New Kicks.

Went out to ride today around 3 ish. When we pulled up, Spirit was out playing with the others and seemed fine, but upon closer inspection we came to the conclusion that our farrier was right and he may need shoes, at least short term. I'm a big barefoot advocate, not one of those, "SHOE ALL THE HORSES!" types, but I do think some horses really need shoes and Spirit may be one of them..dreading the fee for it but looking forward to less lameness. We shall see when and if he really gets his new kicks. We're still hoping that he will be okay without them but right now mom's sure that he'll get them. She doesn't like shoes either but she likes healthy horses, obviously.

Anyways, we went and all of the horses were in front, yay, A and R pulled up right behind us which was awesome. Got Red on the lead and Tucker went after him and had a little fiasco. My first time in the middle of a horsey fight. :P Red freaked, which isn't normal. He typically just lays back but he wasn't expecting it. He ran in a few circles and pulled away from me. I ran after Tucker and shooed him away, then calmly walked to Red, held my hands out and called for him. Finally, he settled down and walked straight to me and refused to leave my side. No wounds, just a scare!! Red didn't go after Tucker but ran off which I think made it worse. :( I took him to the fence to tie him and he got lots of lovin'.

We ordered some stuff from Chicks before we left for Florida and got it from a wonderful neighbors house where they were getting our mail. :) Little things..two pairs of spurs, a clip for my breast collar so it snaps instead of fastens, some stirrup straps since I was borrowing A's after mine disappeared, and a new curb strap for Spirit. Got my breast collar and stirrups fixed!! Woohoo!! I no longer have super long stirrups and it was ah-ma-zing.

I somehow managed to tack this while lugging my saddle, pad, and breast collar to tack him up.He says, "please, no pictures. I am far too gorgeous for your silly blog."

While I was getting beefcake all tacked up, mom decided to walk Spirit to the barn and try to bridle him to see how he did. He really wasn't acting in pain so mom decided to hop on him bareback if he checked out. No limping, so she tried it. But more on that later...

Worked on Red's standing still while mounting. A and I went ahead on the trails while mom got Spirit-boy settled. She apparently mounted easily but stayed behind us for awhile since we got a head start.

I started using a pair of blunt spurs, like these:

 Because Red's been having some little issues with stubborness. Not to jab at him or anything, but when he acts up, just to give him a little poke. These are really mild. As far as I know, he's never been spurred, but I think he probably has. Can't say for sure. He didn't act up at all with them. I only had to use them, maybe, 3 times tops. Once at a hill we go down and twice in the front pasture that we rode in after the trail ride.

He did great with them, never acted up once and didn't seem fazed. He responded to them well so I'm excited.

A and I trotted around the back pasture a lot, the stirrups. Le sigh, they made such a difference. :) I also open reined today. I need to keep my reins lower and it helped a TON. Plus Red did SO much better with it and it allows me to sit deeper easier. They could still be lower but it improved drastically today.

Once we were done there and had ridden for about 30+ minutes we decided to head back since we hadn't seen mom for awhile..needed to check on Spirit. When we got back she was in the run in with Spirit. He had acted up a ton, she thinks it was mostly from not being worked for a few weeks because he didn't seem tender. :(

I took Red out to the front pasture since we had only ridden for a short period of time and rode around for another 30 minutes. Pretty easy work, only trotted a couple times and worked into a really fast trot.  His trot is about the speed of a typical Quarter Horse canter so we were booking it up the pasture. :)) He is always stubborn in that area because he wants in the run in but didn't fight me as much today as normal. The babies were loose in that pasture so that didn't help, but they stayed in the run in and never bothered us, as per usual.

Excuses are bad, but the only reason my reins are so high in this and I'm not open reining is because we were slowing to a stop and he was being a brat about it. :))

Later, A joined me. She had ridden Patches but switched out with Bay and rode her bareback.

Me: "I AM KING OF THE HILL!" Red: "Shut up mom, you are so, so, so embarrassing!!"

See my heels, they are DOWN. Woot.

And now, photo dump.

He looks so cute.

Muh hur.

Whata butt.

Going to the tree...

Around the tree..

I had one fail moment that I SO wish was caught on video. Red and I, we were running full force. All of a sudden he's like, "NO I MUST RUN INTO ALL THE THINGS" and ran me into a really annoying tree with very annoying, pesky limbs. Kinda like this tree:

And I literally had tiny sharp leaf thingies IN my shirt and IN my pants. Red wasn't fazed although R laughed at me. A lot. :( It was hilarious though.....although said sharp leaves really hurt when I trotted. LOL.

We played around for a few minutes then mom got on Red because she hasn't ridden him in months. Apparently she thought Red was still lazy and I was just having to push him a ton to get him going but as soon as she got on, Red proved her wrong. :)) He took off galloping with her. She claimed her canter felt like he was bucking. :( But she still admitting, AND I QUOTE: "He has a rough gait and probably always will but he's the best horse ever." IN YO FACE SPIRIT.

Took Redman back to the barn after about an hour+ ride and untacked, loved on him. Talked. Gave him a massage with the magnetic curry thingy that he adores and hung out.

"I refuse to put my ears up woman."

So yeah, fun day. :) He got to run around the barn because the stalls were all taken up but he loved it. He ran to each stall like "bahahaha I'm out and you areeeen't!!!"

Jericho is lame right now, not sure why, but we were checking on him and Red peeked his head through the stall next to me and kept trying to eat my shirt sleeve until I came out and gave him his treats. Attention hog.

The horse, with beauty unsurpassed, strength immeasurable and grace unlike any other, still remains humble enough to carry a man upon his back.

When I bestride him, I soar, I am a hawk. He trots the air, the earth sings when he touches it.

William Shakespeare

  

Okay, today's ride. Le sigh, where do I start? If perfect rides truly exist, this was in the top 5 of all time perfect rides. 

We had a football game to watch before we went to the barn-Go Vols!-so as soon it was almost over, we headed to the barn. We got there before everyone else, which was nice because it gave us more room to tack up and once everyone got there, we were ready to go. Mom tacked Spirit up in the barn and I tied Red to a fence post. He was really pushy up in the pasture when I was leading him down, but I think it was because the others-Bella, Bay, Tucker and someone else, I forgot, lol-were all up in our business and being pushy themselves. Bella-Bella wacked mom in the face with her head and received a very stern "no ma'am!" from mom. :)) Once we got down, he kept wanting to run in front of me but I think it was from flies. Once we got to the barn and I started fly spraying he settled down and fell asleep. Got him tacked up quickly and actually PUT MY SPLINT BOOTS ON CORRECTLY, yes, I remembered, and worked on our mounting and dismounting. One of his most annoying things is he moves when I mount sometimes and we're working on that now. I fake mounted-put one foot in the stirrup and stood there, then stood IN the stirrup, lol-about ten times then actually mounted three or so times. He did good. Then I got off and made mom braid his mane...she's my unpaid groom.

Oh so bootiful, Redman.

"Hang on, let me pose. "

After that I hopped on again and we just kinda hung out together for about 25 minutes while A and R tacked up. R, A's husband, came along this time. He rode Bay-Bay, who was very hyped today. :))

Seriously in love with his tack right now...everything MATCHES!! My bridle, reins, breast collar and saddle look like a set. Plus all of my red is the same shade. And almost everything was yardsale finds...splints were like $2, breast collar custom made, saddle was traded, reins and bridle were yardsale finds for like $20, pad was like $10...woot!

 Bay led the way for about two secs until Red decided he HAD to be right next to her. So we raced. Lol!! Red apparently needed to use the restroom so when he did he refused to go anywhere but behind a tree. LOL. Such a gentleman. Anyways, we trotted up ahead. Got Redman prepped for some work today. I love slow trail rides but if I don't start working him, he's gonna be all chubby and zero muscle! I actually think he enjoyed it though, I let the reins slack and he went faster voluntarily. Good boy! 

We rode around the trails, went the long way 'round. We went to the back pasture, about ten acres. When you go in, there's a fairly steep hill straight ahead so Red and I immediately went up it. I've never, never, never gone so fast up that hill. I felt like I was going to die. :)) :)) But we made it and after that we kinda had fun with it.

 Ignore my feet, time to shorten the stirrups. They keep slipping down!! grrrr

 We probably took the hill about ten times. He was really into it and we kept it at a trot most of the time but walked up it and went the easier way about five of those times. Cantered around the creek where it's a LOT cooler so he would cool off.

My horse has discovered he can high step.

Okay, so, we kept running past twigs. Finally, we found a bigger log, probably about the size of an average trot pole. He jumped it. Umm, Red, you aren't supposed to do that. I mean, it wasn't an eventing jump or anything but he hopped over it and scared me half to death. Proof he can do the cavalettis, lol. 

This ride was so much fun, we got tons of work done but I feel like we both enjoyed it and he liked being able to let loose without me pulling him back. I don't know why he was never worked because he likes it and I think I can improve his gait. I think some of his problems is his pasturns because they are a little straight, but we shall see. I think there's been improvement so far.

Spin

We also worked on turns and spins, nothing major, just teaching him the cues and trying to get him to listen more when I say we're NOT going to the gate. I told mom he looks like a reining horse in the picture up there, lol.

Spirit did really good today, too. Last real ride, Spirit was terrible and we now know why. :P His chin strap was missing on his bridle! We fixed it, lol. No pics of the pony because mom had the phone the whole time so I couldn't take photos for her.

Wish his ears were forward and my feet were in a better position but this is my favorite!

I really don't have a bad thing to say..he went down that steep hill that he refuses CONSTANTLY without very much fuss-I had to show him the crop but didn't even tap him with it-he had sassy moments at the barn before we left but that's normal, wanted to be next to Bay-Bay, and he had a couple other "oh no ya don't!!" moments but really, he did amazing.

Pats for the good pony.

I can't remember when we have had such a successful ride. It left me feeling really good about our training and our methods. He's doing so well. 1 year together and we're tackling so much and doing good at it. 

We went back towards the barn then, took the long way until A and mom went up the hill. R and I decided to take the trails the rest of the way. It takes longer but Red was starting to get tired and I wanted to take it easy. We ditched R about halfway and went up another way, he had decided to go ahead and untack her. Mom, A and I went up to the 4 acres for about two laps around there, in which Red decided he had another bolt of energy and raced Spirit. I didn't make him go any faster than a walk the whole time, if he was lazy,I would've because he needs work under his belt, but he literally wanted to go and I've always been told he NEVER NEVER went faster than a walk and was lazy. Yeah, not anymore. :)) After that we went ahead and untacked,sweat scraped and cooled them off. Took Red to his stall once he was cooled off and fed him dinner.

"treats?"

Gave him 3 treats too. He normally only gets one. ;) I splurged! 

We rode for a good two hours, I'd say. It was fun. Longest ride we've been able to have in awhile and we did a lot of groundwork beforehand. I'm proud. We had to get a good ride in before we left for FL. I'm hoping to ride bareback before.

Anyways, no schedule. Things are getting crazy now. Gotta start cleaning the house and preparing. We're about a week away so I have to start planning stuff, buying what we need. Gotta decide on books to buy before. :)) Any ideas? ;) I'll miss Redhead. 

Now, I must eat.

Horseflies.

Went for a ride today!! Went out at 12:30 and everyone was already tacking up, A had her grandson with her with was fun! :) He's about two or three. Mom felt up to it so she got Spirit to the barn and tacked him up, J had to help her carry the saddle since she can't lift over 4 pounds until 6 weeks post surgery. I brought Red down with the help of Bay-Bay and tied him out front with Patches and Hercules. Lady, C's horse, was lame, we think she tripped and hurt herself, so he rode Hercules. He gave Hercules to R awhile back so it's nice for him to have the ability to ride him! Hercules is actually Lady's colt. The horse flies were HORRIBLE today..the bugs weren't that bad but the horse flies were everywhere. Red stood really well and did fantastic while I tacked him up. He was sleeping the majority of the time so I doubted that he'd be energetic today! :)) A helped me figure out the breast collar because I still can't tie it right. Gonna invest in some of the clips for it, lol!! Got him all tacked up and fly sprayed a fly to death. At the last minute I decided to try my splints again so I got those on. They actually didn't slip as bad today so I'll see....medicine boots are so far in my dreams but I can't afford them ATM, so the splints will have to do. They worked well today. He came back with no nicks or anything on his legs and was much less bugged by the flies on his legs.

I hopped on before anyone else just so I could do some work on his mounting. He tends to want to move when I mount but he's improving little by little. He did SO good with it today!!! Got off because of ANOTHER dang fly but I got back on without him fussing. The fly left a pretty good mark on him so I was surprised when he just calmed right down when I got back on.. We just kinda sat there until everyone else mounted. He didn't walk when I got on him, which is what I wanted, since the others were still working I needed him to be quiet and not be a distraction, which he did perfectly, yay! After that, we were off...I took the lead and cantered Red up farther. He's a follower, NOT a leader, so I wanted to test him a little just to see how he did. Hercules was having some issues..It's only his third or fourth time out of the round pen, so considering that, he did really well. He ended up staying down there for awhile, lol. C worked on him a lot though and went on a couple of the trails by himself and we met up a few times. Red wanted to stop a few times so a couple smacks on his butt took place, lol!

Hercules and Red. NOTE: I don't allow my horses to get up too close during rides, but Hurk literally came running and I was taking a between the ears shot, this kinda just happened. :)) Red was moved up front about a second later.

We went through all of the trails and rode for about an hour. It was really hot out in the pastures so we stuck to the trails where it was shady. Once we got to the rockier area Red just stopped and I had to pick up a little twig and use it as a crop, a tiny tap got him going again. The rocks don't feel good, even when your horse has amazing feet, so I took it really slow. Once he got to the big open, ten acres, he was ready to run. I tapped him on the butt and he worked into a canter, then, finally WE GALLOPED! Yes!! :D I am so excited. Almost a year later..we finally gallop. Yipee!! We stopped shortly though. ;) Spirit wanted to run with us and mom had to take him way out to the end of the pasture, so once she was gone I talked to A and G-her grandson-and took a break in the shade, after that we walked around the creek line and I galloped a few more times around the pasture, cantered around the fenceline. G kept getting hit by Patches tail, he was doubling with A and kept saying, "PATCHES, NOOO! Stop hitting me!" and "Mimi, she's HITTING me!!"

Just a note: He had on a helmet but we took it off during breaks and A held onto him the whole time. :) The helmet was a bit large on him, lol!!

After that, mom came back 'round.

 Another stupid fly stung him and made him bunny hop, I dismounted to kill it because it kept trying to sting me plus I thought the test would be good. He REFUSED to let me back on but after about three minutes I was back on and he did great again,
 
We headed back after another lap. We went the long way around, where you pass about three hills that the horses tend to want to run up. Patches and Spirit were pretty insistent on wanted to go up them, but Red just followed and didn't mind. It was getting breezy and I kind of think he enjoyed the breezy, slow walk.

Once we walked back, we saw C on Hurk up near the house, so we turned back around. Red acted like he wanted to go back in the barn but once he noticed he was being left behind, he trotted up the hill and said hello. :) We all walked to the barn and got J to take some pictures.. A has some better ones of all of us on her phone so I'll have more pictures later, when she posts them on FB.


Once we were done taking pictures I took Red in the barn and tied him at his stall, near the fan so he could cool off. Got the sweat scraper and got all that nasty junk off. :)) He got some lovin' from G too :) He LOVES kids. No wonder he was a lesson horse ;) Gave him some treats and let him hang out while I put my stuff away.

Ignore his twisted splint, G was looking at them and asked why he had "cowboy horse boots on" and one of the straps got undone.

Pretty sure everytime I see him, I love him more. Despite his random stubborness, he did so good. Every time we go on a ride mom ends up saying something like, "ya know, he is just a good horse." or something along those lines. :) :) He really is a good horse, through and through. He's sound, he has a wonderful personality. He RUNS now, and wants to. Before he literally only walked or he would just be horrible. I'm so happy that he's actually enjoying his job now.

Him doing this every time I come to the barn or leave and whinny at me, plus just being gorgeous, helps a lot too. ;)

Hoping to get another bareback ride in soon, too. Probably this week sometime unless we get in another long trail ride. I'm getting back in the motions now so I should be back to riding at least twice a week now, just praying that mom begins feeling better. She was in horrible pain yesterday and has been light headed today. :P :P Until then, I'm the main babysitter so I can't just leave her. I take what i can get at the moment, it's nice to have her back in the saddle!

ALSO: Red's skin is doing great again and his tail is hairy!! Wooho!!! I'm kinda excited for winter because I don't have to worry and he'll have a nice tail.

OH! we will be having the thoroughbred and owner probably moving to the barn soon!! She's owned him since he was 9, he's 22 now. She jumps and does Dressage. :) Vet will be out Wednesday around 4. Gotta get Coggins pulled and some vaccines done..

Nothing better than when we're together.

Saw Red for the first time in five days this evening. ^_^ Finally got to the barn about an hour ago, it's been surprisingly sunny today even though we had a 50% chance of thunderstorms, when we have more than a 20% chance it's normally going to pour, but it's been super nice in my neck of the woods..

Went out and J-the owner of the whole farm and a lovely man-had already stalled the horses for A, our barn manager, and was sitting out in the front and letting his colt graze..walked down to say hello. Step dad, mom, Petey and N, our newest foster baby, came with us so we couldn't stay for long. N is only 8 months so she isn't in to the DVD player yet, but Petey is always great in the car for awhile. We opened the side doors and N was pretty interested in looking around outside so she was good. I went in Red's stall, said hello and decided to bring him out before he ate. A wasn't there yet so I had some time to kill. Got his lead off of the new hook next to his stall-completely adore the convenience of that-and hooked it around his neck since he lost ANOTHER halter. Now he's lost his teal halter, two red ones, his green and purple one and his rope halter. :P Took him out and decided to put his bridle on so I could tie him without having to borrow a halter and find one that actually fit his big head. Before I brushed him out I decided to hop on and see how he felt..I walked him around beforehand and he seemed 100% fine, no more stiffness or anything. Didn't seem like his hooves were bothering him like they would with founder/laminitis. I hopped on a wooden bench and got him to get close enough which took a good while. :P Decided to be stubborn! :)) He finally let me mount and I hopped on bareback, didn't have the time to tack him up and to be honest I really, really love those quiet, random bareback rides around the farm. I walked him for a minute to see if I felt any lameness and he was great. A little stubborn in the beginning but after he got the hang of things again he was fine. Raven was up near the house grazing so I walked Red up there so they could say hi. There was a bunny up there too and it let us come pretty close before takin' off. We walked up and down the drive and around the house in the grass, since A hadn't been there yet and we knew she'd be arriving soon I didn't walk on the driveway or down the road and get in her way. I let him trot around the grass for a minute and he seemed to want to, but I still haven't gotten a hang of bareback riding enough to be able to trot without feeling like I'm gonna fall. :P We rode for a little while then A showed up and she said hello to Red, Red and I went down the driveway and went back and forth then, walked around the fenceline and walked to the gate leading to the colts and filly's old pasture-they have full turnout now but go in there to eat at night along with Spirit-said hi to Spirit on the other side until mom called him in the stall to brush him, fly spray and put his sunscreen on again. Plus he lost his fly mask and she needed to grab it. We rode around for about thirty minutes, then I walked back to the front and discovered something very very bad.

His mane is falling out.

UGHHHHH

UGH.

It's all from him *rubbing* so I'm buying him a neck hood ASAP, hopefully he won't get overheated in it. If he does I'll try something else but I really, really, really want this to work because it'd solve that problem.If any of you guys have any tips or have used a neck cover/mane saver or a sleazy-a horse hood-let me know!! Don't want him overheated, so I'm leaning towards the neck covers. I may buy some listerine because I've heard that helps with itching??? If any of you guys have ideas, please, please let me know. I'm not going to let him torture himself again and I LOOOVE his long mane. :( I don't want to roach it. Really, really don't want to roach. Florida has early Summers and Tennessee's starts later, I'm hoping he'll be alright. Obviously his weight/muscle will be okay, but I don't want scabs. At all. I bought a fly sheet for him for the rest of his body but I need something really bad for his mane. :(

I stayed on his back so I could really soak the mane with MTG, I mean I soaked it. All of it, not just the bad spots. Coated it with it, soaked it, his mane was drenched! :)) Then I put it in the forelock and tail. His tail is looking fantastic so that's good news.. It's starting to grow but that's because we've wrapped it, can't wrap his whole neck unless I get the neck hood, but I'm doing more searching on it before I spend $$$$ on one.

Got that all in then walked around for a few more minutes. He really needed to be groomed so after about 35 minutes I dismounted-WITHOUT any help or a mounting block, first time I've done it without falling, tripping or looking dumb woohoo-and tied him so I could groom him out. I brushed him out, he was coated with mud since it's been raining a LOT lately, horrible flooding in my neck of the woods here! His legs were nasty, he looked like a chestnut..You could barely see the black on his legs because the mud was so light. :)) I didn't comb his mane or tail out since we just soaked it, and it looked pretty good anyways. The mane was really straight and nice since we had soaked it and the tangles got worked out so it wasn't really needed. I loved on him for a few minutes then moved to his legs. got the back legs, checked his hooves and he picked them up without a problem, normally he's terrible at that, his hooves were clean so I just stretched them and did the same with the fronts. No heat or stiffness anymore. When he had the founder issue his stomach kind of sagged like a pregnant mare but today he looked perfect again. Phew.  No more signs of founder, he's drinking again and eating perfect.

Fly sprayed him, put MTG on his chest where he has those splotchy bald spots and FORGOT to put my glove on. :P :P Now my hand smells like MTG even though I've washed them like three hundred times. :( :( :(

Put him back in the stall with his fly mask since he'd be turned out right after eating. He's officially on low starch feed and he loves it!!! Cuddled with him more then talked for a minute and headed out.

Since my step-dad came he took some pictures of us riding, then I took a few of just Redman. He has a super nice phone with an awesome camera so I love taking pictures with it. ;)

So not use to seeing shorter hair on me...

On a brightside his face looks less horrible and flaky. :) :) Plus he's got a cute SWAT pink nosey!!

This is what I have dubbed his "seductive" face.

Soaked forelock!! MAN i love this bridle..

So he's got this high step thing goin' on..he's been doing it occasionally on the trails and it's so cute! :))

Meet Spirit's beloved, Bella the filly. ;) We brought Spirit in and it was love at first whinny.

My mom's horse Spirit :) Notice his blue eyes.

Bella saying "HEEEEEEY GUYS!!" Also, don't freak about the barbed wire. ;) The wires aren't super sharp and they are only in that pasture and they only eat in that one now. ;) Working on replacing all of it!! This WAS a cattle farm.

Pitiful conformation shot since he's relaxing and putting his hoof up, but look how tank-ish he is!!

This is us chilling in front of our HUGE fan in the barn!

Favorite!! Why you ask?? 1. My feet are proper and my heels are DOWN! 2. I love the background and how Raven is in it. 3. Red's eyes are cute and sweet. 4. He looks all coppery. 5. He's adorable and we look cute together. ;)

Step-dad with Bella! Look at her face!!

This is me rubbing MTG in his mane. ;) I LOOOVE this stuff.Totally putting this on their facebook wall or something.

Butt shot

My face is hysterical. This is my "OH SHOOT DON'T TROT DOWN THE HILL WHEN I'M RIDING YOU BAREBACK I'M GONNA DIE" face.

Now, here is a comparision..

December 2, 2012. Ignore my posture. :(

December 22, 2012

February 24th, 2013

April 29th, 2013

May 20th, 2013

May 23rd, 2013

July 8th, 2013

I didn't go that far back, but the majority of you guys know how skinny he was in September, he was bald, his ribs were showing and his butt was scrawny. He was a dull dark brown, now he's a beautiful bright, copper color. He's done amazing..Sometimes I get so bummed about his mane and tail problems and don't realize how far he's come. I mean, muscle and weight wise, WOW!Not only that but his color has changed SO much!! This horse is worth his albeit large weight in gold.

If he was a mare, I'd rename him and call him Penny.