Guarding Time Away

Work has literally been taking all of my barn time! Darn it! And ever since we moved to the new place I've only been on two or three rides but our last ride was wonderful! I don't mean to complain because I actually love my new job as a lifeguard, who knew?!

Ava Bean has been settling in nicely and definitely enjoying all of the space.

Not much to say, I apologize, especially after my pretty long absence you'd think I'd have much to say but quite the contrary.

I did try out my saddle again to make sure it didn't fit her and found out that it actually did! It left a complete sweat mark after a ride, happy day!! I was dreading having to look for another saddle.

I am also getting rid of most of my english stuff, I know in my heart that western is for me and shouldn't be changing my mind so much, soo, goodbye english equipment.

In other news, I homemade a skirt today and it turned out wonderfully. I wanted to start practicing sewing more so I can eventually design and create my own rodeo queen ensemble. Can't wait!!

Great coloring!

Oh... uhh.. hello!

Liebster Blog Award!

Ava and I are very happy to be the recipient of the Liebster Blog award from Saiph over at Wait for the Jump. We are really excited as this is our very first award!! Thank you so much Saiph!

How to Accept the Award
The Liebster Blog Award is a way to recognize blogs that have less than 200 followers. Liebster is a word in German that means beloved and valued. Here are the rules for accepting the award:

1. Thank the person that nominated you and include a link back to their blog.
2. List 11 random facts about yourself.
3. Answer the 11 questions given to you.
4. Create 11 questions for the bloggers you nominate.
5. Choose 11 bloggers with 200 or fewer followers to nominate and include links back to their blogs.
6. Go to each blogger's page and let them know you have nominated them

11 Random Facts About Me
1. If I ever had a son I would already know his full name.
2. I do not like watermelon with salt, blech! It's just gross!
3. I try to keep my anger at bay because otherwise I will turn into the Hulk ;) 
4. I strongly dislike sleeping in complete darkness and if it is completely silent I get a little freaked out. 
5. I never thought boys had cooties even when I was little. It's true! I've forever been attracted to boys :P
6. I've always wanted to travel to Australia, despite all of it's dangers I am dying to go there.
7. Navy and Gold are my favorite colors
8. I have had a crush on Robert Downey Jr. for a really long time
9. I consider Ian Somerhalder to be the most attractive man of all time.
10. Horses are truly my passion, I will never get enough of them, ever, period. Even if we somehow part, I will always find my way back to them.
11. It may sound cliche but I absolutely love staying inside and doing fun activities when it is raining outside.



Now on to the Questions from Wait for the Jump!

1. Who is your favorite horse? (Either real or fictional) Why? Besides Ava it has to be Secretariat. What an amazing horse!

2. What is the most exotic/unusual pet you've ever owned? Hmmm, I would have to say ferrets on that one. 

3. As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? Easy! Ever since I was little I wanted to be a veterinarian. 

4. If you ended up being something else, what made you change your mind? The money, it would cost a fortune for the training and even then you wouldn't make much every year. Although, if the money weren't an issue I would enroll myself in vet school this second.

5. What are your long-term riding career goals? May it be with Ava or not I want to ride in an AQHA World Western Pleasure class or reining ;)

6. What is your greatest riding achievement? Being able to go out and ride every time without having to worry about being bucked off, which is good enough for me.

7. What is your greatest regret? Not having lessons and more professional training for Ava and I sooner...

8. What is your favorite movie? Why? I have a couple but one of my favorites is definitely Walk The Line. I have always loved Johnny Cash's and June Carter's love story and it makes me cry every time.

9. Have you ever read a book that moved you so much that it changed your life? Which book? Ehh, no not really, maybe a little bit, I can't think of one though.

Or this would do, haha!

10. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? What would your house be like? I would live in Texas. Of course I would want to move out of the country but I couldn't put Ava through quarantine, that would be too much for her. So I would move to Texas. We would live on a nice piece of land with a barn, indoor arena, and nice cabin for mua. 

11. If you could have any saddle, which one would it be? I would either want a cutting saddle or a saddle designed for trails. And of course it has to be made of high end leather and/or custom made.

Here are 11 Questions I Made for You!

1. You are stuck on a deserted island, what is the first thing you do?

2. You meet a stranger, he offers you two pills. He says the green one will take you on an amazing adventure although it may have dangerous/deadly consequences or he says you can take the yellow which will make you forget any of this ever happened. Which would you take? Why?

3. Would you rather own a unicorn or a pegasus?

4. What was your most memorable experience you and your horse shared?

5. What is a riding discipline you have always wanted to try? Why? ie. barrel racing, steeple chasing etc.

6. What was your favorite toy from your childhood?

7. If you show, what was your most favorite ribbon/award you earned?

8. You are at a bar (or restaurant if you are under 21!) what drink would you order?

9. How many siblings do you have?

10. What is your favorite time of the year?

11. Which do you like short horses or tall horses?

The 11 Nominated Blogs

1. Julie at The Little Bay Princess

2. Kitty Kat at A Horse is a Horse

3. Jennifer at How Did This Happen?

4. Jen at Tails of the Off Track Thoroughbred

5. Suzanne at Confessions of an AA Event Rider and a Convicted Over Thinker

6. Jessica at Spotty Horse News

7. Holly at Shoes, Shoes, Shoes... And Horses

8. Sarah at Eventing in Color

9. Allison at Adventures with Shyloh

10. NSRider at The Imperfect Perfect Horse

11. Laura at The Roany Pony

How to Lunge a Dragon

Yesterday miss Ava decided to act like a little dragon.

On our way to the arena all the other horses came running up which triggered Ava's dragon mode. She would snort, prance, and lift her tail like an Arabian. I didn't get after her much on this, I kind of let her speak her mind and if she got too pushy I would remind her that that is not tolerable. And although she was being a dragon she wasn't really being a dangerous one. She didn't run me over or pull on me, which was great.

Once we got inside the round pen I first let her look around (first time!). After a few minutes I started giving her direction and within ten minutes she was calming down and looking to me for safety and rest.

Today we did the same routine. Only, when walking down the arena Ava didn't go into dragon mode, she would stop often but after we were more than half way there she quit. And in the round pen she first had lots of energy but after giving her guidance she actually started lowering her head and calming down, despite the wind!

For some reason it has been easier to show my body language to her, I feel as though I can understand things better and get what I want with less and less effort. It is quite an amazing thing.

She did much better than I could have hoped. So, afterwards I rewarded her with some grain.

Ava trotting after me for a treat

Two shadowed girls

Nom

We're Settling

The new place is working out better than I had hoped. It is private, quiet, and you can basically do whatever you want without anyone fussing.

Ava has been learning to come when called. It is starting to work very well, especially when she is at the complete opposite end of her huge pasture.

I tried riding her a little today. It went... not so great. She tried bucking and rearing with me on her, and of course her signature of taking every little advantage to do something bad... I'm not sure that riding will work out very well in our future... I know it may sound silly, crazy or whatever but I've been considering retiring Ava from riding and just advance our ground and showmanship skills. The more I ride her the more I feel like we are on different levels and I'm not sure we will ever been the same. It saddens me but all I know is that we are both very good at showmanship, so if we work hard maybe we can start entering higher level showmanship shows. It's an idea. I also wouldn't have to worry about getting hurt anymore too! Eventually I would want another horse that is my level of riding but until I get a massive increase of income I will be working with my little halter pony.

I've also considered teaching her to drive but that is a whole other ordeal.

"Easy There Unsteady Betty!"

It has been hard adapting to being outside all the time instead of going into the nice cozy insulated, heated indoor arena. It's definitely not fun when it is cold and windy.

I started Ava's day with some grain, carrots, and even tried a couple bananas (which she despised!). I then haltered her and headed down the long path to the working arena. On our way down there she was breathing surprisingly hard and would stop frequently. Once we got to the arena I started by walking her around it, threw the rope over her a little and once I thought she was calm enough I let her lunge a bit. She was horrible in the beginning. Tossing her head, rearing, pulling, slight bucks, and excessive speed. I stayed as calm as possible and gave her the benefit of the doubt but when she got a little too forceful with her nonsense I got after her, hard. I don't mind some goofiness but when it becomes too excessive I have no tolerance for it. After that her mood was better, not completely, but better. I made her move her feet a lot, making sure I wasn't being too agressive, almost trying to make a game out of it. After she calmed dramatically I actually got her to calmly canter on the lunge (good girl!!). I then finished with some desensitization.

After getting back to the pasture I began to teach Ava how to come. It definitely worked after she was rewarded with a little bit of grain. She still did great though.

I also found a western Wintec saddle at the tack store and brought it over to the new place to try on Ava. It looked great on her and hopefully we can ride in it soon.

Still missing The Ranch but trying to make the best of what we have at the new place.