Playing Catch Up

Hello, hello!

I know, I've been a stranger. The good news is that I've been seeing my horse more than I've been posting on here. That's a start, right!?

I'll keep it brief and just try to update you on what's happened.

We're still with Jeff. He's a fabulous caretaker and has been helping me a lot. Rei's put on a bit of weight and is happier and healthier and getting better every time I see her! She's still one of the smartest, most well-behaved horses I've ever been around and I still feel absolutely lucky to have found her.

We went on a trail ride or two with Jeff and she behaved perfectly. In fact, she was more spook-proof (albeit more energetic and less bit-wearing) than Jeff's tried-and-true trail horse he puts beginners on. I was a very, very proud mom!

We did arena work and she learned to stand still for mounting really quickly. It took only once or twice around the dressage arena for her to realize that nothing was out to eat her (we played "touch it!" with three objects, a total of 5-10 minutes, and she was totally fine after that). We had a bit of an issue leading from the barn to the ring but otherwise she was perfect.

Jeff moved to a different facility, and we followed him there. I trail rode Rei over there on the side of a country road alone (don't worry, it was only a 10-minute trail ride, I had my phone and Jeff waiting on the other end timing me). We had a few bumpy spots where she was quite certain she didn't want to go forward, but we got through them alone and with me still mounted! The little traffic we saw didn't bother her, and she was a champ! She didn't even try to take off when we got to the new barn and her friends were yelling at her; she waited and listened and was very polite (albeit vocal). So proud. :)

The new barn has tons of grass for my girlie to munch on and she's made lots of friends and is generally a very happy pony. We got her teeth floated and a vet to look at her; the vet was super impressed that she was so trusting and well-behaved and wanted to know all my secrets! She also told me I was on track with Rei and doing everything I was supposed to be doing and that it would take several months for her to make a full recovery still (6-8). But... I'm on the right track, Reina looks like she's bouncing back well and that I could call her if I had any questions.

She even made Rei the patient of the month because she was such a good girl!!! :D

Apart from that... I saw her today after a few weeks of various things keeping me away - out of the country, then the new semester started... all excuses, naturally, but true nevertheless. I gave her a bath today and loved on her and she rubbed on me and acted generally very pleased to see me after she pouted for a minute or two. She's such a prima donna... she loves baths, and getting her tail brushed. Silly.

So that's been our summer in a nutshell. No conditioning, not too much training... just fun and playing and moving barns and getting her better (and me being busy). Hopefully I'll be able to start making more time to see my baby and play with her more; she still remembers her food manners, how to back up and move sideways with a touch, and what a peppermint wrapper sounds like! Some things never change, hm? :D

Success!!

After the terribleness that was her last trailer loading, Reina responded to the trailer with an "oh-HELL-no" look as soon as she saw what we were walking towards. Some clicks and treats later, and I had her loading halfway into the traler quietly and sniffing around. Finally, we got a bit of grain and willingly bribed her into it. Not the way I wanted it to go, mind you, but she was relatively relaxed the whole time and there was no drama whatsoever. The whole thing took maybe 15-20 minutes. Once Jeff gets his new trailer, I'm going to borrow it so that we can have trailer loading practice and bribes won't be necessary anymore.

Anyways! She rode really quiet and was a very good girl on the way to Jeff's barn. She backed out a little fast but was otherwise unphased; so I walked her to her new barn and into her new stall. She was up and wide-eyed but very obedient and responsive to me. I coaxed her into the barn with little to no issues, and then I walked her into her new stall and, much to my surprise, she walked right in and settled almost immediately. Good girl!

She got hay and got to look out her stall's back window and got fed grain as well. We turned her out with the other horses and they ran her a little bit, but settled in quite nicely without any mare drama to really speak of. She's already relaxing quite well and I'm loving the barn and its owner/manager! It's so nice and I have a really good feeling about this place. I feel spoiled already!

We have our own bridle hook in the tack room and a spot against the wall for my stuff as well as a saddle rack. Reina has the stall right next to the tack room (score!!) for when there's bad weather or during feeding time. Jeff's already working on setting up her feed schedule so that she'll put more weight on, and I simply can't wait!

Jeff and I walked to the back paddock with Reina and the other horses to watch and make sure they were getting along with one another nicely. Reina, my alpha mare, shockingly didn't put up much of a fight and was rather passive! It worked out fine, though, because the other horses seemed to accept her pretty readily. Perhaps she was just out of sorts and feeling less sassy than usual because she's in a new place and everything. The good news is that her trotting around gave Jeff a chance to see her move, and he commented (all on his own; I didn't ask!) that she was a pretty mover. Yay!! And on top of that, she was awfully adorable, loving on me and whuffling at me when she got nervous throughout the ordeal. I'm so glad she can look to me for emotional support!!

Rei had gone out to eat grass and was pretty far away while Jeff and I were talking. Suddenly, she turns and starts walking towards us, ears pricked, head low. I was like, hmm, what's she doing? There's no grass over here! She walked right up to me and off to the side a little bit, and stood there quietly until I came up and petted her shoulder. She turned her head around to look at me like "hi, Mom! Whatcha doin'? Will you stay with me just in case?" and she dropped her head in my hands and I rubbed on her for a few minutes. She's such a big baby!

She left after while, though, to go graze again and inch closer to her new herd. Jeff and I left them and I went to go home.

Did I mention that I have a great feeling about this place??

Here's to Hoping!

Yesterday I spent a bit more time with Reina doing targeting work. She caught on fast - as usual - and soon, I had her following my lunge whip in circles around me (to both sides) and walking with her following it with her nose. It was adorable.

This is all in preparation of trailer loading day... which just happens to be tomorrow! Oh my goodness, I'm nervous. I hope she walks on all right! Our last experience with the trailer was shaky at best, but our relationship was also next to nonexistent then as well. I'm hoping that her loving and trusting me now will make her less skeptical when I tell her trailers are not, in fact, scary horse-eating monsters.

Jeff (the owner of the new barn I'm going to!) will have his horse in the trailer already, so maybe that will add to her not being so scared? I hope.

Anyways, I've done all I can really do in preparation so I just have to wait and hope that it'll turn out well!

Will keep you all updated. :D

I Fail at Blog Upkeep

Hello, everyone! Sorry, I know I've been neglecting this blog. I have not, however, been neglecting my horse! Which is good.

Anyways, a few things have happened. I've mostly been keeping quiet because my plans were rather up in the air, but it's settled now. I'm moving barns! Reasons for this... I won't go into. It's not pretty, though!

So, I visited Reina on Tuesday and worked undersaddle in one of our makeshift arenas. It was like 92 freaking degrees outside (ugh!!) so we didn't last long, needless to say. The good news is that we worked in a different paddock than usual, and she was super good and didn't really spook at anything!!

Reina enjoying a drink post-ride!

Not too much to report about that, but she was a very good girl! We worked on stopping and rhythm and not rushing her gaits. She was "up," naturally, because I hadn't ridden in a while. She was responsive though and we really only had one tiff where I got impatient. We trotted around the ring like 5 times until we were both huffing and puffing from the heat and then she decided that maybe she didn't want to rush headlong around the arena, lol!

Then we worked on trail horse things and I taught her to open the gate again with me on her. She was confused, though, and got a little nervous, but she kept trying different things - back up? turn around? sideways? - until I clicked. Then she realized that I was going to help her get the right answer and that she shouldn't feel abandoned or overfaced, and she calmed right down and kept trying until she got the right answers. It was wonderful!!

Then I rinsed her off completely, and she looked like a drowned rat (and kept giving me pathetic looks about it, too!).

And then, like all wet horses, she decided to...

ROLL! Ack!!!

Afterwards she was half Reina, half Sawdust Monster. I tried to brush her off as best I could, but there was only so much I could do at that point! Sigh, horses.

Yesterday I went out again, and we only did groundwork with my brand new, adorable, multicolored "stock whip". It was awesome and she was amazing. She catches on so fast; seriously, she is sooo smart!!

We worked on targeting! We'll be moving soon and I want to make trailer loading as stress-free as possible, and following a target is one of the easiest ways to make a horse feel comfortable. So! We worked on targeting, and my whip made a perfect target. She caught on fast and was soon tracking it and following it a bit!

Then we worked on responsiveness and stepping forward when I asked and yielding her hindquarters. She caught on fast and was almost a pro by the end of the session. What a smart girl! We ended on a happy note and didn't do anything else that day; I wanted to give her time to really soak in those lessons because they're very basic and she needs to have them down pat before we advance to lateral work on the ground.

So! That's it! More about moving and my new barn soon; oh my goodness, I'm excited, it's going to be sooo fabulous!

SUMMER!!!

It's finally here!

I slept 14 hours last night and the only thing I had to do today was go see Reina. So I did!

Laurie met me out there and we went on a mini trail ride. It was hot, we were tired, but it was so so so good to be out again! Reina was overjoyed to see me and I groomed her til she shone! Her winter coat's about 99% gone and man does she look fabulous! :)

Even though I hadn't ridden in... gosh, I don't even want to think about how long it's been... she was perfect! She was just the same as always, except she was a bit girthier than usual (I don't really blame her though - I could barely fit her girth around her today, I don't know why! I hope it's because she's gained weight, though, haha) and a little more opinionated. But I didn't mind in the slightest. She still listened and wanted to go and stopped when I asked and loved on me like you wouldn't believe because she was so happy I was there.

Chi said she hadn't been eating as well lately, and she thinks it's probably because I haven't been out as much. My poor baby! I felt awful, but there wasn't much I could do. Since I'm done with school now, though, I'll be out all the time!

I also need to get her teeth floated... just have to find someone here I trust to be able to do it for me. Hmm!

Anyways, yup, that's about it. She was wonderful, being out there again was wonderful. Her manners were perfect, she hasn't forgotten anything I've taught her, and she was very level-headed even though we went straight out to the trail. I love my horse!!! :D

Mini Visits & a Whinny

Basically exactly what the title says.

I went out for just a few minutes yesterday because I had to drop off board (my favorite activity.. yay. lol), and I decided to see Laurie and snuggle Reina for a few minutes while I was out. Unfortunately, that's all I could really do, because of stupid finals being stupid. But soon, soon, I will be done for the summer!

Anyways, as Laurie and I were walking up to Reina's paddock, she looked at me, pricked her ears (as usual) and then... she let out a huuuuuge whinny!! I was like, "OMGosh, Rei, was that for meeee!?!" and Laurie was like "well it sure as heck wasn't for me!"

I laughed and said that's the first time she's done that to me - because it was! Laurie almost didn't believe me that Reina hadn't talked to me before. She was like, "but that horse loves you so fricken much!" I'm just glad it's mutual!!

Maybe she was feeling lonely because her buddy Comanche left to be bred to the stud, or maybe she just missed me because I hadn't been out in a few days, or maybe we've bonded enough for her to say hi whenever I come up! Whatever it was, I think it was the cutest thing ever and my heart melted right into my boots!

I stayed for about an hour, loving on Rei and talking to Laurie about boys and school and horses and God and everything inbetween. Reina just chilled, didn't move the entire time but to wiggle her lip at the fence and drop her head into my hands when she wanted rubs. It was adorable and she got 2 peppermints for hanging out with us when she was at liberty in her paddock.

Horses are awesome.
Finals are not!

Engagement Rings & New Trails

Chi's getting married!!!

She went to see her long-distance boyfriend last weekend, and he proposed! Down on one knee and everything! Her ring is giant and huge and sparkly and fabulous. She loves it, and she's so happy, and I'm so happy for her! Yay!!

Oh, and I rode today! Haha. Laurie and I went out trail riding and we adventured down two new paths we've never taken before!

But first, pictures of my adorable horse:

Awww!

Okay, so, we trotted a lot on this trail because it's fun! And Reina was oh-so-good, she was moving off my leg and sometimes I didn't even have to squeeze. It was so lovely! She was so responsive and in tune with me, it was amazing. Totally different from riding Apollo; even if she doesn't know as much, I soooo appreciate her trying! She tries so fricken hard to please me, she's such a good girl.

So both of the trails we took were total dead ends... but it didn't matter, because it was mad fun and we got to explore a little bit! Reina was absolutely perfect and acted just like we were on our regular trail. She didn't look or spook or get nervous at all. I was very impressed with her! I was wondering how she'd be on a new trail, and, well, now I know!

Lookit those cute little ears!

Those are of the second adventure we took, at the end. It's a road! We have no idea what road or what it is, but it was very pretty and Reina was totally unconcerned. In fact, she got impatient when I asked her to stand for pictures!

Did I mention that she was amazingly good? :)

I gave her the second round of wormer today and put on more fly stuff (will discuss that in a later post, but it lasts 2 weeks and it's freaking amazing, I've noticed a huge difference!!)... she's still much thinner than I would like, but would you look at that coat!? Good God is she shiny! At least she's looking much healthier apart from her weight. I'll give myself credit for that, at least!

So yeah! That was about it. I mean, she listened super well. And we got to work on patience, as Rei had to stop and wait for things a few times. She's so silly, she starts yawning as soon as we stop and she'll reach around to bump my boot with her nose. "MOM! MOM! I'm BORED! Can I go yet!?" We'll have to work on that... but it's a far cry from her hopping, head-tossing, pawing, impatient self when I first got her! If that's not progress, I don't know what is!

Hopefully I'll get to go out again tomorrow. The semester is trickling to an end, so all I have to do is study. I'm praying that means I'll get more saddle time!!

Oh, more good news? Totally lost 10 pounds. Reason #5376184789513416 why I love horses: it's great exercise!! ;)