We all come to a crossroads of sorts in life, at one time or another. Do I do this or keep doing that? Do I go straight or turn? Take the path less traveled or the road well worn? I am at one of those points in my horse life now.
I have been ground driving and doing long line work with my TB mare and she would make a very elegant driving horse. She is fun to ride as well, but I enjoy driving so much more. I have been focusing on riding her, mostly because I have the tack and can do it. Driving would require finding and buying a cart to fit her and a harness of her very own. Cha-CHING! Add in the fact that I'm not even sure she Wants to be a driving horse and then it gets fun.
Another thing taking on this adventure would mean is this- Katman would be on the back burner. I simply don't have the time to drive 2 horses. A side note in his story is that the girls want to begin riding him. For the most part, he's not really broke to ride. Sure I've hopped on him a few times, my nieces led each other around on him a few times (I wasn't there and my sister as expected, caught hell for it!), but he is far from trained to be a riding horse.
So here's where I'm at with both horses-
MAM the TB mare
-The harness I have is a piece of crap. It is a cheapo nylon harness that marginally fits, but nowhere near like it should. She would need a new harness. Synthetics are around $200, Leather is just under $400 from Amber Hillside where I bought the one for Kat.
-Carts are all over the board. Frontier stopped making theirs from what I understand and they were around $400 for a decent starter cart. Frey Carriage Works has a Sprinter for around $2100 with no frills. There are also a few for sale online, some in the driving club newsletter and again the prices are across the board from $700-$1000. I also have a cob sized cart I am hoping to sell to help fund this effort, but then again I can have modifications made to it for minimal costs and make it work meanwhile.
-Do I throw all of this money into it and find out she's not a driving horse? Whatever I buy, it need to fit her properly so that the learning process isn't a painful or uncomfortable one.
Kat-
-He has become a point and shoot pony. He can sit for a while and I can pull him out, harness up and put to the cart and go. I keep him in shape and ready for action, so no worries there. Our dressage scores may reflect the lack of work in between, but they aren't anything to sneeze at either. He's doing well and we could possibly move up to Intermediate before long with a bit more work.
-If the girls start riding him, he will need a saddle and tack to go with it, they will need boots and helmets of course and our time will be spent bringing them along as riders, him along under saddle and then of course there will be shows to go to, probably the same weekends as driving events... and more stuff to buy (clothes) for in the ring.
-They will soon outgrow him (their height) as a mount and likely need something to move up to, IF they want to continue riding. He will be a leadline only pony for a while until a) they prove to be able to handle him and b) he proves to take care of them when they're on him. Once they outgrow him for riding he will go back to being a driving pony. I don't know if they can ever handle him while driving, especially in cones, but we'll see how it goes with riding first.
So there it is. A lot to think about and kick around in my mind for a while. There's also another major factor in play here that is always in the back of my mind, where the horses will have to take a back seat in everything. The girls are priority, way before them.
I put the shit-tastic harness on the mare the other night and got it adjusted as best I could for her, for now. She did really well (YAY!!!) and then it rained, the footing is crap (slicker than snot) and she has an abscess in the left hind. She will be getting some time off until that is remedied.
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Monday, November 24, 2014
Happy Thanksgiving!
The holidays bring plenty of us enough stress in life, getting everything done, making sure we have all our plans in place, we picked up everything we needed for the big meal, gotten everything about as organized as we can get it and know when and where we are supposed to be, what time we need to leave to get there and on and on....
But what are we truly thankful for?
Here's a few things I'm thankful for this year.
While tomorrow will be 5 years ago that I lost my big mare Tess, I am thankful that I had the time with her that I did. I learned from her how to trust my horse. She knew her job, I had to trust her enough to let her do it. When I let her, she was more than willing to pack me around and pop over whatever fences or mounds of dirt were in front of us. Sometimes that was followed with a buck or two out of sheer excitement on her part. Was I happy about or enjoy those bucks or crow hopping? Not really, but they only lasted the first jump or two and she would settle down to business. She was happy though and yes, I was happy about that as long as I didn't come off. Mostly because it was a long way down.
I am also thankful for all of the horses I have had in the past. While losing Pi, Dooley, and Mo was not easy at the time each of them passed, I am thankful for all of the years we had together. Mo taught me a lot of things about life and how to listen when your horse literally speaks to you. Pi taught me that promises are not to be broken, even when they break your heart. Dooley taught me the size of the heart in a horse has nothing to do with the actual size of the animal it comes in. All of the horses I have handled, ridden or shown in the past, each brought their own lessons I needed to learn and for them I am thankful.
Wednesday will be a year since another big change has occurred in the life of my family. I'm not going into details, but the peace it has brought us is something to be truly thankful for. Soon it will all be put to bed and done with and everyone involved can move on in life.
Thursday will be 5 years ago that I brought the Warmblood mare home and have made a friend in her previous owner. While the original plan was to get her going under saddle and her to be my dressage horse, it has been an up and down, off and on, all over the place. I have learned a lot from this mare too, probably one of the biggest things being her namesake, Patience. While the name does not really fit her personality, in a way it does because she will definitely teach you patience. Just when you thought you had it, she will remind you that you might need a little more. lol Everything I have done with her has been on my own for the most part. The one person I thought I could depend on, was no help at all.
I'm thankful for my pony Katman and all of the crap he has endured with me. While he has been fun to train and show, just over the weekend at the last ADT's I had an epiphany of what I need to change and how much he has really put up with and covered my ass on in competition. I will be going into that more on the other blog about training him, but for right now, he has surpassed the status of a saint. He may not have any idea about becoming a riding horse, but we'll get there and I'm pretty sure he will step up and do the job, taking care of his riders without a problem. He just rocks like that!
Most importantly I am thankful for my girls. The oldest will be turning 21 this year and the twins just turned 6. They are each awesome in their own ways and make me smile often. Yesterday we all went for a bike ride to the park and it was a lot of fun. Everyone enjoyed themselves and we really had a good time.
I'm also thankful for my friends and the other blog writers out there for sharing part of their lives with us. You each post about your own trials and errors in horse ownership and what you've accomplished, figured out and how far you and your horses have come. Some of you have taught me things from a distance, just by reading your posts and although we've never met, I'm forever grateful.
So there' my list of just a few of the things I will be giving Thanks for on Thursday. How about you?
But what are we truly thankful for?
Here's a few things I'm thankful for this year.
While tomorrow will be 5 years ago that I lost my big mare Tess, I am thankful that I had the time with her that I did. I learned from her how to trust my horse. She knew her job, I had to trust her enough to let her do it. When I let her, she was more than willing to pack me around and pop over whatever fences or mounds of dirt were in front of us. Sometimes that was followed with a buck or two out of sheer excitement on her part. Was I happy about or enjoy those bucks or crow hopping? Not really, but they only lasted the first jump or two and she would settle down to business. She was happy though and yes, I was happy about that as long as I didn't come off. Mostly because it was a long way down.
I am also thankful for all of the horses I have had in the past. While losing Pi, Dooley, and Mo was not easy at the time each of them passed, I am thankful for all of the years we had together. Mo taught me a lot of things about life and how to listen when your horse literally speaks to you. Pi taught me that promises are not to be broken, even when they break your heart. Dooley taught me the size of the heart in a horse has nothing to do with the actual size of the animal it comes in. All of the horses I have handled, ridden or shown in the past, each brought their own lessons I needed to learn and for them I am thankful.
Wednesday will be a year since another big change has occurred in the life of my family. I'm not going into details, but the peace it has brought us is something to be truly thankful for. Soon it will all be put to bed and done with and everyone involved can move on in life.
Thursday will be 5 years ago that I brought the Warmblood mare home and have made a friend in her previous owner. While the original plan was to get her going under saddle and her to be my dressage horse, it has been an up and down, off and on, all over the place. I have learned a lot from this mare too, probably one of the biggest things being her namesake, Patience. While the name does not really fit her personality, in a way it does because she will definitely teach you patience. Just when you thought you had it, she will remind you that you might need a little more. lol Everything I have done with her has been on my own for the most part. The one person I thought I could depend on, was no help at all.
I'm thankful for my pony Katman and all of the crap he has endured with me. While he has been fun to train and show, just over the weekend at the last ADT's I had an epiphany of what I need to change and how much he has really put up with and covered my ass on in competition. I will be going into that more on the other blog about training him, but for right now, he has surpassed the status of a saint. He may not have any idea about becoming a riding horse, but we'll get there and I'm pretty sure he will step up and do the job, taking care of his riders without a problem. He just rocks like that!
Most importantly I am thankful for my girls. The oldest will be turning 21 this year and the twins just turned 6. They are each awesome in their own ways and make me smile often. Yesterday we all went for a bike ride to the park and it was a lot of fun. Everyone enjoyed themselves and we really had a good time.
I'm also thankful for my friends and the other blog writers out there for sharing part of their lives with us. You each post about your own trials and errors in horse ownership and what you've accomplished, figured out and how far you and your horses have come. Some of you have taught me things from a distance, just by reading your posts and although we've never met, I'm forever grateful.
So there' my list of just a few of the things I will be giving Thanks for on Thursday. How about you?
Monday, October 27, 2014
Good news and bad news
Bad news first- I have tried many ways on many days to get the pic's to load in a way that everyone can see them. It doesn't seem like blogger wants to cooperate. I have tried uploading them, copy and pasting them from email and just about every other thing I can think of and it's not happening. Blogger shows them being saved in the folder on this blog, but getting them to show up? Doesn't seem to work. If I have my email open and the blog open at the same time? Waa-laa. I have pic's in the post, pic's in the preview and as soon as I close one or the other- POOF! *sigh*
In the good news- My WB mare is doing wonderfully. Even when working her loose, she is striding out, overstepping at the walk and when we are done- her butt is sweaty, just like everything else. Remember, the muscles that work are the ones that will sweat. So she's still making progress on her own, even without me up there. She is also rolling into a canter now instead of popping her front end up and leaping into it. She has learned to relax and ease into it, maintaining a comfortable gait, rather than charging forward with the boldness of a bull in a china shop. One of these days we will get there and try it under saddle. I'm betting it will be an adventure for both of us.
Another thing I noticed though is that her right hind doesn't come as far up under her as the left hind does. They should be moving equal or close to it, yet no matter which direction she travels, there's a bit of a shortness in her stride on that side. I have worked on her using some of the bodywork techniques I know of and she does have a few knots in her backend and it is part of the issue. I know my neck, shoulders, back and glutes have been knotted up for some time and when I finally found someone who could actually get everything to release- AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.... It's amazing not having to deal with the tenseness, stiffness and pain on a daily basis. I am going to have to call in someone I know and have her work on my mare to bring her some relief as well.
In the good news- My WB mare is doing wonderfully. Even when working her loose, she is striding out, overstepping at the walk and when we are done- her butt is sweaty, just like everything else. Remember, the muscles that work are the ones that will sweat. So she's still making progress on her own, even without me up there. She is also rolling into a canter now instead of popping her front end up and leaping into it. She has learned to relax and ease into it, maintaining a comfortable gait, rather than charging forward with the boldness of a bull in a china shop. One of these days we will get there and try it under saddle. I'm betting it will be an adventure for both of us.
Another thing I noticed though is that her right hind doesn't come as far up under her as the left hind does. They should be moving equal or close to it, yet no matter which direction she travels, there's a bit of a shortness in her stride on that side. I have worked on her using some of the bodywork techniques I know of and she does have a few knots in her backend and it is part of the issue. I know my neck, shoulders, back and glutes have been knotted up for some time and when I finally found someone who could actually get everything to release- AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.... It's amazing not having to deal with the tenseness, stiffness and pain on a daily basis. I am going to have to call in someone I know and have her work on my mare to bring her some relief as well.
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