Latest Updates
November 13, 2002 Well, I haven't updated this for a while, have I? Oh well, better late than never, right? Anyhoo, there's a few things to update you on. First of all, Parker's training was coming along ok, until he had an accident. My parents were trailering him and Khalim out to our summer pasture while I was at work. He's never trailered perfectly in the time that I've had him, but he had never done anything to hurt himself. Until that day, that is. Somehow, in our tight, two-horse trailer, he managed to buck and kick the top half-door off it's hinges. My dad stopped right away when he saw two hind feet sticking out the back of the trailer! They managed to get them back in, but then Parker had another freakout, and he unbelievably bucked again and this time managed to kick out the whole side window (frame and all) with a hind leg. They tell me that blood started pouring out from his leg, where he had cut open an artery on the underside of his leg. It took them a while to get his leg back in, but they did. They got him out of the trailer and into the barn, then called the vet out. By then, the bleeding had finally stopped, but he was almost in shock from losing so much blood. The vet wrapped him up and gave us some penecilin to give him twice a day. This happened about a month ago, and now he's healing nicely. I was going to sell him this fall - not because I want to, but because I have to - but now I'll have to wait until spring/summer. That's fine with me, though! I really do need the money, since I'm in school now, but I've really become attached to him! He has such a nice disposition for an ex-racehorse.
December 10, 2001 You'll never guess what!! I am the proud owner of a bay, 16.3 HH Thoroughbred! While I was at that farm I fell in love with this TB named Polo Park (a.k.a. Parker). I never did get to ride him while I was working there because he had been lame with a bruised sole. They didn't do anything with him. They pampered all their other ex-racehorses, except him. They all got to go into the barn at night, while he stayed out in a pen with no shelter. At least our horses were penned next to him, so he wasn't too lonely. They didn't even blanket him. But when the owner wasn't around, I'd bring him into the barn and groom him and pull his mane. He looked really nice when he was all clean. He has four white socks and a small blaze. He is so gorgeous! Anyways, when we were going back there for the second time to collect a few things we had left behind, I noticed that Parker had a saddle mark on him, which means they were riding him again! So I asked her if I could try him out, and she was only too happy to let me. So I rode him around a bit, and we clicked! I asked her how much she was asking for him, since she had told me that they had started training him in jumping, and he was liking it. When I was working for her, she told me that she would accept almost any reasonable offer, since, at that time, Parker was lame and he didn't like jumping. She asked me what I thought she was asking (I really hate it when she won't give me a direct answer). I figured around $3000. She said that she was thinking around that price range. So, I went back home, and begged my parents to let me buy him. It took a lot of begging, but they finally gave in. I phoned the owner and said that I would take him if she let me have him for $2500. To my surprise, she took the offer with no hesitation! So me and my Dad went down there and brought him home. They must have really trusted my decision, since they had only seen this horse once, at a glance, and they've never seen me ride him. Oh well, he's all mine now!
November 14, 2001 Well I'm back at home now - for good. Working at that farm didn't go quite as well for me and LeeAnne as we had hoped. Out of the three weeks that we worked there, we only got one day off (We get one day off a week - usually Friday). This past weekend, we came home for three days since it was LeeAnne's B-day. But to get those three days off in a row, we had to work three days that we would normally have off. The morning we were getting ready to head back to the farm after those three days off, I got a phone call from the owner. She basically told me and LeeAnne not to bother coming back. She didn't actually say 'You're fired', but she said that her and her husband had agreed that it would be best if I quit. You can only imagine how stunned and pissed off me and LeeAnne were! So we ended up not going back that day. In fact, we didn't go back to get all our belongings (including our horses) until the next weekend, when our parents could go with us to pack. What really bothers me and LeeAnne most is that she didn't give us any warning or even a reason for letting us go. I never did like her, though. It was almost a blessing to be able to leave her. She also had three huge dogs that were really mean, and stayed indoors. Me and LeeAnne we just terrified of them. The job itself wasn't really that bad. At least the two of us can say that we've ridden Warmbloods! There was this gorgeous, 7-year-old 16.3 HH Warmblood there worth $30,000 that we both got to ride. He was awesome! Though, most of the time I was stuck with their crazy 2-year-olds. They wanted me to jump them too! Even though they knew when they hired me that I wasn't into jumping, so I didn't. Oh well, at least me and LeeAnne learned a lot there.
October 17, 2001 Guess what?! Last week I got a phone call from a lady who owns a hunter/jumper stable. She offered me a job at her stable training her 2-year-old Warmbloods and doing other stable chores. She said I could bring a horse and the room and board at her house will be free. Of course I took her up on the offer! I even arranged to have my best friend (and her horse) come and work with me for a while as a volunteer, because she wants to get into the equine program at Olds College. For that she needs a lot of volunteer hours at a stable. So I've already sent in my resignation at Zellers and I leave in a couple of weeks to a jumper stable! I can't wait!
November 7, 2000 Nothing too exciting has been happening around here for awhile. I've been riding Sultana in lessons and I rode her in the first 4-H riding meeting. I think she's going to be my 4-H horse too. I still ride Ace though, even more than Sultana *S* I take him on long trail rides at least twice a week, when I'm not working. He loves it though. I think he's really glad to be out of doing Dressage and all that boring stuff!
October 10, 2000 I just recently got a part-time job at Zellers! Though today was my first day on the job. I never knew there was so much to remember! It is so much more complicated than McDonald's! I still work at McDonald's, but only about once a week. So, I am busy, as you can tell!
September 27, 2000 Well, it looks like I'm going to be riding Sultana for weekly riding lessons. I've already had the first lesson of the year on her just 2 weeks ago. Actually, it didn't go as bad as I had first thought. Sultana went nicely at a walk and trot. We practised getting her to flex at the poll, and we did a lot of trotting serpentines. The canter wasn't really that great though. Sultana's used to having Erin leaning forward all the time, so when I sit back with my butt in the saddle, she gets all stiff and choppy and speeds up. But now she seems to be doing better. I've been taking her on trail rides to relax her. I haven't forgotten about Ace, so I've been taking him out on trail rides too, to keep him in shape. Sultana needs a lot more exercise right now because she looks like she's going to give birth to twins! And that's not an exaggeration either! She's so fat!
August 17,2000 We finally got a dog! Her name's Tessa and she's so awesome! Though, if we didn't get her, she wouldn't be alive today... Read all about tessa here
August 10,2000 This may come as a surprise to some of you. I might not be riding Ace next year for lessons or shows. After a lot of thought, I've decided that Ace is not going to do any better in shows, no matter how much training I put on him. He thinks too much, and is way too smart to be a plodding old show horse that does everything that is asked of him. He's always had a mind of his own. Nobody can tell him what to do - I have to ask him and he'll decide whether he'll do it or not. He acts more human than horse. So I think I'll be riding my sister's horse, Sultana, since Erin doesn't really like riding that much anymore. But I don't want to stop riding Ace! So I just might use him in 4-H. And I would also like to show him, though not in pleasure classes. I really want to train him to be a barrel racer and a pole bender. He's really fast. Though I'm not sure where to start with his training. I'm figuring that I'll have to start with teaching him to do flying lead changes. Though I don't know how to teach a horse that! I would go to my instructor for help, though I know that he'd think I was crazy to even consider barrel racing or pole bending! Any info would be appreciated!
~HOME~
December 10, 2001 You'll never guess what!! I am the proud owner of a bay, 16.3 HH Thoroughbred! While I was at that farm I fell in love with this TB named Polo Park (a.k.a. Parker). I never did get to ride him while I was working there because he had been lame with a bruised sole. They didn't do anything with him. They pampered all their other ex-racehorses, except him. They all got to go into the barn at night, while he stayed out in a pen with no shelter. At least our horses were penned next to him, so he wasn't too lonely. They didn't even blanket him. But when the owner wasn't around, I'd bring him into the barn and groom him and pull his mane. He looked really nice when he was all clean. He has four white socks and a small blaze. He is so gorgeous! Anyways, when we were going back there for the second time to collect a few things we had left behind, I noticed that Parker had a saddle mark on him, which means they were riding him again! So I asked her if I could try him out, and she was only too happy to let me. So I rode him around a bit, and we clicked! I asked her how much she was asking for him, since she had told me that they had started training him in jumping, and he was liking it. When I was working for her, she told me that she would accept almost any reasonable offer, since, at that time, Parker was lame and he didn't like jumping. She asked me what I thought she was asking (I really hate it when she won't give me a direct answer). I figured around $3000. She said that she was thinking around that price range. So, I went back home, and begged my parents to let me buy him. It took a lot of begging, but they finally gave in. I phoned the owner and said that I would take him if she let me have him for $2500. To my surprise, she took the offer with no hesitation! So me and my Dad went down there and brought him home. They must have really trusted my decision, since they had only seen this horse once, at a glance, and they've never seen me ride him. Oh well, he's all mine now!
November 14, 2001 Well I'm back at home now - for good. Working at that farm didn't go quite as well for me and LeeAnne as we had hoped. Out of the three weeks that we worked there, we only got one day off (We get one day off a week - usually Friday). This past weekend, we came home for three days since it was LeeAnne's B-day. But to get those three days off in a row, we had to work three days that we would normally have off. The morning we were getting ready to head back to the farm after those three days off, I got a phone call from the owner. She basically told me and LeeAnne not to bother coming back. She didn't actually say 'You're fired', but she said that her and her husband had agreed that it would be best if I quit. You can only imagine how stunned and pissed off me and LeeAnne were! So we ended up not going back that day. In fact, we didn't go back to get all our belongings (including our horses) until the next weekend, when our parents could go with us to pack. What really bothers me and LeeAnne most is that she didn't give us any warning or even a reason for letting us go. I never did like her, though. It was almost a blessing to be able to leave her. She also had three huge dogs that were really mean, and stayed indoors. Me and LeeAnne we just terrified of them. The job itself wasn't really that bad. At least the two of us can say that we've ridden Warmbloods! There was this gorgeous, 7-year-old 16.3 HH Warmblood there worth $30,000 that we both got to ride. He was awesome! Though, most of the time I was stuck with their crazy 2-year-olds. They wanted me to jump them too! Even though they knew when they hired me that I wasn't into jumping, so I didn't. Oh well, at least me and LeeAnne learned a lot there.
October 17, 2001 Guess what?! Last week I got a phone call from a lady who owns a hunter/jumper stable. She offered me a job at her stable training her 2-year-old Warmbloods and doing other stable chores. She said I could bring a horse and the room and board at her house will be free. Of course I took her up on the offer! I even arranged to have my best friend (and her horse) come and work with me for a while as a volunteer, because she wants to get into the equine program at Olds College. For that she needs a lot of volunteer hours at a stable. So I've already sent in my resignation at Zellers and I leave in a couple of weeks to a jumper stable! I can't wait!
November 7, 2000 Nothing too exciting has been happening around here for awhile. I've been riding Sultana in lessons and I rode her in the first 4-H riding meeting. I think she's going to be my 4-H horse too. I still ride Ace though, even more than Sultana *S* I take him on long trail rides at least twice a week, when I'm not working. He loves it though. I think he's really glad to be out of doing Dressage and all that boring stuff!
October 10, 2000 I just recently got a part-time job at Zellers! Though today was my first day on the job. I never knew there was so much to remember! It is so much more complicated than McDonald's! I still work at McDonald's, but only about once a week. So, I am busy, as you can tell!
September 27, 2000 Well, it looks like I'm going to be riding Sultana for weekly riding lessons. I've already had the first lesson of the year on her just 2 weeks ago. Actually, it didn't go as bad as I had first thought. Sultana went nicely at a walk and trot. We practised getting her to flex at the poll, and we did a lot of trotting serpentines. The canter wasn't really that great though. Sultana's used to having Erin leaning forward all the time, so when I sit back with my butt in the saddle, she gets all stiff and choppy and speeds up. But now she seems to be doing better. I've been taking her on trail rides to relax her. I haven't forgotten about Ace, so I've been taking him out on trail rides too, to keep him in shape. Sultana needs a lot more exercise right now because she looks like she's going to give birth to twins! And that's not an exaggeration either! She's so fat!
August 17,2000 We finally got a dog! Her name's Tessa and she's so awesome! Though, if we didn't get her, she wouldn't be alive today... Read all about tessa here
August 10,2000 This may come as a surprise to some of you. I might not be riding Ace next year for lessons or shows. After a lot of thought, I've decided that Ace is not going to do any better in shows, no matter how much training I put on him. He thinks too much, and is way too smart to be a plodding old show horse that does everything that is asked of him. He's always had a mind of his own. Nobody can tell him what to do - I have to ask him and he'll decide whether he'll do it or not. He acts more human than horse. So I think I'll be riding my sister's horse, Sultana, since Erin doesn't really like riding that much anymore. But I don't want to stop riding Ace! So I just might use him in 4-H. And I would also like to show him, though not in pleasure classes. I really want to train him to be a barrel racer and a pole bender. He's really fast. Though I'm not sure where to start with his training. I'm figuring that I'll have to start with teaching him to do flying lead changes. Though I don't know how to teach a horse that! I would go to my instructor for help, though I know that he'd think I was crazy to even consider barrel racing or pole bending! Any info would be appreciated!
~HOME~
September 27, 2000 Well, it looks like I'm going to be riding Sultana for weekly riding lessons. I've already had the first lesson of the year on her just 2 weeks ago. Actually, it didn't go as bad as I had first thought. Sultana went nicely at a walk and trot. We practised getting her to flex at the poll, and we did a lot of trotting serpentines. The canter wasn't really that great though. Sultana's used to having Erin leaning forward all the time, so when I sit back with my butt in the saddle, she gets all stiff and choppy and speeds up. But now she seems to be doing better. I've been taking her on trail rides to relax her. I haven't forgotten about Ace, so I've been taking him out on trail rides too, to keep him in shape. Sultana needs a lot more exercise right now because she looks like she's going to give birth to twins! And that's not an exaggeration either! She's so fat!
August 17,2000 We finally got a dog! Her name's Tessa and she's so awesome! Though, if we didn't get her, she wouldn't be alive today... Read all about tessa here
August 10,2000 This may come as a surprise to some of you. I might not be riding Ace next year for lessons or shows. After a lot of thought, I've decided that Ace is not going to do any better in shows, no matter how much training I put on him. He thinks too much, and is way too smart to be a plodding old show horse that does everything that is asked of him. He's always had a mind of his own. Nobody can tell him what to do - I have to ask him and he'll decide whether he'll do it or not. He acts more human than horse. So I think I'll be riding my sister's horse, Sultana, since Erin doesn't really like riding that much anymore. But I don't want to stop riding Ace! So I just might use him in 4-H. And I would also like to show him, though not in pleasure classes. I really want to train him to be a barrel racer and a pole bender. He's really fast. Though I'm not sure where to start with his training. I'm figuring that I'll have to start with teaching him to do flying lead changes. Though I don't know how to teach a horse that! I would go to my instructor for help, though I know that he'd think I was crazy to even consider barrel racing or pole bending! Any info would be appreciated!