Random Post

Carrot stretches yesterday while we waited for a friend to finish teaching a lesson. The Boy thoroughly loves his carrots but didn't quite understand the purpose of stretching after them! Nevertheless he decided it was worth it even if it was rather a curious game!

Showed he was definitely more stiff to the right than to the left--he has trouble with the right-lead canter also so that makes sense.

Sigh...I really need to get my neck out there and start looking for saddles. I'm browsing and found several potentially good ones but haven't called or emailed on anything yet...

Yesterday he was also introduced to the prospect of random people--kids and adults--coming up to him and wanting to pet him. He thought it was very strange. He was very good, but you could just see his brain going "uhhh...um...what's the reason for this?...can we go walk now...?" Haha. He'll let me pet him and love on him in the pasture, but he's not much of a "touchy" horse. He'd rather get out and do something, especially once the halter goes on. ;)

Leaving Sunday for two weeks. I'm rather panicked he'll lose a lot of weight or hurt himself or something while I'm gone. He hasn't lost much in the couple weeks I've had him, but he's not gaining much either, and he could stand to gain a little bit. Ugh well not much I can do about it. I know the people at the barn will keep an eye on him, and worse come to worse we could probably move him up with the part-board horses till I get back, if we had to. It'll be Christmas before we leave for long again, so I'll have a better handle on what/how much he needs to be eating by then.

Love This Boy

We've been just hanging out this last week and a half, enjoying ourselves, since we don't have any tack (my fault, but I'm loathe to begin saddle-shopping), and since the Boy's feet are sore.

Regarding feet, I decided to hold out a while and see if they improve with proper barefoot trimming. If not, I'll do shoes. We don't plan on doing a lot of competition or such, so that's not a big deal. So far he's progressing slowly but steadily--he's 100% on the grass, even if the ground is hard, and today he was only mildly ouchy on sandy gravel, bark chips, the lumpy arena footing, and the rock-hard barn aisle.  Woo! If he stays barefoot that long, I'll put some boots on his Christmas list just in case. ;)

So we are doing groundwork and hand walks, lots of them. The trails are nice and it's a great experience for him. He LOVES them and power-walks along so that I can hardly keep up, if I let him! Put some steering and brakes on and the boy will be a XC machine someday!

Out for a walk

Also introducing some undemanding time, which the boy currently thinks is nothing worth thinking about, but he'll come around. It's always fun to just chill in the pasture with a herd of horses--you really get insight into the herd dynamics and into the personality of the different horses. Today was the first time for that, and while he stared at me for a very long time from behind a few little trees, he didn't decide to come up and investigate. I think I'll be doing that regularly.

Handsome face

We have an official photographer in the Brother, so that's quite nice. :) I've promised him a ride when River's ready, as payment. Haha. The Brother knows how to ride, so it's not too far in the distance!

I leave for two weeks a week from today, so he'll get a long break. Hopefully he's not a crazy herd-bound maniac when I come back. . .

To Barefoot or Not

Let's just say in the first place that I want to have River barefoot. It's easy for me, I think it's healthier for him, we don't have to worry about shoes getting thrown--all that jazz. I like barefoot and I like natural.

Also, he is barefoot currently. Farrier came out yesterday and cleaned up his feet and he was rather sore afterwards but I think most of it was the trim more than anything else. Just after throwing the shoes, he was a bit ouchy on the big gravel but otherwise fine.

However people have been rumbling that perhaps he will "have" to go in shoes. Reasons for that are as follows:

• Hocks have some slight lateral rotation under weight (i.e. they twist sideways slightly, especially inwards). So there is uneven wear on the back feet. This is what the vet check said.
• Flat soles. To my inexperienced eye the back feet are okay, but the front feet are very flat. [Coincidentally, the front feet are also the ones that have been shod...] Anyway this is what my trainer mentioned.
• Not much heel (farrier said this). Also some bruising in the heel quarters (vet check). 
• Possible mild arthritis in the front fetlocks (vet check).

Farrier only mentioned the lack of heels, saying the rest of his feet was "okay." 

I'm willing to go either way, as long as it's best for him. If he stays barefoot, I'm entirely planning on getting all the education I can to at least upkeep his feet between trims myself. Perhaps do all of it myself, if possible. The problem is that I'm not at all convinced that shod is the best way for him. And so I turn to you, The Cyberspace Readers. Barefoot or shoes? What's your preference and why? 

Second Day

I gave River Saturday off to adjust to the herd and hopefully calm down some. So I headed over again this afternoon before my turn to feed.

The friend who had recommended the barn to me was already there, so I went and caught the boy and brought him in. He called a lot but I had him in the rope halter so he didn't lean on it so much, and he seemed a bit more relaxed. Brought him in and put him in a stall hoping he'd calm down since theoretically he was more used to that. But he just started pacing. So I went and got his grain and fed him, then brought him out and tied him up next to my friend's horse.

Eventually he calmed right down and was very nice. He licked and chewed a LOT, yawned and yawned, and generally let go of a lot of stress. We followed my friend out and hung around while she started teaching a lesson, and I started teaching River the Parelli 7 Games.

Wow.  That is all I have to say.

This horse is SO SMART!

Friendly (desensitizing)--no worries. Porcupine (direct pressure)--yup, got that. Driving (suggestion of pressure)--oh that's the same thing, sure. Circling--okay, great. The only thing we had a problem with was Yo-Yo (backing up and coming forward). He backs fine off pressure, but not off wiggling the lead rope. We'll work on it. I didn't do Squeeze or Sideways because the only fences we had to work on were electric and I didn't want him or me getting shocked!

I feel like I "taught" him nothing. Lol! Either someone else has taught him all this, and done an amazing job (unlikely), or the horse is just crazy smart. It did really help him start using his mind and calm down, though. Eventually we moved away from my friend and her horse and worked on our own where he couldn't see anyone. He called some, then settled down. I put him to work whenever he got antsy, and when he calmed down I told him "Okay" and encouraged him to graze. Pretty soon he was very chill except for the flies--I took him inside the barn and although there was nobody around, he calmed down and let me finish grooming him and everything with no fuss.

He did throw both front shoes sometime between Friday and today. Ugh. But I'm not surprised--it would be a miracle if any shoes stayed on in that pasture. Nice as it is, there are some very muddy spots. It didn't mess up his feet much though, so I weighed my options and turned him back out with plans of calling the farrier ASAP. I think he'll do less damage to himself in the pasture than pacing and being worried in his stall.

Pictures!

It was storming yesterday so we didn't get pictures, but today we did!

We discovered he is easy to catch--yay!

He finally found a buddy today--apparently she doesn't like anyone else, but they are all but joined at the hip!

Then we had our first lessons in "You can move your feet as much as you want if you're nervous, but you can't run over me!"

We had a few moments after he realized he was ALONE where I had to get a bit big--his lead manners need some work!

There was no one in the barn so we went around back where there are some paddocks and he could see and be near other horses (albeit strange ones) while not being with them.

He was nervous but handled it well.

Pretty face

 It took a little bit but eventually he relaxed and started eating.

Oh grass is good--nomnomnom

Then I gave him a couple carrots which really got him curious and focused! He tends to blow off people a bit--I think more because he's had no steady work by one or two people than for any other reason--but the carrots got him 100% zoned in on us! 

Even better than grass!

Can't wait to get to know this guy better. He really has a good mind and I think a lot of my job will be to make myself interesting enough and consistent enough that he considers me worth his time.

Oh boy. Left-brain extrovert here we come?? Left-brain something, I think. At least he's got a fairly mild personality, whatever it is. But Emily, this right-brain introvert owner might need some help! ;)

Still love him. :)

AANNNDD....

Do you want to know what happened?

Are you wondering if we even ever finished the vet check?

Do you want to know what I look like when I'm anxiously awaiting something? (No, you don't.)

Are you wondering if he broke the trailer in smithereens and galloped down the highway when we tried to bring him home?

Or perhaps I just vanished off the face of the earth?

Or maybe, when I woke up this morning, I slapped my head so hard in my What-did-I-just-DO thought that I knocked myself out permanently?



Okay guys, here it is...


I HAVE A HORSE!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
*dances around house bouncing up and down squealing and scaring everyone--HELP, the introvert is ALIVE!*
 
Brought him home today! He was super good, loaded great, traveled well, was very happy to get a good roll in his stall. ;)

Pictures coming hopefully tonight. :) Got to go do feeding and planning on stealing the Brother to be our photographer. ;) He should get turned out this afternoon/evening when the BO will be there to make sure he gets on well with the herd.

Pedigree Search

http://www.pedigreequery.com/choptank4

Not bad lineage. ;)

Names I've thought of:

• River
• Chip
• Chaco 

Others welcome!

Liebster Blog!

We are very happy to be the recipients of the Liebster Blog Award from Emily and Estella over at From the Horse's Mouth!  Thanks Emily! :)

So now we have things to do...
HOW TO ACCEPT THE AWARD: The Liebster Blog Award is a way to recognize blogs who have less than 200 followers.  Liebster is a German word that means beloved and valued.  Here are the rules for accepting the award:

1. Thank the person who 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 to their blogs.
6. Go to each blogger's page and let them know you have nominated them.

Okay then. 

11 random facts about me:

1. I started riding lessons when I was 10.
2. I love, and I mean LOVE, doing puzzles!
3. But not those horrible cursed puzzles that engineers have. The kind where you have to get-the-loop-off-the-string and what have you. I HATE those puzzles with a passion. Ha.
4. Telling people random things about myself is the. hardest. thing. ever. :P
5. I'm an introvert unless I'm very excited or very comfortable around you.
6. Therefore I don't like big parties or gatherings or big groups of people.
7. In two years I'll be an elementary teacher (hopefully!)
8. I do not like middle schoolers. (Sorry any middle schoolers reading this blog. I'm learning to deal with your kind.)
9. I've lived in five states and eight houses.  
10. I was home schooled through high school but NO I am not anti-social and obnoxious!
11. I can't stand the smell of anything seafood or fishy!

My 11 questions from From the Horse's Mouth were:

1. What are your colors for you and your horse? My colors are anything jewel toned and not yellow. Yellow looks atrocious on me. My horse--mm well, I'm thinking if it's meant to be "Chops," jewel tones might look good on him too. Teal also.
2. Do you have any random talents? Erm, I've rather superb skills at tricking people into thinking I'm a perfectionist! :P
3. What is your biggest pet peeve? Other people drumming fingers on a table would be a big one!
4. Who is your equestrian idol? I don't really have one, though there are a lot of good riders and horsepeople out there.
5. Do you like to read? If so, what was the last good book you read? I do! But I don't read very much...sadness...a book I really love though is Love Heels, a compilation of true stories about service dogs!
6. What is your most embarrassing horse moment? Probably falling off at my first lesson with Coach, after the horse did a little kick out. Anyone should have stayed on through that!
7. Do you have any random obsessions? Pencils. Sharp pencils. Pencil.must.always.be.sharp. So I use mechanical ones. Lol.
8. If you could be friends with anyone famous, who would it be? Honestly, I don't think I'd want to be friends with anyone famous. I don't know--it'd have to be a down-to-earth person that didn't "act famous"!
9. Favorite song at the moment? Several, but one is "Get Back Up" by TobyMac.
10. What is your horse’s favorite treat? I dunnnnooooo yet!!
11. Post your favorite picture of your horse . Hopefully, I shall do this shortly. ;) 

11 Questions I Made Up for You:

1. When and why did you start riding?
2. Have you ever taken any time away from riding? Why?
3. If you couldn't ride, what would you do with your horse/with horses?
4. Where have you lived during your life?
5. If you could travel to any place in the universe, where would you go?
6. What horse (real or fictitious) has had a big influence on your horsey career?
7. What is one big thing on your "bucket list"?
8. What are two goals you would like to achieve with your horse?
9. If you have a horse, what is his/her favorite thing to do with you? (If not, pick a lesson horse or a horse you used to have).
10. Do you play a musical instrument? If not, what is one you'd like to play?
11. What is the most spur-of-the-moment thing you've ever done?

Now for our 11 Blogs:

1.  Lindsey at The Free Horse Project
2. Emma at All-Around Cowgirl
3. Ruffles at Just A Girl and Her Horse
4. SammyJo at Hoofprints
5. Present Tense at Bit by Bit
6. Cassidyhill at Learning from Tundra
7. Amy at Slow and Steady Wins the Race
8. Katie at My Huck Friend
9. Kat at The Sixth Stride
10. Mare at Simply Horse-Crazy
11. Saiph at Waiting for the Jump

She Liked Him!!

I have about five draft posts but this is the most important one! Really and truly she did like him. Coach and I drove down yesterday to see Chops (gelding's current name--it will change!). After putting him through all his paces she decided she liked what she saw, and pending a good vet check she sees no reason why I shouldn't buy him.

:-O :-D

I'm rather shocked but it's a pleasant sort of shock. :P On for vet checks! If they go well we'll be bringing him home next week!

No pictures because I left my camera at home. Which is too bad because on the way back (sort of), we stopped at Elisa Wallace's northern location. She is a three-star eventer and natural horsemanship trainer, qualified for the Olympics and Pan Am Games several years ago, and won the South Carolina Extreme Mustang Makeover last year. We spent quite a while talking with her, mostly about the mustangs she's taking to the Mustang Million this time around. We met her three mustang geldings, watched her ride two potentials for the Million, talked a lot--well she and Coach talked a lot. I tend to get struck speechless like a silly little kid in such situations. Lol. Very embarrassing but fortunately I'm quiet anyway so it doesn't show up too badly! I did watch a lot and by the time we were done I could talk. :P It was fun even if terrifying at the start. Lol.

I'm having the most terrible time reminding myself this may not yet work out. I hope it does!!

In Which We Find a Prospect!

 Today I drove a loooonnnggg ways--all of an hour and a half, lol--to look at more pony faces!

I looked at a 4-year-old filly and an 8-year-old gelding. Both OTTBs.

The filly was fun in a different sort of way, but Coach and I are both pretty sure I'd want the gelding. Besides, the filly already has a deposit on her. It was fun to ride her though.  He is a lot calmer--albeit some weird stress behaviors that aren't really to the point of being vices but will need some work--but more forward. Weird, right?!

He fills all the requirements for what I'm looking for, though, plus my "like to" extras. And he's cuuute--look at his website photos here! I will change his name if I buy him. Just sayin'. :) 

Blurry still shots of the video but here is me riding him! He's about 16 hands but I don't think I look too much like a midget on him. We kinda match. ;)

Lookit my shoulders, look look! The brace is working! You have no idea how exciting that is to me...Also my legs aren't perfect yet, but they seem to be a bit better than the last time I saw pictures of my riding. Video's exciting. Lol.

Coach, sadly, is out of the state till Thursday, so we will have to wait at least that long to get her out to see him. So far she likes what she sees, though. So I wait and hope and pray no one else comes out and wants to buy him. ;) Everyone cross your fingers and toes and other crossable body parts for us!!