Christina's Meadow

Yay! Ben can be worked again! It really doesn't matter to me that he's restriced to light work. My circle points are terrible at the walk. We can just work on that.

 

Sue had me ride Decoda (aka Duckie) Sunday. *pulling hair* it was terrible. Fantastic that I didn't need a whip or spurs, I was just unable to maintain contact and an equal distance from the center of a circle. Duckie is amazingly willing. She rounded out easily at the posting trot, and was very swingy. I was almost freaking out because I've never been able to keep a trot swingy. For a moment, I thought that Duckie went lame. Yet again Sue threatened me with Wriley. I wasn't being bossy enough again, and managed to let Duckie get away with wandering onto the rail.

 

I really, really hope that Wriley is an empty threat. The only time I've every seen him with a forward walk, is when I take him out to Grand Prix. I bring him in for the night and he just "crawls" back to the lesson barn. Duckie is another good horse for me to work with. I talked to Sue and I'm going to alternate between Dancer and Duckie for my lessons. I'm just going to be optimistic that this Sunday with Dancer is going to be better than my first ride with Duckie. I knew I was going to be working hard, just not that hard! 

 

-Christina

Hello! So, here on the usually mild west coast of BC, it seems that in some areas there will be a white Christmas! This will be the first in many years. The last on was when I was in Elementry school.

 

It has come to my attention now that every monday when I get to muck the Shedrow B stalls, that they were either not mucked or not much was taken out. I can understand this when there is very little bedding to use, however on Saturday we got a small amount. By small, I mean enough that lasted until, well, Monday. Thea and I went into the bedding shed and swept up all the little bits of bedding that were piled on ledges and around the walls. We managed to make two small piles. On top of that we have nine bales of bedding for the entire barn (over 40 stalls). I just hope that the feed store is open on boxing day because I don't know what is going to happen if we don't get any more bedding, especially since many of the stalls are going from wood flooring to the cement under neath (boards are slowly wearing down), to rubber mats (many of which are already being destroyed by the horses).

 

Sunday during my lesson I found out that Sirene has Kidney Disease. The vet thought that it might have been Cushings, but the blood work told us Kidney Disease. The good news is that she isn't in Renal failure yet. I was expecting one of the older ponies to be the next to pass on, not a 22 year-old Sirene. I know I am going to be sad the day that Sirene is euthanized, however I'm going to enjoy everyday I have with this great girl. Not to mention all the treats I'm going to spoil her with (not that I don't already since her stall is across from my locker). Anyways, have a great Christmas everyone, and please don't let my sad news bum you out!

 

Happy Holidays... Christina

Hey All! My goodness, I'm very mad at Nomi. I can't believe Sirene (her mum) was like that at her age! Long story.

 

So, as I said in my previous post the manure pile, well a cover-all was put up on Monday. On Tuesday they secured it down. Well, Monday morning, Nomi managed to break her stall guard. Ok, not so much break as much as the end that is hinged. Thea went to undo the bull-snap and it fell down! Nomer's what did you do?? So Nomi's stall door has to be closed all the time now! Well, Tuesday I went to move her into Gerry's stall so I could muck hers. Well... as I was trying to put her halter on, Nomi decides to bolt from her stall. I thought that by moving into her way she would stop (yes, a very stupid moment for me!). Nomi ends up stepping on my already injured left foot (slipped down the stair landing awkwardly on my left big toe) and forcing me to the ground. Of course she decides the big scary cover-all isn't too scary since she stops to sniff at the other horses in their stalls. Ok, so I'm back on my feet hobbling down the shed row after her, praying that she doesn't go into the parking lot when she ducks into one of the stalls that Chris Blackie (a trainer with many reserved stalls and own staff) has. What a cheeky girl! She snatches a mouthful of hay! I catch up, get the halter on and finally get her to Gerry's stall.

 

It's now three day's later and I'm still 'not sound' as Thea would say. I get to work this morning to find that the cover-all is torn! Well, this one had a vent in it, and we had a bit of a wind storm on Wednesday. Guess what! Not smart to have a vent that can't be closed with our west coast winds! So, no bedding this morning. There was a huge miscommunication. We (the barn staff) thought that we were getting a load this morning, the place we get it from told us Saturday morning. We ended up ordering bales of shavings from a local feed store. There was one left over from the show we had during the summer, since it was my first time using bedding from a bale, I was amazed at how much was in there! I used 6 bales to bed less than 20 stalls (the main barn has 16, and not all needed bedding. I can't remember how many in there I actually put fresh bedding in)!

 

The thugs are getting so much better about letting me catch them! I only had to go the Grand Prix gate today.

 

I gave Sue her Christmas gift today, and got mine from her. Too bad it wasn't a free dressage lesson!

 

Any-who... TTFN!

I can't believe how long it has been since I've last posted! Alot has happened.

 

I'm now on the payroll at the barn (got my first paycheque today ). I finished all of my Christmas shopping on Thursday (yay!), and the best part is that Sue says that I will be ready to compete this summer! My seat has improved so much over the last few weeks. Now I'm working on the walk. Either I have no contact on the reins, Dancer is crawling (as Sue puts it), or I'm pulling on the reins! So frustrating!! I don't know if I've shared this already, since I didn't read any of my past posts, Ben went lame on me during a lesson; so I'm back to riding D.

 

With work, well.... my job has changed so much over the last few weeks. I now bed the main barn, turn out the Thugs (Ges, Chip, Gerry, Wriley, and Scotch), muck 4 stalls on one of the shedrows, muck the stallion paddocks and turn the Thugs in along with helping Thea with switch and turn-in. Also when Sarah isn't at the barn, mucking some of the lesson barn stalls, and half of her feeding. The barn has some really awesome reno's going on right now. The manure pit was filled in and paved and a cover-all went up over it today !!! However we are now down to one bedding shed with bedding being brought in every week and a half now. I just hope that I will get to use the new manure pile on Monday, so I don't have to treck to Sylvia's driveway which is the temporary dumping place for the lesson barn and shedrow B. Main barn and shedrow A stalls get mucked directly into the manure spreader and taken into the Grand Prix to be dumped.

 

Also, the very wonderful Pineapple express has dumped snow on us here in Southern British Columbia over the past couple of weekend's (not much fun to do turnout in!). I'm just glad there is no snow this weekend!

 

Happy Holiday's All!

So today stood out the most. It has been one of those day's that I shouldn't have gotten up. Since my family celebrated Thanksgiving today I asked my coach for an earlier lesson.

 

Well... Dancer had been turned out with the other girls in the rain without a rainsheet on. When I brought her to the main barn I walked by the big indoor ring and Jules saw that Dancer was shivering and told me to forget about riding her. Ok. No biggy. I take Dancer back to the lesson barn and asked Sylvia if Dancer had a blanket, which turned out to be General's. So as I'm tossing the second wet towel out of her stall and pick up the third I manage to bang my forehead on the stall door and the back of my head on the door frame. OUCH! I leave a fourth towel on her back, put on her blanket and finally grab Ben.

 

I take off his bell boot that were on when he was turned out this morning to find the top of the hoof wall on both front feet was white and soft. Seeing no other issues with him finally 20 minutes late for a half-hour dressage lesson and was told that I could have ridden Dancer by my coach. Well, I decieded to keep Ben's bell boots off so his feet could dry and finished my work for the day.

 

That being said, the puddles in the sand paddocks are much deeper than the look. I know since I fell into one. I also had the full turnout paddocks to muck. Outside of Farrell's paddock there are old rubber stall mats. I, thinking since it was rubber I wouldn't slip, ended up slipping on some wet hay on them. Again, my brain turned off and I put my hand out to stop my fall. Thankfully I broke nothing, however I landed on my hip as well. I'm now sporting a nice red mark on my forehead and an ache on my hip. Who knew work could be so hazardous??

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