New kid

Meet the pony I'm riding to sell on behalf of. Cute eh! And massively tall. Lovely quiet and very very straight forward mare, a tiny bit strong but just a cool horse. Hoping to make some pocket money off of her.

Beach!

How good do those ears look! I have missed riding my buddy Connie. I am so smitten with her. This was her second ever trip to the beach and the first time some years ago didn't go that well because we had two horses that had never been to the beach and they were both scared and stuck to each other and spooked and snorted and shied on what was a less than enjoyable ride. This time I made my friend come with me with her older not afraid of the beach because I have been there heaps horse and it was awesome.

Connie was of course initially pretty snorty and overwhelmed by the noise and movement but she was really good. I even managed to eventually convince her that the waves weren't actually solid and she had a good time trying to destroy the ocean with her front feet. Pony loves to paw. There is something about riding on the beach, that feeling that you can go forever that's so awesome.

My poor old mare has been in the wars a bit lately, she has been kicked in the back leg and while not unsound she has been quite swollen but working her has helped with that so I haven't stopped riding. This weekend the plan is to use some time and do lots of hacking. Maybe not so much this afternoon but definitely tomorrow I want to find some forestry to ride her in. At the very least some hills because she is a bit of a lard ass.

4 weeks until the first show. It has flown by hasn't it! Into it again already. I was hoping to have picked up a catch ride by now. But it is not to be. It's going to be harder in a new area where no one knows me I guess. I'd like to develop enough reputation to start to develop a bit of a business in the years to come. I have given myself until I'm 30 to jump a grand prix. If I don't I will scale back the amount I'm spending and make it a hobby more than a sport. That way I can look back and say I tried my best even if I'm not good enough to make it.

I start riding the stallion Trumps in a weeks time. He has had a paddock injury so may not stay sound but it will be nice to try. The horse can certainly jump, so that has promise. I'll bring Bill off the hill in maybe a fortnight and get her going as well so I'm going to be flatout. Still better that way! I'd love to win lotto and not have to worry about the nitty gritty and just ride everyday. Sorry for the pretty average update, hopefully more exciting things will happen soon. Practice jumping day next weekend!

Goat Clipping

Poor old Connie is not very amused with me!! I just brought new clippers, quiet, good cordless clippers. They were so light and not worrying about the cord when she swung around was awesome. The blades were so deliciously sharp and it really looked like it was going to be an epic clip. You know one of those clips where your friend goes 'remember that clip of 2012' and you look off into the distance with a half smile on your face remembering the perfection that was that clip. 

Alas it was not meant to be for me this year, but I still have high hopes for '13! It's actually a pretty good clip and my new clippers are the bomb diggity. The problem was Connies rain scald, (that and her belly refused to dry after her bath). She looks definitely like she has some horse leprosy. I'd put a picture up, but she doesn't want the internet to see her all diseased like. The scaly skin did a lot to blunting my blades rapidly. It doesn't look active anymore but I suspect once the baldy type parts grow in she is going to have the weirdest hair patterns. I may have to clip again in like two weeks, which isn't a happy thought. The hair is so invasive, it just gets everywhere! Especially when you do up the neck and it falls straight into your face. Blerk! I get so carried away as well. The only hair left is on the front of her head and she is lucky to have that, I had to stop because I had to go! I even had a moment when I thought seriously about hogging her. Luckily my sense returned and she still has her mane. She doesn't have the face to pull it off. The bonus of her being clipped as that I can really treat the rain scald that I have too, though looking at her general condition I suspect she is probably a bit low in copper.

I thought I would consider the pros and cons of clipping.

Pros.

-If done well horse looks very tidy and you look like a pro.

-Horse dries faster and stays cleaner.

-If you don't clip and ride a hairy horse at shows you look like a newb.

Cons.

-Hair in the eyes.

-Hair up the nose.

-Hair in the bra.

-Many horses twitchy to clip, making it hard to do a good job.

-Hair in the shirt.

-Takes a lot of practice to do a good clip job, which means lots of hair in the face.

-Your arm still feels vibratey for hours afterwards.

-A bad clip makes you look like newb.

-When you miss a patch and don't notice soon enough to tidy it up, that patch is all you see until the summer coat comes in and it will really really annoy you.

-Hair in the mouth.

-It's nearly impossible to have even lines when you do blanket or trace clips.

-You spend a ridiculous amount of time hunched under your horses belly and close to those very hard feet while your horse gets increasingly ticklish.

-It takes a long time to do well.

-Did I mention the hair???

Seven Weeks and counting

The show season is coming! Connie has come down off the hill where she has spent the whole winter being a wild horse with regular hoof trims of course. I like to rest their hooves over the winter and let them be bear but Connie has one club foot and she gets abscess after abscess in the bigger foot and her feet crumble really badly so she has front shoes year round.

Anyway yesterday I had someone coming try out Bill so I had to leave work and grab Connie and Bill. They live at my Aunties house, but they have been up on the run-off block on the side of a steep hill. They were of course miles away and I hollering at the top of my lungs and once Connie heard me she came galloping over, telling me that she wanted more tlc than she had been getting.

Bill was amazing in her trial for a horse that had been dragged off the hill and hadn't been worked for months, but looked like a hairy bush pony. I watched that girl jump her over a 60cm jump and I was just like wow. I have never seen her jump before, I'm always the one riding her. She is amazing. I doubt I will sell her to be honest. I probably should sell but another year wont hurt and at least in full work she would be worth a lot more. Its crazy when I want to ride jumpers to sell such a naturally phenomenal jumper. I just need to be careful what I feed her and make sure she gets plenty of work. I'm looking at a rental property for me and my partner with four acres and stables on Saturday so fingers super crossed for that. It would be a huge step in the right direction.

I was so excited to ride Connie after work but I got home and she actually has a bit of rain scald on her back so pony got a medicated bath instead which went down like a lead balloon. Tantrums were thrown and she left no toys in her cot. She doesn't like baths at the best of times. Still it's exciting to have her nearby again, that the season is coming, and the sport I adore will soon swing to life.