I figured I would take the time now to introduce my other "kids" who will be gracing the pages of this blog. I will start off with Beyond Colorado. The others I will put together on one post but Riley(as I call him), having the longest story and being the horse I have owned the longest, will get his own. He is my 12 year old palomino QH gelding. He is also my main barrel horse and my deepest heart. I have had him for about the last 5 years. He used to be my mom's horse but she never rode him much and he was still pretty green when I got my hands on him. He was fat and had been basically a pasture pet the last couple years. She had bought him when he was 18 months old and had him broke. She trail rode him but that was it.
Riley when he was 3...
State Championships 2010
When I turned 14 I got an Arabian named Khemo. He was my first horse and I loved him to pieces! He was injured badly when we took a fall cantering up a hill and he stumbled. I had wanted to learn to barrel race but the vet told me shortly after Khemo's injury that he would not be ride able for 3 months, maybe longer, and would no longer be suitable for barrel racing. At the time, being 14, I couldn't afford another horse and neither could my mom. So she was kind enough to pretty much give me Riley. To be honest I wasn't thrilled at first but after riding him for a few weeks I became rapidly attached to him and he defied all odds and became quite the barrel horse despite his halter and pleasure horse bloodlines. We have come a long way in the last 5 years. When I first started riding him he was very heavy on his forehand and braced against the bit. I went slow and worked with him and now I look back and think how he has taught me as much as I taught him....maybe more. We qualified the last 3 years for NBHA Youth World and went to State Championships this year. It has been a very rocky road with him, especially with his soundness. He is pretty flat footed and is very post legged which made it difficult for him to engage his hindquarters and also predisposed him for soundness problems. Barrel racing is a pretty intense sport. I took every precaution and put him on a good joint supplement (Corta flex) and always warmed him up good and cooled him down good as well. I made sure he had his SMB boots on whenever he did intense work and I always increased his work load gradually. Still we struggled the first year with stone bruises. At the time I chose to keep him barefoot and have an EXCELLENT barefoot farrier. That winter he had a minor tendon tear. At the time I didn't know it was minor and I didn't know if he would be able to return to competing. After 3 months of rest and wrapping the vet did a follow up and an ultra sound of his tendon and found it totally healed. We were back in business! I built him up slow and he competed well for about 6 months before the most devastating injury of all. I went out to get him one morning and found he just looked....off. I knew him so well and the way he moved that I could just tell something wasn't right. I brought him up and trotted him and sure enough he was lame on his front left. I called the vet who checked him over and did all kinds of tests and diagnosed him with Navicular. At the time I had no idea what that was but knew it was bad and the vet said chances were his barrel racing career was over. He told me he wasn't positive but the outlook was bleak. I started him on Isoxuprine (18 pills twice a day!) bute and of course, pasture rest. A few weeks later. He was sound! Before he was even done with the bottle of pills. I finished the pills and waited another week to make sure and he stayed sound so once again, with the vets approval, we started back slow. That year was the best that me and Riley ever did. His times dropped drastically (low 15's) and we were placing 1D in our class at almost every show. I was so proud of him! One other time Riley has had a 'flare up' that my vet said was possibly due to the Navicular. I had him shod with aluminum shoes all the way around and that seemed to help. He started off in wedge shoes but now is just in regular shoes. Currently me and Riley still show about once a month but his show schedule isn't near as demanding. He is on Adequen injections to help with his joints along with an MSM supplement and is trimmed and shod every 4 weeks. I also have him adjusted regularly by our chiropractor.Riley also does tricks. All those times when he couldn't ride we would go in the barn and just 'play'. I taught him to bow, to pick stuff up, to shake his head yes and no and to 'give me a kiss'. In the saddle he rears on cue(always completely controlled and we don't do it often. Also the cue has nothing to do with pulling back on the reins!) and what looks like his own version of the spanish walk. Its like what the super race horse Zenyatta does except usually with only one leg lol. As Ive said before Riley is also the horse I can ride bridless bareback. Sometimes I have a rope around his neck, sometimes I don't. We have complete trust in each other and have worked together daily for many years. It is not something I accomplished in a few weeks or even months. It is the deepest understanding of each other and people around my barn often joked that if I spent any more time with him, I would 'take root' in his back.
Playing after a bridless bareback ride
Riley 'taking a bow'
Playing after a bridless bareback ride
So those are all the things I have taught Riley but what he has taught me is even greater. He has taught me that despite not having perfect conformation or bloodlines he wins with his heart. He is extremely fast and tries harder for me than any horse I have ever ridden. He is my "all around" guy and besides barrel racing we enjoy trail riding and even have done state trail competitions in which the last 2 years we have taken second in our age group! I gave him my hopes and dreams and he gave me his heart and soul....together we can do anything! Turning second at a race in 2009
Jumping for fun bridless bareback with the neck rope
Cantering in the arena completely bridless bareback
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