I am so done with leasing....

This last experience has been horrendous and taken every last breath of sanity I have left.  There have been many instances that have occurred that have made me seriously regret my leasing of Millie and this recent one in regards to a miscommunication about turn out and a misrepresentation of turn out in the leasing contract, that I have finally thrown my hands up and said, "Enough!"


1) I have been required by my contract to muck the stall each time I go out which is fine, I always did that with Willy's stall even though it was not required in that contract.  The only time on Wednesday I've been going out is after work and all summer it has been during a thunderstorm with lightning too close for comfort (not something to mess with out here).  Needless to say I have not ridden on MANY of my designated days so in essence have paid $200 a month to muck a stall!


2) Multiple times when I have been out to the stable there has been an accusation by another boarder that I knocked over her equipment or used her materials, neither of these things have I done, in fact I have replaced knocked off items (the most recent one being a screw driver laying on the floor) and been very conscientious about cleaning any tiny amount of manure that looked like it spilled from Millie's pen to Misty's (since Millie's stall is uphill of hers) 
3) I have not been having fun with Millie (can you tell by the amount of posts I've made since the lease started?) any techniques I have learned on Divine have not worked with her and I have not been able to work on any riding objectives I've wanted to.  I don't know if it's her training but I'm so frustrated that I don't want to go out there anymore...I don't even see the point


4) I'm tired of the situation at the facility and worried because of the upkeep at the facility that any injuries incurred to Millie because of the facility issues could be viewed as my liability


a) broken fences in her paddock (I ended up duct taping the ends so it was at least semi safe for the horses and to this day the farm still has not been repaired)
b) barbed wire fencing in the pasture (many areas in back of the pasture I have noted are very dangerous for a horse with loose, loopy wire and bent posts where a horse could easily cut a tendon)
c) the waterer issue, many times I stayed later than intended after my ride to make sure Millie had water in the bucket since the water only trickled out, it took forever.  I also purchased a bucket since the owner did not have one on hand and never asked her to pay me back.
d) The arena fencing was bent inwards for so long causing a hazard to horses and riders alike.  I wonder if a boarder eventually fixed it since Terri, the owner of Millie, has had to fix knocked out walls in her stall in the past since the boarding facility has not held up their end of the bargain


6) I've disliked the nasty attitude of the people that own the facility, even Terri is afraid to ask the people to fix something for fear she'll be kicked out of the facility.  Really?  I would have left ages ago!  How can someone tolerate being made to feel like you are putting them out to take care of the horse you are paying them to take care of?


7) The manure pile is also not being either spread, composted or disposed of properly.  In El Paso County manure cannot be piled up to just sit indefinitely, it has to be composted properly, regular thrown out in the garbage or spread thinly over a field so it dries quickly and reduces chances of fly breeding.  Even Susan's facility had a regular (weekly) trash pick up of the manure pile. I know that there is no facility that can be perfect but I guess what I find deplorable some people find acceptable.  Facilities at least need to be clean and safe.


8) The turn out pastures were for a few hours a day (hardly any time for a horse) and I needed prior approval to release Millie with other horses, from the owner and from the other horses owner.  I received that a couple months ago with Misty, Millie's neighbor.  Apparently something changed and Frieda didn't want Millie out with Misty anymore but this was never conveyed to me.  The contract also did not state I needed to ask the permission each and every time I release Millie on pasture.  Terri stated it had to be every time, I mentioned it didn't state that in the contract so I cannot be held responsible since I DID have prior permission, it had never been revoked.  Uge.  In hindsight I should have required her to write up an agreement on each and every horse Millie could be released with and had her and I and the other horse owner sign it so I had documentation for the permission.  Either that or I just should have left poor Millie in her pen gazing at the other horses in the pasture.


So I'm out $400 for the last two months and I don't care, I'm just glad to be out of the situation.  I could go after Terri for the last two months lease because she did not have a clause about early termination of the lease but I'm tired of dealing with her and hearing about some sort of accusation from the neighboring horses owner on a weekly basis.  I've research contract law and her contract is not as tight as she would try and have someone believe.


I'm just set on paying off debt, saving up money and buying my horse this spring, so I can settle into horse ownership, get training with the horse when I need it and continue lessons with Laurie on my own horse (trailer willing!).  Just wish I had not done this lease at all, $1200 could have been a lot of riding lessons with Laurie or a bill paid off....uge.  We live we learn, eh?


At least I've learned more about what signs I need to look for when I buy a horse, to take my time, since rushing into this lease was a VERY stupid mistake; to really get to know a horse and assess their training level.  A facility that is safe and has an indoor arena is a PRIORITY for a boarding place.  The price is worth it and I'm willing to pay for a nice facility that is up kept and has an indoor arena so I can ride with my limited schedule...and hopefully I can find one fairly close to either work or home!   I need to over analyze any contract I sign (including boarding agreements) and perhaps even have a legal person look over it...have money set aside for a lawyer just in case! 


I'm so tempted to "bring it on" but I'm just not like that.  The situation was getting bad, I wasn't having fun and I was being accused of things that were not true and I feared that I would get held liable for something that I did not do and have to go to court anyways!  I'm just glad to be rid of the situation!  Everyone, be very careful when you lease a horse and when you lease out your horse!  I saw so many loop holes in this contract that this lady could easily have been taken to the cleaners.  After finishing my end of the bargain and paying off the rest of the lease and mucking stall fees she still even had the nerve to say that I took advantage of her (referencing that it costs her $50 extra a month for mucking not $25 but sorry, $25 was in the contract she wrote).  She has $400 and $65 more for mucking I really didn't need to owe since I terminated the lease (contract law states that if there is not a termination clause deeming fines etc. that a contract can be terminated at any time unless otherwise written), with no lessee riding her horse for the next two months and that is taking advantage of her?!!!!???!!!  Hmm... 


Thanks everyone for letting me vent on this blog, I'm so angry at this situation and mostly angry that I was naive about the facility, the horse and the contract (which wasn't well written).  I've learned that legal documents need to be very specific.  In a court of law I don't think she would have much to stand on but again, it's something to remember for the future.  Cover my butt!  I have a nice riding lesson with Laurie to look forward to this Friday and now that Wednesdays are open I can see what would work best for Laurie and I's schedule.  I want to do two lessons for a little while since Laurie is working on my seat and balance with me...it's hard and frustrating and sometime I want to quit but darn it, I can do it!  Cherrio!

Trickles of water...

So days when I go out to see Millie, besides cleaning up the manure and grooming her I also refill her big bucket of water.

Her owner has decided that the automatic waterer is no good, and rightly so.  It's not consistant in refilling and then there is the issue that there is a lot of gunk and who knows what floating in the water.  It's disgusting.  I'll have to go with a flash light some day to get a picture of what I'm talking about but I know I've posted the rust bucket on here so you can guess the condition inside the water bowl!

I dump the big bucket, especially since I don't know how often that is done and it's pretty rancid smelling...I'm glad I dumped it!  Then I begin the refilling process.  The pump in the stall is great but EXTREMELY slow.  It just takes forever to fill a big bucket!  Oh well.

Guess I'll take pictures of Odie a cute weanling/yearling almost.  He is in love with Millie. 

Since I'm lazy I'll just post some more pictures of ponies....we all love pony pictures!

A Day Without Rain

I was pretty excited that today it was not raining and there was no sign of it not the horizon!!! I could actually go and ride on a Wednesday! I haven't done that in a while!!

I went out to the stable to see Millie, my bridle had collected a little bit of dust but that's not saying much, it's uncovered and the "tack room" is the feed area. It's pretty dusty with the hay bales and other supplies so things get dusty fast. My saddle is covered with an old towel since I'm going to wait to buy my real saddle once I have my horse and since it will be a dressage saddle I would need a different styled saddle case/bag or cover. I'm thinking a case will be the most versatile since I can carry it and put it in the trailer with more protection on it. I also plan on getting a synthetic Aussie saddle from Down Under Horse Tack (I'm butchering the name but it's an Aussie tack store in Denver). Then of course bridle bags etc.



Anyways I dust off the bridle and get Millie's halter and hook her up to start grooming her. She is not trained to stand very close to the tie up so I usually have three or four feet of rope. She stands nicely at least. Her owner is freaked out about her pulling back and falling while tied...guess she saw a horse do that once. Oh well, not my horse. Laurie has taught me to tie a horse with only about a foot of rope from the knot to the halter. I didn't tie that close with Willy but I certainly didn't have him as loose as Millie.

The flies were really bothering her today. She was stomping and swishing like crazy and biting at flies on her leg. After grooming I strayed her down with fly spray and she seemed to be much happier.



I rode in the little arena today to work on trots again. Last time I rode I was having issues with her speeding up really fast to where I just felt like I was being bounced around. I couldn't sit it and had issues with posting so fast! I pretty much had the same issues and dealt with Millie being really heaving on the forehand, pulling down on the reins.



I worked with her on the walk, doing half halts to get her to give up the strong pull. I think if I work at this issue at the walk it will get better and then I can move onto the trot. I need to do some groundwork again and try to bit her up some to teach her how to give herself the release rather than feeling like it's a tug of war to get the reins back so I can keep them nice and soft for her. She'll get it eventually. But again, I only ride her until October and then I'll be taking a break from leasing to get ready for my own horse! After the ride I groomed her down, mucked the stall and poured out the old water in the bucket. It reeked!! I then filled it up about half way, it took forever since the water trickles out of the pump and hose but it's a pretty big bucket and the auto waterer still works at least. I'm sure she appreciated new fresh water!!! Towards the end of my work Millie took one last poop so I decided to grab the pitchfork, get that last pile and fling it out to the manure pile. I wanted to leave a perfectly clean stall! LOL. Well Friday I have another Divine lesson coming up so I'm looking forward to that! Till next time!

If lightning was a horse...

...maybe I could then ride during a thunderstorm...but alas I cannot.  Everyday it seems to storm right when I get off work.  The worst weather being up north and near the mountains where the stable Millie is kept at.

I called Terri today and let me know I couldn't make it out and that I would pay the $25 for the next month to have her find someone to muck the stall.  She deducted that from the lease since I was willing to muck when I went out.  I just can't risk going out when there is lightning going all through the sky and landing near the mountains just above the Flying W.  I don't like to risk it when the clouds are nearby, lightning in Colorado is nothing to mess with out here, even on a blue sky day with a nearby dark cloud I've seen bright bolts of lightning appear from nowhere.  Better to be safe.



It still means I've paid a lot of money to not get a lot of riding in.  Most Sundays have been fine since I have all day to make it out there, it's just the darned weekday when I have a window of a few hours at the most.  Uge.  I only have myself to blame.  I settled for a horse lease when the facility lacked an indoor arena, so I'm a victim of nature and her ways.  I sometimes feel like I just washed the money down the drain everytime the rain pours out of the skies.  Terri will try and work with me to let me have some make up days when the weather is better so we'll see what happens.

Trotting Tempos and Fast Halts

Nothing like almost going over your horses head!!  Millie responds very quick to me asking her to halt or slow down.  I don't feel I'm asking for it any different than I have before or when I ride Divine.  I've been working on Millie with smaller circles trying to keep her trot at a steady pace.  The arena is pretty flat so I don't have that issue to work with but she still tends to speed up the trot and it's a choppy short paced quick trot.

I've been bringing her to a halt and she doesn't ease into the halt, she halts on the spot and I get thrown off balance.  I guess that is good practice for my seat but I still don't like the sensation. It's just going to take some time and work but hopefully I can do more trail riding to just enjoy that with Millie for the next three months.  My wednesdays which I was thinking would be good days for just working in the arena have been few and far between due to really heavy storms with lightning.  In Colorado you don't mess with that!

I found that smaller circles helped with her staying at a nicer trot and not trying to speed up as quickly.  Maybe I should work on posting though to that fast trot, it just seems so quick and choppy, not like Divine.  I'm not a good judge as to whether the gaits can be enhanced by collection so that's why I have such difficulty or if it's all me needing to work on better balance so I don't feel so much bounce and inconsistancy.  Maybe it's a combination of an uncollected horse and an unsteady rider?  I have two lessons soon with Laurie, I think Friday evenings will work out the best for both of us for now.  We'll see how things go.  I miss my Arabs and can't wait to go see them again!

Quick Starts Trail Ride

I took Millie out on a trail ride again after a long time of working on her with ground work and riding in the arena.  She's even less trained than Willie, meaning she's not good with leg yielding, and has an even rougher way of going.  I love sitting the trot on Divine, it's heaven...as far as sitting trot goes.  Millie it's rather difficult with, but anyways I'm getting on a tangent.

I figured I needed to go on another trail with Millie to get over that little hump.  Walking up to the gate that leads to the back of the Flying W property and the trails Millie stopped several times and needed some good proding.  I need to bring my crop for incentive I think.  I went up the actual trail, no to the right like I had done before.  Every little thing Millie spooked at, a bird flew overhead, she started.  A butterfly, a stick, the bird songs.  Uge!  I ended up walking her up and down the same little bit of trail to the point of me and hopefully her getting bored.  She eventually calmed down.  I tried myself to remain pretty calm and relaxed but that is certainly an ordeal when the horse you are on stops and starts every few steps!

After the trail ride I gave her a nice grooming and mucked her stall.  I haven't been as into this lease horse.  There just isn't much of a connection.  I don't know if it's her or her breed.  Arabians do have that something special don't they?  My lease ends October 31st and at that point I feel I am done leasing.  I want to get ready for my own horse and then I can just work with my horse and my horses problems and not feel like I have to deal with some body elses issues.  It's hard to not have a consistant approach to the horse.  I doubt the way I ride or work with a horse is like Terri her owner.  That's the same problem I had with Willy.  At least I still get to go out and do things with a horse.  Millie is sweet in her own way and I do get satisfaction when I can release her from her pen into the nice pasture.  We'll see how the next trail ride goes with Millie!  We'll get there, at least to the point where we can have a nice ride without any major scares!

Another rainy day

Seems that the little rain we have received and now the rain that seems be more prolific, always seems to ruin my chances of riding on Wednesdays.  There is no indoor arena at the farm and the rain seems to stay longer at the Flying W on the western side of town.  I don't want to get soaked to the bone or struke by lightning!


I think for my boarding facility that I will board my horse at will have to first, have good care and free access to a pasture to run around in (I don't want my horse in a stall or small pen all of the time).  Second I need to find a place with an indoor arena, so I can ride no matter what.  Third of course would be trail access right near the stable.  Anyhow, I'm just sitting at home sad I can't ride today.  So I'm watching RDTV with some horse TV shows.

So Much for riding

So a few weeks ago I arrived to see Millie and Misty, her chestnut neighbors mom was there.  Apparently the automatic waterer that extends into both "stalls" was not refilling the water and both horses were parched.  The owner had brought water from home, not sure why since I thought the stalls had pumps for water, and filled up the waterer and another bucket for her horse.  Millie had water. 

The waterer

I couldn't ride her since I didn't know how long she'd been without water, she drank a lot while I was there mucking her pen and giving her a quick brush over.  She also played with the water in her lips, kind of biting it!  Perhaps she was just THAT thirsty.  For fear the water would not refill after she drank, I looked in the "tack room" that is in the back of the run in shed.  I didn't see any bucket that I could be sure would be safe to use for drinking water.  The only one that Terri, Millie's owners had was one with sponges and a bottle of shampoo....probably not a good idea to use that one!

The pens, Millie with Misty her neighbor

 

The tack room behind the sheds

Big R was way out east and I didn't know where else was close to get anything that would work so I decided to try out the Walgreens right down the street.  Luckily it's summer so I found an ice tub for drinks.  When I got back to the stable I filled the "bucket" with water using the little pump in the stall, the water trickled out but eventually it filled.  I showed Millie the water and she played in it and then took many big gulps.  Later that evening I found out that the waterer had been fixed and was refilling again.  Millie's owner thanked me for the effort I made to take care of Millie.  What else was I going to do?

Mean clouds that preventing me from riding!!

This past Wednesday I arrived to the stable in a drizzle.  The clouds around were threatening thunder and lightning.  I saw a few flashes in the sky, so decided it was best not to try and ride since this facility lacks an indoor area.  I still needed to muck the stall but didn't want to use the metal wheel barrow in the threatening weather.  I decided to use the blue tub that since the water issue had remained unused in the tack room.  It took just two trips to bring the piles of manure to the manure pile.  Then I loved on Millie for a bit.  I noticed one of the railings had been bent or kicked off it's weld and the edges were really sharp.  I looked in the tack room to see if there was any type of tape or something I could at least wrap the sharp edges in so Millie wouldn't get hurt.  Walgreens to the rescue again!  I ran over to Walgreens to grab some duct tape, then came back to the stable to wrap the sharp pipe.  When I got home I would contact Terri to let her know about it.  Since it was still icky and lightning, I gave Millie a hug and headed home.

The sharp edges!!!  YIKES!

The next day I received an email back from Terri thanking me again for protecting Millie.  She said that earlier that day Millie hadn't finished her food and later that evening had coliced.  She didn't want me to worry since recently she had the farm up the quantity of hay given to her.  I felt so bad for Millie, apparently slight changes in amounts and sometimes even cuts of hay cause her to colic easily.  I don't bring more than one or two baby carrots if I bring any at all after Terri told me about her propensity.  I definitely think this is a good reason why horses should be out in a pasture to graze most of the time so they have constant gut motility and motion from walking around the fields.  Oh well, I hope Millie feels better soon. 

Duct tape to the temporary rescue!

I asked Terri to let me know if she feels like I shouldn't ride on Sunday.  If it's fine for me to I will take it slow with her and be very aware of any change in her behavior.  I had noticed nothing when I was there the other night.  Thinking back there was one weird poop that was more green but not too weird looking and there were a few sprigs of hay left scattered on the shed rows floor.  After this I feel I have a better idea of what to look for, at least it sounds like the farm pays good attention to the horses in their care! 

Always good to have duct tape accessible in your "tack box"

Hopefully I'll ride on Sunday and then I have plans to see Laurie and Divine soon!  More posts to come for sure!

Millie trying to get Misty's attention

A little paint mare

So I have been absent on my blog for way too long.  Bad blogger!!  I don't know why and I'm sure why but I make a pact right now to be better!  I do have to say through most of May I felt really horrible, I had bronchitis and was out of work for a week and the recovery seemed to take forever before my lungs felt normal again.  Needless to say I didn't feel like doing much, including riding!

Muddy Millie

 I've been leasing a cute paint mare for a little over a month now.  Her name is Millie and is a nice bay paint (hahaha, I know I leased Willy and now Millie ;-)  I ride her on Sundays as well as Wednesday for $200 a month.  The only catch was I had to pay for my 6 month lease all up front....anyone ever heard of that?  Or well.  The lease price is average for a two day a week lease.  She's boarded at a pretty rickety place, the Flying W Ranch, I would have never guessed.  It's very bare bones but there is a 3 acre paddock owners can let their horses out on for 2 hours to graze.  The location is fantastically close to my house but again, no free grazing for most of the day.  I think horses should be in a paddock as much as possible!  When I first started riding Millie she wasn't very affectionate with me, she was a bit stand-offish but as we've gotten to know each other and grown more comfortable she's sweetened up; not that she was ever nasty by any means!

Cute foal friend

So since riding her I've had another fall, yipee!  I'm getting good at these!  I've been kicked in the knee (back leg hoof picking and she jerked her hoof) and dealt with a couple rearings (while I've been on the ground thank goodness!).  Now this all may sound terrible but let me explain a little to catch you all up on my horsie adventures.

The hoof picking incident occurred because I found she had a habit of kicking out her legs as I was releasing them from being picked.  I just happened to have my knee in the way...oops!  I've since worked with her and held her leg while rubbing her rump and slowly placing her hoof back to the ground.  That seemed to work for her and now she's just a complete rag doll when it comes to moving her legs!  Yea for me and Millie!

Squeals of delight or annoyance?

The fall, happened when we went on our first "trail ride" into a cow field behind the barn areas, she spooked at her shadow, grass, a rock...something!  I came off and nearly hit a cactus...whew!  I need to stop falling and freaking out about falling so I can relax my seat and stay steady!  This is no fun!  Since the fall I did a lot of ground work with her and it seems like she has become a bit more responsive to me.

The rearing occurred because she started getting really upset when ever I put my hands up towards her face.  The first time she did this was one time I was about to bridle her and she reared and pulled way back on the halter and lead.  Those Aussie tie rings are great for horses that need work with tying, she was able to give herself room and then calm down.  Go Clinton Anderson!  I spent many times out to see her just working her on lunging in the halter and then repeatedly moving my hands in the "offensive manner" until she finally calmed down to where she was before.  Her owner thinks she was smacked in the face one day by the remnants of an electrobraid wire that is looped around the top of her pen.  Who knows I may have poked her wrong one time I was bridling her I'm just glad Millie and I worked it out but I'm very steady and cautious as I bridle her now.  I place my hand with the brow band part on her nose and slowly slide up her face...slightly different technique than I'm used to but it seems to work with her.

The good husband!

The first time I tried lunging her I had the same issues with Willy where it felt like the horse was just swinging their butt out of the way of my stick.  I've since watched and re-watched a Julie Goodnight and Clinton Anderson show on lunging and have a better idea of how to get her started.  I don't think I had enough patience to have her catch on to where she needed to go to "relieve the pressure".  After our first round pen session I found myself stuck in the pen.  The chain link was stuck in the opening that you slide it through to secure the gate.  I worked on it for about 10-15 minutes and finally just pulled out one of the sections, and moved it to create a gap wide enough for a little paint mare and me to get through.  Millie just calmly stood by like nothing out of the ordinary was happening.  Oh the embarrassment!  Luckily no one was there to witness it but Millie and of course I'll tell all of you about my mishaps when I could have never even mentioned it...but to laugh at oneself is fun right?  After the fact of course!

Millie is not really responsive to leg yielding and the first time I tried to canter her she spun in a tight circle instead of continuing in the strait line we were on.  Yeah, that freaked me out.  But for the most part I feel I've worked through some of the biggest difficulties.  I'm hoping to make it out by 10am on Sundays to catch a group that goes for trail rides on Sunday mornings. 

How a horse should always be!

I'll have to go into other details about the waterer issue or the muddy fetlocks or the constant bit chewing but I can only take on so much at a time in life and in my blog!  I've only been out to Laurie's a couple times, seems I always forget I want to ride on Mondays and when I remember it's too late notice to call her.  Other times she's been on vacation or I have, that's been the past couple of weeks!  I miss Quinntessential Arabians with a passion!  Anyways, I promise I will not been gone from this blog for so long again!  Hope you all are having happy rides so far this summer!

Hi Millie!  Um I'm trying to take a picture stop coming at me!