Exciting Times

Lots has been going on around the farm lately! I have good news, sad news, scary news, and bittersweet news. Begin, shall we?

First and foremost, let's get the sad/scary news out of the way. Drumroll, please....

We almost lost Missy.


Yes, "lost" as in, she almost died. ALMOST. It was probably one of the scariest experiences of my life. Lisa and I were riding Missy and Chief, respectively, out back. We've been working on water crossings lately (more on that later) and so it was just another adventure. Well, it rained a few days ago and apparently out back where the river is tends to stay swampy a few days after a heavy rain. We reached the part of the river that we usually cross and Lisa decided to go first on Missy. It took a few minutes to convince Missy that the river was once again not too scary, and then she hopped right in. She would have been fine and nothing would have gone wrong, except Missy stopped and lowered her head to sniff the water. Naturally, Lisa allowed her to do so, but when Missy lowered her head, all of the weight shifted to her front feet. Her feet sunk into the river, and Missy proceeded to freak out. She tried to jump out of the river, and the spot that she picked to jump out at was slippery and there was a tree pretty much in the way. Lisa got scraped on her face by a couple branches (yes, it drew blood) and Missy couldn't get all the way up the bank. Lisa stayed out of her mouth and tried not to bother her much while she struggled to get up the bank. I jumped off of Chief to avoid him freaking out and adding to the problem, and I stood in pure terror and shock as Missy stopped struggling.

Just like that, she stopped trying. She laid down in the mud, closed her eyes and let out a deep breath.

Now, I usually keep my cool pretty well in situations like this. But when a horse with a heart as big as Missy has just quits.. that's what really and truly scares me. Lisa jumped off, bleeding face and all, and pulled the reins over Missy's head. She let her rest for a minute, and while I stood with mouth agape and shaking like a leaf, she swatted Missy on the butt with her whip. Missy struggled to her shaky feet and eventually got up on solid ground. It was one of the scariest moments of my entire life. I thought, "She's going to die right here, right now, sitting on this river bank." What a horrible death that would've been. Thankfully, she survived. And she's okay. Completely. Not hurt one bit. Lisa, on the other hand, has some pretty awesome cuts on her face. Cute, right?

Next up, some bittersweet news.

I moved out of the english barn.


Unfortunately, I made the decision a couple of weeks ago to move out of the English barn. It's just time. I rarely ride out there anymore, and when I do, nothing's the same. I've worked with all the horses I can, and learned all that I can from them. I let Erica know about two weeks ago that I was going to come get my stuff. I went and got it on Wednesday, and that was that.

It was hard moving out, but it made me realize that I'm coming upon new horizons. It's a new year, I have a new horse with an amazing personality and a TON of potential, and it's time to start anew. And I'm ready to rise to the occasion, as I'm sure Chief is. I'm ready. (:

And finally, the rest of the news, which is all good!

Baby got teeth pulled today.


Chief's had a couple of teeth (wolf teeth and a few baby teeth) that have been really bothering him lately and made it next to impossible to get any real work done on a ride. He's been alright for trail riding, and he really wasn't in a ton of pain, but it bothered me knowing that he was hurting even a little. So, naturally, I had Mandy come out today and float his teeth and pull the problem teeth. She let me feel the points on his teeth and help her pull one of the baby teeth and weren't gone yet. I really like having her float our horse's teeth, she makes it an interactive experience in a friendly but professional way.

Baby gets a day off and we'll be back on a regular work/ride/conditioning schedule as of Sunday. (:

Chief is going to be an English horse this year. 


Booyah! I've been kind of planning on Chief being a pleasure/contesting horse, so that he has control and the ability to do speed events, but I wasn't really following through with that plan until I moved out of Victory. I took all my English stuff to SunnyBrook and it's getting a good cleaning tomorrow and I'm riding in it for the first time in three months on Sunday. (: I'm so excited. I've been working on contact and headsets with Chief and despite his teeth problems, he's been doing really well. Tomorrow, since I can't ride due to his teeth healing, I'm going to ground drive him and help him work on engaging his hindquarters with lunging. Fun stuff right there! It'll be fun to be all on my own with English stuff, and be able to make my own decisions!

Water isn't too scary anymore. 


Last week I took Chief to the reservoir and we did a TON of trail riding with my 4H group. Part of the trail even included a water crossing which required Chief to swim! (!!!!!!!) He barely hesitated and then jumped right in! I was so proud. And since then, he's enjoyed playing in water more than being scared of it! VICTORY!!!

Pasture re-arranging.


Lisa and I have worked out  a new pasture arrangement. Missy and Chief are now in their own separate pasture away from Grinder and T, so that neither Missy or Chief are getting bullied away from their food. We've also put Missy and Chief on a mixture of Strategy and senior feed to try and fatten them up, since they're both almost walking skeletons. So now, Missy and Chief get a half and half mixture every night and hoof supplement, and Grinder and T are just on grass with a scoop of grain and hoof supplement every night. Yay for finally getting the horses fat and happy. Missy and Chief already look better on the new feed after just a week. I'm so proud of that decision.

And I think that's it for the updates. Should be an exciting week! I love my life, I love my barn, and most of all I love my horses. So, so much.