High Maintence

In true OTTB fashion Miss McKenna is hard to put weight on. Part of her problem is that she's not very interested in her food. She's a slow eater, and gets distracted easily and then will forget about her hay. She's better about not forgetting her grain but still eats it ridiculously slowly.  She had her teeth done almost a year ago, so maybe she's due again.

Gain weight now!!

I've started giving McKenna her hay in hay nets. We feed on the ground, and she'd pee and poop on her hay when she wasn't paying attention and ended up wasting about half of her hay. We have some metal wall feeders to install but my BO's are on vacation and I don't feel qualified to try and hang one by myself.  I just used the nets I have for the trailer and make sure to have her morning one filled so the AM feeder just has to swap out the nets. It is a pain in the butt to remember and set them up every night, but she is eating all of her hay now.

She did rip a huge hole in the side of this one...probably going to need to get a new hay net.

Speed Racer

Had a lesson with Buddy yesterday morning, the first lesson on him in 2 months, I think?  I had been trying to get one in sooner, but my availability never meshed with my trainer's.  Since we haven't been jumping much lately (the last time I jumped him was on New Year's Day) I was bit worried how we would do.  With our clinic next weekend I been feeling like we aren't prepared.

 

Our lesson was first thing in the morning and usually Buddy can be crabby when I pull him away from his breakfast. I shouldn't have worried he was excited and forward, ready to go.  We worked on transitions and at one point I asked for a trot from the halt and he lifted into a beautiful round, soft canter.  Trainer said to just go with it as it was one of the nicest transitions she's seen him do. Even our trot warm up fences were good.  He was jumping them nicely and cantering away quietly.  Normally he either just trots the fence without jumping, or kinda hurls himself over.

 

Oregon State, fight fight fight!

We moved on to figure 8ing a couple diagonal fences and while he was forward and going, he was pretty stiff to the right. Had to do a few circles in front of the right-to-left fence to get him thinking right bend before jumping it. Once he was bending I could see our distance and the fence flowed easily.

 

Turning into speed racer here.

From there we added an outside line, a five going uphill. I tend to have to ride him more forward to these lines since he looses impulsion going up the hi. Not today!  I just had to make sure he was bending right and soft and it worked.  The third time thru, for whatever reason, he decided to turn into speed racer and completely blew through my hands.  Got way deep to the first fence, pulling the rail, and galloped down the line.  Also got way deep to the second fence, pulling not just the rail but one of the standards down too.  Trainer rolled out the ground lines in an attempt to back him off the fences and we tried again.  He learned his lesson and when I half halted he waited and did the line like a normal horse.

RIP Zipper

We finished off doing some rollback turns over the diagonal fences and an outside Swedish oxer.  Buddy was still going strong and I was starting to pick at him a bit so we worked on being soft and riding the forward pace.  It was such a change from how he normally is that it threw me a bit, but I liked it. 

About halfway thru the lesson I felt a pop on my calf then started hearing a flapping noise.  During a walk break I looked down and saw that my left boot (the one that lost it's zipper tab this summer) had split and my boot was wide open.  The only thing holding it on was the tab on the top.  Trainer asked if I wanted to stop but I said no, it would be a good calf exercise to try and hold it on!  Now I just have to decide if spending $100 on a new zipper for an 8yr old boot that only cost $200 to begin with is worth it or if I should just get new boots. 

The $100,000 Question

What would I spend my $100,000 on?  Most of it would go pretty fast.  Right now what I would love to get the most is a new truck and trailer.  For whatever reason, knowing that I can hook up the trailer and take my horses anywhere at a moments notice has been a relief.  I don't know if its because I hate asking people for help, or that I was dependant on others to haul for me for years.  Probably a bit of both. 

Truck:  I'd get a new Dodge one ton diesel dually.  I absolutely love my barn owner's, and I know if I need it they will let me use it, but having a big rig of my own is my dream.  $55,000

I would prefer it in a different color. White/grey is so boring!

Trailer: I'd keep my 2 horse, for local hauls or if I'm only taking one horse somewhere.  But for going to shows I'd want a GN 4 horse.  The GNs are so much safer than the BPs (from an auto accident perspective) and after hauling the 4 horse this summer I liked how it handled better than I thought I would.  $25,000

Saddles: I'd get custom saddles for each of the ponies.  It's not practical to get a 19yr old semi-retired horse a custom saddle, but damn it Phoenix deserves it!  I'm leaning towards County, as I rode in one a few years ago and loved it!  I've never ridden in a CWD so I'd like to try them out, and the Antares I've ridden in I didn't like.  Granted it was made for someone 6in taller than me and 10yrs old at that point so I'd do another test ride first before making up my mind. $5,000/horse for $15,000 total.

Clothes: Complete show clothes make over!  Custom boots, new helmets (one hunter ring approved and one fancier for the jumpers), shadbelly, white breeches, new shirts, new coats.....the works! $5,000.

The Rest of the Story

When we got McKenna my barn owner friended on Facebook the barn owner of the place where McKenna was.  That BO, and the western trainer who was working McKenna, then friended me to follow her progress.  I got a little info from them, mostly basics like what they were feeding her, when she was shod, got vaccines and dewormed. 

Yesterday I got a message on FB from the McKenna's old owner, the one who got her off the track and put her in training.  I was under the impression that she hadn't done much with her....had put her in training for 8 months without going to see her.  I was kinda worried at first, thinking that she wanted her back or wanted $$$ for her.  We never signed any paperwork for McKenna, and don't have papers on her, so legally we're a bit screwed.  But then a friend request popped up and I started to breath easy.

J, the former owner, just wanted to know how she was doing and gave me some more background on McKenna.  I guess she got her a week after she came off the track in April 2012.  I get the impression that she might have been at a feedlot, or on her way to one.  J said they spent about 4 months putting weight on her and letting her chill before staring to work with her.  Her vet said when they got McKenna she was 200lbs underweight, even for an OTTB.

The day she came to J's

McKenna was in work for a bit at J's barn, a nice H/J barn in Southern Oregon for a few months before going to the western trainers.  I didn't ask why she decided to send McKenna to a western barn, and J didn't offer.  She did say that if she had been able to train her, she would have kept her.  J has a mare that's rehabbing from a leg injury and is leasing a gelding and showing in the 2'3" hunters on the A circuit, so I don't think money is an issue.  I got some cute pics from her FB page of when McKenna was at her barn.

Three months off the track

I'm glad that, for whatever reason, J decided not to keep her and was willing to rescue her, pay for training, and then give her away.  I hope one day I'm financially able to do the same!

Planning Ahead

I've started getting some fun stuff scheduled on the calendar for me and the ponies.  Next weekend, the 25-26 I have the John Turner clinic.  Ride times were sent out this morning and thankfully I ride midday.  I'm hauling Buddy back and forth each day so I'm super happy that I don't have to get up at the crack of dawn to drive down for an early ride.  I will got early to watch the group before so I can get an idea of what I'll be doing.

I sent in my yearly registration for OHJA and registered both Buddy and McKenna. I have no idea how this show season will go, but it's only $5/horse to register them so why not? I would love at least have McKenna go to a show and do flat classes by summer. I need to see if as a rider I can cross enter trot-a-pole and the 2'6"-3' jumpers.....

I also asked for and was approved for a few days off work to go down to my parent's in San Diego and take a road trip to watch the Thermal Million.  I'm already planning to ask for time off next year to go to the FEI World Cup Finals in Vegas!

Blog Hop: Show Me Your Barn

I've been at my barn for 7yrs now, and I can't imagine being anywhere else! 

View of the Barn:

I don't have a pic of the front part of the barn.  We have three parts of the barn, the old barn (original barn on the property built 40+ years ago and added onto), the upper aisle (3 10x20 stalls, 6 10x12 stalls, tack room, wash rack, hay and grain storage) and the lower aisle ( 10 10x14 stalls, groom stall, two tack rooms, grain storage, leather shop, and apartment).  The indoor arena separates the upper and lower aisle, with the old barn being off the west side of the indoor.  The outdoor arena is on the east side of the barn.

Looking towards the barn from the fields.  The lower aisle is closest to us, and the old barn is the shorter part on the left.

The lower aisle was added to the barn in 2010.  This was mid construction. Sliding door opens into the indoor.

 

 Horses Living Space:

My ponies live in the lower aisle now, but before 2010 Phoenix lived on the upper aisle. All the lower aisle stalls have custom made v-shaped gates, except for Buddy. His gate rusted off the hinge and had to be replaced with a regular gate. All the horses have boxes in front of their stall provide by my BOs. I usually keep grooming supplies, treats, and wraps in mine.


Buddy and Phoenix are next to each other, McKenna is a few stalls down.

 

In the summer all of the horses get turned out 24/7 on pasture.  Most are out in groups of 2-3, but we have a couple larger fields that can have 4-5. 

View of the Tack Room:

The lower aisle tack room.  Mostly the English riders.  The second tack room on the lower side is for the BOs and the upper aisle tack room is for the western riders. My western saddle does live in the lower tack room. My trunk is the big wooded one in the corner.


 

View of Where We Ride:

The outdoor from the parking lot

McKenna in the indoor, looking towards the upper aisle

Summer grass field!

My Favorite Features:

Being able to gallop up the hill on the grass!

The fact that the ponies can be ponies and live outside in groups for at least part of the year. 

I do think my favorite thing about the barn is my barn owners.  They are family to me, and without them I wouldn't have Buddy or McKenna or be able to afford three horses.


Mini Me

The more I work with McKenna, the more I'm convinced she's going to turn into Phoenix's mini me.  She's chill and relaxed (minus the baby brain moments), wants to please, has similar conformation and movement.  They are both built up hill, have big shoulders and relatively short backs.  For her height McKenna has a slightly longer back the Phoenix.  She's about 15.2 hands now and wears a 75 blanket while Phoenix is 17 hands and wears a 78.

I think this is my favorite pic of Phoenix.  My former friend holding him as I walked a course in 2009.

As much as I love Buddy and am so thankful for everything he's taught me, he will never be Phoenix.  The old man was/is my dream horse; light, forward, big strided, able to turn on a dime, with one of the best canters I've ever ridden.  McKenna has the light and forward down, and while we're still in the  legs-flailing-everywhere stage of canter work I can tell it's going to be very similar to Phoenix's.  They both tend to have a more up and down stride than super long/forward but I hope that once McKenna relaxes and finds her balance she'll get a little longer stride.

M and P in turnout together.  She tried to kick him.

My friend Corie got on McKenna last night at the end of our ride, the first time someone else has gotten on her since I've had her. I of course forgot to take pics/video. It was good to see her go and see how some of the stunts she pulls look like from the ground.  She was very well behaved for Corie, they just walk trotted, but did a couple head flips where she pop up her front end and then tried to pretend she can't steer.  Corie rode her well and said that she loves her and thinks she's going to be an awesome horse.  While Corie's never ridden Phoenix she agreed with me that they are very similar in their way of going.  I really, really hope McKenna turns out like the old man; it will be like having a piece of him back.