Happy 2012!

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday :) I sure did! My husband was home for 2 weeks. It was fantastic! We spent a lot of time with family and friends, and just together. It was perfect.

Do you all have your plans for 2012 set out? I do! I have a lot of goals this year that I hope to reach. I made myself a dream board and I'm very motivated to make everything on it come true! My horsey goals basically include having LJ complete at least one 50 mile endurance ride by the end of the year (and do his first LDR this spring!), and I am really aiming for a year of 100% completions with Player and doing only 50 milers with him. We were SO close last year, until I RO'd out of the last ride.

We've been having a very mild winter this year, and I will admit I LOVE it. It makes me want to move south. We still have snow but far less than usual and our temperatures have been so warm. I usually put Player back into endurance conditioning in February but with the great weather we've been having I am going to start both boys into conditioning next week. The roads are bare right now so I'm not worried about needing corks on them, which is a first for winter time for me. That being said, we still have 3 months of winter left so I better not crow about the warm weather too much. Next week could hit -40 and have 2 ft of snow roll in. Luckily my dad is a farrier, so if that should happen I can get corks and snow ball pads on the boys pretty quick ;)

I've decided this year to log how many miles I put on each horse, training and endurance. Just for fun, just to see. I will share it here!

I think this blog may be moving to WordPress by the end of the month. I am re-vamping my business website there and am going to include the blog with it. So stay tuned for that! 2012 is going to be a very exciting year horse and business wise!

Merry Christmas!!

From my fuzzy family and I :)

Barefoot Saddles

I've started hauling LJ to an indoor arena near us to ride. It's not heated, but it is a lot warmer than outside. We have lots of arena work to do before hitting the trails again in February to start conditioning for his first LDR (limited distance ride, 25 miles).

I've decided to use my Barefoot Cheyenne on him as well this year. I LOVE this saddle. It is treeless and I am definitely converted to treeless saddles after using this one. Player has a very wide, short, scoopy back. He is quite difficult to fit. I went through several saddles before deciding on the Barefoot. I am so happy with that decision. He feels so much better, moves so much more freely, and gets all A's on his back and withers at every endurance ride now. Even on the 50 we did. That being said, if you chose to go treeless you have to understand it's a whole system. Not just a saddle. You need to have the right pad, one with inserts, to keep the saddle off the spine (obviously as it has no tree) and distribute the rider's weight properly over the horse's back. If you use a regular pad with it you could be asking for problems.

My old barrel racing saddle does fit LJ fine, he is a lot easier to fit, however it is NOT comfortable for long distance riding. There is absolutely no way I will even do a 25 mile ride in it. It makes me sore after 10!! I don't know I did those few 25 mile rides in it in 2009. I guess my body is spoiled now from the Barefoot saddle...it's like riding a couch. And I need my endurance stirrups (I use EZ ride) or my knees are screaming after only 10-15 miles.

So I am going to use the Barefoot saddle on both horses. I have 2 different sized pommels for it, but luckily Player's pommel fits LJ perfectly too so I don't have to switch them out. However, Player has a Grandeur physio pad for his wonky back and even then I had to move the inserts around a little bit to make it fit him right. I don't want to mess with them now that I have them placed right. So with some birthday money I had saved I ordered the Barefoot special pad for LJ, and I just got it in the mail last week. I tried it out for the first time yesterday with it and am quite pleased!! It fits him perfectly, I didn't even have to mess with the inserts. He is a much easier horse to fit than Player though. He has a nice back (comfy for bareback riding too...unlike Player!!).

Look at that hay belly!

Close up...I can't say enough how much I love this saddle! And those stirrups!

The pad looks a lot like Player's from the outside (except more fitted to the saddle), but it is different underneath. I am wondering if the Grandeur pads are now Barefoot pads? Player's came with his saddle and it is Grandeur, but looks like just this Barefoot pad except it says Grandeur on it. I am thinking Barefoot bought them out?
Player's :

Just thought I would add, I have the drytex version of the Cheyenne. Not leather. It's a synthetic material, and actually I really like it. It is very durable, and easy to clean. I just hose it off. Nothing can scratch it or wear it down. It feels a lot like leather too. It's not a yucky nylon type synthetic. I do recommend it for endurance riding as it's so tough and easy to clean.

Anyways, I am quite happy with it. I am thinking I might look into becoming a distributor for Barefoot here in Alberta. There are none here, there are only distributors in Ontario and BC. I am going to talk to them about it anyways. It'd be a great little add on to my equine massage business.

Also, just wanted to share...LJ has the best expressions LOL Player always perks his ears and looks handsome in photos....LJ refuses. He looks goofy in every single one I have of us together.

Bratt! LOL! Though from looking at this pic I do think purple could be his colour. I do have some purple half chaps on the way....maybe some purple biothane tack for him this spring??

Fluff balls

It's been getting pretty cold at night here, and we have a bit of snow now...and the boys seemed to double the amount of fluff they had in just a week! I kind of like the fuzz though, they are so soft and velvety. Had a great trail ride with a good friend the other day. She rode Player and I rode LJ, both boys were awesome. I am sooo antsy to get LJ out on the endurance trail next year. I am a bit disapointed I didn't this year, but better to wait and be sure than to push him too early.

<3 this horse!

A cute shot of mister Player...sooo velvety!

I am getting so excited for my next endurance ride already....and it's still 6 months away.

 

Winterizing

Winter is definitely on it's way, our lows at night have been getting down past -10 C (14 F) lately. Highs up around 5-6 C (40 F). A couple days ago I had my dad come out and take the shoes off the ponies. They won't be getting shoes again until February, and they'll have corks and snow ball pads then to deal with the ice and snow.

Last year I hauled water to them every day with 5 gallon buckets. I am not doing that again this year LOL So my plan is to keep the hose inside so it stays thawed, and I am buying 2 water heaters for their trough. Much better plan than hauling buckets for an hour in -40 weather. Ugh. Plus then I don't have to worry about asking my in-laws to do it if I can't make it out there due to weather. I feel quite guilty about that still!

I also have found a used round bale feeder and some bales of brome hay for the horses this year. I think they will waste a lot less with the feeder, last year I did not have one. I think I may buy some straw for them to lay on though. I wish I had a barn, but I don't so I try to make winter as comfy for my boys as possible! They'll both be blanketed this year too as I am planning to ride lots and hate battling the mammoth hair.

LJ has been doing fantastic. I am still hauling down to a rodeo arena nearby to ride him. Once the snow hits we'll be hauling to an indoor that is just a few miles down the road. I got a few pics and a video of him last week :)

I <3 his long mane and forelock

Here is the video
http://s1115.photobucket.com/albums/k558/hoofbeats1/Little%20John/?action=view&current=winddown.mp4

It's just him doing a wind down on a barrel. I like doing arena excercises with my horses to keep them "broke" and working well for me, and barrel racing is all I know for arena type riding so that's what I do with him LOL No, I doubt I will ever barrel race them except for fun maybe, but I find the exercises are great for any horse. Keep them soft and supple.

Player is doing awesome, there is no swelling in his leg at all. I did massage it a few times and it was tight, but he is good as new now. I lunged him a few times and he isn't short striding at all, and watching him out in the pasture he is his normal bratty self. Chasing LJ everywhere, bucking, galloping around, rearing....typical Player LOL I'm so glad I decided to pull after that first loop because had I done the 2nd 21 mile loop I doubt he would have recovered so quickly and on his own. I'm sure it was just a strain, but it could have been made much worse had I continued on. And most likely pulled by the vets after the 2nd loop anyways.

LJ Trashed My Dress ;)

OK I totally forgot about posting this haha! But back in September I did a little "trash the dress" photoshoot and LJ got to help out! It was so much fun, and LJ looked adorable (though chubby as all heck! Good thing he's back in boot camp and getting preppred for rides this spring!).

Here's a couple pics.

Change

If you would have asked a year ago, there is no way this entry would ever exist. However, due to some coaxing by friends and discussions I've had with riders this year at rides I have had a bit of a change of heart. I went out and bought myself a helmet. What the heck?! LOL!

I will say I probably won't wear it all the time. I probably won't ever wear it while riding Player except for at endurance rides. I just got to thinking...you know I'm doing endurance. I am miles and miles from ride camp, sometimes from other riders, out in the forest alone. If anything were to happen, I'd sure has heck rather not be knocked out waiting for somebody to come find me. And starting out a green horse (who has bucked before, and IS quite spooky sometimes) on the trail can be pretty sketchy at times ;) I do the vast majority of my riding alone.

So! I researched brands, talked to a few endurance riders, and ended up deciding on the Tipperary Sportage. I tried it out for the first time today. I was actually quite pleased with it. Very light and airy, I didn't even notice it once I started working and concentrating on LJ.
http://www.shopatron.com/products/productdetail/part_number=8500/3451.0.1.1

Anyways, LJ did quite well today. I have been hauling him to a rodeo grounds near us to use the arena. Lots of things to look at...ribbons everywhere, bleachers, chutes, pens, announcer's stand...another girl showed up with her barrel horse today which was really good for him! She started working barrels while I was working on transitions with him and while he did look a few times, he didn't get excited or flip out. What a good boy!
Starting to get fuzzy...