A Correction

In my post yesterday '7 more things about me' I wrote about a rouge balloon. I really meant rogue. As in a random balloon that really wasn't supposed to be there in the first place. Obviously my spelling and editing skills are not up to par.

Please accept my apologies lol.

7 more things about me

Callie at MidWestHorse tagged me! You know I actually couldn't believe it when I saw my name at the bottom of her post. Thanks Callie!

The rules of the game are this–Once you are tagged, link back to the person who tagged you.Post the rules on your blog.Post 7 random or weird facts about yourself on your blog.Tag 7 people and link to them.Comment on their blog to let them know they have been tagged.

1. I love latin american dancing! Every Friday night at 11pm a couple of my friends and I head off to a Latino Club where we Salsa and Merengue the night away.

2. I am determined to own a Toyota Hilux Ute one day. A black one. I love those beautiful grunty things. I tell people this and they tell me I'll look way too small in it. I don't care.

3. When I was younger, my friends and I found a fully loaded sawn off shot gun wrapped up in a jumper and placed in a plastic bag. It was hidden in the sand dunes of 90 Mile Beach up North. My friend actually pointed it at her brothers friend since he was annoying her, thankfully she didn't pull the trigger. We brought it back to her dad who unloaded it, we then proceeded in taking lots of photos with it, including ones of us with a couple of machetes running down the beach chasing each other. Then we took it to the police. Unfortunately we had ruined any decernable finger prints on the gun, but we had fun doing it.

4. I hate cooked/boiled peas. I have since I was a youngin'. I use to devise ways to get rid of them without my parents knowing like flushing them down the toilet, throwing them out the window and feeding them to the cats(this one didn't really work.)

5. Once when I was a baby I fell down our lengthy indoor staircase and upon reaching the bottom I was saved from certain head injury when my head landed on a rouge balloon. The emergency house doctor was called and after looking me over and finding nothing announced I must have someone looking after me.

6. My index finger on my right hand is shorter and stubbier then its equivilent on my left thanks to it being crushed when I placed it in a bike chain.

7. I have a phobia of people touching, grabbing or putting their hands near my knees. In the past they dislocated frequently and now I don't trust anyone near them. I even started hyperventilating when the doctor was moving them around when assesing how they worked(I'm double jointed in my knees and so have different movement to others).

And so I tag A Moment in Time, I Will Jump Sweet Jumps, I Gallop On, Ponytail Club, Smellshorsey, Our First Horse and Dressage Mom

Back to Work

Well its back into training again now that Reds better. Since I’ve been away at camp, last night was the first time I had been on in him in a couple of weeks. I didn’t want to do anything too hard so we started off doing some baby cross country jumps in the tractor paddock. I concentrated keeping him rounded and balanced over and between each jump. We progressed to some of the slightly bigger jumps as he was going really well, and we then did a tiny course of the jumps in that one paddock. He was fighting to go the whole time I was riding him through the course which I took as a good sign, you know… that he wanted to get back into work.

I then took him into the arena for a little bit of dressage. Well I tell you, he was great! His collected work on the left rein was stunning. He was balanced, elevated and soft. I decided that I couldn’t put it off any longer and made the decision to work on his right canter. The first transition was bad, I hadn’t kept him balanced as I cued for the canter and he cantered on his left leg. I bought him back, balanced him again and then asked for the canter. AND HE DID IT! The second time I asked he cantered on his right lead! I couldn’t believe it at first, I had to keep looking down to make sure I wasn’t imagining things. I kept him going around the arena a few times, praising him non stop and then bought him back to a loose walk. Deciding to finish on a good note, I cooled him down. Now please excuse me for this next part, but I need to brag. Pony Club camp is on at the moment and a lot of people were watching us as we worked. When I came out of the arena I stopped to talk with Elmir, my old instructors mum. She complimented us over and over which was great, since she knew what we were like when we first came to Pony Club. One of the instructors from another pony club complimented Red too, saying that he was a gorgeous thoroughbred with muscle in all the right places and that I must be training him right. They also said we were looking amazing in the arena, and to keep up the good work. I was on a high for sure.

So now I’m hoping beyond hope that I manage to get him going exactly the same way in the competition next weekend. I remember exactly how I warmed him up so I’m going to do the exact same thing in the comp. Here’s hoping.

Hoof Update #2

Well I went away soon after Reds hoof problem but txts from my AuntieSue kept my updated. Unfortunately I had no access to the internet hence this late post.

Anyway I got up early on Saturday morning after 4 hours of sleep thanks to a night of salsa dancing. I trudged out to Reds paddock and gave him another injection and then went off to camp. Another injection was due that night but my auntie REALLY did not want to do it. So she called the vet. I can't remember if she said the vet came out (I think she did) or if they just talk on the phone but she said that Red could be taken off the painkillers and antibiotics on Sunday. My auntie managed to convince one of the PC mothers to give Red his last injections.

The farrier was then called out to give Red new shoes. Reds feet were getting very overgrown because of the massive amount of grass growth here at the moment. The farrier shod him and declared him sound for riding again. Auntie Sue can correct me if I'm wrong, but the vet said he would be fine to ride if he was re-shod.

So she took him out for a ride and he was completely sound! He then spent a fun 1/2 an hour galloping around his paddock trying to protect one of 'his' mares from another horse so I think hes totally fine. Thank goodness, it means I can compete at the ODE on the 3rd of Feb.

Anyway I've got a few stories from camp I'll share with you in the next few days. So keep a lookout for those.

Henderson Valley One Day Event

Well its finally here. My highlights from the Henderson Valley ODE. I spent a long time on this so I hope you enjoy!

PS. After watching this video over and over again I've realised I REALLY need to work on releasing over the jumps better lol

Hoof Update

Reds foot has been dug into to get the nail out and to leave a hole for drainage. We're hoping an abcess doesn't appear otherwise things are going to get even more complicated. His hoof is bandaged and hes wearing a boot.

Well we rushed up to the Saddlery Warehouse this morning to pick up a boot and some flyspray for Red. The flies were annoying the heck out of him so something had to be done. On they way up Auntie Sue called to ask that we bring bandages too because Reds one was starting to come off. Unfortunately they didn't have flyspray, only fly repellent wipes. We rushed to the pony club with our bag of goodies and started working on Red.

We soon realised that the boot was far too small to fit over his hoof with the large bandage on. So while I waited over an hour with Red my mum and Auntie went back to the saddlery shop and got the next three sizes up. When they finally arrived back I wrestled with Red to get the shoe on and then went through the complicated process of tightening it.

Then it was time for the injection. The vets had shown my aunt how to give the injection but she wasn't too keen on actually sticking the needle into him. She told me how to do it and one of the other pony club mothers stood with me for moral support. I held the needle next to his skin for a couple of seconds trying to compose myself while she gently encouraged me along. I took the plunge (haha) and then pulled the syringe back to make sure I hadn't hit a large blood vessell (I didn't) and then injected the penicillan in. It took awhile as the liquid was quite thick. Thankfully Red barely battered an eyelid.

Hes on twice daily injections, with twice daily feed laced with pain killer. The vet will be coming to see him on Monday, and thats when the injections can stop. Since the rest of my family won't inject him it will be up to me. I'm supposed to be going away on Saturday and I've offered to stay home and do it, but the general consesus is they want me to go and they'll pay someone else to do it.

Breaking News!

Big dramas today Auntie Sue went up for a ride this morning only to find Red had a twisted shoe. He was incredibly lame and we spent ages trying to get hold of a farrier to come pull it off. Unfortunately none of the local farriers could be contacted we called the vet. Two vets came down and pulled the shoe. A nail had entered the sole of his hoof and they had to do a bit of digging to get it out. Red didn't like that.

Red was given a tetanus shot and he's on a course of antibiotics. I'm leaving in 10mins to buy him a boot to protect his hoof. Poor boy, its been one thing after the other lately. I'll keep you updated on his condition.

The New Year

Wow! Can you believe it? Its 2008! Happy New Year to you all. Riding has taken a bit of a back burner recently because of a camp I went to over New Years but its back on now. Somehow in the week that I didn't see Red he put on a ton of weight. Its all sitting on his neck and at the back of his belly effectively giving him a pot belly. Its really quite unattractive.

I went for a great ride yesterday, the first in ages. Red was spooking at anything and everything. Luckily I've mastered his spooks so I never feel like I'm going to bite dust when he does them. The funny thing was I had been talking to a family friend and had mentioned that I could not ride Red for awhile and then get back on him and he would be sweet as. Obviously I overestimated him. Once I got him into the arena and concentrating he settled down and was fine.

My friend Sarah brought her miniature pony Snipety over for a visit. Red stood with eyes on stalks as Snipety approached. Once he got over his initial shock he put on his 'stallion' act. Snorting, huffing and arching his neck. Snipety is a gelding too so I don't know what he was hoping to get from this. Snipety then decided to lie down and roll and he happened to be near the side of the arena when he did. Unfortunately he breached himself on the wall. He struggled a bit then lay quietly as Sarah and I laughed. We managed to pull him out from the wall and he got up easily by himself.

I'm just about to go for another ride soon. Hopefully I'll get some of the extra fat off from around Reds body. If he gets any fatter I'm going to have to yard him.