A long rambling update, of sorts

I haven't been great about posting lately - you'd think with a new horse, I would be posting all kinds of stuff!   I guess I just have little tidbits of stuff that don't really amount to a whole post. So, today, since I'm up early on a Sunday morning, you guys will get the whole rambling mess!

Spencer is doing well - I had to mow (and rake!) 3/4 of his paddock with my lawn tractor, since I'm a bit concerned that he is gaining too much weight.  My vet friend came over last night and assured me his weight was ok.  His weight is on the high side of normal, so I do need to monitor that and not let it go any higher.  Oh the fun of an easy keeper!    I had also bought a grazing muzzle, but it looks like I won't have to use it after all.   I have also not been feeding him any grain, with the exception of a small amount of a vitamin/mineral supplement. I have used a grand total of two bales of hay in the past month!

 Mowing my pasture? That is just crazy!?!!

I never suspected I would be cursing the fact that I have too much pasture!  I guess I need a few more 4-legged bodies out there to help eat it all.  I'm considering donkeys and maybe next year I might consider adopting a standardbred or TB from adoption agencies here. We'll see how the budget looks.

I have been having fun taking pictures of my cats outside. They follow us around like dogs a lot of the time. They will even come for "walks" out back if we call them.  We do have to be careful that if we go for a walk on the road that they don't follow us. We usually have to round them up and put them in the house if we leave the property!

(The Hubby would also like it known that he does not like cats (or any other animals for that matter! lol)

The fence is not hot, in case you were wondering...

I have been working on a budget for the house - since we've moved our mortgage is a bit bigger, so it eats up more of my disposable income that I used to blow spend on tack and things.  Being on a budget is not much fun, but it gives me a good idea of what we are spending where and how we can make it work for us.  Mostly the budgeting exercise is a way to save up extra money to afford more horses - who am I kidding? lol

I've also started planning for doing a few club shows next year! Hopefully that happens, as it has been on my bucket list for a long time.  I definitely have a horse that can do those shows, I just need to get myself tuned up!  I also want to plan ahead for the cost, so that a lack of funds is not an obstacle.  The local shows are pretty cheap for the day, but I have to add in trailering and probably some tack purchases. I've been told by that I can probably borrow tack for next year, but I don't want to assume that will be the case.

I have also decided that I'm going to take lessons over the winter at the place I where I used to board Rusty. She is really close and has lots of different horses to ride.  I was going to just not ride over the winter, but I figured that if I want to try showing, I need to keep my riding going. Too bad it won't be on my horse, but I think riding different horses and keeping my legs in shape will be well worth it.

I told you this post was going to be long and rambling!

Tentative Steps Outside the Comfort Zone

I'm having a great weekend so far - we are getting stuff done around the house and barn, as well, I've worked with my horse a fair bit.

Last night I took a few minutes to try and get some nice photos of the new guy...  I then dragged out some poles and cones and did about 45 minutes of showmanship type stuff with Spencer.  Most of that was for my benefit - he is apparently a showmanship pro.  I'm ok on the the basics, but need to work on my turns...those are tricky for me for some reason.

This morning, the hubby and I cleaned and organized another section of the barn. He installed some brackets for shelves to store some lumber and my jump poles.  It is nice to have all of the spare lumber and tools organized so that there is more room for our stuff.

After all our work was done, the hubby went into the house for a break.  I decided that I would ride while I was still outside. I had a hunch that if I went inside and sat down, I wouldn't be as motivated to go back out!

I got Spencer ready and tacked up and headed out to the riding ring.  I couldn't find my mounting block anywhere! (I can get on from the ground, but it isn't a pretty sight right now.)  I looked all over the place for something to use to help me get on, but had no luck.

 I decided that the easiest thing would be to just go out and hand walk Spencer around the neigbourhood side streets. I have been meaning to do this for a week, but kept chickening out.

Today was as good of a day as any, I figured.  We headed out on to the road and within minutes, 2 cars passed us. I was nervous, but Spencer didn't care.  Phew! Good to have that over with!  I walked around the more quiet side streets for another 15 minutes or so and waved at some neighbours.  After walking for a while, I started hunting around for a way to get on my horse and ride!

I managed to find a big rock and used that to jump on. I was still a bit nervous, but decided I was close enough to home that I should be fine.  I rode Spencer back home!!!  I was so happy, that we were out there alone and doing ok!  We were even passed by 2 cars on the way back and Spencer didn't seem to care at all.  I was finally starting to relax as I got home. I think in a few more rides, I'll be fine out on the road with him.

He didn't seem to react to my nerves at all, which is what I was hoping for in a horse.  He was looking around a fair bit at the houses and people, but aside from some minor steering issues, he was really, really good.  Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of our adventure, so that will have to wait until next time.

One week down

So, I’ve had a horse at home for exactly one week...and I’ve been worrying and being my anxious self all week.  Lol 

The first four days he was here, I was out in the pasture every 15 minutes checking on him.  I think after the first few visits, he was getting a little annoyed.  I’ve noticed that he has a “what do you want now?” look that often results in a big sigh when he realizes I just want to pet him or put on more fly spray.

what now?

I’ve also decided that I’m going to give him another barn name.  Spinner just isn’t working out for me – it reminds me of the thing I disliked the most about Dolly – her spinning and balking out on the trail. It would be a great name for a reiner maybe, but I’m just not liking it. The previous owner told me she renamed him Spinner, because his original name is Scooter – which is almost as bad!  I think I’m going to go with Spencer for now, as it sounds similar enough to his other names.  I call him Buddy most of the time when I’m chattering away, so I don’t think it matters too much in the end!

I’ve been out for 4 rides so far and he has been pretty good.  He is a bit looky, but doesn’t put a foot wrong, so I can’t fault that. I’m also having some minor saddle fit issues, since he is a bit high-withered.  I’ll have to post more about that later, as I’m just getting started on searching out my options for something that will work.

I’m also slightly concerned that he will founder on all my nice grass – which is a problem I’m not used to. No boarding stable I have been at in 5 years has had enough grass to be concerned about.  He had been out on pasture for 2 weeks before I bought him, so that helps, but the previous owners felt that my grass was better than theirs.  The first 4 days he was here, I would rotate him between the pasture, his stall and the riding ring every 4 hours or so. The riding ring has grass, but I’ve kept it mowed really short, so there isn’t much there.  Now that I’m at work, he is out in his pasture all day and in the riding ring/stall in the evening and overnight.  That seems to be working out ok. In another few days, I’ll probably leave him out at night, as he prefers to be out. I’m guessing that grass this late in the summer doesn’t have the high sugar content that it does in the spring.

All in all, I think I made a good purchase this time around!  I’m looking forward to riding as much as possible this fall and getting my legs back in riding shape! I’ve been limping around with sore not-used-to-riding-again muscles this week...lol