Hard Work

Todays ride on Pony really solidified how much progress we are making! I rode for about 20 minutes before taking him on a walk down the road because he was giving me everything I was asking for and he felt amazing. It was definitely one of those rides where you know all of your hard work is paying off! One of my favorite quotes that describes Pony and I perfectly is:

"Hard work beats talent when talent doesnt work hard"

We have a lesson tomorrow and I am really looking forward to it! We have played with our changes a little bit but last Thursday going from left lead to right he was not switching his hind end so I decided to wait till our lesson. He was tired by the time we got to them in our ride so I didnt know if that played into it or if it was something I was doing because he has never had a problem with it before. I figured it could have been a fluke day but there is no sense in pushing it at this point, might as well make sure I am asking him properly and make sure he has good experiences doing the changes so I dont make it more of a problem then it needs to be. Im sure we will get our little kink worked out in tomorrows lesson :)

What are we going to do?

Last night while Pony and I were schooling some of our new and improved fancy dressage pony skills a fellow boarder asked me "What are you going to do with him once he is fully trained?". She then said that we have progressed really fast and he looked really good! I just responded that we are far from done with our training and we will continue to test our luck in the dressage ring until he physically cannot progress further and will keep eventing at the low levels. I hadnt really thought about what we will do once we max out together but he obviously is never going anywhere! Who knows, maybe once we reach that point I will know some kid o adult ammy that wants to learn dressage and will part lease him so I can work on a new project. That is all years away though and until then Pony and I will work our tails off in hopes of getting my Bronze together!

He had a long weekend, after getting body clipped on Friday, so that I could head up to my dads house for a couple days. While I was there I also got to visit Tolo who is doing really well! Tuesday I had some finishing touches to do on Ponys clip job so I just decided to hop on bareback and bridleless. Can I tell you how much I LOVE having a horse that can have 3 days off then you can just hop on no issues and ride bridle less?! His new fancy pants dressage skills are totally helping his bridleless skills also. Now that we back up I figured we should start working on side passing, which I have never thought I would know how to teach. He picked it up super fast! We are just working on basically a walking leg yield right now but can almost do a real side pass already. We are having so much fun with all our new and improved skills :)

From Fat Pony to.... Fat Pony :)

As promised here are some pictures from Mystic when Alanna and I went and picked him up from my aunt and uncle, when they were in Bend, Haloween of 2010!

First ride bareback in a bitless bridle (he wasnt formally broke to ride either!)

Then we had a double ride! He wasnt sure about it at all!

Within the first few months after I got him

First day at NDF :) Amazing how much his mane has grown!

From this summer! I didnt realize how much more feather he had at first. I think our weather here doesnt help it.

Cant Believe I Forgot!

Not only did I forget... but I just remembered tonight which, is exactly 8 days after Ponys and my 3 year anniversary since he came home! He came on Halloween of 2010 and my life hasn't been the same since. I am SO thankful everyday that I have been blessed with the opportunity to own him thanks to my aunt and uncle :) He is definitely my heart horse and I am so excited to see where the next 3 years (and many, many more after that!) have in store for us. He has already taken me further than I ever thought he would and we are still improving each day. Never in a million years would I have told you that we would be getting ready to show 2nd level dressage and successfully competing at 3 day events if you would have asked me the day I brought him home! He continues to exceed every expectation given to him and amazes me with his work ethic and willingness. When he retires my next horse will have HUGE shoes to fill thats for sure!

I have been trying to dig up pictures from the day he came home but they are on my moms computer I think. I will put them up asap!

He was great tonight and we got a really nice clean change (I hope/think/it felt like it!)! I am definitely getting the difference in feeling of the counter canter and when I will get a good change out of it. Now I just need to be patient and not ask when he is not set up well. I havent schooled them too much (usually just get one each direction and not every ride) but I think we are slowly figuring it out together. We have another lesson on Monday that I am really looking forward to. It is going to be so much fun to have lessons more often this winter!

Strange Feeling!

It is so strange (in a good way!) to be back down to one horse. Even though they were both at the same place it still doubles your time/energy/money/etc to have two. In the end I feel like both horses started getting the short end of the stick, in terms of riding time and frequency, once school hit and it started getting cold and dark earlier. It was nice to be able to go out after work today (besides the fact that it was the first night where I got off work and it was already pitch black...) and spend on my time on Pony without feeling guilty!

I was thinking tonight as I was riding him how far he has come! Even just at the start of this year when we were schooling the more 'basic' (I use this term lightly because lets face it... nothing about 2nd level is basic!) elements of 2nd level and even though he scored a 63 % he was still a very green 2nd level pony. Not to say we are ready to go show 2nd test 3, as we havent started schooling some of the movement yet, but I feel as if we could put in a solid 2nd test 1. As I was moving him from shoulder in to haunches in on the circle thinking "wow this is pretty easy" I couldnt help but smile and think about all the people that would NEVER even think we would be doing this! Even though we didnt show as much this year I still feel like we have accomplished so much! I am very excited to take more lessons this winter and get onto an every other week lesson schedule. Time for Pony to shed the pounds again (another aspect that I had let slip a little with having 2 horses!) and buckle down so we can maybe be a little bit competitive in the show ring next year?!

From Inavale. Such a studly man!!

Blast from the Past

After dropping off Tolo yesterday I got to thinking about all my rescues I have rehabbed and rehomed. It is never easy to know that you cannot go out and see them whenever you want but knowing they are in great homes makes it all easier. Tolo settled in within 2 seconds and was happily grazing in his big lush pasture. He has two minis coming to keep him company so he will have his own little mini herd, how cute! His new mom is super excited!

In honor of Tolos new home here are some fun pictures to look at!
Tolo on the feedlot:

After I first rescued Tolo I got Chia, an ADORABLE Belgian mare that was only about 15.2 hh but seriously built. She was not halter broke and was about 6 years old.

Pic of her in QT just after getting off feedlot. She was caked in mud and had skin issues

She got body clipped, roached her mane and had to cut her tail off because it was so nasty. This was her after a few months!

Possibly one of the coolest horses out there! Wish I could have kept her!

Then came Candy Cane an older 16.2 hh OTTB mare who I sadly had to end up putting down due to severe lameness issues. She was such a sweet mare!

Feedlot pictures

She was in the worst body condition out of all of them

Candy :)

And lastly there was Sky! Some of you may remember her. She is a 16.3hh 8 year old (if I am remembering right!) OTTB mare who raced until a month before I got her. I got her, just like the others, sight unseen and without the knowledge that she had a fractured hip. I had her the longest because of her hip issues but by the end she was sound and being ridden! She is a gorgeous mare!

The week before I got her

The week before I got her

I will thoroughly enjoy being back to just Mystic but look forward to my next project also! It will most likely be quite a bit longer before I get another, which is fine because there is plenty for pony and I to do! But I have already decided that I am going to go find myself a BIG OTTB gelding as a eventing prospect. There is not much that I miss about having a 'normal' horse but the fitness aspect is one that I do! For now I am off to enjoy my perfect little, fat, hard to get fit black and white pony :)

Green Light

Tolo had his vet check today. Normal gut sounds/heart rate/temp/ROM/etc passed hoof testers perfectly and wasnt sore in his back at all. The vet a concerned about his enlarged hind fetlock that he has had since the first day I brought him home. Ugly? Definitely, but it has never bothered him. Lunged great (besides that fact that he drags his hinds a little) but the vet thought he came out a little off on his left hind just slightly (2/5) with all other legs being great. He stated his concern that it had to do with that fetlock (he did pass his flextions 2 years ago). After telling her the slight concern over it he also stated that he seems to be a super nice horse that is otherwise completely healthy and should be suitable for what she wants to do. He also said that finding a horse his age/wear, being a middle aged horse (he is around 9), that would pass flextions 100% fine would be pretty rare.

His new owner was pretty unconcerned with it and asked if it was a bone chip that broke loose if it could be removed to help him and seemed onboard with doing that if thats what it would take which is nice to hear! She has his stall/paddock/pasture all ready and even got all his hay, rice bran, and vitamins ready for him tomorrow. It is super sad for me but she seems really into his well being and building a solid relationship with him. Added bonus is that she lives like 5 minutes away from my dads house up in West Linn and she said I could come see him any time :)

Here is a little bridleless video of him from last night. Only his 2nd bridleless ride!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRM_gpU3Ssc

Pony got the day off yesterday so I could have my last ride on Tolo. And tonight I just took him around bareback and bridleless! He officially has back up down bridle less too which is cool. I didnt really know how to go about teaching it but we figured it out and he picked up on it really fast. I am even getting another boarder to teach her mare bridleless stuff this winter! It is so fun, especially when you feel totally in control!