I kinda fell off the wagon

FIRST MERRY CHRISTMAS!! I love Christmas and hope that you all had a WONDERFUL day :)

Tuesday Juliana and I hacked. Her horse is Louie, Henry's neighbor. She brought her younger sister who nicely played with Bayley while I rode :)

Sporting our new pad :)

Ramone giving kisses or taking a whiff of Henry's stench

Wednesday hubby had to work so B and I went over to our second families house.

Present from my bff, LOVE them

Thursday I hacked. There were probably close to 10 people in the arena, including a lunge line lesson... why the lesson didn't go in the round pend is beyond me- rope jiggling while giving a lunge line lesson at once is something I can't comprehend. 

All the good grass is in front of Ramones stall :)

Friday we are doing our family Christmas so I will report back with all my loot :)

I love getting mail!!!

First off... my blogger gift arrived! Thanks to Jessica and Prince for an AWESOME saddle pad. I LOVE IT! It's seriously perfect! And we love to be matchy matchy :)

Backing up..

Saturday was our lesson.. I was a tad late cuase we were out WAY to late Friday night at hubby's Christmas party.

Groomed, tacked up and hopped on and flatted on my own since I was late. 

Then we jumped... Warmed up over an X and a square oxer, going both ways.

Course: X, right to a square oxer, left to a 4 stride line (oxer to a wall), left to a sweetish oxer and right to a 2 stride line (vertical to a little panel).

I was having a problem in the 4 stride line- Off my left lead I am horrible at seeing my distances ha!

Henry was awesome and I can't complain, he is so good at dealing with me ha!

Sunday I went to a barrel race with my bff and her mom. She got second in the 1D (that's basically 2nd place our of 102 people so yeah she's pretty good :) lol)

Grayson was almost perfect the whole day. He was great when I was handling him but was put in a not ideal situation by someone else handling him.. nothing bad happened he just got a little jumpy :) Overall a GREAT outing and experience tho!

Monday Henry got turned out cause I had to finish some stocking shopping and get a baby shower present for a friend :)

I also got the new Higher Standard saddle soap and conditioner I ordered :)

Hopefully B will cooperate and I can hack tomorrow am, idk about the rest of the week- he will get out just not sure in what capacity :)

Look What I Found :)

Video from Tuesday!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_a4_4yLrXCU

Thanks Kat and Andy!

A Horse Box- Dec :)

Content:
Equine wellness mag
Equestrian culture mag
Show sheen try pak
Wormer
Hoof pick
Pony pizza company treats
Horse box soda cozy
Brownie brittle

Cutie Patutie

Trainer ride today, hopefully a lesson tomorrow :)

Horse show pics woot woot!

Love this picture :)

Thanks to my fav Kat and Andy for the pics!

Hack tonight, idk tomorrow and maybe a lesson Saturday :)

Sunday I am going to a barrel race with my bff and Grayson is going to get his first outing/being tied to the trailer to soak all the chaos in :)

Amazing Sunset!

Grayson munching while I cleaned his stall

B having a talk with Grayson and Rocky

Monday B and I cleaned all the stalls at the place Grayson is at, did some lunging and worked on grooming with Grayson... gotten get him used to being touched all over :)

Sunset Tuesday Night

Tuesday was the ladies night lesson as usual.

Got Henry, groomed, tack up and decided to lunge- thank goodness he was a nut!

He got his feet done and I had asked that we take off his back shoes for the winter - I was worried that he would be a little sore but he was perfect :)

Flatted with the gang. Then Kat and I jumped.

We warmed up over and X then a vertical and finally over my fav panel lattice :) Henry's lead changes were almost 100% spot on- WOOT!

Cooled out. un tacked, groomed and made his bran mash... hubby made it very soupy so I had to be very careful taking it down to his stall. Re blanketed, fed him the mash soup and headed out.

He's getting turned out today, hack tomorrow, idk Friday, lesson Saturday.

Got an email confirmation that my blogger exchange present was delivered last night, woot!

Also got my horse box last night, I'll take a pic and share the loot with ya'll asap :)

Local Choices

I was looking around on our local horse's for sale site and found some ponies that I wish I could have... I know there are a ton out there that are nicer or what not but it was fun to play the what if game on this local site.

Gelding, Grey, Age: 6, 16H, $28,000

Mare, Age 4, 14.3H, $22,500

Gelding, Age: 7, 16.1H, $15,000

Mare, Age: 11, 17.0H, $53,000

Mare, Age 3, $25,000

Like I need another horse ... but it's always fun to pretend shop!

What would ya'll buy if went shopping locally?

Dear Monday, I want Saturday back...

Eek I feel off the blog wagon, sorry!

First, make sure you go check out Keeping it Low Key's contest, or maybe not cause I want to win!

Saturday we had a lesson. It was a small group but we rode outside which was nice cause I got to jump some courses :)

Warmed up over the X back and forth.

Then I did: X off the right lead, left tight turn around to the gate, right turn to the wall- 2 stride- oxer, left turn to the panel oxer- 3 stride- rainbow.

I had to remember to get my pace and keep it- when I do that, Henry does great changed and our distanced are spot on.

I hung-out at talked to Erica while the other two jumped some X's :)

Andy took some pics so those will come soon!

Cute boy after our lesson

Sunday was a schooling show at the barn.

It was SO windy... like unusually windy.

I ended up just doing a WTC class and a hunter hack class.. we won both of them and Henry was a rock star.

Nicku and Paige both came to visit at the show and it was super fun to see both of them!

Andy took pics of this too and those will come soon too!

Henry will get today off, lesson tomorrow, off Wed, hack Thur, idk Fri cause we have hubbys Christmas party and hopefully I can get up Sat for a lesson :)

5 Day Challenge Day 5

Last night Henry had the day off and B and I headed over to love on Grayson and hangout ... it was cold and a bit miserable but hey that's life right now and the horses are worth it!

I did some currying on Grayson, he wasn't a fan of it but that's part of life buddy ;) One day he will learn to love it all!

21. Favorite classes to watch
I love me a Derby!!

22. What’s in your cooler at horse shows?
Water, Dr Pepper, juice, crackers and any other little snacks that won't make me puke.. cause we all know that I have crazy nerves.

It's interesting that most of ya'll said that you can't eat before classes... it's good to know im not alone but crazy how nervous we all get! 

23. One thing about showing (or riding in general) you wish you could change?
That I wouldn't get so nervous! Think about how much better I could ride if I was calm cool and collected!

24. Your ringside crew
My trainer, sometimes my hubby and B, last show my bff came (and that was AWESOME) and sometimes some other barn buddies :)

25. Best prizes
I haven't ever really won anything cool... normal "stuff" for first place but never anything special, maybe one day!

 

 

 

5 Day Challenge Day 4

Mean muggin the cows

FIRST! I got notice that my blogger gift was shipped out yesterday! :)

Our lesson got canceled last night but I still decided to hack.  There was a jumping lesson going on inside so it made my hack interesting. I was trying to stay out of their way cause I HATE it when I am having a lesson and someone hacking gets in my way.

The girls thanked me for being so aware of them and staying way out of their way. :)

So basically I just hacked to get Henry moving, I really couldn't work on much since they were jumping from every angle.

Post Ride .. all tucked in :)

16. One thing you'd like to change about your horse
That he would never stop ever again. I wish that little thought in the back of my head wasn't there and that I knew that he wasn't ever going to stop.. yes please!

17. Your horse's future
I'd like to do a derby one day... and be competitive/place well!

18. Your worst show ever
I can't say I have had a catastrophic show. I have had shows where I felt like I was robbed or things didn't go fair but that happens in anything that there is human influence.

19. Favorite horse show venue
That I have shown at recently, Starr Vaughn Equestrian Center.

Otherwise I'd love to go to Palm Beach Event Center, KHP.. really any of the big A shows are good with me. I love taking it all in.. and shopping!!

20. Your show day routine   
I do best when I don't have to rush so having enough time to lunge, groom, tack up and school is ideal.  In my ideal world, my class is ready to go when I am ready- BUT you know the hunter world, that NEVER happens so then I sit there and worry till it's my turn ;)

5 Day Challenge Day 3

I realised last night on my way to the barn that Henry hasn't been turned out in good footing to blow off some steam in a while... so that was the plan for Monday night.

Polo wrapped all 4 legs and headed down to the big round pen. The footing down there is normally good and after the rain Friday night, it was almost perfect. A little deep but not bad at all.

I literally stood there while he got his craziness out. I think it's good for his mind to have these times to blow off steam and since the rain will be here in no time and prevent us from doing this type of stuff, I am glad I took the opportunity to let him have at it.

I put his cooler and hock boots back on and headed to the indoor to walk him around till he was cool and not puffing.

Day 3...

11. Critique your horse's conformation
I am NOT good at this.. ya'll need to help me, please!! Critique him for me!

12. Horse's favorite riding exercise
I think he likes gymnastics, bounces and 2 strides... He's so athletic and I always like we are grooving when we do these type of jumping exercises.

13. Favorite spa day products
Vetrolin!!!

14. Three best things about your horse
1. He dosen't hold a grudge
2. He is freaking athletic and game to work hard
3. He's stinken cute! :)

15. Favorite picture of your horse   

Lesson tonight, off Wed, something Thur, hack Fri, lesson Sat and show Sun :) 

What a weekend!

Saturday B rode in her first horse show..

She has a blast. Katy (chestnut) got a little excited when the crowd cheered and did some little "hops" and B lost her stirrups and grabbed the horn- it didn't even phase her!

She rode Rocky for the next event and as always he was a solid citizen and was a good boy :) Even did a little trot (2nd picture) and was nice and slow and careful with her.

She won a ribbon and was so happy.

Introduced Erica to Grayson after the show and she loved on him a bunch.

Henry got a nice hand walking to get his legs stretched as I didn't have time to ride.

Saturday evening was the Christmas parade.

Sunday consisted of grocery and Christmas shopping in the am and early afternoon, then my trainers daughters baby shower in the afternoon, dinner and driving around to look at Christmas lights in the evening.

Needless to say I didn't stop much all weekend.

Hack tonight, lesson tomorrow, off Wed, something Thursday, hack Friday, lesson Sat and maybe a schooling show Sun? Yep you read that right... there is one at the barn so I think we will partake :)

5 Day Challenge Day 2

Thursday evening... got Henry, tacked up, quick lunge, went to get on and he turned into a fire breathing dragon- went out to lunge more and he blew off a lot of steam and bucks, got on and he was still high so I went right to work.

Our ride consisted of keeping his mind busy because he was spooking at EVERYTHING- so NOT normal for him!

Silly horse!

He got a trainer ride Friday (cause I am not able to make the lesson Saturday and wanted him to get jumped this week)- the report was that he was really good. A new WS rode him so I am glad it went well. I'm not too good at sharing my horse ha!

Onto day 2 :)

6. Favorite equestrian book and movie
I love all books horse related that I could get my hands on at the library or convince someone to buy as a child. As an adult I love that we have a lot of resources on line, i know that isn't a book but it's helpful and at my finger tips.

 I LOVED National Velvet at a child, def my fav :)

7. Most common riding misconception
 That because you have a horse you are rich. Actually I don't shop, buy anything extra, go on vacation (even out of town or somewhere close for the weekend), I work a full time job and sacrifice most things that others do on a weekly basis ;)

8. Two riding strengths and one weakness
Strengths- 1. I have a solid leg, I attribute that to my first trainer who was HARD CORE about basics. 2. I am a hard worker and can be pushed pretty hard.

Weakness- anyone who rides with me can tell you that I have HORRIBLE posture ha! I have had it all my life and I can't seem to get my crap together!

9. Least favorite thing about horses and/or riding
Injury... I wish that they could tell me what hurts, is uncomfortable or not right. I hate the unknown and having to guess whats going on my ruling things out.

10. What do you feed your horse?   
Henry- 3 flakes of Alfalfa, 1 flake of oat and 1 flake of grass. Also a large scoop (3-4 quarts) of Strategy, Smartpak Smartcombo, Electrolytes, Psylium and bug off.

Grayson- 2 flakes of  an Alfalfa grass mix. A small bit of Ultium Growth.