A Hard Keeper? Or...

**Updated.

There is a horse I am interested in. I am not at the place where I would buy him just yet, but I have been keeping my eye on this guy for over a year and have ridden him several times. I want my first horse purchase to be as educated as I can, so I'm trying to get to know some potentials. It's a hard thing to do when you aren't sure exactly when you want to buy. Also, I don't have the time I would like to ride Brumby, let alone other horses (although I always convince myself that I will!). For the last few months, I have been really consistent in riding, except for missing 2 rides after surgery and one due to inclement weather (a combination of over 43 humidex plus a later thunderstorm). I have been very, very happy with this and I really hope I can keep it up once Alex leaves in a week.

When Brumby pulled a shoe and the backup farriers were apparently incapable of keeping it on for more than a day I thought we would be set back quite a bit without being able to jump the grass course. It was a hidden blessing though because it gave me another opportunity to ride this particular horse. It got me thinking again about his potential for purchase.

You've met this guy before, if you've been reading for awhile. He is TB/Hannoverian, about 16hh. Not the best conformation but not too bad either and when he's in good weight and muscle he looks much improved.

Summer 2010.

 

Around here, show-ready but perhaps a touch green or inexperienced horses can still go for $15-$20,000. It's hard to say exactly what that type of horse actually sells for, versus listing price, but I know a few talented, very seasoned, show horses that sold for around $8,000. This guy's asking price is in the 8k region but I'm guessing I could do even better than that for him. And he is nicely trained, started slowly, and is really coming along well. I love riding him and most of our hiccups are simply because I only hop on him once or twice every few months and he is such a different horse from Brumby.

In so many ways, he is the perfect horse for me. Yes, I would still consider him pretty green, but he's more mentally mature than Brumby, despite being 3 years younger. His training and rideability are also more advanced than Brumby's were when I started leasing him almost 2 years ago. In fact, he might be more advanced even now, especially since this guy has never had the bad training that Brumby had. Plus he's in a training program with someone I trust.

All things to love. Except...

Except he seems to have an issue with keeping weight on. He seemed pretty slow to mature and didn't even begin to look like a horse until the late spring/summer of his 4th year. He wasn't started under saddle until then, which I think was a very good decision. He did have some handling and basic groundwork before then and is good with everything but still has some minor greenie issues.

It's not like he has ever looked like a starving horse, he just looks a little thin and underdeveloped at times. He can also look quite good, when he is being fed extra grain and in regular work. Even then, he stays slim. Perhaps it's the TB blood? I'm told his dam, who they knew well, was very light in build.

I don't mind a horse that is naturally lean, in fact I prefer it to over-muscled or over-weight. But this past winter the horse was put out 24/7 for a couple weeks and stopped getting any grain because my coach/his trainer thought he was still coming in at night at which time he'd be fed. . He dropped weight shockingly fast. Now, this was also Canadian winter and he has never worn a blanket in his life. He also lived outdoors until he started training at which point he was in from about 8pm to 6am, so he's well acclimatized. He is fed free-choice hay of good quality (I doubt it's great but all the horses do well on it) and although I don't know exactly how much, he has recently been switched to Shur Gain Xplosuion plus gets something else (a vit/min balancer, I think) and vegetable oil. It might seem weird that I don't know the details but again, this isn't my horse.

I guess what it comes down to is if there is some kind of screening I could/should ask for during a vet check and if so, what?  As with all things horse, it could be so many things, so if there's a blood test or something that could eliminate a problem I won't be able to fix/manage than I'd like to know.

I've already spoken to his owner about getting his teeth done, so that should happen soon. He is on a regular worming program along with the rest of the horses boarded there. I feel pretty sure that if I *ahem* I mean someone, were to really put their time and love into his care, he would flourish. I would start with teeth, re-evaluate his feed (also known as asking Jason tons of questions!), and probably blanket during the winter (although he will honestly shred them to pieces within days).

My idea so far is to lease him in the fall if he hasn't sold yet. I'm ready to move on from Brumby, regardless of how our show season goes. I've talked to the barn owners (they own him) and they are happy with that idea. Well, they would rather me purchase him, I'm sure! The entire barn is pretty much convinced that he should be mine; I am trying to be a little rational about the decision. Famous last words!

testing...testing...123

Testing out my laptop with a new keyboard installed. So far, so good. But I'm not holding my breath!

The first keyboard replacement they sent was completely bent out of shape. Interesting, considering the box it came in was perfectly fine, don't you think??

1234567890-=
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

Hmm, seems ok. Now I will see if it continues to turn itself on and off at random...

later folks!

Just Ugh.

I thought I'd just let everyone know I'm alive. I had oral surgery on Friday and am recovering slowly. I thought for sure I would ride on Sunday...yeah, not so much. I really need to get to work tomorrow but I honestly can't imagine being upright for more than an hour or so. I also can't talk very well and although it amuses my husband greatly to hear me lisp, I myself am not amused.

I also ruined my laptop...at least I think I did. Yep, my NEW laptop. I decided to dump a full glass of wine on the keyboard. I did everything you are supposed to do when you do something stupid like that and I am in the process of seeing if it can be rehabbed successfully. It's not looking good.

Oh, and I haven't complained about the rain yet. Seriously, it's ridiculous and depressing. I've actually been worried that my veggies will be getting too much rain! Good thing it's early in the season, I think they can handle it better now. The only thing it's been really good for is the new trees. We happen to have 3 new trees plus one that we (and by 'we' I mean Alex) dug up and moved a few feet. So yes, I think the rain has been good for those trees especially.

I'd show you pictures but they were all on the laptop that is pretty much dead.

Somehow, I still have my heart set on my first show being June 11. Still no jumping course set up outside so we've been mostly working gymnastics for weeks. Plus I can't ride until Wednesday at the earliest. I still want to go to that one though. It's the only one that my husband will be able to attend until the fall and I'd really like him there. It would also be really nice to have my first show while he's around to help me out with the dog etc. Fingers crossed!

Horses and Riding Update (it's about time!)

I uploaded a video to a draft post awhile ago and now can finally actually try to post it. I don't know about anyone else, but I haven't been able to comment or post for a couple days due to Blogger being "unavailable".

This particular day in the video (below) was one where we were working on much smaller jumps but working on responsiveness of the horse. I had a couple tough weeks with Brumby once we started riding outside again - he was doing a lot of this:

which wasn't very fun. 

It looks pretty tame but feels pretty big.

 The time I typically have to work on these issues is when I'm alone. When I'm alone, I have less gumption for gettin' er done because I've never really been sure that he would, in fact, give up at some point. I envisioned starting a fight I would never win. One week, instead of working on more technical stuff, I asked my instructor to help me fight Brumby's boogey men. So we would work a gymnastic, set up on the galloping track, and then I would continue around the whole track, working through his tantrums. I changed what we were doing a lot. Tucking in and not looking where he was going? Fine, we did a series of 6 trot poles. Running off after gymnastic? Turn into the sand ring and do some figures, trot poles etc. Not wanting to go straight beyond the boogey man spot? Ok, we're going around the whole track. It helped immeasurably to have eyes on the ground. It gave me the confidence I needed to work him through it and learn that he does have a give-up point.

While I do think there is an element of fear in Brumby's behaviour at his boogey man locations, he is not the kind of horse that will get over it in a soft, gentle manner. I've worked horses like that; those who just need a bit of extra time and reassurance to go forward. That has not worked for us AT ALL. What works for him is to be confident and firm about where you want him to go. I am still sensitive to his worries but am much more determined in telling him that there is nothing to worry about. In the beginning, I got after him pretty hard until I got forward.

The beauty is that by making him go he reacts less and less each time out. When I gave him tons of time to look, etc, he just got more and more worked up about it. Now, most of the time, the resistance can be overcome just with my seat.

Where was I? Oh yes! So after a couple months of fabulous work indoors and begining to overcome some outdoor issues, we've been back to serious work.

In this video, the jumps are pretty small but we were working on rhythm and getting the right lead at the end of the line. Gumby's right lead is always an issue and I really wish his owner would agree to a chiro visit or massage.

So here is an example from that lesson.

I wish I could get pictures and/or video more often but my husband comes to the barn rarely and he's out of town all summer so it doesn't happen. One of these days someone will gift me the Flip I've been wanting forever and I will get more with or without him! Tonight would have been an awesome night for video - we did some pretty tight roll-backs and lots of fun stuff. Last year, I never would have thought any of this was possible.

I can't wait until our grass jumping course opens!

Forsythia

Until yesterday, this was my large forsythia.

What? You aren't overwhelmed with it's beauty?? Me neither!

 Finally, yesterday morning I woke up to those cheery yellow blooms.  The rain has kept me from taking a photo, but they look much the same as last year (see photo below), although we've done some pruning to the bush.

Such a happy sign of spring.

Thanks to Jason and his data back to 1929, I know that the average date of forsythia bloom around here (well, a little South-West of me) is April 23.  The earliest bloom date he had recorded until last year was April 14 and the latest was May 4th. I never did find out what Jason's exact bloom date was at his Ontario home last year, but mine was in full bloom on April 3rd and had actually bloomed a few days before that.  I didn't think to record an exact date at the time but I'm sure I will record the forsythia bloom forever more! The continuation and spread of tradition :-)

So, although this year (my 2nd spring here),  felt extremely late to me, it is probably well within normal ranges. This does not help me much since my pepper seedlings are huge and NEED to go outside!! That's for the next garden  post.

You know what they say about good fences...

...they make good neighbours. I wholeheartedly agree with this statement. It's not that I don't like my neighbours, quite the contrary, actually. I just really value my privacy and the fences separate my little haven from the kid-chaos next door.

Most of the fencing was put in new just before we bought the house but there is one portion that is old. We've been cross-bracing some of the planks to keep them up. Well, with the high winds we've had lately, that section didn't stand a chance!

This is what we woke up to the other day.

So that will be the next improvement we make around here! I'm actually pretty happy about this because I want/need a new gate on that side of the yard and now I get one!

Snappy Anniversary!

Tonight I asked my husband Alex what title he would give to our dinner. He instantly responded, "Snappy Anniversary."  My original title was going to be something like "Wild Red Snapper Bathed in Herb Butter"...I went with his suggestion. Today is our 4-year wedding anniversary and it's also been 12 years since we first started dating!

It sounds like such a long time but really doesn't feel that long. While it feels like I've always known him - we met at 18 because we both rock climbed at the same gym. It wasn't until 2 years later that we got to know each other a little more and went on our first date. Timing was right and so was the fact that neither one of us were into the game-playing that was typical of our age group and past relationships.

So here we are, at 32, celebrating an adult life together that has undergone many changes. From undergraduates, to Masters and PhD students, to professionals. From living in 2 rooms of my Mom's house, to our first tiny apartment, to living in different cities, and finally buying our first (dream) house. It's been a good progression but you know what?? It still seems like we are in our early 20's. Sure, now we can afford to do many of the things we want to do but not much else has changed. We have more responsibilities but we are just as fun-loving and silly as ever. At least I like to think so!

The only down side is running into my husband's students in places like the liquor store while buying wine, or the retail store while I try on new work suits. I shop away from downtown just to avoid this!

Ok, so the business at hand --- dinner!  I am SO behind on food posts!! Tonight was simple fare because we had to pick up our locally-made rain barrel after work and it was a little ways away from us. I decided we should stop at a good fish monger that I know which is in between our rain barrel location and home.

So, we walked Hazel at a dog park closer to where we heading for the rain barrel. There, we ran into friends (canine and human) that I knew from my time in Guelph. I had just finished saying to Alex that the dog looked like so-and-so...when the dog's owner and I made eye contact! So cool! Hazel and her friend definitely recognized each other, even though it has been about 3 years!

After our reunion, we went to the fish monger and picked out some wild BC red snapper.

I mixed some softened butter with dill, lemon zest, salt, pepper, and a homemade dried blend of hot peppers, onions, garlic, and parsley (we call it "Sasha's blend" because Alex came up with it and "Sasha" is the nickname for Alexandre in Russian, so that's what I call him. I spread this over both fillets before baking. It wasn't much butter but made it like it was poached in herb-butter.

I also made a mayonnaise with lemon zest, dill, lemon juice, pepper, and our special blend of spices. Served with rice and steamed snap peas. Simple and delicious!