Let there be trailer!

Guess what is sitting in my driveway at this exact moment in time? Guess what is shiny and brand spankin new? My new horse trailer! And when I say new, I really mean new! It is a 2012 Exiss two horse straight load...warmblood sized. So 7 foot 6 inches tall, super wide. Nice tack room up front too. Never been a horse in it yet. BAHAHAH :D So very excited! My very first horse trailer! And to make it better, I was approved for financing all on my own- no co-signer. So it is well and truly all my own. I can't wait to haul Joe around in it. I want to take him to winter wooly horse shows, and trail rides, and the fairgrounds, and all sorts of fun places.

Although I have been bad and haven't been good about riding Joe enough for the past few weeks. I have been letting my fence building get in the way. Shame, shame. But really I was working every available second on getting the fence done. I rented a bobcat with a huge drill auger to drill fence post holes. Then sank posts, cemented my corners and braced them. Then ran line through and tensioned it up nice. Well, that is only the front small paddock square that is all done like that. The long back section has the holes dug, but the posts aren't set yet. I went and did a whopping three posts this morning before my trailer sales place called me and let me know I was approved, so off I went. I shouldn't have waited this long to set those posts though...because it has rained a lot. The dirt I have to fill the holes is wet and muddy and mucky gross. Does not make it fun, and I don't know how effective it will be at really setting in those posts. We will see. But in any case, I need to get on getting that fence done. Jett, evil as he is, has taken to breaking out of the main pasture fence and running on the neighbors property. My creepy neighbor. Great. So he has lost a lot of turnout privileges, the snotty booger. But yes, the fence is still a work in progress. Although I am pretty proud of my mama and I for doing this all ourselves. And my boyfriend, who has been wonderfully helpful with drilling holes and setting posts...in the middle of the night in the rain, before my deadline to return the bobcat... haha. Which in turn gave me a cold.

But anyways, fence is still going up, and now I have a beautiful new Exiss trailer in my driveway. Let us see where the first place will be that I haul my big beasty!

Jett's Trotting Adventure

It only will let me fit one video at a time in a post, so here is another vid. This is me riding Jett. This is his first trotting ride under saddle. Well, "under saddle" since I was bareback. We tend to do these things on a whim, my buddy and I. It mostly goes like...."well I will mess around with him today, oh wow he is being pretty good today, hey Kelsey do you want to try trotting him today? Eh sure why not! Climb on!" Hence the bareback. But he was an excellent boy for his very first actually trotting work. I mean, he had taken a few baby strides before, but this was his first ride where he was actually asked to trot out and keep going. We unfortunately did not get video of Jett's first canter. We were preoccupied with me not getting killed in the process, even though it turned out we were worried for nothing!

Oh my. You wouldn't believe the ridiculous amount of time it is taking for this video to upload.

Mr Joe and Mr Jett

Hey look, finally at long last a video of me riding Joe! And let me tell you, I haven't had a chance to SEE myself ride in a long long time, and I am slightly horrified. Please be kind. I had no idea I had such a bad habit of leaning forward, and by god! What is that awful rocking I am doing in the canter? So since seeing this video, I am attempting to make a serious effort to lean BACK.
It has been too long since my last update, oops. But nothing too different has been happening. Have been riding Joe- and he is fabulous of course. I like to play with what he knows and can do. We can now do halt-canters both ways pretty consistently. I have been practicing a lot of haunches in/shoulders in. Both at the walk and the trot. I still struggle a lot with sitting his trot, but once I thought SIT BACK, it is much easier to do, although still not easy by any means. I have used him a few times to pony Jett, who is progressing quite a bit in his training, despite not being worked very often or regularly. Which is great news.
Speaking of Jett, he is coming along. We can now walk/trot him under saddle. Not the best steering at the trot still, but he is forward and goes when you tell him, comes back down to a walk or a halt in an instant. His trot is just a little too forward, he rushes too fast. But it will come. And quite exciting, I rode him in his first canter under saddle last week! It was a little nerve-wracking...We lunged him in a canter both ways and he had some scooting- jumpy bucky moments. But hey, what the heck I thought, its now or never! He is short! So we kept him on the lunge line and cantered both ways. No incidents! He picked up the canter and went along quietly! No hunching, not even a thought of bucking or getting silly! Great success! Going the the right though is very rocky and awkward. He is very very one-sided. He counter bends a LOT going that way, so the canter is very difficult. He does it trotting too, just not so badly. So I think it is time to introduce him to side reins while lunging. Lets straighten that booger out! And last time my buddy and I rode together, we took Jett outside, and after the huge evil bot fly chasing him and stinging poor Jett was over, we rode Joe and Jett together down Beasely road. I ponied Jett off Joe. The boys did fabulous! So Jett's first outing went lovely. No spooking or sillyness.
Now today I am going to take Joe on a trail ride. A slightly more real trail ride! Something that isn't riding down apaved road! YAY! My neighbor told me I can take Joe through their gate and ride on their back 50 acres, much of which is field. Oh so I am excited! I can really take Joe out for real! So that is todays plan.
And speaking of taking Joe out, I am now in the market for a horse trailer, at long last. I got approved for a loan and now only need to find one that would be approved and is in my budget. Tricky thing is it needs to be small and lightweight enough for our rather very small rig to haul, but big enough for hugemongous Joe to fit in. So I am looking at two horse slants. Found a couple promising ones so far; need to go out and start checking them out now. Exciting!! Then I can start hauling Joe to real trail rides, horse camping, little shows at the fairgrounds, the beach...wherever I want!

Big day for Jett!

Today my best buddy and I had a great pony day with Joe and Jett! Jett has only had a very few rides on him...quite intermittently. The sad life of a busy busy person and a need-to-be-broke horse. But today we both went out and played with the horses, and they were great! We rode in the arena a bit. Then we decided  to try and pony Jett off Joe. It worked! We tested it out in the arena first, then once we got the hang of it, took them outside. We walked all over the yard and the front of the house, and they were great! It was Jett's first time being ridden outside the arena. He was calm and quiet and awesome. Yay for pony success!

Jett looked very teeny from way up there on Joe. Haha. Then I let my buddy get on Joe and walk him around for a bit. She loved him. Of course! Everybody loves Joe! 

Go Joe, Go!

Brief update. Have been exhausted and tired nonstop lately, what with work and taking care of the horses, and also pet-sitting the neighbors critters. Because of the icky tiredness, been big time slacking in the riding department. Both Mazzarati and Joe. Doesn't help that last time I rode Mazz about a week ago, we had a terrible time. Makes me slow to jump back on, especially when I have Joe to enjoy. Even though I've not been great this past week or two about riding him either. But I rode Joe tonight and he was his normal awesome self. Also haven't been working on the posts for the new fence. Slacking all around. But been putting in close to ten hour days at work every day I'm there. But this weekend I am going to the beach with the fam for a Christmas in July...in September. So a mini vacation will be nice. Not to mention, Monday is labor day so no work, and Tuesday is my normal day off. So I'm looking at four days off in a row. Fantastic! Should help me rest up and be back to myself.

In the meantime, heres a teeny mini clip of Joe, being super lazy on the lunge line so I constantly have to be telling him to GO!


not to self. terrible idea to try and upload two videos at once. Even if they are short. It takes flipping forever.

Tallness evidence

 

I forgot I got my dad to take a few pictures of me on Joe the other day. Evidence of just how tall he is, finally! I like riding him in my front yard...no dusty arena. And he rides just the same out there as he does in the arena. But all has been going well with riding Mr Joe. Been playing with his lateral work- he is awesome at it. Still can't sit his trot, but beginning to feel less like a sack of potatoes on him. It is becoming less and less that I get thrown off balance during transitions or get stuck ahead of/behind his trot. Practice makes perfect, and I will strengthen my leg and core riding him. Yay! Although I've started wearing little nubby spurs with him.... to fight against the laziness. He likes to try and poke along at barely a trot. No thanks! You've got big legs Joe, you can use them!

Bad Decision? Nah!

 

Today I was feeling guilty that I haven't been doing much of anything with Gypsy since Joe got here. So I decided to bring her out to the yard and hand graze her. This turned into, I will sit on your back while you graze. Which in turn turned into I will walk you around the yard. I just looped her lead rope that was on her halter around her neck. Secure? Sure! She was being great and calm. So we decided to walk down Beasley road in nothing but her halter. Haha, but she was so good! I haven't been on her in quite some time, let alone on her outside. But she was calm and great. What a good old mare. Now that I am not trying to do things with her that she hates or is just darn bad at....she is great. But OMG. Did she seem tiny midget short sitting on today, after the time on Joe. Haha.

Oh yeah I forgot...

I keep forgetting to post. Mostly because I've been waiting to get a good picture, but now tomorrow its been a week, so its looking like a good picture might be a long time coming.
Joe lives at my house now! The lease is official, and he has come to live with Gypsy and Jett!  Jett loves him to pieces, Gypsy would rather he didn't exist. But he has been a good boy. I've ridden him a few times in my arena- my arena looks teeny tiny, way too small for him when Im on him. Ha. My whole barn looks miniature with him in it. But he acts like the gentleman he is riding in my arena. And the other day I rode him down beasley road, hoping he would be good. And he was wonderful. Better than I'd hoped. He looked all around, but walked happily down the road and back, no sillyness at all. WOOO!
Now to get my tired bum out to ride him tonight....

Heres the only pic I really have of him here. And its lousy. Sorry. It was the first time I put Joe and Jett together. And they promptly began grooming each other. Ha, cute :)

A Lesson for Me!

I got to take a legit, real lesson tonight! I have been riding Mazzarati (though not enough) and today got the opportunity to take a dressage riding lesson on him, from the wonderfully talented trainer that comes once a week to the clinic barn. I was very nervous- I have never really taken any fancy lessons before, and haven't had instruction since my equitation lessons in college. I was a bundle of nerves, since I'm really not a very advanced rider, but once I was up on Mazzi, it was better. And boy let me tell you, it went SO well! I told her my goal was to get better downward transitions with Mazz, because I struggle with him getting all strung-out and upside down in them. And she showed me the correct way to ask him to collect and round himself and be on my aids, and how to feel when Mazz is doing it right. I like the way she teaches- its not 'move this rein here and that leg there'. Its- this is the idea of what you need to do, but work with it a little bit to find the right way to do it for this horse and what he is doing right now. And OH BOY! Did I have the best ride ever on him. I started to be able to really feel when he was rounding and bending through his body like he should, not just being a noodle and bending in his neck. And he also pulled more naughtyness with me than he has before, but she gave me new tools to deal with the naughty, and exercises to do with him to strengthen my aids and his body. And let me tell you, when I got a GOOD downward canter-trot transition, and a trot-walk transition, it felt great!
Now I want to go and ride Joe and try the things out I learned on him! I was really wanting to ride him tonight, but now I am feeling tired. I got up early and went to work, got off around 5:30, my lesson on Mazzarati was at 6:15, got home around 8, cleaned stalls and fed horses and ate my own dinner at 9..... and now here it is at 9:30 and I am finding it slightly difficult to get myself out and riding Joe. Ha. I had coffee with my dinner. Maybe that will kick in shortly and give me a second wind.
Yay for riding lesson succcess! I am looking forward to using what I learned and riding better, and hopefully eventually taking another lesson!

A flood of horses!

It makes me laugh a little bit, that just some weeks ago I was getting rather sad and depressed I didn't have any horse to ride. I was surrounded by people who had lovely and well trained horses to enjoy. Well, now I do too! All of a sudden, I have two! I am now allowed to ride Mazzarati! The wonderful lady who has been riding Mazzi to recondition him back into work is out of town, and so now I have been given permission to ride him every day if I'd like! Mostly walk, some trot, a tiny bit of canter. It takes a lot of work to get back into work after six months of rest, after all. And oh boy do I love to ride Mazz. He is the smoothest ride I think I will ever have the pleasure to ride. He has a few silly goofy arabian moments, sure, but what manners! You tell him hey, please focus on me again, and he comes right back! His trot is like floating when I can get him to relax into a long, low frame. And his canter, oh my goodness his canter.... I could rant on and on. I just had to laugh and smile when I cantered him for the first time last time I rode. Smooth as silk. So I am greatly enjoying my time I get to spend with him. I really like that horse :) Always have. So glad he is healing and doing so great, after we just weren't sure for a while.

And further exciting news! I am officially going to lease Joe. It was agreed upon today, and very soon we will meet and sign a contract and work out all the little details. And then he will come to live at my house with Gypsy and Jett! I am so excited to be able to ride such a good horse anytime I would like. Maybe we can enter some little po-dunk shows, just for fun. I feel like I will become a better rider because of Joe, and will also get much stronger and stable in my core, since he has such huge gaits. :)    Woohoo!