Long Update

Sorry for the lack of posts, it's been a crazy weekend and I just haven't had the time or patience to sit down and write out a post! But I have lots of pics to make up for it.

So let's see...

Thursday

I went and looked at the barn of the people who want to buy Jazz. It wasn't anything fancy but the fencing was sound, all the stalls were matted (albeit a little wonkily) and had runs attached. Footing in the arena looked adequate and there was some turnout. They live right across the street from my favorite horse trails to ride on and have a creek running through the property that they can swim the horses on. Fun! So it's almost official. Jazz will probably go to her new home sometime next week.

I also lunged Jetta and she looked perfectly sound and definitely ready to go back undersaddle. She got her toes trimmed while I was out and was quite fresh. I meant to bring tack home to ride her in, but completely forgot. I briefly considered riding sans tack in a halter but luckily decided against it. If it had been Jazz or Grady I would have hopped on and gone on a trail ride but Jetta? After almost a month off? I think not...

Showing off her fancy trot in the rain

SO FANCY

Jetta says hi and wants to say that this is still her blog, she doesn't understand why she hasn't been on here recently!

Being a crazypants.

Friday

Went on a trail ride with my friend AR. Her horse just had his teeth floated so she ended up riding Jazz and we just went down the street to her grandparent's house. It was nice to get out of the arena since I haven't trail ridden in quite a while! Jazz was just amazing as usual - the turkeys flying out of the brush at us unexpectedly and AR's decidedly non-horse sense dog running between her legs didn't even cause a flick of her ear. Misty was not quite as nonchalant but wasn't spooky. It was a gorgeous day since it finally decided to stop raining and let the sun come out!

B-e-a-u-tiful day for a trail ride!

AR on Jazz and Sammy the dog ahead of us on the trail

Saturday

No pony time unfortunately.

Sunday

Finally made it out to the barn. Saturday was a little crazy so I definitely needed my time with the girls. I had fantastic rides on both of them, both in dressage tack. Can I just say that Jazz has an amazing lengthened trot? For a QH especially. Jetta needs to take some notes. And speaking of Jetta, I am SO EXCITED to start riding her again. Funny how much I've missed her despite her being such a tough horse to ride.  Misty is doing good, she too has such a nice trot once she gets in the "groove". I feel like we've reached the point where her jog has become well established enough that we can play with transitions within the gaits and it's going well. Canter... not so much. But progress is progress and I'll take it!

Why do I even bother making her clean?!

Needed my saddle/barn time

It was a matchy-matchy kind of day.

So that's life! I have my fingers crossed that tomorrow is going to be another trail ride, either with AR or maybe if she flakes on me I'll take both girls for a ride and pony one. Life with horses is good :)

Reluctant

Well, I may have found Jazz's new home. I finally posted her for sale and had a huge response. The first person came out and looked at her yesterday and I'm going to do a few reference checks and a barn check, then that may be it.

Having her back is hard because she is SO MUCH FUN. I forget how amazing she is, she really is my second heart horse after Grady. Plus, this time around I'm actually selling her instead of just leasing her. Whenever I sent her off to her new year long home, the lessor was always surprised that I wasn't having a hard time giving her away - I was dry eyed and happy because she had a person to pay attention to her like I couldn't.

But, she was still mine. I called the shots - I could take her back at any time, I could ask them to feed her more or less, give or withhold permission for certain things, etc. And I knew I would always get her back at the end.

I'm just reluctant to sell her. I know that anyone she goes to will treasure her, but it just makes me nervous. She deserves the best care there is. I just hope that with my checking out the family that I can make sure that that's what she'll get.

I started tearing up a bit on the way home after they came to see her. It's hard when you've had a horse for 10 years and they've just become an integral part of your life. I'll still make sure that if she ever needs another home, that she'll come back to me. But she'll no longer be mine, she'll have a forever home somewhere else. She deserves a new little girl though, someone who can grow with her and learn with her like I did.

My girl ♥

In slightly less downer news, there's yet another contest! SheMovedtoTexas is doing a giveaway of a Horze leather halter. I've posted about this company before because they have some awesome stuff at great prices. Fingers crossed I win because Misty is in need of a leather halter!

And I saw this on Eventing Nation the other day and it made me laugh: http://eventingnation.com/home/16-gifs-that-perfectly-articulate-how-you-feel.html

Quite accurate except for the dressage show one, I love dressage :)

Favorite 5 Under $50

Lots of contests to enter! This is a post for a contest entry for Nicku at The Polka Dot Periodical and her success in reaching 150 followers, by posting about my favorite 5 horse products under $50.

Also, since I am nearing 100 followers (so close) I'm working on thinking up a good contest to do, so keep an eye out for when that happens.

Canter Mane & Tail Detangler

Cannot. Live. Without it. This is my favorite detangler ever. It's not greasy, it smells nice (like roses!), it works really well and it lasts for more than a few minutes. In fact, it will last a week.

$16.95

Aeropostale Polo Shirts

Ok, this isn't strictly a horse product, BUT this is the polo shirt that I ride in. It's stretchy and fits well plus they come in amazing colors. It's long enough to tuck in, a problem I've run into before even with polo shirts marketed for equestrians. They're not a super technical fabric, but they're still light weight enough that I don't have a problem wearing them in the heat of the summer. The only downside is that they come in the smallest sizes ever... But if you fit into them, I would highly recommend getting one (of every color).

Regularly $24.50, but usually on sale. Currently $9.00

Keratex Hoof Hardener

This stuff has been great, especially for the horses that I transition to working barefoot or for when the weather is being uncooperative and we get a bit of foot soreness. It has worked so well, I've just been amazed. It's a pretty spendy concoction (heaven forbid you spill it!) but for how well it works, it's worth it.

$41.95

SSG Original All Weather Gloves

These have been my go-to gloves for pretty much forever. I have a pair in white and a pair in black. They last a long time, can go through the washer, are comfy and not bulky. I've been meaning to make the step up to some nice leather gloves for schooling, but at this price, they're great for small shows and schooling. Plus, you can even find them in fun, bright colors.

$21.95

Camelot Anti Slip Rubberized Web Reins

While Thinline take up the position of most favorite reins ever in my book, those are definitely not under $50 and the Camelot ones come in a close second. These were fantastic when I first started Jetta under saddle since she liked to root the reins out of my hand but with the rubber on these you have more grip. I don't like the pebbled rubber reins because I find they're too bulky, but these are thin. Also excellent because they have hand stops so it's quite easy to make sure your reins are even, especially if you give lessons you can tell the rider to shorten or lenthen by section. They lasted for three years before they started to fray on the edges but I continued to use them. I had them in black with the buckle ends and I really liked the heavy duty hardware. Well worth the money and the leather was actually quite nice quality too.

$20.95

And lastly, I wanted to do a shoutout for Amy at Slow and Steady Smiler Wins the Race. She's also doing a contest, this time for reaching 100 followers. I've definitely enjoyed following her and Steady on their journey. I'm always amazed when I think back on how far they come and how Amy is able to balance both her own riding with her daughters' and with having a family. I love watching OTTB's in their next life chapter and Steady seems like an awesome horse. So go check them out and give her a follow!

Dressagin' It Up

It's been dressage rides the last couple of days. I've been riding Misty mostly western recently, besides the couple jumping schools thrown in, so I thought it would be good to go back to dressage for a little bit and work on contact and moving forward.

Dressage in western boots because I've "temporarily misplaced" my Dubarry's :(

She's been doing really good. She's still not a huge fan of contact, I'm kind of looking around for a softer bit, maybe a rubber snaffle or something with a thicker mouthpiece, but she's doing oodles better working on moving forward into contact. I've been asking her to really go for a big trot and canter, pushing her out of her more western-y but not quite movement and it feels awesome. She really, really wants to break into the canter when we're trotting, but after a few times of bringing her back down, she settles into a nice forward trot. Cantering... she gets grumpy when I ask for more forward. But we're working on it.

It's going to be back to western for her for the next few weeks. Cows on Wednesday then the 12th-14th we have possibly a Ranch Versatility show or two. 

Jazz is also getting the dressage treatment. She too has an amazing trot but her canter is just sort of "eh". Her canter's never been her best feature, we were always working for more "jump" and roundness and after not being asked for that in a year... well, she's trying. I just don't think she has the muscles for it at the moment, but it will come. Her trot though... I love it. We could probably almost go back out and start showing at First Level again.

Then today, I tried out ponying Misty for the first time. I figure that I have a horse to pony off of for once (I do not trust ponying off of Jetta quite yet...) but with Jazz it's no big deal. In fact, I can let go of the reins and steer with my legs while using both hands to hold onto Misty since I was in the dressage saddle, thus no saddle horn to dally onto. Misty was fine with it, but didn't want to trot. If we're going to go trail riding, I'm going to want to trot, so this was something she has to learn. I'd ask Jazz to trot and use both hands to hold onto the rope and drag Misty along. Once she started trotting = instant slack in the lead rope and she would trot along happily with Jazz and I. By the end of our session I barely had to use any pressure at all on the lead rope to get her to trot along. A double trail ride is definitely in our future :)

I promise that they were more enthused than they look in this picture

Then I finished it off by mounting Misty from Jazz's back and walking around on Misty and ponying Jazz. Jazz was not amused by this change of events, but plodded along willingly. Misty thought it was all fine and dandy - she got to lead! I just had to make sure, that way if something happens on the trail and I need to switch horses I know I won't have a problem!

Overall, a good day at the barn. Misty got her mane all braided up and Jazz got a nice bath. Both girls are looking good!

Pretty day today that felt like fall. I'm not ready for summer to be over!

Good to be Home

It's good to be home... I guess. Really, the only good thing about being home is getting to see my horses. Oh, and probably sleeping in my own bed. Otherwise, getting back to real life sucks.

I had a great time in SD. Almost makes me want to move to a beach town. Almost.

Cool display of horse shoes in Oldtown San Diego

Happy panda at the zoo

Potato chip rock - we stood on that little thin rock. One of the craziest hikes ever.

 

Sunset in La Jolla

Beach!

While I really, really want to be riding Jetta right now, she's at least going to get the rest of this month off to finish healing. I think she'll be fine to go back to riding and we can start conditioning for our endurance ride. I am determined to check this goal off of my list! I went and visited her today and she looks really good. Fat and shiny for sure, I had to loosen the bellyband on her fly sheet! Her hematoma is almost completely gone (yes!) and her back legs are looking better, though still a little scabby.

I stuffed her with apples while I was home. I missed her!

In the meantime, I get to focus on Jazz and Misty. The plan for Jazz, as I said in my last post, is to find her a new home. Meanwhile, we're going to start rebuilding her muscles. She actually looks quite good when she's moving, but she's lost a lot of topline and butt muscles and gained some underneck muscles just from not having to work over her back. So that's the main focus. I'll probably use her to teach Misty to pony, go for some trail rides, let friends ride her, etc.

Getting our dressage on. Jazz says that she prefers western now.

Misty is going back to full, ADD style work. We're going to do some jumping, work some cows, fine tune our working ranch horse skills, and continue the dressage training.

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.

Out of Office

Going to be gone in San Diego for the next week, starting today, so don't expect any posts! I was hoping to get one more post up before I left, but obviously it didn't happen. Oh well!


Just a teaser for what I *was* going to write about:

Photo shoot!