Breaking the silence with big news!

Svenna is signed up to go to a horse show!

Also the blog has moved, being that Sid is gone.

http://horseandcourse.blogspot.com/

Trapped in Saddle Hell!

Benni pony feeling festive

I haven't blogged much because I haven't done much...at least not on the horsey front. Crazy holidays involving a 19 hour drive south, visiting my old man pony (who lives with my parents), and cleaning out my old tackshed, which was unbelievably sad. Not only did I give away probably 95% of my stuff, but it was like going through and thinking about every horse I've ever had.

I picked up some horseie stuff for Svenna, most excitingly my driving harness! I plan to start teaching her to drive soon, which I think she'll be really good at. Also, she will look even cuter, if that's possible. I also got some new Dublin boots! They are so cute and I always get lots of compliments on them. I've also been riding in them, since why not? I haven't been riding as much as I want, because of the awful, terrible, horrible problem that is saddle fit. Admittedly I am a bit neurotic about it, but "good enough" is NOT good enough. Because of this I've spent the last month or two in saddle hell.

Saddle hell is the sickening place all horse owners have been too...where not one single saddle in the entire universe fits your horse, let alone you too. But being that I have SIX saddles and I only need to fit one pony, I thought I could find something. Wrong. It's a good thing she's comfy bareback since that's about all I've been doing lately.

New boots!

Sooooo I've been in a saddle selling rage. Seriously, all the saddles are for sale, except my very favorite jumping saddle, which isn't great on her, but it's the closest I've got. Also it's almost impossible to fall out of so I can never get rid of it. I've already sold 3 and made enough to buy her something new and nice. Part of the problem with fitting her is how short her back is. It's not a problem with a jumping or dressage saddle, but it's a huge problem for a trail saddle, which tend to be longer/bigger. I don't even have time to deal with saddle issues right now anyway. School is really winding up and organic chemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology, and micro bio are not subjects that are conducive to having a life.

That's all for now...I'll update after her first driving lesson or jumping lesson or saddle breakthrough or whatever comes first. Until then, any recommendations for saddles? I'd like a dressage saddle and also a comfy trail type to fit a round wide-ish short backed pony!

Cute, or Cutest Ever?

Seriously:

Makes my day every time she does it! It has been SO COLD, and I think she's loving it. Today the high was 31 and the low of 7. Jeeze. At least its sunny I guess?? But all this cold has her fresher than I've ever seen her. It's hilarious. She actually has a hell of a buck, which is good in my book...you know what they say, good buckers make good jumpers!!

I've been doing a ton of work with Svenna, both low pressure bareback and trail rides as well as pushing her in the arena. We had a bit of a discussion today about her responsiveness level, and by the end she was MUCH sharper on the aids. Lots and lots of walk-trot-halt-back transitions helped to soften her in the bridle and take more weight behind. Hopefully it sticks and we can have a quick easy no fuss ride tomorrow. I'm a big believer in the get what you want and get off, but today I really made her huff and puff!

Also I finally set up a time to meet Svenna's old mommy...I'm really excited, and I have a lot of questions for her!

Svenna's Beautiful Mommy!

For anyone who is interested I have done some digging about Svenna's breeding (certainly not a procrastination tactic with a big o-chem final on Monday....) and found some interesting stuff.
Her momma (owned by Willow's Edge Farm, which has some super horses). She is supposedly the smallest Fjord in the world, at only 12.2! I'm lucky that Svenna turned out so "big", if 14.2 can be called big.

I don't know much about her daddy and the website has only one pic of him. He looks to be the very heavy big and tall drafty type. He comes from what appears to be a super traditional fjord breeding program South Dakota.

Finally I found her registration baby pics! She was such a precious baby horse. Really. Look how spunky and adorable! I cannot get enough, I think I am totally hooked on Fjords. I can't wait to take Svenna to the Libby, Montana "Nordic Fest" Fjord show to get her inspected. It happens in September, so we've got a long wait. Washington state has more Fjords than any other state (supposedly. A Fjord breeder her told) so I am keeping my eye out for Fjordy events in the area between now an then.

Missing Sid

I love Svenna. I really do. She's been just what I need over the last few months, and I know I'll continue to enjoy her. All that being said, there are times when I really miss Sid. He was such a nice horse to ride. I get regular updates from his new mommy, which is sweet.....but tough. They are working towards things that Svenna will never get to do. Which brings me to one of my most recent realizations: I need to stop comparing the two horses! They are COMPLETELY different, and they are supposed to be. That's why I picked her. Sigh.

Gift wrapped!

Anyway, some pics of Svenna in her new (admittedly ugly and inadvertently Christmas themed) blankie. She's so damn cute. I've been trail riding like a crazy person and she's been amazing. We've seen strollers, kids, cars, other horses, emus (yes really!!) flocks of geese, and cows and nothing bothers her. She loves to trot out in company and is really enjoying the chilly (read: SO COLD) weather.

 So I've written before about how crazy smart she is, but I think she is even cuter when she's being kinda dopey. See that pic which her pulling up the edge of the mat? Yea...she got her face down far enough, and the mat up high enough so that when she let it go with her foot she'd smack herself in the face with the mat. Repeatedly. I was dying laughing. She was almost not even surprised...no struggling or freaking out in the cross ties. Just bored and being over dramatic about it!

Her progress under saddle has been super. Picking up the canter much better, being more forward, all the usual baby steps. The important news is that we are having a JUMPING lesson on Friday or Saturday. I'm totally excited...we've been doing lots of poles and a few teeny tiny crossrails here and there, but I want to see what she does with a jump she can't just trot over.

So hopefully I have a good update later in the week. I'm on break for Thanksgiving so able to do a bit more riding/writing. And studying. Always more studying. Blah. I've been using my new ochem skills to research metabolic supplements for my fatty mare, so at least I'm using it for something, right??

More than just a pretty face

My schedule is still crazy busy but I had a friend come to the farm so I could finally get some pics of me actually riding the ponster. She's doing super well...no dumb blond here! I can hardly make a shape or do a certain exercise more than once without her feeling like she's got it all figured out. Her biggest "flaw" is still how stiff she is, but she is making huge strides in terms of learning to move over her back instead of the typical pony nose-in-the-air no bend routine that she started with. 

Tiny pony strides are getting longer

She's never going to be some super athletic big moving horse, but that's ok...I just need her to soften up, everywhere. She's WAY better than a few weeks ago, but still has a tendency to drag when she isn't sure what I'm asking or just plain doesn't want to do it. I'm having a lot of fun with her, and I'm curious to see how "nice" I can make her in terms of suppleness/gaits/responsiveness. Like I said, she's wicked smart, and is now very respectful and tries to be obedient, so the rest will come with strength and time. I'm excited, I love a project!

I know I asked about bits a few weeks ago and I thought I'd give an update on that front. After trying a few things I've ended up with a myler, a brand I've never had before. It's technically a kimberwick, but it has no real port and I've wrapped the bars of the bit and the curb strap with latex so it's nice and soft now. Also it articulates to the left and right so it's much clearer about left vs right than just a straight bar. There is very little leverage, and I mostly ride on the top rein, but the bottom rein is great to have when I need it. 

I still put her back in the HS D to check her progress periodically, as I would like to get her back in something dressage approved eventually, but for now its just what we need and makes riding a lot more pleasant!

She's much better in the canter, I'm making lots of circles and trying to help her get her balance. All her gaits are pretty downhill, which I'm thinking is as much about lack of strength and balance as it is about training. I'm SURE no one has ever asked her to sit down on her hocks before, so part of it is getting lost in translation, but for now I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt that she's chubby and unfit. Still cute as can be though!!!

Saying Goodbye

Even though Sid sold two weeks ago, school has been so crazy I didn't get to go and officially say goodbye till last weekend. I'm happy I din't wait any longer as I guess he left the sales farm this morning. Of course it was really, really sad, but sending him away for this whole process was the smart way to go. And the amount of work I have in my class has made me even more positive that it was definitely the right decision to sell. All of that said though, If I'd had to do it myself I don't think I could have. Looking at his cute face everyday would have been too much. So, being that I don't really have time to write anything thoughtful I took a bunch of pics and will let those do the talking. The weather was really horrific so please excuse the weird outfit. It is WA after all. 

Silly cheeky baby horse wonders why I even bothered  to come if I didn't bring carrots.
Also my laughing while crying face is not attractive. 

  

BF has the great idea to just give him his favorite- wild growing "spikey weeds"

I taught him to "make that face"- the finger in the air is the command. His new owner doesn't even know :(

No more messing around, really time to go. Our last picture together

He watched me walk alllllllll the way to the car, like he always does. Whenever I'm on the property with him he never takes his eyes off me. 

In other news, Svenna is still cute, even though I continue to take only unflattering pictures of her that make her appear very strangely conformed. And I finally found a dressage girth short enough to fit her (18"!!), so we put on the treeless dressage saddle for the first time today (Heather Moffet/enlightened equitation brand that I bought as a "back up" for when my treed saddles were not fitting/needing to be adjusted etc).

It was insanely windy, and I don't think she was super thrilled with my decision to ride anyways. I think her face says it all:

Burr-lets just eat food and snuggle inside

Anyway, I'm hoping to get some video of us together soon, as I really feel like she is starting to "get it". I'll for sure post it here so that everyone can see what a cute, sassy little thing she is under saddle. Also a jumping update coming soon!

It's official

I now only own ponies. Sid's new mom seems great, but it's just heartbreaking. Every little thing sets me off...the show clothes going to storage,  his blankets, boots, and bridles in every closet, pics of our first show on the mantel. The whole apartment is like a shrine to Sid. He isn't leaving the farm he's at for a while, so I'm going to go say goodbye next weekend. To top it all off I just got the professional pics from a few weeks ago. Someday when I'm a little less worked up over it I'll get my favorite framed:

I know it's the right decision for both of us, and I wish him and his new mommy all the best.