After a month+ hiatus, I'm back. 

Florida was warm. I returned to cold and snow. That doesn't really bother me.

I rode in Jean's arena. Daisy was a good girl. She got along well with Dixie, and actually lost a bit of weight because surprisingly, Dixie was the alpha mare and though she's really not very aggressive at all, Daisy still respected her and her food completely.

Jean trailered Daisy home for me on Tuesday. Daisy is happy at home :) and I'm happy to have her home. We've been road riding again, starting to build up her muscles again. We've only gone with the bareback pad this week because it's fun. All the snow melted, and then we were dumped with over half a foot again on Wednesday, so until it melts, I'm going bareback. Because that's my excuse. 

Daisy has started shedding (oh goody). This means our appointment for a spring vet check will be right around the corner, along with a visit from her dentist. I'm planning on going the new "alternative" root for deworming this season as discussed in the February issue of Equus. If you didn't read that edition, get your hands on it. It's important. It talks about doing a fecal exam instead of deworming "in case" they have worms because worms are becoming resistant to dewormer.  This is not a really new piece of knowledge, but this year I plan on putting it in action. 

Yesterday was my 16th Birthday and I recieved a new camera from my dad. I love it! It's a Kodak Easyshare M580. These pictures were taken with it yesterday and today. I'm really enjoying it.

I'm in the process of joining Pony Club with my friend Lydia. If it works out, I'll be able to ride the mile and a half down the road weekly for mounted meetings and lessons over the next few months. It's pretty exciting. 

I'm keeping busy. Hope you're all well,

Happy Birthday, Daisy!

Still at Camp....we'll be back tomorrow. :)

The Best Word to Use is "Frisky"

And by frisky I mean Daisy's behavior.
I'm sorry I haven't posted...Daisy came home Tuesday a week ago...I was hoping I could ride a lot everyday when she came home...but that hasn't been the case. I've still ridden at least every other day, but...each day I don't get to ride (because of sickness...horsebowl competition...rain...birthday...) she's really really...somethin'...the next day. I rode her down to visit the minis at the end of the street on Wednesday, and she could hardly contain herself...she refused to walk (she did that annoying horse thing "Mom, LOOK, I'm WALKING! Feel it?! I'm going slow!" when in reality she's TROTTING so slow it's almost like walking! Of course.
The trimmer came on Monday.
No thrush. (YEY!)
No laminitis (YEY!)
.... But she has bruising. Her heels in the back were bruised red. It looked painful. The trimmer trimmed 'em up so that the area the bruised area was supporting is now spread out over a larger area...he said it's probably because Daisy's hooves are soft (we've been getting a ton of rain) (oh, excuse me...a ton for US. Don't worry, Mrs. Mom, I know it could be worse ;)) and they bruised out on the road. He is going to start selling easyboots (he'll be an...idk...registered easycare provider or something) and recommended I get some when he does for times like this...and I think I will. In the meantime, I'm riding her on the actual flat pavement (as she prefers.. :P) to keep her out of pain until the mud goes away and her hooves harden. I will be adding pea stone gravel to her pasture for her hooves! I'm pretty excited...I learned that because of taxes, the town provides it for free... ;) YEY! That's good news...so as soon as the mud clears up and we can level the ground a bit, we'll put some down in Daisy's high-traffic areas.

The weather, besides rain, has been (had been..until today) soooo nice. We had about a week of weather in the 50's and 60's...just beautiful. Today it was about 26...and only in the teens tonight. Daisy started shedding, so she's got her blanket on tonight... and her heated bucket plugged in again...

Yesterday was my birthday...and I got two more western show shirts, and the belt and buckle above...I've always wanted a nice buckle! I love it :) Lydia also got me some blue riding gloves for cross country (and barrel racing) :)

I rode Daisy today...it was FREEZING! Of course, normally I wouldn't find 25 cold, but after a week of 60's...it sure was a pain. She needed to be ridden SO bad, though. When she's not ridden, she's sorta reckless, dangerous, and stupid on the ground. She's more aggressive and more of a jerk than usual...I can handle the usual. But when it gets the way she was today, I know I've gotta crack down on her.
We went English... (The first picture is taken of our shadow goin' western on Tuesday :)). I rode pretty far with her. She was soooo silly. We trotted and cantered basically the entire ride...I have no idea how long we went... She had the energy. We had some pretty scary stuff pass us...at one point we were cantering along a rode we go on a lot, and out of no where a border collie comes at us from a house; I had no idea they had a dog. Border collies are into herding, right?...anyway, that's what i thought, so I got Daisy to a walk and stood as a car passed us. The dog seemed to have electric fence, so it didn't come after us. Daisy was so good! Another time, a car with trailer like this came by...There are two things that actually worry Daisy on the road. Motorcycles going fast, or revving their engines, and cars with those trailers. It came up fast behind us (not speeding, just coming around a turn without much warning) and I turned, saw it, and got her over to the far side and kept a strong leg on her...she tensed up as it went by and her head shot up but she didn't move! I love my pony... she's such a good girl...when I'm on her back, anyway ;), on the ground is another story. At one road that we always canter/gallop (about a 1/4 mile, slight uphill) Daisy cantered and ended up galloping...I very rarely feel her truly gallop. Generally it's just a really fast, powerful canter. But she got so into it today, she went faster and faster and then was galloping...she stopped pretty well, though.

The last picture is of her today...taken with my phone. That was after our ride, I shut her in her stall with the cooler on. :)

Tomorrow I ride Daisy and I go to Jean's to ride Bubba...I'm trying to get one ride on him a week while I'm not at the barn, so that I'm ready for county fair with him this week...the Bubba Chubbs... :)

OH! Need to add for memory sake, I rode Jean's new event horse, a big 17hh thoroughbred named Ladd, a couple weeks ago...he was INCREDIBLE. I mean, amazing! He was pretty jumpy at first, but once I got him on the bit, he automatically engaged and his back lifted and he felt amazing. I LOVED him! I'm SO excited for Jean's show season; I can't wait to follow them along. Ladd is awesome already! :D

Horsefly Season

Bonjour, my blogger friends!
No, I'm not in France. I'm still in NY, in the height of the horsefly season. AKA, the WORST time of year ever. Even worse then winter.

Horseflies are JERKS. I was wondering already where they were this year, but now I realize they must just not come out until just before fall. These buggers are HUGE. And disgusting, and PAINFUL. I read up about them a bit; these flies have "scissor-like" teeth that slash open the skin of a horse/cow/person, so that the blood comes out and they can lick it off. It's very painful. Luckily, due to them being so huge, they're very easy to smack and kill. However, I must have killed at least 30 or 40 this season already, and they're still there. Of course.

Riding is kinda a pain right now; literally. I haven't been bit, but I DO NOT want to be. They fly all over and threaten biting you. Yesterday Daisy got bit by one while out grazing, and she was bleeding, so I felt SO bad. Today, I had her out to free-graze, and I listened to her outside the window running back and forth to avoid them. She went in her stall, the only place to avoid them, but came back out; poor girl just wanted grass! I had sprayed her with fly spray already, so I was trying not to watch; I knew she wanted to graze, but I hated the flies.
Then I looked out and saw this:


Daisy doesn't normally go in the garage, but apparently she was about to go in, hoping for some relief. And I found these munching happily on her:

OUCH(just so you all know, I killed all three just after the pic was taken).
SO. I stood there wishing I had a flysheet. I've never bought one, used one, never considered one...but then, like *magic*, I thought of my show sheet! And, voila:

I got it on my birthday a year ago from my cousin, Anika, and planned on using it for showing, to keep Daisy clean...I never ended up using it, though, because Daisy never rolls anyway (yey for me!).
Daisy kinda spook at it, though, as she always does when wearing a blanket for the first time in a little while. Notice how her butt is pulled in; yeah, she spooked BAD, trying to run away from herself :-P lol.

Then she was fine. Fly-free and happy, she got to keep grazing. :) yey!

I must say, I think she looks like she's grazing in a pair of pajamas :-P lol

Soo...I imagine I'm not the only one who struggles with the horseflies....what do you do to keep them away??

Until next time,

Happy 11th Birthday, Miss Daisy-Mae!

Today, Miss Daisy is 11 years old. She was born August 19, 1998.
Happy Birthday my Daisy girl!

BTW, for those of you who may notice, those reins *were* new...picture taken about a month ago. They were new and in-use until the day Daisy took off galloping with me using the reins on a halter and the snaps broke :-(...

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About a month ago I bought a box of "All Bran" the cereal, or w/e it's called, and a jar of molasses. Today, I put them to use. I made carrot and molasses bran cookies.

I almost got sick while I was making them. My stomach still feels funny now, just looking at the cookies. The molasses had the most disgusting smell EVER. I really felt like I was gonna lose my lunch :-P. I found the recipe here. The recipe is:

• 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup bran
• 1 cup molasses
• 1 cup grated carrots or apple

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees and oil two cookie sheets.

Put aside a small bowl of white sugar and a drinking glass with a flat bottom.

In a large bowl mix all the ingredients thoroughly. The mixture shouldn’t be too wet, and should stick together.

Add more flour to make the mixture firmer and hold together if necessary. Drop by teaspoonfuls, about 1 ½ inches apart on a greased cookie sheet. Grease the bottom of the glass, dip it in the sugar, and stamp the cookies to flatten them slightly. Bake for about 10 minutes. This makes about 25 cookies, depending on the size. Store in an air-tight container or bag.

I probably should have asked you horse people if you had a recipe...one NOT involving molasses. EW. The cookies turned out ok...they look strange, and although they described them as "crunchy" mine seem more like "rubbery" :-P but I did the ultimate test: I gave one to Daisy. And she ate it with gusto, nodding her head up and down like she does when she REALLY like something and licking her lips...well, as long as she eats them. :-P I have a mounted 4H Yautzy Road Yahoos meeting tonight (I'M RIDING BUBBA AGAIN!!!) so I'm considering taking some for the horses there...but don't want to be laughed at in case those horses don't like it. :-P

BTW, if you make the recipe, you WILL need to add more flour. Either that, or less molasses, I guess...

Horse Blogger's Meme

So we all love horses. First of all give us the name, age, gender, breed, height and markings of one of your horses. This can be a horse you ride, a horse you own or one you owned.

Name: Miss Daisy-Mae (Daisy)
Age: (On August 19) 11
Gender: Mare
Breed: Quarter horse/thoroughbred cross
Height: 14.2 hands
Markings: Socks on hinds and sock on left front, and crooked blaze w/ snip...her blaze looks like a penguin :-P

We need a visual of that horse. How about a picture standing still and a little description or story to go with it.

This is Daisy on her first day at our farm...or, rather, the first day our farm ever had a horse :-P. Originally, her fence had metal T-posts, but after a week they were replaced with wood posts, and part of her pasture was sectioned off for grazing. The picture above is her in the place where now there are two grass pens...every year she was fine int he pens, but this year she's been colicky each time she went in them...so now I can't let her graze there anymore and I have empty pens sitting there :-/

Now that we have seen a pic how about one of clip clop being ridden. Tell us about the picture.

I look so young in this picture! The first summer I had Daisy I didn't show, so I just had her as a fun backyard trail horse. I rarely do the above anymore; ride in shorts, bareback. I only ride bareback a lot in the winter; summer she's too sweaty. The first summer, I'd ride her in the morning or afternoon, and then in the evening, around 7, after dinner, I'd hop on her bareback and go for our "after-dinner ride" down the driveway...


Show us a head shot and a short story of a time with your horse. Doesn't have to be related to the picture.

Daisy LOVES to beg for treats...she can be food aggressive, but when out of her stall in cross ties she behaves for treats. She's not all "up in your face" pushy for treats. She stands there, stretches her neck out but doesn't move, puts her eyebrows up REALLy high, wiggles her lip, and waits for the treat. She tries to make herself look really cute. But she doesn't push you around; if she did, I'd NEVER hand-feed her, because that just BUGS me.


Horse have any bad habits?

There are miniature ponies that live down our street. Daisy knows that. So she's always trying to get down to see them. This year, my last ride before she got picked up for fair, I tried to ride her left off our driveway onto the road(the ponies are to the right). She told me she didn't want to, but she stepped out. But just a few houses down, she stopped. She does that sometimes; she'll go from walking along to just stopping and not budging. No matter what. Normally, I give her a smack, and eventually make her go foreword; I don't let her just turn around. But where we were stopped that day we happened to be in front of a house with kids playing in the front yard, and they were watching me and Daisy. So I feebly tried to give her a smack, but I didn't want the kids to think I was being mean to her (they were little; wouldn't understand) so I let her turn around and trot past our driveway and go down the road until we reached the minis. Then she gets all offended if you don't let her go right over to see them. So Miss Daisy forced me to get off and walk her back and forth in front of the property, to show her she couldn't go there until I said ok. We went off past the place and did some canter work farther down, and then I let her turn around and visit. The kick? Once she gets there, all excited, she just smells their noses once, then stands there and stares into the distance like they aren't there...I'm like, wow. ANYWAY, the pony she's visiting with above is Jax, the stallion she has a mini-crush on :-P.

A picture of your horse in action (ridden or not)

Daisy and I at county fair this year; one of her wild starts for barrel racing :-P.

Five things your horse likes

1. Being ridden. I keep her alone at home, and if I don't ride her for a day she's sad. I know it. She has her ears pinned 99% of the time when I'm on the ground, but on her back, just walking or trotting along the trail or road, they're never pinned. She's happy.
2. Treats. Apples, carrots, stale bread, sugar cubes, peppermints, skittles, horse treats, animal crackers, etc.
3.Barrel racing. Besides just trail riding (Where she snorts a TON in happiness at the start of the ride) she loves to barrel race. She may have her ears pinned the entire time, but that doesn't mean much; she obviously likes it :-P.
4. Galloping. I always let her go on pretty long gallops on the shoulder of the road and she LIVES for it; she knows it's coming. Her daddy was a thoroughbred; she's definitely got it in her. I haven't galloped her for real in a few days, and today she was really fidgety. I was wondering why, and then it occurred to me that I hadn't galloped her. :)
5.Having her face brushed. I really itch her face with a soft curry, and then brush off the loose hair, and she LOVES it.
Five things your horse dislikes
1.You brushing her chest. BIG no-no. She does NOT like that.
2. Spraying water under her tail. She doesn't always put up a fit, but sometimes she'll kinda curl her hind end in and act offended.(I guess I don't blame her)
3. Other horses near her. She will pin her ears and though she's never done it, I wouldn't be surprised if she kicked them.
4. Tennis rackets. At fair this year, we had to use one, and I thought she'd be fine with it; normally with stuff if she smells it and you let her see it and you talk to her you can talk her through being afraid. NOT with the racket. She was nervous of it the entire time :-/
5. Motorcycles. Those things are SCARY! She's pretty good about them passing her on the road as long as the engine isn't really loud, but she half-reared at the last parade and got really scared because bikers revved their engines. Dumb biker people :-(.

Random picture of your horse and the story behind it.

I got my hair cut about a month ago and I really liked it...so my mom did a photo shoot with me and Daisy and I didn't wear a helmet *gasp*...but she stood SO still when I sat on her like that. A lot of times at shows when I'm waiting for a class (in Western) I sit Indian style on her with my legs crossed over the horn :)

A picture of when you first got your horse.

Not sure if you can tell in the picture, but I have tears of joy on my face because just literally 5 seconds before my mom said the words "Should I write the check?" and I knew Daisy was mine. *Sniff*

Give your horse a kiss and tag a few friends

(the first week that I had her)

If you read this post and you have/had a horse/lease a horse/ride a horse, whatever, feel free to consider yourself tagged and do the Meme! Just let me know you did it so I can read it! And get ready; you need a wide variety of pictures! :)

I got this meme from Sydney at http://bitlesshorse.blogspot.com .

Happy Birthday, Daisy-Mae!

Today is Miss Daisy-Mae's 10th Birthday!! Daisy was born on August 19th, 1998 (apparently, although that is late in the year for a foal to be born). Happy Birthday, little mare! May this next year go well, and may you have an even MORE awesome hat next year!

Doesn't she look stunning in her hat? I thought so. :)

Birthday Today...

Well....today was my Birthday, in case you didn't see it on other blogs(Thanks you, everyone who did Birthday posts for me! That was very nice of you. ;-)) and I got some great gifts. First off, from my parents I got money towards a saddle I want. I would love to have a Wintec 500 English saddle with CAIR air panels and the adjustable gullet system in size 16.5 medium tree(I just thought I'd say all the facts about it). You can see a picture and learn more about it here, if you care....probably don't, but whatever. :-P

My cousin, Anika, also got me a very pretty stable blanket for showing...I mentioned it once through comments, but I'm planning on showing Miss Daisy-Mae next summer at our county fair, and maybe the state fair, plus other shows from a saddle club near us, in Western Pleasure, maybe English Pleasure, and Barrel Racing...that's all I'm planning on so far...maybe a halter class....but anyway, I can use this blanket on Daisy after I've given her a bath-it's light, so it's not hot, but it will keep her clean for showing in case she rolls or gets dusty.

I'm going to show Daisy in barrel racing, like I said, and I'm REALLY excited. I've only shown a miniature pony before and I loved it, but I'm not very knowledgeable about showing in Western pleasure or English pleasure...or barrel racing. I'll learn, though. Daisy did it with her old owner and was apparently really good at it, so I'm excited to see how it goes. When I ride her I can already see the potential...Man, I'm so excited. :)

The last picture is of a sign Anika made for my Birthday. I have one that says Miss Daisy and one that says Daisy...the Daisy one hangs in my locker at school, and the Miss Daisy(as you can see) is hanging above Daisy's stall door now. I really like it because the whole time I've wanted a sign for her, but I thought it'd be silly to get one because there's really no ideal place to hang it, and she's the only horse...but this one is perfect. I love it...anyway, I had a good Birthday....

Have a good rest of the week! It could be awhile until I'm posting...Maybe Thursday, or Friday.....or Saturday.....oh, whatever, bye!
:-)

Oh, btw, I just put that picture of Genevieve in because I thought it looked cute...cozy....