Random Ramblings

I don't have anything new to report, but I feel like posting...

I thought about posting pictures of Daisy and I at fair..buuuut...I'm just going to post one. I posted a lot of photos on my facebook and I don't feel it's necessary to post them here too. I am under the impression that people don't care that much.
This one is of Daisy and I during the reining pattern...I'm thinking of actually teaching her to do good rollbacks and spins this winter. May be fun! If I recall correctly, her mom went to state for reining quite a few times...maybe she has it in her ;)

Notice me, the loser, was so worried about the pattern and such that I forgot to pull the chaps down for that class :P

I did a spider weave pattern with her mane that day ("spider weave pattern"...is there a real official name for it? :P), used 57 rubber bands (one more then 2009 :P) and got a lot of compliments...and a lot of kids stopping and pointing "LOOK AT THAT HORSE'S HAIR!" like they thought it came that way. So cute :) It actually lay flat this year. Loved it.

Other news...I've been looking into Tipperary jump vests, but they were all super expensive ($150-$200). I put an ad on craigslist in the "items wanted" section for a vest for up to $80 or cheaper. I received the phone number of a lady 20 minutes away who has a used clothing and tack shop (equestrian clothing) and had a few vests. I went yesterday (she's only open 4 days a month... :P) and she had two vests available: a flexrider one (which looks dorky, but I would have taken it if I had to) and a tipperary that just came in the day before. The tipperary fit! And, as a bonus, it's red with black trim! Red is our club color, and one of the combos I thought of doing for cross country *some day*, and it's sort of ironic that the trim is black because Jean always does XC in black and red..pretty cool. :) I love it.

Otherwise, camp is one week from today (!!!) and I might be doing a schooling with Jean on Wednesday! (!!!!!!!!!!!!!) :)
I'm pretty excited. Daisy's such a good girl :))
I've been using the boots...without the power straps. (I put them on, but the boots were pretty much impossible to get on with the power straps, and even WORSE to get off...I felt like I was gonna pull her hoof off altogether!) I did 2 pretty serious road rides with them, and I love them. Daisy loves them too. She steps much more confidently, and she feels better too...like she uses her body more. Pretty neat.

The horse flies are back again (started on the 1st of August. You think they understand calenders?). I always say they come in August, and here they are. They are vicious beyond belief...I put Daisy's fly sheet on, but they are relentless on her exposed neck. The only good thing is that they are super easy to kill. :P

I received my school schedule in the mail. *Shudder*.... as of tomorrow...one month left. That's a lot though! A WHOLE MONTH! :)...but yeah. It's goin' down soon.
ANNDDD! I registered to do a trail trial in our area (Like ACTHA but not) and I'm looking into doing a hunterpace in September too. I'm happy not eventing as long as I still get to play around cross country. I don't need stadium and dressage :P Not now, anyway. :)

And so...3 days to schooling, hopefully....7 to camp.

Until my next post,

Sunday Stills (I know; it's been forever): Black & White

I think now that's summer's basically here, I'll be doing Sunday Stills again :)
Just six days of school left! It may be only six days, but this last week has been full of school work.....ew.

Things like Geometry (luckily, that's one of my favorite classes).
Interesting how I didn't notice how dusty and old my calculator looked until I took a macro :P

I was assigned My Sister's Keeper as a summer read...started reading it before the official assignment came out and...looks like I'll need to read it again before the summers over because I didn't annotate this first time around...oh well.

This is my attempt at representing horses and dirty barn work without a horse ;)

I'm so busy...but it's so beautiful out. I can barely make it through school; summer is calling me!

Check out more black and white shots at Sunday Stills!

Stewy and Lydia

So, I finally have someone to ride with! This year I met Lydia at a Country Max store after seeing her at a 4H meeting thing, and we found out we live just streets away! We have been riding with each other every Saturday now. Unfortunately, we can only do Saturdays because she takes tennis on the other days after school and I can only ride between 2:30 or whenever I get home and just after 4 when my mom leaves for the restaurant. Anyway, Lydia has a cute, 6 year old Quarter Horse gelding named Stewy! Isn't he a cutie?! I think so! Last week we couldn't ride on Saturday because it was foggy all day, but this past Saturday we rode together! I met her on a shortcut that goes from the farm she boards at to the road that connects to my road, and we rode to my house. Then we went on our trail, got in some pictures, offered Stewy water (of course, he didn't want it, lol) and then I went and "dropped" Lydia off at the shortcut again (Stewy isn't familiar with the road enough for Lydia to ride him home alone) and I rode home. For me it was a LONG ride! Back and forth and back and forth! Altogether it was a 2 hour ride. It was good for Daisy though, who was having a problem at the beginning of the week with not listening because she had way too much energy. She was better after that long ride! :)

Probably this Sunday we will be going to an open show to do western classes (western pleasure/equitation/horsemanship/trail classes) and definitely the Saturday after we are showing in a gaming show (barrels and poles)...I'm really excited! I ordered a new saddle pad for my western saddle and a new helmet (I saved money) and I'm really hoping I'll get them in time for the show! :)

Don't expect a post for a few days... :-/
I only just got to posting--I spent the last hour or more on an essay for Social Studies...look for it on my writing blog here if you want.

9:22 PM

Strange Egg---Chicken or Hummingbird?

A few days ago I went out to the chicken coop and found this egg on the ground. I don't really think it's a chicken egg--it's very small, and our chickens are over a year old, it's been a year since they started laying eggs, so they can't possibly still be laying such small eggs, right?

I think maybe another bird flew in and laid it... Anyway, I tried to crack it in a bowl. It wouldn't crack, though, the plastic-like layer on the inside wouldn't break, so I slit it with a knife.

This is it! Isn't that yolk SMALL?! I thought it was really weird. I wonder if, because of the way the yolk is shaped, if it was already a baby bird...?

Do snakes lay eggs?

This is the yolk up close-about the size of, or smaller then, a jelly bean.

So this is it. Now-

-What are your thoughts? Could it be the egg of a hummingbird? A chicken egg? Do snakes lay eggs? That is the question.

On a different note, I start school again next Thursday--one week left. **Grumble, groan, rolls-eyes, sigh.**

6:33 PM

Back to Riding!

So, on Monday we called the farrier and left two messages, one from my mom, one from me, asking (again) if he could come out and shoe Daisy. He called back, and he said he'd come the next day! He came, and checked out her hooves and said her front hoof was still very tender, but he'd shoe her anyway. SO, I had him make Daisy shoes for all four feed, and pads for her front. She has the pads so that she can walk on stones and such without getting bruised again. She also got borium on, which is a type of metal that's kind of rough on the shoe, so she doesn't slip when she walks. First he had to take a little while to 'customize', I guess, Daisy's shoes, and then we went into the barn to put them on, because it was raining. Daisy did just fine on her back hoofs-he aligned the shoes and nailed them in and then filed off the nails when they came out the sides (second picture). Of course, she couldn't let herself get the reputation of being a perfect horse, so she decided it would be acceptable to rear, oh, say, 3 times when he got to the front feet. It was scary-she almost touched the ceiling at one point, and the farrier would have to jump out of the way. The farrier took the halter and chain lead at one point, adjusted the chain, and gave Daisy a hard tug and a little speech about safety....it didn't work for long. She reared another two times, and that's when he suggested hay. Of course, Daisy being a sucker for food, stood very nice and still on the last shoe and chomped away...the little brat! She also had silicone sprayed under the pad on the front feet so that she has more cushioning...the pictures are labeled. The pic of her hoof that's not labeled is her back hoof. Well, after money spent, and shoes, pads, borium, and silicone, I can ride again! I took Daisy for a quick ride today because I actually went and rode Bubba after school today (I took the bus to my 4H leader's house) and it was great! Daisy's hooves sound nice on pavement ;-).

The last pictures are just some I took of Daisy tonight and the sky. Doesn't Daisy look great!? Don't ask what's up with the lead rope-I kind of just threw it on, it's actually just a rope...She's so slick and shiny.

Anyway, thanks for all the thoughts and helpful tips throughout Daisy's little hoof 'ordeal'! My school ends next Wednesday...finals this week and next, and then I might post more often! (or less often ;-)) Bye!

9:17 PM

Vet Visit

Today the vet came to give Daisy her yearly shots. Daisy got rabies done, a west nile virus vaccine, a strangles vaccine (disease horses get, highly contagious, see here to learn more), a spring shot that combines tetanus, a flu vaccine, rhinopneumonitis (not quite sure what that is, I'll google it) and Eastern/Western encephalitis. They also take her blood for a 'coggins' test, which is required for showing, and it gives you a paper that shows all the horse's markings, it looks like this. She did GREAT this year-last year we only had to do rabies and coggins, and she was annoyed and we had to put that head thing on, shown in the pictures. I don't know what it's called, but it 'hits pressure points' behind her ears and inside her lip that make her sleepy. The thing works GREAT. You can pull the string and it's hooked to a little pulley (see yellow arrow in pic.) that makes it tighter. The strangles vaccine is a thing that you squirt into the horse's nose and most horse's don't like it, including Daisy. She started to toss her head, and she did toss it, but I pulled the thing tighter and she pretty much calmed down. She's good for a year now! Hopefully I won't need the vet until next year! :D

On another thought, I signed papers for Daisy for showing this summer and my 4H leader (Daisy's old owner) is going to let me show her English Thoroughbred, Bubba, at the county fair! I'll show him English...not that I know much about English, but I guess I'll learn. He's the 'black' horse in this post. He's pretty cool-I took care of him at shows. That's the OTHER thing-one week before I show Daisy I'm going to my 4H's leader's house and spending the week there (with Daisy, she'll trailer her there) so that I can 'train' with Daisy for the show, and practice with Bubba. Like a horse camp, except (in my opinion) more fun because I have Daisy! The week of the show I'll (probably) also stay at the house because Daisy will still be boarded there for the time we show because we'll trailer back and forth to the show grounds everyday.

So, I want summer to come! I don't know if you noticed, but I have a counter at the bottom of the page that counts down to 2:15 on the 26th of June-The time school lets out! SO exciting! :D

Have a nice week, everyone! (oh, if you haven't seen the post below this, check it out! :)