Too sick to ride

Having an allergic reaction to something, not sure what, maybe too much of lots of things. And a cold on top of it. I have to avoid all things that may worsen this so no horse this week. Feeding and caring for the horses is even hard on my breathing right now. Going to the doctors today for some good drugs.

My horse is awesome.

I just finished riding Chance bareback in the paddock for an hour. I can't say enough how awesome he feels. Tomorrow we take off on the motorcycle for the day so I won't be riding Chance again until Sunday. My goal is to try and hop on Chance at least every other day even if it's only for 5 minutes. I am going to keep this up until I feel as comfortable getting on and off and sitting on him as I do working on the ground with him. When I reach that point I'll branch out to the next step. Not sure what that is yet, but I'll know when I get there. :))))

Farrier Visit

Today was the best farrier appointment Chance has had since I have owned him! I'm so pleased with how well he is doing, and thrilled that the lyme treatment worked.

Things I did differently today were: I went out 1/2 hr before the appt. and walked around the paddock with him. I was surprised to find that I had anxiety about the appt. I am always a little stressed out before his trims wondering if he is going to hold up his feet. I needed to feel okay before George came to help Chance feel okay. So after walking around for a few minutes I hopped up on the purple bucket and asked Chance to move around me. Then asked him to stand next to me as if I was going to hop on his back. I had no intentions of getting on, but started petting and scratching him, lots of relaxing. I then helped him stretch out his front legs and rubbed them both from the shoulders down to the hooves. Then I asked him to give me each foot, I picked them out and shook out each leg and hoof to help relax and loosen him up. Then we did more petting, brushing and relaxing. Chance must have yawned 10 times throughout this process which is good, he was releasing stress. By the time George got here we were both pretty relaxed and happy.

This was the 3rd trim by George. He asked for Chances lead line and asked him to move back, then also did some things to help him relax. He trimmed the hardest foot 1st - front left, which went perfect. In between each foot he would ask Chance to move, bring his head around to the side, rub his eyes, scratch his nose, just giving him more opportunities to relax and get ready for the next foot. The only one that was a little hard was the last one - front right. I think that was more of Chance being tired and ready to be finished. And it wasn't bad at all, he pulled his foot away a couple of times, as George put it "No more than any other horse would do, not a Chance Special"

I'm so grateful to have found such a patient farrier. I think Chance is too.

Fun with Chance

A came over today at 10 for a Spring training session to help me assess Chance to get an idea of what and where we are headed. He is the best he has ever been and it's only April. I knew he felt good, but I had no idea how good. A went over him with a fine tooth comb, from haltering to saddling and riding. The only time he was unsure or hesitant at all was when she 1st started with him or did something with him that he hasn't done in a long time. He had the "Oh Man, what are you going to do to me?" look in his eyes. He is soft, very very soft, responsive, sensitive and calm. I am going to have to retrain myself to be very careful about being soft. He has been so stuck in the past that at times my responses have had to be big and sometimes pretty strong, that is not the case now with this new horse out in the paddock! I even rode him around in and out of the paddock, trotting, and just having fun with him. To see him moving as nice as he is and feeling as good as he does brought tears to my eyes. To ride him and feel how loose and fluid his movements are is incredible. I say loose because to me he has felt like a rusty tin man. It's been a long couple of years and I believe we are headed for a very fun summer.

New Fencing and a New Spring

I'm so happy Spring has arrived and the days now require no more than a light jacket or sweatshirt! I'll have to make some changes for next winter so I don't end up in such a low state of mind. Maybe a sunlamp?
I spent most of the day yesterday putting up new fencing, I'll finish it this weekend. It's looking good. The chickens are gone for now. Something has been getting them 2 at a time so they are back at Jayes until I either catch the little chicken killer or make a new hen house. Chance feels great this Spring! He is happy, calm and in good spirits. That will be tested on Thursday when the farrier comes, but he gets better with each visit. I'm hopeful.
I watched a wonderful video yesterday on fear. It really had a huge impact on me and validated how I feel. Why I put myself under pressure when it isn't necessary or healthy I'll never know. I won't put myself in unsafe situations, but I guess I feel like somethings wrong if I'm not riding. Wrong with me or my horse I'm not sure. Just wrong that I have a horse that I'm not riding. The video changed that for me and gave me a new sense of peace. It also gave some real practical ideas and exercises to do with Chance to help. I'm so excited about this year! :)

Nothing exciting to write about

It's April 2nd and the sun is shining after many days of rain and more to come this weekend. I'm surprised at how the weather is effecting me this year. I am craving sun and warm weather!
Not much going on in my horse world, doing small bits of training and grooming here and there. Getting ready to order more fencing and fly preditors. I have lots of thoughts of how I want to change the paddock and maybe put in a round pen. It's hard to add things on only 2 acres of land! But if I'm creative it will work and look good too!