Jack is for sale.

Yes, sadly I have made the hard decision to sell my darling boy.

Originally I had decided just to lease him out. I didn't think it was fair on him to have him with me in Palmy as I didn't have the time to ride him, nor the funds to compete him.

But my parents have both been diagnosed with cancer and they are no longer able to help with extra support of me while I study, so Jack must be sold.

I'm really gutted but I know its the best thing.

Here is his sale ad.

Jack is a 15.2hh Black Thoroughbred Gelding. Sucessfully completed at 1.20m with previous owner, has scope to go higher. Competed at Training Level eventing, schooled easily at Pre-Novice. Has had some dressage schooling. Easy to float, truck, shoe, worm etc. Can be pushy on the ground so needs a firm hand. Jack is not a beginners horse but can be handled fine by a competent rider. Is great to ride right off a break. Is a cool PC horse. Can be grazed in a herd or seperately. Tries hard and is an honest jumper. Hes really a lovely horse and is stunning looking... I get compliments on him all the time. Good to ride on the beach, road and forest. He has a very soft mouth, I ride him in a straight bar happy mouth with no trouble. He is a good keeper, only needs feed in the summer to get electrolytes into him since he sweats a lot. I am looking to sell Jack because I can not fufil his potential while I am at University. Comes with a winter cover, an inbetween seasons cover, and two summer covers. Saddle and Bridle if needed. You can email me at katherinehogg@yahoo.com or txt/phone me on 0274125548 or 096279878 for more info. He is currently turned out in Taumarunui.

So if you are looking for a new horse (and you live in New Zealand), feel free to contact me. He is advertised for $6000 ono.

A side note.. Jack is loving his time in Taumuarnui. He is head of his herd and was as gentle as a lamb when I rode him after a good two months off. My good good boy.

Whopps!

I've been very busy lately and have neglected this poor blog! Uni is crazy at the moment so poor Jack has been getting fed and cleaned regularly and not much else. I'm sure he's happy though, what horse doesn't want to hang in a paddock and eat?

I've arranged for Jack to be turned out on my best friends farm for 6 weeks (this is where I lived last year). The paddocks and hills are huge so hes going to get the chance just to be a horse for a few weeks and regain some mental health. My only worry is that he will be turned out with some other horses and there are always fights... hopefully he doesn't get hurt! I'll be praying hard.

Otherwise, there is not much else going on here! This blog will be having its own winter hiatus so don't expect too much!

E's Show Jumping Lesson

My friend E had a show jumping lesson this morning and I decided to tag along to watch. Her horse Tom is a cool guy, this was the first time I really saw him in action.

Here are some of the photographs I got from the lesson. My camera is old, and pretty lame. It takes the photo a second after you press the button, so timing a jumping photo is a art. It's also a gamble whether you get a fuzzy action photo or not. So some of these are a tad fuzzy. Isn't he awesome though? The very last photo is E and Tom jumping 1.35m and the corner in the 2nd photo is 1.3om.






On the way home from the lesson, E let me drive the float home! I was stoaked as I've been wanting to learn how for ages. I went nice and slow and drove nicely. E said I did great! So now I feel pretty confident about driving a float when I get one :)

Hot to trot

I love early morning rides (apart from the waking up at the crack of dawn part). The sun throws its morning light over the paddocks, the horses are eating quietly... and the arena is free. Jack was on fire this morning and it was wonderful. Even the cold air biting my face couldn't wipe my smile away. As soon as I was on him, he was walking out with big strides. He usually plods along like an old cart horse when I first get on, not your typical hot thoroughbred behaviour, but its how he is. He broke out into a beautiful, ground eating trot when we reached the hill below the arena. It was forward and his strides were long. His first trot normally is a short, choppy affair but Jack was showing his dressage potential... and this was all before we actually got into the arena.

I didn't want the amazing trot to end, so I trotted him straight into the arena and we went to work. (We had walked a good 5 minutes from his paddock before this in case you were wondering). We did serpentines, figure 8's, transitions and straight lines all over the place and he rocked. On the bit and light in my hands, he was showing me what he can do. Since his trot work was going so well, I moved onto the canter. He's been having trouble with his left lead recently, I think it was because I was acting more like a passanger then a rider. Instead of giving him clear aids about what lead I wanted, I would just ask him to canter. So today, I made sure I was VERY clear about the lead I wanted and he got the correct one everytime. We practiced simple changes on the diagonal too. We will be doing test A4 in the trial and last time we did this test, our change was terrible and dropped our marks down a lot. He did really well today and was quick and precise with his transitions.

After about 45 minutes he started getting lazy and falling behind my leg. Since I didn't have a whip with me, I had to give him a good couple of kicks to keep him moving forward. Once I got a nice forward trot I asked for a walk and then cooled down. I will have to get moving on that conditioning program... he looks like hes going to need it.

Naming horses (and other animals)

Solitaire Mare from A Good Horse wrote a great post about naming horses and what those names mean to the owner.

I have always loved naming animals, especially horses. Luckily my best friend's family breeds a number of horses and I've had a couple of opportunities to name some of their horses.


My first horse, Red, came with his very unoriginal name. Since he was 14 already, I decided to keep his paddock name. We looked up his racing records and found out his racing name was Tin Solider (and that he also had not won any races). Again, I wasn't impressed. If I was going to compete him, I wanted him to have a name that meant something to me. I thought about it for ages. I considered putting Red somewhere in name... Red Sunrise, Red Sensation, Red Robin. The Red Robin got me thinking and I remembered Christopher Robin from the Winnie the Pooh books. I used to love the books and movies as a child and my it also was special because my mum used to always call my cousin (with whom I grew up with) Christopher Robin (his name was Christopher) and used to quote "Christopher Robin is saying his prayers" to Chris often. And so Red's competition name was Christopher Robin.

When I got Jack, I also kept his paddock name. It suited him and I didn't think it needed to be changed. His racing name had been "Jack's Back" which I thought was pretty lame. Again, I thought about it long and hard. Jack is impressive to look at and commands attention. I wanted a strong name. Sometimes I looked at him and thought he looked like a battle horse, and he has a couple of scars on his leg that made me think of battle scars. So I started playing around with names with 'Battle' in it. I came up with 'Battle Cry' which suited him amazingly. He is very vocal and it fit well. I haven't registered him with the New Zealand Equestrian Federation yet and it may be that that name is already taken, if that is so I am going to put my second and third choices down as War Cry and Battle Master.

My cats also have names that mean something to me. Chucky, our first cat, came with his name. He was ginger and was named after 'Chucky' from the rugrats.

Muffin was named by my brother (i'm not sure why). It has been my experience that if you name cats after food, they get fat. It might night be scientific, but its what I have seen. Muffin is fat, and so was my cousin's cat Donut. My friends cat, Chrunchie, was also a fat cat.

Next, Ellie came into our lives. Her real name is Al Queda (if that offends you in any way I am sorry). She used to terrorise the other two cats and also us, when she was a kitten. The name was given to her as a joke and we call her Ellie at home.

I got Forrest last year, and had named her before I thought I was going to get her. She looked like a cat from the Forrest, and I also love Forest Gump. It really suits her, so it stuck.

How did your horses and pets get their names? I'd love to hear.

Our First Training Event Planning

Jack and I are competing at our first Training Event in 3 weeks time. I am a little nervous but my friend E has convinced me that I will be fine, and that Jack is more then capable. I find that planning things really helps to make me feel prepared and ready for such a thing as this.

So I have made a plan to do which includes a mixture of dressage, show jumping and conditioning. Hopefully we will be able to get at least one Cross Country training session in at one of the local pony clubs. My friend is going to give me some Show Jumping lessons and hopefully my other friend will be able to give me a dressage lesson or two.

The trial is at Arran Station, in Takapau, Hawkes Bay so if anyone wants to come say hey, feel free.

Quote of the Week

by The-big-man

Where in this wide world can man find nobility without pride,
Friendship without envy,
Or beauty without vanity?
Here, where grace is served with muscle
And strength by gentleness confined
He serves without servility; he has fought without enmity.
There is nothing so powerful, nothing less violent.
There is nothing so quick, nothing more patient.
-Ronald Duncan, "The Horse," 1954