Monday, July 31, 2017

I need a routine!

I feel like, especially lately, I've been running from dusk to dawn with no breaks and I still feel like I'm getting nothing done.

These weirdos have nothing to do with me getting nothing done. NOTHING.

While I did get some riding in while hubby was away, he came home last Wednesday and it took until this weekend for me to get back on the horses. Both of the riding girls (Arya and Bailey) were a little squirrely and unmotivated; clearly they need a program. I am also suffering from similar effects, so it's time to set some goals and do what I love with some direction. 

Arya's leg still has the tiniest amount of thickening/swelling and I haven't done standing wraps or bute recently. She's still sound, and happy, and a gigantic pig. I haven't been jumping her, but I think I feel comfortable slowly ramping her up in her work; maybe not in duration, but in days. She can do good work for 20-25 minutes and be done; we also have some newly discovered work to do outside of the arena. I rode her out the gate to talk to hubby and she wouldn't go back in, so I had to get off and have a discussion about forward and going and things before getting back on. She doesn't hold grudges, though, so once we were back in the ring she went back to work. I do appreciate that quality in a horse!



Bailey has been doing some jumping our last 2/3 rides; she also rode down the road with a friend. The jumping has been enthusiastic but needs some work; I find she's diving down a few strides out to the base and I am going to try a waterford to see if that works to give me back her face/some control before I start shopping for a loop ring gag or elevator bit of some sort. It could be fitness related, but she's doing it so consistently that I'm thinking she's just going "FUN JAHMPS" and doesn't want to be managed. We went on a trail ride with the neighbor and she was shockingly sane and ok to ride, despite getting eaten alive by deer flies. She started off the ride with some major stupidity; the neighbor was on a paint with a fly mask on and Bailey couldn't fathom that he was a horse; 5-7 minutes of spooking, rearing and trying to nope on out of there, I got off, made them touch noses, the gelding said "HEY BABY" at her and suddenly everything was fine. Oh, BB.

Foxie hasn't been working; I keep meaning to get her legged up but I've been distracted. I have, however, been delighted with a new product we started using with her; it's called EatMoor by ADM, and it really seems to be working. With the humidity hanging out in the "NopeNopeNope" to "I am breathing water" region, Foxie has been looking rough. She wasn't finishing her grain meals well, and her hay intake isn't nearly on par with either of the other girls, though I know her teeth are good. I introduced the EatMoor last weekend and she's now cleaning up her grain and the supplement (which is a powder like wheat germ, and normally she won't eat powder without a fight) and making a much better dent in her hay. She's looking much less angular and her coat is starting to shine, though she is a really entertaining brindle color from not being sun bleached. The stuff is expensive, so I'm already trying to see if I can find a base amount that I can maintain her on; there don't seem to be many alternatives out there for it, much less cheaper ones, so if anyone knows of something, let me know!



2 comments:

  1. I like how the EatMoor is also good for llamas, deer, and elk. 😂😂 But in all seriousness, I'm really happy to hear that you've found a product that's working well for Foxie,even if it is a pretty expensive one. Also happy to hear that Arya's leg isn't any worse, and that Bailey seems to be doing well (aside from the part where she was super dramatic)

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    1. I thought it was total bullshit when I bought it but here life goes... proving me wrong XD. Thanks for caring about my kids! I'm excited to read about your perceptions on farm life as you get more and more into it... I know it's really different from what I was expecting, at least...

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