Really pony... really? 72 hours into your residency you've got to get into something? Goober hit her eye on something & scraped it up. Last night it was so swollen she could barely open it, she kept it closed most of the time I was out there yesterday. Luckily when I went out today it looked much better. Scrape is still there but the swelling has gone down significantly.
I rode monster for the first time in almost a month. It could have gone better... I mean it could have gone worse, but it DEFINITELY could have gone better. Learned what her buck felt like for the first time today, something I DEFINITELY could have lived without knowing. Not too bad though, for a fourteen hand pony. She was a booger, no doubt. Would NOT stand to be mounted, everything was spooky, NO breaks, & would not tolerate being circled. Blaaaaargh. I know it will get better, but it's so hard not to feel like we're back at square one. A month ago my trainer had her starting to canter... today I wouldn't get her to successfully walk & stop without issues. This, too, shall pass.
On the bright side, I am so incredibly at peace at the new barn. I just love being out there, even with a heat index of 106. Everyone is so nice & everyone really cares about all of the horses. People go way out of there way on their day to feed, doing extra chores above the 3 hours worth of work, just to make the property nice for the horses. My only concern is that monster will be morbidly obese by this time next week between all the grass & hay... but I suppose that's better then not being fed at all. Yay new barn!
Monday, August 23, 2010
Friday, August 20, 2010
Big Changes...
WOW! It's been a whole month since my last update... lots of big changes have taken place.
First, we've moved... AGAIN! :/ I'm VERY happy with out new barn. I'm VERY angry with the old barn. I don't want to reveal too much, in the off chance this gets back to them. But long story short the person the owners hired to feed the horses was working out of the area for part of the week & hadn't been feeding/watering/checking on the horses. If that wasn't enough the owners 5 horses (including the stud colt) were turned out lose around the barn, with only a 3 foot, 2 board fence separating the stud & Cheyenne. This apparently went on the entire week I was on vacation. The final straw was when the owners horses got into the feed room (because they were let out lose to run around the barn), ate ALL of mine & the other boarders feed & supplements... and the property owners couldn't be bothered to respond to the emergency, given their horses had eaten SIXTY POUNDS of grain, plus the weight of two brand new containers of supplements. It's even worse than that... much worse... but I don't feel comfortable airing out any more dirty laundry.
ANYWAY, after all of that happened, we were on the next trailer out of there. Which Cheyenne subsequently decided to exit using the emergency exit... seriously. The trailer couldn't fit down the narrow driveway at the new barn, so we decided to unload her on the dirt road. Well, I opened the escape door to back her out, and she stuck her head out & jumped right through! You horse people know what a feat that is! When she makes up her mind to do something there is just NO stopping her. The lady who trailered her was freaking out! I assured her Cheyenne was fine (& she was - not a scrape on her!)... she's just a little hard headed sometimes!
The new barn is definitely a bit more money, but in my opinion entirely worth it. She's has TONS of grassy pasture, her own stall to go in & out of as she pleases throughout the day (the horses are only locked in for feedings, which I LOVE!), there are trails literally RIGHT out the back gate (it opens to a HUGE nature preserve) & a wonderful group of boarders who really keep a close eye on the horses. The barn runs on a co-op system where everyone feeds one feeding per week. I think it's great because that way everyone gets to know each of the horses, and there are at least 14 different sets of eyes on my horse each week. If one person misses something, certainly another will catch it. Granted it's a lot of work, but I don't mind, considering all the great points the barn has. I've definitely learned my lesson on "you get what you pay for". If it sounds too good to be true, it is. You may not realize it at first, but it will eventually bite you in the butt.
& now that Cheyenne has a stall, I of course had to buy her a stall plate! If there's one thing I've learned about horse stuff, it's that it is WAY over priced. I looked for a stall plate online & the cheapest I could find was $10. WHAT? It's a name tag with screws. Well I found one that wasn't advertised as a "stall plate", but will do the trick just fine. & the price? $3.95 including shipping. WIN! I haven't received it yet so I can't attest to the quality, but I just wanted to whore out this place since it's certainly the most reasonably priced I've found. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230439975833&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:US:1123 They created a 3 line stall plate for monster pony with her name, my name & my phone number. I'll let everyone know what it looks like when it comes in.
In other news, Graham & I got a puppy! She's a pit-weenie (pitbull/dachshund mix), a year old & she is as darling as darling can be. She's got a few issues... still working on house breaking & whines/barks when we leave or she's in the crate, but she's getting better at both. Doesn't seem to bark when left alone if she's not crated... but then she pees if she's out, so it's a catch 22. Anyway, she really is a doll & we love her! Here's a picture of her sleeping in the passenger's seat of the car.
First, we've moved... AGAIN! :/ I'm VERY happy with out new barn. I'm VERY angry with the old barn. I don't want to reveal too much, in the off chance this gets back to them. But long story short the person the owners hired to feed the horses was working out of the area for part of the week & hadn't been feeding/watering/checking on the horses. If that wasn't enough the owners 5 horses (including the stud colt) were turned out lose around the barn, with only a 3 foot, 2 board fence separating the stud & Cheyenne. This apparently went on the entire week I was on vacation. The final straw was when the owners horses got into the feed room (because they were let out lose to run around the barn), ate ALL of mine & the other boarders feed & supplements... and the property owners couldn't be bothered to respond to the emergency, given their horses had eaten SIXTY POUNDS of grain, plus the weight of two brand new containers of supplements. It's even worse than that... much worse... but I don't feel comfortable airing out any more dirty laundry.
ANYWAY, after all of that happened, we were on the next trailer out of there. Which Cheyenne subsequently decided to exit using the emergency exit... seriously. The trailer couldn't fit down the narrow driveway at the new barn, so we decided to unload her on the dirt road. Well, I opened the escape door to back her out, and she stuck her head out & jumped right through! You horse people know what a feat that is! When she makes up her mind to do something there is just NO stopping her. The lady who trailered her was freaking out! I assured her Cheyenne was fine (& she was - not a scrape on her!)... she's just a little hard headed sometimes!
The new barn is definitely a bit more money, but in my opinion entirely worth it. She's has TONS of grassy pasture, her own stall to go in & out of as she pleases throughout the day (the horses are only locked in for feedings, which I LOVE!), there are trails literally RIGHT out the back gate (it opens to a HUGE nature preserve) & a wonderful group of boarders who really keep a close eye on the horses. The barn runs on a co-op system where everyone feeds one feeding per week. I think it's great because that way everyone gets to know each of the horses, and there are at least 14 different sets of eyes on my horse each week. If one person misses something, certainly another will catch it. Granted it's a lot of work, but I don't mind, considering all the great points the barn has. I've definitely learned my lesson on "you get what you pay for". If it sounds too good to be true, it is. You may not realize it at first, but it will eventually bite you in the butt.
& now that Cheyenne has a stall, I of course had to buy her a stall plate! If there's one thing I've learned about horse stuff, it's that it is WAY over priced. I looked for a stall plate online & the cheapest I could find was $10. WHAT? It's a name tag with screws. Well I found one that wasn't advertised as a "stall plate", but will do the trick just fine. & the price? $3.95 including shipping. WIN! I haven't received it yet so I can't attest to the quality, but I just wanted to whore out this place since it's certainly the most reasonably priced I've found. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230439975833&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:US:1123 They created a 3 line stall plate for monster pony with her name, my name & my phone number. I'll let everyone know what it looks like when it comes in.
In other news, Graham & I got a puppy! She's a pit-weenie (pitbull/dachshund mix), a year old & she is as darling as darling can be. She's got a few issues... still working on house breaking & whines/barks when we leave or she's in the crate, but she's getting better at both. Doesn't seem to bark when left alone if she's not crated... but then she pees if she's out, so it's a catch 22. Anyway, she really is a doll & we love her! Here's a picture of her sleeping in the passenger's seat of the car.
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