Proof they are still alive

No, I still haven't had time to do anything with the ponies but I did snap a few pics last night as I was shoving them out the door.

Size comparison



I like big butts!



Baby’s got back



Healthy pony (notice the dapples still)



Very healthy pony (she also has dapples)



The goober. I have no clue what she’s doing but she can put herself in some of the most awkward positions. Her legs really aren’t that crooked.



Does this remind you of the picture in my signature line on NWC?

My First Big Bale

Yikes! I had to put my first big bale out yesterday. The horses were trying to kill me when they'd see a bale of hay (even though the pasture is still green). I was hoping I'd make it until Nov. but it doesn't look like that is going to happen.

I did put it in the RP so that I could shut them off from it if I thought they were just being lazy and not even trying to graze. I have 12 bales so hopefully we have a mild winter and I have leftovers come spring.

An update on Max – MIL said he is doing fine and looks to be healing well however he is getting very pushy. He blew past her the other day when she let him out of his stall and scared the snot out of her. She went to back him up and then figured it probably wasn’t a good idea with his hock injury (I’d agree).

I gave her some ideas on things that *I* would try but told her she needed to call DH to see what he wanted her to do sine he’s his horse.

I’m hoping this weekend that I can get out and work my poines. I know I can’t work them 3 days a week but would like to try 3 times a weekend. Maybe work them once in the am on Saturday and then again in the afternoon and then once or twice on Sunday. I know it’s probably not ideal but I don’t have too many choices at the moment.

Elkhorn, NE Clinic

Well I still haven’t done anything with my horses. DH is still gone and the daylight must have followed him. The colder temps are starting to come more often as well. I’m just not ready for winter yet.

This past weekend MIL and I went to watch a CA clinic in Elkhorn, NE. It was nice to watch compared to a tour. There were 18 horses there Sat. when we showed up but by the end of the clinic only 16 were there to receive certificates.

I would really like to do a CA clinic so it was nice to see the format and what to expect. My goal is to do a CA clinic on Cat in 2010. Hopefully by then I have the $$ and she’s had a little bit of riding (she’ll be a 3 yr. old then).

I was amazed at how many participants had no clue and how pushy/disrespectful some of the horses were. One horse constantly charged and tried to attack the other horses so CA put Krista on her and every time she’d pin and try to charge another horse Krista would whack the horse between the ears hard with a crop. At one point CA got another horse and “tempted” the grumpy horse but the horse just pinned her ears instead of attacking so CA said they had found their starting point.

This horse also refused to go in a straight line. During the passenger lesson she zigged and zagged all over the place trying to lose Krista. By day two the rider was riding her all over the place in a straight line. It was cool to watch the transformation.

There was a beautiful OTTB that was spooking at a corner so Krista got on him and did some rollbacks and circles. This TB was very athletic and turned before Krista and Krista fell off. CA of course informed Krista what she did wrong and she re-mounted and continued. I felt bad for Krista but it did make me feel a little bit better about my past incidents. We are all humans and shit happens to the best of us.

There were two girls there who you could tell had practiced the methods. One I was told was on the waiting list to be an apprentice but wasn’t old enough yet. She had a nice cow bred filly that reminded me of Lu. Ears back when she backed her and when she’d change directions. The other gal had a nice grey horse. It was great listening to CA explain to them how to refine things.

MIL had a few epiphanies and she’s pumped to work with Sis now. I learned a few things in regards to refinement that will be nice to put into practice if I ever get the chance to work ponies again.

I would highly recommend auditing a clinic if one is near you.

P.S. – if you are a club member I was told by an “inside” source that 2009 would be an awesome year for members and that the discounts would be even better.

I’m sore!

No, I didn’t get bucked off again. I helped build fence all weekend so my arms are killing me from driving post.

Just a quick update since nothing much has happened since my last post. Max went over to spend some time at MIL’s. We re-did her fence this weekend since the original post that were put in were dry rotting and weren’t put in correctly so they didn’t keep the fence tight. We also split her pasture in half. She has a nice, huge pasture and Sis doesn’t need it all. She’s going to try to bale the other half next year & if that doesn’t work she will have two nice sized pastures she can rotate the horses on.

You all should be proud of me. Max’s hock is swollen again (not bad but it’s still swollen) so I told DH I’d call the vet today to find out if he wanted us to do anything about it. Then I realized “DUH” this is the shit that gets me into trouble and told DH if he was worried about his horse he could call the vet. I know, it’s not much but it’s a step.

I’m going to take a shot at building a restricted choice hay feeder. I think the concept is pretty neat & with hay prices as high as they are I think it’s worth a shot.

http://www.swedishhoofschool.com/hayfeeders.htm

The inventor of this one lives about 15 minutes from me

www.slowdownhayfeeder.com

I’m putting Lucy and Cat back on the Progressive feed. While Lu did gain weight on the other stuff I do think that part of her new skin problems (major bug bites) are from the feed. Cat is the only other horse with the bites (although not as sever) and she was the only other horse on the feed.

I am however putting all of the horses on Daily 72 to see if that makes a difference. Sis was here this year and her mane and tail got very dry and brittle and her coat looked coarse. Nothing else in her diet changed except for out pasture which I believe is lacking in minerals.

DH leaves Wednesday morning so the boys and I are on our own. I’m kind of looking forward to the peace and quiet.