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Showing posts from December, 2008

Wentworth Hunter Pace - June 6, 2021

After Margaret and I had such a fun time at the fall hunter pace, we opted to go again this spring! This time, while I rode Rejoice again, Margaret rode her horse Jester and had a friend ride Ladyhawke. All Kennebec Morgans!! Jester and Rejoice have the same dam and Jester and Lady share the same sire. Unfortunately instead of a lovely late spring day, we had one of the first intensely hot and humid days of the year. It was definitely a bummer, but the ride was mostly in the shade of the woods and we had a great time!  most of the fences were 3' coops but we found a small log and this hay to jump haha Until we didn't. 😑 We brought along a third friend who rode Margaret's older mare, Ladyhawke. She's a good rider but hasn't known Ladyhawke for very long and didn't realize how much of a cranky boss mare she could be at times. She kicked Jester right in the front leg just about halfway through the ride, and while the cut itself ended up not being a big deal in the...

The Best Training Aid for Cantering your STB and Fun with Tarps!

Time off is a great thing. I get to RIDE! I rode on Christmas Day of course (see previous post) and that was fun. Then I rode Dreamy on Friday for about 30 mins . and then again on Sunday for about the same. Saturday I wanted to ride but it was raining. Instead we had FUN WITH TARPS! Yay ! My two rides were productive....well as productive a ride in the snow on a semi-out-of-shape horse can be. We worked on connection and of course got a little bit of attitude from the Dream Girl, but nothing like she can be. Did some stretchy free walk and working walk transitions. Did some halts. I actually was able to canter on Friday, since the snow had not melted underneath that much. The footing was good, unlike Sunday where all the rain had settled on top of the ground and underneath the snow, so there was some ice and some slush. Only trotting on Sunday. Anyway, I finally had my best training aid back for the canter! SNOW! YAY ! The snow on Friday made her canter so BOUNCY and SLOW! :) Our left...

Christmas Rides!

I have a tradition to always take a bareback ride on Christmas Day. Not sure why, but I always do. Even if it is only a 15 min. walk around the pasture, I enjoy it. Usually I just have time for Sparky, but this year I was able to ride both mares. Sparky first, of course. She is my first love. :) And I must admit this is the first time I have actually ridden Dreamy bareback... LOL ! What a wimp I am! Her withers are not THAT bad. Here is the view from the round and fuzzy Sparky. Yes her bridle path is waaaaaay overgrown and my inner George Morris screams in protest every time I look at her. But I want to grow out some of it so it is not so long....it nearly goes halfway down her neck! I hear the latest trend in the Morgan horse show world is to NOT trim them back so far.....and of course Ms. Sparky needs to be on top of the current trends, now doesn't she?? Interestingly enough, Dreamy was royally PO'ed that I was riding Sparky and ignoring her. So here she is standing direc...

Scary or Exciting?

So, I am not sure yet if this is scary or exciting! LOL! Now this means we are eligible to compete at rated dressage shows! And maybe even qualify for a USDF All Breed Award! :) :) :) I do know that it means I have to work my ass off this year!

My horse is eating silage

OK, not really silage, but it might as well be! Dreamy is now on Lucerne Farms Hi Fiber product, AKA as Hi Fi, AKA Dengie. It is a chopped hay mix of timothy, oat, and alfalfa packed in a 40 pound plastic bag. Just why am I now feeding this? Well, the Dream Girl has been diagnosed with COPD/RAO for a few years now. The common name is "heaves" and until 2000 this condition was known as COPD or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Some fancy group of international veterinarians decided to start calling it RAO or recurrent airway obstruction to differentiate this equine respiratory condition from COPD in humans. So whatever you want to call it, Dreamy basically has allergies. She has a problem breathing and for years I managed her on 24/7 turnout/stall, a product called Wind by Emerald Valley, and soaked hay in above freezing temperatures. For whatever reason, I was always able to switch her to regular old dry hay when the temps. dropped. But not this year. :( Dreamy had a mi...