Finally! Pictures of the Indoor Arena!

I finally got some pictures of the indoor arena! I don't know why I hadn't done it earlier but oh well here they are now. I also worked with Ava in there too and she did so much better than yesterday, I think she is starting to relax. It is really neat inside and super quiet too, it must be insulated somehow. Also, all the tack you see in there can be used! I also have permission to use a western saddle whenever I like, how cool is that?! Moving to this barn has been one of the best horsey choices that I have made (at least so far).

And now a couple pictures of Ava right after her rinse off

Now for a video of her getting all dirty again, that stinker!

My First Evaluation

As you may know I had my first horse training evaluation today. Boy was I nervous. Mainly because I thought Ava was going to be a total dumbo and make me look bad. But before the lesson started I managed to take her into the outdoor arena and lunge her for a bit. It helped so much.

My BO said that I did a good job with her roundpenning and there were only a few minor things to work on. My position needed to be a little more facing her bum and keeping her more out on the circle, other than that everything else was great. I was really happy I did this lesson it made me feel like I actually did a good job with her and I didn't do anything major things wrong. So, I am very pleased.

On another note, I think I will be asking him to do a month of training with her! The reason being is that I really just want her to be finished. I've been training her for almost five years and I think it is time for her to be done with all this novice training and move on to more advanced stuff so we can start competing. Also I don't have too much longer until school starts again and I would like to have some more riding time rather than just busting our balls in the round pen everyday. And I hate to say but I'm really not experienced enough to take her farther in training... So, the next time I see him I'll be asking him. I'm quite excited!

Session with my New Barn Owner/Trainer

Tomorrow morning after I babysit and medicate my ferret I will be off to The Ranch for an evaluation session with my new BO. I'm really nervous. I just have to keep thinking to myself "he's helping me, he's helping me." I can get pretty self-conscious especially on horse stuff. I think it will help me a lot though and if it works out I think I may go ahead and get a month of training with him. I would really like Ava to have a good solid job that keeps her thinking (maybe something with cows) but we'll just have to see what he says and of course I'll tell you! So, today I'm going to try and prepare Ava for tomorrow and tire her out, we've had a could cold/rainy days and I know she will be feeling it. I want to make a good impression but not so good that he says I'm doing just fine. So, we'll see how it goes!

My mom snapped this picture of me working with Ava, my bum looks huge!

Is Your Horse Listening to You?

I found this great article from America's Horse Daily about how to tell if your horse is listening to you. Check it out!

Is Your Horse Listening?

Our New Home

Yes! We're now at our new barn and from now on I'll be labeling it as The Ranch.

I was really nervous driving down to RS (our old barn). I was praying that Ava would do well, getting in the trailer, not spooking at things too much, or not act like a fire-breathing dragon. So, to help that I worked her in the round pen for about an hour and then went around the barn desensitizing her to more things. She did very well and she really seemed to be trying.

Then after waiting for the trailer to arrive we loaded her up. She got on great but tried turning around after being tied but couldn't succeed (really it was my fault she tried turning at all, I didn't tie her rope short enough.) Then we shut the divider, locked the door, and we were off. The drive over was very smooth and it didn't seem like she tried anything dangerous.

Finally we arrived. I was thinking to myself the whole drive over to The Ranch "please let her behave, PLEASE!" So, when we got there I just hoped for the best. We opened the trailer door, unlatched the divider, then my new BO went in, untied her, and backed her out (this being a stepping up/off trailer) then handed me the rope. When she stepped off that trailer backwards I couldn't believe it, what a good girl! Afterwards I let her look around for a second and it seemed like by her expression she was thinking "cool, I like it." I walked her around the whole barn and she only spooked once, once! At the old place she was still spooking at things. Anyways, we took her to her new paddock pasture! let her loose then went inside to sign the papers. It still doesn't feel like I am boarding down there, I thought that place would only be a dream but now that dream actually became a reality. Ava and I are really happy and hopefully we'll be staying there for a long time.

Last few hours at RS

 Ava's new pasture, gorgeous right?!

Indoor arena, I still need pictures of the inside!

 Poco!

The white arch is the outdoor arena and it is gigantic

I gave Ava her first bath of the year (she did amazingly) and of course she had to roll