Posts in the Queue

 I have so many posts in the queue right now it's ridiculous.  I just have not had the time to write or when I have had the time I've been exhausted and not wanted to write.

Since I got Seamus I've taken him to a couple different places, the first big one was outside of Chattanooga TN for an Ivy Starnes gaited horse clinic.  I got recordings of my three 1-hour slots of time where she worked with Seamus on gaiting.  He was already a good gaited horse but speed and his bit change was causing a disconnect with the two of us.  Basically his previous owners had the typical gaited horse Wonder Bit which is a gag bit that exerts a lot more pressure than the snaffle.  I was trying to work in a snaffle and under saddle Seamus was picking up speed and getting into a trot. I will need to review those videos and I can get some snippets of video and still and do an entire post or two on the clinic. It was awesome!  I have a lot of work to do with him still and the heat wave the past month has really put a damper on working with him.

Ivy riding Seamus on Day One at the gaited clinic

I went to an obstacle clinic with him locally and that was awesome...he was great and chill.  I am starting to get some issues with loading him on the trailer though so I need to work on that. I know the issue is most likely me since I'm a newbie trailer loader and I need some guidance.  As a single horse in a two horse trailer I have been loading him on the wrong side....that's what happens when you are a newbie, oops! Glad the trainer pointed it out at the obstacle clinic.  I'm always hoping to learn and not sure where I went wrong with that but moving forward I know now!  Maybe I read something in a UK horse page about which side to have a single horse on...that would make sense.

The heat has prevented a lot of riding recently since my horses are miserable and I've also had to deal with Chances multitudes of health issues (heaves, PSLD, rain rot easily from sweat, Cushings) and then Dani had a slight tenderness issue due to grass on the track system; I've been trying to get it to dirt but the grass is persistent.  She can't be on it even with a muzzle, and it nearly moved to nothing....so barnyard area it is.....  Chance has been losing weight yet refusing extra feed but we finally found a feed I can feed less of and it's higher in fat and other calories plus we are having him on grass in the evenings to help.  I still see ribs but hoping that it's making an impact. A bad shave job I gave him to keep him cool exaggerated his skeletal look, my pet sitter gave me heck over the terrible trim...  Poor guy we are trying! Old horses are not for the faint of heart!  The struggle is real and it can be frustrating to manage them but as long as they have a quality life I will fork over the money for the meds and try different feeds or supplements and refence my property to make managing their different needs easier..... I juggle horses, it's what I do.

Seamus and I have had a few "discussions" about who the boss is rather recently and there have been a couple times lunging that I was a pretty nervous about his intentions.  I had tried the a stick with a flag instead of a stick and string and perhaps I'm not working it right but it escalated his temper. I have since done some small ground work sessions and he's been his chill self.  He can be pushy and mouthy if you let him; just like Dani in the beginning.  I have to remember she wasn't always so "Yes Ma'am" with me, we had to build that relationship.  This weekend I'll try lunging again and get our conversation going where I want it too. I'm also trying to get a trainer here to help us with trailer loading since once the weather cools I have a couple more clinics I want to go to locally.  The obstacle clinic I went to was awesome and that barn will most likely host more once it's cooler.  The June 24th clinic was really hot so that was the last one they held.

 

We've also been working on the electric in the barn and Steve's workshop (our shed is being converted).  This has taken a lot of Steve's time and my help.  We were without power out there since November of 2022 and now we have power so we are pleased to have lights again and the horses are loving having the fans in this heat.  

We've had a lot going on and I have posts galore waiting to be typed and pics to be added. I've just not done it!  So I'm going to try and get posts out.  It may not be sequential since I'll work on the low hanging fruit posts, simple, less contemplation needed, type of posts first. With the August misery setting in I may find more time being inside since even mowing the pastures doesn't go well in this heat.

Hope you are staying cool as you can in this heat.  Wishing all the ponies and their humans fun days ahead!