Pony Relocation

So it has been awhile, but you did not miss much. Rain, high humidity, crappy work week, still sore finger capped off with the unexpected death of a coworker. We did hit the Dover Tent Sale and found some good stuff.

Bit for Rosemary $40

Halter for Roscoe $10

Fly Masks for $20 and $15

Fly Sheet for Rosemary $50

New Whips $20 each

The big news is that we moved the horses to Peggy's for a trial month. Since we can't get our own farm right now and since Addie died, we all decided to try having the horses all together. We do have to add some shelter since there is not enough stalls, but it is workable. The girls would share the larger stall, DaVinci and Roscoe would have a run in and Winston would spend days on grass and nights on sacrifice with Comrade. We really want to get Roscoe and Comrade together so that DaVinci can get a break.
Our main motivation for moving is to get to ride more. Peggy has the arena and less grass. Which means we won't have 7 hours of mowing. The vibe at our barn has gotten worse and we come home frustrated more often than not. So while this will be a major adjustment, I hope the benefits will prevail. We will do a month trial before giving our 30 days notice at our barn. Unless they kick us out beforehand :{
I am really excited to get the ponies in shape. Plus Roscoe is ready to be started when my hand is better. Mom will spend today and tomorrow shifting things over from our barn. Then we shall see what happens.
They all loaded like champs, even Winston who has not been on a trailer in years. The boys went in Peggy's stock trailer. DaVinci and Winston up front and Roscoe in the back. Though DaVinci untied himself and turned around to face backwards so he could reassure Roscoe and still be with Winston. Such a good boy. The girls rode in our trailer and got taken off first. They trotted around their area happily.

Girls area overlooks the arena

Door to the stall, She remembers

Follow the pony

Then the boys came off and went to their field. There was a pony pile up at the fence as they greeted Sonny and Comrade. DaVinci was ready to explore and he took Winston with him. Roscoe had to posture first, but he soon looked around too. Winston got lucky because we forgot his muzzle that trip so he was eating grass freely.
With the little time I had, I got a few pictures. I am sure more will be coming as the days go on.

Meet and Greet

Pony Pile

Exploring

Posturing

Pulling on Comrade's Muzzle straps

Tent Sale, Hay and Coyotes...Oh My!

Did you miss me? Life kind of got busy.
Saturday was the annual Dover Saddlery tent sale, so we drove up with Peggy. As we were driving our hay supplier called and said he had 3 hay carts ready for us. Mom tried to get the first cart for Sunday, but a chance of rain caused us to schedule it for after the tent sale. Now we had a time constraint.
The tent sale decreases in size every year and it becomes more of a rummage sale too. Even with that, we did find some deals.
1. 10 18inch lengths of keyhole jump tracks, 14 keyhole jump cups. All of this was $50. We will use these on plastic barrels we have already. I can't wait to have more jumps available.

2. A Riding Sport pull on show shirt, that can be collared or have a choker. The collar has light blue/black plaid and it also runs down the sides of the shirt. This was $10. Peggy got a beige plaid one for a little more.

3. Halter fleeces, lead lines for about $5 each.

4. Peggy found a bunch of things that I did not see the price of, but the best deal of the day was definitely the textiline Weatherbeata fly sheet, with belly band and removable neck cover we found for her mare Addie. Regular price was $125 and she got it for $50.

We also picked up some fly masks and Cowboy Magic Yellow Out shampoo at regular prices. All total, we spent about $170. Not too shabby.

Well of course we were running late which meant Mom had to drop me off at our barn, then run Peggy home. I madly hurried to clear the center barn aisle, dig up gloves and sweep up old hay before the cart showed up. Dad arrived just before  our hay guy. I went up in the loft to stack and Dad put the bales on the elevator. Our hay guy just had a pace maker put in and could not do anything much to his dismay. We were doing okay and then it started raining. I had to climb down the elevator to help Dad move the remaining bale forward in the cart out of the rain. Whew! These bales were not nicely stacked. They were tossed in as they were baled in the field. We had to watch our footing while we pulled and shoved bales around. Then I climbed back up and started stacking again. Mom showed up soon after and all 121 bales were finally stacked. Two more loads left to do. I always breathe easier when we have a fuller loft.

And finally Coyotes.
I am unfortunately at an off site for work and working morning hours. As I lose money, I try to be positive with the fact that I get to go to the barn afterwards. Well Monday and today, I rode Rosemary. She needed to burn some carbon yesterday, so we flew across the field with a lovely cob trot. When she settled I headed toward the path between the corn fields. The corn is so tall this year it blocks her sight of the girls allowing her to focus better. To my surprise as we topped the hill, I saw two grey, dog like animals rolling and sniffing the ground near the middle of the downwards side of the hill. I knew they were not foxes and eventually it came to me, coyotes. All the cute little rabbits have drawn them into the area. Rosemary and I sat there for ten minutes watching them before turning around. I finished in the arena instead. Today Rosemary was in the mood to work and we accomplished my goals pretty quick. Again I went to walk the same path. This time the way was clear so I continued down the hill. The closer we got to the area they had been yesterday, the slower and more aware Rosemary became. Suddenly, I saw a whirl of grey motion in the grass next to the corn and Rosemary spun to run. I kept her spinning until she stopped. I patted her neck and waited. Then gradually I was able to get her to walk by the area and turn around to go back up the hill. The whole time her ears we on that spot. I have never seen Rosemary so on edge. Bless her she still listened to me, but she did not like that area.
College girl showed up to ride Dottie, so I warned her. She seemed to slough it off. Hmm, this is the girl that says Dottie spooks at rabbits. You would think she would take this more seriously. Anyway, the coyotes make me count cats more often and change my riding patterns. Hopefully once the corn is harvested they will move further afield.

On top of all this excitement, if it does not rain I will ride Comrade in a lesson with Peggy's trainer, Robert Meyerhoff on Thursday. So more on that if it happens.

Bravo, Dover Saddlery

I am mentally shot after everything we have been dealing with the last week. So I will update about Winston soon, but I need a different subject for now.
That said, this Saturday is the Welsh Spring Fling. Roscoe will be doing the breed class and Comrade, after a schedule change will be too. Originally I was going to ride Comrade in the Ridden Welsh and get to redeem ourselves from last years debacle. Unfortunately, they put 9 more classes before Ridden Welsh making the day too long for us to stay. So Comrade will only be doing the in hand class. I don't know if I would be in the right frame of mind to show him to the fullest by Saturday anyway. Fingers crossed that their breeder will come to handle them, which means I can take pictures.
Next, as I was scrolling through my Facebook feed I noticed Dover Saddlery's summer photo contest. I did not look at them, but my mind made a note of it. A few days later I saw that Dover had put a message about this contest and future contests:

*** PLEASE NOTE: Dover Saddlery is a strong supporter of responsible riding, therefore anything that resembles a risky act or does not represent appropriate riding attire (such as riding without a helmet) will not be considered in this or any future contests. If a picture has been deleted from the contest or not posted please resubmit a photo that falls within these guidelines. ***

 

They received a lot of negative responses to this statement. I agree with some that they need to enforce more than just not wearing a helmet and include wearing wrong footwear for example. The debate will never end about helmets, but it is nice to see them not accepting these photos. They are not taking away a person's right to choose, they are just not promoting dangerous choices. So bravo, Dover.

 

Have I always worn a helmet? Nope, I have pictures of when I was a kid riding western with no helmet. That changed when the military base issued a directive that 18 and under must wear a helmet at all times. We all had to watch the video, Every Time, Every Ride that showed people who suffered injuries from falling, some just in walking between the barn and arena. Even before the mandate, if any jumping was involved a helmet must be worn. Eventers and show jumpers must wear helmets over fences. Why then do Western people who jump obstacles not have to wear a helmet? Those are not small jumps. I saw one jump a couch. We got my dad a western hat helmet, so he enjoyed the helmet better.

 

I am a believer in prevention, so I wear a helmet. My Aunt died from a head injury incurred from a fall when she began to ride a horse to the trail. Just that quick. So it is a hard line for me. I probably would not take lessons from someone that does not wear a helmet themselves and although I admire some big time riders, part of me loses faith when they do not wear a helmet. They set examples for younger riders and that scares me for the future.

 

Hopefully, I did not tick off too many people. This is just how I feel. I do believe people need to have a choice at home on their own time. But, when shows or companies like Dover put regulations in place they should be respected for their choices in the same way the person choosing not to wear a helmet wants to be.

 

Well, I had more to say about that than I thought.

 

Tonight or tomorrow, I will post some videos of Winston walking.