So this is the little arab I rode. Little means a normal sized horse when it comes to owning one like Spyder. We did 7.5 miles the weekend before last - 5 miles on the trail and a few laps around the ring to feel out the horse and get used to the awesome endurance saddle I rode in. Yes, endurance saddle. Talk about learning how much an english saddle puts you forward and a dressage saddle puts you upright - this thing did a whole different angle. It made sure I post UP instead of forward (bad habit) or I'd feel the pain from not cooperating. I figured it out quickly to spare the skin on my legs and stomach. The horse I rode has been all over the trails in endurance rides, and it's quite an ironic story how I ended up riding the horse. I met a guy at the ride I volunteered for in the spring (the endurance ride I trained for and had trailer issues then crappy weather and a mess of other crap - yea, I'm on the life is crap kick). We later "friended" (is that a word?) each other on Facebook and I realized he had the same last name as someone that was in the equestrian club with my at college. I asked some questions, and yes, he's his dad... and the kid I went to college with... well, it was his horse! He no longer lives at home so the horse is for sale and he is SO much fun to ride. ...if only I could afford two.
Back to Spyder... he's busy being bored. The round pen has a jolly ball which he doesn't fool with, and it is down to sand again (because he ate all of the grass in and around the outside of the pen). His paddock of friends went back into their normal field which has amazing grass right now. He still gets to watch them, but I feel so guilty he can't socialize with them. I feel bad that he's not getting out on grass like he did and a lot less grain since he's not working. I'm going to be keeping an eye on his weight, and he's sure getting one big fat hay belly. He looks so different since he stopped working, and I just hope I can bring him back in work. I am really worried about him healing, and the thought of it not makes me so upset. I plan on calling to make our early-mid October appointment next week, and hope to find a way there for the date that gets picked since it's a trip. I did follow up to find out it's a 30% tear, but only in the location of the injury which is far from the entire ligament. Is that good or bad? I have no idea. I hear of a lot of great recovery stories then you get one thrown in there that led to retirement, sigh.
Dead after the bike run.
Fishing it out because it's awful at swimming.
As for the pup, he's been keeping us busy. I am not at the farm after work because I go at lunch to keep Spyder company so I get to spend a lot more time with him. We taught him how to run next to the bikes on the leash and he's been doing great off the leash back in the woods. This time of year is tough for anything involving the woods or grass because of chiggers - the worst little creatures of all time. The dog keeps an eye out for our resident swimming ground hog, and I hope I don't find it in the pool AGAIN. It's gone for a swim twice now and eaten my garden so it might be relocated if it happens again. Our 55 lb dog hound mix? is loving tracking the ground hog's path down, and I can't even believe the little sucker still comes in the yard. Kaiden is no puppy any more, and I submitted a DNA swab to see if we can get back anything other than "mixed breed" for his history.
In riding news, I still haven't heard about lessons. I might be riding the arab again, and I have a friend that has a 1/2 arab I might be able to ride. We've made a list of the fall rides, and hopefully we can meet up for at least one to take both of her horses out for a spin together. She's so far up north, and there is permitted riding in the middle of us so we're still sorting out how to make it work. It might end up being a meeting at a ride and just going for it without practice. Hey, that could be fun, right?
Finally - the 50's! The temperature has been a little bit more consistent, but the nights still feel like winter at times. It's just so damp which makes things so much worse (and soggy). Saturday and Sunday were busy for me with running around and making plans so I didn't get in much riding time. The dryer decided to break right when I was going to leave so I had to hang everything which took up more of the time I had to ride. It's always something, right? For whatever reason, I found the motivation, and I'll say it was the sun. The goal was just to have Spyder cooperate and not give in to his fussiness. I'm not sure why he's been so sour, but I have been, too. It seems when you put in more riding time, that mood always turns around.
GREEN!
Both days, I worked on the track since I wanted to remind Spyder of our exercises. I started Saturday with a dressage whip, and he was already a better listener just holding it. Another boarder that hasn't been out in a while was riding her trail horse on the track, and she was having some listening and "up" issues. I wished I had time to ride with her, but I had to get home to get ready for beer fest - priorities. We did a lot of walk, halt, trot, halt, back, and I felt like I had to really lay into his mouth to get him going backwards. I feel bad having to go back to these basic commands, but it's best to "start over" until the baby horse's mind can catch up to his adolescent self once again. We also did a lot of open rein turns in both directions and some were even in a tight canter. He certainly kept his feet moving with the whip in hand! I find it funny because he acted like he couldn't do it in our lesson earlier in the week. He knew I meant business that ride. I had about 30 minutes of really testing him before I had to cool out and head back.
Smoke over blueberry fields
Sunday, I had a very short ride because I had breakfast with my parents, sister, and her boyfriend and was heading into Philly for lunch. The sun was shining, but like the day before, the wind made it feel cooler. Spyder wanted to buck SO bad, and so we turned and turned until he decided to chill out. I had 20 minutes in total so we worked on transitions again. I did get in some cantering with angry ears, but no buck! I wasn't feeling my finest since I was running off little sleep and even less hydration so I took it easy and ended it when he was nice and calm. We cooled out, and I snapped a photo of the green grass. It's finally starting to grow and makes life feel so much happier. On the way home from Philly, there was a HUGE fire which I found out burned what they think was 1,500 acres. They were working on controlling it through Monday. It was in a remote part of the forest which took 35 minutes for fire crews to get to, and they still don't know what caused the fire. It was back behind Batsto where there are no homes, but it is still devastating to the area.
In total, Saturday was just .75 miles because of all of the stopping and
standing that was nearly 40 minutes of boring! Sunday was a bit more
exciting with 1.5 miles in 20 minutes. I really want to surpass my March
count for miles, but I feel like this month has so much going on that I
won't be able to do as many long rides. I do need to keep conditioning
for our hunter pace the first weekend in May but not nearly what I
thought I had to do for the 30 that didn't happen. Hopefully in the fall,
I can get back in gear and do a 15 or 25, but horse life will depend on
the trailer status for the time being. The picture for miles is for both
riding and a few shorter dog walks. We've been taking the dog to the lake
by our house and to Bass River State Park so he can get some off-leash
running time. It wears him out fast!
Yes, life is happening and not always how you plan it. I'm not saying that in a bad way, but just making a statement to say it: life happens, let it. So much has been happening between the weather, work, travel, and life that I haven't had time to manage the things that I need to keep an eye on. It's time to get organized and figure out the direction I need to move because my next graduate course is creeping up on me for March. Yikes!
What's been going on and what do I need to be doing?
I've been changing my name slowly since getting married, and I just want to get it over with! Keep on moving, you're almost there.
I need to get on the parts I need to get the trailer in tip-top shape: a bulb, shocks for the ramp, water carrier, etc. The sooner I do this, the sooner I can practice my trailering skills because...
We have a truck! Life is so good!! A truck came along that is perfect for the job of pony adventures!
I have a ton of books in the line up to get through before my course starts and I have to read boring material. eBook rentals from the library have been too much fun for me.
I've been making a activity list of horse events going on so I can keep control of that situation.
The process has started for my interview as a 4-H volunteer/leader for the chapter at the barn. I hope to get some new and creative ideas moving for the club. I did so much service in college that I have really missed it!
St. Jude and TriDelta are amazing me time and time again! Yes, I'm a sorority girl and I loved every minute of all of the community service it came with. The partnership with St. Jude was for $15 million to be raised in 15 years, which was surpassed like crazy to make it $15 million in 5 years, which was SURPASSED AGAIN... with $15 million raised in just 3.5 years. Go TriDelta and <3 St. Jude.
Photo from TriDelta
The weather is still crap so I went skiing instead of riding this past weekend, and the soggy ground has yet to let up (which was snow ground until this past weekend). Now, it's all back to rain again. VT this past weekend was great, and they are getting DUMPED with powder today (8-12") while we're getting more mud... I mean rain!
Yes, I have "junior" skis
Missed the doggie like crazy when we were gone for this weekend and last, and I'm glad to have him back in action this week! :) He got a laser pointer and a few new toys because I spoil him, and it's been fun tiring him out.
Since I'm on this CTR kick, I've been trying to work out places to go, people to ride with, and questions I have to ask. I sent in my membership for the NJ TRA, but I haven't yet heard anything. They don't really respond to questions much, and it's really annoying! I tried to use it as a network tool, but the people they gave me to contact are just as non responsive as the group. I've joined a few Facebook groups to sit back and read about the sport, and I am trying to figure out a training plan. Training plan? Really?
Saturday was cold and windy, but I decided to ride since the sun was out. We warmed up, and then I used the "track my hack" app to figure out our pace and distance. It's pretty awful for the most part, and I may pick up endomondo again. We worked on the track doing trot sets, and we even cantered a bit (in circles, but it happened). I decided to man up because we both get bored and dive into the trails between the track for something different and to cool out. Spyder was 100% fine and super excited to be doing something different. We've got a whole new set of fun to be had at the farm! We did just over 3 miles with warm up and cooling out.
Very Tired Puppy
After riding, April came over so Kaiden and Gucci could have a doggie play date and we could catch up. Winter is getting to both of us, and the riding less thing is upsetting. We need spring to come so we can get out and get off the farm. Since I need to practice with the trailer, I am working on a truck, and that will make it much easier to get the job done! There are a few places to ride that aren't too far from where April keeps Shadow, and I can even ride at the farm with her there if they allow it. This riding alone thing is SO boring for both of us so we're making that happen this spring. The dogs got along after they worked out their boundaries and were looping around the yard like crazy! It was nice to have a tired pup at the end of the night.
Sunday, I had the same schedule - warm up on the track, trot sets on the track, and cantering while TRYING to move out straight which turned into a funky gait (so I came back to trot then started over with asking). Spyder's leap into the canter is so dramatic that I never know if he's going to pull a stunt or move away nicely, but he was moving nicely. There was one point where I'd say we went about 50 feet in a straight line down the track to the left. To the right, it's still just circles. To either side it's been frustrating, but it's been easier to move him out off my left leg (and I think that's my fault because it's stronger). We went faster today, and did about 3.25 miles. I have no idea what a good pace is for a ride so I guess I need to figure that out.
Amped in the Woods
Most of both days this weekend was trotting and south jersey is just too flat for the "use hills" suggestion everyone gives to work on muscle and cantering. He's got the command, and he knows that when I sit in the saddle and grab mane, I mean pick it up and go, but we are still stuck in the circles which I don't get. I'm a lot less scared to try things with him (even though he sits more, and I think it might be because he's a bit more spunky having time off in between rides which means he's more willing to go when asked. Not using spurs or a crop both days made for a great work out, and the two-point at the trot both days has really helped me stretch my legs and work on my core. I think that I'll have to get in better shape than Spyder will have to if we plan on making this happen in March. I've also networked within the groups to ask for people in the area to ride with, and I found a person a little older than me in the area where the CTR's are. I hope to get out and off the farm with her if it's nice at the end of February, and if not, early March. Spring is just around the corner! We've got 4-10 inches of snow coming tomorrow so skiing this weekend will be fun, but I'll be missing the riding time.
101th post for my spotted fried! WHOO! For this, I'm celebrating our newest addition, Kaiden. He's no dalmatian, but he's certainly a mutt. We have no idea what mix he could even be other than FUN!
As some of you may know, I wanted a dog when we got our first house! We fostered one that didn't work out, and at that point, we knew we wanted to sell the house to upgrade. Upgrade we did, and we knew it wouldn't be fair to a dog between moving and fixing up the next home. OK, I wanted it more than I'm admitting to it, and I tried a few different tactics to get one, but with the upcoming wedding, it would have been too much. Who cares! Chris did because he'd have to listen to me trying to plan while dealing with a puppy. It would have been fun though, right?
I talked to Dom and a few others that I knew were in positions to get inside stories on dogs even though it was before the "approval" stage. I knew it would be a matter of time, but I couldn't help myself. I follow a TON of shelters in the area, and I began to comment on photos of some that came in. While some were SO adorable, I held on to hope that Chris would see one and say, "Let's go take a look." That didn't happen for a few months even with persistence (and annoyance... and possibly aggravation). Anyways, I posted on Kaiden's photo that the AC Humane Society posted WEEKS before we went to look at him, and it was the day they posted it! He looked so cute and very similar to our foster dog so he caught my interest right away! I don't know how he ended up staying there for the time he did because he was so sweet.
The photo that got my interest!
We went to look at him the day I did the hunter pace... what an exciting day for so many reasons! It was right before Halloween, and I met Chris at the shelter to save some time since their hours are strange. All day I was thinking he'd get adopted, but he was still there (and they already had my application... oops). All of the dogs barked and jumped, and Kaiden just came up to the gate of his run and wagged his tail. When they went to put the leash on him to bring him out, he curled and moved towards the ground. It was so sad! We played with him in a small pen, and he wasn't concerned with us or toys... just the food in our pockets. He was a bit shy and mild mannered - a bad and a good? A good and a good? What kind of puppy doesn't want to play with toys? I told myself he just never had anyone teach him how to be a dog, and I knew he'd been there for a few weeks, close to a month. How? He was so sweet!
Since he seemed independent, I was worried that he wouldn't be too into people. Chris and I talked about it and I wanted him to decide so nothing could be blamed on me, and he wanted me to decide since it's what I wanted all along. I expressed my concerns for him being a bit too uncaring about people and toys, but I mentioned the fact that food was a motivator which always makes things easier (Spyder is a prime example). We went with the decision to get him, and headed home to our house with broken heat! We were worried about that and a Halloween party we were throwing, but hey, all good experience for him, right? It was nice to see that the shelter posted our adoption photo on their Facebook for everyone to see! I didn't even get to tell friends before a lot of them saw it on their site so the texts started coming in!
The day we adopted him! Yes, those are riding pants!
The drive home
We set everything up for the dog and let him explore, then we had people over the house right away to see how he'd react. He was a bit confused and didn't have much energy which was both good and bad. I liked that he was chill, but I didn't like that he might be sick or depressed or BORING. He didn't wag his tail much, and he had no clue what to do with toys. He liked the yard and walking/moping around it, but he still wasn't too interested in us. He plopped down and sunbathed and just lounged around in the sun. Cool? We let him be and he eventually came around.
Sun bathing
Day 3 or so, he was WILD! He started jumping, wagging his tail, and getting bursts of energy. We decided it was the perfect time to start TRAINING! Sit was easy, as he came with that almost perfected. We got him in the car and to stores as well as a few different parks to walk and get used to things. He was terrified of wind and leaves, but he's good with those now. He's still getting car sick which is slobbering like crazy (to the point everything is soaked) and vomiting if he's too anxious. He's not scared to get in the car, but the motion must make him sick. He was a bit shy in Petsmart with people, but he quickly warms up. Dogs excite him and he hates that they are on leashes in the store because he just wants to play. We need to find dog parks! He's such a "talker" and loves to tell you when he wants something.
Because they posted the photo of us on Facebook, I decided to tag myself. I read through all of the "good luck" comments and found a post from someone that knew him from the south where he was in Georgia. Long story short, I ended up talking to her, and she fostered him at her kennel/rescue that she runs. He was so great on a leash because of her, and we got his story! He was found by someone that found him in the street with wounds, and they called the shelter which was closed so they sent him to their vet and said, "We'll pay for it!" He went through surgery/sealing up the cuts and had drains put in which is why he was under the care of someone that could provide for him with experience in working with an injured dog. The story was that he was attacked by dogs that "tried to rip his head off", but no one saw it happen. To me, it looks like it could have been an embedded collar because of the symmetry, but who knows. He could have been stuck under a fence or something, too. I'm so happy he went from Georgia all the way to NJ and found a great spot with us. His foster mom is still in touch with us and loves seeing what we post on Facebook! I'm sure I annoy people on Instagram, but oh well! These are graphic photos so don't look if you can't handle them.
He's met quite a few dogs between pet store visits and friends coming over with theirs, and he LOVES them all! He's warmed up so much and learned so much in just a short amount of time, too! He was a bit challenging for housebreaking and still can't help himself if he "forgets" because he's too busy playing, but he's chill with the right amount of play. He's a testy one and likes to listen when he wants, but his temperament is so willing to please it's unreal. He's got sit, paw, other paw, high five, give me ten, up, speak, stay, and come. I may be forgetting something, but he's come along quickly! We're working on crawl and roll over which he just doesn't get, but I know I do need to get some patience to keep progessing! Below was just two weeks with him in our home (don't mind our soon to be replaced kitchen floor). Yes, I set up the camera myself to get this because I wanted to remember the timeline.
Kaiden and my sister's dog, Penny
When we went to Jamaica, he went to the kennel since we didn't want to burden anyone with his puppy tenancies for almost a week, and we paid the extra to send him to doggie day care where they take photos and you can see the camera of the facility. In the airport in Jamaica, we were watching him run and play and look so happy that it gave us comfort knowing he was in such great care. Now that he's older and more well behaved, we take him to our family's homes, and he gets along with everyone and listens well. Next time we go away (skiing this month and next), he'll be under family watch which is always a better feeling than the kennel because he'll get more attention. I think he wants to come skiing because he's crazy in the snow as you can see from the video above.
I'll refrain from other photos because this is a LONG post, but more will be posted, I can't help myself.
So this is the little arab I rode. Little means a normal sized horse when it comes to owning one like Spyder. We did 7.5 miles the weekend before last - 5 miles on the trail and a few laps around the ring to feel out the horse and get used to the awesome endurance saddle I rode in. Yes, endurance saddle. Talk about learning how much an english saddle puts you forward and a dressage saddle puts you upright - this thing did a whole different angle. It made sure I post UP instead of forward (bad habit) or I'd feel the pain from not cooperating. I figured it out quickly to spare the skin on my legs and stomach. The horse I rode has been all over the trails in endurance rides, and it's quite an ironic story how I ended up riding the horse. I met a guy at the ride I volunteered for in the spring (the endurance ride I trained for and had trailer issues then crappy weather and a mess of other crap - yea, I'm on the life is crap kick). We later "friended" (is that a word?) each other on Facebook and I realized he had the same last name as someone that was in the equestrian club with my at college. I asked some questions, and yes, he's his dad... and the kid I went to college with... well, it was his horse! He no longer lives at home so the horse is for sale and he is SO much fun to ride. ...if only I could afford two.
