On our way to Florida - we will be stopping and laying over in GA and our horses will stay at Chattahoochee Hills Eventing Farm !! We will get the chance to school on the CX course there on
Tuesday (:

http://www.chatthillseventing.com/index.html

Florida Bond !

Jennifer, Me and 7 horses are set to leave for Florida Monday morning. We will be there until the first week of February. We will be doing all sorts of exciting things, like riding on the beach, taking lessons from top trainers, and lots of other fun things. There will be many post to come when I get back from Florida!! I am very excited!! Hard work really does pay off (:

I hope everyone reading has a very Merry Christmas !! (:

so much to say ..

I have now completed two months at Jennifer's barn and have learned more things that I could ever imagine. I got to take three lesson with international dressage trainer Toine Hoefs and in the clinic I was riding an Arab stallion named Wajure, which I love to death and take many lessons on! I ride Wajure everyday and he is one of my favorite horses at the farm.  He has taught me how important it is to have quiet hands and legs. Jennifer says each day I ride him I become an even better rider.

With Wajure, we have started to school pirouetts - cooliest thing ever what horses can do!! It leaves me speechless everytime we get it right (:



As you can see in the picture, it is very important that your shoulders are back far enough so that the horse can lift its front legs enough to move in a very small circle!!

This is just a couple of the things that I have been doing . There will be more to come (:

Thanks for reading !!

The wonderful world of dressage !!

dres·sage

   /drəˈsɑʒ; Fr. drɛˈsaʒ/ Show Spelled[druh-sahzh; Fr. dre-sazh] Show IPA

noun

2. the artor method of training a horse in obedience and in precision of movement.

Well I have started yet another working student postion, and i've been there for about 3 weeks now and I love it. I'm a working student for dressage trainer Jennifer Conour. 12 hour days 5 days a week, her favorite saying is "move your feet" and that is what we do all day long. Everyone there works really hard all day long. The upside of being a working student for her is the faster I get the barn cleaned in the morning the soon and or more horses I will get to ride that day. I ride anywhere from 3-6 horses a day, 3 or 4 of those in a lesson.

I have learned more in 3 week then I have learned in years of riding. The advantage I get of being her working student is getting to ride all kinds of horses at all different ages with all sorts of problems. the most improtant thing i have learned is get in there get the job done and then give!! I have had many lung line lesssons where i just get to work on  my seat, my leg, and my body postion. it has been great.  i have also learned neat stuff like standing up bareback on a horses back (: I love my lessons !!

There will be many more storys and picture to come !! i have been super busy and soo sorry that it took me this long to write !! (:

Enjoy !!

A Peaceful Happy Ending

October 6, 2011 was the day that my lovely Hennessy was put to rest.

The day before, was the day that I was to say goodbye. My parents did not want me to be there the day they put him down because of the terrible things that could happen.

I had the best last memories with my Henny that I could ever ask for. I let him just chill and eat as much grass as he wanted. Then I gave him his last bath and then let him enjoy more grass for about an hour. Then I brought him inside and my dad pulled his shoes because I wanted to keep them. I then put him back in his stall and cryed as I hugged and kissed him goodbye. Just as I was about to walk out of his stall for the last time I pulled myself together and smiled for him as I told him I loved him. I wanted his last memory of me to be smiling. As I walked out of the barn to leave it hit me like a bag rocks.  I broke down and cried all the way home.

The next, My dad went out to the barn to be there with Henny. I was at home and my mom was at work. The vet came around 11am to put Hennessy down. She told my dad we are doing the right thing and that his leg is worse then it was a month ago. She explained to my dad all the things that could happen when she gives him the shot. When Dr. B gave Henny the shot he just layed down never tried to get up. It took about 15min until his heart stopped beating. My good ol' boy knew it was time and knew how much pain he was in.

It been a hard week without him.  The day after he was put down, I went out to see where he was buried. It's hard everytime I walk in the barn to see that Henny is not there to greet me. I know he is in a better place where he is eating the best grass in the world.

Thank you soo much to everyone for their support and prayers. I have the best friends, family and horse family a 17 year old girl could ask for !

I love you and miss you Henny! And so does everyone that has been in your life!
Rest in Peace little man !!

Henny says," I dont want a kiss mom"

Henny and His bubby Cheers (:

ohh i love my job (:

I'm currently working for a local dressage trainer at her farm. I will refer to her as J.C. My job includes many different jobs. I'm responsible for cleaning stalls, feeding horses, setting up grain, laundry, hand walking injured horses, picking fields, riding horses, tacking up horses, cleaning tack, and many other things. I really enjoy everyone at the barn and there are some pretty cool horses there!

Here are just a few of the wonderful horses I get to play with (: 

Wow .. what can happen in a year...

My very very very bestfriend, a year ago today, had to make the sudden decision to let the love of her life be put to rest. She had a beautiful black appendix Thoroughbred named Razz. He was 9 years old when he was put down. I have known her and Razz for a long time. And I treated Razz like he was my own horse.

His Story:
Somehow when Razz was out in the pasture that day, he got his leg caught in the fencing and panicked and pulled and pulled until he was free. I few hours later is when someone finally realized he was hurt. They rushed him to Purdue, being that they were only a couple miles away. Razz could bearly move his leg to get on the trailer. When they got there, it was only bad news from there. He had totally ripped in half 3 tendons in his back lower leg.

She was told that they could put him back together, but he would never be sound again.... Razz was a very amazing barrel racer going on dressage horse ( believe it or not).  He would never be happy standing around in a pasture. She had to make a very quick choice and chose to put Razzel to rest.

To My Bestfriend:
I love you both with all my heart. I feel for you now more then ever, having to go through some of the same things. Thank you so much for being here for me, just like I was there for you (: You are an amazing person

Love,
Little lex <3

The very hard but honest truth..

 Henny has been lame for about 6 weeks now, and he went to the vet yesterday, he has torn his left hind medical meniscus about 80% of the way, his lateral meniscus is inflamed, and has torn the cruciate about 75% of the way .. and he still acting like a happy boy =/ enough to break your heart.

The only thing that could be done from him is stem cell treatment, which would mean a lot of stall rest, followed by small pasture turn-out. With this treatment he will never be able to do his job ever again (jump) and there is only about a 20% chance he will ever be sound again.

He's my bestfriend, He's taught me how to be strong, He loves me with everything thing he's got, He will carry me over any jump i point him at! And yet right now i can't really do anything for him but love him! The hardest thing i have to do is speak for him, and all i can seem to do is talk circles!

Thank you to all my friends and family that are helping me through this i couldnt do it without you guys. Sometime next month, we will have to have Henny euthanized. Until then, I continues to groom, talk to, and hug him. He gets turned out in a small pasture each day with Cheers, and just gets to be a horse. I'm staying strong for him, he desevers it.

Its whats best for him, and thats all i can think about. He gave me his all for the time we had together. He is an amazing horse and he is getting a happy and peaceful ending (: Everyone who has met this horse truly knows how much love he has for everyone. When i met him almost 3 years ago, i fell in love with him right away, he will be in my heart forever ! you will be truly missed Hennessy. ):

I realized today how easy it is for my to type what i feel and not cry at all. But this evening when i was trying to read what i posted on Facebook to my mom, the water works began.

Penny Oaks Horse Trials, Aug. 6-7th, 2011

This post is a little late. I've been super busy since I have been back home, so I'm just now getting around to it.

The weekend of August 6th and 7th, Hennessy and I competed at the Penny Oaks Horse Trials at Hoosier Horse Park in Edinburgh, IN. This was Hennessy and my first ever recognized horse trials. Although Hennessy had been to Hoosier Horse Park many times, this was a little different with a lot more horses.


We arrived at the park on Friday afternoon to get Henny settled in. I rode him around when I got there and went in the arena to school him a little bit. After riding, I gave him a bath and let him chill for the night. My trainer and I walked the cross country course with a couple of other competitors.

The next morning I got there around 7:30 am, fed Hennessy, got him out and lunged him and then watched some prelim dressage. I then walked the cross country course again, which surprisingly was not that hard of a course to follow. I just wanted to have it down in my head. Later that afternoon, I finally got on Henny to warm up for our dressage test.  We had a great warm up and the ring steward was really helpful on letting everyone know how long until it was your turn. I went in to the dressage ring and rode a great test. 

After Hennessy and I had rested for a little while, I got ready for cross country. I went in the warm up and popped over a few jumps and then the ring steward told me to head over when I was ready. I went in to the start box and was cantering off as soon as the start box official counted down to 1.  I went around cross country at a steady pace and only had one run out and no time faults. When I got to the finish line, my mom and trainer were waiting and cheering me on. The cute, young, very kind girls at the finish line tent handed me a tiny glass of water while I gave them my cross country penny. I had a great time on the cross country course! 

The next day we got to the show grounds around the same time as Saturday - this was stadium jumping day. The show began with prelim and ran through all the divisions as fast as possible. The show officials were trying to keep the pace going due to high temperatures and humidity predicted for later in the day. We had time in the morning to watch some prelim jumping and watch their victory gallops.  I got on Henny around 12 pm and just walked around until it was closer to time for my division to begin.  The ring steward called my number after I was all warmed up and I went in to the ring. I had a clean round with no time faults -  it was perfect!

I had a really good time at my first recognized horse trials. The people that ran the Penny Oaks show were all very friendly and helpful. Eventers seem more laid back and fun - I love the atmosphere.  My experience at the show I will remember forever. I can't wait until my next recognized horse trials!

Cross Country !

Stadium Jumping !

Dressage !

The jumping man !

"Hey everyone look at me !"

Waiting to jump, ohhh do I hate waiting !

Day 52 & 53

Tuesday

Today was a pretty slow day! I stayed around the farm today while S.B was off at event camp. I cleaned stalls, let horses out, filled water and haynets! I then waited around for the farrier. While I was waiting, I cleaned some moldy tack. By then the farrier showed up and Henny, Ransom and Roman got their feet done!

Later that evening I got Henny out and rode him. We worked on a few things that I learned at event camp! We would canter a half circle then stop rein back and move straight sidways (full pass, or side pass) across the ring and then canter off again -  we kept doing that until he was bored with it and doing it was no trouble. Then we went through our dressage test for the weekend.

Today

I got down to the barn this morning and hurried up and got all the barn things done so that we could leave for event camp. When we got to camp, I unloaded Benito and got him tacked up for his cross-country lesson! We was such a good boy and just going with everything.

After that we had some lunch and then tacked him up for jumping again,. They had a course set up that they went and jumped around and then were told how they did. He was wonderful! (: I really like this horse !!

When we got home, I let all the horses in. I then lunged Henny and worked on long and low stuff with him. I then fed everyone. We are now going to a cookout at camp (: Goodnight !!!

One more day of camp !!



Day 51 - August, 1

Meet Benito (:

Stopped to take a picture while putting on his shipping boots ( as he only has one on right now(; )

The day started fast; feeding, mucking out, turn out horses, fill inside and outside waters and hay all horses. I then loaded up the trailer for S.B's first day of eventing camp at CAF. We then loaded up Benito and headed off. When we got there, we found his stall and started unloading all his stuff. After everything was unloaded, I started getting Benito ready for his jump lesson. Her jump lesson was a group lesson with trainer Don Sachey.  SB was in a group with horses that have not jumped that much! Benito was wonderful and was jumping so good! Right after her jump lesson, she had to go to her flat work lesson. I untacked Benito and tacked him up for dressage! Her flat work lesson was with Jennifer Conou, and she already knows Benito so Jennifer got him moving very nice and it was really fun to watch. 

When we got home, I unloaded the trailer and put Benito back in his stall. I then let all the other horses in and fed them. After resting for a little bit, we were off again to CAF for a demo by Lauren Kieffer! She rode many different horses and it was a very cool demo. 

When we got home once again, I got Henny out and rode him by myself! We worked a lot on shortening and lenghtening his stride in trot and then making the circle smaller in trot and then leg yielding to the rail and asking for canter! He is doing really good!!

We are very excited for our show this weekend at HHP (:

Day 48-50 , July 29th-31

You can't fit a horse into a mold !!   The weekend !!

Friday !

We had to wake up super early to take the horses swimming today. We mucked out stalls and let the horses out then loaded Henny and Romana up! We got to Wild Feather Farms at about 7:30 am and unloaded the horses and waited for the rest of the group to get there. Henny freaked out when getting out of the trailer and bumped his head - but he's okay(: When everyone else got there the lady the ran the place went through some natural horsemanship stuff that we would be able to use when we got in the water. When the trainer worked with Henny and she was waving her hands in his face to get him to back up, I just had to laugh...maybe the horse before him listened to that, but not my boy(:  She gave up on him.. ooopps! When we got in the water we walked them in and slowly got them used to the water, Henny was doing so well with this part! The next step was to move to the deep end and when they started swimming you were to jump on your horse! The first time Henny did it fine and it scared him a little and the next time he took off pulling me through the water(:  So the trainer lady thought she was going to show me how it's done and as soon as I gave her the rope, he took off (he didn't like her)!!  It was alot of fun, and I had a great time.

There he is (:

Saturday !

Woke up early once again because we had to go pick up a horse the S.B is going to use for event camp! We got up and mucked out, and let all the horses out. We then got in the truck and left - it took about an hour to get to the barn. When we got there, we found 'Benito' - he is a big chestnut Hanoverian, super sweet boy! I walked him out of the barn and he loaded on the trailer like a superstar. When we got him home, we set up his stall and he just acted like he was at home.

Later in the day we rode all the horses. I got Henny out to ride him and he was very very very sore in him back end so I put him away and gave him Bute. I think it was just from all the swimming as my arms were super sore!  S.B rode Benito and he is a wonderful boy, great mover.

Sunday !

Another early morning /:  We mucked out stalls and let all the horses out. Then we drove two hours to a horse Keuring, for Belgium Warmbloods. It was really cool to see some very nice horses.  After we got home, we brought all the horses in and fed them.  We then went to dinner and when we got home we rode the horses. I got Henny out just to get on him and walk and just take it easy! When I got on him, he was moving great - walking out and swinging!!  So I played with a little trot and I have my horse back (: I feel a lot better now!!!

Day 47

I thank God every day for my wonderful Hennessy (:

Today was a busy, busy day! I started off this morning with the normal stuff; feeding, turn out, mucking out, filling inside and outside water tubs, and filling haynets. The farrier came today around noon and did Romana and pulled Roman;s shoes because the vet is coming tomorrow to look at him!!  I then loaded up the trailer because SB had her dressage lesson with JC today at 2:15pm!  When the farrier had gone, we loaded up the trailer and were off to JC's place. Her lesson went wonderful and they worked really hard. They also tryed out the bareback pad they will be using when we take the horses swimming Friday (:

When we got back to the barn , I unloaded Romana and brought all the other horses in too. I then put my riding pants on and got Henny out and put only his bridle on and rode him bareback! He was amazing (:  We worked on walk, trot and canter!!  My butt is sore but he was such a good boy and listened and didn't go to fast-we're ready for swimming (:  I then fed all the ponys!!

SB and  I then headed to a barn just done the road from her!  SB was planning on being in the CAF. event camp, but since Roman hurt himself, she was in need of a horse to ride. So she has been talking to a guy about a horses that he is willing to lend her for camp!!  We showed up at the barn and met Commander a huge, close to 17h percheron cross. He was awsome(:  We set up a small jump that he wouldn't really jump unless he was cantering! SB is really excited about using this big guy for camp. After a long day, we came home checked on the horses and went to bed!

Goodnight (:

Day 46

The day of good and bad news!

At around 8 am SB and I went out to the barn and cold hosed Roman's leg, the swelling still had not gone down any. I then gave all the horses hay, and mucked out Roman's stall while SB wrapped his leg. I fed all the horses and after they were done eating  I turned everyone outside. I then started mucking out stalls, filling haynets, water buckets, cleaned out the tack and feed room, groomed Roman and built a jump course for my lesson later on! I then cold hosed Roman's leg again, then SB and I went out to lunch at Panara Bread, while we were out we picked up some bedding and fly spray at the feed store.

It seems to be that Ransom ( SB's other thoroughbred rescue) is not getting any better , and she can't afford to have horses that can't do their job.  So sometime soon he will we going back to FFI the rescue group he came from. Then some good news came...SB had already entered Roman in the USEA Horse Trials at Penny Oaks next weekend.  Since he is off work, she will not be able to go, which means I will get to go in her spot! I will be competing in the Beginner Novice division!

At around 3:30 pm I brought all the horses in and got Hennessy ready to jump! SB came out to give us our lesson.  He was amazing once he got focused on me instead of the flies!!  We worked on funny lines and staying with me. As long as I stayed back and kept my outside rein strong he jumps like a dream (:  The highest jump in our course was 3 foot !!  After putting Henny away I got Roman out and cold hosed his leg again, and the swelling had gone DOWN!!  Next I re-did Ransom's cribbing collar.  After all the horses were fed I brought in all the bedding from the truck and am now done for the day (:

Videos from last weekend at CAF !

Day 43, 44 & 45

The Weekend!

Friday

I started the daily routine of mucking out stalls, filling water buckets and haynets at around 8 am. I finished all of that at just before 10:30 am, then I loaded the trailer up for the show that S.B had this weekend.  At about 11:30 am we begain on our 2 and a half hour journey to Dayton ,Ohio for the Gemwood Horse Trails. S.B would be competeing in the open novice division. We were taking Roman , S.B's eventing thoroughbred!

We got to the show grounds around 4:30-5 pm , we quickly found our stalls and unload the stuff we would need for the night including; bedding, water buckets , fan , mucking out tools and hay. We had to get a battery powered fan because there were not many outlets at the show grounds and it was going to be a hot weekend! S.B and I then walked around the very open show ground to find the show office to get her packet. After getting her packet and feeding Roman we headed to the hotel.

When we got the hotel the first thing we did after checking in was we found the swimming pool. After swimming for about 45 mins. we got changed and went back to the show grounds , because it was so hot we wanted to make sure Roman had full water buckets at all times. When we got to the grounds I filled up his haynet and topped off his water buckets. We then went to find something to eat .  We picked a local Chinese restaurant and had some very yummy food , then we went back to the hotel and crashed (:

Saturday

We woke up and got ready for a long hot day of showing .  We had some quick breakfest at the hotel and we were on are way. When we got to the grounds I got Roman out of his stall and let him eat some grass while S.B's mucked his stall out! After his stall was clean , I started cleaning him up  -  Roman loves to roll and lay in poop and pee /: yay me, but hates to be groomed. Even though he disagreed with what I was doing, I groomed him til he was shining!!  I then got all the dressage tack out of the trailer while S.B's braided his mane.  Her ride time was about 5 mins til 10am.  I tacked him up and had him ready to go at just before 9:30 am , while she started warming him up, I filled his water buckets up!  They had a great dressage test and ended up with a 35 %.

After her test I showered him off and let him rest, because he didn't show jump til 1:00 pm. After watching many of the prelim horses jump, we walked the show jumping course that was on grass at this show.  The first 5 jumps or so had pretty straight lines  but after that they weren't so straight anymore!  We had a riders meeting at about 12 pm where a vet and some other people talked to us about drinking lots of water and how to keep your horses cool!  After that I got all the jumping tack out and tacked him up. S.B then got on and started warming him up. She went in to jump him and it was going well until about the 5 th jump when he slipped after the jump, and it scared him because it was hard to get his footing again because he doesn't have back shoes.  Because he slipped he took a funny line to the next jump which was an up-right then one stride to a oxer - he jumped the up-right but it wasn't pretty, then stopped three times in front of the oxer before crashing into it and going on to the the next one. S.B descded not to jump the last jump and take her self out!

We decided not to stay for Sunday because she was scared that Roman had hurt himself, so we packed up and went home. When we got home, we iced and rapped his legs! I mucked all the other horses stalls out and brought everyone in and fed them.

Sunday
S.B and I went out to the barn and fed everyone and then checked out Roman's leg.  It was swollen like a balloon /:  We cold water hosed it for about 15 mins and then rapped it and put him in his stall for the day. We then put Ransom and Henny out in the front hay field  - they were very excited to go out in the big pasture.  I then turned Ramana out in the boys old pasture.  I started cleaning all the stalls , filling water buckets and haynets. 

I came inside and started to study for my BHS (british horse society) level 1 exam that I will have to take this week. I took 3 pages of front and back notes - I studied for 3 hours! At about 1 pm the sky became really dark.  S.B and I ran outside and brought in all the horses, it only rained for about 20mins ):  Since it did rain a little it cooled down!  So at around 5 pm I got Henny out and S.B gave me a lesson!  He was not too happy about having to work, since he hadn't been riden since Wednesday!  But he got on with it. I took him outside and we worked on 10 meter circles to 10 meter circles! We would do a 10 meter circle to the center line, then a 10 meter circle the opposite direction back to the rail at a trot and then ask him to do a long and low 20 meter circle. Once he started using his back end and stepping through he was doing really good!! Then I did one 20 meter canter circle to the right asking him to shorten and then lenghen his stride and then back to trot... it was wonderful. Then we did it to the left and it was perfect once again . His canter has come so far!  We then ended with a long walk! After untacking him I gave him a bath and and treated all his bites ( which are getting better ).

I then fed all the horses, mucked out stalls again then put everyone to bed for the night!!

Day 42

I got down to the barn around 8 am, S.B. and I rode as soon as we got the horses ready, trying to beat the horrible heat! I rode Henny, she rode Roman. Henny and I worked on transitions from walk to trot and back to walk . We also worked on walking and trotting long and low! After I got him untacked, I put both the boys outside and fed them outside, while S.B. rode Romana!

Then I cleaned stalls, filled outside waters, filled water buckets and hay nets! I then gave Ransom a bath!

I brought all the horses in by 6:30 pm and fed them! Just got done with night check and I have tomorrow and thursday off (:

jumps from South Farms , Ohio !!

Show (: Beginner Novic Test B , Jumps set at 2'7

Day 41

Day went  little different then normal !


I went out to the barn this morning , and put Henny , Roman , and Romana outside , then gave them their food outside .  Then I got Ransom out of his stall and put his shipping boots on and  we took him to the vet !  He has been off in his back left leg for awhile now and they are still trying to figure out what's going on.  When me and S.B got to the vets ,  I unloaded him off the trailer,  then we took him in the round pen while the vet watched him move .  We got him inside and they decided to nerve block his leg, starting at the bottom of the leg and moving up as there was no improvement in his movement . Then they injected his back to take the soreness out of his back .  We will lunge him in two weeks to see how he's doing.

 When we got back , after being at the vets for 4 hours ,  I fed Ransom , cleaned all the stalls , filled water buckets, filled hay nets, filled water in pastures , re-padded Ransom's cribbing collar and put fresh water out for the chickens .

After it had cooled down outside , S.B and I got out Henny and Romana and rode them outside !  Henny started off a little annoyed I think because of how hot it was today , but we got through what we needed to work on .  We worked on collecting and extending the trot both ways , then collecting and extending the canter !  The last thing we did is simple canter changes  -  they were wonderful , never been better (:  In the end he showed his true colors and was a goood boy (:

Day 38-40 , July 15th-17th !!

Show Weekend

This weekend I had a combined training schooling show at C.A.F.
Friday, I fed horses then let them out. Then I cleaned stalls, filled water buckets, and hay nets. I then started to get all my stuff cleaned and ready for the show. After all that was done, I brought Henny in and gave him a bath. By then my parents had got there and we loaded up and left !
When we got to the show we unloaded everything  and I got on a rode around.  I rode him for about 25 min, just working on getting him moving forward.  I then put him up and fed him once he had cooled down.

Saturday , we got to the show around 8am and I fed Henny and got all my tack out.  I got on him around 10:10 am - my show time was 10:56 am .  I got him warmed up and moving very forward ! I went in for my test he was really good , a little tight still on a few things, but he was FORWARD (:  We got a 36.1 or a 63%. (:  Then I untacked him and put his jumping tack on, got him warmed up over just a couple fences.  We then went in and showed - Henny was wonderful and had a clear round!  After cooling off for awhile and eating some lunch, I got back on for the hunter pace ! He was really good, but a little too fast (:
We got 2nd in our combined class (:  and 5th for the hunter pace!!  He was such a good boy. I'm so proud of how well he is doing (:

Today, S.B and her husband got home! I fed the horses and let them out. Then cleaned stalls , filled water buckets , hay nets , and outside waters. Then S.B , her husband and I loaded 140+ bales on to a trailer from the field , then unloaded them in the barn and then stacked all of them!!  Now very tired and hot !!  We will be going out to dinner tonight, so that will be nice (: 

Day 37 , July 14th

I got up and fed all the horses then let them out . I then cleaned all the stalls, filled water and hay nets . I then rode  Roman and Romana , just working on basic walk, trot and canter .

Later that day , C.H gave me a jumping lesson on Henny ! We set up a grid of 5 jumps . We worked on getting his back end moving through the grid !

That evening I let all the horses in a fed them !

These pictures are from when my mom came :

Roman !

Hennessy !



Day 36

The day started off like every other day !! I got up and fed the horses and let them out when they were done ! I then cleaned all stalls, filled waters inside and outside , and filled hay nets !

Around the time I was getting done , my mom showed up to ride with me! We got Henny and Roman out and groomed them, then tacked them up to ride ! We took them outside and got on! We took them to the back and walked around twice then took them up and down the driveway once!! They both were wonderful and enjoyed their relaxing walk!! We then untacked them and put them out in the pasture! My mom and I then went inside and cleaned up , then went out to lunch!

Later that day, after my mom was long gone , I let in all the horses and fed them !!

Some good NEWS :) Henny seems to be putting on some weight !!! Pictures coming soon !!

Day 35

Today started off slow !

I fed all the horses and let them out . Then I cleaned stalls , filled water buckets and hay nets ! Then I went in for awhile because it was too hot to ride !

I brought the horses in around 4:30pm and fed everyone . An hour later I got Henny out and rode him ! We worked through a few of our sticky parts on our test , he was a really good boy (: I then rode Roman using him once again , as a way to learn my test , he's a good sport !! Then I worked Romana !! All the horses were very good , I made sure everyone had water and left them for the night !!

Tomorrow my mom is coming to spend some time with me !! I'm very excited !!

Day 34

Very HOT Day !!

This morning started off by me feeding all the horses and letting them out . Then C.H helped me do all the mucking out and filling waters and hay nets . Then I got Henny out and rode him and worked on the flat. We worked on shortening and lengthening his stride in trot and canter . Then I did a little work on my test , but just the part where we do half circle in canter then down the long side . He was a really good boy so I didn't work him long .

We then took the rest of the day off because of the heat and let them in as it cooled off a little and fed everyone ! Hopefully tomorrow won't be as hot !!

Goodnight !!

Day 33 , July 10th

Today was a little bit of an easy day for the horses because of the heat ! I fed all the horses in the morning and let everyone out ! Then mucked all the stalls out , filled water in stalls, filled water outside , and filled hay nets !

I then brought each horse in, one at a time, and lunged them just to get them moving long and low ! I then cleaned lots of tack and cleaned up the barn !

Later that evening, I let everyone in and fed them , turned their fans on and left them for the night (:

This week will be a little different then normal because S.B ( my trainer ) will be gone , so her friend C.H will be here house sitting and helping me out in the barn !

Day 32

This morning , I fed all the horses and after they were done I let everyone out. Then I cleaned all stalls , cleaned then filled water buckets and filled hay nets. After I was done cleaning up, I got Romana out and lunged her !

I then got Henny out  of the pasture and tacked him up for a dressage lesson.  S.B met us outside and we worked on my test , because I have a show next weekend.  He did really well  - now it's just up to me to remember it (;

Later today , I got out Roman and rode him and used him to practice my test again (: 

At around 6:30pm, I brought all the horses in and fed them.  Henny is now up to 2 cups of the senior glow  -  hopefully he starts putting on some weight !!

Day 31 , July 6th

Today started just like every day -  I fed the horses and let them out. Then mucked stalls, filled water buckets , filled hay nets and swept everything ! I then got out Henny and tacked him up for dressage. S.B gave us a dressage lesson outside. We warmed up , then got to work on teaching Hennessy that he can carry himself.  I would collect him up at the trot, then give to him by the inside rein , with the point being he was to stay in the frame. We also did this at the canter and although he found it hard , he did great. We only worked for a half hour because I am going to ride him again this evening !

After I put Henny up , I got Romana out to get her ready for her lesson with J.C !  I put her on the trailer and we left ! When we got to J.C.'s, I helped S.B tack her up for her lesson ! They are working on some upper level moves and their lesson went well. After the lesson, I got to watch the Vet treat an abscess in one of the ponies eyes at J.C.'s farm .

When we got back home , after putting Romana away, I got out Ransom and lunged him.  Then I got Roman out and lunged him ! After I was done with the two boys , I got Henny back out for another lesson ! We worked on the same thing , although he didn't like the idea of working again...but he got over it (:  After that I brought everyone else in and fed everyone !!

Day 30

Today I got out to the barn around 8am and fed the horses ! After all the horses had ate, I let them outside and cleaned stalls.  I then filled water buckets in stalls , filled hay nets , cleaned up the hay room , cleaned up the feed room , cleaned the outside water tubs and re-filled them !! Then S.B and I headed out and to get feed, bedding and dog food !! When we got back, my mom was here  - she brought Henny's feed and took a lesson on Romana !

After my mom left , I un-loaded the feed and put the feed in the tubs, emptied the trash cans and cleaned all the tack that we used yesterday at Traders Point !!

Today was an easy day.  I will let horses in soon and feed them (:

Day 29

Today we woke up early, fed the horses and put Henny and Roman on the trailer to go on the Traders Point hunt ride. We got there about 9 am got tacked up and got on. We went out on the trail - we were out there for about an hour and a half. On the trail, we had to gallop almost the whole time to stay up with the group and jump many , many , many XC jumps ! When we were standing waiting for the group to catch up at one point , Roman was getting mad and bucked and kicked Henny and me - we're both okay.  Henny just has a bump on his neck !! When the ride was over, we un-tacked and went home !! 

I am the 4th horse , kinda in the middle.  And to the left of the picture is a loose horse !!

When we got home , I gave both the horses a bath and treated Henny's bump. Then I cleaned all the stalls and cleaned up the barn.  Around 4:30pm I let all the horses in and fed them !!

Later on, we all went to the Indians baseball game and watched fireworks !! 

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY !!  

Day 26, 27 & 28 July 1st-3rd

South Farms , Ohio Eventing Show !!

S.B and I left for Ohio around 12:30pm on Friday the 1st ! We took Roman and S.B was showing him . We had a 7 hour car ride to South Farm and once we got there we got unpacked and made sure Roman was okay , then we went and had a look around the farm ! After that we left to go find our hotel !!

Then next morning , Saturday the 2nd , we got to the farm around 9 ! I fed Roman and after he ate I gave him a bath ! After about noon , I started tacking him up and getting him ready for his dressage ! Then S.B got on him and we went over to the warm up ! There were many horse and buggys going up and down the road which scared Roman a little .  He went in to the dressage ring and didn't have his best test, but still got a 33.5 ! After that I untacked him and got him ready for cross country.  He had a clear round for XC and after he had cooled down, I fed him and we left for the night !

The last day of the show , all we had left was stadium jumping ! We had a lot of sitting around time because she didn't jump til 2 something ! I gave him a bath , fed him , groomed him and finally tacked him up to jump !! They went out to jump and had a great jumping round , all clear !! After that, at around 4 we headed for home - another 7 hour drive !! We got home around 10:30 pm and tucked everyone in for the night !!

A great but long, busy and hot weekend (:

Day 25

Starting at 8:00am I went to the barn and fed all the ponies , then after everyone had ate their meal I let them all out ! I cleaned all four stalls , filled waters and hay nets ! I then set up a jump course for my afternoon jump lesson !! By then the farrier was here to do Henny ! I got Henny in and Henny got his feet all done (:

After the farrier left it was time to leave for S.B's jump lesson at CAF , so I got Roman out and ready for his lesson ! Roman had a wonderful jump lesson , he was a good boy (:

After we got back I cleaned up around the barn and unloaded the trailer . I got Romana out and ready for S.B to ride ! While she was riding I cleaned some tack from the jumping lesson .

Then after she was done with Romana , I got Henny out for a jump lesson ! I tacked him up and we went outside !! We jumped a group of 3 jumps that were a stride apart in trot - then in canter , by the end the last jump was up to 3 foot (:  We also jumped two barrel jumps that were 3 strides apart !! He is jumping 3 foot like it's nothing - yay Henny. I love my jumping machine (:

After our lesson we took a long walk , showered the sweaty boy off and turned him back out !! About an hour later I went back out and let the kids in to feed everyone (:

I go home tomorrow so I will not be writing , and we leave for South Farms in Ohio on Friday. I probably won;t write til Sunday night !!

Day 24

Woke up to rain .. yay !!

A rainy day at the barn means horses don't go out until the rain stops , yay for me . I put each horse in the indoor while I mucked out each of there stalls , filled water buckets and hay nets ! I then lunged each horse , just to get them moving ! After I lunged each horse I gave them a full groom . After the rain stopped I let out all the horses .

I then brought in all the tack from yesterdays trail ride and cleaned all of it . Then I muck out the trailer . After that I got out Roman and got him ready for S.B to ride . While she was riding I cleaned feed buckets and filled the feed bins .

I let in all the horses and feed everyone there dinners, here in a min I will go out for night check !!

It was a slow day today because the horses had the day off , but overall a good day !!

Show Pictures

Intro C

Training Level Test 1

Getting ready to lung !!

Lunging

Waiting

 

Getting ready to go in !!

Blue ribbon (:

YAY !!

And Another blue ribbon (: