Pictures!

This is Chili, she arived Sunday morning around 5am. Her sire is by Raddical Hour, and the dam is Invation Only bloodlines. The owners only missed it by 15 minutes, she was on the ground and just getting cleaned up by her mom!

And a picture of happy Lucas out enjoying the sun on Sunday! (and waiting for his carrot that he knows I have!)

Good ride.

Well I had selection for jury duty today, and it ended around noon so I snuck off to the barn for the afternoon! I helped do the rest of the stalls, then me and C started tacking up horses for D to ride we managed to do 6 horses in just over 2 hours! Only 3 of them were horses that were being ridden, the other 3 are still getting used to the saddle.

At the end, I saddled up Lucas and lunged him, and D got on and warmed him up a bit then I got on. I rode in his western saddle, and my western spurs and Lucas didnt pull his 'stop and stamp' routine! We did some trot circles, then worked on changing direction across the diagional. We both find the change of direction from the right rein to the left very difficult. Wouldnt you know it but my right leg (the one that I broke a couple of years ago and have very significatly less controle over) is the outside leg and it has a hard time assisting in the changing of the bend!

We did a bunch of that and mixing up 20 m circles in when he was anticipating, or bracing. We had a little break, then I did some small circles to get him to follow the bit more than bracing against it. Then we did somthing I truly didnt think was going to work. We took a portion of the ring (about 20m) and did figure 8's though it. I was so busy keeping his sholders up, and rounding his belly I didnt have time to worry about weather or not Lucas or I could do it, or that he might spook, we just did it. I mean he is 16.3 hands and neither of us are at our best, or very flexable, but I didnt have time to think about anything but the next turn and it was great! Remember the 5 seconds I was talking about in the last post? I had my 5 minutes :)

So I need to stop thinking, and keep it intresting for Lucas. I only need to think 'go' and 'show direction'. I get so caught up in perfecting small things Im missing the bigger picture.

Fear

"Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway"
John Wayne.

I read a blog about a week ago by Equine Insanity, http://equineinsanity.blogspot.com/2011/02/unmapped-country.html
About fear, and why some of us equine lovers, face a fear, but are sometimes unable to admit it.

Its something I've been thinking about lately. D truly started me thinking two Thursdays ago. He said that I should be riding in his training saddle for a bit until I gained my confidence back. I truly thought I wasn't doing too bad, sure we weren't cantering under saddle yet but I had only been riding a few times since his 'time off' and we were building up both of our muscels.

But he was talking about the truth, if Lucas does something unexpected I get scared. Not down and out "I need to get off" but more of a sense of disappointment in myself, in that I cant handle what ever he is throwing at me. Some (well most) days I just wish I could turn my brain and just ride on instinct. Most days I worry so much that something might go wrong I don't even ride.

It really hit home this summer when we had a miss-communication and I smacked my hand on my saddle. It swelled up so bad I couldn't use my hand for a couple of days. Any other person would have a little bruise, I was crippled for a week.

On the one hand that is why I am scared. On the other hand, its one of the reasons I still ride. I may walk funny on the ground sometimes, and not be able to do much with my hands anymore, but on horseback I can still be one of the girls, and be the person I was before I got sick. With so much in my life that is no longer the same I ride for the 5 seconds that I occasional get on horse back where I am the person that I was before I got sick.

A lot of the time I wonder how much time exactly do I have left. How long until the wheelchair, until I cant dress my self, until its too much to even get out of bed.

I try not to think about this too much but sometimes it sneaks up on me. That is why I continue to ride because sooner or later, someday, it will be too much.

I've mentioned before that the plan for Lucas was to be a re-sale, and truthfully that was the plan. Until the August QH show last summer. For all of the riding I did (not much because my knee exploded for 2 weeks due to my RA) he was a super star. When I got seriously off balance during our trot to canter transition, he stepped beneath me and cantered on. He put up with me at my worst, and how could I let him down and pass him on to someone else? He also managed to earn 1/2 a halter point that weekend proving to me that he could be a good horse for me even if I couldn't ride down the road I could still do halter with him. He's had so much to be fearful of in his own life the least I could do is provide a safe home for him for as long as I can.

Its the moments of trust (like at that show) that keep me going. Knowing that another living being depends on me, believes in me, and in us as a team, keep me going to the barn and saddling up despite the fear that lives inside. Lucas loves to work, and he does love to work with me. Take from it what you will, the first thing that the Animal communicator told me was that he thought we worked really well together, and made a great team. And truthfully if Lucas decided that he really didn't want me riding him, he would get me off. But even when I am having a horrible RA day, he never gives me any more attitude than I can handle. Maybe I need to take comfort in that. Maybe I just need to accept that accidents will happen, but Lucas will be a strong force beneath me to carry us both threw the tough times.

More snow!!!!

We and the 'city' are getting up to 40 cm tonight. However its freezing rain now so I think that we might be iced in, but not as much snow as we were promised. The basement is already leaking because the snow is blocking the path of the water away from the house. *Sigh* Thankfully we did leave work early, and it was a good thing as the roads were very bad. So Im staying home tonight from the barn.

We are waiting for the first foal of the BO stud to be born too! (Thinking that it might be before the weekend is over) The mare is a maiden as well, so everyone is excited and worried all at the same time. The mare is 5 which is a good age and has experenced horse people all aound her but you never do know that everything will go 100%.

Hopefully if I can get to the barn tomorrow were going to to a bit of a photo shoot. We want to do photos of one of the horses for sale, and hopefully some post-reno barn pictures.

Nothing much new...

I got my IV last night fine, went to bed at like 8pm, went to work today. Got suck in my driveway... grrr atleast Dad has a tractor at home and was able to pull me out... somewhat! My Kia is aparently more heavy than our tractor, as I kinda slid backwords and took the tractor with me!

Lucas was good tonight we just had a brush and a cuddle, hopefully riding him again on the weekend. Its been a long time since our last ride but I've been just been feeling too crappy. Good news is that a couple of horses have come in for training that are all in worse shape than him, atleast hes mostly fit!

hes fine

I calledD from work, they walked Lucas in the AM in the indoor and he was fine so they turned him out for the morning. D had just brought him in and he was walking fine, but more than willing to avoid the peice of ground that was his down fall last night! (although it now has sand/salt on it he wanted to take the long route inside!)

Lucas' wipeout

Before I begin I have to remind everyone that I have 2 BO's, a husband and wife team. The man BO (we will start calling him "D") will be riding Lucas some, but his wife does most of the barn work, as well as most of the structured lesson teaching (shes the one that preps us at shows as her husband hates crowds, we'll call her "C")

Anyways, Lucas was outside late this afternoon and C went to bring him in last (as he was outside last, he gets an extra couple of minutes of outside time) On the way back into the barn he managed to find the only 2 square feet of ice on the entire pathway into the barn, and slipped and when down on his shoulder. Thankfully C was able to get away from him and did not get pulled down with him, as he fell onto his left side. Lucas got up quickly on his own and did have his thick heavy weight blanket on, and seems not to much worse for the fall.

D and C had walked him in the indoor for a bit, given bute and did some mild stretches to loosen up his leg by the time I showed up. We gave him a chance to eat his supper before I took him into the indoor to do a little more walking. He seems fine although Im sure he will be sore tomorrow, his back and hips felt fine I think his shoulder will be sore tomorrow but hopefully that's it. And tomorrow I have my IV and most likely wont be able to get to the barn :(

C and D will check on him later tonight as they have a new horse coming in at 9pm and they will take him for another walk in the Am when they feed and see how he feels and will go from there. Why does this crap always happen when I cant get to the barn the next day???

Needs the IV

I get my IV again on tuesday, almost 4 weeks later than I should have. Im really starting to feel it the past couple of days. I end up taking pain pills which make me grumpy and screw up my reflexes (so its not safe for me to ride, I might be able to, but Im in a bit of a fog so...) Ive been driving Lucas some, and the BO are in the process of making a new tack room for themslefes (that when I havnt been helping with, the BO's have been making too much noise for it to be safe to work him)

They've been cleaning out the tack room (in a process of moving all of there own personal stuff into the new room) so its given me a new rack for my saddle that is much easier for me to access. Lucas' blanket rack also got a spot in the tack room wall so that its not cluttering up the hallway of the barn. I hope to go take pictures of the barn to show all of you how the barn looks but I'll wait untill the new saddle racks go up.

The ride...

Actually went very well. The BO hit the road block (stopping and throwing his head around) about 1 min into the ride (about average) and he grabbed horn and swung the end of the reins! And Lucas jumped about 1/2 foot in the air and walked on! So not such a big issue after all. He also had the same issues with him changing bend while changing direction that I had (although he worked though it in the ride better than I have been!), and agreed that his main method of 'fighting back' is throwing his head around (which is hard on me, and I may be letting him go a bit to much in hopes of saving my hands).

He thinks that because Lucas has such a low gas tank (lots of leg to keep him going all the time, although he has his moments, most of the time he is very slow) and his dislike of actually having to lift his belly, that he wants me to use my western spurs for a few rides to get him more responsive to my legs. Im also to ride in his training saddle (which fits Lucas) for a couple of rides so that I have some security till we get him over his couple of issues.

It was really nice to watch someone else ride Lucas (only the BO, and my best friend have been on him since I bought him, one time each) He had him bridled up a bit more than I would (more of a dressage frame, but still low) but its serving the purpose, keeping him more collected for short periods of time will help him build the mussels that he will need to go long and low in a couple of months.

So the plan is that hes going to ride him once a week, and he'll watch me ride him on the weekends. With driving him in between it should be a good program for the next month so both of us work on our fitness.

Lesson tonight

Well we have our first lesson tonight, cross your fingers that it goes well. I think the BO will do most of the riding tonight, but we had a good discussion last night about where we want to go and why. He thinks its going to work out ok, as there going to have alot of horses coming in over the next couple of weeks, that I can kind of work on my own most of the time, with updates when needed. Ill post either tonight or tomorrow how it goes.

When did I fall in love with Lucas

Since everyone seems to be doing a post about why and when they fell in love with there horses, I thought that I should do the same (now that Im done complaining about him!)

I actually didnt truly fall in love with Lucas until mid-July August of last summer. I purchased Lucas in November 2009, but he was supposed be a re-sale project. Even during the first few shows of the summer that was always in the back of my mind. I wanted him safe and sound and winning or placing a fair bit by the end of the summer so that I could start looking for a new home for him (hopefully that would make me a bit of money).

It was really when my knee exploded (well swelled to a huge size) and I couldn't ride him more than 2 or 3 times in between shows. It was like we finally started to click when we did go to the shows. We weren't fighting each other all the time, and it felt like we had trust in each other. It was really the first time Ive been able to develop trust and respect without forcing a horse to do it. He babysat me when he really could have taken advantage of me.

That to me was the key, and that made him worth his weight in gold to me. He can be pigheaded (and so can I!) at home and when Im feeling good, but when Im having a truly bad day he steps up to the plate every time with a gold medal performance.

Why did I buy an Appendex??

Sigh the last couple of days have made me wonder. I know it really boils down to the fact that spring is coming and he knows it, but some days I wonder where his brain goes sometimes. He'll be going along just fine, and then freak for no reason, well actually no good reason! Apparently kittens are dangerous! And its just like the TB part of his brain kicks in for 3 seconds. BOING! then back to calm normal QH.

Tonight I kicked him into the indoor to work off some steam before I started work, which seems to help. Maybe hes just not playing enough outside and working it out of his system. He was good for the driving and we did some more 2 tracking at the walk and moving his haunches around as well.

We start our 'training' on Thursday, hoping that Im feeling better by then, I still have a wicked cough. They agree that he really just needs to be taken down a notch or two and get his attitude back in line.

Finaly got to the barn!

I haven't been out to the barn since Tues (and then it was for only 5 min) so I went out today and had some pony time. Gossiped with the barn owners for a bit and then brought Lucas in from outside and brushed him. He is finllay starting to shed!! Well either that or its just the normal hair that I haven't been able to bush off him like normal.

I drove him for a bit and he was ok, but full of it, but hes only been going outside and not doing much of anything. Hes almost worse when there is nothing else going on in the indoor, every little noise made him jump. He was happy to see me and to be working again, he gets so board so quickly!

So starting next week the BO is going to put some rides on him once a week or so, hopefully when Im there and then I can get on and feel what hes fixed. Its more of an attitude adjustment than training, and it will allow us to set some mini-goals for the next couple of months before show season starts. Ive made the decision that putting that money aside for the riding 2-3 times a month will be better spent then me putting one month of training on when I cant be there for every ride. And I need to be able to fix stuff, not just the trainer.

Sam's version of my favorite things,

So as I sit here recovering (and doing really well the temperature is just about normal all of the time) I thought I would do a Favorite Things (like Oprah, but the horsey edition). These are a couple of things that make my life with Lucas easier, and stuff we just like. I hope everyone does there own as well!


Starting with this saddle pad. Nope not the ez-view pad, but a Canadian version from Greenhawk. When on sale (which happens about 3-4 times a year) it runs around $35.00 the same price as the ez view's, but I can pick it up 10 minutes from my work and not worry about shipping. Best part is that it fits my 18" extra long, forward flap saddle perfectly.


Also from greenhawk is the Val du Bois padded, raised fancy stitched bridle that I bought for Lucas last year to show in. It was about $100 plus tax, but a very high quality leather. It looks really nice on him (because he stays so dark), and the padding matches my saddle so it doesn't look like a complete mis-mash of tack.

Hooks from sstack.com!!! Love these and well worth the $1-5 that you would pay for them!!

Another sstack favorite, the Adjusta-Fit® Dura-Nylon® V-Free™ Sheet. The v-free means that there is no seam (and there for less pressure) on a horse with decent withers. This is a closed front sheet, but the adjusta-fit straps make it much easier to use than a traditional buckle front.

Blue Lotion, the best liniment ever. A standerdbreed trainer showed me this one day and I've kept using it both on horses and myself. Chiropractor loves the stuff!

And finally, the bit that Lucas loves, a ported barrel with slots. Basically each side works independently of the other, which is what he needs the most at shows going into a corner when hes in a full trot. Bridle attaches to the top spaces reins to the bottom, curb chain also gets attached to the top slots. Im hoping that this summer I will be showing him in just the twisted wire, but this helps in situations when Lucas trys to run away at the open shows. (see our posts in May and July)

still alive

Temp has stayed high, 99.8-100.8 even with Tylenol every 4 hours. I guess that's good that my body is trying to fight, but its not working so good. Ive been sleeping on and off all night and day, the worst is the sweats when it just pores off me and then I start freezing again... blah...

This almost as bad as the one I had in 08, temp was then 101-102 with the Tylenol....Sooner or later the lung infection will be the downfall of me, lets hope it happens when I'm sixty!

I ran out to the barn yesterday am and gave Lucas an apple, he was very happy to see me and to have his blankets switched around (it was snowing like crazy, the BO would have done it when they got home and put him in, but thats what owners are for!) But he thought that i should stay and play with him for a bit. Poor boy we just get a good schedule going and either he pulls a shoe or I get sick.

Home now...

Im home now, 2:30-7:30 in the er, and I had to beg for a chest x-ray. I love my Canadian health care, but days like this I wouldn't mind slipping someone $50 to get out of there faster!

So I have a puffer, and I have to call my family Dr. and see what he says when my 2nd round of antibiotics is over on Wednesday. Both the family Dr, and the RA doc wanted x-rays and no matter what nurse I told we had to wait for the doctor to say yes (after he saw me) I get why they had to, but it would have saved everyone a bunch of time.

The Dr at the ER put me off work for 5 days, but I will have to go in Wednesday for at least part of the day to finish my billing for month end. Not having anyone know how to do your job is great for job security but sucky for when you are sick (and its a multi-million dollar client). Lucas is going to have a neglectful mother this week. We tried a kicking chain on him last night as he was banging up his hocks (hes in due to the horrible weather and he only kicks when he cannot go out).

in the emergency room

So th infection is not better its now moved into my lungs. I'm waiting in the er for xrays and tests. I don't know why the nurse cant order xrays that would save some time!

Drove, then rode...

I went out to the barn determined to ride tonight! I did everything I could to make it a good experience (for me!). Lucas had his free time in the arena with me 'playing' with him (even though hes back on 3/4 day turnout the footing is still better inside for him to run) I then got my boots and helmet on, and Lucas got his saddle and driving bridle on and we went out and drove for 20 minutes. Lots of changes in direction at different gaits, varying the speed of his walk and trot, basically keeping it interesting but challenging enough that he got a bit of a work out.

I got on him (On the FIRST try!!!) Normally hes a bit of a dink, and backs up a step or two once I get up on my mounting block. Its not outright disobedience but its become a pain in the butt when he does it. I backed him up to the gate today (about a foot away, but close enough he couldn't go back words) got my block into position and climbed on. I have one of the big 3 step plastic ones which I love, its very stable, but light weight enough that I can move it around.

Our warm up of walking circles and figure 8's went good until it was time to trot (like usual) he's just a jerk about it. Hes not dangerous, he just stops and stamps his feet. Some days a good hard squeeze will get him out of it (like last week), some days pulling him with an open rein will get his feet moving and get him out of it. Today I had to feather or bounce my legs off of him (calf only, no spur) till all he wanted to do was for me to stop, so he went forward. He did this 2x tonight, once he's out of it and I get 5-10 strides of a trot, hes done, and he wont attempt it again. He really needs a swat in the hind end to get him out of it, Im just worried I would get more than I bargained for if I did that!

We really worked on some figure 8's and me keeping him round though the body with my body and trying not to over influence his position with his face. We did some transitions as well to mix it up. My legs are dieing from all the rising trot and I didn't even do much! I guess we both have a long way to go to getting fit for the next show season.

I will say that the driving has really helped me with him having a softer mouth. I drive him in a sweet iron D snaffle, and when I started riding him again I put him in a mild twisted wire. Hes going almost too well in it, and I may put my french link into him next time. Again, if he went like I know he could go, I would have put it in him long ago, but every once and a while I need something that will give me the upper hand. Thanks to my fused wrists I have no strength in my arms, so he needs to know he cannot be heavy. Tonight he was excellent (once he started trotting!) And he was really lifting his shoulders when I sat up and lifted with my legs, which is such a nice feeling when you don't need to help it with your hands!

I think my biggest challenge for the next couple of months will be building up my fitness (the driving is helping me too!) and to keep Lucas from becoming board riding in the indoor.

The Marsh

When I mentioned in my other post about the Marsh I thought I should do another post on what I mean when I say that. Our town (and the city I live in) are near the Bay Of Fundy. It means that there is a constantly changing environment about 2o minutes from my house. Where the Bay of Fundy ends, the Tantramar Marshes begin. Three of the 4 ways to drive into my province are located on the Marsh, and the weather on it can often challenge drivers when trying to get from one side to another. (the one way into Nova Scotia that does not cross the Marsh is literaly less than a km from the Northumberland Straight)

It truly is like no place on earth. The only place I can compare it to is the Prairies of Alberta. When I went to Alberta my aunt and uncle wondered why I wasn't amazed with the flatness of the land that you could see for miles, I replied "but its just like the marsh at home but without the water".

I would invite you to visit http://www.tantramarmarsh.com/ Troy Johnstone's photography explains everything better than I ever could. The Marshes have been used for generations as pasture, and land to make hay on. Thousands of cattle call the Marsh home from April/May until October. You know its spring when the cattle go out.

Fort Beauséjour is located on the edge of the Marsh, and as kids we used to play in the old structures that are still located on the property. There is no better place to sled than on the old embankments!!

I hate saying this but...

We got more snow yesterday/today. Offical total in the city where I work was 215 cm (84.6 inches) this year before the most recent snow fall. We drove in yesterday, but ended up leaving at 1pm. Today we didnt even make it accoss the marsh before we turned around and came back home. The local college and schools were closed so I think we got more snow than the city. Although, they were reporting that there were somthing like 15 traffic accidents within the 24 hours of storm.

I worked most of the morning on stuff I brought home yesterday, before I thought about venturing to the barn. It was warm, the snow was melting and the barn is only 10 min away :) The BO had there grandson over night so they were behind on chores so they were happy to see me pull in. I had planed on driving Lucas but we put him outside (as he and all of the other horses were in most of the day yesterday) and he had a great time playing in the fresh snow. I helped the BO do chores up, not what I came to do but therapy all the same.

Somthing you HAVE to read!

I guess I needed that rant yesterday, as Im not feeling so emotionaly down today. Just feels like I start figuring out one health issue and another pops up. Oh well, here is somthing fun for today:


http://cdycattle.blogspot.com/2010/03/what-barbie-taught-me-about-being-farm.html



Go read it then come back



Go on, go!


Anyone who has grown up in rural Canada or America has often improvised on the toys they play with when they are young. I totally agree with everything in that last post, I once took every box my mom had and made stalls, trailers and fences for all of my Grand Champion Pony toys. http://www.angelfire.com/on/raventyde/gchistory.html I made blankets for them, shipping wraps, and halters out of hair elastics. All of my horses had several blankets depending on what 'temperature' it was (my blanket fetish started early!!)

The truth to the story is, that although we didn't live on a farm my dad was an AI Technician...

Basically he drove around to all the farms with a nitrogen tank in the car full of semen for the local farms and inseminated the cattle.

My mom has told me that one of the first pictures I drew in primary class (around 5 years old) was on a "what does your dad do" day.... I drew my dad with his arm up the cow! And very casually told my teacher that that was what my dad did to help make the cows have babies! Best part was that my Mom was teaching in the same school and had to explain my drawings to all of the teachers at lunch!

In grade 4 (7-8 years old) we were asked to do a speech on a Nova Scotia business. I did it on NSAB (and no not the national snaffle bit association) http://www.nsab.ca/ well it was a local business, and it doubled as my 4-H speech! His job did get me some good perks. I got to show cattle for one of the top Jersey producers in Canada, as well as a top Ayrshire breeder as well. You want to learn showmanship? Show a cow, there is nothing better then trying to keep a straight face as a yearling calf tries to mow you down!

I went to the barn for like 15 minutes tonight and gave Lucas a good brush as he was eating supper. Tried on the new barn jackets as well, they should be done in a couple of weeks, Ill post pictures when they are done. We are getting some serious snow tonight so cross your fingers we don't get the entire 50cm that they are predicting!