1st Show Results!

Sunday as I said in earlier posts was our first show of the season and it was fabulous!

Of course, I must start with my wonderful little mare, Satin. We did the speed and she was AMAZING. She was so on! We went into the ring and she was hopping up and down like 3-year-old, raring to go. I love seeing my "senior" mare excited and wanting to run. She ran all of her patterns perfectly and got great times, plus I was even holding her a bit because it was muddy in the arena. I couldn't have been any happier with her. We were reserve champions, 2nd in all of our classes. K and Satin's paddock mate, Jewel were grand. Jewel is faster than Satin, so a loss to them is basically a win to me.

Now onto the handsome JB, aka boyfriend. JB, who as you all know is a Standardbred, took 2nd in a class of 5 in model geldings and 4th in a class of 8 in open model. His stunning good looks paying off as usual. In his first ever western pleasure show, with only 5 western rides under his belt, we took 5th in the beginner horsemanship our of 11 and 2nd in the command class out of 10! We did not pin in pleasure as he was a bit fast or trail since he decided the board was still a little too scary. He was very hyper that day. His owner had ridden a few classes on him and he gave him quite a warm up and he was still raring to go. I was still very happy with him and quite proud, especially for his western show. We are going to keep working at it and I have no doubts he will be racking up even more ribbons as the show season continues. My friend H, who owns him, as offered to bring him down to R so I can take a lesson with her and get her help. We are also looking into more show options for him. :)

Here are some pictures from the show:

Show Season 2011 = T - 2 days

Show season is just two days away! As you can all probably tell by the fact that I went from hardly posting to posting twice in the same week LOL I am excited but also have time to write because I am sitting in my internship with nothing to do right now.

Anyway, so Satin and I had a lesson on Wednesday. We tested out out new western spurs which went well and did help. It started a little rough and we had some rough spots on our lead changes, but had some beautiful ones as well. We went inside at the end to try and fix the problem with the one change and I asked if I could some practice pole bending first. My trainer had 4 standards set up like poles from my last lesson on Try. We did and she was perfect, especially for not having done them in months and for them not really set up for real pole bending. My trainer was equally impressed asking How I could get every change flawlessly and do what she was trying to explain to me to do in the poles and not in the figure eight. My reply was because when I am doing poles I am not thinking about getting lead changes. The crazy mare seems raring to go for Sunday!

I also rode JB yesterday and we practiced some trail obstacles. We did the shoot which he did perfectly and knocked down the pole. Then we went for the bridge which he did not like last time he encountered it. It took a team of people and carrots but we convinced him and by the end had him doing it on his own with just be aboard. He looks like a million bucks so I have no worries for in hand. I am looking forward to the beginner western too. It will be fun.

I had a great lesson on Try last week too. We did more work on transitions and simple lead changes and did some pole work. R is basically teaching me how to train as she said, since he is a young, green horse and basically everything you do is a training opportunity, as well as, excercise. This is awesome because who better to get training tips and methods from then the best trainer I know.

Show Season Has Arrived!

Show Season is officially here! We are exactly 6 days from the first show of the season! This season Satin and I will once again be showing in the speed division. She has been geared up and ready to go all week. She has been very hyper, which is a good thing for speed. Also, our flawless lead changes are back! It seems our chiropractic worked because our last lesson went great! Satin was a rockstar! We have another lesson this week so looking forward to that and some show prep. We need to work on our rollbacks again. We practiced the other day, and she did well. We just hadn't done them all winter before that.

So back to show season. Anyway, I am also showing my friend's horse I refer to as boyfriend in model (which he is already a rockstar in) and beginner western. It will be his western debut and I am pretty excited about it.

My last two lessons on Try went good as well, especially the last one. We did some work on patterns (figure eights, pole bending, etc) and simple lead changes. We are both getting better and better each time. His owner got him a new saddle so I am trying to get the hang of that. All horse people know breaking in new leather, especially tack, stinks. We have our next lesson tomorrow so looking forward to that.

Here is hoping to good weather on show day!

Spring is Finally Here .... Supposedly

Last week it was evident that was spring was on it's ways with many days in the 60s and even 70s. Sunday was the first official day of spring and the weather has gone down hill from there. They are talking about possible snow tomorrow, though hopefully it will really be all rain.

My last lesson on Satin went well though she did have a hard time with her lead change in the one direction. I had one a gift certificate for chiropractic which happened to be with my regular vet so he came out last week. It was quite interesting as I had never seen anything like it before. He did say though that all her problems were on her right side, which I expected because when I bend her on the ground she has a harder time in that direction. When I told R this she said that could be the reason for her lead change issues. I have my next lesson tomorrow so we will see if things have improved.

My last lesson on Try was great. The lesson before we had a few stopping/stubborness issues but R helped me work through it and I finally figured him out on that stuff at least. So, my last lesson went much better. We had none of that stopping stuff. He did think about it once or twice but he was able to stop it before it started. R had us canter with the reins hooked over the horn which was interesting. She wanted me to trust him more and not go to use my hands so much, but rather to rely more on seat and legs. Since I have only ridden the horse about 5 times it was hard for me to resist picking up the reins to fix him as I do not know him well enough for that kind of trust yet, but he is a good boy and has no where to go in that indoor.

Anyway only had time for a quick update. I have to get back to interning so I can get to the barn soon.

Product Review: Equi-Jewel

Over the end of the fall and into the winter I had noticed Satin had begun to drop some weight. She is older (22 now) so this is to be expected. We began giving her extra hay, which did produce a hay belly, but did not do anything for the fact that she looked a bit ribby or that her top line wasnt as nice as it had been all summer (which was not from lack of work because she was one of the few horses in New Jersey without an indoor who kept in shape all winter). We separated her from her paddock mate at feed time. Even thought they both ate the same amount of grain her paddockmate ate it faster and would chase Satin off the end of her grain. We also tried increasing her grain from half a scoop of pellet and half a scoop of sweet feed to a full scoop of pellet and half a scoop of sweet feed. I gave this a few weeks to kick in and it still showed no real signs of improvement. I also was very on top of her blanketing this winter. I always am, but this winter I was even more diligent with checking temperatures and rotating her to the appropriate level blanket as she has a sheet, medium, and heavy weight. I did not want her wasting any excess fat on keeping warm.

When these previous efforts proved to not be successful I went to my trainer and asked her advice. When I first moved Satin to her current residence two years ago she was underweight due to issues with graining at my previous farm that lead to my move. We upped her grain and I put her on fat cat for two months and it did the trick, so I asked my trainer about various options.

She suggested Equi-Jewel. It is a rice bran pellet containing 20% fat. She feeds it to a few of her horses and they love it and it works well. She gave Satin a handful to try and she almost ate her fingers she loved it so much. As you all know I take my trainer's word as Gospel so the next day Satin started on Equi-Jewel. As usual R was right. Not only did Satin love it and gobble it up, but she I noticed a difference within two weeks. She has now been on it for six weeks and is looking better and better. She no longer looks ribby and her top line is improving as well.

I highly recommend this product. Right now Satin is getting twice a day, but once she builds up a little more she will be dropped down the once a day and then her grain will eventually be decreased to its original ration. But, anyone with older horses, hard keepers, or any other weight issues should definitely give it a try. It is only about $30 for a grain sized bag of it which lasted me about six weeks.

I know, I know, I'm a slacker

I feel like these days I am constantly apologizing for the fact that I have been such a slacker on this blog. Things are just SOOOOOOOO busy for my this year, especially this semester, with it being the end of college. I feel like I have no time for anything. There are just not enough hours in my day. So to avoid constantly apologizing I will just say now, the updates will come as often as possible which will likely be not too often, but I will try my best to post at least 2 or 3 times a month.

Anyway, so first I will give the updates everyone wants most...the Satin ones! As I mentioned last time our ring is now usable (yay!!), so we have gotten back to our regular routine. About two weeks ago we were even able to get out on a trail ride, which was awesome. Can't wait for another one! Anyway we have been continuing with our lessons as we have all winter and have actually been able to do our homework. Lately we have been working a lot on flying lead changes. Satin already knows them as a reining horse but has gotten a bit lazy with them lately so we are working on cleaning them up and making them happen when I want instead of when she wants, as well as, fixing my equitation and ques during the changes as I tend to get in her way. We actually have a lesson later today, so looking forward to that.

In other news, I have not yet gotten back on Hottie for numerous reasons, none really having to do with him though and do hope to get him back to work soon. My new project horse, Try, that I introduced last week is doing well. I have had a few lessons on him and we are devloping a friendship and getting the hang of each other. He is a sweet horse but has some sensitivities due to mistakes and issues left over from his previous trainer. Anything that reminds him of his past work leads him to basically shut down, so we are slowly startng to figure each other out and things are going well.

School is good but busy. I like my internship, though the other intern and I often find ourselves sitting in the office with nothing to do as our supervisor is always so busy. When we do have work to do though it is interesting and good experience. Freelancing is going well and I have a few articles waiting for my attention, that I plan to begin work on next week while I am on spring break. Photography has been a bit dormant. I have had print orders from previous shoots, but haven't had any requests for shoots due to the cold weather and dead everything not providing good backgrounds. I expect now as the weather starts to turn that will change as I had several people inquire about spring photoshoots last fall.

Spring is in the Air

Spring is finally coming! Today temperatures reached 60! It is going to be chilly tomorrow, but the rest of the week is going to be in the 60s! Yay! It was so nice to ride in just a tshirt and sweatshirt and one pair of pants. We did unfortunately have tornado force winds which were not very fun, but can't complain.

Our ring finally thawed out last week and has been useable which has been awesome. I had a lesson last week and we did work on lead changes. It started out a little rough, but ended great. It is good timing for the ring to be back in action since I have bending homework to do.

In other news, a new project pony has just entered my life. A fellow photographer I know through horsey friends has a 7 year old Grulla QH gelding that has been in training with my trainer, the wonderful R, all winter. She plans to bring him home in May and asked if I would ride him a few times a week when she does. Apparently she had a riding accident a few years ago and since then just does mainly walk only rides. From what I hear my trainer has completely turned this horse around from when he first came. I am not surprised in the least as she is awesome. Anyway, I went on Saturday for a test ride on him. I watched R ride him first and she put him through his paces, explained his quirks to me, and told me how to cue him. Then I got on and rode him for about half an hour. It was very windy out so the indoor was making lots of scary noises. He was a bit looky and snorty with one or two little spooks but nothing major. All in all it went pretty well. As the ride went on and I got more used to him it only got better.

My trainer was very happy with how it went. She said that was him on a bad day so that on a normal/good day I should have no problems at all. She thought we got along very well and that he liked me and I handled him well. She also asked me if I wanted to come once a week and have a lesson on him, which of course I said yes to. He is a nice horse and I think I will have fun with him.

Favorite Racehorses

Well apparently this is my week of favorite videos. Here are my two favorite racehorses.

This first video is of Ruffian, the greatest filly to ever run a race.



The second is of Secretariat in the Belmont, his greatest victory.

Stacy Westfall

As all of you know from reading this I am a huge fan of Stacy Westfall and she was the one who inspired me to start doing bareback and bridleless with Satin. I don't know any horse people that don't know who she is and I think every single horse person has seen the run that made her famous. But, for those of you who are not horse people, it is a MUST see. So check it out below:



I have met Stacy in person and she is an absolute doll. She was so nice to me and every fan who approached her. She took the time to answer everyone's questions and sign posters and other products. Today I finally saw the video of her freestyle at WEG with her newest superstar stallion.



Just wanted to share a great rider and fantastic horsewoman with you all. Hope you are all as inspired as I was!

Sorry!

I know it seems all I have been doing is apologizing lately, but things have just been so busy that my blogging had to go on the back burner.

Anyway, to sum it up winter SUCKS! There has been nothing but a continuous onslaught of snow and ice. It's snowing right now as I write this actually. This means riding has been limited. Thank God for my lessons and the use of my trainer's indoor. When at home I have basically been riding through and playing in the snow or sledding. Last week we had some rain and it cleared off part of the ring so we have been able to ride in a small portion in the middle which was nice.

While Satin has been getting some work, Hottie has not. I can't get on him and ride him through the snow like I can with old reliable. I hope to get him back to work soon though.

Also this month the wondermare celebrated her 22nd birthday. Though she still thinks she is about 3 or 4. LOL

School is back in session and I started my new internship so between that and the horse, etc I have been busy busy, but I promise to try to be more diligent on here!