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Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Contest entries
I'm super behind on everything. I'll have the winner drawn and posted late Tuesday night. So sorry about the delay, there's just not enough time in the day anymore.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Sucking it up and a give-away
Last year, I had Mrs Mom and Mr Mrs Mom come up to Colorado to teach me how to take care of Estee's feetsies. Since they came up late in the season, I didn't have to do a whole lot to maintain her feet.
When we brought the horses back up this spring, we had our farrier come up and do the trim, because there was no way I was going to take off as much hoof as need to come off. Eventually, though, I knew I'd have to do it myself. Frankly, it terrified me. Ole Thrush came back for a visit and I knew that I couldn't put it off any longer.
Last week, I took a deep breath, put my big girl panties on and gave it a go. First, let's just say that Mrs Mom and Mr Mrs Mom make it look far too easy, but I did learn something cool from them...
I may not be very good at the actual rasping of the hoof, but I can flip that damn rasp around and look impressive.
I was afraid to mess around with Estes' hooves, which is why I wanted to learn how to do it right. Frankly, after learning more about trimming, I went from being merely nervous about it to having almost a paralyzing fear of it. I could really screw up her hooves. I took a deep breath, put on my big girl panties, picked up the hoof knife and made my first itty-bitty cut. Estes didn't kill me and I didn't hurt her. I shaved bit after bit off of her sole and frog, then hit it with the rasp. To say that I was conservative would be an understatement, but I figured if I took off just the tiniest bit every week, I couldn't do too much damage.
It was, so far, the hardest thing I've had to learn to do to take care of my Equine Soulmate.
So, what about this give-away? I know that we have all had to learn to do things that we were afraid/intimidated/didn't want to do in order to take care of our horses. It may be the worst experience of our lives, but we suck it up and do it because we love our horses.
As a reward, someone should win a horse-themed gift. Leave a comment telling us what you did/learned/overcame in order to take care of your horse. Was it worming, vaccinating, trimming? Certainly we've all had things that we didn't want to do, but did out of love for our animals. Each comment left before midnight (MST) on Friday, June 17 will be entered into a random name picker and the winner will receive a $25.00 gift certificate to reward themselves with.
When we brought the horses back up this spring, we had our farrier come up and do the trim, because there was no way I was going to take off as much hoof as need to come off. Eventually, though, I knew I'd have to do it myself. Frankly, it terrified me. Ole Thrush came back for a visit and I knew that I couldn't put it off any longer.
Last week, I took a deep breath, put my big girl panties on and gave it a go. First, let's just say that Mrs Mom and Mr Mrs Mom make it look far too easy, but I did learn something cool from them...
I may not be very good at the actual rasping of the hoof, but I can flip that damn rasp around and look impressive.
I was afraid to mess around with Estes' hooves, which is why I wanted to learn how to do it right. Frankly, after learning more about trimming, I went from being merely nervous about it to having almost a paralyzing fear of it. I could really screw up her hooves. I took a deep breath, put on my big girl panties, picked up the hoof knife and made my first itty-bitty cut. Estes didn't kill me and I didn't hurt her. I shaved bit after bit off of her sole and frog, then hit it with the rasp. To say that I was conservative would be an understatement, but I figured if I took off just the tiniest bit every week, I couldn't do too much damage.
It was, so far, the hardest thing I've had to learn to do to take care of my Equine Soulmate.
So, what about this give-away? I know that we have all had to learn to do things that we were afraid/intimidated/didn't want to do in order to take care of our horses. It may be the worst experience of our lives, but we suck it up and do it because we love our horses.
As a reward, someone should win a horse-themed gift. Leave a comment telling us what you did/learned/overcame in order to take care of your horse. Was it worming, vaccinating, trimming? Certainly we've all had things that we didn't want to do, but did out of love for our animals. Each comment left before midnight (MST) on Friday, June 17 will be entered into a random name picker and the winner will receive a $25.00 gift certificate to reward themselves with.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
It's Baaaaaaacccckkkk...
...and I can't get the stench off my hands our out of my nose.
Yep, it's my old nemesis, Thrush.
Poor Estee has thrush in three of her little feetsies and Washoe the Wonder Idiot's got it in one of his feetsies.
I knew it was coming. With all of the moisture, between the rain/snow/rain/snow, the pen hasn't had a chance to dry out. Estee's club foot just begs for thrush to grow. So, after a thorough cleaning, I sent Mom after the hoof knife. Which has grown legs.
I finally decide I can take the knife to Estee and it's no where to be found. Hopefully it will turn up before next weekend so I can clean up her feetsies.
Other than the discovery of thrush and the fact that Washoe the Wonder Idiot stepped on Mom, not once, but twice (he was kind enough to balance it out and step on each foot), it was a pretty good horse day. Mom and I got to go out for the first time this season together. Of course, there are no pictures of the two of us, so you'll just have to trust me on this one.
It wasn't a terribly long ride, only about an hour, but it was beautiful. In the thirteen years we've been riding in the forest, we've never heard the frogs singing in the meadow. With all of the moisture we've had, the meadow has a small marshy area and the frogs have moved in. I always feel so blessed to hear them singing - it's so rare - and to have them in the meadow is such a treat.
I may be cursing the moisture on behalf of Estee's feetsies, but I love that the froggies are happy and singing at the top of their lungs about it.
Yep, it's my old nemesis, Thrush.
Poor Estee has thrush in three of her little feetsies and Washoe the Wonder Idiot's got it in one of his feetsies.
I knew it was coming. With all of the moisture, between the rain/snow/rain/snow, the pen hasn't had a chance to dry out. Estee's club foot just begs for thrush to grow. So, after a thorough cleaning, I sent Mom after the hoof knife. Which has grown legs.
I finally decide I can take the knife to Estee and it's no where to be found. Hopefully it will turn up before next weekend so I can clean up her feetsies.
Other than the discovery of thrush and the fact that Washoe the Wonder Idiot stepped on Mom, not once, but twice (he was kind enough to balance it out and step on each foot), it was a pretty good horse day. Mom and I got to go out for the first time this season together. Of course, there are no pictures of the two of us, so you'll just have to trust me on this one.
It wasn't a terribly long ride, only about an hour, but it was beautiful. In the thirteen years we've been riding in the forest, we've never heard the frogs singing in the meadow. With all of the moisture we've had, the meadow has a small marshy area and the frogs have moved in. I always feel so blessed to hear them singing - it's so rare - and to have them in the meadow is such a treat.
I may be cursing the moisture on behalf of Estee's feetsies, but I love that the froggies are happy and singing at the top of their lungs about it.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Balance Tip
I know several riders who use a FitBall or something similar to improve their balance during the winter when they can't ride. I've done it in the past and was pleased with the results.
This year, Gymnastics Boy (my personal trainer), has had me doing a ton of work on a Bosu. We started out with it platform down, so that I was standing on the squishy-ish blue ball portion. He had me doing squats and basic balance work to keep my core working. He then flipped it upside down, like this:
...so that I was standing on the platform doing my squats and various other tortures that he came up with.
I have to tell you, while I was impressed with the FitBall's help with my balance, the Bosu has it beat hands-down. I've never felt more secure riding. I realized it on Sunday when Estes was wound up - it was a breeze to stay with her. My confidence in my balance has skyrocketed, which directly translates to my confidence on Estes.
I even felt comfortable enough to really get after her about halfway through our ride. Usually, I'm a little hesitant to really correct her when I'm riding bareback. She was being a bit of a mare and I corrected her harshly, which involved some quick movements during our discussion. It wasn't until I had my nice mare back that I realized that I'd done it bareback and without a second thought.
I can't recommend the Bosu strongly enough for all riders - not just the ones who feel like they need help with balance. Heck, when I started working with the Bosu, I was a bit cocky because I *knew* that I had good balace from riding. Boy, was I wrong.
This year, Gymnastics Boy (my personal trainer), has had me doing a ton of work on a Bosu. We started out with it platform down, so that I was standing on the squishy-ish blue ball portion. He had me doing squats and basic balance work to keep my core working. He then flipped it upside down, like this:
I have to tell you, while I was impressed with the FitBall's help with my balance, the Bosu has it beat hands-down. I've never felt more secure riding. I realized it on Sunday when Estes was wound up - it was a breeze to stay with her. My confidence in my balance has skyrocketed, which directly translates to my confidence on Estes.
I even felt comfortable enough to really get after her about halfway through our ride. Usually, I'm a little hesitant to really correct her when I'm riding bareback. She was being a bit of a mare and I corrected her harshly, which involved some quick movements during our discussion. It wasn't until I had my nice mare back that I realized that I'd done it bareback and without a second thought.
I can't recommend the Bosu strongly enough for all riders - not just the ones who feel like they need help with balance. Heck, when I started working with the Bosu, I was a bit cocky because I *knew* that I had good balace from riding. Boy, was I wrong.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Spring!
Do you see this?
It's an actual shadow. And what makes shadows? THE SUN! Hallelujah! We got to ride in the sun. Can't tell you how happy that makes me.
The downside of the sun?
Run-off. It's tearing up the trail. This is the worst I've seen it on this particular portion of the trail. The ground is absolutely saturated and there's nowhere for the water to go.
The pond is full and the frogs were singing - guess they're sick of winter, too.
The downside of the sun?
The pond is full and the frogs were singing - guess they're sick of winter, too.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
A Letter to Mother Nature
Dear Mother Nature,
I know I asked for moisture after fire season came early, but enough already. I'm tired of riding in the snow and cold. It's almost the end of May, can you turn on the warm? Pretty, pretty please?
I didn't even ride last weekend because of the cold and fog, and I love to ride. Sometimes enough is enough.
Sincerely,
Tired of wearing eighty billion layers just to ride.
I know I asked for moisture after fire season came early, but enough already. I'm tired of riding in the snow and cold. It's almost the end of May, can you turn on the warm? Pretty, pretty please?
I didn't even ride last weekend because of the cold and fog, and I love to ride. Sometimes enough is enough.
Sincerely,
Tired of wearing eighty billion layers just to ride.
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