In 2011 I quit my job and started working at the local racetrack. I love my job but it leaves me with little time/energy to do anything with my Andysaurus. I still visit him and play with him but I haven't had access to a forest for hacking in a couple of years.

I do still have time to decorate him though.

He loves to look for treats while I'm riding him. I have the bad habit of actually feeding him, so his search is often justified. He's my horse though and I love to spoil him. It makes me feel good. :)

Look at that handsome man!

Andy Update

So in the months since I last updated not a whole lot has happened. I started riding with a new coach, went on the 25km ride and moved Andy to a new barn.

I will recap the 25km ride since that is the most interesting. After spending months hacking alone Andy has become a pretty fantastic hack horse and we can go alone or in a group without issue.

The day of the 25 km ride started quite early and began by getting soaking wet. If the pony is going to be seen in public he should at least be clean.


Once everyone was clean and the trailer arrived we promptly loaded them. Everyone loaded like a champ.

We decorated the horses in the theme of one of the recipient charities - Make a Wish Foundation.

Andy was such a ham that every time he saw a camera pointed in his direction, he had to look at it. At least he leaves his ears up!

Andy was fantastic. All of the hacking we did in the spring and early summer really paid off. He was fine with all of the people, traffic, bikes, other horses...everything. And he looked so fantastic that he was even photographed for a local newspaper where he was put in both print and online!

http://www.snapsu.com/index.php?option=com_sngevents&id[0]=186718

Overall, he was pretty damn fantastic!

Andy's First Hack of 2010

This summer I will be taking Andy on the Al Humpfrey Memorial Ride. Yesterday I took him out on our first hack of the spring. He was very good and we spent most of the hack on a loose rein. He will get the day off tomorrow and maybe today, depending on how my schedule goes.

I decorated him for St Paddy's day again. He seems to like dressing up and wearing hats. I ended up riding him with the hat on - he was being very cute!!

I've been working on getting him fit again so that I can start taking lessons regularly. I still haven't found a coach but I do have a few people to call. I just need to make sure that I can afford it. I really want to get to a couple of shows this summer and get to some places for off property schooling. I would really like to get some cross country schooling under our belts.

Andy Updates!

So a few months have passed. I've been extremely busy and unable to update.



Andy and I were taking lessons twice a week (sometimes three times) and the improvement was incredible! He was able to go somewhat straight and was starting to get the idea of balancing himself, slowing down and flexing to the inside through the corners. It was amazing to ride him and remember what he had been like only 3 months before! We started jumping (single fences, one strides and little mini courses) and he was jumping like a dream. The first few lessons over fences he was climbing over them - not really jumping. We switched saddles to something that stayed out of the way of his shoulder and all of a sudden he could JUMP!



We also worked on trotting poles and cantering poles. He really seemed to enjoy those. I think he enjoys little challenges and likes working on something new. Every time we would try something new, he would be all enthusiastic about it.

My last lesson we did a little 4 fence course. I trotted all of the fences (let him canter away, bring him back to a trot and then jump the next one) and he was a superstar! We jumped the flowerbox and he was looking at it the whole way in. He wanted to leave to the left but I kept that leg on and pushed him forward. When we got to the fence, he just jumped it. He looks at the new jumps as he jumps over though and he jumps them really big.

Unfortunately the coach I was riding with has moved...south and west. Reeeally west! So I'm in the market for a new coach. Not taking regular lessons leaves me with little motivation to continue working on things. I did ride last night after a two week hiatus (thanks to a failing car) and he was a very good boy! Other than being tight and having a hard time bending, you would never know he was off for two weeks. In all honesty, he seemed happy to have someone pay attention to him again. :)

Andy in Horse Canada

Here are the pages from Horse Canada with Andy and I.

Andy Is Getting Back Into Work

Last night I lunged Andy again. He seemed happy enough to work. He's been getting into this thing where he starts running as soon as he gets out on the lunge line. I think I should turn him loose in the arena and let him run around first and then lunge him. I'm planning on riding tonight so I'm going to work him pretty hard before I actually get on. I'd like to live through this... :)


Here's another shot of Andy jumping over a pole on the ground. He really loves it. I should start working him over trotting poles. I think that would help him strengthen his back. I'd also like to lunge him in side reins. Since I'm riding tonight I think I'll leave the side reins alone but lunge him in side reins on Thursday.

Andy Gets Acupuncture

The vet came to see Andy on Saturday. After watching him for for all of 5 minutes he was able to see where the problem spots were. We discussed what Andy had been doing for the last few months (all of nothing..) and what my plans for him were. He had an acupuncture treatment and I was advised to get him back into work. I lunged him on Sunday and I will be doing so again tonight. Tomorrow I will lunge him and ride him and then he can have Wednesday off. Thursday I will lunge him again and then lunge and ride on Friday. It should be interesting to see how this all turns out.

On Saturday after the tranq wore off I turned him loose in the arena to have a roll and he decided to run around instead. There was a pole on the ground that he jumped every time he came up to it.

We also went for a walk outside to cool down. I've been working on getting him farther and farther away from the barn on his own. I've only been working in-hand but I am working up to the point where I can hack him alone. That is my goal for this summer - to go hacking alone. If I can get him walking to the woods and back calmly there is no reason why I can't take him hacking. I hate having to rely on someone else to be there in order for me to go hacking.

It will feel good to ride my pony again.