T-3 Days

Hey bloggers! 

I know it's been for-ev-errr since I last posted! I apologize, but believe me if I had posted you'd be more bored than since I haven't ;). 

We've been doing nothing out of the ordinary. Lets see how many blog posts I can say that in ;). 

Our trail has dried up some, so we've been trail riding more, which Daisy absolutely loves. 

I leave for Canada, for my Trimmer 1 & 2 course, this coming Sunday! WHAAAAT?! I know. I'm a little shocked myself ;).  I'm excited, but also a little anxious about leaving home, and Daisy, behind. I've arranged for someone to ride Daisy 3 times a week for the two weeks I'm gone (and I'm crossing my fingers that she behaves for her new mount as well as she does for me!). She'll be boarding over at Jenny's farm, where we are in winter. This week, I'm pulling strings and getting things together so that I can leave her and the farm behind with a good peace of mind. 

One thing I'd like to mention: Boy is my pony the bomb! We've had SO much road construction lately, but those HUGE pieces of equipment don't bother her! WHOOT! I love feeling safe on this mare. 

That's all I have to say. Perhaps if I have a free moment next week I'll share some interesting hoof-related tid bits! If anyone is interested in details, they can check out  http://equinextion.homestead.com/ , which is where I'm headed. 

NMJC

Nothin' much, just chillin'. 

Shameless Muckboot Company Plug: 

Everything that you've heard about Muckboots being awesome... Well, I'm here to confirm those rumors. They really are super. 

Last weekend I went to a combined test with my friend Lydia (check out her blog here). It was fun to be around eventing horses and eventing talk for a day. 

I spent a couple minutes with this adorable horse, Oslo. His coloring reminded me of a McDonald's Oreo Flurry.

And some time with pony clubbers. . . (the girls besides me are both named Lydia ;) ) 

After which Lydia  (in pink above) took me to her farm to properly introduce me to her new mare, Rica. She's lovely! 

This week hasn't included much for Daisy and I. She did get her rabies vaccination on Wednesday, and her three-way spring shot today. She continues to be lazy and bored of our riding locations.  This is frustrating and sad, and I don't know what to do about it. . . 

Wordy-Wednesday

I'm a slacker.
Mostly, there is nothing of note to say. I'm still riding Daisy allthetimeee. As usual. She's reaching that  point where her usual cheery attitude is fading away because she's sick and tired of riding the same roads all the time. I can't blame her. 

The vet is coming out next Wednesday to give her her rabies shot. 

Daisy loves cookies. 

 . . . and being ridden Western.

As much as I enjoy and appreciate the art of English riding, the fact of the matter is that I grew up taking western lessons for 8 years before I spent any serious amount of time in an english saddle. Western is just my 'thing'. I enjoy it as much as she does. 

And that's what it's all about. Enjoyment. 

The horse. Here is nobility without conceit, friendship without envy, beauty without vanity. A willing servant, yet never a slave. |Ronald Duncan|

Galloping Fun, Snow Days, and Biting Teeth

Remember my last post? Not sure if you noticed, but my cousin and I were sporting tank tops in the photos, because on the day they were taken (a week ago), it was a whopping 80+ degrees Fahrenheit. 

Today was a whopping 33 degrees and overnight, we got dumped with over 6 inches of snow. Most random winter ever. . . 

Photos from today.

Barn cat Gronemeyer

 Daisy had Saturday off because it was raining all day long. Sunday wasn't very pretty either, but it was at least not raining, just sort of misting a little, so I tacked her up to ride. In the stall, when I was brushing her flanks or just above her hocks, she would randomly kick out, like it was hurting her. I faintly remember this being a temporary issue in the past, so I just thought I'd take her out anyway to see how she was feeling and take it easy if necessary. I tacked her in a bareback pad, because it was cold out and... I didn't feel like changing into riding boots that fit in stirrups. ;) 

As expected, when asked for a trot, she very dramatically tossed her head and mane all around and threatened to buck, but from past experience I know this is just her attitude on a chilly day following a day off. We proceeded along on our ride, and heading back we galloped up the usual hill. It's not super steep, but it's long. I let her have her head to go as fast as she wanted, because she had so much pent up energy... we beat our previous record, recorded by the Cardio Trainer as 17.7mph, by going 18.1mph. I thought this was relatively fast, but when I looked it up, some horses gallop somewhere around almost 60mph...but... for a canter, I thought it was fast, and it was so fun! :) 

 Today Daisy also stayed in her stall mostly, because it was snowing all day and the driveway wasn't clear enough to ride really... So I thought I would do some mind games with her in her stall, which I had also done Sunday. I had her backing up, walking, standing still while I walked away, squaring up, etc, for pieces of horse treats. Unfortunately, when I attempted a carrot stretch with her, she'd apparently had enough of the working for treats situation, and she lunged at my hand and had it in her mouth before I knew it. She broke skin on one finger, and bit the other right in the joint. No serious injuries, but I felt foolish for hand feeding her when she was obviously not in a patient state of mind, and my fingers hurt a bit now. I think I need to seriously start feeding only with a bowl, at least for awhile, and in those situations.

Ah mares Daisy. I'm already praying that she keeps herself together without flying off the handle when I leave for Canada and she has two weeks off. *shudder*