OMG

I actually got to ride my horse yesterday!

Actual proof. 

After a week of shitty weather, the stars aligned into a 50 degree, sunny day after 24 hours of wind to dry up the rain. Perfect. After work this morning, I headed to the barn. Miss G was in no mood to do any work whatsoever after her mini-vacation. Pretty sure she's in heat because naturally. She was a little pushier than normal on the ground and her general vibe was "yeah, I'd just rather eat cookies."

Tough shit, mare.  

Really? 

Because it had been a little bit since we did any sort of actual work, I lunged her first. It was a good idea. Not because she was acting crazy, but she did buck a time or two and I'd rather that happen on the lunge than when I'm, ya know, on her back. #selfpreservation

Anyways, we ended up having a good ride. We worked a lot on transitions, which are my nemesis. I think it's because, deep down, I'm pretty lazy. LOL. But I ended up getting some pretty good work out of her.  She was all about the lateral work today, too. So fun having a horse with some "buttons!"

After we rode, I made her ground tie while I untacked/brushed her out. I figured that it was a good idea to keep reinforcing good behavior on the ground. The one thing that I absolutely do not tolerate in horses is bad ground manners. It's scary and I just don't want to deal with that. So there ;)

Building a good relationship :)

After a good ride and some productive groundwork, Miss Mare was really happy to be turned out... sans blanket (!!) for the first time in a few weeks. Of course, the first thing she did was go in for a good roll. She literally couldn't wait more than three or four steps. Haha.

Oh yeah, that's the stuff. 

Gigi hung out in the pasture while I cleaned stalls, happy as a clam. I got in a few snuggles before I left.

Nom. 

Such a cute mare :)

So, Today's My Birthday

And I got an awesome present!

Oh wait, no, I just got more winter. Boo. ;)  But at least I have this girl to share in the festivities ;)

Boo winter. Cute ponyface.

Question.... any ideas for a show name for Miss G?  Komtess Angel just isn't speaking to me.

#TBT

I love Throwback Thursdays.

For this week, here are a few pics of Miss G and I, last month, when we were first getting to know love each other.

These pictures are from the first weekend I rode her. I think it was love at first sight for both of us. I know that my equitation isn't perfect... especially my hands/arms (ugh)... but considering I haven't ridden consistently (or had more than five lessons) in almost ten years, I think we look pretty okay. :)

Thanks for choosing me, Miss G <3

Wordless Wednesday

Winter Sucks

It's only November, but I'm already tired of being cold.

Sometimes, even though I love it, being a dog trainer sucks. Like whoa.

Every time winter comes around, I think of this clip from "Hey Arnold":

LOL.

Gigi doesn't seem to care nearly as much as I do. On Sunday, Joe and I went out to the barn, hoping to ride. I decided it was too freaking cold, as well as hard and icy, to do so. Boo. So we ended up just hanging out with Miss G for awhile, feeding her cookies and loving on her. She seemed really happy to see us :)

Oh hey. 

Joe was thoughtful enough to cut up an apple for her before we left home. Turns out that Gigi is obsessed with apples. And quite the ham about trying to get us to feed her. The dog trainer in me wants to try clicker training her to do some tricks. Don't shoot me. ;)

Sexy neck :) 

G was super cute around Joe, who is not very confident around horses.

She found the cookie pocket. 

She kept following him around and being generally adorable. Because obviously.

Friend?

I'm so glad that they seem to be getting along. It's great having a partner who is so supportive of the crazy things I do! :)

One Week-iversary

It was so cold yesterday that I really struggled with motivation to go to the barn. But ultimately, I decided that I needed to see my girl :) 

Oh yeah, and try on these sweet bell boots that I bought yesterday.  Because SPARKLES!

Yeah, go ahead and be jealous. 

So I ultimately decided to make the drive (sweetened by listening to the awesome podcast, Serial. Seriously, check it out... I'm so invested). 

When I got to the barn, Gigi whinnied as I got out of my car and walked to meet me at the gate. Aww mare <3.  When I brought my bucket full of brushes over, however, she looked at me like, "Are you serious? Riding? Today?" LOL. 

I'm too cold for this shit.

Luckily for her, I felt the same way. After like ten minutes of loving on her, feeding her cookies, and admiring her feet in her new sparkly-ass boots, my fingers were numb and I was ready to go home. I think Gigi was just happy I didn't take her blanket off. *shiver* 

Today I've been a horse owner for a whole week! Eeeeep! I gotta say, I'm much calmer than I was this time last week, haha. I'm just glad she's here and safe and happy... and MINE. :D

Guess What?

I have a pony. Of my very own. That is mine. Have you heard? :P

Rockin' the plain cavesson. And yeah, there are no reins... bear with me. 

Oh, and also, I rode her bareback yesterday. Because hell yeah. And also because I was an airhead and completely forgot to bring my tack to the barn with me. Doh. I have no excuse, other than it was my day off. Apparently my brain took the day off, too. Oh well.

As luck would have it, I had a bridle in my car (with an eggbutt snaffle, no reins), and my brushes, helmet, and lunge line in the grain room. I wanted to ride, damn it. My only option was bareback. I decided I would lunge her first and see how she was feeling, and if she seemed quiet (likely), I'd try and hop on. I had no idea if she'd ever been ridden bareback in her life, but it seemed like a good plan.

Anyways...

She was, predictably, lovely.

Hate to see her go, love to watch her leave. 

I got some really nice stuff out of her on the lunge today. Gigi listened well to my voice commands and was, overall, a good girl. She asked me a few times if I really meant what I was asking of her, but when I gave her the what for, she went back to work with no complaints. So fun :)

After I was satisfied that she wasn't in a fire-breathing dragon mood, I finagled some "reins" (okay, it was my lead rope, whatevs) on her bridle, led her to the makeshift mounting block, and spent a few minutes making sure that she wouldn't freak out if when I leaped like a deranged monkey onto her back. Of course, she was fine.

Bitch, please. 

We tooled around in her 50 x 50 pen for a couple minutes while I got my bearings, and Gigi was happy to oblige. We went out in the pasture later, but I don't have any pics because I left my phone back in her stall. Sorry.

What is this magic?  No saddle, son.

She moved off my leg really well, was nice and soft in the bridle, and didn't act nervous at all, at any point, on our bareback jaunt. So fun!

OMG, I rode bareback, on my very own horse, all by myself. #winning!

After our ride, I gave her a good brushing (she loves butt scratches and getting her face brushed) and went to put on her blanket. When I started to fasten the first belly strap, she lifted a hind leg with enough intent that I had to do something about it.

Really, mare? Really?

She was tied up when this happened, but after that, I forgot about putting on her blanket for a bit and Bad Mare and I went and did some ground work for a few minutes. When we got back, I made her stand without a halter while I put her blanket on. Surprise, surprise, she was perfect. Mares. ;)  I miss her already.

Also, how cute does she look in a rope halter?

I can haz cow pony? 

Can't wait to see her again.... but not looking forward to the snow that is headed our way. Ugh.

(Also.... for those who are so inclined, follow us on Instagram @ElementBCs :D)

Let It Ride

On Sunday, two days after she got here, I rode Miss G for the first time since she became my horse. It was a cold, rainy, blustery day, but I just couldn't wait any longer :P 

So majestic. Also, photo taken the day after our first ride. My bad. But it's pretty. 

I was, to my surprise, really, really nervous. I think it must have been because it was the first time I would be riding her as my very own horse. Without supervision or anyone to keep us out of trouble. Joe, my hubby, was with me for moral support, and also in case I needed life real support. I mean, I know Gigi is well broke and not crazy in any way, but our barn is a new place for her and the weather was a bit hairy. Plus, I was kind of a basket case. So I was glad he was there. 

Just to be safe, I lunged her first. She was lovely. A bit "up" and forward, but no bucking or craziness. I was glad I didn't decide to get on without lunging, though. 

Awkward canter shot courtesy of Joe. 

After a warm-up on the lunge, I got on. She stood like a champ and walked off calmly on the buckle. We tooled around for a bit before going to work. She was soft and lovely and willing, and worked great in the pasture without spooking at the chickens, dogs, gun shots, etc.  

Just easy stuff until our new half pad arrives. Or snow. Whatever. 

For how nervous I was, she was such a good girl. I'm so thankful to have such a good partner in her. Love this mare.

First ears shot in our new home, yay!

When I went to the barn on Monday, Gigi seemed so calm quiet that I decided to forego lunging and just hop on and see how it went.

I'm a good girl, Ellie. Trust me. 

It was a good decision :) She was even more chill than the day before and we had an absolutely awesome ride.

Dat neck. Straight up basilisk, son. 

After doing some lateral work and practicing some serpentines, we ended the ride walking around the pasture on the buckle. She didn't even bat an eye when two chickens squawked and ran underneath her feet. What a rock star.

So wild. Much bronco. Very gallop. Wow. 

I was planning to ride again Tuesday afternoon, but the 40 MPH+ winds, combined with the 30 degree drop in temperature overnight, were enough to convince me that snuggles were enough for today. Fingers crossed for today, though :)

Don't let the blue sky fool you, it's fucking freezing outside. 

Our first two rides out here, although uneventful, have really given me a much-needed boost of confidence. I feel like we really can do this... and I can't wait to see how far we can go as a team. So excited for our future together.

A Tale of Two Bridles

Or, that time The Sprinkler Bandit and I bought bridles for each others' horses.... years before those particular horses actually came into our lives.

Seriously. I can't make this shit up.

The story probably starts back in 2011, when I impulse bought a horse from an auction, and SB and I road tripped to the Seattle area to go see her. The horse didn't end up working out for a few reasons unimportant to this story, but we did go on an epic shopping trip to Olson's, because our trip happened to coincide with their fall sale.

We might have gone a little nuts.

In addition to a ton of free stuff and a few other things, I happened to snap up a Nunn Finer Figure-8 Bridle for super cheap. So pretty. That bridle basically sat in my house for three years doing nothing while I sat around not having a horse.

In March of this year, SB and her boy Courage came up here for an eventing clinic out at Tulip Springs, which happens to be about 20 minutes from my house. Over the course of the weekend, we decided to try my bridle on C-rage, and wow. It was like it was made for his face. You may recognize it from her blog banner.

Amirite? So classy. Photo credit: me. 

After that weekend, SB took my bridle home with her to Boise on loan, and it's stayed there ever since. Which brings us to the next part of this story...

A couple years ago, SB bought a Mark Todd Fancy Stitch bridle for her beloved boy Cuna (RIP), who although not my horse, was incredibly special to me. The Mark Todd looked really good on his adorable Bambi face. Unfortunately, it didn't suit Courage quite so well. Not only did it look hideous on him (her words, not mine), it didn't fit him at all. So, much like my Nunn Finer, her Mark Todd bridle sat around, not getting any action, for quite awhile.

I miss that face.  

Sometime this summer, the bridle ended up being used on Gigi, when someone (I think Redheadlins?) rode her and someone (I think Four Mares No Money?) took pictures. It looked awesome on her.

Different browband, same bridle. 

At this time, I was not looking to buy Gigi. On my visits to the barn to hang with SB and C-rage, I had seen her quite a bit, petted her, and admired her pretty face. I knew she was for sale, but she was wayyyyy out of my price range, so I didn't give her much thought.  I even helped her owner take conformation/sales pictures of her in July. LOL

Girl, look at that body.

Now, the details of the next part of the story are a bit hazy on my end, but at some point during late summer/early fall, SB, Gigi's owner, and maybe some other people at the barn decided that Gigi and I were perfect for each other. I don't know how they came to that conclusion, but I guess they knew something I didn't.

In September, SB mentioned that Gigi's owners (also the barn owners) were going out of town in mid-October and looking for someone to house sit for them. I am originally from Boise and have a lot of friends (and family) there, and was kind of feeling like I needed to get out of town for a little bit, so I agreed. A little vacation to my hometown, plus friends and ponies? Yes, please. Gigi's owner mentioned that I could ride Gigi however much I wanted while I was there. Score!

Of course, the predictable happened. Gigi and I hit it off fabulously, and her owner made it so I could afford a horse of her caliber.

Oops. My check-writing hand slipped. 

 Fast forward a few weeks, and here she is. In her new Mark Todd bridle.

That expression looks familiar... See photo #3. I'm a little choked up. 

From one big, long, impossibly kind red horse to another.

It's kind of poetic, really.

Settling In

Gigi's first few days here have been pretty uneventful, which, as far as I'm concerned, is a good thing :). I've spent as much time as I can hanging out and getting to know her better, and finally rode today, which I'll write about later.

On Friday, she stepped off the trailer, looked around, whinnied once, and walked calmly into her new pen like it ain't no thang.

Aren't we cute? :)

Of course, many selfies were taken.

Hashtag dream come true

As well as a ton of cute candids.

The zero drama llama

Looking very contemplative

She was very excited to dig into her hay, and has been eating and drinking like a champ since she arrived.

Bad angle... she's not this long in real life. #allaboutthatbass

Yesterday, she got turned out for the first time in her new home. She walked out into her (private, half acre, super green) pasture, ambled around for a bit, then started grazing. I watched her for awhile, and she seemed fine.

Love the pretty fall colors. 

Then, she decided to give me a mini heart attack as she started racing around, buckling, squealing, and doing reining-style sliding stops wayyyy too close to the fence (but still safe, she knew the fence was there) for comfort. Totally freaked me out for a minute, but then she slowed to a trot, snorted, started walking, then started looking around for a good place to roll. Jeez, mare.

Crisis averted. 

I'm so afraid I'm going to break her somehow (sidenote: how is it possible to be so excited and so terrified about something, at the same time? ) :X  Luckily, she was perfectly calm after that. She got turned out again this evening, and the BO sent me this pic a little bit ago:

So peaceful. Good pony. 

Anyways, I think she's getting settled in just fine. :)