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.