Photo Friday...on Saturday

Oops! Totallygot side tracked yesterday and never posted for my first photo friday *gasp* I know Im a horrible blogger but I will make up for it with this adorable picture of my dog Tovah

Enjoy :)

Making Progress

Moose is getting better and better with every ride. Sometimes it feels like we take a step back and sometimes we take a step forward but we always end on a good note! He is becoming more and more relaxed and settling right into the routine. I still haven't been able to ride him as much as I would like. It's been really cold and rainy. I can deal with the cold but not cold and rain. Makes for a miserable ride and I really don't want pneumonia thanks! LOL Other days it wont be raining but it will have rained than got suuuper cold and the arena will be FROZEN and like an ice skating rink! Soo we have done ground work and I have just spent time with him feeding and grooming.

He is such a tolerant boy. A couple of times when I have been riding him he would refuse to back so I would just hold the reins steady, not yank or pull but just hold them until he softened and backed, even if it was only half a step. He never offered to rear or even crow hop and he has yet to buck. He has swished his tail and tossed his head but never bucked. The last few times I have ridden him he has been hotter than normal and he gets nervous when other horses are around but he is learning and becoming calmer.On days I have patterned him I have ridden him in his snaffle and with a loose tie down. I'm not big into gadgets like tie downs but I believe they have their place and until he relaxes and sees that I'm not going to pull on his mouth or hurt one I will use one loosely. STILL can't decide whether I for sure want to put him on the pattern or go English or do both, but I'm leaning more and more towards patterning him and if he decides he doesn't like it I will just go English with him.  

On a seperate note I am going to start having "Photo Fridays" where I will upload a picture or two of one of my babies whether it be my doggy or one of the horses. I will have the first one this Friday so stay tuned.

Race Recap!

Finally I will post about the December 4 show.....It.was.AWESOME! Seriously, the last show of the year and probably the best! And to think I ALMOST didn't take Riley. He had been kicked in the hock on that Wed but was sound and it was a tiny cut but the next day it was a little swollen. I immediately hosed and iced it and gave him a gram of bute and prayed my brains out. The following day it was STILL swollen so I started fretting a little bit. I gave him a gram of bute in the morn and hosed and iced than again that night. I decided that if the swelling was down I would take him, if it wasn't, I would just take May. Saturday morning he was still just as sound and fresh and almost all of the swelling was down. I decided to take him and just see how he did. He warmed up fine, better than fine actually! He was VERY hyper and on the ball. He was ready to run. The new supplement I had put him on (Platinum Performance) seemed to give him more energy. As I took him in for our run in Adult I could just feel it was gonna be good. We have had a show the last three weekends and the more we show the harder he runs. I took him in the chute and he pranced and hopped and sideways cantered until he locked onto the first barrel. Than he did his mini rear and we were off! WE RAN A 14.7!!!! I almost passed out! His fastest time ever and it was beautiful. We placed in the 1D and I was so beyond proud of him. I pulled his boots and hosed his legs and noticed ALL the swelling was down. Awesome! My second run on Riley....hahaha I almost fell off! =P He, as I said, was very hot and ahead of the game and me! We cranked around first and second but he got ahead of me coming into third and I lost my stirrup so when he went to turn I almost flew off. He just about stopped dead, I righted myself in the saddle, than we booked it out and STILL pulled off a 15.2! I was shocked. The fact that he slowed and waited for me was more important than the fast time. He is the best horse I could ask for and I love him more than life itself! My friends dad took his camera so we got some great shots of our run and even a few of me almost falling off!!!  Not exactly the order I wanted them in but you get the idea! LOL The bottom 2 are of our first run the 14.7! The top two are from our 15.2! Enjoy! 

May also did very well at the show! Sadly I have no pics of her. It was a new camera for her dad so by the time he figured it out I had already done both of May's runs =\ It sucks but its ok! Next time we will get some. Her first run was a 16.0. She ran fairly well but went a little deep into first. She still placed in the top of the 3D. Her second run was a 15.6! Good girl May!! I'm so proud of both of my horses! They continue to get better and always try so hard for me! I can't wait to REALLY get May going. She is running about 3\4 speed right now and I'm not pushing her like I push Riley. I just let her run so I'm excited to see how her times drop when we really get our timing together and run full tilt.

The weather here is MISERABLE! Cold and WINDY and wet! I hate it but at least the rain is over so the arena should be dry by tomorrow! I plan to ride Moose and work May and Riley so I will TRY to post tomorrow on how he is doing and have a few pictures! Hope everyone has a good remainder of their day and a happy Monday....if there is such a thing! haha

Moose?!?!

I know I originally made this blog to document the progress of my OTTB Moose and here lately you haven't heard much about it! Let me explain.
Moose is doing well. Really well. There just hasn't been a whole lot to talk about with him. I have been soooo busy with all the races lately that I haven't had time to ride him near as much as Id like and the lessons I kept scheduling with my friend got rained out 3 weeks in a row!!! I have ridden him some. I'm pretty sure I've decided I'm going to try him on the barrel pattern. I had debated for a while whether I wanted to go English with him or try him on the barrels or something completely different but I think we will go the barrel route. All I have to lose is time and if in the end he doesn't like running barrels or blows up on the pattern I can easily switch over and do something else with him. It was apparent in his racing videos that he broke FAST from the gate. Almost always first and would hold in the first three until the last quarter of the race and than just fizzle out. Obviously not an endurance horse but quick short bursts of acceleration is exactly what I need on the barrel pattern. He is also built pretty decent for it. He stands naturally under himself which will help him get around the turns and he has a short strong back. The biggest downfall will be his height. Big, tall horses usually have a hard time getting down around a barrel but can sometimes make up for it with long strides in the straight aways. If you got one that can do both, your set!
I have ridden him about 2 or 3 times a week for a while now and he is doing good. He does best early in the morning when we are the only ones in the arena. When other horses are in the arena he becomes a total pill. He becomes incredibly hot and loses his focus. I just try to redirect his energy and get his mind back on me. I guess the more he rides with other horses in the arena the more used to it he will become. He gets extremely anxious and chews the bit like a mad man. Last time he even went so far as to back up and kick at any horse who came near him. His ears weren't pinned and it was easy to tell it was fear. He will stand tied to the fence sometimes and just kick if he gets bored, impatient or nervous. He has gotten better about it, now I just have to get him over it in the saddle. He is learning to relax his head a lot better and give to the bit. He keeps his head down much better now too MOST of the time. He still definitely has plenty of giraffe moments, especially in the canter, but we are getting there. He has filled out nicely and has a thick, woolly, winter coat! He grew much more hair than I expected but I'm actually happy. He seems to be staying very warm so far with good grain, plenty of hay and his thick fur!

I will post a race day recap probably tomorrow to tell you how the race went this past weekend! Hint: VERY good!

Race Day Recap November 27 and 28

I am a terrible blogger....I know! I'm sorry but I have been soooo busy! I know, I know SHOCKER! Forgive me please. :) Also sorry if this post is a little jumbled as I go back in forth with Riley and May and explain how they did.



The race went.....ok. It is not my favorite arena by far. For some reason it has always been a 'bad luck' arena for me and my horses and as I learned at the race, a lot of people said the same. Interesting....
Its a nice facility and I have no complaints about that but for some reason Riley doesn't like it. Maybe its my mind set? Going into it thinking its bad luck is causing bad luck? Who knows! Either way on Saturday my run with Riley was terrible. It wasn't his fault. He went in and tried hard like he always does but I screwed him up on second. As we were coming off the second barrel I shifted my wight a little to far to the outside(as I figured out later) and Riley followed. He jumped off the barrel a couple feet before I finally got him straight and we headed for third. I was so shocked that I even said "Riley..!" when he did it. We ended up running a 17.4 and we were out of the money and the rest of the night I questioned myself. Coach told me it was fine, just to let it go and get my head back in the game for my run on May but I couldn't. I kept asking if it was because I had shifted my weight or had he spooked at something or just jumped off the barrel or was he trying to go out the chute or back to first?! Ten thousand questions flew through my head and by the end of the night I had a headache. I was so proud of Riley for going in and trying but so peeved at myself. Its kind of funny how I always tell the kids I help if they have a bad run not to worry! It's just one run and their next one will be better. Stuff happens. People make mistakes and horses will be horses. However I can never apply this to myself. I'm not sure why but like some people are I am VERY hard on myself when I screw up at a competition. I was sooo bothered that I couldn't get to sleep that night and than woke up at three in the morning nervous as hell and couldn't go back to sleep. I was also worried Riley was hurting and maybe that was his way of saying so? Can you tell I over analyze stuff just a little?! lol

My run that night on May was good. She went in like a champ and ran a 16.7 and placed! Pretty good for her. As I have said before she is still kind of new on the pattern and especially with competing and not near as seasoned so I'm very impressed with how far she has come in such a short period of time. In a little over a year she went from looking like a barrel to running decent, solid, 16s.
 I have been continuing to ice her extensor tendon on that one back leg. It hasn't gotten any bigger or smaller and she is still sound as can be. Ive been really sure to wrap her good for our runs and to warm her up and cool her down really well. Ive also been cold hosing after all hard work still. She's been such a sport about it and is by far the best mare I've ever had. I wouldn't mind having a hundred more just like her!

The next day I cleared my mind and put my game face on. Riley came up in the pasture and I could tell he was ready to go. At the show grounds I warmed him up really good and than when I heard my name we headed into the chute. Right away I could tell Riley was on the money. He went into the chute very HOT but controlled. He was really hunting first barrel and when he found it, he locked in and was gone! He executed his ritual little rear and launched. First was flawless and second was....perfect! He cut around it as tight as he could and didn't miss a beat. On third barrel he slipped a little coming in but still managed to clock a 15.9. We placed and I was thrilled! I dismounted and pulled his boots to walk him and hose his legs and saw that he had clipped himself. Probably when he slipped or tripped at third barrel. It wasn't bad but I could see it was tender so I cleaned it really good and put a little medicine on it. I might have to start running him in bell boots if he starts clipping himself. That's the only time he has ever done it. After I cooled him out really good and hosed his legs I left him at the trailer to chill and munch on hay. I also gave him some candy canes for being so good!

May's run on Sunday wasn't as good as Saturday but she still did ok. We went wide into first and ran a 17.3 I think it was? I don't remember but ended up "placing" just out of the 4D and we got a gift bucket! Yay! lol  She ran really hard the rest of the pattern. Its strange to me how she is my hotter horse but more controllable in the chute where Riley is my more laid back horse but deff more revved in the chute. He is never out of control but he is so seasoned that when he does his mini rear and launches I just let him rip! I make sure they both get in far enough to let their eyes adjust (outside light, inside arena darker) and than we're off!
All in all it was a pretty good weekend and I cant wait for the race tomorrow at my faaaavorite arena! Ill be sure to post afterwards how we do and I will give an update on Moosey later! Have a good day everyone!

Thanksgiving is Thanksliving

I heard a friend say that this morning and it is so true. I have so much to be thankful for:

I am thankful for my amazing family who are always there for me!
I am thankful for my awesome friends and Coach who support me every step of the way!
I am thankful for my two silly dogs who show me the true meaning of unconditional love!
I am thankful for my three incredible horses who I would be absolutely lost without!
I am thankful for my good health in which we so often take for granted!

There is so much more I am thankful for and I could go on for ages. I thank the Lord everyday for blessing me far beyond what I deserve. And so to you, dear readers, I wish a VERY Happy Thanksgiving!

(P.s- I am taking Moose on his first BIG trail ride today. We are hauling over to the HOD for a Thanksgiving trail ride. I think it will be very good for him and he will enjoy it the nice, easy pace. I will post tomorrow about how he does. :)

Ready to race!

In two days we will be loading up and heading to Crawford arena for the three day IBRA race. I'm pumped and so are my horses. The weather has been a little nasty so I haven't been able to get in as much riding as I would like but, like Coach said, "Pretty much everyone in out district is having the same problem." Still I really would rather be riding right now....oh well.
I was supposed to have a lesson on Moose yesterday but *SHOCKER* it was rained out. SO at the time we tried to reschedule for today....well the rain never stopped so we wont be doing it today either. I'm going to reschedule the lesson for some time early next week. Moosey is doing good though and has put on a lot of weight and a lot of winter hair! It has been strangely warm this past week (temps in the upper 70's!) and so the horse have been pretty calm compared to the few weeks before when it was chilly. Upper 70's and thick, thick, winter coats just don't go together well. I might be taking Moose on a long trail ride tomorrow with some friends. We plan on hauling to one of our favorite places for a Thanksgiving ride. I chose to take him because I didn't want to ride Riley or May that hard before the show. As I have said before I always give them a few days off. Also I figured it would be good for Moose since the last few times under saddle he has been behaved but a little bit on the "hot head" side.  A nice, slow, relaxing trail ride would be the best thing for him.

May is doing good as well. Her tendon is cool and tight except for that one tiny spot. No bigger and no smaller. She is just and rambunctious as ever! I rode her English on Monday and it was a blast. Well I didn't technically ride her English but rather just put English tack on her and rode her for fun. She did pretty good and looked adorable! I had a blast. She wasn't as thrilled as you can see :P She has a knack for sticking out her tongue I think...

The Ri Man is doing great. My last post I talked about my decisions and debates with him. I'm still contemplating a lot but for now he is doing very good so we will continue with the original plan.

Had a good ride on him yesterday. He was HOT TO TROT which surprised me. Due to the weather he had been pretty laid back but he was all fired up yesterday. Maybe its a sign? lol I don't know. I just hope he maintains that attitude for the show this weekend. 

During the ride I basically just worked him on a loose rein and we did a lot of slow trotting followed by long trotting and of course some loping. We did a good bit of cantering just because he was so fired up and by the end of the ride he was all but lathered. I cooled him down really good and hosed him out and than groomed him for about an hour. Shouldn't have even bothered. He rolled RIGHT when I turned him out RIGHT in the mud....Oh Riley! The jokes on him though because last night it rained and rained and rained so this morning all the mud was washed off. :) I'm sure when I go get him though he will have rolled again and Ill have to spend another hour grooming him. Fine with me though. Nothing I enjoy more than spending time with my boy.

Decisions

Ok so I haven't posted in a few days because I knew I had a fairly large post coming and I was trying to get my thoughts together. I'm sure either way it will sound jumbled so I apologize in advance! I guess I will start off by saying Moose has been doing AWESOME! I am soooo in love with that horse! :) Me and him start lessons with a good friend of mine on Tuesday. I will be sure to post on how it goes.

I rode him the other day for a while in the arena. He did pretty well and kept his head low and relaxed the entire time we walked and trotted. He is also beginning to respond to my leg cues about 80% of the time. He was doing so well I decided to try bumping him up to a lope again.  He loped off fine but kept wanting to pick up the wrong lead. Sill boy. I would turn his nose slightly to the inside and touch him behind the girth with my outside leg and than kiss him up. He finally got it. At first he tossed his head up but after a few moments of asking with my hands and just 'playing' with his mouth he relaxed and began to lower his head in the canter! I was so thrilled. A few laps both ways and we called it a day. Afterwards we went on a short trail ride with my friend and her new TB.  I also got a pic of him laying in the hay. The FIRST thing he does when we put out hay is roll in it. He soooo cute!

As for Miss May she is doing pretty good. I pulled her up on Thursday to ride her and noticed she had just a tiiiiny bit of swelling about midway down her back right tendon. It wasn't hot or tender and she certainly wasn't lame. I wouldn't have even noticed if I hadn't run my hand down her leg and looked at it at just the right angle. I called the vet and explained it to him and he said not to worry. I'm already VERY careful with my horses legs as far as warming them up and cooling them down well. I always cold water hose after a hard work out and I NEVER run at an arena where the footing isn't good. I don't practice very often on them anyway and always take preventative measures to preserve their joints. I'm especially careful with Riley but Ill explain more on him later. Basically my vet just told me to watch it close and ice it after hard workouts and if it gets any bigger or she gets lame on it at all to call him and he would check it out. She rode fine. Was as hot and hyper as ever. I didn't do any circles or hard work with her. Just exercised her and did lots of slow trotting and long trotting and loping. After I hosed her legs I iced the one. Here is a pic of her looking adorable while her leg is being iced:  awwww

Now onto the topic at hand: decisions. Mainly decisions with Riley. Here is where I will do my best to explain my dilema without confusing you terribly. First, as I am sure you can tell, Riley is my entire world and I often over analyze and stress about stuff when it comes to him. I love May and Moose to death but as I have stated before Riley is my deepest heart and has been for a very long time. If you have read some of my first posts it talks a lot about the all the lamenesses Riley has overcome. Everything from minor stuff like abscesses and stone bruises to potential career ending tendon tears and "Navicular". He is sound now and doing well. He seems to feel good and is always eager to work. He gets monthly Adequen injections as well as MSM in his feed. I am also about to start him on Platinum Perfomance. I have never used it before but have heard lots of good stuff about it so Im going to give it a shot and see how he does with it. Ordered it today actually.

Anyway....lol About 6 months ago the vet did X rays on Riley and flexion tests and found him to be sound and well except for a very SLIGHT 'unsoundess' in his front left when flexxed (rated a 1 out of 5 I think) as well as the start of arthritis in his right hock. He was not lame at all in the hock but just had a little more fluid than normal, but my vet told me the Adequen was probably what was keeping it under control.  Before he had done the tests I had thought I was going to have to retire Riley. I was pretty upset at first but it was ok. He was alive and he was well and it wasn't the end of the world. I had known when I started racing Riley that he wasn't bred nor built for the sport. I didn't realize just how much of a problem we would have but I had always known he had small feet and a huge body and he is pretty post legged.

When the vet deemed him ok to continue racing I was thrilled but apprehensive. Ever since than I have often wondered if it would be better just to retire him from racing and do a lighter, easier, sport or just to keep racing him since we both enjoy it so much. Its something to this day that I often think about. What got me back to thinking was the other day Riley ran extremley well at the show. Less than a second off the fastest time and both runs just felt really good.  I had been talking that night and the following week about it to my coach. We had discussed what I could do to get Riley to clock just a little faster and get us into the 1D. I realized from looking at videos that I am not getting far enough forward between barrels and coming home. I also saw that Riley was slowing down some about midway to third and running home. Those were our two problem areas. I racked my brain for a few days and figured out probably why he wasnt running as hard in those areas. Riley is as honest as the day is long so if something is going wrong it is 99% of the time MY FAULT. Ever since I had started him years ago I would stop him straight in the chute. I didnt circle or anything and I would usually stop pushing him right after I passed the barrels. I didnt think anything of it but I see now it transferred over to the pattern. Riley doesnt like to have to slam on brakes all the sudden so he starts slowing down soon to make the stop gradually. He's not slowing down too much but just enough to make a difference. In barrel racing a fraction of a second can put you in the money or in the crack. I than got to thinking about what I could do to "re wire" his thinking and show him it was OK to run through there and he would still have plenty of time to slow down softly. This in turn lead to thoughts about Rileys soundness. The ultimate question being : Do I work him to change his thinking and push him to get our times down and risk injury? or do I just retired him and move on to a lighter sport and compete May as my main racer? (I dont worry near as much about May. She is half his age (6) and is sound and built to last. She is a hard runner and has a totally different style than Riley. She has the speed, the turns and the attitude, we just have to get out timing together and with time it will all fall into place.) Of course I know I WANT to continue to race him and hopefully improve but nothing is more important than his soundness and sanity.I would feel terrible if we started running better but than something happened to him. I know thathe could injure himself in the pasture or just on a trail ride but still. I was having a hard time deciding when my coach made a valid point when he said, "But Summer you have to think of quality of life too." He is right. Riley loves to compete. We dont practice or exhibition. We just go and run and have fun. He loves it. He goes into the chute and loads up on his hind end, does a mini rear, and launches like he thinks he's in the Kentucky Derby! I have never had issues with him being gate sour or overly anxious. He knows his job and he loves it. I would never race him just because it is what I wanted to do nor would I risk his soundess or sanity for anything but this is what he loves. He is going to be 13 in January(I still cant believe it) but I know many horses who still race well into their twenties. Whether Riley will be one of them I dont know but for now Im relatively sure on what I want to do.

For now I have decided to ride him and work him a little different. Gearing our workouts more towards getting our times faster. I guess I will just finish out this year (there's two more shows) racing and see how he does. If he finishes strong and clocks faster and shows how much he truly loves it, than we will continue down the racing path. If he starts getting frazzled and not handling the extra push than we will call it quits and do something easier. I will leave it up to him to 'decide' what he wants to do. We know eachother well to say the least and I figure as much as I worry and fret, he will let me know when he is ready to retire or if it becomes too much.

Three good turns

As promised here is a recap of the past week and of course the results from Saturdays show. Ill start off by saying Moose is doing very well! The last two times I have ridden him he has been very soft and quiet. He kept his head low and relaxed almost the entire time and is becoming more responsive to cues from my legs. I was going to ride him today but it rained all night and is supposed to rain all day and maybe even into tomorrow. Joy....But either way I'm very proud of him and how he is coming along. He is about where I want him to be as far as his weight goes and is all around just healthy and sound!

Riley has been doing very good as well. At the show Saturday he really tried hard and gave me two solid runs. We warmed up for adult and it was a little hectic. I had to run him and than immediately tack up May and get ready to run her and than in the following class he was in the first five AGAIN. So most of the day I was running around like mad trying to get one horse tacked and warmed up while the other was walked, cooled and had their legs hosed. I finished warming Riley up for our first run and than they ended up starting the class almost forty minutes late. I was getting a little worried because Riley is a really "ratey" horse and all you have to do with him is push him to the barrel and he will sit and turn almost on his own. He hunts a barrel coming into the chute and knows his job well. But he is so laid back that I have to warm him up well to get him fired up and once he is warmed up he is ready to run! He doesn't like getting all ready than having to sit for almost an hour and I don't blame him. I kept him warmed up by doing a few trotting rollbacks and just keeping him forward and focused. The poor boy was so excited he had diarrhea! (I had given him electrolytes in his feed that morning and always mix Gatorade with his water at shows for that reason) When the show finally got going we were 3rd to run in the class. When our name was called I started riding him out of the warm up pen and he was all business. He never gets crazy and he never refuses to go in the chute like you see some horses do. He gets really tense and prances and than about midway through the chute he sits back and launches, sometimes even does a small rear. That first run he sat back and took off and I could feel it was gonna be a good run. He cranked around all three barrels and flew home and as soon as I got home stopped I heard our times announced as a 15.5! I was so excited. I jumped off of him and gave him some peppermints and began walking him out. His fastest time at that arena was a 15.1 that he had run January of last year.  We hadn't practiced in forever and hadn't shown since State Championships in June. By the end of the class we were sitting at the top of the 2D but than a good run towards the end put us in the crack. I didn't care though, I was just glad he had a good, solid, clean run. My second run that day on Riley was even better.  He warmed up good and when our name was called he went out prancing.Halfway into the chute he sat back, reared and launched again, even harder than last time. He got a little ahead of me but I was back where I needed to be before first barrel and we had a good turn. Second and third were good as well and we ended up with a 15.3. The fastest time of the day was a 14.4. Less than a second off of the fastest time. I was so proud of him! The rest of the day while I worked May and helped the kids he got hosed down really good and than just happily munched on hay by the trailer. I think I gave him a peppermint every time I walked by him =D  For the Open class we fell in the crack between 2D and 3D but, again, I was just happy the runs were so good and Riley felt awesome.

May did pretty good as well considering she hasn't been racing near as long as Riley has. She also has a totally different style of running. She runs really hard and really fast and you have to check her up before the turn or she wont slow down. She gives you 110% all the time and is a really competitive mare. Her biggest problem is going to deep into a turn so at home I really emphasize rating and slowing down when we practice. Even when I don't practice I will work on  slowing her down with my seat and voice while just loping circles or trotting along the rail. Luckily, neither of my horses have trouble with hitting barrels *knock on wood* May has never knocked one over, even during practice, and Riley has only knocked over 3 at shows his entire almost 4 years of competing. Also every time he has it has been my fault for cuing him too soon.
 My first run on May my stupid belt buckle got hung on the horn when I was leaning forward heading to first, and so I couldn't sit properly into the turn, and it cost us some time. When I finally get the money together to have my custom saddle ordered I'm getting it hornless. Yes, you read that right, hornless! I don't hold the horn while I race and never have. There have been a very few times I have grabbed it to stay with my horse when they have gotten ahead of me but I prefer to learn my balance and timing and stay with my horse and I think a lot of barrel racers use the horn as a crutch. I also don't like how I always get the horn hung on my bra, belt, jacket, shirt etc and it hurts like hell when you catch your ribcage on it. I AM NOT SAYING that holding the horn is bad or wrong or that I am better because I don't. I see a lot of big time barrel racers who are much better than me who hold it and are very successful. I can also see where it could help some people, if they use it right, to keep their seat but it just isn't my style of riding. I hold both reins coming into a turn and in teach all my green barrel horse how to turn properly by riding with two hands. There is a lot that can happen in a hundredth of a second and every single extra step counts. A lot of times its a fraction of a second that puts you in or out of the money. I was never taught to hold the horn and that is just how I ride. I'm NOT out to conform or judge anyone. Everyone has their own style of riding, just as I have mine.
The rest of the run was OK. She turned second really nice but third she went a little deep coming into the barrel and we ended up running a 16.8. I was still happy with her as she tried hard and we ended up placing in the Adult class in the 3D.  Her second run was MUCH better. I took my belt off before I even ran ha ha. Her third barrel was also much tighter and we ended up running a 16.1 but were in the crack between 3 and 4D. I cooled her out really well and left her to eat hay with Riley while I coached the kids. Everyone ended up having a good time and it was a really good day over all. At the end of this month we have the Turkey Circuit three day race than December 4 we have the last race of the year. Cant wait!

Total exhaustion....

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I have been running around like a chicken with its head cut off! Going on just four hours of sleep just doesn't cut it for me. I will have a good, normal post tomorrow on whats been going on for the past week. For now I will just say the barrel race yesterday went GREAT! Also, Moose is doing well! More details on both coming tomorrow so stick around :)

Cool weather = fuel weather

It has still been crazy busy the last few days. I imagine it will be for the next month or so. I've been riding Riley and May a good bit in preparation for the race next weekend. I'm pretty stoked because it has been a long time since we got to compete. I could have gone to all the shows the last couple of months but I chose not to. Why? Because of the extreme heat. This summer was sooo hot and I was extremely worried about my horses over heating. Barrel racing isn't a light, easy ride. They have to run and run hard. No show is or ever will be worth my horse. Not the NFR and not a local NBHA race. So we chose to just skip them until this month. I went to state in June and than took May to one race in August (that started later in the afternoon) and that was it for the entire summer. Usually we race at least once a month but its OK. This gave me time to get them back in shape. I'm not sure how we will do because we haven't ran in so long but I'm not too worried about it. I practiced May the other day when the footing was nice and she did good. I haven't practiced Riley though but he is more seasoned and I am much more careful with him because of the sliiiight start of arthritis in his right hock. Its so minimal that there are no changes in the hock yet, just a little more fluid surrounding the joint. Still, Id rather be proactive and keep it at bay as long as I can.

Moose has been doing good. I haven't rode him in a couple days because I have been so busy but I plan on riding him this morning. He has gotten really fuzzy and gained a lot of weight which makes me happy. I didn't know whether I would have to blanket him but it doesn't look like it. He seems to be staying nice and warm! I've dropped his feeding to once a day but he has hay in front of him 24\7 so he is holding fine. If he starts to drop any weight I will bump him back to twice.  He has been very quiet and tolerant on the ground and very rarely spooks anymore at anything. Even before when he spooked he would become alert, maybe do a tiny jump and than that was it. He never lost his head or reared back or bolted which is nice. Now he will occasionally snort or look at something but that's about it. When I rode him on Friday he did very good! He was stretching down onto the bit with just the lightest encouragement. It was a much better ride compared to the one I had, had last. When I picked him up to a faster trot this time he remained soft and relaxed instead of becoming tense and throwing his head up. Hopefully today he will follow in that trend and we will have another good ride. He is such a goof ball and I love him to death. Here is a picture of Riley May and Moose standing at the gate. How typical of the three of them. Riley doesn't care, Moose is trying to bother May and May has her ears pinned! haha

Riley has been a little hyper the last few rides as well. Hence my post title, I believe it's the weather that has them all feeling so good. I have been warming him up really good and than just exercising him and working to keep him supple and build him back up before the race.  I also really have to watch him when it gets colder because he will stock up in his back legs. About ten minutes of trotting and its always gone but I still try to keep him exercised and moving to prevent it. He is turned out and can move as much as he wants to but the lazy boy would rather just park his happy butt in front of the hay and eat all day, only moving when he decides to go get a drink from the trough before heading right back to the hay. He hasn't stocked up yes this year even with the low 30's we have had at night but I still always keep a close eye on him.  Hopefully I will get a chance to practice him before the show but I likely wont. I only do when the arena is PERFECT but we ha vent had rain in a while to soften it and settle the dust and it doesn't look like we are getting any before Thurs. I always give him two days off before a race so he is nice and fresh and ready to run. He never gets hard to handle or out of control but just really seems to perform his best when he has had two days to relax and walk out any soreness.



Riley wearing my gloves =P



May on the other hand has been the typical ball of fire. I rode her yesterday and am planning on riding her today as well. I just put the hackamore on her and worked her in the arena. My friend took a few pics with her camera which I will upload at the bottom. She did well other than wanting to launch the entire time. I practiced her on the pattern on last Thursday and she did well but was very fired up. I'm debating on switching her from the Martha Josey shank bit to the hackamore when we run. She did pretty well when I practiced in it the other day but I think I should practice her a few more times with it before I make an ultimate decision. I ride all of my in either an O ring, D or full cheek snaffle except when I race, just for a little more leverage but am very soft with my hands when I use that bit. It doesn't take much to slow 'em down and turn them with it and I want to keep it that way.

On a side note the big Percheron i have been working with is doing GREAT! He is sooo much fun to ride and really is a gentle giant. I have been leading him with a stud chain and most of the pushy-ness on the ground has ceased and in the saddle he is a dream. He is great on the trails and loves but still needs a little work in the arena as he drifts over to the gate every lap and it takes a lot of outside leg and inside rein to keep him in. Still, for as little as he has been ridden I'm thrilled with how he is doing! I will put a few pics of him on here too. I have even ridden him bareback a few times and double with one of my best friends. He is such a cool horse!  

Busy week

As you can see from the title, it has been a busy week here at work! I work at a local riding stables(where I also board of course) teaching beginner lessons and training horses for the facility and for other people. I also take care of a lot of the boarded horses for their owners and have, of course, my own three to tend to. Last Sunday we got a new horse and a new boarder. The new horse was basically a rescue. A VERY skinny little Arabian who I'm happy to say is doing good so far. Ill post before and after pics of him once we get him fattened up :) The new boarder is the Percheron I talked about a few posts ago. The owner had me ride him and than decided to buy him and board him here for me to work with for a month or two. He is right at 18 hands and he is MASSIVE. It's really been fun to work with him though. He is very sweet and even tempered but a little pushy on the ground. He rides pretty well so most of the work I do with him will be on the ground.
Monday and today I rode Moose. He did pretty good on Monday. We have still been doing LOTS of trot work. I just want to be sure he is gonna stay relaxed and on the bit when we finally pick it up to a canter. Not lose his mind and become a hot headed giraffe. Today when I rode him, we had a few "disagreements", and he got a little hot when he saw the Percheron pastured by the arena start parading around and bucking, but over all he did well. The crazy weather being so unpredictable and getting cold and windy has got the horses feeling pretty fresh.  At a walk Moosey was fine and was starting to move off my leg good. At a slow trot he stayed pretty relax and focused but than when we started doing a faster trot, up went his head and he started becoming tense. I slowed him back down, got him relaxed and we tried again. Same result.  So we stayed at a slow trot both ways and did some circles. I made sure my hands were soft and that I was staying loose and relaxed as well. I know that if I'm tense than my hands are tense which makes him defensive. After about 15 minutes we picked up to a faster trot again and this time he stretched down into the bit and stayed relaxed. He became a little stiff once or twice but it was MUCH better. We worked on maintaining that trot both ways and quit. I than spent a good thirty minutes brushing him really well while he ate. He got his second adjustment on Monday. It was just a follow up and everything had held good except for two lumbar which she put back in. This time he stood very still the entire time and thoroughly enjoyed his massage. The only thing is the Blue Lotion used for the massage is hard to get out of his hair the next day and it was a little too chilly to hose him. I finally brushed it all out though. Nothing a little elbow grease couldn't conquer.

 I also rode Riley on Monday and today. Monday he did good. It was much warmer than it was today and neither of us were really in the mood for a long ride but I still needed to exercise him so we just did a variation of slow and long trotting and than some cantering and ended with some transitions to get him a little more forward and using his hind end. Today he was a lot more perked so he we did a lot more trotting with some circles and a few rollbacks thrown in. I also worked on him picking up a canter from a stand still on being on the correct lead. He usually does but every now and than I ask him for his right and he gives me his left. He did good today though.  I am having him adjusted on next Monday. I am doing each one separately because it is a lot easier for me financially. I really do love how it makes them feel though, and sometimes you can really see a difference in the way they move so it's definitely worth the money.

May has also been doing well. Her eye started draining so I had to put her fly mask back on. Sometimes when it gets windy her eyes get irritated and drain but keeping them clean and putting a fly mask on keeps them from bothering her too bad. She been a little quieter under saddle when I have been riding her, now that I have been able to work her more consistently. I rode her yesterday and am planning on working her this afternoon if it doesn't rain. If not than definitely tomorrow. She is starting to get back into shape and lose her huge hay belly which is good. I'm hoping to have them ready by the race on the 13. We will see. I am pretty sure they will be. It was also dewormer time this week. You can see from this pic what May thinks about that =P

Trick or treat! Pick my feet!

Best. Halloween. Ever! Me and one of the little girls (Jo) who I teach at my barn went "trick or trotting" in her neighborhood.  I took Riley of course and she took her saint of a pony\QH mare Summergirl (yes named after me. The little girl is the sweetest youngin' I swear!) and we had a BLAST! We had cool little reflector vests so we were very visible. We didn't get to dress up as anything(it was a last minute plan!) but one of my friends who took her mare 'trick or trotting' painted her like a Zebra! It was sooo cool! She used safe washable hair stuff and did an EXCELLENT job! Next year I hope to do something like that with Riley.
We pulled the horses up and Jo's mom hauled us to her neighborhood and we unloaded and off we went! She saddled SG up, as the mare can  be a little hot sometimes, but I just went bareback.  We cruised over to my granddad's house first and met up with my family and friends. Every ten seconds we had to stop and let some kids (and teens and adults) pet them. It made a lot of kids extra happy so it was totally worth it! Plus it was a lot of fun. The horses did not spook at ANYTHING! Riley eyeballed this one weird sign on a curb but that was it. Nothing, nada! Have I told you how much I LOVE my Riley?! Probably the coolest part of the entire night happened about halfway through our ride. We came across a group of two families with their kids, one of which was a tiny baby girl in a stroller. We walked over to them and the little girl began reaching for Riley. Riley put his head down and at first I became a little nervous. What if he accidentally nipped her or bumped her with his big head or with his headstall or something? She was just SO little. But he didn't. He reached down and she put her head against his muzzle and Riley nuzzled her as gently as he could and let her feel him all over and pull on his nostrils. It was the sweetest, cutest thing I have ever seen in my life. It reminded me of that cute cartoon movie 'Spirit: Stallion of the cimmaron' where Spirit nudges the little kid and lets her pull his nose. The parents of both groups couldn't believe how gentle he was and how he understood how little and fragile the girl was. I couldn't believe it myself at first but than smiled and thought how I shouldn't be surprised at all. Nothing should surprise me when it comes to Riley anymore. He never ceases to amaze me!

After about ten minutes of talking to those people and watching as Riley would gently touch his nose to the baby who would than brush her face and head against his soft fur and muzzle, we finally said bye and they thanked us, and we headed down the road. We went down a few more streets before heading back to Jo's house. At her house we took 2 crappy pictures with my phone under her carport and than loaded the horses up and took them back to the barn to feed them and turn them out. It was definitely a fun time and something I look forward to doing next year! Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!!!

Bittersweet: Tribute to Kiley

Today is a bittersweet day. I want to tell you about how much FUN I had last night with Riley 'trick or treating' through the neighborhoods but first...I will do a little tribute to Kiley. Two years ago today I lost my 4 month old Quarter horse filly, Kiley. I had only had her for 2 months but oh how you can become SO attached in such a short period of time. I had gotten Kiley from a guy who is a total JERK and didn't need horses to begin with. Kiley, her mother and her older sister were in a barb wire fenced in pasture with no feed and only a nasty little pond to drink from. Kiley's older sister who was a long yearling had one leg she was permanently cripple on due to an injury that had gone un treated. From the day Kiley was born I was in love with her. I would go in the pasture and play with her and I would always tell her how someday I would rescue her, "Someday Kiley, you are gonna be mine!" Well that day came soon enough when one day we found Kiley tangled up in the barb wire fence by one of her back legs. She was standing there so calmly but the barbwire was wrapped completely around her tiny leg, a few inches above her fetlock. I called my friend who lived right down the road and we cut her loose. My friend offered her owner $500 for all three horses and thankfully, he accepted. We took them home and my friend gave me Kiley. We called the vet out for her and he treated her and all seemed well...
 She was beautifully built and an amazing mover! I would often watch her canter perfectly in the pasture, stop, do the most beautiful little pivot on her hind end and than spring away! She was naturally athletic. Kiley's wound healed (or so we thought) and all was well until one day a few weeks after the injury I went out to find her with one leg grossly swollen. I instantly iced it and called our vet. He was out of town but told us to ice it and cold water hose and see if it went down. Monday morning, after treating it religiously all weekend, we found it to be worse so we called our vet than loaded her and her mother up and headed to Harrington. There, they took x rays and found that Kiley had a nasty bacteria eating away at her coffin bone. They thought it was clostridium and instantly started treating her aggressively with medicine. I was 17 at the time and spent over a thousand dollars trying to save her and would have done whatever to get ten thousand more if it would have saved her...She stayed at Harrington for a week and we took her back home for a week. That week I spent all day and all night washing her leg and giving her medicine and injections and cleaning her stall. I also had to tend to her mom as she wasn't weaned and wash her poor little tail and hind end as she had bad diarrhea from the medicine. I prayed and prayed and BEGGED God to please save her.  I swore I would do whatever it took, just please save her! But alas on October 31, 2008 her hoof capsule was starting to slough and she was becoming depressed. She had stayed so strong and happy up until now. We took her back to Harrington and with one last ditch effort to save her they took her into surgery to remove the hoof capsule. The outlook was poor but the vet told us if she had healthy viable lamina tissue she could possibly regenerate a new hoof. They said they had seen it happen before. I laid with her in her stall before they took her back and balled my eyes out. I didn't care who say me I just cried and held her and prayed with everything I had but told her good bye just in case. I told her I loved her and how amazing she was and what a fighter and than watched as they carried her away. It was 20 minutes later when the vet came out...shaking his head and told me her coffin bone was 'dead' and they put her down.

I turned away and sat down to keep from throwing up and passing out. I cried more that night and had conflicting thoughts about God...why hadn't he saved her? What had I done wrong? Could I have done more? Sometimes I still wonder... but time heals all wounds. There is still a hole left than could never be filled or replaced. I understand now that everything happens for a reason and I'm just thankful now that she has crossed the rainbow bridge and is galloping sound and beautiful in horsey heaven. She deserves it. If it wasn't for her I would have never found May. There is so much more I could write about her and her story. I could go on for days about how amazing she was and how everyone around her was touched by her good spirits and strength. All I can say now is that I am thankful I had the time with her that I did, and I'm thankful she at least had a few months of great quality life. I love you Kiley and thank you for teaching me what it means to truly to fight with everything you have. R.I.P my baby girl.

With all that being said right now I don't think I could muster the cheer to type. about how awesome last night was so I will save it for later today. For another post.  "Death leaves a heartache that no one can heal...but love leaves a memory that no one can steal." -Anon

Water woes..

When it rains it pours....or well at least here it does! We needed rain sooo bad but it would have been nice if we didn't get is all at one time.  Yesterday morning after all the rain the arena was pretty wet. Luckily it packs down good due to the sand so you can still ride. I stay along the rail though or the upper corners where it is most dry. The middle gets a little slick and creates a suction and I don't think that pulling would be good for tendons, so I avoid any bad areas. I rode Moose first and he did pretty good. He was not thrilled about the puddles in the arena but once he walked through a few of them he got over it. We did a lot more work at the trot. He's doing fairly well but still wanting to throw his head up a little bit. We picked it up to a canter and it became quickly apparent that he wasn't ready so I brought him back down to a trot. He didn't do anything crazy but he became super high headed and tense so we stayed at a trot the rest of the ride. Right now our main focus is for him to r-e-l-a-x and stay soft. After about twenty minutes he was warmed up and riding nice. He really moves good once he starts to relax. I also introduced some circles and started working on getting him "round" in his turns which he did ok with. Once he relaxed and became very responsive we called it a day.   Here is a pic my friend took of me hugging him once I got off: awww he's so sweet!

Today when I rode him he did better in the saddle but did something funny while I was tacking him up. My vet made a funny, but very accurate, observation: "He spooks but he doesn't react". I have often noticed this when I am leading him or saddling him. Every time he spooks he does the tiniest jump and than instantly is over it. He doesn't pull back or lose his head, he does snort for fifteen minutes or rear back and flip over. He just jumps and than its over....Weirdo lol Well today while I was saddling him I girthed him up and than turned around to grab his bridle. Upon turning back around he pulled back just a little and than he laid down. Just as gently and quietly as if he was taking a snooze. I looked at him in disbelief and said, "Moosey! What in the world are you doing?! Get up!" He looked back at me as if it was the most casual thing in the world to lay down while be saddled and than stood up like, "Well, If you insist.." Aaaand that was it! He just stood there like a perfect gentleman. I brushed his belly off and than put his bridle on. I guess whatever he did stretched him real good because he rode great! :-) We warmed up at a walk like always before I started asking him to get on the bit. We also did some work on leg pressure. I picked him up to a trot and he was just as relaxed and quiet as could be. My friend stood in the arena with my phone and took some pics. Here is a few of what she took:

I also rode Riley yesterday for a little while. I didn't do much schooling with him but rather we just played. I tacked him up and we went in the arena and warmed up really good and than did lots of trotting with rollbacks, serpentines, figure eights and lots and lots of circles. We also did a good bit of cantering and we worked on our cantering circles as well. He keeps them nice and round but I have to really use my outside leg to keep his butt from trailing off the circle. After that we just did some extended trotting on a loose rein to loosen him up and stretch him out. Now that the temperatures are dropping I have to make sure I exercise him really regularly or he stocks up. At first I was a little surprised when I saw him stocking up last year because he is turned out all the time and worked regularly but when he's out in the pasture he pretty much parks his happy butt in front of the hay and eats all day with the occasional walk to the water trough and salt block. Not enough movement to keep his circulation going good enough I guess. I could pressure wrap him but with him being out I don't want him pulling the wraps off and messing them up so instead I just keep him exercised good. A better option for both of us.  I also did some stretching on the ground with Riley before I turned him out. Our chiropractor says it's good for him to loosen up his muscles. Here is a pic of him stretching in anticipation for a carrot lol. Such a cutie pie! His legs look wet because I had just cold water hosed them. I always do after a hard work out.

This morning I rode May before I rode Moose. (I know this post is a little "all over the place" I apologize but I'm trying to include their rides from yesterday and today lol) She was HOT! She always gets a little more hyper when the weather changes and it cools down but today was ridiculous! She wasn't acting up but was just tense and full of it! She is a naturally very touchy and temper mental like I have said before so you really have to "negotiate" with her when you ride. You can't just tell her what to do and expect her to do it. Oh no. She's very opinionated and has no problem telling you when she doesn't like something your doing. She has never offered to kick, bite, rear or buck (except when we fiiiirst got her) but she still has other ways of letting you know.  She does this thing where she nods her head sometimes while you are saddling her or riding. Mostly when she is tense, hyper or anxious. She doesn't pull the reins out of my hands or anything like that. Really, she doesn't pull at all. Just very quick, compulsive, slight head bobs and it is so ANNOYING! I hate when she does it but there isn't much I can do other than get her to relax. Sometimes if I hold my reins to where there is a little contact and just keep them there she will bob her head and pop herself and stop but usually you just have to reaaaaally take the edge of off her and get her to relax.  It's so compulsive it has gotten her the nickname "Tourrettes mare". 

I took her in the arena and we started warming up. We were doing ok until I started picking her up to a faster trot. She started pulling on my hands and I tightened up. Wrong answer! Now she was tense and I was tense and neither of us were getting anywhere. Finally I just stopped her and took a deep breath and told myself to relax and loosen up. How is she going to relax if I don't? Well what do you know, our next round of trotting was almost perfect! There was still a little tension but the more I relax the more she relaxes. I just really have to 'breath' with my reins. She does best with  a little contact but not too much. Just enough where we can feel each other and communicate and she's happy.  After a good 45 minutes of just exercising her and getting her to relax I stopped her and walked her out. The difference in the way she rides sometimes is amazing. She can go from being so up tight and tense and coiled to relaxed and like butter in my hands. Silly, touchy, MARE! I love her to death though and everything is always worth it when it comes to my horses.  Horses and humility certainly go hand in hand.May trotting up to me in the pasture. Love her face in this one. She's such a good girl!

I think its the weather....

because May and Riley have both been hot heads the last two days! I pulled Riley up yesterday and gave him a good workout in the arena. From the second I got on I could tell he was hyper. He started walking off while I went to get on and he neeeever does that. Never. So we stopped and I dismounted and told him to stand and re mounted. Problem solved. He had a very active walk while we warmed up and than when we started trotting he had the most springy forward trot ever! It was very nice and had a lot of impulsion which isn't normal for him. He always tries hard but you usually reaaaally have to use a lot of leg to get him truly engaging his hindquarters like he is supposed to. I certainly wouldn't go as far as to say he was collected but he was definitely forward and his transitions were lovely. We did a lot of trotting in circles and figure eights and than in the canter I asked for a few nice stops on his hind end. He always stops good but not always on his butt. A lot of times he will use his hindquarters some in a stop but not be fully engaged. He doesn't slam down on his forehand but Id still like him to use that big ole butt of his more! lol We even did a few really nice cantering rollbacks off the fence so I stopped him there on a good note and walked him out. He was reaaally sweaty. Its been 80 degrees here and HUMID but he is already getting his winter coat in. I hosed him and sweat scraped him and than walked him dry before feeding him. As soon as I turned him out he rolled and rolled and rolled right in the mud...*sigh* Thanks Buddy, love you too! And just for fun here is a pic from almost 2 years ago of me and Riley. It was my high school graduation picture we put on the invitations! lol Back when I still had bangs and was about 30 pounds heavier haha!

I rode May early this morning after feeding everyone. Boy was she a wild woman! Hot headed and temper mental as ever! Like I said it has been humid but also raining a fair amount this week so I have not been able to ride them quite as consistently as Id like. I think that and the weather itself being so unpredictable has had them a little revved up. She was really tense when I got on her so we walked a while until she relaxed some and than started trotting. You really have to warm her up good before you start schooling anything or else she is just hot headed and un cooperative. Her and Riley can be quite opposites sometimes. Riley does great riding about 5 days a week and taking a day or two off and than two always before a race. May on the other hand you have to work her almost every day and than one day off before a show or she gets anxious and really hot. You have to take the edge off of her for her to focus. She is a pretty supple mare and works off her hind end very nice. I don't fool much with her head. She keeps it pretty level, not too high or too low and as I said before just because their head is lowered doesn't mean they are collected or on the bit. Also she is very sensitive in her mouth...well everywhere really! You have to be very soft with your cues or else she is a rocket.  She sometimes reminds me of a coiled spring ready to just launch away at any minute. The nice thing is if you can channel that energy and get her focused than she is quite the machine! A true equine athlete and she loves to work. I do a lot of 'off pattern' work with my horses. Yes, barrel racing is our forte but that doesn't mean that's all we do. I rarely practice a horse after it is patterned for a couple of reasons. First off I don't want one of those horses that you see at a race that stands tied to the trailer the entire time pawing and anxious and all worked up until the person gets on it ten minutes before their run, beats it all the way into the chute and snatches it around the pattern than beats it all the way out and jerks it to stop just to get off and tie the horse back up. Uhmmm no thanks. I refuse to ever let it come to that. My horses are never sour about their job and if they ever decided they didn't want to do it anymore, fine. Its not all about racing for me. Its about my horses. Also I think about their future soundness. Barrel racing is very physically demanding for a horse so even when I do practice I do some slow patterns to reinforce basics and than maybe one or two actual runs. Both Riley and May are on monthly Adequen injections to help protect their joints and all three of my horses get an MSM supp in their feed.  I'm also VERY picky about arena footing and if an arena is crappy, I wont go.

After I walked May out I hosed her down and let her cool out. She's pretty chunky right now but she will slim down and get in shape quickly as the weather gets better and I can ride more. Of course her and Riley being short and stocky are always gonna look 'thicker' and more muscled than Moose who is tall and lean but right now they have prego looking hay bellies! lol Especially May. Can you say EASY keeper?! 
Oh well tonight is supposed to be the last night of rain for the week. I know we need the rain but its sooo frustrating when I want to ride and the arena is a swimming pool!  Hopefully it will dry out a lot tonight so I can ride in it tomorrow morn...Here is a pic of May from today. I know the halter is huuuge on her. Its Moose's. I turned him out and she came up so I just slipped it on her to bring her up. oh and no her right hind tendon isn't swollen or bowed...the picture just made it look funny. Isn't she adorable though? :-)

Today I also went with a friend of mine to look at, and ride, a 6 year old, over 18hh Percheron gelding. Holy CRAP! He was HUGE...and I loved him! The lady has two mares that I worked with for her when she first got them and she wanted me to see how this horse rode before she considered getting him. He was really nice actually. A little bit green and out of practice(he hadnt been ridden in 6 months) but as far as being pretty safe he was a "point and go" trail riding kinda guy! Really a gentle giant and riding him was like...wow. His trot was big but his canter was gi-nor-mous! What a stride and what an incredible,  powerful animal. Here is a pic of me on him. I look like a little kid! I am really looking forward to working with this beasty in the next few weeks.