BeauD Video

Aha, the video finally emerges. The library internet is the only one around fast enough to upload these stinkers.

Merry Christmas!

Hello all! Its the day before Christmas Eve, and I'm cozy in the recliner chair back home! I came back yesterday so I could work at the vet clinic today. And lots of things have happened that I could write about, but my mind is drawing a blank and I don't feel like writing a huge amount. Go me. Finally something to say, and no motivation to say it. I do have about a billion pictures. So maybe they will trigger some brain waves.

So here is a picture of my boss, well, the man who owns BeauD. This is him riding one of his other horses, Ellie. Ellie was in the school's training program along with Cheyenne. I rode BeauD this day too, and he was great. Let him run around loose in the arena first, get his boogers out, then hopped on. Walk, trot, canter both ways. He was awesome. And we finally got some video of me riding him, although the video was kind of far away so it is hard to see. You can't tell how totally wonderful his canter is from this video. Riding it is like being in a rocking chair, and it's so smooth and comfortable. He doesn't rush at all, and isn't totally heavy on the forehand. Its lovely. Love.

OK. This is where that video was going to be, if the internet at my parents house wasn't painfully slow and lame. It can't upload video to save its life. I will have to go steal library or LBCC internet to upload it.

So yeah. And in other news... Gypsy has been a boogery little booger lately. But I don't quite believe its all her fault. Last few times I've ridden her, she seems just so...in pain. I got her worked by the chiropracter over the summer, because she seemed ouchy, but in all that time, she hadn't been acting like she was in some serious acute pain. But now she arches her neck, pins her ears, shakes the head. Its terrible! So I think I need to get her some work. It doesn't help that I don't think her saddle is fitting her anymore, it slides all around and back...So I have been doing a ton of bareback riding, which used to always totally fix her problems, but now she is even acting up bareback. I never enjoy riding that horse anymore. Sigh, oh to own a horse I look forward to riding. I peruse dreamhorse in boredom and just drool over all the horses I could own. I just want a horse that is big enough for me, and is chill. I don't need to show, I don't need ribbons. I just want a comfortable and nice looking ride where the horse is willing to carry itself and is good natured and happy to work. Boo. Sigh. But the other day, I did have some fun making her a santa hat. I got a cheap hat from the dollar store and cut holes for ears, and stuck it on her. Suprisingly she didn't care at all, and chilled with her hat for quite awhile. Super cute.

And other slightly exciting news...We took horses to the fairgrounds at work the other day. We took Cheyenne, so she could get some good practice and work to get ready for a possible show next month, Troy [the TB cross I worked last year-the other girl works her now], and...wait for it....waiiiiitttt....Beary! Miss fatty Beary!

It was her first trailer ride since she was 6 months old. She hadn't been taken anywhere since she was a baby to come live at my boss'. And she loaded right up in the trailer, no problem. She just doesn't back out at this point, she has to turn around. And she was moving that trailer all over the place during the ride, ha. But we unloaded her, and she was perfectly calm and easy. There was a major scary incident about tying though. I felt like an idiot for it, ugh. She used to pull back when tied, really bad. But I kinda fixed that, and she hasn't done it in months and months. So I tied her to the panels. Everybody ties to those panels without thinking. So I did. And we left her there, and she was fine for a while. And then she pulled back, and pulled all the panels with her, and it was a total train wreck. Horrible. My life flashed before my eyes, as I was trying to get close enough to her to let her loose. But as bad as that was, I will say she settled back down. She was breathing a little harder the whole rest of the time, a little cautious, but she was a saint. I led her all around, I saddled her, I rode her at a walk once around the arena. And so went her very first expedition. I will make sure there are no train wrecks next time. Cheyenne did super awesome. She is so good. She is going to own at the show, if we take her.

Beary on the left, Cheyenne in the middle, Troy on right.

Another cantering pony!

Ok so lots of excitement. Today I went to ride BeauD again...took him and Ellie [another of his horses] to the fairgrounds. BeauD got to have a nice little stud chain while being led around. He finally jerked me around and dragged me off enough to earn it. It is now our best friend. Ha. He was being a bit crazy, so we let the two horses run around in the empty arena and get their boogers and sillyness out, and that did wonders. I lunged BeauD monster and he did NOT drag me halfway across the arena. He minded the stud chain and had beautiful manners, walk trot and, dare I say it, canter! He didn't buck at all, and he didn't pull me around while he cantered. Oh dear me, might today be the day to try to canter Mr. BeauD? We shall see....
So I hopped on, and he was being great, and we trotted around, and he had some impulsion going, he was using his big beautiful booty a little bit....Bueno. And so...ok, lets bite the bullet. Ask for the canter! Don't buck me off BeauD....I just visited the chiropractor and am feeling better. So I asked....and he gave!!
Ahhhh, let me tell you. I was expecting some super quick crazy thing. No such thing! He cantered slow and easily, with lift and some impulsion, with his head held pretty nicely. I held him and he was feeling on the bit, but he wasn't pulling me, and he wasn't trying to speed up. And the canter! Oh, the canter! He is like a smooth rocking chair, so amazingly comfortable and wonderful! I was super excited. Stoked. Go me and BeauD. I was very happy and proud of him. Yay.
In other news, I went to the racetrack- Portland Meadows, yesterday. It was Oregon race day...a bunch of bigger money races going. It was super fun, lost a couple bucks, ha. Saw the vet I shadowed over the summer, the whole clinic crew was there! I said hi, it was awesome. Yay, they love me still. And she asked if I was going to come work a little while I was home on break. Heck yes! Also super stoked and excited.

The amazing cantering pony!

So yesterday night I went to work...Decided to lunge the giant Bailey monster- she is a clydesdale cross thing. She gets very obnoxious and nippy, and I was a bit tired of her evilness. So I brushed and lunged, and she is actually very good! She walk trots on the lunge nicely, and then I was working her a little bit in hand. She leads around, stops promptly, backs, and yields her big giant booty. I was a little pleasantly suprised- Ive never really worked her. I tried a bit of trotting in hand, and after a reminder that it IS required, she did great. Woohoo, I guess she just wanted some loving!
But anyways, this post isn't supposed to be about Bailey. It is about the other B pony of my life...Beary! I rode her last night too, and she was doing really well. Walking around, trotting around, turning, stopping. So I have been really curious if I could get her to canter....I mean, she would be a really cute walk-trot horse for some kid, but boy it would be really nice if she had a canter too. I tried cantering her last year, with some help, and oh goodness it was NOT happening. You don't even want to know the extremes we went to to get Bears to canter, and nope. No canter. Not even close. So last night I grabbed my trusty dressage whip that Beary is becoming very responsive and wary of. Ha. And I asked her to canter, and she went!!! It took a minute, and there was some minor little crow-hoppy strides, but she cantered! I was SO excited! I asked for only a tiny bit, then to come back down to trot. Asked for canter again, and she went! On the correct lead too! Turned around and cantered that way too, although it took a couple tries for the correct lead. But truthfully, I couldn't have cared less about what lead she was on. She could have been crossfiring and falling over and I wouldn't have cared- She was cantering! Beary the fatty lazy draft pony thing....was cantering!! Great success :)

BeauD

Hello all! Which includes the quite possible nobody-ness that reads this blog! I went and rode BeauD again, the big beautiful warmblood gelding that bucked my booty into the dirt the other day. But I would like to say that today went much, much better! We got into the trailer pretty easily, and lunged around a little crazy, and then rode. We walked all over, and trotted. And there was no trying to canter, and NO bucking at all, and no sillyness!! YAY! And I must again announce that his trot is lovely lovely and he would be a fabulous dressage horse. I was going to take a picture of him, but I didn't get around to it. Luckily, his owner took a few pictures. I have only gotten ahold of this one, but I love it. It was right after we unloaded from the trailer and he was very lookey-ahh scaredy cat about all the things around the fairgrounds. I think there were a couple pictures of riding, and I'll post those when they get to me. Good ride for today.

On the other hand, Gypsy has been a snot lately. I don't have any desire to ride her today....But I really need to. And then study for my finals. Which are this week. Which I have yet to study for....

EDIT-------------------- Got the pictures from our ride!