B is for....Bacon!

I never finished the big girl's story, and she deserves it to be told just like anyone else!

First ride!

That first day that we got her home, I was quite terrified. I am not sure why, but I was. Maybe because I had only owned stock horse breeds before? Maybe because I had not spent much time with thoroughbreds under saddle? I thought I might fail her. I certainly didn't think she would fail me.

She was pretty terrified too. I turned her out into the arena, and she ran around and yelled out for friends. The other girls came over and looked at her, but didn't say much back. She quickly covered herself in sweat. And I got more worried.

2nd Ride!

But it turned out to be just fine. I was so excited, I wanted to hop on her right away. Blake tossed me up on her bareback, and led me around for a few laps to satisfy my need. She was sweaty and uncomfortable to sit on, but she didn't make one wrong move. And then I felt relieved.

Light as a feather. Stiff as a board.

I threw a saddle on her the next day and went for a little ride. She giraffed around and was very stiff, and had very short strides. But she didn't offer to do any wrong moves. The first thing I wanted to install on her was an emergency brake and to enhance her flexibility. We did a crap ton of one rein stops, followed by lateral side to side stretches. She started to get some brakes!

Blake was weary of me riding her so fast, and thought we should do more groundwork before I got on her. I was very impatient, but he insisted. I let him work with her for about two weeks, and then did things my way.

Bacon goes western!

Bacon goes english!

Bacon tries side passing with cowboy Blake.

Bacon is beautiful!

We started to work on circles, trotting and cantering on a loose rein, some leg yielding, backing, going over very small jumps, and lunging her over larger ones. But most importantly, we tried to get some weight on this girl! We started her out on grass and alfalfa, then just grass, then just alfalfa. Then alfalfa with beet pulp, Ultium grain, Smartpak's Weight Gain, Cool Calories, hoof supplements and a calming supplement. And vegetable oil. And she FINALLY started to gain weight.

Summer 2012.

Jan 2013.

Winter 2012.

The day that Vegas had injured herself when Blake's saddle flipped underneath her was a day that never quit. After I fixed Vegas up and hid Blake's saddle in my truck (yikes!) and put Lucy away, I went to go and grab Bacon from the pasture. When I went to get her, she didn't move. I put the halter on and asked her to walk forward, and to my horror, she hobbled on three legs towards me.

Me and my flat hands have some work to do.

Back dat ass up.

I crumbled. I called Blake to come outside, and he hurried over. He felt horrible, as my two ponies became two lame ponies in the same day. Within the same hour. He quickly called our vet, who informed us that it might be an abscess. He had treated seven that day, and the fact that she had no heat or swelling in her limbs gave us faith in that. He came out, and searched for the abscess. But couldn't find one. He said to wait and see if it would resolve over time, as he would do more harm than good to keep digging for it. We waited. It didn't resolve. Well, not all of the way. Sometimes she was lame. Sometimes she wasn't. Our farrier thought maybe it was her feet. Then he thought maybe she was navicular. Everyone was confused. She had all of the summer of 2013 off. She was not ridden from April until October. I noticed she seemed to be moving quite well over an extended period of time. So, I decided to lunge her. And she did great! So, then I hopped on for a little bit. And she still did great! And then winter came, and here we are.

Had to use the fence to get on...

Yay knees over tiny cross rail!

So fancy in her purple.

I have big hopes and plans for her this year. There are several of us that think she may have just had a bone chip in her knee that lodged itself, which caused her on and off lameness. I just hope she stays sound and happy. Even if we can't jump anymore, I would just love to have my girl ok for flat work.

No butts about it.

We have to catch up to Diva and Papa!

When the Sun Comes Out

So, this is mostly just a photo heavy post. Because that is all we can basically do still. Because winter in Idaho is not the most fun game around. And because I do not have a fancy indoor arena, because I am not rich.

But believe me, if I ever am rich, I'm getting me an indoor arena. Damnit!

So redheadlins and I played with her ponies on Saturday. Actually, it was more like she was molested by her ponies and I laughed and took pictures. And then sometimes, they molested me. It kind of went like this:

So, Diva. I am now the boss.

I shall now seduce you Ma'dam!

Feels so good!

Let's pour everything out of the bucket and stomp on the blankets!

What lovely colors you have on mom!

Imma touch your butt!

And Imma eat cho' hat!

And tell you secrets!

Nuzzle.

And then Bridger try to kill Lindsey by biting Diva on the hip while she was directly behind her, thus Diva kicking out and barely missing Lindsey's leg. That was a little too much fun.

My Blaker was trying to get the pens worked on a little bit. Still didn't get very far, but it is better than nothing! And my dogs soaked up the sun and watched the new baby goats next door. I am hoping one slips through our fence so I can steal it.

Meaty. In all of his glory.

Look at that boy go!

Water does the drool good.

Moo loving the sun!

And airing her ears out.

Damn drill. Doing all of the drilling!

Come on over little kids!

Moooove drill! Get out tha way!

I am the worst at blogging.

It is true.

I am the MOST inconsistent blogger of all time.

Good thing I am not too interesting, right? I don't think too many people are missing out. So that is how I justify my behavior.

Anyways, I think November was my last post. And guess what? All kinds of magical crap happened!

We moved into our new house. And we love it. It is so nice to just have Blake, the doggies and me. But yes, we are missing one thing...The Mares! Unfortunately, the shelter is not safe enough (in our opinion) to put two of the mares in it, and we still have to build another shelter and pen set for the other two girls. We made an attempt to get the pens going, and it has not been too successful due to this horrible weather.

Mom. This house is a mess.

But yay! A new yard!

Oh, Idaho, you big fat ho.

Snow. Damn, awful, evil snow.

My mom and grandma came for their first winter visit to Idaho for Christmas. Since they bask in the sun of Arizona on a daily basis, it was quite the shocker to them when they arrived at the homeland. Especially when the high was in the teens. I laughed. It is only fair...

Sledding with Grandma!

Weeee! Arizonians in the snow! Levitate away!

It was also the first snowy Christmas they had. And they thought that was pretty cool. And the first time they ever went sledding. It was so nice to have my mom and dad in the same place at Christmas, and even better that it was at my own house! And to top it all off, I had a very special Christmas present from a very special boy.

What a cute little computer science cowboy.

So, come Sept 1st. I shall be Mrs. Kelley. Woo hoo!

But AHHH! Wedding planning! There is sooooo much STUFF. WHY!!??

Going to the chapel...yeah, that one.

But, I have some awesome bridesmaids! Ain't nobody got sprinklerbandits and redheadlins as their bridesmaids!

Damn you expensive bionic canine!

It's a good thing we like you.

Oh, and the big beluga (AKA Meaty, Archimedes, Meatyacolypse, Smeegle, Smoogle-Boogle, MeatBall, MeatHead, etc.) tore his ACL, just as we bought the house. So, he is now sporting a $830 brace!

And damn you Goose.

And the Goose tried to decapitate herself.

It's a good thing we like you too.

But that is your bi-monthly update. I am sure you will be on your toes for the next one.

It's Ours!

Well my friends...we finally signed on our house!

So many leaves to rake!

I think I may vomit a little though...I am the biggest sissy lala and then I panic a little and run every little worst case scenario in my head.

For those of you who don't know, I have some major anxiety issues. But, that is for another day.

But anywho. When I was blogging way back when, I was covering the collection of mares I have. I think it is only fair that you get a good look at each of their personalities and their stories. I covered Vegas (the blond show queen), Pandora (the brainy roan rascal) and Lucy Goose (the sweetest curvy chestnutty paint). But, we are indeed missing the fourth mare...Bacon!

She looks so fit here!

So the Baconator's story begins with me at the track. I began to hang out with redheadlins and her husband's barn full of thoroughbred beauties. They all were so great and had the craziest personalities. But there was one special one that really caught my attention. It was this gangly 3 year old filly. She was tall, and beautiful, and feminine. And loooooved to weave. That girl could sure dance to a beat! And she was sweet and cuddly. And I loved her.

Washing the legs!

Bacon was trained for two years on the track. But there was a mix up with her original owner and Eugene ended up with her. Also with that mix up, she was never registered. So this leggy girl never raced. In March of 2012, I got a call from Eugene. At first, I didn't know weither to believe him or not (he is a tricky one). But he told me that if I wanted Bacon, she was mine. And I would have to come and get her within a week from the track.

Oh geez. I wanted her. I really really did. And Blake knew it to. So, she became mine!

My first time riding her! Straight off the trailer.

Don't worry...this story will be continued :)

HOLY CRAP I'M STILL ALIVE!!!

Yep. I'm still here.

Whoa. It's Bacon.

And there are COPIOUS amounts of things that have happened in the last few months. But I still have my four girls, and I am about to have even less money.

Why is that, you say?

Well damnit, we are getting our first house. WOO!

Roxy Moo says this is a good house.

It is just under an acre. But it already has a hay barn, shelter for two, and a small pasture. And room for a tiny arena. Don't you worry, I will make it awesome. And even the dogs have approved it.

So, what have you missed?
Let's see. Bacon continued to be lame. But continued to get better. Started Pandora on actual reining work (put sliders on too, wee!). She was good. Tried to work on sliders with Lucy. Stopped and slid so hard she scared herself. Took a step back. Rode some race horses (all by myself, poorly). Felt amazing after riding said crazies. Mostly rode Vegas bareback all spring and summer. Hung out at racetrack all summer. Blake got an internship working on hospital software with a cool company. Started house hunting process. Went to the Utah Motocross Races and Lagoon with four boys (stench everywhere).

Bacon becomes magically healed. Meaty (my english mastiff) tore his ACL. And now trying to buy our house.

Poor Meaty Man!

PHEW!

And the lovely Lindsey from My Mojito has nominated me for some Sunshine Award thing. So, I guess this is what I am supposed to do.

Wow. Look at all of that sunshine.

1. Mares or geldings? I think my mares would put the smack down on me if I didn't say mares. But you know, my heart still longs for my first horse Booger, the incredible gelding. I love both. What the hell.

2. English or Western?  Oh geez. Both for ALL OF THE THINGS. Well, I feel like I fit better with the western crowd. I try and like the challenge of learning all of the fun english things. But getting a horse to spin in a western saddle, and playing with cows is so much fun! But so is jumping things! 

3. Younger or older horses? Younger I suppose. The oldest horse we have is the Lucy Goose. And she is wonderful, but it is so nice to start a horse from the beginning. Because, if your horse turns out weird, it is your own fault.

4. Have you trained a horse from ground zero?  Yep! And I am talking not even able to touch, never been handled fun.

5. Do you prefer riding or ground work?  Hate doing ground work. Hate horses with horrible ground manners. Hand them over to Blake (who loves groundwork and is amazing at it).

6. Do you board your horse or keep him/her at home?  Home-ish. 

7. Do you use all natural things or commercial stuff (the products you use)?  How about things that are on sale or in my budget. Yeah, that's better.

8. All tacked up or bareback?  Bareback on a comfy horse, saddles are for withers.

9. Equestrian role model?  Oh so many. Almost every person I ride with. They always know something that you don't.

10. What is your one main goal while in the horse world? Well let's see. I would love to compete in a freestyle reining class. And complete a jump course without looking like a cattywompoid bimbo.

So there you have it. First blog back in a while. Hopefully I won't disappear again.

Me on Rothstein. Going faster than we need to, as usual.

I have a goose!

So, Lucy had found herself a new home. Away from a ranch, away from everything that she had known for the last 13 years of her life. It took her a while to adjust, but she figured it out pretty quick. She got the lunging thing down right away, and I was enamored by her big floaty trot. I tried to tell Blake that she would be a nice beginner dressage horse, but I got a quick "NO" as a reply. No english saddles ever allowed on her back. Fine.

We had some issues with her head (which we still do) and we noticed right away. Any time she felt pressure around her head or on her halter, she would react by throwing her head abruptly back and running backwards. Her previous owner had led her out of the trailer with the lead rope going up and around the back of her head and through the bottom of the halter. It was the weirdest thing I had ever seen. Her poll was also huge, way bigger than any other horse I had seen. She had also never been loped to my knowledge, because whenever we asked her to, her legs became a scrambled mess and she would panic. But, despite her issues, we found her to be very willing and extremely smart. She would always try to do her best. And she was the easiest keeper ever!

We wanted to start loping her more (since we are aimed at reining stuff) and she started out ok. The basic green horse HOLY COW I AM RUNNING AND DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO, SO I AM GOING TO DIVE MY SHOULDER ALMOST PARALLEL TO THE GROUND AND RUN FASTER AND FASTER. Ok, I can deal. Halfway through the summer of 2012 though, something switched and she became panicked every time we got on her, and she exhibited symptoms of upper fixation of her patellar region. We would barely touch her to ask her to move her hindquarters over, and she would flip out, running backwards, half rearing, throwing her head back into my face, etc. None of this was fun. And none of it made Blake want to ride.

We had her teeth done, and eventually had a chiropractor come out. He was amazed at the size of her poll, and showed us a spot on her back that was not quite right. He worked his magic, and it went away. I had never seen Lucy so relaxed, it was amazing. I rode her twice after that, and she seemed fine-ish again. And then winter hit.

We started this year with one OK ride, one great trail ride, one tying up episode, and two crazy galloping around like an idiot and being dangerous rides. One of the dangerous rides was yesterday, where she began to rear and be stupid. I draw the line at rearing. She got in big trouble. Now, I am again stuck and don't know what to do. I feel like I am a little short on confidence with rearing horses, as well as time to be consistent with her, and limited resources for getting around this with training. I would never claim to be an amazing trainer, and I am not afraid to notice when I have exceeded my limits in knowledge. So, I may be trying to ride through this, with more focusing on lunging and getting her quiet on the line for a couple of weeks (even though she is already quiet?) and then getting on, or scraping up the little money we have to send her to my trainer of world champion mules. I could really use the money to get radiographs of Bacon's legs (which I will explain later) but I can't help but notice how discouraged Blake is becoming about his horse. Sigh.