Desensitization and Goofing Off!!



                                       Scooby sporting my riding vest!

I've never realized how much I torment my horses until recently I went through Chris's phone and found some funny pictures!  I guess this is why my horses are solid citizens!!  We're all about playing with them and doing weird things to them.  In all seriousness though, it makes them braver and much more mentally flexible!  I hate when you have to walk around horses on eggshells.  That being said, I used to yell at Chris all the time for doing weird things to them.  I walked into the barn one day and he was grooming Scooby with our super large barn broom that is almost as big as he is! Or the time he put bell boots on Caesar's ears to make him look like Princess Leia (I'll add that pic later!).  I've learned to lighten up though and actually embrace these strange acts.  I now join in!  I think the horses get a kick out of it too!  Anyone who knows Scooby or has even met him for that matter, knows he is a MAJOR goof ball!!




                 Darby getting a kiss while wearing the "Woody Pellets" bag!

Winter Fun and Second Thoughts....

                                                        Gotta love the bug eyed glasses!

So we are now into the middle of February (Wooohooo!  March March March!) and we have gone a full week without a snow/ice storm!  Yay!  Hopefully the last of the ice on our arena melts off soon!  Next week Chris and I are planning on digging out the jumps that I sooo brilliantly buried in the snow during all of our shovel outs.  They are now six feet under a wall of snow that borders the arena!  Very smart of me!  I really don't know what I was thinking!

The horses are doing great and it looks promising that Darby will be moving on with his potential new mommy =)  As happy as I am, I am definitely dealing with some sadness as well.  This is somewhat suprising for me because as much as I love all of my horses, I am extremely excited when they get sold.  I work very hard and put alot of time and training into them, so when I am rewarded with a sale, I am ecstatic!  Darby is a little different though.  I have shed a few tears everyday since last week!  I am very excited about the possibility of selling him to someone who is going to be very dedicated to him and her riding (and oh yea, did I mention that she is going to be training with me?!?!  That is even more exciting!), but the barn will definitely feel empty without him.  He is very gentle and such a snuggler!  I always look forward to spending time with him.  He's just a laid back guy who loves hanging out with people.  I've definitely bonded with him big time!  Everyone who spends a little bit of time with him feels the same way.  Such a sweetheart!  However, I do tell myself that this is what I love to do and like they say "if you would want to keep this horse for yourself and are having second thoughts about selling him/her, you know this is a great horse!" Soooo true!  I know that ultimately, whoever does buy Darby, will be the happiest/luckiest person around and it is incredibly rewarding to know that I have had a hand in making him into the horse that he is!

My first post!

After much encouragement from my very good friend Shane, I've decided to take up a blog!  I've never really put much thought into chronicling my daily/weekly/monthly activities, but hey, I'm up to giving it a try!   It may actually become a source of stress release!  Almost like writing in a diary, but having some followers!  Sounds kinda interesting! 

Right now we are in the beginning of February and counting down the days until March!  Being that I only have an outdoor arena to ride in, Chris (my fiance) had this wonderful idea to shovel it out everytime it snowed!  Well that was fun for about the first two snowfalls!  We are now in our 6th shovel out and while I have built up some nice arm muscles, I am ready for spring!!!!!!  I must say though, there is a great sense of pride when I ride in my beautifully cleared arena.  Lots of hard work went into it!  Before I used to cry everytime it would snow (now don't get me wrong, I love riding out on the trails in the snow, but it's a  bummer when you can't do a real dressage school in an actual arena).  Last winter I would ride up and down the road leg yielding and shouldering in.  Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do!  I guess Chris heard enough of my crying, so he told me "where there is a will, there is a way".  Soooo true!  Even though it has been a lot of hard work to keep the arena clear, it has been very worth it!  The horses are both in work (Darby is doing especially awesome!),  I have been able to teach some lessons and was even able to show Darby to some folks this past weekend.  Everything is looking good as we approach March and work on getting Scooby ready for his first 2011 Horse Trial at Morven!