Well not really a change of plans, more an experiment in the planning department. See it’s no secret that I love the hunters. I love the perfection. I love the outfits. I love the overall goal. My horse jumps cute and has potential as a hunter, even with some obstacles (both his and mine) we’re currently working through. So I do love the hunters, and if I had to pick my ideal goal for Simon it would be to…
It’s been a busy time here in Austin with horse shows galore (and more coming up!) so I was happy to have a free morning where Jen of Wyvern Oaks and I could head to the barn together. Even though she’s been around Simon and heard quite a lot about Simon, she’s never actually ridden him. It was time for that to change! Plus, since she’s been rocking the dressage lately we took this as an opportunity to dress Simon…
I love love love the Viva Carlos blog hop this week! It’s especially topical since we all know how much horse showing can make you question everything about yourself including the quality and talent of your horse. Let’s take a moment to appreciate the Pros of our current ponies, whether you own them or just ride them in lessons. Simon has a lot of good qualities, and I probably don’t write about them on the blog as much as I…
Simon’s birthday was the day I left for Wellington, so we didn’t get a chance to celebrate “properly” until last night. This time last year I was throwing a party hat on a lame horse, so the fact that I could get a few photos and then go for a ride was just splendid! I warned my trainer that I was bringing birthday goodies for my horse, and even though she probably thought I was a crazy person… no one complains when…
One of the reasons I like keeping Simon in training rides, is that my trainer knows him extremely well. Though I do maintain that I know my horse better than anyone, my trainer knows horses in general way better than me. She has tons of experience in her tool box that I don’t, and I could ride Simon 7 days a week and progress slower than if she rides him once a week with me hacking in-between lessons. That’s why…
This time last year I had a lame horse turning seven, and we certainly have had a lot to be thankful for in Simon’s seventh year! We moved barns, got out to several horse shows, and most importantly improved our partnership quite a bit. I really feel like he’s maturing from the gangly lame OTTB into a muscled, above average Thoroughbred show horse 😉 We still have our struggles, but I’m so excited to see what the eighth year will…
We’re having ridiculous Texas weather again. No, we don’t have piles of snow and tons of rain like some of y’all… but it can be equally as frustrating. Case in point – Saturday it was in the high 70’s by the end of the day. Sunday morning the temperature dropped 20 degrees in 30 minutes, and we got lots of wind and rain. Monday night brought a sleet thunderstorm… but I wasn’t able to ride Sunday and I really wanted to…
In the world of the “weirdness” we left off with a plan to re-do Simon’s shoes, treat his hind thrush, and re-evaluate. I’ve been attacking that thrush like a mo-fo, arranged to have his shoes re-done on Monday and all the while he felt quite good except for the occasional tripping/falling out during our rides. On Monday his shoes were adjusted, and while they looked beautiful… he still tripped/fell out in the hind during our ride. In-between these blips he…