# You're a Good Man Charlie Brown



## Emeraldsprings (Mar 1, 2015)

So I have been tentatively thinking about starting a journal and seeing as it is a new year, I thought this would be an appropriate time to begin..


I can't promise it will be entertaining in the slightest, or that it will be regularly updated with fantastic adventures. It's just the everyday life of a shy girl and her horses, cats, dog and crazy chickens. 


I thought I would start off by introducing Charlie Brown, my 15.1hh bay Irish cob. I bought him after I had a fall from a young horse that completely shattered my confidence. He is an experienced horse who competed at eventing, dressage and showjumping with great success under his previous owner. She told me she bought him to regain her confidence and he did that and so much more. He has been helping me find my way back to enjoying riding without fear and constant worry, but it is, and has been, a very long process. 


When I got him I was afraid of everything. Afraid he would trip and send me over his head, afraid he would slip and he would land on top of me (this has happened before with a different horse), afraid to canter, afraid of possible spooking/bolting, afraid of anything happening basically. I was so fed up with myself. I wanted to gallop and jump and ride bareback like I had with my ponies before. I wanted to do him justice, as I felt he was being “wasted” with me and should have been out winning rosettes for someone.


I still worry about riding but I am much better than before. I can canter without thinking too much, I can jump small crosspoles and fences in a course. Right now I am working on getting my striding and more impulsion into fences. I still have difficult days when I feel very foolish and like packing it all in, but I think I have progressed a lot over the last year. My goal is to get competent enough and comfortable enough with him to jump in small competitions again.


We have been out to a few dressage competitions together just for the experience and he has proven to be a rock. He even won me some prizes (no thanks to me)

I'll add some photos here to let you see what he's like..


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## LoriF (Apr 3, 2015)

Awe, he does look like a good man. You are so lucky to have him and he is lucky to have you, it sounds like you really appreciate him. 

When I was young, I had a boy like him. He would do anything I asked of him without a cross ear or dirty look. I was lucky to be able to learn without getting my confidence shaken. I'm sure, in time, yours will come back full force.


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

what a face! he's adorable!


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## Emeraldsprings (Mar 1, 2015)

LoriF said:


> Awe, he does look like a good man. You are so lucky to have him and he is lucky to have you, it sounds like you really appreciate him.
> 
> When I was young, I had a boy like him. He would do anything I asked of him without a cross ear or dirty look. I was lucky to be able to learn without getting my confidence shaken. I'm sure, in time, yours will come back full force.


Thank you! Yes I really appreciate him, although it's funny as when I first got him I didn't think we were going to "gel". He was very pushy on the ground and didn't want me petting him etc. It took a while to teach him manners. He has gotten a lot cuddlier these days.

I can leave him unridden for days and just hop on and take up where we left off. He puts up with my dog and cats running around while we ride and even hens popping out from under the hedges! 

The first dressage show we went to together he had other horses ride smack right into him from front and behind and didn't bat an eyelid. One girl used him to stop her Fresian by bumping into his rear end, as she couldn't stop it, I kid you not. Even a car alarm went off as we rode past. It was quite the test!


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## Emeraldsprings (Mar 1, 2015)

tinyliny said:


> what a face! he's adorable!


Thank you, he's a real character and also a giant teddy bear at the minute!


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## Emeraldsprings (Mar 1, 2015)

So far this year, I have only ridden twice. I am lucky to have a small sand arena but due to heavy rain the surface is just swamped. 


Due to this we have just been doing some trotting about and trotting over poles. I have been practicing turning a little more sharply and changing direction immediately after the pole, as if it was a jump. I'll pop a photo in below, although it was taken in a dryer area so the ground doesn't seem so bad! There was a horse being ridden up the road so Charlie was listening behind us, usually he does his special pose for photos.


I also decided to spruce up one of the shed doors that had gotten a bit sorry looking. Not the best time of year for painting I know but it was bugging me. I sprayed an old horsehoe gold and put it up too.


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## RedDunPaint (Aug 23, 2015)

That new layer of paint looks great! I love the golden horse shoe, too! 

I sympathize with not being able to ride much right now. I haven't ridden in over a week (which is huge since normally I ride at least 4x a week) because the weather's been so bad! I thankfully have an indoor arena but we have so much snow that my car gets stuck in my driveway so I can't even get out to the stable! Also the weather's been so cold that it's starting to get harmful to exercise in because it would hurt my lungs and Tessa's. 

Cute pictures and glad you were able to get out and ride! It's especially difficult when you don't have an indoor arena!


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

Awww he looks like such a sweet horse. Looks like you two make a great pair.  I love his name.
The new paint looks awesome too. It's definitely a hard time of year to ride. Such great photos, you look so happy on him.


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## Emeraldsprings (Mar 1, 2015)

RedDunPain said:


> That new layer of paint looks great! I love the golden horse shoe, too!
> 
> I sympathize with not being able to ride much right now. I haven't ridden in over a week (which is huge since normally I ride at least 4x a week) because the weather's been so bad! I thankfully have an indoor arena but we have so much snow that my car gets stuck in my driveway so I can't even get out to the stable! Also the weather's been so cold that it's starting to get harmful to exercise in because it would hurt my lungs and Tessa's.
> 
> Cute pictures and glad you were able to get out and ride! It's especially difficult when you don't have an indoor arena!


Thank you, I think it looks a lot tidier anyway!

I would kill for an indoor arena lol. Its not that we get much snow over here, its just rains constantly and it makes most outdoor surfaces slippery and awful to ride in. I don't know how folks in northern American or Canadian states cope with feet of snow though. It must make day to day life so difficult, never mind with horses.

Over here an inch of snow makes national news headlines!


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## Emeraldsprings (Mar 1, 2015)

PoptartShop said:


> Awww he looks like such a sweet horse. Looks like you two make a great pair.  I love his name.
> The new paint looks awesome too. It's definitely a hard time of year to ride. Such great photos, you look so happy on him.


Thank you, he is a sweetheart, and I'm very grateful to have him. He's too good for me really. 
Today we've had gale force winds and freezing rain so I didn't ride. I couldn't feel my feet most of the day.


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## Emeraldsprings (Mar 1, 2015)

We got a light dusting of snow over the past few days. Not powdery snow but really slush and ice. It can make things quite difficult with slippery surfaces, plus with strong winds it has been a bit unpleasant.

There has also been an outbreak of strangles in a few yards about 20 miles away. They are dealing with it properly but there is still a high risk it could spread. Some equestrian centres have closed their doors completely even though they have no cases, just for prevention. Scary stuff. It makes you think twice about farriers etc and if they could unintentionally be carrying it from one yard to another. 

On a lighter note I thought I would include some pics of Charlie and his friend Bert the cat. Every day Bert loves to snuggle Charlie every opportunity he can get. Charlie isn't bothered in the slightest, even if Bert hides in his hay and pretends to pounce. It's funny.


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## Emeraldsprings (Mar 1, 2015)

I thought I'd pop in a quick update. Well the weather has been a little hectic recently with sudden gale force winds and sporadic heavy frost. I haven't been able to get much riding done until this week.
My muscles are screaming! I'm trying my best to do a little every day to try and get fit. The ground is still atrocious so it's mainly trotting around but I'm trying to incorporate more flexing and transitions into the ride to stop it becoming too repetitive. When the ground dries up a bit I should be able to canter more and blow off those cobwebs.

I did get some cantering done a few days ago. The ground wasn't too bad but the next day it rained constantly and ruined it.
Charlie is really full of beans and even put his head down and bucked and kicked out several times when I asked him for a tiny bit more speed. Just excess energy and I managed to stay on and laughed it off. A while ago I would have had to get off immediately through fear so I'm quite proud of myself. 

I went to a local outdoor horse show last weekend to spectate and a lot of horses were really on their toes. They always seem to be at this time of year.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

Bert is so funny! His little face is like a grumpy cat :lol: My cat is sure that horses will eat her.

What a cute name you have for your guy! Love him, he is just adorable. Awesome that you didn't give up riding.

I always thought for some reason that Ireland was a place that got a lot of snow. Shows how much I know! lol. Still sounds very cold though.


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

Cute photos!


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## NavigatorsMom (Jan 9, 2012)

Love all the pictures! Can't wait to see how you two progress


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

Lovely photos, he is too cute.  Cute kitty too!! Awwww.

Stupid weather, I hope you get to ride more soon!


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## Emeraldsprings (Mar 1, 2015)

horseluvr2524 said:


> Bert is so funny! His little face is like a grumpy cat :lol: My cat is sure that horses will eat her.
> 
> What a cute name you have for your guy! Love him, he is just adorable. Awesome that you didn't give up riding.
> 
> I always thought for some reason that Ireland was a place that got a lot of snow. Shows how much I know! lol. Still sounds very cold though.


For some reason Bert always looks grumpy in photos! My favourite picture of him is this Christmas one, I forgot the flash was on and he was just blinking but he looks sooo fed up lol. So full of cheer 

We don't get much snow at all really, just endless rain. It makes winter seem to last forever. I don't mind cold but I hate the wet. I think I want to move to the desert lol.

Thank you to everyone for your kind words, I really appreciate them!
There are some local unaffiliated dressage shows coming up so we might attempt a few of those all being well. Charlie is in desperate need of a makeover. He has turned into a woolly mammoth/mountain goat/teddy bear this year. His mane is so thick again.


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## Emeraldsprings (Mar 1, 2015)

A couple of pics from today.
Charlie is getting clipped again, just another trace clip to tidy him up and make it easier to remove mud etc. He's super easy to clip, doesn't mind it at all. He just stands there without even a headcollar on.
I'll put a before and after on when I have him nice and tidy again. I want to thin his tail a little too. Pulling gives the best result but I don't like doing it even though he doesn't mind it much.


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

Clipping is definitely really great.  Redz is currently clipped, hair is growing back now but it really really made grooming less of a hassle when the mud was insane. :lol:
Such cute photos


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## Emeraldsprings (Mar 1, 2015)

Charlie and I went to a dressage competition today. He behaved impeccably and we managed to get 5th place.


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

That's great, congrats.


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

Awwww congrats!! Glad you had a fun show and did well. 
You guys look great!


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## Emeraldsprings (Mar 1, 2015)

whisperbaby22 said:


> That's great, congrats.


Thank you very much!


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## Emeraldsprings (Mar 1, 2015)

PoptartShop said:


> Awwww congrats!! Glad you had a fun show and did well.
> You guys look great!


Thank you very much indeed! There was lots of noise and different things to spook at but he was outstanding. The only thing that he really took notice of was a Shetland pony, it was as if he couldn't work out why she was so small lol.

I think he looked good in his new fly veil. He caught sight of his reflection in a window and was mesmerised for a second.


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## Emeraldsprings (Mar 1, 2015)

So it has been a while from my last post.. July already?

Charlie and I have been practicing riding without stirrups, something that I haven't done in a long time. I think it has improved my balance, I feel more in control of what my body is doing in the saddle than before. It's a real workout for my legs though!

A few weeks ago I decided to suprise my friend by booking a riding lesson at a proper riding school for her. She hadn't ridden before except for being led around on my old pony so was a complete beginner.

The instructor asked me to lead her horse and she learnt how to steer, start, stop etc. Then we moved on to trot! I honestly didn't think she would be doing this in her very first lesson but she was soon practising sitting and rising trot while holding on to the pommel of the saddle. She had a blast and I was so happy she wanted to go back.

Saturday was her 3rd lesson and she had her first canter and also trotted over a small cavalleti fence. She was nervous to canter but thankfully the horse she rides just took care of her and cantered off by herself in a small circle for a few strides then back to trot. She did this a few times on both reins. She said it was a massive adrenaline rush! The massive grin on her face as she trotted over the little jump spoke for itself!

I decided I would ride on Saturday along with her (the lesson group is also made up of some lovely children)
I was given a small Gypsy vanner horse to ride, chestnut and white with a lot of hair. 
Boy was he sassy! He bucked when I asked him to canter, was very very strong and tossed his head around a lot. Apparently that's just his way though and he has a lot of character. He was described as "spunky"

I'm glad to say I didn't fall off or make a fool of myself, even when he bucked or took off and got to jump him over a small fence too. He was a lot more fun to jump than he was to ride, it seemed to be his thing.
Oh he also had a proper moustache, hilarious!

He was certainly a lot more work to ride than Charlie, so I can still feel it in my legs and arms 2 days later.

Going to try and find some photos to post below.. thanks for reading!


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## Emeraldsprings (Mar 1, 2015)

Assorted pics from the last few weeks. The rider on the black horse is my friend.


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## Emeraldsprings (Mar 1, 2015)

The bay horse with the white socks is my Dad's mare Lulu. She's 16.2hh and a lot different to Charlie's 15.1hh. it has been a long time from I last rode a big horse.


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## Emeraldsprings (Mar 1, 2015)

Today is very hot and humid with a lot of cloud cover. I rode Charlie but the flies were biting badly and he was a little bit sluggish with the heat so I kept it brief. He was doing everything I asked and I tried riding with one hand for a while.

I hopped on Lulu again for a trot around, boy is she big and bouncy. Polar opposite to Charlie. I like riding her though, I didn't expect her to move off from my leg but she is so far very responsive. She's usually ridden by man and I thought this might make her have less respect for a small rider like me. She carries her head quite high, this is something we have been working on, to stop her hollowing out. She actually went very well until I asked for a video/photo and she heard a strange sound and stuck her head up a little again. Oh well, I'll get a nice photo of us yet I suppose.

I'm trying to ride with my hands more upright and stop locking my elbows as much, very bad habit I got into from fear. I have to keep reminding myself but sometimes I get distracted and forget  but I am trying. 

Shot is a video screenshot so not great quality. Also, Bert's favorite place in the world is snuggling in horse blankets.


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## Emeraldsprings (Mar 1, 2015)

Today I fell off!

My friend and I had another lesson today at the riding school and I was given a 16.2 Irish draught horse to ride. He was extremely comfortable to ride, his canter was to die for. However during the ride he tripped suddenly and fell right down on the ground and I was thrown off. I remember thinking "Roll!" in case he would end up on top of me or step on me. It wasn't too bad as I hopped up and straight back on and continued riding. Just a bit of a shock really.
I still really enjoyed riding him, some day in the future I think I might like to own a full Irish draught (as apposed to a sport horse)
Plus he was grey &#55357;&#56845;

My friend continued to improve her trotting and cantering, I'm so proud of what she has achieved in a handful of lessons.

At home I have been riding Lulu a little more, she can be quite sassy so is definitely a step up from Charlie but I am really enjoyed it. Charlie is a superstar as usual. Hope to get some new pics soon.


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

Aww, sorry about your fall BUT that is great you got right back on. That's the spirit! 
Love all the photos!


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

This journal has been closed due to prolonged lack of participation by the author. Journals that have no active participation by the author for a period of time greater than 18 months will be considered abandoned and will be closed until the author asks for them to be reopened.


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