The silence is killing me 😭
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Hi @Mouse_Potato
I was wondering if you have ridden your Princess yet. Do you plan to take a few lessons from the trainer with her (just in case she tries any of her old tricks)? I would love to read any update you are willing to offer.
Well, I didn't do as well as I hoped with my riding activities. Only 7 rides for the whole month of September totaling 4 hours & 13.5 miles. Not even half of my original goal (15). A week into October and today is my 1st ride for the month. I hope to do better, but honestly, I'm not sure - We demolished the old barn and have to get the site cleared & leveled to have a new one built. That is where my focus has been lately. Not to mention that October starts my busy season for selling HayHuts.
Here's the summary for today's ride:
Here's my other priority 😅
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My riding & consistency is better so far this month despite being distracted with home rehab projects. One week left of October for 4 more rides to complete my 15 ride goal.
Barn site is ready for new building...
Yes, I'm excited ✨😄🌟
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@mgood4x4 Hi, there. Sorry for the silence. I went on vacation and then just sort of forgot about the message boards. It looks like you've made great progress this month! And I love the design for the new barn!
I have not yet ridden Princess, though I will soon. The trainer texted me while I was out of town to ask about working me into the program, but we haven't been able to touch base since I got back. Thanks for the reminder - I will ping him today!1 -
@Mouse_Potato I can't wait to read about your progress with Princess.
I did make my goal for October!
The same goal for November, hope it goes as well. Still have the barn project happening, and of course the Holidays & shopping at the end of the month. We shall see 😅0 -
@mgood4x4 Congratulations on making your goal! I've had two lessons scheduled to ride Princess in the last week and both were cancelled. Better luck this coming week!1
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It finally happened - I got to ride Princess last night! She was so good! I am out of shape, so I only rode for about 15-20 minutes, but we did really well. I am probably going to ride her again tomorrow night and maybe we'll do a bit more. Right now my legs and rear are sore from 4 months out of the saddle, not to mention being in a Western saddle for the first time in two decades!
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OH WOW! @Mouse_Potato Your message was posted over two weeks ago. I really wish MFP could add notifications for group posts. I'm really happy to hear your ride went so well. Just sorry I didn't see your post until now. Funny, it's the opposite for me - almost 2 decades since I've ridden in an English saddle 😅 So will you be staying in the Western or going back to your English saddle? Either way, with more time riding you be in shape very soon! It's so awesome how much of a workout horseback riding is compared to how it feels. I mean, it's like playing & not exercising.
I haven't ridden hardly at all this month - its shameful! Dwayne took his vacation time off & was home 12 days straight. We got a few chores done & had our Halloween party on Nov. 6th. Hauling a 1 ton pumpkin for the party was no easy task! Yes, I tried to pull off Elvira for my costume...
AND... New barn FINALLY! Pictures attached to show Before & After 😍
It's not quite done yet - inside is temporary corrals because I'm waiting on my permanent panes & automatic waterers to be delivered 😁 It will be 6-12 weeks for the panels & stall gates. Anyway, hopefully there is at least a few rides in store for us this week 😉 Keep me posted on your riding journey, I love reading about it 🤠1 -
@mgood4x4 Oh, I love your costumes! I did a very low-key cat costume to pass out candy to the neighbor kids. I did get my grumpy boyfriend to carve pumpkins with me, so that was neat. I love that barn!
So amazing! I hope you get out to ride a bit this week. Our weather is going all over the place, so we're watching out for colic.
I got to ride last night. Only my third ride since she went to boot camp, but it went really well. It's been super confusing for me because he's basically telling me to do the opposite of everything I've been taught to do since 1985, but she responds to it, so who am I to argue? If we have to convert to Western, that is what we will do. I am no dressage queen. I just want to ride my horse! I don't feel as sore today, but then we used a different saddle. Once again, I only rode for about 20 minutes, but this time we even cantered, so I was thrilled. I think next week we are going to start doing early morning rides and see if that works better for scheduling. Now that I work from home, I can do that!0 -
I rode before work this morning for the third time this week. I am usually not a morning person, but it's been so worth it! We've been working in the round pen so we can focus on me more than her. Today we cantered both directions and talked a lot about my balance. Apparently, I put more weight in my left leg than my right. I've probably been doing it for decades, but just compensated with the rest of my body to stay balanced. Well, Princess is a sensitive girl and she doesn't like it! I also have greater flexibility in my left hip than my right (I already knew that, thanks to my flexibility classes) and I need to even that out as well. Anyway, she was brilliant - willing and sweet, collected and balanced. I am very happy! I've got another early ride tomorrow and then a few days off. My trainer has a show first part of next week, so I will get a short ride Monday morning, but then not again until Thursday. I am really excited!
Adding a picture, for once.
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@Mouse_Potato - she is lovely! Now that it has been a few months, how are your rides and relationship with her coming along? Are you still working with the trainer & using the western saddle?
I want to apologize for being MIA the last few months. I've been trying to find 'horse friends' here in my neighborhood and started a group on Nextdoor, so I've been more active there. Still unsuccessful, so I'm back here to find my motivation and inspiration. My posts on Nextdoor are more diary posts than anything. There are 35 members in the group, but only 3 that stated they own horses. One member has a retired TWH and 2 unstarted mares that she is afraid to ride. Another has put her horse on the back burner as she is caring for her elderly mother. The 3rd guy is a doctor out of the country for 6 months and has someone else caring for his horse. Some of the other members just joined looking for a place to post ads for their self employed services. So ultimately, I'm still trying to enjoy my passion alone.
I've been back in the saddle infrequently since March. Restarting both horses with a refresher in fundamentals and just getting their strength built back up. Slate is very stiff on his chronic RH fetlock injury from 15 years ago. He needs me to be more regular because the exercise gives the injury more flexibility & range of motion for him to stay comfortable. If he is off for a week, the next ride is rough for both of us. Also, I had a nasty scare with Sunny on March 1st of uncontrolled bleeding from his mouth. Looked like a scene from a horror film. The vet diagnosed ethymoid hematoma or guttural pouch infection. He was on antibiotics for 30 days to clear any infection, but said he was pretty sure it was a hematoma in his sinuses and would happen again - will also likely cause his natural death. Could happen any time unexpectedly and he will lay down & go to sleep because of a drop in blood pressure, and not wake up. Vet said painless and most desirable way to go if it happens. Until then, if he is happy and moving well, I should keep him fit with riding and exercise like nothing has happened.
The weather here is nice again today, so I'm going to go for another ride
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Hello everyone!
Well, once again I have contacted MFP for support for our groups requesting the option to have push notifications of member comments. We already have push notifications for messages & likes to activities and profile posts as well as the option to turn them on or off, so I really don't see why this isn't an option for our groups yet. I am hoping to get a reply soon, but it may be helpful if others would inquire about adding this feature also. If more MFP members want this, perhaps the developers will make it happen. Then we can have meaningful conversations between that include all interested group members without having to remember to check the community website everyday. Until then, MEMBERS... Please feel free to post here, or create a new discussion for the group anytime. I love to read about all horse related matters❣
On another note: My new barn update... my order for stall panels from back in November was cancelled without my knowledge. I kept using the tracking from the store website and it was saying still processing. Finally tired of waiting and making due with the temporary corral panels from my round pen, I got in touch with someone at the headquarters that said my items were delivered to the store, but the store never called me to pick them up. When I contacted the store, they said they received them but thought it was an error and ended up clearancing them and sold them to another customer! Now I have to wait until Black Friday again to get everything I need within my budget. On a happier note: my automatic waterers have been delivered and we are making plans to get them installed within the next 2 months.2 -
Sorry to hear about the woes with your stall panels. That's very frustrating! I am also sorry to hear about Sunny. I hope he is doing well.
Princess and I have been doing very well. Still riding western. My trainer has me riding her as well as several of his horses, depending on what he wants to work on that day. Sometimes he puts me on one of his old reliable reiners because that gelding will tolerate my mistakes better than Princess will!
I had to take most of May off due to car troubles (on my end), but I've been riding 2-3 days a week in the mornings before work. This comes with its own set of challenges since we're taking her out and making her work right about breakfast time. This does not increase my popularity in the equine community!
It also means a few months ago I was riding during the coldest temperatures we were going to see all day, so sometimes I got to contend with frisky horses! Now that summer is here, I will appreciate getting out before the heat gets too bad. 1 -
Hi everyone! I haven't posted in a long time and really wish there were more "horsey" types here on MFP. A few years ago, this was a decent group. Maybe we should promote it more? Hope everyone is enjoying the spring weather!1
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Jumpthemoon: Welcome back to the group! I've been submitting requests for MFP to employ "push notifications" for group comments for a while now. Everytime I contact CS they forward me to a link to submit my comment or suggestion. I even added it to my rating for the app on Google Play. I am convinced that there are lots of "horsey" types on here, but because no one can remember to check the groups every day, they just become inactive. Do you have any suggestion on how we can promote our group? On another note: how's your horsey life going? I see your horseback riding exercises on my news feed frequently
Mouse_Potato: Its great that you and Princess are doing so well. Is the western style your preference now, or maybe Princess or the trainer's preference for you? I admit a little jealousy... I am limited to only my 2 horses, but would love to ride finished horses. Don't get me wrong, I love riding my guys, but all that we know is what I have self taught myself through books & videos. I feel they are too old to put extra $$ into as far as training. Getting to ride in the morning has to be great for you too! I did have to laugh about your "popularity in the equine community!"
I am very pleased to report that Sunny is back to his normal. He has had only 2 or 3 very minimal nose bleeds that I've noticed since the March scare. Last week, I took him for his 1st ride into the neighborhood - we went just to the back of the airport & he did great 😃
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@jumpthemoon We had a really nice Spring here, much cooler than normal. We had some strong storms over the last few days that keep knocking out the power, but I won't complain too much. Summer starts next week with highs in the triple digits.
I hope you get to enjoy the cool a bit longer where you are! I've no idea how to promote horsey groups on MFP. A lot of my friends don't even wander into the forums at all.
@mgood4x4 I am enjoying the western style of riding. In some ways I do like it better. Better than dressage anyway. I still miss jumping! It is pretty cool being able to ride finished horses from time to time. A gelding I was riding at the first of the year sold for $65k a few weeks back! Way out of my budget!
I'm so glad to hear Sunny is doing better. That's really scary! He looks so calm and relaxed in the picture you posted. I hope you have many trips to the airport ahead of you!
I'm supposed to ride next on Tuesday morning. My trainer likes to work out the "Monday morning blues" on his own (he gives the horses the weekend off). I am looking forward to seeing what we learn this week. I am *not* looking forward to the weather! 0 -
Hello everyone! I hope you had an amazing Independence Day 🎆 Our Freedom here in the States is not FREE and I am thankful everyday to those who fought for our independence, as well as those who continue to fight now and in the future 🎇
@Mouse_Potato & @jumpthemoon Where are you from? (I'm just curious) We enjoyed a very mild but DRY springtime here in VA. Now that summertime is officially here, there have been frequent afternoon & evening storms with very high humidity. Posts for horseback riding & horse stuff appears in my news feed frequently 😃 How has your riding and horse life been? Admittedly, $10k is out of my budget, so $65k is just a dream 🤯
Unfortunately, I have not been riding as much as I'd like, sometimes allowing nearly a week between rides. Slate is just now healed enough from a shoe boil that developed over 3 weeks ago. I didn't ride much because the cinch would rub the wound causing irritation & oozing.
THEN: Sunny had another bleeding episode about 2 weeks ago, so he is now "semi-retired" and limited to 30 minute rides at walk & trot only (just enough to keep him fit). This may change when I hit my goal weight IF he stays fit enough for longer rides.
Please keep in mind that, while this looks horrific, it is not causing him pain! The Veterinarian described the sensation as "similar to a human nosebleed that is not caused by injury".
Anyway, MFP has yet to employ better notifications for our groups. So I would like to invite anyone interested to the Equilab app for horse related activities.
https://equilab.horse/referral?refereeId=N9rmSxQzS8bj8RYFFHjVb4GtuRI3
If you decide to install the app, please search & add me as a friend.
TTYL,
Mitsy Good1 -
Hello group!
Just thought I'd post a little update... A very exciting day for Slate & I yesterday because we finally got to trail ride "away" from home. A new horsey friend that I met through my Nextdoor group offered to pick us up in her trailer & take us for a trail ride in the George Washington National Forest. We had an awesome time with her & Faith: her 23 year old Walker mare.
There were a few disobediences that I have to correct - mainly breaking into a trot without permission. Besides that & Slate losing both hind Scoot Boots on the very rocky trail, everything went smoothly. I'm hoping to do this more often.
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@mgood4x4 Good to see you are getting out and riding! It looks beautiful where you are! All of my riding has been in the arena lately, but I am happy to be doing it ~3 times a week. And on horses I can never afford.
I looked at Equilab, but it's awfully expensive for an app! What do you get for that price?
I am located in Houston, TX, so about the time you start to thaw out, it's getting too hot to ride for us. Especially this year. It seems like every day we are breaking a new record high temperature and under another extreme heat advisory. The last two mornings I rode at 6:00 AM and was *still* covered in sweat in no time!
Lately I've been riding a big QH mare named Paisley. She's an absolute dream temperament-wise. She's only 6, I think, and I've yet to see her spook at anything. She's close to 17 hh, so a big step up from my little Arabian, but she has some lovely gaits and a good bit of training as a reiner. A little squirrely on the steering, but I'm getting the hang of her. Only $20k, if anyone is interested. I told my trainer if I had a spare 20 grand lying around, I probably wouldn't be driving a 16 year-old car! 1 -
Hi @Mouse_Potato - Happy to be riding sounds good to me! I realize there are pros & cons to arena riding, but I'm glad you have that option. I don't have access to an arena, so poor weather or unstable footing means I can't ride. I am thankful though, that as long as its not precipitating I can ride on our gravel driveway which is usually safe (except for icy in winter).
The Equilab app is Free for the basic version & what I have been using until a few months ago. The only reason I paid for the Premium version is because I got it for a year for 50% off. The only real benefit to the paid version is that you can join all the challenges, safety tracking when you ride, and edit the gaits after you ride if they are incorrect (Sunny has a slow & smooth trot, so the app often thinks its a walk). The Free version does everything else and is what I like best! I do not think premium is worth the extra $$. If you use this link you get premium for 30 days Free - if you don't like it, its pretty easy to cancel before the 30 days ends.
We've been feeling the heat here too - not extreme highs, but when paired with the humidity the heat index has been over 150 several days this week. Today was the first day of relief with the real feel temp at only 90℉. I think this week should be better 🙏
ONLY $20K - shoot! I have that in my sock drawer...NOT! Enjoy your big Mercedes of Talent and the variety of rides you have access too, even if it is limited. Your trainer must also be a gem! I had to LOL about your older car 🤣 My hubby's daily driver is 2011 with 340K miles. The next newest vehicle we have is my 2000 Dodge Dakota, & my daily driver is 1996 Chevy tracker.
BUT... what we lack in quality, we make up for in quantity 😆
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Hello group 🌞
A little more exciting (and expensive) news here in VA... We are getting all new custom windows & entry doors for our whole house (@Mouse_Potato - remember my sock drawer $$ 🤣). They are ordered & 1st half paid: should be installed in early October 🤞 Definitely can't afford a premium horse now!!
Also, Slate & I went on our 2nd trail ride into GWNF this week with our new friend. Found that he DOES have a jigging problem when left behind that I'm hoping she will help me fix. He leads & follows great, but don't ask him to follow at a greater distance than 2 horse lengths because then he turns into a real 🐉 - breaking into trot to catch up & head tossing when ask to stop! He rides PERFECTLY & listens to my seat & legs every time when we ride alone (even on the trail - to test I turned him & went in the opposite direction for about a mile & had my well behaved horse until he could see them again). The ride was very enjoyable even though I found a hole in Slate's training that needs fixed.
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