A lovely day for a ride

This morning started out bitter cold. We had all gotten used to the 50-55 degree temps and the last few days have been a BIT colder. Yesterday we actually has snow on the deck. That left Lou and I both scratching our heads. Anyway, Sharon and I had a light day for galloping. She had two and I had one. The guys had taken four to the track this morning to work, three out of the gate. So it was an "easier" day with less horses in the barn until later in the morning.
I decided I was going to really work on Lego and see if we can be ready to show at a dressage schooling show in two weeks (EEEEKK!). SO today he learned a lot about moving off leg and being soft in the bridle. Oh the horrors! All He's been asked to do in the last three months is hack out with the racehorses, pony one now and then and go for trail rides. Move off leg? He thought I was joking! He actually picked it up well after kicking out a few times and pinning his ears. This was real work....what was I asking him for?
Anyway, he actually did really well and we had a lovely ride. I was super proud of him! Hopefully he'll retain what he learned for our next ride!

Happy Birthday Mom!

I'm sorry this post is so late. I've been out of the house almost all day and this is the first time I've had a chance to post. I hope you had a fabulous days with your girlfriends!!

Oy Vey!

It's been a busy time here in grand ole Ohio. We were blessed with some gorgeous weather which means more galloping! My body has not adjusted well though. You'd think after riding so much in the last 3 months that I'd be fitter than fit. Well that's not the case I guess. Still hurting all over and this problem with my left hip has not gotten any better. I do okay once I'm warmed up but sit down for 5 minutes and everything tightens up. Anyway, we've been getting a lot of horses out which is wonderful. Yesterday and today we had easier days. Lego has been jogging and galloping along with whichever racehorse needs a buddy. He's even done some ponying. His attitude has improved so much and he seems to be enjoying himself. I wish all racehorses were so easy!

Sealy is home and is working well under saddle. She has her moments but I think she will always have some say in what she does and does not want to do. So now my job is to learn how to ride her. She's incredibly sensitive so I have to watch myself and really concentrate on what I'm doing. I jumped her a bit on Tuesday and she was a lot of fun. She seems to like it! I've entered her in her first show too. It's just a local dressage show but I'm sure it will be sensory overload for her! Here are a few pics of her the day before she came home from the trainer's farm.

Hannah and I have been taking lots of walks outside. She loves it! She picks up sticks, pine cones, leaves....picks them apart and hands me the pieces. She adores the horses too. She's also learned how to "ride" her rocking horse. She rocks it and kicks it's sides...smiling the entire time.

Remembering Dad.....

Today would have been his 63rd birthday. I think about him often, cry a little less and smile a little more, miss him everyday and quote him now and then. He would have been working in the garden on such a beautiful day. It was 65 degrees and sunny and the perfect day to spend outside. Happy Birthday Dad.

Here are some pictures of my little farm girl as promised! She is pretty impressed with herself.

Also.....belated birthday wishes to my Sister-in-law, Adriana. It was the 15th and I missed it! I hope you had a great day!

One month

I can not believe it has been one month since I lost Jazz. It feels like it was yesterday. The weather has been nicer and Hannah and I have been spending more time outside. It makes me think of Jazz a lot. She would have been running around and playing with us. Why do they touch our hearts the way they do? Man, I miss that dog!

Hey there!

Okay, back to blogging. I just wasn't really in the mood to write. Odd but whatever, I'm back on track now. We've been fairly busy in the barn. We currently have 14 racehorses which means me are FULL. We have two other stalls but one is occupied by my father-in-law's quarter horse and the other by my Lego. The stalls are small and these two don't seem to mind.

Speaking of Lego...he is feeling much better. After working on him a bit the other day, FIL found his jaw and upper part of his neck was out of alignment. He was really quite painful to the adjusting gun. I haven't had time to ride him this past week so he's been trotting on the machine or I run him around in the round pen. He needs to keep up with the exercise and I've just been running out of time. So today I worked him in the round pen again. After being adjusted he seems to be a new horse! He was forward and happy to be moving out. His rear end was not "hocky" and I didn't have to chase him to get him to keep going. Hey....I have a pretty nice horse after all!

The racehorses are doing well (knocking on wood). We had a second at Philly Park last week. Tonight we are in the 10th at mountaineer....then we are also running tomorrow night and Sunday night. Please cross all crossable parts for some good races!

Hannah is zipping around the house on some much less wobbly legs. She is very proud of herself! She's figured out how to stand without grabbing onto furniture now. It's been fun watching her discover all the things she can do. She gives her rocking horse hugs and kisses too. It's adorable! Today we "walked" over to the barn to visit the horses. I hope her love of them continues to grow. It would be fun to someday ride together.

Oh...that massage I had? Well I was wicked sore from it for a week! I'm still sore all over but I'm not sure if it's due to galloping or what.

Last new news. Assumed Risk was not adopted from New Vocations. They called and told me he needed to go. They need the stall for others coming in. Well, that was a bummer. So Kimberley from MD said she could take him in if we could find a way to pay for his shipping costs. Kimberley has taken in several of our horses in the past and they do well with her. My good friends at exracers donated money as well as some from the Alex Brown Forums. Enough money (and then some) was raised to ship Risk commercially....in less than 24 hours! You guys are Da Bomb! Thank you to everyone who helped out!! Risk will enjoy his retirement much more now than if he'd been headed to Ohio State for the vet students to practice on!

Now...on to some pictures. Just a few of Hannah in the bath. I took some tonight of her in her carhardt bib overalls. They were given to us by a friend of the family. She looks so cute in them!

I have to do some downloading and will post those in my next update.

Ahhhhhhhhhh

Today I cashed in my birthday present from my in-laws! A full hour massage at the spa. Oh glorious day it was! I found out I had sore spots in spots I didn't know were sore. My lower back and left hip has been bothering me for about a month. Had an adjustment done and was told my SI joint was out. Well that wasn't real painful at all when the massage was done. Come to find out my shoulders, neck and under my shoulder blades was full of knotted muscles. I have to admit I much prefer a "relaxation" massage over a "deep tissue" massage (can we say ouch??). I knew I needed the latter of the two though. So I did my best to silence my whimpers and sweated out the tough spots. The rest of the hour was pure heaven. So if anyone ever wants to know what I'd like for Christmas, birthdays, mother's day.....whatever....a nice little gift card to the spa would make my day. Oh yes!

Lego seems to be doing well. He's not fat just yet but slowly gaining. He's bright and alert now which makes me really happy. I was worried about him for a while...but I think he has passed the bump in the road to whatever was wrong with him. He's finally bucking and playing in the round pen as well as showing interest in anyone who walks by his stall.

Here's a head shot from the other day.

Last, I'd like to ask for "jingles," good thoughts, good vices or prayers (whatever it is that is good) for my best friend Carie. She was just told last night that her dog Morph has lymphoma. This cancer is malignant. Fortunately there is a wonderful canine oncologist in the area who treats lymphoma with chemo. Morph is a sweet, sweet dog who is utterly devoted to Carie. It seems Carie and I go through similar things at the same time and I really feel for her. Here's a shot if Morph:

Hopefully they can get this under control. Morph is only 8 years old. It seems all the best dogs get the short end of the stick while the nasty ones seem to live forever.

My little smarty pants!

She's 13 months old and already taking over my computer! When she's in my lap I'm NOT allowed to touch the mouse! What next?