Between the Misty Mountains

Went to the barn today and actually worked Ava and even rode! When I got there I saw that some clouds were covering the mountains, it was gorgeous!!

So pretty!

This one is my favorite, the color is great!

I grabbed Ava and walked her inside. She was dirty but luckily I don't think she rolled, my job would have gotten about a thousand times worse if she did. I took her inside and brushed her off. While doing this I noticed that Ava had some swelling on her hind left leg (from her ankle to her the top of her cannon). She gets it a lot in that leg but doesn't seem to cause her any pain; she may have slipped on the mud and tweaked her leg a bit. Exercising seemed to help but at the end I put some Sore-No-More on it just in case. After I groomed her I free lunged her in the round pen until her freshness wore off. I didn't even plan to ride until I was done lunging, I thought I would give it a shot. Got her all tacked up (while she stood like a champ) and then went back into the round pen for round 2. Ava remembered everything, she only needed some minor refreshing on a couple things but otherwise she was great. I'm really happy to know we've made progress throughout this year. If this was a year earlier I would be starting from the beginning again. So she has come a long way! I have been longing for a day like this, I never thought we would get this far.

We didn't ride too long, I thought it was enough for the first day back. I finished with a nice grooming and then gave her a little bundle of grass as a treat.

Pretty girl in front of the misty mountains, I love this photo!

I also made ornaments for all of the boarders down at The Ranch. They are mini hats, I'll have to show you guys a picture of them, they are adorable and super easy to make! Maybe I'll post a tutorial for everyone to try. Anyways, today was a good day and we still don't have any snow, yay!

Ornaments for The Ranch boarders.

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!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving my lovely turkeys! I hope you all have a great meal and enjoy all of your family, friends, and pets. I'm excited for tonight, we'll be going to my aunt's house for a huge feast and stuff our stomachs.

I saw over on Adventures with Shyloh that she was doing a survey that she got from Cob Jockey, so I thought I would do it as well.

Splurge or save: 

1) saddle: I would save (no matter how tempting), I want a good saddle
2) board: I try to look for the best deal
3) halter: save, sometimes depends
4) bit:  splurge!
5) bridle: already have the best bridle ever!
6) saddle pad: save!

7) trailer: no truck and trailer...

First thing that comes to mind: 
1) Haflinger: Shyloh from Adventures with Shyloh!
2) Quarter Horse: Mindy and Diez, Clinton Anderson's horse's
3) Thoroughbred: Seabiscuit
4) Warmblood: my trainer's horse
5) Welsh Cob: nothing 0.0

This or That:
1) english or western: western
2) tall or short: I like me some tall horses :)
3) trail ride or beach ride: Trail ride, never been on a beach ride
4) long mane or short mane: depends
5) hunters or jumpers: Hunters
6) XC or barrel racing: XC
7) outdoor arena or indoor arena: depends on the weather, I can be a wimp :P
8) trot or canter: canter!
9) canter or gallop: canter, galloping can be scary.
10) paddock boots, tall boots, or cowboy boots: cowboy boots
11) horse shoes or barefoot: barefoot, for the win!
12) saddle or bareback: If I had a well behaved horse I would always ride bareback.

About you: 
1) How long have you been riding? I would say about five years of true riding.
2) Do you own or lease a horse? Own
3) Breed? Age? Height? Name? (if you don’t own or lease, you could talk about your lesson horse) Paint, 6, 15.3hh, WW Miss Smoke Sarah, Ava

4) Do you have any other pets? Yes, personally I have three ferrets (Wolfie, Stella, Nala)
5) If your horse was a person, what kind of voice would they have (you can use a celebrity for an example) Most of the time Ava would be some kind of snarky and sassy teenage girl.

6) Does your horse have a “color”? If so, what is it, and what do you have in that color? Purple!!

7) Does your horse do any tricks? She prances and rears up like a circus pony...

8) Have you ever dressed your horse up for Halloween?  No

Favorites: 
1) Breed? Paints, Arabians, Quarter Horses
2) Discipline? Don't really have one, trail riding?

3) Coat color? Gray and dappled horses
4) Famous horse? Hmm, Seabiscuit, Zippo Pine Bar, Secretariat
5) Horse race/competition? Kentucky Derby!
6) Brand of tack? Circle Y
7) Thing to do with your horse?  Trail riding and treating her like a dog a times.

Gobble Gobble!!

Attacks from Something Called Panic

Wow, I'm not getting very lucky on weather here. For the past few weeks it has been raining, sleet, and even windy at some times. I haven't gone down to the barn since Sunday; and I hope the weather will clear up soon. Although, even if I go down there I am not too keen on riding. I am almost too afraid to ride now. I can't risk myself getting hurt again or if I fall again and make my head worse just as it is getting better. I don't want Ava's progress to suffer just because of me, she doesn't deserve it; but I bet she doesn't mind either. I'm really fine without riding though, I am just as happy to lunge her a bit, hang in her pasture, go on walks, and just take care of her; but the pressure from my barn, actually from my BO makes me feel guilty for not riding her. My BO just doesn't understand those kinds of things and basically just wants you to suck it up and ride the crap out of your horse... Ugh, so much on my mind...

I feel different after falling off Ava... Not myself; or at least not 100%. I have also been starting to have panic attacks too; before I fell I can't recall the last time I had one, if any. They are really nerve racking and make me not want to sleep anymore (which sucks because I already have a lot of trouble falling asleep). So, I am starting to work on getting through them; but sometimes they sneak up on you, which is really creepy.

In other news, school is almost over for the semester! I will be so glad to be done with these classes, I liked them but I really can't wait for a long break. I also registered for the Spring semester too, I'll only be taking Film & Literature and Yoga, both go for my core classes and will be fun! I'm really starting to like creative writing and just English in general; a possible major?!? We may see!

Ava Took Care of Me

Quick post!

Yesterday was almost four days since Ava has been worked. I was fully prepared for a wild bronco high on carrots kind of attitude from her. What did I get? Nothing even close to that, not even a smidge! She acted as if she hadn't even had one day off. Ava was brilliant. So brilliant that I actually rode; I only walked a little bit but still progress! Although, after I got off I started to feel dizzy and light headed, so I should still take it slow.

I lunged her with ease, she acted as if she wanted to be worked. No spooking and barely any speediness. I feel almost as if she was trying to take care of me. Weird right? She listened and stayed calm the whole time. I was really happy with her.

Pretty girl after her work.