I managed to ride both days this weekend. Oscar was fresh on Saturday (he had a week off) but back to a steady old Oscar on Sunday.
Monday morning on the way to work I stopped to pick up one of my car poolers, or rather I didn't stop. I slid about 20 feet across ice (covered by about 2 cm of snow) and into the rear end of her car. It was a very slow speed accident. She had parked on ice and my car didn't even move it. However it cracked my poor bumper, and my headlight case.
However everyone was safe, and not hurt which I guess is the most important thing. Taking a couple of days off from riding just to make sure that there is nothing seriously wrong but even my normally cautious chiropractor was optimistic that in a couple of day's I'd be fine.
Monday, January 27, 2014
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Appointment got canceled Monday morning right before we left town. Rescheduled for Feb 3. Back to the waiting game.
In chilly news D rode chilly on Sunday while I rode Oscar. Chilly was excellent, her first time being ridden with another horse in the ring. Dean pushed her a bit and got her to lope a couple of steps as well. After that, we spent some time riding along the rail with each other, passing and leaving each other. Chilly was good and, for as cranky as Oscar can be about horses in his space, he was very nice to chilly an didn't make too many faces lol!
Friday, January 17, 2014
Scary but good news
On Wednesday night I came home to a phone call from an orthopedic surgeon located about 2 hours away. (only 20 minutes from the old boss's place) Thinking I would now get an appointment 2-5 months away, when I called on Thursday morning I was surprised by the receptionist asking if I could come THIS Monday. Even the receptionist at my RA specialist was surprised when I told her when my appointment was.
So now we go on Monday morning to get a ton of x-rays done before I see him. He sounds like he runs a good office as his receptionist was very understanding of the distance we were traveling and told me that I would have lots of time to ask him questions, and not to worry if we got held up in x-ray before my appointment.
I'm scared but hopeful.
On the horse front Chilly is doing excellent with D. Hes ridden her about 3 times this week and is really pushing her to jog and use her body. Hes getting her tired, but shes staying sweet and happy at the end of the rides which is what we all want. I went out on Thursday night and did some showmanship with her and she was excited to see me and get some cuddles while we practiced setting up, turns and trotting.
I got some pictures of her on my cell phone that I will try to add later. She looks so grown up now! And so much like her mother!
I got to ride Oscar Monday and Tuesday. Took Wednesday off to do some laundry (and googling the new doctor) and did showmanship with him on Thursday as well. He also got some free time in the arena and rolled a bunch and then spent the rest of his time pretending to be scared of the cow. Shes been in that location for over 3 months, you think he would get over it already!
So now we go on Monday morning to get a ton of x-rays done before I see him. He sounds like he runs a good office as his receptionist was very understanding of the distance we were traveling and told me that I would have lots of time to ask him questions, and not to worry if we got held up in x-ray before my appointment.
I'm scared but hopeful.
On the horse front Chilly is doing excellent with D. Hes ridden her about 3 times this week and is really pushing her to jog and use her body. Hes getting her tired, but shes staying sweet and happy at the end of the rides which is what we all want. I went out on Thursday night and did some showmanship with her and she was excited to see me and get some cuddles while we practiced setting up, turns and trotting.
I got some pictures of her on my cell phone that I will try to add later. She looks so grown up now! And so much like her mother!
I got to ride Oscar Monday and Tuesday. Took Wednesday off to do some laundry (and googling the new doctor) and did showmanship with him on Thursday as well. He also got some free time in the arena and rolled a bunch and then spent the rest of his time pretending to be scared of the cow. Shes been in that location for over 3 months, you think he would get over it already!
Saturday, January 11, 2014
I've been hibernating!
Its PLUS 7 right now! Outside! I can see the dirt of my driveway!
For the past month we've been dealing with -25 to -40 temps, when in a normal winter we might have 4-6 days of these temps. Finally today the weather broke and we had a nice day with some serious rain.
It was so nice today at the barn. One of the littler kids was out for her lesson, one of the show kids trailerd her horse out and rode with me and Oscar, we had people out to see the studs and talk about breeding, and all of the buckets were unfrozen!
It was so nice to be back on Oscar, and a broke horse again! I could work at all three gaits, and and work on my position a bit without worrying about him too much. I even managed to lope him all around the arena. All and all a good day.
C & D and I had a bit of a talk about Chilly. I told them that I thought that someone younger and fitter should ride her for a bit that could push her a bit more and stay out of her way more effectively. They kind of agreed. D is going to take over riding her for a while (and will be riding her more as it gets back into our 'normal' temps). Were also going to throw on some of the kids to flop around on her as well to get her used to different riders. We've found that she gets very attached to 'her' people and while that isn't a bad thing, she needs to listen and obey everyone that rides her.
I was a bit down in the dumps about it. I know its the right thing for both of us. She needs someone fitter and more agile and I can't afford to get hurt. However C was very happy to tell the people that were there looking at the studs about how I was going to show Chilly and how they were looking foreword to it. That made me feel a bit better, I hope we can met their expectations!
For the past month we've been dealing with -25 to -40 temps, when in a normal winter we might have 4-6 days of these temps. Finally today the weather broke and we had a nice day with some serious rain.
It was so nice today at the barn. One of the littler kids was out for her lesson, one of the show kids trailerd her horse out and rode with me and Oscar, we had people out to see the studs and talk about breeding, and all of the buckets were unfrozen!
It was so nice to be back on Oscar, and a broke horse again! I could work at all three gaits, and and work on my position a bit without worrying about him too much. I even managed to lope him all around the arena. All and all a good day.
C & D and I had a bit of a talk about Chilly. I told them that I thought that someone younger and fitter should ride her for a bit that could push her a bit more and stay out of her way more effectively. They kind of agreed. D is going to take over riding her for a while (and will be riding her more as it gets back into our 'normal' temps). Were also going to throw on some of the kids to flop around on her as well to get her used to different riders. We've found that she gets very attached to 'her' people and while that isn't a bad thing, she needs to listen and obey everyone that rides her.
I was a bit down in the dumps about it. I know its the right thing for both of us. She needs someone fitter and more agile and I can't afford to get hurt. However C was very happy to tell the people that were there looking at the studs about how I was going to show Chilly and how they were looking foreword to it. That made me feel a bit better, I hope we can met their expectations!
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Pushing limits and when to stop
So this week has been crappy. -20 to -27 plus windchill which usually makes it around -35 to -40 Celsius. I don't go to the barn when its that cold! Heck the ponies didn't even get out of the barn for 2 days. Keeping them in the barn kept them out of the cold, and kept most of the water lines, and buckets from freezing solid.
On Friday we had a blizzard with an additional 20 cm of snow and -15 temps. Today it warmed up to plus 1 (yippie!) because it is going to rain tomorrow (crappy!).... My dad and brother got up on the roof of our house and shoveled it off today. A lot of the larger farms with indoors were doing the same today. Any large indoor arena is at risk of collapse with the amount of snow that we've had, add the water weight from the rain we get tomorrow,,, and things could go bad very quickly. Although I sometimes wish C & D's indoor was bigger, the small narrow shape means that the steep roof can hold a lot of weight.
So today I spent all of the morning at the barn and did too much. I'm now sitting at home, on painkillers resting my bad ankle/foot. I helped muck some stalls, broke the ice out of 14 water buckets and two stock tanks, swept, and helped move round bales around. And then after all of that I went for a ride on Chilly. We still only do 5 minute rides, shes so good to put up with me after only being ridden once a week. I really shouldn't have ridden, but sometimes I cant say no to myself.
We also had a look into Chilly's mouth on the recommendation of our equine dentist. Chilly had her wolf teeth out almost a full year ago, so we knew it wasn't that. Turns out she's loosing her 'baby' teeth and popping caps. So, we've backed off on the bit issue and will continue to ride her in the side pull for another month. If we're still having issues the dentist might have to come out, but she said as long as we can see obvious signs of her growing and loosing teeth, not to be too concerned.
Oscar's mom went back to school today so I'll start riding him again this week (depending on the weather).
I'm on the fence on if I want to keep working Chilly, or to see if me and M can switch for a couple of weeks and have her ride Chilly and me ride Hottie for a bit. She's lighter if less experienced, and can push her more than I can. Meanwhile I could get Hottie a bit more broke for her.... something to think about for sure...
On Friday we had a blizzard with an additional 20 cm of snow and -15 temps. Today it warmed up to plus 1 (yippie!) because it is going to rain tomorrow (crappy!).... My dad and brother got up on the roof of our house and shoveled it off today. A lot of the larger farms with indoors were doing the same today. Any large indoor arena is at risk of collapse with the amount of snow that we've had, add the water weight from the rain we get tomorrow,,, and things could go bad very quickly. Although I sometimes wish C & D's indoor was bigger, the small narrow shape means that the steep roof can hold a lot of weight.
So today I spent all of the morning at the barn and did too much. I'm now sitting at home, on painkillers resting my bad ankle/foot. I helped muck some stalls, broke the ice out of 14 water buckets and two stock tanks, swept, and helped move round bales around. And then after all of that I went for a ride on Chilly. We still only do 5 minute rides, shes so good to put up with me after only being ridden once a week. I really shouldn't have ridden, but sometimes I cant say no to myself.
We also had a look into Chilly's mouth on the recommendation of our equine dentist. Chilly had her wolf teeth out almost a full year ago, so we knew it wasn't that. Turns out she's loosing her 'baby' teeth and popping caps. So, we've backed off on the bit issue and will continue to ride her in the side pull for another month. If we're still having issues the dentist might have to come out, but she said as long as we can see obvious signs of her growing and loosing teeth, not to be too concerned.
Oscar's mom went back to school today so I'll start riding him again this week (depending on the weather).
I'm on the fence on if I want to keep working Chilly, or to see if me and M can switch for a couple of weeks and have her ride Chilly and me ride Hottie for a bit. She's lighter if less experienced, and can push her more than I can. Meanwhile I could get Hottie a bit more broke for her.... something to think about for sure...
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Goals for 2014
Ok and here comes the annual tradition of setting goals for the new year! So goals from last year can be found here. For a breakdown, here is what I wanted to focus on for this year -
1) Ride different horses. Even if its just the kids horses, more saddle time on different horses will make me more confidant.
Kind of done, I rode Oscar and Lucy this year and Chilly most recently, and I did get one ride in on Hottie but this is a goal that I am going to try again on this year.
2) Try to continue to ride Oscar at least twice a week.
Done! I ride Oscar twice a week on the minimum, and got to riding 4-5 times this summer. Hopefully once the weather gets a bit better we can get back to that, or at least riding Chilly and Oscar both on the nights that I do get to the barn.
3) Take more pictures of the horses and try to get someone to take photos of me on the horses.
Done! Thanks to some friends with cameras I actually got some good pictures this summer (including the one at the top of the page)
4) Try to get to 2 horse shows this summer and show!
Done! I got to 4 shows this summer and rode at all of them! And even showed for 3 days in a row at our last show.
5) To loose 20 pounds before show season. (May)
Done! Total loss was about 40lbs in total for the year. (some gained some lost this fall) I hope to lose even more but its a very good start.
6) To have more "wow look what we just did" moments weather at home or at shows.
Done! Being top two in a tough showmanship class at our first show, winning our first jacket, NAILING a tough trail pattern, and best of all riding Lucy with no bridle (or halter) our last ride together this fall.
7) To keep on top of my finances, If I want to seriously start looking for a new horse in 2014 I need to have a decent size budget to do that with. Most of Lucas' money went to fixing my car, and paying off loans not so much saving for a new horse.
Yeah, as much as I want a new horse I NEED to move out of my parents place. Student loans will be done next year.. and besides, with the time off work and out of the saddle that my ankle replacement will need, money / time will be tight.
So goals for 2014!!
I am going to reuse some of my goals from last year to continue on this year ...(is that cheating? I really like them?!?)
1) Ride different horses. Even if its just the kids horses, more saddle time on different horses will make me more confidant.
2) Try to continue to ride at least twice a week.
3) To have more "wow look what we just did" moments weather at home or at shows.
4) To have some serious plans to be out of my parents house and be closer to work by this time next year. Its going to mean moving away from the barn but part of the plan is going to be finding a way to ride.
5) To show this summer. Doesn't matter what horse or where but I want to show. I'd really love it to be with Chilly. (And maybe Lucy at the exhibition lol)
6) To make myself go out and interact with people who might not necessarily be horse related.
7) To try to get out to a clinic or two this year and ride in them!
1) Ride different horses. Even if its just the kids horses, more saddle time on different horses will make me more confidant.
Kind of done, I rode Oscar and Lucy this year and Chilly most recently, and I did get one ride in on Hottie but this is a goal that I am going to try again on this year.
2) Try to continue to ride Oscar at least twice a week.
Done! I ride Oscar twice a week on the minimum, and got to riding 4-5 times this summer. Hopefully once the weather gets a bit better we can get back to that, or at least riding Chilly and Oscar both on the nights that I do get to the barn.
3) Take more pictures of the horses and try to get someone to take photos of me on the horses.
Done! Thanks to some friends with cameras I actually got some good pictures this summer (including the one at the top of the page)
4) Try to get to 2 horse shows this summer and show!
Done! I got to 4 shows this summer and rode at all of them! And even showed for 3 days in a row at our last show.
5) To loose 20 pounds before show season. (May)
Done! Total loss was about 40lbs in total for the year. (some gained some lost this fall) I hope to lose even more but its a very good start.
6) To have more "wow look what we just did" moments weather at home or at shows.
Done! Being top two in a tough showmanship class at our first show, winning our first jacket, NAILING a tough trail pattern, and best of all riding Lucy with no bridle (or halter) our last ride together this fall.
7) To keep on top of my finances, If I want to seriously start looking for a new horse in 2014 I need to have a decent size budget to do that with. Most of Lucas' money went to fixing my car, and paying off loans not so much saving for a new horse.
Yeah, as much as I want a new horse I NEED to move out of my parents place. Student loans will be done next year.. and besides, with the time off work and out of the saddle that my ankle replacement will need, money / time will be tight.
So goals for 2014!!
I am going to reuse some of my goals from last year to continue on this year ...(is that cheating? I really like them?!?)
1) Ride different horses. Even if its just the kids horses, more saddle time on different horses will make me more confidant.
2) Try to continue to ride at least twice a week.
3) To have more "wow look what we just did" moments weather at home or at shows.
4) To have some serious plans to be out of my parents house and be closer to work by this time next year. Its going to mean moving away from the barn but part of the plan is going to be finding a way to ride.
5) To show this summer. Doesn't matter what horse or where but I want to show. I'd really love it to be with Chilly. (And maybe Lucy at the exhibition lol)
6) To make myself go out and interact with people who might not necessarily be horse related.
7) To try to get out to a clinic or two this year and ride in them!
Sunday, December 29, 2013
3rd ride on Chilly
I managed to get my 3rd ride in today on Chilly. We kept her and her pasture buddy in while we did stalls, and then I took her out, got her brushed and put her to work. I lunged her in the sidepull again today, left the bit off.to keep her happy. Shes really starting to grow and develop and now that she's level again its making 'slow' and correct so much easier for her.
As much as I don't like her pushing and slightly stressing about the bit in her mouth she carries her head very low, and keeps her back up when she does it. Its also helping her develop her back muscles. We just have to find one she doesn't fuss with as much. As for bits, we've tried a plain medium mouthed snaffle, a french link, and a ported barrel bit (no chains or shanks or anything, just hooked to the bridle, but I wanted to see if the port with more room for her tongue would make her happier, it didn't) Anyone have any ideas of what else to try? We're going to try a mullen mouth next as well.
So after she got lunged I got my mounting block out, D held her for me (although its not really needed, we want to make each situation easy, and to avoid issues when every possible. I need the block, having someone make sure she doesn't move away, means that we never give the opening for an issue to arise). We walked for about 5 minutes, doing small and large circles each direction, stopping, backing and turning her sharply into the wall. We then jogged about a circle each direction before going on a walk in figure 8's all around the arena.
Shes such a good little mare. We just need time, and I need to stop eating Christmas chocolate!
As much as I don't like her pushing and slightly stressing about the bit in her mouth she carries her head very low, and keeps her back up when she does it. Its also helping her develop her back muscles. We just have to find one she doesn't fuss with as much. As for bits, we've tried a plain medium mouthed snaffle, a french link, and a ported barrel bit (no chains or shanks or anything, just hooked to the bridle, but I wanted to see if the port with more room for her tongue would make her happier, it didn't) Anyone have any ideas of what else to try? We're going to try a mullen mouth next as well.
So after she got lunged I got my mounting block out, D held her for me (although its not really needed, we want to make each situation easy, and to avoid issues when every possible. I need the block, having someone make sure she doesn't move away, means that we never give the opening for an issue to arise). We walked for about 5 minutes, doing small and large circles each direction, stopping, backing and turning her sharply into the wall. We then jogged about a circle each direction before going on a walk in figure 8's all around the arena.
Shes such a good little mare. We just need time, and I need to stop eating Christmas chocolate!
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