Lazy days ...

Today was a good day:)  Tiki man hung out all week long since it was Thanksgiving week and I've been going nuts making all kinds of preparations.  This morning, my alarm went off at 6 am, so I went ahead and hooked up the trailer and took the muffin man to Patchwork.  He is a hairy beast, let me tell ya!!  Can't WAIT to clip him!  After Christmas, after Christmas...

He was weirdly in his stall when I got there.  I guess Joyce was worried about rain or something.  I didn't mind; made it easy to throw him on the trailer!  I've recently been trailering him naked-legged.  I always go back and forth as to whether I want to wrap or not wrap.  What do YOU do?  Do you wrap?  Why?  If you use standing wraps, do you do all 4 legs?  Do you use bell boots?

Began the morning with a trail ride.  He hadn't done the full trail at PW in about a year, and it was on the buckle the entire time.  I took 2 other kidlets, and I enjoyed riding my boy.  We had one sticky minute going down a steep wash out area to a creek crossing, but I convinced him it was ok to go first.

After the successful trail ride, I taught 2 of my IEA team kids on him.  He was very good; I have NO complaints.  The girls rode him very well, and I enjoyed watching him.  Took him back home, hosed off his nasty self and sponged him with some apple cider vinegar.

Not sure what the week holds.  I will for sure ride him before our IEA show on Sunday; probably in the dressage saddle.  Haven't done that in awhile.  I'll be glad when I get some more FREE TIME!:)

Riding my horse = pure joy

(Squeaky at his second IEA show)

Since arriving home from Vegas, I had not sat on my boy at all.  We flew in Saturday morning, and then I had exactly ONE WEEK to get our show organized.  If you've never put on a horseshow before, it's stressful.  Very, very stressful.  ESPECIALLY an IEA show because you have to have enough horses to cover all the rides.  I had every intention of hopping on the Muffin before Saturday, but I just did NOT have the time to do so:(


Saturday morning dawned chilly and gray.  Tiki and Star loaded right up on the trailer no prob, and thankfully the new transmission shifted smooth as a baby's butt.  The truck was supposed to have been finished the Monday we got home ... David and I picked it up on FRIDAY.  Talk about cutting it close:)


To further complicate matters, David and I picked this particular weekend to buy a new car ... at a dealership an hour and a half away.  My car was falling apart; it was a 2007 Pontiac G6, and I was about to have to pour some serious money into it.  Sunroof, rear end alignment, wheel bearings, rotors, breaks, air bags, stabilitrak system ... seems like EVERYTHING went wrong right after our 100K extended warranty ran out:(  Unfortunately, we arrived at the dealership Friday night around 7:30, and by the time we tried to put a deal together the banks were closed.  We had to go BACK down there on Saturday to close the deal.  The best part of this whole situation is now the truck is mine.  David will be driving the car now so when I need the truck I have it!  Yay for me:)


When I settled into the saddle on Saturday, it felt like heaven.  He was super for not having been ridden in 2 weeks.  The biggest thing I noticed is he was extremely heavy in my hands.  He wanted to bear down and pull pretty hard.  I worked him for about 45 mins because 2' horses warmed up first., so I had plenty of time.  He felt GREAT over the course.  I was happy with how the warm up ended up.  Once the competition started, his kids won a few blue ribbons!  I was pleased that the judge liked him.  Because he's jumpery and not huntery, sometimes the kids don't get high ribbons on him.  Like I moaned about in my last post, if these kids would just relax and FEEL what's going on underneath them, they would do much better.


Sunday he felt TIRED.  I warmed up for only about 20 mins, and actually had to close my leg at the jumps.  It went ok.  He seemed a little bit irritable.  Typical sensitive chestnut.  Also, during the warm up, the put his tongue over the bit for the first time ever.  Strange.  I may have to start using the figure 8 for IEA shows again.


Thinking I may take him to Patchwork on Saturday to give one or 2 lessons on, and then I will trail ride him so long as the weather is good.  I'm thinking I will not be doing much with him until after Christmas.  Don't know about the horse trial; just depends on how the money flows.  As per usual, I just have more "real life" things to worry about right now.  Tiki's done a LOT this year, and hasn't had a real break, so it won't hurt him to get some down time for the next month.  Hoping to find time to trace clip him soon; he's a hairy beast!

Viva Las Vegas!

 (doesn't even LOOK at this any more!)

(Whoopsie.  First fall!)

Well, just got home!  The left coast is quite an amazing beast.  I've never been further west than Alabama in recent memory.  I spent a week in Colorado with my good friend in Middle School, but that was a L O N G time ago, and the most I remember is the amazing Rocky mountains.  I've been dying to go back and take the hubby with me, and they did NOT disappoint:)

It has been an eventful 2 weeks.  My team's IEA show is coming up this Sunday, and so far not one single entry.  Nice.  Literally the day before our trip, the transmission in the truck went out.  Are you KIDDING me???  Hubby and I can NOT live on one car; we each drive an hour to work one way in opposite directions; one car is NOT an option.  Not to mention the fact we'd just spent $1100 on plane tickets to Las Vegas.  Who has $2K to spend on a transmission?  Uh, NOT me!:(  The only reason we made the LV trip is because my sister decided she needed a Marilyn Monroe themed wedding, and where else to find THAT but Las Vegas?

So, we limped the truck to the Mechanic's and headed out to the left coast to try and drink, gamble, forget about the truck for a few days.  Lol seriously, I spent $2 on slots, and didn't drink a single drop of alcohol.  My self restraint amazed even ME!:)  So, no big gamble means no big pay out, but oh well.  Our day trip to Bryce Canyon in Utah was worth the trip, absolutely!  What a gorgeous, amazing, breathtaking place.  Snow on the ground, mountains AND grass, and pure, breathtaking beauty.  On the drive back to Vegas, we hit a deer.  SERIOUSLY???  It tore UP the rental car.  Like, ripped the sheet metal off the quarter panel, broke the headlight assembly, busted the coolant holder ... it was undrivable.  3 hours later, our car rental company had arranged for a replacement vehicle, and we were able to then drive the 3 1/2 hours back to Vegas for the Big Day.

Won't be riding the red headed monster at least for tomorrow and Tuesday because we still have no truck.  The mechanic seems to be MIA, so not sure how hubby is going to work tomorrow, but it will probably involve me having to do some driving:(  When it rains it pours, right?  Not thinking a whole bunch about the pony right now.  I have a LOT on my mind with the truck and the show and the holidays coming up.  Dressage lessons just aren't that important when you have to figure out how to come off $2K for a new transmission and still make your mortgage payment and your vehicle payments.  Oh!  And buy groceries, pay your electric bill ... you get the pic.  Things will get better, they always do, but until then it's just stressful.  I will report back when I get in some riding time.

Feels like forever ...

Since I've posted anything!  Mon-Wed, I get home around 8:30, and I have just been TIRED.  I fall asleep very quickly on the couch, much to the poor hubby's dismay. Got some non-horsey stuff coming up in the next few weeks.  Tuesday we leave for Las Vegas, NV for the FIRST time ever!  My 23 year old sister (who does live here in GA) is getting married there, so me, Hubs, and Son are flying out Tuesday night at 8:00.  We arrive home on Saturday.  I then have a week to be home, and it's time to prepare for the IEA show that MY team has to put on.  So far, it's been a nightmare and I will be SO glad when it's over.

The week of Thanksgiving, we are getting out of town for the first time in our lives and spending a long weekend in Jekyll Island.  We spent a little time there in Feb when I went to Ocala to get my trailer, and decided a little mini vacation would be super fun, so there ya have it!  We'll be gone from Wednesday through Sunday, can't wait.

Red headed pony has been a good boy.   Nicole moaned over his inability to potty under saddle in her final "pony swap" ride:  Bad pony go potty!  I will do a separate post on my final Sparky ride; I hopped on today bareback and in a halter, and it was a fabulous ride.  He is like sitting on a PILLOW!

I was sort of "Meh" about the show this weekend.  He warmed up fantastic, it was a beautiful day, and the flat classes went much better.  Ear plugs are a good thing with him, for sure.  His first jumping kid let him get a little quick, and it was just down hill from there:(  I SWEAR, my horse is NOT hard to ride!  These kids just don't have a clue how to sit softly and use their aids effectively, which is sad because 2'6 riders are supposed to be capable of jumping around 3'3+ on their usual mounts at home.  If these kids are jumping that high regularly, I am SCARED:(  Oh well, my goal is to make sure my horse has a sense of humor.  It's certainly developing, each and every IEA show!

Rode today and had a blast.  The first of the week he was just hanging out; Sunday was a big day for him.  He is such an amazing horse; I am SO proud of how far we've come!

I have 'that' horse ...

the one with the NECK!  Woo Hoo:)  3 years of hard work has finally paid off.  The ear plugs worked GREAT, and he was much improved this weekend.  Jumping was again most excellent, and he was much quieter during the flat classes.  MVP for sure.

Yesterday off, and today I decided to put him in the dressage saddle and work in the mare's back 15.  Last time I did that I was riding with Nicole and Sparky and he was a horrible turd brain.  Today, we worked back and forth along the fence line and did a w/t/c, shoulder-in, and some leg yields.  He was GOOD.  Very, very good.  I was super proud.  He was steady and well behaved and I was happy with him.

As I walked out the gate, I realized that Tiki is now "that" horse with a gorgeous neck.  It has a topline, it has an arch, and it made me happy:)

Today's Tip of the Week; brought to you by Me
When putting hay in a hay net, first put it in a 5 gallon bucket, like one of the Home Depot paint buckets.  Place net over the bucket, dump hay in, easy as pie!  If YOU have a tip or trick, please e-mail me at dakotawyatt2002@yahoo.com


Hope everyone has a great week!  Hope to get in some nice rides this week; got a good start so far:)

Couldn't resist.  This pic I took today and it cracked me up!

The Great Pony Swap parts 2 and 3 ...

Training bank

N train

Real live drop

brand new firewood stack

The CORNER!

The other new jump

So, I've had almost a week to process our awesome outing from last Saturday.  Gave Muffin Mon off, and Tues went by with me needing to do some work at the house, so he got then off as well.  Little sis rode him on Wednesday:  Nicole's blog

I hopped on yesterday to walk hills (which it's been awhile since we did that).  Today I had an obligation at my church, so no ride today.  I plan to actually head over tomorrow and do a nice little hack before the IEA show on Sunday.  Going to try little sis' bit which is a full cheek snaffle with a copper ball pacifier.The bit in question  She thought she liked it.  I think I liked it too, but didn't get above a walk:)

Another lightbulb moment was had:  Going downhill (especially the steep one), he tends to flip his head and pull the reins through my fingers ... EXACTLY like he does when we halt.  Since hills are supposed to be low stress, I usually let him do it (bad me).  Yesterday, when he tried to pull the reins through, I 'floated' my hands, squeezed my ring finger, and he flexed perfectly at the poll and didn't pull.  YAY!

Project pony swap days 2 and 3 are not too exciting.  Day 2 began with a bit of a 'come to Jesus' meeting about mounting.  I spent probably 10 minutes of my ride working on getting on.  I witnessed a girl getting bucked off when mounting (suffered a broken hand), so to me it's a safety thing that a horse should stand STILL when you get on.  The ride consisted of using his xc setup; a loose ring Duo bit with a figure 8 noseband.  Sparky in general doesn't need the figure 8, but the duo isn't QUITE enough 'whoa' on the xc course, so by increasing the pressure on the nose and around the bit was perfect for him.

I just worked on straight with him.  He is little (14.2 3/4), but wants to fall in hard core.  I worked on keeping that inside shoulder in, so did lots of circles, and shoulder in.  He was better in the duo vs. the above mentioned bit Tiki is borrowing.  In the steel pacifier, he just got too behind it.  The duo allows him to stretch into it, and in fact, he even was more willing to get above it, which is preferable to getting behind it.   I thought he worked VERY well.  Yesterday, he was PISSY.  I was quite honestly shocked.  Sparky is so easy going and happy.  However ... he DID just get a full body clip ... AND it was about 45 degrees ... when it had been 78 the day before ... AND the wind was whipping like crazy.  Poor boy.  He did NOT have any interest in working for me, but we pushed through.  During the cold months, Nicole doesn't get to ride him outside quite as often because she comes to the barn after work when it's dark, so I thought riding him in his pasture would be good for him.  Walked hills like I did with Tiki.

He was just pissed.  He could see out of the corner of his eye his buddies, and he kept trying to pop his right shoulder and drag me to his friends.  NOT happening.  When I put my leg on and took contact, he got behind the bit.  Got him in front of my leg, and he tried to get "hoppy".  He strained SO hard against my leg and hand, I had to circle right repeatedly to keep from 'arm wrestling' him.  I felt like he was inches away from bucking my butt off, so I kept my heels down, and my sweet talking voice going.  Each time we made it to the top of the hill, I patted him and told him what a good boy he was.  Even the downhill he tried to drag me to his buddies, and he kept snorting and borderline spooking.  I just stayed patient, kept my leg on, and worked to keep him focused.  By the 6th time up the hill, he was *almost* relaxed; he definitely wasn't fighting me any more, yay.  Interesting ride, for sure.

IEA show on Sunday, going to use ear plugs and longe him first.  Hope it all goes well!  I will be back on Monday with a new tip of the week:)

Calimar video

Jen and Tiki XC schooling

I think I'm riding so much better than I did at the Mud Creek show.  Also, I'm riding much better than I did a little over a year ago, schooling at Chatt Hills.  You can see the difference in both me and my horse:)  Nice fall, huh?  Lol.