Herd Bound

Well. That trip out was not what I expected. I hopped on Status first, hoping to have a quick 20 minute ride on a loose rein. He was a total bore during trotting- I actually had to threaten him with rein thwacks a few times to get him to move off of my leg. The heat was a bit better than earlier today, but still pretty brutal, so as long as he was moving forward at a trot I didn't mess with him (except for the few times I threatened him when he tried to ignore my leg and walk). So going into the canter I expected a lot of the same thing.. and then he decided to be difficult and got really fast. Mind you this was me riding on a loose rein, being quiet and not egging him on at all. So trying to take off was NOT OKAY. Since he wanted to work.. I made him work. Reins got short, leg went on big time, and I made him round up and canter like a gentleman. We did a couple laps around the ring making a circle in each corner, switched direction, did the same the other way, then took a breather so he could catch his breath. Then I asked for the canter again, gradually loosened the reins, and he cantered like a gentleman on a loose rein :)

Since Status didn't take very long he wasn't hot and only took a few minutes to cool down and take back. Then I haltered Brie and took her down to the turnout, thinking I would let her roll and chill for a few minutes then tack up and get on. No such luck. We recently had two rescues delivered and one is stabled next to her, up on the hill without any other horses around.. needless to say they have gotten very close in the past two days. Like.. shit was going down close. So we're going to have to work on that. I stuck her in the turnout until she stopped screaming and trotting up and down the side, then took her out and did some in-hand work in the arena leading her around jumps and doing lots of stopping and backing up until she was listening to me. Then she got to go back.

Unfortunately since I had to do more work with both of those two I didn't have enough time to work Rushie, so I just took her into the cross ties and had some grooming/bonding time with her. That mare is such a sweetheart, I can't even believe how sociable and adorable and amazing she is. I wish I had the opportunity to buy her.. but unfortunately that's not in the cards.

Heat Wave

Okay, so maybe it's not that hot here compared to how it's been elsewhere in the country/world, but I myself spent most of the summer in an air condition room sitting at a computer (this makes me sound lazy, but it was an internship, I promise!) so this week has been god awful. It doesn't help that I agreed to work the summer camp at the barn, which is 9-4 and a whole lot of wishing I had a gun to shoot myself with. So basically, I haven't been very productive.

Tuesday all three got out (Rush, Brie, Status) because I actually had energy at the end of the day to do Status. It helped that he was a super good boy and I didn't have to fight with him about staying slow. Yesterday all three got a day off because I had a private to teach in the morning and didn't have time to ride. And then today.. well, I'm about to head out there. Short story is I was lazy, slept in, was at the DMV during the lunch hour when I usually ride Brie (license woot!), and it's way too crazy hot to ride right now. So I went home after camp and will head out there in about a half hour to get the ponies out.

I realize this wasn't a very informational post.. but I'm not really good at those. I promise I'll give you the low down on these horses someday ("Brie? Isn't that some kind of cheese? You ride cheese?" I can see you thinking) but that day is not today! And probably not this week. Because school is starting, and parents are fleeing town, and holy crap there is so much work to do!

Meet the Herd

I wasn't always an avid rider. That description used to be allotted to my sister, who was always at the barn riding and foot jumping and getting into general mischief. I rode because she rode- it was fun, too, but it wasn't my main deal. I had soccer two or three or four times a week and loved it. Riding was once a week, if I felt like it, and was never a priority.

That changed the end of sophomore year. My sister had left for college a year prior, effectively cutting me off from being 'in the know' at the barn. All the riders were either several years older than me or several years younger, and nobody in my age group- this was why I had remained so distant even though I was getting older and more interested in horses. It probably didn't help that I was still a bit shy and wasn't very good at approaching people. But I dealt with that, and approached the girls who rode there, and BAM. I was accepted. And from then on, it was all horses, all the time.

It's amazing what having barn friends can do. It completely revolutionized the atmosphere for me; changed it so that I actually felt comfortable and welcome. I went to the barn more often, rode more often, and actually wanted to go on days I didn't have a lesson. Since then, with a little help from the all knowledgable sister, I've sprouted into a decent rider who can hold her own on horseback.

So that's me. Boring, I know. Here's the part that we all like- the horses!

WILLIE

This guy is my savior. I've been on him so long I don't even remember- probably close to five years now. He taught me everything- how to stay quiet, how to assert myself when needed, how to jump bareback (although not recommended on him if you want to have children).. the list goes on. He's an amazing horse but is older (probably at least mid 20s by now) and just can't do what I need anymore. This blog is starting up at the last month of me leasing him- hopefully I can push other people on him often enough that one little girl falls in love and becomes his person. I'll always take care of this guy, and make sure he has what he needs, but it's just not practical for me to be leasing him when my abilities so far outdistance his.

STATUS

This not-so-handsome guy is Status. You can't really tell in this picture (winter fluff and all), but he's got weight issues and has been showing rib for the past 2 years. I recently put him on Triple Crown Senior and WOW has he ballooned out! Ribs are still there, but another two weeks and they should be gone. I'm super excited for him to be putting on weight so fast, especially with winter right around the corner. Now Satus here is an awkward situation for me. One of my friends technically leases him, but he is way too much horse for her right now and she isn't able to get out to the barn often enough so he's crazy and hyper every time she gets on. Starting last winter/this spring I started hopping on him and he's become basically a second lease horse for me that I don't have to pay for.. problem is, I've gotten him mostly figured out and she still can't ride him the way he needs to be ridden. I've convinced her to move to another horse for several months so that she can actually learn how to be a better rider instead of staying stuck in a rut on Status, and starting in September I'm going to be leasing this guy.

WEBBIE

 I apologize for the not so great picture, I don't have many of this guy. Webbie was my charge for this past year, as his owner bought him from the BO and then left for college. He's an old conformation hunter who used to win big, but has some soundness issues and starts out really stiff. I worked him as much as I could in order to get him really soft and supple and he is in fantastic shape. Ever since I began getting him out on a regular basis his soundness issues have gone POOF! which is great. This is a really nice horse right here, but I never bonded with him the way I like to with the horses I ride.

RUSH

 This adorable new mare is one of my new two projects, and will likely be a prominent feature in this blog. She's an 11 year old ex-racehorse turned broodmare (3 babies) who was brought down from BO's ranch to be turned into a hunter. I've been working with her for about two months now and we've had some really big break-throughs and set backs, which I'll clue you in on later. This is one AMAZING horse- impeccable ground manners, sweet and docile, incredibly gorgeous mover. Her one fault is that she's very anxious under saddle and can be pretty spooky. We're working through it, but she'll never be a little kids horse in this decade.

BRIE

Please excuse the awful angle and such, this picture does this lovely little mare no justice. She's a bit ugly to look at right now, but once she's all muscled up and fat she's going to be a looker. Same background as Rush- they were actually brought up together. The BO insists on calling her BB but Brie is so much better (racing name was Briefcase Beauty) so that is what I refer to her as. Although she was trailered down with Rush she did not become my project at the same time Rush did- I've actually only been working with her for a couple days as of now. She's a sweetheart and loves attention, and is not spooky at all which makes her so much easier to ride than Rush.

So that's it! I worked the summer camp at the barn today AND rode Rush, Brie, and Status so I am a little exhausted. Tomorrow (hopefully) I'll write about Rush and how things have been going with her, and then sometime in the near future I will give you the low down on Brie. Ciao!