Guess who is flying over fences again?

And, for the millionth time, I failed to update my blog regularly after a promise.

But I am super pleased to report to you guys that:

A) Amber is moving better than ever. Casey says most of the time she doesn't drag at all. We know she tracks up because she's constantly tapping her front shoes with the hind! I probably need some bell boots, but she never does any harm to herself. She just hits the shoes because she's such a daisy clipper. The only things we have changed are her supplement, and the footing we ride on. We switched to Grand H.A., and I've been pleased with it. We don't really need any other supplementation because she doesn't have a weight problem anymore, her coat and feet are great, so really nothing needs "help". I think the grass footing is much better than the deep sand at the old barn. White honestly I think it was making her sore. She's been pretty perfect at the new barn.

B) We are jumping again! And making great progress. I still have my fear issues, but it's coming along. I'm taking weekly jumping lessons. I have no problems with her on the flat. She has days where she wants to get a little strong, but I've finally learned not to fight with her about things and it's made her much more relaxed and willing.

A lot has gone on since my last blog.

We are still enjoying trail rides, although lately I've tried to put some focus on the arena as well. I've been trying to do 2 days of flatwork, 1 day of jumping, and then use Sundays for trails.

I have actually started a trial and gymkhana club for some of the kids and teenagers at the barn, and it's pretty fun. Some of them can really give me a run for my money in the games we play! So we have started doing that on Sundays and after we play games we go on a trail ride and canter around in the fields across the road. They are quite amused by cantering together in the field because it's Saddle Club-esque. LOL.

The groundskeeper we had, I don't think I mentioned him, had 18 horses and was taking up 5 of our pastures, leaving us (who had the same amount of horses), with 3! He was recently fired, for reasons the owner didn't elaborate on, and we got 5 extra pastures. The smaller groups really make for less drama amongst the groups, allows for mare-gelding separation, and because the fields are HUGE, with only 3-4 horses in each, we shouldn't have a problem with grass growth. If we do, we still have plenty of room to regroup everyone and start rotating the pastures.

In other news on the front of our horses and boarders...remember Amber's pasture mates when I put her on 24/7 turnout to recoup from being stalled 23 hours a day? Stormy and Myrada? They're coming back to pasture board in the back fields, since our stall boarders aren't going back there (because nobody wants to walk all the way back there to bring in/turn out every day. The barn they had moved to shut down because the owner there went a little crazy. Something about a meth lab in her barn! Crazy stuff.

We had a couple of boarders leave for different reasons, nothing against us really. And we have 3 new ones coming in. We are almost full of boarders. Casey plans to move her own few ponies she has left to the back pasture to make room if necessary. I think she's getting out of resales.

SO, my jumping.

We started out trotting crossrails and I thought I sucked. I was pretty sure I lost all ability I ever had.

After a few lessons of that, last week, we started trotting in and cantering out of crossrail lines. I forgot that when I try to fix Amber's stide, it messes her up, because she sets herself up. I was jumping to early and jumping for her and our distances and timing was shotty. We ended on a good note though.

This week, it was like a lightbulb came on. Instead of trying to adjust her perfectly, I let her figure her stride out and pushed her at a steady pace down the line. Remembered to count approaching the fence. And no problems. And then Casey sets up a 2ft vertical. LOL. I refused to canter it. It was on the bending line anyway, so I was a chicken, but I did trot it. We cantered the 2ft flowerbox that you'd think I'd be more wary of, since it's got so much stuff sticking up for Amber to look at. It's a visual thing. There was only 1 pole on the vertical, and it just "looked" taller.

But we will get there. We did have 1 bad distance cantering into the crossrail line, and I ducked out because I thought we were going to crash - Casey wasn't pleased with me for that, but we came back around and nailed it.

She's not really getting her auto changes like she used to, but I'm not really thinking about my leads like I should on my approach, so she'd probably get that back if I'd start paying attention. She does great skip-ups and simples, so at least we don't have a fuss fixing them!

Being that we are doing interesting things now, it might inspire me to keep up my blog for a change. I think the main thing has been...our riding has been the same thing pretty consistent.

...And I got another custom saddle pad. Should be here in a couple of weeks. I'm not going to tell you guys about it, you'll just have to wait and see! I also got a new leather halter and I have a nameplate on the way for it.

If anyone is interested, my other leather halter is for sale. $30 OBO. It's warmblood size, would probably fit a draft, it's huge. Padded leather.

My 72" lavender/mint plaid cotton sheet is also up for grabs for $15. We got new blankets so I'm selling this stuff to recoup my funds.

New Barn = Paradise.

I'm really horrible about updating. I need to keep on it...

That million-dollar barn that we were supposed to move to in a few months? Still in the works, most likely taking longer to get running than originally planned. However, C has decided to keep the "temporary" barn. And I think she is wise to do so.

A lot of her boarders and students aren't going to be willing to drive that far, period. And I am at the point where I'm not willing to either. And, too, I love our new barn. I'm a bit sad that I'll miss out on the giant indoor they'll have, but I really, really like the property and barn we have now.

Things have been pretty great at the new barn. We've had a little drama lately regarding Casey's organization and cleanliness of the barn, but S and I should get it resolved. I hate to jump to conclusions on things, but basically, for the past couple of weeks, perhaps a little more, stalls aren't getting cleaned on Fridays, and possibly not finished entirely on Thursdays. And some boarders have noticed, one even cleaning their own stall 3+ times - that's bad!

I won't really go into our barn drama.

The barn is wonderful. Concrete aisles, hot/cold washpit, HUGE arena, and so many places to ride. The stalls are slightly smaller, but still big. The barn has two aisles, and it's basically shaped like an "H", the washpit being in the middle and bridging the two sides. Each side has ten stalls, 6 on the outside with windows. I need to get some pictures for you guys - I can't believe I haven't take many.

We have lovely white vinyl fencing around some huge pastures for most of the horses, and surprisingly, Karona, Mac, Mareeloo and Cindy are going out together in a smaller field beside the arena. The arena, is actually a reformed pasture. But Amber seems to like the grass footing better and she toe dragging is virtually non-existent now.

We were able to take virtually everything with us. Most of our jump standards were some that Casey had made. Most of the useable saddles were Casey's. I heard the new operator of Spring Bank, which is it now called again, doesn't even teach, likely due her charging $60/hr to train - LOL. Literally all the boarders except 3 pasture boarders left.

Things with me and Amber have been pretty great as well. We've kind of got that "black stallion" relationship going on, except she's a chestnut mare. She has never been happier though. We have so much room to run around, beautiful trails and paths. And there's an empty sub division across the road that is great to play around in, it's huge. We haven't done a lot of arena work, but somehow, it's perfect just about every time. She's even throwing in some dressage type stuff when I ask for it. We're jumping again...she's so good at setting herself up. It's like we have such a close bond, I feel connected to her.

I promise pictures soon. It's a little weird that this blog is so short and I haven't blogged in two months. Most of anything I have to say is about barn drama, which I won't go into. At least my relationship with my horse is amazing!

Moving Day, Strikes Again!

I have owned my horse just over two years, and I have to say I would have preferred to move her A LOT less than she has been. Two years, 3 barns. Obviously I am much more cautious now of moving on a whim, and what trainers and barn owners I trust. We are going to go through two moves in the next few months, and I will get to that in a moment, but first...

I have a lot of news. I definitely need a wrist slap for only coming to post once a month! But things might get a little more interesting in our lives very shortly. More on that in a moment, first, let's recap recent things that might interest my long-time readers (and everyone, really.)

-Bob quit managing Halcyon. He apparently continued to serve as the farrier there, but eventually his unskilled work caused several horses to strain tendons, and the vet called him out on it (and was apparently very blatant with him, that his trim was the direct cause). He wasn't fired as I understand it, but just quit and said he was tired of horses. His step-daughter's warmblood, who was always a bit controversial being that I learned from Casey he was only sound for walk/trot, was moved to some small private property. I have no idea where it is, but it looks like they are continuing to do mid-level dressage.

-I no longer slave in the fast-food industry! I am now a very proud employee of a vet clinic. I will refrain from stating what clinic, being that I post some "controversial" things here from time to time, and this is a VERY opinionated blog, I don't want to link our clinic to any of the barn-drama that is mulled over here (and one of the owners is associated with the barn also)! I am currently working as a kennel assistant and loving it! I think my favorite part of the job is bathing and doing dips - making clean/treated dogs are just so gratifying!

-I finally completed my first semester of school! All I have left is exams on the 26th. However, I am changing my major and I'm not totally sure exactly what that will be right now.

-The fact that school is toughening up, and I have to make up for being slow in my first semester, means I have less time for leisure outside work/school - and unfortunately Amber counts as leisure. After much thought I have decided to allow her to be a school horse again. It may be just until I'm out of school, or if it seems to work out well, it may be a permanent thing. But Amber does much better when she stays fit, and having some walk-trot to fill in when I can't get out to ride would be wonderful - my horse would stay limber and fit and I would also save money (being that she would have discounted board). I just hope it works out! She has been an angel lately, and I think we are pretty much over the problems that I unfortunately created last year when I started nit-picking her. I'm still not sure about dead-beginners starting out on her. Her mouth is SO sensitive and her brakes will literally throw you over her head if you aren't sitting back - that could be a good lesson for beginners, or it could give them some fear issues!

-I finally finished paying off my saddle!

-Amber's toes are almost completely grown out now! Our farrier has done a wonderful job with her, and I am pleased to say she is sounder than ever! I'm not sure if I will risk jumping again, because I think my priorities are changing and what is more important than trying to push harder and farther and higher competitively, is keeping her sound for w/t/c as long as possible, and maybe even get around to some local shows. I definitley miss jumping, but I am more aware now than I previously was that Amber is not 100% sound at any given time, although she is better than she has been. When she starts to show that she isn't comfortable doing the flat work, I'm calling it quits and retiring her. Maybe occasional trails, but I don't have a trailer so I will be limited to the barn trails mostly. Which isn't very exciting. But I'm hoping we can keep her pretty stable for a few years, because she is doing well when she stays in consistent work. I would like to do schooling shows, still.

Okay, so I just practically gave you guys a newspaper, and I still haven't told you about all this moving!

I haven't been able to really share anything because most of the "news" aside from those few things, concerns the new barn. But now we are days away from moving, and everyone who the "secret" was being kept from knows now.

Casey has a friend and trainer from PA who has literally purchased a million dollar farm. It's a bit more of a drive for me, but it's very worth it. Her friend is a great trainer, and Casey is also moving there.

GEC is not closing, but a new trainer is coming in. She specializes in Saddlebreds and Arabians from what I have researched. Not my cup of tea - she may be nice, but I don't think she will have the business that Casey did.

As for the business, Everyone - and I mean EVERYONE except 2 or 3 people, is all going to the new barn. Apparently the new trainer is bringing in some horses of her own, which is good, because there will only be 6 horses left of the 20-30 that are usually there at any given time! I think all the students, and if not all then all but 1-2, are leaving as well. Which makes sense. The students are interested in hunters, and the new trainer can't meet that need. I think George would have been wise to try to find a trainer that could compete with Casey as another hunter trainer - not that I'm complaining, I'm happy for her that she has been able to keep virtually all her business.

There is a bit of an issue though. George is "kicking us out" so to speak, by next month. At least, Casey was told to be out by April 1, but since we are all planning on going, we aren't going to stick around.

There is a little twist in the plan. That million dollar farm? We aren't ready to move into it just yet. So we will be at a temporary facility nearby for a couple of months. That is where we are going in a few days. Casey has a show on Easter weekend, so we are doing it during the week. Unfortunatley, we don't have a real plan on what day and what we are doing exactly. Casey is taking two ponies back to PA right now that belong to the new trainer, to save us some space at the temp facility. When she gets back I guess she will give us the deal. I already emptied out my tack trunk except for what I will need to ride the next couple of days.

I don't want to elaborate for fear of starting anything, but there have been some sketchy things happening at the barn and we are pretty sure a certain person is behind it - cough cough - so I didn't want to leave my things laying around. I'm a little paranoid about what I did leave out, even.

I feel like George is going to go out and monitor everything on moving day. I feel like he is going to question everything we take out of there. I have a stall latch, a saddle rack and some tack hangers that need to come down when my better half gets a chance - and that is something I definitely want done before moving day. I feel like George will give me a hard time about the stall latch, even if it does belong to me. And it can all be explained and made okay...but I just don't feel like putting in the effort, you know?

I'm just ready for it to all get straightened out. Tensions are running high, everyone is getting irritated with one another and I'm just trying to do as much as I can to help the situation and keep the peace. I think everyone will get along so much better after we get settled in.

I will post some recent pictures of Red Mule tonight or tomorrow!

A One-Person Horse.

I keep telling myself I'm going to update more often.

Sadly, I think the bulk of the fact that I fail to post on my blog is simply that nothing really interesting ever goes on!

At Amber's last farrier appointment, her farrier and I were talking about trail rides and we might be accompanying him on a mountain ride in the future. I've never ridden in the mountains on anything besides the nose-to-tail packers, so it would be an fun experience. And it would be awesome to have somebody to ride with. Trail riding is a lot better with friends - it's even better with real, legit trails. Which we do not possess at the barn.

So that might make for some interesting blogs, although I don't think we will be able to go every weekend.

I might have some legit trails to ride on in the near-ish future, but the reason I'm not going to post publicly, as I'm sworn to secrecy. It is a very exciting change though.

I was considering half-leasing Amber to a nice older woman who wants to lease a horse to walk-trot in the round-pen once a week, and brush and fuss over.

I was reminded of why I should approach this endeavor with caution yesterday.

I had a really great ride on Amber, she was so relaxed and responsive. Victoria decided to try her hand at riding Amber again...it has not gone well in the past. And not just for Victoria...Amber gets very tense with any new rider and "takes off" in some cases. By taking off, I mean she sticks her nose up and simply avoids the bit and tries to canter away - she doesn't actually get really out of control.

I wasn't sure how things were going to end up really. She was so chill and quiet with me I thought Victoria would have it easy...Amber kept cantering off with her. Tense, rushing and choppy. They eventually worked it out. Amber was still on edge, but she was semi-relaxed. They even got a nice canter! I was impressed.

But it made me wonder how beginner-safe she is anymore. She was pretty lazy when I first met her. Now she likes to go, go, go. And if she starts to worry if her rider is going to hurt her, she goes even faster. It's her way of avoidance and self-defense. I honestly don't believe she would ever do any crazy aerobatics and dump someone, but I know someone like the woman I was thinking of leasing her to, it would shatter her confidence if Amber started cantering off with her, or if she started to trot fast and tense and the brakes weren't working so well.

But it makes me realize just how close she is to me, and how much she trusts me. I have to say, it's very gratifying to know my horse behaves markedly better for me than others. The only person who can get her close to the relaxation I can get her to is Casey. But Casey knows what works for Amber, like me, because she was the one who helped us get there! The best approach is always to keep calm, and above all don't try to adjust everything and nit-pick. Don't ask for too much until she relaxes. It usually takes her a minute once we start trotting and then she's fine. My aids literally have to be whispered to her. And minimal aids are effective because she knows how to go nicely and she only feels comfortable to go like that if the rider is basically sitting there posing.

She wants you in a nearly perfect position. She doesn't even want you on the wrong diagonal - I can't remember if I posted it here before, but she has actually learned to switch my diagonal for me, or at least let me know I'm wrong.

ON A LIGHTER NOTE. I'm getting some serious goodies for Christmas for my sweet girl.

Four, yes, FOUR new saddle pads.

A navy blue Baker baby pad with the baker plaid for trimming. It's going to look stunning on her.

Remember the navy blue fleur de lis pad I had that I spilled bleach on? I gave it to Victoria, but I miss that pad, so I'm getting it in hunter green, since with the addition of the baker pad, I will have 2 navy pads already.

A cheapy cotton pad in lavender. I'm getting this because it will match my tendon boots perfectly.

And finally, a pretty Centaur pad in sage. I've been wanting an "earth tone" saddle pad for a while.

I'm getting ear nets to match all of these, except the Baker pad, because I already have a navy ear net. I'm getting a black one to match my custom baby pad. I'm getting a lavender bonnet that will go with all my purple stuff. I thought about getting a white one to go with my white pad with the purple piping, but it will get dirty so fast I decided lavender will be fine.

I'm also getting a couple of new pairs of breeches, and a new halter and lead in a turquoise color. I'm a little ashamed of myself - I'm totally breaching my purple color scheme! But there's only so many "outfits" you can make with purple, and I'm fairly obsessed with ear net-saddle pad "outfits" lately. I would be getting matching polos for everything, but as of late, I'm way to lazy to polo wrap, and it isn't really necessary with our little 30-45 minute light hacks.

I promise to update more often. I'm sure I'll be itching to post pictures of our new "outfits", anyway.

Team Red Mule

I hate that I'm not as much of an avid poster as I used to be. Full time work, school and several animals just kind of kill extracurricular activities!

I did want to share this gem with you guys. By now I'm sure most of you who follow here know that the inside barn joke is that everything is a cow/mule/nag. Most of the regularly ridden horses have some affectionate name with cow, mule or nag ending it. Amber is, of course, Red Mule.

Which is why my new hoodie is the best thing since sliced bread!

Amber has been doing very well since my last post. Much to my dismay, right when things started getting good after my "epiphany" she when into raging heat. Pretty sure she had some tightness, maybe even soreness, in her hind end from that. She was borderline lame she was so stiff, and let me tell you about grouchy!

I gave her like, 4-5 days off just because I felt like she was starting to get stressed and I didn't want to push her if that was the case. First day I planned on riding, there was a farm show in the field across the road. A ton of mules, drafts, carts and buggies, plows, ect were moving about. All the horses on the property were about to flip. One girl was bathing her OTTB, and he sat back and broke his halter, and proceeded to run around the thankfully enclosed area bucking, power trotting and galloping for about 5 minutes.

That was probably should have been a red flag that it wouldn't be a good day for riding, but I was determined not to change my plans to avoid potential misbehavior from my horse.

I had planned on lunging her anyway, as I like to incorporate lunging now to strength her muscles and help get her bending. I thought it would be a good way to bring her back into work after her mini-vacation. It started off nice enough. She was a little "looky", but she walked on the lunge nicely for me, and started to trot nicely also. But when I asked her to canter - she shot off like a rocket and let out a couple of bucks. I was amused, but I got after her for it. We've worked very hard on lunge manners, and she's come too far since her days of rearing and snatching back from the spring/summer of 2011 to let things slide!

She never really slowed her canter but we did manage to get it under control, even if it was a little speedy. Once she seemed to be listening better, I got on and started working her on something like a 20-25m circle. Getting her bending and listening. She was really looking across the road but she wasn't interesting in acting up anymore.

After I had her attention we went full arena, and she was great. She definitely looked at the commotion across the road, but she remained very focused. And our canter under saddle was absolutely brilliant!

Things have been looking up ever since then. I feel like she gets bored with the flatwork, but I don't think Casey feels we are ready to jump again. And I'm not sure we are either. I don't want to push things. She's been really sound and actually improving on the flat, and I don't want to put more upon her than she can handle and start backtracking on the progress we've made by making her lame again.

We did break rules a bit and go for a light gallop the other day. She did buck twice at first when some birds flew out of a bush, but I've learned her ways from previous similar stunts, and really giving her a little push forward is all that's needed to get her mind back on track. I'm not so sure it wasn't more of an "I feel good!" buck rather than the birds that flew out of the bush.

When we returned home she was super relaxed though. Her whole body was just loose and relaxed, it was awesome. It might be beneficial for her, physically and mentally from time to time!

Saturday it was back to work in the arena and we got some cute pictures taken by Jessie! It was a good workout. She spooked at the neighboring dog playing with a bucket, which was great, and I mean that sincerely, because she never does ANYTHING in the way of spooking, ect...something interesting to happen now and then is appreciated.

But anyway, here are the pictures from my latest ride. Maybe I'll try to actually post and keep up with my blog! I should rename it Team Red Mule...

The Epiphany.

I can't even remember where I last left off at. I think it was post-shoeing.

I don't know what's been going on with me. I've been constantly tired and depressed as of late. For the past 2 months+ I have been disgustingly unable to get anything done. My lack of productivity contributed greatly to my depressive state.

I have a lot to update on so I'll start with the big thing:

I had hind shoes put on Amber in August. She did well but in September, a couple of weeks before she was due, several things happened. With the growth she had towards the end of the cycle, we noticed that the farrier had made one hoof noticeably shorter than the other. She either stepped wrong when I was riding, or did something in the pasture - who knows - but her right front ballooned and she was noticeably lame for a couple of weeks. She also threw both shoes within a week of each other.

Because of the unevenness of the trim (probably contributing to the strain and stress on the legs), I went to the other barn farrier that I have avoided. I also had some other issues with the other farrier, which I won't elaborate on as I don't wish to hurt his reputation on the internet. As to the other farrier, I have always liked him as a person, I was just skeptical of his work...but Amber has done better than ever since he started shoeing her. Having only hind shoes seemed to make her uncomfortable on the front. She just seemed unbalanced. So she is now in four shoes, aluminum on the front. I have been extremely pleased. It minimizes toe dragged off, which has greatly improved even so although she still bumps that toe a little in the stride.

At this point, she is happy and comfortable working and after all the treatments, examinations and knowledge I have gained from the professionals who have worked on her, I have chalked it up to conformation. Her pelvis has a tendency to shift to the right, which would make the shorter stride in the left hind and increased difficulty working to the left make sense. It doesn't necessarily mean there is pain. It is something I want to be cautious of to make sure that it doesn't cause pain, of course.

While all that is well and good, for the past month or more, my horse and I have fought nearly to tears every ride/lesson. I can't remember exactly when it started, but at some point she started to rush in one of the front corners of the arena, only when tracking left.

During this time I was having trouble with my equitation. I couldn't seem to sit up. My shoulders rounded and my lower back ached and I couldn't rate the speed of my post. So her rushing in that corner was even harder to control. And it escalated into me snatching, ripping and pulling and working her to frustration in that corner almost every ride. The ride would usually start out good, and then tension and my nit-picking would make everything explode into a fight.

It got to the point where she was just nervous and couldn't relax in that direction, and she anticipated me to rip her a new one every time in that corner.

It finally came to Casey getting on her 3 times in one lesson (possibly a record), to prove to me that the horse COULD do it, and it was me. Thus, the epiphany.

It made me realize that my expectations are my main problem. My perfectionist personality contributes. Before we started jumping in the spring, I had managed to get Amber into a very dressage-y headset. That turned into me expecting that every time I rode, any time I asked. I started to nit pick, and I forgot the golden rule - there has to be a release and reward.

Because I started to get hard with my hands, Casey asked me to drop my contact and float my reins. I missed the point of this entirely and assumed that I shouldn't touch my reins ever, period. I assumed that Casey liked the nose-in-the-dirt way that she went most of the time when I rode like that.

After a talk with Casey, part of my epiphany included me realizing that I can and should have appropriate contact with her. Appropriate contact is something I already know damn well how to have and I am absolutely ashamed that I let myself get to the point where I was ripping and hanging like a spoiled brat that just learned to ride.

I've been somewhat beating myself up over this because in hindsight (oh, how many times have I said hindsight in this blog?), I can't believe I was riding like I was - I know better. I KNOW better. I'm not an ignorant rider, I know what will and won't work and I can't believe I thought my crap would work.

But, fast forward. I have had two wonderful rides since this "epiphany". What Casey and I talked about I kept in mind at all times. I warmed her up on a loose rein and eventually took up contact after she had walked around a few minutes. I can tell she gets tense and worried about certain things, because she is expecting to get hell from me for it, but that will go away with time. She is relaxing so much better than I expected her to. We rode in the indoor one day and the outdoor the next. She only got a little forward in that corner. It was actually not more than a strong working trot. She was very good in her circles, which are something Casey wants us to work on, as well as bending.

I noticed she was almost lazy in her upward transitions, which was good in the situation, because she was at least not worried and ready to rush, rush, rush. We had an excellent canter, both directions.

I think I had greatly misinterpreted what Casey was trying to teach us and what things I should do working and training Amber to benefit us. I had the idea that every ride should be walk, trot, canter on the rail each direction, as per what I thought Casey wanted us to do. I cut out circles, bending, lunging and assumed that I was to keep a consistent pace and let her otherwise do whatever.

And worse, I expected. I expected the same horse every ride, and I expected every ride to be our best ride. I can't expect it, and I know better.

...And that has basically been what has happened since I last posted. Sad, right? Other than another visit from the kinesiologist...nothing major happened there. Just icing muscles and epsom salt poultices.

Well. The good news is, I'm getting a new bridle for Christmas?

Explosives and Horses. NO.

I feel crappy for failing to post regularly as of late. I stay so busy though.

First off, Amber has decided once again that hunters suits her, and is back to dragging her nose in the dirt (not literally, of course), and just generally being fantastic. Nice, consistent, rhythmic trot and canter. GORGEOUS walk to canter transitions. They are frustrating her less and less. Only thing is, I can't ride as much as I would like to because of the extreme heat. The only time I can really ride is in the morning around 8.

Especially since Amber doesn't handle heat well. She really, really doesn't do well when it's 90+. I rode at 11 the other day and she was absolutely drenched from very light work. When I have the same ride, or slightly longer, earlier in the morning when it's only 80, she's usually a little damp on her neck and a bit under her saddle pad.

All she wants to do is stay in her stall, and I can't blame her. I fed up the barn tonight and I always take out two horses at once...so I grabbed her new friend, Ellie, Victoria's new mare, (it's a CHESTNUT MARE, at that!), and decided to grab Amber on the way out. She gave me the most displeased look and turned away. I'm like, okay, fine, you can go out last.

I literally had to turn her fan off to get her to go out. The good news is she isn't stocking much anymore, if at all. Sometimes on the most humid and hot days it will be slight, and you'd only notice if you knew she had been having a problem. And some others in the barn are doing it as well. So at this point I'm not worrying about it.

Still anxious to see if she will jump again. We both loved it, and she's just a natural at it. Of course, even though we know she'll do up to 2'3" with lead changes (and I be she could go higher), I would never do more than 2' out of sheer caution and common sense.

It's funny how I was so opposed to hunters and it seems to be the one thing Amber and I can agree on. Dressage interests her for about two days and then she wants no part of it. And I'm sure I'd get a lot of protest out of the girls at the barn for saying this, but hunters is really NOT that challenging in comparison to dressage, jumpers, eventing, ect. When you get to the higher levels I'm sure it measures up to other disciplines a bit more as far as challenge is concerned, but the reason I've gone the route of hunters is because, at least with Amber, is because it's nearly effortless for both of us. I wanted to make my riding more pleasure focused, and do something that Amber also enjoyed that we didn't really have to work TOO hard at. Voila.

Now. On the note of explosions...

These kids in the house that's beside Amber's pasture were setting off some of those little Cluster Bees - you know, the little mini "fireworks" that fly up in the air and poof? That also have sharp sticks attached that you stick in the ground that go with them when they launch? Yeah those. Spooking all the horses - a couple gave me a scare with some close calls at the fence line. And then I find several that landed in the pasture. Gee, great call asshole parents.

You,

A) See that it is scaring the large prey animals next to your house.

B) Obviously see that these small explosives are landing IN the pasture, that you do NOT own.

C) Must be too stupid to consider that if a horse ran into the area these were landing, they could be injured when the sharp objects fall from quite high.

D) Must also be too stupid to realize that some horse MIGHT be nearly as stupid as you and decide to chew on these.

And today they were setting off some other loud thing(s). Pests.