So, I've been very quiet here. I guess it's because this is a horse blog and I've not been doing much more than feeding the damn things. Being a mum to a tiny baby is hard you guys.

But Evie is starting to go longer between feeds. She is very happy being looked after by her dad, so I'm slowly starting to go do more stuff by myself. It is really helping my mental state.

I've tried riding a couple of times but Allie needed/needs so much stuff done to get her right, before she can officially start back in work again. The shopping list:
- Vaccinations
- Teeth
- Body clip (way too hairy and itchy)
- Body work (massage etc)
- Feet trimmed, lucky I know a good trimmer ;)
- Saddles fitted and billets changed on dressage saddle

Of course, hooves were easier than most, I just needed hubby to look after Evie while I did them. Then I had the EMT out for a massage - she's feeling pretty good over all, just slightly tight in the hind quarter. The EMT and I agreed that the jump saddle fits well right now but that the dressage does not. So I'm riding in the jump until next month when we can afford to have the dressage altered and billets done. That works!

My float needed a new loom because we lost blinkers and electric brakes. So that finally got fixed, and we took the horses to the vet to be vaccinated and clipped (and Allie's teeth). The trip over was super eventful, with Gracie not traveling well at all and a bloody truck riding up my arse and holding his horn down honking straight into the float and terrifying the horses again and again to the point where I stopped and got out of the car and had it out with him on the side of the road. I was fucking furious. He didn't give a shit though. Ugh I hate other drivers when I'm towing.

ANYWAY they both got clipped. Even the groomer kept going on and on about how much better Allie looked with a clip! She seriously looked like an unkempt yak (see comparison below). And she feels awful with all that hair, she's too hairy for Aussie winters. It's been pretty mild this year so she's been super itchy from sweating.

So with teeth, body, hooves and coat all done and a saddle that fits, yesterday we went for a fang around the property. She was a lunatic, had so much energy. She started the stupid threatening to rear bullshit again (I guess that happens when you aren't schooled for almost 3 years) so I wore my vest and got stuck into her and made her move FORWARD. And it worked.

We ended up bowling along the gravel drives (it's so wet that we can't ride anywhere else really) and along a high well drained ridge in a big balanced forward canter with me up in two point and her feeling the awesomeness that is her body and she could breathe fine (!!!!!) and I felt like the last 3 years of setbacks didn't matter and it was just my horse and I and and and and yeah. All that good stuff. It was fricking fantastic!!

Next up is saddle fitter, then hopefully we can figure out a way to get to the indoor to school on some footing that doesn't threaten to trip my horse.

Just a little general update on things that have been going on around here.

Nostril Roller Coaster

Allie's nostril sort of cleared up - then this afternoon it was pretty snotty and a bit stinky again. It is like she heals just enough to stop me taking her to the vet and then has another issue a half a week later. This time, it might have been caused by the weather again - Sunday we had a 45 degree day (113F) and then yesterday afternoon we got a windy, thundery rainy storm roll through. Might have whipped up a bit of dust up there? God knows. I'll give it a few days and see how it settles. And no, I am not dealing well with this but I am trying to ignore my anxiety.

Preggo Lady Stuff

So I am 26 weeks and 5 days pregnant now.

I feel enormous.

The baby kicks and rolls and moves ALL DAY LONG. I thought they were supposed to sleep sometimes? I had a glucose tolerance test this morning to check for gestational diabetes. If I am negative, I won't hear anything. If I am positive, I will get the result at my next midwife appointment.  I had three bloods taken. It was not nice. You had better appreciate this, kid.

We have bought a bassinet and a cot/change table duo. It looks fancy in the room.

Pretty...

Joey

Joey is continuing to get better with the training we are doing (as am I). The biggest thing we are working on is impulse control. He's getting there.

My little kitchen helper.

He had a play date with some other puppies at the dog park for the first time a couple of weekends ago. He had a blast.

See that happy white puppy on the left there?

He was super pooped after.

Gracie

Gracie hasn't been doing much of anything either - she has been a bit sore over the back. She had her teeth done, had a massage, and is now waiting for Nat to find the time to get her back in work.

First time getting her teeth done without sedation. She was such a good sport about it! This dentist was a gem - I think she is going to be Gracie's lifetime dentist.

In Other Horrific News...

One of my trimming clients was towing 2 horses with a friend when a tyre on the float blew out, flipping the float on it's side on a freeway going probably about 80-90km/h (50-55 mph). The horses were trapped and had to be cut out of the float via the roof. Both horses are ok - have some deep gashes and some brusing and will be sore for a while. But they are fine.

The people are fine too - very shaken, horrified and incredibly sad. The driver (my client) has been accused (on Facebook, by strangers) of being drunk, speeding or driving while tired. That she somehow did something wrong and that is why this happened. Unbelieveable! This could happen to any one of us. Any one. It just happened to her and the poor woman needs to heal from that. Why does the horse community turn on each other so easily?

Also, her float was towed off the freeway at the closest exit and just dumped on the side of the road by the freeway operators. This is ridiculous. I'm outraged and horrified and angry on her behalf over the whole ordeal. I hope nothing like this happens to anyone I know (or to me!) ever again. The people and the horses are so lucky to be alive, let alone to escape with relatively minor injuries.

This is just terrifying...

We have to do this more often...

Today we hired a float and took the ponies to the local indoor arena for a school. They both did really well, however Gracie was the star of the day, self loading (almost) onto the float after a short schooling session on it and then giving Nat her best schooling ride yet!

Normally we have a bit of trouble with impulsion and drive with Gracie, but she focused well and tried really really hard today. Nat said when she first got on that Gracie felt like she would explode and have a tantrum, but as you can see form the videos Nat was able to focus her and keep her calm.

Allie was.. well, Allie. Not bad, not great but she did have more balance on the flat arena surface than at home on the lumpy grass. She did however leg yield really well (In the first Allie video you see a leg yield off the track then back to the track on the long side). She has been fussy with her mouth. I need lessons.

Please feel free to critique these pictures and videos!

Gracie loading

Allie bum

I loved Gracie's work today because she tried so hard. She has a few conformational difficulties when it comes to carrying herself properly (she is still bum-high, short neck, longish loin) so when she does try it is just awesome because I know how hard it is for her.

It is very hard to get a good walk out of Gracie as she can be so LAZY!

I like how far she is stepping underneath herself with her hinds.

Sweetly listening.

Lifting her shoulder - rare for her!

 Gracie vids:

I didn't realise that she has been going so over bent... :(

Please note her cute bonnet. I am addicted to it... I want more for Christmas...

Good timing with the photo there mid post...

Shorter rein here but I'm tipping forward.

She has a looong stride. I like. :)

Allie vids (these are pretty funny!):

You can hear me growling at Allie to "GET UP!" at the end of that one.

Allie couldn't seem to get the right lead at the canter, but in the videos I was happy that she was cantering at all! No wonder she didn't seem able to canter across the short side, being on the wrong lead. We are having trouble with canter because she is a big horse with a BIG canter and my tiny little yard at home is too small to teach her, she gets the shits because she can often lose her balance at home.

Points for me to work on:

• I seem to be riding with my hands very wide and low - this has been because I am trying to encourage her to go in a longer lower frame but it looks ridiculous.
• My toes always turn violently to the outside. I hate it.
• I can't for the life of me put much weight in my outside stirrup. This causes (I think?) mucho trouble bending her on the left rein. She just won't do it. She counter-bends to the right when she is on the left rein. If I use my inside rein to attempt to see just the corner of her eye she just turns in or ignores it. The supporting right rein just makes her bend more right! It is driving me INSANE. Any tips?
• I really really need to get some regular lessons.

Today is another float ride! Where shall we go? Stay tuned!

Oh Daylight Savings, NEVER LEAVE ME

I LOVE LOVE LOVE daylight savings. Ah sunlight, it has been such a long time!

We have done some time in the saddle this past week! Saturday we had an awesome schooling session, and then Monday my friend Casey came and took Allie and I up to Sun Valley reserve in Springwood for a ride.

Allie was a mole to get on the float. Honestly, she has been pretty good about floating but she had been in a mare mood the previous few days (just squirting urine while tied up and being a bit grumpy) but it took us an hour and a half to get her loaded up. She either would rush straight back out after walking in or she refused to walk in at all. She is so tall that she even started putting her head on the roof of the float instead of walking in!! She did end up hitting her head a few times but she didn't seem to care! I was so unimpressed with her. She did end up putting a small split in her poll but it's nothing to worry about. The poor delicate flower has been picky with her feed and not finishing it again since the whole float debacle. She even put up a fight going home, and took about 25 minutes to load. Casey said she was being a bit of a warmblood - not getting into a tizzy about the situation, but just being stubborn. >:(

The actual ride itself was awesome. It is mostly sandy or slightly rocky trail that winds through lovely bush with an awesome hill at the end that we had a big canter up! Allie did very well, was a little nappy but not too bad and she got along really well with Casey's horse Harry (a fit endurance arab who was very patient to be honest about babysitting Allie!). I did get off her to walk back down the hill after the big canter as it was pretty steep and she kept stopping because she was a bit worried about her balance. She was a little looky, mainly at holes or drops (I think she believes that I am going to bury her in any big hole in the ground we go near, she must have fallen in one as a foal!) but overall was very good under saddle. We were out for about 2 hours on the ride I think? She seemed a little pooped but as soon as she got her wind back she was happy to trot on again.


Then another schooling session on Tuesday where I mainly rode Gracie and Nat rode Allie because Gracie was in a mood. I was actually thinking twice about getting on her, she was so agitated from god-knows what, with a swishy tail, pawing the ground, snorting and twitching. She can be a bit of a little dragon to be honest, but once I was on she was happy to settle into the job. So I got to see Allie go over the trot poles and she looks so nice. She pauses almost like she is doing passage, most noticeably in her hocks. I must say, she is one nice horse to look at. Sorry to gush! Gracie did really well over the poles and is really starting to get it, she tries really hard and I love that about her. I'll have to move them soon to another spot, they will get bored with them there soon!

THEN today we did the Chain-o-Ponds loop around the block, walk trot and canter in about 50 minutes. Allie seemed to have gotten bit by the speedy-bug (probably caught from Harry!) and realised that cantering up hills is fun after all! She really enjoyed herself. Gracie was an absolute angel, was the absolute opposite of the mini-dragon that she had been the day before. Sweet, relaxed, happy to be tacked up. Stood still at the tie up, not once pawing the ground. I can't keep up with that horse's moods! I think she might be in season right now, we have noticed that she gets all sweet and easy when she is in season. Go figure.

Sorry, no pictures. My phone was too full and wouldn't let me take any but I promise now that I have deleted a bunch of songs I didn't want and have made room, I will take pictures next time.

That is us all up to date now I think.

*edited to add: Nat wanted me to add the below photo of Gracie after our ride. She was a bit pooped, she kept yawning. Cutie.

So proud!

Yesterday we loaded the girls up for the second day in a row and took
them over to ride with some old friends at the agistment property we
kept our first ponies at years and years ago. We then all went out on
a road ride around the suburb I grew up in. I was feeling very
nostalgic!!
I was so.very.proud of them! Allie was rock solid all day - not one
hissy fit or tantrum or anything! She was even carrying the saddle
bags for the first time and after a little lunge with a couple of
leaps she didn't worry about them flapping on her flanks for the rest
of the ride. They had cars, dogs, lawn mowers, kids on bikes, idiot
drivers in cars beeping and yelling things at us, skateboards, soccer
and footy training and a score of other distractions and potential
mind blowing things to think about and process and Allie just took her
ques from the other older horses and like I said, she was rock solid.
I felt like I had a much older more experienced horse under me. :D
Gracie and Nat had a harder day. Grace was very good for Grace, but
the first bike blew her mind - I think we were all too worried about
how she would react to so much stimulation when we should have just
let her deal with it by herself. Poor Nat was tense too. Gracie was
much better when she was way way out infront but when she was behind
or had to stand still she just lost patience, head shaking, stamping,
tail swishing, spinning around, pushing into and ignoring her handler
(when Nat led her and when we stopped for a rest next to a busy
shopping centre and skate park) and generally being a brat. BUT when
she was being good (which was most of the time) she was very very
good. Nat said at first she didn't feel like there was much horse
under her, and she was tense for quite a while at first. Gracie is
just too smart and her little mind ticks over very quickly and as a
rider you need to keep her mind on the job otherwise she has to think
about everything else going on and it blows her mind. I am super proud
of Nat though for sticking it out. It was a hard ride on her but they
did get some really nice, relaxed stuff out of it (like in the video
below). I do have to mention though that if any other horse but Allie
got in her (enormous totally unreasonably sized 20m circle) personal
space bubble then Gracie would make faces, and twice she leapt in the
air and kicked out at one poor adorable pony (Allie tried making a
face at him too, she followed Gracie's lead, it was kind of cute).
But all up, a satisfactory day. And I never though we would be able to
ride Gracie on the streets past motor bikes and trucks on main roads,
through parks and reserves with kids playing soccer or footy, over
pedestrian crossings and through tiny park fences, crossing main
roads and dealing with dogs, and and and she really is a super mare
for keeping her head for most of the day. She is a difficult horse but
I am so proud of them both.
Here is the the video and a couple of pics:

Ready to head off.

Wondering where we are going today!

We are off!

About half way through the ride, next to a main road.

 

The video (link - couldn't get it to embed)

She is looking at the kids playing footy in the park. This is her thoroughbred pose.

Belle, Glitter (the poor pony Gracie hated), Eddie and Chelsea outside the shopping centre waiting for Maccas cookies.

Back from the ride before we loaded up to go home.

They were so tired they didn't even fight about being tied to the same tree.

Two pooped ponies!

Wake up, time to go!

Just a quick one for now...

Just quickly, I wanted to celebrate the fact that I have finally accomplished the almost unaccomplishable - I can now reverse a float around a corner and into tight spots!! I am in no way a modest person, so yes I am tooting my own horn here but I am so bloody proud of myself lol.

However, I seem to partially loose that skill when trying to function on about 3 minutes sleep and a whole day with my intestines trying to escape via my throat due to nervousness driving in heavy peak hour, truck infested Friday morning and afternoon traffic. But all went well in the end and I only almost jack knifed it.

The girls were angels. So proud of them too. :)