Holiday season!

UK got the week after the hunter pace off, due to the weather and Thanksgiving. On the sunday after Thanksgiving I took him out on a trail ride with a couple of the ladies from the barn. He threw a  couple of temper tantrums but I had a tiedown on him, and my spurs on. Once we got a little ways down the trail he started to enjoy himself.

Susan on Vega, & Jen on Cody ahead of us.

But then we cantered, and I got what I should have been expecting... bucking. Someone's ego had tripled since the hunter pace, then with the added energy of his week off, he was rather fresh. Everytime we cantered, he had a bucking fit. I was very grateful I was riding western when he did the last one, as it was a buck-slam-on-the-brakes-drop-my-head-and-buck-again-buck. Our last canter was buck-free so at least he wore himself out.

Later the following week I had some extra time after feeding, and decided to try to trail-ride solo again. He threw his temper tantrums in the road, and started doing some down the hill until he slipped and a back leg went in a ditch. After that he was a rockstar. 

First successful solo trail ride!

Afterwards I spoiled him for a bit, rewarding his good behavior with both banana rounders and a studmuffin. 

Nomming his treats.

Then the farrier showed up and I had his shoes pulled for the winter. I let him have a couple of days off and then tried to ride him in the ring. Because of all the rain we've been having his soles were soft from standing in all the mud, and thus he was a bit ouchy. 

Fuzzy boy!

The barn girls were riding at the same time as me, and I ended up giving them an impromptu lesson of sorts. I let one of them walk UK around while I babysat him, and then another girl practiced her half-seat over poles on him. 

Then I let Mattie get on him. Now, as Mattie is one of my students I made her work. She's so tiny so UK didn't mind doing some trot for her, because it was like there was nothing on his back.

Mattie on UK

She even cantered him a tiny bit after doing some trot work over poles. I let them finish by having her ride UK down the driveway to walk him out while I chatted with some of the other boarders. 

UK adores Mattie, and she loves him too. She dotes on him, and will go into his pen just to hang out with him. And he follows her around like the giant dog that he is. 

Hopefully things will dry up soon so UK and I can go out for another ride. I might try a trail ride again soon, depending on the weather. We'll see! 

Oh! I got a picture from the hunter pace!

Happy Holidays!

Hunter Pace!

We survived!!!

I feel like a great weight has been removed from my shoulders. There is nothing quite like bringing a green horse to an event to make you  feel  some pressure.

I left UK in last night so his legs would be dry for this morning. Jean and I met at the barn for six-thirty-ish and grained all the critters. I'd packed everything on the trailer the night before, so I didn't need to do much. I brushed UK and then turned him out on the grass while Gail hooked up her trailer and positioned it for us to load.

Chilling while we wait for our turn.

After Bubba and Rebel were on it was UK's turn. He wasn't sure how he felt about a slant load, but after some encouragement he got on and settled in for the ride.

We arrived at the pace with some time to spare. We walked down to get our number and lunch tickets, and were informed that we could take our time if we needed (this made Jean relax quite a bit!). This ended up being a very good thing, as a horse in the trailer next to us had managed to get it's hind leg stuck over the divider. I lent a leadrope, Gail provided a jack and other people did what they could. The mare had bitten her tongue so her mouth was bloody, luckily that seemed to have been the worst of it one they got her off. 

UK ready to unload.

Once that horror was taken care of we unloaded our horses. Stef was with us to help and watch the pace, so with her assistance all three of us got tacked up and mounted. As soon as I got on UK I could feel all the tension and excitement coursing through his veins. He then tried to do some hops and spins, but I was having none of it. We started down the road towards the start gate when Jean asked where our number was. Oops! I'd completely forgotten to put it on after the hoopla with the horse stuck in the trailer. Stef came to my rescue and I managed to get the number on just in time. 

We were then informed that the first jump was the photo jump. Jean and I both expressed our disapproval loudly before leaving the start gate. We walked. Bubba hadn't been completely sound so we wanted to take it easy (we were signed up for the hack division anyways) and I also didn't want to give UK the opportunity to misbehave. He was completely prepared to jump the photo jump when he saw another group of horses. He was so distracted and disconcerted by them that I was forced to just ride on without jumping the photo jump. :(

For the next half hour or so I had to use every ounce of skill I had to stay on my horse. Other teams would come flying up behind us without calling out first and UK hated that. Bucking, spinning, small rears, bunny hops, you name it he probably did it. I was more then a little annoyed at these people. If you're going to pass or overtake another group of horses you not only announce your presence but you tell them how you're going to pass them. Not gallop up their asses and then pass by inches away. At one point I snapped at a group of approaching riders as UK did a rather impressive series of levades followed by some spinning, "CALL OUT BEFORE YOU COME UP ON A GREEN HORSE!!!" I really thought I was coming off during one UK's worse fits, and pulled a muscle in my ass thanks to my attempts to stay with the bucking bronco. Meanwhile Bubba continued to be the fantastic rock that he is, and helped calm UK between groups of horses. 

Then came the water crossings. As long as UK didn't have to go first he was ready to do it, albeit reluctantly. With every crossing he got a little braver, and a little more confident that he wouldn't drown if he got his feet wet. We crossed everything from small trickles of water to rivers ten feet across and at least eight inches deep. The further we got into the course, the calmer UK got. I took most of the go-arounds, as the footing was wet and slick. We did however jump the small coops that were scattered throughout the course when the footing was okay. He'd never jumped a coop before, we had one stop because he wasn't paying attention but after that he was a champ. 

At the halfway point Gail decided to retire Bubba who was getting a little too tired. Jean and I continued on without her and took advantage of the better footing in the higher fields. We finally got to do some real canter and a decent amount of trot. The view was amazing, the sun had come out and there was a slight wind. It was perfect riding weather. We had a few more hiccups (including one caused by a cyclist flying up behind us on the road) but overall UK was a champ. He even lead through some deep mud and across some water before we got to the finish. 

I really wanted to jump UK more, but both the take off and landing points at the jumps were more then a bit treacherous. UK is pretty good at being careful in bad footing, but I wanted to have him feel safe and not have anything horrifying happen. We were aiming for a positive experience for him, so he'd want to do this again. So I didn't jump much at all. Hopefully next year it won't be quite so muddy. 

I really wanted to jump this one, but the mud on the landing was very deep.

We cantered the last little bit home, with UK in the lead and Rebel happy that it was almost over. We untacked and brushed our muddy-sweaty beasts. I even managed to find a hose to hose his legs off after going for a little walk. We loaded the horses and then went to get our lunches. 

A tired but happy UK.

UK was exhausted mentally, but amazingly he had tons more physical energy. All our long trail rides, muscle building and trot work had really paid off. After a ten and a half mile hunter pace he could have done a lot more if I asked it of him. 

In between his little meltdowns he was a superstar. He could jump and then halt if I asked. We could to a nice forward canter/hand gallop and when I asked him to lengthen or shorten he did. I was able to stay off his back and out of his way but still be there for him when he needed me. There was a few minutes while hand galloping through a field that felt like I was riding cross country somewhere. We had a fantastic rhythm and balance, and it felt like we could go on like that forever.

Over all I'm very proud of my boy. He wasn't perfect. He was in fact quite the opposite of perfect but he tried to be good. He didn't do anything dirty on purpose and he put his trust in me and did things he'd never done before. Even though he want to go at all times he kept walking calmly, and even on a long rein, when I asked him. 

I'll give him tomorrow off, but ride him Tuesday to make sure he recovered okay.

I'm going to go to bed now! I'm all cut up from multiple encounters with thorny branches, and that muscle in my rear end needs to rest. 

Living in New England can be a bit hard.

So UK had a light week leading up to Holloween as I was away Thursday and Friday. Saturday dawned cold and brisk and then 15 to 20 inches of snow dropped on Connecticut. Other New England states got hit as well but not quite as hard as Connecticut. UK was wrapped up in a blanket and sharing a shed with Ethan, so he had it easy. The humans didn't have it quite so good.

100% of my county was out of power by the end of Saturday, and the rest of the state didn't fare much better. Trees, wires and telephone poles were down everywhere. Sunday was bright and sunny, but no one really noticed as they were too busy trying to dig out of the white stuff. I was actually stuck without a car for a couple of days so I couldn't even check on UK, but luckily Sally had him covered for me.

The week slowly warmed up and the snow started to melt. Everything was snow and puddles and mud. It was just gross. The ring was a frozen mess, so I rode UK up and down the driveway on Thursday and even made down the road a little bit so we could walk around a field owned by the state.

Then Friday, Saturday, Sunday and today we trail rode with Jean. Friday she rode Rebel and the rest of the time she rode Maggie. At first we tried going down the trails but weren't able to get very far thanks to all the downed trees. We bushwhacked a little and I found out UK likes being an equine battering ram. So Saturday Jean and I decided to ride down the road and had a nice three and a half mile walk to survey the damage on the nearby streets. UK kept his cool over bridges, past barking dogs and when people flew by us in their cars.

A combined effort of some of the guys from our barn and a couple other people who use the trails made it so Jean and I were able to ride the majority of the main trail again yesterday and today. We even jumped a one of the downed trees before it got cut!

UK still throws his temper tantrums when we go down the trails, but they disappear when we go somewhere new. He's a little too smart for his own good. I think I'm going to have to get bigger spurs because as he gets stronger and fuzzier my little prince of wales become less effective when he misbehaves.

Tomorrow I hope to ride him in the ring and give him a little refresher in moving off of my leg, as it should be thawed enough.

Oh! I almost forgot. The hunter pace got postponed to the 20th of this month, thanks to Winter Storm Alfred. So I have more time to get his giant ego-ness ready. ;)

Another major milestone passed!

UK jumped his first real course earlier this evening! It's the first time he's had more then a line to do in one go.
We had an outside line, two jumps on separate diagonal lines, and a jump on the other outside line with the plank rails he hated so much that he refused to jump them if they were more then six inches off the ground until now.

We did a couple of different courses and didn't have any major problems. He even did a bending line! All of the jumps were 2'3" or 2'6" and he jumped them all like they were no big deal. I also didn't do much more then set the pace and let him figure out the rest on his own. That's when he really impressed me! He never took the big one!!!! He waited and balanced himself with no cue from me!!! I am so proud!

He's still a little bit wiggly down the lines, but otherwise he's improved by miles these last couple of months. I can angle the jump and he doesn't care. Our only problems stemmed from landing on the wrong lead and not wanting to slow down to do a simple change because he was so excited about jumping. Which means I need to start teaching him flying changes.... argh. I hate flying changes.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to get him out in the back field to jump the jumps out there. I need to where the spurs for that though, which means I need new spur straps. I broke the buckle on one this afternoon.

Oh and we're doing a hunter pace weekend after next! No turning back now! I'm nervous and excited and totally over-thinking it. But we'll be fine, we're going with Jean on Maggie and Gail on Bubba. A bomb could go off next to Bubba and he wouldn't care.

Okay, need some sleep! Toodles!

Trail Ride Tuesday

So I got to go trail riding on Tuesday (it's been raining ever since). I brought my sister-in-law along and let her ride Jet who belongs to a friend of mine. A bomb could go off next to Jet and he wouldn't care. My friend does cowboy mounted shooting on him.

Anyhoo, UK is green as all heck when it comes to trail riding. He gets bored and starts being an asshole, and so I need the other horse with us to just ignore his antics. My SIL had her hip broken two years ago by a nasty horse and is still recovering, so I wanted this to be a positive experience for her.

UK and Jet say hi.

I tacked up western, put on my big spurs and used a jury rigged tie down made out of a rope halter, some snaps and a leather strap on UK (my real tie down is being repaired as a dog ate part of it). We put on high visability vests as it's hunting season and hit the trail.

Amy enjoying herself.

My barn is smack dab in the middle of a huge wildlife management area. So just and 1/8 mile down from our driveway is the main trail head. UK was an ass a few times, but when Jet didn't react and I used my spurs he gave in a little. Once we were a mile or two away from home he stopped thinking about being a brat and started to enjoy being were we were.

We had a blast. The weather was beautiful and no one else was out, so we had the trails to ourselves. UK was a rockstar by the end, even leading through the water on the way back (he hates getting his pretty little toes wet).

The overlook at the dam.

I can't wait to get out again once it stops raining and dries up a bit. We're going to be attempting his first hunter pace next month. I am equal parts excited and scared.

Well we haven't floated away yet.

The lack of updates is due mostly to the weeks of rain we've been getting. We're stuck in a constant state of muddy despair. So much for fall being crisp and clear...

UK got ridden twice last week, and it was bootcamp due to him pulling some attitude while trying to go on a trailride. I'll just suffice it to say that what should have been a 40 minute ride was forced to be over 2 hours. He wasn't scared, he was just being a rebellious ass.

Oh and then thanks to the mud he pulled a front shoe again, but I'm not going to bother to call the farrier out till things dry up a bit. He's got an easy boot on the foot for the moment, so he'll be fine.

It's cold, wet and grey out almost constantly. UK is snug in his shed with a turnout sheet on, as he started to loose weight again due to his wussy nature and the cold nights. For a horse born in upstate NY he sure doesn't handle cold weather well!

Apologies!

I know I haven't been good about updating lately. I'm really sorry! Things have been busy!

Last weekend my sister-in-law came up to ride again. This time she rode first and then I hopped on to take UK over a few jumps.

I'm still not back in shape, but both UK and I are improving. Oh what I'd give to have the body I had five years ago with the skill set I have now!

UK's had it pretty light this week as my ankle decided to give out on me. I'm hoping to ride tomorrow, weather permitting!

Dressage practice and corners!

I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I sort of married into a dressage family. Both my mother-in-law and my sister-in-law do dressage. Then Betsy who owned the barn where I had UK before was a dressage rider, as well as my friend Kristy who owns Dacharia. I felt a bit outnumber to be honest, as I have always considered myself a huntseat/equitation rider.

Anyways, the reason I'm pointing this out is when it comes to dressage as a sport I'm really rather clueless. I can watch and evaluate just fine, as I know a lot of dressage as flatwork, but competing in dressage is a whole other ball game. I did drill team and I know where the basic dressage letters are, but other then that I'm just not up to par. Considering I want to event with UK, I really need to learn how to do a dressage test. So I asked my sister-in-law, Amy, to come to the barn last Saturday and give me some help.

We never got around to practicing an actual test because it dawned on me that I didn't know exactly how big a 20 meter circle was. So we mostly practiced those after warming UK up. Plus I didn't want him too tired because Amy was going to ride him for a little bit after me.

The other big change was I decided to ride in spurs. UK actually didn't seem to mind them, and was much more willing to listen to the spurs then listen to a crop/whip. He's a lot of work on flat, he really needs leg every step of the trot and canter. He's very responsive but tends to want to suck back more then move forward because of his western training as a baby. And as I'm still not exactly at peak physical condition I could use the extra help.

UK has no trouble tracking forward, which is why we now use bell boots.

Look at the muscles!

Amy getting a lovely working trot from UK.

UK's still weaker to the right, but he has improved. We can go straight without dropping our shoulder now, and even have a fairly balanced circle if I give him lots of help. All the bending and stretching has done wonders for his confidence. He's much more willing to try new things because he knows he's stronger now.

Amy finished her ride on him by trotting over some poles someone left in the ring.

So I lunged UK on tuesday and ended up lunging him over a jump as well. It wasn't a regular jump either, it was a corner! Using two barrels, I lay them down and put a pole on each end, then had the poles resting on safety cones so it all made a triangle. I let UK take a good look at it and then asked him to trot it. He did it every time, and never tried to run out! In fact he was enjoying himself so much he kept jumping the widest part, clearing it by at least a foot. After that display I decided that purchasing a neck strap might be a very good idea.

It rained for three days straight, so he got them off to chill in his shed with LD. The rain stopped yesterday afternoon, finally, and I went up to ride. He didn't have a whole lot of energy so I just flatted him lightly, and then decided to jump the crossrail that someone had left up in the ring. My corner jump hadn't fallen down, so I asked him to jump it tracking right (I always start out jumping off his bad direction as it gives him confidence). He did it great! We trotted it again, and then cantered it a couple times, switched directions and did it off the left just as well! I was able to point him right at the end of it and he never tried to run out. I'm ridiculously proud of my little paint horse!

I hope to do some more jumping with him tomorrow! 

We survived!

I have to admit, I was a bit nervous last week. Hurricane Irene was bearing down on Connecticut with a vengeance and there wasn't much anyone could do about it. We prepped the barn and pens, bedded the sheds and reinforced fencing and then just had to wait. It's the waiting that gets to you. 

All that hard work paid off however and the horses made it through okay. Over 60% percent of the town the barn is in lost power, but by some miracle the barn and Sally's house wasn't amid that number. The only casualty was a section of fencing in an empty paddock that got blown down. Everything else stayed put!

Before the hurricane hit I rode UK almost everyday.English, western, bareback.... The video below is from one of the days I rode him bareback. He'd been really good undersaddle the day before. 

I gave him yesterday off, as I rode him on the flat Tuesday and really made him work. We did lots of lateral work and transitions. Then just to see how he'd do I begin doing some counter-canter exercises. We were able to pick up a lead, change directions and then keep cantering all the way around without loosing the lead. I was pretty impressed. We finished up by doing simple lead changes in the center of a figure eight. He was really good so ended on that happy note.

I'm dreading teaching him how to do a flying change. I hate doing flying changes. It might have something to do with the fact that Jake would never do a flying change on the flat, he always refused. If you were jumping a course he would get his changes every time and not care, just never ask him for one on the flat or you would be punished. 

Well, I'm off to go feed the barn, toodles!

Okay, I'm overdue for an update. Sorry!

There has been a lot going on lately. UK's been pretty good. I've been alternating between english and western (mostly for my own comfort). After forcing him to work hard in the round pen a couple weeks ago he's been pretty much back to his normal self and less of a rebellious teenager.

The biggest change has been in what bit I use when I ride him over fences. Normally I rode him in the same bit that I flatted him in: a full cheek three piece snaffle with a copper roller. Last week I decided to see how he'd be in my full cheek slow twist snaffle, as when he'd get excited or fresh I felt like he was able to ignore the bit. Boy! What a difference! I swear that a full cheek slow twist snaffle is the ultimate bit for any downhill horse. It's got just the right amount of twist to get their attention and be able to stop them.

The first time I rode him in the slow twist he was shocked. He'd gotten strong after jumping a vertical and tried to pull and demand that I let him do what I want. I closed my legs and my hand and he went "OMG WHAT WAS THAT?!?!" and slowed down and went back into a frame. I actually felt a bit bad for him as he was that surprised. But I wasn't about to go back to less bit as this bit really kept him from trying to sneak sideways.

I jumped him again today, in the slow twist, and he was fantastic!!! I'd flatted him the night before and he'd been a bit off (I found out that he'd had a rough night) so I wasn't going to demand too much from him. I let him know from the get-go that if he was good then we'd be done quickly.

I've been setting up a pole 9feet in front of our verticals to help him not try to always take the "big one". The bounce poles have really been making him think, and he's starting to understand what I'm trying to teach him. He only messed up once, getting distracted and then doing an "oh crap" jump when he realized there was a bounce pole he had to navigate. He jumped from the pole and over the vertical and cleared both, good thing I'm in better shape or I wouldn't have been able to keep up with him! I let him know it was okay and then picked up the canter again and went right back to it, he got it right that time. We finished with jumping an oxer a few times and making him wait, rather then take the big one again. His biggest problem is he knows he can jump the smaller jumps with very little effort and tries to be lazy and take the long distances in order to jump the jumps sooner.

What I realized tonight was how happy he got after jumping something successfully. I'd tell him he was a good boy after landing and he'd be all happy and energetic, wanting to keep going and jump more rather then take a break and walk. He wasn't jigging or anything, but I could feel how ready he was. Really made me proud at how far he has come.

We were only in the ring for maybe 15 minutes tonight, there was no point in making him do more when he kept learning and doing what I asked. We went for a walk outside the ring and then he got to chill and graze for a bit before I put him back in his paddock with LD.

If he could perform at a show like he did in the ring tonight, we could have won every green hunter class I could ride him in.... He was that good. I love that I don't have to fight him or have a lot of contact to get my message through (that was Tess, she always thought she knew better). I have soft hands, and I prefer light contact in the reins at all times, as I prefer to use my legs more then anything. It is so nice to have a horse that is willing to respect that.

Well, let's see what tomorrow brings.... (hopefully I'll be able to take him over some XC jumps before winter!)

Millbrook Horse Trials 2011

Saturday I met with my sister-in-law and we hopped in my car and drove out to Millbrook, NY to watch the crosscountry portion of the Millbrook Horse Trials. I'd made the decision to go when I found out that Peter Atkins was bringing Henny down and competing in the Intermediate division. Millbrook is less then an hour away from my house. 


Amy and I had a blast! It was fantastic to be around so many horse people. All the volunteers (especially the little girls running the raffle tent) were friendly and helpful. It was cloudy and breezy and bug free, you really couldn't ask for better weather. 


It was awesome to watch so many top quality horses and their riders negotiate the XC course. Having Boyd Martin, Phillip Dutton, Karen O'Connor, Leslie Law, Doug Payne, Peter Atkins, Buck Davidson and other professional riders so close was a great learning experience. 


Below is a small selection of the photos I took. Over all I took almost 1200 photos. Unfortunately my camera just wasn't powerful enough to get the shots I was trying to get. 

"Millbrook Horse Trials 2011"

(Here's the link to my album)

I also took some video:

There is more video on my youtube channel. 

I shared some of my better shots with Eventing Nation and John has used a couple for today's Millbrook showjumping recap entry. I'm a huge fan of EN and can't help but be tickled pink that my photo is gracing their blog. ^_^

Here's hoping that next year I'll be lucky enough to be competing in the beginner novice with UK! It's a big dream, but it is a dream that was made all the more tempting by walking the course once all the advanced riders were done. 

At least I know I won't have any problems with the show jumping, as that's my thing.... hehe! 

Somebody has a taste for speed...

Nom-ing and looking noble.

I've been working UK pretty consistently this past week. Riding either early or late to escape the heat. I was at the barn a lot in order to cover for Sally who owns the barn. Her sister lost her battle to breast cancer and Sally had her wake and funeral to deal with. 

Wednesday I had a bunch of my fellow boarders helping out, and we all decided to ride before it got too hot. I decided to be lazy and tacked UK up western as it was too hot to wear half chaps. Jean was borrowing my saddle so she could jump Maggie over some small crossrails. We were having a great ride when all of a sudden, a loud noise made us all jump. UK spooked, but stood his ground when I asked him to. Maggie however spun and dumped Jean. The noise was a tree falling in the woods beyond the ring. 

Right before the tree fell.

 Jean was all right and got Maggie settled eventually. As UK seemed to be none the worse for wear I put him back to work. Just for laughs I decided to see how UK would be a turning around a barrel. He did pretty well at the trot, but really couldn't grasp the concept. Then I let him gallop. This is the first time since he had the Lyme disease that he's had enough energy to try.

Boy did he light up like a little kid at Christmas! At first he was reluctant, then I felt him tense up and then release. He's pretty fast! And he is quick to respond too! Right about the time UK and I were having the most fun, he tripped and I realized that I forgot to put on his bell boots... Oops!

Thursday I rode him english and put him back to regular work. He was pretty good, but was having a heart attack about a small pile of dirt just outside of the ring that wasn't there the day before. I got him to work past it, but his spookiness combined with a bit of an attitude was wearing me out. We'd been jumping a bit, including over a jump with planks that UK was hating. The last time over, UK spooked in mid-air, dropped his left shoulder and went sideways. I landed on my hip, and then got back on UK and made him do everything again.

Friday I decided that it was time for UK to go back to boot camp. We did some lunging work, and when he still decided not to respect me we moved to the round pen. Eventually he gave in and admitted that maybe he should listen to me. We wrapped up by going for a nice long hand walk to cool him off.

He got to chill in his pen for a bit and then I let the barn girls practice their braiding skills on him. He was nice and patient, even dozing off for a bit.

Barn girls practicing their braiding skills on UK.

I later hopped on him bareback to do some show and tell. The barn girls wanted some pointers, and I was planning on teaching them how to do an emergency dismount. After wowing the girls with my amazing thighs and my bareback posting ability I taught them how to do an emergency dismount.

UK's had the last two days off, as I was in Millbrook yesterday and had stuff to do around the house today. I'll cover Millbrook in a second post!

Wooo! Crossrails! Woo!

Ok, maybe that was a little bit sarcastic... hehe.

Yesterday, I tacked UK up and hacked him out to the back field, accompanied by Jean on Maggie. I wanted to see how UK would be to ride around such a large and open space. He tried turning around a couple times, but then gave in when I insisted that we keep moving forward.

Five jumps are scattered around the field, four of them crossrails and one small vertical. By small I mean only a foot high, baby jumps. Overall UK was pretty good, and jumped everything. After jumping the first few crossrails, he just started trotting over them and got a bit sloppy.

I learned one very important thing however, we need more bit if we're going to ride out in the field again! As he started to enjoy cantering around, he didn't want to slow down or brake to the trot and even got a bit mad when I asked him to halt. Yup, my three piece snaffle with the copper roller is great for flat work but not so great for getting an excited UK to pay attention. I plan on using my full cheek slow twist next time we go out to the field.

One of these days I'll have some taking pictures while I ride, UK is quite the hotshot these days. ^_^

Freaky Friday

The view from UK: Jean on Candy.

Today dawned overcast and smelling like rain. Normally Fridays at the barn are fairly quiet, but today we had three barn girls. So I helped them feed and tried to keep them out of trouble.

Jean and I were planning on going on a trail ride with Stef for 10am. I decided to take UK, Jean took Candy (a very opinionated paint mare) and Stef was taking Jett (a QH gelding with a been there, done that attitude). We had a pretty good ride! UK and I went farther then we'd ever gone before. I think it was at least 5 miles round trip. Over bridges, through water and up (and down) rocky hills.

After we got back and put the horses away, I grabbed the barn girls and the golf cart. We had a mission to put the jumps back up in the back field, as it had just been mowed. I have to say that I felt 16 again driving the golf cart through the woods with three chattering tweens riding along.

After a through checking of the field for holes, we proceeded to set up the jumps. I then took on the monumental task of teaching the girls how to count strides. Needless to say, when I asked them how many 3ft steps to take for a 6 stride line and one of them answered "10" I wondered about the future generation.

The best part of the afternoon was when we were done with the jumps. Stef and Jean had walked up, and rode back with us. So six of us in the golf cart, laughing and trying not to fall out. The poor golf cart needed to be pushed up one hill, but we all arrived safely at the barn in the end. It was a lovely bit of happiness amid all the craziness that's been going on lately. (I refuse to discuss barn drama on my blog)

Tomorrow I plan on jumping UK, hopefully. We'll see!

My ankle needed a break, so I walked the last bit home. Torn ankles suck.

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Heat, Trail rides and torrential rain.

Oh yeah baby, gotta love the crazy New England weather! There was a rumor that a tornado touched down in the middle of the state, but I don't know if that's true.

Anyhoo! The heat this past week was killer. It reached 100 degrees one of the days, and the humidity never let up. I rode UK bareback on Tuesday, as it was too hot for a saddle. I didn't get to ride him again till Saturday morning because of the heat.

Friday night my phone starts buzzing that I have a text message:

Jean: trail ride in the morning


Me: Not if it's this hot. UK's a mess just being in the paddock


Jean: 730 am


Me (my phone didn't get me the new text till 11pm): Just got your text with the time. I'll try to make it. Just got home.


Jean: Call me in the am. let me know.


Me: Ok

So I am not a morning person, never have been. I think God thought it would be decidedly funny to make me a horse person who's not a morning person and allergic to horses, hay, mold, grass, dust, pollen, etc. I bet every time I get a rash from touching my horse he/she falls out of his/her chair laughing.

Anyhoo, I called Jean in the morning and we both dragged our sorry selves to the barn. We were tacked up by 8:30am and heading out. UK was a nice mis-mash of western and english tack. My western pad again, western bridle, rope halter with leadrope attached, ear net, english saddle and english breastplate and a borrowed pair of bell boots. Jean was taking Rebel this time.

Now then, I had a theory that the reason UK tries to turn around is because walking gives him too much time to think. So the plan was to trot a lot and maybe canter.

I really think us horse people should know better by now... plans never work. Plans are made to be ruined....

The bugs were horrendous! The sky was cloudy and it was humid with almost no breeze. After trotting for awhile I looked at Jean and we both agreed to canter. We cantered, and cantered, and cantered. Uphill, downhill, through the woods and past water. It was wicked. Jean and I just going down the trail, laughing and joking around. We eventually walked and let our poor ponies cool down. Our calm was short lived however as the bugs then swarmed us again. A good chunk of our ride home had to be trotted, in order to try to keep the bugs at bay.

UK lead through the water on the way home again. Jean said I should trot it, and I told her no, he'd jump it. She laughed at me and I reminded her that I want him to be an eventer, he needs to go through water, not over it!

UK got a nice long hose down when we got back to the barn. I'd ridden with super long stirrups again, and my ankle was pissed at me for doing that. Next time I need to ride with normal length stirrups if I want to be able to walk the next day.

I rode UK bareback Sunday night again, and I plan on riding him tomorrow. It's been raining the last two days. The cooler weather is nice, but I'm getting sick of being soaked...

Adventure!

Saturday I went out on a trail ride without UK, instead riding his pasture mate, Rebel. Rebel's a nice little chestnut AQHA gelding who has a wonderful unflappable attitude. The goal was to accompany my friend Jean while she tries to get her mare, Maggie, to cross water.

We put UK's rope halter on under Maggie's bridle and clipped a long cotton lead rope to it to have ready to pony her with in case of trouble. Maggie is smart and had been pretty brave so far, so we weren't expecting too much trouble.

It was a bit hot out so I left my gloves at the barn as I was riding Rebel western. Didn't think much of it, silly me. Horses didn't care about the tractor tedding a field full of hay, and everything seemed to be going well. We got to the river crossing and Rebel decided to be reluctant which didn't help Maggie. She ended up being scared and tried to turn around in a spot too tight to do that. Jean ended up falling off, getting a horn in the side in the process. Everyone was ok though, Maggie just having scraped some hair off a stifle.

We decided to try a different plan of attack and headed for a water crossing that was shallower and with less of a bank leading to it. We could come back and try the river another time.

Maggie didn't want to do that either, but we had better footing and this time I had the lead rope to pull her along. That's where me not wearing my gloves comes in.... I got some killer rope burn when Maggie panicked about getting her feet wet. I didn't let go however, and she soon followed us pretty calmly. We rode farther up the trail till she had forgotten about the water and then turned around and headed home.

This time she tried to jump the water and ran up poor Rebel's butt. That wouldn't do, so we made her cross the water a couple more times till she walked through it calmly without leaping or charging.

Pleased, we headed home. Jean and I chatting and the horses walking happily. I always tell my students that no matter how relaxed they are or how much they trust their horse they should always be prepared by having their weight in their stirrups and being balanced in their seat. I practice what I preach, and a good thing too! I clapped my hand against my thigh and Rebel jumped out of his skin, making Maggie do the same. Jean and I laughed at the silly horses.

Chuck came out that evening and put shoes on UK.

So this afternoon Jean texts me that she wants to trail ride again, and I agree to come up to the barn and go with her. This time I tack up UK, borrowing Rebel's western saddle to make my life easier (too hot for half chaps!). We both make sure to have halters on under our bridles and I clip the long lead rope to the saddle.

UK's great about going down the driveway, and has no problem with the assholes who fly past us in their cars, never bothering to slow down. His first fearful bit was about a root that resembled a snake that we needed to step over. He'd get real close and then chicken out. So Maggie then lead and he followed her over it. She spooked at a bird and he stayed calm which made her feel better.

Eventually he got nervous and tried to turn around. Jean ended up having to pony us behind her, as UK would go forward when ever she'd pull him along. When he was feeling brave he'd want to be in front but have to settle for being alongside Maggie. When Maggie got scared, UK would be brave and visa versa. When he'd get scared he'd drop back and hide his head behind Maggie, it was pretty funny.

Then we got to the little water crossing. Maggie and UK both had a heart attack. Jean and I decided one of us would have to get off, and she was nice enough to volunteer (her horse is shorter). She lead UK and I pulled Maggie behind us by leading her with her reins. Jean got back on and we rode farther up, UK occasionally needing to be ponied when he got scared.

We turned around once they both were behaving well and headed back for the water. UK didn't like it but he responded when I told him to lead across as Maggie was scared again. Without needing to be led, UK stepped slowly and carefully through the water, and Maggie followed!

We're both pretty proud of our ponies! We may be a bit crazy to take two green horses trail riding but it worked in the end! UK and Maggie seem to balance each other pretty well, as they're both scared of different things. UK actually led the rest of the way home once we got towards the end of the trail.

I'll probably give him tomorrow off it's too hot and then work him in the ring on Tuesday. If it's not too hot I'll ride him in the ring tomorrow. He got a whole week off, so he'll be fine. We only walked today, as we wanted them to just relax.

Oh, I didn't forget my gloves today! ^_~

Progress!

So Sunday afternoon I girded myself for war... I mean  for a trail ride. It was pretty hot, in the upper 80's but there was a breeze to help balance it out. I brought one of my western saddle pads up, as it's made to let the horse's back breath. So I saddled him up with my english saddle on the western pad, breastplate, rope halter under his western bridle with the clip on reins and a lead rope clipped to my saddle. Ample fly spray was applied and an ear net put on.

Now because it was so hot I was in denim capris and flip flops. Yes, I wear flip flops to the barn. I'm a bad, bad example. I changed into my Ariat terrains and then put my half chaps on my bare legs and over the bottoms of the capris. Felt a bit funny but it was better then overheating.

UK actually stood to let me get on after a few tries. This is one of the other problems we've been having, as he's been too anxious to stand still if we're not in the ring. I double checked my cell phone was in my back pocket and then off we went.

Our goal was to ride down the driveway and then the road for about a 1/4mile to meet Selene on her horse Marty and Sylvia who is leasing her other horse, Romeo. We would then attempt to trail ride. We made it down the driveway and UK didn't really give me any attitude tell I asked him to step out on the road. We'd ridden down the road in the past, but at Betsy's.

I'm not going to bother going into detail, I rode him for a bit on the road then decided to get off when I noticed exactly how much poison ivy was growing on the side of the road (I'm highly allergic!). I then dismounted and walked till we met up with the others.

UK had some attitude/fear issues when I went to mount him again, and I ended up getting off again. I hand walked him down the trail a ways and then got on again using a handy stone wall.

About halfway into the trail ride a lightbulb blinked in UK's little brain. Maybe this trail riding thing wasn't a form of torture, maybe it could be FUN. He was still nervous most of the ride, but started to trust me and the other horses a bit more that we weren't leading him to his death. We rode over a wooden bridge, through the woods, up and down rocky hills, through water multiple times and even behaved when Romeo started getting fresh. We trotted a lot, which was harder for me then it was for him as I had my stirrups extra long in order to be more secure while walking. We cantered too, nice forward canter and a nice collected canter. He didn't care if I was ducking branches while we cantered either. We even did a bit of canter downhill.

UK was willing to keep going even once he started getting really tired. His natural curiosity was starting to outweigh his fear by this point. When we reached the trail head next to Selene's I got off so he could cool down on our walk back up the road to the barn. That was when I noticed he was missing a front shoe. Damnit! The farrier was already supposed to be coming out as he'd grown so much foot that he was due a couple of weeks earlier then usual.

UK was perfectly calm for the walk home, and didn't even realize that was where we were going until we were half way up the driveway to the barn. He can be so blond sometimes.

Overall I learned some important things about UK.

1. Once he gets over his fear he's all in.
2. He is pretty sure footed, not as sure footed as Jake was, but still more sure footed then the average horse.
3. The SmartBug-Off I've been feeding him works! The other horses were being swarmed by deer-flies every time we slowed down, while UK and I never had  more then 2 bothering us, if any.
4. He will stop is asked even when excited when following other horses.

And I learned that I'm in better shape then I could have hoped. I had no problem staying off his back while cantering and I still had energy by the end of the trail ride. I still have a long ways to go, but it's good to know the muscles are still there and still can do what I need them to. The only problems I had were due to trying to deal with my too long stirrups while trotting super fast.

Well the farrier will be out Saturday. Till then UK's been having a little vacation, only broken up to re-wrap the shoeless foot every other day. And of course because my horse is unrideable the weather has been awesome yesterday and today. Oh well!

Insomnia makes for late night updates

My husband has been in Maine since Tuesday morning. Guess who hasn't gotten any decent sleep since then? I'm wide awake at the moment, I know I need to sleep but my body isn't cooperating. I don't begrudge Neil his vacation, but I do look forward to his return home tomorrow.... or should I say later today. Heh.

UK has pretty much settled in at the new barn. He's got all sorts of new girlfriends and hates being parted from them. I think I'm going to have to do something about that soon, as his screaming for them while I try to brush him is getting old.

He's also done with the doxy, thank goodness. Wednesday was his last dose of the yellow stuff, which is good as the coffee grinder was about to bite the big one.

His energy level is still recovering, but otherwise he's starting to get back to normal. Each time I ride him he gets just a little bit better, and that's all I ask for. We've pretty much stuck to the ring, as I wanted to get his confidence back before we tried anything new. This approach seems to be working, as we finally made it down the driveway bareback last week without rearing. He struggled and we doubled back a few times but in the end we made it all the way. I'm hand walking him everywhere too, forcing him to go new places constantly.

Undersaddle he's been pretty excellent. Like I said before, he doesn't have much energy but while he has some we make the most of it. The ring at the new barn is much larger then the one at Betsy's, which is nice as we can really work on going straight at the canter now. He tends to be less balanced when tracking right, so we've been doing a lot of work that way, just trying to keep him even. It's starting to pay off!

Before I get on him we play with a couple of the jumps in the ring. UK didn't want to jump some barrels so I started walking over them and making him follow me. We do the same thing with the big round plastic brush jump. Now he'll pop over them from a standstill without a second thought.

UK viewing the barrels we just jumped.

Thursday all that prep work paid off, as UK jumped the barrels undersaddle from the trot, twice. We trotted up to them and he stopped the first time, got smacked on the butt and then we tried again. He almost chickened out again, but then sucked it up and made a huge effort and jumped them like they were four feet high. I was prepared for this, and stayed with him no problem. Huge praise was given and I let him walk for a couple of minutes before trying again. The second time was much smoother, he still slowed down and jumped big but with less hesitation. More praise was given.

Those two big efforts wiped him out of energy so completely that he wasn't able to trot a crossrail afterwards without knocking it over. Because of that I was nice and gave him yesterday off to recover. 

I rode him tonight... I mean last night, and planned on just letting him hack around and chill. Somebody had moved everything in the ring to practice for a trail class so we played around the obstacles. One of them was a small wooden bridge that someone had put the flower boxes on it's sides to form rails. I figured UK would be terrified of this. He really wasn't. A bit cautious but he followed me right over and even walked over it with very little urging once I was on him. 

The mailbox however was terrifying and he seriously considered fleeing when I stopped him next to it and opened it from his back. Maybe he thought there was a tarp hidden inside it? Hehe! 

I pretty much rode him on the buckle the entire time, letting him have a break from all the bending and flexing we normally do. He cracks me up, as he can be so balanced on the left lead that he'll be cantering with his nose touching the ground, hind end engaged and going straight all at once and with no urging from me. Can't do that on the right lead as well yet, but we'll get there.

Because he was so good I took him for a hand walk in the woods to find the field out back where Sally said there was jumps. UK ranged from being excited and wanting to explore to leaning on me because he was nervous. Silly horse needs to make up his mind! He had no problem climbing over the small stone wall or a few fallen branches. Good to know.

Tomorrow... um, I mean later today I'm going to possibly try to go trail riding again. I'm really hoping he'll be ok just to go for a nice long walk. I'm sick of being in the ring and I know once he gets over his fear he'll love being on the trails!

So cross your fingers, knock on wood and say a prayer that UK decides to be brave and good for me!

Colic, moving and drama

Yup, the dreaded "c" word. Thursday evening I went back up to the barn to give UK his dose of doxy. After dosing him I he kept acting funny, and looking a bit glassy eyed. Concerned, as he'd been fairly normal during the morning, I inspected him closely. If I didn't know him so well I would not have noticed how tight his midsection was. He wasn't in distress, but he wasn't normal either.

I lunged him, and managed to get one poop out of him, but his mid section was still blown up tight as a drum. He was angry that I took away his dinner, which was reassuring. We went for a hand walk down the road, got lunged again, but was still blown up with no gut sounds at all. I gave him some banamine, and waited.

Hours passed and he still wasn't better, no worse, but no better. I ran home and changed into more appropriate barn wear and ate something. I got back to the barn and settled in for the long haul. Mineral oil was my weapon of choice, and UK didn't enjoy getting a whole syringe of it forced down his throat. In the end though it did the trick. I didn't get to bed till 3am, but my horse was much happier after farting up a storm and pooping some more.

Friday dawned with me feeling very sleep deprived but needing to start packing up my stuff for UK's move to the new barn. Cleaning out my trunk always proves emotional as I there are always some items that have fallen to the bottom that used to be Jake's.

Leaving Betsy's was very bittersweet. I loved being there, but I was also looking forward to going to a barn with trails and lots of people to ride with.

Anyways... before I make myself all teary.

UK has been settling into his new home fairly well. He's been very excitable, and it took him a whole day to stop looking for Dacharia. I rode him bareback last night, and it was rather nice. The doxy is really starting to effect the Lyme as he moved forward easily for the first time in weeks.

Today was supposed to be relaxing and fun. Sally, who owns the barn, offered for UK and I to join her and some others on a nice relaxing trail ride. I figured since he's settled in well and was so good last night that we'd be ok as long as we didn't have to lead. Silly me.

I got on him and he started worrying on the bit and overreacting to everything. We started to walk down the driveway, in the middle of the group, and he starts jigging. The farther down the driveway we got, the worse he behaved. Then he reared. I stayed with him and tried to get him to move forward. Then he went up a second time and my right stirrup started to come off my saddle. My thoughts focused on the phrase "Oh shit". I was falling off the back of him. I'm not sure how, but I managed to almost step off him and ended up on my own two feet still holding the reins in my left hand. He proceeded to freak out more and spin around me as some brush had gotten stuck in his tail.

I got him to chill long enough for me to remove the offending branch and pick up my stirrup from the ground. I then decided that we're going on this damn trail ride hell or high water. So I hand walked him the whole bleeding way. UK was lather from head to hoof from nervousness and excitement. It was a miserable experience for me, but a good one for UK. I ended up sun-burnt, exhausted and dehydrated. UK never ran out of energy, despite sometimes trotting sideways while I walked. I think he has the stamina for eventing after all. Ha ha.

Depending on the weather, I think we'll do some ring work and maybe even jump a bit in order to get his brain back and give him some confidence.

I'm going to sleep now... I wish I didn't have to be up so early!

Lyme disease and Rodeos

So I rode UK again, as I was planning to after the last time and he was really off. Not lame, just not right. He had no energy and knocked down a crossrail at the canter, which is so not like him. Then he started to not finish his breakfast in the morning. He'd been loosing weight, which at first I thought was due to the heat and the bugs.  What really scared me is when he'd just stand listless in his stall, almost looking depressed. Normally he has to be watching everything, he's very nosy.

My gut told me he had Lyme disease, now I just need the vet to confirm that suspicion. I love my vets, they're a long way away but I've known them for years. Now I have the added bonus of having my mother working there as well. I emailed her with a summary of UK's symptoms and waited. Very soon I heard from one of the vets and he agreed that UK had Lyme. I went and picked up the massive amount of Doxycycline and prepared for the three week stretch of twice a day dosing.

UK is so mad at me. I gave him a chance, I tried to see if he'd eat the doxy in his grain but no go. He's so picky he won't even eat applesauce on it's own. So now I have the twice a day ritual of prepping his meds and then dosing him. He fights, tries to evade but in the end I always win. UK has been punishing me by rolling in the dirtiest spots he can find, giving me the silent treatment and always managing to get some doxy on my clothing.

Now I'm trying to balance taking care of him and going back and forth from the Goshen Stampede. I'm helping my friend Robin who is a vendor at the rodeo. The barrel racing was last night and I so wanted to compete. I miss going fast in the worst way! I have no idea if UK has any speed yet. I think he'll be a good distance runner but I'm not so sure he'll be a good sprinter. Jake was stupid fast, make your eyes water from the speed fast. Boy could that horse launch! Hold him back, then lean forward and say "git pony!" and he'd take off like a jet dragster!

Oh well, I need to get going. Lots of things to do and places to be!

Just a quick update

So I rode UK yesterday, which was very brave of me! The wind was whipping around with 30mph gusts, but for me it felt fantastic after all the heat. UK is somewhat spooky as it is, but add a massive temperature change to cooler weather plus the wind and it's a recipe for disaster. Thus I put him on the lungeline before getting on him. Good thing! He had a whole little temper tantrum which included bucking.

Then with a prayer to the heavens and a determined attitude I mounted my crazy beast. His whole body was tense, and just waiting to explode. I swallowed my nerves and buried them in the back of my mind. Lots of forward trot, and lots of circles while working on being balanced. Every step I had my weight sunk as deep into my heel as possible, letting my very long legs keep me anchored. My torn left ankle makes this a bit painful, but I preferred enduring that little bit of pain to the potential pain of being thrown. Eventually UK focused and started to relax a tiny bit. I rewarded him every time he relaxed, trying to get it into his head that paying attention to me and not the scary things outside the ring was best.

I had changed the big oxer from free jumping him the day before to a nice big crossrail that we could pop over if he continued being good. I knew he'd jump it, as it was a little bit too high to just trot over. However I was not expecting the massive jump that he gave me. We trotted up to it, with me holding my leg and then BAM he jumped it like it was the big oxer from the day before. Thank goodness for muscle memory! I admit, I wasn't able to catch up with him quite as fast as I would have liked, but that was mostly due to the fact I still had my stirrups long for flatting. Thus I caught his mouth for about a second before I let the reins slip through my fingers on the landing. I made him keep cantering afterwards and then walked to regroup.

We attempted to jump it again, but now he was scared off it and stopped when we approached it again. So I spanked him once with my hand. I think the reason he was acting off about it was the shadows were making it seem like there was something in front of it, thus making it look wider then it was.

Not wanting to fight him, I changed tacts. I made him pick up the canter, we did a couple circles and then went back to trot. Then I changed directions and trotted the crossrail tracking left. He was reluctant, but moved forward when asked. Lots of praise was given and then we cantered it, more praise after doing it perfectly. Then we turned back to tracking right and successfully trotted it that way a couple times. Then we ended on that high note.

I gave him today off, but I plan on doing something with him tomorrow as I dragged the ring today. All that fluffy footing is just begging to be ridden on!

I think this weather sucks.

Yup, I really hate it. Mid to upper 80's in May is so not okay. The bugs are killer and there is no relief from the heat. Ugh! I've been riding UK bareback as the thought of putting on half chaps makes me wince. I have never enjoyed the heat, and I doubt I will till I'm old and decrepit. 

The upside of riding him bareback (besides making my muscles work twice as hard) is that it's as close contact as you can get, so it's great for working on lateral movements! We do a lot of bending and circles, as he's still not quite balanced enough when tracking right. Counter bend seems to help him the most, and it has the added benefit of keeping him focused. 

This morning before the heat reached unbearable temperatures I lunged UK, first on a lunge line then free over a jump. He was a bit cranky at first, as Dacharia was making a big deal about me keeping him from her. I took pictures using the sport motion setting again. I love going through all the photos, it's like an animation!

Look at him bend! Look at that neck!! 

I am so very, very proud! 

He only knocked a rail down once, and it was because Dacharia distracted him and he got too deep. Other then that he was excellent. (I started him out over a crossrail oxer first before putting it up to the height in the pictures.)

:p

So that's it for now. Hopefully it will cool down soon so I can actually jump him under saddle without getting heat stroke!

Sacrifice

Yes, sacrifice.

That's my current topic for discussion.

As many of us know, we knowingly sacrifice a "normal" life to become horse people. There is no way to completely dedicate your self, your time, your money and your body to riding without it effecting the rest of your life. Non-horse people consider us strange and cannot seem to grasp why we do these things to ourselves. They've even asked us why, and we never seem to be able to give them a real coherent answer.

Our connection with our horses is something beyond words, and it's a blessing. However that blessing comes at a cost. Some give up any and all other hobbies, others give up ever having a clean vehicle. We've all sacrificed something in order to keep our equine connections.

I guess what I'm getting to, is how much is too much sacrifice?

I'm almost twenty-five years old (yes, yes, I know that's not that old), I have no college degree, a mortgage and other bills to pay and I'm currently unemployed because eighteen plus years of equine experience isn't enough to get a job anymore.

I graduated high school a few months before I turned sixteen. I was burned out from cramming all that knowledge into my head and needed a break. I'd been volunteering at a local barn and taking riding lessons. My parents offered me a deal, they'd buy me a horse if I paid all it's bills. So I studied, budgeted and on July 8th, 2002 I was the proud owner of my first horse. I immediately accepted a job offer to work at the barn where I kept my horse and worked my ass off there for the next two or three years. I'd work sixteen days straight because I was stupidly loyal and did everything I was asked. I even ended up working for free sometimes on my days off, as I'd get sucked into something when I'd only come up to ride my horse.

I lived and breathed barn work, sacrificing any form of social life outside of work in exchange for being able to pay for my horse's expenses and to finish paying him off. That pure dedication to the equine paid off in many ways, not many nineteen year olds are asked to manage an "A" circuit barn.

Successful and in demand, it was a great time to be me. I was constantly turning down job offers to work at various farms. Then the economy took a massive dive in 2008. I was getting married and I'd outgrown the barn I was managing. My husband said "take a break we can live on just my salary", so I did. After a few blissful months of only having to worry about my horse I started the job search once again.

It was misery. Barns were closing left and right, and the ones that were managing to stay open were not looking for new people. I worked for awhile at a barn that was trying to be more non-horse people friendly, I didn't stay there long as safety wasn't one of their priorities. I ended up finding a job outside the horse world, bringing my past retail experience into play. It lasted a year, I was miserable and just couldn't bring myself to keep slogging along doing something I hated.

I accepted a job offer to be a secretary at the a law office. I'd grown up in my dad's office and had a general knowledge of filing and other legal things. It was quite the change for me, but I needed the money to keep paying for the horse. I was pretty happy doing it, even managing to get hired by a bigger law firm and working there till the head partners broke it up. I went back to working for a solo attorney and kept doing my thing.

I have to admit, working a predictable schedule with weekends off was very nice. Eventually however I realized I wasn't happy and it was starting to eat at me.

So here I am again, the economy got even worse, clients weren't paying their bills so there was no money to pay me. Fun.

I've sacrificed so much to stay involved with the horses, and I don't really regret it. But sometimes I wonder about the what if's and such. Would life be much easier if I gave up the horses? I know my husband would be happier.

I love UK and I don't plan on giving him up or selling him, but I'm getting stretched very thin financially. I cannot justify paying for him instead of paying my mortgage. It hasn't come to that yet, but I worry that it might.

This is where I really start hoping that Karma will kick in... I need a job, and I really will only be happy with a job at a barn where I can teach again. I love to teach above all else. Working with human and equine students fills me with purpose and pride when I see them do well for themselves.

So I'll continue praying, keep checking Yard & Groom, Craigslist, the local want ads and just hope that something will work out. I really don't want to have to sacrifice anything else...