A video from a year or so ago- they play together and it’s so cute, but I do have to watch them pretty closely, as Gidget tends to run Buster ragged!
Gidget had a haircut at this stage, so she looks weird- like a chihuahua mutt or something!
I just love these two, so adorable.
Circa 2005 to 2006? Here I am with Lucy again, I loved that girl!
She was a bit behind my leg that day, but still managed to be pretty cute.
I believe it was quite snowy this day, hence we are back in the indoor arena.
I made a bunch of these up for my friends, family and co-workers for Valentine’s Day.
They are giant marshmallows (Log Cabin or Campfire brand?) dipped in chocolate and covered in sprinkles.
I put a lollipop stick through the marshmallow to dip them, and when they dried on wax paper, I wrapped them individually in little gift bags.
For a special treat for friends, I attached little Valentine’s Day cards (Care Bears!) which was a cute little touch in my mind.
They were a big hit, and super easy to do. I would definitely try them again–I liked to call them ‘poor man’s cake pops’ haha.
As promised- here is Oats enjoying the snow. Or more like, enjoying getting his big scnozz in the camera…
As much as he likes having ‘me’ time, he also likes getting up close and personal into my space!
I think among his favourite pastimes is to go with me to the indoor arena, and then pick up and fling around everything he can get in his mouth (crops, the mounting block, jump cups, water bottles, coffee cups, jump fillers- the bridge, the green box, tarps, flowers!!).
Silly pony!
Riding tonight, he had the day off last night.
So, how has old Oats been this weekend?
Pretty good actually. We lessoned on Saturday and worked over a course of cross-rails in a hunter-type pattern. Oats was pretty reasonable, a small buck in protest to me spanking him on a canter circle- asking for ”more” canter from him can be a risky proposition sometimes, and he did take offense!
Sunday I felt super anxious when I was riding. The weather was very poor, the horses were quite ‘up’ in the indoor and Oats had a very fun time trying to pull me down to the indoor, shaking his head and ‘playing’ the whole way down.
I was wondering if i should have taken a page from some of the other riders/trainers and longed him a bit first, but I don’t normally need to do this….
So I hopped up, and felt anxious the whole walk. We moved to trot, did some serpentines and I let the nervousness move out. Felt pretty good after that!
We hopped over some hay bales going to left, then on the right, I didn’t commit, I leaned forward and Oats gradually slowed to a stop. RIGHT in front of the hay bales. And grabbed a bite.
Bad! Hahah! So I looped him around and we trotted over it. No problem.
He was well behaved and it left me wondering why I was so concerned. Hahah…Oh well. The weather has me feeling pretty miserable at times, and I had a lousy run that morning on a flooded, snowy and mucky trail.
Here’s to a fun week with Oats!
This video is from a few years ago, our first winter at High Oaks.
I know it’s a day late for Throwback Thursday, but I finally uploaded a bunch of old videos from my time riding at Bear Hill (before it shut down in 2006 or 2007?)
Most of these videos are from around 2005-2006. I loved riding Lucy, she was such a special girl.
It’s amusing to go back and watch these. I feel like I have improved- haven’t I?
So–Funny Friday happened yesterday and today is Throwback Thursday. We’re all topsy-turvy!
Daphne hates the squeaky rat. Now I just have to get videos of Buster and Gidget up…Oh boy!
My mom riding Oats a few years ago.
Oats was flying high the other day. Partly it makes me laugh, because he’s so amped up and raring to go, but also makes me feel nervous, because he can’t contain himself in his skin and WANTS TO BUCK SO BAD!
So, he did- buck that is. He tried to buck me off twice when we worked into the canter- once in each direction. I guess he appreciates symmetry? Everything you do with horses, you should do on each side. Not sure about the bucking though.
He was feeling sooooo good. And definitely decided to let me know about it! Head tossing, humping up and bucking. ARGH! I got after him, stayed on both times, and got some real work done.
I both hate and like when he’s amped, because then I have some actual pony to work with and can get canter work done without him balking or getting pissy off my leg (he loves this one) or threatening me when I crop him.
So we did a lot of canter work- circles, trot jumps, circle canter, canter through to bend/counterbend and he didn’t even try to swap on this one, which he can be counted on to do.
So that was nice! Despite his shenanigans earlier.
I think he has spring fever. And I didn’t ride Sunday (Buddy Holly day!) and shoot, didn’t ride yesterday, had a business meeting in the evening.
Tonight, before my lesson…I will be lunging Mr. Great Ball of Fire to get his yahoos out. (Note: this happens SO rarely for Oats, as his preferred gait is stop.)
The Man in the Arena speech by Theodore Roosevelt.
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
As you can see from the photo, it can rain here quite a lot! This is from my old boarding situation (now at least I ride in an indoor arena) when the weather gets this bad.
That being said, it was a pretty miserable weekend. Rainy, windy and quite chilly, about 3 deg.
I only rode Oats Thur/Sat because we spent Sunday up-island attending the Buddy Holly musical- which was a total blast! But it did eat up pretty much the entire day, and the weather was downright miserable, so no big loss.
Oats was very good Thursday, we worked on some transitions, leg yielding (it sucked) and trotting a x-rail on the diagonal- he knocked it flat, lazy pony, and trotting a small vertical on the rail.
Saturday he felt a bit edgier, started off pretty good but then started bigtime anticipating the canter transition= him trying to buck into the transition. ARGH
We did, however, canter a very nice little vertical with a blue bridge underneath it. It was very smooth and our rhythm didn’t change one bit!
I am trying to clean up his act a bit and do some mane-pulling after each ride. He was an absolute and total asshole about it on Saturday. Backing up, running forward, trying to slam his head into me./aRGHHH.
I was shouting, swearing and cursing him out for a good long while. He calmed down enough to pull a few hairs out without scaring the mice out of the barn, and I called it quits.
Ponies. SIGH!
Oh, and he was a total drama queen at my lesson on Wed, which I wanted to fight him about. My coach said we are honestly like brother and sister sometimes–enough with the fighting, let it go and GET IT DONE!
HAHAHA. True!
The adventures of Mr. Oats 