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
Whew! Where did February go!? Not that I am complaining, because it is not my favorite month here in Maine, but this year it seemed to go especially fast!
I had big plans for February school vacation...but everything came to a grinding halt when my son came home Friday before vacation with a fever of 102. :( So, I spent the majority of vacation taking care of the little guy. It ended up being a double ear infection and nothing very serious, but still, all of our fun plans to go ice skating, to the movies, etc. went down the drain. And of course, I only got to ride twice the entire time. But hey, I am a mom first, so it is all good.
Both rides over vacation were great. Dreamy is well trained at this point and all I really need to do is get her in shape this next 6 weeks and we are good to go!
Then of course, not to be outdone by my son, I had to get sick! LOL! Only I was not as easy...I ended up with a nasty sinus infection and ended up missing most of the following week, our first week back at school after vacation. UGGGG! But thankfully the doc finally gave me antibiotics this past Friday and I am feeling 100% better.
Geez, what a fun last two weeks of February! :P
But now that March is here, the long slow miles of conditioning begin. :D Daylight Savings begins in less than two weeks, so weekday riding will become MUCH easier. Dreamy is sporting a new trace clip and will be getting shoes at the end of the month (well as long as Mother Nature continues on her mild streak...) The weather has been pretty agreeable around here. Hopefully when my instructor's outdoor ring is ready, we can start LESSONS!!!!!!! :) YAY!
Sparky is doing very well...she is shedding like crazy of course. She lost 99% of her long Cushing's coat last year, so I am hoping she sheds out again like that. In the past, I have had to body clip her in May, but last year for whatever reason, her coat looked almost normal. YAY! Her weight is excellent and I am super pleased with her body condition for age 28. The only complaint I have is why do older horses have to get such gunky eyes!? It seems like every single day I have to wipe out dried gunk! It is clear and not anything serious. My vet says it is because older horse's tear ducts often do not work as well as they age and can become clogged. They are not clogged, but I just hate seeing her eyes crusty each afternoon. :( It is a sign of her age, and I hate it!
I have been asked about how Reva is doing. :) She is growing like a weed! LOL! I bet she will hit 17 hands. I have not measured her lately, but I ought to. Her bit is now a size 6" and her browband is oversize. She is one big girl! She had a cap that was stuck back when we did teeth floating on November 19. Plus, she has a lot of things going on in mouth, with teeth erupting and such. She did an awful lot of drooling for the first few months I owned her. After her cap was removed, it did seem to hinder her chewing slightly. But within a week to 10 days, she was not dropping nearly as much grain as before the floating.
We are all signed up for a clinic this spring with Chris Lombard on June 13. He is not a crazy Natural Horsemanship trainer....I am not really a "NH" person myself. LOL! Obviously, I believe in working with your horse to build trust, communication, and all that. But I like Chris and think working with him and Reva first in hand and then under saddle will be beneficial. I am going to try to get her off the farm to my instructor's beforehand, but this might be her first trip off the farm here. We shall see!
Here's hoping the weather continues to improve and riding will resume in full force! This is the time of year when I always start getting anxious to ride, ride, ride! LOL! We have had plenty of time off and are ready to gear up for our first show of the year in April. Thankfully my mares are not "prissy" show horses.....LOL! Dreamy will be in great shape without needing any fancy indoor, she does not need "limited" turnout but instead gets to be a muddy mess in 12-15 hour turnout, and I don't have to do anything more than a trace clip to get her ready to work. I don't know what I would do if my horse was more high maintenance than that. :D Fancy and prissy pampering does not equal ribbons!!! ha ha ha ha
I had big plans for February school vacation...but everything came to a grinding halt when my son came home Friday before vacation with a fever of 102. :( So, I spent the majority of vacation taking care of the little guy. It ended up being a double ear infection and nothing very serious, but still, all of our fun plans to go ice skating, to the movies, etc. went down the drain. And of course, I only got to ride twice the entire time. But hey, I am a mom first, so it is all good.
Both rides over vacation were great. Dreamy is well trained at this point and all I really need to do is get her in shape this next 6 weeks and we are good to go!
Then of course, not to be outdone by my son, I had to get sick! LOL! Only I was not as easy...I ended up with a nasty sinus infection and ended up missing most of the following week, our first week back at school after vacation. UGGGG! But thankfully the doc finally gave me antibiotics this past Friday and I am feeling 100% better.
Geez, what a fun last two weeks of February! :P
But now that March is here, the long slow miles of conditioning begin. :D Daylight Savings begins in less than two weeks, so weekday riding will become MUCH easier. Dreamy is sporting a new trace clip and will be getting shoes at the end of the month (well as long as Mother Nature continues on her mild streak...) The weather has been pretty agreeable around here. Hopefully when my instructor's outdoor ring is ready, we can start LESSONS!!!!!!! :) YAY!
Sparky is doing very well...she is shedding like crazy of course. She lost 99% of her long Cushing's coat last year, so I am hoping she sheds out again like that. In the past, I have had to body clip her in May, but last year for whatever reason, her coat looked almost normal. YAY! Her weight is excellent and I am super pleased with her body condition for age 28. The only complaint I have is why do older horses have to get such gunky eyes!? It seems like every single day I have to wipe out dried gunk! It is clear and not anything serious. My vet says it is because older horse's tear ducts often do not work as well as they age and can become clogged. They are not clogged, but I just hate seeing her eyes crusty each afternoon. :( It is a sign of her age, and I hate it!
I have been asked about how Reva is doing. :) She is growing like a weed! LOL! I bet she will hit 17 hands. I have not measured her lately, but I ought to. Her bit is now a size 6" and her browband is oversize. She is one big girl! She had a cap that was stuck back when we did teeth floating on November 19. Plus, she has a lot of things going on in mouth, with teeth erupting and such. She did an awful lot of drooling for the first few months I owned her. After her cap was removed, it did seem to hinder her chewing slightly. But within a week to 10 days, she was not dropping nearly as much grain as before the floating.
We are all signed up for a clinic this spring with Chris Lombard on June 13. He is not a crazy Natural Horsemanship trainer....I am not really a "NH" person myself. LOL! Obviously, I believe in working with your horse to build trust, communication, and all that. But I like Chris and think working with him and Reva first in hand and then under saddle will be beneficial. I am going to try to get her off the farm to my instructor's beforehand, but this might be her first trip off the farm here. We shall see!
Here's hoping the weather continues to improve and riding will resume in full force! This is the time of year when I always start getting anxious to ride, ride, ride! LOL! We have had plenty of time off and are ready to gear up for our first show of the year in April. Thankfully my mares are not "prissy" show horses.....LOL! Dreamy will be in great shape without needing any fancy indoor, she does not need "limited" turnout but instead gets to be a muddy mess in 12-15 hour turnout, and I don't have to do anything more than a trace clip to get her ready to work. I don't know what I would do if my horse was more high maintenance than that. :D Fancy and prissy pampering does not equal ribbons!!! ha ha ha ha
Comments
Post a Comment
Thanks for leaving a comment!