Serene Sunday

Serene Sunday

Their debut album cover:

Daenery's and the Eunuchs

Saddle Fitting, Riding Lesson and Ground Work Beginnings

 Seamus and I's first trip together was to Hillsborough, NC to the Rockin B Saddle Shop, this would have been the first weekend in March!!! Wow I'm a bad blogger!

The saddle shop is about 30 minutes from our house.  I've gone there before when I needed them to adjust Dani's saddle....the fenders actually.  I have short legs and arms compared to my height, others of the same height tend to have longer appendages, I just have a longer torso....fun.  Normal stirrup fenders tend to be too long for me.  I also add stirrup turners which puts the stirrups perpendicular to the fenders which easier on the knee but this adds a few inches of length to the fenders.

Seamus was a good loader and unloader; a little quick at unloading but we'll work on that as some point. I tied him to the trailer with a hay net and then went into the shop to view the saddles I'd discussed with the owner. He had hybrid saddles, part leather part synthetic that I was interested in seeing.  The brand is High Horse which is made by Circle Y.  Dani's saddle is Circle Y and I've loved it so I felt comfortable looking at these saddles.

We went out to look at Seamus first and the saddle fitter brought a couple trees out and some cardboard to get measurements.  Seamus was a good boy through this whole thing.  I went back into the shop and then sat on a couple saddles.  I chose one and then we went out to Seamus to fit it.  I already had a nice felt rounded pad to us for him so we put that on and then adjusted the saddle.  The saddle had very different rigging than I'm used to. You don't need a back cinch since the ring is angled so you loop the latigo through it in a Y shape.  We also used the rear part of the front ring to bring the pressure off the shoulder due to his conformation and gaited way of going.

I then got him ready to ride and we went into the arena to ride.  Seamus started with a nice gait and I was thrilled.  I had him in a snaffle though and as he sped up and became bumpy I had trouble getting him back into the gait.  We'll work on that though.  I was satisfied with the purchase and thanked the saddle fitter  The Rockin B Saddle Shop is awesome, family owned by a nice older couple.  The man is retiring but his son is taking over so it's great to know that this place will be a place to go to for years to come I hope!

The following day I worked with Seamus in the pasture.  We worked on softening his contact with the bit and lowering his head at the walk for relaxation. I've been following Ivy Starnes the gaited horse trainer on You Tube and have some of her DVD's in addition to being a member of the training group she has on Facebook.  I've learned a lot but in application it can be a bit hard to do when you are just learning with a new horse.  The concept is similar to stuff I have learned in the past but Seamus is a younger horse that is going from a harsh gag bit to a soft sample. I went to her clinic in Tennessee end of March so I'll have a couple posts about that and probably share some of the videos too!

The following weekend I had a lesson at Mountain View Farms in Bahama with Erin who has worked with my other horses, before the pandemic.  She's very busy getting ready for show season so I was happy to meet up with her.  It was a short haul to her farm but Seamus did well.  A little hesitation on the load...we are still getting used to each other and I'm still new to trailering horses. The parking was tight at her barn but we got in and I got Seamus tacked up.  We started with some groundwork, and honestly...this boy needs it.  Erin said he was difficult to turn clockwise.  I'd noted that myself when lunging him.  She showed me some tricks to better communicate with him.  He probably had not had much ground work done with him.  It was a good lesson and I have some things to work on with him.

Seems I don't have the time to blog like I used to when I didn't own horse property!  Spring is starting up so the mowing is beginning and we have a lot of rewiring happening in the barn and the workshop of my husbands.  Basically we are without power in both and have been for the past 5 months.  I've tried to fit in riding with my new young horse and even went to a gaited horse clinic.  I have a lot of posts in the queue!!

Old post I never posted- Getting Dani up to Snuff Again

This is an OLD POST I never posted.....it should read months ago I began working with Dani

A few weeks months ago I began working with Dani on the lungeline.  She's not had the attitude I expected after so much time off.  She was great honestly and listened well and was calm.

I made sure the get her tack fitted right, wasn't sure if the girths I had would still fit since she's gone up and then down in weight.  The stirrups had been adjusted for me by a tack fitter since they'd always been so long and I need them fairly short to fit my short legs.

I added my stirrup turners again even though the tack guy had twisted the leather to turn the stirrups it still hurt my knees a bit. I got everything set with the tack and continued some ground work with Dani including getting her to come up to the mounting block which she was a good about.

 

The next time I went out to work with her I did only a little bit of ground work to check on her mindset and then I got up on her and rode around the barn.  We worked on some bends and turns and halts, nothing crazy.  She enjoyed it, at least it seemed like she did.  She likes being engaged and being with her human.

Another ride we went out to our little culdesac road and road up and down a bit.  We had Steve and Chance with us and our older dog.  Chance was really excited to be out and about and was prancing a bit in hand with Steve.  Then Chance spooked at our dog and blowing and snorting in the air.  Silly Arabian!  Dani just looked at them with curiosity.  

I'm happy that Dani retains what she learned and that even with over year off she is just about the same horse under saddle.  She's by no means perfect and there are things we can and will work on.  I still don't really see her going on long trail rides with me for several reasons.

1. The trailering issues, I'd need to put a lot of work into getting her on the trailer and consistently too.  It's been about 7 years since she was last on a trailer.
2. Her tender feet, how long can she last being ridden in boots on a rocky trail? Could she be prone to injury more easily?  Then what do I do miles away from home?
3. If I take her out and about Chance will be left alone at the barn and he'll get upset like he does with her just down the road. I can't leave him like that for a whole day!

Since I'm looking for a third horse it makes sense to get a younger horse I can work with and go to training and clinics and do some trail riding when we are ready.  I'll have two horses that can stay home, content to chill and be ridden (Dani at least) around the property and neighborhood. It doesn't make sense to me to get an older companion horse while I try and take Dani places to ride with the issues stated above.

Can you tell I'm still conflicted though? She has such a great mind and is such a sweet horse.  I love her so much.  How did I find such a great horse for so cheap 10 years ago?

When I look at the horses advertised now with harsh bits and minimal training and a huge price tag I'm really shocked. I don't have a deadline to find a new horse and now that Dani is back under saddle and her feet are doing well so happy I can play with her. She's a great friend to spend time with, my future of horsing where I go out and about like I've wanted will come and I will be ready when it does! I'm so happy to be riding my Daenerys again.  She's such a good horse!

First Hoof Trim for Seamus at Geek Acres

When I got Seamus he'd been in the pasture for several months and really needed a trim.  It seems that his shoes had been left on and let to fall off....these are just the assumptions of my farrier. In the first picture of a hoof you can see there were still some nail heads in the hoof.  This hoof also had a piece of hoof wall "notched" out.  My farrier showed me a scar that looks like he'd had a coronary band injury in the past few months.  Nothing came up at the vet exam but I remember noting those back hooves being longer and one I did a double glance at thinking it was club.

The nails were removed and his hooves were trimmed not long after I brought him home.  My farrier is a great barefoot farrier. Both my horses hooves have improved since I came to NC and found her.  She's the farrier I suggest to anyone who wants a barefoot trimmer.  She knows so much more than hooves too!

His back feet were the worst with big wall flares but they are strong since the wall didn't crack or break off.  I'm still working with him on picking up his feet easily.  I ask with poking his chestnuts but sometimes use the hoof pick as a hook to scoop up his foot from the area of the ergot....hope that makes sense.

His hindlegs are easier to pick up and each time he gets better.  Below you can see the trimmed foot on the left and the untrimmed on the right.  It's always nice to see freshly trimmed hooves.

The angles were off on all four feet, especially the back so my farrier got them trimmed up nicely.

Below you can see the trauma that had occurred to the hoof wall and the possible site of the coronary band injury.  We'll see how it grows out.

Freshly trimmed back feet from the far side below,

Freshly trimmed back feet from the near side below,

Nice rounded edges of the wall.  I'm sure his feet will expand some being 100% barefoot here.  It will be interesting to get some comparative pics 6 months from now and a year from now. I'm glad he wasn't one of those Tennessee Walkers with the big pads on their feet.  He just had been a little long between trims and my experience is that trims are different for a shod horse and I'm learning that there is still that old school thought that horses need to have long toes to gait.

It's so not true.  For the longevity of the horse their feet should be trimmed for their conformation and have the best angles to keep their legs aligned properly.  Too high a heel, too long a toe or compressed heels....these all lead to long term problems that don't just affect the hoof but the entire horse. Bad angles in the hoof and legs and add strain to ligaments up the leg and into the spine. Needless to say we have a chiropractor appointment soon so we can make sure he's not been thrown off kilter. 

Kentucky Horse Park

While in Kentucky since we had time it only made sense to check out the Kentucky Horse Park....also known as Mecca in the horse world.  It was off season so there was not a lot going on.  I still want to go for a Breyerfest or some other crazy weekend.

We had a beautiful day but it was slightly chilly, I loved the temperature by the hubby certainly needed to be kept warm.  The gift shop was awesome, lots of Breyers, teeshirts and many derby winner halters complete with a tuft of tail were for sale.

Everywhere you looked there was a famous statue or memorial to some famous horse.  Reckless was awesome to see. Also a memorial plaque for Bask++, a famous Arabian sire. I don't think he was buried there but there were memorial plaques for many famous horses.

We made it to the parade of breeds, the draft horse and then the racehorse talks.  Perfect timing for each. The draft horse barn showed us a belgian, percheron and then a shire.  All beautiful horses that everyone could pet afterwards.  My little 14 hand something horses are so tiny comparatively.

Funny Cide was the retired racehorse we got to meet and hear the story of his winnings and the gamble that group of friends who owned him had taken.  He was a grumpy old man and showed lots of personality as he watched the crowd gathered around to see him.

We didn't stay to see the full documentary, narrated by William Shatner, in the "Mane Theater" but saw the end 15 minutes.  I just found it cute with the pun on word spelling.

The red carpet was perfect as well. There was more to see in this area but we had already had a long weekend of looking at horses to buy so a nap was in our future. We honestly would need a full weekend to really see the park when it's in full swing during visitor season.

Of course the Man O' War's statue was something not to miss.  Unknown to me this is his final resting place, the entire story of his shaky beginnings with sales from the Ridley farms and his temperament were written out on the plaques around the statue.  Man O War is my favorite book of Walter Farley's.  He brought the story to life and did his research.  This was sacred ground.

We certainly will have to go back when there is more going on but it was neat to at least check it out for a couple hours.

Seamus

I am so happy that we went to Kentucky to find this beautiful gelding.  He's going to be such a great partner!  He arrived this past Friday the 24th, earlier than expected.  We had him shipped from KY since another trip to KY would mean another weekend for us and we still need to get the barn and workshop rewired so we are still without power out there.  I may not have mentioned it in this blog but yeah, we cut the power 4 months ago since there was a short and my hubby is working tirelessly to get everything rewired and we are also updating the lighting.

Anyways......my new horse we've decided to go with the barn name of Seamus.  It just fit him.  I'd dreamed of getting a horse named Brego (Aragorn's mount in the LOTR movies) or Rhaego (the unborn child of Daenerys in GOT) or even Tybalt (Shakespeare "Romeo and Juliet").  Rhaego would have been really fun since I have a horse named Daenerys.  But low and beyond he just seemed like a Seamus to me, I like Irish names. Names often just happen.

The first day he was just in the barn yard with the other two horses across the fence from him.  Squeals galore from my mare and even a few from the gelding.  Oh my poor neighbors!  Our little neighborhood had just enough hilliness to make some fun echoes. When they all seemed to be doing well I put them all in the Shire, our northern pasture.  Only for about an hour though since I didn't want Dani getting too much of the green grass with her issues.

The second day I let the horses be together in the Wormhole which is the area between the north and southwest fields and includes the smaller barnyard.  The horses can come and go from the stalls and they also have access to the run-in shed.  They all seemed to be doing very well, Dani was mostly chasing Chance and Chance on occasion made Seamus move. I was inside to let them do their thing but could see the barn yard from my seat on the sofa.  Seamus came galloping through the barnyard and jumped the wood fence, knocking out the top rail.  OMG!!!

I went outside to find him between our two sheds grazing some grass, a little freaked out but seeming fine.  I went into the barn to get a halter and Steve had come out to prevent Seamus from getting to the road.  We got him back to the barn and I checked him over.  Thank goodness he was unharmed.  Not a single hair scraped off.  Chance had jumped this same area back in September when he got his tail caught in the spring gate and he was all banged up.  I was relieved. 

Later we had an incident after feeding.  We were trying to figure out the best way to feed everyone since Chance has to eat 3 lbs of grain each sitting since he'd been losing weight last summer. It takes forever.  Anyhow, the horses were done so I released Seamus from his stall and we went to the bucket where there were still tidbit of food left.  Chance came over a little aggressively and our old dog Loki got in the way and Seamus turned around and struck at him.  I flung my hands up and Seamus backed off so I could grab my poor dog and get him out of there.  Loki is always under foot with the horses but I should have known better.  This is a new horse who is scared, in a new place with new routines, new horses and new humans.  I felt bad for both him and Loki.  Luckily Loki has a thick head and aside from a scrape by the eye seemed to be alright.

Those two events were enough for the weekend.  Things have calmed down and we have come up with a good routine to move the horses to the two stalls or barnyard in a certain order for feeding.  We also then release them in a certain order too.  With two horses it was easier but with three we are using a catch halter to quickly grab one at a time (Seamus and then Dani) into a stall and then leave Chance in the aisle to eat their grain. Why I've never heard of these before a Stacy Westfall podcast I don't know but this thing is so handy and better than just a lead rope to quickly maneuver a horse.

Seamus is settling in and is already proving to be a very in your pocket horse.  I was racking old hay, and he wanted to help.  Mucking the yard, he wanted to help. I entered the barn yard, he came up to sniff me and say hi.  So far we've just done work on the ground, his front feet aren't as easy to pick up so we are working on that. I'll be getting a saddle that fits him this weekend I hope. 

I just hope Dani isn't too jealous!  I love her dearly but I'm so excited to have a young horse that I'll be able to go do things with and meet other horse people.  Welcome to Geek Acres Seamus!

Great Horse Shopping in Lexington, KY

Part I Lexington Horse Shopping

We took a trip to Lexington, Kentucky this weekend to search for a gaited horse. Either a Rocky Mountain or Kentucky Mountain. I'd looked at several in NC and in VA. I started actively searching probably in mid-October.

I went to two places in NC that were Rocky Mountain breeders/stables.  The first one I arrived at to find that two of the horses I wanted to look at were on a trail ride. There was a miscommunication I guess that I was coming between the trainer and the trail ride boss....

I told them we'd be back in a couple hours then since we could run over to this other place to look at a horse and it was only 20 minutes away.  So I looked at a nice black gelding that was very calm.  He didn't lead well and eye balled us a little but didn't threaten to shy or react.  His trainer rode him and gaited him.  Then I hopped on.  We walked around and then I did some serpentines on him.  He was very stiff but responded well.  He needed some work and his trainer said he needed a lot of lateral work which would help.  I didn't have the courage to ride faster at that time.  The horse just felt very hesitant under me.  Not a good combo with my nerves.

We went back to the place we started at and the trail ride was over....but the trainer said she really didn't think that horse A a nice grullo gelding should be sold (even though the owners wanted to sell him and he has since been sold) and then the other horse B a black gelding (they decided not to sell, even though I had just talked to them on the phone that week about him).  I ended up riding a chestnut gelding and got to ride him and gait him on the dirt road.  The trainer was telling me he wasn't trained leg cues since he's a trail horse so when I was having trouble have him move over his haunches apparently that was part of the issue.  He kept trying to head back towards either the trainer or the barn and I was just not feeling it with him so we finished up and headed home....a little frustrated honestly.

About an hour from my house I was contacted about a Rocky Mountain mare that was coming 5 years and not ridden as much....husband horse (I know that story!).  So we tried to make plans and couldn't align until after the Thanksgiving holidays.  Then her household was sick and we went into more holidays.  I contacted her in January and she said things were just crazy at there house she didn't have a moment to get anything ready to sell.  She'd reach out to me.  I haven't heard from her but I certainly know how life can throw everything at you to the point you can barely breath.  The mare's pictures were gorgeous though so I was bummed.

Since I was going to north of the Roanoke area for Christmas with the family I posted on a Facebook group and found that a Saddlebred show and training stable on the south of Roanoke had just received a cute grade Rocky Mountain gelding in a trade. We went to see him.  He was very sweet and affectionate.  His hooves were way overdue for a trim and the seller was planning to do that soon.  She rode him and he didn't really gait, he seemed to sort of pace or trot.  The video showed that he was maybe gaiting or stepping pacing, which is four beats but not evenly timed.  The previous owner and even the one before that who I was able to reach out to apparently had never ridden gaited and really didn't know what they were doing so it seems he got into some bad habits.  As I'm new to gaited as well I'm learning that it's easy to get a good gaiting horse and then have issues if you don't really start understanding the gait and how to correct if the horse starts step pacing or pacing.  It will be a learning curve for me. I wasn't too worried, I was planning to attend an Ivy Starnes gaited horse clinic in late March if I purchased him and could work out some of those issues.  I also had reached out to a local trainer since I know I'll want to get educated on gaited horses and learn this new area of horsemanship.

Anyways, long story short, he was a great horse, I liked the connection and feel I had with him so wanted to move forward.  The vet exam showed that whatever hoof care he'd received or not received and probably just general conformation led to very unbalanced front hoof that was already causing structural bone issues. That was a hard since I really liked the gelding but the vet questioned his long term soundness and possibility of injections and I knew I wasn't ready to take that on with two old horses already in the barn.  The search continued.

I almost forgot I rode a beautiful young 3.5 year old, thought she was 4 at least. She was only 30 minutes from me  Nice little filly but way too green.  I did well riding her for a bit and even gaited a bit but then she just stopped and didn't want to move.  The trainer eventually swamped places with me and I got on her again outside of the roundpen...they said it was hard for her to gait in there....  Anyways I mounted up, she did a quick spin silly spook thing almost unseating me and I got off immediately.  Nope, too green for me.

There also was a 6 year old mare an hour away that went for sale and I planned to see her in 4 days, that Saturday.  A guy came up from Charolotte NC and rode her a couple days before me and loved her so she was under contract.  Man, good ones go fast!!!

 Steve and I headed to Kentucky this past weekend to horse shop. That Friday my first stop I saw a beautiful and sweet mare.  Her trainer hopped on her and rode her.  She wasn't the best for mounting, he'd told me about that.  She had a nice gait but was very very green under saddle and I started having my heart race just thinking about riding her.  I got teary, just remembering the experience I had horse shopping years ago.  It was one horse that bolted back into the barn and caused me to fall hard into the stall door and on a cinder block.  It is enough to make me extremely cautious around new horses.  I didn't want to ride her.  The trainer was so kind and understood.  We chatted a bit since we had to wait for my hubby to return from a Bourbon place.  He had another horse that was 5k above my limit but he said she was everything I would need in temperament and training.  I'm sure she was but I wasn't ready to raise my budget yet again.  The horse sale prices in general and now a rarer breed have really caused me sticker shock. I thanked him for his time and some advice he gave me.  I was going to several people he knew so he said I was in good hands.  I also knew who to avoid and he'd agreed on that!

 

The next place I went to had two Rocky Mountain mares, the first was a black 9 year old.  She was very cute and had a little gait that reminded me of a Paso Fino. When it was my turn to ride I got on and rode her in a smaller round pen in the indoor arena and also tried out the gait.  She was very soft and responsive.  Then I rode around the larger arena and moved her around some poles and turned and stopped and backed etc etc.  She was great.  She did have a habit, and her owner told me about it, that when she was stopped she would take the bit and pull quick a couple times.  Dani sometimes does that but this mare did it a bit harder.  We'd have to work on it.  The trainer told me to bop her outwards with the reins when she does that.  After the I was done with riding her we discussed the other mare and trainer said that he thought she would not be a good fit for me with my fear issues and I appreciated it.  I definitely thought this mare was a contender.  Then we got to chatting with him about the eye issues that are genetic in the breed.  He showed me a normal eye and then another horse he had that was MCOA positive.  He is able to see but sometimes if a horse is positive it can be at a greater level.  Good thing is it's not progressive and the black horses I've seen so far cannot have it and do not carry it either, which is good if I wanted to breed any mare I purchased.  Which I don't have the desire (or knowledge to breed) but that's good to learn that stuff for my curiosity.

The next barn I went to had two mares and a gelding that they had just recently decided to sell.  When I got there I asked which was the calmest, steady one.  It was the gelding.  Okay then.  He had a find eye and a nice way about him. He was tacked up and then the owner hopped up on him even in the small confines of the prep stall.  He didn't bat an eyelash.  She walked him a little and then gaited him around.  He was quick to gait and went about happily.  Apparently he loves gaiting and will just go on auto pilot if you want.  I hopped up and starting working with him.  He wanted to gait right away but I told him "No not yet" and began walking him.  I felt his response to my legs to move over and at first he thought I wanted gait but eventually realized what I was asking.  I did a sloppy serpentine and changes of direction.  I stopped, I backed him. Then I gaited him and stopped him from the gait and changed direction etc etc.  He was great.  Some stuff he and I will need to work on to get on the same page for communication but he was so willing and kind. I was feeling "it".

The trip was great.  I met some great trainers I would recommend to others if they are looking for a RM or KM horse.  I was given time to see each horse and get a feel for them.  I felt like I had a great mare and a gelding to consider. 

I made the offer on the black KM gelding.  As I type this I am really excited about him.  His registered name is KO Lowrider aka "Tate".  I haven't picked a barn name for me to use but I'll need to get a better feel for what his name should be. Everyone likes making there own barn names....  I have some ideas. His owners and trainers were very nice and let me work with him and get a feel for him.  I then asked them a lot of the questions I needed.  I just had that feeling, that connection. He did well in the pre-purchase exam and will head to NC on Friday!  I am over the moon with excitement!

Micromanaging Sellers- a personal rant

Part II Lexington Horse Shopping

I had to make this it's own post....  This may have been a personality thing or maybe some horse trainers out there feel like they need to be the ones to help someone connect with a horse....like people can't do it on their own.....sure I want to know a horses past and hear about their training but to feel like I'm under complete scrutiny is not a fun feeling. If you don't want to read a rant just move on to the fun post about my Lexington shopping experience here

I had an appointment in Lexington on Saturday with another breeder about an hour out from Lexington.  I'd chatted on the phone with her before and had been stressing out about meeting her.  The way she talked about her training process, and then the selling process where she was saying I would need to spend a full day or more looking at her horses (there is only the one for sale that I was interested in.....).  Let's just put it plainly; I felt this was going to be a very particular and picky lady.  

I gave her the benefit of the doubt though and arranged to see her Saturday instead of her being the first one we saw on Friday. That was our first day in Lexington I wanted to make sure I saw the number of other horses that sounded great in the area vs. having her monopolize my time. We arrived on Saturday to meet this horse.  The trainer had told me we would take an ATV out to the 70 acre pasture to get him so I could see him being caught.  Okay fun.  But that ATV ride was up and down some really steep hills and I was clinging to her and holding on for dear life.  I was expecting the same type of rolling fields I saw in Lexington but I guess it's far enough out to be in the foothills. The huge gelding came right up to us and was very friendly. He was only 15.1 but to me he seemed huge; how 2 inches makes a horse that much larger I have no idea! The lady handed me the halter, a standard one but with the throat latch unhooked so you put in on differently, not the way I do it so I struggled and she had to help. Immediately I felt like an idiot. I don't find that an easier way to put on a halter honestly...I've always found that odd.

We then headed back to the gate with horse in tow. She had me lead him through the gate and then she brought the ATV through and I wasn't sure if she was going to drive down first and us follow but apparently I was to lead him in front of her (under scrutiny...) Immediately I was told I needed to lead him differently.  He needed to be behind me with his nose at least two feet behind me.  I couldn't see where he was, it was the oddest thing.  I should have just said hell with it and led him the way I know to lead a horse...but with her I felt like I had to wait for her instruction.

  I felt like I was just holding a rope but I "led" him to the barn.  I want to see the horse so I know where they are while leading if they are way behind me they could plow into me with no warning.  I was starting to get on edge with this lady.  We went to the barn and stood there talking while I held the gelding and pet him a bit.  I don't even remember what she was saying at that point, I was already so nervous and shutting down.  She lunged him and he was being a little silly and even plowed into her at one point like he wasn't seeing her.  She then had me give it a try.  We just had the long lead rope, no stick and string which I'm used to since you get a bit more distance between you and the horse....it's an extension of the arm.  I slid my hand down the rope and up and did a point and cluck and got him moving but he was too close and I just had the rope to use to move him out of my space. 

Immediately she said I was doing it wrong I didn't even have a chance to ease into his way of going and mine and get my self situated with only the lead rope (which is limiting at least to me). I lunge Dani all the time but I have a 15 foot lead rope and a stick and string to communicate with her. Sometimes we have moments where it looks like complete crap until we get into the groove of communication.  I've never been good at twirling the rope end for lunging. The lady drew a circle on the ground and said I needed to stay in there and not chase the horse around, yes I understand that is the goal but new horse, different equipment, give me a moment.  I'm trying to get into the groove and not being given a second to think without her saying I'm doing this wrong or I'm doing that wrong, I'm too green with ground work etc etc. I can't think straight with that type of "instruction". Tell me what to do and give me some time to figure out what you are saying.  Everyone does stuff slightly different.

I was done with that shit though and was getting hot in the face and knew the tears were coming; I was pissed.  I felt like I needed to explain but couldn't fully.  I don't know why I said stuff about my past two years of being off from riding because of my parents deaths, my horses health issues etc. like I needed to apologize to her why I was rusty;  I don't owe this lady anything!  I left.  I was embarrassed and humiliated...and I'm a pussy. Why can't I just say "Hey give me a moment to digest what you want, it's different, I have different tools than I'm used to using and I disagree with some of what you have been telling me".  Also why can't people just let you have some time to feel things out? I have to learn to ask....no....I have to learn to TELL.  I need this....give me this...or I'll move on. I would have gotten there with the lunging, there is always the second of fumbling with the tools even with my horses.  I'm furious looking back about how I should have "fixed the halter first", just led the horse the way I've been taught since age 8 and then asked for what I'm used to for lunging a horse.  It's rough looking at other people's horses.

Bummed

It's a bummer when you have been looking for another horse that's a less common breed and there are few in your state for sale thus far and then you finally find one with the mind you like and a personality that makes you just want to snuggle on the sofa with him and eat cookies....then something comes up on the vet exam you can't take a risk on so you have to pass.  Ugh.

Just gotta post my lovely mare here to make me happy in this bummer moment.  It's not the end of the world.  I had a couple "almost the right horse" moments before I found Daenerys (and she wasn't even the top breed I was looking for at the time!). And I'm certainly not looking for perfect, she isn't....but darn close!  LOL.

Look at that muddy awkward stance/picture angle on a slope photo of her!  Isn't she wonderful!  I love my old mare, scars, flaws, attitude and all.  I hope this weekend is good weather since I need to get a nice pony ride in to remind myself that I have a wonderful horse, two actually Chance is a grumpy old man but he can be a sweetie too.  

I'm just adding a younger one to the herd and that will happen when it does! I shan't fret!