What I've Bought: #1 Half Chaps!

For the longest time I've been wanting to purchase a pair of half chaps. I did buy a pair a long time ago off online but the sizing was all wrong and I got quite discouraged from buying online. I would buy from my local tack store but they literally double and triple prices there, it is insane!

So, after looking for a few days and reading reviews I found this pair. I see a lot of people wear them and the size you buy looks very adjustable, which is great because I have a weird calf to fit. The chaps I am getting are by Perri's Leather and you can find them [here], great price and I can't wait to start using them!

This summer is going to be really busy and I'm going to need to keep my legs protected with all the trail riding I'm going to do. So exciting, hope everyone has some fun summer plans coming up!

The New Horse Feeder, Me!

Around a week ago I got a message on Facebook from my barn manager, we'll call her KT. She said if that I was looking for some work around the barn that they needed someone to feed all the horses on the weekends. I stared at the message for a moment in amazement, I was thrilled! I had been looking (not vigorously but still looking) for some work that would fit my schedule, mainly something that was part-time and was pretty flexible. My ferret Wolfie suffers from pancreatic cancer (Insulinoma) and has to be fed and medicated three times a day, so, I needed a job that I could work around that. Then KT asks me about feeding the horses and it sounded perfect. Also, I've always wanted to have the feeling of running a barn, although it is just feeding horses it still has that feeling. I'm excited and I think it will be a great experience.

I'm much happier at this barn than I was at the last, KT and I have a much better relationship too, friendly yet professional. It was definitely a good decision to move here.

KT started training me a few days ago and I think I almost have the hang of it. J, another awesome person who I'll be working with also thinks I'll only need a few more times and then I'll be able do it on my own, so excited! The job isn't really that hard, just a lot of remembering which hay goes where. What I also like about this job is that it will help with Ava and I's bond. Instead of just training and riding her, I will be part-time feeding her too. I'll be going out there again on Friday to have another training session, hopefully it goes well.

I'll Remember it for the Rest of my Life

I know it has been a little while before I posted but I was holding off just so I could post this. Over the weekend I went out of town with my mom and my aunt to go to my first horse expo. But that isn't the exciting part of it (okay, well, yes, it is an exciting thing!) The highlight of it was that... I MET CHRIS COX*!!! Yes, it is true, I met my horse training idol! I wanted to keep it a surprise for everyone, so, I hope you're all surprised!

I was gone for the whole last weekend and will remember it for the rest of my life. When we arrived at the expo area my stomach already started to churn, I saw his huge trailer parked out front and thought "oh my gosh, he is actually here!" We all went inside, received our bands and started looking around. The place was huge, so huge that it took us a few minutes to actually find the main arena (where Chris was performing) and his booth. When we got on the right path we first saw the arena where all the performances were going to be, we stopped and observed. I gazed around at the huge place when my eyes suddenly glanced to my right, I took it in for a moment but then looked at a group of people chatting with one another (for odd some reason) and suddenly realized one of those people were him, Chris Cox! My feet became frozen, my stomach started buzzing, and my hands started becoming clammy. My mom inched me along towards him (me being scared out of my freaking mind) and when we got there we waited until he had a minute. Finally when people stopped talking to him he turned to us and my mom introduced us, I shook his hand but then all of a sudden I started crying gave him a hug (he gives great hugs by the way) and then he said "let's get a picture" and barely being to say anything I said "yes" then afterwards my mom talked to him a little bit because at that moment I had a talking problem. He was such a nice person (much nicer than you would expect) and 100% deserves all of his fame.

After that emotional yet exciting moment we watched his demonstrations which were incredible, he even started a three year old filly in an hour and a half, with a halter, leadrope, saddle, and pad. If you haven't seen him in Road to the Horse or his TV show I highly recommend it, he is very talented. I really hope he comes back again.

I also bought one of his halters, I love it! I used it on Ava yesterday and it is really nice, much better than my cheapy old one.

Now that you have read all of that you can now look at some photos I took.

*If you don't know who Chris Cox is, check out his site [here].

Trail Safety: Wild Animals, Oh My!

I found this article a while ago about how to deal with wild animal encounters on the trail. Although for those of you who don't live in a mountainous or "wild country" area I don't know if this will help too much, but it may be good to know if you decide to travel somewhere like that, never know!

Anyways, every time I take Ava on a walk or just a short ride on the outskirts of the stables it still creeps me out that we could encounter something, yep, I'm a pretty paranoid person! But I guess it is better to be cautious than not (depending on the situation of course!) Surprisingly we haven't crossed paths with any wild animals but if we keep our trail riding up it will definitely increase our chances. Do you know of any one (or yourself!) that has had an experience(s) with a wild animal(s)? What happened? I'd love to know!

Now to get back to the article.

Here is a little taste of what to expect,

When it comes to successfully handling wildlife encounters in the wilderness, Colorado Division of Wildlife Game Warden Ron Zaccagnini
(who also owns horses) has 30 years of experience.

Ron sent me a nice email after I wrote about my fear of mountain lions and I immediately seized the opportunity and asked him to give us folks who trail ride in the wilderness some valuable tips

Read the rest of the article [here], you won't be disappointed, it also short and sweet, nothing that drones on forever.

Up to Date: On Shots!

Today was the day Ava had her first set of annual shots. I usually dread having to give her vaccinations because she shakes her head and neck a lot when the needle is in, which then of course makes it very sore even a week after... Annoying right? But, things looked up when I saw this video on YouTube (click here to watch) about different techniques you can use. This was great news because the way I was taught in the beginning was horrible - hold the needle in your hand, tap on the horses' neck with the back of your hand a few times then stab! After a while I couldn't get myself to "stab" Ava anymore and actually had to ask my brother to do it.

So, I tried this new technique where you pinch the skin and then insert the needle subcutaneously (under the skin) and... it was amazing! I also had no problem inserting the needle either which was great too. At first when I started desensitizing her to it Ava was like "oh gosh Mom's going to stab me, nooo!" but when I actually did it she was like "oh, okay, that wasn't so bad" and of course when I was done she got so many hugs and kisses, even treats for standing and being a good girl.

Very proud of my little mare, surprised too! Finally vaccinating won't be a hassle anymore.

De-worming my Naughty Horse

Hey guys! I just finished my 20 minute speech on Monday! It went well and I am so glad that it is over, the stress and the anxiety while working on it were taking a toll on me. But all is well now and I have much more free time to do what I want and just in time too, the weather is becoming so nice!

Also, being so busy with that speech I hadn't been down to see Ava in over a week! But finally I did, although the only thing I did was de-worm her. I've had to delay it for a while and now it had to be done. I felt bad afterwards because she did not look amused with me when I was finished. But I did spoil her with some grain - which she usually doesn't get often and hopefully it made her feel better.

Ava is not very easy to worm. I don't blame her though, I've smelled wormers before (yes, I'm that weird) and they smell horrid. But it has to be done one way or another. For the first few years of owning Ava I would get little bunches of grass, squirt a bit of wormer into it and let her eat it, which worked fine until it turned to winter which was much harder... So, for a while I had difficulty worming her. But, one lovely day I was browsing around YouTube and came across this video that Clinton Anderson made and after watching it I decided to try it on Ava, thinking what the heck, it can't make her worse. It solved everything! I finally found out how to successfully give Ava her wormer. Even though she will still be a stinker in the beginning, if I just stick to Clinton's little method he showed me she will be so much better about it and get her whole dose. That has been the only thing that has worked for Ava and I using Clinton's method's. It made me happy.

Be Back Soon!

Hey Everyone,
Just want to let you know that I have not left you all. I am about to present this big speech for school and it is taking all my time working on it. I haven't even had time to see my girl! I'll be giving it on Monday so after that I'll be able to get some more action on here. Hope you're all well and I'll post soon!