Crickhollow Farm

Memorial Day with the Horses

Since it's Memorial Day, and we actually have it off, Bonni & I rode this afternoon.  We were going to do so yesterday, but it was so hot and the flies so horrible, we opted to groom and hand-graze instead.  Today was much better on all counts, though, so we took Merry & Rocky to the north paddock for a little ride (the arena was a bit too wet after the storms last night).

I finally got to try out my new Courbette bridle I got cheap at the Expo.  It matches my saddle perfectly and looks gorgeous on Merry.  I think the old caramel bridle will become Morgana's.  I'm quite pleased with that purchase.

Merry started out the ride being a bit of a dork.  He settled down okay, but there's something about starting out in that paddock that puts him on edge.  Not sure if it's the girls nearby (though he doesn't pay them much mind), the size, or if it's just because it's different that's the issue. He was dancing around like a dork and I actually had Bonni wait to get on Rocky because I didn't know if he was going to explode into some idiocy or what and didn't want to set Rocky off, too, if he did.  I got him moving forward and he was fine, but it's one of those things where you wish they could talk so you could ask them what the hell they were thinking.

Now Rocky, after starting out only wanting to trot, was a bit of a slug for the most part, but he did okay in the end.  Bonni was able to get him moving again after each petering out moment and no major battles ensued. 

I cantered Merry a little bit here and there during the ride.  He has a hard time keeping it up in the small space, but he picked up both leads absolutely perfectly, so I'm pretty happy about how he did.

After our ride, I washed Merry.  I wish I had a proper wash stall, with warm water & everything so I could really scrub him, but I got a fair bit of dirt washed off him with just the hose and a bucket.  He looks so nice and shiny, and it really helped to get his mane & tail washed out (and then ShowSheen'd to a fair-thee-well).

So it was a nice day.  I'm glad Bonni was able to stop out again (twice in one weekend!) so we could ride together.  It's so much more fun to ride with someone, and easier to get motivated to do it, too.

Rainy Day at Crickhollow

It's been an indoor project sort of day today.  Thunderstorms rolled in this morning and stayed for most of the day, so I didn't really do anything in the barn.  Moved some hay around before the rain started & ran out to feed; that's about it.

Tomorrow is supposed to be grossly hot (91, in contrast to today's upper 60's).  I'm hoping that Bonni and I will be able to get the boys out for a ride before the day turns too sweltering.  Of course, the ground is like a soggy sponge right now.  We may have to opt for riding in the high ground of the paddock rather than the arena.  We'll see...  Wish us luck!

International Helmet Awareness Day 2012

Riders4Helmets has announced the 2012 International Helmet Awareness Day is June 9th.  There will be special discounts offered on helmets through retailers for the day, so if you're in the market for a helmet, whether a new one or your first, it's a good time to buy one.

I seriously cannot stress enough how important it is to wear a helmet, no matter what kind of riding you do.  I know I have posted photos of me riding without, but that is seriously less than 1% of the time I spend on horseback.  Every time I do it, I am incredibly aware of the risk I'm taking and those rides are usually very short.  I have a lot of trust in Merry not to deliberately try to dislodge me or do anything exceptionally stupid, but shit happens that you just can't predict.  Something weird can startle your horse, he can slip or put his foot down wrong, there are any number of things that can bring you out of that saddle and on to the ground.  Everybody falls.  Helmets are not just for hunter/jumpers.

It's not even necessarily the fall that's the most dangerous part.  I once fell off of Toad while working on the flat in an indoor arena and, before she realised where I'd fallen and moved away, her hoof struck my head.  Thankfully, I was wearing a helmet so it was a scare for the pair of us, but no harm done.  She never would have ever deliberately hurt me, and jumped back away from me once she knew where I was on the ground, but momentum had worked against us there and it could have been very bad indeed had I not had that helmet on.

Perfect Weekend for Horse Activities

Finally we got a perfect weekend for spending outside, doing things with the horses.  Warm, sunny, and not too windy.  It was great.

Saturday started with mucking and giving lessons, after which we did a little tackbox cleaning over lunch.  Then Bonni & I tacked up Rocky & Merry & went for a ride down in the arena.  Yes, there are pictures this time.

Merry did really well.  We got in some canter work -- on both leads!  It's not the prettiest yet, I pretty much just let him have his head and let him balance as he will, but he doesn't feel confident in the gait with me up yet.  Prettiness will come with time and a better balance.

Rocky did well, too.  He was petering out towards the end, but Bonni was able to get him moving again without any battles, so it's all good.

 

Good Day

It was a beautiful day today, fairly warm & sunny, though the breeze was a bit chill at times.  Bonni & I had conspired to have the day off (it was supposed to be vet day, but she had to cancel unexpectedly) and Diane was able to get it off, too, so I had a full day out in the barn. 

Diane came out in the morning & helped me get my whiteboard hung up in the barn.  We also pulled Morgana out to groom & I longed her a little (a very little -- her attention span is rather short & I don't want to make work a negative thing).  We also groomed Annie after we put Morgana back out.  By some miracle she has not rolled yet, so she's looking pretty clean for once.

Bonni came out later in the afternoon & we took Rocky & Merry into the back paddock for a ride.  Sadly, I didn't think to get anyone to take pictures.  Rocky was super good.   Merry's never been ridden with anyone else before, but other than a couple small snitty moments, he was quite good as well.  (During one snit-moment I asked Bonni how she liked having the well-behaved horse for a change.  She liked it just fine.)  Merry settled down fine and we ended quite relaxed. 

No idea how long we rode.  I didn't have my watch on & didn't think to check the clock in the barn as we went out.  We just did a bit of walk-trot until I started getting thirsty and both boys were behaving nicely so we could end on a good note.  Hopefully the weather will cooperate this weekend so we can try for a repeat performance (hopefully with fewer snits on Merry's part).

Saturday Night's Alright for Napping

I'm currently fighting the urge to nap.  It's proved to be a tiring day, which I partially blame on the damp chill that pervaded everything today.  The forecast had been for 70 degrees, but we only made it up to about 50 today.  Most disappointing.

Started out the day with mucking followed by Connor's second lesson -- his first actually mounted.  The wind was cold & cutting, so I only kept him up for about half the time.  The rest was spent grooming and ended with another quick lead-the-pony session.

Heading out to the north paddock to ride.

Serious Young Rider

 

I'll do a proper post later, but I wanted to get at least one photo up from Connor's second lesson this morning before I head out to run errands. 

Jumping Merry

The weather today is beautiful, as promised -- perfect 4th of July weather -- so I took Merry out for a ride again today.  This time I set up a cavalletti and a small cross-rail out in the field so that they'd be ready if he was being good. 

He was actually very good.  During our warm-up in the arena, he trotted perfectly well and cantered, as well.  I need to do some work with him on the longe, because he's having trouble picking up the right lead, but he at least picked up the canter each time I asked, even if it wasn't the correct lead.  He's trying, and that's a huge improvement.

Lovely Day

It turned out to be another lovely day to be out with the horses today.  After lunch and mucking a couple of stalls, I pulled Merry out for a ride.  It was the first ride with the saddle for the year.  He was quite good about it, which surprised me a bit.  (He can be a bit of a pill about getting the saddle put on, especially for the first time each year.  Nothing else about the tacking up process bothers him, and the saddle didn't used to bother him when he was wee.  I think it's just a work-avoidance tactic.)

We are not alone

No, not aliens.  Horse people.  Like, there are actual horse people with actual horses that they actually ride within walking distance of my farm.  They rode past my place on Saturday while Florence & I were out moving my temp fence panels so I could mow.  Caused quite a stir with the local equine population, I'll tell you.  I don't think they've seen another horse that wasn't part of the Crickhollow herd since each of them arrived here.  I took the dog for her walk this afternoon and found where they came from.

Seeing people out on the road has made me nostalgic for the days when I used to take Toad (my first horse, a fantabulous grey, Gainey-bred Arab mare -- I have pics of her in old entries) riding down the road from the barns we boarded at when I was a kid. 

I'll admit that I find the thought of riding down my road somewhat terrifying.  I've seen the way people drive on it, the narrow thing, and it does not instill confidence in me (when I'm on it in my car, I generally hope not to meet anyone for fear of collision).  Still, it'd be nice not to be bound to the arena all the time.

So, with that in mind, I think my goal for the summer (assuming weather and work will cooperate with me sufficiently) will be to work up to riding Merry (Annie, too?) on the road at least a little bit.  Even if we never leave sight of the farm, it would be a big accomplishment for us both.  Horseback riding used to mean freedom for me, and I'm sad to say it just doesn't anymore. 

How this will fit in with training ponies to drive, I don't quite know...