Riding Lesson Tonight

The end of another week and it's time for my children's riding lessons. However, one of them is having a sticky point in his riding. Two weeks ago the pony he was riding in his lesson got a little spooky. Though my son wasn't hurt and in fact did a good job of controlling the pony and getting him to settle down, he did get a little rattled by it and has now insisted on going back on the lunge line to do anything faster than a walk.

His brother will canter for the first time tonight. Their trainer (who I call "the Master" in case you have forgotten or didn't know due to my erratic posting schedule) thinks it would be good for the suddenly timid brother to have a few weeks off from lessons, and then to return to the saddle as the weather warms up. He's also counting on the competitiveness between the two of them as an extra push to get Mr. Scaredy pants back on track. I agreed. So in the meantime, I asked to take his time slot and have a lesson myself with Ruby, my half-boarding horse.

I'm tired of going in circles. I need to jump around and as long as Ruby is feeling up to it we'll do some work over fences tonight. I've been sliding into that emotional ditch again lately where the horses are concerned and need something to divert me. I hope the Master gives me a good challenge tonight.

Rescue? Maybe not for me

At the moment I respectfully passed on the rescue/rehoming horse. I met the horse. He was very sweet and walked right up to me and nuzzled me as if he'd known me his whole life. I met his owner and the woman handling the adoption. I couldn't try riding the horse because of all the ice and snow in her paddock but she was willing to send the horse out on trial to see if we were a good match.

Sounds pretty good I know, but after reading through the adoption restrictions and finding out more about this particular arrangement I decided it just wasn't something I was comfortable with. I guess I didn't realize that adoption is a form of leasing a horse. You don't actually own the horse. The person who adopted the horse to you does. You are paying for everything but ultimately, you are under the control of the person who allowed you to adopt the horse.

I have been a responsible horse owner for over 30 years. I am not comfortable with having to run my decisions past someone any time I need to do something with the horse. I started to envision what that might entail and began to realize that it could be a very frustrating arrangement for me;

For example - say I wanted to change boarding barns to one that is closer to my home, and I've known the place for years and I trust the management. Before I can do that, the adoptor must approve of the place. Now, maybe the adoptor of the horse has a poor opinion of that barn, for whatever reason. Technically, she can say "no" and I can't do anything about it, even though it may be a better situation for me.

So I'm back to zero again. I am just so bitter and mistrusting of all of this. This is the 3rd or 4th time I've backed away from something that I initially had optimism about.

My greatest sadness is to be sitting here in July, a year after losing Rugby and still nothing. A year without a horse of my own? I never imagined...

Hug your Horsey Valentine

If you are lucky enough to have a horse to love, give him or her a hug for Valentine's Day. And another hug from me.

Rescue/rehoming horse may or may not be the thing for me. Not sure I'm settled with the details of the situation. The search may go on...

Rescue Me

Looking into a rehoming/rescue horse. Don't have much time to write about it now but working on having him for a trial period to see if we "click" and he may come to be with me. He's a nine year old 16.3 hands tall chestnut thoroughbred.

Next step?

I went to see the horse that I hoped would be "the one". Piled the whole family in the Explorer, took the almost 3 hr. drive to get there and met the owner. She was very nice and we got right to business. She answered my questions about the horse as she tacked up and brought her in the indoor. Then she rode her for me first.

This mare is cute in a super-chunky kind of way. She looks like she could be Rugby's littler big sister. She has the same big, nice bare feet, same thick jowls and chubby mouth. She's almost all black except for a big white blaze, two white socks and a white splash on her belly. However, she's much closer coupled, 4 inches shorter and has more work put into her.

After the owner walk, trot cantered her for a few minutes, I mounted up. Her walk and trot work is really nice, she likes a steady firm leg and a good rein contact. She actually seems to prefer you ride on contact instead of with a loop to the rein. Her canter is not as nice as her trot. For a close-coupled horse, she can really move! Her stride is huge. She's not strong and responds well to the bit but she is very forward. She's not as connected through the canter and I had to sit deep and ask through the seat and leg to keep to a canter without breaking. Her left lead is better than her right. Her owner said she's better cantering in a larger arena and the canter is where she needs more balance. I thought it odd such a lovely trot and walk didn't flow into a great canter. She willingly trotted ground poles but I didn't take her over any jumps.

I did like the horse. The owner said she has a few more people lined up to look at her. I told her I wouldn't buy the horse without a vet check. She agreed but if I plan to do it she would like it scheduled sometime this week to get a "yes" or "no" from me in case she gets another firm offer. I have a friend getting me the number of a vet from the same area in NJ to call.

But part of me is leery. And I'm not sure if I'm just gun-shy or really unsure. I can see this horse being a good hunter pace, field hunter, trail and fun kind of horse. Isn't that what I want? But that less than relaxing canter had me kind of worried. Can I "fix" it? Or is that just her? Will she be a freight train galloping in the field? And I wish I could ride her again before I decide but she's not close by.

And to top it off, I leave again at the end of this week for my second business trip, this time to Houston so the pressure is on. No time to focus on anything. In addition, I have a broken tooth that hit critical mass just before I left for Las Vegas and it is KILLING me. My dentist gave me 800mg ibuprofin but it's not helping. Tomorrow I go in to start the root canal that will hopefully relieve some of the pain and start me on the way to a post and crown. Great. I'm not fortunate to have dental insurance, so this tooth will cost me about half of my horse budget.

Maybe I should give it up. I just don't think I'm going to find another good horse.

Ten together - Two apart

Ever in my heart, always on my mind. Two years ago today, Monty crossed the Rainbow Bridge. In memory, here are some pictures of my sweet boy and I in some of our happiest moments that I haven't shared before. Above is us at our first horse show in May of 1999.


This is in the Adult Amateur Hunters flat class at that show. All I did that day was the one flat class, LOL!


And the results were great, we won that flat class, out of about 8 or so horses.


This is just a sweet picture of us taken back in 2001. Notice the little pink diamond on his nose? I called it his "kissy spot" because it was the perfect place to plant a smooch.

And the horse I mentioned in my previous post, the one I hoped would still be for sale after I returned from my trip? The snow has kept the other prospective buyer away and I have an appointment to see her tomorrow. Wish me a little luck!

That time again

January is not my favorite month. Mostly because I have a lot of travel for business in this month and it makes everything feel rushed and hectic and I don't like leaving my family. But also because there's an anniversary in the middle of the month that is especially hard to deal with. Two years ago I was in Las Vegas for business when I got that phone call that Monty was not doing well. And two days later I came home to find him existing on pain medication and mushy food with his tumors compromising his normal bodily functions.

The next morning, I said goodbye and the vet euthanized my sweet boy.

I miss him so much.

My trip to Vegas is once again fast approaching and this year, there is no horse of my own waiting for me to love through the pain of my remembrance.

But there is a tiny hope.

My horsey blog friend "On The Bit" gave me a lead to a horse she found out of the blue. I have contacted the owner and this lovely horse has my heart in knots. Everything about her seems tailor made to a perfect fit for me. She's not too far away. She has no vices. She has a loving owner and has been properly cared for and is up to date on all her vet work. She's nicely broke to ride and looks like a comfortable horse to work with. She's in my budget and she's the right size.

I want to see her NOW. But I can't because of this business trip. There is another person scheduled to look at the horse next week and because of my trip I can't get there first. I've seen pictures and video and have this feeling in my heart that she is the one. It will kill me if I come back and find she's been sold and I lost my chance because I had to be away.

Please, send a wish my way that this horse is still available when I get back. I just want my luck to change.