Dressage Basics Failure

I drove back down to MS for 2 more lessons while Romeo is in half training. Oh dear...I always forget how bad I am at dressage.

I did hunters all of my life, where hands in your crotch and tipping your pelvis makes you look just as good as anyone else. I try to hard to sit on my "pockets" and keep my hands up...but then I forget about going forward and just about everything else.

Yesterday - We went back to basics. Like...I felt like an idiot basics. A whip was put under my thumbs to keep my hands on the same plane. I fought against it so much that I have welts today! Romeo is getting better though, and is really relaxing over his top line and using his butt, which he couldn't do when his hocks hurt.

Today, we still did all basics, but at least I didn't feel like I had only been riding for 3 months. I just still don't feel completely comfortable in a dressage saddle, and I know I must look horrendous, but it is so hard for me to do 239483 things at once that are mostly new! Keeping my hands out of my lap is hard, and I love to cross over the neck with my reins instead of opening my other rein. Also, I so easily forget about keeping him forward and not getting him to curl around the bit, but kind of at least be on it.

I got mom to take some video...but she had never videoed on her phone before so its the tiniest thing you ever did see. These were also taken at the beginning of the lesson before he really loosened up, but at least you can tell my hands aren't in my lap!

Looking Good

I drove down to Starkville on Saturday to check on Romeo, as I hadn't been out in almost 2 weeks! He hasn't been jumped really since his last failure of an event at the end of October. In fact, the last few times I rode him, I felt bad even asking him to trot, and when Betsy, my trainer, sat on him over Thanksgiving break, she completely agreed.

After a little help from the vet school, it appears that he is feeling almost back to new! I rode him yesterday very lightly since he is out of shape, but he felt much, much better. He bent to the left easier, and was tracking up well. Happy day! So back to work we go! I have so much to improve on, but I haven't been able to really do anything because he was so uncomfortable. We got rads of his hocks, and he has mild osteoarthritis in both grade 2/5, but it's more pronounced in the left. His left fetlock also flexed mildly positive, but rads showed nothing on that.

Here's my handsome man!

19 years young in 2012.

Awesome Product of the Day: #4

No Romeo update yet, I haven't gone to visit him yet. Hopefully I will get a chance to go this weekend. So anyways...



Are you lazy? I am. I'm not going to deny that fact. This is the world's greatest and easiest brush EVER!

Enter...the EasyClean brush!

Isn't it great? I have one for both barns. They combine a stiff brush and a soft brush all in one! It's simply fabulous, dahhling.

They retail around $18, and if you divided that in 2 because it IS two brushes in one after all, that's a pretty good price! The quality of the brush is great, and I have found that it works really well.

Relaxing Day at the Barn

I love normal barn days. Seriously, after a bunch of hectic happenings, like an emergency, intense amounts of school, or sickness, aren't you happy when there is nothing exciting to report? I just got done with exams, and I just wanted to be with my horse and enjoy listening to him munch on hay.

I had a nice lesson on Johnny today and we practiced the 2 stride in and out in the covered. We got it up to 3'3'', and we decided to quit because he's just honestly not in great shape.

I set up his new Freedom Feeder. He previously had 2 mini/trailer size nets, but it was just becoming too much work for my lazy self to stuff them EACH full of hay. So he got an extended day! It was extremely easy to set up, and I am excited that the new Freedom Feeders have safety snaps. So if, per say, a hoof got over the top (no idea how that would happy but just in case), it would simply break the snap! Happy day.

Isn't it beautiful?!

Here are Beezie and Happy enjoying a nap in the office. Life is rough at the barn. Did everyone else have an uneventful weekend?

ZzzzZZZzzz

Dressage at Poplar Place

This was his first event in a dressage saddle. While he was a little nervous during the test, he had some really great parts. I just got the photograph in the mail and wanted to share!

He has come a long way! We have a lot more work to do...and I hope his dressage will continue to improve. Mine too of course, I still need a lot of work!

Back to the vet...

Hopefully the last time for a long while!

Romeo is still stiff in the hocks, even with the Polyglycan. boo. He was much improved after he finished his 4 week series of the Polyglycan. I almost felt like I was riding a 5 year old. However, over the past 3 or 4 weeks his stiffness has increased dramatically, to the point where I feel guilty jumping. He has lost weight, fortunately, with his freedom feeder, and I know that has to help at least a little. However, he still weighs a ton! A whopping 1083 lbs as of just a couple weeks ago (got on the scale at the vet school when his eye was injected)! I am a little nervous as to what he weighed a few months ago before getting his freedom feeder.


So new plan!

He is getting some back on track hock boots for Christmas. I found some cob size ones on Jeffers for under $60. Happy day! For some reason the description says nothing about them being Back on Track, but the item code is BOT and the velcro strap on the picture says Back on Track so I'm hoping they are. If not, I will just return them.

BoT hock boots

Next step is to start giving him Polyglycan 2x a month instead of once a month.  I think that might help as well.

Lastly, he is going to the vet school tomorrow to get flexed and most likely injected.

Hopefully this new plan will work. He will be 19 years young next year, and I am so lucky that he has lasted so long. He is in his forever home, and I will love him whether he can be ridden and jumped or just a pasture pet. I know he is happier when he has a job, so hopefully the injections and boots will do the trick, but he is stuck with me no matter what!

"Who are you lookin' at lady? Give me food."

Awesome Product of the Day: #3

Another favorite of mine is an ointment that is not only inexpensive, but combats fungus really well! On top of that, it is all natural and made by a small company in California by Georgette Topakas. She is extremely kind and is always happy to help if you have any questions.

Got hard to treat fungus, rain-rot, scratches? Try this! It's worked better than any other anti-fungal treatment that I have ever tried. I wouldn't recommend it if I didn't love it! For some odd reason, both of my boys love the smell of this too. They actually sniff in the jar for a while. Very funny!

Zephyr's Garden Anti-Fungal Salve 

(link to her store online)

Georgette's Facebook page for Zephyr's garden is here and she usually offers a first time customer discount and posts great articles and info on barefoot horses, holistic care, and natural solutions. If you go to her notes page, she has some great tips for natural horse care and great articles about allergies and getting rid of fungus if it's REALLY bad.

Do not be fooled, 4 oz goes a LONG way! I bought my first jar in June of 2011 when I was battling some pretty intense scratches on Romeo. They clear up very quickly and since he lives down in Mississippi, I just make sure to get his legs very clean at least once a week and apply this to areas that look like they might get a little fungus-y. I still have over half a jar left!

Product description:
Sick of treating Rain Rot, Scratches, ring worm, and dermatitis with products that are ineffective, full of chemicals, really smelly, or require latex gloves for application? We were, too, so we developed a product that is tough on fungal and bacterial infections, gentle on the skin, and smells as natural as the herbs it's created with. Though called an Anti-Fungal Salve, it contains anti-microbial herbs and essential oils that battle both fungal and bacterial infections. This horse salve is one of our best-selling products and #1 with CA Riding Magazine. It was rated "TOP PRODUCT OF THE YEAR" in their October 2008 issue. Join the growing list of horse owners who discovered that Scratches, Horse Fungus, Rain Scald, Ring Worm, and Rain Rot don't stand a chance against this horse salve. Plus, you don't need latex gloves to apply this safe and effective horse preparation. Salve contains Echinacea, Burdock, Goldenseal Root, Chapparal, Calendula, Sage, Tea Tree, Black Walnut Hulls and other herbs.
The Anti-Fungal Salve is best for "crusty" fungal/bacterial infections such as Scratches, Rain Rot, and Ring Worm. The salve can be applied daily until skin is healed and new hair growth is evident. For non-crusty skin fungal/bacterial infections such as girth itch, face, ear, and chest dermatitis we recommend our Anti-Fungal Spray, which can also be used as a Rain Rot preventative. For skin fungus that is a combination of scabs and is spreading quickly, both products can be used together safely.  First apply the salve to all crusty and open skin areas, then spray total affected area.  And don't forget our Anti-Fungal Shampoo.  New in 2011, it's tough on topical infections, gentle on the skin and will leave your horse's coat gleaming.

Black Friday Tips - Beware!

I have been doing bad things shopping for myself! I am too afraid to actually go out on Black Friday...but I will shop on the Internet, especially for horsey things!

I've been needing a new helmet, since my GPA is circa 2004 and that's what I ride in at Redbud. So...I didn't know which one to get, so I ordered a Charles Owen Pro Skull II and a J3 to try on...they were 20% off!

I also bought myself some Tropical Rider Toasties in charcoal (I love grey/black breeches). I have problems!

Some of you are going to hurt me...I am going to do some enabling here and give you some horsey websites that are having sales. Don't hit me! You know you love me for it.

Bit of Britain:
Enter coupon code: BLKFRI11 at checkout and get 20% off your entire order.


HorseFroogle: Enter coupon code: BLKFRI11 at checkout (owned by same people as Bit of Britain)


123Tack: (only through Friday)
Tack15 for $15 off $100 of tack
Tack40 for $40 off $200 of tack
Apparel30 for $30 off $150 of apparel


VTO Saddlery:
20% over $100 on most things. Use coupon code SALE

Legacy Tack:
20% off of nearly everything with the coupon code THANKS

Tropical Rider has 30-60% off and free shipping until Monday.
Charcoal Toasties 40% off
Summer colors 50% off
Inventory Clearance 60% off
http://www.tropicalrider.com/catalog.asp

Five Star Tack - 10% to 30% off bridles, breastplates and reins. Plus 10% of sales are being donated to CanterUSA, MidAtlantic Horse Rescue and New Vocations. Sale ends Monday!
http://www.fivestartack.com/products.html

Happy Turkey Day!

This is a wild turkey...we don't eat those.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Normally, I would wake up, watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade, and then go to the barn to give everyone a seemingly endless supply of carrots! Then we go to our family's farm and have a delicious dinner.

This year, I'm in Florida. 

Seaside, FL to be exact

I know, I shouldn't be complaining. It is lovely, but I do miss our usual tradition. I miss my ponies. 

Here is a Thanksgiving picture from 2010 (I think):

Don't worry, I was only on him momentarily, and he was a gentleman the entire time. Isn't he a looker? I am a little biased though...

Anyways, I hope everyone has a lovely day and you all get to spend it with your horses at some point during the day. I am thankful for so many things, including all of my new friends here!

Sincerely,

Reagan, Johnny, and Romeo

Awesome Product of the Day: #2

 Bell Boots

If your horse is anything like mine, he has no control over his feet. I just don't understand it. When riding, Johnny knows where every hoof is, every step, and is so careful. When I hop off...not so much. Being turned out is even worse. He oversteps so much that he has literally trotted into an over fences class with me, stepped on himself, and preceded to be three-legged lame for the next few steps. Super classy thing to do right in front of the judge. There are times when I think he is being suicidal when he is turned out. He enjoys slicing his legs open in turnout. The inside of his legs look rather gruesome (although all healed now - he is turned out in at least ankle boots at all times).

Legs, legs everywhere!

This also means that I run through bell boots like crazy. I have enough bell boots for probably 5 horses. Johnny has to live in his...which means rubbing is NOT acceptable. So for the first couple years I had him, he wore the fancy Italian rubber bell boots. Well those suckers are about $30 a pop, and for a while he was going through pairs weekly. Still less than new shoes, but after 4 pairs in 4 weeks, not so much!


I stumbled upon these a couple years ago:

They are even thicker at the bottom than Italian bell boots, stretch just as much, are just as soft at the top, and are 1/3 the price at around $10!

I would highly suggest buying the gum colored ones (aka natural, or brown, or whatever) because they stretch the best and don't crack as easily as the dyed ones.

Here is a place you can buy them:
http://www.doversaddlery.com/easy-stretch-bell-boots/p/X1-0410/cn/120/

Now for sizing:
Johnny wears an XL, but only because he has a clubbed foot and it is taller than the other, and it needs to be long enough. If you know Italian bell boot sizing here you go:
IV - XL
III - L
II - M

I usually buy about 2-4 pair at a time, because you never know when they will come in handy. They last Johnny a whole lot longer than the Italians, and I don't cry a little inside every time he looses one or one gets stepped on and breaks.

Awesome Product of the Day: #1

Okay- I think I am going to do a short series on the things that I love and are inexpensive.



You are all going to think I'm nuts. Do you know what deep sulcus thrush is?

I certainly didn't. Johnny has a bit of a clubbed foot, and as you can imagine, since it is odd shaped, it gets thrush pretty easily. Well no big deal, I can treat that. Unfortunately, for a long time, I didn't know that he had thrush growing in his frog.

The frog looked something like this:

ewww.

See that? That is NOT normal. I never thought anything about it until I was at a show, and Johnny pulled a shoe. The farrier stuck a thing in that hole, and Johnny literally dropped to the ground before he regained composure and stood up. I didn't know it hurt...I didn't know there was anything wrong!

If your horse has that, you needs cow mastitis treatment. I wish I was kidding. However, not only does it heal it extremely quickly, and doesn't test under USEF, but it is so inexpensive! That farrier showed me this stuff and literally stuck the tube all the way down to the end of the applicator in his hoof and squeezed the goo until some came out of the frog. Repeat every time you go to the barn until the frog grows in.

 

It runs about $2 a tube. Or $25 for a box of 12...which will about last you forever.

Very useful to keep a tube in your trunk :)

Freedom Feeders

Well, I finally did it. I have been working on making this happen for a couple of months now, and I am so happy to say that I am now able to carry and sell Freedom Feeders!

I changed up the Freedom Feeder page a little so that there was a buy now option, and I will hopefully make the page look better in the future when I am able to really think about how I want the "store front" to look. Any suggestions would be thoroughly welcomed.

Mississippi sure does make owning a business rather difficult. However, I am looking forward to helping those who are wanting to make their horses happier and healthier. If you had told me a year ago that I would be doing this, I would think you were crazy. Our barn never uses hay nets, and if you told me that there was a hay net that helped to prevent ulcers, I would have told you no way, no how. Thank you Smartpak for introducing me to these with your Gastric Health Webinar this spring! It is still perplexing to me to watch a horse actually prefer to pull the same exact hay out of small holes on the net than eat it off of the ground.

Net > ground? Johnny's first day with a Freedom Feeder.

Will have some more updates soon, and hopefully a new page of some sort to buy the products, but I think for now that page will suffice :) I am just so happy this is actually happening. I have never been so happy to talk about a product in my life. I am actually thinking about doing a little series on products that I love, half of them I never knew even existed. Maybe next week.

I apologize for not posting very much lately! But between finals coming up at school, and getting all of this set up, I have had very little time! Both of my boys are doing well right now, and I do think it is about time to do a couple of updates.

I Did Something Bad...

Very bad.

I took Johnny to harvest time horse show last weekend.
And I didn't particularly feel like hunters would go over very well from our...interesting...history this year.

So I did JUMPERS.

It was fun!!! I'm not sure if I want to do it forever, but I certainly had fun and he ended up Reserve Champion :)

He is such a cool horse. He just tries to go with the flow.

Here are some pictures :)

Adventure of the Day

Well, I walked up to Romeo this afternoon and I could tell something was wrong from about 30 feet away. His eye was huge and he had a ton of discharge. The night before he had a tiny, TINY bit of drainage, but nothing at all like this. I figured it was just allergies like Johnny gets.

We went to the vet school this afternoon just to make sure he didn't have a scratched cornea, as that is a major issue. Also the fact that his eye got that large that quickly was a little concerning.

Fortunately for him, nothing major. Antibiotic eye ointment 3x a day for 7 days and Equioxx 4-5 days just to bring down all of the swelling. They aren't sure why his lid is so darn big, but he is already a little perkier since it's been washed out, medicated, and had the duct cleared.


ALSO:

He got weighed today...he weighs 1089 lbs! Holy moly!!!! He is only 14'3 AND he has lost some weight since about 2 months ago.

Well, on a positive note

He still feels fantastic! Did a little dressage school today and he was just wonderful. I don't think our canter to trot transitions have ever been better. No bracing, no heaviness in my hands. Lovely!!!

Jumping lesson tomorrow. Going to start jumping more frequently and larger at home so that he becomes more confident.

I have found a couple of schooling shows in the near future. One at a local place about an hour from here where we will get to do a little dressage schooling and school BN and N fences in Tupelo, MS.

Also, Poplar Place is having a little schooling show in December. I don't know if we will get to go, but I think going again would be very helpful! That way we will be ready for events in February :)

In other news, Romeo has become a professional acorn inhaler.

Note: he is on LOTS of land...yet he chooses acorns. I hope this phase doesn't last long.

The Breakdown

Well, Sunday was rough.

First of all, Romeo's had basically no jumping since Poplar which was over a month ago, because he was so stiff. What I was thinking in hindsight to take him to an event when he's so green at this, I'm not sure. For anyone who hasn't read, he got his last loading dose shot of Polyglycan the day before the show, and felt WONDERFUL under saddle since about 1.5 weeks ago. If he hadn't felt good, I wouldn't have taken him.

Dressage was actually decent this weekend. Show jumping was TERRIBLE, well for me. I couldn't find a rhythm to save my life and I was short just about everywhere. We were within time and no faults, but that just doesn't cut it for me. I probably didn't help out with his confidence the next day, considering I couldn't get him to more than 1 decent spot the day before.

I trotted down to XC warm up, and he felt fantastic. He's been feeling absolutely fantastic the past week and a half, and I guess that made me think he would be just fine.

I cantered around a little, and I had WAY too much horse. Red flag #1. I was essentially riding a 4 year old 17.2 hand stallion that hadn't been ridden in a month. Well, that's what it felt like. I was on a fire breathing dragon. I did the first rolled coop and he jumped it well in warm up, and I turned left to a log thing (I am limited in terms you see) and I did the nice hunter lean and he slammed on the brakes at it.

That was red flag number 2. He LIED to me. He ran at it, and then slammed on the big ones in front of it. Crap. Crap crap crap. He was fine the rest of schooling, minus being very, very hot.

I started out of the start box at a nice trot, because Betsy didn't want him to shoot out like his butt was on fire. Jumps 1, 2, 3, and 4 rode pretty nicely, and I guess I started getting confident. Jump 5 was almost an identical rolled coop like in warm up, and a log ditch thing about 5 strides after. I assume that I leaned at him and he saw the log on the other side and that's why he stopped. But that was the beginning of the end.

Circled back to it and it was fine. Hesitated at the log ditch but then went over. As far as I was concerned, I thought was the end of it.

I didn't expect the stop at the stone box. He's jumped it before and it was on flat terrain. I gave up, he slammed, I could've sent him over, but I didn't. Circled back, he did it.

The third time, I was expecting it. Galloping up to the rolled log, he felt okay. Got about 3 or 4 strides out, gave him 2 hard smacks on the shoulder, and he did a dirty stop again. I was ticked off! I could only blame myself at this point for not making a point for him to jump it. I was slowly draining his confidence. Circled, and he jumped it.

I was very upset by this point as we galloped down the hill and to the jump before the water. This one, if it has been his first stop, would not have bothered me. There was a huge glare in the water and he probably couldn't differentiate the water from the jump. Unfortunately, I got eliminated by this point, and I never even got to go through the water.

All in all, I can only blame myself. I came in with a horse lacking confidence from lack of jumping, and by allowing him to stop, I kept lowering his already low confidence. I was extremely upset with myself (and a little bit him) and we are going to go school a couple times over winter break before the show season starts back up again. I will be schooling larger SJ jumps at home and BN/N where we can find them. It initially made me nervous that it was his joints. But I haven't felt him feel this good in several years. We might get his hocks flexed over winter break and get him injected too, we will just see how he goes at home after his little vacation from the event.

Failure to Launch

Literally.

Chatt Hills didn't turn out very well. Started out well (for Romeo) with a 39.5 in the dressage and we had a double clear stadium yesterday. He was wild today and had 4 stops in a row (jumps 5,7,8,9) and we were eliminated. I didn't even GET to the water. I know it was a combination of things, but it still shook me. New game plan, and I think we will be back on track. A real update coming soon.

After Stadium at Chatt Hills

Prepping for Chatt Hills

And I have so many things to do between now and then!

His new sheets and blankets came in yesterday :) They look very cute on him! I didn't realize how deep the Amigo T/O sheet is, but I think it will be good in the wind and rain. I promise we will do a fashion show, it was just really dark when I tried them on so the pictures look bad. I still need to pick up his Rambo stable sheet from the post office. Since I live at an apartment, the post office people think it is VERY unsafe to drop off my packages at my door. They probably know me by name now when I drive to the post office to get my large horsey packages.

Yesterday, Romeo was sound, sound, sound. Not one bit of creaky! Maybe the Polyglycan is really kicking in? While he was really sound...he wasn't particularly good dressage schooling. He was running through his downwards transitions which we worked so hard on this summer. Hopefully he will get to school 2 or 3 more times before dressage.

Romeo found this lovely part of the fence when I came to get him out of the pasture yesterday. He was probably thinking "Great! A pony sized fence!" and while I was thinking "OHH MY GOSHHH, GET YOUR HEAD AWAY! YOU ARE GOING TO SLICE OFF YOUR HEAD!" Needless to say he didn't, but that is just my luck before a horse show.

I really want to buy a small Stanley trunk! I might do that on the way to the post office today. Wheels just sound really nice right about now.

Fly Bonnet Contest

Secretly, I've always wanted Romeo have a fancy fly bonnet. First of all, I can get it made in his eventing colors. Second of all, I even sort of have a reason for it. When his mane or his forlock touches his ear, he shakes his head. It not very fun when you are cantering along in SJ and then all of a sudden it feels like your pony is having a seizure.

So, I found this contest! It seems pretty easy to enter, just follow directions here.

I am drooling a little. Wish I was kidding.

How cute would that look on a blue roan pony in navy and baby blue!

This is making me think that it would be fun to run a contest. If I did, would anyone want to participate? I love getting everyone involved in things!

One week until Chatt Hills

And Romeo is being a bum.

You see this??

Rufus, one of our barn dogs, is sun bathing and doesn't seem to mind getting covered in hay.

This is what happens with his hay when it's not in his Freedom Feeder. He borrowed Kipling's stall for the weekend because Romeo makes a huge hole in his because, let's just say, he has great aim. He's probably happy because Kipling's stall has fancy dancy mats in it.

I'm already so nervous about the event!!! We leave Friday morning and it's about a 5 hour drive from here. I'm going to try to ride him every day until then, because he really does need the work. He is still pretty tubby. Saturday is Dressage and Show Jumping, and Sunday is Cross Country. Weeee!

Life

 Enjoy.

 

Beezer would say that today, what makes her happy is killing squirrels. That was fun to dispose of. Off to volunteer at the Les Passees Stock Exchange and then ride Johnny.

Uh oh...I went overboard.

After SprinklerBandit and Filly's Best Friend told me about Amigos, I finally decided to give up on Rhinos and Rambos and go for the Amigo line, except it had to be in 1200 denier, because Romeo is kind of rough on his blankets (see the post below).

I ended up buying this turnout sheet from here . I got it in our eventing colors. Adam's Horse Supply had a $20 off coupon code too.

On top of that, if you bought that sheet you could get 1/2 off a neck cover. $25 neck cover? How do I say no to that?!!

And on top of THAT, I got a free Amigo Halter and Lead rope set in our eventing colors.

Then, I just happened to *stumble* on an Amigo Med Weight Stable blanket in our colors and in his size (I hope) for only $39.95 + $10 shipping from here.

I mean, really? Necessary? Probably not. Cute? Definitely. Plus, I can put it UNDER the sheet and neck cover to make it into a "med weight" turnout because he doesn't have one.


And I bought him a Navy Rhino Stable Sheet last week...I'm going to sit in time out now. I'm done. I promise.

Hi, my name is Reagan, and I have a problem.

Blanket Woes

I have been putzing around, trying to find Romeo a new turnout sheet. His old turnout sheet somehow got lost during his lease in 2007, and when I got him back, he had a "Splash's" turnout sheet that was a 74''. He's not exactly a 74'', he has always worn a 72'', but it was better than nothing!

It got pretty beat up last winter, and because it was too big it rubbed on his withers and cut into his shoulder.

and his 10 year old turnout sheet looks basically like this...

So it's offically time for a new turnout sheet.

He has a 69'' older HW Rambo that I found at a local tack shop in Germantown, TN for something ridiculous like $75 in perfect, used condition. It went through lots of blanket "wars" last winter and not a single snag. So I was more leaning towards a 69'' Rambo or a 72'' Rhino.

Yesterday, I just thought I'd take a little look see at the weather. Bad idea, Reagan. Very bad idea. Low of 37 Wednesday night. Naked pony?! I don't want to clip!!!

So I'm trying to find a Rhino on sale for a REALLY good price or find a used Rambo or Rhino, which is surprisingly hard to find in a 69'' or 72''. Lots of 69'' Rhinos and 72'' Rambos. Very annoying. Of course it has to look cute on him too.

I did find him a 69'' Rambo stable sheet that is in our colors for $25 and it is on our way to Starkville. Probably won't get here in time, but it is better than nothing :(

If anyone has a used Rambo or Rhino laying around in the fat man's size, let me know!!

Weekend in MS

I spent the whole weekend in MS instead of going home. And today, what did I do? I watched all 3 hours of Forrest Gump instead of riding. In my defense, I had never seen it before! T minus 12 days to Chattahoochee Hills and I was very unproductive. Fatty needs to shape up! I guess I will either do trot/gallop sets tomorrow or some dressage schooling. I did hack him Friday and he was much more supple and willing to the left than the had been a couple of weeks ago before the Polyglycan.

"Wait...YOU are gonna ride ME??? I thought I was still on vacation!"

*Nom nom* empty bucket that smells like beet pulp

"I heard there were cookies in here...is this where they come from?"

 Don't worry he didn't come inside. He at least knows better than that. I spoil him and I let him get away with too much! But he is fun-sized and cute :/ It's so hard!!! I don't like being the "mean" mom.

Meet Beezie

I totally forgot about the other woman in my life, besides my mother.

I came out to the barn on a rainy morning in July of 2009. All the dogs at our barn were playing, and I noticed a new dog in the group. I told the barn manager what the new dog's name was, and he didn't understand what I was saying. We both then figured out that she was a stray, and after the dogs quit playing, it took about 20 minutes to get her to come up to us.

She had recently had puppies it appeared and had missed a few meals. Knowing her so well now, I can assume that he had been by herself for a while because she is a very skilled hunter and can catch birds and can take down rather large animals. Her food choices are not for the faint of heart. She was covered in ticks, taking me 3 days to get them all off. Of course I called mom, and told her about the dog. First of...I didn't tell her she was at least part pittbull. She kind of brushed it off and said that if the dog was still at the barn the next day I could bring her home. (She now pretends that she never said such a thing...but I promise she did.)

Anyways, meet the Beez:

kind of creepy??

The next day, I came back out to the barn, holding my breath. I was pleased to see that she was sleeping on the driveway. She followed me around the barn and I fed her again After I rode and took care of John, I hopped in my car and opened the back door. She immediately jumped in and sat in the passenger seat like a human. She was ready to go and I'm pretty sure she knew she was going home.

After a few days, she still had no name. We went to the store, and the only collar I could find that looked really adorable on her had bumble bees on it. Therefore, she was named Beezie...after Beezie Madden of course.

Fast forward 2 years, and for the most part, she is the best barn dog and snuggle buddy. I have decided that she is Pitt x Hound because she brays a little and talks instead of bark (thank goodness).

Horse show dog in training :) Summer 2011

 I am sure you will hear a lot more about her. Unfortunately she lives with my parents right now because I can't have dogs at my apartment, but the plan is for her to live in Starkville next fall with me! She is a great traveling companion and the trip home almost every weekend shouldn't be an issue.

she hadn't quite grown into her ears yet :) Fall 2009

And to wrap this up in cuteness, I found this picture and I just love it and it makes me warm and fuzzy inside :) Not Beez but it reminds me of her.

Abandoned Horse...

My friend texted me about an abandoned horse...an OBESE abandoned horse. I do NOT need another horse. No sir. Maybe when the right horse comes along, but not anytime soon. I have two horses in two different states and I think that is plenty enough for one person to already be doing two disciplines.

So, what do I do? I play the "free pony" card to Betsy. We need a new school horse. Anyways, we went out to the girl's barn where the horse lives. He's not necessarily the most beautiful...a little fugly in my opinion. Somewhere between a Quarter Horse and a Morgan, something went horribly wrong. But he is so ugly, he is cute. He hasn't had his feet done in a year and probably needs his teeth done as well. He just wants to be loved, and learns VERY quickly. He hasn't been in human contact for over a year until this week, and all he wants is to be rubbed on and attention. He is a total ham.

We are thinking about calling him Walter. A homely name for a homely horse with a new beginning :) He needs some TLC and a major diet. Dirt lot and grass hay anyone?

Without further ado, meet Walter:

He is getting his coggins pulled tomorrow and if all goes well, he is coming home early next week.

Cheerios

Rode Romes for the first time today since he has had 2 of his shots of the loading dose. Well, one shot Polyglycan, and one shot Legend while we wait for his other Polyglycan to come in. RedBud Farm (where Romeo lives during the school year) put on a little open house and schooling show. It was a lot of fun! I got on and rode the Romes around and, while I hate to say it too early, I think he is feeling back to his old self. He was defintely feeling his cheerios today! He stuck his head between his knees a few times and halfheartedly tried to get me off. Time will tell if this is working, but so far, so good! I will be curious to see how he feels when we do some dressage schooling. Well...I like to think it's dressage schooling. We try.

So Johnny lives back in Memphis, where my other trainer is. So every weekend, I drive 6 hours round trip to school him a few times before I come back to school for the week. When you have a previously suicidal horse (kidding...kind of) it's a little nerve racking to leave them "unattended" (aka without me staring at him to make sure he's still breathing) for days at a time. He's been doing just wonderful lately.*knock on wood* The last 4 or 5 times I came out he hasn't been bleeding or anything odd so I'm very happy with him :)

And fortunately, I have the best mom in the whole world. She has an extensive horse background, which has always been very, very nice to have around, I will say. She goes out a couple times a week and makes sure he has hay in his nets and checks on him. She sometimes does supplements too! Today she even picked his stall and let him eat "buffet style" for a while. He is SO spoiled. Both of my kids are.