Winter wonderland

I went out to see Rusty on Saturday - it was nice and sunny out - and only about -15C in the sun! That is almost tropical for us! lol

We just walked around the riding arena - no halter, no ropes, just messing around. In my lessons in December, we were working on the turn on the fore and turn on the haunches, so it was fun to try it from the ground to see if I could get that big butt of his to move a bit.

We tromped around in the snow - Rusty may have been given a few treats to encourage him along. I was hoping he would roll in the snow to give me some good pictures, but all he did was paw it a bit.It was nice to be outside and just chill (har har - pun intended) with my horse.

His eyes are still iffy - some days are better than others. You can see in the picture above that his left ey is quite small - it was worse than the right eye on Saturday. The vet is due out Thursday or so to re-check. We're hoping we can start giving some steroids to help with the inflammation. Bute isn't really doing much - he is getting 3g a day (split in two feedings) and it helps a bit, but not enough.

I went out this afternoon to check on him again and I let him loose in the indoor arena this time, so he had better traction. He bucked and snorted and pretended like he hadn't been in the arena before. He aslo rolled in the nice dirt - and guess who didn't have her camera!! After about 5 minutes of the bucking and cantering around, he came back to me with the "what now???" face.

I'm glad I made it out to the barn tonight, as our weather is not playing nice yet again. Winds up to 50 km/h and windchills of below -40C!!!! The high for tomorrow with the wind is only expected to get to -30C tops! Argh. I was lamenting the fact that my British ancestors could have stayed on the boat for a bit longer and ended up in the Carolinas, Florida or even the Caribbean. I also think they should have went with a better travel agent!!!

Doom and gloom continues...

I went out to check on Rusty and his poor little eyes last night - hoping to see some improvement. Turns out his left eye is still very irritated and sore. He is on 2-3g of bute, 2x a day, but it isn't really helping that much. He stands in the shelter with his eyes closed when it is bright and sunny out. He isn't rubbing his eyes as much, which is good, but the left eye is still giving him some grief.

I had hoped that over the past 2 weeks his eyes would be much improved - but it doesn't seem like that is the case. I guess I need to be more patient, but I hate thinking that he is in pain and I can't do anything about it. The eyedrops aren't helping either. We also can't give him any steriods until the eye ulcers heal, as steriods can irritate the ulcers and cause more pain.

I was going to try and lunge him last night - or at least just do a bit of ground work in the arena - to give us something to do. But, by the time I got to the barn at 6pm, it was -25C with howling winds. The barn door blew closed on me as I went in and I almost got my leg caught. Imagine trying to lead a horse out through that - not worth the risk of having someone get caught! So, I just put him in the cross ties and gave him a good grooming and lots of treats. His puppy dog personality hasn't changed, so that is good. He enjoyed his grooming with a stretched out neck and lots of funny lip faces. He doesn't usually respond that much, so I knew he enjoyed it.

I was feeling very guilty for not even trying to work him, but the temperatures are just too cold at night, even with an indoor arena. It would probably be tolerable on a sunny day, but I'm stuck at work 99% of the time when the sun is out, so that won't be happening. I know that none of this is my fault - his illnesses, my lack of riding - but I still feel terrible about it all. Rusty wasn't sick (so they said) before I bought him and now that I own him, all sorts of thing are going wrong. My BO tried to make me feel better saying that this particular eye condition could have been easily missed in it's early stages, especially since his owner was just a kid.

I need to have the vet out in a week or so, to re-check his eyes to see if the ulcers are healing. His condition is a bit confusing to the vets, because they know a bunch of things that it probably isn't - ie - glaucoma, leptospirosis, uveitis, etc., but they also don't know what it is or how to treat it.

Sorry for the "bummer" post - I'm just feeling discouraged about riding/not riding, horse health and all of the money that I'm spending and not getting anywhere with any of it. My budget allows for boarding, lessons and some extra for vet bills, but I'm right up against my maximum. It can be challenging owning and boarding one horse, because all of your hopes and fun are tied up in one animal.

Here's hoping Rusty's eyes clear up and I'll look back at this post and see what a Whiney McComplainsalot I've been!

I'm going to try and post something less gloomy over the weekend - maybe some pretend retail therapy will cheer me up!

The eyes are the window to the soul...

I haven't posted much about Rusty lately - mostly because I didn't have time leading up to Christmas to do much of anything and partly because I was a bit worried about him...

He is having eye problems. I noticed the weekend before Christmas that his eyes were running and that he was rubbing them. I asked the barn owner and she wasn't quite sure if it was something to worry about. By Monday, she was noticing that he was sensitive to light when outside and that made her nervous.

So, on the 23rd, I called the vet and he was able to fit us in. Keep in mind I was due to leave town on first thing on the 24th, not to mention being tired and exhausted from work, so all of this only added to my stress. I was quite worried about Rusty and his eyesight...uveitis (ERU) is a big threat, especially with Appys. Uveitis often causes blindness in one or both eyes if not treated right away.

I left work early to meet the vet. He stained Rusty's eyes and noticed some corneal ulceration ( the picture isn't Rusty)

From the Paragon Veterinary Group web site: corneal ulcers "are defects in the surface of the eye (cornea) often caused by infection, they cause inflammation, pain and irritation. Initial presentation is a closed, swollen eye, often running with tears. Your vet will diagnose corneal ulceration by putting a fluorescent dye into the horse's eye. Affected areas will take up the dye and appear green. Infection may have started by a piece of grit or other direct injury such as a thorn.

Even with the diagnosis of corneal ulcers, he couldn't quite rule out uveitis, but was pretty sure that wasn't the problem. He prescribed some eyedrops and bute and that seems to be helping. Rusty is still rubbing his eyes a bit - but there is some improvement. So that is good. His left eye is painful - you can tell by the way he is acting. It doesn't appear that there is any vision loss at this point, but we aren't sure how this will affect him long term.

"Lemme guess - you're here to stick more stuff in my eyes??"

The barn owner and I looked at his eyes again today. We are fairly sure that it isn't uveitis - which is really good news. He has been a good sport - he was good for the vet and calm and quiet as we have been examing his eyes. Even though he is in a bit of pain, he hasn't reared, pulled back or done anything bad. He really has the temperment of a big lab puppy or something.

Needless to say, he is getting better, but I'm still worried. I feel terrible for not calling the vet sooner and also since I board, I wasn't able to give him his medication myself. The barn owner has been great in treating him, so that isn't a problem. I just wish I had more time to get out there and take better care of him.

I'm trying not to be too hard on myself - he is getting the best care that we are capable of. I'm trying to be positive and not worry too much about the long term "what-ifs" with regards to his vision. The barn owner feels it will be ok to keep riding him after this week when the pain subsides a bit.

On a funny note - I had to get his eyedrops from a regular pharmacy. I had hoped to just get the eyedrops and go...but the lady kept asking questions and I couldn't help but be a bit difficult - it was too funny to pass up.

Tech - so this prescription is for your son?
Me - ummm yes. *smirks*
Tech - and your son's name is Rusty?
Me - ummm sure. I'm a big fan of Christmas vacation - Chevy Chase's son in the movie was nick-named Rusty...
Tech - blank look
Me - *smirk*
Tech - I need your name address and your son's age
Me - He's 17.
Tech - um ok. Could you also verify the doctor's name that prescribed this medication?
Me - *sigh* Dr. X.
Tech - are you sure this person is a doctor? What does "DVM" mean?
Me - Yes, he's a doctor.
Tech - So, could I also get your son's birthday?
Me - trying not to laugh...
Tech - I really need his birthday for the file.
Me - I have no idea when his birthday is. He's 17 - put in January 1, 1991.
Tech - You don't know your son's birthday???
Me - Look - he is a horse. Rusty is a horse. The doctor that called is VET. That's what DVM means.
Tech - oh.
Me - could I just get my prescription now?

The final days of 2008

I'm back from visiting my family. I had a great time with them - I'm very lucky with my family. Everyone is happy and kind and there is no drama at all with these people. We are a big bunch of "what you see is what you get people". My visits home aren't as frequent as I like - seven hours of driving each way is quite tiring. The distance hasn't affected my relationships with them, within a few hours we are all caught up just like I had never left.

Each visit home is a bit nostalgic though - I stopped in quickly at my brother's place. He still lives on the family "farm". He now owns the 50 acres we grew up on. I'm extremely happy that it is still in the family, over four generations were born and raised there. But, it reminds me that I could be living there, with horses still at home. I try not to think of it, because regrets aren't really all that helpful. I sometimes think I would be happier had I stayed at home, but there is no way to know that for sure...

I also made it over to visit my grandmother on my Dad's side. I took the opportunity to go through all of her old family pictures. I don't have any pictures of my dad when he was growing up. Since he passed away when I was 15, I don't have alot of connections to that side of my family tree. (My Dad is on the far right in the picture). For various reasons, we aren't as close with my Dad's side of the family, so I took the chance to get copies of some of the family pictures in case they were ever lost or thrown out...

All in all, Christmas was good. I'm back at work for a couple of days this week and then back to the regular grind next week. I'm getting back to my regular happy self, but it has been slow going. I figure I'm at about 70% of normal. I'm not a big one for new year's resolutions and all that jazz, but I have a lot of things regarding my riding and my personal life that I'm looking forward to continuing in the new year.

I hope everyone has a fun New Year's eve. I personally like to stay home and watch movies... What does everyone else like to do? Family get-togethers? Big fancy dress-up parties? Do tell!

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas! I'm feeling a little "grinchy" this year, but I'm hoping it will pass as I get to spend Christmas with my family this year.

White Horse Pilgrim tagged me for the "Six things about me" meme - since I have done that tag twice, I'll just link to both posts here. (Lazy much?? lol)

1st 6 things...

2nd 6 things...

I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday!

I plan to be back to some more regular horse-related posts next week or the week after!

Almost Wordless Wednesday

Not much to report here. Just trying to hang in until the 24th. We are heading down to see my family and I can't wait. The days off are much needed. I'm pretty much drained.

Here is a picture of my old horse Jackson in his winter "woolies" last year. I love this picture and *almost* got it blown up to put in a frame - but I had a hunch that I wouldn't be keeping this horse as we just DID NOT click or get along that well. Turns out my hunch was right and I sold him this past May.

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Just an administrative note - posting and commenting may be sparse around here until the new year...I'm just to burnt out to put much thought into anything other than getting through the next week.

Don't sit on a wall if you are an egg...

Interesting title, no? In an effort to cheer myself up, the hubby and I watched a Ricky Gervais HBO comedy special that we had on the PVR. Ricky is a British comedian and very funny, in my opinion. Maybe it's the British accent?

I'm even going to embed a clip of my favourite part of the show - gotta love youtube!

Now, the video probably isn't safe for work, or if you have young kids hanging around. Probably also shouldn't watch if you are offended by swearing. But give it a chance, it is somewhat horse related!!

Quick update

Things have been hectic around here. I've been working so much overtime that I'm pretty much a zombie. Yuck. My pets have resorted to sleeping on my laptop to get some attention.

I'm also not a huge fan of this time of year. The pressures and stresses really get to me. I've also been let down by people at work and couple of people at home. I guess it is my problem for letting it get to me. I need to work on just living my life and not letting other people and things get to me as much.


All of that being said, I haven't been to see poor Rusty in over a week. Since last night when I started writing this, we have almost a foot of snow!! Cool. That cheers me up a little. If we are going to have snow, I want lots of it, dammit! I wish I was out at the barn, instead of stuck at work. I need some good pictures of Rusty in the snow. I would also be fun to go out for a short bareback ride around the fields. Maybe on the weekend...

(Picture is of Max rollling in the snow)

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6 (more) things about me

I decided to do this again just to have something to post, because my brain is running on empty.

Read the other 6 things I wrote about this summer...

1) I'm a conflicted meat eater. I really like meat - in fact I love steak. But I sort of wish I could be a vegetarian. But I don't like tofu and eggs and seafood and stuff like that. I wish I could afford to buy local organic meat so that I didn't have to support the big chains. I don't eat cold cuts - that is where I draw the line - we had a big recall from one of the major meat factories here this summer - gross.

2) I am a leftie and proud of it! lol It turns out I'm in good company around here with lefties - Cdncowgirl and BECG are both lefties as well - anyone else??? I actually broke my left wrist last year - that was a bit of a bummer. I'm pretty good with my right hand as well (ie - don't need special lefty-scissors) so I managed to cope pretty well.

3) I love to read - magazines and fiction are my favourites, but when desperate I'll read anything I can get my hands on. My books are some of my most beloved possessions. I'll even read material in French if I'm low on other things to read. I have to use French alot at work, so it all makes sense to me.

4) I'm almost bilingual - in French. I studied for many years in school (it's a requirement here until 9th grade or so) and I use it alot in my day-to-day work. I work for the government, so everything we have in writing has to be bilingual. I still have a lot to learn, but I'm well on my way. I even get a bilingual bonus on my paycheque! (yes, we spell it cheque, not check!)

5) I was in the military - the Naval Reserve to be precise. It was a fantastic summer job while in university - it paid alot more than working at the mall or the grocery store. I also got a lot of relevant job experience that helped me when I started working. I came very close to joining the military full time after university, but didn't want to move around. Sometimes I miss it and wonder how I would have done with it full-time. I've been on a few ships while docked, but never got the chance to actually "go to sea"...

6) Again, like a few others, I am a day dreamer. I'm always drifting off thinking about something. Most of the time is it about horses and farms and how I would set up a farm. Occasionally Brad Pitt or Colin Firth work their way into the daydream, but I usually have them mucking stalls or piling hay. ;-) That being said - my short term memory is sharp as a tack. I know exactly where my stuff is, where my hubby's stuff is and what is on the top shelf of the pantry behind the flour (oreo crumbs for baking). My long term memory is a bit more sketchy - stuff sticks, but it sometimes takes a few tries. I'm usually right when it comes to remembering something - my hubby has long given up trying to argue with me...

Catching up

I had a crazy week last week and this week isn't much better. I've been working alot of overtime and even with all of that, I'm going to blow a deadline. It isn't crucial, but I really wanted to deliver this project on time. I can't say it was all my fault, as a co-worker had over a month to do her part and she hasn't even started yet. Anyway, I've been tired and grouchy. The DARKNESS and the SNOW aren't helping.

This time of year is probably my least favourite - I find the six weeks leading up to Christmas are often stressful with family expectations and obligations on top of the crappy weather.

Anyway - enough boo-hooing - I got something that cheered me up instantly. The lovely NuzzlingMuzzles gave me an award!!!

That little bouquet of virtual flowers put a big smile on my face. It's nice to have some new friends out there - even if we may never meet in person. I'm going to wimp out on handing out the award since I can never decide on just two or three people to give it to...

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I haven't been to the barn since Sunday - I feel a bit guilty, but not much I can do this week. Rusty is well cared for and a few days off won't hurt either one of us. I had a great ride on Sunday, he was being pretty good. He has been acting a bit silly on some of my other rides. He always tries to canter if we are trotting and I give him a little squeeze of leg - most of the time he just tries for a step or two then goes back to the trot. It gets kind of annoying after a while. I have been working on learning to flex and counter-flex him to help straighten him out. When I combine those rein aids with keeping my leg on, he thinks it means canter. Usually I just ride it out and we are working on being consistent with the aids. When I rode on Sunday, I thought if he wanted to canter, well then he could canter. After a lap around the arena, he didn't think trying to canter everytime I touched his sides or moved the reins was such a good idea! Ha-ha, silly (lazy) horse.

It is interesting working with an older horse - you often come across "buttons" that you didn't know you had. He came from a dressage barn, but he has had a lot of western training. He will canter if you raise your inside hand and put the rein on his neck, along with a squeeze of the legs. I'm not sure if that is an english or western cue - or a bit of a hodge-podge. Any opinions? He will also canter with the outside leg back and a bit of rein to tip his nose to the inside. He is also trained to trot with a click and canter with a kiss. Kind of interesting how training can be "layered" over the years and they still remember - when the want to, of course!!

Not sure when I'll get a chance to post again - probably not consistently until mid-December. Gotta work hard and keep Rusty in the style to which he has become accustomed! I'm still reading everyone's blog, but not always commenting as much as normal.

Hope all of my friends in the US have a nice Thanksgiving!

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

A few shots from my day today...I took the day off. It was sunny and crisp outside -what a treat to be outside while it was still light out!

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!