Western saddle troubles and lesson update

Things with Rusy are going pretty well. My new barn owner just loves him and spoils him at every chance. He gets to stay in at night if it is cold or raining and she convinced me to order him a cute new blanket. She even started feeding him peppermints! Spoiled, I tell ya!

As much as I joke about him being spoiled, I'm very happy with my decision to change barns. He is getting alot of attention, good food and good living conditions. Since he is older (17), it is nice to know he is as well taken care of as possible. I want to keep him going for as many years as I can.

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Lessons are going well - we have been just working at the walk and trot for now, trying to get Rusty to relax and take the bit more. He tends to ride behind the bit with his neck all scrunched up. We have been doing alot of consistent trot work and that is starting to help. My riding is smoother and he is starting to let go of his old habits. I find I'm still a little strong with my aids and corrections sometimes, so that is something I need to work on. Often I'll feel him starting to break from the trot and I'll give him a little too much leg and he will blast off and surge forward.

I was pretty sure my western saddle didn't fit him 100% and started experimenting with different saddle pads to try and get the saddle up off his withers. I couldn't get any fingers in between the withers and the saddle, so I'm sure he wasn't too comfortable. I have started doing some research on a new saddle, but it is hard to find western saddles for high withered horses. Although Rusty has high withers, he is fairly broad in the shoulders and back - kind of like a triangle. Luckily my barn owner has several saddles she is letting me try to see if we can find a brand/model that is higher in the pommel to accomodate those withers! This photo doesn't show quite how low it sits, but you can tell how low it is. With a rider's weight up in the saddle, you actually can't get your hand under the pommel at all.

Tonight, we tried a very low tech and budget conscious method - a fleece pommel pad and a piece of foam cut out to level the saddle. Normally, I woudn't try and use all kinds of padding to make a saddle fit - I would get a new saddle. The foam and pommel pad did not work AT ALL - it was quite the ghetto setup. We then tried a lami-cell pad, that had a wither cutout and some built-up areas. On top of the special pad, I just used a really thick western blanket. That seemed to do the trick enough to keep the saddle in a better position. I'm going to go out and buy one of those pads - much cheaper than a new saddle right now.

I did call a tack shop a few hours south of here (none of the local shops were much help) and the lady was super-helpful. She rhymed off several saddle brands/models that might work. They even ship for free. I will probably take that avenue in the spring to find something that works. Right now, I'm reading up on Billy Cook, Circle Y and Tucker saddles. Circle Y and Tucker are in my good books because they offer a short fender option for those of us that are vertically challenged! Anyone else have any suggestions???

In my research, I came across Double J Saddles, based in Texas. Have you guys heard of/seen these? They are extremely fancy and blinged to the nines. A little out of my price range, but fun to look at all the same. Check out the barrel saddles - Cdncowgirl and BECG - you guys need these for your barrel events!

Got mints??

I got a blog award!

The lovely Lisa at Laughing Orca Ranch was feeling generous and gave me a little blog award.



How cool is that? lol It is the "million dollar friend" award.

Now I get to pass it on to some more great bloggers. I'm not sure if there are any rules for how many blogs to pick - but who cares? Rules are meant to be broken, right?

Cdncowgirl
Stephanie
Brown-eyed Cowgirls
Sidetracked
Mrs Mom
Denise
AOHCM
Nuzzling Muzzles

I wanted to give this to everyone on my blog list, but I thought that others could have some fun picking blogs too...

I'm working on a post about Rusty and saddle fitting - hopefully I'll get around to finishing it this weekend. I need to go out to the barn and take more pictures!

Tack malfunction (with photos!!)

I was out riding again today and actually managed to get some photos this time around. It helped that I had my assistant with me.

I've been lungeing ol' Rusty a bit before each ride, just to give him a chance to work out any little kinks he might have. It's a good chance for me to gauge how he is feeling and acting before I get on.

These two ponies are Rusty's pasture-mates. They were looking on as we rode. I dubbed them the peanut gallery. Shorty, my crush was in a a different pasture today, so no chance to pet him... I was doing a fair bit of trotting with Rusty and I'm doing alot better than when I first started riding him. We are starting to smooth out some of the rougher spots in both of our riding. Although, today, Rusty seemed to want to canter every time I put a bit of leg on him. Silly horse. I worked on slowing him back down and only cantering when *I* asked him to. He can get a little snorty when I start doing that and it used to make me nervous. It's mostly funny to me now.

After about 20 minutes of riding, something interesting happened - I went to pull on my reins and there was only air... (Sorry for the happy face on the picture - I had my eyes closed and was making a really weird face!)

Here is a close-up of the tack malfunction - the chicago screw on my left rein let go! I didn't have any spares, so Rusty got out of the rest of his ride. I'm going to have to go buy a package of screws tomorrow - my luck they will only come in boxes of 500 or something! I laughed when this happened and I realized how lucky I was to be in the ring and not somewhere out on a trail!

Is an update on not much of anything an update at all?

Well...it's been awhile since my last post. I have been riding my horse, working, sleeping and eating and that is about it. How exciting!?!?!?!

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My lessons have been going well - I'm pretty much starting from ground zero and filling in all of the holes in my riding. I'm hoping the learning curve speeds up a bit as we go. I'm already feeling more confident and my legs are getting stronger, so that is all good.

I've been riding western and we have been working on slowing Rusty's trot down alot. I wouldn't say we have a jog yet, but we are well on the way. It won't be an AQHA jog where the horse is in slow motion, but we will have a jog. I have also been working on walk/trot transitions and that is going alot better so that makes me feel like we are making some progress.

I have been writing down all of the drills/exercises that my barn owner has me doing and trying to do some of the exercises when I ride on my own. You should see all of my funny little diagrams and notes - I feel like a kid in school!

I've been meaning to take some pictures, but I always seem to be there alone and I have a hard enough time handling gates while trying to manage longe lines, tack, helmets, and a horse that I haven't managed to add taking pictures in. There are always people around too, so I feel a little silly trying to take pictures.

Rusty is turned out with three ponies. I totally have a horse-crush on one of them. He is a little chestnut paint and his name is Shorty. He nickers and trots over to the fence every time I come out. I can't help but give him a scratch. He is under 14hh and has the cutest little belly!

That's about all that is going on here - hope y'all can handle the excitement! :-p

Book tag, winter and geography

wow - two posts in one day! I obviously have alot to chatter about...

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I think I'm going to pack up my belongings and take a road trip - first to Georgia to see Mrs. Mom and then on to New Mexico to see Lisa - anyone else live somewhere warm where I can visit??? ;-p

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To answer a few questions from my chilly winter post below...

I'm in Ottawa, Ontario. As the crow flies, we are right above Syracuse NY. I can get there in 3 or so hours, depending on traffic and weather. (There's a nice outlet mall there!)

This snow should melt tomorrow, it will be a balmy 7C (44F) and up to 12C (53F) on Friday! Crack out the bathing suits and suntan lotion! Our indian summer is usually late Sept-early Oct. This time of year, anything goes. We don't usually get alot of snow that stays until December...

Winters here are really varied. Last year we had the most snow I've seen since I was little - we almost broke a record for the region - totalled up to over 13 feet (over 400cm) of snow over the course of the winter. The high amount of snow is good in a way, because it doesn't get that cold.

Some winters are freezing cold and dry - with a high wind chill - Cdncowgirl knows all about that being out in the prairies! lol It isn't uncommon to see temps below -22F (-30C) when the wind gusts. When it is like that, the snow gets all hard and icy - not very fun. Most winters are a mix of cold and snow and yuckiness..! I grew up about 8 hours south-west of here (about 1hr from MI), where the winters are usually quite a bit milder. I've been living here for (counts fingers) 14 years now and I'm still not used to the freezing cold!

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Enough of the freezing cold talk, time for my book tag!

Ok - this is kind of embarassing - the book right beside my computer is a Nora Roberts book called "The Reef". I admit to reading chick lit. You heard it here first. I'll read pretty much anything, but I often like to alternate more serious stuff with fun stuff! There is a John Lyons training book under the fluff, but I didn't want to cheat and grab that instead!

Lisa at Laughing Orca Ranch included me in this book tag.

1) Grab the nearest book.
2) Open the book to page 56.
3) Find the fifth sentence.
4) Post the text of the next two to five sentences.
5) Don't dig for your favorite book, the cool book or the intellectual one --pick the closest.
6) Tag five people to do the same.

OK - pg 56 - "Tate worked the big drop-leaf table in the deckhouse with her mother, cataloguing every item they'd brought up from the wreck. "It's the Santa Marguerite." We found our Spanish galleon, Mom!"

It is a book about people diving for treasure on shipwrecks - I'm only on about page 56 reading it, so I'm sure there is romance and hijinks on the high seas to ensue!

I'm really bad at tagging people - so Cdncowgirl, AOHCM, Natarojo - consider yourself tagged if you wish to participate. If you don't - no worries!

Winter weather... :-(

Our weather has taken a bit of a turn for the worse. 15cm ( which Google tells me is just under 6 inches) of snow overnight. Yuck. It had rained all day, so there was a thick layer of ice under the snow. It is still snowing and windy now. Can I move to Florida? Or hibernate or something?

The good news in all of this is that it is supposed to go up to a balmy high of 10C (50F) by Friday, so most of this junk should melt! Brrrr!! I haven't taken out my winter gear yet, so luckily this morning I was able to find my leather winter riding gloves - they saved my fingers this morning!


PS - Lisa - I haven't forgot about your tag - I'll do it tonight - if I can warm up! lol :-)

First Lesson Down

I'm a bit surprised that no one has noticed my new banner picture...

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We had our first lesson last night and it went ok. We have discovered several holes in Rusty's training and many craters in mine. :-) My barn owner/instructor is a great teacher and I feel really lucky to be able to take lessons on my own horse.

Rusty is stiff in the neck and poll, so we were working on bending exercises to unstick him. It will be slow going, because he gets resistant - almost clausterphobic - when we start asking alot of him in that way. We will have to do a few minutes of exercises, then a few minutes just trotting out to stretch out and relax. Most of our work is done at the walk. If you can't do something at the walk, I figure it will be darn near impossible to do something at the trot or canter.

I felt a little frustrated during the lesson as Rusty needed alot of leg - he wasn't moving off my leg well, so it was taking extra effort to keep him moving. I'm sure that will come "unstuck" as well as we progress, but for now it is tough. My short stubby legs feel very ineffective and I was grumbling all the way home about being just a couple of inches taller. Oh well, I have to work with what I was given, right? Remind me next time I am horse shopping to go buy a pony.

We also started working on walk/trot transitions. We were starting to get a smooth upward transition, but the downward transition is a bit rough. Rusty's upward transition is usually panicked and choppy - not sure if it was the kids riding him before or not. He came from a fancy dressage barn, so you think the instructor would have worked them a little bit? Another one of those things you can't change, but must just deal with.

We have another lesson on Thursday, then we settle into a once a week schedule. I hope to ride at least three other times during the week to work on my homework!

A very blustery day - in which Rusty goes for a ride...

It was a lovely windy fall day today. The clouds scuttled across the sky and coloured leaves blew all around (to the disdain of people who were trying to rake their lawns).

I went out to see Rusty today to take him for a short ride. I wasn't sure how he would do on such a blustery windy day. He isn't spooky by nature, but on a day like this, most horses would jump at the chance to have an excuse to act up.

He was way out in the field when I went to catch him. He often comes to the fence when I call him, but not today. I think he likes his new pasture arrangement! I had to walk out and get him and for a minute I thought he might pull a page out of My Boy's book and give me a bit of a chase. Turns out he didn't feel like running, he just didn't feel like helping me out either... :-)

We rode inside in preparation for our first lesson tomorrow night. I didn't want him to be all jumpy in the arena. Again, I was cautious for nothing - he looked around a bit, but didn't make a move to do anything silly. The wind blew through the arena and we carried on as normal.

I rode for about 3o minutes, doing a little walk, trot and canter. He seemed to want to canter, so I had him canter down the long side and trot the short side. After doing that a few times, he didn't mind just trotting. Silly horse.

He is adjusting really well at the new barn. He is out with three other ponies during the day and in a warm cozy stall at night. That horse is being totally spoiled ! The barn owner said that he is just a total doll and that if she was looking for another horse, she would want one just like him (she runs a small riding school). She is very happy to have us there and is looking forward to teaching us both. She checked his teeth for me (she's a vet), checked his hooves, and watched him move to just confirm that he is sound (which I was sure he was, but nice to have an experienced eye check). She is helping me size him for a blanket (spoiled!) so we can keep him nice and warm.

She even rode him a bit on Friday just to get a feel for him. When she started riding him, he pulled out a few tricks right off the bat. He pinned his ears, tried to cut in off the rail and refused to trot. She just laughed and after a lap around the arena he stopped. It's funny to see his half-hearted little tricks. He doesn't try too many of them with me anymore, so he likes to test a new rider just to see what he can get away with.

She is pretty sure he was started and trained western first because of the way he moves. She also thought that some previous riders had been pretty hard on his mouth. He often moves his head behind the bit out of fear of getting his mouth yanked on. He came from three or so years of kids riding "dressage" on him at a place where they thought getting a horse into a frame meant pulling and see-sawing on the reins - I even saw them do it. I try and ride with very soft hands, so I'm sure we'll get him over that soon.

We have our first lesson tomorrow night and another one Thursday, so I'm sure we will be making lots of progress soon.

Wordless Wednesday

Day Three at the New Barn

Wow - exciting post title or what? lol

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Thanks for all of the great comments guys. I appreciate it. Rusty is a good guy and if I can relax enough and start to trust him more, I think he will take good care of me.

NM - If I had a saddle that I knew would fit your guys, I would ship it down to you in a flash!

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Rusty is settling in well at his new barn, but there is a lot of different activity at this place that at his old barn. Horses are moved around from turnout field to the barn and there are quite a few lessons - especially on Saturdays, so horses are on the move a bit. I'm sure he will get used to it quickly. He isn't being bad or anything, just kind of looking at everything with wide eyes.

We had our first ride in the indoor arena on Saturday. He has been in an indoor arena lots of times before, so I knew he would be ok. The thing that did distract him is that the sides of the arena have tarps that can be raised to allow for airflow. They are at a height where a horse can just see out if they have their head up high.

Rusty was a bit wound up - so we lunged for about 2o minutes. He was whinnying and messing around a bit. I even got a nice buck when I asked him to canter. This time around I just laughed at the appy-tude and let him work it out. After the lungeing, I got on and we just walked around, working on halting and circles a bit - nothing too strenuous. He was calming down by this point, so I called it a day.

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Things might be quiet around here this week. I'm swamped at work and I'm working some overtime just to keep my head above water. I'm dealing with some really pushy personalities as well and that just drains me. We all work for the same place, so I don't see why people have to fight and be difficult. I guess that is the Libra in me - I'm a bit of a diplomat - I try and be nice to everyone - I find I can get more done that way. I also don't like conflict. If I didn't need to keep Rusty in the style to which he is accustomed, it would be very tempting to just quit and get a job at the mall - or a tack shop!

Rusty's big day...

So, Rusty is safe and sound at his new farm. I left with him out in a large paddock with a new friend (that didn't kick or bite him!) and a big round bale of hay. He seemed quite content.

We followed the trailer over to the new place. The scenery was great. Arrival at the new place...
Rusty is probably wondering why people are standing around taking pictures and talking while he is STUCK in this tin can on wheels...! He was a great boy and walked right on the trailer without even a whisker of hesitation. (Phew!)
Backing out. There were three horses in a paddock to our immediate right and they were going nuts - running around and bucking. Rusty didn't seem to notice or care. Good boy Rusty!
A shot of the hooligans...

I had a very productive day today. I was at four different barns from 2-7pm today. I meet someone to deliver some tack they bought, then went to my old barn to get Rusty. We then went to the new barn. While the new barn owner was busy, I ran over to the fourth barn to sell yet more tack. I feel good about moving a bit of tack out of the house, I had stuff kicking around that I would probably never use. That is $250 in the ol' piggy bank! (Nuzzling Muzzles - no saddles for sale - sorry! I just had a western show bridle, and some english stuff).

Turns out my new barn owner wants to get started on my lessons right away. I'm on the books for next Weds. or Thurs., so hopefully I'll be able to write about that.

I'm off to relax on the couch with some chips and a cold drink. Have a great weekend everyone!

Not much going on here...

Yesterday Rusty and I went out for a little hack around the fields and through a small forest. Richard and Max were with me as well. Rusty is definitely a follower - he was happy to stroll along behind our two trail buddies. As we were walking through the forest (the leaves were amazing - guess who forgot her camera???), I could hear people - probably little girls - squealing and yelling. I was wondering if it was a neighbour out riding with some kids - Rusty and I were both a bit concerned with what was coming up behind us. I didn't want Max to get galloped over by over-zealous kids on ponies. We stepped off the trail on a little side field and the mystery kids came around the corner. Rusty didn't spook, but he had his ears on full alert. Turns out horses don't really like the sound of little girls squealing with delight...lol.

Three girls and their Mom came around the corner, running and skipping and squealing - did I mention that? I have lots of boys in my family, so I'm not used to the high-pitched sound of little girls. They also each had a cute little weiner dog on a leash. All three dogs went nuts when they saw the horse, so I'm glad they were on leashes. Richard and I laughed as they went by - we also decided to take an alternate route back to the barn. On the way back, Richard was picking clover and tall grass from the hay field for Rusty - for him to eat after we untacked at the barn. Rusty clued in very quickly and stuck to Richard like white on rice. I just dropped my reins and sat back to enjoy the scenery! Boys are so driven by food and their stomachs!

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Rusty moves to his new barn on Friday - I'm getting really excited. Taking the afternoon off work also helps. I like change, so this doesn't bother me at all. Moving is always a good time for me to organize and clean stuff. Yesterday I posted a bunch of extra tack for sale online. I have four hits on it already. The extra money will be stashed away in my piggy bank (literally.) With the economy in the toilet, I feel a bit better having some extra cash stashed away for board if I happen to need it.

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We are having a big federal election today - I'll be glad when it is over. I really hate politics and politicians and all of the posturing that goes along with it. The campaigning here has only been going on for a month - I don't know how Americans can stand the year (or more) of back and forth that goes on in US elections. I can't even watch the news anymore because I'm so sick of hearing about all of it. We almost have more coverage of the US elections than the elections here at home! All of that being said, I do believe in voting, even if all of the candidates are douchebags. Thus ends my PSA - go vote even if the candidates are douchebags. hahaha - that should have been on one of the tv commercials!!

TGIF and turkey day

Well, I'm glad it is Friday. I had a bit of a long week. It is also a long weekend for us folks here in Canada - our Thanksgiving is on Monday. We don't have much planned, so except for a family dinner on Sunday, it should be fairly quiet and relaxing. I do plan to get out and ride Rusty on Monday, so I'm hoping that the fabulous weather we have been having holds out for a few more days.

I've been nursing a very sore throat the past couple of days - so far it is just my throat that hurts, so maybe I'll get off easy and not get sick! I was really sick in August with tonsilitis, so I'm not really looking forward to another bout of illness. I'm going to keep up the vitamin C and hope it helps a bit.


I have been out riding Rusty a fair bit and he is doing really well - the appy-tude seems to be fading away quite nicely. His attitude really isn't that big of a deal, now that I know what to look for - he just isn't a bad horse, so when he tries to be bad it is pretty half-hearted. lol We are starting to get used to each other and each ride is more enjoyable. I have been working on my leg position and balance and not worrying about contact too much or trying to get him to frame up in any way. His headset is naturally pretty low, so that helps.

Rusty gets moved to his new barn next Friday, so I'm looking forward to that. The new place should be good. I'm using this move as an opportunity to clean and organize my tack before the winter. I need to dig out my gloves and warmer coat...yikes!

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After reading BECG's post about trying to buy mares with good bloodlines to save them, I was really wishing for a nice little place of my own so I could get a couple. I would really like to take in a few nice horses and give them good homes. Maybe someday... I know that slaughter is stilll legal here and I don't like that at all - but as a result, we just don't see/hear about all of the horses that are getting dumped... I know a horse dealer a few hours south of here and he gets all of his horses from the US. He and some partners drive a few hours down to Ohio and buy up APHA and AQHA horses at auctions/sales and bring them back. I think he does quite well for himself by doing that. While I'm not a big fan of horse dealers, at least they are saving a few from slaughter - or so I hope...

What a terrible issue this is becoming - all of those bloodlines and nice horses just getting dumped for nothing. *sigh* - I find it all very overwhelming.

I can't do much to help the quarter horses and the like that BECG mentioned... but I think to feel like I am contributing in some way, I'm going to make a donation to a OTTB rescue here in Ontario, called Long Run. I may not be able to take any horses in, but I can at least help those that do. Anyone have any other good ideas of organizations to make some donations to???

Hope everyone has a nice weekend - I might be AWOL for a few days. I could use a break from staring at the computer 24/7.

Wordless Thursday...(a day late and a dollar short)

Appy-tude 1, Laura 1

So, I went out to ride Rusty again today - armed with more knowledge and things to watch for. Thanks so much for everyone's advice and comments. We had a much better day. He lunged really well. Another boarder was there, so I asked her to help me watch him to see if she noticed anything unusual.

He was a little frisky at first, giving me a couple of crowhops and head tosses on the lunge. He quickly got over that. I worked him both ways for about 8-10 minutes each side.

I decided to ride english today because I feel much more comfortable in that saddle. I can get my leg on much better. Riding Rusty in a western saddle feels like I'm sitting on a barrel! My stubby legs don't like it as much.

We were able to do some longer trot sessions without too much ear pinning - I really made an effort to work on my leg position and not to get too far back. I also rode with a crop and two little smacks with the crop was enough to keep him in line. I got one little crowhop - but it was pretty half-hearted. We even managed to canter a circle (egg? rhomboid?) without too much trouble. Annnnd after about 20 minutes in the ring, we went out and trotted around the larger jumping ring. I can feel my confidence coming back in slow little drips. As I learn to trust Rusty a bit more, I'm sure we'll do really well together.

I'm really looking forward to my weekly lessons starting in November -I'm sure I will make a lot of progress with a good coach.

I had to post something to get that awful picture of me pushed down. Here is a picture of the little weanling foal at the barn. His name is Suede and he is pretty frisky most of the time., but I caught him sleeping in the sun in his hay pile...

Rusty's ear pinning - a bit of clarification...

Thanks for the comments so far - I will take all into consideration. Brown-eyedCG - thanks for the specific tips for what to look for while lunging/trotting out...

I just wanted to clarify that Rusty doesn't just put his ears back when I ask for a gait change, he keeps them pinned most of the time... See picture below. Keep the comments coming!

Another ride

I got out to ride Rusty again tonight. I only had about an hour before the daylight left me. That is the tough thing about fall - losing my precious daylight hours after work.

I took a bunch of pictures for you guys... Before I post them though - I have a question for all of you experts out there! Rusty is pretty reliable - he doesn't buck or do anything mean (that I know of). He can be quite lazy though - looking for any excuse to slow down to a walk or sneak off the rail in the arena. Lately though, he pins his ears back when I ask for a trot and does the same at the canter. Now, keep in mind that I've only ridden him about 4 times recently, due to being sick. He is quite out of shape in that respect.

I thought my western tack might be the problem - newish bridle/bit and a saddle that might not fit 100%. I checked all the tack for the obvious problems - rubbing, pinching, etc. and found nothing. I decided to work him in English tack tonight, because he is more used to that.

I lunged him with his saddle and just a halter. I let him warm up for 1o minutes or so, walking and trotting in both directions. Just for kicks, I asked him to canter. He pinned his ear, shook his head and did a little crow hop. Weird. I stopped him and checked all of his tack - everything seemed ok. I reversed his direction and tried the same thing - he cantered a few steps but looked like he was about to buck. Interesting. He doesn't act fresh like other horses - I think he is too lazy!

I decided to get on and see what he was like while riding. I double-checked my tack again and everything seemed fine. He was good to walk/halt and circle. Back up was fine. But asking him to trot, back go the ears. It isn't just a flicker back and forth to listen, his ears were really back. He wasn't lame - no limping, bobbing or sensitivity there. I tried a few times in both directions and got the same response. I didn't even bother with the canter - why push him at this point...

So - long story here -but anyone have any ideas? I think his tack is fine. He just saw the farrier last week and he said his feet were great. The vet just checked him 2 weeks ago and thought he seemed fine. She even checked his teeth. Everything else about his personality/attitude is fine - just when asked to work he pins his ears and seems agitated. I always check his back when I am groooming him - I gently squeeze down both sides of his spine to see if there might be a bit of tenderness (edited to add: I know this isn't necessarily an indicator of true back pain...). He never seems to feel off there either. Feel free to offer any advice you might have...

Here are a few pics to make up for the long post!

The leaves are starting to change colours in the background. There are often wild turkeys roaming in the back field.

Cat penning? Cat team sorting? Rusty and I are herding that cat. The picture is blurry because we are moving so fast. LOL. We were just walking, really. The cat sat on the mounting block meowing at me most of my ride. Too cute.

Nosy...
Tack on the fence after my ride. Note to self: Clean tack sometime this year....

Over the hill???

So, I am officially 34 years old. I can't decide if that is a good thing or not. :-)

My Mom is here visiting, so she has been keeping me busy and away from the computer. My Mom is great, but she is very quiet. After 3 days of talking alot and asking her questions to keep some sort of conversation going, I'm pretty tired.

Here is a picture of my dog Max on a hike we went took on th weekend. He ran his little heart out - jumping on rocks and galloping along the trail like a puppy. I like taking him out to places where he can run free - it makes me happy to see him running around. He got quite hot by the end of our hike and his tounge was hanging out. I think it looks like he is smiling when he does that.

We came up to a little family heading the other way. The little girl stopped in her tracks when she saw Max. In a trembling little voice, she asked her Mom, "he isn't going to LICK me, is he Mom????? His TONGUE is hanging out." The Mom chuckled and said no, he wouldn't lick her, he is just hot and that is how he breathes when he is hot. The little girl gave her Mom a very skeptical look and walked by Max with wary eyes. As we passed them, I heard the chain of questions start - "He breathes like that? Why? Why is his tongue so big?" It was my turn to chuckle, as I listened to the litany of questions the Mom now faced. Little kids can be pretty cute...

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I took my Mom out to see Rusty and she thought he was cute. Even she could see the difference is his kind eye from my other rotten gelding.

I rode him around for twenty minutes or so and Mom took a few pictures. She is into scrapbooking and is apparently running out of pictures. I was a good daughter and let her take a bunch of pictures even though I don't like having my picture taken.

I just found out today that my barn owner has moved the geldings around a bit. She took the two bossy geldings out and has them in their own paddock. She has been shuffling horses around the past couple of weeks to accomodate a weanling foal. This arrangement is good for Rusty, as the two geldings that pick on him are now in a new paddock. I don't know if this is a long term situation or not, but it will give Rusty a break until he is moved.

I have to admit that I felt a twinge of second-guessing on moving him when I heard about the paddock situation - it was what I was hoping for. It still doesn't solve my lack of riding problem, so I'm not going to worry about it and go ahead with my move as planned.

On horses and shoes

I spoke to my vet today and she had the results of Rusty's bloodwork. All of his protein and enzyme levels are back to normal! Yeah Rusty! She initially thought we were going to have to feed him a high protein extruded feed to help him out, but it looks like he can stick to his regular grain.

The vet also confirmed that my decision to move Rusty was a good one. I told her about the new, vet-owned barn and the turnout situation there and she thought it sounded great. I gave my current barn owner a heads-up about all of this, so I just have to give her official notice this week. Even though my new barn owner is a vet, she isn't licensed in a practice anymore, she works for the government. She wouldn't be able to officially diagnose and treat my horse, so luckily my current vet travels in the area of the new barn.

Glad to have the major decision of "move? don't move?" over with! I do not like making decisions - I always second-guess myself. Although, I just learned that a new gelding has moved into the barn and is in Rusty's paddock. That paddock doesn't have enough room for 7 horses. There will also be a weaning colt in there next month to make 8. I think all of the factors are pointing towards me making the right decision to move! The new barn owner has offered to trailer Rusty over to her place - so we will work out a date in mid-October to do that.

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Poor Rusty threw one of his new shoes on Sunday. Rotten horse. :-) Three other horses at the barn also need farrier work, so it should be easier to get the farrier out soon. I'm hoping this is the last set of shoes for the year, as I plan to keep him barefoot over the winter.

The weather has been fabulous here - everything is still green and very alive. I'm hoping to ride alot before I move Rusty so we are both in shape to start working in our lessons! Fall is definitely in town though, as the air is cool and brisk. I love fall - it is nice to have cool weather - although it warns of winter's imminent arrival. Winter here usually is not very nice - lots of snow, ice and bitter cold winds. Good thing I have an indoor arena to ride in this year!! (I'm a little excited about changing barns - can you tell!)

Fall was myfavourite time of year when I was young - I liked going back to school, my birthday is during the fall and fall was the best time for riding where I lived because all of the crops were harvested. I had several hundred acres of my neighbour's property to ride on, once the crops were down. Winters where I grew up weren't that bad either - we didn't get a lot of snow most winters.

Spring was nice, but muddy and the crops were going in so I coudn't ride in the fields. Summer was hot, buggy and hard to ride in 7ft high corn. I did though - did anyone else do that? Ride down the rows of tall corn? The corn cobs would hit you in the shins and your legs would go numb, the horse would go faster and faster - egged on by the whooshing sound of the corn stalks and our giddy laughter! Oh, man that was fun. *sigh* Some days I miss my carefree childhood so much.

*Note - picture is of me riding my cousin's arab gelding a few years ago. You can just make out an empty field in the background.

** Question - why is blogger such a pain with pictures and adding extra spaces everywhere?

OK from vet and lots of pictures!

Rusty update: The vet said he was looking good and only needs to gain another 50lbs. He has a bit of a hay belly, but I'm sure the weight will re-distibute itself once we start riding regularly. She gave me the ok to start riding as well! Yeah for Rusty...lol She took some blood and I'll get the results on Monday, so hopefully all of his protein levels will be more normal.

This post is super long because I actually have some pictures!!

We went out for a short ride today - we walked a few laps around the arena and then went out around the fields. Richard and Max were with me, so all of us went out. It was a beautiful fall day, so it was nice to finally be out!

A little bit of a trot around the arena - I don't think that my western saddle fits him that well - it is sort of low on his withers. My leg position also needs work, but considering I have only ridden about 6 times since last October (!) I won't be too hard on myself.
Out in the hay field - taking a break.

In the barn with a close-up of his new western bridle. It isn't fancy, I just like the colour because it matches my saddle. His nose is also senstive to rubbing - he only wears his halter 2x a day for about 30 minutes and it rubs his nose. So, I feel bad putting on an english bridle with a noseband that will rub even more. What a spoiled horse. I guess I should buy a fuzzy noseband to put on his halter or something...

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Here are a few pictures from our day trip to Montreal last weeekend. It is about a 2.5 hour drive right into downtown. It is the closest "big city" to us. This is the first glimpse of downtown from the highway.

A shot of the Molson building. Molson is one of Canada's beer brands. I'm guessing it is probably owned by an international company now, as most other beer companies here end up being bought out by big corporations.

The bridge we had to cross to get to get to the two islands where the race was held. There are two islands (- I can't remember if they are both man-made or not) in the middle of the St. Laurence River.

This thing is called the Bio-Sphere. It looks cool, but I have no idea what it is. Google tells me it is an evironmental museum. Should stop by next time I'm in town...

Here is an aerial shot (courtesy of the Montreal Rowing Club web site) of the facility we were at. You can see the two islands. We were at the one in the foreground. The long straight bit of water is the rowing basin, built in 1976 for the Olympics.

This shot is of a big boat (ship?) heading down the river. It took me by surprise as I didn't quite realize that behind the trees the island went straight down to the river!

This is a view of the rowing basin. There was a triathlon and a duathlon held that day. The triathlon is a swim-bike-run combo - there are a bunch of distances people can do. Richard did the duathlon, which is a run-bike-run combo. He ran 10km, then biked 40km, then ran another 5km to finish off. The run course took him around the outside of the rowing basin. It looked very far! I'm sort of glad I was just taking the pictures! He didn't do as well as he had hoped because he had major leg cramps. He still managed to get a personal best time for the day though. This race may qualify him to go to the world championships for his age group (40-45 men) which is going to be held in North Carolina next year!

Here is a shot of Richard on his fancy bike. He sells these bikes as a second part-time business, so he gets a great deal on the cost of the bike and all of the equipment. I tease him that his bikes are the same amount as a horse, just minus the board. I'm glad he has a hobby/sport with lots of gear, as he sort of understands why I need so much tack... ;-) The crazy looking helmet in the picture is supposed to make him more aerodynamic when he is tucked down on the handle bars.

Richard bikes alot in preparation for these races. He was also part of a running group over the summer that met at a local track to do all kinds of training. I think he was training about 10-15 hours per week over the summer. I just help him get organized at the beginning of the race - check his equipment, find the start and transition areas, take pictures, etc.

After the race, we headed into downtown Montreal for dinner before driving home. We went to St. Catherine street, which is known for fancy shops and other types of "establishments", such as strip clubs and bars. This nice old church was nestled in amongst all of the high-rise buildings.

This place was right around the corner! Montrealers have no qualms about this sort of thing!

Busy Days...

I've been a busy littlekeebler the past few days. I've had birthdays to organize, presents to buy, kids to babysit, long drives to Montreal, work and many other things. My blog has been left slightly neglected.

Two birthdays are down, kids have been babysat -so I'm off the hook for a few weeks there and trips have been completed. Only a couple more days of appointments and work to get through and I can have a bit of a rest.

We drove to Montreal on Saturday - it's about 2.5 hours from home to get us downtown. Richard had a duathlon that he was entered in. I'm his support crew, so it is kind of fun. I secretly love big cities, even though I'm a country girl at heart. I love the grittiness of a big city - subways, restaurants, shops, the landmarks - all of that is fun for me for a short time. I'll edit this post tomorrow and put in a few pictures for y'all!

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Rusty had a farrier appointment today - I was a little worried about it, because he isn't always that good for the farrier, according to the previous owners. They had to twtich him for a trim and tranquilize him for shoes!! Crazy. He had his first trim with my farrier 7 or so weeks ago and was ok - nervous, but the farrier was patient with him. Today, I was expecting a lot of pulling and stuff, but Rusty almost fell asleep! He had a trim and front shoes reset. He didn't even blink with the nails going in! No twitch, no tranquilizer! We were sure that a patient farrier could trim him without any problems and turns out we were right! (Just a note on finances - a trim and front shoe reset is $84 here...)

I was so happy - I hate seeing a horse all stressed out. I also don't like it when a horse misbehaves for the vet or farrier. Rusty was so relaxed that the farrier asked me three times (jokingly) if I had given Rusty some drugs! This farrier is so great - I had about a million questions and he answered them all patiently. I also stuck around to watch the other trims he did and he would call me over to show me different hooves and the issues with each.

He also hot-shod one horse and I wish I had my camera with me - the smoke was kind of cool... I haven't seen that done before - except on tv, so it was neat. I really need to start bringing my camera!

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Rusty has one more appointment tomorrow - the vet. He is getting a check up for his ulcer. He seems to be doing really well, so I'm quite optimistic. He did stop eating on us on Monday, but the barn owner and I figured out that he was just sick of beet pulp! We are just giving him some pellets now and he is devouring them - so that is all good. I don't care what he eats, as long as he keeps eating it and keeps gaining weight!

I promise I'll take my camera tomorrow and finally post a few pictures! lol

Canadian Para-Dressage Rider wins 2 medals at 2008 Summer Paralympic Games

This is a bit late to be posting - but it still deserves recognition.

A Canadian dressage rider - Lauren Barwick won 2 medals in dressage - a gold and a silver at the 2008 Paralympic games in Beijing.

She rides a 14yr old mare co-owned by the Parelli's. I actually found out about her in the Parelli e-newsletter. Reading stories like this make me realize that there is so much more to life than worrying about my leg position in the saddle or the size of my breeches. She trains for dressage while working full time at a bank.

From an article at dressagedaily.com - "Barwick has long been a rider and it was eight years ago that a 100-pound bale of hay fell from a 10-foot height onto her back, paralyzing her. She has an amazingly humorous attitude about her paralysis and when asked if the accident was painful, laughed and said, “Nope. I didn’t feel a thing.” Despite the accident, she continued on with her riding and successfully qualified to compete in the Athens Olympics where she finished sixth among 21. "

I think the articles speak for themselves - if you are interested, enjoy the reading. What an awesome woman.

• Lauren's blog


• Article about Lauren testing horses and working with Walter Zettl (dressagedaily.com)


• Equine Canada press releases - gold medal win and silver medal win


• Vancouver sun article

Way to go Lauren!

*image is from equinacanada.com

Guess what I did today????

So, any guesses??

Did I start my Christmas shopping?

Did I run a marathon?

Did I go see my horse? (ooh - getting closer...)

Did I actually RIDE my horse for the first time since the end of June???

Yes I did!! No, I haven't seen the vet yet for her approval, but the rebel in me decided to ride him today. He has gained back alot of weight, so I took him out for a little ride.

I rode for about 30 minutes, just walking mostly and we trotted a few circles* for fun. We practiced bending and halting and backing up - just to get back in the groove. I also bought him a new western bridle, so he looked pretty cute. Too bad I forgot my camera!

He didn't act like a horse that hadn't been ridden in over 2 months - he was the same old Rusty as he always is. I like that predicitability - some day I might find it boring, but right now, it is perfect for me. He is out of shape, so our rides will be short to start and we will work on his conditioning. This will be a good learning process for me.

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Oh - here is a link to my new barn - stalkers be damned! Barn 3

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* I was *trying* for circles, but they were more like rhomboids or trapezoids or something. I'm bad at geometry! lol

Enough with the suspense, already!!!

Firstly - my birthday is September 30th - I'd be happy to accept gifts, credit, cheques, cash or ponies. LOL - Just kidding. Good wishes are just dandy! :-) Birthdays don't seem to be as fun now that I'm getting older!

Secondly - thanks for the hugs about my Dad - he does have a special place in my heart...

Thirdly - the damn barn situation! I've kept you all in suspense long enough...

Turns out that most of you picked Barn 3, which is totally the one I'm going with. I tried to list all 5 somewhat neutrally to see what you guys thought. I haven't moved Rusty yet, I'm waiting for my vet to check him on Thursday and hopefully give us the green light to start riding again. If his health isn't ok, I won't move him for awhile - I don't want to spend double the money to board at a place where I still can't ride.

So, Barn 3 was the one with the vet owner. She has a really nice indoor arena and lots of turnout paddocks. Her board is only for her students, so I would get 1 lesson/week. She has 6-9 horses of her own and 2 boarders. I really needed a place with fewer horses and more turnout options. She has lots of paddocks and is totally flexible about who goes out with whom. She will even turn Rusty out alone if required. I hope it won't be, but who knows. Rusty will also get a stall. Since he is 17, the winter might be harder on him this year, with all of the stress.

My decision isn't 100% based on Rusty's health. One lady at a barn I visited suggested that I needed to do what was right for me as well. I took that to heart when deciding.

What could benefit me the most as a horse owner/boarder right now?

Riding lessons.

Honestly, I could really use some guidance there - I'm fine on Rusty, but my equitation is lacking and I would like to fine tune my skills. Also, I haven't been able to ride at all in the past year really - except for maybe 1x/month on average!!!

Check out this timeline:

June 07 - buy paint gelding - let's call him Jackass.

July 01/07 - horse hits head on ceiling of barn because he is an idiot. Requires emergency vet call to stitch his head back together. Horse is on stall rest/recovery until mid-Aug 07.

Sep 07 - move Jackass to current barn because low ceilings at other barn freak me out. Ride about 3x because he is squirrely.

Oct 07 - break stupid arm.

Oct - Dec 07 - stupid arm in stupid cast.

Jan 08 - arm is fine, can't ride because horse is crazy with 4 months rest and we are buried under several feet of snow and ice.

Mar 08 - ride horse 1x in several feet of deep snow. Pray that he can't take off because snow is up to his chest.

Apr 08 - send horse to trainer. Trainer says horse is crazy - g00d luck lady you are on your own.

May 08 - move Jackass back home - consider calling glue factory or dog food factory. List horse for sale.

June 08 - teenage girl loves Jackass - sell him happily to young girl

late June 08 - bring Rusty home. Ride 3-4 times due to bad saddle fit. Get new saddle.

July 08 - Rusty is sick. Can't ride.

...annnd that brings us to right now - Sept 08. Still not riding my horse at all. I rode 2 horses at the barn a bit - but not my own horse!

So - this is getting longer than I thought...!

Barn 1 was eliminated because I was worried Rusty wouldn't get checked on enough. Also, her price was a bit high for what she was offering

Barn 2 was eliminated because of the cost, the business of the barn - she mentioned that sick horses don't do that well there (honesty - wow!) Also - they were the place with over 500 acres of hacking with x-c jumps. I'm not that confident out galloping around, I don't really know how to jump and I don't know if Rusty does either! So that place is out.

Barn 4 - would have been my next pick if I didn't want lessons. The board was reasonable, the facilities nice, but paying for lessons on top of all that would have cost me a lot more.

Barn 5 - Ididn't bother to go see.

There you go. Barn 3. I've emailed my current barn owner to let her know what I'm thinking. I wanted to tell her in person, but I never run into her, so I didn't wan this to go on too long without her knowing my thoughts. I also felt better by spinning to my riding indoors, instead of the turnout situation. Rusty does seem to be doing a bit better there the past couple of weeks. He doesn't have any new kicks or bites...

Busy September

September is alway a busy month here in littlekeebler land. There are 4 birthdays - mine (not until the end of the month), Richard's, a close friend's and my mother-in-laws - so lots of cards to send and gifts to shop for.

This year, my step-son, who is 17 (ack!) has moved in with us, so we had to deal with getting him set up at a new high school for his last year. That has proved to be a little more tough than we thought...having someone move into your house full time is a little strange. He normally just stayed with us on the weekends, but his mom packed up and left town with her new boyfrriend. We as a family are very different from the mom's side of the family, so it has been an adjustment for us all.

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September also has some sad memories for me and even as the years roll on, I can't help but take time to remember my Dad, who died when I was 14. It will be 20 years this week - I won't go on about it - I don't mean to dig for symapthy - it happened a long time ago. My Dad was a big supporter of all the hobbies my brother and I tried. He was an avid horse holder at shows and an excellent stall-mucker. He helped me alot and I was pretty angry when he died, leaving me with 3 horses to take care of on my own. But, I managed and become a stronger person because of it... It would also be my parent's anniversary this month, so I have to be extra sensitve about all of this when I talk to my Mom.

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OK - enough blah stuff. Time for something silly. I had asked my personal asisstant, Mr Kitty* to draw up a spreadsheet on all of the pros and cons from the five barns that I mentioned a few days ago. When you are faced with making a difficult decision, a spreadsheet is the way to go, right? Well, my assisstant had other thoughts. I just got this blank stare when I asked him. Rotten beast. I should really have checked his contract more closely.

He claims that his lack of opposable thumbs makes it too hard to type and he really prefers sitting in boxes and sleeping in sunbeams all day anyway. *sigh* It's hard to find good help thse days!!!

* His real name is Pepuszek (pem-poo-shek - it's a Polish word that loosely translated to mean "cute as a button"...)

TGIF

Well, I find myself sitting at my desk on a beautiful Friday afternoon. I have about 30 minutes to go before I can leave for the day. I don't feel like getting into the numerous works projects I have to complete, so I thought I'd take a break and write up a quick post here.

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Rusty update: He seems to be doing better and I think he is gaining weight. His ribs are still a bit visible and his withers are pretty bony, but overall he is looking better. I have a vet appt. scheduled for next week, so hopefully I can get the go-ahead to start back into riding. His top line has pretty much disappeared so I'm sure that is a big factor in the way he looks. That boy needs some muscle! lol

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Work has slowly been getting more hectic the past week. Everyone (but me!) is back from their summer vacations and are creating all kinds of work for me to do. I work as a webmaster/communications/jane-of-all-trades person. I also just found out this afternoon that I will have someone reporting to me - sort of as in I will be their boss. Add that to the part-time photographer that I manage and that makes 2 other people to worry about. No pay raise in sight either, dammit! lol I am not a manager in the true sense, I just keep track of what they are working on and help them with projects. I also have to teach both of them how to update our web site. Should be an interesting few months coming up.

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Last month I wrote up a big list of things I needed to do around the house/barn. I had about 25 things on that list - none of them particularly urgent. I'm slowly getting stuff done and for someone who is a major procrastinator, that is somewhat of an accomplishment!

Today I renewed my OEF (Ontario Equestrian Federation) membership. A couple of the barns I'm looking at require that membership for insurance purposes. They have a fun program called RideOntario where you can log hours riding and get prizes. Stuff like that is fun for the recreational rider who doesn't show. I'm going to use it as motivation to get out and ride more - when I can ride my horse, that is!!

Speaking of procrastination, I am procrastinating on making a decision about barns. I have a hunch about what I would like to do, but still want to speak to my current barn owner before I make a decsion. In addition to being a procrastinator, I am terrible about making decisions. I worry, I second-guess, I doubt, I worry about hurting the other people's feelings, etc. It isn't fun for me when I have to make a big decision.

Must.not.worry.Must.not.worry.... ;-)

Barn Research - part 1

So, I spent the long weekend researching and visiting a few barns. All were nice in their own way, but no one place really jumped out at me at first glance.

There tons of barns around here, so that isn't a problem. I was hoping to find one closer to home, under that elusive 20 minute drive mark. There are 2 or 3 that meet that criteria, but their prices are way too high for me. I also excluded a few that were heavy into one discipline or another - ie - eventing, jumping, etc., just to narrow my search. So I went to visit 3 barns that are about 20-25 minutes driving time. And I called 2 others.

I have emailed my current barn owner to see if she would be willing to move Rusty to a new padddock, but she is away until the end of next week. We'll see what she thinks... I'm realizing that I would love to be able to ride over the winter, since I've missed out on riding regularly over the summer...

Barn 1 - a backyard farm - but very nice and well kept. She had lots of paddocks with lusious grass, but the outdoor board paddocks were a long hike from the barn. She works during the day and she kept complaining about how far the paddocks were from the house (far from the barn, but not very far from the house, IMHO). I got the impression that Rusty might not get checked on as often as I would like, considering his health hasn't been 100%. This place might work if it was May and I could turn him out on nice grass for 6 months during nice weather. Since we are heading into fall/winter here (yikes!!!), I didn't like the thought of him being alone well away from other horses and people. The paddock did have a nice shelter and the fencing was in good shape.

Barn 2 - the "we're-a-fun-relaxed-place-but-everyone-has-fancy-warmbloods-barn" - this place is the higher end of the local places. Board is $650/month. I went to look at this place due to the amount of high-quality hacking. They own 50 acres, but have agreements with neighbours and the local hunt to ride on over 500 acres. Alot of this land has natural xc jumps built in. This sounds like a dream! But - the downside (beside the cost) is that it is a busy, busy place. I think they had 30 stalls and the horses are constantly being moved around and turned in and out, etc. They even bath your horse if it comes in dirty from the field! Seems a bit much for me...

Barn 3 - a place where I took a few lessons last winter. Really nice indoor arena, sand riding ring and lots of turnout paddocks. The owner is a vet and seemed to be really flexible with turnout groups. She also believes in feeding the horses alot of grass and hay. Lessons would be included in the board, which is kinda handy, since I could really use some lessons.

Barn 4 - I just called these people, haven't driven out there yet. Decent price for outdoor board, beautiful facilities (from their web site). Lots of hacking, 3 outdoor riding rings and an indoor arena. Owner seemed very friendly. They had a moderate amount of horses. They are primarily a dressage barn and host a few medium level shows every year.

Barn 5 - a lady I leased a horse from before I purchased my first horse. She has moved to a new place and it is worth going to check out her setup. I know from before that she kept the horses in really small paddocks and didn't give them alot of hay - that may have been due to lack of room. She is a qualified jumping instructor and she trained in Germany, so I could take lessons at an extra cost.

I'm going to cut this here for now, since I don't know 100% what to do and I haven't spoken to my barn owner, so I don't want to make any rash decisions...

To be continued...