Drought and little outside tour

I thought I was due for an update here... Dolly is one week into her trial and I haven't had any updates yet, so I'm assuming things are going ok so far. I'm still looking for another horse, but haven't really found anything worth getting really excited over.  I won't be able to do anything until Dolly sells, so I'm mostly just  window shopping at this point.

We are in a bit of a drought here - I don't think my area has had any rain in over a month. Things are very dry and crispy. The local farmers were able to get a decent first cut of hay, but unless it rains soon, that is all they will get. I won't be at all surprised to hear of hay shortages here over the winter months.

dry, hard soil

My lawn is completely dead, except for a few hardy weeds.  My riding ring has dead grass, which is actually ok. lol  I mowed it really short a few weeks ago, hoping it would die.  I don't want to spray weed/grass killer on it, since my cats are outside now.  I'm hoping to have the ring disced sometime in the coming weeks, or just start riding on the dead grass and hope that the sand starts to come back (assuming I get a horse sometime this summer!)

riding ring - will it get used this year????

 This is a shot of my front pasture - I had it bushogged in early June and the grass hasn't grown one bit. Which is ok, really, since there are no horses to eat it! I also need to do more major fence repairs here, but that will probably wait until the spring.

I took a short walk around the outside of the pastures - there is a bit of open space where I would like to make some trails over the coming months.  I think I can do a fair bit with the whipper snipper to get the really long grass down and then probably drive the lawn tractor through on a high setting.  There is some exposed rock back there though, so I'll have to be careful.  I was also thinking a scythe (who knew that there are several sites to buy scythes!) would come in handy! lol

wondering if I can hack out some trails...

 I have a few minor repairs to make to the electric fence in my main paddock. The braid is a bit loose in the picture below, but it won't be a big problem to sort that out. I also have to get rid of the pallets in there - that is just an accident waiting to happen! It has been so hot here that I haven't done much around the barn.

The previous owners also left me a large manure pile that they also started filling with branches and yard waste.  It is totally overgrown now and will be a bit of work to get it all sorted out.  I'm thinking it sounds like a good project for the fall and cooler temps.   If a horse comes home in the near future, I will probably just put up a bit of temporary electric fence to keep it away from that mess. Some of the grass in that area is over 5ft tall!

 That's about it for the outside at my place right now. When I finish cleaning and organizing the barn, I'll get some pics there.  Keep your fingers crossed that we get some rain soon!

My decision

See the brown bum on the right side?

I decided to let Dolly go - she is on a two week trial with the potential new owners. I talked to a bunch of people about trials and got lots of good advice.  I had the new people sign a contract, I checked a reference and received part of the payment in cash.  I get the feeling that they are good people, so hopefully I'm not wrong there!

It feels a bit strange to have her gone - even if only temporarily.  She may come back to me, but I also got the hunch that the husband realllly liked her already.

Last night I wandered around the house, at a loss for something to do... (There is lots to do, just would've preferred being at the barn!)  My new coach told me he found a horse for me to look at, so I'll be trying to arrange that sometime in the next few days.  I don't like being horse-less, it just doesn't feel right!

In which I find myself in a bit of a pickle...

*warning - long post - skip down to the end for the important stuff! *

You guys are all to familiar with my dilemma with Dolly. She is a nice little mare - pretty, mostly easy to deal with on the ground, good size for me, good age, etc. etc., but I have been having confidence issues with her on the trail. That is pretty much the status quo for her and I. 

2 weeks ago I went on trail ride with some other people from the barn. There were 9 horse/rider combos in total. I rode a pretty buckskin paint mare and a teenage girl rode Dolly.  Dolly was wound up and acting a bit loony for the first 30 minutes of the ride and then slowly started to settle down. She had worked herself into a lather, doing all kinds of fancy dressage moves back and forth down the trail. Her rider just sat it out and didn't mind her antics at all. I was nervous just watching! lol  After that ride, I was determined to sell her, as I knew I didn't have the seat or the nerves to sit out 30 minutes of antics when riding in a group.

Last week I finally had one response to her sale ad and the people found her on a recommendation from a local endurance rider.  The guy came out to have a look at Dolly, who would maybe be his wife's horse to ride in local rides.  I was very up front about why I was selling the horse and he wasn't concerned. 

In the mean time, the barn owners had set me up with a trainer/coach that they thought could help Dolly and I, or at the least, tell me straight up whether he thought Dolly and I were a good match or not.  I had him out on Saturday and we had a great chat about goals and my issues (nerves!!!!!!).  He is also a sports coach, so he had lots of thoughts on mental training for the rider as well, which is more my issue than an actual problem with the horse.

He rode Dolly for about 45 minutes and he actually really liked her.  She is super senstive in the bridle, which is a good thing, he thought. He started working on flexing and bending as he felt that she was very stiff and unbalanced (which RuckusButt thought as well when she visited).  I got on for a few minutes after he rode and could feel a bit of a difference in her mental state - if that makes any sense.

Coach Dan come out again on Sunday and we worked with Dolly for almost two hours (not all in the saddle). In that time, he had her doing a quiet western jog with her head all down and relaxed!  I couldn't quite believe it, since she normally gets all excited at the trot - even in the ring - and has her head up in the air...

I got on for 15-20 minutes and we worked on some exercises at the walk so I could get a feel for how he was doing things. It felt like I was riding a totally different horse! I didn't try the trot or jog yet, since that will probably take some time for me to get...but I felt that maybe with some coaching we had a good chance to get over our issues.

And then, Sunday night, I got a call from the potential buyer and he wanted to come back with his wife this time!  (Kudos to any readers that made it down this far to discover the actual "pickle" from the title! lol)  I actually wavered a bit on whether or not to tell them that she is no longer for sale.  I think we made some good progress in two sessions and could do a lot more over the summer, with regular coaching.  On the other hand, I could still sell her and start fresh with another horse (which I have yet to find...).

Now, there is no guarantee that these people will buy her, but they are interested.  I slept on the problem and when I woke up this morning, I still didn't have a clear idea of what to do.  So, I called the potential buyer and told him that my price was firm and I wasn't negotiating and if he was still interested, he could come out and try her again.  If they love her and are willing to pay my asking price, I'll probably let her go and chalk it up to experience and learning...maybe she will be "the one that got away" or something...

I never thought I would be in a spot with Dolly where I wouldn't want to sell her if the opportunity came up...  Up until yesterday, I was ready to trade her or sell her to the first interested party! So, we'll see how things go tonight and maybe I'll have to make a tough decision...

Time flies...

I can’t believe that we are officially half-way through 2012! This year is just flying by for me – probably because of all of the stress and excitement I have had this year!

I don’t know that I have enough brain power to do a proper post, so I think I’ll just do a bulleted list for now.

• I have paid for board for the month of July for Dolly at the place down the road – they are ok with me trying Dolly at home for a day or two and then brining her back if she can’t handle being alone...
• ...and if she can’t handle being alone, my new barn owners have offered me a loaner horse to keep Dolly company. All I would have to do is feed the mare and maybe pay for her farrier work – not a bad deal.
• I have been given the name of someone who might be able to help coach me and put a few rides on Dolly. I’ve given him a call and have my first lesson tomorrow morning
• I bought and stored 95 bales of hay yesterday! Woo-hoo! I know 95 isn’t much, but I can’t store more than 120-150 anyway and this will get me started. It only cost me $3.00/bale as well!
• We have my father-in-law’s truck this week, so I’m going to be getting the last few supplies I need to get my barn set up – I’m very excited about this! I need a couple small water troughs and a few bits and pieces for my tack room. Pictures to follow in the near future...
• I'm still deep in my horse search and haven't really come up with much. I'm not in any rush, since I have some options with Dolly, so that is good.  I was told about a little QH gelding at my barn that might be available in the next few months, so we'll see if that goes anywhere...
• I was contemplating getting a goat, but the hubby is totally against it at this point! I'm hoping a little stray goat makes its way to my place and then we won't be able to turn it away... lol

Ok - that about sums up the big stuff for today...  More to come if I can find the patience to sit and write about stuff!