Another show

We are just finishing up another show this week, the local county exabition is on in a town about 15 minutes from home.  All the kids from the barn are there with their horses and some have cattle and sheep at the show as well. 

Most of our barn kids are involved in 4-H and its nice to see large numbers competing in all the events over the week.  A couple have qualified to go onto our provincial show at the end of September (Pro-show) with their horses and cattle.  Our 'barn slave' got grand champion Beef of the 4-H show so we have our fingers crossed that she gets picked at pro-show to go to the Royal Winter Fair show in Toronto in November.  

I unofficaly start my lease on Oscar tomorrow.  Its all done but the paper work and figuring out how much/ who I'm paying, and even then its not a big deal.  Oscars owner and her parents are on Newfoundland this week getting her moved into dorm and making sure she knows how to find her way around St. John's.  We'll get it sorted out when her parents get home. 

Turns out the farm that had the only show I got to go to in the spring with Lucas is having a fall show on Oct. 13th.  Hopefully me and Oscar can get to know each other quickly and we can go to that show and actually show western for the first time in years!  I just need to figure out how to lope on him!

Home at last

Well the show was fun.  We left Wensday in the morning and got to the showgrounds just before supper that night.  We had all of Thursday off to let Freckles, Bella and our friends horse Goose (a yearling) get used to the showgrounds and activity.  It was Goose's second show and Bella's first so we had a lot of walking to do.  The good thing was that Freckles was so used to going to shows that she was a great 'steady Eddie' for the babies.

All of the horses came home with points in Amateur and open classes, and Bella won the weanling futurity!  Freckles had a great first 1/2 half of her class but spooked at some pigeons in the second direction and had a couple of bucks that put her our of the running.

Competition was TOUGH!  The barn next to us had newly crowned Youth World and Champions and reserve champions as well as some national titles. It was a whole different ballgame from what we normally compete with.  We were very happy for the fact that we placed consistently with the quality of the horses that were around us.  And SO much color!  There were a couple of solids, but the colorful ones really out numbered them.

Lots of photos below from our weekend!

Freckles and C and J who was the trainer that imported Lucas.  He's moved to Maine and had a horse at the show.

J's horse

Freckles in her halter class

Waiting for the class to start

a very loud Appaloosa, who won the most colourful classes

waiting in the line up

cute kid and her very nice horse

warming up

off to the lunging area

tiny showmanship girl (she was 6) and her great older horse

waiting for classes and some of the trailer parking

Baby Bella and her first cooler!

24 in the 'most colorful' class

Showcation

We are off tomorrow to the wonderful state of Maine!  There is a 4 judge ApHC show that we are taking 2 horses from our barn (C's 3yo and the weanling) and we are picking up the ex-boyfriends sister and a yearling colt by the stud they imported when I was dating him.  (And I caught lead him at one show)

I packed a ton of clothes but were there until Monday AM, and I get absolutely filthy.  Really I mean I have brought 2 every day shirts for each day!  I always end up spilling something on me at a horse show! 

I hope to take lots of pictures! 

I am never ever buying a baby.

Bella drove me crazy yesterday, turned her out in the indoor and then couldn't catch her for over an hour (trying to catch her for 10 min, taking a break so we both didn't over heat and then trying to catch her again).  I ended up closing all of the barn doors and letting her walk loose into her stall.  Not the best solution but I had to do something.

Tonight I caught her several times in her stall handled her all over and attached a 3 foot rope to her halter.  This way we have a way of grabbing her even if we cant get too close to her head.  Funnily enough you can rub her all over, but she doesn't want you grabbing the bottom of her halter for some reason..

So much silliness over something so simple, but if I don't nip it in the bud now we'll have even bigger issues when shes older.

Barn weekend

Oh how I've missed the challenges of a halter baby!  Poor Bella didn't know what hit her this weekend.  Her every day routine got smashed when we practiced 'setting up' for 2 min each time I turned her out in the indoor.  (I put all the horses that are stuck inside out in either the indoor or our 'one horse' turnout 2 x a day while cleaning stalls) 

I do want to add a disclaimer at this point.  I do lunge babies at this age (5-6 months) for 5 min every 2 or 3 days for 2 weeks.  I only do this until they know "how" to lunge and then I stop until they are yearlings where they get a refresher. When the babies are away from home at multi day horse shows they need to be able to release some energy in a safe manner.  All they need to know is how to stay on a circle and be stoppable. I also spend about 5 min per day (usually broken up into at least 2 sessions) on how to 'set up' for a judge, have someone walk around them, and how to trot in hand.  Once Bella is home at the end of the month she is going to live in the new run-in shed with Chilly, which she more than likely will like more than showing, but she loves the attention right now!

And after 5 days of only me handling the studs the mouth action has been shut down big time!  Both are well behaved but tend to nip, and I cant stand that!  The Goodbar stud just returned home from a trainers in the USA a couple of weeks ago and is still grumpy and sullen mannered.  Hopefully if we can get him back into work again he'll feel better if he has a purpose in life.  Some days I would rather deal with stallions than mares or geldings any day! 

Bella Baby, getting ready to be halter horse!

Chevy, 4yo stallion by Radical Hour

One of Bella's appaloosa characteristics, the white around her eyes.  (she is a solid but has stripped feet, and the spotted skin in several areas) 

Rusty 2yo stallion by Goodbar, out of an IA mare.

Chestnut on the right is Chilly, then Mister then Jeanie (the mother of Bella)

Video

Got some little videos of the 3 year old that we are taking to Maine (shes only 2 points away from qualifying for worlds in Halter, not that she would go, but its all about being 'qualified')  This was her first under saddle class with that many horses in it.



Second is a quick video of Lucas and his new owner (doing so well!) showing in there first under saddle class western.

Really boring update post.

Well I survived my IV, C and D are off on there week long 'vacation' (aka as two horse show back to back), and I'm on the countdown to my vacation!

With Oscar's owners help, I'm looking after the barn and hope to have some pictures over the weekend.  Were getting the two appaloosas (3yo and a weanling) ready for an ApHC show at the end of the month in Maine.  So I'm back to fitting a weanling over the next week.  She's so cute but so bad!!

2nd Infusion

Took place yesterday.  I hadn't been feeling too bad (other than the lack of sleep) and was hoping that this IV would only make me feel better.  Well one of the reasons that we didn't go with oral steroids this time is the difficulty the nurses were having with taking my blood for blood tests back when I first got diagnosed.

Well the nurse had a heck of a time trying to get a vein and an IV needle that would work together.  After 6 tries and 1/2 hour, we finally figured that the steroids were more than likely effecting my veins.  So we did the one trick that works on me, the nurse had to go in 'blind' to find a very deep vein.  And finally that worked!

I wasn't feeling too bad this AM and went and did a couple of errands in town (I got the day off from work just in case) however by the time I got home my head was pounding and I had a temp of 100.  So Im now snuggled into the couch and watching Olympic showjumping on my computer.  Right now Ian Miller is the only Canadian left with a chance at a showjumping medal.  Hes worked hard his entire life at showjumping, and even though I might not agree with all of his methods, he is one of the best in Canada so my fingers are crossed for him.

Mr and Mrs.

Well one of my younger cousins on my Dads side of the family got married yesterday.  Its just my Dad and his two sisters on his side (compared to my Mom's side where she has 3 sisters and 3 brothers) and we spend all of our holidays together along with spending a lot of time together at the cottages in the summer.  My cousin and her husband have been together for several years and hes a really nice guy, and has fit in so well with our family.

It was a wonderful day, beautiful weather (but a high of 31 Celsius in a non air conditioned church!).  We all got though the ceremony and most of the reception without tears but all of us cousins broke down when K ended her speech.  Our grandmother died in 2001 from Kidney Disease related issues, and left a huge hole in our family, she was a stay at home mother, then grandmother, at at one point or another all of us spent a year or two in part time care with her while our parents were working.   K mentioned that she wished that our grandmother could have been there, and hoped that she was watching from heaven.

I know we were very lucky to have her as long as we did, but its days like this that you miss her the most.

12 am

Haven't seen this time for a long time. I'm on some weird wake/sleep mix up. I got to go ride and thought that would tire out my body but although it did I'm still wide awake! Now I know why I napped so often when on the steroids before, I can't seem to get several hours of uninterrupted sleep.

Oscar!

Lack of sleep

So I literley slept 3 hours last night.  Oh the wonderful things that steroids can do for you.  I just couldn't face work with that little sleep so I went back to bed.  I do plan on doing some work from home this afternoon but I needed the morning to sleep in.

I do think that the drugs might have been working as I can tell that somthing is starting to wear off... Oh well I get it again on Tuesday.

Wow this is a boring post!

Being thankfull.... or not

Well we had a good steady rain all day which is exactly what we needed.  Fingers crossed that this continues for the rest of the night.

I've been having a couple of bad days.  Not so much the pain from the RA, but being grumpy and having the munches from the steroids.  It could just be emotional eating (not like I haven't done that before!) but it drives me crazy at work when I cant grab a healthy snack.  My ankle bothers me at work but wearing my brace seems to be helping it when I cant put it up.  Right now its the only joint that is hurting so hopefully the next round of drugs on Aug 7th will help.

I am thankful that I wasn't in too much pain after my ride on Saturday.  I've gotten clearance from Oscars owner to go ride again on Friday night which will be a big test.  My cousin is getting married on Saturday (the first of the cousins on my Dad's side to get married) and I'm going visiting in the city in the morning before I have to get ready.  I'll have plenty of time Friday night to get a good sleep so lets hope that I'm not too bad on Saturday.

And then me and my best friend are off to the AQHA show on Sunday to watch.  It should be interesting... there were only 60 horses at the last show which was LESS than the open show that I went to watch 2 weeks ago.  Unfortuity the clubs board of directors is running the club into the ground, and the direction that AQHA itself is taking on the western pleasure industry is making us all take a step back and re evaluate.