Thursday, March 19, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
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.
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.
Monday, March 16, 2009
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.
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.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Andy Chills Out
Andy is now living outside. He has been a pain in the butt for Kelly for a while now so I told her to leave him out. I brought him in last week and turned him loose in the arena so that he could run around a bit. And run he did... I finally had the opportunity to take some pictures with my new camera so I've included those. It's too bad that the arena is so dusty.
I am still waiting to hear back from the vet. We are making an appointment to get two horses looked at so hopefully that happens soon. I would like to get Andy diagnosed and fixed ASAP.
I am planning on taking him on the Al Humphrey Memorial Ride. The sooner he is sound the sooner we can start getting ready. I'd like to get him some boots by then so that he isn't
uncomfortable on the rocks. I'll have to ride at least three hours a day to get him ready and I would like to ride Whylie as well so that if it comes time for the ride and something happens to Andy I have a back-up. We are trying to come up with good costumes for the ride this year. We need to top last year since we figure at least a few people will be copying us.
The magazine article that Andy and I are in has finally been published. Once I scan the pages I'll be able to post them. He looks pretty good.
Other than that, Andy has just been hanging out. He's actually settled down nicely and has become a little more normal. I'm going to make sure that he gets out into the arena for a run at least once a week. Hopefully that will help him stay calm as well as the 24/7 turn-out.
I am still waiting to hear back from the vet. We are making an appointment to get two horses looked at so hopefully that happens soon. I would like to get Andy diagnosed and fixed ASAP.
I am planning on taking him on the Al Humphrey Memorial Ride. The sooner he is sound the sooner we can start getting ready. I'd like to get him some boots by then so that he isn't
uncomfortable on the rocks. I'll have to ride at least three hours a day to get him ready and I would like to ride Whylie as well so that if it comes time for the ride and something happens to Andy I have a back-up. We are trying to come up with good costumes for the ride this year. We need to top last year since we figure at least a few people will be copying us.The magazine article that Andy and I are in has finally been published. Once I scan the pages I'll be able to post them. He looks pretty good.
Other than that, Andy has just been hanging out. He's actually settled down nicely and has become a little more normal. I'm going to make sure that he gets out into the arena for a run at least once a week. Hopefully that will help him stay calm as well as the 24/7 turn-out.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Andy Sees A Vet
So Andy is still lame... Thus the lack of updates. I've made arrangements for a to see a vet to see him.
In other news the magazine article that he is in came out yesterday. I will be receiving copies next week so I can scan them and post them. I also bought a new camera so that I can take some awesome pictures of him. :)
Tomorrow he is getting a new rain sheet - something lined so that he doesn't get cold. Lucky pony!
In other news the magazine article that he is in came out yesterday. I will be receiving copies next week so I can scan them and post them. I also bought a new camera so that I can take some awesome pictures of him. :)
Tomorrow he is getting a new rain sheet - something lined so that he doesn't get cold. Lucky pony!
Friday, December 19, 2008
Andy's Update
Ever since the winter started Andy has been a bundle of excitement. He seems to love the snow. I'm sure he gave Kelly a hard time this morning on his way out to the paddock. He loves to bounce around in the snow and roll a lot.
Last weekend I had a riding lesson. It was my first lesson with him so I was quite excited about it. Andy was more than enthusiastic about the whole process. I probably should have lunged him first but I was a little curious about what sort of antics he would pull. He was fussy in the cross-ties (probably because I was rushing) and a pain to mount. He stood long enough for me to get in the saddle and then marched off. I've allowed him to do that this winter because he really fights standing still for so long. In the summer months he's much quieter and stands like an old cow. He seems to enjoy being ridden though because he's pretty eager to get going once I've tacked him up.
Anyways, I got on and we started walking around. He spent about 15 minute trying to trot and jig around the ring. I finally got him walking somewhat quietly before we started trotting. I spent another 15 minutes trying to settle him down in the trot. We went on a circle and that's when he exploded. He did his leap-in-the-air-and-buck-at-the-highest-point kind of bucks. Two of them, actually and then proceeded to buck several more times around the circle before settling into a strong canter. He got his right lead and that's all that I was excited about! :) I stayed on no problem - his bucks weren't meant to unseat me and they didn't. They were just, "I feel good and need to let this out!" kind of bucks. Andy has an innocence about him that you can feel when you're handling him and riding him. He doesn't want to hurt you he just feels good.
After he calmed down and was ready to start working Michelle was talking me through having him stretch and how much contact to have when he was offering to stretch. When I thought he was starting to root he was actually trying to stretch, which I had been trying to teach him all along! We did a lot of work at the walk and trot, allowing him to stretch and figure out where his feet should be. She pointed out (very early in the lesson) that I am allowing him to lean on my left rein and that's where a lot of my problems are coming from! As soon as I took it away he was reaching for it, trying to lean on something (because that's what he was used to) and the rein just wasn't there. By the end of the lesson he was a bit better and I was getting used to riding without the rein there. He picked-up his left lead canter quite nicely and then we worked on the right lead canter. The first time I asked he got his left lead and I brought him back, prepared better and asked again. He picked it up beautifully and we went around the ring a couple of times while I worked on having him not lean on that rein.
She had so many wonderful things to say about him and I felt so great afterward. :D It was a fantastic lesson. I'm really looking forward to our next lesson!
Last weekend I had a riding lesson. It was my first lesson with him so I was quite excited about it. Andy was more than enthusiastic about the whole process. I probably should have lunged him first but I was a little curious about what sort of antics he would pull. He was fussy in the cross-ties (probably because I was rushing) and a pain to mount. He stood long enough for me to get in the saddle and then marched off. I've allowed him to do that this winter because he really fights standing still for so long. In the summer months he's much quieter and stands like an old cow. He seems to enjoy being ridden though because he's pretty eager to get going once I've tacked him up.
Anyways, I got on and we started walking around. He spent about 15 minute trying to trot and jig around the ring. I finally got him walking somewhat quietly before we started trotting. I spent another 15 minutes trying to settle him down in the trot. We went on a circle and that's when he exploded. He did his leap-in-the-air-and-buck-at-the-highest-point kind of bucks. Two of them, actually and then proceeded to buck several more times around the circle before settling into a strong canter. He got his right lead and that's all that I was excited about! :) I stayed on no problem - his bucks weren't meant to unseat me and they didn't. They were just, "I feel good and need to let this out!" kind of bucks. Andy has an innocence about him that you can feel when you're handling him and riding him. He doesn't want to hurt you he just feels good.
After he calmed down and was ready to start working Michelle was talking me through having him stretch and how much contact to have when he was offering to stretch. When I thought he was starting to root he was actually trying to stretch, which I had been trying to teach him all along! We did a lot of work at the walk and trot, allowing him to stretch and figure out where his feet should be. She pointed out (very early in the lesson) that I am allowing him to lean on my left rein and that's where a lot of my problems are coming from! As soon as I took it away he was reaching for it, trying to lean on something (because that's what he was used to) and the rein just wasn't there. By the end of the lesson he was a bit better and I was getting used to riding without the rein there. He picked-up his left lead canter quite nicely and then we worked on the right lead canter. The first time I asked he got his left lead and I brought him back, prepared better and asked again. He picked it up beautifully and we went around the ring a couple of times while I worked on having him not lean on that rein.
She had so many wonderful things to say about him and I felt so great afterward. :D It was a fantastic lesson. I'm really looking forward to our next lesson!
Friday, October 17, 2008
A couple of weeks ago we shipped the horses to Fairmont for a weekend of hacking in the Vivian. It was a fantastic weekend and we spent several hours in the woods both Saturday and Sunday. Both horses shipped like champs. Finn splashed around in the pond and Andy put one hoof in. If I had been smart I would have worn rubber boots and brought a pocket full of treats. It just means that we'll have to do it again. I'm hoping for May sometime to go back. :)
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