Still Alive

Don't worry I am still alive, just eaten up with tons of school and some tough family stuff.

Ava has been good. I don't see her much at the moment but get down there when I can. The arena is finally melting and we will finally be able to start working again!

I also received (after almost 3-4 weeks of waiting) my leopard gecko, Beju! He is amazing and I already love him. They are also super easy to care for, it is amazing!

Ava nipping Poco

Our first day back to work

Beju was finally starting to explore his vivarium

Ava Dear! Ready for Long Distances?

Today and this past week I have been doing my best to take Ava out on a mini trail ride every time I visit. The weather this time of year has been amazing, we barely have any snow! So I am trying to take advantage of that. It is quite obvious when we go out on a ride that Ava gets a little nervous, holds her head high, and will be quick as a Standardbred, but she barely spooks. She will keep up a quick trot but will rarely shy at anything. That I can deal with- quickness is okay but spooking is a big no-no. Especially at this time of year too she is usually somewhat of a basket case but this year she is much more together. This takes me to another related topic. I want to slowly condition Ava for long rides, maybe up to 25 miles! She loves to move (most of the time) and loves being in the great outdoors. So nothing would be better than to train her for long distances. It will be exciting to get it going.

It's hard to realize that 2014 aka Year of the Horse is literally right around the corner. I need to get a resolution post up quickly! 

What Do You Wear In Winter Tag!

I've seen people do tags on YouTube and thought I'd try and start one in the horsey blog world. I would love to see what everyone wears to the barn in Winter or chilly days (for those of you who live in Florida and whatnot!). Super random but thought it would be a super easy one to do. This is my outfit that I wear when it is as cold as it can be, the ultimate warmth outfit.

If you want to participate in the tag just post a link to this post on yours, then comment saying you made a post about it and I will make a list on here to see who is participating!

Me posing with one of my dogs, Lulu

I'm wearing:

-brown wool sweater from Columbia

-black hooded Carhartt vest (just got it and love it!)

-hunter green Carhartt jacket (literally one of the warmest things I've ever worn!)

-homemade blue knit hat

-black breeches (not shown)

-black Marker snow pants (got these from the thrift store, perfect for riding)

-fleece gloves (I need new ones badly!)

-Ariat boots but I usually wear snow boots or my other Justin boots if I'm riding.

Participants!!

Saiph over at Wait for the Jump

Allison over at Adventures with Shyloh

Karen at Thee Ashke

Liz at In Omnia Paratus

Jessica at Save The Bullet

Run, Fat Pony, Run

The Winter season begins to settle in. It started yesterday with gloomy skies, chilled winds, and rain. Of course, it didn't stop me from going down to the barn and work Ava. I am going to try really hard to keep riding through the winter, may it be only a walk around the field or even just a walk around the snowy arena, I have to keep riding. We have no indoor as well as barn so it will be difficult to cool her down on chilly days but it doesn't sound too difficult. I plan on making a post on how to tell if your horse is cold and what to do after riding in cold climates, this could be super helpful in the future!

Ava worked for me well. I put on her bareback pad so she could still feel what it is like to have a saddle on and then gave her a nice workout. I didn't want to work her too hard but she kept telling me that she did, so, we worked and worked. She got a little spazzy but it is definitely an improvement since we first started. She used to buck, jump, and just be crazy, but now all she really does is lower and shake her head a bit. Which I still get after her for because I know that she is just lettin' loose but I want her as safe as possible and that means there is almost zero tolerance for weirdness when she is around me or children.

Since the weather has been settling in I am debating on blanketing and possibly getting studded shoes for Ava. Since I plan to work through the Winter I want to minimize the risks of falling and her getting too cold. She doesn't have a thick coat as it is but this year it seems shorter than usual. I should probably keep an eye on her, just in case. As for her feet, she has fallen a couple times in the past years, luckily when I'm not riding! But it is still really nerve racking to see a 1000 pound animal fall on the ground. So, I have been looking into studded shoes or even put studs on hoof boots. I don't really know where to go from there but we'll eventually find out.

The awesome holidays are coming up and I am literally going broke buying so many people gifts! In some ways I care but in many other ways I don't because I love buying presents for people. Of course I am going to get some things for Ava, especially now since it is Cyber Monday!! So excited! I hope all of you have great plans coming up.

Here are some working pictures from yesterday!!

Cantering in the cold

We all have those angles we don't like

A bad trot...

Picked up trot

Stretchy trot

Nice trot!

Coolin' off

Whispers of sweet nothin'

I really need to update this!

She's a Trail Horse?

We've had our fun throughout the summer. The weather has turned and slowly the hints of winter are coming. Gross! Say goodbye to scalding hot days, shorts, horseback riding, and everything that is fun. Now say hello to boredom, the cold, and more boredom... Although we live in a major ski area it is way to expensive for me to keep it up.

I have tried to enjoy our non snow days as much as possible but still my schedule keeps me from riding much, if at all! Ava needs a lot more work but she still acts better than I could have hoped. So as long as I can keep that constant then we're good! I have also been looking into buying a horse trailer, yes, or as I like to call them "freedom!" Due to future events (still a secret!) I will need one fairly soon. So excited! When we finally acquire a trailer I will be going to shows left and right which is even more exciting. In the meantime I've decided only to focus on our showmanship and trail riding. Showmanship has looked really good and as for trail riding she does fine. My next project is to find as many scary things as possible, maybe even make an obstacle course!

Our shadow selves

Hello rumpy

The result of a hungry horse. Still not sure how she does it!

One of the walks

Hello!

Yawning after our lazy ride

Some enjoyment while being 21

Sickness is Upon Me

Ugh, I'm sick. I've got a cough, runny nose, on and off headaches, sometimes a fever, body aches, and anything else that goes with it. So of course I haven't been down to see my pony. I got sick at such a horrible time too; I need to try out that saddle before I have to take it back, it has almost been a week since I've ridden, Ava needs her feet done, and school starts back in only a few weeks... I'm hoping I'll get over this, I do feel much better today though, maybe I'm over the big hump. We'll see...

2012 End of the Year Achievements

It is almost the end of the year and now it is time to document the goals we tried to accomplish. These are also updated goals to see how they improved as well. To see our Summer 2012 Achievements click [here]. Lets see how we did!

•Leads are not a problem (Although, nothing is perfect!).

•Ava can pony another horse.

•We roped a real cow (although, she did shy away from the flash of the rope. But we still did it!).

•Can almost fully neck rein at each gait (this was my favorite goal).

•Rollbacks are good but could still use some work.

•Desensitized to pulling items off the fence as well as putting them back on (this was a big one).

•If she has been on break it takes a much shorter time to get back to where we were (another big one!).

•We successfully rode out into the big fields, far out there as well.

•Handles other misbehaving horses much better. They don't influence her as much anymore.

•Speed of gaits have much improvement. She's learning that faster is not better, no matter how scared she may be.

Overall she mainly matured into a nicely well behaved horsey.

Freedom and the Holidays!

Wednesday was my Spanish 101 final. It made my brain hurt. After class I was in a stupor for a while until I snapped back to reality. Then finally when I came around I felt freedom all around me! What an amazing feeling to not have to worry about studying, it is so nice. A few days later I found out what all my grades were and I was very pleased with them. I got an A in Pilates, an A in English, and a high B in Spanish, pretty happy! I also picked out the other classes I want to take for next semester. Two are going to be online and the other I will go into class for. Anyways now that I am school free for a little over a month there will be much more barn time.

I went to the barn today and worked my girl. I didn't work Poco because I needed to get back home and work on holiday stuff. After the holidays I will be full on horse girl again! Ava lunged beautifully and showed little signs of having lots of energy. After I lunged her for a while I did some groundwork, she is getting really good if I may add. Then after that I saddled her up in the little english saddle I had. I didn't ride I just wanted to lunge her in it so she can start getting used to it again. She did great, a little nervous but she handled her self really well. Especially with all the snow, ice, and wind that keeps getting worse!

All the boarders at the barn were so gracious about the little gifts I gave them. They also gave me some gifts as well, one of them being this awesome Indian painted horse tile ornament. I now officially have three ornaments for my own little Christmas tree!

I was also given a very sweet thank you card and my BO gave me a $25 dollar gift card to D&B Supply! Twenty-five dollars! I thought that was really nice of him. Overall it has been a decent day. I hope every one of you is enjoying your holiday season, Christmas is almost here!

Almost to the End!

I don't really have an excuse for not posting. Technically I hadn't gone to the barn in a while or if I did I would only say hi and run around in the pasture with her; which is not super exciting to post about. Although once I realized how long it has been since I last posted I decided no matter how boring it would be I wanted to let you all know that we are not dead, exhausted but still alive.

School is so close to break I can almost smell my final grades! Two of my classes end next week and the last one ends the week after that; I am so ready for this break, I need some "no school" time.

I saw my sassy girl yesterday. It was raining and snowing on and off but we still made it down there; we only had enough time to say hi though. Ava was still alive! It was so nice to see her, her coat was coming in nicely and her weight looked good too, especially for the little work she has been doing. For our short time there I pet on her and then ran around and played in the pasture with her. I bet I looked like an idiot but Ava seemed amused, it was really cute. I really missed her, hopefully I can get out there again this week.

Hope everyone has been well!

I missed my sassy cakes!

Pretty pasture with snow :)

My 100th Post!!

I can't believe it but I've reached my 100th post marker! It's seems almost yesterday when I started this blog; not thinking anything about how far I would be now. I'm the kind of person that cannot commit to things very well (not a good trait!). You all have literally kept me going with this blog, I'm still surprised that fourteen people want to hear about my crazy little life; but it makes me happy and always keeps me going. So thank you everyone!

I finally visited Ava today. Although, when I got there it was almost dark and the indoor arena was even darker inside. We couldn't find the big lights so we had only a few small ones to keep it bright enough, it didn't help much but better than nothing. I brought in Ava and let her loose into the indoor with Poco, she didn't do much (surprisingly), just walked around with some trotting here and there. Then I went in and ran them around for a bit so they could stretch her legs for a bit. She did great, nothing too crazy. After that I took her outside and brushed her off a bit. She got nervous when Poco went out of sight which I don't like, this means I'll have to work her more by herself.. Otherwise she'll get too attached. Anyways, I finished brushing her and walked her around the barn, her head finally lowered and then I took her back to her dinner. It ended up being really nice out there. I'll be going back tomorrow but this time earlier so we can start getting back to some real work; it's about time!

I'm super excited for Christmas/Solstice. We actually don't celebrate Christmas though, we celebrate Solstice and make all of our gifts from home, so I've got a lot of work to do. On top of that we are also doing an ornament exchange with the family but I'm also going to make some for the boarders down at The Ranch too, it's going to be fun!

Oh No! Winter Depression...

It snowed last night. Luckily we only got about half an inch; but it still looks like we could get more. I didn't see Ava yesterday. For some reason I just didn't have it in me to go down there. It has been super cold here lately and I really didn't want to deal with it down at the barn. I think I'm starting to get that Winter depression thing; all I want to do is sit at home watch television, read books, write stories, and draw; in the summer I'm basically outside 24/7. It's really weird but right now those are the only things I feel like doing. Ava most likely didn't mind though, being in a huge pasture and all. I bet I'll regret it the next time I work her but whatever, it's too darn cold! I don't even think I will go down today. Ugh, I feel so lazy!

I cannot wait for Summer to come back. Winter is pointless for me; skiing is too expensive, skate skiing freaks me out (permanently injured my ankle...), and ice skating gets boring after a while. So, yeah, not much for me to do.

In other news Thanksgiving is only 8 days away!! I'm really excited, Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. I love cooking and bringing over food for everyone to feast on, it is a great time of the year.

Below are pictures from the day I fell off.

Here is the Collegiate saddle I tried out.
It sits evenly on her back but was a little small in the gullet.

Front view

Ava ready to go

Want to Ride in the Cold? You're Crazy... NOT!

Riding in the freezing cold is by no means fun. Freezing your toes, fingers, even your face can actually be quite painful at times. But does your horse feel the same way? Actually most of the time he doesn't. Horses handle the cold quite a bit better than us humans do; which is no surprise but still good to know.

I'm always a nervous wreck about riding Ava in the cold, or even worse, the rain. I constantly think she won't be dry enough after a ride and shiver at night or even cramp up! I can't stand to think about it.

I've pulled some awesome articles about riding in cold weather, rain etc. If you're as nervous as I am about it hopefully these will give you a piece of mind.

Horses and Riding in Cold Weather - packed with information!
Horseback Riding in the Winter/Cold - read the Best Answer

Julie Goodnight on Riding Horses in Really Cold Weather

Cold Weather Riding Considerations

Grooming After Cold Weather Riding - some of these answers were helpful

10 Tips for Horseback Riding Safely in Winter

All Ready for Winter

Got Ava's feet all nicely trimmed the other. I can tell she feels better. The farrier said that her feet look really good and was also surprised how well they held up from all the riding that we do. I was really happy, I didn't think her feet looked the best but it made me glad for him to think so.

Also I started noticing some puffiness around Ava's ankle's. I've noticed her having it before but always thought it was her fur making it puff up. They are actually wind puffs/wind galls. I asked my BO and he confirmed it. He said I shouldn't need to worry about it. I may need to eventually put boots on her if they get worse. They don't seem to bother her and don't look too bad but actually now that I think of it she has been getting worse about being caught. Maybe work is causing her some pain? Maybe icing it should help or even some Sore-No-More. I don't know.

Windpuffs from EquiSearch
Windpuffs from SmartPak

Lastly, miss girl is completely ready for Winter. She's been dewormed, vaccinated, and trimmed. Ava is ready to go, finally! The only other thing is that I'm not sure if I should blanket her or not... Hmm, something to think about.