Saturday, September 29, 2012
Monday, September 17, 2012
A Trail Ride and A Metal Calf
Saturday was such a fun day for me. My BO's older son comes out to help him with stuff around the barn. So, we pretty much hung out the whole time. I rode Ava for a long time and even started to desensitize her to the lariat (rubbing and bouncing it on her sides and even having it drag behind her). We ended our ride with that. She did really good and was very calm for all the commotion going on around the barn.
After Ava was put away I rode one of my BOs horse's. I like riding other horses besides my own, I think it really does help with my seat and helps myself to "never settle" into one horse. She could be a stinker though, she kept trying to ram me up against the wall and my knee ended up getting skinned pretty bad, it stung forever! I liked how light she was though. Eventually the indoor arena was getting pretty crowded so my BO's son (whom had been talking to me the whole time this was going on) and I rode outside for a while. It was really nice and although my BO's son (let's just call him Cappy) can tease me and sometimes mock me it surprisingly doesn't annoy me in the slightest (mainly because I do the exact same thing to him). So, it evens itself out. On our way back the horse I was riding kept prancing to catch up with Cappy and his horse, it kind of annoyed me but when we finally did catch up she was fine. Such a nice little trail ride.
After I was completely done riding I went off to put my horse away and then said bye to Ava (officially). When I walked back into the barn Cappy was roping a metal calf and asked me if I wanted to learn. I was like "heck yeah!" and then we practiced until I had to leave. It was so much fun and Cappy is a great teacher too, easy for me to understand. I really want to practice more roping the next time I go out.
Finally it was time for me to go home. I helped Cappy clean up our roping set up, said our teasing goodbyes and then went home. On my way back I checked the clock, it had been almost six hours! Time flies when you're having fun.
After Ava was put away I rode one of my BOs horse's. I like riding other horses besides my own, I think it really does help with my seat and helps myself to "never settle" into one horse. She could be a stinker though, she kept trying to ram me up against the wall and my knee ended up getting skinned pretty bad, it stung forever! I liked how light she was though. Eventually the indoor arena was getting pretty crowded so my BO's son (whom had been talking to me the whole time this was going on) and I rode outside for a while. It was really nice and although my BO's son (let's just call him Cappy) can tease me and sometimes mock me it surprisingly doesn't annoy me in the slightest (mainly because I do the exact same thing to him). So, it evens itself out. On our way back the horse I was riding kept prancing to catch up with Cappy and his horse, it kind of annoyed me but when we finally did catch up she was fine. Such a nice little trail ride.
After I was completely done riding I went off to put my horse away and then said bye to Ava (officially). When I walked back into the barn Cappy was roping a metal calf and asked me if I wanted to learn. I was like "heck yeah!" and then we practiced until I had to leave. It was so much fun and Cappy is a great teacher too, easy for me to understand. I really want to practice more roping the next time I go out.
Finally it was time for me to go home. I helped Cappy clean up our roping set up, said our teasing goodbyes and then went home. On my way back I checked the clock, it had been almost six hours! Time flies when you're having fun.
My saddle, I'll get more pictures soon!
Friday, September 14, 2012
Saddle Up!
I have some news... I got a western saddle!!! Yes, it is true, I have finally got myself a saddle. Now here's the story, haha!
I found it on eBay a few weeks ago and ended up bidding on and winning it. It arrived later than I had expected but at least it arrived (I always get worried something is going to get lost in the mail). When I opened the box it smelled like mildew, yes, mildew. I pulled it out and set it on a stand, it wasn't what I expected (not really). It looked like someone had just pulled it out of storage (after like a few years) then put it up for sale, nice... I was quite agitated and didn't even want to look it over. So, I decided I was going to ship it back...
That is a whole different story. Things went from agitating to wanting to scream my freaking head off. I email the seller and told them I would be sending it back (easiest part), I then begin calculating shipping and find out it would cost over eighty dollars to send it back! So, I eventually still decide to do it, although when I go to print my shipping label the site freezes and I lose everything... Everything! So, we take it up to the UPS store, they couldn't do anything either and also said that we couldn't ship it in the box that it came in because it was too damaged... Just our luck right? We now have to find a huge new box to ship it in and figure out the shipping label deal. We get back home and ended up calling customer service, which ended up helping more than I had expected. Now I just had to find a box, which is almost impossible around here and lucky for us all of the recycling boxes were taken away... After that we kind of took a break, not much we could do.
After a while I went online and looked up how to get rid of a the mildew smell on a saddle. This was a lot more common than I thought and there were lots of articles to choose from. My hopes rose slightly. I then brought the saddle up to my room and unboxed it, couldn't keep the box anyway.. I set it up again and gave it a hardcore look over, i.e. checked the tree, hardware, leather condition etc. and you know what? It is actually a decent saddle. All it really needs is a little TLC and I could actually see myself riding in it.
Sometimes we need to give things second chances.
I won't use it for a while. At least for a week while I fix it up more (it soaks up leather oil like a dry sponge to water!). I also need to buy a rear cinch, breast collar, and a girth to go with it. I'll post pictures soon, I want it took look pretty for you all!
I found it on eBay a few weeks ago and ended up bidding on and winning it. It arrived later than I had expected but at least it arrived (I always get worried something is going to get lost in the mail). When I opened the box it smelled like mildew, yes, mildew. I pulled it out and set it on a stand, it wasn't what I expected (not really). It looked like someone had just pulled it out of storage (after like a few years) then put it up for sale, nice... I was quite agitated and didn't even want to look it over. So, I decided I was going to ship it back...
That is a whole different story. Things went from agitating to wanting to scream my freaking head off. I email the seller and told them I would be sending it back (easiest part), I then begin calculating shipping and find out it would cost over eighty dollars to send it back! So, I eventually still decide to do it, although when I go to print my shipping label the site freezes and I lose everything... Everything! So, we take it up to the UPS store, they couldn't do anything either and also said that we couldn't ship it in the box that it came in because it was too damaged... Just our luck right? We now have to find a huge new box to ship it in and figure out the shipping label deal. We get back home and ended up calling customer service, which ended up helping more than I had expected. Now I just had to find a box, which is almost impossible around here and lucky for us all of the recycling boxes were taken away... After that we kind of took a break, not much we could do.
After a while I went online and looked up how to get rid of a the mildew smell on a saddle. This was a lot more common than I thought and there were lots of articles to choose from. My hopes rose slightly. I then brought the saddle up to my room and unboxed it, couldn't keep the box anyway.. I set it up again and gave it a hardcore look over, i.e. checked the tree, hardware, leather condition etc. and you know what? It is actually a decent saddle. All it really needs is a little TLC and I could actually see myself riding in it.
Sometimes we need to give things second chances.
I won't use it for a while. At least for a week while I fix it up more (it soaks up leather oil like a dry sponge to water!). I also need to buy a rear cinch, breast collar, and a girth to go with it. I'll post pictures soon, I want it took look pretty for you all!
Monday, September 3, 2012
Summer 2012 Achievements
Okie dokey here is a list of our accomplishments during the summer, lets see what we have done!
•99% of the time I rode her every time I went out there. Big step!
•Overcame her bucking debacle, no more sore butts for me! She used to buck with me on her, basically her saying "get the frick off me," she hasn't tried anything for a long time now.
•Stands in the cross ties.
•Rides in a snaffle bit (no longer bitless!) and very soon we are moving to a mild curb.
•I actually found out how talented and athletic she is throughout the summer.
•Cows are becoming less and less of a problem.
•Cantering is absolutely no problem anymore. I used to be scared to death of her cantering her.
•Leads are almost no problem.
•Accomplished flying lead changes but still need to work on them.
•We worked the cutting flag for the first time.
•Other horses can ride around her (closely too) with almost no problem.
•We went out in the fields for the first time, such a great ride!
•99% of the time I rode her every time I went out there. Big step!
•Overcame her bucking debacle, no more sore butts for me! She used to buck with me on her, basically her saying "get the frick off me," she hasn't tried anything for a long time now.
•Stands in the cross ties.
•Rides in a snaffle bit (no longer bitless!) and very soon we are moving to a mild curb.
•I actually found out how talented and athletic she is throughout the summer.
•Cows are becoming less and less of a problem.
•Cantering is absolutely no problem anymore. I used to be scared to death of her cantering her.
•Leads are almost no problem.
•Accomplished flying lead changes but still need to work on them.
•We worked the cutting flag for the first time.
•Other horses can ride around her (closely too) with almost no problem.
•We went out in the fields for the first time, such a great ride!
Hmm, what else?...
For now that is all I can think of, still a great list! I am so proud of her. The only thing that needs to see some major improvement on is catching, she will completely walk away from me from I go to bring her in. So, we will work on that some more. But otherwise her training went sky rocketing from the first time we got here at The Ranch. Great way to end the summer.
Saturday, September 1, 2012
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