The streak is broken.

Yaaaay I finally got a ride in yesterday!

Both arenas are still icy, but the BO and I decided that a close to a month off from riding was just not acceptable. So, we tacked up and went riding off into the corn fields.

I must say that I am SO SO proud of Hampton. Here we are ... a big 3 year old getting fed quite well, hasn't been ridden in close to a month, it's a chilly day, no lunging and we ride straight out into open fields. (And, um, the last time I had Hampton out in the fields it didn't go well) A recipe for disaster for a lot of people. Hampton was a perfect angel. My BO's mare is a safe, sane trail horse so I knew having her along probably tipped the scales in my favor, too. And hey, we only walked but at least it was a ride!

We were out for maybe 40 minutes. Saw a coyote, a few hawks, plenty of tracks in the snow from various beasts. Sometimes, when we both quit talking, just the sound of the horse's walking in the snow was so peaceful. And for a few minutes, I forgot that I couldn't feel my toes an I just enjoyed the beautiful winter scenery .. and my horse.

We got a little too close to a perimeter fence at one point and I heard something growl. "Shit." I said outloud. I was expecting a coyote to appear or something but thankfully nothing happened. Whatever growled though meant business. Yikes.

A Year in (sometimes goofy) Photos

2010 is winding down. It has its moments, that's for sure.

JANUARY 2010. Hairy yak. 

FEBRUARY. Snouts.

MARCH. Nom nom nom

APRIL. 

MAY. Move to new farm.

JUNE. Phish in Chicago.

JULY. Darwin award. :-)

AUGUST. Phish at Deer Creek.

SEPTEMBER. I get a new phone. Test it on kitteh.

OCTOBER. Barn drama. Move back to first barn. Hampton adopts a cat.

NOVEMBER. Back having fun.

DECEMBER. 2010 can kiss my ass. :-)

It's an alien! .. it's ... uh, me.

Annnnnd it's still frigid outside.

This is also what I wear to pick up men.

That's me in my barn get-up. Don't hate. It's warm. :-) I am sure my neighbors must think I am a gas station attendant or mechanic. Possibly a serial killer.

I have nothing new to report. I've just been checking in on Hampton - checking his legs and putting my hand in his blanket to make sure he's still toasty. Everything is hunky-dorey.

The BO and I are getting pretty fed up with not being able to ride. She was talking about driving her car around in the small arena to try and break up the ice. In the meantime, I think I might teach Hampton to pull a sleigh. Remember, I live in hilljack Indiana. By "pull a sleigh" I do not mean this:

I mean this:




Or even better:

Oh, winter. How I hate thee.

So since winter is being a royal bitch this year, I haven't gotten to ride. The ground is just too frozen, or too slick. Stupid stupid stupid. It's frustrating, but I suppose I can get over it this year. I mean, Hampton is still just 3. A month off is good for him. Even if January sucks as well, it won't be so bad. He's still growing. We can pick back up in the spring and likely still be able to do the 4 year old tests.

Anyway, I thought I would share with you one of the most hilarious posts I have read in a long time.
THE MANY ADVENTURES OF LAUREN writes "How to Survive Winter With Horses." It is hilarious, complete with art.

Sole, horse

Here's the good thing about snow. It keeps hooves squeaky clean!

Since it was 14 degrees out today, I didn't ride. Although it was sunny and once I was out at the barn I wished I had dressed to ride because it really didn't feel THAT bad. Oh well.

So on days I don't ride, I just bring Hampton in for his lunch and ... watch him eat. Sometimes I'll find something productive to do, like organize my tack ... or pester a fellow boarder. Today I decided to analyze Hampton's feet. I would at least look busy so I wouldn't get suckered into petting a barn cat.

Anyway, which brings me to this photo:

This is his right front paw. Because his feet are usually dirty, I mostly just pick them out and move on. But the snow has cleaned them up so well that I have just now noticed these bruises! Gah! He's sound, but is this normal? There are a few on his back feet, and none on his left front that I can see at this point. This foot is for sure the worst. 

I've pondered shoes for the beast. If that happens, it will wait until spring. I tried to Google "hoof bruise" but most of the results were of people who had an unfortunate altercation with a hoof and were sporting some really gnarly bruises. ew.

It really needs to warm up so I can get back to riding and not overanalyzing!

Soul horse

Since it's so friggin cold I haven't been able to ride in about a week (boo!! hisss!) so I have been using this down time to send in paperwork, registrations, memberships for Hampton and I to compete at USDF shows next year - including the 4 year old tests. It has cost me an arm and a leg, but a couple of them are lifetime memberships so I won't have to pay them again. I've also had time to reflect on 2010, on my goals and my accomplishments.

Fellow blogger over at A YEAR WITH HORSES recently wrote the post "Are you like your horse, or is your horse who you want to be?"

I knew almost right away that Hampton was a "soul horse." I have ridden and worked with literally hundreds and hundreds of different horses in my short 31 years on this earth. And I have found probably 2-3 soul horses. Because of my calm nature, I tend to get along with just about any horse. For most of my childhood, I rode very hot, squirrley Morgans. I guess after them, anything seems calm and rational. But what Hampton has taught me, is that while I have the ability and skill to handle hot horses, I don't truly ENJOY working with them day after day.

T-Bone. Ugh ... bracing, no overtrack ...

Hampton ... as a young 3 year old ... swingy .. pleasant

Case in point: My previous horse, T-Bone. Don't get me wrong, he turned into a great horse. He was a great boy to start - not a buck or spook in him. But let me tell you. He has the most gnarly neck and rigid back ever. When I say he never bucked, I mean it. His back was so hollow 100% of the time that in the 5 years I owned him, I NEVER saw him buck even in the pasture. In true Morgan fashion, he was too smart to be naughty. He would be quietly evasive to avoid work. He would seem light in the bridle, but in reality he was just braced in the neck. He would go through the motions of lateral work, but his back legs would just shuffle along never really stepping under and pushing. If you used the whip? He would become so tense he would be impossible to ride. His brain would be gone. Horse shows were hell on earth. He would constantly scream, bolt, brace his neck act like he wanted to rear. I took him everywhere in hopes that milage would cure this.

It did not.

This was simply a case of our personalities did not click. However, he did tend to reflect how I was at that point in my life. I was tense, worried, unsure. And hey, aren't we all smart about avoiding work sometimes? I was frustrated with my life - and then frustrated by my horse. We were no longer a good fit, which made me feel better about selling him. Don't get me wrong, I loved the horse. He had a super personality and was really quite safe to ride. But once I started working with Hampton, I KNEW I had made the right choice. The joy came back to riding.

Hampton

Hampton is very much the "person" I hope to be. He has taught me how to live in the moment. He is calm and is not a "freak out" say in the case of spooks or moments of chaos. He is patient and forgiving. He will work for me, but really only as much as I ask him to. lol. When he gets punished, he accepts it and then it's over. He moves on and gets over it. This is a lesson I need to learn from him. He trusts me. I trust him. And he's no dud. He has a naughty streak, but it's funny and manageable. Instead of getting frustrating by his antics, he makes me laugh.

T-Bone (actually not too bad for him)

So there's my novel for today. Sorry for rambling. You should go read the blog post I linked to above as she has a better way of explaining things. Perhaps post your own ideas? I'd love to read them!

On good news - looks like it's going to warm up in the 30s for Friday and Saturday!! Good enough for me to slip in a few rides! YES!

Footing fail and Hampton becomes a nutcase.

Normal, sleepy, quiet Hampton ...

Was supposed to have a lesson today.

The barn I board at does not have an indoor. I can suck it up. But I don't expect my horse to suck it up when it comes to footing. But both arenas were frozen today. So much so that Hampton was sore when I started out lunging him. Not lame, but when he made a canter-trot transition, his back end did a little hippy-hop. Every time. It wasn't just "Oh he took a weird step." It was clearly a "he's sore and can't make the transition." So we (my awesome instructor and I) made the trek out to the hayfield to see if the footing might be better. I have ridden Hampton out there quite a few times and didn't think it would be a problem. FAMOUS LAST WORDS!

Hampton out in the field today.

He walked out to the field quiet and polite.

(cue scary music)

As soon as I sent him off on the lunge line, he began to snort. Then snort louder. Then passage. Then he tried bolting, bucking, running sideways, snorting, more passage, more bolting. The footing MIGHT have been ok if I had a quiet, steady horse. But it was muddy and thus slick for a wild creature who was basically out of control. It was about as wild and unglued as I have EVER seen Hampton. Normally, I would let him get that crap out of his system. But both me and my instructor were scared he would get hurt. And it's not worth it. We walked back and called it a day. Hey, guess he got a little exercise.

To be fair, the footing out in the pasture is also muddy and slick. So he probably hasn't been moving around much. Plus it's cold. Out in the middle of a open field. He's 3 and getting fed QUITE well. What a recipe for a wild poneh!!

I really, REALLY hope he did not hurt himself out there. His hind end slipped several times before I was able to reel him back in from his antics.

The BO is supposed to work on the smaller arena at some point, so hopefully it won't freeze so easy in the future. We won't get much work done if the arena footing is that terrible all winter. I plan to haul out to a nearby indoor for lessons but I can only do that maybe once a month.

I hate winter. Can't you tell?