I Need to Thank My Guardian Angel

As my grandmother said, I sure keep my guardian angel working.  Thankfully, they were on duty today, I really needed them.

I was riding Artemis and we were loping on a big circle at one end of the arena.  We were coming around close to the wall, nearly at the gate where a few people, including my mom, were standing.  Artemis had dropped her outside shoulder and so was leaning very hard to the outside.  I was trying to correct her and as we came up to the gate, she stumbled.  With our speed and how much she was leaning, she went down.

The stumble threw me from the saddle and that's probably what saved me.  I nearly went headfirst into the wall, I probably landed only a few inches from it.  I hit the ground and she hit it about a second after me, landing on my foot.  She moved and I was able to kick my foot free.  My first thought was to get out of there so I rolled away from her.

I ended up sitting there, learning against the wall and I saw her for the first time.  She was lying against the wall, the complete opposite way we'd been going.  Honestly, for a few seconds, I didn't move.  I was freaking out, trying to figure out if I was hurt or not.  While that was happening, everyone at the gate was freaking out and trying to come in the arena.  Artemis was in between the gate and I so they couldn't see me at all.

My mom came in and that's about when I realized nothing was broken on me.  I jumped to my feet and now all I could think about was Artemis.  She was lying with her head up but she wasn't moving at all and although there was no blood anywhere, I couldn't see if she was hurt or not.  I went to grab the reins because if she went to get up I didn't want her to step on them and hurt herself further.  Apparently I told her to get up but I don't remember that.  Everyone was telling me to back up and give her space.  After a few moments, she did get up.

I was shaking so hard I could barely stand but my only thought was her.  I went all around her, feeling her over and checking her legs.  Believe it or not, she wasn't hurt.  She has a small scratch on her chest and an even smaller nick on her face but other than that, she's fine.  My mom walked her around while I went to sit down before my legs gave out.

It was honestly one of the most terrifying things in my life.  It's one of my biggest fears (as I imagine it is for any horse person) and I really don't know how we both got out of it unharmed.  I am so thankful we did, but really, I don't know how.

I did not get back on her, although I know the logic is I should have.  I couldn't have, my adrenaline was pumping and I was so freaked out I could barely stand.  She calmed down a lot quicker than I did, but we were afraid she was hurt.  My mom walked her around for a while, and then we let her stand in the barn for a while.

I did however, ride Socks afterwards.  I knew I needed to get back on a horse or else I'd be absolutely terrified next time.  Socks was awesome, of course.  I walked, trotted and loped her.  Before that though, we hosed off Artemis and then put her in a grass pen beside the outdoor arena while we rode.  She grazed happily and shook off the fall pretty quickly.

And for anyone wondering, I was wearing a helmet.  I didn't hit my head on anything but it was one less thing to worry about among everything else.  I'm very sore everywhere, I feel like I got run over but I have no real injuries.  Even my arm, the one I basically shattered, seems to have come out of it pretty okay.  It's sore but it could have been a lot worse.  My foot is fine too, the one she did land on.  Even my saddle made it out okay, although none of us can figure out how as she flipped right over it.

It was my first fall since breaking my arm two years ago, and my first fall ever on Artemis.  And despite how terrifying it was, there's a big part of me that's relieved it was from a stumble.  It wasn't because she was misbehaving or trying to get me off, it was just a stupid stumble.

No Sense

This post is not horse related so please forgive me for that.  I feel like I'll implode if I don't say something, and this place has always been a safe spot for my thoughts.

Earlier this month, my community was rocked by a terrible tragedy.  I won't go into details, but the lives of five young people were tragically and violently taken away in an act that's left every one reeling.  No one can begin to make sense of this tragedy and it's affected the entire community.

This one has hit close to home for me.  Of the five, I went to school with four of them, graduated with three of them, and the most painful for me, the last was the brother of my close friend.  I can't begin to describe how it felt, seeing the names, recognizing them, and then for the last one, realizing exactly who it was.

The past few weeks haven't felt real, and all I can keep thinking of is if I am this affected by this tragedy, I can't even begin to comprehend how the families of the victims feel.  Even the family of the suspect, because they have lost their child just the same as the others have.  My heart goes out to all of them.

Loss is not new to me, or to most people, but there is no way to even begin to understand this loss.  There are so many questions and no answers to comfort anyone.  Maybe eventually there will be answers, a reason as to why this happened, but for now, nobody can understand why these lives were taken from us.

I am trying to be there for my friend, but I can't even begin to know what to say.  I don't believe there are words that can make this better, and I only hope that the knowledge that I'm here for them, day or night, is some comfort.  I've spoken to them a few times, and those brief conversations are something I will never forget.

I keep all the families, particularly my friend, in my thoughts and prayers.  I think we've all been reminded how fleeting but precious life is.  It's been a reminder that we are not invincible, and maybe we need to stop and enjoy life more.  I know all of my problems suddenly don't seem so bad anymore, at least I am here to have problems.

I am sorry, writing's always been a release for me.  I feel a little better, just having it out in words.  Now I'd like to go and hug my horses and remind myself to appreciate everything I have.

I know the lives lost will never be forgotten.  They were all wonderful people so full of potential.  And even if their lives weren't very long, I hope they all knew how much they meant to everyone around them.  Each and every one of them was truly an amazing human being.

Learning to Ease Up

About two months after I began riding Artemis, we developed a problem in her trot.  We hadn't done much trotting up to this point, some on the lunge line and then a little bit each ride.  As she grew more comfortable, we increased the amount of time we'd trot.

At first, she was normal, and then she began to get really tense every time I would ask her to trot.  She'd go into this short, choppy trot that was ridiculously uncomfortable and she'd raise her head high.  Not flip it, she bring it high and hold it there.

One day, T was in the arena to watch her daughter ride.  I was riding Artemis, trying to figure out what I was doing wrong when T called me over.  She'd been watching me and she had a theory about why Artemis was so tense in the trot.  She told me to try trotting her again, this time with absolutely no contact on the reins.  I'm not going to lie, I thought she was insane.

I don't ride with a lot of contact on the bit, or at least, I thought I didn't.  However, I know that I do tend to tighten up the reins when my horses go faster.  I think it comes from years of Socks taking off on me the second she got her head (although thankfully we're over that issue bow).  So I thought I already was riding with little to no contact.

T saw that I was nervous and pointed out to me that as we were inside the indoor arena, if Artemis did take off on me, she had nowhere to go (she also pointed out to me that at no point has Artemis even attempted to take off on me).  And thanks to Socks, I know how to stop a runaway horse anyway, so there was no harm in at least trying.  I couldn't really argue with that, and I respect T a lot.  She's a reiner and her horse is one of the most well trained animals I've ever seen.

I asked Artemis to trot, keeping her in a circle that took up about half of the arena.  The only contact I had on the bit was to direct her.  The second she'd do what I'd want, all contact would be gone.  At first, she was the same, tense with her head held high.  She trotted really quickly, you know that fast paced trot before the horse breaks into a lope or canter.  After a few laps though, that head began to come down and her strides lengthened.  I could feel her relax and her head dropped even lower.  Her speed slowed and soon there wasn't any tension and nervousness in her.  Just like that.

T asked me to lope Artemis, doing the same thing, no contact at all except to steer.  This time I let Artemis go all around the arena.  Like with the trotting, for the first lap or so she went really fast, really choppy with her head up.  Then, when she realized I wasn't going to be pulling on her face, she relaxed almost instantly.

It was a big Aha!  moment for me.  It was just one, simple thing and driving home that night, I could see how it explained problems I'd been having with all three horses.  I'm not going to lie, I felt pretty stupid that it was such a simple solution.  I felt even worse that this whole time I thought I was pretty loose with my reins, when clearly, I wasn't enough.

Since then, neither trotting or loping has been an issue for us.  Artemis no longer gets tense and I'm no longer paranoid she's going to take off on me, not that I had a valid reason to be afraid of that in the first place.

To end this, have some pictures of the pasture horses.  It was my birthday Sunday and although I'm still not cleared by my doctor to ride, I still managed to get out and spend some time with the ponies.

Flip

Artemis in need of a good brushing

You can see that the creek has flooded again

Artemis and Ebony

Jay the farm dog

Winter Updates

Okay I seriously suck at this blogging thing.  It's been months since I last wrote.  A lot has happened.

First, I had another and hopefully final surgery on my arm.  It was to remove all of the hardware out of my elbow, so all I have left is a plate and some screws in my wrist.  It's made a huge difference, before the surgery my arm was in pain every day and I had to be extremely careful about what I did  not to make it worse.  Now, just over a month after, I have no pain.  The only problem is, I'm not allowed to ride or really, work with horses for three months.  I have a lot of holes in my arm where the hardware was removed so if I were to fall or anything, my arm is more vulnerable to breaking.  So that sucks, it means I basically get to lead the horses and groom them.  At least it's something though.

Okay, on to the updates.

Socks

Socks got some fancy new gear from my Christmas money.  It was a big deal, I'm crazy about replacing gear.  Especially her bridle.  My dad gave me her bridle almost ten years ago, and it was the first new piece of tack I'd ever owned and it was the only thing in the barn that didn't get shared among all the horses.  It was just Socks' bridle and I was overly attached to it.  It was really old though, and falling apart so it was time.  She now has a matching bridle and chest strap, with a new pair of leather reins.

This is mostly what's been going on with Socks lately.  About a month ago, right after my surgery, we got a call from our barn owners.  We're not sure what exactly happened, but the conclusion we've all come to is that she slipped and fell on the ice, slicing her knee open.  It's a pretty decent gash, but luckily my barn owners saw it almost right away, and brought her in, cleaned it up and wrapped it.  She was on stall rest for a few weeks just to keep her from running around on it, and she's been in a turnout pen now, for the same reasons.

She hasn't had a lame step, which is a relief, we're just being careful so that it can heal properly.  She's been enjoying all of the extra attention.

Jimmy

Jimmy's been good, I have to admit he hasn't gotten as much attention this winter as I would have liked.  Let's just say he's had a lot of time off, and while I don't think he minded, he seems to enjoy that it's over now.  I don't have much to say about him, he's been good to ride.  We had him on the lunge line yesterday and he was an idiot.  He even bucked, which was a first for him, but he did calm down after a while.

Right now we're just slowly going to bring him back into shape, and hopefully this summer he and I will start seriously working on barrel racing.

Artemis

She's the reason the other two didn't get worked as much this winter.  Since finding out I wouldn't be able to ride for three months, my main focus was getting Artemis as far along as I could so she'd be alright for my mom to ride her.  She's been absolutely amazing, seriously, she's not your typical two-year-old.  She hasn't had a single explosion or freak out.

When she gets scared, she doesn't panic, she might trot a few steps but then she stops.  We can walk, trot and lope around the arena with no problems.  She's perfect at backing up and stopping.  She's learned how to move off of my leg, though I can't say she does it every time.  She's really good with other horses in the arena, though she doesn't understand why other horses get to pass her.  She's had quite a few chances to explode, like when a rider decided to pass between us and the wall, at a trot, even though Artemis and I had about six inches between us and the wall.  All she did was lay her ears back and move over before the 16+ hh horse nearly ran us over.

She's the same height as her mother now, and probably going to grow some more.  My mom's been riding her since my surgery and Artemis has been great with her too.  She gets ridden about once a week, sometimes twice, with mostly walking, and then a little bit of trotting, and every few rides or so we add in some loping.  We're trying to take it slow with her, and give her plenty of time off still.

This summer, once I can ride again, the plan is to get her out in the outdoor arena and then out in the fields for some rides.  I'd been hoping to get her out in the hay field this winter, but we had such a bad winter, it was always either too cold or the snow was too deep.

That's all for now, enough with the updates, the next posts will be real, I promise.  All of the outdoor pictures were taken earlier this week, and even more snow has fallen since then.  This winter is never ending.  The weatherman keeps saying the temperature is going to be +10, +12, they've even gone as far as to promise us it'll get up to +17.  It hasn't come close, I think the highest it's been is +6, but with the wind, it's been well below 0 every day.

Colic

It's the word that all of us dread.  I've been so fortunate in my life that none of my horses have ever been colicky before.  I guess we were just lucky but it was a threat we knew was out there but had never had to deal with before.

That abruptly changed on Wednesday.  I was just getting off work (I worked a morning shift so I got off pretty early, thankfully) when I got a message from my mom to call her.  I knew immediately something was wrong with one of the horses.  Why else wouldn't my mom say what it was about in the message?  I immediately called her and she said the worst words she could, "There's something wrong with Socks."

So after I somehow managed to not burst into tears in front of everyone I worked with (minus a girl from another store who was in the back room when I called my mom) I went over to my sister's store and promptly burst into tears in front of all her employees and customers.  Go me.  I didn't even care. 

My mom met me there and we drove straight out to the stable.  We didn't have a lot of information.  Our stable owners are on a short vacation so the instructor at the barn was doing chores.  She already does chores some days of the week so she's a good choice because she's familiar with all the horses.  Anyway, when she fed Socks, Socks didn't even come out of her shelter.  That's a huge red flag.  Socks will tear the barn apart to get to her food.

The instructor brought Socks inside the barn to keep an eye on her.  She said Socks lied down a few times but she never rolled or thrashed.  She never kicked at her stomach but she would turn her head and look at her flanks. 

When we got there I was greeted with a big, loud nicker from Socks.  She was up and made her motorcycle noise for a good two minutes as the instructor poured the stall horse's nightly grain into their buckets.

While my mom and the instructor spoke, I took Socks out and brought her into the arena to walk.  She was more than willing to go.  She did want to lie down.  She'd walk a step away from me and lower her head to the ground.  That's her sign for let me roll.  I'd give a little tug on the lead rope and she'd stop.  She never once tried to go down. 

Long story short, she did actually begin to improve almost immediately with walking.  We were there for six hours in totally (six, long hours in a freezing barn, I still haven't warmed up). 

By the end of it she was 100% normal again.  All she wanted to do was eat, which she did not get to do much to her disappointment.  She was fine the next day and has been good ever since then.

We've all come to the conclusion that it was just a mild colic, but it was scary nonetheless.  I'd rather not have to deal with that again.  At least the instructor has dealt with colic before, and we had a vet on standby. 

I went ten years without dealing with colic, hopefully I can go at least another ten without dealing with it again.

Milestone

I am alive!  I've been a horrible blogger, but I am alive.  My computer broke a while ago so my time online is restricted to mostly my Ipod, and I hate typing on that thing.

Okay, so last time I posted was in...August.  A lot has happened since then.  My riding skills have improved exponentially (I think) I spent most of the summer and September focused on Jimmy.  I learned a lot of new things to do and he's a completely different horse now.  We're both still learning, but it's crazy how much we've both improved these past few months.  We're still working on his lope, and slowing it down and making to more consistent.  I managed to get him out in the fields a few times over the summer and he handled it like a champ.  There isn't anything I've found that can make him lose his mind.

Not much has changed with Socks.  I've applied what I've learned with Jimmy with her, so she's also gotten better.  I bought her a pretty leather halter.

I've gotten the chance to ride with a professional barrel racer a few times.  That has been beyond amazing.  I've learned so much from her!  She's helped Jimmy and I a lot.  Hopefully next summer I'll finally be ready to compete.

The most exciting news though is Artemis.  First of all, she finally hit fifteen hands!  I don't care how big she gets now, I just wanted her to hit fifteen hands.  She's getting to be massive.  I'm sure she'll get bigger, we're all thinking she'll be close to sixteen hands, if not sixteen hands.

Second, I've started riding her.  October 26th was our first ride.  Well our first official ride.  I have previously been on her once and led her around, but I count this as our first real ride because this was the first time I directed her at all.  It lasted for just over five minutes but it was long enough.  I lunged her in the round pen first to make sure she didn't have any silliness in her.  We just had a halter on her, no bridle, and I took the lead rope and tied it around to make reins.  I kept the lunge line on her and my mom came in to hold it.  Then I got on.  She could have cared less.  She mostly followed my mom around, and we worked on stopping her.  She was responding to my mom stopping, but that's okay.  She'll start to realize when I pull back and say whoa, that means stop.  The biggest thing about that ride is I actually got her moving forward off of my own command and no help from my mom.  That was big so we ended the ride there.

The second ride was after it snowed so we had it in the arena.  What was really awesome about this was when we went out into the pasture to catch her, she came galloping from across the creek over to us.  There was another horse being ridden, by a friend of mine, in the arena so there was a little more distraction.  It didn't make a difference.  Again, my mom held the lunge line but we focused more on Artemis listening to me.  This ride was a little longer, about ten minutes, and she stopped and started a few times on my command.

The third ride was again in the arena.  She was awesome.  We got her to walk away from my mom and not rely on her for support.  Again we worked on stopping and going.  She's picking it up so quickly.  She knows what my leg pressure means.

The fourth ride was last night.  Again, she was amazing.  We got her to walk around my mom in a big circle on the lunge line and worked on stopping and going.  This time, I also asked her to change directions.  She had no idea what I was asking her at first, but after a few second, she got it.  Then we stopped and started a few more times before I got off.

I cannot describe how proud of her I am.  I couldn't ask her to be any better.  She has her ears pricked forward the whole time each ride.  She's never scared.  She never reacts when I get on her (she's usually not even paying attention) and even though I'm pushing her each ride, it's not scary or frustrating to her.  When she does get confused she just stops and you can almost see the wheels turning in her mind as she tries to figure out what I'm asking her.  Everything about the rides have been calm.

She doesn't feel like a typical young horse.  A lot of young horses I've ridden feel tense, and like they're about to explode at any moment.  She feels just like Jimmy, relaxed but a little unsure.  She hasn't tried to buck, run or rear once.

Our biggest goal is to maintain keeping every ride calm.  I'm okay if she doesn't learn everything in a night.  As long as she tries and is happy, that's good enough for me.  These short rides (ten minutes long at the most) are working well so far.  They're short enough as to not overload her with new information.  They're long enough accomplish what I want, but not too long to be hard on her.  And she sure loves getting a nice long grooming after them.

Ride five will hopefully be tonight.  We'll be switching from the halter to the bitless bridle so it'll really be about seeing how she reacts to it and getting her used to the pressure.  Then she'll get a few days off.

The last exciting news is that my sister's horse, Sadie, is moving to a stable near us today!  It's not actually at the stable Socks and the others are at, my sister wanted one a little closer to home, but I'm still happy to have Sadie around.

Muddy Season

I'm sure you're all asking yourselves (or not) is that Artemis in a stall?  Now why would she be in a stall?  Well, here's the answer to that.

Yup, it's an abscess.  This is what we've been dealing with for almost the past month.  July 18th, she went lame.  I spent the next few days running like a chicken with it's head cut off.  Luckily for me, while I apparently am not good in a crisis (I usually am, but leg issues, because of Cas, and I lose it), my stable owners are.  We began poulticing for an abscess and sure enough, that's exactly what it was. 

The abscess has actually been the least of our worries when it comes to Artemis.  So imagine this, you're a two-year-old, insanely energetic, horse who has spent most of her life living free out in the pasture.  You come up to the barn, do some grown up horse stuff, and then go back out into pasture until the next time.  Then, one day, it ends for you.  Your foot hurts and your thrown into a stall and don't get to go outside.  (Constant rains = insane amounts of mud = no outside time for Artemis)  You start getting bored and your boredom makes you angry.

I've always known we have some holes in her training, I'm the first to admit that I have no idea what to do with her, but those holes have become very apparent when our happy go lucky turned into an angry, hurt, bored demon of evil.

In a way, I'm thankful this happened because otherwise, who knows when I would have become aware of these issues?  And more importantly, at least right now, I had the help I needed to deal with them. 

We knew she was pushy, we've been working on fixing that, but can I just say wow?  She's been doing really awesome lately but that went out the window when she was hurt, bored and angry about being hurt and bored.  I was bringing her in the stall one night and she was good, but then in a second she decided she wanted out.  I was in her way and she didn't care at all.  She probably would have run right over me if E  hadn't been standing right behind me and jumped in to help.  I'm still sore from it, she ran right into my right side.  I still have the bruise and it was almost a month ago.

It was scary and upsetting, I've never had one of my own horses try to run through me before.  But it was a good eye-opening experience.  E helped me a lot with her, and taught me different ways of handling her and honestly, the Artemis I knew before the abscess, is nothing like this Artemis.  This one is so much more respectful of my space.

A big thing I learned is to do everything on a loose lead rope.  I'm sure we've all been there, when your horse is acting up your first reaction is to tighten your grip on the lead rope.  It never worked for me, it never gave me more control.  I learned how to keep her on a totally loose rope, and have ten times more control over her.  It wasn't without battles (mostly between her and E) and she proved what I've always known, she's one of the most stubborn horses any of us have ever met. 

There are absolutely no problems with her going in our out of stalls now, she's like all the proper indoor horses and all you have to do is lead her up to the stall, and she goes in and turns around for you to take the halter off, by herself.  She can now soak her foot she leads like a dream, though you sometimes do have to give her a little reminder. 

As her foot has improved so that she can actually walk on it without intense pain, E started turning her out in the arena by herself in the morning.  I was really happy to hear that not once did she act like an idiot when turned out.  You know how usually when a horse is cooped up for a while, and then you turn them out they run around acting like a fool?  She's not like that.  She walks laps the whole time.  The craziest thing she does is stops and rolls every now and then.  There's no running, no bucking, just calm walking.

On dry days, which are far and few between, she gets turned out during the day and again, she doesn't act like an idiot.  Unfortunately it's usually too muddy and we're afraid the mud will pull of her silver boot of duct tape so she doesn't get to go out unless it's dry.

To say the least, it's been a tough month.  It was really difficult at times, I love my horse but it was hard to have her acting so badly, because I expect better of her, and I honestly thought I had done better with her.  It was still good for both of us though, I think in the long run we'll both be better off.

Here's the demon from a few days ago.  It's not a great picture, she's not actually that butt-high.  One nice thing about her being in the barn is that the second she hears our voices, all we can hear is a loud neigh coming from the barn.  She says hello every time we come in, either by neighing or making her motorcycle noise.  She calls for us, and every now and then for T.  And as an ending note, enjoy this picture of her. 

The horse in the stall next to Artemis was having his teeth done, and she thought it was the coolest thing she'd ever seen.  We walked in the barn and this is how we found her, absolutely glued to the scene.  She left briefly to say hello to us and then immediately returned to continue watching.  I hope she liked, her turn might be coming up in the near future. 

Mental Health Break

I was having a bad day today.  While not a bad week, I've had a busy, stressful week and it got to me today.  Then, problems with a certain person just made everything worse.  I was in such a foul mood, my cat kept alternating between head butting me and hiding.  I haven't been out to the barn all week because I've been so busy, and man, did I ever need to go out today.

K and I went out together.  We caught Socks and Tango and K suggest we have a lazy day and go bareback.  I hesitated at first because it's been two and a half years since I rode bareback, but then I remembered this was Socks and she'll be fine.  She was.

We went for a ride off the farm, just exploring nearby roads and (unintentionally) scaring cows.  It was fun.  All we did was walk but my mood improved immediately.  Socks was perfect, she was having a great time so I had a great time. 

When we got back to the stable we went in the outdoor to do some trotting.  This made me realize two things.  First, my confidence is just non-existent.  I've been slowly realizing that lately but how hesitant I was to get back on bareback and then how hesitant I was to trot bareback, was kind of a slap in the face.  When Socks was at my dads, during the winters I only rode bareback.  We'd go galloping through the snow, having a blast. 

It's to be expected I guess, I did have a pretty bad fall.  And that's why I'm hesitant, it's not that I'm afraid of riding, I'm afraid of getting hurt again.  Maybe it would be better if my arm still wasn't in near-constant pain.  I don't actually feel like I'm healed because it still hurts all the time and when I do anything, riding, walking through crowd, working, my first thought is always if it's going to hurt me more.

The second thing I realized, I can ride.  Okay, I know that sounds conceited but I'm not saying I'm an Olympic-level rider, or even a good rider.  I just realized that I'm not completely horrible, I can stay on a horse (for the most part) and I should relax a little.  I started trotting around Socks, weaving in between the jumps, having a blast, and it made me realize that my lack of confidence is a little unwarranted.  I stopped worrying about falling off and I think I actually rode better. 

K cantered Tango a bit and though I wanted to, even with my new revelation, I couldn't.  Not yet.  But I think that's a good goal for me.  I have no problems loping or galloping with a saddle, and I never used to have a problem loping bareback, but I was way too nervous to today.  I think it would probably be good for me to do it again.  Socks is fine, it's not her, it's me.

Anyway, moving on from my insecurities.  Before we left, we went down with L to visit Artemis.  Man she was glad to see us.  She came right over to us, Ebony at her side, and enjoyed the attention for a while.  Then L wanted us to see if Artemis would follow us.  She ran over to the gate and Artemis followed her.  L wanted us to try and see if Artemis would run after us if we ran away.  K ran first, away from the gate towards the creek.  Artemis followed her a few steps and then stopped.  L ran next and Artemis just watched.

When it was my turn I ran and in about half a second, I heard hoof beats behind me.   I looked behind me (which is hard to do when you're running through mud) and there she was, loping after me.  She followed me, staying a few feet behind me, all the way to the creek.  When I stopped, she stopped a little bit behind me.  I have to say, that felt good.  Any bit of negativity left in me vanished.  She followed me away from the gate and was respectful about my space. 

She hung out, following behind us as we visited with the other horses, and then followed us back up to the gate.  She was dying to come with us, she's like her mom, the two of them are happiest when they get worked.  I know many people would disagree with that and say horses don't like to work, but honestly, I find they both get sour when their left to their own devices.  I don't mean they get a little wild, I mean it's like they're in a bad mood.  They get cranky and unhappy when they're not worked with.

This day was exactly what I needed and my horses couldn't have been anymore perfect.  Even Jimmy was awesome the short minutes I was with him.  He nickered when he saw me.  Okay, who am I kidding, he nickered for the handful of grass I had.  But still, he was good.

So as an ending note, hopefully starting next week, Socks and Artemis are going to switch places for a while.  Socks will go out into the pasture and Artemis, providing she and Tango get along, will come up into the pens.

Liebster Award

A few weeks back now, Wolfie over at What Was I Thinking...? nominated me for the Liebster Award.  Go read her blog, seriously, it's awesome, it's one of my favourites out there.  And her horse Gem is not only gorgeous but he's also a Canadian horse like Artemis.

I know I'm really late to the party but oh well.  I'm actually not going to nominate any blogs because I'm doing this so late, all the active blogs I read have already been nominated for the award and filled this out already.  It feels redundant to nominate them now.

HOW TO ACCEPT THE AWARD: The Liebster Blog Award is a way to recognize blogs who have less than 200 followers.  Liebster is a German word that means beloved and valued.  Here are the rules for accepting the award:

• Thank the person who nominated you and include a link back to their blog.
• List 11 random facts about yourself.
• Answer the 11 questions given to you.
• Create 11 questions for the bloggers you nominate.
• Choose 11 bloggers with 200 or fewer followers to nominate and include links to their blogs.
• Go to each blogger's page and let them know you have nominated them

11 Random Facts about me:

1. I am a big fan of British Television, more specifically, British dramas.  Doctor Who and Sherlock are my two favourite shows.  I think they tend to be more witty and the camera work, especially in Sherlock, is just amazing.
2. I'm a pretty big zombie buff but most zombie movies, especially older ones, terrify me, and I maintain a zombie apocalypse would suck.  A lot.
3. I have small writing and I apparently write my fours strangely.  Both of these are constantly pointed out to me by customers when I have to write in front of them.
4. I have a tendency to name my animals after people, living or fictional.
5. I'm a night owl all the way.  I'm most productive between the hours of 1-5 am.
6. I use my left hand for everything now except for writing.  It feels unnatural to use my right hand. 
7. I'm horrible at responding to phone calls, texts and emails. 
8. Despite currently owning a cat, I'm not a cat person.  Luckily for me, my cat thinks he's a dog.
9. I hate Socks' name.  I wish my twenty-two-year old self could go back in time and slap my twelve-year-old self for agreeing to that name.
10. It has to be almost 30 degrees before I'll stop wearing a sweater everywhere.
11. I don't read instruction booklets.  It took me four years to figure out my camera took multiple pictures at once because I refused to read the instruction booklet.

11 Questions from Wolfie

1.  Who do you prefer - Ryan Gosling or Ryan Reynolds?
Ryan Reynolds

 2.  What is your favourite gait when riding?
Loping, I think it's the most comfortable

 3.  Have you ever had a light bulb moment when riding?
Yup, quite frequently.  I actually had one last time I rode.

 4.  Do you care what you wear to the barn?
Not even a little bit.  Except for my work uniform and maybe one or two fancy shirts, I consider everything I own barn clothes.

 5.  Do you wear a helmet when you ride? 
Not all the time, I'm bad I'll admit.  I don't on Socks, I do half the time on Jimmy and I'll always have on Artemis.  If I'm doing any "above" work (standing on the mounting block, things like that) with her I always have my helmet on.

6.  What is/was your favourite book?
I have a lot.  I love The Sight, Harry Potter Series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians the most probably.

7.  What is your favourite part of the riding experience (grooming, competition, lesson, trail)?
I like trail riding the best but honestly the moment I live for is going out to Socks' pen and hearing her nicker for me.  That's the one moment that makes horse ownership just so worth it.

 8.  What is your favourite season for riding?
Autumn, it's cool and no bugs.  Especially wasps.

 9.  Do you have other interests in addition to horses?
I love writing and drawing, that's what I spend most of my non-horse and work time doing.  I also love film and media.  In the summer I add hiking and mountain drives to my lists of hobbies.

 10. If you could only have one food if you were stranded on a desert island, what would it be? 
Chips.  Any kind except for Sour Cream and Onion.  I don't think I could survive without my chip fix.

11. Would you prefer a social person next to you on a long flight or someone who keeps to themselves?

I'm not overly social myself but I think I'd prefer a social person.  As long as they were nice, I'd be able to talk and that'd help time go by faster.

I'm not going to nominate any blogs but I will mention a few of my favourites.

What Was I Thinking....?
The Adventures of Lucy
Simply Horse CrazyJust a Girl and Her Horse

 
 

Our First Ride

So we went out yesterday to just check on the ponies and somehow, from that, this ended up happening.  I'm still not entirely sure how.

The bottom of Artemis' pasture is pretty flooded out, but it's not really that much worse than usual.  It's not fast-moving or dangerously deep, and she still has over half the field of high ground to get away from it.  The worst issue is the bugs.  They're absolutely insane out there and made for a very eager Artemis to come inside. 

Since she was up at the barn, I saddled her up and lunged her.  We had an audience today, (K and our barn owners) so instead of my mom helping me out, K helped me out.  She held Artemis while I leaned over her back and then lead her around.  Like usual, Artemis was fine with it.  So we decided to see how she'd be with K leaning over her back.  Artemis didn't care.

Since she was being so good, we decided to push a little further.  We wanted to see how she'd be with me actually sitting on her.  I think the video speaks for itself.

When I first put my leg over her, she tensed up for a second and then relaxed almost immediately.  The two moments where she does start to get tense are when she begins sidestepping.  But as you can see, she at no point had any inclination to freak.  In fact, she was a lot more calm than I was.  I was freaking out inside the whole time.  She didn't share my trepidation.  At the beginning of the video, when she turns her head away from the camera, she's actually trying to nibble on my foot.

I know I'm only on her for like thirty seconds but it felt like forever to me.  We ended the day once I got off of her.  She did so awesome, it would have been stupid to expect more out of her.

There's still a lot of work to do, but I've put a plan of sorts into place.  I think I'm going to switch Socks and Artemis out for a while, so Artemis comes up into the pens and Socks gets some down time in the pasture.  This way I'll be able to work with Artemis more regularly for a while.  This won't happen until the round pen is dried up because I intend have my first real ride (where no one leads her and I'm controlling her) in the safely enclosed round pen.

I'm so proud of her, I couldn't stop smiling all of last night because I couldn't stop thinking of how awesome she was.

As an ending note, the flooding, for the moment, seems stable.  As far as I've heard it hasn't gotten worse and waters have even begun to recede a bit.  Hopefully that keeps up.

Horses Are Safe

I was able to get a hold of my stable owners and the ponies are currently safe, wet, but safe.  Cell phone service is not good right now so we weren't able to talk long, but it was pouring out there in the afternoon.  The creek is getting pretty high but luckily Artemis does have some pretty high ground in her pasture so she can get away from it, and the my barn owner's are pretty confidant the creek won't reach the paddocks or their house.  Like I said before, the creek isn't glacier fed, it isn't connected to any of the flooding rivers so it won't have the water in it that all the rivers do.

We're going to try to drive out tomorrow and check on them.  I'll feel better once I see with my own eyes that they're okay.  I'm once again so thankful that not only do I happen to live in a safe area, but my horses are in a safe area.  Everything's gone to hell around us, but we're safe so far.

Unfortunately not many are as lucky.  People who cannot trailer their animals out, which has been many, have been instructed to open their gates and cut their fences so their animals can escape.  It's terrifying to think of all these animals out on their own, but they have a much better chance of survival if they're not locked in fields, and especially not in barns.  And do not leave halters or ropes of any kind on your animals.  They may make your animals easier to catch once the flooding is over, but the risk of them catching on branches or other objects is too great and your animals are safer without them on.  I've heard of people painting their phone number on the sides of their animals and then setting them free. 

The latest update I've heard on the flooding is that river levels are constant for the moment, but there is still a chance that the Bow River could rise some more.  It's crested in Banff and so should be rising in Canmore and Calgary sometime during the night.

State of Emergency

Southern Alberta is in a state of emergency due to the massive flooding all across the lower part of the province.  It's not just a small area of the province, the flooding goes as far down as Lethbridge and as high up a Sundre and Red Deer.

This map gives you an idea of how far the flooding is spreading, and now BC and Saskatchewan are seeing the effects from the flooding. 

I'm safe, I'm very lucky and happen to live in a neighborhood that is high enough up not to get flooding, but none of us were able to go into work because we all work in evacuated areas. 

This video has been on the news a lot (without the audio due to the swearing).  And the water has only gotten even higher since this video was taken.

The town of High River has been completely evacuated, all 13 000 residents.  The town is completely underwater. 

Here are pictures I've taken off of facebook, it gives you an idea of the destruction being done.

This is supposed to be a road near downtown Calgary.

This a picture of the Calgary zoo.  Animals have been evacuated and the zoo is currently closed down.

Downtown Calgary.

This is High River, and once again keep in mind that the water is even higher now.

Highway 1 in Canmore is just gone.  The videos of it are amazing, the water has cut right through the road and the debris in the water is unbelievable. 

Houses in Canmore.

This is High River I believe.

This is one of my biggest fears, not only are people being affected by this devastation, but the animals are as well. 

Here is a link to even more pictures.  http://ca.news.yahoo.com/photos/alberta-flooding-slideshow/

I'm about to call up the stable and just check on how they're doing.  They do have a creek that runs through Artemis' pasture but it is not glacier fed so while I'm sure it's high, I'm pretty sure they are at least not in danger of it flooding like all the rivers have.  That's the biggest problem, its not the rain over places like Canmore, High River and Calgary, it's the rain in the mountains.  The more rain they get (which is supposed to be a lot) the higher the rivers are going to get.  The water comes down from the mountains in giant surges and that's one of the biggest problems with this flooding.

I am incredibly lucky in that I live in a pretty safe neighborhood from flooding, my neighborhood is at a higher incline, my street is at the top of a hill, and I'm not near any sources of water.  The stable is lucky in the same sense, and I believe it's far enough away from me that it's not even getting the rain we are. 

However, a lot of people I know have been evacuated out of their homes.  Thousands of people are being forced to leave behind their homes and all their belongings and there is no clear idea of when they might be able to return, if they have anything to return to.

I know people really want to help out right now, but the best thing for everyone to do is to stay indoors.  Do not go near any rivers, the river banks are extremely unstable right now and the waters could rise by feet in a matter of seconds if we get another surge from the mountains.  Stay home, listen to the news and let the emergency crews do their jobs without having to worry about the safety of civilians.  That's the best thing you can do.

I know I'll be praying for everybody affected by this tragedy, and although it doesn't look like it's going to end soon, I'm praying the rain will stop soon.  It's currently pouring where I am and it's supposed to keep raining through the weekend.

Learning to Lunge

So much has happened in the last month and a bit, it's not all going to fit into this post.  In short, I've started riding again, Artemis has been doing awesome in her training (more about that in this post) I started a new job (which I need to be up at 4 am for, which majorly sucks), I went to a horse show for three days to support a friend and that was definitely an interesting experience, and we passed the one year mark of me breaking my arm.  I'll try to stop being lazy and actually write about these in future posts.

Artemis has been great.  She never ceases to amaze me with her willingness to please.  Seriously, this time last year, she was a nightmare.  She didn't want to come in and would put up a fight each and every time we brought her in.  So far (knock on wood) she's been coming in happily. 

We've been working on lunging.  I've never met a horse that picked up on it so quickly, especially considering I've only done it a handful of times myself.  The first time we did it was in the round pen, so she had the sides of the pen to guide her.  The first couple of times I asked she just stood there and stared at me, completely confused.  Then, after a little guidance, she got it.  By the end of it (she only ever gets lunged for ten minutes max because she's young) she was even whoaing just to my voice. 

The next time we went to lunge it was too hot outside so we decided to give it a go into the arena.  Again, it took a couple tries before she understood what I was asking but she got it quickly.  She tries so hard and gets extremely frustrated when she doesn't understand what I'm asking.  As long as I stay patient with her, she gets it though and she's getting to be an old hand at lunging.

I brought my sister with me one day to film her lunging and after we were finished, I left Artemis free in the arena while I cleaned up after her.  She's like my shadow.  Anytime I'm near her, all she does is follow me.

As you can see, I'm not that great at lunging myself but I think considering we're both new to this, she does pretty good.

And here she is following me around.  I think she looks massive compared to me but she's still only 14.3.  You have no idea how much I'm dying for her to grow one more inch.

The second last time I was out, Artemis was not so good.  I hadn't worked with her in two weeks though so while she wasn't horrible, it was obvious she'd had too much time off.  My friend K led her in for me and Artemis took advantage of the fact that it was someone new.  She was trying to lead K instead of the other way around and kept pretending to be afraid of everything.  Unfortunately for her, K doesn't fall for that kind of thing and little Miss Artemis had to pay attention.

Last time I saw her she had two-year-old brain going on.  Focusing was not something she did.  However, two-year-old brain is still so much better than yearling brain and even though she wasn't focused, I was able to get her to do what I wanted. 

That's all about Artemis for now.  I have a few things I'm planning on doing with her so hopefully I'll have more interesting news to report soon.

Survey

I have some real updates coming but I'm waiting on some videos to finish loading (my computer is horrible with videos) so until then, I figured I'd try this out.


1. Dish face or Roman nose? Why?
Roman nose, I really, really hate dished faces.

 2. Mares or Geldings? Why?
I'm definitely a mare person, I love that they have no quit to them.

 3. Do you think warmbloods are over-rated?
No

4. Describe your dream horse.
Hmm, honestly, Artemis.  A horse that I've raised from a foal.

5. What kind of bit do you use and why?
Socks goes in a curb bit because that's what she's always been in and that's what she responds best to.  Artemis currently doesn't have a bit but she'll be started in a snaffle.  Jimmy switches between the bitless bridle and a snaffle, depending on what we're doing with him.

6. Stock horses or sport horses?
Stock horses.

7. Favorite horse color?
Grulla

8. Least favorite horse color?
Chestnut/Sorrel

9. Dressage or Jumping?
Jumping

10. Favorite stock horse breed?
Quarter Horse or Appaloosa

11. Favorite Hot-blooded breed?
Thoroughbred

12. Favorite cold-blooded breed?
I'm partial to Clydesdales

13. Dapple grey or Fleabitten grey?
Dapple grey

14. Most expensive piece of tack you own?
My saddle, even though it really wasn't that expensive

15. When did you start riding?
I think I was ten

16. Leather or Nylon halters?
Leather

17. Apples or Carrots?
Carrots

18. Chestnut or bay?
Bay

19. Palomino or Buckskin?
Palomino

20. Lazy horse or Hot horse?
Hot horse, I hate having to push a horse on

21. Have you ever been trail riding? 

Yes, I miss it a lot 

22. Have you ever had to put down a horse that you loved?
Yes, still the hardest decision I ever made

23. How many saddlepads do you have?
3

24. How many bridles do you have?
Oh man, we have a lot, we have at least six in our locker I think.

25. Favorite saddle brand?
I don't have one
 
26. Beige or White Breeches?
White

27. Least favorite discipline?
Western Pleasure

28. Do you own a horse?
I personally own two

29. Do you collect breyer horses?
Nope.

30. Favorite color of saddle pad?
Red, Socks' colour

31. Private barn or Boarding stable?
Hmm, it depends.  It is great having other people to ride with and bounce ideas off of when you are at a boarding stable

32. Opinion on spoiled riders?
Annoying, I try to stay out of the drama though

33. Have you ever ridden tackless?
Yes, Socks and I are not so good at it

34. Have you ever stood up on a horse?
Yes

35. Overo, Tobiano, or Tovero?
Overo

36. Favorite face markings(s)?
Blaze or bald face

37. Why you started riding?
Because I thought horses were the coolest things ever

38. Does anyone in your family ride?
Everyone in my immediate family does

39. Have you ever owned a horse?
Yes

40. Something you want to improve on?
My riding skills, all of them.  I feel like I'm much better with ground work than riding

41. A bad habit you have?
I either have my reins too long or too tight, never just right

42. A bad habit your horse has?
When Artemis gets scared she gets pushy

43. How high have you jumped?
I'm not sure exactly, up to Socks' chest (it was on the trail)

44. Have you ever had a dressage lesson?
No

45. What really makes your horse spook?
For Socks and Jimmy, nothing in particular, just the odd random, stupid thing.  Artemis is continually freaked out by the manure pile though.

46. Trail riding or ring work?
Overall I prefer trail riding but I also enjoy ring work

47. Indoor or Outdoor arena?
I'd rather ride in the outdoor but I refuse to board any place that doesn't have a heated indoor, it's too cold to ride in winter otherwise.

48. Colorful or plain saddle pads?
I like some designs, not crazy amounts though

49. Do you like horses with blue eyes?
Yes

50. Have you ever gotten into a fight with your trainer?
I've never had a trainer

51. Light bay or Dark bay horses?
Light

52. What is your equestrian dream?
 To continue enjoying horses and having fun with them, no matter what else happens

53. Long mane or Pulled mane?
Long
54. Opinion on fake tails?
I'm not a fan of them

55. Least favorite thing about your barn?
I don't live there

56. Favorite thing about your barn?
The owners

57. Have you ever ridden a stallion?
Yes

58. Socks or no socks on a horse?
I'm partial to socks

59. Favorite horse names?
 I don't have any

60. If you could ride any horse in the world, which one would it be? Why?
Martha, Lindsay Sear's horse, because she's one of the greatest barrel racers