New Journeys

 This fall has been my season of change.  Today I started the first new job I’ve had in over twenty years.  I sat in my car before I was scheduled to go in for a full five minutes, trembling and heart hammering until I told myself that this was a good thing and to get a move on. 

I sent Fox off to his new adventures. I was sad for a little while but not once did I think I had made a mistake.  I always want my animals to be happy and if they aren’t I try to figure out why. For Fox that meant letting him go find his own joy with someone who would love him for himself and only himself. 

So then there was this horse shaped hole in my heart. And as every equestrian knows that hole will suck down your soul until it is filled.  So I went about trying to find what I wanted within the budget I could muster.  I really wanted a sweet, old schoolmaster but those are seriously hard to find in my budget. 

The next option was a very young horse.  I sifted, I hunted, I searched. I really wanted a Section D Welsh Cob, one with dressage movement.  Those are seriously hard to find, even rarer are cobs that nice within my budget.  Yet I managed, somehow to find a very special girl. I now realize that I absolutely have a type. As I looked back on it I saw that all the horses I’ve truly loved were chestnut mares.  My first heart horse, hopefully not my last, was a small, deep red, AQHA mare. I’d give almost anything to have that mare back. But she is long in the grave. So in her well loved footsteps comes the new redhead in my life. 

Castleberry Reverie (Roo) is a Welsh Cob x Belgian Warmblood.  I flew out to Indiana a couple of weeks ago and got to meet not just Roo but both of her parents and a lot of her siblings.  Roo’s dam, Reminisce is a huge, Belgian Warmblood mare.  Seriously she was every bit of 17+ hands and her withers were at least a foot over my head.  I stepped in to a pasture with three breeding stallions and had not one reservation about my safety as they were some of the sweetest boys I’d ever met.  Roo is quiet, snuggly and so very very smart. 

She had never stepped on a trailer before she got on to the shippers and she walked right in.  After staying at a farm in Maryland for three days, she then stepped right in to my trailer and behaved liked a seasoned traveler.  Roo then stepped off my trailer and settled in to her stall without a single issue. 

Roo is quickly curling her red nose in against my heart and I’m happy to let her. I fully admit it I LOVE CHESTNUT MARES!

When the Romance is Over, You Begin a New Journey

 There are lots of changes in store for me this year. I am finally, FINALLY retiring from the Navy and will have more control over my own life.  Purple hair dye here I come!  My husband also changed jobs and now has more time to spend at home and is actually doing a job that he enjoys.  I am trying to get my photography business off the ground and do other things to try and arrange my life so that I can work from home. 

In my equestrian life I haven’t really done much. I have a lesson scheduled for next week with a new dressage trainer.  I have decided to leave jumping behind for awhile and study dressage as I find I am too anxious jumping these days. I still love the pony. She’s sassy and quirky sometimes, but I love that red Welsh mare.  Now that Superhubs has more time to spend with Cowboy he’s becoming less of a menace and I will be taking him to my dressage lesson next week. 

I’m taking Cowboy because Fox will be leaving me soon.  I have a realized, yes it took me seven years,  that my knee jerk reaction to retiring Seneca has landed me with a partner that isn’t a good fit. He doesn’t fully trust me and I feel the same.  This never makes for a harmonious partnership.  This combined with Fox’s terrible feet mean that I can’t even really dream about competing again.  So I made the extremely difficult but necessary decision to return Fox to his adoption program so that they can find him his perfect home.  I will probably take some flack for this but it was the right choice.   I’m a little sad, a lot guilty, but mostly I’m relieved.  I want both of us to be happy and I don’t think Fox is and I know that I’m not.

So with that on the horizon I am indulging in the ultimate equestrian past time, haunting every possible nook and cranny of the internet to find my next partner.  I have my eye on and am discussing a Warmblood Welsh Cob Cross filly, she seems like a lovely meshing of my two favorites types and her siblings all move extraordinarily well. But we’ll see.  I’d love something a little older, closer to backing but I can only afford what I can afford.  

Until next time, keep it between the flags everyone. 

A Christmas Present 40 Years in the Making

 

Like most little girls, every Christmas I asked for a real, live pony.  I would race to the Christmas tree with hope but there was never a pony under the tree.  It took years before I got my first horse but I never stopped wanting that perfect, adorable pony.

When my daughter was born my husband agreed to help me fulfill my pony tree someday when my little girl was ready for one. Late last year I as casually looking and found a great little pony, a well bred Welsh, older, been there done that, even went to Pony Finals. But it took me too long to try to convince Superhubs that she was the one and she was sold.

So I kept an eye out for a pony. And then I saw her.  A gorgeous little, chestnut Welsh mare, broke to ride, sweet and well bred.  She’s been with us a couple of weeks now and I am more in love with her each day.

My daughter loves that she can get on and off of her with just the mounting block, loves that she can get the saddle off on her own. Her barn name is Tara. She has a fancy registered name but we call her Tara. She terrorizes Cowboy and hangs out with Fox.  My daughter has already fallen off of her once, totally not Tara or Alex’s fault, just an accident. 

I hope we can do some lead line classes at some point and maybe some walk trot next year.  I already have dreams of pony foals dancing in my head.  

Keep it between the flags everyone. 

Pony Kisses

 The hardest part of loving is having to let go.  As the summer wore on Seneca made it more and more obvious that she was ready to rest. I chose a warm day in early September and had Superhubs take my daughter to a camp activity at her gymnastics gym so that I could be alone. Having to worry about other people can be overwhelming for me.  Welcome to my particular brand of anxiety. Yippee.

We had a party for Seneca the Sunday prior, letting everyone who loved the haughty bay mare say goodbye by spoiling her with treats. I tried to give her a piece of carrot cake but she literally turned her nose up at it.  I took loads of pictures of her and spent the morning just hanging out with her.  In the end she lay down quietly and slipped away as I stroked her neck. I clipped lots of pieces of her mane and tail and I’ll have jewelry made eventually.  I chose to have Seneca cremated so I could take her with us to the next farm. Her urn, a lovely carved wooden box with her name engraved on a brass plate sits on the table next to my bed. I touch it each night as I go to bed and each morning when I get up. 

She was lovely bay Queen and I will miss her terribly.  

Keep it between the flags everyone. 

The Chaos That Is

      So many months have gone by again since I have laid my fingers on the keyboard. Sometimes it is hard to know what to write because so much has changed and yet nothing has.  I am still working a job I hate but the end is closer yet. Only 18 more months to go!  I still have my terrifying daughter who is not quite four but continues to scare and amuse me every day.  I still have my wonderful Superhubs who is building me a barn this summer! A real one with stalls and everything, but more on that later.  

And I still have my High Queen.  She is still defying the odds.  I was certain she would be gone by Christmas but she hasn’t told me yet that she is ready to go.  She’s still happily eating, rolling, bossing the boys around.  For several months she was living with the neighbor and her mare. That is another story I will tell later. But she’s back home now and living with Fox who seems to adore her still.

Cowboy is living by himself which he seems mostly okay with, it was after all his choice to live by himself. Yet another story to tell. 

My daughter is slowly learning to ride. I don’t push but wait for her to ask me to ride and hope she will love it as I do.  Fox is her lead line pony for now, though I see a Welsh pony in our future.  He is gentle and tolerant with her and way more trustworthy, at least to me than, Cowboy.  My daughter has even ridden Seneca a couple of times, and because I knew it might be my last time I too swung up on the big bay mare, though in just a rope halter as anything else might cause my girl too much pain. 

Cowboy continues to be the naughty Appy he’s always been.  For awhile when I had all three horses together in the back pasture, with a truly lovely round bale so I could grow grass in the front pasture he was escaping nearly every day.   I could not understand why he was doing this, until I just left him by himself in the main pasture.  And the little heathen didn’t get out.  He wasn’t escaping to escape.  He was escaping because he wanted to be in a pasture by himself.  Cantankerous beast!

Several months ago now, we got new neighbors.  Lovely people who I really like and actually socialize with.  I know the anti-social queen actually wants to be friendly with the neighbors. At first they had just one horse, a big chestnut, OTTB mare named Amelia.  For awhile Amelia came to live with us because the neighbors property wasn’t ready yet but their boarding barn was closing.  From the first day Seneca was in absolute love with this mare.  She even shared her grain, which I had never seen her do.  So when the new property was ready I agreed to let Seneca keep Amelia company over there. It was great for everyone.  Until they got the third horse.  The gelding was a large, very stocky, old style paint, think part draft looking.  He was old and grumpy.  He did not like Seneca much and they did not get along well.  To the point that we all agreed Seneca should come home.

She moves slower these days and seems more tired. Yet she still seems happy, still eats, rolls, snaps at Fox occasionally, snaps at Cowboy always and seems generally happy.  We will see what this summer brings for us.

I am hoping I might get to a show or two this fall but life just always seems to get in the way these days. Maybe in another year or so when my daughter starts school, and I will be working a different job, in a different place, with new adventures to be had.

Until then keep it between the flags!

Where the Sidewalk Ends

I’ve been putting off this post for a while. It wasn’t one that I thought I would ever have to write, hoped I never would. But hope can only take you so far. Denial a little further but eventually truth in all its terrible glory will not stand idly by.

My dear, sometimes sweet, High Queen, Seneca has cancer. I’d known about the common types of equine cancer. These are sarcomas and melanoma. My lovely drama queen has neither of those. No, no, common types of cancer were not good enough for her. Seneca has osteosarcoma, otherwise known as bone cancer.  It’s extremely rare in horses. Look it up, you’ll see just how outside of the box my mare had to go to make her walk in to that good night a spectacularly unusual one.

It all started just before Halloween.  My travel plans changed so I was actually home for Halloween when I wasn’t expecting to be.  When I went to feed my ponies one afternoon I noticed a small swelling on Seneca’s jaw, just behind her chin and about where the noseband buckle would be.  It was a little sensitive to the touch but she was eating normally.  The vet was due out the next week for fall shots so I decided to have her take a look at the swelling if it was still there when the vet came out.

The vet arrived and examined it and we were both a little shocked to realize it wasn’t a normal swelling but a bone fracture.  Yet, what worried me was there was no wound, no damaged skin, so how had Seneca hit herself, or one of the boys hit her hard enough to fracture her jaw but not damage the skin?

We x-rayed the area and saw there was indeed a fracture.  At the time the vet herself told me it was unlikely to be cancer. My marching orders were to photograph it once a week but wait and see.

Within a couple of weeks the area had doubled in size.  Seneca was still acting and eating normally but while my head still wanted to be convinced by science, my heart already knew.  The vet came back out for a re-check and we didn’t need to x-ray it again, we both knew that my mare was one in a million.  My vet is this lovely French Canadian who was extremely sympathetic and had on her own done extensive research and examined the x-rays from every angle.  But there was no denying that cancer was cancer and with this kind there really was nothing we could do to cure it. We both talked about what came next and that Seneca and I were both not yet ready to say goodbye.

I’m writing this from a hotel room in Florida, while wishing that I was at home spending time with Seneca.  I don’t know how long she has left. As long as she’s happy, eating and acting normally I will continue to spoil her. There will be a day though, probably before Christmas when Seneca will look at me and I will know that it is time to let her go.  I’m doing everything I can to make the best memories possible until the end but it is so very hard because I have loved her big, snobby, brown butt for eleven years. And I do not want to let her go, I know it’s what’s best but it hurts so damn much.

Keep it between the flags everyone.

Doing What You Can With What You’ve Got and the Beauty of New Boots.

Every time I realize how long it has been since I’ve posted I feel horrible. Unfortunately this is my life right now. I have a full time job in the Navy (so my life isn’t really my own. YET!) an almost three year old daughter who can be at moments a holy terror, a farm, a big property to maintain and a house to keep clean and organized. 

So my life is pretty full. What this means is that I ride when I can but all my plans for competitions, clinics, and lessons went out the window a while ago. These days when I need a little flatwork inspiration I hit up some of my favorite trainers on YouTube. It’s not as good as being able to have a lesson with a dressage coach or a jumping coach but it’s what fits my life right now. 

I moved to a new command this past January.  And it’s not exactly what I was hoping for. I was hoping for a nice quiet shore duty to spend my last three years in the Navy before I retire and move on to a life that I get to orchestrate and make the choices for.  This is not that command. I travel. A LOT!  The first five months I was at the command I was only really in the office for a total of two weeks.  This winter I’ll be spending three months away from home with jaunts back to the farm for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I will miss my daughter’s third Halloween, but not her birthday thankfully.

My whole family is actually taking a vacation together. Every October the biggest hot air balloon festival in the United States, maybe the World happens in Albuquerque, New 

Mexico.  Which is really close to where Superhubs grew up and his family still lives.  We decided to take Her Majesty the Queen of Babies to the festival this year.  My mother, sisters, nephew and brother-in-law decided they wanted to come too.  AND! My husband sprang on me a surprise trip to the Grand Canyon while we are out in the Southwest! I’ve never been and I’ve always wanted to see the Grand Canyon at sunrise so we are going to make that trip happen as well. 

So what has been going on with my horses you ask?  Not a lot. I’ve been riding when I can, which with the current weather has either been super early in the morning or really late in the evening.  Recently I’ve had the Red Rogue Pony working on transitions and cavaletti work.  Plus working on the right side bend. He is super stiff and unyielding to that direction.  I’m pretty sure it’s due to me favoring that side and not being as strong on my left which I’m also trying to work on. 

I’ve also been riding Cowboy a little bit.  He’s still not my first choice to ride but we’re managing to get along.  He also can be super stiff so we’re working on bending and cavaletti work as well.   I’m hoping someday to take him to a dressage show but with my work life pretty much sucking up all my time and what’s left going to my daughter I just can’t ride as much as I used to. So I have to work with what I’ve got. 

My daughter while not completely sold on the aspect of horses as far as riding goes does occasionally ask me to ride.  I always choose Fox because he is the least likely to do something stupid when we are just strolling at the slowest walk possible. Which Fox and my daughter both love. My daughter has her own little helmet and I see tiny jods and paddock boots in her future. Super horsey mommy squeal!

Even though I’m not riding as much as I was this fact has not stopped me from acquiring some new equestrian items. Because my pre-pregnancy Kerrits Cross-over breeches don’t quite fit the way they used to I got a couple new pairs of breeches. My Kerrits are low rise, and having seen the photos of myself post pregnancy in those breeches I opted for mid-rise to er camouflage certain aspects of my anatomy that I don’t want to announce to the world.  Love handles cough cough.   I bought two pairs from two different brands. I bought a very nice pair of Romfh full seats, and a lovely pair of Ariat Tri-factor full seats.   I haven’t had a chance to wear the Romfhs yet but the Ariat’s wore really well and made me feel very secure in the saddle. I’ll put a full review on all my new stuff under that tab on the main page.

I also got two more new things. One I already have and LOVE, the other will be arriving tomorrow.  Since the beginning of my riding life as a wee little girl on ponies I have hated riding in my tall boots.  Prior to getting half chaps I rode in breeches in paddock boots almost exclusively unless I was showing.  Then I got half chaps and adored them. I have a pair of black suede Ariat half chaps that are nearly 20 years old.  In the way back days of my childhood when my parents couldn’t afford a pair of fancy tall boots I had a PVC pair that I would shine with Armor All for shows.  Then later when my feet stopped growing my mom bought me a pair of Devonaire pull on tall boots.  I loved the look but really hated riding in them because I lost the close contact feel.  When I could afford to buy my own boots and after I broke my ankle and I absolutely had to have zip up boots I got a pair of Ariat Crown Pros.  I was very much in love with them but again I lost the feel my half chaps gave me. Yet again I only wore them when I had to for shows.  

So I dealt with it, relegated my tall boots for when I had no choice. Then one day at the local tack shop I was perusing the tall boots and saw this style of boot that I’d heard of, seen on a few upper level riders but thought were kind of odd looking.  Enter the Ariat Volants.  The minute I tried on those boots it was an instant affair.  They were so comfortable and the already broken in panel on the inside had me sighing and trying to figure out how to afford them.   I stalked e-bay and anywhere else that might have them at a discount. No joy.  I put my unrequited love aside.  Until Smartpak put their Ariat Sport V’s on clearance at the same time I had some extra funds.  I snapped up a pair and they have now become my favorite boot to ride in. Along with the new breeches I feel like a tornado couldn’t dislodge me from the saddle.

The last new item, that is at this moment winging its way to me, is a new bridle.  I am a certified bridle hoarder.  I’d have to physically count all my bridles, something I am loath to do, but I think this will make bridle number 14.  I only have two ridable horses.  Did acknowledging my bridle hoarding stop me from buying a new bridle? Nope.  I got a new PS of Sweden Jump Off Bridle.  I was dithering back and forth between the Jump Off and the High Jump, but ultimately went with the Jump Off.  I’m really excited to see if either or both of the boys likes this bridle more than the SmartPak dressage bridle they both currently share. 

We shall have to see.  What’s up next for us?  Just training and trying to be more fit. My job will have me traveling again for several months. I just keep telling myself I only have a couple of years left and then I can do whatever the hell I want.

Until then, keep it between the flags my friends.