Awesome jump school

So I took Sienna for an off-property jump school today. N the facility we went to -- yeah pretty much if you took exactly what I'm looking for (in my dream "if I had $" world) this is what you'd end up with. Right size, style, type of property. It even had a pond. And the arena was amazing. *sigh*

Anyways -- Si was pretty kewl when we got there. Took her a bit to chill out, but I was there super-early to give her time to do so, so all good. At least she refrained from bouncing while I put her tack on! hahaha So we had a revert to when I first got her -- in that she went from reasonably calm to absolutely spun as soon as I put the bridle on. Less good. But on the plus side, while she was a little high, she didn't actually lose it; so I had hope :)

Go in the arena and walk around a bit -- she was looking at the world (esp the mirrors -- much higher than @ M's so she could only see her reflection occasionally; thereby startling her each time) and the windows, which were just over her head. She actually almost stood for me to get on, so I was pretty excited about that, and then was willing to walk around the ring. Woohooo. Gaining some maturity. We had a brief discussion that it was inappropriate to stand on her hindlegs to look out the windows, and otherwise, she was great. Got over the mirror thing reasonably quickly. I will admit I was grateful for the martingale as we went into the trot though -- had a few definite giraffe on crack moments! hahaha fortunately we were just about through those when my coach appeared. She was still trotting around on speed and not exactly vaguely resembling a relaxed working trot, but at least she was pretending to listen to what I was saying. hahaha

Let her canter around a bit (Si is always better after she canters) and then try the trot again. Still strong, but rideable.

Start with poles on a circle. Np. Sienna's an old pro. Then a jump on the circle. Still np. Till we tried to do it @ canter. Entirely demolished it. Which of course worried her just a bit (read, brain fell out ear when poles scattered). Poor girl does NOT like to make a mistake. So it took me a while to reinstall her brain and convince her the world really was ok. Repeat it at trot, clear fence by extra foot. Yeah no surprise there. Tried it at canter... hmmmm well she cleared the fence beautifully, and then randomly decided to change direction. Not quite sure what inspired that, but unfortunately my coach was standing right about there (theoretically to "help" -- uh-huh). Did the left-right-left-right-squirrel-in-headlights dance that nearly had him getting flattened and me hitting the dirt and Sienna very very upset at the whole scenario (that whole something wrong drama-queen thing again). But I managed to defy the laws of physics to follow the far more important rule #1, and my coach is a lot faster than I'd've thought, so I just pretended I'd *intended* to randomly change direction and schooled her that way till she chilled again.

So of course we had to do it again *sigh*. hahaha fortunately by now we were about out of wrong options, so we just had to go and do it right *g*.

From the baby-gymnastic that we'd thoroughly destroyed in every way shape or form we moved to jumping around the course -- focusing on ridability between fences (ie circles ARE legal :). Sienna was a complete pro. Got a little strong once or twice but never looked at a thing. Coach's comment of "you know she jumps better when they're higher" was somehow not as reassuring as he'd intended it to be :) Translation of course "don't screw it up!" hahaha but we didn't. N in the end jumped one of (possibly THE) nicest course I've ever done on her. Perfect hunter round over a jumper course. Steady rhythm, da-dum, da-dum,da-dum, over-the-fence, da-dum, da-dum. Every lead change. Entirely in balance. No circles necessary. Bang on spot to each fence. Just wow. So we stopped *g* hahaha we all know the value of quit-while-you're-ahead and the whole point of today was confidence building and achieving control off-property. And we did that. We did that far better than I'd ever imagined doing that. So I'm pretty excited.

Still not convinced we're ready for PT @ Grandview yet, but hey, I've got almost a month :)

Cause I'm still smiling hours later...

*taken from GRS blog*

So I took Sienna for an off-property jump school today. N the facility we went to -- yeah pretty much if you took exactly what I'm looking for (in my dream "if I had $" world) this is what you'd end up with. Right size, style, type of property. It even had a pond. And the arena was amazing. *sigh*

Anyways -- Si was pretty kewl when we got there. Took her a bit to chill out, but I was there super-early to give her time to do so, so all good. At least she refrained from bouncing while I put her tack on! hahaha So we had a revert to when I first got her -- in that she went from reasonably calm to absolutely spun as soon as I put the bridle on. Less good. But on the plus side, while she was a little high, she didn't actually lose it; so I had hope :)

Go in the arena and walk around a bit -- she was looking at the world (esp the mirrors -- much higher than @ M's so she could only see her reflection occasionally; thereby startling her each time) and the windows, which were just over her head. She actually almost stood for me to get on, so I was pretty excited about that, and then was willing to walk around the ring. Woohooo. Gaining some maturity. We had a brief discussion that it was inappropriate to stand on her hindlegs to look out the windows, and otherwise, she was great. Got over the mirror thing reasonably quickly. I will admit I was grateful for the martingale as we went into the trot though -- had a few definite giraffe on crack moments! hahaha fortunately we were just about through those when my coach appeared. She was still trotting around on speed and not exactly vaguely resembling a relaxed working trot, but at least she was pretending to listen to what I was saying. hahaha

Let her canter around a bit (Si is always better after she canters) and then try the trot again. Still strong, but rideable.

Start with poles on a circle. Np. Sienna's an old pro. Then a jump on the circle. Still np. Till we tried to do it @ canter. Entirely demolished it. Which of course worried her just a bit (read, brain fell out ear when poles scattered). Poor girl does NOT like to make a mistake. So it took me a while to reinstall her brain and convince her the world really was ok. Repeat it at trot, clear fence by extra foot. Yeah no surprise there. Tried it at canter... hmmmm well she cleared the fence beautifully, and then randomly decided to change direction. Not quite sure what inspired that, but unfortunately my coach was standing right about there (theoretically to "help" -- uh-huh). Did the left-right-left-right-squirrel-in-headlights dance that nearly had him getting flattened and me hitting the dirt and Sienna very very upset at the whole scenario (that whole something wrong drama-queen thing again). But I managed to defy the laws of physics to follow the far more important rule #1, and my coach is a lot faster than I'd've thought, so I just pretended I'd *intended* to randomly change direction and schooled her that way till she chilled again.

So of course we had to do it again *sigh*. hahaha fortunately by now we were about out of wrong options, so we just had to go and do it right *g*.

From the baby-gymnastic that we'd thoroughly destroyed in every way shape or form we moved to jumping around the course -- focusing on ridability between fences (ie circles ARE legal :). Sienna was a complete pro. Got a little strong once or twice but never looked at a thing. Coach's comment of "you know she jumps better when they're higher" was somehow not as reassuring as he'd intended it to be :) Translation of course "don't screw it up!" hahaha but we didn't. N in the end jumped one of (possibly THE) nicest course I've ever done on her. Perfect hunter round over a jumper course. Steady rhythm, da-dum, da-dum,da-dum, over-the-fence, da-dum, da-dum. Every lead change. Entirely in balance. No circles necessary. Bang on spot to each fence. Just wow. So we stopped *g* hahaha we all know the value of quit-while-you're-ahead and the whole point of today was confidence building and achieving control off-property. And we did that. We did that far better than I'd ever imagined doing that. So I'm pretty excited.

Still not convinced we're ready for PT @ Grandview yet, but hey, I've got almost a month :)

Happy Birthday Steve!

Hi Max,

I believe Laura can provide the source code for the link below,

Laura,

Can you help Max out?


So I got that message today at work, attached to a long thread between Max (whom I've never heard of before) and a variety of other people. Now I'm sorry, but if you expect me to go out of my way to track down stuff (esp stuff you technically have no right to, and have definitely not paid for) do you think you just *might* do me the consideration of knowing my name?!?! Esp as my first name is in my work email address. Definitely felt like responding with a "sorry, you must have the wrong address; there is no Laura here." Kinda like answering telemarketers who ask for Ms Coody. Sheesh. Ok end of rant. Names have not been changed to protect the guilty -- no need since they were never correct to begin with. Wonder if Max's name is really even Max? >;-P

So on a much happier note, Steve -- K's wonderful husband who so often rescues me when the beast chooses to take the day off -- is turning OLD today >;-P (and by that I mean older than me :) So altogethernow:

Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday dear St-eve
Happy birthday to you!

hahaha seriously though Steve -- I hope it's an amazing year!

Great ride outside this am. That is how every day should start. Well maybe without the exceptionally enthusiastic jumping.... hahaha but the flat-work was good :) My horse is fit for XC; her rider otoh... You'd think given that I conditioned her, I would've caught up in the process. Yeah not-so-much. Cause turns out I do her endurance work generally not in 2-pt. 20 mins of that today @ trot and canter and my calves were feeling it. Ah well -- fixing fitness issues has never been difficult for me. Give me 2 wks and I'll be good to go :) And I've got about two months till the first ht.

Also turns out we've been more than a *little* reliant on the walls for steering. Oops! Have to get on that. Sheesh. Took me a good half-hour to get the whole straight concept into her little mind... And bending left? Yeah, apparently that's not in the contract. Really have to get the beast and trailer driveable and get to M's for some DQ help sooner rather than later! On the plus side, our canter work has been reasonably impressive lately :)

So what'd you think of my Friday Flash this week? I was really hesitant to post it, feeling it was NQR... But then J told me it's her fav one yet. So now I'm not sure if it's just a case of writer's inability to evaluate their own work (of which I'm often guilty) or if it really does need rewriting... I like the general concept of it, but there was just something... I don't know :) If I knew, I would've fixed it! Thoughts?

Amazing customer service @ Canadian Tire today. Yeah I was stunned too :) hahaha Seriously impressive though -- both from the person who helped me find what I was looking for and from the exceptionally efficient check-out girl. Craziness.

Flash Fiction 29: Life After Death

She was dead. It was the best she'd ever felt.

She looked out into the sunlight and shivered. She was 19 and it was to have been her wedding day -- she should've been thrilled. All brides long for sun on their wedding days. But to her it was a negative omen; even the weather was conspiring in the deception. As though her marriage were a happy occasion.

A marriage of money to power. The man she was marrying was broke, but politically powerful; a power her father needed on his side. The only way her wealthy father could get the contracts he needed was through this alliance. Her fiancée -- the term had always held such romance for her, now it too seemed to mock her -- her fiancée had made it clear he was marring her solely for the income it would gain him; he had no intention of changing his lifestyle to accommodate a wife. And she wanted nothing to do with his abusive lifestyle.

She had tried to say no; they told the hospital she had fallen down the stairs. She'd always been so clumsy -- good thing she'd have a husband to look after her soon. She ran away; they found her. On the outside, a spoiled teenager who'd been given everything money could buy, too stuck up to even speak to the others at school; on the inside, scared and rapidly sinking into a deep depression. She could see no way out, but despite it all she was proud, too proud to allow herself to be sold to the highest bidder. She'd been privileged to grow up in a free country, but sometimes she felt as though that too were a cruel joke.

She couldn't run -- they were to rich and too powerful. They would find her. She couldn't stay; it was too much for anybody to live with. Her only way out was death. Her mother might mourn, at least a little. Her father and fiancée would be livid that she had spoiled their plans. But perhaps they would realize that they could trade money for power even without her as a pawn. And then they would forget she ever existed.

She hoped.

She planned her death carefully. An eager bride driving too fast up the treacherous mountain road. Would've been better had it been raining, but still believable even in sunlight -- people died there every year. Getting out of having a driver was tricky. She convinced her father that it would be politically unwise for her to show up with a driver while her fiancée had to drive himself, all the while making it seem like she really wanted the limo. The years had taught her to be a brilliant actress and she manipulated the conversation with a skill she hadn't known she possessed. Complete with the almost-hidden sulk when she was ordered to get herself to the church on time. The sulk he would ignore because she tried to hide it and he knew she wouldn't dare disobey. Her parents would go on ahead -- there was work to be done.

She dressed for the wedding she dreaded and left the house only a few minutes earlier than expected. She stopped at the park where the road starts up the mountain and changed as quickly as possible into the jeans and sweat-shirt she'd bought for today. Her wedding dress and shoes she put in a trash bag, and covered with the actual trash she'd taken from their kitchen. The whole collection got thrown in with the many bags in the park trash. The cash she'd been carefully stashing since the day she decided she'd have to die was belted around her waist.
She drove up the mountain, along the winding path. She parked the car and took out her backpack, which held the rest of her cash, some new toiletries and clothes and wig she had purchased. Leaving it by the side of the road she walked up to the curve and peered over. It was a long way down. It would destroy her beautiful little Mercedes. Returning to her car she got in, left the seatbelt undone so if anybody found the car it would at least be plausible that her body was no longer in it, and put the car in drive. She realized quickly this would not be nearly as easy as Hollywood would make it seem; she was just as likely to be killed getting out of the car as going over the cliff. But it was a risk she had to take. Better dead than this life. Holding the door open she perched on the very edge of her seat, with her left foot on the runner, her body half out of the car. And with a deep breath, she floored the gas. The car accelerated with the rapidity it was known for. Right before the road curved treacherously, she set the cruise control and allowed herself to roll out of the rapidly moving vehicle.

She hit the ground hard and it hurt. But it hurt a lot less than being found had. She got up tentatively -- checking to make sure she hadn't broken anything serious; her sweatshirt was shredded and she was banged up, but otherwise ok. The guard was destroyed and her car was gone. Peering over the edge she saw the last of it sinking below; the last of that life. Turning she quickly returned to her bag and ran back down to the park where she'd ditched her wedding dress, ducking off the road into the trees as soon as she could. There she stopped to catch her breath, but the adrenaline was running too fast. She had to keep moving. She didn't have long before they'd realize she was gone and came to find her. She stuffed the sweatshirt in the bag, changing to one of the cheap t-shirts she'd bought and checked as best she could that her blond hair was entirely hidden in her wig, before walking the short distance to the parking lot and hopping on the town bus. Never was she so thankful for the hordes of tourists. She looked like any other backpacker. She hoped.

At the station she stuck beside a group of kids her own age, yet in some ways so very much younger, and when they purchased a long distance hop-on, hop-off travel pass, she did the same -- hoping she'd be instantly forgotten as one of the pack. She checked the schedule and got herself on the first bus leaving. It was going one to New York. She'd been to New York; they knew people there. She couldn't go there. But there were lots of little towns on the way she could stop at. And she would.

She could feel the blood running through her veins. Every sense was super-alert. She was so close to being free. She slouched in her seat and schooled her features so anyone looking would merely see a bored random teen. The bus pulled out of the station, but she couldn't relax. After a couple hours she began to hope that maybe she was free. At every stop she expected somebody to be waiting for her; she changed busses three times in two days before finding herself in a station nearly the opposite side of the country. There she saw the news of her tragic demise broadcast; the body had been swept out to sea. A too young bride, her life cut short as she sped to her wedding. Not wearing her seatbelt. Let this be a lesson.

And though she was young, female, alone, with no id and limited cash, she felt the relief course through her. She was smart, willing to work, and desperate to survive. She would keep moving till she found somewhere she could be safe. A small town where she could settle and live the life she had died to have.

Theory Thursday 7 - Preventative Care 101

So TheoryThursday is now only on it's own site. This week is Preventative Care 101. Also managed to get my flash written tonight :) Woohoo! Admittedly I finished that the other day but still happy about it. Now just the latin hw left to do. hmmmm

Theory Thursday 7 - Preventative Care 101

All the basics :) TPR for beginners, parasite control, teeth care, vaccinations, and other excitement for int and adv. Lots of info but a reasonably easy read. And just this once, no diagrams!

Jumped the superpony OUTSIDE today. Did I mention it's March?!?! Woohoo!

Happy St Pats Day!!!

One of the guys brought in green cupcakes for breakfast :) Yeah St. Pat's day :) A little iffy looking, but very tasty.

hahaha ok so this site has an entire collection of "No Photos" signs! I love it. "Strictly no photography is a photo-sharing site for photographs taken where you are not allowed to take them. From the inside of the Kremlin to Kensington palace, from art galleries to war zones. Here you can see everything you've ever wanted to see that you're not supposed to. There are pictures that range from the ordinary to the profound." -- had fun flipping through here, so thought I'd share :)

So teaching, riding, training -- all things I love in the horse world; buying and selling, not so much. Too frustrating and heartbreaking. So I don't do it very often. Occasionally though client I'll help a client search for their perfect match. Have been keeping an eye out for somebody whose considering but still on the fence about buying. Started riding as an adult and is a very novice (and reasonably nervous) rider. As such I'm looking at older "been-there, done-that" types, and keeping my eye out for phrases like "children's horse" or "beginner horse". I was completely appalled by the phrases I came across. For instance: "Excellent Children's Horse Prospect". I'm sorry what?!?! If it's an excellent children's horse by definition it's not a prospect -- it's proven. At very least proven to be thoroughly broke, bomb-proof, and tolerant. So I clicked on the link to see what they were thinking -- maybe it really *is* a child's horse but has talent to be something else. Oh no -- it's 3 and just backed. Yeah, that's what I'm going to put my kid on. Sheesh. And really, *most* of the 2-3yos I've started have been quiet. Many even "kid-safe" (although personally I'd have serious issue w/ putting a novice rider on anything that green). The problem is when they turn 4 or 5 and become teenagers and suddenly are not kids' horses. I will admit though the Children's Horse Prospect was significantly less oboxious than the one which advertised the "3 yo Kid's Horse". Ugh. Ok end of rant.

I'm soooo excited by it being warm and sunny :) hahaha doesn't take much eh? Rode outside today, n really that's all it takes to make it a good day :)

Critter Stories

So my cat understands about the snooze button. I love it :) He knows that when I get up I feed him, so he'll come start meowing as soon as he hears the alarm. But if I hit snooze and tell him to go away, he stays quiet till I actually get up. The other day he was on my bed when the alarm went off (he's usually not allowed in the room) and he got all excited for breakfast. I hit snooze and rolled over, and he curled himself up in a little ball and went back to sleep. The next time the alarm went off he looked up but didn't even bother uncurling. hahaha when I eventually (3rd or 4th try) made an effort to get up, THEN he got super-excited again. hahaha I was amused anyways. Reminds me of when he was a kitten -- my apartment in Fredericton, I had no end-table, so the alarm clock used to sit on my bed between the pillow and the end-table. It was always set to start quietly and get progressively louder. Well one day I hit snooze instead of off before stumbling my way to the shower. I come back after the shower to the alarm beeping smoke-alarm volume and Sherlock sitting glaring at it. He takes one paw and swats the snooze button with all his strength. It turns off and he gives the "so there" look that only a cat can and stalks off. hahaha

The slightly larger four-legged critter provided some entertainment today. Got on and she was soooo quiet. Was like somebody switched my TB for a schoolie when I wasn't looking. Walk, trot, canter blah. Jumped a little almost apathetically. Was starting to think she either had too much fun playing in the mud (even her face was coated) or was maybe not feeling well and about to stop for the day when suddenly somebody somewhere flipped a switch and suddenly I had my TB back. She was bred to canter and that's exactly what she wanted to do. And canter and canter and canter. Not even slightly frantic, it was actually quite civilized just no option to stop. She's done that to me once before -- ages ago. Weirdest thing ever. Does make for an amazing floaty balanced canter though :)

Took what she gave me and worked with it -- riding the pole course on the ground, working on legthening/shortening, turns, etc. World was good. When she finally deigned to walk we went for a walk outside :) Woohoo!

Friday Flash Fiction #28 - The Magic of Spring

This one could've gone two very different ways. I'm not sure I like the one I picked *g* But I picked it because it would allow the story to qualify as Flash :) hahaha Let me know what you think! Enjoy.

-------------------

It was spring. Well not really, not technically anyways. The calendar said spring was still way off and the groundhog said it'd be even longer. My mother and I voted to have groundhog burgers for dinner when we heard that. Cause it was definitely spring. The first day that you could walk outside, braced for the cold, and then laugh in relief when you discovered it wasn't necessary.

Spring was the season of magic. Every season was magical according to my mother, but I knew better. Because only in spring could I see the Fair Ones.

Oh don't look at me like that. Just because I can see and hear people nobody else can does not mean I'm crazy. I'm simply more receptive; at least in the spring.

I imagine they're really here all year -- I mean logically that's all that makes sense right? It's just that I can only see them in the spring. It might be that New Year's senses are stronger -- with them I can see more than at any other time. Or it could be that they, like us, have an almost childlike glee when the world comes back to life each year, and are perhaps less cautious than otherwise.

Whatever the reason, I know it's spring because I saw the first one today: a young woman. I would've thought she was human were it not for the absolute perfection of her form and the telltale thread of gold running through her hair. She was gardening, and actually deigned to speak to me when I was so rude as to approach her. I was amazed -- they'll sometimes let me listen to them but they almost never acknowledge me. And why should they? Next to them I am, well, not much more than a slug I would imagine. And when was the last time you spoke to a slug? But she spoke to me, and the music of her voice held me enthralled. I sputtered a reply -- I can't even remember what -- but I think I held up my end of the conversation relatively well.

At least I did till we were interrupted. Some random person, their voice dripping with false concern, asking me if everything was ok. "No it's not ok -- you're too bind to see the magic that's in front of you, and because of that, now she's lost to me too." But I only thought the words; experience had taught me that there was no point to itterating my frustration. If they can't see, they can't be shown. Their loss.

But to me, a Fair One had spoken. Life couldn't get much better.

When I got home I had to hide my elation. My mother would understand; she could see the magic too. But the rest of my family could not, and they feared what they didn't understand. They made my mum take pills that blinded her to the magic. Ever since I was very young, when she realized I too could see the Fair Ones, she's warned me never to let them know. So I waited patiently untill she was alone to describe to her the magic she could no longer experience. But containing my excitement was nearly impossible; she could see it in my eyes. She and I offered to go pick up dinner so that we could talk. "They spoke to me today," I blurted the second I got in the car. "Really TO me. Not just around me. How amazing is that?!?" My mother's eyes lit with an excitement I rarely saw these days. She understood how important this was. And more importantly, she remembered. They used to speak to her too -- taught her so much the blind ones would never understand. Things I was only beginning to learn.

That night there was a whisper at my window. It sounded like tree branches rustling in the wind -- but there were no branches there, and even if there had been, there were no leaves. I opened the window and peered down -- the same Fair One who'd spoken to me this morning and her male counterpart stood below; they wanted me to go with them. I hurried outside, afraid to turn away for fear they would vanish but desperate for the unheard of opportunity being offered to me.

They each took one of my hands -- so soft were theirs it was like holding velvet. The golden strip each had in their hair sparkled in the moonlight. Their melodic voices made even small talk captivating. As I followed them I was so grateful for the opportunity that I never questioned where we were going. And when they led me across their lake -- where the stories said the queen lived --I knew their magic was strong enough to carry me.

It never occurred to me that where there's fair, there's probably foul. It never occurred to me they might leave me out there, where mortal legs could not stand. I didn't realize until that moment how much safer my mother was being blind. And I wished, too late, that I had never experienced the magic of the spring.

Theory Thursday 6: Shoeing

So today's Theory Thursday topic is Shoeing. Review section will be up by the weekend -- basically out of hours now.

Brutal day made much better by the superpony. Who was not even particularly amazing today (how could she be when I definitely wasn't?), but just being with her made all the difference. That and having a good Flash this week :) @ least I think it's reasonably good anyways :)

Sleep now.