The Repurposed Horse

The focus of last week's lesson was "scary" jumps - ones that Trainer designed to throw our horses off.  There was a picket fence, an oxer with demonic horse-eating flowers camped under it, a liverpool, a corner made from those plastic blocks that you can stack to make jumps, and (most terrifyingly of all) a vertical covered in a green cooler that apparently emanated portents of certain doom. Spring had the entire week off leading up to this lesson, which took place last Friday, because of her stupid shoe. I was not expecting it to go well. But she looked fabulous in her new (Lund) clothes She warmed up okay but was tense, and instead of cantering like a sane horse she wanted to gallop full force like the racehorse she used to be.  Thankfully we were outside, and I was able to incorporate many circles to help remind her that her legs can actually move at a pace slower than warp speed. Then the jumping began. Trainer did not allow us to approach anything before a...

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...