I was mugged!

It was just another day at work, just doing my thing. Working quietly, thinking about this and that. And then i was attacked! It was terrifying! I didn't hear him at all, he just snuck up behind me and grabbed me, I couldn't move, and he wouldn't let go. I tried to wiggle out of his grasp, but to no avail. When I hollored for help he finally let me go and ran away, but I thought for sure there I was a gonner!! Thankfully I was able to snatch a quick picture to indentify him.... ...

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4/27/11 Conditioning Ride

Yeah, couldn't think of a title, just some quick notes on how the ride on Callie went today. Decided to do trot sets, and I didn't lunge her prior. I had considered going outside, but it was blowing like no tomorrow, and since she is so spooky in the outdoor as-is, I decided I better save that endeavor for another day. Walked for 10 minutes to warm up, doing lots of suppleing, getting her forward first and then to give to the bit both directions. Also did some leg yeilding out on the circle.  Then we did 3x 6:00minute trots. A light contact on the bit, almost bordering on long and low, and just really encouraging her to move. She felt great, she felt loose, forward, and free in her gait. Didn't feel sucked back at all, and (for her) felt really focused the entire time. Only a few...

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You know it's a slow day at work...

... when your supervisors tell you to go into Meetings so that you can do the Hokey Pokey, putting one foot  in, putting one foot out... LOL!!! Other than that, it's been a horribly slow and boring day here at work, I think we should have been closed today, more than once I just sat around for an hour poking around on the internet wasting time. I guess really, I don't mind... I'm getting paid to look at pretty horsies and read badminton updates. Then I get annoyed when I do get a call and it interrupts me!! I rode little crazy mare on Friday, and she was awesome. Took her to the indoor, amazing how much better she is when there are no visual distractions. She was a little stick under saddle at first, but I just told her forward-forward-forward and once she got into front of my leg...

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Crazy mare!

It's been raining here, off and on moisture, not a torrential downpour, but off and on showers with patches of sunshine inbetween. It's been nice, things had been getting waaaay too dry here, so the moisture is much desired. Last night we had our first real thunderstorm, hurray!!! Today dawned clear as a bell with the sun shining brightly, they are calling for more thunderstorms this afternoon. Everything is getting green now with the rain, and it's lovely. A beautiful evening on the farm from a few days ago  Yesterday evening I decided to put in a quick ride on Callie mare, my plan was to do trot sets... that didn't exactly go as planned!!...

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A Must Read

If you read nothing else today, you should read this: Eventing Etiquette For Dummies Anybody and everybody who has anything to do with horse showing, even if you don't event, should read that blog. Thankfully in Eventing, stuck-up and rude people are few and far between, but I unfortunately know that in other disciplines that is not the case. If more people got off their high horse and put a smile on their face and made an effort to help someone ELSE out instead of themselves... the entire horse show world would be a much happier place. In other news... Little miss Callie mare threw a shoe, her left hind. And get this. She took it off while leaving every single nail behind. ???? Don't ask me how she did it, it looks like there should be a shoe there, the nails are there, but, the shoe...

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Now back to the reguarly scheduled programming

Ok, I'll drag my mind back outta LOTR geekieness and update on horsey things. Good day yesterday, I love my Saturday afternoons, get to ride multiple horses, clean pens, do what I want. My barn owner has asked me to do some training with one of her horses, an older QH mare named Magic. They use her for pony lessons to beginner riders and she's started to get a little sour with the kids, not wanting to stand still, not wanting to trot, etc. So I'm going to work with her 1-2 times a week to sort out the kinks. Fun stuff. So I rode her yesterday, first thing, almost right off the bat, I noticed that her saddle didn't fit right, it was a little too wide. When I mounted up she was not happy. I jumped off and added an extra pad to fill in the space behind her withers, muuuuccch happier horse!...

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I interrupt your horsey news for a geek alert!

They have started filming on The Hobbit!!! Just... *jumps up and down excitedly* :D I looooooove the Lord of the Rings. I have been a huge fan of it since I was a child and my mom read to me the first chapter of The Hobbit in order to convince me to read the series. We used to quiz each other on LOTR knowledge and trivia LOOONG before the movies were even thought of! So, needless to say when The Fellowship of the Ring was announced, we were excited but slightly optimistic, worried that Hollywood wouldn't stay true to Tolkien's epic story. But, these doubts were soon soundly laid to rest (with the exception of the exclusion of Tom Bombadil, that is my ONLY complaint about the movies really). I now own and cherish the extended edition of the trillogy (12 hours of tolkien goodness, yeeeesssss!!!...

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Pony pictures

Finally dragged some photos off my phone to share! First we have Mr. Pie, who is doing just fine in his new home, I'm so happy, I couldn't have asked for a more loving home for him to live out his days in. I will miss his personality though, he is most certainly one of a kind! If I could have kept him I would've, but my budget said otherwise, that's ok, what I wanted to do and what he could do physically just weren't the same. It's a perfect situation really. I'm happy. Taking one last spin on my boy the day before he left. <3 him! Looking pretty in pink, lol. Handsome boy :)  Only one of Callie, she could still use another 100lbs...

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Sunday afternoon ramblings

It's super slow at work this afternoon, and I'm super bored. It's the kind of day where you only get about 1 call an hour, and it's a "I want to cancel my account." call.... c'mon people! So, I'm getting back into teaching lessons, for the lady at my barn, and now for a local Pony Club. Fun stuff. I much prefer teaching the lady at my barn tho... she listens and really tries hard, and really shows significant improvement from lesson to lesson. That's the best kind of student, you only have to teach them something once, and they'll go and apply it. Whereas the pony club kids... oy vey, I taught that bunch last fall, crazyness!!! Only two kids were really serious about even remotely listening to me, they were playing with each other, goofing off, being kids LOL. Hopefully they've grown up...

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Ah-ha!!

Ya know what I'm talking about, you've been fighting with an issue for days, weeks, months, trying to find a solution to it, and all of a sudden you stumble upon the answer. Most often on accident. Depending on the degree of the discovery, I classify it as either "lightbulb" or "ah-ha" moments. Lightbulb being the best! Lol. Today though, was an "ah-ha" moment :) Been having an issue with Callie and her canter, she has been throwing a fit on the right canter lead, major resistance, head in the air, running away on the lunge line, wanting to stop and not move, etc. In general not wanting to maintain a quiet, relaxed canter. Either on the lunge...

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For once, I want an iPhone

I'm an avid Android user, I've shunned all things Apple for years, just didn't care to get caught up in it, besides... I think they are WAY too much $$ for what they can do. I think iPhones are over-prices, over-hyped phones, and I'm perfectly happy with my Droid. I also much prefer my Sansa mp3 player, it can play video, listen to radio, play music, all the same things an iPod can do, but at half the cost... and a longer battery life!! BUT. The Badminton iPhone App has me reeeaaaally wishing, for the first time in my life, that I had an iPhone. I want that app so bad! But unfortunately it's only for iPhones, boooooo. It has live scores, rider profiles, virtual course walks, podcasts, the whole shebang. But... I can't have it!! Grrr. I think there is a Rolex app...

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Collective Marks

So, I've just discovered this morning that Doug Payne has a blog, hurray for getting to stalk more upper level eventers!! I was reading his most recent entry and had a fond giggle of remembrance when I saw his picture of collective marks (though, they aren't anything to sneeze at, a 10 for a rider is pretty damn impressive!). While I've never gotten those kind of marks at a real dressage/eventing/combined test show of any kind, schooling or not, (normally end up with 8s and 7s) I have gotten those kinds of marks before. I do, or well, have done Civil War Cavalry Reenacting. It's a ton of fun, and I've been a history buff since I was...

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