PROGRESS!

All right! I think that I should start off this post by formally appologizing for not posting in so long. The reason was simply this: there really hasn't been much to post about! We've been very buisy, and most days the weather wasn't great. Anyways, yesterday I had my lesson on Thunder, and I think it went very well! We're making great progress, and yesterday I managed to get him to round himself up more! Yay! It was quite a victory for me, but it came with a price. I was half halting and spongeing the reins so much, that I got a small and very painful blister on my finger. It was worth it, though! I've officially changed my lesson time to Saturday mornings, so I will have some company while I ride, and our Monday nights won't be so hectic! Hopefully all will go well in the next few months, and mom and I will be going horse shopping next year. How exciting! Anyways, I'm also excited because I'll be getting a part time job soon, so that I can pay for my new horses tack! I know it will be a lot of work, but i'm still quite excited as it means... MONEY! Anyeays, I leave you with a picture of my pony Whiskey proving that the grass really is greener on the other side.

The Show

Hello everyone! I have a few good stories to tell about the show. First of all, I should inform you that I placed 3rd in Equitation! Yay me! I am quite proud of myself, given the circumstances. We got to the showgrounds late, so I didn't really have time to warm up for my first class :( However, regardless of Thunders spooking at the sunflowers, logs, judge, etc... we managed to keep it together and make it to the warm-up arena unscathed. It's not that Thunder's a spooky horse, he was more looking for a reason to get upset because he hadn't been warmed up, let alone taken a walk around the arena. He's really a good boy. Anyways, we were better behaved for our next class, still not doing really well or anything, but we weren't having as much trouble as before. Things continued in that direction, and despite the challenges, it was a good day. Today at six thirty, I had a lesson on Thunder, which went well. We started out on the longe line, no stirrups or reins. It really does help your balance. We're trying to work on my leg to hand connection, which I seem to be having trouble with. I'llget it eventually, though. We also did lots of transition work, and i'm hoping to get some work done with Java sometime soon. For now, though, I'll end off this post with a mention of the kittens: they're doing well. I caught the last one the day before yesterday, and he/she seems to be adapting well!

Yes, I am alive!

Hello everyone! Im sorry I haven't posted, but life has been buisy. Let's start off with this: Thursday after school, I took out Java to train her. Unfortunately though, she felt a bit hot, and didn't quite seem herself. So, Instead of riding her, I just longed her and put her back in her paddock. Shortly after, the farrier came, and so the horses eventually ended up back in the barn. Well, the farrier did his thing, and left. Almost immediately after, mom and I heard short, small meows coming from one of the stalls not currently being used. Yup, you guessed it- kittens! There were six kittens, but we only caught four. All were about five weeks old, grey, and fluffy as dust bunnies. So naturally we have spent the past few days getting them used to people. They learn quite quickly at this age, and earlier today a friend of mine came over and we set up paint brushes for them to troddle over. So cute! In other news, I have a horse show this weekend, and it's about an hour away from my house! eek! I guess i'll just have to get up early. I promise to report back with pics and details once it's all over!

New Stable

I had a lesson on Thunder today, at a new location. It was very nice, mostly western but a few english girls like myself :) Anyways, all was going well, except that there was a steel gate open, I wasn't looking, and Thunder steered my knee (and his side) right into it! Wow, i'm gonna feel that in the morning. At least I was only walking, otherwise I could've broken my knee! (not kidding, 1250 pounds on one side of the kneecap, metal gate on the other side, you do the math.) Anyways, It hurt for a while, it feels fine now but I'm gonna guess that it'll flare up in the morning. I have a horse show this weekend, hunters. I can't wait to start jumpers next year, I'd like that a lot. (not to offend the hunter people, personal preference only. I have nothing against hunter people) But anyways, hopefully that will go well. I don't expect to do amazing, because I don't do much showing, but It should be good. I haven't had a tonne of time to do work with Java, but I'll have an update on her soon. Sorry this is so brief, i'm just extremely tired.

Java the Angel's Training

Well, I worked with Java today,(the one closest in the picture) and I must tell you that she's just an absolute angel. It started like this: I began by walking out to her field, and she willingly comes over to me right away- no running away, no playing tag... anyways, so I lead her into the barn and groom her- part of my grooming process is putting show sheen on the main and tail. I don'y usually do this with Java, though, I just do the basics. However, today me and mom sprayed some show sheen on her forelock, and she didn't even flinch! We could already tell it was going to be a good day. We began longework, and she did everything beautifully. Her walk was open and forward most of the time, and although she did rush her trot a bit, she had a nice, even canter, and always picked up the correct lead. Once we figured she was tired enough, I hopped on. We started by just walking around, and letting her get used to having me on her back again. Once she was balanced, mom longed us at the trot, and she was pretty good, other than being distracted by our audience. (the neighbors three cows that came up to the fence to watch) We're planning on getting her into some small shows in the spring and then selling her when she's three. She's born early in the year (Feb. 28) so we had the advantage of starting her a while earlier than most two-year-olds can be started. Anyways, I'm hoping I can get some more work done with her before the weather gets too bad. You know what's strange? Just the other day I was cleaning out Java and Athena's water bucket, and I found a huge prickle in it! It was actually kind of funny. I guess they found it somewhere, and it pricked them, so they dropped it! Anyways, I've got to go have lunch now. See Ya!

The Ponies

All right! I figured it was about time to have a discussion about our two Shetland ponies, Whiskey and Trigger. The two have shared a paddock ever since the second one, Whiskey, was born. When my mom bought them, Whiskey was four and Trigger was seven. Trigger was trained, but Whiskey? Um... not so much. So for the first while they lived with us, me and my sister could ride Trigger, but mom was training Whiskey. I didn'y really care that I couldn't ride Whiskey, because, well, she was my very own pony. I remember how huge they looked, even though they were only about 10 or 11 hands high. Ever since they first came to the farm, they shared a paddock with R.B. It didn't take long for a pecking order to establish. R.B was obviously at the top, with spunky little Whiskey in the middle and poor little Trigger at the bottom. That's how it started, and that's how it always was. I remember how I was absolutely terrified to trot on Whiskey once she was trained for the first while, because her trot was so bumpy. Eventually, though, I was taught how to post, and all was well. Every now and then, one of my friends would come over, and we would lead the ponies over jumps. Trigger seemed to really enjoy it, but Whiskey couldn't get past the fact that someone was touching her neck... I guess that shows their personalities- Trigger the human-a-holic, and Whiskey who often acts like she's allergict to people! Anyways, I enclosed a picture of Trigger up top, and I hope you all enjoy!

Lesson

Hello! I just got back from my lesson on Thunder, and it went pretty well. We did dressage again today, and apparently our canter was better today! Yay! We also did no stirrup work, which is fine unless I have to post (which I did.) We tried something new today: walking over jumps. It's pretty simple, but I kept looking back at the jump when we were over it because I was convinced he had knocked it over. (He only knocked it over once, but when he did he demolished it.) Yesteray, I took R.B out bareback, and we did some small jumping in the field. Although RB's not exactly a grand prix jumper, I did manage to get him over some itty bitty stuff without any major trauma. I really can't wait until Athena is old enough to ride. That's her showing her Thoroughbred side out in the field. Ain't she cute?

Horses Kindergarten

Hello, everyone. Just the other day, I was working in my fillie's paddock- you know, scrubbing buckets, cleaning their shelter, stuff like that. Well, the two of them for some reason found this absolutely fascinating. They stood beside me the entire time, mystified as to what I was doing. They even started licking the wheelbarrow! Isn't it strange how horses manage to stay intently focused on what you're doing on the ground, however some days they can't seem to concentrate for five minutes under saddle? I think in a way they're just like little kids- they could stay quiet through a two hour movie, but start looking around and daydreaming after five minutes in kindergarten. Anyways, that's about the stage i'm at with Athena- kindergarten. She's a good girl, she lets me pick up her feet and touch her ears and everything, however even though I have been using fly spray on her mane and tail since she was about 5 months, she's still wide-eyed and ancey for the first few minutes of my main-and-tail-grooming-extraveganda, which I do a few times a week! Hopefully she'll get over it at some point, because she's going to be a show horse when she's older. I have a riding lesson tomorrow on my trainer's horse, Thunder. He's a black and white pinto appendix i've been riding for the past few months, and a very fun horse to ride. The last few lessons we've been doing dressage, a lot of the time without stirrups. I don't mind going without stirrups though, becase it helps me stay balanced. I'll post about my lesson tomorrow, but for now i'm off !

Welcome to my Blog!

Hello everyone! My name is Robyn, and i'm going to use this blog to write about the following
*Training my yearling and two year old

* Riding my horse and my trainer's horse

*Showing

*And all other things that have to do with being with my beautiful horses and ponies.

I think i'll start off by introducing you to my horses and ponies. And no, this isn't in the order of how much i love them,.

a.) R.B- R.B is my mom's horse, a 21 year old QH gelding my mom has has for about 18 years. He's a good old boy, with a fair ammount of spunk left in him! He's the chestnut to the left.

b.) Trigger and Whiskey- Trigger and Whiskey are being described together because, well, they match! They are full brother and sister, 3 years apart. My sister and I got them when we were four and six. They are feisty little Shetlands, that are in looks practically the same, but inside complete opposites. Whiskey is super fast, and loves to race ahead of anyone else when being ridden, and Trigger is so slow that at times he almost falls asleep! I'll post pics of them in another post.

C.) Athena- Athena is my half thoroughbred filly that I bought at an auction when she was 5 months old. She is now one and a half, and I plan to keep her and train her. She's smart and has a good mind on her. Hopefully when she's old enough i'll do some jumping and eventing on her, but i'll have to see if she's good at it first.

d.)Java- Java is a half welsh filly that I bought in January as a project. She's about two and three quarters, and i've ridden her about 10 times. She's very nice and quite cute, and i'll probably sell her in the spring. She is pictured at the very top of the page!

So, I hope you will all check back with me often, as I will probably post quite a few times a week. Thanks for visiting, please come back soon!