jumping

I got some pics of jumping Sophie. She is an old hunter ring veteran and is very fun to jump. 

 Warm up.

The quote after this jump from my boyfriend was "what are you doing down there". I ended up landing sitting down and was laughing for awhile after it.

Made it over and called it a day.

Summer

     I had finals last week and am done with another semester of school. I am now back in CA for summer break. Banico is staying back in KY for summer but my barn manager is riding him and taking good care of him. Of course he scraped himself on something the day before I left but it was just hair so wasn't serious. 

     I had some good rides on both of my boyfriends horses since I got home. I got to jump Sophie up to 3 ft which was the largest I had ever jumped. I had only jumped Bancio before so it was good to try other horses out. I also had a good ride on Weldon and poped him over some small cross rails. 

Good horse and crazy weather.

     I had a great ride on Banico today. The last weekend he had been really energetic and spooky so we cut him back on his grain again. Today he was just about falling asleep in the cross ties and was great for me when I rode. He looked like he had rolled in the creek right before he was brought in because he was completely covered in mud. He also smelled like he had rolled in the creek. He is also about done shedding and looks great. I didn't ride him very long but poped him over a little verticle someone had set up. He was much improved from the spooky horse I had last weekend.

     This evening we had a big storm come through and had a tornado warning. We didn't have one touch down near us but there was the beginnings of one that came through close to us. There was also a bunch of lightning and thunder really close and rain off and on.


Just so this post isn't completely picture free here is what my horse did to the tail flap off of his blanket a few weeks ago:

The blanket was later found outside with all the straps riped neatly off.

ETA on Saturday: Crazy lightning and thunder storm last night. Lots of rain and amazing lighting show. It woke me up twice and had to stay up and watch for awhile. The storms in CA just dont compare to the storm last night. 

Spa day

     It was finally warm enough to give Banico a bath today. I got down there and he was kind of jumpy so I lunged him and then rode. He was a bit spooky when I lunged him but he settled down quickly and was listening well enough so I got on. He was prity good for me riding but spooked a few times at who know what. It was hot and humid today so he got really sweaty so I decided to just go ahead and give him a full bath. 

 Wet but clean horse:

     He was wiggly for the bath but he sure looks much better.  I also took his tail down and washed and brushed it out. 

Clean horse:

Off to roll of course.

Spring Break

     I went home for spring break last week and had a great time. I have been meaning to post about it earlier but between a busy school week and a bout of food poising I haven't had the chance.  

      The Friday I got back I was able to go down and ride my boyfriend's horse Weldon and visit with everyone. Pics from that ride:

Saturday I went on a trail ride with my boyfriend and I rode his other horse Sophie while he rode Weldon. It was a lot of fun. Weldon freaked out when another horse passed us and was giving his owner trouble but other than that it was a good ride.

Sophie:

Sunday we tried to go sailing but when we got to the harbor there was a Tsunami warning so we didn't go out. We did get to see it come into the harbor while we were there. It mostly looked like a very strong current coming in and it raised the water level in the harbor almost 3 feet.

I rode Weldon again on Friday and he was very forward. The rest of the pics are from this day.

Boyfriend and Sophie:

Ground driving

     I have been neglecting this blog but I have been busy with school and haven't had much time or much to post about. I have had some good rides on Banico and jumped him a bit last weekend. We have been having some big storms come through and it is so nice to have an indoor arena to ride in when it is bad out. My horse looks awful from all the mud and it hasn't been warm enough to give him a bath for months. He did start to shed today so spring is coming. 

     When I went out to catch him from pasture he got everyone going and all the other horses stared galloping around. He started it by pinning his ears at some one and got everyone riled up. The BM told me he is the ringleader out there and always gets everyone else going. He also is the boss and gets all the hay and is getting kind of fat. Most of the other horses came up to the gate quickly but Banico and another two horses went down to the end and came back. He was on the other side of the creek and jumped the creek at full run and galloped up the hill. I finally was able to catch him and he gave me some attitude leading him through the gate so I reminded him that he couldn't do that with me. 

     I then put my surcingle on him and first lunged him a bit. He was giving me more attitude and showed me that he could canter sideways to get away from me. Those darn Andalusians are to darn athletic sometimes. He did settle down after a bit and was very good. He was very forward and we did a bunch of trotting and some cantering circles. He is improving with the ground driving and I should do it more with him.  

   Here are pics. Ignore the scruffy looking horse because he hasn't gotten a bath in months. Also the darn burr plants are growing again. 

He looks fat again witch is an improvement. 

Good roll. He was very sweaty after the work out and his long winter coat.

Barn goat. 

update

     I have been super busy with school so haven't been able to post for awhile. I have been getting to ride Banico a few times a week and he has been amazing. I have been mostly riding him bareback. He has been very responsive and much calmer than he had been. I have been really enjoying ridding him and will be glad when it warms up and we can use the outdoor more. I think he has finally settled in and we found a good grain for him. His weight finally is getting really good and he is so much calmer when I ride. He is really enjoying being out in pasture and he is the top horse out there. Its starting to warm up a bit and hopefully I will be able to get down there a bit more when it is nicer out after classes.

Pics from yesterday:

 Fuzzy boy. He had never gotten much of a coat in CA but has a nice one this winter.