Mother Nature and I, we're going to have words if she doesn't get her sh*t together soon. This is outrageous! Spring officially started March 20 but apparently no one informed the SWVA weather gods, because it's still in the 30s/40s then they'll tease us with a super nice day and then fall back down into winter temps again. I'm pulling my hair out over here!
However, today was one of those fleetingly, brilliantly, beautiful days and I'm so glad for it!! The boyfriend and I both had off work yesterday since it was Good Friday and originally I was going to take Boo to Pat's so we could get sales pics of him and a few of her sales horses but she had a scheduling conflict so instead the boyfriend and I took Boo and Reily over to play at Green Hill Park today. One of my friends from the Blue Ridge Eventing Association proved to have superb timing when she called me in the morning to see if I wanted to do any riding so I told her to pack up her guys and meet us over at GHP.
We got some decent sales photos and video of Boo being a good little dressage pony. When we were done I changed his tack to western so we could do some "trail" pics with the boyfriend on him riding around, taking him through the water, etc. They both did great. Boo even trotted a couple times and, bless his heart, the boyfriend didn't ask for it but he kept his cool and brought him back to a walk without issue. I'm glad he's getting more confident because if Boo had have done that the first time he was on him he probably would have gotten freaked out. It's funny how horses have a way of knowing exactly how much their rider can handle
Reily got to go up on the hill and hack around and I was only planning on popping him over a couple little jumps, nothing major. But he had so much energy he was so excited to be out there!! I think I need to start using Boo's jumping bit on him when we go out there because he gets so pumped that he can get a little out of control. It doesn't scare me when he gets like that, but when your power steering goes out on the way to a XC jump it's not good for his training because you run the risk of him learning to run out since he's not concentrating. I try to never use any more bit than I really need, but we both end up pulling so much in the boucher that the snaffle is no longer being forgiving. My friend told me about a great exercise she learned at a Lucinda Greene clinic where you walk them straight up to the base of a good sized log (we're talking a Novice or Training level size jump) and have them jump it from the walk. This really helps them sit back on their haunchs and get their hindend up under themself to push off as there's no momentum to carry them over since you approach at the walk. Reily did NOT understand this question at first but after I got him over it once it clicked. He's super smart like that ;) He fumbled over the first couple of times then really started to approach it with a big confident march and popped right over. I need to get a neck strap for this though because it's such a quick action it's hard to not get left behind! I'm definitely going to practice some more at home but I'm afraid the biggest solid jumps I have at home are barrels and they're only about 2' or 2'3" at best and I know that's not going to be big enough to make him bother to raise up enough to really push from his hindend since it's not big enough to make it any work to try and clear it. Maybe we'll just have to build a log pile out in the field! He was so full of himself that at one point we were cantering away from a jump and he was pulling so hard I just sort of gave him a slack rein then squeezed and clucked and pumped the reins a couple times and pushed him into an all out gallop across the top of the hill. He LOVED that and I loved it and all I could hear was the sound of the wind as we flew across the turf. Now I know why jockeys are so addicted to what they do!! He wasn't even at top speed and I felt like we were flying! When we reached the tree line we pulled up and I walked him back to where my friend and the boyfriend were on the other horses and said to my friend, "If this horse could do a novice level XC round at the pace of Advanced he'd be the happiest horse on the face of the planet!" My friend just sort of chuckled and said, "Celeste, I'm pretty sure that's what he just did!" I thought about walking him all the way to the far end of the hill and them setting him loose again but I didn't want to push our luck. Neither one of us is really back in fit shape yet so we'll save that experience for next time ;)
My friend also brought her daughters horse to GHP and I jumped on him for a few minutes just for fun since I'd heard so much about him recently. He was super cute!! He's small but he moves a lot bigger then his size would suggest and has very comfortable gaits. After we got done playing we packed up and took the boys home for some well deserved rest. Although Reily was none to happy that he'd only been grazing with everyone in the yard for an hour or so when I came out and took him to the cross ties so I could work on his mane. He looked like such a hippy today while we were out and I couldn't take it any longer and the weather was finally nice enough that I could work outside without needing gloves for an extended period of time. Gloves and/or frozen fingers are not conducive to good mane pulling, only conducive to frostbite/cut fingers. So I got about half his mane done tonight and now he looks like a dofus, poor man. Tomorrow is supposed to be cold and rainy but hopefully some time next week I'll be able to finish it!
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Monday, March 18, 2013
Expensive Month #2
The herd got their shots/coggins today (yay!) and I'll get the bill sometime in the near-ish future (not yay!). That makes this the second expensive month in a row since they got their teeth floated last month. Thank goodness I've got a good job!
Funny comment though. Reily is supposed to be allowed to start jumping again this week and so I asked my vet if there was anything she needed to check him for while she was there to make sure he'd be fine to start back and she looked down at his legs and with the longer winter hair he's still got right now she couldn't even see the splint at first. When I pointed it out she was like, "Oh my god, that's TINY!! He'll be fine to start jumping!". So hooray for that at least!
Funny comment though. Reily is supposed to be allowed to start jumping again this week and so I asked my vet if there was anything she needed to check him for while she was there to make sure he'd be fine to start back and she looked down at his legs and with the longer winter hair he's still got right now she couldn't even see the splint at first. When I pointed it out she was like, "Oh my god, that's TINY!! He'll be fine to start jumping!". So hooray for that at least!
Sunday, March 17, 2013
I wish it paid to be an ostrich
Confused? Have you ever heard someone joking about being like an ostrich, just stick your head in the sand and pretend that nothing is wrong? I'm not sure if ostriches really do this in the wild (if so I sure do wonder how they've not yet gone extinct??) but I've heard tons of puns and jokes about it and they really all relate to us humans being in some form of denial. Well I have to finally admit something. I've spent the last nine years in denial about one very important part of my life and that's Boo.
I never should have gotten Boo in the first place because if the people who were supposed to be looking out for my best interests were really doing that they would not have let me adopt this horse. I was young, inexperienced and naive and Boo was green, spooky, dishonest and on many occasions down right dangerous. Just because I had a "velcro butt" and wanted a younger horse to keep competing with after Scotty retired and Boo was a free donation horse through the 4-H program didn't make it a safe or smart decision to allow me to take him. Luckily, I've never suffered any catastrophic injuries from riding him and he's definitely made me a better, stronger rider over the years but I took my fair share of falls off Boo. And worse than that, my confidence took a major beating for years because I couldn't trust my partner.
I've spent the last nine years doing everything in my power to try and help Boo to enjoy the job that I was asking him to do, which was primarily to jump at events and hunter/jumper shows. Over the years I've tried countless things including, but by no means limited to: dental work, chiropractic, riser pads, saddle changes, bit changes, riding lessons, schooling and numerous other life experience opportunities. Nothing has fixed the problem. Granted, I can take the blame for a lot of it over the years because I was such a green rider that I had no business trying to train such a green, difficult horse. But after countless hours and the blood, sweat, and tears that we've invested I have finally come to terms with the fact that my horse just does not want to be a jumping horse.
Now, I'm not saying that it was all a waste! I'm a better rider for having had him and he's a better horse for having been with me, but his heart isn't in it and his brain never has been. I'm incredibly proud of the fact that I've managed to train him up to 3'3" fences but he's unpredictable and often times down right dishonest. I used to think that this was a bad behavior that I could help him overcome by instilling confidence in his abilities and helping him to be physically fit enough to do it safely and soundly, but when it comes down to it I was turning a deaf ear on him and refusing to listen to what he was trying to tell me. Boo is more than physically capable of jumping well over 3'3" but he doesn't want to and I've done us both a disservice by refusing to listen.
I've had this growing voice in the back of my head for about a year now. However, the moment of my real enlightenment occurred this weekend. Reily is not jumping again until next week and won't be jumping in any shows for at least a month after that and I didn't want to take him to the Thoroughbred Celebration Horse Show at the VA Horse Center in Lexington just to do flat classes so he was staying home, but I entered Boo in the 2'7" and 3'1" jumper classes on Saturday evening. To be fully prepared I took him to Pat's last Saturday for a jumping lesson and it was good but he pulled some of his typical shenanigans and Pat finally got to see what I meant when I would talk to her about his behavior. So yesterday we got up there with plenty of time to go check in at the show office, get him clean and tacked up and the wonderful boyfriend held him for me while I walked the course and got comfortable with my plan. We were at the end of the order of go in the second class of the night and it took a good hour and a half before we got in the ring, but he was calm and relaxed on the grounds and we warmed up well over some smaller jumps then we raised them to 2'9" and 3' and he jumped those in fine fashion so I was thinking, "Yeah, this course won't be any problem, 2"7" is small and those are all jumper-type jumps, no fillers or scary walls for him to peak at." I felt really confident heading into the ring. He was well in-front of my leg and I even gave him a little tap with the crop to remind him that I meant business and I wasn't afraid to use the lord stick if he sucked back. We went in and he was looky as we circled through then started cantering to the first jump. Ten, count them, TEN strides out this horse had already thrown in the towel. There was absolutely nothing I was doing wrong. I was sitting up. I was squeezing as hard as I could. I was using my spurs. So I reached back and smacked him on the ass as hard as I could and cantered him in a circle to re-approach. Despite everything he cantered the last 5 strides up to the jump perfectly sideways. To be honest, it would have been a beautiful canter half-pass if that had been what I was actually asking for but obviously it wasn't. The third and final attempt I thought maybe we would actually get over it because I finally managed to get him straight but he pulled a dirty stop right at the base and we were dismissed. There was nothing else to do but shake my head and walk out of the ring. But that was the final straw, the one that broke the camel's back as they say. At the time I was so mad at him and humiliated for the both of us that if someone had have offered to put him on their trailer and take him home with them I would have just handed him over and said good luck. But of course, despite all of the long years of aggravation and disappointment, I still care about the stupid beast and want him to have a good home.
I'm going to advertise him as a flat horse ONLY. He won't go to anyone who has any interest in jumping, period. What I'll be looking for is someone who wants a horse that they can love and shower with affection but have no real competitive ambitions. His perfect fit would be a home where he might do a little w/t/c or dressage work a couple days a week but better yet he'd LOVE to be someone's trail buddy. He's ridden out extensively with me and he's always been happiest just wandering around, getting lost in the woods and eventually finding our way home. He could be a low level dressage horse for someone who wants to show a handful of times a year but this horse just doesn't want to be asked to be truely competitive. I plan to do a home inspection, call references, and write into the sales contract a legally binding addendum that I have to be offered the right of first refusal if they ever decide to sell him and that I get to come visit and check up on him throughout the year. Some people may be turned off by that, thinking that I'm being overbearing but a real horseman will understand that I'm only looking out for the best interests of my horse.
It's been a long time coming and I truly think we'll both be happier in the long run. It's just hard to admit that it's time to let go and move on. So, like I was saying, I wish it actually paid to be an ostrich.
I never should have gotten Boo in the first place because if the people who were supposed to be looking out for my best interests were really doing that they would not have let me adopt this horse. I was young, inexperienced and naive and Boo was green, spooky, dishonest and on many occasions down right dangerous. Just because I had a "velcro butt" and wanted a younger horse to keep competing with after Scotty retired and Boo was a free donation horse through the 4-H program didn't make it a safe or smart decision to allow me to take him. Luckily, I've never suffered any catastrophic injuries from riding him and he's definitely made me a better, stronger rider over the years but I took my fair share of falls off Boo. And worse than that, my confidence took a major beating for years because I couldn't trust my partner.
I've spent the last nine years doing everything in my power to try and help Boo to enjoy the job that I was asking him to do, which was primarily to jump at events and hunter/jumper shows. Over the years I've tried countless things including, but by no means limited to: dental work, chiropractic, riser pads, saddle changes, bit changes, riding lessons, schooling and numerous other life experience opportunities. Nothing has fixed the problem. Granted, I can take the blame for a lot of it over the years because I was such a green rider that I had no business trying to train such a green, difficult horse. But after countless hours and the blood, sweat, and tears that we've invested I have finally come to terms with the fact that my horse just does not want to be a jumping horse.
Now, I'm not saying that it was all a waste! I'm a better rider for having had him and he's a better horse for having been with me, but his heart isn't in it and his brain never has been. I'm incredibly proud of the fact that I've managed to train him up to 3'3" fences but he's unpredictable and often times down right dishonest. I used to think that this was a bad behavior that I could help him overcome by instilling confidence in his abilities and helping him to be physically fit enough to do it safely and soundly, but when it comes down to it I was turning a deaf ear on him and refusing to listen to what he was trying to tell me. Boo is more than physically capable of jumping well over 3'3" but he doesn't want to and I've done us both a disservice by refusing to listen.
I've had this growing voice in the back of my head for about a year now. However, the moment of my real enlightenment occurred this weekend. Reily is not jumping again until next week and won't be jumping in any shows for at least a month after that and I didn't want to take him to the Thoroughbred Celebration Horse Show at the VA Horse Center in Lexington just to do flat classes so he was staying home, but I entered Boo in the 2'7" and 3'1" jumper classes on Saturday evening. To be fully prepared I took him to Pat's last Saturday for a jumping lesson and it was good but he pulled some of his typical shenanigans and Pat finally got to see what I meant when I would talk to her about his behavior. So yesterday we got up there with plenty of time to go check in at the show office, get him clean and tacked up and the wonderful boyfriend held him for me while I walked the course and got comfortable with my plan. We were at the end of the order of go in the second class of the night and it took a good hour and a half before we got in the ring, but he was calm and relaxed on the grounds and we warmed up well over some smaller jumps then we raised them to 2'9" and 3' and he jumped those in fine fashion so I was thinking, "Yeah, this course won't be any problem, 2"7" is small and those are all jumper-type jumps, no fillers or scary walls for him to peak at." I felt really confident heading into the ring. He was well in-front of my leg and I even gave him a little tap with the crop to remind him that I meant business and I wasn't afraid to use the lord stick if he sucked back. We went in and he was looky as we circled through then started cantering to the first jump. Ten, count them, TEN strides out this horse had already thrown in the towel. There was absolutely nothing I was doing wrong. I was sitting up. I was squeezing as hard as I could. I was using my spurs. So I reached back and smacked him on the ass as hard as I could and cantered him in a circle to re-approach. Despite everything he cantered the last 5 strides up to the jump perfectly sideways. To be honest, it would have been a beautiful canter half-pass if that had been what I was actually asking for but obviously it wasn't. The third and final attempt I thought maybe we would actually get over it because I finally managed to get him straight but he pulled a dirty stop right at the base and we were dismissed. There was nothing else to do but shake my head and walk out of the ring. But that was the final straw, the one that broke the camel's back as they say. At the time I was so mad at him and humiliated for the both of us that if someone had have offered to put him on their trailer and take him home with them I would have just handed him over and said good luck. But of course, despite all of the long years of aggravation and disappointment, I still care about the stupid beast and want him to have a good home.
I'm going to advertise him as a flat horse ONLY. He won't go to anyone who has any interest in jumping, period. What I'll be looking for is someone who wants a horse that they can love and shower with affection but have no real competitive ambitions. His perfect fit would be a home where he might do a little w/t/c or dressage work a couple days a week but better yet he'd LOVE to be someone's trail buddy. He's ridden out extensively with me and he's always been happiest just wandering around, getting lost in the woods and eventually finding our way home. He could be a low level dressage horse for someone who wants to show a handful of times a year but this horse just doesn't want to be asked to be truely competitive. I plan to do a home inspection, call references, and write into the sales contract a legally binding addendum that I have to be offered the right of first refusal if they ever decide to sell him and that I get to come visit and check up on him throughout the year. Some people may be turned off by that, thinking that I'm being overbearing but a real horseman will understand that I'm only looking out for the best interests of my horse.
It's been a long time coming and I truly think we'll both be happier in the long run. It's just hard to admit that it's time to let go and move on. So, like I was saying, I wish it actually paid to be an ostrich.
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Tally ho!
Talked to my vet today and she's cleared Reily to start canter work again, hooooooray!!!!!! She said to give him 2 weeks cantering and if all is still going smoothly he can get back to jumping after that :) And she'll be out on the 18th to do spring shots and coggins so she can check him over personally right at the end of the 2 weeks. So excited to start really getting him back in shape, he'd lost so much of his top line and he currently looks like a great big hippy. It'll be time for a trim ASAP!!
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Same old, same old
So I haven't bothered to post much because I haven't had much news to share. But here's a quick update on what's going on with the boys. A friend of mine has begun to part lease Boo and she's coming out to ride him 2x/week which is great for all of us! She's getting to actually ride on a regular basis, Boo's getting more work and starting to get back in shape, and for once he's earning a small portion of his keep, Woohoo!
I'm glad she's riding him as well because I think it give us both a mental break from each other as I think I've got such a long history with Boo that I get sort of nagging towards him sometimes when we ride. But knowing she's working him twice a week and I'll usually get on him at least twice a week as well I know he's getting 4-6 days of work now rather than the scattered ride on an unpredictable schedule. Of course, it doesn't hurt that the weather is finally starting to act like spring will exist again in the future!
Reily is still recuperating but we've begun to get him moving again. We'll walk for about 2-3 weeks, then start introducing trot for another 2 or so weeks and if the vet gives him the all clear we can start cantering again after that. But you can't help but love a horse that's had 5 weeks off work and yet I've gotten on him bareback with a bridle and ridden him around the field for the last 2 days without him ever even having a thought about bucking, squealing, or generally acting up in any fashion. This one, he's a keeper!!
I'm glad she's riding him as well because I think it give us both a mental break from each other as I think I've got such a long history with Boo that I get sort of nagging towards him sometimes when we ride. But knowing she's working him twice a week and I'll usually get on him at least twice a week as well I know he's getting 4-6 days of work now rather than the scattered ride on an unpredictable schedule. Of course, it doesn't hurt that the weather is finally starting to act like spring will exist again in the future!
Reily is still recuperating but we've begun to get him moving again. We'll walk for about 2-3 weeks, then start introducing trot for another 2 or so weeks and if the vet gives him the all clear we can start cantering again after that. But you can't help but love a horse that's had 5 weeks off work and yet I've gotten on him bareback with a bridle and ridden him around the field for the last 2 days without him ever even having a thought about bucking, squealing, or generally acting up in any fashion. This one, he's a keeper!!
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Say carrot!
Napoleon, Boo, and Reily all got their pearly whites filed down today. I thought for sure the vet was going to chastise me for letting them get over due because it had been closer to 18 months since they last got done, but I was happily suprised when she said they were about par with were they would be anyways and when she got done she said they could all go for at least another 12 months maybe another 18 before needing to be refloated. So if I think of that vet bill as being spread out over that length of time, it's actually incredibly reasonable ;) Glad they're all healthy and happy!
Thursday, January 31, 2013
The Thoroughbred of...
How do you want to finish that? There are several options.
The Thoroughbred of Transportation
The Thoroughbred of Safety
The Thoroughbred of ...
I'm sure there are more, I just can't think of them right now.
I got the job offer from Norfolk Southern Corporation (aka "The Railroad" as it's none here in the 'Noke) back before Thanksgiving and I started the first week of December.
I really do like it at NS! Even though the RR is a breed all it's own and there's a billion weird rules to learn dealing with a unionized company, the people are great!! I work in one of the two Payroll departments and I just love my co-workers. Everyone is uber friendly, super helpful when I have a question, and even though I feared that I would be bored out of my mind because I wouldn't have much to do they always found some lingering project that I could work on when my normal job duties were sparse. The most randomly fun thing about working for NS though... everyone knows what a TB is! So when people find out I have horses and they ask what kind I can say 2 are TBs and everyone is like, "Wow that's so cool! You were meant to work here!" rather than, "What's that mean? Does that mean it's a pure bred horse?".
However, I find it both comical and ironic that NS brands itself with the TB in its logo and all of it's "statements" and I'll explain why:
1) Calling itself the TB of transportation is a total oxymoron. One of our trains, on average, can move 1 ton (that's 2,000 lbs) of freight over 436 miles on a single gallon of fuel. In contrast, it seems like an average TB can burn an outrageous number of calories just walking around the field so you constantly have to feed them a much higher concentrate ration than other horses.
2) As evidenced by my dear boy Reily, TBs are a far cry from the safest creatures on the planet. Horses in general are self destructive and TBs in particular, with their athletic drive, slim figure and thin skin they seem to constantly be on the mend from one issue or another. Not to mention, with TBs like Boo, well he just has half a brain or something and is always spooking or bucking or kicking, etc. and if I was on a train that pulls something similar to his stunts, lets just say I wouldn't be here to write this now.
But I'm loving my new job, despite the fact that they have no idea what an actual Thoroughbred is like.
The Thoroughbred of Transportation
The Thoroughbred of Safety
The Thoroughbred of ...
I'm sure there are more, I just can't think of them right now.
I got the job offer from Norfolk Southern Corporation (aka "The Railroad" as it's none here in the 'Noke) back before Thanksgiving and I started the first week of December.
I really do like it at NS! Even though the RR is a breed all it's own and there's a billion weird rules to learn dealing with a unionized company, the people are great!! I work in one of the two Payroll departments and I just love my co-workers. Everyone is uber friendly, super helpful when I have a question, and even though I feared that I would be bored out of my mind because I wouldn't have much to do they always found some lingering project that I could work on when my normal job duties were sparse. The most randomly fun thing about working for NS though... everyone knows what a TB is! So when people find out I have horses and they ask what kind I can say 2 are TBs and everyone is like, "Wow that's so cool! You were meant to work here!" rather than, "What's that mean? Does that mean it's a pure bred horse?".
However, I find it both comical and ironic that NS brands itself with the TB in its logo and all of it's "statements" and I'll explain why:
1) Calling itself the TB of transportation is a total oxymoron. One of our trains, on average, can move 1 ton (that's 2,000 lbs) of freight over 436 miles on a single gallon of fuel. In contrast, it seems like an average TB can burn an outrageous number of calories just walking around the field so you constantly have to feed them a much higher concentrate ration than other horses.
2) As evidenced by my dear boy Reily, TBs are a far cry from the safest creatures on the planet. Horses in general are self destructive and TBs in particular, with their athletic drive, slim figure and thin skin they seem to constantly be on the mend from one issue or another. Not to mention, with TBs like Boo, well he just has half a brain or something and is always spooking or bucking or kicking, etc. and if I was on a train that pulls something similar to his stunts, lets just say I wouldn't be here to write this now.
But I'm loving my new job, despite the fact that they have no idea what an actual Thoroughbred is like.
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