Not that I think he's going to be a hunter or a jumper, but hey, its fun to do something different every now and then!
Coolio in his new english saddle! Yeah...bf looks like a hillbilly, but whatever. LOL
Peace.Love.Ponies.
Peace.Love.Ponies.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
A Photo Update
So I started riding Cool english the other day because I finally went out and bought an english saddle that fits him. He seems to really like it and so far he's been smart enough to differentiate between trotting and jogging with the different tack. We jumped him a little bit too over a TEENY cross-rail. He didn't really "jump" it per say, but he did go over it every time and he never stopped!
Not that I think he's going to be a hunter or a jumper, but hey, its fun to do something different every now and then!
Not that I think he's going to be a hunter or a jumper, but hey, its fun to do something different every now and then!
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Long Time Gone...and lots of changes!
Hello everyone! It's been FOREVER since I was last here to update about the horses. Things have changed monumentally since we last spoke.
In February, E dropped her lease on Emmy, which left me in quite the financial pickle. I did all the math and I was not going to be able to afford keeping both Johnny and Emmy at the boarding barn without literally running my bank account almost to zero, which isn't okay with me. I called Johnny's old owner to see if she wanted him back and she said not really, so I put an ad for him on Craigslist, Dreamhorse and Equine.com. He is currently living in a few towns away with a very nice family who loves on him, rides him and plays with him all the time. I went to visit him a couple of weeks ago and he seems happy.
So after all that happened, I was down to one horse again. Johnny left in March and Emmy stayed at the boarding barn through the middle of May. In the mean time however, my boyfriend decided that he wanted a horse. He had been riding Johnny a bit however Johnny wasn't really a good teaching horse for him. His trot was too difficult to sit (my boyfriend rides western) and he didn't really lope all that well. Plus, bf REALLY wanted a Quarter Horse. So we found him one. A big ol' 6 year old chestnut gelding about 4 hours southwest of us. I skipped class one day and bf took a half day off work and we drove down to see him. He was standing in mud up to his knees, living in a field with 2 other horses. The owners were a very nice old couple who just had no use for him anymore. The guy pulled him out of the field and we saddled him up all muddy and dirty. I rode him up and down a gravel rode. He was quiet and willing, and he had a great jog. We put $100 down to keep him a couple more weeks and drove home.
On April 2, "Cool" came to to the boarding barn. It was the first time he'd ever been on a trailer (save for when he was 8 months old was bought by the people we purchased him from), the first time he'd ever walked on concrete, the first time he'd even been in a boarding barn or even in a stall. He adjusted just fine and we started working with him. He was a bit of a bully at first, having never really been put in his place before by a person, but the kinks worked out over time. He's still a little hard headed but I don't ever have to worry about bf when he rides him. It takes a shot gun and spurs to get that horse to lope, but when he does, it's smooth and slow. We got his papers in the mail a few weeks after we bought him. Cool is halter bred out the wha-zoo. He's got great blood lines...Kid Clu, Conclusive, Call Me Phenomenal (his sire), Skipa Star and Impressive (Cool is HYPP neg. don't worry lol) He's got pretty good conformation too...a little over at the knee on one front leg but that's it really.
So the end of school came and the horses and I all moved in with bf on his 25 acre property up by the lake. We put in stalls in the barn and a pasture for the horses. And here I am today, still missing Johnny, but with two horses in my back yard and a roof over my head with the person I love. Johnny is turning 19 this year and now has a new job, bringing the same joy to his new family that he brought me.
As always,
Peave.Love.Ponies.
In February, E dropped her lease on Emmy, which left me in quite the financial pickle. I did all the math and I was not going to be able to afford keeping both Johnny and Emmy at the boarding barn without literally running my bank account almost to zero, which isn't okay with me. I called Johnny's old owner to see if she wanted him back and she said not really, so I put an ad for him on Craigslist, Dreamhorse and Equine.com. He is currently living in a few towns away with a very nice family who loves on him, rides him and plays with him all the time. I went to visit him a couple of weeks ago and he seems happy.
So after all that happened, I was down to one horse again. Johnny left in March and Emmy stayed at the boarding barn through the middle of May. In the mean time however, my boyfriend decided that he wanted a horse. He had been riding Johnny a bit however Johnny wasn't really a good teaching horse for him. His trot was too difficult to sit (my boyfriend rides western) and he didn't really lope all that well. Plus, bf REALLY wanted a Quarter Horse. So we found him one. A big ol' 6 year old chestnut gelding about 4 hours southwest of us. I skipped class one day and bf took a half day off work and we drove down to see him. He was standing in mud up to his knees, living in a field with 2 other horses. The owners were a very nice old couple who just had no use for him anymore. The guy pulled him out of the field and we saddled him up all muddy and dirty. I rode him up and down a gravel rode. He was quiet and willing, and he had a great jog. We put $100 down to keep him a couple more weeks and drove home.
On April 2, "Cool" came to to the boarding barn. It was the first time he'd ever been on a trailer (save for when he was 8 months old was bought by the people we purchased him from), the first time he'd ever walked on concrete, the first time he'd even been in a boarding barn or even in a stall. He adjusted just fine and we started working with him. He was a bit of a bully at first, having never really been put in his place before by a person, but the kinks worked out over time. He's still a little hard headed but I don't ever have to worry about bf when he rides him. It takes a shot gun and spurs to get that horse to lope, but when he does, it's smooth and slow. We got his papers in the mail a few weeks after we bought him. Cool is halter bred out the wha-zoo. He's got great blood lines...Kid Clu, Conclusive, Call Me Phenomenal (his sire), Skipa Star and Impressive (Cool is HYPP neg. don't worry lol) He's got pretty good conformation too...a little over at the knee on one front leg but that's it really.
So the end of school came and the horses and I all moved in with bf on his 25 acre property up by the lake. We put in stalls in the barn and a pasture for the horses. And here I am today, still missing Johnny, but with two horses in my back yard and a roof over my head with the person I love. Johnny is turning 19 this year and now has a new job, bringing the same joy to his new family that he brought me.
As always,
Peave.Love.Ponies.
Take Me Im Cool - April 2011
"Cool" - May 2011
M and Cool - May 2011
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Winter Break
My last day of finals is tomorrow and then I get to enjoy winter break for a whole 5 weeks! I'm staying at school this year to continue riding Emmy and Johnny and also to school horses at the college. That's a lot of riding!
I decided that this summer I want to go back to showing in the all around with Johnny and Emmy. I've been prepping Johnny for his winter break boot camp! Emmy is getting ready to come back into work also...I think I'm probably going to put her back under saddle tomorrow and see how she goes. I wanted to work her yesterday but she took a nick out of her ankle in the pasture and came in covered in bloody snow, so I cleaned her up and wrapped it. I'll be there tonight to check it out and hopefully she will be fine to ride tomorrow!
I'm working on a training schedule for both of them for the next 5 weeks...I'll post it when I get it figured out! I'm also going to take some pictures tomorrow of Johnny :)
Peace.Love.Ponies.
I decided that this summer I want to go back to showing in the all around with Johnny and Emmy. I've been prepping Johnny for his winter break boot camp! Emmy is getting ready to come back into work also...I think I'm probably going to put her back under saddle tomorrow and see how she goes. I wanted to work her yesterday but she took a nick out of her ankle in the pasture and came in covered in bloody snow, so I cleaned her up and wrapped it. I'll be there tonight to check it out and hopefully she will be fine to ride tomorrow!
I'm working on a training schedule for both of them for the next 5 weeks...I'll post it when I get it figured out! I'm also going to take some pictures tomorrow of Johnny :)
Peace.Love.Ponies.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Some New Goals
Johnny has been really good lately! I've got one more week last of class and then finals next week and then winter break for 5 weeks!!!
Johnny is prepping this week to begin his boot camp over the winter holiday. I still have a goal set for us to go to the Standardbred National Championship Horse Show (hopefully this year!) but I also want to start showing this summer in versatility classes. My friend, M, is REALLY good at showmanship (she shows miniature horses in showmanship and halter and has a two time reserve world champion showmanship horse) and started working with Johnny yesterday. She's going to get him going really well in showmanship! Their first lesson yesterday was really good. Johnny has done a little showmanship and halter before but never really seriously. M is going to work with him and get him going good!
We are also in the market for a new western saddle that will fit Johnny better so that I can start doing him in western pleasure or trail events as well. I want him to start doing some English and Western pleasure classes as well as the hunters and the jumpers...I want a very well rounded horse!
I'm going to try to get some new photos of Johnny this week :)
Emmy on the other hand, is going to be getting some time off I think. I free lunged her yesterday in the arena and she was a little reluctant to pick up her left lead. I'm thinking that shes a little sore :(
Johnny is prepping this week to begin his boot camp over the winter holiday. I still have a goal set for us to go to the Standardbred National Championship Horse Show (hopefully this year!) but I also want to start showing this summer in versatility classes. My friend, M, is REALLY good at showmanship (she shows miniature horses in showmanship and halter and has a two time reserve world champion showmanship horse) and started working with Johnny yesterday. She's going to get him going really well in showmanship! Their first lesson yesterday was really good. Johnny has done a little showmanship and halter before but never really seriously. M is going to work with him and get him going good!
We are also in the market for a new western saddle that will fit Johnny better so that I can start doing him in western pleasure or trail events as well. I want him to start doing some English and Western pleasure classes as well as the hunters and the jumpers...I want a very well rounded horse!
I'm going to try to get some new photos of Johnny this week :)
Emmy on the other hand, is going to be getting some time off I think. I free lunged her yesterday in the arena and she was a little reluctant to pick up her left lead. I'm thinking that shes a little sore :(
Monday, November 22, 2010
Horse Show!
This weekend we packed up and went to a horse show with Johnny! He showed in the hopeful hunters at a local farm in a schooling show. The height of the jumps were super low for him, but our goal was to jump all the fences (without schooling over them before hand) and to get all of our leads, both of which we accomplished! There were about 25 horses in his division, so we didn't get any ribbons, but he was such a good boy that it didn't really matter. We accomplished our goals and he's finally starting to look like a "real" horse! My fabulous boyfriend came to the show too. He was so interested in all of the classes and exactly what each horse was supposed to be doing a the ring. It was so amazing to have someone there to actually support me and WANT to be a part of everything. He even went off to the food stand (without me asking!) and brought me back a breakfast sandwich and a drink when we were waiting for ribbons after my ride. He's so perfect! :)))
Here are some video stills from the show:
Peace.Love.Ponies.
Here are some video stills from the show:
Peace.Love.Ponies.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Life Changes
I've come to realize recently that I'm at that critical point in my life where everything suddenly starts to change and you get out of bed one day to life hitting you in the face saying "Wake up! You're not a kid anymore!"
My life wake up call came in the form of a friend of a tall, handsome man who swept me off my feet from the moment I met him. He was a friend of a girl at my barn, he'd broke up with his girlfriend right around the same time Ev and I broke up this summer. He had called her just out of loneliness saying "Do you know of any girls that wouldn't be afraid of fitting into my life?" He was born and raised in the city but had purchased land and moved out to the country 4 years ago. All of the city girls that he knew turned up their noses at the thought of getting dirty and living on a road where the speed limit wasn't posted. After some thought, my friend called him back and said "I think I may have someone." The next day, she came up to me while I was cleaning my horses stalls and simply said "I have a friend that I want you to meet."
At first I told her no. I was still bitter from the last break up and done looking for a man who wasn't afraid of MY lifestyle. I had convinced myself that he simply didn't exist. My dear friend A, didn't take no for an answer though. Every day I thank her for not listening to me.
I don't know how many of you believe in love at first sight. I don't know yet if I really do, but this was pretty darn close. We met at the barn and my first thought was that he was absolutely gorgeous and one of the nicest persons I had ever met, my second thought was "wow...he's just going to sit here and hang out with us while we take care of our horses? He MUST be nice"
That meeting turned into a date, date one turned into date two, date two turned into date three...and three turned into history. At the expense of sounding cheesy, I'm going to say it anyway, I've found my soul mate and I couldn't be happier.
This is the part where life hits you in the face though. When you realize that everything you had planned for your life suddenly has no precedent anymore. That all of those well laid plans are bound to go astray, not in a bad way, just in general because suddenly all of the plans you once had for yourself now include another person.
For example, this perfect and amazing boyfriend of mine owns 25 acres complete with a barn (which just has to be fitted for horse stalls...I guess there used to be pigs there haha) He's already decided to put stalls and paddocks up for me. We looked at fencing last night online. Emmy and Johnny are scheduled to move into their permanent home this summer.
Did I mention that he likes to ride with me also? We've gone riding together twice just in the past week. I've never had a boyfriend take so much interest in my horses. Johnny and him get along great, which means that there is no need to sell Johnny anymore. Not only will he have a home, but another person to ride him.
And all of my worries about E graduating this year and not being here to lease Emmy next fall? Not an issue anymore because the horses won't be boarded out.
See what I mean about this whole life changes thing? But I'm loving every minute of it :)
Peace.Love.Ponies.
My life wake up call came in the form of a friend of a tall, handsome man who swept me off my feet from the moment I met him. He was a friend of a girl at my barn, he'd broke up with his girlfriend right around the same time Ev and I broke up this summer. He had called her just out of loneliness saying "Do you know of any girls that wouldn't be afraid of fitting into my life?" He was born and raised in the city but had purchased land and moved out to the country 4 years ago. All of the city girls that he knew turned up their noses at the thought of getting dirty and living on a road where the speed limit wasn't posted. After some thought, my friend called him back and said "I think I may have someone." The next day, she came up to me while I was cleaning my horses stalls and simply said "I have a friend that I want you to meet."
At first I told her no. I was still bitter from the last break up and done looking for a man who wasn't afraid of MY lifestyle. I had convinced myself that he simply didn't exist. My dear friend A, didn't take no for an answer though. Every day I thank her for not listening to me.
I don't know how many of you believe in love at first sight. I don't know yet if I really do, but this was pretty darn close. We met at the barn and my first thought was that he was absolutely gorgeous and one of the nicest persons I had ever met, my second thought was "wow...he's just going to sit here and hang out with us while we take care of our horses? He MUST be nice"
That meeting turned into a date, date one turned into date two, date two turned into date three...and three turned into history. At the expense of sounding cheesy, I'm going to say it anyway, I've found my soul mate and I couldn't be happier.
This is the part where life hits you in the face though. When you realize that everything you had planned for your life suddenly has no precedent anymore. That all of those well laid plans are bound to go astray, not in a bad way, just in general because suddenly all of the plans you once had for yourself now include another person.
For example, this perfect and amazing boyfriend of mine owns 25 acres complete with a barn (which just has to be fitted for horse stalls...I guess there used to be pigs there haha) He's already decided to put stalls and paddocks up for me. We looked at fencing last night online. Emmy and Johnny are scheduled to move into their permanent home this summer.
Did I mention that he likes to ride with me also? We've gone riding together twice just in the past week. I've never had a boyfriend take so much interest in my horses. Johnny and him get along great, which means that there is no need to sell Johnny anymore. Not only will he have a home, but another person to ride him.
And all of my worries about E graduating this year and not being here to lease Emmy next fall? Not an issue anymore because the horses won't be boarded out.
See what I mean about this whole life changes thing? But I'm loving every minute of it :)
Peace.Love.Ponies.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Some Video Updates
Good news! Johnny is being awesome and Emmy was sound yesterday! She only took one lame step the whole time I rode her! Woo hoooo!! I think I will continue to pack her foot and wrap it...it seems to be helping!
Tuesday night my friend M and I took some video of Johnny. He's coming along! Here are some of the stills, I'll post the video below:
And here is the video link:
Yay for Johnny! I've got some more good pictures that we took (sale photos) of him and then a couple of Emmy. I will add them later though!
Peace.Love.Ponies.
Tuesday night my friend M and I took some video of Johnny. He's coming along! Here are some of the stills, I'll post the video below:
And here is the video link:
Yay for Johnny! I've got some more good pictures that we took (sale photos) of him and then a couple of Emmy. I will add them later though!
Peace.Love.Ponies.
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