Shadow

On June 20th it was 1 year that my wonderful pony has been gone. I'm thinking of him often these days and miss him dearly.

Law of Attraction

I have been saying for some time now that I want to simplify my life. I want to have more fun and enjoy my horse. I've been living exactly just that, I have been WANTING those things to change. I woke up this morning and finally made the decision to actually MAKE the changes. What happened? A few things have happened lately, but the one that had the most impact was the pony ride. I took A's pony out for a trail ride with her the other day and really laughed for the 1st time in so long. It was a REAL belly laugh, impulsive and brought on by fun. I almost lost my balance and came off because I was laughing so hard. The pony has a habit of popping her shoulder and changing direction very quickly. She decided to go right and trot off in the direction of home. This pony is the sweetest and most polite pony I have ever ridden, so when she did it I found it so hilarious! And what was pretty cool was that fear never even crossed my mind or my gut. I stopped her and we were back on the original road quickly, but it was all 2ND nature and a great reminder to me that I CAN stop a horse and that horses CAN be fun. It almost mad me sad because I can't remember the last time I laughed like that. And that needs to change.
I want to live by example for my kids. It is possible to work and make money to live, live in a respectable house, and have fun. I have brought too much into my life, I am going to simplify and eliminate the things that I don't need or the things that are pulling me away from my goals.
And start attracting the things that will bring me to my goals.

Vet visit

The vet was here to look at a nasty bite on Chance's shoulder. It's infected, but doesn't require stitches. It's a big bite, but on a meaty part of his shoulder and will heal just fine. Had him look
at Chance's withers, his take was what I thought. They look like they have been broken in the past, lots of scar tissue under there. He didn't recommend an x-ray, Chance would have to be hauled to Rochester and it would be difficult to get a clear photo. He did recommend a treeless saddle. I just purchased a cashel soft saddle which I now need a pad for. It was not an expensive saddle, so I will try that next.

A quick post

Just a quick post to say that the abscess finally popped and Chance and I both feel better. He
is still tender and limping a little, but better. I was really freaking out about the whole thing,
too many bad memories of Shadow's laminitis and Topaz's broken shoulder. After loosing 2
horses I guess I'm pretty sensitive to a limping horse!

New All Time Low

I've hit an all time low that is a little overwhelming. Chance has an abscess, so everyone is telling me. I'm so sick and tired of having horses with injuries and illnesses. Broken bones, lyme disease, cushings, laminitis. Okay so an abscess is not life threatning, but we are going on 6 days now and the usual time I'm hearing that an abscess lasts is 3 days. I'm tired of pouring my heart and soul into my horses to have some accident or illness ruin it all. I'm tired of spending thousands of dollars and not even be able to ride. I'm just tired.

A new feeling of calm

I didn't write this in my last post but I should. I'm feeling much calmer when working with Chance. I'm not really sure why, it could be the new approach to my fear - approach, retreat until I feel okay. Whatever the reason I am grateful. I can see and feel the progress we are making, even with the little things. And my calmness is having a wonderful effect with Chance.
Jaye pointed out the other day that Chance wasn't following my feel, but following me kind of like he would another horse. This was a huge thing for us. I'm not sure why I wasn't aware of this, although I was very aware of him getting in my space and having difficulty with boundaries. I was waiting until he was already in my space before doing something about it. And what I was doing wasn't always working. Now things are very different. I am aware of so much more now, and making small corrections when they are needed which means that the big corrections are becoming less and less. I'm much more careful and aware of how I ask him to do something, trying so hard to be clear. I've got lots more work to do to continue to improve on my horsemanship, but I think he is starting to appreciate the small changes I'm offering him!

A good week

I'm not going to write everything that has happened since my last post. But I did manage to work with Chance 4 times this week and rode him 2 of the four times. I'm riding outside of the ring right now which has been very good for my confidence. I'm doing LOTS of ground work and then hopping on bareback. I also spend a good amount of time getting on his back and then getting off. I still find myself with butterflies when I get on him so I get off as many times as it takes for them to go away. Then I'll ask for a few steps and if I feel okay we will continue.
The groundwork is going VERY well. I actually found myself looking for more to do with him so I set up a small obstacle course. We weave in and out of barrels, over poles and around cones. Nothing too exciting but it is a fun way to work on moving him at the walk and trot without getting bored and without doing circles over and over again. I was asking him to back through the barrels today and he wasn't so sure about the whole idea. I was pleasantly surprised with my reaction to his lack of confidence. Instead of getting nervous (which is usually my reaction) I found it a challenge to figure out how to help him through it. Which led to stepping over sideways, one step back, stop, another step, stop...etc. We did some approach and retreat and before I new it he was backing through the barrels with confidence! I would love to someday be able to take him to a versatility challenge. A goal to work toward. I've had lots of fun with him this week, I'm also finding myself planning horse time for next week.