Roxy's Rant #1: Valentine Day

My girl and her boyfriend! This photo was taken on a weekend that she was home from college, her smile is how you know that she missed me. 

My girl came out to ride me today! She had me 'put on a show' for another girl who she is going to train. I like to act up, just ever so slightly when I am at home being watched. Like pushing through the bit at the canter, or breaking gait. Basic silly things that the girl could not reeeally yell at me for. I was pretty good today though, if I do say so myself. 


Then the girl left me tied for about an hour. Thanks mom. I love to stand with all my tack on, and the bit in my mouth. That is my absolute favorite. I know I stand real pretty, I do not pace, dig, or whinny, but I still hate it. And you know it. What was even worse is when you and he girl came back with that other mare. Then you rode her. Each time you walked past I tried giving you the 'Sweet little Mare' face. You just told me "Oh pretty mare, what a good girl!" and walked right past. Thanks again. I guess you made up for it by not making me do too much. All we did was pony that bratty mare around the arena a few laps. I think I can whip her into shape in no time at all. I am the queen of the property after all. 


Today was Valentines day! I suppose that's why you cleaned my tail (not that it was dirty, I am a clean mare unlike miss-dolly-pees-in-her-tail). I must have a hot date with the mini gelding tonight (Roxy's neighbor- pictures sure to come he's adorable)! Bath day is always a fantastic time to munch on the grass, and find the loose hay from when it was delivered. I sure wish summer would come so I wouldn't look so ragged with this gnarly poco bueno winter coat I get. Then maybe I would be more presentable for a photoshoot. Oh and I am glad that the girl also noticed how much I have grown. I am now officially 15.2hands high! No longer the 15.1 filly you bought almost 5 years ago! Gentlemen, step right up for this smokin' hot lady, I'm taking numbers this week only. 

Max

Thank god that the biggest horses were bred to be the most gentle! Imagine if a draft horse 17hand high wanted to eat you. It would NOT be good. I have had my first experience with a big boy. His name is Max, he is half saddle bred (or national show horse, or standard bred, one of those very upright awkward looking horses), and half Friesian. Lots of people around the barn think he's awful looking, but I love Max.

He is about 5 years old, and I broke him. Well I started to break him. I was riding him in a bull pen, getting him used to the bit. He was never fearful of the saddle. I started him very slowly, he has the attention span of a knat. In 10min bursts I lunged him, tacked him up, and offer him the bit. He is the most willing horse, and has never once refused anything. He has a heart of gold, and I hope that his owner knows that. This heart of gold I know he has gotten from his mom, because I ride her as well. Her name is Wendy, and I absolutely love that ugly mare!

She is blind in one eye, has a long face, and is just overall awkward in my opinion. But Wendy is brave, loving, and smooth. My trainer had me starting her on barrels, but she was never finished. Wendy and Max's owner also owns the most hideous arab resuce. The poor guy is called 'Pony' his real name is Cowboy though. He is not only ugly, but mean too- I'll snap a picture of him sometime just to show how awful he is.

Back to Max! So I wanted to post a few photos of him, and see how you guys think I should finish him. I started him last summer, then an awful rider just beat him to death. She did not take the time to read him, and see Max trying. The only other horse she rode was a feisty arab that needed a firm hand, Max is too gentle for that. I got on him yesterday, and he responds ok to the bit. I was thinking of putting him into a hackamore and trying that. So here are some photos of this big boy! What do you think he'd be good at? I was thinking dressage, but I don't have much experience there and I wouldn't want to mess him up at all. Oh and please ignore the tennis shoes. My hips were killing me that day and I couldn't even think about putting on shoes with less support then those. I generally ride him in my boots with spurs.

Partners

Yesterday I taught a lesson, or should I say I organised a lesson. My trainer secretly loves to teach me group lessons. Now don't get me wrong- I absolutely love having her help. But I know that she loves teaches the group lessons. The lesson yesterday went well, I had 3 little girls. They did pretty good. The practiced ground poles, a figure 8 across the arena, and then the advanced kids practiced trotting, and my bravest little girl got to lope! She did so good! When she told her horse to stop though she's so tiny, she popped off the front of the saddle, and ended up on her horse's neck! Which is funny because I am constantly telling her to keep her legs forward, now she saw exactly what happens when you don't!

One horse, Fred, was being bad, and I had reprimanded him a few times (with a jerk on the bit from the ground). He didn't want to walk for the little girl, so I walked over to him. Fred knew I was going to disciplined him, and he took off bucking and bolting. He was not trying to get her off though, he was just bucking at me and she happened to be on top. My trainer and mother both thought that she was coming off, but I just did not. I told her to keep her legs forward and pull back on the reins. She of course did not, but he stopped about a 1/4 down the arena from me, with the little girl still on top!

Now I had to go rescue her, but Fred still didn't want me near him. I told him hoe, and stand, had her pull back on the reins, and quietly approached him. We pulled her off, poor little girl was crying. I got on the old man and loped him aggressively for about 20min. Fred is pleasure broke, and has a big goofy lope, so my hips are still killing me.

The little girl was calmed down, do we wanted to get her back up. We pulled the biggest girl (who was on the most gentle horse), off of General, and we put her onto Fred. Then the little girl who almost came off was put on General, and I walked around with her for a bit so she'd feel comfortable. She ended up able to walk alone by the time free time came around!

An unrelated Photo of Dolly

Later that day I went to buy some Super 14 (a coat enhancement supplement), some 4 way for my trainer, and my mom got senior feed for Dolly (I guess the photo was related!). We also brought pizzas and had a little party before putting up a corral. We all visited, then everyone but my mother, trainer, and myself left. We were reminiscing the good old days, I used to be rather sassy ;) and my trainer hated dealing with me. But she liked how I rode, so she stuck with me.

My trainer at one point told me "And now we're partners!" Oh my goodness. My trainer doesn't give praise very often, so when she does it means that much more. She also told me that her husband was putting on the pressure for the family to move closer to where he works. And she told me that she would leave me as the manager when she left. A dream come true. I think the ranch is 10 acres, it has a fantastic $5000 arena that has been well kept. It is just fantastic in my eyes. I know that it is a little janky right now, but I feel like I could really make it great. My heart is in it, this is what I want to do. I know that my trainer saying that might mean it'll happen in a couple of years, but just knowing that she knows that I can do it is extremely powerful.

I am heading out there again today to ride the 'Black Bitch'. A horse that was not 'abused' as in beaten, but she was severely neglected. She is an absolutely lovely paint mare, a big thick blaze, 4 white legs, and a big white spot hidden under her belly. She is also the second meanest horse I have ever met. She pins her ears when you come up to her with a bucket of grain. What horse does that? I'll report on 'the black bitch' later today or tomorrow.

Yesterday is history, Tomorrow a mystery, and Today is a gift- that's why they call it the present

That quote is written on I book that I have taken to writing in. As honest, and truthful as I try to make these blog posts, some stuff is personal. And I collect those thoughts in my blue journal.
I've been living in the future. Who will I become? Where am I going? What do I want to do? I also feel really stuck. I absolutely love riding, but I am aware that is near impossible to support myself with riding alone. I've been thinking about some certifications, or trade school. Just thinking though, no action has been taken, no one has heard a word of it yet. I feel like as soon as I tell someone I need to make it happen, and I am not sure if that is what I want.
I've been thinking about becoming a certified fitness, or yoga, instructor. I am passionate about fitness and health, and why shouldn't everyone be? This is the only body you get- treat it with respect and love. Just like our horses, we don't push them too far, we pride our self in keeping our horses in top shape, so in their old age they will still be a fantastic partner. Why not treat our own bodies the same? Unfortunately I have no savings, and I am certain that these certifications are pricey. Oh I also have no credit, so I will not be accepted for loans, and my parent's can't cosign. Again, I feel stuck. I know that I can make it work out though, I just need a little motivation to do so.

On a better note, I realized that I have yet to do a post about Dolly. Dolly dislikes me, so naturally I ride Roxy more. Dolly is almost 19, and she has gotten to a point where she isn't really learning anything new. Another reason I don't ride her. I'm not one for exercising, I like to train when I ride. Dolly is the way that she is, she is not going to be learning any new tricks. Roxy is young, and wants to learn. I enjoy training, exercising isn't something fun for me. With my bad hips, I try to make the most out of each ride, so naturally I train really hard for a short period of time. Roxy gets ridden 4 days a week for about 15-30min a ride. I also plot around during lessons on her- but I am trying to reduce that too. Back to the point, I'm going to get Dolly out this weekend and I'll take some photos of my yucky mares with their thick awful winter coats. If it made sense to blanket horses in California mine would wear 5.

Little Appy Mare

At one point in time, me and my mother owned 3 horses. It was when we were both highly active in 4h, I was the club president, and my mother ran it. We had a friend that wanted to lease a horse, and my mother was giving her lessons. At that point I didn't need the money, so it wasn't worth my time to teach beginners. We thought that we could buy a third horse, lease it to two different people that would ride twice a week, and show. We even decided that one would have to show walk trot, the other would show gymkhana so they wouldn't have to share the horse at shows. Then we would use the horse for lessons.

 Coincidentally a friend of ours was selling the cutest little leopard appy mare. She was in her young teens, mellow, and so darn flashy. The price was right, so we went to check her out, and we noticed a little limp in her hind left. It was more stiff then anything. Her confirmation was great and she was just so cute, we figured she would be ok and took her home. After all, our friend wouldn't sell us a lame mare right? The little mare jumped right into our trailer, and we took her to our ranch. My mother and I picked out a nice stall near our other mares, Roxy and Dolly. We went out the next day to check on her, and to ride our other mares. 

 And there she was in her stall, waiting for us to come get her. She was just too sweet, and so darn cute. We pulled her out of her stall, tied her to the post, and started to groom her. I have never in my life seen a horse in such obvious pain. The pain was all the way in her hip. What we thought was just a stiff leg, was actually a severely damaged hip. When we test rode her, it was very light, but I think she was lounged incredibly hard before we saw her. It was almost inhumane how much pain this horse was in. The little mare was so sweet, she shivered in pain, but didn't try to kick or bite, just put her ears back, and flinched from even the lightest amount of pressure. It was so awful to see such a tender hearted mare so uncomfortable.

Myself and my mother didn't have the funds to support a potentially chronically lame horse, knowing that so it would have been unwise for us to try and keep her. So we called our friend up, and told her that the mare was not going to work out for us. She came down and picked the mare up and took her home. Where she continued to try to sell her, and her brother.

Last I heard, the mare's brother (also a leopard appy) was given to our friend's sister and used as a trick horse. The mare had some chiropractic work done to her, and found a home. I only hope that this sweet, sweet mare found a owner that will love, cherish, and care for her as she deserved.

Any memorable horses that almost made their way into your life?

Wordless Wednesday

Neck Sweat V2.0

As promised, here is the DIY project. It was really simple, but should make a huge difference. I added a belly strap, and halter latch to the top of my neck sweat. Roxy needs to wear a neck sweat because she founders in her neck very easily, and carries all of her fat in her neck. Making her crest get huge, and she looks like a draft horse. It's gross. I have pictures of fat Roxy, I'll have to upload them sometime... Anyway! So here is the basic guide to adding these simple adjustments.

Here is the neck sweat. It is a nice neoprene, and those velcro straps go under her neck. I bought the cheapest, most basic one, knowing that I could change it when it didn't fit quite right. It was like $7 on amazon. 

First things first! Find yourself some lycra, or spandex. I chose this boring navy blue. Dark colors are best because it will get filthy. I used a rotary cutter, scissors will work ok too though. Measure your horse at the girth, all the way around with a tape measure. My horse was about 2yards around. Now take off two inches. Purchase that much elastic. I bought 2yards of 1.5 inches thick no roll elastic- note that I bought too much elastic and the strap is too long, so seriously buy 2inches less then your horse is around. Make sure it is the no roll kind, also I think 2inches thick would work better.

 The next step is to cut our your lycra. If your elastic is 1.5inches thick, cut our your lycra to about 4 1/8inches thick. It needs to be as long as your elastic (in my case 2 yards). My lycra wasn't long enough, so I had to cut out two pieces and sew them together, so feel free to do this. Now flip it right sides together, and pin that baby up! Sew a single stitch down the sides, leaving both ends open. Since it is lycra, and moves around, use lots of pins.

 Sew your lycra with a straight stich, pulling it gently as you sew it on a .5inch seam allowance.

After pulling out your pins, and flipping it, so that the seam is on the outside you have your tubing! 

 

Put a saftey pin on the end of your elastic, and shove that sucker in there! Sew the casing down to both sides of the elastic. Make sure that it is all smooth!

Next cut out a piece of hardier fabric with less stretch, such as cotton. Cut out a piece that is roughly 3inches by 6inches. Pin it in half, and sew down both sides, leaving the thin side open so that you can flip it.

 Flip it, and iron in flat!

 Next you want to take it at the top of the neck sweat. Find the middle and place it in the middle of the next sweat (the closest point to the poll). Lay the strip so that it is on the bottom of the neck sweat, and going backwards towards your horse's rump.

 Next flip your fabric up, so that the open part it underneath. I know that is a little bit confusing, but you just want to make sure you get a clean edge.

 Find some crazy thick stitch to use. I used number 6.

 Go forwards and backwards a few times, letting your stitch hang off the edge of your fabric.

Next pin down the top. Since this seam is already smooth, we don't need to do that fancy folding. Sew it down using the same crazy stitch as before.
Repeat this process on the bottom, making sure that the band is thick enough for the elastic to slide through.

 

Use the attachment method of your preference. I used this tool that keeps bed sheets from slipping off. I just cut the elastic, sewed it onto my big piece, and viola an easy attachment. Also you could take a strap from an old blanket, or a buckle from the hardware store. I do highly recommend the bed sheet attachment though, it's very easily to attach, and seems to have good staying power, not mention it's totally adjustable.

Please excuse the mess- I told Roxy to clean her stall before I got the camera out! ;)

And here she is! You can't see either of the black straps in this photo, but I assure you that they are there, one attached to her halter, the other attached to the belly strap. Now her neck sweat will stay in place, and keep her looking wonderful. The lyrca for the belly strap is smooth on her, however I do recommend going up to 2 or even 3inch thick elastic. Now lets see how well it stays!

Any DIY projects that you are proud of? The first thing that comes to mind is the blanket I made for Roxy years ago. What have you created?