The Repurposed Horse

Hello, hello, hello. I apologize for my lack of writing lately - I normally have time to update my blog while at work, but work has been quite busy lately and I also have a pretty intense accelerated online class going on right now, so I haven't had much time to devote to blogging. but I have had time for shopping... Two Saturdays ago, Leah mentioned that she was on her way back from a nearby photography gig as I happened to be on my way to the barn - which was conveniently located on her way home.  I had borrowed her Majyk Equipe DSB's, and she hadn't met Spring yet, so naturally an impromptu blogger meet-up was a must!  I got super lucky because Leah had her fancy-pants camera with her and took a bunch of awesome pictures (some of which you may have already seen if you follow me on Instagram).  must. work on. pointy toes.  Spring brought her A-game, and we had one of our best flatwork rides to date - something that almost never happens when cameras...

I have definitely been neglecting this blog lately - life has been pretty crazy, as has work, and I haven't had much time.  Fortunately, this does not correlate with pony time - I finally was feeling up to riding this past week! best view <3 On Sunday of last week, I went out to the barn to flat Spring/test out my arm.  I was a bit nervous as I hadn't ridden anything in about 3 weeks at that point (and had only been riding for about 2 weeks before my accident), but Spring was exceptionally well-behaved.  We had a lovely ride - I spent it getting my "sea legs" back, so to speak.  My friend M has done a fantastic job keeping her in shape - I definitely noticed how much stronger she felt, and how much easier it was for her to do things like pick up the correct lead without running into it.  By the end of our ride, my arm was a hair sore, but I couldn't wait to get back in the saddle.  I texted Trainer as soon as I was done to see if the 5:15 Monday le...

First, an arm update: I've upgraded from the splint/cast to a removable (and washable!) brace, which is awesome - I can take it off to shower, or scratch my arm, or do physical therapy.  The goal of the brace is to wean myself off of it over the course of the next month; I take it off at night, mostly, and wear it during the day if I'm doing anything that involves actively using my arm.  With my doctor's permission, I've started to do some stall cleaning again - as long as I'm not doing anything too heavy, exercising with that arm is actually an excellent way to strengthen the damaged muscles, which are supported by the brace.  If all goes according to plan, I'll be back to normal by the end of September. Because of the unpredictable nature of riding (especially the riding and jumping of green horses), I have not yet started riding again.  The brace definitely interferes with my ability to effectively use my hand, for one thing, and for another I don't t...

Last fall, a blog hop went around where people shared their horse's lineage, posting neat pictures of relatives and telling the stories of their horse's families.  I really wanted to participate, but I knew next to nothing about saddlebreds, and unfortunately unless you are an ASHA member it is really difficult to find information on any but the most famous of bloodlines.  I was able to score a few cool photos of some of Leo's more illustrious ancestors, but was unable to come up with enough information to make an interesting or comprehensive post. Leo came by his chrome honestly   Now that I own an OTTB, I have access to SO MUCH INFORMATION OMG!  I spent a few hours last night lost in an internet research spiral, learning everything that I could about the different pieces that came together to create Spring.  It was really, really cool, and I ended up with so much information that it won't all fit into one post.  So, today I am going to write about t...

**any typos are due to my lack of two working hands** This post was supposed to be about my weekend rides and Monday's jumping lesson, but unfortunately the universe had other plans. About two weeks ago, Trainer put me in touch with a local woman who had contacted her about needing extra help with her horses - she's trying to move out of state, and they need new homes. Without going into too much detail, my friend S and I headed out there twice last week to help her out, and then on Saturday I headed out on my own. These horses are 7 (gelding) and 14 (mare) and have never been separated. They are mother and son. Allegedly, they are both broke to ride, but neither S nor I was comfortable finding out whether or not that was true; even if it was, they've both been out of work for well over a year. They're decent horses - foundation bred paints - and quite friendly. They were easy to catch, and stood tied for about an hour, totally chill, while S and I work...

One week later, I'm finally sitting down to write about Spring's first jumping lesson with me in the irons!  (It's been another busy week) cutest face.  Spring, we have discovered, can get a little tense when multiple other horses are sharing her space - that was the main motivation behind a private lesson.  Even with one other horse in the ring, she was a little tense, but it was definitely an improvement over her previous lesson experiences, when there are 4-5 other horses in the ring with her at the same time.  Our warmup was uneventful at the walk and trot, and became mildly interesting when we introduced the canter. she gets excited Spring is nothing if not opinionated.  Canter circles began as conversations about where her body was and what direction we were going in; if we were at the far end of the ring, she tried very hard to drift towards the barn.  Trainer talked us through it, having me focus on visuals within the path of our circl...