The Amazing Jasmine

I'm back! I had a great trip, though I definitely missed my ponies and one of the first things I did today was go visit Misty and Jazz. 

I mentioned a while ago that I got Jazz back. She was supposed to be leased to a lady for a whole year, but she ended up not being able to keep her for the full time and had to bring her back after nine months which was really sad because they got along perfectly.

The plan is to find Jazz a new home, hopefully permanently. I can't offer her the attention she needs. She could retire at my parent's place, but they are not horse people and after what happened with Grady, I'd really like her to have someone who is actually a horse person to look after her. With that said, she is definitely not ready to retire and while I was worried when she was coming home that maybe it would be time, after simply watching her run around the pasture her first day home, I knew she wasn't ready!

I hopped on her the next day and she was great. Definitely still in western pleasure pony mode, but she felt fantastic. No stiffness at all. This is a horse I rode almost every day for 7 years - english, western, trail, eventing, lessons, you name it, she did it! And I'm just amazed that she hasn't needed injections in all that time. This is what good breeding is all about!

After that one ride, she basically sat for 2 weeks. She did nothing but eat, which was good because she needed some weight unfortunately. Luckily for her, putting weight on is simply a matter of getting turned out on pasture = instant hay belly.

I came home for a weekend and as the sun was setting - my absolute FAVORITE time to ride - I decided to go for a spin on Jazz. Of course I hadn't brought any tack with me, so it was bareback and in a halter. Gosh this horse is amazing! I forgot what it was like to ride a trained horse that I could trust without a doubt.

This lead to me asking my mom in the morning if she'd take some pictures of Jazz and I. My greatest regret is not having pictures of Grady and I that showed what an amazing bond we had. While my bond with Jazz is not quite as strong, I still wanted to have something to show what an incredible horse she is, so we went to the neighbor's outdoor arena and had an impromptu photo shoot bareback and brideless. Gosh this horse is amazing.

Note: I hate not wearing a helmet and I honestly do 99.9% of the time because I know accidents do happen regardless of how good a rider you are and how perfect your horse is. And I also want to set a good example for those around me. With that said, I did choose not to ride with a helmet, simply for aesthetic reasons. These are going to be pictures I'm going to frame and while I think riding without a helmet just because it doesn't "look good" is silly, I'm going to be hypocritical. I still think it's a good idea to wear a helmet at all times. Honestly, it felt really weird and I didn't like not having my helmet on...

I love how they turned out. The lighting was perfect - the sun was coming up and the background sky was a stormy dark grey.

My favorite for sure

You can see her itchy spots where she's rubbed herself raw unfortunately. Which is why I decided to move her up to the barn near school so that she can heal and Jetta can just sit at home until she gets all healed.

I went out to see her yesterday after I got back from my trip and she was way, way better. Hardly any scabs left and the hair is already starting to grow back, whew. She is much happier up here! I lunged her a little bit then did some liberty work. Ahhhh, I love how good she is! She is such a pretty, smart and well behaved horse. Worth her weight in gold and I hope I can find someone who loves her as much as I do! I so wish I had the time and money for three horses because she is definitely one of those one in a million kind of horses.