Silent Saturday #3

60th post!!!

Update on Boarding

I just wanted to let you guys know that moving Ava and Poco to my aunt's property is not going to work out. I'm pretty bummed but we're going to put an ad in the paper and hopefully someone will come forward and have a good place for them. I'm going to be pretty picky though. I will be asking a load of questions and if the people seem at all snarky or bossy than I'll toss their offer aside. I'm not dealing with those kind of people anymore, I'm sick of it... All I want is to own my horse without being told what to do! I'm praying that something good will turn up before the winter.

This Quote is Great!

"All snark aside – I honestly think horses have kept an amazing amount of girls out of trouble or rescued them from trouble. Who needs to have a baby at fifteen when you already have a horse to love? Who can blow money on drugs – we have the farrier to pay for! When a man breaks your heart, it’s not the end of the world – we still have our horse." - Cathy Atkinson

 

 

A Good Ride and a Lot More

Well, a few things have happened since I have last posted...

My father came into town for a day. I hadn't seen him since 2010 and then all of a sudden he says that he, his wife and her son were coming up to see us. I dreaded every minute of it, the only good part was that I got some free meals...

Earlier that same day right as I was about to go home from The Ranch my BO comments that I need to work Ava more... My heart sank when I heard it. I am down there five days a week for at least three hours working her!! I was heartbroken when he said that. I am trying the best I can with her and if he can't see that then screw him! When I got in the car I started crying, it really hurt my feelings and he has no right to say something like that. I am paying him to feed and keep Ava's pasture clean, nothing more... It's not like he has been super nice to me or anything but I would at least think he wouldn't say something like that...

Which leads me to this. My aunt and uncle own an acre of horse property. Although it is fenced, it doesn't have a shelter. So, my aunt and I were hoping to get my uncle (whom is also a contractor) to build a little shelter on that property and then move Babe and Poco out there. It is a little overgrown and needs to be fixed up a bit but it has a lot of potential. Also Babe and Poco won't mind as long as they have some pasture, hay, and water. I am really hoping it works out. I am getting sick and tired of dealing with these horse people, they won't just let you be... So, if I have to care for my own horse on our own piece of land then fine, I'll take more work over dealing with an a** of a person any day...

I rode Ava yesterday. I tried to avoid the BO as much as possible, of course he had nothing bad to say now... I still don't forgive him. But anyways, Ava glowed in the arena. This was one of her best rides yet. I did some trotting for a bit then went straight to cantering. After she was cantering fine I turned her towards the middle of the arena, made her trot then lope off the other lead. She got her leads every time!!! We hadn't even tried it before and she did superbly. I was so so sooo proud of her. I then worked her a little longer so she would get some more exercise then after I took her outside on a little walk. She did amazing and I didn't even expect it.

I was thinking of starting with a little shelter like this one above, it doesn't have to be metal or anything, just something along the lines of this.

Then maybe when the horses are (hopefully) moved, then my uncle could maybe start with a more permanent one, like these below.

I don't want to get my hopes up too much but I think this would be amazing if it could work out. Finally my aunt, Ava, Poco, my mom (all this stresses her out too!), and I will be in peace...

Homemade Tack Room Plaque!

Last night I saw my friend make this SUPER cute stall plaque for her horse. So, what do I do? I of course make one for Ava!! But instead of a stall plaque I make it into a tack room plaque. It was a lot of fun to make and it didn't take too long either, the hardest part was finding the wood. All I have to do now is put some hooks in it and take it to the barn, I can't wait! For some reason I really like doing these kinds of things, it makes me feel all giddy inside. Anyways, here is a picture of how it came out, Instagram made it a little grainy but the picture you get the idea.

I Love Wet Saddle Pads

Today was quite eventful and long. I stayed down at the barn for around four hours. I did a lot though and if Ava behaved better I would have stayed even longer. I also tried out my Wintec Pro Endurance saddle that I own (I've had it for a few years) on Ava and. . . It fits her!!! I took a picture just to show the even sweat marks all over the pad (it already started to dry when I took this). Oh, happy day! Now I can use all that hard earned money for something else. The reason I hadn't tried that saddle earlier is because it is quite uncomfortable for me, especially on my bum. Right now I'm sitting on two bruised tush cheeks. But as long as the saddle fits my girl then I am happy. I can just buy a seat saver or something. 

In other news, I rode Ava. We started inside to get warmed up and hopefully a little worn out and then we went out in the outdoor arena with the BO's two sons. They are practicing for their 4H fair next week for trail and had an obstacle course set up so I thought I would tag along. But while I waited for them to get ready I walked Ava around outside the barn. We even found a new spot to explore, it was a nice little loop and Babe did good for her first time. When the boys were ready I was already trying out the course. Then Ava started being a little pill ever since they arrived. I got her to do things but it wasn't willing or "nice" like. It was more like she was giving me the bird every time she would respond to something I asked. Nice right? . . . Then to top it off the youngest son started to try and scare Ava by like running his horse up next to her and stopping, stuff like that. . . He was being a little turd but I guess in a way it was good Ava was experiencing some of that, I want her to know that she doesn't need to freak out when a horse does stuff like that. But it was still rude for him to do that. . . Oh then after I did the course a little longer we then went over to a barrel that had a red saddle bag filled with cans in it. I thought, "Ava can so do this, she's done it a million times before" oh but what happens? She totally freaks out and I almost fall off... Luckily I stayed on and was able to gain control of her. Of course I started to get quite agitated with her but I also realized I had been riding her for over three hours and we were doing lots of new things too. I think her mind just couldn't take much more, I felt kind of bad. To end the ride I desensitized her to the noisy red saddle bag (she was great!) and then I hand-walked her back into the barn with the older son riding next to me (he was much nicer, didn't try to scare my girl. He does like to tease/make fun of me though.) After things were all done I gave Babe her "after ride" rinse then put her away. Those baths are definitely growing on her, she almost falls asleep every time! And that is so unlike her!

Moving Forward

It was perfect riding weather today, I'm not even kidding! Hot but not too hot with a slight breeze, perfect! The barn was quite busy and there wasn't much room in the arena so I decided to take a ride outside. I haltered up Ava and then lunged her until she was nice and calm. It seems to me that she is improving everyday, although the progress may be very slow I can see that five years from now she'll be the best horse anyone could ask for. Five years is a long ways away but I'm in no hurry, I want to try and enjoy our journey as much as possible (no matter how stressful it can be!)

Lunging took a little bit, longer than I expected. It was worth it though because when I got outside she was so ready to go on a trail ride, sadly she can't handle cows very well yet and since all of the "long" riding is out in the cow fields we'll have to wait until she's fine with them. I'm hoping I can tag along with some other folks to help start Ava but we'll have to see. I want to hand walk her out there because I think that would be a good start too but I haven't asked if that is okay, I need to remember to do that!

When she is outside while being ridden she gets ready to go so it was a little difficult to get her to pay attention. Everything worked out in the end though. I walked around the barn multiple times, we did some rollbacks, stopping, trotting, etc etc. I hope one day I will be able to canter her in the fields without having to worry about her taking off or doing something weird. That would be a dream come true!

Sweat, Bulls, and Rain!

It has been kind of rainy here in the mountains. Really weird! We don't usually get this much rain in the Summer time but thanks to global warming we are getting a lot. I rode Babe/Ava yesterday, luckily the weather was nice and warm. Before we saddled up I started out by walking her over to some little bulls that were acting crazy. She is getting better around cows, not great but better. Ava was kind of snorty at the beginning (mainly because the other horses around were in "hyper mode" and wouldn't chill out) but I built her up to them and she ended up doing really well.

After the bulls were taken care of I took her into the barn and put her in the round pen. Then I went off for a minute to gather the equipment I was going to need. When that was finished I free lunged her for longer than usual, I wanted her to be nice and chill before I got on. Nobody likes a crazy horse! (Maybe some people do!) I hadn't been able to give her a big workout because on Saturday she needed her booster PHF shot and I can't ride the day after. It is amazing how much energy she has even after missing one day of exercise. Anyway, when she got all tired and sweaty we saddled up and headed over to the arena. A newish (novice) rider was riding in there so I couldn't do too much at first. When she finished though we worked on desensitizing to the scary corner of the arena, the other day Ava spooked quite a few times over there because people were fixing a fence and it was making some loud noises. It annoyed the crap out of me... But she did a lot better today. Then we did rollbacks while trotting or loping off. That was fun and it helped with her leads! Finally when I got her listening to me I rode her outside. It was just around the barn but then pushed it towards the outdoor arena. She did good, a couple spooks but she's definitely getting more confident with each outing. I just have to be patient and remember to build up to things, I can't just force it on her and expect her to do it right away, I always need to remember that.

It was a good day.

Currently I am obsessed with Instagram! This is Babe right after her workout.

Bad Boy Riser Pad

I got more feedback from some people and someone said that I should get a back riser pad. It makes sense, if I look at Ava's saddled up photos you can see that the saddle isn't completely level, it dips in the back slightly. They said she is quite wide and has somewhat high withers and the riser should help. I mean it can't hurt right? Although if this doesn't fix her little saddle fit problem then I'm (eventually) getting a new saddle. A Wintec that has the easy-change gullet system, unless I miraculously find a saddle that fits her with a fixed tree then great! but for now I'm pretty set on one of the gullet changer saddles. End of story. In the meantime I'm gonna get one of these bad boys [click here]. It's a back riser pad and hopefully it will do the trick. Wintec always has the most useful things, haha!

Time to Start Saving

Well, I have come to a conclusion. With all of this saddle debacle muddling around in my mind I finally know what I am going to do. I asked on a horse forum I frequently go to about what they thought of Ava's body shape for a saddle and they thought she was pretty wide. My saddle (the old Stubben one) is pretty wide but may not be wide enough, it is wider than almost any other saddle I've seen but Ava's back will not have an even sweat mark on her back, so I'm thinking it is still pinched a little. So, what I've decided to do is right now I'm going to buy a half pad, it could help with the unevenness on her back, and then after I've saved up enough money I'm going to buy either a Bates, Wintec, or Collegiate saddle with the easy-change gullet system, most likely a Wintec. English saddles have always fit her better than western ones have and since I've decided not to show her in riding it doesn't matter if the saddle is super fancy or not, comfort is the main factor!

Nothing Will Fit!

It's true! I absolutely cannot find a saddle that fits Ava. My BO lets me use their western saddles and none will leave an even sweat mark on her back. My english saddle may be the closest one to fit but if she spooks I don't want to go flying off. The western saddles always leave dry spots on each side of her withers - this horse has it almost in the exact same spots that Ava has [click here] but since she is white I can't tell if they are actually making sores, all I know is that they are making dry spots... Maybe western saddles just don't fit her as well??? Stupid question but it could be true. Ugh, I feel like she could be much calmer if I just found something that would fit, any suggestions?

In Other News: Excitement and Progress!

First things first. My internet/computer ended up being safe from the virus so I'll be more active now.

Anyways. I don't want to jinx anything but I think Ava and I are pretty much confirmed for the horse show in September! Super excited! Some awesome friends of mine said I could trailer with them they just have to make sure the driver agrees to it. If everything works out we're going to show in showmanship, that is going to be our main class. I'll most likely enter a couple other riding classes just to keep Ava and I occupied, my friend enters a lot of classes and I don't want to be standing around in the hot sun all day (Ava either!), hehe! But showmanship will be our most serious class and the riding classes will just be for experience, I don't plan to do well in any of them and frankly I don't really care, I just want Ava to get used to showing again (and I really want to dress up in my show clothes!).

I just got back from the barn. It was around 90º but felt like 1,000,000º. I lunged Ava then saddled her up. When she was ready to ride I took her to the arena and worked on backing, stopping, relaxing, leads, and just guidance in general. It has been a long time since I hadn't been afraid to canter with her, she used to throw a fit or throw me off (try to at least) and eventually I lost so much confidence while riding her. Now, she doesn't even think of tossing me off the side anymore (or maybe she does and just doesn't do it) and her cantering pace is becoming slower and slower. She's becoming the horse I want her to be, I'm very proud. We also rode outside and around the barn for the first time since we arrived. I think over all she did good for her first time, she was a little nervous (even though she has been lead around it like a thousand times) but after she got more used to it she started becoming an old pro.
 

I need some more pictures!!!

Russian Virus 'Flame'

This is a non-horse related matter. Launching tomorrow is a computer super virus that is programmed to steal usernames and passwords. I don't know how long it is supposed to last but in the meantime I'm going to keep my computer shut down until it blows over. I just wanted to let you all know, hopefully it won't affect any of us and we can go on our happy ways but for now just be on the alert. Here a couple articles you can read about it.

[click here]
[and click here]

Be careful out there! See you in a few days, I'll have some news when I get back.

Worn Out in Warmup

I rode Ava today. It was a fine ride but I didn't work her too hard because she wore herself out when I free lunged her in the arena. I usually warm her up in the round pen so today was the first time I did it in the arena. Wish I hadn't. She went galloping, more like racehorse galloping (she's related to Bold Ruler and Three Bars so no surprise, haha!) around the whole arena for as long as I let her, she would have kept going unless I told her to stop. I don't like it. I get afraid if she doesn't eventually easy down she going to hurt herself. So, next time I warm her up it's either going to be in the roundpen or with a lunge line where I have more control.

My mom took some photos of me riding. The indoor has horrible lighting but some of the photos turned out pretty good! So, here you go. I know that my position is not the best but I'm working on it. Ava did pretty well while riding, I feel comfortable cantering, she will get her leads, her trot is still quite fast, and she is pretty soft laterally. Things we need to work on are a more even tempo in the trot, becoming softer vertically, and finding something to compete in!

I'm having such trouble figuring out what to show her in. Everyone tells me that she could go any way that I want but that isn't super helpful, I am the kind of person that can't make up their mind. I also can't afford to go both ways, it is too expensive, so, I need to pick one thing and then branch off after she is established. As of right now I am thinking possibly reining or barrel racing or something that gives her a job. Does any one have any ideas? I would like to stay western, maybe something with rodeos, I plan to rodeo queen next year as well. It would be great if anyone had some suggestions! Thanks guys!