July 28, 2012

Back to work

After our week of hell getting back into things, Rose ended up with two weeks off. In a nut shell? My maternity leave officially ended. There was a perfect storm of old work projects getting kicked off, out of town visitors, and a vacation planned all coupled with baby rearing. That meant that I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off to get everything done while Rose got to take it easy. Apparently what used to take me four hours to complete work wise now takes me a ten hour day. I'll get better at this work from home mom thing, I'm sure.

Rose - Post-hack on Tuesday
Due to having two weeks off and her behavior the week prior, I was prepared for a huge fight and unpleasant ride when I got to the barn on Tuesday. However, what I found was a perfectly calm and well behaved mare that didn't challenge me on anything. I was in a bit of disbelief over it, but soaked up every single uphill and rhythmic canter stride and her beautiful floating trot. We had a nice easy hunter hack warm up and proceeded to work on some transitions. After that I decided to run her through Training Level test B (because it's the only one I have memorized). It is a bit odd to me to do a dressage test in hunter tack, but I still think dressage even in hunter tack is an excellent exercise for any horse. Plus it is something that Rose is confident at doing, while learning her to develop a new way of balancing with me in a hunter position rather than dressage. Below is a video of our little dressage test.



I was delighted that our ride on Thursday was even better, and I cannot wait to get back out to the barn again next. Hopefully one day this weekend...but that will depend on our next set of house guests. It's mind boggling how having a baby brings out the visitors!

Happy trails and swooshing tails!
•DS•

July 11, 2012

Tack Trunk Plans For Sale




We finally got around to finalizing our tack trunk plans and putting them in a nice instructional package. If anyone is interested, they can be purchased for $40 on my blog page here: http://adventuresincoltstarting.blogspot.com/p/my-custom-tack-trunk.html or on etsy here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/101214670/tack-trunk-tack-box-plans. You will be emailed a pdf document of the plans. If you do purchase them and build a trunk I'd love to see photos of your finished product.

Happy trails and swooshing tails!
•DS•

July 4, 2012

It's a Postpartum Record!

I rode Rose four times in the past five days (thanks to Hubs being awesome and taking Jr in the afternoons), and for the first time in nine months I jumped her! It wasn't much of a jump, just a 2' cross rail but a jump non-the-less, and she took it like an old pro.

I'm quite happy that we ended the week on a good note, as our first ride on Saturday was horrid. Rose fought me every stride for fourty-five minutes, including going over trotting poles. After politely walking through them at first, she wanted to jump over them all at once and then she just plain refused to go over them. Eventually I won though, getting her to walk through them. The next day was mildly better, and she went through the poles at both the walk and trot. The third day, Monday, I actually had a horse to ride that I recognized, and even enjoyed myself. She got the following day off so that we could both recharge our batteries. Then today she was a good girl and worked really well for me, so much so that I put up the little ex and we went for it. I rewarded her with a nice walk around one of the large pastures to cool off.

It feels great to be back in the saddle regularly and I finally feel like I'm on the road to getting my pre-baby physique back. Only 13lbs left to lose. It will certainly be nice to fit in my clothes again. However, I've come to realize that it is unlikely that I will be taking Rose to any shows this summer. Horse shows and breastfeeding simply do not seem to go well together. Plus, although I managed to ride regularly this week, it doesn't mean that I'll be able to keep it up consistently enough for Rose to be ready for a show. That's a bit of a bummer, but at least she'll still qualify for the baby-greens next year.

Now, Rose is going to get the next four days off, as we will be visiting the in-laws for a long weekend. I'll be packing my running shoes while taking advantage of grandparent babysitting services so that I can be ready to ride again next week. Have a great holiday everyone!

Happy trails and swooshing tails!
•DS•

July 2, 2012

Cashel Tail Bag Review

The burs are out, and after picking some big ones out of Rose's tail I scavenged my trailer tack room for the Cashel Tail Bag that I had bought last year.

Day One
It was really easy to put on and I liked the fact that it has tassels on the end to simulate hair.

Day Two
On day two, the bag was still there. The tassels a bit mangled though. However, when I next came to the barn, day five, the bag was gone. No where to be seen, and I was not going to search a 15acre pasture to find it. Se-la-vie. I won't be buying another one of the same brand.

Happy trails and swooshing tails!
•DS•

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