For the first time since I became a horse owner sixteen years ago, I find myself falling into the weekend warrior category. At first I thought I’d be able to maintain my four day a week riding schedule through this transition period, but I’ve decided that just isn’t realistic. I have a lot of visitors/help in town, and I both want to see these people and chip away at my to do list during the week. When I did ride Tuesday…
Good Thing: Even with tons of drizzly days of rain this past week, our arena is holding up really well. My trainer was able to shuffle some things around and give me a lesson on Saturday instead of Sunday! Bad Thing: Simon has decided he can no longer be caught in the pasture. It took 30 minutes and two assistants to help me get him. This is the third time he’s been hard to catch, which means it’s an established…
When you get rained out/take a break/go on vacation and let it go to nine days since seeing your large majestic horse creature, you are bound to come back to some surprises. Simon for one, was surprised his mom abandoned him. I came back to a wild & wooly creature who was caked in sweat and looked at me like, “I’m HOT. I’m COVERED in flies. My eyes HURT. Where have you been woman?!?” I guess he has gotten used…
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…
This past weekend I asked my lovely husband if he would come to the barn for my lesson to take some video. Since it had been a while since he stuffed Simon full of treats, he happily agreed. Simon happily ate the treats, and it was okay because we had a pretty nice lesson. I was happy during the flat warm-up because Simon felt forward and pretty strong. No tripping, no stiffness, no nonsense. Our rides during the week had…
There are good lessons because your horse is fantastic, and then there are bad lessons because your horse is not fantastic. I didn’t have either of those lessons last night. I had the lesson where your horse is mostly game for what we’re trying to do, but the rider is not making his job easy. By not making it easy, I really mean thumping on his back while trying to step up to bigger jumps. Here’s a dramatic visual to…
When my trainer texted me Saturday afternoon asking me if I was lessening on Sunday or waiting until Tuesday, I wasn’t sure the best answer. Simon had over a week off for his stitches to heal, and I while I was planning to ride that evening I wasn’t sure how he would be. I’m really eager to train for our next show (about a month away!), and figured worst case scenario I’d have a fresh horse. No big deal. I…
I know, I know – it’s still birthday central around here. That’s what you have to do when you can’t ride your horse… you dress him up! Yes, that is a crown. Yes, it does have glitter. Yes, it does say “Birthday Prince” You also stop to pose for pictures with your beloved ponykins, even though there is grain drool on your boob and it’s a bad hair day. You can try to feed him cupcakes, but there’s a good…