Specks turned 16 yesterday... he's getting up there in years! I am just so lucky to have him in my life; he is such an amazing horse.
The other day I was jumping him, and there was a 2' brush box. The box was empty, so the top was open. He clipped the inside of it with his ankle. It could have been very bad. I kept riding because he didn't seem to be hurting, just a little stunned. He kept going over it, albeit much higher. When I got off I was rubbing him down and noticed his leg was covered in blood... yeah. Cleaned it up, covered it, and he was all good. He ended up not even pulling up lame, just "touchy" if you know what I mean. There's kind of a difference between lame and "ooh, that is uncomfortable but not affecting my movement." But anyways, I'm going out tonight to ride, and will check up on him then. I haven't heard anything bad from his owner, so I'm assuming he's fine.
I'm gonna miss the big guy when I go to college...
Friday, June 11, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
Update
Well, nothing much new. Speckies was a spaz Saturday at our lesson. I ended up riding western so I could stay on. He def seems to prefer his western bit (roller d-ring with a joint and straight shanks) so I think I'll get him an english one similar to it. Maybe an egg-butt? He had some great flexion and bend and straightness and balance and all around awesome frame! He was a total spaz though. It was funny. He and his herd got moved to a different paddock so the stallion Eli can go have a party with his mares in the safer paddock... We'll see how well this works out in the long run. His Lyme is gone... yay!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Jumping!!!
I jumped Speckles last week. He is officially off his meds now...
It was a simple 12" vertical. Try telling him that. He flew at those things as usual... 6' oxers. He gave me a panic atack one of the times by bolting right before it and launching himself over like Saturn V. It was fun though! It's good to see he's still got it in him.
Unfortunealy, we have yet to pick up the left lead canter. He hasn't picked t up since November, no matter what. It's rather annoying, and our first show is in a couple weeks. Any ideas?
It was a simple 12" vertical. Try telling him that. He flew at those things as usual... 6' oxers. He gave me a panic atack one of the times by bolting right before it and launching himself over like Saturn V. It was fun though! It's good to see he's still got it in him.
Unfortunealy, we have yet to pick up the left lead canter. He hasn't picked t up since November, no matter what. It's rather annoying, and our first show is in a couple weeks. Any ideas?
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Uh-oh
There has been a slight outbreak of strangles at the barn. One of the new horses came down with it, and I hear a couple more have started to show symptoms as well. Hopefully Speckles will avoid the worst of it like the last outbreak... fingers crossed and knock on wood!
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Went out to visit
Went out to See Specks the other day. It was the first time I rode in my own saddle since about early December. Ever since I've either been riding someone else in a dressage saddle or bareback. I was definitely sore for a few days. It's not the comfiest saddle in the world...
Specks was good. I could have ridden him w/t/c, but when we started in the indoor someone came in to lunge a horse that went ballistic, and he started to follow suit. We went outside and, continuing our spunkiness, simply had to stop and play with every puddle we saw. We then decided that since we didn't want to stop playing with these puddles, we were going to buck everytime I tried to nudge him forward. Combined with the windiness of the day, I decided it was NOT a good idea to attempt our first canter since November. We will try again this Saturday.
His energy is a good sign though. It means he's coming back.
HOWEVER:
spring fever PLUS energy from finally feeling better after a year PLUS energy from nice fresh hay PLUS energy from the feed he gets his meds with PLUS energy he already had....
Someone REALLY needs to burn off some energy before I get hurt.
Specks was good. I could have ridden him w/t/c, but when we started in the indoor someone came in to lunge a horse that went ballistic, and he started to follow suit. We went outside and, continuing our spunkiness, simply had to stop and play with every puddle we saw. We then decided that since we didn't want to stop playing with these puddles, we were going to buck everytime I tried to nudge him forward. Combined with the windiness of the day, I decided it was NOT a good idea to attempt our first canter since November. We will try again this Saturday.
His energy is a good sign though. It means he's coming back.
HOWEVER:
spring fever PLUS energy from finally feeling better after a year PLUS energy from nice fresh hay PLUS energy from the feed he gets his meds with PLUS energy he already had....
Someone REALLY needs to burn off some energy before I get hurt.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Horses... A Life-Consuming Thing
We all know that horses consume our life. It's undeniable. It's when they start to mess with things such as schoolwork we get a little worried.
Today in latin we learned the word "mare, maris," which means "sea." This is a "neuter" word. Those of you who know foreign language know the whole gender thing. Those of you who know horses know that a mare is VERY feminine. This could take some getting used to. I fully expect to translate that word as "horse" or thereabouts a few times before I get it.
Today in latin we learned the word "mare, maris," which means "sea." This is a "neuter" word. Those of you who know foreign language know the whole gender thing. Those of you who know horses know that a mare is VERY feminine. This could take some getting used to. I fully expect to translate that word as "horse" or thereabouts a few times before I get it.
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