Holly

As an animal lover I've almost always been surrounded by animals.  Around the time I entered college that slowly changed until I was living with no animals.  It was not a state I wanted to stay in any longer than I had to.  I missed my animals and I missed having animals in my daily life.

Finally, after graduation, I was in a place in my life where having a puppy might again be possible.  I managed to convince my lovely boyfriend (more like badgered, pleaded with, and annoyed).  One weekend I decided that it would be a good day to look at dogs at the shelter.  Boyfriend wasn't so sure.

"If we go look at dogs, we're probably going to come with one," he said wisely, "and I just don't think the house is quite dog proofed yet."

"Is that your only objection, that the house isn't ready for a dog?"

"Pretty much."

To this day, Boyfriend jokes that he has never seen me clean the house so quickly.  He likes to say that now he knows how to motivate me to clean: dangle the prospect of a dog over my head.  I like to think of it as proof of how serious I was about getting a dog.

So, we went to the shelter.........aaaaaaaand we came home with a dog.  Boyfriend was totally right, but I would like to point out that I was fully emotionally prepared to not adopt a dog that day.  I knew he wanted to think over any dog he met and Boyfriend is consistently practical. 

He says he knew once we met our puppy on the very same day she was available for adoption, that she wouldn't be there at the shelter the next day.  

I almost cried when he said we should get her.  Seriously. I was ecstatic.

I love this little dog.  She is so sweet and goofy and wiggly.

Holly is a Catahoula Leopard Dog mixed with something else.  Feel free to look that up, we definitely had to.  

She's a southern gal and we have no idea what her history was.  We think she was somebody's pet based on the fact that she was pretty much house broken and knew a few commands.  Our guess is that her energy was just too much for her previous owner.

It breaks my heart to think of somebody not wanting Holly.  Clearly this has affected her too.  She has some separation anxiety and when we're home she has to be touching one of her people.  I think it reassures her that we're not going anywhere.  If she's outside when one of us leaves, she hops in the open car door and refuses to get out.

She loves to snuggle.  Specifically, she loves to sleep on or next to my legs at night, thereby locking me into one set sleeping position for the whole night.

She's not perfect, but she's mine and I just adore her to pieces.

I am such a nervous first time mom though.  When we first got her she didn't want to eat dry food and I worried after she lost a pound.  My worrying hasn't gotten much better (though she did start eating soon after we got her).  When I took her Petsmart to get her nails trimmed for the first time, my eyes bulged when the nice lady told me they'd call me when she was ready.  You mean I couldn't stay and watch her and make sure she was okay?  I settled on circling the aisles directly in view of the salon window, trying very had to be subtle.  "Oh I'm just going to look at these cool interesting....things right here.  Nope, definitely not spying on my dog. Not at all."

She was perfect and the groomer complimented me on how happy and wiggly and sweet she was.

I was and continue to be such a proud momma. :)

It's Alive!

I haven't posted in three months, but yes, I am alive.


I've been busy working on an awesome project about mustangs for my last class in my college career.


And then there was trying to find a job.


And graduating.


And then there's this:

So, I've had a couple of things going on.  Basically, I haven't ridden in three months.

I'm hoping to change that really soon.  Stay tuned......

Babies!!

I have never held a human baby.  Over the years I've come up with any number of excuses: I have a cold, I have poor hand eye coordination, I just coated my arms in teflon.... I'm just not good with babies. Human babies, that is. Equine babies are a whole different story.

Show me a foal and I will squeal and hop up and down like every terrible girl stereotype you've ever seen on t.v. It's horrible and wonderful at the same time. There's just something about the big stork legs, the fuzzy ears, the adorable itty bitty noses and whiskers.

Oh heavens. So cute!

Eeek!

Foals are part of why I love spring so much. Though I'd desperately like to have a foal someday (or right now), I've been lucky the past few years to have friends that I can vicariously live through.  They've been incredibly generous and let me play with and squeal over their cutey patootey (see what foals do to me? it's borderline embarrassing ) babies when I see them. 

There's just one thing: nobody I know has a baby coming this year so I'm foaless. 

I'm jonesing over here.  Anybody got a cute foal I can snuggle, or a picture of their 2012 foaling arrivals that I can coo over?

Horse Stories with My Dad

My Dad adjusting a jump back in the day...

I love hearing my dad's stories about his about his life with horses.  He's had so many different experiences, varied careers, and all while being largely self-taught since the age of 15.  I don't think it's just familial pride talking when I say that he has some fascinating stories.

If there are two types of stories I really like, it's tales of adventure and anything that has to do with a central equine character.  I've been hearing my dad's stories since I was a young child and it's gotten so that I can picture the horses he talks about and their names are almost as familiar as my own.  I never get tired of hearing about his life as a horseman, even the repeat stories.

So when at lunch recently, the conversation about thoroughbreds turned to my dad's experiences retraining OTTBS to become field hunters, I listened intently. 

He used to work at a hunt and it was part of his job to take the OTTBS the owner had inherited and turn them into suitable mounts for fox hunting.   This includes not only jumping, but being calm around baying hounds and having the whippers be able to crack the whip while mounted.  I can't even get one of the OTTBS at the barn to pick up the right lead canter!

He talked of one of the horses that broke out its front teeth, the big grey that even the timidest of riders could handle, and how he and his coworker got to take two of their favorite hunters to a show once.  He remembers that they swapped horses halfway through and he won one class on Simona and one on a bay.

This is where my mother comes in.  It must be said, that my father's horse stories wouldn't be as good without my mother.  She never rode the horses in shows or on hunts, but she acted as groom, stablehand, and horse show mother to my dad's students.  Her memories of the horses come from a different perspective that is no less detailed or valuable.

She corrects and says that it was Palazzo that he took and that Palazzo was more brown then bay.  In addition, she adds, Palazzo was also one of her favorites because of his sweet disposition.  

She remembers the people and horses that my dad does not and her stories about her experiences as a groom are the perhaps the most telling about the human and equine characters.  Though, since she loves any animal she meets, I swear that almost all of them are her favorites, which is telling about how kind my mother is.

Every time I hear a story from my dad, whether it's the first time or the tenth, I always learn something new.  They're also just fun to hear about.  Someday, I hope to record all of my parent's stories.  Maybe my future descendants will be as horse crazy as their ancestors!

Master and Commander

Speaking of thoroughbreds of the future, or rather, speaking of Buck.....

I thought I'd talk about how I learned what a lead change felt like which has everything to do with Buck, the school horse, but then I realized I should just explain the horse and the lead change bit will make sense later.

Buck is a school horse teeming with personality.

That's the best word I can come up with to sum him up.  In case you've forgotten, this is Buck.

This is how he looks a great chunk of the time. Not a lesson day goes by where he doesn't try to bite me while he's crosstied.  He is a bona fide crabby guy. However, sometimes, on rare occasions when he's happy or you have an apple in your non-camera hand, he looks like this.

Before I go into the list of things Buck dislikes (which is long), I thought I'd go through the list of things Buck actually likes (which is short.)

Buck likes:

1. Treats, specifically apples, but regular treats will do
2. Beginners. When my coach first told me that Buck loved beginners, I did not believe her. Now, I've seen it with my own eyes and I'm a believer.  This cranky, bitey, fussy horse turns into a complete babysitter with a newbie on his back.  He trots over poles with his nose poked out, he lopes around without so much as swish of his tail. Little kids can cling to his neck or goose him in the ribs and he will patiently continue on, utterly unflappable.
3. Jumpers.  Like Eddie, Buck is a cranky school horse who was once somebody's jumper.  Also like Eddie, Buck loves to relive his jumper past.  As soon as the oxers get wider or the turns sharper, he starts to get excited.  He will charge boldly down to a jump, yank his knees up to his ears, and round his back so hard suddenly your nose is in his mane.  On the backside he will execute a 180 degree spin rollback to the next jump at the slightest cue. His little ears are permanently forward and you can almost hear him saying, "Now THIS is an appropriate use of my skills."

That's it for what Buck likes.  So, here's the list of things that make Buck cranky.

1. Grooming
2. Wearing a girth or having it tightened
3. Non-beginner riders
4. Going in a frame
5. Bending through corners
6. Being asked to go forward if he's feeling lazy
7. Corners again
8. Trailering
9. Having people jump on his neck
10. Getting told the wrong distance one too many times

The last two are pretty understandable (what horse would like that?) and he's usually pretty generous the first three or four times it happens.  After that, and especially if you commit more than one cardinal sin concurrently, all bets are off.

Although, there was that one time I borrowed Buck for a clinic and was assured that he hated loading, hated trailering and was horrible the first day in a new place.  He loaded first time, rode quietly, unloaded like a dream, and worked all weekend like a rock star.  He even did bending exercises! If I hadn't known any better, I would have sworn that he winked at me when I returned him home.  Just when you think you've got him pegged, he throws you for a loop. He is quite possibly a mastermind.

How does the mighty and noble Buck express his displeasure?  His ears will be flattened against his head, his tail will wring furiously, and he'll stark kicking in his lead changes with more and more gusto.  Yes, there's the lead change tie in.  Many a time I've let out a "oof!" as my body is flung slightly forward.  One time, I think I even heard my back crack.  I must say though, Buck has taught to sit a lead change well.  That's what a good school horse does, teaches you to ride without being dangerous.  So Buck, quirks and all, is really an excellent teacher.

Now I need to go to my lesson so I can give him the treats he knows he deserves.

One Year Anniversary

A year ago today I wrote my very first blog post.  I wanted a place where I could write about horses.  My instructors have tried to incorporate my interests whenever possible, but there's only so much the curriculum will allow.  So, I created this blog so I can practice writing about what I love.

I didn't set out thinking that every word was going to be perfect or that I was going to be wildly popular with a bunch of followers.  A year later and the words are still sometimes wonky and I still get the feeling that I'm talking to an empty room.  But actually, that's just fine.

There's time for perfection or a big following.  Right now I'm still just enjoying writing for me.  Honing my words and writing new stories.  I can't wait to see what the next year brings.

So if you are out there in cyber space reading this, thank you.  Thank you for giving this blog, and me, a chance.  I have a bunch of new content planned including a blog re-design and some new illustrations!

Happy Birthday!

Welcome to 2012 and big Happy Birthday to all racing-bred Thoroughbreds out there!

Today is also the anniversary of the day I bought my own horse, also a Thoroughbred.  In fact, my dad used to joke what a poor financial decision we made buying my horse on his birthday.  Instead of buying a spry six year-old, we bought an older, depreciated seven year old.

If you're not a TB person, all TB racehorses have the same technical birthday.  For example, my horse was really born in March, but his official date of birth is January 1st.  So he was considered one year old on that date even though he was technically only 10 months old.  This has to do with races which are broken down by age groups, like the Kentucky Derby being a race only for three year-olds.  The goal is to have your foal born as soon after January 1st as possible so as to give it more time to develop.

Anyway, Happy Birthday Thoroughbreds!