Spring is upon us!

Long time no post, yet again. It just goes without saying nowadays I suppose. Recap of recent events...nothing much. Missed the second in the series of Winter Woolies shows with Gypsy, it was the second weekend of February. I was moving the weekend prior to a new apartment, and was still getting settled in and didn't have time to get her ready and work her. On a sidenote, I am loving my new apartment and having my own space again. This is really the first time I've had my own full apartment without having a roomate. It can be lonely at times, but also very nice. Thank goodness the Allie Monster is here to keep me company. But anyways, Gypsy has also been mysteriously lame. My best guess is a left front lameness. Farrier didn't think it was an abcess- couldn't find anything. I couldn't find any heat or swelling, and no prodding or poking seemed to irritate or hurt. So I've left it alone and let her just chill. Its been a few weeks since I first noticed it, and today when I went out there she seemed better. I didn't really notice any head bobbing today.

She has also been banished to the front paddock square full-time until further notice. She kept escaping out of the pasture fence, and after the third time in a month, that was it. I don't need a horse hit by a car, or getting colic from eating who-knows-what. So she is less than thrilled with her current situation, but certainly was asking for it. So today it was warm (or as warm as February can be) and so nice and sunny with blue skies! I took her to the pasture and lunged her, and she was just full of crazy beans! She got over herself eventually, but it was pretty cute. She was especially excited by the hand grazing she got in the back pasture. Nobody has been back there in months and months, so the grass I'm sure was delicious! Allie of course came with and basked in the sunshine. Gypsy got to have her first good blanket-less roll of spring in the squishy dirt, only made better by the fact that she ruined her beautiful grooming job. Mhmm. She was pleased with herself.

Speaking of Allie, she has had the toughest time adjusting back to apartment life. I mean, its been years since she's lived in one- not since I first bought her in Albany. She was at first refusing to eat, and would lay around and mope constantly. I was so worried about her. She is getting better now, eating more normally and seems perkier and happier. I have been trying to take her to a big dog park near our apt at least once a week. Her first dog park experience? Terrible fear of all the other dogs, but happy to be out off leash to wander. But every time I take her she gets better, and wants to say hi to other dogs now, and walk along with other dogs. There is hope! I really like the park- there are so many friendly dogs and they are all so happy and playful, and all the people are super nice too. I have walked and chatted with quite a few people now. I think Allie is really starting to enjoy going. And of course I bring her back home to "the farm" as I now call it, to play with Franklin pup and have barn adventures.

Ribbons for Gypsy

 Gypsy and I went to our first in-hand show! It was Winter Woolies at the fairgrounds, a very low key schooling type show. I was worried at first when she was a bit crazed getting off the trailer. She couldn't settle at first, and was terribly worried about being not near other horses. I was very annoyed my leather halter didn't come in the mail in time for the show, and I didn't want to take her in the ring with her appearingly flimsy arab cable halter. So off we went into our first class with our lame purple nylon halter. I was a little disheartened when she was very wiggly and distracted in our first class- Novice Horsemanship. But after we went out of the ring from that first class, she really settled and seemed to chill out. There is hope! Our second class was right after the first- first year showmanship. And she was much calmer and less wiggly. We earned a third place ribbon! Yay! Such excitement! Our third and last class had a pretty good wait between, and she was so chill by then that I decided to give the cable halter a go. I was worried for nothing, she was totally fine in it. Better even, since that has a small chain under the chin. Our last class was the 19 and over handler, and I was nervous for that one. It was a more difficult pattern, but she did her best yet in that one. We earned ourselves a fourth place ribbon there, and I was so surprised and happy! Great job pony! She needs some more work on setting up quicker and not moving once we set, but she is getting better with work at home. There is another winter woolie show the second weekend in February that I'd like to take her to as well. 

Ha, and today, I got a wild hair to take Gypsy out and do a mini-wannabe trail ride with her across the street in the field/woods thing. HA. The most riding I've been doing on her is riding bareback down Beasley street and back. So I'm not sure why I got this bright and also suicidal idea. But I led her down the road to the gate and through, then climbed on. And actually, I was fairly happy with how she did. By all means, she pranced just about 98% of the time...but there was no rearing/bucking, and only one big giant spook. I thought, for what I've done with her (ZERO trailriding almost) she did fairly well, especially since she is such a fanatical anxious little thing. Head was up in crazy mode, tiny prancy trot, and there was a lot of stopping and staring at a potential horse-killing tractor/wood board/puddle. But we went all the way around the path through the trees, big field, and down the side of the other field. She was so terrified of the big tractor in the field, she felt like a coiled spring about to bolt any second. I was very happy she tried to trust me and we walked by with no incident. I did get off and led her through the path through the actual woods. I was especially proud of her when she rode through some water that had flooded over the path. So yes, a bad idea, asking too much of my non-trail riding, retired-from-riding old pony, but didn't go so badly. Ha