# Pumpkin's Progress



## PumpkinzMyBaby22

*Wednesday, 22nd September*

_So, I can see this whole dressage thingo taking a long time to get correct, espiecially with a non-horsey family and the occasional photos to go by. _


_I rode Pumpkin today, just working on the walk and trot. And talk about dead as a doorknob... Even with the time off and his grain this week. Poopsies.
Flexion is coming along nicley, and whoopy for half halts! I am starting to work on him engaging the hind end, and from the vidoes I got, yeah, I can see a difference - small, but it is a difference  _


_His balance at the end was better, I could deffienatly feel that as well. We still need a lot of work before I will start thinking about jumping mini courses ect._


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

*Monday, 27th September*

_Rode him up to the shops yesterday, he did briliantly! No antics this time. Got up to shops and let him graze a bit behind the kindy while my sister and her friends went a brought stuff. Gave Pumkin a lemonade iceblock... that went down quick. On the way we stopped in at the park and had another little graze while kids came up and gave him lots of pats! haha. He is loved by everyone. Once we got back home, a little canter and called it a day. Later on, I jumped on bareback and walked up and down the fence for some pointless fun. _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

*Saturday 2nd October*

_It has been raining most of the week the week so I as only able to ride yesterday... oh the joy. Thanks to Mr Pony having to much energy, someone needed to get in his brain that we do not buck when we pick up canter. Huffs. Anyways, after that was sorted, we worked on rythum and transitions. Proud of him again, but the rythum is going to be worked on again tomorrow. Balance is coming along nicly, so that is good._

_Hopefully the rain will stop tonight and I can ride without tearing up the grass. _


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## RedTree

thats great that you have a goal  I have a similar goal with my horse 
good luck and I know it can be difficult with a non-horsey family


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

Thanks! It can be tough but we pull through


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## JackofDiamonds

Sorry, just had to say that Pumpkin is the most adorable name ever..It totally suits him


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

JackOfDiamonds - Thankyou! 

Well, the rain has FINALLY stopped and the ground is now dry enough for me to ride without destrying everything in sight. But, he dosn't lunge(working on it) and he is so high it is insane. 
Yesterday we just walked around the paddock doing nothing cause it was getting late. 
Early today just had a few trots, just going about things slowly so he doesn't go ballistic on me. I don't feel like having a Fresh Bucking Horse vs Me competition


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

*Monday, 18th October*

_Fun fun. Right... _
_Tacking up went like hell so I had to put him out in the back paddock for him to run around. He went balistic and ran for a good 10 minutes before he decided to calm down. So, got him to walk up to me and we put the saddled back on. That was better. Then took him out to the front paddock to put his bridal on. A little tantrum there, not to much._

_We ended up walking around for ages trying to get him to listne properly. Had a little trot after a while then finished up._

_The silver lining: we worked a lot on flexion... yay! He also is stopping better and listening to my seat more. _
_Guess it will just take a bit of time _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

*Thursday, 28th October*

I haven't been able to ride in a while due to a sore tailbone which has happened to be very annoying. I have been sitting out of P.E for a while now and that probably means not a very sufficient grade. Yays. Oh well. I suppose that can mean more bonding time and playing with Pumpkin rather than as much riding. I do hope this doesn't slow us down alot :-|


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

*Sunday 28th October*
_Not much riding has been done on Pumpkin and that is a shame. I do have plans to ride him later on when it cools down this afternoon._
_My tail bone has been slowly recovering but it now seems I have hurt my toe to the point where I can't walk with-out being in a large amount of pain. _
_Yesterday after my lessons, Mum and I stopped in to the saddlery and got some stuff for the pony. __I ended up with a rug to keep the flys off him a bit more, a rope halter and a Santa Hat. He loves wearing it and I will have to put up photos soon. _

_6 ducklings hatched last Wednesday so that has been very exciting. _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

*Monday, 13th December*

_Wow, it has been a long time.. oops. Oh mistake for the last post, it was November. oopsies again _

_Not much to really put down. Since the start of Summer it has been pouring with rain. There has been about only 4 days or so when the sun has come out. This unfortunatly means no riding and Pumpkin turns into a brat. _

_The back paddock is starting to grow some grass finally, so that is very good. I am on holidays and will hopefully be able to ride with friends if this rain eases up a bit :?_

_The ducklings are getting very big, but we most likely will have to get rid of any males that have hatched as we have enough as it is. _

_At the end of this week my family and I are going to down to Melbourne for 3 weeks to see relatives. Hopefully Pumpkin will not be to physco when we get back. _


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## BecArabian

goodluck ive always wanted 2 do dressage


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_Friday, 14th January_

_Nothing but rain for months now. As some of you may have heard, the Brisbane river has flooded and giving heaps of people trouble. Luckily we live far enough away from the river to have not been effected but still the rain is not helping the 'over energized pony' situation. My family and I went down to Melbourne for 2 weeks and a bit over Christmas. That resulted in Pumpkin being un-handled and losing his manners. Whoop whoop :/_
_So there is another thing we must get over. _

_I have also quit lessons from my current riding school. I am glad about that but until I get another areas number I am currently riding deprived which is not that good. But life happens so I will have to wait it out._

_On a brighter note, I got an old leather jumping saddle that might just fit Pumpkn for $40 down in Melvourne. Always a bonus._


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_Friday, 21st January._

_Not much has really been happening lately. _

_My (all purpose) saddle arrived 2 days ago, so I gave that a good clean. I have been slowly getting rid of Pumpkins energy, running him up and down the fence freely, and that seems to be working. He is a sucker for food. Placed up a few small jumps, and he went over those nicely._
_Tried out the saddle on him, and it seems to fit. We have not had any issues yet, so hopefully it will turn out alright. __After tacking up, I jumped on and gave him a quick ride in the back paddock - only walk and a trot. He feels like a good canter so I will have to see about that today or tomorrow. We had to finish early though, I could feel him starting to misbehave, so I ended it on a good note while I could. _

_The ducklings are getting along well with the other adults, though we are still having problems introducing the two Pekin males. All in good time I suppose. _

_It has been overcast these past few days, although really hot. Still looking for somwhere to ride, preferably close. At least I am getting Pumpkin back on his feet. _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_Friday, 4th February._
_Goodness, I am becomeing really slack with this journal._

_Anyway, since my last update I have sprained my ankle doing somthing stupid...I just can't remember how. I rode Pumpkin a few days ago, and he behaved very well. He was lookinbg foward to a good canter, so I took for a bit of a canter and that seemed to make him happy. Worked on responsivness to the bit and me, he needs a little bit of a refesher. _
_Not much other stuff has been happening in the world of horses._


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_Tuesday, 8th February.

It has been much to hot to be riding lately and now we have come back to the rain. Mostly i have just been spending time with Pumpkin and grooming him a lot as he eats his dinner, and he seems to be loving the attention. He has been behaving very well which is always very good. 

I hope I can start lessons soon, it has been an number of months now since I have ridden and I am almost going insane. If all goes to plan, I should be getting the number tomorrow._


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## howsecrazy

You and pumpkin look great together, you have improved a lot since you first got pumpkin and when i use to go to you place with Maddie (btw my name is Ella) and I hope that I keep hearing about you and pumpkin cause i love reading how well you to are going.


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

Aww, thanks!

He has come along way, and I am so proud, yet we have tonnes left to do and accomplish.


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## ChingazMyBoy

Wooah! Soon you'll be jumping the 2 * fences with Doo and I!!

http://www.horseforum.com/horse-pictures/new-horse-78366/

I ended up getting my filly!!!


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

Awww. CUTE!!! She is adorable. I want to meet this little one 

Cannot wait till we can ride together. Missing you!


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Sunday, 13th February*

Today there was no riding, but it was wash day! No particular reason but... I wanted to have some fun. I focused on his socks mane and tail especially and it has paid off. He is so SHINY!!

I took a few pictures of him drying off, i will have to load them later on. I am very pleased with the days effort. _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Monday, 14th February.*
Happy Valentines Day everyone!. 

Way to hot to be riding today, so I don't have much to report. Hopefully it will cool down soon so I can get the energy out of Pumpkin. Pumpkin is still nice and shiny thankfully, he hasn't managed to get to dirty. Yay!!

I will try and ride tomorrow so I will have some stories to share... hopefully with some pics._


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*February 22, Tuesday*

Wow. i have forgotten yet again to update my journal. Oopsies 

Not much has happened. It has been really hot lately but today -thankfully - cooled down a lot. No riding, still working on energy loss. pumpkin has been really good with ground work and respect.

Till next time,
Jalah xx
_


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## BecArabian

welldone (i've like done nothing 4 like 1 week)


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

* Wednesday, 2nd March*_
Oh lord, I am becoming hopeless...

Anyway, 3 days ago I finally hopped on that spastic one and he did beautifully.
No arguments or 'back chatting'. YAY! He was beautiful. We did a long warm up and then about 30 mins of trot. Lots of trotting. We did circles, flexing his neck to both side and a little side passing. very very happy.

The next day, more trotting but this time, he was wondering about what else he could do... like how to get to the gate. Huff. Not to much of an argument, but I can feel it budding. So, we worked on that and it got better. 

He had yesterday off so he is in a happy mood. 

Last night is rained a lot so no riding today. I am pooped anyways. I have many many assignments and tests so that is taking it out of me.
Hopefully he will behave next time and we can carry on with our so far good work. 

Till next time,
Jalah xx_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

*Monday, March 7th*

_Not much has been happening latley. No rinding due to some bad weather and I dont like riding when to ground is mushy. It truns up to much grass and destroys the paddock. He is getting his winter coat in now, unfortunatly. Oh well. _
_On a good note, it will be tonnes cooler to ride! Bad note: less time to ride. _

_Anyways.. _
_not much really. It looks like the weather might permit me to ride soon, so I will get some photos and post them if I can._

_Lots of love_

_xx_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*11th March, Friday*
So I managed to get on the pony yesterday afternoon. Not very much happened due to the fact that he was bucking every time we were trotting going around a corner to the right. Since it was only warm up, and at the other end of the paddock, a few times after I checked his back... well, he might be sore there. I ran my fingers along his spine, and one spot in particular seemed a little sore to him. Well, that makes things fun. 
I will be giving him a little bit of a rest, and if it doesn't get better soon, I will be contacting a vet. Hopefully my little man can pull through and fix his mysterious soreness. Does anyone have any recommended home treatments for him or ideas to help me pin point the situation more accurately? Thank you in advance.  

xox Jalah_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

OK, so continuing from up above ^.

I took Pumpkin for a walk around the block to give him something new to do, as we haven't been around the block in a while. He is becoming very good at not eating while on the lead rope every time I ask him to whoa. He is becoming more accustomed to the dogs that we walk by every time, so that is awesome. We came home, and I ran him up and down the fence for a bit of dinner. That is his equivalent of lunging, but hey I get my exercise. 

Till next time,

xox, Jalah


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

*Saturday, 12th March*_
I took the pony out for a walk today and did very well. We went further than I usually go, it was about a 1 hour walk. He did very well, staying calm all the way. We did go past some other horses from a riding school, and he did need to be told to pay attention then, but that is to be expected. Especially considering he is alone at home. I then let him out to graze and he got to mum's vegetables...oops.

Overall, a very good day!

Till next time, xx _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

It has been raining the past to days, so not much has been happening. Hopefully it will take a break so I can work on ground work without him being to cranky. Not much to say, the ducks are getting along well with the ducklings, so everyone is a big happy family.

till the next something happens

xx


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

Well... 

Not much has happened riding wise... actually nothing really. I have not had lessons since December and have not ridden Pumpkin for a while due to his back. :/

I have started holidays though, so I am looking forward to the 2 weeks of doing nothing school related 

Pumpkins back seems to be doing alright. There does not seem to be any pain when I put pressure on it with my fingers and the muscle around, but i will not be riding him, just to be safe. We can't have him being in pain.

BUT... My family and I do have reasons to believe that he has been mistreated at night...
A couple of weeks ago, he would not let anyone near him at all. No one could go within five meters of him with out making a run for it. He also seemed to have a bit of a sore leg, and we found little stone shaped sores on him. His behavior only lasted the morning and some of the afternoon, but he has never acted this way before. 

It then happened again the other night but not quite so bad. The ducks hadn't gone home (this is very unusual), as they always do so i had to put them away. Sign number 1. I always have checked on Pumpkin at night, so I know where he usually grazes and sleeps. That night he was in an unusual area for him to be in ( sign number 2), but once he saw me, he started to come down to say hello. That was all good. The only thing about that which was unusual, he bolted to the corner opposite me when he reached a little way down the fence line. He is a lazy boy, so this is very odd. He then refused to let me get near him, and any movement above slow and steady, freaked him out. Sign number 3.

Again he was fine in the morning, although still a tad touchy...

Could this be a result of people messing around with him, or could it be I am just to worried?
Mum, Dad and my sister think that it could have been people throwing rocks at him. He is a friendly boy, and will always come over to people who stop at the fence, in hopes he might get a treat. 

Any thoughts will be appreciated. 

Thanks in advance.


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

*Wednesday, 30th March *_

It has just started to pour down. Woo Hoo...
I have let the pony out of his paddock to get all of the good grass around the house. He looks to be very comfortable standing in the rain eating. 
Till the next time,

xx

_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Friday, 1st April*

Happy April fools day everyone! 

Well, I was reading a post on teaching your horse to stand there no matter the time length. So here I am with Pumpkin, teaching him some patience.

And, I am very pleased about how he is going. I groomed him for 30 mins, so he wouldn't get so grumpy but now, after 1 hour, he is standing nicely, but also wondering what he did to deserve this. But he is going well, and hasn't really tested how to escape. It will be worth it in the end though - for him and me. This is the basis to being able to go out and interact with friends. When we get this down pat, he shall have a social life.

Regarding his back: Mum has a friend at work who has horses, and she just got her mares back fixed - apparently she is a lot better with behaviour. So Mum got the number and we will most likely have the chiro out to check out any back problems Pumpkin may be having. 
I know I will feel much better once all this is sorted. If it is the saddle - which I think it most likely is - that means a new one... with a saddle fitter or among those things to make sure it fits well. That is more $$. Where does it all go??

I will update soon, as the pony needs to go back to his paddock.

xx_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Saturday, 2nd April*

Hey everyone!
Well, I am pretty happy at the moment! I have a friend who's pony I used to ride now and again, but this year and last life sorta got in the way :/ Anyway, I managed to contact her again and I shall have her pony to ride once more. Also she has a job offer for me. She runs a business which gives pony rides for little kids at birthdays so I will be able to earn some money doing something related to what I love. Even if it is leading little kids around on Shetland pony's.  I can't wait to get started  

Mum has confirmed that we will give the chiro a ring for Pumpkin and hopefully we can get her in these holidays.

I will be going for a walk with Pumpkin later this afternoon and will get some pictures. This thread needs to be more visual.. We might also get to meet my friends horses as well. Looking forward to it and will update this afternoon or tomorrow! 

Till later
xx _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_Continuing....

Sooo, I sorta forgot the camera... oops. :shock:

Oh well, I can put some up of when he was out grazing earlier in Summer instead.

He did very well! We made it all the way to our friends house, yet we didn't go introduce the pony's. We had to face a few scary things like a big tractor (we don't like those) but he didn't even bat an eyelash. When I stopped to let him check it out, he gave a push and started to continue walking. Well, that problem seems to be fixed! 
Dogs: no worries. Other horses across the road: they weren't there. Stupid teenagers tooting their horns while driving by: Hahaha, major fail to scare him. 
I am very pleased with my baby, he did very well. As a treat we stopped in to the shops and Mum got us all a lemonade ice block to eat. 
Now he is happily grazing around the house enjoying the grass. Very very pleased with his behaviour and it won't be long until he can have a social life. 

Now for some old pictures!!
1. Lying down with a full belly - so many wrinkles! 
2. "Muuuuum. Can I have your biscuit pleeease???"
3. Just chilling and eating_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Thursday 7th March*

Hi everyone!

Today at 9:30 the dentist and farrier are coming along to do some work on Pumpkin. I WILL get pictures this time!!

Anyway, i will update later with news of hot it goes and with some fun pictures to look at.

Till next time

xx_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Friday, 8th April*

A couple of days ago, I took Pumpkin for a walk to our friends place with the ponies but did not go in to introduce them. He did very well, no misbehaving at all.

Also went and took a look at Cherbon Waters. Oh my gosh, what a lovely place it is. Very neat and tidy and very well maintained. The trainer seemed very supportive and encouraging, which is great. The students seemed happy which is a good indicator of the riding schools. The trails seemed nice from what we could see of them, and the horses were very well kept. 

Forgot to update yesterday, sorry about that. Also, I have seemed to misplace the camera, or it ran away. Either one, I was unable to take photos 0_0

Anyway, he went well, he defiantly knows who the dentist is. Not very impressed with me when I haltered him and things got set up. Oh well, it is for the best. His teeth were starting to get a little sharp, he had a few ulcers at the back of his mouth but nothing to serious. The dentist also was able to do his feet, so they got trimmed as well.
He also received his tetanus shot so that is now up to date. That all cost $176.

No chiro yet, Mum managed to get away with avoiding that though I can understand why with the amount of money going out the door for the moment.

Mum has called the riding place and I am booked in for an assessment lesson for the 16th of April. I can not wait to get back into saddle. It will go for one hour with a price of only $40. Nice and cheap. 

I also start work for our friend tomorrow from 11 - 3 leading little kids around on ponies. Can't wait!!

That is all for now but will update soon. Hopefully my camera will love me enough to come back :/

Till the next time,
xx_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

* Tuesday, 26th April*_

Well, I found the camera! 
Rode the pony today - talk about adrenaline rushes...
Well, not really but he was being his er... colourful self. It was the first ride in a while and he soon gave up his antics as soon as he realized I was not moving my butt from the saddle. We finished the ride on a good note and I will get on him again tomorrow if it dries up from this afternoons rain.
I have started lessons again, so far I am enjoying myself well! 4 months off... well, I can feel that holiday in my legs 0_o

I will upload pictures in a second. 

Till the next time!
_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

OK!! Here they are!

P.S. I am aware of the faults I am making and having pictures will help me improve so please - no critique!  Gosh, my stirrups are so short!


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*30th April Saturday*

I took the pony up for a walk to Donna's (my friend with the pony) and we introduced her mini's and Shetlands to Pumpkin. He did very well, staying with me (mentally and physically thankfully!) and there was not much of a fuss to be made. Took him home, rugged him and fed him.

*1st may, Sunday*

Went to work for 7 hours for Donna, she owns a small business where we give pony rides at carnivals and races etc. That was quite fun, it was not a busy day, so we got to chill for the first couple of hours. Came home and did not do anything else.

*2nd May, Monday*

It was a public holiday and I was not planning to do much, but a friend of mine, Maddie, popped over to help me out with Pumpkin. He did very well, not to much misbehaving, but he still kept life interesting and me on my toes. Nothing like Pumpkin to teach you to keep your butt in the saddle  Did a little bit of jumping, he still enjoys it very very much. We were going over 50 cm towards the end of the ride, nice and clean. Not to high, but hey! good for a while off. Very happy to be jumping him again. 

After his ride, I went out to the movies with friends. lots of fun and giggles.

* 3rd May, Tuesday *
I really was planning to ride Pumpkin again today, but as soon as I get out for lunch at school, a rather large thunder storm came over. It is going over our house at the moment, so defiantly no riding!

Till the next time, 
xx_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Tuesday, 18th May*

It has been ages!!!! 0_0

Kinda nothing to write about, but I thought it would be time to bump this up a bit. 

As I am here though, I will update about our ground work. 

As Pumpkin doesn't lunge , I have had to find another way to work him out without riding him. So a while ago, my genius mind came up with running around like a loon with him. Well, not like a loon, but similar  I'm sure that would not really float everyones boat, but it is a great way of exercise!! And, he is starting to appreciate the commands and idea of lunging. He has walk, trot and canter under way while going in a 'circle' around me. Though it is only in the one direction, he is going well. He goes over jumps, picks up pace and slows down, comes to me and halts with minimal voice commands and tiny movements of my hand. So Proud!!
I do it with a biscuit of hay under arm to reward him for his efforts. He completely ignores it. Another milestone as when I started to work with him, he would put down his, pin his ears and harass you until you threw down the hay and ran away screaming. Literally.

It has been a long process, but defiantly worth it. I do it all without a halter, so he is free to have a run and a buck if he needs to, as long as it is a safe distance away from me. 

Ok, proud mom has stopped typing!

Update soon as the weekend is up, as I am having another 'lesson' on the pony. 

Till the next time,

xx_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Saturday, 21st May*

I just got home from work after 6 hours of leading kids around on ponies and I am so tired. I have 3 more hours tomorrow, but it really brings in the money, so it is worth the pain 

I have been looking around for some stable hand work as well to get more experience and Mum has said that over the next holidays, in about 4 weeks, we can go and inquire for work at local race horse stables. Not sure how that will go, but it will a great experience  Does anyone have an experiences, opinions or advise as working as a stable hand? Would love to hear!

Unfortunately, being at work made me miss my lesson this week, but I don't really mind. 

Tomorrow is when I am having the 'lesson' on Pumpkin and photos will be on the way.

Till next time! 

xx _


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## ChingazMyBoy

Glad you enjoyed your lesson, I'll inbox you about the racehorse stable - I wouldn't recommend it for you. They usually don't take on younger people around here!


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Friday, 27th May *

Oops! Sorry for the late up date! 

The pictures turned into videos, though I will turn those into screen shots for you and will come in a minute, but first I will catch you all up on what has been happening.

The lesson was great, he is listening a lot better! He is moving off the leg tonnes more, Pumpkin had a stubborn moment the other week and he finally caved. We were going over jumps very well, we got up to 65cm. I loved it. And he had a great time jumping again. We also had a small jump about 5 strides after the main jump. It is progress that he is going over both of them without issues, that used to be a major problem. We still have to work through some issues. Like the fact that he thinks i should get off when he likes. Otherwise, he bucks and bolts to the back end of the paddock. Not fun but we are working through it and also improving fitness so we can go for longer.

The other night we had to have another 'discussion;' about who is boss in this relationship. Needless to say that now he is in his place and not stepping a foot out of line  He is one to always test you and try to take over you seriously about... every 4 months. Naughty boy 

School wise, 

I only have the weekend to do sooo much.
English: I have to do a speech on Tuesday of Thursday. (Oh, they are my weakest point of assesment) We only got our draft feedback today.
SOSE: Speech due Monday or Wednesday. Again, I just got my draft back today. It is also multi modal. I ended up doing a power point as I am short for time and that still has to be finished. 
Business: Scripts and presentations to be ready on Monday. We are to have a video for it as well. Again, due to my group also being busy, we are again short of time. 
Science: test on Monday. I probably won't do well. That might be due to the fact it is actually painful to listen to him talk, he is so dull. I need to start studying.... 


On Saturday till 10 I have to learn my English oral, SOSE oral and then at 11 go to South Bank (Swimming area by the Brisbane River) to film a movie for Business. That will take all afternoon so, no horse riding lesson. That will be the second week in a row of no riding and we are camping nest weekend. Yippie? I guess it will be nice to go camping again though.
Then I have Sunday to learn my orals again (we were given very limited time to learn and write them) and really study more for tests. 

Wish me luck!!!

Anyway, here are the photos as promised  Sorry about the quality, they are screen shots and I have a bad camera. 
1. Before the ride waiting for mum
2. Jumping the 65 cm
3. long spot! I felt like I was a meter out of the saddle 0_0
and the rest are just cross poles and the last 'jump'_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Thursday, 2nd June*

Hey everyone,

Nothing horse riding wise, though Pumpkin has been an excellent little boy lately. Our free lunging is going great, he is listening very well. 

This weekend, we are going camping in New South Wales at Mt Warning and will be climbing the mountain. At the top, we will be 1150 meters (I think..) above sea level. Photos will come from that! 

Dad just got back from a 1 week fishing trip with some friends and his brother, and he brought home a good feast of fish! 

Every school assessment I have is done, though Maths I could have improved on... basically the whole grade did a poor job from the sounds of it. I have not gone well at all which is not the best. 

Oh yes, and I forgot to mention last time, (from what you guys can make out) how do you think my jumping position is going? I haven't jumped in a while, just hoping that I look half ok... and also what about Pumpkins form? Release is a big thing that needs to be worked on. Again, sorry about the quality, I am going to fish out the video camera verrrry soon. Thanks in advance 

Till I get back from camping,

xx_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Tuesday, 7th June*

Hey guys! Sorry about the late update, life insisted on getting in the way :/ Pictures are coming at the end though 

Camping was great. We climbed up Mt Warning and the total trail length up and down was 9 km of strenuous rated trail. My legs are still killing me and that was on Saturday. It took my sister, me and a family friend 2 hrs and 20 mins to get up, and 1 hr 10 mins to get back down. The time range is supposed to be 4 -5 hours to do the hike. At the last 300m, it became so steep that we had to use a chain to get up. 

At the top of the mountain, the 9 of us that went up were 1157 meters in the air. Scary!! While we were up there, we saw a wedge-tailed eagle pair flying below and above us, it was so awesome to see them. The views were gorgeous, and despite the aching muscles, it is something I would definitely do again. 

Otherwise, camping was pretty casual, sat by the fire every night and morning, had a large giggle with family friends and on Sunday it was dad's birthday. 

Last night, the pony was being a brat on the ground, testing his luck again with going where I asked him. So, 6 o'clock at night and while it was getting dark, I jumped on him (still in my school uniform) and rode him around. No issues after that one! It was only a quick ride to get him moving.
Tonight, not much interaction. It is cold so I just through the rug on him and gave him his dinner.

Now for the pictures! There would be more but the internet is incredibly slow and being a bum, so only 3 for now _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Wednesday, 22 June*

Wow. It has been ages. I am becoming really bad.

Anyway, 
I took Pumpkin out to try lunging on a halter... not working for us. He gets frustrated and annoyed, then becomes dangerous. He does it perfectly while we are not on a halter but on... well things go downhill. So instead of putting negative things with the halter, we will just leave it at free lunging. He listens perfectly without anyway.

I have ridden him quite a bit and he has been a gem. Something clicked the other day as well. we had the smoothest transitions and our jumps were incredible and effortless. It felt like everything fell into place. 

I will try to be better with updates for now on, but that is all for now

Till next time

xx_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_* Thursday, 23 July*

So I got really bored today and spent 3 hours with the pony making him pretty  

He has one of the shortest attention spans I have ever seen, but we are working through it. I braided his tail and did his mane. My work on his mane needs some serious improving though I only did it with one band on each plait and his mane ins't pulled. And, I have pictures which will be uploaded It is nothing fancy and he is dirty, also in his fluffy winter coat, but I have to say that is the best tail braid I have done in a while.

Otherwise, nothing else has happened. I am still sick, and it is getting worse before it is getting better. 

But now for some photos! 

_


----------



## ChingazMyBoy

Pull his mane woman!!!


----------



## PumpkinzMyBaby22

* Tuesday, 28th June*_

Hahaha. God, I might kill it though...  I have the amazing ability to ruin everything 

But, on the topic of pulling, Mum took me down to Horseland yesterday and I got myself some new Jods, boots and a pulling comb. I cant stand the plastic manes and tail combs, (and they wouldn't last around anyway) so we got a metal one. And the weird part.. It has a hoof pick on the end... 0_0 Never heard of that before, but ok! It saves me having to bring out the other hoof pick. 

Pumpkin is good, I haven't ridden due to my being sick :/ I might hop on him today though to go for a little walk around as I am feeling better. Horse riding lessons have ended for the term, but mum has so kindly booked a private jumping lesson. Also, I am getting a private with Pumpkin so that will be very beneficial to us  I can't wait. I will see if I can get pictures, though no promises!

I swear something else happened but I cant remember.. 

ETA: Wow. I just noticed how.. sort of flabby he looks with his winter coat *sigh* can't wait till summer for his nice Pally coat to come through


Till the next time! 

xx _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

Yup, so I got off my lazy little butt and went to ride the pony. I rode bareback, partially cause i was to lazy to put my stirrups and leathers back on the saddle. 
We did alright I think. I cantered my first canter bareback. And to top it off, I didn't have a tea party with the ground  Our balance around corners needs improving but maybe that was because it was our first time. 

After that 10 min ride (I know, very short) we worked on disengaging the hindquarters. By the end he was moving his bum around very nicely. 

Our private lesson will be on Wednesday next week and I am trying to organize a photo person. Hopefully I can find someone 

Till next time
xx


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Thursday, 30 June*

Hey everyone,

Yesterday I rode Pumpkin with the saddle this time. And wow Pumpkin has good balance going around corners on the wrong lead. His right lead is pathetic :/ So, more work on that will be done for the next couple of rides until it is down pat. Which means circles and getting the correct bend. One of his least liked things to do, but it needs to be done. 
The bolting to the gate started again. *sigh* Instead of wrestling with him to get him to turn, I gave him a kick and we went galloping to the gate. And away from it. So we had no issues with riding near it again after a few times. 
We put up a little cross rail towards the end of the ride and popped over that a few times. 

Till next time!

xx_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Friday, 1st July*

I just got in from 2 hours of riding the pony and chillaxing across the road while grazing near the local pond. We spent the first hour riding, working on brakes. I also noticed a little foaming around his mouth afterwards. 

Once that was down pat, picking up the right lead. In the middle of it, he had enough and took me to the gate. So we continuously trotted in a circle in front of it, both directions, until he gave up on that trick. We finished serious work once we had a nice long run on the right lead. So we cooled off and went across the road for some grazing. I ended up sitting on him bareback while he ate. The temptation was to much for me to resist  

Thats all for now and I will be updating tomorrow hopefully,

xx_


----------



## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Saturday, 2nd July*

I set up a few jumps around the paddock. We went for maybe 30-40 minutes then he started being a brat. I don't really blame him. It was getting hot and he has his ridiculously think winter coat at the moment. 

New habit: Sitting back to soon. Thankfully, Pumpkin is a good boy and will take even the worst of positions. And try his best at every jump so long as you drive him to it. Hopefully with my jumping lesson on Monday, my habit will get nipped in the bud. 

I finally got my sister to film me, and she discovered she loves it! Best news I have heard for a while  I might get some more pictures from now on  

Till next time 

xx_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_* Thursday, 7th July*

Hey everyone  I thought I would just combine the posts from both of my lessons. I would have updated yesterday, but I had friends over.

Monday: We worked on jumping a lot. I only rode each horse for half an hour as it was ridiculously hot and the horses are in their winter coats. It went well, I need to suck my stomach etc more but other wise it was good 

Wednesday: Pumpkin was great walking down to our lesson, and as it turned out we made it in 20 mins, not the 45 I was expecting... So we popped in to our friends house and meet her ponies  Pumpkin was a great little boy and he seemed to enjoy meeting other horses. The was no freak outs or anything which is good as he has had hardly any horse contact in a long time. We headed back to our lesson after that little meeting.

He was nice and calm, and still remained to listen to me. We walked straight into the arena so he wouldn't get to distracted with all of the other horses around the place. We had a little walk around then put on the bridal and off we went. Boy is he lazy :/ We go alright at home but to get him moving there (even though he was perfectly calm and relaxed) was a mission of its own. We ended up doing some lunging and in his objections, I almost came off. I haven't had that happen in a little while and it was refreshing  

I fidget with my hands to much when he misbehaves apparently, so I will be working to myself quieter from now on. We went over a few small jumps towards the end and he became a little more enthusiastic about that  After half a hour went, I put him in a back paddock and jumped on one of her horses. We did some more jumping for the last half hour and ended on the note. 

On the way home we got some ice blocks for the three of us that went and one for Pumpkin. 

Anyway: Enough talk, now for pictures! More are coming when I get some off my friends camera. 

Till next time!

xx_


----------



## PumpkinzMyBaby22

Soo.... take two for uploading the pics. They aren't the best quality, but my friend got some nice riding shots on her camera which will be posted later.


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Wednesday, 13th July*

I am pumped to say the least. A family friend of ours has invited me to go on a 3 hour trail ride down in New South Wales. We are riding on Sunday and going through 2500 acres of paddocks and through some small valley's. Pictures are going to be coming!

School has started again, and I have a great semester subjects wise. I can see my grades improving these two terms. 

Pumpkin is good. He had a good run around the paddock for 15 mins at dinner time tonight. He is bounding full of energy. I also have another photo to add! Hopefully I will get the rest soon :/ 

That's all for now!

xx
_


----------



## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Saturday, 16th July*


The trail ride place was fully booked for this weekend, so we are going next Sunday instead. A little bit of a disappointment, but I suppose 1 more week won't kill me. 

Going to school 'survival' camp for 3 days this week, on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. It shouldn't be that bad as I am in the group with 3 of my closest friends! Very very lucky and it shall be awesome.

Pumpkin is going very well. We have been working more with commands on the ground and adding jumps while going around the paddock and he has been doing extremely well  When this rain stops, hopefully I can get back on him and ho for a ride. 

That is all for now 

xx _


----------



## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Sunday, 17th July*

Got two more photos! But those will come in a minute  

I jumped on Pumpkin bareback this afternoon and started around at walk trot and canter. Our balance is improving! Also, his halts and downwards transitions are improving a lot as well. I didn't spend to long on that. Also practiced 2-point and rising trot - I can actually do it! Woot 

Now, I have been trying to find background info on pumpkin for a few weeks now, and have come to no luck. I will attach a picture of what his brand looks like, and if anyone has any knowledge about it or can suggest anywhere to look for info, it would be very much appreciated 

Anyway, that's all for now  Photo time!

1. Me riding one of the school horses, Auzzie, while we were jumping.
2. Pumpkin and me.
3. His brand

(yes they are edited slightly) _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Friday, 22nd July*

Back from survival camp! Some would have rather it be called torture camp, but I happen to think it was one of the best experiences I have had. Our group of 20 people was great, we all got along really well. We were dumped at one end of a valley and we had to climb to the mountain ridges and get to the other end. In the first day we traveled 7 kms with *heavy* backpacks (not quite sure about the weight, I am planning to weigh it tomorrow). I have chaffing on my back from where it was rubbing though :/ We woke up at 6 the next morning to watch the sunrise on the mountains. Wow. So beautiful. That day we traveled around 17 km of steep uphill and downhill slopes. I love being a horse rider: I have the thighs for going down hill with no problem. YAY! We finally got up to the top of the mountain peaks. The view was AMAZING. 

We then lost half the group though at one stage as they went the wrong way down the mountain. While our camp instructor went looking for them, the 10 of us fit people stayed back and talked. It was the perfect setting for Tomorrow When The War Began. The sun set and we ended up hiking in the dark to our camp site after we found the others. Today we got up at 7 and only had to hike 1km before getting to base and heading home at 1. 

Now for the reason I started this journal: Pumpkin.

It seems like he missed me. I was talking to a friend who's mum dropped me home and he was pawing at the fence when I didn't go say hello. After they left, he gave me a long cuddle and seemed very content to have me home and to be standing by me. That would be the first time I have had a proper greeting from him after I have been away camping 

I am looking very forward to Sunday! Holly, my friend, is booked in and coming with us. She used to ride but hasn't in years, though loves it.

Again, any background info on Pumpkin will be most appreciated 


Thats all! Hopefully photos from the camp and Pumpkin soon.

xx _


----------



## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Saturday, 23rd July*

Riding was cancelled today, so in my boredom, I jumped on Pumpkin. We worked on being more responsive to cues like moving forward and changing transitions. We also worked on bending. I noticed he really started to lower his head and sort of reach for the bit, (I think.. it is hard to judge without a trainer) so hopefully we are headed in the right direction!

Tried again with picking up the right lead. I am still impressed with how balanced he is on the incorrect one. But that is beside the point... 
And he is very rushy once he does pick up the proper lead. I guess it needs more work and time to develop those muscles so hopefully we become capable of slowing down and moving along with out training. 

I contacted the APSB organization last week about Pumpkin. They have searched a few stud books and the closest they have found is DIAMOND T Z up here in QLD. Tomorrow we are clipping the fur on his shoulder to get a proper look at his brand so we can get down to finding his history. Wish us luck!

Tomorrow is trail riding day! 13 hours till we get picked up and start down to Numinbah. Can't wait!

I have some pictures that I took and edited from today. 

Till next time,

xx
_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Monday, 25th July*

O.M.G.... That is all I can really say. 

With the confirmation of a phone call yet to be made, Pumpkin may be called 'Tazz Sunblaze'. I have just received an email back from the APSB. Here it is: 

Hi Jalah,
Well, looking at the records it is quite likely that the pony is a Australian Pony and was bred by Brian Zischke from Lower Tenthill, Qld. I think the pony's name might have been Tazz Sunblaze but can't be sure because I can't find any details for this pony - except that Mr Zische paid the membership for a Mr Wust in 1993 so that he could register the foal (Sunblaze) by Mr Wust's stallion. 
I can't even tell you if the pony was palomino because the records are so old they are not on the Federal Council database but it all sort of fits. There is a phone no. Mr Brian Zischke on the ystem 07 **** **** but he hasn't been a members since 2007 so this may not be current any more, although I just checked in the white Pages and it looks like he might still be there. (see below).
It is probably worth a phone call.

(if this doesn't make sense, give me a ring). 

Good luck!!


I am so happy to say the least!

OK, about yesterday. Sorry I didn't update, I was pooped and had a bucket load of homework due today. Anyway, Set up was quick with organizing experience and matching horses. I ended up with a 14.2 Appy mare, Nikki. The ride through the valley was gorgeous. Once we were out in the paddocks with the cows, we got to canter a little bit. Not to much and it was in a line, but that can be understood due to keeping people safe etc. Overall it was pretty good  Also, you can do volunteer work there over holidays, so I might check that out. I am still to get the pictures onto my computer so those will come later.

I will update again soon,

xx

_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

Also, that information was with the brand DIAMOND T Z, not DIAMOND T 2 as there was no brand found with that start.


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Friday, 29th July*

Not much this time. Jumped on Pumpkin bareback yesterday after going for a run and working on ground cues again. Then we miss calculated while trotting (in the halter) and we ran into a low branch.. oops. Just a tiny scratch on the face, no problem. 

He is going well with becoming a lot more responsive both on the ground and in the saddle. Legs cues and the whoa cue is coming along nicely.

That's all really, a bit of a pointless post but you know. 

xx_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Thursday, 4th August*

B-Day in 10 days. 

A friend of mine is getting me 2 -3 baby silkies (hens) for my birthday  Ine of our ducks is trying to sit at the moment, so if Icing (our only hen) doesn't take to be their mother, hopefully Barnabee (the duck) will. 

Worked with Pumpkin again tonight. He has become a great deal more respectful of which way I am going and is yielding to my directions well. And then you know you are getting somewhere when you can control speed in the same pace with voice commands. 
Pumpkin has come such a long way. Longer to go still and so much more to learn, but I am so proud of him. _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Sunday, 7th August*

Been very busy this weekend. I have hardly been home. Started work at 10 yesterday, and went until 3. Got to riding at 3:30 which went till 4:30. And I just got back from a sleepover. 

Sue, our instructor, has recently acquired a pony called Comet from their neighbors. He is only tiny, maybe just smaller than Pumpkin, and has the same attitude. He was trained by the neighbors, and they have no horse sense, so naturally, things went downhill.

She thought I would like him and would be able to handle him so she put me on him. Lets just say he has no respect for the bit. I have had an interesting lesson and learnt a lot. The tactics I learnt helped me with Pumpkin this afternoon, but that later. He settled down well and started to listen to the thing in his mouth, and the person on his back. I am in love with him.
It will take a bit of work, but he will come around. 

Pumpkin was good today for the most part. At the start, he tried to take me to the gate while we were cantering. So, tactic time. I used the tips Sue gave me in the lesson, and gave Pumpkin two sharp pulls on the bit just as he tried to take off. Result: An angel for the rest of the ride. He was listening incredibly well, never tried to go to the gate. I think it was a bit of a shock for him to get that sort of reaction from me when he tried to run off. 

I also talked to Sue about bringing Pumpkin for lessons and she has no problems what-so-ever about him coming. A few more weeks and he will be there.  Can't wait.

I will try to get a photo soon of me on Comet, though it might not be the best. 

Till next time,

xx_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_Ran out of editing time. Comet and I are circled_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Monday, 29th August*

Long time no update...

Had my 15th on the 14th so that was a lot of giggles and fun. I got given two Silkie chicks for my birthday 

Pumpkin is well and been keeping out of trouble. Not happy about the malting, bu that cant really be avoided. 

Yesterday, I had Maddie come over and give us a 'lesson'. We popped over some jumps as we hadn't done that in agesssss. Pics at the end. He did well, but has started to get lazy with his back feet. Fixed that and now all good again  

After we put him away, I went over to see Chinga. Hopped on him and went over some jumps as well. Had a great time. It was awesome to see them again  

I'll put the pics in the next post. I need to find the good ones. 


_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

Some of them are screen shots, so not the best quality. I should be getting some good ones soon thoug

IN the first 2, I am riding. The 3rd,is Maddie.

xx


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## ChingazMyBoy

Just clarifying.

I usually ride a 16.1hh, solid TB. It was very different jumping a small pony.


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## ItzKayley

Love your pony! I also have a welsh cross. 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_Thank you! We are not sure what he is now... I contacted the stud book people and they think he is an Australian Pony._


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## ItzKayley

I'm hopeless with breeds but, is welsh x australian riding pony possible? 
I think of him as a welsh still.


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_ I have no clue! I am hopeless with breeds as well 

Yes, I still call him my welsh as well. _


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## ItzKayley

We can be hopeless breed people together.


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_Hahaha. Sounds like an excellent plan! 

Just a quick update today: 
Sat: 
Went to the Mt Gravatt Show jumping with Maddie and Chinga. Had a great day, it was fun to be in that sort of competition environment. Got sun burnt but oh well. Had horse riding later that afternoon, brought home $5. In the morning I also got myself a new camera  It is a Canon SX30is and I love it. 

Sunday: 
Fathers day! We were planning to go on the boat, but the wind was to high, so those plans got cancelled. Also because I was sick. 

Today: 
Had the day off school due to being sick. When ever I got up I felt dizzy and had to sit down again. I started to feel better in the afternoon, so I took Pumpkin out for a groom and in the end decided to wash him. He is so clean!!! But he stepped on my toe... So now it is bruised and quite sore. Put his summer rug on him before I put him out into the paddock to protect him from the dirt. And of course, he rolled. Not 2 times as normal but 5. Good on him :/ 

Thats all for now, updates soon
xx

1. Shiny legs!
2. Wet pony
3. Rolling...
_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Thursday, 8th September*

Yesterday was a momentous day...

I fractured my wrist coming of the pony 

We were cantering around a corner and he had a little bit of a hesitant back off at something, but I kicked him on. He then ducked sideways, started bucking and genius me fell off! I landed on my right wrist, and it was confirmed this morning as a buckle fracture right below my joint. If it had been on the joint, I would have had bad arthritis for the remainder of my days.. so a positive came out of this. 

The doctor, bless his heart, said I cloud keep riding if I wanted! But if it got injured and snapped fully across the bone, I would need surgery to re-align it. So - no riding for 5 weeks... fun :/ 

Pumpkin is good otherwise, I got some photos while I riding, before and after. 

Thats it for now 

1. He looks odd... 
2. canter canter canter
3. The time of impact
4. Remounting like a pro
5. Riding home
6. All bandaged up
7. Looking pretty and innocent afterwards _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Monday, 12th September*

We went camping over the weekend to Neurum Creek music festival. It was good fun to go and get a break from the usual routine. 

By the end of these 5 weeks I think I will be crazy.. I haven't ridden for a week and I can honestly say I greatly miss being in the saddle. 

School is almost done, only 4 more days until the 3rd term for the year ends. 

Pumpkin is good, I think he is enjoying doing no work at all. 

Thats it!

xx_


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## ChingazMyBoy

Did you want me to come ride him on Sunday?
x.


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_I will do a double check to see that I am clear, but if you wouldn't mind that would be wonderful  We can start some basic dressage!  
And bring a USB
xx _


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## ChingazMyBoy

PumpkinzMyBaby22 said:


> _I will do a double check to see that I am clear, but if you wouldn't mind that would be wonderful  We can start some basic dressage!
> And bring a USB
> xx _


I can't now.. 

I'm going to Hamo again


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Friday, 16th September*

Well, life has been boring. Fracturing my arm has made me realize how much time I spend doing stuff with horse... I have so much free time now.

Had to tell pumpkin to back off with his attempts to take over again tonight. Chased him away a few times and he came round. Malting has hit big time, he will make me a mountain with is fur by the time he is done. 

Finally on holidays. I now have 2 weeks to do nothing and spend time in general chilling with Pumpkin without having to worry about school work etc. 

While I think of it, does anyone have any activities that I can do with Pumpkin non-riding wise? He gets bored when he doesn't get ridden and it would be nice for him to do something different.


Jalah

xx _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Sunday, 18th September*_
_Went out to play with Pumpkin today. I set up a tarp and a small jump with a florescent shirt on it to start some desensitizing to random jumps. I started to free lunge him with the halter on after those obstacles were done and well worked with. I figure this will start getting him used to the idea that it is possible to lunge with something on his head. Later we will include me holding a lead rope and doing lunging the proper way. _


_He soon had enough of going where I told him, and he took himself off for a canter/gallop around the paddock a for a while, providing the family with some entertainment. I kept pushing him on until he came back and settled down. I finished on a good note by asking him to go back to lunging around me and we cooled off. _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Monday, 19th September*

Today I gave my younger sister a ride on Pumpkin. She has taken lessons previously, but really wasn't that interested. Since we are on holidays, and we were both bored, she wanted to jump on.

He is no type of pony who will put up with being told what to do if you don't ride him much, but he did very well for her today. He started to grasp the concept that you don't go to mum whenever you feel like it, and that you actually listen to other peoples leg cues. She had him going well by the end of the ride. 

She still needs some work with rising trot, and Pumpkin looked rather uncomfortable during some of the trotting, but I am very pleased with how he behaved and let her carry on. I think she learnt a thing or two about riding today, so that is pleasing. 

I set up some things for her to go around, and hopefully soon we can start getting more technical about the rides and incorporate picking things up and dropping them places. She might even get to canter soon, but who knows? 

I am getting my cast on tomorrow  Not looking froward to that, but that is what life has given me and I shall have to deal with it the best I can. 

Anyway, enough blab, more photos. 
_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

*Thursday, 22 Septmber*

_My sister rode Pumpkin again on Tuesday. Her heels were a lot better this time. Pumpkin then became the lawn mower around the house and the next day._

_Went to the naturopath again yesterday. It is so nice to have my tailbone fixed. I am also going back when my arm is out of the cast so she can do some muscle strengthening exercises. _

_Took some photos of Pumpkin again this morning. _

_That’s pretty much it. _

_I will upload photos soon as I am on the wrong computer. _


----------



## PumpkinzMyBaby22

Picture time!


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Saturday, 24th September*

Short post today. 

As some of may know, Maddie (ChingazMyBoy) popped over yesterday and gave Pumpkin a ride. She took him over some jumps and tested his height out because he got to bored with the little stuff. He got up to 85 cm as the tallest. Very proud of my baby. They then finished after doing some flatwork. 

If you want to critique on Pumpkins form, feel free. 

Maddie might be coming over this arvo again, so I will keep you all updated as to how that goes. 

Pic are only screen shots, so sorry about the badish quality. 

1. 75cm
2. 85 cm
3. 85 cm
4. 85 cm
5. 85 cm
6. Rolling_


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## ChingazMyBoy

He rode very nicely! Such a good boy!
Please no critique of me though - small ponies are hard!!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## apachewhitesox

ChingazMyBoy said:


> Please no critique of me though - small ponies are hard!!
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


 
Haha I know that feeling. He looks great!!


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Monday, 26th September*

Maddie came over again on Sunday to give Pumpkin another workout. I think he was a bit tired from the weeks riding. He usually doesn't get ridden 5 days a week. He did try though. After a few mishaps in behavior, they worked just a little longer on flat and trotted over some trot poles.

He seems to be improving, but because I am not riding, I can't be 100% sure. Maddie has been a great help overall though, so I am sure some progress is being made. 

Photos again! _


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## apachewhitesox

He is so cute he makes me want a little pony.


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

Hahaha. Don't be fooled! He is a little brat under neath  But yes, he can be quite cute.


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## apachewhitesox

Haha the way you describe him he reminds me of my riding instructors daughters pony. He is also an Australian pony gelding but brown he is an awesome little guy to ride. I pretty much had to go straight to horses cause of my height etc. I still love getting the chance to ride the little twirpy ponies though hehe.


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

I love riding ponies. They have such attitudes sometimes! It is a good refresher after riding horses.


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Wednesday, 28th September*

Great day today.

Maddie invited me to go to the Pony Club X/C training for the afternoon. It was great to have the experience, even though I was designated photographer. I don't have the photos on me, as I used another persons camera. Maddie (Chingaz) should soon have them up to show  Can't wait to get a float and finally take Pumpkin out to join and get the experience. _


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## ChingazMyBoy

You did an awesome job! She was such a great heap - couldn't have done it without you! Your my show groom, photographer AND 'I hate my horse' listener.


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

Hahaha. Anytime  I love it. It gives me some relief from not being able to ride!


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Friday, 30th September*

A friend rode Pumpkin yesterday for a bit. He was due for another ride. She has some riding experience, so she wasn't a total beginner and could at least trot to get some of that growing energy out. He behaved very well, listening to her and making her think about not only using your hands, but your seat and legs at the same time. A lot to grasp in one hit, but she got it really quickly. 

He is definitively starting to use himself some more. He is engaging his hind end more, and going into the bridal. There was some salivary foam there, only a little bit, but it seems to me and my slightly trained eye that we are finally moving in the right direction. 

And, he is somewhat officially desensitized to the dreaded hair dryer from hell! It rained before she rode, so I had to dry his coat somehow... and fast. He was fine with it on and such, but heaven forbid it touch his neck. He went okay though, and he trusted me enough to be able to get up to doing his muzzle by the time I was done. He was still a little weary of it moving, but he returned back to his usual self quickly. _


----------



## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Wednesday, 5th October*

Nothing has happened. Very boring right? 

I am supposed to be getting my cast off next Tuesday. Finally. It will have been 5 weeks since I have last ridden. Though it might be postponed a day or so because I have an English essay that morning. So it depends on what time the appointment is. 

Plans are being made for Pumpkin this weekend, so I will update if those go ahead. _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Monday, 10th October*

Cast off tomorrow!!! 

Other than that, nothing really. The friend didn't end up riding the pony, we went to a mini festival near her house with some friends instead. 

Pumpkin went for a run at dinner time the other day. He was full of it, more so at the canter. It will be interesting getting back to cantering and jumping these next few afternoons with that amount of energy. 

Some kids were in the paddock yesterday patting the horse while he was eating carrots they had given him. And worse: the dad was standing at the fence watching. Great parenting skills right there. And the middle aged kid was 12 yrs old. The lesson they would have been getting: it is ok to go onto peoples properties and play with horses whenever you like :? Where has all the common sense gone? Feel free to enlighten me. 
But whatever, people will be people and we must keep moving on. _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Thursday, 13th October*

Rode Pumpkin yesterday afternoon. He was great. We were planning to just walk, as I felt like my confidence had been a bit shaken. Anyway... trotting happened... then cantering. It was fantastic. Any confidence I thought I had lost was still there. And Pumpkin was being a gentleman. He was taking good care of me. I think he knew I was a bit unsure so he was very responsive to the aids. Though he can be a brat most of the time, he is a good care taker of people who are nervous. _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Monday, 17th October*

Not much... Just bumping it up.
I was going to take Pumpkin to his first lesson this Saturday, but plans for my sisters netball might be putting that to a halt  Mum said it would be more convenient if I could wait another week. It is better than not being allowed to take him at all though. 

I haven't ridden him since last Thursday, naughty horse mum. Winter coat is at it's end, and I have a lovely Pally sitting the paddock now.

Heading to New Zealand for a couple days on the 11th of November.

That's it .

Oh, and a nice photo my sister took of me a Pumpkin the other day. I might be getting it put on canvas or something for my room. 
_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Thursday, 20th October*

naughty horse mum turned into Good horse mum. 

I finally got on Pumpkin this afternoon. School + drama = stress = horse ride = no more stress. Turns out that it is actually really hard to get people from my family to help me with riding ... 

I have to call my riding instructor to let her know Pumpkin is going to a lesson. Dad can come up with me to watch the lesson so next Saturday will be a moment in history. 

8 times out of 10 Pumkpin picked up the right lead while cantering today. YAY!! This has been his problem lead for a while, and hopefully this wasn't just a good day. _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Saturday, 22nd October*

Just gotten back form his first group lesson! I am so pleased with how he went. 

At the start, he got a bit wound up, and started to buck... (quite a bit but no one needs to know that :wink while we were getting into our groups. I thought it would go down hill from there, but that was the end of the bad behaviour. 
We went through all the courses at a walk/trot and didn't need to stop for anything like pick ups, or to double check that scary thing. Even if we hindered the time in groups rather than helped it, I really don't care.

He had on ice block on the way and now is happily grazing around the house.

Pictures!! _


----------



## ChingazMyBoy

*Heels. Down.*

So proud of 'my' little pony


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

They were with the rest of the pictures  I was trying to kick him on. He was a bit tense. 

Haven't ridden him yet. I have been busy renovating our rental, and with assignments :S So I guess I deserve the title bad horse mum again... The flies have become insane.


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Saturday, 29th October* 

Rode on Friday to get some energy out of him before our lesson. Did a lot of trot work to get up some more fitness etc. He wouldn't canter for me, he only had the heart to go a couple of strides. 

Today was a great lesson. He needs to get a social life! He cannot get enough of the different horse smells. And it seems he has forgotten that laid back ears mean don't do that. He has settled right in though. We were doing relays at the start of lesson, and we would have won one apart from the fact that I didn't put the smiley face thing in the end of the pole properly :S 

But we did win our competition for money! I tied with another one of our riders. Even though the second part of the course was on another horse, Pumpkin did so well. He was relaxed enough to give me very nice calm canter. His stopping was awesome and he was co-operating very well with my growing competitiveness. 

On the way home we cantered behind the kindy a bit. Picture perfect moment. Cantering on the green grass with the yellow dandelions and the white clovers covering the ground. 
So all in all, it was a great day. 

Some action-y type shots this time. 
_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

More...


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Monday, 7th November*

Same old same old. Pumpkin is feeling very settled now, so naturally, he has taken things into his own.. hoofs I guess? Pulling tricks and making life interesting. He is behaving very well still, it is just going to take a bit of persistence to get him to stop being stupid. 

Jumped a tad on Friday, only over small stuff. Not jumping in months has very much so affected my position... I love where I am riding, but the downside is a lack in jumping. All the more of a reason to go to Pony Club. 

Just under 4 weeks left of school till I'm on holidays. Then some serious riding work begins. 

That's basically it_


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## ItzKayley

It looks like your having a load of Fun. :-D
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Monday, 14th November*

Back from New Zealand. We worked on ground manners on Thursday night, those where starting to lack a little. Fixed that up then he got fed dinner. 

I let him out today for a graze, and when it came to put him back in his paddock, he played the game of: I-have-lots-of-energy-and-you-don't-so-come-catch-me... :/ Great because i have gotten up a 2 in the morning for the past two days. But it is nice to see him playing with me. Or his version anyway.. 

Eventually herded him into the paddock and got him to come up to me. Took him out for a wash and now he is all sparkly and soft 

Snapped some pics on my laptop, so they aren't great quality. 

_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Friday, 18th November*

Got off my butt and rode this afternoon. It has been two weeks, and considering that, he went very well. We worked on being more reactive to my aids, and with flexing. We also part fixed our leaning in on circles. 

He gathered what we were doing fairly quickly so that was excellent. 

Hopefully our lesson will go well tomorrow. _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Sunday, 20th November*

I didn't get to ride Pumpkin in my lesson on Saturday. I woke up 10 minutes before the lesson started :S I slept through my alarm...

My friend rode him Saturday night. He was so good. She is starting to get really good with her leg aids and looking where she is going. I jumped on him afterwards and he was doing so well. 

_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Friday, 25th November*

I have been sick the past two days, so no riding lately. I did get around to cleaning his sheath however. It is going to take a bit more persuasion to be able to clean his 'man-hood' though. Turns out he is very shy about it getting cleaned. Mission for the weekend I'm thinking. 

School is almost done for grade 10. Only 6 more days to go including the weekend. All my assessment is handed in and done. Over the holidays I will be getting Pumpkin up to scratch with fitness, and hopefully we will get him out and being more social. He hasn't grasped that ears back means 'cut that out or you will get a nip.'

_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Monday, 28th November*

Saturday was great. Pumpkin behaved very well... in fact, he has developed a habit of not leaving the property without some resistance. Shows he is enjoying himself, but I am not very keen for this to turn turn into a common thing. He was listening very well to my leg. Bending and speed is coming along well - something has clicked in his brain. 

I now have to stop kicking him when i ride - where i was previously taught, we were told to kick every stride. Now to break that habit of 3 years, and keep to squeezing. 

Spent Sunday at Gumdale PC with Maddie (Chingaz) watching her compete. Pretty sun burnt as a result though :/ 

All in all, a good weekend_


----------



## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Saturday, 3 December*

Holidays!! 8 weeks to play with the pony and improve riding etc. 

Lesson today was good, we are getting more competitive with going for points... even though it is the second last week for the term, but better later than never right? 

Also found out that if you sing nursery rhymes to him while we do the course, he travels quicker and with more enthusiasm.

behind the kindy on the way home, i let him go for a canter, expecting some enthusiasm but nothing over exciting. But he kicked it up a notch today. I am fairly sure we were galloping, or an in hand canter. It was amazing to feel him reach under and push himself forward like that. No photos or vids though :/ 
Will have to work on listening to me more though. 

Rode Chinga this afternoon with Maddie. Wasn't that an experience and a half. I haven't ridden a big horse in about 2 and a half months, and then Chinga is a very powerful horse on top of that. Jumped him a bit after getting used to flat work. I don't know how Maddie does it. He has lots of force behind a take off. 

So, I spent around 4 and a half hours riding today and in the company of horses.

Holidays are looking to be very horsey _


----------



## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Monday 5th December*

Spent Sunday afternoon with Maddie at her lesson with Becky Allen taking photos. Very nice lade and I learnt a tonne. 

Rode pumpkin this afternoon. He was listening really well. He was responding heaps better to my leg pressure and to the bit. He was jumping well, even though I am sure my position was hindering more than helping most of the time. We have started to connect jumps together like a course now. Finally!


Sister took a few photos, but I'll upload them later._


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Saturday, 10th November*

Rode him a massive 3 times this week  

Monday is above ^^^ 

Tuesday I just jumped on bareback for a short ride. Walked and trotted around, with some bending here and there. Generally well behaved.

So to start off the day today, it was pouring rain. Still wanting to take Pumpkin up for the fun day, I put him in his rug and me in my rain coat. Both blue, so we were matching with style  Mum took up all my gear. By the time I got there, after walking for about 20-30 mins in the rain, I was soaking wet. Ended up riding bareback for the first part of the lesson. A girl on the other team gave him ago, and from what I saw, he was testing the ropes with her. 

I ended up on him for one of the rounds and he was excellent. Bending nicely, going forward and stops were good. 

Second half was saddled, rode him for individual courses. Overall, he was good. No trouble leaving the arena today, though that might be because he was following mum out...

And the disappointing news: according to the weather people and my instructor we are to be only having a grand total 3 fine days until mid January. Why oh why. Sure, I can ride on overcast days, but a slip we had in the rain a while ago that had the potential to be very dangerous, has resulted in me not riding while to ground is soggy, or to damp... 

I will now be found praying that the rain will hold and that the sun will stay. _


----------



## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Monday, 19th December*

On the Pumpkin front: 

Nothing. Not a thing. Apart from ground work though... Been busy at pony club camp all week and haven't really been home to spend time with him. 

On the horse front: 

Pony Club registration. Verrrry excited! And mum has promised that her goal is to get me a float by my my birthday in August. _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Friday, 23 December*

28 hours or 1662 mins or 99697 seconds till x-mas. I know my mum went to the saddlery, now I just really want to know what I am getting. 

My friend rode again on... Tuesday I think. Progressed from walk/trot to w/t/c. Pumpkin went so well, he was listening and being very responsive for her. 

I rode him yesterday to keep his energy down for our cousins. Again, going well. started to become lazy and ignore my legs, but the trusty dressage whip fixed that. Jumped him over some x-rails and a few 60cm. gave my sisters friends a ride and called it a day. One of the girls is a horseless horse mad child - read almost every book on horses under the sun. I gotta say, it is nice to have an enthusiastic helper!

...And it has just started to bucket down with rain -_-. X-mas day better not be wet.. 

So that's it _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_* Tuesday, 27 December*

Well, merry late Christmas!

Ended up getting a purple saddle blanket with Pumpkins name sown in it. I haven't used it yet. 

My cousins didn't end up getting a ride on him. They came late and we had to cram everything in already. 

That's it with Pumpkin from the last couple of days. I do have a photo from this morning to make up for the lack of exciting things to write about._


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Saturday, 7th November*

Um... not much. 

I did give my friend a bareback lesson yesterday though. Both went really well. He is listening really well to her, but challenging her just enough to get her thinking. He knows his stuff. It didn't go for very long, but it was getting dark. 

I plan to get him out and have a few lessons, or ride with friends next week. Though I can't ride at the moment, as I can hardly walk. I stretched a tendon or something in my foot 4 days ago playing spot light -_- Good on me. 

I have a few photos from today while he was out grazing. 

_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Thursday, 12th January*

Farrier came earlier this week to give him a trim. He behaved very well. 

Still can't ride cause of my foot. That and the previous 3 days have been 35, 34 and 36 degrees Celsius. I'm sure he's happy doing nothing though. _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_He was looking really bored and I had nothing better to do so I grabbed some fruit, chucked it on a rope and hung it from a tree. At first it looked like a lost cause, but he got the hang of it in the end. 

I might ride him either this afternoon or tomorrow just plodding around. my sister promised to take photos if I give her a Toblerone. Bribery always works._


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Sunday, 15th January*

So not riding him for that long was a boo-boo. If you didn't have a strong contact on him, he wanted to canter... from a walk. He was playing up so I just got off him and sent him off around the paddock to get his energy down. I couldn't be bothered to deal with his antics yesterday. 

I worked today for the first time in ages. My foot by the end of it was killing me :/

Might finally be riding with a girl from work this week  She will hopefully be bringing her mare down for a day. _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Wednesday, 18th January*

No pics  

Rode with the girl from work today. I gave Pumpkin a 15 minute ride before she got here to make sure he wasn't going to do anything stupid. He behaved very well, no antics. 
When she got here we ended up jumping, I went 70cm on Pumpkin, and up to 85 with her mare, Saf. Sad to say, my position has faltered thanks to not jumping at lessons any more. 

We went around to the dam across the road and tried to coax them in for a swim. Saf went in after a little persuading, but Pumpkin wasn't having any of it. Ran home and got some hay in the end. He got all four hooves in. I'm sorta proud. I've seen him go in to dams up to his withers to get lily pads before, so he was being a sook. 

Planning to make this a weekly thing, and we will switch riding to each others houses. Hopefully goes ahead! _


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## Cacowgirl

He is just the cutest little guy!I love spicey little ponies & love hearing your tales about him. He is very photogenic.


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

Thankyou! Glad to hear some loves his attitude. He does keep it interesting


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## Clayton Taffy

I can't believe I haven't seen this before. He ia cute as a ....... Pimpkin.


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## Clayton Taffy

I mean cute as a pumpkin!


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

Hahaha. My sister used to call him Pimpkin to annoy me.


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Sunday, 22nd January*

Went to Lake Cootharaba near the old milling point in Noosa for Friday and Saturday. Lots of kangaroos around the place, and I almost got to pat one. Some of the dominant males had *huge* forearms, so I have a picture there somewhere of one of them. Few Kookaburras and goanna's around the place as well. 

Saw a float up there for sale so we are thinking about going back up to check it out and see if it is worth getting. I told dad to look at it while we were up there, but apparently another 2 hour drive sounds appealing... 

Riding lessons start again next week, it will be interesting to find out if Pumpkin still knows how to turn without making the circumference of the moon. I should have ridden more, so I can't blame anyone but myself if it takes a while to warm up again. 

And it turns out that I lied about not having photos from the other day. None from riding, just chilling around, but I'll put them up anyway. I'll put more up soon, internet is being slow. _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Monday, 23rd January*

I was all geared up and ready to ride this afternoon, but it started to rain. And rain. And rain. I was feeling very pro-active on my last day of holidays. However I did get to mow the back paddock. It looks all pretty and fresh now. 

Plans to ride with Talitha again on Saturday, the owner of Saff. Another friend from work has invited me to join a group of her friends to go trail riding every now and again. It will be great to get Pumpkin out and about. _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Wednesday, 25th January*

Sad day  

The ponies who I work with are kept in a paddock which flooded. There are some higher grounds around the area. Our boss had to have the water police to come out and look for her 5 ponies, though sadly only 3 so far have been found :'( 

We are hoping that they are found safe and sound. If anyone in the Brisbane, Carina area have seen 2 miniature ponies: 1 chestnut stallion and a black gelding with a white stripe in his mane, please let me know. _


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## apachewhitesox

Oh no sorry I have nothing helpful to add but I hope the ponies are found Safe soon.


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

Thanks. She is on horseback looking for them in the park across the road at the moment, I am hoping we can get down there to help.


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Saturday, 28th January*

We have found the black gelding but he sadly didn't make it. The chestnut stallion is still missing. However our boss has purchased a new pony for work, and I have been invited to help with his training for the pony rides! Heading up this afternoon to have a look. 

Riding was cancelled today due to the awesome floods and rain that we are getting :/

If the rain holds off tomorrow, I will be going up to ride with Talitha. _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Sunday, 29th January*

Her new stally is gorgeous! I'll have to get a picture when I next go up and see him. She has also purchased another mare this morning with a 4 week old foal at her side. Can't wait to see them 

No news on Gus, the missing stallion, though as he was heard leader he wouldn't have left the herd, and as the smallest he would have been swimming first. The floods got up to the 16hh horses chests at the peak, so it can be assumed he has passed.

Didn't get to ride at Talitha's. Stupid rain. Plans for next week. _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Friday, 3rd February*

The mare and foal are way to cute. She has also gotten another gelding. 

Rode Pumpkin on.... oh yesterday. Worked on being responsive to the 'go forward' cue. Jumped a few things here and there, blah blah blah. 

I am sick today, but I am praying to the gods that I shall be well enough for tomorrows lesson and our ride with Talitha. Pony club sign on tomorrow as well. Working on Sunday, so I'll be able to snap some pics of the new ones. _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Monday, 6th February*

Ugh. Don't take a 7 week break from horse riding, then do a lot of sitting trot. I couldn't bend over for 3 days because my stomach hurt to much. 

I have been very surprised lately with how responsive he has been. Before I rode on Thursday, I had been working him around the paddock with free jumping, and free lunging etc. He was still very energized on Saturday which is unusual for him. 
He behaved very well going up to riding. I didn't use him in my lesson this week. Half of it was lunging so we could work on our position, and the other half was washing the horses. It was good patience training. Really need to focus on keeping my right leg still. It flaps around like a turkey -_- This term is focusing on presentation for shows and dressing the horses up etc. 
On the way home, again, he behaved well. Now I can literally drop the reins and he will take me home or to riding. Cute!

Didn't get to ride at Talitha's this weekend. She ended up with a shift at work. 

I am literally in love with Rosie, the foal. I was scratching her on the neck, and multiple times she tried to lie down in my lap <3

Very affectionate, though talk about nippy  She goes to nuzzle your face, then bite you. Cheeky girl. Soon cut that out though. _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Friday, 10th February*

Once upon a time there was a tree on a slant. It always liked to get it's branches in my face as I was riding, and it's truck threatened to knock off my head every time I rode near it. 

One night, not to long ago, flash flooding that lasted 10 mins came. The next day, the tree had fallen down. Y.A.Y. 

I now have a new X/C jump. Woo-hoo! We are going to chainsaw it up over the weekend, though dad has agreed to let me have to trunk to keep it as a jump. It is fairly decent sized, so I will be having a lot of fun soon. I have already free jumped Pumpkin over it with ease. 

Won't be riding in my lesson tomorrow: Instead I am riding my bosses Shetland in another lesson for free to see if he will cope with that sort of environment so she can sell him. Can't wait!

Riding with Talitha on Sunday hopefully.

And finally got Pony Club membership. Pumped. Can't wait to get Pumpkin and I progressing with dressage and jumping. _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Saturday, 11th February*_

_Dad cut up my tree..

Rode Charlie this morning, the shetland. He is very much a one person horse, so it took a while to catch him and do the ground work. But once you get on his back, he is a lot more relaxed. For the first half an hour, we worked on position. My feet stick out, which affects hips, shoulders etc. Painful much. My legs muscles learnt a thing or two. We then worked on barrels and bending a bit. After doing the barrels pattern 3 times, Charlie was really starting get the tight, quick turns. On the last one, we ducked in to quickly, and he stepped on the edge of the crate which flew up a bit. So it freaked him out, he took of, and I bailed. A bit winded, and will have a bruised bum tomorrow, but all good. Took us a further 24 minutes or so to catch him, but no problems afterwards. 

In the end the lesson went for 3 hours. Stopped in at the servo later and got a large jumbo slushie. Best morning ever. 

Pumpkin gave a lesson to my friend again this afternoon, and we worked on keeping hands and body nice and still while asking for the trot. She wants to learn how to start jumping, so I took her through how to do 2-point and how to practice at home. Her trot is improving well, starting to get everything together._


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_* Tuesday, 14th February*

On Sunday I worked in the morning and got home at 1:30. Went to go ride with another girl form work, Ruby, and left home at 2. Got home at 6.

I am so proud of Pumpkin. Most of the trip we had never been before. Only had one major freak out. We were trotting behind a line of trees, and when we came out, he saw a paddock full of sheep. So, U-turn, and cantering down the road out of his mind. I let him run it out, and when I felt him relax a bit, I pulled him up. Took us around 10mins to pass them, but that was our only issue. He did well with Ruby's lease horse, learnt some manners about getting to close to ****ed off mares. 

Ruby also learnt a lesson or two about horses that like to buck and misbehave. She jumped him, and I gave her a few pointers and tips. After the first two or three jumps, the were looking like a real team. She said that she learnt tonnes about riding just in those 15 minutes, so I am very glad. 

A storm came over around 5:15, so I got on him and started to head home. All of this was in the rain, in totally unfamiliar areas. He was so brave, and I have never felt so in tune and trusting of him. It was defiantly a great day. It made me realize just how well he has come.

I love my pony <3 _


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## ChingazMyBoy

Samfords not happening -_- , Chinga hurt himself


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

Ugh, that sucks. Silly Chinga. Want to ride Pumpkin this weekend?


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## Caitlinpalomino

Its great to hear you and Pumpkin are progresing well together!


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

Thanks  I am so glad it is all coming together. Even if he does be stupid in the paddock, it is good to know I can trust him if we need to get out of something.


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Saturday, 18th February*

I didn't ride at all during the week, way to tired dealing with school drama.

He did very well in our lesson today. Almost won a point. Highlight of my life :lol: Need to get our turns back up to scratch though. Not much to really comment on. 

Came home and gave him a well needed bath. He is so clean it is weird. 

My friend rode again today. He was very good for her. Worked on walk and trot, then got her to do laps in jumping position. I have now introduced her to the world of leg pain. She got to work on canter this time as well. Her seat is getting better, but she still needs to relax a bit. 

Going to ride to Talitha's tomorrow after work with Ruby. Planning to bring the camera to get some shots. 

Pumpkin is now out grazing and has eaten so much he is sleeping. Fatty. Kind of reverses what I have been aiming to do with his weight, but oh well. _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Tuesday, 21st February*

I need to start Pilates. Or Yoga. 

Took Pumpkin to Ruby's on Sunday in Talitha's float with her mare, Saf. He did so well for his second time floating, first time in 2 years. 

He did alright - and only alright. He was relaxed and therefore decided to spice up life for me -_-

Dear Pumpkin: Although I find it hilarious when you buck, take off and challenge me, there is a point where you need to stop and listen. You went past that point. In your defense, there were two mares there: and one was showing interest in you, but that is not an excuse. 

He did manage to get me off before a jump. We were cantering up to it, and at the last minute ducked out. So I flew off and had dirt down my jeans for the rest of the ride :S Eww. Didn't catch it on film, though we have a few where he was bucking and throwing tantrums. 

At the end he was jumping nicely, and starting to listen more. That was probably because of an energy loss, but still. 

So two days on, very sore shoulder and back, tailbone is flared again. _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Saturday, 25th February*

Didn't ride him in my lesson today. Woke up 40 mins before me lesson started, and with having a bad week, I didn't really feel like handling/ riding him. So I rode Benson and kicked butt. Won teams and 2/3 individuals today. It has been so long since I have won anything. It felt good :lol: 

Pony club has been cancelled tomorrow. I was looking forward to getting him out in a very social, full on environment, but apparently our recent Brisbane weather didn't want me to -_- It has been very wet these past couple of days, which is never good for a horse rider with no indoor arena to ride. Only his paddock. Those of you lucky ducks who get to board with proper facilities, feel grateful. 

_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Friday, 2nd March*

Haven't ridden all week. Surprise :/

I should really start allocating specific days where I get home and ride. problem is I am exhausted by the time I get home, and in winter it is dark. 

Since he hasn't been ridden in a while, I played with him the other night. Obviously he is feeling very energetic as he took off from a walk randomly while we were cooling down. He took quite a few spins around the paddock at a gallop. 

Winter coats will soon be setting in, scary thought.
Bought pony club stuff on Sunday, saddle blanket is yellow. So basically yellow on palomino. I think I have a diagram somewhere.... but I'll get some pics for fun shortly. Very rough but it gives you guys an idea. _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Sunday, 4th March*

Let him out to graze today. I made some horse cookies so I got down to trick training business. His bow is becoming a lot better. 

Snapped some pics today as well. My internet is being really slow so I will upload the other two later. _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

Next couple of pics from yesterday.. 

Nothing but rain all day, so any riding right now will be off.


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Friday, 9th March*

I rode him 0_0

For like the first time in 3 weeks. I think the time off was good for him. He was very co-operative for me, which is new. My sister also got some pictures. She caught him in one of his 'moments' so I'll put that up to prove once and for all he is a brat (3rd photo). I can never get anything on film of him misbehaving with me. It is blurry, but still. He was a lot more balanced, and listening well. Worked on jumping, barrels and got him practicing his turns etc. 

All in all, I am very happy with him. 
Got a pic of him in his new saddle blanket as well. _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Sunday, 11th March*

Friday night: 

Baddddddddd pony. He used up all his good behavior yesterday. I didn't ride, but he liked the idea of bad manners. Oh well. One good day, one bad. They sorta come hand in hand with Pumpkin. 

Today: 

Took him to Pony Club for the first time today! 

Good points: Relaxed! He was listening to me well on the ground and partially in the saddle, we were relaxed enough to walk, trot, canter and jump with a little bit of encouragement. Wasn't totally obsessing over the other horses in the paddock. By the end of the ride he was listening really well to me, actually doing what I wanted with minimal fuss.

Points to be... improved on: Focusing on me. We had a few moments where he took off on me trying to get to horses by the fence and to Saf. Going where I want, when I want, at the speed I want. Granted, he is getting better and it was a new place, new horses, but still. 

Photos! The last jump was a really good photo: but my legs dies. Ka-boom and all of the rest. Live and learn I suppose! _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Tuesday, 20th March*

Been busy studying for exams this week, and the rain has come so no riding.

My friend however snuck in a ride on Sunday. We couldn't be bothered to tack up so she did a bareback lesson. A majority of it was trotting, getting her to absorb the motion with her waist and hips and relax. She learnt her lesson. Only because she fell off three times :lol: Her legs are now in serious pain and she is sore from falling. She has graduated a level. 

Pumpkin has been good. Not doing much. We are changing places that we go riding next week! Where we are currently isn't focusing on what we want, but the new place does a wider range of things and focuses more on improving your position, which is what I need. She doesn't do proper lessons, though she used to be a pony club instructor, and is a friend of my bosses. We already have arrangements to get us there, so I have a feeling this is going to be great! 

_


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## ChingazMyBoy

PumpkinzMyBaby22 said:


> _*Tuesday, 20th March*_
> 
> _Been busy studying for exams this week, and the rain has come so no riding._
> 
> _My friend however snuck in a ride on Sunday. We couldn't be bothered to tack up so she did a bareback lesson. A majority of it was trotting, getting her to absorb the motion with her waist and hips and relax. She learnt her lesson. Only because she fell off three times :lol: Her legs are now in serious pain and she is sore from falling. She has graduated a level. _
> 
> _Pumpkin has been good. Not doing much. We *are changing places that we go riding next week!* Where we are currently isn't focusing on what we want, but the new place does a wider range of things and focuses more on improving your position, which is what I need. She doesn't do proper lessons, though she used to be a pony club instructor, and is a friend of my bosses. We already have arrangements to get us there, so I have a feeling this is going to be great! _


I am proud!!


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

Thankyou!


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Friday, 23rd March*

Despite the recent rain, I cow-girled up and rode. 

I only had a half day at school today due to block exams. When I got home I let him out to graze. 

He was really well behaved. Walk, trot, canter and stopping was really good. Went to take him out around the block and that turned into a 15 minute lesson that we do not ignore me, we turn at the speed I want and we do not buck. Fun! Nice refresher for my seat. But my tailbone hurts again because of riding. Oh the things we put up with. 

My sister raced us around the dam. And I must admit, she pretty much won. My horse is slower than a human *facepalm* He has reasons, but still. _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Saturday, 24th March*

Last lesson was today! He did well, listened to me for the most part, but by the end of it he was sick of that ball game. His attention to me is getting a lot better. Basically he was behaving really well.

I washed him this afternoon, he was so dirty I didn't have the patience to look at him any more  
Shampoo + conditioner + lots of water = clean pony. I didn't bother with his socks cause he would have just gone and played in the mud anyway. 

And in tribute to the 'How to keep someone in suspense' thread, I have some news for tomorrow with photos, so get excited. _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Sunday, 25th March*

It was our first Pony Club Muster today! 

We started with a course, similar to what we did at riding lessons, that was easy for us. Minimal misbehavior, a bit of rushing to the next horse ect.

Next was jumping, and it was our fist time doing an actual course. First time around was hilarious. He was pulling, rushing, bolting and bucking to get the group. He never got there, but he gave it a good attempt. We got over all the jumps, even though we had a few dodgy lines. Our first combination ever, and there was only a little bit of hesitation. (3rd photo)

The next round, the height was risen. But I did have a stack. Woo! We were coming into the last jump, and he was rushing it to much. He wouldn't listen when I tried to pull him a bit, so we came in way to close. He bunny hopped over it, but I got ahead so I rolled off. I landed on the very top of my back, basically on my neck, did a somersault and finished sitting down. Jumped back on a cleared it again with no problem. (First photo) 

Did flat work after, looking at connection and contact. He was good. I thought he would get bored and start to play up, but he was listening well. Got a few things to work on.The games afterwards got a bit much for him. He was tired and starting to get cranky so I took him away and just went for a walk, which cheered him up._


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Monday, 2nd April *

Why hello there serious muscle pain. Long time no see. 

I knew he would be stupid, but Saturday was the worst he has ever pulled it. I had warned our new instructor before hand about his behavior and at the start he was really good. She said she had seen these types so many times before. Sweet looking, but underneath the attitude is big. According to my boss after, she was surprised at how bad he decided to act. 

When we were warming up he 'spooked'. Right after that false emergency, I got a gut feeling the he was going to take misbehaving to a new level. 

The start was good, did flat work looking on our position and technique. My thighs are burning. She had me do rising trot stirrup-less to emphasize toes forward, and to use my knees and thighs more than my calves. I did it, but it hurts. He was nice and responsive, listening to my cues and aids.
A few times of trying to buck, nothing major. 

Bounce pony came next. That was ok, first time again. Tried ducking out but we got back in and finished on a good note. He was starting to get smart. When I was in a more vulnerable position: he acted up. Righto then Mr. Smarty Pants. 

Did some courses, that was ok. A bit of rushing. 

At one stage Pumpkin and I had to go back to the float for something. We turned around to walk back but he took of cantering, not listening to me and bucking. We got back to the others, but he went straight past, again carrying on. My boss was saying afterwards it wasn't small bucking, it was 4 feet off the ground style. Far more effort than he usually puts in. I stayed on though, so now dad is under the opinion I should give rodeo a try  

As a result, next week our instructor is bringing along her Spanish curb or something so we can get him to respect the bit. Once he does, we will move back down to our snaffle. She tested his back to make sure he wasn't sore anywhere afterwards.

Mum is coming next week so we can get pictures. _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Saturday, 7th April*

He was so good. 
We put him in a Dutch Gag to begin with and I think he prefers it to his current bit. The way he was moving and accepting it seemed better than in his other one. Mum got videos, so I will have to get screen shots to put up. During warm up he tried to play up but the new bit fixed that problem. He was so light and responsive, it was amazing. We did more bounce pony, that was a lot better. We also did bending and barrels, that was good as well. 

Pictures coming soon!_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Tuesday, 17th April*

It feels like I have been slack with this updating. Hmm

I still need to get those screen shots :S 

We have been on a new schedule, riding at a trot for 30 mins a day, 6 days a week. That has been going well, except for our recent rain clouds making the ground wet. School has started again, so I am going to have to be riding at 4 in the morning to fit it in. By the time I get home from school, it is close to dark. 

Instructor picked up a dutch gag and a PVC bridal for us for $25. That's called bargain hunting! 

Last week I didn't bring him, we have been having floating troubles. He now doesn't like being floated. Reasons suspected, but I won't mention them. So I rode my bosses horse.... talk about trying to pull up a freight train :S He stuck his head on the ground and just kept on going. No mind for the bit or rider at all. By the end he was traveling a lot better, not pulling on my hands for the reins, or trying to swerve me into a tree. 

Over the weekend we had a friend over with her lease mare for the night. He loved it. We were jumping up to 75cm which is pretty good for him! Haha. No pictures sadly. 

Another muster this weekend, praying he gets on the float to give him another good experience. Wish us luck! _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Sunday, 22nd April *

He walked straight on the float like there hadn't been any issues. I was so happy and incredible pleased that there were no issues. 

So we had a dressage lesson today, with a guest instructor. We had two bucks at a canter turning a corner which is leading me to believe it will be time to call a chiro. She had us working on flexing and leg yielding. He picked it up fairly quickly. We have been working on this at home, but this really gave me more of an idea on what to be doing. It took a little bit for him to understand but after that he was really carrying himself well and not fighting the direction. We did this a walk, trot, canter both ways. 

He also added a new trick to his inventory. Jumping over the dressage rails while mum is trying to fix a stirrup and rolling. We were walking around half way through the lesson when he dropped and rolled onto my left leg. I had to push myself away from him using the saddle, thank god for riding blessing me with strong legs. He got up when I asked though and was moving better after so he must have been really itchy. 

Overall it was a very successful day. _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Saturday, 5th May*

Well, long time no update.

I haven't ridden much, though when I have been, he has been great. I jumped on bareback for 20mins the other night, no problems. Rode again today, worked on getting on the bit. I am pleased to say he is getting there. Little unresponsive the the right rein, but we can't be perfect. We need to improve fitness and thinking about hill work. Time to hit the local park. 

He was being an idiot the other night so I cracked down and got him to lunge. Perfected the walk this morning. He wouldn't stay out on the circle at a walk, though trot and canter were fine.

He is currently eating in the back paddock cutting down the grass._


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_* Tuesday, 15th May*

Not much to report. 

Lunging is going really well, moving forward and listening. Want to get lunging gear soon when I have the money. The rope I currently have is to small to be cantering him on. That and our balance is a bit dodge.

Did our dressage bareback again a few nights ago, and I could really feel what people mean 'when they lift their back' and step under properly. Transferred that into the saddle and it really helps.

Last night a lady thought it would be appropriate to throw 5 loaves of bread in his paddock. Thanks, but I would prefer if you didn't. No wonder he is the size of a house and not losing it. She looked like she was from a bakery, though it was to dark to really tell. I will be back out tonight to see if this is a repeated thing. _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Friday, 18th May*

Good rides last night and this afternoon. Went for 1.5 hours last night with responsiveness, and moving off my leg, side passing and fitness. 

Tonight we went to the park, doing light hill work transitions and fitness again. No issues, bucked 3 times because of the new place. Photos!! Sorry for the bad quality, it was falling dark and my camera sucks during that time.

Last photo: please ignore that massive giant of a crest on his neck :S_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Monday, 28th May*

Another muster yesterday. We didn't have Saf with us this time, so he was a bit unsure about loading, but no long standing problems. It was more a test of who's going to get the say. First of we did flat work, work on getting off my legs and actually riding into the corners of the arena. Then we moved onto pacing our times for dressage. we were practicing getting 350 m/pm. our fastest time was 1:16 after he settled down and sorted out that we just keep cantering. 

Moved on to de-sensitizing. Not an issue. He got really bored really quickly so he proceeded to watch the other horses jumping. Apparently that was more interesting than playing with 'scary' stuff. 
Did grid work with jumping. He got more and more excited as we went on, which was good. As long as he still had energy I was happy! My stirrups were to long, making me fail a lot however - **** those chicken wings. . 

The picture quality isn't that great, they are screen shots. 

Enjoy!_


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## Skyseternalangel

He's so freaking cute over those jumps!!


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_He loves it! Even at his age, he puts his heart in for me.

Newest updates: 

Might be moving where I ride AGAIN. But here I can walk Pumpkin up the road, private lesson either jumping or dressage, 45 mins to an hour. She has her own horse whom I can also ride should I not want to ride Pumpkin that week. Still to confirm our first evaluation ride, I am hoping that everything works out great! This would be very convenient for me. 

Should be getting photos - not to sure yet.

_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Saturday, 2nd July*

Our lesson got cancelled because of the rain we are having, so I am to wait another week  

Dentist just came and did his teeth. Apparently they are looking good for his age, which is always a good thing to hear. While he was sedated I got around to cleaning his sheath as well. _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Saturday 9th June*

Lets try blue today. Red is getting to repetitive.

Anyway, Our first dressage lesson was today but I'll get to that in a bit.

Rode for the first time in around 2 weeks yesterday. I wanted to just jump on bareback to get the edge off, but we ended up doing some proper 'don't rush away from me, actually listen' work. He wasn't in to mood to stand still either which was not fun. 

Today he was.. alright. The horses there were eating and one mare next to the arena was doing some serious showing off. He just wasn't focusing on me. Rushing on one side of the arena, not going near the rail at a canter just on one side, refusing to go around the corners nicely *facepalm*. Hoping that next week there will be a dramatic improvement. 

We did the basics, which we need. Worked on getting more responsive of my leg. I squeeze, he jumps off it. Basically. 
He was blocking my reins today as well so we did a bit of work with that. 

I have a feeling that this new place is going to be very beneficial for us. Finally!


Screen shots again, so not the best picture quality. New place: so naturally, a bit of bucking. As you can see per the last image. _


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## caseymyhorserocks

He has such a cute form over the jumps  Love your new saddle pad, it looks great on him.


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_Thank you! I am growing to love the colour purple on him. Might have to make it his new theme... 

*Monday, 11th June*

Jumped on bareback before his dinner tonight to work on what we learnt during Saturday. Halt - walk - trot transitions, staying consistent in pace. I can certainly feel an improvement in his transitions. Not only in the responsiveness, but in the overall quality. Much more controlled, less jerkiness and smoother. 

_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Saturday, 16th June*

Throughout the remainder of the week we just did more circles and transition work. Nothing overly exciting.

Today, he was a lot better then last time. Very responsive to my leg aids which was wonderful. We focused on our canter transitions on the circle, making them less work and him being happier. We also practiced blocking his shoulder from swinging out in turns, as he has the new tendency to only turn his head in, not his body. 

photos: Not the greatest, dad though he was filming, _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Tuesday, 3rd July*

Two weekends ago (the 27th) we went down to pony club for the muster. Themed the 'Mini Olympics' we were broken into groups to represent chosen countries. Pumpkin did very well, not doing to fantastic in the sporting as usual but we placed 2nd in the jumping and first in the dressage. 

The rest of the week it was raining, so no riding. Our lesson was postponed until today because of that. We didn't do any riding but for the last 3 days. Even then the ground was to wet to really do much. 

With a gymkhana coming up soonish we practiced bending ect yesterday. Got him listening, thinking about speed and being agile. 

This lesson today was great. 2 hours in total. It wasn't as long with Pumpkin, we ran through a prelim test to start joining everything together. We only need to fix our circles at the canter, he drops in a lot in the arena for some reason. Andrea is very pleased with our progress. He is learning so quickly and we are improving tonnes. We are hopeful to get him up to an X/C course in these next couple of weeks to take a lesson out there.

I rode her horse, Spencer, for the first hour or so, to get me looking at more lateral movements. It was great to get a horse so responsive. No fighting, no battling, no convincing. Squeeze and go. At the start he was being a noob running around with his head in the clouds, but after a while he was a lot more relaxed and using him self properly. 

Photos from the week. 
He was being all snuggly and taking a snooze on me while soaking up the winter sun.
Some also from me riding Spencer, and Pumpkin prior to the lesson._


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Monday, 16th July*

Finally updating. 

It was, last Tuesday, Pumpkins first time - and mine - out on the cross country course. 

I spent the morning watching some lessons - My coaches and some of her instructors other students. Someone came up from Melbourne to do a clinic type thing. He has done extensive studies in the muscular system in horses earning him the title 'Dr.' We stayed there for 2 and half hours and it was very interesting to hear what he had to say. 

We finally made it out to the cross country course and surprisingly the ground wasn't to bad considering all the rain we have been having lately. The first 5 minutes he was having a bit of a freak out, but for the rest of the time he was focusing and doing really well. Anything I pointed him to, he jumped without hesitation. At the start he has the issue of trying to run out, simply because he can. We addressed that issue and started connecting the dots to do a mini 'course'. 

We didn't get to play with the ditches and water jump because of some excavating taking place on the grounds. A shame, but we had enough other fun things to play with. 

We ended with a bit of show jumping, pushing the height and spread a little to see what he can manage. She seems to think the he has no issues with jumping other than the initial ducking out, so we are aiming for an ODE in October. 

The Gymkhana that was meant to be yesterday was cancelled thanks to the rain, so that too has now been pushed for October. 

Hence not much riding this week has been going on. The ground is to wet to do anything :S Hoping it will dry up in the next couple of days. 

The horrors of pre-spring shedding has begun! His coat is lovely and thick, waiting to cover me in fur every time I touch him. I am thinking of investing in a shedding blade - I have a feeling I will need it. 

Anyway, a few pictures from X/C. For the time dad was there, he only got one of the first jump (ignore my position :S), and whilst we were playing with the others, he was talking. So, we have to make do. Enjoy! _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Monday, 30th July*

Not many updates because well, there isn't much to update about. For the past few weeks it has been set back after set back. Rain, wet ground, then Yr 11 camp for the week. Formerly known as fat camp, as they feed you 7 times a day. 

So in total, he has only been ridden 3 times in the past 2-3 weeks. 

~~~~~~

We went down to pony club a few weekends back to ride at a demo thing that was going on. He was full of it, so he was happy to throw tantrums when asked for a canter :S He was trying to take off towards the the other horses, buck in the transitions ect. I finally got him to cut it out and we did a nice few circles and called it a day. Ending on a good note, right? 

The day after was our lessons. Side passing was the focus. He went over with his front, but his bottom trailed behind without following. We played around a bit to get it over, and by he end of the lesson he was doing it fairly well. It still needs a lot of work. Speeding up responsiveness to canter aids, so sit - canter becomes one fluid motion with out traveling to Japan before responding. 

Skip past fat camp and get to our lesson this Saturday afternoon. Again, side passing needs more work, touched up the canter transitions. Then I had to get off. Whoever said horse riding isn't a workout, doesn't make you sore or the horse does all the work, needs to re-evaluate. I physically couldn't keep riding for the last 1/4 of the lesson. My stomach muscles were screaming at me. It usually takes me a minute or two to rest, then continue, but no go. So Andrea jumped on, did transitions again, side passing and having him start working in frame. He has all of the fundamentals, working from behind, engaging his back etc etc etc, but he doesn't break at the poll. Once you ask him to, he happily holds and travels well. 

He's making mummy proud <3_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Sunday, 12th August*

Not much has been happening. Rode here and there, did a little bit of hill work in the park the other day to freshen him up a bit. Our lesson was cancelled again this week due to the flu hanging around and generally being annoying. 

Mum wants to start horse riding, it has been her dream since day 1. So she rode Pumpkin twice on the weekend, getting her to relax being on the horses back. 

Dad also jumped on this afternoon. He picked it up really quickly, and even had a nice trot going. Granted still on a lead line, but he picked up the feel for it well. _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Thursday, 30th August*

Again, not much has really been happening. 

We had our first lesson back last week, and he went ok. Sort of. 
Pony club was on last Sunday, I rode him for half of it. He was starting to get a bit cranky by the end :S

He is losing weight! Yay! His crest is slowly getting smaller and his belly is shrinking. 
I also received and shedding blade for my birthday and just in time. The amount of fur that thing is taking off is wonderful. 

I lunged him tonight because it was getting to dark to ride, and someone was glad to be worked.

I should attach a picture to make up for lack or updates, but I haven't taken any recent ones. So I shall try to get some for next time. 

Happy horseing! _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Friday, 7th September*
Shedding woes continue to invade my clothes. White fur is slowly making it's way everywhere unfortunately. 

These last three rides have been very pleasing. Controlling the speed in the canter is very nicely coming along, lateral work is getting better and canter leads are going superbly. 

My sister is starting to ride again, so I have been putting her on the lunge line and getting her to do balance and posture exercises. Pumpkin is happy plodding along and it increases his fitness, so it is a win win situation!

All things come to a close, and so has our time with Andrea :/ Accepting a job elsewhere means we won't be able to continue our lessons with her, so that is very disappointing. 
She has a friend who is willing to help us out, so we shall see how all turns out tomorrow when we go for one of our last lessons.

As my dad says, one door closes another door opens, so I think it is time for me to introduce Will! About a month ago or so one of the pony club instructors asked me if I wouldn't mind getting her horse back to fitness. He is a dressage horse, so riding him has been really helpful in creating a line of sight for Pumpkin. 
He is making me way more aware of my seat which is transferring directly to how I ride else where. Come to think of it, riding Will probably has something to do with the recent improvement with Pumpkin... 

I can and will grab a photo tomorrow, as introducing him without a proper hello is unacceptable! He stands at 16hh I believe and is around 17..? 

Anyway, time for photos! Nothing spectacular, but photos non-the-less. Also uploading some old ones for maximum enjoyment of cute fluffiness. 

_


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## ChingazMyBoy

I have a strange feeling William is only 12 (-:


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Saturday, 13 October*

Long time no update!

Nothing drastic has happened recently, just continuing with paces, transitions etc etc. 

After our week of holidays, we came back and he looked wild. So bath time! I still really need to pull the rest of his mane...

We did have a fall during our last lesson with Andrea. He tripped and couldn't regain his balance so we were both a bit bruised and battered for a while. Turns out 400 kg on your leg isn't fun :S He did get a little sand in his eye, but that cleared out fairly quickly and scraped fur off above that eye with his hoof. It could have been a lot worse, so I am happy we were back in work a few days later. 

Rain finally made an appearance two days ago. The dam is very low and the paddocks are in dire need of some water. There are meant to be a few storms on the way, lets hope they actually hit. 

Also working towards our first competition in November! With the way he has been going in lessons I think we shouldn't do to badly, provided we can keep our heads together. It is at our home club, so hopefully that will keep him a little calmer. 

My coach has given me a tonne of stuff she no longer needs because of being in Melbourne. Bags of polo wraps, books that will be handy for uni, jodhpurs, shirts, brow bands, tall boots, chaps and a dressage saddle. And apparently she has more for me 0.0

Photos for a lack of updates and exciting things! There are a few screen shots in there so I apologize for the terrible quality. _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Wednesday, 31 October*

Happy Halloween! And best wishes to those being affected by the hurricane - stay safe!

General riding has been happening. My first competition (dressage) with Pumpkin is coming up in 4 days 0.0 Scary! I am also riding Will in it, so it is bound to be a hectic day. 

Ergghhhhh so nervous. Hahaha. I am sure all will be fine though. I practiced the test yesterday, and I am not sure how Pumpkin will go. He kept falling in on the circle and wouldn't get off my leg, but we can fix that quickly I hope. I need to pretty him up some more - like getting his mane done. Still. 

Paprika is working really well. The summer coat that is coming through is looking great, some areas of his coat are gorgeous. And he is at a good weight. Finally. He just needs more muscle, and we are set for our summer beach bodies. :lol:

On Sunday we had a jumping clinic and he behaved very well. A few bucks at the start in protest of work, but nothing unmanageable. He was very adjustable, listening well and honest going through the course. I have screen shots, so again, sorry for the bad quality. And sorry for my terrible EQ. My elbows and legs and everything: ewww. Oh well - practice makes perfect! We only have to keep going and working on it. 

Have a good day!
_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Monday, 12th November*

Finally found some time to get on here for an update!

So for our first time out competing, he did really well. He was tense at the start in the warm up and almost bolted on me, but got himself under control before anything happened. For our first test we scored 51% and came in 7th. For the second we grabbed 4th place on 57%, and consequently took home a ribbon! Couldn't be more proud of him. 

He scrubbed up really well which was cuuute. When he got home he was knackered. I haven't had much of a chance to ride him this week at all thanks to school. He is getting really bored so I must en devour to get on him soon. 

Pictures! As usual, screen shots. _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Monday, 26th November*

We went down to Pony Club on Friday to get our Hendra shots done. That was... interesting. Pumpkin is learning that you do not, under any circumstances, **** mares off. A kick to the side got him really spooky to any horses moving at all, so that was not fun to deal with. The muster yesterday also made him really reactive -_- It is NOT fun dealing with spooky horses. Sigh. However we take it as it comes I guess. Being flexible and adaptable is a virtue! 

The new jumps at Pony Club were introduced and tested on Sunday, which was also interesting. Turns out we aren't a fan of brush jumps! He did really well though and we ended up jumping 95 cm, so I am very pleased. My position was TERRIBLE, so I feel bad :S Add that to the list of something to work on. 

There was nothing but transitions, transitions, transitions today. And some more transitions after that. I was going to work in 2-point to get muscle and balance back, but more basic training was required of us.

Holidays are here soon! Only 4 more days! However only 3 out of 8 weeks of pony time though because the family and I are going to Melbourne for Christmas, and I am taking a trip to Dubbo (a small town in New South Wales) with a friend. 

Now, I know screen shots are already bad, yet these coming are terrible. Our round was filmed on a phone, so there is unfortunately not much I can do to salvage the situation of poor quality. Maybe a cute, small pony jumping tall things can make up for it though...? 

Enjoy!
1. First jump, came in too close
2. Height reference with the bush jump (Blue line is the top of the jump). 
3. Actually going over the bush jump (finally) 
4. White fence (it was higher originally, though only got the shorter round)
5. First part of the line_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_* Friday, 14th December*

We head off for Melbourne tomorrow! The plan is to leave early in the morning so we can beat the traffic. Pumpkin will be out of work for the next few weeks, but that isn't new. I have had almost no motivation to ride lately. I suppose not having lessons weekly means I can free-lance it however I like. I will have to re-establish things again. Why oh why did I stop riding? I make things hard for myself :?

The vet came out for our final Hendra shot. He smelt the microchip scanner and freaked, but calmed down fairly well. I should have gotten a picture after he got his shot, he looked so confused as to why we left so quickly. It really was one of his cutest faces. 

In spirit of Christmas, old Santa-Pumpkin photos from last year are being revived. 

That is all! have a very merry Christmas and New Year! _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Monday, 7th January*

Home. 

SOMEONE was grumpy with the lack of attention (not looking in Pumpkins direction). He is getting better though. I put him out in the back paddock so he has been chilling with the ducks when he isn't trying to eat them. 
His summer coat is looking fabulous and his mane is growing out now. The flies are back so I need to pick up some fly spray. Horse item shopping time!! Weee! Money and gift cards for Christmas will be coming in handy. 

The hunt for horse floats still continues. I can't even fathom shopping for a horse. Can you hire people to horse shop for you? I am seeing a business opportunity for someone... 

Photos!

Erm Nerm Nerm. Apparently mum's herbs taste nice. 









From outside my bedroom window.









Heyyoooo









Old Kitteh! She is currently 14 and a half.. Going strong! 









And a few duck photos. 

























And a belated Happy New Years and Merry Christmas. May 2013 be a great year! _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

-_-

Take two!! Sorry for the size 0.0


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Tuesday, 23rd January*

I fractured my 5th metatarsal on my right foot (my pinky toe bone, but further up). Luckily I didn't need a plaster or boot, so I am only in a bandage. But I can't ride for at least 6 weeks, which totally sucks, because my plans to get Pumpkin underway and fit have to be put on hold again. I can't even walk yet, so no ground work for a week  I just came back from Dubbo for 10 days, so I was keen to come home and start riding. My sister and a few friends should be able to come around and start things up though. 

School starts again in a week. Final year. Woo hoo!! Hoping it won't get in the way too much with riding, but it is all about time management. Which I suck at, but I'll work on it. Haha.
Anyway, there will probably just be photos of Pumpkin eating grass for the 6 weeks or getting dressed up. Highly unexciting. Sorry about that. 

Happy horsing! _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Wednesday, 30th January*

School started 2 days ago, and it has been the most uncomfortable weather. The strong (up to 120 km/p/h winds) remains of a cyclone recently came through, taking down 6 major trees on our property and 2 fences. Pumpkin now has no paddocks so he has been wandering freely around the property for the past few days. Needless to say he has been very happy with these arrangements. The humidity (83% today) has been killing everyone. And thanks to being in Grade 12, today we had to go to assembly in stockings, thick shirts and skirts, and a blazer. Yuck. 

This foot is killing me. Still 5 weeks before I can ride, but I have so much I want to get started with! At least I am off the crutches for the most part. 

In my last week of boredom, I started to draw horses. I am pretty o.k. with how they turned out, considering my last attempts at horse drawing were.. not that crash hot. I'll have to scan them on, so the tonal values will be lost  C'est la vie. 

I was also skimming through some of my photos of jumping competitions, so I thought I would upload a few for some enjoyment. Nothing professional, but they turned out well clarity wise. These are from the Gatton World Cup back in August, so enjoy! 

_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Sunday, 3rd February*

We (my Family) spent all weekend clearing up the the trees that came down from the storm - 6 almost down, 2 to go. My foot is now this annoying little pain, which isn't too bad, but not ideal.

Dad fixed Pumpkins gate to the back paddock yesterday morning so he has been back in there. I managed to get out and lunge him today. I let him have a free run first because I am not sure if my foot could handle anything overly stupid from him while on the lunge line. I did a lot of transitions with him, getting him to start using his hind end. At the end of the session he was starting to show some progress, which is great. I lunged him a little again this afternoon and he had a few nice moments in the trot which only lasted for a second, but he still has to build the muscle to work through his back longer. Hopefully I can make this a daily thing and start getting him super responsive and working nicely before I am in the saddle. 

I think that is it. I am on the wrong computer for scanning those drawings, and there are no new photos of Pumpkin. 

Have a fantastic week  _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Sunday, 17th February*

Not much in the way of exciting news. Pumpkin did cut the back of his rear left pastern a week or two back, so he had a few days off, but that has been healing nicely. He has started to shed his summer coat making way for the colder seasons which is disappointing. 

Lunging has been going well - over the past few days he has been gathering the concept of moving forward with energy. We had some amazing walk to trot transitions last time with him really using his hind end to get going. Only 2 more weeks to go until I am allowed to ride! 

His fence in the front paddock is up now, and he is so happy to be back in his usual area. He hasn't been coming up for breakfast or dinner, which is highly out of character. 

I also have photos from this morning of him coming in for his work. Don't mind his huge belly 0.0 I don't know where it came from. 

Have a good day! 
_


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## Skyseternalangel

He's sooo cute! But my what a big belly.. I guess that's where all the carrots in the village have gone!


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

Goodness yes! Everyone from the neighborhood comes and feeds him. That and with around 3 months of no work - ta da!


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

I also managed to grab a photo of one of those drawings I was talking about eons ago. I am not that happy with neck/head. I darkened the image on the computer so you can see it better, it isn't this dark in real life.


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## Skyseternalangel

I quite like it  I don't recall if you drew this?


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

Yes, I drew it maybe 4-5 weeks ago?


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Monday, 25th February*

4th of March. That is when I can start riding again. And I seriously can not wait. I went down to the first muster of the year for pony club yesterday, and it almost killed me seeing everyone else doing fun things with their ponies. Actually, i just checked my calendar - 1 more week! 

I hadn't lunged Pumpkin in a few days, so when I went out yesterday he was full of spicy energy. I ended up working him for just over one hour, getting his walk-trot and trot-canter transitions snappy. Also I just wanted to really start getting his fitness and muscle up, so lots of trotting. Towards the 45 minute mark he had a few moments of stretching down and raising his back in the trot, which is great. He usually has a bit of tension in the trot that I can't shake but we cracked through. Once this rain leaves (we are expecting 300 mls, and for it to be raining until Saturday. Yuk.) I hope we can go right back and see improvement with more spurts of stretch and relaxation.

And this morning he whinnied when I called! And cantered! He looked so genuinely happy to see me! Haha. It seems very trivial, but he is a very non-vocal and hard to please horse, so this is actually a big deal  

So anyway, that is it. 

Have a fantastic day  _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Thursday, 28th February*

I went on a SOS (Study of Society) excursion today, and we went past Fig Tree Pocket Pony Club. And wow. Getting a little jealous, hahaha. Their cross country course looked really, really, really nice.

Back in Pumpkin land we have been doing more canter/trot transitions on the lunge these past two days. He is starting to support himself more in the canter rather than leaning on the line, which is great! Only... 4 more days until I am officially allowed to ride. I have so many plans and goals for this year and I can't wait to get the preparing underway.

Alssoooooo I have a photo of myself holding Pumpkin when I was 7.. so 9 years ago. Back when it all started. Also a comparison photo from now! 

Happy horsing!! _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Sunday, 10th of March*

I haven't been able to ride yet. Which sucks on a major level. First I was sick so I missed two days of school, thanks to the flu that has been going around. Then it has been non stop raining. Then my cousins came up from Melbourne, so no riding. It has all been very busy!
I might be able to get out and ride later on today if this rain holds off and I can get my school work done. 

I did jump on him for 5 minutes after a lunging session the other day to sort out an issue. My thighs hurt. Hahaha I am not looking forward to my first 'go hard or go home' ride. I will be very thankful for heat packs in the next few days I think. I can certainly feel that he is starting to use his hind more to push, rather than drag himself along with his forehand. he is really grasping the concept of reaching forward on the lunge now, offering more and more to lift and swing his back. 

Pumpkin has been however acting like a jerk for the past week or so thanks to the rain and pent up energy. Which isn't great, but what can I do. 

That really is all that has been happening. 
Anyway I have more peektures! 

_


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## LoveMyDrummerBoy

Just want to say that you guys are awesome! 

I'm curious, how tall are you?

Edit: Purely out of curiosity! My current horse is a pony too


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

Aww thankyou! He is a pretty cool guy, even when he is a jerk.

I am 5'5" apparently 0.0 I just measured myself. Wow. I am shorter than I thought. That is kinda depressing hahaha.

Is that your guy/girl in your avatar? Super cute!


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## ChingazMyBoy

PumpkinzMyBaby22 said:


> Aww thankyou! He is a pretty cool guy, even when he is a jerk.
> 
> I am 5'5" apparently 0.0 I just measured myself. Wow. I am shorter than I thought. That is kinda depressing hahaha.
> 
> Is that your guy/girl in your avatar? Super cute!



Jesus. I'm shorter than you.


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Saturday, 16th of March*

I have my exam week next week and I am at home for most of it. Which means: no excuse to not ride 0.0 

I am trying _very hard_ to convince myself to ride tomorrow and get it (the immense pain) over with. Hopefully I can get mum out to pick me apart and chase out any bad habits before they set in, however she is hesitant as she claims she doesn't know much about posture. But I will take what I can get. It has been 4 and a half months now. I threw the Frisbee with dad for 20 mins yesterday and died in my core. Hahaha. Not good. 

I will try and get pictures for you all. 

Our ride on mower is all fixed now and I am so keen to have the paddocks looking flat and green. All this rain has been excellent for the grass. Yay!
School has been getting full on, what with being in my last year, so no lunging as of late. The plan is for a nice bit of active trot work tomorrow. Lets get some muscle!

That is all, happy horsing!_


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## Skyseternalangel

Best of luck on your exams!

I love looking at your photos of Pumpkin


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

Thankyou! How has Sky been going lately? I don't think I have seen any updates. 

_*Tuesday, 19th of March*

Block week is here and I have already done maths, which was easy. I have today off so I might head out to ride the pony, clean his blankets and give him a bath. It is quite hot outside at the moment, so hopefully he appreciates the cold water. 

I did manage to get out and ride on Sunday, and to my very pleasant surprise, I am not sore! My elbows were atrocious, sticking out all over the place. Gah. Bad habits are hard to break. I was focusing on keeping my leg turned to the inside and stable, which was going fairly well. I need to straighten my shoulders and my back, and keep my arms in a straight, solid line. His canter transitions were very, very nice. I am so glad we didn't go back to square one with those. He was a bit tight in the back during the trot, but he was nice and relaxed in our walk, reaching for the contact and using his end nicely. 

This months muster is showjumping based, but I don't think I will take him. I would like him to gain a little more fitness and muscle before we do a heaped load at muster. I am trying to make riding enjoyable for him and change his work ethic, even a little bit. Or... I could just pull him out half way through.. I don't know. I'll see how I feel.

My sister came out and snapped some photos of Sunday. Some are screen shots as per usual. (There is one where I look ridiculously tall on him... I am pretty sure I was in mid rise... I hope.)
E.T.A: These screen shots are really blurry, I don't know why. Sorry about that! 

Have a great day! _


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## Skyseternalangel

Oh I haven't updated because there has been so much going on in my day to day life and I can't access this site much at work and not at all at home.

He has been having issues with the bit and has just gotten cleared to trot again (he had some issues with bracing and bolting...) so now he can stay round and straight at walk and trot transitions. He is very healthy but that's really all I know. I can't wait to be back with him again.


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

Fair enough! It can't be long now 

_*Wednesday, 27th of March*

One more day until it is holidays!! Yay! Then I have 2 weeks of horsey-ness. We might (very iffy at the moment) go in for our first jumping comp soon but I don't know yet. It is in April sometime though so we have a tiny bit of time to prepare. I will see how we go. 

I got out and lunged him for a bit yesterday. Fitness = downhill. Activity = downhill as well. My fault I suppose. Oh well! It was pretty hot though so I can use that as a lame excuse for him sweating and being tired  

I think that is it. Obviously, nothing much has happened. As always, have a good day  
_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Monday, 1st of April*

A belated Happy Easter!

There will be no competing for us. It is too far away in distance for him and too soon. There are however some dressage days and combined training days coming up, so we should manage to get to them.

I took Pumpkin down to pony club on Saturday so I could get him jumping some courses and use the arena. He did very well! Jumping wasn't an issue at all, which is excellent. As we went on through the ride his walk/trot transitions were getting worse but his trot/canter transitions were sharpening up and getting nice and snappy which is good. I got him to use his back end a bit more as well, keeping active and pushing forward. I did want him to play, well, at least walk through, a water puddle down in the paddock but he didn't want anything to do with it -_- One sniff of the mud and there was no way he was going to enter the water puddle of doom 0.0

I still need to keep an eye out for my lower legs and shoulders, though overall they didn't feel to bad. I didn't have anyone there so I have no photos or comments to go off, but I was focusing on those areas. 

I think that is it. In other news, one duck has a sore foot, so he can't walk. I spent 4 hours cleaning out and partially rebuilding the chook pen with dad today, so I have been fairly productive on that front. The ducks and hens now have 5 more nesting boxes. 

Oh! I also found my dressage whip! Yay! I have been looking for it for AGES but it turns out it was in the paddock. How it escaped death from the lawn mower, I have no idea. Anyyywayyy, that is all. 

Happy horsing!

_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Wednesday, 4th of April*

I rode him two days ago, and he did quite well. His walk/trot transitions still need a lot of work. His canter transitions are great - so happy. We used to have a problem with the tot/canter transitions, and be find with the walk/trot, but now we have done a 180. 

I took him out to the park and he was keen as a bean to be out. He started to ignore the brakes a bit but there was nothing serious to deal with. We did a bit of hill work, cantering/trotting up then walking down. He still has confidence issues with going down hill, but he was better than he usually is. We went straight down this time, no zig-zagging all over the place. Yay for progress! 

Came back home, did more transitions and some tighter canter circles which got him sitting back on his bum a bit more for a brief amount of time to get this muscle building and strengthening. 

I am thinking about alternating lunging and riding days, so I can get him to relax and lift his back again and more. He gets tense in the back when I am in the saddle and doesn't relax and lift as quickly, so it could be a strength issue or a me/saddle issue. But since I don't have a trainer at the moment, I have no answer. Food for thought anyway. I shall see how it goes. 

I got a few photos of the ducks and the pony so I shall upload those. The duck with sore foot is in some serious 'stall rest' for the moment with a buddy while the others are out in the dam. He was walking a bit more this morning but couldn't handle the weight. 

Peeeekture time

Pumpkin sends his good mornings. 









And now demands you feed him. 









Observing that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence


















Ducksss



























The duck with the sore foot  









Have a good day!_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Friday, 19th of April*

Nooooothing has been happening!

For the last week of holidays it was raining so no riding could happen. I wanted to head up and use my old trainers arena for the only good day we had, but it was too wet :/

So I am now back at school. And school is hectic. I did none of my 5 assignments over the holidays, but I am easily keeping up with things which is excellent. I am now getting up before sun rise for school so I have sun rise pictures! I have also been staying back at school in the afternoons for 2 extra hours so I can get heaps of work done instead of wasting time on the bus (1 hour bus trip each way... boooring) Which, as a result of Autumn, means that by the time I get home it's sunset and nearly dark.

But I managed to lunge him this afternoon when I got home. Yay! He was very active and energized, probably because he has been in the back paddock for a week. He gets really destructive and bored in that paddock. He has ruined part of the chook pen run, and put another large rip in his blanket. And he also ate dad's lemon grass. Busy busy pony. 

Anyway, he did well lunging. Nice and forward, he started to stretch down a little down a little bit. He was nice and responsive to my cues. When he walked without my permission and I got up him with my body language, he would take off and let me know (with his feet in the air) that he did not appreciate that kind of tone from me. We got past that though, and we finished with him calmly but actively going from trot to canter. 

Picture time now!

The view of the paddock from the house in the morning:










The sunrise above it:














































Pumpkin on that morning. It was still a little dark so unfortunately they are bad in quality.










Chooks, ducks and horse waiting to be fed and let out for the morning:









Oh! Tomorrow night is my senior formal (Prom, as it is known in America). So I have to get dressed up and waste a good day of riding  I am sure it will be a hoot though. The after party is going until 3:30 am so I will be knackered on Sunday. 

Happy horsing! _


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Friday, 24th May*

We are still alive!

We haven't been doing much because school has been getting in the way. By the time I get home now it is dark, so I can't ride which is unfortunate. 
Pumpkin has been getting pretty bored with nothing to do, so I will probably lunge him tomorrow to keep him active and thinking. 
I have ridden him once or twice in the past few weeks and nothing spectacular happened. Transitions as usual need work. I did take him up to the arena for one ride. He has very obviously lost muscle (no surprise) since he was rushing/ falling in on the circles and unbalanced in general.

We also have a fish pond now! We had a spare bath tub in the paddock that wasn't being used so we gave it a job. Mum and I have been re-doing the gardening around the back of the house, so I put it in. We got 6 fish last weekend and they are settling in well. The man at the pet store and the internet sources are telling me that they could grow to be around 30-40 cm long in 1.5 yrs.. which is scary. I bought a 'foot long sub' yesterday, and there is no way a gold fish could get that big... :S
We have 2 plain comets (the orange ones) and one comet with white patches under it's body. We also bought 3 white and orange ones with black markings. 

Anyway, time for photos!


































































































_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Tuesday, 4th June*

Well all of my exams are finally over. Only 3 weeks left now until the holidays!

Well I ended up lunging Pumpkin. Then I rode him and Will (the horse at pony club) the other week. 2 horses in one week - that has to be a new record for me in the last 6 months. Both went pretty well. 
The difference in attitude and work ethic is amazing though. Will gets straight down to work, nice and forward, swinging in the back ect. He was pretty spooky however - It was probably due to a lot of energy, but he would react to people walking on the road, a car running over a plastic bottles and those sorts of things. Whereas I have never had to worry about that with Pumpkin. Pumpkin misbehaves because he is being stupid, not because something freaks him out. He is pretty bomb proof and so I have never had to really worry about him freaking out. Of course he is lazy, slow, behind the aids, no back movement. But there it is, the thing I love a lot about him: his bold confidence and easy adjustment. 

It was quite interesting to think about. 

Anyway, enough of my reverie. Not much else has been happening. One fish passed away - I knew it was coming, s/he wasn't adjusting very well to the change of environment so wasn't eating, hiding all the time, and then passed away  Another fish got taken the other night as well, so we are down to 4. The rest are doing well, though they are still pretty skittish after the second fish got taken. 

The tree man came and cut up the massive tree in the back paddock. I don't know if I actually ever uploaded photos for those trees that fell down. Maybe that will actually happen one day. 

Oh! I also HAD to clean Pumpkin up. His feathers were gross, and he had twigs and leaves all through his tail. I trimmed his feathers (and got two bad blisters as a result - ow) and cleaned, trimmed and washed his tail. It is now no longer touching the ground and is silky smooth. 

I was also playing around with exposure the other rainy day, so I have a few photos. Poor in quality, but still! Everyone loves photos. 

Coming in









Getting closer... 










Dirty pony









Ducks









All of the fish before life happened







_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

*Thursday, 13th February*_

We are back! I can't believe it has been so long since I last updated. 

I suppose the reason for so few updates is because nothing really happened horse-wise. School took up HEAPS of time as final years do and I often got home too late to ride. Which sucks, but now that I have graduated we are back on track. I have been working on a program to be getting us both back into shape which is going really well, I just need to keep being consistent. Lots of walk and trot to get him building muscle and fitness, and the we will move on and start incorporating more canter work in to the routine. There is a small local jumping show coming up at the end of March so I will be training with that in mind.
A recent-ish photo: 









Talking of graduation, my home-room gave the seniors fighting fish! So here is Sir. Archibald: 









The other pets are doing well. I lost three ducks in August last year to a fox, and was left healing two which were severely injured from said fox. I am talking necks on the floor, manual feeding kind of way. They improved in leaps and bounds however and were fit and healthy in just a few weeks. Since we were then left with three males and two females we purchased to more females from a friend to balance the numbers. After that one of the original females fell sick and had to be put down. Following that, one of our males that got attacked by the fox tore open his chest somehow and had to get stitches. Perhaps stitches were a bit extensive for poultry, but they happened and that is all taken care of. So it hasn't been a good year for the ducks to say the least! The new group dynamics with the new girls is working really well thank goodness. 
The new girls with a drake: 









I recently came back from a visit to New Zealand, which was LOVELY and cool. It was so nice to escape this weather we have been having (It was 40 degrees Celsius here while we were away) and stay in a beach house over looking the water. Photos:

























And a few photos from around the place:
















The latest duck crew:









I hope you have all been safe and well!
_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

*Thursday, 20th February*_

Riding has been going pretty well. I have lost my whip so I am having to rely more on my legs which is really, really, really good. After lunging Pumpkin for the past few weeks, he has really started to gather the concept of responding to and going forward actively from my leg. From what I can feel, he is starting to use his hind end for transitions more. We still have a long way to go to get that concept cemented in his head but it will also be a matter of building muscle and fitness so we can maintain it through the ride. Today his trot to canter transitions were so much nicer and easier to ask for. He is not very strong or confident on his right canter lead yet, but that will come with time and strength. 

I have set up a very small grid for us to ride through/over so that I can keep some kind of interest going in our ride. After quite a while of internet exploring, I finally found a guide to the size of stride lengths for a pony and for the distances between elements in a grid. He has very easily taken to the grid and is loving the mental stimulation about thinking where his feet go. 

Since it was stinking hot after our ride, I decided to do a little water training. I set up the sprinkler and had him walk around it, through it, directly over it, back up to it and stand still over it. He wasn't very happy but he got used to it and started complying more. 

I almost forgot! I have been looking around for trainers recently and I have found someone up the road who looks promising. I have yet to email her and see if we can arrange something. If I can get a time slot with her it will be so good for my progress as a rider, and therefore Pumpkins development and comfort when riding. She teaches eventing so I will be getting the education in the discipline I want. I am very excited so I really hope this works out.

Photos from this afternoon:










After water training:



















Have a wonderful day!
_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Thursday, 27th of March*

My lovely sister came out and got some videos of me riding on Tuesday, bless her buttons. 
So now I have been able to take a look at how we are going, which has been really good. He is going forward quite actively and starting to get some swing through his back in the trot (yay!). He is still pretty stiff and hollow in the canter sticking his neck in the air a bit. However I got some really nice and snappy trot to canter transitions which is a step in the right direction. 

My position is terrible though. Really really bad. My legs seem to be getting stiller and less active, but I need to work on loosening my shoulders and tucking my pelvis under my body while sitting more upright. Which means I really need to start working out and strengthening muscles. Core work here I come. 

I haven't heard back from the horse riding instructor yet, so I might give her a call at some stage and see if I can reach her. I have also put my nose out and applied for a groom position for a show jumping barn. It would involve travelling around Australia a bit with them doing grooming duties. Free accommodation and food included, with a small wage.

I am not yet certain if I would take the job or stay here to work and earn more money. The grooming job would be a good experience for getting contacts in the equine area and I will be able to get some perspective about how serious I am in working at a horse related job, which will dictate if I end up going to uni for equine studies or not. On the other hand, I stay here, work at an office job doing admin, earn more money, and potentially go to uni even if I am not 100% sure if it would be worth it. Decisions decisions. I will keep you updated with how things work out. 

Anyway, pictures from our ride: 

Walk:








Trot:








_


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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Tuesday, 4th of March*

This post is actually in March, apparently the last time I updated my internal calender was one month ahead! 

I have mainly been doing a bit of lunging with Pumpkin lately, but when I rode I was constantly trying to remind myself to correct my position. Ultimately I don't want to set bad muscle memory before we get lessons and then spend hours trying to fix it while we could be learning something else. I know the basics and I don't want be restricting my riding progress by not doing the simple things now. 
He took a while to warm up, and had a bit of a miff at the start were he wanted to go and relax at the fence, but we got through that relatively gracefully. He was nice and active, and his fitness levels are definitely improving. The good news is that while I was focusing on how I was sitting, I could actually feel a difference in how Pumpkin was travelling. It was very slight, but it was there. He seemed to relax a bit more and we got a bit of flexion through his poll during the trot for short amounts of time. So we have had a small success! 

My lower back was really tense and stiff after the ride so I am going to start focusing on warming up my back before I even get on, and stretching after I get off. Hopefully that will make a difference to the tension that has been going on. I am hoping that as his back loosens up, so will mine. 

There is still no word from the horse riding instructor unfortunately! However to pass the time Pumpkin has been a busy social light. Lately I have been taking him for walks and rides around a local dam to get him out and about, and the kids have taken to spotting us when we come around. On Friday afternoons the neighbours catch up for get together so naturally Pumpkin drew them over have a look. The kids adore him, and one or two got to sit on his back (with a helmet and parental supervision of course). We have been past two or three times now, so we are almost regulars. He gets impatient with having to stand around while I socialise, but it is a good training opportunity! So many people stop to say how gorgeous he is, so he is a very good conversation starter. 

Since I have no new photos, here is an old one. The hat was provided by a friend as a running joke who wanted to see the horse in a sombrero, with a picture of a pumpkin added just for the horse Pumpkin. (I don't know why they turned to the side, sorry about that!)
















Also one from the start of the year: We were at the park when I found a little party hat for him and had the intense urge to make him wear it. He didn't seem to mind. 









Pumpkin and I wish you a very good day! 
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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Sunday, 30th of March *

We had RAIN!! For the past week it has been pretty wet and now when I look outside, the fluorescent green is almost an assault on the senses. :lol: So I haven't really ridden Pumpkin much but once the ground dries a bit more that will get picked up again! 

We have had Pumpkin in the back paddock while the rain has been here so he can have some shelter, and to my delight he actually had the sense to use it! What a clever boy :wink: 
While he still looks young he must be feeling the rain a bit more these days, especially as we start heading into the cooler months. He never used to be bothered by the rain at all and preferred to stand in it then go for shelter. 


Here are some rainy day photos for you: 



















Unfortunately being in the back paddock brings to light the bad habit Pumpkin has been acting on for years: pawing at the gate violently until someone comes out and feed him. Of course we never complied, but it didn't stop him none-the-less. Not only is it very annoying but I am concerned that one day a piece of wire will poke through his leg and do some serious damage. That is the last thing we would need :-| And no matter how well he behaves by the time he has been in there a few days, whenever he gets put back in there after being in his usual paddock, it all starts again. So here I am at un-godly hours of the morning getting this little horse to move his butt until he is tired and sweaty. It works (eventually) but clearly the message is not sticking. Time to get creative I think.

In other news, our Pony Club held a jumping show the other weekend which was/is inspiring me to get Pumpkin and I fighting fit again. I still have to put in my registration forms to become a member again. Then I can get access to an arena and jump ring back which would be wooonderful. Then we can get this dream team into action. 
And on the note of getting fit, I am training for the Tough Mudder which is taking place in August. So it is a good time to start horse riding seriously while I am 'cross-training'.

Photos: 

This little (big) guy was hiding from the rain










The next day its baby was playing around our fish pond, rock hopping for flies and bugs.









A few more Pumpkin photos while he tried to figure out the hay net


















But apparently the most effective way is to stuff your nose through a hole and let it support your head while you eat










Georgie the cat (who has not been impressed with the recent rain)










Looking cute










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## PumpkinzMyBaby22

_*Sunday, 4th May*

I am really bad at keeping this updated lately.  

1. It is getting so cold now. Actually it isn't really that bad, I am just a sook in this kind of weather haha. It is 15 degrees in the house at the moment, and I am pretty sure I can't feel my fingers while typing this up.

2. I finally got a job one month ago and they love me apparently, so I have been getting more hours than I know what to do with. Occasionally I will get shifts from 9am - 9 pm or something similar, which is both really good and bad. It has put me behind with working the horse and training for Tough Mudder. And with only 106 days left to go, I really need to get my butt into gear! 

3. I had relatives over from New Zealand for a week to celebrate my mothers 50th birthday. During which time we went on a bush walk, so I took the opportunity to take Pumpkin out and go for a trail ride. He did really, really well for the most part. He was alert but calm, listening to me, standing calmly when needed etc. etc. We got to the half way point and that is when he started to get mentally overwhelmed with the situation. I think the turning point was one particular corner, which he would not go past at all. He would spin, buck, and then bolt in the direction we had come. And it wasn't the kind of naughty evasion, but a genuine expression of "I really don't want to be in this one spot". Behaviour like that was super weird for him. I don't think I have ever experience that kind of freak out from him before. I eventually had to get off and walk him through while following my aunt and grandfather, and after that corner he calmed down considerably. As long as I was next to him, not on him, he was a lot calmer and more at ease with the situation after that. 

We were on a circuit trail so that while we were getting closer to the trailer, Pumpkin kept wanting to turn around and go back home. Which didn't help in the least when another (absolutely gorgeous) horse came past in the direction he wanted to go. He was by that stage feeling fairly insecure, so I knew he was going to take off. I figured if he's going, I've got to go/am going with him. The last thing I need is trying to fin him in a lot of bush! I jumped back on and lo-and-behold, one foot in the stirrup - off we went. I didn't think he could run so hard and fast :shock: :lol: And there was not much in the way of stopping him. There wasn't enough room to do a one rein stop so I had to haul on the brakes. I feel bad for it but if he wasn't going to sanely respond in even the slightest way, it was going to hurt. Wrong thing hard, right thing easy, right? Eventually we stopped, turned around, I backed him up a mile and half until he was paying attention and headed on home. It was nice walk on foot after that episode haha. 

So that was a big day for the poor dear. At least I know I can still stay on :wink: He was a very well behaved, sooky boy when we got home. We haven't gone out again yet, but I plan on doing so soon. 

Photos from the ride: 





























4. I have been lunging him. And I am getting a pair of side reins finally. I am waiting for the saddlery to get in the elastic Kincade pair that I want, or if I find them cheaper somewhere else I might order them online. Then I can start getting him to have nice even contact of the lunge and get him working properly. Yay!! I am very excited. The perks of having a job is being able to actually buy things for him without becoming completely broke. 

And since he is mentally 5 still, he has to run around to blow off steam before he can concentrate. I have some pretty (but poor quality) photos from that too: 



















And some for fun and because they turned out well: 

Hiding from the rain: 



















Before work:










As you can see, he is very proud of the abstract masterpeice that is his gate. 










I will have a short video at some stage, but at the moment it isn't quite co-operating. Have a wonderful day!
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