Clover Ledge Farm

Whew! That was a whole lotta posts in a short amount of time! All caught up with 2020 and now we are moving forward! is this not the CUTEST photo of my youngest riding Rejoice back in January?? I never really wrote any goals for 2021, but they are pretty simple: Keep the ponies happy and healthy Ellie: Have multiple solid experiences at BN level Maybe have Babette take Ellie N by fall Confident in all First Level movements by end of 2021 Rejoice: Continue to have fun outings when we can! Dreamy: Keep her comfortable, sound, and in good weight (she was looking a bit elderly/unsound this winter to me so she is back on Equioxx) this was my favorite Bernie meme even better is that Janet Foy made it her FB profile pic hahaha I gave Ellie most of the winter off and just did some toodling around in the sn*w here and there. I felt as though we had grown SO much in 2020 that we both needed a little down time to digest it all. Babette was in Aiken anyway and I did not want to take dressage lesso...

Well, after the two-day clinic with Ashley , I gave Ellie exactly 11 days off and then hopped on her for a lazy hack on Friday the 13th.  We toddled around in the pasture and up and down the driveway, as everything was frozen.  Thankfully, there was no ice but the footing still wasn't ideal for much. Though I had intended to give Ellie most (if not all) of December off, I jumped on the chance to do a Pony Club lesson with Tom Davis at Swan Brook Equestrian Center.  This is Lauren's farm, the Atlantic PC's coach. It was a bit of a last-minute decision, hence the reason I got on Ellie on Friday haha.  It POURED all day Saturday, so I knew if I wanted a semi-sane horse for Sunday's clinic, I needed to ride at least briefly on Friday. Spoiler alert: She was fine both days. Trying to attend anything in December in Maine with a horse is tough.  I was lucky that the day was sunny, the roads were bare, and most importantly, my steep dirt driveway was clear w...

It may be officially spring on the calendar, but there is plenty of sn*w on the ground here in Maine!  And a bit of mud, since it has started to s l o w l y melt and rain a bit.  Phew!  I swear, there is still two feet of the white stuff covering the ground at my farm.  Small areas of grass are slowly appearing, but most of the farm is buried. That said, I have been doing my best to commit to a spring conditioning schedule now that daylight savings time has arrived.  It has been MUCH easier to get into a decent routine with the sun setting later and all of us finally feeling better! March 18 Of course, it is pretty boring right now, since the footing makes it so that we can only walk around the snowy field.  When the ice on the driveway finally melted, I was able to incorporate walking up and down the hill.  But I will say, all this walking has definitely helped Ellie understand connection and reaching for the bit more than anything else. ...

The debate over whether or not to wrap my horse's legs while trailering hasn't really been an issue until recently.  I always wrapped with pillows and standing wraps as a kid, and then with Dreamy, I always used shipping boots which she had zero issues with.  It was a no brainer for me to wrap legs while shipping a horse. However, Ellie presents an entirely different situation for me because she is young and came to me with no experience.  Last spring, about a year ago now, I started introducing her to bell boots, splint boots, and standing wraps.  It all went smoothly and without issue.   bell boots are no big thing The shipping boots I own are too large for Ellie, despite the fact they are cob sized.  I did try them on her a few times and walked her around to get used to them, but it was clear they would not work for hauling her.  I was afraid the fronts especially were going to slide right off.  And I feel that no wraps are bett...

January never seems to be an easy month.  This year was a bit better, especially compared to 2018 , but the weather was the worst.  Between freezing temperatures and lots of sn*w and freezing rain and ICE, I went most of the month without riding.   And honestly, even if I had easy access to an indoor, I probably would not have ridden either haha. It is hard to feel motivated to do much more than basic horse care when it is so darn cold. The horses are both doing well, despite the weather.  They are eating and drinking just fine, and I did break down and blanket them both in heavyweights over the coldest days.  Dreamy especially seems to appreciate being rugged up at her age.  I didn't clip anyone this winter, so I normally do not blanket, but with low temps and windchill, blanketing seems to be the best choice. January 6 was the last time I rode in January uggg After all the super low temperatures, we are suddenly being gifted with a tease of su...

This is the time of year I always grow restless.  As much as I am glad to give Ellie the down time, with just two to three days a week of hacking out in the sn*w, I really miss being able to ride more than just at a walk in questionable footing haha.  I was spoiled last winter with good sn*w, while this year has brought a lot of rain and ice. so much winter December distracts me enough with the holidays, but January and February make me crazy (and sometimes March and April, too)!  This is when I start wishing I could board her out over the winter in order to ride productively more often, but that scenario isn't realistic in several ways; the biggest issue being there isn't a nearby farm with indoor I would feel comfortable with boarding.   Oh, the woes of a horse girl in Maine!  ;-) the prettiness has long worn off this was yesterday, which ended up being a sn*w day from school they predicted rain we got 6+' of sn*w... Despite the fact the...

...and I am SUPER crabby that it is over!  Haha.  Our last show of the year this past weekend was not meant to be, as it decided to sn*w here in Maine all day Saturday.  This was annoying for October, but I still got everything cleaned and loaded, and I hooked up my trailer to the truck on Saturday afternoon.  I figured the 4" of sn*w would be gone from my driveway by the morning, as it was supposed to rain overnight.  Sunday's weather was calling for the temps in the 40s and the rain to stop before my first ride just after noon, so I wasn't too worried. she's pretty cute But of course, as it was, my driveway was still full of snow and slush when I went out to feed on Sunday.  I did not have to leave until 10am, so I thought maybe it would warm up enough to be safe.  I live at the end of a very steep 1000+' dirt driveway, and I have had issues with the truck alone never mind hauling a 24' trailer.  My husband had a scary incident on the ...

April really IS the cruelest month.  Ugg.  It is no secret those of us who live where winter is a season are all totally completely OVER winter.  We started our school vacation week here in Maine on Friday, and it was a lovely sunny near 60 degree day.  Pretty much what one might expect of a beautiful spring day. And then the temperature dropped significantly yesterday (Saturday) and it started to rain, sleet, snow, etc. and isn't supposed to let up until Monday afternoon.  Forecasters like to call this a "wintery mix".  It is currently 28 degrees, real feel of 21.  Yeah. Needless to say, I did not have my weekly lesson today.  I don't drive in the ice, never mind truck a horse.  :-(   Instead of feeling sorry for myself because of the weather haha, I will say we had great rides this week.  And it has to warm up eventually, right?  RIGHT?! I gave her Monday off and we rode the rest of the week, even yesterday ...

I love when show dates start rolling in and I can create a new Google Doc with all shows and opening dates neatly color coded.  Yes, I am that person haha.  Normally, I have a very clear plan in my mind of what I want to do with whatever horse I am going to do it with.  But this year I have felt super overwhelmed because as much as I want to DO ALL THE THINGS, I have to remember that my horse is young and this will be her first show season.   There are literally close to fifty different shows I could do but obviously won't do them all haha. There are many Sundays that have two or even three shows on the same day and I have to choose what to do.   It comes down to what are my goals and what is my budget. bored of the sn*w pics yet? haha As much as my real love is eventing, with some dressage shows thrown in, that is just not what Ellie is ready for yet.  Our eventual goal is to do a handful of dressage shows and events each year, but that ye...

I am always cold and living in Maine doesn't help haha!  Honestly, I can be cold when it is 70 degrees out.  And while I have a couple pairs of winter riding breeches, I still really freeze when riding in the winter months.  As a kid, I had a pair of winter riding overpants, but they were super bulky, eventually the full seat area disintegrated, and the pants basically fell apart; when I found them in the back of my closet when I moved five years ago, I threw them away.  I don't even know what brand they were, but they were definitely from the late 1990's! I have ridden plenty of times in my Carhartt overalls , which are certainly warm but they are also rather slippery.  Riding bareback is fine, but the material doesn't work well in a saddle.  I have also ridden in my ski pants before, but if I thought the Carhartt material was slippery, the ski pants were like riding on ice.  Or something like that.  (I am living in an ice rink right now, so...

I admit, there comes a point where I am totally sick of winter and want to throat punch all the folks who complain how "bored" they are riding in indoor arenas hahaha!  That point has arrived!  ;-)  After the intense frigid temps, we are now in a thaw/rain/freeze cycle that has made everything icy and crappy.  We had a lot of rain and icing overnight Sunday and are looking at a major snow storm upcoming on Wednesday.  I'd give anything to board my horse at an indoor right now LOL! Ohhhh snow, ice, yuck footing but at least it was warm (and therefore semi safe)! However, I have been making an effort to try to ride as much as I can, even though I am so over winter it isn't even funny.  Right now, that is about 2-3 times a week, which is better than nothing.  Most of this is at the walk, since the footing is crappy.  But I keep telling myself that at least I am doing SOMETHING and a little something is like money in the bank.  Every time ...