hope you all have a wonderful Thursday!

Wordless Wednesday - New Kids on the Block

2010-03-31T03:55:00.001-05:00

Back to Work (for my horses, not me)

2010-03-24T14:53:00.004-05:00

So with all this time on my hands I've been doing a lot of riding. The weather has been so nice, I can't help but think it's just for me :-) As you can see, I'm trying to grow Riskie's mane out... I'm not sure how far it'll get before it drives me crazy and I roach it off again. A young girl might show her in 4H this summer, so I'll have to hope it is at least long enough to band, otherwise I will roach it.

I've mostly been working Riskie. Rem has had it easy, so I'll have to ride him tomorrow. More soccer practice is probably in order. We've got to master the ball control.

Well, not a whole lot to say I guess. Enjoy the photos!

Rem enjoying an afternoon nap in the sunshine

Caper enjoys a good roll in the grass

I couldn't help myself

2010-03-19T15:56:00.002-05:00

I went ahead and bought a horse soccer ball for myself. I couldn't help it, it's just a lot of fun and I would like to practice on my own, so it's worth it to me. Rem does a lot better when he has the ball to himself, so hopefully this will give him lots of confidence when we play with everyone else. I tried it out with Riskie and she loved it! She wanted to push it with her nose rather than kick it though. She got the hang of it after a while, but she's pretty short so I think her nose hits it before her legs do. Anyway, I'm pretty excited about it. Enjoy the video!

Wonderful Weather

2010-03-18T09:04:00.003-05:00

What amazing weather we've been having! For March, anyway. The temps have been in the mid 60's and we've seen nothing but blue skies! I love it! Too bad they are forecasting snow for Saturday... grrr... and here I thought we were done with that white stuff. Oh well.

Yesterday, my friend, Kate, and I went for a trail ride. We took an old trail that runs from our city into a neighboring town. It's a really nice trail to get your horse ready for trail riding season because it is flat and straight the whole way through. It's actually an abandoned railroad bed, which is pretty cool. Kate was riding her colt, Torque. It was his very first trail ride and he did really well. In order to get on the trail you have to ride underneath an interstate overpass. Rem led the way and Torque followed without question. What good ponies!

Once we were on our way Kate wanted to see if Torque would lope. Rem was in front so I asked for a nice easy lope. Kate kissed Torque up into a lope and once he found his lead he followed right along.

The ride into town was about two hours. The horses were happy to stand at the hitching post while we had lunch at the bar. Kate's mom met us there. After a nice lunch (mmm... bacon cheeseburger...) we decided it would be a little much to ask our horses to carry us the two hours back down the trail, so Kate's mom drove Kate to the truck and trailer and she brought it back to town so we could load our horses up and head home. It was a great way to spend St. Patty's day!

Soccer Practice

2010-03-16T21:37:00.003-05:00

So the exercise ball didn't work out quite the same as the big horse soccer ball. It's much smaller so if I ask Rem to go faster than a walk the ball gets caught up under his feet and he stumbles over it. But, at least it's teaching him to kick and follow at the walk.

Here is a short little video of me and Rem practicing soccer.

Rem and Risk are both a little sore from their vaccinations yesterday. Rem has a pretty good welt on his neck and Risk is just tender. She pulls away when I touch her neck. Hopefully it won't last too long and they'll be feeling better soon. I wanted to ride them both today, but since Risk seemed so sore I just took her for a walk down the driveway.

Hopefully the nice weather sticks around for a few more days. I might get a trail ride in tomorrow :-)

First Day of Unemployment

2010-03-15T06:51:00.005-05:00

So, today is officially my first day of unemployment. I'm really not upset at all. I'm thankful for the break, to be honest. I'm looking at this as more of an opportunity rather than a setback.

I made it through my busy weekend okay, and now I've got quite the week ahead of me. I have to leave for the barn at 8:30 to meet the vet for vaccinations this morning. Then I'm headed to Milwaukee to help out my boyfriend. He's a hair stylist and he's doing a perm class and he needed a model. I volunteered. I've never had a perm before, so this should be interesting...

Tomorrow I've got my meeting in the morning and then I think I'll head out to the barn to practice some horse soccer. I bought a big exercise ball, though I'm sure it's not as big as the ball we use during practice. It should do the trick though...

Speaking of practice, it's going well. Our group starts out practicing by dribbling the ball from one end of the arena to the other and passing it off to another player. Then we practiced taking the ball up the middle and stealing/defending it from another player. Finally, we put it all together and practice a real game. I think the demo should go pretty smoothly. Cindy took some photos from the practice yesterday.

Caution tape curtain - Rem makes a good curtain-holder.

Remington and I watch Tracy and Stacey kick the ball.

Rem lets me dribble the ball, I think he wants to play basketball instead...

Well that's about all I've got to say for now! Have a good Monday!!

Two Days Left

2010-03-11T09:24:00.002-06:00

I woke up this morning and thought it was Friday. What a trick!

The weather yesterday was so nice. The thermometer in my car said it was 57 when I left work. I didn't get a chance to ride since I had dinner plans, with Aubrey, who is home from vet school for Spring Break. She brought her boyfriend and another friend home with her and they got to enjoy a ride yesterday. She took her pony, Chocolate, and Riskie and Remington out down the driveway. Ben got to ride Remington, and Emily rode Riskie. I hear my horses were both well behaved :-) Ben and Emily don't ride much, so I was happy my horses took care of them.

The next 5 days are going to be really busy for me, so I probably won't even notice I don't have a job until about Wednesday of next week! Tomorrow night, everyone from work is going out for drinks, so that should be fun. It's also Eric's birthday. We're going to celebrate that on Saturday and there's another surprise party we're going to as well. I'm also taking care of a friends horses and dogs on Saturday evening and Sunday morning. Then, I've got Mustang practice on Sunday again! Monday I've got the vet coming out for spring vaccinations and coggins tests and then on Tuesday I've got a meeting for the TAA program! So... now you all know way more than you need to about what I'll be doing the next couple of days...

I also have to set up some temporary fencing to keep the horses off the pasture now and let it grow up. That will probably have to wait until Wednesday.

Happy Thursday everyone!

Is it FRIDAY yet?

2010-03-09T16:10:00.004-06:00

I am having a hard time believing it's only Tuesday... I want this week to be over with so BAD! Oh well, I need to stop whining and just get on with it... Just three more days...

In case you haven't noticed, Remington's the only one getting his picture up on my blog... that's because I've mostly been riding him this winter. So what's Risk been up to? Well she has been doing her best to teach the new boyfriend how to stay on a horse :-) They do pretty well together.

I have to give him credit for coming out in the cold to ride horses with me. Riding outside in the Wisconsin Winter is not for the faint of heart. Luckily Spring is just around the corner.

Mud!

2010-03-08T15:05:00.005-06:00

I'm not going to complain about the 40+ degree weather we've been having... but the mud is a little discouraging. I want so bad to go out and ride, but I don't have a sandy arena to ride in, just grass pastures that I don't want to mark up. So, I've been confined to rides down the driveway. Not exactly the kind of riding I want to do, but for now it will have to do.

We had our first practice for the Mustang breed demo for the Midwest Horse Fair on Sunday. So, I did get to ride in a nice big indoor, which was nice. We are playing horse soccer for the demo. We've got a lot of work to do and only 2 more practices, so hopefully we can pull it off. Our demo times are on Saturday at 4:50p.m., right before the Liberty presentation and then on Sunday at 9:40a.m. Pretty good time slots. There will be a lot of people in the coliseum on Saturday, should be interesting... Hopefully things will dry out and I'll be able to ride and practice outside in the pasture soon.

Today is the start of my last week of employment where I currently work. I am more excited than sad. I am ready to move on and I am bored out of my mind here, so hopefully this week goes by fast!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-03-03T19:32:00.002-06:00

Beautiful Blogger Award

2010-03-02T09:53:00.003-06:00

Jennifer from How Did This Happen passed along this Beautiful Blogger Award. Thanks, Jennifer.

I have to write 7 things about myself... hmmm... I always have a hard time coming up with interesting things about me, but I'll give it a shot. Maybe I'll just catch you all up to speed on what's been going on since I stopped blogging.

1. I'm living with my mom now, and it's not so bad... except that she complains about my big, hairy dog.

2. Since our jobs are being sent out of the country, we are qualified for the Trade Act Adjustment program. We have the opportunity to go back to school, even if we already have a degree. They will pay for 2 years, so I am doing some research on what program I'd like to go into. Suggestions are welcome!

3. I've lost 30lbs since April of 2009. I am hoping to lose a few more before summer starts. I've been doing Jillian Michaels dvd's and really watching what I eat. It's worked well :-)

4. I am looking forward to the Midwest Horse Fair this April. I'll be participating with Remington in the Mustang breed demo again. Our group is going to play Horse Soccer. It should be FUN!

5. I love taking naps.

6. I am addicted to the Bejeweled Blitz game on Facebook.

7. I never thought I'd say that I wish I had more work to do at work. But, sitting here with nothing to do for 8 hours is not fun at all... just a few more days...

So, I am supposed to pass this along to 15 bloggers, but most of the blogs I've visited have already received it! So, if you haven't, and you'd like to participate, consider yourself awarded!

Waiting for Spring

2010-02-24T10:57:00.005-06:00

It's a hard thing to do, you know.

I keep thinking that I can smell Spring coming... but then we get snow. So, I do my best to ignore it, but it's hard when my fingers and toes get cold. Not to mention the woolly mammoths I call my horses haven't even begun to shed out. So I just have to be patient. I am getting good at that in my old age (I'm 25 now).

I've been riding sporadically. Mostly on the weekends. I like to ride outside and by the time I get done with work during the week, it's dark out. Although, we did get a new load of sand for the small arena. There isn't much I can do in there though, other than ride in circles. I can't wait until the days get longer!

I have 2 and a half weeks of work left. March 12th is my last day. I can't wait. It's like being back in school again, waiting for Summer Vacation... except that in school I didn't have to worry about bills and money. But I'm trying to ignore that issue... at least for a while. Procrastination is what I do best. In fact... I'm doing it right now! So, I better get back to work, I will leave you with a picture of me and Remington, doing our best to pretend it's Spring time.

Back Again!

2010-02-23T12:58:00.004-06:00

Hopefully you haven't all forgotten about me! I've been keeping up with everyone's blogs while I was away, but haven't made many comments. I hope to get back to that.

I have decided to leave my archives private for now... They are all saved as drafts. Maybe one day I will publish them again, but for now I'd like to leave them hidden.

As I said in my previous post... hopefully the next time you see me, things will be looking up, and they are. I won't go into too much detail now, but I am feeling good about things despite the situation I'm in. I am looking forward to a small break from work, and then I plan to go back to school to pursue a career that can't be sent to another country...

I am also hoping to do more artwork... watch the sidebar to the left for new artwork as it becomes available. If you're interested, email me to find out more!

Well I am going to keep this first post short, but I look forward to regular blogging again!

Taking a Break

2009-08-11T19:59:00.002-05:00

I think I'll be taking a break from blogging for a while. Not sure how long, just wanted to warn you all in case you miss me. Hopefully the next time I post, things will be looking up for me.

Staying Busy

2009-08-04T18:25:00.004-05:00

Friday afternoon I ended up going out to eat with some friends for a late lunch. We had lots of fun and the food was really good. After we ate, we decided it was appropriate to go on a little trail ride, so we picked up Kate's 2 old mares and Rem and Risk and headed over to my house to ride down the farm lane. It was a really relaxing ride, but Remington doesn't walk fast enough to keep up with the mares, so we just hung back and enjoyed the breeze. It really was a beautiful day out.

After the ride, I decided I really didn't want to go home and sit all night, and Traci had free passes to the fair so we decided to go. We didn't get there until it was getting dark, so we walked around looking at the art projects and then went to get food. I had a baked potato... it was pretty good, but I've had better. Then we went to look at the goats, they are always fun. One of them grabbed some of my hair and started to chew... I suppose it was my fault for getting so close.

After the goats it was time for some mini donuts... mmmm. Those are the best!

I still wasn't ready to go home after the fair so we went to the bar and we had a drink... Well, I had 1, Traci had 2 or 3. By the time I got home I was pretty tired and ready for bed, so I didn't even have time to think about my problems :-)

Saturday I was supposed to pack... guess what didn't happen! I didn't get any packing done :-( I don't even remember what I did... We went out again Saturday night, but I didn't have much fun. I just got upset that I was out while Joe was at home, so Kate was nice enough to take me back to my car that I left at her house, so I could go home. I stayed up late watching Joe play World of Warcraft, how very exciting, huh? Yes, I am a dork... but Joe is a bigger dork, so it's okay.

Sunday morning I got up way too early. The lesson was at 10, so I wanted to be up at 8, but I woke up at 6 instead. So, I took the dogs out to the barn and played with them. I was to the lesson about 45 minutes early. We worked more on lead changes. Remington was being a complete BUTT and wouldn't take the left lead. Instead of moving his hip over when I applied my right leg, he was bowing around my leg and taking the right lead. I had worked on this so much in the past few weeks, so I was really frustrated. I just had to quit and take a break because I was getting so upset, and you can't be in that frame of mind when working with horses. At the end of the lesson I stayed behind and got him to take the left lead. It's a lot easier when no one is watching you... Oh well, just gives me more to work on. He was doing the same thing today when I rode him, but I got him over it... again.

Anyway, Andy did tell me that he could see a big improvement in Rem's footwork for the spin. That made me happy.

Well I guess I should get back to work. Though I am having a hard time seeing the point... I have Thursday and Friday off so I can move, and I might only work a half day tomorrow because I really have a lot to do. So, not sure if I'll have much time to blog this week, hope you all have a good one!

I'm just going to laugh...

2009-07-31T13:53:00.003-05:00

Because sometimes that's all you can do to keep from crying.

I got called in to work early for a company meeting at 1. The vice president of the company was there to tell us that they were considering closing our facility. They kept saying a decision hadn't been made yet because they have to discuss it with Union officials first. That's standard procedure though, I'm pretty sure their mind is made up...

They told us we could all go home early... SCORE! I was only there for 45 minutes :-)

Anyway, what a great way to start the weekend, huh? I can't decide if I should be happy because I got the day off, or sad because I will be jobless before long... so I'm going to go with happy, and enjoy the rest of the day. I think I'll start looking for a new job next week....

Anyway, have a great weekend everyone! I'll be sure to let you know how my lesson goes

Thursday, what a pointless day!

2009-07-30T21:12:00.007-05:00

We should just get rid of Thursdays... go right from Wednesday to Friday... that would make me happy.

I gave Rem the morning off, it was wet and rainy this morning anyway. Andy called tonight, we have a group lesson on Sunday. I am excited to bring Remington. Even though that mare was nice to ride, there's nothing like riding your own horse. Un-athletic as he may be, I can't say that he doesn't try his heart out for me. That's all I can ask for, right?

More packing this weekend, maybe I'll accomplish more this time, since I already have all my boxes ready to go. I took next Friday off so hopefully I can be in with my mom by next weekend. Joe's parents are coming up to get him that weekend and I don't want to stay in the house by myself, it would just be too hard.

I want to say thanks to Jennifer for giving me a HUG! Just when I needed it :-)

Now I get to pass it on, and I know just the person...

Andrea at Mustang Saga has been through a lot lately, she deserves a gigantic hug!

Lead Changes

2009-07-29T10:07:00.006-05:00

Heh, so much for wordless Wednesday...

I decided I'd work on lead changes this morning and it really does help me to write the process down. So you all get to enjoy what I'm learning in lessons about lead changes.

My trainer told us there are many different ways to change leads, but he has found one way that works for him and that is what he's going to teach us.

He then asked us what were some common problems we see when a horse is asked to change leads. One of the biggest things is that a horse will run off after changing leads, or worse yet, he won't even switch leads and he'll run off at the cue to change. Another problem is that a horse will change leads in front, but not in back, he'll cross-canter. We also talked about horses that will buck during a flying change.

Andy specifically teaches changes the way he does to avoid all of those problems.

First I'll explain the process, and then I'll tell you why those problems are avoided using this method.

We start off with 3 cones in a straight line, evenly spaced. To begin with, we trotted our horses from the first cone, to the 2nd cone. We were supposed to be visualizing going from the left lead to the right lead. At the 2nd cone we applied our left spur and asked our horse to move his hip over and at the same time we brought him down to a walk. It's very important that when you apply your spur you are getting the hip and only the hip. You don't want your horse to side pass or leg yield, you want them to swing their hip over and keep the rest of their body straight.

It's also important to come down to a walk when you are asking for the hip so your horse learns that the spur is not a cue to go faster and run off, but a cue to move his hip and eventually change leads. Once you feel your horse move his hip over release all aids and let him walk freely forward to the last cone. Stop there, do a turn on the forehand (reminding your horse of the cue to move his hips) and repeat, going back the way you came.

Once you've got the trot to walk down, you can move up to the canter to trot. Start at cone 1 and ask for the left lead. At cone 2 apply your spur as if you were cueing for the right lead to get the hip and bring him down to a trot. Once he moves his hip let him trot freely to the last cone. Stop at the last cone, turn and repeat.

Next you can go from left lead to right lead, doing a simple change at the 2nd cone. Always stopping at the last cone. This is as far as I've gotten so that's all I'm going to talk about until I learn more about the actual flying change.

But, as you can see this teaches your horse that the spur is not a cue to run off. When you lay the spur on, your horse learns you are asking for his hip, not a faster speed. Using a straight line instead of teaching your horse to change going from a left circle to a right circle ensures that your horse will change both in front and back. A horse that changes in front and not in back does so because his front feet changed direction before his back feet did. I have seen lots of people try to force their horses to change leads by doing a fast direction change and "throwing" them into it, and it may work sometimes, but I mostly see the horse will change in front and not in back.

Even in a reining pattern where you change in the middle of your circles, you should still be on a straight line directly between the 2 circles when you ask for the change.

As far as the bucking goes, I think that comes from a horse who is not comfortable with the spur being laid on them. Once again, using this method, the horse becomes confident knowing that the spur was laid on as a cue to move the hip, and nothing more.

I have a video showing the 3 different steps I described, but it is very small because I didn't have anyone to film for me and it's not easy to get all those cones in frame. I hope you can get something from it, but if not I will do another video when Aubrey is here to film me.

Mashing the keyboard does nothing to make things better...

2009-07-28T19:29:00.003-05:00

But it sure is fun to do when you're frustrated with a program that isn't working... try it some time... I suggest using a computer at work, not your personal computer.

This is going to be the slowest week EVER... I can feel it. I went out this morning and rode Remington. I did my best to not feel guilty about riding him before he got to eat breakfast. In the morning he is always standing outside the barn waiting for me to show up to open the gate. The girls like to wait inside the barn and actually greet me before expecting me to do their bidding. So, when I walked out there with a halter he starts for the gate... sorry buddy, that's not the way it's going to work today! Heh heh. He seemed okay with it though. Maybe he remembers our first few months together when I'd work him in the morning before feeding him.

We worked on getting that left lead from a walk on a straight line. He did really well and only missed it a few times. I am getting really excited for the fun show at the fairgrounds in August. There are several walk trot classes so I plan on entering those. I'm also going to do Novice Western Pleasure and Horsemanship. The best part is that the show bill says "show clothes optional" YAY! I can show all day long and not get the crabbies for having to wear long sleeve clothing in 90 degree weather! Aubrey will be home for the show too, so I'll have someone to share the day with. That always makes showing a little more fun. That way when you really screw up a class, someone is there to make you feel better... or laugh at you. Heh heh.

Tomorrow is Wednesday... I've got my Powerball ticket already... so don't be surprised when I write a post about winning the lottery. I think I would quit my job and buy a horse farm in Wisconsin and one in Texas. That way I could move down to Texas in the winter and live in Wiscsonsin all summer. Sure is fun to think about... until my dreams are dashed when I realize I didn't even match 1 number.

Sorry for all the boring posts with NO pictures. I'll get my camera out tomorrow morning and brighten the blog up for Wordless Wednesday :-) Back to work now!

Back to 2nd shift...

2009-07-27T21:13:00.004-05:00

I was planning on riding today... preferably in the morning, but that didn't happen. I got to the barn and felt a little bit guilty that I'd be saddling up my horse before he had a chance to eat breakfast... so instead I just picked poop and filled the stock tank after I opened the gate to the pasture.

I went to let the horses in on my lunch break. Thank goodness they come running when I call them. It makes things so much easier when I don't have to go out and catch them. Most of the time they will gallop in, but there are days when they feel like they haven't had enough grass and decide to stay out on pasture despite my calls. So, I end up walking out to catch one, usually Riskie and then Rem and Chocolate end up galloping back to the barn leaving me and Risk to walk back. If only Riskie were a few inches shorter... or I was a bit more athletic... I'd be able to swing up bareback and ride her back... But that isn't the case, maybe I need to teach her to stretch and park out like a Saddlebred. That would give me a few inches to work with... Too bad there isn't a hill in that pasture, or a tree stump or anything really to help me climb on. Man, I must be the laziest person alive, trying to figure out ways to ride my horse instead of walk along side her when doing such a simple task... :-)

I actually thought about going out tonight to ride and turning the outside barn light on. But then I realized there are a few storms rolling through. I don't hear much inside this building, so I have to rely on weather.com to know what the heck is going on outside. They rearranged our office so now it's pretty much set up like a barn aisle with our own personal stalls! I feel right at home :-) heh heh.

Anyway... I should stop rambling on and get back to work... I think my break is up.

Weekend happenings

2009-07-27T00:24:00.006-05:00

I keep thinking it's Saturday night... it's actually Monday morning now, what a crock. Saturday I spent much of the day packing after driving around to several grocery stores to try and get boxes. I am having a hard time with this, but I'm trying not to be so sad. I know in the back of my mind that I won't feel this way forever, but it's hard not to think that this horrible feeling will never go away.

I'm not even mad at Joe, because I know what it's like to be homesick. It was hard enough for me to live 4 hours away when I went to college, I can't imagine living 23 hours away. I am just going to enjoy the 2 weeks I have left with him for what it is.

Saturday night I went out with some friends and had a good time. We started out the night with dinner at a nice little roadhouse. It was really good... and I just remembered I have leftovers in the fridge!! mmm.... midnight snack... Anyway, after dinner we headed down the road to a bar that happened to have a mechanical bull. Just about everyone in our group got on and rode it, so it was a pretty good time. I had to have a drink before getting on that thing, considering I try to avoid things that intentionally try to throw me to the ground, but it was pretty fun. I can't say that I'd ever want to do it again though, once is enough for me! I'll stick to Mustangs and bucking Appaloosas, thank you! I saw another good friend of mine out at the bar so it was good to catch up with her, too. Jelaine really wanted to dance, so we headed to another bar that had a band playing. Turns out they were playing music that wasn't that easy to dance to, so I watched a game of pool and then we headed home. I'm not one to go out very often, but I had a good time and I'm glad I was invited.

I got back around 1 in the morning and was in bed by about 2. We had a lesson without horses Sunday morning at 9. We watched a video and went over the rule book. I wished I wasn't so tired! I still got some pretty good information, though, and a better understanding of all the things you can lose points for!

After the lesson I headed over to Steve's house for team roping. Bill brought Brady along for me to ride. I was no good today. The only thing I caught all afternoon was a front leg, how pathetic! I just couldn't seem to get the rope where it needed to be. I think I'll just blame it on the rope... makes me feel a little better.

I was supposed to go to my step mom's family picnic, but I just wasn't feeling well enough to be around so many people. Especially when I knew I'd be getting all kinds of questions about my current situation. I don't want to talk about it with anyone right now, I guess this blog is a good enough way for me to vent my feelings at the moment.

I sure am glad I'm back on my 2nd shift hours starting tomorrow... there's no way I'd be ready to work by 10am. I should probably ride one of my horses tomorrow morning, considering they both had the weekend off. I think the pasture will be dry enough to work on loping and leads with Remington... He's gotten so sticky about picking up his left lead...

Anyway, I also wanted to say thanks for the comments, I really appreciate them. I think I'm going to go re-heat my leftovers and then head to bed. I hope you all have a happy Monday... as happy as Monday's can be, anyway. :)

Blah

2009-07-22T21:38:00.004-05:00

First of all, thanks for the encouraging comments regarding my last post. I appreciate the input greatly.

This week has been pretty crappy. It went downhill after Monday. Yesterday, Joe told me he was planning on heading back to Texas at the end of this month. So, I'll be moving in with my mom. Luckily she lives closer to my horses than I do, but at the same time, I feel like a bit of a failure having to move back in with her.

Anyway, that's all I'm going to say on the subject because I'm still pretty upset about it. I've been keeping busy and riding every night after work. The weather hasn't been cooperating with me on that aspect either... It's been raining the last 2 days. I still ride though.

Next week I am going back to my regular 2nd shift hours (2pm to 10:30pm). My trainer told me he might need help riding horses, so I told him when I was back on my 2nd shift hours I could probably ride in the mornings. I am going to see how that goes, but if it's too much I'm going to try to get back on 1st shift at my regular job... The only reason I worked 2nd shift was because Joe worked those same hours... considering I won't have a boyfriend anymore I don't see any point in keeping those hours.

This weekend I don't have much planned as far as horse stuff goes... Aubrey's dad is headed to Michigan with the truck, so I can't haul anywhere. I will probably just pack my stuff up. Wow this is the most depressing post ever...

I am going to find things that make me laugh and add them...

This funny illustration is from a website I like to visit. You can email the artist any

phrase you want and he'll create a picture illustrating it.

http://www.explodingdog.com/

Okay, I think that's enough for now. I hope the rest of the week goes better.

Sometimes, you've just got to dance with the boy you came with...

2009-07-20T21:30:00.003-05:00

I found out last Thursday that we'd be doing a group lesson on Sunday so I emailed Aubrey's dad right away to see if it would be okay to use the truck and trailer on Sunday morning. He said he was going to take it in to get serviced on Saturday, so if all was well Sunday would be fine. Saturday afternoon he let me know that the brake pads needed replacing, and Sunday morning was the only time available. I was pretty bummed out because this lesson we'd be working on lead changes, I called up my trainer to see if there would be a horse available to ride, since I'd be leaving mine at home with no truck to haul him. He said he in fact DID have a horse for me to ride... and she even knew how to turn around. That got me pretty excited, so I wasn't quite as upset that I had to leave Rem at home.

I got to the barn not really knowing what to expect. My trainer pointed out a small bay mare in one of the stalls and told me to saddle her up. She couldn't have been taller than 14.2 hands. She was very plain looking, just a regular Quarter horse. My trainer didn't know a whole lot about her, just that he'd ridden her once and she lopes nice circles and she knew how to turn around well. So, I wasn't real sure what I was getting into. I took her out to the arena and got on. It took a while for me to relax on her... probably because I'm not as young as I used to be, but once I realized how broke she was I started to have a pretty good time. The lesson went well, and at the end my trainer told me to turn her around a little... Man was that ever fun!

It turns out, he had wanted me to ride that mare to show me how much more fun it would be for me to own a broke reiner as opposed to trying so hard to make Remington into something that he may never be. The mare is for sale... but there is no way I could ever afford her, and to be honest she is reasonably priced. I'll be honest though... the most I've ever paid for a horse was $400... Anyway, for the rest of the day I was trying to think up ways to afford a horse like her, because it IS so much fun. But, at the same time... I don't think my trainer gives Rem enough credit. I am realistic about this too, I KNOW Rem has his downfalls, and he'll NEVER be able to turn around the way that mare did... But, at the same time, he just keeps progressing. I know we'll top out somewhere, but we're not to that point yet. And while I agree, when learning to ride horses or starting a new discipline, it's nice to have a broke horse to teach you. But I feel that I am a competent enough horseman to learn from and teach my horse. I may learn much faster with a broke horse, but I just don't have that kind of money laying around to go out and buy that horse. I think I could sell both Rem and Risk and have enough money to buy a finished reiner... but I can't do that. Sometimes emotional attachments suck, but I would need to choose between selling my two horses to get a finished reiner or keeping them and "dancing with the boy I came with". If I couldn't part with Rem at the auction, I'm pretty sure I'm stuck with him... and I'm okay with that.

Tonight I went out and rode him, thinking boy this is going to be nothing compared to the way that little mare felt. But much to my surprise Rem proved me wrong and turned around pretty nicely for me. I'm even feeling a little bit dizzy still. I know he'll get there. I think about how far he's come in such a short time with things like his lope departure... It wasn't pretty right up until a few weeks ago when I really started working on it. He has developed the muscles he needs to pick up his belly and lope off gracefully from a walk. I haven't worked on his spin much lately, so it's only a matter of him developing the muscles he needs to get a little quicker and more collected to just turn right around. I can feel him trying so hard to get into a rhythm and find where his feet need to go, he just needs more consistency, which I'm going to start giving him.

I guess there was a lot on my mind regarding this subject. I just can't believe riding that mare made me think so much about what it would take to get a horse like her... But then hopping on Rem tonight brought me back to my senses. I've just got to keep trucking along with him... We'll get there eventually...

ANYWAY... If you ever get the chance to go to The Melting Pot, I recommend it... but go at a time when they have a special going on, because paying full price would be ridiculous. They had a girls night out special that some friends from work invited me to. We got the cheese fondue with bread, veggies and apples for dipping. Then we had our choice of a salad, followed by chocolate fondue, with fruit and pastries for dipping! It was very good... but I'm thinking I should not have rode Remington after eating... I'm feeling a little sick now... bleh.

Well, one day down, four to go. It's just a never ending problem I have, this thing called a job... Those weekends never seem to last long enough.

I am a dork

2009-07-14T21:03:00.005-05:00

And, as you can see... So are my dogs! So it's okay, we're one big, happy, dorky family. So... I am going to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince tonight... yep, the midnight showing. And, if Aubrey hadn't come home today I'd be going by myself. Aubrey's Grandma passed away last night, so Aubrey is home again for a few days. She agreed to go with me to see the movie tonight. I really love Harry Potter, I'm not going to lie... I have the audio books and I listen to them over and over again at work. When the 7th book came out, Joe and I went to the bookstore at midnight to pick up our reserved copy. I don't have book releases to look forward to anymore, just movies. Of course they aren't as good as the books, but they are at least getting better as they go along.

Anyway, enough about my dorkish obsession with Harry Potter... This blog is about horses gosh darnit! I have been getting short rides in after work. The bugs are too bad to do much and the only way to keep them off of us is to keep moving, so Rem gets his workout and then we call it a night. His transitions are really coming along good. There is a show in August at the fairgrounds that I want to go to. I'd like to do the horsemanship class with him. And maybe another walk/trot class :-) I'll probably take Riskie for showmanship, too. Remington is not a showmanship horse... and I don't plan on making him one.

I braided his mane yesterday, and I banged his tail. I was afraid of cutting it too short, so I didn't cut above his fetlocks, but I think it turned out okay. I am not sure if I can really see that big of a difference, but that's okay... I've never done that before so I just wanted to see if it was something I'd like. I don't want his tail to look fake either...

Well, I am going to get a short nap in before I go pick Aubrey up for the show.

Enjoy this cute picture of Remington.

I read it on the internet, so it MUST be true!

2009-07-09T22:12:00.004-05:00

Sorry for the random title... forwarded emails annoy me greatly. I don't mind the jokes and the funny videos, but the political crap I can do without.

Anyway, I got to take Risk team roping tonight. It was fun even though she still needs work. I really like riding other people's broke rope horses so that I can figure out what it's supposed to feel like. Risk will get there, and she's already come so far without much work, but it takes consistency and that's not always easy.

Steve dragged the dummy around for me so I could work on my own roping skills, and that helped. I hadn't caught one all night before we practiced on the dummy, and after that I was able to catch some.

This week sure did fly by! I volunteered to take photos for the 4-H Horse and Pony show this weekend, but I'm not really looking forward to that. In the past I've done it and it's only been a 1 day show, but this year the show is both days, so my weekend is pretty much shot... I'll bring a book to read and work on my tan... which is stupid because I don't tan... I turn red and then pale again. *sigh*

Happy Friday everyone!

A New Halter and Thistles for Dinner

2009-07-07T20:48:00.012-05:00

I got my prize from Andrea in the mail today! She held a contest over at her blog, whoever could guess how many porcupine quills she pulled out of her mustang's nose would win a prize. I guessed 21, and the answer was 22. Nobody guessed 22 so I was the closest! I won a hand tied rope halter that Andrea made. I love it! I tried it on Risk right away and it fits great. It's not like the rope halters I'm used to, it is made of thinner rope, but I really like the way it looks. Thanks Andrea! I might have to hold a contest of my own again...

Riskie could be a halter model...

I saddled Risk up tonight and we braved the mosquito swarms together. We worked on picking up the correct lead and stopping when I throw my rope. She's getting it, that's for sure.

Risk in her roping gear

The pasture that I ride in is full of really tall thistles that I have to ride around to avoid. They

are a good way to make sure I've got control of my horse... If the horse doesn't go exactly where

I tell it, chances are we'll end up running into one of these giant weeds.

As I was walking Risk down to the pasture, I stopped to open the gate and saw her very carefully pluck the purple flower off of the thistle! I couldn't believe it! That thing still had thorns on it, too. It was so funny I had to go back and get my camera to get a video of it...

Does this look like something you'd want to eat???

Cutest. Puppy. Ever.

2009-07-06T21:12:00.005-05:00

I was just reminiscing about the days when my giant, hairy, smelly, whining Aussie was a wee pup. I miss being able to carry him around. He was seriously, the cutest puppy ever born... I don't care what you say!

Bask in the cuteness that is Puppy Caper...

I guess he did turn into a pretty handsome dog... but it's sad that they don't stay little for longer...

I haven't done much riding due to the ridiculous amount of mosquitos that have taken over the land. I did get on Risk and practiced throwing my rope and stopping. I just worked her along the driveway on the mowed grass. She did much better stopping while we rode away from the barn than she did going towards it... funny how that works, isn't it?

Going back to work wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, and another artist is on vacation this whole week so I've got lots to keep me busy. Having too much work to do usually makes the days go by much faster.

Well, I didn't have much to say in the first place so I'm going to end it here before things get random and out of control! Have a good week! Maybe something interesting will happen during mine and I'll have more to write about...

Team Roping, Team Roping and More Team Roping...

2009-07-03T21:48:00.004-05:00

Can anyone guess what I've been up to on my vacation?

Heh, yep, team roping is correct. But, not on any of my horses.

Wednesday night I went over to watch my trainer and a few of his students practice. I worked the chutes and listened in on the advice everyone was getting.

Thursday I went over to my Uncle's place to get his horses ready before he got home from work. He let me ride Brady again, and that was a lot of fun. He knows his job so well. The girl who trained him was there and she gave me some good advice. I told her that my mare just didn't know to stop automatically the way Brady does. She told me that heel horses need to stop when they see the rope fall in front of them, so I should just practice twirling my rope off of Risk, and when I throw it, stop her. It's so simple, I can't believe I didn't think to practice this on my own! She's a smart mare so I know she'll get it pretty quickly. The best part is that I don't even need a steer around to practice this part.

Brady was really good for me and I caught quite a few, but only singles. I always manage to catch the right leg, but not the left.

Today I went over to my trainers place again to watch a reining lesson (because it's free to watch!) and then help out with the chutes again. Before they started roping the live steers they were dragging the dummy around and practicing on that. One of the old cowboys that showed up to rope let me ride his little mare. She was a lot of fun, and very much like riding Riskie. Short strided and quick. I got some good advice from those old cowboys, too.

The farrier came this morning and I had him put front shoes on Risk. She's good to go now, so I am going to start riding her a little more. She is so fat and out of shape!

My vacation will be over before I know it, but I think I spent it well... and I even kept it pretty cheap. I had fun, and I relaxed quite a bit, so I'm happy with that.

I am off to read now! I hope you all have a happy (and safe) 4th!

Pictures From The Show

2009-06-30T21:21:00.005-05:00

Jelaine and Charlie spinning

Lee and Polly loping circles

Missy and Boots sliding

I had a BLT from Subway tonight and it was delicious!

I am starting my vacation tonight and I have a head cold, a sun burn, a cold sore and lots of mosquito bites... but I don't care because I don't have to work tomorrow!!

That is all...

1st Reining Show - A Lesson In Counting

2009-06-29T19:36:00.006-05:00

So, the show went pretty good... or as good as a first show doing something new can go I guess. My biggest goal was to do the pattern while remaining upright... that goes for me and Remington, and we accomplished that. There was no falling over or falling off. My 2nd goal was to do the pattern correctly. I didn't exactly meet this goal, but that just leaves me something to improve upon at the next reining show.

I entered the green rider reining class and that is the last one of the day. So, I had all day to memorize my pattern, and memorize I did! Pattern number 2 was chosen for my class.

The plan was to just go in and complete the pattern. My trainer told me not to worry about doing fast spins or flying changes. Just go in and find out what it's like to ride a reining pattern. So that's what I did. It was a lot of fun too! I was pretty nervous so I know I wasn't concentrating as hard as I should have. Our circles were more like ovals... and after I did my simple change to the left I thought I heard someone in the stands say something about being on the wrong lead so I broke to a trot before I started my large fast circles. Turns out that wasn't needed and I had the correct lead in the first place. It was pretty sloppy, but I know I can improve on that.

It was very windy, so when I was doing the first rundown my hat flew off. Then after the rollback to rundown to the other end of the arena, Rem wasn't sure what my hat was doing sitting on the ground in his path, so instead of running straight we ran diagonally...

Then it was time to spin... thus the counting lesson. I don't even remember counting wrong, but I do remember being unsure... so it's quite possible that I did 5 spins instead of 4. That's where we zeroed out. There are so many things you can get a zero for, and over-spinning is one of them. So, I was glad we got a zero at the end of our pattern... that way I could still see how I scored on the previous maneuvers... which was not good! Ha, but that's okay. Can't expect much when we don't do flying changes. Our stops and rollbacks (which he could have done better) were only -1/2 so I was happy with that. He doesn't have sliding plates on, so he doesn't slide the way most of the other horses did that were there.

I'm not sure when my next show will be, but I know I will be way more confident when we step into that arena.

I don't have any photos of me and Rem, but I've got some good ones of my friends. I still have to get them off my camera though...

I have to go to work tomorrow, but then I've got the rest of the week off! The only bad part about that is I'm broke(reining shows are expensive), so I won't be doing anything that require cash :-P That's okay though, the weather should be nice enough to ride during the day and I've got 2 horses that could use some work, so I'll have a great vacation riding them!

Because Everybody Else Is Doing It...

2009-06-27T21:44:00.004-05:00

Here is a fun little reining freestyle to MJ's Thriller...

May he rest in peace...

In other news, I am going to a reining show with Rem tomorrow. Wish us luck!

Too HOT!

2009-06-23T20:11:00.006-05:00

It's way too hot out...

I haven't ridden since Saturday. Jess and I went to Palmyra and I'm glad I didn't bring Riskie. The trails have gotten so rocky. Rem's feet didn't chip out, but Nash had quite a few chips by the end of our ride. I know Riskie would have been hurting.

It was a good ride, we were probably out for two and a half hours. The bugs were bad and it got progressively hotter as the ride went on, but it wasn't miserable. When we got back we gave both the boys a bath and let them roll in the sand pit.

Sunday we put hay up. I am so glad I had help from my friends, Kate and Tim, as well as Aubrey's dad. It would have been so much harder without them. It's about a 30 minute drive with a hay wagon from where we get the hay to the barn, so it was nice to have 2 trucks hauling wagons back and forth. There were 4 wagons all together. We've got 560 bales, so that should be good for the Winter. I am only feeding a flake or two a day to each horse since we have so much pasture. They are all fat and happy. I told Aubrey's dad that we won't need to get anymore hay for the year and he said "As long as you don't buy another horse". I told him to tell me "no" when I ask... haha. It's best if I don't get any ideas.

Yesterday and today have been the hottest days yet... the humidity is pretty bad as well. When I got to the barn after work the horses were standing in the dry lot just sweating. I am guessing the bugs are pretty bad out on the pasture. I have been letting them out pretty early, so hopefully they're getting their fill of grass before retreating to the barn.

They looked so miserable today that I hosed them all off. I think they enjoyed it, and their bodies were much cooler after that. I hope it helped them to be a little more comfortable.

It's supposed to be warm all week, but I'm hoping the humidity drops some by the end of the week. I'd like to get some riding in, but I won't ride my horses if they are sweating bullets just from standing around.

Next week I have Wednesday, Thursday and Friday off from work, so I'm really hoping for decent weather. Otherwise I'll just have to beat the heat and ride early in the morning.

Sorry for the boring post... Here's a picture that will make things more entertaining...

Father's Day

2009-06-21T10:23:00.009-05:00

Me and Dad on one of my Uncle's rope horses - 1988 or 89??

Me and Dad, High School Graduation 2003

I haven't shared this story with too many people, so I thought today would be a good day to do it.

My dad died in February of 2005. He had Leukemia.

Before he passed away he was determined to buy one of the new 05 Ford Mustangs. He had always liked the Ford Mustang, but he enjoyed the older body styles best, so when the new 05 model came out he had to have one. It was a throwback to the older body styles he grew up with.

I remember him telling me about the test drives and showing me the new catalog. I still have that catalog... He even told me that when he passed away, he'd leave the car to me. I thought that was pretty cool, but I'd rather he not talk like that! He was on his second round of Chemotherapy by then.

Dad never got the chance to buy his car.

It seems that he found a way to keep his promise to me though. You see, Remington is my 05 Mustang, the year is even branded in symbols on his neck. My dad knew that I would much rather have a real Mustang than a car. That is one of the reasons I had to keep my horse, and I knew it was meant to be when Patti let me take him home for free.

So Happy Father's day to all the great dads out there!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-06-17T21:21:00.003-05:00

Sunday's Lesson

2009-06-16T01:50:00.004-05:00

Aubrey and Chocolate, Me and Rem

Sunday morning was the group lesson. Aubrey really liked the lesson she took back over Thanksgiving break so she wanted to come along again. There were quite a few new people at the lesson, and the most we've ever had at one so it was a little more disorganized than usual. The levels of horse and rider were so different so it was a little hard finding something we could all work on. We mostly just worked on transitions like at the last lesson.

Aubrey got some really good insight into why her pony looks collected, but feels heavy. Chocolate is quite the mustang... she is pretty much all pony as far as her attitude. When she drops the attitude and really tries for Aubrey, they make a great team. I saw some really nice moments during the lesson that made Chocolate look like a miniature reining horse.

Remington had some really nice walk to lope transitions that made me happy. It really isn't an easy thing for them to do. I think I'm ready to start slowing his lope down and collecting him more... maybe at next year's June show I'll stick around for the afternoon Western pleasure classes :-) Who knows... maybe by the August show I'll have him ready to do a pleasure class.

I still can't decide if that walk/trot class was a fluke or not... I never thought we'd get 1st against those nice Quarter Horses...

I don't have much planned for this week as far as horse stuff goes. I think I will give both horses a break... at least until the end of the week. They both worked hard for me this weekend.

Saturday I might go trail riding with Jess, depending on the weather. I would like to take Risk, but if we go somewhere with rocky trails I'll probably have to take Rem... Riskie's hooves are flaring out pretty bad. I will probably have to put a set of shoes on her next time the farrier is out. I thought once Luna was sold my farrier bill would go down... I think it's going to go up if I have to put shoes on!! Oh well... that's the way it goes I guess.

We were able to get a wagon load of our hay on Sunday night when they started baling it. I'm going to have to pick the rest up this Sunday. At least when I put hay up I don't feel bad about not going to the gym... The weight loss thing is going okay. I am still losing, slowly but surely. The hardest part is not over-eating when we have potlucks at work. The desserts just sit there all day, calling my name... *sigh*

Okay this post is getting random and off-topic... maybe because it's 2 in the morning? Why am I not sleeping!?! Okay I am going to shut the computer and turn out the light and hope that when I wake up it's Friday... hahahaaaa, yeah right... well, have a good week everybody.

Videos From The Show

2009-06-14T15:36:00.006-05:00

Sr. Showmanship

1. Start at Cone A

2. Walk to Cone B

3. Trot from Cone B to past Cone C, make a circle

and continue trotting to the Judge.

4. Stop in front of the Judge, back 5 steps and complete a 360 degree

turn to the right.

5. Set up for inspection.

Jackpot Walk/Trot Equitation Pattern

1. Start at Cone A trot to Cone B.

2. Stop at Cone B and back 4 steps.

3. Trot a circle and continue past Cone B to Cone C.

4. Stop at Cone C.

Sr. Showmanship

Jackpot Walk Trot - Pattern work

Jackpot Walk Trot - Rail work

Open June Show 2009

2009-06-13T23:15:00.007-05:00

Remington and I after the pattern work in Jackpot Open W/T

Riskie and I in Sr. Showmanship

Today was a lot of fun. The morning started off with rain, which was disappointing because they did cut our hay on Thursday and it got rained on. I am hoping since it cleared up in the afternoon they will have raked it and it will be dry by the time they bale it... Anyway, RAIN! In the morning. I wasn't going to let a little rain ruin my fun so I caught my two grumpy horses and loaded them up. Aubrey decided to leave Chocolate behind today. She didn't think it would be fair to take her to a show when she hasn't ridden her in a few months, I can understand that. We got to the fair grounds at about 7:15. I sat in the truck for a good while to see if the rain was going to let up. I figured the horses wouldn't mind standing in the trailer, at least they'd be staying dry.

Once it got closer to 8:00 I headed over to register for my classes. I signed up for Sr. Showmanship and Trail with Risk, and Jackpot Open Walk/Trot Pleasure/Equitation and Trail with Rem. My first class was class #8 so I had lots of time to get ready for it. I unloaded the horses and Aubrey hung up their hay bags, that made them a little less grumpy. It was still spitting rain, but it was tolerable. The show didn't even get started until 8:30 so Aubrey, her friend Ben, and I just sat in the truck and watched classes until it was time for me to go.

Showmanship was my first class. There were 8 in the class. Risk and I went first and we had a really great pattern for the most part. Our back-up was slightly crooked and when I set her up she moved a hind foot as the judge started inspection. Then, I hesitated while doing my boxes and I thought I screwed them up. I was really disappointed that our pattern ended the way it did. As I watched the other people go, I noticed that I wasn't the only one making slight mistakes. There were people who took too many steps back, as the pattern called for 5 steps. There was another competitor who misjudged her distance from a cone and that put her in an awkward spot to pivot. A few horses stepped out of their setup, more noticeably than my own.

By the end of the class I was unsure how my own faults would measure up against my competitors, it seemed like nobody had a flawless pattern. It turns out the judge was on our side and we ended up placing 1st! I was really happy with that. Riskie is such a good showmanship horse, I can let her go all year without practicing and she still remembers what I taught her as a 2 year old when she was my last 4-H project.

After showmanship there was a lunch break so I saddled Rem up and took him into the arena to warm up. He did great. I wasn't sure how he'd react to all the chairs and people sitting just on the other side of the arena, but he did fine. He didn't even look at them. He sure has come a long way... He warmed up nicely so I kept it short and headed back to the trailer.

After warming Rem up I saddled Risk and decided to get trail out of the way. I was disappointed with the pattern because there were some really tight lope-throughs. I guess I shouldn't be upset with whoever made the pattern, but I just knew my horses wouldn't be able to do it. I know there were horses that accomplished the lope-throughs correctly, but neither of mine did. It was one of those situations where you needed all kinds of collection and I am not at the point with either of my horses at the lope. So, I ended up placing 4th with Rem and 5th with Risk.

My last class of the day was the Jackpot Open Walk/Trot Pleasure/Equitation. You had to pay $10 at the gate to enter this class and money awards were given to 1st through 3rd. I originally wasn't going to enter because I wasn't sure we'd have much of a chance, but decided it would be good for Rem and I was curious how we'd place since I've been working on his trot lately. There was a pattern with this class because 50% of the judging was Equitation (judging the rider's skills) and 50% was Pleasure (judging the horse's movement). The pattern was - Trot from cone A to cone B. Stop at B and back 4 steps. Trot past cone B and complete a circle continuing on to Cone C. Stop at cone C. My pattern went pretty smoothly, though I was a little disappointed that Rem threw his head out and grabbed the bit on our first stop. I also felt like I was working hard to keep him straight as I trotted out of the circle and to the last cone.

There were 8 riders in the class, and I didn't see everyone's pattern, but it is harder for me to pick out riding errors than it is for me to see errors in a class like showmanship. I think the class would have really been hard to judge because there was a huntseat rider, a few green horses with snaffles/bosals and finished western horses with curb bits.

After the pattern work we did some rail work. I am unsure how to present Remington as there is no written standard of how a mustang should be shown. I suppose it depends on the type of mustang you have. Western Arabian horses are shown with a higher headset than a Quarter Horse, but it is more acceptable for a Quarter Horse to carry his head slightly in front of the vertical where as Arabians are always on or slightly behind the vertical. I also didn't know how much contact I should have. I know in a cub bit on a finished pleasure horse you don't want any contact, but I rode Rem in a snaffle with two hands, so I thought a little contact would be okay. I just tried to show him to the best of my ability.

When we came in to line up, I honestly had no idea where I stood in the placings, so I was more than surprised when my name was called for 1st! I won my entry fee of $10 back and got an additional $10 on top of it. I was so proud of my little Mustang, because there were a lot of nice, finished Quarter Horses in that class!

I have video to share, but it will have to wait until tomorrow! It's getting late and I have to be up at 7 for our lesson tomorrow. Thanks for reading, I hope you all have a great Sunday!!

Looking Forward to the Weekend!

2009-06-10T19:29:00.004-05:00

So last weekend I didn't do a thing with the horses except feed them. It was rainy both days and I just stayed inside all weekend.

I am hoping the weather cooperates this weekend. Aubrey is coming home! She was originally coming home because we thought we might be putting hay up this weekend, but with all the rain we've had, the hay isn't even cut yet. I doubt it will be cut and baled by the weekend, but who knows... So anyway, there is an open 4-H show at the fairgrounds on Saturday that we just might head over to. We don't want to stay the whole day so we would probably just do the morning classes. I want to take Riskie and Remington. I would do showmanship with Risk, walk/trot with Rem, and Trail with both horses. The show starts at 8 so I imagine we'd be finished by noon. That's about all the showing I can take these days. I get cranky pretty fast when I have to wear show attire.

Sunday is a group lesson, and Aubrey will get to bring her pony! I am very excited.

Now if only it were Friday night instead of Wednesday...

She'll Make A Rope Horse Yet...

2009-06-04T21:41:00.004-05:00

I took a half day of work today, so I could go roping again! Risk is really coming along, and enjoying this team roping business. She is getting good about getting up behind the steer and staying where she belongs. She is beginning to anticipate the turn when the header dallies, which is good and bad. Good because she's learning her job, but also bad because she doesn't always turn the way she should. She likes to leave her hip hanging out there, so I have to use my spur to bring her hip around before we can get in behind the steer.

The good new is that spurs don't bother her anymore! We were tracking a steer pretty good and he stopped to drag right in front of us, Risk hit the breaks and I accidently dug my spurs into her belly as I tried to keep my balance. She wasn't bothered at all this time around. That made me happy, but I also felt bad for sticking her when she was watching out for me. But, she knows when to tolerate it and when to respond now :-)

I think her favorite part is breaking from the box. I just move my hand forward and she goes! That might be my favorite part about roping too. I do like to go fast, and it's so much fun to go from a standstill to a full out gallop in 3 strides.

Breaking from the box (on the wrong lead)

Taking a break.

I know a few of you are wondering what I decided about the Mustang Makeover. I thought it best to sit this one out. I will consider doing the Midwest one again (if there is going to be one), but the gas prices keep jumping up and summer is just beginning. I am going to concentrate on my 2 horses this summer, because I am still learning so much from both of them. Doing the Mustang Challenge really showed me how much I don't know about finishing horses, and that's something I want to get a handle on before I do anymore outside training. I know you can't finish a horse in 100 days, but I feel like if I knew what I know now I could have gotten Remington going better in time for the competition. Anyway, enough of this nonsensical babbling!

Tomorrow is FRIDAY! Yay! There's rain in the forecast for this weekend, so I'm not sure what I'll be doing yet, but if it has anything to do with the ponies, I'll be sure to write about it on Sunday. Hope you all have a good weekend, and stay on TOP of your ponies :-)

June already?

2009-05-31T21:53:00.004-05:00

Seems like May flew by... where did it go? I have been struggling with a decision, though I think I know the answer. The deadline for application for the Eastern States Mustang Makeover is tomorrow. I have been going back and forth on whether or not I should apply again. I really don't think I'll have the money, especially if gas prices keep going up like they say they will. I also don't know that I could let another mustang go... and I know I'd have to. It was easier than I thought to let Luna go to a new home... but I pretty much had an entire year to prepare myself to let her go. I also didn't have near the amount of work in her that I would put into another mustang...

I got an email from her new owner today. She and Luna are working with the barn owner/trainer. She said that the trainer is very impressed with Luna, so that made me feel really good.

Anyway... I could still fax in my application tomorrow... but I haven't asked Aubrey's dad if it would be okay to take on another mustang... it's their facility after all. *sigh* I guess I will sleep on it and see what happens when I wake up...

The weekend was good. Saturday I went to a lesson and we worked on collection for the most part. It was enlightening to say the least :-) I wasn't going to go because I am trying to save money, but I have a hard time passing up a chance to learn more while actually riding my horse.

Later, my mom wanted to go for a ride, so I saddled up Risk for her and I took Remington. We just rode around the property, but it was fun. My mom is so good at stating the obvious when we're around horses... It's not exactly funny at the time but looking back it makes me laugh. Like when Remington lifted his tail to poop... she lets out this huge gasp like she's completely appalled... Really, mom??? You've never seen a horse poop before?? I don't always have the patience I need to explain horseback riding to my mother, so sometimes I get a little short, I hope she doesn't mind. Riskie puts up with her antics well enough, though. After my mom figured out that the reason Risk kept trotting off, was because she was leaning forward, they got along much better. Risk sometimes takes advantage of my mom's inexperience, but I know she wouldn't do anything crazy (it's not like I give my mom spurs to wear!).

I didn't do any riding today, just let the horses out to pasture. The air show was going on this weekend, and Aubrey's place is close to the airport. The horses had the Blue Angels flying over their pasture all weekend. That's quite the desensitizing experience. I don't think they mind as long as there's grass in front of their faces!

Here is Remington wondering why the heck I'm snapping photos instead of unsaddling him and letting him out to eat grass... All the horses are so shiny now, I sure don't miss those shaggy winter coats...

New Bridle

2009-05-28T22:11:00.004-05:00

Here is a photo of Rem and his new bridle... well I guess it's not that new anymore. I got it at Midwest Horse Fair.

It's been rainy all week again, so I haven't done any riding at all. The horses sure are getting fat though. I'll have to start feeding a few flakes of hay and locking them off the pasture soon. Remington is still growing, so he's not quite as fat as the 2 mature mares. They are about ready to burst at the seams.

Hopefully I'll get some riding in this weekend. I can't believe I still have one more day of work. It was a short work week, but it seemed so long... Oh well, maybe tomorrow will go by fast.

Now what??

2009-05-24T20:54:00.003-05:00

Selling my Appaloosa sure has got me wondering what I should call the blog now that I'm down to 1 Appaloosa and 1 Mustang... I'll be thinking about that for a while...

Luna is at her new home now. I am glad I was able to drop her off, it gave me a chance to see where she would be living. It's a really nice place, with very large pastures. I think she will like it, though I am sure she will miss her friends. I wonder if I am humanizing her too much... but I really believe that horses make bonds with other horses that can last a lifetime. I also believe that even after years of being apart a horse will recognize a herd mate. What do you think?

Anyway, before I dropped Luna off I went to roping practice again with Risk. I was able to take her on Tuesday night, too. She's not a rope horse yet, she's still learning, and Tuesday she was still afraid to get up behind the steer in the position she needs to be in order for me to throw my rope... so... today I decided to wear spurs. Well, I have worn spurs on her in the past, but apparently I didn't use them the way I did today, because she got to bucking when I asked her to move up behind the steer. I stayed on her longer than I would have stayed on Remington... but she did get me off. So, I tossed my rope aside and hopped back on... she'll learn to deal with these spurs I told myself. So, I asked again the same way for her to move forward and she got to bucking again, but I was able to hang on this time... though it wasn't pretty. We worked things out and in the end she realized that spurs are not a cue to buck... My trainer tells me that if a horse can tolerate a saddle on his back, then he can tolerate a spur to the belly, and I'd have to agree with him. I know many people think spurs are cruel, and I may have thought that once as well, but just like any other training aid we use, in the right hands (or should I say heels?) they are an excellent aid. The last run I took on Risk was perfect, she broke from the box like a bullet and when my header ducked off to the left she fell right in line behind the steer and set me up for a perfect throw, I was able to catch both heels. This time, she knew what I wanted, and I didn't even have to use my spurs.

Sold! and a busy Sunday...

2009-05-17T21:34:00.005-05:00

Just when I was thinking I'd be holding onto Luna for a while longer, I found a home for her. A woman from Illinois found her on Craigslist, and we'd been emailing back and forth for a week or so. She and her husband came out to see Luna on Saturday.

Luna, happened to be on her worst behavior when they showed up. Probably because of my own nerves... She didn't stand stock still for saddling the way she normally does, but it wasn't that big of a deal. She still stood well for a 3 year old, just not like she usually does. Then, when I took her out to the arena she started screaming for her herd mates. She normally never does that. She insisted on trotting while I longed her, even though I wanted a walk... I finally got it. And then, she wanted to trot off under saddle, which also is not like her. I suppose it's good that they saw the worst of her and still wanted to take her.

Before they left, they said they'd give me a call and let me know their decision, that afternoon. It wasn't 10 minutes after they drove off that I saw their number pop up on my cell phone. I thought for sure, such a quick decision would be that they didn't want to take on such a green horse, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that they really liked her, and wanted to take her! So, next weekend I'll be hauling her to her new home.

I sold her for less than what I was asking on the stipulation that she would get at least 60 days of professional training. I am not sure how much the woman who is buying her knows about green horses, but I do know she has owned horses in the past. Luna will be stabled at a boarding barn, so that makes me feel good. She will have company, and her owner will have good advice from fellow boarders, I hope.

Today was a good full day of riding. Since they put a deposit down on Luna, I decided to go to the group reining lesson this week. We worked on really setting our horses up for their leads. I have a tendency to over bend Rem when I'm asking for a lead. I always thought that you had to have their nose tipped to the inside, but really all you need is for them to give you their chin. Once you have their chin, you can slow their front end down and push their rear end up into it for collection. After that, you ask for their hip to move over with your outside leg, and support with your inside leg so that just their hip comes in, not their shoulder. Then you can ask them to lope off. I don't usually have any problems with my leads, but Remington only knows how to run into them, so breaking it down and making sure I slow his front end before asking really helped him to lope off collected instead of running off. Now I've got something new to practice for a few weeks. It's so exciting to feel my horse getting better and better. I am confident in my ability to start colts, but beyond the basics I can't say that I know a whole lot about finishing a horse. That's why I am taking lessons, to learn what it takes to finish out a horse.

After my lesson, I decided to head over to team roping practice to watch my Uncle Bill, and his friend's, Steve and Bill, rope. I thought about taking Riskie along, but decided against it so I just had Rem with me. Rem got a chance to track a few calves and he did really well. I think he had a good time.

When they got started roping I decided to unsaddle Rem, since he had been wearing it all morning, and just watch. Apparently my Uncle decided that meant I should rope off of one of his horses! Oh boy... I haven't roped in a while, but I thought it might be fun so I agreed. It turned out to be a blast! I had so much fun. I rode my Uncle's youngest horse, Brady. He took good care of me, even though he is kind of new to roping as well. I think he is 6 this year. I was heeling, so I didn't dally or anything like that. I missed most of the time, but I caught a few singles.

Steve decided we should rope for money, so everyone put a dollar in the pot (I only had a 20, so my Uncle paid for me). It was Steve and I against Bill and Bill. Steve talked the Bill's into letting us have 8 points right off the bat, since I'm new to this. Each horn is worth a point and each back leg is worth a point, so you can get 4 total, per steer, but the header and the heeler have to catch in order for them to count, you won't get points if just the header catches.

We had 8 cattle to work with but only 4 counted for points, we took the 4 best runs. I think I caught two singles in our set, so we wound up with 13 points.

Bill and Bill actually missed their first 4 steers, so Steve and I thought we would win for sure. But then, things changed... The Bill's pulled things together and wound up getting points for all four of their last steers. They ended up tying us with 13 points!

It was pretty exciting, actually. We had to have a rope off! We would each get a chance to catch one more steer. Steve and I went first. Steve hardly ever misses, and he caught our steer, but it was only one horn. As I went in to follow I started to swing my rope and it wound up around my horse's head somehow... heh heh... whoops! Steve told me to get untangled and keep trying, so I was able to straighten things out and get up behind the steer, I threw my loop and wound up catching one back leg! So, we had 2 points, even though it wasn't much to watch.

Bill and Bill missed their steer (possibly on purpose, to make me feel good), so Steve and I won the rope-off, and we each won 2 dollars!

I didn't have any photos from this weekend, so instead I'll include some from last year.

Stormy Wednesday

2009-05-13T21:06:00.006-05:00

It's been threatening to rain and storm all day, and it finally decided to let loose as I was driving home from work. I was hoping it would hold off so I could at least get the dogs out to the barn for a little bit, but that didn't happen. I decided I should really get to the gym, because I haven't gone since Saturday, so I went and rode the stationary bike for half an hour. I don't like going when there's so many people there, so I didn't want to hang around for long. I have lost six pounds since April 25th, so I am excited that what I am doing is working. Hopefully I can stick with it.

Caper is very afraid of storms, so he was happy to see me when I got home. He hasn't left my side all night. It is calming down now though, so hopefully he won't stay too stressed out about it.

Caper, happy in this picture because the weather is nice!

Winter is so long that I forget the things I don't care for about Summer... The bugs have been bad lately. Especially the ones that bite the horse's ears. Aubrey learned about parasites last semester, so she was telling me the names of all the different pesky flies, but I forgot them already. All I know is that they're a pain in the butt!!!

Aubrey went to Farm and Fleet yesterday and bought some fly spray for the ponies. However, she forgot the horse cookies.... See all those horses lined up at the gate, patiently waiting for a horse cookie? Well, there was none to be had... I made sure they knew it was Aubrey who forgot, not me... I think they're at least thankful for the fly spray. I'll have to stop and get them some cookies next time I'm out that way.

What do you mean, there's no cookies!?!

Well I hope the rest of the week goes by fast for everyone! I don't have much of anything planned for the weekend, but I'm hoping it's nice so I can get a few good rides in...

Riding Luna

2009-05-12T21:30:00.005-05:00

Luna's face is just about healed up, so it's back to work for her. I saddled her up tonight and took her out to the big arena. I realized I really didn't have any riding pictures of her, besides the few from when I had Aubrey climb on and off when we first started her. Riding pictures would probably help sell her... So, I took advantage of Aubrey and her photo taking skills, once again.

Luna is obviously still very green, she doesn't really have steering down yet, but it's getting there. I can't expect to much because I have taken things so slow with her. I don't believe she's had more than 10 or 11 rides. I guess the main reason I don't want to put too much work into her is because I'll probably end up getting too attached to sell her... and that is not an option. I've got to cut costs somewhere... But, I know she will make someone a great horse, she is so level headed.

I've gotten a few emails from people wanting to see photos, but no one has offered to come out and see her in person yet. I am thinking I should probably put an ad up on a horse for sale site instead of Craigslist... Now that I've got a few photos of her being ridden, that's probably what I'll end up doing.

Rollbacks

2009-05-11T21:53:00.006-05:00

I had Aubrey take a short video of one of the things Rem and I have been working on. Rollbacks!

I think out of the three rollbacks in the video, the first one was the best(shown 2 times). We worked on rollbacks in the last couple of lessons that I took. I took a break from them for a while because I was getting a little frustrated with Rem and myself. I picked them up again a couple days ago, and the break seems to have helped Rem get things together. He is a really fast learner, which is good and bad. He can learn a bad habit pretty quickly, so I was a little hesitant to continue the rollback work by myself, without my trainer there telling me what I need to do. But, at the same time, if I just wait around for a lesson to work on this stuff, we probably won't get much better.

Anyway, here is what I learned about rollbacks from our lesson... you can watch the video and tell me if I'm following the correct sequence.

The single, most important aspect of the rollback is to GET OUT!!! Heh heh. You can do all the other steps, but if your horse doesn't think he needs to get out of there, it won't be a really good rollback. Rollbacks are supposed to be complete 180 degree turns. You can see in the video that Rems rollbacks could be tighter (the first one was okay, probably because we rolled back into the fence). I think I need to get him back on his haunches more when I'm asking him to leave in order to achieve this. Anyway, back to how I cue.

I trot Rem in a straight line and stop. It's important to trot your horse into the stop when practicing rollbacks so he doesn't learn to run off. Once stopped, I ask for a back, first with my reins and once he is started backing I ask him to continue with my spurs. It's important that your horse backs off of leg pressure, and not reins because the rein is what cues him to roll back.

The reason we back our horses before the rollback is to get POWER. The power comes from their hind end, and they're already on their hind end when we ask them to back. Once my horse is backing in a straight line off of my legs, I move my inside leg back, and out of the way to allow his shoulder to come through. I turn my head and look the way I want to roll back, past my horses hip and then I cue him with my neck rein. He should follow my gaze and respond to the neck rein by rocking back on his haunches, doing a complete 180 and GETTING OUT of it.

It's a lot to remember, but Rem has learned that when I move my leg back and out of the way it's time to move. It's a lot of fun, and I'd venture to say that he enjoys it too!

For My Mom

2009-05-10T20:50:00.005-05:00

Rem, Mom and Luna - taken last summer.

Happy Mother's day, to my mom and all the wonderful mom's out there.

I just wanted to take a little time to say how important my mom is to me. She always put my brother and I before herself when we were growing up. She made sure we had all the things we needed and then some.

As most of you know, I've always been horse crazy, and she did everything she could afford to make sure my need to be around horses was met.

We couldn't always afford lessons, so she worked for me to take them. She mucked out stalls at the boarding stable in exchange for me to take riding lessons. She would also drive me out to my Aunt and Uncle's place on many summer weekends so I could ride their horses. (I also have my Grandma to thank, for driving me out on weeknights when my mom worked).

When I graduated high school, I decided it was time I finally owned my own horse. Although I heard from many people that it was not a good idea to buy a horse when I would be heading to school, I did it anyway. My mom has always supported me in my decisions, even when she doesn't think they're always right. She isn't afraid to give me her opinion, but at the same time she doesn't try to persuade me one way or the other. She always says, I need to do what's right for me, not anybody else.

So, I just wanted to say happy Mother's Day, to my mom. Thanks for raising me to be the woman I am today :-)

Lazy Sunday

2009-05-03T11:30:00.005-05:00

Yesterday was fun, although not everything went as planned. I got the truck and trailer hooked up and was ready to go when I realized the truck tire has a slow leak again, and apparently I'm no good with a tire gauge. I thought it was leaking faster than it really was, so I called my uncle and he offered to change the tire for me, so I headed out that way only to find that the truck doesn't even have a spare tire! He told me that the leak wasn't too bad and then he let me borrow his air tank so I could fill it up if it got too low. So, about 2 hours after I said I'd meet Jess, I made it to the trail head! She didn't mind at all, as she had a few errands to run before hand anyway.

It was close to dinner time so we decided to take the trail into a town called Eagle and eat at a bar. The bar has a really nice little enclosed corral set up for horses with individual tie stalls. It's really nice to be able to tie your horse and not worry about them getting loose while you eat!

Just as we were tying the horses up we heard loud cheering from inside the bar... we had just missed the running of the Derby! As we came in we saw Mine That Bird being pulled up on the television. Lots of people were wearing fancy hats at the bar, and one guy was dressed up as Seabiscuit's jockey. That made me laugh. The food was good, but our waitress was new and seemed to be the only one there, so I can't say the service was too good... That's alright though, we still had fun.

The trail that goes into Eagle is really hilly and rocky, so Jess and I didn't really get the ride in that we had hoped. We decided to keep riding past the parking lot in the other direction. Those trails were wide and flat so we let the ponies stretch their legs. Riskie loves to run, and every time Jess and Nash would draw even with us, Riskie would flatten her ears and run faster. Perhaps she was running her own Kentucky Derby :-)

We saw a few whitetail deer on the trail, and Jess and I found it odd that they really weren't afraid of us. We were probably less than 20 feet away and talking loudly and they just stood there staring at us. Riskie spotted them first, I wouldn't have noticed if she hadn't stopped dead in her tracks and raised her head up to stare back at them.

It was a really good ride on a really nice day! I am looking forward to many more this summer.

Luna's face is looking better and better each day. I finally got a picture of it, but it sure doesn't look the way it did on Monday morning. It's gotten considerably smaller, so that's good. I guess I forget how fast horses heal.

I don't have a whole lot planned for today. Probably a nap, and then I might take Rem out for a ride, and finally I've got to pick up more hay tonight. I think weekends need to be 3 days instead of 2...

Derby Pick

2009-05-01T20:58:00.003-05:00

What a relief, this week is finally over! I am looking forward to a pretty relaxing weekend. Tomorrow, my aunt, cousin and mom are going out for lunch to celebrate my mom's birthday. After that, I've got trail riding plans with Jess. I am going to take my mare, Riskie. I need a relaxing ride, so Sir Spooks-a-lot is staying at home!! Heh heh, no he really isn't that bad, he's still a youngster though, and Riskie's feeling neglected so it will be good to get her out on the trail.

My mom and I took a look at the derby field the other night. She hasn't made her pick but I chose "Hold Me Back" for mine. Nobody really stood out to me, but I really like his trainer, Bill Mott. That's pretty much the only reason I picked him. Cigar is my favorite racehorse of all time, and Bill Mott was his trainer. Anyway, I probably won't even get to see the race live, I'll be out riding.

Horse racing is getting harder for me to watch with all the breakdowns happening. I used to follow it rather closely. Aubrey and her family used to go to the races a lot and they would take me along too. We've been to the Preakness and the Breeder's Cup, when it was at Arlington. It was really fun. The best part about it is when the the grand stands aren't crowded and you can go sit right by the track. You can just about feel the horses thundering towards the wire.

Luna's face is much better today. The swelling is all but gone. The wound is still open but I think it will heal okay. I was going to bring my camera to get a picture, because my blog needs more blood and guts I think... but I forgot. Maybe I'll remember tomorrow.

Well I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!! Let me know your derby pick if you have one!

Just two more days until Saturday

2009-04-29T20:24:00.003-05:00

...And that makes me happy.

Monday morning I went out to feed the horses and found Luna with a big gash on her face. I washed it off and it didn't look too deep, but it is still quite a mark. I have been keeping an eye on it because it's swollen. I gave her some penicillin tonight and hosed it off again, so hopefully by tomorrow some of the swelling will have gone down. If not, I'll have to call the vet. It figures, the day after I put a sale ad up for her she goes and wrecks her face!

Haven't gotten a whole lot of riding in, just about a half hour on Monday night with Remington. I joined Anytime Fitness, and I plan on working out 3 mornings a week and once on the weekend. So far so good. I'll be spending my lesson money on this gym membership though, so I won't get to do as many reining lessons. Probably once a month if I'm lucky. That's alright though, I know if I am in shape I will be a better rider, so it's worth it.

Well I hope the rest of the week goes well for everyone. Summer is just around the corner :-)

Rain all weekend

2009-04-26T20:41:00.006-05:00

What a lousy weekend. Luckily, I got plenty of ride time in during the week. I was able to ride almost every night after work. On Thursday I even got to go for a trail ride! A couple friends of mine picked up my horse for me and I met them after work at the trail head. It was a really nice ride. I had them bring my mare, Riskie. They said when they went to pick her up, all 3 mares were at the gate, but Remington was at the far end of the dry lot. Heh heh, he is probably thinking he doesn't want to step foot in another trailer for a while. Midwest Horse Fair is exhausting for everyone involved!

I did saddle him up and ride on Wednesday and Friday, though. He was pretty good, but for some reason still feels the need to get strong when we ride in the big arena. He only does this at home. I really don't mind it... it just puzzles me.

Friday night I was able to let the horses out on grass for about half an hour. I want to get them started on pasture since it's coming up so fast, but I have to introduce them slowly since there is nothing for them to nibble on in the dry lot. I was hoping to increase their time this weekend, but I knew it wouldn't happen with all the rain. Oh well... after tomorrow, we should get some dry weather.

Well, sorry for the boring post. I'll add a couple pictures from Midwest Horse Fair... maybe that will make it better?

Horse Course video is up

2009-04-21T18:36:00.003-05:00

The End of Another Horse Fair

2009-04-19T21:31:00.003-05:00

I am pretty tired, so just a quick update to let you know how things went.

TJ ended up tied for 5th place, and he took Choke HOME! The adopter he had lined up decided she wasn't ready for a young horse, and it worked out well because TJ realized he was in love with his mustang! Such a happy ending :-)

Chase Dodd won the competition with his horse, Pat Summit. She is a beautiful black mare. He was also able to take her home. They had a great finals performance, and I agreed with Ken McNabb, who said Chase showed what his horse could do well and didn't need anything fancy to prove she was a nice horse. Since her flying changes weren't solid, Chase just asked for simple changes and they were beautiful. She stayed calm and collected the whole time, Chase did a great job and he definitely deserved the win.

The majority of the trainers took their horses home. I want to say that out of the 30 horses there, at least 20 went home with their trainers. The adoption prices were lower than last year, but all the horses were adopted.

After being a spectator, I've got the itch to train another one, we'll see what happens though...

I would need to find an adopter for sure if I were to do it again.

Our breed demo went well again today. We did some improvising at the end and we got to race around the arena. Rem had fun with that. He had a lot of pent up energy from being in a stall all weekend, so I'm sure it felt good to tear around in the coliseum. He handled the cheering and clapping really well. I was nervous coming into it, but now I know he can handle it without a fuss. He's such a good horse.

Well, this was supposed to be a short post because I'm beat, so I'll end it here! I've got some video and photos to get up, so stay tuned, I'll get to it as soon as I can.

Choke and TJ are tied for FIRST PLACE!

2009-04-17T19:35:00.006-05:00

How exciting is that? They had an awesome pattern!! Unfortunately I only got to see the first half of the trainers go through. We had our breed demo to get to. The demo actually went okay, I was really worried because the practice we had Thursday was absolutely terrible. We were able to pull it together though, and everything went smoothly.

Not much time for a long post, but I wanted to share the video for those of you who didn't get to see TJ and Choke's performance. It should be done uploading to Youtube sometime this morning, so check for it on my channel. I'll be able to watch the whole ridden competition because we don't have a demo until Sunday. I'll be sure to get video of that for everyone as well!

Mustang Pride 2009 - After our Friday performance. (Horses in red and blue wraps were adopted from local BLM adoptions, and the horses in white are last year's Mustang Challenge horses)

I will be okay...

2009-04-13T20:16:00.004-05:00

Thanks for all the comments, emails and phone calls. I appreciate all the prayers and positive thoughts sent my way. Things will work out one way or another. My Grandma has a spare bedroom and enough room for my dogs too, if things don't work out between me and Joe. Only time will tell.

So until then, Rem is excellent at lending an ear to hear me out and a mane to dry my tears :-)

Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Weekend

2009-04-13T03:10:00.005-05:00

I had just about the worst weekend you can have. I don't see this week making things much better either. It started out well enough, I had Friday off so after the farrier came out I headed to my trainer's place for a lesson. It was really good and he told me it was time Remington learned to go in a shank bit, so we tried one out. Rem did really good in it, so one of the things I'd like to keep an eye out for at Midwest is a nice short-shanked, broken mouth piece bit.

Things went down hill from there... Friday night I found out that my boyfriend of almost 4 years has decided he is not happy here in Wisconsin, and he wants to move back to Texas where he is from. He knows I'm not willing to relocate. He isn't sure yet if he wants to go or not, but I have a bad feeling about this. I think he's a bit young for a mid-life crisis, but what do I know...

Saturday started off with a group lesson which went terribly. We rode outside in the big reining arena. Everyone was loping circles and I was so happy that Rem was staying on the path I set him on. I had him on a loose rein when he tripped and we both went down. My trainer went on to tell me repeatedly why it was my fault he went down because I didn't have him collected and in the bridle. I guess I know better now... The lesson didn't get much better after that. Everyone else in the group was preparing for an upcoming show. Rem isn't ready to show, so we were kind of just there, which bummed me out because I want to show him, but like I said, he isn't ready. It's hard when everyone you ride with has a trained reiner and here I am on my uncoordinated mustang. I'm starting to feel like we don't belong.

Then, it was on to practice for our Demo at Midwest Horse Fair. This was our final practice so we could run through it with music and get the timing down because we only have 1o minutes in the coliseum. Unfortunately not everyone showed up to practice. I guess I just shouldn't worry about it, but we haven't really run through it from start to finish once. I don't even know what's happening for the last 5 minutes. So... if you see our demo and it looks like we have no idea what's going on... it's because we don't.

Can you tell I'm cranky? It's 3:30 in the morning and I just can't sleep. I have so much to do before Thursday and I can't even think straight. I'm pretty stoked that my boyfriend decided to drop that bomb on me just before Horse Fair... I haven't been this upset since my dad died back in 2005. So, if you see me at Horse Fair and I'm crying... don't mind me, I'll be fine :-)

Why Do Weekends Go By So Fast???

2009-04-05T18:50:00.003-05:00

It seems like my weekends are all just one big blur lately. Only 2 more weeks until the Midwest Horse Fair. I am pretty excited. This week I have Friday off and the following I only work Monday and Tuesday because I took a lot of vacation for the Horse Fair. It will be nice to have a break, but at the same time, the Horse Fair goes by quickly as well.

The mustang preview went really good! There was a pretty good turnout and Choke handled all her admirers with the grace of a seasoned show horse! She was quite a ham... yawning while TJ was talking :-) Several times we got to clap for her, and though she held her head a little higher, I am sure it was more to show off as opposed to being startled. I think she'll do just fine with the crowds at the Horse Fair.

She is coming along as well as she could be. TJ explained that he's taken things slow with her so as not to ruin her. She is probably a little younger than the BLM has her listed. Most likely she's a long 2 year old, instead of a 3 year old. She is also built very downhill, though she may level out, but it is a disadvantage for her. Being downhill makes things much harder, especially collection and using her hind end. Regardless of her faults and setbacks she is still a wonderful little horse and I can't wait to see her compete with TJ at the Horse Fair!!

I didn't have my camera with me, but I think Tracy got a few photos. I might be able to get her to send me some to share. I will for sure have my camera with me at Midwest. I am going to film TJ and Choke's in hand and ridden competition, as well as their Top 10 performance if they get that far. I have pretty good seats for the Saturday night show, so I'm excited!!

Mustang Preview

2009-04-03T18:21:00.004-05:00

TJ and Tracy are putting on a mustang preview at The Farm tomorrow! It is from 11-3, and they're asking for a donation of $5. Bring your own lawn chair! There will be a food stand as well.

Come see what Choke's learned, just 2 weeks before the competition!!

Mustang Pride is also going to be doing a tent pegging demo!

The address is 9736 N. Serns Road, Milton WI. See you there!!

Spins

2009-04-01T10:41:00.006-05:00

Last weekend was pretty lousy. It snowed on Saturday into Sunday morning, so practice for our Mustang demo was canceled. I didn't want to haul anywhere, but we had a lesson scheduled, so I rode my trainer's horse, Melvin. We did a refresher on rollbacks and then did some exercises to improve our spin. We did lots of sidepassing.

It was really fun to spin Melvin. He is very correct in his spin. Remington could learn a lot from him... But, that's the point I suppose, I learn what it feels like to ride a correct spin and then I can correct Rem and help him out more.

After the lesson I went out to the barn and rode Rem in the small arena. I thought he did really well. I rode him Monday and Tuesday as well. Today I decided to bring the camera out because even though I think he feels okay, I am still not 100% sure where his feet are at all times. I need to get better at knowing that. After reviewing the video, I realized he is moving his butt just as much as he is moving his front end when we spin to the right. He also hasn't got the cross over down yet.

To the left he is much better, but things still aren't as smooth as they could be. I am okay with where we are to the left though. I took a break from working on the spin in December and am just now coming back to it. You can see in the video he is still moving too much, as we start in one place and end up in another. You can also see him really trying to get the correct foot fall, but it's not quite fluid enough yet. He looks a little dizzy at the end... That was our good way, I'm not even going to show what we look like to the right!!

Anyway, plenty of room for improvement. I'm trying not to get frustrated because this is a time consuming process, especially for a horse who wasn't bred to do this sort of thing, and a girl who doesn't know exactly what she's doing...

Circles

2009-03-27T10:10:00.005-05:00

I got to ride this morning. It was cold, so the ground was hard enough to support us without getting too torn up.

I decided to work on our circles again... they need a lot of work, especially now that Rem has decided he enjoys running around like crazy...

Last fall I learned a neat exercise at one of my lessons that really improves your horse's circles.

It is like a 4 leaf clover pattern, or a quartered circle pattern. When most people think of a clover leaf pattern they think of barrel racing, but this is not like a barrel pattern. There are no lead changes involved and also no tight turns.

You start off in the middle of the pattern you're about to make and lope off in a straight line, as soon as you reach the outside edge of your circle you take a left (or a right depending on which direction/lead you'd like to pursue). Lope a quarter of the way around your circle and take another left and go straight through the center to the other outer edge of the circle. Continue until you've made a complete clover pattern. I'll attach a diagram for clarification.

(This is not a good example of my photoshop skills... but it gets the message across I hope)

Because you are only loping a quarter circle before you change directions to the inside, your horse will learn not to drift out when doing full circles. An important thing to remember when doing this pattern and circles in general is to look ahead at where you're going. One of my biggest problems is looking down at my horse instead of where we are going, and I find if someone is there to yell at me to look ahead, my patterns/circles improve so much just by doing that simple thing!

I started loping Rem today on just a regular circle, but it was more like an oval bowing towards the gate, followed by who knows what kind of shape when he decided he should run straight to the fence with his head bent left *sigh* So, I decided to practice this pattern, and sure enough after doing a full clover, his circles were 10 times better. No more bowing out! I should mention that when doing this pattern and circles you should stay away from the rail. You don't want your horse to rely on the rail for exercises like this.

This pattern can also be done at the trot, which I would recommend first if you've never done it before, just to learn it. Either way, your horse will be doing perfect circles in no time!!

Something to Hang on Rem's Stall

2009-03-26T21:13:00.004-05:00

I made this to hang on Remington's stall at the Midwest Horse Fair. I thought I would share :-)

I've been working on my photoshop skills... in case I find myself unemployed... because the way things are these days, you never know what will happen.

Sunday Stuff

2009-03-23T21:35:00.006-05:00

Sunday was another gorgeous day. I think it got close to sixty degrees out.

Mustang Pride practice was at 11 a.m. I left early to pick up a few horses and got to Tracy's at about ten to 11. We needed a big space to practice so we went out to one of the back pastures and marked off the size of the coliseum arena. We are working on a drill for the first part of our demo, and it's a lot of work. I came up with a lot of it, but I am not a drill expert, so some areas are a little hard to get and we needed to revise them to make things easier. We spent a lot of time on that, but I think once we have it figured out it will look nice.

After we finished with the practice, Jess and I decided to continue riding. We switched horses for a little bit, and that was fun. I rode Nash around and she took Rem. They were both good for us, but it sure is different to ride someone else's horse when you are used to your own.

We switched back and decided to ride around the pasture... it is HUGE! Once we got down the big hill we let the mustangs stretch their legs and run. It was so much fun! I was calling out the race between Seabiscuit (Remington) and War Admiral (Nash). I think Nash would have beat Remington if he hadn't started bucking at the end of our "race" heh heh. He was just having a good time though!

It was so nice that we didn't want to quit riding, so Tracy, Jess, her mom, Shannon and I all went across the road to a pond to let the horses have fun in the water. I had to stop, get off and take Rem's polos off, and he took that as an invitation to lay down!!! GRRRR.... I made him get up right away. After I took his wraps off we followed everyone into the pond and had fun walking through it. It was almost up to Rem's belly in some spots. I didn't let him put his head down and I kept him moving... there was no way I was going to let him lay down in the WATER!! He didn't try so I was happy.

It was quite a day, and I am so glad that the rainy weather held off until today! Too bad my arena is going to be soggy all week now :-( So much for riding 3 times during the week. Oh well... it was worth a shot, maybe next week things will stay dry.

Here is a picture Aubrey took a few weeks ago of me and my sleepy mare, Riskie, with Chocolate standing guard.

What a Great Day!

2009-03-21T15:12:00.004-05:00

Happy Aussies!

Sweaty Rem after a good ride.

This morning Joe and I went out for breakfast at Cracker Barrel. The french toast there is the best! It was a little chilly in the morning, but it really warmed up after 11. Joe went up to Madison, so I was on my own for the afternoon and decided to head out to the barn of course. The dogs were happy to come along too. They will sleep good tonight.

First, I decided to ride Remington. Gone was the lazy mustang I've come to know so well. Remington was full of it. He must be feeling good now that the weather is nice! I wanted to work on his turn around but I wasn't getting very far so I decided to work on his circles. That was interesting. He was very strong, never out of control, but there were times I had to check my brakes. He just wanted to tear around, and I guess I can't blame him. So after several circles at the hand gallop he finally relaxed and did a few nice circles at a slower canter. I was happy with that. I went back to working on his turn around and it went okay to the left, but he still has all kinds of trouble to the right. He just needs to learn how to cross over in front consistently and I think he'll have it.

He was soaked by the time we were done so I walked him until he quit breathing hard and then took him to the barn to unsaddle. After that I gave him a good grooming and clipped his feet for Midwest. I am sick of those silly feathers... He's a Mustang, not a draft horse!!

I had thought about riding Luna, but after seeing Rem turn into a fire breathing dragon on such a nice day, I decided to just take a relaxing ride on Risk. I gave her a good brushing, cinched up the bareback pad, and we were off. The dogs got to tag along too. It was a really good ride, one that makes you think how lucky you are to have a horse of your own!

Here are a few photos I took of Choke and TJ last week. You can see all the things they've been up to!

Lessons and a Choke Update

2009-03-20T19:31:00.006-05:00

So, I've been meaning to get this post up all week, but I've just been too lazy, to be quite honest. But, it's the end of the week and I'm feeling good, so I thought I should get it up before I forget completely what I was even going to blog about!

First I'll tell you about Choke. She's coming along nicely, and TJ told me the most exciting news! Ready for it?? Choke has an adopter, already lined up!!! I was so happy to hear that. Choke's adopter plans to be the highest bidder after the Challenge and then keep her in training with TJ for another year. She'll have one heck of a horse when TJ's through with her! I hope this wasn't a secret or anything... But I thought it was great news!

Anyway, I have a short video from last Sunday of Choke and TJ outside, I just have to get it uploaded to YouTube. Watch for it here within the next couple of days. The weather was really nice and Choke was feeling pretty good. TJ showed me the things they've been working on. She is getting started on flying changes and I didn't have the video going when TJ showed me what she could do. She is getting there, but I didn't catch a clean one on video. I am sure she'll have it down by the Horse Fair. She moves off of leg really well and seems like a really nice ride. Very responsive and soft. TJ hasn't talked too much about what he'd do if he made it into the top ten, but I know that is his goal ( I'm sure it's every trainer's goal!). As long as Choke can handle the crowds, I think he's got a pretty good chance.

Last Sunday I also had a reining lesson. We've been working on stops for the past 3 lessons so that is what we started out with that day. Rem was a little bit wiggly to start with, but after a few times down and back he remembered what we were doing. Since Rem has never fenced before, we were only working on going long, from one end of the arena to the other. Well last lesson he was finally ready to stop short, in the middle of the arena. In order to get a good, powerful stop, your horse has to be moving forward freely, and straight, so taking them all the way from one end to the other gets them thinking about that. When they are doing that comfortably you can ask them for a stop before you get to the wall. The first time I did that, Rem wasn't expecting it so he kind of ran through it, but that was to be expected. So I asked him to move forward and stopped him short again and one more time before we reached the wall. The next time we went short it was much better.

The second half of the lesson we worked on rollbacks. Our riding instructor has had us back our horses up after every stop so that they are thinking back before they even come to a stop. In order to do our rollbacks we are supposed to have our horses backing off of our leg on a loose rein. I wasn't sure if Rem would understand this concept right away, but he did really well... after I was shown how to use my spurs correctly.

His rollbacks were good once I figured out how to ask properly. I almost got left behind on one of them and my butt slammed into the cantle of my saddle. It was pretty cool to feel how powerful a correct rollback is!

I am going to make an honest effort to blog more than once a week now that it's getting nicer out. I only rode one morning this week, but I'm hoping to start riding at least 3 times during the week and then both days on the weekends. We'll see what happens :-) That's all I've got for now.

Sorry to Disappoint

2009-03-11T22:18:00.006-05:00

So, I thought I would have an update with video and photos, but alas, I do not. You see, it was cold and rainy on Sunday, and I was tired. We did get our demo somewhat figured out for Midwest Horse Fair, but we've still got a few things to work out. Rem was quite lazy, but he did not lay down! Yay! Aubrey came along too, but she had to fill in for someone who couldn't be at practice, so she was participating, no time to take pics or videos...

TJ did bring Choke out at the end of practice. The first thing he showed everyone was how easy she lays down for him. I was surprised at how calm she was around so many new horses. She didn't bat an eye. She's such a good girl. Her coat is amazing, too! I wish I had started blanketing Rem in January, maybe he'd have a nice coat by now... but no, I'll be stuck riding a Yak for the horse fair. Oh well, he's my Yak and I wouldn't trade him for the world.

The good news is that this weekend is shaping up to be a little nicer than last, at least there's no rain in the forecast. I'm hoping it stays that way! I am headed down to Chicago, bright and early on Saturday morning to pick up Joe from the airport. He's in Texas this week for a family reunion. I'm hoping to ride in the afternoon, but I'll probably need a nap first! Then, I have a group reining lesson at 8a.m. on Sunday, followed by practice at 11. Rem, once again, will not be happy with me. It's good for him, right? I'll just tell myself that, and then I won't feel so bad. I wish I could ride him during the week, but the ground hasn't been good enough, and the small arena just isn't enough room to make riding worthwhile. It's good for starting colts, but beyond that there isn't much you can do in a 36 by 36 area. So I'm limited to hauling to indoor arenas... *sigh*

Lots of rambling in this post... I don't normally do that! Oh! And! I was tagged by Tracey of Mustang Diaries a while back... Here are the rules!

The game is this: Find the 6th folder and then the 6th photo from that folder in your files and post it.

Surprise! Or not.... A picture of Remington! Looking very un-yak-like. How nice.

Now, since Tracey has tagged several of the victims I would have chosen I'm just going to tag one person... And that is Jennifer from How Did This Happen?, she likes to tag me, so it's only fair!

I also found this photo, which I took to show the size of the UNFINISHED painting that I started for Pattie.

I AM going to have it finished by Horse Fair so I can give it to her then. I was also thinking about doing a pastel drawing to see which one I like better, painting has never been my favorite, and I'm noticing some things on this one that are starting to bug me. I'm thinking it's the angle that this photo was taken at, but his head is looking rather small... we all know mustangs have HUGE heads :-) I really do prefer chalk pastels, great time to change my mind, huh?