Of course, I abandoned the french toast and took my camera outside! (Sean took over the fry pan).
Scarlett watched me walk up, but Indy was fast asleep with her head resting on the ground.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Nap time!
I looked out the window while making breakfast today and spied this...
Of course, I abandoned the french toast and took my camera outside! (Sean took over the fry pan).
Scarlett watched me walk up, but Indy was fast asleep with her head resting on the ground.
Of course, I abandoned the french toast and took my camera outside! (Sean took over the fry pan).
Scarlett watched me walk up, but Indy was fast asleep with her head resting on the ground.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Cleaning & selling!
I wrapped myself in several warm layers after work this afternoon with all the good intentions in the world (I wanted to go for a short ride) but it started raining just as I was picking Scarlett's boots out of the float. So I collected up all the gear still hanging in there, which ALL needed cleaning (the float is too damp and cold for leather in winter).
A load of washing went on, too (saddle blankets & girths). There are a couple more in the float that I didn't bring in today... will do them tomorrow before I clean the horse hair out of the washing machine ;)
After all the leather tack was wiped down and conditioned, there was a huuuuuuuuge sprawling pile of tack on the lounge floor. So, it's sale list time again!
I have sold SO much stuff since I last made a list. Many of these items are on trademe, username eschey.
Girths
* Anti-gall girth, black, 70 cm, no elastic $25
* Sparrow turnout girth (covered buckles) 75cm long, black . Excellent, near-new condition, hardly used. Buttery soft leather. $125
Saddles
* Bates Caprilli GP 16.5" $500 neg, comes with irons.
I am sure there will be more lurking in the car, float, tack shed or my room...
Please note: all prices are plus post. Pickup from Hamilton is welcome. I may be able to arrange getting items to Auckland, Tauranga or Taupo.
A load of washing went on, too (saddle blankets & girths). There are a couple more in the float that I didn't bring in today... will do them tomorrow before I clean the horse hair out of the washing machine ;)
After all the leather tack was wiped down and conditioned, there was a huuuuuuuuge sprawling pile of tack on the lounge floor. So, it's sale list time again!
I have sold SO much stuff since I last made a list. Many of these items are on trademe, username eschey.
Girths
* Anti-gall girth, black, 70 cm, no elastic $25
* Mattes GP shaped girth, 110cm, cream fleece with sable (brown-y-beige) quilt, used only a handful of times so in "as new" condition $175
* Mattes shaped GP girth, 110cm, black/black, never taken out of packet. $185
* Mattes straight dressage girth, 70cm, black/black. 'Narrow' version (8cm wide rather than 10cm), used once but wrong size. $155
* Black Stubben 'Trevira' string girth (synthetic). Approx 157 cm long (that is not a typo, it is a LOOOOONG girth) Hardly ever used (completed a few rides with a 17.3 and 3/4 TB...). $50* Sparrow turnout girth (covered buckles) 75cm long, black . Excellent, near-new condition, hardly used. Buttery soft leather. $125
Saddles
* Bates Caprilli GP 16.5" $500 neg, comes with irons.
* Albion Style (SL) dressage, 17", M $2500, unmounted, excellent condition
* Albion Legend jump saddle, MW, 17.5" seat. Black, suede knee rolls, moveable (velcro) knee blocks. Some minor scuffs and fading of colour. $3k neg, comes with Sparrow stirrup leathers.
Bridles, breastplate, halter, strapping
* Hack size Sparrow bridle, excellent condition. $200. Brass fittings, black leather. Lovely quality & condition, but Indy's RP saddle is brown so this is surplus. No reins.
* Black hack or possibly full size Peter Horobin "Horson" bridle, s/s fittings. Comfort poll headpiece. Lovely quality leather, well looked after, doesn't fit my current nags! Non-matching web reins incuded. No bit. $150
*5.5 inch double-jointed Baucher snaffle. Mouthpiece is similar metal to Sprenger's Aurigan, however it is not a Sprenger bit. "bean" centre joint. $50 incl post. * Hack size leather halter, dark brown, brass fittings. Good quality leather, well used, lots of life left though. Has a nameplate (easy to flip over and engrave on other side, or new ones are approx $20)... or you might like to leave the nameplate, it says " V I P " lol! $60
* Mid to dark brown Western split reins. Approx 225cm long. Nice leather. $40
* Kineton noseband, approx size cob, can measure if you are interested. Mid-brown leather (though if you wante another colour, you could get a saddler to attach new leather to the metal pieces). $50
*Sparrow dark brown (dark havana) cob size breastplate. Elastic 'Y' style.
Removable martingale rings. Brass fittings. Well used but lots of life left yet. Good quality, well-made. $100.
Removable martingale rings. Brass fittings. Well used but lots of life left yet. Good quality, well-made. $100.
Various bits
@ assorted prices, please ask. Most bits are 5 inch, some 5.5.
plain s/s loose ring and eggbutt snaffles, sweet-iron & German silver loose rings, brass dutch gag, Korsteel curved bit, apple-mouth eggbutt, s/s french link, brass anti-rearing bit with leather head strap, several Sprenger bits incl 5" Aurigan Weymouth and 4 3/4" WH Ultra Soft.
Hoof boots
* Easyboots size 1 (older style without gaiters) $50
* Davis hoof boot, black, size 3, $20 (one only). Ideal poultice boot.
Misc
*BRAND NEW Full leather chaps, made by Matamata Saddlery. Never worn as don't fit me! Would fit slim adult or tall child (stamped 'S' for small, my best guess is approx size 8 to 10). Plain, full grain black leather with zips up the sides. Buckle front and back at waist. $100
* Lunge roller, with leather side reins. Leather. Good quality. On behalf, hack size. $90 ono.
* Lunge roller, fabric, approx cob to hack size (only marginally smaller than the leather one). $40.
* Couple-Mate trailer reversing guide to help hitch up trailers. Heavy but not bulky item so shouldn't be much to post. $100 ono.
* A pair of N.E.W. bell boots, brand new. Small, $30
* Large tack trunk. Painted black. Approx 1m long, and 60? cm high and wide. Hinged lid. Very heavy, needs two people to lift. It fit in the boot of my Surf (SUV) when I bought it, just!
I am sure there will be more lurking in the car, float, tack shed or my room...
Please note: all prices are plus post. Pickup from Hamilton is welcome. I may be able to arrange getting items to Auckland, Tauranga or Taupo.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Connected plans
Dates for Peggy's December clinics have been set. This year, there is also some CR Practitioner training on offer. From an initial pool of 15 'interested' people, when push came to shove, only 4 sent in an application and a deposit so I am one of the 4 who will take part in CRP 101 in November... I am super excited.
I also paid deposits for both 4-day clinics. Like last year, Scarlett will go to one and Indy to the other.
For the first time EVER, both clinics are already full. All 18 spots were 'booked' by the end of June.
This does mean I need to get back on the ponies to get them fit & ready for clinics... My knee is healing well. I saw my physio yesterday so have a few things to work on. I am walking nearly normally (no real sign of a limp) and have been out on my bike a couple of times. Next step will be doing some groundwork with Scarlett, then if I feel up to it, riding. I will leave Indy until I am totally happy dealing with Scarlett.
Also confirmed is Peggy's appearance at Equidays. She will do a demo each day.
IBEM/Strasser Hoofcare NZ will also have a stand. I have said I can do some time on both stands. I would really like to watch all of Peggy's demos.
I also paid deposits for both 4-day clinics. Like last year, Scarlett will go to one and Indy to the other.
For the first time EVER, both clinics are already full. All 18 spots were 'booked' by the end of June.
This does mean I need to get back on the ponies to get them fit & ready for clinics... My knee is healing well. I saw my physio yesterday so have a few things to work on. I am walking nearly normally (no real sign of a limp) and have been out on my bike a couple of times. Next step will be doing some groundwork with Scarlett, then if I feel up to it, riding. I will leave Indy until I am totally happy dealing with Scarlett.
Also confirmed is Peggy's appearance at Equidays. She will do a demo each day.
IBEM/Strasser Hoofcare NZ will also have a stand. I have said I can do some time on both stands. I would really like to watch all of Peggy's demos.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Winter
Shortly after my last post, I ended up taking Indy out twice in one weekend. She has come such a long way, which just goes to show time off can do them good.
Annika came out to ride Scarlett so I quickly re-fitted Indy's saddle, we scrubbed about ten kilos of mud off each pony and went out to investigate the new walkway. It connects Birchwood Lane to Camdon Place, which comes off Koppens Lane. We can easily get all the way through to the school without having to deal with very much traffic at all. We could also do a loop, starting or ending with the walkway, right around Newell Road, but I am not brave enough to take Indy on the road under saddle quite yet.
Indy got to see scary things like the fencing around the old coolstore site, kids playing soccer kicking balls around, cars parked on both sides of the road, scary white road markings, and even some strange equines in other peoples' paddocks.
On Sunday I took Indy out to Sharon's. We spent an hour taking photos of Ozzie, then went out for a gentle hack down Bellevue, with Sharon on Ace. Indy was great about meeting the donkeys (which, probably thankfully, didn't bray) and very brave to go around several roadworks signs. A shame that when she reached out to touch one, it "bit" her back!
She is coping with a lot more, doesn't get brain-tired so quickly, and is less "looky" about new or scary things. It is easier to get and keep her going, or change things up and add a circle, stop, or turn. She will spend time leading and following (though this tends to be at her request rather than mine...).
When she runs out of steam, it is VERY obvious! She starts to need more frequent rests... it's like she is a train who has left its caboose behind, so she has to stop to let it catch up again ;) I ended up getting off and walking the last 500m home.
It is also really cool to see how well Scarlett copes with another rider. I used to throw anyone and everyone on her, when I still had Cas, because I couldn't ride Scarlett as well or easily as I could ride Cas. For several years, I was very protective of Scarlett ("no one can ride her because she's too spazzy" or "no one can ride her like I do.") It is fabulous to have a friend like Annika who LIKES MY PONY! and wants to ride with me. Scarlett is also far enough through her CR journey that she has a few things to show Annika, too :)
It is also very cool taking a horse like Indy, who has had nearly 3 months off (with the bare minimum of handling), starting with 5 minutes of groundwork before a ride and seeing her change from spaced-out to a calm, collected horse who is happy and capable to do what I ask her.
I'm on the countdown to Finals now: only ten days until we head south. I squeezed in my final mentor day with Carmen at the end of May and got the opportunity to watch her trim Annika's young gelding Mack yesterday. It is not often that we see trimmers dealing with brand new clients (usually any new horses are with existing clients), so it was very valuable learning experience.
I'm fighting off some stomach-y kind of bug, so haven't stayed on track with my revision for the past two days. I think I will be OK as I should have time to catch up over this weekend while I am housesitting for Jude & Ted. The weather is atrocious so I don't feel like being outside anyway.
Speaking of which... I need to go check on the two ponies at home, sort out what I'm eating for dinner, feed my animals (mum and dad are away, too) and come back to DO SOME REVISION!
Annika came out to ride Scarlett so I quickly re-fitted Indy's saddle, we scrubbed about ten kilos of mud off each pony and went out to investigate the new walkway. It connects Birchwood Lane to Camdon Place, which comes off Koppens Lane. We can easily get all the way through to the school without having to deal with very much traffic at all. We could also do a loop, starting or ending with the walkway, right around Newell Road, but I am not brave enough to take Indy on the road under saddle quite yet.
Indy got to see scary things like the fencing around the old coolstore site, kids playing soccer kicking balls around, cars parked on both sides of the road, scary white road markings, and even some strange equines in other peoples' paddocks.
On Sunday I took Indy out to Sharon's. We spent an hour taking photos of Ozzie, then went out for a gentle hack down Bellevue, with Sharon on Ace. Indy was great about meeting the donkeys (which, probably thankfully, didn't bray) and very brave to go around several roadworks signs. A shame that when she reached out to touch one, it "bit" her back!
She is coping with a lot more, doesn't get brain-tired so quickly, and is less "looky" about new or scary things. It is easier to get and keep her going, or change things up and add a circle, stop, or turn. She will spend time leading and following (though this tends to be at her request rather than mine...).
When she runs out of steam, it is VERY obvious! She starts to need more frequent rests... it's like she is a train who has left its caboose behind, so she has to stop to let it catch up again ;) I ended up getting off and walking the last 500m home.
It is also really cool to see how well Scarlett copes with another rider. I used to throw anyone and everyone on her, when I still had Cas, because I couldn't ride Scarlett as well or easily as I could ride Cas. For several years, I was very protective of Scarlett ("no one can ride her because she's too spazzy" or "no one can ride her like I do.") It is fabulous to have a friend like Annika who LIKES MY PONY! and wants to ride with me. Scarlett is also far enough through her CR journey that she has a few things to show Annika, too :)
It is also very cool taking a horse like Indy, who has had nearly 3 months off (with the bare minimum of handling), starting with 5 minutes of groundwork before a ride and seeing her change from spaced-out to a calm, collected horse who is happy and capable to do what I ask her.
I'm on the countdown to Finals now: only ten days until we head south. I squeezed in my final mentor day with Carmen at the end of May and got the opportunity to watch her trim Annika's young gelding Mack yesterday. It is not often that we see trimmers dealing with brand new clients (usually any new horses are with existing clients), so it was very valuable learning experience.
I'm fighting off some stomach-y kind of bug, so haven't stayed on track with my revision for the past two days. I think I will be OK as I should have time to catch up over this weekend while I am housesitting for Jude & Ted. The weather is atrocious so I don't feel like being outside anyway.
Speaking of which... I need to go check on the two ponies at home, sort out what I'm eating for dinner, feed my animals (mum and dad are away, too) and come back to DO SOME REVISION!
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Long time, no news!
It's been a LONG time since I posted a blog update. Indy has been essentially turned out for about 2 or 3 months. I'm sure she doesn't mind, not one bit!!!
When I decided to take Scarlett hunting, I needed to dedicate time to getting her fit, which meant squeezing in as many rides a week as I could, as well as riding with a purpose.
While the weather is dodgy and I have limited horse time, I decided to focus on Scarlett. She is safe, dependable, the same after a week (or month) off... I know her inside out. I do not feel it would do Indy justice - or that it's a partciularly safety-conscious thing for me to do! - for me to deal with indy only imtermittently.
I've also had a lot to finish up before Finals: I've done about 8 mentor days with Carmen in the last several weeks, been going over assignments, and still trying to get horses trimmed in between bouts of crappy weather. We will be in Christchurch again in June... just four weeks to go!
I have a grand total of one more Mentor day to complete.
Today I started putting my four case studies together; Scarlett & Indy's will not take long, as I can continue from the 6-month case studies I've already done. For my two client horses, I have to start from scratch!
I managed to skip riding today due to the weather, but caught a fine break and took Indy to do a little groundwork. She is not supple or used to my cues; she had a few moments of feet-in-the-air, but even those have come a long way from the beginning. She is much more balanced and has a better way of going. I did a bit of one-line work on both sides (walk and trot), then a wee bit up close, and then a bit more one-line work at walk, then back to the paddock.
As we get further into winter, I will not ride very much (unless Annika wants to come and ride Scarlett) so need to get my A into G and start with groundwork. I have to consider they will have at least a few weeks off in June, for finals, then I go in to get key-hole surgery done on my knee straight after that. Carmen will come and trim for me at least once so I can make sure I am really 100% before I get back under a horse.
When I decided to take Scarlett hunting, I needed to dedicate time to getting her fit, which meant squeezing in as many rides a week as I could, as well as riding with a purpose.
While the weather is dodgy and I have limited horse time, I decided to focus on Scarlett. She is safe, dependable, the same after a week (or month) off... I know her inside out. I do not feel it would do Indy justice - or that it's a partciularly safety-conscious thing for me to do! - for me to deal with indy only imtermittently.
I've also had a lot to finish up before Finals: I've done about 8 mentor days with Carmen in the last several weeks, been going over assignments, and still trying to get horses trimmed in between bouts of crappy weather. We will be in Christchurch again in June... just four weeks to go!
I have a grand total of one more Mentor day to complete.
Today I started putting my four case studies together; Scarlett & Indy's will not take long, as I can continue from the 6-month case studies I've already done. For my two client horses, I have to start from scratch!
I managed to skip riding today due to the weather, but caught a fine break and took Indy to do a little groundwork. She is not supple or used to my cues; she had a few moments of feet-in-the-air, but even those have come a long way from the beginning. She is much more balanced and has a better way of going. I did a bit of one-line work on both sides (walk and trot), then a wee bit up close, and then a bit more one-line work at walk, then back to the paddock.
As we get further into winter, I will not ride very much (unless Annika wants to come and ride Scarlett) so need to get my A into G and start with groundwork. I have to consider they will have at least a few weeks off in June, for finals, then I go in to get key-hole surgery done on my knee straight after that. Carmen will come and trim for me at least once so I can make sure I am really 100% before I get back under a horse.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Progress
Life has been fairly interesting of late.
We spent 8 days down in Christchurch: 3 mentor days with Thorsten then 5 days of Practicum, trimming basiaally the whole time. We were absolutely shattered by the end of the week and very glad to be home... 18 hours later, even more so, when we heard about the second major earthquake in Christchurch within the last 6 months. Scary, scary stuff which definitely makes you appreciate the people and animals you have around you.
The trimming time showed up some errors in my trimming. Though I have made changes since mentor days with Carmen, I am not seeing quite what I need to.
I have to be sure I have trimmed the bars correctly, and, surprise surprise, my scoops are still buggered!!!! Bane of my life, those things... *mutter mutter* I was so enthused when I came home that I've not trimmed my two yet! That is this week's job. Zen is also coming to do another cranio sacral session with both girls on Tuesday afternoon.
Yesterday, Saturday, I took Indy for a clinic day at Trisha's. She was really good. A huge lightbulb for me in the morning came when Trisha mentioned 'connecting within myself'... oh. Duh! I've been forgetting ME! What a dummy... Changing that changed the way Indy went quite dramatically (...Oh, really?!).
I need to do some two-people work to get her releasing around her heart-girth; Trisha & I did some work, one person on the line and one person doing heart-girth presses, shoulder delineation, etc, which got her moving outwards on the circle more (rather than collapsing in).
I also need to MAKE her move, rather than let her mooch. She CAN and DOES stride out: I must not accept a shuffle or 'short' stride.
We also found the GO button under saddle :D so did a fair bit of trot work. She had the hugest snooze after that.
Moving on, I will work on simple changes of direction, letting her stride out and move forward actively, being direct and clear in my aids so that she does what I want (but... I also need to decide what I want!). Her odd moments of deciding she's not going the way I think I'm asking for must be due to me not connecting within myself and also forgetting my outside elbow (and outside suction-cup leg). She did it once, before I mentioned it to Trisha, then was great for the rest of the lesson after I started using my brain.
I am enjoying this over-sized pony more and more as time goes on.
Finally, some photos! Sharon took these on her mobile when I realised I'd ridden out with a flat battery in my camera.
We spent 8 days down in Christchurch: 3 mentor days with Thorsten then 5 days of Practicum, trimming basiaally the whole time. We were absolutely shattered by the end of the week and very glad to be home... 18 hours later, even more so, when we heard about the second major earthquake in Christchurch within the last 6 months. Scary, scary stuff which definitely makes you appreciate the people and animals you have around you.
The trimming time showed up some errors in my trimming. Though I have made changes since mentor days with Carmen, I am not seeing quite what I need to.
I have to be sure I have trimmed the bars correctly, and, surprise surprise, my scoops are still buggered!!!! Bane of my life, those things... *mutter mutter* I was so enthused when I came home that I've not trimmed my two yet! That is this week's job. Zen is also coming to do another cranio sacral session with both girls on Tuesday afternoon.
Yesterday, Saturday, I took Indy for a clinic day at Trisha's. She was really good. A huge lightbulb for me in the morning came when Trisha mentioned 'connecting within myself'... oh. Duh! I've been forgetting ME! What a dummy... Changing that changed the way Indy went quite dramatically (...Oh, really?!).
I need to do some two-people work to get her releasing around her heart-girth; Trisha & I did some work, one person on the line and one person doing heart-girth presses, shoulder delineation, etc, which got her moving outwards on the circle more (rather than collapsing in).
I also need to MAKE her move, rather than let her mooch. She CAN and DOES stride out: I must not accept a shuffle or 'short' stride.
We also found the GO button under saddle :D so did a fair bit of trot work. She had the hugest snooze after that.
Moving on, I will work on simple changes of direction, letting her stride out and move forward actively, being direct and clear in my aids so that she does what I want (but... I also need to decide what I want!). Her odd moments of deciding she's not going the way I think I'm asking for must be due to me not connecting within myself and also forgetting my outside elbow (and outside suction-cup leg). She did it once, before I mentioned it to Trisha, then was great for the rest of the lesson after I started using my brain.
I am enjoying this over-sized pony more and more as time goes on.
Finally, some photos! Sharon took these on her mobile when I realised I'd ridden out with a flat battery in my camera.
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