The Case of the Runny Nose

Doesn't that title sound Sherlockian?

I couldn't resist.

I mean this post has absolutely nothing to do with my favorite super-sleuth Mr. Holmes, but I've got to add a little personality somewhere...

Anyways...

I posted before about Mya having a respiratory infection. I had the vet up and we put her on a round of powdered antibiotics, while that worked for awhile, eventually the runny nose/nose bleed/respiratory infection came back.


I think it is due to the fact that Mya did not get the full amount of antibiotics in her system. She wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea of eating them in her feed.

So a second round it is.

This time I am making sure she gets the stuff in her system.

I was a little worried (ok maybe a lot) at first because she seemed to lose her appetite earlier last week. She wasn't eating her feed and wasn't very interested in the hay either. The vet was called and he said to come down to the office and pick up more medicine and put her on a second round of it. Because Mya wasn't eating I obviously couldn't put it in her feed so thus enters the oral syringe.

Boy, was that fun.

I gave her the dosage of medicine via oral syringe for two days. Then I decided to try mixing it with her feed again. The mucas had cleared up a little and she was starting to act a little more perky.

Round one I tried mixing it with apples pieces, molasses, brown sugar, and oats. I cooked it all together and it smelled so good I was just about ready to eat it. But that was a no go. This horse has weird taste buds.

Round two, I decided to try something different. Peanut-butter and a little bit of honey.

Peanut-butter...!

The winning combination!

I didn't know my horse liked peanut-butter. But when I mixed that with a little oats and a little bit of her normal feed (medicine cleverly disguised inside), she immediately showed some interest in it. I left it there for her and when I came back a couple hours later it was all gone.

Peanut butter!

I then basically proceeded to walk around the house with a silly grin on my face mumbling that word. 

Yes. I was really happy that my horse actually ate something. I had been pretty worried about her.

So now Mya has had her third dose of peanut butter-ized medicine and it seems to be working. Horses can be pretty finicky but I'm hoping she'll continue to eat it. She also ate all her hay for the first time today so I think that is a good sign.

We're not out of the woods yet, but I think we are getting there.

Meanwhile, despite all the mud, Lady seems pretty happy. It took her awhile to recover from that abscess episode, but I think she is doing a lot better now. Though she did loose a shoe (mud) and I need to call the farrier tomorrow to have it put back on.

Here is a picture of her in the "front" less-muddy pasture.

2014 is almost over! Wow. I feel like that flew by really fast. This is possibly my last post for 2014. So if I don't write again before then, see you all in the new year!

Merry Christmas!

Mya and Lady wish you a Merry Christmas!

December's 10 Questions!

I've been a bit MIA this month. I'm sure everyone else has been super busy around Christmas as well. Its just that time of year! Not that I can complain of course. I love the Christmas season! But I'm back just in time to type up the 10 Q's of the month. So here they are!

1. What size horse do you prefer to ride? At the moment I prefer to ride ponies. 14hh is about perfect.

2. Do you school in tall boots or half chaps and paddock boots? Well, when I actually wear my english boots I school in half chaps and paddock boots. But more often than not I just slip on my cowboy boots and ride in those.

3. What do you do with your ribbons after shows? I have them hanging up in my room. I don't have that many so it works out just fine that way.

4. Do you ride/board at a large show barn or a small private barn? Since I have my horses at my house, I guess it would have to be a small private barn!

5. Have you ever seen a horse give birth? No, and I can't say that I really want to either.

6. What is your favorite breed? Ooohh. Now that's a hard one... I have a thing for Arabians. I've loved every horse I've ridden that has been an Arabian. (Night was an Anglo Arabian. I really miss that horse.) I also like Thoroughbreds. Its on my bucket list to get a OTTB. Mustangs fascinate me. And Andalusians and Frisians are just gorgeous.

7. Favorite tack brand? I don't have a favorite. Just whatever works at the time is good with me.

8. Would you ever buy used tack? Yes. That's the only way I buy saddles. You can find a lot of good stuff used.

9. Ever been on a carriage ride? Yes.

10. How often do you go to the tack store? Probably twice a month to pick up feed and such.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday!

 

November's 10 Questions

Here we are once again doing the ten questions of the month!

1. Have you ever owned a horse? 

Yes! My two girls. 

 

2. What is your favorite aspect of your discipline? 
I ride a lot of different disciplines. I learned gaited, then I did western, and then I learned to ride english. English has been my favorite. More specifically I like hunters. I haven't had much of a chance to explore hunter jumper, but I'm hoping that in the future I will be able to. What I like about english riding is how technical it is. I also like the forward movement and way of riding the horse. 
 

3. What pet peeves do you have concerning your discipline? 

Why is there not specific trainers that do natural horsemanship for english riders? I really want english natural horsemanship! Does anyone know of any materiel out there one this topic? 

4. Do you do barn chores?

Yup. I keep my horses at my house. So everyday. 

5. What is your least favorite barn chore? 

Stacking hay. Big hay bale. Small person. Large stack. 

 

6. What do you consider the worst vice in a horse?

Bolting. Horses that bolt can just be dangerous. 

7. What saddle brand is your favorite? 

I don't think I really have a favorite. Whatever I can find that works is good with me.

8. Do you ride with a quarter sheet in the winter? 

No. I don't clip my horses, so they are nice and warm.

9. Does your horse wear boots? What kind? 

Sometimes I put polo wraps on her but not boots. We haven't needed them yet. 

10. Full seat or knee patch breeches?

I prefer knee patch. Honestly I just like how they look. 

Poor Spoiled Horsey

Mya is becoming a bit spoiled recently. I walked outside yesterday and as soon as I said something she started whinnying at me.  I told her that she already getting fed feed twice a day and she does not need to be fed more! 

Of course its all do to the fact that she has a respiratory infection.

You're supposed to be spoiled a bit when you're sick, right?

The vet prescribed two medicines for her. They're powdered, supposed to be mixed with her food, and given to her twice a day.

 

And because Mya is picky and she thinks they taste bad (seriously, this is the horse who doesn't like peppermints), I've been mixing the medicine with applesauce and her feed. I put about a cup of apple sauce (its actually homemade) in a bucket and then mix her medicine and feed it.

 

Then I proceed to mix it up, while Mya waits impatiently outside the tack. All resulting is an oh-so-appetizing mixture that looks a bit like this.

Yet, even with the applesauce and feed mixed in with the medicine she is still picky about it. I generally end up making her like a layered salad in hopes that she actually eat it. I'll put the mixture down,then a few alfalfa cubes on top, and then sprinkle it all with a little more feed. That generally tricks her enough to eat the medicine.

"Nom nom nom nom..."

I can already see an improvement though. Which is awesome. Like really, really awesome. No one likes to see their horse sick. Even though it hasn't effected her daily life. She's basically just had a gross runny nose. But, hey, I'm just happy to see that the medicine is working.

Get better soon pony!

I Have a Curly Horse?

Back when Lady was growing her winter coat, it was the same time she had the really bad abscess. I noticed that her coat looked very different from Mya's but I just thought it had something to do with her being under the weather, her being dirty, or something like that. But, what do you know, I don't think it's any of that at all!

I believe Lady has wavy or curly hair!

I've only ever seen her with her summer coat before, so I had no idea.

Her mane doesn't have any wave to it. Its mostly just her body.

 

I wasn't expecting this at all. Mya gets this really pretty fuzziness in the winter. (Its pretty cute.) But Lady looks completely different. Its almost like her hair is thicker or denser or something. I'm not quite sure what to make of it. She's not a complete curly horse but her hair is definitely wavy.


Do any of you have a horse who has hair like this?

Blog Hop | What Pets Do You Have?

Its blog hop time! I read this blog hop on another equestrian blogger and thought "Hey that would be fun to do." So, voila, here it is!

Other than your horse, what pets do you have?

-First is the best little dog a person could have. I truly believe she is the uniquely best dog in the entire world! Meet Princess! She has been my wonderful friend for going on 8 years. We've had many fun adventures together, from traveling the country to doing agility competitions. This is one talented dog! Princess is a miniature poodle. Her birthday is December 3 and she will turn eight. Her middle name is actually Star. (Yes, I give my animals middle names.) I've had her since she was an adorable puppy of six weeks old. The best decision I've ever made. Bonus fact: She once acted in an opera.

Princess as an absolutely adorable puppy, not long after I got her.

This is her now. After she got a hair cute a few weeks ago. She doesn't shed so we have to take her to the groomers every couple of months.

-The clown of the show is my other dog. Meet Bear! Bear is a Border Collie (We were told Border Collie but it could be Australian Shepherd... ) mix hound dog. He looks like the collie, but he barks like a hound. Its a bit funny and weird. I actually got him about the same time I got Mya. Bear is going on 3. He is hyper, crazy, timid, loyal, and super sweet. He suppose to be a guard dog, but in all honesty Princess is a better guard dog then he is! But we still love him. Bonus fact: He got his name because as a puppy I said his fur looked like a bear's fur.

Dog says he is roasting. I took this pic in the summer.

-Next come the brothers, my two cats. Meet Gilbert and Sullivan! Also know as Gil and Sully. Gilbert is more shy and Sullivan is more outgoing. But they are both equally sweet. Gil and Sully are brothers from the same litter and both around a year and half old. Bonus fact: They are descendants of a cat I once helped bottle feed.

Gilbert.

Sullivan.

-I also have this goat, but I'm in the process of selling him because he and Lady do not get along.


And there you have it! Those are my pets other than my two horses. :)

Bridle Review | Suffolk Fancy Snaffle Bridle

From the Dover website.

"Combining quality with a budget-friendly price, the Suffolk™ Fancy Snaffle Bridle is traditionally-styled and finished with lovely stitching. It's crafted of rich brown leather and features a padded nose and brow for horse comfort. Matching laced reins are included."

I bought this bridle for Mya because she needed a good english one, and it wasn't super pricey. I had already gone through two other bridles. One was too small (but actually fits Lady perfectly so she wears it now), and the other one broke after two uses. (The moral of the story there is be cautious when buying a bridle off of Ebay.) So by now I just wanted a good quality bridle that would work. I did a little research and I found a lot of people that recommended a bridle off of the Dover Saddlery website. 

 Its called the Suffolk Fancy Snaffle Bridle, and currently it is priced at $49.99. 

(But when I ordered mine it was on sale so I think I got it for $32. So hurray for good sales!)


The shipping was great and didn't take hardly any time at all to arrive. When it did arrive I had to assemble it which was a little confusing. But I think just about any bridle comes like that and I did figure it out eventually. 

One of the main things I really like about this bridle is how the leather is soft, and it is padded around the nose-band and brow-band. So worries about is rubbing off your horse's hair!

It looks really great on Mya. For a non-expensive bridle it looks amazing! It has a pretty and elegant look to it. Its a great bridle for everyday use, and I think it looks good enough that you could use it in a show too! I really like it and have been impressed. The Suffolk bridle has also held up really well. The only thing that had broken or cracked on it had been one of those tiny things that catch the ends of the straps. But this doesn't affect the use of the bridle at all.

So if you are looking for a good quality bridle that won't break the bank, I totally recommend this one!  

Suffolk™ Fancy Snaffle Bridle

Vet Visit

Vet check: complete. But of course there are the details...

Quite honestly the day started badly. I woke up sick. No one likes being sick, particularly me. But it was just one of those days. The vet was scheduled to come out at noon. And he arrived a little before schedule. I missed the first part of his visit, but my mom said he looked Mya over and listened to her heart. Then he examined her nose. Which is the reason he came in the first place. Mya had been having nose bleeds. He came to the conclusion that Mya has a respiratory infection. (He did notice the white line in her feet and recommended a farrier that could fix that) But other than that he said I had a good looking horse. I was really encouraged by that.

He prescribed two medicines for her. One was something for her respiratory system to open up her air ways. And the other was antibiotics to get rid of the infection. Both are powders that go in her food. A scoop of each twice a day. (One actually smells kind of like cake batter lol) I mix the powders in her feed with a little bit of Applesauce to make sure she eats it all.

The vet also drew her blood for a coggins test. Mya didn't even bat an eye at that. She such a brave girl! So all together I think it was a pretty successful vet visit!

 (Sorry no pictures. I'll try to post some new ones soon.)

Equine First Aid

I haven't been blogging that much recently because, honestly, I haven't had anything to blog about. Not unless you want to hear all the woes of having a lame horse, that is. But I think things are finally looking up.

Well kind of.

Lady is doing a lot better. That incident with the abscess was not cool. Like. At all. But yesterday I walked up to my stable to feed the ponies and they heard me of course and started coming up to the barn. Mya is usually the excited one, and she generally canters up to the stable whinnying as she goes. (its really kind of funny how this horse is obsessed with food) But today it was Lady who was eager to come. When she saw me at the stable she started up toward me (I have a big pasture) and she actually started trotting. I have never been so happy to see a horse pick up the trot in all my life. And it was up a hill no less! She didn't canter like Mya but that is no surprise. Lady picking up the canter is a rare occurrence. So I am happy to say that her abscess is almost completely healed, and I couldn't be happier about it!

Now on to Mya.

The vet is coming tomorrow to look at Mya because she's had this strange thing about getting nose bleeds. They are small, but a nose bleed none the less. At first I thought it might be allergies or the changing of the weather. But as they have persisted I thought it would be a good idea to have the vet come take a look at her. So that is what is happening tomorrow.

Hopefully everything will work itself out eventually. In the meantime I am learning a lot about equine first aid.

October's 10 Questions

I thought it would be fun to answer this months questions from over on Viva Carlos.

1. How many pairs of breeches/jods do you own? Since I don't currently ride at any barn, just two.

2. How many horses have you ridden? Wow, uh, like seriously ridden or just ridden? I've hopped on and rode tons of different horses here and there. But for horses I've ridden more than once probably around 10.

3. How many trainers have you had? I go through trainers like that. Its bad. There are just not very many good ones where I live, and the ones that are good are booked up. Its really sad. I've taken lessons from somewhere around eight different people but some no more than once.

4. How many barns have you ridden at? I've really ridden at two true barns. The rest I either didn't stick around or they aren't what I would catagorize as a barn/stable.

5. What is the name of the horse you consider yourself to have the greatest bond with? Mya. :)

6. What is your favorite show name you've ever encountered? As You Wish (Barn name: Wesley.) Princess Bride fan, anyone? :D

7. What do you consider your greatest weakness or flaw in riding? Sometimes I need to be pushed to work harder or ride harder. I can lack the courage to do things on my own or try new things on my own. Which is why I really excel with a trainer and why I'm a bit put out that I can't find a good one.

8. What do you consider to be your greatest strength? My patience and my ability to stay calm.

9. Have you ever leased a horse? Nope.

10. What is the name of the first horse you rode? The first horse I really remember riding was this adorable pony that my aunt/second cousin had. His name was Tony Pony. Last winter when I went to visit family for Christmas I got to see him again. Talk about nostalgia...

Blog Hop | Quirky Horses

 

     Its about time I did a blog hop. I love reading them when everyone else does them. So here is my first one!

What are some quirks, naughty or nice, that your horse has and do you love or hate them?

Things I love: 

-Lady is very expressive. She will watch you, and if you do something she doesn't like she will give you a disapproving "look".

-Mya falls asleep easily. Once I was riding her and we stopped to talk to a friend. She fell asleep and almost fell over with me on top of her. It was quite funny.

-If you leave just the saddle pad on Lady's back she will reach around and pull it off.

-Mya loves treats but she doesn't like peppermints. She spits the peppermints out. 

-Mya thinks she is a dog. Sometimes she will follow you around begging to be petted. 

Things I don't like:

-Lady backs up fine on the ground, but she will not back up under saddle at all. We're working on that.

-Mya loves to run and sometimes its very hard to get her to walk. That's the arabian coming out in her. 

-They both have bad feet. 

-Mya is a hard keeper, and I have to work extra hard to keep the weight on her during the winter.

Canter Training and Rope Halters

     My horse has such heart. She is one of those horses they will try just about anything for you. Not that she succeeds in everything, but at least she tries. Mya is also the kind of horse that learns quickly. It does not take her long to catch on to something. Sometimes she just makes me proud. :)

     We were out in my roundpen practicing lunging. I have worked with Mya a lot on the lunge line to get her to stay calm and collected. A lot of horses, read Lady, do not want to canter. This is not the case with my feisty bay. She absolutely loves cantering. So her big training was actually getting her to walk and trot calmly. I'm proud to say that with a little work we have accomplished that goal. Now the goal is to teach her to canter with control. I don't want her to madly gallop around the place. I want to her to learn to canter calm and collective. None of this race-horse-nose-up-in-the-air stuff. Mya is getting tons better though and I am quite happy with her progress. The last time I lunged her we worked on transitions from trot to canter and canter to trot. What I think is awesome about this horse is that to get her to canter you only have to say the word. "Canter" and she is off. Mya is nice about paying attention to you when you work her.

      I was never really a fan of rope halters before, but now they are kind of starting to grow on me. I'm thinking about buying a couple more. I'd really like to get one specifically for Lady. Anyone have suggestions for colors? I was thinking either light blue for Mya and pink for Lady or the other way around. I found this website for rope halters which seemed to have a pretty good selection and I liked the variety of colors. Hey color is important, right? 

If there was one picture that described Lady's personality it would be this. lol. Typical mare.

     Anyways, Mya is still a little tender in her right front hoof, so I haven't ridden her recently. But I'm hoping that by next week she'll be doing better and we can put in some serious work.

My Racehorse Wannabe

   
     Thought I'd do a quick post. :) I worked with Mya a bit today. Decided to put the saddle on her and then lunge her. She was feeling pretty feisty and had lots of energy. Which is kinda funny to watch when it comes to Mya. She was feeling pretty good. I ended up working her at the walk, trot, and canter. (at the canter she pretended she was a racehorse) She did really well on her transitions. Both her upward transitions and her downward transitions. I was impressed; she has really improved a lot. Even though she cantered like a racehorse at least she wasn't out of control. So I was happy with that.

The Queen

     Finally some good news. After a week of Lady hopping around on three feet it looks like she is finally on the mend. She's still limping pretty bad but she is at least putting weight on her foot now. Before she wasn't even doing that. She also has her spunky spirit back. Lady is living up to her name and behaving like a queen. (Maybe I should have named her Queenie? But that would have a dog named Princess soooo) I think its pretty cute. I like this pony. Anyways, I am really glad she is starting to feel better. You have no idea how glad I am! I'm hoping that she be feeling better enough tomorrow to let her out into the small pasture next to her paddock. I'm sure she'd be happy to be let out into the pasture again. I've had her up in the stall for the past week because she hasn't been very mobile. I didn't want her to have to move around to eat. So she's got the special treatment has been enjoying food delivery. (aka hay) But, yes, I am happy she is taking a turn for the better. Hoof problems are not fun at all.

10 Questions

     I saw this list of questions over on Cash's Steppin' Up blog and I thought I would do them as well. I thought it looked like fun! So here are the first 10 questions,

1. Is your horse spooky or bombproof? 
     Mya isn't bombproof but she isn't "spooky" either. She's pretty spirited when you ride her and can sometimes be jumping about stuff. Lady is more bombproof. Probably not all the way there but pretty close.

2. Does your horse have a long or short stride?
     Mya has a long stride. She basically eats up the ground. Lady stride is so short its almost comical. She's so cute when she trots.

3. Describe your current barn in 3 words? 
     Where I live.

4. If you could switch barns, would you?
     Since I keep my horses at home, no. I mean I'd certainly love to have an actual riding arena, but there is nothing quite like being able to look out your window and admire your horses.


5. What is your favorite brand of breeches?
     I don't think I have a favorite. I'm not really into clothing brand stuff. I just wear whatever is comfortable.

 6. How many blue ribbons do you have? (Red if you live in Canada or Britain).
     Blue ribbons? If we're talking just blue ribbons, I have one. I  have a few of other colors though.

 7. How many saddle pads do you own?
     I have several western pads but I really only use one. I have three english saddle pads.

 8. Is your horse your phone background/lock screen?
     Not at the moment. (its actually Captain America's shield right now. lol)

 9. Do you go trail riding often? (weather permitting)?
     Sometimes. I'd rather ride in the arena though. I don't really have a variety of trails, so I get bored with them easily. Now I'd absolutely love to trailer out to some state park and go trail riding there. That would be fun!

 10. Favorite horsey movie? 
     Probably War Horse. Though Hidalgo is a close second. 

The Good and The Bad

     I guess horse ownership has its ups and downs. Honestly, at the moment I'm pretty frustrated. Lady is pretty lame right now. Its frustrating because I have down so much in the way of hoof care for my horses and yet both of them have gone lame in the past month. At least Mya is doing better now. But Lady is really sore on her left front hoof. I think she have a stone bruise, which might have turned into an abscess. My farrier recommended soaking her hoof in warm water with epsom salts so that is what I did. She is so sore she didn't even want to move around her pasture so I put her up in the corral/paddock area (where the stall is) and gave her some hay. At least she's happy about hay. When I left she was happily munching away. I just wish she wasn't lame in the first place, and its not from lack of trying on my part. At this point I am pretty sick of hoof care. Next horse I buy is going to have perfect feet. I love my horses dearly but I just wish they didn't have so many problems with their hooves.

Lady Learns

  
 
     I feel like nowadays the majority of my time with the horses is spent working on their feet. How is it possible that I ended up with two horses who both have terrible hooves! Lady, due to the fact that she'd been foundered by previous owners, has to be shod on all four feet. Particularly the front hooves. Mya is only shod on the front, and that is because she's had trouble with white line and cracking. Two years ago Mya had large cracks running up the middle of her front hooves, but with lots of attention and care her left front is now completely solid. The right, well, was. That is until she somehow manage to throw a shoe and take a chunk out of it. Which wouldn't have been so bad except that it got fungus of some kind in it. The farrier then had to cut away a lot of the hoof wall to expose the fungus. Now I regularly have to soak her right front hoof in a solution and then put medicine on it. I'm really hoping the fungus is dead and it will stay dead. I'd love to be doing other things than constant hoof care! But I don have to say I've spent some good quality time with the ponies because of this and I have learned a ton.


     I've made some breakthroughs with Lady's training recently. As you probably know, when I got Lady back in May one of the biggest things missing from her training was lunging. She had absolutely no concept of how to do it. She pretty much didn't know groundwork in general. So since I have had her that is one of the things we have worked on a lot. The other day I had her out in the round pen and we were doing the regular free lunging work when suddenly it seemed like something just clicked in Lady's brain. She started paying attention and actually listening. Before she was just trying to avoid me or halfheartedly obeying. But this time I could tell she was fully listening to me. She picked up the trot with just me saying the word and clicking. That was the first time she had responded like that. Before I always had to bring up the lunge whip to reinforce the command. But this time she didn't need it. She knew what I wanted without me having to make exaggerated motions. I have to admit I got really excited. It was so cool! That was also the first time she really did "join-up". She was following me around like a puppy dog. It was really amazing. Its like Lady finally accepted that we should work together.

In other news, she now lunges beautifully. (Though we're still working on the canter. She still needs a lot of work with that gait.)

Trail Ride in the Rockies

     Colorado. One of the most gorgeous places in the USA. You can't beat those soaring mountains and jaw-dropping cliffs. I was lucky enough to be able to visit Colorado again this summer, and like last summer I had my eye on another trail ride. We weren't out looking for a riding stable (actually we were looking for a ghost town, but that's another story), but we happened to be driving down this dirt road (yes, a dirt road) when we saw some people out riding horses. A little further on we came across the stable they were from and what do you know there was a sign out front that offered trail rides! Of course we had to stop and check it out. The people were super friendly and the horses were nice looking so we decided to sign up for a ride.

     I made a couple of new friends that day. The first was the horse I rode. He was a pretty appaloosa gelding named Cricket. We got along just fine, Cricket and I.

Monsieur Cricket

      The second was the lady that took us out to the trails. She was super nice and had actually just moved to Colorado the month before. She told me that she was an english rider who trained horses, taught lessons, and specialized in dressage. When I told her about what I did and the horses I owned she was really encouraging. I really appreciated that.

     The ride itself was absolutely gorgeous. From breathtaking views of the mountains to a forest that looked like something out of a fairytale it was amazing. I enjoyed every minute of it.

Roxy Goes to a Show

   
      My cousin Katie who lives several states away also loves horses. I really like having a cousin who loves horses like me. It great that I have someone that I can spend time just talking horses with. She rides western, and does kind of a working student thing at this barn. She trades cleaning stalls for lessons. Its really neat. This summer she got the chance to lease the horse she rides in lessons and did several shows with her. Roxy, the horse, is an appaloosa mare and I have actually ridden her before. She's a really fun horse to ride. Anyway, Katie and Roxy's biggest event of the summer was their local 4-H horse show. Where they would be staying at the fairgrounds for a week to show. Since they were going to be there all week and she didn't want to be there by herself they asked if I would drive up to keep her company. Of course I said yes. A whole week in the horse barn at a county fair? How could I refuse! So off I went on an eight hour drive. (I guess you could say I'm pretty dedicated to horses.)
     When I got there they had already moved Roxy to the fairgrounds the day before, and since they had just gotten back from the barn from taking care of her they didn't need to go back until morning. The next morning was the first day of showing. Classes started at 9 a.m. and we had a ton to do first to get ready. That meant we had to get up at 5 o'clock in the morning. Ya, it was a bit early. But hey its horses so it was worth it! When we got down to the stable the first order of the day was to feed Roxy. Then while she was eating we polished the tack. I got the job of cleaning Katie's riding boots. I must say I think I'm a pretty good tack cleaner! After that (and Roxy had finished her breakfast) was just touching up the horse. Since she had worn the pink cover thing the night before she was pretty clean.

 Basically all we had to do was paint her hooves and put her fake tail on. (Yes, she wears a fake tail. Weird, right? That's what I thought. I didn't really know that people did that in western pleasure. I guess I know now!) And saddle her up of course. Then it was a long walk over to the arena. (Why they didn't put the barn next to the arena I will never know)

 The two of them did 4 classes that day. They did amazing! They got first place in each class. The first day of showing was for first year 4-H members. So I think it means for people that hadn't shown 4-H before. Anyways, we were all pretty excited for them.

     Day 2 they didn't have any actual shows. We still spent all day at the barn since Katie had to take care of Roxy. She also practiced and rode Roxy in the arena during a practice session. (It was like lunch break so they said anyone could go and ride in the arena.) After that we didn't have anything to do for a bit until Roxy needed more water so we went and sat in the livestock show barn and watched a pig show. I had now idea there were so many different types of pigs...

     Day 3 it was back to showing. This time it was the open shows so all the kids were in them and the competition was a lot more stiff. Still Katie and Roxy did great. I was pretty excited for them. They did an amazing job! I don't exactly remember what she won, but she did place in all but one of her classes. So they did really well considering these were the people who had been doing this for many years.

There were about 19 people in this class.

     All in all it was a tiring but super fun week. I feel like I learned a ton about horse showing that I didn't know before. I hope they do it again next year!