Monday, July 21, 2008

Too busy to blog!

I really am getting that busy and things show no sign of slowing down...but I'll try to be better!

The VLC had his first ride with a new person this past week! My friend's daughter Kyra , who is 14 but at least a half a foot taller than I will ever get, took him for a spin and he was really good. He just pulled the same stuff he's been pulling on me, which is trying to veer into the middle when going clockwise. But with me on the ground growling at him, that was quickly circumvented. She loved him, of course. It was great to get to watch him go! I rode him last night and he was just not going to circle left. Just didn't want to. Wanted to slam on the brakes and rubberneck. I picked up a whip for the first time. He was VERY surprised. It worked, but I got rid of it just as fast after accomplishing what I meant to accomplish. Josie said it was the first time she'd ever seen his eyes look anything but calm. That's okay. He will learn that we can do things the easy way or the way that stings!

Honey continues to live up to her sweet name. I was really impressed with her tonight. My roomies just brought home a darling new 3 year old filly from the same breeder Honey came from. Gracie needed someone kind and friendly to go out with, so we turned her and Honey loose in the arena to play. After about an hour or two, Josie brought Gracie in and Honey was, understandably, doing the herdbound TB thing...whinnying and trotting around by herself. I caught her, tied her up and groomed her. She was a little antsy but not bad. I didn't know what the ride was going to be like with her friend gone, but I was pleasantly surprised. She stood like a statue to be mounted and just rode great! As soon as I was on her, her focus returned. What a good, good mare. She ignored Gracie screaming in the barn, horse trailers coming into the driveway, etc. We are on the one-month countdown now to be ready for the SAFE benefit show. I think we are just doing walk trot (as we have not yet cantered, ha ha) but you never know. We'll see what we can accomplish in a month!

I moved some horses around today to get Bessie and her baby into a flat enough pasture to actually work Bessie, and not just sack her out and do walk-only ground work. They were terribly excited to be down near the other horses, and ran around like wild things. I wish I'd had a decent camera, but I snapped what I could with the phone. I can't get over what a nice baby Libby is (well, she IS the VLC's daughter!) I showed everybody tonight how I can pick up all four feet, loose in the field, without a bit of drama. Since they're owned by a 12 year old, mare and baby have had a lot of visitors and are just wonderful with everybody - horseperson or not. That baby is a social butterfly who rarely gets frightened. She is going to be such a joy to train one day! In the meantime, Mom still needs to progress so Bessie's goals for the next week include wearing a saddle and ground driving.




As for the other baby version of the VLC, I visited Bullwinkle on Friday and dewormed him and watched as he got all of his four feet picked up. He is equally friendly and SO DARN BIG. The picture below is with his 16.3 hand mother. He was born May 27th -- that baby is not even two months old yet! He has been sold to a blog reader, in case you missed that update, and I am telling her I want to see the Baby VLC blog for sure!



And YES, we are going to drag the Small Spotted Gelding back out of the field and ground drive HIS furry little butt...tomorrow for sure! He is not off the hook, it's just some of the other projects are a bit more time-sensitive, like Honey and Bessie who will go to their respective homes in a month.

22 comments:

mugwump said...

I think about you guiltily sitting on the fence with your horse's head resting on your leg....I am buried. All the time. Fried. Got my mare out and rode her for the first time since our last show. Which was the first time I'd been on her since the show before.The boss arrives home, and stands with hands on hips, staring at me. I'm supposed to feel guilty for wasting valuable daylight screwing around.
I commune with my horses when I'm filling their water, and cleaning their stalls. That's it.
Something has to give.

sidetracked said...

I don't know how you have the time to work all your horses. With my full time job and 2 dogs and one horse I don't even ride everyday. And don't you work a second job too? DO you ever sleep or just live off coffe and Red Bulls?

fuglyhorseoftheday said...

>>DO you ever sleep or just live off coffe and Red Bulls?<<

I am getting about 5-6 hours of sleep, living off coffee and Diet RockStar.

Then again, there is a small part of me that, as I was dragging hose around last night around 8 PM, having not even started riding, said "Hey, I'm almost 41 and I CAN still do this. I DIDN'T turn into some lazy middle aged woman watching reality television all night."

There is a pride element involved. LOL. But I'm with Mugwump...something has got to give. I can't live like this forever. I want a day off. I want to sleep in. I want to go on vacation like a normal person.

Karen V said...

I can't wait to see Honey in action! The next trick is finding a place to put her...

Any word on Heddy???

moosefied said...

FHOTD, please take care of yourself. High energy is good, but at our age it is harder to get away with poor sleep and bad nutrition. The horses need you...so does the horse community.

And I will give Bullwinkle his own blog later, and I will buy an oxygen mask for my trail riding kit.

fuglyhorseoftheday said...

Hahahahahahaha oxygen mask.

He is going to be a BIG one. On the plus side, you will not look too tall on him!

He is so darn sweet. I love him!

fuglyhorseoftheday said...

And we are giving Bessie and baby a few days to settle in and then going to see if she will share pasture space with Heddy and baby so that the fillies can play together and I can work with both mares. That's the plan.

amarygma said...

I love Bessie's foal. If I had any clue what to do with a baby besides pet them I would want it.

moosefied said...

Just a suggestion: what if, FHOTD, you ask for guest bloggers to write your blog once or twice a week? That would take some of the pressure off you. You could specify that it needs to be about training, say, or conformation evaluation.

Unknown said...

Hang in there, and as others have said, take care of yourself. No point getting sick or run down.

I'm 2 weeks away from 46. I just got done with a 10-hour day, and I can't function on less than 6 hours' sleep for more than a day or two. My guys are just going get turned out, brushed, and fed. The house needs to be cleaned. Riding progress is slow, but like mugwump said, something has to give, and they don't seem to mind an extra vacation day. ;-)

I've solved the blogging problem. Rainy writes his won blog posts:
http://rightasrain.tumblr.com/
The schedule is a bit sporadic, but then some days there's just not a lot to say.

OutRiding01 said...

Woah, that is one big baby!

Redsmom said...

Hey Cathy, I know you're burning the candle at both ends, but you've probably learned to make hay while the sun shines (enough metaphors for you?) You will probably be one of the those 90 year olds who still rides since you are keeping it up through the middle years.

I try to enjoy the horses and the horse life while I can. Anything could change tomorrow.

I'm done with the FHOTD Training and Discussion Baord - particularly the discussion part. I'm moving my blog from the training part of that board to its very own home.
The title of the blog is

The Upgrade and Continuing Saga of Dude and his Faithful Sidekick, Matt
The url is:
http://dudethedramaqueen.blogspot.com/

I call him a "drama queen" all the time, but then I thought that might be kind of offensive for a name for a blog so I changed it, but didn't change the url.

So, can you add a link to it when you get a chance? Thanks!!!

I'm gradually moving my entries over so what I have on there is backdated. I'll catch it up to date pretty quick.

Redsmom said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Redsmom said...

My url may have gotten cut off. Its

dudethedramaqueen dot blogspot dot com
thanks!!!

Britnie - Riding During Naps said...

What a great update!! And the babys are sooo cooot! Hope all continues well!

robyn said...

Wow--Libby sure is a flashy little beauty! It's been nasty hot here every day, and I'm pathetic about getting up early. My goal is to be up by 7 am, and I'm not reaching this...sigh. Anyway, no riding til it gets cool. But we have a goal anyway--teach Pony to "neckrein",ie, move away from the rein laid on his neck, which, my instructor says, is what the big boys in dressage are trained to do. That will help us out.

Sagebrusheq said...

Isn't it funny, Robyn? As a kid you start out riding with the reins in one hand. Then as you gain steadiness and facility you learn to ride with two hands. Then, the crowning achievement, after years of schooling you end up learning how to ride with one again.

S

Mary said...

Just touching base...

I, too, have been too busy to update! I sold my 40 acre farm and bought 20 acres of raw land and now I'm fencing my little heart out, building a nice little 4 stall barn and waiting for my bloody house to be delivered!

However, Nike has been either ridden, or worked with, two times a day, every day! Her boy, Alex, has come leaps and bounds with her and I couldn't be more proud!

I've decided it's time to get me something that I can take to the fun shows with Alex and Nike...so, I'm heading down to here to pick out my new buddy. They are a great group and have so many to pick from! I just don't know where to start! My heart has been set on a drafty since I was about 3, but it seems like I'm going to have to put that dream on hold. I just can't seem to find one that isn't a complete basketcase within a reasonable distance that fits my price range. I'd love "upgrade" one, but that is proving to be more difficult then I thought.

amarygma said...

Mary,

I'm a Minnesotan too!

Mary said...

YAY FOR MINNESOTANS!!! We're tough buggers, aren't we?

Where in MN? Know of any drafties looking for a life of being uber fat and loved????? Registration/Color/Breed/Sex not important. I just don't want something that is 1200 pounds of freaking out muscle that can kill me in a second. I found a GORGEOUS shire boy who would bolt the second something popped up/moved/thought of moving/sort of moved/might of moved behind him. That was a whole lot of danger!!!

amarygma said...

I'm in White Bear Lake.

No drafties that I know of personally. I see some mixes on CL, but dunno what your price range/training level you're looking at.

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