So, I've had Miss Mo for a year and a half at this point.  Just over a month ago, I had a terrible ride, and I though you know, next time I'll put the western saddle on.  Not really sure why I though that, just seemed like a good idea.  This was the beginning of learning that Mo HATES english.  I've been training her in dressage, she's almost a solid level 2 horse... hates it!  I kept riding in the western saddle, added a western bridle and she's a different horse.  She used to sweat on her…

It has been a lovely day here in Alberta.  Not too hot, not too muggy, sun is  shining... horse was near the gate instead of a quarter mile out in the field...

Havoc went out on the grass for a couple hours.  We have a grass paddock that we can turn our horses onto, so I take advantage of it whenever I can.  The kid just will NOT gain weight.  He's doing his best to get to 17hh, he really shouldn't work so hard at it.

But, I digress.  Mo has been awesome these days.  I rode her…

I've been travelling to the east almost every week for about 6 months now, although I'm currently on 4 beautiful weeks at home.  Because of this, you can imagine that I'm not exactly getting a lot of riding in!  My young horse continues his training with my coach, but my 'fool around' mare hasn't been getting out much.

Finally we decided to pull her hind shoes and punt her into the field. Until I bought her, she'd really always been in a field, but it can be a major pain in the…

I was in the tub last night, reading my dressage Today, like I sometimes do, and the article was on the half halt.  I had to chuckle.  I don't know of any other sport that has one element in it that no one can agree on, like the half halt.  It's with the seat, it's with the hand, drive, hold, inside, outside...

What I find most chuckle-inducing is that the best in the world can't tell you what they do, what it is.  They just do it.  It's one of those things that is best done by feel. …

Ah, little Mo.  She's really quite a cute thing.  I flew home on Thursday night, Friday morning, I worked the boys, then it was time (well, two hours past where I wanted to be), to take Mo over to the show and school.  Tack box in the trailer, Mo walked up and tested me... are you going to try and pull me into the trailer?  Not a chance Missy.  Slack lead rope the whole time,…

Today, a horse actually BIT me...  I mean REALLY!

No, it wasn't one of mine.  Mine know that it's a very big offence... Maggie used to grab my shirt (only!), if I was talking to someone and I should have been paying attention to her.  Havoc might miss a carrot or apple and graze my hand.  That's it.  So, how did I possibly get bit?!

I was taking Mo back to her paddock, a longer way than usual, because it's pretty wet out, and I was walking close to another paddock to stay on…

I just read a very interesting article in Equus... it was about how spending many hours with their human is stressful and hard on horses.  Made a lot of sense.  The example they gave was a weekend warrior, spending all day Saturday with her horse... I'd be pissed off with that woman too!

I know some folks that ride multiple horses in an evening, so the horses get a cursory groom, a ride, a cool out and off they go.  That may actually be a favour to them, not something to worry about. …

There's a discussion currently going on via Facebook around horse shows, and there are two issues:  lack of horse shows and footing.  The contention being that footing will drive attendance at a given show.  We all have different opinions about what constitutes good footing.  The place that the two big shows in the province are held has footing great for jumping, but, in MY opinion, it is too sticky for dressage, and can be really tough on a young horse.  It's also quite expensive to get the…

Today I burst into tears at the mere mention of blocking Mr Havoc's leg...

A year and a half ago, his aunt, my Maggie, was lame, and we blocked her leg, without first x-raying, because that's normal, and she broke her leg and had to be put down immediately.

So, the mere thought of doing it with him was more than I could bear.  The x-ray machine wasn't working, and this was the only other thing they could do 'right now' to figure out why he is a bit off.  Luckily, it was the…

Well, little Miss Mo went to a little dressage show last weekend.  We schooled at home on Friday and she was awesome, so, it was a good way to start the venture!  She loads like a pro and doesn't get bothered by different stalls, different arenas, people on other horses wandering around...

So, our first test had a bit of speedy bit going on, back to back canter tours just melt her little brain.  Now, we have never stood in a corner to wait for our next test, but she was great about…

As I sit here in my toasty house, it's a balmy -27C (-16F for you holdouts in the states).  Windchill is -40C (-41F).  Of course that's measured up at the airport, not down where my kids and I are, where it's probably a good 10C colder.  It wasn't so a couple days ago, and this is the wonder of living in Alberta... by next Saturday, 13C.  As you can imagine, this tends to cause some issues in one's horse keeping!  My little Mo is clipped and lives outside.  She's a tough old girl, but she's…

It's been a crazy week around here.  Havoc got his very first set of front shoes ever.  The smoke is different when it's billowing out between *your* front legs, apparently.  We have an excellent farrier, and Havoc actually mostly took it like man!  Not a damned thing when the nails went in.  I am sure may people just think that my boy came out being a solid citizen, but there was quite a bit of work that has gone into that kid.  I whacked his feet with a hoof pick since he was a baby.  He's…

Not really voluntarily, I have to say, more of a scooty thing.  Alas, I was not there, I was in Montreal where I have been for three weeks.

At any rate, my trainer had another trainer out who we sometimes put on the new kids because his balance is perfect and he gives them confidence... plus, he doesn't care what they do and he sticks like glue... must be the long legs.  For Havoc, he needs to know the people that are doing things with him, so we decided Jen on the ground was more…

I haven't blogged all that much since my Maggie died.  It took the wind right out of me for a very long time. 

My Mr Havoc is doing just fantastically, he's such a sweet boy.  I can't believe he's 3.5yrs now.  He's about 16.2hh and now at an equine facility getting finished in his starting and learning about living inside being a working horse.  They love him there, because he has good ground manners and is a big sucky boy.  He does love people.  He adjusted well to longing in an…

Well, on Saturday my baby boy re-starts the starting process.  I'm finding it quite disturbing.  I have the best professional I know working with him (and I'm involved, even if it's only watching).  So, I was pondering why this was bothering me.  I think it's because right now he's just unlimited potential.  Once he's started, reality kicks in.  Of course I will love him no matter what happens.  If he's not a dressage horse, so be it.  If he's not a high level dressage horse, so be it. …

I was out snuggling my baby boy today, giving him a grooming.  It's shedding season, he's not too bad, but he gets done regularly.  He's a very snuggly sweetie pie.  He is now 16 1/2" hh, growing into a reasonably sized boy.  This spring he'll be started, and this fall he comes to the barn.  He'll get to live inside and learn all the things he needs to know to become a super star show boy.

He lives with an old girl, she's 30 this year.  She's starting to slow down, and I think when he…

So, my sweet Maggie Mae met her end on Monday.  It was not exactly how I thought the day would go.  A routine vet appointment to find out why she was lame ended up with a complete break of the proximal third of her cannon.  It's not often, I think, that one finds comfort in the vet report to the insurance company, but knowing that the vet heard the break and saw it from his spot on the outside of the longe circle, when I didn't, lets me know that even if she'd stopped immediately, the…

Well, my little girl has an owie, I'll call a vet in the morning.  Took me two days to figure out which leg it was in.  She doesn't like to make things easy on me.  She's all clipped up and looking fantastic.  She's the only horse I know that is the same colour clipped as she is not clipped, and just as shiny.  I do love my little angel.

Back to lameness.  She's got a slight swelling on the right fore around the fetlock.  Current theory is that she tweaked herself (doesn't…

Okay, not mud, actually, just wet sand.  Muffin was a bit of a saucy thing in our lesson on Wednesday (by that I mean she had moments where you feel like you are sitting on a barrel of TNT, match at the ready), so my trainer won't make a decision on our show hopes until next lesson.  In her defence, Maggie was in season, and this late in the year, she is INSISTENT in her cycle.  So, it looked like the next couple days were going to be wet, so my instructions were to ride her outside, in the…

So, I wrote last that Miss Muffin moved barns at the beginning of June and was doing well.  Last night my trainer was out to ride her, I'd been telling her how great she'd been (with the exception of our last lesson when her tootsies were much too long).  She was skeptical, and Maggie is never the horse you really want to ride at the end of the day.  But, she was magnificent last night, I mean she rode awhile and asked if I'd drugged her (she was joking).  She actually ended her ride early…