# Target



## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Hello everyone and anyone. 

After reading through (and loving) many journals I thought I may as well start my own, and create a place to share/vent/laugh/cry about all things to come!

I guess a little back ground to start with:
I'm 25 now, I started riding when I was around 4-5 years old, my mama always had horses when I was growing up, most likely where my obsession began. 
I was the girl who's walls you couldn't see past the horse posters/magazine cutouts and so on.
I started riding lessons at around 8 or so, I went twice a week, loved every second. 
When I was around 10-11 I got my first pony which I had begged and pleased for. 
His name was chocolate, very fitting. A sweet, absolutely bomb proof pony. 
Perfect for a beginner that I was, the type of horse you could run up to in the paddock and lead onto his back and he wouldn't even look up. (Looking back now, I'm not sure that is such a safe thing for a small child) I lived on a farm, was always out doors and I guess left up to my own devices. We lived about 200m from a state forest, so which I could endlessly trail ride in, there was even a mini 'cross country' track that was right in the middle of the shrub but after many riders going through its was like a course with about 10 log jumps. It was crazy and amazing, and looking back I definitely should of appreciated it all more. Not to say I didn't, but remembering it all, it was an amazing way to grow up with what I had such simple access to.

Moving forward a few years, as I progressed as a rider, and my beautiful pony got older and deserved a loving retirement (we kept him until the end) I was lucky enough to get another horse, she was a bit firey, 16HH TB x Arab. Velvet, I loved her. All her quirks. All her flaws. She was impossible to show, was to excitable, flighty, but I just loved it. (Again looking back, that fearless attitude to a horse that got me off more than any other)
I was never the competive type, I loved jumping/cross country. But showing I was never in a position to do most of the time, so most of my riding was trail/pleasure and just doing my own thing.

Forward again, I went through that somewhat typical stage at 16, where horses took a back seat, and friends/boys/social life started to feel more appealing, so my riding became the odd trail once a fortnight/month instead of the daily ride.
I ended up, in quite a severe car accident at 17, I broke my spine, collar bone, ribs had quite severe facial scarring across one side of my face. 
There's not to much to say about it. A horrible time, which is behind me now. 
My beautiful horse, we ended up giving to a riding school for the special needs. What an angel she was for them, the perfect behavior from a horse that could be so flighty. I was very happy, for her, for them, that her story wasn't over and we could give some children such joy.

Between 17 and now, I've had another spinal fusion 2 years ago. Which truly changed my life, as the first one, didn't work. So 2 years later, I feel great, my back feels great. 
After all this time, I am back in the saddle. 
Which brings me to what all this is really about, Target.
My beautiful new lease horse, 15.3 (ish) black, Australian stockhorse.
He's 6 years old, he's also coming back into work after a year spell after a tendon issue. 
So we're both a bit broken figuring it all out together.
This will be our journey.

Sorry with how long this has gotten, I will get more into all things riding and Target next.

inkunicorn:inkunicorn:inkunicorn:


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

So, riding again after about 7 years out of the saddle, with a serious injury. 

It all started, when I went over to the states last November (2016) and my partner wanted to take me on a trail ride because he knows I'm still horse mad. I had spoken to my doctor, about the prospect of riding. He said the only difference between me and anyone else now (that I'm fused and healed) is the potential fall. The fact that if I did land a certain way, my spine will no longer share the pressure, since I have a large titanium rod covering the majority, above and below this rod can be 'weaker' as the rod won't break. 
So of course there are risks, possible bigger for me. Which I understand, but I also personally, think I'd rather the risks and love my life, then feel like something is missing entirely. 
I at least want to try. 
So back to the story, my first ride back, would you believe it, was at a ranch outside of Las Vegas, just a typical 'nose to tail' walk on a mule actually. But my lord, it was enough to spark that 12 year horse MAD girl inside me. 
We then went to Nashville, and it was my birthday, so I asked if we could go on another. And we did.
Another typical walk, a bit more relaxed, it was just so stunning, the trees were almost pink. 
Just the sheer walk made me so happy. I knew that if I could have horses in my life, even if I had to walk around forever, I would be 100 times happier and content.

So when the holiday ended, I did some research and looked around, until I met a local cowboy, who had a few horses to lease.

(I will finish this shortly. Boss is watching)


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

Wow, so sorry to hear you had all of that happen to you at such a young age. Car accidents are no joke. :sad:
That's awesome you are back in the saddle. Can't wait to hear about your adventures with Target & I'd love to see some pictures.  I bet he's handsome! 

I am totally with you on the difficult horses- I've always liked the difficult ones, the ones nobody else could/wanted to ride, etc. It's super rewarding when you can bond with one & you see things others couldn't. I hope you don't ever have a major fall & I think it's great that you are still willing to ride regardless of what you have been through. Many people give up after serious injuries. You are one tough cookie! :smile: That's awesome! 

Can't wait to hear more!


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## BlindHorseEnthusiast4582 (Apr 11, 2016)

Darn that boss, lol

You've been through a lot, and happy for you getting back into this, It's really hard to stay away!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Thank you both @PoptartShop & @BlindHorseEnthusiast4582 !
So nice of you to say! 

So, Where was I.
So I recently met a local guy, who had a couple horses at my local stable.
After I emailed the stable I got a response from him telling me to come try one of his horses and we could go for a ride.
This stable is pretty basic is a few ways, but amazing in others. The horses are out to pasture almost 24/7 (we're in a hot/warm climate all year round) they just come in once daily for a few hours to have some hay/hard feed then the caretakers let all the horses out that evening to rotate to another paddock. There's a large sandy outdoor arena, 2 round yards but the location... 

It's set right near the beach, these lucky horses have ocean views, and sea breeze in all their paddocks. You can trail all around the beaches, you can swim, but there's also your standard bushy trails as well. So location here is just amazing to go down of an afternoon and take a stroll on the beaches. 
Off track again, anywho, so I tried out one of the horses, his name was Tanner, he was a chestnut, 20 YO, around 15HH, he is such a sweet heart on the ground and it didn't take him long to 'know' me and come up to me when I'd go catch him, our only issue is while riding, we just didn't click. He was a little buddy sour, which I can work with, but he could get quite prancy and I never felt good after our rides, for what I wanted, which was just more the pleasure of riding, I felt he fought with me the whole time, and things didn't work. I do still feed him, and he comes up to me as the owner I'm leasing from owns him as well. So we're just friends on the ground instead.
So after toying with what to do, doubting myself, was it me? should I keep trying? should I give up? 
I spoke with the owner - Who was amazing. He said he understood completely, and Tanner could be a 'funny' horse who does like to be ridden a certain way. He said he was bringing a new horse in, and I was welcome to try him. All he had told me was he was his old stallion he wanted for breeding, until he hurt his tendon and was then gelded. He spoke a lot of praise about this horse and how nice he was on/off the ground, then he told me he was 6 and hadn't been ridden for 12 months. In my head. (OH MY GOD. What am I doing. I couldn't handle the old horse, what have I gotten myself into now)
Then I had my first ride on Target.

:runninghorse2::runninghorse2::runninghorse2:

I'll try break the story up to start with, I realize I really can waffle on.
But here are a couple photos of me and Target, and my partner washing him


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

I was NERVOUS to try Target. I was nervous to ride. I don't really know why. 
I think it was so many things. Feeling like I needed this to work, I needed to click with this horse, I needed to ride but what if it was me? What if this didn't work? What if, what if, what if.

As per usual when it comes to myself stressing, it's generally always over nothing, and turns out okay :lol:

So I got down to the stables, and there he was. All ready to go.
He was all black except one white pastern, about 15.3, and on the skinnier side.
Basically he was put out to spell not really touched, I don't think he was fed aside from grass/hay. When I say skinny, he has more ribs showing than he should, and his hips stick out. But also, in other ways he doesn't look overly bad. (I will show some before afters, as in around 10 days, after gradually getting him back on feed, he's already looking a lot healthier, I'm hoping once he's in good condition, with muscle he may turn out to be a nice easy keeper)
So there he was, happily relaxed/saddled in his stall, for a horse that just got to a new stable, new horses all around. He was not phased.
For the first half of the ride, the owner rode Target and I rode his other horse, just to see how he went after all this time.
Well would you believe he behaved better than the owners horse who is in work?
He was happily plodding along, we went out with 4 of us altogether. Target looked very happy/relaxed nothing seemed to worry him. We even went down to the beach, some people around, crashing waves, he went in the water like it was nothing at all. I was amazed.
Meanwhile. Quick mortifying story for me. I was on Zebu, (owners horse) and he is a great horse, however he's smart and very aware when his owner is not riding him. He was fine, but on the beach I had to keep him moving, because he was doing the classic signs he may have wanted to roll, he tried to paw the ground, so I kept his head up and kept him walking.
Well he really was having none of it, mid walk, no pawing, his head was up, he just dropped his shoulder and laid down! I was sooo embarrassed. People watching me. MY god. He laid down, basically sat patiently until I so kindly stepped off his back, and fought against me asking him to stand up, got a quick one sided roll in then finally got up. He looked very impressed with himself. 
So here I am, trying to impress the owner with some form of skilled, and his horses has rolled on me. Excellent.
He laughed it off, said he saw the whole thing and there was nothing I could do at that point, he was going down regardless. Who knows. It just had to happen to me. :lol:
So what better time to swap horses, and try Target for myself!
So I hoped on, on the beach and what a delight he was. He was so relaxed, just happy to plod along, which so was I by then. He seemed just sweet all over. I just couldn't believe it, being his age, the fact he was a stallion until later on and all these things. 
The ride went great, we did just walk along, but I felt good, I felt confident, I just had a good feeling (early days of course)
So we got back, I hosed him off, fed him, chatted with the owner. He said to come down whenever, and I can do my own thing (try him arena/on his own) he was super relaxed about it all. (Got lucky there)
And so, the next day I was back. And... every day since if I'm honest.

:gallop::gallop::gallop:

Here he is, when he first arrived then around 10 days after & a couple snaps.


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

I've now been leasing Target for about 2 weeks, Still very early I know.
His owner told me not to get attached to him, as he doesn't know how his tendon will hold up.
I haven't taken that advice on board, (how does one not get attached to a beautiful, fun, affectionate dope?!)
Even so, I've been down to feed to him/wash him basically every day. (On days I can't make it, the owner feeds him as he has other horses and has stipulated he doesn't mine) But I aim to be there daily. 
I still can't get over how quiet he is, I've been out on trails/beaches/arena with and without others, and he is so quiet. Doesn't spook, doesn't care, just seems happy to get on with it. Which is so incredible and really what I need while I build my confidence and get myself back into the swing of things. 
He is so polite on the ground as well, his owner trained him and there are so many little things that make me believe he's done such a great job.
He will come over to me when he's in the field now which actually melts my heart.
The only thing I've seen him go mad for. Bread. Won't touch an apple, won't touch a carrot, doesn't like mints,
But my lord, if he can smell bread, or believes you're hiding some he will get so excited, and sniff all over until he finds it. Even when it's clearly all been eaten, he will lick my hands in hope for a crumb I suppose!

I think the 3rd time I rode him, a day after he got his feet trimmed, his tendon inflamed. We were maybe 10 minutes out on a trail, just walking and he didn't limp but he just didn't seem very sure footed and started to stumble over himself a little. I got off and walked him home, called his owner. After unsaddling, giving him some food it went down almost completely. We were worried it may just be an issue he won't overcome, we put it down to both, newly trimmed feet + we had just had almost monsoonal rain the night prior, and apparently this can be quite common after so much rain on their hooves/the ground? (this could be wrong)
But, the owner thought we may as well try shoes on just his front feet. (He definitely doesn't need shoes, stock horses have such great feet) but he figured it would be worth a try to take away some pressure. So he put shoes on his front feet, we got tendon boots for him as well and ever since, before and after rides he hasn't been inflamed, he hasn't so much as put a foot out of place. Since getting shoes/boots he seems happier out and about, almost has more energy and wants to go further than I do sometimes?! So incredibly happy that he seems to be happier than before.
I know tendons can be such a long/hard process to overcome, and they can't always be rid of. So I'm just taking things slow with him, work up his fitness/muscles all in good time. 
I hope me being at a similar pace, will be good for him as we can just go slow and steady together. There's no rush.


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

One thing I should mention is lessons.
I love lessons, I love learning, I also know I would benefit a great deal. (Who wouldn't?)
I live in an area, that honestly has nothing. Well nothing I've found yet.
There is one riding school I know of, and I went out for 1 lesson, which I really enjoyed. I'd have to use their horses (which is totally fine by me, I have no float + I enjoy learning on others), They have an adults only group, which is amazing. The only downfall. They want the insurance + 10 lessons fees up front.. I've never heard of anywhere doing it like this, I've always done pay as you go.
So it would basically be paying over $500 up front, and if you're sick/away/miss a lesson, then you lose your money. 
So as much as I want to do them, I don't have the funds to outlay like that, and part of me doesn't feel like it's fair either. 

Which leaves me a bit lost, as there are a few pony clubs in my area, but seems to be no lessons. How do all these people learn?! Anyway, I will keep looking into it, try to see if I'm somehow missing something and ask more around. But we just seem to be short on lessons/trainers in this area. 
I know enough where I'm really comfortable, I just would love to fine tune things at a quicker pace, which really helps with someone watching and pointing things out. 
Until then, thank god for internet trainers, and forums like this where I can at least soak up the knowledge as much as possible. Hopefully I can find something soon though!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Oh my heart.

There is no better feeling, that I can think of, better than when your horse/lease horse is staring to really know you. (and hopefully like you :lol: )
I went down to the stables yesterday after work, I saw Target happily grazing with his buddies, I had to walk out of sight across to my stable area to drop off some stuff/grab the halter, when I walked back over to the paddock I couldn't see him anywhere. 
I then saw him down the furthest end, nearest the stables. 
I was wondering, had he seen me arrive and try to follow my direction?! Surely not? 
So I walked over to where he was patiently waiting at the gate, when I was in hearing distance, I clucked and said hello and oh my...
He quickly turned around AND WHINNIED AT ME. He gave me the sweetest,excited little whinny and walked quickly over to me.
It was just so amazing and cute, and it's probably not a huge deal but I just love feeling like we're pals haha. I don't know, he's just the sweetest thing. 

Here is a quick snap from our ride, as sweet as he is, he didn't really want to go out today at the start, tried to turn home a little, but after a bit of correcting he was fine once on our way. 
I'm riding again tonight, and have organized to hopefully go out with a few other girls as well who said they would be riding!


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## NavigatorsMom (Jan 9, 2012)

Love all the pictures and your way of writing! Can't wait to see what you and Target do as a team!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

NavigatorsMom said:


> Love all the pictures and your way of writing! Can't wait to see what you and Target do as a team!


Thank you so much! That's so nice of you to say!

:grin::grin::grin:


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

Awwwww, so cute!  Love the pictures. Target looks so good compared to the first photos of him- all beefed up now LOL.

That's so cute your boyfriend hangs out with him too. Aww! It really is the best feeling when they start to bond with you. I love it! <3
Redz does the same thing, just waltzes right over to me! So glad you two are starting to form a bond.


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Thank you @PoptartShop ! 
It is such a great feeling!
Haha yeah the boyfriend has become quite fond of him now which is so cute!

We didn't ride last, he just got a nice hose down, a little bit of round pen stuff, but otherwise we just hung out, groomed and fed him. Our weather was just too hot for him!
Target, very unfortunately gets 'the puffs' when it is our 'wet season' here, which is very tropical/hot/humid temperature. So instead of being able to sweat easily, he only sweats a small amount and the poor thing gets very 'puffy' when the weather is so hot. 
So on days like this, it's a nice cool bath!
Otherwise, in the current weather, we're really only walking and going out for a hack. Our weather is due to turn, any week now into our cool beautiful 'dry season' for the next 6 months, and the owner has told me this does subdue when it cools right down. So until then, just trying to keep him as happy and comfortable as I can. 
I've started giving him a salt supplement, that is suppose to help him sweat. Otherwise, he seems a happy horse, but overwork can lead to exhaustion/heat stroke so am keeping all that in mind to be as careful as possible. 
Fingers crossed he does improve soon though!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

So yesterday wasnt great. But today was amazing!

Yesterday we just went for a little hack out by ourselves. May have been an off day for us both, i was getting frustrated and he was getting frustrated. He just didn't really want to go and wanted to turn home etc. And i was feeling a little off so wasn't really on my game with correcting his behavior. I made sure we ended on a good note. But overall it just didn't feel great. Which is okay. 

Today i had the day off so i went down early, hoping to beat the hot day ahead which i did! I saw a lady who was riding when i arrived and she told me to meet her out there. Which is a nice change rather than going out alone all the time! 
So we headed out after tacking up at the start he seemed a little anxious but i was much better at correcting him and after a couple minutes he was listening to me and walking calm and in a straight line!
So i met the girl down at the beach - being a sunday morning it was bustling! People everywhere, kids, (no dogs allowed in this spot) but otherwise from bike riders, joggers, a coffee truck! Just all happening!
What a saint he was. He took it all in, didn't spook at anything, we had multiple mums and their kids asking to pat him and he was great! We walked down onto the beach, it was low tide so we could walk out for a mile with water just around his ankles. Beside not wanting to stand still for to long after a while he was PERFECT.
So impressed with him, he seems a lot happier out with another horse i guess alone he gets a little anxious. Something we can work on. He is just so level headed. Even when her horse got a little spooky and wanted to trot off he stayed at a walk and was happy doing our thing. So after a bit of a crappy day, ended this morning on a high! A nice cool bath and an extra slice of bread for him!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Tonight was so fun!
I went down to the stables just to feed target as i rode this morning and had my partner with me. 
When we got there the owner of target was there, he'd just bought a new horse down and had him hooked up to a carriage and told us to jump in for a spin! So we did a few small laps then he went out onto road, it was so fun this horse was a champ. So well behaved seeing as he was in a new place, no spook just took it all in. 
Then my partner and i went to catch the owners 3 other horses for him to bring in a feed. All had a beer. Overall was such a fun horsey evening without needing to ride. Heres a quick snap i got 
Also the owner said he would teach me to drive at some stage so that will be amazing!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

I forgot to mention, the above is Rocko. A SB ex trotter.

I think this week I might start a little 'Pony Wash' :lol:
I don't know why, but I find washing horses really fun and relaxing.
So I might give all 4 a nice shampoo/condition. The owner thinks I'm a sucker and spoil them all already, but oh well. Everyone needs a pamper every now and then! 

I'll be sure to take photos of them all sudded up!

Otherwise, work today (right now )
Then I'll head to stables afterwards, not sure whether I'll ride or not. I think the owner will have the carriage up again, so might just either have a quick ride, or help feed/groom all the guys.
Can anyone else have just as much fun at the barn without even riding?
Sometimes I feel like I should ride more, or work on myself/my seat more, but then again, I just enjoy the fun laid back days the most. It's given me so much purpose being back in the horse world again (I don't know how to not sound cheesey about it)
It really is true, just always having something to do, whether it riding or feeding or just hanging out. Okay I better stop.
Will let you know how tonight goes!

inkunicorn: :blueunicorn: inkunicorn: :blueunicorn:


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

I wonder if Target is happier in a busy environment vs a quieter one. Goes against the grain, but some horses just do their own thing. I'll be hoping those tendons hold up.


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

@whisperbaby22 I was wondering the same, perhaps he prefers things going on around him, and be with others than to be alone on his own? He's a real loner in the heard, always by himself which is why I find it odd how much he likes to be with other horses when out about about.
Thank you! So far his tendon is doing well, it hasn't flared/heated up at all which is great, but will keep slow and steady with him and hopefully give it the best chance!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

So didn't ride tonight. I had my partner with me and we had a bit to do around the stables. Target is getting moved stalls due to the new horse rocko coming in. Which has worked out really well its a nicer stall plus it has an empty tack storage area (whereas the previous was full of the owners stuff) so i had been carting my stuff back and fourth. So we cleaned the shed out FULL of spiders hense bring the partner  
So i think ill bug bomb it before leaving my saddle but otherwise im allowed to get a lock and leave my stuff and lock it all up which will make things so much easier! I'll feel like less of a visitor!
Otherwise after tidying we let Target have a good graze around the stables where theres plenty of green uneaten grass, gave him a good shampoo and then a good feed! Will definitely be riding tomorrow so looking forward to that!


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

Awww, sounds like he likes to be surrounded by people/things & not so much by himself?  Glad you still had a good ride even though it didn't go as you expected. He was probably a bit nervous in new surroundings by himself.

I think that's awesome he was so good with all of that commotion going on. Such a good boy! I'm sure he loved being pampered too- I also enjoy giving baths, it's fun! Except during shedding season...hair gets EVERYWHERE. LOL. :lol:

Rocko is cute too!

Love the pictures of you guys just enjoying him! So cute.


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Aw thank you so much! ! ! 

So tonight we rode! I got down there, and went to go grab him as soon as he saw me he came over to me again!
We were planning to go alone, but i ran into a girl whos just started leasing so we organized to go out together. Then on our way to leave we ran into another girl who was going out with 2 others! So it ended up a nice group of 5! 
So we just went on a little trail, only walking (which i was fine with) it was only about half an hour but we had great beach views and it was fun to meet some new people!
Aside from fighting me a little walking out of the propety as soon as we were out he was so great! One horse got a little spooky, one was a bratty mare wanting to bite anyone near her! Target was just taking it all in, probably day dreaming about the dinner he knew he'd come back to! When we got back i gave him a nice hose down. He was puffing a lot less today and the weather is definitely cooling down which is amazing.
After that i had to feed and catch the other 3 horses for the owner. Which i do not mind at all. I generally offer! I just love being there and around them all and it doesn't feel like a hassle or any kind of work to me! 
So... now i have the next 3 days off!!! I'm excited to get this tack shed sorted, and ride and just not have to work really  
Hopefully I'll get plenty of photos to come!


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

Awww I love hearing about him.  That's so nice that you went on a nice relaxing trail. 
Glad he was a good boy! I feel the same way, I could stay at the barn all day. :lol: Beach views sound lovely. 
Yay for being off, you get to spend even more time with him! So cute he is!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

@poptartshop thankyou!! Glad I'm not the only one! 

So first day òff today! I was up early-ish! Out the door by 8, had to go to the shops to get a paddock and a big storage container for the tack shed i can use now!
So i went down to stables, put a bug bomb in the tack shed (just to show spiders I'm not interested in being friends)
I had to wait 2 hours for the bomb to do it's thing, so i ran into 2 other ladies going on a ride and they invited me along! So i got him tacked up and off we went. It was beautiful weather with a great cool breeze, just perfect.
We rode around the reserve and along the beach and a few areas i hadn't realized were there! Was a lot of fun. Target so well behaved, the only problem again not wanting to leave the gate,it is easy to control/get him going but he just tried to turn around and go back to his other buddies. So i do want to work on that now and nip it in the bud but otherwise he was a dream! We trotted a little, he's a little rushy and forward but once settled he's fine. But we haven't done a lot of trotting/canter consistently while he's puffy in this weather. So all in good time!
We probably went for nearly 2 hours which was great, then when we got back gave him a hose put him back with his buddies and cleaned the tack shed out!
I forgot to take photos, but its small and just exactly what i need. Now i don't have to leave my saddle in my car when I'm at work!
So i just have my saddle/saddle stand. A big tub with saddle pads/extras, i got a few hooks to hang bridle/buckets on. I also found like a $6 'cleaners caddy' at the hard ware store which i swear is PERFECT for grooming. It fits so it sits on the stall fencing/pole and has room for all my brushes/fly sprays ect. Was a good find!
Here are some photos from today!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Got in a 2nd ride yesterday! 
When my partner finished work around 4
30pm he was keen to see if he could ride one of the owners horses (he's previously taken Zebu for a trail ride with me)
So i messaged the owner saying we were more than happy to pay in cash/beer. He said it was all more then okay. (They've met a fair few times now and get along great which helps!)
So this time we took tanner. He's a chestnut 20 year old 15hh stock horse. He's been a station hand horse all his life so he's very smart and safe. The women who normally rides him is away 3 weeks and she actually offered my partner to ride him for her (with owners approval of course)
So we got the guys tacked up, and off we went! Only for maybe 45 minutes to an hour mostly walking a little trotting and the guys were great. When we got back to washed/fed them the owner was there on let out duty, so we stayed back and chatted to him and helped him move some feed and so on.
I bought up giving him money again and mentioned there was a 6 pack in the fridge for him as well. He said not to worry about it! He said because I'm always there and happy to feed all his horses for him if he can't be there it'll all even out. Which is so nice. Then as we were leaving he shouted to pat (partner) and said feel free to ride tanner anytime over the next few weeks while his leaser is away!
So hopefully we can sqeeze in a couple more and a beach ride as he's keen to see it! 

Rain forcast now .. (always on my days off ) so hoping i can head down early and try beat it!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

As predicted. Rain! 
I went down early this morning, to beat the rain which i did just! We didn't ride, just groomed and took him to eat the greener grass while we did.
The owner came down, and ended up putting shoes on his other horse. So i asked if i could watch. And as he went (making it all look far to easy!) He explained a lot to me, and pointed out certain things so it was all interesting and good to learn about a few things!
Otherwise having a forced indoor day. Just been relaxing which is nice, ended up watching a childhood favorite - black beauty! Haha, it was still great though!
Otherwise this rain is meant to set in today and tomorrow. . My days off, of course!
But fingers cross tomorrow it eases off for me!


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

Looks like you had some nice rides! I love the views, especially on the beach. So pretty! Target has such a calm sweet face. 
I'm glad your boyfriend got to ride too, that's awesome! Looks like fun! 

I know, I feel like it rains on my days off too! :lol: Glad you got to beat the rain though & spend time with him even though you didn't get to ride!
Definitely good to learn about that stuff! Crossing my fingers it doesn't rain all day for you!


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

You are really lucky to have people around you who are willing and pleased to have you work around the horses. I would continue to offer beer, etc., but looking at it from their point of view, you are an eager student and are really interested in horses and willing to do some extra work. Lots of horses owners would love to have someone like you around. 

Any extra you can cram into your day will help make you a better equestrian. You do kind of soak it up, and it all starts to make sense.


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

@poptartshop - thank you so much! You're so kind! I have you to thank for crossing your fingers because the stopped! 

@whisperbaby22 - thank you very much! I do feel really really to have met some kind, genuine people here who are willing to have me around, and teach a few things.
Great advice I'll definitely keep offering help, but also beer and such to show my appreciation for just being able to soak up more equine experience overall. Definitely great people to know and hopefully build a good repore with!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

So the rain eventually stopped! Yay!
  
Today is my last day off, and the weather has been great! I went down early with my partner. We got target out and i got on bareback for the first time with him!
Now aside from him being... quite uncomfortable and pointy! (Still needs more fat on him in general, but either way giant high withers!)
He was really good and really responsive!
I think he is SO much smarter than i am or than my current experience. I could get him totally in response to just my leg cues. Moving around them. He's so sensitive and in tune that the slightest touch he listens to. (This is where i have a lot to improve) with to much leg his first response is to trot rather than move/change direction. So i know thats on me, to get a better seat, to be more in tine myself. But he is a star. I hope i can learn and better myself quickly so I'm not holding him back! 
He's just so smart. I've got him to shake his head by just barely touching a spot on his neck whereas yesterday you needed to wiggle on him with pressure. But not he knows this spot to shake his head and he gets a "good boy" and a nice pat. Clever pony!
Then after the bareback / round work he got a nice shampoo and wash down. 
I'll head down again later this afternoon for feeding, and might try bareback again. (Although i had my partner there this time to help me get on so not sure how I'll manage to get on once in the arena but I'll suss it out!)
I also met 2 new girls who seem really lovely, similar situation as me (leasing just to trail ride and enjoy rather than competing ) and we have organized to rid monday! So looking forward to that


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## NavigatorsMom (Jan 9, 2012)

Sounds like you've had a few fun days! It's great to have people to ride with isn't it? That's the one thing I dislike about my barn, I'm almost always riding alone. 

Great pictures too!


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

YAY! Glad the rain stopped.  Good to hear.
So nice that you rode him bareback and he was a good boy. It's great when a horse responds to mostly leg cues. And whew, I know...I can't ride Redz bareback, he's older and needs more cushioning LOL but he also has those high withers. NOPE! :lol:

That's great you made some new riding buddies and you are going to ride with them soon. It's always nice to have people to ride with. You guys look great! :smile:


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

@NavigatorsMom Thankyou! Yes it was such a nice few days off! It's crazy to think, a few months ago I wasn't riding. What on EARTH was I doing with myself in my free time!? Feels so nice to just have this all back!
Yes it's so nice to ride with others! I used to always ride alone when I was younger, but it is nice to mix it up and meets others! 
@PoptartShop Hahaha! Yes those withers are KILLER! I now understand why you can buy saddle pads with girths  Makes sense!
Thankyou!! Yeah it's so nice meeting new people, in my work/town it's very hard to meet people it's quite small so it's either quite cliquey or just hard to find anyone! So definitely refreshing to meet some new people with a common ground!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

So no riding yesterday, and when I went down to the stables owner had already fed them and just given them a shot or vitamin B (I think it was B?) It's meant to help them eat more as we're coming into our 'Dry Season' which means the beautiful full and green paddocks won't last to much longer, they will all be on 24/7 hay to suffice, but we currently have really great grass which is helping them all with their condition. 
I'll be heading down after work today though! (anyone else always stuck working on weekends?)
I'm thinking I'll just do some bareback/arena work, and I have a ride lined up tomorrow (Monday which is a public holiday for us over here!) with 2 girls I met, and my partner is going to ride one of the owners horses as well!
So that should be fun! We have the next 2 days off, so hopefully a lot of horsey time!
The owner is going away for a week or so on Wednesday, and leaving me to feed the crew! (He has 4 horses at this stable, and all self care)
Which I'm more than happy to do, he was thinking about taking 1 or 2 of them out (just to spell in a different paddock) so I wouldn't have so many, but I told him it's more than fine by me, and choice is his!
As my partners been helping as well, and the owner is happy to let him ride every now and then free of charge (very generous) I did try to reiterate that we can both do it, and it's no dramas!
So will see! Either way I'll at least have 2 horses to look after for a week and a bit!

Anyway, I'm just slacking at work (again) trying to pass the time! Sundays at work are the worst, staring out the window, it's perfect weather that makes you want to be out and about! Even just grabbing a coffee, going for a walk on the beach. I'm counting down the hours!
Currently, 4 to go!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

I went down to see Target after work. (May have snuck out 30 minutes early) 
He was in a bit of a funny mood at the very start (before riding)
He has a bad habit of walking so sloooow! So when i lead him in from the field he absolutely lags behind me at the end of the lead rope. Its my fault i haven't corrected this earlier. I'm currently showing him the end of the lead rope to get him to pick up the pace and stay with me (sometimes the odd tap on the flank) i generally have to repeat this a couple times on the walk. He doesn't stop at all its almost like dragging a small child out of bed and sending them to school, they'll go but it can be a challenge! 
He also tried to semi fight the bridle, by curling his nose into his chest so it was hard to get the bit to his mouth.
Perhaps an off day? Perhaps testing me?
His owner treats/trains all these horses with a firm but fair hand. He's quick and firm with correcion but gives and rewards immediately when corrected. So i do think i need to work on being a bit quicker and firmer and nipping any littles issues in the bud instead of getting a bit slack about it.
Other than those minor issues. The rest of the arvo was more than great. I decided to do arena work bareback. (Trying to get my seat muscles working as much as possible)
It was feeling really good by the end. We only walked/trotted and he was very responsive at the walk i didn't need to use any rein just all seat/leg. The trot is only tricky because I'm miles behind in being fit enough to sit and stick it to focus properly on all cues. So I'm stsrting with transitions and trotting straight lines for now! (Slow and steady?!)
But by the end i felt really great, sooo much less like a sack of bouncing potatoes! I had him in a beautiful slower collected trot that i could move to a lot better. Still plenty of work to do on my part don't get me wrong. But actually felt progress! I sadly didnt get any photos today! But will get more tomorrow.


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Today was fun!
It was a public holiday where I am, so it was a nice day off. Partner and i took the dog for a walk and got some take away coffees in the morning. Was a nice chilled morning and pretty relaxing day!
Then at around 4pm we got ready to go to the stables as we had organized to go on a trail ride with two girls. Well! We ended up having a group of around 8! 
Went out for about an hour, but was so fun to have a group! Just walk/trot, but so nice! Target and partners horse (Tanna) were so well behaved!
Target was happy to be dead last, happy to lead and happy to be in the middle! Stuck to his pace didn't rush at all. So good to know in bigger groups he's totally chill! 
One of the girls i met, you can just tell shes an amazing rider. Shes from germany, used to compete nationally, now is just doing her own thing whiles shes at uni here and riding around once a week. After we got talking and i mentioned I'm still rusty and originally really wanted lessons but there's nothing around here. Well she offered to help me! Said she would be happy to watch me ride and give me any pointers or do lessons whatever i prefered! So I'm really keen to give it a go! She was an eventer. But I've seen her do dressage work and she has such a great seat/balance/hands all the things i reaaaally want to work on and perfect as much as possible. So I've organized to meet her Wednesday and if all goes well, hopefully work out a priceand perhaps lock it in weekly or even more. 
She seemed really happy to do it. I know she's not a qualified instructer. But even having someone watch/critique me who is clearly very skilled, hopefully i can take something away from it! Can't hurt to try!
Here's a few photos from today!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

So i didn't do a whole lot today, i just rode bareback in the arena for maybe 15-20 minutes. A lot of walking/bending using just leg. Did more trotting, I'm still feeling to bouncy. I know that will improve with time/practise/building my muscles and core up. But its definitely better even after 2 small sessions so there is hope!
Poor target puts up with me well! 
I'm going to aim to do bareback even small 10-15 minutes sessions at least every second day. It's helping me feel so in tune and I'm finding he collects soo easily and nicely that he will build his muscle/topline as well (which he needs) so hopefully it helps us both!
The owner is away for a week now, so i have 4 horses to bring in and feed everynight! Will keep me busy at least!
I'm also going to meet the girl i spoke about above (german eventer) for a lessonish session tomorrow afternoon! So it'll be good to have someone watch my just to assess how I'm going if nothing else! So looking forward to a good productive and busy week!


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

So glad you had a nice trail ride with everyone.  That looks like so much fun! And he could've had an 'off' day, it happens. Redz has those days too sometimes. Never know what kind of day they are having. 

That's so awesome you will have some help with lessons! I think that's great and exciting. :smile: And very nice that you can help feed the horses, it's quite fun! Tomorrow will be awesome meeting with her. 
 Yayy!! Can't wait to hear all about it!!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

@PoptartShop
Ahhh thank you!!
I will be sure to tell you all about it later tonight! 
Now to get through the work day...


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Lesson was amazing!!!
Few things came about.
Firstly like i said, i met this young German girl at the stable, invited her on a trail ride, noticed what a naturally great looking rider she was and basically got talking about me wanting even someone to watch me ride for any tips and so on and she seemed more than happy to help. 
So when i had asked about her riding history. Lets just say she was incredibly modest. She did say she competed and did quite well. She didn't however mention that she worked here in Aus with a lady who trains some of our olympic horses who also qualified for the team. She had an opportunity to go work with William Fox Pitt as well! So she's very talented and has experience with training horses young as well. The craziest part of this for me, is i live in a very remote part of Aus, there's barely a horse presence here let alone an english/eventing one. So how i have stumbled across this girl is so crazy.
Anyway, impressive as that is to me aside. The main thing, the lesson.
Firstly she's a great teacher for me. Because i really want to fully know what I'm doing and really perfect the basics shes very detailed in instructing, very clear, very kind as well. We mostly walked and trotted a bit at the end. But it was just good.
A lot of bending, leg, getting target stretching out. She said my posture and legs are pretty good. I just have to work on my hands (CLOSE THEM) god I'm soo bad.
I got into SUCH a relaxed state even when i was riding years ago where i just don't control my hands and they are to relaxed in this setting.
So closed hands. And just getting better at having contact but being able to relax it and control it better. Also look where I'm going when turning.
All these things sound SO simple and obvious it's crazy when I'm trying to perfect it all my hands are open my reins are dropped and so on haha.
I need to improve that because he's so forward at the trot. So i know once i get everything working well I'll be able to slow his trot down a lot nicer than how i currently am.
Anyway. I suddenly feel like a total beginner again BUT it feels so motivated to have things to work on. I'm someone i loooove trail riding and i can get a bit lost in the arena about what to do or work on
So this is great for me!
Anyway. Thats enough for now.
Work tomorrow and after straight to practise!


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

Yay for a good lesson!  She sounds great! I know, the 'basics' are what we have trouble with most, I think! I think you are doing great and if you keep at it with the lessons, you will be just fine.  It is great for you! Awesome opportunity! 

Keep up that positive attitude! :smile:


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Is there anything worse than waking up sick?!
I feel like I've been hit by a truck! I'm someone luckily who never gets sick, this is probably the first time in a year or so. I think my last sick day from work was honestly 3 years ago!
I still went into work this morning (unfortunately i have a job thats almost impossible to call in sick for due to lack of staff) so i went in for 3 hours to just get as much as i could done then headed home and have been stuck on the couch since. 
It all came out of no where, i rode for over an hour yesterday on a trail with the boyfriend and it was really awesome and i felt great. Then i got back and fed the 4 horses and it was like as soon as i sat in the car to leave after all the chores were done BAM. Sick. Fever. Dying. Okay dramatic but still!
Anyway. I'm just whining. Bad timing because i have these 4 horses to care for, for the next week and we also have a great opportunity for boyfriend to ride as much as he wants for this week because we're taking care of the horses. So was hoping to ride everyday! But hopefully I'll have today off, go feed the guys tonight and feel better tomorrow! Fingers crossed!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Well luckily i think the worst is over and was only really sick for 2 days  
I don't normally stay sick more than a day or so, so very thankful! 
I did end up riding yesterday, i was feeling sick but boyfriend wanted to ride so i thought i may as well push through it!
Wasn't anything crazy, little trail practising our trotting and canter a little. 
I think both of us and both horses were feeling it from the day prior. Our muscles were hurting they weren't overly keen on leaving the barn and working. But it was all good in the end!
Then fed the herd, and headed home!
I did call in sick from work today, i woke up feeling off and i think i said above, i haven't used a sick day in 2-3 years so figured if i stayed home and get better quicker. (Also its Saturday. I wasn't motivated to go anyway  )
Anyway, seems to have worked! I had a slow morning and could sleep in, then after having a healthy breaky i managed to get some chores done around the house (so i really did work today?!  )
And now feeling a lot better, still a bit fluey, but no fever or headache yay!
So will be going to horses this afternoon, i have to feed them anyway and thinking a bareback ride maybe. 
I've organized to hopefully ride with another girl tomorrow or the day after which should be fun! Then another lesson Wednesday. Yay


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

A bit of drama tonight!
Zebu, (horse in my avatar) got kicked by another horse and got a big cut on the inside of his hind leg. And i saw it. It was when i first arrived and he was hanging around gate (he knows dinner time) as always. He's generally top of the pecking order in the field and gives other horses a lot of grief himself. But this horse hust spun around and got him square. Of course this happened 2 minutes before i would have gotten him out, and of course while the owner was away. 
I know nothing that could of been done, but i sent photos to the owner. He wasn't worried and was happy i got him and put antiseptic on it. It took the fur off, had a spot of blood put wasn't bleeding. I'll go early tomorrow to make sure he's all okay. As soon as he got kicked since i saw it, he did limp a few steps straight after which worried me but after those steps he seemed to walk fine, he wasn't favoring the leg. So maybe just the initial pain made him limp? 
Anyway after he was taken care of and fed, we eventually got to go on a ride!
Today was a bit of a fun forward ride. Boyfriend is getting really confident which is so great to see. Hes so happy trotting he wants to just keep practising canter, and the horse he's been riding can be a handful, just tries to turn home or zigzag being a bit buddy sour. He handled him really well.
Beside just playing around trotting/cantering for fun, i practised a little sidestepping (i actually don't know the proper term  ) and he's so good, with just a bit of leg he does it perfectly.
Today is the one night the horses need to be let back into the field by owners (we have caretakers who let the horses into different fields each night) Saturdays are their night off. So after the ride we wait for them to finish there dinner and put them back out, after the initial leg drama we were chasing the light and it was almost pitch black by the time we left!
But all worth it! 
Tomorrow hopefully having a morning ride then possibly another lesson in the afternoon! Hopefully!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

What an amazing ride !  
What an amazing day really. And it's only 4pm !
Today (sunday) already great just not to be working! I got to catch up with a friend for an early breaky at a cafe in the botanical gardens who i hadn't seen in 3 months! So that was amazing.
Then i headed to stables around 1030am, i was meeting a girl to go on trail ride. It was sooo much fun. We rode a little in the forest area, then we went out onto the beach, walked around in the water, did some trotting, there was a log/stick we used as a jump. It was so fun. We had a bunch of parents with there kids want to come pat the horses which they loved the attention! Its was just so fun.
By the end target was pretty ******ed and puffing quite heavily, still puffing. Our weather hasn't cooled down yet so hoping this will still go away. But when we got back gave him a long hose down until he was back to normal. Still i feel so bad that he's not sweating, just puffing. I think I'll talk to the owner about getting a few new things in his feed that should help until the weather changes.
Luckily he still seems really happy, he doesn't seem distressed in anyway. I just need to keep an eye on it and work him up slowly. Obviously any beach work is pretty intense so I'll build it up slowly. I don't want to push it at all.
Anyway, aside from that he was such a saint. He spooks at nothing, will try anything. I got him walking over a rubber/board type obstacle and he just sniffs for .5 seconds and on he hops. Such an honest horse. I love him way to much. Haha i need to somehow buy him eventually! 
So overall. Amazing day. 
Zebu, who cut his leg last night. Is slightly lame. Very mildly, so he's getting some time off until he heals up 100%.
Next sunday, at my stable we have a 'Pony Up' day, where we put on a bbq and lead any kids around on the ponies/horses. The whole community is welcome to come, so looking forward to helping out!

Currently dying on the couch after a big day but have to head back in like an hour to feed the crew, sometimes a quick lay down is crucial


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## falling (Apr 13, 2014)

I'm loving reading your journal! You and your partner are so cute together, it is awesome he is so interested in horses too. It sounds like you got super lucky and you've got a whole lot of great horse people around you.


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

@falling Thank you so much!
I'm glad your enjoying it!! 
Aw I do feel lucky we share this interest, and that we can enjoy it together! 

I am glad I found this place, my biggest worry was always the people to be honest! We all know how some horsey people - or just people, can be!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

First baby spook?!

So, last night went down to the stables with boyfriend to do a little trail ride.
Owner gets back this afternoon, so thought we may as well get one last ride in while boyfriend has so much access to this horse.
All was good, you could tell both Target and Tanna really had no interest in going or doing much haha. 
But, to be very fair, they've had a big week and yesterday both got worked on the beach, so I'll bet they're feeling a little less enthused! But once we got them out and going, they were fine, it was just that walk out of the gate, trying to doing or start to veer home saying "Can't we just go back and have our dinner" 
We took it pretty easy, a little trotting, practicing our seat and so on, then we wanted to mix it up a little, so we found some small* ditches to practice just going up and down, we then had a little walk on the beach as boyfriend hadn't been on the beach yet. Target definitely loves the water, he just charges straight for it, I do wonder if I didn't pull him up would he swim out to sea?! Haha, but like I said, NOTHING has even slightly bothered him so far, and he did the cutest baby spook at the beach! So kids charging him doesn't bother him, colourful umbrellas nope, dogs nah, bean bag chairs huh, 20 kangaroos hopping in different directions don't be silly. 
It was in fact, a wave. :rofl:
So when we normally go to the beach, the tide is always out so its flat and still meaning we can ride out for ages at ankle level, today was high tide, and had some BABY waves, so he charged on over start walking straight in, then when he heard the wave crash on the sand, he was like "Oh, whats that" and did one side step then carried on about his day.
I know this really isn't even a spook, I just found it so funny, because it could be the closest we get! I love his attitude, like "Oh I didn't expect that noise, anyway back to trying to swim to Antarctica" 

Anywhoo, we headed back after maybe 30-40 minutes? Wasn't a long ride by any means. 
When we got back, at the stable they've got a mini obstacle course / trotting poles set up, so we did a couple rounds of those, then boyfriend got on Target, to have a go. The horse he rides, is in a stock saddle, so he likes to try get used to my english when rising trot and all that jazz because he eventually wants to ride english (for now, changes his mind plenty!)
He looked really good on Target, and Target took care of him so well, they went over the mini bridge easy, and did some trot poles!
All in all, was fun!

I'm definitely giving him the day off today! He's worked SO hard for me this past week, he's due a nice pampering session from me! And hopefully tomorrow will be a lesson, so don't want him hating on me to much before that 
I'm also looking into possible adding some oil to his diet, reading about flax/linseed that can help with not only weight gain but their joints as well, so that could be good for his tendon? Not sure I'll keep researching!

:runninghorse2::runninghorse2::runninghorse2:


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

Glad you felt better in no time, whew!  Being sick is so frustrating, especially when you miss saddle time because of it. I absolutely hate it. :sad:
Awww so glad you and your boyfriend get to ride together, and his confidence is boosting. Yay! :mrgreen: Love the pictures. I hope the lesson goes well!

LOL that's so cute he spooked at the wave. Isn't that funny how some things don't bother them...but something simple/silly does? :lol: Redz spooked at an upside-down trash can before...like come on now! :rofl:
Love your journal!!!


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## NavigatorsMom (Jan 9, 2012)

I love reading your posts.  

You're lucky that your boyfriend is interested in riding with you! I've gotten mine up on Nav a couple of times but he's not really interested, he'll mostly just humor me every now and then. And I am sooo jealous that you have access to trails that lead right to the beach! Sounds like so much fun!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

@poptartshop 
Aw thank you so much!!!
I know, so funny the weirdest things will be terrifying for them! 
Do you have a journal or a thread about Redz i can follow?? Would love to hear more about you guys!!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

@NavigatorsMom 
Ah thank you!!
Aw yeah i am definitely lucky he's got an interest and likes to learn it all as well!
I love your journal as well! 
The beaches are fun, but i still love the green/foresty area like i think you're in from your photos! Can get waaay to hot here to!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Not to much has happened in the last couple days!
Target had a well deserved day off! So he just fed and had some treats which I'm sure he's happy about!
Then yesterday i just did maybe half an hour of bare back, to try get him bending a bit more but his bony back started to hurt so we ended it there   
I didn't have a lesson, but thats okay i forgot i was due to pay Targets month lease so i thought I'll push the lesson back, now the girl will be at the stables 3 days a week (instead of 1) so it'll be easier to find time as well!  
I just woke up but am going for a ride with a girl in a few hours so that'll be fun!
Annnd plans to go friday and monday with people as well, I'm definitely enjoying going out with people more than i thought  
I used to be happy to ride alone, which i still am i don't mind but now having made a few friends i look forward to it a lot more!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Today was crazy!  
In a great way!
So i had organized to go out riding with a girl I've gone out with a few times now, and she has started riding Zebu, (Targets owner owns him as well) which is so good because they're best buds so always happy being out together!
We went down to the small back beach, which was fun but really quick so we decided to keep going through the trails to go to the big main beach.
So off we went, when we got there we had so many families and kids want to come pat the horses which these horses are super affectionate luckily so they love the attention!
Then we went down to the beach and the tide was soooo low. So you could walk out for miles and just be in a couple inches of water, the sand was also nice and firm so you could easily trot around without sinking. 
When we were heading back in, we saw a man on his own and thought we'd ask him to take a photo of us before we could he told us he was from the local newspaper and asked if we'd go back out a bit and run past him for photos! We thought why not!
So we went back out a little way, and lets just say the boys were keeeen to run! We had in our minds a nice collected canter should look nice, well they both ended up in a gallop haha. We eventually pulled them up and trotted back past the other way. When we came back in he got out names, the horses names and said if the photos turned out they should end up in the paper!
A few hours later a lady ended up calling me and asking a few more questions and said it'll definitely be in tomorrow! Ahh so excited to see how they turned out!
All we were thinking is "oh god we probably look terrible and hopefully our position isn't to laughable!"
Either way, fingers crossed the heels are down and hands aren't flailing! Haha.
I'll post a picture when i get it!
After all the excitement we took the boys back gave them a well deserved bath and some treats!
I can't remember if i said the owner is away again.
He came back for 2 days, and said he got work for a week on a remote farm so asked if I'd be okay to feed all the horses again, which of course I'm more than happy to do!   
Overall good day! Can't wait to see the paper tomorrow! The photo below is probably 100 - 200m in the beach away from the land thats how crazy low the tide was!


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

Wow that is soooo cool!!! Definitely not something that happens every day.  Never know what or who you will run into! 
I'm sure they turned out great, probably looked so free and graceful! :smile: I'm jealous! LOL it's my dream to ride along the beach.
That's good they love affection too.  So cute! Beautiful photo...the water looks so blue & clear! Can't wait to see the photos, you have to show us when they're posted!  That's awesome.

I don't currently have a journal, but I was thinking about making one. Hmmm!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

@poptartshop 
You should definitely make a journal!! 
I'd love to read about you guys more!!
Aw thank you!!
Hopefully I'll have the photos from yesterday soon!!  

Today me and the boyfriend went for a quick ride, and got some nice pictures!
The horses were pretty forward and didn't really want to chill haha, but still it was fun!
I know i should do more arena work to work on more control and collection and so on! Buutt I'm enjoying going out and about so much more and even if the canters turn into gallops it's just more fun than arena work now! 
I still think i need to force myself to do at least 1-2 days a week working on myself, seat, control, hands and everything else though.
I'll hopefully get there!  
Here are some pic's from a small back beach that has a cliff top perfect photo op, at least when i ride with thr boyfriend i don't feel weird asking him to takes photos of me haha ??


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Ahhhh so i got the photos from the photographer! ! I feel SO lucky to have randomly ran into a photographer who wanted to take these... for free!  
Sooo happy


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

Wow, the pictures are lovely! :smile: Love the ones from the photographer too, they came out great! You guys look so happy and like you are having a good time!
Gorgeous photos...the beach looks amazing. Super, super jealous!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

@PoptartShop 
Thank you!!!  Super happy with them!

So gave the horses a day off yesterday, (Saturday)
As Saturday nights are the caretakers day off, and it was just me at the stable as boyfriend was working late. 
So after bring 4 horses in from the field, feeding them, taking them out to another (further away) field I was ******ed 

I can lead them altogether to avoid multiple trips, luckily they're all really good (well Target can be a slow walker which can be the only trouble haha)

Anyway, another big week for us all, so figured a lazy Saturday night in was warranted 
Annnd I'm stuck working all weekend as well, which of course. Sucks. 

Today, is a 'Pony Up' day, as the stable calls it.
Which is basically a day for anyone to come down, there's a BBQ, cakes, and the kids can have a lead around the arena on a pony/horse for a gold coin donation, apparently these days generally get a few hundred people, (I haven't been to one before) but looking forward to it!
So when I finish work, I will rush home get changed and me and the boyfriend will tack of Target and Tanna and lead those guys around if any kids want a ride!
Hopefully the guys are in a patient mood, I can imagine a few laps and I'd get bored! But they're both pretty chill, so fingers crossed!
A younger teenage girl, is going to do a show jumping demonstration, she competed nationally, so I'm keen to see her go around! 
Should be a busy day but hopefully everyone has fun!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

The pony day was a success!
It was packed! I think over 200 people came down!
I raced down there after i finished, boyfriend and i ran to catch Target and Tanna we put saddles on (no stirrups or bridles as requested) and went down to the arena. The horses were so great, we probably took 20 kids each, 20 laps of the arena and the were so quiet and plodded along. By the last lap you could tell they'd had enough and we took them out to eat some grass then a big dinner!
All the kids loved them and got so many photos, we even had 2 parents want a quick lap as well which was funny!
Very proud of the boys! 
This afternoon myself boyfriend and 2 other girls are going for a ride down the beach which should be fun!

Heres a couple photos someone snapped after the rides when they finally got some grass!


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## falling (Apr 13, 2014)

Those photos are beautiful! They make me want to take another trip to Australia.

The pony day sounds like heaps of fun, too. It seems like you have an awesome community, I really wish I had a stables or something to go to around me. It would be awesome to make some more friends, especially horsey ones.


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

@falling 
Thank you so much! You should definitely plan another trip!  
The stables really are a great little community and im so glad to have alreadyet some really great people. Ive never been or had anything like this before, as i always had horses at home. So this really had been such a great find.


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Tonight was lovely  
Went for a ride with the 2 girls I've become quite good friends with.
We went down to the beach and watched the sunset, it really was pure bliss. 
The german girl (who also taught my lesson) her horse is an ex racehorse and was in heat, she was super hot. Basically jigged on the spot the whole way there just super hyped up. When we got down to the water she was a different horse! She just loved it and wanted to charge straight out to the ocean it was crazy the difference. This girl is honestly my riding goals though, she just sits so well while the horse was jogging on the spot or hopping around it was amazing.
But aside the hyped up mare it was a fun ride and Target and Zebu were so well behaved, even when the mare half jigged and bumped into target he just moved aside and kept walking on, haha such a chilled horse its crazy!


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

Great pictures as always, that looks like so much fun.  Glad you had a good time!! I hope the ride to the beach was fun too!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

@PoptartShop Thank you as always! 

Boyfriend and I went for a ride yesterday afternoon, he rode Zebu this time, who is a much nicer ride, Tanna the horse he's been riding is off a station, so while he's a good horse, he's gaits aren't that easy to ride, while Zebu collects nicely, has a smooth trot to sit or rise, it was great to see how much he's improving! He has his rising trot down pat, and is getting really confident cantering, while sometimes he struggles to sit the canter (when he find the rhythm he's fine) but for the bumpy starts or if the canter breaks out unexpectedly he finds it easier to stand/two point, which will help him strengthen anyway so least he can practice both!
Last night, the weather was cool, there was wind about and the boys definitely had pep in their step!
We went down to the back beach which is small but has a nice long easy run if you want to canter, boy did the horses want to go!
They started off beautifully collected and slow, then if we gave them an inch they decided oh what a fabulous day to race and gallop about!
It was great fun though! and always fun to see the horses enjoying themselves and get to have a good run about! Definitely helps improve my stamina that's for sure!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Went down by myself this afternoon after i finished work.
Which is funny how I've always been used to riding alone and now it's rare to actually go out alone!
It was nice though, every day for the last few weeks Target will walk straight over to me when he sees me, and now the other 3 horses I'm feeding are doing the same, it's like "hey theres that lady that comes here to feed us" then they follow me up the gate which is a pain because I have to shoo them off as they try to slip through behind target!
When we got tacked up we did maybe 10-15 minutes in the arena, i can get him to stretch out and relax so nicely in the walk but he still gets really forward and quick at the trot. I think a lot of it is his balance and getting all his muscle back he can collect so nicely but he can't hold it for very long. I think it'll come with building him all back up again and of course getting myself to have a stronger seat to help slow him more.
We will get there! 
After the arena we went out on a trail ride and he seemed happy to be out, we did a few trails then found some open flat pasture to do a bit more flatting. I got a few slow nice trot circles in but he got a bit excited and rushing again after a few. We did some canter circles he has a great canter very easy to ride even when it's super quick. I know I'll need to focus on getting the trotting slow and controlled before i can expect the canter to come down, but at least its easy to ride. I think he's also feeling quite good now in general, when we canter sometimes i think he just wants to run! Not in a bolty way, i always feel i have control and he's still super responsive to leg aids, and will go where i ask but i feel he wants to be like "screw these reins lets just have a quick gallop" haha. He is very strong, so in those moments i just go to circling or one rein stopping instead of just holding his head, otherwise i feel I'd have to hang onto his head for a bit to long which i really don't want to do. So we have a bit to work on! But he's super responsive and for the most part very willing, its probably 80% me needing to work on things and 20% building his muscle / balance back up. 
Anyway, these learning days are what i need  as much as i LOVE to just zoom around the beach or just hack out, my main goal is to be a better rider so i can be fit / strong / balanced for the horse and give them a much better ride!


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

Lovely photos!  I'm glad you are enjoying Target so much, it looks like he loves you! 
There is always something to work on. Great attitude to have! The trails look like fun too. :smile:


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## NavigatorsMom (Jan 9, 2012)

Those last pictures are so cute!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

@PoptartShop @NavigatorsMom

Thank you both!!  
He's super affectionate but I think that's because he expects a treat now, the disappointment when I have nothing is real
:rofl:

Went for an hours ride yesterday with boyfriend, mostly walking, his butt is quite sore after the last week :lol: :lol:
So walked through the trails, then went down to the small back beach, had a little trot, the boys were actually so good, they're normally very forward on the beach, so not sure whether they were a bit tired themselves or not but they both gave a super nice slow trot we could just have a lose rein! Was so nice to just let him trot at his own pace, it was also pretty sinky type sandy (is that a thing?!) that day, such a great workout for them to trot on that, should help the muscle growth!
Was a good relaxing ride!
I've started to use a riding app, to track what I'm doing (Cannot believe it's taken me this long)
Although where I ride, GPS drops in and out a lot, so not sure how accurate it will be! But it's interesting to see the distance/speeds/duration!

I took some random photos last night, so here are some, one is with the boy and 'Rocko' he's the 4th horse I'm looking after, I haven't mentioned I don't think.
He's a massive (16.2 I'd guess) standedbred, xtrotter, just a huge dope really. He's to big for his body, haha he's the owners carriage horse, he's just started doing carriage rides in town with him, and he's really good, very calm, (sometimes we think he's actually too dopey to spook) all he cares about is food really!
Some of these photos are terrible quality, I tried to screenshot from a snapchat video :lol:
But you can see Rocko was last to get brought in from the paddock, and patiently waiting, (it's dark but these horses have the luxury of sea views and pink sunset basically every day)


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Ahhh tonight was so lovely  
Went for a ride, just me and one of my new friends (the girl who came for a ride monday with the super jiggy/hyped horse)
She wants to get her horse (ottb) used to being out of the arena and to relax! She's not spooky just super excited.
She was sooo much better than last time!
Still a bit jiggy here and there, but she actually walked a lot more, and seemed miles better. Having just the one horse with here seemed to help as well, and it was good see. She was same as last time in the way that as soon as this horse hors the water she just completely relaxes and seems so calm and so happy its so nice.
The beach was perfect, the tide was just right. We went in as deep as we could without getting the saddles but both horses seemed to really enjoy it and would have gone further if we let them! 
Our goal is to go bareback and swim! Hopefully after a few more rides her horse will be more at ease and bareback shouldn't be a problem! 
Ah it really was lovely.
Also because I've lived in this state (originally not knowing anyone) for 5 years now, and aside making friends at work (all of who were male as I've always been only female there) I've struggled to find some good girl friends, most i found moved away and it was always through work.
Its so nice and refreshing to have already made a few friends with this common interest completely separate from my work life! Ah I seriously feel like a whole new person than i did from only a few months ago. 
Horses.  

Anywho, enough rambling! 
The owner is back tomorrow, its been weird feeling like i own these 4 horses for 2 weeks! But will be good to see him and see his work schedule and whether he's back long or not.
Here are some photos. The 2nd photo, would you believe that's the skyline of a capital city over here! Thats how close we are to the states capital, (i know its small) but still crazy to think it's a 5 minute drive away!


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

Sure looks lovely! Such gorgeous views, I bet Target loved the water. 
Rocko is gorgeous! So glad you get to ride with your partner!
It is nice to ride alone sometimes. I took Redz on a trail Wednesday, and he did so well- sometimes it's best to just clear your head & enjoy the alone time with them!

That's good the owner comes back tomorrow, and no doubt it feels like they're your own! :smile: LOL I forget I'm 'leasing' Redz at times. :lol: I love the pictures!!!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

@PoptartShop
Yesss he really does love the water! I'm so glad he enjoys it, I can imagine it would be good for his tendon as well to have the salt water around and cool it down! Hopefully a win-win 
I totally agree, it really is the best medicine to clear the mind! And going alone is perfect for that, to just enjoy them!

Haha I am the same, I've only been leasing for like.. not even 2 months? And I am way to attached and pretty much feel like he's mine! Oh well!

Any more thoughts on your own journal here??


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

My poor man got kicked!
I got a message from the owner this morning, saying that Target copped a kicking to the ribs and was a bit sore, and that we'd check it out again this afternoon. 
I wasnt sure what to expect!
Ahhh, my poor baby.
He looks like he's copped a whopping right into his ribs, theres a round small surface wound, and a lump sticking out quite swollen all right where the girth goes. The owner has checked him over and no ribs are broken thankfully, he said this afternoon the swelling had gone down since this morning. If it has worsened he likely would of needed the fluid drained.
Poor ******, he honestly lets the other horses beat on him, definitely isn't high in the pecking order or dominant at all!
The owner seems to think he'll be fine in a few days, when the swelling had gone down, obviously will play it by ear as wouldn't want to put a girth over it until it's healed! Even bareback my leg would sit on it. But thats okay we can do groundwork and have a lot of pamper days!
Luckily he was still in good spirits and didn't seem bothered. He still came to me in the paddock, and was normal, touching over the area he was definitely tender but it didn't affect him or his movement at all so it could be worse!
Fingers crossed it keeps going down!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Somehow ended up riding twice yesterday, two different horses but neither my own!

A friend of mine has been wanting to get back into riding after her own 6 year break/having a baby etc.
So she had organized to go on a trail ride (which is really a daily lease, as they let you take the horses out without a guide) the place was about an hours drive, but she asked if I'd come and she'd drive us out there. 
I had been to this place myself about 4 times when I first got back into riding before leasing a horse, so I knew the owner and horses.
We got out there around 9.30am, they had the to school horses/ponies (They can't have been much bigger than 14.2) ready to go, I let me friend pick who she wanted, she wanted the nice roan pony, and I took bear - I'd actually ridden him already probably 3 times, they said he was being a bit of brat that day (funny how since riding only these few months that comment would have scared me earlier, but I felt quite keen to see how he went and confident about riding him regardless).
Off we went, Bear was totally fine, I think he'd had a beginner on him earlier that morning, and he's the type to test anyone to get out of work, he didn't really try anything on me at all, he seemed alert and happy to go!
We went down a back road, to get to open bushland/trails which was really nice.
We went for around 1.5 hours, I was so impressed with my friend, she was just so happy to be out, and so confident to give it all a go again, so we got in a bit of trotting and cantering, it all came back to her straight away, so that was fun. It also made me love target even more :lol::lol: Only because, ponies/smaller horses (the ones I've ridden recently anyway) seem to have such a hard canter to sit, as their gait it shorter I guess? I just found it more bumpy, whereas Target has such a smooth canter and makes it easy for me!
So that ride was great, fun to do something different and be in a different place for a ride!
inkunicorn: :blueunicorn:

After the drive back, and stopping in to have a quick beer with my friend I headed home and that was at around 3pm, had a quick bite to eat and was out the door at 4pm to go ride with another girl at the stables, the owner said I was fine to ride Tanna.
So that was surprisingly fun! Tanna was the horse, I first started leasing, he's such a sweetheart on the ground but I just didn't enjoy riding him and we didn't click (He's the horse my boyfriend loves and gets on with really well)
So I thought, oh well, see how it goes, I've also had about 2 months more saddle time since so maybe it'll be better now! Since he's a bit to round for my saddle, I just used all the stock gear on him, which was a nice change, sitting trot in a stock saddle is sooo easy, it just hold you in so nice! :lol:
So we went for a ride around the trails and the back beach, and it was just great! Tanna is the type of old boy (20YO) who loves to try things on if he thinks he can get away with it, but I was shocked at how well behaved he was, how responsive, to my leg, I didn't need reins on him (normally he is SO rushy) and he was actually a total dream!
The only minor thing is the beach excites him, so he doesn't want to stop! But that's okay, he had his canter and once off the beach, was great again! 
It was getting dark when we got back, so a quick hose off and some dinner, Target whinied when he saw me! Melt my heart! So gave him his dinner and he was happy!

The owner seems to think he'll be fine to saddle in a few days, his lump has gone down a bit and he's less tender, so tonight, I'll just do groundwork, maybe bareback only if my leg doesn't sit on the area. We will see!
Here's a couple photos, one fro the trail ride in the morning, and the second of the little stock horse Tanna!


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

I know, I need to make one already. LOL.
But I don't really do anything exciting like you do! :lol: AHhh!
Awwww that is SO cute that he whinnied when he saw you! Omg! *melts*. I'm glad Tanna was good for you, too! So cute. Sorry to hear Target got kicked. :sad: Grrr!!! I hope he feels better soon! <3


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

@PoptartShop
Aw thankyou!! Thankfully the swelling is almost completely gone!! He's such a silly boy, he honestly lets other horses beat on him! He just stands there and if someone has an issue he slowly moves away, like stand up for yourself! Bite them back! Haha, I was like a worried mother, 'Which horse did this to my baby?!' Ahhh, he is always getting new scratches/bites on him, I'm like, you have a HUGE field, RUN AWAY!! Hahaha.

Buuuut, after all that I got to ride him bareback last night   
I wasn't sure whether my leg might be in the way of the area, but luckily it's sort of my 'under' his belly, that my leg was hanging away from him so no where near it, I just had to make sure if I used that leg to be aware of it. But after 3 days off, the baby was fresh and did not need leg. At all. Haha, just to turn him but he was such a good boy. I was SO impressed.
I must admit, I was a little hesitant, I've only ever rode him bareback in the arena/round yard, and it was actually my monthly goal to be able to canter bareback (or just be brave enough to try ) by the end of this month, but I sort of just forgot and haven't ridden bareback since the start of the month.. oops! :lol:
So, when a friend came down, she really wanted to ride out and go on a trail, and I thought oh screw it. Least if I fall off I can't get caught in anything? That's what I was telling myself!
WE WENT FOR AN HOUR! And Target is high withered and BONY, definitely not the comfiest thing to be atop of!
I somehow, felt okay the whole time, and even today I'm not sore?!
So off we went, he was super fresh just had a quick paced walk (normally a total plodder) we went around through open fields, through trails, had to cross roads and walk on footpaths, and he was so well behaved, we just walked mostly, and he normally is such a rushy boy at the trot, but when we trotted to either catch up, or even when it's the way home and he's a bit excited for dinner (who isn't) it was a smooth really slow trot that I could just sit without bouncing! It was so great.
My goal is still to canter, I'm terrified, but I will do it before the end of the month! It's not the cantering that worries me, it's easier than trotting! It's more the stopping.... hahahaha. I might try to on the beach so it's a softer fall.. But he also likes to gallop on the beach.. Hmm.. We will figure something out! I have a bit of time!

I'm hoping a few more days and he might be able to be saddled, will just see how much the girth will worry him, until then I can practice bareback at least!


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

LOL right? Like come on, stand up to the bullies! :lol: Awww. He's so timid. 
Glad you feel comfortable on him bareback!  Maybe cantering in the soft sand will help too. Try to canter a few steps first, if you feel nervous!

Glad he was a good boy. Redz is also high-withered so if I do ever ride him bareback I HAVE to wear a bareback pad. :lol: But he's also 24 haha older man! 

That's good you aren't sore! Probably getting used to it! & awww his coat is sooo shiny.


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## NavigatorsMom (Jan 9, 2012)

You're brave to take on a bareback trail ride! I'm always too worried Nav would get super fresh if I tried that. I'm sure you'll be able to meet your goal of cantering bareback - it's definitely easier to sit than trot bareback. As for the stopping, I'd work on getting him super responsive to stopping from mostly your seat at the walk and trot, and then hopefully that would transfer to the canter. But yeah, the beach might be a good place to try it so you have a soft landing just in case!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

@PoptartShop
Hahaha exactly! And thankyou!
Yesss great idea just doing a few strides and coming back down! I'll definitely do that! Yeah so jealous of the girls with the stocky draft crossed they look so comfy!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

@NavigatorsMom
Thankyou!
I'm lucky he's not the type to get super fresh - or when he is he's still chill thankully! 
Greaat idea about getting the cues from my seat sorted first! Ill definitely start working on that so hopefully we can have a smooth stop!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

WE ACTUALLY SWAM!  
Last night was amazing!
I went on another ride out with my friend who has the spookier horse (this was our third rode off property together) i went bareback again, another hour or so! This time we tackled more roads, bikes, a car park, a playground and the beach!
Thank god Target is ridiculously chill! We did a bit more trotting (only catch up trotting which we still had to do a fair bit) so my core was working HARD :lol:
Then when we got to the beach it was high tide and both horses just loved it and basically ran in! My poor friend had the saddle on so half of it got wet whoops!
She didn't go all the way in but we did! After a few laps up and down of the deep water above my knee we went to turn and Target just sort of did a little jump off so he could actually go all the way in and swim a few strides! It was sooo coool and fun and ahh! He seemed to love it because he really could of walked it!
He's such a good boy. Then we headed back my boots FULL of water and had to hold on when we went up the steed hill off the beach so i didn't slide off! :lol:
Ahh just so fun!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Had a great few days off, back at work now.. Clearly working very hard! :lol:

I actually only ended up riding once on my days off, but was still at the stables every day and doing other horsey things!
I was suppose to ride Wednesday with a girl who has just started leasing Tanna... But she never showed up! So that felt like a waste of time, after bringing the horses in, waiting for an hour in the hot sun.. ahhh some people.
But that was okay, just groomed him, and played around there.
Thursday I went down and the owner was shoeing some horses and ponies, so I was helping hold the more difficult ones and watching him do that which I find really interesting, I'd love to one day eventually be able to trim my own horses feet or just know the basics!
Then, we took Rocko out in the carriage at night! It was sooo fun, the owner wants him to get used to night and all the lights around. He was such a champ! We were out on the roads, the headlights and cars didn't bother him, the only thing that slightly worried him, was a pothole in the road! Haha. 
Now that the carriage has lights all set up we stand out and we put little reflector bands on his feet it was adorable!

Yesterday I went on a ride out on the trails and beach with a friend that was good, first time with a saddle on after he was kicked, I put some fleece over that part of the girth so it wouldn't rub on him. He seemed fine and not bothered about it! So hopefully he's feeling a lot better! I got a new halfpad, as the riser pad I was using was crap, and he needs just a bit more wither clearance while he's still on the skinnier side.
Only issue is the saddle and halfpad stayed together but they seemed to slip back from the main saddle pad, not to badly, but I may need to actually use the billet straps on the saddle pad so it all stays together, I'll try a few things, hopefully it works its a really nice halfpad, with shims (so I can just raise the front up not the back, and soft sheepskin to help shock absorb) fingers crossed!

Otherwise, after yesterday I was going to ride again that afternoon, but I was just ******ed! No idea why, but I was just dead tired all day after the ride!
I went to bed at like... 7.30pm last night :lol: :lol:

So not sure if I'll ride tonight! I'll definitely go down there and feed and everything, but see how I'm feeling after work I guess! I realized it's been about 4 straight weeks and I haven't had one day away from the stables and feeding them! So maybe my bodies finally saying... Hey netflix and sleep sound great right now! 

I've been a bit slack with picture taking lately! Here are rocko's feet with his reflector bands and Target being a giraffe!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

I really need to take more photos! Been super slack!

Yesterday went for a ride out with boyfriend, was really nice had a really good trot along a tightish trails so the boys had to do a lot of bending around corners and trees. They were pros and seemed to really enjoy it! Once out of that trail and in the open field they were a bit firey and wanted to go!
Was good exercise for all of us for sure!

Didn't ride today just fed him, we got sooo lucky though! We had a natural horsemanship show being performed at the stables for a tourism thing. Watching that was amazing! Just riding bridleless, the guy was singing and playing guitar while his horse was cantering and weaving around. They had a cattle dog show as well it was just so cool how well trained these animals are!
Ive been trying to use less and less reins when I'm riding or just less bit. So trying to use leg and/or neck rein to steer etc. I think eventually i want to get a bitless bridle of some sort and attempt to play around with that and use mostly my seat/legs! Steering is easy but stopping i need to work on!
All in good time and practise i suppose! 

I think the owner is going away again at the end of the week, he might be taking 1 or 2 horses so i might not have as many to look after this time! Not that i mind either way! Also my stable, so it isn't a normal barn owner type set up. As its on council land so there is a commitee of around 10 members who make decisions on upkeep, money spending etc. Well 2 people actually pulled out and I've been asked to come on board, because I'm there so often and they want someone who is around! Sooo yeah this could be interesting, something totally new to me. But could be a great learning experience about behind the scenes.

Tomorrow I'm riding with a new leasee girl, to show her around the reserve and trails and the day after with my friend and we'll go to beach and practise some jumping!
So really keen for that, as they leave a show jumping course out this time of year.
So we will just pop over a few small ones nothing crazy i haven't jumped in oh... 6 - 7 years! Wish me luck! My friend is an amazing eventer so at least she can give me some tips!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

So didn't end up jumping! The beach ride got a bit... eventful!

The boyfriend came along, and we went with the girl I've been riding to the teach with (who rides the spookier ottb)
Anywho, the ottb was very fiery today! She was just super excited, she jigged again the whole way, baulked a bit, just wasn't her day. Her rider did amazing just to keep her as calm as she could, and keep her seat and ride her through it, she even bolted about 20m! 
Bless Target and Zebu, just didn't let this horse bother them, boyfriend is getting a lot better, he went back a different way so he could trot some circles and have a canter. It's great how comfortable he is now!
Anyway, so after all that, we decided to jump another day.. 

Yesterday, we just did a bit of ground work and lunging. Target switched on really well. I can tell he knows more than I do! I need to learn a bit more of what else I can do with ground work. I just lunged him walk/trot/canter and by the end could really control his trotting speed, still mostly a really quick canter, so will work on that!
But with all voice commands, cluck to trot, kiss to canter, he really didn't need to be told twice, I didn't even need the lead rope to cue him at all (I just had him loose in the round pen)
As soon as I stopped my body he immediately stopped and walked into me, then he would follow me everywhere, he could back up with barely signal. I was so impressed. He has unlimited potential I honestly wish I was better already! I know it takes time and practice, I just can't wait!

He should be getting his shoes/feet trimmed tonight or tomorrow, and then the owner is away again for a week or two.
He's taking Rocko, (the carriage horse) out for a spell at another pasture, and bringing his black mare in.
I'm excited to meet her, it's his favorite of all his horses, so I'm thinking she's special!
So far I know she's around 15.2HH, 15 year old, she's just been weaned from her foal, she's a bit skinny so he's bringing her in, to be on 24/7 and get fed every night to fatten her up. I think he used to compete with her doing camp drafting/roping etc. 
So yeah! I'll be sure to post some pics of her, a new family member!

Otherwise, everything else has been pretty good.


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

The new mare arrived and she is settling in nicely!
I washed her yesterday and lathered her in fly spray, and she looks 10x better already!
The owner left yesterday so now i have the 4 to look after but it's great!
I went down this morning and gave the mare a very light lunge, she is a stunning mover her trot is like shes floating!
She seems super level headed, and very smart. I just gave her a bit pamping to get her used to me more. She definitely seems the kind that has 'her person' which is of course the owner so just trying to get her to love me a bit! Haha.
So shes been staying a day yard on hay 24/7 so not with the herd but the owner said I'm fine to let her out if i feel like it for a few hours in the day. So i let her go out with as shes knows all his horses and seemed like she was keen to socialize, her zebu and target are actually all siblings they all have the same sire. Anyway it was so sweet, i let her out and probably stood in the paddock watching them for 30 minutes! They were all playing around and just seemed to be having a great time together!
  

After that i bought target in and gave him a lunge as well. It just makes me love him more you can tell the ground work that went into him with his training he just knows it all and as soon as we go in there he just follows me perfectly and i can speed and slow his trot its just so nice.
(Canter is still quick but working on it!)

After that, was probably only 10 mins or so nothing much i just let him eat the green lush grass outside (paddocks are getting dry) so i just sat on the ground and let him chomp away for another half an hour. It was lovely just to hang out!
I think I'll ride tonight but this morning was just nice to hang about!

Heres a couple snaps!
So in the group from left to right its the mare avalon, zebu is in the rug, target and tanna the chestnut just before he ran over to play!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

HE IS SWEATING AGAIN!!! :happydance: :happydance:

For anyone thats been reading since the start, would know a few months ago when I started leasing Target he suffered from Anhydrosis or 'The puffs'.
Which basically is as it sounds, he is unable to sweat so just puffs instead, it's so horrible for them. It's very common where I'm from (Tropical climate) because half the year is our 'wet season' which is hot, humid, sticky, disgusting really. Which is when this condition can crop up, and now that we're in our 'dry season' cool, no humidity and just amazing weather this condition normally eases up. 
The reason I'm sooo happy about it, is because after learning more and speaking to a vet, if this condition is the serious side, it can destroy the nerve endings to the sweat glands (pardon me if I'm explaining this wrong but something along the shutting down the sweat glands...)
Anyway, instead of just 'blocking them' when in humid heat, they can actually get destroyed so even if you moved your horse down south to a cooler climate, while they would stop puffing, they would still never be able to sweat again, meaning after a vigorous workout they'd most likely puff again until cooled down. Which is scary and just sad and I was terrified that could be the case here!

But, thank the lord, the weather has cooled right down, his puffing stopped a few weeks ago, and the last 2 days he's started SWEATING! (who knew a sweaty horse could make a gal THIS happy  )
I noticed it 2 days ago, after a lunge, I'm like hmm his girthy area looks a bit damp and his neck, but nooo.. is it?!
And after a ride yesterday, bit of canter, there he was, sweaty neck and chest!
Not crazy sweaty, but actually damp, and NO sign of puffing!
Ah just makes me so happy, knowing he must be sooo much more comfortable in general!
Hopefully as well, this will quicken his weight gain (I've heard it can be harder to put weight on these horses) so fingers crossed he picks up!
He's looking okay, but seems at a standstill, especially his hind end, it hasn't filled out at all. So speaking with the owner (who buys their feed) and going to switch a couple things up, and hopefully get a bit more success.

So yeah. Happy happy happy!


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

YAY I'm glad he has been sweating!! That is good news.  Thank goodness! Sounds like he is feeling great.  Aww, they are all so cute! Glad the new mare is setting in well too.  So cute! 
Target is probably feeling lovely. Glad you also had a great trail with the boyfriend! Wow, I love natural horsemanship. That sounds like a fun thing to watch.  Sounds like you have been having an awesome time!!


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## NavigatorsMom (Jan 9, 2012)

Very good news that he's sweating! Hope he is able to start gaining weight more easily now. As always, your updates are so fun to read and I love the pictures.


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

@poptartshop & @NavigatorsMom
Thank you both so much! To kind as always!!  

Today was a big day!
Last 2 days I've just been lunging him and hadn't ridden, so today i thought i better get stuck into thing as i had the day off.
I went down around 830am and was beautiful weather! I thought I'd rive Zebu a quick 15 minute ride as he hasn't been ridden for over a week and he can get a bit cheeky without being ridden! We didn't do much, just in the arena a bit of walk trot. He's different to ride, nice but i guess you get used to your horse!
Anyway that was all fine, gave him a hose and some hay and got target ready. 
We just did arena work as well, started by walking and trotting just trying to get him all relaxed which he was a lot more relaxed in the trot and not rushing like a mad man like he sometimes can!
Then i set up a raised trot pole and a tiny jump like maybe 30cm he could walk over it to say the least! But this was our first time trying anything raised up. 
Oh boy. Haha. I walked him over both a few times, then went to trot and it was hilarious he launched it suddenly thought it was 1m high!
After a couple times over he realized it was easy to trot over haha. But it was really fun, he seemed to really enjoy it.
He tries to rush off afterwards but thats okay plenty to work on just good to know he enjoys popping over a few poles!
Afterwards he just seemed happy and his tendon was completely normal and not hotter than his other leg so thats all good to!
Then gave him a hose and by then i think it was 1130am (time fliesss at the stables!)
So i went to grab lunch and catch a friend, and do house work (yay)
Went back around 4pm gave him a proper bath and just fed the 4 guys.
One lady told me i should buy him as we're a good match! Im like ahhhhh i want to!
Overall was a great day! Plenty to work on, but felt good to do something different!


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

Aww so happy you had a great day with him!  Sounds like he really enjoys the poles. It's good he's becoming more relaxed too.  Sure he loved the bath too. Awesome day! :mrgreen: It does help to do something different. It keeps things fun & there is always something to work on.


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Another busy few days!
Rode twice yesterday! We had a trail and then some arena work in the morning, then just an easy trail ride in the arvo! He seems to have bulk energy lately so should be good for him!
Today we went swimming in the beach again!! It was sooo much fun, i went down with a girl at the stable who invited me along with 2 of her friends so met more people and it was a blast.
We were waste deep and swimming around then let them have a paw and splash one of the horses had a roll in the water was so cute!
On the way back we did a longer trail so a lot of bareback but it was so awesome!
One girl took heaps of photos so hopefully i can get more but I've got 1 so far!
Just a great few days, more and more people keep telling me to buy him. Hopefully he will be for sale eventually!
Still not sure when the owner is back, actually going out for a birthday dinner tonight and i realized between horse and work clothes i cant remember when i last wore 'normal' clothes let alone something dressy! 
Crazy how things change in a short few months!!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

So, my journals been a little lacking lately!
I had the last week off D) Due to family being up ect, and haven't had a tonne of time to update! But now I'm back at work (haha) I have more time again!
Even though being busy, I think I rode everyday, except 1!
The owners still away, been nearly two weeks I think! So I've still had to go to the stables daily to feed, which is the perfect excuse when family is around to have at least an hour ... or 2, to myself! And when I rode, I just got up early to get it out of the way!

The mares been doing really well, this hay she's been on has fattened her up nicely already! I'm hoping, when the owners back he will let me leave Target on that hay 24/7 even for a week or so, try push more weight on him, it's hard to say because I see him everyday, but I think he's sort of at a standstill with his weight, someday's I feel like he looks too skinny, someday's he's looking better, it's hard to tell!
Otherwise it's been all really good! Most rides have been great, I can feel him easier to relax and slow down his trot and canter now! Canter is harder, but the other day, out in the field, where normally he'd be keen to run he was super collected and such a nice slow canter. 
It was amazing. 

Boyfriend got a new camera! Which is more a present for me because now I can make him take photos of my ride 
It's really good quality, so hopefully we can get some artsy beach shots to!
He took a fair few of my in the arena a few days ago, which is actually so helpful, (I need to film myself as well) but even having a heap of photos I can still see where I need to focus (HANDS)
Seriously my hands, I've always had them my struggle, I just am to slack with them, so they're either always open, or just sort of sitting there. Ah, but it's good now I can practice, practice, practice those!

Anywho,
Here are a few snaps, hopefully riding tonight, feeling that 'back into work mode dread' so I just want to go home and sleep, because getting up at 5am... sucks!


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## NavigatorsMom (Jan 9, 2012)

Wow, those photos are beautiful! I know what you mean about wanting to get photos and video for self-evaluation. Sometimes I even just prop up my phone on the wall of the arena to get a clip, better than nothing! But having someone there to take photo/video is much better.

Isn't it nice to be able to use working at the barn an excuse to get some alone time? I would do the same thing!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

@NavigatorsMom

Thankyou!!
That's a great idea, I haven't tried to prop my phone up, but I should definitely try! Definitely better than nothing!

Haha yes it's so nice! It's crazy how fast time goes at the barn, it's like a time warp, things that could take 20 minutes seem to eat up 2 hours in a flash!


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

Aww I love the pictures. It's definitely a plus for YOU that he got that new camera! Yay!  I agree, it is nice to critique yourself once in awhile. 
I'm glad you've got to ride so much, and being off for a week must have been nice. I am glad the mare is doing better.  So glad you are doing well.
You look so good on Target!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

@PoptartShop
Thank you!! Haha it feels like a present for me !
Aw thanks!! Definitely agree, good to critique and pick things to work on!

Had a nice ride yesterday with a few girls from my stable, 
We probably went out for around 40 minutes or so, just walk/trot.
He was so good, normally, on his own his trot generally starts super rushy and he can want to break into a canter, but with other horses he just stays side by side, keeps the pace, ticks along super chilled!
My saddle though argh, I have a synthetic saddle, which while I like it, it's randomly SO squeaky some days, and others it's not?! So annoying, I'm that weird squeaky trotter! :lol:
Otherwise, on our way back, we had a WALLABY CHARGE AT US! Oh wow, SO random!
(For anyone unsure, a wallaby is like a small Kangeroo)
Anyway, we have 100s in the area we ride, they just eat the grass and hop away when they see people, but lately, they seem to let us get closer and closer and this one went to dart one direction, changed it's mind and ran toward us (nearly touching our legs) before changing again and hoping off into the books. 
Never, have I been charged or thought a wallaby was capable of charging :lol:
It was quite funny, luckily though, Target is just so chill, aside from stopping a little startled and pricking his ears alert, he really wasn't to worried!

Tonight after work, I think the owner is finally back, I think it's been 2 weeks! So will go catch up with him and everything, and maybe just lunge tonight or even give him a brush and the day off!
Going out to dinner, so sadly can't do what I normally do and stay there until 7pm :lol:


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

LOL that is funny, some days it's squeaky some days it's not. :lol: Wow that is super random. :O A wallaby?! You never know what you will encounter huh?! Glad Target remained calm & collected. That is great. It sounds like he is such a timid boy.

Dinner sounds good though.  Yum! I'm sure he will like his day off and he will be happy even if you just groom him up.


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

@PoptartShop
Funny... and annoying  Hahaha

So, he ended up 2 days off!
I still went to the stables to groom/feed him. The owner got back 2 days ago, so was good to catch up with him since he was away 2 weeks.
He was happy/thankful with me for taking care of all the horses! 

Yesterday, I organized a ride to the beach with a girl who rides one of his others horses (she only rides once a week/2 weeks) and another lady wanted to come, and I invited the owner as well, which ended up being really fun!
We went at like 830am, and he rode the mare (that just had 10 months off haha) It was really cool to actually ride out with him, he's an amazing rider. Considering she hasn't been worked in so long, beside being clearly fresh, he could still get her doing everything!
She spin, turns on a dime, had her SO collected basically cantering on the spot (help why does he make it look so easy haha)
Also mind you - All while bareback!
It's quite funny to see the dynamics, because he has so many horses right now, you can just tell this is his horse. 
She's 15, and he broke in when she was a 2yo, crazy to think he's had her since his early 20s, doing competition etc with her. So cool.

Anyway, got down to the beach, wasn't really the right tide to swim in, not quite deep enough, but walked out deep in the water, Target was so funny. This is his 3rd time ever really 'swimming' and in the deep water, the 1st 2 times he's just swam and had fun, last time he just watched the other horses splash, one horse rolled (when the owner got off to let him)
Target didn't really seem to want to splash or play those couple times, but it was like this time he was like *Oh I get it, I can play!
So we were standing in maybe knee deep water and he started to paw and splash, and I'm like I wonder if he wants to roll, so I jumped off in the water, and was I right!
He LOVED it. 
He honestly, probably rolled 15-20 times! He would paw, roll, get up, splash, roll, sit, haha, it was adorable.
The first time, I don't think he truly understood, because he sat in the water, and rolled putting his head under!
What a dope, it was so nice though, just letting him be a horse and have fun, his paddock mate - Zebu - was doing the same, just loves the water and rolling!
(Now the only doubt, lets hope he doesn't start doing this while I'm on him :lol: )

When we were all getting back on, I tried and FAILED to jump on bareback, he's waay to tall, and my boots were soaked and heavy.. haha I need to practice. So the owner legged me up, then to show off, he get zebu to lay down on the beach so my friend could jump on him!

Was just a fun day!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

I can't remember if I previously mentioned this or not.

About being asked to join the committee?
So the stable I got to, isn't a typical stable where we have a 'barn owner' or owner at all. It's on council land, so we have a committee to be the governing body, that makes decisions on where to spend money/upkeep/maintenance etc.
I was asked to join a few weeks ago now, as 2 ladies have left.
To be honest, I wasn't all that keen to join, as I've heard there is a bit of drama around it, and I didn't want to overly involved, also since I've only been at the club for a few months and it's existed for 50 years.. I really don't know much about the history etc!
But 4 ladies approached me, and said it would be great if I would join, because I'm here all the time (truth haha) and I suppose a new outlook for them as well.

Well last night was the first meeting I've attended (I believe they have 1 a month)
It was for sure interesting! A bit of an insight into everything, I'm not a confrontational person at all, and it's interesting to see how head strong everyone gets in these meetings, and the opinions etc. Very eye opening!
Anyway, won't bore with the details!
I somehow got roped into helping the boarding secretary with emails (joy) I really didn't know how to say... no.
But I guess, it'll be good experience to be involved, and learn more, probably good for the resume and all that jazz. So can't hurt to give it a go!

We have another one of those 'Pony Up' days this Sunday, so I've volunteered again to lead Target around for pony rides (free BBQ and coffee though so thats a win!)
And I'm going to a rodeo Saturday night with a friend of mine! So keen for that to!
Otherwise, lots of riding this week, try to survive the work days


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

And quickly. . .
Just got sent this shot of my friend with zebu after he laid down! So cool!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Ahhhh yesterday was great!  
I wanted to work him and just get him using himself correcting (instead of trying to rush around on the forehand)
So i worked in the arena for like 15-20 minutes but made sure it was all work. 
Which i was surprised how well he went!
I started out just bending around some cones and doing patterns and he was super responsive moved off my leg perfectly. Then did some trotting circles / spirals and got him to slow down and use his hind he tried to rush a few times but compared to normal he was relaxing and steady.
I could tell he was getting a bit over it by the end so we ended on a good note then i decided to take him on a trail ride which was really good!
He's not great at transitioning down, so i went onto a trail that is bendy enough so he can't rush around and i got him transitioning walk/trot/walk/trot all off my seat! I couldn't believe i could get him back to a walk with just my seat! And he was much more relaxed!
We went to an open bit of pasture and i just cantered him both directions for 2 laps, nothing much but i made sure i was really pushing and using my body to push him and it was by far the best canter we've had, hes still pretty quick but he was pushing himself and using himself correctly! Just felt like great progress for us both!  

This morning i just went out with 2 others on a trail ride for about an hour and i went bareback we just walked, but felt good to just chill and let him relax!
Also working on to get him to trot next to me when i run, he can be such a pain to lead sometimes he will walk SO slow and you have to cue him with the lead rope to quicken him, he's gotten a lot better but to get him to trot behind me I'd have to pull pull pull the lead rope for what seems like minutes to get him to pick up into a trot.
So when we got back this morning i just grabbed a stick to act as a crop, and i didn't even need to tap him! Once he knew i had it and i turned to pretend to tap him he picked up his walk and then with just a couple clicks he would trot right next to me, stop with me, i threw the stick away and did it a couple more times and he was perfect! 
So just need to practice that a few days a week and hopefully he will have his leading/trotting on cue beside me down!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

We did some jumping today!  

I went to the stables with the 2 girls I've become good friends with and we went for a trail ride just a quick one first. 
Then came back and decided to do some jumping! 
Considering Targets never jumped in his life aside from the odd log once or twice he was so good! 
We just had some small fences set up, i practised on a low cross rail with a trot pole a few strides before it. I only trotted him up to it today he needs to figure out his feet a bit more before we'll be cantering over it! :lol:
At the first few goes he went to mini hop over the trot pole then launched the jump and just tried to run off after it, so i just got him trotting a lot slower to take the jump, then after he was over it I'd pull him up straight away to let him think about it and realize he doesn't need to run away. After going over it both directions a couple times he already understood he could take it slower and wouldn't run off after and come back to me so much easier!
My friend who was with me, gave me some great help (she competed in germany eventing most of her life so she has far more experience then me!) So it was so good having her there the first time, especially since he's never done jumping before if we can do it all correctly or teach him correctly at least hopefully he will get a great basis for it!
We were both super impressed as he just picks things up so quickly and he is just so willing. Ahhh it was just the funest.
We didn't do it for long, as want to build him up slowly with his leg, but he was great after and i can't wait to just practise a fence or two a few times a week and hopefully build it all up if he likes it!


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

That's so fun! Jumping sounds awesome, who knows it may become his thing! 
I'm glad you had a good time with it. It's fun to try new things. It sounds like he is a quick learner too!


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## NavigatorsMom (Jan 9, 2012)

Sounds like you've been busy! The committee sounds interesting, it will be neat to see how that goes and what it's like the longer you participate.  

Glad you had fun jumping today!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Well it's been a few days since I've updated!

I feel like a fair bits happened, been super busy! I'll try keep this short, or break it up a bit!

So we ended up jumping again!
Which was fantastic, a lot to work on (more for myself) but Target was incredible!
Considering he's never done any jumping before, it's just amazing how willing he is!
We started off warming up in the arena, just w/t/c (Our canter needs work the most, he's super forward so I need to really push him with my seat and not pull on him so he can come back to me and get nice and round and controlled) So I practiced our walk to canter transition a little, definitely getting better, but I did feel a few times we were (well me) all over the shop! :lol:
Otherwise our trotting is getting much nice, he rarely tries to rush it now and over the trot poles he's really extending which feels awesome!
So after the warm up we went to the paddock where all the jumps are set up, and the first 1-2 times I would jump him then stop just so he remembers not to rush off afterwards, but I didn't even need to! It's crazy he just knew that after the jump he doesn't need to run off and just stays with me, and he's soooo much easier to get back to me even if he does try to go quickly!
So after a few goes at the little cross rail, my friend was with me again helping, so she set up more and more jumps until we ended up doing a little course of about 8 jumps and a couple ground poles! I was only expecting to just do the same as the previous day just pop over one, and keep doing that! I was shocked at how we both went!
He is SUCH a willing partner, even when I know he's a bit unsure he will just try for me, and I'm sure I'm not the clearest either so the fact that he just does everything I ask is such an amazing feeling!
My only job (since he's learning) was to keep him straight in the middle of the jumps basically, and keep him and a smooth pace, which he made so easy to do, if he would start to veer to one side being unsure he was so responsive to my leg and took everything straight on!
We even had mini combination-type jumps and he just found his feet so well, I did all the jumps at a trot for now, just to keep a good pace, so we would take them at the trot, canter a little, transition back down and take the next one etc. 
Considering this is the 2nd day ever, and first proper day at different style jumps, wow. Haha, I honestly wish I was better already, but it's great motivation to just be very aware and improve everything I'm doing to help him!
Ahh, so happy, hopefully something we can do once a week, and hopefully practice a lot more with trot poles as well, and work on our canter!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Sunday we has another 'Pony Up' day, 
So I volunteered to do pony rides on Target, this time they had a few BBQ / Coffee stand for everyone!
We got over 400 people who came down so it went pretty well!

Target was great, just walks so slow when I lead him with the kids around, they all love it, it's so cute!

The my mum is up visiting for for a few days, so that's been fun, she used to own horses herself, but hasn't ridden in about.. 15 years! :shock:
But, she actually asked if we could go on a ride together!!  
I was so keen, I'd already asked the owner if he would mind if I borrowed a horse to just go on a quiet trail ride, and he said no worries at all!
So we went down Tuesday morning, I put mum on Zebu as he has a comfy stock saddle, so might be a bit nicer to sit in! It was so much fun, the horses were great, we went for about an hour or so, rode in trails, in the open spaces and was super relaxing!
Some IDIOT though, let off FIREWORKS at 8am in the morning! Luckily, Zebu didn't care at all, but Target thought he was under attack and actually spooked :lol: He never spooks so it was quite funny actually, nothing bad, just scooted away a few steps, then he was fine. 

I just went down to feed him last night, but one of the mums was hand walking her daughter around the reserve, and asked if I wanted to come, so I went for a quick walk and let her son jump on bareback while I led around - He loved it, he is a mini cowboy, had the hat, boots was so cute!

Otherwise I don't think I'll be able to ride the next 2 days while mums here, which is fine, he definitely deserves a couple days off!

Here are a few random photos I haven't posted yet, some of mum riding, and one really nice photo of me and Target a photographer took at the Pony day! 
Also one of a friend and I at the rodeo that was on the weekend!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Got to ride last night in what seemed like forever! (2 days :lol: )
With mum visiting (not complaining it was amazing!) Had less horsey time, which is okay but keen to get more in now!  

Last night was amazing though!
Rode with my friend, we did a quick little ride out to the beach for a warm up and did some jumping when we got back.
I am honestly amazed how much Target has improved/remebered each time!
This is his 3rd time jumping and from the first day working on him rushing to and from fences he's already understanding he doesn't need to run and is soo much easier to get him back to me and balanced again.
We had been taking everything at a trot and still are but on a little comination type jump he took the 2nd jump at a canter stride and got his distance fine didnt jump early or late i was sooo impressed. He seems just super safe to jump on.
Im not expert obviously :lol:
But i just remember when i was younger, those moments when the horses jumps early/late and its like ooooh crap. Haha.
I know it's totally early days, but he just seems so good with his feet already!

Ahhh i really need to suss the owner out and find out if he ever would sell him... i just can't imagine having a different horse now. Well. I think from my first journal entry we all knew I'd get to attatched   

Anyway, i need to share this picture! If you've been following our story you'd know weight gain has been a big part of it! Trying to get him to put weight out and fill out, lately I've been feeling like there are no changes and i guess because i stare at him everyday its harder to see. So i compared these photos from around 2 months apart. And wow! Look at the little scrawny neck! I'm so happy he's actually filling out, still a bit to go but its so nice to SEE some change


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

I feel like it has been FOREVER since I updated. 1 week is a long time :lol:

My computer wouldn't load HF, and my phone makes it all to hard!

So, I feel like a lot has happened!
Last Saturday, the owner asked if he could use Target at the races (as he does clerk of the course at our local race track, which for non racing fans, is going back and fourth to the barriers and assisting horses/jockeys etc.)
Target had never done this before, so I was super interested to see how he would go, it's also a huge day for him, just on his feet all day, trot/cantering, they get 30 min breaks between races, still a huge step up from what he normally does though!
Anyway, I work at an office, on the race track, so I walked over to the races after work to see the big guy in action! He was really good!
The owner said at the start, he was a bit warey and fresh, but didn't take him long at all to know his job and he was relaxed!
Honestly, this horse. He can do anything. 
So, that was super cool, to see him working at the track! Then Sunday, I thought I better give him the day off, so I bathed him in the morning, and hand walked him in the afternoon to stretch him out, he seemed to pull up fine, didn't seem sore or tired at all seemed his normal old self!

The last week, I've ridden a lot (most days I think) and everything is improving SO much, I've said before, he could be super rushy in the trot/canter, now his trot is so nice and smooth, (both in and outside the arena) and his canter, has improved sooo much.
Still in the arena, his canter can get a little fast, but now when we're out on a trail he can canter loose rein, very relaxed, so easy to collect and slow down, I really feel we've turned a HUGE corner this past week.
We have done a couple more days jumping, which has been amazing, we can now take the jumps at a canter (as so far has been trotting) and he's already getting his distance great, still a lot to work on, but every time it gets better or we are able to try something new!

So overall, been a great week of riding! Now, onto the next piece of news!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Well, I finally bit the bullet and talked to the owner to find out if he would ever sell Target.

I wish I could say it was a yes. But it's not, though it's also not a no either...

Basically, I asked him 4-5 days ago, we spoke about it, he said he saw it coming and wasn't surprised (who was?)
But it would be a really hard decision for him, he said he would need time to really consider it, and that it wasn't a yes, but also wasn't a no.
So, I mean, I'm hopeful, but definitely not getting my hopes up, as I honestly don't think he will sell.

A bit of back story, 

This is the first horse, the owner, had researched the breeding, went to a stud, picked him out from a new born and owner him since day one, so he did all his ground work/training everything. He was meant to be his stallion to breed and compete on as is registered, and (before tendon injury) worth a lot of money from his breeding. 
Then when he was a 4YO, did his tendon, had him gelded, and I think there were 2-3 scares and nearly put him down 2-3 times during the recovery. So from his position, I totally understand (wish I didn't, haha) he's put all this time into this horse, had all these high hopes, and they were sort of shattered, and now that the horse is showing promise that he could potentially compete one day, plus the emotional attachment is what I guess is holding him back. Also because of Targets temperament, he could be the perfect kids horse (if he has kids), trail ride horse (if he starts a business) and so on. So we've spoken about everything, and he's told me all the reasons he wouldn't want to sell. 
But he has also said, he knows how well we are together, he could use the money, so he is still thinking it over.

I guess there is a small glimmer of hope, but maybe not a whole lot. 
I can understand his point, I've told him, because of the horse he is, if he was mine, I'd never sell him (probably not making a great case for myself)
But that is life I guess. Who knows. It would be a dream come true, but I just need to keep doing what I'm doing, enjoying the horse.
He's also such a great connect into the horse world, and such a nice person, he even said;
"I know this isn't what you want, but as a 2nd option, we could find you a horse, of similar breeding and I could bring it up here for you"
Which is honestly, so nice and generous to even offer that. (makes it so hard to be mad at him, like please, sell me your horse now. Haha)

So yeah, I guess I've just been thinking a lot the past week, wanting it to go my way as I can just see such a great long future with the horse, being what he is now, and being so young. But, will wait and see. 

I will keep you posted, if anything changes. Just trying to focus on enjoying riding, enjoying improving, and everything in between!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Went on a great 2 hour trail ride last night, with 2 new girls to the stables.
They've both just started leasing off the same owner as me on his other horses.
So that was really fun! There aren't to many people around my age group at the stables, so was nice to meet some new girls and they both seem keen to ride really often. So hopefully will have some new riding buddies! 

The ride was really fun, we went all over, from open field, to the beach, to trails, had a few good canters, and all the horses seemed to really enjoy themselves and just wanted to go!

Riding again this afternoon, I think I'll work in the arena, a few days ago I got to ride with the owner, and he was showing me a few exercises specific for Target that he needs to work on, and how he trains his horses, it was super interesting and cool to see him in action and how he gets his horses super supple and soft. So I think I'll give those a go, especially clean stopping is a big one to work on for him, he hates to stop for some reason haha. 

Then I have the next 2 days off, so hopefully, lots of riding time! and I loooove, riding early morning as it's much cooler here and nobody is around so you have the stables to yourself basically! 

And here is a picture the owner sent me, of Target when he was a baby before his first ever ride!


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## NavigatorsMom (Jan 9, 2012)

Glad Target is improving! Isn't it nice to see progress being made and know that you are responsible for it? 

I think it was good of you to talk to Target's owner about ever selling. Some lease horses are never for sale... but some are, or will become for sale. It can be hard, especially when someone put so much time into the horse, to choose to sell. I think it is good that you had that conversation though so you kind of know where things stand. Maybe Target will never be for sale, but, you will be able to ride him and work with him for as long as you can.   That's how it was for me, the first horse I leased was for seven years. She was older and no one else at the barn or her owners worked with her, so she became "my" horse, even though they never sold her. And in spite of not owning her, she really did feel like my horse.


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

OH MY GOD OH MY GOD.
GUYS I AM A HORSE OWNER!!!!!

I can't believe it.
I thought FOR SURE the owner wasn't going to sell Target. Well. Old owner. I OWN HIM  

I got to the stables this morning, i got a text that literally read "sold. $4500?"
I nearly fell over.
I just replied sold. I couldn't even think!

I saw him a couple hours later, so actually spoke about it. And i have the money i just have to give it to him, and get some kind of bill of sale written and it's done!!
He said he ended up making a snap decision, he needs the money and yeah. Ahh i am still in SHOCK.

I personally think i got a really good deal.
I know the horse has a previous injury, and thats something i know could be an issue again. But I've been riding him 3 months now and no signs. But i guess with any horse, things can happen.
Horses of his pedigree/training/age/temperament go for at least 10k here. So with that injury its definitely a risk I'm willing to take.
I just can't believe it.
I'm stressed a little, like I've benlen caring for him for months but now it's all on me to keep him happy and alive! 
I need to go buy feed/hay/feed bins and get organized! The owner shoes him, so thats easy i just pay him now, he was wormed yesterday, I'm going through everything in my head to be as prepared as possible! 
Wow. I can't believe it.
Target is mine. 
I own a horse.
Oh my god.


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## NavigatorsMom (Jan 9, 2012)

Congratulations!! 

It's such an exciting feeling to be able to say "my horse" and it really be yours isn't it?  Definitely make sure you get a bill of sale written up and both of you sign it so that there are no misunderstandings or issues later. 

Sometimes the horse itself makes up for what could be considered "downsides", like his old injury. That's kind of how it was with Nav, he was a bit overpriced for what he could do at the time, but I had been working with him and knew he was the right horse - I think you and Target are kind of the same, even though he has that old injury he is the right horse.


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Thank you so much @NavigatorsMom !!
Yes I agree, and I think when you know, you know.
Like I've clicked with horses before, but this definitely feels soo different and so much better as well!

I will also get a bill of sale written up, I need to do that today. 

Otherwise, It's all done! I didn't sleep a wink last night :lol: 
Was a mix of excitement, anxiety, happiness, stress all at once haha. 
But no, could not be happier!
I went to the feed store yesterday, bought all my own bins/feed/hay (btw I have a sedan, soo putting a bale of hay in the boot was... interesting :lol: )
The owner said there was no rush, but I knew I wouldn't be able to get it for another week and didn't want to keep using all his feed up, so feels good to have that sorted. I just forgot to get a few supplements/vitamins mixes that I will pick up one day after work, otherwise, unless I'm mistaken terribly, I think I am sorted! 

Tonight will be the first night I ride MY horse!!!


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

Congratulations. Getting any horse is a crapshoot. A $100,000 horse can drop dead or go lame the next day, a cheap horse can last a long time with no problems. The important thing is that you have a relationship with the horse.


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

@whisperbaby22 Thank you!!
Yes that's 100% how I look at it as well, there are definitely no guarantees no matter what you do!
And I know, I will be 100% okay if things were to go south, knowing I tried, rather than forever regret letting him go!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Well I rode MY horse for the first time last night :lol:
Ahhh feels so nice, he's mineee!

We did a little warm up in the arena and then popped over a few jumps, just small ones and set up a mini triple (That he could trot over) but wanted to get him thinking about his feet more, and he was really good. He's just super willing, we knocked a couple of the others down, but that was my fault with timing.
One thing I just can't get over, is how relaxed he is now.
It feels like not to long ago, he was SO rushy, like trotting around the arena even in circles seemed so difficult because he was speeding around, it felt a mess, and now, this forward horse can give a nice slow trot, that can so easily be pushed quicker, bought back, and again, and there's actually rhythm, instead of feeling like I'm bouncing on this speedypants it's smooth and easy and just crazy.
I don't know when we improved so much, it just happened!

I am going to get the vet out hopefully tomorrow, otherwise next week. 
I just want to check on his breathing, make sure everything is okay there, I think I mentioned above, some days he's breathing much louder than others, while his demeanor hasn't changed, big appetite, energy, same old self etc. It is a concern, not sure if because it's been super hot this past few weeks whether it's anhidrosis popping back up or something else entirely, as he is still sweating.
Better safe than sorry, and now that he's mine I can actually do these things!
The owner is fantastic, but some things that worry me, don't worry him at all. Which is totally fine, but best to triple check anyway.

Another thing I found, which I didn't think I could get here in Aus, is a sweating supplement made for horses like this, in these conditions etc. So I will speak to the vet about getting that, as I think even giving it to him now, helping him sweat more could aid when the weather gets worse.
So fingers crossed.
Thank god my long term goal.. Hopefully 2 years maximum. Is to move down south and hopefully we will be done with this weather/condition for good!
Until then, it's about managing and possibly sending him down south for a few months over our harshest time, will all be worth it!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

I tell you, I am feeling pretty lucky with timing right now!

As I said, the owner ultimately sold Target on a bit of a snap decision, due to needing the cashflow at the time.
Pretty sure, I got SO lucky within about a 2 day window.
I am sooo glad I didn't hesitate and literally just threw the cash at him. :lol: 
Since then, his work has picked up immensely, he was showing me his calendar, it went from empty, to full to the brim!
Also, there are more girls coming through to our stable wanting to lease off him full time, which completely covers the horses.
So I can't help but feel extremely lucky how it all turned out, because had he have known he had all this work coming, plus the influx of more leasee's he really may not have had the need to sell at all!

Did a bit of flat work last night, with my friend I hadn't seen in ages! (The one that has given me a few lessons)
And I tell you, every time I think I've got a handle on things, I ride with her and she gets me doing exercises that really kick my butt! :lol:
We were going to do some jumping, but she ended up getting me to work on canter (which I know neeeeeds work, I didn't realize just how much)
It's crazy to think, how complex, cantering in a circle really can be. (Just me or?) 

She got me using every ounce of strength I have to ACTUALLY collect and canter him nicely around her, getting him bending and supple, like, even the walk was hard, just doing everything correctly is hard. Haha.
But it was soo good, it's exactly what I needed, everytime I ride with her it leaves me with something new to work on, then I go back having figured it out then she throws more at me and makes it harder and harder. 
But it's really awesome, I now know what I need to do, and I REALLY felt what I was doing, having him completely working with his hind, holding him together with just my body not my hands, it was definitely productive. 
Really showed how unfit we both are in that department. By the end, after a few really good strides he kept wanting to break down to a trot (which is weird for him, as he is so forward) she said that can be a good sign you're doing it right because it is really hard for him to hold himself and work himself that way.
But yes. Learned a lot. Have some homework. Hopefully I can show her in a few weeks, then she can find something new to kill me with. 
She really likes Target, and thinks I got an extremely good price (She's from Germany, and said you couldn't get a horse like this over there, anywhere near what I paid) so that's cool!

Tomorrow off! 
So I think I'll ride morning / arvo, and this week coming is ladies day at the races, so I'll get to dress up and have a few drinks which I haven't done in forever, so that will be nice! And Target will get a well deserved day off or 2!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Got up nice and early this morning, went down to the stables.
Target was on the far side of the paddock and i called out to him and he turned around straight away and walked over to me.
Sooo cute.  

There were 2 other girls going on a ride, so glad i caught them! We all tacked up and ended up going on a 2 hour trail ride. Was really fun, we did a bit of everything! We did a few really steep ditches, walked across a narrow bridge, got them all standing on a concrete circle with all 4 feet up. Was super fun to expose them to a few new things! Target did everything so easily, one horse really didn't want to get on this concrete platform then we did it and the horse was happy to follow us in!

When we got back, after we were in the stable grounds we hust untacked them completely and let them free on the nice green grass, they loved it so much nicer than their current paddocks. 
Have a vet coming tomorrow, just to do a check and especially look at his breathing. Today was okay but got quite heavy towards the end so hopefully can find out something to help or if its an issue at least! 
Overall such a fun morning!


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

OMG I am soooooooo happy for you!! That Target is officially YOURS now!  That is just awesome news. You guys really do well together & I'm so excited for you.
So cute that he walks right up to you. He loves you!
Hopefully the vet check goes OK and his breathing issue gets resolved. Aww.
He is such a handsome boy! Congratulations!!!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

@PoptartShop 
Thank you sooo much!!!
Yesss, So so so so so happy!!    

Can't wait to see what we can do!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

So slight change of plans last night, I didn't get the vet out, she is now coming Thursday/Friday this week.
I felt really bad having to postpone that morning (Though she had never officially locked me in a time yet)
But I had found out the dentist had one spot available yesterday afternoon then he was leaving town!

He travel around Australia so he's only in town for a few months of the year! So lucky I just caught in.
In hindsight, I could of easily fit them both in, but I didn't want to screw anyone around by having to wait, as I wasn't sure of exact times/how long they would take etc. Luckily the vet was fine about, as I want more time with her I figured may as well just wait until my day off.

Anyway, the dentist was so great! I had been recommended him by a lady at the stable, who said he's really nice and calm and he uses the traditional method, which personally is what I wanted. (No sedation, and just rasps by hand as opposed to power tools/drills/sedation)
Now I'm not 100% sure if Targets had his teeth done.. ever, or if it has been quite a few years at least I think.

When he got there, he was super nice, I told him I'm not sure if he's had this done, or if so it likely has been quite a while.
He just gave him a pat super camly, then before I know it he had the mouth piece on him, he didn't move a muscle. 
He felt his teeth first and told me they were as sharp as oysters! (Hence why it's at least been a long time)
Then he just rasped away for a good 15 minutes, and it was all done. No fuss. Nothing.
He took the gear off Target, and Target nuzzled at him and the dentist is like "Oh do you want a hug now mate, okay, goodboy"
It was actually so adorable :lol:
I couldn't believe how smooth and easy it was.

He said that, aside from them being overdue, which they may have grown quite quickly being as he's young. Otherwise they were really good teeth, strong, straight, even so no hooks or anything else to be concerned about. So I was really happy with that!
Then we got chatting for 10 minutes after, he was asking me where I got Target from (As basically all horses in my area are bought up from somewhere) and he said you can tell he's very trained for how young he is, and that we seem a good fit!
I wanted to cry. Haha. Such a nice compliment. 

Was just so happy with how it all panned out! Catching him in the nick of time, so now if his teeth have been slowing down his weight gain (Very likely by the sounds) hopefully that will sort out also!
He actually said he would be fine to ride straight away, but definitely didn't want to do that. Will give him at least 1-2 days off.
So afterwards, we just got the special treatment, hand grazed him in the nice green grass, gave him a big dinner, told him what a clever boy he was. All that 

Feels good to be checking things off my list, now the vet end of this week, and dare I say it, we should be pretty good!


Here's a photo getting his teeth done, looking a little donkey-like, and one of him and my partner relaxing while I was cleaning out 5 stalls... What a life! :lol:


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Been sooo sick this past week. :frown_color:

I ended up leaving work 3 hours into my shift Tuesday, luckily I had the next 3 days off so didn't need to call in sick, but still, never fun to be sick on days off!

I didn't end up riding Tuesday obviously, but boyfriend was really keen to ride, and he wants to work on his rising trot, sometimes he can struggle to find the rhythm on different horses, so I said best way to get better, is to get in the ring and trot, trot, trot. I told him he will probably only last a good 10 minutes of solid trotting, to which he thought I was crazy and he could easily do longer... :lol:
So we get in the area, off he goes, after 2 laps I could see he was already ******ed. Who would of thought.
But he kept going and was looking really good, he struggles a lot with core strength, so this is what he needs to be doing. After a good 5 minutes each direction just trotting around he was ******ed, haha. 
But by the end he definitely had a handle on it, and looked great!

He's also been wanting to learn how to jump, he's definitely got the confidence to give anything a go that's for sure!
So after the warm up, I said we could go to the jump paddock and just trot over a couple cross rails, so he can get a feel of what to do.
I was happily surprised! He was just trotting over really low cross rail, after a couple goes, he got the idea of leaning forward, giving the horse his head, then back to a controlled trot. We raised it a little, just so he got an actualy 'jump' and Target caught on to just trot it by the end. 
There was already a triple jump set up, with trot poles slightly raised off the ground. He wanted to try it (saw a little girl doing it on her pony :lol: )
I said go for it, but be prepared he may break into a canter after the first one (as that's what he does with me)
But no, perfectly behaved Target beautifully trotted over the triple little jumps, so now boyfriend thinks it's the most fun and wants to do it all the time :lol:

Ahh was fun though, he's definitely getting a lot better in technique, and it's great to see Target behaves so well with someone 'more beginner' on him, he really seemed to be taking care of him!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Wednesday was 'Ladies Day' at the local races. I was still super sick, but it's my favorite day of the carnival, so pushed through!
Chucked on a dress and fascinator and actually cared about my appearance for the first time in a while! :lol:

So no riding then, as probably not safe after that many champers! 

Thursday, well, it was a slow start to the day.. I probably lazed around the house feeling sorry for myself and tried until around 2pm :redface:
Then I thought I better sort my life out and actually do something useful!
So I went out to the feed shop, got a bag of pellets, bale of hay (why I chose heavy lifting on my own that day is beyond me)
But when I had it all done and in his feed shed, I was feeling nice and accomplished!
That arvo, I ran into the other leasees so went on a pretty easy trail ride with them, which was really nice, mostly walking around, bit of a canter at the end. That evening I organized to ride the next morning 8am with a friend as well, starting to make use of my days off!

We went out early, had a ride on the beach, canter in the open field which was really fun. 
When we got back we thought why not pop over a couple little jumps and call it a day!
So glad we did, definitely the best jumping we've done!
Still all small enough jumps, but we spaced out a triple with 2-3 strides between, and it made me realize how much Target was learnt already, I don't have to help him stay straight anymore, he no longer tries to veer off!
That felt really good. Then we probably did our highest single ever, which I hope I can get someone to film/photos of so I can see how he jumps!
The jump was probably 80cm-90cm ish, and my friend said he cleared it by a mile!
So I really want to see what he looks like! 

That ride felt really good!

I had also organized the vet to come out that afternoon, so we finished up at the stables that morning at 11am, the vet came out at 2pm so I was back down there and didn't leave until 7.30pm!! What a day!
Anyway, the vet came out to check his breathing. So she listened to him, then got my to lunge him around trotting a good 10 mins or so and listened again (only annoying thing was, he barely made a sound on the lunge while riding is soo different!)
She listened again, and said there was possibly the slightest 'wheeze' but it was really nothing. 
She gave me a couple options, one was to do nothing, which she said she really wasn't worried at all.
But I said riding is still quite different, and I'd like to do something if possible. 
So she gave me some respiratory powder stuff, to feed him twice a day for around 2 weeks, then she will come back, do the same as we did and see if it made any difference and go from there!
So I'm glad she's not concerned, I'm probably being overly worried, but still, would be nice to clear it up completely!
She also did a flexion test on his tendon, and I explained the past injury and so on, and she was really happy with it, she said it was fine and she wouldn't even suggest looking into it further and wasting my money unless we were planning on the olympics! :lol:
So that was good news!

Will keep updates on how this powder goes. 
Otherwise, he's getting new shoes today, then i will have ticked everything off on my 'new horse owner' list :lol:
Teeth 
Shoes
Vet 
CHECK


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Not to much to report here!

I went for a trail ride by myself Saturday night, just a short and sweet one. 
Then yesterday went again with a friend. 
I have tomorrow and the day after off which I'm excited for. Keen to make a plan of what to achieve with my rides. 
As much as I love going out for a peaceful ride, if I do it to many days in a row I don't feel 'accomplished' I guess. 
Probably sounds a bit ridiculous! But I definitely need to mix things up I suppose!

Tomorrow morning, getting up super early to meet 2 girls and go swimming in the beach! So that will be fun, will just go bareback so he can roll again, he loves it so much. 
Then in the afternoon, I think I'll work on collecting our canter and working properly in the arena. 

He's only been on this breathing medicine for .. well really 2 days now :lol:
So far now change, but I guess I need more patience!
Though if it doesn't work, I definitely need the vet to see him being ridden, as just lunging him isn't enough to bring it on, but soon as in the saddle, it's very present. 
Fingers crossed it works anyway!

Anyway, here are some 'before / after' shots! It's so amazing to finally be able to really see that he's putting the weight on. 
I felt nothing was happening, but lately I can really see it.
Still has a bit more to gain in his hind especially. Then more muscle, but otherwise his weedy little neck is starting to fill out! And less ribs showing! 
And also one with his half sister (Same sire) Avalon, she's a beauty, very talented!


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## NavigatorsMom (Jan 9, 2012)

Nice comparison pics! You can really see how much better he's looking since you've been working with him 

I know what you mean about not feeling accomplished when all you do is trail ride. It's nice to do but having some structure and challenge is good and fun as well.


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Well we had an 'off day' - Sort of.
But, considering how good things have been lately, I really cannot complain and was probably due :lol:

So the 'Sort of'

I rode yesterday morning, just in the arena, for maybe 30 minutes (if that, was a pretty short one)
He was soo good, just started completely loose on the buckle, getting him bending around and moving off my legs. The I mainly wanted to work on our walk to canter transition, and get a really nice collected canter. (This is what we were doing with my friends help a week back, I hadn't had a chance to practice yet)
So that was actually really good by the end, at the start we had a few awkward moments, instead of cantering he's try run into a trot, a lot I'm sure was me not being clear with my cues. 
But by the end, we both understood each other, and could go both ways in a nice canter, he was trying his best and I could tell he was getting pretty tired having to use his hind by the end!
So we ended on a good note, then I hand grazed him for a good half hour on the nice green grass patch we have (They have grass in pasture it's just dry and pathetic at the moment)
So that was all lovely, very short and sweet.

Then went to ride that evening, (which I've ridden him twice a day multiple times so I don't think that was it..)
Again, was only going to be a bit of trotting, and maybe some raised trot poles. 
Boyfriend again, wanted to work on his position/trotting, so he got on first to just do some slow laps of the arena, but straight away he was back to his rushy self and didn't want to relax, so I jumped on to see if I could get him to relax first, was a little better, but still very forward and on the the forehand. Didn't think to much of it.
Then went over to the jumping paddock to just try a single raised pole, just to trot him over get him thinking etc. 
Hopped over it a couple times, all fine, still a bit rushy, but fine. 
Then first time ever, he did a few little crow hops before it, no ears back, just hopped around a bit, did this a handful of times, then I just trotted a big circle - he was fine, wanting to end on a good note, got him over the pole once again at a trot, and was fine so ended it there. 

I'm thinking it's likely pain related, as for him, very out of character, now when I say crow hopped, it was tiny, you could barely feel it (he really couldn't buck if he tried), it's not like he was trying to get me off, it definitely seemed a more uncomfortable reaction for him. 
So I'm thinking it's my saddle, as since he's been gaining weight etc, I've noticed small enough changes in fit, so I definitely need to change the gullet anyway, and see if that makes any difference. 
Otherwise I've been wanting to get a chiro out to. 
Will definitely try a couple things, see if it happens again.
Just want to be sure it's not pain related, and fix it asap if it is.
I'd rather it be an attitude, but sadly I just don't think he has an attitude problem aside from being greedy with treats :lol:

Will see how he is overall tonight!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Yesterday was much better!

I rode after work, just wanting to see how he was feeling.
We went in the arena just trotting and warming up, getting him nice and supple. Everything was all good, he does have a habit of getting a bit hot after transitions and after trotting he can forget what walk is, but he's young and getting better with it. 
After a good 15 minutes, when I asked him to walk and relax more he just wanted to keep trotting off, so I got a little firmer making him walk, then he did his little crow hop, so I got a bit more into him making him walk forward, then he wanted to trot, so it was a bit of back and fourth. I finally made him stand relaxed, he can be a pain to standstill, always wants to keep moving, even edging 1 foot at a time, (something we've been working on) but today I wouldn't have it, I made him stand still. He moved a step, we went back a step, moved a step, back a step. After a bit of back and fourth, he finally stood relaxed, on the buckle, and didn't try to get away. 
So I was happy with that.
His old owner (love saying that :lol arrived, so we went had a chat to him, and I told him what was going on and how I was thinking it might be my saddle/something bothering him, and he checked him over and had a look at him, and he seemed pretty confident it was him being a 'douche' (may have been something a little harsher, his words not mine :lol
He said, because he's having to work more, he's probably just getting tired/over it after x amount of time, then trying to avoid the work, so he gave me a few tips when he tries it next.

I was riding with a few other girls, who wanted to do some jumping, while I was still worried it might be pain, I thought we'll just try some small cross rails and see how he acts.
Well, if it is pain, he can definitely hide it well.
We got in there, and started super small and he was suddenly happy and ready to go! He was completely different, no 'attitude' no nothing, we kept it small, but did some combinations, doubles, triples, getting him thinking about everything and he was super. 
When I first teaching him/jumping him, he used to really try veer off to one side, has never refused, was just wary so we had to work at keeping him straight, and I can't believe I haven't noticed until now how straight he takes everything, he knows where he needs to go, and goes there!
So that felt really good, he felt happy!

Regardless, I'm still getting the chiro next week, and checking his saddle, since he is changing shape at the moment, so that will all help to I'm sure!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

What a great Sunday!!!

I gave us both Saturday off from riding, just fed him and hung out with him that arvo after I finished work. I also realized this past week we've done basically all arena work, either flatwork/jumping stuff like that, which is a bit out of the ordinary, we normally like to get off property and go for a hack every few days. I think he was feeling a bit of cabin fever to (that weird crow hopping etc) which I can understand!

So Sunday morning, I went down at 8am, and had organized to ride with 1-2 other girls out, well we ended up with a group of 8! It was so much fun!
We all got tacked out, and headed out, now we are SUPER lucky where we're located, as you probably know we have trail + beach and all sorts to ride around, then extra kicker, is this time of year a little coffee/takeaway van style cafe opens up Thursday - Sundays, they just park at the beach, but bean bags out for everyone, it's really cool.
So anyway, we headed toward the beach, and got 'ride thru' coffee on horseback, didn't even have to get off! It was so fun!
So got our coffees, took some photos, and then actually started to ride :lol:
I was already so impressed by Target, one thing he's always been a pain with is patience, he really doesn't like to standstill, so while we were standing there he was actually so good, he just relaxed with all these people/horses/kids/bike riders everything around him, and just stood nicely!
So then we headed off, we probably rode for around 2 hours (mind you, some of this was standing around :lol
We started out exploring some back end trails, found another mounted concrete circle to get the horses to stand on, we got it first try!
Then we headed back toward our stable, went to the back beaches, and did a big loop.
Target was so good all day, so well behaved, seemed happy to be out and about, was just really fun!
His breathing got pretty loud toward the end, getting the vet out this week because I don't think the medicine she gave has made a difference. He doesn't seem bothered at all by it, it's just loud. So see what the next step it there.

Other than that though, just a super day!
Here are some snaps of us all with our coffees, such a tough life! Spot me in the sea of chestnuts!
Also it photos, I notice how badly his face needs to be clipped, he looks so fuzzy in photos!


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## NavigatorsMom (Jan 9, 2012)

Sounds like such a fun day!! You are so lucky with your location and having barn friends to ride with 

Love the pictures too!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

So its been a few days!

I ended up giving him about 3 days off riding, either lunged him a little, or just hung out and fed him, It's not that I didn't want to ride, but hot weather just made me feel a bit unmotivated!
I think it was really good though, when I rode a few days ago, he was super energetic (in a good way) not being silly, just super happy.
I was going to do arena work, but there were a few people using it already, so I thought I'd just go out for a hack on my own, and he just wanted to go! I thought stuff it, lets just have a fun ride and not worry about it. So we went out on the trails, and some big open fields and just had good long trot/canter almost the whole way! His ears were pricked the whole time, he didn't want to slow down, it was really fun. I also hadn't ridden on my own for ages so I enjoyed it! The ride that normally takes 45 mins, took about 25 mins haha. 

Then yesterday morning, I went out with my partner, we were gonna do some jumping, he was still feeling super fresh even though that fast ride was the night before!
Just warmed up in the arena for 15 mins or so, trotting around, he was very forward but still super responsive. 
After that headed over the jumping arena, he was great, really trying, there was one jump already set up, it was an oxer, not very wide at all, but he'd never done one of those before, it was also higher than we've jumped before. I took him up to show him first, then somehow got the courage to give it a go. And wow, I wish I videoed it! He was a little hesitant, then all of a sudden about 3 strides away his demeanor changed and everything focused and he launched it. He took off a stride early, and cleared it 1m after it. I was ready for him as I thought he'd go early, but wow. I just sat and got out of his way, it felt huge. My partner said he cleared it by a mile, and he probably jumped 2m long with his takeoff/landing. We did it I think twice more and he still jumped early, but cleared it every time, I will definitely get a ground pole next time to help him see his stride better. But I was so proud of him, and how brave he took it all on.
Then we went back to nice small jumps, getting his stride right, and doing some grids to work on his feet. It was really good!
I cannot wait to get some videos to see what we look like, and see how he jumps!
He's just so willing, he hesitates but because I ask him he just tries his best anyway. I need to improve, and get more nerve to really see what he can do!
But for now, slow and steady is great!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Busy weekend for my area this time of year. 
We have a gala ball on tonight, which is the biggest outdoor ball in the southern hemisphere. We get very lucky and get free tickets through work, otherwise no way I'd be able to afford it!
So that will be fun to dress up for, and have a night out, then Monday is our Racing Cup, so that's always really busy to, as its the end of our racing carnival. 

Today is the 2nd busiest race day, and the old owner of Target does Clerk of the course (I think I mentioned this, he used Target once before)
He's been using his good horse, Zebu for the carnival, but he's in a bit of strife at the moment, he has some wither/back soreness, he thinks he would be fine but doesn't want to push him, and would rather him rest up for the cup (Monday)
So he rang me just now to ask if he could use Target today, I of course said yes, and I offered before I bought him, as I know he really does need a back up horse. Also though, it's great exposure/experience for Target, to be around busy crowds/horses while doing a job. So I'm actually really happy he's using him today. 
Also I can see them on TV at work (I work for a corporate bookmaker) so they will be on our racing channel before/after the races! Which is cool!
Hopefully they have a good day, 7 races so a bit bigger than his debut. But will be great exercise for him anyway!

Also now I have more time to get ready and won't have to rush back from feeding him as he will do that for me :lol:


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

I've been a bit slack in updating lately!

Saturday the owner said went really well at the races, he said he could even pony the race horses on Target (which was the first time he's ever tried) and said he didn't move a muscle, just did it all so easily. I was so proud! I think the old owner definitely misses him as his horse.. who wouldn't!

So he had a well deserved Sunday off, as did I ... like I said, we went out to the ball on Saturday night, so was a bit dusty waking up!
It was a great night though, we were all dressed up, had a dance, a few to many wines, but seeing as I never go out, or drink much it was worth the day of feeling sorry for myself!

I rode Monday/Tuesday morning, just went out for little hacks with some of the girls there, that was fun, I noticed his breathing was quite heavy again. So I got the vet out (who was due anyway) as I'd finished the powder medicine she gave me, she watched us ride listened to him much more thoroughly this time, she mentioned the powder may have dried him out even more while trying to clear anything up, so she said lets wait a week while he's completely off it, and see how he is, and go from there, just so we know if it did change something.
I'm so impatient with these things, and while she confirmed it's nothing to be overly stressed about, and the sound is probably causing me more distress than it is him, I still feel like a worried a mother! She told me to continue riding as normal though. Hopefully will get to the bottom of it soon.

This weekend I'm really excited for though, we're going on our first ever little trip away!
The old owner, is kindly taking the 4 horses (Target and his other 3) about 2 hours away for an overnight camp and a team penning competition on the Sunday! So the other 3 girls who lease off him, and my partner are all coming, so we will have 2 teams. Beside the owner, none of us have any experience, or any idea what we're doing but it should be fun! It's just a fun competition, any level can enter, no experience needed, luckily for us, all the horses have cow experience as they've all worked on stations before, and his main horses Zebu and Avalon are both guns apparently, so that should help somewhat! Either way, it'll be a fun experience!
I've never even had to float Target anywhere yet, so camping overnight with the horses will be so fun, the place that is holding the comp sounds really cool. It also has a big dam for swimming the horses, obstacle course you can go through with them and things like that!
It'll be so fun to do something different, get out of town, camp under the stars, can't wait!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Tonight we go camping!
I'm so excited, I haven't been camping in so many years, and doing it with horses is even better!
I'm working now lol So just counting down the 8 hours left until I finish!

We all packed up the goose neck and truck last night with saddles/hay/tack/feed (you wouldn't guess it was only 1 night), and the owner and the 3 other girls and horses all left early this morning (sucks having to work and go later!) and I packed my car up with my tack, and some feed, I swear I NEED to buy a new car, I just have a sedan, and it's killing me, I need the ute or the big truck.. ahh the spending on horses really never ends!
But I think we're all ready to go, I finish work at 2.30pm, and my partner finished at 4pm, so while he's working I'll grab the most important things like beer and snacks and we will be on our way! Just going to camp out under the stars in our swag, and then try our luck at team penning and have a swim on the horses! 

Otherwise, aside counting the time away, I did ride 2 nights ago, and he was such a champ.
I went with another girl, who has an OTTB who can have her moments, and we went a different trail, a bit of a rocky climb involved which we hadn't done, and she had, but her horse just wouldn't go up so I thought we'd try, and just off he went, didn't look twice, just calmly climbed on up, we saw dogs along the way as well, didn't look twice. Just nothing bothers him, we also went for a long trot stretch, and he's just so easy to keep pace next to her horse on a loose rein, no rushing, no lagging, just easy. 
Although it was quite funny, after being completely faultless the whole hour, on our way back the wind picked up they got a bit excited, and they both tried to do the whole prancing trot instead of walk, to which I made him walk, and he gave me a half assed little bucky/pigroot thing, barely moved me, and it was in a playful manner, so I just circled him once and he was fine. But it was also good, because he was feeling good and happy the whole ride, which is always awesome to see!

Anyway, I probably won't update until after the weekend, I will try get tonnes of photos!
Wish us luck, we will aim for second last :lol: :lol:


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## NavigatorsMom (Jan 9, 2012)

Have fun this weekend! Sounds so exciting


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

What a fun weekend!!   

The place we went was just awesome. Such a great facility, and I'd be so keen to go back!
It's this huge property, the have camp sites/cabins we camped out, under the stars, was great but they also have like 5 star bathroom/showers to! So it was extra comfort!
They have this huge arena where we did the penning, also the obstacle course was massive, huge tyres to climb, bridges to walk across, so much stuff to try, and then a massive dam you can swim the horses in, by far my favorite!

So we got out there around 5pm, was an hours drive which is actually awesome, because we live in the city, so to only go an hour to be in proper remote country is pretty cool!
We were last of the group to arrive, and the girls were saddling up to ride and try out this mechanical bull thing, which is basically a flag on a line to mimic a cows movement and you have to follow it, stop when it stops, try turn correctly and so on.
So I went and saddled up, and off we went, well it was hard :lol: 
Some horses totally got it, and stalked it down, was so cool, we weren't that great, getting good turns and bend was hard, the old owner jumped on Target and got him a lot softer still not great but he knows way more about what he's doing with this! So that was fun!
Then I went over to the obstacle stuff, I was soooo impressed, he just did everything I asked, even if he wasn't sure, I got him to stand up on a huge narrow tire and he just climbed up, then there was a stair of them, starting really narrow he wasn't sure but he just climbed up after 2 asks, there was a seasaw, that when you climb it, the other side falls and it was so loud, the noise scared him and he didn't want to do it again, but after a couple goes he did it fine, tarps and all sorts of stuff nothing bothered him!
Then we untacked, fed and hosed them off and settled into camp, a few to many beers but ah well! :lol:

The next day, we got up and ready to go! The teams were at random, but I ended up with another girl we came with and a guy who was really good.. poor guy! He was so nice though, we told him we had NO idea what we were doing and he help us plan it and told us what to do, so I ended up being the 'blocker' basically waiting for them to cut the cows (3) out of the herd and I blocked the pen to make them go into it. 
We had 3 goes of it, and our last go we actually got 1 cow in!! So we were pretty terrible, but most groups only got 1 cow in, and the winning group that got all 3 (there was only one group that got 3) they were all beginners and had never done this before either so that's cool!
But yeah felt awesome to actually get one cow :lol: I had to have a mini chase and block one from running off, so that was cool, just a fun experience, so different to how I normally ride, definitely makes me realize I need to work more my legs, and really move the horse around me that way and make him use his behind. So actually learnt a lot!

Afterwards they has a big BBQ for everyone, then after lunch we had a swim in the dam! Was sooo cool, huge dam, probably around 10+ horses and people swimming, everyone loved Target because when he swims he makes the loudest weirdest noise like a boat. He's always done it, so funny, and he swam so far that I nearly slid right off the back because he was so slippery! Then we stood in the water and he was loving it, just kept making his noises, pawing the water and splashing around so much fun. 

The only downside, I barely got ANY photos! I have a couple of us penning, but I was so busy and didn't even bother having my phone on me, which was great, I needed a good social media/phone break!
Here are a few! Otherwise I'll give him a couple days off, I need them as well I'm starting work 4am the next 3 days, and I've had no sleep and no idea how I'm going to survive without a longer sleep in! Lots of coffee!
Also thats me, in the white saddle pad and english get up surrounded by stock and western saddles :lol:


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

What fun! The photos are great.


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Haven't ridden sine the team penning, between getting no sleep since camping (which I didn't really sleep, then straight into getting up at 5am for work everyday since), the weather being super hot, and having to move to a different stable (same place just moved to a different stall, we have individual stalls/tack shed type set up) so after moving all my tack, all my feed bins bale of hay (how do I have so much?!) I was pretty exhausted!
The plus though, Target was in the worst stable, like directly in the sun all day, no breeze, no power. The one we moved to is positioned that it's always shady with a breeze, and has power outlets so I can put in a big fan! Our stables are super basic, it's self care basically, as they are on 24/7 turnout, they only come in of an afternoon, you feed them, and at around 9pm the caretakers who live on site let them back into the pasture. 
Anyway, going forward things should be a lot nicer for us, hopefully I won't be sweating buckets before getting on if I can tack up under a fan!
But yeah, haven't felt the motivation since getting back!
Thankfully I have the next 2 days off, I think a sleep in past 5am will be a huge help and I'll feel a million times better! I'll try ride this arvo after work, and see how we go!


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

That sounds like such a fun time. Especially bbq and swimming. 
Love the pictures, looks like a blast! :smile: I'm glad he was moved to a better stable, sounds a lot nicer.
Enjoy your days off, catch up on your sleep!


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

I find I seem to accumulate a lot of stuff, too.


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Okay been a few days!

I will update shortly on riding wise, but if anyone is interested, I just wrote a post over here;

http://www.horseforum.com/horse-nutrition/horse-hair-analysis-766841/page2/#post1970256050

As you know, we've had some breathing issues, doesn't seem to be affecting anything else, but noisy. I'd been tossing and turning about doing a hair analysis after seeing so many stories, and talking to 2 girls who'd personally done it at my barn. So the above link is explaining what's happened so far!
I will be sure to update further on that as well!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Okie dokie. 

So, I had a few days off, our weather is getting super hot and humid already (sucks so bad)

I ended up riding at like 7am, and it was still a struggle!

I went out one day for an early ride on our own, just a hack out, we have this great long stretch of driveway in the middle of the bush on a slight incline so I thought I'd do some 'conditioning sets' type thing.
So we walked up and back, trotted up and back, cantered up and back, then walked to cool off, then did a gallop stretch, he seemed to enjoy it, threw a few tiny bucks at the start. 
I spoke to his old owner about his recent crow hopping/bucks and he told me I need to be harder on him and put spurs on him. 
He's always told me I should wear spurs on him, even if I don't use them, just to have them there and make him collect and round up, he said every now and then he will need a tune up, and now he's just trying it on a bit. 
I've not exactly been 'anti spur' but I guess, I've never personally wanted them, nor thought my lower leg was good enough, I also associate them with a lazy horse, and because Target is so forward, I've never really understood the point.
But then, when the old owner rides him with spurs, there really is a huge difference.
So after being bullied into it, (okay I wasn't bullied more persuaded) I bought some dummy spurs, the type the point away so I can't 'accidentally' use them. 
I'm going to try them today, see if I notice a difference, not something I want to need/rely on, but the ex-owner made a good point about 'tuning up' and also said, if you keep riding the same you can't expect anything to change. So why not try it. I will let you guys know if I feel a difference!

Also I went to a rodeo on the weekend, was great fun, and after watching the barrel racing I thought, yep I'm gonna try it. 
So when I rode next I set up the barrels just to have a play with, we only trotted just practiced the sharp turns, it was really fun to try something totally different, although in an english saddle is hard haha :lol:
He was really great on 1 of 3 turns :lol:
But that got me thinking more and more about how I need to get him more supple, more bending through his body, so a lot of stuff I need to work on even from trying that out. I definitely am not hard enough on him, so If weather permits. I want to focus on a couple sessions a week really working on soft and supple, bending around my leg and less fighting me!

I'm just super depressed, because of where I live, we have 2 season, wet and dry. Wet seems to go for 8 months of the year and it's on it's way. So it's just going to get so incredibly humid, and riding becomes impossible. Not keen at all.
I have been toying with sending him down south for the duration, more so he is comfortable, and then when I holiday I can ride. I have horsey friends and my mum back home that have offered to look after him. But I think I'd be so lost without a horse now. 
Sucks that where I live you have to consider stuff like this.
I cannot wait to move but that is probably at least 2 years away. Ah.


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Okay well didn't end up using spurs yesterday.

But ah he was so good!

I ended up just going for a hack out with another girl who rides Targets half sister (same sire)
It's so funny, because he's grown up with this horse since he was a baby, and it's like they know they're siblings and they have this rivalry that we realized they don't do around any other others. Everything they do is a competition or a race. Even walking a long, they try to be faster, you see their ears perk when they're a step ahead, and when behind they seem super unhappy haha.
It was a really fun ride, had a few good canter stretches, and we ended up having a mini 'race' gallop across a field which was so fun. 
He was being really good though, I think he was really enjoying being out, normally when I hack around I just ride on the buckle, as we're just relaxing, but a few times I picked up the reins and got him walking on the bit and he was super stretchy in his neck and so easy to bend around which he normally isn't. 
Maybe he subconsciously knew I was planning on wearing spurs and he thought, no ma it's okay I got this :lol:

Either way was a super fun ride!

I also got him new feed to try out, so I'm trying to introduce Speedi-Beet to eventually cut back on his pellets, and I'd heard it is very bland and a lot of horses take awhile to eat it. He can be fussy at times so I was expecting him to leave his dinner, but to my surprise he did eat it all! I've also added in black sun flower seeds, as he is somehow lacking in Omega 6, but not 3, interesting. So will see if I can notice any changes as I slowly add these feeds in!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Yesterday was a bit of a miss. 

I was just riding in the field at the stable where the jumps are, just warming up really nothing strenuous at all.
Those 'playful bucks' we had a little while back, well I'm starting to think their must be an underlying issue. (Which is even more crappy only because if it is a sore back, we don't have a chiro in the area until next year :icon_rolleyes: Sucks to live remote!)
So yesterday, we walked around big long circles on the buckle to warm up, trotted around, he was very forward but that's normal, work on getting nice and bendy which was okay, then same thing again, more hoping/pigrooting into canter, the thing that gets me though, is he was being so forward and broke into canter a couple of times on his own, he wanted to go faster but then acts up a little. That's the one reason I was thinking it may not be pain, as I do not push him into it at all. So after that, back down to trot, but again he still really wanted to break faster. Then when we actually got to cantering when I asked, again tried to put his head down, but I wouldn't allow it at all, I just pushed him right through it, made him canter correctly around a big circle, I could tell he wasn't happy, but I also don't want him to think this is okay regardless. 
Ended up being a really nice canter, on my terms, finally.
Then toward the end, (my fault I should of known to not push it) I just wanted to end on a great note (ha) so I thought we're do a walk to canter just 3 or 4 strides each direction. Well. What a hissy fit we got. For him it's a hissy fit, he's in now way dangerous or trying to hurt me, but it was the biggest fit I've had him pull on me. He was doing his little crowhopping, I'd push him to try get through it, then he was jigging on the spot, it was like he was anticipating what I wanted and he did not want to do it. I ended up spinning him in a circle twice, (thankgod I grabbed the mane, I nearly spilled right off!) then when I tried to walk back calm he was jigging and just again anticipating what I wanted it was like he was waiting for me to ask so he could jump around. 
Now I feel terrible, and of course DO NOT want to cause him any pain if that is the case. But I also, refuse to end on a bad note and let him get away with things since he is only a baby, I just don't want any bad habits to start. 
Anyway, eventually got him just walking calmly around, and all I wanted just a couple strides of canter with NO nonsense so I just up on trying to get a nice collected canter lol, I just walked calmly half way down the field, to trot him back on a straight line, then asked him to canter a couple strides, which he did, and it was fine, so with that, I jumped off, gave him some praise, and gave him a good hose off.

So yeah, definitely our worst ride yet. 
I was pressing firmly along his back after the ride, he didn't seem to have any issues/sore points at all, his appetite is always huge, he comes to me at the gate, so personality wise, nothing seems off. I'm suspecting my saddle right now, so I'm going to get that looked at asap, and see if there is anyone chiro related around, but sadly not looking good. 
The only thing that's changed, recently, he's on a bit more feed, (more energy causing this? hmm) and he was until yesterday on some steroid powder from the vet, about his breathing. I haven't actually researched that yet, but they always seem to have horrid side effects. He was on them for 1 week. But stopping them now, as didn't work anyway.

I'm going to try lunge him tonight, see if I can see anything/get any attitude, otherwise now that he's transitioning off steroids/onto speedibeet instead of grain, I suppose that will make some changes as well.
I just don't want to be hurting him, but I don't want him to be a silly 5YO with bulk energy that's just trying it on, that I'm not disciplining enough because he has my number!

Any opinions here welcome, wish me luck!


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## NavigatorsMom (Jan 9, 2012)

Good luck with lunging him tonight! Sorry to hear that he's been a little booger.  I believe that upping feed can create excess energy which could be expressed in bucks. It will be interesting to see if he does any bucking on the line. That will be a decent indicator of whether or not he's sore from the saddle, I think. If he's choosing to buck on the line, without the weight of a rider, he may just be feeling spicy. 

As for wanting to end on a good note but having a jiggy, hypersensitive horse, I totally get that. Usually when Nav gets that way, I bring him down to walk and we do walk-halts. It's super boring for him, but also annoying (I usually do like 2 steps of walk, then halt, etc.) and makes him focus on me. Then when he settles and I give him a chance to do the harder thing (canter or whatever) it's usually a lot nicer because he's doing something more fun for him. I may be anthropomorphizing a bit, but it works for me.


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

Seems most likely to be challenging you, but you can go on the internet and look at some techniques for doing your own chiro. There is a lot of contradictory and confusing information out there, but you can get some insight. Another thing I do, but not a good idea if you are not used to it, is to ride bareback. That will let you know if it is a saddle problem.


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

@NavigatorsMom & @whisperbaby22
Thank you both!
I think you were both on the money, about having a spicey challenging pony for a few days!
Which I'm going to put down to the feed.. I think! 

The day after his little spicey fit, I ended up riding again and trying out a different saddle, to just see if there was a difference. 
He was super perfect the whole ride, out in the open, cantering circles, no spicey stuff! I ended up cantering him up and back on a long stretch of beach a couple times to really get some fizz out and work that hind end! (got to love working on sand) He seemed to LOVE it, even after 3 long stretches up and back, cantering, you couldn't even tell, that horse has energy for days. I would work him a lot harder if our weather wasn't so hot, and if his breathing was completely better. I'm still wary of both aspects, it's to hot to run all day, but it was great. He seemed to have a better attitude completely. 

THEN. Now this definitely wasn't his fault, but boy, what a spook.

So, finished up the ride, I was so happy, couldn't have been better, and of course, as we're walking into the gate of the stables almost home it all went a bit wild.
So I was out on that ride with 2 others, and then the old owner of Target came in the same time with his horse and cart, (which Target has seen a million times) but, one of the horses spooked at it, and bolted off down the driveway, the other girl just let her horse follow and run off because she didn't care, (VERY annoying) so I'm holding him back as that's not how we end a ride, he's getting antsy because the other horses are running, then the cart passed him, he starts doing these mini rears, then he did a BIG rear, (honestly kudos to me for staying on this beast :lol I was trying to push him forward with my legs, but was hesitant to kick him forward, so I pushed, he tried to jig and jump, I'd hold him back, he'd rear, I tried to one rein stop him twice, to grab his head, and he planted his back feet and spun a full circle twice, thank god I had a hold of that mane. So I'm like, no no no no no no no no. We just had THE BEST ride, I know you're scared. But NO. 
So after dealing with this, (our arena is next to the front gate) I hoped, skipped, bucked him over to the arena (which is fenced) I must of looked like this mad women, holding onto this kangeroo, 20 steps took 5 minutes to actually get there. When I got to the gate and finally stopped him to open it, he was actually shaking! He never spooks bad ever, but this definitely roweled him up. So we got standing. He got a lot of praise for actually standing. I opened the gate while on him, went in. And put him back to work.
To my surprise as soon as we were in the arena, he was fine. He was focused, we trotted circles, we rode the whole way around the arena taking a few steps then halting, using nothing but my legs/seat to stop (which he's normally not great at it) and it was the best he'd ever been. He was listening, stopping fast and clean. So I can't be mad at him, he seemed just completely freaked out. Not that I condone that behavior. But to see I could get him right back to me, working, I was super happy with that. I made sure we did enough so I could walk back to the stables (where the madness happened) on the buckle, nice and calm. Which we did. So I mean. Small wins I guess. I'll put it down to a bit of a random situation, that hopefully doesn't quite go that way again!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

I ended up riding the day after that little spaz attack!

Which did get me thinking about my saddle again, wondering if it was ACTUALLY an issue. So I put it on him with nothing else to judge the fit to the best of my ability. Which to be honest, looks to fit him BETTER now than a few months ago, since he's gained weight it sits better, more clearance on his withers, overall, the basic things to looks for, it seemed to fit the bill. 
So I decided to use it again, see how it went. 

What would you know, he was FINE.

Starting to think he just had a few days where he thought, 'wouldn't it be fun to really test ma, and see how sticky her bum is to the saddle' :lol:
He was just fine, start to end this time. No nothing, cantered on a loose rein, didn't put his head down to mess around, just did everything, I went out with 3 others, I made him trot a fair way behind the group to test that, he was fine, everything was FINE. 

Bloody horses. :lol:

I'm glad it went well, maybe it was coming off that feed etc. I hope so, a new saddle really isn't ideal right now haha.
But anyway, what an eventful little week we had, we were probably due, since before he'd been suspiciously well behaved for far to long it seems :lol: :lol:
Anyway, fingers cross it was more spice related, but will keep an eye on him and check his back after rides, make sure he isn't tender.


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

I've been far to slack with photos.

This little guy is "Killer" he's a 14.2 stock horse, Targets old owner got him off a station and broke him in early this year. He's only been ridden 12 times, so he's bought him back to get him in work again as he's sold him. He told my partner after he gets him going 3 rides or so he wants him to put miles on him and ride him out for a couple weeks and just get him used to trail riding and taking it easy! So thats really cool for him, he's such a sweet horse. I was leading him to the pasture yesterday and he's so sweet and just loves being around people! The name does not suit!


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## NavigatorsMom (Jan 9, 2012)

Aww, can't believe a sweet face like that is named Killer! 

Glad to hear that Target seems to have settled down. And kudos to you for managing that little freak out he had AND for making him go and do some work after. Sounds like you handled it really well.


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

What a fun week of riding we had!

Definitely made up for our little spicy week, everything seems completely back to normal now, no crow hopping / bucking at all, back to my well behaved pony!

I'll try remember everything and in order if I can!

So after the above Killer arrived, the owner, myself, my partner and another girl all went out on a ride to get this very green broken pony back into work. It was a great ride, we went to the beach, we cantered up and back, it was a super low tide, so we could basically walk straight across the tide to the other side of the reserve in the water. Killer is definitely green, for the most part he was really good, but you could tell part way through he would switch off a bit, then spook himself, the owner almost came off him, in the middle of the beach which was a bit scary! Luckily gravity was on his side and he held it, very impressive! 
After crossing over the beach, we ended up on all sorts of terrain, it was a proper trail ride which was so fun, we had to go over some rocky ground, we climbed up a rocky small cliff-type hill, (we dismounted to do this, as didn't want anyone slipping) once we got up the cliff, it was thick bush and we almost got stuck as it was fenced off with panels, thankfully a small hole and we all fit through! 
Was just a super fun ride, different from the normal plod around!

The owner has sort of taken my partner under his wing - which is so nice, after this ride, he got my partner to go out the next couple mornings and watch him work with Killer, and get him to work with him and teach him a few things, he's already learnt a lot, the owner wants him to work and ride him for the next couple weeks, as he needs the miles on him. Which is great, gives him a horse to work with and learn with, a really great opportunity, for the first week I think he'll stay in the arena, get a good feel for him before we take him out on the roads/trails/beaches. He's ridden him a couple times now, and he's definitely a smart horse, already seems to have settled miles since he arrived!

A couple days ago, my partner and I went out for a ride, he rode Tanna (20YO with the energy of a 2YO) it was so much fun. We just went out, went to both beaches, the horses both had miles of energy, so it was a really fast paced ride, the just wanted to canter everywhere! We had a good work out on the beaches, let them paw in the water to cool down, but still the wanted to race the whole way home! It was fun to just relax and have good stretches of canter/trot especially on the beach, we are hopefully going to do it all again in a few days and set up the gopro and get some film of us cantering past or something!

Yesterday, was our local races, and the owner had asked if he could use Target again, (his main horse is out spelling, and he doesn't like to ride the others :lol
It was only 4 races, so a pretty easy day, I of course said yes, always happy to help him, and he's told me anytime he can use him, he will shoe and trim him for free! So saves me money as well, and the horse gets a good workout, gets exposed to all sorts of new situations, I think personally I'm getting the better deal :lol:
He only told me, he got told from other jockeys/trainers at the track "This is the best looking horse you've ever brought here" Ah, I felt so proud hearing that! Haha, It's so nice to hear, he jokingly didn't want to tell me that, he must be kicking himself for ever selling him! :lol:

We had a working bee yesterday at the stable, was very hot work, collecting all the hay twine from paddocks, fixing fences, cleaning fridges, thankgod they supplied beer and dinner! So I definitely drunk my share!

Working this morning, then will maybe ride in the arena, or give Target the day off and watch my partner ride Killer (who has had a couple days off so might be a bit spicey) Target has probably earned the day off! I got him a fly sheet a couple days ago, and my goodness, 2 days with it on and his coat looks even better! So shiny, soft, smooth! Should have done it sooner!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

My partner has been working with Killer almost everyday now, just keeping it short and sweet so his attention doesn't wander off.
He's put a few rides on him in the arena, and he's been really good, he's very responsive, has a beautiful active trot, seems to be a very willing horse! 
He's only done walk/trot so far, and again only really doing a max session of 20 minutes.
In a couple days we will take him out on the trails, or to the beach, see how he goes, I can't see him having any problems beside being a bit looky, but will take it slow, will be good for him to get out of the arena!

The other morning, we went down to the beach in the morning to set the GoPro up to get some videos and photos of us at different angles. It was so much fun, though started out with a bit of drama!
So we hacked down to the beach with is about a 10-15 minute walk, just carried the GoPro in hand, got down there, the beach was completely empty, beside from a few vans with backpackers (tourists) hanging around in the car park where they illegally stay. But anyway, they're always there, and generally just stick to themselves. 
So we get down to the beach, hop off, put the camera in the sand, adjust it to where we want it, jump on and start recording, we go back a few yards out of shot, canter past it, we ended up a bit past it, but that was always the plan, have a few runs back and fourth, when we pull up a good 200m past, I turn around and see a guy walking directly towards it, and walking with a bit of a purpose, in my head I'm like, there is no way he's going to try steal it surely, like he's seen what we're doing and it's not like we'll be away from it long. 
But he keeps walking directly to it, I shout out to my partner "HE'S GOING TO STEAL THE GOPRO" then we both, at a flat stick gallop (hearts racing) head straight toward him, he sees us coming, he tried to dart a different direction and just 'casually' pass it to go to the beach, he touches the water and turns around to walk away. All I can think is he's tried to make it LOOK like he wasn't going to pinch it, I head straight toward the camera, get off to grab it, my partner gets a little close to the guy (who was clearly terrified of horses) and he changes directions and runs back up the bank. 
I couldn't believe it. We didn't say anything to him, we should have. 
THEN when we looks at that particular video, you can see his shadow come into frame, you can see him dip down like he's about to grab it, then quickly moves out of frame (must be when he saw us charging him :lol: ) So that was a bit of drama, hot tip. If people try to steal, charge them with your horse until they run away!

So after that little fiasco, we moved up the other end of the beach, where there is no public seating/area near it. Set up a few more angles, had a few great gallops, it was an amazing ride. First time we'd really let the horses run their hearts out, and boy they felt quick! We then cooled with off in the ocean, which the loved, I swear if I let him Target would have started swimming saddle and all! He just loves the water. 

I have a couple video stills, we didn't get as much footage as we would have liked, but now we know the best ways to set it up, and where to be in the best frame!
I really need to learn how to upload videos and then I will get those on here to!


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

Those are great photos. And yes, the most dangerous thing out there is weirdo people.


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

A short and sweet ride last night. 

A few of you may remember Target over our 'Wet Season' gets Anhidrosis or 'The puffs' which SUCKS.
It's basically when it's sooo disgustingly hot/humid some horses don't cope well so they stop sweating / start puffing etc. 
I've had him on some herbs / a bunch of supplements to try and help and fight it before the weather turns, so I'm hoping we can take it on this year. If not, I will have to send him down south, somewhere cooler a few months. 
Anyway, I've been told one of the best things I can do is get him FIT, cardiovascular fit, and keep him fit the whole season. While I wouldn't call him unfit by any means, the vet recommended, now that it's getting hot, keep the rides shorter (30 mins) with high intensity. 
I think lately, because I worry about pushing him, I've done only 1-2 decent rides a week, and the rest just plodding around, or walking, which isn't get him fit enough. 
So I've started last night, I just went out to this great long stretch of driveway and did trot/canter/gallop sets for 10 minutes. The walk there/back was our warm up / cool down. 
You wouldn't think he was unfit! Once you let him have the canter set, he just doesn't want to go back to a trot, he thinks 'Oh yay we're running as fast as we can weeee' :lol:
But, it was interesting, he was ACTUALLY sweating more than normal, and his breathing (which unfortunately does get puffy during work already) seemed to almost 'even out' while still being very much there, it sounded less distressing? 
So I don't know, it went better than I thought it would. So I'm going to do a couple 10 minutes of hard work until we get up to 20-30 minutes. Keep it simple, get him fitter, and keep it fit. She said I should be riding 6-7 days, (which I do) but all wet season. Having no indoor will be interesting!

To mix it up, I'll do beach work as well, as that works him hard so it's not just circles/up and back for him.

Anyway, I'm praying we can take this horrible season head on, obviously will do whatever it takes so that he's comfortable. 
Thankfully we will likely not be here in a couple years, so this is potentially the last or second last season we will have to get through with him, then we can live in a normal place that has winter! Yippee!

Also! Here's an updated before/after, he's really starting to look good now. Since starting him on Speedi-Beet the last 2-3 weeks I think has made a huge improvement. Just needs more muscle, especially his hind, but so nice seeing the changes!


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

He looks terrific.


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

@whisperbaby22 thank you so much!  

Today was amazing!! I only have 1 day off this week, so always try to make the most of it. 
It was beautiful sunny weather without being horrifically humid, i got invited to go down to the beach with 5 others!
So went to the stable at around 930am, we all got sorted and headed to the beach bare back.
It was a high tide, beautiful clear water. Just perfect.
We wandered out really far until it was a bit deeper, the horses just love it. They paw and play its so fun.
When the water was up to their bellies, a few of us jumped off to dunk ourselves and have a swim next to them.
Target was sooo silly. He just loves the water, so here he is, water up to his belly, im swimming next to him he's pawing pawing pawing, then lays down! Or attempts to! He put his head, ears everything under to attempt to roll! Gets back up and does the other side! He's officially a seahorse. :lol:
Then i totally failed.
While we were still deep enough i thought I'll easily be able to jump up... oh dear. I jumped, didn't take into account how slippery he would be as he'd just gone all the way under and slipped right over the other side! Fully dunked myself! It was so funny, everyone got a good chuckle and target just looked at me like 'ah ma, what ya doing' :lol:
I eventually got back on, had a swim, he had a roll closer to shore near the sand, was just awesome.
Probably be one if not the last time we can do that sadly! 
As when our weather changes, we get box jelly fish when the ocean gets warm! So can't swim!
But perfect morning spent!


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## NavigatorsMom (Jan 9, 2012)

Love the beach pictures, that seems like it would just be so fun to do!! And the one of Target with his little tongue out is so cute 

He looks so good now! You've really made a big difference!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

@NavigatorsMom Thank you so much! It's so nice to finally be able to see a difference, felt like it took forever. Definitely worth the wait! 

SO, I can't remember if I mentioned it at all here, but I've been wanting to get Target clipped for a while, like I've mentioned our weather is about to get crazy. Where the normal temp will be 35-40C (95-105F I think?) with about 90-95% humidity. (Help)
So with that on the way, I'm trying to get everything in place to keep this horse as cool as possible. Target has a pretty short coat anway (seeing as nights here don't cool down, the coldest they get now is 25 (77F) which soon they won't even get below 30 (86F) - (I'm gonna be so good at Fahrenheit soon :lol
Anyway, so I've never thought clipping would do much, but got advised by a couple people up here, that because they have horses that get super hot to, they clip all year round and it makes a big difference. 
So I made some inquiries about who up here clips, seems like there's only 1-2 people that do it, and she quoted me $120 :| :|
I know it's hard work, and takes time, but that just feels expensive. Then I got researching and realized I could BUY clippers, and after 2 clips, they're have paid for themselves with those prices. 

Now I have never clipped a horse, my skill level goes as far and cutting a pretty dodgey bridle path :lol: :lol:
But I just thought, how hard can it be. I cut my partners hair, and he likes the whole shorter on the base and blended up to his head, and I do a pretty good job if I say so myself, so surely it's the same just a bigger area. (I'm very optimistic aren't I)
So, after spending 2 solid days watching every video there is on full body clipping, hunter clipping, trace clipping, (it really is super satisfying to watch, I recommend)
I thought I had a pretty good idea of what I'd need to do, make sure the horse is clean, sharps blades, oil blades, use cooling spray to keep blades cool, and figures out where I want to clip.
Sounds so simple.

So yesterday after work, I drove the 25 minutes each way to the ONLY horse shop in this town, I'd done my research (as much research as one can do in 2 days) and new I wanted the cheaper/smaller type clippers, as here in Aus the most highly recommended were Wahl KM2, over the big heavy duty Osters and so on. Basically due to the heavy duty ones being incredibly loud, heavy, and if you just need them for personal use, the smaller, lighter, and quieter ones do the job just fine, just take a bit longer. 
So I found what I wanted, the shop lady even reiterated that these were great, and would definitely do the job. So yay.

Now to actually clip the horse. Now I know Targets at the very least been exposed to clippers once, as the old owner has shaved his mane off at least once (Stock horse thing) so I wasn't sure how he would react. 
I'd decided to go with the hunter clip, (I think) where I basically wanted to clip everything except legs/head and a spot where the saddle goes. 
I broke a fair few golden rules. 1 I didn't wash him, we only had so much daylight left, and he was clean.. enough. 2 I forgot chalk. 
I also had bought a #10W blade, which was heavily recommended as it covers that bit more area, but for some reason, it just wouldn't seem to work properly, so i had to use the normal one it came with which was fine, and actually made it work better.

So we have a horse that's never been body clipped, a gal that's never clipped anything beside her partners head. What could go wrong. 
I started by turning them on, letting him hear them, when he stood still he got a treat, turned them off, waited, turned back on, repeat, while turned on press them on his shoulder so he could feel the vibration, treat, and so on. To get him as used to them as I could. He wasn't sure about them, he's a good boy, but standing still can be an issue in general, so he was a bit scared at first. 
The most annoying thing, that I honestly think would have solved any issues, WE DON'T HAVE CROSS TIES. It drives me mad. I'm at a pretty outback stable, so the only spots we have power outlets aside from in the stalls which would be a disaster, is on the big flood light poles, in the middle of the stable area. So while trying to get the horse to stand still next to this pole, my partner holding him, and him just swinging his butt around and around and around and around. Was such a pain, I think had we had cross ties would of been so much easier. 
Anyway, it's what we had, so eventually got him still, and off we went. Started on the shoulder, he was pretty tense, could only get so close to near his head, not a fan of that buzzing in his ears! But that's fine, moved onto the belly, was good until had to get more under his belly, where I'm sure it would tickle, so he moved and moved again, gave him a break, some food, I wanted to make it as stress free as possible for him, I didn't want to bully him into it at all. So plenty of patience, then he'd let me do another bit. After a while, I decided I'd hold him as I'm probably a lot better at holding him and not letting him walk all over than my partner, and he had a go, he got through a fair bit, the bum was by far the hardest, whether he's extra sensitive or ticklish, took him a good while to let us go at it, then ever stroke you could see him try drop his butt down saying "WHAT are you doing back there" Anyway after a good couple hours, we got 1 side completely done. 
I was sort of like, a little frustrated (not at the horse) just knowing how quickly I could do it, if he stood still. But then I thought straight away, this is his first EVER body clip experience, no sedation, no being tied up no nothing, and he let he hack away at a full side of his body. Another lady said it took her 6 months to be able to turn clippers on near her horse. So I definitely need to give him more credit!

It was getting dark anyway, so ended on a nice note and gave him a big dinner. It looks so awesome though! I will take photos tonight, as was too dark yesterday. Since he's black, it's not a huge difference but he's a lot lighter more like a dark grey, I think when it's all finished it'll look good. And I was happy with our handy work, you can't see any crazy dodgey lines so far!
So I will try the other side tonight, I'm going to get an extension lead as I was super limited to how far we could move around this pole. I think that'll be a huge help.

But overall, super happy I decided to do this myself, I think once he is used to it and relaxed it'll be really easy and won't take long to get the hang of! And a good skill to learn myself, so in the future I can just do it myself now that I have the kit ready to go!
I will post photos tomorrow!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Well yesterday didn't go to plan!

I don't know what happened, but at around midday at work I started feeling incredibly ill, strong horrid stomach pains that would not go away.
I rarely get sick, and it honestly annoyed me because I had so many plans after work! :icon_rolleyes:

I ended up leaving work early it was that bad. I went home to lay down, hoping it would pass and I'd still get to the stables, but nope. It was terrible, so I was stuck in bed and it didn't pass until around 6pm that night. 

I never miss a night at the stables, (we're self care, so I have to feed every evening and bring in myself)
Luckily my partner went down to bring him in and feed him dinner, I have a pretty annoyingly long diet for him at the moment, (on a fair few supps / speedi-beet needs soaking etc) so I had to go through everything but he was a saint, and just went down there and got it all sorted. He even ended up doing our friends 5 other horses! Bless him.

Feeling much better today, so hopefully I can get down this arvo, finish the clip so people aren't looking at my horse thinking what on earth has happened to one side of him! :lol:


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Okay the clip is finished. Minus a few areas i need to touch up. But as far as first times for us both go I'm pretty happy! And seeing as it's purely to cool him down not to shoe it doesn't matter to much that i missed a chunk on his butt right? :lol:

When i did the 2nd side he was so good.
I ended up getting an extension lead so i had more room, i was by myself so i tied him to our wash bay area so he had less room to swing around.
But honestly i think he must have realized the drill from the couple days earlier, he was a bit can you not please mum. But soon as i started he stood still and let me work away, he didn't even get to head high or worried when i went up his neck closer to his ears!
The only time he was a bit annoyed was near his flank on the under neath, i think at the start he thought i was a fly as he kicked out like a habit, but then settled again. Seeing as i was by myself, while giving the clippers plenty of breaks that side only took 30 minutes! As oposed to the 3 hour deal the other side :lol: 
But cannot complain at all! His first time, no sedation, no injury just a bit of a dodgey clip on my end otherwise went really great! 

I still haven't got decent photos but here is one before and after (top is after) where it really shows the color difference and how light he looks now. And there's one of a bit i missed on his butt! I have a new spots to fix up that i will do tomorrow! 
Glad i have these now, after one more clip they will at least have paid for themselves! I'm sure with practise I'll be able to do a better job first go too!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

So I've also made a decision I've been toying with for a while now. 
If you've been following us along you would know (from my constant complaining) that we live in a very hot area. That has 2 seasons Wet and Dry. I think closest thing to our Wet season would be similar to a Florida climate i think? Basically for a good 6 months of the years its temps above 30 degrees (90F) with humidity of 80% and above. So as would expect horses struggle. Not only the heat that can bring on puffs / anhidrosis we have extremely bad bug problems that give them sweet itch, or they loose their coats from itching, rain scold spreads regardless (as in herd of 20ish horse) so it's truly terrible. Dont get me wrong there are some great territorian horses, but sadly Target is not one. I saw him at the end of wet this year, and apparently thats when he had 'come good' and was terrible. They also are impossible to keep weight on. Which is horrible because we spend half the year getting them right then the weather turns. 
Unfortunately as well. Where i am, is still basically a big coutry town. There aren't a lot of barns, very few have tje facilities to have fans on 24/7 my barn definitely isn't set up to help the horses at all.
So anyway, all year I've also been trying everything under the sun to promote sweating fatten him up and try get him as good as can be to think about keeping him here. But it just hasn't gone well enough. He's put on weight and I'm pretty happy with him but it wouldn't take much for him to drop, and he's not sweating near enough now as it is.

So I've decided to send him down south for 3-4 months (weather depends on when i bring him back) i think it's 100% the right choice for him, his systems can hopefully reset and he can enjoy not being so overheated all the time.
I'm sending him back home where I'm from which is a trek away, it's 4100 kms (2500 miles) away the reason I'm sending him that far is because i have a horsey best friend who is kindly happy to have him at her place (I'll pay his board of course) but she said she's more than happy to feed him and obviously look at him as she is there everyday. 
He will have his own pasture next to 2 others (hallelujah no more getting kicked from other horses) he has green grass (what is that? He won't know what hit him they've been on round bales all year with no grass) the facilities are actually amazing. Full size dressage arena with mirrors, show jump course, hot/cold wash bays. I've been there a few times and remember loving it.
The best part is, doing it this way i can plan at least 2 trips home for a good chunk of time. (2-3 week at a time) so i will be able to ride and get lessons and go to clinic with her. So I'm actually pretty excited about that.
So the truck. I got 2 quotes. The first one doing it very quickly (too quickly imo) was $1600. The second from a highly recommended lady who took 6 days, provided feed/hay, rugs was $1250. Which i think is extremely reasonable. I've spoken with her she sends updates along the way. She seems great. So I've booked her in she leaves the 15th of November so i still have a couple months with him. In that time i want to get him fit as possible so hopefully when it gets hotter he can handle it. I also will start upping his feed to hope he doesn't drop before then.
So i would have him down at least December / January / February and maybe March to. While it sucks for me and i won't know what to do with myself its such a better alternative than seeing him suffer every day. I don't think i could handle it.
While it'll be costly in truck fees and my flights. I think it's worth it in the long run. He's got such potential I'd hate to ruin him up here a couple years.
So yeah. Thats all planned and ready.
I can't wait to ride him down there. And pray he sweats and doesn't puff. I cant even imagine it to be honest!
I now need to buy a rug for the cool nights down there. Who would of thought I'd ever need something thicker than a fly sheet :lol: 

Oh also my mum is in that area, who will also be able to visit him and ride him if she's game!


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

Good for you for thinking of the horse first. And for doing the clipping - any skill learned is valuable.


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Yesterday was a blast!

The past week I've been really focusing on short quick rides, focusing on fitness so a whole lot of trot canter trot canter and so on!
I thought we were both due a break so ended up going swimming at the beach.
This horse is just hilarious.
We hopped on bareback, its about a 10 minute walk there, he plods along quite lazily but soon as we cross the road and he sees the sand he completely perks up and knows exactly what we're doing.
He alwayssss tried to trot quickly down the sandy bank so i really had to keep him at a walk since my bareback isn't seat isn't the best! :lol:
We got to the water and without asking him he just charges in, it was a perfect high tide so it doesn't take much to be in deeper water and he happily starts swimming and getting himself fully under! So crazy to think a few months ago he had never swam in water and was a bit errie about it! 
After a swim around with him i jumped off so i could fully go under and cool off. I had my clip on reins so i just unclipped one side so he had a bit more freedom. It was so funny he kept trying to swim next to me and just followed me anywhere. 
We got a little shallower, still water well over his belly and again he rolled and sat down in the water! He put his head and ears completely under, such a strange thing. He makes so many bizzaire noises but seems to really enjoy it!
Was so good


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

I ended up giving Target Sunday off, Monday I ended up just free lunging him, I'm 'okay' at lunging, but sometimes I question my body language and am unsure as to whether I'm correctly giving signals. Target is super easy to lunge luckily, but while I was doing so, his old owner stopped to watch and gave me a few pointers which worked great. Made a couple things make much more sense. 
And explained some cues he specifically used when training him, which of course he knew. So that was a great help!

I went for a morning ride yesterday, and this afternoon will do something a bit harder for him. I've been working him up with our short hard sessions, so I'd like to push it out a bit further, and really just trot trot trot. Get him working his hind. 

Today I booked my flights and car hire for December to go back home, where Target will be then! I am getting super excited. 
I'm nearly going back for a month now! From the 4th - 27th Dec. They way my days off / cheaper flights worked out. It WAS going to be 2 weeks! Oh well! I'm really excited to have a break from work, have christmas back home, see my friends, ride as much as possible. 
My horsey friend has a float and said there's a heap of things we can go do. So getting really excited. And really excited for him to be cool, and start sweating, and enjoy some green grass! Will do him the world of good I'm sure!


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

That is so great he loves the water!  Yay! That sounds like so much fun.
I'm glad you guys are enjoying each other so much. December isn't too far away, that is awesome! Since you are consistent with him, he's learned to trust you. <3
He's going to love it!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

@PoptartShop Thank you  Yes I am convinced he is part seahorse!

I rode the last 2 days, the first ride was a bit of a mess. We rode in the arena, I went in with the aim to just get him working, trot some circles, what one would think is 'easy'. 
I don't know if it's just me, but it was super messy and hard. While his balance has improved a lot, I think the arena in general gets him quite tense, and he just rushes rushes rushes, I try doing smaller circles, he zooms around falling in / falling out, I tried to think about my position, use leg to keep him straight but he just wants to break the trot to a canter, and it was a bit of a disaster. Once we get going he gets more tense and it's much harder to come back to a walk. So I felt a bit (or completely) crap after that. 
Thinking, why on earth can't I trot a simple circle in an arena. What is wrong with me. 
So I moved back to walk, and just moved him around with my legs, inside leg, to outside rein (works fine at the work :lol
And we practiced a few little things and called it a day. 
I was then watching Targets old owner, he was working Killer, so there he is working this green broken (extremely green) horse, who spooks and can be very explosive. He is working him, getting him to trot in circles, and this horse is rushing as well, but he just keeps on him, on him, on him, and while he was still a bit rushy you could see how extended and nice he was making the trot, and it was all falling together. 
In my head I'm like HOW do you make it look so easy, and nice, and even a green running horse can look so extended and nice. 
So I thought a lot about what he was doing and thought in my next ride I'll do a few things differently and see how we go. 

So went to ride after work, while I still wanted to work on a lot I just really didn't want to do it in the arena, I think we both get a bit tense and I'm probably anticipating certain things and making it all way worse, so I thought I'll ride out on the trails, and do my circles and things in a random open area (we are lucky and have a few great spots along the way)
So off we go, now for some reason we both seem far better and long straight lines, long stretches of road / trail then anything to do with turning. So I figured we'd start with what we are somewhat capable of doing :lol:
So we went to this huge open area, that has a dirt track in the middle that stretches for 500m or so, so we start trotting, I can feel him getting a little quick (we've cantered this area before so a bit excited) but I just do my half halts, try rising slower (goodness that is easier said than done) and I try make myself as steady as possible. And it was great, it was forward, active but steady and controlled. He really got into rhythm and kept it going even from grass / dirt / change of terrain. 
We went to another long stretch of dirt more of a trail, and same thing, didn't try to break gait kept it really nice (would of love to see what he looked like, and how extended he was as it felt really nice)
THEN we *tried to do some circles in a grassy field, but straight back to rushing, breaking to canter, and falling out. So I just kept pushing through it, half the circle was fine, but the bottom half (that was in homes direction) he fell out of and drifted away. I cantered a couple circles, came back to a trot, it was a tiny bit better, but still pretty messy. So I know I need to work on bending, turning A LOT. I need to somehow get that nice controlled trot into a circle. Who knew that was so hard!
I think I just need to keep at it and push myself as well. 
Overall though, it was a good ride, on the way home we did a lot of walk / trot transitions, which I was super happy with because he knows he's going home and he didn't try to run off, he was still listening, so that was a positive. Just need to figure out how to turn :lol: :lol:

On a brighter note! I got a new phone, I've had the same one for 4 years, and it was super slow and the camera was terrible, so I'm really excited to have a new phone it has TWO rear cameras and the quality is amazing! Keen to take lots of new photos!


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## NavigatorsMom (Jan 9, 2012)

Can't wait to see some new, high quality pictures! 

Circles can be hard sometimes if they're even just a little out of balance. I think what you've been doing and working on with him is a good way to do it, little by little. Something I used to do with Nav (still sometimes do actually, haha) since he gets really rushy and unbalanced at canter, is just to get a nice transition and only go a few strides of canter, and then transition down before he has a chance to lose the nice canter and fall in/rush, etc. I think that might work with trot too. You may not get a full circle of nice trot for a while, but it builds up. So for example if you know that he's more likely to fall out on the side near home, bring him back to walk before you get there, so it's just a half circle of nice trot.  

Funny that he is better about long stretches than circles! With Nav if I take him to an open area to ride and let him go straight, he thinks it's time to race off!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

@NavigatorsMom Thank you for the advice! That actually makes a whole lot of sense, and I will definitely try it tonight! 
Yes I think the key here is step by step then eventually put it all together!
Yeah I've always ridden horses on any straight stretch that want to run, so it surprises me he settles into it! :lol:

I haven't had a chance to take photos yet! Been a busy few days at work, went the last local rodeo of the year Saturday which was fun!, but haven't been at the stables aside to feed the boy much in the last couple days!

But back to it this week, I want to get a plan up and have different goals every ride. I think I will try mix it up with arena / field and trails work each day and alternate. So neither of us get arena sour :lol:
I ordered new horse boots and stirrups and they have taken so long to get here, hoping they come this week as well!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

I didn't get to ride last night, had a bit to do after work in the end. Went and got horse feed, it was also unbearably hot and humid so I wasn't to bothered in the end!

I'm now convinced I have a giant dog now though! :lol:

After getting everything done and heading down to the stables, as normal all the horses are always hanging around the gate waiting for their owners around this time. They know when dinner comes!
So Target as always faithfully waiting by the gate with the other horses, he recently decided he didn't care for his fly mask so I thought I would try find it (no luck, hidden it up a tree I'm sure) but soon as I went in the paddock, went to walk around to have a look, so I'm heading away from dinner, away from his horsey friends, and he just followed me like "Okay ma, where we going?" even when we did a few laps and went in all directions to find this bloody mask he just followed, my partner was there as well, and when I got further ahead he even stopped, waited for my partner to catch up and kept walking with us. 
It is such a cool thing, he is so social, and I swear loves people way more than horses :lol:

I hope when he goes down south he doesn't think I've abandoned him for the first couple weeks when I'm away!

Anyway, couple photos from last night, also an updated before and after!
Looks at the tuber sacrale poking up SO high in the first. 
While his rump is still super stubborn, and needs more muscle, it's still a huge difference.
Apparently his sire had the same rump, so will just be about building as much muscle as I can do get it where I want it, lots of hills and beach work should help us!


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## NavigatorsMom (Jan 9, 2012)

He sounds a lot like Nav with the way he loves people so much! That's so cute, aren't social horses nice?  

His transformation is amazing! So much progress!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

@NavigatorsMom Yess! They are the best!  Thank you so much!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Went for a pretty relaxed ride yesterday, just went down to the beach and back, it was super hot and humid, and you could tell all the horses were really feeling it, no one had much pep in their step.

Which makes me even happier that in just over a month my boy will be happier and cooler down south, and he can just relax!

We did a bit of trotting on the beach, I was focusing on keeping his trot in rhythm and relaxed, which is was! So that was super nicer, he didn't want to break at all, was happy and even paced. 
Otherwise we saw some absolutely terrifying plastic chairs. Yep. Plastic chairs, stacked on top of each other, he was super funny. Ears perked, snorting, I pushed him to walk up to them, he was side stepping, being a big baby really. When he finally sniffed them, he was like, oh okay, and he pushed them over! The strangest things will worry him, but take him to a bustling beach with kids, dogs, flags, umbrellas, nope that's a non issue. :lol: :lol:


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Had a few good rides over the last 2 days, we've been just doing a lap of our reserve land, which ranges from trails, to open field, to dirt tracks, we've done 2 rides where we trot the whole time, which is probably about 15 minutes of straight trotting, no stopping, and boy, 15 minutes may sound easy but it's a good workout! 
Because of the different terrain I feel I have to concentrate even more, I'm trying to get a nice even trot, but we have our "I just want to run and gallop" spots which get rushy, but otherwise it's been really good. 
You couldn't tell the heat bothers him, he has endless energy, once I ask him to trot once, I never have to again, it's about asking to slow down and stop, he could go forever it feels!
But a huge positive, while he is still a bit puffy he's been sweating more! Yay 
So I'm hoping everything is starting to work. 
I just need to get him through the next month and then he will finally get to cool down when he gets down south!

Now I may have done the 'Unthinkable' to many, as I know it can cause a bit of a stir :lol:
But I roached Targets mane yesterday! And I love it, it's always been my plan to do so, as he is a stock horse, and where I am, that is just what you do. But moreso, for the heat, anyway to keep him a bit cooler, I am happy to do. 
I think it suits him well, I was worried, because he's long, and his neck still needs more muscle I think he might look a bit gangly, but I think he looks rather sharp, like a crew cut!
So please don't hate me for doing it! I know a lot of people can't stand the look, but surprisingly I was the 'weird' one having a stock horse with a mane! :lol:
(I will upload photos shortly!)
But he was so good about it. He heard the clippers and was a bit shuffling a couple steps, but soon as I started he stood perfectly still, nearly went to sleep! Even when I got right up to his ears (The forelock stays, so just his bridle path area) he didn't even flinch! He's normally a bit iffy about his ears, but could not care less. I don't think he seemed to mind about any of it. Such an easy horse, once he learns something, or gets used to it, he never needs to be shown again it seems!


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## NavigatorsMom (Jan 9, 2012)

15 minutes of trot is hard! Especially over varying terrain. You must be getting super strong, do you ever try to two-point much of it? Now that's a workout! 

I LOVE roached manes, so share as many pictures as you can! I think I saw a couple on instagram, didn't realize that was him. Don't listen to what people say, if you like how it looks that's what matters! Not like it will never grow back :wink:


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Such a workout! Oooh I haven't done a lot of two-point lately! But good idea, add it to the list! 

Ahh thank you! Yes that was him! I really like it, I think I'll definitely be keeping it this way! And very true! It's only hair!

Here are a few photo updates!

We have the roached mane
I went on a beer ride (super fun :lol, 
I somehow snapped a shot perfectly of 2 very boisterous geldings rearing 1 of them is Killer! 
I was lucky enough to see a performance on the weekend, the guy rides bridle-less, plays guitar, stands on the horse, it was incredible. And finally;
Target seeing his half brother Zebu for the first time in a few months as he's been out for a spell! They whinnied at each other, was so cute!


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

I don't know why roached manes are not more popular. I like the look, and when I was a kid, stock horses had roached manes and short tails. Easier to manage ropes and cows without all that hair. The long manes and tails on western horses these days looks odd to me.


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

I am honestly counting down the days... hours until Target goes, and then me!

The weather. :icon_rolleyes: 
I know there is always something to complain about weather wise, but I just can't stand it. And neither can my poor boy. 
It's getting so hot and humid, I was hoping we would still have a few weeks left before it turned, but nope. 
It's started already. 
I hate complaining, and I honestly would deal with it if I knew my horse was okay. 
But the poor thing, he's already puffing while standing in the paddock in the middle of the days heat, if I bring him in, hose him down, put him under his fan he cools down, but I obviously can't do that every day while I'm at work. And our stables / facilities are not built to stand this heat. (Which honestly is pathetic, considering we live in a harsh climate) I think I just need to vent it out. 
I want to keep him under a fan in the day, but my stable isn't decent enough to keep him in there for 6-8 hours. (IMO) I'm not sure how big it is in measurements. 
I'm trying my hardest to get a bigger stable, that has just come vacant, to use that instead, but everything at my barn is sloooooow. Unorganized. Painful. Right now. 
I'm really happy to be leaving at this point. Not the people, but the fact that the same people have let it get to this place, for this many years. It's really irking me.

I wish I could truck him down sooner, I just have to get him through the next 6 weeks as best I can, I'm already doubling his feed, as it won't take much for him to drop the weight I've spent months putting on him, and if he's seeking shade in the day he soon won't be eating as much. 
I really don't want to send down a skinny, puffing, sweat-less horse. So I'm doing everything I can to at least keep him where he is now, then hopefully when he gets down there, he can spend a couple weeks off, acclimatizing to the new nice cool weather, so when I arrive we can actually ride and work and he want be overheating!

Such a horrible condition this. I can understand why people do sell their horses down south and try find one who can handle the heat. (I would NEVER sell him) I'm hoping, I won't be living here much longer, 2 years max, so only 1 more horrible season to fight through. 

On a slight plus, I spoke to vet a few days ago, and she just confirmed the difference going down south again does. She said I won't recognize him after a few months, as they just cope so much better. So said she was really impressed by how he looked, as his condition is looking great, he's sooo shiny, he definitely doesn't have a typical 'puffers coat' as they get super dry, flakey etc. 
It's good to hear her confirm how good it will be. I suppose after this long, I just cannot imagine, a cool, sweaty horse. I cannot wait though. 

While I'm on the topic of whinging. (Sorry everyone, I normally try to stay super positive!)
I am also SO excited to go away for almost a month. 
I'm at that point where I need a good break from work, break from the heat, break from general life :lol:
So I can't wait to be back home, with mom, old friends, I'm planning to walk every morning, be healthy, we have the beach at our fingertips, I want to ride morning and afternoons, swim and read books all day. 
Really just do very little and enjoy it! 

My countdown is 10 weeks today! Lets hope they fly by!!


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

Yes it is hard, but you are doing the best for your horse, and that is all that any one of us can do.


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## Tihannah (Apr 7, 2015)

Wow! Finally had some time to catch up! Lol. Didn't realize it had been that long since I hopped on your journal. First off, congratulations on making Target yours! I was so happy for you both when I read that! LOVED seeing all the beach adventures. Looked so fun! I'm so jealous! I live very close to the beach, but we can't take our horses there, unfortunately. :-( 

Also wanted to say what a great job you did putting weight on him and totally understand your decision to move him so that he doesn't fall back into those conditions. It's clear that you really love him and want to do the best for him, and I think it was a good decision the owner made to sell him to you. You two make an awesome pair!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

I didn't ride last night, I just gave him a good long hose off, put him under the fan and tried on his new boots!

I think I mentioned this, a fair while back, that I'd ordered some new things online and did they take FOREVER. Ended up being a stuff up when we ordered, so it took nearly a month to finally get here. 
I order 2 pairs of Professionals Choice SMB3 boots, (I know in the photo I haven't put them high enough, I was just chucking them on for size since I wasn't riding)
I really love them! Obviously I haven't used them yet, but they feel super sturdy and good quality. Target always knocks his fetlocks together (all boots I've used are so scuffed from where he hits himself) so these feel like they should last quite well!
I also ordered a pair of Equi-Wing stirrups, they're SUPER light, and have a wide base, so I'm really interested to try them out, I just got black ones (Don't have a photo yet) but I will try them tonight. 
We also got a couple of PoloX sticks and a ball for fun, so will have to try that out as well!

Here's a photo of him showing his appreciation for the boots :lol:

Also a before an after, The bottom photo was taken June 1, so 4 months difference. 
This is definitely the biggest comparison by far, he's looking so much chunkier all over. While ribs are still visible to a degree, and his butt still needs work, it really is crazy how far he's come in these past few months. Especially the last month I think is where everything has changed a lot more drastically!

Also the first photo he appears much darker as I added a filter, the others aren't edited at all!


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

He looks SO good!!!  You really are doing the best for you & Target. Getting away will be nice too.


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

I haven't ridden in a few days, it has just been way to humid and horrid. 

I went down a couple days ago, and apparently before I arrived Target and another mare were going absolutely spazzo in the paddock, running around, chasing each other, no idea where they found that energy!
But, when I went into the paddock he was puffing and panting REALLY hard, so hard he actually DID have sweat up his neck, which makes me think they really must have been running around for a good while. 
I mean on one hand, I guess it means he is/was feeling good to gallop and play. But on the other, the silly guy has obviously gotten himself that hot he was just panting so badly. It was pretty extreme, like I never ride him anywhere near hard enough for him to be that worked up.
Anyway, I bought him in straight away and me and my bf had a hose on each side, just targeting his flank to cool him down as fast as we could. 
We ended up hosing him for a good 10 minutes, putting him under a fan, hosing again, until he was finally feeling cool and not puffing. 
So that has sort of put me off wanting to ride, I just don't want to put his body in anymore stress. 
I was pretty stressed that night, and considering trying to find an earlier truck. 
Then I went down last night, and while he was hot, and his nose was slightly blowing, was no where near as extreme. 
It's honestly such a strange thing. Like you can see he's hot, and breathing is obviously labored, but everything else, his demeanor, energy, coat everything else is completely normal and he doesn't seem to be 'struggling' in that sense. 

So I'm a bit torn about whether I will ride much at all these next few weeks. I've been thinking about getting some lunging gear and instead lunging him, enough to keep him fit, then it's also easier to know when to quit. 

One thought though, if he has this much energy with 80% humidity days, will be very interesting to see how he goes in normal cool weather ... with green grass!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Still haven't ridden, been about a week now, which is the longest in quite some time!

Mixture of weather, working a lot, and more recently he's thrown a shoe so hopefully that will get put back on today or tomorrow and we will be good to go again. 
Every 2 weeks I go through long stretches of work where I only get 1 day off 9 days, and working 10 hour days it's always harder to stay motivated to ride after work, I think that with the hot weather has me feeling more beat than normal. But 2 more days of this stretch then I'll get 2 days off, 1 day on followed by 3 days off. So will be all worth it then, to have more time!

Otherwise nothing much to update, we're just over 5 weeks until he goes, so I'm just focusing on that, lets hope it flies by! Feeling in a bit of a slump at the moment, hopefully I can recharge a bit on my days off and snap out of it!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Honestly it's been a huge few days. 

So much for having a few days off work to relax...

I've just posted a thread more in depth, but a few days ago, 2 horses were shot with crossbows where I keep Target.
One so severe it had to be put to sleep. Beloved horses, it has completely outraged and shattered the horse community here. 

The outlaws have since been caught, and being dealt with. I'll attach the link to my other thread if you wish to hear more otherwise I'll carry on, business as usual on this journal, as I've talked about it all to death..

http://www.horseforum.com/horse-talk/horses-shot-crossbow-my-stables-779634/#post1970362002


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Well, 

After my last post, time to get on with a bit of normality... or as much as possible.

Aside from the last few days being very sad, we were determined to not let someones inhumane actions impact our own lives.

I got Targets old owner to get a shoe back on him, so I could finally ride.
So since getting his shoe back on, I've ridden twice. Once with my partner, we went and did a beach ride and did a bit of cantering which was good. 
Then I went back to the beach the following day on my own, to really work him a bit more, and focus on fitness. Which was really good. 
I've free lunged him once, which was really good, he's so easy, I actually put hind fetlock boots on him for the first time, and obviously he isn't used to them, but he was really lifting his feet and reaching forward, where he will normally drag along a bit. So that was lovely to see his beautiful trot action!
It's taking awhile to really cool him off, as the heat is relentless, but I'm just hosing/scraping/hosing/scraping putting him under the fan, repeating if necessary which is working. 

Yesterday, Targets old owner asked if I could work for him in the morning, he was doing a kids 10th birthday party with his horse and carriage. So I went down early, we ended up having to go to a party shop to get some rainbow ribbons (it was a unicorn party) and put them in Mr Chips' (horse) hair. He looked very pretty :lol:
They party was a great success, I was there to assist and ice water the horse, he took the kids on a lap, when he came back I had ice water and sponges ready to cool him off then he would go again. Half way through, we took the harness and everything off, and luckily the party was right near a boat ramp into the beach, so I took Mr Chips in the ocean to cool off, boy did he love it, nearly dragged me all the way in! 
Got him tacked back up, few more rides and work was done!
It was really fun, but boy did I get sunburnt! I didn't even think about it, and I was in the shade, so oops!

Otherwise, just over 4 weeks until Target goes!  
Getting very excited, as he's still looking good, so the sooner we get the better!
I'm so due a holiday as well, just mentally drained at the moment!

Bring on cool weather!

Here's a bunch of photos over the last few days.

(No idea why some are sideways...)


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## NavigatorsMom (Jan 9, 2012)

All I'll say about the incident at your barn is that I am so sorry. It's awful that people choose to do things like that to totally innocent animals, and I'm sorry that you had the experience happen so close to you.  

Glad that things are feeling back to normal though! The party sounds like a lot of fun and Mr. Chips looks so cute with the ribbons in his hair! I'm ready for cool weather here too. It's fall but we've been in the 80s lately... supposed to get to mid 60s tomorrow though so I'm happy about that!  So much nicer to ride when it's not hot and humid.


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

I really wanted to ride last night, as I had Saturday off riding and only wanted to have one day off. But sadly didn't go to plan.

I think I mentioned a while back, that I'm part of our clubs committee (as we have no barn owner, it's run by a committee to make decisions etc) we have these meetings once a month, they're only meant to go an hour, but always drag to 2! Last night, was a long one, as you can imagine a huge topic was what happened to the pony, talk of security, going forward and so on. 
I don't mind being a part of it, but sometimes it can just get far too political, to bitchy, and it doesn't stay on track. So I was a bit annoyed by the end. To the point when they called the meeting to a close I jumped off my seat to get the heck outta there.

By the time I got out, there was about 20 minutes of day light left. So I thought if I can't ride, I'll at very least lunge for a good 10 minutes so he's got some exercise in. 
So that went well, again I have no lunging gear, so it is all free lunging, but I really do enjoy it, he is so clever and waits for my cues as to what to do next, he did have a bit of energy and after trotting a few laps he just wanted to canter, so I made him canter and work at it both ways, called him in and he just follows me like a puppy, I'm working on getting him really quick to back up when I step back without needing to give him any extra, it has already gone from me stepping back, with pressure on his chest saying 'back back' to holding my hand near his chest (no pressure) saying 'back back' to now just saying 'back back' in 2 days. 
So I'm super pleased, I know it's nothing huge, but nice to work on these smaller things!

My partner had his nice camera out, so got a few shots of us, (in the lunging one, he's trotting quite nice and came into me straight after) 
Riding tonight though, and hopefully every other day this week!


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

Unfortunately horse groups are like a lot of other groups, everybody has different opinions. I gave up on horses groups long ago, good for you for sticking it out.


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

@whisperbaby22 so true, seem to always have added drama with endless opinions!

I've ridden once in the last couple days, and lunged every other. 
I feel guilty for not riding as much, but it has just been so humid, thankfully, it got that hot and humid we FINALLY got some much needed rain to cool it off a bit, the breeze was amazing. Short lived, but amazing!

The ride was good, short and sweet.
I've really been enjoying lunging and ground work, it's such a good way to connect and really understands the slightest cue. I love being able to woah him, he takes a step towards me to the middle, ears perked waiting for me to ask something of him, soon as I change hands with my rope he trots off the other direction, and if I pause and say 'come on' he walks over and waits for a pat. Such a good man.
At the start he generally just ran around quick as he could, but since we've been doing it consistently he really understands the cues between trot and canter and settles into the gait. The craziest thing, since he's always SO forward he's settle so much I have had to get after him a couple times to get a canter. But soon as I do, he knows it's business and stays until asked.

I went down one morning with my partner, and we have a section behind the round yard we have some green grass because we have a sprinkler, so I let him out there to graze, turned the sprinkler on him so he could cool off and bought his half brother Zebu in (who he adores) and let them graze for an hour, them they both found a sandy area to roll in together after being nice and soaked from the sprinkler!
When we went to lead them back to their paddocks, I used the halter for Zebu and my partner ended up grabbing some baling twine to lead Target over :lol:
(I don't encourage this) But this horse is just so easy. 

Here's a couple of shots, some with Zebu, one with his new friend - a peacock who watches him eat (must be after the black sun flower seeds!) and a few others!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Last night was really fun, I didn't have enough time to ride, and I really wanted to do do something different than just lunging in the round pen. 
I originally wanted to lunge him over trot poles to get him using himself better, I attempted to try with my long lead rope, but it wasn't long enough to get him to circle and actually trot over the poles haha. So that didn't quite go to plan, so we hand walked, and trotted along side me over them a little, then I noticed the arena was free, and I was super curious as to what he would do if I let him go in there, not really to lunge him or anything, just to see what he would do being free :lol:

It was so funny, I un-clipped him, and he just kept following/yielding to me, so I clicked to send him out, and once he realized he could go wherever he wanted he definitely made the most of it!
He was cantering around, then he'd gallop the long side, at the start he would run between both the gates (clever boy) just to check, then he started using the entire arena, I didn't ask him to do anything, he just chose his pace, then toward the end, he looked SO fancy trotting, he was lifting his knees, extending, it looked stunning, (like hello Target, where is this trot when I ride you?!) :lol:
I was just standing in the middle, watching, after a good run around he looked at me all perked up, and I gave him the okay to come in, and he came up to me like 'see mum, look how good I am' then he would follow me around, I sent him out once more after a break, and he just trotted around (must of tuckered himself out) then after a few more laps he came back in to me!
It was just fun to let him be more of a horse, with more space, I'm sure running in circles would get pretty boring, so this was fun. It was also really good to see him lengthen so much on the long sides, even whiling running around like a bit of a loon I noticed the whole time he always kept his inside ear on me, not sure if he would of listened if I'd tried to ask much, but he was still somewhat paying attention to me at least! :lol:


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Not to much to report. 

I haven't ridden at all lately, I am struggling to motivate myself in 90% humidity!
I still want to work him, but I don't want to push it, so I've definitely been doing a lot more lunging lately, as it's also far easier to cool him back down. It can be such a battle to decide what is 'right'. I get so many people saying work him, work him, work him, and not to worry about him puffing etc. While I agree that he needs to be kept fit, I think there is a fine line between over working, thus overheating an already hot anhydroic horse. It's well and good to say work him hard, get him fit, but if you have to hear a horse panting and puffing so hard whilst barely sweating.. well it's a lot easier said than done IMO.

So I think I just need to stick to my gut, take on board others advice but not feel the need to stick to every last word.

Anyway, lunging is actually going really well. We did more free lunging in the arena, and I think it's a good workout as he has the long sides to really stretch and stride out. I noticed he was actually sweating more (woohoo) and took far less time to recover. Which I think is completely related to this live probiotic he's on, he's been on it for about ... 5-6 weeks now, and I was told while you will see some improvement it can take a good 3 months to really get them fully sweating again. 
All the early signs are there, which is great. He seems to be coping in the paddock much better as well. 
The other night, when I let him back out, he was actually running around, whinying (at nothing) but just having a good time, stirring up another pony.
He's definitely feeling much better in himself which is amazing!

Only just over 3 weeks until he makes the trip down, everything else is going well, he hasn't lost any condition so far, which is fantastic. I've been speaking with my oldest friend (who is minding him) and we're starting to plan a heap of fun horsey things we can do while I'm there for the month!
So really looking forward to it. 

I've bought a saddle cover/bag, light summer rugs so far, slowly getting everything together!


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## Zexious (Aug 2, 2013)

Sometimes little news is good news.
Glad to hear things are going well, and I hear you about the humidity. Yuck! D:


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

I got to pat and meet a foal yesterday! 
It was the CUTEST thing on the planet. I don't think I've ever actually handled/touched/patted a foal before.. Maybe once when I was younger, but I can't really remember!

Targets old owner, asked if I would give him a hand swapping horses over. 
He sold Killa, so he was going back to his new owner, and we were picking up Avalon to bring back, who just went out for a few week spell. 
So Avalon is Targets half sister (Same sire) and she had a foal almost a year ago, and the foal is being kept at this property as well. 
It was about a 3 hour round trip in the end, so we got down there unloaded Killa, and I could see the foal and Avalon, they were so cute. The foal had already been weaned for months, so they were put back together (she didn't milk up again or anything, so they were fine)
Then soon as we put Killa back in, the foal was a magnet to him (They had already been previously together when he was weaned) and he just followed him around, forgot all about mum!
He let us pat him and seemed super curious, apparently he's getting to a cheeky stage and can get a bit pushy, but he was just so cute and soft and ah, my heart. :lol:

He is technically Targets half nephew .. If that's a thing?! :lol:

The first couple with mum, then he follows Killa around like glue!


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

Very cute.


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## NavigatorsMom (Jan 9, 2012)

Aww, I love foal pictures. It's so much fun to spend time with them isn't it? And I think it's nice when horses are able to be around their family. I don't know if they can truly tell but I think they like being with "family", I know Nav really has a special bond with his half-brother, and he's currently pastured with his sister (who scares him but they also love each other


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## JoBlueQuarter (Jan 20, 2017)

Aww! The foal is very cute! I have to say though I do not like the name Killa! Just sounds to much like kill to me!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

JoBlueQuarter said:


> Aww! The foal is very cute! I have to say though I do not like the name Killa! Just sounds to much like kill to me!


Haha oh i know! Luckily for him his new owners changed it straight away! :lol:


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Had a lesson last night!

Boy was it TOUGH! But really really good!

I think I mentioned I was feeling in a bit of funk lately, just never knowing what to do on rides, so it was so good to just be told what to do!
We started out trotting circles/figure 8s and really working on getting him round and soft, there's a lot I need to work on, because when I do everything right he does it straight away. I need to remember to close my hands, have a short rein and steady contact, and LOOK where I'm going. I struggle with this a lot :lol:
But soon as I got it all down, there were some really good moments in there. I just have to remember when he does it correctly, to give not throw it away. Another issue!
But my instructor really likes Target, she thinks he could be a really good dressage horse! 
Because he's so easy to work with, and as long as you ask him correctly, he will give. So that was awesome to hear.
She also gave us lessons, hm probably almost 4-5 months ago now, and could notice a big difference in us both, so that was also great to hear!
After that, we worked on transitions, keeping the walk round into trot.
We worked on some walk to canter, which after a couple goes we got a perfect one! and he almost immediately wanted to trot again, she said that's a good way to tell you're doing it right. Because it is really hard work for them. 
Going left, he was much stiffer, and kicked out a little but we just ignored it and kept going. She also really liked that about him. Him saying 'no I don't want to, this is to hard' is such a small fight and then he just does it without blowing up or making a fuss.

After that, to cool off we did shoulder in and out down the long side of the arena, she said this is something I should start every ride with, as if we can't at least get a bend how can we expect nice circles - so true.
He was super good one side, and really good with should in. Shoulder out was a bit trickier to keep him forward without going off the rail. But some good moments!

Safe to say we were both WRECKED. After, he was ACTUALLY sweating some on his neck, that's how hard it was :lol:

But I was in SUCH a good mood afterwards, just feeling super keen on really working on all these things, and hopefully next year we will even enter some shows for fun! .. Maybe!

I've got another lesson Monday, and I'm going to try squeeze in 1 more before he leaves!
Less than 2 weeks now!

Ah super happy, makes me even more excited to go down south because I can ride more, without worrying about the weather, I can get lessons, and just do way more.


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Had another lesson last night!

So I had one Friday, didn't get a chance to ride all weekend (due to flat tyre's, and just life getting in the way)
And then a lesson Monday night, so no riding between them.

It was SO good.

Straight away, we started with where we left the previous doing shoulder in down the arena fence. Last time, we couldn't do many steps without him walking in. But today, it was like he understood what I wanted, and I could keep him right on the fence, bent inside while walking straight, if he did veer in, we did a circle keeping him really round then we straightened back up. 
It's a really good exercise for us, especially as he can be sensitive to leg, so this just re-iterates legs do not mean speed up.
I changed my reins to ones that have keepers, as last lesson I kept lengthening my reins without meaning to, so that helped a lot, and helped me feel where my contact should be, since I normally ride with next to none, it helps to know where I should be.

After that, I had him super soft, at a super nice and relaxed walk, the instructor was really happy with us.
Then she got us to move into a trot. 
Well. :lol:
It took a good 10 minutes to get our rhythm, he was definitely trying to get out of work. He would speed up super fast, then slow to try walk, then he would do the strangest one step hop with his left front, like he was considering a canter. It was honestly just funny.
My instructor was just like "Yes just ignore all that until he finds his rhythm, he's realized this is hard and doesn't want to do it" :lol:
So we just kept trotting and a horrid, unbalanced ugly trot for 10 minutes or so, changing rein, figure 8s until he finally gave up and was working nicely. 
Then we focused on getting nice round working circles. 
It was a little hard at the start, but eventually I got him rounder for longer, could bring him back quicker and he was actually stretching down into the contact for the first time for a few steps.
Instructor said he looked really really nice, and she was super impressed. 
Once he basically did the whole circle correctly, which was exhausting for him, she said to have a 10 minute break, reward him for it. 

I'm finally understanding and feeling what I need to ask for now, I seem to know what 'round' is in my head, but I can now feel it when he really pushes with his hind, his head naturally goes into the right place and he really works. 

After our break, we went again, it took a few circles to get him going, I think he was feeling it, as soon as I put leg on he just wanted to run as it's easier for him. But once we got him nicely going we called in a day.

I didn't realize how much fun, just doing such basic work could be. 
It's so hard on your own with no one watching to help you along, I feel like now that I've fixed (or actively fixing) a few things with my hands, contact, everything feels so much better, and it's so rewarding to do it correct.

The difference in us both in just 2 lessons is pretty impressive. Instead of being reminded to look where I'm going 30 times, I only got reminded once! :lol:
She was really happy with us both, and really impressed how quickly Target learns it all.

Really keen to come back next year, and get a couple lessons a week off her! Which she was super happy with as well.


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

Aww the foal is so cute!  Lessons are always good, it keeps things interesting doing other stuff.  
There is always something to work on. And it is definitely rewarding. So glad you had two great lessons! Target is a quick learner, and it sounds like you are too. Perfect pair! :smile:
Get as many lessons in as you can before they leave!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

@PoptartShop Thank you!! 

I rode last night, not for very long as I just wanted to keep it short and sweet. 

I just started out the same, shoulder in down the long sides, and it's crazy to this 2 rides ago we could only go a few steps without bulging out and needing to circle and go again. To now, we can go the whole length, he's understanding what I'm asking, and the cues are already more subtle. 
I walked him just really getting him to bend and be round on my inside leg, and it was relaxed, he was stretching, he has a tendency to dip behind the vertical every now and then, so I'm just figuring out the right balance, to really drive him forward and give the inside rein so he doesn't. 
When I moved onto trot he did the same odd little hop step a few times, but he gave up far quicker then the previous ride. 
I found it was a lot easier to find a good rhythm then I just tried circling and getting him round. 
After a few circles, I got once perfect one, where he really stretched down into the bridle, it's amazing how much different it feels when he's using himself correctly. 
So after that, I let him have a walk for 5 minutes so he could soak it in.

I then went to trot the other side, which is far harder for him, so after we got some good moments, and a few nice strides I ended up calling it a day. 

I'm going to try ride at least every 2nd day until he goes. 
Which is Tuesday! It's come so quick!
So he will probably only end up with 1 or 2 weeks off, my friend offered to have a lesson on him a couple days before I arrive (as her instructor will already be out)
So I'm super interested to see how she goes, and what they both think.
She's also planned so many fun horsey things for us to do when I arrive, the property he will be on is great, it has a full sized sand arena with mirrors, hot and cold wash bay (like how fancy) it's got a full set of show jumping jumps, hills to work on. She said she can float us out to a couple local cross country courses so we can school XC for the first time!
I'm hoping to get a few lessons down there as well!
Super excited!
I've seen photos, and it's SO GREEN! He's going to be in heaven with all the grass!


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

That sounds perfect.  How exciting, definitely need to see pictures too! The green grass will be amazing.
That's good you ended it on a good note, too. Always important. Sounds so fancy!!!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

I had the last 2 days off, which was nice. 

Unfortunately I didn't get to ride, as I had quite a bit on to organize. 

It was Targets 6th Birthday yesterday! :loveshower: 
Officially a 6YO now!

On Friday I ended up hand walking him around on the trails, then when I came back I lunged and free lunged him in the arena, first I lunged him over 3 trot poles squished together, which he launched over, was quite funny. 
Then I let him go, and boy did he have fun!
He seemed to have SO much energy, first he cantered around, and their were 2 tiny poled in the middle of the arena, and he willingly took him and jumped them on his own! Then he was trotting up and back a while, when he looked so fancy he was really lifting his knees up, looked stunning 
Then just as I thought he was tiring himself out, out of no where, when he got to one end of the arena, I just saw a look of total focus, and he full on galloped so fast up and back!
I've never seen him so quick and determined! 
Then after a few tried I finally got his attention and he came trotting over to me in the middle!
My partner was there, so he got a few great shots of him galloping!

The following day, I had to clean out my tack shed, since I'm leaving the stable when he goes,, I'm hoping to get back in there next year. But will see!
Anyway, you don't realize how much stuff you have until you try and fit it in your car :lol:
SO much, how have I accumulated this much in such a short time!
I cleared out all the things I won't be needing until he goes, so all I have left is his saddle/bridle/helmet/halter/boots and his feed bins. 
So will do the rest Tuesday, I'm not sure where I'll put the feed bins as I don't have a shed.. so yet to figure that one out!

Otherwise, only a couple more days now! Counting down until I leave!
Looking forward to having 3 weeks 'off' even though I will miss him and horses like mad, since I have to be there every night, it will be good to have arvos/nights free to get organized for my trip, get the house in order and do a few other things before I go!

Here's a few photos from the last few days!


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

We really do accumulate so much stuff. Beautiful photos.


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Well he's officially gone!

It's quite bittersweet, I'm so happy because he needs to go. But i already miss him and know I'm going to feel quite lost without him for a few weeks before i leave!

Few quick updates first. 

So i rode him for the last time the day before he left which was Monday. 
It was such an interesting ride, we were in the arena, started our normal exercises at walk which were great. 
Went into some trotting, while not as soft as I'd like he had a good rhythm from the getgo, no speeding up or slowing down etc. 
After a few circles, i noticed i raised trot pole, so i thought we'd mix it up and go over it. I did fully expect him to jump it, and boy did he launch it :lol:
The first 3 times over i could feel him getting ready for it and wanting to jump over. 
After a few goes, i went back to working, but noticed he was quite antsy, jigging around and a bit hot on one end of the circle. 
So i walked him the long side of the arena, shoulder in to get his mind back then did circling the other end, and he was straight away perfect, stretching, listening. So i went back the other end and again jigging, not listening. Took me while to put it together, then i went over to trot the pole again and i could just tell, it was like because that side of the arena where we jumped he was just excited he really seems to enjoy it. Even if it was so small. 
THEN the best part of the whole ride, i went over to my partner who was watching and he made the comment that he actually looks to be sweating, i look down and my GOODNESS. This horse was actually sweating and had foam on his neck!
I couldn't believe it, I'm so used to it never happening, but then i realised he also wasn't panting. 
I was so happy. I jumped off to check all over to see where else :lol:
It was reslly his neck and chest, and was wet under saddle instead of slightly damp. 
I was thinking, this is so typical that the day before he goes he starts!
But no, he definitely needs this trip to reboot but I'm pretty sure what is making the difference is this live probiotic he's been on for 7 weeks or so, the woman did tell me it can take a few months to work. 
If it is that, im hoping if he's on it straight away when he gets back he may be fine to stay year round!

Will update the rest shortly!


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

Good, I'm glad you went ahead and did this. Hopefully he'll be doing better in the cool.


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

So yesterday was spent finishing cleaning the rest of my tack shed, all the feed bins and everything else i had left.

At 9am he got sprayed for cattle tick, which is a regulation they need in order to leave the state.
Its free and they just come, drench him in a spray and give you a certificate to provide when crossing the border.
He was super, stood still, fell asleep :lol:

After that i popped him back in the field and took all my stuff home. 
I went back early arvo, fed him, groomed him, then let him graze on the green grass until the woman arrived to pick him up. 

She was really lovely, a real horsey person which is great. She said it gets cool overnight on the way, so she prefers to rug them at night, which is just what i wanted. 
Anyway, he loaded like a dream. Considering he's used to a massive gooseneck and this was a smaller 2 horse angle load float, he went straight on no hesitation. 
I gave her my saddle, rugs, bag of feed and off she went. 
She already updated me and sent me a photo which i love!
She said he's super sweet, and a photo of him in his pen with his dinner!
Looking forward to more updates!

My friend on the other end is all ready for him, shes got one paddock with far less grass she will put him in until he adapts to the pasture, has his feed ordered, so everything should be sorted!

Will update when i get anything!


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

Aww happy belated Target!   He is so beautiful!!! I love it! Love the pictures.  You guys make such a cute pair. I think what you are doing is great and best for him too. Can't wait to hear the updates as they come!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

@PoptartShop Aw thank you so much!!! 

I just received another photo!
I'll attach both I've gotten, so these are from night 1 and 2, looks like he's in a decent sized, open pen, and I can see he has both hay and feed which is nice!
He's travelling with 1 other 13HH arab pony, so hopefully they're getting along, he's a big sook, so I'm sure the pony is top dog :lol:

They will be passing through the state boarder today, and I'm sure have already hit nice cool weather which is great!


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

Awww that's so cute! I hope they are getting along too. :lol: The pony better know who's boss!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Got another photo this morning, They stayed in Alice Springs, which is just shy of being halfway!

I'll attach a map with starting point, where they are, and destination, and the photo.
He is still looking happy! And so far, he's always been in decent sized pens which is good, he will be due a good run around in a couple days!


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

Thanks for putting up the map with the destinations. That's a long way!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Yeah it is quite the trek across the whole country!

Altogether it is 45 hours travel time, which is 4,066 kms (2500 miles)
So quite hike!

I ended up going to the stables last night, just to get my horsey fix in!
Definitely getting my post horse depression, feeling a bit lost, what do I do with all my free time?!
Luckily it's only a couple weeks until I fly out, I am definitely glad I made my holiday longer now! I have a few housey things to keep busy, I'm re-doing a spare room into an office, I'll also probably start organizing what I'll take for the month and see what I need to buy before I go , thankfully it is my birthday in a week, so a good excuse to take myself shopping to feel better! :lol:

It's honestly CRAZY to think of not having a horse in my life, WHAT did I used to do?!?! Ahh, never again anyway! :lol:


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Well he made it safe and sound!

He arrived Sunday around 6pm, so overall was just over 4 full days traveling.
The driver said it was a really easy cruisey trip, and he was excellent!

My friend was amazing, she actually filmed him arriving and having a look around, and took photos straight away!
It's hard to tell with photos because angles / lighting can make them seem skinnier, but I would say he looks a little ribbier than before, not a whole lot, hopefully nothing a week won't settle anyway!

So he was put in his paddock for the night, fed, they even checked on him again after a couple hours. In the morning my friend (honestly who is a godsend!) said he had drunk some water, but not a heap, so she went out and bought some 'Recharge' which is used to encourage them to drink. So he gulped that down!
She has sent a few videos / photos I can't seem to save, but he seems SUPER happy and relaxed, she said she's shocked how relaxed he is. He's in his own paddock, but next to cows one side and horses the other, so he's fascinated by the cows, and had a good run around. There's a shetland pony there, and he's always been SO funny about ponies, I think he thinks they're another species! But in one video you can see him keep looking up, and running around. :lol: Silly boy!

Overall, he seems happy! She gave him a bath last night, put him in a nice clean rug (just a fly sheet) and has him in a fly veil as they're picking up a bit. So she has been SO helpful, thought of everything and gone above and beyond! I owe her so much!

Less than 2 weeks until I fly out! I am SO excited to get down  Here's a few photos I managed to save!


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

Yayyy! Glad he made it safely!  He looks very happy! 
Sooo exciting, I'm sure you are counting the days. He's such a good boy! And the cutest!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Okay been a while!

Life is BORING without a horse to fuss over every day :lol:

Target is doing really well! I've been getting photos or videos most days, he had a big gallop around his field a few days ago, so he must be feeling good!

He's also looking SO much better, when he first arrived and I got photos, I was a little taken back, he just looked a bit dull and skinny, but I didn't want to worry to much. But it only took him 4 days to bounce back to where he was when he left!
He's back to being shiny, barely any ribs showing, I think the top photo really shows how dehydrated horses must get while travelling, while I'm not 100% sure how little he was drinking on the trip, my friend said it took him a few days to really start drinking properly, she had to give him a bit of molasses water just to encourage him!
But 4 days later, bit of routine, and he improved 100%, I can actually see him getting fat down there!
I can't even imagine having a fat horse :lol:

My friend lunged him a few days ago, she was really impressed, she said she free lunged him first, let him stretch out, then had him on a line and slowly introduced the inside rein to slow him down and she said he instantly clicked and tracked up and used his hind and really worked, she then free lunged him and he was stretching out. She's fallen inlove with him, which is good! So long as she realizes he can't stay forever :lol: :lol:
No she's been such a great help. The BEST part, HE WAS SWEATING AND NOT PUFFING!
She videoed him after, and he was all sweaty up his neck, and he was breathing normal, or as normal as an unfit horse! No heavy panting/puffing. I was SO happy, it just means that this whole trip was 100% the right decision, and he just needs a few good months to reset his system.

I cannot WAIT to get down there, I leave in 1 WEEK!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Been a few days now, 

Targets still doing really well! He's just eating away, so friend took him for a little walk and took him into the arena for the first time, it has mirrors on each side. She filmed it, was so funny, I don't think he's ever seen himself before! Was very curious about it! 
He's looking really good, super shiny and barely any rib showing at all!

I had my birthday a few days ago, so I took myself shopping with some money I got, I never buy myself anything, it's always for the horse :lol: 
So this time I decided to treat myself and buy some nice breeches, I don't own any! I always ride in riding tights with a sticky seat, which I love as they're so cool, but I thought I needed one pair! They're super nice, then I got a pair of cheaper Horze riding tights, as it is still summer here!
And a long sleeve riding shirt with vents, I'd wanted one for ages, so will be nice to have some new things!

I've also still been going down to the stable a fair bit, and it's good to get my horse fix, I am SO SO SO happy my horse isn't here right now. 
There are 3 horses that are seriously struggling, it was the middle of the day, so very hot, close to 40 degress, (104F) with 60%+ humidity, and these more things are just standing under trees to get shade, puffing, very very hard, worst than I've seen Target and he was BAD when I first met him early this year.
They start losing weight because it's to hot for them to graze, they don't sweat, (you can see the horses grazing are sweaty just standing) It's super confronting, such a horrible condition, thank the lucky stars if you don't live in a humid climate!

I definitely wouldn't be able to handle seeing my horse struggle everyday, and there is not much you can do about it, some horses take well to supplements, Target didn't take to anything well. But ah, just awful.

Getting to a brighter note, only 2 more days of work for me! And 3 days until I leave! 
I cannot wait to ride again!


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

Wow he definitely looks good!  Aw. I'm glad he's settling in & got back to his normal self. His coat is so shiny, too!
As for the others, oh my! :sad: That is horrible. They must be so uncomfortable in all that heat/humidity. Yeah, every horse is different & reacts to things differently. Just didn't work for mr. Target, but he is happy and it sounds like the new place is working out quite well for him.  That is great! 
I'm sure you can't wait to ride!!
& the shopping, good!! You deserve to treat yourself once in awhile. Wearing new breeches will be awesome!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Well boy oh boy, it has been a while!

I was away the whole month, and it was amazing!

I was planning to keep you all updated, but life and bad internet got in the way! :lol:

Where to begin.

Well, the last month was fantastic to say the least, I think I really needed it, time away, from work, from the heat, to just be home, with old friends and family and of course Target!

First I guess I'll talk about overall health wise.
I was really really impressed when I saw him, he was looking great, back to looking how he was when he left, which while still wasn't where I wanted him, it only took him those couple weeks to bounce back from the trip and gain more weight. 
It was pretty cold when I first arrived, we went from near 40C to 15C, which I think he enjoyed as was pretty fresh that first week!
I noticed straight away, his breathing was normal, hallelujah, no heaving/wheezing/puffing sound at all, which was a nice change!
Even leading him, he used to be SO slow, just absolutely dawdle behind me, the whole month he was at my side, he would trot next to me if I ran (big deal for us since he just was a terrible lazy leader )
Straight away that alone told me how much better he was feeling, as I'm sure the heat was a massive part of why he was that way.

Fast forward a week later, the weather got hotter around 30C, and a bit of humidity, while nothing close to the extreme heat we came from, I think it was enough to send him backwards.
I noticed he started breathing heavier again, mind you, it wasn't until the last days I was there he started sweating well. I was told by a vet it could take a good 2 months for his system to fully reset itself and for him to be able to self regulate his temp again. 
So I'm in 2 minds about it, whether A, the warm weather triggered him a bit, or B perhaps it actually is an allergy/summer related type condition. As the difference on those cold days was very noticeable. 
So plan of attack there, is keep him on his normal salts supps to encourage him to sweat, while adding in a VIT C/E supp that is to help any respiratory inflammation that can be from allegories etc and see how he is in a months time. 
I think before jumping the gun I need to wait a good couple months to let his system try work it out, and I guess I'll know if A he starts sweating well but there is still respiratory nose that it will be time to get the vet out and see if it's allergies/heaves or something a bit more serious that just needs that extra care.
Either way, he's made immense progress, and I will just have to keep digging if it doesn't sort itself out!

So overall health wise, it's far far better, still a niggling noise in his breathing, and on the last day I was there actually, was his best sweating day yet. We only did ground work, and a lite lunge and he actually had foam in his butt, sorry in TMI :lol: but for him, that is HUGE, he has NEVER foamed since I'm had him. So I will take that win! 
I also left him in the best condition he has ever been, it's only a month difference but he has already filled out so much and started growing some muscles on his neck, top-line is actually on it's way!
I can't even imagine him in 2 months time, or 3, he will hopefully stay in work at least 1 day a week, and my friend will hopefully pony him around the farm on the hills to, which will hopefully keep him in slightly in shape!

I might break this up, next post will be the fun part. RIDING 
And photos to come!


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

Okay so, the fun stuff, actually riding!

So where I left off, I was really just trying to get him more consistent in the contact, working round, and working him up to be able to stay in that contact. 

So my first 2 rides, I basically jumped on, rode in the arena, and tried to continue on with that. 
He wasn't overly impressed :lol:
He was pretty fresh, and obviously enjoyed his break so he did fuss about A LOT, a few little crow hops, trying to protest me touching him at all, rushing around, just not really that enjoyable to be honest.
I ended up getting my friend to jump on him, as I was convinced my riding must have just been terrible, she's a far better rider than I am. 
He was the same with her, but she pushed him through it, and got a few nice strides at least!
So ended it there, I wasn't to bothered, as was only just getting back into work.

The next rides we chose to ride out on the farm (where he's staying is 88 acre farm, full of hills, ditches, 4 dams, huge fields, absolutely incredible!) 
It was like a switch went off, he was like, oh this is SO much more fun.
I should of started with a ride out, as it's what he loves, and shoving him into the arena straight away probably offended him, he just wants to be a cow horse :lol:
So we went out, my friend funnily enough was terrified, we grew up together, used to always do things like this, but now she just shows and never rides out, this was her first time in 2 years! I was like what, this place is AMAZING. So off we went, her horse was a little spooky, but nothing bad, at the start I think she hated me for making her go, but by the end she had fun!
So we went through open fields, up big hills, past cows (which Target loved) went through the dams, he was straight in there, took her horse a good 15 minutes to touch the terrifying water!
I knew he was a chance to roll in the dam, so I kept his head up kept him moving, but NOPE, he just literally sat down, in the muddy dam :lol:
Ahh was funny, but my boot had huge holes so I had nice wet feet :lol:
But overall, really fun, trotting around, cantering up steep inclines, both horses enjoyed themselves!

I think we did that ride once more, then we were game enough to go bareback, and I was even game enough to ride him in just a halter!
I honestly find him so much more responsive bareback and a halter, nothing for him to fuss about I guess :lol:
So we rode down to the dam, had a play, I jumped off because I knew he wanted to roll, and yep, straight down, rolling in deep water, you'll see a photo, he looks like a hippo :lol:

I think it was the next day, I thought, he's so good bareback, he's great in a halter, stuff it, I'm going to try tackless in a neck rope!
So I just used my lead rope wrapped around, and jumped on. HE WAS GREAT.
I was SO impressed, he just moves off my leg so easy, he neck reins off the rope, the stop was great after a couple times, I just sat back and 'wooooah'ed him, and once he understood he would stop, back up, I was just so pleased with him! I definitely want to do a lot more tackless/liberty stuff with him. 

We had 2 trips out to a bay/beach area, we floated our 2 horses, has a couple friends meet us there, and spent the morning swimming then out in the lake, let them roll on the beach after, he was so great, for a just turned 6YO, so be able to jump on bareback in a whole new place with new horses, he doesn't bat an eye!
They were really fun trips out. 

I rode him bareback in a halter in the arena, working on our trotting, there were cavaletties out so I thought maybe I'll pop the saddle on and keep him in the halter and try pop over some baby jumps.
He was great, he was relaxed, so launched over the jumps :lol: popped me out of the saddle from taking off SO early, but it just made me realize the bridle really irks him. 
He's had his teeth him less than 6 months ago, I don't jerk him mouth around, I'm very conscious to keep light hands, so whether he is just protesting to learn better contact, or perhaps we need to try different bits? I'm not sure, he's a soft double jointed snaffle. But may be something to look into.
Anyway, that was a really fun ride, in the halter he will only neck rein, if you forget and try direct rein, nope, soon as it touches his neck, he turns beautifully!

I ended up having a lesson from my friend on her horse, a 10yo OTTB, nice big boy, that was really good for me. Just to feel what contact is like on a horse that's balanced, and not green!
I learnt a lot, and she said she was really impressed with my riding, so that was SO flattering.  

Otherwise it was a month long of the above really! We worked on a little jumping, grids, flatwork, conditioning sets, trail rides, beach rides, it was honestly the best.

One other thing actually, we worked a lot on groundwork/liberty work, I had him a liberty trotting after me (with a treat :lol then just moving him around off just the lunge whip, he gets so soft and clever!
I really want to do more in depth work like that, I just don't really know how myself, so I'll be watching a lot of videos on what tricks I can do, and learn!

I'm really hoping to get back down to see him in a month or so as well, so fingers crossed that works out!

I'm sure there is plenty I've forgotten, but now for the best part... photos! 
They should be from all the above, a couple of him running around being fancy, and my partner had a ride at the beach as well!
The before and after is the day he arrived to one month later!
(Also in some shots in the halter and saddle, you'll see I have no boots on, wasn't planning to ride in a saddle :lol


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

The last few, the rolling hippo, tackless, and more


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## Tihannah (Apr 7, 2015)

WOW!!! He looks amazing!! What a transformation! So nice to see the two of you together again. Kudos to you for making such a hard decision to send him off. It looks like it has definitely worked out for the better.


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

I second the Wow! Those photos are fantastic. When I was a kid riding "on the wire" was common. I did not do it, because I never had the kind of horse you could do that with. Or more correctly, I never trained my horses to that degree.


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## NavigatorsMom (Jan 9, 2012)

Can't believe I didn't see these until now but he looks so good - what a transformation!! Love all of your pictures too, so many pretty ones.


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