Meet The Dog

So despite the fact that this is a horse blog, I feel the need to introduce the family dog. 

Don't ask me why, my brain works in weird way (if you haven't picked that up already...)

So  without further ado I present to you, Peanut:

Not the best photo I know, lightroom was lagging and I got fed up...

Although he looks like some sort of mutt thing, I promise you he is actually a purebred Standard (not mini!) Wire Haired Dachshund. I'm not lying. I promise. This lil' cutie has just turned 11 (read: he turned 11 in April, April 16th to be exact) he was born in Norway (where we lived for a couple of years) and lived there up until he was 3, at which point the entire family moved to Aus, and yes he went on an airplane, two airplanes actually, and spent 2 months in Aussie quarantine. He didn't like us for a while after that :').

Too many words, more pictures of meeeeee!

He's a very, very, very stubborn dog, however he has an extremely caring side and as of late has turned into more of a squish ball! So now I shall proceed to fulfil your cute doggie needs for the day. Enjoy. Oh and all photo's are by yours truly!

"I'm a model and I know it"

Who doesn't love fluffy doggie buts?

"Work the camera, work it, work it"

Throwback to earlier this year when he was shaved! iPhone pics!

"Peasant, don't touch me"

And back to semi decent! Also this is him recently - aka with hair :)

Day 3: Best ride ever? + Updates and Decisions

How about no.

Am I the only one who can say I haven't had a 'best ride ever'? Sure I've had some pretty awesome rides...

One kinda recent really good lesson was on this guy (a few months ago):

Excuse my face... Focus on the pony! (ok, he's not a pony...)

That my friends is Ged I mentioned him in this post. He's the awesome ex- eventer :) 

Some of my all time best lesson and rides have been on Midge. Cliché I know, the best rides are on your favourite horse... yadadada. But truly he's taught me so fricking much! When I first started riding him he would bolt for no apparent reason, drop his shoulder, evade the bit and llama his way around just to name a few, now we have some sort of decent riding when I ride him, just riding on trails is obviously a little detrimental to this, as my concentration isn't fully on him, I'm focusing on keeping the customers safe and such. However even if we've had an 'interesting' ride (read: spooky, bolty, very 'looky', not focused at ALL) the connection I seem to find with him is really awesome, I just kinda 'get' him and even though the rides are less than stellar I still feel as if I've accomplished something :)

Now that we've established that I don't like today's post challengy thingy,  we shall move on to  catching up on the photo challenge, because I suck at life and can't remember shit.

A picture of you riding:

I actually can't find anything on my laptop of me riding, so you all will have to wait and I'll do a post in a few days catching up on the photo challenge! And I have to find the damn photos (they're all over the place, on the family computer, on phones, etc)

I laughed so hard at this :D 

Source: http://31.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4p7k1g93a1rrpdnko1_1280.png

In other news I had an interesting lesson on saturday. I started off the lesson back on Casino, flat work, working on 3 loop serpentines and stuff like that and then 'R' (My instructor) set up a few small jumps so we could continue to prep for the schooling show thing at my barn. Long story short we went over the trot poles and one small cross rail, me riding him has forward as fricking possible but he still trotted over. After a quick discussion "R" and I determined that he didn't like to 'jump' because he was unbalanced, to put it in perspective when I started riding him a few months ago he could barely canter! So considering he's doing a HEAP better, we're still working on his right canter lead and getting him to lower his head and work his body a little better instead of llamaing around the place :D So "R" got me on Stanley when we started jumping, he's this huge chunky chestnut gelding, who is a complete powerhouse, or should I say, powerhorse! So basically I went from Casino's awkward, bouncy, unbalanced stride to Stanley's huge, smooth and even stride, fun time :)

But boy does that horse jump! 

I'm still debating wether to ride Casino in the schooling day, 'cause I feel like it would be a really nice challenge to get him from where he is, seeing as we've already come so far! However "R" wants me to ride Stanley because she thinks it'd be a nice learning opportunity to ride a horse that doesn't balk at everything (Midge), doesn't be an idiot (most problem horses I ride while volleying, and Midge) and doesn't llama his way around the arena unevenly like Casino! Stanley is a fairly trained horse, relative the the rest of the lesson ponies, and is a nice ride, he is super, super, super strong though so I would have to work on my stopping skills!

Decisions...

Source: http://www.quickmeme.com/

Day 2: The Last Time You Rode A Horse And What you Did?

*Thinking.... Thinking.... Thinking*

Last time I rode was October the 4th.

This is too long ago.

Yeah so I had my last lesson nearly two weeks ago, I would've been at GV for volleying last sat however school holidays finished, it was my first week back at school and despite GV and the people at GV being the only people/place that truly makes me happy, unwind and relax (yes 10 hours of hard, hard work in the heat is my way definition of happy, and relaxing. That's the horsey life for ya. LOL) mum still said I couldn't go (and I can't drive myself yet:( so I was stuck at home, sitting on my but and comforting my dog who seemed to despise everything, to be honest I felt them same way.

Me 'cept I love GV people and horses (all the ponies) stuff everyone else :P

So back to the original topic (See, I told you I get off topic easily!) my last lesson consisted of prepping for the barn show jumping schooling thingy in a few months. Now I've only two pointed for two laps since I've been back riding (easing my stupid back, into it) and so my muscles were some sort of atrocious mess and I was weak, but my balance and coordination was there, kinda. Luckily my instructor actually also had a back injury, hers however was a fairly major one and she ended up taking off around 1 1/2 - 2 years! So she understands that I'm still getting back into things and I will have to rebuild muscle. 

So "R" (my instructor) set up a small course (30 - 40cm, 5 jumps?) so we could get used to jumping again, we did a few months of solid flatwork/dressage for the dressage training day (that I ended up missing, again, thanks back *insert angry faces) and not much jumping, only ground poles to help with striding and stuff.

So yeah long story short Casino doesn't jump. He'll happily trot over the 'jumps' (I use the term loosely, I haven't really done much compared to some of you!) but will not, I repeat will NOT jump in correct form. We tried every fricking thing we could. We tried raising the jumps slightly, he refused even though "R" was chasing him and I was kicking him. We tried cantering him up to the jumps, he would canter full force as if he was going to jump, me riding him up until the last second and legit 5cm before the jump he would trot, and casually trot over it. We tried so, so, so, SO many things and nothing would make him jump. The only time he actually jumped was over a 60cm cross rail in between two barrels, even then it was more of a cat leap.

Oh Casino...

 I can only partially blame him however, he isn't a 'trained' lesson/jumping horse by any means, and I reckon he just needs to be taken back to basics on that. He is also a weirdly built horse with a very, very short stride and a weird build. I would also blame my weak muscles for a portion of the problem. Now I would love to work on his jumping with him, but "R" was so fed up with him it was actually quite hilarious ;D She said I will definitely not be riding him in the training day, and I get to choose between riding Gilligan or Ranger (both lovely horses who are technically beginner adults however she said they need a bit more 'encouragement' to jump:)

And if I'm not mistaken, this is the first time I've blogged two days in a row since the start of this blog. So sad, but an improvement!

Day 1: 30 Day Challenge Equestrian Edition

I swear I say this at the beginning of every post, but its true.

So yeah, I'm a bad blogger. I keep up with your blogs but I just can't seem to write blogs with out straying soooo far off topic :/

Anyway I was on pintrest and I found this!

http://www.wattpad.com/27501787-30-day-challenge-equestrian-edition

I know it's probably reeeaaallly old, and been done a bazillion times but, being the person I am I'm going to do it in order to get me in the habit of blogging more regularly (Now let's hope it works :P)

Also I came across this:

Day 1: A picture of your horse(s) or the horse(s) you ride
Day 2: A picture of you riding
Day 3: A picture of a grooming item you couldn't live without 
Day 4: A picture of your equestrian idol
Day 5: A picture of your dream barn
Day 6: A picture of your riding boots
Day 7: A picture of your dream horse
Day 8: A picture of your favourite piece of tack 
Day 9: A picture of your favourite famous horse
Day 10: A picture of a horse-related item you want
Day 11: A horse-related picture that makes you laugh
Day 12: A picture of a horse-related thing you want to do
Day 13: A picture of you and a riding buddy
Day 14: A picture of your helmet
Day 15: A picture of your favourite piece of show attire 
Day 16: A picture of the treats you feed your horse 
Day 17: A picture of you at a lesson
Day 18: A picture of your [favourite] saddle
Day 19: A picture of you riding a different horse 
Day 20: An "ear-shot" picture 
Day 21: A picture of the arena you ride in (indoor or outdoor)
Day 22: A picture of your biggest ridding pet peeve
Day 23: A picture of all of your grooming supplies
Day 24: A picture of your horse tacked up
Day 25: A picture of your horse(s) in their pasture/stall
Day 26: A funny picture of your horse/the horse you ride
Day 27: A picture of a discipline you'd like to try
Day 28: A picture of a horse that makes your day
Day 29: A picture of a place you'd like to ride 

Day 30: A picture of you giving your horse/the horse you ride a kiss or hug

It won't align with the middle and it gave me no source... Grrrrr

It's a 30 day Equestrian Photo Challenge! 

So in the interest of making my posts a little more interesting, I'll be including that at the end :)

---------------------------------------------

Now off the information and onto the good stuff!

Day 1: When and why did you start riding?

I've been on pony rides since I can remember! (the 5 minute ones, with the fat fluffy shetlands with bad hooves :/) And trail rides since I was 7ish I think (not very often, maybe once a year?)

However I've only been taking regular lessons since 2009, specifically August 2009. I'd always been that 'horse crazy kid', my room was covered in posters, I had a few informative books and wore them to death! I'd begged and begged and BEGGED my parents (who hasn't, be honest!) and researched and researched and researched (mainly on actual riding not places and such) then a few months before my 7th birthday, my parents said if I found a place cheap enough and close enough, and worked/saved my but off they would pay for half of each lesson! :)

Long story short, I saved, Every. Single. Cent. For 2 years and finally when I turned 9 I had enough for my half of 8 lessons, and I found a place (GV, the same place I ride at and love today_, 40 mins from home, but the cheapest in the area for at least 2 hours. A few phone calls later and my riding assessment was booked :)

The week leading up to my assessment was a blur of excitement and nervousness but it turned out really well, I was told I could go straight into a beginner 2 group class and off I went. 2 lessons in and I had my first canter, turns out all those years of pouring over books taught me a thing or two and in my first instructors words "You've saved yourself a few months of riding, with whatever you've been doing!". All was fine and dandy, and I LOVED it.

Fast forward to August 2012. In August I turned 12 and subsequently was old enough to volunteer at GV, let's just say I took to that like a duck to water and I've been doing it as much as freaking possible! Volunteering has honestly been the best time of my life so far, it's taught me so much and I've met the best people. From "K", "S", "H", and Jess from over at Adventures of mate on my first day, to "A", "T", "J", "J" (a different person I swear) "V", "R", "A" and "F" in the past 8 - 10 months. They've all taught me so so much, and I've made really good friends with people of all ages! I've learnt a HEAP, just to name a few things:

- Saddling and Bridling (when I first started)

- Watching a gelding of two colts recently

- Blood being taken

- Preg tests being done

- The farrier at work

- The vet at work

- Foal training

- General upkeep of horses

- General maintenance of the property

- And loads, loads more!

Everyone at GV is just so awesome, I literally can't even begin to thank them! I started off volleying once a month, and now I'm going every week, sometimes both sat and sun if I can convince my 'rents :)

I guess that's both the questions kind of mixed up into one, but just in case you couldn't pick it up: I started riding because I'd always been in awe of horses, everything about them kind of captivated me, I learnt as much as a horse crazy 6,7,8 and 9 year old could and learning to ride just kinda seemed like the next step!

Now onto the photo challenge:

A picture of your horse/the horses you ride

Uh well this is gonna be difficult 'cause I ride a different horse almost every week I'm at GV!

However there's always:

  

 This cute face around :3

Midge, he's a permanent fixture, I may not get to ride him every time I'm there but we all know I still love the fluffy pony!

The pony I'm currently riding in lessons is Casino, however I don't have a photo of him (kinda defeats the purpose of a photo challenge...) but I will have one soon.

A couple of months back, I rode in the agistment gymkhana (as a volley, on a valley horse) and I rode Bonnie. She actually hasn't been in lessons/arenas before (she's a trail horse) and "A" and "F" the yard managers wanted me to trial her out in a arena/lessons situation. Turns out she went so well for her first time in lessons that she is now being brought down to lessons regularly!

And here is the lovely Bonnie:

Please excuse her lack of enthusiasm, her brain was tired from a full day of new things! She is a sweet horse!

And my muddy, chaps and awkward leg angle, we were both tired!

Now in another post I may actually do a kinda recap of all the horses (I have photo's of!) over the years... Maybe... You'll have to remind me.

In Which The Pony Is Footsore... Again

I'm a terrible blogger, like seriously.

I'm sorry.

I've got good and bad news, lets get the bad news out of the way first.

Midge is lame. Again.

Yeah so I'm going to break it down from the beginning of this year:

- October 2013 (I lie I'll start here)

He was doing fine down in lesson, to my knowledge he hadn't been lame or had anything happen before now. I went down for my lesson one saturday and I was riding a new horse so someone else in my lesson rode him, she got on took one step and Midgey came up super uper duper lame. Like he could barely walk on his leg so the rider got off untacked tied him. We finished our lesson and I led him up to the yards.

Next fortnight he came up sound so he was down in lessons again but because he'd had 2 weeks off and he's already kind of a special pony he started bolting and stopping centimeters before the fence and his rider would go flying off (he never did this with me, I guess cause I know his buttons and such (he'd still bolt but wouldn't manage to dump me)) So he was set aside for the instructors to ride but he didn't get any better so he was sent up to the yards to be used solely as a trail pony.

- December 2013

I was riding him when I volunteered and he was a very good boy, apart from the fact that he was generally stubborn. He also was 'fresh' I guess thats how I'd describe him, but he was good just very "Oooh whats that" but he didn't do anything apart from walking or trotting along with his ears perked forward as far as he could reach :D

- January 2014

The pony came up lame early January, suspected abscess in his left hind (I think) so he was off for a whole term (till April) well on and off really, the vet was out and he was told to just rest so he was!

- May 2014

He was back in action!!! I didn't get to ride him while I was up volleying either because he was already out on a ride or I was grounded (Not able to ride neck/back thingy) or he was on a rest day. He was ridden though, mainly a staff or volley horse because of the time he'd had off and his general personality/stubbornness/specialness 

- June/July 2014

He was going well up until this point, I'd ridden him once or twice but with my back and neck I was on and off so he got LOTS of TLC when I could see him.

- August 2014

The whole of last month he was on and off with little bursts of soreness (this also happened at the end of July) This was suspected to becaused by the on and off rain we'd been having intertwined with dry weather seemed to cause abscesses in quite a few horses at the barn. 

- September 2014

Now Midgey is footsore again :( So this time I pulled him down from the yards and groomed him for a good two hours because I had nothing else to do and I noticed that his soles seemed to sit fairly low! Now he's not shod at the moment because he doesn't need it with the work he's doing but I think when I buy him I might shoe him to see if that'll help with his soreness issues (I'll of course consult with vets and farriers and stuff!)

So that's where he is at the moment, getting better but he's starting to get a little 'round' with his lack of work lately. 

Now for the good news!

So you know how my parents have agreed to start looking for horses for me and my sister?  Well since we went to walk around agistment we've also been looking for horses and I went and talked to one of the yard managers 'F'. I asked her if any if the barn is planning on selling any horses that would be suitable for both me and my sister. 'F' and me were discussing how hard it would be to find a horse that would be 'gentle' enough for my sister while still challenging me, be the right size and have the right temperament on top of being able to last both of us longer that a year. So I've always had the idea in the back of my mind that I want to eventually by my own horse once I get a job so this just kinda strengthened the idea for me. We're still going to buy a horse but focus more on my sisters needs so I can buy my own next yearish. So 'F' didn't have anything for both of us at the moment but 'G' one of the staff/guides (they both know how much I love Midget) was telling 'F' how they should get rid of Midge soon because he's not really that useful in a trail setting and so 'F' said...

Wait for it...

She would love to sell Midge to ME!!!

Thats right people ME!

So excuse me while I go have a complete spaz and frantically get a kinda of resume together! I'm planning on asking the vet up the road from where I live beacause it's nice and close and I love animals and I just had my birthday so I can 'officially' ask for a job! So it really an win win :D

Be prepared for more Midge/job posts!

Happy horsing :D

New Lessons!!!

Sooooo I had the best lesson yesterday!!

I'm riding with school again (and back in the saddle!!) and we've changed stables (I'm still riding at GV just not with school) - first lesson was yesterday and I had an AWESOME time! They are primarily a dressage stables but they do offer jump lessons occasionally.

And I rode...

Wait for it.

AN EX EVENTER!

To some of you this might not be as exciting but for me (I've only ever ridden lesson ponies that have been trained for lessons and thats it) it was a fabulous experience that I get to continue with until the end of the term :D

So Ged is a wonderful 16.2hh (ish) (HUMONGOUS!) 15 year old thoroughbred that was a professional eventer when he was younger. He has a super personality and heart of gold and he obviously well trained. He's lovely and soft and responds well to seat and leg aids and was a general pleasure to ride (and I get to ride him for 10 more weeks!!)

I love my instructor too and she said after we all dismounted and put ponies away that she could see I had potential and a natural riding ability and she would love to push me further in my riding on a more competent horse like Ged.

I. Was. Gobsmacked.

I won't ever stop riding at GV so I'm going to see how these next few weeks go with school and if I enjoy it as I did the first time I'm going to see if I can volunteer/work there after school a couple of days a week in exchange for a lesson as we can't afford riding at two places.

Eeeek it was SO SO SO awesome and to know that she noticed my efforts and riding and that she pays attention to everyone in the group was really nice!

And just to clear it up :P I still love GV and all the people and riders there! :D

Varying Opinions...

We aren't definitely getting a horse but odds are looking up as dad took me and my sister to have a tour of agistment!!!

Such excitement! Dad has also been encouraging us to look at horses for sale (*bounces around the room squealing*) I have always said to myself that my first horse would be bought from my stables as I trust the people there and know the horses and how they are cared for and managed (none of them are rugged, small feeding in winter and shoes on the ones that need it).

Now I've been talking to a few people at my stables (instructors and yard managers) about buying a horse and such and I've heard varying opinions because me and my sister know that we just want a general all round pleasure horse that is fairly low maintenance (stock horse or quarter horse type - no thoroughbreds!) and thats what our barn sell generally.

However we've received two very different opinions on buying from the barn:

Opinion one: Don't buy from the barn as it would take months to train them out of their bad habits and trail riding ways.

Opinion two (more people agreed with this): Buy from the barn as the environment is extremely similar to the agistment up the top (large herd (100+ horses) no rugging, barefoot, etc) generally good doers, I know the managers and guides very well and trust their opinions on certain horses. Depending on the horse we got they may not have bad habits and may have been in an arena once or twice.

To be honest I'm leaning towards option two as I know the guides/instructors/yard manager's very well and trust their judgement + it would be a lot easier to take them up the top with less of a settling in period.

Eeeek there are so many decisions!

Anyone have any advice for me?