Almost April

Which is going to be rolling in with a week of wonderfully warm weather! Big Guy's exercise program has been coming along, with a few hits and misses. If he has even the slightest heat in his tendon I scrap riding in favor of groundwork, and if we are stuck riding in the barn he gets cranky, and will even canter indoors (which I know I shouldn't let him do on his own, but I miss going faster!). And on a 100ft straightaway, it can be a bit scary how quickly that opposite door appears!

The first day we got to ride outside, Duke was so wound-up that he bounced the whole time: he was very polite about it and was very very slow (a piaffe at times), but he would not flat walk for more than a step or two. He really wants to get going, and so do I! I'm hoping for the ring to be dried out again this week so that we can go out again - we've had rain and even a night of snow for the past week and right now the ring is a swamp.

Our horse show cart should be ready soon from being refinished (the pony cart is done, and Julie is picking it up tomorrow - no more ugly green!), and I just need to find the tire-pump for the jog cart tires, and we will be all ready to start light jogging and our debut in Pleasure Driving this year!



Oh yeah, before I go: Duke is going to be in the Breed Demo Stall at Equine Affaire April 8-11. If you are going to be attending, come and say hi!

Back in the saddle!

I've had the go-ahead from the Vets to put Duke back to light work a month ago, and we've been doing ground work, but I'd been waiting to ride until the snow was gone. Well, since it looks like the snow is going to melt some time in August at this rate, I bit the bullet and saddled up today to ride up and down our barn aisle.

Duke was wonderful! He didn't do any of the cinch-bound things he has done in the past, and he listened to me perfectly, which after almost 8 months off was something I was a little worried about! I was so proud that he remembered all the things he was supposed to, I only wish he'd forgotten how to nudge me off the mounting block!

Being back up on him made me so happy, and now I'm starting to be a lot less pessimistic about our prospects this upcoming season. Maybe we'll even be in good enough shape to participate in the breed demonstration at Equine Affaire (I've already volunteered him as a breed ambassador for the booth, but it would be nice to be able to strut our stuff too), but it also depends on if the show cart will be back from being re-finished.

And now for some news about the rest of the happy bunch:
Skinny is outside now, where he can walk around at will and eat hay constantly. If that doesn't put weight on him, nothing will! Nut is at another barn for work in an indoor and Boo is down in Kentucky for training, so Belle and Ramora were both lonely. Now they are stabled next to each other, and have a grand time running like mad in the snow. Adam got a haircut today, and his bridle-path and forelock were so long I'm considering sending the hair to Locks of Love to be made into a wig!

One last thing: Toby, the gaited horse, has such fluffy soft hair as a winter coat - he feels like one of those very expensive plush toys!

That's all from Saddlebredland for now!

When will spring get here?

Well, the verdict from the Vets was that Duke can go back to light work, and see how things progress. Small problem: like most of the mid-west and east coast, we had the sky open up on us! We don't have an indoor, and I don't want to try working outside with the amount of snow we still have left. So right now we're hand-walking, doing turn-outs, and generally twiddling thumbs until the snow melts.

I hate February!

We get the verdict tomorrow...

Tomorrow is Duke's ultrasound to determine if he's ready to go back to work after six months off. Wish us luck!

I know it's a day early, but:

Snow and Pictures!

We had snow yesterday, and I let the kids out today - just two at a time in our little front field because I was worried about them slipping an falling because it was pretty slick in spots. Pictures are poor quality because I forgot my camera and had to use my phone, but we are suppossed to get more snow this week and I'm planning on taking more pictures then.

Ramora had never seen snow before! She was so cute: she wouldn't go out without Boo, but once he went out she had fun.



Duke and Skinny were next. Duke likes snow, but I was shocked by Skinny's reaction! He's from Minnesotta, and boy oh boy does he love snow! The first thing he did was roll a few times, and then he started running like I've never seen before. Poor boy wiped out once, but he got right back up and kept going!



Apologies for Duke's dirty blanket - it's his spare while I fix his good one.

Back in the Saddle!

Well, my knee is back to normal, and I've been riding again when the weather permits. Skinny is getting stronger (almost to the point where I feel like I'll be able to start pushing him for motion and such), and Adam and I had a good spin around the ring (he even trotted!).

Duke has been sound, thank goodness, and he's got plates on now to keep him on the right angles. His six months of rest are up in January, so everybody cross your fingers for me that his ultrasound will result in good news!

Ramora is out of quarantine and in the main barn now. She lives at the end of the row next to Boo and across from Skinny, and she's made a friend in Boo. Skinny is still on the fence about her, but he's never too mean to her. Duke likes her, Toby alternates between hating her and treating her like she's one of his Harem, and Nut and Belle are still in the "OMG, what are you?" stages. Everyone else either runs her off or ignores her.

I've been searching for tack for Skinny, since I don't have a hunt saddle. I've got a snaffle bit that lets me have double reins(the English version of this - http://www.statelinetack.com/item/tom-thumb-classic-training-snaffle-bit/SLT732120/ ), but I'm not sure if it's legal-for-show. Fortunately a show bridle is easy enough to get, I just have to decide which brand I want. My problem has been finding used hunt saddles that are flat enough for my tastes that don't cost a lot (thank you Ebay - I almost had one but lost the bid by $2 in the last second of the bidding. Have another I'm eyeing now). I ride in a very flat Barnsby now and I don't like deep seats at all, which is making my search harder.

My quest for hunt saddles have left me feeling very negative about H/J riders abilities to even stay in the saddle if they have to have all these super-deep-seats and padded knee rolls that all-but have velcro on them. And what's up with the blocks on dressage saddles? Maybe I'm old school (a scary thought since I'm only 23), but whatever happened to maintaining proper leg position by actually using your legs?

Ok, ending my mini-rant now... kinda - it's still going on in my head ("world class" dressage riders that can't sit a sitting trot and flop their legs like rag dolls, dressage horses that have their heads dragging the ground like QH's, Eventing riders who look like they're staying in the saddle by sheer luck and jack their horses mouths for no apparent reason...)

ok ok, I'll stop now, I promise!

If there are any CP Hunt people still reading that I haven't mortally offended, any help you could give me would be wonderful!