Sorry for being so absentee. I have noticed that quite a few of my posts begin that way. Funnily enough, most of my journals from middle school have entries that begin the exact same way. What can I say? I clearly have not turned over a new leaf as far as prompt documentation of my life goes. The ironic thing is that I check everyone else's blogs that I follow at least once a day, hoping for an update.
The gorgeous Miss Zoey is back in the barn after enjoying several months of leisure in the pasture. I have not measured her but I think that she has grown. She is almost 22 months old and it is time for her to start learning how to be a solid citizen. We have a long way to go-she still throws temper tantrums complete with pawing everything in sight, screaming, and running circles in her stall bucking. Naughty naughty. The funny part is that, once you have her out and are working with her, she is generally stellar. She remembered everything from her previous 2 or 3 longeing sessions. It took exactly two times of me showing her that she needed to stop on the line and wait for me to come to her instead of turning to come to me before she was doing it every single time. Our leading skills are much improved. She has been wearing a surcingle and pad during the day and is being slowly introduced to being tied, much to her displeasure. I even stood on the mounting block next to her today and leaned over her, letting her get used to someone being above her. She was clearly traumatized, as she promptly cocked a hind hoof and went to sleep.
My plan is to introduce a saddle at some point next week and let her wear that around her stall for a few days. I don't anticipate that being a huge deal. Clippers are on the list of things to introduce. I would like to get the leading a little more solid as well as the being tied and (here's the hard part) standing tied quietly. We might even work on the longe line in the arena at a walk and a trot. After that, it is back to the field for her for a few months. I am in no hurry to actually ride her, as her long-term soundness is still the most important thing to me. I do want to get some of this groundwork done before she gets any bigger...the potential is there for her to throw a huge hissy fit and I want to increase my odds of surviving it!
I took lots of pictures on my phone but I have lessons showing up in a little while. I will try to add pictures later this evening.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Merry belated Christmas!
Merry Christmas from Zoey and me.
Hope that everyone had a great Christmas and spent some quality time with loved ones. The DPH and I took it easy this year, which was wonderful! I am so blessed to have such a great husband. Lots of good food, great gifts, and time with family.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Showing
To start off this post, let me shamelessly plug a contest that getmyfix.org is having. They are giving away a custom Hayward hunt coat. To be honest, I read about the contest/brand on Tucker the Wunderkind's blog and did a little research on the Hayward line. I am not in the loop as far as current fashions go (both equine and regular life, sad to say!) so I had not heard of this company. If you ever show hunters, jumpers, etc. then their FB page/website/etc. is definately worth a visit! I may not know exactly what is in style but I have been seeing some gorgeous (and I mean GORGEOUS!) hunt coats at the shows. Gone are the days where you got to choose from navy with subtle blue pin striping, navy with subtle red pin striping, or a nice charcoal. There are options up the wazoo now. I personally am coveting a chocolate coat with a subtle turquoise lining. Yum. Check it out and visit getmyfix.org to enter the contest!
I am hoping that I will get to show some this spring. I get really frustrated at times because I do not know how to get from Point A (where I am now...starting these young horses) to Point B (getting to show at least a little) to Point C (being a successful trainer). The answer seems simple enough; get the young horses to the point where I can show them and go from there. The problem would be that all of the young ones that I ride are sale horses. Generally, we sell them right about the time that they get to be pleasant to ride. This does not bode well for getting them to the show ring. It is also hard to try to get back into showing successfully with really green horses. I know, I know...complain, complain, complain. It is just one of those days!
On top of all that, my special extended NaNoWriMo word count is sucking big time. (Becky-hope yours is going much better!). I should have written quite a bit last night but I ended up cleaning out one of the bedrooms in our house. I have a huge pile of stuff to throw away and a huge pile of stuff to go to the local charity resale shop. Unfortunately, all that stuff = no words added to the word count. Darn. Maybe tonight?
I am hoping that I will get to show some this spring. I get really frustrated at times because I do not know how to get from Point A (where I am now...starting these young horses) to Point B (getting to show at least a little) to Point C (being a successful trainer). The answer seems simple enough; get the young horses to the point where I can show them and go from there. The problem would be that all of the young ones that I ride are sale horses. Generally, we sell them right about the time that they get to be pleasant to ride. This does not bode well for getting them to the show ring. It is also hard to try to get back into showing successfully with really green horses. I know, I know...complain, complain, complain. It is just one of those days!
On top of all that, my special extended NaNoWriMo word count is sucking big time. (Becky-hope yours is going much better!). I should have written quite a bit last night but I ended up cleaning out one of the bedrooms in our house. I have a huge pile of stuff to throw away and a huge pile of stuff to go to the local charity resale shop. Unfortunately, all that stuff = no words added to the word count. Darn. Maybe tonight?
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Writer's Block
I have the hardest time coming up with a catchy title. I read other people's blogs and turn green with envy over their witty headings. Unfortunately, I may be doomed to always have boring blog entry titles.
As predicted, I failed utterly at NaNoWriMo. My final count was 25,232. Part of me is rather impressed that I made it halfway there. The sad part is that I think I had enough plot to carry me to the magical 50,000. Just not enough hours (or motivation to give up sleep for a contest where the only competitor was myself) in the day to make that happen. I have not opened the file on my laptop since then. Part of me was pretty disappointed. At first, I felt like I had written all these words so quickly and had sacrificed quality for the sake of quantity. Whenever I have sat down to write something in the past, I hem and haw over finding the perfect prose to convey my character's thoughts and emotions. Eloquence reigns and the editing that I have to do later is non-existent.
That is not the case for my 25,232 NaNoWriMo words. Not the case at all. I need to run rampant through the pages with a red Sharpie.
On the other hand, 25,232 words is the most progress I have ever made on a novel. I know that I can edit things and clean them up at a later date. Maybe what I need is to just write for the sake of writing. Word vomit, if you will. At least I have that many words to work with and edit now.
Who knows. Maybe I will go ahead and try to hit the 50,000 word mark. It is not technically NaNoWriMo anymore but I can set my own goal. By the end of December, I am going to have 50,000 words. I will update my progress here. Hold me to it, fellow bloggers.
As predicted, I failed utterly at NaNoWriMo. My final count was 25,232. Part of me is rather impressed that I made it halfway there. The sad part is that I think I had enough plot to carry me to the magical 50,000. Just not enough hours (or motivation to give up sleep for a contest where the only competitor was myself) in the day to make that happen. I have not opened the file on my laptop since then. Part of me was pretty disappointed. At first, I felt like I had written all these words so quickly and had sacrificed quality for the sake of quantity. Whenever I have sat down to write something in the past, I hem and haw over finding the perfect prose to convey my character's thoughts and emotions. Eloquence reigns and the editing that I have to do later is non-existent.
That is not the case for my 25,232 NaNoWriMo words. Not the case at all. I need to run rampant through the pages with a red Sharpie.
On the other hand, 25,232 words is the most progress I have ever made on a novel. I know that I can edit things and clean them up at a later date. Maybe what I need is to just write for the sake of writing. Word vomit, if you will. At least I have that many words to work with and edit now.
Who knows. Maybe I will go ahead and try to hit the 50,000 word mark. It is not technically NaNoWriMo anymore but I can set my own goal. By the end of December, I am going to have 50,000 words. I will update my progress here. Hold me to it, fellow bloggers.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
NaNoWriMo
I am a complete failure at NaNoWriMo. I am tragically behind on my word count. Of course, the fact that I did not start writing until November 13th might have something to do with that. I might just have to give myself a different deadline...National Novel Writing MonthS.
I am still not exactly sure where this novel is going. I had an idea, started writing, and am hoping that the characters are just going to determine what they want to do. You always read about writers saying things like that. "Oh, I thought Character A would end up doing this but she told me differently." I am still not convinced that this is not a total, bald-faced lie! I'll let you know how it turns out.
To make up for my lack of a real post, enjoy this video of naughty Miss Zoey. I told you guys that she has a bit of a temper! She was fresh and was just letting me know that she had an opinion about having to canter. Make sure your volume is turned up to get the full effect of this video...
I am still not exactly sure where this novel is going. I had an idea, started writing, and am hoping that the characters are just going to determine what they want to do. You always read about writers saying things like that. "Oh, I thought Character A would end up doing this but she told me differently." I am still not convinced that this is not a total, bald-faced lie! I'll let you know how it turns out.
To make up for my lack of a real post, enjoy this video of naughty Miss Zoey. I told you guys that she has a bit of a temper! She was fresh and was just letting me know that she had an opinion about having to canter. Make sure your volume is turned up to get the full effect of this video...
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
OKC World Show
I have been an absentee blogger recently. Life has been crazy (whose life isn't crazy though? What a bad excuse!). I fired the guy who was starting the BO's young horses so I gained seven more to work. Yikes! Unfortunately, I did not gain any more hours in the day. The time change actually took away an hour of daylight in the evenings. No help + less daylight = hectic days!
OT and I took a little field trip up to the AQHA World Show in OKC over the weekend. We had a fantastic time. It was great to just get away and go hang out for a few days. We got to watch some amazing horses show. We saw the prelims of the Sr. WP, the Sr. Western Riding, the Jr. Hunter Hack, and the Jr. HUS. If I ever hit the lottery, I will be buying a horse for the WR. I just LOVE a good lead changer. It's fantastic. With any luck, Zoey and I will be at the WS one day. I can't wait.
Zoey update: she got turned back out in the pasture. She had three days of working in the round pen, wearing a surcingle, and getting handled. She did really well during all of it. My sweet, innocent looking little filly has a bit of a temper though! I put her out in the stud pasture one day after I worked her. I thought that she would enjoy a nice romp since she had been stalled for two days. As it turns out, I was wrong. She was not at all happy to be out there by herself while her buddies were still stalled. She tried to dig her way out of the pasture. She also tried to shove her way under the gate. Naughty, naughty girl.
I was too busy trying to prevent her from making an escape to take any good pictures but I did get a few mediocre ones for your viewing pleasure.
OT and I took a little field trip up to the AQHA World Show in OKC over the weekend. We had a fantastic time. It was great to just get away and go hang out for a few days. We got to watch some amazing horses show. We saw the prelims of the Sr. WP, the Sr. Western Riding, the Jr. Hunter Hack, and the Jr. HUS. If I ever hit the lottery, I will be buying a horse for the WR. I just LOVE a good lead changer. It's fantastic. With any luck, Zoey and I will be at the WS one day. I can't wait.
Zoey update: she got turned back out in the pasture. She had three days of working in the round pen, wearing a surcingle, and getting handled. She did really well during all of it. My sweet, innocent looking little filly has a bit of a temper though! I put her out in the stud pasture one day after I worked her. I thought that she would enjoy a nice romp since she had been stalled for two days. As it turns out, I was wrong. She was not at all happy to be out there by herself while her buddies were still stalled. She tried to dig her way out of the pasture. She also tried to shove her way under the gate. Naughty, naughty girl.
I was too busy trying to prevent her from making an escape to take any good pictures but I did get a few mediocre ones for your viewing pleasure.
"BRING ME IN NOW!"
Kind of a funny shot but it shows what a great front leg she has. Love that swing through her shoulder!
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
18 months
Zoey turned 18 months old on October 26th. It's crazy how quickly time flies! I feel like it was just yesterday that she was that cute, tiny foal that I wanted so badly.
I brought her up from the pasture today. One of our clients has a weanling that is going to be living with the yearling herd eventually, so it's Miss Zoey's turn to befriend him. She was less than thrilled to be taken away from her buddies and made it known by pacing her stall behind the round pen while screaming. Within 5 minutes, however, she had settled down and was calmly munching on some hay.
I put her in the round pen for a few minutes tonight so that I could see how she moves. She is getting F-A-N-C-Y! She has grown quite a bit; I need to stick her at some point. She is also really intelligent and I think that she will be really easy to train. This was the first time I have had her in the round pen and asked her to work a little. She picked up on it right away, trotting calmly around the perimeter of the pen. As soon as I said "Whoa", she came to a halt and stood watching me. Love that! I also love how she was not concerned by the screams from the other yearling and the weanling that are stalled next to her behind the round pen. Good girl!
Now before anyone freaks out, I am not asking her to do much. She trotted around the round pen exactly four times-nothing too strenueous! I am not going to do anything to harm her. She is obviously growing quite a bit and the last thing that she needs is extra stress put on those bones and joints! I just want her to begin to learn some of these skills. She will get handled for a few days (walk around the arena, stand in the barn, possibly get introduced to clippers, etc) and then she will go back to the pasture.
It's so fun to be actually doing something with her! She's so pretty and is turning out to be such a good mover. It is hard for me to believe that she is mine!
I brought her up from the pasture today. One of our clients has a weanling that is going to be living with the yearling herd eventually, so it's Miss Zoey's turn to befriend him. She was less than thrilled to be taken away from her buddies and made it known by pacing her stall behind the round pen while screaming. Within 5 minutes, however, she had settled down and was calmly munching on some hay.
I put her in the round pen for a few minutes tonight so that I could see how she moves. She is getting F-A-N-C-Y! She has grown quite a bit; I need to stick her at some point. She is also really intelligent and I think that she will be really easy to train. This was the first time I have had her in the round pen and asked her to work a little. She picked up on it right away, trotting calmly around the perimeter of the pen. As soon as I said "Whoa", she came to a halt and stood watching me. Love that! I also love how she was not concerned by the screams from the other yearling and the weanling that are stalled next to her behind the round pen. Good girl!
Now before anyone freaks out, I am not asking her to do much. She trotted around the round pen exactly four times-nothing too strenueous! I am not going to do anything to harm her. She is obviously growing quite a bit and the last thing that she needs is extra stress put on those bones and joints! I just want her to begin to learn some of these skills. She will get handled for a few days (walk around the arena, stand in the barn, possibly get introduced to clippers, etc) and then she will go back to the pasture.
It's so fun to be actually doing something with her! She's so pretty and is turning out to be such a good mover. It is hard for me to believe that she is mine!
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