Give-away!!!

Well, not my own yet... but Ashley over at A Process of Learning is having a giveaway for a blog makeover! Hers is really adorable, so I'm blogging to see if I can get double entries and to let everyone know!

On the horsey news front: We did crossrails today!!! I just set up the second smallest crossrail we could do and did it. Well, I walked her over it first, but there was no stopping or even a big hesitation. I think it's finally starting to click.

There were all sorts of fun things to play around with since my barn had a desensitization clinic recently. The funniest part was that the brush they set up with scary tarps etc was not nearly as scary as the seating area for Bijou. She really doesn't like lawn chairs. I got her to let me put one on her back last time I worked her, but she still shied away. I let (or maybe made) her walk up to anything scary, sniff it for a sec, and then it was time to forget about it. For the most part it would work. She would start to fixate on the scary thing as we approached, and I would leg on with my inside leg to correct her counter bend. She would flick an ear back toward my leg as if to say "oh ya, you're over there and I'm supposed to be working" and by the time she thought that we were past whatever it was that was so scary to begin with.

I also started bareback 'training' with her today. I like riding them from the pasture up to the trailer bareback, but I haven't really had the guts or trust to do so yet. She was really cuddly today when I went to get her, so I thought I'd try it out. I scritched on her really well and then just hopped up and down next to her a bit. When I first got her that would have been impossible! Now she doesn't even raise her head or flick an ear. She's too tall to just pop up onto, so I tried taking a step back in order to get some momentum. That's the part she wasn't too fond of. I made her settle back down and did it a few more times til I found a gopher mound that I could use for a stepladder. That worked out just great! I laid across her for a second or two til I started slipping and called it good. I'm really impressed with her, I think that she really trusts me now and we're going to go far as long as I can keep her that way :D

I've got quite a few days off this week, so hopefully we'll get lots of practice in!

big girl steps, here we come!

So a few posts ago I was bemoaning my baby steps. I've finished moving, figured out a schedule at least for the next week, and now we're taking big girl steps!!

Well, ok. Maybe like 10-15 big girl steps at a time. We've gotten to half circles of good trot and canter, and we're working on going over raised poles and dealing with all the scary things in the big arena. Everyone whines about scary indoor arenas, but I have a scary outdoor one. There's construction in one corner, a high walled roundpen in the other that makes interesting noises, and a whole barn full of horses waiting to spook, or snort, or something along a whole long side. Most of this isn't really that scary, until it is!

I'm just so happy to be on my beautiful mare

My ankle is almost back to normal, we're w/t/c/ and over poles again. Everything is looking up. Now hopefully I haven't jinxed myself for my ride today. I'm going to think about trying crossrails again! Maybe I'll be ready for the x-rail class in the August show my barn is hosting?!

two steps forward, one step back

I've been moving! We moved into this awesome large farmhouse tucked away in a little valley just outside of 'town' without really being that far away from town. It has a huge yard for the dog, a whole shed for the bunnies, and lots of gardening space and FREE water!!

This means that for whatever reason (usually because I tell myself that I should be unpacking) I haven't been out to the barn in oh.... a long time. It feels so miserable because I finally got to the place where I was taking Bijou out enough that I didn't have a ticking time bomb on my hands and I could work on new things because there wasn't a crazy pent up sugar high horse meeting me at the fence every day (or at least holding still so I could catch her:D).

I almost don't even want to go out and make that effort now because I know something else will catch up with me and take me away. I have a job pending and they're very mysterious about what kind of hours I will be needed for so I can't even really fathom planning what the next few weeks will look like as far as barn time. I also picked up a few odds and ends jobs that schedule on a weekly basis. I want to get in as many hours as I can working to pay for the horse, but at the same time I need to make sure I can get out to DO STUFF with her! I'm ranting... it's not really helping...

So. I am going to take the time I have and use it to prioritize and then get things done.

1) Unpack some crap, or at least stack ALL my stuff in my room somewhere so that I can still open/close the door so that I stop getting the stink eye from my room-mates.
2) Figure out the job thing, seriously. All I have to do is ask when/if they want me scheduled and let them know that I need to know, right?
3) Get out to the barn. Do something with the crazy ponies. Period.