Sunny Sunday at the barn

Who doesn't love a good roll in the sand?

And a good shake?

Look at my nice trot - too bad you can't make me do that under saddle...

(Notice the mouth full of hay here? There was a round bale at the end of the arena and he kept trying to steal a bite)

It is hard to get good pictures when riding alone...

Back out in the paddock after a ride and his first tail wash of the season.  His tail has grown about six inches in the past year! It is still quite thin down at the bottom, but it is something at least!

The Dilemma - Part 2

You can read part 1 here...

I don’t want to keep harping on about whether I should move Rusty or not, but I do want to document my thought process here. Also, I wanted to thank everyone for their comments, suggestions and support. I knew you guys would be a great sounding board for this issue!

One thing that is bugging me a bit about my current barn is that I can’t let anyone besides me even sit on my horse. Not a huge deal, but we have a few friends with kids that would love to visit Rusty. I just have to say no now to keep things simple. Other barns I have been at just require me to sign a waiver and I can do what I want with my horse (except teach other people, which I am ok with).

Stephanie asked what I want to do with my horse(s) in the future – and to be honest – I have no idea anymore. I think I may like to try some fun shows later on, but in the short term, I just want to ride without any pressure. Now, this pressure has all been created by me at this point – no one is pressuring or pushing me to do anything. So, I will need a new horse for those future goals, but it won’t be for a couple of years at this point. That will give me time to save up some money and refine my riding skills a bit and see where that takes me. I’m sure Rusty will be ready for retirement in a couple of years anyway, so that might be the best option for me right now.

I’ve come to terms with my situation a bit better this past week. Thanks to your helpful comments, I’m letting go of the guilt. I’ve realized that it is ok to change barns and/or focus. My current barn worked out well for me at the time, but I just don’t think it does anymore.

Broaching the subject with my BO is the tough part – I don’t like springing big news on people – it always makes me nervous. I don’t want to be judged or criticized for my decision, so I’m dreading that a bit. I’m hoping that she will understand and that I can leave on good terms. By moving to another barn, I will be saving at least $100, which I can then apply to lessons. I’m hoping to take lessons with her over the fall/winter using one of her horses, so I can work on learning more without the pressure of doing the lessons on Rusty and being frustrated.

On that note, I think it is safe to say that I have decided to move Rusty. I’ve been researching barns in the area and have two on my short list. Both have most of the qualities I am looking for this time around:

• Cheaper board, without compromising care

• Trails and hay fields to ride on

• People to ride with

• Within a 30 minute drive from home

• Not too busy with kids doing lessons

• Lessons available (although not from a certified instructor)

• Flexible – ie I can bring my own coach, vet, farrier, as well as let other people ride my horse a bit

One barn is the place I was at before. Some of you may remember that I moved Rusty away from there because he was being badly picked on in small overcrowded (IMO) paddock. I sent out a tentative email to the BO there and asked if the amount of horses she boarded had decreased a bit and if Rusty could be turned out in a smaller group. This is possible at the moment, but she couldn’t guarantee that it would stay that way. So, that raised a bit of a flag for me.

I visited a second barn last weekend and the property is really nice. They have 100 acres (which is pretty big for the immediate area near me). It is all trails and they are working on cutting more trails every year. Right now, they have about 5 miles of trails, roads and fields to ride on. That is pretty enticing to me! Another perk about this place is that it is on the same quiet dead-end gravel road as two other stables. One is a fancy-ish dressage stable and the other focuses on eventing and jumping. It is possible to take lessons at the eventing barn in their indoor arena over the winter and to use their facilities outdoors – which include a half-mile track and cross-country course. Now, I hope you guys are chuckling a bit at that – because I can’t really see Rusty and me galloping the track or jumping much of anything, but it is nice to have some options! 

So, the end to this somewhat long and drawn-out story is that I’m going to make a move. I’m going to go visit the second barn again on Saturday to make sure I still get a good vibe from the place. The move probably won’t happen until June 1, due to giving proper notice and all, but I think it is going to happen!

Fun filled weekend

Thanks for all of your comments and advice on my dilemma. I'm going to think on things for awhile and make some decisions. I'm not in a terrible rush, so I'm going to weigh all of my options before I do anything.

I had a great weekend. I had Thursday afternoon off, as well as Friday and Monday.  I made it out the barn everyday but Sunday, so I feel good about that.  Rusty and I had one good ride and the rest were just ok. 

I wanted to share a few pictures from my day on Sunday - we were at my in-laws new house and we enjoyed a great sunny day. It was warm enough to wear flip-flops (yeah!) but with a nice cool breeze. There were Easter egg hunts, a nice lunch and some fun with firearms!  :-)  (Mrs. Mom and Stephanie will like this part!). I practiced firing a .22 rifle and a WWI German Luger!  It was pretty damn fun, although I don't think I would ever feel comfortable carrying a loaded weapon on my person.  I have a couple of gun pictures, but I don't feel comfortable posting them...so you will get cute dog pictures instead! 

A pic of my feet - standing on a chunk of snow and ice at the edge of the river

One of my nephews working hard at finding Easter eggs...

Max had a great day playing in the water - I managed to get him to sit still for a minute for this picture.

Here he is jumping out of the water onto the chunk of ice. He enjoyed rolling in the snow after his dip in the water.

This adorable puppy is my father-in-laws new Border Collie, Gypsy. She is 4 months old and really cute. She was a bit shy with all of us, but she'll adapt soon.  The good news is that I get to take care of her for 3 months next winter when my in-laws go to Florida!

A couple of attempts at capturing the sunset after a great sunny day...

I hope everyone had a nice Easter weekend!

The Dilemma

I think part of the reason I haven’t been posting much is that I have been having a hard time with riding over the past few months. Nothing is really wrong, per se, but I just haven’t been enjoying myself much. I board at a barn with a nice indoor arena and I just didn’t use it much. I maybe rode 1x/week over the winter. Not so good when you are paying a lot of money for board.

I also don’t feel like I am making a lot of progress with my riding skills. I’ve been riding again as an adult for about 3 years now. I feel like I am sort of stuck at the advanced beginner/ low intermediate stage. I had really hoped to be making more progress by now as my goals were to go to a few schooling shows by this summer. That just won’t happen – Rusty isn’t really properly trained to go to a show anymore and I just don’t have the skills. I had been sort of focusing on this goal and I was really beating myself up about not achieving it. (Now, I know that to improve at anything, you need to get out there and do it more. Getting out and riding 4x/week would probably get me some improvement, I’m sure.)

After a really bad ride a couple of weeks ago, I sort of broke down and contemplated trying to sell Rusty and maybe taking a break from riding. I quickly realized that not riding wasn’t really an option for me. I do enjoy it too much to just give up that easily.

There a few issues on my mind:

• Rusty isn’t a great fit for me physically – my short legs and his large barrel look mismatched and it is hard for me to use my leg properly
• Since I’ve backed off the goal to show, I’ve realized that although I like riding in the arena, I would really love to get out and trail ride and just enjoy being on horseback instead of worrying about the finer details all the time
• There is nowhere to really ride out at my current barn. There are some hayfields, but they are under snow and water 11 months of the year. The one month they are ride-able is often extremely buggy.
• I can ride on the road by the barn, but it is extremely busy with morons that drive too fast
• No one at my current barn really wants to ride out in the fields/road, so I am alone 99% of the time.
• While I really like the care Rusty is getting at my barn, there are a lot of rules. And I mean A LOT. I typically like rules and have no problems following them. Right now, I can’t bring anyone to the barn but the hubby (without a big approval process) and I can’t let anyone even sit on Rusty. (I’m sure this is due in part to insurance issues)

So, with all of those little issues swirling around in my mind for the past 2 weeks, I’ve been thinking of some options (in no particular order):

• Try and sell Rusty or find him a good home. I had hoped to keep him and retire him, but maybe that isn’t the best option. Not sure on this one…
• Move barns – find a place with more hacking/trail riding and cheaper board. That way I would probably keep Rusty and just have fun with him on the trails
• Find a barn with cheaper board ( but with good care, of course) and ride Rusty on some trails, while looking for a new, smaller horse (under 15hh) that might suit me a bit better. (I could probably afford two horses at a different farm. I’ve looked up a couple of places where outdoor board is almost half of what I pay now)
• Stay where I am and just deal with it and try and ride in the ring a few times per week

I hope all of this doesn’t sound too whiney. I know I am lucky to have a horse in the first place and I do appreciate that. There are also lots of people whose horses are sick or injured or they can’t ride anymore for all kinds of reasons. These are just the issues I’m going through right now and thought I would share them here.

So – what do you guys think of all this? I could really use some opinions here. I feel a bit stuck and I’m not sure of the best plan of action right now. I’m not in any rush to make any decisions, but I do want to keep trying to move forward and resolve a few things.

I'm baaaaaaacckk!

Hi everyone! I've been itching to write a few posts lately, so I'm taking that as a sign that I should start posting again. I won't write a big long post today, but I have a few big issues I'm going to need some advice on over the next few weeks.

I've been busy for the past little while- there has been alot going on in my personal life that needed some attention. Things are improving on that front, so I feel a bit more free now to focus on the fun stuff in my life, such as working out and riding!

What have I been up to, you ask? How about a tidy bulleted list? :-)

• My step-son finally moved out. That is a big relief for me. Things were difficult dealing with him at home and now he can work things out on his own. We will work at building a better relationship with him, but it will be easier without day-to-day life getting in the way.
  
• I've started applying for new jobs, which is quite time consuming in the government. I have had tests, interviews and more tests. Things are looking good for a change this year though. I'm applying for promotions, so the process is a bit more involved.
  
• I'm doing a major overhaul/spring cleaning on my house. I'm working on prepping rooms in most of the house for new paint and new trim. It is long overdue. Can't wait for the long Easter weekend to get started.
  
• My crazy cat hurt his leg and we had to make another trip to the vet. Luckily his leg wasn't broken, but just sprained, so he is now back to his old self. I love our vet clinic - they are very nice and concerned about every pet that comes in there. They all love how mellow my cat is when he is at their office.
  
• Richard and I have our income tax done and submitted almost a month before it is due - this is 100% better than last year - I am even getting a refund!
  
• Rusty wintered well and I have been riding a couple of times per week. We have even been riding outside in the sand arena for the past two weeks. Our weather here has been unbelievable. We haven't had snow for over a month and it has been so warm that all of the snow on the ground is gone too. I even have a few tulips trying to grow in my garden. There a couple of spots of greeen grass around and a few buds on the trees. Spring is such a great time in cold climates - everyone feels renewed and energized and looking forward to the summer.

I think that is a good first post - more to come in the next few days...!

Taking a break

I don't really have much to write about these days... I think about post ideas and can't seem to come up with anything interesting.

So, I'm going to take a break for awhile - not sure how long it will be. I am on twitter and Facebook, so if anyone wants to keep track of me there, send me an email and we'll sort that out.

~ Happy trails ~

I love the Olympics - Our first gold medal!

Not too much going on here, so I thought I would link to some awesome (woot!) Olympic footage of an amazing young Canadian athlete.

Alexandre Bilodeau won our first gold medal of these games, as well as the first gold medal for Canada on Canadian soil. There were some great feature videos on this guy, to give us a bit of background on him... Some of the athletes stories are just so touching.

(Note - I'm not sure how to embed these videos, so you'll have to just click on the links... Also hope they will work in the US...)

This video is a bit of a tearjerker, in my opinion.

Watch his winning run here... (watch for his brother in the stands)

There are a couple more video links on the main page, which are worth watching if you have the time (or didn't watch it live!)

(Note - here is a link from NBC (that I can't watch...) in case my links don't work...)

Are you watching the Olympics? What sports are your favourites?

What my pets will do for a treat*...

Things are pretty quiet around here. I've tried to write a couple of posts, but don't really have enough material to cobble something together. So, instead of any real content, I give you another silly video of my pets. :-) Make sure you have your sound on, if you can. Also, sorry that it is a bit dark...

*Interestingly enough, the cat and dog will start this little act on their own to get our attention. Once we look over, they sit up and look at the pantry where the treats are kept.... Not sure who has who trained...? lol

It's not easy...

...to resist tack sales!!!! Check out what was in my inbox today... Horseloverz.com is a site I order from often because they are great about shipping to Canada. I think I need to unsubscribe from this email list, before I do something silly and order more tack I don't need!

Never fear - my credit card is safe today... I don't know if I can hold out 'til June though (one of my goals for 2010!)

A Winter's Walk

I don't have much going on here in littlekeeblerland, so I thought I would post the photos from my 15 minute walk down the driveway on the weekend. It has been alternating rain and snow for the past couple of days, so I'm glad I was able to get out on the weekend.

Heading north down the driveway...not too far to go today

Trying to get a nice winter shot of Rusty...

I like this gnarly tree - can't remember what kind it is - the bark is a strange colour...

Cute little bunny tracks

I stopped a few times to try and get a good shadow picture

I really like macro shots - need to practice at them though. My little camera isn't the greatest for those shots.

On the way back to the barn, looking over at the arena. Rusty is hoping that we don't have to go back in there and do more work!

Squeaky Snow Sunday

I thought I would shake up a silent Sunday post by posting a video of Rusty and the squeaky snow we have right now. Please excuse my mad video skillz - it is hard to walk and video things! It was such a nice day here that I decided to take Rusty for a walk down the laneway after our ride.

Squeaky Snow in January from Laura Jones on Vimeo.

Good news about Max!!

It turns out that Max has not ruptured his ACL after all!!!!! Wooooo!! That is good news for both us and for Max!

We finally had our appointment with the surgeon and based on the amount of stability in the knee, he felt that the ACL is ok. He suspected that there might be some very minor damage, but the knee joint is very stable and Max isn't in any pain, so we are good for now.

Max is restricted to handwalking for a couple more weeks, then he should be able to play off-leash again. The vet has just advised against having him jump too much. Max loves jumping on top of, over and after things - fences, frisbees, benches, snowbanks, horse jumps, etc... but we will have to be diligent and not let him do those things any more.

Now I just have to relax and stop worrying about him...!

Silent Sunday

What a weekend...

2010 really isn't off to the best start with me... Life sure likes to throw in challenges to keep you on your toes!

On Friday afternoon, we found out that the hubby is losing his job at the end of January. We were sort of expecting this and he has a few leads on new jobs, but we're not sure how it will all go. Fun!

And - remember that emergency vet fund I was so proud of in my New Year's post? Well, I'm extremely glad I have it, because we'll be needing it.

Rusty is fine - hopefully he stays that way.

It is my dog Max. We are pretty sure that he has ruptured his ACL. We saw our vet on Saturday morning and she was very sure that was the problem. She was kind and saved us the money for sedation and x-rays to confirm, since the orthapedic surgeon will be re-doing all of the tests when we see him early next week.

What a bummer! Max seems to be in good spirits and acting like his normal wiggly self, he just can't put much weight on his back leg, which confuses him sometimes.

On a good note, I saw Avatar this weekend and it was really good! The graphics/animation/3D were spectacular and well worth the money to go out and see it!

I also rode ol' Rusty for the first time in a month. He was a bit peppy, which for Rusty is probably the energy level of a normal horse! lol He even threw in a few little crow hops and head tosses just to keep me guessing. As much as it is annoying, I have to laugh at him when he does this, because he doesn't put a lot of effort into his bucks - I'm sure he could, but he just does enough to try and get out of working. What a guy.

I've also done a few clicker training sessions (just for something different to do) with him and he is really getting it. I keep meaning to do a post about it, but I need to get some pictures or video first, because it is pretty funny.

Sorry for the bummer post, but that is what is happening in my little corner of the world today!

Wordless Wednesday - barn cat edition

Farewell 2009...

...don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out!

I think I will join in with some of my fellow bloggers and do a bit of a review on 2009. Then I can close the file on that year and look forward to 2010. I'll spare you guys the boring details, but in a nutshell, 2009 had a lot of ups and downs for me - but that is life, isn't it? To quote Forrest Gump:

“Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get.”

Let's see in 2009: Rusty had a really bad uveitis flare-up (thought he was going to go blind, but turns out he is ok) and a mild impaction colic a few weeks ago (also now fine). I got my new

western saddle in August and I still love it. The last six months have been a bit stressful for me, health-wise. Doing quite a bit better now and have about 6 Dr's appointments in January to hopefully sort out everything else. I did manage to get in a decent amount of riding - I even cantered around the hay fields - a first for me with Rusty.

OK - goals for 2010...

I’m not a huge believer in official New Year’s Resolutions per se, but I do think it is a good idea to write out some goals for the year. A couple of times in the past, I have made a big declaration that I would do something in the year coming up and when I didn’t achieve it, I felt like a bit of a failure.

So, this year, I will write out some goals that are attainable – and to do something a bit different, I’m going to review them every 3 months or so to make sure I’m on track or to see if I need to make a few modifications. We actually do that at work with our performance reviews, because as we all know, the best laid plans often go awry…

Without further ado, here are my horsey goals for 2010 (you are all sitting on the edge of your seats, jus waiting for this, aren’t you??? lol)

• During the winter months, make it to the barn 3x a week to ride or work on clicker training (started this last week for something fun and Rusty was actually getting it – more to come on this)
• In the spring/summer/fall (April – October), ride or work with Rusty 4x a week.
• Attend a hunter pace or an organized trail ride. (Need to set aside a bit of money for trailering fees now and review dates/options)
• Continue weekly lessons starting in Feb or March (often too cold in Jan) if financially possible, if not lessons twice a month will be a good alternative
• Maintain my emergency vet fund (for all pets). I have a decent amount set aside and I need to make sure not to touch that money…

Here is my crazy one that I might not be able to keep, but need to try:

• Avoid buying any tack, riding clothes or anything from a tack shop (except in case of emergency), in person or online until June 2010 (this may sound drastic, but I have so much tack for one horse that it is almost embarrassing! I actually bought 4 new saddle pads this fall! I think I have a problem!)

And the most important one:

• Start a contingency fund for a new horse and/or for retirement board.

Yes, this seems a bit drastic, but if something were to happen to Rusty, I have no money set aside to buy a new horse. Rusty is happy, healthy and sound right now, but he is close to 20 and you just never know. If he were to be retired all of a sudden, I also couldn’t afford to board two horses at my current barn. I should also add a sub-goal to this one – research a few retirement farms in the area, just so I know my options. I know there are a few farms where I could board two horses for just a little more than I pay for Rusty right now. I really like where I am, but money is the driving factor, unfortunately…

Happy New Years to everyone - your families and your four-legged companions, large and small!

Wordless Wednesday

Merry Christmas!

Just a quick note to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! I hope everyone has a chance to take a break and enjoy some good food and time with friends, family and equines! :-)

Stick a fork in me, I'm done...

Just a quick update from me today:

1) Rusty's eyes seem to be doing ok - bute and wearing a fly mask seem to be keeping things under control. As long as they don't get as bad as last year, we'll be ahead of the game...

2)I bought a new saddle pad for my western saddle and I think it is super - I caved and spent the money on a Thinline felt western pad. It is grey felt, with a thinline pad sewn in the top. I think it really does absorb some shock. I'm a bit of a bouncy rider and I think it was making Rusty even more grumpy than usual. I've ridden twice with it (with a wool blanket on top) and it really seems to make a difference. So, here's to a product that actually sort of does what it is advertised to do!

3) I won a book from a blog contest from the wonderful Oregon Sunshine. I received the book a couple of weeks ago, but have been very negligent in posting about it. It is a book called "Hope Rising" by Kim Meeder, stories from a non-profit horse rescue in Central Oregon. I've been warned that I will need some kleenex while reading, so it sounds like a wonderful book to get into on a cold, damp winters day.

4)I'm going to take a break from this blog for awhile. I think just until after Christmas, but we'll see. I just don't have much going on and I'm having a hard time coming up with stuff to write. I'm also stressed out and tired, so a break will give me a chance to get things sorted out. I'll still be writing over at Cowboys Love Fat Calves with that wonderful group of ladies, as some of my stress is from health and fitness issues. I still plan to keep reading and commenting, since I don't think I could stay away from horse blogs for too long! :-)

Happy trails!

Trying to look ahead, not back

Holy cow. What a crappy week I had last week. I'm trying not to dwell on what happened, but move forward and have a better time of things this week.

Stress just plain stinks. I'm sure everyone knows what I mean.

Rusty and I had a bad week too. We did 3 rides and he was used in a lesson on Thursday. Sounds good right? Well, we have been battling each other this week. I find it frustrating because I know alot of the problems are in my riding. I keep hoping to have made more progress by this point in my riding. Oh well....keep keeping on, right?

Rusty is also having eye problems again. It seems to flare up this time of year for some reason. He is on bute and it helps, but you can still sort of tell he isn't quite himself.

We don't need the vet out, since it is the same deal as last year. Although, I'm tempted to ask our friend some questions. I actually have a veterinary ophthalmologist in my living room right now! He is a friend of my hubby's and they are working in their bicycles together. I really don't like to bother him when he is here for a fun visit, so I'll save my questions in case things get worse and I really need his help.

Goals for this week:

• Evaluate Rusty's eye and talk with the barn owner to see if riding is a good idea right now, or if we should give him a bit of a break until his eye clears up a bit. If she thinks it is ok to keep riding (she's a vet), then we'll keep plugging along and working on our issues!
• Try and think positive!!!! It is so easy to dwell on the negative things and miss the good things...

What is everyone up to this week? Lots of big plans for Thanksgiving for you gals down south?

Random update

I really don't have alot to say for once! I've been riding and going to work and grumbling about the darkness and the mud.

The mud. Holy cow guys, the mud at the barn is just brutal. And it isn't going away. For the first time probably ever, I'm wishing for the ground to freeze and a good layer of snow to hit. Every time I've been at the barn over the past three weeks, I've been faced with this:

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

Look at that tail! I actually had to leave it, because it was only just above freezing. My hands couldn't take the cold water and I didn't want Rusty to get cold... It rained the day after I took these pictures, so it rinsed out his tail enough that it doesn't look like that any more.

One more picture to share - I bought Rusty a cute black and green cooler. He doesn't work super hard in our lessons, but now that he is pretty fuzzy, I wanted to have something to put on him just in case. I got it on sale from Dover and it is a smidge small for him - we can just barely get the belly straps done up (ahem - Mr. Porkchop!), but it will work to cool him out in.

Happy trails!

A girl can dream, can't she?

So, not much going on up here. We've had great weather for November, so I've been out riding as much as possible. I have the afternoon off from work today, so I'll be heading out to the barn as soon as I get home so I can ride outside in the daylight! That is quite a novelty this time of year!

Since I don't have alot going on, I have been up to no good on the internet. I have been doing some online shopping (for horse stuff, of course!) which I'll show you guys when it all arrives.

I've also been looking at horses online. Most of the time I do this just to try and keep current about what is for sale. Lately though, I have been daydreaming. Daydreaming about two of my favourite breeds and wondering what I will be able to afford or want to buy for my next horse.

Two of my favourite non-QH breeds are thoroughbreds and Canadien horses. There are alot of Canadien breeders in my area, so there is lots to look at. Although, I've noticed a huge decline in the number of horses available over the past couple of years. I also have tried to avoid looking up these types of horses as most of them are just too big for me. The average Canadien is about 15.3hh these days and most of them are well over 16hh. Since I'm so short, a horse that big just doesn't work. I would end up looking like I was in a kid's lead-line class! I know this for a fact, since the first horse I started riding as an adult was my friend's 16.3hh OTTB mare. She was extremely safe and easy to ride, but I just couldn't get comfortable or feel like I had any leg on her at all.

Yesterday I was looking up some horse web sites and came across a link to a breeder's web site. The first horse in their "for sale" list had me gasping!

Isn't he gorgeous??? Sigh...

A Canadien/TB cross (Bold Ruler and War Admiral back in his pedigree) - beautiful chestnut colour and expected to mature to 15.1/15.2hh! Wow. His barn name is Rusty, which I thought to be a nice little coincidence! :-)

I started to get a little excited and then I realized that there was no price listed AND the horse was located in British Columbia - the other side of the country. Whew! There is no way that I could buy a horse from that far away, so I didn't have to worry about that.

I can't stop looking at his pictures. I was back on the web site today, drooling over his pictures. I'm not sure why this horse has caught my attention so much, considering I tend to prefer coloured, old, broke horses! Even if he was located in the same province, I really have no busines owning a 3yr old horse of any breed. I just don't have the experience to train/ride well enough right now. So I have to keep telling myself not to worry, when the time comes to own my next horse, I will find something I like just as much.

Someone please tell me he is ugly and he has bad confirmation or something! lol

It's so hard not to dream though!!! :-)

Wordless Wednesday

I loooove my new farrier!

So, today was farrier day for Rusty and I. I've been fretting about it all week. I don't want to be "one of those owners" who has a problem horse, but truth be told, I sort of am. Not on purpose, or out of ignorance, but out of a lack of confidence.

Rusty's previous owner told me that he was ok for trims as long as the farrier didn't use a trimming stand. They also told me he needed to be tranquilized to be shod! I didn't plan on having shoes on him, so I was ok with that. Out of coincidence, the previous owner's farrier trimmed a friend's horses and I had the chance to witness his "work". Let's just say I quickly figured out two things - 1)why Rusty was afraid and 2) why my friends horses would come in the barn sound and leave lame after a trim.

The past two farriers I used were willing to trim without the stand, so we were able to avoid the problem altogether. Rusty stands well, as long as that stand is nowhere in sight. The latest farrier wasn't working out, so the other boarder and I switched to someone new. He was recommended by a friend and our vet, so the odds were good. I spoke to him on the phone and told him about Rusty's issues. He said that he often trains horses as well as doing farrier work, so if I wanted he would work with him before the trim, if required.

He trimmed my friends horse first and was happy to answer questions and explain what he was doing. (This mare has been lame for a while - he is working on correcting alot of things. Wish I had taken pictures - lots of neat stuff with the bars) He even had a real coffin bone in his pocket and he explained how everything connected and affected the other parts of the hoof. Very interesting!

When it was Rusty's turn, my nerves were high. He haltered Rusty and we took him out in the sand ring. He wanted to get a sense of what he was up against in a nice open space. He did some groundwork to test Rusty - leading, backing, circling, etc. He complimented me that Rusty was good about respecting personal space and was being responsive. I started to relax a bit and settled in to watch and learn. He slowly picked up each foot and if Rusty pulled his foot away, he put him to work - backing and circling mostly. Rusty caught on fast and even started correcting himself if he pulled his hoof back a bit too soon...!

Long story short, it took him about 30 minutes of training and then he was able to trim all 4 hooves using the stand!!! Turns out Rusty's feet aren't in too bad of shape - the other farrier left alot of flare and he is working at fixing that first.

I probably could have made some progress towards this with Rusty myself, but it would have taken me ages... I'm not 100% confident when doing training like that, but I learned so much today that I'm willing to start trying. The farrier gave me some "homework" to work on, so I'm happy about that too! Again, I wish I had taken some pictures, but I was too busy trying to learn to have been worrying about a camera as well. I'm sure with a couple more training sessions, I will no longer be "that" owner! It's a win-win for me, because I don't like seeing horses stressed out and afraid when there are ways to train them to relax. So many people resort to heavy-handed techniques to do things with horses and it just doesn't work...

I totally had to resist giving this guy a big hug before he left (and I'm not the hugging type!! lol) so I just made do with a "thanks soooo much for your time" comment. I'll be looking forward to my next farrier visit, instead of worrying...! That is a nice change for me!

Slowly feeling better...

Thanks so much for the kind comments on my last post. It gave me a warm fuzzy feeling that so many of you took the time to leave some well wishes. I tend to keep to myself alot, both online and in real life, but as I share more and open up, it reminds me that it feels nice to have people to talk to and care about you!

Ok - enough sappy stuff... lol

I am feeling much better - the pain in my leg is almost gone - and hopefully it stays gone. I still have some swelling and I can't wear any of my nice shoes yet, which is starting to bug me. I've been wearning running shoes and Uggs to work for the past 3 months and it's getting a bit old!

I had a follow-up appointment with a specialist this week and all of the tests for big bad illnesses came back negative, so that is good news. We are still working on the cause of all this mess, but that might take a bit of time. I feel good to have a couple of specialists and a very good GP on board to help me out. I'm back at work full time as of yesterday and it is taking some time to adjust, but everyone is very good about being patient with me. My work isn't stressful or demanding either, so that is good.

My Dr. was a little unsure about me riding - she told me to make an educated decision about riding - basically it is my choice to do so or not. I think I'm going to try riding this weekend and see how I feel. Rusty and I aren't very wild, so I'm sure it won't be a problem. He is being used in a lesson a week which is good, but that is nowhere near enough exercise for Mr. Chubbs (like his new nickname???).

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Rusty has also been giving me some trouble in the hoof/farrier department. Not all of it is his fault, but I have some work to do. The farrier we had been using was a good guy - fairly reliable and quick. He was also willing to trim Rusty without using the stand - Rusty has a huge problem with the farrier stand - not sure if I've mentioned that before.... Anyway, the trims that were done were starting to get pretty bad - one trim he wouldn't take anything off and Rusty's hooves would crack and chip and the next time, he would trim him so short, he was almost lame. He couldn't walk on any sort of stone or gravel and I just wasn't 100% happy with the way things were going. The other boarder was in a similar situation, but her horse was 100% lame...

The barn owner does all of her own trimming and offered to try trimming Rusty for me. I was happy to try this alternative, since I think all of her horses have wonderful looking feet. Well, we tried on Saturday and it didn't go so well. He was ok with the stand for his off front hoof, until she pulled his hoof forward to try rasping the front (like in the picture (which isn't Rusty)). He lost his marbles and did a little rear and caused the stand to fall under his back feet. He then tried to jump over the stand.... Crazy horse. Obviously we are back to square one and need to work on getting him de-sensitized to stuff under his feet. He can't even have a lead rope under his feet without losing his marbles, so I hope we can get somewhere with this.

He also did not want to settle down after the incident. We wanted to spend a few minutes handling his feet with just the rasp so he wouldn't think he could just act up and get out of having his feet done. He was very jumpy and sensitive and had a hard time handling it (so did I, frankly)... We managed to get him to stand to have his hooves picked out, but that was about it. I do not want to be that person whose horse is bad for the farrier!

Luckily, the other boarder has just started working with a new farrier who has an excellent reputation. He came highly recommended by our vet and by another friend of mine. My friend has seen a huge improvement in her mares hooves since this guy has been working on them. He is coming out to the farm at the end of the month, so I have a bit of work to do before he comes. The barn owner and I are going to do a few training sessions with the old boy instead of riding lessons to see if we can make some headway with him on this. I find it funny that Rusty has such problems with stuff around his feet - he is so calm and so broke in every other situation that it still surprises me sometimes!

Well, that is all that is going on here in littlekeebler land!

Happy trails...

Back from vacation...and sick :-(

I've been back home for a week now, but haven't really felt like posting much.

I started having major pain and swelling in my calf and ankle during our trip in NYC. Walking around was torture, but I just popped a bunch of painkillers and sucked it up. The pain didn't improve when I got home and was able to rest, so I went to see my doctor. She was worried and sent me off to the hospital right away.

On Tuesday of last week, I was diagnosed with a blood clot in my calf. A quick ultrasound confirmed the diagnosis and I was sent to the ER for treatment.

A blood clot can be quite dangerous – one form of it is called Deep Vein Thrombosis – that is what I have. If left untreated, parts of the clot can break off and head to the lungs or heart, causing major problems. Luckily mine was caught in time, so there shouldn’t be any big problems like that now that I am on medication. There are many causes for a blood clot in the leg and being overweight is one of them. So, with the pre-existing swelling in my leg, a long car/train ride on our trip last week and I had the perfect situation for a blood clot to occur.

Amazing how things can change in a week. I now have to take an intense course of medication and follow up with specialists a lot over the next few weeks. I’m still in a fair bit of pain and I am stuck resting on the couch most of the day. No riding for me for at least another week, maybe longer. The blood thinners I have to take can make a small injury much more serious, should something happen.

This small health scare is the catalyst to change my lifestyle and try to work on becoming more healthy and fit. I will know more on Wednesday when I have my next follow up with the specialist and go over the results from the myriad of tests ordered. Hopefully there isn't anything big wrong, but just a strange situation that caused this to happen. Hopefully a good exercise program can help prevent this from happening again.

Old Rusty is getting a much longer vacation than I had intended. It will be close to a month that he hasn't been ridden. He will be getting heftier and heftier... :-)

Last summer evening ride

I think I had my last summer evening ride on the Monday before I left for my trip. The air had just a hint of coolness and there was a nice strong breeze to keep the bugs away. The sun was just starting to set - it gets dark alot earlier now than in July.

I went out to find Rusty and he was out enjoying the last bits of summer pasture. I had to trek out to bring him in (it isn't really that far...). It always makes me smile to see horses grazing here, because our time with grass AND nice weather is so short.

Rusty finally hears me calling and looks up to see what the racket is...Skippy is brave enough to come over and see me. Rusty goes back to grazing, keeping and eye on me. I wonder if he is going to try to avoid being caught, but he's too lazy for that.

He decided it was safe to come over and see me for a scratch and a peppermint. I also took a bunch of pictures.

Then, since there were no more mints and all Iwas doing was taking pictures, he decided to go back to grazing. Might as well get a few more bites of grass in while you can.

He didn't wander far, so when I was done with the pictures, he let me catch him without any problems. Phew! We headed back to the barn to get tacked up. I had a short lesson, then went back out to the fields to really enjoy the beautful evening. Rusty was feeling good, so we had a nice tour around the hay fields. The setting sun forced us back to the barn

Happy trails!

Just checking in

Hi from North Carolina!! *waves*

We arrived here on Wednesday afternoon without any trouble. After crossing the border, we took two interstates and 16 hours later, voila here we are in NC. Love the interstate system - very efficient.

We've been busy checking out the race site and registering and all sorts of things. The race is being held at Lowe's Motor Speedway - a HUGE Nascar track here. I've never seen anything so big in my life. Apparently it seats 140,000 people. We don't have any arenas/venues that big at home, that is for sure (for reference, our NHL arena seats 18,500 people).

Outside the track - we had to walk a looong ways around the back gate...


Saw this car driving around - probably just one they use for the Richard Petty driving experience or something. Still kinda cool to see even though I know nothing about Nascar...

Everyone is on the pit crew lane - real track is off to the right. Main stands in the background.

Richard on the right with a patriotic team mate. Enjoying the pre-race parade of nations and some sights...
They did a demo of a pit crew changing tires - very cool. I wonder if that team of strapping lads would come up and put the snow tires on my car this winter??? :-)

More later - off to the mall!

Vacation!

I have 3 more hours at work before I am off for two weeks!!! Yeah! I haven't had two weeks off in a row for several years now, so I'm pretty excited.

I've been working like a dog at home and at work to get everything sorted out before I go. Amazing how much needs to be done when you won't be around for a while. I spent the day yesterday packing, pouring over maps and programming our gps.

We are driving to North Carolina for a race and then driving back up to PA to take the train into NYC for a few days. Sounds like a strange trip, I know. We have to go to NC for Richard to compete in a duathlon (run/bike/run) and thought it would be more fun/easier to drive with his bike in the car instead of flying. Since he chose the first part of our trip, I chose the second part! It will be my birthday on the 30th, so I decided I wanted to spend it in the Big Apple.

I have one last riding lesson tonight and then I will miss ol' Rusty for two weeks. He will get a vacation too, with only one or two potential rides. The BO may use him for a lesson here and there, since one of her mares is in foal and is getting to the point where she won't be ridden anymore. It's kind of too bad to be away this time of year, since the weather is fantastic, but what can you do? I'm really looking forward to a break from everything, so it will be worth it.

Silent Sunday

Long time, no update...

September has been a busy month for me so far, with no signs of letting up! So far, we've had one 50th anniversary and two family birthdays. Also, three other friends have birthdays in September and my birthday is at the end of the month! Add that to several vet appointments for my dog (he's ok), unplanned car repairs and planning for a two week trip! I'm usually not a super busy person, but September always seems to be busier for some reason.

My in-laws celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with us a couple of weeks ago. They are great in-laws - I think I got quite lucky there! lol They are very happy and fun to be around. I scanned one of their wedding pictures because I think it looks so nice.

Today is also my hubby's birthday. I was trying to find a funny baby picture of him, but we don't have any at home. In searching all of our albums, I found this great picture of him as a teenager. They lived on a farm and had a bunch of animals. This isn't their horse, but one they boarded while the owner was out of the country for awhile. Neither he nor his sister really knew how to ride, they just jumped on and galloped all over the country side! :-) Just ignore his foot in the stirrup - not sure what he was doing there! lol. At least he isn't riding in running shoes!

He has ridden Rusty a couple of times, but he isn't super interested in riding right now - he prefers bicycles to horses. He has promised to take me on a riding vacation at some point - I'd love to go to a working ranch and ride for a few days!

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My cat and dog had to have all of their vaccinations and a check up two weeks ago. My cat is 12 and is healthy as can be! Phew. My dog, Max is a bit of a problem...he has had some minor liver issues, so we always have bloodwork taken and tasted. We also found a small lump on his leg this winter, so that was a concern. His teeth are also carefully monitored, as he has some bone loss in his jaws. He had to go in last week to have his teeth cleaned under anaethesia, so we also decided to have the lump on his leg removed. Turns out it was a benign tumour, so that is good news. He has about 10 stitches in his back leg and is recovering like a champ. It was kinda expensive to have all that work done, but I have an emergency vet fund for things like this, so it was all covered. 'Course now I have to start saving to replenish it! Hopefully we are done for vets for a while.

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I don't have any exciting riding stories to report, as I haven't been out hacking in the past two weeks due to all of the bugs! The bugs have been terrible in the past two weeks. I'm really looking forward to a couple of good frosts to start killing those suckers! Rusty is quite tolerant of bugs, but I can't stand to see his whole face totally covered in mosquitoes, horse flies and all kinds of other creatures. Yuck.

The cooler weather is coming, a few trees have started changing colour. I really love fall, even though it means that winter is just around the corner. There is something about the smell of the cool air and the nice sunny crisp days that I really enjoy. I took this picture of a tree at work just starting to change...

Most days at work find me stuck at a desk wishing I was outside doing something interesting. This past Monday was an exception - we had a delegation visiting from Mexico, so I got to follow them around and take pictures. Most people that visit are fascinated by the musical ride stables and the horses. They have a couple of horses that they use for photos and such. We had a few minutes to wait, so I had fun talking to one of the instructors about horses and riding. He has been riding and teaching for many years and actually teaches at the stable that Rusty came from two owners ago! I didn't put it together at the time, but when I looked up the stable online at home on Monday night, I found some old pictures of Rusty with his previous owner (which I'll post later)!

I also took this picture of the musical ride horses that I thought was kind of nice. Both horses are 19 and still being ridden - mostly just for ceremonial purposes, but they also use them on their beginner riding courses. Ike is in the foreground and Hector in the background.

Well that about wraps up this update! Sorry for the long post - that's what happens when you don't update regularly!

Wordless Wednesday

Here is a video of my cat - he'll eat almost anything... Watch with your sound on, if you can...

Untitled from Laura Jones on Vimeo.

September, already?

Where does the time go?

September is looking to be a busy month for me, so I need to start keeping an eye on my schedule and planning ahead a bit, so I don't miss something and get all stressed out.

I've been having some great rides on ol' Rusty Spurs the past two weeks. I love my new saddle - it fits me so well, I can't quite believe it. I feel solid and secure and the stirrups/fenders are the perfect length. Yeah for short fenders!

Last night was my first lesson in a couple of weeks, due to scheduling issues. I have to admit though, that the past two weeks of just hacking around the fields not only improved my confidence by leaps and bounds, but it has refreshed me mentally as well. I was so sick of riding around the arena going in endless circles. I'm not so good at making arena rides interesting - I'm going to have to work on that for the fall and winter months.

I just have to tell you guys that I have been cantering out in the fields! Now, that isn't a big deal for most of you, but I have been having major confidence issues since I started riding again 3 years ago. I've worked my way up to being confident in the arena - there I can trot poles and little jumps, canter, play around with barrel patterns, etc. but out in the wide open, my nerves got the best of me. Rusty is really reliable when riding out - he doesn't spook and doesn't care about being left behind if the other horses go ahead. One night I even turned him for home when 2 other riders where heading out to the back fields. He didn't get upset at all and just trucked back to the barn. Little things like that really make me happy. He is a good boy most of the time!

He did buck a bit on me last week, but I just slowed him down and got things under control. I even chuckled about it the next day, because Rusty's little buck really isn't scary (well, so far) as he doesn't buck with the intention of getting you off his back, it's more of a little protest. I have been riding with a fly whisk to keep the flies off his face. When I asked him to canter, I wasn't really paying attention and the horse hair part of the whisk sort of got caught under my leg/stirrup. I started fiddling around with it, trying to pull it out and that's when he bucked - so I'm not sure if it was tickling him, or he didn't like me moving around and pulling on stuff...but I survived it and lived to tell the tale!

I've also been getting in lots of trot work and it is nice to feel Rusty moving out and forward. He can get a little sticky in the arena. I'm hoping to keep this up as long as I can throughout the fall so he can improve his fitness and get some good muscle going. I'm now feeling confident enough to start playing around with the trot out int the field - slowing him down and then extending him. We also need to work on headset a bit - he can get his head up a bit too much out there...

I won't be riding again until Thursday - I have some stuff to get done around the house and the other boarder is having her 24 year old mare euthanized late this afternoon. I don't really want to be around and get in the way. It is hard enough to do something like that, let alone have people all over the place. This poor lady is having a hard time letting go of her mare, but I totally understand. The mare got sick last week and the owner was lucky to have a week to think about things and make the right decision for her and the horse. The good news is that the mare had a nice retirement and the lady has another mare that is in foal for the spring. So one life leaves and another will arrive. Life and nature are like that, I guess...

That is what I 've been up to - I just wanted to write out how good I've been feeling about my rides lately. There isn't really anything like riding out in the fields or trails to boost your spirits...