I'm too stressed out for horses. Lots of little things, but the big thing is I had a little car accident yesterday. The roads were terrible, and I spun out... lost a chunk of my car and, apparently, my front license plate (grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!). So I'm going to have to go through my car insurance to get it fixed, which means my rates will go up (double grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr). And probably I'll have to file a police report, which, wtf? No injury, no other people involved, no property damage, the only thing hurt is my car.
So yeah. Really really sucks, and I'm really really stressed out.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
It's cold and I hurt.
We're in the midst of a cold snap. It was 4 degrees this morning. Yesterday I did morning chores and horses stayed in... I had to be careful to not touch the stall door latches with my bare hands when I was filling buckets because my hands were damp and they'd freeze to the metal. Blah.
Took my car in for oil change and service today... going to cost like $200. So that's great, coming in the same week as my board payment AND my farrier visit.
And to top things off, I haven't had a decent night's sleep in 6 nights. Thinking a pinched nerve? Result being that I wake up constantly with my shoulders aching, my funny bones feeling like they've been knocked into something, and my fingers being numb/tingly/painful. So I wake up, move around, try to get feeling back in my hands so they stop hurting and try to find a position that relieves the discomfort. If I'm lucky, I get about 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep before the pain and tossing and turning starts. It doesn't go away during the day, it's just a bit less painful. I spend half the day wishing someone would just cut my arms off to make it go away.
Oh, and Saturday night I was trimming a horse's feet and he slammed into me, bending my bad (previously broken) ankle in a direction it's not capable of bending.
It's been a rough week.
Took my car in for oil change and service today... going to cost like $200. So that's great, coming in the same week as my board payment AND my farrier visit.
And to top things off, I haven't had a decent night's sleep in 6 nights. Thinking a pinched nerve? Result being that I wake up constantly with my shoulders aching, my funny bones feeling like they've been knocked into something, and my fingers being numb/tingly/painful. So I wake up, move around, try to get feeling back in my hands so they stop hurting and try to find a position that relieves the discomfort. If I'm lucky, I get about 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep before the pain and tossing and turning starts. It doesn't go away during the day, it's just a bit less painful. I spend half the day wishing someone would just cut my arms off to make it go away.
Oh, and Saturday night I was trimming a horse's feet and he slammed into me, bending my bad (previously broken) ankle in a direction it's not capable of bending.
It's been a rough week.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Idiot horse.
So yesterday I get a text at work from the new BO (barn was just sold yesterday! But no worries, nothing is changing) that the girl doing PM chores wasn't comfortable bringing Riv in because he was apparently being an idiot. She asked if I could bring him in. Sure, but it'll be a while because I was still at work. No problem.
I get out of work, drive 2/3 of the way home, bring in Riv (who behaved perfectly--maybe getting left out taught him a lesson) and The Mare, drive allllll the way back out to finish body clipping a horse, and drive alllll the way back home. Pain in the butt horse added 40 minutes of driving to my day.
Also, I just noticed something.... River's mother's name is Princess Harriet! So he comes by the nickname Princess honestly!
I get out of work, drive 2/3 of the way home, bring in Riv (who behaved perfectly--maybe getting left out taught him a lesson) and The Mare, drive allllll the way back out to finish body clipping a horse, and drive alllll the way back home. Pain in the butt horse added 40 minutes of driving to my day.
Also, I just noticed something.... River's mother's name is Princess Harriet! So he comes by the nickname Princess honestly!
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Good boy!
Friend came out to ride River last night. He was a very very good boy!
(George Morris would probably disapprove of the rolled out groundline, but Princess is still quite green and he needs it. When we've jumped him without it, he can't figure out where he's supposed to take off. He'll be weaned off it eventually, but for now I think it's more important for him to have positive experiences to get his confidence up before we take off the training wheels. And anyway, I think my beloved GM would be too busy fainting over his hanging knee to care about the groundline. Again, I'm not worried about it. He's green, he's learning, and when I've free jumped over higher fences, he really picks up his knees. Inexperienced as he is, he knows a less-than-2' fence does not require much effort.)
And we had a big first!
First time cantering a jump!
He is such a good boy! I've said it before and I'll say it again, I hit the jackpot with this horse. Getting a horse off the track based on a few pictures, a few minute meeting, and a dozen steps of trot can easily go very bad... I got a horse who's a nice mover, smart, willing, honest, sweet, and a lot of fun.
(George Morris would probably disapprove of the rolled out groundline, but Princess is still quite green and he needs it. When we've jumped him without it, he can't figure out where he's supposed to take off. He'll be weaned off it eventually, but for now I think it's more important for him to have positive experiences to get his confidence up before we take off the training wheels. And anyway, I think my beloved GM would be too busy fainting over his hanging knee to care about the groundline. Again, I'm not worried about it. He's green, he's learning, and when I've free jumped over higher fences, he really picks up his knees. Inexperienced as he is, he knows a less-than-2' fence does not require much effort.)
And we had a big first!
He is such a good boy! I've said it before and I'll say it again, I hit the jackpot with this horse. Getting a horse off the track based on a few pictures, a few minute meeting, and a dozen steps of trot can easily go very bad... I got a horse who's a nice mover, smart, willing, honest, sweet, and a lot of fun.
Friday, January 11, 2013
There goes my resolution...
So much for riding 4 times a week.. One ride, one long lining session, and that's it for the week. I'm starting a cold and don't want to push it.. I have too much to do to let myself get really sick.
Here's a pic of Riv from Tuesday. Not gross!
Here's a pic of Riv from Tuesday. Not gross!
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Couple rides
Rode Riv on Friday... he was pretty good. It was pretty windy, but it didn't bother him. The Mare was actually more distracted... the sliding door at the far end of the arena blew and banged as we were trotting by and she spooked and stared distrustfully at it for the rest of the ride. Which lasted about 5 minutes because what's the point in riding a totally distracted mare?
Horses had Saturday off (because I forgot I had a dinner to go to), Sunday off (because I work like 14 hours, and I spent 2 hours waiting for/seeing the vet who was called out for a horse I used to ride a lot), and Monday off (because I worked for 8+ hours, cleaned 9 stalls, fed dinner, and trimmed a jerk horse's feet).
So I rode Tuesday... after half an hour of morning chores, 9 hours at work, cleaning my old guy's stall, and trimming two horses.
Princess was pretty good yesterday. He's getting snotty about the whip, so I have to be careful. But he was giving and reaching to contact pretty well after a while. And not too long after that, he started getting sloppy, so I think he was just getting tired. We started with walking leg yields and turns on the forehand and shoulder fore. Shoulder fore wasn't great, but he was trying to figure out what I wanted, so that's all I can ask for.
Mare was funny... When I ride, I lead her up to the mounting block and get on without touching the reins. She walks off as I'm settling, and I just let her go, leaving the reins on her neck while I futz around on my iPhone. So she walks to the end of the ring, tracks right for a couple laps, turns up the centerline at A, and then at C she tracks left. I was so tempted to just sit there and see if she'd starting taking up contact on her own, too.
I have to ride 3 more times this week and 4 days to do it.
Horses had Saturday off (because I forgot I had a dinner to go to), Sunday off (because I work like 14 hours, and I spent 2 hours waiting for/seeing the vet who was called out for a horse I used to ride a lot), and Monday off (because I worked for 8+ hours, cleaned 9 stalls, fed dinner, and trimmed a jerk horse's feet).
So I rode Tuesday... after half an hour of morning chores, 9 hours at work, cleaning my old guy's stall, and trimming two horses.
Princess was pretty good yesterday. He's getting snotty about the whip, so I have to be careful. But he was giving and reaching to contact pretty well after a while. And not too long after that, he started getting sloppy, so I think he was just getting tired. We started with walking leg yields and turns on the forehand and shoulder fore. Shoulder fore wasn't great, but he was trying to figure out what I wanted, so that's all I can ask for.
Mare was funny... When I ride, I lead her up to the mounting block and get on without touching the reins. She walks off as I'm settling, and I just let her go, leaving the reins on her neck while I futz around on my iPhone. So she walks to the end of the ring, tracks right for a couple laps, turns up the centerline at A, and then at C she tracks left. I was so tempted to just sit there and see if she'd starting taking up contact on her own, too.
I have to ride 3 more times this week and 4 days to do it.
Friday, January 4, 2013
Stuff
1. My dog is doing pretty well. I don't want to say anything more out of fear of jinxing him.
2. My new year's resolution: ride each of my horses at least 4 times a week ("each" includes Princess and The Mare, not my old guy). I rode them both Tuesday and Wednesday. Friend (the one who rode him the very first time) rode Princess on Tuesday. This will be our tradition: she rides him once a year on New Year's Day. More on this later. I need to ride today and tomorrow. Although I might allow myself 3 rides this week because it's only a 5 day week.
3. River has been a very bad boy. Like, seriously bad. He's-in-trouble bad. If-he-doesn't-shape-up-he's-going-to-need-a-new-place-to-live bad. He's being very bad coming in at night. Last week he was rearing and striking out at the person leading him. Color me totally shocked. I know he can be a little dumb sometimes, but that behavior is totally unacceptable. So he's starting on SmartCalm Ultra probably tonight and I've talked to a couple of the barn people about him. He's been better this week *knock on wood*.
2. My new year's resolution: ride each of my horses at least 4 times a week ("each" includes Princess and The Mare, not my old guy). I rode them both Tuesday and Wednesday. Friend (the one who rode him the very first time) rode Princess on Tuesday. This will be our tradition: she rides him once a year on New Year's Day. More on this later. I need to ride today and tomorrow. Although I might allow myself 3 rides this week because it's only a 5 day week.
3. River has been a very bad boy. Like, seriously bad. He's-in-trouble bad. If-he-doesn't-shape-up-he's-going-to-need-a-new-place-to-live bad. He's being very bad coming in at night. Last week he was rearing and striking out at the person leading him. Color me totally shocked. I know he can be a little dumb sometimes, but that behavior is totally unacceptable. So he's starting on SmartCalm Ultra probably tonight and I've talked to a couple of the barn people about him. He's been better this week *knock on wood*.
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