# Adventures With Izzie, Diego And Iris



## Tazzie

Well, I'm dreadfully bored at work, so I decided I'd make a member journal about my girly. I kind of keep quiet on the forum, so perhaps this is a way for people to get to know us a bit.

I own one very wonderful mare named Written In The Stars aka Izzie. Not the best registered name, but it was the only one we could agree on once we decided to change it from the dreadful name she used to have (OLA Shaharazaud; the OLA was given from her previous owners naming their backyard breeding operation Oak Leaf Arabians, which only bred Half Arabians). They also lied on her registration papers about when she was born. If you search OLA Shaharazaud the birth date listed is 4/21/2010, but her papers say 5/6/2010. Coincidence I sent in the deposit for her in April and picked her up May 13th of her yearling year? I think not. They hadn't registered her yet, and also did not register as PtHA as they claimed she was registered in (whatever, we've only done fairs and AHA shows).

Anyway, about Izzie! Izzie is a now 5 year old Half Arabian/Half Paint mare (pedigree here for those interested: Written In The Stars Part-bred Arab). We bought her as a fresh yearling just by seeing her picture on video of her movement. She seemed like a willing, happy filly, so we figured let's go for it! Worst case, she'd wind up a trail horse. Best case, I'd have one heck of a show horse! Well, I got both  She's a fun little trail horse who, while nervous sometimes, really wants to do what I ask of her. I am fair when I ask something new, but she knows she has to put forth some effort to earn a reward. This is just an example of her willingness. We had only walked in the creek one other time, and it was from the ground as a yearling or two year old: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWHlX96Vl9g

I'll make a couple posts of her throughout the years so not as to make one enormous post


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## Tazzie

So, this post will be here baby thread, pictures I saw of her before buying, the ones sent before buying (where I went "what in the world are we getting into???") and some throughout the first year with her.

Baby picture!









The pictures that had me sold to get her.

















Picture I was sent just days before getting her. Nearly second guessed myself, but SO glad I didn't!









The first day home, settling into her new digs.

















Awkward yearling phases!

























And of course getting as nasty as you can in the wet Kentucky winters!


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## Tazzie

Her two year old year! We hadn't done much really aside from some easy ground work and lots of grooming. We did learn some light lunging in her two year old year, and I did get on a handful of times to walk. Then decided better of it, got pregnant, and let her sit for another year. Sitting on her at 2 though did make getting back on in her three year old year very easy, and the super light riding absolutely did not phase her.

On our first anniversary! We both love this lady!

__
Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18
Show Content


















Some playing out in her field.

























I will always love this next picture. My husband and her have always had this weird understanding. Since we brought her home she has never been opposed to him putting her in a "headlock" of sorts. Obviously if she reacted he would let go, and he's clearly not hurting her.









Still so awkward.









But such a pretty face!









Growing up and getting lighter!









And filling out nicely! (yes, that is tobacco hanging, no the horses have never ever messed with it)









Holiday pictures!


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## Tazzie

Her three year old year! She did her first under saddle show with a friend of mine. Her exact instructions were to make it a good experience, and if she felt my horse couldn't handle it all she had to do was ask to be excused and I'd meet her at the gate. I'd had a major riding accident off this horse which was my fault. Our barn owner started a lawn mower, and she spooked hard forward and sideways. I lost my balance and fell. Tried to catch myself, and ended up severely dislocating my elbow, tearing my skin, shredding my muscles, and rupturing my brachial artery. I do not blame her nor our barn owner, but my foolishness for trying to catch myself from that fall. She has done nothing like that since.

This was from our second anniversary. Excuse the baby weight 









In June, all prior to my accident.

















And at her first show. You can see how this show could be overwhelming for a horse new to showing, but she did extremely well!

































And total shocker, she got fifth!


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## Tazzie

Her four year old year was a decent year as well! My friend showed her once, we had our second child, and then I showed her twice! The show my friend did was an A rated Arabian show, and the judge even commented how much she really liked my mare! Go Izzie!

The first show of the year.

































My husband even showed her! Both pictures were purchased.

















Then my first show!









































And the last show of 2014:


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## Tazzie

And now to 2015! This year has been our year! We've been working with instructors who are really helping us come along and really unlock Izzie's talent. I'm being told by judges who judge at Sport Horse Nationals that they REALLY like my horse, and judges who have even told me afterward that my horse really looks like a fun horse to ride!

Our first show doesn't have any pictures, but my friend's awesome dad recorded it for me! We won the class, our first earned blue ribbon!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdMSOkIzwjI

Our second show was again the A rated Arabian show, otherwise known as BAHA Spring Blast. This was a GOOD show! We won our first class (which sadly was not recorded; hubby dropped the ball on that) out of two, and earned bonus points for our incentive called KAHABA (Kentucky Arabian and Half Arabian Breeders Alliance which is only open to Kentucky bred Arabians and Half Arabians), took third out of three in our Native Costume class (I only do this class for fun since we'll never be competitive with our dressage way of going), went into Sport Horse In Hand where we were told we took fourth, but just recently found out we actually took second AND won reserve champion! Showed in Sport Horse Under Saddle with our worst ride of the day getting 6th out of 7, and then went into the championship class where we won it! Was a good day!

Our first class (and one before it)

















































Our Native Costume class (video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLc1z7eWnr8)

































The Sport Horse Under Saddle class proved hard to take pictures in, so there really aren't many of them. The Sport Horse In Hand class produced eh pictures, and no video. Here are the two videos of the Under Saddle class though:
First class: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RAFBV9mdzw
Championship class: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATNY19KPDDc
Just a handful of pictures:


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## Tazzie

So now you've seen what Izzie can do show wise, and her growing up. But what earns her the title of Miss Versatile? Well, for one, she's hands down the best horse ever with my kids! As a matter of fact my oldest son (who is 2) showed her in a leadline class at the A rated show! The judge LOVED him, and everyone kept saying how they really, REALLY want to see more leadline kids! He doesn't get to ride often, but when he does he never wants to get off!










































Petting is absolutely mandatory 









We also "pretend" to do barrels and poles, but really we aren't into that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xko150OVHuM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SG5MTj0HIQs

And this was practice prior to our first Native Costume show. My friend found out her costume had bells on it, so she warned me to practice with bells. Clearly Izzie cares a lot 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSsYFSRkQIM


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## Tazzie

Obviously in watching the videos you'll see she is not very consistent in the bridle. We've had quite a few set backs, so we haven't progressed much. We are FINALLY starting to take up good, solid contact with some incosistancy. I do have to work on working more off my seat than my hands, which a lot of my issue was fear from my fall. We had a wonderful ride yesterday with very, very lovely trot work where she was really working well, lifting her back, and holding herself up (she tends to like to dive instead of doing proper turning, but we had GREAT turns yesterday!)

Sadly Kentucky is getting even more rain now, and with no indoor and a clay foundation, riding tends to get pushed out  I pine for the day I get to have my very own indoor on our very own property.


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## Tazzie

Ah! Almost forgot my favorite pictures! My mother in law BEGGED me to take her out to get pictures of us in the snow! We went two different days since her battery died on the first day, oops!

Day one!









































Day two!


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## Tazzie

So, MAJOR update!

Had my first lesson with a new trainer. AND I LOVE HER!! We are ditching the clinician we'd been going to in favor of her. He served his purpose to help me overcome my fear of falling again and to sit up and not clamp down. But he'd been asking us to do things I didn't agree with (IE making Izzie go from walk to canter and basically running/falling into the canter). Convinced Nick to just let me try her once and we would decide after the lesson. Well there wasn't any real decision making. We're sticking with her. She nailed exactly what I was doing wrong. Basically I found myself just becoming a passenger and letting Izzie get away with far too much (which was only worsened by this clinician who had me doing stuff that was WAY different than the formal training I had in Michigan). Yesterday, I rode. And I mean really rode. Izzie and I were very sweaty and thrilled after this ride. I had an actual stretch from her! She became so supple and I could put that inside hind leg where ever I wanted it! AND we had perfect, prompt canter departs into an extremely lovely, supple, on contact canter. I almost cried I was so happy!!

A little bit about before the ride. We were terrified trying her out. This trainer has been doing extremely well showing, and so have her students (which shows she can train as well as ride very well). She's gone to Europe at least twice that I've known of, and imported awesome horses to sell here. Her current mount apparently was for sale at one point for $300k (according to my former farrier). So we were terrified we would be out of place with our four horse, slant load, stock type trailer and my little half Arab/paint cross. We pulled in, and immediately were welcomed by one of the barn staff, and one of the other riders who told me good luck, what she seemed to be working with today, and that she will be honest but nice. And boy was she spot on!!

And here's stuff to make one's ego bigger. She complimented Izzie on all three gaits! GAH! AND said we really lucked out on how nice she is from what I said (I told her we were afraid she'd have an ugly neck and be 3 inches downhill). Said she really has a nice sport horse look to her, and was talking about eventually doing flying lead changes! That's a higher level than I ever imagined for Izzie and I! And that she reminded her of her daughter's horse who is half Arab/Hanoverian cross. She also asked us to move in with her, which I SOOO wish we could!! May take a look at our finances next year and see if we can swing having her live up there. I don't think it'll happen this year. Also, I just really liked the feeling there. The place we went for the clinic would charge to use a stall to let the horse pee after the ride. Here, we were allowed to use the wash rack, use a stall, and offered water for nothing extra. It honestly felt like I've finally found where we belong, and I couldn't be happier.

Oh, and I introduced her to KAHABA since her daughter's horse is a Kentucky bred Arab 

I don't think I'll be coming down off of cloud 9 for a very long time lol


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## egrogan

Was fun reading through this and seeing your lovely mare grow up- she's gorgeous and it looks like you and your whole family have a lot of fun with her. The photos of your son on her are just adorable.

I too have an "Izzy"- though she is a little bay Morgan.


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## Tazzie

Thanks Egrogan! She's definitely the family horse and not just mine  I always chuckle when my husband says it's his turn to hop on. And my son LOVES her. My daughter has ridden her a handful of times, but never without someone at her side (she's only 1, so doesn't really have any balance). Kaleb is getting a riding helmet for Christmas so he can start riding a bit more (not without someone at Izzie's head though).

And Izzie/Izzy is a great name


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## Tazzie

So little update! We've only been able to work twice since our awesome lesson. She's always more... stubborn at home, so it takes us a bit to get rolling. But we have been ending the rides on a good note where we are both happy! Hopefully it will dry up a bit and my husband won't work as much! We're near Cincinnati, but in Northern Kentucky, and these storms lately have been terrible! We don't have a real arena to ride in, so riding faster than a trot just isn't going to happen when you're on a clay base and a not super level area (it's about as level as we can have till they cut hay). My husband also works for Duke Energy, so the storms knocking people out of power are forcing him to work a whole lot of overtime. BUT! To make it up to me that we couldn't ride on Monday as planned, he told me to schedule another lesson with my trainer for this coming Sunday  I'm excited! I'm still learning how to back up the trailer and such, so he goes with me. And he's my eyes on the ground at home for "coaching" and that I will NEVER ride alone (drilled into my husband's head when I had my accident two years ago).

Anyway, my fun little update haha!

So after a fairly good ride yesterday, Kaleb (my 2 year old son) wanted to ride Izzie. So we striped her tack off and let him get on her bareback to walk out to the barn. We had to wait for Nick since it was too muddy for me to handle the gate, Izzie, Kaleb, and deal with the giant muddy area at the gate. I figured why not use this time to teach Kaleb something?

Well, I had him lightly bump Izzie with his legs and give a small kissy noise to have her walk forward. He thought this was pretty awesome! And we showed off to daddy! I was merely holding onto the lead rope I had fashioned into reins for Kaleb, and told him to cue Izzie. And what did Izzie do? Listened to Kaleb and walked forward! I did no cueing myself, it was ALL Kaleb!

Just another reason why Izzie will never have a price tag haha!


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## Tazzie

We had another SUPERB lesson today! I feel I got paid a HIGH compliment too! She said we pretty much picked up right were we left off last time, so I HAVE been working correctly! Issues we had? Yeah, they showed themselves a bit there, which I was thankful for. It was a mix of her slightly resisting, and me being too fussy with my hands. Soon as I quieted my hands, it all fell into place. And we had excellent trot-canter departs, which is a huge difference since 2 weeks ago we were just working on not running into them (which had only been amplified by our previous clinician who did nothing to help this at all). Obviously still a work in progress, but we are making some serious strides now, and Nick (wonderful husband) is already ok with me picking the next free weekend day to go ahead and book another lesson <3 he sees the improvement in us too, and Izzie I think is getting happier and happier. I'm getting better at saying "I want your shoulders here, your butt here, your head here, and this tempo" without screaming at her (with my aids), and she's getting better at realizing what exactly I'm wanting her to do and executing it perfectly.

And as if all that wasn't good enough... the trainer told Nick she really enjoyed working with me and Izzie, and that she really is a good girl and a wonderful horse. Nick told her he was happy to bring me up here and that he knew I really liked coming to ride with her. Even more exciting, we worked on collecting up Izzie's trot today. Said trainer said she'll be an easy one to collect up and that piaffe will most likely come easy for her once we reach that level. Passage may be a bit more difficult, but I'm still sitting here like this :-o at the mere idea of Izzie and I reaching those levels. I always told Nick I'd be pleased with MAYBE Second Level. But now I'm wondering if we really can go that high! Makes me even more excited for our future!

:riding:


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## Tazzie

Alright, we went to our first of three shows this week! Our first class was halter, in which we got 2nd out of 3! Lost to a NICE purebred that when I heard his name went "well, I know we aren't winning this class!" haha Then Kaleb did his leadline class! We messed up and didn't realize this show required helmets for the leadline kids, oops. But another competitor in his class had an extra! Yay! So Kaleb got to show and everyone won a blue ribbon for being cute! The next two classes were hunter classes. Izzie is not a hunter horse. I am not a hunter rider. We aren't ever going to be. BUT we still got 4th out of 8 in the first class and 4th out of 6 in the second! LOTS better than the show exactly one year ago! Still has consistency issues, and my getting nervous while showing and essentially forgetting I know how to ride doesn't help us any. And she HATES other horses coming up next to her. The only class I disagreed with placings was I think the second one. The 3rd place horse was on the wrong lead the entire time going to the right and we got both of our leads. But whatever. The last class was an open English pleasure class. Again, against all the people that I showed against in the previous classes. However, the judge called it as a walk-trot class. No one knows why either.... We took 1st out of 4 though! Also had some people who I had NO idea who they were originally cheering for us! Like, clapped and cheered when we were asked to rein back. Just said "trying to influence the judge, huh?" I said I had no idea who they are! EVERYONE laughed lol the ladies shouted back they were appreciators! You'll hear their comments in that video  We know what we need to work on more, and I will be talking with my trainer about ways to keep Izzie calm, focused, and not fussy in the line up. She now stands there, but she flings her head every which way even when I give her plenty of rein. I know my trainer will know how to help. Anyway, some pictures!

From the halter class:

















Kaleb's class; Sydney enjoyed watching him!

























A job well done from Kaleb to Izzie!









What's that Kaleb??









Family photo!









And finally my riding pictures! In no real particular order since my computer is being a butt...


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## Tazzie

Meeting my appreciator!









Love this sweetness with Nick and Izzie waiting for our next class









Ribbons are clearly edible...

















And picture with the best horse show husband/groomer/hauler/etc in the entire world!









Kids had a great time too!


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## Tazzie

And the videos!

Kaleb's leadline class:
https://youtu.be/wMwgvCrYSOI

Hunt Seat Equitation:
https://youtu.be/OxO4PQFZ4_U

Hunter Under Saddle:
https://youtu.be/Xk72iSrf-QU

English Pleasure Open:
https://youtu.be/XLZWZfsNok8


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## Tazzie

So we did our last two shows for last week! The first was another county fair. It was a VERY challenging set up. They had the fair rides right next to the ring, and being that the show started at 8 the rides were all lit up. We're talking Ferris Wheels, Tilt O Whirls, and the drop it ride thing. So screaming, etc right next to the ring. I didn't ride very well, and in return Izzie struggled with getting both of her leads. Such is life. We ended up with 4th out of 7 in our Arabian English Pleasure class. We went back in for Native Costume. She was mad about the caveson (which we sadly realized after that she had scrapped her jaw and the caveson was rubbing on it) and gave me a crazy ride. Judge apparently still liked us a bit since we got 4th out of 6 in a class we have never placed in before.

Then we had our FIRST dressage show together yesterday!! Our whole goal was to stay IN the arena (we don't really have an arena we ride in regularly) and that she stayed mostly on course.

Our first test was Training Level Test 1. We got a 58.043% for 7th place out of 10! I was pretty happy with that! Then we did Training Level Test 2, which we had only been able to practice once in completion. She rocked it! We got a 63.651% for 2nd place out of 7! I was SO happy with her! Sure, it could have gone better, and yeah I made some mistakes. But my little mare stepped up to the plate having already shown twice this week, took on a totally new environment (we had never seen judges boxes or arena fencing like normal dressage rings before) and STILL put in decent scores! I have ALL of the tests I did a decade or so ago, and these scores were comparable to what I got back then having a trainer supervise every single ride. We've only had two lessons with our new trainer, so this was a HUGE deal for us. AND we got TWO 8's in our second test! One for a lovely trot circle when she started to relax, and one for our change rein across the diagonal. It was remarked that we used our corners well (which is HUGE since when you ride in a huge open field there really aren't corners). I flipped through my old tests and I never once got two 8's on a test!

So I am one proud horse mommy today, and my little girl gets some well deserved days OFF! No pictures yet of the class (if there will be any; my family didn't get any) and no video since my husband wanted to actually watch instead of video it. I did get a couple with our ribbon, and my friend/caller took one before we hit the ring. We say we had our game face on!


















Clearly I wore her out!


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## Tazzie

So Izzie has had a bit of a break since last I wrote! I always give days off after a show, and gave her more this time since it was a whole show week. Went out the next time and she had a huge scrape down her side. Go figure :icon_rolleyes: so, days off for that. We were going to be leaving for Michigan, so plenty of time to recuperate from that. Had a dental done for her prior to leaving for Michigan, so that is all in order! Went back out to ride her Monday. She was not exhibiting any soreness when tacked up, and the hair was growing back in well. Hopped on, did some lovely walk work. Could tell she was a touch ouchy at the trot/canter, so we called it quits after a fantastic stretchy circle. Did her the favor of hopping off and not riding her back to the trailer like normal. Instead, my 2 year old son hopped up for a pony ride, which they both thoroughly enjoyed  Also FINALLY got my birthday present (only about 2 months late....) delievered last week. Hubby had a pretty new halter for shows made for her. I laugh I was born to ride in the wrong discipline. I like shiny and sparkly, but I love dressage :rofl: I'm hoping to post the pictures to my facebook in a little bit, and I'll get some posted here after I put them on photobucket


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## Tazzie

Haven't posted in a bit! It's been insane here lately since I decided to change jobs, and that transition has been fun!

Anyway! This past Sunday we went down to Lexington for a dressage clinic. And boy was it a good ride! We got down to Izzie to find she had scrapped up her rump by her tail head, and it was a bit sensitive. She still rode well though. She HATED the arena footing though. It was WAY too deep for a horse used to riding on grass. But she still tried her little heart out for me. Clinician gave us some things to work on which thankfully lined up well with my regular trainer (who I need to book another lesson with soon as we find a free weekend....) This clinician knows Arabians/Half Arabians, and how they differ from Warmbloods, particularly in dressage.

Tomorrow we haul Izzie up to our local fairgrounds for their big show! We show in one riding and one halter class tomorrow, and then the championship class and Arabian Native Costume Monday night! Then a show next weekend at my favorite show grounds  Couple weeks break, then a show the 3rd and the 17th of October. Then no more shows till spring 

Hopefully I'll have some pictures next week!


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## Tazzie

So, Izzie has had two shows since I last posted. One at our local fair, and the other at the Shelby County Fairgrounds (my favorite fairgrounds ever)

Our local show started out well. We were in a class of fourteen hunter horses. Izzie had a rough go with other horses crowding her, and in turn grabbed the wrong lead (one was as we were about to pick up our lead the chick next to us WAILED on her horse, who shot sideways and very nearly slammed into Izzie; not cool). We pulled out a fourth (behind horses that are much steadier in the bridle than my girl is). That night we did a halter class. While Izzie is not a halter horse (we went in as a sport horse, so they are supposed to judge her as such), the placing was absolute bull. EVERY saddle seat type horse placed above us AND the horse that has been winning at every show we've shown against him. We took 7th/8th (they only placed out to 6th so we don't know our placings). The next night I had high expectations. It started out BAD. First class of the night was native costume. She was awful for the warm up. Then my friend didn't realize I was A. having trouble and B. attempting to warm up. So she was shouting for us that our class was going to be starting in a few. I knew this. I didn't want to be on the hard packed ground in case she did get me off (I explained this this past weekend; she totally understood then). Took second, which we were upset. Friend's horse didn't walk. Rein change was asked, girl riding started to change direction the wrong way (toward the rail means horse will trot off when straight), stopped, spun nearly 360 degrees, and then the judge asked for the canter. Nick was cranky with that. I was disappointed since Izzie rocked it, but what can ya do. Nick decided we needed a new costume, and I think I finally settled on what I want. I have awesome pics, but I won't post the link publicly. It'll be a surprise to my friends/other family (but if you want to PM me, I'll share what it'll be similar to). After the costume class we went back, stripped, and we did a bit more warm up for our hunter championship class. Izzie was a royal pain, nearly tossed me, and was a mess. Went into the ring, and we were nailing it. Then I flubbed up asking for the right lead canter, she took the left, wouldn't come back to the trot to change fast enough, and all right in front of the judge. We got 8th out of 9. Oh well. The pictures I'll post below are from this show.

Then we had a show this weekend. Rode like crap the night before, so had super low expectations. Started with halter where we got 6th out 7 (total shocker; we were actually in an Arabian halter so she was not set up like a sport horse). Braided up, tossed the bridle on her, and went back in for sport horse in hand. Held the class temporarily to get my other friend/competitor in the ring with me (they totally revamped the show schedule, put halter classes first, and some people didn't realize it; show was pushed back an hour to help people get there and then we asked for a tack hold to get her into the ring with me after being thanked profusely for my help). Her mare (it was sport horse in hand mares) is a reserve regional (I think? maybe nationals) champion in sport horse in hand. Didn't have high expectations, only did it for the points. And low and behold Izzie WON! Showed back in the open halter championship for fun, and took reserve to my friend's other sport horse gelding who is very nice. 

Showed in Native Costume, and she was not feeling it. Earned our second out of two.

Last two classes we were the only entrant, so figured I'd take it as easy as I could on her. First was sport horse under saddle. And oh my god he WORKED us. Trot, extended trot, now collect the trot, now canter, now hand gallop, now walk, now halt, now back four steps. And the ring is ENORMOUS. He had us do every change of gait for the entire ring. All I could think of was "holy crap dude, we're the only rider. can't you see us??" At this point I knew Izzie was due for an adjustment. I could feel she was only cantering because I asked, and we were blowing leads left and right. Her head wasn't steady, and I sure wasn't willing to fight with her. She put her head where I asked with my legs, but I basically let her take contact and keep her head where ever it was comfortable. In a one person class I sure wasn't going to force her to look perfect. Then we were asked to line up. Judge came up to us and said "I am so sorry I worked you so hard, but she is just such a gorgeous mover I really wanted to see what she had." I was shocked at that answer. I told him thank you, and that I love her. He said I should, then brought up chiropractor visits. I said I know. I could tell she needed one, and had told my husband before the class I was calling first thing Monday to schedule her an appointment (I did). He went on to say he can't wait to see her when she's all filled out. He said she had such a presence in the ring. Said she's a bit one dimensional since she's obviously not filled out yet, but that she moves and presents herself SO much bigger than she is. I said thank you, and that I'd be seeing him later in the hunter class.

We went into that class (again, only entry) and he still worked us a bit. Blew our leads worse this time, super obvious she needs an adjustment. Afterward he said he would really have our chiro go head to tail on her. I told him he does, and she's notorious for being out in her poll and crooked in her hips (why she has trouble with her leads when she's in need of an adjustment). He said yes, hips and poll! Said she is SO transparent when she needs it done, and I told him I agreed. Then he leaned in close and he says "I think she's the nicest hunter that is on this property right now." I leaned in and said "She's a Dressage horse." He responds "I know, it's very obvious." So holy crap. This judge really likes Izzie. My friend told me to not listen to him because he was known for being free with his comments. Honestly, I liked him (naturally lol)

So, some pictures from the fair that I liked.


















































Excuse the sweatiness. This was after the Native Costume class, and that costume is HEAVY


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## Tazzie

And just finished filling out the entry forms for our last two shows of the year!! Excited for them, but sad the year is coming to an end  Showing at a fun show hosted by an Arabian group at the Shelby County Fairgrounds (best fairgrounds ever!) and another one held at the Kentucky Horse Park!! So excited by that!!


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## egrogan

She's so gorgeous. Love seeing her
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Tazzie

Thanks egrogan! We are very fond of her! We are hopefully taking a nice, easy trail ride tomorrow. Something to just unwind. My husband wants to ride her, so it'll be super unstressful. Now to see if it'll work out!


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## carshon

I have really enjoyed reading your posts and Izzy is gorgeous. One of the best horses my family ever owned was a half Arab. he was not as pretty as your mare as he looked Arab in front and Quarter horse in the back - but that horse was smart, loyal and always a pleasure to ride. 

Keep up the posts - interested to hear more stories of your lessons with the new trainer


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## Tazzie

Thank you carshon! When we first bought her we didn't think she would mature as well as she did. She is eerily smart too! She's that horse that I know everyone would want. The kind that is a challenge when you're capable of it, but I can toss my green as grass husband on her and know she will not put a foot wrong. Example, he wanted to cool her out one day. I was watching/answering a text. Looked up, and he's asking her to trot. He got unbalanced and she went back to a walk. Those horses are priceless!

And I'll keep posting! Hoping to get a trail ride in sometime soon! And I REALLY hope we can find a free weekend to go for another lesson. We could use it!


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## Zexious

What a gorgeous mare <3


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## Tazzie

Thank you Zexious! I appreciate the compliment


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## Tazzie

So, Izzie has had some time off due to being in desperate need of a chiro adjustment. When she is out of alignment she is NOT pleasant to work with. She is typically out in her pelvis and her poll for who knows what reason. Pelvis is most likely her being the youngest horse in a sloped field and a clay based ground. We know she has taken a couple of tumbles due to the scrapes she has sometimes. And I was right about her being out. Pelvis was tilted to the right, which caused her left shoulder to be out for overcompensating for the pelvis. Both stifles were out, left side of her poll was out and she had slight TMJ on the right side. I asked the chiro (who is a former vet) if there was anything I could do to help her stay better aligned. He showed me how to unlock her TMF, realign her poll, and keep her pelvis aligned. He is a WONDERFUL chiro! I get to ride again tomorrow, and I can't wait!

Also, on another forum I am on I had some person tell me that Izzie is not ready to show because she can't stand totally still in line up. I said it over and over that it was due to my show nerves, not her unable to handle it. Told this chick she stands stock still with a seasoned show rider, so I know it's on me. She was insistent we needed to work with pool noodles to have her become mentally prepared for anything :icon_rolleyes: no, I'm not joking either. She didn't care we show in a ring next to ferris wheels, a thing called a zipper, or another drop it ride. Pool noodles was going to cure her of MY show nerves! So, as a mock toward her, Izzie had a day of desensitization. She was so unimpressed.

Sniffing the umbrella:









Holding the umbrella above her head:









Yes, the pool noodle is through her halter. Note her totally unamused face:









And with all three scary objects we did:









Here is the video of it:
https://youtu.be/n1OQ-ltfhKA

And here is the video of the show at our local fairgrounds. Please, no critiques. She was in need of an adjustment even here, which is why we swap our leads. And I know we aren't steady in the bridle, but we are making progress. We are so far from where we were when we began our season! I also like that you can see I don't yank on my horse. I ask her kindly. Makes me sick seeing the other riders doing the outside rein yank like the judge doesn't see it.
https://youtu.be/B4rmYpzZj4Y

Also, because I think it's cute, my son got an early Christmas present in time for his leadline class this coming Saturday. He didn't want to take it off! Obviously the strap will be adjusted before he actually hops up on her :wink:


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## egrogan

My Izzy is always out in the right pelvis and poll too. Interesting that your chiro's theory is the sloping turnout pasture- that's our setup as well, but I've never thought of that being the reason...

The desensitization pictures are fabulous.


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## Tazzie

He didn't come out and say it was the slope. I mentioned the slope because when it rains it tends to be a bit slick. With Izzie being young she still loves to run and play. We know she has taken a few tumbles, which is what I think causes her pelvis to tilt. It just lines up perfectly every time she is out since she normally has some type of scrape in that area.

And aren't they hilarious? She cracks me up!


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## Tazzie

We had our second to last show today! We are TIRED from it! We first did the sport horse in hand class. EIGHTEEN entries, and we didn't place. I'm not too happy about it either since we were showing against horses in their stable halters and their tails still in tail bags -.- totally not cool. After that dismal loss, and knowing I still needed to get those points somehow, we decided to enter the sport horse show hack class. WHEW! What a ride! We had to collect and extend every gait and hand gallop. We did the best we could, and pulled out a win out of three!! Judge kept saying how GORGEOUS her extensions are  Went back in for sport horse under saddle where she wanted to canter slightly faster than I wanted to (and I could feel her attitude of "I dare you to tell me to slow down" so I just rolled with it), and at that point I could feel she was tiring a bit so extension wasn't as epic as show hack. Took second out of three, so still happy! Then showed back in hunter pleasure where we totally rocked it! Like, nailed everything I asked including a halt and rein back four steps. Took first out of three for that one! She did SO well and earned herself another fan who is a judge!

We also had the kids with us, which made for a truly interesting event. Kaleb showed her in leadline, where he totally rocked that too. He is also the only one the judge came up to talk to afterward, so I think the judge liked him (this was before all the under saddle classes).

It was a delightful day! A little cool (in the fifties) and very windy, but Izzie kept it together and turned in a superb effort! She is clearly feeling better!


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## Tazzie

So, our very last show is this weekend! We are showing at an A rated Arabian show at the Kentucky Horse Park (so if you're in that area, come visit!) I'm super excited! I'm hoping we can put in a good effort! We have two in hand classes Saturday morning (Sport Horse in hand Open and ATH) and three under saddle classes Saturday afternoon (Sport Horse under saddle Open, ATR and Championship). Sunday we have two under saddle classes (Open and ATR) with the possibility of staying to show in the Championship class for that as well.

AND we decided today that we are going to put Izzie in Liberty! It will be purely for the chance for her to stretch her legs (she lives outside and I always feel bad shoving her in a stall for a whole weekend with only coming out to ride or walk on the lead) and for some epic pictures (we don't have any good ones of her loose, and I totally plan to buy some from the show photographer!) We are allowed to pick a song for them to move to, and a friend and I finally picked Josh Turner's song Firecracker! I think it'll be so much fun!


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## Tazzie

So Izzie and I had our last show of the year this weekend! We had a LOT of ups, and one major down. The major down was I fractured my right wrist Saturday night doing something stupid. But the highs more than make up for it!

Saturday morning we hauled into the Kentucky Horse Park about 7 am. Fortunately Izzie didn't seek her inner pig Friday night after her bath and was still pretty clean. Our first class was our Sport Horse In Hand classes, both amateur to handle and open. Prior to this I braided my professors gelding for his in hand classes (big, stocky, gorgeous purebred bred by MSU). Got my girl braided and decided to walk my girl around the indoor since she had never seen it. Nothing bothered her, but she was excited! The air in this place was just full of electric excitement! In our wanderings I suddenly heard A LOT of clicking! Looked and I saw these people clicking their cameras furiously at us! So Izzie and I wandered over to say hello. They loved her, and had to have gotten 100's of great pictures of her (she was totally posing)! Finished chatting with them and wandered up to the spot horse in hand ring. Here she fell asleep while I watched others show, and she was getting loved on by Sydney (Sydney also grabbed her bit and was pulling, and Izzie just took it; we made Syd stop of course, but not before everyone in the area said "don't you ever sell that horse!") Finally we got to go in! The judged loved her immediately! Asked how old she was, and remarked how she was the calmest horse she had seen yet. Izzie executed the pattern perfectly both times! Judge was pleased to see I kept her barefoot and out on pasture. I guess she does the same thing! And this was no backyard judge! This lady judges at Devon! We loved her! Before Nick and I took the kids to lunch we got our placings. Took first in open I think and second in amateur! After lunch I went to see if we had taken first or second for mares in championship. We won that championship!! And kid you not.... WE WON SUPREME OVERALL SPORT HORSE IN HAND CHAMPION!!! We were deemed the best sport horse on the property! AND got a gorgeous neck ribbon!!

After that excitement I found out the girl who was beating me in the sport horse high point championship had not done well. Nick encouraged me to show in the show hack class so we could get the most possible points. So that afternoon we did four under saddle classes including a championship class (which currently does not count; hope to get that changed). We had laughed when the judge wrote "earthbound" on the in hand class sheet. Izzie is impeccable on the lead and won't overdo it. Her real trot though is very floaty! So we hit the ring for sport horse show hack as the only rider. And we did a couple of laps before they announced anything. I knew what was going on lol so Izzie rocked that class! Judge said afterward that her trot is WAY prettier under saddle! I laughed and said I know, that we had chuckled at the earthbound comment, and she agreed she was not earthbound! I told the ring helper/my buddy that I was taking the victory lap because I had never done it and I wanted to haha! We did two more under saddle classes before the championship, they were open and amateur to ride. Izzie rocked them both to win both of those classes!! I had my friend the ribbon on her bridle for those two, so I'm dying to see the show photographers pictures!! The judge did laugh at Izzie for a couple of canter departs. If I shout my aids, she sometimes squeals (yay ****y mares lol) and the judge says "she sure likes to give you the middle finger with her canter sometimes, doesn't she?" I said only when I yell it! If I can relax and just ask she is much better! Then the championship ride. Before this class I was chit chatting with the judge's friend, who absolutely LOVED Izzie. Said she has really been enjoying watching us go since it's obvious I'm not forcing her headset, that I ride her VERY well, and that it is refreshing to see me showing her in a rubber covered snaffle (Izzie has since decided metal bits are the devil even after multiple dental checks, so we are using a rubber covered bit with a roller that is approved by USEF) while everyone else is in Kimberwicks or something of the sort. Also told me it would be a waste not to consider breeding her as she is gorgeous all the way around with tons of talent! She told me good luck in the championship, but that she doubted I needed the luck! We went in, and Izzie once again rocked it! Judge asked if that was the last one for today, and I said yup! She gets some loving now! Judge made my friend/the ring helper come look at Izzie's legs. Said "aren't these the straightest, nicest legs you've seen all day?? And those feet!! I do hope you can keep her barefoot, she has lovely feet!" Then they announced the numbers. They only said the first two numbers, so my guess is the other girl's number started the same as mine. Then said our name!! WE WON!! And got another neck ribbon!! What excitement for our victory lap, which Izzie totally knew she was a super star! Izzie got tucked in and fed her dinner after that! Silly horse is in such good shape she didn't even break a sweat!

Then I broke my wrist. I had already talked Blair into showing in native costume for Sunday, and everyone knew we had to show that day or risk losing our hunter high point championship placing (you need five shows, and I only had four and was still the champion). I don't think I ever really asked Blair to show, but she understood what we needed. While I was getting xrays she texted saying Izzie was fine, but she had a question and could I call. Called her to find it was regarding the amateur to ride hunter class. She can't ride in it since she is a professional (which we had both momentarily forgotten). She asked if I would be ok with her finding a trustworthy jockey. I said if she trusted them to ride Izzie knowing how much horse she is, then I would trust them.

Sunday morning arrives. I tell Blair to walk Izzie so her first walk out isn't under saddle. She wouldn't be bad, but she would be extremely happy to be out (remember, she lives in a field). Blair warmed her up for the girl she found to make sure Izzie had manners and that her thinking cap was securely on. I coached Blair a bit on how to hit her buttons, all while the girl listened to my direction. Turns out this is a girl I showed against and lost to back in June. She is SO sweet! She hopped on Izzie, only got about half of a warm up lap on her, and then called for her class. I'll be danged, they won!! Izzie and this girl had only just met, and she went on to win that class! Direct quote from Blair "The sign of a good horse and good training is that someone can step into the stirrup, have brief coaching on where the buttons are, and go out and push them correctly. Izzie has buttons, she has talent, and she has all the world ahead of her to claim as her own. Such a cool mare!!"

Izzie then got a break before native costume. The day before my ring friend told me Nick deserved a blue ribbon for his work wrangling the kids. After the ER visit, I decided he needed cake. And another friend shoved a few more prizes at him (hats; Nick loves hats lol) Here is the picture of that:










Izzie got to wear Blair's new turquoise one, which looked really nice! We took off the cross face piece and the piece behind the ears since she has never seen them before and I don't like doing new stuff like that at a show; that belongs at home. Izzie rocked it, and totally wore that costume (instead of it wearing her). She got second! A quick tack change into show clothes, and Blair hit the ring for hunter pleasure open! Sadly, they never called for a lengthened trot. So when Blair took her victory lap (oh? Did I forget to mention she won AGAIN with a different rider??) I shouted "Ride that big trot!!" Blair said it was every bit as fun to ride as it looks!!

So, a hugely successful show with a minor mishap, and we had our own private photo shoot with a friend. Did some of Izzie with just the ribbons she won this weekend, then they loaded me up with almost all of the first and seconds we've won this year. I'm dying to see them all! She did post a few though!

Izzie and I free walking in show hack (they called for a free walk and change of rein at a free walk in all the classes; I think we were the only ones executing a true free walk)









Blair warming Izzie up Sunday morning (Izzie looks so happy!)









Blair after winning hunter pleasure open!!









Putting ribbons on Izzie with the Hall of Champions behind us; Izzie's expression is hilarious lol it's her "these dumb humans" look









Close up!









Staring off at the Hall of Champions. I think she felt she deserved to be there after this weekend!


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## Tazzie

And PS, this was an A rated Arabian show  its not like we were showing against crummy horses!

And Blair is a saddleseat rider, and a dang good one! I'm proud of her for hopping on my sport horse and rocking a hunter pleasure class!


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## Tazzie

They posted all of our under saddle classes from Saturday!! OMG some of them are AMAZING!! I'll post my favorites  We were in classes 35, 41, 51, and 59. The two I NEED (non-negotiable lol) are these two:

My reaction hearing we won the championship class (picture 9)
PhotographybyKRae | Class59 | Photo 1

That TROT in our victory pass! I think I need a canvas of this! (picture 19)
PhotographybyKRae | Class59 | Photo 1

The links may say the same, but they are different when you click on them!


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## egrogan

Wait, I think I totally missed it, but _how _did the wrist break happen?

What else is there to say, she's incredible and I love that you get such consistently positive feedback about her in all these different environments- and still throw your kiddos on her for lead line


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## Tazzie

That is a mix of me being an idiot, and Izzie doing what she was essentially supposed to do. I turned her loose for liberty, and swung the halter at her hind right as the music started and the crowd cheered. Izzie went "WHEEE!" and bucked/kicked out like she's done since I've had her (she ALWAYS kicks her hind feet out), and my wrist happened to still be occupying that space. Totally an accident, and soon as the music stopped she came up to me to be caught. Fortunately she was set to be on vacation now, so no biggie lol

And thanks! This show season is better than I ever envisioned it to be! Syd is ready for her leadline debut next year


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## Tazzie

Well here's a fun update!! They posted who won the Champion/Reserve Champion for each division! In our first year showing Izzie and I won Champion Sport Horse, Champion Hunter, AND Reserve Champion Specialty (Native Costume)!! I'm SO proud of this mare!!


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## knightrider

I surely have enjoyed following your experiences. Your Izzie is amazing, and my hat is off to you for training her every step of the way!

I started following your thread because I have an Isabel too--my Izzie is a VERY far cry from yours!

My goal for the first two years was to come back from every ride still on top of my Izzie.

I showed for many years--mostly hunter/jumper, so I can really appreciate how much work goes into showing, and it was a trip down memory lane to read about your show experiences. Your family is BEAUTIFUL!


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## Tazzie

Thank you! It's been a lot of hard work, but I've enjoyed it!

That is exactly what I originally expected out of my Izzie! Our choices for breaking her was a wide open fields with no fence in sight or to lock up her field mates and ride in the field. We opted for slower going in the wide open field!

And thank you! I've always loved showing, and I'm VERY glad that Izzie enjoys it too! It's a lot of work, but thankfully my husband doesn't mind helping me! And thank you! I love my little family! I have a distinct feeling one of my kids will be stealing Izzie from me down the road :lol:


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## Tazzie

Woohoo! Got some of our pictures! This was our mini photoshoot just before going home. My friend is a SUPER talented photographer, and made it VERY hard to choose (she's the one who gave me the sneaks I posted earlier; these ones I insisted on purchasing). I'm so in love with them!

Izzie with all of the ribbons she won just that weekend









A gorgeous headshot!









A couple of fun pictures lol I'm wearing almost all of the ribbons she has won this year lol

















And my favorite <3









I should have action shots by the weekend


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## Tazzie

We got the rest of our pictures back!! I'm SO excited!!

Pretty lady in our in hand class 









Action shot during one of our classes









Our friend Carl put our ribbon on the bridle for this run (earlier it had been on the saddle). Love her halt!









Victory pass in one of our under saddle classes









Our catch rider doing her victory pass!









My friend Blair in costume 









Liberty class pictures!

















And my ultra favorites, from our championship class


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## Tazzie

I saw the little princess yesterday and rode her for the first time since the show! Clearly I have an absolute lunatic of a horse that needs to calm down immensely :lol: 



















I mean, she's so wild I can barely contain her with a halter and rope reins while walking around an unfenced field :lol: I truly need to work on her (ok, end sarcasm LOL)

Anyway, we are pretty sure she's getting taller! Nick said I'm either getting shorter or she's getting taller. I'm going with she's getting taller haha! And she's getting ROUND! She's packing on her pounds for the winter. I told our friend at what weight I would have him scale back the grain. I prefer a bit of extra weight heading into winter anyway since they are pasture horses with no blankets. She's one happy pony though!


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## egrogan

You let CHILDREN around that wild beast?!??


_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Tazzie

I sure do! Terrifying, I know!


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## Tazzie

*Merry Christmas!*

Today I took a bunch of goodies out to mess with Izzie. Who doesn't love dressing their ponies up with all sorts of crazy stuff?? So Merry Christmas from our family to yours  And enjoy our pictures and videos!

























Her "This is embarrassing you stupid human" look









Jingle pony! Yes, she has a garland of bells around her neck :lol: 
https://youtu.be/fFoGV10o_Xc

The ears in the mini santa hats crack me up :lol: 
https://youtu.be/qoByfJpUA2g

And this is the reason why she puts up with my shenanigans lol She knows she has two kiddos readily handing out treats to her lol
https://youtu.be/oEGsQagH79M


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## Tazzie

So, I had the first real ride since the show Thursday night! I love this mare! After a bit of excitement on the lunge, I hopped on. We did lots of walking, a little trot, and half of a circle each way at the canter since she is out of shape. She was SO good. I asked her to go forward since she belongs in front of my leg. The little sweetheart had a "yes mom!' attitude last night, and desperately wanted to work in the proper frame the entire ride. But, of course, she is not in shape enough to hold it like she wants to. We ended our ride with a stretchy trot before I frustrated her (she REALLY wanted to work correctly, she just doesn't have the muscle right now). I'm so happy! I wanted to just get on and do a little walk/trot/canter, and she gave me SO much more! Moved off my leg as soon as I asked her to as well. She is such a good girl! Then was showered with cookies afterward compliments of my kiddos (she is their horse if you ask them lol)

AND I talked to the girl making my costume! She says she's been working on it non stop, it's almost done, and she'll send me pictures of it in the daylight today! Day has been made!


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## DanteDressageNerd

She's a really beautiful mare. Looks like you're doing a very nice job with her and having fun while doing it!!


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## Tazzie

Thank you! She is a whole lot of fun to ride and work with  We have plenty of ups and downs, but at this point I wouldn't want any other horse but her! Excited to hit the show ring again this year! I think we are going to continue improving if our first ride was any indication (I hope haha!) AND I got the pictures for our costume! It's totally us and I'm so excited!


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## Tazzie

So, rode Izzie last night. Didn't ride long since it was a bit slick. My mother in law wanted to come down for pictures. Found out Izzie is a bit sore. Not from her trim, but she needs an adjustment in her pelvis. I had a feeling we would need one before our show and had one scheduled for March 5th. Impossible to get in any earlier (this guy is in HIGH demand; farm calls he books SIX MONTHS out which is why we haul to him which he still books six weeks out!) So will be mostly walk and trot work to bring her back into shape for our March 20th show. And we will be doing the pelvis exercise the chiro told us we can do ourselves to see if we can help a bit. But essentially no canter, particularly to the right (where it's obvious; she bunny hops with her back legs which is her sign it's time for an adjustment). Izzie also did not enjoy we interrupted her vacation to try out the new native costume, which she hasn't ridden in one since October. She's also never had a headpiece quite like the one we have now nor has she had to deal with the piece behind her ears. She was snarky, but still behaved. And though the bit looked ok in person, the pictures look too high for her. So we will be dropping it (which will make her more agreeable; she is very opinionated when something is not absolutely perfect).

Anyway, enjoy more of a sneak peek than my facebook friends got  I have a girl that is being a MASSIVE copy cat on there, and I refuse to put full body pictures up until our March 20th show. She thinks half Arabs are mutts (publicly stated this), think she's going to be able to show at regionals (she's never shown her own horse, over exaggerated his showing accomplishments, and only stated this after others said they hope we actually go to regionals since we qualified last year AND for this year already), and then said she would love to get a royal blue and silver costume to show in (her "colors" have always been turquoise and black, and only said this after I said we were having one made...) So, yeah. Sad since I want to be bouncing every where showing this off!

Anyway, enjoy! I'll even throw in the small video my mother in law took. Just remember Izzie has only been ridden one other time since mid October, the bit was higher than she'd like, and she was NOT happy her vacation was ending. She's an opinionated little monster where our rides consist of a string of negotiations... The joys of a mare!



















And the video 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5T6obe2ASHo


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## knightrider

Your costume is A-W-E-S-O-M-E!!!!! I can't wait to see how you do in the shows. It's just got to win! I sorry that other person is copying you. That stinks--because that costume is da bomb!


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## Tazzie

Thanks Knightrider! I'm bummed too since I'd LOVE to share the pictures with others on Facebook, but I don't want my idea stolen! The star pattern is not a common one in the native costume, but it fits the two of us! I'm super excited to show in it! Just have to get Izzie going again  We bought another bit like she likes to put on the costume bridle so tack changes aren't even crazier! March 20th we get to debut it, and I get to let everyone else see it!


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## DanteDressageNerd

That's REALLY neat! I've become really intrigued by all these neat things you can do with arabian horses that never occurred to me to do. Really creative!!


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## Tazzie

I hadn't known either! I grew up riding strict Dressage and only showing at Dressage shows. Now, I dove right into the Arabian world thanks to my best friend! The native costume class lets me allow my inner kid out, and it lets Izzie have a relatively stress-free class (if she isn't in a perfect frame I don't get after her; I just ask for forward). And we get to hand gallop, which she thinks is a whole lot of fun! I still keep my dressage roots in my classes, which have earned me MANY compliments from the judges. I think they also get tired of all the yanking and pulling that they see in the ring, so a rider sitting with quiet hands and a horse not in a forced frame is a bit of a breath of fresh air 

But thanks! The costume made me swoon when I saw it in person, and it took my breath away when I saw it on Izzie  I just love it!


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## egrogan

I love the color combination, that shade of blue looks gorgeous on her. 

But I have to ask...and I know I'm naive about showing...but why in the world would anyone try to steal your costume idea? Is it really that cutthroat? Again...I'm probably really naive, but that just sounds bizarre to me.


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## Tazzie

Thanks!

And no, it's really not. This girl isn't even in the same region as I am, just a girl I know through other forums that I did enjoy talking to years ago. She has a purebred Straight Egyptian Arabian that is cute, but ok gait wise. She's jealous Izzie is doing extremely well without professional training (her horse was in full training until about a year or two ago and she only rode occasionally; I have NOTHING against professional training though) and that I'm brave enough to get into the show ring. She doesn't think Half Arabians are all that great, so she basically wants to top whatever I do. I have a ton of examples of where I did something and then she went and did pretty much the exact same thing. I said we were going to show at regionals this year (and had mutual friends post without me saying anything about it that they wish I would go) and suddenly she's aiming for regionals even though she hasn't ever shown the horse herself. I said I was getting a new costume, and she said she was getting a royal blue and silver one. So... Petty high school type drama that we are FAR too old for. Regardless, I don't want to risk her getting one made or finding one before we start showing. Again, all super dumb, but it annoyed me enough to keep my costume off of Facebook for now.


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## Tazzie

And just for fun, I liked this picture of us  a picture she doesn't look mad at the world in!


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## DanteDressageNerd

That is SO cool!! That looks really-really good on her! I may have to have some fun at these arabian shows one day, so much versatility and options you can take!

I also wanted to say the snobbery always amazes me. No matter the sport or discipline or breed, you always find special someones who lack any kind humility lol. Pettiness always amazes me but whatever, some people that's all they have going for them.


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## Tazzie

There is a lot you can do! At a normal show I show in essentially 4 different divisions. We do Sport Horse In Hand, Sport Horse Under Saddle, Hunter Pleasure, and Native Costume. Each class is roughly 5 minutes at a show, so no where near the length of time (or level of difficulty) that we do at home. The Sport Horse Show Hack is fun too since they ask for collected and extended gaits (we don't have much extension yet, but we still do well!) It's a blast! And thank you! I really do love it on her!

And I know! I could never do something like Western Pleasure purely because my heart is in Dressage (well, and now Arabian shows haha!) but I'd never bring someone down for showing in it. I used to be meh about Saddlebreds, but then I met my friend's gelding and her NSH mare and I like them! I've always been in the thought that a good horse is never the wrong breed. It'd be awfully boring if we all rode the exact same breed of horse and all did the exact same style of showing  And I think she's a bit miserable in her home life so she feels the need to prove she's better than everyone else. I'd rather help out my fellow competitors and help everyone do their best


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## Tazzie

Rode the opinionated little mare tonight. No more long vacations for her! She was NOT happy about going back to work. At all. I put leg on and she squealed and pinned her ears. Testing for soreness int he ribs yielded nothing. We do know she's in need of an adjustment, so we weren't aiming for the moon. By the end of our super, super short ride she realized the leg was there to stay, and I was going to use as needed. We had lovely trot work both ways after lovely walk, and called it good. Far too slick to canter (no arena....) and cantering is not fair to her when she's in need of an adjustment. She's typically fine with trotting, but cantering takes a lot of work to get going and you can tell she isn't comfy. She gets adjusted March 5th! This guy is tough to get an appointment with. He books 6 weeks out for haul ins, 6 months out for farm calls. Best in the area, and the only one I'd want working on Izzie (he's SO good and SO thorough)

She had a good cool down, went back into her field with some cookies and called it a night. I didn't ask for much at all with our ride with all of the factors against us right now. I'll be ready for her to be adjusted so we can really get working!


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## Tazzie

Got to ride again last night! Can't ride tonight since my husband has some thing to do, and then I'm gone all weekend. So sadly no riding time :/

I can tell she's still in a huge "I don't want to!" mind set. Madder than heck her little vacation is over and real work is picking back up. Had more squealing and naughtiness, but then settled into her light work. Had a few very good circles of trot (could feel her through and over the back; she's so dang obvious when she's working over her back. Kind of like a "Here! Have my back!" thing). My husband said she looked nice, and we called it a night. Hoping it dries out soon to do a bit more, but it's not looking too good. Calling for rain Monday/Tuesday at the very least. May have to rent the arena up the road to get any work in. Who knows, a change of scenery may be what she's needing right now. She got very used to go somewhere new at least once a month that it's a bit of a change to have not gone anywhere since Mid October.

The joy of owning a mare haha! She has to be the most opinionated little thing I have ever sat on!


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## DanteDressageNerd

lol stock horse x arabian crosses from what I understand are just opinionated lol. A friend of mine (who did arabs and crosses) said she's never met a pintabian or quarab who didn't have an attitude. They have the buttheadedness/stubbornness from the stock horse and the sensitivity of the arabian and the brain of both. Just an interesting combination if you like opinionated. They definitely let you know they have their own idea about things, can't "make" them do anything but can be like well here are your options. I'm being respectful of you, can you be respectful of me and just work with me here? Artful negotiations of encouragement and consistency.

Sorry if just made me laugh because every person I've ever talked to who has a quarab or pintabian has said the same thing about the opinionated, attitude and dramatic personality. But glad she's back in work and hopefully she gets better about letting you ride her lol but glad you had good parts, always a plus!


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## Tazzie

DanteDressageNerd said:


> lol stock horse x arabian crosses from what I understand are just opinionated lol. A friend of mine (who did arabs and crosses) said she's never met a pintabian or quarab who didn't have an attitude. They have the buttheadedness/stubbornness from the stock horse and the sensitivity of the arabian and the brain of both. Just an interesting combination if you like opinionated. They definitely let you know they have their own idea about things, can't "make" them do anything but can be like well here are your options. I'm being respectful of you, can you be respectful of me and just work with me here? Artful negotiations of encouragement and consistency.
> 
> Sorry if just made me laugh because every person I've ever talked to who has a quarab or pintabian has said the same thing about the opinionated, attitude and dramatic personality. But glad she's back in work and hopefully she gets better about letting you ride her lol but glad you had good parts, always a plus!


It certainly makes me laugh too! She is hands down the most dramatic, opinionated horse I have ever ridden, and I've ridden some interesting horses! I honestly wouldn't take her any other way though. Once she gets over her temper tantrums, she's good. Just the first few rides are always a challenge with her. We plan to do things a bit differently this coming winter so she won't have nearly as long of a vacation! The hope is we move her to my trainer's barn so we can ride far more often and she would be there for when we get stuck.

And always nice to have good parts to our ride  Makes the arguments in the beginning worth it haha!


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## DanteDressageNerd

I entirely understandable. The personality is endearing in it's own way lol. Frustrating and endearing. But at least they're usually extremely intelligent and have their own qualities that always make it worth it and being sweet and lovable never hurts either.


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## Tazzie

Oh yes, there is NO drilling an exercise with her or you're in for it! I love her intelligence. She can go from my totally game show mare to my kid's lead line pony at the same show. My son actually showed her in lead line immediately after I galloped with her in native costume this past April. And after a show she winds down with a trail ride with my husband up (who ignores my attempts of saying "please keep it to a walk" as he canters across a field...) Thankfully soon as I'm back up I have my show horse. It has never mattered who rides her. I get on, and she's ready for me. One smart mare


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## DanteDressageNerd

Very cool. I can say a lot of horses don't always recognize the difference. Definitely a perfect fit!!

My friend's national show horse gelding is the same. He will be a complete gentleman with children or if someone is on him who isn't particularly skilled or a skilled rider can get on him and he acts like little has changed between rides. That's pretty cool.


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## Tazzie

It really is! And Izzie's earning herself a pretty large fan club, so she'll have a fun new riders this year. One girl has been showing my best friends Half Arab (she's technically a National Show Horse, but I'm not sure if she's registered as such) in English Pleasure and Costume, and she remarked how fun Izzie looks to ride. So, she'll ride the night before our first show in March  And then I had a girl who was going to show her for me last spring, but there was a MASSIVE scare of that EHV-1. We ended up not hauling her in, and had to pull the ride from her. This girl helped my best friend every day when Izzie was getting some miles put on her, but had never been allowed to ride her (she was my friend's project and the trainer there was helping because she loved Izzie too). So she was disappointed we cancelled but totally understood our reasoning. I just told her today that as long as the show meshes with our schedule well, we will haul Izzie over to the show specifically so she can show her in the pleasure class and Native Costume. She's pretty darn excited 

I just really like sharing my horse haha! I waited SO long to get her, that I have that desire to share her with my friends. I can say my friends really like they get a shot at riding her  Most of them are English Pleasure riders, so to ride a finely tuned Dressage horse is a bit of a different ride!


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## DanteDressageNerd

I think that's really cool that she's so adaptive and responsive to other riders. That's really neat! Especially how versatile she can be. That's really cool. She's really a lovely mare and I'm glad you can share how special she is with others who can love and appreciate her too.

And I can't imagine what it would be like to be an english pleasure rider and sit on a dressage horse. I can imagine conflict of interest in some ways lol and perhaps confusion but an eye opening, fun experience


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## Tazzie

I only put the people willing to know how to cue her to hop on  Though they are used to the higher headset and the higher stepping trot, they do very well taking direction and riding her as needed! I got to ride my friend's english pleasure mare, and what a ride is all I can say!

And thank you! When I broke her I told my husband I wanted to get her to be as well rounded as I could, and to have her do as well as she could with others riding her. Since life is so crazy sometimes, I wanted to have a good solid plan for her future if it ever came to us needing to sell her. My husband promises this will never happen, but life is crazy! My friend yesterday when I mentioned that I wanted Izzie to be willing to work with someone else in the event we had to sell, she said "Katie, if you had to sell that horse tomorrow, you'd have a buyer in an hour between her fan club and all those people who know you've tossed riders up and sent them in a class after a brief introduction. You would have zero problem if you ever had to sell her." No one has approached me about buying her, but I have also made it VERY known I have zero interest in selling her. My kids will be the one stealing her from me 

In other extremely exciting news!! I got nominated for the Region 14 Sport Horse Rider/Handler of the year award!! Our first year showing, and we got nominated! It's way too cool and I am incredibly honored for the nomination! Totally made my morning when I saw that today


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## DanteDressageNerd

Congratulations on the award!! That is REALLY exciting!

That's also really neat and important sometimes to know is if absolutely necessary you could find a good home or someone who would treat her well. That's often a concern of mine if anything were to happen, who would ride him day after day and not get hurt? And she sounds like a special mare, I wouldn't sell her especially since you raised her, can trust your family with her to play around or take her into a show ring. Not a lot of horses you can do that with, you have a special girl! But that's cool they adjust to riding her so readily!


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## Tazzie

It's just the nomination right now, but man I'm excited to even be nominated!

And see you understand that life can happen, but that Dante is a tough horse to ride if you don't understand him. I have friends who are so proud of the fact they are the only one to ride their horse (though, after what Izzie's put me through they don't sound nearly so tough... and a cake walk to your Dante). Izzie really is a special mare. Even the days I get so frustrated with her attitude (I don't take it out on her or anything; just get off and am irritated) I would never sell her. Nick (my husband) said he would for the right money, but when we cut right down to it, and he's not by any of his horse hating family, he admits we would never sell that horse. She will probably be the one to get my kids where they want to go since she's very adaptable to new things.

And yeah, I watch the people who want to ride her on other horses and see how they handle coaching. Most of the time they express how fun Izzie looks to ride, and then I offer her for them to try. The girl who will be riding her before the first show is a Junior Rider. Can ride anything, but I think she's 15? So she'd be the first Junior Rider to actually ride Izzie. I'm pretty excited about it, and yes there will be video proof lol


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## DanteDressageNerd

It's still an honor to be nominated 

lol for sure. I've fallen on my butt so hard, I didn't know what hit me a few times but the economy, jobs. It's not predictable and hard times happen to everyone and anyone, no matter how responsible or how wise decisions were made.

But I definitely see a great value in having a horse where you know if you absolutely had to, you could easily find a great home. To me that is a real blessing and peace of mind. She's lucky to have such a great mom to love and look after her and it sounds like she'll have a fun life with all the variety and kids and your husband enjoying her too. And I'm sure she can be frustrating lol a lot of the best horses are  smart, opinionated and willful horses always can be but then they're a blessing because I bet she will try her heart out for you once she gets her mind in gear and going and I'm sure she learns and figures things out really quickly too.

I understand a certain pride in having a one person only kind of horse but I also know what you mean where some people think of it as like badge of honor to have a difficult horse and yeah it's nice when you can ride a challenging horse but I think it causes a lot of concerns too. Like with Dante I think I could put someone on him who is decent, coordinated and empathetic and he won't be bad but I think after a few rides if he wasn't always corrected or ridden a certain way, I think he'd revert back to being naughty, disobedient and spooky. If you let him be naughty and get away with too much he becomes more belligerent/unridable. He always tests his limits and how much the rider expects from him. I think for a lot of people he's something they'd have to have in training with a good professional. He's gotten SO SO much better, he's definitely my baby. I am mom to him and he's a great fit for me but it worries me too. Just the "what ifs" you know? Like my friend who is a professional told me he's a professionals ride but not a professionals talent and there is a VERY small market for horses like that.


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## Tazzie

It really is! And in my first official year showing AHA shows nonetheless!

Same here. I was rehabbing from a bad injury when the company I worked for laid me off. Was not a pleasant time in our lives, but we survived!

It really is a peace of mind knowing that. Heck, if my best friend was established she'd be first in line to get her. She knows what Izzie is capable of attitude wise, and she knows the potential I see in her (well, now; she didn't see ANY of the potential I saw in the ugly yearling). I'm lucky in that she really only tests me. My husband hops on and she w/t/c perfectly. With my kids she will legitimately stand there all day and not get antsy. Me? Oh no. She knows I make her work, and she has to voice that opinion. I did ask for this though lol I wanted a horse that was able to think for itself. I didn't want a horse that you hopped on and it just went through the motions.

I can understand the pride too, like I have pride knowing that while Izzie CAN perform well with others, she does a far better job with me because I know how far I can push before she gets ****y. And we hit the ring together and she gives me 100%+ every single time (well, most of the time. If she thinks she should be done, or I rushed in the canter departure, she will intentionally take the wrong lead both directions. You can set this horse up absolutely perfectly for the take off, but if she thinks you rushed it, she will take that wrong lead every single time).

And yeah, with a horse like Dante you would need a very special rider. I totally understand what you're saying about the professionals ride but not the professionals talent. Speaks volumes about you as a rider, but not helpful if you ever needed to sell him.


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## DanteDressageNerd

Ouch! That definitely makes things difficult but I'm glad you overcame and pulled through! The character building stuff we all love so much lol.

lol and you got exactly what you asked for  should make her a good dressage horse. A good horse has to think for itself and have it's own mind or at least I think so. I think the best horses always have a presence to them, an ego, a mind and an opinion isn't a bad thing lol.

It's funny how it works out some ugly ducklings really become very lovely swans. Izzy appears to me much more uphill moving naturally and honestly has better movement than Dante and she doesn't look like she has the swan neck either which is definitely a major plus! She's a talented girl!

And certainly she's your baby! You raised her, you trained her, you have a bond and trust, foundation and relationship no one else can touch. Plus you probably expect a lot more than most of her riders, which can definitely bring out more of those opinions but as you said know what makes her tick and what you can do/not do, how to ask or get more from her without a fight. How to ask her to perform willingly, you probably can bring something out in her other people can't just because your mom to her and someone else, like a trainer or somebody may be more skillful or whatever but she's not going to give them what she's willing to give you because they're not you.

Thank you and I agree, I don't think even if I achieved all my dreams with him he'd ever sell for much because he is just not that ridable (I've ridden way worse) he's at least reasonable and trainable. But he's tricky because he's conformationally not ideal (downhill/swan neck), so getting him to use himself correctly is hard plus he naturally moves more quarter horsey but with hock and knee. His movement is made through training and riding. I've learned a TON riding him and he's definitely made me a much better, more skillful rider and I'm proud of that but it makes me worry just because there really isn't a market for that lol.


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## Tazzie

It certainly built some character! I ended up being rehired there once they got more funding, but I never stopped looking. And now I have a new job that is a whole lot more stable. Not much of a salary increase, but the stability and the work more than make up for it!

I definitely got what I asked for! I've ridden the types that just go through the motions. I want a conversation (or, as a lot of our rides start off with, an argument haha!) and to know something is at the other end of the reins with a brain. Physically, she is actually a bit downhill, but you'd never know it when you get in the saddle. She has always had a good overstep in the walk and trot, and her canter has always held a lot of power from the hind. Just been fun channeling that into wanting to work with me! And she definitely doesn't have a swan neck! Her neck is actually fairly straight and short, which definitely leads to fighting the "please do not hang out behind the vertical because I am not asking for that!"

Oh, she knows I expect a lot, and honestly most of the time she's happy to give it. Just not after a long vacation! I know I would be fascinated to watch someone more educated than I am ride Izzie, but she's on the short side (15 hands) which doesn't lend well to our taller trainers! I've known her essentially her whole life, and have spent years making sure I knew exactly where her end point is. One of our last shows we ended up second in a class we could have easily won. But she had the "I will NOT collect up in the canter, and I DARE you to make me" attitude. We had one more class and it wasn't worth fighting it. Our last class she was ready and willing, so such is life!

I know exactly what you mean there. That's essentially what I grew up riding. Yeah, I got to ride my trainer/boss' gorgeous WBs, but as far as training and leasing horses, I was always one the quarter horses, the paints, the ponies, etc. It would take someone very knowledgeable to overcome his conformation faults. But hopefully you wouldn't wind up in that kind of a position! You guys are quite the team!


As for new stuff, we rode again last night before our massive rain storm. It rained off and on while I rode, which made Izzie mad. She worked through it though since riding in the rain is good for her! We had a rough beginning where she thought about escalating the behavior she had been giving me, so I had my husband dig out my whip (shows how often I use that.... took him a few to find it). Once I had it in my hands she had an "oh crap, mom is really serious now" moment and gave up her attempts to rear or be an idiot. Had the best work we've had this year on her. Just did walk - trot leg yields and trot figure eights. Need to work on walk - trot transitions, but something nagged at me that yesterday just wasn't the day for that. DH remarked she was getting back her nice trot finally, and I had to remind him it took strength and fitness to get her pretty trot back! She wasn't just going to come right out of the field and be absolutely perfect! Of course not the best ride we have ever had, but the best one of the year. So I'm satisfied!

And I had a few helpers with me yesterday! I had just brushed Izzie before these pictures, but my kiddos wanted to help desperately. Had a truck not started and left, I do think Izzie would have fallen asleep... Nick told me I better just give up the hope she will be my horse forever since it's clear one of those kids will be taking her!


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## DanteDressageNerd

I love your pictures with Izzy and your family. Those are really touching lol I hate to admit how sappy I am but that's really beautiful. I'm not joking, those pictures right there are literally my "if it ever happens" dream. That is precious!

But I'm really glad you had a productive ride  I really think some of are "less wonderful" but super productive rides are the ones that take us the farthest. And no I didn't even realize she was such a little horse or that she a short neck, she doesn't look or move small lol. and arabs seems to always have btv issues, you do/have done a really good job with her.

But I'm happy for you both. I totally understand the attitude and glad you have an understand of each other. They're the absolute best partnerships, even if she has a diva moment and takes you down in placings 

And thank you. We're lucky to have help and he's definitely capable, I think he'll do well at the upper levels someday. But I think riding all kinds, not just the super talented, naturally built for it teaches you a lot more. Like you riding quarter horses, ponies and anything you can ride. You learn to make a horse and I think feel more/are more aware when you have a horse it doesn't naturally come to. But I enjoy your thread. It's nice to see someone else bringing along a young arabian cross in the dressage world and see all the cool arabian opportunities I must exploit one day


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## Tazzie

Thank you! It's the first time they've had a chance to really help, and of course I had to capture the moment  Izzie's dream job would be at some farm that just had kids groom her all day long lol Sappiness is always welcome though  I love all four of them in those pictures (thank god for understanding husbands when I decide I'll be riding even though it's raining...)

We try not to show her neck is that short, but when you are standing right next to her it really is. We just make it appear as long as we can! And yeah, she's built like a powerhouse, which is why everyone (even those who have handled her and ridden her) can't believe on flat, solid ground that she sticks right at 15 hands. She has never moved as small as she is, which makes her a whole lot of fun to ride! And yeah, we just work hard to not dip behind it often! Thank you! I certainly try my hardest with her!

Thanks  the only way to really work with her is to understand her. Anyone getting on her as a run down of who she is, what her evasions are, and to not hang on the inside rein (she lets everyone around her know if you're hanging). One girl who was going to show her for me (before we cancelled due to horses coming in from Illinois where an EHV-1 outbreak had just occurred) had parents that freaked out asking what if she ran away?? I said it would take a whole lot for that horse to run away, dropped the reins, and showed them I could bring her to a walk and halt from my seat. Said she may give attitude, but it'd be an extreme circumstance for this horse to decide to leave a situation. And placings only matter to my husband lol this was only our first year showing together, so I never expected the year we had!

I totally agree! Growing up I was sad my parents would never get me a horse, but looking back I'm glad they didn't. It gave me the opportunity to try so many different horses and really showed me what I could stand and not stand in a horse (rode a horse that had ZERO forward and required SO much leg; I knew I didn't want that) And thanks! I enjoy yours too for the same reason! I enjoy telling my husband about your rides and how it gives me some things to try to get something different out of Izzie. And yes! I never realized all it had to offer, and I'm glad I dove in head first! I've met A LOT of awesome people I wouldn't have met otherwise who have become my horse show family. We are all at the same shows, some of us against one another, and we have a great time! It feels like what showing everywhere needs to become! No one tearing each other down, and I clap for my competitors if they beat me! Just good sportsmanship


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## DanteDressageNerd

You're welcome  And that's really perfect and awesome!! I honestly think arabians are good with kids. Every arabian I've known, except for one who was bonkers have been really good childrens horses even if they give adults a run for their money. They're very aware and considerate.

That's really awesome she is that good about ground tying. And it's also good that she calls people out on things, IMO that makes her a much better horse because she won't try to just work out what the rider is meaning, she'll actively say uh no, that's not right and I don't like it so the rider knows if they're doing something wrong. But kudos on the excellent show year! I hope I have as good of one 

Absolutely!! It's a fabulous opportunity to ride a good variety of horses, so as you say you know what you want and don't want. And also because you really appreciate it when a horse is really yours and you can make choices with it. And yes good sportsmanship is a must, unfortunately it seems to few have it!


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## Tazzie

She really is good with them  being so good with the kids is what saves her butt sometimes.

She's good when she wants to be haha! As long as it's not me in the irons she won't misbehave that much. Just minor "no, you can't make me bend" kind of things. And we've told people if they rush the canter, she will take the wrong lead every time out of spite (or so it seems lol) and you have to ask nicely, not yell the aids. Thanks! We're hoping this year is as good too! Aiming for regionals, which is both exciting and terrifying!

And oh yes, it's why I want my kids to ride as many different horses as they can! Sportsmanship sure seems to have left a lot of the competition world :/ did you see where the Arabian's tail was cut at nationals? Or the reining horses were poisoned? Makes me sick and sad for this world 

Rode Izzie today. Just ugh! We take a step forward, then rocket backward in the beginning of the year. Today I had the horse I've seriously considered selling. Would work beautifully for a bit, then fling her head, flop her tongue (teeth/bit are fine, they are checked religiously), and attempt to rear or bolt. Ended with beautiful walk-trot transitions, which was my tentative goal for the ride. But just ugh. I hate getting out of the irons thinking tomorrow will be worse. I want to get on and have a good ride! This coming winter we have full intentions to board her so she does not have this incredibly long vacation ever again...


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## Tazzie

Today was leaps and bounds better than yesterday. Last night I got home and just sat down to think. Pondered what could be her issue. Her saddle fits ok (it's not perfect, but we are addressing that as soon as her incentive fund money comes in). I know she's in need of an adjustment but she doesn't typically act like this when in need of one. Then a light bulb came on. She's still young (we still call her a baby even though she'll be 6 in April...) and she had a super long vacation. She probably has a lot of yahoos pent up that she needs to let out.

So today, I got us all ready, and I popped her on the lunge line. I will state Izzie DOES know how to properly lunge, and this is not normally acceptable behavior. However, she's a pasture horse 24/7 with horses well over twice her age, the oldest is 30. There isn't much in the way of running around like a looney! I put her on the lunge, got out of the way, and she EXPLODED. We're talking bucking, squealing, racing around like a crazy horse and just kicking up her heels. Once she settled down to the left and had a lovely trot, I stopped her and switched directions. Same deal only with the added bonus of flying lead changes (which look like they will be SO fun to ride when she's actually trained to do them). Settled down and I hopped on her. We had a lovely walk-trot ride. Did a VERY short ride. And I'm talking VERY short. A few circles to the right at the trot, then did a perfectly executed change of direction to go to the left (yesterday changing directions was end of the world) and lovely trot circles to the left. I asked my DH how she looked. He said "she has her awesome show trot back." With that comment I walked up to him, and hopped off. Yesterday was such a failure I wanted today to be entirely positive. And we got it. Let her graze while we untacked her.

This makes me more hopeful. Told Nick we will just lunge her before every ride until she gets her adjustment. I prefer not to lunge just because at our shows there really isn't much space to lunge properly, and it expends more energy than I would in our ridden warm up prior to going in a class. She gets tomorrow off since I'm sure she will be a bit sore after her weekend of riding, and pick back up on Tuesday. Fingers crossed she's better!

It also help I consciously rode entirely off my seat and legs. Sometimes Izzie gets VERY strong and I resort to riding too much with my hands. Today, she fully listened. I told her we both want to stay out of her mouth, and if she will really work on listening to my seat and legs I'll stay almost entirely out of her mouth with only small, quiet aids. Let's see how long this lasts! But I will be having my husband yell at me if he sees me getting too heavy with my hands!


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## DanteDressageNerd

I can't give you too many suggestions but I will say arabians and arabian crosses don't seem to like the cold and sometimes they have a "teenager" phase of being rebellious or just testing the water that will pass. But it will likely work itself out if this is new behavior. Or as you said an adjustment may do the trick. I know Dante gets VERY upset if his saddle doesn't fit either perfectly or nearly perfect.

But I'm glad to hear you had a really good ride and are making progress. It sounds like you two had a good ride today! But it's good you have eyes on the ground lol glad your husband is interested in the horses enough and has enough of an eye to tell you  that's pretty cool.


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## Tazzie

Oh yeah, she's not a huge fan of the cold, but that may be because cold has meant no working. No telling with her! She gets adjusted March 5th, and I anticipate a big change after that. We're mostly just keeping our rides short and focusing more on building stamina and fitness than to have perfect rides until then. She's not fit enough for perfect yet. I think the lunging will be our key until then!

And Izzie lets me know a saddle doesn't fit by literally going down or rearing straight up as soon as you sit down. There is no walking around. It's you're going up or you're going down. So that tells me the saddle is good enough for now. I hate saying that since I want PERFECT but I can't have that quite yet; anticipating $2400+ from the incentive fund though, so that should get us a nice used saddle that fits us both way better. Already have a saddle fitter picked out that specializes in Arabians/Half Arabians, which I'm hoping will be extremely helpful picking the best fitting saddle we can find. My friend is DYING for us to get a nicer saddle since Izzie deserves nicer. Just budget says "nope, not if you want to keep giving her her supplements, keep giving her chiro work, and keep getting lessons."

As for Nick, he's my rock. He bought my Izzie as the ugliest yearling I've seen (he didn't know better, and I saw something special). He knew nothing about horses when I met him, so I was teaching both Nick and Izzie ground work at the same time. It was a proud moment when Nick could ground drive Izzie all over the farm, and successfully lunge her. He comes to all of my lessons so he knows exactly what I'm looking for. And when I'm not straight he asks "Is your nose in line with her mane? No? Then put it there." He hates admitting he knows as much as he does, but he knows more about proper leads and how to tell immediately when they are about to take the wrong one. Better than his buddy who actually rode horses for a long time! I love him and I love that he can help me with my riding  Izzie and I certainly benefit from it!


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## Tazzie

Oh, I forgot to post the cutest comment from my son yesterday! I was laughing so hard!

I asked him yesterday if he was going to help mommy show Izzie. He said "Yup!" I asked him if he was going to show her "Uh huh!" I asked what he was going to show her in, and he mumbled something unintelligible. I asked "Halter?" since we hope to let him show in the free halter class there. And I got "No! Hunt seat!" back at me! He's totally my child!


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## DanteDressageNerd

Your son sounds adorable!! How old is he?

I totally hear you about the saddle. Arabs are hard to fit and can be very particular lol. Izzie soundsas testy as Dante about fit. I ended up getting a Trilogy Debbie McDonald/used but I was lucky to have Debbie Witty fit Dante, she flocked it to fit his shape and did something with the flocking so the panels didn't come back so far. She's brilliant and SUPER nice and professional, really honors her customers. I'm REALLY impressed with her saddles. The design is incredible. No matter the saddle it never tightens the riders hip, keeps it open and is designed to fit the horse too. Im not a schlese fan at all lol just familiar with them and haven't been impressed with the saddle fit, how they ride or the service. Haven't had one but many of my trainer's clients used to have them. One had her saddle completely redone by Schlese and it made her horse lame. Like they had the vet out, put another saddle on. Horse was sound, saddle was fully custom and didn't fit at all. I've ridden in 3 or 4 and every single one felt like my hips were jammed in position and forced my leg where it didn't belong but hope you have a great experience with whatever you buy.

I think it's great you found someone so supportive educated to actually helping you out with the horses and getting involved. That's really rare and equally special. It sounds like you have a lovely family


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## Tazzie

He will be 3 beginning of March  he's a handful, and thinks he's much bigger than he is :lol: one of the clubs I'm in does a member only halter class, so it's open to all breeds. Izzie usually listens to him, so we were going to see if we could get her to do a short, little western type jog so Kaleb can show her. He'd think it was pretty fun if we can pull it off!

Yeah, she's VERY testy. That's how I know she's at least ok with this saddle. I don't have my heart set on any certain brand right now, just want one that fits us both as well as we can get. I LOVE Arabian Saddle Company saddles (like sitting on a cloud; at least the one I tried) but I can't stomach spending THAT much right now. Unless she happens to know a nice used one. I'm hoping to bring my best friend and my husband along for the saddle fitting. Let Nick learn a bit more about proper fit, and to let my best friend learn a bit too. It's good knowledge to have! But I'll keep that in mind regarding the schleese. Like I said, not set on anything at all. Just want something that makes Izzie go "oh yes, get this one."

Nick is definitely a rarity. He hates admitting he knows what he does about horses, and hates admitting he likes them. But I did, finally, get him to admit he loves Izzie in the privacy of our own home. He is there pretty much every time I ride, and will give input as he sees it. Loves going to shows when we do well lol And I love my family! I was truly lucky to have these people in my life, and people who support this crazy horse addiction :lol:


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## Tihannah

I remember reading your journal a couple months ago and being wowed by the progress of you and Izzie, but don't know if I ever commented or not? Lol. You've done an amazing job with this horse and should be so proud!


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## DanteDressageNerd

He sounds adorable! Awww I hope he gets to show her, it sounds like it'd make everyone really happy 

The great thing about saddles is there are SO many different makes and types for different riders and their needs. Everybody is built differently and likes different things. I know for me I like trilogy the most of what I've ridden in. Dante and I are equally picky about saddles :lol: so finding a saddle for us was SUPER hard. I have trouble with a lot of dressage saddles because I feel like a lot of them try to shove the rider into a certain position with huge knees blocks trying to throw the riders legs way far back or they're like sitting in a hole and they completely lock up the hips. I'll ride in whatever but when I buy a saddle, I want something that I feel I can ride PSG in. So when you do go saddle shopping, good luck!! I honestly think finding a saddle to fit a horse is harder than finding a horse lol.

But I'm really happy you have such a wonderful family who is so eager to be supportive and get involved. It's got make the experience that much better when everyone enjoys it!


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## Tazzie

Thanks Tihannah! And welcome! I am pretty proud of her  She's my baby girl!

Dante, we sure hope so! Hoping the weather doesn't stay nasty for long so he can practice! Thankfully the show isn't until April 23rd, so plenty of time to practice 

And I hear ya! I'm preparing myself for the challenge of finding one we both love, which I know will be hard! I don't think Izzie is nearly as picky as Dante, but I still want her to be completely happy with it! And I HATE huge knee blocks. HATE them. My position used to be fabulous without them, and I don't want them forcing me into it. I just want something more comfortable than our current saddle, which really won't be hard to do. We shall find out!

I'm thankful for them  Kaleb (my 3 year old) is my biggest supporter some days! I hear him clapping for me at the rail a lot! Sydney babbles and screams "E e" for Izzie, which makes Izzie happy lol

I haven't been able to ride the last 2 days  We gave her Monday off after working hard (it was nasty here anyway), and yesterday too since it was still gross. Hoping to ride today, though it'd be another short one thanks to the snow. Nick's truck is fixed (we think...) so hopefully we can haul to the arena up the road and get some real ride time in. My wonderful husband brought up last night that he's been thinking how he'd make my indoor arena when we get a farm  SO glad he's good with me needing that here!


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## Tazzie

Opted not to ride this evening. I had a weird nagging feeling in my gut that said to not ride. So hooked her up on the lunge line and worked on walk-trot and trot-canter transitions. She had a few moments of "I don't want to!!" but worked through them. And I'm reminded why I keep going with her no matter how much she frustrates me sometimes. I had her moving in just the prettiest manner today, oh my goodness. The trot I fell in love with. The trot that looks absolutely effortless and just floats. Such suspension, just *swoon*. I told Nick I can't wait to have that harnessed under saddle. And he gave me the best line ever "You already do get it sometimes." *sigh* I didn't realize I ever got it under saddle. One day I'll have it on video. It's just so gosh darn pretty!

Plan to lunge again tomorrow. It's just a bit slick out there, and I'd rather she worry about just carrying herself than worrying about the both of us.


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## DanteDressageNerd

That's precious your kids enjoy going out and watching you ride. That's really special.

That's also really sweet that your husband is offering to build an arena. Is he in construction?

Maybe she's like Dante and just doesn't do well with a few days off but hopefully the weather clears up, so you can work her more. Winter is not my favorite time of year lol. But I'm glad you've been able to get her fancy trot undersaddle. I think sometimes with arabs it's hard to get that lofty trot because they're often so inverted and up to get that height and lift but if it's a suspension-y over the back trot that will be really nice!

I actually don't mind the big knee blocks if they're in the right place, unfortunately so many saddles have them IMO not what they should be for but to push the rider's leg back and negatively influence their position. I like the ones on my saddle because they're helpful without being restrictive. For example in sitting trot when a horse gets a lot of lift or suspension it helps so you don't have to brace in your leg to avoid air time. I put a picture of my saddle. When I looked at it originally I was not a fan of how "deep" it looked because most "deep" saddles felt like I was sitting in a hole without movement or it'd tip me forward or lock up my hips (I have a butt and a long femur) but this one and actually all the trilogy saddles did not, even if they weren't a good fit for me. Not trying to sell trilogy but to show an option out there. They're expensive (I got mine for a good price but the leather was faded and needed some love) but they're very well designed and made. Comfortable and supportive, without being restrictive or forcing a position. Anyways good luck and I know it's not a right now goal but always good to see options, I think.

My saddle when it showed up was quite brown. Grooms secret is for a once in a while deep clean, murphys oil soap is actually really good to use on some saddles with a toothbrush to clean out the grains and restore the color. It's taken a few months but it's almost totally black, the other side is more brown but dark brown instead of light.


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## Tazzie

They love it too  And seriously, I love hearing them cheer me on. It gets me to SMILE in the ring haha!

Nick is kind of a do it all kind of guy. His dad is a roofer and is a phenomenal wood worker. Honestly, he could probably build exactly what I would want in an indoor. We've had a lot of discussion of what I'd want (as much natural light as possible, and windows like my trainer has that look like solid wall but flip up to open) and what I don't want (only access through a small door, and smaller than a small dressage arena, though standard would be my dream lol). It just shocked me that he'd been thinking about it. He knows how frustrated I get with the weather here (going to be 22 this evening; so another lunge day for Izzie)

As for the trot, it was definitely a coming from behind/over the back, on the bit, suspensiony trot. And it was gorgeous. I've felt her do some epic steps before, but of course I can't see them. And Nick doesn't always tell me lol

For knee blocks, I was talking the big monster ones that get in the way completely. I have THIGHS (like, they are monsters), so I'd feel wedged in them. I also have short legs (I'm 5'2", and short legs...) So finding something that fits both will be intense I think. I know you're not trying to sell me on it, but I will probably toss it on the list to try. I told Nick I would prefer a used saddle so I could perhaps get a better quality saddle than to buy a lesser saddle new. We are anticipating rough $2400 from the incentive fund, and that's just Izzie's part. I'll also have some come in for her sire since I nominated him. So we may be looking at a budget of about $3000. I'd like to think I can find something decent with that budget :lol:


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## egrogan

Just wanted to jump in and say I have a Trilogy Debbie MacDonald too, and it's very comfortable. I came from a old-school County Competitor (short flapped) with very minimal knee blocks, and have to admit it was a bit of a transition for me to the Debbie MacDonald. But I have gotten used to to it, and I don't feel that my knees are flapping out away from the horse.

The County Competitor is my true love, but the one I had was just too small for me in the seat, and I have not been able to find another used saddle with short flaps. If I ever see one come up for sale, I will snatch it up quickly!


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## Tazzie

Thanks Egrogan! Right now we are in a wintec, so pretty much anything is a step up. Can it be April now so we can go shopping?? :lol:

And didn't make it out to Izzie last night. It was BITTER here, and I know her and I would have argued about working properly. Tonight we're going to a fish fry, and tomorrow we are heading to buy my husband his new toy. So Sunday it is...


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## DanteDressageNerd

Well I wish you luck on the saddle shopping. Lots of options out there the Trilogy verago from what I've seen when Debbie Witty fitted them tends to fit petite riders who have thighs or hips or a butt or all 3. Just to say options. From discussions the Debbie McDonald is supposed to fit more petite ladies but I'm 5'7 and leggy I have hips, a butt and thighs and that saddle suits me over the verago or amadeo (amadeo is good for men or women with the body body). You can find them used in your price range and the flocking is adjustable if the fitter/flocker knows what they're doing. Albions are also good but I'm not as familiar with them. Country is good, I've tried a few and I didn't particularly like them but again there are MANY saddles out there for MANY different types of bodies and horses. Just try as many as you're allowed to, to figure out what works best for you.

And hope you can get her fancy trot on camera/video. We'll be rooting for you!

That's really neat! It sounds like he's very skilled an accomplished. I always admire people who are skilled in that way, it's not easy! And entirely practical! I hope he can make you your "dream" arena! It's important to be skilled and unfortunately it's becoming less and less common.

Enjoy the fish fry and enjoy your family! That sounds like it will be fun! Sorry about the weather though. Hopefully it will improve!


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## Tazzie

That's the plan! I want to test ride whatever they will let us try! And hopefully we find that perfect fit without too much stress!

One day I'm sure we will 

He's pretty awesome  It really is becoming less common. He really wants to good at just about everything, and he actually is very good at a lot of things!

The fish fry was fun, and we ate way too much haha! It was 19 degrees here today, blech! The days I really pine for an indoor arena! Plan to stash away cash throughout the summer to board Izzie with my trainer for the winter. This riding outside is for the birds!

Today we went and bought Nick's new toy... it's a 2015 Polaris RZR 900 Trail Rider. After we went to go get it, we went directly to Izzie where I was either just going to lunge if she seemed too fussy, or do a nice quiet ride. Her lunging was impeccable, with her cantering beautifully and a decent trot. The ground was a bit pitted/rough so I didn't want her over doing it. I hopped on and did some REALLY nice walking leg yields. Lately she's been a bit uptight, almost pacey at the walk. Today I had back her nice, quiet walk. Did some nice trot figure eights, and a little trot leg yield. Brought her back into a nice, forward walk, and gave her free rein. I picked back up the free rein just to make sure she wouldn't try and bolt as soon as I picked up the contact like the last time I rode before lunging. Thankfully she didn't, which means she's glad I'm listening to her again. Then had a perfect, square halt (I don't think she knows how to halt unsquare... I've never seen her do it). Gave a good rub and hopped off. I rubbed her face all over like she loves when we were done, and she was showered with treats. These are the rides I absolutely remember why I love her and why I want to work so hard with her. I love that little mare!

So, a good day. Nick got his new toy, I got a good ride, my Kentucky Wildcats won, and then Nick took me on a ride on said toy. It was fun!


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## Tihannah

Sounds like it was an awesome ride and reading it, made me totally relate with Tess. There is no better feeling than having clear communications and good results from it in the saddle. I'm constantly talking to Tess in the saddle and her ears are constantly turned backwards listening to me. Today when she tried to suck back I'd give a sharp, "Aaaah!" and she would immediately release and relax and then I would counter with praise. It seemed to really work, so I think I will keep doing it! Lol.

P.S. I, too, want to see some video of you guys riding!


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## Tazzie

Once we are in shape more, I'll have him get video! The best chance of video would be at our first show since he's going to record the native costume class at least  The area we ride in stinks, and neither of us are in shape. Like, it'd be embarrassing to show video right now lol after she's adjusted, and we are better on our game, there will be a lot of video  I'm hoping Nick will record all of our Class A shows 

And my day got better! I didn't think it could, but it did! I had texted my buddy Friday night. He runs the SAHIBA shows, and I had texted him asking if he knew when the SAHIBA Sheiks N Shrieks show would be. It's typically early October, but I didn't know if it would be the 1st or the 8th. The 8th Nick's youngest brother is getting married, so was PRAYING it wouldn't be that day. It's not!! My friend texted me back last night saying it's the 1st! To say I jumped up and danced around would be an understatement lol there was also screaming! Haha!


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## DanteDressageNerd

Definitely get some video! When you have better working conditions and show the native costume class, that sounds really cool!

That's great the show schedule work out with your schedule so you can enjoy showing and attend the wedding. Never a bad way for things to work out


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## Tazzie

I promise to have plenty of video  just, not right now! It's COLD and tough out there right now!

It was a great thing finding out last night! Obviously we wouldn't be showing her if it'd been on the same day, but I'd have been really sad. We're already missing one show due to our anniversary. I joked with my husband we could easily come back Saturday and still show Sunday, and I got a death stare haha! As if I was being serious :lol:

I rode her again today. It was COLD. The ground was even harder, so much so she didn't even want to canter by herself. I didn't make her. Got on to do some very, very brief walk-trot transitions, and then put her up. She was shivering a bit (she's not shivering in the barn, just when I'm asking her to stand to get tacked up). I doubled checked with our friend/barn owner if I could toss some extra hay to help keep them warm. He said I'm welcome to throw hay whenever I felt they needed it, which was nice. I like to keep hay in front of her face during cold weather and he knows it.

Though, all this cold is making it easier for both Nick and I to agree that we will be boarding her this winter, no matter what it takes. We don't have any heavier blankets for her (can't really blanket where we are; far too wooded and they aren't checked every few hours), so we know we will have to buy some. Nick is, thankfully, ok with this. He knows Izzie and I are both frustrated with the weather and the footing. Izzie WANTS to work so badly. I can feel her wanting to. But the footing is hard and a bit pitted, so she can't do her nice trot. I hate winter


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## Tazzie

So one of my friends on Facebook put up a post asking people who the first horse they loved was, if they could remember. My immediate thought went to these handsome boys. The darker bay with dapples is George (registered name Overgraaf (spelling?)) The lighter bay was Khir. George was the first horse I groomed at the barn I learned to ride at, and he was gorgeous. But he HATED Dressage. He had buckets of talent for it, but not the patience. He was sold as a jumper, and in his first class placed 2nd out of 50!

Then there was Khir. Khir LIVED for Dressage. The kind of horse you had to work first or turn out first or he'd rear and throw a temper tantrum in his stall. He had the best work ethic ever, and the horse I learned a lot of the upper level movements on. He was starting to learn one tempis when he injured his deep digital flexor tendon. Lots of stall rest, lots of hand walking and lots of rehabilitating and he came back to schooling one tempis. Then he reinjured it. And my boss made the heartbreaking decision to put him down.

Both were Dutch Warmbloods. George sticked at 17.1, and Khir was 17.3. So gorgeous!

PS, these were my senior pictures, and are now 10-11 years old at this point!


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## DanteDressageNerd

I'm glad you got to ride your girl though I'm sorry the ground is so awful. I hate winter too! I don't think arabians like winter either lol, they don't like being cold. And I agree. I think most horses with a work ethic like having a job, I think they get as restless as we do when we're out of work :lol: 

I hope you can find a way to board her, it sounds like it would make it a lot easier for you and make her more comfortable. A good things I remember is at my friends ranch in Wisconsin, she had horses that boarded there and it could get 20 below and the horse's had so much hair they never had a problem. It's amazing how their body adapts.

lol that's awesome you have a husband who actually honors and cherishes your anniversary with you. That's special, spend time with him! lol always more shows!

And lovely pictures!! BEAUTIFUL horses, you're a really pretty girl! Dutch horses have such distinct personalities, I've never met one who didn't have odd quirks. That's awesome. Always have to cherish memories! Though it's hard to believe how quickly time flies by.


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## Tazzie

Yeah, it snowed here last night... I'm trying to decide if we go out and ride in it this afternoon, or let her have the day off and do some light work tomorrow. I like snow, but at the same time it's very inhibiting  and we both hate being cold, that's for sure!

I'm sure we can figure it out as long as we budget for it. She would be there from November until the end of March (our first show of the season). I'd love to keep her there year round, but that would never be in the budget. I'd move her early since I believe she's typically always there, meaning I'd have someone around as I ride. It would be hunting season at that point, so I don't want to drag Nick out to help me (he helps me at all of my shows, so the least I can do is not deny him hunting time). And yeah, Izzie is a woolly mammoth right now! Only reason she was cold was temperature said 19 degrees F, real feel was 7, and the wind was BITTER. Yuck!

Oh yeah  He's pretty special! I only goaded him to see his reaction, but he knows I always have the mindset of "there are always more shows." I'm actually giving up a dressage show this year to let another girl show my horse at a local show. She was supposed to show her last year when my best friend and I decided to cancel the show. Bunch of horses were hauling in from Illinois, and they had just had confirmed cases of EHV-1. My best friend's vet said if she really loved her horse, she wouldn't go. And he was not one to over exaggerate things. So I promised the girl she could show Izzie this year, in both her pleasure class and native costume. She's beyond pumped, and I will NOT pull the ride from her again. Even if it means missing the first dressage show we'd do this year. Next year we are pulling back a bit on the fair type shows in favor of more dressage shows.

And thanks! I loved those two boys so much! They were big boys, but they were so gentle (on the ground; George was a firecracker under saddle!) I have so many fond memories of watching my boss/trainer show Khir at Waterloo. She didn't follow George, so we have no idea what he is up to at this point. And Khir has been gone quite a few years at this point  And thanks! I wish I was still that small haha! Ah, such is life (and two kids!) Time sure does fly!


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## DanteDressageNerd

Ick. I'm just a state over from you, so I'm pretty sure we have the same kind of weather. It's starting to warm up at least! So Izzy should be happier with the change and you too!

lol of course. Must always harass and mess with those we care about, it gets too boring is we can't push their buttons sometimes. But that's really kind of you to compromise your ride/show for someone else to enjoy her. That's really neat! But it also give you mare more experience points and a chance for you to watch her go which is pretty cool.

lol dutch horses. Sorry to hear Khir passed but it's kinda sad to look at how many horses come in and out of our lives throughout the years and trying to track their situations. It gets interesting!


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## Tazzie

Yeah, a lot of it melted yesterday, and then refroze over night... So our hill was a sheet of glass. Leaving for work was SO MUCH FUN. Not. Nick had to come back and take the truck since the little car wouldn't make it up the hill. Everyone made it in one piece though.

It's fun to mess with him :lol: And yes! I love watching how she preforms with someone else  Always fun!

It certainly can get interesting! I wouldn't know where to start trying to track him, so I haven't at all. I just hope he is still jumping like he loved 

Today we are feeding everyone. The ground may be a bit meh, so Izzie will probably just have a light lunge to get moving. We didn't go down last night since the fog was very dense and both kids have colds. Ready for this season to be over!


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## DanteDressageNerd

I'm so glad the snow is finally melting, only thing that sucks now is how mushy and muddy everything is :/ But it sucks when it refreezes, WAY worse than driving on snow but glad everyone is okay!

Of course! That's how you know you got a good one! He can take it!

I don't know how you can particularly track a horse unless you know their registered or show name and look up through USEF or something. But hope he's well too!

Good luck lunging Izzy! I hope your kids feel better! Never good to have the young ones sick, what I remember is they make everyone miserable lol.


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## KigerQueen

so i should not tell you that its now in the 80s were im at? lol! hoping for better weather for you and your girl soon!


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## Tazzie

Yeah, it's thawing, but only on the top. It's still frozen underneath. Yuck in general!

Yup  He's wonderful lol

His registered name was Overgraaf (or Overgraff; I can't remember the spelling). Registered Dutch Warmblood. But no clue how to look any of that up.

Lunging last night was me being lazy and just hooking the line to her halter. Someone was full of BEANS last night, my god. Very snorty and blowy lol I took video, which I'll post at the end. It was after she'd calmed down a bit, but something had her worked up! And a note before the video: we didn't start out by that brush. Someone ended up in it anyway, dang horse...

Kiger, we're supposed to be near 60 on Friday... 80 is really warm lol

Here is the video lol
https://youtu.be/TZu7jUkF-Ak


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## Tazzie

And apparently I'm outside the edit period (I thought it was 15 minutes??)

Anyway, Izzie had her feet trimmed today. The new farrier is very nice! Knew what he was talking about, and got right to it. And he scratched her quite a bit, so she liked him (that's what her, and my, favorite farrier did, so I'm hoping this bodes well!) He commented how very nice and very healthy her feet were! Such a relief! And understands that one of her feet will always be higher than the others and to not try and make it the same. Fingers crossed he's a keeper!


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## DanteDressageNerd

lol she's such a lovely mare, even muddy and on uneven ground. She has a really nice trot, definitely shows tons of potential!! Lovely girl!

I don't know how to help you on that, I've never tracked a horse before :-( sorry!

Hopefully the 60 degree weather dries up the fields!

And I'm glad her feet are doing so well!! Always good to hear!


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## Tazzie

Thanks  I'm normally not THAT lazy, but someone needed a bit of blowing off steam. We think she may have gotten a bit spooked since they were stripping tobacco in the barn (the horse barn is also a working tobacco barn), there were four wheelers racing all over the property, it was warming up, and I think she's getting back in shape :lol: She had a grand time prancing around and doing whatever she wanted on the end of that line (still very respectful, even when she's literally kicking up her heels with sheer joy lol) I could have watched it all night if I could have!

It's all good. I've tried searching for him before, but nothing came up. And I wouldn't know how to begin if the Dutch Warmblood had a database like AHA does. I'm sure he stuck with the jumping since it was absolutely his forte. 

I'm really hoping so! I already told Nick though that we will need to start hauling down to the arena down the road to get some real ride time in. I'm trying not to be too strenuous on her until she gets adjusted, which will be March 5th. Just trying to up her fitness/stamina until then.

And thanks! I was SO relieved! I agonize over her feet, but don't know how to do them myself. And with her having funky feet I didn't want to teach myself. I feel it was a good sign he said pretty much exactly what our favorite farrier said when he met her! I am glad he interacted with her too. She doesn't take too kindly to people just coming up and getting started on stuff. She thinks she's a giant dog and needs scratches too. So it was nice to see he was very liberal with the scratches and the pats. Even stayed and scratched her a bit after he was done.

And this is how you know you have a keeper husband. When you tell him the new farrier was a bit more than you expected, and he asks how much. So you tell him, and he says "Well, I kind of figured it'd be about that much. You knew he was going to be more than Remington." So thankful he's so laid back with Izzie's ever increasing expenses :lol:


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## DanteDressageNerd

lol I'm glad she had such a great time prancing! Though if all that commotion was going on, I don't blame her in the least for being a little silly! She's getting herself back into shape lol

Good luck finding him but I hope he's still enjoying life!

Your husband definitely sounds like a keeper! he sounds like a really good man who really loves you, accepts the horses and wants to support you and help you keep doing it even with two small kids. That's pretty special! You're truly blessed  

lol but I'm glad she likes the farrier and he gave her some loves an attention too. I wonder if the stock horse x arabs are just particular about who they like or don't like. I notice they know how to pose for the camera and always know when they're being told how pretty they are. I hope the adjustments goes well, it's amazing the difference a chiropractic visit can make!


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## Tazzie

Yeah, it's one reason I didn't make her really focus and work. Would have just ended up in the two of us fighting each other until we were dripping sweat. And since we were about to feed dinner, I didn't want to do that! She likes the rare occasions I let her decide the pace and gait :lol:

I am very blessed  and to think, before I met him he HATED horses. Heck, when I said something about other people not liking them, HE told ME "they just haven't been around them to know how personable they are." This made my jaw drop lol we always joke Izzie is essentially a Labrador in a horse's body. I tell people not to sit down by her or she may attempt to sit in their lap (kidding; she is more respectful than that, but it gets the idea across lol)

She is pretty particular about people working on her. She really only wants the best lol don't blame her there! And yes! I know she will feel A LOT better afterward! I KNOW she's out in her hips, her poll, and her stifles. I *think* she's out in the rib cage too judging by her attitude. Two more weeks!!

Didn't do anything but feed her yesterday. It was a blah day overall. A plate I was working on may be totally destroyed. The guy who I got it from used the wrong plate for his samples. I didn't notice, and neither did my boss. Days worth of work, gone. Trying to re-extract them now. Left work to get my allergy shots yesterday, and found out they are forcing us to wait now, ugh. Went to Walmart since they had Paw Patrol shoes there, and Kaleb needed new shoes. Grabbed socks too for him and Sydney. Standing in the checkout line when the girl behind me, who is on her phone, said "yeah, I'm getting two lice kits, I'm done messing around." UGH, NO! Went to grab dinner since at this point it's going to be a later night out than I planned. Get to the light before turning onto the main road to our house, and have the urge to check the food. Sure enough, Nick's food wasn't there. Go back, and wait FOREVER in line to get it. Finally got home where we chowed down fast and we all headed out to feed.

Today I'm debating if I'll do anything or just go out tomorrow. Today has been rough. We woke up at the time we were supposed to be leaving (Nick forgot to reset his alarm) so we got ourselves and kids dressed and packed in about 10 minutes. I dropped the kiddos off since it's not as big of a deal if I'm late (work here is pretty fluid with regards to time). Nick called as I'm on the main road out of our area to let me know I may need to pick him up as his truck is acting up, again. Ugh. He ended up making it to work just fine on his own, thank god. Then I got stuck behind a semi in the fast lane doing under the speed limit, and the rest of the highway was also going slow. As if that couldn't be bad enough, I was about 3-4 miles from my exit when I saw a sign saying there was an accident in the left lanes of the highway I was on. Great. So I get into the middle lane. Well, that wasn't good enough. The accident happened right where an on ramp came on and created it's own lane (making it a four lane highway). All three of the original lanes were closed, and only the on ramp lane was open. Two car rollover, no sign as to why they rolled. So I was VERY late to work. Add to it that we are under a wind advisory today until 7 pm is making me wonder if it's a smart idea to ride today at all. *sigh*


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## Tazzie

So a thread in Horse Talk got me thinking of freestyles and music. I hope I'm not the only weirdo who has a song they want SO bad in a freestyle. Obviously this would local shows, but I'd love it. And there are two lines I'd want in it. "Naw, the girl can't help it" and "Lord have mercy baby's got her blue jeans on." Yeah, I'm weird lol but every time I hear it I want to ride to it lol

For those unfamiliar, It's Mel McDaniel - Baby's Got Her Blue Jeans On
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cHaufA26B8


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## DanteDressageNerd

lol trust me your not some wierdo, you're a horsey wierdo. It's cooler that way  but it's a fine song. Whatever fits you and Izzy is what you should ride to!

I can't say I blame you. If I were riding in an open field and trying to be productive with a 5yr old pintabian, I don't think I'd be wanting to work in a situation I knew wasn't going to be in the right direction. Lunging isn't lazy 

lol that's sweet. She should be like lab, I like the "in your tent" image of the arabian personality. I think they're just love bugs as a general rule :/ mine did not get that gene :neutral: he's that way with me but to most people he's ears pinned and tries to appear menacing. But the Labrador personality is definitely a BIG plus!

Dang! It sounds like a long day! I have enough trouble getting myself going, I hate to imagine getting two kids ready and having to prepare things for a family. Like making sure everyone is fed and ready. But I'm glad work is pretty flexible about when you arrive, especially since there was an accident on the highway. If you didn't ride that's probably a smart move if there is a wind advisory. I notice how difficult it can be to ride when thing are blowing around or flapping excessively and sometimes best to form no bad habits. 

And you're blessed! I'm so glad he's come around to liking horses :lol: I bet Izzy is a big part of that. But hopefully the weekend is less hectic so you can ride and spend some one on one time with your girl!!


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## Tazzie

Haha, I know! Every time I hear it I think of how bad I want parts of that in a freestyle :lol:

Yeah, those are the days I wish I had an arena with walls. I'd feel safer actually riding her when I didn't have to worry about big wide open spaces littered with farming equipment and other stuff.

It was a VERY long day. Just overall exhausting. I didn't end up going down there at all. We laid low since we were all exhausted from this week.

And yeah I am  Izzie definitely helped him decide horses are ok  I'm really hoping so!!

However, Nick is working today. And he just called me telling me I should ask my barn owner/friend to see what he's doing today. Nick is going to be longer than he expected *sigh* I texted him, and waiting on a reply. If not, my mother in law sounded like she may come down and take the kids (father in law has bronchitis so he can't watch them). Just has to be before 4. Tomorrow looks awful too, ugh!!! Supposed to rain all freaking day. Looks like we'll be biting the bullet and pay $20 to go ride in the arena some days this week. We plan to take the kids to the aquarium tomorrow, so that should be fun. I don't think the arena is open to the public tomorrow *sigh*


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## DanteDressageNerd

You should!! Make your dreams come true! Plus at dressage shows you can dress her up in all kinds of fun costumes and things!!

Makes sense to me. It sounds like you guys needed a rest. But I'm glad Izzy is a special girl and can win anyone's love! That's a special mare!

Have fun at the aquarium with your kids!! But I hope you get some one on one and ride time, Moms need alone and one on one time too!


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## Tazzie

I definitely plan to  My favorite was my boss riding the big handsome Khir to a showtunes mix. Myself, another girl, and my boss' farm dog all sat on the outside of the arena with a giant remote and a bowl of popcorn. My boss wore her old helmet and made an antenna of sorts. We "pushed" the buttons to change the music. Was so much fun!

She truly is a special mare! I wouldn't trade her for a thing! And we are *hopefully* farm shopping at the end of the year/beginning of next year in our attempt to bring her home. Before we bring her though, we have to find another horse so she isn't alone. I don't think she would care, but I would hate to have her home and her realize being alone sucks!

I'm sure we will! I think a girl I work with might come, depending on if she drives up to Columbus or not. Her daughter is just a little younger than Kaleb, so he should have fun!

And I got to ride!! I kept it short and sweet since I do still know she needs to be adjusted. She was a bit looky, but not bad. She's getting used to me finally riding less her in mouth and more with my leg. Wasn't totally through today (at least I didn't feel her back meeting me much), but I'm still pleased. Even cantered both ways (though to the right, our hard way, we had to grab the wrong lead twice before getting it; a good sign her pelvis needs an adjustment). And she's really getting the point of a stretchy circle, finally! We practice it the end of every ride!

And even better, my mother in law grabbed her camera and was my photographer today. I have A TON on Facebook (so if you want to see them all, PM; I'll add those who want to lol) but I'll post some of my favorites. She took a ton of my kiddos too 

Went to add, and they are too large, ugh. I'll make a new photobucket to upload some; my old one is full and I'm not paying for more space!


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## Tazzie

And my computer is the slowest ever, ugh. Finally! And my horse is gross lol the big downfall of owning a gray!

She looks MASSIVE here (and disgusting :lol: )









Definitely getting massive lol









I love that she strides out so well in the trot 









Right lead canter where she doesn't look too ****ed off lol









She actually looks happy here! She's getting used to being back into work lol









Pulling out the big trot (she gave it to me; I didn't ask)









Starting to ask for the stretchy trot









Streeetch









Job well done for my little mare 









Posing! And excuse my pudge :lol: I'm working on it...


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## Tihannah

Uggghh, I'm SOOO behind on everyone's journals! My computer crashed so for the past few days I've been posting from my phone.

It would be a dream for me to own my own farm! I'm so excited for you. And frankly, I think you're high. That mare is GORGEOUS!!


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## DanteDressageNerd

You both look amazing!! She's a gorgeous mare, to me she looks very talented. The trot definitely stands out! She looks WAY taller than 15h! I agree she looks massive but she looks really nice too! You're a great team!

Good luck finding a place!! I hope you find one exactly right for you and your family. That sounds like a dream come true once you find it!


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## Tazzie

Tihannah said:


> Uggghh, I'm SOOO behind on everyone's journals! My computer crashed so for the past few days I've been posting from my phone.
> 
> It would be a dream for me to own my own farm! I'm so excited for you. And frankly, I think you're high. That mare is GORGEOUS!!


That sucks Tihannah! Hopefully it's better now!

It's our dream too  been our dream since we got together. I want to look out my bedroom window and see my sweetheart out there grazing! And haha! She is a muddy mess with stains all over her! She is definitely a dirty piggy, but I love her  I do think she's gorgeous 




DanteDressageNerd said:


> You both look amazing!! She's a gorgeous mare, to me she looks very talented. The trot definitely stands out! She looks WAY taller than 15h! I agree she looks massive but she looks really nice too! You're a great team!
> 
> Good luck finding a place!! I hope you find one exactly right for you and your family. That sounds like a dream come true once you find it!


Thanks! Not bad for only being in work a few weeks, and in desperate need for an adjustment! Her trot and canter were what I fell in love with. Her walk is ok, but her trot and canter are HUGE for her small frame. No one expect her stride to be that big and floaty when they go to get on her! And I know! Sometimes she looks smaller (at our dressage show someone told me no way was she 15 hands) and others she looks like she towers over me. One of these days I'm going to stick her again to see where she is now. It's been a while! And she is massive in person lol the paint side is finally making it's appearance and making her a big girl! Which is good, she needed a bit more substance! Thanks  I think we're getting there!

Thank you! There was a farm that was for sale up the road, but it was pulled from the market after not very long up. We are hoping it gets relisted by the end of the year! It was a house and then they were selling 93 acres. All the acreage would be out of our budget, but we wanted to meet with them and see what they wanted for the house and 20 acres. It's actually FLAT, which is a huge rarity in this area. Like, that area we ride in is actually sloped to the woods. Not the best, but what we have until they cut hay on the big field. But yeah, I'd love if it came back on the market and we were able to make a deal! Maybe even agree to buy more acreage every few years. I don't know, just plans we keep coming up with :lol: the house is lovely too. No barns, no pastures, so it would all be our design. All corn fields, so we could seed with non-fescue grass for when we breed Izzie (when multiple judges tell you to breed your mare, you really start considering it and looking at NICE purebred sport horse stallions lol). We'll see what happens!


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## JulieG

That trot!!


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## Tazzie

I love it  A whole lot of fun to ride too!


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## DanteDressageNerd

I'll bet her movement looks very big for her size! She doesn't not leave a small impression at all. But it's good you guys fit each other too so that you compliment one another. So judges just see a complimentary and lovely pairing. She's nice girl, I'd be curious to see what she sticked at, I bet she's grown or has just filled out and isn't as dainty. 

That farm sounds lovely!! That sounds like a real dream come true for you and your family, plus it'd be a great experience for your kids. Good luck! I hope it all works in your favor!

I'm also curious, what kind of stallions are you looking at? She definitely looks nice enough IMO and has done well in shows, moves well, good conformation and a good temperament. And if judges are suggesting breeding, no reason why not to. I always wanted a nice quality mare to look at stallions and potentially breed :lol:


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## Tazzie

She's definitely filling out too! She's getting massive :lol: we might be growing out of our halter too, which would be insane! It ran small for a cob, but still! Thank you  I think we look pretty good together! Helps I'm only 5'2" (well, just shy of it lol)

It is! It looks like a slice of heaven to me. I LOVE that it doesn't have anything horse related set up too. I really, REALLY wanted to design my perfect set up and pasture placement! And it's sad how excited I am we would have to plant our own fields haha!

The main stud I've been looking at is Mojave Kid. He's a (supposedly) 16h purebred Arabian out in Washington. Shown Western/Hunter Pleasure, Sport Horse In Hand and Under Saddle, and now taking on Dressage with pretty good results. It also sounds like he has an extremely sweet personality and loves kids, which is my biggest want. I don't want anything hot at all like other halter Arabs (he has shown in halter). Things may change before I do jump into breeding, so we will see! I want our own farm so I'm the one monitoring her daily. So I sent a tentative plan to breed her when she's 10. By then we could have shown in 3-4 regional shows, and added some achievement awards onto the end of her name.

This was him showing second level a couple of years ago. His facebook showed him doing a bit higher.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YQw2gMdUCQ

And liberty
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJF7GUhJPCo

He's the pick, for now! He's been the pick for about a year (well, less; wasn't until a few friends and then a few judges started telling me it'd be a shame if I didn't breed her)


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## DanteDressageNerd

No that's cool! You're a good fit. Sometimes I wish I was smaller so I didn't look so ridiculous on ponies or smaller horses, there are some AWESOME smaller horses out there and you can get deals because a lot of people want the big "impressive" ones. 

On no she's out growing her halter, that would actually upset me lol. 

That's going to be awesome when you can put the whole thing together. If you're creative and have a vision, it should be a lot of fun!! And when you set up yourself you can choose some smart designs, rather than dealing with whatever was built prior to. That will be really cool, especially if you live on it the rest of your lives.

Good luck finding a stallion, there are SO SO many out there it's amazing. Would you consider part breds or just pure breds? He looks like a really nice purebred stallion, his canter and walk are a lot better than most of the arabian stallions I've seen. I don't know I haven't looked a lot, just browsed around some lol.


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## Wallaby

Just popping in to say:
1. Izzie is SO cute! I adore her! 

2. Seeing the pictures of you riding, I realized/remembered that Izzie, Dante, and Fabio are all stock horse/Arab crosses and I love that. I feel a bond with you guys! Like we all "get" the attitude we're each working with. All three of our horses sound quite similar personality-wise!
But Dante and Izzie move so English-y [and _gorgeously_], while Fabs moves SO western-y. It's funny how the crosses and the personalities are essentially the same, while the movement produced is _so_ different!

I wish Fabs had papers and we could compare their lineage!


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## Tazzie

That's funny Dante! I always wanted to be taller :lol: but being smaller I was always shoved onto the ponies or smaller horses. I rode larger horses though too, but I don't need a big horse. It's a lot farther to fall haha!

As for the halter, I'm actually ok with it. Means we get to go pick out a new one haha! Or see how the horse size would compare for the same style we have now. Nick picked this halter out; he wanted something than my ordinary blue :lol:

Exactly! I don't like the flow of some set ups, so I would much prefer to design my own. And I want to have a few fields so we can do rotational grazing (yup, I'm an ag student :lol And the plan would be to live there for the rest of our lives 

For stallions, I'd only be looking for purebred for my next mount. Purely so we can keep showing in the Arab circuit, and I'd have another horse in my incentive fund. For Nick, I'd be open to a taller partbred. But that's still up in the air if I'll breed for a grade horse for my husband (it wants an Izzie offspring for his own mount, and if we have a farm I don't see the problem with it). And I did find his gaits to be better than others I've seen out there. It's why I'm so stuck on him haha! But a lot can change in four years!

Wallaby, thank you! She's had my heart for a long time  And yes! I love follow the other arab/stock horse type horses on here! When I see something you or Dante are dealing with, I go "Yup, been there..." They are SO stubborn but SO worth it! They do move differently, but I always thought that was cool  I have an appreciation for pretty much every different way of moving  I think Fabs is adorable! And that would be cool! I know NOTHING about lines haha!

-----------------------------------------------------------------

So, yesterday it rained all morning. Didn't get out to see Izzie, and probably won't make it out today. The ground will be a mess, and just flat out dangerous to do much. Hoping it dries out enough today that I can squeeze a ride in tomorrow before it rains again Wednesday and snows Thursday. Tired of this winter weather! Nick's truck is acting funny, again, so at this point he may try and trade it in. A key for key exchange since his Dodge is paid off. We're worried about it leaving us stranded 2.5 hours from home at our first show of the year. I don't want that happening.

Yesterday we took the kids up to the aquarium! There is a good deal going on right now, so they are letting waves of people in every 15 minutes. We got there at noonish, and bought tickets to get in at 3:30 (we expected this). Went, and had lunch then went to this place called Gameworks. It's essentially an arcade place. Kids got to drive and race, which they thought was cool. Though, who sends kids into that place without a card to play the stuff?? We walked in and got a card and paid for points on it to play the games. Nick and Kaleb were playing with some dirt bike thing while Syd and I were watching, and this kid asked if I wanted to play on the one next to Nick. I said "No, you go ahead." He said "It needs credits, do you have a card?" I said my husband had it. So he taps Nick and asks him if he had an credits so he could play on the one next to him. He said "Sorry, I'm all out." Later, Syd and I were racing, and this girl comes up and asked if anyone was using the one next to us. I told her no, to go ahead. She then says "I don't have any credits, do you have any I can use to play?" I said "No, sweetie, go ask your mother to play." She mumbled something I couldn't understand about her mom, and I just said "Sorry sweetie." So annoying.

After we left Gameworks, we went and got some ice cream, then went and played on the train table at Barnes & Noble. Kids had a blast! Then walked through the aquarium, which they thought was awesome! They pointed at just about every fish :lol: Grocery shopping concluded our day with our daughter picking out her very first set of big girl sheets. She's moving out of a crib and into a real bed this weekend!


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## Wallaby

Tazzie said:


> Wallaby, thank you! She's had my heart for a long time  And yes! I love follow the other arab/stock horse type horses on here! When I see something you or Dante are dealing with, I go "Yup, been there..." They are SO stubborn but SO worth it! They do move differently, but I always thought that was cool  I have an appreciation for pretty much every different way of moving  I think Fabs is adorable! And that would be cool! I know NOTHING about lines haha!


I agree! Nothing wrong with moving differently.  It's amusing to me - I've always been one for the english-y horses and here I am with one that could not be more western. :rofl: But it's good! It's nice not needing to post the trot! :lol:


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## DanteDressageNerd

lol my name is actually Cassie ;-) I think we all get used to the height we are and wouldn't have it any other way, certain advantages/disadvantages with each. I thought for the longest time I didn't fit anything under 16h but I fit Dante fine. I'm 5'7 so not super tall but my leg is pretty long, so I look massive/awkward on ponies or some small horses.

German riding pony. They're SO cool and they come in a larger variety of colors than warmbloods :lol: plus they're SO stinking cute!! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PP9lsBB3lKI

I think it's great if that property works out for you guys that you'd be able to design it!! Put your creative efforts to good use and design wash stalls with ACTUALLY decent drains where they don't bleed into the aisle way.

Good luck finding stallions. Another thing you could try is finding arabian stallions approved by the warmblood registries. Oldenburg, hanoverian and trakehner approve arabians. 

This stallion looks pretty green but he's approved trakehner for example though I think Mojave is probably nicer. Just options *shrugs*

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gY4q7v7JAVU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s10drB51yvE

I'm sorry you didn't get to spend too much time with Izzy. I hope the weather gets better for you too! But it sounds like you had a great outing with the kids at the aquarium! That sounds like a blast!! Sorry about kids lacking manners in the arcade or asking for hand outs but it sounds like your kids had a good time! Who doesn't enjoy arcades or a nice aquarium?


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## Tazzie

Wallaby, I do enjoy when I ride the stocky QH for trail rides when Nick steals Izzie. You don't bounce at all on her she is so dang smooth! I think I'll be bringing her back into work this year since our friend/barn owner's mom wants to ride, but nervous since Peppy hasn't been in real work in... years. I offered to bring her back. She bucked heading into the lope with Nick, but he got it stopped. She tried it once with me, but I made her lift her head and sent her forward, and that was the end of that!

Oops, I knew that, Cassie  I feel like I look awkward when I look at pictures of me on smaller horses, but I never feel that big on anything. And you do fit Dante very well! He has some substance to take up your height I think 

I'll have to watch the videos when I'm not about to head into the lab lol I don't know much about German riding ponies, so I want to watch it!

And yes! My husband would be a master of that! And he knows I want running hot water in the barn for baths before shows :lol: Pretty much anything I wish the barn growing up had, is what I'll have. Nothing crazy fancy, but usable.

I wonder if I breed her to an Arabian approved in those breeds I could get the offspring approved? I have NO idea how that would work :lol: but it'd be something to look into! Mojave is just the top choice right now since I liked his look, his trainability, and his easy temperament with kids (which is BIG for me). But we won't breed for a few years. I want Izzie to keep proving herself to the doubters out there  That and I'm hoping to get her tested this year. Running the 5 panel test on her that quarter horses get, and the 3 panel Arabian one. Also going to test for frame (LWO) since I know she is, but I want the paper saying she is. Basically I want her to have a clean bill of health genetics wise before I go ahead and breed.


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## Tazzie

Ok, just watched the videos. I now want a German Riding Pony :lol:

The stallion is ok, but I do think Mojave is a bit better. Though, that stud may have developed into something nicer. No idea. When I actually get serious about it, I'll be exploring my options. The biggest factor is will these stallions be willing to breed to a Half Arabian. By then she should have a nice show record to back her up, but still. Never know how people are with their stallions! My perfect one would be Izzie's height or taller, great gaits, great temperament, and the cherry on top would be a gray :lol: obviously the gray isn't a requirement and I wouldn't pick a gray with lessor gaits over a bay with fabulous gaits.

As for the weather, supposed to start raining late tonight, all day tomorrow, and switch into snow throughout the day tomorrow. Joyous of joys. Nick's truck is still acting funny (according to him), so we may be trading it in. We JUST paid the stupid thing off, so I told him it would have to be a key for key exchange. I love that truck, so this will be hard. But I also love not being stranded 2.5 hours from home with a horse and trailer, so... I think we may start searching for a bumper pull trailer soon too. Not many people around here have gooseneck hitches anymore, and if we're stranded with Izzie, I want to at least get her and our stuff HOME.

I DO plan to ride tonight, even though I feel like crud. Might be my only chance till Friday if it's as nasty as they are predicting


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## Tazzie

I rode Izzie tonight! Had to squeeze it in before it pours on us tonight!

She was a bit ornery, but still put in some good work. Finally felt her come through a bit. Has a hard time keeping it since she does still need her adjustment and she's not truly fit yet. But it was still nice. Her canter, while cranky, was nice. She tried to get strung out a bit, pushed her forward and up with my seat and legs and a light half halt in the reins, and I had her collected back up. It was lovely 

I also rode in my new tall boots. I forgot how much breaking in new boots sucks! I need to start just walking around the house in them. Caused a small sore on the back of my leg, ouch!


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## DanteDressageNerd

Yay!! I've recruited another to see the awesomeness of German Riding ponies :lol: sorry I just really like them. We had one at my barn that was pretty spectacular. Probably the nicest moving horse in the barn though he was 14.1h. 

I was wondering with AHA why you couldn't breed her to another half arabian as the baby would be half arabian too and still qualify for AHA points and all that stuff. I bet you could find a spectacular part bred stallion. But good luck with all that when the time comes!! I can't speak for arabian stallions, I have NO idea but I can with warmblood stallions they're not that picky lol. 

I'm glad she was good to ride! It sounds like she was really good for having a few days off. But I'm glad she gave you such a nice canter! Even if a bit ornery but she wouldnt' be Izzy if she didn't let her feelings be known.

And I hear you on boots. They are always a struggle new or worn in unfortunately :/

I'm also glad Nick will take care to make sure the barn is built practically and to common sense expectations.


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## Tazzie

Haha, I like anything that moves well! I hope to see one in person one day, but I'd be surprised if one ended up at my trainers!

For AHA, they just say one parent must be purebred in order for the horse to be considered Half Arab. Essentially, some of the horses showing in the Half Arabian classes could be very close to purebred if it was many generations back they had the Arab crossed with a non Arab. Just one of their rules! I haven't thought much about breeding to a warmblood since I want to try and keep the offspring registerable. We plan to keep whatever we create for ourselves forever, but you never know what life will do!

Haha, exactly! I told her I was not fighting with her, and that she could take it out on herself, or she could behave and the ride would be short. She, thankfully, chose the latter. My legs were in pain before I got off! I don't think I could have ridden longer even if I wanted to. We're still keeping the rides pretty short (lunging before I get on for a bit extra fitness) just until she gets adjusted. Then we will start ramping up the work.

The tall boots I'm selling were extremely comfortable, just so big I could probably shove both of my legs in one boot. They fit when I bought them, but before I lost 40 lbs. I was SO excited to get my second pair of Ariat tall boots ever, but I forgot how much they suck breaking in. I plan to clean the mud off the bottom of them tonight, and just walk around the house in them. And condition them a bit I think. Something to help them drop! They will be perfect when they do drop, it's just getting there that is going to be painful! Our first show schooling equipment is allowed, so if worse comes to worse I'll just show in short boots and half chaps. But I try to always show in full show attire... We shall see!

And yes! He knows how to get everything like that work. I just will have to sit down and plan out how I want it done. I've been looking through a lot of different barns and such trying to get a feel for what I want. There are so many options!


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## DanteDressageNerd

I don't think the GRP are super common but I think they're wonderful and should be more common. 

That makes sense to me. You can still register a part warmblood foal I think oldenburg has a sporthorse section that is not considered an oldenburg and american or canadian warmblood or sporthorse are also options. But that's interesting about the half arabian rules. I thought they would have allowed half arabs to cross and still consider them eligible because they're still a half arabian.

lol glad she's still Izzy  but that makes sense to me. Best to ride well for a short time than to ride long time and it not be so productive. Short and sweet is good. 

Oh I know what you mean, mine rubbed the back of my knee until I had sores while I was breaking them in. It can take a while but hopefully they'll last a while and wear in before your 1st show. I don't think ariats take too long to break in. And congratulations on losing 40lbs! That's a big accomplishment.

Good. I'm glad he can design and set it up once you know what you want. I'd probably get stressed too trying to figure out what I wanted lol but fortunately you have time and when you know, I have no doubts it will be wonderful.


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## Tazzie

That didn't seem to common, and that's a bummer! I'd love to see one some day!

That's how I wish it was just because I've seen some awesome half Arabs that make me wish for a purebred mare. Such is life! Maybe I'll look into it! I know a lot of people have told me time and again she looks like a smaller Warmblood, and are shocked when I say she's half Arab. No one ever guesses that :lol:

Exactly! And with her being ouchy, I prefer to keep them short and sweet. Then we should have the fitness I need when she's feeling better to start ramping it up some  I have a good feeling her ribcage is out since she squeals when I put leg on. I'm not heavy about it, but it's noticeable to me. We shall see what he says in a week and a half!

I'm hoping they don't take too long! I had Devon Aires before this (only boots I could find to fit me at that point...) and they broke in very quickly. But they weren't near as tall. These are the correct height they need to be to compensate for the drop, but ouch :lol: I developed a small sore from riding yesterday, so will probably walk around a bit more in them, then ride in them again. I hope I don't have to buy new boots for a while! These ones were pricey enough :lol: and thanks! I worked very hard to lose it! Kiddos made me gain a lot of weight, and I was miserable. Worked hard and got a lot of it off. Still working on about 10 lbs, but I don't feel I look terrible. Heavier than I want, but not awful :lol:

Yup, I have to remind myself a barn is a long way off yet! I just get so antsy to bring her home and design my barn and arena I can't help it! I'm sure when we get right down to it I'll know what I want and what I don't want. I have a few things that are a must have right now (heated tack room, warm water, wash stall, and part of the loft to be a viewing area of the arena). All silly things, but big wants to me!


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## DanteDressageNerd

Dang :/ I wonder if you could ask them about that because that seems like a shame they wouldn't allow two part breds to be considered another part bred. I mean the foal would still be half arabian?

lol I believe it on her being called a small warmblood, she doesn't move like a pintabian. To me she looks very arabian but she doesn't move as araby. But good luck. Breeding will be a fun adventure!

Well it's good the chiropractor will be out to cure some of the drama :lol: but to be fair I'd probably be the same if I had a rib out. That sounds ouchy. I don't blame you for keeping the rides light with chiropractic issues. Dante had a rib out and he'd warm up fine then I'd pick him back up and he'd try to hit me in the face with his face, couldn't ride him, I could steer but he'd throw a fit if I changed my position at all to steer him, so I get it. Can't say that I blame them though if it hurts!

I believe it, losing weight isn't easy and from what I understand having kids can do incredible things to the body. It actually increases the amount of fat cells the female has as a whole. I hope to experience it one day :lol: Weight is a whole other ball game as a female, it's harder to lose fat and gain muscle tone. But I hope you break those boots in so no more sores!!

They're not silly things if they matter to you and will make a difference in your life. If you get to build it and live with it, you get to be the say all, be all master as long as you can pay for it


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## Tazzie

I'm guessing they've had a lot of people ask if they could do two half Arab parents. I did a quick search and I found this on their website. Would just have to click on the rules for Half Arabian: http://www.arabianhorses.org/registration/rules-regulations/. I know they had a problem a while ago in the reining discipline people were passing off full quarter horses as half Arabians and competing, wining titles, etc. I believe now they require DNA testing for the super high levels.

Yup! At our only dressage show I had a lot of disbelievers. I told them I carry her papers with me when we haul her if they wanted to see them :lol: Thanks! I have a few more years until I get serious about it. And I want her tested clear of any diseases. Hopefully get her tested this year!

Oh yes! We have to haul to him, but it's worth it. Farm calls he books SIX MONTHS out. It's insane. But it's why I ride very sympathetically right now. I don't push too hard in our rides, and basically asking for some very light walk/trot/canter with slight bending. I know she'll feel better once she gets her adjustment. We are both ready for it!

Oh yeah, kids destroyed my body. They are totally worth it, but my stomach will never be flat ever again. It would take surgery to tighten it back up, and frankly I have better things to spend my money on right now :lol: I'll get there, but it's frustrating!

And yeah, I just have to explain to Nick they truly are necessary for me haha! I told him I don't need anything super crazy or decked out. I want it simple really. The biggest thing I would want, is the ability to add onto the barn if we need more stalls. We shall see!

Today was so slow at work, and POURED today. Windy as heck too. Supposed to switch to snow tonight  And pretty sure we are truck shopping this weekend too :/


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## DanteDressageNerd

Dang that unfortunate! How typical! A few people ruin it for everyone, so you can't have half breds bred to half breds. What a shame! I think they're missing out on breeding some fine half arabs.

Interesting. Maybe people just aren't used to seeing arabian crosses who can move? I had a reaction to Dante being a quarab by a trainer I used to work with and he was like oh a quarab then I showed him pictures and he was like oh yeah he's really cute. Looks like he has a lot of potential. I think they just aren't used to seeing quarabs/pintabians *shrugs* but my trainer said it's seen as a backyard bred horse because they don't usually see well bred arabians or well breds quarterhorses/paints etc. 

Jeeze 6 months in advance!! That's insane but at least you'll be get in in soon and it should all be for the best.

Well I hope I get to experience that aspect one day, I know every woman experiences it differently but I have no doubt it goes to exactly what it was before but a lifetime with family and going to horse shows is more important than a flat stomach anyway.

Simple, practical and functional sounds good!! Definitely for the best!


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## Tazzie

Yup, few bad apples ruin it for everyone  so I just keep my eye out for good moving purebreds. Still have plenty of time until I worry about that though 

There are some decent half Arab breeders around our area, but not many. I compete in hand against a couple of nice ones, but they are 75% Arab and 25% Saddlebred I believe. The more common cross around here is the Arab/Saddlebred one (my best friend has a really nice one). I chuckle at the backyard bred horses, since that is exactly what Izzie was. Her former owner had a purebred Arab stallion, and a registered APHA mare, and just kept breeding them together. I believe Izzie has 2 or 3 full siblings out there, that I know of. No thought was put into her at all, so we got lucky. Though, I've seen some very nice purpose bred quarabs/pintabians (like Dante) that actually had thought and planning.

Yeah, he is highly sought after. He was the best vet in the area when he decided to go totally into the hollistic side. He doesn't chiro, acupuncture, saddle fitting (just checks to see if it looks ok; he once realized my friend/barn owner's saddle had a screw that stuck out further than the other side through all the padding on it. It wasn't poked through the padding, but the horse was sensitive to a spot. Took it to the saddle place, and they got it fixed immediately), etc, and his wife does the healing light I believe. He's scary good at what he does, which is why we haul to him to have Izzie seen more than once every six months :lol:

I hope you get to experience it too! I wasn't the happiest pregnant lady, but I sure do love my kiddos :lol: and I sure hope as they get older than want to continue with horses. It's hard not pushing them into it since I want them in it so bad, but I'm refraining and letting them make their own choices!

Absolutely  I'm excited to be able to start schooling a bit harder, but it wouldn't be fair to make her do it now. We have our life to ride a lot, so I can take it easy for a little while :lol: makes for a happier horse in the long run!

And the weather here is absolutely disgusting. It's like a rain/snow/sleet mix. Just GROSS. And since we may be truck shopping this weekend, I don't know how much ride time I'll get in


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## DanteDressageNerd

Tazzie said:


> Yup, few bad apples ruin it for everyone  so I just keep my eye out for good moving purebreds. Still have plenty of time until I worry about that though
> 
> There are some decent half Arab breeders around our area, but not many. I compete in hand against a couple of nice ones, but they are 75% Arab and 25% Saddlebred I believe. The more common cross around here is the Arab/Saddlebred one (my best friend has a really nice one). I chuckle at the backyard bred horses, since that is exactly what Izzie was. Her former owner had a purebred Arab stallion, and a registered APHA mare, and just kept breeding them together. I believe Izzie has 2 or 3 full siblings out there, that I know of. No thought was put into her at all, so we got lucky. Though, I've seen some very nice purpose bred quarabs/pintabians (like Dante) that actually had thought and planning.
> 
> Yeah, he is highly sought after. He was the best vet in the area when he decided to go totally into the hollistic side. He doesn't chiro, acupuncture, saddle fitting (just checks to see if it looks ok; he once realized my friend/barn owner's saddle had a screw that stuck out further than the other side through all the padding on it. It wasn't poked through the padding, but the horse was sensitive to a spot. Took it to the saddle place, and they got it fixed immediately), etc, and his wife does the healing light I believe. He's scary good at what he does, which is why we haul to him to have Izzie seen more than once every six months
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I hope you get to experience it too! I wasn't the happiest pregnant lady, but I sure do love my kiddos
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> and I sure hope as they get older than want to continue with horses. It's hard not pushing them into it since I want them in it so bad, but I'm refraining and letting them make their own choices!
> 
> Absolutely  I'm excited to be able to start schooling a bit harder, but it wouldn't be fair to make her do it now. We have our life to ride a lot, so I can take it easy for a little while
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> makes for a happier horse in the long run!
> 
> And the weather here is absolutely disgusting. It's like a rain/snow/sleet mix. Just GROSS. And since we may be truck shopping this weekend, I don't know how much ride time I'll get in


I think national show horses are a pretty successful cross, so it makes sense and they allow 75%/25%. I was going to say Dante's sire produces size and honestly has a nice trot and walk, I suspect he has a nice canter. He produced a champion saddleseat national show horse, sometimes I think the country pleasure or saddleseat bred arabs have better walks and canters. They didn't show or ride him much but I saw a video of him going and thought he'd be super nice trained. He used his hocks really well and has an actual 4 beat walk. And Dante's siblings are more reasonable than he is. I don't know of a ton of Arabian stallions but you have lots of time to think about it. But that's interesting. I didn't know Izzy was backyard bred but sometimes it works! She's a very nice mare, lots of movement. I hope her siblings are just as nice!

That sounds like an incredibly talented/gifted man. I don't blame you for seeing him if he's so good at what he does. They're worth it, it just sucks when you're in a crunch and something is wrong!

I don't imagine pregnancy was easy for you, especially being a smaller woman. Not as much space but I don't think it sounds pleasant







after the child is born is what sounds good but stressful lol. 

But I hope the Chiropractic work fixes it and the weather improves! I think our weather has been about the same and it doesn't make field riding easy but I think breaks can be good for them, especially for younger horses with their whole life ahead of them. I also hope you're able to get a good truck that fits your needs.


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## Tazzie

They sure can be! Though, with the EP/CP horses, walk is not a gait they focus on. It's all about the trot. A lot of the horses I see don't really walk, just jig a little. I will say their trot and canter is a neat experience! I've never ridden anything quite like it. Still prefer my Dressage, but it's fun to try new things!

He really is! He has fit us in in a pinch before, because we've only gone to him. This year I'm planning things out and just having her checked over before every major show. I'd rather spend $70 to have a once over, than to spend a couple of hundred and blow the show because she was ouchy. Especially when stalls, class fees, and misc. fees for regionals will run approximately $600. For one show!

Yeah, they didn't have much room :lol: they were both smaller, but they just didn't have a whole lot of space. They can be stressful, but they really are good kids.

Exactly. She knows she's back in work now, so days off aren't that big of a deal. They were when I was just pulling her out and reminding her about work, but she knows the drill at this point. And thanks! I'm hoping so. I LOVE Nick's current truck, but I understand how he can just be done with it right now. He's been working on it for a while now.

And these were Izzie's parents. I have no clue what became of the full siblings. One just didn't strike me as much. One I would have bought in a heartbeat if I could. Sadly it looked like she was sold to a place that just breeds for color :/ And looking at her parents, you really wonder how she turned out like she did :lol: 

Her dam:

















Her sire:

















The both of them:









This is her full sister, Catalina:

















And this was Semi (the one I would have bought for Nick; she was the younger of the three siblings):

















I have pictures of her half brother (and if to make it more confusing, it's her half brother through the sire, but he is out of Izzie's half sister Sierra (they shared the same dam)), but they aren't on my photobucket. He's cute, but she wants too much for him. Backyard breeding at it's finest :lol:


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## DanteDressageNerd

I don't know much about arabians, it's just what I've seen in the horses bred that way when I was at the arabian barn I bought Dante from and the lady showed me video of her country pleasure horse turned dressage pony. She's REALLY nice. But I bet they're really cool to ride!! 

Izzy's mom is a nice mare but her neck is quite short, maybe that's where Izzy got it? It's interesting how horses can turn out as something much nicer than either parent. When it works, it works right? Good riding can contribute to an improvement in the quality of her gaits/movement, etc and her being a nice mare. Your love and training is probably a big chunk of it too.

She has some very lovely siblings, it's a shame they'll all fade lol but they seem to be a a good cross.

That's great he'll fit you in, if you need it! That would be my concern but I forgot how expensive showing is! 

lol that's what I always hear from smaller women when they have kids. I have a short torso, so I'll probably get pretty round/uncomfortable too. But from the pictures you posted they both look like they're very compassionate/kind children and I think being with Izzy and animals really helps with that. And honestly I think that is one of the most important qualities children can possess. I think kids raised with animals are more empathetic and compassionate. They look like good kids 

I'm glad she's getting with the program :lol: I bet she loves having a job once she's back to it. I think a lot of horses enjoy having a job, once it becomes normal to have a job. 

Still good luck! I hope it all works out for you both!


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## Tazzie

Oh yeah, they can be nice. Just some of the ones I've seen, walking is not a priority. So they don't really do a true flat walk. They are pretty cool! My friend's mare is a fun little ride, though a world different than Izzie!

She definitely got her mom's neck, though her dad's neck really isn't that long for an Arab. And THICK. We toe the line carefully with Izzie's diet. If she gets too chunky, the neck is where she starts putting it on. So when she's not in work, we play with the ration a bit to keep her from getting cresty. It's an interesting routine to say the least :lol: And yeah, all of her siblings grayed out. Catalina didn't gray as pretty as Izzie and Semi did. I have no clue where Catalina wound up, but Semi is who wound up at a barn that breeds for color. Broke my heart since she had the same inquisitiveness Izzie had as a baby. Catalina was wound much tighter than Izzie was. Dazzle (their half brother) is cute, but she still wants too much for him. Otherwise, we'd be getting him either to keep for Nick, or as a resell project.

He is wonderful like that! And that is FAR above average for showing :lol: stalls at the Kentucky Horse Park for regionals are $120 a piece, and I'd split a stall with my best friend for a tack stall. Then each class was $50. I tentatively have 7 classes I'd be doing right now, so quite a bit of cash. Normal shows are NOT that pricey. My first show of the year will run me $80, and that includes paying for two stalls myself, and 4 classes. Each class is $10 as a pre-entry. Our next show will be a bit pricier, but still no where near regional level. The next show is considered a two day show, so I'd spend $40 for one stall for the weekend ($80 total since we always get a tack stall), and then classes for the each show are $15 for pre-entry. Most of the time though we show in the smaller shows where class fees and stalls are quite a bit cheaper :lol: we plan and budget for the bigger ones.

Yeah, that's one reason we want to get a farm sooner rather than later. We want our kids to know the true meaning of work, and that handouts don't happen. They want a horse? They have to prove they will work for it. But they are typically very good with the kids. The soon to be 3 year old can be a brat, but he doesn't get away with anything.

She loves having a job once she's comfortable, fit, and understands what I'm asking. She's definitely enjoying the change in my riding this year, so that's a perk. Hoping to call for a lesson after our first show and get back into her program. I LOVE my trainer, even though I only managed to haul in for a few lessons last year. I'm hoping we can work it out where Izzie lives up there this winter. We want this so bad, so we have to make it work!

Thanks! We hope so too!

And today was gross. Tomorrow doesn't look that great either. And tomorrow our youngest moves into a big girl bed, so we'll be busy all evening doing that. Crazy how time flies!


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## DanteDressageNerd

I think it's just hard with arabians because so many IMO don't have a true 4 beat walk or true uphill canter. Walk and canter are the most important gaits IMO.

Dang cresty neck isn't a good thing but glad you're keeping track and she's back in work! I guess a grazing muzzle if it gets bad :lol: but I hope you can take more lessons with your trainer! They're so helpful, riding on your own is good too but lessons are such a great supplement. Especially when you have a good trainer. 

That's expensive but I guess it's worth it! I've been to the Kentucky horse park! It's a really neat place! But yes lol the gray gene fades most out, some keep their color. I think it's a 50/50 shot depending on the genetics of the gray parent but it's a shame Dazzle is still too expensive. I wonder why they want so much for him. But I hope Catalina ended up in a good home and is very happy.

And I agree Dad looks like he has a shorter neck too. Arabs come in all shapes and sizes. Dante's dad has the long neck, very typey head with a lean body and 15.2h. Then some are round, chunky and prone to fat pockets. It's interesting to me. Izzy's dad looks somewhere inbetween the two extremes.

I think the farm will be great for your kids. Teach them about responsibility, working for things and I am a BIG fan of anything that teaches them to earn it for themselves. The entitlement attitude today drives me up the wall. I won't elaborate, I have strong opinions on that one. There are quite a few people I wish could spend 1 week on Parris Island :lol: but it sounds like your kids are lucky to have good parents who love them enough to let them know they're not perfect and there are in fact consequences and in fact rewards for doing things for yourself.

Good luck moving her into her new bed, I'm sure that's a highlight in her young life


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## Tazzie

Yup! Izzie can get very pacey with her walk if I'm not careful. Heck, sometimes she gets pacey in the trot when she's being a brat :icon_rolleyes:

As for the cresty neck, it's only in the winter time when pretty much all work has stopped. We cut back a bit on the grain and can typically keep it off. Our friend usually has a round bale out and will put a couple square bales inside if they want to be in the catch pens instead. Apparently the hay is just that good even if it's just grass hay :lol: we just monitor her closely, and cut her grain if it starts rearing it's ugly head. I blame the paint side for this issue :lol: in the summer we don't have to deal with any of this since she's in full work.

The KHP is definitely a fun place! But EXPENSIVE to show at! We showed there in October (my first time ever) and the stalls were $75 a piece. We spent over $300 at that one with the classes and misc. AHA fees. Those fees can really add up! For regionals, the AHA fees are $85 alone! It's insane! And I think why a lot of people are not showing at AHA shows now. The fees are ridiculous!

We were sad how fast Izzie grayed out. We were hoping she would stay the really neat blue/gray color she had going on. But alas, wasn't going to happen. Semi was going through the same thing, so I wish I could see her now. Catalina went more of a rosy gray, so no telling what she looks like now. I truly think they want so much for him because Izzie did THAT good her first full year of showing. Izzie was still too much when we bought her ($1500 for a gangly yearling), but she is definitely worth a whole lot more now. I used to have pictures of him on my email, but doesn't look like I do anymore. She has photos on her facebook, but I can't access facebook at work. He's a plain palomino (his dam was a palomino paint that was a replica of her dam). And I can't justify paying what she wants for a barely handled yearling for my husband. Broke and ready to gallop across a field, sure. But not a yearling that I KNOW was never taught to tie or trailer.

Her dad supposedly showed in halter, but I don't remember how well he did. I looked him up once in the database, but I forgot to screenshot it (I have Izzie's screenshot for my own fun). His neck didn't look so bad when he was in shape, but she doesn't do anything with him anymore except breed. He apparently was ridden in parades too down in Florida.

Oh yes! We were never given anything growing up. My parents flat out refused to buy a horse growing up, and it wasn't till I was much older I appreciated that fact. For my birthday/Christmas I would get to lease out a horse to show for the year, but I had to work my tail off to pay for the shows. And I want my kids to be in a sport where there ARE losers. That not everyone wins. I don't want them thinking everyone wins and everyone is the greatest. I want them coming out and saying "I could have done this, this and this better. Next time, I'll try harder." Good, solid work is good for everyone in my opinion.

I think she is! I think both of them will be happy! Kaleb has my old day bed, which is what Syd is going to get. Kaleb is getting the bottom part of a bunk bed! We aren't putting the entire bunk in there yet, but he will have it when everyone is a little older. These will be there beds from here on out I think! My babies are growing up!


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## DanteDressageNerd

That's good that you keep up on that. I know personally, I start to worry if a cresty neck forms or the fat pockets. lol no idea could be from both but most likely the paint  

That's the sad thing about grays is how quickly they can fade. Her half brother sounds really pretty, I wonder if he'll stay palomino but I agree you can't justify spending a ton of money on a colt you don't know will have the right temperament or size to be your husbands horse especially if he hasn't been handled or taught manners. I have worked with babies but all of ours were worked with from day one. We had one that was crazy but his sire and grandsire was Magnum Psych (the dam came to the barn pregnant) so he was SUPER inbred and super smart but psycho. Not mean, just scared of everybody and difficult to deal with. So I get it. Not worth it.

Well it sounds like her Dad has a really good temperament and steady character if he's been in parades. But *shrugs* it'd be interesting to see him work to see what he goes like. I think it interesting how when we watch the parents of our horses we can see so much in them. I think there is something that needs to be said for sturdiness and toughness in horses, I think sometimes the warmbloods can be SO high maintenance because they're bred primarily for performance, are pampered their whole lives and fall apart when one piece of the puzzle comes undone. I'm trying to explain what I mean but stockhorses for generations didn't eat the highest quality hay/grain available or always had their feet perfectly done or have been in rough environments where they developing just a hardiness and sturdiness, I don't really see in warmbloods who for generations have been born in fairly sterile, immaculate conditions with high quality grain/hay. I think it has an impact on maintenance.

It sounds like you had good parents who put a lot of consideration into making sure you appreciated what you had because you had to work for it. I think it also gives you a much greater sense of satisfaction when you learn how to work and know how good it feels when you're effort finally pays off. Unfortunately I think that mentality is severely lacking in this entitlement culture. It seems so many have the outlook of I want it, why can't you just give it to me? They also can't cope with competition and have poor sportsmanship from what I've observed. It saddens me. But it sounds like you're giving your kids a really good opportunity in life, I think work ethic, compassion, empathy, being inwardly motivated, responsible and able to be held accountable are some of the most important traits to develop. Learning to lose and fail is a VERY VERY important part of life, I don't know anyone who is successful that didn't spend a good amount of time failing or losing.

lol I think an exciting change is always a big deal for kids. I love how the simple things can mean so much to them. But it sounds like a really exciting day for everyone all around. They're growing up and you're emotional and they're getting to have a new change that means something to them. I think that's pretty cool


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## Tazzie

I did too the first time it happened.  Absolutely freaked out. At this point though, I know how to properly manage her with it. Doesn't worry me as much now, and just cut the grain down if I start seeing a hint of it growing. So far, we've been good this year!

Oh I know. I love grays, but man I wanted her to stay that color just a little longer :lol: so many people fail to guess how old she is based on how light she is now. I think the half brother will stay palomino. He doesn't seem to have the goggles you'd associate with a graying baby, and at a year there hasn't been any signs of it happening. Things could change, but my gut says he won't. I just know how little handling Izzie had, so I figure he has as little as she did. They picked her up (a yearling, mind you) and tossed her on the trailer. I was NOT happy. Spent months teaching her how to properly load and unload after that experience. I got the pics of Dazzle, and some more of Semi, that I'll attach at the end of the email. Wondering if Semi will come back for sale later.... I don't mean this in a rude way, but the new owner seems a bit uneducated, and looks like she's planing to breed Semi to another obviously frame stallion... I foresee a lethal white, and maybe the mare being sold.

Yeah, I'd love to see him actually go. Sadly, she seems more involved with her bully dogs that she doesn't do much with the horses. And I'm not about to take on a stallion with an unknown amount of saddle training (as in, could he actually do Dressage??) who is older and been on vacation for at a minimum of 7 years (going to when Izzie would have been conceived). I do have two more pictures of the stud that her owner posted on a picture I posted of Izzie on facebook.

I totally get it with warmbloods. They are the reason I laugh at people when they say stalling a horse is cruel. Khir would stomp, rear, and scream from the gate when he was ready to come in. Whether it was flies or the weather or he was just done. He wanted a comfy stall. Omega (the Jazz baby) was the same way. Heck, Omega had to get shots since he'd break out in hives in the spring, and fly bites made him itchy (he demanded the metal curry comb, and he'd rub himself on it as hard as he could). Izzie could care less :lol: she enjoys having her space at a show, but she doesn't have a stall at the farm (yet; friend is planning to finish his garage and then start on his barn this summer, finally!) They still won't be stalled all the time, just for feeding and such. I'm excited to see how he designs the barn. And he'll have an actual area to start teaching Izzie how to crosstie (FINALLY).

Oh yeah, my parents were awesome. I feel we are more appreciative of things when you have to work for them. So I want my kids to have that same foundation. And I refuse to let my kids grow up thinking everyone is a winner. They aren't. They need to learn how it feels to try and fail, and have that desire to try again. And keep trying until they get it right. I just hope the learn it :lol:

Definitely an exciting night! Both are SO excited to be in new beds! Syd slept like a rock in her new bed. Kaleb started coughing, again :icon_rolleyes: his cold is never ending, I swear!

For today, no truck shopping. Nick is deciding to just keep trying to figure out what is wrong with his truck. He screwed up when he was Kelly Blue Booking it, and it ended up not be worth what he thought. Can't do a key for key trade, so we aren't trading it in (I REFUSE to take out a loan after we paid that truck off less than a month ago.) Instead, riding Izzie today. Thank goodness. I want to get on and ride!!

And here are some pics. More of Semi:

































This is Dazzle:

































And different ones of her sire.

Most recent:









An older one of him:


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## DanteDressageNerd

Semi and Dazzle are both very lovely!!

I understand it alarms me more to see a horse with fat pockets or over weight than to see a horse a little ribby. 

And I wouldn't consider it rude if it's a genuine concern. If a person is lacking experience and is taking on a baby they might be in for a rude surprise. Babies are not like big horses, I've never experienced a "mean" baby but a lot of the times they'll try to treat you like a horse even when you show them the line. Just have to be watchful/aware. But that's upsetting why would she want to breed her to a frame overo and take that risk? Is she planning on doing it soon because Semi looks very young. But I think you're right and he'll stay palomino, he doesn't show any signs of graying.

I agree. It's always cool to see how they can go but not worth the risk/effort to bring a horse back especially when you have a lot on your plate.

Exactly. A lot of them are VERY high maintenance just to keep sound and day to day it can get ridiculous keeping them functional. It's why I decided if I ever have 30-40k to spend on a horse, I'm getting a spanish horse. The ones I know don't have anywhere near the health, soundness, feet, or other issues I've seen with warmbloods. Like ulcers, special farrier work, heat/cool pads on their back, injections at 10yrs old even with good riding and not being rushed through work. Some just have so much movement it costs their body or they're hard to keep sound. The really airy, suspensiony fluid movers don't stay sound from what I've seen but neither do the ones who pound the ground so hard they touch the base of a well sanded arena each stride.

I wanted to clap my hands when you said, " I refuse to let my kids grow up thinking everyone is a winner. They aren't. They need to learn how it feels to try and fail, and have that desire to try again. And keep trying until they get it right." That is really true. There are winners and there are losers but you only stay a loser if you give up and stop trying to improve yourself or are a very selfish, highly manipulative person who treats people as expendable objects. But I think the everyone's a winner mentality is also causing trouble, I think we push ourselves that much harder when we feel like we have something to prove or want to compete. It drives us harder but I know what you mean with all the uncertainty, sometimes I get flustered and want to quit too :lol: but I think raising kids so they believe they're all "special" snow flakes pristine and perfect is a big problem with this generation too. I'm more about teaching accountability and personal responsibility, rather than point the finger at the teacher or next person for a child who doesn't care to try. I think sometimes we emphasize "feelings" over function.

But I'm glad the bed thing went well and I hope Kaleb feels better. Sorry about the truck, that sucks :-( but no, after finally not having an extra bill. I'd not want to start paying monthly bills again when you have a vehicle that's paid for.

But in the older picture of their dad, he actually looks a lot like quite a few of the old style arabian stallion used in trakehner and warmblood breeding. Larger neck, more upright shoulder, more bone.


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## Tazzie

Yeah, Nick didn't understand why I got so worked up the first time it happened. I was like because that's just the start! She could founder, the crest could fall over, etc. This has to be rectified now! Now, when it starts getting just a bit heavy, we cut her grain down and she's fine. She stays chunky through winter when not in work, but we have managed to keep the crest at bay.

Semi is actually 4 if I remember correctly. I believe those are older pictures of her. Catalina was born just before we got Izzie, and then Semi was the year after. I truly think she doesn't know. Or she has more stallions than I saw on her page (I was snooping; I'm not actually friends with her). I just know without a doubt Izzie and Semi have frame, and I'd suspect Catalina does too. And that stud was very noticeably frame. This girl just seems to breed pretty color with pretty color. One mare made me cringe when I saw it's conformation. If I knew the girl, I'd probably say something. But I don't.

Exactly! If I were a lot younger and without kids, I'd be up to trying. But now, nope. She wanted to sell me Izzie's dam, but she won't load into a step up trailer and is sassy undersaddle. Izzie gives me enough sass :lol: and the only other horse I'll be legging up this year is the lovely QH at the farm for our barn owners mom. And her I'll enjoy bringing into work. She has "sass" but it's more so that she's been out of work for years and doesn't want to work if she doesn't have to. But Nick can trail ride her at a walk and jog if that says anything about her :lol:

I like some warmblods, but at this point I'll properly stick with my Arabs :lol: I've grown quite fond of them and showing in rail classes. I NEVER expected to enjoy this showing as much as I do. And growing up, I never remember a time that had so much comraderie. Like when I broke my wrist and my competitor showed my horse. Or when that girl's mom didn't have her horse's show halter so Nick ran to the trailer to grab ours so they could borrow it. And I've braided a direct competitor's (showing in the same class as I was) horse because she couldn't do both horses and the mare needed it done ASAP. Did it before I knocked Izzie's out. So, I'll be the crazy girl with herds of Arabs at this point :lol:

I know! It's disgusting seeing all these kids that are entitled. No, just no. I know I'm not the only one raising kids like this, but trust me. We are out there! We are bucking that whole everyone is a winner crap. I've wanted to give up a lot. I doubted myself when I bought that native costume because we've never been competitive in it. But I said so what? I want it, and I have fun in it. Who cares if I never win? I'm in it to have FUN. I want my kids to be competitive, but I also don't want them to do things just to win. I want them to enjoy what they do (whether it's riding horses or playing basketball, etc). We shall see if we succeed!

I hope he does too  he's napping now. First time I haven't heard him cough today, and passed right out in bed. And yeah. I drove the truck today, and the issues may all be in Nick's mind. I think it drove fine to be honest. Just needs a bit of maintenance. So it may be ok in the long run. And may be able to start searching for a decent trailer of our own. We currently haul with a 3/4 horse slant load gooseneck. We want a smaller, 2 horse bumper pull. With Equine Affaire coming up in April, Nick and I are going to look and see what is offered. Just getting old borrowing a trailer, and being so big to boot.

Yeah, I liked the older picture of him. He looked like a nicer, older style Arab. I'm not a fan of the extreme dished face that is in style right now. so I like that he isn't that way. And that Izzie won't be either. I know you can't ride a head, but I just don't like the in style head right now :lol:

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I rode today!! And she was SO good, holy smokes! I know she's still ouchy, but she did some NICE trot to canter transitions, some nice downward transitions, and her walk was the best yet. Had a lot of through moments, which made me smile. She's trying SO hard even though she's ouchy. Still didn't work long (maybe 15 minutes?) but it was some GOOD work. And a gorgeous stretchy trot. Nick shouted out during our ride "She looks REALLY good right there!!" Making me excited for this year, and excited for her adjustment in a week! If she's trying this hard and being this good needing an adjustment, just what will I have when she's good? I'm dying to see! She got lots of scratches, some yummy treats, and gave Sydney a pony ride back to the barn. Both girls looked like they were grinning ear to ear :lol: Izzie lives for those kids, and her ears shot forward like "alright!!" when we put Syd up there! I'm glad I could make them both so happy after Izzie made me so happy!


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## DanteDressageNerd

Exactly or thyroid issues or any numbers of things. Obesity in horses is scary. I'm more scared seeing a horse fat than a little thin.

I'm glad she's at least at a mature age and not a baby. But that's really unfortunate. I think I live kinda removed from all that so I forget there are people out there who literally breed just to breed and care nothing of quality or having even a trail sound horse. I remember a website called Fugly horse of the day and that was pretty eye opening.]

lol I'm with you sometimes it'd be fun to bring a horse back but at the end of the day not worth it. 

That makes sense to me. I've never shown at arabian shows but I remember my trainer said she saw nothing that really offended her. She didn't show but the show grounds are near enough we can see some different shows if we want to. But I've heard people there are encouraging in a way that is unusual to see. I'm just doing open shows, no one to haul us to arabian shows and they're more expensive. But I'm glad you found your breed 

It really is. I actually roll my eyes when I see families that treat their kids like precious snow flakes and get their kids to do stuff by offering rewards like candy, their kids have NO respect for them or anyone else. I can't do or say anything but I'd rather see a kid getting his butt spanked for being obnoxious than baby please be good, I'll buy you a new toy if you behave today. I've seen teens tell their parents to F off and I just go like  or kids who hit their parents. It blows my mind, kids should not be running the show it makes adults who lack respect for others, can't take responsibility, accept no accountability and think they deserve something for converting oxygen into carbon dioxide with no work ethic. It's sick. But I'm glad there are good parents out there who insist on kids having manners and behaving themselves, so that they can become functional, capable adults! I think the parents who set the lines and make the kids walk the line are more caring of their kids than the one who give them whatever they want and never teach them about consequences. I remember my psychology professor said with his kids, he had his kid act up in a restaurant and so he told his son if he doesn't get it together in 3 seconds he will sit in the car with him, eat nothing and go to bed. Kid didn't behave so his parents followed through. The rest of the family ate but Dad and son sat in the car and waited, got home and put the kids to bed. His son never behaved badly in a restaurant again. But no that is really good, your kids will be much more successful and likely happier people because they can make their own happiness and can earn their way, rather than expecting someone else to deliver it for them. Like someone else is responsible for their success, happiness or choices. Teaching personal responsibility, accepting that we're not perfect and can lose as well as win if we fight hard enough is a very special gift. 

I'm glad he's resting. Should help his body recover  And good luck with trailers. 

That's awesome!! I'm so glad you had such an awesome ride on Izzy! Really awesome


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## Tazzie

Exactly! I like a little chunk going into winter, but only a little. We don't go overboard or anything with the weight (obviously.) I've monitored her diet excessively since we brought her home :lol: she was on nasty sweet feed with whole corn kernels. Just eww.

Yeah, I still don't care for breeding that young, but she's not really a baby anymore. It is sad people like that exist  and I remember fugly blog. They still have their facebook page, but I really miss their blog.

Some can certainly be pricey, but we show at a lot that aren't. I still plan to show in dressage shows, but I don't think I'd quit the rail classes now. I adore too many people in there, and we've made A LOT of friends (Nick included; never figured he'd dive right in too :lol

Yeah, we don't really bargain with our kids. It's usually "you do this, or you will be spanked and in time out or you will go to bed." Kaleb was actually sent to bed early tonight for throwing things and having tantrums. We told him to stop or straight to bed. He didn't. He's in bed now. We don't put up with things like that. I was actually JUST asked what our secret to well behaved kids was. I said no secret or special trick. We discipline and have rules and consequences. And we have taken the kids with us everywhere we have gone since they were born. Heck, Kaleb went dress shopping for my best friend's wedding just over a week after he was born. I'm insane :lol:

I'm pleased too!

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rode again today! And OMG, this horse. First, I normally have to walk to her in the field. Typically she prefers staying with her buddies as long as she could. Today though. Today she came trotting right up to me. Told Nick the day could end and I'd be happy as a clam just for that. The wind was howling so wasn't sure how great the ride would be.

Boy, did she prove me wrong. I had a horse that was still REALLY trying again today. She worked so well for me! I couldn't be happier at all! AND Nick recorded us. I'm pleased as punch with it 

https://youtu.be/OlS3-g3w-5w


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## Tihannah

You guys look FANTASTIC!! I wish I could keep Tess that consistent! 

2 things:
1.) How the heck do you keep your lower legs so still in the trot?? My lower legs look like flopping wings when we trot! 
2.) How is your seat transition from canter to trot so smooth??? Lol. I'm a bouncy mess trying to bring myself back from canter to trot.

On the kids, I'm the EXACT same way. When my kids were young and we went out places, people would always comment on how well behaved they were. I did not play! They were on schedules and routines so naps and bedtimes were never an issue. Tantrums did not exist in my house! Lol. My oldest is now 16 and the other day I stopped at the convenience store near my house, and the counter attendant commented on what a respectful young man he was whenever he came in and always looked out for his younger siblings. I think we have to lay the foundation for our kids and the rest will come into play.


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## DanteDressageNerd

I miss the blog too. It was very eye opening to see what all is out there and what people will breed and produce :-(

I guess for the shows it's just knowing which ones to show at and which ones to go to and won't cost an arm and a leg and which ones are 600-700 a show.

But honestly to both you and Tina. I really commend good parenting. I think life long it makes a big difference in their lives. I think a part of learning to respect yourself is knowing how to respect others. 

But I'm so glad you got some video and a videographer. I guess that is what husbands are for? But I'm really glad you had such a good ride. She has a stunning trot. Definitely not what you expect out of a small horse. You make a great team


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## Tazzie

Tihannah, you guys will get there! I had YEARS of training before I took a hiatus to go to college and get a job. So I'm more familiar with what works and what doesn't :lol: but you guys have made some incredible strides so far!

As for my lower leg, I had the same problem for a while. I just became more conscience of putting more weight in my heel to keep it steady. It helped that I had a pretty good foundation growing up. Like a young horse, I wasn't allowed off of a lunge line for a long time until I have a decent position and could stay out of the horse's mouth :lol:

For the transition, as soon as I feel the first beat of trot, I start posting. I COULD sit it, but with Izzie needing an adjustment I sit as little as I possibly can right now to keep her as comfortable as I can. It may take time to develop the feel of the first beat of trot, but when you do, you'll be happy! You know you've got the first beat if you rise with the outside shoulder like you're supposed to :lol:

I'm glad you raised your kids similar to how we are raising ours! Kaleb is turning 3 on Saturday, so he's testing our patience right now and seeing what exactly he can get away with. The answer? Nothing that we wouldn't normally allow. We are pretty dang strict with the kids. They get to have their play time, and we don't inhibit them with that. But there are some hard and fast rules. They behave, or what they wanted goes away. We don't play that game. We get complimented a lot at restaurants for how quiet and well behaved our children are. Makes me happy 

Cassie, it was eye opening  sadly in Kentucky you see A LOT of what was posted there. I'm in a ton of different sales groups or chat groups and all you see is junk studs up for breeding, and people breeding to them! Just disgusting!

Yup, we do a lot of showing, but we don't normally do any as expensive as regionals. I just want Izzie to start earning her achievement awards which is why I want to show at it. You get more points there if you win or take reserve 

I don't normally make him record us, but I was happy he decided to! I've been doubting we looked as good as we felt, so I was PLEASED we did look as good as I thought! Her trot is definitely a showy trot :lol: someone commented of Facebook what nice extension she has. All I could think of was "you should see when she really extends" :lol: she gets BIG in any extension you ask! I do think we're finally coming together to be a great team! We've been working at it for a good long while now!


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## DanteDressageNerd

I know Kentucky is the horse capital of this country but that's really sad to hear how many poor quality studs are advertised and how many people will breed to these junk studs to breed more junk horses. That's sad :-(

I'm still learning about achievement awards but I know they're a big deal in the arabian world. I always see these +++ and // by horse's names. 

Well I'm glad he decided to as well. It's always helpful to look I think. She has a very flashy trot. I have no doubt an extension will be quite impressive. But I'm glad for you and hopefully with Spring coming around and the chiropractor coming out it will be that much better


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## Tazzie

It is sad  you see a lot of crummy horses, and some that have so many breeds it's not even worth listing them out anymore.

I'm learning a bit still myself, but I've learned enough to start earning them! We paid the fee to have her points from 2015 added, and then paid the fee to enroll her in the program. Izzie only has 7 points right now, but it was enough for me to pay the fee to add those points to her total. It'd be awesome to get halfway to Legion of Honor and maybe Legion of Merit this year (Legion of Merit requires some of the points to be from In Hand showing). This link explains a bit about it and if you click on Horse Achievement Awards, it'll show the entire list of awards and how many points you need to earn for each level. I found out earlier the points are cumulative so they just keep adding even after they receive one award  https://www.arabianhorses.org/competition/aha-recognized/achievement-awards/

I love looking back on old videos, and typically the only videos I have are from showing. So it's nice to see one that isn't showing :lol: spring coming and seeing a chiro will definitely help us all out! I know she'll feel better, and so will I knowing she feels better! That and saddle shopping this year!


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## DanteDressageNerd

Tazzie said:


> It is sad  you see a lot of crummy horses, and some that have so many breeds it's not even worth listing them out anymore.
> 
> I'm learning a bit still myself, but I've learned enough to start earning them! We paid the fee to have her points from 2015 added, and then paid the fee to enroll her in the program. Izzie only has 7 points right now, but it was enough for me to pay the fee to add those points to her total. It'd be awesome to get halfway to Legion of Honor and maybe Legion of Merit this year (Legion of Merit requires some of the points to be from In Hand showing). This link explains a bit about it and if you click on Horse Achievement Awards, it'll show the entire list of awards and how many points you need to earn for each level. I found out earlier the points are cumulative so they just keep adding even after they receive one award  https://www.arabianhorses.org/competition/aha-recognized/achievement-awards/
> 
> I love looking back on old videos, and typically the only videos I have are from showing. So it's nice to see one that isn't showing
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> spring coming and seeing a chiro will definitely help us all out! I know she'll feel better, and so will I knowing she feels better! That and saddle shopping this year!


Sometimes humans really shock me like a horse has a clearly deformed leg and can't stay sound with major health issues, why would you breed it? 

That's awesome!! I think you and Izzy will achieve your goals. I have no doubt Izzy will won her achievements and eventually make some beautiful 3/4 arab babies!

Absolutely. It's really helpful to look back, sometimes just for encouragement or to see how far you've come or sometimes to remind you of lessons you forgot. Izzy looks like she enjoys showing and being in the ring but I'm glad you'll be able to ride more and feel better about riding her once she sees the Chiropractor. To me her trot is kind of spanishy but it's cool to see how nice she is. Just shows a horse from humble orgins can still succeed and do very well.

Good luck saddle shopping!! I know how hard and expensive it can be but well worth the investment!!


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## Tazzie

It is disgusting really :sad: I wish people put thought into it. I don't think there would be so many issues if they did. I really want to breed Izzie, but if she comes up positive for a genetic disorder, I don't believe I'd do it. It'd make me sad, but such would be life.

I think so! I'd love to work our way up to the highest level of honors, but we will see! I'll be pleased with whatever we earn! I do think she'd make some awesome babies, given she passes her genetic testing.

I'm very curious what makes her trot look spanishy :lol: I've heard she tosses her hocks out behind her a bit, which is characteristic of the Arab side. It's interesting since someone once wanted me to breed her to an Andalusian (not going to happen). And it is fun to look back on old videos now and go "I thought that looked good???" I seriously just looked at the video from a show Labor Day weekend and went "wow... we weren't consistent yet..." It was shortly after I started working with my trainer and Izzie was getting used to shorter reins :lol:

This is the video I'm talking about (you'll see some lengthening there too; baby ones lol)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4rmYpzZj4Y

I am definitely looking forward to the saddle hunt. Should only be about another month before I get my incentive fund check! I'm resisting the urge to look at anything right now. I refuse to buy without working with a saddle fitter. I want this one to fit as good as we can get it!


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## DanteDressageNerd

Hopefully Izzy will be genetic disorder free *shrugs* you never know but hopefully she's clean. She's a nice mare. 

I'll give an example of what I mean this is Rain, a PRE with my trainer riding.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5eluM15IsA I'm not saying she moves just like a PRE but how she swings her front legs in how she swings through them and her back legs coordinate if that makes sense? She's a lighter mover but the movement to me is kinda similar. I'll be honest though I LOVE spanish horses, I never used to but I think they're just unique and interesting.

I think you rode really well in that video. She looks a bit green and a maybe a bit young about it but but it looks like you rode her through it well and gave her a good experience. She's moving very nicely. 

Absolutely. No sense in buying a saddle without a competent fitters opinion first. Especially when you're looking at spending a good amount of money but it seems no matter what you buy, it has to be reflocked to fit.


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## Tazzie

I'm really hoping so! I will be pretty devastated if she's not clean. I haven't had any issues (like PSSM, HYPP or anything) but you never really know. And thanks! I sure think so too :lol:

Ah, ok! I see what you mean a bit more! Probably why that girl said to breed her to one :lol: you commenting about her being lighter reminded me of this video. This was before the Alexandria Fair one (other video I posted). No idea why they ran the class as walk trot. I showed against the others in the class in walk trot canter classes. We were all baffled, but maybe he'd seen enough from the other classes? I have no clue. But you'll hear a girl commenting on Izzie the entire time, and telling the girl how Izzie doesn't change her tempo and how softly she hits the ground. And excuse Izzie. She thinks line ups are stupid :lol: we are perfect at home, but at a show she thinks it's dumb to stand in the line up quietly :icon_rolleyes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLZWZfsNok8

Thank you! I try and stay very quiet on her and not get after her for mistakes or headset. Most of the other horses you see their riders doing the yank/pull on the outside rein, which I can't stand. I'd rather I quietly ask Izzie to come back than to yank and pull on her. She was definitely green to the contact in these videos. We had been riding on a MUCH longer rein, and we switched trainers just before this. The first trainer was great for instilling confidence back in myself, but not good to progress. New trainer was like "she's ready, pick up your reins." Izzie begged to differ, but could you blame her? A solid year riding on a longer rein? Yeah...

Oh yeah, reflocking will be added into the budget for it. And will be checked regularly to ensure the fit is still good. I'm just super excited that I FINALLY get to buy a nicer one! I'm still keeping the one I have since it's a perfect spare saddle, but Izzie deserves something much nicer than that.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

We rode yesterday! Wasn't our best. Could have been because I didn't lunge before I got on (have only been lunging since she needed a chiro, but wanted to see what she did) or because it was the third day in a row I asked her to work and she hasn't done that yet this year. She tried hollowing out and threatening to buck. Sent her forward and she gave up on it for a little bit. By the end I had a nice ride, got both leads promptly (hard for her to do when she needs an adjustment) and stood quietly on contact. Called it a day and hopped off. Snapped a couple of pictures though 

I believe this one was from Sunday









These were from last night walking back out to the barn


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## DanteDressageNerd

Tazzie said:


> I'm really hoping so! I will be pretty devastated if she's not clean. I haven't had any issues (like PSSM, HYPP or anything) but you never really know. And thanks! I sure think so too
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Ah, ok! I see what you mean a bit more! Probably why that girl said to breed her to one
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> you commenting about her being lighter reminded me of this video. This was before the Alexandria Fair one (other video I posted). No idea why they ran the class as walk trot. I showed against the others in the class in walk trot canter classes. We were all baffled, but maybe he'd seen enough from the other classes? I have no clue. But you'll hear a girl commenting on Izzie the entire time, and telling the girl how Izzie doesn't change her tempo and how softly she hits the ground. And excuse Izzie. She thinks line ups are stupid
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> we are perfect at home, but at a show she thinks it's dumb to stand in the line up quietly
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLZWZfsNok8
> 
> Thank you! I try and stay very quiet on her and not get after her for mistakes or headset. Most of the other horses you see their riders doing the yank/pull on the outside rein, which I can't stand. I'd rather I quietly ask Izzie to come back than to yank and pull on her. She was definitely green to the contact in these videos. We had been riding on a MUCH longer rein, and we switched trainers just before this. The first trainer was great for instilling confidence back in myself, but not good to progress. New trainer was like "she's ready, pick up your reins." Izzie begged to differ, but could you blame her? A solid year riding on a longer rein? Yeah...
> 
> Oh yeah, reflocking will be added into the budget for it. And will be checked regularly to ensure the fit is still good. I'm just super excited that I FINALLY get to buy a nicer one! I'm still keeping the one I have since it's a perfect spare saddle, but Izzie deserves something much nicer than that.
> 
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> We rode yesterday! Wasn't our best. Could have been because I didn't lunge before I got on (have only been lunging since she needed a chiro, but wanted to see what she did) or because it was the third day in a row I asked her to work and she hasn't done that yet this year. She tried hollowing out and threatening to buck. Sent her forward and she gave up on it for a little bit. By the end I had a nice ride, got both leads promptly (hard for her to do when she needs an adjustment) and stood quietly on contact. Called it a day and hopped off. Snapped a couple of pictures though
> 
> I believe this one was from Sunday
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These were from last night walking back out to the barn


Does she have Impressive in her lines? I would think she wouldn't have it :/ but I think they only can get HyPP if both parents are carriers, so if she has it unless the stallion you breed her to has it the foal wont have it but has a 50/50/shot of being a carrier, if I remember right. but hopefully she's clean across the board. I'm not very familiar with PSSM.

Im sorry I wasn't able to explain what I meant better but glad you got it anyway









I can't tell you on the class *shrugs* he might have just wanted it over with. I can't watch the video until later, it kills my data. But I gotta say I don't think Dante would like the line up either, he thinks any periods of extended halt are stupid if treats are not involved. So I don't blame Izzy lol I think a lot of young horses are like that. 

To me it looked like they just haven't figured out how to have a true connection and work within that connection. I remember seeing that a lot *shrugs* they might just not have been taught another way to get a "head set" and don't understand the whole body connection so to speak. And I think you're doing a very lovely job with Izzy. It takes some adapting for them to learn to use their body in a way that is different, takes a lot of organization and sometimes it's a lot harder so divas can get a little upset about the difference in contact. It's funny how sensitive or funny some can be. Dante used to flip his head back if I sent a tremor or electrical pulse down my ring finger so I had to carry the reins between my index finger and thumb for a while but he was so funny about the bridle, so I understand. Babies can be so funny about little changes or things. 

Good luck finding a good saddle. I hope it all goes well on that front! I honestly think its easier to find a horse than a saddle to fit that horse.

Maybe she wasn't used to be worked 3 days in a row and maybe has something a little sore from working or she was mentally like what again and wanted to test you but I'm glad you had what sounds like a really good, productive ride to get her back into working life. I remember in a clinic with Devon, she said sometimes the most important rides with babies aren't the best rides but the ones where they learn to accept direction, be obedient and work through their frustrations.

She's really cute. She has a super expressive face, maybe it's the Arabian? They're natural on camera, hams and very photogenic.


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## Tihannah

Izzie has the sweetest face and OMG! Those puppy dog eyes!! Love her!


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## Tazzie

I'm not sure if she does or not. I know she'd be nN if she did since HYPP isn't in Arabs. She'd be a carrier, which can be symptomatic. PSSM I believe is what Wallaby is going through with Fabio. They can't process certain things and can be uncomfortable if not on a correct diet. I don't think she's any of those, but there are a lot to test for. QH's have the 5 panel, and Arabs have a 3 panel. Plan to have both done. This is her bloodlines: Written In The Stars Part-bred Arab

I was mildly confused, but it does make sense! She definitely doesn't move how people expect her to more!

Yeah, that's not the case here unfortunately. I show against the same horses year after year at that fairgrounds, and it's the same thing year after year. Pulling, yanking and kicking. I see it a lot in the Arab world too unfortunately. I think that's WHY we keep getting comments about how quietly I ride Izzie. She's not always the most consistent in the class, but we are the quietest as far as hands go. She definitely is a sensitive little girl :lol: the kind who lets you know if you are doing something she doesn't like, or if she really doesn't feel well enough to ride. I have videos from our former trainer where he made me get off and lunge Izzie to make her canter. She still wouldn't. So HE took over after I said I think she can't actually canter and MADE her do it. Took her to a chiro and he was like "her pelvis is twisted and her sacrum is flipped up. there is NO canter in this horse right now and you're lucky to get a trot." I was pretty done with that guy after that. This is a horse that has a big go button. When she was greener (or at shows when I'm nervous) she wants to get the lead so darn fast she'll grab whichever is easiest, even if it's the wrong one. We've come a long way from that, but when she doesn't want to canter, you know she's ouchy. And yeah, she was like "WHAT IS THIS??? GET OUT OF MY FACE!!" when we picked up contact. She had her fussy moments for a while, but we did get much better throughout the year. Nick stopped recording after Alexandria though :lol: he wanted to watch us go too.

Ugh, I know! I told Nick I'll wait however long it takes to get the best fitting one possible. But man. And I have to find one. The girl being recommended to me by my friend is just a girl who owns a tack shop with a lot of saddles and has Arabs :neutral: so once I have the money, I'll be searching where to find one. I'd go to my trainer, but they only use M. Toulouse fitters I believe. I've never ridden in one, but I want to try different kinds on Izzie to make sure I get the best fitting one we possibly can.

And who knows. She's certainly opinionated about life. Thanks to the weather she gets quite a few days off. It's currently pouring here, and with no indoor... all riding will be at a stand still. And with my son's birthday this weekend, and her adjustment Saturday, I don't think I'll have time to ride then  Maybe Friday, and hopefully Monday. Best I can hope for right now, ugh.

And thank you both! She is definitely expressive with her face too :lol: she was thinking she could win me over to give her a ton of treats :lol: and the ones from last night she was hoping we would feed her dinner haha! Our barn owner wasn't home yet though, and we don't drop grain unless he's on the property so he can let them back out. I don't want her cooped up for hours with no way out!


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## DanteDressageNerd

With the lines I was trying to see if her and Dante but I don't see any cross over, granted his dam's linage is a mystery.

No I think these stock horse x arab crosses can be deceiving to people. They're very athletic and smart.

Ooh poor Izzy :-( I'd probably not want to canter or work if I had a twisted pelvis either, what a good girl. But I agree shame on your old trainer for pressing it when it wasn't an obedience issue, just I can't do it. Glad you found a new trainer who is more fair and understand of your horse. I think it's important to rule out all the possible medical reasons before assuming the horse is just belligerent or hostile. Sometimes it's such a simple fix. I finally got to watch the video and I thought she looked great! It was fun to listen to the Lady go on about how wonderful Izzy was, that's gotta feel good.

IMO if you're going to get a good saddle, I am not a fan of the M toulouse. I've ridden in them and while they're not awful. I figure if you're going to spend the money get something that is really going to work for you both. The saddle I have is usually around 2500 used but I got mine for 2000 because the leather was brown. I took good care of it and it's almost totally black now but it took a lot of tender love and grooms tricks, SO much love the leather was so dry and not cared for. It needed to be reflocked too but I think anything will need to be reflocked but there are deals to be had out there. And arabs can be hard to fit, even from just a standard fitter. When Debbie Witty fitted Dante's saddle I learned a TON about how she flocked the saddle to fit the shape or curve of his spine. How a lot of fitters dont realize how much arabs come up in their back and that totally changes the shape of their back working to standing. She fits the saddles to fit them working vs standing. She laid her hands on the saddle and showed how it can rock back and forth or side to side and all kinds of interesting things but saddle fitting and flocking is an art. And she's a genius but that's why olympic riders use her. She's super nice and professional too. It blew my mind. She's the creator/owner of trilogy saddles which I usually am not a huge fan of most saddles but I love them. The only thing with them for our shorter backed horses is finding them with short enough pannels and having someone who knows how to flock to the shape of the horse's back. Debbie rolled the wool at the ends so the pannels didn't come back so far and did a bunch of stuff I know nothing about but super eye opening.

lol arab/stockhorse personality. Always have to have a diva moment lol. It's how you know if something isn't right, why is there no attitude? I'm sorry about the weather and missing time to ride. That's a bummer :-( but at least it's your son's birthday, how old is he turning? 

And you're welcome she's a beautiful girl! And I don't blame you, I don't think I'd want her cooped up in a stall for no reason either. But I hope the chiropractic visit goes well!


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## Tazzie

Darn, would have been neat if they shared some lines! The one good thing the breeder did for us, was she photocopied the dam's papers so we could know her lineage. I was pretty thankful for that!

They certainly are! I enjoy watching them go 

Exactly. This is a horse who WANTS to canter on the lunge line, regardless of how slick or whatever it is. He basically said I need to go every day and lunge the poo out of her and make her canter. I got in the truck, looked at Nick and said "something is definitely wrong with Izzie." He said "yup, and I did NOT like how Cleon was making her do something she was uncomfortable with." We got her in right away and the chiro showed us everything that was wrong. This old trainer also believed in walking to canter so they learn to anticipate it. I was like "umm, no. I don't want my half Arab anticipating that I'm going to cue her at any second to canter, thanks." I think we did three lessons with him and called it done. I'd had enough. Becky is WONDERFUL, gives plenty of breaks, and doesn't push more than what we are ready for. She's about the same distance hauling as the other guy, a little more expensive, but worth every penny. One day I'll have Nick record our lesson :lol:

Yay! It was pretty nice hearing her talking about Izzie like that  When we got in the truck to haul Izzie home, Nick was like "watch that video and hear what that girl said about Izzie. She talked about her the entire class." Always nice to have new fans  she helped us at Alexandria too when we had a very quick tack change. She legitimately liked Izzie :lol:

As for the saddle, I definitely haven't heard many good things about them, which is why I'd rather not work with a saddle fitter that specializes them. I don't want a saddle forced on me at all. I'd be afraid to know how much your saddle fitter costs to come out for one horse though :lol: I figure I'll start doing my research here soon to get an idea of a saddle fitter in our area (there has to be SOME that are good here; we ARE in Kentucky and we ARE willing to haul her to other places). Sounds like you have a really good one though! I'm totally fine with a saddle that will need a little TLC. Just has to be usable is the biggest thing for me!

Exactly! She's a diva in general, and she's a diva if she hurts (which I am too, so I don't fault her there.) If she's acting too calm/agreeable, something is definitely wrong. I wouldn't know what that's like though with her :lol: and yeah, weather stinks. Rained yesterday, snowing today, more rain tomorrow. Still going to try and do a small walk trot ride Friday to do SOME work, but I wouldn't ask for much based on conditions. I'll be ready to ride Monday before our group meeting! Hopefully she will feel like a million bucks and not pin her ears when I put my leg on (I swear, her ribcage HAS to be out somewhere since a light leg makes her ****y) And Kaleb turns three on Saturday! Nick and I are going birthday present shopping tomorrow for him. Just getting small things for now (all Paw Patrol stuff; his favorite thing ever) since Kaleb and Sydney are getting a big power wheel truck thing as a joint present when it's warm enough to be outside all the time!

Yeah, she only is stalled really for shows, and even then we take her on walks, and we park our chairs in front of the stall so she can have the door open and have her head out. We put a leadrope up as a barrier too, but she likes to look out and visit everyone going by  I sure think it will go great! I know she will feel a lot better!


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## DanteDressageNerd

Tazzie said:


> Darn, would have been neat if they shared some lines! The one good thing the breeder did for us, was she photocopied the dam's papers so we could know her lineage. I was pretty thankful for that!
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> They certainly are! I enjoy watching them go
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> Exactly. This is a horse who WANTS to canter on the lunge line, regardless of how slick or whatever it is. He basically said I need to go every day and lunge the poo out of her and make her canter. I got in the truck, looked at Nick and said "something is definitely wrong with Izzie." He said "yup, and I did NOT like how Cleon was making her do something she was uncomfortable with." We got her in right away and the chiro showed us everything that was wrong. This old trainer also believed in walking to canter so they learn to anticipate it. I was like "umm, no. I don't want my half Arab anticipating that I'm going to cue her at any second to canter, thanks." I think we did three lessons with him and called it done. I'd had enough. Becky is WONDERFUL, gives plenty of breaks, and doesn't push more than what we are ready for. She's about the same distance hauling as the other guy, a little more expensive, but worth every penny. One day I'll have Nick record our lesson
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> Yay! It was pretty nice hearing her talking about Izzie like that  When we got in the truck to haul Izzie home, Nick was like "watch that video and hear what that girl said about Izzie. She talked about her the entire class." Always nice to have new fans  she helped us at Alexandria too when we had a very quick tack change. She legitimately liked Izzie
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> As for the saddle, I definitely haven't heard many good things about them, which is why I'd rather not work with a saddle fitter that specializes them. I don't want a saddle forced on me at all. I'd be afraid to know how much your saddle fitter costs to come out for one horse though
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> I figure I'll start doing my research here soon to get an idea of a saddle fitter in our area (there has to be SOME that are good here; we ARE in Kentucky and we ARE willing to haul her to other places). Sounds like you have a really good one though! I'm totally fine with a saddle that will need a little TLC. Just has to be usable is the biggest thing for me!
> 
> Exactly! She's a diva in general, and she's a diva if she hurts (which I am too, so I don't fault her there.) If she's acting too calm/agreeable, something is definitely wrong. I wouldn't know what that's like though with her
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> and yeah, weather stinks. Rained yesterday, snowing today, more rain tomorrow. Still going to try and do a small walk trot ride Friday to do SOME work, but I wouldn't ask for much based on conditions. I'll be ready to ride Monday before our group meeting! Hopefully she will feel like a million bucks and not pin her ears when I put my leg on (I swear, her ribcage HAS to be out somewhere since a light leg makes her ****y) And Kaleb turns three on Saturday! Nick and I are going birthday present shopping tomorrow for him. Just getting small things for now (all Paw Patrol stuff; his favorite thing ever) since Kaleb and Sydney are getting a big power wheel truck thing as a joint present when it's warm enough to be outside all the time!
> 
> Yeah, she only is stalled really for shows, and even then we take her on walks, and we park our chairs in front of the stall so she can have the door open and have her head out. We put a leadrope up as a barrier too, but she likes to look out and visit everyone going by  I sure think it will go great! I know she will feel a lot better!


It really would have though I don't know Dante's dams lines because she's a grade. They think she's a full qh and she looks full qh but she is a perlino and I guess around the time she was born they weren't registering perlinos or at least that was what I was told. But him and his brother are registered. His sire is by Allionce but it would have been neat if there was some cross over. O saw some TB in Izzy's dam and draft? That's interesting. I like seeing unique breeding lol.

Izzy sounds like she has a really good work ethic and desire to go, it's a shame your trainer assumed it was a discipline issue vs something is wrong. I'm glad you found a better trainer, Im with you when you know your horse you know when something isn't right and it's time to back off and figure out what is going on. I think it kills confidence when you push them through pain like that. I also think it loses trust and a desire to perform. Anticipating walk to canter just increases tension, not reactivity. Walk to canters are fine but through a supple back. But you don't want like a jumper walk to canter where they're tense and not really stepping under into it and listening, just braced and waiting for it. But Becky sounds good and I'm glad you found her







more expensive is worth it for better.

I think it's always nice when someone likes your horse or is genuinely interested in that horse. She seems really personable and charming, plus she's a pretty grey mare with nice movement so I understand why. That's also REALLY nice that she opted to help you!! That's pretty cool, I can honestly say that has never happened to me before







but you said Arabian shows there is some awesome comradery. 

I think horses that are used to being out all the time so a lot better when they can get as much fresh air as possible. I used to walk horses at the shows all the time too. I think it really helps then settle in and feel good eating grass and seeing everything.

And the only reason we got Debbie is because my trainer works with her in FL or uses her I mean and she was offered quite a lot of horses to look at. Lots of people bought saddles and I learned through her she only does semi custom and not full custom because a horses back is always changing and when you do full custom and the back changes, often the saddle no longer fits the horse or for full custom you cant replicate the saddle if someone absolutely loves it (she used to work for Albion). Albion also makes good saddles. Yet semi custom is more adjustable through flocking and other means. She only cost 200 to flock my saddle and didn't force me into buying a new and even told a lady not to buy because her horse was still so thin and it wouldn't be a good time she said. She may come out again but she had a whole barn to service. We were really lucky, I don't think anyone else could have made the saddle fit Dante to his liking. She's also in favor of pads and cuts yoga mat to build them up or says some horses need padding more on one side than the other because the goal is that the saddle fits level and is comfortable to horse and rider. It was interesting she gave a class on saddle fitting.


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## Tazzie

That's a shame :/ I do know AQHA had some very strict rules regarding color a while ago. As for the dam, I think All Breed is wrong. The TB may be true, but the draft isn't. I don't believe a registered APHA horse can be outcrossed with a draft. I can look at the papers when I get home, but All Breed is known for being wrong on occasion :lol:

She really does. It's a long video, but this was the lesson that day. You'll see why I left after such a little time working with him (and it says clinic, but it's more of just a lesson): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlToOiUciHU the attempts at cantering (or when he was trying to still make us) was around 29 minutes. I mean, watching and listening now makes my head want to explode. He was great to reinstall my confidence in her, but not for real dressage work (though he claimed to be). Becky is great! I was hesitant to start with her since she has all these gorgeous imported warmbloods, but she loved Izzie. Makes me feel very welcome 

I love it too  and the girl came up after the show and loved all over Izzie. Which Izzie enjoyed a lot. And there is a lot of camaraderie there. It's pretty nice, and helpful when needed! I've braided competitors horses before too :lol:

Exactly! We walk a lot just to explore and sometimes Nick will walk her when he's bored :lol:

And that is awesome! I'm a bit jealous actually :lol: I don't think there is anyone here like that, but maybe I'll be surprised! And only $200 to flock? Goodness! You really did get lucky! Now to hope I can find someone even remotely as good :lol:


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## DanteDressageNerd

I believe the thoroughbred but they said draft and thoroughbred and put the offspring as thoroughbred so I didn't know what they meant by that but makes sense to me. I know full tbs can registered as paint, I remember seeing some that had the coloring and were double registered as a paint too. And I think so too. Cookie (Dante's mom) is a nice mare, her other son was top 10 western pleasure for half arabs in Canada. 

I didn't watch the whole video as it is 40 minutes. I watched some of the beginning and then to the canter portion but I'll say you guys have come a long ways and you've done a really good job with her. To me I think she just looks green and young and I think she does look like something is ouchy in the canter at 30.04 but it looks like you rode well and gave her a good foundation. 

I understand why you'd be hesitant. Some people can be very snobby or they dont know what they seem to know. Yes they have nice horses and may ride upper level but are they a good trainer and good horseman? Finding a good dressage trainer is REALLY hard, that's part of why I moved back to where I was. Just because I knew a good dressage trainer who could get me and Dante going where I wanted. 

That's really amazing and IMO what sports shoulder be about. I know it's not reality most of the time but encouraging one another even if they're competitors. Nothing underhanded, just sportsmanship. But that is very cool 

It's probably really good for Izzy to get exposed to so much, I often with I could do that too. But field walking and exploring areas are really good for them I think.

You might be able to. I know country, albion, and trilogy are good saddles. I'm trying to think what else is really good. CWD is good but they're harder to maintain (foam pads over flocking). I don't know what else. And yes Debbie was REALLY reasonable, I couldn't believe it. Pam (my trainer) had her flown in from Florida just to do our barn for 2 days. She was amazing, super professional and nice. I hope you find a good fitter too. I know a few that aren't bad but they're not Debbie with her over 20 years of experience and fitting olympic caliber riders. She's down to earth though, she says she'll fit horses in a lean to shed to going into barns with chandeliers hanging from the rafters.


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## Tazzie

I fixed it lat night  I looked up her papers and someone grabbed the wrong Betty Jean. The one in her pedigree wasn't added, so I added it and got it fixed. Betty Jean was a TB according to Izzie's dam's papers  http://www.allbreedpedigree.com/written+in+the+stars3

Yeah, Nick recorded the entire ride in case I wanted to go back and watch it again. The fact she raced around at the trot like that instead of cantering (when it's normally a chore to bring her back down from the canter) told me what I needed to know. She wanted to try, you could see that all over her face, but her body just couldn't. And we really have come a long way! It was a little entertaining to see where she was only about a year and a half ago. I'm pretty proud of us  And thanks! We spent a good amount of time laying that foundation down. I had numerous friends who just told me to hop on, and I kept saying not yet! She ground drives like a champ even with my green husband behind her. We put a lot of work in her (and taught Nick as we went along :lol

Exactly! I know some trainers can really look down on a "lesser horse", so I was concerned she would be one. Not at all! She was excited when she heard what Izzie was, and after our ride she had me put Izzie in a spare stall to rest a few and dragged me to see her daughters Half Arab (half Hanoverian I think?) mare. Felt like going home :lol: which is what I longed for. And why I'm chomping at the bit for Izzie to feel better and fitter, and a weekend to go up and get a lesson!

Sadly it's not reality a lot :sad: I like our area, and I like my circle of Arab friends. I made A TON of new friends last year just through showing (and most I show against on a regular basis). I'm also that competitor who claps for their friends after they just beat you in the class :lol: I still like my dressage, but the atmosphere pales in comparison to what I'm finding at these other shows. Sometimes I'm more excited to spend time with our new friends than I am to show my horse :lol:

Oh yeah! We haven't gotten to haul off property for a trail ride yet, but we plan to this year! This a forum member who moved up in Ohio (Evilamc) who I'd love to join on a trail ride. Told Nick after regionals I'd love to make it happen and bring Izzie and Peppy (by then Peppy should be legged up and fit; I offered Nick to help me leg her up after I get the bucks out even though the bucks are super wimpy). Izzie loves exploring in general, and she's pretty happy to get out and exploring! We're hoping to pick a night before our show that we do an on the farm trail ride to get her relaxed and happy. She loves trail riding :lol:

I just have to look and ask around is the thing! I have a little bit of time until we are ready, but I'm still excited. I also loved the Arabian Saddle Company saddles, but those can be pretty pricey. They are heavenly to sit in though :lol: Nick is already prepared to extend the budget if need be, so we shall see what the saddle fitter finds! I want us both to be super comfy!

And I'm having pony withdraws  it poured here Tuesday, yesterday I had to clean house all evening and deal with a sick kiddo (praying it's just a quick bug that will be gone soon...), and today we have to go shopping. Tomorrow I plan on going down and doing just a walk trot ride if that's all we can do. Or just hop on for a bareback ride. Something!


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## DanteDressageNerd

Well I think that's pretty darn cool. So she's a quarter tb, a quarter paint and half arabian. So appendix x arab. I think that's a good cross. I've kinda wanted to see an appendix arab cross for a while :lol: it makes sense to me.

That's really good! I think it's great to look back on things sometimes. I think it's really helpful to see not only how far you've come but also look back and remember the journey. No. To me she seems pretty honest that way, so if she says no to something like that there is something wrong. She doesn't seem lazy or unwilling to move forward at all. A good foundation makes a really big difference and IMO really helps with the breaking process. You guys did well!

That's wonderful!! I always prefer trainers who are down to earth vs up their own butt and blowing smoke about how wonderful they are. I think you can really see the difference in outlook in their training and how they ride. My trainer who is in FL atm said the biggest thing you notice down there when you're surrounded by these top riders is the difference between the great riders to the really good riders is there difference in mind set and approach. She said the great ones usually have a sense of humility and are more down to earth. I think it's the same with a training program, I think it's a BIG difference when someone is like you F-ing horse why aren't you doing it or beating the snot out of the horse because the horse was late in its change (I saw that at a show) and was pretty upset like the horse was late in the change so she leaned back against the bridle, kicked and smacked the horse pretty hard because she was off in her timing with her half halt vs just running the tempi changes again or doing a difference exercise to address the problem or realizing something is wrong with the horse.

Well that's great!! And I understand I think of horse time as social time too. There are a lot of really good people in the horse world who are very interesting and kind.

That's really cool! I hope you all get to go on some good trail riding adventures. I think the outdoor adventures are always good for them 

I haven't ridden in an arabian saddle so I can't judge but try as many you can. I know it can be hard finding saddles to try sometimes. I was lucky as my barn I got to try a pretty large variety. And when I was a working student and then rider I got to ride in a ton of different saddles. Verhan (hate but fine for petite riders), a few different schlese (hate they lock up my hip), several amerigos (they're okay but not wow), M toulouse (it's okay), wintec/bates is okay but not preferred, I didn't really like the country saddles I tried but that's me they're a well made, good saddle. I rode in a custom saddlery saddle, I didnt' love it. Antares is pretty good. CWD I liked but not my favorite, but of what I've tried I like the trilogy best. I tried all 3. I don't like stubbens (I rode in them in Germany, they're tolerable but not great). Hermes, I liked. Albion is good. The amadeo is my least favorite but it didn't lock up my hips, it's also designed for someone with more of a boy body, the verago I liked but it wasn't for me. From what I've seen it fits more petite women with a figure better and I have a long femur and big butt, so the Debbie fit me best. I just like them because none of them locked up my hips, I felt like they all allowed motion without feeling forced into a position or put off balance by the saddle. I didn't feel I had to fight them. But the worst saddles I've ever ridden in have been are the thorowgood, fairfax and Kent and Masters. It sets your balance off, I don't know how to describe it. People say a good rider should be able to ride in anything but I literally had to fight the saddle so hard just to stay in balance, forget anything more specific. My trainer and friends all had the same reviews trying them. But with saddles on a whole every rider is different and every body is different. So what one person LOVES may not be as ideal for another. We're all built differently.

I hope you get to go out and see your girl soon! I know it's hard when you haven't seen them in a few days. I feel massive guilt if I go 2 days without seeing him. It's part of why I don't believe in vacation :lol:


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## Tazzie

She definitely is a neat cross I think  it's interesting sometimes though haha!

Oh yeah. That's why I like when Nick records my shows. Something to look back on and see how far we've come! She has a lot of desire to please, so when she's outright telling me no for her favorite thing, something isn't right. I wasn't that happy after that lesson. Last one we did.

I love her, truly love her. She's quiet in her approach, doesn't take it out on the horse at all, and will nail ME if I do something wrong. Not in a mean "Why the F aren't you getting this??" but in a "well, circle and try that again and do this while you are doing it since you did this wrong." Very helpful! And she talks up her students WAY more than herself. Like, super proud of what they accomplish. I barely see how she does with Rocky :lol:

There certainly are! And I'm glad I've met so many awesome ones!

Me too! I've been wanting to do an off the farm trail ride for a while, so this would be fun!

Yeah, I hope to ride in a lot of them! I'm not set on one brand or anything. We currently have a wintec. It works well enough, but I don't care for it for real riding to be honest. It was what we could get when we went saddle shopping years ago, and it was always on the condition we were going to upgrade. Now that time is here!

Sadly I don't think we will make it out tonight  these past few days haven't gone as planned. Didn't get the house cleaned Wednesday, or laundry folded. And then last night didn't make it to meijer to do grocery shopping. Have to make a bunch of stuff tonight for tomorrow, and we won't have the time to squeeze 2 hrs out of the evening to go out there. To say I'm upset would be an understatement  I get to see her tomorrow and make her feel better, but still blows. And the weather was rainy/snowy this morning. Just ugh


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## DanteDressageNerd

I always thought the appendix arab cross made sense :lol: get a little more height, refinement, movement and athleticism from the tb, curb the tude, and still get a little more flash or movement. Anglo arabs usually move better than either parent but I just think it's cool.

I don't blame you. If the instructor is pushing a horse who is clearly not disobedient or a poor work ethic, you need to see what is wrong before pressuring the horse. It can ruin good horses mentally if you pressure them to work through pain, kills willingness and that desire to please. I think the most important thing is keeping the horse's desire to work and please then comes obedience. Some horses it's the opposite but with most horses I think keeping their desire and trust in their rider is the most important thing to keep in mind when training. So I don't blame you, I'd have done the same.

lol well I'm glad she's proud of her students. Perhaps she is more proud of her teaching skills? But that's good. She sounds like a good instructor, make an error go back and do it again or here let's do this exercise or we'll tweak your riding and how your half halting, etc so it's better. Always a good thing. And honestly I don't like the instructors that are like DO IT NOW or put that kind of pressure, not because I can't cope but I think that kind of energy really reflects poorly in more sensitive horses who sense it and get nervous around it. And it also tends to tense up riders and cause them to make a lot more mistakes or errors than they would if the trainer were patient. Granted some people need to be pressured because they arent focusing or trying or need a wake up call but I don't know just my thoughts :lol:

For sure you can meet some of your best friends and best people in your life at a barn. It makes a difference.

And you're lucky to be in Kentucky with some mountains and a lot of horse friendly trail areas! I really miss that life! You'll have to take a ton of photos when you get the chance!

That makes a lot of sense to me. I don't mind wintecs they're not awful, just eh and fine to a point but then you progress and you're at a point with your horse where you need something more supportive and beneficial, rather than neutral. But good luck!! 

I'm really sorry you missed out on seeing Izzy again but that's part of adulting. Gotta be the responsible party and put ourselves aside for the sake of living lol. Doesn't it makes you want to say I'm not an adult, today I'm a kid sometimes?


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## Tazzie

Sadly Izzie missed the "curb the attitude" part :lol: she has bucket fulls of that haha!

And that is exactly right! I felt wrong pushing her into it. I praised her since she did do it, but I wasn't frustrated with her. With him I was. I'd had enough and wanted to get off and be done. It wasn't fair pushing her like that, and for someone who totes himself as such a good trainer/desensitizer he should have known. Especially when I told him flat out this horse NEVER says no to cantering. EVER. UNLESS something hurts.

It could be, but it'd be well deserving of praise. She's very good at explaining different ways of doing things, and pinpointing what is going wrong. We'd been having issues, and she nailed what I was doing wrong within seconds of watching me ride on contact. And giving me tips on how to fix what I was doing. One lesson Izzie was having an "I'm not moving my hind quarters" day. So she had me hop off and she did ground work with her quick. Izzie had an "oh, duh" moment after that. We were getting each other frustrated so she stepped in and solved it. Rest of the lesson went very smooth afterward! She's good though. She said Izzie won't ride like a Warmblood. First lesson said Izzie will want to have super light aids and want to please. I was glad she wasn't going to just have us ride like a warmblood. And it's true. Izzie demands super light aids. If you "yell" anything with your aids (even sliding a leg just a little too far for the aid) she gets mad.

It does make a difference! We don't have too many mountains up here :lol: we are super close to Cincinnati, so not really mountains here. Lots of hills though! We live on a pretty high ridgetop. But I'd definitely take pictures! My phone goes everywhere with me!

Yeah, it was perfect as she was growing and we could adjust as needed. But we always knew we would replace it with something nicer. Nick is getting excited about doing it too :lol:

It does suck to adult sometimes 

I got off work yesterday at 2:30, got to meijer at 3 ish, was walking out of meijer after all of my shopping at 4:21, home by 5, and then worked on cleaning, folding and putting away laundry, and making stuff until 10 pm. I was exhausted! But it went off well! We got up at 7:30 this morning to make more stuff, cut up fruit, and get stuff in order. Everyone had a good time! Kaleb loved all of his stuff! And we ended the day at Chuck E Cheese! He thought that was awesome!

Then we went and got Izzie adjusted. Oh. My. God. I feel ashamed to have been riding this horse. I knew she was ouchy, and rode her carefully. But I did NOT expect it to be this bad. Her pelvis was twisted right, her sacrum was twisted left, both stifles were out, right shoulder was out, poll was to the left, TMJ to the right, and then the worst parts. Three ribs out on the right, two out on the left, her barrel was swung out to the right, and her chest was out BADLY. Like, he got it adjusted, and she pinned her ears, bared her teeth, and went after his arm with an open mouth. I stopped it immediately, but this mare has NEVER offered this before. I apologized profusely, but he said this is the worst part to adjust, and normally he has horses rearing, cow kicking, etc so biting wasn't that bad. But oh my god. That mare. I think that speaks SO much about her work ethic. I didn't push for anything more than I thought she could give me. I was super quiet with my legs since I knew her ribs hurt. But I never imagined it was this bad. She has tomorrow off (per the chiro; he said not to ride her tomorrow) and to perhaps have Monday off too. I figured we'd go out Monday and see how she's feeling. He also did an acupressure test and it showed she was sensitive in her ovaries, so he said she's most likely cycling. We scheduled a couple more visits before our major shows to make sure she feels good for them.

But that horse. Dear lord. I knew she had a good work ethic, but my god. Being that out of alignment and still trying?? Holy smokes.


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## DanteDressageNerd

I completely understand with clinicians. I had clinicians I'd ride certain horses with but not others or I've flat out told a clinician no, I'm not doing that. And they'd get mad at me and I'd be like this horse needs a walk break, he's not in great shape. He needs a break. I think you can push them to a point but you gotta let them rest and unfortunately those big warmbloods fatigue quickly if they're not fit. Or if something isnt right and they're pressuring you to just get it. It sucks but even the good clinicians sometimes you have to put your foot down and be like nope this is what I'm doing. Or some clinicians you kinda dictate the ride and do what you want and then they'll correct you or suggest an exercise or give a new idea, thought or whatever. But with him he sounds like he just didn't have a real empathy for the horse or understanding that not all horses say no to be disobedient, some are saying no because they can't or it hurts.

That sounds excellent! I'm glad you've found such a good instructor to haul to that really clicks with you and Izzy and no I agree, even riding warmbloods no two horses ride exactly the same. Some ride very similarly and feel almost the same but for example riding a hotter, sensitive, super flexible warmblood is totally different from riding a dumblood whose maybe more inflexible, dull and mentally slow. I had one I rode who was 17.2h half tb but dumb, he was super sensitive (anxiety and nervous) but dumb like I think he'd have run into the wall if I didn't steer him and then he'd panic if he felt like you weren't riding or there, so it was like half halting all the time to keep his anxiety down. I understand that kind of sensitivity, they're just aware and are like I got it, why are you still telling me? I got it. I like those horses. But it also makes sense with her ribs being out, I'd be the same way. Ribs really hurt when they're out and if you get comfortable and someone nudges them, ouch. I'd be grouchy and upset too. But good thing she's a dressage horse because we like acutely sensitive, I think it makes things a lot easier than riding something that you have to insist on having a response from. 

That's sounds awesome!! I'm really jealous!! Missouri is pretty flat! I grew up in Oregon and Washington state with my eventer, so we used to go to Florence and ride on the sand and beaches and then into the mountains. It was amazing and awesome for conditioning!! I'd love to go back though Dante would scare me because those trails can get really narrow and if they spook or anything you can slide down a mountain with several thousand feet hill slide and likely death. And Dante is not a steady trail horse, he's on edge. He'll be really relaxed, calm to 180 spin take off, even with a steady trail horse with him. He feels stressed out on trails, so I usually don't give him a loose rein. It's more like calming his anxiety and letting him know death is not upon him, everything is okay. The leaf is not a snake. So I'm REALLY jealous!! Trail riding can be a lot of fun! I bet Izzy and you will both really love the adventure and I'm sure Kentucky has some really great places to ride horses!! 

Absolutely makes sense to me. Don't buy the forever saddle while they're still growing, changing shape, etc. I wouldn't have bought a long term saddle then either.

Awww I didn't know Chuck E Cheese was still around! I remember going there as a kid and those big playland type places. But I don't blame him, that sounds like fun!

Poor Izzie!! What a good girl for being so good undersaddle but wow it sounds like she really need to see the chiropractor! I know what it feels like to have a rib out, so you have an incredibly good girl to keep working despite all of that. That honestly inspires me! She has a good work ethic or really loves you and wants to please you too! And yeah I agree, few days off to let it all settle in. He sounds like a really great chiropractor!!


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## Tazzie

Yeah, that's the first and last time that happens. Izzie and I are pretty in tune and I know just how much I can ask before I've hit unreasonable. It's also why I want her fit to go up for a lesson. I want her totally ready to tackle it. Hopefully soon!!

Yup, I've had similar experience. I once rode a TB cross that had NO go button. HATED that horse. It was then I decided I never wanted a horse I had to push every stride. My boss had him in for training, and we both had a tough time with him. He was not well liked... Izzie thankfully is more of the "just give guidance when you're about to do something" or if she's doing an evasion (losing a shoulder). When she's on, and strong, and willing to work, I don't typically have to remind her of anything. She's the exact horse I would have picked for myself :lol:

Nope, I wasn't willing to spend that money that early. It's also why I want her good and in shape before we shop too. I want all of her muscling where it would be so we'd only have minor adjustments as she muscles up. I'm excited to start the search :lol:

Yup! They are still around! We had a ball last night! Unfortunately, we think the pizza didn't settle right with Kaleb. He woke up about 2:30 and got sick off and on for about 2 hours  was fine after 5, fine all morning, got in the car to meet my in laws to go to the circus, and he got sick right before they pulled in. Had to call Nick to come grab him and take him home since we weren't sure if it'd be a one time thing. So he had to miss his birthday gift, which sucked. My in laws plan to take him to the zoo just him and them. But still. I had to hold back tears as we watched it with Syd, my niece, my sister in law, mother in law, and mother in law's nephew (he filled in Kaleb's spot). I did get them both a stuffed elephant, but it sucked without my little boy 

And I know! I knew she needed to see him, but dang. He asked what all I had been feeling. I said "Well, she's pinning her ears when I put my legs on, so something is out with her ribcage. She's bunny hopping in the canter, so her pelvis is probably twisted. And she's not super interested in bending, so I think her poll is definitely hurting too." He got to work and was like "yup, she needed this." She's a darn nice horse, and is so willing to do what I ask. I can't wait to see how she rides now. If she was being this good when she was ouchy... He is hands down the best in our area. He's very very good with her, and is understand when stuff is ouchy. So he was understanding when she reacted the way she did. I'm hoping she's feeling a whole lot better now! Still deciding on tomorrow or not. I want to ride, but tempted to just give her the day off again to make sure she feels good to return to work. We may play it by ear to see how we all feel tomorrow.


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## DanteDressageNerd

That's great!! I think always important to be able to do! 

That's really awesome!! I think it's extremely important to have a horse with a motor and go button. I'm the same way, I would choose every day of the week a horse who is hotter and more sensitive than duller and not reactive. It takes a lot of work to make them reactive vs a horse who is naturally that sensitive and that aware. I think it helps a lot, especially when you start asking more and more.

I'm glad you all had a good time but poor Kaleb. Poor guy :-( it's no fun being sick and missing your birthday gift. I feel bad for him. The little things mean so much when you're so young but you can't help it when you're sick, you're sick. I'm sorry he missed it but I'm glad you got him a souvenir.

No he sounds amazing! He sounds very gifted. But he's right she's a wonderful girl to have kept trying even with so much out, I bet she'll be AMAZING! For you to ride her whenever you decide to get back on. Her work ethic inspires me, genuinely :lol: that's pretty cool but I'm glad you got her to the chiropractor so she could be more comfortable.


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## Tihannah

Wow! What champ she is! But thank goodess you brought the chiro out! Mine is supposed to be out again next Friday, and I'm a little iffy about whether or not I want to do it. I thought that initially, the fee was $150 and then would go down once he began regular visits, but nope. His admin told me EVERY visit is $150!:???: He only gives a discount if there's more than one horse to $125. There was another girl at my barn wanting to have her horse adjusted, but she is going to be outta town for a show. 

So now I'm on the fence. I'd like Tess to have the adjustments, but not at $150 a month! So, I thought about having them every other month instead? I'm just not sure how yo determine when and if treatment should stop?

I will be watching to see how your first ride goes after the adjustments! 

I wish Tess had more go than whoa!


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## Tazzie

After Justin (the horse with all whoa and no go) I didn't want that. I don't have very long legs to really ask for more go, so I wanted something a bit more on the sensitive side. I'm thankful she is (since we really had no idea what we'd be getting!) Oh yeah, she moves off pretty well with light aids. It's when you do heavy aids she gets mad and doesn't want to do it :lol:

I felt awful  really was ready to cry when it started and my little man wasn't there to watch. Just ugh. Mother in law said they want to take him to the zoo, so I do hope that happens. I want it just him. No sister to interfere. Just him and his grandma and papa.

He truly is amazing! I'm super on the fence about riding. On one hand I want to see what I have. On the other, I want to give her another day to rest up and rest all those ouchy places. We will decide how we feel when I get home. Tomorrow is supposed to be GORGEOUS, so definitely not missing that. Today is supposed to be nice too, but she was bad... so I'm torn. She never used to have quite this much work ethic. I think she's understanding we do this work to go to the shows, which she loves. So perhaps she wanted to show me she could still work? I have no idea. I'd have tried to get my rider off if I'd been that ouchy :lol:

Tina, she is a champ! And holy smokes!! Dr. Leick is $70 across the board, entire horse. I don't know what his farm call fee is, but I don't think I'd ever find out. His farm calls book up 6 months in advance; haul ins book up 6 weeks in advance. And I saw his appointment book. He's dead serious about that. It's insane!

I know when Izzie needs it when she starts being not as supple and starts grabbing the wrong lead in workouts. Those are her biggest signs to me. She doesn't typically go every month. She's going to go again in April before our big show, and then the weekend before regionals to make sure she's in tip top shape!

I'm dying to see how it goes! I may have Nick record it if she's not too crazy. When she feels good, she can be a little nutty at first :lol: definitely a handful when she's all adjusted and happy!


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## DanteDressageNerd

Tazzie said:


> After Justin (the horse with all whoa and no go) I didn't want that. I don't have very long legs to really ask for more go, so I wanted something a bit more on the sensitive side. I'm thankful she is (since we really had no idea what we'd be getting!) Oh yeah, she moves off pretty well with light aids. It's when you do heavy aids she gets mad and doesn't want to do it
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> really was ready to cry when it started and my little man wasn't there to watch. Just ugh. Mother in law said they want to take him to the zoo, so I do hope that happens. I want it just him. No sister to interfere. Just him and his grandma and papa.
> 
> He truly is amazing! I'm super on the fence about riding. On one hand I want to see what I have. On the other, I want to give her another day to rest up and rest all those ouchy places. We will decide how we feel when I get home. Tomorrow is supposed to be GORGEOUS, so definitely not missing that. Today is supposed to be nice too, but she was bad... so I'm torn. She never used to have quite this much work ethic. I think she's understanding we do this work to go to the shows, which she loves. So perhaps she wanted to show me she could still work? I have no idea. I'd have tried to get my rider off if I'd been that ouchy
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> Tina, she is a champ! And holy smokes!! Dr. Leick is $70 across the board, entire horse. I don't know what his farm call fee is, but I don't think I'd ever find out. His farm calls book up 6 months in advance; haul ins book up 6 weeks in advance. And I saw his appointment book. He's dead serious about that. It's insane!
> 
> I know when Izzie needs it when she starts being not as supple and starts grabbing the wrong lead in workouts. Those are her biggest signs to me. She doesn't typically go every month. She's going to go again in April before our big show, and then the weekend before regionals to make sure she's in tip top shape!
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> I'm dying to see how it goes! I may have Nick record it if she's not too crazy. When she feels good, she can be a little nutty at first
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> definitely a handful when she's all adjusted and happy!


I believe it!! Arabs are nicely sensitive IMO. They're aware, try hard and actively think. And I get it. I don't like riding lazy either, I have long legs but it's still annoyong, so I can imagine.

I can completely understand. I think I'd feel pretty awful about it too, even if it was nothing anyone could control. I hope he gets some one on one time with his grandparents. It sounds like the zoo would be a very special time for him. I hope they do that too! 

Whatever you feel is best. You could just have a light, short ride? Walk-trot, stretching, relaxed and leave it at that? But he's!! I'm excited about the good weather too!! It could also be that she's maturing and is now able to handle more or she feels good about working or enjoys the partnership with her mom or just likes a job. I know Dante is the kind that needs a job, he's kinda miserable to be around if he's had too much time off. Super grouchy but then he works and is playful and happy. Endorphins are good things lol. 

The sounds great!! Get some video if you're able to!/I'm sure it will go well.


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## Tazzie

They really are! I love my Arabs  and short legs are so not fun haha!

I think he'd have fun too. Just have to get it arranged. And yes! He loves spending time with grandma and papa, and will love it even more when all the attention is on him! I'm hoping they can take him this Sunday! I have a meeting for my incentive fund then, so Nick would be with both kids. Perfect time to steal him and go have fun!

That's what I'm on the fence about. Izzie's first ride after a chiro is anything but easy. I swear she gets in this "I feel GOOD, now let's WORK!" mentality. It's kind of an all or nothing the first ride after. Which is why I'm teetering right now. She's typically the same attitude wise after time off or not. I think what makes me hesitate is the chiro said Monday or Tuesday with how bad she was. He typically only says a day off. That right there is pushing me to leave her until tomorrow. He's usually pretty conservative with days off, so for him to mention Tuesday when I could ride again... The other thing was that it rained Friday. Another day off to let the ground dry out a bit more and not be as slick would be good too. I think I've already decided she'll wait until Tuesday now that I'm typing this :lol: I'm just imaging her being pretty sore in general from it.

I'll talk Nick into it :lol: may be a crazy ride, but I do think we'll have some spectacular work in it! And we can ride for longer too, which will make me super happy!


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## Tihannah

Tazzie said:


> Tina, she is a champ! And holy smokes!! Dr. Leick is $70 across the board, entire horse. I don't know what his farm call fee is, but I don't think I'd ever find out. His farm calls book up 6 months in advance; haul ins book up 6 weeks in advance. And I saw his appointment book. He's dead serious about that. It's insane!
> 
> I know when Izzie needs it when she starts being not as supple and starts grabbing the wrong lead in workouts. Those are her biggest signs to me. She doesn't typically go every month. She's going to go again in April before our big show, and then the weekend before regionals to make sure she's in tip top shape!
> 
> I'm dying to see how it goes! I may have Nick record it if she's not too crazy. When she feels good, she can be a little nutty at first :lol: definitely a handful when she's all adjusted and happy!


That's why I'm so apprehensive about continuing this!! I think what he charges is astronomical, but he can because he's probably the only equine chiropractor in our area. In fact, he covers 4-5 states. He owns his own plane and flies back and forth to do people's horses. But geez, it's not like he's performing surgery!


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## Tazzie

There is no way he's the only one in the area... he may be good, but that is still insane. And to afford a plane?? Good grief... Are you in any facebook groups? I see a lot of people ask for recommendations in our area. Could be worth investigating. And I'd be shocked if there wasn't someone else! We are legitimately in the hills of Kentucky, and ours isn't the only one :lol: tiny area, no joke. I'd try facebook though (but then search the names; make sure there aren't super bad things about them).

A chiro is great, but $150 a pop for one is absurd...


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## DanteDressageNerd

When I lived in NC I was charged 225 dollars for a chiropractic appointment. It was ridiculous!! But Dante's pelvis was rotated and he REALLY need it.

Absolutely! I really like arabians. I wouldn't say they were always my favorite but I always liked them. Smart, athletic, and willing. 

I hope they end up doing it. It sounds like he'd really like some one on one time with his grandparents. I agree. I think sometimes kids need to be treated as individuals and shown they get to do things. I hope it all works out!

That makes a lot of sense :lol: I can imagine since her work ethic is so good, her being like hey lets go! I got this!! Or maybe being a bit peppy or slipping in the mud. You're probably right to wait an extra day for the ground to improve. 

I like how you say I'll talk Nick into do it, not I'll talk to him about but I'll convince him lol. Sounds like he is well trained :lol:


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## Tazzie

Yikes! Now I'm even more thankful for Dr. Leick! He is amazing and thorough, and costs WAY less! I agree, if the pelvis is rotated it is definitely needed, but that price would make anyone balk!

To be honest, I wasn't always into them. Heck, after I was about to get on one at a show (psycho 5 year old mare who had been coddled her entire left) reared up and flipped over, I said I never wanted an Arab :lol: and then I found Izzie. The older I get, the more I appreciate a horse that isn't super tall haha! I try not to breed discriminate because who knows what breeds we will end up with, but I do think I'd like the keep on with the Arabs at this point 

I hope so too! I think she's going to let me know later this week 

Exactly! I have to be prepared for that first day since she's going to be super ready to work, which means the work is going to be longer than normal. She's fit enough to handle it at this point (for my light work that is) but I wanted to make sure her sore spots could handle it too! We are for sure going out tonight though!

Haha, yeah. We do a lot of negotiating in the house. He's definitely well trained at shows, but I try not to ask much during workouts. Though I want to see how better she's moving, so he'll more apt to do it! Means the four of us will be playing on the polaris tonight though haha!

And we went for a walk last night! Nick, my in laws, my kiddos and I all went. Took a nice long one! We had a great time


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## DanteDressageNerd

You should be! He sounds great. and yeah I was stunned because my chiropractor at home charges 60 to me. I don't know what he charges everyone else but he's known me for years and we've had a lot of really good talk, plus I'm military and he likes the military. But she did do a VERY good job and was VERY thorough for the money. I'd have lost it if she did a poor job and I knew Dante needed it, so I did it.

Yikes! I've known a few psycho arabs too but I usually found it was the situation, though I knew a psycho mare who was just missing screws. She was backyard bred and had no brain, pure schizo. lol but I think with how many arab show friends you've made, you'll probably be happier riding arabs, it sounds like a really good environment. I'd rather be around that kind of support and positivity too. I think I'd stay in arabs too if I loved the atmosphere and just loved the horses I was working with.

I'm sure they will 

That's awesome!! I hope you and Izzy have a wonderful-productive ride and she's back to her usual self. Are you looking at scheduling lessons now? 

lol that sounds fair. It sounds like he respects you and you respect him. If you need something he's okay to help and if he needs something you respect it. lol well I'd want to see too, especially since she'll be feeling well and to see how much it's made a difference. It's on thing to feel and another to observe.

Aww that sounds lovely  I think family outings and walks have got to me a nice bonding experience. Enjoying the fresh air and night sky together!


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## Tazzie

Yeah, this mare could have been that way due to her upbringing. I know before I started working with her she reared and fell backward in the crossties, and the crossties didn't break (NOT at the barn I was at). So I had to reteach her that. The horse had supposedly shown W-T-C, but this is a mare who couldn't even canter balanced in the field let alone with someone on her. I spent a lot of time working her, showing her things weren't going to kill her (sunlight on the ground anyone?) and we felt she was ready for her first intro test. Was perfect the night before showing her the judges tent, etc. Tightened the girth the next day when people were walking by, and she went right over. Her owner was a very anxious woman, so I think that played into it. And her niece was known for rushing things. I never swung a leg over that horse again (boss/trainer wouldn't allow it, and wouldn't allow anyone in our barn to; she didn't deal with rearers that flipped). I don't know what became of her after that. The other three I rode there were fabulous horses, but that one stuck with me for a long time.

I'll probably be scheduling one in the near future. I'm waiting to see if she's resuming lessons (I have her on Facebook). Her father just passed away and she's seemed very upset (understandably so), and I feel awkward thinking of asking if she's not ready to return to full work. Plan to do it after our March 20th show though! At least, that's my hope!

He usually knows how important things like this are to me with regards to seeing a difference. And yeah, there is always give and take with us. He's pretty awesome :lol:

And it was so nice! Got a nice little workout in from it! Need to keep doing it :lol:


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## DanteDressageNerd

That's a really unfortunate situation. My god, I'm glad you're alright! That would have been scary. Horses who flip over scare me too. And definitely that anxious, nervous, anxiety, high energy can really mess with sensitive types and if she was around her a lot. That's may explain why she was so neurotic. And I can imagine, after an experience like that I don't think Id' readily forget that or let it go either. Knock on wood I have not had a horse rear over on me. I've had a horse fall on me and drag me into a tree but not that. That's scary.

Sounds like a good plan to me, especially if she's suffering such a significant loss and youre working on getting Izzy in better shape. That will be around when Dante and I have our birthdays :lol:

Awww  that's really cute. I'm glad you're both so supportive and understanding of each other, honestly that is inspiring.

You should. Walks can do incredible things for the mind and body, plus it sounds like a great family experience. Especially since the weather is better and I remember the skys being pretty incredible when I drove through Kentucky.


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## Tazzie

I am too. She'd been doing mini rears (could have been anticipation to onlookers) and my mom said "you aren't getting on her, are you??" I said yeah, she'll be fine. Then she went up and over. I let go of the reins, of course, since I didn't want to be in the mix. I looked at mom and said "nope, I'm not getting on her." She went back into the barn, stripped (the owner was more concerned for her saddle :icon_rolleyes and then the horse was eventually looked at by a massage therapist I think? I don't remember. I've never ridden a very high rear. Izzie's barely come off the ground before I kicking her forward (I don't tolerate rearing, and make the punishment pretty loud). Shame since the mare was only 5 years old. And I'd taken my time with her too.

Awesome! And yeah, I just looked on her facebook. Looks like the service was yesterday. Definitely don't feel right shooting her a text right now. Plus, Izzie has some fitness to work on.

He did it without any complaints :wink: he's pretty awesome!

And Kentucky is gorgeous! I love the area my house is, just nowhere to put Izzie and a few others. Which is why I'm desperate to move (thankfully Nick is too). I'll post pictures of our view further down 

Rode Izzie, and holy smokes. We definitely have some stuff to work on now that she feels better. It was a double edged sword riding her while needing an adjustment, and I'm paying for it now. Wrong leads both directions (some from me, some from how she had to adapt to take the correct lead while very ouchy). Not wanting to be through very much (we did get some, but not as much as we had been). And I felt like I was trying to control a freight train. So, pretty much exactly how our rides go after a chiro adjustment when she's bad. I think part of it is that she feels great and part of it is that she is still expecting it to hurt. And then she thought it was stupid to canter more than once. When she was ouchy we'd only canter a circle or two each way with only one transition. Yesterday I asked for a few more so she could see it didn't hurt. She got mad, but ended on a good note. Her stretchy trot is coming along too.

Here is the video Nick took. You'll also see Izzie is not perfect at all in it. You'll actually see her take the incorrect lead and then fight me to come back to the trot. We're hoping to ride again this evening before it rains, and I'm hoping she got all of this snarkiness out of her system. Her first trot (not recorded) was pretty nice to ride, though not very through. She came through a few times, and I heard Nick shout "there's your first place trot right there!!" :lol:

So excuse all the little fights we had. She didn't think she needed to listen to seat or hands last night :icon_rolleyes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=458i_2M_OZQ

And here are pictures of our view


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## Tazzie

Squeezed in a ride today! I was worried I wouldn't get a chance to since it was starting to drizzle RIGHT as I walked out of work. Drizzled all the way home. We decided to take a chance and went out the barn. Drizzly, but not enough to not at least hop on. Wouldn't you know, it stopped as soon as I swung up :lol:

She was in a bit of a mood today. Had to get through our warm up (sometimes she's better if we just canter, give a breather, then pick up and do real work). Then had some GORGEOUS work. Best canter transitions we've had all year, best trot work we've had all year, and absolutely the best walk period. We had a fantastic canter depart her good way (rough way yesterday) and Nick was like "better call it a day!" I said we needed to go to the right at least once. Said if she nailed this canter depart we'd stretch and call it a day. Low and behold, she did the most BEAUTIFUL canter departure. I was like "did that look as gorgeous as that felt???" Nick was like "yeah, yeah it really was every bit as gorgeous." I'm so glad he knows what to look for!

Gave her a good stretch, hopped off and quickly unbridled her. Here is the only time she is pushy. She LOVES having her face scratched afterward, and can get pushy. I usually just scratch it really good since it's typically well deserved. It's usually accompanied with some nickers and lips moving in sheer happiness. Got her back to the barn and almost made it to my car when the skies opened up. The rain gods heard me BEGGING to not let it rain!

Now she'll have the day off tomorrow due to the rain (going to rain all day) and do some work Friday. Saturday she gets her vaccines at 10:30, so no riding then. Hoping to squeeze a ride in on Sunday before my meeting. Then the final week before the show!


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## DanteDressageNerd

Yikes!! That is definitely scary!! I am with you, rearing is my least favorite vice. It can be the trickiest to fix and by the far the most dangerous. I'm surprised her owner would be more concerned about the saddle but it's interesting what some people prioritize. 

I agree. Sounds like it's definitely no the right time. That sounds rough :-(

Wow the area around where you live is really beautiful!! I'd want to take walk all the time too or go on runs :lol: 

I think you rode through it well though! I can see where it'd be more difficult to organize and get her focus, etc because her body probably feels different to work with to you and to her and what were previous issues are now different ones and just getting all the pieces going in one direction again. It can be tricky, especially when they had so much out and going on. You've done a really nice job with her though, she looks like a really capable girl! Her stretch was really nice!

That's really awesome!! I'm glad you had such a great ride tonight and Nick was there to support. I still think it's really cool that he decided to get involved and learned some things to look for. Very cool!! 

I'm also glad you got to spend some quality time with her. I bet she loves mom attention :lol: shame about the rain but weather is so temperamental. It cant just stay as it is.


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## Tazzie

Yeah, the owner was cuckoo, so who knows.

It's a great area for that! It's super hilly so you get quite the workout even just walking :lol: I do love it!

Thank you! It kind of feels like we went back to how we started the season, which is expected. Her entire body is different now and she has to become reacclimated to it. I just had to ride with quite a bit of sympathy on Monday knowing she was feeling funny. And her stretch is getting there! Not perfect, but still not bad! She felt a whole lot better in her gaits though, so that's a huge plus!

I'm pretty thankful for that :lol: on Monday I developed the habit of flinging my torso forward when asking to canter (don't ask my why, I really have no freaking idea :icon_rolleyes. Tonight when I got home I asked Nick how I looked and if I was still flinging it forward. He's like "no, I actually watched you more tonight. You looked great honestly!" I was pretty happy to hear that :lol: I hate developing new habits like that.

She really does  all of her itchy spots get scratched :lol: and ugh, I know! It's spring here (or feeling that way haha!) and spring means rain :icon_rolleyes: Our game plan is to ride lightly tomorrow, off Saturday for vaccines, ride Sunday, off Monday as we have a consultation about installing new windows, ride Tuesday through Thursday, off Friday (I always give the day off before hauling to a show), ride Saturday at the fairgrounds, show Sunday! We'll see how well we can stick to the game plan :lol:


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## DanteDressageNerd

Tazzie said:


> Yeah, the owner was cuckoo, so who knows.
> 
> It's a great area for that! It's super hilly so you get quite the workout even just walking
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> I do love it!
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> Thank you! It kind of feels like we went back to how we started the season, which is expected. Her entire body is different now and she has to become reacclimated to it. I just had to ride with quite a bit of sympathy on Monday knowing she was feeling funny. And her stretch is getting there! Not perfect, but still not bad! She felt a whole lot better in her gaits though, so that's a huge plus!
> 
> I'm pretty thankful for that
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> on Monday I developed the habit of flinging my torso forward when asking to canter (don't ask my why, I really have no freaking idea
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> ). Tonight when I got home I asked Nick how I looked and if I was still flinging it forward. He's like "no, I actually watched you more tonight. You looked great honestly!" I was pretty happy to hear that
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> I hate developing new habits like that.
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> She really does
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> all of her itchy spots get scratched
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> and ugh, I know! It's spring here (or feeling that way haha!) and spring means rain
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> Our game plan is to ride lightly tomorrow, off Saturday for vaccines, ride Sunday, off Monday as we have a consultation about installing new windows, ride Tuesday through Thursday, off Friday (I always give the day off before hauling to a show), ride Saturday at the fairgrounds, show Sunday! We'll see how well we can stick to the game plan


I know what you mean. I've met several people who have flown the cockoo nest in horses and if they don't have a super sane horse tend to make them crazy from their own crazy.

That's wonderful! I will say that is something I really miss, the mountains and hills. They make walks and runs more interesting. More places to explore. I grew up in Oregon/ Washington state so I miss it lol. Kentucky is the beautiful!

I think it's kinda normal for them to retrogress after such a major adjustment. Thir body feels different, their ligaments, muscles and tendons have adjusted to the change and suddenly have to change to where they're meant to be lol it makes sense to me. And it feels different but you did a good job. I don't think we're ever perfect but we can get pretty dam good!

Lol I understand with habits, once they're formed they're hard to break and you're kinda like why am I doing that? It's frustrating :lol: but I'm glad you had an awesome following ride. I think that's usually how it goes. After a rough ride, getting all the pieces going one direction comes progress and even better rides and glad Nick could point out to you what you're feeling and help you. Makes a big difference to have eyes on the ground.

Of course!! Doesn't everyone like one on one time with their mom? Lol but yeah lots of rain and storms through Spring :-( but hopefully it all works out well for you and riding and for the show. When is the show?


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## Tazzie

Yeah, she did have a super nice purebred gelding who was super easy to ride, most of the time. She was too passive though, and he had her number. But I could hop on him and get him working nicely. I don't think she had the right temperament to be working with most Arabs.

It really is  I love Kentucky :lol:

Oh yeah, I fully expected it to happen. I didn't ride like I figured it would happen, but you know what I mean. Fortunately she's moving in the right direction now!

Yeah, I developed some really bad habits after my accident. I'm still working on sitting back and not dropping my hands. But it's better than it was! I was pleased he watched me and was prepared to yell at me :lol: I used to have a very bad leaning problem that I got chided for in a clinic. She used the "is your nose in line with her mane" way of getting me to sit up. Now if Nick sees me leaning he says "is your nose in line with her mane? No? Then put it there!" It's highly amusing to me since he knew NOTHING about horses before he met me :lol:

Absolutely we do! And yeah, the weather is yuck right now. I did the extended forecast for next week to get an idea for bath day and riding days. Supposed to be 75 on Wednesday, with a chance of rain most of the week. Then bath day is supposed to be 53! Yuck! Last year we set up heaters in the garage, bathed her in that, towel dried her very well, and tossed her show sheet on to trailer to the show. I was hoping it'd be 70's that day :neutral:

The show is March 20th  hoping she behaves for native costume since we've only ridden in the new one once. Thankfully she rides amazingly well show days (well, usually :lol

It has rained all day, which has made all of us dreary. Just yuck. Hoping to do a light ride tomorrow and prepare the trailer to haul Izzie and Peppy to the vaccine clinic on Saturday. Then needing to prepare my show stuff. So much to do!


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## DanteDressageNerd

It doesn't sounds like it was a complimentary personality match. I think arabians generally have pretty distinct and sensitive personalities.

I don't blame you, it's gorgeous!! I've always liked Kentucky whenever I've driven through or visited.

lol that's hilarious. I think it's awesome he cares and loves you enough to get involved with what you love. That's really cool, most guys don't do that. But at least he points it out to you when you're falling back in habits. That's always helpful! And I can imagine. Sometimes I don't think people really realize how injuries can affect our bodies and make them function differently. I remember when I was still in the Marines after my 2nd episode with tendinitis, the guys tried telling me that it was all in my head I couldn't stride out when I ran. They couldn't understand that I didn't have the same range of motion, so I said would you go up to quadriplegic and say oh it's all in your head. Don't you know you can just stand up and walk out of that chair? But no injuries are real and can definitely make things more difficult. Not necessarily impossible but difficult, so it makes perfect sense to me. 

Dang! Well maybe the extended forecast will be wrong and you'll have some good days where the ground will be good enough for riding. I guess there will be towels and a cooler for bath day lol. No doubt with a grey mare a bath is very badly needed. 

That's awesome!! Good luck with the native costume. I remember her outfit it looks so fun! And neat!! Good luck!!

And good luck with the vaccine clinic. I know it's not a big deal but it never hurts to have some luck.


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## Tazzie

No, it really wasn't. She needed a plod along type of horse. Misty and Mattie were not that. Mattie could have been, if she learned how to ride him and calmed down. Misty was crazy so I doubt that would ever happen with her. I know she was for sale a while back, but no telling where she wound up.

I love that he supports me, even if it's a very expensive hobby :lol: and yeah, this was a major fall for me. She spooked at a lawn mower starting out of sight. Hadn't even been under saddle three months, had only just been learning to canter, and I was cueing for the canter. She shot forward and sideways hard, and I came off. Dumbo me tried to catch myself. Nearly tore my arm off, severe dislocation of the elbow, and ruptured the brachial artery. They were amazed I had feeling in my hand (since the nerve runs along that artery) and would wake me at all hours of the night touching my hand (I don't like people touching me). My arm was stuck in this contraption for about 2 weeks before I was moved to a modified knee brace (double locking so I couldn't bend it or extend further than they wanted me to). So my issues are self preservation and fear based. We changed her grain since the NSC content was making her crazy, and we've been a lot safer.










I'm really hoping so! I'm not sure how I'll pull Sunday off right now. 80% chance of rain and severe thunderstorms. I hate doing it, but we may have to pay to use the arena up the road. They charge $20 for 2 hours. They used to do $10 an hour, which was perfect for us. I hate paying for 2 hours when I don't use 2 hours. But we also need ride time. Going to talk to Nick about it (don't want to pay $60 to ride 3 times, but may just have to do it. Still would suck. And yeah, she's the mud queen right now. Bath is desperately needed!

Thank you! I'm going to need some luck :lol: it's going to be interesting!

It certainly never hurts to have good luck! It's supposed to rain tomorrow, so everywhere will be a mess! And since my best friend's horse reacted to her vaccines (and she had never reacted prior) I'm a little wary!

Last night Nick and I did pilates. I love that he struggles about as much as I do :lol: I'm hoping it'll help out his back a little bit, and help me strengthen my core. I also was walking around the house in my tall boots to try and help them drop a bit faster. Hope to ride in them this week!


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## DanteDressageNerd

Some people and horse combinations just don't work. Trying to force them, IMO is what gets people hurt. 

If I had something like that happen to me. I'd probably have some fear and greater sense of preservation. That's a pretty major accident. Yikes. Babies are hard, especially when they're not very broke. You just dont have as many buttons to control the situation and sometimes there is really nothing you can do, just a bad situation. But that's great you still had feeling in your arm! That's extremely necessary and fortunate to still have it intact. It probably hurt more but sensation is important for motion. But I'm glad you came out alright from that! That's crazy but I get how it happens, it's usually little stupid stuff that causes the worst injuries. Not the big, dramatic things people expect. For example my trainer (the one in FL) had an 80% tear in her lumbar vertebrae falling off a young horse over a jump and landing on her tail bone. She's had much uglier falls but that one broke her back. They didn't know if she'd walk or ride again. Her back is held together by rods and pins but she rides and her back started to feel normal again 3-5 years after the initial injury. But now no one would know she had a severe back injury unless she told you.

$20 for one ride is ridiculous imo, I wonder why they charge so much :/ but I can imagine lol. I like the ones that like to stay clean :lol:

You're welcome. I'm sure you'll do just fine  And I understand with vaccines. Some horses have bad reactions to them. I knew a lady who always got a titer (sp?) on her horse because he'd have such bad reactions to vaccines.

lol that's awesome!! Husband/wife pilates!! But yes core strength is great for everything and should help his back too. Also shoulder work is VERY VERY helpful with back issues. Good luck breaking in the boots. I remember the pain!


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## Tazzie

Absolutely agree. If Izzie and I couldn't figure it out, then I would have made the tough decision to sell her. Luckily, we know how to read each other at this point :lol: crazy I've had her almost 5 years already! Bought her May 13th, 2011 

Yeah, it was scary. I have never ridden alone ever, and that day I was thankful for it. The tourniquet that our friend/barn owner's mom had broke, so Nick took his belt off to use that. It was terrifying. We had Kaleb with us too, who was only 4 months old. Barn owner's mom and dad drove my car to the hospital while our friend untacked Izzie and brought his mom's car to the hospital. In true equestrian fashion, our friend came into the back where I was to tell me Izzie was find, no damage to her or the tack :lol: they were shocked I regained as much motion as I did, and they fully expected I'd have weight restrictions. It's not perfect, but I can do more with it than they figured. And I can ride  injuries that major are just terrifying in general :sad:

I don't really know to be honest. Maybe to recoup some of the losses on the indoor? I don't know. When I told Nick it's supposed to rain all week, he's like "Guess we better rent the arena." Thank god he's understanding. I need to ride more in my tall boots and get us both comfortable with them!

She seemed to be ok when we let her go, and our friend promises to keep a close eye on her to make sure she's ok. She's a sissy, so everyone would know if she felt icky. They had a scale there too. I love that I pointed and said "step up" and she hopped right up and stood there looking at me :lol: she weighs all of 950 lbs haha! And she always causes a distraction when she walks in :lol: everyone started fawning over her haha!

I'm always glad when he joins me  we both need it!

Yesterday we had a REALLY good ride! I warmed her up w-t-c on a longer rein to get her loosening up. This mare just CAN'T do real work until she's had her canter. We do just long trotting to warm up, do a canter, take a walk break, and pick up and go to work. We kept all of our work to walk/trot stuff since the ground was a little iffy to canter more than her warm up canter. But the work. My god. Her walk was fabulous. Did some very nice leg yields, very nice corners (hard when you don't have a real ring :lol and just very nice work. Picked up a sitting trot, which she's still not always happy with me doing (in her mind, sitting trot should only mean canter or walk; which is why I practice sitting trot often). Had her go both directions and took a walk break. Asked for the trot and Nick is walking into the field and yelling "sit back!!" Thank you hunnie :lol: he stood in the middle so Izzie and I spiraled in and out around him. I asked how her neck looked, and if the bottom muscle was tight (I didn't think she was bracing, but I wanted to make sure since I had eyes right there :lol. He's like "it is." I freaked and was like "WHAT??!" He's like "well, it's jiggly." I said "that is not bracing... that is how it's supposed to be. It needs to be jiggly." She was really using herself spiraling around him. Fabulous bend through the body, I could move her where ever I wanted her to, and just so good! Went the other way and did the same. Same stuff that way! And Nick reminding me to sit back :lol: gotta love him. Did a nice stretchy trot and brought her to a walk. Nick goes "you better practice your back up..." which is sometimes asked for in the rail classes. They want a nice, quiet back up, and Izzie sometimes likes to be snarky. I sat up, slid my legs back, closed my reins, and Izzie ever so politely reined back. I EXPLODED with praise for that! Called it a day! Untacked her, rubbed her face like she likes (both me and Nick rubbed it; she was super happy) and hopped on for a bareback ride back to the barn. This mare reminds me so often why I love her so much! She's really getting it and really starting to enjoy it I think! She's really been vocal when I show up now, which makes me so happy! There was a period of time where she didn't want to work and would be a pain to catch. Now she practically halters herself like "let's go!!" So in love with her, and SO ready to start this season!


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## DanteDressageNerd

Congratulations on your almost 5 year anniversary :lol: it will happen soon enough.

I have no doubt of that, I'd have been scared! Tourniquets are awful but I get why you immediately used a belt. I'm glad someone was able to drive you and still look after you son and I'm with you ALWAYS have someone on the property in case something should happen because you never know. Even in the best of situations on the most steady, stable horse things can happen in the blink of an eyes that are no ones fault, they just happen. That would have been terrifying, especially with your son being so young and wondering how this would impact your life being a mother and rider, etc. Glad there was no damage to Izzy or your tack but I'm especially glad you've made such a successful recovery. I entirely understand with injuries, it's never what it was when it heals but it's better than the alternative.

Maybe just because people are willing to pay it or too much traffic? *shrugs* I think people will try to max out their profits if they can for something they built.

lol well at least she'd tell you if anything was wrong :lol: the pro to having a drama queen. 

lol I think that's awesome you guys are working together on it. Maybe you guys can be each others motivators? I think it helps to have someone to do stuff with, even if only to laugh at each other. I know I used to work out a lot harder with a partner, actually I had a professional trainer for a little while. She kicked my butt :lol: 

That's really awesome!! It sounds like you had a really great ride on your girl! It sounds like that adjustment really helped her! And that's funny lol I understand the agony of the "under neck" sometimes it can be hard to feel when they're totally through or not, so when I'm in doubt I do laterals or give my inside rein lol. I also get with sitting trot, especially if she's used to it as a preparatory aid but she'll get used to it. I can see Izzy being like, "uh mom, that's not apart of our program. I read the manual, why are you changing the rules?" :lol: 

Awww that's adorable. She's a Mama's girl!!  Good luck this show season!


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## Tazzie

I think her and I are pretty close now  And thanks! Blows my mind we've had her so long! I'll never forget going to pick up the scrawny, kind of ugly baby :lol: her personality was about her only saving grace that day. And the gut feeling that she would be something :lol:

Yeah, it had to stop, and stop NOW. I'm glad Nick is a quick thinker like he is and grabbed his belt when the tourniquet broke. The propped my feet up on the mounting block too to keep blood near my heart. When the ambulance got to me they took the belt off and splinted it. As they were putting me in I said "I think my arm is bleeding again." They assured me it wasn't, just that I was feeling pooled blood. I said "NO, I think it's bleeding again." Sure enough... Nick held pressure on it all the way to the hospital. Couldn't have pain killers until they got my blood pressure back up. Scariest moment of my life, which is why I can remember every single detail of that day like it was yesterday. This year will actually be the first year I ride on the day I fell. Three years after the fact. Showing at regionals. And I was terrified for Kaleb. Thank god my in laws readily took him until my parents made it down (to keep him in his home so nothing really changed; just a night at my in laws). Fortunately I had a lot of frozen milk that got me through, and went back to nursing when I got home. They told me I was crazy because I refused anything harder than tylenol because I wanted to continue nursing my son. My family was also told not to bring him in by the doctors, but the nurses knew I was stressed and anxious. So they told her to sneak him in. I was on the Cardio Vascular ICU, youngest patient there.

I'm glad she was ok too. And I loved my husband. My best friend offered to show Izzie that fall. Izzie was so good I could lunge her one handed with Nick up as a jockey of sorts. Blair came to try her out, and was like "Dude, I'm glad I rode this horse before the fair. This canter is AMAZING and I'd want to keep riding it!" She took 5th out of 7 I think in her first show. I had told her just make it a good experience and if she seemed too stressed to stop in the middle and ask to be dismissed. I will say I'm glad I made a good recovery to ride my own horse :lol:

As far as I'm aware, I'm the only person who has actually rented it out... Thankfully, it looks like there is a slim to no chance now to rain Tuesday-Thursday, which are the days we will ride this week. We ALWAYS give her the day off before we haul down for a show. Kind of customary from growing up.

Oh yes. She isn't quiet about anything if something is wrong :lol:

Yeah, he's always been my motivator. When I do the HIIT training and he's running on the elliptical, he'll keep saying "you've got this, don't quit!" Just have to get back into it fully.

The adjustment caused a night and day difference I think  she definitely seems happier now! She was still a bit iffy with her ribs, but it may be lingering soreness or she's anticipating. I just keep my legs light to show her I don't intend to cause pain in any form. I always get good reactions with laterals and giving the inside rein, but if I have eyes on the ground I want to check :lol: I was glad to hear it was as it felt! And yeah, she doesn't like rules changing. I know when we go get a lesson with Becky we will do more sitting trot, so I'm trying to remind Izzie that sitting trot is not a cue for something. I just haven't done much sitting trot this year, so she thinks the rules changed back to how they were when she was super green :icon_rolleyes:

She's definitely a momma's girl :lol:

So, Saturday she got her vaccines and all that good stuff. Weighed her and she was just about 950 lbs. I truly expected she'd be 1000 lbs, so I was a bit surprised. Perfect angel about it all though 

I had hoped to ride yesterday, but it freaking rained. I was NOT happy, but figured maybe a day off after vaccines wouldn't be a bad idea. Our barn owner/friend was my HERO though. I have been sick to my stomach with stress over the vaccines. Ever since Sadie (best friend's horse) reacted, I've been terrified. Cliff (bo/friend) texted me Saturday night to say they looked great, and texted me at 8:15 am to tell me she was still fine!! I appreciated he got up and went to check JUST because I was freaking out. Texted me again later to say they were still fine, which made me relax considerably.

Tonight we're having an estimate on how much it would cost to replace all of our windows and back slider. Nick is heading directly to Izzie to feed tonight since Cliff will be out of town working. Supposed to rain more today, so riding wouldn't have happened... Hoping the ground isn't god awful to ride on. We might rent the arena Thursday since I want to get at least ONE more ride in costume before the show. Cute comment (which I can't post on facebook, men! I swear!!) was me being mopey I couldn't even go see Izzie tonight and Nick got to (he's closer to her than I am, and I'd be late for our estimate). He's like "she's my horse too you know..." FINALLY he's calling her his too. He's always joked about it when we talk about how successful she is/her current value. But NEVER about just general feeding.

In interesting news about the show... So, I guess we're having the same judge we had last year. Last year we only did sport horse in hand and under saddle. This year we're doing those two, plus hunter pleasure and native costume. I guess last year the judge made my best friend "walk" for ages, and asked after the class if the horse was new to showing because she didn't walk. So Blair's like "you'll probably win native costume since Sadie doesn't walk." I said I'll believe it when I see it! Would be interesting though since we've never won native costume!


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## DanteDressageNerd

I think it's awesome you kept with her and you two have developed into such a great team despite such a serious incident. Major kudos to you for getting back on and saying this is what I love, we had a scare but I'm determined! 

That's insanely scary. I'm glad Nick has such quick thinking in serious situations. I'm so glad he was there for you. And no pain killers? Yikes that would suck!! I can only imagine the pain. There are a lot of different types on intense pain. I actually get why you'd be so careful and want to keep nursing. It's really good for their immune system and for developing healthy, especially for boys (y chromosome) weaker of the two sexes in infancy, more likely to have health issues. Breast milk is definitely preferred to formula but that's just from the articles I've read. Not that I'm an expert, I just read articles. But I'm glad your inlaws could step in and help in a pinch, makes a big difference. Gosh that sounds really scary. Cardiovascular ICU, yikes but I'm glad you made such a solid recovery.

lol I'm also glad your friend was able to give her a positive show experience. That's always good!

I'm glad he's so encouraging with exercise. Always a big help. 

It makes sense that you haven't done a ton of sitting trot this year since it seems like you get her going again and then weather or whatever else gets in the way and the weather and ground is getting good enough to really ride again (except for all the pesky rain but better than a dry spell). It makes sense. But I understand. I wouldn't mind having eyes on the ground for reassurance that what I'm feeling is what is being seen. But I hope you have really great lessons with Becky when you do. I hope you get to ride her soon, before your class!

I stress about my horse kid too so I get it, I think we all do. We're still mama bears and want them to be healthy and worry about all the what ifs :lol: especially when we've seen things happen.

Good luck with doing all the home fixes!! I know that's not cheap. I don't own a home but I'm aware of the costs. I'm the single loser getting her life restarted and together :lol: I hope they're fair to you guys and I'm glad Nick is acknowledging her as his too, even for a simple feeding and will step up and go look after her when you can't. It sounds like he loves her almost as much as you do!! I think it's amazing he's so supportive and into it. And isn't that how it goes? From what I understand mom does all the work and they still prefer daddy :lol:

Good luck in your Native Costume class!! That looks like so much fun!! I can't wait for lots and lots of pictures!!


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## Tazzie

Ugh, had a whole thing all typed up and the computer refreshed *sigh*

I'm slowly moving past all of it, which is good. I still have my moments on occasion, but they are lessening! I will say it was tough. I had a set back too where the ulna in my right arm fractured where the pins had been. I had to have a plate and a disgusting amount of screws put in my arm (and can you believe they won't give a card anymore for having metal in your body?) I was pretty depressed and feeling like I'd never get back on again between the setbacks and my fear. I actually told Nick to sell Izzie since she was just sitting not being used. He's like "you love that horse, I can't sell her." I am forever grateful for that!

As far as nursing, we did it because it was cheaper :lol: I always keep the "to each his own" mentality since there are a lot of family and friends who chose formula instead of nursing. I was glad I could continue though. And yeah, they did finally get my BP up enough to receive morphine before I got to the hospital, but it hurt. And afterward they wanted me on vicodin. That was a big fat NO THANKS. I only take narcotics if I HAVE to (like when I broke my wrist and couldn't have it set for a bit; still only used them Saturday and a little Monday night to lessen how bad it hurt after they set it). I hate how they make me feel, and how nauseous I feel on them. Totally not worth it to me.

Ugh, this will rain will drive me insane. Rained last night, and supposed to rain again tonight. Still going to ride. Going to rent the arena tomorrow to ride in the native costume, just in case she decides she hates it again. I think she will be fine, but sometimes she needs to voice her opinion. Would rather do that in a dry arena where my costume won't get nasty, and it won't be slick if she gets too wound up. Still aim to ride Thursday as well, though won't be an enormous deal if we can't (I want to ride, and plan on it right now, but mother nature may have a different say in it). And I know we will have a great lesson! Speaking of which, I need to text her! Better look at my book to pick a weekend 

Exactly! I had a friend tell me to quit overreacting, that she had never seen a horse react to vaccines. I said I hadn't either, but my best friend's mare reacted in a BAD way. And Izzie is way more of a pansy than Sadie is. She agreed after that, and I still fretted :lol: just glad she's ok!

And oh my god. The quote. The amount made me want to actually puke. We had the estimate done for 9 windows. Four are larger (I think 34" by 38") and the rest are smaller (one being a different size than the others). To replace all of those, without the 20% discount they had, the price was going to be over FIFTEEN GRAND!! Yes, $15,000!! With the discount it was going to be between $11,000 and $12,000! I had him quote just the 3 windows we would want replaced immediately. Between $3,000 and $4,000!! They were showing us financing for up to 10 years! And the three windows they said we could do a 12 month, no interest, same as cash, etc etc financing on them. I said "Look, we aim to start farm shopping at the end of this year. We are NOT interested in financing for a house we plan to sell in a year or so!" Nick just plans to order the windows he needs and install them himself. They were nice windows, but good lord. There are better things to be purchased if we had that kind of cash sitting around for home repairs!

Nick and Izzie certainly have a very special connection. He told me she whinnied as soon as he walked in to feed yesterday, and he gave her a big neck hug  he's been the only one she allows to put her in a "headlock" of sorts. Ever since she was a baby she would stand there for him to do it. Me she's like "no, please don't" but with him she'll stand there all day. I swear :lol: this picture was from September 2012, which shows the connection they have :lol: (his arm is actually not as tight as it looks, just FYI lol)


















And thanks! I know Nick is going to record it, but I don't know how many pictures we will get! In laws aren't coming down for this one. But I'm getting super excited!


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## DanteDressageNerd

That sucks. I'd have been ticked if I typed up a big thing and it erased itself :/

I understand how that goes. I was in a pretty bad car accident 7 years ago (roll over accident, I was told I should be dead and I walked away with a cut on my ear) and it took me a few years to get over it and feel safe driving again. It takes a long time to get your confidence back when something serious like that happens. It affects you in way you don't expect but I'm glad Nick made you keep Izzy, so now you've become the team that you are. I'm really glad  But yikes on airports. I can just imagine how much they like you! 

Well that makes sense too. I've heard formula is really expensive. I have never been on narcotics but my sister said vicodin is horrible. She described the same feeling of nausea and just feeling awful. 

With the weather being so poor. I'm glad you're able to rent out the arena to get her used to the costume again. I hope she goes well for you or if she doesn't at least she'll get it out of her system before the show. But I'm glad youre signing up for lessons. Best of luck with both the show and lessons!! I know I always get excited about lessons :lol: like yay tell me what to do and how to do it better!

lol I get your friends logic but at the same time when horses react, it can be bad. So it makes sense to me. I get worried too.

15k! That's crazy. 3-4k for 3 windows is insane! Certainly not worth the expense when you're looking at selling the home fairly soon! You need all the extra you can get and I know remodeling and doing the extra that isnt necessary doesn't increase home value. Nick sounds like he has a much better idea to buy some and install himself, especially since he has the skills to do it. Save some serious money!

Those are really cool pictures. I can tell they're not tight, it looks like he's resting his hand on his waist lol. I think it's funny how it seems to work out. love them and raise them and yet they prefer Daddy lol. But that's really cute! It looks like they have a special bond.

And you're welcome!! I have no doubt you'll do great!


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## Tazzie

That's my general luck :lol:

Exactly! My confidence took a big hit, but I'm getting back to normal (or close to it.) And I'm thankful too!

Yeah, the feeling is awful. I hate being sick in general, but ugh. I had to have zofran as well to combat the nausea. It's no fun.

I am too! I'm sure she'll be fine (she always is), but it'll make me feel better! And thanks! She didn't text me back yet, but I think she may still be in Michigan for a clinic. If I don't hear from her by the weekend I'll contact her again. I have two weekends picked out, so hopefully I can at least get one in! Izzie and I could use a good butt kicking :lol:

Yeah, it was a disgusting amount! Never would I pay that price for a house we don't intend to stay in permanently! Yuck. But yeah, just going to have Nick do it himself. WAY cheaper, and we could put that money elsewhere!

They really do have a special bond :lol: I chuckle about it often!

So, I rode yesterday. In my tall boots. We had a fabulous warm up. Then she decided my leg and seat didn't exist since my boots were different :icon_rolleyes: had Nick grab my whip so she knew I was serious (only tapped her once with it.) Had a great ride until I went to stretch her. For some reason in her mind when I give her rein to stretch and I'm carrying a whip, it means she must trot really fast or try to canter :icon_rolleyes: she didn't have her thinking cap on straight right then. So picked back up and worked some more. Didn't let her get away with diddly squat. Kept telling her "you know, if you had just behaved and stretched like you were supposed to, you'd be done and getting hosed off right now..." I'm hoping I got through to her though that tall boots or not, she still has to listen to my leg and seat. And hopefully no whip on Thursday (today will be my short boots since we'll be in costume) since I don't care to ride with a whip in general. The work she DID do though was the best she's done. Just has to relearn the whip is not a tool to go faster; it's a tool to emphasize my leg. Darn horse :icon_rolleyes:


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## Tazzie

Whoops, meant to put this in here too!

After my ride last night, Sydney wanted to lead Izzie to be hosed off (it was 80 degrees, which is why she looks so gross). Izzie is so dang patient with those kids :lol:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhzxG08SIyM


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## evilamc

$15,000 TO REPLACE 9 WINDOWS?!!!! When we bought our house here we had 12 windows replaced, one being 106" wide even....and only paid $4000!!!! They did a beautiful install and cleaned up well when they were done!

Izzy is an absolute doll with Sydney!!! I love how some horses just understand they're kids and take care of them.


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## Tazzie

I know! We figured like $3000 to $4000 to replace ours. Definite nope. We have other options we could pursue as far as having them replaced, but Nick's kind of decided he will just do them himself just to do it. He's totally on board with farm shopping this fall, so he doesn't want to spend more than we have to either. It was quite a shock seeing the price though! Couldn't get that guy out of our house fast enough!

That's Sydney's horse in Sydney and Izzie's mind :lol: she has taken care of those kids since the day we introduced them. And whenever they are on board she takes very deliberate steps. She's our baby :lol:


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## evilamc

See we were going to have Eli's brother to do ours...but our house is older so the windows were special order....and brick house...so it was just a little more complicated. We also liked that if THEY did it and broke something...its on them and we aren't the ones out a window lol! Hopefully your windows are easier though  Its amazing the price different new windows made in our electric bill...our house was build in like 1961 and was pretty much all original, even the kitchen.


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## Tazzie

Ours is brick too  and the house I think is a 78 model? Windows also original :lol: Nick is a handy man though, so I trust him to replace them  cheaper on us too haha!


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## DanteDressageNerd

Awww that's terribly cute. Izzie is such a good girl, didn't even take advantage to eat grass!! That's awesome. The arabians I've known have been really good or sympathetic towards children. It's always impressed me. I think it's neat the whole family is involved and she's so great with it all.

I'm glad your confidence is getting back! Always a good thing but always good to know what can happen too. Fortunately Izzy has a lot more buttons now then as a baby.

Yikes. Well I'm glad you don't have to worry about pain medications atm or at least I hope not. Always nice not to be medicated.

Well at least a lesson is coming soon. I always get excited about lessons :lol:

It's funny how the little things can make such a difference with them. Like you riding in tall boots or Dante and the 1/8 of an inch, yoga mat thick pad he refused to be ridden in. But it sounds like she's like but Mom it's different, it doesn't feel the same or something is new so therefore I must go to extremes. But I'm sure she'll be great next ride! When she's had time to take it all in.


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## Tazzie

She is extremely good with them  and Sydney thinks it's awesome she can lead her :lol: even if it's because we were all heading in that direction. I'd say we are all pretty fond of her :lol:

She definitely has more buttons, that's for sure!

And no, no pain medications for a LONG time I'm hoping! Done with them!

I'm hoping she gets back to me soon! I sent her another text (since she may have been in a lesson the first time I texted and got busy). I'm getting anxious :lol:

Ugh, I know! She's so particular about things! I'll be riding in them again tonight, so we will see how it goes!

We rode in the arena last night in the costume. Was perfect getting dressed with the costume (which is good since there is a lot to it :lol and was good. I keep feeling like we are flying and she's not listening to me. I made Nick record my canter to see what I'm doing. And I realized it's all in my head. I think nerves and sheer exhaustion are altering my sense of speed. So now I'm frustrated with myself. Working on clearing my head today so I have a better ride tonight. I hate when I do this crud.

And just got a text back from my trainer. She's not back in the full swing of things (understandable) and the weekend I was aiming for is booked  hopefully we can figure something out soon!


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## Tazzie

So, didn't get to ride tonight  Nick ended up working late. By the time he will get there, it'll be just before dark. He's going to feed for me since I was in good work clothes and would have to go an hour out of my way to go home, change, and go back out. A bit cranky about it. But maybe a couple of days off will be good for us? Plan to ride at the fairgrounds Saturday after we haul in, as per our normal routine. I needed a break I think. I almost fell asleep in the dentist's chair WHILE they were cleaning my teeth :neutral: I do think I'm every bit as exhausted as people keep telling me I am.

And trainer isn't ready to jump into lessons from the sounds of it  totally understandable, just a bit bummed 

This week has been rough. Just rough. I am gathering up stuff I need for the show though. I plan for an early bed time tomorrow....


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## evilamc

Sometimes I've found a couple days off really helps us...we both clear our minds and go into the ride "right" rather then rushed.

Sucks about the trainer/lessons  I need lessons so bad LOL! I just don't have a ring and don't feel like trailering somewhere for them.


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## Tazzie

Yeah, I know sometimes we both need a mental reset. I've been funky since the time change. I plan to keep our ride super light on Saturday to keep her in a happy mindset.

I'm bummed  This another woman I'm thinking of contacting to see if she'd do a lesson with me. I feel we could really use one. She's the one who LOVED Izzie at our shows last year, so I think she'd be good with it!


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## DanteDressageNerd

That's really special  I know I've already said this but it's really a rare gift to find a horse who can be so suitable for you and able to do everything you ask and yet be an excellent family horse. Izzy is something of a precious diamond 

Always a good thing. Who likes being on pain medication anyways.

I'm sorry she can't do the lesson around that time :-( but it sounds like she has a lot on her plate. 

It's okay Izzy can be a Princess Diva too, just needs a tiara to complete the assemble 

But I'm glad she was so good with the costume!! I'm so glad she was good and you're able to work through whatever anxieties you have. I think we can definitely get in our own way sometimes but at least she's good and is riding like her normal self. No worries. We all do it.

I'm sorry you didn't get to ride Izzy but hopefully the week will end with a phenomenal show day on Saturday. I hope it starts going better for you.

And good luck with a different trainer. I hope it all goes well for you guys!


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## Tazzie

She is definitely a precious, rare diamond :lol: wouldn't trade her for anything! At our last show this couple came up and were chatting with me while we waited for our in hand class. We got to talking and I said I couldn't ever sell her for any kind of money. They said that's a good thing to hear, that they once sold something of great value to them. The money was quickly spent and they were without the thing they had valued most. Made me even more determined that I would never sell her :lol:

She definitely has a lot on her plate, which is totally understandable. She posted shocking news last night that she had sold the horse she was highly successful with  she typically imports horses to sell, but she kept this mare and campaigned her. Sold her to an olympian last night (one I haven't heard of before). I truthfully didn't think she'd ever sell that horse. I know that's the business of being a professional, but was still shocking.

I keep telling Nick we need a fancier tiara. He keeps saying no :lol: I'll win one of these days haha!

I am too! It was a huge relief she was so good in it! And yeah, I do this every year, then we work the night before in epic fashion, and ride our hearts out for the show.

I'm sure it will  we are hauling her down tomorrow, setting up all of our stuff, and riding in the arena after set up is done. Then show on Sunday. Doing Native Costume, Sport Horse In Hand, Hunter Pleasure, and Sport Horse Under Saddle. First two are in the morning, second two are after the lunch break. I just have to remember to breathe :lol:

Thanks! I didn't get a chance to contact her yesterday (not sure why I didn't... maybe I feel sad to? I don't know) but I plan to in a little bit. I'm sure she's up by now, but I hate contacting anyone before 8 or 9 unless I know without a doubt they are up.

Tonight we finish packing up everything and clean/polish her bridle and my boots. What was this breathing thing again? :lol:


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## DanteDressageNerd

Something is only worth as much as someone is willing to pay for it and to you Izzy is priceless because even with all the money in the world, it's hard to find a horse who is all the things Izzy is. No reason to ever sell!

That's a tough blow to lose a beloved family member and prized horse. But unfortunately reality is when someone names the right price, sometimes it's better to let go but that's pretty cool the horse is going to an olympian. Pretty awesome!

I wish I could remember the name of the one I bought Dante but it was through a tradesperson who does them custom but they're REALLY good quality with good quality crystals, sewn in and only 130 dollars for the quality.

Good luck in your guys shows tomorrow!! I can't wait to see all the pictures video Nick is probably going to take! I especially want to see the costume class! That sounds really cool!

Good luck with contacting this other instructor. I hope it all goes well and you can get a lesson in! 

I'm not sure about breathing. At least it's an automatic features in case we should forget. But you'll do great! Can't wait to hear about it!


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## evilamc

I'm dying to know how your show went!


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## Tazzie

DanteDressageNerd said:


> That's a tough blow to lose a beloved family member and prized horse. But unfortunately reality is when someone names the right price, sometimes it's better to let go but that's pretty cool the horse is going to an olympian. Pretty awesome!
> 
> I wish I could remember the name of the one I bought Dante but it was through a tradesperson who does them custom but they're REALLY good quality with good quality crystals, sewn in and only 130 dollars for the quality.
> 
> Good luck in your guys shows tomorrow!! I can't wait to see all the pictures video Nick is probably going to take! I especially want to see the costume class! That sounds really cool!
> 
> Good luck with contacting this other instructor. I hope it all goes well and you can get a lesson in!
> 
> I'm not sure about breathing. At least it's an automatic features in case we should forget. But you'll do great! Can't wait to hear about it!


Well, she typically buys horses to resell. She had just kept that mare to develop her. And she did a great job with her. Just remember the name Rocky Lane :wink: I'm sure we'll be seeing her on the big stage.

I wish you could too! I love it! :lol:

And as for the show....

Nothing went as planned. And I mean NOTHING. Hauled her home to find out dummy me forgot to buy more shampoo. We made do with what we had, but I couldn't get her nearly clean enough. Made it part way to the show when I realized both Nick and I were dummies and forgot her dang SmartPak. Then my best friend was saying she didn't think she was coming, stuff was going BAD for her. So now I'm stressing because we have ZERO shavings because we bought 40 bags off of her that we were going to get there.

We get there and find out her boyfriend dropped off the shavings. Whew. Get everything settled in and find out one of our water buckets sprouted legs and walked off  so we only had one water bucket to start (which I NEVER leave one bucket only; we ALWAYS hang two buckets, and make sure they are full when we leave for the night). Nick ended up running and grabbing some new ones to make sure she would have plenty of water (god I love him).

Worked her lightly Saturday night. She felt... ok. She still feels funny to me in the right canter, though everyone says she was fine. To me, something is funny. I'm not sure if she's stringing out due to the saddle or if something is out of alignment again. We're going to check the saddle closely this week and maybe pop the bigger gullet in. She's also still been squealing in the canter, or if I use too much leg aid.

Warmed up for the costume class Sunday (did I mention I HATE starting in costume first thing?) Warm up was awful. She suddenly decided the headpiece needed to go and kept trying to flip it over her ears. We got it fixed, but she wasn't the greatest. I still think she rode ok, but we still lost to my friend.

Went into the in hand class. This class is so dang inconsistent. It really depends on the judge judging it. Some put more emphasis on the movement (as they should for sport horse) and some put it more on the conformation (which let's face it; that's why there is halter). We took third out of four. The ones who beat us had no overstep whatsoever (Nick watches super closely since he's heard multiple judges say that is what they look for in a sport horse) but had prettier conformation than Izzie.

First class after lunch was sport horse under saddle. This class we decided walking was overrated. It was all I could due to keep her walking. She either wanted to trot, or stop and think about rearing. Changed direction and that's where we blew the class. I can't remember if she jigged first then stopped, or vice versa. Took second out of three. The first horse deserved to win (we know her, and Nick said she had a BEAUTIFUL ride). The third horse blew his lead, which was I guess a bigger offence than Izzie's thing. Judge even told us we had the class until we changed direction, that she is EXACTLY what they look for since she is so floaty and unrestricted in her head and neck. That she's not just bunched up and forced to do what she does (which if only the judge knew how hard it was to keep her together...)

Last class was Hunter Pleasure. And the class Izzie decided to squeal every single time I put my leg on her. And also squealed and bucked when a horse came too close to her (I was purposefully keeping her away from the others...) In a pleasure class, those are big no nos. Took dead last out of 5 for that.

After the class we did a sensitivity test on her back. Her back itself was fine, but up by her shoulders were a touch ouchy. Which makes us think her saddle is a bit too narrow. She also tested ouchy in her ribs. Again. I have a call into the chiro to hopefully get her in soon. She's squealed in the canter for the last 2 months. After the chiro I figured it was due to still being a bit sore. But 2 weeks later? Someone else mentioned ulcers, which I'll probably have him do an acupressure on her to see if that's the case. She's been on SmartDigest Ultra though, so I don't see how that would be possible... She isn't stalled, she has the run of like 20 acres, so much forage they couldn't possibly eat it all, and our rides have been kept as low key as she will allow me to do.

I'm just so at a loss. We haven't had a show this bad since we first started showing together. I'm frustrated not knowing what exactly is wrong and not knowing how to fix it immediately. And I'm nervous as all get out for my horse right now. She's having a few days off after this. Her neck also hasn't been the same since her vaccines last weekend. We've been trying to massage it a lot, but I don't know how much it's helping. There is no heat, and she doesn't flinch when you touch her neck. But she's been doing a lot of stretching of it, and there was a lot of head flinging going on.

Here is the video. Just, try and be nice since it wasn't our best. And that ring is a hard ring to ride in. Looking at the video, I think part of our issue is I need to let her move forward, which Nick told me I need to let her go. Maybe that's why her canter feels weird? I really just don't know right now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpxhl_6t4Lo


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## DanteDressageNerd

Well I'll be looking forward to hearing about this up and coming star! 

I'll have to look on the card. I could send you the card of the lady I ordered it from if you'd like. And she could show you all the colors and options. There are a TON, probably 20+ color options. They have a smaller one as well that is cheaper. 

I'm really sorry the show didn't go as planned :/ it really sucks when it's like all the small things and things that should go right just don't for whatever reason. I'll say the most frustrating thing is all the small breaks don't happen and it's just stressful.

I wish I had a good list of suggestions besides chiropractic, ulcers, maybe her teeth? Maybe the vaccines interacted with her somehow and it will go away? Ulcers would be frustrating :-( expensive to treat. I was talked to about that with Dante and I was like I just spent 1k on EPM I don't have another 1k to spend on ulcer treatment when we have no evidence he has it (similar situation hay feedings 4 times a day, outside most of the day, structured feed schedule). I really hope it isn't that for Izzy, though I knew a mare who her cycle and hormones gave her ulcers. Her treatment was regumate and treatment. I've also been talked to about putting Dante on regumate and I know sometimes it helps mares or geldings with excessive androgen *shrugs* it can always be a million and one things with horses. Her being funny about leg aids sounds like ribs or saddle or ulcers but best of luck with everything!! Diagnostics are frustrating but I also think when you know a horse REALLY well and are the one in the saddle you'll pick up on things that other people cannot see because you're able to feel it vs waiting to see something. I really hope it's just a simple chiropractic adjustment type of fix and it makes sense if it's a rib issue. That's really painful.

Petty thieves :-( some people can't keep their hands to themselves but I'm glad you were able to get another bucket easily enough.

I can kinda see what you mean in the costume class with her being funny about things though I think you rode through it well and the costume is BEAUTIFUL! I was looking at it like wow that looks like so much fun! She also looked like she gave you some really good canter work!

I know VERY little about sporthorse in hand or the sporthorse classes. The only kind of showing I've done in hand is for the warmblood inspections but it's not really a competition. You're just there for approval and scores. But the classes sound frustrating when there isnt much of a uniform standard, even though there is supposed to be. I know dressage scores really depend on the judge observing and what they emphasize over another judge but I know their training is really tedious and rigorous. Hopefully next outing will be more successful!


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## Skyseternalangel

You and Izzie looked so amazing in your costume! WOW!!!

You did a really good job and looked so much better than the other person. Her horse didn't look relaxed at all, whereas Izzie was super fluid.


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## Tazzie

That would be awesome about the card! Though Nick make disagree :lol: And with all that may be happening, doubt we can get one now.

It was just a bunch of stuff pilled on more stuff. And I woke up morning of the show with a REALLY bad upset stomach. We ran and got some pepto. So I wasn't 100% either.

And I just don't feel it's ulcers. I can't explain it, but the way she moves in the right canter under saddle feels... off. I've ridden a horse with ulcers. I'll be shocked if she has it, but we'll see. Her teeth were just done not long ago, and he lets me feel in the mouth when he's done so I know there weren't any points missed.

I'm hoping our chiro can figure it out. He's a former vet, so I do trust him to help figure out what is going on. One of our friends had a horse that had all sorts of things wrong. Our new vet couldn't figure out what in the world was going on. So, they hauled him to the chiro. Through acupressure or whatever (I don't fully know what all they did) they diagnosed him with minor EPM and a form of fibromyalgia. Chiro was able to get alternative remedies, and that horse is better than he has ever been. So I have hopes if I say "this is what is happening, can you test to see if ANYTHING else is bothering her" he would be able to pinpoint what exactly is bothering her. I know her ovaries tested positive two weeks ago, but he figured she was in her first cycle of the year. She's never had a problem in the 5 years I've owned her with her cycles (though, we don't always agree when we "sync")

Yeah, we honestly have no idea where it went. We needed to have extras on hand anyway, but just rotten timing.

I do love the costume, and she did have good moments. I just can't put my finger on what exactly is going on. I think we're going to take her to the chiro, go up a gullet size, and maybe I'll take a drink before I ride her (only half joking; I'm wondering if I'm inadvertently suddenly telling her to stop and go at the same time).

The problem with these kinds of shows, is they can be VERY political. And if the judge doesn't like you, good luck placing even if you were the best. It's frustrating since we earned supreme sport horse champion across all breeds at our last show (under a judge that judges at DEVON!) but here we take third. Out of four. Last year she didn't even place us. Couple friends of mine have theories the judge knocked us down in the in hand class since the judge also shows sport horses, and she doesn't want my horse having a better record than hers. Which could very well be the case. We beat her horses BAD at the last show last year. Like, they weren't even close to Izzie. Least it's satisfying having a judge that judged one of the best Dressage competitions in America saying your horse was the best sport horse on the grounds... The guys in the ring said they wish I could have heard how well that judge talked about Izzie. Though, makes it frustrating since the judge we had this weekend will be a more common judge than the one we had at our last show of last year.

I think what we need most of all right now, is both of us to take a breather, figure out what is causing Izzie issues, and start over. Maybe it's me. Maybe I'll have Nick toss me on the lunge and see if we have better results. Maybe it is ulcers and we're going to spend a disgusting amount of money to fix it. All I know is, is that I need to get Izzie feeling better, and we need to remember we are a team in this and that I would never intentionally do something to hurt or confuse her.

Sorry for being a bit of a downer. We haven't had such a rough show since the end of 2014, when Izzie and I showed our first two shows together. Heck, for all I know it could be her neck needing some stretching after the vaccines (doing our side to side stretches with snacks) and the gullet to go up a size and we'll be back. Could be the fact it went from 80 to 30s in a couple of days. I know that is wreaking havoc on me. Perhaps to her as well. I've just never been at a total loss like this before. And never been so dang close to tears worrying about my horse. Not a single part of me is upset at her for yesterday. She did what I asked, even if it wasn't perfect. She still tried. And I love her for that.


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## DanteDressageNerd

I'll have to look for her card and if I don't find it, I have a friend who knows her.

Whenever you need to have it work out most is when it wont :lol:

I understand your situation. I've been there, still am. At this point with Dante I think it's just his personality but hopefully with Izzy you can find whatever it is. I think you will. She doesn't have a history of being like this. Diagnostics is disgustingly expensive, I wont' go into how much I've spent in treatments and diagnostics but I hope your chiropractor/vet/acupuncture specialist can find something and offer some suggestions. I'd be really curious in checking him out if I could afford to send Dante to Kentucky for a visit lol.

I think all competitions are politically biased to an extent. Maybe some are more than others but that's cool the judge liked Izzy so well. She's a nice mare. But it does make things frustrating when you arent really judged on a consistent criteria. 

You're not being a downer. I think we all have our disappointments and let downs. The weather change could be a BIG part of it. I think arabs are sensitive to weather. I know Dante hates the cold, despite being from Pennsylvania. And it could be that you were stressed, even if you were mostly or totally composed and she knew because she knows you so well. It could be anything but I'm glad she tried and meant well even if it wasn't perfect. I think that they mean well and try is more important than most things. Next time will be better. I am sure!


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## Tazzie

Skyseternalangel said:


> You and Izzie looked so amazing in your costume! WOW!!!
> 
> You did a really good job and looked so much better than the other person. Her horse didn't look relaxed at all, whereas Izzie was super fluid.


Thanks Sky! I will say costume is one of my favorites 

As for the other horse, that's my best friend and her mare. Costume is mostly saddleseat based, so they look for more of that style. Though, both of our mares were pretty hot in general that day. I partially blame the chilly temps with wind...


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## Tazzie

I'd appreciate it 

Oh I know. That whole "when it rains, it pours" is how we felt this weekend :lol: just a bad weekend all the way around.

The cost is exactly why I'm skipping our regular vet in favor of him. Our regular vet is... not the greatest. He's ok, but I won't trust him to properly diagnose something with Izzie. He told another friend of mine that her horse had a bad case of thrush, totally disregarding he was confirmed navicular... Sadly, our area is VERY short on GOOD vets. But I don't trust him with such a confusing situation. And if Dr. Leike says Izzie has ulcers, I'm going to believe him because he would have used the pressure points to come to that conclusion. Not just going off of what I say. I feel, deep down, that the cause is still her ribs. I don't know WHY I feel so strongly that it is, but I do. And her pelvis. My theory is she slipped in the pasture and twisted herself up again (and/or the muscles pulled stuff a little bit out of alignment). I would HIGHLY recommend him to anyone needing a good, solid diagnosis. He knows his stuff very well.

It really does. And our triangles were spot on, she set up beautifully, and had a lovely look to her neck. I could not have set her up better if I'd tried. And her trot was spot on. Nick said she had some awesome overstep going on. Seems judges never stick with what the book says.

And that could be. I was stressed and sick. It was cold and windy. The ring is not the best to ride an actual class in since the ends (particularly up by where my friend had her tack sale) is SLICK. Like, you really can't go too fast in it or you may fall. Which maybe didn't help. I'm disappointed in myself, especially if it was me who caused it. Izzie may have been a grump, but she thankfully didn't outright tell me no on things. She just hasn't felt totally right at all the last week. Ever since she had her vaccines last Sunday. I'm truly wondering if they made her neck sore. She normally has the nasal version of the strangles, but had it injected this time. That may have been the culprit. There isn't swelling or heat, so I don't think she has an abscess or anything. But maybe that makes things a bit more sore than normal? I may have to do a little digging on it.


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## evilamc

Ohhhh I had a friend back home that did acupressure! I LOVED watching her do it, my QH loved it too. I actually have a few acupressure dvd's saved on my computer...if you're interested I could upload them for you.

Sorry everything didn't go as planned though  Hope you figure out what is going on with her and its nothing too serious!


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## Tazzie

It may actually be helpful for my own small checks, if you don't mind!

And I am in la la land right now. I have such a feeling of relief right now.

Nick went down and fed her tonight. Said she's definitely sore in her shoulder/withers, which makes me really think her saddle is too narrow. So she has off until Wednesday (at the earliest) with us just feeding and doing her carrot stretches. Nick did her pelvis exercise too just in case something is funky there too. He said she stretched well both ways and down, so that's good.

I had called our chiro this morning BEGGING him to squeeze us in (I'd left a voicemail explaining briefly what was going on, and that if he could squeeze us in this week I'd greatly appreciate it). He called me back this evening asking what all was going on. I said something really just doesn't feel right with her. That she's squealing still in the canter or when I use leg. I said I'd expected it for a couple of days afterward (after we started riding again), but not two weeks later. He agreed she really shouldn't be squealing still. I said I didn't care what he charged, but I'd greatly appreciate it if he could do the acupressure stuff again and test for ulcers. He doesn't think it's ulcers (he knows she's on 24/7 pasture, and that she's not a super stressing horse in general), but will check for that. He thinks her cycle may be funny since the weather has been so crazy, so he's going to use the points to check that. Oh, yeah, he is squeezing us in on Saturday right as they open for haul in appointments.

Now, this works out perfectly since we really wanted her seen ASAP. However, Saturday is Easter with Nick's dad's side of the family. And my mother in law will MURDER us if we miss it since we are getting pictures with his 94 year old grandmother. This is the part where I say we have the BEST friend/barn owner in the entire world. He is going to haul Izzie to the chiro for us. We're just to leave a check for the chiro in Izzie's SmartPak drawer. Leike (chiro) knows our friend is going to haul her there for us, and will write down all that he does, what she tests positive for, etc. Our friend will also let us know what all is wrong with her.

There were tears of joy and relief shed. I am so thoroughly exhausted from holding in all that tension. I felt better after we made a plan (change the gullet, do more carrot stretches, get her adjusted) but I was still holding in tension waiting for the call back. I am so relieved...


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## DanteDressageNerd

Tazzie said:


> I'd appreciate it
> 
> Oh I know. That whole "when it rains, it pours" is how we felt this weekend :lol: just a bad weekend all the way around.
> 
> The cost is exactly why I'm skipping our regular vet in favor of him. Our regular vet is... not the greatest. He's ok, but I won't trust him to properly diagnose something with Izzie. He told another friend of mine that her horse had a bad case of thrush, totally disregarding he was confirmed navicular... Sadly, our area is VERY short on GOOD vets. But I don't trust him with such a confusing situation. And if Dr. Leike says Izzie has ulcers, I'm going to believe him because he would have used the pressure points to come to that conclusion. Not just going off of what I say. I feel, deep down, that the cause is still her ribs. I don't know WHY I feel so strongly that it is, but I do. And her pelvis. My theory is she slipped in the pasture and twisted herself up again (and/or the muscles pulled stuff a little bit out of alignment). I would HIGHLY recommend him to anyone needing a good, solid diagnosis. He knows his stuff very well.
> 
> It really does. And our triangles were spot on, she set up beautifully, and had a lovely look to her neck. I could not have set her up better if I'd tried. And her trot was spot on. Nick said she had some awesome overstep going on. Seems judges never stick with what the book says.
> 
> And that could be. I was stressed and sick. It was cold and windy. The ring is not the best to ride an actual class in since the ends (particularly up by where my friend had her tack sale) is SLICK. Like, you really can't go too fast in it or you may fall. Which maybe didn't help. I'm disappointed in myself, especially if it was me who caused it. Izzie may have been a grump, but she thankfully didn't outright tell me no on things. She just hasn't felt totally right at all the last week. Ever since she had her vaccines last Sunday. I'm truly wondering if they made her neck sore. She normally has the nasal version of the strangles, but had it injected this time. That may have been the culprit. There isn't swelling or heat, so I don't think she has an abscess or anything. But maybe that makes things a bit more sore than normal? I may have to do a little digging on it.


Always without fail it's how it goes but I think it's better when it all happens at once, rather than sporadically so it's done and over with on the bad news/coincidences kind of stuff.

That makes sense to me, especially if they arent vets you trust or are nearly as skilled. Always go to who knows best. I know where I am we're lucky to have some really good vets because we're so close to a vet school/equine hospital so we get some good sport horse vets but I know when I was in NC I wouldn't trust them to diagnose my horse, so it makes sense to me. And no he sounds amazing with such a diverse background and intricate knowledge of horses. He sounds brilliant!! I hope he figures out what is wrong with her and can get it fixed.

*shrugs* I really think sometimes you can put in the best ride of the day but if you aren't buddy-buddy with someone it won't matter or don't have the right color horse or whatever some judges are biased towards. But at least you know you both did your best.

That definitely makes a difference and it makes it a lot harder to focus imo. But that's really disappointing the footing sounds awful! That really would upset me to be in a ring with slick footing. But I'm glad Izzy tried, even if it wasn't her best and the vaccines could very well be having an effect and it will just take time. Either way I hope everything gets figured out soon.

I'm glad he could fit you in and doesn't think it's ulcers. But that's awesome your friend/BO is assisting so you don't have to miss easter with the family! Pesky family getting in the way of the grand duchess. I'm glad you got everything on the move. Good luck!


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## Tazzie

That is true. Get it all out of the way and be done for a good long while :lol:

Yeah, I hadn't known about it, but our friend had him as his vet before he decided to go into just the chiro/acupuncture/acupressure side of things. He was pretty upset when he quit being a regular vet. Then we had another good one (who we used in the beginning, and LOVED) but then they did away with their large animal practice. So our options are the guy we use now, or a guy from over an hour away who has EXTREMELY high rates (I gagged when I saw how much he charged us for vaccines when Izzie was out there; it was absurd). It's very frustrating how limited we are on good, knowledgeable people out here.

Yeah, it's not fun sometimes. But we go out and try our best anyway.

It does make things harder. The ring is ok for warm up, but showing in it is not my favorite. Those fairgrounds were my favorite because they have so much space for warming up, but they let it slip a little. Hoping they just aren't on top of ring maintenance this year and it'll be find for our next show (which will be April 23rd and 24th at that fairgrounds). Fortunately I know that show will be in the main ring and in the other arena, not the long narrow one. That one will be for warm up only.

Yeah, pesky family events :lol: I'm just thankful Cliff is so willing to haul her for us. He knows I'll stress myself sick over her. Heck, I was doing that to myself all day waiting on a call back. I'm truly interested to see what Dr. Leike finds.


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## evilamc

Ok going to PM you the download links  I can't put it on youtube because copywrite stuff...but I promise you theres no virus' if you download them.


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## DanteDressageNerd

Tazzie said:


> That is true. Get it all out of the way and be done for a good long while
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Yeah, I hadn't known about it, but our friend had him as his vet before he decided to go into just the chiro/acupuncture/acupressure side of things. He was pretty upset when he quit being a regular vet. Then we had another good one (who we used in the beginning, and LOVED) but then they did away with their large animal practice. So our options are the guy we use now, or a guy from over an hour away who has EXTREMELY high rates (I gagged when I saw how much he charged us for vaccines when Izzie was out there; it was absurd). It's very frustrating how limited we are on good, knowledgeable people out here.
> 
> Yeah, it's not fun sometimes. But we go out and try our best anyway.
> 
> It does make things harder. The ring is ok for warm up, but showing in it is not my favorite. Those fairgrounds were my favorite because they have so much space for warming up, but they let it slip a little. Hoping they just aren't on top of ring maintenance this year and it'll be find for our next show (which will be April 23rd and 24th at that fairgrounds). Fortunately I know that show will be in the main ring and in the other arena, not the long narrow one. That one will be for warm up only.
> 
> Yeah, pesky family events
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I'm just thankful Cliff is so willing to haul her for us. He knows I'll stress myself sick over her. Heck, I was doing that to myself all day waiting on a call back. I'm truly interested to see what Dr. Leike finds.


Absolutely :lol: I like getting it all over at once, rather than periodically because then it's just like permanent disappointment and frustration lol...not that it's funny but life is interesting.

Either way he sounds like a very remarkable and brilliant specialist. If I had the money I'd love to see him and see what he says. I think sometimes the "alternative" approach can tell you things traditional medicine does not. I think both are needed but sometimes it's good to just get answers without spending a couple grand.

Exactly. I don't think every show is fun but I think we get better at over coming rough situations each time. New hurdles.

I hope they're able to get back on top of the footing. I know I'm not a fan of the footing at a nearby show ground. The horses don't have slick footing, it's just really hard footing and rough on their legs and they don't move as well. Our show grounds around here just don't have stellar footing either and it's unfortunate. But I hope next show the footing is better!

Well what else are families for if they don't occasionally disrupt horsey situations and you have to make important grown up priorities lol. But I'm glad he's willing to haul Izzy to get her seen, so you can get her treated and not miss a family event. Those are important too after all lol.


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## Tazzie

I can laugh about it all now, but I can say I wasn't super happy with the weekend while it was happening :lol: Oh well!

He really and truly is. I'm SO glad he's so close!

Oh we definitely do. We've blown a couple of shows from me not riding well enough to ride Izzie. It happens :lol:

I really hope so! I'll be sad if they don't keep up with it :sad: it's always been my favorite place to show, so I'll be really sad 

Haha, well, my mother in law is telling me I should at least just go be there while she's getting adjusted. I'm a little surprised to tell you the truth, but I do want to. I just can't remember how to get to this aunt's house alone :lol: I may see if she would just take the kids and Nick and I would meet up afterward. We'll see.

In other news, we went out to work a little bit last night. And by little bit I mean we walked, we trotted, we cantered, and then we gave a leadline ride. We bumped her up to the extra wide gullet plate in her saddle before I got on. I made Nick watch us to make sure all looked good. We had good wither clearance, etc. And...

She rode like a million bucks. Something still doesn't feel perfect, but I'm hazarding to guess her pelvis is slightly out again. Wouldn't surprise me since I know she has fallen in her field before. I'm really getting anxious for our friend to build his new barn and pastures, and move everyone off of this hill. He says it'll happen this summer. We shall see.

Anyway, back to the riding. She was forward, and I had her. Like, really had her. I had my entire horse back. She was lifting her back, really using her rear end, and in my hands. And HAPPY. She wanted to canter SO bad too. I finally cued her to canter, anticipating a squeal since we haven't been able to canter without a squeal much at all this year.

NOT A SINGLE SQUEAL!

She was SOOOO happy! I'd been thinking it was her ribs since it was when I'd put my leg on. I think she just couldn't come up in the withers like she needed to with a slightly too narrow gullet. I was able to put my leg on and direct her where ever and had a "yes mom" response. I didn't ride her too long since I do still want her adjusted. But my word am I happy. It's the happiest she has felt in a while.

And then she was happy to give Syd a ride around the field. Untacked her, and Syd rode Izzie bareback to the barn. This is why I love my horse. Syd's pants were a bit slippery. She almost slid off a few times (I was holding her leg so she couldn't slip at all). Izzie just stopped and waited until Syd was balanced again before continuing on. Love her!

We had to feed, and we started on the new SmartPaks that have the combo supplement (the one with a joint supplement in it; just to help her out). This is where I roll my eyes at my horse. MOST horses I've known would devour their food. Izzie? No. Any time you add something new to her grain, she is CERTAIN you have poisoned it :icon_rolleyes: takes her a few days to actually start cleaning it up again. I always laugh at the "picky eater approved" posting on their supplements. They've never met a picky eater like Izzie :lol:


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## DanteDressageNerd

Distance always makes it more humorous lol.

I understand. Sometimes it's best to call it a day when a horse is being particularly difficult or if youre just not in the right frame of mind. Ive had days where I'm just not as focused as I really need to be and I'll get off.

Wow! I'm glad the gullet change made such a big difference! And I'm glad she didnt' squeal into the transition! That's pretty big!! I'm glad you both had a really good ride together. Always a plus!! But good luck. I hope the chiropractor can fix the rest.

That's great that she's so caring with your daughter! I think mares tend to be more aware about things like that than geldings, I'm not saying always but I've seen mares take care of their riders in ways I've never seen geldings. I know a lady who is a nervous rider and tends to make horses spooky but when she spooks, the mare she has is just like it's okay no biggie. And if she loses balance the mare will put herself under her to keep her safe. It's pretty cool. I also ride that mare and for me to ride she has some attitude, etc but once she's in a program and is reminded to listen and accept a rider she's good as gold. 

lol that makes me laugh. that she's so picky. It sucks but at least she eventually accept and will eat it!


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## Tazzie

Unfortunately, those times were at a show. We did our best (since we needed the points/classes) but they weren't stellar. A few times we were lucky and we were the only entrant. A few times were when Izzie was having a rough day with it, and I was told I was a good rider for being calm about her tantrums (yes, tantrums in class; she wasn't feeling up to it)

I am too, and super relieved! Even though the saddle looked fine to everyone, it apparently didn't feel fine. She's SO much happier! I told Nick "alright, I'm going to canter now.... let's see if she's happy about it or if she will squeal." I sat, half halted, moved my seat, and BAM! Right into the canter! Both directions, no issues. I was like "ok, that's all for today... I'm happy as a clam, and I don't want to push this." That, and I want her withers adjusted and her neck checked out (I feel it's been a bit stiff since her vaccines; so Dr. Leike will check it out for us). I'm a lot more relaxed about the chiro now :lol:

Yeah, Izzie essentially belongs to the kids. Nick was like "you better just face it, she won't be your horse much longer." I said those kids can wait until Izzie has a baby and it's broke to ride for me :lol: it was amusing though. Nick went to take Syd off of Izzie, and she kept pushing his hands away and saying "no!" That's my girl :lol:

She does eventually eat it, but it usually takes a while. Wednesday I think she left about a third of dinner (the others gladly finished it....) Last night she left just a handful or so. Tonight she'll probably clean most of it up. I've never met one so picky. Peppermints are awful, but peppermint flavored biscuits are ok. She wants to try everything else, but then she typically won't actually try it. She's ridiculous :lol:

And, Nick and I are crazy lol just plum crazy. Izzie is off until Monday (to give her plenty of time to heal from the saddle fit and to rest after the adjustment), but Nick and I are making plans. We have a few shows coming up, and we added one that will make us look crazy :lol:

My former trainer/boss back in Michigan is holding a schooling show. First one in about a decade. I texted her last night saying "So, if a couple of crazy people decided to haul their horse up from Kentucky for your show, could they have a stall??" I got back "Oh what fun! A stall, lessons, coaching, lunch, come early, stay after, yes, yes, yes!!!" So Izzie is going on a road trip back to my childhood barn! I've always wanted to see what my former trainer would do with us. Now I'll get to see!! I told Nick I was surprised he agreed to it. He told me he knew I'd wanted to ride on Izzie under her coaching, and that it would make me happy. You bet it makes me happy!! Thankfully Izzie is a fantastic traveler, so it should be smooth sailing! The show is mid May! Now to figure out which tests I want to ride, and start reading through them, practicing parts of it!

Yes, I know we are crazy. But AHHHH!! I'm so pumped!!


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## DanteDressageNerd

I understand. Some rides and some days are just like that.

At least you were able to make such a big difference out of a simple fix! That's always awesome in my book!!

lol I don't blame you. She's your mare. You're paying the bills and mom deserves some mom time too lol. Mom's deserve for something to be their baby too lol. I agree. They can wait  but that's cute she didn't want to get off 

That's hilarious but at least she adjusts to it! My old eventer would only eat spearmint would spit out peppermint, so I understand. He could be pretty picky but he was 17h and NEEDED to eat or he'd drop weight pretty quickly. Such a hard keeper.

Do it!! That sounds awesome!! yeah you might be a little crazy but what's the point in living, if you don't do something a little crazy once in a while. Gotta live for the spontaneity and have fun! I think it sounds great that you're going back to revisit your trainer and your childhood. Sounds great!! Good luck making it there!


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## Tazzie

I'm glad it was such a simple fix too! I'll be even happier when I can finally work with a saddle fitter and get a new saddle!

Syd is definitely my little girl :lol:

She does, thankfully! This one must not have been that different (or she started feeling good? I don't know) because she ate all of it last night. Thank goodness! She is a fairly easy keeper, which is good. I try and keep her eating well though :lol:

Oh we are  I'm super pumped!! I posted on Facebook about it, and my best friend was like "Um, when is this happening???" Nick, my mom and I all think she should come up with us :lol: she actually said she might!! I'd be so excited if she did! And I think we may attempt First Level Test 1, just for fun. Would be kind of fun to show that at her show. Not aiming for high scores, but just to get out and try it once! I'm practically giddy with excitement! The show bill is up, and I had to chuckle. I think she may be adding a lead line class just for my kids :lol: there is no lead line class mentioned on the actual show bill :lol:

We had the chiro appointment today!! And since my kiddos are sick (we only went to Easter to do pictures....) I was able to go with our friend/barn owner.

Izzie's sacrum was once again rotated. I finally just asked what causes this since it's happened a few times. He said it's from running and then slamming on the brakes. The rear comes up further than anticipated. I looked at Cliff and said "does that sound like her?" He's like "yeah...." I admit, my horse can be a dumb dumb out in the field sometimes :lol:

Her withers were also a bit ouchy from the saddle fit, so he fixed that too. And her poll (no clue why that keeps coming up; forgot to ask). Everything else stayed in alignment, which is great news!

He did the acupressure test on her next. No ulcers, yay! SmartPak is not getting a call now :lol: her left ovary is still reactive, but he doesn't want to mess with it yet. He said we can address it in a few weeks when we come back in just to make sure she's in tip top shape for our next show (which is a big one). She was also a bit reactive in her hind end/legs. We started her on the SmartPak combo supplement that includes a joint supplement since we are heading into harder work. He kind of suspects it's growing pains, and that she very well may only need this temporarily, but I'm cool staying on it. I want her to feel fabulous all the time. And she really uses her hind end when she she works properly, so anything to keep her happy.

Overall though, he was happy with her. I thanked him over and over for fitting us in, and he said he'd always fit us in. He's so awesome! No riding until the earliest of Monday (anticipated that) and we may not even get to ride then (Mother in law's birthday is today, and we may be celebrating it on Monday). We shall see what happens! I'm happy we are figuring out what's going on with my baby though!


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## DanteDressageNerd

Absolutely!! Good luck finding a good fitter. They make a big difference. Always amazes me how the saddle influences them. It makes sense but man saddle upkeep is a chore and they change so much in 3-6 months.

lol that's adorable. I think every parent loves having a child who just gets them.

That's exciting!! And I think you should. Do whatever you feel comfortable doing and want to do! It sounds like quite the trip! I think they should do a lead line class so your kiddos can enjoy the trip too! Haha presuming they're going. Can't wait for the pictures!!

That's great that shes finishing up her new supplement. Hope all goes well and I'm the same way. Though I've had friends tell me I'm nuts because Dante is 6 but I have Dante on a joint supplement too. I think it's better to prevent than treat. It isn't 100% but I think it makes a difference. And I know for myself I can feel a BIG difference being on a joint supplement vs being on just a healthy diet. Good thing about these smaller horses, they usually don't have all the degenerative and soundness issues of the 17+h guys. 

That's fabulous news about no ulcers!! Huge sigh of relief right there. And glad she was able to get adjusted and he was able to come back with so many answers and put your mind at ease. When you talk about what he does. I really wish I could afford to ship Dante to see him. He seems like he has answers and solutions traditional methods may not pick up on. 

I'm glad she's doing better and you're figuring out what's going on too. I think it stresses us all out when we feel they arent 100% but we're not 100% sure why. They're like our kids


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## Tazzie

The saddle fitter front will give me gray hairs :lol: I at least know what I'm getting back from my incentive fund ($2700), but we will be bumping that up to at least $3k. More if I find the absolute perfect fitting saddle just outside that budget. I want to post ISO ads in the local groups since surely someone knows someone awesome, but I want money in hand before I do that. Just anxious to do it NOW haha!

They do :lol: Kaleb likes her too, but Syd is much more interested. For now at least. I won't push her on them if they don't want to do it.

I think we will  just need to practice her sitting trot more. We have lengthenings down since they call for that in some of our classes. And get better at trot to halt and halt to trot. But plenty of time to perfect those since we've worked a lot of sitting trot, just not this year. So the only "new" thing would be trot to halt and halt to trot. Totally doable in two months I think! And they will totally do the class! Not sure who would get to do it, but they will do it! And yes, of course they are coming :lol: I'm originally from that area, and my parents are still there. I'd be hung if I left my kids with my in laws :lol:

I'm thankful she is cleaning it up! We are feeding Monday through Thursday this coming week and the following week as our friend/barn owner is out of town for work. He said his brother can do it if we can't, but I enjoy doing it. I like to see Izzie eating :lol: and yeah, I just want her feeling good. And since we will be ramping up work, I just want to make sure she feels awesome. I don't want her to resent work, ever. I want her happy as often as possible 

It was a huge relief! Though, I'd have been MAD if she had them. She's been on SmartPak with a digestive supplement since July of last year, has 24/7 turnout (only penned up to eat), and work is not that stressful. I try and keep shows very laid back for her. None of that is conducive to ulcers. None. And all the forage she can eat. So yeah, I'd have been unhappy if the supplements weren't helping (and I kept her on that to have the colicare colic surgery stuff). But yeah, he knows his stuff. He can probably figure out anything that is going with a horse. I think he's about the only good thing we have going for us this close :lol: our farrier drives from some distance away, and our vet is just blah. He's a nice man in general, but if something isn't quite right, I'd rather have Dr. Leike help us out. He is something else, that's for sure!

She is definitely like our kid! I actually told Dr. Leike that she's essentially our oldest daughter. She will forever me baby. Crazy her birthday is in a month, and our 5 year anniversary is coming up in a month and a half! I love her more now than I did when I got her, which I didn't think was possible! Now to just get our farm so she can come home...


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## DanteDressageNerd

lol I totally understand! A new saddles it always exciting!! But you can always ask around so at least you know of a few people and who knows how many people will answer your ad but at least it gives options, so when you have the money in hand perhaps a fitter will be available to make suggestions!

lol well at least they enjoy it and they're lucky to have a horse mommy to get them started and lead them down the right direction. Always a blessing!

Awww that sounds awesome. I bet in 2 months it will be no issue. But YES you better take your kids for the lead line class and so they can spend some time with their grand parents!! 

Completely understandable. It's so much more enjoyable for them, you and you get a lot more success keeping them happy than struggling but glad she's cleaning it up! Always a good sign!

I don't blame you at all. It'd be like HOW? How and why miss do you have an ulcer? You have everything you could want in the world. But that is really cool especially with the colicare surgery being included with the supplement. But having Dr. Leike sounds like something pretty awesome! It's always important to have someone competent around you can trust and who has answers. Nothing worse than having a ton of questions and no answers.

Well happy early birthday to Izzy and your 5yr anniversary!! Early congratulations. I think love grows in ways we can't fathom, especially when reality exceeds our expectations  lol can't wait till you have a farm too. That sounds like it will be great for the whole family!


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## Tazzie

The problem with asking before I have the money, is then I will want to call RIGHT NOW. I have no patience when I want something :lol: Better for me to wait until I'm ready to shop! Which should be soon, I believe. I believe everyone got their checks in Mid April. I'm tempted to see who my former trainer uses since we will be in Michigan May 21st. But then the fitter would be in Michigan. I could probably find one to tweak down here, but I swear I remember her fitter having a bunch of saddles you could try. I'll figure something out!

Yeah, I think we can get it. We've done a couple trot to halts for line up in our rail classes. Just don't typically halt to trot. Two months is enough to get a good enough understanding of it at least! And yeah, we've never left them behind when we go to Michigan. They always go with :lol: And we'll definitely do the leadline class!

Exactly! I never want to hop on and feel her tell me this isn't what she wants to do. Sure, she gets snarky. But it's usually from me asking something too loudly. And I'm glad she's cleaning up her supper too! I hate when she doesn't! Darn pony! :lol:

Yup! She has the ideal lifestyle for a show horse, I think. All the turnout and forage she could want. She's definitely happier I think! But I'd have been pretty mad! Haha! And yeah, the colicare certainly offers peace of mind! I like SmartPak  It really is nice having someone so gifted close by, and willing to squeeze us in whenever we need him! I told Nick I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing he's willing to squeeze us in :lol: he either does it for all of his clients, or we've spent that much money in the short time I've known him (less than 2 years :lol

Thanks! She turns 6 April 21st, and our anniversary is May 13th  We picked her up on Friday the 13th haha! And it is crazy! I loved her so much because she was my first official horse (I leased growing up, or rode/trained whatever my boss/trainer had in, but never actually owned a horse until her). But we've really grown close over the years. And you can tell how much she loves her job (and, well, us) by her nickering as soon as she sees us now. She didn't do it for the longest time! Makes me feel good she's happy where she's at! There was a girl where we had our old lessons (the ones I didn't feel we progressed really) who likes doing the Reike, aura, etc stuff. Said Izzie has a very happy aura around us, and that she is exactly where she would want to be. Made me happy for sure! She's my baby


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## DanteDressageNerd

Okay gotcha. In that case I totally understand. I'd probably be like let's get it now. I wants it. Totally makes sense! And that sounds like a good idea to maybe schedule a saddle fitting while you're in Michigan, especially if your trainer knows somebody and you trust them and everything!! Even if they are in Michigan!

It's very doable. I think you and Izzy wont' have too many problems. You can even download and run through a test now just to see. And they should. A leadline class should be fun for Izzy and the kids!!

Exactly!! I think with these arab/stock horse crosses if they want to do it, nothing can stop them but if they don't nothing and nobody can make them do it. So far it looks like she likes having a job and doing things! Always a good thing!! And yes lol there is that, they're very dramatic as well :lol: 

Absolutely! As much pasture time as possible and viable forage without them getting chubby! Always good for preventing them. I think some horses are just prone to them but I like to think these stock horse crosses are a bit hardier than the cream of the crop, immensely well bred warmbloods who always seem to have them :lol: how true it is IDK but I like to think they're hardy. 

And I think he probably just understood your urgency and how badly Izzy needed to be seen, so he made time which is pretty freaking awesome!! ...or it could be the money you've spent too, since he knows you're good customers 

That's pretty awesome!! And special! Congratulations lol. I know already wished you it but it's really exciting! You've all grown as a family together. No doubt a lot has happened in 5 years!! 

And I totally understand. I didn't own for a long time after my eventer (my parents bought/owned him) but when you spend some time without one that is really yours and you form close bonds but at the end of the day someone else makes all the calls on that horse, it's really nice when you finally have one to really call your own. Where nobody is taking the ride from you and nobody else is riding that horse and it can be all yours. You can choose the supplements and make decisions without discussing with someone else first.

But that's good her aura is happy around you! That's always good to know she's happy to be so loved!


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## Tazzie

Exactly! I'll have to check with her when the money comes in to see if she still knows the girl she worked with. I'm sure she could help me work something out! She feels the same way I do about wintecs. They are ok, and good for growing horses, but not long term. I'd probably lend the wintec to my best friend since she's working on rounding up stalls to start training horses again. I know she'd be breaking a few. It'd be an understanding that if it's broken, it gets replaced. But it at least wouldn't be taking up space at our house or in the trailer!

I looked at the tests, just haven't printed any yet. Probably do that soon so we can at least practice bits and pieces. Need to have Nick set my letters back up again! Though, probably wait till the field is mowed. I want our own place haha!

Yup! I've known some nice Warmbloods who never had issues. But they also had food in front of them ALL THE TIME. Like hay or grass, not grain. I'm sure it could happen, but I'd be pretty cranky :lol:

That could be true :lol: though, he did say as we were leaving he'd always make room for us. That's what makes me wonder :lol:

It sure has! We laughed about that this weekend actually. She couldn't wait to get on the trailer to go somewhere on Saturday. When we picked her up, they essentially threw her onto the trailer because she didn't want to get on (I wanted to do it a different way; but apparently I had no say... glad I got her out of there).

Leasing was nice because it didn't leave my mom and dad with bills when I left for college (or needing to find boarding/afford it when I left for school). Just wasn't fun sharing with lesson kids. Now, I share because I can. Not because I have to :lol: and decisions are run past the husband, but only because we keep our financial talk upfront. I don't plan/book/buy anything without talking with him, and he's the same way with me. It's how we keep on the straight and narrow :lol:

I am too 

-----------------------------------------------------------

We rode shortly yesterday. We tried a half pad with the saddle because I always worry she needs some cushion, and she didn't like it. We rode through it a bit, but we won't revisit it. She came through more than she has, but she wasn't thrilled with it. We attempted a few trot to halt and halt to trots, just to see where our starting point is. I have to stick with her and keep my contact better, but they actually weren't bad at all. Just a short ride since we had to feed and be at the in laws by 6. I really only rode for 15 minutes, ugh. At least I got to get on!!

Tonight we will ride, and tomorrow as well. Going to storm Thursday, so off then. Friday we have another birthday party so no riding then. Shooting for Saturday and Sunday, but Sunday may be tight (another easter celebration AND a baby shower). We feed Monday through Thursday again next week, so shooting to ride most days then too.

And farrier is coming out next Thursday! AND he's not coming until evening :loveshower::loveshower::loveshower: I was worried he'd only do midafternoon, which isn't good for me. I work an hour from Izzie, and he scheduled us for 2 pm last time. I had to leave right after lunch, which I don't care to do. Next Thursday we scheduled for 5:30 :loveshower::loveshower: So happy!!


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## DanteDressageNerd

For sure!! I hope it comes in before your big trip so maybe something can be arranged? And I'm on the same page with wintecs. We're breaking Saturday in a wintec, I think they're great for that purpose and allowing for all the changes youngsters make. As long as they don't have the cair pannels. I don't like those lol. 

That sounds awesome!! A little home made dressage arena sounds awesome!! 

lol maybe I've just known some dramatic wierdo warmbloods? We had some really high energy, anxiety types lol well our barn is mostly warmbloods and most of them don't have problems but there are 4-5 I can think of who are on a permanent maintenance type of thing. But glad Izzy is fine!

lol I don't know. Maybe he just likes you guys because he knows you're good people? I know my chiropractor and my vet will make room for me when they dont have it because they say I'm really nice and sweet :lol:

I can definitely see how leasing would have been helpful!! Because then you could just go off to college without worrying about a horse. But I agree lol I just kinda meant you and Nick seem like you're a unit and you don't have to go through a "3rd party" so to speak to make any changes for Izzy. 

What kind of half pad did you try? I know Dante had an issue with a half pad for a little while then his shape changed and he loved it. Some of them fit differently it's kinda weird. 

But good luck on your next ride!! I hope all goes well with the birthday party and baby shower! Wow it sounds like you have a lot on your plate good luck!!

And very good. I hope it goes well with Izzy!!


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## Tazzie

I'm hoping so! Entries aren't due for that show until May 1st I believe. Figure once I send it in, and if the money is in, I'll check with her. Nick even said it may be a good idea :lol: and I 100% agree! I HATE the CAIR panels! Ours is wool flocked. Any time my friend showed me one she wanted to get, I'd look and say "You DON'T want the CAIR panels; they suck!"

It works well enough :lol: just makes me want to have our own place sooner rather than later... :lol:

I'm glad she is too! Could be the lifestyle, could be the horse. I know a lot of people who keep their horses indoors all the time. Not the life I want for Izzie, ever.

Could be! All I know is that I appreciate it a lot!

Exactly! And helped me ride a bunch of different horses to get a grasp of what I wanted! Yeah, Nick's not exactly a third party :lol: just my other half!

As for the halfpad, I'd found this one on sale at their shop. I think she just didn't want more padding under her saddle. Rode without it last night and she was happier. CoolmaxÂ® Half Pad with Silicone | Dover Saddlery

I feel like we never have a weekend, or really a night, to ourselves anymore :lol: gets used up by everyone!

And yeah, I'm pumped about the farrier :lol: made my day!

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rode again last night! It was SO good!

At first she was like "la la la, your leg on me and your seat does not mean sideways!" I said "oh yes it does!" Had Nick grab my whip and suddenly she remembered it DID mean sideways! Imagine that! Did some turns on the forehand, some walking leg yields, and then I did some trotting ones. She tries to dive at the trot, so I put my aids on her, and when she tried to dive I tapped lightly with the whip. "Oh yeah!!" is what she said! "I remember this!" And our leg yields were the best we have ever had. SO proud of her! Gave her a break (and gave Nick back the whip since she now remembered those aids.

Picked back up, did a bit more (with a "yes mom!" response), and then did some sitting trot work. She at first wanted to slow down or canter. Got her to remember sitting does not always mean slow down or canter. I even heard Nick say "wow!" at least once :lol: It was such an incredible feeling! She was really stretching into the contact, her back was SO there (love, love, LOVE!) and it just felt amazing! I almost told Nick to record us, but he was cranky so I didn't.

Then we did do a few trot - canter - trot transitions to remind her that just because I'd been sitting, that we did not have to run into the canter. Had some beautiful transitions! Gave her a break after each way. Picked back up just for a few more minutes. Did trot - halt - trot. Her trot to halt was GORGEOUS! TWICE! I was so pleased! Halt to trot needs a bit more work, but our last attempt was lovely! And totally passable for First Level Test 1! Ended with a nice stretchy circle.

Went to hop off and she nickered at me. I burst out laughing at it! Nick was like "what?" I said she just nickered, she knows she's going to get her face scratched soon. Took her bridle off and she was talking again as I scratched her face. That's her favorite way to end a ride!

Now I'm even more pumped to ride tonight! Then she will get 2 days off due to weather and other obligations.

But these are the rides that make me (and her) love what we do! And make me love her SO much more! I posted my excitement as she ate her dinner. Then my night was made even more!

My best friend (the one who got me to start showing in the county fairs and Arab circuit) texted me. I'd already told her Nick wanted to kidnap her and bring her to Michigan so he didn't have to read my tests for me (he would, but he hates doing it since he's not as well versed on actual dressage shows yet and the flow it needs to have). She texted me asking for more details. I told her when we'd be leaving, when we'd be getting home, and that she wouldn't be responsible for any fuel (because we'd be going with or without her :lol She said she's going to check her schedule, but that she really wants to go :loveshower::loveshower::loveshower: GAH!!! I'm so excited!! I'm really hoping she does go with! She didn't make it up to our wedding, so she's never seen our area. And I know my former boss/trainer would love her! My friend loves helping out at a barn, but can't always help. Former trainer accepts help from anyone with two hands and common sense :lol:

This trip may be even more fun than I ever expected!! :loveshower::loveshower: And yes, I'm using a lot of love showers, but I'm THAT excited about everything right now!!

OH! And booked our hotel for the show in April! Because of our car insurance, we got a REALLY good deal on it! Online it was advertised as roughly $104 a night pre tax. I called, told them who we use, and we got it for $72 a night!!! YES!


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## DanteDressageNerd

lol that sounds awesome!! Good luck! And that's about how I feel about cair pannels lol. Horses dont like them.

I think it makes a HUGE difference in riders when they get to ride a variety of horses, rather than riding a few. It really changes your perspective on things because you realize all horses do not ride alike and it just makes you aware of different things you do/don't do, etc. Always good to ride a lot of different horses and types. You learn SO much.

I've never used that pad, so I can't say anything about it. I can say I like thin line with the shims. Helps a lot with saddle fit but there are a lot of good pads out there, just have to know which ones they like or dont like which you don't know until you try! Horses are so picky about some things!

I can imagine kids interrupt that certain freedom but I'm sure they fill it with a lot of joy, love and laughter too!

But that's awesome!! That sounds like a really awesome ride!! Ready for first test 1 sounds great! Funny how they act like they don't know what you're talking about until you bring out the big guns and they're like yes I know, I know. Mommy really I do.

That's so silly. Izzy has a full personality, face rub is the best present in the world. A long as there is that, all is right in the world! That's really awesome you had such a good ride! Always important to have those rides!

That's really awesome to have some more people possibly go on your trip!! The more the merrier kind of thing it seems! Really awesome. And I like that, anyone is welcome with two hands and common sense. I wish that's how it worked most everywhere lol. But this day common decency, basic respect and any kind of common sense are really super powers!! Super powers of life!

But the trip sounds SO awesome!! I'm really excited for you!! I bet your on something like cloud 9! That's awesome!  can't wait for the pictures!

Also great about the hotel. No one complains about saving money!!


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## Tazzie

Oh yeah, when I was younger I was devastated I couldn't own my own horse. Now looking back, I'm glad I didn't. I had so many more opportunities than if I had owned one! And now I have my match, feisty but fun, just what I like :wink:

Yeah, we're going to hold off on pad buying for now :lol: I'd rather save the cash and get a saddle that we hopefully won't need a half pad with.

Lol, not the kids at all. It's the baby showers, wedding showers, weddings, birthday parties, etc that get sprung on us. Things like the kids and feeding the horses just add to the greatness that is my life.

Yeah, we hadn't schooled too many trotting leg yields, or turns on the forehand, so she was like "umm, can't remember, sorry." I was like "you move off of my leg every day, this is no different." Silly girl! But yes! It was a really good ride, and I'm dying to get on again tonight!

It is the best present ever! She was so darn happy, it was cute! And she always knows when it was a good ride. She puffs herself all up like "I did good!" Lots of treats and hugs for it!

Oh my gosh, I'm just so excited! I'll be a tight fit heading up though haha! Two kids in the back, with maybe me in the back, or we sit three across in the front seat! Heavy items in the bed of the truck, important tack secured in the gooseneck part of the trailer, and the dogs will be in the tack room on their beds. Not super ideal, but going to have to happen! But she's my best friend, so I'm pumped! We'll probably drive Nick insane, but it's ok! He'll have his toy in the trailer with Izzie (yes, Izzie has ridden with quads in the back with her in it... just going to have his side by side in it this time lol!) And she's fabulous! It is sad common sense isn't common anymore, but my friend has it! I'd love to see if former trainer/boss would give my friend a lesson while we are there lol even if it's on Izzie!

I'm far past cloud 9 hahaha! I'm super excited but also super nervous! I've still been trying to get a lesson in. The girl I called a while back said she'd call, but hasn't. Planned to send her another message to see if she could call me soon. I want a lesson or two before going up there! And the one I had been riding with hasn't gotten back to me either. I think we're unlocking some good stuff since Nick knows what I'm looking for more, but I really want an educated eye watching me. Frustrating sometimes not being able to secure a lesson! There will definitely be pictures this go around! And video! GAH! So excited!!!

Heck no I won't complain about saving money! Any way we can is good in my book!

And Nick and I keep daydreaming about getting this farm. It's out of budget, but house is move in ready and has a barn and fields. It's also dropping in price. But it's also further south than we currently are, longer trip to baby sitter, and both Nick and I work up in Ohio. So it'll add distance to our trip. But, there is a barn and fields so Izzie could come home (once the fields and stalls are fixed up). Just a fun daydream, but probably won't happen. Maybe something better will pop up closer to where we are??

4501 Highway 609, Butler , 41006


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## Tihannah

SO AWESOME to hear what a great ride you had!! I can totally relate! Lol. And I can't WAIT to see pics from your show!! How exciting!! We were supposed to have a schooling show next month, but I haven't heard anything else about it.

I can't wait to see pics for both you and Cassie showing!!


And oh man!! I love that little farm house! Especially the wood ceiling in the living room! I LOVE touches like that in a house. That is my dream as well, to have our own property, but I don't see it happening in the foreseeable future so I will just have to live through you! Lol.


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## Tazzie

Aww, I hope you hear something soon!! I'm hoping we can do a few more dressage shows, but we will see! I'm pretty pumped about how good of a ride we had though! Hoping to repeat it tonight!

I'm hoping there will be some good ones! If my best friend comes up and reads the tests for me, I would have Nick, my mom and my dad all free to record and take pictures. I'm so excited about it though!

Haha, the farm house is cute! Not quite what we'd be searching for, but it has everything else we want land wise. We want nothing less than 10 acres since we plan to have a few cows and make it a "business" of sorts to have the farm exemption (you don't pay taxes on things such as fencing). It piqued my interest since the barn would just take a little bit to be horse ready, and so would the fields. Looks like we'd be able to cut our own hay too, which would be nice. And it doesn't appear super hilly. Nick's plan would be to live in that farm house, build another house on property, and keep that as a guest house :lol: we get pretty invested in our daydream :rofl:


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## Tazzie

Had another superb ride tonight!! Goodness I love this mare! Our leg yields were ok tonight. Nick tried to record it, but he was a bit disappointed. He's like "Babe, this looks way better in person..." so no sharing it (it's not super impressive; he was at the wrong angle)

She is still unsure for the sitting trot. I think I tense up sometimes with it, and need to relax into it. She's at least consistent with it, just not her normal, bigger trot. I felt like it was pretty suspensiony though (doesn't look that way much in video, but it felt awesome!)

I screwed up one of our canter transitions, ugh. We nailed all but one, and that one was totally my fault for not setting us up correctly. I'm pretty pleased overall with it though!

We did a few trot - halt - trot transitions too. Our last one we totally nailed. Nice, square halt followed by a decent transition to trot. I know we can do better, but I'm pleased!

And got over her working three days in a row resentment. She tried to tantrum briefly at the beginning. I sent her straight to work and she gave up pretty quickly.

Love this mare! Syd got a ride as well  You'll hear Syd in the middle too. Poor kids still have an awful cough, ugh!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmXjqTL9lto


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## Tazzie

So, I was watching the video again here at work (I don't have much to do today) and the guy who sits next to me came in and asked how I was doing. I said I was doing great, which is true. He said "Oh yeah?" I said yup, pointed to my screen and said we had a good ride last night. So he watched it. He called her magnificent, just absolutely beautiful, and couldn't believe how docile she looked :lol: I said she's doing really well!

And craziness! Let's add to the craziness that is my Michigan trip!! So you all know my best friend might be joining us on our trip. She sent me a picture of her mare (she does English Pleasure aka saddleseat with her) and said that her mare wanted to go to Michigan and be a dressage pony too! In liberty this mare really can move out like a dressage horse. I said "load her up and we'll take her with us!" Now I'm waiting on my former boss/trainer to let me know when I can call and try and get two stalls! She asked if she'd be laughed out of the ring. I said when I first started riding she wouldn't have. She was looking for white pants today, so hopefully we can get a second stall! Nick is groaning since that means his toy can't go up this time, but I promised him another weekend we would go up and he could go play out on the dunes :lol: I feel bad taking that away, but this would be SO MUCH FUN!! I couldn't sleep last night from the excitement :lol:


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## DanteDressageNerd

Trying to catch up :lol:

The country house is darling!! I can see why you'd be anxious to move there, that looks precious and sweet!!

That ride looks awesome!! I bet the hills and changes of footing will really helps Izzy in the ring too. I wish we had more hills or things to work on, I think it really helps them mentally and physically. As well as to gain exposure! She's a really lovely mare, I've thought this before but I agree she has upper level ability for sure. I also don't think it ever looks as good on camera as it does in person.

Also glad Syd got a chance to ride too! It's gotta make her day 

Good luck getting a lesson set up! I hope you can. Those are always so wonderful and helpful!

I also think arabians tend to be highly intelligent and fully aware of how wonderful they are :lol:

This is mean in humor but well Nick can suck it up and either complain or enjoy the trip with you all! It sounds like it's going to be a blast, especially with two horses going along for the trip!:wink:! I don't blame you for being excited!! I wish I could take Dante to Oregon (where I grew up) and take him out on the trails and gain exposure and to the ocean. You're going to have a great time!


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## Tazzie

Haha, yeah, it was a lot to catch up on!

I like it! Not in the foreseeable future right now, but who knows. I'll either still be there when we are ready, or something better will be available. Trying to have hope :lol:

I was super happy with it! The hills I get a bit tired of. It's hard to tell in the video, but that area slopes toward the trees. That's why I do my canter departs in roughly the same area. I hate asking her to pick up the canter as we are heading slightly downhill. It does give her a lot more stamina though!

Thanks! I had never thought of the upper levels until people started coming out of the wood work and saying "this mare has what it takes!" I know it never looks as good on video, but we still try to capture some of it!

Syd loved it! I basically just held her on and Izzie walked around without me holding her. Since Syd doesn't have her helmet down at the barn, I don't want her riding unassisted. Need to bring it down though since she's showing in lead line end of April, and he's showing in halter (it's a free class) that day as well. Izzie has the cutest jog when we say "jog Izzie jog!"

I'm really hoping so too! I'd been hoping for one for Saturday, but that certainly isn't happening now! Makes me bummed, but what can you do?

That they are! She's no dummy, that's for sure!

I think it'll be a blast! Plus side of taking another horse though is that he wouldn't have to drive. My best friend and I would. He can hang in the back with the kids, and my friend and I will chat it up for our 8 hour drive :lol: The ocean is something I've always wanted to take her to! Though, I doubt it'll ever happen :sad:

OH! And Nick is making me my own tack trunk!! Designing it specifically so it'll hold all of my bottles upright and everything! With wheels for easy hauling and a lip on the lid to double as a moving tool (stack stuff on it) or as a seat (he's going to make a cushion for it). I'm so excited!!


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## evilamc

Ohhhh that tack truck sounds dreammmmmy! My dad made me one a few years ago and I LOVE it but its def not really movable....LOL! Custom made tack trunks are the best!


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## Tazzie

I'm so excited!! I said I wanted one, and he didn't see the purpose of it. Then I told him why I wanted it. He sat down and designed it today :lol: I'll be sure to post pictures as he builds it! He's going to have cedar inside since it's my FAVORITE type of wood!

And OMG GUYS!!!! I am BOUNCING OFF THE WALLS!!!

Called former boss/trainer since my friend wanted to bring her mare up with Izzie and show in the dressage show. Kind of change of pace for her mare, who has only shown saddleseat. I wanted to make sure she would have 2 stalls available for us.

SHE DOES!!!!!! OMG!!!! Told us not to worry about hay, that she would have PLENTY for us (first and second cutting hay!!), and just OMG!

She asked what my friend rides. I said "Well..... her horse is a half Arabian/Saddlebred that has done saddleseat, but she wants to see if her horse would enjoy dressage." She was like "Perfect, it's a schooling show! It's not gaited, is it?" I said "Nope, it's not. She wears plates with a toe clip, but I think they'd be fine for a schooling show." She's totally game!! I asked how much the stalls would be. She's like "Oh man, I'd have to look at the show bill! I don't know what I put!" I said "I saw after 5 pm on Friday was $40." She's like "Then that's what you'll pay. Don't worry about before or after. We'll just put you to work!" I said "I was going to offer up our help!!"

OMG!!!!! I AM SO EXCITED!!! And my best friend texted me saying she's so excited to do this with me too!!! AHHHHHHHH!!!!!


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## Tihannah

That's awesome!! You're going to have so much fun!! I watched the video, too, and Izzie looks fantastic!! Oh how I wish I could get transitions like that outta Tess!

When is the show again?? Talked to my trainer last night and we are indeed still having the schooling show. It's April 30th, so me and Tess are going to be working hard for this one!


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## Tazzie

You'll get there!! We are only just now having better transitions!

The dressage show is May 21st  there are two other shows before that one too haha! My friend wants me to come up with a musical freestyle too, so who knows!! I'm SO excited!! Good luck with yours though!!


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## evilamc

This is mine, going on 3 years and beat up from 2 moves 









And when it was brand new haha



























Downside is when he made it I was riding dressage...so we made it more so for that saddles measurements  My endurance saddles don't fit in it. Its a more permanent "at home" box though. I love the idea of your travel box, can he come make something for my trailer next?


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## Tazzie

That's awesome! Mine will be more like this one though:
Dover's Hardwood Trunk with Bandage Lid | Dover Saddlery

I didn't say anything about a thing in the lid though. It's only going to have one top tray that can slide back and forth, and tall enough to have my saddle in it. Will be interesting to see how it turns out!

He possibly could! He was talking about making one similar to see if it'd sell. Said his dad needs to get into this market since the store bought ones won't be nearly as high of quality as ones Nick or his dad would make. I've never seen better wood working


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## evilamc

I'd love to take my trailer into a repair shop and have the spare tire holder moved OUT of my tack room and to likeeeee the front of my trailer nose? Then I feel like I could move my saddle racks some....then make like a tackbox/mini bed thing in my tack room for camping!


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## Tazzie

That'd be a good idea (moving the spare tire out). And that sounds like a good plan! I hope you can figure something out!


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## DanteDressageNerd

Tazzie said:


> Haha, yeah, it was a lot to catch up on!
> 
> I like it! Not in the foreseeable future right now, but who knows. I'll either still be there when we are ready, or something better will be available. Trying to have hope :lol:
> 
> I was super happy with it! The hills I get a bit tired of. It's hard to tell in the video, but that area slopes toward the trees. That's why I do my canter departs in roughly the same area. I hate asking her to pick up the canter as we are heading slightly downhill. It does give her a lot more stamina though!
> 
> Thanks! I had never thought of the upper levels until people started coming out of the wood work and saying "this mare has what it takes!" I know it never looks as good on video, but we still try to capture some of it!
> 
> Syd loved it! I basically just held her on and Izzie walked around without me holding her. Since Syd doesn't have her helmet down at the barn, I don't want her riding unassisted. Need to bring it down though since she's showing in lead line end of April, and he's showing in halter (it's a free class) that day as well. Izzie has the cutest jog when we say "jog Izzie jog!"
> 
> I'm really hoping so too! I'd been hoping for one for Saturday, but that certainly isn't happening now! Makes me bummed, but what can you do?
> 
> That they are! She's no dummy, that's for sure!
> 
> I think it'll be a blast! Plus side of taking another horse though is that he wouldn't have to drive. My best friend and I would. He can hang in the back with the kids, and my friend and I will chat it up for our 8 hour drive :lol: The ocean is something I've always wanted to take her to! Though, I doubt it'll ever happen :sad:
> 
> OH! And Nick is making me my own tack trunk!! Designing it specifically so it'll hold all of my bottles upright and everything! With wheels for easy hauling and a lip on the lid to double as a moving tool (stack stuff on it) or as a seat (he's going to make a cushion for it). I'm so excited!!



That is true. But who knows, something better may come along!

I can imagine it gets exhausting to ride on the hills, it definitely would make certain exercises very difficult or unsafe to try. But there are good things in riding hills too! And long terms it's up to you and what you want and what makes you happy, I think she can do whatever you want.

But I'm glad Izzy takes care of her and is aware that she has a little passenger on her back. Always good to have a horse with kindness and that kind of awareness. I'm really glad you have a horse who is so good about it.

Unfortunately not a whole lot when you're relying on other people to work things through with you. But good luck!

lol I'm sure Nick will enjoy the trip with the kids and you'll enjoy talking with your friend. I think it sounds like you'll have a grand time.

And the tack trunk sounds like it will be really nice! You'll have to post pictures when he finishes!


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## Tazzie

It just may!

And yeah :sad: it's hard to do some things on the hills. We do have a flatter area we can ride in, but it's the hay field. I can't ride in it until they cut the hay this year. But they said they will cut it first this go around! So I should have it in a couple of months tops! I hate riding in the area we are in now, but that's all we have. We make it work though.

Going to the higher levels would make me immensely happy! I just didn't think we'd ever even hit second when we bought her :lol:

I am too  she's a good sport and loves my daughter. It works out well!

Yeah, I haven't had a chance to message her yet, but hoping to today. Tired of being busy! And now my in laws want to take me and the kids to the zoo. I know it'll be fun, but I'm sitting here like "well, there goes my one day this week that was able to relax and clean up my house..."

I'm sure he will to! And we won't be at the barn ALL the time. I promised him we wouldn't, and we have a lot to show my friend  I'm excited for it!

I think it'll look awesome! I'll definitely post pictures


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## DanteDressageNerd

I hope so. I hope it all works out in a weird, magical way that is too perfect to be merely coincidental lol. It works that way sometimes 

Okay. Gotcha. That makes a lot of sense. Sometimes you just have to make do with what you have and try to find the perks of the situation. Transition uphill is definitely one, developing fitness, stamina, push power, etc.

lol I understand. That's like when my trainer told me Dante wouldn't go past 3rd level because his canter probably would never be uphill enough but it's funny how good training/riding can change things. It just amazes me how some horses with good riding/training improve by leaps and bounds and others improve minimally. It's really neat. Picking horses is an art. And it's a neat journey. And you picked well. Izzy is a really nice mare!

I think that's really awesome!! Izzy is such a smart mare. I think mares are more "aware" about those sort of things. I know I've said this but I've seen mares where if someone doesn't know what they're doing they'll really look after their riders in a way geldings usually wont. lol I prefer mares but mares just put in the extra effort and maybe they'll be more touchy about things but they'll try their heart out or at least that's been my experience.

Totally makes sense. I bet you need some down, alone or chill time with how busy your schedule has been. Everyone needs some time to themselves and do chores. 

That sounds really cool! I've never been to Michigan but I hear there are a lot of really cool things to visit, see and do! I'm sure you'll have a great time!

Pictures are a must! Or maybe even when he gets the main structure done, that's a really nice gift!


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## Tazzie

I hope so too!

The transitions uphill are definitely nice. Just you run into anticipation issues. We work through them, but it does get old after a while.

Exactly! I was watching the video of us from earlier while I sat with Nick. I was like "do you see her back?? Look at how flat it is! She's actually USING herself consistently now!" I'm pretty proud of how far we've come. And thank you  I followed my gut with her. Best gut decision I've ever made. Nick jokes that he picked her :lol: he technically bought her for me after we were engaged :lol:

I love her smart sense. She truly is one brilliant mare. Nick was learning to ride on her one day while she was still pretty green. He has trouble with posting since it's confusing to him. He kind of was sliding off her off side. She side stepped under him and stopped so he could regain his balance. I was like "hun, most babies would NEVER do what she just did for you." She stops whenever she feels a kiddo is unbalanced too. I wouldn't trade her for anything!

Ugh, yeah. And this weekend didn't go how I'd planned at all *sigh*

I know we will! I'm so pumped! I truly can't wait! And she's been telling me how her riding has been going! We are hoping since it's such a radically different ring that her mare won't do her typical show trot. She CAN trot nice and long, we've seen it. Just won't do it in our typical show setting. We shall see!

I'll be sure to post pictures! I'm a bit bummed since his dad talked him into using pine instead of cedar :sad: but it'll still look awesome! I'll be excited to see how it finishes up!

------------------------------------------------------------------------

And this weekend did NOT go as planned. At all.

Hadn't planned to ride Friday since we had Nick's Grandma's birthday. Stayed there for a little bit, then came home to bed.

I had planned to ride Saturday morning before we went to the zoo at 10 am. But Nick was called into work around 3 am. I don't deny him overtime if I can help it since we use a lot of weekends for showing where he can't work. He got home around 8:30 and we left for the zoo around 10. Mother in law was like "it's ok; you'll have plenty of time to ride after the zoo." HA! We left the zoo because the winds were picking up REALLY badly. It actually got a bit nerve wreaking how bad the wind was blowing. I texted Nick when we got home to see what he was doing. He was working on my trunk, but said he'd leave if I was planning on riding. I said it's FAR too dangerous to ride in this wind. So he kept going on the trunk. He ended up getting called into work just after 7 pm due to roughly 50k people out of power.

Sunday I'd hoped to ride, and had a baby shower and Easter celebration planned. Well, none of those happened. Nick got home around 12:30 pm. I caught what the kids had and couldn't sit vertical at all. I still feel miserable now. Needless to say, I didn't go to the shower or Easter, and Nick slept so I didn't ride either. He had to go back into work at 8 pm, so he left around 7:15 pm.

Now, he's on his way home from work, where he will sleep for a bit I'm sure. I'm toughing it out at work for now because I still feel like crap but don't want to take a vacation day. I may end up leaving early since I feel crummy still. No intention to ride since I can barely hold my arms up let alone ride. I texted my best friend and said I wished she lived closer... I'd have her ride Izzie since she needs the exercise. Just *sigh* I now understand why the kids were so whiny. This cold is AWFUL.


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## DanteDressageNerd

I'm sorry to hear you're sick and didn't get to ride over the weekend, that's a bummer but I totally understand about wind. Some days it's just not worth it, especially with as strong as the winds can get. Or being too sick to ride. But yikes. Colds suck!! Some arent bad but I've had some ugly ones this year, so I get it.

I could see where it might be fun to school on the hills once in a while and then other times be like and I'm over it, if it's all the time. 

That's great. It takes a while to get the back consistent but that's good! And that's really sweet, I'm glad he bought you Izzy. That's a good present, though he can't claim he picked her out if he footed the bill but you made the decisions lol. I get about ugly phases though, Dante wasn't super ugly when I bought him but as a coming 5yr old he looked about 3 inches downhill with a swan neck. You just don't know how they're going to mature and the neat thing about good dressage training is it changes aspects of their conformation. It definitely changes their posture. But I think it's cool!

I don't know very many fully broke horses that would do something like that! What a smart cookie! That's truly a blessing to have a horse that cares that much about her rider or who is smart enough to just stop if someone is unbalanced to help the rider. That's awesome!

I believe it. Some of those saddle seat or country pleasure horses can move extremely well. I hope the dressage lessons go well for her though I always think saddleseat and dressage are very opposite of one another. Saddle seat likes horses hollowed out and pacey, dressage wants working over the back and relaxed.

Dang, why'd he end up choosing pine over cedar? I've always thought of cedar as a hardier kind of wood and pine as being kinda "soft."

It sounds like Nick is working a lot but at least he's getting more hours. Always helpful! Though I don't blame him for needing the rest :lol: Those sound like exhausting hours, especially when being on the job working towards getting power back. 

I hope you feel better soon though! Get some rest when you can! But I'm with you on still going to work, definitely not worth a sick day!


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## Tazzie

Yeah, this one is a doozy. I had a fever and achy all over last night. Couldn't sit upright at all. Absolutely miserable, and now understand why the kiddos were whiny. My throat still hurts really bad, but I at least feel slightly better. Going to attempt to eat soon.

And I'm totally over hills right now :lol:

Haha, I know! He does call her his horse a lot too :lol: I do openly admit Izzie was pretty ugly when we bought her :lol: I just saw something there. And that's why I love Dressage lol

No kidding! It's a pretty uncommon thing in general, and she wasn't fully broke either. We got SUPER lucky with her!

They definitely are opposite of each other, but I think her mare needs a change of pace. I'm just glad my friend wants to try something different with her 

I think his dad told him to use pine. I have a feeling they were either out of or close to being out of cedar. I'm disappointed, but I'll live.

He really is working a lot. Pretty much only got roughly 8 hrs off yesterday, and that included drive time. I now get irritated when people complain about being out of power for a while. I can promise you there are guys out there trying to get everyone back on the grid... I think Nick really only saw me and the kids for a total of about 4 or 5 hours this entire weekend due to work. So I get crabby when people whine about no power :lol:

I plan to! I got THE BEST text message from our friend/barn owner. He was supposed to be out of town tonight, so we had to feed. Nick was just going to go down there earlier to feed since no way do I feel up to riding. Well, our friend will be home for the night! So he's feeding! SO THANKFUL! And yeah, most of my hard work is done now. Just trivial stuff from here on out, thank goodness.


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## DanteDressageNerd

Lol he just wants to share in the joy and wonder of Izzy lol but no you definitely picked well. I think sometimes people or animals just come into our lives that are just everything we didn't know we needed or wanted. And I think those are the moments where you're like you know a lot of crap has happened but thank God it did or I wouldn't have this person or animal in my life. Sometimes good things happen that make all the bad stuff worth it  She's a special mare, I wish Dante was more like that. I think some of these crosses just grow ugly and you don't know how they'll turn out but maybe it's in how they move or something and you see something others don't?

Kudos to your friend for trying something new. I hope she likes it  its addicting!

Well it sounds like it will be a special gift!

I hope it's one that is awful and over with quickly :/ being sick is never fun. Especially it's messing you up that much.

Jesus. I've worked hours like that before. I think the longest shift Ive worked was 48hrs straight in the Marines. Theyll work you to death or not at all. Definitely NOT fun, at least it's not always like that. And hopefully he gets some rest, those hours and times are exhausting. No I can say I'm very thankful for people like Nick who are technically skilled and able to build and do the absolute necessary tasks we need to function in our modern society. Definitely under appreciated work. So I can imagine the frustration when people complain when your husband and people like him are missing their families, sleep and whatever else to get the power back on. Plus we're a VERY spoiled nation :lol: we're kinda used to getting whatever we want, whenever we want it. 

And awesome someone else is willing to feed while you rest, take care of kids and get better!


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## Tazzie

He definitely has shared every step of the way so far  she definitely was very gangly/ugly growing up. But she always had gaits that would make me stop to watch. Now, everyone else sees what I saw way back then. It's kind of cool really lol

She's done dressage before, just never with this mare. She likes it enough, but she grew up riding saddleseat and is addicted to that. She's in a sticky spot right now though. She's been offered two different jobs. If she takes one, her and her boyfriend won't live together anymore, but she'd still get to go to Michigan. If she takes the other, she'd be able to stay where she is, but not go to Michigan and possibly not be able to show her horse this year. That is, IF she takes those jobs. She's not sure what she wants to do. Either way, both jobs comes with giving something up :sad: I just told her I support her in whatever she decides to do.

I fortunately feel A LOT better today. Still have a sore throat, and my head is a bit stuffed, but overall better. Going to ride this evening, then have a meeting for the show committee I'm on. Hopefully Izzie is good after having nearly a week off :lol: stupid cold, stupid rain, stupid wind!

They won't allow anyone to work past 16 hrs now. Rule the company put in. He did work worse hours before that though. He also was sent out of town when superstorm Sandy hit. Worked 16 hour days up there. And yeah, we are a nation of wanting what we want, right now. I wanted my husband home, but people needed power restored. As of yesterday morning he said only 1k were out. They got around 49k people their power back on in roughly 36 hours. I'd say that's pretty good!

It was nice! He's the one who normally feeds, we just feed for him when he's out of town. It was a nice text though! We made homemade chicken soup instead :lol: it was SOO good!

And....

Progress pics of my trunk!! Have I mentioned I loved my husband??

The tray will be a sliding back and forth tray for inside of it. The parts that have little cubbies are for anything sprayable, like fly spray, my braid aid, her detangler, etc. He totally designed this himself, and I'm loving it! :loveshower::loveshower:


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## DanteDressageNerd

Tazzie said:


> He definitely has shared every step of the way so far
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> she definitely was very gangly/ugly growing up. But she always had gaits that would make me stop to watch. Now, everyone else sees what I saw way back then. It's kind of cool really lol
> 
> She's done dressage before, just never with this mare. She likes it enough, but she grew up riding saddleseat and is addicted to that. She's in a sticky spot right now though. She's been offered two different jobs. If she takes one, her and her boyfriend won't live together anymore, but she'd still get to go to Michigan. If she takes the other, she'd be able to stay where she is, but not go to Michigan and possibly not be able to show her horse this year. That is, IF she takes those jobs. She's not sure what she wants to do. Either way, both jobs comes with giving something up
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I just told her I support her in whatever she decides to do.
> 
> I fortunately feel A LOT better today. Still have a sore throat, and my head is a bit stuffed, but overall better. Going to ride this evening, then have a meeting for the show committee I'm on. Hopefully Izzie is good after having nearly a week off
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> stupid cold, stupid rain, stupid wind!
> 
> They won't allow anyone to work past 16 hrs now. Rule the company put in. He did work worse hours before that though. He also was sent out of town when superstorm Sandy hit. Worked 16 hour days up there. And yeah, we are a nation of wanting what we want, right now. I wanted my husband home, but people needed power restored. As of yesterday morning he said only 1k were out. They got around 49k people their power back on in roughly 36 hours. I'd say that's pretty good!
> 
> It was nice! He's the one who normally feeds, we just feed for him when he's out of town. It was a nice text though! We made homemade chicken soup instead
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> it was SOO good!
> 
> And....
> 
> Progress pics of my trunk!! Have I mentioned I loved my husband??
> 
> The tray will be a sliding back and forth tray for inside of it. The parts that have little cubbies are for anything sprayable, like fly spray, my braid aid, her detangler, etc. He totally designed this himself, and I'm loving it!


Wow!! That trunk looks like it's going to be beautiful!! 

I think a lot of babies are really ugly and awkward growing up but sometimes if they move well or have a certain way they carry themselves, I think you know they'll turn into something. I honestly think a lot of people lack imagination and only see what is there, not what is going to be there. I think if you have a good eye you can pick up on talent that may not be obvious to everyone else. Valegro and Totilas are good examples of this. Totilas's 5yr old video was very unimpressive and Valegro watching him go long and low is also not super remarkable. But under saddle with brilliant riders are phenomenal!! Nip Tuck is also very plain and Legolas92 but through good riding/training are international class.

That's really sad about your friend :-( that's why I hate being an adult, so many choices and all kind of repercussions and sometimes choosing the least amount of suck of a situation if there is one :-( but I hope she gets it worked out and is happy. Adulting is really hard sometimes!

I hope your ride on Izzy goes well! So glad to hear you're feeling better and the missery isn't lasting! Izzy might be a little wild but I bet she'll be good and you'll have a good ride! Lol positive energy!

Absolutely! We're all at fault for wanting but it's human :lol: I'm glad they put a limit on work hours, definitely dangerous when people work days on end sleep deprived. You make a lot of mistakes, I know when I was up for 48hrs I was a mess but my uniform and hair was on point. And it sounds like they worked incredibly hard and got the power on for people. I'm very thankful for people like your husband. We definitely need them!! Hope he can rest some soon!

It sounds like it was a good restful day  chicken soup really is good for the soul lol. The broth is great when sick. Especially homemade. Homemade soup is amazing!


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## Tazzie

It definitely does look like it'll be gorgeous! I can't wait to see the finished product :lol: he's been working hard on it!

Exactly! She just had something about her. And I knew with good training I could get it out of her. We haven't gotten to the bottom of her potential yet, which is exciting to me! I know there is SO much more to her!

I'm really bummed  she'll let me know what happens, but I really only want the best for her. I don't know which that is in this situation. Only she really knows where she wants to go. Just makes me sad she may not go on this adventure with me 

Definitely positive energy! I imagine a bit harried of a warmup with more cantering than I'd desire, but then she'll buckle down with her thinking cap on. This mare won't allow my normal warmup, which was frustrating to me. I was always taught walk, walking leg yields, trot, trotting leg yields, then canter. Nope. She throws a FIT if you try to leg yield before her canter. After she canters it's like she goes "ok, NOW I'm ready to work." :icon_rolleyes: once that excess energy is spent, she'll be good. I'm dying to get back on though!! I'm hoping to ride as much as possible this week. She'll have Sunday off since we are heading to Columbus for the Equine Affaire. I'm excited!

Yeah, handling electricity and being exhausted are really not a good combination. I was SO glad the company figured that out! Way safer for Nick.

I love homemade chicken soup. Add a bit of garlic to help with the cold, and we all feel a lot better today. Now if my sore throat and stuffy head could just vanish :lol: but at least I have a lot of my strength back! I had very little yesterday!


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## DanteDressageNerd

That's awesome he's skilled and can make you such an awesome present! That's really cool to me! 

Oh absolutely! She's a talented mare and I definitely agree there is a lot more in her. I think too when you've sat on a horse and you feel certain things you know they're the kind that will just get better and better with training, rather than tapping out.

Makes sense to me. I'd want my good friend with me on an adventure, definitely adds to the joy and fun. I hope she's happy with whatever decision she makes and what is best for her. It's good to want what is best for them but human to still want the adventure :lol: Maybe there is an unforeseen option where she's super happy and gets to go on the road trip with you?

lol it's funny how they all have their little ideas of I will listen but only if I get my way in something. I rode a horse who wouldn't cooperate, unless he felt like he was getting away with something. I hope the ride went well though! But I can understand if she's a little rambunctious in the beginning, I think some of them are like oh this is awesome we're working! I'm excited, my adrenaline is up!

For sure! I hope more companies figure that out, sleep deprivation is not a joke. Definitely glad they realized the importance of rest for better and safer work.

Aww that sounds great! I'm glad your back to full health and feeling better. Good soup can do that. I used to make what I call a "sick" soup with spinach, blended in blender after cooking a bit with chicken stock, than I'd add freshly ground ginger and garlic, then I'd put it back in the pot and add cut up chicken, sauteed onions, salt, pepper and I can't remember what else but it was actually pretty good.


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## Tazzie

He's pretty awesome! I wish he had more patience with the wood working. He is as gifted as his dad is with wood, but finds it frustrating since wood working is very rarely immediate results. He also enjoys stained glass, which is also gorgeous. He made my mom a stained glass box with a labrador head in stained glass, and for my dad he had our three universities (I went to University of Kentucky, middle brother went to University of Michigan, and youngest brother went to Purdue) in stained glass and made a box around it. Both were lit from within so they didn't need sunlight to look gorgeous.

Definitely! I just remind myself there is no need to rush lol She's one you could just keep asking more of until she broke. She won't let you be totally unfair, but you could easily rush her up the levels.

I'm hoping she can still go! Her and I have done a lot of adventures together, and this one would be the most fun. She knows how much this show truly means to me. I mean, I get to show at A LOT of cool places that a lot of others don't get to (at the Kentucky Horse Park, gearing up for regionals, having a husband willing to go to the East Coast when Sport Horse Nationals is back this way...) but this one means WAY more. It's kind of back to my roots, back to where my love of dressage began. And it's kind of overwhelming I'll be showing my personal horse, the horse I waited my life for, back where I learned to ride. To have her there with me, and to show her own mare for fun, would be just an indescribable feeling. Heck, even Nick is saying he hopes she can still go. And if she can't, he could bring his toy. Says a lot about how Nick's view has changed on just what this show means to me.

Haha, yeah! I'm like "NO! You need to do this!" and she's like "NO! I NEED to canter!" I've quit trying to do things my way and let her warm up how she needs to. We get in A LOT less fights that way. Then she usually works beautifully afterward. Just frustrates me that she can't take the easier way :lol:

It really isn't! I wish more companies figured that out too. Poor Nick is still catching up on sleep, ugh.

And yeah, the soup is perfect! Think I'll be making the rest of it tonight. I'm not back to 100% yet. Throat is super sore, and my head is a bit stuffy, but I'm A LOT better than I was. So I'll take it haha!

----------------------------------------------------------------------

As for the ride...

Well, let's just say yesterday did NOT go as planned. At all.

Nick got out there before I did, and as he was driving out though "Hmmm, that sure looks like she's out in the bean field." (Note: beans were harvested last year; it's just grass right now). Sure enough, she was. Nick grabbed her halter and headed out to get her. She never leaves the area, just goes right outside the fence. Izzie saw Nick coming, flagged her tail, trotted back into the field, turned around and looked at him like "I wasn't out! I've been here next to Peppy this entire time!" Nick walked right up and caught her. Darn pony! Deer ripped down part of the fence, so we fixed it. The other two never leave.

Got her ready, and hopped on. She was WOUND UP. Did walk-trot-canter, with her fighting me to let her GO. Transitions were so dang gorgeous too! Let her have a break, then picked back up contact....

Cued her to trot, and something felt wrong. She wasn't fighting me since she'd gotten her edge off and was willing to work. But something wasn't right. I looked down and saw only her left front in the trot. Didn't see her right front. Asked Nick if she was short in the right front. He said yeah, she was. He recorded it for me so I could see. It is SOOO slight, but it's there. She did this last year when the weather was going hot-cold-hot-cold and then windy. She gets going too hard in her field and tweaks something. So, I hopped off. Was bummed since she wanted to work, but won't ride if she's short striding.

Needless to say, she has today off to try and rest up a bit more. Hoping tomorrow she'll be back to 100%. Didn't take her long last time either to come right. Just frustrating in general.

She did enjoy some extra scratches though! We just spent some time with her after we fixed the fence, which she loved. Gave her lots of scratches and pats. Asked her if she wanted to come home with us and she followed us into the barn and looked at us like "well, aren't you bringing me home??" One day...

Cute video of her lips though as I was scratching her withers :lol:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nW0pGs6_8rs


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## DanteDressageNerd

I'd say so! How many people have the skills to do wood work and stained glass? That's really neat! But hat stained glass piece you described sounds absolutely gorgeous!! That's pretty neat he's that talented at things. People with that kind of talent always amaze me!

For sure. Some of them move up the levels pretty quickly. I've seen people move horses up quickly and do it well, like the horse is trained completely not just rushed and held together and the horse is mentally ready and I've seen people just move them up, rush through training and miss all the important bits. She seems like she has the work ethic of will work herself into the ground for you if you ask but you always have to pull back to avoid being greedy because if you ask she'll give it. And you'll get there! It's the journey, not the destination to be entirely cliche :lol:

It makes a lot of sense to me. Going home showing how far you've come, your horse and seeing all the places you know and grew up with and being able to bring your childhood dream to life. Like your living your dream. Sounds really cool to me! I hope it all works out for you all! And glad Nick's grown on everything. But I hope she can still go too, it sounds like you all would have a blast together.

lol maybe it just opens her up and makes her feel loose and nimble for the laterals *shrugs* horse logic, just gotta go with it sometimes lol.

At least it was only a few days and not all the time, so he can catch up on sleep. Though not a fun task!

Well at least you're doing better and close to being at full capacity and enthusiasm.

I'm sorry she got into the bean field but at least the fence is fixed and no more little adventures. But I'm sorry to hear she was a little off, hopefully she'll be better tomorrow like you said and just did something silly. Darn horses, always something! 

The back scratching video is cute! It looks like she's saying mom scratch harder! Dont stop, scratch! It itches so bad! I could see her being the one who would go up on your porch or stick her head threw your window if she had access.


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## Tazzie

I'll try to get pictures of the stained glass stuff when I go back to my mom and dad's! It really is gorgeous!

Exactly! I also wish we could have consistent work with a trainer. I know we would be further along if we did. I make do with the few I get, but even Nick was saying last night he wishes I could be in consistent work with one. Sadly, right now the budget doesn't allow for weekly or biweekly lessons. It'll happen some day! She's not going anywhere!

Definitely  I mean, we go home regularly (Nick calls them our mini vacations when we go see my parents lol), but to haul my girl up is just amazing! I may be freaking out as I go up there like "OMG, this is really happening!!" I'm hoping so! She texted me yesterday and I actually laughed in my cubicle lol she was like "If Cliff doesn't want his trailer gone for that long, we could use mine if I can still go." I LAUGHED at that. One, Cliff doesn't care at all. Two, neither do we. BUT, Cliff's trailer is a slant load. My friend's is a straight load. My friend is wary about hauling with a slant load (she doesn't care for them; it's just what we can use). I said "Hunnie, you know Cliff doesn't care. But we figured we would take yours so Sadie doesn't have to ride in a slant." She said "LMFAO, you know me too well." I sure do :lol: Izzie doesn't care either. Long as there is hay, she's good with whatever!

That was our theory too! I just roll with it. Not worth the argument :lol:

Yeah, he's slowly catching up on it! I think he was better this morning 

Yup! Though, now it settled in my chest, ugh!

We honestly just laughed. She won't leave the other horses, and the others stay put. We laughed at her pretending not to be out. And yeah, it's a VERY slight off. No head bobbing or anything, and multiple friends only saw it because I point blank said "Where is this horse ouchy?" then they pegged it. But they were like "I never would have seen that...." She did this last year before this show too. The weather yoyos, and storms, so I can't ride for close to a week. She's super fit and gets wound up. And she's less than graceful out in the field. I won't get to ride today since it's raining (joyous...) but I do plan to lunge her to see how she's looking. If she's looking good, we will aim for a light ride tomorrow (when it's NOT raining). And she gets her feet trimmed today.

She totally would! Nick was like "let's just fence the entire property and let her roam around like a dog..." I said I'd be cool with that :lol: she's my baby girl. She wanted me to keep going, which is why she swung her head around. I'd stopped, and she nudged me to keep going :lol: I guess she was all lovey dovey with Nick last night when he went to feed. I love my big girl!


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## DanteDressageNerd

That would be awesome! The stained glass really sounds beautiful!

You will at some point. The good thing is Izzy is still young so there is plenty of time. Training is expensive but I agree it'll happen!

That's really funny but I'm glad you're getting to take your girlie home with you, so it really is a family affair vacation. The whole family including the horse! I couldnt imagine a more perfect vacation! It sounds like she was subtely aiming to use the straight load :lol: what is her objection to a slant load. I've heard all kinds of opinions both ways.

No definitely not! That's like with Sporty, every warm up he'd buck into the first few canter transitions. He does a squealing buck that is actually pretty funny and I usually had no steering until he was able to canter then he was like okay we can steer now lol. Funny how they can be.

Makes sense to me. I think it's funny how they totally know when they're not meant to be doing something and try to play it off like they were doing nothing. They're like little kids :lol: I hope the hoof trim goes well and she's looking better. And for sure the weather being as up and down as it has been can definitely mess with them. Even we get sensitive to the weather or it affects us and our moods.

That's adorable :lol: she's like mom I need scratches now!! I wrote something but then I realized if read a certain way it could be construed as inappropriate lol. But that sounds fun, though I could imagine her getting curious and managing to find all kinds of trouble. Like kids, oh what does this button do. If I knock it over with my nose what will happen?


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## Tazzie

Yup, I keep reminding myself she's young and we have all the time in the world :lol: I just appreciate Nick being on board for more lessons!

It really is! I'm so excited for it! Apparently my grandma is going to come out and watch us show, which will be cool. The lady who officiated our wedding is super bummed she will be out of town that day, but mom told her I could probably ride for her on Thursday or Friday. Of course I said yes :lol: and she had a really scary trailer accident back in 2013 with that mare. The trailer caught the lip of the road just right and flipped on it's side. Had her mare been in a slant load, all that weight would have been on her neck. So she doesn't want to risk it (though Nick said it'd take something worse than that to flip a gooseneck). And we are laid back enough that it doesn't bother us what we take. Izzie will ride in pretty much anything, so it's fine.

Haha, yeah. Not a big enough deal to fight it!

Oh yeah. She finds her own fun, and that fun comes with consequences at times. Darn horse! Haha

That is exactly how she is :lol: she is into EVERYTHING she can!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, no riding today. Chance of rain starting at 1 and going through 9 pm. SO tired of the rain!! Going to be cold tomorrow (42 degrees) but we are going to get a ride in!

Yesterday she had her feet trimmed! More GREAT comments from the farrier about how awesome her feet are, and he commented on how hard they were! I said really??? This mare LIVED in keratex for years. I started her on the Dumor hoof supplement I got at TSC, but then ended up switching to the SmartHoof through SmartPak since it ended up cheaper and I didn't have to drive to it. I guess it's working well!! SO happy! Nick was with me too, and him and the farrier chatted basically the entire time :lol: Nick is usually super quiet, so it was amazing he was so chatting. And Izzie has nicely trimmed feet! Farrier said they were at the perfect trimming length. Not too long, but not too short.

And Izzie is definitely not off now! This mare was full of **** and vinegar last night! I'd popped her on the lunge to see if she was off at all. We didn't have time to actually ride since the farrier would be arriving soon. And good lord. Izzie just wanted to gallop around and around. Nick took a video the second time we went left. We had already gone to the left and right to see if she was off. Nope, she's good. After she got all of her crazies out, she did some nice walk-trot-canter work. Silly pony :lol:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coixjG0bFlQ


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## DanteDressageNerd

For sure. It's so good that he gets it, rather than being like well we have a horse why do you have to pay someone to teach you while riding your horse.

Aww that's awesome!! What a great support network you have back home. That's pretty awesome! 

Okay that makes a lot of sense to me. I've heard a lot of horseman prefer straight loads because of emergency situations. They say they're better if something goes wrong. But I think it's down to opinion, pros and cons of each but I've never owned a trailer to know. Just usually had horses hauled in a slant load. Dante hauled from PA to NC and NC to MO in a slant load.

lol but her curiosity and innovative thinking are probably also what makes her a good dressage horse. She thinks about things and likes to think. I think "thinkers" make happier dressage partners. It also keeps her plenty interesting and expressive on the ground too!

The video cracked me up. I kept thinking she's such an arab with the little bit of cross firing and trying to run her back legs off. lol it looks like she was having a blast :lol: glad she's sound sound but sorry the weather is not cooperating :-( 

That's awesome that the hoof supplement is helping her feet out so much that you don't have to use keratex anymore. Also glad Nick got to have a good chat with the farrier. It sounds like an overall good time.


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## Tazzie

Oh yeah, he totally gets it. He knows we won't be able to progress much further since I'm kind of at my limit of what I knew, training up the levels wise. Sure, I can read stuff. But I'd rather someone coach me through it. I'm really hoping next year I can have more lessons!

I'm pretty pumped about it!

Yeah, it was scary. She was terrified opening the door of the trailer. She wasn't sure what she'd see. Her mare was partially standing looking at her like "Umm, get me out please." They got her out easily, and then she loaded fine into the next trailer the following day (where it happened was right near a vet clinic, so they walked her to it). She has no ill effects from it. I had only dealt with straight loads until we started borrowing our friend/barn owner's trailer. I'm not entirely sure what we would get in a trailer. I kind of want a straight, but Nick wants a slant so he can haul his toy too. Who knows.

She is definitely a thinker. You can't drill things or she gets mad. Have to change things up. But she wants to please. Will make it fun to move up the levels with her 

Oh she was totally having a blast. I would look at her and say "stop that cross firing" and she'd typically swap the lead, or come to a trot and try again :lol: she was certainly trying to run those back legs off haha I'm glad I could let her have time to just expend some energy.

And yeah, this weather bites. It was pouring when I came home today. Tired of the weather. There may be a chance of rain tomorrow, but I'm riding. Hoping to ride Sunday too. Last I checked there is a chance of rain Monday too, but I'm hoping not.

I am SO glad too! I want to keep her feet in tip top shape! And it was a good time 

OH! I forgot to tell you all! So I had a show committee meeting on Tuesday, and at the end of it they were talking about an enrichment day they are holding next Saturday (the 16th). I said we had the chiro that day (just a check over since a big show is the following week), but looked at the paper. They have a dressage clinic with one of the local girls. I still haven't heard back from the girl (she was going to try calling, but hasn't; I texted her and asked if there was a time I could call her and haven't heard back). Thought why not to see if they had a spot. Called Wednesday, and she had a morning spot (before the chiro), so we snagged it! She remembers who I am, and that I ride a half Arab. I'm excited to see what she has us do!


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## Tazzie

So, totally crazy... but almost immediately after I posted this, I got a text from said trainer! She'd been at a clinic in Indianapolis, and was just now able to get back to me. She asked when we were thinking of a lesson in the coming week (!!!!!), and that the weather was supposed to be much nicer. I said as long as we could haul there, anytime around 6:30 pm would be fabulous! She said she had Tuesday and Friday, and would I be free to call her now. Instead of responding, I just went ahead and called.

I. Am. So. EXCITED!!

We discussed what all we had been doing (just walk, trot, canter, leg yield), and that we've mostly just done rail classes. She asked if she could go out and come back within the gait (primarily the trot and canter). I said yes, she could, since we've had to do that for the rail classes. She seems pretty excited and said she'll start working with me to get Izzie working shoulder in, half pass, etc. Said she starts with all of that on the ground, then translate it to saddle.

She asked what happened with my previous trainer. I explained her father passed away, she sold her big horse, and I just wasn't sure where she was sitting on outside lessons. That we haven't been able to work out lessons that worked for us, and that I'd only had a few with her. Said I was at a point now where Izzie was telling me she's ready to move forward, and I am too, just lacking the ability to do so.

It was a nice chat. She said out of everyone she's seen me compete against, that we are the only ones that seem like we are actually properly put together. I said we've heard that a few times over the show season from judges happy with how she's ridden.

I am just so excited!!! FINALLY getting some lessons in! It'll be a bit back to back, but Izzie is fit. She should be good


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## DanteDressageNerd

It's really hard to do it on your own. I entirely get it. That's how I felt with Dante last year when I was on my own. It's hard to go alone.

Yikes!! Thank god her mare was okay and she wasn't too upset about it. Extremely lucky! lol well I figure the wife always has the final say on stuff like that :lol:

For sure. I'm biased to thinkers but I don't think drilling is super productive in general. I always want a horse to think and listen, I don't like them to anticipate. It's a pet peeve of mine :lol: listen, don't skip ahead.

lol she's all arabian in her brain. I was thinking such an arab. Dante does the same thing when he's wound up :lol: arabians just have a distinctive way of moving.

I hope the weather clears up so you can get some riding in! Hopefully soon but it is spring time.

That's really awesome about the clinic and lessons!! Super exciting! It sounds like it will be really fun and awesome to start moving in that direction! You should be excited! lessons are awesome!


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## Tazzie

It was terrifying when she told me. Her mare only had minor bumps and scratches, which is a miracle.

Definitely whatever I'll want :lol: we are going to go through some trailers tomorrow at Equine Affaire to see if we like any. Not buying right now, but getting ideas.

Totally agree! I HATE anticipation of any sort. I want her waiting for me. Thankfully she's getting better not anticipating anything. But she definitely uses her brain well!

They sure do! I just watched and waited for her to calm down :lol:

Yeah, but spring doesn't know what it wants to do haha!

I'm SO pumped! I told Nick how excited I am about it! I'm hoping Maggie (the trainer I've been working to get a hold of) is a great fit for us. I know she loved Izzie when she met her, so it should be fun! Just needs to hurry up and be Friday already :lol:

I did ride today. It was COLD. It was MUDDY. And warming up she was a pill. Not wanting to bend, wanting to rush through it, just naughty. Got through the only canter of the day (I HATE cantering in the slick mud, but knew we would get nothing productive done if we didn't). Gave her a break after the canter, the picked up and just did leg yields. Get her listening to me, get her bending, get her moving away from my legs. She was still stubborn, but did it. Picked up the sitting trot and just did some trot leg yields. Had a few REALLY good ones, and called it a day. My cold has me worn out, and I was quickly losing energy. Knew if I picked the reins back up and picked another thing to work on, I'd be the one running out of steam. I just decided to end it on a good note. At the end though she felt awesome. I wish I'd had more energy to actually work more, but I just didn't. We might try again tomorrow after Equine Affaire. Will depend on how much energy I'll have after it.

As for tomorrow for Equine Affaire. Have a shopping list of things to get. Going to get new stirrup leathers (they had REALLY nice ones on sale last year I didn't snag; going to grab them this year solely to go with the new saddle lol my current ones are wearing out; we're going to cut them off and make them into kid stirrups for the kids), a new show pad since we've only shown in AP pads; dressage ones used to be too big on her, but now my AP pads are too small, she needs new fly masks since she keeps ripping hers off, I want to look at new purses since mine is wearing out, and we are going to window shop saddles and trailers. I want to see if I can sit in a few to see how I feel in them. At least to get an idea before I take the plunge into seriously shopping. I got my paperwork to send in for my incentive fund, so that'll go out Monday. Hopefully I'll get the money back in a few weeks, and then I can start the search!


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## Tazzie

Nick has been working so hard on my trunk! Just needs a few more touches, then ready for staining/painting! I'm so excited!! :loveshower::loveshower:


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## DanteDressageNerd

That's great her mare came out so untouched. Truly a blessing!

The tack box is gorgeous!! It's looking really good.

The trailer shopping sounds good! I hope you get a better idea of what you want!

That's good. It's always helpful when they realize they need to wait and listen and not presume they know the program. Young horses.

Spring is spring. Fickle and unpredictable. But I agree sometimes they end up hurting themselves more or get more wound up when you try to interrupt their good feels days!

I hope it goes well with the new trainer. Cant wait to hear about how it goes!!

Sometimes the weather upsets them or they have a day when they're not in the mood but it sounds like you worked past the initial and had some good work! Sorry your cold is wearing you down. Hopefully you'll start feeling better soon. It's no fun being sick :-(

Equine Affaire sounds awesome!! I'd love to have a store to visit like that! That sounds awesome!! Always fun to get them new gear. I love shopping for horse stuff :lol:


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## Zexious

That trunk is beautiful! :O! Is he planning on staining it? How long 'til completion?

I'm having so much fun keeping up on your thread--I can't remember whether or not I said this already, but I'm enjoying living vicariously through others ;-; <3


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## greentree

Tazzie, would you mind telling me which incentive program you are enrolled?

I am enjoying keeping up with you here!


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## Tazzie

It really was a blessing! And still hauls perfectly too. You'd never know she was in an accident!

I'm totally in love with it! I'll post more about it below 

We do! I'll also talk more about it below 

Young horses are definitely tricky sometimes!

Oh I know! Will be nice when I have my own place with at least a covered arena :lol: I told Nick indoor doesn't have to be immediate, but I'd at least like a covered area to ride in!

I'm so excited for it! I've been anxious to start up with one!

I'm getting super tired of this cold. I'm hoping I'm at the tail end of it! I need to be in tip top shape!

It is awesome! It's a long weekend of shopping and horse clinics! It's pretty neat really!

Xexious, thank you!! I'll post more about the trunk below 

Greentree, I'll PM you the details about it  It's for Kentucky Bred Arabians/Half Arabians. And thank you! I've enjoyed writing about our journey!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Ok, so yesterday we went to Equine Affaire. It was definitely fun! I couldn't find stirrup leathers I HAD to have, so didn't end up with any. I did get new dressage pads though! I'm SO pumped! I found two of them that had blue trim, so of course I had to get them! Just a small bit of "flare" to the pads! And going to try a new fly mask. The representative was there and told me about them. They have a guarantee on them if they were to be destroyed, which is good :lol:

As far as the trailers, we found some that were "ok" but not quite what we wanted. I grew up with 2 horse straight load, but I don't truly care what I have. What I didn't like is all the slant loads had the tack room at the back if it had living quarters. I know my former boss had a 2 horse straight with a tack room and living quarters. Nick also didn't think his toy would fit in a 2 horse straight even with the divider taken out. We stumbled upon a 2 horse gooseneck with the removable divider and said "You really think your toy can't fit in here???" The sales lady came up and started talking about the divider, and I laughed. I said if we were buying a trailer, it'd have to be dual purpose. So the divider would have to be removable to fit his side by side in it. She was like "OHHH, ok! Yeah, it should fit in this one easily!" Then she asked what we were looking for. I said I wanted to find a 2 horse straight load, removable divider, a tack room, and living quarters. The horse trailer would double as a camper for us, and he could bring his toy along (because again, I don't like buying something so expensive that would only be used for one purpose). She said they don't typically make ones like that, and asked where I was from. I said the Northern Kentucky area, nearish to Alexandria. They are located in Ohio. She said whenever we are ready to actually buy a trailer, call them. They could very easily make what we would want in a trailer. It'll be pricey, but it'd serve many uses! Not happening for a few years, but nice to know we could get what we would want in a trailer. We also liked that the living quarters were not way over the top. They were simple, which is what we like. We're not quite the super fancy horse people that others think horse people are :lol:

As for the trunk. It just has a few minor things left to do (filling in nail holes, etc), which will be done tonight. He's still figuring out how to do the cart/wheels on it. I'm wanting it stained a reddish color, but we will see! My mother in law is an AMAZING painter, and is going to paint an 8 pointed star on at least the front with a script L in the middle of it for our last name. If all goes well, it should be close to complete next weekend! Just in time for the BAHA Spring Blast horse show on the 23rd and 24th!

In horse news, didn't ride yesterday. Nick and the kids were SO horsed out after Equine Affaire, and it started raining right as we got back into town. Naturally. Raining today too, so just heading out to feed. Going to be an intense week for her. Riding Tuesday through Saturday. I'll be keeping at least my Thursday right light. Actually, most of them will probably be on the lighter side so she has plenty of omph for our lessons! I want her super ready to work those days!


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## DanteDressageNerd

Tazzie said:


> It really was a blessing! And still hauls perfectly too. You'd never know she was in an accident!
> 
> I'm totally in love with it! I'll post more about it below
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> We do! I'll also talk more about it below
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Young horses are definitely tricky sometimes!
> 
> Oh I know! Will be nice when I have my own place with at least a covered arena
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I told Nick indoor doesn't have to be immediate, but I'd at least like a covered area to ride in!
> 
> I'm so excited for it! I've been anxious to start up with one!
> 
> I'm getting super tired of this cold. I'm hoping I'm at the tail end of it! I need to be in tip top shape!
> 
> It is awesome! It's a long weekend of shopping and horse clinics! It's pretty neat really!
> 
> Xexious, thank you!! I'll post more about the trunk below
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Greentree, I'll PM you the details about it
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> It's for Kentucky Bred Arabians/Half Arabians. And thank you! I've enjoyed writing about our journey!
> 
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Ok, so yesterday we went to Equine Affaire. It was definitely fun! I couldn't find stirrup leathers I HAD to have, so didn't end up with any. I did get new dressage pads though! I'm SO pumped! I found two of them that had blue trim, so of course I had to get them! Just a small bit of "flare" to the pads! And going to try a new fly mask. The representative was there and told me about them. They have a guarantee on them if they were to be destroyed, which is good
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> As far as the trailers, we found some that were "ok" but not quite what we wanted. I grew up with 2 horse straight load, but I don't truly care what I have. What I didn't like is all the slant loads had the tack room at the back if it had living quarters. I know my former boss had a 2 horse straight with a tack room and living quarters. Nick also didn't think his toy would fit in a 2 horse straight even with the divider taken out. We stumbled upon a 2 horse gooseneck with the removable divider and said "You really think your toy can't fit in here???" The sales lady came up and started talking about the divider, and I laughed. I said if we were buying a trailer, it'd have to be dual purpose. So the divider would have to be removable to fit his side by side in it. She was like "OHHH, ok! Yeah, it should fit in this one easily!" Then she asked what we were looking for. I said I wanted to find a 2 horse straight load, removable divider, a tack room, and living quarters. The horse trailer would double as a camper for us, and he could bring his toy along (because again, I don't like buying something so expensive that would only be used for one purpose). She said they don't typically make ones like that, and asked where I was from. I said the Northern Kentucky area, nearish to Alexandria. They are located in Ohio. She said whenever we are ready to actually buy a trailer, call them. They could very easily make what we would want in a trailer. It'll be pricey, but it'd serve many uses! Not happening for a few years, but nice to know we could get what we would want in a trailer. We also liked that the living quarters were not way over the top. They were simple, which is what we like. We're not quite the super fancy horse people that others think horse people are
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> As for the trunk. It just has a few minor things left to do (filling in nail holes, etc), which will be done tonight. He's still figuring out how to do the cart/wheels on it. I'm wanting it stained a reddish color, but we will see! My mother in law is an AMAZING painter, and is going to paint an 8 pointed star on at least the front with a script L in the middle of it for our last name. If all goes well, it should be close to complete next weekend! Just in time for the BAHA Spring Blast horse show on the 23rd and 24th!
> 
> In horse news, didn't ride yesterday. Nick and the kids were SO horsed out after Equine Affaire, and it started raining right as we got back into town. Naturally. Raining today too, so just heading out to feed. Going to be an intense week for her. Riding Tuesday through Saturday. I'll be keeping at least my Thursday right light. Actually, most of them will probably be on the lighter side so she has plenty of omph for our lessons! I want her super ready to work those days!


That's awesome!!

You should be!! That's goibg to be a really special and unique trunk!! Definitely something to keep on the family!

That's really cool. Id agree with a fenced in covered arena. It makes a big difference for year round riding and safety, especially on days where they're less cooperative.

That's awesome! You know you have to show pictures of the pads if they're at all a little flashy! Sounds awesome!!

That sounds frustrating with the trailer but if you can have a custom built, dual purpose that you both can enjoy and work with. It sounds like it'll be worth it. I know one farm I worked for had a custom trailer for their massive wbs. 17.2+h. It was a 2 horse straight load you could take the divider out to use forhauling equipment and things.

Wow!! That trunk sounds like it's going to be phenomenal!! That's awesome Nick has such a talented family! I always admire that kind of talent.

I can imagine the family being horses out :lol: it's exhausting to be out all day, especially for little kids! But it sounds like a trip that was well worth it! Sorry about spring weather and rain but at least you should be able to ride tomorrow! And have a lesson at the end of the week! Should be exciting!


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## Tazzie

I sure think so! He was making the cart for it last night! 

We haven't totally decided how we would do it. It'll end up being a progression of sorts. First, a roof over it. Then add walls. Final step will be true arena footing :lol: Nick kind of freaks out when he thinks about the entire cost of it. I just tell him I'm fine with it being broken down into pieces. It'll happen!

Oh I will! I can try and take a picture tonight of just the pads, but pad on the horse will have to wait until the show next weekend. Someone is currently brown :lol: I think she's been thoroughly enjoying the mud and rain we've been having!

Only frustrating if we make it so :lol: since we aren't in the market for a trailer right now, it isn't worth getting frustrated lol but I like that the idea of custom is available. Nice! I doubt we'd do something that tall since we don't need tall horses :lol: but who knows when we actually go to buy the trailer haha!

It is pretty awesome! I'm chomping at the bit to see it finished! But being patient since Nick has really worked hard on it!

Yeah, it truly rained all day yesterday here. Today's ride is going to be a short and sweet one. Probably warm up (I HATE cantering in the mud, but if we don't canter I get a mad horse), then just work on our leg yields. Transitions aren't really all that fair to school in the slick mud. Hopefully it'll quit raining soon! We have our next show next weekend, and sent in the entry for the show after that!

Also, sad news. My friend will not be bringing her mare to Michigan :sad: instead, she listed her mare for sale, and a girl she knows is interested. So, the day after the show next weekend, my friend is hauling her down (I can't remember if it's to North Carolina or South Carolina) for the girl to try and take on trial. She does a lesson program down there, and has been in love with this mare for like 4 years. The mare loves kids, so it'd be a good spot for her. And the girl treats her horses with the utmost respect and best care ever. Just breaks my heart to think of her selling her  and it's all because of some drama around there. I DESPISE people that purposely tear another person down who has done NOTHING wrong. My friend is still coming up with us, just without her pony 

And, I wish I knew someone who was well versed putting together a musical freestyle. I have some neat ideas for one (pattern wise), but I fail miserably at putting together music. It'd probably be too late anyway now :sad:


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## Tazzie

Alright, first up, the freestyle. My friend picked out music. It's just going to be fun, and totally not traditionally. Already listened to the music and wrote out how much time for each gait the song has (going with the different tempos). Being lazy and just using one song. It IS just for fun!

Also decided we are just going to take the plunge and only show First Level at this show. The hardest thing first level really asks for is the shallow loop at the canter. We do that in our rail classes passing people :lol: I told that to Nick and he was like "seriously? She can already do that." I said I know. We just need to have our leg yields more consistent. We've already done changes of direction through the trot in practice (to see if she would do it), so I think we can do it.

Other good news, friend is NOT selling her mare. The mare IS still leaving, but it'll be a free lease situation since she knows the girl. I am so relieved!!

I called her and we were talking about it on the way home. Also talked about Izzie and how much more she has to give us yet. She said to brace myself, that after we breed her, and people see her talent, that people are going to be pounding down our door for a foal. I basically am not interested. Only way I would be is they cover ALL costs to get her pregnant, then we flush the embryo into a recipient mare and they take over from there. I won't have my mare out of commission to sell to someone. I told her aside from me and Nick, she would be the only other person I'd breed her for. And that would be when she's good and stable and wanted a different project. She was pretty cool with that :lol:

I did get to ride too! We kept it pretty short since the ground is not that great. I'm hoping it can dry up here soon! We did our walk-trot-canter warm up, and she was good. A bit argumentative, but nothing outside of the norm. Picked her back up and I told Nick when I had her going pretty well, we were going to do some leg yields. Leg yield left she was ok. We had a few decent ones, but nothing super crazy spectacular. Right though... Well, we called it a day when I shouted "WOW!" out loud. She got LOTS of praise for it. I could feel that leg coming way under and over. Just SOOOO awesome! We ended the ride with being led around by my husband because Sydney wanted to ride with me. I'll never ride Izzie with my daughter up unassisted. I don't care for that. I didn't really want to do this, but Nick was holding onto Izzie and Izzie was happy to plod along. Syd thought it was great!

Going out for another ride tonight! Hopefully another great one!


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## DanteDressageNerd

Good luck with the freestyle! Should be fun. 

I like how first level is structured, it flows really smoothly and well. All the movements flow into each other well or the next movement set you up to ride the movement well or transition out of a movement. It's well set up.

lol well good luck breeding Izzy when the time comes. It should be an interesting adventure  I'm sure she'll have nice babies. I still like the appendix/arab cross. It makes sense to me lol.

Glad you had such a successful ride! Always a good thing, hope today's ride is just as good. I'm glad Izzy was happy to plod along with that, I can see why she'd think that was great :lol: I always wished my family was into horses as a kid. Just sitting on a horse is a magic!


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## Tazzie

I think it will be! I need to have Nick mark out a regulation size arena so we can start figuring out the layout. Hopefully soon! I've put together a freestyle in a day before, but I'd rather not if I can help it!

I like it too  I've been reading through the tests and they just seem manageable to me. And Izzie is back to being totally ok with the sitting trot, finally :lol: silly mare!

I have a few purebreds tentatively picked out. Who I will actually end up using will be determined :lol: but that is a ways in the future. I want to add more accomplishments under her belt, and really start progressing in our dressage before then.

I used to wish for that too. My mom likes horses enough, but hasn't been interested in riding. I wish she was because she'd love Izzie :lol:

Last nights ride was pretty good. Just did some trot-canter-trot-canter transitions. Did one change through the trot across a small diagonal. Needs a bit of work, but it's not terrible at all. Her leg yields were just ok last night. She might be a touch sore from working those muscles, so we didn't do them too much.

I hadn't planned on it, but she's getting tonight off. Nick is working late and I don't have anyone to come hang out with me while I ride. Probably for the best so she's in tip top form for tomorrow's lesson. He also has to go back in tomorrow night at 11:30, so that's a bummer too :sad: I know he can't turn down the overtime, but still sucks. I like seeing my husband


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## DanteDressageNerd

Oh definitely having a regulation sized arena would definitely help with a freestyle for timing and choreography! That should be a blast!! I've never done a freestyle but it sounds fun!

That's great! Yay Izzy! And exactly. They're smooth transitions which I really like because it all just flows together and sets you up for the next movement.

For sure. We don't know what magic stallion may appear from out of no where in the next few years. And I'm glad you'll still be riding her for a while before planning the babies. Gotta see you in more shows!!

That's too bad :/ but at least she's interested in them! My mom is allergic.

I could see that happening. Laterals can be hard on them but I'm glad your ride went well and was productive!

I'm sorry you're not seeing Nick tonight. I can't blame you for wanting to spend time with him. If I had a husband I'm sure I'd be the same way. But overtime is always helpful for all the never ending bills that manage to accumulate. And good luck at your lesson! I'm sure it will be awesome!


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## Tazzie

Freestyles are pretty fun! It's neat trying to come up with something that can be considered tough to earn the difficulty rating. My thought was to turn like left at C, leg yield to x, circle right 10 meters, circle left 10 meters, leg yield back to the wall. I feel that could be considered difficult :lol: Just trying to figure out if I can get the music to work for that!

I know! Nick mentioned she has her regular trot again, which makes me happy! I like it too 

Exactly! And oh yeah! I vowed I wouldn't breed her before she was 10, so she has 4 years until I actually think seriously about it. But I want my farm first. I don't want her to foal out where she is. I want her at home for most of the gestation. I may entertain the idea of having her boarded somewhere that is more adept at handling foaling though. I have years to plan though :lol:

Yeah, she likes Izzie enough, and she always pushed me to pursue horses. I am thankful for that!

That's what we thought. She definitely wanted a stretch. She NEVER asks to stretch, but after our last canter she was asking as politely as she possibly could to stretch. I let her and I felt her go "oh my gosh, yes."  She's definitely working all the right muscles!

Overtime is definitely nice. He was like "gotta pay for your shows somehow!" :lol: he's a good sport about it.

And I am SO ready for our lesson! We are going to ask if Nick can record it. I'm hoping she will be ok with it! But definitely want to ask first!

So, a few fun developments. First off, I went out to feed tonight. After Izzie ate we did her carrot stretches. I happened to notice her back and all I could think of was "dang, she's really gaining some nice topline!" Maybe once we get her on a flat area I'll take a picture. I think it's way better developed than she was last year!

Second, Blair (best friend) put the idea in my head to try and qualify to show one of the dressage tests at regionals. Finding dressage shows in order to qualify for regionals is extremely difficult. There is one up in Ohio that would work. Now we are just trying to figure out what the requirements would be. They only offer the highest test for each level, so I'm not sure if scores from test 1 and 2 would count. I really want this to work, just needing to figure out the logistics of it. And Nick is being super supportive about it, and so are my in laws and mom. We just have to figure out if it's possible this year. I'm hoping so since it'd be just so awesome. I wish I knew more about this kind of stuff :lol:


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## DanteDressageNerd

It could be. I think you'll do a great job! I can't wait to see the freestyle!

Aww that's awesome 

That sounds like a good plan! Especially since you have at least 4 years to wait on that. Foaling at home may be better with some experienced friends or someone to help you when she does foal, if the vet can't make it on time. I know Pam has had to stick her hands it to help a foal come out. I have not done that but did have to get the placenta for the vet to inspect. Foaling can be scary.

That's really good. Sometimes support is all you really need (besides money), especially when you're having rough time. And helped you in your venture. I am thankful for my parents too.

That's really good. Always a good feeling when they aren't rude about it but grateful to stretch. It's nice that they feel well.

Aww that's extremely sweet. Almost like well we're in this together, gotta pay the bills one way or another. 

Definitely take some pictures when you get a chance. I'm sure it's developing well!

That's great you have all that support around you to be willing to help, if you decide to qualify for regionals this year. That should be really fun! If you can work out a way to do all the traveling and afford it, all the power to you! Good luck! I hope it works out!


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## Tazzie

I'm excited to start working on it! We got permission from our friend/barn owner to set up an arena out in the horse pasture. He usually fences off the top part of it so they quit grazing it down to nothing, but he's fine with us riding out there. AND it'd be big enough to measure out a standard arena! I told Nick I'll probably take a trip to Dover to pick up the other arena letters. I have the main ones, but not the ones in between them. I want it well marked out so when Nick reads out the tests he won't be confused, and he can help me as we start planning out the freestyle. It will for sure be recorded when we perform it!

Yeah, there are so many things that can go wrong. We will cross that bridge when we get there though :lol:

Haha, yeah. He knows it makes me happy. We could afford it without the overtime, but he likes to joke like that :lol:

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Alright, update now that I finally have some down time! I'll just start with yesterday's fun, then make a new post for today!

We got there early (which I'm thankful for; we were concerned we will be late), and she let us put Izzie in a stall for a couple of minutes while we brought our equipment in. Tacked her up and lead her around the arena. I'd been offered to turn her loose, but I find that often makes her worse. I hopped on and did our warm up. Trainer let us just do our own warm up as I had said she gets super opinionated about it. It was far from our best warm up, but I took what I could get.

Picked her back up, and immediately she had us working on her walk, which is by far her weakest gait. Had a much better walk after her working us through a few things. Went into the trot and she immediately started changing how we did things, for the better :lol: getting her to lift her poll and come off her forehand a bit. Definitely was getting some nicer trot work. This is the video of the beginning walk and trot work (kind of long and boring, so I don't blame you if you don't watch it :lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=il3eZdBcsRk

After this video, the trainer rode Izzie. She wanted to see if she would understand learning something new like shoulder in or haunches in, or if we needed to ask from the ground first. Izzie at first wasn't appreciative of a new rider on her back. Didn't want to come round or anything, but Maggy worked her through it. Suddenly, my mare was doing shoulder in left straight down the centerline. I was shocked and said "we have never once attempted those!" She said I'd put the work in, she just connected the dots. This video was our first attempts at shoulder in at the walk after she rode.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YjC1gmljyI

We transitioned to trot and worked on the trot shoulder in to the left after that. Next video (sorry, Nick took a lot of videos :lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFe13OHQSa8

This video just has some trot work mostly to the left and a long rein. Some attempts at shoulder in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52WTyimWSQQ

Trot work right and a long rein.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHqaEmi90v4

This video, while long, has the most meat to it. Worked haunches in both directions (and her fighting any forward movement haunches in left; she thinks it's stupid and wouldn't listen to leg or gentle bumps from trainer). Worked on some shoulder in right, which was hard for her. Trainer got at the most a shoulder fore from her. And finished with some pretty nice shoulder ins to the left. Definitely happy with it! Nick is almost as ready as I am to book the next lesson :lol:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNLvSp-3qq4

We cooled out and had a good chat about everything. Afterward I asked if she knew of any saddle fitters or if she worked with any. She said she didn't. We talked saddles a bit. She said she wanted to try a few of her saddles on Izzie. She asked what she was currently in. I said she's in the extra wide gullet plate in our wintec. She said sometimes those run large, and she wouldn't be surprised if a normal wide would fit her in other brands. She put on one that fit her ok. I just didn't quite like how it sat on her shoulders. It only had padding near the withers, and didn't follow the shoulder down at all. She said it's designed to stay out of the way of shoulder movement. I can't for the life of me remember the brand on it. But I feel it would be WAY too drastic of a change for miss opionated. Before I had hopped off, I had mentioned how Cassie was thinking of trying the Albion because it had a curved tree. I said Dante had a similar back to Izzie, so I was curious on if that would work for Izzie. Low and behold, she had the Albion SLK. And guess what? It fits her better than the wintec! In the wide plate! Next lesson she wants to have it cleaned up and let us ride in it to see if Izzie likes it. If she does, I think I know what I'll be looking for on used sale sites :lol: I may give the other one a try too if she'll let me. I know Izzie was a lot happier when the Albion was placed on her back over the other one though. Who knows! Maybe my saddle hunt won't be AS bad as I thought??

Today's excitement will be in the next post


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## Tihannah

You guys look fantastic!!


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## Tazzie

And then today!

Today we had a clinic. I found out that this lady lessons with the trainer we worked with last night. We did some more good work today, but nothing fancy.

We worked a lot on more self carriage, and not speeding up when she becomes unbalanced. Just a lot of basics essentially, but still good work. I took away a few things from it, but not nearly as much as I did last night. While Maggy is more expensive, I feel we will get more out of lessons with her than the lady today. It was still fun though!

Then Izzie had her chiro appointment for a once over before our big show next weekend. You could tell I had just ridden, and he noted such. I said yeah, we just did a clinic at the fairgrounds. He seemed intrigued. I also mentioned we had a tough lesson last night too. Told him I was a bit worried about bringing her after all that harder than usual riding. He said it's actually better I did. Anything that would cause unusual soreness would show up then, so it was good. And fabulous news! Aside from a couple of spots on her back being a touch out, and her left shoulder, she was GREAT! NO reactivity where she was reactive last time. So the supplements are doing their job, and her ovary issue resolved itself. SO happy! Now she's in tip top shape for next weekend!

Other great news! I've been talking with the lady in charge of the regional dressage classes. I now know how to qualify. You need two scores of 58% or greater in any test within the level. But the only test offered at regionals is the highest test. I've asked when entries close for the show we would use to qualify for (she's in charge of that too, how lucky!) and planning how to proceed. We *might* do two training level and two first level tests, and then enter whichever level I get two 58% or greater scores in. I'm super nervous but super excited to do this! And Nick is 100% on board with me just doing the four tests and then post entering in the regional class. I've promised him I would only show one test, so that helps :lol:

But that's my excitement from the past few days! Izzie will get tomorrow off at the very least. Possibly Monday as well. We are feeding Monday through Thursday so I'll be able to pick what days I want to ride. Friday we haul to the show. Normally I'd ride then, but I won't this time. We have two classes Saturday, and quite a few on Sunday (lots of in hand classes). I want to make sure she's fresh for it!


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## DanteDressageNerd

That's really neat. Will definitely help to have a full size arena to work in, just to prepare and know when to prepare, etc. 

That's really sweet  that's really how it should be!

Overall it looks like it was a really productive lesson! Definitely a lot of good parts and good work! I didnt' watch the video all the way through because I have to go check on horses soon and there are a lot lol (which is always fine) but it looked like there were a lot of good parts and moments! That's how it should be when you put in the right foot work, it should almost be easy when you introduce something new. You still have to ride it and work out the bugs but it's not pressured or forced. 

You can definitely see how the laterals opened her up and got the better movement. Always make me smile  kudos glad you found someone you like to work with!! Can definitely see how it helps. Shoulder in and leg yield are awesome exercises.

And that's really awesome about the saddle! Especially if she likes it. I really hope when I get to try some out it will seem that easy lol. At least you've got an idea of where you can start for saddle searches. It definitely helps to narrow down your search. But I hope you can find a saddle fitter if possible, thought sometimes no help is better than bad help if it's a saddle fitter who doesn't know what they're doing but at the same time the good things about these divas is they let you know right away if they don't like it lol.


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## Tazzie

I'm super happy! He was hoping to have it fenced off this weekend so maybe we can start setting it up this week! Just have to get the other letters 

Yup! And in return, I'll be going with him memorial day weekend to play on his side by side :lol: not normally my thing, but he wants me to go :lol:

There were a lot of good parts! I was super pleased! And yeah, Nick wanted to make sure I could go back and watch whenever I need a push in between lessons. I'm thankful for him taking so many!

It certainly did! She gave us a few tips and making them better too, which was good. I'm anxious to get back out and start working through stuff again! But she earned a day off :lol:

Yup! I'm dying to try them now :lol: still going to search for a saddle fitter, but at least we might have some ideas now! Hopefully we will get that check back soon! I want to go shopping haha!

OH! And my excitement with BOTH lessons was that there was little need to tell me to sit back! Last year I did too much hunching forward, riding in too defensive of a riding position. I've been working REALLY hard on myself to sit back, so it was SO nice to have lessons where my position wasn't mentioned often! So incredibly happy I managed to work hard to fix it myself!


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## Rainaisabelle

Not sure why I never saw your thread before but I'm going to catch up !


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## Rainaisabelle

Only up to page 2 and boy do I feel lazy? Look at all you have achieved!


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## Tazzie

It's all good! I sometimes I only notice new other threads when I have a lot of down time at work :redface: I tend to look at my control panel to go to threads :lol: but thank you! Don't feel lazy though! We all go at our own pace


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## DanteDressageNerd

That's wonderful! You'll have to post pictures when it's finished! That sounds really cool!

That sounds like a fun memorial day plan and some good family time  I'm not quite sure what a side by side is but it sounds fun!

Definitely! That's super he took so many. And it helps to use them as references. Sometimes just to mark the changes or remember parts of the lesson you might not have noticed before.

She was a good girl. Definitely earned her time but lessons are fun, especially when you get good tips, pointers and gives you more of a direction to work in or things to think about. 

I hope you get it back soon too, so you can find a saddle that works for you guys! Let the saddle hunt begin!

That's really awesome! I think it's a great feeling to know you've managed to improve parts of yourself and your riding or done good things too! Kudos!


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## Tazzie

I will definitely post pictures! Won't be happening tonight though. Nick wants to mow the grass, and we can't ride, feed, and mow. So, he's feeding while I grocery shop, and then he's going to mow our grass. Hoping to ride tomorrow, and then we can set up the arena tomorrow night while they eat as long as the field is fenced off!

I'm sure it'll be fun. Just will require dramamine and alcohol for me :lol: I'm a chicken when it comes to taking that toy hard core off roading :lol: and I'll post a picture below lol

Yup! I was thankful she was ok with him recording too. She said whatever I wanted was fine with her. She doesn't let anyone watch lessons unless the rider specifically says it's ok. I'm glad she didn't mind the recording 

I know! I'm chomping at the bit to get back on, but ugh. I hate how life (or husbands :lol have other plans for you. Tomorrow it'll be!

Yes! I want to saddle shop haha! Pretty much anything that fits will be nicer than what we have :lol:

It is a very good feeling! I've worked REALLY hard to overcome that. My personal next biggest thing is to stop looking down. BOTH of them nailed me for that :lol: I'll get better at it, I'm determined!

Going to be a slow day here at work today too. Maybe I'll start kind of drawing out ideas to incorporate into the freestyle. That's what I really want the arena for. I still need to download the song too :lol: I'm so pumped! Apparently my cousin wants to come out and watch us show too. She recently got to go trail riding south of us, and now she's hooked on horses :lol: I told Nick once she rides Izzie, who has a lot more forward than trail horses, my uncle will be in trouble :lol:

And for fun, I may start reading what Second Level tests require, and read through First Level tests. Reading the First Level since I don't believe in repeatedly riding it, and Second Level just to see what is added in. I may be a bit excited to finally start breaking into schooling Second :lol:

Here is us with the new toy, the day Nick bought it :lol:


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## DanteDressageNerd

Tazzie said:


> I will definitely post pictures! Won't be happening tonight though. Nick wants to mow the grass, and we can't ride, feed, and mow. So, he's feeding while I grocery shop, and then he's going to mow our grass. Hoping to ride tomorrow, and then we can set up the arena tomorrow night while they eat as long as the field is fenced off!
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> Yup! I was thankful she was ok with him recording too. She said whatever I wanted was fine with her. She doesn't let anyone watch lessons unless the rider specifically says it's ok. I'm glad she didn't mind the recording
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> Going to be a slow day here at work today too. Maybe I'll start kind of drawing out ideas to incorporate into the freestyle. That's what I really want the arena for. I still need to download the song too
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Oh no I'm sure it's more of a weekend project to set it up and get it ready anyways. 

Lol fair enough. I can understand, especially because you're probably thinking of the what ifs and you want to keep riding









That's an interesting rule but I'm glad she allowed Nick to record too. It's helpful to watch them over, so you can see what they're saying and pick up on things you don't realize you're doing.

That sounds fun. I always hated slow days but it allowed me to invest in other interests. So at least you'll have some fun







is your cousin young? And I bet your Uncle will be in trouble if she's already getting the horse bug and she gets to ride Izzy. It will be eye opening for her I'm sure!

First level is pretty straight forward, 2nd the movements themselves aren't hard but the tests and scoring are a lot tougher. I know for us when a horse shows 2nd they're usually schooling 3rd and parts of 4th. You should be excited to progress on your journey with Izzy!! This is why you have your own, so no one can magically take the ride. That's awesome. I'm happy for you and Izzy









That you looks fun. I think Nick looks very proud and you're kinda like I'm glad it makes you happy. You have Izzy and he has his toy!


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## Tazzie

Naw, it should really only take a night or so. I'm hoping we can rustle up some old 2x4s or something for the corners and maybe a pole here or there down the long side. It won't be totally fenced in, just have my letters up. We may also have to mow the area a bit of all the stuff they don't eat in the field. But we will see tomorrow!

Ugh, yes! I'm dying to get back out there are start working through my new exercises and such to help her work better. I'll have to make due with working out on my own (which I need to push myself harder at that... I was totally worn out LONG before Izzie was both days!)

I thought so too, but she must have people that are super self conscience. She did say anytime I wanted to bring people to just go ahead and do it. Maybe one day I can convince my best friend to come up to watch :lol: I think we'd both have fun!

Oh yeah, I know. I have ZERO desire to show second at all this year, and maybe not even next year. It's for my own curiosity since I have never gotten to show second ever. And exactly! No one can pull her from me! She's mine (well, and Nick's :lol and it's me taking her up the levels! But yeah, looking that up was for my own amusement. I also watched a couple of rides for First Level Test 3 just to see how others rode it. One girl.... let's just say you and Dante would have definitely beat her. I was then appalled to see she had also ridden the horse at Second Level Test 3. He was NOT consistent at all. It just looked sloppy :sad: it was eye opening to watch a few tests though.

And yeah, you definitely pegged that perfectly! He loves his toy. I love my Izzie girl. He is VERY proud of his toy :lol:


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## DanteDressageNerd

Tazzie said:


> Naw, it should really only take a night or so. I'm hoping we can rustle up some old 2x4s or something for the corners and maybe a pole here or there down the long side. It won't be totally fenced in, just have my letters up. We may also have to mow the area a bit of all the stuff they don't eat in the field. But we will see tomorrow!
> 
> Ugh, yes! I'm dying to get back out there are start working through my new exercises and such to help her work better. I'll have to make due with working out on my own (which I need to push myself harder at that... I was totally worn out LONG before Izzie was both days!)
> 
> I thought so too, but she must have people that are super self conscience. She did say anytime I wanted to bring people to just go ahead and do it. Maybe one day I can convince my best friend to come up to watch
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> Oh yeah, I know. I have ZERO desire to show second at all this year, and maybe not even next year. It's for my own curiosity since I have never gotten to show second ever. And exactly! No one can pull her from me! She's mine (well, and Nick's
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> ) and it's me taking her up the levels! But yeah, looking that up was for my own amusement. I also watched a couple of rides for First Level Test 3 just to see how others rode it. One girl.... let's just say you and Dante would have definitely beat her. I was then appalled to see she had also ridden the horse at Second Level Test 3. He was NOT consistent at all. It just looked sloppy
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> And yeah, you definitely pegged that perfectly! He loves his toy. I love my Izzie girl. He is VERY proud of his toy


That's really awesome!! I'm sure it will be pretty cool when it's all done.

Riding is exhausting! It's physically demanding. And don't feel so bad, I like to think I'm in decent shape and was exhausted riding Dante twice in a day and I'm super sore today :lol: he took it all out of me. But fitness definitely helps.

That's really unusual but if people are super self conscious. I guess it makes sense. But you should be excited! It's always great when you can take things from lessons and go home to practice. 

Likewise. I might try 2nd at the end of the year but he's not ready right now. He can do all the movements but he's not ready for 2nd. But definitely no reason why you can't run through a test. And you get to have a better understanding and relationship because you started Izzy literally from the ground up which has got to be super cool for you!! Because you did it! Izzy's your baby. All that she is is from you. 

And that doesn't surprise me at all. I've seen a lot of people push past the basic details to say they ride a certain level, when they both need to go back to training level and learn the concepts from each level. Some people think it's just riding movements and a pattern. But its really disappointing to see horses and people inappropriately placed :-(

Lol I'm glad. It keeps everyone happy and balanced. I bet he's so excited to share his joy and toy with you!


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## Tazzie

I think it will be 

And yeah, I need to work more on leg strength :lol: my core seemed ok, and my arms didn't do much, but my legs. Man oh man :lol: time to get working on them more!

Eh, I'm fine with it though :lol: wouldn't bother me either way really. But I like having my stuff recorded for future reference :lol:

Yeah, we aren't doing all the movements yet. We don't have walk to canter or canter to walk at all, so it'd be pointless to run through it :lol: it'll come after she learns to sit more. I know she CAN do it, I just haven't really asked for it yet. But it is a cool feeling! I'm taking her start to "finish" since, well, do you ever really finish in dressage? :lol:

And yeah, I hope you didn't take it as it sounded (I reread what I said!) You guys rocked your tests, it wasn't a hit on you (my comment that you would definitely beat this lady). But the test I saw earned her a supposed 65%... That had to be one VERY generous judge because the tests were awful. And his neck was terrible. It was heavily muscled underneath, and next to no muscle where there should have been. He needed to go back to training level...

He loves when we all go out for a ride on it :lol: we went out last night and he had the greatest time. It was nice getting out of the house too :lol:


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## DanteDressageNerd

lol It's amazing what gets sore and stiff. At least Izzy is providing the extra motivation! I can say I've done all kinds of extra hip and leg stretches and core exercises because of Dante and his dam* bouncy pop you out of the saddle trot :lol: 

I'm the same way with videos. I love having them to look back on, especially because you look back and realize all those lessons and things that were never recorded lol. I'm glad Nick was able to take so many!

Nope. I don't think we ever finish in dressage. Horses or people. Always developing, always working on something and towards something. It makes sense 

No. No. I didn't think of it like that at all. No worries ;-) but thank you. I was just meaning I know what you mean at dressage shows. I've seen people gets high 60s low 70s and the horses were just jammed together, not active behind but executed the movement fairly accurately. But that is really sad and unfortunately not uncommon at local shows. 

lol I can imagine because then he gets to drive and feel like a man with his whole family for the ride. I'm sure the kids love it and it's nice to get some fresh air!


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## Rainaisabelle

I know the feels, I need to start working out again! I gained a bit of weight when I moved out of home and my parents moved away. So naughty...


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## Tazzie

Cassie, she is definitely good motivation to get back into shape :lol: meant to work out but ended up doing laundry *sigh* it never ends. I'm hoping to squeeze in something tonight after I ride. Have to clean my house since mom is coming down this weekend to watch the kids while we show. My house was hit by a few toddler tornadoes :lol: But I do need to do more exercises to release/open my hips. I feel "stuck" there.

Exactly! There are so many I'd love to go look back on, but can't. I'm hoping he'll be game to film our next one (whenever that happens...)

Whew, I'm glad you didn't take it that way. I reread it and went "oh no! what did I say??" My brain doesn't always work correctly :lol: And yeah, I don't know this person. Just happened to pop up when I was watching youtube videos. It was a USEF/USDF qualified show though... This lady really needs to go back and learn how to properly sit the trot though. Bouncing all over in her videos. And riding Second! I was actually appalled at it.

And yeah, he loves it :lol: we may go out tonight too if we have time. Guess we will see!

Raina, I was in great shape last year, then I broke my wrist and lost all motivation. I have to be extremely careful doing much that requires using the arms since I can't fully extend my right arm due to my accident, and it's not strong enough for me to suddenly drop my weight onto it (IE burpees)

I woke up feeling crummy... lovely issues. But I WILL ride tonight dangit. I'm not missing another day. Nick said our friend didn't fence off that field, so we may do that tonight and set up stuff tomorrow. That's my extreme hope at least :lol:


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## Rainaisabelle

I used to be extremely athletic but then I ruptured my kidney and I had to take a year off sports and I also did my ankle ligament in the last 2 years so I'm constantly respraining it. It sucks ! I want to be fit again!


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## DanteDressageNerd

For sure. Riding keeps us all pushing to be in better and better shape. But fair enough cleaning after a toddler tornado seems like a fair excuse. Though even 5 minutes in the morning or evening can help. A few squats or planks. But I understand with the hips. I try to do quite a lot of different stretches to open/loosen those up because they get tight and my hip flexor with the tendenosis gets tricky or locks up if I dont. I also do dance to help. Basic belly dancing is helpful :lol: and fun! hip flexor/quad stretch help a lot!

I feel the same way. I kinda want to remember some of my old trainers and lessons, just to remember. But only way now is forward and I'm sure he'll be able to take more. maybe not every single lesson but enough! I hope you have a good ride!

Nah. I generally dont read things in a "negative" way. I just assume when reading that people are like me and mean well but it may not come across that way all the time :lol: but that doesn't surprise me at all. I've seen that a lot. Even at 3rd or 4th level. It amazes me because I'll see better riding at training and 1st level yet these riders riding at higher levels dont' have the basics of a training-1st level rider! It blows my mind!

You should! It sounds like it'll be a fun family outing!

But good luck on the athletic pursuits. It's not easy to find time, especially with as much as you have on your plate. Just gotta make time I guess.


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## horseluvr2524

Just found your journal.

I have always admired your Izzie! I think she is absolutely gorgeous. She looks kind of like one of my favorite toy horses as a child. I had around 50, and every single one had a name which I remembered back then but not now. The most memorable was a Belgian with a snobby expression whom I dubbed 'Brianna the Brat'. lol.

Anyway, just popped by to say hi! Oh, and speaking of rider fitness, I am working myself on flexibility in my legs, hoping to eventually do the splits! Its a bit painful at times though, and the hardest part is always jogging to warmup as I don't mind stretching but don't like doing the necessary warmup. lol.


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## Smilie

great pictures!
Nice to see a horse blossom under good care and training, becoming a family member!


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## Tazzie

Cassie, I know, I just need to find the discipline to do it :lol I was good for SO long, and then just... stopped. I always felt better after it too, which is why I need to get back into it. And make Nick join me :lol: I've always wanted to try belly dancing though :lol:

Oh yeah, he probably won't record every single lesson. Sometimes it's more helpful if he watches the actual lesson because then he can help me on the ground. I would LOVE if he could watch me ride Izzie when we haul up to Michigan and ride with my former trainer. I do think she will give us some valuable insight in general 

That's how I try to take it as well :lol: but I'm glad! And yeah, opened my eyes up a little bit since I've been out of the dressage scene for so long!

Nick and the kids went on a ride to the street to get the garbage can :lol: that was about as adventurous as they got yesterday haha!

Yup, I do have to make time. And I need to clean up the living room so I have a place to do it. Kids find it SO funny to empty our their big bin of blocks ALL over the living room. They do pick them up when we ask, but not always. Darn kids!

Horseluvr, that's awesome! Thanks for stopping in! I have a ton of models from growing up too that my mom kept for my kids. Will be happy when they are a bit more careful with toys to bring them out  I think both kiddos will enjoy playing with them! And all of mine had names too and formed little herds :lol:

Kudos for you trying to do the splits! That ship sailed for me a long time ago :lol: I'm one who will be needing my hips replaced earlier than I would really like :lol: but I do have to work on them anyway!

Smilie, thank you! We try our best with her care and her training  she's our baby, and definitely part of the family! I love that my daughter can feed her treats without a worry that Izzie will grab fingers instead! She's an overall awesome horse 

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I rode yesterday! She was not that thrilled with me making her do a "proper" warm up. She didn't see why I couldn't just get on and we canter. Did some nice walk and walk circles, and trot circles (even snuck in a bit of laterals haha!) before we cantered. She was pumped about the cantering, silly horse!

I always give her a break after our warm up before we pick up and start on the next thing. I picked up and asked for some leg yields. They were really good! I was very pleased with her! Then, of course, I wanted to play with our new tricks :lol:

Came down the long side (well, the area I call the long side haha) going to the left and just asked for the shoulder in. No hesitation, she stepped right into and went right down that long side! Of course we did it a couple more times since it's still such a rush to me!

Then we changed directions and I asked for the haunches in to the right. Again, no hesitation, stepped right into it. Did that a few more times and you could tell she was darn pleased with herself!

After this, I figured "let's see if I can get a shoulder in to the right." She struggled with it a bit when she learned it, and when our trainer attempted it she only gave shoulder fore. Izzie picked it up, no problem at all! Did that a few times and LOTS of patting! SO happy!

Finally, we come to the haunches in to the left. This is the way she was really trying to refuse to do on Friday, but we worked her through it. I did a 10 meter circle to prepare, set myself up, asked, and off we went haunches in left. Man was I HAPPY! I love how she's using her body now! VERY happy!

At this point I was just going to do a stretchy trot and call it a day. It was HOT (83ish degrees) and we were both sweating. But someone was letting me know she'd like to canter. She wasn't being rude about it, but I could feel she was checking in to see if it would be ok for us to do it. So I cued, and she gave me the most beautiful canter transition yet, and the floatiest canter I have ever felt on her. The new lateral work is REALLY making a difference already. She's feeling lighter on the forehand, and that departure was just gorgeous. I keep playing it over and over in my mind :lol:

Then we did our stretchy trot. This will always be a work in progress for her I think. I want her to stretch more than she does. She gives me the bare minimum unless she's really wanting a stretch. We always end the stretchy trot when she is where I want her to be, with TONS of praise. Basically letting her know THIS is what I want.

Overall though, it was a GREAT ride. I'm meeting Nick down there to ride again tonight. I'm hoping the weather will hold for tomorrow so we can have a nice, light ride. And tomorrow is someone's 6th birthday! Lots of treats for the lady!

Other exciting stuff. My in laws may be coming down to the show on Sunday, which is our big day. So hopefully we will have LOTS of pictures to share! I wish she could come for the dressage show in June, but she will be out of town. My mom is going to try to come with us to watch the kids. If Nick doesn't read me my tests, I'm hoping to have him record my classes. There was barely any evidence of our tests last year, and I'm bummed about that. But Nick wanted to watch. Maybe I won't have him record the 11th, but record regionals? Or just go off pictures for regionals? I don't know. I hate making him record when I show only because I know he wants to watch. But I like when he records because then I can see the progress. We will cross all those bridges when we get to them though :lol: AND my best friend told me she wouldn't want to miss us showing dressage at regionals for anything, so I'm PUMPED about that!


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## Rainaisabelle

Glad you had such a fantastic ride !! Sounds beautiful


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## Tazzie

Still won't let me like, but thank you!

Also, I missed commenting on your comment! I hope you're mostly healed up from all of that! I just start slow, and don't drop down onto my arms anymore. Only way I can workout now. Just have to adjust.


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## horseluvr2524

Me too, I was able to like last night but not now? Weird.


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## DanteDressageNerd

I guess so. That's the fun part right? Getting started. I think getting into a routine helps a lot.

I'm sure he'll record up in Michigan. We all want to see how that goes too! It should be a really exciting trip! It's really cool Nick helps out so much 

lol well I'm sure it was a treat for the kids anyway. I would have LOVED having something like that to play with! I was obsessed with speed. A cool kid treat, even if it's just to fetch garbage cans :lol:

Kids will be kids lol. They just like watching mom clean up after them right? Or they just like making the mess because that's the fun part.

I'm glad you had a good ride! I can imagine Izzy's distress of mom this isn't are routine...are you changing the rules again?

That's awesome she's picking up on the laterals so quickly. It took Dante a long time to get haunches in. He thought it was bull**** he had to travel bent through his rib cage and bring his haunches around lol. Laterals are great across the board. They make a big difference in their way of going and throughness.

That's awesome your in laws are coming to watch the show! There better be pictures! Good luck in the show and regionals whenever that may be. Should be fun. And I'm sure he wants to watch but you can always tell him watching is for a moment, video is forever :lol:


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## Tazzie

Horseluvr, I think it's with chrome :sad: least that's what they are suspecting on the thread about the new forum. I still can't like either :sad:

Cassie, yeah, I just need to make myself do it. Didn't manage to last night, and tonight we have to prepare for the show. This week has been insane in general!

Oh, I'm sure he'll record the classes themselves. Just probably not the lessons. It'll just be my best friend and I heading to the barn in the morning and letting the kiddos sleep in!

Definitely! They love that thing :lol: Nick was already teaching Kaleb how to drive it last night :lol: it was in low, and Kaleb was sitting on Nick's lap. He was teaching him how to turn the wheel to steer it :lol: good thing it's only a ridge top that separates us from my in laws!

Making the mess is definitely the fun part!

Haha, yeah, she hates when we change up the routine too much. It's why we have to teach things slowly to her. So while she enjoys something new, she gets anxious in a way about it. She's been that way since the day we got her. Just her being her. And just requires a lot of pats and good girl comments :lol:

I'm glad too! We've just done a few of them every time we ride, definitely not drilling anything. And lots and lots of pats and good girls! I'm really happy with how she's picking it up!

If they do come, there will be A LOT of pictures! She takes so many it's hard to pick through them :lol: especially the more consistent Izzie gets. Then all of her pictures start looking awesome :lol: regionals isn't until July 1st-3rd. We would be showing July 1st in sport horse, and July 2nd in dressage. The qualifying dressage show is June 11th 

------------------------------------------------------------------

Had another good ride last night! Not our best, but we ended on some good work! It's still a rush to me doing all these new lateral maneuvers, and I'm really liking how light she's starting to feel at the canter. It's really teaching her to sit back, and it's awesome! The bonus, too, is that our leg yields have improved DRASTICALLY. Like, they were good before, but now they are just stunning. And SO much fun to ride! It's always fun to hop off after a good ride!

And also, I think I talked about this on Tina's thread, but Izzie always wants her face scratched after she's done working. And I spoil her and rub it for her. Yes, she's spoiled, and yes she does have manners. But how can you not scratch her when this is her reaction?? Turn up the volume so you can hear the appreciation :lol:






Also, it's a certain someone's birthday today! Sadly, I have appointments this afternoon so Nick is going down to feed. Can't even see my baby on her birthday :sad: but SIX years old today! And I've had her almost five of those years!


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## DanteDressageNerd

Tazzie said:


> Horseluvr, I think it's with chrome
> 
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> least that's what they are suspecting on the thread about the new forum. I still can't like either
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> Cassie, yeah, I just need to make myself do it. Didn't manage to last night, and tonight we have to prepare for the show. This week has been insane in general!
> 
> Oh, I'm sure he'll record the classes themselves. Just probably not the lessons. It'll just be my best friend and I heading to the barn in the morning and letting the kiddos sleep in!
> 
> Definitely! They love that thing
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> Nick was already teaching Kaleb how to drive it last night
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> it was in low, and Kaleb was sitting on Nick's lap. He was teaching him how to turn the wheel to steer it
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> good thing it's only a ridge top that separates us from my in laws!
> 
> Making the mess is definitely the fun part!
> 
> Haha, yeah, she hates when we change up the routine too much. It's why we have to teach things slowly to her. So while she enjoys something new, she gets anxious in a way about it. She's been that way since the day we got her. Just her being her. And just requires a lot of pats and good girl comments
> 
> 
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> I'm glad too! We've just done a few of them every time we ride, definitely not drilling anything. And lots and lots of pats and good girls! I'm really happy with how she's picking it up!
> 
> If they do come, there will be A LOT of pictures! She takes so many it's hard to pick through them
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> especially the more consistent Izzie gets. Then all of her pictures start looking awesome
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> regionals isn't until July 1st-3rd. We would be showing July 1st in sport horse, and July 2nd in dressage. The qualifying dressage show is June 11th
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> ------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Had another good ride last night! Not our best, but we ended on some good work! It's still a rush to me doing all these new lateral maneuvers, and I'm really liking how light she's starting to feel at the canter. It's really teaching her to sit back, and it's awesome! The bonus, too, is that our leg yields have improved DRASTICALLY. Like, they were good before, but now they are just stunning. And SO much fun to ride! It's always fun to hop off after a good ride!
> 
> And also, I think I talked about this on Tina's thread, but Izzie always wants her face scratched after she's done working. And I spoil her and rub it for her. Yes, she's spoiled, and yes she does have manners. But how can you not scratch her when this is her reaction?? Turn up the volume so you can hear the appreciation
> 
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> Also, it's a certain someone's birthday today! Sadly, I have appointments this afternoon so Nick is going down to feed. Can't even see my baby on her birthday
> 
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> but SIX years old today! And I've had her almost five of those years!


Well I hope it calms down and I'm sure he will  gotta have memory keep sakes so you can see it all.

Awww that's precious!! What a lucky boy to get to learn to drive and play early. That sounds really fun. I bet they both enjoyed that, father-son moments!

Maybe she some anxiety of, I got to get this. I've got to get this righy. And tries too hard trying to please?

Oh neat! Pictures are a must but good luck with the shows!!

Glad you had another great ride! Laterals are fantastic but the face scratching video is priceless!! She's like mom move over there, don't stop. It's itchy!

And Happy Birthday Izzy!! You're 6 now, time to grow up :lol:


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## Tazzie

I think it'll calm down for a little bit, then get crazy again. Such is life :lol:

Oh yeah, they both had a great time with it! It makes them both happy, which is good! 

I do think she does. When she gets it figured out, she's instantly happier. She has always tried really hard to please, which is why praise is very freely given. She's my special child :lol:

Thanks! We're leaving tomorrow around lunch! I'm incredibly excited! And we ordered a cake to celebrate Nick and my best friend's birthday. Also added Izzie's and my friend's mare's name on it. Will be fun!

I'm pretty pleased with it! She's totally in the "I've got this!!" stage I think. I barely need to ask and she answers. Love it! And that video is every day I take the bridle off :lol: I know I shouldn't let her, but whatever. She doesn't beg for cookies, she just wants her face scratching. That is her favorite treat for a job well done :lol:

Haha, yeah, that's what we tell her when she's having baby moments. I told her it's time she grew up :lol:


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## DanteDressageNerd

lol of course. It all comes in waves and thank Good thing it hits all at once, rather than sporadically or we'd never have a break :lol:

That's really awesome! Those are the kinds of memories people and kids live for 

lol special children are the best. That's wonderful that she has such a good work ethic and desire to please. Always imo worth their weight in gold with a good attitude. Makes them much more ridable/trainable! 

You're welcome  lol that's always a good sign. Apparently she really loves you and your bonding moments together  it's a really cute video! She looks SO happy. 

lol exactly. We tell Dante that too. At some point you're going to have to grow up and at which point I have the feeling they're kinda like NO never!! lol. But they're growing up!


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## Tazzie

Yup! I feel like we are always super hectic in the summer, and it calms down in the winter :lol:

Definitely! Plus, outdoors is always good!

Yes they are! I definitely appreciate her good work ethic and how much she wants to please. Definitely makes riding and training easier! She is definitely worth her weight in gold!

I will say we are definitely bonded :lol: and she is always super happy to have her face scratched!

Haha, yeah, she has her moments, but they are getting fewer. I think she's starting to become addicted to work. I get on now and she's like "LET'S DO THIS!" Silly girl!

And we are mostly ready for the show! Costume is in the truck, my show clothes are in it, her bridle, my boots, her new show pads (there should be LOTS of pictures!!), and my bag of rags are all in there. Grooming box is in it's bin to be put in the bed until we get to the trailer. Chairs too (my fancy ones I won!) Have all of our drinks ready to be put in the cooler (why pay $1 for a bottle of water when I can buy a 12 pack for $2.50??) Have my overnight bag packed up minus my toothbrush. Nick is responsible for his.

House is fairly clean. Bathrooms are clean and sheets for mom's bed are washed. Nick cleaned up the kitchen too. Will clean living room if there is time today, but we will see. Folded all the laundry except what I washed yesterday. Nick is going to try and fold it today if he has time.

So... I think we're ready!! I know I'M ready to get there and see my best friend!!

In awesome news with her, I'd been suggesting she talk to the girl that will be free leasing her horse. My friend paid A LOT of money to buy one of the TBA classes at the show on Sunday purely to qualify for regionals. I kept suggesting to her to see if it would be possible to show her at regionals. Well, she looked it up yesterday, and saw regionals falls right before another show this girl comes up for (she's in NC). So, my friend contacted her. And the mare will come up for regionals!!! We both wanted to dance around and scream, but neither of us could last night (she lives in an apartment complex; I had a pile of socks on my lap). So we are reserving that for today when we get into the fairgrounds! I'm SOOOO excited!! She has stall curtains she wants to use "as long as it doesn't mess up your chee!" is what she said to me. I laughed and said "I'm the one telling you you can put them up on every tack stall we have!!" Now she is joking she's going to get a valence that says Phoenix Farms - Sport Horse Division, and have it say it's run by me :lol: I told her I'd be honored! She's my best friend


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## DanteDressageNerd

Summer is always busy. People suddenly feel like they want tod o something :lol:

Absolutely! Who doesn't enjoy working with a partner who is as invested as they are. She's a good mare  but she looks super happy when she gets "mommy" time and face scratches. Her vocal appreciation is hilarious!

I'm glad she's got her game face on every ride :lol: that's always a joy to be like well okay. Let's do this!

Good luck at the show! I hope it all goes well!

And if house is pretty clean that definitely takes some stress out. But that sounds really awesome that she could still show her mare at Regionals! Really neat the leasee is okay with that. As well as the stall curtains at shows. Always nice to have, so people know who is who and what they're up to :lol: it sounds like it will be a really great time! Though a shame you couldnt' show your true feeling in enthusiastic dance, always a shame :/


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## Tazzie

Well, summer is busy because of horse shows, and then Nick's side of the family is HUGE. So we have baby showers, wedding showers, and weddings. It gets crazy. And my brother graduates from college this year too.

She's definitely my baby 

And yeah, it's nice that she wants to go!

We danced at the show :lol: but it was at least a good weekend with friends.

Alright, I'm going to do individual posts only because it's a lot...


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## Tazzie

Friday we head down to bathe her. Literally scrapping the water off of her when the skies open up and just starts pouring. We hop into the trailer to put on her shipping boots and blanket to keep her from getting dirty. I told Nick I'm super thankful she's sane :lol: going to the barn would have resulted in a super muddy horse.

Got down there later than we wanted, but such is life. Had some cake, which was delicious. Got everyone settled in, and then Nick and I went to check in at the hotel. Planned to swim, but the pool was packed and more people were heading in. Opted not to go.

Saturday we slept in a little bit. Only day we could, so took advantage of it. Izzie warmed up well and I was SUPER pumped. Downfall, it was me and THIRTEEN other entries in that class. We showed with the purebreds. The judge will always favor purebreds to half Arabians no matter how well they do. And one particular barn placed first through 4th. We aren't sure how the 5th place horse got his placing since he was everywhere. And the 6th place horse was shocked. She later found out the judge came up to me in line up and told me Izzie's mouth was too busy for a hunter, and that he had seen her more settled. No, he hasn't. The one and only other time he judged her she needed an adjustment bad and was swapping leads and just being naughty. Everyone said they have no clue who he was truly judging since Izzie rode the best she ever had. Like, I actually teared up while riding because she did SO good. So, disappointed in that.

Did our costume. We had some.... scary moments before it. She kept trying to flip the behind the ear piece onto her ears so she could spook and bolt. I was not amused. We got it figured out, but I rode the class conservatively and we stood no chance. I was all over the place and we blew our leads.

Nick went back to the hotel after our late lunch and I stayed to help my friend run the Saddlebred part of the show. She ended up not needing help, but I at least got her something to eat and drink. I got to watch her boyfriend show, which was awesome. But that judge will not be welcome back. He ran the Saddlebreds like Arabs. They were all soaking wet leaving the ring. And he didn't know how to call some of the classes. For the road horse, he actually made it walk and reverse at the walk. Road horses only show at the jog, road gait, and at speed. They never called for the "at speed" gait, so that poor lady was holding this extremely game horse back. She managed it, but it was ridiculous. And then judge himself complained it was taking so long!

After my friend's boyfriend showed, I had Nick come pick me up. We went and swam in the pool, which was WONDERFUL. Came back, took our showers, and relaxed. Decided we were going to head to dinner when my best friend called and asked if we wanted to join for dinner. YES! We went and had a GREAT time. Convinced my friend to sing karaoke, which she rocked it. Checked Izzie one last time, then went back to the hotel to crash.


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## Tazzie

Then Saturday. I felt GOOD about it. Izzie woke up happy and just seemed like it'd be a great day.

We braided her up and got her down to run our four sport horse in hand patterns. She rocked it. And got the lowest scores she has ever gotten. I had been told the scores were low, but wow. And a horse that doesn't look nearly as nice as Izzie scored 18 points higher than us. What the heck? Tried to brush it off.

I watched my friend show her mare in the halter class. Now, this mare is nice. And has been Supreme Halter Champion at this show before. Took FOURTH. At this point we realized it was going to be an extremely weird show...

I got my horse ready to ride (well, Nick did; I'll expand on why in the next post), and warmed up for my hunter pleasure class. She was a bit behind my leg, but I was able to get her working better. Went out there and absolutely rocked it. She was SOOO good. It was me and two others. Well, we took second. After we came out, I had a SWARM of people telling me they thought the judge was nuts. I saw a picture of the other horse. The horse that won, trotted level. He SHOULD have been in country english pleasure, NOT hunter pleasure.

We went back to the barn to strip Izzie of her tack because the sport horse ring was that far behind schedule. I watched my friend ride in costume. The judge should have just announced that she would make sure my friend didn't win. Everyone knows english pleasure horses barely walk. My friend was above and beyond the better ride in that class. Until at the end when the judge called for the walk and line up when the other person was basically at line up and my friend was on the other side of the arena. My friend did not win though her overall ride was A LOT better.

Finally the sport horse ring was ready for us. Izzie was fussy for some reason, and we couldn't figure it out. She still rode well, but not the greatest. Took third out of three. Came out and was told the second place horse had no business placing ahead of us. Joy. Rode our second class, and took second out of three. Beating another Arabian/Stock Horse cross. The winner was a NICE Friesian/Arabian cross. Just unfortunate she was in EVERY sport horse class I was. Though, before this class I was talking to a friend of mine when I ran my hand down in front of the saddle to make sure it hadn't slipped forward (more on this later). Izzie let out this super deep nicker like "that's the spot!!" This horse was ITCHY. So, before this class, Nick and my other friend who came to watch scratched this horse all over.

After our second class I hopped off and we loosened the girth to give her a break before the championship classes.

Hopped on, did a small warm up, and went in. And she rode well. I do have video of this class, only one I do have. Again, third out of three behind the horse that had zero business placing above me. By now I wasn't happy.

Went into our final class and gave it everything we had. Nick said this class was literally down to who the judge preferred. And the judge still preferred the Friesian cross. I even had spectators picking Izzie as their favorite and saying they liked how I collected her up better.

I watched some of the other classes under this judge. And she did NOT like stock horse crosses. I watched a championship between a cute little Quarab and I think a NSH. The NSH was ridden by the show manager. The Quarab had a flawless ride, didn't miss a beat, did everything perfectly, just lovely. The NSH broke gait in front of the judge, and was all over the place. He cantered like a monkey. The NSH won.

My in hand classes I got a 4th out of 4, a 3 out of 4, a 4 out of 5 (we tied), and a 3 out of 5. She did NOT like Izzie. Which is offensive kind of. I even took a clinic with this lady last year, and she seemed to have liked her. I try and add dressage trainers/clinicians on Facebook since they will post out good information. I had added her after the clinic, but didn't think anything of it. Looked her up again. Not only did she make it so I couldn't add her, but the people she kept placing above me are some of her friends. And I had overheard them talking about trying to qualify for regionals. I think this was purposefully done, but obviously I have no proof.

So, what I learned here, is there are 3 judges I will NEVR show under again. They can kiss my and my stock horse cross' ***!

I will not say I'm disappointed since Izzie showed better than she ever has. I am PROUD of her. I think the judges just abused their power this weekend.


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## Tazzie

Now, onto why Izzie's saddle would have slipped. SOMEONE felt the need to grow again last week, and she's butt high AGAIN. Darn horse.

And the reason I was chatting with my friend.

There was a big blow up Sunday. The sport horse in hand classes were run on an open card, so you get down there and check in. My friend had asked her trainer and the assistant trainer THREE times if they were sure the schedule would work without conflict. Both assured her it would. They ran her gelding in sport horse, but not the mare. Then they did the halter classes. Instead of telling my friend they couldn't run her horses earlier, they told her at the last minute. Which is BS. And actually, the trainer was yelling at my friend in the ring.

We had been sitting at the barn when she came up to my best friend. I hadn't paid much attention until I heard "well, Katie is dressed." I was still in my in hand clothes (unusual since I normally change right away), so I spun and asked what was needed. It was explained out, and we went down there with the mare. She had to run and do something quick. Both Nick and my other friend (his name is Keegan) were like "this horse isn't finished" and ran up to grab my soft brush and a towel. Got her cleaned up best we could. Found out the "trainer" had supposedly bathed them twice prior to the show. But she used dawn dish soap. What the heck? No.

We ended up not running it right away. I managed to run her just before my hunter pleasure class. This is how much I care for my friends. I showed her mare in the same classes against Izzie, I showed her to the best I could, and I really wanted to please my friend. She had warned me on the long side of the triangle when we extend the walk that she will try to jig but just squeeze the line and she'll come back. Well, I always half halt Izzie as we take our corners to set her up for the change in gait, so I did that. And guess what horse didn't jig. Yup, that'd be my friend's mare. I was PROUD of her. My friend was in tears for me doing this. I was too, but not for that reason. I ran the mare for two classes (so I ran the triangle twice) in my white show clothes and my still not broken in tall boots. My legs HURT after that. But I was happy I could help out my friend. She has health issues, and running her own horses would cause her to be laid out the next day in pain. I couldn't do that to her. I was just glad I could help her.

We did turn in the assistant trainer though. She was showing the horses in the amateur division. A professional (aka, assistant trainer) can not show in the amateur divisions. And my friend took her horses home. I'm thankful for that because they both need weight. The "trainer" kept talking about calm and sweet they are. Yeah, it's because she stopped feeding them. The mare gets fat on air. She needs a good 100-200 pounds. The gelding isn't as noticeable, but he does still need weight.

My friend is super thankful that I was willing to help her like that. I told her I'm always willing to help out. She told all the ladies in the office how much she appreciated it, and I guess told her mom who said she's lucky to have such good friends. I just like helping my friends where I can 

OH, and the big thing I forgot. I'm super tired still, and home sick today, ugh. When we took Izzie's saddle off, she had a 2" across round welt on her back/shoulder/withers area. Right where a saddle would go. Izzie rode her classes with the saddle pressing on a spot she got stung or bit. It was not there when we tacked up, and we always check the saddle pad and saddle to make sure nothing is there. That horse is just amazing for me.

Also, here is the video for our championship class. Be warned, it may make you dizzy... my mother in law had never recorded with it before...


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## DanteDressageNerd

I'm not super familiar with arabian shows, as I've never done one but I think it's really unfortunate they prefer purebreds over half bred horses. I guess I'm used to the dressage world where judges might prefer a type but they don't necessarily go after breeds. I've heard sometimes arabians and spanish horses there can be some breed bias.

I'm sorry she wasn't happy with her costume :-/ 

The judging sounds like it was really biased and unfair. I've heard that's how it is in the country pleasure, hunter under saddle, etc classes. It's really unfortunate Izzy was going so well and the judges didn't take notice :-( I know sometimes the judges already have picked out who they want to win before the class even starts and I'm guessing people don't often get lawyers involved with unfair rulings, so there aren't many consequences. There is a lot of bias in judging. I like to say dressage is less subjective but it is definitely dependent on judges bias. I think there may be a little less but it's definitely still present in whatever the judges prefer to see at the time and what they want to promote or what they emphasize as preferential. It's just ridiculous sometimes. Scores don't always reflect performance and I'm glad Izzy was really good and she performed well, even if the judges already had their winners picked before the class. But I agree. I wouldn't want to show under any of those jerks again. The bias is unnecessary bull****.

Did you ever find out what was making her so itchy? Or rather I just read, she was stung or bit by something :-( poor girl. That's amazing she was as good as she was! Maybe the saddle helped her itch? Holding pressure on an itchy spot can sometimes help with the itching.

But I'm glad you turned in the trainer trying to show as an amateur. That's definitely not okay but it sounds like you really helped out your friend and otherwise had a good weekend!!


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## Tazzie

Especially when the purebreds were very flat, movement wise. Decent conformation, but no lift in their gaits. But, the judge only likes purebreds, only breeds purebreds, and overall is just not a half Arabian fan. Which made me sad since he REALLY liked Izzie last time he saw her. I'm divided about showing under him again. The people I showed against were only in that class since they were showing at the rated show the next day. They don't normally show unrated shows.

I am too. I just wish she would behave like when we first started working in it. I have NO idea why she suddenly hates the head piece when she was fine with it earlier.

I was really not happy with it. At all. That little mare worked her tail off for me because I asked, and gained no recognition. I don't even know WHY the judge didn't count us. First show I've been to the judge didn't make one remark to us. Every show until now I've known why we did or didn't place like we should have. The one on Saturday was a BS answer since Izzie's mouth was steady. I'm not sure you could get lawyers involved since the judge could come up with some "valid" reason. To me, it was an FEI level rider and judge, who was allowed to let her bias show. And I will NEVER show under her again. I'll also be sure to let show management why I wouldn't be attending their shows. I REFUSE to pay over $200 for one show to not even be looked at. And I REFUSE to ask Izzie to work her heart out for me for nothing. I know dressage can be bad, but (typically) it is better. As long as you do the requirements how they should be done. This is a bunch of horses showing on a rail, and you can't pick out the horse that is truly working for me rather than against? The horse that doesn't have their head yanked down by the reins but rather actually working? Particularly from a judge who judges Dressage. This was a judge helping her friends get to regionals, and it ticks me off.

I wish we knew all that made her itchy. We are guessing it was just whatever bit or stung her. Fortunately the welt was gone on Monday. I didn't see her last night since I was sick and Nick had to work. Who knows. I know it was sensitive to touch, so I can't imagine the saddle felt good on it. All I know is that my mare has the heart of a champion to work through that.

Yup, that chick had no business showing in those classes. None. She just turned 18, so I'm sure they figured they could get away with it. Not happening. You accept money to help train, you are no longer an amateur. End of statement.

I'm glad I got to spend so much time around my horse show family, that's for sure. My best friend and I both had rough weekends, but it was still awesome to see them. And heart warming moment was what Nick said after we left. He said he enjoys hanging out with my best friend and her boyfriend (we joke he's Nick's boyfriend :lol and that he wishes we were able to hang out with them more outside of horse shows. I said I bet we could make that happen :lol:

It's raining today, and I still feel meh. So no riding for me... I'm REALLY hoping it's a nice as they are saying it'll be tomorrow, and I feel better. I want to ride my mare and start working on our tests. I still haven't decided what tests I want to ride in Michigan, and entries open on Sunday.


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## DanteDressageNerd

Tazzie said:


> Especially when the purebreds were very flat, movement wise. Decent conformation, but no lift in their gaits. But, the judge only likes purebreds, only breeds purebreds, and overall is just not a half Arabian fan. Which made me sad since he REALLY liked Izzie last time he saw her. I'm divided about showing under him again. The people I showed against were only in that class since they were showing at the rated show the next day. They don't normally show unrated shows.
> 
> I am too. I just wish she would behave like when we first started working in it. I have NO idea why she suddenly hates the head piece when she was fine with it earlier.
> 
> I was really not happy with it. At all. That little mare worked her tail off for me because I asked, and gained no recognition. I don't even know WHY the judge didn't count us. First show I've been to the judge didn't make one remark to us. Every show until now I've known why we did or didn't place like we should have. The one on Saturday was a BS answer since Izzie's mouth was steady. I'm not sure you could get lawyers involved since the judge could come up with some "valid" reason. To me, it was an FEI level rider and judge, who was allowed to let her bias show. And I will NEVER show under her again. I'll also be sure to let show management why I wouldn't be attending their shows. I REFUSE to pay over $200 for one show to not even be looked at. And I REFUSE to ask Izzie to work her heart out for me for nothing. I know dressage can be bad, but (typically) it is better. As long as you do the requirements how they should be done. This is a bunch of horses showing on a rail, and you can't pick out the horse that is truly working for me rather than against? The horse that doesn't have their head yanked down by the reins but rather actually working? Particularly from a judge who judges Dressage. This was a judge helping her friends get to regionals, and it ticks me off.
> 
> I wish we knew all that made her itchy. We are guessing it was just whatever bit or stung her. Fortunately the welt was gone on Monday. I didn't see her last night since I was sick and Nick had to work. Who knows. I know it was sensitive to touch, so I can't imagine the saddle felt good on it. All I know is that my mare has the heart of a champion to work through that.
> 
> Yup, that chick had no business showing in those classes. None. She just turned 18, so I'm sure they figured they could get away with it. Not happening. You accept money to help train, you are no longer an amateur. End of statement.
> 
> I'm glad I got to spend so much time around my horse show family, that's for sure. My best friend and I both had rough weekends, but it was still awesome to see them. And heart warming moment was what Nick said after we left. He said he enjoys hanging out with my best friend and her boyfriend (we joke he's Nick's boyfriend
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ) and that he wishes we were able to hang out with them more outside of horse shows. I said I bet we could make that happen
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> It's raining today, and I still feel meh. So no riding for me... I'm REALLY hoping it's a nice as they are saying it'll be tomorrow, and I feel better. I want to ride my mare and start working on our tests. I still haven't decided what tests I want to ride in Michigan, and entries open on Sunday.


I've never done Arabian shows, is the purebred vs half Arab bias pretty normal? I really like the part needs. I've ridden a few purebreds but to me a lot of the purebred Arabs lack push power from behind, they just lack the power to engage the haunches in a driving way if that makes sense. I'm sure there are ones that can but for the most part I haven't seen the power and impulsion or force the part needs have. 

Maybe it was just a bad day for her and she'll soon be okay with the costume again *shrugs* ponies.

The corruption is what angers me and waste of the point of these shows. It's not to just help your buddies but to be objective and judge each horse accordingly. I know this is ideal but I wonder what this FEI judge was looking for if she's just that kind of person. Just sad to me, it really puts people off and ****es them off when they're not even looked at because they're not the judges buddy or friend :-/ or at least Id be ****ed. I know with the one show Dante and I did, I was disappointed with the judging because I have no idea what we'd realistically score or where we're at because the judge didn't know what they were doing scores wise but it's quite another thing to be totally discarded due to bias and buddy-buddy, political bull****. That crap ticks me off too. I don't blame you. At first I thought the judge just didn't like how Dante moved or how I rode (tension) there might be some breed bias because the rider who won had a poor test, horse wasn't together. Just blah but was more of a TB mover long-out mover vs up and down like Dante. But after looking at other peoples score cards and seeing how incorrectly they were marked,like 4s and 8s all over the test. It was just ridiculous. Judging is SO subjective. It's frustrating. I hope next show is more objective! Judges can always make notes that aren't so to justify their verdict in buddy-buddy situations.

I'm sorry you've been sick. I hope you feel better soon. I also hope Izzy's welt has gone away and her itchiness doesn't reoccur. Maybe a reaction to shavings? Or shampoo? Just random *shrugs*

I'm glad she was caught for breaking the rules. She's 18 and should know better. You're not an amateur if you take money to ride. 

Aww I'm glad you have a good show family and Nick has a friend, so he can enjoy being at the shows too! Someone who understands the life lol.

Yeah the storma are pretty good in the midwest in the Spring. It always worries me but you'll work out your tests and be able to ride and practice them soon!


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## Tihannah

Hey Katie! I've been reading your posts the past couple nights, but always after I got back from the barn (after 8pm) and just tired and ending up passing out before I could form a good reply! Weather is not great today, so no riding and I can catch up.

I'm so sorry to hear about the MESS at your show. It was just making me so mad reading it! I watched your video and I thought you guys did so good and Izzie looked fantastic and you guys have worked so hard. :-( But don't let it discourage you. YOU know you did well and you know Izzie did well and that's all that matters. I simply don't understand how someone can consider themselves a legitimate judge and score people based on how well they know them instead of their competency to ride a decent test! And even if it's a breed class, the horse should be judged on how well it executes the movements, not how pure it is! This just bugs the crap out of me.

Even as I say that, these are the kinds of things that keep me from getting excited about showing. Even at the jumping clinic we hosted last weekend, there were a group of women in the stands whose daughters were riding and they were talking smack about everyone else. She barely spoke to anyone outside her group either. This is just not something we're accustomed to at my barn. Everyone cheers each other on and tries to be welcoming. My trainer was not happy about it at all.

I'm really glad that you got to share the experience with your friend though, and still tried to have a good time. You deserve it. As far as showing under those judges again, I seriously don't know if I could do it. Especially if they're not going to be fair and unbiased! Our senior trainer is the judge for our upcoming schooling show and she could have easily told me, "Don't worry about it. Just do it." Instead she told me we weren't ready and I should just focus on getting better. I appreciate and respect that. Someone that give high scores to a clearly bad ride, shouldn't be in the judges box!


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## Tazzie

Cassie, it *can* be bad, but a lot of judges don't typically pick out what half Arabs they like best. They don't typically favor one type over another since the half Arabs are SUCH a mixed bag when it comes down to it, and some may even be well over 75% Arabian. I don't typically whine and moan about shows, but Izzie executed everything she needed to perfectly, and they didn't call for walk to canter or vice versa, so nothing to ding us on. Izzie was a touch mouthy, but not as bad as the others. Difference was, is that the other two had their mouths tied shut with their flash (watch the end of that video, you'll see) and Izzie doesn't wear a flash (you want to see a ****ed off horse, put a flash on her; she gets MAD). They chomped their bit the whole time.

I was explaining to Nick about the impulsion difference. To me, the difference is in the croup. Izzie's croup, while sloped more than it should, still allows for her to "tuck" her hind end under to really give her driving power. Purebreds (not all, but a lot of them) have the flatter croup which in turn makes it a lot more difficult to really get that hind end under them and working. Izzie right now is struggling with her body since she grew another inch or so, so she's trying to reorganize it. But she still knows what she has to do, and still makes some big efforts to do it.

Possibly. Our next show is May 14th with it, so we'll be practicing with it, and getting it fixed so it can't fly up at all. Then maybe she will relax.

I 100% agree with you. I love doing these shows since I get to spend my weekends with my best friends, and I typically get good feed back from the judge (or at least WHY I didn't place higher). This was just frustrating. I think the one girl who should not have placed above me lessons with the judge. I'm not 100% certain, but I think she does. The other horse that placed above me was definitely a quality animal, but apparently it was close in our championship class. Least in Nick's and everyone else's opinion. She had the score card done before we even got in the line up though, so who knows.

I hate to totally give up on riding in these types of shows, but it may come down to it. I'm not having Nick work her behind off for nothing anymore. That isn't fair to her.

I do feel better, thank goodness. Just tired. Her welt is gone, so that's good. She's used the shavings before (same brand) and same shampoo. Maybe the saddle pad caused it since it's new. Going to wash it a lot before the next show. I'm hoping this will be the end of it...

I don't know if anything was done about it, but I turned her into show management. I'm REALLY hoping something was said about it.

I enjoy listening to the rain and storms, but it also makes me sad about riding :lol: will make life SO much easier when I have an indoor or covered arena or something...

Tina, it's all good! I sometimes mean to reply to stuff, and then realize days later I never did :lol: I'm bad about it.

It really bugged me too. I'm not normally one to pitch a fit about the show, but I usually accept responsibility for something for it. Last show Izzie was ouchy, and we blew it. Totally accepted that. This? No, this was intentionally placing my horse lower. And I'm done with it. I'm *almost* wondering if it's because I was nominated for that Sport Horse Handler/Rider award. I'd hate to think that, but I don't even know anymore. I'd really hope it wasn't that.

I just won't be riding my mare under those judges again. If a judge can't appreciate a horse accurately being ridden and instead picks friends, then I don't need to put money in their pockets. To heck with them.

I do try and cheer on others. We watched a green rider class, and Nick and I cheered on a girl I didn't even know. But I could relate to her a bit. Totally terrified amateur, probably first class ever, trying SO hard to ride well and make her horse look good. She got second in the class. I try to support others. But it's sad so many would rather tear down people. Showing *can* be fun. Not all of them have judges that are biased ******.

I'm definitely glad I had a good weekend with my friends at least  and made some new friends too, which was cool. And saw some people we befriended last year, who told me they love watching us because they can tell Izzie belongs working in Dressage stuff. Said it's neat to see a horse doing the thing they are best at and belong in. My new friend thought all dressage riders were divas (I mentioned her after my last show) and not only was glad I wasn't, but actually watched Izzie and I ride. They are nice people.

-----------------------------------------------

We went out to feed yesterday before we headed to Nick's Grandpa's for his birthday. Nick and I have started discussing ways to cut costs and such. We're tired of living how we are, so things are changing. Which unfortunately means Izzie may have to wait another year for a new saddle. Hers fits well enough right now, but makes me bummed. On the other hand, she's clearly still growing, so may be better to wait another year anyway. Just frustrated about it.

I will say, Nick said THE BEST thing ever yesterday. Izzie came trotting in for dinner all sorts of excited. And Nick, out of nowhere, says "No matter what we do, we couldn't sell her. It'd be like putting Elliot down all over again." Elliot was the dog I had before I met Nick, who HATED men. Until he met Nick. Elliot was how I knew Nick was the one. Upon meeting Nick, he ran right up to Nick, jumped on him, and his tail was wagging a million miles an hour. We always joked if we ever got divorced, everything would be civil up until it came to Elliot. Elliot had extreme separation issues, extreme anxiety, hated other dogs and cats, and apparently didn't like kids. He snapped at Kaleb when Kaleb was crawling (not even that close to him). He had already bitten my brother in law in the butt (not hard since he'd broken all of his canines trying to break out of his crate). He was not a rehoming candidate, so we had him put to sleep. I actually lost friends over it telling me to rehome him. And I had shelters telling me he would have been immediately put to sleep upon learning about his aggression. He went sitting in mine and Nick's lap, and was hands down the hardest thing we have ever done to date. It'll be 3 years this fall. So to hear this is how Nick truly felt about Izzie, made me tear up. I knew he liked Izzie. I didn't realize she was on Elliot's level.

This is Elliot, the little mutt I rescued from a shelter, and kept longer than anyone else would have. He was a master escape artist, and could break welds. No matter the amount of training, he was always a monster with things, but loved us. He would have been 8 this year, which is why putting him down was insanely hard. Our vet fully supported us in it, and told us we were doing the right thing for him.


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## DanteDressageNerd

Tazzie said:


> Cassie, it *can* be bad, but a lot of judges don't typically pick out what half Arabs they like best. They don't typically favor one type over another since the half Arabs are SUCH a mixed bag when it comes down to it, and some may even be well over 75% Arabian. I don't typically whine and moan about shows, but Izzie executed everything she needed to perfectly, and they didn't call for walk to canter or vice versa, so nothing to ding us on. Izzie was a touch mouthy, but not as bad as the others. Difference was, is that the other two had their mouths tied shut with their flash (watch the end of that video, you'll see) and Izzie doesn't wear a flash (you want to see a ****ed off horse, put a flash on her; she gets MAD). They chomped their bit the whole time.
> 
> I was explaining to Nick about the impulsion difference. To me, the difference is in the croup. Izzie's croup, while sloped more than it should, still allows for her to "tuck" her hind end under to really give her driving power. Purebreds (not all, but a lot of them) have the flatter croup which in turn makes it a lot more difficult to really get that hind end under them and working. Izzie right now is struggling with her body since she grew another inch or so, so she's trying to reorganize it. But she still knows what she has to do, and still makes some big efforts to do it.
> 
> Possibly. Our next show is May 14th with it, so we'll be practicing with it, and getting it fixed so it can't fly up at all. Then maybe she will relax.
> 
> I 100% agree with you. I love doing these shows since I get to spend my weekends with my best friends, and I typically get good feed back from the judge (or at least WHY I didn't place higher). This was just frustrating. I think the one girl who should not have placed above me lessons with the judge. I'm not 100% certain, but I think she does. The other horse that placed above me was definitely a quality animal, but apparently it was close in our championship class. Least in Nick's and everyone else's opinion. She had the score card done before we even got in the line up though, so who knows.
> 
> I hate to totally give up on riding in these types of shows, but it may come down to it. I'm not having Nick work her behind off for nothing anymore. That isn't fair to her.
> 
> I do feel better, thank goodness. Just tired. Her welt is gone, so that's good. She's used the shavings before (same brand) and same shampoo. Maybe the saddle pad caused it since it's new. Going to wash it a lot before the next show. I'm hoping this will be the end of it...
> 
> I don't know if anything was done about it, but I turned her into show management. I'm REALLY hoping something was said about it.
> 
> I enjoy listening to the rain and storms, but it also makes me sad about riding
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> will make life SO much easier when I have an indoor or covered arena or something...
> 
> Tina, it's all good! I sometimes mean to reply to stuff, and then realize days later I never did
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I'm bad about it.
> 
> It really bugged me too. I'm not normally one to pitch a fit about the show, but I usually accept responsibility for something for it. Last show Izzie was ouchy, and we blew it. Totally accepted that. This? No, this was intentionally placing my horse lower. And I'm done with it. I'm *almost* wondering if it's because I was nominated for that Sport Horse Handler/Rider award. I'd hate to think that, but I don't even know anymore. I'd really hope it wasn't that.
> 
> I just won't be riding my mare under those judges again. If a judge can't appreciate a horse accurately being ridden and instead picks friends, then I don't need to put money in their pockets. To heck with them.
> 
> I do try and cheer on others. We watched a green rider class, and Nick and I cheered on a girl I didn't even know. But I could relate to her a bit. Totally terrified amateur, probably first class ever, trying SO hard to ride well and make her horse look good. She got second in the class. I try to support others. But it's sad so many would rather tear down people. Showing *can* be fun. Not all of them have judges that are biased ******.
> 
> I'm definitely glad I had a good weekend with my friends at least
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> and made some new friends too, which was cool. And saw some people we befriended last year, who told me they love watching us because they can tell Izzie belongs working in Dressage stuff. Said it's neat to see a horse doing the thing they are best at and belong in. My new friend thought all dressage riders were divas (I mentioned her after my last show) and not only was glad I wasn't, but actually watched Izzie and I ride. They are nice people.
> 
> -----------------------------------------------
> 
> We went out to feed yesterday before we headed to Nick's Grandpa's for his birthday. Nick and I have started discussing ways to cut costs and such. We're tired of living how we are, so things are changing. Which unfortunately means Izzie may have to wait another year for a new saddle. Hers fits well enough right now, but makes me bummed. On the other hand, she's clearly still growing, so may be better to wait another year anyway. Just frustrated about it.
> 
> I will say, Nick said THE BEST thing ever yesterday. Izzie came trotting in for dinner all sorts of excited. And Nick, out of nowhere, says "No matter what we do, we couldn't sell her. It'd be like putting Elliot down all over again." Elliot was the dog I had before I met Nick, who HATED men. Until he met Nick. Elliot was how I knew Nick was the one. Upon meeting Nick, he ran right up to Nick, jumped on him, and his tail was wagging a million miles an hour. We always joked if we ever got divorced, everything would be civil up until it came to Elliot. Elliot had extreme separation issues, extreme anxiety, hated other dogs and cats, and apparently didn't like kids. He snapped at Kaleb when Kaleb was crawling (not even that close to him). He had already bitten my brother in law in the butt (not hard since he'd broken all of his canines trying to break out of his crate). He was not a rehoming candidate, so we had him put to sleep. I actually lost friends over it telling me to rehome him. And I had shelters telling me he would have been immediately put to sleep upon learning about his aggression. He went sitting in mine and Nick's lap, and was hands down the hardest thing we have ever done to date. It'll be 3 years this fall. So to hear this is how Nick truly felt about Izzie, made me tear up. I knew he liked Izzie. I didn't realize she was on Elliot's level.
> 
> This is Elliot, the little mutt I rescued from a shelter, and kept longer than anyone else would have. He was a master escape artist, and could break welds. No matter the amount of training, he was always a monster with things, but loved us. He would have been 8 this year, which is why putting him down was insanely hard. Our vet fully supported us in it, and told us we were doing the right thing for him.


It just seems sad to me and I understand. I'm not usually one to complain about it either, unless there is a genuine issue and here it really sounds like there was. Dis they have an extensively tight flash, I've seen that happen a few times. It was terrible in Germany, super tight noseband and flash like Pam and I had to pry off the noseband together because we couldn't get it off alone. It was shocking. I've also heard of trainers breaking nosebands on horses faces from pulling them so tight all the time. And that's fair, some horses really don't like them. It's whatever works best for you and your horse.

I'd definitely agree with the croup being a big part of it, I think hock engagement as well. IMO most purebreds hind end isn't built to sit and carry. It doesn't mean they cant, they don't have as much "drive." But Izzy has a fine hip/croup angle. If I remember her conformation shot. To me it's built a lot like a lot of the wbs bred today with a steeper slope and built more under her, so it's easier for her to collect and carry behind. Poor Izzy, growing pains are no fun. Changes the whole game but it sounds like she's doing really well.

Regardless that's frustrating when the judging is SO skewed and not remotely objective. More of who's who and who do you work with. Though I thought there were rules about students showing under their trainer?

I don't think you'll totally give up on the Arab shows, especially since you make such good friends at them and good people. Hopefully next time will be a better experience!

But I'm glad you're feeling better and are enjoying the storma, even though you don't get to ride because of them :-(

That's great that Nick is SO in love with Izzy and is SO supportive of keeping her but really sad about Eliott :-( I understand though. Especially if he's a special case. Sometimes it is kinder to put them down, then to rehome to a potentially dangerous situation where he'd be euthanized for biting or mistreated. Most people aren't good dog handlers or get dog logic. I'm no expert or dog trainer but I do well with behavior training. If it's of any support, I think you did the right thing by him too. It's not a good place for dogs with aggression issues, especially towards kids. Though I have no doubt it was tough and insanely hard, you did the right thing. He was a cute dog!


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## Tazzie

I don't know that they were excessively tight, but you'll see in the end both of my competitors horses are just going to town on their bit while Izzie is looking around like "what's going on?" Izzie can't have tight anything on her. Her noseband is purposely kept loose (only looks tight) because it rubs her jaw funny. We've tried changing the noseband with the same thing happening. Can't drop it lower, it'll interfere. So, we keep it a bit on the loose side, and she's happy. Flashes are the end of the world to her. I just see it used a lot in these rail classes in particular as a short cut. Judge can't see the mouth moving as well.

Yeah, Arabs fling their hocks out behind them, not under them. Not sure that came out as I intended, but maybe you'll understand :lol: and no, they don't have the driving power. When Izzie sits, even the small amount she does now, she SITS. And you feel it as well as see it. Hers is steeper than people typically want, but it does look a bit more WB than Arab. I'm fine with that :lol: and she's been growing since we broke her, so she's used to that part of the game changing. I just wish she'd stop :lol: she's not huge, but I don't need huge. I was happy with her height :lol:

I don't know what the rules are. I'm sure it'd be claimed as "we only do clinic rides" but still. I only know the Saddlebred rules where the rule is nothing within 90 days. No clue on Dressage or Arags.

No, I won't totally give up on them. I'll just be picking out which few I will actually do. I'll be bummed if those judges go back to that show. I really like that show :sad:

We're still going to try and ride tonight, I think. Just have to see if Nick is playing softball tonight or not. Going to try at least.

I was shocked and speechless when he said it. I'd had no idea. And he wasn't a rehoming candidate at all. He hated strangers. I just didn't appreciate being made to feel like crap when I was already struggling with putting putting the first dog that was legally mine down. But thank you for that. I'm very glad the ones we have now are more laid back. Penny gets anxious, but she's sweet. And Sheldon is a big buffalo that doesn't know how to be mean :lol:


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## DanteDressageNerd

No I get what you mean. Izzy was a lot quieter in the bridle and your hands were a lot more steady. They were left-right-left-right. But no if she isn't happy with a flash, she's not happy with it. Nothing wrong with using one or not using one, just depending on how they're used.

No I understand what you mean and I agree. Izzy uses her hocks well and engages her hind end naturally. It's good thing she has an engine, especially if you cross her with an arabian. I wonder what arabians are up and coming but Dante's sire uses his hocks pretty well in the video I saw of him doing dressage. And I bet there have got to be some arabian stallions in Germany or ones approved trakehner or hanoverian or oldenburg or something that is an arabian stallion when the time comes.

That's unfortunate. I know there are rules in dressage regarding trainers can't be their student's judges. 

I'm glad you won't totally give on them. It sounds like you have your family have a really great time at the shows together. It sounds like it's more social than strict dressage shows and has more comradery with your friends and people showing.

Good luck. I hope you have a good ride, if you get to ride.

Absolutely. It shows how much Izzy means to him and your family. That's really rough to have lost friends over a situation like that but to be honest it sounds like you lost the friends you didn't need in your life. Even if they didn't agree, they should have at least understood how hard it was for you guys to make that decision and that you did make it lightly. Definitely not easy but I think you made the right one by him. But I'm glad you have two good dogs now. Penny and Sheldon, very suiting :lol: I know they're named after Big Bang characters lol.


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## Rainaisabelle

DanteDressageNerd said:


> No I get what you mean. Izzy was a lot quieter in the bridle and your hands were a lot more steady. They were left-right-left-right. But no if she isn't happy with a flash, she's not happy with it. Nothing wrong with using one or not using one, just depending on how they're used.
> 
> No I understand what you mean and I agree. Izzy uses her hocks well and engages her hind end naturally. It's good thing she has an engine, especially if you cross her with an arabian. I wonder what arabians are up and coming but Dante's sire uses his hocks pretty well in the video I saw of him doing dressage. And I bet there have got to be some arabian stallions in Germany or ones approved trakehner or hanoverian or oldenburg or something that is an arabian stallion when the time comes.
> 
> That's unfortunate. I know there are rules in dressage regarding trainers can't be their student's judges.
> 
> I'm glad you won't totally give on them. It sounds like you have your family have a really great time at the shows together. It sounds like it's more social than strict dressage shows and has more comradery with your friends and people showing.
> 
> Good luck. I hope you have a good ride, if you get to ride.
> 
> Absolutely. It shows how much Izzy means to him and your family. That's really rough to have lost friends over a situation like that but to be honest it sounds like you lost the friends you didn't need in your life. Even if they didn't agree, they should have at least understood how hard it was for you guys to make that decision and that you did make it lightly. Definitely not easy but I think you made the right one by him. But I'm glad you have two good dogs now. Penny and Sheldon, very suiting
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I know they're named after Big Bang characters lol.


Can I ask what you think is the correct way to use a flash?


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## Tazzie

Most of the people I show against are left-right-left-right. That's mostly how they ride. I work hard to keep my reins steady (and not hang on the inside rein). We're debating revisiting the flash only to help stabilize the bit. It's like she opens her mouth to readjust the bit, then quiets back down. I've contemplated using a baucher as well for a bit more stability, but I'm resisting buying another bit. We will see.

Exactly. And I'd only be looking at purebreds that had a good motor for dressage, and weren't just rushed up the levels. I want a sire that actually uses himself, not just look pretty.

Yeah, I was sure you couldn't in Dressage. I just haven't looked at the rules for Arabian shows. I'm trying (unsuccessfully thus far) to let it all go.

Yup, I don't want to leave my new family. Thankfully, Nick understands. But also understands why we should cut back some.

It sure does  and yeah, they weren't ones I wanted in my life. One of my other friends countered with one of the louder girls if she would take him. Girl said she couldn't. I told her he'd attack Moose, no questions asked. Penny he got along with because Penny was a female and beta. Males he fought with (he was neutered) I also said he would not come with any homemade crates. She would have gotten him how someone would have gotten him from a shelter. Something just didn't fire correctly in his brain. Wasn't anything we could have done differently. And yes :lol: Penny we had changed from Honey. Then we decided to get another dog. We decided his name would be Sheldon so he could annoy Penny for the rest of her life :lol: his registered name is Empress' Big Bang Theory (Empress is the breeder we got him from). After Elliot, we needed a break from shelter dogs and the unsure true temperament they came with.

Raina, it can help stabilize the bit and help a horse relax. But these people really only care about keeping the mouth clamped shut.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

I did ride last night. And it was awful.

We lunged to warm up because rain was coming in. Figured she'd warm up faster that way. Yup, I was wrong.

Our ride was a mess. Blowing through outside aids, acted like I have never done shoulder in or haunches in. Just generally a discouraging ride.

We did get a few steps in both maneuvers (just the easy way for both) and called it a day. Hoping to try again tonight. No more lunging for warm up. Supposed to ride all weekend long too, so that's just great (sarcasm).

I also need to work on myself. I'm still trying to let this show go, and I think that contributed to the ride. I need to relax and stop thinking about it. It's helping no one.


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## Rainaisabelle

Tazzie said:


> Most of the people I show against are left-right-left-right. That's mostly how they ride. I work hard to keep my reins steady (and not hang on the inside rein). We're debating revisiting the flash only to help stabilize the bit. It's like she opens her mouth to readjust the bit, then quiets back down. I've contemplated using a baucher as well for a bit more stability, but I'm resisting buying another bit. We will see.
> 
> Exactly. And I'd only be looking at purebreds that had a good motor for dressage, and weren't just rushed up the levels. I want a sire that actually uses himself, not just look pretty.
> 
> Yeah, I was sure you couldn't in Dressage. I just haven't looked at the rules for Arabian shows. I'm trying (unsuccessfully thus far) to let it all go.
> 
> Yup, I don't want to leave my new family. Thankfully, Nick understands. But also understands why we should cut back some.
> 
> It sure does
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> and yeah, they weren't ones I wanted in my life. One of my other friends countered with one of the louder girls if she would take him. Girl said she couldn't. I told her he'd attack Moose, no questions asked. Penny he got along with because Penny was a female and beta. Males he fought with (he was neutered) I also said he would not come with any homemade crates. She would have gotten him how someone would have gotten him from a shelter. Something just didn't fire correctly in his brain. Wasn't anything we could have done differently. And yes
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Penny we had changed from Honey. Then we decided to get another dog. We decided his name would be Sheldon so he could annoy Penny for the rest of her life
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> his registered name is Empress' Big Bang Theory (Empress is the breeder we got him from). After Elliot, we needed a break from shelter dogs and the unsure true temperament they came with.
> 
> Raina, it can help stabilize the bit and help a horse relax. But these people really only care about keeping the mouth clamped shut.
> 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> I did ride last night. And it was awful.
> 
> We lunged to warm up because rain was coming in. Figured she'd warm up faster that way. Yup, I was wrong.
> 
> Our ride was a mess. Blowing through outside aids, acted like I have never done shoulder in or haunches in. Just generally a discouraging ride.
> 
> We did get a few steps in both maneuvers (just the easy way for both) and called it a day. Hoping to try again tonight. No more lunging for warm up. Supposed to ride all weekend long too, so that's just great (sarcasm).
> 
> I also need to work on myself. I'm still trying to let this show go, and I think that contributed to the ride. I need to relax and stop thinking about it. It's helping no one.


I found that Roy is more relaxed when he has the flash on. I don't clamp it on though usually hole 2 but I was just curious as some people say you shouldn't need one.


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## Tazzie

Well, my problem was is she would become dependent on it (she's like me and likes "crutches" and such). Then when you're schooling Third Level, what then? You have a horse dependent on the flash and now you can't have one. But I think we're going to bring her old bridle out and see if we can get it adjusted well enough and just work with her in her flash. Something has to change. It won't be clamped down, but maybe it'll stabilize it just enough that she can just finally relax. We'll have days she relaxes and foams, and then days she plays with it. Nick saw a Micklem this weekend, which he had never seen before. He's curious if it would work for her. I said I didn't know. That horses either LOVE them or HATE them. I said if we ordered through SmartPak though we could return it very easily if she hated it. Just money I don't want to spend right now. He is intrigued though. We'll see if we can get her over her hatred of the flash though. Her mouth is a lot quieter in general from the last time I tried it, so maybe she'll be fine. I broke her in one, then took it off.


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## Tazzie

We opted not to ride in a different bridle today. I want to get my thinking horse back before we start changing stuff up.

I swear, being around all those studs this weekend threw her right back into heat. I am not amused. My friend recommended putting her on Moody Mare, which I'm extremely tempted. I'm getting super annoyed with her getting snarky with me using leg.

Today, she didn't want to think. We got through it though. Took more time than I would have liked, but went at her pace.

We got some good work toward the end at least. And we remembered how to do shoulder in and haunches in. After which, she happily jumped into canter. A very light, uphill, floaty departure. One I want every time. One day haha!

I will say, I appreciate Nick a lot right now. He came and stood in our field (our old field; we still haven't had a chance to fence off the other part yet). He first asked what I look for at the walk, and I explained what I want. In the canter he asked what we look for there too. He was confused about the lifting the poll and dropping the croup. We had a few moments Izzie got it at both the trot and the canter, so he was able to see it.

However, Izzie is struggling a lot right now. She's quite croup high again. After nearly a year without any growing, and now bam! Growing again. Which I think is causing frustration for her. She was really starting to get the idea of dropping the croup (at least a little; nothing crazy) and really getting it under her, and now it's extremely hard. It feels like we are back to square one, which I think is frustrating both of us. We didn't get a chance to stick her tonight since Nick wanted to come home and mow the grass. Can try tomorrow, but supposed to rain. Still hoping to ride tomorrow anyway since I can't Sunday (Nick's 30th birthday).

Anyway, that's about it for me today...


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## Rainaisabelle

Tazzie said:


> We opted not to ride in a different bridle today. I want to get my thinking horse back before we start changing stuff up.
> 
> I swear, being around all those studs this weekend threw her right back into heat. I am not amused. My friend recommended putting her on Moody Mare, which I'm extremely tempted. I'm getting super annoyed with her getting snarky with me using leg.
> 
> Today, she didn't want to think. We got through it though. Took more time than I would have liked, but went at her pace.
> 
> We got some good work toward the end at least. And we remembered how to do shoulder in and haunches in. After which, she happily jumped into canter. A very light, uphill, floaty departure. One I want every time. One day haha!
> 
> I will say, I appreciate Nick a lot right now. He came and stood in our field (our old field; we still haven't had a chance to fence off the other part yet). He first asked what I look for at the walk, and I explained what I want. In the canter he asked what we look for there too. He was confused about the lifting the poll and dropping the croup. We had a few moments Izzie got it at both the trot and the canter, so he was able to see it.
> 
> However, Izzie is struggling a lot right now. She's quite croup high again. After nearly a year without any growing, and now bam! Growing again. Which I think is causing frustration for her. She was really starting to get the idea of dropping the croup (at least a little; nothing crazy) and really getting it under her, and now it's extremely hard. It feels like we are back to square one, which I think is frustrating both of us. We didn't get a chance to stick her tonight since Nick wanted to come home and mow the grass. Can try tomorrow, but supposed to rain. Still hoping to ride tomorrow anyway since I can't Sunday (Nick's 30th birthday).
> 
> Anyway, that's about it for me today...


I have a friend who has an Arab mare that when a gelding even looks at her she is back in heat !! She was the worst for dressage she would stick her tail in the air and squirt ugh... My friend was reccommened raspberry leaves I think it is in her feed to calm her down.


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## DanteDressageNerd

With the flash I don't really think of it as a crutch or a "necessary" device. I use one, I don't really "need" it, I've ridden him without a noseband but as shallow as this may sound, it's more "stylistic" for me. Dante can be quirky, so I also use it as a "just in case" because Dante can be naughty and I don't trust him. They do have a place with bit stability or to a certain extent keeping the "mouth" closed or more stable, etc. I don't have anything against them as long as they're fitted correctly and someone isn't using it to be able to rip or pull apart their horse's mouth and the horse be unable to open it's mouth.

I think of it as well when you switch to the double, it is different. They have two bits in their mouth, it's fitted differently and it's different then when they're in the snaffle and wearing the flash. I've seen the transition a few times and haven't seen too much trouble between horses wearing a flash in the snaffle to the double. Image (a PSG pony). He has a very busy mouth from his earlier training, he sticks his tongue out quite a bit and it's not the rider's fault but his earlier training he was held together and pushed up the levels. I can't tell that he's too different with his mouth being ridden in the snaffle to the double. He rides in both pretty regularly. Most all of at my barn that are mid-upper level are ridden in the snaffle more often.

*shrugs* every horse is different and can be very particular about bit fit or how things are positioned on their face or in their mouth. They're all individuals.

Well good luck! I hope some good arabian stallions come out for you to look at that use themselves well.

It sounds like you really made the right decisions with Elliott. But I'm glad you can enjoy Sheldon and Penny and have a more relaxed home life.

I'm sorry you had a discouraging ride. I know how that goes. I find a lot of the times it's me getting in my head and letting them get to me, rather than taking a breath, stepping back and being systematic. Sometimes Dante's just an *** and you cant work with it *shrugs* horses and if she's growing and hormonal, that's probably a part of it. Even Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin have said they have rough days with young horses and horses and that's just normal. Even the best have rough rides if I've had too many lesson in a row I get that way the ride after because I want to repeat what we did and can't. But I'm glad you had a really good ride towards the end, always good to end on a good note!

You can also try putting her on depo if it's an issue. I was suggested to put Dante on it (Mari thought his androgen levels might be too high because he can get studish sometimes) and the progesterone counter balance it but I heard it's really affordable and easy to do. Way easier than regu.mate.

And Happy Birthday to Nick!!


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## Tazzie

Raina, I may check them out. She's never been so dang hormonal, so I don't get it.

Cassie, I think it came out worse than I meant :lol: I don't have a problem with flashes. I've always tried the less is more, only because Izzie has a sensitive face (not always sensitive with what is on it, but rather even a loose caveson can cause a sore). But, we're thinking it may benefit her to have a flash added. The reason I switched bridles is because my Kieffer won't raise the bit any higher (on a cob, go figure) and I couldn't get the bit placed correctly. It's a rolled leather one, so not easily adjustable without taking it to a cobbler. I may see about getting the flash attachment for a bridle that didn't have one, and just seeing if it'd be worth altering my other one (I really don't want to....) or trying on the other bridle because she did grow. Wow, I'm rambling, sorry 

But anyway, once I have her riding like her normal self, then I think I'll play around with it. But I don't want to shove different things at her right now.

Yeah, she's particular. But I'm willing to try things to see what she likes best. And her opinion always changes...

I'm sure there will be some super nice ones out there! I have a few years :lol:

I do think we did too. We don't let kids climb on the dogs, but I'm not afraid the dogs are going to snap either.

I just remind myself the dance is steps forward and back. We have days where it's just absolutely amazing, and then days where it's a disaster. I was glad we worked through it. Just shows me we can't go to a show and not do some of our shoulder in and haunches in work. Least not right now. Will help her out anyway.

Unfortunately, no riding today. It has rained all day and all last night. And Nick has spent all day outside... Kids and I cleaned the house, played a matching game, and put some puzzles together. Now they are napping. I should join, but I have a tough time napping lol

I may have to look into. I'm just super resistant since this is the first year she's been so hormonal. Part of me wants to wait it out, and the other part wants to put her on something to make it better. The Moody Mare has done an insane job on my friend's horse. She's a lot more relaxed now, and can be stalled between two studs without wanting to kill them (her normal reaction). I think we're going to wait just a little longer, to see if it comes back under control or if I need to put her on something.

And it's a big deal turning 30 :lol: but he doesn't want anything big, so he's not getting anything really lol we got him a windshield for his side by side, which made him happy. He put it on today


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## DanteDressageNerd

Oh no worries. No offense taken. I was just talking about flashes. I also heard something about people training youngsters in them while they're learning to accept bit pressure without opening their mouth to escape it. 

For your bridle maybe you could look at the Kathy Connelly crown pad. Dante's the same way. I have a keiffer cob sized rolled leather bridle on the top hole. The crown pad raises it so the bit sits correctly in is mouth. I think he likes the pad too. Izzy might like it too. 

Kathy Connelly Crown Pad | Dover Saddlery

I can't say too much about hormones. I just know we have a few mares who are on depo to help level their hormones. 

I think that's sensitive/quirky types. Very particular about how things are or they're unhappy with life and uncooperative. I'd wait until her hormones came back to normal too :lol: 

For sure. You can't have a dog around kids that bites. Kids, even when they mean well and are being good make mistakes because they don't know better and shouldn't be in danger of being attacked or bitten. I was bit as a kid by my families dog, I still have the scar under my eye. I was lucky. But I agree you should never have to worry about a dog snapping on your kids. A friend of mine's mom put down a dog because it snapped and literally tried to attack and go after the family. Like had them cornered, so they all went into the basement to wait it out. I don't know that you can save a dog like that. 

Absolutely. It's always steps forward and steps back, annoying but I'll say it always gives me relief when I read Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin and all those amazing riders go through the same stuff as us normal folks.

I hear you on the weather, we had an indoor arena so that helps but it's been pouring. Sorry about no riding but I totally get why. I'm sure it's the same where you are since our weather is about the same lol. Everything is soaked. No horses in the fields it's so wet, so they're going out on the dry lots. 

lol sounds like you guys had a good time together, especially if the kids are worn out enough to nap. Nap when you get the chance. 

That might be a good idea to wait it out, if you don't HAVE to have her on something but the horses I've seen on depo had a lot of success. I had a friend put her mare on depo because the mare would stress out so much in season she'd give herself stomach ulcers. It was a nice mare, I remember riding her. That mare was phenomenal, super sensitive but not mean at all. She'd just tell you when she wasn't happy about something but didn't do anything mean just I don't like that. Hope it all works out and her hormones calm down, Angel (my friend that has trakehners) has her mare on mare magic and says it helps. It's basically rhaspberry leaves. I had my old gelding on it too.

And 30 is a big deal though I can see why he doesn't wnat it to be made into a big deal lol. But that sounds like a really nice, practical gift he'll be able to enjoy and use all the time! I think those are the best gifts!


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## Tazzie

I'm glad no offense :lol: sometimes I don't come across like I mean. I never mean to sound rude or condescending, I promise :lol:

Hmm, I think I will. The bridle is just too nice to have it chopped up. I just can't stomach that. I hate how the cob fit isn't always close to the same across different brands. She's in a Courbette right now, and it's not on the tightest hole for the bit. It's so weird.

Definitely. I just want to know that she just wants to be sassy with the bridle because it's different, not because hormones are driving her loony.

Yikes!! That dog sounds terrifying! Sorry you have a scar from it though. I wanted to prevent that, even though it devastated both Nick and I. I have never seen him so torn up before. I do believe he's in a better place now and is a totally normal, healthy dog now. I know he'll be bouncing for joy when we cross over (yes, I do believe in that, don't judge me :lol

It does make me feel better even the top riders have their setbacks. I just have to breathe and remember to not be too hard on us. She's still young and she tries very hard for me.

Yeah, ours are out all day in it. They can come into run ins, but they don't always. We're riding out there tomorrow though. Not letting her have more than two days off. Then having a meeting for our show committee, which should be fun. Friend of mine wants to be the show photographer for it. I have to put in a good word :lol:

We sure did! Then went and celebrated Nick's cousin's 30th birthday! We were all exhausted when we came home!

I'm just on the fence for it. I'm really hoping this is only temporary, but if it's on and off all season like this, we'll be trying something. I just hate to jump into something if I don't have to. I know it can work, but she's normally a (relatively) cool cucumber. Just gets sassy/squealy sometimes.

He loves it :lol: though he took it off to put some light bar up on it. Men! Haha!

And possible news on the saddle front. I have a friend I graduated UK with who has a saddle that may fit Izzie. She's going to let us trial it to see how it'll work. Plan to contact our chiro, who interesting enough is an epic saddle fitter just without the saddles to try, to see if he can check it over. I'm be hopefully reserved about it. I'd like to think it'll fit, and fit well. But I don't want to get my hopes up for them to come crashing down. Nick is on board as long as I don't just jump into a new saddle because I hate my Wintec. He knows I want a new saddle SO bad because I feel I'm fighting the stupid thing. I want something that won't inhibit me anymore. But, if it doesn't work, it doesn't work.


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## DanteDressageNerd

lol no worries. I don't either. I might sometimes write things that may seem that way too but I don't mean anything by it. So much of how we read things, depends on perspective. Over the internet it's way too hard to tell exactly how people mean things, so I figure it's best just to figure theyre like me and mean well.

Exactly! I hate that too. German brands are larger. Horse size fits warmbloods for German brands and horse size is basically cob in states brands. Yeah I'd get the crown piece, so you can use the rolled leather one and not have it cut up. And it's pretty inexpensive for a quick fix. I hope it works! She might like it since it also relives pressure from their poll. 

That makes sense. I think that's just how these quarabs can be. They don't like change and are touchy/sensitive.

I never met my friends childhood dog but exactly. When you have a dog that can snap like that, you can't train it or fix it. It's like a person with a schizophrenia or something very serious. You can help them but they're always going to be unpredictable or dangerous if they're aggressive. lol nah I believe in heaven and afterlife. I believe animals go there too. I don't know what is there but I think it's good. And it's alright, I'm happy I have both my eyes :lol:

Me too. I think it's kind of leveling to realize that even these phenomenal, amazing riders have setbacks with youngsters too and struggles. And certainly 6 is still a young horse. She's still learning her job and how to do it. It isn't like a schoolmaster whose been there, done that and has their job down to a T. They're figuring it all out. I can be hard on myself too, it's natural. I think sometimes we see these phenomenal riders on young horses doing all kinds of amazing things or we see people on their older more mature horses doing what we want to and have to realize they're riding something with those nerve connections and muscle memories already made and we're still forming those connections and teaching them how to use their body. Plus arabians are slow maturing physically and mentally but last forever!

I'm glad you got to celebrate Nicks Birthday with the family 

Makes sense to me. I hope she comes out of it soon!

But of course men always have to add something to it to prove they're men and still useful and capable :lol: 

Good luck with the saddle. It's at least worth trying to see if it's a good fit for you both. You just don't know until you try it and if it doesn't work out maybe it'll give you a better idea of what you like or don't like in a saddle.


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## Tazzie

Yes, I typically mean well :lol: I just have times where it doesn't come out like I fully intended it to :lol:

I truly hate it too! So annoying! But I will! It's worth a shot! I love that bridle on her, and was sad we couldn't make it work.

Yup. My parents had a purebred yellow lab that was diagnosed with Idiopathic Rage Aggression. Basically, any time he was even mildly tired, he would snap. Bit everyone in my family (except me since we didn't visit home much). Had him behavior tested at Michigan State with the woman who discovered this. They opted to have him put down. After they gave him the sedative, mom and dad were in the room with him waiting for it to start working. And he snapped. Mom and dad heard scrambling as everyone was trying to get into the room. He was muzzled until he was flat out from the sedative :sad: he was only a year old. Breeder basically shunned my mom and dad, said they should have returned him to her for her to evaluate and rehome. And basically implied my dad, the man who in tears laid over our other lab who passed away on his own from cancer, beat the dog. My dad has never beaten an animal. Disciplined, yes. But never beaten. That's one breeder I would NEVER recommend to anyone, ever. But yes, I'd be glad to have both eyes!

Exactly! I see people with horses Izzie's age that are farther along, and going onto these great things. And we're still struggling. We don't have an indoor, we don't even have a real ring. I have a lot of things against us that we push through. Hard not to get discouraged every once in a while, but I usually bounce back with more fire.

It was fun  he enjoyed his day for sure!

I sure hope so! It's been a rough year with it!

He cracks me up with it :lol: he also fixed the grill because he wanted to grill hamburgers for his birthday :lol: so much for a nice, relaxing day haha!

Yup! I know a couple I didn't like, but I don't really know what I love. I've heard a lot of people say they love the saddles and that they are great quality. Just will be interesting to see what Izzie thinks of it and how I like it. Just trying not to hold out much hope on it right now.

And we plan to ride this evening. In laws are picking kiddos up, so Nick and I are meeting down at Izzie. Then heading to the meeting tonight. I'd love for life to slow down just a fraction :lol:


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## DanteDressageNerd

Tazzie said:


> Yes, I typically mean well
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> I truly hate it too! So annoying! But I will! It's worth a shot! I love that bridle on her, and was sad we couldn't make it work.
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> Yup. My parents had a purebred yellow lab that was diagnosed with Idiopathic Rage Aggression. Basically, any time he was even mildly tired, he would snap. Bit everyone in my family (except me since we didn't visit home much). Had him behavior tested at Michigan State with the woman who discovered this. They opted to have him put down. After they gave him the sedative, mom and dad were in the room with him waiting for it to start working. And he snapped. Mom and dad heard scrambling as everyone was trying to get into the room. He was muzzled until he was flat out from the sedative
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> he was only a year old. Breeder basically shunned my mom and dad, said they should have returned him to her for her to evaluate and rehome. And basically implied my dad, the man who in tears laid over our other lab who passed away on his own from cancer, beat the dog. My dad has never beaten an animal. Disciplined, yes. But never beaten. That's one breeder I would NEVER recommend to anyone, ever. But yes, I'd be glad to have both eyes!
> 
> Exactly! I see people with horses Izzie's age that are farther along, and going onto these great things. And we're still struggling. We don't have an indoor, we don't even have a real ring. I have a lot of things against us that we push through. Hard not to get discouraged every once in a while, but I usually bounce back with more fire.
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> I sure hope so! It's been a rough year with it!
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> He cracks me up with it
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> he also fixed the grill because he wanted to grill hamburgers for his birthday
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> so much for a nice, relaxing day haha!
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> Yup! I know a couple I didn't like, but I don't really know what I love. I've heard a lot of people say they love the saddles and that they are great quality. Just will be interesting to see what Izzie thinks of it and how I like it. Just trying not to hold out much hope on it right now.
> 
> And we plan to ride this evening. In laws are picking kiddos up, so Nick and I are meeting down at Izzie. Then heading to the meeting tonight. I'd love for life to slow down just a fraction


Lol we're only human, not marble statues of perfect virtue and form.

Definitely and it helps Dante likes his :lol:

That's stupid on the breeders part. I've known some real wacko animal people who assume the animal must have been abused if its excessively shy or aggressive. No some are just mean or shy. My female greyhound (she's passed now) acted like an abused dog because she was so shy and timid but shed never been abused. And don't get me wrong I love my animals but if they're dangerous and have a serious mental illness like that I'd put them down too. I mean what do you do rehome it and wait until it goes off and mauls a child or goes after or kills another dog or an adult? You can't fix what's there and you cant keep a dangerous animal and hope it doesnt go after anyone. You can't fix everything, so I'd have put the dog down too. It'd be hard but there are SO many dogs out there that need homes, might as well keep the non dangerous ones. It's like with pit bulls. I have friends with them and I know they can be great dogs but if you have one that snaps, they can do an incredible amount of damage. Its not like a normal dog bite. It's ugly. Mari (whose a very experienced dog person/breeder/handler/trainer) told me a story of a professional dog handler who got attacked by one and how bad the damage was. I don't know much other than that but I'll say I don't trust an aggressive dog, even with a great handler you have to be on top of it or there will be a problem. I believe in being compassionate and practical. 

With the young horses I look at it as everyone is on a different road and has different set backs. I think we all get discouraged sometimes. That's normal but even if the start is harder, I think of it as but wait until the end and see who goes where. It's also harder on these horses not purposefully bred for the sport vs something that naturally already sits and carries. It shaves off a ton of time when you have something that can do it all naturally. It's definitely not easy. I know with Dante, there is no way I could have developed him without a trainer. He's been really hard to develop.

I'm glad he enjoyed it and it'll get better. But I'm glad you got to have some nice flame grilled hamburgers, that sounds AMAZING!! 

All you can do is try it and see how you feel about it. I've never tried a Jaguar, so I don't know what that would be like to ride in. Plus different saddles feel different on different horses. 

Aww it sounds like it will be nice for just you and Nick to have some Izzy time and a break from kids. I know that sounds bad but when I was little my dad or grandparents used to take us kids so my mom could have a break and some alone time and I know that meant a lot to her and I think moms need a break!


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## Tazzie

So very true :lol: and I'll try it out!

Exactly. Our female is super shy around strangers. And cowers like she is beaten on a daily basis. I can assure you she isn't. She was like that when we adopted her. We think she's essentially a "dummy puppy" like a dummy foal. And we think she was super sheltered when she was young since she hated changes in flooring and didn't know stairs at 6 months old. I also only plan to stick with labs :lol: I know there are nice pits out there, but they aren't for me. Nick wants a boxer, but I love my labs.

Yup. For me, I already feel accomplished. It's a ridiculous way of thinking really, and I promise I'm not high and mighty at all and nothing against this. But I'm glad I brought Izzie along myself instead of handing her to a trainer to start and work up the levels. I have a great sense of accomplishment as we work forward and move forward. Now, when I'm older, sure I'll send the horse to be trained. But right now, I'm glad I did it on my own. I have a girl on FB that brags on and on about her horse's accomplishments. Only, she has never shown the horse herself, and barely rode the horse herself. The trainer did all the work and all the showing. I really hope that doesn't come across as I fear. I have NOTHING against people that do sent their horses to trainers, especially to break them. It just satisfies me that I did this on my own (with the help of trainers; I ALWAYS agree with getting lessons!)

I know it'll get better. I think it already is, for now. And they were DELICIOUS. I had one for lunch yesterday haha!

Yup, I'm just anxious to try it. The anticipation of will it or won't it. I just want to know haha! We will find out on Sunday since I pick it up Saturday. Would love to ride in it on Saturday, but we have a wedding to go to Saturday night. So, Mother's Day it is!

It was nice at least for dinner. The meeting was dreadful. Started at 7 pm and went until 8:30 pm. They have meetings the first Monday of every month. And I was volunteered for the show committee, which is why I was there. Plus, they were discussing the show photographers for the show since a friend of mine had asked if they had one. They didn't. But I don't see her prices going over well. To put it bluntly, each class is $10 to enter. Stalls are $20. This show is CHEAP. Her prices are extremely high comparatively. And this show isn't known for people buying pictures. I had wanted to ask another friend to be it, or see if she would be interested in it, but this other friend beat me to asking. They agreed to the person who asked. I still think my other friend would be the more appropriate photographer since her prices are MUCH more reasonable (like, all the downloads on one horse at the last show was $50; you can't beat that anywhere). We will just see how it goes really.

I did get to ride yesterday. Izzie started off being a total brat. Totally hollowing out her back and just being BAD. Nothing hurting her, she just wanted to do the exact opposite of what I wanted her to do. On purpose. Thankfully I got her to work through it. Our next hurdle was she tried to fake being in the outside rein. This is her number one evasion ever. She just holds her head/neck where SHE thinks it should be, and tries to ignore that she actually needs to be on the bit. I sent her out onto the contact with my seat and legs, and then I did the exercise I picked up at the clinic a couple of weekends ago. Basically, 10 meter circle in the corner, across the diagnol, another 10 meter circle at the end. Finally, FINALLY she went back to working how she SHOULD. Did one "long side" (our make shift long side outside lol) of shoulder in to the left, which she nailed. Patted her, told her she was good, and cooled her out. After a few consistently bad rides last week, I just wanted CORRECT work. Today, I'm hoping to expand on it. Our friend was finally going to section off that field, but we will see. If he hasn't done it already, we are today. I have 2 weeks until we head to Michigan, and I haven't practiced our tests. We've worked on key elements of it, but not the tests themselves.

I'm just thankful I got some good work out of her again. She makes me want to rip my hair out sometimes! Though I love her lol


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## DanteDressageNerd

That's really sad. Poor thing. Some of them just have a very sensitive nature and are timid about things and people who aren't as familiar with animals as they like to think they are don't realize every animal has a different nature, doesn't mean they were ever mistreated. But I don't blame you, labs are pretty great :lol: I'm more of a sight hound person but really prefer cats 

No I totally understand the sense of accomplishment when you start them yourself and do mostly everything with them. For you-you've had Izzy since she was a baby and now she's a 6yr old and totally yours, so you know her background and full history. I didn't get Dante as a baby but I'm pretty proud of what I've done with him. I bought him barely broke. I think it adds greater meaning when you've made the horse yourself vs having someone else ride and make that horse. But I get what you're saying. I can understand being proud of your horse making is with someone else but I agree it's more satisfying when you were able to make the horse yourself, rather than someone else make it for you. 

lol I'm really glad. But enjoy the wedding! That should be exciting. I can understand missing horses for a wedding. 

Meetings are always dreadful imo :lol: but good luck with the show committee. I hope you guys get it all worked out, so it works for people.

Rebellious teenager! I genuinely think sometimes they just want to test their limits and try to break all the rules, as though testing to see how much we'll tolerate. But it sounds like you at least had productive work that helped work with the tude. Frustrating but sometimes those rough rides set us up for the good ones coming up!

You have plenty of time to practice the tests! Good luck on your trip! I know it's in two week but still packing and planning ahead!

lol that's how I feel most of the time too :lol: gotta love them but sometimes it's like can you just quit being fussy and be a professional?


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## Tazzie

It is sad, but she's a good dog. You just can't approach her quickly, and you have to let her come to you. She's better than she was, but still will never be a dog you could run up and pet. Sheldon is fine with everyone though :lol:

I'm glad I didn't come off too stuck up about it. It was a hard subject to talk about nicely :lol: I know some people just enjoy having the trainer train and show it, and that's enough. I know some people fall in love with the horse above their skill level so they send it to a trainer AND take lessons. But those are usually the riders that immediately give credit where credit is due. IE to the trainer that developed that horse. I can't STAND when people have their horses trained, and then take all of the credit. HATE it. But I am super proud how far we've come. She's really grown up and I think she's developing nicely.

I hate weddings :lol: least I do now. We go to roughly 4+ a year. The wedding showers and baby showers. This is all for Nick's side of the family too. SO MANY WEDDINGS. They take up a lot of time, and then we get grumped at when we miss one for a show. Little bit ago we were getting flack from my in laws since we are heading to a show night of my nieces birthday. Her 4th birthday. In laws were camping for Nick's 30th. IMO, they have no room to complain. None.

Meetings are terrible, but we survive. They just get old after a while :lol:

She really is a rebellious teenager. Normally she is good, but she just wanted to toss me every evasion she could think of in her repertoire. Everything. I was just glad we got through it and had some nice sitting trot work. Drives me loony!

I always feel we never have enough time :lol: I get anxious, but try to calm down a lot. I just keep reminding myself this is a ZERO pressure show. NONE. Nothing is riding on us doing well. We are just going for a good time. Nothing else. But my family will be there and I want to perform well. I at least know my old trainer will get us totally ready though. I have full faith. And no packing yet... Have a show the weekend before, which is for points for our high end awards. So that throws a bit of a wrench into things. Packing will commense the week of unfortunately. But Nick is going to be going over the trailer really well to make sure it's fine to go the distance. He's also going to put up plexiglass in front of her since it's an open stock type trailer (slant load horse trailer, but doesn't have window). We want to keep road debri off of her, and keep her hay from blowing around. We don't do a lot of highway driving, so it's never been that big of an issue. But we both want her comfortable. And Nick is going to make boards to keep stuff up in the neck of the gooseneck. Dogs have to ride in the tack compartment, so everything has to be up off of the floor (Sheldon is unfortunately a chewer; hoping to keep them quiet so he doesn't chew).

Exactly! She knows her job, and loves what she does, but she gives such attitude sometimes.

And... didn't get to ride last night. Was literally coming up the big hill to turn onto our road, and it started raining. Not a drizzle, not a downpour, but that steady rain. So, we couldn't go out (kids don't care to be cooped up in the car...). Instead, we cleaned up our house a lot. That feels better, but I hated not getting to ride. I hate being so dependent on the weather. I know I complain about it a lot, but it's the one thing I get so frustrated with. I just pine for the day I have an actual indoor to ride in consistently during bad weather...


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## Tazzie

OH! And some of our show pictures are loaded! I posted some on Facebook, but I'm too lazy right now to upload them to photobucket to share them :lol: maybe if I get a quiet evening (HAHAHAHA) I'll do it.

But the show photographer has one class up! It was the MASSIVE Hunter Pleasure class I showed in, that I didn't place. Looking at the album makes me absolutely certain he confused us with someone else.

133 - jennifernadine


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## DanteDressageNerd

Tazzie said:


> It is sad, but she's a good dog. You just can't approach her quickly, and you have to let her come to you. She's better than she was, but still will never be a dog you could run up and pet. Sheldon is fine with everyone though
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> I know some people just enjoy having the trainer train and show it, and that's enough. I know some people fall in love with the horse above their skill level so they send it to a trainer AND take lessons. But those are usually the riders that immediately give credit where credit is due. IE to the trainer that developed that horse. I can't STAND when people have their horses trained, and then take all of the credit. HATE it. But I am super proud how far we've come. She's really grown up and I think she's developing nicely.
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> least I do now. We go to roughly 4+ a year. The wedding showers and baby showers. This is all for Nick's side of the family too. SO MANY WEDDINGS. They take up a lot of time, and then we get grumped at when we miss one for a show. Little bit ago we were getting flack from my in laws since we are heading to a show night of my nieces birthday. Her 4th birthday. In laws were camping for Nick's 30th. IMO, they have no room to complain. None.
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> Meetings are terrible, but we survive. They just get old after a while
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> She really is a rebellious teenager. Normally she is good, but she just wanted to toss me every evasion she could think of in her repertoire. Everything. I was just glad we got through it and had some nice sitting trot work. Drives me loony!
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> I always feel we never have enough time
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> I get anxious, but try to calm down a lot. I just keep reminding myself this is a ZERO pressure show. NONE. Nothing is riding on us doing well. We are just going for a good time. Nothing else. But my family will be there and I want to perform well. I at least know my old trainer will get us totally ready though. I have full faith. And no packing yet... Have a show the weekend before, which is for points for our high end awards. So that throws a bit of a wrench into things. Packing will commense the week of unfortunately. But Nick is going to be going over the trailer really well to make sure it's fine to go the distance. He's also going to put up plexiglass in front of her since it's an open stock type trailer (slant load horse trailer, but doesn't have window). We want to keep road debri off of her, and keep her hay from blowing around. We don't do a lot of highway driving, so it's never been that big of an issue. But we both want her comfortable. And Nick is going to make boards to keep stuff up in the neck of the gooseneck. Dogs have to ride in the tack compartment, so everything has to be up off of the floor (Sheldon is unfortunately a chewer; hoping to keep them quiet so he doesn't chew).
> 
> Exactly! She knows her job, and loves what she does, but she gives such attitude sometimes.
> 
> And... didn't get to ride last night. Was literally coming up the big hill to turn onto our road, and it started raining. Not a drizzle, not a downpour, but that steady rain. So, we couldn't go out (kids don't care to be cooped up in the car...). Instead, we cleaned up our house a lot. That feels better, but I hated not getting to ride. I hate being so dependent on the weather. I know I complain about it a lot, but it's the one thing I get so frustrated with. I just pine for the day I have an actual indoor to ride in consistently during bad weather...





Tazzie said:


> OH! And some of our show pictures are loaded! I posted some on Facebook, but I'm too lazy right now to upload them to photobucket to share them
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> maybe if I get a quiet evening (HAHAHAHA) I'll do it.
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> But the show photographer has one class up! It was the MASSIVE Hunter Pleasure class I showed in, that I didn't place. Looking at the album makes me absolutely certain he confused us with someone else.
> 
> 133 - jennifernadine


I know a few dogs like that. Where you have to let them approach you and can't touch their head first. Their neck and let them smell. Some are just cautious









Nah. I know what you mean. I don't mind if people like watching their horse go or have a horse in training that they sometimes ride give credit where credit is due. I'm like cool, all the power to you but if people try to claim another's work as their own that's annoying or people who over horse themselves and don't seek a trainer because they think they need one and end up ruining the horse or getting hurt. But there is definitely a sense of pride when you make a horse yourself and they do well. 

Lol okay. I can see why you would hate weddings. I just go to so few, it's more like a treat than a chore. And you know people, they always have to complain about something. I just kinda look at birthdays as big deal lol. Though maybe I cant talk because my family doesn't fuss much about birthdays. More like congratulations on circling the globe one more time lol.

Unfortunately just part of having a baby in that awkward stage of kinda still a baby and kinda a big horse. I think they'll always have some tude but I think as they mature and learn they aren't in control of the situation and learn to be obedient, they get better. But trust me I'm in the same boat. I want to tell Dante what I've been told most of my life, suck it up, get it together and be a professional.

Regardless it will be an exciting road trip! And it will be cool for you to be back with your old trainer and preparing for the show but have fun! I'm sure Izzy will do great! I'm also glad Nick will be preparing the trailer for the road trip, so Izzy has the most comfortable ride possible. Good luck!

No I totally get it about the weather. If you had even an outdoor with all weather footing you could probably ride but on the turf, it just makes the footing so unstable and slippery. I'd be upset about that too. One day you'll have an indoor or at least a covered arena!

The pictures look awesome!! Major kudos!! The rest have the fake, pulled in Arab head set I hate so much. I don't know how rail classes are judged but I don't get why that would be rewarded. They're very backwards, never seeking contact but held behind it.


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## Skyseternalangel

Your stirrups match your pad piping?!?! THAT IS SO COOL!


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## Tazzie

Cassie, that's exactly how she is! And once she's warmed up to you, good luck getting her away. You'd swear we starve her for attention :lol:

Yup! Heck, my best friend just found a project she wants (same one we've been talking about). He's a cute colt, not going to go super crazy high (his dad isn't the flashy type really). ASBxWB cross. I asked what her plans would be for him if she took him on (he's only just a baby right now). She said most likely dressage unless he was short enough for a pony card, then the three gaited classes. She said if she got him though, she'd need my help with the dressage training :lol: this is what I love about her. She knows how much it irritates the heck out of me to see the false headsets, and she would want to do it properly. Love her! She'd be the one willing to hop on it first :lol: I only felt good doing that with Izzie because we had done every ounce of her groundwork and knew what made her tick. But it always bothers me when someone is like "My horse got a 73% in his dressage test and he was the unanimous sport horse under saddle champion!!" What they fail to mention is, is that the trainer rode the horse in these tests, and he was only judged under one judge so not unanimous (I think he was 3rd out of 4 in the championship qualifier and 1st out of 2 in the championship). But she pawns them off as her accomplishments. I could rant about this all day, so I better stop :lol:

Yeah, it's to the point it's a chore. My brother in law is getting married in October. I'm not in the wedding. But I bet I'll have to help with the centerpieces, and I've already been told I have to basically run the shower because "Well, A won't be ok speaking in front of everyone." Like I'm comfortable with that?? Have you noticed I'm the shiest out of the three of us?? Seriously?? Ok, rant on that over too because that gets my blood boiling. My middle brother gets married next May. I'm over joyed for that wedding! AND my wonderful husband offered to make a card box for their wedding, which was totally sweet of him. I like birthdays for being able to do my own thing :lol: don't care if there is a big celebration. I told Nick the only thing I'd love for my 30th, was to have my 4 best friends come and we all just hang out. We haven't all been together since college. That is literally the only "party" I want for my 30th.

I know you're in the same boat :lol: and I know you totally relate to my pain too. I know it'll get better. I just keep reminding myself she is SO much further than even a year ago.

It will be an absolute blast! I'm not sure how well I'll sleep that night :lol: especially if my friend still does join us! It'll be way too much fun!!

Exactly! I want SOMETHING other than grass. At least she isn't as bad now that her canter isn't all over the place. She's easier to maneuver and control now. And it was raining earlier. I'm praying it stopped. Or that my in laws can watch the kiddos so they don't have to be cooped up in the car. Regardless, I want to ride.

And thank you! That was the best ride she gave me all weekend, and I was so proud of her! I don't really know how they are judged either, and the judging varies from show to show which makes it even more confusing. But that is how most of the headsets are. There are very few people that actually try to ride correctly.

Also, stuff about some of the people in there. The lady in the green undershirt on the huge chestnut... that is the trainer I had been talking about. And that is the horse that canters all over the place. The one that won the show hack class when really he should not have won it. And let me say this again. That is a TRAINER. And she rides like THAT. You can also tell which horses are hers in there. Every last one of them has a martingale on. All of them. And her daughter is sans helmet, which I find tacky.

Sky, they do! I've had the stirrups now for over a year  they are the flexi Amidale stirrups, and I LOVE them. Seriously, LOVE them. And the pad I JUST bought at Equine Affaire, and that was our debut ride in it! I actively tried to find that pad, and finally found it at the last place! It's my touch of flair :lol:


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## Tazzie

*sigh* so much for riding tonight too. NOT happy about it.

Called Nick after I'd crossed the Ohio River to see if he'd gotten the kids, and to make sure it wasn't still raining. Asked what he was doing. His answer? "Trying to find your f***ing dog." EXCUSE ME?? We have an invisible fence, but Sheldon has been running through it lately. We need to take his collar back in and get it ramped up/add more prongs to it since he keeps blasting through it (highest setting we can do with the longest force field possible). Well, Nick got home around 8 am after working all night, and let the dogs out. And then left him out all day. I woke him up at 3:30. So god only knows when Sheldon decided to wander.

So here I am, driving and freaking out. Called the vet to make sure no one brought him (we aren't on a busy road, but it's hilly with blind corners and people FLY down it). No one had. I called my best friend. Jesus christ, I love her. I couldn't look up the shelter's number while I was driving. So, she did it for me. Have I said I love her? Because I really love her. They didn't have him. So I'm driving and don't see him. Pull in and see Nick's toy there and the acadia is there. YES! I thought. He must be home!! Get in to find just Penny, and Nick is sitting on his *** totally nonchalant. WHAT THE HELL?? NOT happy. I go outside and call for him. I have no idea where to even start. Most of the area is only accessible with the dang side by side, but I'm not brave enough to take it places. And Nick was giving me the feeling that he didn't care and Sheldon would just come home. I told him flat out he would spend the night on the couch for every night Sheldon isn't home. I was FURIOUS. Nick ended up taking it out. I ran around ringing the bells we use to call them in from the yard, and was searching the number for the county sheriff's office. Right as I'm about to call, Nick comes up the road. And with great relief I see Sheldon next to him. He'd been up the road at the house Nick's cousin is building.

I am SO relieved, but still tense, anxious, and mad. NOT a good combination to ride a mare who has been opinionated lately and who feeds off of my energy. Plus, it's been raining all day so doubly not safe to pick fights. I am SO MAD I can't ride. I'd been looking forward to it all day.

The one good news is, is that the money from my incentive fund came today. So, if that saddle works out, I wouldn't have to do payments like I was offered (which makes ME happy).

Now the plan is to ride tomorrow and Friday... Just ugh.

On the fun side, more pictures were added to the link above (unless there were already three pages!) and Native Costume was posted. This class was not good. I had Izzie on too much contact since someone thought bolting was fun in warmup. That ring is too big to deal with bolting.

136 - jennifernadine


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## DanteDressageNerd

I've definitely known a few like that. Usually female but nothing wrong with being a little more cautious, rather than thinking everybody is a friend.

A saddlebred/warmblood cross sounds interesting. Can't say I've seen or ridden one of those. I've ridden a saddlebred/Frisian cross but interesting. I know the Dutch have some saddlebred in them because apparently they used to import saddlebred to breed into their horses. Good luck to her if she buys him! I'm glad she wants help, so he can learn to seek contact, rather than suck behind. I remember the saddlebreds and some warmblodoods I've ridden that love to do that (and Dante).

No that definitely makes sense. It would be annoying to hear about how a horse got a high mark and they weren't the rider while they're trying to claim they are. 

lol okay I'm with you on that. That's kind of rude that you're expected to speak when you're not even in the wedding party. That would irritate me too, like really why cant so and so gather up some fortitude and do it herself? Why do I have to? lol. I'm just not good when people make excuses like it's okay for one person not to work through something but someone else always had to be responsible or made to do it. I'm usually that person too, so I get it :lol: but at least you'll have a wedding to enjoy, rather than being dragged out to one. And that sounds like a really nice gift. But that sounds like a nice 30th maybe with some wine and goodies. It'd be nice!

Absolutely! As long as we're all in the progression of moving forward, I figure we're in a pretty good spot. Just gotta keep it that way!

I hope it stops raining for you too, so you can get on and enjoy your girl!

I can't help you on the sleep, I never sleep through the night :lol: I wake up at least twice in a night. But I hope you rest plenty. 

You're welcome and that's frustrating if the criteria is so varied. I don't get it. In saddlebreds and arabians I think I've seen the oddest head sets. I know part of it is arabians can be odd about the bit but I don't get it. 

I will say it always amazes me who can call themselves a "trainer." I don't know how they get the nerve when they aren't particularly good riders, knowledgeable or really horseman. It's kinda amazing but they can bs their way.

Oh and I'm sorry but awesome arabian stallion I had to show you. he was approved Danish warmblood and I guess the Danish bought him, so he's been exported to Europe but it's cool to see this quality of arabian sport horse.

At the bottom there is a video on this page. He's gorgeous! It says he's 161cm tall so about 15.3 1/2h 

Zonyx | Shadow Oak Arabians

http://kirk-arabians.dk/GB/Horses/Zonyx/Zuchtbedingungen.aspx


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## DanteDressageNerd

Tazzie said:


> *sigh* so much for riding tonight too. NOT happy about it.
> 
> Called Nick after I'd crossed the Ohio River to see if he'd gotten the kids, and to make sure it wasn't still raining. Asked what he was doing. His answer? "Trying to find your f***ing dog." EXCUSE ME?? We have an invisible fence, but Sheldon has been running through it lately. We need to take his collar back in and get it ramped up/add more prongs to it since he keeps blasting through it (highest setting we can do with the longest force field possible). Well, Nick got home around 8 am after working all night, and let the dogs out. And then left him out all day. I woke him up at 3:30. So god only knows when Sheldon decided to wander.
> 
> So here I am, driving and freaking out. Called the vet to make sure no one brought him (we aren't on a busy road, but it's hilly with blind corners and people FLY down it). No one had. I called my best friend. Jesus christ, I love her. I couldn't look up the shelter's number while I was driving. So, she did it for me. Have I said I love her? Because I really love her. They didn't have him. So I'm driving and don't see him. Pull in and see Nick's toy there and the acadia is there. YES! I thought. He must be home!! Get in to find just Penny, and Nick is sitting on his *** totally nonchalant. WHAT THE HELL?? NOT happy. I go outside and call for him. I have no idea where to even start. Most of the area is only accessible with the dang side by side, but I'm not brave enough to take it places. And Nick was giving me the feeling that he didn't care and Sheldon would just come home. I told him flat out he would spend the night on the couch for every night Sheldon isn't home. I was FURIOUS. Nick ended up taking it out. I ran around ringing the bells we use to call them in from the yard, and was searching the number for the county sheriff's office. Right as I'm about to call, Nick comes up the road. And with great relief I see Sheldon next to him. He'd been up the road at the house Nick's cousin is building.
> 
> I am SO relieved, but still tense, anxious, and mad. NOT a good combination to ride a mare who has been opinionated lately and who feeds off of my energy. Plus, it's been raining all day so doubly not safe to pick fights. I am SO MAD I can't ride. I'd been looking forward to it all day.
> 
> The one good news is, is that the money from my incentive fund came today. So, if that saddle works out, I wouldn't have to do payments like I was offered (which makes ME happy).
> 
> Now the plan is to ride tomorrow and Friday... Just ugh.
> 
> On the fun side, more pictures were added to the link above (unless there were already three pages!) and Native Costume was posted. This class was not good. I had Izzie on too much contact since someone thought bolting was fun in warmup. That ring is too big to deal with bolting.
> 
> 136 - jennifernadine



I didn't see this I'm REALLY sorry to hear about the dog getting loose. That is definitely not what you want to hear about or come home to. Extremely frustrating. I'm glad you told Nick how it was and he went and found Sheldon after all the anxiety of finding him.

you definitely made the right decision not to go out. I would have done the same thing or I have when I've been really upset/stressed. Not a good combination with the sensitive horses who feed on their rider's energy. But I'm REALLY glad you found Sheldon, it's extremely stressful when you can't find a family member. I've been on dog chases but they're usually short lived.

I'm also glad the incentive money finally came in and at least there will be time to ride tomorrow and friday. I hope she goes well for you!

No it makes sense. You have to ride for the occasion. There is definitely sometimes when you need to be strong and just get them through the situation. Plus you had said she didn't like her headdress. I'm sure next time will be better but it looks like a really cool class!


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## Tazzie

Yeah, our male is super friendly. Penny is super reserved in general. Which I'm ok with since maybe she will be protective if someone comes in that shouldn't? I don't know.

I haven't either. The stud is named Blue Eyed Dream. Looks like a cremello warmblood, but not sure what he is. I didn't read much. He died last year, and did I1 the year before. To me, he looked long in the back in his freestyle video on his website, and really needed to be sitting more for that level. I'm not sure if she is going to get them or not (it'd be the colt and the mare, and the mare is from lines they love). And yeah, I love that she would want my input in it 

Exactly! I always make sure to state how my friends showed Izzie, whereas they go around saying "Look, Katie installed the buttons. She just told us what to push to ask for what, and we went out there and did it." But I want them to know it was appreciated by saying they were the riders.

Yeah, I'm NOT amused. My other sister in law isn't in it either. Nick's sister is. Personally, I think she should speak. I don't like speaking. I don't really want to be involved as much as I was for his sister's wedding. I was in it that one. I stupidly thought since I wasn't in the wedding that I wouldn't be expected to help much. Just ugh. I don't mind helping some, because she did help us the day of our wedding. I know I'll enjoy my brother's wedding. I'm actually looking forward to it. And my brother seemed pretty excited about that gift! We shall see! And exactly. Some good wine, yummy food, and my best friends (and husband). That is all I'd want for my 30th. Simple, but probably not going to happen.

Yup! I know there are backward steps, but it just gives you the opportunity to move forward in a better way. Just itching to get on and make sure our last ride got us back into the forward progression. It really was a simple ride.

I wake up all the time too, but it's worse when I'm super excited about something. Probably take some benedryl the night before to make sure I sleep haha!

It really is. And they do. I can respect the saddlebreds because it is a totally different discipline. I don't get the Arabs because there are other disciplines out there that don't do it like that. The crazy BTV, the false headsets, the butt out in another county because they aren't truly collected, etc. And they bit those horses up. Not sure if you noticed how many of them had kimberwicks on....

I don't get where they get the nerve either. She was even put up for trainer of the year through our region!! And her daughter was put up for the sport horse rider/handler of the year (the one sans helmet in that class) and WON! Beat me who actually showed it all year long! They are terrible riders. And just care that the horse looks "pretty" instead of correct.

Hey, I'm good with getting links of horses to look at! I don't know if you venture out into the stallion section on this forum, but I'm digging how that HC Elitist stud is looking. He's only just turning 3, and will be started lightly this year. DYING to see how he matures and goes under saddle!

And thanks. I was madder than hell last night. Actually laid in the bath with a book and locked the door kind of mad. Heck, he even drove to get ice cream to try and butter me up. I was almost physically sick worrying about him. He moves for cars, but he's about the sweetest, friendliest dog in the entire world. I was worried someone had stolen him. I HATED what I came home to find because it just fueled my anger.

I know I did, but it didn't help my mood out not riding. I'd been looking forward to it all day, and then I couldn't. I know it was wiser I didn't ride since Izzie absolutely feeds off my emotion and would be tense and ready for a fight. After what little progress I made last right, I didn't want to throw it away.

I am glad too. It'll make me hope even more that the saddle works out for me :lol: but I'll be extremely judgmental about it. Refuse to jump into something that won't work.

And I know. She rode the class better than she did warmup. I'm hoping to ride in it a lot next week (at least the headpiece) and remind her it won't kill her. Worse comes to worse, I just ride without the piece behind her ears at the next show. It's just a pain to take it off. And it is a fun class!

Also, forgot to mention this, which I totally meant to. In the first link (album 133, our hunter pleasure class). You'll see the bay paint ridden by a man. He was chatting with us earlier, and I kind of don't think I believe him. He asked what we normally do, and I said we school dressage. He was like "Me too!! I do training level! At our first show we only got a 63%, so I wasn't happy." I was like "Ok then..." Honestly, Izzie's first show she got a 58% and change and 63% and change. And I was PLEASED. Nick watched him ride. Said the horse flings it's head everywhere in a bad way. I just find it hard to believe to be honest. I don't know. Maybe he does? I just find it hard to believe.


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## DanteDressageNerd

Everyone just has to have their own unique personality don't they lol?

I have to ask what color the gelding is lol. Because cremello is double dilute, so they always throw the "cool" colors. I hate to admit I was watching some videos outs of curiosity of the stallion :lol: he's a very well behaved boy. No but I'm with you, from what I saw there were a lot of holes in his training. I feel bad saying that :lol: but he looks like he's missing a lot of pieces in his training. I don't think he really sits off the rider, I think she was uses a lot of hand aids and never really sends him through so I think that's part of why he's so out behind and isn't really through, has the weird piroettes and doesn't really collect. But he honestly looks like he has a wonderful temperament and personality. And kudos to her for doing I1. Just for me I know how hard it is to find a correctly trained upper level horse (Pam's clients) and how much retraining has had to be done to fill in those holes. I feel so mean atm. But I hope she finds one she really likes!






lol that's awesome they at least give you the credit but they should acknowledge they did a good job too! lol.

I entirely agree. If you're not apart of the wedding, the person closest to should get over it and learn how to talk in public and consider it character building. It kinda surprises me how sometimes in families are like well certain members have to move past it and others are treated like babies and sheltered. Kinda interesting to me, I don't get it. Family/social dynamics. But that sounds like a perfect 30th to me!

That's awful!! I hope you're able to sleep in and sleep! Sleep is not over rated in the least! And exactly all riding/training is-is a dance of moving forward and backwards. As long as we dont take too many steps back, all is good :lol:

no I definitely saw all the kimberwicks and to me I think it's because no one was really trained how to put a horse on the bit, so they all widdle the nose in or pull the nose or put on a bit that gets the nose down so the horse doesn't learn to understand contact and some arabians have swan necks and other conformation flaws that make it hard to teach them to carry themselves, plus some are really wiggly and super flexible so teaching them to travel in a straight line most probably don't have the skill set to train/ride that. Or at least that's my theory based on what I've observed and I think a lot of arabs have very sensitive mouths.

I've seen HC Eliteist. He looks like a really nice young man!

That's crazy to me. I will never understand how/why some people get so much credit for lousy work, unless they're buddy-buddy with a bunch of people and play the political side of things or have a family reputation.

The relaxing bath sounds like a good choice. I'd have been ****ed too. That's your family member and who needs that added stress/worry? But the right choice not to see Izzy. Our moods/state of mind are such a big part of riding, it almost seems to be the majority but it'll be good when you get back on her.

Definitely be picky about the saddle, don't buy it unless you absolutely love it and Izzy is thrilled with it but at least try a few more even if you like it. I just didn't like jaguars as much because a lot of the channels down the center of the saddle to me appear too narrow.

She'll definitely do better next show and maybe she just had an odd day and will be perfectly fine with it next time?

:lol: I think it's funny when people do that. I always look at scores as very subjective and it depends on the judge, especially when looking at between a 63% and a 58% some judges are more generous or the scores are everywhere or who knows. And a 58% isn't bad first show. Dante got a 53%? in one but the judge didn't know what she was doing, so I didn't consider the score valid or to mean anything. So I have no idea what realistically we would have scored. Literally recognized/experienced judge gave my eventer a 53% when he barely completed the test :lol:


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## Tazzie

They sure do!

And the website says Cremello, so he'd only throw Palominos, Buckskins, and Smokey Blacks (unless crossed with another horse that had a creme gene; then they could have Cremello or Perlino). Least, I think that's all. I don't remember the genes for the Smokey Cremes, etc. He does seem to have a very nice temperament, which is what drew her to him. But yeah, he has holes. Not mean at all. I pointed that out to her too :lol: not sure how his offspring would be. They have a few pictures up on here: Equivale - Blue Eyed Dream, rare Greman Warmblood Cremello Stallion I'd still be surprised if he was only left a stud because of his color. Other than that, his gates and such aren't flashy at all. He does at least have the temperament I'd want.

Exactly! I tell them that too.

Well, no sleeping in :lol: we want to get on the road fairly early to try and beat out a lot of the midday heat. At least be further north than we are in hopes of it being a little cooler. But hopefully I get some sleep! And yeah, it's a dance that can be frustrating at times :lol:

Yup, cheap tricks to get them to look nice and round, but not actually be round. Cheaters method in my opinion. But what do they care since they consistently win?

I sure think he is!

I don't think she has a family name she's under. I believe she built that place herself. But I was't amused to lose the sport horse award to her. She barely rides sport horse. It wasn't deserved at all. But I know they had the whole barn voting for her, and I didn't have nearly that many since I'm a one man show with only a few region 14 friends.

It was relaxing. And needed.

I'm hoping that isn't the case with this one. It looks pretty wider overall (she sent me a picture on Facebook). But I'm hoping to try that one and at least one of two others next week.

I'm thinking we may just take the piece off for now, and put it back on afterward. After this show she won't show in it again until end of July. Plenty of time to work with her on it. And I need to get her back in line right now...

I was pleased, and I think they were well earned. She was tense and tight in the first test, and hated the judges box. The second test we were allowed to trot around inside the ring because there wasn't room to trot around it. We were allowed to do whatever we wanted. So I trotted up to the judge, and past her both ways. She was a lot more settled after that. I think part of me doesn't believe him since he was also riding in a kimberwick :lol: since Izzie is a dressage horse, she doesn't have anything like that on her ever.

-------------------------------------------------------

Rode last night.

And it was miserable.

I'm in the same boat as you are Cassie. Leg last night meant squeal and kick. I would ask for the transition quietly, and she ignored it. Used more leg, and she pinned her ears, sneered, and squealed. Nothing tests sore on her. I actually told her she needs to pick which to be happier about. Quiet aids like I want, or more leg. Because she has to pick something.

I ended up asking Nick to grab my whip when she flat out refused to canter. I asked quietly, she ignored me. Asked again, and tapped lightly with the whip. Acted like I'd offended her. Well, suck it up buttercup. You're an adult. And it's high time you start acting like one. Then she tried her next favorite evasion ever. I cued lightly for the canter. She gave it to me, but flung her head and tried to bolt. No ma'am. That's not the answer. Brought her back, and kept asking/bringing back until she realized she was NOT winning this one.

Talked it over with my best friend, the one who recommended moody mare to me. After that ride, I ordered it. I'm done having her behave like this for no other reason than she's been a witchy mare. There is no pain, the saddle fits well enough, etc. I also contacted Maggy, and we're going to have a lesson on either Tuesday or Wednesday (whichever day seems better, weather wise).

And can't ride tonight. Part of me is frustrated I can't, but part of me is relieved I don't have to fight her. Don't get me wrong, we didn't stop until I'd had good work, so it's not like I've left her thinking she won that battle. She didn't.

But my best friend's truck was hauled here. She had a BAD day on Sunday. Here is the breakdown.

-Hooked trailer up at 7
-Hit the road at 7:30
-2/3 of the way to the highway, the check engine light came on and it starting slamming. She said it felt like a washing machine
-Checked everything over in the truck, couldn't see anything wrong
-Almost didn't start, but got it started and brought it back to the farm
-Hooked trailer up to her trailblazer, and had her boyfriend follow her to help her set up (as she was going to be late)
-1 mile from the exit (3 from the farm), tire blew on the trailer, ripped the entire fender off and flung it overhead of her boyfriend
-AAA and all tire places/wreckers wouldn't touch the trailer
-Her dad finds an ancient tire and brings it. It works, but needs air added regularly
-Brings truck to mechanic Monday, still acting badly

And it sat at the mechanic until yesterday evening (around 5) where they didn't even bother to read the codes or look at it at all. Kept saying they would look at it "in the afternoon" every day she called. She finally got fed up, and asked if she put the truck on a flatbed and sent it up here, could Nick look at it. I said yes. Since we're heading south tomorrow, I want to have that truck fixed. Needs general maintenance and a new positioning sensor. Nick also has softball tonight at 7:15. So, sacrificing my riding so he can work on my best friend's truck. Since it's a favor to me, I'm not going to make him miss softball. I had to choose. I don't want to let my friend down.


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## DanteDressageNerd

Generally speaking, yes with the genetics because they're double dilute. Dante's mom is a perlino and a lot of the mares Donna has are perlino or cremello and pinto (They have good legs, feet, etc though). But I agree with he was probably left a stallion for his color because I watched him go and I think Dante and Izzy move a lot better than he does with a greater capacity to sit. Dante and Izzy use their hind end better. But maybe the colt will still be nice? Just interesting to me. Sometimes what horses produce is surprising.

Though I know a warmblood breeder who bred for color and it comes out with some weird stuff and conformation faults, issues. I don't care when people breed for color, as long as they breed structurally sound, good horses too and not just well it's a pretty color.

It's a very frustrating dance! But at least you'll have a good adventure. 

Fair enough. Why would they care if they're rewarded for incorrect riding and false head sets. 

I wouldn't find it amusing to lose to someone who rarely showed in that division and isn't a good rider. Is it like a popularity contest, rather than accumulated points? I remember seeing videos you showed me of them and thinking they're fine for beginner amateurs but professionals. it just shocks me who can say "I'm a trainer."

Any bath salts and fancy aromatherapy oils? that helps too!

Good luck with the saddle, I hope it's a positive experience and 

That makes sense to me. I think I wouldn't believe him either if he was riding a flat class in a kimberwick. You know everytime I hear kimberwick, I'm like and that's a name I haven't heard in a very long time.

What is with these testy, temperamental, attitude filled half arabs lately? maybe there is something in the air? I don't know but I'm sorry she's being such a pill. I hope something works with the moody mare or something because it's just not necessary. Attitude is just unnecessary when you're asking for so little. Just canter. Just move forward without a tantrum, head flip, buck whatever for no reason at all. Snotty baby arabs. I'm sorry you cant ride today but maybe it is for the best?

I'm sorry About your friends adventure. That sounds awful! I hate car troubles! But I'm glad Nick's able to help. Good for friends to help out.


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## Tazzie

I love horsey genetics :lol: I just can't remember some of them as well. Nick gives me a blank look when I'm like "well, Izzie is heterzygous for black, so she's Ee because her dam is a chestnut. We don't know her agouti status since her mom could carry it, and we don't know what her sire is under the grey, so she's at least A_. We know she's heterzygous for grey since mom isn't a grey, so Gg. She has no creme since creme isn't in purebreds, and dam is clearly a chestnut, so cc. Obviously she's Oo since it's clear she has frame, but we'll test for that any way for arguments sake. Not entirely sure on her patterns, but the way they present I'm guessing at least splash, and possibly sabino (though, who truthfully knows since there is still A LOT of research going on with sabino and dominant white genes)" Sorry for that :lol: one day I plan to have Izzie gene tested, for curiosity sake. Nick is hope Izzie is Aa so she won't always through bay haha and yeah, the stallion just wasn't as nice as I had expected, but I know she likes the baby's dam. Izzie and Dante definitely use their hind end better, though maybe it's because they had a better foundation? I don't know.

I don't care either, and I know Nick wants Izzie bred to another paint for a foal for him. He's hoping it'd be grey or black with a pattern. I said that's fine, but we wouldn't just breed her to whatever. I have final say since I would know what faults the stud would have, and he wouldn't think to look at HYPP, PSSM, etc status.

I'm hoping so!! Less than 2 weeks!! Super excited :lol:

Exactly. We do well since sometimes we're a welcome relief to the judge (Izzie's head is there because I've asked with my legs for it to be there). But sometimes, judges are buddy buddy with the exhibitors...

And I wasn't amused. At all. But yeah, people vote for you. It's not based on points at all. They are the people who come to shows with their horses in tail bags and their nylon stable halters, and show them in sport horse in hand. And beat my horse taking my points away (yes, this happened last year). AHA rules state horses 3 and over must be in a bridle to show in hand. But since it was a schooling show and right up the road... they didn't care about those of us that were turned out properly. Nick asked why I even bother to dress in show clothes at these shows since so many others don't. I say it shows respect for the judge to be properly turned out.

Sadly, no. Didn't have any on hand. But I did enjoy reading my book :lol: in somewhat peace and quiet.

I hope so too... we shall see.

I'm glad I'm not the only one. I don't care if it's the "style" for a hunter class. But I just checked again and I'm wrong. He wasn't in a kimberwick, thank god. So maybe he is telling the truth and just has an opinionated, fiesty half Arab too? I don't really know.

I have no idea. None. But there is no reason for it, and she can't keep trying to bolt with me in a wide open field. I haven't changed my riding style, I'm not asking for anything wild and crazy. I'm asking her for what she knows. Move forward, on contact, and through. Walk-Trot-Canter. I'm not asking for canter pirouettes or flying changes. Just the simple basics. But the need to fight me is getting old. I'm really hoping this helps her. Really hoping. My friend said she'd buy whatever I don't use off of me at full price if it doesn't make a difference. So we will see. I know it helped her mare out a lot.

And no, I feel the need to sit, regroup, maybe read up on more exercises to do, and go from there. The field is fenced off now, and our friend is going to mow it so we can set up the ring. I'm kind of hoping a change of scenery will help her too. Maybe we can set it up on mothers day (one can hope...) and I ride there. Maybe ride Peppy first too to keep my chill? I told Cliff we were going to start legging her up this weekend.

She's at the end of her rope with the truck. Or rather, not having it. She missed out on two hauling gigs, worth about $500, not having that truck. I'm just thankful Nick is doing this for me and her. That mechanic isn't worth a darn.


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## DanteDressageNerd

Genetics in general is really interesting. I can't remember it all either, it gets complicated with some color combinations or how genes are passed on the next generation because they're so random. All I know is if one parents is grey the baby has at least a 50% of greying out :lol: And I'd be thinking along similar lines if I had a mare and then of course genetic testing to make sure she isn't a carrier for any serious genetic diseases. I was looking at the Equine genetics website and there are a few in arabians. But I agree. I don't think he'd ever really use his hocks as well as Izzy or Dante. I know from Izzy's baby pictures and from having seen Dante free lunge barely broke they both naturally engage their hocks and hind end. The stallion is built pretty straight behind, he's not really built to sit and carry but doesn't mean baby couldn't.

And definitely you get to choose who you breed to and what the purpose is for that foal. 

You should be, it's coming up fast!

That makes sense the judges either appreciate seeing a horse properly using itself or they prefer their buddy or teammate. But that's stupid those awards go based off of a popularity contest, to me it takes away any kind of meaning to the award. if it's based on points it's more objective but a popularity contest is silly to me. But I agree about proper turnout, rather than everything slacked together. And showing in the nylon halter in a halter class in a nylon halter is pretty tacky to me. They don't flatter the head at all. Just colorful. Dante has his nylon halter for turnout and his leather one for grooming and showing.

I'm glad you got some piece. it makes we want to take a hot bath!

I know you know I know exactly what you mean by that :lol: no worries. It does get really old really fast. Like I'm not using blunt or rough aids, I'm asking for something well within the horse's fitness/competence level, they're old enough not to babies why can't they act their age? Babies or more specifically baby half arabs. I hope the mare stuff works and makes a difference, that behavior is just unnecessary.

I wish I had some suggestions but I'm guessing it's something you just have to persevere through or she has a sore muscle or it's hormonal or mental or who knows. Or maybe she just needs relaxing trail ride, who knows. I wish I had that option. It really can be anything with these hoses. But I hope you enjoy your mothers day! 

But I'm glad Nick is helping her out too and is going to help her so she can earn some revenue. $500 can go a long way.


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## Tazzie

Yup, I knew about the three that are found in Arabs. My plan when I do the genetic testing is to test for the three Arab ones and the five panel QH ones. Just to cover all of my bases best I can!

It is!! I filled out my entry this morning to send it off! Getting real now! I chickened out a little bit. Just going to do Training 2 and 3, First 1, and a training musical freestyle :lol: I wanted to at least do ok, and I did want to show First Level for the first time here. One class is good enough for me :lol:

Exactly. The judging makes me pull my hair out sometimes :lol: and yeah, I never was any good with popularity contests :lol: I don't know if they did actual halter or if it was just sport horse. Either way, it was tacky and I was MAD.

I want to take another one :lol: maybe tonight after I ride and start laundry :lol:

Man I hope so too. The drama she is exhibiting needs to end. Nothing seems sore or off. She's just being a brat.

We may try to take a trail ride in Michigan, providing my boss has a horse for my best friend to ride. I think we'd all have fun out there 

It sure can! Thankfully, it was a relatively easy fix. Changed the oil and oil filter, changed the fuel filter, and then that style truck is known for having it's cam positioning sensors going bad. That lets the cylinders know when to open and close. We brought it back to her Saturday morning!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now, for my weekend.....

Friday Nick fixed my friend's truck, we went to my sister in law's to get pictures of the kids for my mother in law, and then Nick had softball. We ate down there and his team won!

Saturday we got up early to head to Lexington where I met up with my friend, grabbed the saddle, and about 6 more saddles and a bunch of other stuff to bring to my friend (if you all need tack or other items, go to Blair's Bits & Pieces on Facebook!) Got to her apartment, and then I rode with her while Nick followed as we took the truck out to the farm (where it lives). After that I got to tour the barn she's getting stalls in. It's a nice barn, just needs work (mostly cleaning up). Had lunch afterward, and then found a dress for Syd to wear that night for the wedding. Got home, and Nick decided he didn't want to go to the wedding, just the reception. Alrighty then... After the reception, we went to three liquor stores looking for the limited edition Makers Mark bottle with American Pharoah's colors on them. Found it at the last store! I was HAPPY! Pricey, but I'll be shocked if we have another triple crown winner in our lifetime.

Sunday, we got up to rain. And it kept raining. We finally just went to the first store we'd planned to go to. Picked the kids up one of those battery operated trucks. It's Kaleb's late birthday present, and Sydney's early birthday present. Nick put it together last night. Got out of the store, and it had stopped raining! Dropped the truck off and headed to the barn!

Caught Izzie, groomed her up, and put the saddle on her. I liked how it fit her. It's a bit different than I've ridden in, but she seemed happy with it. Hopped on with plans for a super simple ride....

And got it. Just walk-trot-canter, walk break, then sitting trot. I wanted to see how I felt sitting in it since I feel the Wintec flings me all over the place. I liked it. She seemed happy. She still wanted to be a brat, but I just asked for forward and she ended up giving up. I called it quits before she decided to go to war with me.

Here is a clip from our riding. I swear I felt better riding than I look there :lol: we will see what she thinks with day two of it (hoping it's not raining and I can ride...)





Then I tacked up Peppy to ride. Didn't realize the fat, lazy Quarter Horse would be the one who tried to make me eat dirt :lol: she was BAD. I did get her to jog nicely, but we may leave loping for our friend/barn owner. Not interested in eating dirt :lol:

And Izzie was MAD I was riding another horse. Like, REALLY mad.





Also, small excitement with that video. She cantered both left and right :lol: never used to do that!!

And the last class of pictures are up!
351 - jennifernadine


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## Tazzie

And didn't get to ride. Will this rain ever $#%$##@ end???

I dressed up to ride just in case since we had to feed. Got down there and it's POURING. Fine. We'll just feed and groom her. Soon as I turn her back out, it stops raining :x :x not about to tack up the horse who just had dinner to ride. ARG!

May try and attempt again tonight since again we're feeding, but they are calling for severe thunderstorms. Again.

Tomorrow I have a lesson with Maggy, yay!!

Thursday going to again attempt to ride, but again. Severe thunderstorms. So done with them.

Friday Nick hauls her down to the arena while I go to Lafayette for my brother's graduation. Then head down to the hotel. Show Saturday. Sunday she'll have off, ride Monday and Tuesday (HOPEFULLY) and haul to Michigan on Wednesday. SO CLOSE!


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## DanteDressageNerd

lol just makes genetic testing all the more fun when you have a cross right? I think it's cool she's 1/2 arabian 1/4 tb 1/4 paint. If her mom had been full tb I have NO doubt you could have gotten her approved for warmblood breeding. 

I dont think you chickened out. I think you just wanted to have a good experience and make sure you had positive rides. Not wimping out at all!

lol I've never been good at popularity contest either, except in bootcamp when out of 70 I was voted 2nd for Molly Marine or the recruit who exemplifies the virtues held as a Marine and is the Marine people trust, can turn to when they're experiencing a crisis. Like who is the best mentor? I was total Mama bear try to encourage and help everyone. But I think how that's judged is ridiculous. It should be off of points to me or else someone can suck and win and the award means nothing. And I'd have been ticked too. Easily ticked, especially if who won earned it off of something other than merit.

I wish I had an answer for the brattiness *shrugs* but with horses it's all guess and check. Hopefully she'll pull through it soon though! Or is just part of being a youngster!

You should definitely trail ride!! Michigan is beautiful from the pictures I've seen! That sounds fun!!

I'm glad it was a simple fix 

It sounds like an eventful weekend! Especially the Makers Mark adventure! lol but I'm glad you got saddles to try and the kids got some new toys to play with. It sounds like fun! Well and the wedding! Did you end up having to speak?

I think you did better than you think. I think we tend to criticize ourselves too harshly sometimes but sometimes the change in position from what we're used to can make our bodies respond differently or tense up in places they might not. It's hard to say. I know if I'm on something with too narrow a twist I clench to fill in the gap vs a normal twist my leg feels like it just hangs down. Sometimes it takes some getting used to a new saddle, especially if you've ridden in one particular one for a long time.

lol Izzy looks like uh mom, mom listen your horse is over here. Pay attention to me! And lol those qh's have some freakin attitude when they're expected to do real work, especially if they're not used to it but once they're there and you've worked through all the kinks they're better or at least that's been my experience. But qhs when they want to throw a fit, it's ugly!


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## Tazzie

Definitely :lol: I'd want to make sure all is good with her! And I know. Oh well :/ I still love her!

Haha I know! And I didn't want my family to see us utterly fail. I don't think we would have, but I want it to be positive. We'll see!

Well, the good news is, is that she can't win that award for another 5 years. Just means she'll keep nominating her for every single other division. Seriously, everything but the western horse I think. I will laugh hysterically that her mother didn't win trainer of the year :lol:

I'm hoping. We've been checking her all over repeatedly, and she's fine. No soreness that she's showing. I think she's just being a total witch. That supplement comes today, so in a week or so I'll know if it's worth it or not. We shall see.

It'll be up to my old trainer! I'm hoping we can, but may be short a horse! Those trails were always pretty fun :lol: but I wouldn't want to go on them without her there. Heck, not even sure if who owned the property next door still owns that property. You have to walk across part of their property to get to the trails.

Me too! And the truck is in running order now 

The Makers Mark adventure was fun :lol: Nick got into it too! And the bottle is so cool! We just have one saddle :wink: the rest were too narrow and just being shuttled to Blair for her tack business. There were some nice saddles though!! (seriously, Blair's Bits & Pieces on facebook :wink Nope, didn't have to speak. I will have a passage to read for my future sister in laws wedding though.

I'm glad you think I did ok :lol: I haven't ridden in a different saddle on that horse in 3 years. Heck, haven't really ridden in a different saddle at all in a very long time. What I felt was a NICE sitting trot, where I wasn't bracing against the saddle to stay in the dang seat. I felt like the best sitting trot I've done on that horse. Then I saw the video and wondered what I was thinking. It still felt absolutely amazing. Sadly, our second ride will be our lesson, so can't even have more than that trial ride *sigh* I feel like we're in hurricane country with all this dang rain lately. But I loved how my legs fell on her. The wintec made me feel like it was putting me in a chair seat, and I was struggling against it. This one feels like I'm in position. I'll be curious to see what Maggy says tomorrow.

Yeah, she was mad :lol: very mad. And Peppy was too. Normally she's a super happy, laid back horse. But that wasn't the horse I rode. With all the rain I won't even be able to do much with her. So, going to have our friend get on her on Sunday to see what her deal is. Hopefully it's just her being full of "I don't want to!!" and being asked to work in what was their field while one of her buddies is losing her mind.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ok, I have a very serious question for you all. Like, anyone who is reading I'd appreciate what YOU think.

My brother in law is getting married in October. My husband and son are in the wedding. I am not.

My mother in law keeps talking about me and my other sister in law (also not in the wedding) getting a shade of purple dress for the wedding so we look similar to the bridal party and so the family picture looks more uniform. When I approached my future sister in law, she just kept saying "I don't care" and "I agree with _____ about the pictures." Part of me wonders if she just doesn't want to cause issues and is going along with this.

What do YOU think? I REALLY don't want to match the bridal party in any way. My mom just told me not to get a dress. My best friend said I should make my MIL pay for it since she's the one wanting the pictures to look uniform. Nick agrees with me that it's going to make me look desperate to be in the wedding. I have NEVER heard of a bride ok with this. Have you? I'll wear the danged dress if that's what she wants, but I worry it isn't totally what she wants.

And I HATE spending money on a dress when I'm not in the wedding. I have two dresses I rotate for weddings. I'm very frugal when it comes to dresses.


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## DanteDressageNerd

Personally I wouldn't buy another dress. I wouldn't want to create any family friction BUT IF your mother in law wants you to wear the dress I would have her buy you one and not pay for one yourself. Dresses are expensive! And I'd maybe ask your sister in law in private, be non threatening just good energy and ask her what SHE wants. Sometimes I think people are complacent or compliant because they dont want to cause a fuss or bring in mischief but generally if someone says they don't care. To me that signals they do care because if they didn't mind you wear the dress they'd just say I don't mind. OR sometimes people say they dont care just because they don't want to make a decision or at least that's been my observation.

Absolutely makes sense. It is the responsible thing :lol:

Nah. I think you guys would have been fine but I get it, especially with your family watched wanting to show them your best!

lol well that is good news. She is no longer a threat, she is done. I will never get the popularity contest. Well at least she's won enough she can't win anything else for a while.

I hope the supplement works and she's back to her normal self and is more agreeable!

Okay gotcha. Well hopefully the same person still owns the land so you can ride on the trails and your friend is still able to go with you so you can have a nice relaxing outing in your home space!

I think I saw the picture. It's blue? That's pretty neat! But I'm glad you only have one saddle for the moment. Hopefully you'll be able to try a few more when you take a lesson but hopefully the weather gets better there. I heard about the storm warnings (Pam's in Kentucky with a horse getting surgery). I hope yall are safe and stay well. Those kinds of warnings are scary.

I think your sitting trot is better because you're moving more so you can allow her to move if that makes sense. For example Dante's very bouncy and you have to get super supple in your hips, like you've melted in but it feels like when he's going well and he's normal, it's not that you bounce out of rhythm or bounce on his back but you create more "up" or movement by bouncing up, if that makes any sense at all. I dont know how to explain it, it's not the only piece of that puzzle but I'm just saying I think your sitting trot is good in an elaborate way :lol:. You're always in motion with her though you may appear to move more, you're moving with her. Another part may be she's moving a lot bigger but with more swing. It may sound odd but some horses actually get bouncier when they use their back better. PREs and lusitanos can be like that and Dante gets bouncier when he's more animated/through/sitting. 

That's funny :lol: I guess Izzy has claimed you as her own :lol: Mommy is mine and mine alone she says but that's funny. It might have the weather and storms, I know some horses are REALLY strongly affected/influenced by weather. Especially if there is lighting and that energy in the air. Especially the sensitive ones!


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## Tazzie

I did ask her in private, and that was her response :/ I hate dresses. I always prefer jeans. Or nice pants. I do wear dresses to weddings, but I truly have 2 that I rotate. I'd prefer if my mother in law just bought it as well. I don't want to spend that money for a wedding I'm NOT in. So frustrating. Future sister in law is a typically laid back person, but that also lends her to being taken advantage of. And my mother in law can be pushy. I told Nick to talk to his brother to see if she's said anything to him about it. At this point, I'll be buying a stupid dress and dealing with it.

It sure is :lol:

I think we could have been too, but we haven't been able to practice stuff very much. Nick only just set up the makeshift arena on Sunday (mother's day and I asked him to do it lol). It's rained every night since, and last week we were arguing (Izzie and I). I definitely want my family seeing us at our best though :lol:

She's no longer a threat for Sport Horse. She can still be nominated for things like Amateur rider, etc. I don't remember all the divisions. I know she was nominated for Amateur this past year, and lost lol.

I really hope so too!! She cleaned it all up last night, which is a relief. She's hands down the pickiest horse in the entire universe, I swear. She suddenly is shunning what were her favorite treats last year. She's that bad...

I'm really hoping so too. There may be a horse she could borrow, and my former trainer would ride her boy. We will see! Week from today!!

It is!! I love it :lol: and they were BAD here. At one point on my drive home I called Nick and made him check the radar. The wind was coming at me from every which way. I was worried a funnel was going to start forming. They had at least one touch down in Western Kentucky. Thankfully the wind was short lived. It rained all last night though. We didn't get a single break from it. Hopefully Pam and the horse are ok!

Thank you :lol: I know it felt a million times better already. I'm hoping she'll let us ride in other saddles tonight, and give her opinion on this saddle. I also have permission to bring it to Michigan and ride in it there, so that's awesome. We're really putting it to the test. Lessons, general riding, checking over by the chiro (saddle fitter too), and riding it in my shows. Really testing to see what Izzie thinks. She seemed happier though. Her ears were flicking like "well, this is different" but in a good way. I haven't noticed her get too bouncy, but maybe she wasn't using her back at full capacity? I know it's night and day when the back is there versus when it's not.

I really am hers :lol: though, if you ask the kids, she's theirs :lol: on our way down Sydney always says "My E e" since she can't say Izzie. Kaleb says "It's Sydney's Izzie!" I've already lost her to my kids :lol: and could be. The severe one didn't happen until two days later. She was mostly appalled I rode another horse I think :lol:

Lesson tonight!!! I am SOOO excited! I don't want to work on anything new really. I want to get our partnership back since something happened. I'm not sure if it's her and her hormones, or if I'm doing something. But my hope is she can pinpoint what is going on and help us out.

And right now, looks like no rain tomorrow... Or Monday and Tuesday. Hoping to ride all three of those days. Least run through each of my tests once, and iron out my freestyle. I can make it in one day. I've done it before. And I'm now just doing Training level, so much easier. Really nothing hard for her.


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## DanteDressageNerd

Hmm that makes things tough. I know personally I sometimes have a hard time with really passive people because they're not clear or they can be very passive aggressive which is hard for me to get. I like people who are direct and clear. But I'm with you. Don't buy a dress, they're not cheap. I wouldn't want to upset your mother in law either but why have an extra dress in your closet you're not going to wear and they're pretty expensive. I know for myself, most of my dresses have to be tailored because I have such extreme proportions. But that makes things hard. I'd be at a cross roads too :-(

Makes sense, the makeshift arena space looks a lot better to ride in (level ground, rectangle space to make lines). But I think it's a good idea and set yourselves up for success, especially since she's being funny about things and your family and everyone is coming to watch.

lol how can she get nominated for amateur as a professional? That's messed up and unfair.

lol it's really unfortunate she's SO picky. But I'm glad she inhaled her food and was okay with that supplement. Definitely a plus with a picky eater. Dante isnt picky at all. I had whole tablet of metacarbamol and he inhaled it with his grain (I thought they'd dissolve) and they didn't. They have to be ground. But that really sucks she's so picky! Mares :icon_rolleyes:

Oh wow really-really soon! So exciting! I hope she'll have a horse to ride, so you guys can ride together.

I saw that. I was worried when I heard about that. Those kind of storms make me worry a lot. But I'm glad everyone is alright and everyone was okay! Especially with you being in the wind. It doesn't scare me so much when they're weak but yikes. I'm from Oregon in the valley, I didn't grow up with that kind of weather :lol:

You really should, especially if you like it and Izzy likes it and you feel more able in it *crossed fingers* and trying other saddles, so you know for sure this is the one you want. And even saddles of the same make can feel SO different. I rode in two different trilogies on Dante yesterday and they felt so different to me. It's just interesting but definitely *shrugs* it's amazing how little changes can make big changes in them and how they respond to things. And check the how the saddle feels down the gullet when you're sitting on her. I check that with Dante a lot because saddles tend to pinch him around where the stirrup bars hang and that wasn't something I knew to check until him. But I have my fingers crossed for you guys!!

lol I think Izzy has adopted the whole family but you're her Mama, just like you're their Mama :lol: she's like a little kid, she doesn't want to share!

Good luck in your lesson! I hope you get some video and it goes well! 

And good luck with the freestyle! I hope it all goes well! One day when I do one I'll have to ask you for pointers! Good luck!


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## Tazzie

She's not normally passive aggressive is the thing. I think she just wants to give in and not fight. I've put my family on the lookout for a cheap, purple dress, because I am NOT spending the big bucks to match my mother in law and my sister in law. My excess cash goes to my kids and my horse, NOT to another dress I'll NEVER wear again because I look awful in purple. Seriously, I'm going to need to tan or something because I'll look awful in it. And I hate tanning. Maybe I'll do the sunless tanning crap. Just ugh. It ruined my weekend with all this crap. Well, not totally, but it did put a big damper on things.

It is a LOT better. It's not 100% level, but it's the best I'm getting. So I'll take it. I'm just hoping we can figure out what's going on. Maybe her saddle is fitting worse than I thought it was? Or she is just that hormonal. She exhibits no soreness in the back after riding in the wintec, so I don't know. Darn mares!

Well, she's technically not a professional, her mom is. But she may as well be a professional. Everyone always says "amateur" when they talk about her, air quotes and all. Though, no one thinks of her as a true amateur. I'm just glad she rides purebreds and isn't cross entering with me. They are the snobbier sort who only show rated shows, and if they show unrated they don't dress or groom to look show ready. Irks me. I was pleased their stud didn't get Arabian Horse Of The Year :lol: evil, I know, but I don't care for the stud at all.

She drives us all insane with how picky she is :lol: it's like "this isn't awful, just eat it!!" Normally takes her a couple of days to finish all of her grain again (the others finish what she refuses to eat). I was so dang happy she ate it though. I want her eating as much as possible of this stuff.

It really is!! SO close!! And I'd had a brilliant idea!! Nick wanted to bring the trailer home either Monday or Tuesday to get it ready to haul down. I suggested why not just bring it home after the show on Saturday. It'll already be hooked up. Just drive it straight up the driveway, and we'll get a lot of it sorted out on Sunday. I thought it was an awesome idea!

They make me worry too. I grew up in Western Michigan where we didn't get tornadoes. I've already gone through one that was fortunately a mile away. I was glad everyone I know was ok!

Izzie definitely seems to like it. I like I'm not fighting to put my legs under me. Scary thing I found out on my wintec. I almost slide my stirrups off of the stirrup bars fighting so hard for my legs to be under me. Like, it really tries to put me in a chair seat. And I REFUSE to lock the stirrup bars in case of an emergency and I need to slide them off. So, I'm hoping this saddle passes, because I don't want to go back to the wintec at this point :lol: Tonight I know we'll get her sweaty, so we can see what her sweat patterns say.

She definitely has :lol: she's our oldest daughter :lol:

I don't think Nick is recording this time. He doesn't want to do it tonight. Instead, he wants to actually watch what she's teaching so he knows more about what I need to do, and see first hand how things change. He records a lot of stuff for me, so I can't fight him on this.

Thanks!! I'm a bit nervous since I haven't done one in a while. And since I selected Training Level, my fun idea is nixed as it's illegal to do leg yields in the freestyle. Oh well! Hopefully I can make up some fun stuff!!

And been working on figuring out the regionals stuff. I'm trying to find out if I can pre-enter for classes, and then show in the classes I need to qualify for them. And then, if by chance I can't score a 58% in either level (I may be pretty upset if training level I don't get a 58% if we do well; then I'll be mad at the judge who I don't want to be showing under anyway), if I can transfer the money I paid into different classes I did qualify for (IE, more sport horse under saddle classes). Waiting to hear back, but the girl I need to get the answers from is the show secretary for the show this weekend. So I plan to ask her then if I don't hear from her sooner.


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## FrostedLilly

I just want to say, your mare is beautiful and so very talented! So unique looking with the greying pinto spots and I enjoyed reading about her. 

As far as the dress thing goes, you could maybe find something that has a pattern and little bits of the wedding colour in it? That way, you still kind of coordinate, but don't look like you're trying to be part of the wedding party.


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## DanteDressageNerd

That makes sense. Political/family obligations/ties. But hopefully something cheap comes around and isn't too bad :-( and I'm not a big purple person either. I'm very white and very blonde. 

So it was set up very recently. That makes sense but you'll still have time to practice  it will be good. Hope your lesson went well!!

lol that doesn't surprise me at all. People are always finding loop holes around the rules so they can show amateur or not compete against "tougher" competition. Always fun to watch people bend rules or find loop holes. And that's not evil. I don't like it when people keep something a stud that isn't "stud quality." Like why does it need to be stallion?

That's funny but sounds really frustrating! It would drive me nuts to have a horse so picky. I guess bute goes straight in the mouth right? That's frustrating and then all the supplements wasted as she learns it isnt' evil.

That sounds like a really good idea to take it home and get it ready while it's already hooked up. Definitely makes it more convenient and that way it's DONE before the big trip!

I totally understand. It's scary when they're so close. You can hear them and it's scary. The sky looks so surreal, it really looks fake! And everything looks foreign. Craziness of those horrible storms. But I'm glad everyone was okay!

I'm glad you're liking the saddle so much more and it's fitting you well. Hopefully this is it, since I read you didn't like the SLK. I know the SLK comes in a lot of different seats but you can't afford to try every last one either.

lol of course. She was your kid before the kiddos came, so she got to be apart of seeing the babies and will see them mature and raise them like a sister lol.

That's fair enough. I think it's really cool he's so interested in learning about this dressage stuff, instead of brushing it up as the wife's hobby and not getting involved. It's cool you have all that support!

I'm sure you will! It sounds like you're pretty creative! You'll make it fun.

I think you guys will get over a 58% at least a 60% as long as she's accurate in her test. But it's hard to say because judges can be really crappy and not know anything or not give appropriate marks or skew it but I'd think for qualifying it wouldn't be too bad. I guess you'll have to see unfortunately :-(


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## Tazzie

Thanks Glynnis! It's a fun journey 

I like that idea actually!! I'll definitely have to start looking for one. I think it's a great compromise!

-------------------------------------------------------

To say I am EXHAUSTED would be an understatement. Yesterday was just crazy.

Got to the farm later than I wanted thanks to every slow person in the world pulling out in front of me. Got there and Nick was grooming her up so we just had to worry about tacking her up when we go to Maggy's barn. Good thing, since traffic was BAD on our normal route. Thank goodness Nick saw what our normal highway looked like. It was a parking lot with bumper to bumper traffic. Would have taken us FOREVER to get there. It was 80 degrees and the sun was out. Said we are NOT sitting on the highway with a horse in the trailer. Nick found a different way there, thank goodness. Just got some funny stares going through the town we went through :lol:

Arrived at Maggy's just after 6. Popped her in a stall with some fresh water and give her a chance to pee. Unloaded her tack to get her tacked up. Maggy said we could try the Albion if I wanted to, and we decided I would first ride in the Jaguar I was trialing and then switch to the Albion at the end. Tacked Izzie up, hand walked her around the arena before tightening up her girth, and then hopped on to walk her around. Was about ready to start trotting when Maggy said to just keep her walking, that she wanted to hop on and see what we've been dealing with.

Oh. My. God. Izzie at first resisted like she'd been doing. Later Maggy said she was essentially rein lame. She wanted nothing to do with true contact, and that was our battle. And I was backing down. She said Izzie knows what she's doing, and I need to be stricter. I agreed. But my god. Shoulder ins and haunches in all over the place. Then she started some baby turn on the haunches. Moved on to half pass. Then picked up a trot, where the fight started again. Got her over it and did all but the turn on the haunches at the trot. My god. I WISH I'd begged Nick to record. I WISH I'd had my phone on me. Izzie has such a gorgeous half pass. Then Maggy cantered her for the first time. And that is where Izzie tattled on me for how bad I let her get away with stuff. She wants NOTHING to do with rocking back and taking her weight behind. So much so she just stops instead. Maggy had her ok to the left. To the right when Maggy did strong half halts, Izzie would swap in her hind end. Every. Single. Time. At least at first. Then she did get a good circle where she could half halt and Izzie didn't swap. Said I really need to work on that. I said I know... at a loose rein asked her for turn on the haunches. Did it, no questions asked. After she halted and gave her a well earned pat, she asked how long I'd been schooling the half pass. I said I have never even attempted it yet. "Really?? Then you've been doing a lot of correct shoulder in and haunches in." Well, yes. I have :lol:

I hopped on next. And she worked our butts OFF. Holy smokes. Huge difference in that horse, and I feel I'm getting a better grasp on being like "you do this now, you know what I'm asking of you." And working on really getting her lighter on the forehand. Just so gorgeous. She had us do a little bit of medium trot for the first time too. My god can Izzie go. And brought her right back to a collected trot. She just felt so light and floaty! We worked a bit on canter, which needs a lot of work. Really getting her to shift her weight back. We had some good moments, and called it quits. We worked HARD. I think I got on roughly around 6:30 to start walking around, and then Maggy rode her. I got off roughly around 8:10 just to walk and lightly trot in the Albion. Obviously lots of walk breaks, and Izzie is plenty fit. Really worked us!

So, on the saddle. It curves up off of her back at the back of the saddle. I think this is how they are built. I mentioned that I felt it may help keep the saddle clear of the 17th rib, and she agreed. We both really liked how the saddle fit Izzie, and how the saddle fit me. The sweat marks were exactly as they should be, which was a relief. Put the Albion on her and I hopped on. It has a wider twist than the Jaguar, and I don't know if it's because I have MASSIVE thighs or if maybe my pelvis is narrow (after having kids??? I don't know), but I felt like I was doing the splits. And I hated it. It was hard to get a good rhythm in the walk, and trot I'm not sure if I was just that uncomfortable Izzie didn't want to trot or what. I just felt off in it. Maggy said it really put me in a chair seat and she didn't like it at all. Definitely said the Jaguar is the best for her. I told her I appreciated her letting me try it at least. She really liked how the Jaguar had the shoulder panels that didn't go all the way down the front of the saddle, so as not to block the shoulder. And Izzie's front end really got free with that saddle. I also felt her back a whole lot more in that saddle than I ever did in the wintec. I think overall it's our best bet. Have two more people I want to check it out, but right now we are leaning heavily toward buying it.

With all that... we didn't leave her place until late. Didn't get Izzie home until around 9:45 and still had to feed everyone. I fed while Nick went home to get the kids. I left the farm around 10:15 and drove a bit fast to go home. Got home a little after 10:30 and took a fast shower. Today, I am absolutely exhausted :lol:


----------



## Tazzie

DanteDressageNerd said:


> That makes sense. Political/family obligations/ties. But hopefully something cheap comes around and isn't too bad :-( and I'm not a big purple person either. I'm very white and very blonde.
> 
> So it was set up very recently. That makes sense but you'll still have time to practice  it will be good. Hope your lesson went well!!
> 
> lol that doesn't surprise me at all. People are always finding loop holes around the rules so they can show amateur or not compete against "tougher" competition. Always fun to watch people bend rules or find loop holes. And that's not evil. I don't like it when people keep something a stud that isn't "stud quality." Like why does it need to be stallion?
> 
> That's funny but sounds really frustrating! It would drive me nuts to have a horse so picky. I guess bute goes straight in the mouth right? That's frustrating and then all the supplements wasted as she learns it isnt' evil.
> 
> That sounds like a really good idea to take it home and get it ready while it's already hooked up. Definitely makes it more convenient and that way it's DONE before the big trip!
> 
> I totally understand. It's scary when they're so close. You can hear them and it's scary. The sky looks so surreal, it really looks fake! And everything looks foreign. Craziness of those horrible storms. But I'm glad everyone was okay!
> 
> I'm glad you're liking the saddle so much more and it's fitting you well. Hopefully this is it, since I read you didn't like the SLK. I know the SLK comes in a lot of different seats but you can't afford to try every last one either.
> 
> lol of course. She was your kid before the kiddos came, so she got to be apart of seeing the babies and will see them mature and raise them like a sister lol.
> 
> That's fair enough. I think it's really cool he's so interested in learning about this dressage stuff, instead of brushing it up as the wife's hobby and not getting involved. It's cool you have all that support!
> 
> I'm sure you will! It sounds like you're pretty creative! You'll make it fun.
> 
> I think you guys will get over a 58% at least a 60% as long as she's accurate in her test. But it's hard to say because judges can be really crappy and not know anything or not give appropriate marks or skew it but I'd think for qualifying it wouldn't be too bad. I guess you'll have to see unfortunately :-(


Haha, I was typing up my post when you posted!

I do like Glynnis' idea to get a patterned dress. Then it wouldn't be full on purple and would be something I could wear again later. I hate when I buy dresses and can only wear them once :/ I have two hanging in my closet that are that way right now.

It was :lol: haven't even really ridden in it. And at this rate, I won't ride in it until Monday *sigh* but, I owe it to Nick to let him go play softball tonight instead of ride. Give and take, since he's bathing, loading and hauling Izzie tomorrow entirely on his own. Thank god that mare is an easy hauler and bather. And that she's a daddy's girl :lol:

Yup, if there is a loop hole, people will find it. The rest of his conformation is ok. It's just more of his neck is so huge/cresty that he isn't actually round but rather just appears that way. And they show him country English pleasure, hunter, and in sport horse in hand. He's just blah to me. Not one I'd pick to breed to.

Drives us bonkers :lol: which is why we try not to tinker with her meals too often. And thankfully we haven't had to give her bute for anything :lol: wormer I clear her mouth out very well before I give it to her so she can't spit it out :lol:

That was my thought! And the night before (granted it isn't raining or windy) I can bed it down to make it comfy for our trip. I'm hoping to have the bulk of stuff loaded before Tuesday.

Yeah, I hate tornadoes :/ I was alone for that one. Nick was at work, and they held all the crews. Was just me and the dogs. I was truly terrified. Which now makes me wary of storms, and I used to LOVE storms. So many houses were taken out. I have an album on Facebook from all the wreckage. It was back in 2012.

I'm really hoping it is. I was bummed how much I disliked the SLK, but such is life. I was hoping to sit on it and be like "eureka! this is it!" Alas... The Jaguar we all liked though :lol:

Haha yup!

I'm thankful for it! He's having a hard time right now seeing the change in the weight shifting over the back, but I think seeing it enough will help him see it better. I loved when we got in the truck to head home he said "I really like her. I like that she gets on to see what the horse knows, or how she will react to something totally know. I think it helps her be able to teach you what to do. I'm not sure if Becky would have done that. She might have, but I like that Maggy just offered to try her." Maggy before the lesson said I could have the lesson go whichever way I wanted. Either I stayed on and she saw the issues from the ground, or she got on and felt what she was doing. I said I was up for whatever, but that I wanted my partnership back. She said if I was fine with it to let her ride the beginning part. I was glad she did. And when she started doing half pass Nick was at the rail watching in awe :lol: his favorite is the half pass. He thinks it just looks so fancy!

I'm sure I'll come up with something! OH! Another fun thing (this is what I get typing up my posts in a sleep deprived state; I forget things :lol Maggy asked if I've ever thought of doing a freestyle with her. I said actually... and told her we planned to ride one next Saturday. She asked that the next time I come, come with a CD full of music I really like and she'll see if we can work out a new freestyle. Said she LOVES creating freestyles. I knew right then she was my trainer :lol: and she's like me. We know the industry isn't terribly fond of words in with the music. But we both like words in it :lol: she laughed at what song I wanted to ride Izzie to, and she said to make sure it's on the CD! I'm pretty excited about it!!

Yeah, I think we're becoming more accurate with everything. I just need to simplify my own brain and we'll be good. Izzie was a much different horse last night, so I have hope we're coming out the other side of whatever we've been dealing with. And talking with the show manager for my next three big shows. She's in charge of stuff for regionals, and I'm hoping I can pre-enter in the dressage tests and then show and get my scores. She said if I don't qualify, changes to my classes can be made up until show day. So that helps. I guess I could always just pre-enter for sport horse classes and then change it to the dressage classes... hadn't thought of that.


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## Tihannah

Ok, going back a bit because I'm behind!

I totally feel you about the dress! I think it's SOO unnecessary to ask anyone outside of the bridal party to coordinate. I was actually IN a wedding last year as a bridesmaid and had to spend almost $300 on a big purple dress that I'll NEVER wear again. I've never had a formal wedding, but even if I did, I wouldn't feel comfortable asking someone to spend that much money on something they'll only wear once! And I think it's silly to ask someone to wear the same color as the bridal party. The party should stand out. If anything, they should've asked you to wear a neutral color that would compliment the bridal party. Or what colors NOT to wear. Like since they're wearing purple, don't do red or orange! You know? 

And sorry to hear you'd been having so much trouble with Izzie. I've definitely had those days with Tess! Where it feels like she just outright refuses to cooperate and it's so frustrating! But I'm glad you had an awesome lesson and left feeling like you may have gotten over the hump. I know I've gone stretches of time without a lesson and felt like I simply wasn't accomplishing anything. It definitely helps to have someone step in and help get you through it.

P.S. I think you've done an amazing job with Izzie!!


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## Tazzie

I had a mildly fancy wedding, though not over the top like others! Ours was a beach wedding, and I had guests arrive in shorts and t-shirts (I didn't care at all :lol. I also had all the bridesmaids pick out their own dresses, just had to be in our color of royal blue. So they could spend as much or as little as they wanted. Just had to be blue and a short dress. And shoes were silver, so they could either use a pair they had, or grab a pair they liked they would use again. I know several of my bridesmaids used their dresses again, and at least one even wore it in another wedding! And I have two decent dresses. One is blue/black/white (patterned) and the other is pink/black/white (also patterned). Naturally, neither works for them *sigh* I have never heard of this situation before either, which makes it tougher.

I think it's having a mare (or a mare like gelding :lol where it just seems even more frustrating. But we work through them. What I love about Maggy is I come in just feeling discouraged, and I leave feeling like not only did we bounce back up, but we took a big leap forward in our training by learning something new. And she gives me A LOT of homework to get me through until we can pay for another lesson :lol: kids take priority over lessons :lol:

And thank you!! I appreciate that


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## DanteDressageNerd

It sounds like it was a really productive, good lesson with a lot of break throughs. Always a good thing 

I'm pretty amazed she picks up on things so easily. I know for Dante laterals have always taken him a lot of time to pick up on. Haunches in took months for him to really get. We'd start shoulder in to keep bend and ask his haunches to come in and it was very hard to maintain bend because he'd want to not bend through his ribcage or leg yield into haunches in to help him with the bend. Walk was easy, trot/canter was hard for him. Now it's easy for him but it took a while. It's really cool she picks up on things so quickly! And you guys had such a good ride! Getting the "sit" is always a progression lol. But it's awesome you had such a good ride!

With the test I was told it depends on your pubic arch and how that is set. Having kids, thigh, hip size, etc isn't what determines that. But I understand I didn't like the standard SLK model but the one I ordered is modified but it has the standard twist the platinum system can't come with the narrow one but I'm glad the jaguar is working out and you both seem really happy with it! And not just that but every one is built differently and what they absolutely love, another might completely hate. And saddles can feel different horse to horse *shrugs* it's a complicated thing, thank God there are so many different companies out there. 

I agree a patterned dress sounds like a good idea. That was the color works together but you don't look like you're a part of the bridal party and so you have something you could maybe rotate at weddings too!

That's awesome he's helping you out so much with everything! That's really cool! 

But I get what you mean about the stallion. I don't like seeing cresty fat necks, to me it looks like they have a health problem vs actual tone.

It would drive me crazy too! Picky eaters make life difficult!

Yikes! I can really imagine all the damage from the tornadoes. I've seen some. I think in 2012 there was one about 3 miles from the barn and that gave me heart failure. Could drive along the road and the shingles off the roofs and one barn was partially torn down from it. Fortunately no horses were hurt but it was amazing to see the destruction from such a weak one. I can't even imagine what a more powerful one could do.

Sometimes it really helps to have a trainer get on and feel what's going on and put in some of the vocabulary that's going to be highlighted on in the lesson. But that's cute he was so excited about watch the half pass, I think it's really neat he's so invested in what you do! That's definitely rare!

lol that's cool you and Maggy are on the same page with the freestyles. I know the ones I saw had words to them too! 

Good luck with regionals! I know you and Izzy will do great and dressage is just complicated across the board. It's always in the details and the little things and emphasizing when to push and when to back off and when to do a million different little things. And it's different from horse to horse but similar enough lol.

Your wedding sounds like it was really lovely!! But I agree kids should take priority over lessons. I'm really glad you had a good lesson


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## evilamc

I'm been slackinggggg on your journal  Btw I went stalker mode and added you on facebook from Rodeos LOL! Figured that will be easier to plan our trail ride!!!

If you're still needing help about the dress situation....I agree with everyone that you should wear what you want to wear. If shes so set on you wearing the same color she can buy you a dress.

I think I'm the one lucky person to have such a sweet mare LOL! Or its because shes more of a pasture pet 

We had a beach wedding too! But ours was in Honduras.....so no one came....We got married by a justice of the peace at my parents little beach house with just parents/grandparents watching...then our real wedding was on a cruise...I told my mom only way I'm having a wedding is if my feet are in the sand...Then I choose the furthest away place possible so no one would come but I could invite them so they dont feel elft out lol!


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## Tazzie

Cassie, it really was! I was glad we were able to have one!

I do find it amazing how quick she is to grasp new things. I think she loves learning new things so much that when we give her something new she's like "YESSSS!! New toy!!" That's exactly how she acts :lol: she still has baby moments where she's like "I can't bend this way!!" but we work through it normally. Walk seems to actually be harder for her. She'd rather just trot and do it than walk it. Of course, we do insist she does it at the walk too, but everything is way easier at the trot. Always has been. And getting her to sit right now has definitely been tough since her shoulders haven't caught back up yet :lol: but she'll get it!

Lol, I don't know much about all of that really. I just know it was quite uncomfortable for me in the SLK. I was pretty bummed how poorly it fit me, but can't really afford to try all the different twists they have. Just isn't feasible :/ I am glad there are so many different companies and saddles out there so we can all find the one that works perfectly for us.

Yup! I think I'm going to try and find one. And deal with however the heck they react to it. It'll be my compromise because I'm totally against all of this. Feel like a b*tch, but you know what? I'm not in the d*mn wedding and I DON'T want to be buying a dress.

I'm thankful he has been so helpful with it all!

I think a lot of his is a cross between incorrect schooling and the "stud" crest neck. I don't think it's really all that good looking. We all agreed this weekend that he only shows in the classes he does because he can't hold his head and neck any differently than that.

Having a picky eater makes me want to just rip my hair out and scream :lol: I HATE it. Thankful she eats her meal so well now.

I just hate tornadoes :/ if we never have another one, I'd be happy. Scary things. Worse because our friend/barn owner was out of the country, and I had NO way of getting a hold of him. My mother in law called my brother in law to call/text our friend's brother to have his grandpa check on everyone.... and then go through that same chain to relay back that everyone was fine. HATED that.

I definitely appreciate her for doing it! She initially hopped on to diagnose what I've been going through, and just did a run down on her suppling exercises. Probably hadn't even thought we'd only just learned shoulder in/haunches in last month haha! I am SO happy he's gotten so into what we do. He has a lot more respect for it now though. He knows it's not nearly as easy as he'd expected it to be, and that there is a lot that goes into the training and riding. I just find it funny he locked onto half pass as his favorite! And not even the canter half pass with the flying changes, but the trot one!

Me too!! I was like "yup, this is definitely who I belong to." I love a trainer that knows I'm a free spirit and want to do something more than just ride to tests. I love even more that she's totally cool with words in the freestyles haha!

Thanks! I'm hoping it'll go well! I did find out I can "pre enter" even after June 6th, so that's good! I can hand in my entry AT the dressage show after I've shown and qualified :lol: the lady who was the show manager here is the show manager at the dressage show AND at regionals. She is SO sweet and has a great sense of humor. Definitely won't mind working with her!

I loved our wedding  and yeah, that's how life goes! I'd love to take more lessons, but we can't always spend the money to take one. Fortunately, Maggy realizes we aren't made of money and doesn't expect to see us weekly, biweekly, or even monthly. She just said "you'll know when you need me again." I REALLY appreciate when a trainer realizes financial constraints for their clients.

Alicia, it's all good! And yes! I saw the friend request yesterday and accepted! I can't wait for it!! Less than 2 months until after regionals! We'll be tapering off with our showing after that, and we should be able to haul out to do trail rides more often after that! Still need to get the fat quarter horse in shape to keep up with us, but it'll be doable by then!

I definitely wish I could just stand up and demand she pay for the dress. I just... can't. It's hard to explain with this.

Lol, I blame the Arab side :lol: though, really, she is a good mare. Just.... very sassy. I love her really.

And that sounds like a great wedding set up!! Ours was in Michigan, which severely cut down Nick's side of the family. I did feel bad his grandparents didn't come, but he was ok with that. And it was what I wanted!

Alright, next post will be about this weekend since I feel this one is long enough :lol:


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## Tazzie

So, this weekend was INSANE!!

I got off of work around 11 to head up to Purdue for my youngest brother's graduation. So proud of him!! Graduated with a degree in Industrial Engineering, and already has two job offers!! Just has to pick which one he wants!

His graduation was at 8 pm. We had dinner at 4, then went there. Was over around 10, and I finally got on the road at 10:30 to head down to Frankfort to our hotel. Three and a half hour drive. Thankfully, my mom was up, so I called her if I got tired. I called Nick when I finally got to the highway, and chatted with him again. He called me again at midnight to check on me and chat with me for a while. I called my mom around 1 to chat for a little bit. Got to the hotel just before 2. Couldn't fall asleep right away :sad: alarm set for 7 am to get up and get going to the show.

FABULOUS husband went down to the farm right after work to give Izzie a bath, put her boots and blanket on, load her up, and haul her to the show totally on his own. SO thankful for him!! And SO glad Izzie is so trustworthy that he can do that. I had some friends "catch" him when he got there. Got her all settled in, and went to buy a new lock for the trailer since he lost the keys for the ones he had. Texted me a picture saying "all tucked in." He's absolutely a keeper.

Got us all checked in (had to pay the difference for a full USEF membership since apparently a one day pass wasn't acceptable for an AAOTR class; AAOTR stands for Adult Amateur Owner To Ride), and got her braided and mostly ready. Changed prior to getting her ready. I got checked in, show started at 9, and we were the second class in. Had a decent warm up.

Our first class was going SO well the first way. Like, a good ride. Changed to go to the right, and ended up needing to canter by a judge's box with someone in it. Apparently, this terrified Izzie. We went sideways fast and nearly ran the judge and ring steward over.... Then she called for a lengthen canter right as we were coming that way again. I was like "are they trying to get us all killed??" Went sideways again *sigh*. Third time through I put on a lot of leg and tried to direct her back out with my outside rein. She disagreed, and broke to trot RIGHT before they announced to trot. Just ugh. I was MAD at her. She knows better. Even bent her away and tried to leg yield into it. Nope, not happening at the canter. Jerk. Still took second out of three.

Between that class and another class we schooled a bit by a judge's box that had an EMT in it. She even gave Izzie a pat so Izzie wouldn't be so spooked. I think it helped a little.

Went into the second class, and I blew it. I think I get too rattled with them announcing the gaits. I don't get as much time to prepare for canter departures as I do in dressage tests, so I flub them up. Asked to canter to the left, right by scary judge's box. Rushed it, she grabbed the wrong lead, I over corrected, and she tantrumed by tossing her head in the air and bolted a bit on the wrong lead. Got her back to the trot and picked up the correct lead. To the right was better. Strategically placed her closer to the inside for the right lead canter, and heavily flexed her to the inside while keeping a fairly strong inside leg on her. Didn't go sideways again, whew. Judge was generous with a fourth place out of five.

Last class before the break was absolutely our best ride. She just nailed everything I asked of her. It was just beautiful. Then we stood in line up for forever. My poor competitor's horse was NOT having it. Then the judge came up to tell me he couldn't even place me due to my ornamental browband. They are not permitted in hunter pleasure classes. I was bummed I wasn't even going to get a placing, and instead get a DQ. They were about to hand the first place ribbon to the other girl when they were like "wait, hold on!" Apparently Jeff (my buddy), the ring steward AND the judge wanted me to win anyway since Izzie had put in such a solid ride. The learner judge wanted to go by the book. Instead, they decided to just penalize me and make it a learning experience to not show in an ornamental browband in hunter pleasure again (I did try to find a plain black one prior to it.... ring steward (my buddy Carl) said he would have gone stall to stall to find one; but he also knows I'm shy and understands I couldn't do it...). The judge awarded me first and said that even with a penalty I was the winner. They said I had earned that victory lap for such a good ride. Carl, knowing me and Izzie, put that ribbon on her bridle like a champion. And we gave that victory pass everything we had! I'm glad too, since it was our only victory pass we did that day!

Only afternoon class started out well. It was hunter type, and I was showing against true hunter type horses. Judge liked hunter type horses. So I just went in to ride it for my points. I again rushed my canter depart to the right (I NEED to stop doing that, makes me frustrated!!). Went to correct and felt a blowup imminent from Izzie (someone else decided bending right that day was super stupid... guess what someone gets to work on this week?) Instead, miss sassy pants did a flying lead change. I just went with it.. I laughed out of the ring when we took a second out of five. I truly thought we'd blown it.

Our last class was Native Costume. Originally we were going to do the sport horse championship as well, but it was immediately after native costume. I didn't have the energy to strip her and get back on in 2 minutes. So I scratched. We'd decided we were going to take off that behind the ear piece this show to see how she did without it. I also took a major risk. I only warmed up at a walk and trot. If we canter too long in the costume, she finds things to get angry about. I opted to risk it, and hope we didn't canter long enough in the ring for her to find a reason to act up. I'd originally been in the class alone, but ended up having company. And the lady was SO sweet! We chatted before the class. She said this was her horse's first show in two years, and was curious to see how she'd do since she was getting very tired. Also said she gets super game in this class. I told her I'd steer clear of her if she'd do the same! She agreed! I told her I'd planned to trot in and then pick up the canter (you're supposed to enter at a canter) since it was a slight hill and I knew Izzie would go up it at the trot (also you have to go through gates, and there were people waiting on either side). She said she was probably going to walk in and pick up the canter. Also figured she may go through the trot for her transitions since sometimes her mare didn't walk to canter. I said we always go through the trot right now! Izzie gave me hands down the best ride ever that go around. I will admit I held the grab strap, just in case, since the last time we showed it she was SOO bad. And there were patterns made from the sunlight that kept coming and going. When we went through it at the canter I was like "is she going to jump them??" She didn't :lol: I didn't let her go full tilt in the hand gallop. Nick commented after that she didn't really gallop, but everyone else disagreed. My competitor was like "you had a great ride!!" I was surprised she had time to pay attention because I sure didn't :lol: my hunter pleasure company said the same thing, and I hadn't had time to see her either!! In costume you have to line up head to tail. The judge came up and was like "you made it!" I said "I'm so thankful we survived!!" :lol: they laughed. When they went up to tally and turn it in, I walked up to chat with my competitor. SO sweet! From Alabama, so the likelihood of seeing her again is slim to none. Said since she was SO nice! They announced the winners, and her number was called. I started clapping and she's like "congrats!!" I said "honey, that was YOUR number!" "What?? But I broke stride a few times!!" I said she had the type they look for! As she was getting her ribbon I said "gallop that pony!!" Tradition for a costume horse to canter/gallop the victory pass! I left that class higher than a kite though for how well she did! I was SOOOOO proud of her! She just felt comfortable and happy in the class! A bit tired, but happy!

Overall, a decent show. It was very well run and I had a great time!

Now, the trailer is home and being cleaned up, unpacked, and repacked for our trip to Michigan on Wednesday!! SO excited!! Sounds like Blair is coming up on Tuesday night and going to go to dinner with us too. SO ready to head up!! And my other friend is coming over from Wisconsin Friday night to watch us show. My mom, being the sweetheart she is, insisted she stay with us instead of getting a hotel. And former boss/trainer DID get my entry (there was some worry since my mom hadn't gotten her mother's day card yet Thursday evening!!) She's also having a bonfire Friday night, so I'm excited! I can't wait!

I know there will be some great pictures from the show! The photographer was taking lots of Izzie! I'm excited to see them!

Also, Nick said Izzie's trot got better and better as the day went on. I think she's really realizing the saddle doesn't hurt and she's happier to use her back. Now if I can be more consistent on getting her to sit back... I need to get better about thinking during those rail classes. Dressage is just SO much easier since I know when transitions are coming and can really prepare for them.


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## Tazzie

Oh! And forgot the hilarious comments from the day!

My friend was chit chatting with me up at the ring. She was talking about packing up and leaving. I told her I had a strapping young man that could help if needed :lol: and then brought this hilarious conversation she told me about :lol:

Apparently while Nick was packing up and hauling our stuff to the car, my friend said "Where can I find one like you? I need one."

Nick says "We're hard to come by."

This was HILARIOUS to me that Nick actually said that haha!


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## DanteDressageNerd

Absolutely! lessons are phenomenal to have. And amazing how much you can take out of each one. It's nice when they're so eager to learn new things and are ready to participate. Collection is a constant development :lol: always fun. It takes a little longer on these guys not "bred" with the "sit" button already installed. I actually helped break a 4yr old who naturally sat like a 2nd level horse freshly broke. He wasn't collected, just sat like no other. We had to trim his tail pretty short or he'd step on it when he'd move.

It's alright :lol: it makes sense to me. We're all shaped/proportioned differently, I know for me a narrow twist makes me want to clench in my hip flexors because I feel like there is a "gap." Kinda like the narrow twist is like sitting on a A-frame and the standard is like sitting on a half circle. And no it's really not feasible to try a ton of different saddles, unless you have a rep with a bunch for you try and assist you in picking. So I'm really glad you both found a saddle that suits you both!! That's really awesome! I hope it works for a while!

That sounds like a good plan to me. Your still in the color scheme and seeking appeasing family without a squabble but finding something you can wear again.

You really should be. I think it's AMAZING he sent you a picture saying all tucked in like I truly agree with those other ladies, where do you find one of those. I need to get one :lol: but he is right they are truly very rare but good women you can build with are rare too, so I'm sure he considers himself fortunate too!

Trust me. I entirely understand. I'm REALLY scared about those storms and warnings too. I entirely understand the worry and fear. 

That's unfortunate about their stallion. I'm sure his neck wouldn't be so bad if he was ridden properly but I also don't know what he looks like. But that's sad, poor guy. It also upsets me that the barn you mentioned doesn't warm up horses, seriously though that's how injuries happen. The tendons/ligaments and muscles need to warm up before you start asking them to really work. You need to. For a basic example I know in my body when I ran distance before a timed event, I always tried to run about 1/2 mile warm up to get my heart going and my body in gear. It made such a huge different in me being able to stride out, run with good form and to get my heart and lungs prepared for the run. I felt like I got in the "zone" better and I know it's not any different for them. Just amazes me when people don't warm up because its so important for injury prevention.

It's definitely helpful. Especially if an instructor doesn't see you guys frequently and really know you and your horse. Sometimes what you see and what is going on is deceptive, even to a trained eye. And that is really cool she's supportive and isn't you need to train with me all the time or pressuring you to do what won't work. And that she gets your "free spirit" and supports it :lol: And it really is neat but I get the trot half pass over canter, it's cooler to watch with legs crossing in sync. It's more interesting :lol: it makes sense to me. But I'm glad that you put the kids first, not that you wouldn't just I always look at it when you become a parent, your kids become your first priority. Doesn't mean you stop living but you know what matters.

Boy it sounds like it was a busy weekend! Congratulations to your brother on graduating! That's a big step!

Of course she'd spook at the judges stand. Didn't you know judges eat baby arabs? They just come along waiting and praying to feast on little baby arabs. Very scary stuff. Glad Izzy tried to keep you safe :lol: no but babies gotta love them.

But I'm glad you had a good show and didn't disqualified for the "bling" browband :lol: and ended up getting a blue anyway. Glad they penalized, rather than disqualified you for that. And that Izzy was so fantastic for your native costume class! That's pretty awesome! 

Good luck on your trip! That's really exciting! It sounds like it will be a great trip with Blair and your other friend from Wisconsin dropping by. Sounds like a full house!


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## Tazzie

So true! Izzie gets it faster at the trot. Walk she can slightly grasp. Canter, it's just beyond her full understanding right now. This will be her biggest challenge, and I need to get better about it. It's a tough spot to be, asking for forward while I also asking her to come up. It's HARD for both of us!

Yeah, I felt like I was doing the splits on the SLK :lol: Izzie is already a wide mare. That made her feel way wider! It'd be nice to try a ton of them, but it's difficult to find a fitter that would come for one horse. I don't think I'll be going back to the Ohio barn, and they really only used M. Toulouse anyway. That one was never on my radar to try, period.

Now to find one I'd like haha!

I was very happy he sent me that  Always makes me feel better knowing she's safely tucked in for the night. They definitely are hard to come by :lol: I hope he feels as fortunate as I do! He definitely makes me very happy 

The link after this post will take you to the stud. He's the light bay, ridden by the helmetless girl in all black. Cause, you know, that's appropriate to wear at a show... I wish I knew what place she got, but I don't. Blair won that class (super lit up chestnut is her mare, Sadie; Sadie is amazing). And I HATE when they don't warm up. We watch as they tack their horses up, and then go stand in the middle of the warm up ring. Which that bothers the heck out of me too. Every. Single. Warm up ring. Every show. The park all their crap right in the middle of the warm up and sit there on their horses. Even if it's a lot of class in between. If I have a lot of classes, I hop off and loosen the girth. Then get back on, do a small warm up, then head in. They also don't adjust horses to water temperature either. A friend of mine watched as they turned the hose on and just started hosing the horse's back. She's like "that's how my horse got pneumonia..." I've never started hosing directly on the body; I always start with the legs. Pretty much their entire barn failed miserably in the Sport Horse division this weekend, so I did find that a bit humorous :lol: and the stud was the only one in the English Pleasure class.

125 - jennifernadine

I really do appreciate it. It's one thing to just keep yelling at me about it. But to me, it speaks volumes for them to hop on and see for themselves what I'm struggling with. I also really appreciate not feeling like I need to get a lesson every week, which I could never afford. I'll be lucky to snatch one a month. I did like the trainer in Ohio, but I definitely felt like she wanted her students taking weekly lessons. That is just not feasible, nor can I take every single free weekend/weeknight away from my husband and kids. We've only ridden with Maggy on weeknights, which has been pleasant. Gives Nick a chance to maybe have a free Saturday. And exactly. I know I get the stink eye for people because I never gave up riding and doing things I enjoy. I didn't want to be the mom who gave up who I was entirely when I have kids. Yes, priorities have changed. And yes, riding time is given up when a kiddo is sick. But such is life. I'm very fortunate I have such a support system that allows me to continue doing what I love the most. I may complain about some things (like the dress situation), but I'm extremely fortunate to have in laws that will pick the kiddos up from day care and keep them for the weekend so we can go to a show. Or pick them up since we're in the process (longest. process. ever.) of potty training, and being at the barn doesn't always lend itself well for a kiddo to use the potty.

It sure was! Not sure I'm fully recuperated from it either :lol: and it is! I'm proud of him 

You sure do :lol: I was like "seriously? you've seen these before." Least it was really only for one class she was an idiot about it. I do plan to work heavily around the judges stand this week in Michigan. Don't need her being a moron about it for our show Saturday!

I am SO thankful they just penalized! I thanked them all A LOT for it. And I am VERY proud of that mare. We're definitely going to leave that piece off for now. Just not worth the stress that goes with it. We also took off the tassel that was attached to the throatlatch, and shortened that up so it didn't swing and hit her. Just a few, quick adjustments and she was MUCH happier. I'll be excited to see the pictures!! I think they are going up on the website soon. Though, unfortunately it's the one you have to give an email address; I've never been spammed from her though. I think she tries to keep out spammers.

Thanks!! I am so excited!! In 24 hours from now, we should be about there! YAY!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rode yesterday. Was an... interesting ride. Lots of reminders that bending right is NOT an option. That she WILL do polite, non-rushy downward transitions from canter to trot. That she will NOT rush. And that she will NOT be rude. We designed a freestyle. SOOOO not our best, but it'll be fun. Izzie was at least prompt with her transitions when I asked. Not as much anger about the canter, so perhaps that moody mare is working? She's still sassy, but no squealing. Vast improvement. And boy did I have her. Even when she nearly vibrated with dislike toward me (I wasn't letting her win!!) her back was right there. I was like "Nick, this feels gorgeous. And I'm betting it's totally flat behind that saddle, if not a little slant downwards with her hind." He's like "she looks really, really good." She didn't want to do a good stretchy circle, which is normal when she's mad she can't win. It's her petty act of defiance toward me. Just makes me work extra hard to get it. Stubborn mares!!

We are mostly packed up. Going to give her bridle a really good scrub today before I put it in the bridle bag for the trip. Kid's clothes are packed, and so are mine. Just need to be put in the trailer, which will happen tonight.

I'm so excited!!

Edit to add a few things:

One, pictures are starting to go up from the show. Just Friday right now (in hand/halter). My friends horses look SOO much better!

Second, we have confirmation that the girl who won all the Sport Horse classes at our last show does, indeed, train with the girl who judged the show. People now wish we had turned this in to the man in charge since there is a 90 day rule where they can't have trained with each other for 90 days. And as a Dressage trainer/judge, she should well know this since how many of us would go to a show and show under our trainers? None, because it's illegal. Least I know Izzie gave me her all that day.


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## DanteDressageNerd

It is hard and it takes time to really get that coordination and strength on them because it requires a greater degree of throughness and more you ask them to "collect" the more on the spot the timing has to be to keep the freedom/thoroughness. It's hard. It's all core, leg, and half halt and sending them through, up. The good thing is with the canter is when they have an established collected canter it is way easier! And it is an awkward spot training wise! 

lol it entirely makes sense. And I agree I don't like the M. Toulouse saddles either. I've ridden in a few and they're just eh. They're not awful but they aren't in balance to me.

For sure!! it was extremely sweet of him!! I'm sure he does. I don't think he'd do so much for you, if he wasn't grateful. One thing I know about German families is they show their love/affection by what they do and are willing to do for you. It's not in words but actions.

I'm with you on the stallion, he's a nice little horse but to me not a stallion but maybe under a different rider/trainer he'd go better. But I feel bad for him with that saddle being way too big for his back, that cant' be comfortable. But Blair's mare is VERY flashy!! You definitely notice her. I don't know anything about saddleseat but she looks like a nice mare!

But that's good she doesn't pressure you that way and understand your situation. I know Pam has someone who comes in once a month for lessons and Pam basically said she structures her lessons differently for her because she's not in a program , so they work on big picture things that can be applied at home vs intricate details which makes sense to me. And no I don't think Mom's should sacrifice everything in their life because they're a mom. Mom's should have something that's just for them. Kids should be the priority but they shouldn't be all consuming either. But it's really great your in laws are able to help you guys out so much, so you can continue to do what you love! Definitely a blessing!! Being a mom isnt easy, it's full time but I'm glad your in laws participate and help out so much!! So you can pursue your interests too!

lol they always have a moment. I think Dante will always be terrified of the judges stand. I remember in both tests before I went in the arena if I didn't have him in shoulder in he would suddenly start running side ways snorting and spooking. Hot and tense and it was like Dante it's okay :lol: they're so funny sometimes. Judges just after those baby arabs, they wait all day for the arabs to come and eat them up. I'm sure you'll do great together in Michigan, can't wait to see the 5pg post on it :lol:

:lol: baby horses learning to be adults!! It sounds like you worked through it well though and had some good moments, it's just rough when they have these unreasonable tantrums and you just gotta deal like you're an able bodied animals. Yes I love you, you're my child but you're a horse and this is your job!

That's really disgusting they broke the rules like that and she won only because of who she trains with. It really sounded like there was a lot of sketchy stuff that went on at that show. But I'm glad this past show at least went better and hopefully the ones in Michigan will be even better!!

Best of luck on your trip!! I hope it goes amazingly!!


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## Tazzie

Yup! We will just take as long as it takes to get it right  we will get there!

Yeah, it's amazing how we are all so different. My best friend got to ride my former trainer's horse. She has a Barnsby on him. My friend really didn't like it. Like, legit thought she broke her seat bones (I informed her it just meant she used them.) She rode in the Jaguar on Izzie the next day, and she was like "now THIS is nice." She loved how it fit her and Izzie.

That is true. I'd do anything for him too :lol:

Exactly. Supposedly they won't let him put his head down since he bucks like a mule (heels far above his ears) and just not one they want to reach long and low. Shame. Probably wouldn't be that way if he was trained correctly... And Sadie is amazing. She's a nice, safe ride too for someone who doesn't know how to ride Saddleseat. She's really fun. And when you give her rein she stretches down seeking the bit. She's just such a cool horse!

I'm super thankful there is no pressure to get lessons I can't afford. And she does give us LOTS of homework to work on. I love and appreciate it. It's nice when trainers will do that with their clients.

Thankfully the judges stand was not a terrifying, Arab eating monster this weekend :lol: I'll expand on that in my next post :lol:

Ugh, exactly. I love my girly, but it's like come on. It is time to grow up now.

Well, now I'm hearing from yet a different person that they USED to train with that person. So I'm not even sure. Either way, I still fully believe they were consistently placed because they've worked together. It's still whatever. I know Izzie put in solid rides.

Alright, next post(s) will be all about my trip haha!


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## Tazzie

So, I was SO thankful my best friend, Blair, did in fact make it! I was SO happy!!

We started our trip out by going to dinner Tuesday night haha! Packed what we could in the trailer afterward, and headed to bed.

Got up at our normal time (5:30) and got moving. Kids had breakfast bars since they are easy on the tummy. Headed out before 7 to go get Izzie. She was so dang far away, like other end of the field. It's a big field. Found her and brought her up. We cleaned her up (I'd rather die than haul a disgusting horse; at least brush the thing!!), put her shipping boots on, put her sheet on (she was a bit cold) and loaded her up. Obviously she loaded like a champ. Totally fine with the big toys being loaded up behind her (I wish I had gotten a picture haha) and we hit the road. Time said 7:59 when we put the truck in gear and headed out :lol:

The drive was super easy. Blair took over when we needed to fill up since I desperately needed a break. I took back over when we got off the highway since I can drive it better than I could provide directions. We got her settled into a stall, then brought the truck and trailer back to my mom's to unload everything. Went back out to meet with my former trainer. All was good.

Thursday we got going when we woke up (at 7:30...), grabbed some breakfast, then headed to the barn. Got to busting butt cleaning the barn. Looks SO much better than it did previously. Took a break for lunch, then went back to it. I rode, which was... interesting. We attempted to spin a few times over a couple of benches. Needed Blair to be "lead mare" for us for the scary bench, and she just walked past the judges stand just to make sure. Went indoors to actually work (we walked outside, but opted not to ride in it since the arena was harder than I remembered it being). This was when Blair freaked me out when she said "I don't want to freak you out, but your horse is stepping short with her left hind." Great. Just great. Just what we need after hauling 8 hours the day before. We wondered if it was just stiffness since she's not used to being stuck in a trailer where she can't move, and then put in a stall (I did free lunge her first.) Do our warmup, and Blair said she still wasn't stepping out as she should. Said that leg was a "normal" horse movement, and the right was how Izzie goes (aka fancier). Asked if she had permission to stretch Izzie's leg. I said yup. We heard a loud series of pops (followed by Izzie releasing a sigh), but that wasn't it. Blair noticed the right side would have looser moments than the left. Felt her hips, and AH HA! Found a super tight knot that Izzie actually swung her head around and attempted to bite Blair. Blair grabbed some liniment and proceeded to massage it into the area. Izzie felt SO much better. And moved better.

So, we continued with the liniment and massaging throughout the day (mostly just stretching and massaging; liniment was not every time) and throughout the weekend. Izzie learned stretching was GOOD and looked forward to it. By yesterday the knot was mostly gone. We still aren't sure what caused it. But we're going to continue to stretch it and rub it to help it move correctly. I was thankful it was an easy fix in the grand scheme of things.

Friday I was miserably exhausted. Got more work done, and thought about riding my horse. They were dragging the outdoor arena, and I was so tired. Instead, we went back to my mom's and took a nap. I was THAT tired. We went back out there and I had Blair warm her up for me (did I mention I was tired???) Blair was like "Jesus Katie, every time I get on this horse she has more power and more buttons!" :lol: she warmed up in the indoor arena, then went outside. Izzie was looky, but not in a dangerous way. Blair was like "what do you want me to do?" I said to trot straight at the judge's stand. I stood in it. Izzie was totally fine with it. So, I hopped on to do a bit of work. Just did a bit of lengthening, stretchy circle, etc. Blair LAID across the front of the judges box and Izzie didn't care. Hello progress!! I do think the Moody Mare helped here. She would briefly think about something, but she was super easy to redirect her attention elsewhere. One of the boarders watched us, and told me afterward that we were definitely something special. She WISHED she could ride like I did, her words. I told her my former trainer wouldn't let me off of the lungeline until I had a seat :lol: but I thanked her for the kind words toward us!

We went back Friday night for a bonfire, which was fun! Blair also made us all dinner, which was AMAZING. OMG can she cook! And my friend came across Lake Michigan on the Badger to watch us ride  I had quite the cheering section!!

Also forgot to mention that Thursday night my friend got a mini lesson on my former trainer's horse. She did a GOOD job. Even my former trainer said so  she's excited to use what she learned here for the training horses she is getting in soon! Two come this weekend, another two shortly, and then hopefully another two or three soon after that! I'm SUPER pumped for her! I think things are finally starting to work out in her favor!!

I have to eat dinner now (haha!) but I'll be back with how the show and everything else went!


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## Tazzie

Saturday brought.... SHOW DAY!!

I was a bit on edge and anxious. This is the biggest crowd of people that were going to be there for just me. My former trainer had yet to see me ride (she's a realtor, and wasn't home/around while I rode) so I was anxious about what she would think. Blair essentially was like "You're taking this" and handed me Rescue Remedy. It at least stopped the ball of anxiety from forming in my stomach, thank god. Izzie and I warmed up fabulously in the indoor (away from EVERYONE else, which helped my anxiety) and we marched out the back door and around the barn to the outdoor. Gave the flowers that had suddenly popped up in the letters (they have holes to put a plant in, and they did not have the plants in them when I rode the day prior) a look, but kept going. Waltzed right past the judge, no issue. So happy! Whistle blew, and down center line we went! And put in a SOLID test. I was SO dang happy, and we had an eruption of cheers afterward! Walked up to the judge (as is tradition) and she said "This horse is SUCH a dancer!! It was so pleasant to watch!" And we got a fabulous 69.62%!! Highest I have EVER received for Training Level! SO happy! That was Training Level Test 2. Got 2 8's in the test (one for a trot circle, and then for change of direction) and she got an 8 for her gaits. Comments in the further remarks section were "Dancing horse! Try to increase bit/rein softness. Reins appear too short to tight fists?" Which makes sense; I get nervous at shows and clamp my fists. She gets super strong at shows (game face) and increases bit pressure there too.

I didn't see my first score before my second test, which was Training Level Test 3. Another pretty good test if I do say so myself! Earned a 67.27% Second highest I've ever gotten :lol: this test I got 1 8, for my working canter right lead, and another 8 for her gaits with a comment that said "a '9' trot" Further remarks read "Talented horse w/ keenly interested & talented rider." She brought up rein length, and said Izzie was swinging her hind end out down centerline since I wasn't giving her space to go forward. Said I should really work on giving her a bit more rein to allow her to stretch into the contact better, so I'll be working on that. She actually said this before I left the ring. And she also said this horse absolutely has the potential to go to Grand Prix, but I need to let her lengthen her neck and relax into it more to allow for her energy to flow through in the trot. Said I need to ride her like we're aiming for Grand Prix, but to relax and let her use herself more, and to stop causing her to do a lesser trot than she has. I thanked her for the comments, and was seriously pumped that yet another person commented Izzie will definitely make it to the FEI levels.

We had a lunch break, then headed in for our freestyle. Since I was the only one doing it, I did it a bit funny. I trotted in, halted where I wanted, then started the music. Slight issue with the music, but thankfully Nick fixed it (he had to use his truck to play the music.) I felt we did a REALLY nice ride. I kind of winged some of it since I hated how my original plan flowed. Just was too choppy. I liked the beginning, but not the end. Well, my "winging it" worked out. I scored an unbelievable 87% on it!! YES, 87%!!! Two 10's for her walk work! And amusingly a 10 for the choreography :lol: we all had a great chuckle over that! Further remarks were "Lovely flowing work!! Your stretching work is getting results w/ a longer neck! Super." SOO happy!! She also gave us a 9 for our music, which is awesome! We just did it for fun, and I did expect low marks for the music since it was SO not traditional. I was floating after that :lol:

Our final test was First 1. I was tired. Izzie wasn't as tired, but since I was she got away with stuff. I had NEVER ridden this test, only read it. And we got a 64.81%! Holy smokes! So pleased! Got an 8 on our medium walk, and Izzie got another 8 for her gaits. Only further remark was "Great work lengthening the neck." She told me good job afterward, and I said I was super pleased since it was our first attempt at it!

After the show my former trainer allowed a few of us to ride in front of the judge to work on a few things. I was EXHAUSTED by this point, so my former trainer told me to have Blair ride her. Heck yes! We both picked up some great tips. She gave us a couple of things to work on, mostly just increasing self carriage (always a constant battle with this horse, and I let her get away with not doing it fully.) But I know we'll get there!!

So, we had an EPIC show day! Came home with 3 firsts, a second, and a high percentage champion!

My former trainer did have some comments. To my face she just told me the only thing she could think of to work on (after our first test) is to sit back (I struggle with that in my tall boots for some reason) and to not pump at the canter. Coming from her, that is amazing that is all she had to say. Though, the boarder she was hanging with during my test told me what she was saying to her. Apparently my former trainer said we were amazing, and she was telling the other girl I've done all the work with this horse :lol: I told the boarder I way surpassed Cloud 9 and was sitting on Cloud 50 at least :lol:

I'm also, slowly, shaking off the negativity I carry to shows. Blair kept telling me to repeat "I'M A BADASS!!!" as I rode, and before I started my trot around the ring. I think coming to this show did a lot to help me out. I feel as though I FINALLY got my former trainer's approval, even if it wasn't directly. And they all want us back next year!

Also, the judge we showed with? I've shown two other horses under her before. I still have every single test I rode growing up, so I flipped back and looked at them. She's not a generous scorer, so I feel we truly earned the scores we got :lol:

And here is my freestyle 






Our trip home went very smoothly, and she was one VERY happy pony to get outside!! Nick fed tonight and did her stretches, so she thoroughly enjoyed a day off!

Though, I feel even more charged to go out and get to work on improving us!


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## Rainaisabelle

You guys looked so good!!!


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## DanteDressageNerd

It's amazing how different saddles affect your body, position or can make it impossible to keep your leg, sit correctly or anything else. A good rider can ride in a lot but that doesn't mean they can do their best or ride in every saddle. I remember hearing that when I was younger, now I say bs. I rode in a saddle that rubbed my knees raw and another that totally threw my balance off but I'm glad your new saddle has fetched approval! I havent ridden in a jaguar but I've heard good things!

That's a shame about that stallion, my guess it they just don't really know what they're doing and the stallion doesn't really have a bucking problem or he's just ticked at their tactless riding but I'm glad Sadie is such an awesome saddleseat mare! And good for people learning about saddleseat.

I'm really glad you and Izzy had such a wonderful time in Michigan and that Blair has a really good time too! That's really encouraging to go back home and people say how well you're doing. It's a shame about the knot but I'm glad it was such an easy fix and wasn't super deep! 

Honestly the trip really sounds amazing but I understand being SO SO exhausted after such a long trip, it really does wipe you out :lol:

The showing sounds really-really good! I'm really happy for you guys, the test was lovely. I'm glad you were able to ride through your nerves and improve each test and Izzy came out and did well for you  

Also that you have your trainers approval, really means a lot. You've done well with Izzy, I'm really glad you're getting credit and receiving acknowledgment for that.

She's a nice mover with plenty of ability, I'm not surprised they liked her so well. Kudos!


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## Tazzie

Raina, thank you! We're really starting to work as a team now!

Cassie, it is amazing! I had to ride in saddles that were way to big for me growing up since I rode in the owner's saddle. Now that I have a saddle that fits ME, it's pretty amazing :lol: the Wintec I felt was pitching me forward, and Blair said she had a similar experience. She liked the Wintec, but loved the Jaguar a lot more. It got the approval from everyone I was wanting it from (including Izzie who no longer wiggles while tacking up) so we did buy it. I feel confident in the choice 

Yeah, I'm really not a fan of how they do things. At all. I don't care for the trainer there at all either. She's just not a pleasant person. Honestly, I think she's going to have a serious issue on her hands here soon. That stud won't handle that for long, and we've been watching a mare all year who we think is getting extremely bored of the rail life. Every class we've seen she's been racing around and around, almost as if she thinks it'll make it end sooner. I don't know really. But I think they just ride around on the rail and not do much of anything else.

I'm very glad we made that trip. I think it yanked me out of the self doubt I've been putting on myself, the fear of failing, the fear of disappointing people, and the lack of trust I give my horse at shows. This trip really needed to happen, and I'm glad it did. I was sad about Izzie being a bit ouchy, but SO thankful Blair figured out what it was and how to take care of it quickly. She's a very good horseman to figure out what was going on in as short of time as she did. And I know Izzie felt great. Blair became her best friend after that :lol:

I think today is even worse than yesterday! I can barely keep my eyes open! I am so tired!

Thank you! I really couldn't have asked for better rides really. She gave me her all this weekend. And didn't even blink when I rode her on show day, which was her third working day in a row (we sometimes get cranky about that). I definitely think our freestyle flowed better there than what we had practiced at home! And she didn't get so ****y with me directing her. I think it just came naturally to us both 

Now that part I was tickled about :lol: it really meant a lot to me, and Blair understood too. It was just such a high for me! And thank you! I just need to learn to accept the credit and compliments now :lol:

Thank you! I love that everyone loved her so much! And she's certainly something special. Hard to believe that when we started breaking her, I basically said I'd be surprised to just make it to Second Level in training :lol:

Tonight I plan to ride. I'm hoping to just keep it a nice, simple ride. Mostly stretching down into the contact while creating more self carriage. Plan to do my spiral circles and such to get her carrying herself more. I'm exhausted, but I'm excited to get back to work again!


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## DanteDressageNerd

I'm really glad you found something so easily that worked for both of you and makes everyone happy. That's a blessing! And I totally understand, I almost always rode in saddle that were less than ideal or painful but when you have your own you want something that actually works for you vs making do with what you have. I'm glad you found a good fit 

I know. We've talked about them and I totally understand/get why. That trainer really sounds like she has no business being a trainer with a farm at all. She sounds way too inexperienced/immature but has a big mouth and can lure people in. He really looks like he'd be a nice horse with someone else. To me he looks like from the pictures he has dressage ability but with someone else. And I don't blame them, even the best minded horses can blow up if someone keeps pressuring them and bullying/belittleing them into something and they don't understand but comply with the situation. 

I'm really glad you went  confidence and self belief is very important in this sport and it always amazes me how the ones who need to be humble have all the blind arrogance/pride in the world and the people who might have a reason to be arrogant/excessively proud are humble but then that's why they're good. Pam said the difference she saw between the extremely good riders and the very good ones. Is the extremely good ones have a sense of humility and accept they can be fallible vs the very good but lacking something ones were very conceited and just pressured/pressured/pressured the horses. But I'm glad you and Izzy had a good time.

I'm glad she gave you her best, I think she's also aware of when she's in the spot light :lol: like any true diva she knows when she's being watched. But it was good and I'm glad it flowed well/went well for you guys 

I totally understand and you should feel good about it. It's hard to take/accept compliments, I'm not good at it either. I always assume they're saying it just because it's the polite thing to do and not because they really mean it but that's me just being used to people using compliments as a form of manipulation. But you're welcome 

lol well sometimes they surpass all expectation and step up. Some disappoint but when you have a willing horse who wants to/can that's something to be grateful for.

I hope you have a good ride with Miss Izzy and it's good!


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## Tazzie

I feel fortunate too! I really expected a long, drawn out process :lol:

Yup, I think he could be ok if they let him move out, but they won't ever do it. Truthfully, a lot of those horses would benefit from doing anything other than what they do. I think the little mare (who is a nice little mare) needs something that will challenge their mind. I enjoy these shows for the friends I've made, but I will admit to getting bored going around the rail. The mare I mentioned is still fairly young, and I think she's slowly starting to let them know this is not what she wants to do anymore. We're going to keep watching them, but we will see. The trainer really does need to grow up too. She's the one who thinks it's ok to show in the sport horse in hand class in nylon halters and tail bags. Just to get a participation point for showing. The last show the judge tossed them out of the ring and made a call that they must be properly presented for halter classes. We all cheered :lol:

I know :lol: I guess I just spent so much time on horses that were never mine, or horses that are great packer types, that I never gained the confidence when presenting a truly nice horse. Don't get me wrong, the horses I grew up riding and showing were nice horses, and one was definitely better bred than Izzie (he was an Oldenburg), but I feel like I have a lot more under this horse than any others. Combine that with my accident, and I don't have a lot of confidence. Blair actually started (gently) tossing stuff at me and telling me my horse is freaking awesome, that I did one heck of a job training her, and I needed to show her with confidence and enthusiasm. So I did. I'll never be a cocky rider, and I'll never push for more from Izzie than I think she is capable of, but I can be more confident.

She definitely knew the spotlight was on her :lol: she's my princess! And me too!

That's where we are alike :lol: though, Blair is right. We do need to accept some compliments when you can see they are true compliments. Like, these ladies fawned over Izzie. They were not a passing "great job!" but a full on "you guys are so awesome and we can't wait until we can ride as well as you guys do!!"

She is definitely dying to surpass my expectations :lol: I'm totally ok with that!

And thanks! I'm hoping it'll be a good one. I don't want to work too long since it was such an eventful weekend. But I want to work on some suppleness, and getting her carrying herself more. And lots and lots of stretching!!


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## DanteDressageNerd

For sure! saves a lot of money/frustration when it just works out! I'm glad for you! Always nice when it works out smoothly.

If they always ride like how I've seen I'm in total agreement with you. I think horses do get really bored doing the "easy" stuff. Dante goes a lot better (when he's normal) the more you ask from him vs doing simple things he just gets bored. It doesn't surprise me that the horses you mentioned gets bored too, especially if all they do is go around the rail and be held together and disrespected all the time. She really does, she sounds super young, even for her age. But I'm glad the judge put them in line, poor turnout at a show is just disrespectful.

I know what you mean. I'm used to wacko's and the things you learn riding them doesn't always apply riding something that will let you ride it. You don't progress much with them but by God you could get around the arena with a relaxed, through horse that's a victory then when you could really work on things that was heaven on earth. But it does teach you different things, different horses, types and experience bring out different abilities and adaptability. Like riding the wackos made me super adaptable mentally and how to approach different situations. They teach a lot/have a lot to offer you can't really explain and isn't from lessons but from riding and feeling and experiencing. But you'll gain the confidence with Izzy. You've come so far and done so much with her. But I agree, I don't think it's good to be "cocky" but confident and believing in yourself is good but able to admit fallibility but able to ask for the extra degree. 

I'm sure she does, she sure look like she thinks she's taken the stage 

It's hard to accept compliments though :lol: but that's really neat to have so much admiration with you and Izzy. You deserve it.

lol of course. Who isn't, it's a miracle when they surprise us and surpass all our initial hopes and dreams, much better than the reverse. 

I'm sure it will. Just a happy pony!


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## Tazzie

It really is nice :lol:

They do. They all slump over, and do the yank and pull. And always just around the rail. I've never seen them circle or do anything other than rail work. The way they ride I'd doubt they do any circles at home either. Izzie gets bored as well with easy stuff. And the trainer is older. That's her daughter riding the stallion above. She was the one riding the big chestnut in other pictures, and just totally slumped to the right. They do act petty and immature for how old they really are. I was SUPER glad the judge called them out on it. Needs to happen more often in my opinion. Especially things like that.

They certainly do teach a lot! I do prefer the saner ones though :lol: Izzie can get a bit excitable, but she's never dangerous, and I can usually redirect her thought. I think I need to have confidence in myself first, which is where I lack sometimes. I'm getting a lot better, which in turn is making her a lot better. And thank you  I do like to push her a little bit too, but not to the point where I feel I'm asking for something totally unrealistic.

That's how she feels too :lol:

Thank you! It's still a bit weird to me since she was so scrawny and not very well put together when we took the chance on her :lol:

Absolutely!

And we did have a great ride!!

I gave her a few inches of rein and just worked on spiraling in and out at walk, trot, and canter. Izzie was a bit confused since it was more rein than we normally warm up on, but she quickly figured it out and enjoyed it. Had quite a few moments where I really felt her get that hind end under her and sit back. It felt really, really nice. And had sweat in all of the good places too!! Hopped off to the welcome sight of foamy lips too :lol: not the "I've been going to town on this bit" foam, but the "I relaxed my jaw and had good thoughts" foam.

We're going to play it by ear tonight if we can ride. Right now it's currently raining. When we get off of work, if it's still raining, Nick is just going to head out to feed. Or if it looks like there is a high chance of rain. If not, we will head out to ride and then feed. We shall see what the evening brings!

I will say, I know I rode correctly too :lol: all my good muscle groups are a touch sore today! In a good way :lol:


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## DanteDressageNerd

That's just ridiculous. People never cease to amaze me and I'd be bored out of mind riding the rail my whole life as a person, can't imagine how awful it is for the horse. I dont' get it why people would rather yank and pull then learn to ride and find exercises that make it easier for horse and rider and improve the training/quality of the horse and their gaits. But then people who dont care about self improvement or actual betterment and only appearing "good" or superficially impressive don't often seek to improve their character either :-( it's a shame

No trust me I agree. Wackos teach a lot but you dont really get far with them because they're so unpredictable. One day you'll be doing a half pass zig zag effortlessly and the next day you can't steer and the horse is waving it's head left and right for no reason. Wackos. Sane is reasonable and you can work with it! And for sure. It's be awfully boring if we quit improving and getting ourselves better to make them better. It's the good bits of the journey and you're welcome 

She's come a long way. It's hard to know with a foal what they're going to turn out but some turn into real gems, despite a humble background. Sometimes more modest stallions/mare can produce pretty well. Like for warmblood stallion the producers of international horses aren't always the most spectacular horses but they produce well. Or some are good dams sire or great sire *shrugs* genetics is a funny thing. Or a phenomenal out of this world horse can produce modestly.

I'm glad you had a good ride  it sounds like it was a really solid, good, productive ride. And no worries I know what you mean about foam, it's a really welcomes sight to see it all over their lips and in a pleasant, chewing way vs a stressed, held way. It's definitely a welcomed sight!

I hope the weather stays good for you so you can get a ride in *crossed fingers* and I understand. A good kind of sore is definitely welcomed


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## Tazzie

It really is. I just don't know how anyone stays sane going around the rail like that. I love how Blair puts it when she says they need to leave a hoof print in every part of the arena. It's true! But if people keep getting rewarded for the yank and pull, then people will keep doing it. And if they're winning all the time, why should they seek help? That's the mindset I see a lot here. Fortunately, the barn in question had a VERY humbling show last time we showed with them. Like, the highest place they got in sport horse that I saw was 6th. We may have laughed :lol: finally had a judge place it how she saw it, and saw they aren't ridden or trained as a true sport horse.

Yup! I'm always thankful Izzie has a brain :lol: the moody mare definitely helped since now I feel her focus. And if her mind wanders all I need is a touch of leg to remind her to pay attention to me. I'm just going to enjoy the ride while I can :lol:

Yeah, we just weren't sure how it'd end up, but it worked out VERY well. It's amusing since Blair is more excited about breeding this mare than even I am, and I'm just excited at the idea (still have years to wait). Blair wants to start buying up not so nice mares to use as recipient mares for embryos. She decided she doesn't even want Izzie carrying her own foal :lol: I'm ok with this since I'd have less risk of losing Izzie, and I can keep her going while another mare carries the baby :lol: Blair has literally thought of everything, including having the mare foal out on her boyfriend's dad's farm so someone is there 24/7. That is how much belief she has for breeding this horse. I just want to wait till we have a farm so baby can come HOME. So, a few years yet :lol:

It was a good ride for sure, and I always get excited for foam :lol: and Nick makes fun since I check her hind to make sure we had some good sweat there too!

I didn't end up riding. The weather looked too iffy when we got off of work to risk it. Izzie also stepped on my foot pretty hard, so I was limping around all day yesterday. It was a total accident. I tripped over the mud coming in the barn right as she was heading in with me. Landed hard on my left food. Bruised and swelled almost instantly. Nothing feels broken, just very ouchy. Going to ride this afternoon.

Also was SUPER mad yesterday, and didn't want to undo the awesome work we'd had the day before. I'm ---> <--- this close to starting to blast the barn in TN right now. The one with the super young trainer. I am SO tired of shady, behind your back dealings. The stress and drama this chick created is ridiculous. I'm DONE with her. I told Nick to never let me be anywhere alone with her because I really don't think I can be nice with her now. I just can't. SO DONE.


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## Rainaisabelle

Tazzie said:


> It really is. I just don't know how anyone stays sane going around the rail like that. I love how Blair puts it when she says they need to leave a hoof print in every part of the arena. It's true! But if people keep getting rewarded for the yank and pull, then people will keep doing it. And if they're winning all the time, why should they seek help? That's the mindset I see a lot here. Fortunately, the barn in question had a VERY humbling show last time we showed with them. Like, the highest place they got in sport horse that I saw was 6th. We may have laughed
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> Yeah, we just weren't sure how it'd end up, but it worked out VERY well. It's amusing since Blair is more excited about breeding this mare than even I am, and I'm just excited at the idea (still have years to wait). Blair wants to start buying up not so nice mares to use as recipient mares for embryos. She decided she doesn't even want Izzie carrying her own foal
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> Blair has literally thought of everything, including having the mare foal out on her boyfriend's dad's farm so someone is there 24/7. That is how much belief she has for breeding this horse. I just want to wait till we have a farm so baby can come HOME. So, a few years yet
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> I didn't end up riding. The weather looked too iffy when we got off of work to risk it. Izzie also stepped on my foot pretty hard, so I was limping around all day yesterday. It was a total accident. I tripped over the mud coming in the barn right as she was heading in with me. Landed hard on my left food. Bruised and swelled almost instantly. Nothing feels broken, just very ouchy. Going to ride this afternoon.
> 
> Also was SUPER mad yesterday, and didn't want to undo the awesome work we'd had the day before. I'm ---> <--- this close to starting to blast the barn in TN right now. The one with the super young trainer. I am SO tired of shady, behind your back dealings. The stress and drama this chick created is ridiculous. I'm DONE with her. I told Nick to never let me be anywhere alone with her because I really don't think I can be nice with her now. I just can't. SO DONE.


What happened with the super young trainer ?


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## DanteDressageNerd

I don't either. Work needs to be interesting and I think horses are a lot better behaved when they have something to focus on and keep their mind busy/active. And I guess that makes sense, whatever is rewarded you'll see more of and what is shunned you'll see less up. I hope the "crank and spank, jerk" methods go out of fashion. Just isnt' necessary imo. But I'm glad they got their just last show and hopefully judges keep pointing against them and recognizing they aren't riding well schooled horses and aren't well schooled riders.

I'm really glad the moody mare is helping! And exactly! That's all you can do. 

You never really do until you try but that's funny Blair is so on board with getting Izzy a donor mare :lol: I guess there are certain advantages but no reason why in a few years she can't have her own baby? Funny though. Whatever results in a healthy, lovely baby but still athletic mares helps too for the birthing. Foals learn from their mamas. They had a foal come out of two gp jumping parents placed in a morgan mare and took the morgan mares baby and places it in the GP jumper mare. When the foals grew up. The mare morgan foal that was born to the GP jumper because a top morgan jumper and the GP bred foal born to the morgan had no desire to jump. It's really cool to me. Gene mutations what gets turned on/off and why. But glad you guys have a plan! 

I'm really glad  foam is definitely a welcomed sight. lol you can never be too careful checking over your baby. 

I totally understand no chancing it if you're not in the right state of mind to ride. They feed WAY too much off of our energy to make it worth it. But I hope you heal well. Sucks when things hurt really badly or arent' working as they should. I hope tonight is a good ride.

That young girl just shouldn't be a trainer, just so petty, immature and neglectful of the horses. Super sad. People like her make me sick, all talk and can wiggle their way out of just about any situation no matter how scummy their actions have been. Some really underhanded people :-( but the only way they survive is to dirty the water and muddy everyone else. They want to take everyone out when they sink.


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## Tazzie

Raina, I'll explain below.

Cassie, I'm hoping more judges will start realizing they are all about false headsets. And that all of the riders are doing a crooked lean thing. It was very refreshing seeing them place way lower than they are used to. Heck, I'm pretty sure that the one girl who has been undefeated had her first non-placement that show. Her horse is off somewhere in his hind. Just weird motion. More up and down and not much out, but he doesn't appear to be able to move out. Just weird. We will be watching for them at regionals since that will be the next time we see them.

I'm very glad it's helping! I was a bit skeptical of it, but color me impressed :lol:

We will see how the babies fair being in a surrogate mare. I have never heard of embryos from another horse taking on what the surrogate mare does in terms of ability. I know they take on mannerisms (so we'd have a well mannered mare carry the foal), but never their ability. It wouldn't be totally out of the question, but if the foal can have her talent but born for a surrogate, I'd rather do it that way. We want progeny from Izzie, but without the risk of actually losing Izzie. At that point money wouldn't be an option.

I check her every ride :lol: Nick makes fun of me for it!

Ugh, I would just love to forget yesterday ever happened. Please and thank you. I didn't ride. It ended up POURING on my way home. I was in bumper to bumper traffic, going max of 10 mph. Of course I wound up getting to close to the car in front of me, and right as it started pouring she hit her brakes. And I had my first accident ever. I felt awful, and even worse when she got out screaming at me (I deserved it.) We pulled over (naturally) and called the police. I went and sat in my car digging out the license and insurance card for my car. Called Nick practically in tears since it was my fault. I was 100% at fault. The lady was (thankfully) nicer afterward. We ended up sitting in our cars after a bit since it made me uncomfortable standing outside on the highway. Cop came shortly after. Fortunately for me, I didn't get a ticket. Unfortunately for the cop, he had to leave quickly since a pedestrian was hit by a car. Which is why he didn't bother with the ticket. I exchanged info with the lady, and we went on our way. Both cars had minimal damage. I contacted my insurance this morning and reported what all happened. Adjuster called me to go over it all. And then our next lucky break. Apparently we have property insurance on the vehicles. Therefore, my insurance will cover all of her damages. We would only pay our deductible if we wanted my car fixed. Since it was just a small dent in my hood, we (as of now) opted not to worry about it. I'd felt like crap all evening over it. Not a way to start the weekend...

As for the trainer... the good guys DO win eventually.

Raina, backstory on trainer.

Trainer is 21 years old. Two of my friends each sent down two horses. First friend got her horses back end of April. Both were extremely thin. The mare gets fat just looking at grass, so it was clear she was not being fed enough. The gelding needed weight as well, but not nearly as bad as the mare. Said trainer verbally abused my friend during halter over the fact the mare needed to be shown in the in hand classes. They showed the gelding, but didn't get to the mare. My friend repeatedly asked before making entries if it would cause an issue. All claimed it would be fine. Well, it ended up not being fine. I'd still been in my in hand clothes, so it was deemed I would run her for the triangle pattern. Well, it was a LONG wait. I ended up running her in my show whites with my not broken in tall boots. I had bruises in the back of my knees for a week doing so. But it was worth it to help my friend. I do whatever I can for my show friends. The girl's mom trashed my friend at the show repeatedly over it, and they are STILL spreading crap about my friend. Which ****es me off since my friend is an extremely sweet lady. We loaded the mare and gelding up in my friend's trailer and they went home.

At the show just two weeks ago I got a text from my other friend who had horses on lease down there that her gelding had chocked. He chocked at midnight Thursday night, and they "cleared the choke out." According to others surrounding him, he was still coughing like he had stuff lodged. Vet didn't come to see him until 1 pm Friday. 13 hours is FAR too long to wait. Friend wasn't notified until just before the vet got there. We were texted Saturday morning asking if we could check on him. Absolutely we would. We were even there later than a lot of others (got there at 7:30, show started at 8), but no one was there from their barn. No one. He seemed ok. Tired, but alert. He was supposed to hitch a ride with us to go home. Friend talked to the trainer and ended up sending him back since a child was leasing him. But he had a "zero riding" clause on him for 30 days, and a scope was to be done first. Just soup and grass was all he was allowed to eat for 30 days.

Friend got a text this past Tuesday, just FOUR days after he choked. Lease people were not interested in continuing the lease if they couldn't ride him (we believe they tried to ride him, and said trainer said no.) Then they said they wanted to buy him instead. Well, this is where things get sticky...

My friend didn't technically own him. He was on a free lease to her for the last two years since his true owner wanted out of the breed altogether. She said ok to him being "sub leased" to these people. Well, shady, immature trainer went behind my friend's back, and contacted the true owner saying she had people wanting to buy him, and wanting to wire money immediately. An enormous amount of drama ensued. Friend didn't have the full asking price for him, but was willing to send more than half of his fee and post dated checks to be cashed as the dates arrived. True owner turned them down. Finally, finally, we found "backers" for him. I was one who chipped in a little to ensure he came home. It's on the understanding we all are paid back within about 6 months (which was how long it would take to pay him off to the true owner.) So, handsome man made his way back here yesterday, where he is resting comfortably, and will get the proper care he deserves.

I don't normally despise people to the extent that I refuse to be around them anymore, but this girl is one of them. Two friends now she pulled crap with. People only go to her not because she's good, but because her rates are get. The whole "you get what you pay for" thing.

I will say, we know her big horse is lame. We see it in every video she posts. But at shows he's mysteriously sound.... It won't be me, but I do know if she shows him at Regionals, and he is sound, there will be an inquiry put in on them.

So yeah, this week can go bye bye now, please and thank you.


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## Rainaisabelle

Dodgy.....


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## Rainaisabelle

Sucks about your accident though seemed like everyone has something going on at the moment !


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## DanteDressageNerd

It could be that he's had such bad training for so long and may be really out in his back that it's caused him to move really funny or a soundness issue *shrugs* but I hope the judges are more critical of it. Sometimes I think they just dont care how through or correct a horse is going but some do. So hit and miss :/

Sometimes it's really worth trying those "miracle cures" and sometimes they work! Glad it did!

It was something Ken had told me (he was 3 times USDF breeder of the year). Was that study, tough he himself had used draft mares to carry warmblood foals and as far as I know they turned out well and athletic. But it makes sense because foaling can be risky, I've usually seen relatively easy deliveries but with skilled people being able to intervene. Pam had to pull Saturday out because Presiosa was having so much trouble but she was a small mare.

Some people always have to judge the obsessive mothers. Thankfully yesterday will be in the rear view mirror before long and gone. Eee those are NEVER fun but I DO understand, I'm REALLY glad things went so smoothly for you and everything will be covered. I'm really glad it went smoothly with minimal damage! It really sucks but it happens to the best of us and happens in a split second. It can be really shocking when it does happen!!

I hope so but people do work out frauds, even if it may take time. They lose out long term.

There is nothing good I can think to say about someone so scummy. There is no reason NOT to feed the horses or make sure they get adequate medical care in a TIMELY and IMMEDIATE manner when they need it. It's amazing you helped your friend out so much but malnourished, mistreated horses is just unacceptable.

But what that child did. 21 with the maturity level of a self absorbed brat is despicable and totally unacceptable. I would NEVER trust someone who went behind anothers back like that. Totally unacceptable but I'm glad you guys were able to work something out to get that horse in a good situation and not with that sh!t for brains child. But I'm entirely with you, I don't go after people or get nasty UNLESS they do something that just shows how poor and awful their character is. There is a line that is unforgivable. But I'm really glad your friend was able to come up with the purchase price and bring him home. I hope she gave y'all dated checks so you can cash them when the date comes around! 

That also disturbs me that she "magically" makes her lame horse sound for shows, rather than working out what's ACTUALLY wrong with him.

Good news this will all be in the rear view mirror before long. People like that genuinely make me ill. I'm glad you guys got it worked out and the horse is in better hands!


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## Tazzie

Raina, she is quite dodgy. Not someone I'll do business with. And yeah, this month has been rough on a lot of us it seems :sad:

Cassie, that could very well be it. I've never ridden him, so I don't really know. I've just never been thrilled with his way of going, and it could be from being totally hollow in his back for such an extended period of time. Unfortunately, I'll be surprised if they continuously place him low since he's a flashy mover. We shall see.

I am too!!

I'll have to read up on it. Would be interesting to read, but we shall see. I just like that idea since I could still have an Izzie baby without the risk of losing Izzie herself. Nick is totally on board with it too, no matter the cost, since he's quite fond of her as well. We'll see when the time is right :wink:

Nick just likes giving me a tough time :lol: and ugh, yeah. It all just sucks. And since the cop had to go off to another, more serious accident, I have NO clue what department he was with or what my number thing was. So now I have the adjuster's secretary asking me. Trying to be civil and just say "I have NO idea; the cop came and went that fast." Just ugh!!

I sure hope they do...

And I agree. I was mortified to see the condition everyone has been coming back in. And it makes me sad that so many people can't even see it when it's right in front of them! Right now, I'm just thankful all the horses I have a personal interest are out of there. We didn't care if they went home to sit in a field, or went to another trainer. They just needed OUT!

Welcome to the shady side of the industry... it'd be highly embarrassing to have ribbons pulled at Regionals for doing something like that. I know the horse in question is lame. It's obvious in every single video she posts. At shows, he still has a funky way of going, but the original lameness is not there. We will see how that goes...

I'm glad it worked out too!!

And UGH! I've only ridden my horse ONCE since Michigan. Going to ride tonight, but between the weather, our weekend away, and a late working husband on Memorial Day itself, I didn't get to ride. Going to ride tonight. I'm sure she'll be fresh!

I did have a good time down south though on Nick's toy. He kept us fairly clean all weekend, but it'd be a shame to come home and not even be a little dirty :wink: so of course I had to cover us all in mud :lol: If I'm not feeling too lazy tonight (or too tired lol) I'll pull them off Facebook and upload them to photobucket. I got the toy good and dirty haha


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## DanteDressageNerd

I've seen a lot of behavior with horses who are used to being pressured with uneducated riders that end of acting out or developing behavior, sometimes it's pain driven or fear or defiance or just not being educated. And he does look like a good quality/nice horse, I can only imagine how much better he'd move with someone good riding him. 

Certainly! lol I guess you guys will make the right decisions when it comes to breeding time and deciding what it is you want to do and feel is best for everyone. But it's cute Nick is so fond of Izzy he doesnt' care the cost, as long as Izzy is preserved risk free :lol:

But of course! That's what a good husband should do, it shows he cares  but meh insurance companies and all that is a process, sometimes they work fast and sometimes they take their time to file and get information into the system or they may just not have even bothered with the paperwork of what happened. hard to say.

Me too but I have faith all that goes around, comes around. Even the extremely clever ones get caught eventually. Charades only last for as someone wants to believe them.

I think I've gotten to a point where people's lack of common sense, lack of intelligence and sheer desire to believe lies when the truth is right in front of their face no longer surprises me. It's amazing what many of us will see as clearly wrong and say something, where as others will simply believe what they're told, rather than adding up does this make sense? That's horrible that people can SEE the neglect and don't even consider it neglect or an issue. Just look up BODY CONDITION scores. I don't mind seeing a horse at a 4, like eventers or more refined body types. But if they have a dull coat, sunken in hips, and back then there is a problem and it's amazing how blind people can be to what is under their nose but I'm glad you guys have the horse in your hands and can gradually condition and get his heath back! And hopefully more people will wake up and see it but some people are the types who are always looking for a shepherd, not matter how shady they may be.

Very true. There are plenty who dope horses to get them going and don't care how they do it or how they can destroy a horse doing that. It's unfortunate but there are all types in this industry/world. I wonder if he'd be sound with a different rider. I've seen horses when they're held together like that and ridden hollowed out that go lame and the moment you get a decent farrier and condition/ride them properly they're sound. So maybe that horse would be totally fine in someone elses hands? She crams his movement so much it would surprise me if her riding is making him lame.

But I'm glad you guys have the horse in your hands now.

That's unfortunate you havent' been able to ride :-( but at least you had what sounds like a great Memorial Day weekend. Going out on the toy sounds like a blast! Cant wait for the muddy family pictures!


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## Tazzie

Yeah, he may be able to do better with someone else (well, both of the ones I'm mentioning; one is a gray purebred, the other is a half Arab). Both are cute horses, but I hate how they are being ridden. Wouldn't surprise me in the least if they were lame due to how they are ridden. Shame neither rider will actually learn HOW to ride. And PS, Cassie, I sent you a PM on Facebook with the big horse. You'll understand a bit more when you see the pics I think.

We still have a long way to go until then lol and it sounds like we'll have this house for another 4ish years. One of Nick's cousins (who I do like; he is a GREAT kid and his mother is wonderful) asked if we'd wait 4 years until he graduated from UK and had a steady job for a bit lol since I like him, I'd be ok dealing with this for another 4 years. Will give us PLENTY of time to squirrel away cash, and decide if we want to buy a house, or buy land and build. We're both leaning toward building since we want a barn house lol and no, I'm not joking in the least lol and I refuse to breed Izzie until we have our own property, so...

He is good for that :lol: and yeah, I just want it all to be over so I can move along. Want to quit thinking about it if I can.

Exactly! There won't be much longer they can hold onto the charade, no matter how much money they have backing them.

Yeah, these horses would have been a 2 maybe a 3. No muscle, no fat, no nothing. Like, I LOVE my friend's mare I showed in hand. She is GORGEOUS. I didn't even recognize her in halter because she was so thin and scrawny looking. And in her bridle for halter, which is a no-no. I even remarked to Nick the person was an idiot for showing in halter in a bridle. Low and behold, it was this chick's assistant trainer, and it was the mare I love. I wanted to puke. She is a regional and I think reserve national champion in halter and in hand. And yet... she looked like someones bag of bones pet they dragged to a rated show. There is a massive difference in a fit horse and a skinny horse. This was a skinny horse. And that is sad, but true. People just want a leader, even if it's not someone worth following 

She really does cram him in. I sent you links on Facebook, which I think you'll agree that he's only being ridden off of the draw reins. It truly looks like her real outside rein is just flinging around his shoulder. I've never had to use those gadgets on Izzie. I get there is a place for them. But it shouldn't be to create a false headset to win the class (which she won the qualifying class, but I don't know how the other horse fared. He was the only one in the championship class.

I am so glad we do too. He's a good boy. He doesn't deserve to be down there being treated like that. Not that any horse does, but you know what I mean.

It did suck  I hate going so long without riding. But such is life. We did have fun! Unfortunately no pictures of Nick and I in the machine, just the aftermath lol it was all my doing too haha! Apparently you shouldn't gun it in a mud hole in two wheel drive lol


























And because I have some uploaded, pictures from the show in April


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## Rainaisabelle

Ugh Katie ! You and Izzie make me so happy!


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## Tazzie

You'll get there! I have FULL faith in that! Roy is a good boy, and he'll get there! Izzie has been in serious work for over 2 years at this point :wink:

OH! Ding dong me forgot to talk about our ride last night!

I'd had a plan of how I wanted to work last night. Long and low to start, collect up for some nice laterals, back to long and low for cooldown. Well, miss prissy had other ideas!

She was FULL of beans last night. Not super naughty, but in a LET'S GO kind of mood! Well, and she tried to blow through my outside rein; she was promptly scolded for that by being asked to turn circles using the outside aids alone. Once that didn't work, she wanted to get super rushy. Let me just say this right now: OUCH!! My abs HURT from the half halts I was doing!! But she came back and decided maybe it was easier to do what mom was asking :lol:

After that discussion, GORGEOUS shoulder in, haunches in, leg yield, half pass, everything. Everything was GORGEOUS. Best stretchy circle of her life. And her canter!!! OMG!! She's NEVER felt so powerful, so huge, so UP in her life! Like, I asked Nick if that hind end was sitting as much as I thought it was. If she literally looked like she was going uphill for once. He was like "that is the best canter I have ever seen that horse do." YES!!! It literally felt like magic to me. Of course, we ended on that note :lol: when I have something so magical, so powerful, that I literally call out HOLY S***, it's good enough to get off the horse and be done :lol: I WISH Nick had recorded it. It if happens again tonight, I'm going to have him record it. It just felt so out of this world! I know it isn't as good as she'll get. I know she has a lot more she can do. But this. This was the step I was hoping to take soon. What I was hoping we could accomplish by doing our shoulder in and really getting her to use that hind end more. It was just unbelievable.


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## DanteDressageNerd

From the pictures you sent, you can definitely see what you mean. They are cranked in and aren't taught to reach forward to the bit so their shoulders are locked up and pinned into their chest. I bet spiral circles in and out would help and just helping them to learn to reach for the contact and accept contact. I bet it would take time to really fix and get them lifting out of their wither and base of their neck but they seem like they have excellent ridability and kind hearts!

aww that's really cool of the kid to want to help! I always like meeting good people and will try to help them out where I can too! But I entirely agree with waiting until you have your own property and when foaling comes near have someone whose experienced with foaling nearby to help in case something happens and a vet cant get there in time. I can say I learned a TON watching Pam. She's had to stick her hands in and rotate a foal to help a mare deliver but that's usually with the BIG babies. Deveroux ripped Gracie when he came out and she had to be stitched. Gracie also foundered when pregnant which is why Pam stopped breeding her. Some mares don't handle pregnancy well and some are totally unphased. DeNira is really easy to foal. We have 4 babies from her all, easy, uncomplicated pregnancies and deliveries. With Qira I did all the stuff because Pam was away at a show when she was born and I was there to do the afterbirth stuff. It's pretty amazing and being apart of those babies lives, it's also amazing that when you're gone for years and come back they remember you.

Totally understandable. That's how I felt through accidents I've had (Ive had 3). One was a roll over on a slippery road, rolled through a ditch, fence and hedge. Lucky to have survived that one. Another someone backed up into me and another the car I had was too light and slid through a turn into another vehicle. It's scary stuff!!

Exactly!! I like to think most people will work it out and help get others to realize it too!

That literally makes me want to cry. I can't stand it when people do something incredibly unfair to animals. Not feeding them or showing respect is a big one. That really kills me how even very able, talented horses can fall into bad hands and end up in a borderline abusive situation. That is really-really sad. The good news is I'm sure she'll be back in shape sooner rather than later and in good hands. And it is sad how many people just dont want to take any responsibility or think for themselves and be like a sheep to someone dangerous. It amazes me but it's sad because that's how animals and people end up in abusive situations and terribly mistreated. 

In all honest I've never ridden a horse that NEEDED draw reins. I agree perhaps there is a time and place but I almost always see draw reins used incorrectly and I think it's bad, especially on these arabs who are already HARD to get to use themselves correctly and accept contact. It took me a year to get Dante to really accept bit contact and use himself correctly. Before my body would literally send a tremor down my outside ring finger and he'd act like I just ripped his teeth out of his mouth. Now he's fine but some arabs have REALLY sensitive mouth and with how their neck and head are conformed it makes using themselves really hard and draw reins just make it worse IMO. Side reins can be helpful but for a while I didn't like them because Id' have them almost loose and Dante would put his chin to his chest to avoid bit pressure. Ridden he was better but dam an issue like that is SO SO hard to correct, it kills me when people just aggrivate and make it worse.

I totally know what you mean and unfortunately a lot of the best horses end up in bad situations, same with people but when they come out they come out for the better or at least I like to think/hope so!

Wow those pictures are great!! The mudding looks like TONS of fun!! And you and Izzy look great in the pictures!!

That's awesome I'm really glad you guys are doing SO well! I totally know what you mean about a blissful ride where it feels like a piece of heaven. I'm really glad you guys are getting that and doing so well together!! It's amazing when the pieces line up and all the hard work kinda puts itself together and suddenly you're on a new playing field, always amazing! Developing horses is SO rewarding! But I agree when they give you everything you could have wanted, quit early and be done with that awesome note!


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## Tazzie

Yeah, he could be a very nice horse if they worked him correctly. It would take a lot of work at this point though :sad: sadly, these people probably just ride along on the rail and don't give much thought to do anything else.

Well, he wants the house :lol: and the entire reason I didn't want to buy it is for the crap I have to listen to. It's GREAT having my in laws next door. They normally stay out of our business, etc, but are there when we need them. HOWEVER, they want us to only sell to family since they use our driveway to bring stuff up to their barn and fill their pool. Which was why I didn't want the house. I don't like being told I have to do something (unless I'm being paid or I'm paying them to tell me what to do.) I figure in 4 years something nice should roll around in our area that will either have a nice house, or we decide to build. Time will tell. As for the foaling, I *think* the surrogate mare would be at my best friend's boyfriend's dad's house. They raise their own foals, and are experienced handling it. Obviously we'll see what happens when we get there, but I know I'd feel more comfortable having the mare with people experienced around at all times. Nick and I both work about an hour from home, so I wouldn't feel comfortable keeping a pregnant mare there. I just know anything can happen, and my luck would be she'd have it during the day when I couldn't get home.

Well, they did find the report. So.... hoping that is the last I hear from them... Here's to hoping at least.

Yeah, my friend who first pulled her horses out posted on Facebook an update on them. They both look SO good again. A little chunky, shiny, and happy. Both are coming along under saddle with someone else. And from the pictures I see, she's very light in the mouth and letting them find the contact rather than ramming it down their throats (which is how I saw the gelding being ridden at the show in April.) Sadly, I don't think she'll ever learn. Last night she posted a meme that had the saying "There are Horse Crazy people and then there are Crazy People with Horses. know the difference!" and she put it up with "Lesson learned!!! (bunch of the laughing with tears emoji) this makes me appreciate my farmily even more!" I don't think she'll ever learn at this point.

I knew of one. My former boss/trainer had them for the gelding who ended up being a jumper. His first canter departure each way he wouldn't do it without literally trying to hit you with his head. They weren't on tight, just a reminder that no, that isn't ok. After the first departure, he was perfect and they came off. He wasn't ever ridden in them for the entire ride, and loose right up until the first departure. She tried everything before resorting to them too. She was a minimalist, which is where I got that from. And you'd be surprised going to these Arab shows. The one we ALL talked about for the mid May show was the obviously Dressage horse (least, the work she was doing with him was Dressage work, like pirouettes, changes, etc), and she rode that horse for his entire warmup in draw reins. We all worried what he'd be like once they weren't on. I've never used them on Izzie, and never plan to. I had a friend who put a martingale on Izzie once. Her hands weren't as steady as mine, so that was why she put them on. Izzie quickly realized she had something that was helping my friend. Not even to keep her head down, just an aid for my friend. And she lost it. First and only time they tried it on her. Most I've used was side reins when we lunge, and even then we don't really lunge. Plus, she puts her head where I want it when we lunge anyway, so need for them. But these people don't care about true training. They just want to look pretty.

Yup. Just glad we got these guys out!!

The mudding was fun :lol: I'd gladly do it again! And thank you! My friend Jennifer took all the outdoor ones, and my mother in law took the indoor ones  I loved them!

It sure is! I'm loving the journey  she can be a stubborn brat, but so can I haha!

We had another GOOD ride yesterday. Practiced more laterals, and stretching. Did some lengthenings and coming back to a good canter. I will say, it was the best lengthen in the canter I've felt yet. We only used to do lengthening for the rail classes, so they weren't as nicely put together. First time I felt she stepped out while still maintaining her balance and being a bit uphill instead of getting heavy on the forehand. I didn't do too much since it was HOT. Like, we both were sweating just standing around. Yuck! I HATE heat!

Nick did record some of our canter work. It's not perfect, but I think we're progressing! Least, I think so :lol: it's tough for her since she really wants to be a heavy on the forehand, but we'll get there!






Syd also got a bit of a pony ride. Nick held/walked Izzie while I held Syd. I refuse to ride separately with a kiddo up. Offered Nick to ride her. Shockingly he jumped at the chance. He liked my saddle, and had a great walk with her. He thought it was neat watching me slow Izzie down just by tightening up my abs and relaxing them, so of course he had to try it :lol: came time to quit, and he stopped her on a loose rein with just his abs and seat. I think he's liking this sensitive horse I'm developing :lol:

We may or may not ride today. She had two tough (but GOOD) rides back to back. We have a show on Saturday. Just a small fun one, and a rail class, so I'm not overly concerned on that. It poured here last night, and you'll see in my video that my "arena" is getting a bit overgrown. Since they're cutting hay, bush hogging my area is super far down on the list. And I'm not about to harass then since they were cool with me setting up my own little area in the field :lol: so I'm going to play it by ear. I can definitely feel how much we've worked the last few days though! All of my good muscle groups hurt today!!

So, we'll see. I won't be riding Monday at least. I don't typically ride the day after a show, but I might this time since it is such a tiny one. I plan to give her next Friday off, so the plan would be to ride at least Tuesday through Thursday. Friday off, then the rated Dressage show Saturday!


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## Tazzie

Ugh, so, minor rant ahead.

The weather decided for me to not ride last night. Got some heavy rain. Nick has softball tonight, so we went to do our shopping for Syd's birthday. I'm sure Izzie is enjoying the time off haha!

Now, for the rant.

Izzie's old owner is, to put it mildly, nuts. I openly admit I paid too much for Izzie. I've never denied it. I had a gut feeling, and when my gut feeling is THAT strong, I tend to listen to it. It worked out fabulously, as you see. Lots of hard work, but it's paying off since I couldn't afford her as she is now. No way.

So, the old owner has been selling more horses. She won't stop breeding. Is the absolute definition of a backyard breeder, complete with also breeding american bulldogs (you know, the stereotype that they breed horses and some type of bully breed? yeah...) The colt she had was originally for sale for $1800. After Izzie finished her show year, and came out with two champions and a reserve champion ribbon, his price went to $2000. She also tried to use the picture I have as my avatar on here as a forum to try to sell her colt (I had it as my facebook profile picture, she commented she looked great, I answered thanks and I thought so too, she posted a picture on my picture of the colt and said "I can't believe her half brother is still for sale." Mind you, they share the same sire, not the dam.)

Now she has a mare and foal for sale. Same sire as Izzie, but totally different dam. Mare is lame and unusable for anything other than a broodmare, in the owner's words. I can't tell from confo pictures, and here horses are all a bit on the thinner side, so it's hard to really see what she looks like. A friend of mine commented on her post asking for price. So, naturally, I asked my friend how much she was (whenever I ask, I get HOUNDED from her about buying them; the only other one I would have bought was Izzie's full sister that was 2 years younger than her, but I didn't have that gut feeling and we didn't need a second horse.) She's selling the pair for $2500. Ok, what I figured since she prices high. What is irritating me, is that she is using pictures of Izzie to sell the foals, saying they are half siblings. First off, in the equine industry, they don't count sharing a sire as half siblings. Second, seriously?? I've asked my friend which pictures she's using. She hasn't responded, but I'm sure she will when she can (she's a BUSY lady! single mom with two kids, and runs a training barn) Now, I know I post pictures on Facebook. However, I keep them viewable only to friends (save for profile/cover photo). Also, there are A LOT of pictures I PAID for on there. My current cover photo was $15 (which I'll share below because it's AWESOME; my friend did an AMAZING job on it!!) The last round of pics from the April show were $50 (she had a hot deal where you paid $50 and got all your digital downloads from the show.) And the PMHA ones (from last October) were in the $200 range. Well, and then the fun ones with her ribbons. I don't quite remember how much those were, and she cut me a deal on them anyway.

Point is, I'm going to be FURIOUS if she's using pictures I PAID for to sell her horses. I'm already miffed she's using pictures of Izzie in general without my permission. But ones I've paid for?? I hate having photographers marks on them, but I think I'm going to start requesting both of my friends add them, and maybe come up with one for my mother in law (since I'm wondering if that cantering picture is one she's using.) Just seriously miffed. And at the same time, I called it! I KNEW she had to be using Izzie to sell her horses. I told Nick you wait until after Regionals. Guarantee the prices will go up on her horses if Izzie does well. And those pictures I'll be buying from Regionals? Well, she won't be seeing them. Least not the bulk of them. Then again, I'm sure I'll make one my profile picture, so I'm sure she'll steal that.

ARG!! I don't think there is anything I can do either! Once I get what pictures she's using, I'm probably going to make a post on Facebook (excluding her) and seeing what people say. If she took pictures I paid for, I'll be tagging the photographers in them. That isn't fair to them to have their work used for advertising when that person didn't pay for them.

Sorry, I'm sure you all will think it's a dumb rant. Or question why I have her on there. I was being nice since I think Izzie was the first foal she bred, and I guarantee she's the only one showing. The one I liked was sold to a home that's going to breed her, and probably to their LWO Stud. I'm sure you ALL can see Izzie has Frame. Her sister does too.


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## Rainaisabelle

It's not dumb it's downright creepy, rude and just plain rude. That women is nuts.


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## Tazzie

I'm quite PO'd about it right now. I still haven't heard from my friend about which pictures were being used. I might be seeing her tomorrow, so I'll have her show me then if she doesn't tell me tonight/early tomorrow. If it's ones I paid for, I'll be telling this to the photography friends who I bought them from. I'm pretty sure that's not something you can do, use pictures purchased by one person to advertise other horses.

Just grr. And yeah, I don't appreciate MY pictures being circulated for a sales ad. Because I guarantee I'm in those pictures, and unless I give my permission, I don't want my face to be circulated. I'm NOT amused.


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## evilamc

If you PM me on facebook who the lady is I'll send her a friend request  I can try reporting any pictures she is using of yours too. That is NOT right for her to use your pictures without permission at all. I'm sorry shes doing that to you


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## Tazzie

She's not posting them publicly, most likely in hopes I'll never find out. Bad news for her was when a show friend asked about price, and sent her the PM with pictures of Izzie stating she was a half sibling. Of course I was going to find out when THAT happened (I did not set my friend up to do this either, just as an FYI.) I can still shoot you a PM if you'd like with her name, but you won't see much. All you'll see is hundreds of pictures of her bulldogs.

And now I feel SIGNIFICANTLY less dumb. The response I'm getting on Facebook is absolutely astounding. People I haven't talked to in YEARS are commenting about it saying it's really irritating them to hear that, and my awesome brother even posted the Facebook terms on there. I have her blocked from that post since I wanted to make sure my anger was not uncommon.

I did have my friend sent me a text saying she is NOT ok to be using her pictures. I still don't know what pictures she's using (friend is busy, or I think she'd either PM me or weigh in), but I'm betting I'll have a PM soon. My photographer friend said if it is her pictures, then she will be contacting her.

It's one thing if I gave her permission. But I didn't. And she's trying to use MY horse, MY training, MY hard work, and MY accomplishments to earn herself a profit. I am NOT ok with that. AT. ALL.


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## DanteDressageNerd

Gosh I'm not on for two days and I'm trying to keep up :lol:

Izzy looks like she's engaging and using herself a lot more from the video, it's a big step to make!

But definitely it is sad and you're right it would be a LOT of work to un-do all that has been done with that poor horse :-(

I wouldn't handle that lack of freedom or being subject to someone else's whim either. I get why your inlaws have that request but it's really limiting too :/ oh well who cares as long as one day you can have that nice horse property and your own land.

*crosses fingers*

There is nothing remotely kind I can say about the character or quality of that person's being to be so immature, even an immature 21yr old should know but people like that never see how their actions affect others :/ such a shame but I'm SO SO glad those horses are in MUCH better hands and doing SO SO much better already!! The progress will only continue on from here! 

I can see in a situation like that where draw reins maybe useful or an especially quirky horse or a horse whose had such bad training they need to be reschooled with someone who knows how to use them appropriately. But I can see that with Izzy not like the running martingale. I think I'd panic too if I were a horse and was like wait a second what is this? I used one in eventing because my old eventer was a beast to ride, just such a game horse and SO powerful. 

I'm really glad you had such a good time out and that you had a good ride again! Though I understand with the heat, the humidity kills, especially outdoors!!

I know you guys will do well at the show but I'm glad Syd got a pony ride! I have no doubt of how much that meant to her!

But I agree with your concerns on someone trying to profit out of your success with Izzy. She shouldn't be advertising or using your pictures WITHOUT your permission or over pricing so much. That's ridiculous. Even with a horse who is an absolute freak, you still have to have the know how, ability, and talent to make that horse into anything. Just because a sibling is doing well, doesn't mean the horse will be successful. There is a lot more then "potential" or even comparing a foal to a sibling doesn't say anything because every horse is an individual and genes don't organize themselves in the same fashion every time. Plus how do they know it isn't Izzy's dam who made the biggest influence on Izzy?

That also TICKS me off to hear the lady has a frame mare and is going to breed to a frame stallion because the liklihood of lethal white. I watched a video of a lethal white foal and that broke my heart. It's too hard to watch.


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## Tazzie

I'll answer your post tomorrow (after I get some sleep :lol

Just popping on to say HOLY DRAMA. I know Raina was keeping up with it. The old owner is officially psycho. I posted our conversations on Facebook when she went nuts on me. I politely emailed her asking her to not use my pictures of Izzie to sell her other horses. What sent me into seeing red was she was using a picture with MY KIDS. She was sending this picture to god knows who!! Yes, the girl she sent them to was a friend, but there were a lot of people that inquired about the mare and foal!! And then she had the NERVE to do the "poor me" routine saying "just proud of a horse I produced but I guess I can't even get credit for that to show others." No joke, that's what she sent. Not sure if I can post screenshots on here (someone advise? I'd blur her name and picture), but they are all on my Facebook in my "opinions" thread. AND she tried to make ME feel bad for being upset over the picture of my kids being shared. She just wanted to show the temperament don't you know... OH! AND THEN. One of her last messages was no joke this "My stallion did all when I trained him even more than izzy she gets her temperament from her dad like all of his foals he produces" and then "He did native costume was on tv in parades all the time did western pleasure does tricks bows rears sits lays down counts on command we even did some starter dressage he side passes piaffe (sp?) collected canter etc" as though a mature stud doing that is such a huge thing. Especially when comparing to a SIX YEAR OLD. I also call BS on the "starter dressage" crap. More like pretend dressage...

Ugh, ranting over for tonight... I need sleep...


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## DanteDressageNerd

Yikes I have nothing to say for that owner, just cut and dry. If she was so proud of her stud why isn't she sending pictures of videos of all his accomplishments? Rather than trying to take credit for Izzy when-when you got her wasn't she barely halter broke, trailer broke, etc? 

People....people...never fail to amaze, surprise, and show their true colors when backed into a corner. They're just unpredictable and confusing. I don't get her logic at all. Just weird. And why belittle the horse you were showing off and so proud of, if the stallion was as special as she claims she'd be showing his pictures to show potential.


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## Rainaisabelle

Sorry bit of a creepy


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## Tazzie

Not creepy Raina lol appreciated your input!!

Cassie, Izzie was halter broke, but that was in. Didn't know how to tie, didn't know how to trailer, nothing. And exactly that. If the stud is all that and a bag of chips, where are his pictures? Those would speak more than Izzie's accomplishments I would think. Frankly, this is the first of her ever mentioning him doing dressage, so I don't believe it one bit. Far as I remember, he didn't have a show record on AHA. I don't feel like paying the database fee to look him up, but if someone has it, his name is Boa Caliphe. She mentioned the parades when we were inquiring on Izzie, but never about dressage or costume. Think she's trying to be like "well, her dad is better at both, so HA!" Which, where are the pictures? Seriously? Izzie has pictures to back her up. And really. You want me forcing her to piaffe when we aren't to that level of collection yet? At 6 years old? Here, let me just shove my baby in a field and make her unusable because I feel that is what would happen rushing her like that.

There are no words for people like that. I have a few friends that will be inquiring one at a time for a while to ensure she isn't using my photos. If my kids are still being circulated, I may look into a lawsuit. If she claims she bought the show pictures (which she could; anyone can), I can specifically ask my friends who took them if she did. The one with the kids will never be allowed to be used. Ever.

Now to answering your other post :lol:

It is a lot to catch up on!!

I sure think so! She's really coming along. We're far from perfect, and that's ok. But we're getting there. I feel she looks happy and fluid too. So it's hard for her, but not out of the realm of possibility to do it.

Yeah, that's why I've been cranky about it. But, the benefits have been nice. And four years of saving should give us more cash to put down, and have more paid off on this house that we'd have a bigger down payment. Or money to put toward immediately getting the area ready for Izzie and a buddy. It'll work out in the end, and I know Nick's cousin REALLY wants to stay out here. Houses in this area are TOUGH to find in general.

I am glad too! The horses just look SO much better! And the gelding we finally got out just over a week ago is DYING to do stuff lol he can't yet due to the choke (hasn't been 30 days), but he's ready to do stuff! And his proud owner is ready to get into the ring with him! I haven't seen her ride (I met her while she was pregnant), so I'm SOOO excited to watch her go!!

Lol, Izzie didn't panic. She was APPALLED they would use something like that. And MAD. No fear, no panic, just anger over it. She's opinionated alright! And yeah, George only needed them for the first departure. They were a last resort method, not the first thing she tried. But they can be SO overused in the bad way, where they just force the headset.

It sure does!! It's a bit rainy today, so we'll see how it goes. My friend from the April show is hoping to take pictures at the show this weekend. Apparently it's raining there so she can't do pictures right now  they are in the indoor, and she doesn't like the quality of pictures in it. She's offering photo shoots to people though who are showing this morning, so that's awfully nice of her!!

I think we will  this one we'll probably be one of the only ones in the ring, so hopefully an easy one. Should be fun!

Yeah, the picture thing is just ridiculous. She claims temperament is from the stud, but who really knows. I even pointed out that there is no guarantee they will be alike. I'm glad I finally just blocked her. I have some friends that will be inquiring to see if she's still using the pictures. Well, two of them. And they aren't doing them immediately. We'll see what happens.

Exactly. I want to test Izzie just so I have that paper showing she is LWO N/n. I have ZERO doubts she is, and the sister is as marked up as she is. The stud from what I saw was too. And looked to be the only stud she has, and she breeds him to everything on the grounds. Just more irresponsible breeding in the industry.

Fun part at least, is that we have a show this evening. Just a small, 2 classes for me, show. Should be great! And my best friend is working the gate!


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## Rainaisabelle

It's funny how she mentions how amazing the stud is now...


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## DanteDressageNerd

She sounds like a loon trying to grasp onto your Izzy's success and claim credit for it, even though she did nothing but breed her and there is no guarentee her siblings will turn out to be what Izzy is, even if someone good takes them and if someone who isnt good takes them even if they are Izzy's quality, they won't turn out the same.

And I'm on the dont make claims about a stallion if you don't have the evidence, if you were serious about campaigning the stallion you would have shown him and gotten awards on him.

And I'd be upset she was sending pics around with your kids in them, just because there are nutters out there and you don't always know who they are or where they'll be :/ not okay.

Brick by brick, day by day it gets better. 

I'm sure you guys will have it all worked out when the time comes and will be practical about it all, so you don't end up being in a position that isn't where you want to be. It'll work itself out!

That's awesome news about that gelding! So happy to hear he's doing well and is feeling better! And it will be interesting to see how his proud Mama rides. I'm sure she's eager to sit on him too.

lol she was just insulted? Poor Izzy. She just needs to be respected, a true diva! How dare they. But that's interesting. There are some quirky, interesting horses out there, that's for sure. And they can be surprising and SO contradictory to traditional teaching/theory but I guess that's what makes it fun right? But I agree for the most part I've seen abuse of draw reins vs correct use.

I hope you get some pictures and had a great show! I know you told me some about it but hopefully there will be some pictures!

You cant reason with people like that.

You should test and see. Do both parents have to be a carrier for LWS to occur? I've seen (on video) LWS foals and it breaks my heart. I can't imagine someone being willing to go through that. There's nothing you can do for those babies but put them down and I can't imagine living is comfortable :-( I REALLY hope she doesnt breed the two thinking pretty markings to pretty markings = more pretty markings. That sort of mentality is so destructive for genetics and horse health in general, especially if they carry a potentially lethal gene. 

Good luck at the show! I know yall did well!


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## Tazzie

Raina, EXACTLY. The ONE picture I've seen of him anywhere near competition like things, was a halter picture. And I don't mean to sound as witchy as this will, but Izzie's sire is NOT what they look for in Arabs. He has a short, fat neck. Like, no length to it. He looks like a quarter horse. Izzie inherited the short neck, and if she wasn't muscled how she is, it'd be a really scrawny neck. Her dam had a HIDEOUS neck. We got lucky, but we also spent a lot of time correctly training it.

Honestly, if I had thought about it (and I may end up unblocking her at some point to confront her for YET AGAIN using my pictures. Sent them to another friend not even 24 hours after I told her NOT to. If I do, I'm not sure I can stay as polite as I did. And I'll tell her she sounded like an idiot when she said he was doing basic level Dressage, like side passing and piaffe. Inform her piaffe is NOT basic level Dressage, and if you want to sound smart, it's NOT called side passing in Dressage. Heck, even Nick knows the very big difference in half pass and leg yield. But he wouldn't be able to tell me which she meant as side passing. She wanted to sound smart. I didn't feel like giving in and berating her like that. But if she continues using my pictures? Yup, I will.

Cassie, I think that is exactly what she is doing. I may pay for the database just to see for myself what all he's done. Now, granted, we do a lot of lower level stuff. But if he's so amazing as she claims, then he will have shown in at least one rated show. I honestly think she's grasping onto Izzie since I'm the only one who has done something with an offspring, and the stud doesn't actually have the record to back it up. I'm even more thankful we paid to change Izzie's name. There are barely any ties to her now.

But exactly. She has a bunch of pictures of him standing around. But nothing in a show ring. No awards were written on any sale ads. Nothing. And if the stud is SO great, why is the first thing she sends is pictures of MY horse with MY accomplishments?

Yup. That was where I saw red, about threw my phone, and about exploded. I was FURIOUS. Couldn't sleep for a while. Just flat out LIVID. Nick was pretty dang mad too. The audacity of some people.

Yes, it will. Just need to keep reminding myself of that.

I trust everything will work out how it should. Just have to keep tough.

I think we're all eager for that :lol: his mama is a wonderful lady. They will certainly be shining I think 

She sure was :lol: I know how my friend rides, so I know they weren't misused. But Izzie was appalled they would put them on her :lol: quirky makes them interesting haha! That is true. I think they are ok in certain situations, but they shouldn't be how you teach your horse to come round and on the bit. Just another false frame tool when used all the time.

No pictures :lol: Nick just watched. If I'm lucky, he'll record this weekend, but I doubt it. It's going to be crazy in general. Hopefully there will be a show photographer. If not, always regionals :lol:

No, you really can't. Like arguing with a brick wall.

We plan to test  and yes, both parents need to have a copy of frame to have a lethal white foal. So Izzie's genetic testing will read LWO n/O. I want to be responsible when I breed, so I want all the genetic panels done for QH and Arab, and test for Frame so I have that paper showing she is indeed Frame. It's not a bad thing to have, just can't breed them to another carrier. True, it's *only* a 25% chance, but that is 25% too much. From what I've seen from the home, they will literally just breed pretty to pretty. I feel sorry for Izzie's sister.

Thanks!!

---------------------------------------------------------------

This weekend was MADNESS. First with the photo frenzy with crazy ex owner (who sent pictures to a friend the very next day!!!), then a show Saturday night, and finally my niece's birthday party on Sunday (her birthday was Saturday).

Show went ok. Izzie was pretty wound up when I hopped on to warm up. Lots of activity. There were road ponies in bikes there. There were Saddlebreds flying up the rail. Just lots of activity. Popped Izzie into a shoulder in, and would switch back and forth between shoulder in and haunches in to keep her mind on me. Would do a half circle at the end, half pass to the rail, and do the same in the next direction. Just basically informing her that her mind had to be on me. We warmed up well, and I had high hopes.

Then we get outside. Just before the class, it starts POURING. Izzie was fine walking in it. Hit the ring at a trot, and we fling our head around a bit. Put my leg on and ask her to keep going. Come around again and we take off in a canter/failed attempt at bolting. Bring her back down. Then they ask for the canter. I ask. Now we have baby bucks of displeasure. Seriously Izzie? Leg her on and remind her she does still need to work. Change direction. She's wanting to think walking is stupid. I inform her otherwise. Trot was ok. Canter was ok until someone cut too close to us. Izzie flung her whole hind over and swapped leads. Then was too riled up from that to take the correct lead for a minute. I already knew we'd blown the class, just wanted to finish it in one piece. Naturally, they call for the hand gallop in this class. We did ok, but eh. Back up was perfect in the line up, but too little too late. 5 out of 5. Such is the way horse showing goes. So even though my mare LIVES outside AND I've ridden her in the rain, we decided showing in the rain was against the rules. Always keeping us humble.

Second class we were alone. Great, least I'll get my sport horse points. Put in a SOLID ride. Her lengthened trot was absolutely the best I have ever felt. It's definitely feeling more uphill and balanced. Though, going to the left she lost her balance for a minute and fell into the canter. Set her back up correctly to pick back up the lengthened trot. Just overall a nice ride. Even did a lovely walk to canter, our first attempt at doing it IN a show ring. It felt light and floaty. I was pleased! I stayed conservative with the lengthened canter. We were the only ones in there, and the footing was less than ideal. Didn't feel entirely necessary to really give it our best. Blair was the announced, and she was AMAZING in that she put on Centuries for me to ride to :lol: I laughed and was singing to it all the way around :lol: for our victory pass I felt we had a NICE lengthened trot going. Nick said this show had the best lengthened trot he's seen yet with this horse. AND he said her neck is looking better every time we ride. Getting all sorts of GOOD muscling in it! I'm so pumped!

So, not an ideal show, but such is life. We have our dressage show this Saturday to qualify for regionals. Blair was supposed to read for me, but a theraplate is being delivered to the barn that day, so she no longer can do it. I was FREAKING OUT. All of Nick's relatives are either out of town or busy, so no one could watch the kids. Seriously thought Nick was going to have to read while holding onto two kids. Or I was going to have to memorize 4 different tests. I was panicked. Then my buddy Keegan stepped up and saved the day! SO FREAKING RELIEVED. Like, I was about to have a mental breakdown thinking I'd thrown a ton of money away and ruined my hope of showing dressage at regionals. Keegan is my hero!!

Didn't ride yesterday. Instead we cleaned the house. And I had to run to the store to get dinner stuff for tonight. Tonight is Syd's 2nd birthday! And it's My Little Pony themed :lol: so no riding tonight. Plan to ride Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday, and *maybe* bathe her Friday if the ground looks dry. If it does look dry, we'll give her her show bath, and then do next day cleanup as needed. We've done it once before with success, but not sure we can get lucky twice. We shall see! Hopefully I get my times SOON!


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## Tazzie

Realized I forgot to post another highlight from the show. We've done A LOT of desensitizing with Izzie. That was all we could do with her in the beginning. We've held umbrellas over her head, and I've walked her with one over her head. Totally didn't think of just walking around with one when we were around her, or have Nick walk with one while I ride. There were A TON of umbrellas and rain slickers there. Like, the garbage bag material rain slickers. Izzie looked at them and I felt her start to puff up like "what IS that??" I was like "Hey dummy (nicely of course :lol, you've seen those before. They aren't going to hurt you. Now ignore it." I literally could feel her go "Oh, yeah, ok, I HAVE seen them before. Pffft, dumb things." Mares, I swear.


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## DanteDressageNerd

I'll respond properly soon but I'm glad you've had an overall good-productive show weekend and had some of the best lengthening work you've had to date! Definitely great to hear!


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## DanteDressageNerd

Absolutely! If all she claims is true, there would be some evidence of it! And she'd be bragging about her stallion and not Izzy, a filly she bred but you made. A horse can infinite raw talent but it's meaningless if no one does anything with it. 

I don't blame you at all for being livid. That is not okay to pass around pictures of someone else's child. I don't know what the solution for you would be but that is NOT okay.

Yep that's all we can do!

That's awesome!! I'm really glad she's going to get to ride and her boy is doing so much better  

Definitely not the way to teach a horse how to accept bit contact but things have a time and place where their use is appropriate. I think people just want quick-easy ways to get a "look" but dont care how to actually ride or make a horse through, so long as they put their nose down and look pretty.

That's very true! I'm sure regionals would have a good photographer if there are none from this show and it's coming up soon! 

Exactly! They don't understand and they don't want to. Just want to condemn for saying something counter to what they want to believe.

I'm sorry Izzy was so diva like in the 1st class but it's great she went well and gave you her best in the 2nd one! It sounds like you got some really great work and Izzy gave it her all. Like a true diva, may over react but appreciates the spot light none the less and being the center of attention.

I'm glad you found a reader for the tests. I agree. It's a bit daunting to have to memorize a bunch of tests while you have a lot of others things on your mind and even if you memorize your tests a reader is comforting. I used to look down on dressage riders for needing a reader because I was an eventer and we had to memorize ours but I look back and I think but we only had to memorize one test and eventing tests until prelim are all basically training-1st level so we didnt have as much to memorize.

Aww happy birthday Syd! I hope she has a wonderful birthday!! Good luck this weekend! I'm sure it'll be great!!

That's good you did all the de-sensitization work with her. It can really help in a jam, especially with people using umbrellas or blowing tarps around horses!!


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## Tazzie

I'm glad too! I knew it'd start improving once she started to come more off of her forehand and really engaging the hind. Just had to get her to understand that is what we wanted! I will say, seems every ride is getting easier for her to shift the weight back and free up the forehand. I'm loving it :lol:

Exactly! That is exactly it!! Izzie has 2 full sisters. Guarantee both are in a field, breeding more backyard babies. Both I think sold before Izzie started doing well, least I think so. But if the sire is SOO fabulous, as she claims, use him. Use the direct relation to the foal to sell the foal. Irritated me when she tried to lay majority claim (or whatever you want to call it) on Izzie because she bred her. Like she personally developed Izzie into the horse she did today because she tossed her mare and stud in a field together and they bred. I've contemplated contacting AHA and turning her in for falsifying documents. She purposely made Izzie a month younger to get out of paying for the yearling registration fee. Her real birthday is plastered on the sales ads that are still up (they expired now, but she never took them down.)

Supposedly I could sue. We don't want to go that far, plus we'd never see any money anyway. If she keeps sending them out (which I'll find out), I'll send a Cease and Desist letter with threat of legal action if she doesn't stop. I'd really like to not take it that far, but I also don't appreciate my kids and my horse being used for advertisement purposes after I have already very politely said to stop. I'll post the screenshots too. I'm emailing them to myself. Just need to blur out her name, since I don't think that is allowed (though I'd love to....)

Me too!! He'll be ready for it  only about another week until he gets scoped!

Yup. And in the Arab circuit, that is about all they use to get the look. Those horses are only ridden off of the draw reins/martingales when they hit the ring. And sometimes they don't take off the martingales if it's a schooling show. I'd rather feel Izzie's back than have her head look nice.

Yes! Though, regional photos will be pricey  I'm hoping Nick will record my tests so I have that too. We shall see. Pictures from Michigan are up now, so just need to pick what I want!

Eh, I'm used to the diva panties :lol: I think she's preferring to be in the ring alone. Just wish I could get it through her head that the other shows pay for a lot of stuff too :lol: darn mares.

I am RELIEVED. Like, wanted to cry with relief. I've never had to memorize the tests before, and I was panicking thinking I had to do that. I'm seriously glad I don't have to.

She had a great birthday!!

Thanks! Got my show times too! Super pumped!

I was thankful :lol: umbrellas can really scare the bejesus out of a horse!

Ok, first picture I've attached are my show times for Saturday! Going to be a pretty quick show, where we will have the evening free! Unheard of for us! Rest is the conversation with the former owner. I felt I kept my cool for how ungodly mad I was.


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## Skyseternalangel

Lol... she doesn't need the drama... 

She's the one that brought the drama! Who sends pictures of someone's kids to strangers?! NO!


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## DanteDressageNerd

...all I have to say is people. Sometimes there are no words and I cannot for the life of me wrap my mind around their logic and I'm not even going to try. Some people simply make no sense and their words are hollow and empty, meaningless. If the stallion is so great, she should just show pictures of him with kids and get on and ride him rather than taking pictures of his offspring.

But TOTALLY NOT okay to use pictures of your kids or use pictures without your permission. Just not okay but some people have no honor and minimal decency or common courtesy. She bred Izzy but can't claim credit for her success but some people are too I don't even know if there is a word for it but need to feel important so they suck off of others success and live vicariously and try to claim credit for things they had nothing or little to do with because they dont work to accomplish themselves, just to claim credit where they can't.

I wouldnt sue or alert AHA, unless she continues to cross the line but I'd stay aware with what she is doing and if it comes to that get involved because it's really not okay for her to be showing pictures of your kids, too many nuts out there.

It always does with time, it doesn't start perfect but as they gain the strength and learn to carry behind. It just takes time. Definitely not as overnight thing and why in the beginning it can be a little rough but they get there. Just takes time.

Oh that's awesome! Cant' wait to hear about how he goes back in action!

I grew up in barns that always had people using draw reins and martingales and different bits. It's been probably 15yrs since that time but I still remember being confused and not understanding the purpose of that equipment and hearing all kinds of people chiming in with their advice and telling me what to do. But I entirely agree the mouth it not the source, it's the whole body and engageing and getting the whole body in balance, the mouth is a part, not a whole means to an end. You just jack up the connection relying on the draws to create the headset. I rode in them in Germany (no choice, they said what tack went on and you had to obey) but it was weird to me and just got in the way more than anything. No practical use from what I felt. A horse who learns to use it's body will eventually come around with its head.

Yes tell Nick in dressage it's important you have video, so you know what the judge is seeing and can see things from the perspective of an observer. Video is good!

lol she just loves to be the center of attention and doesn't care or want to understand how anyone could matter but her :lol: I agree mares. She'll just have to be the Duchess.

I'm glad it all worked out 

Aww I saw the pics on facebook, it looked like a really special birthday 

Good luck at the show! And definitely!! I have never introduced Dante to an umbrella or tarp, I don't think my eventer was ever introduced to an umbrella either and I did a lot of desensitization work with him because he was an eventer. He wasn't really spooky though, just missing screws.


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## Rainaisabelle

How exactly do you get a horse to bring its hind under etc? I always sort of get confused


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## Tazzie

Maggie, exactly!! She brought this on herself. I don't think I could have been any more polite if I had tried. I was fuming mad, but really tried to keep my cool. I'm notorious for cussing when I'm mad, and didn't drop a single bad word. Huge for me. And now, that is NEVER ok. And her reasoning was stupid.

Cassie, there really isn't words for her. Nothing. I'm pretty sure she can't ride anymore. Ya know, the typical line backyard breeders use... "my back is injured and I can't ride anymore." Meaning even if Izzie had stayed with her (unlikely; she sells everything) she never would be near where she is now. But surely there would be pictures from his showing days....

I don't plan to. I really don't want it to come to that. The most I'd do is do a cease and desist letter, with threat to sue. If she continues using my pictures. The thing is, the picture with the kids IS copyrighted digitally. She just flat out ignored it. And clearly the rest are professional pictures since they are inside the ring. I think I have a friend contacting them tomorrow to see if she's still using them. Less than 12 hours after my message to her she sent two of the show pictures, so I'm not holding my breath that she isn't sending anymore out. Probably figures since I have her blocked she could post them publicly and I won't see. And she never would have been able to get Izzie where she is today. The temperament alone would not have gotten her this far. And we've also done A LOT of groundwork and desensitizing with her. They did NOTHING. They can claim NOTHING aside from breeding her and teaching her to lead. That is the extent they can take credit for.

Yup. It'll always be an uphill battle to get her to actually move uphill. We'll get there. She's miles better than she was last year, or even when we pulled her out of the field this year. It's not always perfect, but I do feel each ride shows improvement.

I can't either! He's going to be so happy!!

Yeah, we never changed bits unless the horse needed to have the change. We've changed a few times until we found one Izzie liked well enough. Equipment rarely changed. And yuck to being forced to ride in draws :/ I guess you could just keep them unengaged? I don't know. They will always be a cheap trick in my mind when used like that. Just a dirty way to gain a headset instead of putting in work. Which is why I hate watching horses warm up at the Arab shows 

We'll see! It's going to be crazy, and kids will be with us this weekend. So, chances are slim of video this weekend. Regionals I don't think we'll have the kids, which will help. And free Nick up to record. Hopefully he'll agree to it :lol:

That's exactly how she feels :lol: she's a diva!

ME TOO. Yes, that needed all caps :lol:

She had a blast, that's for sure! I got them superman ice cream, which was a MAJOR hit with the kids. Everyone always gets boring stuff, like vanilla or cookies and cream. I like cookies and cream, but kiddos like bright colored things 

I introduced the umbrella on the recommendation of a friend. A lot of people don't think or don't care at a show, and use them anyway. It's a good thing to introduce so they don't panic. Izzie doesn't care for them when they open, but she doesn't panic about it. Just snorts and blows.

Raina, I do a series of half halts, but I keep my leg on to encourage forward. When I ask her to sit, I already have her between my inside leg and my outside rein. So it's a matter of closing my outside rein while sending her forward. My outside rein is saying "no, not faster" but allows her to raise her poll (still on contact; she is not hollowing or she wouldn't actually be through/over her back) which in turn allows the front end to lift and shift the weight back over the hind, which then "sits" a bit. This is where I also love the shoulder in at the trot. The shoulder in helps shift that weight over the back, and I'm already using my outside rein to create the bend for my shoulder in. The outside rein dictates how deep we go, how fast we go, and how much weight I want her shifting to the hind end. It's a very, very long process, especially on a horse that is built like a mac truck in the front and wants to tip forward and run around on her forehand. Laterals are your absolute best friend. We've started our warmups lately on a long rein, then picking up and starting with some shoulder in, haunches in, leg yield, and half pass. All four get them into your outside rein, help them work over their back, and get them fine tuned to your leg. Before we learned shoulder in, we would just do leg yield. Doing the new movements has really added a lot more substance into our ride, and I feel her coming over her back in an even greater degree than before. I'm always conscience of her back to make sure it's there (especially in practice; I know I myself fall apart at shows a bit, but at home she needs to be working properly). Yesterday she felt so dang over her back, I swore I was sitting on a bubble. THAT is how much I had her. It was an insane feeling.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now, onto my rides!

Yesterday was GOOD. Great warm up. Great laterals, just great. Nick read us First Level Test 2 twice so we could ride to it. It was ok. Needed some work, but I wouldn't have been laughed out of the ring if we showed it. Just a great work. Ended with her barely breaking a sweat (though, had sweat in the good parts of her neck, and her hind end, so I was happy!) Nick rode her to cool her out :lol:

Today started a bit rough, and had a few rough patches. But we worked through them. She loves to argue that the outside rein is optional. Rode through the test again. The second try of the day would have been show worthy. Could still be a bit better (I can be a perfectionist sometimes) but I think I could get my score with it. Practiced the canter across diagonal, trot at x, canter at F after the test since the test ones were eh. MUCH better run through after we had a reminder that no, you may NOT run into your canter. Amazing how one quick reminder about it, and suddenly our canter transitions are back to being gorgeous. You silly mare... Again, perfect sweat where needed, and one sore rider from using all my good leg muscles :lol: we also decided Nick is going to read First Level Test 2 since he knows how I want it read. There is just SO much to it that I don't want to be late for anything.

I did forget to tell you all the most hilarious story of her bath on Saturday. I nearly fell down laughing from it, and definitely laughed until I was in tears.

So, I always hose Izzie's teats off when we bathe, but I don't always scrub them. Saturday, I reached under and realized they were gunky. Ok, no big deal. Turn the hose onto them and just start using my hand to scrub them clean. First, she tries to reach out to groom Nick. He tells her no. So, instead, she starts wiggling her hips in an "oh this feels GOOOD" dance. She was really getting into it (think how a horse weaves in a stall at the door, how much they swing back and forth; that was Izzie with her butt.) I was already laughing SO hard at this point. But wait! There's more! She decided I needed to hit a spot further back (mind you, I still have the hose directed at her teats.) So, she steps toward Nick to indicate what she wants. And this is where I about die laughing. This horse lifts her hind leg up slightly. I realize there is ZERO menace in her doing this. She is like a dog lifting it's leg for a belly rub. She was making sure I could reach that spot she wanted scrubbed :lol: I was laughing SOO hard!! Funniest moment ever when giving her a bath! Guess I'll start scrubbing her teats every time we bathe her :lol: for being such an opinionated mare, it's shocking that she LOVES her teats being messed with!!


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## Zexious

o,o
The audacity of that woman!
Frankly, I'm not certain I understand her reasoning: "Look at this horse I bred, but put zero work into. Isn't she fabulous?" 
I mean, I guess she's not wrong... x.x


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## Tazzie

Yeah, she has an awful lot of nerve to be doing that.

I get wanting to take credit for breeding, when you put thought into it. She had a "pretty" mare (pretty really only color wise...) and a stud. All are turned out together. We actually had Izzie checked when we bought her to make sure we didn't have a hidden "carry on" since I didn't want a pregnant yearling.

I haven't talked to my friends/photographers yet either to see if they contacted her. I know one was going to, but haven't heard anything. I HIGHLY doubt she bought them. The ones that she stole from our last show last year were NOT cheap. I think I spent about $150 or so on the downloads, and that didn't give me advertising rights to them. The ones with the ribbons were cheaper, but she did that for fun for me since I'd had a rough time prior to the show, then broke my wrist. Both ladies are wonderful, sweet ladies who should have cash in their pockets if someone is using their photos for advertising. I'd rather she not have them at all, but I can't really stop her from buying pictures from the photographers. I think one friend was going to contact her today to see if she is still using my pictures. Guess we will see...


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## DanteDressageNerd

lol my trainer, Pam has a back held together by rods and pins (shattered her L vertebrae with an 80% tear in her spinal cord) and she rides. I have degenerative disks in my lower back and tendenosis :lol: sorry I just love it when people make excuses to explain how they were once a grand prix dressage rider who won all kinds of medals but have no proof and say they cant show you because they're injured. I knew a clinician who was like that. 

I agree with the cease and desist letter, especially when your kids are subject to being passed around. This lady just sounds like scum. One of those that reminds me much of humanity is petty, deceitful and lies to get ahead or promote themselves. They're not to be trusted. Not just that but she sounds incompetent, particularly with the vocabulary she used to claim her stallion did dressage. Even if someone was new to dressage they'd understand what leg yield or half pass meant. You're responsible for Izzie's success and she can bite her lip and suck it as far as I'm concerned.

lol that's just how it goes, always in progress and always good as long as we're taking steps forward and not back. Good work takes time, not just magical aids that magically make a horse go a certain horse go.

I'm sure he will be!

Cheap-lower end barns when you don't know anything are like that and of course horses are expensive and you don't get that you get what you pay for at that time but I agree. Equipment shouldnt constantly be changing around or switched out. I found the draw reins mostly annoying, I had them fairly loose but not dropped or I'd be worried they'd get their legs caught up. Just annoying/unneessary. The horse's I rode there were SO locked up, one was a grand prix horse so I didn't even both with trying to make him through or correct and just played around practicing piaffe, passage, canter piroettes, tempi changes, etc. No point in trying to fix what would take months to change when how often do you get to ride a GP horse? But I agree. Quick and dirty tools that end up taking a competent person months to re-train. I think it holds people back more than anything but a lot of people and trainers dont' see it that way. All they care about is getting the head down and nose in the right position. I also think some people want to keep them unengaged because they can't stay with the movements or sit when the horse is truly engaged and coming through. Some horses become smoother when there back engaged and some get 10x bouncier and more powerful and some people just don't have the feel or skill or organize all that movements and energy, so they hold the horse back because they feel that engagement and don't like it. Ive seen a few dressage barns with riders with such stiff/stuck hips they lock the horse's back and movement up and hollow them out so they can ride 2nd-3rd level but they're so still the back doesn't move and they make their 50k horse move like a 6k horse.

Yay!! I hope Nick gets a chance to video your rides! But it makes sense if he doesnt' this weekend with the kids. That makes things hard for sure. But next weekend I'm sure he will 

Aww that's awesome! you're such a good mom! I bet everyone was excited about that!

Makes sense to me. That was a good idea to desensitize them to it. I might have to try it sometime!

I'm really glad to hear your ride yesterday went well. But it sounds like you had some good run throughs. I kinda like when they're a little rough to run through because then that means things will be a lot smoother at the show and you'll have the kinks and bugs worked out for it!

That is hilarious she turned into a big dog all over her teats being cleaned and belly rubbed, though to be honest I usually clean them out when I bath the mares because I bet it gets itchy when they get build up in there. They usually like it too, though not as much as Izzy. That's hilarious. I bet she'd be perfectly happy as a big dog to get belly rubs!


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## Rainaisabelle

Ouchie ouch ouch no lol I don't like to think about bones being held together with metal lol

I'm thanking my stars with only a fractured radius/broken wrist and a ruptured kidney being my worst injuries. 


It's interesting draw reins and such I never really understood them or their benefit. Trainer N worked over in Germany for awhile as a stable hand and got to exercise all the GP horses I think that's the closet I'll get to one lol!


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## Tazzie

Cassie, yup! That EXACTLY. Hard to believe anyone when they tout all these accomplishments but have no evidence and they can't show you. Just removes a lot of credibility from them.

Yeah, if she continues doing it, I'll be sending one. The riding pictures all had watermarks on them. She shouldn't have been taking them to begin with. We'll see what happens. She absolutely is scum. If I could, I'd be blasting her name all over here. I know Raina knows the name (I didn't blur out the screenshots on my Facebook status), and anyone else who was following that saga. Even people who felt I should be feeling complimented did a 180 when they realized pictures of the kids were being circulated. EVERYONE agreed that was terrible of her. She isn't competent at all. If I do unblock her to confront her, I absolutely will go off on her informing her she sounded like an idiot trying to sound smart about dressage. Yes, leg yields are pretty basic. But a proper piaffe or collected canter? HA. Even my mom knows side pass as a "western" term (trying not to offend anyone; I've just only ever heard them called side pass there, but they could very well have other names like Dressage has!) I agree there too. I'm not a perfect rider or a perfect trainer. I've made a heck of a lot of mistakes with Izzie. But Izzie would not be where she is without me. Sure, maybe a different person could have taken her further. But I'm not sure someone would want to deal with a horse as flat out opinionated as she is. Or willing to back off of things when it's clear she just can't mentally do it that day. She isn't a horse that could be jammed and crammed into something.

Exactly! Some days I feel we step back a bit, but that usually means we're about to spring forward in a massive way.

I've always used the "you get what you pay for" phrase when talking about training and such. And cheap training is rarely good training. I figured you still held them, just didn't have them actively in use. Letting them go would have been far too dangerous. Shame they were ridden like that though  it is sad what people do with horses. And here I want my $1.5k horse to move like a $60k horse :lol:

Lol, no show next weekend. Regionals is July 1st through the 3rd (maybe June 30th too?) Long as I qualify for Dressage, I'll be showing the 2nd 

They sure did! They were rainbow colored in the end though :lol:

I would! You just never know when you'll run across it.

Exactly. I figure by the time we get in the ring, it'll flow together well. It certainly wasn't a bad run through, just needs a bit of tweaking. Should be good enough to get a 58% though... unless Izzie is a cow.

Yeah, I just hadn't done it often. I always spray down there whenever we hose, just don't always scrub. I will be from now on since she loved it SOO much! We've always said she thinks she's a giant labrador :lol:

Raina, I severely dislocated my right arm and ruptured the Brachial artery. Had an external fixator to hold it in place for roughly 2 weeks. Was in PT when my ulna cracked where the pins had been. Now have a plate in my right arm, that aches something fierce when the weather changes. Broke my wrist last fall. No metal, but they put me in this chinese fingertrap contraption, and manually reset the wrist while I was awake. Hurt like HECK!

I've never ridden a GP horse :lol: an I1 horse, but not a GP one. Maybe Izzie will be my first :lol:

--------------------------------------------------------

No riding today. Nick has softball tonight. Plan to do a light ride tomorrow night, breaking my day off rule before a show. She'll live :lol:


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## DanteDressageNerd

Exactly! Incorrect terminology, clearly dont understand what they're talking about but want to sounds like they're super well accomplished and God's gift on this green earth.

That's just SO not okay getting the kids involved or taking professional photographs. If she was wanted to use them she should have ASKED permission and asked which ones she could use. That would ONLY be the polite thing and I'm sure you wouldn't mind if she ASKED permission first and didn't involve your kids and was respectful/polite about it vs just taking watermarked, professional photos without permission. Sometimes it's pointless to bicker with those types but I'm sure it would have been fun to school her on correct dressage terminology. And of course, we all make mistakes all the time but the important thing is we learn, get better and sometimes our mistakes are really minor but we build ourselves and our horses as we go. And exactly. I know others could do more with my horse but he's not talented enough that they would want to when they can deal with those issues on a super star horse. But you've done really well with Izzy and she can't take credit for your work or claim her stallion is responsible for Izzy's success. Even the most talented, well bred horse in the world isn't going to get anywhere without someone to bring them along.

And that's good! I'm really glad you're making as much progress as you are with Izzy and she's going so well. You're doing a good job with her!

Exactly! just most people dont' realize that until they learn :lol: you get what you pay for is SO true! With those kind of riders/trainers, I look at it as the only reason I can compete against those caliber of horses. Dante couldn't compete a well trained, super talented horse. You have to work harder and be that much more correct to make your horse competitive vs the super talents.It really is sad what people do to horses. It kills me but to some a horse is a machine, nothing more, nothing less. Just an instrument. 

Aww!! I remember rainbow ice cream!

Oh okay! Well soon it will be regionals. I thought they were the weekend after the qualifying show, my mistake! But I hope it goes well!

I'm sure Izzy will be great! She'll be the only one in the arena afterall:wink:and she is a Diva. Queen of the arena!

She really is. Just a giant Labrador retriever ready for her next belly rub!

I can't imagine the pain of that kind of injury but hopefully Izzy will be your first GP horse. That'd be something awesome! 

She'll be alright the day off might be good for her! and the light day before ride might be good too!


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## Rainaisabelle

Studying to be a nurse it always gives me the shivers don't ask me why but it does !


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## Tazzie

Cassie, yup. Without the intelligence to back anything up. Not to sound cruel, but she really isn't that bright. I always find it a mixture of humorous and annoying when people try and spout of like they know Dressage to me. Calling a Piaffe "basic Dressage" grinds my gears a lot. A true Piaffe is FAR from basic.

Yeah, there are new developments on this front... I'll post them further below. I would have maybe let her use ones Nick and I personally took, or directed her to the website to purchase them. But outright stealing them is BS. She may be getting unblocked after tomorrow to both confront her AND school her a little bit. Highly irritated right now. Yup. No one in life ever learns without mistakes. They are necessary to grow. But just because Izzie developed the way she did does not mean a half sibling from the sire will. Last pictures I saw of Izzie's FULL sister, she was still a super gangly, awkward, ugly looking horse. No muscling, nothing. Looks how Izzie did as a yearling/fresh two year old before we started teaching Izzie to lightly ground drive (obviously nothing strenuous, but she was essentially working.) And that's a full sister, who should be more like she is. And that is exactly it. Just because Izzie managed to wind up in my hands, and I strive to do something with her, does mean these horses she is selling are going to follow that same path.

Thanks! I sometimes get discouraged after a bad day, until I look back at old show videos and go "wow.... we've come A LONG way!" No if only the weather would cooperate *grumble*

Yup. Only reason we can compete too. That's normally how we succeed in the rail classes. When it's a comparison class, you can tell which horses are forced, and which are properly working. But there are crummy trainers out there. Ones not worth having.

Rainbow ice cream is definitely the best! LOL

I think I might freak out if they were that close :lol: we haven't schooled First 3 yet, and if we qualify that is the test I'll be riding. I've ridden Training 3 a lot, so I'm not as worried. First 3 is just a lot tougher.

Absolutely! Little miss diva :lol: I think we'll have a good show. I don't feel an ominous feel about it, which is nice :lol:

That's Izzie :lol:

Yeah, the injury was awful, and so was the layup. I HATED it.

I'm sure she enjoyed it. And if it doesn't stop freaking raining, I won't get to ride tonight either, ARG! And a SUPER early morning tomorrow to bathe her before heading up *sigh* ALL week it forcasted NO rain. So we planned to bathe her tonight, and then spot clean tomorrow. But NOOOO, it has literally been pouring since this morning. In laws are leaving town this week, so we'd have the kids if we went out to ride. Just UGH!

Raina, nurses certainly see a lot :lol: I made mine cry, for a good reason. I was nursing my son still when I had my accident, so I was a bit beside myself worrying about my supply. My nurse tracked me down a pump I could use until my husband brought mine to the hospital. She helped with A LOT of things. I told her she was in the exact right job for her, and that she was a terrific nurse. I'd give ANYTHING to know what her name was so I could properly thank her. I was so drugged up (until I could demand I did NOT want heavy pain killers; just tylenol) I don't remember a whole lot of the people there. She also encouraged my parents to bring Kaleb into the hospital to see me. I was in the Cardiovascular ICU, so kids were not technically allowed. Doctors were MAD, but the nurse just laughed :lol:

------------------------------------------------------------------

Ok, update. As I said, it's raining. So may not get to ride AND may be getting to the barn at like 4:30 to bathe my horse. Not amused at all, and wishing we had just spent the $30 extra to get a dang stall. I always do this *sigh*

And the update with the former owner.

Friend of mine sent her a message asking about the mare and foal. Two pictures are still being used. One of us trotting in the ring, and the one with her decked out in ribbons. Both photographers have been personally notified. The one who took the trotting picture is FURIOUS though. I'd mentioned to my friend how the chick said I should have copyrighted them. Well, the trotting picture DOES have a signature on it, thereby copyrighting it. Well, WITCH (but exchange the W for a B) CROPPED THE PHOTO! My friend who had it sent to me said "this is what it looks like when I click on it. She cropped in front and in back of Izzie, totally removing the signature. I sent my friend the picture off of my computer to show that it does, in fact, have the signature, and I would NEVER under any circumstances remove it (on the contrary, I told my other friend I wanted her to start marking all the pictures I purchase from her, even though I don't care for them on there; they need to be marked). That photographer is ****ED. Both are now sending her invoices for the pictures and demanding to be paid for their pictures being used for advertisement purposes. They won't be cheap. And both girls are made about this, so we'll see what happens. I'll upload the photos in question. The ribbons one does not have a signature on it, but it is copyrighted. The trotting one had immediately behind and immediately in front of Izzie cropped.

I also added the other three she stole originally. When I look at the screenshot I was sent, it looks as though the other two with signatures on them were also cropped. I do NOT believe in cropping signatures off. The photographers deserve to have it left on, especially since I only bought the web files.


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## DanteDressageNerd

I'd agree with the mixture on humorous and annoying for people like that. No words for that kind of ignorance. It seems she's one who fails to learn from mistakes and keeps on blaming everyone else. But stealing copyrighted material definitely isn't okay. Pay for it if you want to promote and sell a foal, not steal it. But no you put the work in with Izzy and you can't expect to have all that happen without the work. I guess it's showing what could happen but it entirely depends on the horse. 

You're welcome. You guys have done really well together and she's a really nice mare and you've done well with her. You should be proud of what you guys have done together! 

Oh for sure! I always say those of us who don't have a TON of money make up for it with hard work and dedication :lol: and it shows, I think. Competence over money but I'm sure it's WAY obvious in the rail classes when Izzy is going well and the other ones are going inverted, upside down, sawed into a fixed head position. 

First 3 is definitely more challenging than training 3 and first 1 and 2. At the schooling show I looked at doing it but didn't want to push it at Dante's first/only show and it has the laterals from the rail to x and from x to the rail which is the difficult part but you guys will be fine. Fortunately there is an incredible amount of space in the actual dressage arena! But you guys will do great!

I'm sure she'll be great with the arena all to herself! She'll be SO happy! All eyes will be on her so she can really shine!

Hopefully you'll be able to get a bath in soon. 

That is SO messed up she took the pictures cropped the signatures out. That is not okay. What the heck, that is not clever. That is theft and is not respectable at all. What is the matter with people? That is disrespectful to everyone involved, if she was a decent person she could have asked for some pictures as you and Nick have quite a few good ones!

P.S. I really like her browband in those pictures!


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## Tazzie

Well, yeah, the way she tried to pawn the blame off on me didn't sit well with me at all. Like really? YOU'RE in the wrong. I'm confronting you. I will NOT be made the bad guy. You CLEARLY doing something you shouldn't. And then to talk like you know what you're talking about? Yeah.... Annoying. And exactly. I'm not amused. At all. The photographers are owed, especially if they are using them to sell a horse. It really does. Or it'd be a shoe in to always breed the parents together. I mean, there is NO proving that American Pharoah's full siblings will all win the triple crown. Why should we expect that a horse that just shares a sire will be anything like the one in the pictures. Zero guarantee to that.

Thanks! We are very proud of her 

Yup. I mean, money would sure be nice, but I'd rather be competent and make something of myself and my horse. It's harder doing it on your own like we have to most of the time, but we do what we can. Nick wishes just like I do that we could afford lots of lessons with Maggy. We would be progressing more if we could  and ugh, I saw A LOT of seesawing and martingales today in the Dressage warm up. It was DISGUSTING. And SO many huge undernecks. I don't get how the horses scored as well as they did. I mean, I'm proud of our scores, but I feel unfairly scored to be honest. But I'll explain more on that below.

The leg yielding off the rail and back on isn't my worry. Since we rarely have rails to work on at home, she's used to just moving over as soon as I ask. It's the change of lead through trot and the counter canter shallow loops are what has me raring to start working on it. I want to spend at least a week just focusing on those key elements, and then start doing a couple of run throughs. Training 3 I'm not that concerned over since we've ridden it a lot. Just have a lot to work on for First 3. Thanks for having faith in us!

Yeah, we're pretty sure she much prefers riding alone. She only got mad if I shouted my aids at her. Otherwise, she was super happy. She gained even more fans too :lol:

HA, we did. More on that below too....

EXACTLY. I was FURIOUS when I saw it. Truly furious. I hadn't planned on contacting Korrina directly until I saw that. Figured if she did want to contact her, she would. But she couldn't believe that was done. Even made a post about it on Facebook, that I shared. And yup. I wouldn't give her what Brenda took (unless Brenda (my mother in law) allowed it), but we have some or could GET some. It was just flat out rude, and illegal.

Thanks! I do love my browband 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, we didn't go out there yesterday. It POURED where we were and at home. We figured giving her a bath and turning her out would be futile. We went to dinner instead :lol:

Then something insane happened to us. We were on the main road heading home to our house. I saw in my rear view mirror this utility truck driving erratically. Like, I was concerned when he came up alongside me. I truly thought he was going to hit me. Nick was reluctant, but I demanded his phone to call 911. He was all over the road, confusing turn signals, and not maintaining a consistent speed. We were almost out of our county though, so we were transferred to the next county. We ran out of their county too, but they kept me on the line as we followed him (we wanted to make sure he didn't turn off the main road...). We kept updating how he was driving fast then slow, nearly plowed into a guardrail a few times, or over into the other lane heading northbound. It was truly terrifying. We gave the information on my car too, since I was also speeding to keep him in sight (the road is posted at 55; I was doing 70+ and he was going that or faster). Finally we see a cop heading in the opposite direction. Nick and I spot him at the same time. Cop is pulling onto the shoulder to do a U turn, so I dove for the shoulder as well to make a clear path for him to go get the guy. Nick, naturally, is like "well, let's follow a bit to make sure he gets pulled over." Sure enough, he does. Cop's car wasn't even fully stopped when he was leaping out of his car toward the guy. We had disconnected a while back, so I was no longer on the phone with the police. As we're driving home (had to find somewhere to turn around), Nick gets a call. They confirmed they had arrested him, and needed all of my information as I was a witness to this. I gave them that and my actual number (since they won't reach me at Nick's phone all the time), and waiting to see if the cop contacts me for further information. I don't call the cops for just anything. We really thought he was going to get someone killed or kill himself. He was in a company truck too, so my guess is someone won't have a job now...

After we get home from that excitement, we pack up the truck and head to bed in preparation for this morning.

We got up at 4 am this morning, and put the kiddos in the car with the clothes we put them in for bed (we dressed them for today so they would hopefully go back to sleep in the truck). Got down to Izzie just before 5 am. Someone was WILD, so catching her was a pill. Got her though, and legitimately gave her a bath by the light of the flash light and some headlight :lol: turns out it DIDN'T rain down there last night, go figure. So thankfully she wasn't ungodly dirty. Made bathing her easy :lol:

Get there, and have a heck of a time maneuvering around there. We have NEVER been there (go look up Roberts Arena; it's HUGE!) We were parked WAY away from everything, which sucked initially. I finally found the show office and got us checked in. I asked if there was ANYTHING closer for us to park at since we were only there for the Dressage part. I said where we were, and they said that's the closest spot. Well dang. As we're walking out, this guy pops out of the office, points out to where the warm up ring is, and then says if we can find a spot, we can park out front of it. Well, we made a spot alongside the grass :lol: we were out of the way, and the only Dressage rider showing out of the trailer.

I am SO pleased though. I still didn't ride as well as I did at home as far as making sure she was fully engaged (my biggest weakness at shows), but I still rode MILES better than I have at other shows. Izzie appreciated that I stayed almost entirely out of her mouth :lol: that is a huge step for me. And Izzie is really starting to show that Dressage is her thing.

Our first test was our hardest of the day; First Level Test 2. Did lots of lateral work warming up, prompt transitions, and just worked on being totally in my contact. Nick read it PERFECTLY. I was SO proud and happy of him :lol: I felt our score was a bit low at 60.468. We had the comment "NICE HALT" written after straight entry. We got a 7. A SEVEN. How does that earn a 7? Seriously. We showed against the same rider I did at our April show, the show she picked her horses to win or place every class (place only behind her full time student, or previously full time student.) Our ride was after hers. Our thought was she purposely marked us down to prevent us placing above them :/

Our next was Training Level Test 3, my friend's first time reading a test. He did a good job for his first time ever! I felt Izzie was a bit fussy, but not terrible. Just trying to see if she could get away stuff. Got a 61.818. Not too bad.

Third was Training Level Test 2, friend's second time reading :lol: she was definitely better in this test overall. Got a 65.961. I felt that was fair.

Last was First Level Test 1. Izzie was a bit tired. I was tired. I still felt we did GREAT. Best stretchy trot of the day. We went before the favorite horse, and had less than a 3% difference this go around (all others were a greater spread...) Izzie earned a 63.518. I was pretty happy with that!

So, all that means...

WE QUALIFIED FOR REGIONALS FOR BOTH! AHHH! Sorry, all caps were totally necessary :lol: I had to haha! So I've turned in my entry form for it! We're taking a risky move. We're doing both Open and Amateur for both Training Level and First Level. I'm a bit nervous, but super crazy excited! I was hoping to at least qualify for Training Level. Kind of a dream to be qualified for First!! AHH! That show is July 2nd at the Horse Park  lots to work on before then, but I know we can do it! And the ladies in the show office are SO sweet. I walked in and they were like "did you do it????" Haha! YES!! We all celebrated  helps when the show office is full of super sweet ladies!!

We actually got Izzie home just after 2 pm, which is unheard of for a show day. It was insane! She was HAPPY to be home haha!

But, we took a couple of pictures first lol one I had to take since I thought she looked SO good standing in the trailer lol she's such an easy hauler! And one is a fun repeat picture. The one of a younger Izzie was taken shortly after we bought her (I think 2 weeks after we bought her.) Nick wanted to repeat the photo, and the result is hilarious lol


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## Rainaisabelle

Omg !!!! Congrats !!! So proud of you!


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## Tihannah

That's crazy about the driver, but I'm glad you called the police and got him taken off the road! I witnessed a guy like that once, but it was late at night and I was traveling across states and had no clue where I was at and am terrible with directions! I called the police, but could never give them a definite location. :-(

CONGRATULATIONS on qualifying for regionals! You guys are such rock stars! I have to admit, before I even read it, I though, "Wow, Izzie looks great in that trailer pic!" Lol.


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## Tazzie

Thanks Raina!! I'm SO excited and darn proud right now! I still feel like I'm on cloud 9 :lol:

Tihannah, yeah, once we passed where we normally turn off, we had to wait for mile markers or road signs. He didn't turn off of the main road, so that helped. I just couldn't let it go. I've reported other reckless drivers before, but this was the first one I seriously thought was going to kill someone. I couldn't turn off and just hope he was caught. I had to make sure that he was. We have no idea what he was on, if it was alcohol or drugs. Heroin is very prevalent in this area, so who knows if that was it. I can't imagine he would be arrested without a very valid reason :/

Thank you!! I'm just SO excited, oh my gosh! I would have been sad if we didn't qualify for First, and would have been mad if we didn't qualify for Training (unless Izzie did something bad). We have never scored less than the 58% needed to qualify in either level, but we only did one First Level test before this one. I'm so happy!! I feel like a rock star haha! And yeah she did! I stopped dead and said "Whoa, I need to snap this picture right now." Nick was like "are you serious??" Yes Nick, yes I am :lol: she's really looking like a Dressage horse now, and it has me tickled!


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## DanteDressageNerd

What can you say but people. They dont want to take responsibility for their actions, just want to shift blame and try to get someone else to take the fall for their choices. It's odd.

As well you should be! you guys are doing great together!

It definitely makes a difference to be in a program but there are definitely a lot of things you learn on your own. It's good to have a balance of both, I think. But you do what you can and you have your priorities straight. Trust me I can imagine the warm up arena. I often feel that way when I watch the local warm up arena too. A lot of interesting techniques you never would have saw coming.

Practice makes perfect. Luckily you guys will have time to practice before regionals! That's really awesome! I wish you the best!

:lol: I can well imagine Izzy being like hey, they finally let me in this arena. Why haven't they let me be here before?

You should be. Her work should be protected, not taken from under her nose.

That's really scary about that driver but good on you and Nick for being good Samaritans and following him. You never know with people like that. Maybe you saved someone's life? That's crazy but glad he was caught!

Glad she wasn't too awful to bathe :lol: greys. The terrible greys.

I knew you knew you'd be showing under that judge but what a ... corruption and self promotion ticks me off. Judges are meant to be biased but enough of them aren't and that's shady/petty and I don't get it. A shame about the grading but at LEAST you qualified for regionals and had a successful dressage show outing! That's excellent! You both should be really pleased! You did great!

And she does look great in the trailer  she looks really good.


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## Tazzie

It's a low person that does that. She has no shame I don't think.

Yeah, and we can just keep trying to perfect how we do things before going to her. At least the things she taught us. I told Nick I'd love to try and get a lesson with her before regionals, just to maybe coach us through some things, or how to improve others. I know I'd be excited to get one! I try to keep my priorities straight. I hate when hobbies have to take a back seat in a way sometimes, but that is life. Especially with kids. And yeah, I've always hated watching the cheat ways to get the horse into a frame. I just didn't expect to see it in the Dressage warm up :/ I never used to see it growing up, so it's a shock still.

Yes! Lots of time for practice between now and then. She's getting a WELL deserved day off, then riding at least tomorrow and Tuesday. Heavy rain is being called for Wednesday and Thursday, but maybe it won't be so bad and we can ride one of those days. And thanks  I'm hoping we rock it out!

Haha, I think she liked it! She tried to suck back a bit heading toward the judges stand, but I made sure to keep my leg on her and push her toward it. After that initial look, she gave it up. Silly horse LOL

Exactly! She hasn't been able to invoice her yet since she's had a busy weekend. She's hoping to this week. I'm curious what will happen.

I'm hoping I saved someone, including him. It's a shame people like that will drive in that condition. I was glad he was caught and arrested. He needed to be off of the road.

Yeah, grey horses sure take a lot of work to make look nice :lol: ah well, I love the rewarding feeling!

That's why I just kept saying "we're coming for scores." We will see what happens under a different judge, and with me putting more work into Izzie. I know our weaknesses. I'm going to go hardcore these next few weeks preparing ourselves to take everyone on. And totally shine! I'm excited! We are all pleased! Nick is happy too. So happy he is letting me do the Open and the Amateur class at regionals. I won't be showing against that rider in the Amateur as she's a professional trainer. So I'm happy :lol:

I sure thought so  she's really coming along


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## Tazzie

Ugh, I'm SO sore today. I can tell I was using my seat and my legs, and using my hips to allow her to move over, to leg yield, and to cue for the canter. I HURT today!

Also forgot to mention after I got off and looked at Izzie and saw that wonderful foam around her mouth after the last ride  I knew it felt so wonderful! Nick was like "yeah, I noticed that!" So happy!

Izzie naturally got the day off today. I went swimming with my sister in law, my two kiddos, and my two nieces. It was so wonderful! Now kiddos are napping and I'm doing laundry... joyous. I need to clean, but I don't want to :lol:


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## DanteDressageNerd

I'd say not. No shame or respect for other's property or work.

For sure! A lesson before Regionals would probably be a good idea! And yeah it does. But at least you put your family and kids first, rather than not putting it towards them. A friend of mine's dad would let his wife's money pay for the kids and things and the kids didn't have much while he'd go out and buy a boat or a new toy which is just terrible imo. So it's good you have your priorities straight, even though your hobbies are put on the back burner a little bit. And that makes sense. I still get shocked by some of the things I see in the warm up arenas too. It's really surprising sometimes and I think it's easy to get detached when you just don't see it. When judging dressage, I always tell people go watch your local dressage shows before judging those top professionals.

I'm sure you both will rock it all the way! And you have plenty time, even if you get rained out a few days. You can still focus on things that need to be focused on, even if it start ugly. You can always refine it later. 

And that's good at least she didn't put up a fuss in the arena and was like, "yes mom." That's a plus!

lol I'm glad she got an invoice. If you want to avoid copy right laws and not pay for things then fine. Here's the bill. Sounds fair to me.

Most definitely :lol: it's very rewarding to have a clean grey with a white tail and look immaculate! 

But I think you did save someone, even if it was the driver. He sounds like he was definitely in no condition to be driving and HOPEFULLY he learned something from that experience.

I'd be happy to not compete against someone who is a trainer has judges bias towards her too. Should be fun to show amateur and open! 

She is 

lol feel the burn. Pain is weakness leaving the body :lol: that's what we say in the Marines at least :lol: but it's good to build muscle. 

Foam is always a good sign, definitely a nice things to see. But I'm glad you got to spend times with the kids and your nieces. That's sounds like a really fun time!


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## Tazzie

Nope, none :/

I think so! I think Nick may be on board with it too. I'll be bringing my tests with me from the last two Dressage shows, and hopefully just focus on what went wrong in those, or what the judge would rather see. And wow, that is SO wrong! Nick makes A LOT more than I do (like, double what I do), but such is life. My paycheck pays the mortgage and vehicle loans along with fuel and groceries. His pays other bills and my shows lol well, and daycare comes out of his check too. Kids never go without anything. Nick got a new toy, but that is like Christmas/Birthday/Anniversary all wrapped into one for the next like 5 years :lol: gifts from others are stuff for the toy lol and yeah. I kind of figured being in just the straight Dressage part of the Arabian circuit would show how I've always seen warm ups done growing up (and how the show in Michigan was). I was a bit sad to see there was no difference really from the rail class warm ups :sad: and that is true.

Yup! I'm hoping Nick will hold off working a bunch of overtime until next week. Otherwise, my BO will be hanging out with kiddos while I ride :/ my in laws are out of town. Nick wanted to work a 16 hour day today, but he has the car seats for the kids. So, if he works, I can't even get out to Izzie *sigh* I'll probably shoot him a text BEGGING him not to work. I had such a beautiful dream that we just attempted the shallow loops at the canter, and they were exquisite :lol: now I want to just go do them once! Also dreamed there were no issues legging off the wall and back on. I really don't think there will be a lot of issues with that, but we'll see. I just wanna ride dangit!!!!

I was SO happy! The last test she got tired. I think the classes were spaced out just a bit weirdly to where we had more warm ups than normal. Which made her tired. So we were a bit late in a couple of departures, which is whatever. I tried to prepare accordingly, but one the reader told me to canter as I was almost on top of the letter, and canter to the right no less. The right is her hardest way. Could tell she was tired since she was trying to lean at the canter, which is her sign. I didn't push her too hard, just did the best I could with what I had. And she answered as best she could. I do think this show was the happiest she's been in the show ring yet. She was listening to me, but wasn't mad at me for anything (except when I asked her to canter one more time and she was tired.)

She hasn't yet, but should soon. I'm anxiously awaiting to hear how it goes over. I can't imagine it'll go over well. Chick likes to get stuff for nothing, so I imagine she's going to be ****ed.

Yes it is!! I just love it LOL we definitely get noticed, which is good sometimes. Izzie loves attention. As we were walking through the barn to go back to the trailer, she wanted to stop and beg for people to pet her. I was like "Izzie, they don't want to pet you. Now let's go!" Silly horse :lol: one girl was cutting through the warm up (just walking) and she was creeping along acting like she was worried Izzie would flip. I was like "you're fine, she's not going to spook. You could probably just start doing jumping jacks and she'll look at you like "this chick is crazy!""

I think I did too. I finally told my mom about that encounter too, and she agreed we did the right thing. Nick just didn't want to follow him since he was concerned we were going to watch him wreck. We were just hoping he wouldn't and would get pulled over in time. Thank goodness he did. No clue on if he'll learn anything :/

Well, hopefully the judge doesn't have a bias for her at this show. I've never heard of this judge (Arlene Rigdon? That is who it says on the aha14 page.) We will find out I'm sure! I think it'll be fun! Just need to get us both working hard. This show will take a lot more out of us than Saturday's show. We will be doing Training 3 twice and First 3 twice. Need to get someone even fitter than she is!

Haha, yes. I wasn't sore when I woke up this morning, which is nice. I need to get myself back on an exercise program. I've been super lazy lately. I had a good workout pushing kids around in a raft in the pool all day yesterday, but need to be better about it :lol: and yes. I just love when it's muscles that I know are the good ones to be using. I would have been mad at myself if my upper body was hurting like that. Would mean I rode too much off of my hands and not my seat.

I was SO happy. We're getting it a bit more often now, which makes me so extremely happy. I gave her about 2 inches more of rein to work with, and she's liking it a lot. Really working into it well. And I was too! It was SUCH a blast! Sydney got over her fear of the pool because my youngest niece (not even 1) was floating in a tube and was happily splashing along. Which then made Syd splash me A LOT. She laughed hysterically. By the end, I had the three oldest in a large raft as I pushed them around the pool (I'll post the pictures on my facebook in a bit lol) Kaleb gave my oldest niece confidence as well. Kaleb had water wings on and was totally enjoying being on his own and "swimming" where ever he wanted to go. My niece had been deathly afraid to let go of me or my sister in law, but having Kaleb be solo gave her the courage to go solo as well (Kaleb is 3, and my niece just turned 4.) We had a great time!

And I got almost all of my laundry cleaned and most of it folded. My show clothes are washed, and so is my show pad. Just need to pack them away for Regionals. But mostly minor stuff left to wash. So, hopefully I get to ride tonight, come home, do a small workout, shower, and dive into more folding :lol: least, I'm praying I can ride. I can't yell at Nick for working overtime since he's doing it for us, but just a bummer he has the car seats so I couldn't even go lunge her if I wanted to :sad:


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## Tazzie

*sigh* Nick is working late tonight. Not a whole lot I can do about it, just sucks. I just had such a good feeling today would have been such a good ride. If I had the car seats, I'm sure Uncle Cliff (our friend/barn owner) would be fine just chilling with the kiddos (I'd bring lots of snacks and entertainment options, so he wouldn't have to watch too much really.) But no car seats. I'm really hoping we can ride tomorrow, and maybe the thunderstorms on Wednesday will only be in the morning...


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## DanteDressageNerd

I'm really glad Nick's all for it and you guys are able to make everything work out. Even though he makes a lot more without a degree, technical work is tough though and it sounds like he works really hard! And you do too! But I'm glad you have it all worked out and you both make your kids your priority vs things that are secondary. Family comes first is good!

Trust me warm up arenas are shocking and eye opening EVERYWHERE. I was wide eyed like a country kid in the city for the first time at the last dressage show. Some riders were great, some I was just wide eyed because I was so stunned. 

That makes it hard to ride but I'm glad you have option on things to do with the kids but that makes it hard when he has the car seats, so you can't go anywhere :-( that'd be frustrating. And I don't blame you for wanting to ride, especially after having such a wonderful dream and wanting to ride and practice for regionals.

The final test is usually harder because they're worn out and exhausted by then and it does make it hard to prepare if a movement comes and you have to ask for accuracy but it's a little off. Accuracy can be really tricky sometimes, that's for sure. But I'm glad she's coming into her own and doing so well!

And that's hilarious! I'm glad Izzy has that look at me presence and likes being the center of attention and is so good with that kind stuff. Definitely makes a difference! But I bet she loves being the only one in the ring and being the center of attention! She knows who the star is!

I'm sure she will be. Free loader wants to take copyrighted material for nothing.

Well I'm glad you stepped in and did something, most people would ignore it and go about their business, meanwhile that person may have gotten himself killed or some innocent person at the wrong place at the wrong time. So incredible how small choices make a difference.

I hope it's a fair and good judge who gives you a good idea about what you'd realistically score without starting picking favorites and pairs to promote. I'm sure you'll both have it by the time the next show comes around and it will be lovely 

Definitely! I saw the pictures of you guys swimming! That looked like loads of fun! Swimming is great for building condition without stressing the joints (I hate swimming) but it's a good work out! But that's awesome your kids had such a good time and were gaining confidence in their swimming ability! It's a really good skill to know how to swim!

Glad you got most of the house chores done but a shame you weren't able to ride :-( I really hope you get to ride tonight and it goes well!


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## Tazzie

Whew, FINALLY able to sit down and update this :lol:

It'd just be a matter of picking out times and setting it up with Maggy :lol: I haven't full on asked Nick if it's cool to schedule one, but he knows I want one. Izzie will be seeing the chiro on the 25th for a quick workup to make sure she's good to go. And yeah, I wouldn't want to do his work. Not at all. If I do something wrong with my work, a project is ruined but could be redone. If he does something, an entire area is out of power, or he could kill himself and anyone near him. Not very relaxing thoughts when he heads out to work every morning. But yes, the kids always come first. If I had to give up showing to save the money for the kiddos, I would. Thankfully I don't have to.

I swear they have gotten worse from when I first started :sad: I never remember them like this at all. It just makes me incredibly sad watching.

It really does. Cliff is like the best man in the entire world (well, next to my husband :lol he's always giving us a hand, and if it wasn't for him I probably wouldn't have Izzie. He's a rare breed. I wouldn't ride long with him watching, just because I know he has more important things to do than sit around watching me ride. But I know he'd do it for me. Just wasn't meant to happen Monday night I guess.

Yeah it was that and a lot of picking back up and warming her back up into the contact. At other shows I just give her a long rein, the next class comes and I go in. So the break is like the break I'd give her at home between exercises. This one had too much time to do that, so we ended up walking, trotting, and cantering a lot more than normal. It was totally understandable she was tired. But she still laid it all out there for me. Just some of the departures were late. Not something to go back into the warm up and beat her for (not that I would EVER do that, but you know people do). Just a "better luck next time" kind of thing. I am too  she just feels like this power house under me. It's unlike anything I've ridden before, and I've ridden some pretty awesome horses. She just feels so massive and expressive when she gets everything set up correctly.

She sure does :lol: and it's her haha! I swear when we do a victory pass with a ribbon on her bridle (we're about the only ones that do that lol) she's like "dangit, look at ME!! Just look at me!! I'm AWESOME!" She's something :lol:

Of course. Why pay when you can steal? Arg.

I am too. No one ever called me back, so perhaps he's not contesting it. One can hope...

I really hope so too!! I've never seen this judge, so I'd assume they pulled her from out of state so she wouldn't have biases. That doesn't stop people from hauling in though. Blair was beat in halter last year because two handlers hauled their horses up from Texas specifically to show under that judge. And they took Champion and Reserve. I don't know who all will be showing at regionals though. I noticed the website said only 60 rides for regional, and I have 4 rides... That leaves 56 other rides open, if they actually shut down entries at 60. I don't know how that works at all, but could be small classes. Either way, we shall see!! I think it'll be awesome 

Haha, I LOVE swimming! I'm a fish :lol: it's what happens when you grow up on a marina. Kind of hard to hate swimming :lol: it is quite the workout, and we all had fun. I loved watching their confidence build though 

I did get to ride last night!! It was AMAZING!!

So I go to hop on and warm up. Izzie has a happy look on her face like "it's about time you came back!!" Pick her up and head into laterals. She was just so spot on it was awesome. Just shift weight and away she would go. I'd change her back and forth between shoulder in and haunches in. Came to the end, did a half circle 10 meters, and right into a walking half pass. Just BAM. There really isn't a way to describe how perfectly she did it. Picked up the trot, and she thought about leaning to the right when we were going right. It's her weakest way, and when she got tired she leaned a bit at the show. This, or course, translated into "oh, this is ok again." Worked to balance her back up and oh! There she is! Balanced and totally engaged with me now. There's her back, swinging and happy. Perfect. I have my horse now. Do some more laterals, changing up where all we do them so they aren't in the same spot all the time. Do some leg yields. Did leg yield off the wall and back on. Needs some finessing since I hadn't asked of it before and she hesitated before doing it. But it was a great first attempt. Ok, now I know where we are there. Check that box. I was going through a check list of the things we needed to get a "starter value" for for First Level Test 3.

Ask for the canter. Super nice floaty departure. Fabulous! Remind her she needs to keep the hind end engaged and needs to be using her back. Ok, great, we have that again. And OMG, that canter. Just stunning! Come back to trot with our best downward transition yet (we've been working hard to perfect the downward transitions), and cue the next canter. Oh, you think you need to trot fast first then canter? Nope, how about we try that again. Oh, there you go! See, you CAN trot beautifully and then canter (she really just wants to be lazy and avoid correct transitions sometimes.) Oh awesome! Another awesome canter this direction! Man oh man, today is my lucky day!!

We gave her a walk break. I talked to Nick about the few things I wanted to try. Just to get a "starting value" on. Mainly shallow loop serpentine at the canter, and the change of lead through the trot. We attempted the change of lead through the trot earlier in the season, and it was a mess. We did the canter loop first just to see how she handled it. First two times she said "flying change??" and changed the lead. After I brought her back and corrected it I felt her go "like this mom??" and complete the shallow loop. Yes baby girl, just like that! Did it both directions! SO proud of her!

Did the change of lead through the trot. MILES better than earlier! Still needs some fine tuning, but honestly I wouldn't be embarrassed to show what we did last night. Did it well both directions (since I couldn't remember what was in the test) and was like "this is good, I'm going to stretch her and be done."

Oh man, the stretch. You could tell I'd had her completely. Bent her to let her know "hey, you need to stretch soon" and let my reins out little by little. Followed them straight down and gave SUCH a good stretch. I changed direction and circled the other way while still stretching. Just gah!! Such a great ride! Such euphoria! She was so light, so engaged, so THERE. I could tell she was getting a bit cranky with the cantering (it's HARD to not be heavy on the forehand at the canter!!), but she quickly got over it and worked through the crankiness.

I'm just so darn proud of her. The ride wasn't crazy long. It sounds like it was, but I assure you we spent more time tacking up and untacking, and cleaning her, than we did actually riding. It was HOT out. But she only had sweat in all the places she was working, which gave a good indication she was working the way she needed to be! Her neck was sweaty where it needed to be, her hind end was borderline lathering between her legs (not from the heat, but from actually using the dang thing!) and she head sweat in the muscles of her rump. Just happy!!

We may get to ride tonight, and we may not. It rained earlier, but they were calling for hail this afternoon. We'll see. I'd like to if for no other reason than pick one of the areas (probably the leg yield off the wall and back onto the wall) to work on, and make a good stretch day out of it. Nick also wanted to work OT, so who knows. He wanted to work late every other day from here on out. Frustrating, but not a lot I can do about it. Just happy he comes to help me!


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## DanteDressageNerd

I'm glad you guys always make your kids the priority. I genuinely respect that. And I'm glad you're setting up a chiropractic session and possibly a lesson with Maggy before Regionals. I have no doubts the lesson will be helpful and good to do! But I will say if I had a husband and he did what your husband does, I'd be worried sending him to work too. Especially considering all the risk involved! But I guess that's why he's paid like he is for the hours, risk, time and skill he has. Definitely not something just anybody could do. I admire that he's the one who does it. We've had a lot of power surges in our area but whoever is working does a really great job of getting it back on. I'm thankful to them and all the people who do the everyday jobs we don't think about, that make our lives convenient and keep things going.

I don't blame you. Could it be because you're in a different area or competing in the arabian circuit? I don't know, I know different regions/areas have different trends and different styles of training, so maybe that is apart of it? But I agree. There are definitely riders I have a hard time watching too. I can name a few local barns I have a hard time watching the trainers ride because they're so tense and put SO much pressure on the horses, it's just very rough and unfair looking to me. Or the horse/rider is competing 3rd level but appears like they needs to fill in the holes at 1st and learn to sit before they go 2nd, let alone 3rd. Lots of trainers pushing up clients/horses way too fast.

That's really great and fortunate you have such a kind, supportive and understanding BO. That's really cool 

I entirely agree with your reasoning and assessment. When you're at the show, you shouldn't pressure or do last minute schooling. Just refresh, keep it relaxed and you'll do it better next time. It makes sense why she'd be tired. Showing is tough. And that's awesome that she feels so great. Feel can be a representation of the down the road. She's a passionate little mare, I'm sure that is part of it!

She really thinks the world of herself :lol: not a bad thing 

It's crazy to me that people spend that kind of money to get a judges bias and will haul around and just set it up to clean up. So disgusting to me. I don't get it, except that some people are corrupt and will pick someone based off of ties and money. But I hope the show is mostly unbiased and goes well for you! But it sounds like it'll be an awesome experience!!

:lol: I don't know. I swam all the time as a kid (my mom was a competitive swimmer) and I grew up on the west coast swimming in lakes or riding rapids but not my thing (I don't like being wet or submerged) but I'm glad you enjoy it  it's good exercise!!

That's really great she was so good for your ride the other day! That's really awesome!! I hope one day to have such a lovely, encouraging ride with my next horse! I'm really happy you had such an amazing and rewarding ride! That really sounds awesome!! Congratulations! I'm sure by the time regionals rolls around it will be even better! But I'm glad with all the extra work Nick is taking on that he still makes time for you and Izzy. That's really awesome


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## Tazzie

It's a pretty easy decision really :lol: I may joke about them destroying plans, but I wouldn't trade them in for anything. They are good kids and I love them. We set the chiro up for this weekend like.... 2 or 3 months ago :lol: maybe even longer. I didn't want to show without making sure she's in about as tip top shape as she can be in. I know she could do something in the week leading up to it, but I'm hoping she won't :lol: and if I get a minute to actually ask Nick, I'll see what he says about a lesson. That way I can text her now and set it up for the week of rather than wait to the last minute. And yeah. I hate it worse when they get called out during a storm to get people back on the grid. That always worries me the most. They don't always have the option to wait until the rain stops to get to splicing, and water is so conductive... he didn't get called out last night with our storm, so that made me relieved. It was a good one at the house. I'm definitely thankful for them too :lol: though, living one can be amusing. His company is not our electric provider (we live outside of their region), so whenever we lose power he whines they need to get on it :lol:

It could very well be. I don't remember seeing this kind of stuff at the local show I went to last year, and wasn't that way in Michigan. But the stuff this past weekend was just ugh. Lots of draws and martingales. The martingale was the Arab kind with all the rings to string the reins through, and the reins were threaded through one of the lower ones to force the head down. Just yuck. If you can't ride the horse's head down (you know what I mean by this), then don't try showing First Level. Seriously.

He's one of a kind really. I SO badly want to find him a nice girl to set him up with. Nick would shoot me for trying again. I did once, and they were great, but then she left. So, Nick banned me from trying again :lol: I (jokingly!!!!) tell Nick it's a darn good thing I met and fell in love with him first :lol: but he's been super supportive of our riding. And tries to help us figure out where to set places up to ride in. We try to stay out of the way. And they are ALL glad we don't need to be careful with tractors now :lol:

Yup! Next time we'll work harder. We'll try harder. It'll be great. I have faith she will be absolutely fantastic! And we never, ever do last minute schooling at a show. We do our normal warm up routine with all of our laterals, etc just as I would at home. I want nothing to change from home versus a show. And that works well for us. And she really is! She loves to do her job when I'm fair to her!

Haha, yes, yes she does :lol:

It was insane to me as well. For all I know they may have had the better horses, but it was low of them. I just don't know. I didn't think it was right. I think we will have a great experience! And Nick helped take some pressure off of me. I felt like he expected me to go and win everything. While this would be great, and I'm aiming for that, I worried he'd be disappointed if we didn't. I'm sure he would ultimately, but he was like "I'd like to just beat one person. Just to prove we belong there." Ah, that is the man I married.

I can understand that! And I do love it 

I'm super happy too!! It was just so nice! I'm sure you'll have plenty of rides like that when you get a new horse  Nick didn't end up working, but the heat and the humidity yesterday combined was probably like 180. It was 90 degrees, and was like a sauna. Just not safe to ride in weather. Then we got a pretty good sized storm. Planning to ride this evening!!


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## DanteDressageNerd

lol I figure. Mama's love their babies  and they seem like good kids but planning ahead is good and I hope you can schedule a lesson before regionals. I'm sure it would help a lot. But I'd be worried too sending him out into a storm, the water makes electrical work even more dangerous but power has to come back on and somebody has to do it. But I can see why that would drive him insane to not be a part of getting the power back on and complaining about it :lol: he has to complain sometimes I am sure.

I can say I haven't seen the training martingales or draw reins at the warm ups where I've seen, just the rough hands and bullying horses and rough aids in general but I agree that would definitely be eye opening. I know every time I've gone to a show I come back with more confidence...not to be conceited but whenever I've gotten frustrated with where I am, I look at other people and think thank God I've taken the long way around. Lots of people in such a hurry that they neglect the basics. They'd rather say they ride at a certain level and more people are impressed by what level they ride at then how well they ride it. But I agree, if you don't have a clear rhythm (which should be established at training level) and can't get a horse on the bit consistently without gadgets you're not ready for first. Some people have been taught very backwards or they don't care *shrugs* bad training is every where but there are good rider/trainers too. Sometimes I try to pick them out of the crowd too!

Aww poor guy. That's really sad. But sometimes it's just hard to find a good fit for people and sometimes they fundamentally don't want to find someone. But I agree, leave it be :lol: he'll work it out if that's what he wants. But that's great he's so easy to work with and kind.

Exactly! And that's how it should be, just a rehash of everything you've been doing at home. If you're at the show and dont' have it. That's the wrong place to work on it. But I'm glad she's happy and you're both doing so well.

For sure. And they may be better horses or not but it makes it hard when people already pre-pick the winners. But I'm glad Nick helped, even if you felt pressure. I think he just believes in you and Izzy and is proud of you both. And to me that's really sweet, who doesn't want that kind of support?

lol I'm glad.

You should be! And I really hope so, I'm nervous because it will be totally starting from scratch with an unbroke horse and it's so hit or miss with starting babies. No idea how they'll turn out but that's the gamble. But yikes. I totally understand that kind of weather. It was 97 yesterday and humid, it was awful! But hopefully the storm cooled things off, that's the only thing I like about the storm is the temperature dropping, except the humidity is something fierce afterwards. But I hope you have a good ride tonight!


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## Tazzie

We do love our babies :lol: and they are great kiddos! I think Nick is good with a lesson, but I always have to make sure. If he's on board with it, I want to text her tonight. And let her know it won't necessarily be to learn something new, but to make sure we are as ready as we can be for the show! I know she likes making sure we get our money's worth, and she always gives me my money's worth, but I'd love a good old fashioned tune up :lol: yeah, it's scary work :sad: but he's good at it, and he stays as safe as he can be. And yes, he does like to complain :lol:

Yeah, and these ones are a bit different than normal martingales. I don't really know what exactly to call them. It's more like a breast collar with a bunch of rings? I don't know. I'll shoot you a picture over messenger what it looks like on one of their horses. But she used it on the horse she's bringing along in "dressage." This is the one that is supposedly super light on her feet. Enough so to be doing flying changes, but barely showing First Level... And there was definitely some BAD riding in there. One was an absolute witch (replace the W....). Yanking on the mouth, see sawing, and her hands were all over the place. I've seen rank beginners with steadier hands. And she tried out first level. She barely had any control of the horse. Someone tried to open the big sliding door, and she FLIPPED out on them. Then demanded it got latched (which they did; huge PITA for us since now we had to walk through the barn and out to the trailer that was almost right outside the door. She placed last in everything I think. She was just so terrible. Her horse had the trademark thick underneck too to prove she goes braced there. Just awful. And I'm with you there. If Izzie starts showing a hole I may have missed, we go back and we make sure that hole is good and filled in before we continue on. But thankfully we don't have too many holes at this point from all my going back and filling stuff in :lol: what's worse with the chick using the martingale thing, is that she's a trainer. That's what gets me.

Haha, I know! We just feel bad since he's literally the nicest guy you would ever meet. And he holes himself up at work or on the farm. It's like, how are you going to find someone when you don't get out? And we know he's lonely and wants a family. But he's also about the shiest guy you'll ever meet. I don't have anyone to set him up with even if Nick told me I could :lol: one of my friends wants to meet him, but they wouldn't be a good match. She's a bit too... wild for him.

Exactly. This part will make your head explode. The same girl as I mentioned above took a green horse to a show. She had never cantered this mare at home. Claimed it was too distracting with renovations happening. She taught the horse to canter the night before the horse had to show in a W/T/C class. My best friend was like "I don't get why you Dressage riders can't give verbal aids when training babies!!" I said "Ummm, we do.... Izzie learned the word Canter on the lunge. Then when I would ride I'd set my seat up in a canter position and asked as I cued her. Eventually we can take away the verbal cue and just use our seat with half halts." She was like "Well, she's apparently following classical training and they don't do that." I said "Well, that's the first time I have ever heard someone say they basically want to make it harder for the horse to succeed." I have NEVER heard of someone NOT using a verbal cue when training babies. I have ALWAYS learned that with the basic W/T/C you do verbal with quiet aids until they associate the two and you can remove the verbal. Blew my mind. Show didn't go well for her either, surprise surprise. Mare bucked a lot at the canter. I'm pretty happy with how we are going, that's for sure!

It definitely is the gamble! We weren't sure for the longest time with Izzie if she would want to do this. It was a massive gamble buying her at a year in hopes of training her in Dressage. This was always the plan, but we weren't sure if she would follow it or hate it :lol: and yeah, it was truly brutal Wednesday. Figured if I could barely breathe outside, it'd be a very bad idea to ride.

We did have a fairly decent ride!

It was WINDY. Walking warm up she was perfect. Nice lateral work, totally focused, just a good girl.

Picked up the trot and she was good, then suddenly was like "WEEEE!!! It's WINDY!!" Lots and lots and lots of laterals later (to where I was sore in my legs from asking her to do them) I finally had her mindset back. Canter warm up was STUNNING after all of those laterals haha!!

Gave her a long rein break to let her relax for a minute, then picked her back up.

Headed right into practicing leg yielding off the wall and back onto it. Took a few attempts to get to just before X so I could have a moment of straightness, then back over. Got a REALLY good one, and gave her an immediate break with LOTS and LOTS of pats and good girls. After the break I did another one that was EVEN BETTER. Asked her to pick up the canter, which was fabulous.

We did a shallow loop each way, which were brilliant, and did the change of lead through the trot. Man oh man she was totally spot on with them. Like, you'd never know we had just introduced the shallow loop two days prior. She was SO DANG GOOD!

Nick even commented that her canter is looking really, really good. I finally feel like we're going forward and up, rather than digging a hole to china. I feel her back swinging, and it's just getting so much easier to ask for her to come up and work. When we started working on the canter it was HARD and it took A LOT for me to get her to sit up and back. Now it's like I just need to half halt a few times, and then sparingly once I have her there. It's just amazing. It's doing amazing things for the trot too, and the downward transition into trot. Everything is just becoming such a breeze.

After our ride we went swimming in my in law's pool again. Nick even joined us! We all had such a great time! Syd remembered the water is NOT terrifying, which was great. It was an enjoyable swim 

We *might* ride tonight. I don't really know. Nick has softball tonight at 6:15. He had it at that time last week too, but got home after 8 pm. Which would put us at the barn at like 8:30/9 pm. That is way too late to have the kids out, and not the best idea to try and ride then particularly since they would be having dinner around that time. I HATE letting her have dinner right after I ride, and I don't work her right after she eats. We'll see. If it's only 7 ish when he gets home, I'll text our buddy that we are coming.

If not, riding tomorrow after Nick comes home from work  need to come up with a plan of how I want my next ride to go. I don't want to drill any of the elements we're working on. Ideally we would get to where I just do each of them once or twice per ride to establish they are there, but do a lot of other things. Possibly the bow tie exercise for suppleness and balance. Maybe our trot-halt-trot transitions. I have my arena exercises book at home that I may skin through to see if there are any fun ones to try. I just like having a plan of what I want to accomplish on our ride :lol:


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## DanteDressageNerd

As well you should!! There is a problem if you don't! They sound like great kids  its good you guys discuss things out before making plans, communications is definitely a great thing. But it sounds like she structures her lessons to you guys, knowing you arent able to come in all the time, so she teaches you the bulk. I think that's cool when a trainer put in the effort to cater to their students. I know Pam does that for some people who only come in maybe once a month or so. He sounds like he must be good at what he does, especially since he's in high demand and called in so often. I'm glad he stays safe though 

Oh I know what you're talking about. They put that on Dante when I tried him. It seems to only be in the arabian circuit because I bought Dante from an arabian barn. They have a good trainer though, she rides 4th level dressage but competently. Just you can tell she doesn't focus exclusively on dressage but you'd watch her test and say yeah she's competent. But that's really annoying/not okay. A lot of what I've seen in the arabian world they can get away with on a really soft mouthed horse (the twiddling, manipulating head into a fixed position) because on a lot of the warmbloods or thoroughbreds or different types you can't train a fixed position because of how they're built and move but those types are a lot of easier to ride correctly. It was a learning curve for me to train/ride Dante because he had that arabian neck/head and over flexible poll, I didn't know what to do to teach him to respond correctly to contact and it took about a year to train that, etc but I bet a lot of those people sound like they just bipass that whole process and just want a head down or in the right place and don't care at all about the horse's body or teaching correct basics or don't have a clue what they're doing. That just makes me sick that lady you described is a trainer, I'm not shocked but it's people like that that give a bad name to the horse world and dressage :-( Having such wild hands is not training correctly, hands can move some and more with green or babies to show where to put shoulders or things but a 1st level horse, no. But Izzy looks like her basics are pretty solid, there are always holes somewhere but she's competently trained, not just shoved around which a lot of people do and it's unfortunate :-(

*shrugs* your friend and him could always meet, though it might be a bad fit who knows if they'll get along and be friends? So he gains confidence or she might be able to help him *shrugs* but I understand. It's hard to see such a great guy women would absolutely love and cherish keep himself out of the field because of how shy he is. The guys without game have a hard time but they're often the ones good women are looking for. I have an Uncle like that (software engineer) and not in a creepy way but he's a great guy 6'6, athletic, big hearted, kind but women just aren't into him because he's not charismatic, is really awkward and he shuts himself off to dating. And the women he has dated have dated him for his money vs him which is really sad. Some of these great guys really have a hard time in the dating field.

:icon_rolleyes: people like that drive me crazy. So you're doing your first canter at a show? What the heck and exactly we use verbal cues when we start babies so they understand how to go. And exactly that's how we teach ours too, give the cue but reinforce with an outside aid so they learn. Dante knows from preparatory half halts and position. But exactly your formula is what works, I don't get where these misconceptions come from, sometimes but classical says no verbal cues? Maybe for a trained horse but a baby? But you can tell Izzy had a good start and it's a shame people would put so much pressure on that poor mare. If you have a really sensitive horse. You could easily ruin them with that kind of pressure on them and having canter issues, etc. People are crazy.

Exactly. It always is a gamble but when you're not rich, sometimes that's your only option and you hope for the best.

I'm sorry your allergies were getting to you (I'm guessing) and the humidity was that bad but I'm glad the ride was decent. But it sounds like it reinforced a lot of the stuff you worked on earlier and she just picked up on it and was having a positive reaction to the training, so that's pretty awesome! 

But it sounds like a nice relaxing evening with the family. And maybe just a nice relaxing, basic ride *shrugs* but I'm sure it'll be a good ride regardless


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## Tazzie

That is very true :lol: people shouldn't have kids if they don't love them entirely. Even when they want to be jerks :lol: we did discuss it, and Nick thinks it'd be a good idea. So I texted her last night. I haven't heard back yet, but hopefully soon. If I don't hear from her before tomorrow evening I'll shoot her another text. But she's awesome in trying to get as much in as she can so we have stuff to do for a while. I WISH we could afford to ride with her more, but it just isn't in the cards right now. He kind of is in high demand. I think he's one of six senior cable splicers? And they need seniors to run crews. But it's a call out system. So if his phone rings, he typically goes in :lol: unless he's exhausted. Then he doesn't answer. But yes, he does stay safe!

Ok :lol: I kind of spaced on sending you the picture of them anyway lol I have not been good lately keeping my thoughts in order. To me, it's a cheater device. With so many different rings it's hard not to see it as such. Just different places to make the reins hold contact on the horse's mouth. I hate them. And it was appalling to see a supposed Dressage horse with a supposed Dressage trainer riding in them. Just no. If Izzie is trying to giraffe (doesn't really anymore), then I put her behind to work and get her into the contact that way. Yanking and pulling, or such contraptions, do nothing. I heard her ask the kid riding her (warming the horse up for the trainer) if she was soft. How is she truly soft if she's in such a thing? I just don't know. The lady flinging her hands all over I don't think was a trainer, but I could be wrong. I really don't know. I do know that if she was there to try and earn her scores for Regionals, she didn't succeed. The minimum score allowed is a 58%. I saw a few 57% for her. The girl using that ringed breastcollar or whatever it is was the judge's favorite, with both horses supposedly. Just a wish that judges could actually observe the warm up ring before the tests. They'd see the wild hand chick yanking, pulling, see sawing etc. They'd see their favorite in the ringed breastcollar. And they'd see me doing shoulder in, haunches in, etc suppling Izzie up and getting her to stretch into the contact. Just blah. Sorry, on a rant today :lol:

Thanks. I do try and make sure I have the foundation solid before I move on. Sometimes she tries to cheat and do things her way, so we go back to basics and try again. She's a stubborn mare, that's for sure. And exactly. That's why the comment from Izzie's old owner ****ed me off. I was like "you want a 6 year old doing a real piaffe? Yeah, no." I believe in making sure everything is solid before moving on. I'd LOVE to be doing more in Second Level, but I have a few things I'm working on right now with Izzie's canter that don't allow me to teach her the walk to canter and canter to walk. We just aren't there. We are SO close, but SO close isn't good enough. And I refuse to shove Izzie just to say I can finally show Second Level. My tentative goal is end of next year. We keep training how we have, and it's an extremely realistic goal. But, there is a lot of time in between now and then. We will see. Still not going to push her harder than she can handle.

Yeah, no. I like this girl, but she's not a good fit at all. Like, at all. I really, really, really don't want to get into it on a public forum. They just wouldn't be a good match. And I can't do that to him. If he'd put himself out there, I do think he'd be surrounded. He's super smart, super sweet, very driven, and cute :wink: the type of guy women claim they want. We keep threatening him to make him a match.com profile :lol:

Yup, not even joking. She taught the mare it the night before she had to show. And I have NEVER heard someone say they don't use verbal cues to begin training a horse something. If you are consistent, they pick up on the non verbal cues pretty darn quick when paired with the verbal. It really didn't take Izzie long before I was able to do away with verbal cues. The mare is cute, but definitely ultra sensitive. And she uses show calm or something before she's supposed to show the horse. I don't know. I'm not super fond of her training (she's the same one with the ringed breastcollar). We'll see how long it all lasts. And I do agree. It's a whole lot of stress and anxiety on the horse for no reason at all.

Exactly. We're just lucky it worked out in our favor!

Nope, not allergies. It was like we stepped out into a sauna. The air was that thick with humidity. Which is why it wasn't worth riding her in it. I was glad the Thursday ride was good! And it does make life easier when she enjoys it!

Friday night I didn't get to ride. Nick, once again, played softball late. Actually, he ended up playing 2 games, much to my displeasure. Kids and I went swimming, which was fun at least.

Saturday we rode lightly. Nick worked all day, and called me at like 7:15 saying he was heading that way from work. So I loaded the kiddos up and off we went. Didn't catch Izzie until after 8 pm, and I was on a little after that. Did quite a bit of laterals since Izzie was a little worried at first. It's not my normal ride time, and it was dinner time. I got her thinking though. Picked a fun new exercise from my Dressage Arena Exercise book (seriously, that book is AWESOME). Did a 20 meter circle at A, with a shoulder in on the circle. Came out of the circle still in shoulder in. Came around the corner in shoulder in, straightened her out, and hit the diagonal for a lengthened trot. The idea is the shoulder in would sit her back so she could really push and come through from behind for the lengthen, and not fall on her forehand. Had a few ok ones. Nothing to write home about. Second to last felt good, and Nick said it was the best of the night. Now, every time I finished the diagonal, I'd start over on the opposite direction, to add a bit of challenge to it. Our last one. Holy **** (yes, I put my own stars, but needed to be full effect!!) I have felt her like I have never felt her before. That whole body just lengthened. She kept her poll up, she lengthened everything, and I swear to god we were floating. Nick was like "that was GORGEOUS!" Well, brought her back to the regular trot, then to a walk, immediate free walk, LOTS of patting, and we quit right then and there. You just can't mess with perfection like that :lol: I was PLEASED.

I don't know when I'll get to ride again :/ Yesterday was Father's Day, so I couldn't exactly ask Nick to sit out there while I rode. Tonight we have a meeting with our baby sitter and her sister in law. My baby sitter's husband found a new job in WV, so she's leaving us. Her sister in law will be renting her house and might take over watching the kiddos. And with how crummy of a day it's been (it has been SUCH a Monday, OMG) I'm not sure I even want to hop on. Plus, supposed to storm today AND tomorrow. Nick is bringing his toy down for some warranty work tomorrow, so we would have no way to haul all of our tack into the field. And I refuse to ride in the tiny area we had been riding in. I feel it'd be a major set back for us. Just arg. I hate how the weather blocks us so much. If the toy was available, I'd see about in laws watching kiddos, arming Nick with an umbrella, and heading out to ride. But alas, not an option.

OH! And rode with a fly bonnet on Saturday. Try to help her ears a bit from the rubbing (the pad we have is apparently too short, arg), and she HATES the feel of her forelock on her ears. Plus, keeps the gnats out of them too. She LOVED it. I have never seen her so happy in one before. I want to find a white with royal blue trim on it for regionals (since they are allowed, you just need to remove them afterward to prove you did not stuff their ears). Everywhere is custom items though. And while I'd LOVE a custom one later, I just want a nicer one than the one we have now. It's not quite royal blue, and Nick HATES it. Said it'd be better in a true royal blue, white, or black. He's just not a fan of it. But Izzie is, so.... And we all know Izzie's opinion of things trumps ours when it comes to tack and such. I've just never seen her so happy before! I wasn't sure if she'd hate it since it was constantly touching her ears (she doesn't mind us touching her ears, but she is sensitive with them) or if she'd love it. Clearly she loved it :lol:


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## DanteDressageNerd

I agree. People should love their kids and if they don't they shouldn't have them but I'm glad you're able to take a lesson. I get not being able to take very many, especially with the kids and housing and wanting to buy your own place and savings, etc. It's tough being an adult. You can't do it all, got to pick and choose. That makes a lot of sense with Nick's work. It sounds like he's in high demand, especially if he's one of the few senior works but a call out system sounds terrible!! I would hate that, I need routine. I need to know if I can make plans or not. 

The riders/trainer you saw really sound like they're badly schooled themselves and don't really know what they're doing at all if they need equipment to get a horses "head" in the right position, as if the head set was the end all, be all of dressage. I don't know this is me but when I look at a horse going I focus on their neck and engaged back, not their mouth or "nose" position. I just don't know how a horse could be soft in a contraption with left-right see sawing either. That sound like bs to me. Like they have no clue what they're doing at all :-( sorry I get heated when I see that kind of stuff that you're describing at shows. You're not going to get a horse connected or through focusing on and restricting the head. They have to be working up into a steady rein connection which you can then half halt or soften the jaw then but they must be working through, that's why we have laterals vs sharp rein aids to create bend and suppleness. It just kills me. But at least she didn't score well. But those are the kind who only care about the nose and nothing about the back or self carriage. 

I agree with taking time to get things executed properly, rather than bragging about what a young horse doing more than it should and being broken early. And 2nd next year I think is realistic. I think 2nd is just an unusual level because it is a BIG jump from 1st to 2nd and it just kinda happens at an odd point in a horses training. Where they're expected to collect at a much higher degree then 1st and execute movements quickly and well with precision. A lot more precision in those tests. But a lot of people push through things. There is a time to push and a time to step back but some just rush the training without educating the horse. I rode a mare who was doing 3rd-4th level dressage and had NO concept of self carriage of even a half halt :eek_color: that poor mare's brain was so fried she didn't have a chance. She was an unofficial rescue. She ended up being a brood mare and going to a trail home but it's amazing what bad or rushed training can do. That mare was so sweet and tolerated so much but ask her for anything and she'd lose it. Psychological damage and trauma isn't worth it to me. So I definitely hear you on that. 

Okay. I hear you. You dont have to tell me the back story but it sounds like it's wise to keep them apart. :lol: this guy sounds perfect, probably too perfect for most the girls around. They don't deserve someone with a heart of gold, a lot of bad females out there too. And he probably wants to be left alone on that one  I know people have tried to do that for me and I'm like nope don't need some jerk taking advantage of me, lying to me, making me stress out, belittling me and making me doubt myself and feel like [email protected] all the time, I'm good. I bet he's probably been through similar. I think sometimes you get to a point where it'd be nice to have someone but at the same time you know how bad it can be and then realize how content you are without that nonsense.

She really sounds like an incompetent trainer who has no business calling herself a trainer, if she can't even teach a horse to canter until the day before a show. Totally unacceptable to me. I've seen good horses ruined by people like that. Horses who were sensitive but harmless and after a bad ordeal have stress and anxiety issues they never had before :-( it's really sad. People like that ruin good horses. It's really heart breaking.

And that is a really good exercise!! Shoulder in helps keep the suppleness and bend, hind leg active and connecting to the front. But that's awesome with how much it improved Izzy's lengthening. That's really exciting! That sounds like a really positive and good ride!

I'm sorry about the baby sitter, I can imagine it's hard losing someone you trust to look after the kids. And for Monday blues :-( and the weather being PITA. That sucks. But it's great she loves hear bonnet and they do come in a pretty large variety of colors and things, so I have no doubts you'll be able to come across one that suits your needs. :lol: she's a very particular girl. Definitely a diva princess!!


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## Tazzie

I am too! Monday at 6:30  will be too late when we get home to update my journal, so you all will hear about it Tuesday :lol: well, except you guys on Facebook haha! Unless I'm driving (oh please no, I'll be dead tired haha!) Yeah, I'm just thankful for the lessons we can get. I know better than to ask Nick all the time to get a lesson. Just isn't always feasible. But I'm thankful when we can grab one! It sure is tough making adult choices though :lol: and yeah, if he's busy, or been drinking, he won't/can't go in. If he uses a vacation day on Friday, he won't get a call at all for the weekend (kind of nice :lol

They really were. Just ugh. Not people I would ever want to learn from. Not that I would, since I don't know what the trainer's credentials are in the FEI levels. I'm kind of siding with none really. I couldn't figure out how they supposedly got the mare soft using such a device. I just can't fathom it. And it wasn't like she was doing any laterals, or spiral circles, or anything. Not that I paid that much attention, but I really only saw her walk, trot and canter. Then the girl on the grey (the see sawing, rude chick) I don't think she even circled. It was just weird. I guess I just do a lot of bending lines and not much straight lines? There were a few people who you could tell were riding correctly. One had a BEAUTIFUL purebred I think. It was their first show. He was nervous, but trying SO hard. You could just see it written all over his face how nervous he was but oh man he wanted to please momma! And she was a very gentle, sympathetic rider. It was beautiful to watch her warm him up. He would get anxious and she'd settle him down by giving him an easy goal. My thoughts were "why can't everyone in here be like that??" THAT'S how I think of a warm up arena. Not the forced headset. Because, as you said, dressage isn't all about the head. It's the engagement using their neck and back properly. You could tell he was ridden well at home too. Nice, relaxed under neck muscle, nicely developed neck muscles for his level. Just a nice boy.

I will never rush things. Ever. I have all the time in the world to make it to Grand Prix. I don't have anything to prove to anyone. It's a massive jump from 1st to 2nd. One we aren't ready to fully make. Sure, we can school some of it, but she's not ready mentally to be thrown some things yet. Definitely not walk to canter after the first "trainer" tried to rush her into it from the walk. She needs to trust me that I'll always do my best to set her up for it, not just demand it when you don't really know why I'm suddenly not asking for trot but instead canter. That is some of Izzie's PTSD from the trainer I mentioned in your thread (the one wanting Izzie in a single joint snaffle). She gets anxious if I even think walk to canter right now. Well, maybe not quite that bad any more. It used to heavily stress her out because she was NOT ready for it, and I TOLD the guy this. She's closer to being ready for that and canter to walk, but I want her to trust me in that I'm not just going to drive her into it. Izzie has good self carriage, and really understands the half halt (both from the seat and a squeeze of the outside rein). Nick loves the half halt from the seat and abs. He just never realized a horse could be so darn sensitive to feel that. But yeah, rushing is not in our vocabulary :lol:

It's very wise :lol: I don't know that he's ever had a bad relationship really. He really hasn't dated much. But I do agree there aren't many women out there that are good enough for him. He's a sweetheart, and someone would be lucky to snag him. Who knows. Wish he didn't work so much overtime so he could get out some :lol:

Yup. She'll ruin that horse. She rode her in draws at the show too. Apparently that prevents rearing? Never used them like that, and didn't want to watch. I left when they were brought to her. The mare is a bit of a spoiled brat from the sounds of it, but still. Not a way to handle the situation.

I liked it! I read a few others, but that one struck as one I NEEDED to try! I was glad we did  it really helped. Maybe, just maybe, Nick can record our lesson Monday. not holding my breath, but it'd be nice!!

It hurts, but it's for the best for her. We're going to miss her, a lot. But she'll be back in a few years I think. Her sister in law was awesome, so least we have a new sitter. She'll be renting their house, so least the location won't change. She's like our kid's second mom, so it's tough.

And yeah, she is particular! There are so many fun ear nets that I could go a little crazy :lol: maybe Nick will let me get a super fancy one for shows only. USDF allows them as long as someone removes them to show there are no ear plugs. And the dressage part of AHA shows is run by USEF/USDF. USEF allows them too. I have so many fun ones to pick from though :lol:

Planning on riding today!! Hoping to maybe do our first run through of First 3 to see how it goes. I want to run through it a few times before my lesson with Maggy. Not sure her arena is big enough to attempt all of it, but we could work on a lot of it. Plan to bring the two tests with me, and have her help us through them. See what I could do differently. We shall see!!


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## knightrider

I've been away for a long time. It was lovely catching up on your journal and reading about all your adventures. I am so pleased for you.


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## DanteDressageNerd

lol as long as you all come back safely is all I care about :lol: but I'm looking forward to hearing about it. But I'm glad you guys discuss it with each other and he understand/agrees with the need for lesson but that you both agree there are higher priorities. Adulthood sucks but lots of good things about it too. And I'm glad there are times when he does have time off and can be a man with his family. 

Jeeze...honestly that trainer doesn't sound like someone with any credentials I'd respect. I've known trainers who have ridden through I1-2 but I think they're terrible riders who ruin horses and just beat, belittle and pressure horses and can't ride youngsters at all (I sent you one of them a long time ago) but yikes. At least you saw some good riding too. It's a treat when you get to see a nice rider, soothing and calming a horse and giving him a real foundation vs just trying to wiggle his head into the right spot but unfortunately there are a lot of people who don't realize the importance of the whole horse's body and just focus on the head and nose position. I don't even think they focus on neck because they always have a weird neck. 

Oh for sure. You rush through the basics or push horses past what they can do and you ruin perfectly good horses. Some can tolerate it but they never go as well as the ones people developed properly. And you will be much better of long term taking your time, rather than forcing things to happen and causes her brain to boil over or making her sour. And that makes sense taking your time with walk to canters, especially if it gives her anxiety or she's been pushed into it before and she had a negative vs a positive experience. It's better to take your time and do it right. There is a time to push and a time to back off and a time to put in the framework. But I agree 100% with holding off if it gets her tense and anxious and waiting for when she can have a relaxed, calm reaction and be confident in it. I also don't get what his reasoning was for developing walk to canter on a horse that was really green, I remember the videos and Izzy was really green with that guy. Don't pressure or stress out a horse with an eager to please attitude and is sensitive, it creates anxiety. The problem with smart horses is it's just as easy to teach what not to do, as it is to teach them what not to do. But I can see why he'd be so shocked about how sensitive horses can be. It's incredible what they can feel and recognize.

That makes a lot of sense. Some guys just don't have game and are very uncomfortable getting out there or talking to women or they dont' bring the wow factor or that initial thrill most women seem to want. He needs someone who will take their time and appreciate him. And if he works a lot, it would probably be hard for some women to get when he says he's working or busy, he's actually working or busy. A lot of guys and girls expect 24/7 texting back and forth and talking all the time which I dont get.

That makes NO sense to me at all. If I have a horse rearing, the last thing I'd want on their head is draw reins. I have no idea how that would prevent rearing. I think it'd just tick some horses off and if they have a rearing issue, the head isnt the issue. Dante reared up and busted my lip open on a loose rein because I asked him to half off my seat, only thing that cured him was laterals when he'd threaten. Turns on the forehand and getting him through it. Now he's good but it took a lot. I remember he'd try rearing, that wouldn't work so he'd try to bolt and when that didnt work he'd try to spook and when that didn't work he eventually got it. But I don't get how draws would help with that kind of issue at all. It sounds like the mare needs a new trainer but whatever, I'd have left too. Dont' need to watch that when there is nothing you can do about it.

Definitely! I hope he takes some video too and I'm sure he would if you tell him how much it'd mean to you and how much it would help for regional to be able to see what Maggie is talking about in your lesson. It really helps to not only feel/remember but to see, so you know exactly what the trainer is talking about.

For sure. It's hard to lose people who become such a big part of your life but at least she's not totally disappearing out of your guys life and her sister in law will be available. Hopefully she's just as good! But that is rough :-(

That's really awesome and I just found Hubertus Schmidt riding Imperio in one! You should get a fancy navy or royal blue one if you can. That'd be gorgeous on Izzy! 






Good luck with your practice run through. I hope they go well!!


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## Tazzie

Welcome back @knightrider! Missed you around here! And thank you! I'm pretty pleased too 

Cassie, safety is always number 1 with us  we discuss everything with each other. And I mean everything. We both know I want more lessons than I get. But I do know why I can't. Just a fact of life for the time being. Adulthood does have it's advantages too  And I enjoy when he does have time off! He's planning to take off the Tuesday after the 4th of July off just because. So he won't be called in at all for Regionals, thank goodness!!

I remember that trainer. And yeah, I don't know how much training she had before becoming a trainer, and no clue if she's still training with someone. I know she does every once in a while, but it's with that judge I don't care for (the one who picks favorites). Definitely not one I'd hand a youngster too. Too many sketchy devices used on them. She was very pleasant, which is why I complimented her and only her :lol: I wish I had caught her name. I would love to follow them just to see her keep succeeding with him. He was a nice horse too. You could tell he was sensitive, but he wanted to be good SOOO bad. And the warm up ring was a bit of a scary place. Wind whistling under the door, or banging the doors. They didn't turn all the lights on so it was dark in the corners. Just not a very inviting arena (the actual show arena was extremely well lit). Was kind of nice to watch someone who rides similar to how I do.

Exactly. I wish I had stood up for ourselves and just said no, this is not what we are learning today. It was a mess afterward. Took me A LONG time to undo it and reteach her to just trot instead of try and do a frazzled walk to canter. We're getting closer where I can feel she wants to, I ask, and she does it. But we aren't to a spot where I feel comfortable really working with her on it. She'll let me know when she's ready. She's miles ahead since then as well. She is still eager, but kind of makes her worry a bit too. She'll work it out though. Time and patience. No sense rushing it when there is a million other things I can work on to help her lighten herself up so it isn't a massive deal when we do start working on them. Setting her totally up for success is always my key goal. I don't ask for things I think are outside of her reach. I push her a bit, but just enough to challenge her. Not enough to back her off. I love where she's heading though 

Yeah, he will text a lot, but he does have to work :lol: his family owns a boiler install and repair company, which he'll be taking over one of these days (I think his dad is preparing to retire). And they work A LOT. Like, go out of town for the week, home on the weekends kind of thing. He'll find someone when he's ready.

Yup, I've never seen them used to prevent a rearer. Ever. I just didn't get it. The mare bucked too, but that had been earlier. All I saw were threats to rear. I don't care for the horse's owner either. He starved one horse to death that another family had taken on as a lesson horse. Horse had been blanketed when they picked her up. They didn't know the extent of her condition until they brought her home. Tons of vet bills later, it was revealed the mare had started to break down her organs to survive. They had to put her down. His stud is standing in hock deep waste. I've never seen any of these, just what I've been told by the people close to the family who got the lesson horse, so I can't really do anything. Oh, yeah, and he's a judge. Yeah.... Don't think he cares how his horses are ridden sadly :/

That's my plan :lol: he'll probably grump about it, but it'd be helpful. Especially to review it the night before we show. Just overall super helpful. *fingers crossed* he does!

She seems good :lol: and she'll keep the same routine, has the same discipline standards, and doesn't mind our kiddos going with a cough or minor fever (kids with fevers of any kind are not allowed to attend daycare; both ladies know it was probably their children who would give it to them :lol So I'm comfortable with the sister in law. Still just sad about it.

I totally want a royal blue one :lol: my other idea (for when I order a fancy custom one :lol is to get a white one, trimmed in royal blue, with crystals on it. I think that'd be stunning in the show ring!

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Now, onto my ride!

Izzie was brat last night for warm up. It was SUPER windy out, and her buddy had just gotten back from a long weekend of trail riding. I got her working well though. Did a first run through of the test. She really tried to be a butt, and jumped over the letter A (we don't have walls on the arena...) Told her she wasn't supposed to do that, brat. Our buddy was watching and he laughed about it. Said she should be a jumper :lol:

We immediately went into a second run through. No way I was ending on such a rough note. Second run through was WAY better. Still a few things we need to work on (mainly me focusing on riding correctly and preparing us better), but I would not have been embarrassed to ride that at a show. Obviously I want to really tune it up for Regionals, but I don't think we'll be an embarrassment. Her leg yielding was perfect, her shallow loop at the canter was perfect, and the lengthenings. My god the lengthenings. Canter felt large and in charge with a ton of energy and lengthening. The trot. I'm pretty sure the words "jesus christ" came out of my mouth during them. Even Nick shouted "that trot looks AWESOME!!" I could feel the huge push from behind like I have never felt before. I've always known she has a lot of power, but man did she kick it on last night. It was NICE. Like, I hope the photographer snaps a picture of us doing that at Regionals :lol: because that would be on a massive canvas with how amazing it felt. The one sticking point (which is often a sticking point) is the change of lead through trot. She sometimes gets herself a little ramped up and just grabs a lead. And last night with the wind she was definitely on edge. Our first attempt at the test was terrible with this. The second was better. I want it better tuned to show at Regionals, but it wasn't god awful the second time. And she nailed her 10 meter trot circles.

Just overall EXTREMELY pleased with her. Like, very pleased. That mare is something else. Our buddy was like "she really moves sideways well, doesn't she?" I said I made sure of that. Explained why I do all the lateral work in warm up to supple her and getting her bending in her body, especially to the right (her stiff way). And showed how she'll leg yield off my right leg on a free rein. She didn't let me down showing that off :lol: I said she's come a long way since we started her, hasn't she? He said she really has! One day, when she's more consistent and less bratty (ah, mares) I want both Nick and him to get a chance to ride the fun stuff. Nick I know wants to do half pass, and I told him he needs to feel the lengthenings. Cliff just needs to see how she feels in general since he's never once been on her. Hopefully at the end of the year he can at least get a chance to try her out! I love sharing my girl, especially with the people who have been there every step of the way!

I'm still holding out a small bit of hope I can ride tonight. We had a massive amount of rain earlier, but I don't know how far south it went (I'm an hour from home here at work), and they are calling for more severe storms tonight. Nick has softball tomorrow, so my next chance would be Friday if I can't go tonight. If we manage to go tonight, we can't really work on the change of lead through trot on the diagonal. The ground was already a bit slick yesterday since it was freshly cut. With all the rain, it'll be really slick. Arg, I hate being in these positions. I know it sounds like I make up excuses not to ride, but I promise I'm not. Kentucky is a clay based state, so when it rains, the ground gets VERY slick. And being so close to Regionals, and shelling out over $400 for the show and hotel fee, I don't want to risk injuring her. But at the same time, I need to work her so we improve and aim to do well at Regionals. It's such a catch 22, and no one has the best answer :/


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## DanteDressageNerd

For sure. Especially with saving towards owning your own horse property. But to me that's really awesome you guys discuss everything with each other. I imagine you have to when you're working and building together, so everyone feels included and you guys can agree on where to splurge or cut 50/50. 

It bothers me that she trains with a judge, who constantly award her above others and still rides and trains that poorly. That's a serious flaw in the system. I guess it works for her but if she wanted to any good as a rider or trainer, she'd find someone good to train with but so many people don't care as long as they get praise and pretty ribbons. But the other one sounds lovely and like a real treat to watch. I'm always really excited when I see riders or trainers from others barns in my area that ride well vs shoving and holding together.

I've made mistakes like that too because I didn't stick up for a horse or myself enough but I thought whoever I was learning from new better than me and to say anything would mean being arrogant but you learn and now you wouldn't allow that happen. We all make mistakes. But I imagine that being extremely stressful for poor Izzy being as young and green as she was at the time. Just saying there is a reason in dressage training walk to canters isn't a movement you teach to developing babies. When I work with babies, I want to make everything a fun, positive experience and if they stress out, I think make them brave but back off if it's too much. Vs here you are doing this NOW. Sometimes that works for some horses but the more sensitive ones, it just frazzles them. But it'll be there when she's mentally ready and can do it calmly and without stressing. Untraining what has been trained is hard. And exactly. Patience pays 10 fold over a rushed, butcher job.

That's good he works as much as he does. It's good to be occupied. And that exactly. That stuff will all sort itself out when it's supposed to.

That horse sounds like she was ruined and would need some serious re-training to fix her, if you ever could. I've ridden some that had been trained/mishandled so badly they were too far gone to fix. Horses can have psychological and emotional damage too. But that's absolutely tragic about that horse :-( some people are truly disgusting and despicable. There are no words, just people selfish and worthless. It's even more bothersome he's a judge :-( not how to treat horses.

lol probably but he can suck it up and help you out :wink:it'll be good prep work for regionals!

That's really good to hear. It will be sad but at least it's a good transition.

They both sound lovely! It will look great on Izzy!

Overall that sounds like a really awesome ride!! There is nothing like it in the world when you feel in tune with them and them with you and getting everything out that they have. It's like a power surge. Really awesome! I hope that's what you get at regionals! And that will be really cool for Nick to sit on her and get to feel some of it! I'm sure he'll be impressed with how far you guys have come! Hopefully they can sit on her and it's a positive experience.

Trust me I entirely understand about footing and the weather. With the slick clay it is NOT worth the risk. Definitely not an excuse. Definitely a realist paying attention to the weather and saying it's not worth getting my horse hurt over a ride. I've had a horse slide out from under me a LONG time ago on too wet of ground and fall on my leg. I totally agree. It isn't worth it. And it sounds like you guys will do fine now and at least you'll have several rides in before regionals, so there is time to do more!


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## Hoofpic

Tazzie is too cute


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## Tazzie

Exactly. If we went out and bought everything we want, never save, and blow our cash, we will NEVER get our property. And Nick and I will have a lot of buildings that will be going up when we get property. Hoping we can just find a place with a house that we like on it. The "excess" buildings we will be adding will be a barn (I argue this should be first so Izzie can come HOME), a big garage (he argues THIS should be first so he can fix stuff and store the tractor we will need), and eventually an arena. Arena will be slow process, starting with just a roof. Then adding sides that open up like window (this was how the arena Becky has worked; and I LOVED it), and eventually nice footing. Hoping to maintain grass footing until we can rip it up and install a nice arena floor. But yes, this is why we discuss EVERYTHING. I'd LOVE to run out and buy all sorts of stuff for Izzie. Heck, Nick wants to try a Micklem on her. But we're not rushing out to buy it. I just ask for that stuff for birthday or Christmas :lol:

I agree. I mean, my trainer in Michigan was a judge for smaller shows, and a good one. But I NEVER rode under her. Ever. Honestly, I would never show under her just because she was my original trainer and I wouldn't feel right. Not that I would ever have a chance to anyway. I don't think she judges anymore. But yeah. I don't care for that at all. And EXACTLY. Ribbons, to me, are just icing on the cake. I want my scores. I want good scores. I want constructive feedback on how to progress my riding. Sure, everyone loves winning the blue ribbon, but having a well scored test and a good ride is really all that matters to me. My Ohio show I KNEW we wouldn't win. Didn't matter. Nick knew we wouldn't win either. We both just cared that we got our qualifying scores, and maybe some decent feedback. Though, honestly, we didn't get very good feedback. I LOVE when the judge takes the time to write something they noticed. Every test basically just said "cute horse." Gee, thanks, cause I didn't know that already :neutral:

I've grown since then too. And I won't allow that to happen to her again. She has too much try and too much heart to be discouraged and rushed like that. I just wish I had said no, and left. Exactly. A baby that just knows walk, trot, canter and leg yield, should not be expected to try walk to canter. Not to mention that video you saw she was ouchy. She needed the chiro, and truly couldn't canter. I distinctly remember the chiro saying "you had no canter, and you were lucky to get any trot." Yet, Izzie TRIED because I was asking her. And yeah, I know it's there. She's offered it a couple of times (in moments where it was ok to accept the offer and cue her for it). Every once in a while I feel her go "I think I could do that..." I cue, and she takes it. Did that June 4th at the show we went to. I felt her say "I can do it mom!" so I let her. She just needs the confidence for me to be able to cue her when she's not saying "I think I can..." She's just too good of a horse to just rush and make do it. And I like her opinionated, even if it drives me absolutely insane!!

She's still pretty green, so there could be hope. I *think* she was just started within the year. But I have no clue how she trains at home considering what she'll do in public. I just can't watch anymore. I'm so dang tired of seeing all these martingales and draw reins in warm up rings. It's made me really consider pulling out of most Arab shows. But, I've made A LOT of friends through them as well. Good, solid friends who DON'T warm up their horses in such contraptions. And yeah. This was the judge who told me Izzie's mouth was too busy. When, in fact, her mouth had been quiet and we weren't sure who he was judging when he made that comment to us. Of course, this is what I've heard. But considering the source..... These people have NOTHING to lie about. They don't show the same discipline or anything (they do Western horses and Saddle seat horses; his are halter, hunter and sport horses) and are just truly good hearted people. They were the ones from one of the fall shows last year who really took to Kaleb and Sydney. Kids were cold and restless, but they didn't mind the kids running up and down the aisle way as long as they moved for the horses. And Kaleb didn't want to leave them to do his leadline class, so these kind people we had never met prior came down to the ring to watch a 2 year old show in leadline. I'm not a super crazy emotional person, but that still makes me choke up thinking about it. There is no reason for them to make stuff up. And if they could have, they would have saved that horse. They worked hard to be able to live how they do. Money wouldn't have been an issue. But there was no saving her :sad:

I brought it up last night :lol: I told him I really wanted him to record our lesson for us. I thought it'd be beneficial to watch Friday night again before showing the following day. And he agreed!!! :happydance::happydance: So, the lesson will be recorded! I have a few things in particular I'd like us to work on to see if we can get them better. I hope she doesn't mind me bringing a few things I'd like to work on in particular :lol: She's pretty laid back, so I think she'd be ok with it!

I sure hope so!

And I think so!! I've been eyeballing a custom one, but she never showed a huge love of them before. Now that she does.... maybe for Christmas :lol: sheesh, a bridle and a custom ear bonnet for Christmas. I'm cool with that!!

A power surge is a FANTASTIC description of it. That is exactly what it felt like. Just so out of this world! And she came back down SO easily! Like, at F we were back in a perfect working trot. God I love her!! I truly hope we get something like it at regionals, and pray the photographer captures it! I think he'll love it  we plan to take an around the farm trail ride next Thursday. Do a small bit of work, then just meander around the farm. Probably let Nick ride her for the walk. Just give her a bit of a mental break before asking as much as we will be that Saturday. Friday we'll haul down (next week, of course :lol

I just always feel like I make excuses why I can't ride :lol: like, I know how the footing is, but I read back and go "wow, that kind of just sounds like I had no desire to ride and made up a reason why I couldn't." I talked to Nick as I left. He said with how it rained all day, and how the field had just been mowed, he didn't see it being worth the risk. Said it would be slick and we definitely wouldn't be able to canter. Wouldn't be able to do much trot work either. Then we had intense storms this morning. Knocked 35k people out of power in less than 1 hour. Calling for more storms tonight. Nick was supposed to play softball, but that will surely be cancelled due to a mud pit of a field. Nick will be lucky if he doesn't have to work later due to the storms. So, hoping we get A LOT of sun that dries the field out enough to ride in it tomorrow. I did up the math, kind of. Not an exact amount. Entries for the show alone was $385. I still owe $40 to my friends who I'm splitting a tack stall with. So, total for the show will be $425. Hotel was roughly $94. Total cost not including food and drinks we'll have to purchase? $519. That is what I have into this show. So, riding and risking an injury on what we KNOW will be slick grass, would be stupid. Now, you all need to just pray for no rain all of next week :lol:

Hoofpick, I assume you mean Izzie? :lol: Thank you!

------------------------------------

My only news today is that I bought tickets for all of us to go see Finding Dory on Saturday  Kids are going to be SOOO excited!


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## Hoofpic

Tazzie,

Yes, sorry I meant Izzie lol. She is very cute. I love greys. Ever since i left my previous barn, I have missed them dearly.


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## DanteDressageNerd

I absolutely agree. Your new property should be a top priority, in terms of saving and once that's all settled in getting in a more regular program. Today and tomorrow might be made of a lot of cuts and keeping a tight budget but down the road you will all be a lot better off with something you can call your own. I think you guys are being pretty smart about it but I'm with you on building the barn first and THEN the shed. You can store some stuff in the barn while the shed is being built too. 

That makes sense to me. Keep the integrity of the competition, rather than creating an unintentional bias. But exactly!! That's what you look forward to when you get your scores back vs when the judge gives essentially no/minimal feedback or gives a completely unfair call. Constructive criticism is great, I remember a show where a guy I used to clinic with/was a friend of mine is an "R" judge and it was like ride for a judge and so you'd ride a test and after you were done he'd give you feedback on what he saw. He's a good judge and he's very constructive. But that's a shame this judge seemed so preoccupied she did the bare minimum vs providing value to the riders. The comments and suggestions are the value to me for tests too. That's why the judge at the show I was at ticked me off so much, she provided nothing useful. It just helps when you get why you didn't make a better or lesser mark, so you have something to think about/be mindful of next time.

I understand. We all make mistakes but we learn a heck of a lot from them. I'm not proud of things I've done in the past too but I think learned the most from those experiences. We're only human. But I entirely agree with a horse as sensitive, willing and eager to please (though opinionated) as Izzy can be, you don't want to destroy what makes her such a wonderful partner. That's what I like about good dressage, it captures that spirit and doesn't destroy it but manages it with cooperation and willing obedience. But I agree. Something like that takes time and she'll let you know when she's ready and can!

Honestly I don't blame you at all. For a dressage show, I would be ticked seeing gadgets and contraptions everywhere. Even in Germany for the warm up ring in dressage I did see ANY draw reins or contraptions. And I guess you can only take his comments with a grain of salt, especially if they're unfounded. But at the same time I can see where the arabian circuit is a tighter knit crowd vs showing the open circuit and being one of many and no real comradery. But you'll get it all worked out and I heard of a program for arabs where you can still earn arabian points while showing on the open circuit. But that INCREDIBLE you met complete strangers who wanted to watch your two year old participate in a class, that's really amazing they recognized and cared enough to be there to support a stranger. That's really sweet. But it's a shame about that mare falling into bad hands :-( that mare sounds like one that with more time under that person she'll be too far gone to bring back. That's really sad but I hope everything works for the best?

And which mare were they trying to save but couldn't?

Well that's really cool!! I'm glad you have his consent to record :lol: I'm sure your trainer won't mind helping you out in what you want, especially because it's before regionals. But I agree having video will make a big difference!!

:lol: new bridle and custom ear bonnet sound like great gifts!! 

I sure hope they get a picture of it too!! And I agree a ride around the farm in the fields sounds like a really good mental break before the shows. But goodness this is exciting!! Can't wait to hear about regionals!!

:lol: no trust me I entirely get your weather restrictions and how much time/money, etc you've put into this. I totally get it. It's just not worth it. Slick ground, so much can potentially happen or you can kill confidence, etc. I just consider it a good judgment call :lol:

But the Finding Dori tickets sound great!! My mom actually wanted to take me but I was exhausted because I'm always at the barn/working. But that sounds like a great time for you and the kids!!


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## Rainaisabelle

That's the exact property I want ! I'd love 15acres with a house/stables/arena/round yard ! I don't think I'll be able to have a covered one but even just an arena would be amazing


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## Tazzie

Hoofpic, I love grays  It's what drew me to Izzie in the first place. I'd been looking for a baby, so didn't matter what work they had on them. I felt ok looking for decent bone and color :lol: I was also ok with her just ending up a trail horse, which is why we bought her.

Cassie, exactly! It'll come, and at least we have a couple of years to get our finances in order before we start looking. Plenty of time to pay off some debt and really start saving for a down payment. Least the hardest part would be taken care of (having a buyer for our current house) so that helps A LOT. And he lives right up the road with his family, so it wouldn't be like we would sell it then have X amount of time to find somewhere else. We'd look for something else THEN sell him the house when we found what we were looking for. It'll all come in time. What's meant to be will always find a way 

To be fair, Louise (trainer in Michigan) would probably judge me harder than my competition since she knows what I'm capable of :lol: same with if I showed under Blair at any small shows. I KNOW Blair would judge me harder since she's seen Izzie at her best. But, I hope to never show under either of them. Everyone knows Blair and I are best friends, and I don't need an inquiry on the class or something. And yup. I HATE when I don't get any constructive comments. I LOVED the judge in Michigan when we went to show. Not only did she give you LOTS of feedback on the tests, she also talked to you after your rides. I know that can't be done at rated shows, but better feedback is expected :/ and while I love the comment "cute horse" I want something that could help improve my riding! She's just one I'll mark down as "only ride under her if I have no other options." Not to mention I'm still VERY sour over the "straight centerline NICE HALT" only getting a 7. That really irritated me. I worked HARD on centerlines and halts since Izzie kept trying to swing her haunches to the right (I think I was unknowingly cueing her to do it, and fixed myself) ****es me off.

*sigh* I know. It'll be my biggest regret with her though since it's made the walk to canter a stressful, terrifying endeavor. I think with Maggy's help we can unblock it, but it'll take time. Just know better than to ride with him anymore. I'd rather spend that money on Maggy anyway. And exactly. Izzie is a perfectly willing horse. I don't need someone to crush that. And I've worked HARD to maintain her spirit. She may be broke to ride, but her spirit is fully intact (clearly; she's a tough ride when she wants to be!!)

I think it's just the Arab Dressage world :/ I'll let you know what it looks like in the ring on Saturday. Biggest Dressage show of our LIVES OMG (yes, chatspeak is necessary for me right here :lol And yeah, won't pay attention to him anymore. He's not allowed back at the show he did in April since he WAY overworked the Saddlebreds, and didn't call the correct gaits for the Road Horses. He was just crappy. LOTS of unhappy people, so he's not coming back. We'll continue doing some of the shows, just probably not so many. I don't know. Something to decide on later. I love my buddies though, which is why I want to stay in that circuit. And yup! I need to read into how that works. I'm guessing it would only be for rated shows, not schooling ones since schooling shows for Arabs don't count. Something I keep meaning to read into! And yes! They are SO sweet! I'm really fond of the ladies! The daughter (who LOVED my kiddos, like LOVED them) commented at the April show that she just loves watching Izzie go because she loves watching a horse do exactly what they are meant to do. She's a western rider (well, and saddleseat lol) but appreciates the riding in all disciplines. It really is a close knit community! Exactly what I always wanted growing up, but never had! I have no clue what will happen to the young mare. Just no idea.

The mare was the skinny one the judge brought to the two ladies that came to watch Kaleb's lead line class. The brought the horse to the show in a blanket, and they didn't have time at the show to check her over. The brought her home, took the blanket off, and saw she was skin and bones. Had the vet out and it was determined she was digesting her organs to survive, and was euthanized. She was supposed to be a well broke lesson horse. He's the one that owns the young mare being trained to canter at a show, and put in draw reins while trying to rear.

He remembered to grab the camera this morning, and we charged it last night! It's in the truck all ready to go! And yup! I have all of my tests with me to go over, and I'll print out the tests so she sees what I'm doing (in case she doesn't have her book handy; I want to be prepared!) I'm super duper excited! I love that Nick sees it as a good idea to watch it again the night before too!

I think so! We got a new one for this weekend at least! Nick helped me pick it out. The white ones were too plain. He hated the only blue one they had there. We ended up getting a black one that has a lighter blue trim around the edge. It's pretty! Not quite a sky blue, but not really royal. I think it'll look super classy on Izzie!

We have it all set up  I'm thinking of doing a tiny ride (like, walk/trot/canter) then hopping off and letting Nick trail ride her. Give her a total mental break since Nick won't ask a thing of her. Do us all some good! I'm pretty darn excited haha! I just want it to be here!!

Thanks for also understanding! I swear I feel like a fair weather rider sometimes :lol: but it's so not like that!

Finding Dory was awesome! Kids LOVED it! Especially Kaleb  it was WELL worth going to see! Loved it!

Raina, one day it'll happen for us! A covered something is needed here! We get SO much rain, and then snow in the winter. With the clay footing, it makes things SLICK. We have some neat ideas to work with, so we'll see what happens. When we get serious about it is when we will sit down and really map out how to do it. I just have so many ideas :lol:

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Lots to update!!

I did get to ride on Friday night! Izzie had her feet trimmed in preparation for Regionals. I'd ask for next week, but he happened to be in our area Friday. Since he took over all our former farrier's clients, and doesn't actually live in my county nor had he provided services there before, I didn't want to make him trek all the way back out a week later. So she's set to go on that front!!

Nick ended up being forced to work late Friday night. Like, didn't come home until 2 am. Thankfully he knew how badly I wanted/needed to ride. So, he texted our friend Cliff to see if he could ride with me. Cliff hadn't responded, so Nick called him. Apparently Cliff was about to text back :lol: he said he could easily do that! Thank goodness! We didn't do too much work. Mostly just laterals. She's been trying to be heavy to the right for some reason. It's always been her weaker way, but it's been worse after Michigan. I can get her pretty balanced after enough laterals. Did some lengthening, and then on a whim decided to see how she would do on a 3 loop serpentine at the canter. Mind you, my "arena" doesn't have walls, so I can take ALL the space I need, which I did. She did them flawlessly. This horse just amazes me with her work ethic and how fast she figures things out. Cliff and I had a fun chat too. We talked about the differences in how I school Izzie verses how others school their horses. One girl in particular we watch tries to gain "collected" gaits by just slowing the horse down. I explained to Cliff that the horse is not through (and explained what I meant by that) and how they force the head down then just slow the horse down. Whereas I ask Izzie to take more weight behind, really work over he back, and come into the contact. Chatted at the trot and asked if he could see what I meant when I said I knew I had Izzie. I said if you look behind the saddle her back should be totally level, or even have her hind end slope down a bit with her back lifting. I explained how I felt like I was on the bubble of energy, and how her back was there and she was in the contact. Said this is how you can tell the horse is on the aids, and proceeded to say "look, I can say, 'let's do a 10 meter circle!' and Izzie goes 'yes! let's do a 10 meter circle!' Then I can say 'let's do an even smaller circle!' and Izzie answers with 'yes! absolutely!'" Which she did :lol: he thought it was neat. He also thought it was cool when I had her on a long rein, tightened my abs and closed my seat and she stopped. Then showed how just tightening my abs will make her slow down.

After our work as we were cooling out he said "you can really tell she knows her sidepasses, or whatever you guys call them. Like, she knows what she has to do, knows how to do it, and willing does them." I explained to him the difference in leg yield verses half pass, and how I didn't know if they called them different things too (they don't.) It was nice! I was glad he came out to help me!

Saturday we had another good ride, then she became a turd. Went to give her a bath, and had her ground tied. Ever since we put her on the joint supplement and she's felt GOOD, she's decided ground tying is for losers. Izzie took a joy run around the farm. Was NOT happy. And broke her halter (least it was her halter and not her neck). So, no bath since we had to load her up for the chiro. Dang horse. Least the ride was good (well, still tried leaning heavily, but I think I know why now.)

Chiro was MUCH needed! She had two ribs out on the right, which explained why she was SO hard to bend around my leg. Our theory is that after Michigan and being stalled all that time without much turnout, she went crazy being released back at the farm. Had a tight spot at the end of her back where it meets her haunches too, some tightness in the withers, her right hind needed adjustment, and her poll was SERIOUSLY messed up. He can normally get it adjusted by turning her head in that direction. But it wasn't giving it up. He made a tepee with his hands basically and had them on the poll. Nick heard it pop on the other side of the room! Unlocked her TMJ as well. Actually had to scissor her jaw a little bit to get everything sorted out. Poor pony was a mess! He said it's common for all of those to be out this time of year since they fling their heads to swat at flies. Least her hips/pelvis/sacrum all stayed put!! I was super happy!

After the chiro we went to see Finding Dory, which was AWESOME. Kids loved it, and loved their first taste of a blue raspberry Icee :lol: Had dinner with my parents and in laws Saturday night!

Sunday was my birthday! Hello last year of my 20's :lol: and for my 29th birthday my mom got me colored pencils and an adult coloring book! She got one for my sister in law too for her birthday :lol: and money toward regionals! So that is awesome! We went out for breakfast since that is my mom's favorite meal of the day lol Nick made me a cake for my birthday too  bought two different kinds to swirl them together for a marble cake, which is my favorite, and put funfetti icing on it! He is so sweet 

After the kiddos woke up from their nap, we went up to Dover to get a fly bonnet to show in on Saturday, and a replacement clipper blade. Ours vanished somehow, and we NEED to clip Izzie. Had dinner at a place we will probably never go to again (it was eh, and they didn't have fettucini alfredo ) once we finished dinner we went to home depot where Nick grabbed stuff to make me cavalletti! He bought 4 poles, so he's making me 4 of them! I'm SO excited!

Came home, and I started going through my old CD's to revamp his ipod for him. He HATED some of the music on it. A lot of it was his sisters music. We haven't even gotten 1/4 of the way through my CD's LOL! I have A LOT of them! He doesn't know names of artists or songs, so we're basically going through every single CD to find one he likes. Now he just needs to get speakers for his Polaris and we'll be rolling!

The big lesson is tonight! The final piece to our "pre-regionals" puzzle! Feet done, chiro done, onto fine tuning the horse and rider together! I'm so excited!! I won't get my ride times until Friday, which I kind of expected. They have a preshow, and people can enter up until 30 minutes past the last dressage test. I'm hoping Blair will tell me my ride times so I don't have to wait until 7 pm! I have THREE people at least that aren't showing that want to come watch us show! I feel so blessed to have made these friends! One is a former professor, and the other two I met through the show circuit here. I just feel so happy they want to come watch us! And as long as Blair can read my tests, Nick said he would record!!! *fingers crossed* it works out!!


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## Tazzie

And lesson postponed until Wednesday! She had a change that opened it up, and since it's supposed to be 92 today and 80 on Wednesday, we opted to move to Wednesday! She wants us to get the most we can out of the lesson, and we've all been having issues with the heat. SO happy she thought of us!

Oh, and forgot to mention a funny :lol:

Farrier and I were talking and we got on the subject of Nick's side by side. He asked if Nick rides much, and I said when he can. Well, farrier wants Nick to go riding with him July 10th :lol: like, told me MULTIPLE times so I wouldn't forget haha! Told me I could go and ride with his girlfriend while he rides with Nick and does the scarier stuff LOL I don't know that Nick is going. Sounds like he had other plans that weekend. But I found it amusing :lol: the two of them get along very well (did I mention they are both named Nick? :lol


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## DanteDressageNerd

Exactly, take your time and you'll have your dream place. I'm really glad you guys are being smart, realistic about it and setting yourselves up for success. But that's REALLY fortunate you have a buyer waiting for you to sell. That helps a TON!

Fair enough, perhaps they'd be harsher in some instances and lighter in others because they know you, your horse and situation. It's hard to say :lol: but the judge in Michigan sounded really helpful, giving you feedback and talking to you after the test and saying how you could have ridden it better, etc. Really helpful. I wish around here they had a ride a test for a judge clinic type thing. It's really helpful because as you said, most judges do the bare minimum in the comments section. And trust me I understand about odd judges marks. I was pretty peeved at the judge for giving Dante an I a 4 because his head came up once in a circle at his first show :lol: judges discretion, right or wrong they can do as they like.

It might be a regret but at least it's something you can work past, it might delay you in some ways but you didnt fry Izzie's brain or ruin her to where she can't work. Her spirit is still intact and she's still a willing/happy partner. I wouldn't be too hard on yourself, we all make mistakes and sometimes we know it's wrong but don't feel right saying so when we think we're in the presence of someone who knows better than ourselves. And she still enjoys dressage and is a happy/willing partner! You'll move past it and it will be a thing of the past.

:lol: yep but you're going! And I hope you both do great and have a wonderful time!! And it may be simply because it was an arabian show vs an open show *shrugs* but I'm glad that judge is no longer able to judge and had so many people against him because of how he treated the saddlebred/gaited riders. And for how horrible he was to his horses, my god how can a person do that and live with themselves? That makes me sick. The training on that horse is wrong and the care is appalling. Totally unacceptable. I don't know how he's even a judge. And I don't know how the arab points at an open show works but definitely worth looking into, if you can still get Izzie's arabian points.

But that is super neat the ladies enjoyed supporting you and your family. That's really cool they were so friendly and uplifting. 

It's a shame the lesson was cancelled for tonight but I get why. At least the camera will be ready for Wednesday's lesson! But the new ear bonnet sounds lovely! I can't wait to see the pictures on Izzie. It sounds really nice! 

The trail ride with Nick sounds like it will be really relaxing and a nice break for Izzie. Even without being intentional I think dressage riders have a way of riding where we can't just "sit" there, even when we mean to :lol: 

I'm really glad you enjoyed Finding Dory and had such a good time with the kids and also got to celebrate what sounds like a really awesome birthday!! That is SUPER sweet of Nick to make you a cake and make your favorite. That was really nice. Super thoughtful.

But glad Izzie got all her finery and spa service, even if she wasn't cooperative :lol: but chiropractor and new feet sound pretty great. I'm amazed she had so much out and was still being so cooperative but glad she was seen and straightened out. I'm sure that will help a TON!

I'm also really glad to hear you guys ride went SO well! And it can be kind fun explaining to someone like Cliff what we're trying to achieve in dressage, why we do the exercises that we do. How to tell the difference between a horse that is appropriately being schooled vs pushed through something or incorrectly schooled/incorrect execution, etc. It's fun to share with others on the experience and training process. 

Also really cool that Nick's making you some cavaletti! Cross training, polls and cavaletti are awesome and really good for breaking things up! I saw a video of an upper level dressage horse doing tempi changes than hopping over about a 3ft verticle to break up his routine. It also helps with their canter a lot and a lot of horses seem to really like it. Some don't but cavaletti and polls are great!

Also nice Nick has some friends from being around horses too! It's good when you can have fun and you can have fun too!


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## Tazzie

Yes, having a buyer was the single most maddening thing ever for me. Since my in laws use our driveway to get up behind their house, they were essentially guilting us into either staying or selling only to family. Which drives me up the wall. But whatever, a family member wants to buy it. So it works out. Let's just hope his mind doesn't change when he's ready... And we try to be smart and realistic :lol: we've been coming up with ways to combine the barn and a covered arena. It won't be a fully indoor arena at first since arenas are EXPENSIVE. Nick would do all the work, but trusses are PRICEY. May be an interestingly shaped barn/arena combo, but I don't care as long as it's mine :lol:

Possibly, but knowing both of them, they would just judge us harder :lol: we won't ever know if we can help it though! The judge in Michigan was PHENOMENAL. I would LOVE to show under her again once we work some kinks out. She gave me some homework too that lined up with Maggy's teaching, so that was good. Mostly just trust my **** horse! I did a ride a test clinic thing once. It was ok.... it was also the judge that hated us at the April show, and gave us weird scores at the qualifier show for Dressage. I have NO clue what she wrote on the test since we didn't get them back, much to the unhappiness of a few people. And yeah, judges like that are crappy. I've seen comments about a bobble, but rarely is the score brought down THAT much.

Yes, that is true. I think if I'd been dumb and kept going back we would have fried her. But it wasn't enough to ruin her brain or spirit. Just makes her tense for that one thing. But we've been laying A LOT of foundation in order for that to be a super simple, nonchalant next step. We'll see how it goes! I'm working on letting it go still :lol: just frustrates me we just can't do that right now when I feel it is right there. But I can't make Izzie flip out again.

We are! I'm so excited and nervous haha! But I know we'll be great!! And I am SOO happy that the last MAJOR work before the show will be my lesson! Thursday is super light work and trail ride, and Friday I'll ride around out there if we get down there early enough. I'd love to hack around the dressage rings if it's allowed. I need to email the coordinator and see. He can still judge, just not that club's show. It was extremely hot and those poor horses are not used to being worked like that. And then he didn't ask the road horses to work at speed, which is a MAJOR gait for them. It was a mess. He was an idiot. I don't know how they can live with themselves starving animals or treating them like that. I just don't know. The girl training him is burnt out, just isn't admitting it publicly. So she's taking a lot of shortcuts. And not good ones, clearly. She'll get hurt one day. And no clue how he became a judge. None. I don't get how you can judge these nice animals and then have starving ones or neglected ones in your barn. I don't know. And yes! Definitely worth looking into! I'm waiting till the end of the year to see how many we have total  Last year we earned 7 points. We need 60 to earn our first achievement. Based on Izzie's scores for Dressage, I think we earned 6 there (they have a different system, where it goes by scores and not placings I think?) So between last year and one show this year, we have 13 points. I think I have a few others earned from two of the shows this year, and then Regionals should earn me some. Then we have two more rated shows this year. We'll see what we end up with! Do still need to look into that program though 

They are awesome ladies  love them!

Yup! It was ok with me really. It was the kind of day that instantly fogged up my glasses when I stepped outside :lol: just yucky! Truck is ready for tomorrow though!

Haha, yes! I can't just sit quietly. Nick can, and will be low pressure on her. I think she needs that before such a big show!

It was awesome! And Nick can absolutely be sweet :lol: the cake was delicious!

I think she feels A LOT better. And this mare is a superstar I tell ya. I wouldn't want to work with all that feeling ouchy! I bet we have more right bend now :lol: and not have to fight so hard for it!

It was super fun  I hope he had fun listening haha! I'm just happy the rides went well. Eases my nerves a ton!

I'm SOOO excited about them! I'm even happier he is making me 4 of them :lol: I'll have so much I can do with them! I've wanted them for a while, so I'm pumped! I think Izzie will love to change it up with them 

And yes! Nick is checking to see if he's going to the other thing. If not, I guess we're going to hang out with our farrier :lol: Nick will have fun!!

We didn't ride yesterday. Nick had planned to mow on Wednesday, and with the lesson now on that day we did a total swap. Plus, it was nasty out heat and humidity wise. I felt blah, and I don't want to feel blah when I ride. So, we're riding tonight! Probably run through our tests to really work on preparing ourselves for it! I'm super excited!!


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## DanteDressageNerd

I agree. Being limited like that would drive me crazy but if family is wanting to buy it and not for free, I wouldn't be too upset :lol: as long as everyone is happy about it. But having your own facility sounds AMAZING! And I'm sure it'll be great with how good Nick is at building and his wood work and understand of how things work and to build effectively. I'm sure it'll be great!

Okay. Yeah I agree the ride a test with a judge whose a jerk and wont even pass back the comment sheets isn't someone to do the ride a test with. I'm sure it depends on the judge. With Lee (FEI 3* judge), Dolly ("S" judge) and Ken ("R" judge and was 3x USDF breeder of the year), I think it'd be worth it though I don't know if Ken ever judges in Kentucky and Lee mostly judges in Florida or France, Germany, etc and Dolly I don't know if she'd be in Kentucky or not. They're all very fair and super honest and give good advice but I don't know any judges that are all that great that I'd want to ride a test with them. But it'd be great if you could do another Michigan trip and show under her again or clinic with her or something so you can get that positive feed back and suggestions. A judge that actually cares. And I agree. That judge Dante and I showed under just didn't know what she was doing, everything we got 4's on were things like that where most judges would give it a 6. Only judge I've ever seen both my trainers say the judge doesn't know what she's doing and not to mark the scores at anything. 

Live and learn right! I'm sure you guys can work on it more after regionals, rather than just before. It'll be there when she's ready and you're happy with it. Right now she doesn't have to have it and I'm sure by next year, it'll be there and easy. She'll figure out it's not stressful or upsetting, just a simple cue. And definitely before regionals isn't the time to emphasize it.

:lol: that's totally understandable. I would be too. But at least you have a lesson coming and that should calm some of the nerves with some advice and guidance! That's got to be calming and you're practicing your tests and breaking parts up. It'll be great but I'm sure you'll stay nervous up until the tests are over but I KNOW you guys are going to do GREAT!! You actually did your homework, rather than throwing it together at the show. You're a good rider and Izzy loves the ring and is a nice mare. It's going to be awesome!! Cant' wait to hear what points you have.

But that judge will get his one day. Karma doesn't keep neglecting jerks like that who are so cruel. I still don't know how he became a judge with that kind of ignorance and mistreatment of horses. And that lady needs a break if she's burnt out of horses, instead of running them into the ground and ruining them or giving them psychological damage :-(

They sound like it!

Trust me I'm with you. If it's that hot and THAT humid, don't bother riding. You'll both be miserable. It's not worth it, in that kind of heat. Early morning seems best but it sounds like you have pretty early mornings. 

I agree. It's a good idea to sit Nick on and let her ride around too. I'm with you, I can't just sit there when I feel legs where they shouldn't be. I can't just sit there either.

It sounds like it! You got a good one! And Izzie is definitely a superstar. She must love what she's doing if she had so much wrong with her and just kept going along, another plus of mares! Mares are tough!

I'm sure he did. It's cool to learn new things and he sounds like someone who likes learning.

Oh yeah!! cavaletti are great and the cross training will probably be really good for Izzie. 

That's good Nick will at least have fun :lol: it's important the husband feels included right :-D


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## Tazzie

Yeah, I'm not so upset anymore :lol: and he's a good kid. Just need to wait for him to graduate college and find a full time job. Then we can start looking. He asked for 4 years. That'll give us time to make the necessary updates on our house and put cash aside. Hopefully it flies by so I can bring Izzie home! I sure think it'll be fantastic! I give him things I want, and he'll make it work lol he is SUPER handy!

Nope, I wouldn't do that again even if they paid ME to ride. No thank you. I don't really know who all is in Kentucky or not. Since we haven't done too much actual Dressage here I haven't familiarized myself with who they use. Except Susan. I won't show under Susan again. I'm hoping she'll be back at that show again. I wouldn't haul up for the others (too far of a haul to go to a show I can't stay a few days at), but we already agreed to hauling up again next year :lol: she was wonderful. Definitely wanted to see us all improve in our riding! Yeah, a 6 is more what I was thinking you should have gotten. Not a 4 

Exactly! SO not worth working on it this close to a big show. Maybe afterward, but not now. I know she's close to being ok with it, but I don't want to frazzle her right now. All in good time!

I'm sure hoping so! I wish she would come down for it, but I don't know. I may feel her out :lol: I'd be happy to pay her to coach me there, and pay the AHA SEM (single event membership) for her to be my trainer there. Just, not sure how much traveling with clients to shows she does. She's very different in that aspect. Like, she has training horses in, and she gives lessons, but she doesn't expect you to ride with her weekly or even every other week. Which fits our riding program well. Just makes me not sure if she does traveling to be a coach at shows. Thanks for the vote of confidence! I feel a lot more prepared after last night. Still have a few things I'd really like Maggy's input on, but if I can get our last run through for both of First 3, I'd be tickled :lol: and thanks! She certainly does love the ring, and I agree :lol: in my eyes, she's pretty perfect LOL

I sure hope so. What strikes me as odd is that he has all of this going on behind closed doors, and yet at one of the shows last year he kept telling us we all needed to have our horses seen by a chiropractor. I mean, we had planned to have her see after our first ride (told Nick I'd be calling Monday), but still. Chiro isn't important to everyone. But basic care is NECESSARY. He wants to push complimentary care, but can't give basic care? so weird. And exactly. But she has no other job. Nothing. This is it. A single mom with a couple of kids. It's a rough situation. She definitely needs to take a break though...

They are part of the reason I can't totally give up the Arab world :lol: one is the lady I showed their horse for after a fall out with the trainer, and one I kept encouraging her to ride her mare in the walk/jog/lope classes since most of the Western Pleasure classes are empty. And guess what? She started showing it this year  they are part of my show family 

Haha, I wish I could ride in the morning! As it stands, I get up at 5:30 daily, get ready, get one kid ready (Nick gets the other ready) and we are out the door by 6. I get to work by 7. I COULD go in later, but the girls I work with get in at 6:30 (not feasible for me since I don't want to get up any earlier :lol So, we do what we can in the evenings!

I definitely have a good one! I think she does! I had NO idea her poll would be that bad. I knew it had to be tweaked a bit since bending right was tough, but she would manage it after I loosened her neck up. That is exactly why I love them :lol: that and when it hurts, they let you know IMMEDIATELY. I can tell when I need to just hack around and call our chiro to get her squeezed in. *knock on wood* that I haven't had to do that lately!

He is  he's a pretty spectacular guy! I really can't wait for him to feel how she is!

I sure think so! I also have that book by Ingrid and Reiner Klimke. The "Calvaletti: For Dressage and Jumping" book. I can't wait to try some of the exercises in them! He'll be making them this weekend after Regionals! That and finishing my tack trunk. That got put on hold since we bought a stain, started staining, realized how atrocious it looked, and then didn't have time. Now, it's going all black with a metallic silver interior. It'll be awesome :lol:

Haha, well, his other plans fell through, so texted the farrier last night :lol: just waiting on him to text back when he has a chance :lol:

-------------------------------------------------------------

Now for my update.

Izzie was A LOT of horse to ride last night. I think it was because the temps came down quite a bit, and the nights were cooler, and there was a breeze. But suddenly she was super buddy sour. Like, kept trying to crane her neck to keep them in sight. So, lots and lots and lots of laterals and changes of direction later.... I finally had her. Ran through First 3 a few times. A couple were pretty awful because suddenly we had a plastic bag flying across the field (dang kids....) The last one was amazing though. If I can get those leg yields, and that accuracy in the show ring on Saturday, I'd almost like to say "I want to see who can beat me...." That is how much confidence that gave me. It was so accurate, so beautiful, and I had her. I had her fully. She was so light. I'd flick a finger and got a reaction. Everything was just gorgeous. After our last halt I folded over in my trademark "rub both sides of her neck at once with a lot of pats and 'good girl' comments." Nick was like "that one was awesome! We ended it there. SOOO happy! Now, I want to duplicate that into two tests for Saturday, please and thank you :lol:

After riding went home and continued my extensive project of revamping Nick's ipod. I have A LOT of CD's. Yesterday was the third and final day of going through the CDs. Now I'm working on taking the music off of my ipod (just the songs he wants) and putting them onto his. Tried one thing, didn't work. Tried another, didn't work. Trying one other thing now (well, was running when we left). If that doesn't work, hoping the last attempt will :lol: haven't figured out that last attempt yet. But I'm determined. He just wants one ipod to take riding on his Polaris, so everything he likes needs to be on the one ipod. But such a chore!! More frustrating because he doesn't know band names nor song names, so I'd put a CD in, hit a song I know he knows, and wait. A few times he'd go "no" and I'd say "wait until the chorus, you know this." Soon as the chorus came on? "Oh, yeah, I like that. Put that on there." MEN! :lol:

Tonight is my lesson!! I'M SO EXCITED!!! Really, I can't wait! AND Nick is ok with me at least asking if Maggy does winter boarding. If she does, the next step would be figuring out if we can financially afford it for a few months. I'd really like to. I think it'd help us out a lot. But we will see!

And I'm so tired! I was so tired I forgot to put on my favorite necklace and my wedding rings  work has been a bit slow, since I'm running a program that requires a 16 hour incubation period, which holds up my robot. And it's the only robot I can use, so it's not like I can use another and work on something else. I'm ready for it to pick up a bit so I get super busy again!!


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## DanteDressageNerd

I imagine the wait is the worst part but it's probably for the best if it's allowing for you and Nick to save. And I'm sure you will. Trades are very valuable skills!

I don't blame you. Bad training/trainer isn't worth it at all, especially if you figured out better within a few rides. And I don't blame you in that case, it sounds like Susan is a biased judge who favors poor training. And I could definitely see you guys making another trip to go back home, spend time with family, take Izzy and show Izzy and hear the judges remarks. Especially if they're productive vs just rude, unjustified remarks. And yeah :lol: that judge just didn't know what she was doing, so most of the marks couldnt be considered to get an idea of what's realistic.

For sure. It isn't worth introducing anything new just before regionals, let alone something she has a history with. 

It might be worth asking and seeing what she says or perhaps planning for it another time in the future? And you're welcome. I'm sure you guys will do really-really well, especially since you've actually taken the time to train Izzy correctly vs just get her nose down and make her execute movements. And you'll get to see what Maggy says tonight and have some more stuff to work on and build upon. Or what to pay attention to/be mindful of. But at least she loves the arena because you know she'll do her best work there!

That made my eyes grow wide thinking okay this guy is a judge who starved a horse to death and he thinks he has the right to tell people their horse needs chiropractic work? Which they very well may need but how can you say that when you can't even meet the bare minimum basics of horse care? People are so hypocritcal :/ and that poor trainer. That sounds rough. I couldn't imagine being a horse trainer with kids. That'd be a nightmare, especially if they're little. I'll say this there is a reason the really good riding professionals don't have kids, some do if they can afford it but most dont. It's hard/impossible to do it all. I couldn't imagine getting up in the morning to look after kids, helping them with their hw, doctors appointments and all the rest and then ride a minimum of 5 horses a day and however many lessons, plus all the work involved of checking over horses. Talking with the vet, etc. She sounds like she needs a break.

Awww that's really sweet. It makes sense to me why you wouldn't want to give up on the arabian circuit, especially when you've met such incredible people and have a "show family." That's pretty special.

And totally makes sense to me. I figured with kids and work, etc it just wasn't feasible. Night time definitely fits better. I wouldn't get up at 3 ever :lol: I used to have early-early mornings like 4 but I'd never get into that again, so I don't blame you at all.

Yes you do! You guys treat each other really well. Izzie is a tough girl! Sometimes it's hard to know when they're that out if they just keep pressing on. I think the mares just pay attention to what's going on and know themselves and their body/environment so well they can let you know. Mares run the herd!

I'm sure it will be neat for them to sit on her and feel what they can. They probably wont feel the same thing but they'll get a taste at least! But the tack trunk sounds like it's going to be GORGEOUS once it's finished! Sounds like it'll be really special!

The cavaletti exercises sound great! It really helps with their body awareness and getting familiar with their bodies/legs and engages the hind end and let's their brain focus on something else. 

:lol: well I'm sure the boys will have fun on their toys!!

But the ride sounds like it was really good, even though she was a lot of horse (can't blame her if there was wind and bags flying) but it sounds like the ride went really well once she got going! So glad you got to end on what sounds like a fabulous note!

That's pretty funny about the CDs and songs. Nope it's rubbish, no good and hears the chorus. Oh yeah that's awesome, put that on too!! :lol: I don't know if it's a man thing because I do that too :lol:

And good luck in your lesson, can't wait to hear about it!! And you guys will work it all out. I'm sure it'll all work out for the best, hopefully you can board for a few months! I'm sure it would be helpful. But I hope you can get some rest. I can't imagine how exhausted you must be with everything going on and the kids and getting Izzy ready, plus work! Good luck!


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## DanteDressageNerd

Good luck at Regionals Katie!! I know you and Izzie are going to do great!!


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## Tazzie

Ran out of time yesterday to reply :lol: replying now while I can!!

Yeah, can't have too much saved up :lol:

It was pretty obvious after a couple of rides. Then had a different lesson and went "oh yeah, I'm done." Glad we made the switch. We will probably bring Izzie back up every year :lol: we all had way too much fun. I think even Izzie had a good time. I know she loved the automatic waterers :lol:

She has prior commitments for Saturday that she was going to try and reschedule, but we will see. I'm also apparently showing on Sunday, so she may just come then! Either way it'll be beneficial to us! And that is very true! Missy loves the spot light!

Exactly!! I mean, I KNEW Izzie needed it after the first class. She was screaming it at me, which is why I just asked her to do the best she could. They really are. I do know it's tough just riding one horse with kids, but I also have a full time job. If training was the full time job, and they were decent at it, finding an in home sitter isn't too terribly expensive. Our kids are $25 per kid per day. I write a check every two weeks for $500 for the two of them. And that is cheap for this area. Yeah, she does need a break. Though, after the drama she threw at the barn she was evicted from (failing to feed/water horses, not cleaning stalls, unorthodox way of turning horses out...) I don't carry much sympathy for her. I used to. But I don't now.

Yup  they are part of the crew!

Yeah, I don't do early mornings unless I absolutely need to :lol: 5:30 is early enough haha!

And that is true :lol: I'm just glad she's figured out I'll listen when it hurts, but sometimes I can't fix it right away (well, in terms of if something is out a little bit), and I wouldn't ask her to step up to the plate unless it was necessary. I was just glad I was proactive in booking that appointment months in advance!

I just want Nick to feel how different in general she feels, and for Cliff to see how she is :lol: and I'm excited! He'll work on it this weekend I think! He took Tuesday off!

I really can't wait until he makes mine! I've been DYING to use some!

I always try to end on a decent note, with lots of praise. If it's a tough, tough ride, I get one really good thing, and call it a day. Sometimes it's not feasible to keep pushing because we will just regress. Ending where she is happy with lots of praise sets us up to have a better next ride.

LOL, Nick is just picky :lol: that's what I meant by "MEN". And he picks the weirdest stuff for his ipod, seriously.

Didn't get a chance to ask her about that. Just didn't get around to it. But she might come be my coach one day this weekend, so that would be helpful!!

------------------------------------------------------------

Alright, now for the massive update since I finally had enough time to sit down and write it out.

Our lesson was LONG. Longest lesson we have ever had. Lots and lots of walking, but in general we were both totally exhausted by the end of it.

We perfected our stretchy circle (Nick even commented that he could really see her sitting and stretching in it, which is AMAZING since he had a tough time seeing that up until that night.) So hopefully we can raise our marks up a bit there (that is, if I can refrain from being tense; we can stretch beautifully at home, then I tense up and lose it in the show ring.) Made some massive strides on our zig zag leg yields (seriously, the last one was so unbelievably smooth and gorgeous that I wish we had been in the ring showing it. I peg it at like a 7.5 or 8, at the lowest), and just did a lot of lightening exercises to get off the forehand. Downfall is that we worked so hard on all these laterals that when I asked for the canter, she refused it. Multiple times. Maggy got on and got her going since I know most of it was me just being past the point of exhaustion to really get her to it. But Maggy did lengthenings and the shallow loop. Said both are ok, but don't expect a 9 on them (I would NEVER expect a mark like that, especially for our very first time at this test PERIOD.) Maggy asked for the lengthened trot, and it was just GORGEOUS. Then Maggy "went ah! That button is definitely there!" She said at the end of the trot lengthening she hit the "button" for the working trot, and Izzie gave it to her right away, no hesitation. I said we've worked on them a lot :lol: So, overall, a decent lesson. We aren't going to go blow anyone away at First Level, but that's totally ok. It's a pretty big jump for Izzie since she only just started showing First Level a month ago. It was more of a "let's see how this goes" rather than "we will knock everyone's socks off at First!!!"

Maggy did say some very meaningful comments though. She said what others have repeatedly said, but they have never been from a Dressage trainer that has actually been on my horse. She told me I haven't even tapped into Izzie's potential yet. That she has SO much more to give once she learns to really come off her forehand more (partially my fault since I'm not stern enough to ask her to sit, and partially because she is naturally built downhill with a heavy shoulder). Told me she knows I don't know/believe it, but that I really have done a very good job with her. That I let her get away with some things since she's mine, but that I've done a great job and she knows we will only get better. Blair has said this to me, and I believed her, but she's not a Dressage trainer. She's a fabulous trainer in general, and I absolutely trust her judgement. But it was just something else to hear it coming from Maggy. Nick really wishes we could have more lessons with Maggy now after Wednesday. He knows how much I need that help, but he knows I understand why we can't. It's frustrating to not be able to just get lessons every other week or such, but it makes me thankful for when we CAN get lessons.

I did end up riding yesterday as well. She was in a pretty foul mood, so our ride had some pretty blah moments (bolting anyone?) I did get her thinking and working though, so that was a plus. And got her stretching, which was truly all I wanted in the first place.... She just decided it needed to be more. Oh well. She enjoyed her dinner after I cooled her out too. I packed up all of my stuff and the kid's stuff too, and did the laundry since I needed my sports bras :lol: we brought down a lot of our stuff yesterday. I planned on bringing my bridle and such home to clean it, but we didn't leave the farm till roughly 8:30. I was in NO mood to clean it like I wanted to. So, Nick and I will clean the bridle and the saddle tonight when we get to the horse park. Such is life.

Today, we're going to go tag team her with a bath to get her cleaned up in a hurry, then haul her down to Lexington. Have to pack up her grain and some hay as well, since we ran out of time last night to do it (Nick wanted to put out salt for the deer and his deer camera, so we did that instead... compromise.)

I also got my ride times!! Blair is my HERO for texting them to me instead of making me wait until like 7 PM! Bummed they aren't all tomorrow, and had to call the hotel to add another night. But such is life! Works out better anyway so I won't have an incredibly tired horse for any of the tests!

Times are as follows:

Saturday:

10:49 Training Level Test 3 Amateur To Ride
1:42 First Level Test 3 Open

Sunday:

8:38 First Level Test 3 Amateur To Ride
11:29 Training Level Test 3 Open

Nick will for sure be able to record tomorrow, no guarantee for Sunday. If Blair is busy, he has to be my reader. But Blair is reading for me tomorrow, and Nick knows he has to record. I'm so nervous and excited!


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## Tazzie

DanteDressageNerd said:


> Good luck at Regionals Katie!! I know you and Izzie are going to do great!!


LOL, you wrote that as I was typing up! Thanks!

Oh! Forgot to mention the awesomeness that is my husband (as though he would be anything but awesome :lol we both know First 3 is a bit of a stretch for Izzie. And the competition is going to be super stiff. He said the most amazing thing to me yesterday. He said "you know, I don't care how we place. Heck, I'll be happy just as long as we are in the 60's. Even better if we could maybe hit mid 60's." I was like "Oh my god, I love you." I've been a bit worried thinking maybe I overfaced Izzie with First 3. I think we can make it through it without stressing her, but there is just a lot going on. It was just so wonderful that he is totally ok with it as long as we get an ok score. it really, really made my heart happy. I got so lucky having him as my partner!


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## DanteDressageNerd

:lol: I can imagine Izzie finding the automatic waterers to be something of a luxury item. That's priceless! But well worth doing if everyone enjoyed it SO much!

She sure seems to be enjoying the spot light. She has the umm hello I'm here, look at me!! I hope your trainer was able to help some? or was she not able to make it?

Ahh okay. I have no idea how much kids cost per day/month, etc but I've always heard they're expensive and time consuming :lol: so she should just hire someone to look after them while she works and with the feeding, unfair care of horses. Okay I'm with you. That is NOT okay in my book either, you can cut some corners but care isn't one of them. And spreading drama/gossip is just unnecessary. I dont get people. The only people I've known who are very gossipy or start drama are either mentally unstable, extremely insecure and condescending or people so lacking in their own lives that they try to make up for it by belittling others for living their lives and I agree. I have NO respect for those kind of people. I always think if you're that small minded, that insecure and that self absorbed/egotistical...well I won't finish that because it's inappropriate and I have no filter :lol: but people who are like that are a HUGE pet peeve of mine. The pettiness and absolute emotionally based delusion are unacceptable to me. I get if stuff is warranted but otherwise I just hate gossip/dramatic types. Sorry I ranted, I was just trying to say I understand why you dont feel that bad for her.

But I'm with you 0530 is plenty early! But you should applaud yourself with being proactive and looking after Izzie and also that Izzie is learning to work when things aren't totally perfect or going her way.

Sounds good!

Absolutely! I think these arabs are real people pleasers and work loads better through praise and redirection than anything else and with the sassiness knowing when to work through it or when to call it a day. But you guys are a good team 

Well maybe Nick is just a special one, I mean maybe that's why he's a keeper/good one? The "too" normal ones worry me.

It sounds like you had a really productive lessons with lots of things to work on, so that's good. And working through stuff. It takes time and it's really hard to do it without a trainer but I agree/understand why you can't take lessons more regularly. Especially with your aim being to own your own property and build. It's a luxury. But it's always good to know that potential is in there and it will just take to build on it and get that strength to sit, etc. But I'm glad Maggie really took to her and saw promising potential in Izzie!

I saw the pictures on facebook and overall hope the show was at least productive and you all had a good time! It's an experience to go! But I'm SO glad Nick was so supportive and really appreciated you guys going to Regionals and supporting you and Izzie without putting on any pressure (intentional or not). Sometimes it's good to just go without any expectations or hopes, just going out and doing your best which I know things didn't work out how you wanted but I know you both did your best in the situation! Can't wait to hear about it!


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## Tazzie

Yeah, just need our own barn so we can get the fancy waterers :lol:

Sadly, she couldn't make it either day :sad: such is life. I think I could have really used her too (least for Saturday when Izzie wasn't ouchy.)

Haha, they really are. That is just daycare costs :lol: the actual care is high too. And diapers are EXPENSIVE. Haven't seen a sharp increase in our food bill, but Nick and I always made a lot of extra anyway to take for lunches and such. No no, it's ok. I also just found out something yesterday too that upset me a lot. So not only was she starving/with holding water, and running them down the concrete aisle way, but one of the mares was pregnant. And has apparently started waxing up (as seen on her facebook.) Just ugh. Whatever happened to responsibility for your animals?

I wish that were always true lol Izzie's little episode Sunday proved she will NOT work under certain conditions.

We try to be! She's a testy mare, that's for sure!

He really is quite special haha! And could be. I know I couldn't handle a "normal" one!

I really wish I could have more lessons since I feel we are in a stage it would be beneficial to have someone a lot more hands on. Izzie is a tough horse to get sitting back. I can feel her working over her back all day long, but when she's heavy on the forehand it doesn't provide a nice picture. And it's HARD to know if she is truly sitting back, or if she's only just come up a tiny bit. I wish our situation were just a bit different that I could take back to back lessons for a little bit.

It was productive in that I got the largest show of our life out of the way. I wish I could say it was great, but truthfully, I sucked. My horse didn't, but I did. I just totally bombed as a rider this weekend, which is why I haven't been on here to share how it went. I'm PROUD of how Izzie tried to step up and help me, but I was a mess and just couldn't give her clear signals. I got the lowest rider marks I have EVER gotten (I think even worse than when I started riding) and Izzie's lowest scores ever. Here is the run down.

Saturday morning, Training Level Test 3 ATR:
I could NOT get out of my head this test. It was just overall a miserable ride, though sadly the highest score of the weekend (57%, yes, you read that right.) We had ok moments, but knowing how well we've done Training 3 (in Michigan I think we earned a 67%; in Ohio I don't remember but I know it was in the 60s)

Saturday afternoon, First Level Test 3 Open (against professional trainers):
What I felt was our best ride, though accuracy was terrible (me failing as a rider.) I was still happy with it since we had never, ever shown in First 3 before. Earned just shy of a 55%.

Sunday morning, First level Test 3 ATR:
I had high hopes for this class. It was our smallest class, with 8 riders total. I had REALLY hoped we could get it together and perhaps earn a Top 5. We warmed up BEAUTIFULLY. Accuracy was spot on, change of lead through trot was gorgeous, leg yield was fabulous, etc. Went in the ring, nailed the leg yields and did an ok lengthening (she can do SO much better *sigh*). Did the free walk, to walk at S, Trot at H, canter at C. Izzie hit the canter, and then bucked half the 15 meter circle. I got her out of it and got her going (can we just saw how much FUN it is to do a lengthened canter after your horse just had a bucking fit??? yeah......) and rode the rest of the test as well as I could. Finished up and Blair comes up saying "you need to get off of this horse, her leg is bothering her again. It's the same thing she had in Michigan." Greaaaat. Hopped off during the bit check (which, by the way, they tried to say my bit was illegal on Saturday. Emails with the USEF/USDF Dressage person I emailed with including the exact link I purchased it from, as well as Blair finding the bit pictures in the rule book, proved we were ok. It actually specifies "Happy Mouth with Copper Roller" in the rules now. She had me forward the email (well, Blair did) and verified it was, in fact, legal. Whew. This test earned us just over a 55%.

Sunday afternoon (well, late morning), Training Level Test 3 Open:
At this point I was about done. I just wanted to get through the test without Izzie going bonkers. We had put liniment on the tight spot, put a sweat on it to warm it up, and hoped for the best. Did lots and lots of cantering around the warm up ring (one of only 2 horses; lots of room) in a long and low frame as I did the jumper style cantering where I mostly stayed off her back. Got in the test, and did ok. Had one buck during the test, but didn't lose it. This test was also just over a 55%.

So, not our best show by a long shot. New development (or rather, issue) that popped up is that Izzie decided halting was STUPID and mostly pranced at the halt. I tried EVERYTHING. Giving rein, keeping legs off, keeping legs on, having her on contact, etc. I think I was too wired and translated it to her, and she took it as "WHY ARE WE STANDING HERE MOM?!?!?! CLEARLY WE NEED TO GO!!!" I'll see how halting goes when I actually get a chance to ride this week (IF I get a chance; rumor has it that it is currently pouring outside (I'm in a cubicle away from the windows) and it's forecast to rain every afternoon this week. Nick checked her yesterday and said that area wasn't tight anymore. My guess is that stalling her for a long period of time isn't good for her. So, when we need to stall for multiple nights, we will be taking MANY walks. Also, at the horse park they have round pens you can rent, so I plan to look into those for next year. They are round pens, but really are just small turnout areas (no lunging or anything in them; full of grass.)

Basically, I'm extremely disappointed in myself. I totally bombed this weekend, which makes me sad. I did get to spend time with my friends, and my one friend who has been DYING to actually see us show made it to what I felt was my best ride (Saturday afternoon) and she is SO happy she got to watch! I did buy the disc with pictures too. The photographer gave me a deal for the disc for $75 (originally $125, but they were packing up.) One picture I'm head over heels for!

This one my friend took, to start the pictures off. Maggy wanted me to braid her hair differently, and recommended I do it from her back and braid it right on the top of her neck. Need a lot more practice (particularly at the end so it doesn't flop over) but I like it! And excuse my disgusted face LOL! I was concentrating and trying not to laugh haha!










Photographers pictures that I liked. SO frustrated how hollow in the back she looks in them. I was NOT riding well *sigh*

















































































I'll put more up after I finish up my experiment in the lab. I have LOTS I love, just was trying not to flood facebook with them yet LOL


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## Tazzie

Alright, the rest of the pictures! Now that my work is done and I get to leave soon (3:30 my time!)


































































Izzie got to try out the theraplate as well. She had mixed feelings about it...










My absolute favorite pictures from the photographer!


















And all the awesome people that came out to watch/help me!! You'll see Nick in the back. The girl in blue is my best friend, Blair. The other man is my friend who came down from northern Ohio, and the other girls are from around Lexington who made the trek out to watch us show! I have the best show family! Izzie also was putting her ears up on her own, with only a few flicks here and there. She was PLEASED with herself!


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## knightrider

Awww, I was hoping it would be great. I am sorry you were disappointed. However, I thought you looked AWESOME. Those 3 days while you were showing, I was looking on the internet for "bad dressage" to try to figure out if I can tell (I can't, not hardly at all).

If you are feeling disappointed today, can you imagine how this Canadian guy felt, going all the way to the Olympics and failing this spectacularly? It happens to the best of us. I hope things go better next show . . . but I thought you looked good.


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## DanteDressageNerd

Goodness. Children sound terribly expensive. 

But that REALLY upsets me about the pregnant mare and how those horses are being treated. Those are the kind of people that make me sick. It frustrates me that people can't just FEED their animals and provide them with adequate amounts of CLEAN water or even just water! I don't get people, what is their problem? There are no excuses for that.

I guess she's still a diva and has a list of what she can/cant do under certain conditions. I'm sorry. Testy and temperamental can definitely be part of it, hopefully she's better now and she's still young and arabians mature later so she might have had a young horse day.

:lol: I entirely understand that. I don't think a normal guy could handle me and I don't think I could stand being with a "normal" "typical" guy. So it makes sense to me. Would get terribly dull and boring.

And that makes sense too. I think you can get by training-1st without instruction but going higher is going to be really tricky because there are so many parts and getting true collection, developing the movements, improving etc is tricky without eyes on the ground and someone to help you to get better quality and help you when things get tricky and what to do to handle the situation. What is being seen vs what you feel, etc. Collection takes a long time to develop and all the itty bitty details you don't know until they're pointed out to you or suggested. It's frustrating. I can imagine the frustration but the good thing is in a few years you'll have your own property which is very special. Something I certainly wont have. But I wonder if maybe you could save in a rainy day type of jar and have say a month where you take a lesson once a week or whatever and don't take any until you have that saved *shrugs* or I don't know, it's tough when youre also saving for something much bigger and grander too. I wish I had better suggestions.

But that is pretty funny they tried to claim your bit was illegal and you had to confirm it was in fact a legal bit. Frustrating I'm sure but I'm not surprised when you have to fight to verify it's legal. At least they accepted it as in fact legal. I think we all have rough shows. I definitely had them with my crazy old tb but at least you pulled through and you have some really great pictures. I don't think she looks hollow at all. To me she looks very appropriate for 1st level. She's clearly coming from behind, clearly reaching into the contact and up from the leg, not being pulled or held up. They look really-really good.

I entirely understand the disappointment but I think you've done a great job with Izzie and I have full faith you'll do well, especially because you've given Izzie a good base. The stuff you've done with her will pay off long run, where some of the others who are winning the competitions and have trained incorrectly are going to tap out. It takes more time to train them correctly and to encourage that elasticity (more difficult to organize), much easier to hold together but long term it will pay off. It's like art vs mechanics and finding that nice mix. Unfortunately the ring tends to reward the mechanical aspects vs the "artful" aspect of fluidity, throughness, correctness, etc.

You've done well together and will continue to do well!


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## Tazzie

Knightrider, I'm mostly just too hard on myself is the issue. I'm not this hard on Izzie, just me. I'd just been hoping for a better run at it (better scores was all I was hoping for; I REALLY didn't care if I took champion or reserve.) As far as bad Dressage, the easiest way I've introduced my husband to it, is to look at the horse. Izzie (typically) has a flowing frame to her. She's not really holding a lot of tension. I WISH I could show you the picture I showed Cassie, of one of my competitors. However, it's not my picture so I cannot share it publicly. However, her horse has a very tense, forced frame. Her under neck is severely developed from over use, which tells me as a rider that the horse is not actually working properly, but rather bracing against the contact. This shows when she gives the mare a long rein and instead of trying to seek the contact like Izzie does, this mare shoots her head up like "FREEDOM!!" You'll notice in most of the pictures I posted of Izzie you can see her jugular groove. She is nice and relaxed in that under muscle, even in that second canter shot in my first regional post. We were doing a shallow loop serpentine at the canter, AND going Izzie's hard way (her right lead is her weakest, so any excuse to take the left, she will.) Which is also why I chuckle we got the remark "unbalanced" for the serpentine. It may not have been stunning, but if it had truly, truly, been unbalanced, Izzie would have done a flying change and grabbed the left lead. She even did this with my trainer when she was slightly off balance.

My trainer did make me feel better when she asked how it went, and I was upfront and honest with her (always am.) She said it happens to all of us, that I wasn't alone, and to keep on keeping on. That horse I believe lost it because of the rain (it was down pouring) but I've also heard some not great things about him in general.

Cassie, they are :lol: it's why we stopped at two, and "fixed" the issue :lol:

Exactly!! I'm pretty upset about it. If you are bringing an animal into this world, then you need to be taking care of the animals you already have! We routinely check Izzie's water source to make sure they still have plenty (they have a natural spring they drink out of.) It is checked daily. If it appears to not have plentiful water, there is a water tank we haul water for. And they clearly never miss a meal!

Yeah, I think it was a young horse day, and whatever that tightness is that is going on. She's totally fine now (she was fine starting Tuesday; possibly Monday but we didn't see her Monday.) We expect she will keep growing a while longer yet :lol:

It sure would. I figure I'm not a normal person, why would I want a normal husband??

I may see if Nick is ok with me taking a bit more and doing something like that. I wouldn't just start it since it has to be agreed with the two of us, but I'd love doing something like that. I can definitely only do so much. I want to try to get another lesson before winter, and just see if there is an option to board there over winter (and maybe get a lesson here and there, paid for of course) *shrugs* we will see how it goes.

Well, it has a roller, and those aren't supposed to be legal. But apparently there is an exception for these ones. I don't really know why, but there is. I was just SO glad I thought of having my phone in reach so we could pull it up. And that Izzie stands and waits until I cue her to move (most of the time....) so I could pull it up again (my phone is junk, and will randomly reset apps, or reset itself.)

Yeah, I think it's part of showing, that we all have good and bad ones. But thanks. I get too hard on myself. It's hard since she works and rides so much better at home, and then I fall apart at shows and can't ride her as well as I do at home. But thank you, truly. One day I hope to be able to look at show pictures and go "THAT'S how we look at home!" One day. And one day, we will look like she's not running down into the ground (the fun of a horse that is naturally built a bit downhill)

Thank you  I've really tried hard to put the best base I could on her. I know SO many people wanted me to rush and get her going, but she would have lost her mind. Some days asking for more collection is hard enough on her, and I'm not even asking for an insane amount of it. If she offers a little, she's praised. And yeah, you saw who my big competition was. That is what is currently being rewarded. On one hand, I look forward to showing the higher level BECAUSE I know Izzie will be working correctly still, and the others will start to fizzle out due to being forced and yanked in. On the other, it's going to be a while :lol: Izzie needs to really work on listening when I ask her to come back and really sit a bit more. It's tough, and it's not her natural way of going. So we have a while until maybe we can get to the point where we are celebrated for riding correctly.

Thanks!

----------------------------------------

Now for my update.

Monday she had off from us totally.

Tuesday Nick went to feed because I was having a BAD day (bad day at work, and the day started with me blowing my tire on my car; Nick put the lugs on WAY tighter than I could get off, so he came and did it. Then he took the car home and I drove the truck since the spare wasn't a full size spare.)

Wednesday I went to feed, but couldn't ride because Nick worked late (got home around 10:30 pm)

Yesterday, I rode. I didn't feel like it really. I was exhausted, the week has been the week of perpetual Mondays even though we didn't actually have a Monday as far as the work week is concerned, and just felt blah. Did it anyway. SO glad I did.

Izzie was GOOD. Picked her up, did a bit of bending and half halts to get her into my outside rein, and felt her back lift after just one or two half halts. *sigh* love this little horse. Picked up the trot and had some nice trot work. Didn't want to ask for TOO much since I just don't know whats going on with the muscle or ligament. I already had plans of what I wanted to do for the day too. Did some canter work. She was FIESTY, but good. Did our lateral work, and did a couple of haunches in into a wide open walk pirouette (Maggy is just having us start working on these in general.) Izzie rocked them!

Then came the fun part. Nick's homemade cavaletti! We started with just one, and worked it up to two. Didn't want to do more than two for our first day. Walked them then trotted them. She LOVED them! I wasn't focusing on having her perfectly bent. I wasn't focusing on her being totally through, round, etc. I just focused on making she quietly went over them. These are entirely new to her, and I wanted her to get a feel for them before I started being like "you need to be bending in this direction and totally through while you go over these." Nick offered to raise them higher to see if she'd jump, but I said no, it was enough for the day. That was, of course, after my daughter told Nick "I do it!!" when he asked if I wanted to jump :lol: She's my daughter all right!

I let the kiddos take turns for a pony ride on her as her cool down (they don't weigh as much as I do, so it's kind of a treat lol). I told Kaleb to tell her walk on and he just said "walk." Told my daughter to say walk on, and clear as day she said "walk on!" That's my girl! Later I called her Izzie Jane (yes, she has a middle name :lol and Sydney said "Izzie Jane!" My best friend Blair LOVED it! I think when Izzie's FINALLY done growing I'll have Blair up to teach Izzie to jump a bit. Not competitively right now, but as another thing to have in her knowledge bank and as "just in case" if Syd does, in fact, want to jump Izzie :lol:

Nick did get a video. Sorry for the dumb edits. Nick doesn't know you can't start our recording one direction, then rotate the phone....






Now she'll have off until Sunday. Tonight Nick has softball, and tomorrow we are going mudding in his Polaris....


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## Tazzie

Well, scratch the hope of riding today, *sigh* Nick was called into work this morning, promising he would be home in PLENTY of time that I could ride before a meeting at 6:30 tonight (I'll expand on that later...) Well, he just called asking if I could meet him down there. Umm, nope, can't. Kids are taking their nap since it's their nap time right now. So, can't ride. Guess I'll ride tomorrow..

We went riding yesterday on Nick's Polaris. It was some place called Rush? Middle of no where, Kentucky near the West Virginia border... It was pretty fun, just not my normal style of ride :lol: Nick at least let me be the drinker this time to contain my nerves (fear of falling and fear of heights do not combine well when going down steep mountain sides...)

Now, for the meeting. We've already discussed how my brother in law is getting married, I am NOT in the wedding, but I'm expected to buy a dress to "match." I have not purchased a dress (I'd kind of like to pretend I "forgot" to buy one...). So, with a wedding comes a bridal shower. Well, I got a text on Wednesday from my MIL saying "Okay. I am done. I'm tired of being in charge." Along with all about how this is the 6th shower she'll plan, she's tired of it, etc etc. Now we are meeting tonight at 6:30. She was no part of planning the food, the dessert, etc. My other sister in law (Nick's sister) is doing the invitations. Now, I wouldn't be so cranky about helping (though, remember, I'm NOT in the wedding...), but it was the approach that makes me not want to help at all. She also was talking about working 40+ hours a week, etc etc. Like the rest of us aren't working 40 hours a week? Just grr.

So, now I'm in a bad mood because the ONE highlight I'd get this weekend, fizzled when Nick went into work this morning.

And yes, I know it's a dumb rant, but I'm frustrated about it.


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## knightrider

I'd be frustrated too. My rides are usually the best thing about my days and when I don't get to ride, the day just is kind of blah. I need the rides.

And I think it is silly for people to tell you what you have to wear when you are not in the wedding party.


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## Tazzie

It was disappointing, but such is life. And I agree. Heck, I had people in University of Michigan t-shirts and shorts at my wedding since I told people they could watch the game during the reception. I just don't want to spend the money on a dress I won't wear often.

Now, for an update!

I went and rode last night. I truly wasn't feeling like riding. All day I was just tired and lacked a lot of motivation. It was hot (nearly 90) and fairly humid (we had an air quality alert in place due to it.) But I planned to just suck it up and ride. It was actually my drive home that made me feel that yesterday would be a good day to ride. I only hit 2 out of like 20 stoplights (actually, probably more than that), which is nuts. I typically hit at least half of them every day. We had to feed anyway, so figured a nice, short ride would be good.

Got her tacked up, hopped on, and felt her in a mood. But a GOOD mood. The kind where I have her on a long rein and she is just desperately searching for the contact. I picked up a little rein, and felt her really stretch into it. I hadn't really asked her to do anything, just walk on. But I felt her lifting her back and swinging strides. Even on a pretty darn loose rein. She felt GOOD. Picked her up and had a nice strutting walk. Just so malleable. Changes of direction were a breeze, and I could really feel her committing to the changes of direction and bend. She got a bit fussy, and I asked Nick if she had something on her. Nasty fly right in the middle of her face. Nick killed it quickly, and we went on our way.

Picked up the trot, and it was just so nice! I asked Nick if it looked like we were still trotting into the ground (like the regional pictures) or a bit more level/tending toward uphill. I felt like we were at the very least level, but what I feel and what can be seen on the ground sometimes don't really match. But he said she looked really good! Lots of direction changes with her again totally willing to commit to the bend and direction changes.

Went into the canter next. Lovely departure into a lovely canter, both ways! Actually had quite a few moments where I felt her totally carrying herself and lifting herself into the next stride. Just such a blissful moment! She can't hold it too long though since it's very hard for her and she's still gaining the muscle to truly sit and lift, but man it felt nice!

Let her walk, then picked back up the trot. Her tail started basically acting like a windmill, but nothing seemed off. Looked back, and she had a big old nasty bug on her haunches! I'm lucky she didn't buck excessively! This is when I knew my mare has grown up. She wanted to do what I asked even with a blood thirsty bug on her. We killed whatever we could on her too, much to her relief. She had one on her chest she couldn't reach, and Nick yelled at me to bring her over. Izzie perked her ears and quickly trotted over to daddy for him to smack the thing :lol:

Then I asked for it. I asked for a walk to canter. I felt she was there, mentally, to try it last night. And after the bug was killed, and she was happy, she obliged with a lovely walk to canter! SO. HAPPY. I only attempted it once, and she was patted a lot for it. Then I let her rip and roar a little bit in an extended canter/hand gallop :lol: she LOVED that! Came back to a lovely trot afterward, and she was BEGGING to stretch. I always feel this is a good sign of working all the good muscles when your horse is asking to stretch at the end of the ride. And boy did she stretch! She felt SO nice!

So, not a long ride at all. But I will ALWAYS take a quality ride over a longer ride that may boil down into one of us getting agitated, finding a place to quit, and quitting.

She got dinner shortly after, and was ready to head back out afterward!

Plan is to ride again tonight. Can't tomorrow since Nick will be working late. I'll still see her since I need to feed them. I'm just so happy with her though! Hoping for another nice ride tonight!


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## Tazzie

Didn't end up riding last night. There was a threat of thunderstorms all day, and it was dark/drizzly when I got off work. Nick went down to just feed instead. Then, of course, it didn't rain at home. Not sure if it did where Izzie is though. She's further west of where we live, so there is a chance it rained there, and not at home. Managed to get my bathroom clean and laundry folded though :lol: and Nick mowed the lawn.

Tonight I can't ride since Nick is working 6 pm until 7am or so. So just me and the kiddos for the evening! Tomorrow he'll be off, so as long as it doesn't rain (there is a chance of rain all day, so we will see...) he'll meet me down there with the kids. May end up going bareback though...

Nick fed early today since he forgot to find someone to pick up the kiddos. Can't have the babysitter watch them that long (her kids are in sports; I REFUSE to be the mom that makes her late to her own kid's practices!!) Anyway, Nick fed early today, and sent me the below picture... Everyone always thinks Izzie is so graceful because she really is under saddle. Loose in her field though? Nope. We think she thinks she is A LOT shorter than she actually is. Either that, or she fell and slid. Legs aren't sore, just that area. She's done it enough in the last 5 years Nick just sends me a picture, then starts treatment on it. Least she did it AFTER regionals...

He didn't answer if that dirt skid mark is sensitive, or just dirt. If it's just dirt, the saddle and pad will be fine. If it's sensitive, bareback it is! And maybe I'll be brave enough to canter her bareback :lol:

Also included are two cute pictures, taken on different days, of Izzie  this is how she lets me know when she's done eating and ready to go back outside. She doesn't paw, kick, or make noise. Just sits and stares at me. I laugh EVERY time since I suddenly feel a gaze on me :lol: I love that sassy, accident prone mare :lol:

And the bay head you see belongs to one of her pasture mates, Flash. A 31 year old grade (suspected quarter horse, I think?) gelding who was a whiz on barrels and poles. He'll end up living to 100 to spite the farrier since he's a pain to trim :lol:


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## Tazzie

So, in light of her large ouchy, I rode bareback today...

I need to either ride bareback a bit more often, or I need to do more no stirrup work. My legs and abs BURNED after just a walk and slow trot work. I don't have the guts, yet, to ride her real trot bareback. Fortunately Izzie is a very, very good girl and does a careful, slow trot when mommy is bareback. Though, she also tried to make me believe that she just couldn't possibly work correctly bareback! By the end she realized that just because there was no saddle did not mean she wasn't expected to work correctly :lol: I'm hoping to ride again tomorrow and this weekend. Hoping the minor part of it feels better in a day or two and I can go back to the saddle. Hard to train for shows when you can't work in a saddle (and don't have guts to walk, trot AND canter in the big open field...) That entire dirt mark with the ouchy looking areas is also ouchy. That is the "minor" area, and would be rubbing against the saddle. I'd rather her truly learn to work with me bareback than to really make her mad/cause pain and ride in the saddle. Not worth it to me. Our next show is in 2 weeks, then a dressage one in 3 (if I get my entries in; just a schooling show to practice First 3 and we will also do First 2). Then one in September and two in October  That'll be it for the year!


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## knightrider

Have you ever tried Nu Stock for ouchies like that? I don't know if it just stinks so bad that the flies leave it alone or if it is super effective, but it is the best thing I have ever found for rubbed spots like that. I never put it on a cut until the blood is gone, but once it looks like that, I find in just a few days, it starts to get some skin on it. Good luck with the healing. I am excited about your shows.


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## Tazzie

Fortunately no blood, and it's scabbed over at this point. Our tried and true procedure is we use Furazone on it until it's not sensitive to touch (just a day or so) and then we start spritzing Calm Coat on it to promote the hair to grow again. Can usually start to see new hair growth within 3 days using that stuff. Which helps an awful lot when you want it healed up, covered, and in the past :lol:

We fly spray liberally around the area too, and have never had an issue with flies aggravating it! Thankfully our buddy has been lathering her up yesterday and today to help her out, and he'll help us with the Calm Coat too. She should have not much trace of it left by show time!

And thanks! I'm excited too. I'm hoping to talk Nick into letting me do the Snowbird Dressage series they usually host at the KHP. One of my friends will have her two showing there, and I think it'd be beneficial to us to get out and do more than just the rail classes! And get more practice showing First 3 in particular!


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## DanteDressageNerd

Ive been meaning to respond for a few days but have been getting caught up with other things.

Izzie seems to really enjoy the cavaletti! I think it's great how much it opens their shoulders and stride. It looks like Nick did a really good job. But cross training for jumping would be good, especially if your little girl decided to pick up jumping! So she has something safe and good to learn on.

It's also great you finally got a good walk to canter, that's awesome! So glad Izzie is ready for it now! And you had such an excellent ride! I also hope Izzie fully appreciates how lucky she is to have a mom and dad who love her so much they smack and kill the evil bug that come around this time of year.

Those are pretty good skid marks, eeek. I hope she heals up quickly! Though bareback is good (not all the time) but good in moderation. But if you keep riding bareback your confidence, balance, coordination and strength will build. And sensitive arab things do like a bareback pad I notice  But hopefully it heals quickly! I hope the "potions" do the trick! 

But good luck in your next dressage show! I hope all goes well!


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## Tazzie

Haha, it's ok! You've had a lot of other things on your plate 

He really did do a good job  I'm pretty excited about them! And his work bought a bunch of new cones, so he asked if he could take some home. They said yes! Now my "arena" can have corner markers!!! So excited! I know it's silly, but man I'm excited! We'll see if Syd really does want to jump. Who really knows at this point what she'll do. But I think Izzie would like to jump. Not full time, but I think it'd be a good break for her. Now that she's 6 I feel ok letting her learn how to do it!

I don't think she's ready for them every single ride, but I do think when she's having a good thinking day we can do a nice one or two. Enough to play with it, but not enough to totally blow her mind. Like yesterday would have been a disastrous to try a walk to canter and would have just ended with a highly stressed horse. I'm just glad we're finally getting closer to being ok with it! I hope so too, though she's started to try and take advantage of that, and make up when bugs are on her to get out of work. She learned she had to work through it yesterday a bit. I won't be unreasonable, but she's starting to use it as an evasion. She bites her chest, I take her to Nick, he doesn't see a bug, and therefore she got a break on her terms. Nope. Thankfully she is sane we can kill bugs everywhere on her though!

She's healing fairly well! Didn't seem sensitive with a pressure test when we did it yesterday, so ditching medicine now and going to the Calm Coat to promote hair growth. Should be good soon. Yeah, I need to get a bareback pad. She wasn't comfortable doing more than walk, and not a good, through walk until she figured out I still meant business. I know I have bony seat bones, so that doesn't help. Maybe soon I can get a bareback pad!

And thanks!! It'll just be for fun, but it'll give us a chance to ride through it again in a show situation. It'll be fun, and I'll get to show with two of my friends. One of which is who I bought my saddle from. It'll be fun!

I have an updated pic of Izzie's ouchy, so you can see how it's healing now. I did ride yesterday, but even though it didn't appear sensitive to touch, it must still have been with the saddle. After some thinking we've decided just to let her be for a couple of days just spraying calm coat on it. Hopefully by like Tuesday she'll be ok to be in a saddle and ride. We tried the saddle yesterday. She wasn't terrible, but she didn't want to bend around my right leg at all. She's normally tough that way anyway, but this was a different sort. Like, she wanted to do it, and she would try it, but she went back to popping the inside shoulder way too quickly. More of an "that was ouchy!!" rather than outright disobedience. I don't want to sour her on it, so I'm just going to err on the side of caution and let her have a couple more days.

My daughter did get to ride, and she lost it when she had to hop off. Like, full on tantrum. She got over it, but she's totally my child. She didn't want to say "Whoa" at all, but was all over saying "walk on!" Totally my kiddo :lol:

Here is the video  Love my little girl, both human and pony. You'd think Izzie was a dead broke kids horse judging by the video and not a 6 year old that can get a little too game at horse shows :lol:


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## DanteDressageNerd

lol that is true. Was a rough week :lol:

That's great!! I'm glad youre getting some cones to deal with! That's definitely going to help when you can mark your space! I honestly don't blame you for being excited about some new cavaletti and cones! It's really helpful! And being able to mark your arena space helps a lot too! And jumping/cross training is good for them! Makes a big difference in their shoulder! and really improves the sit and lift in the canter!

Makes sense to me. You don't have to do it all in one day, just what is appropriate. It needs to be confidence building vs pressuring like with that one clinician. It'll be good. But that's funny she thinks bugs will get her out of work. I agree they are annoying and awful, I hate them too but still gotta be a big girl and tough it out! At least she's working that out.

I'm glad she's healing well. It already looks better. But I'm sure a bareback pad would help if you guys end up doing more bareback work. I really prefer them because they have the extra padding so it's not just seat bone points into their back because as you know. These sensitive ponies don't like that too much! I have a bony butt too  some things just can't be helped.

That's great! I hope the show goes well! And you guys have a great time!

I saw the video on facebook, it's still super cute! She reminds me a little of me as a kid! I would have LOVED to have a horse mom to get me riding early and refused to get off and wanted to go fast! I was an adrenaline junky as a kid :lol: but that video is SO cute!!


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## Tazzie

It really is  I'm pretty pumped about them really! He just has to get the poles that'll go on top of them to create my corners  haven't really used the cavaletti since that video. Haven't really ridden since it either :sad: trying to let her shoulder heal!

Yup! Like Saturday would have been SO detrimental to try and get her to walk to canter. Mindset wasn't there. She could hardly lift up off the forehand in general. Would have been a disaster and with both of us being sour. Not worth it to me. And yeah, we've stopped to kill them so much I think that now she tries to power walk to Nick to just stand there. He walks around her to make sure nothing is on her, then she's put to work right there. Darn pony :lol:

I thought it looked better! Haven't seen it since Saturday, but hoping it looks even better now. Hoping to go out and try to ride today, so we will see. Not sure when I can get a bareback pad. It's not high up on our priority list right now :lol: but maybe a gift from my in laws for Christmas? I don't know lol and exactly! Can't help a bony butt lol!

I'll at least have fun hanging out with my friends  just going for fun and to get more practice at First 3. Don't care about placing, will be curious about scores, but ultimately I just want a good run of it in public.

Yeah, she's just like me :lol: my dad said I'm in trouble haha! I told him I knew. Told him I'd say there is a good chance she'll try and steal Izzie from me :lol:

So, for the show coming up, there will be some new fun!! Here is my rundown:

I'll be showing in at least Hunter Pleasure and English Pleasure (both strict Arab classes; English Pleasure is open to all disciplines). May do one or two other classes as well.
Syd will be doing leadline.
Kaleb will be doing the stick horse competition.
And my babysitter's daughter is going to show Izzie in Arab Halter and maybe English Halter (I don't know the proper presentation for English Halter, so I've inquired about it.) This girl is OBSESSED with horses. If Izzie was just a bit better/more consistent under saddle, and the girl had had riding lessons, then I'd let her show Izzie walk-trot. Just, not yet.

So, exciting! I know Izzie will be perfect for the girl to handle in halter. She practically falls asleep in those classes :lol: and it'll make a little girl's day. Just hoping she can pull a ribbon or two to take with her to West Virginia to remind her of the show!


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## DanteDressageNerd

As well you should be but I hope Izzie's shoulder heals quickly.

For sure. Everybody has their good and bad days and it's best to pick your battles and keep her confidence than push and destroy it when she's doing so well. And :lol: Izzie really is a true daddy's girl. She knows who babies her :lol:

No you certainly cant help a bony bottom! But Christmas or birthday sounds appropriate! But I'm sure it will look better. Hopefully you got a chance to ride!

I hope it all goes well and if anything at least you'll have a great time with friends and more experience!

lol I'd say. She's going to take your horse from you as soon as she's able to :lol: she is your child! At least she wants to ride!

Overall the show sounds like it'll be a blast! I hope it all goes well! But I get what you mean. It's nice to give horse crazy girls the opportunity to ride and ride something safe/trained but I agree in waiting until she has lessons and more experience for safety and good experiences. 

But I hope she's great in halter and makes the younger girls weekend! That is truly a special gift!


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## Tazzie

I'm hoping it has, that's for sure! And praying another bad scrape doesn't pop up again!

Yup! And yes, she is definitely a daddy's girl :lol:

I think so! And no, we didn't end up going. I stepped outside and it felt like I'd face planted into a wall of moisture. It was just ugh. Instead we had dinner with my in laws including my brother in law. His birthday was yesterday. Afterward we went swimming. I'm hoping we can go today. Last chance until like SUPER early Saturday morning. Heat index will be in the 100s this weekend *sigh*

I will definitely have that!

And exactly :lol: Syd is SO my child it's hilarious. Hopefully we convince her a better broke/older horse is the way to go at first :lol: not that I'd risk my kiddo if I didn't think Izzie would be safe. Right now I wouldn't turn them loose, but no telling how it'll be in a few years.

I'm pretty excited and it seems so is she! They are going to do two classes, so that'll be good! Fingers crossed she can pull some ribbons! Otherwise, I'll be giving her mine from my under saddle classes :lol: and each of my kiddos will get on from their classes. Will make a few kids happy!


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## DanteDressageNerd

I'm sure it'll heal and be over with soon!

She sure sounds like it from all the special spoiling daddy does for her :lol: Glad she's got a daddy.

The heat and humidity have been dreadful and terrible the last few days. I totally get it. Our heat index was 116!! It's awful!! But I'm glad you at least got to swim and spend time with family. That's important too. But hope you can get some rides in!

Then it will be a wonderful trip!

In a few years I'm sure Izzie would be fine but who knows and maybe she should have an older, been there done that horse first for her best interest and so you can keep riding your girl! Mom's deserve to reap the reward of their hard work too! But that's precious. If I'm lucky enough to be a mother, Id love to have a horse crazy girl too. 

Aww awesome!! That sounds like a very special experience for the kidos!! I hope they all have a blast! It's really nice of you to offer your ribbons!


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## Tazzie

It looks better, just isn't quite right yet. Arg.

I am too :lol: she loves him!

It's awful! It's going to be NASTY here this weekend. NOT looking forward to it. They've put out a heat advisory until tomorrow evening. So, we'll see if I can ride early tomorrow morning.

I definitely want to find a nice been there, done that kind of horse if for no other reason than to have a spare horse people can trail ride with. Basically a second family horse. I've told Nick we'll need a second horse when we get a farm anyway, so... hehe. And yes! I'd like to go as far as I can with Izzie before I relinquish her to my kids :lol: I know it'll happen, but I'd love the satisfaction of taking her from baby to Grand Prix myself with the help of my trainer. I know it can be done!

I'm still hoping she pulls her own ribbons just because I feel she'd value them more. But I want her to leave with SOMETHING. Fingers crossed!

I got to ride on Wednesday, which was ok. She's still not 100%. Nick and I are going to do a couple exercises the chiro showed us to help loosen her hips. Can't get her into the chiro for a couple of weeks  so we have to make do on our own (and I REFUSE to find someone else; I trust my chiro and really no one else in our area.) And it's clear she's struggling with the ouchy on her shoulder. It's bad when even Nick can see she's heavy on the forehand at the canter *sigh* we got her leveled out at all three gaits, but asking for true uphill work was just not within reach. And it won't be until this dang thing heals and gets the hair back on it. We did have some ok trot work at least. I think cantering is harder just because she has to bounce up into it? I don't know. Either way, still needs time.

Yesterday our car broke down. Alternator went bad in it in a big way. Shorted out and was smoking. Thank god Nick was driving and quickly disconnected it from the battery (breaking the battery terminal in the process so we have to replace that too.) New alternator is $160. Thankfully Nick can fix it himself, which is helpful. Just ugh. Not what I'd wanted to do last night!

Tonight Nick has softball. Tomorrow morning I'm going to attempt to ride, but we'll see what it's like when we get up. May wake up early to see the temps. Not holding my breath since I think it's staying in the high 70's overnight tonight. Meaning by the time the sun comes up it'll be creeping toward 90's again. And HUMID. I think it rained a bit earlier, but I'm sure it just added to the humidity *sigh*

Picture of her shoulder from Wednesday.


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## DanteDressageNerd

Tazzie said:


> It looks better, just isn't quite right yet. Arg.
> 
> I am too
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> she loves him!
> 
> It's awful! It's going to be NASTY here this weekend. NOT looking forward to it. They've put out a heat advisory until tomorrow evening. So, we'll see if I can ride early tomorrow morning.
> 
> I definitely want to find a nice been there, done that kind of horse if for no other reason than to have a spare horse people can trail ride with. Basically a second family horse. I've told Nick we'll need a second horse when we get a farm anyway, so... hehe. And yes! I'd like to go as far as I can with Izzie before I relinquish her to my kids
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I know it'll happen, but I'd love the satisfaction of taking her from baby to Grand Prix myself with the help of my trainer. I know it can be done!
> 
> I'm still hoping she pulls her own ribbons just because I feel she'd value them more. But I want her to leave with SOMETHING. Fingers crossed!
> 
> I got to ride on Wednesday, which was ok. She's still not 100%. Nick and I are going to do a couple exercises the chiro showed us to help loosen her hips. Can't get her into the chiro for a couple of weeks
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> so we have to make do on our own (and I REFUSE to find someone else; I trust my chiro and really no one else in our area.) And it's clear she's struggling with the ouchy on her shoulder. It's bad when even Nick can see she's heavy on the forehand at the canter *sigh* we got her leveled out at all three gaits, but asking for true uphill work was just not within reach. And it won't be until this dang thing heals and gets the hair back on it. We did have some ok trot work at least. I think cantering is harder just because she has to bounce up into it? I don't know. Either way, still needs time.
> 
> Yesterday our car broke down. Alternator went bad in it in a big way. Shorted out and was smoking. Thank god Nick was driving and quickly disconnected it from the battery (breaking the battery terminal in the process so we have to replace that too.) New alternator is $160. Thankfully Nick can fix it himself, which is helpful. Just ugh. Not what I'd wanted to do last night!
> 
> Tonight Nick has softball. Tomorrow morning I'm going to attempt to ride, but we'll see what it's like when we get up. May wake up early to see the temps. Not holding my breath since I think it's staying in the high 70's overnight tonight. Meaning by the time the sun comes up it'll be creeping toward 90's again. And HUMID. I think it rained a bit earlier, but I'm sure it just added to the humidity *sigh*
> 
> Picture of her shoulder from Wednesday.


Her shoulder looks a ton better. And I know from the picture with her dad's arm around her that she's a daddy's girl.

I hope tomorrow morning works out but I totally hear you about the heat. The humidity is terrible. It chokes you to breathe. I hope it's not too awful.

Totally makes sense. Mama bear is entitled to her share of joy and earning her achievements too. You did the work and deserve the chance to get as far as you can together but a 2nd horse sounds good for the family!! You deserve to keep your baby before your other baby tries to take over  seperate horses and a buddy for Izzie sounds good.

Oh for sure. Best to earn them but it's nice to get something. Especially that young.

I hope she heals fast, so you can get her back into work where you both feel good about it. I hope her shoulder heals soon
It already looks better!! Shoulder moves a lot in canter.

I know Nick will fix the alternator and everything will work itself out. I hope all goes well and it all gets together. I don't blame you. I hate car troubles too.

I hearyou on the weather and humidity. We have it just as bad. It's dreadful!! Georgia was pretty bad but can barely breath in this sauna. Humidity is SO bad. I hope it gets better soon.


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## Tazzie

Hopefully it looks even better now! Haven't been out since... And yup. True daddy's girl!

It didn't. It was brutal already Saturday morning. Woke up yesterday and was so muggy I felt like I'd just stepped out of a hot shower, BLECH. Was hoping for today, but we are apparently under a heat advisory warning. It was 81+ before 7 am today, and a heat index of 105. That is without the humidity. I was hoping to ride, but I'll have to see what it's like after work. Izzie needs work, but we'd both rather not die of heat stroke. After today it SHOULD cool off though, so maybe one more day off won't hurt? I feel bad dragging Nick and the kids out in the heat too with barely any shade except the Polaris. I really have to see what the temp/humidity is when we get off work.

I told Nick I want a dead broke, jump on "Indian style" horse. One that will be a total dead head. Nick's like "good luck with that." I said I bet Blair could find it :lol: once we go on a house hunt I'll be telling her to start searching lol

Yup, exactly. I feel the horse industry is getting too cut throat. Like, what happened to the nice people trying to give people a step up? When I grew up I had hand me down show clothes and I leased horses. So far this year I've given a budding horse enthusiast a gift card to a tack shop to get more riding pants (won it at the show in Michigan; had grabbed treats, but then decided to grab the gift card to give to the girl), and now I'll be paying the entry fees for this girl to show Izzie. It's only $10 a class, so not much. But I want to ENCOURAGE more people to get into it. I don't want people to come in, see how cut throat people are and go "no thanks." I want people welcomed in, helped along the way, and then turn around and help more people. I know I'm just a small fish in a huge ocean, but I do believe I can help make a change even if it's a small one.

It really does. I think she made her hip a bit ouchy too when she went down, so we'll be doing her hip exercises to help her out. I'm sure she's enjoying her little vacation though :lol:

He got it all fixed up! Though we think having the alternator start smoking shorted out the temperature sensor. It now thinks the outside temp is 65 degrees. I wish :lol: Nick thought he broke it, but I'm certain it's from having that go bad in a big way. He got the oil changed on my cobalt and replaced the belt that had just started squeaking. Ordered a new wheel barring for it too since it went bad. Next thing that car will need is new tires. Dodge needed an oil change too, but someone insisted on trying to fix brakes that needed work, but weren't bad. Ended up destroying the rotors. So oil didn't get changed and now we had to buy even more parts *sigh* stupid vehicles. And we need that truck this weekend. ARG.

I imagine you do too. It's so nasty out. They are calling for thunderstorms every day this week, including show day. NOT HAPPY. Told mom she needs to do her rain juju :lol: temperature is supposed to go down this week at least, so hopefully it'll either rain during my work day, or AFTER I'm done riding! That's my hope at least. It kind of looks like rain outside, but it has all day so far. It looked hazy from the humidity when I got in too. It's so gross I felt like I'd melt outside!

Least I had an ok weekend. Saturday I took the kids to get Kaleb some new boots. He outgrew his and needed new ones (he helps daddy in the garage a lot; need boots for that!) Picked out some nice ones, and the people working laughed SO hard when he grabbed my leg in a big hug and said "You're my mommy! I love you!" Had McDonalds for lunch as a little treat since it was just the three of us (daddy was bush hogging). Kaleb was perfect. Syd didn't want to eat. She ate it in the car on the way home, brat. Nick got home and we went and did our shopping. Stopped at Autozone for the alternator and battery terminal, went to Harbor Freight because Nick had gift cards and a coupon to get a pipe bender, went to Barnes & Noble where mommy got books (and the magazine Practical Horseman because my friend's Anglo-Arab was in the conformation clinic in it, and was their number one pic!!), had dinner, then went grocery shopping. Came home and had a late night swim :lol:

Sunday I cleaned my entire house and did laundry. I'd asked Nick for MONTHS to dust since dust is my number one allergen, and when I dust I have a rough rest of the day. Well, he didn't. So I finally did. And proceeded to sneeze the rest of the day. Not amusing to me. Went swimming again last night. Water is SO warm. Kids enjoyed it!

Now I have a semi relaxing afternoon at work. Got the more intense lab work done by 10:30, so that was nice. Now it's just a matter of taking stuff off, spinning them, putting them back in the machine, and dispensing more things onto it. Simple work :lol:


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## DanteDressageNerd

Yikes!! I totally hear you about the heat. It's been terrible here too! Im so glad you decided not to ride during the extreme heat. It's really terrible. Im glad you all took precautions and Izzie got some rest.

:lol: good luck. I hope you find your good as gold, dependable, awesome horse she can play on, fall off of, and learn on!! Gallop through the fields bareback with!

That makes entire sense to me!! That's incredibly kind of you to do so much for the kid and trying to get her more involved with horses and encouraging her to get into the show. What an amazing gift to give her! Everything. I really admire your kindness and generosity. I hope it gets her foot in the door.

Im sure lol well hopefully she'll be well soon!

Im glad Nick got the cars/vehicles taken care of. I know nothing about cars but glad he does and can do the work himself.

Im so sorry about the weather. We had a really nasty storm last night. I felt so bad for putting the horses out in it but the radar looked pretty clear :/ then it wasnt. But yikes the storms in the midwest are terrible! Hope everyone does well through it, despite the ugly/nastiness.

It sounds like an overall good weekend. Im glad the kids are doing well and everyone is happy. Im so glad Caleb is so appreciative. That's really sweet! And getting to swim, since I know you enjoy that. I hope the day went well


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## Tazzie

Yeah, just wasn't worth even trying. I'm already a huge hater of extreme heat, so whenever it's too hot I hide in the house :lol: I know she enjoyed her time off though!

We will when the time is right! I know that Blair will know what I'm truly looking for, so she'll be a good one to put on the hunt. Breed won't matter for the first horse, just dependable. And I won't care about style. For fair type stuff it won't matter :lol: Plus, I want them to try a variety of styles before the settle on one. Dressage is really the only thing I've trained in, which I'm fine with. But I want the kids to explore a wide variety to see if something else strikes their fancy more.

Thanks  I had a lot of help growing up to get into the show world. I'm really hoping by the time they move back we will have our farm, or be in the process of getting our farm. I want to do what our buddy Cliff has done for us. When we first bought Izzie, I paid $100 a month to keep her there, including hay and grain. I now pay for her grain because the show and performance grain he feeds had too high of a NSC content which made Izzie crazy. But I've already told her that when we get a farm, she should go shopping for a horse and it'd have a place to live. They wanted to get one, just don't have a place to keep it. So... I want to help them where I can! And if we get a decent enough farm we'd be growing our own hay like Cliff does. We'll see what happens in a few years!

She felt better yesterday. We did her hip exercises and her stretching for the muscles in that leg, and her canter felt MUCH better after it. Plan to do some more tonight, and maybe show Cliff how to do it so he can do it tomorrow and Thursday (Nick has softball those two days.) Also trying to work out a day for our babysitter to come down with her daughter so she can practice handling Izzie. Everyone laughs and just says "you know Izzie's going to fall asleep with a little girl holding her, right?" Yup, I'm well aware of this :lol: Izzie already falls asleep in halter classes. Having a kid hold her will make her even more mellow :lol: So if we go down for handling lessons, I'll just do her exercises. Just easier for the guys since they are taller and can get a better angle to it :lol:

I'm learning from him.... there is a lot to know really. All of them should be right as rain soon, I hope. Tired of cars constantly needing work.

It rained here just briefly, and didn't come back at night (that I'm aware of.) Calling for scattered thunderstorms today. My app shows thunderstorms all week, but I'm just trying to focus on today and riding :lol: I hate when it looks like the weather is clear, and then suddenly it's not :/ I'm hopeful everyone stays good through them.

It really was! Kaleb is really a hoot :lol: he LOVES boots, but his old ones were causing sores. He needed new ones before he showed in the stick horse competition Saturday. I'm REALLY hoping my in laws come for at the very least halter and the kids classes. My mother in law takes GORGEOUS pictures. I'm fine if she doesn't stay for mine, but I'd REALLY like for her to get pictures of Izzie and the little girl. I plan to tell her snuggling is totally ok when you aren't on deck, so hopefully we can get a picture to frame of them to send with them to WV. That's at least my dream.... I can't take pictures since I *think* I'll be showing Blair's mare while she shows her client horse. And I want Nick at the ready to help the girl from the rail (direct her, etc.) And yes, LOTS of swimming! They went swimming again yesterday with my in laws :lol: the water was TOO warm (they have a solar cover on it), like hot tub hot. Blech! They left the cover off to try and cool it down a bit!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

UPDATE!!! YAY!

Nick told me he had softball Wednesday and Thursday. He's playing back to back games Wednesday, so no option to ride, and an early game on Thursday. So he said if I planned to ride, I had better ride Monday and Tuesday. Alright, fine (though it was still a bit warm.) I told him to call his dad and see if they would watch the kids since I didn't want them out in that heat. They agreed to watch them, whew!

So, get down to ride. Her shoulder looks A LOT better. Still doing the calm coat until I give her a bath on Friday, just to get as much hair growth as I can. Told Nick I plan to tell the girl what to tell the judge if they ask about the scrape. Just say "she's an outside horse, there is no telling what she did." :lol:

Izzie started off SUPER opinionated. I was like "honey, your Arab is showing" lol! Lots of shoulder in to redirect her attention and get her thinking. Had some nice stretching work to start off our ride, and decent canters. First time in nearly two weeks it didn't feel like she was trying to run us into the ground. Gave her a break and checked with Nick. Said she was at or just slightly above level at the canter. WHEW, much better than last week!

Picked her back up and did walk-trot-walk transitions both ways to help her come up a bit more. Got her going a bit more uphill. Not as good as I've gotten with Maggy, but better than we'd been getting. Still need to build that strength up. Asked for a canter and she went "no, I don't think so." Alright, need my whip. Don't need to use it, just carry it when she has an opinion like that. It wasn't an "ouch, it hurts to canter" refusal. It was a "no, it's too hot and I don't feel like it, thanks" refusal. Grabbed the whip and suddenly there was A LOT of "yes ma'am!" from her. Ok, good. Beautiful upward and downward transitions. Like, her canter felt a million times better than our warmup. Like it was effortless and like she was truly floating. By now she was sharp to my aids, so felt "well, let's ask for a walk to canter, shall we?" Just did to the left since that's her good way. I sat up, half halted, and cued her. BAM! Uphill launch into the canter. I literally said "WOW!" as we hit it. LOTS of pats and good girls, prompt walk and long rein to call it a day. SO PLEASED! She seemed proud of herself too, which is always a plus. Will have to see what her mindset is today and see about maybe working with it on both leads.

And the topping on the cake? It's pretty trivial to some, but it made me grin like an idiot. Izzie is VERY much a left handed horse. Anything to the right takes a lot more preparation and work to get it right. Cantering to the right used to be SO unbalanced and awful, and she used to flat out refuse to pick it up. When I turned her loose (and after she had her snacks :lol she cantered away to find her buddies down at the watering hole, ON HER RIGHT LEAD! :loveshower::loveshower::loveshower: I'm SO happy. I feel like I finally have her on a good track and we're really, really progressing now. Seeing such a trivial thing to me though was HUGE. She typically always grabbed her left lead, regardless. I laughed and said "well, she WAS bending to the right when she grabbed it!!" AHHH! Ok, I'm done now LOL

So, hopefully another good ride tonight is in order!


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## DanteDressageNerd

That sounds really fair. To keep things open and allow them to make their own choices and I guess the kids will share a horse? But I agree breed doesn't matter, as long as the horse is safe and dependable and gives them experience.

That sounds really nice. That;s really great of you to make such an offer. She's really lucky to have a friend who wants to help her get involved in horses and the show industry  it's also great you've had as much help as you have had from Cliff and now you're able to pass that kindness along. I miss the days when communities were actually supportive and helpful and made efforts for each other 

That's priceless. Your kids sound really great  That'd be great if your in laws could come out and take pictures of at least the kids and support them. Wow!! It really sounds like your team is organized!! That is awesome! I hope it runs smoothly for you all! And can't wait for pictures! And YIKES hot tub hot is not cool for swimming, the point is to escape the heat!!

I'm glad Nick has something he enjoys and is able to play too! But I'm really glad her shoulder in healing!! That's wonderful to see!

That sounds like a really great ride!! So glad Izzie is working out her right lead and walk to canters, that's awesome!! That's super exciting!!


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## Tazzie

Initially yes, they'd share a horse. Until they can prove they are both invested and willing to take care of their mounts. And decide what direction they want to go. I'd like an older, full size horse just because then we can have a spare horse, and they can have one that's quiet enough for them. We will see.

I really wish there were more people willing to help others get in. It's becoming too elitist, that I like showing that a hobby rider CAN make it with determination and a bit of a homely horse. Izzie isn't as fancy as some of the others, but she TRIES. And we get there because we have teamwork, not just me sitting on a nice horse. Cliff was our godsend really. He really makes sure she's well taken care of! I miss those days too. I want people to want to help again, but some of them just aren't willing to.

As a matter of fact, she is! I really doubt she'll stay for my classes (maybe one since it's 2 classes after Syd's class), but she'll at least get all the kids! I'm SO excited! And yeah, pool needs some clean up after all the storms, so no clue when we can get in it again :sad:

I am too  and yeah! I'm happy with it. And happy she isn't diving out from under the saddle now!

It was a great ride! I know the cantering off on her own on the right lead is small, but it was just such a "wow" moment. Like, I finally have my horse ambidextrous now!

------------------------------------------------------------------

Long overdue update because work has been INSANE!

I rode Izzie again on Tuesday night. After a couple bratty moments, she settled into work. She didn't like the fact I started out with my whip, but she did relax after a bit of work. Had AWESOME trot work. Nick was like "she looks awesome!" Did all of our warmup and gave her a long rein. I felt I had a good working brain on her that day, so thought "let's work on walk to canters; like, actually work on them." So we did. To the right she tried grabbing the wrong lead twice and was getting flustered. So I just brought her up to canter the normal way to be like "this is what I'd like sweetheart!" She was like "OH!!" OMG. Walk to canter is a thing both ways now! She gets a bit excited going to the right sometimes, but it's an "I don't want to let mommy down by messing this up!!" rather than "OMG I can't do this, I'm not ready, I CAN'T!!!" Nick said her canter looked SO MUCH BETTER then too. Like we're FINALLY getting her strong enough to sit back on her haunches to carry her weight back there at the canter. What a process! I knew it would be, but my goodness! Just overall it was such a good ride! We also did a couple of walk-trot-walk transitions after the walk to canter to make sure she didn't think everything meant walk to canter now. She did so good!! SO PROUD OF HER! Of course the kiddos got to have a pony ride afterward too since I wanted to give Izzie a break from me riding her. She was happy with this :lol:

Wednesday Nick had back to back softball games, so I cleaned up some of the house.

Yesterday it was NASTY here. Major thunderstorms came through with an incredible amount of water. Everywhere was under a flood watch. We are all high enough to be out of the way of the water, but parts of Cincy were not. It was a mess. Nick's softball game was cancelled. So, cleaning, a bit of relaxing, and we shaved Penny since she gets unbearably hot in the summer.

Today the plan is to meet Nick at home, then head down to bathe Izzie and haul her up to the fairgrounds. My best friend should be leaving soon to head there (she's coming from further away and wants to get there earlier.) I'm pretty excited! I'll probably ride her a little bit tonight in the arena just to let her stretch her legs, but nothing too hard core. And hoping Nick doesn't end up working late... he was being called to a burn out as we left lunch today (he's up in my area for a bit), so we are hoping it's a quick one...

And last night I had a moment I didn't know if I should laugh, or cry, or both, or just hide... Kaleb came to me and told me Sydney had pooped but "I cleaned it!" :shock: went in. Well, he tried... he got MOST of it in the diaper bin. Some on his sheets... and some was on Syd's feet. So... bath for both kids while Nick helped me by going through his room to make sure nothing was missed. Ah, such is the life of kids...


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## DanteDressageNerd

Sounds like a good plan 

I entirely agree. It's becoming way too hard for a kid who didn't grow up with a horse family or wealth to get involved. I wonder if an issue is because as a society we've isolated ourselves to the point where people are no longer communal. It's hypocritical of me to say but we stick to ourselves and dont' get involved in the community like we did 30yrs ago. Things have changed and not necessarily for the better. And Izzie is plenty nice and you guys are a good team. But I agree people need to see you don't need 100k horse to make it!

At least she'll be there for the kids!

I'm really glad Izzie is becoming ambidextrous. Really awesome!! That really sounds like a great ride!! I'm so glad Izzie is getting the walk to canters without getting frazzled and is really coming into herself and gaining the strength and confidence in her work. I love that she has such a great workwoman attitude! That's fabulous she tries so hard! That's definitely her best characteristic! Worth it's weight in gold she tries so hard and wants to please.

I'm really glad Cliff has really helped you guys out and allowed you to work towards your dreams  that's truly a blessing!

I hear you on the storms. We've had some ugly ones too but good luck at the show!! I hope all goes well!!

I'm really glad Kaleb tried to help! At least he's learning, even if it meant clean up for both kids and a drained, exhausted Mama.


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## Tazzie

I thought so 

That could very well be the case. I just know I want to help people get into the sport. The only issue with my current area, is there aren't too many places to get real riding lessons. The place near where I keep Izzie, has a 16 year old giving lessons. While she may know a lot about riding, I'd want someone more experienced to work with someone very new. I know one lady who is VERY good with kids, but it's a Saddleseat barn and 45 minutes from our house. I think Maggy would be great, but they'd need their own horse. I don't know ANY western trainers since I'm not involved in that area really. I'm sure I could dig something up if needed, but off the top of my head none come to mind. Our area is very small. And thanks  I do agree Izzie is plenty nice, and she'll forever be my baby. But I took a gigantic chance on her. We didn't know she'd turn out this nice when we bought her. What I meant was the kids with the parents who don't blink at dropping tens of thousands of dollars on a horse. Not everyone can do that. I certainly couldn't. Regardless, when it's time for anyone to find a horse, I'm putting Blair on it. I met one of her matches this weekend, and OMG. These people are from IL. They wanted a super nice horse that the girl who is EXTREMELY talented could ride, but a horse that her mom who is an ok rider could ride too. One safe on the ground and good to show. For under 10k. Blair said she found them a unicorn, and she did. I don't know how long they've had her, and they did have to overlook her age, but that mare is AMAZING. She is 19 years old. Everyone thinks no older than 9. Literally the most beautiful horse to watch. Like, she gave that girl two effortless rides Saturday, and 100% earned her blue ribbons. They got that mare for 7.5k. I'd really only trust Blair to find what I'd need at this point :lol: and I know she's dying to help pick a stud to breed Izzie to when we're ready lol

She did a GREAT job with the pictures! I'm so pleased! And then she took our son with her since he wanted to go with her lol worked for us!

I am too! I love that she works so hard for me. She's just an amazing horse for me 

He definitely is a blessing  we couldn't do it without him!

I'm so over storms lol

Yeah, he really just wanted to help. Which I appreciate when he wants to help. Just explained not to do that again :lol:

---------------------------------------------------------------

Now for my update.

Went down to bathe Izzie to find her shoulder was a mess. We really aren't sure what is going on now. We chase this thing all year long, and no clue what it is. Our vet is not helpful with that, so I don't even bother calling him. I plan to contact the University of Kentucky, describe what happens, and see if they want to come out and investigate it. When it's something funky like this, they are all over checking it out. But it was quite sensitive to the touch. I opted not to ride in the ring Friday night and save whatever I would have from her for Saturday. A bit risky since I hadn't ridden since Tuesday, but I didn't want to make it any more sore than it was. My baby sitter's daughter came out to practice, and they LOVED it. I showed her how Izzie would trot slow and trot fast, stop as soon as you stopped, back up with you, the whole nine yards. She took over, but was having trouble running in her rain boots. Izzie did great with her though <3 she went by the scary announcers stand and it was AMAZING. Like, Izzie perked her ears at it and normally she would try to cut in on me instead of continue on her path. With the little girl, not even a hesitation to trot by it. So sweet too that she only had ears for the little girl. I pointed this out to my baby sitter. I said "you see how her ears are? How they are in a relaxed, back fashion? They aren't pinned, there is no tension. She is listening to her, and her alone."

Saturday I left early with Blair (we took separate cars) and we grabbed breakfast, then headed to the fairgrounds. Got there by 7:30 am. Got everyone fed and watered (Blair's client was SOO sweet! She met us and was like "I hope you didn't mind I threw your girl some hay!!!" Of course I didn't!!) and went to do our entries. I LOVE the men in charge. They are just a bunch of super sweet guys who really just want everyone to have a good show. I asked the one I go to with ALL of my problems if I could bounce a crazy question off of him. He facepalmed and I was like "yes, I know, you're used to this from me at this point haha!" I asked if I could run alongside the little girl. He asked what did I mean. I said I wanted to be in the ring, on the other side of Izzie, but not hold her. Just be there as an emergency brake kind of situation, in case something happened. I could get to her faster if I was in there instead of jumping through the fence. He said yes! Of course! I promised him I wouldn't wear what I had had on (baggy barn pants and an old shirt lol)

I took Izzie on a good long walk around the fairgrounds just to get her moving so she wouldn't be stiff. Her shoulder looked MUCH better (Blair gave her Dex to feel better, and it really helped.) She was happy to walk out for me! Got her all cleaned up and ready to show in halter! We decided since the girl hadn't ever handled a horse prior to Friday night that we would forgo the bridle and just show in her Arab halter for the Arab class, and her plain black one for the English class. Was told by the judge upon set up I should have left her in the Arab halter. Oops! I didn't realize I could! Will know for next time! The girl ROCKED it! Izzie broke down to a walk a couple of times, and I hadn't gone over how to set up for a proper halter class since I focused more on safe handling (that and we NEVER place in halter, period.) I really just wanted both to be safe. I didn't need to worry though  Izzie is a pro!

Next up was Kaleb's stick horse class. All that practicing, and he got super shy to do it lol so, mommy had to lead him around for it. Ah well! He loved his ribbon and goody bag though!

Afterward was Syd's lead line class! In an exciting twist, the class between lead line and my hunter pleasure had ZERO entries! So, Izzie's warm up was lead line! NOT ideal! Arena was muddy, so I was NOT going to walk around in my tall boots to get them nasty. Syd totally rocked it though! One of the show committee members came up to the rail and was like "Oh my goodness!!! Is this your youngest???" I was like yup!! This is Syd! She LOVED Syd and Izzie! Learned over to another person and said "she has the right breed of horse!" She is very much an Arab lover! Got Syd's ribbon and goody bag, then hustled out of the gate to get me ready and on Izzie.

Here is where frustration starts. I'm not on my horse yet. I'm finishing getting my jacket on since we had to take Syd's number off of her and put it on me (number supposed to go with the horse.) Nick helped with all that and getting Izzie ready. I'm nearly ready to mount when they call for my class. We all shout "NOT READY!!!" Finally get on, and head right in. Izzie is a SAINT. Perfect trot all the way around. I TOTALLY bombed the canter depart. Since I hadn't cantered her under saddle with that mess on her shoulder, I was certain she was going to be an idiot. So I braced and cued. She grabbed the wrong lead. I brought her to a trot and corrected, and had a gorgeous, GORGEOUS canter around the arena. Came back to walk where she rocked it. He called for a canter. I opted NOT to ask for walk to canter since we hadn't warmed up and thus, hadn't practiced it. Rocked the next lead though. At this point Blair shouts "You're good Katie!" Look up to see the other horse (a light grey, skinny thing that seriously needed to gain 300 lbs, and was in true hunter tack) going along happily on the wrong lead. Whew, alright, I've got this. Came back to a nice trot! Call for line up, and we went in and stood perfectly. Perfect back up and perfect step forward. This point I'm going "YES!!! FINALLY I win a dang class this year!" WRONG! Judge was BLIND or DUMB or BOTH. I don't know. He came up to me and said "your horse is beautiful and a beautiful mover, but you had the wrong lead whole first direction." I said "no, I did not. I grabbed the wrong lead but I did correct it." He said a rude "ok" and walked off. Other horse who WAS on the wrong lead won. If I had thought fast I would have said "I have a woman at the rail with a camera that would be HAPPY to show you that I had the correct lead." But I didn't. I did complain to the show management (the man who helps me with everything.) I told him I've never been one to flat out be like "I will NEVER, EVER show under this judge again, EVER" but I am about this one. I will NOT be accused of something I DID NOT DO. Fortunately he was in strong disagreement with how a few other classes were being pinned. Between that and the fact that I'm on the show committee as well, I'll be trying my darnedest to not have him back. Someone tried to say it's good experience for Izzie. Not those kind of shows. We got to it for convenience. It's literally in our back yard. I like these people, and I want to support this show. But a judge that dumb doesn't need to be judging shows. Sorry for ranting, but I was not, and still am not, happy about it at all.

Next class we have a minor issue with it. The judge ran both the Open English Pleasure and the Arabian English Pleasure class as a walk - trot class. By the rules, we should not have shown in it. But by the class list, it should have been a walk - trot - canter class. They ran the Open one like that last year, but I thought the judge just didn't know. Anyway, Izzie was TOUGH to hold back. We had had a GOOD warm up and she felt like "GAME ON." Tried to break into the canter shortly after entering, but I got her back. She really powered through it. It was an AMAZING, OUT OF THIS WORLD feeling. She was MAD we didn't canter, but such is life for Izzie :lol: she earned herself a 2nd out of 3 for it though! Placing second to my best friend's mare, who Nick said looked AWESOME too. But Nick was like "I am kicking myself for not recording some of that class. I've never seen her so light in the forehand and driving so much from behind. If you can show that in Dressage, no one will beat that trot." I was like alright, so the key is to make my horse REALLY WANT TO CANTER, and half halt like a maniac to not let her. Good to know! I told him if he had recorded it, it probably would have made up for the dumb judge. I'll have him record the Dressage tests on Saturday if he can (praying Blair can read my tests for me on Saturday.... praying REALLY hard) in hopes it makes an appearance again.

After I was done riding, the girl who rode Sadie rode Izzie. Blair is training their other mare with Dressage principles to help strengthen and stretch her back. But the girl hasn't ridden a horse that when asked will stretch out and into the contact. So she hopped on and we went behind the barns. She started just at the walk and got her stretching there. I let her go up to the trot to do some stretchy circles on her and she got her stretching pretty nicely that way. She stopped and was like "That was SOO cool!! Thank you for letting me feel this!" I kind of gave her reasons why they want to be in that outside rein, and why they stretch when you ask them to. I said when you set them up, and give them rein, and they want to follow it, it's because they want that communication. It's like a nice hand shake, or holding their hand. I told her to be aware of the outside getting loose. I said a Dressage horse likes contact on it, and a loose rein is like static in a telephone. Communication really can't get through, and they want that communication. Blair was like "Isn't that cool? That's what we are teaching Mia. I wanted you to feel what it is like on a horse that when you ask correctly they give it to you. That way you'll know you are asking Mia correctly and can ask again to get it until she learns it." Izzie was happy to help too!

After that, Nick brought the truck and trailer around, loaded everything up, then left with Izzie and Syd. Syd was asleep before they hit the fairgrounds gate lol! I was glad they could all get out of there! I stayed to watch all the western classes my friends were in. And they totally rocked it!! Blair showed an awesome little Palomino Arab to THREE first place ribbons! He looked SO good! My other friend I think has the same issues I do where she gets nervous and probably rides slightly different than she does at home.

It was a decent day overall though, minus the idiot judge confusing us. I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with all of my people!

Now for the pictures! This first one I didn't post to my Facebook. I'm keeping it hidden from my baby sitter since I plan to have it printed and framed for her daughter. I didn't want her to see it before hand! Like, it really warms my heart when I look at it <3










Another sweet picture:










A few others that make me PROUD to own this horse. Her care of this little girl is just amazing!


















Think this is a happy kid right here??










Then Kaleb and his stick horse! The pictures in the class aren't as good as these ones, so these will be the ones I share from him lol


























And Syd's lead line class!


























I'll post my riding pictures in the next post, so I don't run out of image space! That and I don't want my computer to lose it!


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## Tazzie

Alright, and a few from the riding class my mother in law caught! She didn't stay for the second class, which is fine. I'm happy she grabbed these! I hadn't asked her to, and even told her I only cared that she got pics of the kids. It was a pleasant treat!


































Some cantering pictures....


















Back to trot


















Pat for a job well done!










For humor, the face I make when I find out I'm getting gyped out of a first by a stupid judge (see above photos; NOT the wrong lead.)










Izzie looks beautiful though!


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## DanteDressageNerd

I know when I was in NC we had the same situation of essentially no decent trainer around and the one that was decent charged $75 a lesson! Would Blair be able to give her lessons? Or you could teach her? I think you'd be a really good job teaching, you have really good metaphors to explain things to someone who may not understand. It's really hard in some areas to find decent trainers, then in my area there are TONS. I can think of 5 or 6 FEI level riders within 1hr of me. But I will say there is a reason I train with who I do. The other ones tend to shove horses together, bully and push them around and get rid of them when they mentally crack which I'm just not okay with, where as my trainer(s) actually train the horses appropriately and educate the whole horse/rider, rather than just shove them up the levels and bully them and toss out the ones who dont tolerate the roughness.

But I hear you on the parents who drop money without blinking an eye. My parents told me under 4k for my first horse and we boarded at cheap barns for years. My parents are VERY frugal and don't believe in excess or flashing wealth. It used to drive me nuts when kids had parents buy them a 50k horse and they didn't even appreciate the horse or the opportunities they had to ride and show that I didn't. I totally hear you. But Blair sounds like she has a magical talent for picking out horses in a certain price limit!

Id definitely see if the University of Kentucky has any ideas about Izzie's shoulder. I hope it's something simple!! But that's beautiful how sensitive/aware Izzie was of the little girl. I will say I've seen that more in mares than geldings where with a knowledgeable person they behave one way but with someone they need to baby sit they are good as gold and look after them. That's pretty amazing Izzie is that aware and looks after her!

That's also really great those men were happy to help and let you go in with the girl  I'm really glad the kids had such a great time! I see some big smiles and happy faces, that's really awesome!! The stick horse is really cute too! Kaleb looks so pleased and happy!! 

I'm really sorry about the disappointment with the classes and how showing has been going this year :-( I think some years are just rough. I don't blame you for being disappointed at all. I would have been too. I entirely get it. The good news is Izzie looked amazing and clearly represents the work you've put into her. She looked really-really good!! I have no doubt if she was that good at the show you'll get it again, if not better the next time when Nick is able to record. Tell him next show he IS recording for you  because you need to see it for yourself!!

It's also really great that Izzie is so willing and was able to show someone else what it feels like when horse takes and meets the contact and what is "should" feel like. That's really great she was able to feel that surge and energy as well!! it's a really cool feeling and I'm glad you were able to share it with someone. 

Congratulations on an overall good weekend, I know it wasn't perfect but it sounds like there were a lot of pluses to the show too (and frustrations) but good for the kids and to share Izzie and to feel her at her very best! Just shows you she has it and will show it again!


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## Tazzie

Blair lives over 2 hours away from us :sad: otherwise she would be my first choice. I could, but I could only do so much. That and I'd like to keep my amateur status, so I couldn't get paid for it. We will have to cross that bridge when we get to it. Our area is not a hopping place, so I don't see more moving in any time soon either. They thought about asking their neighbors, and I swiftly stopped that. The neighbors have road horses they ride under saddle and put to cart. Not quite the easy introduction into horses... And yeah. Maggy or Becky would be good, but neither have lesson horses. And no telling if she will want to do Dressage or something else. I want to ask what kind of barn is near where they are moving, but I'm guessing they may not know :/ may see if they can get the name and I can take a peek lol

Yup! I never feel those kids grow up to truly appreciate working your butt off for something. I saw it growing up too. My dad vividly remembers one instance. It was my very first away from home show. We were an hour away, and mom and dad followed us up to it. They were helping set up the everything with me when my dad overheard a little girl demand "Dad, get him water." Apparently that was just before I turned around and asked my dad "would you please get Soli some water?" I may have been fortunate to be handed lead ropes of some sweet lease horses, but none were fancy. Soli (Solitaire; supposedly her name was Successor Solitaire but I never have found her when I look her up) was a purebred (I believe) Arabian that did English Pleasure before her owner died in an unfortunate car accident (ex boyfriend chasing her with his car; she flipped her car into a river.) Soli was 19 when I leased her. Then Maddie, a breeding stock paint mare. I had planned to lease Maddie through the winter and into the next show season when we realized she had navicular. So she went home. Grand Finale was an Oldenburg I think, but I never leased him. I just rode him. Schooled through Second I think. I rode Harry (show name Frosted shades, but barn name Harry Houdini for his epic escapes), who was a registered APHA and had been shown in their hunter ring (and SO hard to get off the forehand due to his MASSIVE shoulders.) I also showed Merlin when he was 24. He was a Morgan/Saddlebred cross, and SWEET. Sweetest horse ever. I showed Leuka, who was a Friesian, but only walk trot (he was unbalanced.) Showed Destiny (who I'm super sad that I have NO pictures of her ) who was a Thoroughbred cross (suddenly drawing a blank on other half; may have been Dutch Warmblood, but not prime examples of either breed.) Desi had a back a mile long, but more than enough heart to make up for it. So aside from Finale, everything was pretty plain really. All GREAT horses who gave me GREAT experiences, but not anything someone would call fancy. And certainly nothing more than I think 20k (and that would be Finale; I'm not even sure that was his price; most likely lower). I'll post pictures of most of the pretty ponies below 

But yes, Blair has a REAL talent for it! She's pretty much amazing 

I sure hope so too. Didn't get a chance to email, but maybe today. It was fun watching Izzie be so absolutely careful with the girl. She was led all the way back to the barn, past horses pulling carts :wink: she's a solid little mare!

They are pretty amazing! And yeah, lots and lots of happy kiddos! The stick horse actually belongs to Syd, but she claimed the real pony lol

Yeah, it does suck a little bit  such is life. I am pumped though with how she felt! It's up in the air right now if he can record. In laws can't watch kids, Blair may or may not be able to read for me, so I'm panicking I'll have to memorize two tests myself. I'm sure I could do it, but I'd like stuff to go right... if it all magically comes together, he will for sure record for me!

I was glad too  Izzie will only do it if you ask correctly. And she got a few good moments!

I'm overall happy with it  I know the kids had a GREAT time for sure!! And yeah, those pictures are starting to showcase what we are actually working at, and I'm happy!

Soli as an EP horse









My first show with Soli









Maddie









Finale

















Harry

















The rest aren't riding pictures, but are horses I did ride or show.

Leuka









Merlin









And because he was SO FREAKING CUTE, Liam aka Little Liam Shamrock

















And a couple of Harry just standing. He was really a good boy


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## DanteDressageNerd

Oh I didn't realize she lived so far away. I know it's not far but it is too far for a routine thing. That's too bad. Plus with Becky and Maggie having no lesson horses, that makes things difficult. And I understand not wanting to lose your amateur status or giving routine lessons but oh well hopefully something will pop up and it'll all work out.

I agree. I think those kids growing up having everything, so they never appreciate anything because they have NO concept of consequences or the gratification or sacrifice of doing it for themselves. They're not independent and perfectly fine with that. Just think they're entitled to anything and everything they want, so they take it for granted. People who don't understand the value of a dollar. 

That's really tragic about Soli's old owner :-( really tragic. But exactly. You learn A LOT getting on whatever you can and riding what you can. Only riding trained, especially high quality horses. You learn a TON riding green, young or not fancy horses. I will say the expressive, powerful movers are HARDER to ride and organize than the plain ones but you learn how to make the plain ones looks fancy riding them too that you can take over to the nicer horses but it's different. Like your organizing and restricting their power, so they don't take themselves over vs encouraging bigger or more impressive strides. I don't know EVERY horse has something to teach you and if your open to the possibilities you can learn quite a lot that you wouldn't know just riding a certain type or caliber of horse. I've known riders who can ride schoolmasters fine but couldn't ride a baby with any success or a girl I know rides the super fancy horses and looks good but I don't like watching her ride babies because yeah they'll look good but there are so many holes or gaps in the training. She's had opportunities I could only dream about but you learn a lot riding what you can and the less talented ones you do learn quite a bit. Her riding is less complete? if that makes sense. Like she'll get high 60s at PSG but on something trained vs the ones she trains I feel like she just can't get the extra and they're not very through or whole in their connection if that makes sense? Basic point is there are HUGE advantages, even if you don't get bonus points for riding the lesser quality horses and doing well with them.

That's pretty darn awesome. That's like Mari she has an incredible ability for finding deals or people for horses or has an uncanny ability to pick upper level talents, the horses that actually get there. People like that are magic!!

That's so amazing! You just can't buy that. Izzie is a one in a million special girl. I love that she's so great with kids and SO aware! That's amazing!

:lol: I'm so glad they're happy and had such a great time! that's pretty awesome! And so great you got to contribute and be apart of forming some great memories for all the kids.

Gosh I hope this weekend goes well!! I hope someone can look after the kids for some time while you're trying to do your tests so it doesn't get crazy! I hope it all works out!

Overall though I think it sounds like there were a lot of positives. 

Soli was very handsome, a lot of those horses look like they provided you with many memories and experiencing. They're all special and have a lot to offer and teach. A good horse isnt always a Valegro, they're the one who teaches you something priceless and make you happy each and every day. They look like special memories  Liam is very cute! He looks cheeky! They all have such sweet faces


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## Tazzie

Yeah, I hate that she's so far away. I don't really have any friends around here. Most live that far away, which sucks. Such is life. But yeah, it makes things hard not having everyone having lesson ponies. The saddleseat instructor 45 minutes away does though. Who knows. We'll see what happens. And yeah, that amateur status comes in handy in my rail classes. I'd like to keep it :lol:

Nope, they will never know what it's like to fight for everything you have. Or truly appreciate what they have. They say they do, but when mommy and daddy keep buying you a horse because you ruin horse after horse, there is no true appreciation.

It really was  Soli was a nice mare, and I know how much she was loved. But exactly. I learned the most riding the offbeat horses. Sure, it was fun when I get to ride the fancy warmbloods, and get to ride the fun tricks. Still is. But working to make something from what others saw nothing is huge to me. I know the big ones are hard to organize. But the every day rider won't have the chance to ride one of those. And I HATE the people who just get on a trained horse and whoop up on those of us bringing along a horse. Except for in certain circumstances. Like when you are learning how to show in general. Least those people don't normally brag everywhere about being so fantastic. Not everyone can ride a baby, and I can respect that. But everyone who rides show know how to ride and work a horse, not just sit and look pretty. And this is across all disciplines.

They sure are 

Yup, I've told people a blank check would not buy that mare. I couldn't replace her for anything. I got lucky with her 

I'm really hoping so! Blair backed out, so I'm in a bit of a panic. She's having a horse picked up, so can't leave. So back to panicking. In laws can't watch them. And I'm asking Nick to ask his aunt, but this is where a lot of our arguments start. His aunt LOVES our kids. In laws can pick them up early afternoon. But Nick NEVER asks ANYONE to watch them. Ever. His things or mine, I have to ask. It's usually just my MIL, but still. The least he could do is asking since I've exhausted my options. The likelihood of it getting recorded right now is slim to none. I'll be lucky if Nick isn't at the sidelines with two kids reading. Because he's too stubborn and just goes "it'll all work out." No, it won't. It only works out because I figure out options. I'm stuck right now. I'd hoped for a friend that would be there could read for me, but that chance is slim now too. Ride times were posted. She's around 8 am for her dressage, and jumping starting at like 10. My first ride is 2:19 with First 2 and second is 3:08 with First 3. It's like the universe is saying "don't show here" even though my horse is working better than ever. It's so frustrating.

She was a good mare  taught me how to keep my seat haha! They were all wonderful. Liam was definitely a cheeky little guy. He was a STOUT pony that was amazing. Loved him!

------------------------------------------------

So, an update. Don't get to ride today because Nick won't be home until midnight or so.

Yesterday my plan was to finesse our canter to lengthened canter and back at the letter and run through the shallow loop since we haven't touched them since regionals. The other key elements I'm pretty confident with, just wanted to feel better about those.

I started to the left which is her easy way. Picked up the trot first since didn't want to work on walk to canter. I was like "I could ride this trot all day long...." Nick said she looked like she was dancing on her tip toes. SO light and pleasant.

Picked up the canter and had a nice, prompt transition. Even Nick said it was a nice one! Stepped right into a nice canter! Nick stood in the middle and would randomly be saying "there you go!! She's uphill there" and then a little later say "she's stretching back out again" (basically seeing her flatten out again.) Got a couple nice lengthenings, but she at first resisted coming back. Had a GREAT one to the left, and went right into a shallow loop (like in the test.) NAILED it. Instantly brought her down to the walk and gave her a long rein. Let her walk a bit, then picked her back up and brought her up into the right lead canter. Started with the shallow loop, and I became unbalanced, knocked her off balance, and she swapped leads. Corrected, fixed her canter, tried it again. Nailed it. Alright, wasn't going to drill it. Went to do the lengthened canter. She came back, but not quite quick enough. Next attempt I asked a bit sooner, and got it at the letter. Hooray! I felt a bit more ready!

Then Nick did the most priceless thing ever. I've smiled about it all day. Nick totally went all riding instructor on me after that last transition back from the lengthened canter. He started walking away and said "ok, stretch her and be done." :lol::lol::lol: Made my day!

So, if we can get Saturday to work out.... That'd be great. Highly disappointed the likelihood of recording is truly slim to none. Right now I'll be lucky as heck to have a reader :sad:


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## Tazzie

So, forgot to post a couple of other cute comments Nick made on Tuesday!

We were discussing Flash and how he's looking a little rough this year (I believe he's 31 or 32.) I said I dread when I have to make that decision for Izzie on if a winter would be too hard for her to take, temperature wise. Nick goes "we'll just heat the barn and spoil her constantly..." That was an unexpected answer!

Then I guess he's been talking with his coworkers about Izzie. Said we got her a little after he started working there, and will have her when he retires :lol: I said I hope we have her at least another 20 years. He says he wants no less than 30 years total with her (so she'd be 31.)

It's just so sweet, and so unexpected coming from him! He used to really dislike horses before her, so these comments are just priceless!


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## DanteDressageNerd

Unfortunately I think that is becoming more and more common. Friends get father and farther apart, jobs and the mobility of today makes it hard to stay in the same area. I've grown apart from a lot of my friends, simply because we're thousands of miles apart. Kinda sad but I guess it's good to become more "worldly." But I hope something works itself out.

I don't think you can truly learn to appreciate something if you've never felt "loss" or "consequence" or experienced what it is to fail and put everything in and come out with more losses than wins. They fail to learn "grit." Which is why I never think parents are doing their kids a favor by shielding them from loss or consequence. It's a very valuable tool to build and grow from. We all face adversity, some people refuse to see because they want to think that they're life is somehow harder and more challenging than anyone elses but struggle entitles you to nothing but experience depending on how you internalize it. 

Likewise. Most of my riding experience has been on what I could get which was basically someone's throw away or something too quirky so the person gave up on it type of thing and rehabbing psychologically damaged horses or physically damaged horses or flat out crazy ones. So I hear you. You learn a lot from the horses themselves and you learn different things from the fancy ones but I'll say the amateur fancy schoolmaster horses from what I've experienced are easy to ride vs the professionals fancy horses. But I totally agree. It's annoying when people get a very easy, uncomplicated, well school horse and because they're having so much success on it at the higher levels, it automatically qualifies them to be a trainer or be "better" than the riders who didn't have the luxury of owning a 50-60k schoolmaster for a first dressage horse. But I'll say the riders I know who had the lesser quality ones and basically caught rides where they could are by far more versatile riders and by far more skilled, even if they're not the "prettiest" riders, they are effective and the ones who can get on most horses and do a good job. Vs people who only rides those schoolmasters are often limited in what they can ride. A lot of those ones would get on a Dante or an Izzie and blame the horse for their inability. I find those riders always make excuses.

Like I had a girl get on Dante and said how smooth he was and I was thinking maybe because he's not forward, ducking badly behind the bit with his back hollow. Of course he's going to be smooth if he's dragging his hind legs but get that back up, get him through and sitting and he'll feel like if you don't relax in your hip and kinda anchor yourself into position you'll end up in the rafters. She had a hard time with him but she got off pretty smug like well I rode him.

Of course not. There are some characteristics you simply can't purchase or find easily. I'm glad she ended up being such a great fit for you and your family 

:lol: Nick man up and ask your Aunt to look after the kids, rather than expecting the wife fairy to make it magically happen. That's pretty funny. I guess he think you have a magic wand and stuff just happens without you doing anything to make it happen. I hope it all gets figured out so someone can watch the kids and you can have a reader for the tests.

Of course ;-) those horses are the best. The ones who call you out on what you do and teach you what to do.

Overall that sounds like a really great ride! I love how into it Nick gets and how supportive he is of you and Izzie and how he saw Izzie get all she needed to and was like okay you're done now :lol: that's pretty great!! I'm glad you both have each other, it really sounds like you compliment each other well. :lol: those comments are precious and priceless. I love how much he loves you and Izzie. I think Izzie is definitely the first born to be spoiled until forever :lol:


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## Tazzie

I feel like I have had next to NO free time lately, holy smokes! Finally able to properly update my journal (albeit quickly as it's nearly bed time...)

Cassie, yeah, that is true. I'm still close to the ones I show with. Distance wise is about all that separates us at this point.

Agreed. My kids will earn their mounts, and care for them on their own (with some help from mommy and daddy). I want them to VALUE the animals they own. I don't want them to EVER be like the spoiled kids who have mommy and daddy hand them everything.

Mine were horses someone had sitting in a field that my former trainer knew about. Definitely nothing fancy. I guarantee if they were to try and ride Izzie they would claim she has no training. She just won't give it up easily to anyone at first.

Heh, people like to think highly of themselves for crummy work. That girl we discuss, the one with the horse with the braced underneck, apparently showed well this weekend. Idk. Got a 77% in First Level. Conveniently left out the score for Second Level Test 3... She's super proud of it, but any time I see pics I see that nasty underneck.

Me too 

Haha, he tried. That aunt was out of town. He texted my MIL to say she was unavailable, and she found another aunt who was available. So it worked out, thankfully.

They sure are!

He's pretty special  Not sure what I'd do without him!!

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Now for my update.

I didn't ride Wednesday since Nick worked late. I did ride on Thursday. The ride was heading down the path of every pre show ride I have at home. Arguments galore between Izzie and me. I finally said "Enough!" and took lots of deep breaths to calm myself. Rode through Test 3, and absolutely rocked it out at home. Called it a day. It was decent work too. I'll attach the video at the end of our canter work. It's still far from perfect, but it's MUCH better than it's been. Definitely better than at regionals. I'm getting her better balanced, coming through herself more, carrying herself more, and not taking such hurried strides. It's actually a true joy to ride, though it's hands down the biggest canter I've ridden. Not like massive strides, but you can NOT sit still in that saddle. My old trainer used to say I "pumped" with the motion of the horse. In this video, I was sitting "still." Not bracing, but just moving however much she moved me. It's big. A lot bigger than one would expect from a 15 hand horse.

After my ride I found out Cliff couldn't come with us. Cue massive panic attack. Nearly scratched right then. Nick called his aunt. Nope, out of town. Dang. Called mother in law, who called a bunch of aunts. Texted back to call the other aunt up the road. She was HAPPY to! WHEW, cue immediate relief.

Friday she got the day off, as always. I ALWAYS give the day off before a show, unless we are in a totally new place showing and have hauled in the night before. Instead I went over to help wrap up all the wedding shower gifts for Sunday. Got a homemade wooden cutting board that I'm SOOO excited about! When I'm not so exhausted, and have time, I'll upload a pic and post it here lol

Saturday did not go off without a hitch. First we ran a bit late. Then get down to catch her, and the cistern the hose was attached to ran out of water. Fabulous. Fortunately Cliff was there, hooked us up to the house cistern, and we continued. Ran out of shampoo, so wasn't able to get her as clean as we hoped. Shoulder still looks like a mess. Fabulous. Get on the road. And get repeatedly cut off. Ended up SCREAMING at this guy who whipped in front of us only to turn like 100 feet in front of us (and had to STOP due to oncomming traffic) "there is a f'n horse in this trailer, ahole!!!" I was LIVID! Thankfully she was not injured and happily hopped back in after the show. Followed slow people all the way down. Ugh.

Got there, found our spot, and my friend who was going to try and stay to read for me had to leave due to a super antsy horse. Oh well, didn't bring my camera since I expected that anyway. Get up to where the ring was (had quite the hike) and warmed up. Found out they were running WAY ahead due to scratches. I'd been temporarily skipped since I wasn't ready right then. Eh, no biggie, I'll deal. Went and rode First 2. It was... ok. Nothing super crazy amazing in my book, but the judge liked it. Earned myself a 62.343% with 7's for the collective marks. Got a 7.5 for our first lengthen with a "accurately ridden nice lengthen" remark. Got another 7.5 for the change rein at the canter and trot over X with the comment "str8 accurate." Got a 4 since someone decided to jig in the freewalk, and a 4 since someone only briefly halted at the end (still didn't do the dumb prancing thing she did at regionals, so there was improvement from last show.)

Originally I had an hour between my two rides. Instead, there were 2 or 3 rides, then me. Ok, guess I'll just hack her around a bit. Went in for First 3 with a good halt to start with (counted to 3 lol). Then was riding the best First 3 I have EVER ridden. Like, I couldn't have asked for better. Part way through though someone wanted to be evil. It literally started POURING. Now you all remember last show we did that it poured, and Izzie bucked and tried to bolt. We held it together, even getting an "accurately figure" for our canter shallow loop and a 7. FAR better than the "unbalanced" comments I got at regionals. Shows how much work I've put into the canter lately. Not sure if it was the impending weather or what, but I didn't have a lot of gas in the tank for our lengthens. I messed up the change lead through trot and grabbed the wrong lead. Apparently corrected before the judge saw. Then couldn't hear Nick through the pouring rain to trot at A. We trotted after it when I heard lengthen across the diagonal. Judge was VERY kind and just wrote "trotted late." She felt AWFUL the rain couldn't hold off just a few more minutes. And didn't nail us when Izzie, again, barely halted. Izzie was DONE. It was a good learning experience for her though that she HAD to keep it together in the rain. I think we only had one head toss, and one slight attempt to speed up. But I got her back and she just put her head down and dealt with it. But that halt meant "TEST IS OVER" and she was getting out of the rain (which stopped shortly after I left the arena... someone wanted to mess with us.) We STILL got all 7's for collective marks though, AND got a 63.382% for our highest First Level score to date (I believe.) I know it was a schooling show, so a rated show would have graded way harsher. But I'm so incredibly proud of them. We took 5th and 6th in it  it was a percentage class, so my scores for First 2 and First 3 were compared to people doing First 1. But those ribbons make me prouder than a lot of the 1st place ribbons we've won!

After the show, mother in law told us to go eat and relax. They had picked up the kids. So Nick and I went out for a date  both of us smelling like horse :lol: it was nice. Came back to find they had picked up A LOT of goodies at the yard sale they went to. Also found out MIL had purchased a dress for the wedding, but she couldn't get it zipped. Asked if I'd try it. It fit, but needs some altering. So, I have a purple dress. Not patterned, but it's free. And really, I'm not going to complain about free.

Sunday was the shower. I was EXHAUSTED. I was in charge of fruit, some of the pop, and other miscellaneous items. Picked my mother in law up. She asked if I grabbed my cooler. "No, you told me not to." Said we needed something for the ice. I told her I only have a small one, or the massive one I was told not to bring. She calls my SIL that lives nearby. She had a cooler. Ok, good. We pick it up. I overhear MIL telling her not to worry about coming to set up. Lovely. Syd and I had to though... Stopped for fuel and ice. Get on the road. MIL starts telling me she doesn't want to be in charge of anything. So I say "now wait a minute! You just told XXX not to come set up! Who's going to help me set up??" She said she would. Then said someone needs to describe the game and run it. Says "well, XXX doesn't like talking in front of people, so she's out. And really neither does XXX." That left.... oh, yeah, me. The second girl is actually blood related to the family there. But no. The one with social anxiety has to do it. It was just a small shower of course.... Just 40 people. Who apparently none knew how to do the white elephant gift game, nor realize if there are extra gifts on the table to leave them there! *sigh* I'm glad it's done... And I don't have to buy a dress.

Here is the video from Thursday night. I do think we're getting there. It's slow progression, but it's coming along. We were also quite tired by this point, which is why the transitions seemed a bit rushy. Not sure when I'll ride again. Today I was EXHAUSTED, and just couldn't. Supposed to rain all week now. We will see what happens.


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## DanteDressageNerd

I don't think your kids will ever be spoiled brats. I think you and Nick are doing a great job with them already, after all they have empathy and actually care about one another, Izzie and animals. To me that says everything.

And it is really unfortunate. I've definitely met riders that arrogant that if they cant get a horse to go well they assume the horse doesn't know anything. 

HOW on earth did that chick gets a 77% !!! I'm in awe, her riding was very sub-par to me. Her tests were accurate but the horse was so hollow and not over it's back hardly at all. HOW did she gets a 77%? She's not a good rider imo, very posed and held together, lacking in skill, feel and finess. Sometimes it shocks me the scores people seem to pull out of their @ss. But some people don't care whether they are competent or not as long as people pat them on the back and tell them how great they are.

I'm glad you found someone to look after the kids!! And I'm happy for you two 

Izzie looks like she's using her hind end better and better! She has a really nice trot!

But overall it sounds like you guys had a really good show, despite that evil twist of fate. Someone just said not yet, apparently! But at least the marks sounded like they were fair and Izzie did a great job, in spite of the terrible rain during your ride! 

Also glad that purple dress thing worked out AND you didn't have to pay for it! That's pretty awesome! I'm not a big purple fan either 

Honestly you sound like you need to take a break and rest after your busy weekends. You've been going pretty non stop for a while. Time to rest IMO  People are exhausting, especially for us introverts


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## Tazzie

I don't think so either. They have good heads on their shoulders, and they do enjoy helping mommy and daddy. At 2, Syd already helps set the table. Kaleb actually likes sweeping and using the swiffer wet jet (we don't force just FYI; he grabs them out of the closet to help.) Kaleb is actually getting his first pet of his own too. Nick's sister had an "oops" litter of kittens (took her in to get spayed; was too late.) Nick said we would take one as another barn cat. Kaleb picked it out. A black and white one named Scratchy. Can't pick him/her (too young to tell) yet since it's not ready to be weaned. Will live in the house till it's fixed and big enough something can't take it. Since Kaleb picked it, Kaleb will take care of it. I see him doing a good job. He feeds the dogs every night (in the morning we feed them before we get the kids up) and I think he'd like having this job. Should be getting him/her in about 2 weeks. So next week I will take Kaleb to get a litter box, litter, food, bowls, and toys for the kitten. Kaleb will get to pick out the fun stuff lol but I see him doing well with this. I also see the poor kitten riding around with him in his truck :lol: Scratchy seemed to like Kaleb a lot though, which is good. I'm excited to see how he is with his first pet 

It's a shame really. I prefer a horse that you have to set up well for it to actually work well. I get on Izzie, and give her a nice, long walking start. Pick up, and it doesn't take much for me to get her back to come up, even at the walk, but I know better than to fight with her or argue it. If she's not willing, we do lots of laterals to get her working well. But I've watched others get on and she won't come through as easily for them. And if they fight her, she fights them. So plain and simple.

And I truly don't know. Not in the least. She obviously kept her Second Level Test 3 score quiet. She said she got reserves, but she was one of two, so... She is a "pretty" rider, but doesn't appear like a good rider. So yeah. I don't know. Supposedly she's schooling flying changes now too. *shrugs* she has the fancy bounce, but you and I already have discussed why that is. And yeah. She also showed in a class called AOTS, which apparently stands for Amateur Owned, Trained and Shown. Apparently the rules are can't have had a trainer ride the horse in the last year... Kind of crummy really when a judge broke, trainer, and showed that horse in the beginning. But she'll pat herself on the back all day long saying she trained it. Blah, ok, enough ranting.

I am too! I was SOO relieved! And they had a blast!

She really is! It's taken time to get there, but I have all the time in the world :wink: she is only 6 after all!

I'm plenty pleased with it! I couldn't have asked for better really! Very happy!

ME TOO. Ugh, I am not a purple person. But I won't turn down free! Not totally my style, but I figure it like I'm apparently posing as a bridesmaid. Bridesmaids don't always get to wear dresses they like, but deal with them for the bride. This is me dealing with it for the bride :lol:

Yeah, I was glad I took the break. It's supposedly to rain all week, so really won't get to ride much. Which is fine. I think Izzie and I have been going so hard that we both deserve the week off. I think we'll be better for it. And she won't have the winter off like last year. Instead, we're looking into doing the Snowbird Dressage series at the Kentucky Horse Park. Just get us into the ring and get us more experience showing at this level. And they really are! I started trembling when I had to talk to everyone, and I think I managed to hide it fairly well. I hate talking in front of others...

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So, my update will be small lol

Fun fact, on this day a year ago was mine and Izzie's FIRST dressage show. My first in 10 years, and her first ever. Imagine! We've done 5 dressage shows in a year! It's amazing!!

Also bought pics from this weekend! The shot of me on the hill was from warmup  it just seemed so peaceful to me 

We have a shot of the lengthened trot that earned us a 7.5  I think she looks like she's really starting to get light on her forehand, finally! Tough road, but we're getting there!

The rest are us in the rain. She kept her cool fairly well! One has my super amazing husband standing in the pouring rain and continuing to read for me. SUPER TROOPER! Hahaha! He's amazing! You can see how hard it was raining. That wasn't fog; it was a downpour!


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## DanteDressageNerd

lol you have great kids. I love how empathetic they are towards animals and how they help out where they can and are thoughtful. That's really special! And you know I'm a cat person so that makes me SO happy you guys have a new kitten coming around. Shame about the cat being too late to be spayed, I spayed one that may have been pregnant but if she was she wasn't far along. Aww I hope it all goes well with Scratchy!! Glad Kaleb has a friend!

I absolutely agree! It's tough. Some horses are just quirky and it takes some riding and figuring out to work them out. They're not straight forward because a lot of riding them is earning their trust, respect and understanding them. They aren't a theory and apply type of ride, they're very much a feel and tact oriented ride which unfortunately the vast majority of people simply can't ride. Especially the exceedingly arrogant ones.

I'm with you a pretty rider, doesn't mean she can ride. I'd rather see an effective, somewhat sloppy rider than a pretty, useless one. And to me that's sad, a trainer trained that horse and put the tricks on it for her to now claim credit for. That's sad to me. Would be interesting to see how she'd do on a lesser quality horse. Though the video/pics I saw left nothing to be desired IMO. Just a braced, held together, shoved through movements ride. But whatever. People are people and can't help it.

Aww I'm glad to hear that 

Absolutely!! Even in 6yrs she'll still be in her prime! And you really should be! It sounds like she really grew up that ride! And even if you didn't get the scores you wanted, it sounds like this year is going to better prepare you for next year! 

And well at least you're being a good sport about it all and doing a big favor for the bride :lol: 

And I agree. Sometimes a break is a very good thing for a horse and rider. You both needs a mental break to just be for a little bit. Especially since things are winding down. It's a good time for it.

I don't like talking in front of a bunch of people either. It's too on the spot and unnatural.

And congratulations!! One year anniversary and you've done a lot of showing these last 2 years which is exciting! The pictures look really, really good! lol good for Izzie for growing up!!


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## Tazzie

Whew, now that I have time to respond... This week has been BRUTAL!

Yeah, I think theirs was too far along. It's getting Kaleb his own pet though, which is making me happy. He really, really is a big help with the dogs. Feeds every night because he wants to. Feeds the barn cat we have now. Just overall a big help. So I think he'll enjoy his very own  Maybe next Sunday we can go kitty supply shopping  toys, litter box, etc. I'm so excited for him to get Scratchy 

So true. I can get Izzie to lift her back pretty quickly starting out, but I can guarantee anyone else will struggle. Maggy does when she's ridden her. She does eventually get it, but Izzie works better for me always. But Izzie has to trust and respect you in order to work.

Yup. She'd struggle with Izzie. Izzie has nice movement, but you need to work her correctly to get it. And exactly!! No one can take credit for my work with Izzie. Yes, Maggy HAS ridden her. But Maggy isn't installing tricks on her. She's working me through how to get them. She knows what it means to me to do this myself, which I GREATLY appreciate! She gives me a lot to work on, but not so much that I want to go cry in a corner haha! Our biggest thing was to fix up her canter, which I feel comfortable saying we've come A LONG way from when we last saw her. But it's not something this girl would be willing to do. She's only ever been handed quality horses. Like, crazy quality. I think she would feel like Izzie is below her, which we all know that's far from the truth. If my best friend, who has ridden TONS of horses, ranks Izzie as one of the most fun horses she has ever ridden.... that says something. She doesn't say things like that lightly. That other rider will struggle when they get to the levels that require a horse to not be braced and held together. Which is where I think Izzie and I will shine. Becky (first coach) said the piaffe and the passage will be the easiest for Izzie to do. When you get her working well she's easy enough to collect up while maintaining the suspension. Will just need Maggy to help us there since I haven't even ever ridden a passage. Baby steps of piaffe over 10 years ago, but nothing since.

YES! That's what I keep thinking. If she's THIS good as a 6 year old (who's downfall is having an amateur who has never shown Second Level train her), what will she be like in 6 more?? I don't want to wish time to fly, but man I look forward to seeing where we are then! And definitely. That's what Nick and I are saying. We had some major changes this year. We started riding with Maggy, who changed how we did things. We've done more dressage shows than ever before. And the work is getting harder with more expectations on her. She's enjoying it though! I do think riding in the rain was easier during the dressage test because there was more to it than going around on the rail. Can't do anything on the rail other than ride straight. In the test, we had to do the whole second way of canter work. Lots of things to keep her mind busy. It was a good learning experience!

Yeah... I did finally just tell my mother in law I'm wearing my black shoes. That I was NOT interested in buying new shoes. I HATE shoe shopping. My feet are hideous, and takes forever to find shoes I like. Not worth the headache for a wedding I'm not in. She seemed ok with my answer, thankfully.

It was a very nice break. We did need it for sure.

Exactly. I wanted to go hide in the corner :/

We really have! It's amazing how much we've done in 2 years. I'm certainly proud of it! The dressage shows have been making me happier right now since they (typically) make sense why I got the score I did. Rail classes irritate me sometimes. I just don't have my show family at my dressage shows  one friend told me I need to tell her whenever I show down in Lexington though since she wants to come watch! And thanks! I loved the pictures  My favorite though is Nick standing in the rain with me. I have a good one in him!

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Now for my updates.

I didn't ride until yesterday. Rained a lot this week, and work has been MISERABLE. Like, both of the robots I use are being iffy. One threw a plate with irreplaceable samples on it halfway across the lab for one of the girls I work with. The other isn't drawing all of my sample out. It's a mess. Just been an overall tough week in general.

Yesterday was hot, and we weren't going to go. Kaleb has been battling a cold with a fever all week, and wasn't wanting to stay outside. He ended up saying he wanted to go, so we went. Normally I don't base my plans on what they say, but he's felt miserable. And when the kid we normally have to force to come inside says he doesn't want to go outside, you know he's feeling rough.

Our ride was pretty darn good. I felt good, she felt okay. Stiff to the right (typical) and was a bit hard to supple that way, but I did get it. Had to remind her working on the forehand is not okay anymore. Did some nice shoulder ins/haunches in, and then did a half circle and half passed back to the rail. Then you can tell I've been watching too much Olympic dressage since I practiced half passing across the arena. It went fairly well. We definitely need to work on it, but having not practiced ANY of this in a month plus, I was happy. I felt her politely start asking to stretch. I was tired, she was asking nicely (aka not trying to yank the reins out of my hands) so I just let her. We stretched and called it a day.

This morning we slept in a good amount, which was amazing. Nick got us donuts for breakfast :lol: then he got both kiddos dressed. I said "where are you going?" He said "hurry up, we're going to go ride Izzie." Well ok then!! Hurried up and got dressed. Realized I was feeling really kind of awful, but went along with it.

Our ride wasn't the best. Our canter work was fabulous, but the half passes were a bit of a mess, particularly to the right. Left wasn't terrible. Definitely have a lot of things I need to work on, but that's fine. Everyone has to start somewhere. And I felt like absolute crap, so I wasn't on my game. Just miserable right now.

I wasn't planning to share this here, but I will. I'd appreciate not having anyone critique it since I DO have a trainer I work with.






Riding tomorrow will depend on A LOT of factors. Getting up early enough is one of them. It's supposed to be heavy down pours, so there is that too. And I need to leave around noon to go to a meeting down past Louisville, so that's fun. So we will see.


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## Tihannah

The half pass was AWESOME! I can't believe you guys only had your first show a year ago! I think you guys are amazing!


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## Tazzie

Haha, thanks! It definitely needs work. You can see Izzie was still a bit argumentative to the right. I was doing too strong of half halts, which is why it started looking like a leg yield versus a half pass. I was totally not on my game tonight :/ but the left looked and felt pretty decent! Least for a starting point 

First dressage show :lol: mine and Izzie's first show was just over 2 years ago now


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## DanteDressageNerd

That's great! I'm glad Kaleb has a kitty of his own and is so enthusiastic to help out. It'll be a nice reward to have a cat to call his own and to continue taking care of.

I understand that. Some horses are quirky and they need that trust before they're ready to give their all. Otherwise it's like who is this and why are they telling me what to do?

And exactly. You've put the work into Izzie and yes a trainer has ridden her but hasnt had her in training and been riding her for weeks-months and campaigned her. And I think also when that rider gets to those levels she's going to struggle getting the quality of movement in the movements. She might get them but it's not going to be like sitting on a trained horse that's conditioned and actually has the holes filled or mostly filled in vs gaping holes, no self carriage, balance, and mechanically manipulated into movements. She won't have the expression or collection. I'd let her do her thing, I've known quite a few riders like that who have ruined good horses. They top off, have huge egos and tend to go through horses like crazy or can't ride the really talented ones because they cant' ride quirky because they only know how to grab, kick, and pull with minimal skill. They can get things done but not well. It all pays off in time. Maybe no immediately but having a good attitude, taking the long way to fill in holes, rather than figuring out tricks to cover them up and just getting through little by little.

I think you're doing a good job with her and have made some really positive changes this year. Working with Maggy and showing in more dressage classes and gearing more towards a direction. It'll be fun how you and Izzie progress this next year!

I'm glad your MIL was okay with your shoe choice and you didn't have to shop!

:lol: trust me I know the feeling! I used to have to stand up and give hour long briefs in front of my higher ups. Public speaking is awful!

The picture with Nick is really nice!! All the pictures I saw looked great!

With the half pass, she's definitely getting it and developing. Yeah there are kinks to work out but she's not a "made" horse. She's learning, you have plenty of time to work it out before 3rd level. It's just going to get better and better. No worries but I hope you feel better and the weather gets better so you can keep riding. And I understand I get pumped watching clinics or the olympians ride too.


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## Tazzie

Kaleb is pretty excited  I believe Scratchy is coming home on Thursday, so we may skip riding today (supposed to continue raining all day anyway) and go get kitty stuff. He's been telling everyone he's getting him :lol: it's pretty darn cute! I don't think we'll have any issues getting him to help take care of Scratchy. He already fights Nick nightly to feed Sheldon and Penny :lol:

Pretty much. The first ride with Maggy was UGLY. Izzie was MAD she dared to get on her and try to make her work. It's the first time I've seen Izzie get that mad that she was popping up on the forehand, bucking, flinging sideways. And Maggy was just asking for a correct bend. Nothing insanely difficult or something she didn't know. It was just Izzie going "I don't know you, and you will NOT make me work."

Exactly. Blair IS a trainer, and she HAS shown her for me (after my injury from my bad fall, and when she thought her horse would need a substantial time off; and when I broke my wrist last year.) But if you ask her, I've done absolutely all of the work on Izzie, and she just got on, pushed the buttons, and rode her. She claims no credit for anything. But yeah, when I find a hole, I fix it. Not patch it, or cover over it with a trick. I fill that sucker in so it doesn't pop up again. I'm totally not ashamed going back to fix things. I do plan to just let her do her thing. Not my place to knock down her little dream world, where she's done all of the work herself. We will just sit on the sidelines, rolling our eyes going "uh huh, ok." And that style of riding on Izzie will make you eat dirt in a heartbeat. She doesn't tolerate the grab, kick, pull, yank, crank, whatever. She wants you to take up your contact, then she finds it and gets comfortable (this if from our first starting to take up contact.) After she's warmed up, she's basically seeking that contact even on a long rein, and you just carefully bring the contact back up without yanking on her mouth. I appreciate my husband since he knows it's not a sprint, it's a marathon, and we'll get there. This other horse is 4 years older than Izzie, and showed in the same levels we did at regionals. Started by a trainer, campaigned for a while with the trainer, hanging out in the same levels an amateur trained horse is showing in. As Cliff said, it's huge that I, myself, with sporadic lessons made it to regionals to compete against trainers and riders in full training. It made me go "huh, we sure did, didn't we??" when he said that. Anyway, I'm good with however long it'll take us to move forward.

Yeah, I'm certainly happier. I love my rail class family to death. But Izzie and I will always belong in Dressage. It's where my heart will always lie. It has for 15 years at this point, and nothing will change that. What I do like doing in the rail classes is native costume. I don't care if we are EVER competitive in it. But I get to let my inner bling loving kid out in it :lol: one girl said she loves the class, but doesn't have a horse for it. I said "do you see how few horses are in it?? Just do it!" It's why I do it. Most of the time it's just me and Blair. But having Maggy come into our lives was the best decision ever. She's patient, she's understanding, she knows my goals, but knows I'm totally fine taking my time to get there. She loves musical freestyles as well, and also thinks words in them are fun (which I'm TOTALLY for words in my freestyle...) I think we're in a good spot to keep progressing from 

I am too. I HATE shopping with a passion :/ especially when I'm not in the wedding... just hoping it'll all work out.

Ugh, no thank you!

Thanks  I'm happy with my selection of pictures lol but that one is my favorite for sure just because Nick is in it with me!

And thank you! I was hesitant to post it just because I didn't want people going "well, she was bracing against you in the right, and it was just downright ugly." Well, I know that. I know there is a lot to work on. But we will get there. It's a starting point for a reason. It's also so I can go back on it in a few months or so to see what a difference it is. And I don't know. Maybe it'll help someone else further on down the line to see that not all training is pretty. It's not always going to be the most perfect thing in the world. Yes, we want our practices to go well. But the reality is that it isn't always going to go well. You just need some good moments and a good end note. My good moment is Izzie's first way in that half pass was better than the day before. The bad was her right was really bad. The good was that we had a lovely stretchy circle afterward. And Izzie's highlight was she was cooled out with Nick leading her for pony rides because I physically couldn't sit on my horse anymore. Kids and Izzie enjoyed that :lol: heck, she stands there like an old trail horse, head lowered and eyes half closed, as Nick gets the kids settled on her back. It's hard not to get pumped watching them :lol: as for feeling better, I don't. The kids have shared their cold with me, and my chest is heavily congested. Actually brought my rescue inhaler with me to work so I could breathe :/ I'm absolutely miserable right now.

I don't really have much to update. Need to stop and grab a new whip from Dover since my schooling one has vanished. My show one has sparkles on it, so I don't want to use it as my daily whip. I'll have to see what energy I have left when I get home, but chances are super slim I'll ride tonight. I dusted my lab here at work (we're having a bunch of magazines like Allure come in to tour our lab) and I'm totally drained from it. Reviving my energy to tackle sweeping here in a minute. Then the downhill slope to 3:30 and me getting to leave begins... that and I really don't know what the forecast will be.

Aside from that, I've enjoyed watching the olympics while at work. I loved Steffen Peter's music. Won best music in my books :lol: but Valegro and Charlotte gave me chills watching them. And then seeing her cry at the end just made me tear up. She is just such a beautiful rider. I saw Valegro do a small head shake (maybe from nerves? I don't know; I know he was a bad head shaker) and it seemed like Charlotte got him to relax back down again. It's just so beautiful watching them go.


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## DanteDressageNerd

Awww that's awesome! I'm so excited for you and your family!

:lol: some horses just have their own way of doing things and conditions for working or not. Some are more opinionated than others, if their terms are met no issue and if not there is either working through it or no solution lol.

Pretty much :lol: I think for the sideline observers who know the truth. It's more like come on just be real, just be honest but for people like they're more concerned with ego and image than reality and you have to just let them live in their own little world because they hate reality. I mean why face truth when you can swallow a lie, I guess? I know a few riders like that. The gal that owned Gracie (Frankie's mom) was like that. She thinks she's some kind of great, amazing rider but you know that story. She fancies herself some kind of great rider and she's much the same crank, kick, pull and bully. And absolutely. I'm glad Nick understands the situation and that dressage is a distance run and takes many-many-many bricks vs fancy tricks and gimmicks. It takes time. Izzie is still young, it'll all work out.

I'm glad you found Maggy and enjoy working together and are a good team. plus who doesn't love bling? And if they do why? It's fun to be a girl and have shiny-pretty things!

I don't blame you. I hate clothes shopping in general. But you do a lot when you have no choice or have an obligation. And absolutely. I can see why it's your favorite. It's the sentiment and how much it means to you that you two are together and he's that supportive and there. Also forgot to say your wedding dress and photo together was gorgeous!! You look so happy together.

Trust me I understand with videos. I usually find the most critical people are the ones who know the least and when I say critical not in a hey here's a better way idea but in a OMG your leg moved too much or you didn't sit whatever way pettiness that is just unnecessary and I don't get it. But there is SO much pettiness in sports in general. But I find people who are like that havent really trained or developed a horse themselves or at least not to the degree of quality we're looking for (I apologize if that sounds snubbish, I don't mean it that way). But the pettiness in the horse world drives me up the wall. But no absolutely not. There are a LOT of ugly parts to training, even for people like Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin. It's not all pretty. Sometimes addressing the issues gets ugly but they have to be addressed or it never gets fixed. You just persevere and stay tactful and consistent. All things worth doing take time and not one person, horse or creature is perfect. It takes time. But I really hope you feel better!

I agree Steffen's test was HILARIOUS! Legolas looks incredibly hard to ride to the degree of quality Steffen is asking, I'm really impressed by his ability to bring the most he can out or Legolas. But I'm with you. I cried too :lol: it was such an emotional moments to see her and Valegro compete one last time and how much they've done for each others. It's a beautiful partnership. Her and Carl are the riders I admire the most because of what they've done for dressage, how generous Carl is (and his wonderful sense of humor) but they're good people and have an honest sense of humility and also pride and a competitive spirit. So much has changed since Charlotte and Valegro won at the 2012 olympics, lots of good changes have been made.


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## Tazzie

We're super excited too! Didn't manage to go shopping for him last night though  Nick ended up working super late. Like, didn't get home until Midnight. It was POURING and both kid felt miserable. Didn't feel like dragging them out by myself. Maybe tonight. Debating on riding, depending on the weather. And how I feel.

Izzie is definitely one of them. Blair has a bunch of people she wants to ride Izzie. She wants them to gain an understanding of how to get the horse reaching for the bit, or how to actually ask a horse to canter without turning them into the wall (very big in the rail classes around here.) Blair kind of wishes she could just replicate Izzie exactly how she is now. Not with more miles that *might* make her easier to ride. Izzie's at a spot now that you have to work for it, but if you ask correctly you'll get it (and don't force it on her.) So I imagine Izzie will have a couple more new people ride her this year. At the end of the main show season we're FINALLY getting Cliff on her. And I'd like to give Nick a few lessons on her too. I think it'll be fun to watch.

And yeah, just going to let her live in her fantasy world :lol: whatever floats her boat. I'd rather work on being totally correct and then develop the "tricks" than to just use a bunch of shortcuts. Least you and I (and some others who read this!!) agree on that!

I really am too  and yes! I joke I'm in the wrong industry since I like bling, but I don't want to go that slow like in Western Pleasure :lol: so, native costume it is haha!

Yeah, we do do a lot when it's an obligation :lol: and aww, thanks! I wanted something that had a bit more "me" feel in a dress, and I loved it. And that is one of my favorite pictures of us 

Yup. You'll notice I didn't put it on Facebook. I have girls that I show with that would give me wrong advice on how to make her better. These are the girls we've talked about above and throughout this thread (the ones using draws, martingales, etc.) Like no, not interested in your advice... but we'll get better. Just gotta keep working on making it better. And I feel only a smidge better :/

I cracked up :lol: it was the best music ever haha! But I like goofy music like that. Glad I wasn't the only one who cried :lol: it was just emotional. I was SO happy that got to retire him on such a high note. She really has changed things for the better. The biggest thing I love, just appearance wise, is her HELMET! LOVE IT. I love she does silly things with Valegro, and just seems like a wonderful person. They truly are amazing horsemen <3

I truly have no update. I did nothing yesterday. May do nothing today. Last I checked it was clouding up again outside, so who knows if I'll get a chance to go out and ride. Will wait and see I guess :/ if I don't, we'll go kitten supply shopping to pick out goodies for Scratchy. Which that'll be fun all doing a family adventure 

And for those of you wondering, I did a man crush Monday thing, and posted this picture of Nick and I on our wedding day. He's my rock, my everything. He surprised me Sunday by cleaning the house and doing all of the laundry while I was away at a meeting (which, by the way, we have Reserve Champion Specialty, IE native costume, and Champion Sport horse as of now. Sport Horse could change, Specialty is unlikely. We've lost Hunter as of right now unless we pull out wins in the last two shows with Hunter classes, but we realized when we started training with Maggy that the likelihood of continuing to win Hunter Pleasure classes would be slim.) Oh! And Izzie may do her first trail in hand class in October :lol: it's an AHA rated class, and will go towards our specialty points. Should be fun!


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## DanteDressageNerd

That makes sense to me. Blair wanting people to try Izzie to experience and feel what it's like to sit on a horse and actually ride it. I'm not familiar with how rail horses are trained but I imagine they dont do a lot of patterns or the kind of training we do in dressage but I don't know. But she's doing well and isn't a green baby anymore which is pretty awesome. But that'll be cool to put Cliff and Nick on her to see how that all goes!

Exactly! And not just that but doing it correctly gives you a whole lot more stuff to work with and increases the variety of horses you can ride, your feel, tact, ability to organize, etc. Always better to take the long but more prosperous route than the short, immediate gratification that is temporary and lacking in substance. It's good to know "tricks" for the show ring but they don't belong in a training program. You can cover things up for so long but if you just address the issues it's 10x easier and better, rather than covering up holes in the horse and riders training. Super common though.

lol I definitely don't blame you. I couldn't do WP either but native costume looks fun!

You picked a gorgeous dress! I love it! The picture is so genuine, it's really beautiful. You can tell how much you care about one another. it's not posed.

I entirely understand and agree. It's a video for you to remember and go back to as she improves. And I understand. I remember last year a girl who rode 3rd but had never developed a horse and had a very surface level understanding was critiquing a friend of mine and my own rides and the stuff she said was just so wrong and inappropriate for a young horse. Just had no concept or appreciation for training and developing horses but had a huge ego. And you just don't want to hear what they have to say.

It really was. I was laughing watching Legolas's because it had such a sense of humor to it. And no. I think a lot of people were crying because so many have fallen in love with Valegro and Charlotte. They've really changed the sport of dressage, them and Carl Hester. It's a beautiful thing!

And good luck with bringing Scratchy home! I hope it all goes well. I'm sure Kaleb is excited! Also with the hunter pleasure classes, would she do poorly because her hind end is too engaged and she sits too much or I have no idea how those judges are graded or what the judges want to see. But regardless have fun!!


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## Tazzie

Blair trains how we do. She feels you should step in every inch of the arena while working. Seeing how a lot of the rail horses warm up and what not, they just go round and round the rail. I don't think they (typically) do as many patterns and such like dressage riders. But this is just basing off of what I see at shows. Doesn't sound like it's that different though (according to Blair.) If you look up videos of some of the classes, particularly any saddleseat style classes, you'll (most of the time) see them turn the horse into the wall to pick up the canter. So weird to me. And definitely! She's out of the green baby stage for sure. I can hardly wait for the two of them to ride her! It'll be a day to remember, that's for sure!

People always want shortcuts though. Doesn't matter long as they reach that level. Just a shame. I'd love NOTHING more than to break past showing First since I never have. But I'm not about to rush there. I read the tests and went "yeah, not ready for that yet..." and that's fine with me. I'll just keep perfecting First and keep working my way there. I'll get there. Just need to have faith. And no sense rushing Izzie into it. I'd like her to maintain her calm, relaxed way of going.

It really is  get to do a hand gallop in a pretty costume :lol:

Thanks  It was quite the day to remember  love that man!

Yup. Blair asks before she gives me advice. Sometimes it'll work for us. Sometimes it won't. But she knows not everything she recommends will work for our style. And doesn't try to ram her training methods down my throat. I do get hesitant sharing videos that don't show us working well. I hate the critiques when I'm just sharing the ride. Even when I'd put "this needs A LOT of work" and people still feel the need to tell me what I did wrong. Like I didn't already know. Alright, rant over :lol:

It really did! I thought it was very unique! And that is really true. Poor Nick had to hear ALL about it yesterday! And my grandma was very thoughtful. That article we shared, "The Duo that Dominate", appeared in something she reads. So she photocopied it and mailed it to me :lol: now I have a copy that isn't just online!

I hope so too! We got everything but the food last night. Not sure what he's eating, and I'd like to not make a drastic change in his food. We're calling him a he, but we still don't know if it's male or female :lol:

As for the hunter pleasure classes, yes. She sits too much and is moving too uphill at this point to be a true hunter. The hunters (least the ones I see being placed) move level or slightly down hill in frame, and their movement doesn't have quite the same action as a Dressage horse. Nothing wrong with the different style. We just knew the more we got her sitting, the less likely we would be to win that class. I'm just tickled I'm still holding onto Sport Horse, for now. It's the one I'd like to maintain if I can. And unless more costume horses appear, I'll forever be Reserve. Maybe Champion if Blair ends up selling Sadie (she is for sale.... we all just keep trying to talk her out of it...) But we're always having fun!!

And again, no update. POURING rain all the way home. Miserable to drive in. Went and got supplies for Scratchy instead so we're ready.

Not supposed to rain tomorrow, but Nick has softball. Naturally. A lot of his games HAVE been cancelled, so I shouldn't be TOO upset about it. Calling for showers today. With how much it's rained I don't even think my area would be safe. Maybe Friday... if it stays dry.


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## PoptartShop

That picture is stunning! Beautiful couple! <3 Awww!

Oh, the rain sucks. We finally got a nice thunderstorm yesterday. Been so hot/humid here. I hope you get to ride soon, & the rain settles down a bit! Driving in the rain is really sucky. Plus...makes all of the idiot drivers come out LOL. I hope Nick does well in his game! 
Friday you better be able to ride!!! GAH! STAY AWAY RAIN! LOL


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## Tazzie

Thanks  I love that picture of us 

And yeah, I have to drive through Cincinnati every day to and from work. HATE it when it rains. I believe the rain washes away all ability to drive :/ I sure hope Friday will be my day! Fingers are crossed at least!!

Nick ended up working late tonight anyway, so wasn't able to ride even if it was drier. Praying for Friday!


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## DanteDressageNerd

Okay. That's good to know. I'm sure everyone has their own program and trains differently, just like in dressage. Some ways are good and others are not but glad Blair has a good training program. The running towards the wall thing sounds weird to me. I don't get it but I'm not a saddle seat rider, so I don't know. But no Izzie is getting into the zone where she knows her stuff and is able to teach. But that's super exciting! I hope they have a blast riding her!

That's very true. A lot of people are like that, dont care how well they can actually ride or train, so long as they say they show level X. But the wait will be worth it when you can show 2nd and have a horse that is properly schooling it vs can kinda fumble through the movements. She'll do it well and if you can get her schooling 3rd before you show 2nd, the jump to 3rd shouldn't be too difficult a jump. 2nd is such an awkward level and it's a HUGE jump from first level, especially in the horse's training. It's just weird because a horse doing 2nd level well really needs to be more like a solid 3rd level horse. Just a weird level. 

That's awesome!! :lol: 

I believe it. I'm glad you had a special day that was filled with memories and here you guys are 5 years later?

That makes sense to me and is appropriate. Suggestions never hurt, they work or they don't and if they dont you can put them in your tool box for sometime later. And that makes sense to me. I'm the same I don't mind ideas where the person is respectful and is like hey maybe think about this but the condescending, berating tones some people get, it's just like no. You want to criticize something, let's see your videos. Constructive vs condescending is how I look at it and keeping everything in perspective/realistic vs say if you were riding a baby and someone was like they should be ridden more up and it's like no right now a baby need to learn how to work through and over the back, reaching into the contact not just up.

That's darling your Grandma sent you the article. That's really thoughtful of her and :lol: I'm sure Nick loved hearing all about the dressage Olympics. Still Legolas's music is hysterical, Hi I'm Legolas, Let's dance. We need more humor in dressage, people think it's stuffy.

I'm sure you'll figure it out. Whether Scratchy is a girl or a boy. But that's a good idea, not to change food too drastically and keep things simple. It'll be good  I'm sure Kaleb is excited.

That makes sense. I always think of the horses in hunter classes being pretty level and swooping movers vs pushing off from behind and up into the bridle. But it makes sense and that's awesome you're still in the sporthorse standings, that's awesome!! But good luck in costume! That'll be fun! Do they have a yearly awards banquet?

But I hope the weather clears out so you can get some rides in! But glad you got Scratchy his/her things.


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## Tazzie

Yup! I don't know all the ways others train. I just observe what I see at shows. I'm glad Blair has a good program too. I'd think it was one person who asked for the canter that way if I didn't see entire classes of them doing it :/ it's weird. And yup! Izzie is definitely getting into that zone now 

Yeah :/ a friend of mine and I had a good chat last night about this person. We're both in the same boat where we are happy with where we are, and set attainable goals that are met correctly. She has a gelding who was rough housed when being started, and he's just now starting to really seek the contact. Least there are still people like us that care to do it correctly. And I have faith  it'll happen when we're ready. It is a weird level and a huge jump. I'll be excited for my first trot down centerline for a second level test :lol:

Nearly 5 years  our wedding date was 09-10-11 

Exactly. I'm all for getting suggestions, and giving them where I can. But I won't tolerate the condescending comments. Or the people who don't understand where Izzie is training wise. They just **** me off.

I thought it was! And yeah... Nick started getting glassy eyed a bit :lol: but yes!! I refuse to be stuffy :lol: I like fun music. And that to me was fun!!

They think it's a she :lol: I'll have to see if I can verify when she arrives tonight! Kaleb woke up in a FABULOUS mood today! He is SO excited. Asked if papa could come over too :lol: so I asked. Both my in laws will come over for it :lol:

Yup. We knew we'd have to phase out of it, and that's fine. I'm super pumped about the sport horse standings, and hope I get to keep that one!! Costume will just be for fun, and I'm good with reserve :lol: they do have one! It's held in Louisville in January  so we'll be going!

I sure hope so... it's overcast today, and I guess there IS a chance of rain today. Hoping for Nick's sake it holds out. And for mine so my area can dry out so I can ride tomorrow... I'm itching to ride.


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## Tazzie

So, Kaleb LOVES the kitten. She's barely been down whenever he's awake and home. She is an absolute sweetheart. The plan had been she'd stay indoors until she was fixed, then go to be a barn cat. Something tells me she's going to be an indoor/outdoor cat. Nick will randomly pick her up and snuggle with her. It's disgustingly adorable :lol: doesn't run from the kiddos and tolerates being held like a baby by Kaleb. Even fell asleep in his arms Friday night. Far too cute.

Friday evening I got to ride, and it was GREAT. She was hot, and a bit opinionated, but good. Did our warm up (which was challenging since she was super looky and people were moving everywhere), and gave her a walking break.

Picked her back up and worked on some walk to canters. A bit of squealing from her (hello opinion...) but they were pretty good. Need finesse, but I haven't touched them in a couple of weeks. They're going to be added to every ride now. It's time. She hadn't been ridden in about a week, so I did expect some opinion today. Nothing naughty, just the squeals.

Gave her another break after we went both directions to let her catch her breath.

Went back to work and worked on laterals. Had such good leg yields that Nick was like "those look really good!!" Awesome. Did some trot half pass. Better than last Saturday since I had her a bit more supple, but definitely still need to work on them more. Which is fine. We have PLENTY of time to develop those though.

After the lateral work I picked up the canter again. On a whim I went "hmm, she's way more balanced at the canter now, and the shallow loops are going super well. Let's try a 3 loop the actual width/length of the arena." I've done a "3 loop" before, but it's stretched way out past the end of the arena. Well, we kept all 3 within the arena! Left was FAR better than right. Right will take a lot more time to develop. But man. I wouldn't be embarrassed to show it to the left at all. I was absolutely pleased!

Started her into a nice stretchy circle, which she rocked it out! Nick said it's the first time without Maggy that I was actually able to keep her stretching and uphill. What a rush! What a feeling!

I ended that ride PROUD. I didn't get to have someone start her for me. A dressage trainer hasn't shown her. Blair has, and she is a trainer, but she's point blank said "Look, I just got on and pushed the buttons you installed and told me to push." That's how Blair is. But this is ME. I've done this. I've never brought a horse up past First, never shown past First 3, never installed new buttons on a horse past basically First 2. And yet, I am. With this mare. I've done THIS. Makes me so happy and proud!!

Yesterday we had a bridal shower we had to go to. It was alright. Nothing spectacular really. Nick wasn't feeling too great, and missed most of his brother's bachelor party.

We were relaxing at home when our daughter decided to add some excitement into our night. She just can't listen to us when we tell her NOT to climb on her character chair like it's a jungle gym. She flipped it backwards and hit her head on the coffee table. Nick picked her up to snuggle with her. We all settled down. Then he's like "ummm, go grab a rag. She cut her badly." Go and grab one, clean it up, and see she's split it, and it's separated a good quarter inch. Great. Need to go to the ER now. Called in laws, who came to get Kaleb (didn't want to take him with us.)

Get her there, and just ugh. She was a trooper through it. Took a good minute before she started wailing as they injected the lidocain. Cried through cleaning it up, then stopped after they draped her. Did the fake cry as he stitched it, mostly in protest to being held down. FOUR stitches to close it up. My poor kiddo :sad: didn't get home till after 1 am. She's a trooper though for real. Had tylenol last night, nothing since. Hasn't messed with it much either, which makes me happy.

So, on that note... we aren't going to go riding on this gorgeous day. In laws are busy, and no way to keep her out of the dirt. If she didn't get head to toe nasty we'd go, but she can't resist the call of mud and dirt. And I can't scrub her ear. I've sent a text to see if she can watch them Monday and Wednesday (Nick has to work on Tuesday). We will see. But ugh. Just hoping this ear heals well first....


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## DanteDressageNerd

I saw the pictures! She's SO SO cute! And looks like a total doll. She looks really happy with you guys! So glad Nick has taken to her too!!

lol I'm glad she was so good for your rides but the squealing sounds hysterical :lol: Ive ridden a few of those too, all the first transitions were squeals than everything was fine :lol: horses and their opinions, gotta laugh! But I agree. It's time she's not a green baby anymore. She can do it.

But I'm really glad her laterals are improving so much and she's doing so well!! But the canter serpentine sounds great! So glad she's getting better balanced and coordinated!! You really should be proud. Izzie has come a long way and is really lucky to have you as her horse mom. You're doing this together and that's super exciting  so happy for you guys!

Poor Syd though. Glad it was nothing major, hope she feels better soon though :-( And hopefully your in laws can watch the kids for those days, so you can have some time. Glad the kids are doing well though!


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## Tihannah

You should be happy and proud! You guys are looks fantastic and I'm so jealous! And I've definitely had one of those head splitting ER moments with one of the kiddos. They kept getting out of bed and my ex jumps up and storms towards the room. My youngest son, about 5 at the time, hears him coming and went running for the bunkbed, tripped, and fell hitting his head on the edge of the metal frame. Split his forehead wide open. Never saw my ex look so traumatized. That was a fun trip to the ER!


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## Tazzie

Cassie, she really is! It's pretty adorable how she's just pushed her way right into the hearts of everyone :lol: she's quite the little character! Sunday night I told Nick there was someone in the bathroom who wanted to see her (her bed and such are in the bathroom since it's the safest place for her when we aren't home and at night (Penny thinks she's a new chew toy...) The door was open, but she was hanging out in there since I'd just vacuumed. He went to pick her up to snuggle. She's also started purring for us  she at least tolerates the kiddos holding her!

Ugh, yeah, she can tone down that opinion a little bit... I'll explain below.

I am too! It's kind of fun to play around with stuff that I didn't even get to do growing up. Just starting to feel like the natural next step. Yeah, we don't have walk to canter and canter to walk yet, but she's getting super balanced to do things like the serpentine. It'll all come together with time and good practice! I am glad about the laterals though!!

She's been in fabulous spirits, which is good. My father in law watched them last night. Don't think he can watch them tomorrow, but she *should* be ok. Stitches could dissolve as early as 3 days. Tonight marks 3 days. I'll be meeting Nick down there since the farrier is coming for her trim (finally) and I plan to ride after.

Tina, thank you! You'll get there, I just know it! And YOU should be proud too! You and Tess have come a LONG way! So don't discount yourself! And that sounds terrifying! Kaleb has pushed a tooth partway back into his gum because he was playing on the bed rail (it fell, and he landed just right on it.) Syd's looked bad, but it stopped bleeding pretty quickly. Thankfully it looks to be healing well! She tells us she has a boo boo on her ear though :lol:

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Alright, now for my update...

Sunday we just did grocery shopping, as I said. Didn't want to drag Syd out within 24 hours of her injury.

I rode last night. And what a miserable ride most of it was. I got on, and she started out ok with some good walking laterals. Picked up the trot, and she tried to fall apart and rush into the canter. So. Lots of walk - trot - halt - walk - trot transitions. Was better, but needed more. So alright, onto laterals. Lots of leg yields, shoulder in, haunches in, baby half pass to get her brain thinking. FINALLY got it. Allowed her to canter. Both ways went fine, and she was allowed her walk break.

Picked back up and did a couple of walk - trot - walk transitions to get her sharp. Cued the canter from the walk (time for pony to grow up.) Apparently these were SERIOUSLY offensive last night. Because we threw our head up and bolted. Multiple times. Added a couple of bucks in for good measure. Mind you, everything fits well. She is not sore. She is well cared for. We've just constantly put the walk to canter on the back burner because she used to get anxious. This was flat out her being a total witch. She was trying to goad me into fighting with her, and I gave in at first. Then remembered Maggy yelling "Hold that outside rein, relax the inside rein, and let her fight with herself!!" So, my brain kicked in and I did just that. Told her to let go of that dang Arab sassiness, that I wasn't being unfair with my asking, and she's plenty capable to do this. After she realized she was not going to win this battle, she did give up. We had a few pretty decent walk to canters with just a minor grunt (after all that anger, I'll take the minor grunt.)

After that fighting I had her keep cantering, politely, where ever I wanted to go. And that was in a 3 loop serpentine a couple of times. And they were lovely. As was our change of lead through the trot on the diagonal. Gave her a break after this.

Picked up and did a few more laterals, which she did well at. Was a bit argumentative in the half pass, but got her to give me some good steps. Ended with a nice stretchy circle.

Was about to get off when she gave me sassiness about backing up away from Nick. Alrighty then, you'll back up on contact, walk forward, and stand on contact. Which is her arch nemesis. She HATES just standing on contact. She does it, but she tries to argue. And she did it without a single argument. Flexed her both ways and she complied. Had her stand just another minute longer, then released her. She nickered at me like "thank you...." Hopped off and untacked her. We just ride in their field, fencing the others out. So we untacked, put her fly mask on, and released her. She followed us around like a puppy dog. Perhaps even those this ride was UGLY for the most part, something sunk in? Lord I hope so.

I can't ride today since Nick is working. Hoping what lessons she learned yesterday will hold until tomorrow...


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## Tihannah

Hahaha, oh how I love the mares! Tess will give me the same atittude every now and then and I'll wish I had a gelding. But when all is said and done, she always turns back into my sweet baby. But I can totally feel you on this one. It gets so frustrating sometimes. One day it's fantastic and they next day they're like, "Nope! Not gonna do it! Don't feel like it today!" Lol. Walk to canter is one of the few things the previous owner did establish with Tess and she does well. It seems to take forever to teach her that trot to canter didn't mean go into a running trot THEN canter. Serpentines at canter! Wow! That's like insurmountable for me! Lol. If I can get 2 full canter circles, I feel like I've climbed a mountain!


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## Tazzie

Yup, the joy of an opinionated mare. Love her to death, but we've been toying with walk to canter for a bit now. The reaction was totally uncalled for. I was glad we pushed through it though, or tomorrow would be even worse. As it is, I'm just hoping tomorrow doesn't bring a similar fight. And you'll get it all figured out! Izzie still has days she tries to trot fast into the canter if I don't set her up properly. And once Tess is feeling better I'm sure you'll get more than 2 canter circles :wink:


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## Tazzie

Alright, so we rode last night. First she had her feet trimmed, which she behaved for (like always; she's a good girl). My farrier was happy Nick came down though :lol: Nick brought the Polaris since that's how we get out to her field typically (I tacked up at the trailer last night since we were there, mounted, and just hacked to the barn.) They were chatting about that, then chatting about hunting. Swapping buck pictures, etc. They were hilarious to watch :lol: amuses me how well they get along.

Izzie was a bit sassy, but worked well. Gave one small buck, and one small kick out, but nothing really more. Squealed with the kick, but otherwise just did a grunt like "so offensive." After the disaster that was Monday, I wanted to keep this ride short and sweet if possible. Told her I needed tow walk to canters back to back with no bucking, bolting, or incorrect lead. Went to the right first. Even though it's her harder way, it wasn't the way that she was bolting from on Monday, least not to the extent of how she was on Monday. Gave me a great one, then grabbed the wrong lead the second time. Did it again and had another nice one. Asked one more time for another good one. Ok, enough to the right. Changed to the left. Had to get her to not anticipate it since now she was a bit on edge. Did some lateral work on a circle at the walk for a bit. Asked, grabbed the wrong lead (I failed to set up correctly.) Asked again, she got it. Asked again, another perfect one. LOTS of pats, and went straight into the stretchy trot. Had a lovely stretchy trot.

What I'm noticing. First off, when I mean "we trot NOW" we don't rush at the trot. We go from canter to a nice trot. Not mean, but being a bit firmer, preparing the transition better, etc. Glad they are finally better. Feels like it won't be a huge step to do canter to walk now (almost had it once or twice last night too.)

Other thing. I think a lot of the issue with the bucking and bolting came from how I was asking. When we first started walk to canter, I made sure I was loud and clear. In her opinion, I was asking WAY too loudly. So last night I merely moved my inside seat bone forward, put my outside leg back a hair, and off she went. I half halted before I changed my seat. She just doesn't like loud aids. Not that that reaction was called for, but I at least understand the why a little better.

And Nick was fabulous last night. Periodically I have him do a check on us. Check my position, check Izzie. For Izzie I want her tending toward an uphill balance while maintaining the lifted back, loose underneck, correct contact (good neck muscling shows), and really stepping under. He says "She looks like a Dressage horse. She's well muscled like one." So we're getting somewhere! No one will mistake us for anything else at this point!


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## KigerQueen

my gelding is just as opinionated. we argued about lowering his head for about 20 min. he would get it then had a tantrum. ended in a bucking fit. i won (i think). but he is filled with sass... more so than my arab lol!


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## Tazzie

Yeah, she has her dumb moments sometimes :lol: I usually just inform her that her Arab is showing (obviously a joke since I DID want a half Arab lol). She's wickedly smart, which is a curse and blessing. In this case, it was a curse. I like to be thorough and clear with my aids. She wants the absolute minimum she can get. I'm hoping Monday we won't have this issue....

I'm so exhausted. Nick worked last night, leaving me to clean up the car, clean the house, watch the kids, and pack all our stuff for the trip (except his stuff; he's on his own.) I have all the kid's stuff in the car. All our games are in the car. My stuff is packed, but waiting for Nick's stuff. And all of mine and kid's bathroom items are packed. Just need to go to the car once Nick puts his stuff in. I didn't go to sleep until after 11 pm, which is odd for me. I'm usually in bed MUCH earlier. Now, I'm at working, keeping myself thoroughly busy to pass the time. Once I get my lab stuff done, I can do personal stuff (like balance the checkbook, pay bills, etc.)

Can I leave now?? :lol:


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## PoptartShop

Glad to see you got a good ride in.  Don't you love their little temper tantrums?! LOL, they think they are so slick sometimes.

I bet you are exhausted. Sure you're ready to get away, it can't come soon enough. You have a lot on your plate missy!


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## KigerQueen

Lol! i have an Egyptian arabian. she can be incredibly smart and incredibly dumb (well more like massive blonde moments). love her but there are times i bang my head against the wall. as sassy as she is she is adorable though XD! LOVE your mare! she is beautiful! love looking at your show pics!


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## Tazzie

Poptart, I sure do.... not haha! She's at that point now though where she's not a baby, but she still thinks she is. She'll understand soon... but I know she'll ALWAYS voice her opinion! And yeah, I've been crazy busy!! SO ready for a vacation!!

Kiger, haha, blonde moments! I understand those! My wall would have major holes in it if I banged my head every time she drove me crazy! And thank you!! I adore her! Your mare is gorgeous too! Love following along in your journal! Hopefully your weather cools off soon so you can ride again!

Alright, hubby is almost here, so I'm off!! Chat with you all next week!


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## KigerQueen

well we have had nothing but rain and low 100s so its about ride time. just now my fiance is hijacking my truck soooo... lol XD!


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## Tazzie

Boo! Hopefully he gives you your truck back!!

So, the trip started off rough. Really rough.

Missed the lunch downstairs by 3 minutes. The burrito place was closed up, so no burritos.

Got in the car and found out Nick forgot to grab my drinks. Arg, gotta stop at Meijer now. And he forgot kid's toys. UGH. Planned to get some beach toys at Meijer, but didn't see any. Whatever, just got my drinks.

Got there and we had fun. Hung out and had dinner with my family. We were sitting on the patio of the house my grandma and uncles were in. My soon to be sister in law started having issues with her allergies and went inside. I told mom I was going to go in and see if she wanted to play a game back at our house. Next thing I know, my entire immediate family was at the house to play Rummikub :lol: alright then! Played teams and had a blast  My youngest brother's girlfriend joined us for the weekend, and I like her! First time meeting her. She's fun!

Get ready for bed and Nick asks me where his toothbrush is. I said in the black bag. "What black bag?" He forgot ALL our toiletries (well, except HIS body wash and deodorant) because I didn't remind him to grab it. In it was my daily inhaler I need to use every morning. The one I JUST refilled for 3 months. Ok, now I'm mad. Oh, and had my zyrtec and baby aspirin in it. So I had issues all night with allergies. Fortunately dad had some zyrtec I could take in the morning.

Head to CVS the next morning and replace ALL our toiletries. For roughly $151. Not a happy camper. BUT, the pharmacist called our insurance (I use CVS to refill prescriptions) and explained the situation. Heard him say "Yes, I know that is where they live, but they are here right now." He managed to get them to agree to refilling it again. For another 3 months. Now I'll have over 5 months worth of inhalers.... But I had mine for the weekend, thank god.

After that excitement the trip did get better. Went to the beach and played mom's game called Kubb. You set up 5 blocks upright at each end, then throw these baton like things to knock them down. It's entertaining, and harder than it looks :lol:

Had quiet time back at the house. Kids REFUSED to sleep, but such is life. Ended up playing Apples to Apples, then Taboo. Had fun at Taboo! Brother's girlfriend joined for that :lol: Then went swimming in the pool.

Dinner afterward, followed by games of corn hole, and ended the night with Cards Against Humanity (my cousin did NOT play, and neither did the rest of her family...)

Lunch with my parents before we headed home. Kaleb was VERY ready to see Scratchy :lol:

Had planned to ride tonight, but it POURED last night. Like, there were mudslides in some areas. Plus, my gut hurts today. I'll just finish laundry up, and hope to ride the next 3 days...

Oh, and may or may not go on my next trip. MIL JUST told me she had plans for Saturday. After this has been discussed for a solid month. So, if I don't find somewhere for the kids in the morning till afternoon that day, I get to stay home while Nick goes riding. Found this out as we were driving up.

So yeah, rough start to that trip. Can we leave for Gatlinburg now, pretty please??


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## DanteDressageNerd

Overall it sounds like you guys had a great trip with the kids, despite the rough beginning and of course spending time with family! But I'm REALLY glad you were able to get a refill on your inhaler, definitely not something you can go without! 

I'm also really glad the kids, especially Kaleb are taking to Scratchy so well. So glad the kitten is so well loved and your kids have a pet of their own. That's pretty special!

I saw the weather reports, weather has been ridiculous wet and rainy/stormy here too. I hope the weather clears up so you can start riding. 

But have fun in Gatlinburg!! No doubt that will be a blast!! It's such a pretty area!


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## Tazzie

We did  and the kids had a great time with the family. And yeah, I was too. I didn't want to mess around with taking the weekend off from it :/

That poor cat rarely gets to run around :lol: kids LOVE her. Maybe one night she can graduate sleeping at the foot of Kaleb's bed. She's getting bigger! One day lol

I hope so too. Though, won't be able to put in any consistent riding until after Gatlinburg now :sad: tonight we have the fair parade, which I'd hate to miss. The kids LOVE it. And being a mom... I do have to sacrifice my wants sometimes. Seeing their faces though is worth it. I'll ride tomorrow though. Friday we leave to ride, and come back on Sunday. I show Sunday night and Monday night. I won't ride Tuesday since I always give the day off after a show (especially when the show will be in like 90 degree weather...), and we leave for Gatlinburg Wednesday. I'm ok with it though. I think she needs an adjustment. She's willing to work for me, but something is bothering her. Going to call today and see if we can squeeze in on the 17th. *fingers crossed* we can. It's the only free weekend we could take her ourselves. I know Cliff would do it for us, but I'd hate to ask him to do that.

We're going to have a blast! I bought our tickets for the Dixie Stampede! Got them on the website, paid less than another site, AND got PREFERRED seating. Oh yeah! I'm super excited! One more week!!

------------------------------------

As for an update.

I rode last night. It was... interesting. It started out great. Had her leg yielding on a long rein (basically just making sure I could lol) and she was fabulous. Had some tense moments after we picked up the trot, but got her sorted out. Just took longer than usual. Cantering was eh. Not terrible, and Nick said it looked good. But I felt she was only doing it because I asked.

We did do walk to canter since these are going to be done every ride to make them a non issue. Last night they were pretty much a non issue. First time she was a touchy sluggish going into it, but Nick being my eagle eye said "it looked like she was going to grab the wrong lead, but changed her mind." Which would be the sluggish feel I felt. It was her harder way though, so it impressed me she did that. Had some nice ones both directions though.

Did some trot lengthening. A bit of the anxiety popped up where she kept thinking "CANTER???" No Izzie, not cantering. I got some pretty decent trot lengthenings though. Need to remember to touch on a few tricks every time we ride, not just walk to canter. Asked for a stretch, and she went straight out and down without much coaxing. Even changed direction with her head staying where it needed to. I was SO happy! Ended on that note. Walked her out for a while since it was hot and she was pretty sweaty. She's getting FAT out on that field. Asked Cliff to cut her grain back just a hair. With all the rain and now my trips I just can't ride as often as I need. She didn't do anything wrong yesterday though. I just want to get her into the chiro since something just feels off. She's not lame, and she's stepping well under herself even at the canter. My guess is she may have a rib out from when she fell playing in her field. Really hoping we can get in on the 17th!


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## PoptartShop

Sorry you had a rough start to the trip, but I'm glad it all ended up going smoothly & you had a good time. The Dixie Stampede will be fun too.:cowboy:Sounds like a nice ride, and a smooth note to end on!


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## DanteDressageNerd

Overall your family seems so pleased with Scratchy, so glad she's doing well but shame about little riding until after Gatlinburg but at least that will be an incredible trip! I hope the adjustment makes a difference!

Good luck at the show! I hope it goes well!

And glad you had what sounds like a productive ride. But I hope the chiropractor can help with the canter and help Izzie, so she feels like she's all there again. I really hope the adjustment makes a difference, so she's your Izzie again but I think it's great how she's growing up and stepping up, despite being possibly uncomfortable.


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## Tazzie

@PoptartShop, I was glad it ended up being a decent one overall. I'm definitely pumped for the Dixie Stampede!!
@DanteDressageNerd, I'll deal, but such is life! I'm ready for a trip! I certainly hope he can help us. This weekend was miserable...

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So, update. I rode last Thursday. Basically tossed the costume on to do basically a warm up in it, then be done. I didn't want to overwork her in it since it was HOT but I wanted to put her in it. She was pretty good, and we ended with a bareback ride (pictures below lol) I also hosed her off and cleaned her teats since they must have been a bit itchy (she was rubbing her tail, which is her sign her teats were dirty). She was more than happy to help me clean them by moving her leg out of the way for me lol! She's very into her teat washing.

Friday we went on a riding trip with Nick's Polaris. Which was a blast. It's in the middle of nowhere, and SO clear out that you could see the milky way. Just gorgeous!

Got back Sunday, hauled her to the fairgrounds, and prepared to show that night. Had a CRAPPY warm up, and an even crappier ride. Was awful. Vowed to ride her earlier in the day on Monday to get her brain back.

Rode Monday morning, and after MANY laterals, she regained her brain. Perfect ride in the morning just out in the field. Costume was at night. Again, PERFECT warm up in the field. Hit the ring, and her brain switched off and we hit an epic bucking fit where the audience actually gasped. Yeah, it was bad. We mucked through it. Embarrassingly the judged asked me if I was ok afterward... ok. Great. Warmed up for our next ride. She seemed a bit ouchy in her hind, which attributed it to working on the hills at the fairgrounds. PERFECT warm up. Like, couldn't be better. Lost our minds upon hitting the ring. We tried head flinging, we tried bolting. Took two steps of lengthened trot, and then tried to take off. Regained her brain second direction, but too late. I felt like a fool. Nick could tell I was incredibly upset and had me dismount right after we left the arena. I don't believe in punishing a horse like that after the fact, but Nick wanted me off. I was MAD. Contemplated listing her for sale since we blow the class nearly every time we show at this fairgrounds (either we do it, or the judge is an idiot and confuses me with another rider.) Nick told me to not give up on her. That she does extremely well for what I bought her for (Dressage.) Didn't help that the darn horse whinnied at me every time I came back into the barn as I was packing stuff up. Little brat. Friend offered to take her for 3 months. I love her, but she doesn't quite ride how I do, nor ride straight dressage. That and I don't want to give up on the totally self trained thing either. Instead I told Nick all I want for Christmas this year is lessons. I want my entire family to call and pay for a lesson. Nick supports that, which is good since he's my driver lol

Anyway, some pics! One of my friends REALLY liked the one of her standing by the trailer. Said you could tell I was working all the right muscles in her neck 

My favorite one is the three of them grazing in the field. Izzie looks MASSIVE near them! Izzie sticks right at 15 hands, so she's much smaller than people realize. She just carries a presence. Flash (the bay to the right of the picture) is a 31 year old Quarter Horse, and Peppy (chestnut to the left) is a 14 year old (I think?) Quarter Horse.

Also included are some of my favorite pictures I bought from the show in Michigan!

Added a picture of Scratchy for fun since she hadn't been formally introduced on my journal


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## Tazzie

Some of them didn't post... So here they are lol I apologize if they suddenly appear on my other post!


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## Rainaisabelle

The kids are so cute !!


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## PoptartShop

OMG adorable pictures!!!


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## carshon

Your horse is just simply gorgeous! And the pics of you up and riding are spectacular. We all have bad rides. Don't give up!


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## DanteDressageNerd

:lol: mares always seem to love a good teat washing. I imagine it gets quite itchy and uncomfortable, so I can't say I blame them for enjoying it.

The Friday night adventure sounds glorious!! Sounds like tons of fun!!

I'm sorry about the show rides. That sounds incredibly frustrating. I had a show a weekend like that on my old tb. PERFECT warmup, couldn't have asked for better. Got bolted off with and it was a mess, so I get the frustration and anger. I agree with Nick about dismounting right away and cooling out. You're doing really well with Izzie, especially for not having a regular trainer or regular training sessions. It's hard. I agree with not putting her in training with a non horsey person or in training with a professional. I don't think that's what either of you need, I think taking lessons as often as you can afford to and getting them for birthday and Christmas sounds like a good option to me.

Izzie's putting on some muscle! She looks great! Her back has gotten a lot flatter, definitely a good thing! I love the pictures of Scratchy :lol: I'm a cat person but she's darling, I'm so happy she's doing so well with you and your family. What a sweetheart.

And I love all the pictures of Izzie, especially with you and the kids. That's really sweet. I love how kids have such genuine expressions and take such joy in simple pleasures. The kids look so happy and Izzie looks happy to look after them.


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## izzievparsons

What a beauty you got there! I'm naturally attracted to her because my name is Izzie, too.


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## Tazzie

Thanks @Rainaisabelle and @PoptartShop! I'm pretty partial to them :wink:

Thanks @carshon! There is so much we still have to work on (I still tend to lean forward while riding, habit I picked up after my accident), but I'm happy with where we are and the pace we are at. Slow and steady  and I won't be giving up! Just a frustrating show weekend was all. Nick and I were discussing it after a funny moment (I'll describe that situation below) and how a friend of mine bought her horse for $700, the price a meat man would have paid. Judge offered her $40k for him later and she turned it down. At first Nick was like "we'd take it and get you something different!" I challenged him and said "so you would have sold Elliott for $40k?" (Elliott was the dog we had to put down due to aggression toward the kids; he was NOT a rehoming candidate. Aggressive toward others, cat and dog aggressive, severe anxiety, and could escape from about any cage; ground his teeth down trying to get out of the cage Nick made him.) Nick has said selling Izzie would be like putting Elliott down all over again. He finally, finally, said what I've known. He told me he likes to joke around, but that mare is family. "And you two are stuck with each other, so you gotta deal with it" :lol: so no, I'm not giving up. Just have days where I threaten to throw in the towel.
@DanteDressageNerd, I hadn't met one who loved it as much as Izzie! I always read the "HELP! My mare is pregnant and doesn't like her teats being messed with!!" stuff and think "well, least my mare is good for it :lol: I certainly don't blame them at all. Wish we could put something on it to help with the crud buildup :/

It was fun 

Yeah, I felt like it was our first show together all over again. I just wanted out of the ring and off the show grounds. Just miserable. And no, I appreciated Nick leaving his friend and saying "hop off" to me. I don't ignore Nick when he takes on a serious tone since he NEVER gets that way. Made me so mad when she kept whinnying at me. I was like "stop, I'm mad at you!" Darn mare :lol: and my friend does know what she's doing. I think what I need to make time for later this year (IE after my brother in law's wedding) is to go trail riding. Let her mind relax and unwind. Not work so hard at moving forward. We've been going HARD all summer long. We have two more shows with rail classes. That's it. And few with my friend in the ring with me, which should help. We will see how it goes. But yeah, lessons are what I'm looking for for Christmas this year. Birthday is gone this year. Maybe Nick will let me get a few around my birthday next year since it's the big 3-0 :wink:

Overall she looks like a different horse. I'm sure she's lost a bit since our riding/training has slowed way down lately. But such is life. Going to stay chaotic for a bit since bow hunting opened up in the state of Kentucky. Not that Nick feels like hunting right now.... more on that later. She's a feisty little ball of fur :lol: I've always been more of a dog person, but the kids ADORE her. She's a fairly good cat really!

She didn't get too many great pictures, which made me a little sad. But I liked a few of them for sure! The ones with the kids make me smile though  they love izzie and she loves them right back. She's a good mare with them!
@izzievparsons, thank you! And the name is compliments of my husband, Nick! It fits her very well  It was between Ana and Izzie, but she responded to Izzie


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## Tazzie

Now for my update.

Our trip was perfect. Way overspent, but such is life :lol: we got to do a lot of fun things and I regret nothing.

We got into town Wednesday night. Checked in, and then immediately went and played a round of mini golf. I have zero hand/eye coordination, so I suck :lol: got back and ordered a pizza. Yay late night pizza!

Thursday we get up, load up, and head over to the Dixie Stampede to get our tickets. Didn't want to wait until the last minute to grab them. Glad we decided to stop and grab them! Then off to Clingman's Dome, which is AWESOME! But I was TIRED by the time we reached the top! I NEED to get in shape. It's a half mile trek up an extremely steep mountain. You get to see a few states from that point though, which is awesome! Came back down and headed into town to grab some lunch. Went to ****'s Last Resort. It's the restaurant that the staff is rude to you. It was pretty entertaining :lol: Headed back out with the intention of hiking to Rainbow Falls. Couldn't find any parking nearby, so we gave up and continued over to Grotto Falls. The hike was 1.7 miles I think. It was gorgeous, but I was EXHAUSTED. Went and showered, then headed to dinner. On a recommendation of a friend we ate at a place called The Best Italian, the one across from Ober Gatlinburg. It was DELICIOUS. I'd eat there daily if I could :lol: even Nick, who doesn't care for Italian food, loved it! Headed out onto the strip afterward. Did some Moonshine tasting at Ole Smoky. And bought SO MUCH BOOZE. I picked out Salty Carmel and Tennessee Mud for me to make a Drunken Samoa (they had recipe cards, hehe), grabbed a Margarita flavored one for mom (that is SO GOOD), and Nick grabbed a thing of cherries in the moonshine and two jars of Pineapple flavored moonshine since they were 50% off and we got some deal for it. I don't know. After that we did an Escape Room, just me and Nick. SO much fun!! We broke out! Woohoo! After that we went and played more mini golf :lol: cause why not? And I got my chocolate dipped cheesecake on a stick :lol: delicious!! Nick also got me new boots since mine were DYING. They were blue and have stars, so he said I needed them :lol:

Friday we actually hiked out to Rainbow Falls. 2.6 miles. EXHAUSTING. But fun. The falls were ok. The volume of the water made me sad though  just disappointed in that. Went to Dixie Stampede afterward, which is always a blast!! SO much good food! And in the competition, the south won :lol: we were on the south side! Had GREAT seats! Second row  Went and got some shirts at the gift shop afterward. I got out first, and Nick was just getting ready to exit the store. I overheard a man say "I bet these horses cost them $30k each." Security guard looked at me with a smile as I burst out laughing. Nick found me laughing and snorting while I was walking away :lol: most hilarious comment of the night! After that we played yet another round of mini golf (the previous day we paid for two rounds, that could be split up over two days.) This time it was blacklight mini golf! I ALMOST beat Nick. He beat me by 1 stroke! ARG! And then we got ice cream :lol:

Saturday was our five year anniversary!! We got up and went right out to go horseback riding. They put me at the end since apparently they put it in order of experience? Was fun. They talked us into buying the pics :lol: they cut us a deal on them since the woman quickly realized I do ride a lot. The money went straight back to the horses though, so I'm alright with that. I believe them since these were the best looking trail riding horses I've ever seen at these places. Well taken care of feet, properly fitting tack (with tags with their names on it so they aren't just pulling whatever saddle is closest), and actually more on the chubby side than disgustingly thin. I didn't see a single horse I'd be concerned about. Fans on keeping everyone cool, plenty of fresh water and hay, barn constantly being cleaned/tidied up, and full hay racks. It's a place I'd support :wink: after riding we went to lunch at some Mexican restaurant. It was alright. Probably wouldn't eat there again. Next we drove in Cades Cove, which is GORGEOUS! So many fun little farms and such to see! Loved it! Finally, we head back to the cabin to head to dinner. Nick gave me a GORGEOUS sapphire necklace for our anniversary  he has good taste! We had to put our name on the waiting list to get in to the Old Mill, which was an hour wait. So we went to a second place for moonshine tasting. This time at the Old Forge. OH MAN. This stuff is so smooth, it'd mess you up in a hurry. Ended up buying even more booze :lol: this time I got Vanilla Bean (she said it's delicious in root beer, vanilla coke, or orange soda), Blackberry (and because we bought Blackberry we got a mason jar of their Peach Lemonade, which was AMAZING with it), and Nick got Cinnamon Bomb cherries. This stuff was GOOD. Dinner was AMAZING, as was usual.

Sunday we headed home. Still happy and on cloud 9 from our trip, but missing the kids.

Then I got a phone call. From my mother in law.

I was told Nick's cousin committed suicide yesterday morning. No warning. No note. No idea why. All I know is it was for sure not an accident. He was one of the guys who went riding with us before my show last weekend. Everyone is just in shock. No one knows what to say or do. He was the youngest of 6, and any of his siblings would have helped if he had just asked. Any of us would have. We didn't know anything was wrong. He always seemed so happy. Just last weekend he'd been making plans of what he was going to do with his quad, and where he was going to build his cabin down on the property we ride on. It was not a phone call I was expecting. And not something I wanted to tell my husband, as he refused to pull the truck over so I could tell him.

So, I'm sorry if I'm quiet lately. We're all in a lot of shock right now. No one seems angry or mad at him, just wishing he would have said something, anything, to any of us.

I'm hoping to ride tonight, but we'll see. I don't know if Nick will be up to just sitting in his Polaris while I ride. He's been wanting to keep himself occupied and not allow himself to think. He's taking this pretty hard.


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## PoptartShop

So happy that you had such a lovely trip. You deserved it!

Oh no...I am so sorry to hear about Nick's cousin...that is so sad.  That's horrible. I can't even imagine what your family is going through. No worries, take all the time you need...I am so sorry. <3  *hugs* Your family is in my thoughts.


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## egrogan

Sorry to hear about your loss @Tazzie.


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## Tazzie

Thank you both for your thoughts and prayers. Nick is having a tough time with it. He's in denial it was indeed suicide. I don't know the how or where, and I don't intend on asking to find out. I was just told it was for sure not an accident. Nick wants to believe it was either an accident, or that someone shot him. There have been a lot of robberies in our area, again, and he's put together that idea now. I guess his cousin had just been showing Nick's aunt pictures Saturday night of big bucks he wanted to get, and had planned on going hunting Sunday morning.

All the funeral stuff will be Thursday afternoon/evening. Still a bit surreal 

I did end up riding last night. Izzie is in desperate need of a chiro adjustment, which is happening Saturday. Hopefully she goes back to my normal, happy mare. Because the demon mare I had last night is not fun to ride.


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## carshon

Poor Nick - suicide is so hard on families. His cousin must have been truly in a dark place to see no other way out. Praying for you and your family


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## DanteDressageNerd

Truly that vacation sounds AMAZING!! I like the sound of the drinks. That sounds like a good time! And of course the hiking!! Over all it really sounds like you and Nick had a great time!! Though that is funny they thought each of those horses were 30k a piece, I wonder why they thought that?

The trail horses sound like they were very well taken care of. I haven't been around or to one in a long time but where I grew up in Oregon, there were a lot of trail places and most of the horses were well looked after. Don't know if tack fit well or not but I remember it was very clean and all the horses looked healthy with feet trimmed. 

Wow! Nick pulled out all the stops, didn't he? The Sapphire necklace sounds gorgeous!! I'm really glad you guys were able to enjoy such a wonderful 5th anniversary! Happy Anniversary!! 

Again I am so sorry about Nick's cousin, that's extremely hard. I've known of a few people who committed suicide and I know for them they had depression so bad they felt ashamed to talk about it or to express it. Sometimes with depression and I do this, is you have a public and private persona of what you show people. When I'm around people or in public or among people who I don't want to see my pain or I dont want to talk about it. I honestly just want to see people smile and make them laugh, so I do that. I can hide it and seem cheerful, expressive, humorous and entertaining but then when I'm alone it all hits. I'm not saying that was Nick's cousin and Im not diminishing anything, just trying to share some insight. I don't think it's something anyone can really entirely understand and I think everyone's case is a little different. 

I don't think it's something anyone can really understand unless they've been in that place. I can't imagine doing it but sometimes people think that's their only option. I don't think anybody who does it, does it off a whim. I'm so sorry for your family's loss. I'm sure he was a great man, most of the people I've known of who have committed suicide were genuinely good people who were well loved and cherished and deeply missed by many people. The people I've known of who did it weren't people you'd ever expect.


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## Tazzie

Thank you @carshon. We had no idea he was even in a dark place  he was truly such a good kid.
@DanteDressageNerd, the anniversary trip was truly amazing. I did up our checkbook, and we definitely went crazy :lol: but it was worth it. We had a great time. I do love my necklace too. He's a wonderful man in so many aspects.

And thank you. I've never been in that place, so I don't know how it feels. I just know he was never without a smile, or making plans for the future. He had SO much ahead of him. I don't even want to imagine how his mom is feeling right now. She had to bury her eldest at birth (stillborn), her sister when Nick was 9 (she was Nick's mom), her mom last year, and now her youngest son. She's a deeply religious woman, which is how she will get through it. I just don't even know how you'd keep the faith after all this. I just don't know.

All the funeral stuff is tomorrow. I'm still not ready. I don't think Nick is either. I think we're still hoping this is a nightmare we will wake up from. Just doesn't feel right that we'll never see him again 

Not much of an update here. Had planned to ride Izzie yesterday, but left work with a massive headache. Decided since she was clearly ouchy on Monday that I'll just wait until after her chiro appointment. Hate losing a week, but I'd rather let her rest and get fixed than make her mad and force her to work when she clearly can't. I'm thinking her sacrum is out. She canters, but not happily. And when her sacrum is twisted, the canter usually goes away. Think she's only doing it because I'm clearly asking her to. We shall see what the verdict is on Saturday. But I'm guessing her sacrum is twisted, her pelvis is twisted, her poll is out, her TMJ is back, and that she has ribs out. That's how I feel when I ride her at least.

So instead, I drank some blackberry moonshine with peach lemonade, and Nick, the kids and I all played Rummikub :lol: been playing Words with Friends with my best friend as well.


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## PoptartShop

Again I am so sorry.  It's going to be very hard tomorrow, it's nothing you can be prepared for. Hang in there <3

Ouch, headaches are the worst. Saturday the chiro better get her all back into shape. I really trust the chiro, they can really help sometimes more than a darn vet can! My vet is both a chiro AND vet, which makes things a bit easier too lol.

Moonshine? Luckily you aren't a lightweight like me...I tried it once, & whew...that was it. LOL. Words with Friends is fun too! I've gotten so busy, I've left my friends hanging on that game. Definitely keeps ya busy though!


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## Tazzie

I know :sad: I'm leaving an hour early from work to go home and get myself and the kids ready. Nick wants to go up early to help if need be. When Nick hurts, Nick wants to help. I don't want him going up alone, or driving for that matter. Helps the church is only a mile or so down the road though, so it's not a long distance to it. I haven't seen or talked to any of them this week. I just don't know what to say, or to sound like I'm only contacting them because I feel obligated. Just ugh.

Headaches suck. My migraine medicine took FOREVER to touch it. HATE it. And yeah, this chiro was a vet. The absolute best in the area. But he made more doing the alternative healing. His farm call appointments book up like 6 months out. Typically takes at least 6 weeks to get in to see him at his place. We're regular customers, so he typically finds space for us. He's absolutely amazing, and Izzie snuggles right into him after it's all said and done. He gives me new stretches and such to do in between to help her pelvis and her poll. He's a fabulous guy who I trust will make her right as rain.

And oh no, I'm a light weight :lol: I just drink it VERY slowly. But this stuff is crazy smooth. Like, I can normally taste the alcohol in a seagrams, and that's WAY lower proof than this. This stuff (from the Old Forge; seriously, go to Gatlinburg (Pigeon Forge rather) and go do a tasting there; you won't regret it) is 60 proof and I don't taste the alcohol. It's some DANGEROUS stuff that way. But oh so good. And I deleted the app a while back. Got bored yesterday and reinstalled it.


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## DanteDressageNerd

I agree with waiting for the chiropractor to see her, especially because you know she's sensitive and don't want her to have a pain association with work. I hope you can get in to see him soon.

God heals in miraculous ways, I'm glad she has God through these trying times. I can't imagine how she feels having already lost so many people but it sounds like she's a strong, loving person and will heal. I'm really sorry.

I hope Nick is careful, especially if that's his coping mechanism for intense feeling. We can all be a little careless or get carried away when we're hurting. 

I hope the migraine/headache heals itself, those are dreadful. I've almost passed out from a head ache before so I can only imagine what a migraine feels like. I don't think I've had moonshine (I'm careful with alcohol and a lightweight too) but man that sounds like some impressive, amazing stuff!!


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## Tazzie

Yeah, hopefully we have some answers tomorrow. Will be a relief to get her seen.

She seemed ok yesterday. I told her that we do plan to come up to visit, just haven't yet (I know she's been bombarded with people, and I know it'll taper off...). She said she'd really like that and that she'd probably need to talk. I said Nick and I would be happy to talk with her.

He is careful. He's just hurting. What he learned last night unfortunately took away the question of it being an accident for him. I think he was relieved to be with family though.

It's better now. I had to take some last night after it all. I cried so much it brought a gnarly one on. And yeah, I'm careful too. Just been enjoying one drink earlier this week. Nothing yesterday since I was the driver.

The funeral was so hard though. The love from those close to him was so intense. He was cremated, and fortunately allowed to be buried with his great grandparents and oldest brother. We were very thankful the church allowed his funeral to have a mass and burial in the church cemetery. The biggest thing I remember in the priest's homily, which I'll forever be thankful I heard it, was that "No death is denied forgiveness." Under these circumstances, and knowing the Catholic church's stance on suicide, they were words we needed to hear.

When we got there though we hugged Davey's mom and dad. I was about to go hug the siblings when I saw Nick breaking down in his aunt's arms. Which then made me lose. Davey's oldest sister and I held each other and cried for a bit. When we finally could control ourselves she said "haunted houses will never be the same now." I said that's been my fondest memory this week, of all of us going to the haunted houses and Davey being scared out of his mind. It was a slow pass through all the siblings and significant others as we hugged each one very tightly. Funerals are hard enough as it is. Having it under these circumstances made it so much harder.

They did have a poem for him, that made me cry all over again at home. It's exactly how Davey is, and just hurts we will have to wait so long to take another ride with him. Our riding trips will be forever changed as well 

My Riding Angel

"I ride, therefore I am relaxed, happy and free!" Kickin the shifter and grabbing the clutch.
You see with your eyes and feel with your heart to sense what hazard might tear us apart.
Your hands are clenched around the handle bars
The engines rumble sounds so sweet.
It didn't matter if it had two wheels or four, your passion for riding was so deep.
You twist the throttle with your palm
And rip and roar through the woods and water.
Everything is a blur as tears fall from your eyes, the bike and you roll forward, off into the rolling skies.
No time to say good bye.
You left is here alone, it's time to take your final ride.
Your memory will never fade, we'll hold you deep inside.
We would ride with you, if only we could.
Just to ride with you one more time.
We hope our memories build a dirt path, and our tears give you a little rain, to give some mud to "kick it up", riding through heavens' terrain.


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## DanteDressageNerd

That sounds pretty intense. It's hard to go to funerals, so overwhelming. I'm also really glad the funeral was allowed to be held in a church and he was allowed to be buried in a church cemetery. I'm glad they took the stance of "no death is denied forgiveness." That's really big. 

But the poem is really beautiful and seems very personal. It's a nice poem someone wrote for him.


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## Tazzie

It has been intense. We've been doing ok for the most part. Only tear up a little bit when one of his siblings post pictures of him on Facebook. Then we're sad all over again. Still doesn't seem real. Just ugh.

The poem was actually written for another young man who passed away in a motorcycle accident. Our family read it and asked for permission to use it since it fit Davey to a T. It's so perfect for him.

In other news, skipping a bachelorette party tonight. I just don't feel like going. Rather stay home and lay low. Tomorrow the kiddos are getting their picture taken by a good friend of mine, so I'm excited.

Today we hauled Izzie into the chiro. He asked me how I was doing, and said ok. Asked how she was doing, and I said horrendous. He asked what's been going on. I said she's been bucking, bolting, and pinning her ears when I use leg. Unusual for her. He had barely started when her ears whipped straight back and she gave the NASTIEST expression like "THAT HURT!!" Her pelvis was so out of whack we hear it pop. Shortly after she dropped her head, relaxed her ears, and started licking and chewing. The chiro (who is a former veterinarian) and I said "there we go!" Then she let out a massive sigh. Her rib cage/sternum was also swung out to the right, which would be the reason she couldn't bend well to the right and would pin her ears at me. She tolerated him adjusting it well. He said some horses just won't let him do it the way he does it (squats down, kind of gets under the horse a bit, and works it back into position).

Her entire demeanor changed over the appointment. It was so noticeable how much she relaxed. She did have reactivity in her haunches afterward with the accupressure, but he figures it's from her being so badly out. She didn't have any last time she was there. We did set her up with another appointment for September 10th before our next HUGE show. Just want to stay on top of it so maybe we aren't so bad off next time.

She was also quite snuggly afterward, and didn't want me to leave :lol: don't mind the tobacco hanging from the ceiling. It's a dual purpose barn right now. Our barn owner is supposedly going to build a new barn just for the horses by the end of the year, and it'll be up by his house. It'll be WAY nicer and he'll have more control over it since it'll be on his property.

Also attached is the chiro sheet. She was a mess :sad: very glad I opted not to ride at all this week. Sacrificing fitness is way better than sacrificing her willingness to work. I don't want her resenting work.

Edit to add: sorry they are sideways. They weren't on my computer. Was going to fix them, but photobucket is irritating me. So.... Sorry.


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## Tihannah

Wow...just getting caught up with everything! So sorry to hear about the show, but glad you got the chiro out and figured out what the issues were. Also sorry to hear about Nick's cousin. Hope he's feeling better even though these things are always hard. :-(

Loved the pics from the show, even though it didn't go as planned. They were just adorable and Izzie looked gorgeous!


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## tinyliny

I don't want to interrupt the conversation, just wanted to say you have a great journal, well written and chock full of great photos. and you ride beautifully in your videos. I've not seen or read all, but it's good, what' I have seen.

suicide is terrible. my brother committed suicide by overdose. it is tough on the family, but survivable. keep your eyes on the grace of God, every day.


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## Tazzie

@Tihannah, I'm glad we brought her in (we haul to him since his farm call appointments are booked roughly 6 months in advance). She was very clearly telling me something was wrong, and I just had to listen. She will have today off (of course) to recuperate from it, and I'm working on deciding if I'll ride tomorrow. By the time we would get there it'll have been over 48 hours since she was adjusted. If I did ride Monday, I'd ride Wednesday and then be done till the following Monday. Nick would hunt Tuesday and Thursday (this is why I get barely any riding time in the fall; need to send him out to fill our freezer), and we are heading to Michigan to visit my parents this weekend. I also mistyped :lol: her next appointment is October 10th, not September :lol: I'm pretty sure we'd both die if we didn't get adjusted in a year!

And thank you. Nick seems to be doing better. I was doing alright, and then I read what Davey's oldest sister put on Facebook. She put up what her and her brother read during the mass. I hadn't heard it since our daughter REFUSED to quit talking, and I took her outside. It was just so beautiful. We definitely need to go visit all of them soon. I know Nick will need it.

Thanks! Those pictures were actually from when I hauled Izzie to the Dressage show in Michigan :lol: I've been a massive slacker this year with buying pictures. We didn't get any from the last show. It wasn't the photographer lacking, it was Izzie looking like a ding dong in about 90% of them. One of them my friend said "On a normal horse, this would be a beautiful picture. With Izzie, you go "Izzie.... what are you thinking of doing???"" And I can tell you. We had gotten up next to my friend and her horse, and Izzie was about to flip the ears back and try to head straight toward them. We cut across the arena at that time. This is the friend who has ridden her, and remarks she is the ONLY horse she has ever ridden that will actually head straight toward another horse to drive them out of her "space." So... we didn't buy pictures from that :lol: just the Michigan ones 
@tinyliny, not an interruption, an addition  and thank you! I do try hard with my riding and training  and I'm quite blessed with a lot of great photographers in my life! You're welcome to join in any time, it wouldn't be an interruption :wink:

Suicide is something I never figured would hit this family. It blindsided all of us with the news. He was a great kid and everyone has been remarking he always had a smile on his face, always wanted to help someone else. I just wish someone could have helped him :sad: and absolutely. This area is a deeply religious area, so everyone has turned to God for the strength to get through this.


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## DanteDressageNerd

I know I've already told you but poor Izzie! I can't imagine how uncomfortable she's been. No wonder she was naughty and displayed the behavioral stuff she did when that's not her character or personality. So glad that's been worked out!

Good luck with the family photos! I hope it goes well!

And unfortunately. I think the people who end up actually end up committing suicide are the ones no one would suspect. I've never known of anyone who did it that threatened it or some never even discussed their depression. I'm really sorry. But I'm glad everyone has God and the church, I think it helps a lot. I know for myself there is NO way I could have gotten through my depression cycles or pit falls of life without God. Not saying that's everyone's way but it's a very positive way to help understand and have sympathy.


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## Werecat

Wow she really was out of whack, glad you got that straightened up.  I wonder what causes that. Is this going to be something she'll need to have done for the rest of her life?


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## PoptartShop

Glad you got the chiro out to check on her. It really can take a simple adjustment to make them feel better. I swear by the chiro most of the time! 
Izzie is super adorable. I hope she starts feeling better soon, glad she's more relaxed.  She'll be back to normal before you know it!

Awww...hang in there, I know this is a tough time for you. I'm glad you have such a kind supporting family too. That's important.


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## Tazzie

Cassie, I know! It's insane how bad she was. Like, I knew she must have had a rib out or something, but I didn't quite expect all that! She was one ouchy pony :sad:

Photos went well! I've shared what I have on Facebook  I haven't bought them yet so I can't share here, but you'll see them up there 

I know :sad: we're all still just in a bit of shock. And yes, God does help when it's needed.

Werecat, I don't really know all of it. I know miss not-so-graceful took a fall a little bit ago, so that messed her up. The pelvis/sacrum I was told could be from a hard stop in the pasture (we don't do hard stops during riding.) We do keep her somewhat regular with it. Sometimes I set up future appointments, sometimes we wait for us to need it. Depends on what all was hurting and what the upcoming schedule looks like. With the amount of hard work she's doing, I just want to keep her tuned up best I can!

Poptarshop, she's typically night and day difference after she's been adjusted. I swear by ours too! He's a former veterinarian, and would be able to help us out if it's more than just chiropractic work that needs to be done. He's simply amazing!

And thank you! She knows she is :lol: planning to do a short ride tonight. Mostly to show her it doesn't hurt now, and do a lot of stretchy work. Get her nice, loose, and relaxed.

Family is definitely important 

Not much of an update. We did have family pictures this weekend, which I'll share what we buy when I get all the proofs. She's posted a couple of sneak peeks on her Facebook page (Jennifer Nadine Photography - Equine Photographer) which are amazing! My little family is awesome


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## DanteDressageNerd

I can imagine, especially when that is so out of character for her. She's usually such a hard working girl. I'm glad that was what's wrong and it was a simple enough fix, I really hope next time isnt' so bad. 

Good luck in everything and without over reaching, trust God and healing will occur at it's own time when it's meant to. You all are strong and there for each other.

I saw some of the pics of the family and you all look great together! Looks like a lot of fun! 

I hope you had a great ride on Izzie. I can't wait to hear about it in the morning!


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## Werecat

I'm about to go on FB and check out the sneak-peak pictures, I'm sure they're gorgeous!

How do you know when they need an alignment? My problem is, if my horse came to me needing alignment I wouldn't know what would be out of character for him vs what is just behavioral; I guess it would be one of those things, schedule a visit and see?


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## Tazzie

Cassie, I'm really hoping next adjustment isn't such an event!! This one was one of her worst visits, poor pony!

We are. It'll just take time. Nick's aunt is telling people to not be cancelling things and to live life. One of her sons just celebrated their 1 year anniversary, and she encouraged them to go to St. Louis anyway. She was glad they did decide to go. She's such a wonderful lady.

It was SO much fun! I'm DYING to see some of them! Nick's truck was parked in the yard, so we decided to take a couple of impromptu pics in there. A couple were staged, but some weren't. DYING to see them! Then Scratchy rode around in Kaleb's truck for the first time ever. She was a SUPER brave kitty and just sat on the passenger seat while he drove everywhere!

It went pretty well! I'll go into detail below 

Werecat, for me it was obvious. My mare who I knew LOVED to canter, stopped cantering all together. I took her in and her pelvis was out of wack and her sacrum was twisted/flipped up in a way that made cantering nearly impossible. This current time she would pin her ears and think about biting my leg when I would use leg pressure on her, and her ears were pinned during the canter. I don't think it'd hurt to have him adjusted. We pay $70 for ours, and it's always been money well spent for her.

I hope you enjoyed our pictures!! I'm DYING to get the rest!!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now, a REAL update!

Before heading out to ride, we brought clothes over to be altered before my brother in law's wedding. You all remember the saga with that, with me not wanting to buy a purple dress because I am not in the wedding. And my mother in law giving me one that didn't fit her, but would fit me with some adjustments. Ok, so we are getting Nick and Kaleb's pants hemmed since they are too long. For the dress, the straps were going to have to be taken in because I'm too small up in the shoulder/chest area. So the dress. It is fuscia colored, and had this weird chiffon piece to cover up the V neckline (not that it showed much at all since it was getting taken in). It was so awkward. And hard random beads on the right shoulder, but not the left. Nick's aunt was figuring out how to do it, and asked me "would you care if this piece was removed?" I confessed I hated that piece, that it made me feel like I was wearing a dress for someone much older than me. We tucked it in to see if it altered the dress in a negative way. Both Nick and I were like "I like that dress A LOT more now." So, she grabbed her scissors and the awkward beads and weird chiffon piece were taken off immediately. With her tailoring, the dress will actually be something I won't feel ridiculous wearing. She chuckled and said the dress in it's original state would have been something she'd wear, and agreed with me on removing the chiffon to make it more appropriate for someone my age. She's a life saver!! Still not totally happy I have to wear a purple dress, but at least now I won't look like I'm pushing 60 when I'm only pushing 30 :lol:

So then we head out to ride. I'd had in mind I just wanted to do lots and lots of stretching work, minimal canter work just to show her it didn't hurt anymore, and then call it a night.

Tacked her all up and hopped on. She put her nose practically to the ground like "I can MOVE! I feel GREAT!" So our walk work was great. Took some convincing that the trot work would be just as good, but eventually she figured out I was just asking for a stretch and to keep herself balanced (with her being out, I didn't realize how unbalanced she was...) Had some seriously nice trot going. Then we hit the canter. Had some squealing and ears pinning, but I kind of expected that. It did hurt pretty badly to canter before her adjustment. So I gave her a little time to figure it out. A few strides in her ears started swiveling like "wait a minute...." So we realized cantering didn't hurt anymore. It felt pretty nice too! Didn't ask her to sit heavily since I figured we'd work back up to it. Ended with a GREAT stretchy trot. Like, the best we've had yet.

I hopped off and let Nick just walk her around. Someone had other ideas in mind. She didn't actually full on take off, but she broke into a fast trot with thoughts of cantering. Alrighty then, guess someone isn't done. I hopped back on and we worked. I brought her to where the issues showed up with Nick and made her tush work. We also ended our work there. She did tons of trot to canter transitions, cantered down the "long side" (our arena was taken down since the horses are turned out on it now; don't need someone shoving a foot through my letters), had her do three loop serpentines, then a change of lead through the trot. I expected correctness. She tried to trick me into heavily using my inside rein, which I must have been doing a lot of when she was ouchy. I was moving her every which way with just legs, seat and outside rein. Finally had some really, really good work. Had a few NICE steps of the walking pirouette too, nicest we've had. Then ended with some more killer stretchy circles.

So, I wanted a light, easy ride. She wanted to work. We worked. She definitely was in rare form last night. Nick commented she had to have been feeling better. Her tail was slightly raised, which is peculiar for her. Haven't seen her do that unless she's feeling REALLY good. Guess she was feeling REALLY good.

And I admit, I am one SORE person today! My abs and thighs HURT!

Our next show is next Saturday down in Shelbyville. It's a mixed show. Some of it is A rated Arab show, some of it is open show. My best friend is coming down to help, and watch us show costume since he has yet to see us show that. Should be fun!!

I am riding again tonight too. I guess Nick signed up to work on Wednesday, so can't ride then. I have the dentist on Thursday, and he wants to hunt. So ugh. She'll be off until Monday, which I hate (we're going to Michigan this weekend.) Such is the life of a married mother though. I don't always get to ride when I want to :lol:


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## Tazzie

Rode again last night! Boy is she fun. We did a lot of sending exercises to get her out into my hands and into the outside rein. No sucking back, just go out. Her ribs are like a million times more maneuverable now. It's absolutely amazing! She is bending SO well around my inside leg, even to the right! I was SO proud. Her canter is a hair flat again, but kind of expected. She lost some of that fitness and stamina to really carry herself back there. So we went back to I'd ask for a little bit of her sitting, and then cue for the trot. A LOT more power now though. It's absolutely amazing to ride her. She's still a touch snarky going into the first canter, particularly to the left, but she quickly figures out it no longer hurts and settles.

We just did a relatively basic ride last night. Lots of changing directions, transitions, etc. I worked on our lengthenings since before her adjustment she was trying to fall into the canter instead of lift and extend. Our first two were ok, but nothing to write home about. The last ones were like "OH MY GOD" when riding them. She's HARD to sit when she extends like that. Her back is totally engaged, she's really driving, and man does she get BOUNCY. It's all I can do to not tense up, relax, and go with the movement. My ground checker said she was beautifully uphill in it too :wink: if he hadn't been so distracted with his game on his phone, I would have asked him to record. He was ultra tired though, so I wasn't pushing my luck (he worked the night before, and had all of 4 hours of sleep...)

He snagged some pictures of us cooling out. In the pictures you'll see how Izzie has been walking out. When I get on her, whenever I give her a long rein, and when we are cooling out. This is how she's been walking since her adjustment. I feel it shows how released of tension she is. She's one very happy pony!!

I'm also attaching pictures I took while on her (her neck looked SOOO good) and when I got on the ground. Also, videos of my adorable daughter with her :lol: I'll also include the cute video of Syd leading Izzie. This mare is a saint and worth her weight in GOLD.

We also think she got taller. Our barn owner was out with us on Monday and commented that she seemed to be getting even taller. One of these days I'll stick her and see! I'm quite curious! Now, no riding until Monday  Nick is working tonight, he's hunting tomorrow, and we leave for Michigan on Friday. I can't complain about him hunting since he's only gone out once this year. That's his hobby, and a marriage has to work both ways. I also hate pawning the kiddos off on others for me to ride, and inconveniencing Cliff. After Nick's brother's wedding I'd feel a bit better asking my in laws to watch them, but they are extremely busy until after that!


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## Tazzie

Boo, my two favorites didn't post! These were my favorites


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## PoptartShop

CUTEST PICTURES EVER! & Izzie looks sooooo good rocking the blue! 
She looks great! & your mini me is just adorable too with her. That's so sweet. You can tell Izzie really loves her!


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## DanteDressageNerd

The pictures put a huge smile on my face! They're darling!! Love the video of Syd and Izzie. That's too precious!!

Also REALLY glad to hear Izzie is back to her old self and doing so well. and definitely I think it's funny when people have tried to tell me a relaxed back is less bouncy and I'm like a really well engaged back is more bouncy depending on the horse. So glad you got that big, expressive trot. That makes it fun but it is an ab and leg killer to be sure. I'm so glad you've had some good rides!! Definitely good to hear she's your Izzie is again, though shame about with Nick but Nick sounds unaffected and alright about it. So happy for you two


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## Tazzie

Sorry for the late update :lol: we were in Michigan all weekend, and I didn't really get on here at all while up there!

So, my horse is a brat. I guess I kind of figured she would be, but wanted to try and ride like she'd be a perfect angel. Walk and trot she was AMAZING. Great warm up. BEST walk ever. You know the kind. Where they have a nice, big stride going that gives you just a bit of a bounce at the end? Ohhhh yeah. Was heavenly. Her trot was great. Just did changes of directions, circles, etc. Asked for the canter. UGLY transition with a buck into it. Then let out a couple more bucks, stopped with a buck, then went up. I was NOT amused. All I was thinking was "FORWARD, NOW!" She thought about bucking again, and thought about stopping to rear once more, and each time she was sent straight out. No ma'am, that was not the answer. After a break, we picked up and just worked on trot-canter-trot transitions. LOTS of praise. Setting up for success, etc. Had some pretty nice ones each way, no more bucking. No clue what it was about either. Tack fits. She's been adjusted. On a gut and joint supplement. So it's either me, or her being a brat. We will see how today goes since we plan to ride tonight. Going to really focus on how I ask, and not SCREAM it at her. She gets highly offended when I shout my aids to her, so I'm wondering if I'm asking louder than she would like, still. I never said I was perfect.

After our transition lesson, I gave her a break. Picked back up to work on our lengthening. Now, I'll be posting videos. Not looking for critiques. I know she needs to sit a bit more, and come off her shoulders more. But honestly, this is better than we had been getting. She still gets a bit unbalanced and tries to canter if I fail on the half halt. You'll see my half halts a couple times when you see her briefly come up. She's such a work in progress.

I've also attached pictures of the pretty mare. It may have started rough, but I'd say it ended well.

Also attached are a video of Kaleb leading Izzie (ignore the ears; she was mad she was being taken out of the green field) and my FAVORITE picture from our photo shoot. All pictures have been purchased, but don't have the CD yet. This will have to hold you over :wink:

Kaleb leading Izzie





Izzie lengthening across the diagonal





Izzie lengthening around the arena (what they will call for on Saturday at our show)





Even though she's a grumpy gus, you can see she's actually working with me and not bracing. I was always told a horse that has a back that isn't hollowed and braced has a tail that has the gentle swish back and forth, which Izzie does for the majority of the video. That and you can see her back is engaged in the video. She's a brat, but she's my brat :lol:


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## Tazzie

Well, rode again last night. I decided to lunge her to see if it would make a difference. It may have helped some, but not sure. I honestly think the issue is me. The issue only really pops up going right. Which is the side I think I over prepare her for since she used to have such a hard time grabbing that lead. So I think she's getting nasty with me for it now. Which kind of makes sense. She's a HIGHLY opinionated horse. And when I didn't overthink a canter transition (when she broke) it was the perfect transition. Now to reteach me NOT to over prepare, just ask and expect.

We did have some amazing work though once we worked through one minor fight. I had canter on my mind. She could sense it and got nasty. Second I focused on just getting a nice, forward trot, she quit. Worked on extending the canter and coming back. I know they will ask for it in our classes this weekend. She actually has come A LONG way on me sending her out and bringing her back solely on my seat with a minor half halt on the outside rein. Makes me realize we are FINALLY getting somewhere!

After all this work we've been getting some of our best stretchy trot work ever. I feel like it's proof we really are working the right way. Nick says he's never seen her so consistently uphill (or at least level when warming up), which makes me SO proud and SO happy!

Another small excitement, which may make some people question my riding and training. Izzie has always had the busiest mouth. Period. Didn't matter if it was on a long rein. We tried switching bits. We tried bridle changes. Wasn't going to use a flash since I think she's claustrophobic and hated the feeling of being unable to open her mouth. People suggested changing stuff again. People suggested having her wear her bit while she ate (not always doable; I can't ask my buddy to bridle her just to eat dinner; I only pay him $100 a month.... that's too much to ask). People recommended going back to groundwork. We've done A LOT of groundwork. My trainer said it was emotion. She was working through some things. Well. Nick finally told me a bit of news that made me tear up. I told him I hadn't felt her mouth grinding or opening anymore. He said she hasn't done it in a LONG time. I asked him if it looked like she'd clamped her mouth close (my fear.) He said nope. It's actually very soft and relaxed. She's been having lipstick after I ride, but I always worried her mouth was just busier than I realized. To find out it's because she's finally relaxed and softened her mouth made me unbelievably happy.

We also played around with shoulder in/haunches in/half pass. Haven't messed with it in a few weeks. Nick said for having not done it in a while it was pretty good. Once I get her new canter issue straightened out we'll pick back up on walk to canter. I just need to relax and trust my horse.

OH! And started doing belly lifts and tush tucks. Just to kind of help her out. She's a bit weirded out by the tush tucks, but MAN she LOVES the belly lifts. Also been stretching out her hind legs since she's using them so much now. Want to keep her as comfortable as possible.


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## Tazzie

So, trying not to panic. They posted a little "kiosk" thing for the show, so people can check their entries. At least, for those who have signed up.

First off, in our "fun" class that was hopefully just to earn us some extra cash, there are 5 entries. Soon to be 6 since my best friend is entering. Bonus points (more money) are only awarded through 4th. We will be competing against horses who are with people that churn out trail horses for people. Panic number one.

Second, looked up my Sport Horse classes that we will actually ride in. Every. Single. Class. I'm against a Sport Horse Nationals champion. Meaning they have won the top of this division already. Bonus, the gelding is by that Friesian stud. Every foal by him moves lovely even when hollowed and braced. With how horrible Izzie was earlier this week, I'm nervous.

My other classes aren't huge, yet. I know of at least one barn that has not entered yet. So I know I'll have at least one more entry in at least one of my classes.

Now begins my "I just need to breath, calm down, and ride my horse like I KNOW I can." Tomorrow we will do a workout. I'm going to play around with just asking lightly for the canter, and expecting her to take it. I know she can. Long as I can get her to not lay on her inside shoulder going right we will be fine. I just need to remember to breathe, and do NOT rely on my hands! I will NOT hang on my inside rein. She WILL listen to my legs and seat. She is a GOOD horse who knows her job. She DOES have spectacular movement when she goes correctly. And she WANTS to ride correctly, on the bit, with an engaged back in an uphill tendency.

Her biggest issue, is that she has a nervous nelly for an owner who forgets how to actually ride at shows. Dressage, to me, is easier. I know what the movements will be. I think I get anxious since they call out the gaits, and you never know what they will ask for next. I just need to focus on my mare, and trust her.


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## DanteDressageNerd

Aww the video of Kaleb and Izzie is precious. She looks like she's developing a bit more suspension to her trot and her stretchy trot is becoming a lot more consistent and threw. She looks happy and pleasant to watch  I can imagine the opinionatedness though.

With her mouth, she looked fine to me but I don't know why some horses have mouth issues. Some do no matter how well, fairly, or correctly they've been brought up. A lot of times people will say it's always a training/riding/people issue and when people say that I just think theyre repeating what they've heard or been told and lacking real experience. I wish I had a good solution or magic piece of information but I agree with Maggy its likely emotion or anxiety. But it looks like she's doing better and doesn't seem to have a mouth issue from what I see in the videos.

But I'm glad you had what sounds like a really solid, productive ride. It sounds like it was a lot of fun and encouraging to work through some things. But good luck with your classes and in the show ring, that sounds frustrating to be showing against the champion. 

I like your self pep talk, I hope it helps. Anxiety sucks it makes you stop thinking but I like your strategy and agree. Trust Izzie. She wants to do a good job and if you let it happen, it'll go great! Best of luck!


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## Tazzie

He was so excited to lead her :lol: she really didn't want to leave the grass, but she listens well. Gives her opinion, but she would never hurt the kids like that (I don't leave them unattended or take my chances though; I'm not dumb :lol

I really think so too. It's really coming along. I had to laugh the other day. She was being a brat, and her trot was smooth. I was like "Dangit Izzie, use your back." Got her working, and there was the bouncing :lol: her stretchy trot is MILES ahead of where it was at the start of the season. Now that I really focus on making it a big priority it's come a long way. She was pretty happy to work there. She likes when I don't overthink and just do it :lol: gee, amazing isn't it :lol:

I know! It makes me happy to look at those videos and see a pleasant mouth! And yeah. I know it wasn't me, but man I felt like it was with everyone judging me. Or telling me to change this or change that. Like I haven't changed her bit enough? Like I haven't tried a flash? If I want to die, I can try a flash again. But, I value my life. And I see SO many horses at our shows who have a flash on, and their mouth is every bit as busy, if not more so, than Izzie's. It's just not AS noticeable as Izzies was. I do think it's gone for the most part. I'm sure if I forget my brain and ride too much with my hands at the shows, then it'll resurface. I just need to breathe and remember to ride from my seat...

It was. And I think I know what's wrong with it. Blair is like "you are practically smacking that horse in the head with the cues to canter. Just ask and go." Especially since she's worse to the right, her hard way. Any other horse I have zero issue. My own though? *sigh*

I will say, Blair made me feel better. She called me up and was like "Katie Lauer. You STOP THIS. STOP IT NOW! Or I'm riding your dang horse in her classes to show you how amazing she is, and you'll have to figure out how to ride Sadie REAL quick. For all you know, that horse could drop dead, or leave the ring, or totally screw up. JUST GO RIDE!!!" She didn't put it AS nicely, but we're not in the Saloon here :wink: I can't type what all she said to me.

So tonight, we will work in the ring we will show in. I will take huge, deep breaths. I will not overthink about my horse. I'll think instead about how beautiful the weather is (HA), how wonderful my husband is, how much I love my kids, and oh, why don't we canter now? Just ask and go. Why is this so hard for me to do on my own horse??

But thank you! Working, then allergist, then meeting Nick at home, and then down to bathe Izzie. In the rain. Go figure :lol:


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## PoptartShop

Raining here too today. Ugh. Once again. So happy to see Izzie doing so well, you guys are amazing.
Don't overthink, that's right! I know show nerves can be well, nervewracking but you got this!!!!!


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## Tazzie

Tired of the rain! Third day in a row, and supposed to go all weekend. Thank goodness the show is indoors! And hoping they run it like the other club's spring show. The ring we will be using the most has an area at the front they section off to allow for a warmup. Which would be HIGHLY beneficial. I'm not interested in riding in the rain up in the big ring. And at Shelbyville, the outdoor ring is a BIG ring.

I'm just ready to get there :lol: it'll be fun. This is the first show I ever took Izzie to, 5 years ago. She was a gangly yearling, and we were told BY THE JUDGE that we weren't what she was looking for. I was like "well, this is her first show, and first time off the property since we bought her... this was just an experience show." She changed her tune after that and said she was impressed with how well she was handling everything.

And thank you! We are definitely coming along  ALWAYS more to improve on, but we have a good spot to springboard from. I like where we are sitting heading into winter. Her canter isn't quite so quick, and much more collected. Meaning riding outside in the winter won't be as nerve wreaking for me! But I think we'll be ok! Just have to think positive!


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## Tazzie

Alright, update! I am 100% exhausted. Taking everything I have to do the laundry today :lol:

Izzie worked REALLY well Friday night. SO proud of her! Let another friend of mine ride her after she was like "I REALLY like her lengthenings!" I told her she's welcome to try it! She LOVED it! Said said it was fun to ride a horse that was supple and rode off the legs (she's in constant retraining with the horses she gets.)

The only issues we had Friday night was when we practiced the trail in hand course. You had to back through an L, and backing straight toward a wall. Izzie gets anxious with her butt to the wall. It was a MAJOR obstacle to overcome. We ended on a good note of her backing through it. The rest of the obstacle was to trot through three cones, weaving through them. Grab a jacket off one post and putting it on another. Open and close a gate using just your left hand. Trot over three ground poles. Cross over a bridge at the walk. And then acknowledge the judge. Izzie was momentarily iffy over the bridge, but quickly realized it was a nonissue. Even helped another horse have the confidence to go over it.

Saturday started off with a few MAJOR bangs! Got there bright and early, and decided to just go through the course one last time. Izzie must have been dreaming of backing through the L all night because she NAILED it. Did the course without a single flaw! AMAZING!

Headed down for my Sport Horse In Hand classes. Izzie took FIRST in both of them! First class with a score of 79% and the second class with a score of 79.7%! SO proud! Went straight up to the trail course with a quick headgear change. We show in a bridle in the in hand classes, and the trail needed to be in a halter. There were SIX of us in the trail class. Majority of them were people who turn out amazing trail horses for people. This class was a bonus class, so if I placed first through fourth I'd get an additional point for the show (which last year the points were roughly $112 I think). We did one minor flub up. I didn't set her up perfectly to back the L so I had to reset up for it. But then she absolutely ROCKED it! Everything else was absolutely flawless! And to my delightful surprise, we got THIRD! SO proud of her!!! We completed our morning with a First, a Third and a Second! Which concluded all of our Sport Horse classes! VERY proud of her!

The afternoon brought Hunter Pleasure classes, and two more seconds! We were a bit.... spicy. Turns out the saddle pad (we used for the first time...) bunched funny. How we didn't notice, IDK... We jumped an imaginary jump in the second class. Darn mare! I had my good friend of mine help me do a fast tack change to get into costume. We started off a bit... intense. Apparently we didn't like having to canter through the gates, and instead bolted in. Oh well. We were controlled the rest of the class, where she did relax and didn't offer any more bucking or jumping. Took second there too against my best friend.

Overall though, I am PLEASED! She was a VERY good girl and I am SO proud! Attached are a picture of our trail class, a picture from after the morning session (modeling her brand new Radon scrim sheet!), and a picture from the end of the day.

One more rated show for the year, and the season concludes! Already qualified for Sport Horse In Hand and Under Saddle for Regionals, partially qualified for Show Hack (we WOULD have won the show hack (judge even said so) if I hadn't half halted too strong to get a collected canter and she trotted instead; we haven't practiced true collected canter before, so I was FAR from mad since she tried to get it right), and I *think* qualified for Trail In Hand (a point for the class and a point for beating someone; don't know how many points are needed). Qualified for Hunter Pleasure too, but I'm fine not showing that at the Regional level. Same as Native Costume.

SO DARN PROUD! That National Champion I was concerned about? They only bested us in the Show Hack class due to my error. I think the fear of needing to learn how to ride Sadie scared me enough to get myself back in a good mindset :lol: and no alcohol or rescue remedy was needed for me!


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## DanteDressageNerd

I know I read but you and Izzie did really well!! I'm so happy for you guys!

I'm glad Blair gave you a pep talk :lol: sometimes that's all it takes to get your head in the game and thinking right. Anxiety is funny how it can wiggle it's way into our thoughts. So much self doubt but I love that she was able to reach you and help and look at how it payed off! You both did great! Also great to see you have your confidence back!

I'm SO happy for you guys! That's awesome! Also glad people are appreciating Izzie's ridability and training. I think it feels really good when someone else rides your horse or a horse you've trained and they talk about the training and appreciate the ride! That's really heart warming! 

But I hope the allergist can help you out, real shame about having so many allergies. I hope there is something solid that will help!


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## Tazzie

Thank you! Was definitely a great show this time around!

ME TOO. Between her and another friend, they got me straightened out really quick! Thank goodness! It really did pay off  I really couldn't be happier with Izzie right now! She's come A LONG way!

They are! Another person shocked the heck out of me with her comments. She's one of the bigger trainers in our area, only does rail classes (the one I had you look up the facebook for.) She doesn't ever make comments toward others, from what I've heard. They were talking about me earlier when Izzie was warming up. Izzie has an irritating habit where she blows repeatedly at the trot while warming up. I know she's going to do it, and just let her get it out since it's not worth fighting it. Overheard them say "at least our horses wait for a break to blow like that." Whatever. Izzie has quirks, and I know it's better than fighting them. But after my first class when I was giving her a bit of a break and chatting with Nick, the trainer rode up next to us and told me we've really been doing a good job. Said she had watched my class and how Izzie and I have really come a long way. They'd been talking about us, all in a good sense. I was SPEECHLESS! I complimented her horse (who is actually a really sweet horse; she gives A LOT of kids their first rides) and she said they were there for this mare's final half point. I'm guessing for achievement awards. I told her I hope they got it, which they did since they won their class. So good for them! I told Blair about the conversation and she was shocked too.

We made even more friends this weekend too. One lady kept walking around with us outside as we chatted about our horses, their quirks, and the show itself. It was an all around great show 

They said to keep doing what I'm doing with Zyrtec and Flonase. Said if I feel the need to we can start back up on allergy shots, but to see how I go for now. Which I'm alright with.

OH! And a personal little excitement for me from the horse show. I didn't overthink a single transition. Actually, Izzie was so happy and agreeable she willingly took walk to canter transitions that were FLAWLESS. And not one single wrong lead taken!! RARELY have we had such a full show that I don't blow my cue and get the wrong lead. So I am so happy! I know, she's old enough to know and get her leads. But I would flub them up and she'd either give me a "screw you" reaction, or take the lead I hadn't meant to cue. So the fact we made it through without any wrong leads is AMAZING.

For our last show, we're tweaking a couple of things. We have our 5 shows for Specialty points, and Blair and I are the only ones doing it. So I have reserve in the bag with no chance at champion. So not doing costume at our last show. Instead, going to see if I can add another Hunter Pleasure class. First place as it stands is 40 points, and she will be at PMHA; max she will get there is 10 since no one else rides her horse. I'm second with 38 points. I'd show against her once and have one other class to show. So I could get a max of 20 if I won both. If I took second in both I'd get 14. Odds lowered as I place lower, of course. And third place is 32. They showed last year at it, so I'm guessing they will show too. They also show both classes, but they are purebred. Not against me. So it's tight. The TBA class isn't super expensive to add, so I'm hoping I can add one. That is, if they have any availability for a Hunter Pleasure TBA. We shall see! If I can either get it added, or pull off some awesome performances in both classes, we will win the same high point divisions we did last year! I'm so far ahead in Sport Horse there isn't anyone that can touch us, even if they get their max at this next show. And no one else is in contention for Specialty. PS, money is attached if I win the divisions :wink: I get 5 points for being champion, 3 for reserve. Each point last year was worth $112 or so. So it's worth trying for!


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## DanteDressageNerd

I'm so glad they were able to help you out and get you confident in yourself! Because that's clearly what you needed and look at the results. I'm so happy for you guys!! And yes she has. She's come a long way!

Sometimes people are just petty, it blows my mind too and shocks me sometimes but then you realize people are people and prone to their own insecurities and faults. We have them too but the breathing thing is just weird to me that it'd even be a comment but I know a barn that petty too, mostly insecure older women with too much money and nothing in their heads but gossip and belittling. Those who can't tear others down to feel better about the fact that they cant. Anyways I'm really glad they came around and saw how well you were doing with her and were gracious enough to give a compliment and you guys could be cordial between each other. That's really nice  You've done a great job with Izzie and it says something when others, even competition can recognize it and say it.

Aww. I'm glad you guys make friends everywhere you go.

And good luck with allergies *crossed fingers*

That's really awesome! I'm so happy for you guys! I'm happy your friend pep talk made such a difference and how much more confident you were in this show and not second guessing yourself. You're doing a good job, you just got to remind yourself of that.

Good luck at your next show! I'll be rooting for you guys and I'm sure you'll do great! Especially with all those arab points, that's exciting!


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## Tazzie

I know! I lack confidence sometimes, and I HATE it. Blair gets MAD at me when I start doubting myself. She once took a lesson with Maggy with her mare (Maggy helps out her friend who does Saddleseat), and Maggy yelled at Blair to let go of Sadie's face. Blair said she couldn't. Maggy said "if you can't sit back and trust your horse, then you need to sell her to someone else before you ruin her." That was Blair's wake up call. Maggy hasn't ever said that to me though because my problems crop up at shows, not in our lessons. I've been toying with the idea to do Regionals again this year, and pay Maggy to come coach me for it. I think we would do A LOT better if I had her helping us warm up. She may be able to give me pointers on how to help me control my doubts. Izzie surpassed all expectations I had for her at SAHIBA (seriously, not many horses can go into trail having never seen a trail course until the night before, and beat horses who have trail courses set up at home). And the riding classes were definitely some of our better ones this year!

That is very true. People are weird :lol: Nick was a bit rude about the breathing comment. It truly, truly is not worth fighting. She's either going to have a bit of rein to do it, or she's going to yank the reins and be a jerk about it. Once she gets it all out, she settles down and lets you supple her up. It's just what she does. But Nick told me about it, I hadn't heard it. He said to me "at least our horse is trusting enough to know she can do it, and not terrified of getting in trouble. Which is probably why theirs don't do it." Whether that's the case or not, I did find it amusing :lol: he's quite opinionated for having not been in horses long! But that is EXACTLY how they are. She's on the board for our favorite April show. She wants to raise the pre-entry class fees to $20 a class. It's currently $15. My friend is being an advocate to those of us hobby showers saying that's quite the jump. This lady was a bit haughty and said "if you can't pay $20 for a class, then you shouldn't show." A few others piped in saying she was coming across very elitist, which she was. Her husband makes enough money that her little business could literally be a write off for him. But yeah. THAT'S why I was SHOCKED she said something to us. I was left figuring out words since I didn't even know what to say to it. Blair was shocked about it too. But thank you! I am super proud of Izzie 

It's pretty nice :lol:

Thanks! They are well managed right now, and it's wonderful :lol:

I appreciate that  I will say, this community helped too. People in the confession thread were saying that National Champion had NOTHING on me and Izzie. It felt nice to know I had people cheering us on who haven't met us. You just see "National Champion" and makes you feel like a small fish :lol:

I'm SOO pumped for this next show! Like, crazy pumped! I haven't been this excited for a show in a long time!

Really no updates with Izzie right now. I was supposed to be able to ride on Tuesday, but Nick was called into work. So that didn't happen. Yesterday was nails with my MIL, which took forever. Tonight I plan to ride, which will be nice. Off tomorrow since we have the rehearsal, and then I can ride at least Saturday and Sunday! Next week we will see what we can do. I know I have to cut back a bit on riding, which stinks. But Nick needs to hunt. I take A LOT of his time throughout the summer, so this is the exchange. I am tentatively looking ahead to the winter series. They would be one day shows where we just haul in, show, and leave. Just have to get the OK from Nick. This is the series: Snowbird Winter Dressage Series - Heronwood Farm, LLC

We also did a Transformation Tuesday with Izzie, and it's nuts. The top one in the cantering transformation is comparing Labor Day weekend last year, to end of May this year. CRAZY. And the top trotting one was our last victory pass together last year (at the PMHA show) compared to Regionals July 2nd this year. It's NUTS!


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## PoptartShop

What a beautiful transformation. Soooo beautiful!!!!! Gah! <3
So excited for your show too. Rock it girl!!!!


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## Tazzie

Thanks PoptartShop! I thought it was a huge improvement from last year! It shocked me! We've come a VERY long way!

And thanks! I'm super pumped!!


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## Tazzie

Rode last night and whew boy! She was pretty game to start with! She was asking to canter after nearly every circle at the trot. I wouldn't let her, and did tons of changing directions, getting her really working. She was difficult to get working correctly last night, but we managed to get some decent work after a bit. We also played around with ground poles to mix it up a bit. I did have Nick bring them a bit closer together after the video, which I'm glad I did. He thought she looked fine, I felt like she struggled. She felt better when we brought them in a bit.

I can feel it today though! Whew! My abs and legs are SORE from riding! It was quite the workout for us, and she SO appreciated her face rub afterward! Silly mare :lol: I turned her loose and went to open up the gates for Nick to get out. She followed me everywhere like a puppy dog. Back and forth where ever I went :lol: I told Nick "can't tell she's my horse, can you?" :lol:

Anyway, here are the videos. One is the ground poles, one is cantering last night (we are getting there!) and then one is a comparison to four months ago. I feel like the canter has improved and she's more confident in it now! Also added the championship class from our first big show ever.


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## Skyseternalangel

It's fun to see them change as we put more work in and they develop muscle and balance


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## Tazzie

It really is! I'm very pleased with her progress so far! She's really coming along, and her muscling is VASTLY different than it was last year!


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## DanteDressageNerd

Awww Izzie's come a long way! Lots changes in these baby-young horse phases.

I think we all have doubts and lose confidence sometimes, I know I do and my trainer told me once after going to Florida the first time she felt like how can I be charging people for my riding or how can people consider me worthy as a trainer and then she went with someone who was horse shopping to try a horse and the trainer was having trouble with it and so she was asked to get on and the horse totally transformed, had swing over it's back, and had a totally different presence and she thought you know what maybe I do know what I'm doing and she's a fantastic rider. I think anyone who knows enough to feel daunted by it is on the right path and it's easy to lose confidence and get overwhelmed by it but just be confident with what you know and what you're doing and keep reminding yourself how well you two are doing together. Sometimes it's the little things that gets are confidence back and confidence definitely makes a difference in this sport. You've done a good job with her!

But ouch to Maggy's comment towards Blair, can't say she's wrong but harsh. Even on a hot horse you need to be able to not hold back but I don't know how saddle seat horses are trained, that's a whole area of riding I don't understand at all.

I also agree fighting with people isnt worth it. It opens a big can of worms that never closes. Grinning and bearing is pretty necessary sometimes. 

Shame about the entry fees lady as well. What was her reason for wanting to raise them in the first place? It is a lot of money to some people. Just because she may have it, doesn't mean everyone else does or shouldnt show. Just rude and unnecessary.

But I'm glad you guys had a good show and gained confidence in one another.

As for videos. Izzie has come a LONG way. she's a lot stronger, more rhythmical, gets contact a lot better, she's matured quite a lot! Her canter is SO SO much more rhythmical and has a lot more thrust, she uses her back a ton more and brings her hind legs under her better. She looks a lot more with you and can half halt, etc. Lots of good changes. Amazing the difference a year can make!

But sounds like a good ride! And soreness is pretty great right? Feel the burn


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## Tazzie

She really has! It's the kind of stuff that sometimes I can tell how much progress we've made, and sometimes I have to look back and go "oh wow!!"

Yeah, I just have to keep reminding myself. We've come a long away. We aren't giving up. It's not easy going alone, but I have no choice if I want to go this way. I definitely need to ride a bit more confidently since I think that is the root of our issues right now. We shall see!

Blair actually thanks Maggy for that comment. It was a huge wake up call to Blair that no one else was brave enough to say. It's why Blair recommended we take lessons with her. Maggy is a no nonsense kind of person. She will not praise you if you don't deserve it. She is hard when she needs to be, and understanding when needed as well. I'm glad we gave her a shot because she's helped us out A LOT.

Because they didn't make much money I guess. I don't know. All she will do is knock out the hobby riders. I get raising the post entry fees. I pre enter every show I show at if I can. Only time I can't is for county fairs. So that wouldn't affect me much.

Definitely 

I sure thought so! It's cool to see the huge changes. The feel is different. Like, we aren't flying anymore (her canter used to feel very fast), but a lot of harnessed power. Not necessarily holding her back, but asking her to carry herself. It's a neat feeling to have on her! And yes! Can actually half halt and have there be a reaction now!

Oh yes! :lol:

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now for my update!

Friday was the rehearsal for my brother in law. It was lovely. Was reminded I was doing a reading :lol: oops! It was pretty easy though.

Saturday we went down for a quick ride. In laws took the kiddos so we could get in and out faster. Izzie was sassy. Actually had to grab the whip because she was in a "make me" mood. Didn't need to use it, just carried it. Set her attitude straight. Snarky mares! It was an alright ride though. Had some decent trot and canter work. Just makes me aware of how much further we have to go :lol:

Wedding was wonderful. LONG day. We got to the house at 2:30, and the wedding started at 6:30. The bride was BEAUTIFUL. My brother in law bribed Kaleb down the aisle with a grape :lol: on Friday Kaleb wanted NO part of walking down the aisle, even with his cousin. Saturday my niece basically dragged him and another little girl down the aisle :lol: and my brother knelt down and gave Kaleb a grape when he got to the end. I had Kaleb's pew stacked with animal crackers, activity books, his magna doodle, and his water. We came prepared! Reception was nice, and the kids kept dragging me out to dance. Kaleb would grab my arm and say "dance with me mommy!" He is too sweet!

Sunday we went to ride. Again dropped the kids off. Had to make it a quick ride, which I'll explain later. Izzie was ok. Had to have a couple of discussions, but did not require me grabbing my whip. Did some nice work again. Nick recorded our run through on the canter loop serpentine. LOTS to work on, but really. I think she's in a good place for it. To the right needs some more work on maintaining balance, but we will get there.

Here is the video of the canter loop to the left. I'm pretty proud of where we are. You can see where I gave her a half halt. She momentarily thought to change, and the half halt brought her back. Not as visible that was her thought in the video, but as the rider I felt it.






And the reason it had to be so short was because..... Nick left for North Carolina yesterday afternoon. He had to get home, pack, get to work, and pack up his truck. They were supposed to leave at 1. Nick said the original estimate for people without power was 200k (at least in Florida, where he was originally heading to, but orders changed.) Between Florida and North Carolina, there is roughly a million people without power. They've sent crews from every single division. Nick is a cable splicer in the underground department. His cousins are in the overhead and left earlier this week. Underground and the trouble department (trouble men; specifically for storms) sent crews yesterday. They were told 8-10 days, but I'm guessing a full two weeks. Which left me in a pile of stress. Izzie has to be hauled to the chiro today, and I've never hauled totally solo. Then our final show is the weekend of the 22nd. I have a friend who will come help me out down there, it's the getting her bathed and down there that has me stressed. I'd planned to bathe her in the garage with warm water. Hoping our friend can help me figure something out!! Just gotta make it through tonight first.


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## Tazzie

Well, last night went well! My friend's grandpa came to back me up to the trailer, thank goodness. I'm so short it would have taken me a while to get it. He told me if I ever need help, and Nick or Cliff aren't available, just stop and ask him to help me. He's SO nice!

I thank goodness I worked so hard making Izzie into such a good horse to trailer. She doesn't look twice at getting on the trailer, and I can hook her up and have her stand there while I shut the partition (slant load trailer.)

The adjustment went well. Her poll was slightly out, her right shoulder was a bit stuck, and he worked on her hips and pelvis. He did the accupressure test on her again, and only thing reactive was the right hip area. Which is where he spent the most time adjusting. He's not at all concerned about it, and he's about the only one in the area I'd trust. He's a former vet who moved into just doing alternative medicine. But he'd be the first one to tell you if he felt something needed x-rays, injections, or whatever. He said she is such a pleasant horse to work with too. She lets out a lot of sighs of relief as he's working on her, which is good. And they totally snuggle afterward :lol:

I fed dinner for them since I was there, and wasn't going to make someone else do it. Tonight is the farrier. Tomorrow I won't see her. Instead I'll be spending it with the kiddos. They leave on Thursday to go camping with Grandma and Papa (my in laws), so I want to spend time with them. I can ride Thursday through Sunday, as long as Cliff is free. So one more day off in exchange for family time will be needed.

We totally took a selfie after our first "girls only" solo trip :lol:


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## DanteDressageNerd

Absolutely! She's come a LONG way! her canter is night and day difference from what it used to be. It's so neat when you have the early videos of them as youngsters and get to see the as they change and grow. It's really neat to watch and you learn so much watching changes.

lol I'm glad Blair appreciated it. Sometimes blunt is good, other times there is tact and others just never address an issue. 

I was going to say and this is what we used to say in the Marine Corps, pain is just weakness leaving the body :lol: it still cracks me up but that's what I think when anybody is sore lol.

Weddings are always exhausting but it sounds like it was at least a really fun one! It sounds like it was eventful for Kaleb though :lol: lots of dancing.

The canter serpentine looked quite nice. Looks like it's really improving her canter and making her sit better and be more organized with her shoulders. Serpentines are wonderful.

And nice selfie, that's darling. I'm glad Izzie didn't have too much wrong with her at her appointment! And you were able to do it by yourself. Great to hear 

Also sorry to hear Nick is gone for 2 weeks but I'm sure the hurricane is making everyone in demand and it pays the bills.


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## Tazzie

It really is  makes me thankful I have video from when we began. It's really fun to look back on the journey to see how far we've come. Sometimes it shocks me :lol:

Yeah, with Blair, blunt is best. I sometimes need blunt, but blunt from the wrong person and I become defensive and unwilling to listen :lol: but I do prefer people let me know if there is an issue. I was glad Maggy got through to Blair. They are more of a team now.

Haha, yeah :lol: I've been doing HIIT workouts too. Least doing some exercise outside of riding. But I do enjoy hoping off and noticing that while my arms are fine, my legs (thighs mainly) and abs hurt. I just figure aw yeah, I'm riding correctly! :lol: the thighs hurt from opening and closing them for the aids. It's amazing to me really lol

They are, but it was fun. And I do love my new sister in law! Kaleb had a great time haha! I do know the photographer got at least one picture of us dancing, so I'd love to see it :lol:

It definitely still needs work, but I'm extremely pleased with it. I feel it's a really good point to get her going better and in a positive direction. She's clearly still getting used to me changing direction in the canter (the head bobble was her going "but MOM!!! We DON'T change direction at the canter!!!!") But I'm proud of her. I really like how they get her working. I love serpentines at all three gaits really!

Thanks :lol: I don't normally take selfies, but it was pretty big occasion. And I promised Blair I'd send her a message when we made it home safe. It was a bit nerve wreaking doing it alone (our rig is HUGE for me), but I did it! And I was too. The chiro is a magic man. I wouldn't trade him for anything! You could tell when he fixed something because she'd let out this HUGE sigh. She's my baby!

Yeah, Duke Energy said they currently have 9,000 employees out working on it. Sounds like they have Florida back on, and are now heading onto the Carolinas. Though *fingers crossed* he may come home earlier. He told me last night it may be sooner than I think. Like, Friday. He told me not to get my hopes up, but how do you not? I know it could bite me in the rear, but I'd love for him to leave on Friday... He'd be home Saturday. Latest of Sunday. I'm really hoping that's the case....

Not much of an update here. She got her feet trimmed. Farrier made fun of her a bit for putting on a bit of weight. She pinned her ears like "EXCUSE ME?!" HILARIOUS. We both laughed and I was like "You have offended my horse!" :lol: he said it again and the same reaction. I could have died laughing! He said her feet were really, really good. We're going to start lengthening the time in between for winter since the growth slows down (at least hers do.) I told him I was glad he came out to neaten up her feet though in preparation for our show. Didn't want the judge commenting on them. He told me I worry too much, that her feet are great. I told him we actually had a judge notice Izzie has two different sized feet in the front, and commented on it on every single in hand class we did with her. All four of them. He was like "I'd have some choice words to say to her!" I said I had A LOT since she placed her clients first and second consistently, and the horse that won everything is the horse she broke, trained, and has shown. He said it wasn't right. I said I just kept my mouth shut and would wait for a better judge.

He's a good guy though and Izzie does like him (when he's not calling her fat :lol he knows what he's doing, which is good with her feet.

Won't be riding today since I'll be spending time with the kiddos. Hoping to ride tomorrow if Cliff is available. Would love to peg him down Thursday through Sunday so I could ride. May be wishful thinking, but it's my hope!


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## Tihannah

Wow! I had so much catching up to do! Congratulations on a successful show! LOVED the pics! Izzie looked fantastic! I think I'm in the same place as you right now. Just awesome to see us going in a positive direction! It feels so good when our horses are doing well and getting better! I love the selfie. So adorable! You should make it a habit. ;-)


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## Tazzie

Thank you! Definitely is a lot to catch up on!  And yes! I love positive directions! I'm curious to see how she'll be tonight after having since Sunday off. I think it'll be a good one! And :lol: I've never taken too many selfies. Izzie is totally good with them though haha!


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## DanteDressageNerd

Absolutely. It's easy to forget where you started when you get so used to the "now" but then you look back and think "wow" we've come such a long way!

Trust me I'm the same way. If I don't trust or know someone and they're critical (unless it's reasonable or fair) it rubs me the wrong way, especially if they don't know the situation or circumstances or have an air of arrogance about them. The arrogance and the judgemental rudeness I have no patience for. It's one thing to be objective and helpful, and blunt is fine but people just being bitter and negative or trying to put you down to elevate themselves I can't stand. But I agree I like people who can be blunt and objective where it's clearly not personal, just what is and are helpful. But glad it worked!

:lol: absolutely. I think we all get sore! Especially as our horses progress and we hit new mile stones. Sore is good! 

I'm glad  

And absolutely! Serpentines, shallow loops, figures of 8 are all great exercises! But you should be  I'm glad she's so much more confident, you can definitely see how it improves her canter!

I can imagine but I'm glad you did it and gained confidence in doing it! And who doesn't nee d horse selfies? They're necessary! Glad Nick will be home soon!

That's hilarious! I definitely think they know what you're saying. I called Qira shorter and rounder than Frankie and she was very upset about that. I think they know when they're being complimented and when someone calls them fat. But hope you have a good ride on Izzie!


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## Tazzie

Yup! Makes me appreciate when Nick records us  then I can see how far we've progressed!

Haha, exactly! There are some people that I'm just like "yeah...." when they try to tell me to do something. But if someone I know and respect is like "hey, have you tried..." I'm all ears. They know not to just say "do this." They always phrase it as "have you tried." Which I appreciate.

Definitely! Sore is a good thing!

Oh yes. We do lots of bending lines to help get her working right. Makes for better long sides and such when we ride in the classes  Me too! I'm really loving her canter now!

Me too! I don't mind hauling her. It was the going totally alone that worried me. Haha, I only take selfies with Izzie; I never take them of just me lol but even then, I rarely do it. And hopefully he will. There really is no set time unfortunately.

I found it hilarious. She was SO offended. I laughed, and so did he.

As for the ride, I didn't go. I opted to stay home and bathe all the animals, treat them, and spray my house. I HATE fleas. HATE them. Tonight the plan is to ride, and I'm sticking to it. The animals are treated and I can't do anything about them right now. Just sit and wait till I can bathe/dose them again. Going to pick up the concentrate stuff to spray all over the yard too. These ******s need to SCRAM!

But, Cliff said he'll meet me there between 5:30 and 6. Last night would have been too rough. I'd have been leaving my house after 5:30, so not home until after 7 to do all the animals. It took me roughly 3 hours to clean the house, bathe and treat the animals, and spray the house. I had to wait for stuff to dry. Just ugh. Needs to be GONE.


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## DanteDressageNerd

For sure! Video is great! It's so helpful with marking progress and also to see ourselves riding, so we have a better idea of what we do well or wrong or need to work on that maybe isn't the same as what we feel.

I know exactly what you mean :lol: I'm much the same. Sometimes you just have to bite your tongue and be polite because it's not worth it. And I also agree with the "have you tried" because with a suggestion you don't always know whether it'll work or not because every horse is an individual and there isn't a one size fits all formula. I find inexperienced people who think they're very experienced are the most irritating lol. 

It's definitely developed a lot more jump and hind end engagement.

lol well regardless congratulations! I'm glad you did it! I think Izzie likes taking selfies, the only thing I've noticed is the arabs seem to be hams and absolutely know when the camera is on them and how to pose :lol: 

:lol: I think she understood. I really think they understand more than we realize. Frankie was offended the other day because I said she has her mom's round belly.

Good luck with the flea and pest control! I really hope you can get it under control and nipped in the bud. They're nasty creatures!


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## Tazzie

Yup! Good or bad, I appreciate having the video to look back on 

OH YES. When people know less than I do, it grates on my nerves. If they understand what I go through with Izzie, then maybe. But the people who enjoy spouting off but then yank and crank, no. I won't be taking their advice. Izzie wants to suck back. I could literally keep reeling in the rein, and she'd touch her chest. I never shorten my reins; I send her out into them.

It really has. For such a little horse, she moves like a BIG one. Really big :lol:

If only I liked taking selfies :lol: for the longest time I hated how I looked. I still am meh about it, but I still don't think to take selfies lol she is certainly a ham :lol:

I'm sure they understand more than we think. Silly animals!

UGH, me too. I won't be backing off at all. It's absolutely miserable. HATE fleas!!

-----------------------------------------------

I rode Friday, and it was just lackluster. Like, really just nothing great about it. She wasn't bad. It's just hard to explain. She lunged well though. And the cool weather plus people doing target practice caused some CRAZY bucks. Made me realize just how athletic she is.

Then got a MAJOR surprise when....

NICK CAME HOME!!! AHHHHH! I cried :lol: I was SO happy!

We went and rode Saturday, and WOW. What a ride! She was GOOD. Just good work. Some of our best lateral work. I know we need to improve on them, but they are even better than what I was getting at Maggy's when we started. I'm just thrilled!! We did canter loops too. Her right lead loops are really going to need some work. She tries to fling herself off balance at swap leads no matter what we do. So I need to get her to remain balanced. We got a good one, and called it quits on it.

Yesterday after we rode we went to the campground with my in laws for Halloween festivities. We brought Sheldon, who was a HUGE hit. He pulled the wagon for the kids to trick or treat  he LOVED having that job.

I rode again today, and whew boy. More good work. We did a three loop to the left, and dropped down to the shallow loop to the right to help her remain balanced. Had a few really good ones at least. She had the most perfect walk to canter EVER though to the right, which I was THRILLED with. We will work on them again later this week, and MAYBE use them in our show this weekend. Did a lengthened trot and Nick was like "WOW that's big." She was up, she was sitting, she was POWERFUL. It was INTENSE to ride.

My abs HURT SO BAD after all this good work. Though, looking at the videos, I NEED to sit back. UGH. I've developed that habit when she would threaten to rear randomly. I've figured out that issue (it was ENTIRELY me; I was blocking her from cantering inadvertently, and I stopped it now), so now I need to SIT. BACK. ARG! Nick needs to help by yelling at me on the ground.

This was from today showing some of our lateral work. She was frustrated and distracted with her buddies just outside her area and she needs to resettle with me carrying a whip.


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## DanteDressageNerd

For sure. I know I do too. Lots of things you can see that you don't feel when you're riding and focusing. 

Exactly I'm the same way or trying to explain to people that you can't "make" a horse reach into the contact or magically carry it's head in the right spot all the time. Or people not understanding that some horses are more sensitive than others and they can have mouth issues without ever being trained or ridden improperly. Or that young horses will go behind the bit sometimes and that's normal, not a sign of bad training or busy hands, just a horse learning and it's hard for them. It takes a long time to develop the musculature to carry. I actually get annoyed when people get more concerned about nose position than where the back and swing is.

She certainly has some reach :lol: not a small mover. Small package, big movement. We have a 14.1 1/2h pony who rides like a giant. 

lol fair enough.

Keep persistent, plan your battle, fight hard and before long the enemy will be gone (fleas). They're persistent ******s. 

Sometimes we just have off days and no one can explain it but for whatever reason they're just "off." But glad Nick's home 

I think this saddle perches you forward a little bit. It's not a bad saddle but perhaps the seat is too deep? I know for me because I have a butt, I have to really concentrate that I don't get perched forward or if they're too deep my degenerative disk kills me :lol: but at least it's something you can work with.

It looks like you guys had a lot of really good moments and good work and she's getting a lot stronger and more able to carry. She's definitely showing she's getting stronger and more with you. She looks great!


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## Tazzie

Yup!

And ugh, I know. I've seen how a lot of the people ride who give me "tips." I'd like to not ride like they do. Now, if it's Maggy giving me those tips? Well yes, I will listen. If it's Blair, I'll definitely ponder over the tip. Certain others? Naw, I'm good :lol: I don't want her to just look pretty. I want it to be correct.

She really does. You MOVE on her. And not speedy, but she doesn't do things small. It's amazing to me!

Oh I will be! I'm certainly not backing off :lol:

And exactly. Like, nothing was wrong, and she did what I asked how I wanted it, but there was just nothing special about it. I know not every ride will be "OMG that was SOO good!!" But this one was just blah.

It might, but that wasn't an issue when I first rode in it. Honestly, I do believe it's entirely me. For one, I put on a bit of weight I'm working on removing. And then she's rocked my confidence a couple of times this year, particularly with the canter. I can feel myself hunching forward in both the canter and some of our lateral work, but it's not her or the saddle doing it. It's like I'm trying to protect myself since I'm fearing a blow up. But I've solved what the issues were (me and getting the chiro to adjust her). Now it's a matter of reminding myself to SIT BACK. And this is just another interim saddle. It's miles better than what we were schooling in (the Wintec) but in a few years we will upgrade hopefully one last time. When we've joined the bit higher ranks and our back muscles have once again changed. I just need to quit going into the fetal position when I ride. Because I know it's me. When we were trialing it, Maggy LOVED my position in it. I've done something to cause that to go away, and I think it's my weight and my sub conscience fear she's going to do something.

Yeah, there were so moments I was like "oh yeah!" It wasn't all pretty, but working through things rarely is. Until Saturday, we hadn't touched them really since early September. You can really see she's getting stronger. I'm really enjoying this spot we're in 

OH! Forgot the exciting thing. I contacted Maggy to discuss having my family send her checks for future riding lessons. Mom asked me what I wanted since my aunt was asking what I wanted for Christmas. I said all I wanted this year was lessons. NOTHING else. I don't need anything else. The one want I have (new browband/fly bonnet/stock pin/glove set) Nick is getting me for Christmas. So, lessons are it! She was MORE than happy to have people send her checks or money through paypal, and she'd send them a thank you note so they knew she received it. So woohoo!!

Not riding today. She worked well the last three days that I'm giving her a day to rest. I'll ride her again on Tuesday and Wednesday, and let her have Thursday off. I have to clean her tack that day. Then haul down to the horse park on Friday, ride her that night, and show on Saturday and Sunday!!


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## DanteDressageNerd

I know what you mean. I've gotten so much "advice" from people that maybe meant well but I just remember a somewhat obnoxious person who was watching me and a friend ride our young horses (I had Dante) and she is showing 3rd level on a schoolmaster and has a very superficial understanding of riding but a huge ego. Rides very pretty but wouldn't know what to do on something green or young. And she was talking about how sloppy our riding was and how she was sure if she could just sit on our horses she'd fix all our problems and I laughed (inside) lol. But you can't explain to people how different it is to ride a youngster or all the steps that need to be taken to get a consistently correct horse and why we work so hard to achieve it. It isnt just **** spam and done. And some horses are harder or need a different approach than other, not a one size fits all scenario like people like to pretend it is. I genuinely think the more experience you have, the more you appreciate others if that makes sense? 

Makes sense to me. She gives you a good feeling.

No or they will win!

Certainly. Training is a process, it's not all glorious and great. Some rides you're just on, some you're just off and some you have a mixture of amazing moments, mediocre ones and ugly ones. Just the nature of the beast and how we grow right?

Could be. I don't know but I'm sure you'll work it out.

She's developing and showing what you've put into her, it's a great thing! 

That's great! That'll be awesome! I hope you can get a good number of lessons in, that would be fantastic.


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## Tazzie

It all makes sense, and I absolutely agree! I'm thankful that people rarely say they could ride Izzie better. Least not within earshot of me, Nick or my friends lol

She really does 

REFUSE to let them win, oh my god! HATE fleas!!

Yup  I'm really pleased with where we are right now. We've come A LOT further this summer than I'd expected, so it feels awesome to be here!

Oh yes :lol: I'll be focusing on that tonight since Izzie is solid with what I need her to do. I just would like to focus solely on me, and I think I'll be able to!

It really is  I'm just so happy haha!

I'm really hoping so. I'm hoping we can find a day in the nearish future we can snag a lesson. Unsure when exactly, but I'd like to try!

No update from me really since all I did was laundry last night :lol: gave Izzie a well deserved day off after hard works a few days in a row. I try to keep her feeling good and not resenting work, so I don't work her much past 3 days in a row. Just how we've always gone with her. I do plan to ride tonight though! Tomorrow may sadly be cancelled purely because it sounds like a good storm is rolling in. If it was just going to be rain I'd ponder having my father in law take the kids. But I've been hearing storms. Not interested in riding out in an open field with lightning :/

Also, @Tihannah, these are for you :wink: yes, I have kept EVERY test I've ever ridden. My trainer at the time told me to do so, so that I may one day look back on them. And I'm glad I did. This was back in the day before Intro had 3 tests, and Training had 4. You can see by the dates on the tests they are OLD. The tests themselves are 20 years old, and I rode them 14 years ago. My biggest frustration always was that I'd train better at home, and then lose it at shows. 14 years later, I'm still working on that :lol: I just wanted to give you perspective. I know you view myself and @DanteDressageNerd as being decent at Dressage, but we all started right where you are right now!

These were the horses:

Solitaire, an Arabian that started life in the Saddleseat ring:

















And Maddie, a breeding stock paint mare that ended up retiring due to navicular. She won me my first blue ribbon:

















Just keep that in mind any time you're feeling down. We've ALL been where you've been. We ALL started somewhere, all the way at the bottom. And there is NO shame in that!


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## DanteDressageNerd

I think it might be my area. We have a ton of dressage barns in a relatively small radius. I think some places are more of a "keeping up with the Joneses" kind of thing. They don't really care about "learning" or the "journey" so much as talking the talk and looking good.

Good luck with the fleas but I agree. You've made a lot of progress this summer, kudos! 

But good luck I hope you have a good, productive ride and can focus on the things you want to. And hopefully a lesson can get thrown in soon too!

But I agree a lot with the end statement. We absolutely all start somewhere and just keep building, through the sweat, blood and tears. I know I cried a lot, got frustrated a lot, and wanted to give up a few times because no matter how hard I worked or how much money was spent it felt like I was getting no where, I felt totally useless. I still feel that way sometimes and still get into the "Im never good enough" mindset but I think when you look back on how far you've come or have a good ride, it's reassuring like hey maybe I know something? Maybe I'm getting somewhere. Hey look I am getting better. No shame in making mistakes either, we all make them everyday, we just keep learning from them as we figure out which ones we make and how to do it better or not make the same mistake.


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## Tihannah

Awww...Katie. Thank you for sharing that! That made me tear up! I get so overwhelmed with wanting to be a better rider and wanting to make my horse better. I see other people riding and can't understand why its so hard for me! Even though they've been riding for YEARS longer than I have! Lol. It really helped a lot to see that. Thank you. 

And I LOVE Maddie!!


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## Tazzie

Cassie, it could be. Around our area it's mostly Saddleseat. Or at least the shows we go to. The Dressage shows seem fairly small, and we always just go off and warm up on our own. Just how I like things :lol: shame a lot of them don't care as much about the learning or the journey :sad: I like showing and all, but I like just riding her more and growing with her.

Ugh, thanks. She had some on her last night, so we gave her another bath. Killed some more. We're just trying to actively stay on top of it! My friend/coworker is having terminex in to get rid of the fleas. They are BAD here this year I guess...

But thank you!

We did! She was a bit tricky, particularly to the right. Wanted to cement her ribcage and give me false bend. She did the "look, I'm looking where you want me to look" but she wasn't. She was trying to twist her neck. She's a master of tipping the top of her head to the right when going to the right, but then tipping her nose out to the left so she isn't actually working properly. We had quite the discussion about that. I'd love to hear how you worked with Dante through this since I'm certain it's kind of an Arab thing. Those snakey necks! We got her to come through and correct, but I'd love to add more to my toolbox if you have suggestions!

I've cried a lot too. I still have moments where I feel SO inadequate. Or I'm constantly being bested by another horse. I just look back and go "that horse has been doing training level since the year Izzie was born. We're fine. I'm a good rider. I have a good horse. It just takes time."

But @Tihannah, you're welcome! I didn't want to take over your thread with it, but I wanted you to see that. It's eye opening I think. I didn't just march out on the scene grabbing 60+% everywhere I went :lol: heck, Izzie is the first horse I've ridden and shown that has rarely gotten below 60% (and those tests were my highly stressed out/anxiety induced regional tests). I think a lot of people try to hide the fact they ever started showing with low scores, but that is life. That is part of what made me the rider I am today. So I don't care one bit if the world knows that I've scored in the 40's :lol:

What you tend to forget, is that you ARE a better rider. In the time I've read your journal you have overcome SO many obstacles. You've improved SO much! Those other riders may look "pretty", but I bet they couldn't get out of Tess what you can. I know a few "pretty" riders, and I wouldn't let them touch Izzie. You're effective. You have a nice seat, and your hands and contact have improved GREATLY this year! You need to be proud of yourself dangit! You've come so far already! And what I like the most about Dressage is I compete against myself. I compete against the rider I was the last time I showed. In rail classes, it's very much a popularity contest at times. Sometimes we are the judge's cup of tea, and other times we aren't and we will never make it to the top. But Dressage isn't as bad. It's to show how you've improved against yourself, and that was the reason my trainer/boss at the time told me I needed to keep every single test. I'd recommend you to do the same. You'd be amazed I think!

And I did too  she was a cool little mare. We were going to lease her through the winter and she would have been the first horse I got to show two years in a row, but the navicular forced retirement. Out of all of them, she was my favorite lease mare. My ultimate favorite, and I've told Nick if I EVER came across her I'd find the funds to buy her, was a little bay mare named Destiny. Longest back I've ever seen, but she had the most try of any horse I've ridden. Izzie is a close second, but Destiny was something else. She was a very special mare, owned by a woman who didn't appreciate her. I'm sure she's long since been sold, and since she wasn't registered there wouldn't be a way to track her down. But if I could find a way to find her and buy her, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

------------------------------------------------

Anyway, my update! Izzie was a bit distracted and just overall tough, particularly working with her neck to the right. She just wanted to fake it SO bad and was so offended when I wouldn't let her. I did work on myself. Now that I have the sitting upright and back, I need to relax my lower back to move with Izzie better. When she's round and over her back, and sitting, her canter is TOUGH to ride. It's SO much smoother if you let her get strung out and don't work to get her working properly. She felt AMAZING though. We did some nice walk to canter transitions too, which were great. I *might* practice them in the show. I normally do a step or two of trot before canter since I hate blowing classes, but we were nailing our leads. And she was happy when I'd stay out of her way. So we will see!

I took these two screenshots (I have recording, but forgot to put it up last night). A bit blurry, but her lengthening is coming along. SUPER proud of her. She's working more off her butt, which I love. It's all just getting easier for her.

And in other news, pretty sure she's growing again, ugh. She needs to stop doing that!!


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## DanteDressageNerd

Youre welcome. Glad you're getting to those nasty ******s. 

I think it's an arab thing too. I'm trying to remember with Dante. I think it was mostly keeping the connection and using more position for turning and then a supportive half halt or leg yield step and when he wanted to twist and contort himself sending him forward and straight then asking for bend again and being sure the bend was from my inside leg and position, sometimes petting with the inside rein to be sure my rein wasn't turning him but my position and outside rein bringing him around. Then sending him to the rein with my leg and counter bend when he wouldnt take the outside rein, so I'd counter bend and when he took it used my inside leg and position to take us back to true bend. Dante would twist if too much hand was used (which might not have been a lot but to him was too much) and I think also leg yielding off the outside leg and then back off the inside leg helped.

I almost forgot I had to put my leg up towards his shoulder to get him to give in his upper portion of his rib cage because that was part of why he'd twist too, if I did that he'd stop or tap him on the shoulder when he'd try to curl. So I'd bump him up towards the shoulder, kinda step into my outside stirrup and half halt on the outside rein very gently and then encourage him forward and do it again if necessary. Arabs are contortionists. Super flexible. 

Absolutely. I absolutely believe we all feel like that sometimes. It's not an easy journey. Lots of ups and downs, disappointments and feeling of inadequacy. But there's more than enough great and break through moments to make up for it.

But you guys look really good. Glad you had a good ride before a long break! Hopefully the storms break through quickly!


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## Tazzie

Me too! They are not allowed to live in my house!

Ok, so keep doing exactly what I'm doing :lol: I wasn't sure what all you had done, and just wanted to check in. And totally get that too. I have to do the exact same thing for her rib cage. She is certain she can't move if her ribs are bending :lol: they really are contortionists. Glad to know I was on the right track though. We would get a few steps and she'd do it again. Little stinker!

Yup! The break through moments are what make it worthwhile!

Me too  and ugh, yeah. I don't want it to rain, but such is life. I just figure it's filling up our cistern for us before winter :lol:

So, small update. My friend who I showed her mare in sport horse in hand earlier this year is a bit upset. She had plans for the person riding her babies to show them this weekend. Well, now they can't. I've offered to for sure run them in hand, and I *might* be riding them in their walk trot classes. She wants someone with a foundation in Dressage since that's what she's doing with them. The other person who offered just thinks all horses go the same, just tack changes. No thank you. We will know Friday evening if I'm just running them or if I'm riding them too! They are good horses. Both are older than Izzie, so not actual babies. But they are the babies to this lady.

I'm going to be exhausted after this weekend :lol:


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## Tazzie

Well, glad I didn't go and try to ride last night. I left and it wasn't raining. I did hit rain on the way home, but not a bunch. More of the annoying drizzle. Nick was heading to hunt, so I couldn't reverse my decision to ride even if I wanted to.

About 7:15 (when we would have been getting ready to head back) I texted Nick saying Kaleb was worried about him. It was thundering pretty badly, but it was all north of us. We were watching recordings, so I din't have the news on. Nick calls me screaming to put on the news, said there were tornado warnings directly west of us. Possibly a touch down. So I put it on and first thing I see is a tornado warning for our area. Well CRAP. Close all the windows, shuffle the kids and dogs into the basement, then run out to put the car under the carport. Jack knifed the stupid trailer since it was dark and I was panicking. Praying I didn't do damage to my car or Nick's trailer. Got the car under the car port, and went inside. Grabbed Scratchy and put her in the room downstairs with the dogs and kiddos.

Nick got home right as I heard it was in the town just before ours. Like, right next to us. He decides he wants to put his toy away (that was on the trailer.) He does that, and grabs our outdoor cat to lock her in the bathroom downstairs (she fights with the dogs and Scratchy is still a baby.) I grab the guinea pigs and bring them downstairs too. So I have everyone except Izzie accounted for in the basement. We fortunately never lost power for more than a minute. I didn't hear the typical train noise of a tornado, so I don't think we actually got one. It was too dark when we left this morning to see if there was damage, but there were branches down. And boy did it POUR. We've never seen it rain so hard. We did lose gravel from our driveway. I saw a lot of it on the other side of the road. But really. If that's all we lost, I'm thankful.

And in typical worried horse momma fashion, I texted Cliff begging him to check on Izzie when it passed. He said it all stayed north of him, and that she was fine and happy  I'm glad he doesn't mind I'm a worry wart about her!

Then we were put under flood warnings :lol: which, if we flood, it'll be a national disaster. That's not me being cocky either. We are one of the highest points in our county.

So, yeah. We're fine. We're pretty sure the house is fine, though we pray it didn't destroy our JUST replaced roof. We JUST had it replaced a couple months ago. And all the animals hung out inside for a while, much to the resentment of Foxy the outdoor cat (she was NOT happy to be inside at all.)

In other news, my friend if entering me in the classes with her babies! I'm not entirely sure who is in what, but they are for the open classes. So attire won't be judged as heavily as the rated part of it. Her mare is in a western saddle for now since they haven't found a Dressage one to fit her. So I'll be bringing a pair of jeans to slip over my breeches, a button down shirt to put over my white shirt, and just toss on my short boots. She wants me to wear a cowboy hat, but I think I'm just going to snag Nick's dark grey helmet to wear with it. I put a velvet cover on my blue one, which would look goofy I think. But don't really want to go without my helmet. Fortunately, her gelding will be in Dressage tack, so I'll just hop off Izzie and hop on him.

The classes are as follows:

I'm in 30, 35, 44 and the championship class at 56. Her two will be in 24, 32, 36 and maybe 45. I wasn't clear on if one will be in it or not. 36 is a pattern class, so hoping there are other entries in it. Otherwise, I'll be doing tack holds. We are also doing in hand classes with everyone, so that'll be fun lol I'm in 11 and 12, and her mare will be in at least one of them if not both. Then her gelding will be in 14 and/or 15.

I feel pretty lucky I'll get to show three of the nicest horses on the grounds :lol: they both are regional champions in sport horse in hand, and I believe won or placed at sport horse nationals when it was at the horse park. So they are no slouches! And then Izzie, who I'm already super partial to and I think she's the best ever :lol:


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## DanteDressageNerd

I guess so. Sometimes it's just a timing issue or just something that takes some time to work out *Shrugs* hard to say with horses but I'm glad she's getting better and having such great success with your girl! Your hard work is really paying off!

I'm glad you guys survived the storm. It sounds like a wild one! I'm glad you got everybody that you could into the basement for peace of mind. Tornadoes make me nervous and a worry wart too. 

Good luck with the babies and I know you did great with Izzie at the show. I can't wait to see the pictures!!


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## Tazzie

Me too! Tornadoes scare the daylights out of me! I was just glad everyone got through the storms alright.

I'll post all about it below, but I didn't end up riding the babies. Long story short, they were jerks and flighty on the ground, and I felt like crud. I barely had the energy to concentrate on Izzie.

So, show update.

Friday night we get there, settle in, and I tack up. Izzie is being miss STRONG. After her canter each way she settled in and did some decent lateral work (we were about the only ones in the arena at that point.) I wanted to practice our lengthened trot. Oh. My. Gosh. We hit a whole new gear in it. Again, Nick fails as my ring man by not recording it. Instead he was like "Oh my god, you should have seen it!" I was like "yeah, next time, pull your dang phone out and record it so I can see it!!" He said she looked amazing. Hind legs matching the front (big pet peeve is when people just get flashy in the front and neglect the back since the horse isn't actually engaged.)

Saturday found us happy enough for in hand classes. We were there super early for it, so walked around a bit. My friend brought her two down. Blair was going to show the open classes, and I was doing the amateur. She worked with the mare while I had the gelding. My word. He needed some manners. I had him good enough before I had to hand him over to grab Izzie to show her. My friend though LOVED Izzie. Was like "She is so light in the hand! You can just feel how she carries herself, even just right here on the ground." We got everyone shown though! I got a higher score than Blair for both the sport horse classes :lol: but you'll see later on she beat my scores. The mare didn't win, but the gelding won both of his! And Izzie won both of hers and took champion HA mares! Then she took 4th place for overall best sport horse in hand  the gelding took 5th with the score I got him!

Time for the under saddle classes. And oh boy. Argumentative. Wanting to suck behind the vertical (I'm hoping there were SOME pictures where she isn't sucking back.) She still did well. And we did walk to canters in all of our classes. Let me just say, boy were they expressive :lol: we were a little excited to do them in public. Perk of riding in rail classes I guess is you aren't marked down too much for getting excited about cantering. She rocked her show hack class and took first. The open she was a bit excited and kept wanting to walk to canter without me cueing her. So, we got second (out of three.) We won our amateur class though! Then came back in and won the championship! WOOHOO!

I felt too awful to ride the babies, and they were just a mess. We think they need a chiro adjustment honestly, and Blair and I told her as such.

We stuck around to show my friend's babies in halter. The HA mares amateur to handle class was a bonus class for our incentive fund, and there were only two entries in it. So we figured why not? Let's put Izzie in it!! One TINY catch. I was showing my friend's mare. NO WAY could she show them. Just no. They were being awful and she has medical issues (NO, she will NOT sell them; it'd be like telling me to sell Izzie.) SO! I paid the one day event membership, and we had Nick show Izzie in a borrowed halter since we didn't have ours. Izzie is not a halter horse. She never will be. So, we figured she'd be a ringer for third lol photographer (who is a friend of mine) asked what I would do if Nick beat us with my own horse. I said I'd be SHOCKED since she's not a halter horse. WELL! Guess who ended up shocked?? ME! Because Izzie beat the gorgeous mare I was showing! The first place horse was stunning and has won every halter class this year. Nick was going to put her back but we were like "you can't! You have to show her in the championship class!" Well, little miss "not a halter horse" ended up RESERVE CHAMPION HALTER HORSE! We were amazed and shocked!

I took Nick out for dinner after that :lol:

Sunday brought major disappointment. HATED the judge, and I was NOT the only one. If it didn't move like a failed saddle seat horse, then it didn't place. Period.

Our first class Izzie was a touch fussy, but prompt in her departs and nailed everything asked of her. Including hand gallop back down to a normal canter. She was just GOOD. WELL, after the class (which we lost; second out of two) I was approached by SO many people who I didn't know telling me I was SCREWED in that class. Apparently the horse who won didn't walk AT ALL and instead of going back down to the normal canter, she stopped. Then picked back up the canter. Right in front of the judge. Way to go, jerk.

Second class she was also good. Nailed her leads, everything. Again, disappointment. Fourth out of four. By now I'm frustrated and thinking what a HUGE waste of money the day has been. OH! And the crazy judge called for hand gallop, to HALT! Cause THAT isn't directed at anyone, huh?? I was NOT the only one mad about that.

We still had two more classes and I had zero desire to show under her anymore. We contemplated scratching one class but still riding in the one I was the only rider in. Instead, I let a friend catch ride Izzie. She wasn't in proper attire, but we had show management's permission. Izzie ROCKED it! Perfect departs, perfect gaits, perfect headset, perfect back, and perfect line up. Fifth out of five. Placed behind the horse that stopped at the gallop, the horse who lost it's mind in front of the judge, and the horse who grabbed the wrong lead in front of the judge. But no. Not the style the judged liked. My friend had a heck of a time riding her though, and loved her! We decided we would make it a tradition to have someone new warm her up and show her on the Sunday of PMHA :lol: just for fun.

Last class she was again perfect with me. Had to give me the blue since we performed well and were the only entry. We hit a fabulous lengthened trot that even the lady helping the judge said "WOW!" as we passed them. Yes, I did it as a "kiss my a**" victory pass. Oh, and the cheering was HUGE for that. All day Saturday and that one victory pass Izzie had the entire stands whooping and hollering as we lengthened all around the ring.

I don't think many people liked that judge. Particularly not another big name trainer in our area. Who fortunately is on the board for my other favorite, huge horse show. Hoping she won't be judging in our area again. Walked around with too big of an air of importance, and bragged she had a horse headed to Tulsa. Great. All you did was **** off a lot of competitors here, so good luck coming back.

I am excited though. The sport horse judge is judging my other favorite show. She LOVED Izzie. But I got scolded. She made me rewalk the triangle after my last class. Said she couldn't score it again, but said she knew Izzie had more. So she basically coached me on it. I'll be remembering this for April!

Anyway, I'll be excited to see the pictures. The photographer got some of Izzie being snuggly before sport horse in hand, and her being snuggly with Nick in halter. Izzie was practically hugging Nick, and Nick actually smiled!! OH! And we brought Sheldon, who was a HUGE hit :lol: there are tons of pictures of him too!

So, taking applications for someone to show Izzie in hunter pleasure next year :wink:

Attached the pictures I posted this weekend


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## PoptartShop

I'm glad overall it was a good show!!!  Good experience too. That judge sounds like such a jerk...I swear, there's always at least one that is! Ugh. Glad you didn't let it ruin your days though.

Congrats!!:grin::grin: I love the pictures too!


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## Tazzie

Thanks! I am glad it was overall good! The judge is just young and a bit too "big for her britches" right now. I don't foresee it going over well if she comes back though. Those of us that show there consistently were none too happy with the judging.

Izzie is pretty cute in them :lol: need to hang up all of those now! I'm DYING for the professional ones, but patience. My friend the photographer works 3 other jobs, so it'll be slow getting them up. Oh well! I know they will be worth it  they always are!

Izzie is getting off until probably Thursday. I'm in contact right now with a saddle fitter to have my saddle adjusted. The saddle was basically brand new when I bought it, and I think the flocking has settled a bit with use. It doesn't fit as well as it did. So, going to have it looked at. It was purely fate too. The lady is from the Columbus area, so I was hesitant to contact her. Then I say she works with my brand of saddle (Harry Dabbs) and thought "well, that'd be good; least she would know the saddle." So I sent her a message. Got one back almost right away saying she was heading to the horse park for the Thoroughbred Racehorse Makeover event tomorrow and she'd be there through Sunday! FATE! That's what it was!


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## Tihannah

WOW!! Look at all those ribbons! Great job Katie! You have to be so proud of the work you've done with Izzie! LOVED the "victory pass" LOL. Good for you!


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## Tazzie

Thanks! Just more to put in our cario cabinet :lol: I'm quickly running out of places for these ribbons, and I'm not ready to have them made into things yet... I've thought about it, but just can't yet :lol:

And yeah, I'm a smart a** at times. I strongly dislike people placing horses that don't deserve to win (umm, hello? Walking is REQUIRED!) So when I can get an opportunity to basically stick my nose up at someone like that, I'm going to take the chance :lol: I really hope we never show under her again.


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## Tazzie

No update on Izzie right now. She's getting a VERY well earned break off right now. Sunday she meets with the saddle fitter to get her saddle back in good shape  tomorrow I'm trading Izzie in for Nick's toy :lol:

But pictures are going up! I'm so excited! These are the links for the albums. You may be asked to put in a name and an email. Just so everyone knows, I have NEVER gotten spam from her. But I'll gladly give you all my email address if you'd like to view them 

Here is the In Hand class  Izzie was being super snuggly!
PhotographybyKRae | 397

And the under saddle class
PhotographybyKRae | 30

She still has more to post, so I'll post when I get them. Can already tell it'll be hard to choose :lol:


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## DanteDressageNerd

That's awesome that you and Izzie did so well showing, reserve champion is AWESOME!! I'm really happy for you guys, especially because Izzie has become so confident (even if a little enthusiastic) in her walk to canters, that's awesome! 

Sorry to hear the babies had issues but hopefully with some chiropractic works they'll be better or does the problem run deeper than that? Or hard to say?

Also sorry about the Sunday judge, there are incompetent and competent judges, good and bad ones unfortunately. I'm glad your friend got to have ride on Izzie and loved riding her but it seems like some judges could care less about good training and only reward flash or a kind of look. I don't know much about rail classes but it kinda seems like a fashion show sometimes. Like are you wearing the right attire, is your horse the right color and does it move a certain way.

Sorry to hear the judge is pretty stuck on herself but at least most the people weren't a fan and likely will discourage the idea of bringing her back, especially with hand gallop to halt call. That sounds ridiculous and unfair to ask of the horses. But glad you at least got a good victory lap in, sometimes it feels good to be a bit of a smart @ss about things. 

But good you're getting your saddle reflocked, horses can change a lot so I hope she is able to help you and Izzie out. 

I'd love to see the photos but they want me to register with them to view, I try not to register with too many websites.


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## KigerQueen

i had a judge like that in halter. placed a horse who was HORRIBLY over in both knees and crocked legs above odie in RANCH confo! yikes to that. I hate crappy judges. with the amount of people she ticked off i would be very supersized if she judged there again. 

Congrats to you and Izzie to an amazing end to an amazing show year! She looks soo good!

Cant view the links you posted though


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## Tazzie

Cassie, I'm pretty pleased :lol: she left champion Sport Horse In Hand mare, 4th overall supreme sport horse in hand champion, champion sport horse under saddle, and reserve champion halter. Love it! And yeah, she was enthusiastic alright :lol:

I'm hoping they get the work they need done. I suspect they will since my friend cares very much for them. They are her babies.

Just a judge I won't be showing under again. Such is life. It was depressing when people I didn't know came up saying we got screwed though. That's what made it even worse. But that is just how some judges are. They want the snappy knee action as opposed to the more hunter/dressage type way of going. Thank you main ring Arabian circuit...

It did feel good to be a smart @ss :lol: and the pictures show how much overstep she had at the trot lol it's pretty dang amazing.

Ha, yeah, more on that below...

I'll be buying the pictures either tonight or tomorrow, so I should have them within the next few days. I just buy the facebook images for most of them since that would be all I use them for (and on here, but it's still not for advertisement purposes.) There are a lot of great ones!

Kiger, it sucks when you get those judges. But you just have to hope they won't be invited back. That's how I feel about this twit.

Thanks! I'm super pleased with her  she's one heck of a horse!

And I'll be buying them soon, so should have them posted by the end of the week! 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now for my update...

I haven't ridden Izzie since the show. I gave her the week off and figured I'd ride her with the saddle fitter.

That didn't happen.

Fitter was going to come out on Friday, but we switched it to Sunday night as she was on her way home. Worked for me. So Friday was low key.

Saturday I went riding with Nick on his toy. He flipped his toy. I was not in it, thank goodness. It just landed on it's side, and everyone was fine. Just glad it wasn't with me. Knew I didn't want to go up that hill :lol: his buddy also flipped his. MEN! :lol:

Sunday morning/afternoon we took the kids to the pumpkin patch. Did a hay ride, the corn maze, and rode a train made out of barrels. Kids had a BLAST! Went home and let them take a nap.

Had to get to the horse before 4:30 since that's the time we finally settled on. She took a bunch of notes (noting how WIDE Izzie is; I've told you all she's a LOT wider in person...) and then we put the saddle on her. Just my luck. EVERYTHING fits except the top of the gullet. It's pinching her shoulders. We had the option to widen the tree itself, but it would make the flaps stick out like chicken wings, and would lower the front of the saddle even more. Izzie already nearly hits it when she lifts up and comes through. So that wasn't an option. We are ALL frustrated the one part that doesn't fit is the one part we can't fix. She sees why it fit to begin with, but said it's super common when horses start making the jump from First to Second that they need a new saddle to go with it.

So she took a million tracings and pictures, and I'll be contacting places to send them in hopes they can find a saddle that will work. I'll then send the fitter the saddles I'm recommended, and she'll whittle it down to our best choices.

ARG. Saddle fit is the bane of my existence right now. Least I wasn't crazy and the saddle DID fit her perfectly before she developed even more muscle.

She did remark on how wonderful Izzie was to work with though :lol:

So, now to start the saddle search. Again. As if that isn't super fun enough, I get to look for a unicorn! I need a XW or XXW (depending on brand) in a hoop tree. She said the likelihood of me finding that in a narrow twist is slim, so I may be getting a wider twist and needing to get used to it. Right now, I'm fine with that so I can have something that fits Izzie perfectly.


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## Tazzie

Not a big update yet :lol: went trick or treating with my kiddos last night, which they thoroughly enjoyed! Nick hooked his Polaris up to his trailer, and I sat in the trailer with my two kiddos and my niece. Next year, we're swiping hay to sit on. That was one ROUGH ride! But the kids had a great time! Totally worth it!

I'll be riding tonight. Not a big ride, but want to keep her in shape and working to maintain what muscle we do have until we get our new saddle. I hate riding in a saddle that doesn't quite fit, but she hasn't been super opinionated about it yet... I'm going to start working on the no stirrup November and maybe graduate to bareback until we get a new saddle. Between a rock and a hard place right now. Need to sell my saddle for the money for a new one, but don't want to sell mine until I have one I can buy right now. The torture of saddle shopping... I did some preliminary searching, and the prices on these saddles.... oh they hurt.

I did order the show pictures last night though, so should have them within the next couple of days while she edits them as needed


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## DanteDressageNerd

That's fabulous! You should be very pleased! lol enthusiasm isn't a bad thing :lol:

I hope it makes a difference when they are seen.

I guess it's the same in dressage too. Different judges have different preferences and ideas about what they want to see. I prefer judges to be fair and consistent but some really don't have a clue what they're scoring for and sometimes it seem like all they do is just toss out numbers without a system. 

lol I'll be glad to see the pictures after you buy them and load them up! That'll be great to see!

I'm sorry to hear about saddle shopping, I know exactly how that is. I rode Dante bareback for I have no idea how many months because no saddle in the barn fit him. Only thing I'll say is it sucks when you have a difficult to fit horse. Dante was too wide for the extra wide in trilogy but good luck finding a curved tree. Most of the higher end dressage saddle make them for a straight back. I think some verhan's have a curved tree and I know some amerigos have the banana tree. It's really hard when you have a horse with a curved back. 

And custom isn't a guarentee. I tried that and you know that whole story but that company I will never suggest to anyone. They make good saddles but they're unethical and dont honor their word at all. Custom is scary it's so dependent on how competent the saddle rep is which I'm finding out a lot of saddle reps and fitters aren't that competent and it flat out sucks :-( I'm glad I have my friend that's a saddle fitter because she continues her education under a one of the top fitters in the country and originally trained in the UK but finding the right saddle is tough, especially if you have a tricky to fit horse. It's really an art. And I agree finding a saddle wide enough that also has a narrow twist will be tricky. I know with Dante there was no way to have a narrow twist because he was so wide through the channel and a lot of saddle would pinch him right where the stirrups leather go.

Only thing I'll say is avoid foam pannels, they are a pain in the butt and a lot of sensitive backed horses don't like them at all. Plus they're expensive to change and dressage horses are constantly changing, so I'm not a fan :lol: A few people at my barn had CWDs which are great saddles but if the horse's back changes, it stops fitting and it's $800-900 for new panels and if the rep doesn't do it right, the new panels make the saddle fit worse! Wool is more adjustable but dang I'm so sorry, that REALLY sucks! 

Glad the kids had fun with Halloween


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## Tazzie

Yeah :sad: this girl just went on bragging about all the judging competitions she won. Blair was like "they aren't that hard... you figure out what the judge likes, and place them like the judge would." So.... she judged the class how others thought it should be judged I guess. I don't know. Either way, I won't be showing under her for hunter pleasure. Waste of time and money for us.

They are purchased, just waiting for them to be emailed to me  so I'm (im)patiently waiting :lol:

Ugh, I know. I'm not brave enough yet to canter her bareback out in that field. So we're just going to cut the riding time down, and just basically keep her going to keep the muscles somewhat developed. But not push, not expect too much, etc. And get to work finding a good fit. She said she didn't have any other special needs aside from needing a hoop tree or open head saddle. Least Nick is understanding about it all.

Oh yeah, I'm avoiding going custom if I can help it! Which I think I can. We have options, I just have to track something down. She just took the tracings, measurements, etc for me to send to a bunch of saddle companies to see what they think would work. Then find something they have in stock to recommend, I send it to my fitter, and she lets me know which she thinks would fit and which she wouldn't based on her knowledge of the saddles. Either way, I'm terrified of winding up in a saddle that doesn't work again. But trying to have faith. Least I'm not crazy and knew it fit when I got it and knew it wasn't fitting as well as it could anymore. And yeah, I'm willing to sacrifice that for Izzie's comfort. Just will be something I have to get used to.

I can do that! I did want wool anyway so it could be adjusted as needed. Just need to find something...

They sure did!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, we went and rode last night. I rode first walk-trot-canter. It was like we never took a day off after the show. She was so good. A bit snarky, but least I have a solid reason why. I just asked her to move past it and she did. I let Nick have a lunge line session on her, which he enjoyed. And worked on teaching him leg yields. Yeah, coaching my husband is not a good idea :lol: Izzie was taking advantage. Not in a bad way, but basically going "you aren't asking right, I'm not leg yielding." He did get some at least. I got back on, and she tried to blow through the leg yield with me. Solid spank and she realized that was not a good idea. We did a couple of change of lead through the trot, which she did great. Definitely easier now that she's gained the strength to carry herself over her hindquarters.

We also started her on Magrestore. I was reading up about it, and my friend recommended we start her on some sort of magnesium supplement. We've discontinued the Moody Mare since it's becoming ridiculously tough to track down. Not interested in having a supplement that isn't readily available. We're going to see how this works. But she was great last night before starting it. And she cleaned it up with dinner, which was AMAZING. I was quite impressed :lol:

Today I will be riding again, which will be nice. Last ride before we take a trail ride on Saturday. Which will be a blast!


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## evilamc

Haha! Nick trying to brush up on his skills before our ride? Orianna's an easy ride for him I promise  Don't you love how the horses know when whos on them and what that person is capable of making them do? My neighbor rides my two with me someitmes, whenever she rides Jax he takes complete advantage...acts like he can't walk over logs...tries to turn down peoples driveways LOL!

Exciting you started her on magrestore, I try to tell everyone about how amazing it is  I've seen so many good experiences from it first hand, I swear by it.


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## DanteDressageNerd

That's a shame :-(

Maybe you could get a bareback pad? I know with Dante I always rode in one because I was too scared to canter him bareback without one because the times I went without he bucked and reared until I hit the ground. He hated the feeling of the rider's seat bones in canter and his canter used to be like riding a washing machine on spin cycle. His canter improved a ton and wasn't that bad by about February but bareback pads are great, I think it's more comfortable for them too (especially if you have pointy butt bones). But maybe that'd help in the mean time.

But good luck finding a saddle I have my fingers crossed for you guys. I really hope it goes smoothly, even if it takes some time and you can find exactly what you're looking for. 

I'm glad Nick got a chance to ride and it's funny Izzie was like nope, you can't make me, I know what you want but I don't want to lol. But I'm glad you had what sounds like a pretty solid ride after and at least Nick got to feel a few leg yield steps! That's pretty awesome! 

Definitely enjoy that trail ride! I'm jealous! Sounds like it will be a blast!


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## Tazzie

Alicia, he was :lol: he's certain I'll let him take Izzie on her first off the farm trail ride hahaha! I told him maybe part way through we can swap :lol: but it's a big thing for her! We cross logs and creeks on the farm, so it'll just be a new location that will get her pumped up! He wants to get a trail horse, and I told him leg yielding is a pretty good thing to know when out there! He'll get it :wink:

And I'm SUPER excited to see how it works for her. I need to contact the company though. Izzie only gets dinner, so I wasn't sure if it'd be safe to do 4 scoops once a day, or if 2 scoops would be ok (since the loading dose was 2 scoops am and pm). A lot of the things they listed are things she deals with (a tight muscle in the hind end, random spookiness, etc.) So I'm hoping it helps!

Cassie, I'm thinking about picking one up from Dover and at least starting to do walk-trot in it. I just have to clear it with Nick first. I'm sure he'd be ok with it until we can find a saddle that will work, but just have to check with him. I do know she'd be more comfortable with something between us. And that's what I'm afraid she'll do. She's already ultra opinionated. I worry she would realize it's just me up there and take full advantage of me not having the saddle for the canter.

Thanks! REALLY hoping it doesn't end up a super huge headache *sigh*

It was amusing. I was like "Nick. She's purposely ignoring you. Pick up your contact and do this. You have it in you. Trust me. She isn't THAT hard to leg yield, but if you don't set her up and ask then she will NOT do it!" I did see him crack a smile when he got a couple her good way, and one her hard way (to the right she tries to challenge me at it, so for him to get one was a big deal.) And I was so proud. She wasn't squirrely, came right into the contact and lifted her back, and was just super pleasant. I think she's actually growing up!

I'm so pumped!! We're meeting Alicia up in Ohio for the ride, and I'm super excited to meet her and go on our first big adventure! Hopefully we can do a few more next year :lol:

And plans changed... not riding tonight. Tonight was the only night I could get the vet to come down and do her teeth and get us an out of state health certificate. So sacrificing riding. Ah well. Tomorrow is supposed to rain, and I'd like to not ride her on Friday to save her energy for Saturday. That and I don't want to ride too many back to back days in that saddle. I really need to get on my search. Even if it's not a top of the line saddle. I just want something that will fit Izzie. Nick agreed to let me get our top of the line saddle in a few years as long as I don't go looking for that now. I already know what I want for that. The Arabian Saddle Company saddles are TO DIE FOR. And fit Arab backs (obviously lol). But they are nearly $4k.... and finding used is TOUGH. So, just going to find one that fits her and I can deal with (I'm sure I can buy a gel seat to make it better for me). Fitting her is my number one priority.


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## DanteDressageNerd

Totally makes sense and I think you'll both feel a lot better with the bareback pad. I used to lunge Dante before I got on bareback because I wanted his back to warm up without me because he didn't like posting bareback for too long. He'd tolerate it then get upset about it. I hope he says yes and it helps you guys out! I think it also gives you a little more security in being able to use your body without grinding your hip into their back like you can use yourself and reinforce your aids without feeling like you can't, if that makes sense? Without the pad, I just felt like I can't address that or I'll get thrown.

I can see that :lol: she's not a dumby, she knows whose on her. She's still going to test the waters but at least Nick worked it out and she was so good about it! That's exciting!!

Super exciting! I hope you guys have loads of fun!

Sorry for no riding but I hope you can find a saddle you're both happy with! Saddle hel! as I call it, so tricky if you have an at all abnormally shaped horse. And also finding one that's the right fit for you and you can ride in it, especially in dressage. Supportive without being restrictive or interfering and fitting these dressage horses is tough, they change shape all the time and lower-mid to upper level changes them too. The upper level horses get narrower through their withers and wider and more develop over their back if that makes sense? Debbie Witty had told me that but seeing it happen in the horse's at the barn was eye opening. Good luck!


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## Tazzie

He said I could get one, but we're hoping we can find a saddle fairly quickly. I'll be listing my current one on Sunday and hoping it goes quickly. Decided after Saturday I won't be riding in it. Just send it on down the road :lol: and possibly grab a bareback pad next week. I've found a couple on Dover that I'm hoping they will have in their store so I can get my hands on them to decide. But I think they are decent choices that will work for the time being.

It was amusing to watch :lol: she's not dangerous at all. And she much prefers to just trot instead of walking leg yield. So Nick had to work with that a bit. It was amusing :lol: but they got it figured out. She just won't make it easy on him haha!

I think we will  I'm super pumped!

I totally understand! I think Izzie is just finishing filling out in general, which is why her shoulders are widening again. Have to allow the growth to continue! I do know we will be buying probably at least two more saddles in the next few years. Sucks, but is what it is. I'm really hoping it won't be hel! finding a saddle. I've only sent tracings to one company so far, but they've already responded and have sent the tracings off along with the pictures to their fitters. They will get back to me with options, which I'll then send along to my fitter. If nothing comes out of that one, I'll move on to the next company. I know others would probably email everyone I have on my list, but I really don't want to be overwhelmed with choices. So, starting first with a company with a good selection of used saddles within my price range and hoping they have something. *fingers crossed!*

Izzie was fabulous for her dental too. Grumpy she missed dinner, but such is life :lol: the vet said she looks great and to not change what I'm doing. Said her weight is absolutely perfect! Which is amusing since so many people say she's fat. She's not, you can easily feel ribs. She's just built MASSIVE! Her teeth were good. He said there was nothing major going on, essentially what he'd expect for a horse her age. Asked if I noticed her dropping grain to warrant the dental. I said no, she's been fine. I just like having the teeth done around this time! Also got our out of state health certificate too, so we're ready to go trail riding! SO pumped!!

And trying to be patient. Ordered my pics on Monday. This is the longest I've ever had to wait for them from her :lol: I know she's crazy busy, but I'm dying haha! Eventually :lol: I did finally get my pictures of the kiddos back though!


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## evilamc

Check out Thinline's bareback pad! I had one for a few years and LOVED it. I love that it had the thinline built in for extra shock protection, and even though it LOOKS thin it seems to provide enough comfort!!


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## Tazzie

That was one of the ones Dover had that I wanted to look at :wink: on the website it looks super slick, which is why I want to see it in person. No way can it be as slick as it looks!


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## DanteDressageNerd

That's great that you're getting a bareback pad. I think it will be really beneficial for you both, especially if you have to wait for a while to get a saddle. I tried to find mine (it was a gift someone gave me) but it's a lot more expensive than I realized. But I really like that one. I haven't tried the thinline, so it might be really good too. I don't know but I hope you find one you like.

I can believe it lol. She's like well if I don't have to, I wont. I wont be bad but I wont do it until you get it right. What a good girl lol. 

I really wish you luck with finding a saddle and you're probably right about the multiple saddle changes. The horses who make the jump from lower to upper level work, once they really start sitting and carrying behind they get narrower and leaner through their withers and more built over their haunches and the muscle behind the saddle. It's really cool but sucks with all the different saddles over a horses career. 

That's alright. She's a thick girl, not a bad thing! I feel more comfortable on a thicker built horse than a narrow one. Glad all went well and hope it continues to! 

Cant wait to see the pics when they finally do come through!


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## KigerQueen

you could always go with a saddle like thorowgood. they are a better version of wintecs and you can change the gullet. fits my wide arab and my narrow paint fine. and as she grows you dont have to get a munch of saddles.


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## Tazzie

Yeah, just have to stop and get it. Forgot to bring my saddle home last night after riding, so hoping Nick will grab it for me tonight. Just hoping I can get that sold ASAP and a new, better fitting one soon. Blah!

And pretty much. She's full of sass haha!

Yeah, the fun of developing a horse. Oh well. Such is life.

I like the thicker ones too  she's a good girl!

I have to check my email. Don't think they are in yet, but gotta check. I do have pics from the trail ride though!

This was the look of wonderment on Izzie's face for most of our trip haha









The rock walls









And the water 

















Izzie's new buddy, with Nick aboard 









More random fun ones








































































Saying no to the first water area lol


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## Drifting

@Tazzie those are great pictures! It looks like Izzy and you had an awesome time. I'm so jealous!


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## Tazzie

You're just going to have to come on down sometime!! I'd definitely like to hook up with @evilamc again for more trail rides (both one horse power, and ones with a bit more haha)

Nick even had a good time, which was surprising. I think he liked being on a horse he didn't have to kick along to get them to move. That and shortly upon meeting, Alicia said we'd have to do another ride with the ATV's. Nick instantly liked her :lol:

I will admit, some of those trails scared the daylights out of me. I'm SO not used to anything like that growing up in FLAT Michigan and on trail rides through pastures. Riding along drop offs, even with fences, made me a bit nervous :lol: thankfully Izzie stayed pretty solid all day with only a couple young moments!


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## Drifting

Drop offs always make me nervous. One day we'll all get together and ride! I need a truck and trailer. You guys are a bit far from me but we can camp!


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## Tazzie

Yeah, just a bit :lol: we'd camp if we don't have to tie up (like in stalls haha). I don't trust Izzie to not get bored and leave :lol:

But we will totally be game for more! We have the truck, and a borrowed trailer for now!

I know I'll be itching for more trails soon :lol: I do feel even show horses need a good mental break!


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## evilamc

Theres two campsites at Hocking Hills that provide stalls  Three reasons is one and Cowboy Larry's is the other! Just have to make reservations in advance.


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## Tazzie

Then we are 100% game for that!! I just don't trust Izzie hobbled or on a high line. She's never had to do it, and she has moments where she's just done being tied. But a stall we could do!!

Alright @Drifting, you just need to work on the truck and trailer!


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## DanteDressageNerd

WOW!! Those pictures look amazing!! The trails are gorgeous and everyone looks so happy! What an awesome time to make memories! 

Izzie looks like she's having the time of her life! She looks, as you said with wonder and amazement! I really hope I can do such a trail ride someday.

When I was growing up in Oregon and Washington state, I used to trail ride almost every weekend with my event horse, he LOVED it. I wish we had those kind of trails where I am. We had lots of mountains and a trail that went from the mountains down the beach in OR. Looks like such a lovely experience!


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## PoptartShop

Sooooo jealous!! Such a beautiful trail!


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## Tazzie

It really was a gorgeous place! @evilamc felt bad when she realized it was so far from us (about 3 hours one way), but I'm fortunate to have an agreeable husband and a horse that is a stellar hauler (ask Alicia; they were laughing because Izzie jumps into the trailer :lol It was 100% worth the drive up there!

I definitely want to do more. Our weekends though are now booked through the end of the year thanks to the holidays and a million other things. So hopefully next year!

The trail down to the beach sounds awesome Cassie! I wish we could do beach riding :lol:

Izzie has been enjoying some good days off. I've lost motivation to school a bit with the saddle stuff. And the shorter days certainly won't help that. I have to resend my dang tracings too since apparently they were compressed funny when I scanned them. Ugh. Naturally. I did list my saddle though, so I'd love if people would share it out! I'm going to post it on here too... love the saddle, but it needs to go *sigh*


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## Tihannah

SO jealous! I've been wanting to go on a trail ride with Tess since I got her, but we've never been able to get anything organized at the barn. Looks like it was so fun and love all the pics! Izzie looks so good in blue!


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## Tazzie

That's one of the few perks of being on my own; I only have to talk it over with Nick before we do something. But the downfall is that I normally don't have people to ride with  I was super pumped when Alicia moved to Ohio since I knew she was a trail rider. Sure, I have to pay for an out of state health certificate to haul up there, but really I don't mind at all. Her horses were perfect for Izzie to follow behind, so it was a great experience all the way around. I'd been wanting to get out on real trails for a while now, so I understand the desire!! And thanks! I LOVE royal blue, so I'm glad she looks good in it :lol: just wait until you see the new tiara (browband) that is coming for me for Christmas :lol:


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## DanteDressageNerd

Definitely!! It really looks like an awesome experience! So glad that everyone had a great time. The trails look fabulous and glad the whole crew was able to enjoy it, even with distance.

And they really were. When we did the beach trip (this was 10yrs ago) we hauled 3 or 4 hours and stayed two nights to work on the trails. On the final day we hauled to the beach, the previous two days we rode in the mountains. It was actually pretty scary. My horse spooked on a narrow trail, backed up into my friends horse and she went down the cliff which was probably a 1000ft drop! Her and her horse hit a tree, so they didn't roll down and were totally fine but it was SCARY! That same friend is a helicopter pilot now.

I hope you're able to sell your saddle quickly and can move onto something else that you both love! And I agree. It's nice to ride with others sometimes! Sometimes it's nice to have the ring to yourself and sometimes it's nice to have someone to talk to and ride with!

But can't wait to see the debut of the new tiara!! Izzie will look might fine in something so glamorous!


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## Tazzie

That sounds terrifying!! I'm SO glad we didn't have those issues... YIKES! But the beach sounds fun!

I'm really hoping to sell fast. Debating putting it on ebay, but I HATE ebay. They take too much out of what you get from it :sad: going to bump my posts up this evening when I get home...

It does suck riding alone a lot, but no other options sadly :/ such is life. Hopefully once Nick gets a horse he will at least ride with me sometimes... by then Kaleb will have his own motorized toy, and the kids can ride that as we ride horses :lol:

I'm still over the moon with that tiara! It FAR exceeded the image in my head of it! I was hoping to wait to debut it at our first rated show next year, but I'm not sure I'll be able to wait that long :lol:

And I have PICTURES!! I haven't ridden at all this week. Between voting, rain, the time change, and Nick hunting I just haven't been able to :sad: stopping at Dover today to look at the bareback pads. I got two options from the saddle place, but I didn't see them online. I wanted to see them before I passed them along to my fitter. They aren't crazy priced, which would be good if I can't sell my current one quickly. They aren't top of the line, but that's ok for now. Long as they work!

Anyway, show pictures!! Probably split it into two posts to make it easy


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## Tazzie

Ok, the first post was just me and Izzie. This one will be my friend showing Izzie, Nick showing Izzie, and the other half Arabs we showed. I'm handling the mare, Angel, in her halter pic. But my friend set Seven up better than I did (she set Angel up better too, but since I was buying them, and there wasn't as great of a difference, I got one with me). I bought them and am having them sent to my friend who won't have any idea who bought them  which is why they weren't posted on Facebook for those of you that have me on there


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## DanteDressageNerd

I know I've already said it but the pictures are lovely! Very heartfelt and positive with good work shown!

It really was scary! I felt so bad, not that I could have controlled my horse's spook but thank God she was fine. Had that tree not been there. They both would have been lost.

Ebay can sometimes be a good asset, way better than a tack store where they take 20-30% 

I'm sure when you have your own property your kids and husband will ride with you so you're not always alone!

It's really beautiful! I'm really impressed by how well made those browbands are without being ridiculously expensive! I can't wait to see it on Izzie's forehead!

You've been busy, it makes sense and hopefully you can find some good options for saddles, even if they aren't your forever pick but will temporarily be good. Amerigos are pretty decent, not the best but they're not bad. A good thing is she doesn't have super curved back, so that'll help a lot!


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## Tazzie

Thank you  It makes me proud looking at them 

No, I know. You couldn't have. I'm glad it ended well at least.

Oh I know. I don't have it at a tack store either. Just me posting it everywhere. I may put it there as a last resort, but bump the price slightly to make up the difference. Just ugh. I hate selling stuff.

I think they will  I know Kaleb will!

I'm super pumped. She does some stunning work and it looks like really good quality. DYING to see how Izzie wears it :lol:

I'm hoping I find something. I told you my two options, though I know one wouldn't be good. I don't know the second one. I have our tracings so I can send them to another place to see what they come up with. *fingers crossed* I get something!!

----------------------------------------------------

So, update! Mentioning my son here reminded me of the cute conversation I had with him on Sunday :lol:

Kaleb came galloping in on his stick horse going Yee Haw! Yee Haw!

Me: Kaleb, are you riding your horse??

Kaleb: Yeah! I'm in a show!!

Me: Oh yeah?

Kaleb: Yeah! I won last night!!

This child is entirely mine :lol:

In other news, I bought a bareback pad last night. It's a Tolkat or something like that :lol: I felt the others they had there, and this was my pick. Nick immediately shot down the Thinline based on price, but I can't complain too much. He may be letting me buy a saddle before mine sells, so I'm not about to push my luck. I'll take what I can get really.

So tonight, I'm riding. On the bareback pad. I have not cantered bareback in over 10 years. Izzie gets super exuberant in the canter, and it's BIG (I know I've mentioned it before, but I really am not exaggerating...) I've walked and trotted bareback on her, just never canter. So I'm going to lunge her to warm her up, let her buck without me if needed, and then hop on. So, wish me luck or pray for me :lol:


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## PoptartShop

Ooooh that'll be interesting! Wishing you luck! You'll do fiiiiine, lunging her will help for sure. If the canter gets too big just do only a few steps!  Can't wait to hear how it goes!!!!


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## Tazzie

Haha, I may end up having Nick lunge us for the first time, just to settle ME down :lol: I'm thinking Izzie will be fine She's had very few rides lately with the saddle, so nothing should hurt. I'm excited and nervous haha!


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## Tihannah

The pics are incredible! So jealous!

Your son sounds too cute! All mine are teens now and want nothing to do with horses or me going to the barn. Sometimes I wonder if they're really mine! ;-)


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## Tazzie

Thanks! I'm so happy with them 

And aww, I'm glad the kids like going with us. For now at least. We shall see what the future holds if they continue coming with us!

Not a whole lot of an update. I rode bareback Thursday night, which was fun. Even cantered, though was a bit anxious haha! Riding again today in my bareback pad. We will get better at this :wink:

No update on the saddle front. I was given two options, but was told neither would work for my mare. Bummer. So onto the next place!


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## DanteDressageNerd

You should be! You two have come a long way together, especially since youve seen her grow from awkward baby and into a nicely matured young mare. That's super! 

I hate selling stuff too :/ I suck at it but it'll be super awesome for the whole family when you guys have your own place.

Me too!! I can't wait to see it on her! I bet Izzie will love her tiara, so she can feel like the true princess she is!

I'm sure you'll find one sooner rather than later! Just keep persistent and fingers crossed! 

I'm so glad you're enjoying bareback with the pad, it helps a lot with canter doesn't it? And definitely. I always lunged Dante before getting on bareback to warm his back up without a rider, helps a lot but really glad you've had such great bareback rides and are enjoying it!

Your son is pretty cute :lol: I see where his future will be!


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## Tazzie

Thanks  I'm so happy with how she's developing!

Just hope it finds it's new home so I can move on... the place I'm in contact with does trade ins, so I'd be good with that route. They are selling my exact saddle for $1800, so I feel me asking $1200 is extremely fair. But I'd be happy just trading it in for something that fits. So all of my fingers are crossed they have something that will work! It would be the easiest situation.

I'm dying for our farm, but I'm being patient. We still have a few years. All of Izzie's incentive fund money from here on out is going into the house fund. They like the money to go back into horses. In a way, it would because it would bring Izzie HOME! One of my fellow board members agreed it's what Izzie would want :lol:

We decided when she gets her new tiara, that it'll actually be her upgrade to "queen" status :lol: dumb, sure haha! But I think it's cute. And she's grown up A LOT this year. Seriously a lot.

I have been! Just hoping I find something. I know my friends are just trying to help, but I'm getting so overwhelmed with the suggestions. One friend has been nonstop persistent about a saddle that is mostly known for Pasos. I've tried telling people I'm sticking with saddles my fitter knows. I'm purposely working on one place at a time because I get overwhelmed with choices in general. I do look at them, and try to see for myself if they would work. I looked at the treeless since I'm intrigued, but worried it wouldn't give her wither clearance :sad: just *sigh* they mean well. I just get overwhelmed.

The pad helps in general! I know Izzie is a lot happier with it on! It's helped with a lot of things! And I definitely will always be lunging before I ride bareback. Warms her up and is safer for me.

Haha, maybe! I'm hoping he wants to get into horse  but time will tell!

-------------------------------------------------

Update!

Yesterdays ride was AMAZING! I could already feel a difference it has made for me. And it's REALLY reminding me to look up. I become horribly unbalanced at the trot when I look down. It is absolutely amazing.

During the ride we did lateral work at the trot, which I wasn't brave enough to do Thursday. It was SO good! I had her forward and bending. SO nice. I think trot is easy since I've worked so hard on sitting trot in general, but I barely lost my balance (unless I looked down haha!)

Canter.. well, that needs work on my end. She listens and promptly goes into it. It's just so BIG and BOUNCY. It's tough to sit in a saddle, and tougher to sit on the bareback pad. But I'm getting there. She's been happy with me riding bareback, so that's good!

I asked Nick how we've been looking, and if we're looking about as good as we had been with the saddle. He said definitely. Still work over her back (which I could feel haha), still an uphill tendency, and using her hind end. She's a real joy to ride! I do look forward to getting a saddle since I wanted to show in January, but I'm alright being bareback for now!

Today we bring her to my friend's place for a week to have a small issue checked out. Nothing major, but she needs to be in a stall for it to show itself. Hoping for good news and having it fixed!! *fingers crossed!*


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## DanteDressageNerd

You should be! 

Good luck getting your saddle sold, I hope it goes quickly! And the incentive money going towards horse property sounds reasonable to me. It would in fact be for Izzie, so she can live with her family. 

I think Izzie would approve of being dubbed a "Queen" vs a Princess. I think she'd approve of the title upgrade. And yeah she's almost 7, she'll then no longer be considered youngster.

You'll fine something when it comes around, who knows what it'll be but it's hard to find a saddle when you don't have a traditional dressage horse but I think the bareback pad helps a lot with these sensitive backed horses, especially in canter when we're asking these horses to actually come over their back and with our hips moving as they do, I think it prevent are seat bones from uncomfortably grinding into their back. It's a big help. I know Dante reared and bucked until I hit the ground both times I tried to canter without a pad, so it scares me. I understand.

I bet he will, it's in his blood and in his upbringing! Boys in horses are rare, you should tell him he'd have all the girls attention :lol: we have a male rider at the barn that's quite good, rides quirky and sensitive well and I'll say the boys sometimes frustrate me because they're naturally so much quieter in the saddle and often seem to have such a natural ability which I'm honestly jealous of :lol: but don't seem to stick to it.

I'm really glad you guys had such a fabulous ride! I think there are a lot of good things about bareback but it's definitely good when you can get back into a saddle, I think when you ride bareback all the time for long periods of time you end up developing bad habits but hopefully you will get a saddle soon! I definitely understand with the canter and trot, Dante was hard to stay with too because his trot was so bouncy, like Izzie the more engaged he was the bouncier he became, his canter used to be pretty rough when I first started riding him bareback but you'll get used to riding it. It just takes time and eventually you'll feel as safe bareback as in a saddle! 

I hope whatever is going on with Izzie shows up.


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## KigerQueen

for the saddle fitting issue had your fitter look at these saddles. and as ai said they can be tweeked and adjusted to fit her as she grows and matures so you are not constantly buying new saddles. i use mine on my paint who is build like a raceing tb, my fat arab and my 31 year old shark withed tb.

https://www.smartpakequine.com/tren...ampaign=thorowgood&utm_term=thorowgood saddle

also you can measure her gullet size with a cloths hanger (or bent wire) to order the right one if you want. can get new bars from smart pak.


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## Tazzie

@KigerQueen, we already have tracings :wink: she used a flexi ruler to take the measurements. I can ask the fitter, but I'm really trying to stick to one company at a time right now. Right now I'm working with Pelham to try and find a used saddle I could trade my current one in for. I'm passing everything through my fitter since I've paid her for this and she's been hands on with Izzie. It says nothing about having a hoop tree though, which is crucial for Izzie. What I'm finding either has good wither clearance, but not a hoop tree (so won't fit as well on her curvy, round back) or no wither clearance on a hoop tree.

@DanteDressageNerd, I hope it does! Blair is going to have it out during the open house on Sunday to try and gets some bites on it. But I'm hoping Pelham has a saddle that would fit, and would accept my saddle as a trade in. *fingers crossed* and yeah. Nick keeps talking about wanting this and wanting that (mainly new vehicles). I was like "you need to stop and we need to focus on the end goal. I'm not living in this house the rest of our lives. I will be miserable and you know the one thing I want most right now is to bring Izzie home, even if that means sacrificing an entire show season." He quit talking about new vehicles really quick and moved onto what he wants in a house :lol:

I think so too  she's my little diva haha!

I'm confident I'll find something. Just have to keep looking. And be patient. I like doing stuff here and there to look, but I'm not certain what I'm looking for exactly. I'm glad my fitter at least knows the majority of the saddles we will be looking at, and whether or not they would work for Izzie. And yeah. Izzie doesn't enjoy just me riding her bareback, but she seems happy in the pad. I'll get used to riding her canter bareback :lol:

We shall see! He was MAD he didn't get to come with last night  I felt bad, but it was going to be 4 hours of driving to get there, unload, eat dinner, ride Izzie for the people, and head home. Or so I thought. More on that shortly. They both love horses right now, and I do hope they stick with it. But I'm not pushing or making them like them.

I am too  it's good to be bareback since I'm being reminded how much I love it. Just have to release my tension more!

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Alright, update time!

Yesterday we hauled Izzie down to Blair's to be worked on. I've kept it super quiet what we've dealt with all year, but now that we are fixing it, I'll talk. Izzie has had a muscle in her left hindquarter that has been bugging her. It tightens up really bad and she can't punch through with that leg at the trot or canter. She short steps on it because of this issue. It normally only comes out when being stalled for an extended period of time, which is why we brought her to Blair's farm. It started during our trip to Michigan, and we've dealt with it all year. It's not a muscle disease as it's only affecting this one area. Thoughts are she was kicked or did something to it in a trailer ride, but no one knows for certain.

Anyway, apparently just hauling down last night, being stalled for roughly an hour, and it being cold was enough to have it pop up with the girl there. This girl is a good friend of Blair's, and she was intrigued on what was going on with Izzie. Izzie HATED her. The girl poked and prodded the area to find where it was sensitive and to see the extend of it. Mild ouchiness on the right, but in the area it is in, we kind of figured it was her compensating for the left leg.

SO. We began treatment last night. Treatment consists of the girl using a massager to massage deep into the muscles (which Izzie HATED every bit of it). She will use a hot/cold one starting tomorrow, but didn't last night since Izzie was warmed up from our ride. Then she started the laser on her. Izzie was highly confused, and had her ears swiveling every which way. Then a big sigh, and lots of licking and chewing as she took in the relief.

Afterward, we walked and trotted her around the arena. There was an immediate difference in her way of going, that almost made me and Blair cry. The game plan is she will be done Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. We are picking her up at the open house on Sunday, where I *might* be riding her in it. Blair wants us to do our lengthened trot on Sunday if Izzie is back to feeling good.

It honestly was incredible. When the girl started to touch it after we walked and trotted her, Izzie got all angry. But then realized... it didn't hurt. So, Izzie will probably have this done a few more times after she comes home (have to figure all that out) and then probably drop to a "maintenance" thing with it. I was a bit skeptical with it, but you all. There was an immediate difference. We watched the muscles loosen up and relax and her physically relax. Poor pony is always such a trooper we didn't even realize the extent of pain she was in!

I'll be getting her company name, and you all will hear me screaming it from the rooftops by the end of this week. I can about guarantee it.


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## PoptartShop

Yay for a great ride! 
Crossing fingers everything gets figured out! 

You will get there with the canter. After all, not your fault it's a bit bumpy! LOL


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## Tazzie

Haha, I know it's not my fault! We will get there 

And I posted an update above your post :wink:

And for anyone curious, these are Izzie's tracings. Obviously shrunk down a bit. The paper is a HUGE piece of paper :lol:


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## PoptartShop

Ahhh just saw the update!  Awwww good I hope she continues to feel better! That's amazing!


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## Tazzie

Me too! Will be interesting to see how she is on Sunday. Blair is excited Izzie may finally be feeling better, and moving like the horse we KNOW she is. Blair had tons of fun riding her though :lol:

And you can see the tracings above too. She's one round pony :lol:


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## Skyseternalangel

How do you translate the tracings? Like what are those little notations alluding/refering to?


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## DanteDressageNerd

That sounds like it was an important discussion. I'm glad he listened, I love how respectful you two are of each other. You approach things head on and actually listen to each other which is really cool.

:lol: fair enough, in my head when I think of Izzie I usually think of her as the Duchess. I'm sure she doesn't mind labels that make her proud :lol:

I'm glad the pad is working and filling in the space of time between saddles allowing you to ride and progress together! It takes time to get that total relaxation, it make you a lot more supple in your lower back and ability to meltdown into your body if that makes sense?

Poor little man, I don't blame him for being upset but I couldnt imagine how difficult it would be trying to do that and also watch him. Just wasnt the day for him to come with but hopefully they both keep their interest in horses!

That therapy session sounds AMAZING!! I really hope it continues to help her and doesn't build any farther and eliminates the issue! It's so amazing what we can do for horses now adays. That sounds like a really cool therapy session! I hope she feels well enough for a demonstration, that will be really cool and fun!

Mares are tough, I will say that they seem able to handle and tough out more than most boys! More sensitive/reactive in some ways and tougher in others!


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## Tazzie

Skyseternalangel said:


> How do you translate the tracings? Like what are those little notations alluding/refering to?


Well, the TP one (tree point) is taken 2-3 fingers past the saddle, and is where the tree itself will be sitting.

BOW is base of withers.

The T-18 I believe is where the last rib is located.

And then the line that is not in an arc, and has all three listed, is the topline with each point marked.

Apparently all things necessary for saddle fitting :lol:

Cassie, I am too. Sure, the truck will need to be replaced. And the Acadia is acting up a bit. But I'd like to focus on a home. Putting money aside and getting our farm. It needs to happen because I do not want to live where I am forever.

Haha, that would be a good title too :lol: we just went straight to queen because, well, she rules :lol: it's silly, I know!

I'm thankful for it. Very thankful. And definitely. It'll come. She's currently in the saddle as a necessity right now since she's with Blair. Too many new things going on at the barn, and Blair can't afford to be injured. So she's in it for the week, then will be done with it again.

It would have been tough. But he will be going to the open house I believe! I know he will love that! And I really hope they do :lol: I'd love it!

It was pretty incredible to watch. I'm usually a skeptic until I see results. I haven't seen anything work that fast. It was impressive. Izzie HATED the massager. Like, if she was a kicker, she would have ripped the stall behind her down. But she held it together and just let us know by moving over and flattening her ears. The laser she loved every minute of :lol: she gets her second one today, so hoping there is still improvement! I'd like this to go to maintenance on an "as needed" basis, but that may be a bit down the road. No one has any idea how she even did this :/

I'm thinking she will feel well enough! I may tell Blair that I'm going to have to ride her and see how she feels anyway :lol: and Izzie loves having an audience :lol:

No kidding. She's a TOUGH mare. It's shocking really. But such a good girl!!

--------------------------------------------------------

So, not a huge update since Izzie is down with Blair currently! I told Blair she didn't have to ride Izzie if she couldn't. Her response was "but I want to...." I told her to go for it :lol: just said I don't normally ride more than 3 days in a row. That's just because I can't make Nick go out there that often, so it isn't possible. I think she's going to follow that similar plan though to not entirely disrupt Izzie's normal. So yesterday was on total stall rest, as much as we all hated that. They had to see how tight she would get if she wasn't able to get out and move. It sucks, but it was something they needed to figure out. So today they are going to work on the muscle area again and I believe Blair is going to ride her too. I figure I'll get an update later :lol:

In other news..... we are champions again!!!

Izzie and I won Champion in the Sport Horse and Hunter Pleasure divisions as well as Reserve Champion in the Specialty Division! Second year showing, second time winning these three things!! SO excited!! Going to book a hotel room in Louisville for the banquet  SO excited! There were a lot more horses competing this year too, so it's awesome! So proud of how far we've come!


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## PoptartShop

Yayyy go you and izzie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen::faceshot:
I hope the ride goes well with Blair!!!


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## carshon

Congrats on the Championships! That is wonderful!

Hope her second session shows promising results.


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## Tihannah

Congratulations!!


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## Tazzie

Thank you guys! I'm over the moon right now! This was her second full show season, and her second time sweeping those three divisions! She's just amazing! I so very much look forward to where our next season takes us! We're shooting to do a Second Level test by the end of the season! Terrifying but exciting all the same


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## DanteDressageNerd

Well good luck! I know you'll eventually make it with perseverance, discipline and determination!

Not silly, just preference!

Thankfulness is always good! That's so awesome you've found someone to help miss Izzie out and to hopefully get this muscle issue under control. I hope it works! I wish I could say how something like that build up but I think we all do things and tweak muscles and sometimes maybe slide or do something that aggravated the muscle enough that the scar tissue builds and it's not the same or it changes the muscle memory or it's just a tense muscle *shrugs* Things just happen sometimes I guess but hopefully maintenance will help Izzie! It sounds painful but good muscle work is. I know I also had a really bad knot in my shoulder once that made it hard for me to breathe, it was insanely painful and the muscle work was intense, I was in tears and Im pretty tough :lol: so I can imagine how Izzie must have felt. It just hurts when it gets that locked up and tight!

She is a really tough girl but congratulations on your achievements this years!! That's really fantastic!!


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## Tazzie

Yup! One day our dream will become our reality  just going to take time and dedication!

Yeah, she was in great spirits even after her day of he!l. She had to be stalled all day Monday and until the girl came out Tuesday. They wanted to evaluate how tight she got. I guess Izzie handled it well though. And they said she was in great spirits for it all! Which is impressive since I could see her thinking of ripping stalls down on Sunday from it. At least the massaging tool. Blair just fed her right when the girl got there, and Izzie ate while she was worked on. She looked great afterward! So I have hope 

Blair did send me a picture of Izzie getting worked on. She was happy 

Today I've just been exhausted. I've worked on an unbelievable amount of work this week. Right now I'm isolating 96 samples by hand. I did 48 today in 2 sets of 24. I have the last 48 tomorrow. I'm just worn out. First set took me 3 hours, second one took 2.5 hours. I'm just ready for a break. So ready.

In other news, enjoy the pictures of Izzie being worked on and the picture Blair sent me today. Blair knew I was having a crummy day too, and didn't mind when I asked if she'd send me a picture. I miss my baby girl...


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## PoptartShop

Awww that's nice you got pictures of her being worked on, even though you couldn't be there. So sweet!


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## Tazzie

Blair is amazing like that. She knows I stress about that horse, but knows I trust her. It makes me feel good that she takes time to send me pictures though! I'm DYING to see her! Just a few more days 

And we get to do a demo for the open house  when I was working her on Sunday and we hit the lengthened trot, Blair was like "oh Katie, you need to demo that." I can only imagine how it's going to feel now that she has her hindquarters feeling better! I'm anxious to play around with our shoulder ins and such to see how she's feeling.

Can it be Sunday now??


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## DanteDressageNerd

Absolutely! No dream or success was paved without work and setback.

I bet she feels a lot better after that day from hel! even though you're sore after intense work, it still beats the intense pain you were in before, so I bet she feels amazing after all the work she's receiving this week, I really hope it stays! She looks pretty content in the stall, taking a nap and changing colors 

I can imagine the exhaustion after such a what sounds like tedious and detailed day, sounds frustrating :/

I'm glad Blair is sending you pictures to perk you up though and you have something to look forward to in doing a demo on Izzie! That sounds like loads of fun!! Who doesn't like showing off sometimes :lol:


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## knightrider

Congratulations on your championships!!!! I was thinking about you this morning as I was riding my horse. I was thinking it was about time you found out about how you did for the end of the year awards. I was also thinking about how impressed I am with you doing your training yourself, without regular riding lessons. That is so fabulous. It takes real dedication too, as well as a lot of skill. It's hard enough to win like that with a regular coach, but you did it all (mostly) yourself!


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## Tazzie

Cassie, exactly! Lots of hard work and dedication. We will get there. It won't be fancy, but it'll be ours. I won't have a covered arena for a while, but we will make do like we have been. Just having her HOME will be enough for me! Nick keeps flip flopping back and forth on finding a cut ranch house to update with old tobacco barns on it (that would be transformed into my horse barn) or just buying land and starting from scratch. We shall see what the future brings!

I think she feels a lot better now. Blair said she LOVES the girl. LOVES her. Meredith (the girl working on her) was working a bit on her shoulders, just massaging them, and then went back to the problem area. Izzie was like "hey!! wait!!" Nick cracked up and said "she is literally an oversized lab. that is all she is." It's so true :lol: and haha yeah. It's the off season, so she's allowed to be as stained as she could possibly get :lol: she's content, so I'm fine with it! I love that she's just content in the stall and doesn't get all worked up about it. Blair said she's still pretty happy, so I'm glad. SO ready to see her tomorrow! Man I miss her!

This week has been brutal to say the least :/

I'm super pumped! Going to have Nick record it. I think Blair got so busy with everything that she never rode Izzie. So... Izzie hasn't been ridden in a week :lol: I'm glad she's sane!! My friends on facebook who questioned me buying her are DYING to see video. Praying she hits the fancy lengthened trot again :lol:
@knightrider, thank you!! And thank you! Your words are so kind to read this morning  it's tough, and I get filled with a lot of self doubt sometimes. But then when I do get a lesson, and find I'm still on a great track, it helps. I hate that I've only been able to go for 3 lessons this year. BUT lessons are all I asked for for Christmas, so hoping I can get more! Nick is willing to drive me out for some, which is nice 

-------------------------------------------------

Really not much of an update. Izzie is LOVING her treatments. I'm dying to see her tomorrow and hop on her. So excited!

I got my adjustment yesterday. Muscles are just sore today, which is a vast improvement over the pain I've been in all week. But x-rays showed what I hadn't been expecting. I have a 14 degree curve to the right in my lower back. No idea how long it's been like that since I'd passed all my scoliosis testings in school :/ and my neck is perfectly straight, if even curved slightly in the wrong direction. Which explains all my massive tension headaches I've been getting. All my disks look fine though, which is good news. So I have exercises to help stretch my neck out to try and encourage my neck to gain some curvature.

Not quite what I was expecting, but I feel lots better. I go again on Monday since she wanted to see me again to evaluate how I heal. Then I'll probably book a bunch in the future.

OH! I'm also entirely tilted to the right. Hips, shoulders, and head. Explains why my right stirrup always felt WAY shorter than my left.

Today we have Thanksgiving with Nick's mom's side of the family. Tomorrow is the open house  SO ready for it!


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## DanteDressageNerd

Absolutely and that's a special thing!

lol I'm really glad she's feeling better and enjoying all the work that's being done on her. She's a smart girl, I'm sure she worked out that it makes her feel better and she's not hurting as badly. 

Well I hope the weekend offers you some rest, so you can rest up for the next one!

Awesome! I can't wait to see the demo! Should be exciting!

I'm really glad Izzie is enjoying all her attention and muscle work. 

But I'm sorry you're dealing with scoliosis issues. That is really unfortunate and painful. I hope the exercises help your neck and help you feel better but glad you got an adjustment, it helps a lot!!

Have fun with Thanksgiving!! I hope you guys have a great time!


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## Tazzie

Oh yeah, she figured it out fast :lol: Meredith is her favorite person ever now haha!

The weekend gave me some rest, which was good lol

She said it wasn't scoliosis. Since my curve isn't large, it's labeled more as a curvature rather than actually being scoliosis. Either way it sucks and explains why my lower back always had pain. Made me feel less crazy haha!

We did!!!

------------------------------------------

Update time! Saturday was Thanksgiving with Nick's family, which was fun. Just ended up getting REALLY tired at the end of it lol

Sunday my in laws kindly took our kids so they didn't have to hang out in the cold barn. It was nice! Oh how I missed Izzie! And Izzie is WAY happier! Fingers crossed she's still happy today :lol: I had another adjustment yesterday and didn't make it down there 

Today I'm lacking motivation, but I'm going there. Bit nervous to ride since she's find even more power, but going to take deep breaths to make sure I can relax my lower back and engage my core.

The great saddle hunt is still in full swing. I thought I had some options, but they failed. The farrier isn't impressed with the quality of two of them (Duett) so that sucked. And the other could maybe work with some altering, but at the price it's listed for, and the price it'd cost to alter it... I could get a custom saddle in the brand I have now. Plus, she worried with how the gullet is it'd block Izzie's shoulders from swinging like they do. I told her I'm hesitant to go custom, but right now I feel like we are on the fast path there. I have tracings in to two other places, but after them... there are no more used tack places she recommends *sigh*

Anyway, enjoy the video of mine and Izzie's demo. I wasn't asking for much. She is where she wants to be, and it was intense to ride it. Everyone has commented on how far she's reaching under now, which is amazing. It feels totally different. You may want to turn your sound off :lol:






Hopefully tonight will be a good ride :lol: it'll be my last until... maybe Monday.


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## carshon

Lovely video- may I ask a silly question? Is the fly bonnet because there are still flies or is it just part of your normal riding gear? No critique just curious (and I love the royal blue!) I started riding my new TWH with a fly bonnet in Sept and it seemed to help deaden some unexpected trail sounds and help calm her a little.


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## Tazzie

Thank you! And not a silly question since we get asked it A LOT. Izzie is a chronic head shaker if her forelock brushes her ears. It's not an issue at shows since she's braided, but at home she tosses her head around like she's trying to get flies off. It's just her hair. Since I rarely braid unless it's for a show, I just pop the bonnet on  much simpler! But thank you! I love the royal blue


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## PoptartShop

Awww that's awesome you had a nice little Thanksgiving with his side of the fam! Yummy. Turkey definitely makes you tired. I can't wait for Thursday already LOL gonna be zonked with food & wine haha. Sorry to hear about the saddle situation. I hope something comes up fast for you. Ugh. Such a hassle I'm sure. & good you don't have scoliosis! Whew. Back issues suck, trust me I have a few myself!

I love the video! Look great! I love her cute bonnet. 
Enjoy your ride tonight!!!


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## Tazzie

I LOVE Turkey dinners :lol: Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays 

Yeah, I'm glad it's not that. I *think* she's trying to help realign the curve. I'm not entirely sure. But today my lower back is screaming at me. Not in the spine like it's mad, but I can feel the muscles protesting. Thanks to this, I have opted not to ride tonight :sad: I can't get my lower back to stop tensing up in anticipation of pain. And if I can't relax my lower back and engage my core, there is no way I'd be an effective rider AND I'd run the risk of causing myself some damage. Instead, I just folded 3 baskets of laundry. Taking a break before I start packing it up for our trip. We leave for Chicago tomorrow lol

Thank you! I love the video. I keep watching it :lol:

No ride tonight now :sad: looking at Monday now :/ such is life.


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## DanteDressageNerd

Thanksgiving sounds lovely! Family, food and memories! 

She looked really flashy Sunday, looks like she really wanted to show off and do a good demo! Izzie looks like she was saying look at me! Aren't I flashy! It looks fun! Like she found her new gear!

I understand on the saddle hunt, that's why I went for custom because it seemed like a dead end with NO options or anything that would work but you know that whole story and how royally screwed over I was with a saddle that didn't even fit my horse, saddle fitter absolutely denied how terrible the fit was and refused to give me my money back, even though I refused the saddle and it didn't fit at all. She also put a short flap on a saddle for my 40in long legs!

Just saying unfortunately even with custom the fit isn't guaranteed :-( it really sucks.

Sorry you opted not to ride. I entirely understand with lower back pain, I almost threw up from pain the other night and I'm not a stranger to pain after riding due to degenerative disks. I'll say stability exercises, planks and side blanks, bridges help a lot and stretching to try to keep it from getting too bad. I do a lot of pulls ups and work on core stability and stretching my lower back, so it hangs down and the muscles don't tense. But I entirely hear you on how debilitating it can be.

Have a safe trip and enjoy!!


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## Tazzie

Definitely 

Oh she was LOL! I haven't felt her like that before! It was totally amazing :lol: she was all about showing off haha!

Ugh, I know. I'm in contact with another place, but man is he being a gigantic pain in the rear! He gave me two options. One was a Pegasus Butterfly, but I'm wary about that... The other is a Harry Dabbs, but he's saying it was made for a trade show? I don't even know. I have the tree size (XW) and seat size (17.5"), but it apparently doesn't have a model name? I've asked for the serial number so my fitter can check into it. I told her I'm incredibly gun shy about a custom saddle because of your experience. I just feel like I'm quickly running out of options. One friend tried to do a positive and was like "well, 6 months to a year would boost anyone's skills...." I said it would also effectively destroy our show season next year, meaning no incentive fund money to put toward our farm. Rock and a hard place. I'm fine if I have to miss the shows before the March one. They were a distant hope anyway. But the March one is the start of the incentive fund shows. Just ARG. Trying to just take a deep breath and hope it works out.

Yeah, I'm glad I opted not too. I had to fold laundry and pack, and I couldn't be on my feet long. It's still bothering me today too. Very frustrated. I had our friend/barn owner check on her to make sure her hindquarters were still super loose, and he said they were! So that's a huge plus. I've been fretting that she would regress quickly after the treatments. We know she will need more, but just aren't sure how soon.

And thanks! I'm ready for a break :lol:

Not much of an update, but my @$#% machine malfunctioned last night, destroying ALL of my data. It was supposed to run for about 24 hours. There goes my entire day yesterday WASTED. It gave us 4 errors. We nixed 2 of the 4 since I had the appropriate fluids and the bottles were securely closed. Can't redo it since no one will be here tomorrow. And just ARG. Welcome to Katie's week this week.


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## PoptartShop

I definitely don't blame you for opting out. Back pain really sucks. I can't even work on my jumping much now because of my lower back pain. Ugh.

You REALLY deserve a break after all that nonsense!  Stupid machine! That sucks. I'm so sorry! I hope your week gets better, make sure you pig out extra hardcore tomorrow, you deserve it!


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## Tazzie

I feel bad opting out, but ugh. I am thankful Cliff (friend) checked out her hind end to see if it was still loose. I swear one day he's just going to crack up at my requests (ok, maybe not request, but my asking...) :lol: he's such a good sport! I'm hoping this time off will allow it to loosen and relax so I can ride on Monday. I'd be lunging anyway, so she won't be super fresh. Just ARG lol

I do need a break. I love my job, but man it's been a rough week!

Apparently I forgot to post all about my comedy of errors that was our haul back home on Sunday...

So we go to leave. Get on the highway, and I realize Nick had forgotten to grab my boots and jeans like I'd asked (I was driving the road pony!!!) So alright, turn around and get them. Get back on the road. Almost to the same exit we turned around when I went "did you grab her grain??" Nope. And since we had JUST bought a new bag of MagRestore and had it shipped to Blair, we needed it. Alright, turn back around and go get it. Now back on the highway. We pass the exit we kept turning at, whew. Then I look behind me. And go "Ummmm, Nick? I think we're blowing a tire... Either that or we went through mud I didn't realize..." I slowed down and sure enough, we could feel it vibrate. It was the drivers side, back tire of the horse trailer. Expletives are uttered. We pull off and get it changed. Thank god I stopped. We didn't do any damage to the rim (that we could tell) and it didn't disintegrate. About to leave when a truck backs up to us. At this point I'm going NOW WHAT?! Turns out it was my friend/best friend's husband stopping to make sure we were ok. Whew. Yes, thank god we were. Get back on the road. And got cut off SIX times heading home. So done with people thinking they can beat a truck and trailer going 60+.

So yeah. This week started off rough, and continued that way :lol:


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## DanteDressageNerd

Awesome! 

I really hope you can find something suitable for you both. Saddle fit is incredibly frustrating for someone with an unusually shaped horse. I hope something comes around that you'll both love! I really hope you don't have to go the custom route and will have money to put towards the farm. 

I'm really sorry the machine malfunctioned, that legitimately sucks! I'd say it's time for a break and to kick back for the holidays with your family and friends! 

But I'm glad Cliff is such a sport for odd requests :lol: I think we all makes what seems like requests sometimes. 

Yikes! Glad you were able to save it and not end up with it in any worse shape! Also glad you made it home safely! Have a good family trip though!


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## Tazzie

I'm hoping it does. I still haven't heard back from my fitter to confirm it's worthwhile to buy it. And I'm not just jumping into it. Just frustrating waiting. May shoot her a quick message to check in with her.

It was a pleasant break! Definitely needed :lol:

Yeah, he's pretty awesome like that! I definitely appreciate him!

And yeah, it was interesting to say the least!

No updates really. Had a good time at home with the family  didn't get to ride last night as planned since it rained ALL day. Was MISERABLE. Tonight I have the chiro, naturally since it's going to be 62 degrees and sunny *grumble*. Then rain again tomorrow morning *sigh* maybe I'll get to ride tomorrow afternoon. We shall see. Nick is putting up our Christmas lights today though


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## PoptartShop

It's raining here all day too, I won't be riding either. 
I hope the chiro helps you! The Christmas lights are going to look so nice!  Ahhh!


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## Tazzie

Yeah, I'm tired of the rain. I feel like I'm making a million excuses not to ride, but ARG. I slip in the clay base. Izzie hasn't worked for a week. She's going to be riled up. We're working on FIXING her issues. I don't want her slipping while I work her and causing her to injure herself. And then the whole bareback thing :/ Izzie isn't a fan of riding in the rain. Something I plan to address when I can get her feeling comfortable in her tack. That way, I know it'll be solely a rain issue and not a combination. Just leaves me frustrated.

I'm hoping so too. I'm hoping my lower back won't be as sore as it was last time as she's getting stuff manipulated back into place. I do know my back is feeling better than it has in a long time! Just hoping it doesn't leave me sore so I can maybe ride tomorrow :lol:

I'm SUPER pumped about the lights! We won't get a tree until after December 7th (youngest brother's birthday; we try and separate each event out), but I'm still putting up the rest of them! I LOVE Christmas!!

On the gift front, since I love gift shopping :lol: I'm done with my in laws (minus one small gift we have to pick up soon for the gift exchange), done with my grandparents and aunts, done with my brothers (Nick and I are making homemade cornhole boards!! Nick is putting them together tonight ), and mostly done with my kids (thank you black Friday shopping hahaha!) Still need stuff for my mom and dad, and Nick is going to pick his up (I ordered my own, and he's getting his; we just can't have them until Christmas :lol But I'm in a good spot!!

On the saddles, no word. Which is frustrating. I've been recommended to look into WOW saddles, but I'm SO hesitant. It's another custom place, they are fairly pricey, and it's hit and miss with people loving them or hating them. And you have to go through a WOW saddle fitter, so my tracings wouldn't work. They are fully adjustable, but I stress. Like, really stress. I've always pictured my "end of the line" saddle being one from The Arabian Saddle Company. I fear if I went the way of the WOW saddles, it'd be it. I know, bad way to look at it, but I don't know those saddles. I've never seen one hands on. And just grrrr.


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## DanteDressageNerd

I continue to wish you luck on your saddle search! It's really tricky with these off-breed dressage horses to find something that will fit them. I'll also say be wary of brands that aren't very common or used because in my experience with saddles if a saddle has a name for itself and is known there is a reason and if you don't see many of them there is a reason for that too. So I agree be wary of WOW saddles and hesitant to go that route. Especially working with an over seas company because a lot of the reps they have in the states aren't certified with the society of master saddlers and are not well educated but sure can sell a sales pitch. They say the WOW are fairly adjustable but in my experience, having tried with Albion platinum they're lying through their teeth of how adjustable they are. Sounds great in theory but meh, maybe I'm just very bitter in my custom experience but most others companies like schlese honor their word but you just don't know who will or who wont :/ Saddle doesn't fit, they'll give you your money back. But I'd try arabian saddle company before WOW. Honestly the seat design on the arabian saddles company looks way better than the ones for WOW. And I've also tried very pricey English made saddle that was awful to ride in, as in I feel more balanced bareback than in the saddle. 

But I'm glad you were able to have a good holiday break and spend time with your family. 

But have fun Christmas shopping and getting into the festivities of the Holiday.


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## Tazzie

Yeah, my fitter got back to me. She's hesitant with the one I've been offered, and really I have been too. The guy doesn't accept refunds, only exchanges. I'm not comfortable with that. She likened him to a slimy used car salesman, which is the exact vibe I got off of him. But he was my second to last chance of finding a used saddle through a company. The last one hasn't gotten back to me. I think my budget I gave them is too low. So we're discussing other options. Nick *may* have given me the go ahead to just get an Arabian Saddle Company saddle. Pricey, and custom, so it makes me nervous. But the Arabian Saddle Company saddles are specifically designed for Arabs, Half Arabs and Anglo Arabs. I've hands on experience with them and know they are superb quality. Just a lot of money to swallow. I've sent the link to my fitter to see what she says. She knows I like Harry Dabbs, and I do, but I like these ones more.... and if I'm going custom, I want to get the saddle I'll love rather than just like. I don't know. My mind is still just swirling with it all.

Yeah, I enjoyed my break for sure! And this week has been insane! Just finished isolating 96 samples by hand.  48 today, 48 yesterday. I do them in sets of 24, and each set takes roughly 3 hours to isolate out the RNA, analyze the quality of it, and determine the concentration. So my mind is going "nope, you're done for the day." Thank god I really am :lol:

I love Christmas shopping :lol: I looked at the kids toys I got them, and I know some people would say "that's plenty!" I'm thinking "hmmmm, what else can I get them???" I LOVE playing santa with my kids :lol: they are such good kids most of the time (they are kids and have moments lol), so it's hard not to just buy them everything :lol: Nick, thankfully, realizes I AM responsible with the spending, I just love this holiday so much!!

And no update at all. I haven't even seen Izzie since the open house. I'm going crazy. Monday it was supposed to rain, but not till evening. It rained all day. Yesterday I triple checked the weather. 7% chance of rain. Well, it rained starting shortly after I got out of work until well past dark. Just frustrated!!

One thing that made me smile though. When I was venting on Facebook about the weather and wanting to ride, and wishing I could board somewhere with an indoor, my former boss/trainer said "bring her up!!" Man I wish I could!! If we ever moved back to Michigan, Izzie would live there. Having only a pasture to ride in makes me look back and think of how lucky I was growing up to have that indoor and all the people there. Nick could do what he wanted, and someone would be at the barn while I rode. Though, knowing Nick, he'd still want to come watch :lol: he is my personal coach after all! Still makes me chuckle when I think back to his advice...

"She's getting strung out. You need to half halt her."

"That was perfect. I'd stretch her and be done."

I don't know where I would be without him.


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## DanteDressageNerd

I understand the dilemma. That's exactly how I felt when considering a custom, like it was my only and last option but I really hope your experience goes WAY better than mine and smart for avoiding the snake oil salesman who says no returns. But definitely get what you love. If you end up spending that kind of money, get what you actually want. Im sorry you may have to go that route but unfortunately with these unique or off breeds, custom is often the only route because nothing else is really designed for them. It's tough!

:lol: I think anyone would be exhausted after all that. Sounds like a LONG day!!

lol they're going to be have so much stuff they're not going to know what to do with it all! But I guess when they've been so good, it comes with certain rewards.

I really hope you get to go out and see Izzie soon and so glad Nick is there to help coach and pay attention and be your eyes on the ground. It's really neat he's gotten as into it as he has. However I will say and in a non bragging way, I thoroughly enjoy my heated barn and arena at the stable I'm at :lol: it never gets below 45 degrees all winter and the footing stays good. I don't take it for granted and I'm sure you won't one day when you have your own place!


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## Tazzie

I'm hoping so too. I've known multiple people who deal directly with this company who love it. I'd have my fitter make sure all of our measurements were good before I sent them off. Just makes me anxious. But I think I have Nick on board with this now. He asked why I'd want this over the Harry Dabbs. I said "it's truly down to like versus love." Apparently he didn't realize my current saddle is a Harry Dabbs because he asked how I knew I only liked it :lol: silly man! But he finds my current saddle uncomfortable. Maybe he, too, would find the Arabian Saddle Company saddles comfy? I feel a tiny bit better though since these saddles are specifically designed for her breed...

It really was! Today is delightfully light after all of that! Just had to normalize some samples, and plate it out for me to run it on my machine next week  had to add buffers and primers to it. But I'm basically done for the day :lol:

Oh yes :lol: they are great kids, and super helpful. It's hard not to spoil them. They like to help clean, put dishes away, etc. So... they earn a good Christmas :lol:

I'm really hoping tonight works! I may cry if it doesn't :lol: I'm picking up new grain for her too. Her current grain, as I recently found out, is manufactured in the same plant as some cattle feeds. And with all the posts I've been seeing lately with horses being poisoned.... it's time to switch. Going to try Renew Gold, which has been highly recommended to me. We shall see how it works. She has to stay on a lower starch diet as anything with too high of an NSC content and she becomes dangerous.

But yes! I'm SO thankful for Nick. He's come a long way since his horse hating days :lol: and not bragging haha! Just enjoying what you have! One day I will have it too!


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## DanteDressageNerd

That's a really good sign to say the people who have dealt with them have had good experiences. Honestly from what I've seen schlese (not that I'm recommending them) but they're good by their word too but I think it depends on the rep too. But that's really neat, I think it'll be a good road to head down, especially if they have a good reputation and are an honorable company and if that's what you love and I don't know if Nick will love it or not. You're conformed pretty differently and I'm also fairly sure, for example the saddles I love, you probably wouldn't. For example a narrow twist is very uncomfortable for me and a wider twist would probably be uncomfortable for you.

Well that's good today is light! I'm sure after catching up on all the rough stuff, you were able to make a light day for yourself! Hard work pays off!

Alright fair enough. If they earn it, they deserve it!

My fingers are crossed for you! Go out there and enjoy your girl and hopefully she'll eat this new grain and it'll work out for you guys! Switch to what is safe!

Aww that's darling!! So glad he's come along and discovered the joy of horses. Maybe getting to help you and tell you what to do makes him enjoy it more :lol: and yes, it'll be grand when you have it!


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## PoptartShop

Oooooh the Arabian Saddle Co sounds fancy-wancy! :mrgreen:Fingers crossed it works out, it's been a very long journey for you trying to get a good saddle! Plus since you know people who've used them before, it makes things even easier haha. If they're designed for her breed the chances of it working out are really really high. 

I hope you enjoy your day today, busy busy gal! Tonight better work, lol go for it  & you & Nick are so adorable, future relationship goals!!!!:grin::grin:


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## Tazzie

Cassie, yeah, I'm hoping I'd have good luck with it. Bit concerned that the fitter never got back to me when I asked about them though. I'm prepared to get a wider twist honestly. With how wide Izzie is, it's going to be extremely difficult finding something that fits her that is a narrow twist. I'll learn to ride in it long as it fits Izzie. So maybe he will like it. Don't really know!

It was super nice to have a light day. And then had pizza for lunch. It was lovely!

Yup!!

I did  and she'll be switching soon to the new grain! So yeah, I'm hoping she likes it! It's a better quality grain too, which is good. Anxious to see how she does on it!

Possibly :lol: I couldn't do it without him, that's for sure! He's my hero 

Allison, I love them. They don't look like much, but that brand LASTS. The Arabian Saddle Company is owned by Lovatt and Ricketts saddle. Which they are built to last. I've just always really liked them! And that would be the hope!

It was enjoyable! I love my girl  and haha! He's always been a good sport about me and riding, but I have to budge on things too. Like this time of season, we pick days I ride, and we pick days he gets to hunt. If it rains on my day (like Wednesday) I'm out of luck since he doesn't drive around with his bow (or gun).

----------------------------------------------------------

Now, AN UPDATE!!

Izzie was HOT! Hotter than I've seen her in a while! Guess that is what happens when you leave a super fit horse for 2 weeks :lol: it was amusing. She was like "LET ME RUN!" Nick recorded a bit of it. She did eventually settle down a bit.

I hopped on and she was like "LET'S GO!!" It's been a while since she was like "walking is dumb, let's trot!" Naturally she wasn't allowed to demand that, and in turn was handed tons of walking laterals to work with. Then I let her trot. Her laterals were SPOT ON. Shoulder in, haunches in, and then did a 10 meter half circle, and just thought *half pass* and she was like "LET ME SHOW YOU MY HALF PASS MOM!!!" She was spot on and it was LIGHT. It was crazy. Naturally Nick didn't record this *sigh*

I did convince him to record the last bit of our ride though! Worked a bit with collecting up the trot while still maintaining the rhythm. Even got a bit crazy and asked for a lengthening. Bareback. Crazy!

We didn't canter today, much to her disgust. She was hot and spooky, and the ground was slick. I just didn't trust myself with it.

So, now I have videos :lol:

This was my fire breathing dragon:





This was our ride:





And this one that is too cute! Kaleb and Syd giving Izzie kisses  I was still on her and Nick was recording


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## DanteDressageNerd

Again I hope you can find a good saddle fit for you. I really hope you find the one! I wish you could try the trilogy verago but oh well, I hope you hear back from your fitter and can look into the arabian saddle company if you go the custom route. Especially if they have a good reputation and develop good saddles! *crosses fingers*

She looks like she was full of herself! Not that I blame her after having so much time off and the bad weather but she was a rocket.

She's really coming along. Looks like you're gaining confidence bareback as well, especially riding through the spook. Her laterals look like they've improved a lot and she seems very confident in them. 2nd level soon, just a bit more collection and simple changes but SOON. 

Aww Izzie's really great with the kids. What a sweet girl, she has a really soft eye when she's with them. That's truly a special mare, I'm so happy you have her


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## Tazzie

I'm really hoping they will be the best bet. I've sent my tracings to two other places, just in case. But I've gotten used to "sorry, don't have something that will work" or they have something they think will but it'd have wither clearance or work for her round back. Not both. It's frustrating really.

She really was, and this was after she calmed down a bit :lol: she was putting out some impressive bucks that made me say "I'm so glad you're on a line and I'm not on you right now!" :lol: but I didn't blame her either. I just let her go. They don't think to run themselves in a field when they are out 24/7, so this is the safest route for us to get her yahoos out.

I'm getting more confident with walk and trot. Canter I've struggled with. I know it's solely me. Izzie is doing what I ask, but I need to get myself to relax and to relax my lower back and melt into her at the canter. I can feel myself tense and cause issues at all gaits sometimes, but the canter I'm having the hardest time relaxing into it. And the ground hasn't been ideal to canter a whole lot right now. But thanks! I do think this bareback riding is doing well for my overall seat. And she's so physically round I'm finding it HARD to have my legs under me. Like, even at a halt it hurts my hips bringing my legs under me. She's certainly not lacking forward to cause my seat/leg issues :lol: darn wide animal!!

Definitely! We've only just picked working on collection back up, and simple changes are just not ready to really be worked on. I do think this collection work and the laterals will make them a world easier though, as they should! Not rushing into the simple changes. I know they will be there. I just have to get her issues figured out and my issues as well. But I want them to be nice! Not just do them to make me look better!

She is the sweetest, hands down. She melts into a puddle with them, and it's cute to watch. Sydney led her back to the barn for me on Saturday (it was within the field, and I was right there), but it was adorable. Syd had the leadrope properly in her hands, and Izzie just put her head down and plodded along next to her. I feel very fortunate to own her!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alright, so I DID get to ride again on Saturday, and she was a good girl! I lunged her before hand, and I really should have had Nick record that too :lol: it was such a difference. Her canter made me go "dang, I own this horse!" She put on the prettiest canter I've seen yet. Hind end carrying the weight, lifted in the front, just beautiful. Made my jaw drop! I very much love this horse!

We did more lateral work today, and it was good! Clearly not perfect, but I really feel she's better able to work bareback. At least with bending around my legs. Though, to the right is difficult. She oh so badly wants to cheat. She's getting better, but she fakes it a lot. I have to be precise with my aids and get on her when she's cheating. Her cheat is she makes you think she's bending to the right, including have her poll looking like she's bent right. But she tips her nose out to the left. I have to get her off the inside shoulder in order for me to insist she bends, properly, to the inside going right. Left she wants to pop the shoulder out and way overbend. But it's coming along! We haven't really, actively, worked on shoulder in and haunches in for weeks, but it's back in our "we do this every ride" line up again. Particularly until I can relax better at the canter.

I did find it interesting to listen to my body though while I rode. Whenever I started feeling like I was bouncing a lot and teetering to one side, I'd check my back. Every time my lower back had become rigid (from who knows what), and was causing me to no longer be able to melt into Izzie. Soon as I made sure my core was engaged and relaxed my back, I was right back in my good spot.

It's been an interesting journey to say the least!!

I do have video too 






Also, this one popped up in my history, which I found amusing. It was our first ever Sport Horse Under Saddle class, third show ever with me and her. Made me tear up at the memory. Nearly 2 years ago now!


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## DanteDressageNerd

If you're interested, I might send you my friends information and see if she has any options for you. She's very pragmatic and realistic, so she's not going to try to convince you to get something that isn't suitable but I'm hoping she might have some ideas or used options. She's VERY respectful of people's money and very good at what she does. I hope she can help you out before you try the custom route! She also helped Dante's new mom find a saddle, so hopefully she might have ideas. Just really want to help you avoid going custom if at all possible.

That makes sense to me. I usually had my legs a little in front of me bareback because Dante was so unpredictable I felt safer there. But I totally get it with the canter, it took me a while to feel secure in the canter transitions on Dante. He would toss me around so much it just threw me a bit off balance for a while. Maybe I got better and he got more balanced but it's not easy lol. Eventually I felt no difference between bareback or in a saddle but getting back into a saddle took some getting used to.

Definitely develop more collection first. Will REALLY help with the walk to canters or shoulder in walk to canter. 

But it's really great she's doing so well with the kids and is such a sweet girl. I've noticed a lot of arabs and crosses are really good with kids. I wonder why that is but no doubt it's a good thing!

The laterals are definitely coming along, you've done really well with her. Especially being mostly on your own/alone for the training. Plus the laterals, transitions and half halts are really helpful for developing collection. So it's neat to see the changes in her carriage and changes in her body. You've done a really nice job with her!

She's REALLY come a LONG way from 2 years ago. Much more consistent, balanced and much more aware of where her legs are but even there you can definitely see her potential as a dressage horse. She's really a nice mare. Very athletic and fluid.


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## Tazzie

That'd be great! I'm always after new ideas from places I haven't tried yet. I've sent the tracings out to two new places. One got back to me, but I'm getting the distinct feeling they don't fully grasp how round she is. They sent me a link for a saddle with a Medium gullet.... yeah, not going to work. But yeah, still hoping to avoid custom! I've contacted the Arabian Saddle Company (or at least a rep that sounds like she's from the company (like owner) since her last name is Lovatt), and they are willing to ship saddles to see what I think. Perhaps they know of used ones for sale? Could potentially still get what I want, just not in custom.

Yeah, I was trying my darndest to get my legs under me, and it just wasn't happening. I'd need to do the splits :lol: and yeah. Her canter is just huge and up. I really need to relax and realize she's not going to be a brat. She hasn't been a brat in a while. She's actually been superb bareback. No reason to worry. And yet... lol I imagine how it took a bit to get used to. I can see how it'll be strange going back to one. But I'd like to get one so I can actually do some really good work!

Yup! I'm really not having an issue not cantering right now. Yes, I miss it. Yes, it's fun. But I'm alright focusing on other areas for now  safer for both of us right now (rain was HEAVY yesterday! Walk and trot only tomorrow!)

I swear there used to be a story of how the Arabs would race across the deserts, and then come back to allow the kids to sleep snuggled up with them. That they used to bring them into the tents as the protectors of children. Whether that is anything even remotely true or not, still cool. And she is incredible with them!

Thank you! Yes, we've been working on our transitions lately too. Much to Izzie's irritation :lol: it's like book work you don't want to do in school but you have to. She's getting better and better though! I really like where we are right now, in this current spot, with our laterals. I feel they've come A LONG way since we introduced them, and she's more willing and able to do them. I've really been working hard on doing the less is more. Really focusing on weight shifting rather than squeezing with legs or something. I will say for the leg yields they've helped out well to change it slightly. I know she liked it way more! So this has been a good experience thus far with doing bareback riding. It's helping me to fine tune our aids a bit  but thank you! I'm pleased with where we are! I wish we could ride with an instructor more, and maybe in the future we can, but right now we can't. At least I have Nick!

I definitely agree! It was interesting to watch that video and go "wow. She was nowhere near in the contact really, and just was all over the place." Now, she's with me. It's fun to see! And I do agree  the potential to be a Dressage horse was always there  we get comments like "dancing horse!" a lot :lol:

No update at all. It's been wet and nasty so haven't been out. I'm aiming for tomorrow, but it'll be a walk-trot ride only due to footing. I'd like to protect my baby girl!

In other news, we *may* have found my barn owner a horse. He sadly lost his mare over a year ago. He'd had her since she was 2 and started her himself. He's just now deciding he wants another horse. My best friend has been working to find him another one, which has proved interesting.

See, our friend is kind of picky. He's always liked flashy (yeah yeah, you don't buy color; but he'd just as well wait than settle for a color he doesn't like). He wants stocky since he's a bigger guy (not huge and not fat; also stocky lol). And basically doesn't care if it's arena trained since the most he'd do at this point is trail ride when he gets a chance. Not into competing anymore, that I'm aware of.

Well, best friend got a REALLY sweet Quarter Horse in. He was pretty much untouched, and not broke to lead (or wasn't.) Had never been in a trailer. Required minimal ace to get on the trailer (plans to have proper trailer loading lessons now that he's at her barn), and was settled for the entire trip. Almost 5 years old, and STOCKY. But about the plainest bay you'd ever see :lol: he's a cute mover though, and truly about the sweetest horse you'd meet for being untouched.

I got to meet him on Sunday, and texted pictures and video of him to my barn owner (who is really just a friend lol). I was like "I found you a horse." Me, being the nervous nelly I am though, asked how he was with other horses. My friend said he'd been with geldings and was fine, but wasn't sure about mares. So, we tossed him out with a filly she has in as a combo training/commission. Filly is about the height of Izzie is, so it was a good idea of how it'd pan out. That filly wanted to kick the tar out of Simon (isn't that a cute name?!) if he got close, but he wasn't obnoxious, didn't once offer to kick, and didn't try and mount. Instead, he wanted to play. His preferred speed is walk or a slow trot, and was just an overall good boy. Fortunately, my barn owner may actually be interested! I told him he could say no since I knew he was plain looking (his mare was a cremmello, he likes flashy lol), but that he WAY more than made up for in personality.

So, fingers crossed!! He's going to try and meet him one of these weekends. Hopefully before Blair starts him under saddle and his price goes up :lol: I get that vibe that once he's been started, and worked with, he'd be the type you could pull out to ride every once in a while and he'd ride the same way every single time.

If I had room for a second horse, he'd be mine since he's just so darn cute! :lol: not a Dressage horse at all, but he'd be awesome to have around!


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## tinyliny

this isn't a deep comment, but having just quickly watched bits and pieces of your videos, I see that you and Izzie are a super cute pair!


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## DanteDressageNerd

Alright I sent you her information, hopefully she'll get back to you soon! But if you don't absolutely have to get a custom saddle, I'd avoid it at all costs. They're so expensive and there is no guarentee it will work long term :-(

I think youll gain confidence as you do more bareback, it just takes time unfortunately but so glad she's doing so great bareback. I bet she's like yes freedom lol. But I think it'll be nice when you do go back to a saddle and it fits correctly. Though you may not have the same perception of seats for a little bit and be trying to work out whether you like it or not.

Yes! Transitions are great, they really help with developing better reactions to half halt, sitting and setting them up for movement, really makes them listen and half transitions. And glad you have Nick to help, eyes on the ground are very helpful.

I hope your barn owner likes the gelding, even if he's plain if he's good as gold and he likes him that's all he needs right?


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## Tazzie

Thanks Tiny! I do think we make a pretty good pair 

Cassie, thank you! Yeah, I really don't want to go custom right now. Really don't. I have until March to find SOMETHING that fits her. I'd like it to be sooner though so we can actually do some more consistent schooling. Bareback is alright, but I know we can be better in a better fitting saddle!

I know I will! If I could ride a bit more consistently I know I'd gain the confidence quicker, but the reality is I can't. The ground just isn't as good as I'd hoped it would be. Super slick still. She definitely feels super free in her movements though! And a lot of her behavioral issues have vanished (as I'd expected lol). I imagine it'll be a bit interesting, but I'll get used to it. Long as it fits, I'll be happy!

Yup! I wish I could practice trot-canter-trot since that is what needs the most work (from the pinching saddle), but those aren't an option right now due to footing. It needs to dry out so I can get some work in! Not likely to happen though *sigh* just going to work on making her sharper in walk-trot-walk and trot-halt-trot transitions. Ones that are safer in the footing. I'm very thankful for Nick!

And yes! I'm really hoping he likes him! I really think Simon would be a perfect fit into the herd. I know Blair wants him to do ranch horse shows, but I really see him being good out on the farm. So we shall see!

No update, still. Opting not to ride today. I'd had every intention to, and now I'm battling a headache attempting to become a migraine. By the time I get home to get my migraine medicine, and try to go to the farm it'd be too dark  and Nick is leaving for West Virginia tomorrow to go riding on his toy. And my brother in law is moving this weekend, so no one to watch the kids. Assuming the weather holds (HAHAHAHA) I'm shooting for Monday... Chiro for Nick on Tuesday and me on Wednesday, so no riding then I don't believe. *sigh* work has been brutal this week with my head.


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## DanteDressageNerd

No problem. I have my fingers crossed for you and REALLY REALLY hope she can help you find a saddle you both love and will hopefully last for a long time. And if need be, if there isn't a Kentucky rep then maybe she'd be able to go over there? But hopefully sooner than March! *fingers crossed* And I agree bareback is okay but it's kind of limiting in how effective you can be.

It's kinda fortunate and unfortunate this happened during winter but it totally makes sense to me. I'd be nervous/hesitant cantering on slick ground in cold weather outside too. It's not worth slipping or pushing through but I'm glad she's happy!

And there is a lot you can do and establish in walk-trot which will make the trot-canter and walk to canters better. Even just focusing on walk-trot can really strengthen her hind end and made her more responsive when the ground is better in your canter half halts. Ive been doing a lot of trot, almost walk transitions where I feel him articulate his hocks and sit then let him a little bit forward for a few strides and ask again until he's really responsive and in the clinic 2nd day we didn't canter at all but when I cantered him on Tuesday it was the best canter we ever had, so walk-trot you can definitely develop the canter and transition doing that! 

For sure and the horse may be happier out on a farm than doing ranch shows or rodeos? It'd be a good life for him, I'm sure.

Yikes :-( I hope you feel better soon. Migraines are horrible. I'm sorry it'll be a little while before you start back on riding. But glad Nick's having fun, though I hope things calm down a bit at work so you feel better. I'm sure the focus and attention to detail gets tedious and builds pressure. I wish they had a real cure for migraines. They're pretty debilitating.


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## Tazzie

I'm very hopeful. Honestly, I'm the most hopeful I've been in a while. I feel like they really may be able to help me. I know my budget isn't enormous, and we're small time, but I'm still hopeful. We do chuckle a bit though. I feel honored, and slightly amused, that me and my little mare are being helped by your wonderful friend and her mentor. Who fit Olympic horses. It's just an honor, yet amusing lol but I'm PRAYING it's well before March. It's a good time to be without a saddle purely because the weather is so finicky. But I'd love for a saddle so I can practice in it before the show. Really just hoping it works out.

Yeah, no everything is freezing. Pretty sure the high today was 25 degrees. Supposed to be something like that all week. So the ground is frozen. Which makes it all the better I kept off the field a lot during the mud. Won't have frozen hoof marks making it rough when it's frozen. Hoping to get some riding in this week.

That's my hope! I really need to evaluate myself since I'm causing the tension. I think I need to relax and ride out the canter. Bareback it's tough, but I really think it's lingering issues from my accident. So it'd be nice if I could work on it. Soon. I'm not tossing my saddle on her to work through it though since that'll just cause the issues I'm expecting. Arg, need a saddle! But we will be rocking on our slower gait transitions! Haha!

I think so. I know my friend really wants him to be a show horse, but idk. I know Cliff wouldn't care if we brought him to shows, but I really, really would want Simon to be his to do what he pleases with. I told Nick I could really see Simon as being similar to Cliff's mare Goldy. That mare would melt at the sight of Cliff. Just be a puddle of goo when he was around. There was just such love between them. And Simon very much wants a person. He wants someone to call his own. And I know Cliff misses tending to his own horse. He faithfully feeds mine and his brother's 31 year old gelding, but I know he misses a face out there that is his.

Yeah, it's been miserable. I had another massive one today helping my brother in law move. I finally had to leave. The kids were exhausted and I could barely see straight. Kids got some good naps in though (Kaleb just woke up haha!) I was glad I could help though. I hate moving :lol: though I can't wait to do it myself either. Makes me anxious to find a farm, though we aren't ready yet. I do love my job, but yeah. I've been working so hard I've given myself some major headaches this week.

----------------------------------------

Alright, not much of an update today. The craft show I went to this morning was an absolute bust. Had to order what I wanted to find. I needed cornhole bags in Michigan and Purdue fabric. The lady has to order the fabric in, but she can get them done and shipped so they arrive before New Years (which is when we are celebrating with my family.) She's local, which is what I wanted. So I'm at least happy I have an option.

Moving my brother in law was alright. I'd have had more packed than they did, but such is life. They probably got busy. Makes me anxious to move though :lol:

And I'm attaching pictures of Simon. I know his conformation isn't amazing. He's almost 5 and was truly untouched until a few weeks ago. But he's truly about the sweetest horse ever. He just wants a person. I've also attached a video of him. The filly he's out with (the chestnut) was also an untouched horse, just harder to come around. She's half Arab. About Izzie's height, which is why we turned them out together. He'd never been out with a mare before this, and we trusted them enough to leave them out there while we finished stalls. I really, really like him.


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## DanteDressageNerd

I have faith they can work something out for you and every person is important. The big time riders get priority but us small time people are still important and worthy of help. I think theyll work something out you can be happy with!! But youre right at least it's at a time where you can't get a lot of consistent ride time with the finicky weather! 

Icky. It was in the 30s here but 20s, if there is wind and damp air is miserable. Here it's a damp, windy cold. 

It very well could be residual memory responses, it's hard to train some of those responses or fears out. Especially when it becomes instinct. When I was riding Dante bareback, I had to just push through it even when I was uncomfortable but I had 4 walls and good footing. The footing is why I'd be hesitant but you will be rocking transitions and a lot of good basics!

I really like Simon. He seems like a good, kind soul and a solid cadet. In some ways he kinda reminds me of a less crabby Bailey (heart of gold bay foundation QH). He just seems really sweet and gentle and I think this horse would be perfectly happy regardless of if he's in the show ring or not but I bet Cliff could give him a great home where he could be very happy and fullfilled. There are horses who don't care what theyre doing as long as they have a special someone to call their own.

Yikes. I'm really sorry you're having such bad head aches and migraines :-( I really wish there was a cure. I know caffeine helps oddly enough.

I can imagine how anxious it made you, like imagining your dream and being able to taste it but not quite realize it. Soon!!


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## Tazzie

I'm really hoping so! Bareback has been great for my core and seat, but dangit I want a saddle! I know we are still worthy, but I just find it amusing since they have fit horses for big time people! Just cool to me :lol: makes me feel special! And yeah, pouring rain Sunday night, so couldn't ride Monday (made for GREAT sleeping weather though...). Today we say freezing rain/sleet/snow, so no riding today or tomorrow. And Thursday will be 16 degrees!! We're looking at next week at this point to go out and ride. Ugh!

Yeah, we get crazy winds. Just overall miserable. Getting cold on Thursday...

Yeah. I was doing better in the saddle of letting go and going with it, but it's coming back with bareback. I'll work through it. I NEED a lesson soonish, but until I get a properly fitting saddle, that's out. And the footing is why we don't get to ride much, and keep it mild when I can. We will make it through though. Even if we end up just doing walk-trot most of the winter. Better than last year when she had the whole winter off from me being injured.

I really, really like him. I'm hoping Cliff goes to see him soon because really. He needs to be started (when the ground work has been laid, of course), and then come home. And who knows. Maybe Cliff would come with us to some of the shows and show him. Never know! But I fully see Simon as the type that as soon as he would see Cliff he'd be bellowing for him like "IT'S DADDY!!!!" His mare, Goldy, loved him and only him. She liked us, but she only wanted snuggles from Cliff. I think Simon wants that. That one person that is entirely his. I see him liking us just fine since we hand out treats, but that Cliff would be "his."

I wish so too. Caffeine has been what has gotten me through on the worst days. I try not to drink much of it unless my head is REALLY hurting.

And yes! One day that will be us! Just have to have patience. I want mostly to bring Izzie home. Even if my barn doesn't happen right away, or the arena takes a few years to come into realization. I want her home where I can see her and love on her. Nick said once we do move, he'd figure out where the arena would end up going, and have the spot leveled immediately. No footing or anything added (other things have higher priority over the arena), but at least I'd have a level spot that would one day be covered. I do appreciate that gesture a lot 

So, not really any updates. Between work and a million other things I haven't gotten to see Izzie since last Saturday. I know she's enjoying the time off, but ugh. This weather needs to make up it's mind. The freezing rain/sleet/snow needs to move on out! Going to get COLD here too. Not that I'd work her hard, but I'm not sure I want to be riding outside in 16 degree weather!

We got our tree last night though! Get to decorate it tonight! SO excited!!

OH! In other news!! So I forgot I signed up for a high point for one of my clubs. I'd turned in my paperwork and one sheet for the first show of the year. After that, things got busy and I forgot. Well, the person in charge contacted me asking me to send in my points. I confessed I'd totally forgotten about them, and I didn't have a single paper filled out or signed. She was like "I don't care if it's signed; just want participation!" Alrighty then! So Sunday I filled out the forms and emailed them to her :lol: Izzie and I had over 500 points for showing this year. I was able to include our failed regionals as well as the qualifying Dressage show I did June. SUPER excited! So we *might* be winning the high point championship for that division, AND maybe the high point for the member with the most points over all the disciplines! I'd find out on January 21st!

THEN! The other club I'm in (yeah... I'm in a lot! For my incentive fund, I have to be a member of one club. That's the one I enrolled in the high point program. But since I liked this club too.... I became a member of it as well lol) contacted me. They want to start a member of the month recognition thing, and asked if I wanted to be the member of the month for January!! HECK YEAH!!

Seriously, aside from the saddle crisis we are going through, this year has been AMAZING horse wise! I'm SO looking forward to what 2017 is going to bring!


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## DanteDressageNerd

I understand. I rode bareback for quite a few months, it's fine but doing it all the time gets in the way. I REALLY hope they're able to help you find a good USED saddle *crossed fingers* but it is pretty cool. I felt really honored when Debbie worked on my saddle. She's really down to earth too.

Eee the weather sounds terrible. I wouldn't be brave enough to ride out in that weather with it being so windy, wet and cold.

And with bareback, it makes sense. It helps develop a good seat, stickability and being able to go with it but at the same time you just can't use yourself quite as well or be quite as effective. It's good but can develop bad habits too. 

It sounds like Simon would be a really good horse for Cliff. Some horses are just happy having a person to love them. 

That's really awesome! Congratulations on all those titles and being apart of a club and the tree. It's gorgeous btw!! That's really exciting!! Cant wait to hear the results!!

Hopefully you can get a ride in soon and a saddle!!


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## Tazzie

I sure hope so! At least it's a good time to be without a saddle. Since I haven't ridden in 2 weeks it's not been AS frustrating as it could be! But I am hoping someone comes up with something!! My original fitter is coming on Friday, so we will see how that goes. I'm starting to get the feeling she's going to try to work me into a custom... so, I may be without a fitter after Friday. I'm not willing to get pushed into something right now. I'm out of time with regards to ordering a custom saddle, having it made, getting it here, and getting it perfect for Izzie. First show of the year is March 19th. I need to be in a saddle and schooling by then.

Yeah, I wasn't lol it wasn't that nice for a while really, blah.

Exactly. Least it's helping to regain some of my lost balance. And rid me of one of my ultimate bad habits: looking down. I seem to be horribly unbalanced when I look down, so this is fixing that QUICK hahaha!

I'm still thinking so. We shall see!

Definitely! Unfortunately I won't be able to go to that awards banquet (only free weekend in January, and I NEED to go to Michigan to do dress shopping for my brother's wedding...) But I'm going to our BIG banquet on January 13th 

I'm riding tonight!!! YAY! Been over two weeks!!! Fortunately my baby sitter is a HERO! Watching my kids till 5:30 tonight  means after lunging I won't have a super long ride, but ya know what? DON'T CARE! I'll be getting on her and that is all I care about!! SUPER excited!! Supposed to be about 42 degrees, perfect winter riding weather!!

And I'm being told to leave now! Half an hour early! Thank you very much I'll take that!


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## DanteDressageNerd

I can imagine so, I think a lot of fitters push for custom. They make more money that way but hopefully something will work out. But I guess it is the right time of year to be dealing with this issue, since the weather is bad and riding isn't as consistent.

lol yep. It's interesting how your riding and body changes after riding bareback for a long period of time. I think it's well worth doing and having that education but then going back into a saddle is interesting. It takes a bit to adjust.

But have fun at the banquets and things this year, that sounds like a lot of fun moments!!

Hurrah!! Enjoy your ride, can't wait to hear about how it went! Good luck! Weather is excellent today!


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## PoptartShop

You better have a saddle (that fits!) by March! I'm sure you will. Have a really good feeling about the custom. 
Although riding bareback definitely keeps your bum warm, right?! :rofl:
I know, this weather sucks. I also haven't rode in almost a week. Actually, a week today it's been.  Sigh. I'm probably so rusty. I hope your ride went well!!!!  At least you'll be getting on, even if it's not for too long so what?! Exactly. All that matters is you'll get some good 'ole riding in!!!! Yay!


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## Tazzie

Cassie, yeah, that's true. And it's not like I have a ton of money to spend. So I don't want to spend it on custom. I just worry about it, and the time frame would cut WAY too close. And yeah. It's a bit frustrating right now when the weather is nice, but we have SO much other stuff going on I truly can't get down there. We will be down to one vehicle tomorrow as Nick is ripping into my Acadia and the Cobalt. Acadia needs a new solenoid and seals to stop a leak, and brakes. Cobalt is getting new brakes and then new tires next week. So Nick spent the last two days ripping the Acadia apart to get to what he needs. It took him a few hours last night getting the transmission out. I NEED to clean my house, so riding is out for tonight. It's such a mess I'm embarrassed by it. Ugh. Hopefully the holidays settle down and I can get some much needed pony time in!

Definitely! I'm definitely feeling more confident and balanced in the trot, which is fabulous. Just wishing I had good ground to really focus on my canter. Bareback I've been tightening my lower back without intending to and messing us up. It'd be beneficial to get that solid before returning to a saddle I think. *shrugs* lol

They will be! I'm pretty excited!!

And I'll go into more detail on my ride below 

PoptartShop, no custom! We are doing everything we can to NOT go custom :lol: I'm trying to find a used saddle. I have a feeling this won't be our final saddle, so I'm still wanting used at this point! But yes! I NEED one before March!! And I wish It kept me warmer LOL! Then again I get hot riding!

I'm sure you're not too rusty! I was surprised at how I felt BETTER riding than I did 2 weeks ago. I figured my balance would be shot, but nope. Best bareback trot work period! And yes! Any riding is a good amount!!

--------------------------------------------------------------

Alright, so my late update since I got distracted hahaha! Go me :lol:

I did get to ride on Tuesday! It was the shortest ride I have ever had since I started her :lol: we had maybe 30 minutes once I got to her field to quickly groom, tack up, lunge and ride. But where there is a will, there is a way! Nick helped to groom so it'd go quicker and helped tack up 

I lunged her first since she hadn't been ridden in over 2 weeks and I like to warm up her back before I hop on bareback. I could tell the footing was interesting with how she was trotting. She was being super careful of where her feet were going and not striding out. The top of the ground had thawed to a slick, mushy consistency and the next layer was still frozen and also slick. She only did minimal cantering when I asked instead of her just wanting to go, which told me a lot about the situation. Normally she wants to run and be a ding dong at first, especially if she hasn't worked in a while. Today there wasn't any of that, just straight to work.

It was kind of cool though because I was able to teach Nick a little something. Izzie was being super obvious about leaning onto her right shoulder going right and counter bending. I had Nick seeing when she was leaning and when she was listening to me asking her to bend in and quit leaning. I'm pretty proud of him 

Then I got on. Nick is like "it's quarter to 5." We had to leave at 5, meaning I had to be off at 5 to 5. I told him to let me know when it was 5 to 5 :lol: so we get to work, and immediately I feel a horse saying "what's on the agenda today, mom?" How I WISH I had more time, but I took what I could get happily! I told her today would be stretching into the contact only, and NO CHEATING going to the right. She is a MASTER of making her whole body and neck look like she is bent right, including her poll, but then she tips her nose to the left. We didn't do a full on stretch since I normally don't get a very good stretch from her unless we've worked.

I was PROUD. I always like to reaffirm that she is going into my contact instead of making me bring the contact to her. I rode with a bit longer rein than I normally do and asked for her to meet. She did so VERY willingly. Like, I wanted to tear up I was so happy with it. We maintained the uphill balance I was seeking, and I felt her lifting up and over her back. It was more comfortable that I'd expected :lol: either that I was THAT relaxed and better able to move with her. I actually think it was the latter :lol:

We had some really good work to the right as well, maintaining a correct right bend. I was having Nick check to make sure she was good since she felt good and I didn't think she was cheating. She was working properly  quite a few changes of directions, and then I let her walk and be done. She was extremely confused with me being done already! When I hopped off and turned her loose she showed off this HUGE trot and was like "but mom!!!!! We weren't done here!!" Hopefully she carries over that desire to tomorrow when I'll ride, either bareback or in some saddles to try.

Now, on a small, happy note. A lot of you have followed Izzie's journey for a while. And you know Izzie has anxiety with wanting to be good and whatever I'm asking (she has never known rough training, and I've always been calm and methodical in my approach; this is who Izzie is naturally). Her anxiety manifests in a busy mouth. When it's really bad she's chomping the bit. I just keep my hands quiet and keep myself as relaxed as possible. Tying the mouth shut is not, nor will it ever be, an option for me. But Tuesday night, after having over 2 weeks off, and me getting on to work, her mouth was quiet. It was quiet on the lunge line. It was quiet under saddle. She was very content in what I was asking and knew that she could easily do what I was asking. I was EXTREMELY proud of her and gave her tons of pats and praise  the other mini thing is how grown up she's gotten this year. Last year's Izzie would have put my butt in the dirt if we didn't canter a ride. Just walking and trotting was boring, and she never really warmed up until we cantered. This year's Izzie has been totally fine with doing walk trot rides only. Makes me very proud of her 

So, that's our update until tomorrow! I'm hoping I will have some options to actually ride in, but we will see. Next week is going to be BRUTAL at work. Three days of extremely mind draining work. So the likelihood of riding on those days is slim. Paired with Nick's company have over half the district off means the chance most of the week after Monday is slim. Monday I'll be able to debut our Christmas present


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## PoptartShop

Okay then, screw the custom! :rofl: :rofl: LOL. All-in-all, you better find a saddle PERIOD in 2017. Or...or I will raise hell. Bahahah.
You should be super proud! I hope I'm not rusty tonight but I think I will be. Ahhhh.
That's so adorable she didn't want to stop working! Such a great horse. 
Ugh, that sucks about work next week, especially after the holidays. Oh joy. Try to get through it!!


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## Tihannah

I know being stuck riding bareback only has to be tough, but I keep thinking MAN! You are so good bareback, by the time you find a saddle that works, you're position is going to be sick! lol.

I STILL have never ridden Tess bareback. Part because I'm chicken and part because she doesn't have a decent topline and I feel like I'd be sitting on her spine. lol.

What's the deal with the Custom Saddles? I know I've rarely heard good things about the reps, but I rode in my trainer's and it felt incredible. The ones the rep brought were awful though. lol.


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## DanteDressageNerd

What a way to spend a night, sounds fun or not so fun. But I'm glad you got to clean house, even if you'd rather be spending it with Izzie. Hopefully the good weather will stay into next week!

That's great!! It takes a bit to gain that confidence, muscles and balance but when it comes, it's pretty neat! You pick up good habits and bad ones lol. 

It's pretty cool with Izzie having so much time off, you were able to show Nick Izzie's obvious natural crookedness or tendencies. They're natural crookednesses come through more with time off. 

I'm sorry the ground was less than stellar but at least it gave you a good opportunity to work on collection, especially since Izzie was probably bringing her hind end more under to keep her balance on the footing. I guess you just get to take advantage :lol: it really sounds like you did everything you needed to in a short amount of time. Shame it couldn't have been longer with her game face on!! And you had such good moments! That's really stellar!

Good luck trying more saddles tomorrow. I hope you have a good ride on Izzie! And honestly her settling down in her mouth and growing up is really awesome!! That's definitely a good sign! I hope she continues to improve in that direction! You should be really proud! That's really awesome!! Especially because those kind of issues are something you can't really do too much about but hope and keep working on it!

On a side note- Tina I personally hate custom saddlery :lol: I know some people love them but every one I've seen ride in one they put riders in a chair seat with the legs thrown out in front and the rider having to sit on their pockets for balance and bracing against the knee blocks. I'm just not a fan lol. They sell a lot of them around here and I just dont' like them. The panels are really shallow as well which makes them not very adjustable if the horse changes shape.


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## Tazzie

Allison, I do!! I'm hoping we have an option *fingers crossed* would relieve A LOT of stress! I'll detail more below  she really is a great horse though  I love her! And I'll get through it. I'm lucky to only have 3 days of work, so that will help. I can do it. I normally do two days of it, just three makes it a bit tougher.

Tina, haha, thank you! I'm good walk and trot. Canter is still a bit iffy. I'd LOVE to get my canter spot on before switching back to a saddle, but that is me being stubborn haha! I have a bareback pad though because Izzie HATES me working on her without one. Maybe that's an option? Even if it's just to hack around at a walk!

As for the saddles, not the actual brand Custom. But rather a custom in something like Harry Dabbs, the Arabian Saddle Company, etc. A saddle made specifically for Izzie. I've never ridden in a Custom brand saddle to really voice my opinion on them :lol: I'm very much of an "if it fits the horse and me, it's a good saddle." I don't typically look at brands, but "will this fit me and Izzie?" So if we had a Custom to try, I'd try it. I was just talking about having a saddle made specifically for Izzie :lol:

Cassie, it needed to be done, so such is life! Last night we made a BUNCH of stuff for today. Finishing up the last of it this morning lol hopefully I can squeeze in some riding next week, but that will depend on Nick and his work schedule. Hoping to at least!!

Yup! I just want to remember to relax at the canter. She's not going to do something stupid. I have to relax and trust her and all will be just fine.

I was thankful it was so obvious, even if it was irritating to see it LOL I like teaching him things as I can!

Haha, yeah. She does ride a bit more under herself when the footing is iffy. So that is one way to look at it :lol: yeah, I wish I could have ridden more, but I'm grateful for what time I did get!

The ride was eh, but that'll be explained further down. It was an interesting morning! I really do hope we are heading in the correct direction. I'm not so blindfolded that I think she will quit being mouthy when new things arrive, but this was a start. Just made me happy. And I'm happy with how she has grown up this year 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

First off...

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

Now, my update!

Yesterday was saddle fit day, and my fitter came PREPARED! She took to heart that I did NOT want a custom saddle. That I want to find one ready made that will fit me and Izzie. I don't have the time to wait for a custom saddle to come in. I don't want that risk right now. I just want one that I can start trialing and maybe buy.

So she got to work. Had a few options she wanted to try. One fit almost perfectly with maybe a bit narrowness to it, one was a touch narrow but had options that were wider, and one was a touch wide.

We tried the one that looked like it fit the best. It was the Harry Dabbs, so I had HIGH hopes for it. Right off the bat I think Izzie was telling me she didn't like it. Normally Izzie stands perfectly still for mounting. With that saddle she tried walking off. Abnormal. Turns out it had slipped up her shoulder a bit. So I hop off and we readjust. By now my friend/BO had come out, so he held Izzie for me to get on. Still, it didn't feel right. I felt like I was fighting to get my legs under me, and then Izzie put her head down and shook/snaked it. The fitter didn't like it either. Alright, next!

Next was a Frank Baines. It was a bit too big of a seat size for me, and was a bit too narrow for Izzie. But we knew her measurements would be a 6x and this was a 4x. Izzie at first really liked it and I HATED it. It was SO hard it felt like I was sitting on a rock. But my position was good. I figured I could just buy a seat cover to make it a bit more cushioned if I had to if Izzie liked it. She liked it, until she flat out HATED it. Stopped, squealed and kicked out. NEXT!

The last was a Jeffries. This was just a bit too wide, even shimmed up. First off, I liked it. It was SUPER comfortable and Nick said my position looked fabulous. Izzie liked it too. So I rode in it walk-trot-canter. It was missing a billet (it has the three point billet system), so we weren't going to do much. And it rode up a touch since it was too wide. But I got Izzie to do her blow/snort almost immediately. To put that in perspective, I don't normally get that until after we have cantered, and only that early after she had had her treatments. I can't remember the last time I cantered under saddle. She did it after just some small trot figure eights. I did canter a bit, which resulted in NO bucking in the transition, but did end up bucking when the saddle rode up and Izzie wasn't amused. But when in the correct spot she was a HAPPY camper.

So my fitter adjusted the width to make it Izzie's size, and it seriously fit like a glove. She had planned to leave it with me to trial, but then couldn't get the strap for the billet back through the panel. So she took it back to her shop to see if she can fix it. If she can't, she will just order another through the company and I'll trial that one. She is also going to send us a curved girth with it since Izzie needs that with her shape (I knew we would need to; just wasn't buying one until I had a new saddle). I'm super excited since that saddle actually rivaled the Arabian Saddle Company in comfort. Nick wants me to let her know to wait until AFTER New Years so we can do a week solid of trialing. He's agreed to also take us to the indoor to ride as often as we can so we can really put the saddle to the test.

I hadn't heard of a Jeffries before hand, but if it works I'm good with it!

THEN! As if a possibility for a saddle wasn't fabulous enough! I had someone message us through eBay asking if leathers and irons would be included. I have two sets of irons I could include, I just have to check over my leathers. I had wanted to get new leathers when I got a new saddle, and asked Nick if that would be ok. He was like "if it sells your saddle, yes. You can get new leathers." So.... I just need to check my leathers over to make sure I'd be alright sending them to a stranger to use. Don't need my reputation being tarnished :wink:

So this would be the BEST start of 2017 EVER! Selling my saddle and buying a saddle would be PERFECT!

And for fun, here is a video I took as we were heading up to the trailer. Our fitter laughed (she arrived a bit early).






And this is the saddle, I think:

Jeffries Sport Dressage | E Jeffries UK


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## Tihannah

Ooh! I like the saddle! The look reminds me of my Duett Fidelio except I don't have those designs on the flaps. Already told you this, but so glad you finally have something promising! And lol @ the custom confusion! I've been looking at custom saddlery saddles so much now that when someone says custom, I automatically think they're referring to the brand!

Oh and Merry Christmas right back at you!


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## DanteDressageNerd

I hope you can fit in some rides next week and glad you got all your baking and holiday goodies done! 

I think Izzie will be good in the canter and it's just taking that deep breath and plunge and if you get nervous, focusing on breathing and relaxing. I'll say riding bareback re-trained my body to relax into the horse when they spook or do something, rather then brace. It's like you just ground your body and move with them. I believe in you!!

Glad you like teaching him new things and exactly! Just gotta see the positives of the situation, right?

Wow! That sounds like a great start to 2017 if the saddle works out and you and Izzie continue to love it! I definitely agree with the curved girth, I have a shoulder relief girth that I like. It's not my favorite girth but who can afford a 200-300 dollar girth? I'm really glad you liked the saddle, I would have loved to have gone on a road trip but I'm sure I'll get to meet you sometime! I just hope everything works out and you're happy with it! New leathers are also awesome! That's on my list too!

I really hope your saddle sells! And Izzie is very good for tolerating all that, honestly she doesn't look phased at all. 

And Merry Christmas Katie and family!!


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## Tazzie

Tina, I'm pretty sure that is the saddle, but I'm not 100% positive. It should be here tomorrow, and I'm so unbelievably excited about it!! And that's fine! I hadn't heard of those particular saddles until you mentioned them :lol: so it's alright!

Cassie, I'm hoping I can ride Friday! That's my next hope. I got to ride Monday, which made me happy  last night Nick was working on the corn hole boards, and tonight he's working. Tomorrow he HAS to finish the boards, so no chance of riding then. Friday it is!

Yeah, I think I'm tensing up because she HAD been so bad in the canter because of the saddle. I'm expecting it even though I know better.

I'm pretty excited about the curved girth really. It's not top of the line or anything, and it is under $200. But it'll give me a great idea on if she likes it and if it'd be something I'd potentially upgrade down the road. I'm really just hoping this will be the start to a great 2017. I could cry from happiness :lol: and yeah, I'd still love to have you out here!! It'd really be great to meet you  and definitely! I'm just super glad Nick is understanding about it, and is just thinking "get it sold."

Not much phases her at this point :lol: she's such a good girl. I'm just glad she "talks" to me and discusses the saddle options. She normally gets mad if I just mount and dismount repeatedly. She stands there, but you can just see her going "or for goodness sake, on or off dangit!!!"

------------------------------------------------------------

So, Christmas was great! My in laws made us some GORGEOUS chairs that I'll have to snap pics of later  they made some for the kids too, which I'll share pics of those too. She also made a beautiful wall art out of horse shoes from our former farrier, which makes me super excited to get up on the wall. And she also made us some hilarious shirts! Mine says "We interrupt this marriage for hunting season" and Nick's says "We interrupt this marriage for horse show season." Nick says he's going to wear his to every show LOL! The final gift from her was a great photo book of pictures of the kids at the zoo, complete with a zoo pass 

From Nick I got an awesome new browband and fly bonnet with matching white gloves and stock tie pin. He also got me a snug-pax water bottle holder for when we go trail riding 

My son showed me how wonderful he was Christmas night when I realized what I THOUGHT were labeled as twin size sheets were actually toddler sheets. Which don't fit on a twin bed. All he asked for this year were Blaze and the Monster Machines sheets. I was DEVASTATED they didn't fit. And Kaleb goes "It's ok mommy, we can just put my paw patrol sheets back on." Santa shipped new ones that arrived today  such an understanding little boy. Made me tear up!

Monday I rode. She started off wonderfully on the lunge, and then suddenly I was flying a half Arab. My MIL got some hilarious action shots though haha! Once I hopped on she was spectacular. Nick was like "she is drooling everywhere!" All sorts of good foam going too. Just super relaxed during it  worked on some of our lateral work, which was kind of eh. My MIL got some great pics here too! And some awesome family pictures!

I just was so proud. Her mind has really been focused on work lately. She gets mildly anxious if I ask something a bit different, or something I haven't asked for in a while. But really she's been wanting to work. I think the freedom from the saddle and the treatments have really helped her work ethic even more. She's just amazing to work with right now. Her stretchy trot on Monday was absolutely show worthy, which made me excited. I'm just so pleased with her right now!

And I guess no pictures since the horse forum is being dumb and not uploading them. I'll try in a different post. If not, I'll put them on photobucket and post them tomorrow if I can some time at work...


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## Tazzie

Woohoo, it's working on them! This is just the first of at least two posts haha!

Edit, UGH! NO idea why some are sideways!!


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## Tazzie

Alright, post two of pictures! And that will be it since that's a lot of pictures and I'm tired of doing it one at a time (only way the forum is letting me do it...)

I apologize if any others are sideways. They aren't on my computer when I'm uploading them, so it's HIGHLY annoying they are rotating.


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## Tihannah

The kiddos are so freakin adorable!! And you already know I love the browband!! Blue is definitely Izzie's color! I checked out that site and there's so many options I feel overwhelmed and like I don't know where to start or what would look good on Tess! lol. You and Cassie might have to help me find something! How long did it take to come in once it was ordered?

Did the saddle arrive??


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## Rainaisabelle

Tihannah said:


> The kiddos are so freakin adorable!! And you already know I love the browband!! Blue is definitely Izzie's color! I checked out that site and there's so many options I feel overwhelmed and like I don't know where to start or what would look good on Tess! lol. You and Cassie might have to help me find something! How long did it take to come in once it was ordered?
> 
> Did the saddle arrive??



Red most definitely red or purple


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## Tazzie

Tihannah said:


> The kiddos are so freakin adorable!! And you already know I love the browband!! Blue is definitely Izzie's color! I checked out that site and there's so many options I feel overwhelmed and like I don't know where to start or what would look good on Tess! lol. You and Cassie might have to help me find something! How long did it take to come in once it was ordered?
> 
> Did the saddle arrive??


Thank you! I'm very fond of the kiddos :lol: they can certainly turn on the adorable factor! And I agree  I just love it! There are A LOT of options, but it is some SERIOUSLY high quality work for the price. I was a bit worried because it wasn't *that* expensive for all of that, but it's phenomenal. I do agree that red would look STUNNING on Tess! I think it'd be just enough to pop without being overwhelming on her face  but Cassie is a good one to ask too! She's the one who recommended I do the darker blue on the edges versus the clear I'd been planning on. SO glad I listened!! I think it took her roughly 10 business days to make it all (plus a little extra time waiting on the fly bonnet to come in). The longest part was shipping since it's coming from the UK. My box was pretty beaten up even with FRAGILE written all over it, but none of my items were damaged! She was incredibly easy to work with too 

And it's coming today!!! Nick was like "you'll get to ride in it tomorrow!" I'M SO EXCITED!!

Also, in my tired haze last night, I forgot to post the video of my jingle pony!! She's so tolerant haha! And now I'm thinking of doing a freestyle with the bells LOL! Nick is trying to talk me out of it :lol:


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## PoptartShop

The pictures are beautiful!!! LOVE it! Beautiful happy family.  They're so adorable! SO EXCITED to hear about the saddle, please keep us posted on how it goes. Fingers crossed it'll be perfect!


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## DanteDressageNerd

Good luck with the saddle *fingers crossed*

I hope you get to ride Friday and yes the curved girths are pretty good. I really like them on a lot of the horses they seem more free through the shoulder. It's a good investment!

I'm glad she gives obvious opinions too, arabs are good at that :lol: The browband just looks stunning on her!! I'm so glad you didn't get the clear crystals on the side, the dark crystals look so good! And really pop on her grey coat!

That sounds like a really wonderful Christmas :-D I'm so happy for you guys, the shirts sound hysterical! I bet Nick is going to wear it for moral support!

That's super sweet of Kaleb! Go him for being SO understanding! That's a really great kid you have! You have a really lovely family! I LOVE all the family photos, they're just wonderful and authentic feeling!

The jingle bell ride looks awesome! Izzie's trot looks fantastic!

I also agree red would look stunning on Tess. Tina I can send you the info through PM


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## egrogan

So many great pictures, but the ones with your kids in Santa hats on Izzie are just adorable. Next year's Christmas card shots?!


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## StephaniHren

Those pictures are the cutest things ever. And I'm excited to hear how the saddle goes!


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## Tazzie

Allison, the saddle came! And we LOVE it so far! But only one ride, and won't get a chance until *maybe* Monday. But thank you! I definitely love all of the pictures 

Cassie, thanks! Really hoping it'll work!

I did get to ride, and it was great! I definitely like the curved girth. Probably going to sell one of the old ones with my other saddle, to try and sweeten that deal lol!

She is good for that! And yes! I love the darker crystals on her!

The shirts are amazing! I'm glad Nick will actually wear his to the shows!

I'm very proud of Kaleb for that, and Santa didn't disappoint :wink: he has new sheets and a new comforter! He's happy! I love them! They are definitely authentic! 

Thank you! I thought her trot looked great in it! Working mode Izzie!

Egrogan, if we did Christmas cards haha! My mother in law came up with all the ideas  I just supplied the horse and kids haha!

Stephani, thank you! And the initial ride in it went EXTREMELY well!

----------------------------------------------------

Alright, gotta make this a quick post since Nick is rushing me out the door hahahaha!

The saddle arrived yesterday! I'm in love with it! I was DYING of impatience to ride in it, so I was very thankful when we were able to go meet Nick down by Izzie!

Tacked up and hopped on. Boy did she have a FORWARD walk going on! I was SO happy! Picked up the trot and she was ALL about that trot! Again, no shortage of forward haha!

Then the canter. I haven't really cantered in probably around a month at this point. To the right she was phenomenal (her hard way, but the way she wanted to start last night.) To the left we had a small buck heading into the canter. Normally I'd bring her back and ask again, but I wanted her to feel the saddle and realize it wasn't pinching. After that realization hit I brought her back down a couple of more times. FLAWLESS departs each time! SO HAPPY!

I had to call it quits then as my family was freezing! I'm HOPING to ride on Monday, but there is rain in the forecast all weekend and Monday and Tuesday. So we shall see. I'm renting the arena up the road for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to REALLY put that saddle to the test.

But initial impression? We like it! And Izzie even had a small amount of foam lipstick going after her warm up! So I'm pleased!

Here is video!





And uploading pics. Also included is Scratchy claiming the bubble wrap LOL!


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## knightrider

The saddle is beautiful! Hope you keep on loving it!


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## DanteDressageNerd

lol at least arabs communicate and are very vocal about how they feel about things, so hopefully you'll have a good answer for the saddle later this week. I hope it works out!

And yes I love the curved girths for these horses, it really helps so the saddle doesn't get pulled forward onto their shoulders and gives them more elbow room!

I'm SO glad Izzie sounds like she really likes the saddle, she looks really peppy and on the go in the video! Like Izzie come back to me and she's like yee haw lol. I also imagine being back in a saddle makes things feels different too.

Aww I'm so glad for Kaleb, he got his sheets. I'm so glad he was patient about it!

Overall Happy New Year!! And enjoy your family! So looking forward to hearing more updates in 2017!


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## Tihannah

Did you make it to the arena and get some rides in this weekend??


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## Tazzie

Me too Knightrider! I HATE saddle searching, so it'd be great if it could be over!

Cassie, I sure hope so! Izzie wouldn't be one to hide it, and I'm looking very closely at how she handles things. Like, critiquing every move, which I don't normally do. We plan to ride in it pretty hard tomorrow so I can get a sweat pattern and then I can evaluate her on Thursday for back soreness. Trying to accomplish as much as possible before my trial officially ends and I have to make a decision.

She definitely seemed to enjoy it. I think she moves a lot freer in general, and no telling if it's from the better saddle fit or the girth. One or the other or both has made her happy.

Yeah, there wasn't much coming back that night :lol: I kept her contained best I could without forcing the "YOU WILL COLLECT NOW!" thought. I don't want her to think this saddle means she can't be happy. So, I just used the horse I had that night and did lengthenings and such since she wanted to go. We did dabble in shoulder in just to get a feel for them. Nick said the shoulder in looked great, which makes me happy! And yes, being in a saddle again is a bit weird :lol: but I'm happy!

I am too! He is one very happy kiddo! He loves his sheets  just after the sheets went on his bed, Nick came home. Kaleb raced down the stairs and was like "Santa sent my sheets!!!" Nick was like "really??" Kaleb said "YEAH! You want to see them??" Nick told him "Yes!" It was awfully cute :lol:

Happy new year to you as well! I do look forward to posting more this year 

Tina, not yet!! I was in Michigan celebrating a belated Christmas with my family  I had hoped to squeeze a ride in yesterday morning before the rain, but it decided to pour Sunday night :/ so, no riding. Today it's raining ALL day. Which is fine, I have a show committee meeting tonight I need to go to (skipped the last two for reasons.... Nick's cousin was the first, and Halloween was the second). We are renting the arena Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to really get some work in the saddle  I think I also have Nick talked into letting me ride on Saturday and Sunday as well. I don't typically ride Izzie 5 days in a row (I just don't; I normally don't ask my family to come sit with me so many nights in a row so I can ride), but Nick agreed we needed to take advantage of the nice days and get our final opinions on the saddle. I have a feeling we should know for sure by Friday, but it'll be nice to have an extra couple of days to be sure!

And really, no update. We haven't done much but visit my family. My brother's house is AWESOME! I love it! They loved their gifts, which were homemade cornhole boards. The cornhole bags, however, were late because the woman waited until a week before I needed them to order the fabric. And some of the fabric wasn't to arrive until the day we were leaving for Michigan. Hadn't bothered to call me, I had to call her. So.... after I get the bags, I'll be done recommending her. Bit upset by it, but at least they will have them.

And already working on my show schedule. Going to be a busy year! Nick changed his opinion on Regionals. It's no longer a hard no, but rather a "let's see how the year goes, and then we can decide." Which is fine, just glad it isn't a hard no anymore! I just have this feeling that this year is going to be a great year. I'm really hoping I'm right about it...


----------



## PoptartShop

Tazzie said:


> Me too Knightrider! I HATE saddle searching, so it'd be great if it could be over!
> 
> Cassie, I sure hope so! Izzie wouldn't be one to hide it, and I'm looking very closely at how she handles things. Like, critiquing every move, which I don't normally do. We plan to ride in it pretty hard tomorrow so I can get a sweat pattern and then I can evaluate her on Thursday for back soreness. Trying to accomplish as much as possible before my trial officially ends and I have to make a decision.
> 
> She definitely seemed to enjoy it. I think she moves a lot freer in general, and no telling if it's from the better saddle fit or the girth. One or the other or both has made her happy.
> 
> Yeah, there wasn't much coming back that night :lol: I kept her contained best I could without forcing the "YOU WILL COLLECT NOW!" thought. I don't want her to think this saddle means she can't be happy. So, I just used the horse I had that night and did lengthenings and such since she wanted to go. We did dabble in shoulder in just to get a feel for them. Nick said the shoulder in looked great, which makes me happy! And yes, being in a saddle again is a bit weird :lol: but I'm happy!
> 
> I am too! He is one very happy kiddo! He loves his sheets  just after the sheets went on his bed, Nick came home. Kaleb raced down the stairs and was like "Santa sent my sheets!!!" Nick was like "really??" Kaleb said "YEAH! You want to see them??" Nick told him "Yes!" It was awfully cute :lol:
> 
> Happy new year to you as well! I do look forward to posting more this year
> 
> Tina, not yet!! I was in Michigan celebrating a belated Christmas with my family  I had hoped to squeeze a ride in yesterday morning before the rain, but it decided to pour Sunday night :/ so, no riding. Today it's raining ALL day. Which is fine, I have a show committee meeting tonight I need to go to (skipped the last two for reasons.... Nick's cousin was the first, and Halloween was the second). We are renting the arena Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to really get some work in the saddle  I think I also have Nick talked into letting me ride on Saturday and Sunday as well. I don't typically ride Izzie 5 days in a row (I just don't; I normally don't ask my family to come sit with me so many nights in a row so I can ride), but Nick agreed we needed to take advantage of the nice days and get our final opinions on the saddle. I have a feeling we should know for sure by Friday, but it'll be nice to have an extra couple of days to be sure!
> 
> And really, no update. We haven't done much but visit my family. My brother's house is AWESOME! I love it! They loved their gifts, which were homemade cornhole boards. The cornhole bags, however, were late because the woman waited until a week before I needed them to order the fabric. And some of the fabric wasn't to arrive until the day we were leaving for Michigan. Hadn't bothered to call me, I had to call her. So.... after I get the bags, I'll be done recommending her. Bit upset by it, but at least they will have them.
> 
> And already working on my show schedule. Going to be a busy year! Nick changed his opinion on Regionals. It's no longer a hard no, but rather a "let's see how the year goes, and then we can decide." Which is fine, just glad it isn't a hard no anymore! I just have this feeling that this year is going to be a great year. I'm really hoping I'm right about it...


It's been raining here too.:sad: Ugh. Glad you had a good time visiting family though.  Homemade gifts are the best. That's a shame she didn't call you first though, definitely won't be doing business with her again I'm sure. Ahhhh showing is so exciting!  I think it's gonna be a great year for you too, it's already starting out pretty nice. AND YAY FOR NICK NOT SAYING NO LOL!


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## DanteDressageNerd

Sounds like a good plan. I have my fingers crossed for you!

lol I bet it felt good to her to be back in a saddle! I think a well fitted saddle is more comfortable for them than bareback, even with a pad and especially when we're asking them to be through and come over their back. I'm so glad it's working out so far, even if she was excited (who can blame her with the time she had off). 

Awww that's great. So glad Nick went along with it and Kaleb loves his gift! 

Im SO glad you had a good holiday and spent some quality time with your family! Hope all continues to go well!

Hope next show season is even better :-D


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## Tihannah

Nick will totally give in on Regionals! How can he not?! Especially since you and Izzie will be kicking butt this year! ;-)


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## Tazzie

Allison, the rain sucks! It's supposed to snow tomorrow, but hoping Nick will still be ok with hauling to the arena anyway. It's seriously just up the road. I've ridden her there before (though I don't like to; the road is a lane and a half wide with a sharp drop off down to a creek, and blind curves), so it truly isn't far. Hoping the forecast is worse than it will actually be :/ and yeah, more frustration on that later........ but they loved the boards  and yes! A maybe is a whole lot better than flat out NO!

Cassie, thanks! Me too!

Yeah, that is my thought too. I think it feels A LOT better to her, which makes me happy. I definitely felt her rounding more than she had lately. Not that she wasn't working over her back, but you know what I mean. She was giving me A LOT more under saddle. And yeah :lol: when it feels good she's like "LET ME SHOW YOU HOW AMAZING I FEEL MOM OH MY GOD!" Like, how can you say "no, I'd rather work on collected work" when your horse is wanting to feel how her own body feels? Tonight we will work on some collection and lateral work. May have to start off with big work, but eventually bring it down to more collected work. We shall see!

It was about the sweetest thing ever :lol: those are my boys! And yes, he loves the gifts!

It was nice  I'll get to see them again on the 21st when I go up for dress shopping. Need to find a bridesmaids dress for my brother's wedding, and need to get Sydney a flower girl dress. Mom is going to have a blast!

I really hope so!! I hope you and I both get the show season we've been waiting for!

Tina, I kind of feel it too. It's before July 4th, meaning we can still go up to my family to celebrate. He wants to see how the season progress, but.... I have a good feeling. I'm thinking I need to fine tune our Sport Horse Show Hack. I think that is where we would shine the most to be honest. I'd like to do In Hand just to get a Top 5 if I can.... That's the tentative hope. It falls almost immediately after my 30th birthday, so I'm hoping :lol:

Not much of an update. Furious with the cornhole bag lady. Apparently the bags were finished on Friday. I told her we were leaving Saturday morning. She thought I had left Friday so didn't even call. If she had called, I'd have driven to got them. Silly to be mad since I think it was an honest mistake, but ugh. They could have had their entire gifts. She's just been frustrating to deal with.

And plans to ride this evening! I have her cooler in the truck along with a sheet for her and towels. Hoping to get her to sweat to look at the sweat pattern. Make sure it's as even as it appears. Really plan to work tonight. It's supposed to snow tomorrow, so I'm a bit hesitant to be paying advance for the arena (my choice, not her request), but I know she'd be ok if I said "look, I prepaid and we can't make it. Can I use the arena next week?" Just would kind of hamper my intentions. I could have Cliff check for back soreness if worse came to worse and we can't actually make it down there. The girl I work with said I need to leave early so I can beat the traffic mess for it. Blah.

In other exciting news..........

I was talking to my friend/barn owner last night about club stuff (he's a sponsor for our summer show, and he's being awarded at a dinner on the 29th; also found out they can hang a banner up at the shows) and we were chit chatting. Then he's like "well, I have some news for you all. I'm the soon to be proud new owner of Simon." I squealed :lol: I'm so unbelievably excited!! He's going to stay in training with Blair to get more miles on him. He's started doing some baby crow hopping, but nothing major. He's being ridden in a halter. Cliff rode him on Monday for about 15 minutes at a walk and trot and he didn't even attempt anything. I think Simon also picked him :lol: they make quite the pair though!!


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## PoptartShop

Seriously, the rain sucks. It's not raining here today, it's actually nice out. :O I'm hoping to get a ride in myself.
That does still sound frustrating. I'd still be mad about it haha. Like come on now!
Yayyy I am glad you'll be getting a ride in tonight.  

Awwww that's so cute!! They do look like a nice pair. Love seeing more guys riding!


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## Tihannah

Yayy for Simon!! And can't wait to hear about the ride tonight! I'm riding tonight too and excited because we actually have sunshine today! Woot Woot!


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## DanteDressageNerd

It looks like you both are really enjoying the saddle you guys are trying! Congratulations! Im really excited for you both! 

:lol: yay and I imagine the dress shopping will be fun. I actually I hate dress shopping, sometimes it's okay but most of the time it's like hate it, hate it, hate it, oh my gosh it looks terrible, is there anything in my size? :lol: fortunately girls usually have an easier time than woman lol.

And thank you! I hope we have good show seasons this year, let 2017 be it!!

Im really happy for Cliff! I bet he cant wait to get Simon home!


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## Tazzie

Allison, yay for being nice out (yesterday hahaha!) It was pretty nice, but cold :lol:

I was pretty mad. Still am to be honest. Gave her my card number on Tuesday to pay for the bags and pay for the shipping. I only JUST NOW got a receipt saying my card was charged. Nearly 48 hours after I gave it to her. Doesn't make me happy AT ALL.

I do too  I've been eyeing fancy bridles to gift him as a "happy horse ownership!!" gift. My best friend owns a used tack sale page (Blair's Bits & Pieces; you can find them on Facebook!! (shameless plug hahaha, but hey, it's my dang journal!!)) He's always been into horses. He used to do barrel racing and pole bending, and was super good at it. But work took over and he couldn't train that hard anymore. We are hoping Simon will be the kind he can mosey around the field, and then maybe pull out to show in some ranch horse classes here and there.

Tina, I'm super happy for Cliff and Simon  they sound like truly the perfect match! I guess Blair had told him about the minor crow hopping, and that he can be sticky picking his feet up (but let's be fair here; he was untouched just over a month ago; I'd say he's doing FABULOUS!!) I guess he let Cliff pick up all four feet and then zero issues under saddle. I was like "Cliff, I think he picked you just as you're picking him." I told him I had a gut feeling about that horse. Told him I had a gut feeling about Izzie and look at how that turned out :wink: he seems super happy though!! I'm seriously so excited for him to come home at some point!!

And no sunshine here :sad: it's snowing. It hasn't stopped at all.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Now for my update. Lordy it was cold last night. And I forget how hard the footing is, which is why I think I was creating issues that weren't actually there (if someone sees what I thought I was seeing, go ahead and speak up; not going to mention what I felt they were since I think they were legit in my head.)

Izzie wasn't in the mood to work. Period. Nope. Nada. Transitions were just blech from canter to trot. I got some decent ones where she didn't just drop and run, which I called it good enough. I really think we need an adjustment soon. She's WELL overdue for one, and I haven't had her adjusted since the poorly fitting saddle. So I'm wondering if we are a bit tight back there from that. And needs her feet trimmed. Asked the farrier to pick a day when he would be over here, but I'm wondering if he's forgotten. He normally doesn't, but the holidays mess everyone up. Plan to send him a text today or tomorrow as a reminder.

Anyway, our trot work was alright. By the time I had Nick record she was fussing with her mouth since we'd had some arguments, so you'll see/hear some of that anxiety coming out. And to the right it looks like I'm pulling to the inside by the way her head moves, but I can assure you I'm not. I think I was doing too strong of half halts on the outside rein (someone was blowing off my core half halts, brat), and I was putting my inside leg on to bend her around it. Makes me want to go get a lesson NOW (I got two of them for Christmas, WOOHOO!)

But, here are the videos. The first video is a bit of our warmup. I normally do trot leg yields sitting, but figured I'd see how she'd do with me posting them. I was pleasantly surprised by them. The cantering comes later. The second video was our trot work at the end, with an attempt at walk to canter. She didn't buck or get ****y, which is why I stopped. That and it felt nicer than it appears; the video opened my eyes a bit. Far from perfect, but better than we'd been doing. I like my second small lengthening (the arena is TINY compared to our normal arenas, and Nick was sitting on a truck that was parked IN the arena, making the already smallish arena even smaller.) I felt like there was some decent lengthen of stride going on and she didn't flop onto her forehand.











Overall, so far, I'm alright with the saddle. Things I've been pondering with it:

- I feel A LOT more secure in it. Like, it fits me well.
- I'm clearly not used to being back in a saddle again as I do feel a bit awkward, even though I feel secure.
- I think the old saddle was so narrow in the front it pitched me back and altered my way of feeling Izzie lift. I'm having a tough time feeling if she's lifting much in the front, but when I look at the videos I see she looks fine and actually pretty good. So I think it's me needing to readjust my feeling in a properly fitted saddle.

Oh, and apparently my mare is in such great shape that I couldn't get her to sweat. No joke. We rode for a good HOUR and did some hard work. She barely broke a sweat, and was totally dry and cool within 10 minutes of hacking around the arena. I didn't feel it was fair to make her work longer as we haven't asked for THAT much work in a while.

Riding tonight appears to be out of the question. It's been snowing off and on all day. While there isn't much accumulation, it was SUPER slick this morning leaving for work. The arena is just down the road from the barn, but it's a very tight angle to get into the farm (we have to turn an angle smaller than 90 degrees, with a full size pickup truck and a 4 horse, slant load trailer) and we have to immediately cross a narrow bridge to get onto the farm. The back road is truly about a lane and a half wide, and is one of the last roads treated. Kind of thinking it just wouldn't be safe. Asked my buddy who knows the set up if he would haul, and he gave a quick NOPE.


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## DanteDressageNerd

The arena actually looks bigger than the arena Im used to working in (our arena is kinda small) but I'll say it helps us prepare for the dressage arena where we have so much more space! 

The saddle looks like a good fit for you two, I'm so glad you found something that works and you said it's a hair wide so if she gets wider at least itll still fit. It looks a lot more stable on her! Your position looks a lot better in this one than in the harry dabbs, isn't it amazing how different saddles affect position and feel?

Honestly her trot work is the best I've ever seen her go! She's much more up, sitting, lifting through her shoulder and coming through. She looks really smooth, it kinda reminds me in some ways of how PREs move which is pretty neat, she'd be one I think in open shows people would ask what is she? She looked really nice once she got going and worked through her sassy pants fit in the warm up She definitely looked sassy lol


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## Tazzie

Cassie, I HATE dress shopping too. And I'm still carrying a bit more weight than I'd like, so blah. Just hate trying dresses on. I'm hoping Syd finds one she likes. For only being 2.5 she is SO picky about what she wears!! Makes me want to pull my hair out :lol:

He really can't  he's staying down with Blair for training, but he seemed super excited last night. Which made me incredibly excited. I'm just so happy for him!!

I had Nick measure out the arena, and it's definitely narrower than a dressage arena, and WAY shorter. Particularly with the truck parked in there :/ It was good practice though since we are SO used to the giant open field. I think that is what skews me A LOT in there, and then combined with the hard floor and hearing her hoofbeats. It all just messes with my head a bit and makes me imagine we are going way too fast or way too slow or strung out or just a mess. Because I felt all those emotions last night, and the video doesn't fit what I was feeling during those times.

It's actually her perfect fit now. The fitter has this neat little machine that can widen and narrow the front of the saddle to allow for it to fit how it needs to be. I'm definitely pleased with it. It didn't shift AT ALL during our ride, which is HUGE. Everything shifts on this horse. But this didn't! I definitely feel better, but I think after so long in that Harry Dabbs I'm all skewed now, and then factor in the bareback riding. I'm a mess haha! I don't look it, but I feel like it!

Thank you Cassie! I take that as a high compliment from you  and reaffirms my ponderings over this saddle versus the old one (the old one had me in a chair seat, skewing my feeling of when she sits and works), and now I have to relearn how she feels now. Though, we're finding the more we work, the less she comes down on her forehand now. I need to remember this when I'm riding for the next little bit as I grow accustomed to the correct saddle. And oh yes, I imagine we will get that a lot :lol: we already do, and people are always like "REALLY? Are you sure??" Haha, yes, I have her papers :lol: and goodness was she sassy. I was like come on now. There is no need for this today. I'm glad she's maintained fitness so well though. Both Nick and I were like "How is she only slightly warm, slightly sweaty, and barely breathing hard?!" Because we had to WORK a little bit with her attitude. But thank you! That compliment will have me smiling the rest of the day


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## DanteDressageNerd

It SUCKS when you're a woman to shop, I always struggle for clothes or anything else. It's just a pain and most women I know that have any kind of shape struggle too. I always have to end up getting my stuff tailored but every stores sizes are different from store to store, vanity sizing is out of control, so every store and in every make you have to try on a variety of sizes and after a few you just get exhausted! Hopefully Syd finds something she likes! 

That's really wonderful for him! It's so special when you can finally have a horse of your very own to bond with and enjoy 

Yeah, our arena is pretty small too I can't remember the exact size but it's the same width but a little over half the length. I want to say 100 x 115 but the footing looks really hard on a horse's legs, I see why you aren't a fan. That's like our horses when they go to one of the show grounds because they're used to our textile footing they tend to get hurt on the footing. It's just bad footing. But I can imagine the disorientation going around in confined surroundings. But I do think sometimes what we feel and what we see is deceptive some rides feel better or worse than what they look like!

That's pretty neat! I'm really happy for you guys!I'm so glad you've found something you really like! Lol it takes a while to get it together, I was a mess when I first got back int a saddle too. It happens to us all 

You're welcome :-D I'm really glad to see you guys coming along so well! And I can imagine! I used to get asked if Dante was a lusitano or azteca or some kind of spanish horse or cross. lol well at least she reminded you that she's still your Izzie and still has plenty of opinions to spare! It's great she's kept so fit! I've noticed a lot of horses haven't been doing a lot of sweating either, I guess that's a good thing provided how cold it is! I bet it helps regulate their systems!


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## PoptartShop

You guys look good! As always! & your indoor arena looks nice. So jelly.
Bahaha she was just being lazy huh?! Like, no, mom...it's too cold, I don't wanna WORK TODAY! :lol:
I'm soooooooooo happy that the saddle seems to be working out for you & Izzie.  Like, about time right?! It's been LOOOOOOOONG enough without a saddle/good-fitting saddle. You deserve it.
Seriously, that's awesome. Plus you seem super comfortable in it too/secure. All good signs! & it not shifting is definitely good. I'm sure it does feel odd being in a saddle (a properly fitting one at that) since you were bareback for the longest time. 

An adjustment would be nice, I'm sure she will like that then get back to her normal self! I just got adjusted the other day, it really made me feel brand new! I love the chiro. She's definitely in good shape since she barely works up a sweat. Wish it was the same for me! :rofl: SO happy for you guys!! Like perfect way to start the new year. :smile:


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## Tazzie

Cassie, yeah the vanity sizing is ridiculous. Shouldn't be THAT hard to find stuff!! Thankfully if I find a dress I like that just needs some tweaking, Nick's aunt can do it. So that helps a ton! I'm sure Syd will find something she loves, then throw a fit when she can't bring it home :lol: she hasn't had to order something and then wait before! Hard for a 2 year old to understand that concept!

Yeah, that sounds small too :/ I've often thought yours looked short, but didn't realize it was that short! Yeah, it's why I only ride there in extreme circumstances, and am not very upset that I had to cancel last night. Kind of worried me to ride three days in a row there :/ most of the show grounds we show at have great footing. Not textile, but still pretty nice. Izzie typically doesn't mind, but I don't think she likes this arena either. Just so hard. And yeah, most of the arenas I ride in are much wider and either have a full aisle on either side of the arena or are fully enclosed. This one is a bit weird where there is an aisle, but they have it partially blocked off. Was a great practice in paying attention to me though :lol: and exactly. Like, that walk to canter I thought was an actual walk to canter. So it was like "huh, that isn't walk to canter" when I saw the video. I mean, not bad having truly put that request away since our last show, but still. Not a clear walk to canter. I need Nick to record more often... but I was glad my thoughts on our warm up and the rest of the riding were way off base. It looks way better than I was thinking.

Thank you  I haven't been asked if she was a spanish type yet, but I've had someone recommend breeding her to one. Politely saying "no" was rather hard since I'm not really interested in going that direction. Just not what I have in mind for Izzie. Oh yes, she absolutely reminded me she's still my brat :lol: and not going to lie, I was disappointed she wasn't sweating. I had hoped to get her to sweat just to see if there were iffy sweat patterns. We rode for a solid hour (well, with walk breaks to catch our breath), so I had expected something. Silly mare!

Allison, thank you! We're trying! And the indoor is at least dry and not slick :lol: that's about the best I can say about it. And yeah, work was totally overrated. Like how dare I even ask?!

Thank you! It felt like forever, though I know people have gone longer. I'm just glad to have what seems like a solid option. And I am super comfortable in it. Still a bit weird getting used to it, but I feel very secure. Which I appreciate. Makes me realize how unsecure I was in the Harry Dabbs :lol:

She would definitely love the adjustment! Soon enough she can get one  the chiro is a wonderful place! I wish it was the same for me as well :lol: but alas! I wish she had though! I wanted to check the sweat patterns, darn mare! I'm hoping this is just a hint of how great 2017 is going to be!

----------------------------------------------------

Not really any update. It snowed last night, and while it wasn't much (1-3"), our roads get notoriously slick and little attention is paid to the back roads. Izzie lives on a barely lane and a half wide road, with the arena being before I get to Izzie's. So, with the awkward turn into the arena, just wasn't worth it. I did, however, have Cliff check her back last night for any soreness, and nothing came up. Hooray! I'll take that as a good sign thank you kindly! I'm sore in all the right places too, so I was ok with having a break :lol: I did laundry, sat in my chair, and watched movies last night. It was AMAZING! And Nick made nachos for dinner :lol: spoiled!

Today the roads are clear, and while it is disgustingly cold out (17 degrees), we are hauling her to ride. I'm not letting the cold be an excuse right now when I NEED to check this saddle out. Throughout the month I might not go ride because of the cold, but before I spend this amount of money I'm checking it out best I can! Probably will be a fairly short ride since it's only going to get more frigid when the sun goes down, so I'm aiming to do a quick ride, hope for a fabulous one, and call it a day.


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## DanteDressageNerd

It really is, when I go to a store and need an XS there is something wrong with that! What do girls do who are actually really extra small? Oh that's great you have a capable seamstress to help your out and find 

And it is small but I'm pretty used to it at this point. And I don't blame you, the footing is terrible! And you want to be careful with your girl! But sight to feel is sometimes not the same and sometimes it's pretty frustrating lol. Practice does help!

lol something about that legendary arabian stamina I think! But I agree I wouldn't cross Izzie with a spanish type either. I find spanish horses fascinating but I don't think they're same kind of quality as a warmblood as far as dressage goes. 

I'm sorry it's so cold out, we have the same weather here with snow on the ground but glad Izzie isnt sore after the difficult ride!!


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## Tazzie

I know! It's just plain sad really. Or when I need such a variety in jean sizes. It's a mess. And I am thankful for that!

I think if I rode in an arena that size all the time I'd get used to it too. Most of our show venues are quite large, so I rarely ride in something tiny. And I'm lucky when we can put my arena letters up and actually try to keep to the width of a standard size arena. Otherwise, I know most of my stuff is ridden on a larger scale. Or sometimes smaller. Depends on the situation lol but yeah, that arena isn't something to ride in repeatedly. One day I'll have an arena with nice footing.... and yeah. Recording helps the most to me right now so I can see the video and remember what was happening during it or how I felt about it.

Haha, yeah. I was like "Izzie, SERIOUSLY?! I haven't asked you to work this hard in a while!!" I just had to laugh really. And I have zero intention of breeding her to one. The woman who suggested I do it is an absolute quack. Not someone I'll be taking suggestions from at all.

The cold is getting old. But this above freezing is nice for walking outside, not nice for riding plans. Above freezing means all the snow is melting and stuff is thawing. Meaning the ground is SLICK. And going to rain all week this week. Just what I want *sigh*

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anyway, onto my way belated update. It's been a mess of a weekend.

I rode Friday, and that was the last day I rode. Izzie worked as well as can be expected. Canter was still a bit eh, but I honestly think it's a combination of her feet needing to be trimmed and the arena being so hard. Thankfully she's getting her feet trimmed tomorrow, yay!

We got down to the arena to be met with some major disappointment. They left a tractor and a truck PARKED in the arena. On Wednesday it was just the truck at one end of the arena. Not a HUGE deal, just shortened the arena. Friday they had the tractor at one end, and the truck parked on the side facing into the middle of the arena. On top of that all the horses were in. Which isn't a big deal and she needed to learn to focus on me anyway (she's normally pretty good about focusing in general with other horses around.) So anyway. We get our warm up in. I pick up the trot after our walk break and work on lateral work and a bit of collection work. Not a lot since I'm aware she may be a bit stiff from Wednesday, feet need to be trimmed, she needs the chiro, etc. You get the picture. Trying to be fair to Izzie.

So you all remember on Wednesday she wanted ZERO part of listening to my seat and core cues. Like, blew through them. Friday she felt good. I was trying to be careful not to half halt strongly on the outside or over use my inside leg when we did the lateral work. It was ok, and Nick recorded some of us coming straight at him. It's not the best we've done before, but it was decent.

Oh, yeah, forgot to mention. RIGHT as I picked up the trot and started working on lateral work, two guys came in the start feeding. They were carrying bales of hay across the arena as I was riding, leaving bales in the way, etc and just being SUPER distracting. So Izzie was having a tough time focusing because "THEY ARE GETTING FED!!!" These guys were screaming at the other horses and just being horrible. We got a few good passes, a few decent lengthenings, and called it a day. Wasn't worth dealing with these guys.

But my happiness and why I mentioned Izzie blowing through my core half halts on Wednesday. Friday, she had a brain for those. We were in full blown lengthen when I half halted with my core to bring her back down to a regular trot/borderline collected trot. And it was seriously like BAM! Back into regular trot. So happy!!

So I was pleased with that.

Saturday we went tack shopping. I got a pair of winter breeches since I've been freezing, and a pair of winter riding gloves (been riding in summer ones; anything would be warmer!!) Also bought new stirrup leathers since we ARE keeping the saddle. We both just love it. Hoping we continue to love it since it stressed me out to say the final "yes, it's working for us well." And bought that Passier Lederbalsam to condition my tack. Super pumped about it!

Sunday I had my meeting for my incentive fund. Found out I needed a paper signed by the veterinarian who cares for Izzie's sire. One problem. I am not on speaking terms with Izzie's old owner due to her using pictures of my children and pictures of my horse she stole off Facebook to use to sell Izzie's half siblings (through their sire). Solution, Blair is handling it for me. SO thankful.

I've been feeling BLAH since Saturday, and still do. Just sucks. Yesterday we took all the Christmas stuff in the house down, and I went to town cleaning it all up. Tonight I just have the bathroom to clean and one load of laundry to fold. Then I'm vegging. It has been a ROTTEN day today, so I need some relaxing time. Going to put a movie on for the kids, and probably sit and read a book. I need some me time.

Tomorrow Izzie gets her feet trimmed. Trying on a blanket and neck sleezy that I'm trying from Blair. Hoping they work and I can send her money :lol: perk of having a best friend own a used tack sale business: I get to try stuff on Izzie before I buy it :lol:

And then she has a chiro appointment on February 11th  we have ZERO free weekends for the rest of January, and trying to go during the week is just WAY too stressful. So, going in February 

Not sure when I'll get to ride again. If it keeps raining, it won't be for a while. Clay is just WAY too slippery when it's wet. And it's not worth getting Izzie hurt.

Oh, almost forgot. Here's the video from Friday. Just remember there was a disgusting number of distractions going on around her, and I wasn't asking for a whole lot.


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## Tihannah

She looks SO GOOD, Katie! And so glad you're both happy with the saddle! I'm so jealous of your posting trot! Lol.

I can't believe that lady stole your pics! Especially with the kids! WTH?? I would be so mad! I hope it gets straightened out without any drama. Common courtesy is such a simple thing!


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## PoptartShop

SO freaking perfect. & don't argue with me, seriously, you both look so good. I'm super happy she's back to her normal self haha, like yes yes yes! 
Awww you definitely deserve some you time. 

Tack shopping is so much fun.  & that's terrible she stole your pictures. So messed up. People have some nerve lemme tell you.


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## Tazzie

Tina, thank you! I'm very happy with it all  and relieved haha! Lol, you'll get there. I'm working on digging out ALL of my old videos from when I was younger. You just wait.... I only have ONE tape (yes, VHS), and need to find a VHS player (hoping in laws have one I can borrow), but mom got me a converter thingy for Christmas. It lets me put them on my computer, somehow. I'll be figuring it out and then you can really see where I started haha! Cause it wasn't pretty!

And yeah, that was a MASSIVE blow up. She failed to see how it was an issue to share out pictures of my kids on Izzie (didn't even blur out their faces!!!) Claimed it was to show the temperament the sire passes on.... like, you have kids. Take pictures of them climbing all over the stud then. Izzie was with her for ONE year. Where the lady did NOTHING with her. She is allowed ZERO credit to what Izzie is now aside from picking a mare for her stud and turning them loose together. But anyway. Yes, it was ugly. I still have the screenshots from that mess.

Allison, you are awesome, thank you! :lol: I'm happy too. Much easier to work with her when she's happy! And I needed it. God I needed it. Didn't fold the last load of laundry nor clean the bathroom. Just didn't have any desire. Instead, I chatted on the phone with Blair for like an hour and a half. Felt like only a few minutes since we both talk so much :lol: but it was a good refresher for my soul to just chat with her.

It really is though! I'm DYING to go to Equine Affair when it comes to Columbus in April. I'm going on the hunt for a bridle! I'm super crazy picky haha! And yeah, I was NOT happy. I despise her. She's trying to use Izzie's accomplishments to sell her horses. Izzie is the ONLY horse she has bred that has gone on to do anything. And yes, I checked on the database. Well, I guess they *could* be showing open shows, but who really knows. Izzie has two full sisters that I'm aware of, and at least two others that the stud sired. The pictures were sent to a friend of mine, and she let me know. I wasn't amused. At all.

And no update because I was good and lazy last night :lol: I'll be trying the possibly new to us blankets tonight, so I'll be sure to snap some pictures. And Izzie is getting her feet trimmed, which is good! She needs them done!


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## PoptartShop

Ooooh a new bridle would be lovely!  That's really a shame she can't just sell her horses without being a dramatic you-know-what, like come on now. But all that matters is you got lucky finding Izzie & that lady can go fall off a horse for all we care. :lol: LOL. & girl talk is important, so I'm glad you got to relax for once. We all need those nights!

Can't wait to see pictures!  She's getting the spa treatment getting those feetsies done. Did I just say feetsies? Apparently I'm 3. :lol:


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## Tazzie

It would be! I want something that will look and feel better on Izzie's face. Hopefully this year!

Yeah, she's a real witch with a capital B. I did get very lucky  I'm super happy with her. And yes she can, if she actually rode! She claimed her stud did all these things like champion costume horse, champion dressage, etc. Database doesn't show that, and knowing her.... probably not. Oh, and he did baby piaffe. Her words. Because I'm such a failure my 6 year old mare is ONLY schooling Second Level with some Third Level movements.... Chatting with her was super necessary haha!

LOL, I say feetsies all the time. She was happy to have them done, and the farrier is very good with her. Makes sure she is balanced before he starts, etc. And understands that my dang horse has a high foot and nothing is going to change that! Trust me, the jack hole that tried it last year lamed her for two weeks.

Anyway, smallish update! Izzie had her feet trimmed, and I love my farrier :lol: he always tells me how awesome her feet are! She had good feet, then hit a period where it had been super wet and her feet were extremely soft. So she lived on Keratex. But I couldn't ever stop, and I felt bad asking our friend to put it on. Or we'd forget. Something. So we switched to hoof supplements. I ultimately put her on SmartPaks since I'm rarely the one who feeds her, so I try to make it as easy as humanly possible for anyone else who feeds. That supplement has changed her feet for the better! He was like "her feet are in such great shape! If every horse I trimmed today was like her I'd have been here three hours ago!!" Such minor things :lol: he was a bit late and felt bad about it. Another horse got thrown onto his schedule, and he forgets where Izzie is in the middle of NO WHERE. So instead of 5 it was 6. I told him lateness doesn't bother me really since I get working with animals causes inconsistent times. He comes when I ask (he truly had forgotten I'd texted him earlier, and when I checked it was 3 days before Christmas; so I'm not mad), and he does a good job. I told him I'd only be mad if I was out there and he cancelled on me for something that he could have avoided or if he had known and just hadn't bothered to tell me (like our last farrier.) Also said that road gets DANGEROUS in the winter, and Izzie is not in hard enough work to risk lives get down there. I told him it'd be a mutual canceling on those days. I told him our first show is March 19th, so let's plan to have her trimmed prior (she's trimmed on a 6 week schedule during the summer, but a little longer in the winter since her hooves don't grow as fast.) He wrote it down in his planner so he wouldn't forget  just a stellar farrier!

We also tried blankets on Izzie  while they may look a tough long down her legs, they fit elsewhere. They are for stall use only, and only if it's COLD (like, our October shows cold.) And Jammies. They are Jammie's brand, and that, folks, is a LARGE on that mare :lol: it goes down her nose a touch far, but I think a medium would be too tight around her barrel and jaw. She was highly offended I put it all on her, and kept looking at me and Nick like "you have got to be kidding me." She is so mistreated haha!


















"Enough with the pictures, I'm out of here"









"WHY must you do this to me?!"









It has a small snag, but still perfectly usable 









I'm going to do two posts since I have so many "creative" ones that I don't want to pick and choose haha!


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## Tazzie

And my fun, creative ones hehe. Something was extremely interesting over with the other barn, where she lives. You can see how wet everything is, and since we don't own this property... I try to be super respectful not to ride when it's nasty and wet like this. I don't need to damage their property just to ride, even if they say they don't care. And no, I did not get on my horse. I was all by myself and I don't get on when I'm alone lol just held my hand above her neck haha!


















































We took a selfie LOL









And this one was my favorite  that is her barn in between her ears lol


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## PoptartShop

Izzie is SO darn pretty!!! And you guys look great together.  So cute!!! 
I love the blue, & the close-ups of her pretty face are so cute! GAH!


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## Tazzie

Thanks Allison  she wanted to take selfies lol she kept trying to grab my phone like "hey, we weren't done here!!!" Silly girl!!

And thank you! I was SO happy Blair had a royal blue one! I'm actually alright the blanket is black lol since they go well together  and I love taking headshots haha!


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## DanteDressageNerd

I wish clothing makers just had a standard rather than sizes be all over the place to where people ask what size you wear and you're like I have no idea.

I'm glad you had a good ride on Miss Izzie and got some good half halts! Sometimes they forget some manners with so much time of lol. And got some good work in with good transitions before the feed came through, I cant say I blame her but I guess she'll have to get used to sometimes others will eat and she'll be working lol.

I'm so glad Blair is able to help you out with the previous owner and with getting your some good used stuff to try and see how well you like both like it. Maybe she'll get a crown pad one of these days lol.

I LOVE the horse jammies! Izzie looks adorable in them, like she's saying do I look pretty? Am I cute? Also love the selfie! Gotta love the horse selfies! 

That previous owner of Izzie's sound like a real piece of work, very ignorant without a clue or common sense and a bit of shyster. EEk I'd want to keep away from that mess too! So rude. I'm sure you wouldn't mind had she asked first AND blurred out your kids faces and explained why she'd use them, rather than just using them without consent or asking. People are so rude sometimes, just be basically decent and respectful but for most people that seems too hard to manage.


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## Tazzie

So, I haven't updated in, well, forever :lol: there really hadn't been much going on. With all the rain the field was just TOO slick to do anything in. So Izzie got a month long vacation. She certainly didn't mind that hahahaha!

I did manage to get a few rides in recently though!

Last Wednesday was our first ride since we officially decided to keep the saddle. I'm still pleased with it, and Izzie certainly is too. She didn't lack ANY forward these past few rides. It was kind of intense really. I woke up pretty darn sore from the workout hahaha!

Rode again Saturday, and whew boy. Forward, forward, forward! It seems to be our mantra hahaha! We worked on some lateral work, and was the first time I really felt her lift up and sit in this new saddle. I'm having a tough time adjusting to a saddle that fits super well. Izzie's old one was narrow, and tossed me into a really bad chair seat. It also skewed my feel on her lifting since it sat in a way that made her feel super uphill. So the adjustment for me was tough. But I told Nick I felt like we could climb a mountain with how lifted she felt. We also did our first lengthened trot of the season to gauge where we are at. I felt like a Dressage superstar haha. I half halted at precisely the right moment each time to keep her lifted and driving, and oh my god. It felt phenomenal. So I'm super duper happy!

And finally I rode on Sunday. We did more of a long and low kind of ride since she seems a bit sore. She is in desperate need of an adjustment, which she gets on Saturday. We think her rib cage is swung to the right again, but she's still trying very hard for me. I've also been focusing a lot on our canter transitions. I've decided I'm a big part of our issues. I think I'm unintentionally tensing when asking her, which ****es her off. So lately I've been relaxing my body, asking, and going with it. And our transitions feel a lot better. Also working hard to relax my lower back at the canter. I fear I have more underlying issues from my accident than I originally thought, and this is the year I'm getting over them.

Nick recorded some of our canter work on Sunday. I didn't ask her to sit super hard, just go forward while I work on relaxing myself. Her canter felt super huge. Like Warmblood big. It was quite nice, and I'm not disappointed with the recording  I'm also including a video of Izzie with the kiddos.

In other news, I was nominated for the AHA Region 14 Adult Amateur award, and Izzie was nominated for Half Arabian. I'm super pumped  I'm hoping we have enough people that believe in us to vote for us to earn these awards! But really, I'm just tickled to be nominated


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## DanteDressageNerd

:lol: it has been forever since you updated. Good to see you lol. 

Izzie is really amazing with the kids! That's so awesome that she's so gentle and understanding of them!

The video looks really good! Glad to see despite all the time off, she's able to come back stronger than ever! Forward isnt a bad thing! Lot more to play with! More to organize but more to play with too! But that's awesome you've had such good rides. February is a new month, I hope it's full or horsey time, riding and joy!!

Major congratulations on the nomination!! That's super exciting!


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## PoptartShop

Seriously has been forever, but it's okay.  Finally an update, yay!
Izzie is sooo adorable & I love how sweet she is with the kiddos, awww! Too cute. 
Such a nice canter too, so big! Congrats too, you really deserve it, all that hard work pays off.  So happy for you guys!!!


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## Tazzie

DanteDressageNerd said:


> :lol: it has been forever since you updated. Good to see you lol.
> 
> Izzie is really amazing with the kids! That's so awesome that she's so gentle and understanding of them!
> 
> The video looks really good! Glad to see despite all the time off, she's able to come back stronger than ever! Forward isnt a bad thing! Lot more to play with! More to organize but more to play with too! But that's awesome you've had such good rides. February is a new month, I hope it's full or horsey time, riding and joy!!
> 
> Major congratulations on the nomination!! That's super exciting!


I know! Work has been BRUTAL! But it's been good. I love what I do! Just super busy.

I love how she is with them. She really loves those little guys, which definitely makes life easier. Kids LOVE her.

She feels so much stronger! It's insane! Not complaining though  she was adjusted today, which explains so much the issues we've been having (mainly her squealing only when I slide my right leg back.) Hopefully she feels better! And I'm doubting it. The next two weeks I'm working 4 10 hour days. And with the limited daylight there is a slim chance I'll get to ride. We will see though. Hoping to squeeze some ride time in!

Thank you! Voting just opened today  So excited!



PoptartShop said:


> Seriously has been forever, but it's okay.  Finally an update, yay!
> Izzie is sooo adorable & I love how sweet she is with the kiddos, awww! Too cute.
> Such a nice canter too, so big! Congrats too, you really deserve it, all that hard work pays off.  So happy for you guys!!!


Haha yeah! Work and home life! Normally I can update at work, but pretty sure combined total this week spent at my desk was about an hour. And it's chopped up. So I can read, but not always respond!

She really is adorable with them  I knew she would be when we got her. I just knew it.

It felt HUGE. I was totally okay with that. As long as it wasn't fast, I didn't mind. And it never felt fast  and thank you! I'm so pumped.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Not much of an update. She had an adjustment today, and boy did she need it. Her rib cage was visibly swung to the right, and she had one rib out. She had some issues in her back too that she reacted heavily to before he began. Her pelvis was also twisted to the left. Watching him work and get her fixed up is like magic. Izzie flattens her ears as he gets to an ouchy spot, and as soon as he rights it, ears are up and she has a happy, pleasant expression on her face. I swear one of these days she will go in nickering to him :lol:

I don't know how much riding I'll get to do for the next few weeks. I am working 4 10 hour days. Originally Nick wanted to go to the farm machinery show in Louisville on Friday, but we may go visit my family instead. The place I work in has Monday the 20th off for President's day, but my company does not. So I have to work 10 hour days to make up for that day. Just will have to talk Nick into meeting me down there to ride. I really need to get some ride time in. First show is March 19th. I think she'd be ok, but I'm a worry wort lol

And voting opened today for the awards! I'm super excited! Even if we don't win, I'm still very excited! We find out March 11th if we won 

Almost forgot! Izzie modeling her new awards 

And Alicia (evilamc) was awesome and made a little video of just Izzie on our trail ride to Hocking Hills. Izzie was in awe of everything!


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## tinyliny

Moderators note:

Please excuse this interruption, Tazzie, to your journal.

A few posts have been removed at the request of this journals owner, as she felt they were inappropriate. Forum rules give journals greater protection and discretion by the author, since the main purpose is to document ones ongoing progress in their world of horses. Over and out.


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## DanteDressageNerd

I know how much you have on your plate is probably excessive but always better to be busy than not have enough to do imo.

She's great with the kids! I've noticed a lot of arabians seem to be very kid and people oriented. They seem to have an instinctual understanding of children.

Im glad the adjustment helped her and she's going well! So glad she's doing so well!! Im sorry you wont get much time to ride but hopefully soon!!

She looks very becoming in her awards! Very lady like, such a pretty girl!


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## PoptartShop

She's looking so darn good!  Glad she got an adjustment, I'm sure she feels brand new now. 
She is such a darn model. *heart eyes* So perfect! I hope you get to ride soon, you're going to be so drained from work.


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## carshon

Love Izzie! And hoping the voting goes in your favor!


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## Tazzie

Thank you for removing the comment, Tiny. Particularly in our world I don't appreciate having something like that said about my horse. I know my pictures are not always the most flattering, but I've taken enough of them to disagree with the comment.

Cassie, yeah, I may have overdone it a bit today :lol: I've done A LOT today. The girls I work with are like "I see you've gone crazy..." Just trying to help us catch up. The place I work has been dragging their feet getting a second contractor in (I'm a contractor), so a lot of stuff has fallen quite far behind. I've been busting butt trying to catch us all back up. They think I'm nuts, but oh well. I'm helping! And yes, I'd much rather be busy. Even if that means I won't be able to respond as often :lol:

That was one of the perks I put about her in her bio for the awards. Hoping it'll draw some votes from people who don't really know who to pick! We shall see.

I'm hoping she will be super happy when I do get to ride. She had to have 48+ hrs off after that adjustment (her rib cage was wreak and so was her pelvis), so I didn't get to ride on this BEAUTIFUL weekend. Such is life; she feels better and that is all that matters to me! Nick said he'd meet me down there this week to ride, so hopefully I'll get to squeeze some rides in. I'm sure my mother in law (or father in law) will take the kids so Nick can go down alone and get her tacked up for me to hop on. Best thing he ever learned was how to tack that horse up. Doesn't even mess up the shaped girth. So proud!!

I love her in the awards  I have to drop the halter a couple of holes still. I didn't realize just how high up it was until I looked at the pictures and went "YIKES!" Least I can drop it down a bit. For reference, that is a Thoroughbred yearling halter :lol: TINY head!

Allison, I'm pleased with how she looks  definitely makes me happy and makes me sure we picked the right saddle for her. I like it well enough. Still taking some getting used to, and working on fixing my position in it. But having her so happy to go forward makes it easier for me to work on myself. And I'm positive she does. She HURT. Like, chiro went to put his hands on her rib cage the first time and she flattened her ears. As he was adjusting she made a move to nip me (she didn't) because it HURT. You could tell the second he had it where it needed to be. Ears flopped and she was licking and chewing. Total relaxation. Let him happily run his hands all down her ribs after that, till he found the one that was out. Ears pinned again, and then happy when he adjusted it. That man is a godsend to Izzie.

She knows she's pretty :lol: she can be such a ham haha! I love that she loves her awards too  she didn't mind it at all. Hopefully this week! Probably not today or tomorrow, but hoping for Wednesday depending on weather. I haven't looked at the forecast yet. And ugh, yeah. I was nutso busy this morning. It was good, but man I'm tired now!!

Thanks Carshon! I'm hoping so too 

If anyone is curious, since it is public, here is the link to the website. If you go down to the nomination bios, you'll find ours. Mine is under Adult Amateur, Caitlyn Lauer. And Izzie is in Half Arabian, Written In The Stars.

Regional Information | Region 14


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## DanteDressageNerd

I hope youre able to get some rest and relax. I hope you can get some rest. But no problem being nuts, it's better to have a screw loose but be effective and get the job done than contribute nothing.

Aww I hope the voting goes in you and Izzie's favor! 

It sounds like she had quite a bit out! I'm glad she's feeling better and hopefully the family can come together for some riding time! Hope you find the time!


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## Tazzie

Last week was 100000% brutal. It was the craziest week I've had since I've been here. But my pushing myself to the limit last week is allowing this week to literally be a breeze. Most of my stuff is getting it on the machines and waiting. Very little is hands on. Which is a WONDERFUL change after how exhausting last week was. I love my job, but my goodness I was whooped!

I'm hoping so. Voting has closed, and we will find out on the 11th. I've sent in my check for the banquet, so we are ready. Pretty excited. Trying not to get my hopes up since one rider and one horse that is against us is in a HUGE barn with a ton of members. I'd have to pull on a lot of stragglers and people who don't like that group. One downside to not being with a barn, but honestly... there aren't too many barns I'd want to be a part of. I consider myself under my best friend's barn, Phoenix Farms, but we aren't stalled there and don't train there. Just stable with her at shows :lol:

She really did. She felt WAY better after he adjusted her. I've been mounting from the off side too, to see if it helps a bit. SO awkward! But thankful I taught Izzie to be mounted from both sides haha!

------------------------------------------------------------------

Update!!

So, last Friday Nick and I took the kids to the Farm Machinery Show in Louisville. Boy did they have a blast! It was a really enjoyable day with the family. I'd planned to ride Friday night, but I was way too exhausted from all of our walking around and pulling the wagon. So much fun though and worth it!

Saturday Nick and I went riding on his toy. It's fun for the most part, but I'm a chicken :lol: took me three alcoholic beverages to relax enough to enjoy it. I'm horrible with heights and have a paralyzing fear of falling (in this case, rolling his toy off a cliff). We had fun until he submerged the toy in a deep area of water. That ended the fun (the one thing I can't stand is a wet butt!!) Ended up needing to buy new clothes since we were drenched, freezing cold, and had a long drive home. Not amused at all. Oh well. At least we had fun! Here is video of us going through the neat tunnel, and going about 60-65 along the train tracks.






Sunday was a pretty relaxing day, with just plans to ride. We went toward the evening to ride so Nick could fix his toy (he put a hole in the tire). Boy was she good. At first it was sketchy, with a spin/spook thing over a lawnmower. We also had a chainsawing going and someone was shooting targets with an automatic gun of some sort. She was on high alert, so we put her to work. She would not do any lateral work unless my position was correct, which was definitely good for me. We did ok with that. Gave her a long rein, and said maybe it's time to pull the walk to canter back out and get working on it. Now that we are having clean departures from the trot with no squealing or bucking, it's clear she realized the saddle feels good. A few were a bit sketchy with a trot step or two first. But then she jumped into one from the walk and I squealed with excitement, doled out praise, and gave her a long rein before she was even walking. We were riding in a circle around Nick so he could be my eyes on the ground. Gave her a break with tons of pats, and went the other direction. A few messy ones, but then one that was a clear thrust from walk to canter. Instant long rein and quit for the day. They weren't show ring pretty, but I'm alright with that. I want her to understand the concept before we make things show ring pretty.

Monday Nick worked so I did my housework and got most of our laundry done. Met him down to ride once he got off of work. Did our warmup and told him I wanted to work around him again with walk to canter. It was nice having a set of eyes let me know if it was as clean as it felt or not. Our first one we took the wrong lead, which was ENTIRELY my fault. Instant praise anyway since she DID go into the canter. Couple more sketchy ones while I worked out my own positioning. Then had two GORGEOUS ones to the left. I'm talking I would absolutely show them in a rail class. Maybe not quite Dressage, but oh yes. Definitely my rail classes. Switched directions and went the other way. Couple sloppy ones, but then NAILED them again. She got to the point where she was like "I've got this mom, you just don't hinder me." Which a few times I did, which is why we had sloppy ones. Gave her a good breather and then we dragged out the cavalletti. We haven't done them in a while, and never four in a row. Boy do we need practice! But she had been eyeing them for a while now, so figured let's go for it. I think she wanted something new, and I'm not embarrassed to do what my horse wants to do sometimes (she clearly wanted to do cavalletti). I'm showing the video, just know it isn't pretty lol needs some work on both of our parts, but I'm happy enough with it. The end of the video was when I called it a day. I was pleased with it, and didn't want to push her and make her tired and frustrated.

All in all, my horse reminded me just how much fun she is, and how cool of a horse she really is. Man I love her to death.


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## PoptartShop

YAYAYA awesome update!!!   :smile: Izzie really is an amazing horse. & so loved!


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## DanteDressageNerd

Gosh I hope this crazy work hours thing slows down so you can actually enjoy Izzie and spend time with your mare!

Im glad you guys got to have fun with cavaletti, that looks awesome!


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## Tazzie

@PoptartShop, she is super amazing  love that mare with everything I have!

@DanteDressageNerd, the hours have changed (back to regular 8 hour days), but we are slammed. We have an ungodly amount of work it's not even funny at this point. Doesn't help when one of the head bosses think all the contractors just sit around and chat. Wish he'd follow me around even on a light day. I don't chat with people, and while yes, I do have down time (hello, it's research; there are normally incubation periods and such), I'm certainly never disruptive. I respect people too much.

We had a lot of fun with them  I'm very thankful Nick made them for us. She had been eyeing them, so figured "well, she's asking for them; let's try it!"

Sucks that was my last ride on her for a while :sad:

Which brings me to my no update, update.

I have not ridden Izzie since that video. Shortly after I got a NASTY cold where I felt absolutely horrendous. We brought her to get her shots on the 25th, which went well. She got the internasal strangles (the IM one made her neck HURT last year, so wasn't doing it again). Vet was like "I don't remember, do we have to twitch her to do this?" I said oh no, Nick and I had done it ourselves with just her halter last time. Sure enough, if I had just let go of the halter it'd have gone even smoother. Didn't realize the vet was lifting her head, and I was trying to keep it steady. Oops! But she was a super angel. She knew mommy didn't feel well AT ALL and gave me no issues whatsoever.

Last week I was still feeling blah. I had to feed, and it RAINED. Good lord did it rain. And the wind was just insane. I fed Tuesday and Wednesday. Needed to feed on Thursday, but got all the way to his road to find I couldn't go down it. The road is a dead end road, and there was a HUGE tree brought down by the wind blocking access to the road. Fortunately our friend/BO (heck, his name is Cliff; so when I refer to Cliff, it's my friend/BO who takes care of my pony) has family on that farm that was able to feed for me and check everyone over.

Thursday night I took Kaleb into the Little Clinic (it's a doctor office in a local grocery store) since the poor kid couldn't stop coughing even with the all natural cough medicine he had (which normally works.) We were supposed to wait until 8, but then a gentleman swapped with us. I was SO grateful. Until he said in response "I hope you take that kid to the ER, he's in bad shape." Ummmm??? Kaleb was LITERALLY running around the store and REFUSED to sit down. My sister in law (who works as a nurse in ICU) was like "uh, no, he's breathing." The doctor in the clinic was like "if his lips were blue, his fingers were blue, and he was lethargic, then yeah, I'd question you bringing him here." I was like "we'd have been at the ER if that were the case." Some people... I'm grateful he swapped with us, and had been thanking him when he responded how he did. All of us were shocked.

Friday Morning I nearly wrecked. It wasn't icy, until suddenly it was and my SUV was flying across three lanes of highway, sideways. Someone was watching out for me because that area normally has A LOT of traffic, and that morning there was nothing. I felt like I was going to roll the car, but my yankee learning kicked in and I turned into my slide. Saved my life, I'm sure of it. Because I got that car back under control and safe just in time to avoid two vehicles that had slammed into the median and were in the lane I'd wound up in. I hadn't even been going fast, which is what scared me. Made it to work without any other issue.

Friday night my mom and dad came down for Kaleb's birthday. They got in pretty late, but we let the kids stay up to see them. Saturday we went to this cool place called Entertrainment Junction. Kaleb thought it was SO COOL. My dad and Nick did too. We all really enjoyed it  and Kaleb picked out birthday presents. Then we had lunch and dinner out because why not?

Sunday was his birthday, and boy did he have fun!! Had his favorite meal for lunch, and then that evening my in laws came over to celebrate. Was a great day 

But, Sunday night Nick's grandma was admitted to the hospital. It was recently determined she had a stroke. They had thought (and hoped) she had a stroke as well as a seizure. If she had had both, there would be a better chance of her waking up. But, since they found no signs of a seizure, there is very little chance she will wake up. Tonight or tomorrow they are moving her into hospice where she will be put on comfort care and her feeding tube will be removed.

Me, ever the planner for worst case scenario (it's a fault, really), I have everything all figured out for what our plans were. My friend knows we may or may not be able to move him on Sunday from Columbus to Louisville. We are still planning on attending the banquet Saturday. Izzie is leaving this weekend to go stay with my best friend since our first show of the year is next weekend. I haven't been on Izzie since my last post, and she hasn't worn the costume. While she's still plenty fit for this show, I like to get the costume on and do a short ride in it. Since everything is up in the air, I've been stressing about getting a ride in next week on her. My best friend already agreed to show her, just have to get her down there. And since we're using the trailer to move a friend, there wouldn't be a trailer. Well, ever the brilliant friend, Blair talked to Cliff and he found a trailer he can borrow. So, Izzie is heading down tomorrow. Blair is going to put some rides on her in preparation for the show. It'll be good either way. If I can show, awesome, Izzie will have had some rides. If I can't, oh well, Blair and Izzie will have had a few rides to reacquaint themselves. Blair has shown Izzie with success, so I'm not worried about that at all.

So, since I was able to get it all worked out, all the emotions have hit hard. I was entirely filled with stress. Stress over grandma, stress over trying to fit rides in before the show. Just stress. Now it's relief I have the Izzie situation figured out, and sadness over grandma.

Sorry, I'm babbling. Guess it's my journal so I can do what I want :lol: but still. I'm very thankful for Cliff and Blair right now.

To lighten the thread up a bit, some cute videos of my baby girl when I went to feed last week.










And also, the awesome @Evilamc created us a blog  I'm hoping once things settle down and I get some actual riding time in I'll be able to update it lol
Izzie: A Cinderella Story


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## DanteDressageNerd

I'm glad you're back to normal hours but I wish all employers would follow their employees around and actually DO the job or at least understand it, so they know what goes into it.

I know you've had a really rough go of things lately with the kids and being sick and all. 

Immunizations suck. Im amazed by how much they affect the horses and honestly animals get immunized more than they actually need. It's ridiculous to me, especially because several horses have such negative reactions to it.

I'm amazed the kind of amazing things that happens sometimes, you must have had a guardian Angel on your shoulder looking out for you with that accident. 

I'm glad Kaleb got to celebrate his birthday but sad to hear about Nick's grandmother heading into the hospital and getting ready to pass. I hope it is peaceful.

I hope everything goes well with Blair and Izzie. It was probably a good idea with everything going on. You have so much on your plate atm, I can't imagine. I really hope things start turning around and going better. I wish I was better with words to express what I'm trying to say but you're strong and I know how horrible it is to endure so much stress but I promise this will pass. Life will get better and calm down and hopefully sooner rather than later but sometimes I think you just have to go the motions and it all happens at once because if it happened spread out throughout a period of time it'd be harder to cope. It has to happen all at once to let the light shine through and not have the a storm loom over for too long. It'll get better!


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## PoptartShop

You are having one heck of a week. :/ Really hope things calm down for you soon so you can relax & get back to your normal schedule again.
So sorry about Nick's grandmother. So much stress. You are handling it well though, I'm glad you have a backup plan for Izzie too. Blab all you want, it is your journal! 
So glad Kaleb had a good birthday too. That sounds like such a blast.
I love the videos. She is just a doll!:loveshower:Love your blog too! Can't wait for you to get some rides in so you can update it & it will also help unload the stress!


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## Tihannah

I've been wondering where you've been! Happy Birthday Kaleb!! So glad you're okay and managed to get the car under control! Those situations are so scary! And so sorry about Nick's grandmother. :-(

But yayy on finding a trailer and transport for Izzie. It has to be nice to have someone you trust to ride her when you can't. I been meaning to ask you what happened with the voting for the nomination? Did you post about that?? Did you win?? 

Hopefully things will calm down for you soon and you and Izzie can get back to prepping to kick butt this show season!


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## Tazzie

Cassie, exactly. Like lately, I'm dead tired by the time I get home. My brain is just fried from focusing so much. It's exhausting. So I don't take kindly to having comments made that we just sit around and do nothing but chat. Like no. I work my butt off.

Yeah, Kaleb's cough is back too, so I didn't get much sleep last night. I'm whooped. All of us are. And yeah, and being a show horse, and showing at USEF shows doesn't help. You need proof within the last six months of immunizations. I only do spring shots. Our fall shows don't require to have the shots in the last 6 months, and the last one that does is end of June. So, I only do spring ones.

I had to have had one. It was terrifying. I was shaking so bad. I came into work and had to breathe and settle down before I got to work. Which I HATED doing. But I can't really work well if I'm trembling.

Kaleb loved it  and thank you. She was moved to hospice back in the nursing home last night, so now it's the horrendous wait for the end. It's just a sucky situation all the way around.

And I get what you're saying. I really appreciate it. I know it's best to send Izzie down if we are expecting her to show next weekend. Just tough knowing the possibility of riding is now gone for the next week. But I appreciate it. I'm trying to be strong, which isn't easy.

Allison and Tina, I'll respond this evening when I'm home. I was just told I can leave, so I need to bolt and bring Izzie's stuff down to Cliff and go do my taxes. I PROMISE I'll respond tonight!


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## Tazzie

Alright, home and relaxing now...

Allison, it's been insane. I'm just hoping for a slow down soon. Who knows when that will happen though. I've been a little emotional lately because of it all. Trying not to be snappy, just been blah lately.

Thanks. It's extremely hard. She went into hospice last night so it's only a matter of time now. It's sad, but we know it's coming. We had planned to visit tonight, but Nick wasn't up to driving up there. Going tomorrow morning instead since I have errands to run up there. I'm trying to handle it well. It's tough, but I know she doesn't want to be remembered this way. And haha, yes it is!

It was a blast  just an overall fun weekend!

She really is a doll :lol: I love that goofy mare! Hopefully I can actually add something to my blog soon. May add those videos lol just been a bit nuts/out of sorts lately. It will definitely unload the stress when I can ride again!

Tina, I've been lurking, just haven't posted. Either just blah or only enough time to read. We've been pretty busy at work. He says thanks! And yeah, I was terrified, then was like "hey dummy! Turn INTO the slide." Thank god for my instincts. And thank you. It's hard. She was a super strong lady. Literally pushing off round bales off of a trailer at SEVENTY. I'm not kidding. And living alone until she was 89 with a daughter with down syndrome. Strong is actually not a good enough term since she's so much more than that.

I'm SOOO thankful for Cliff finding a trailer and offering to take her down, and for Blair for doing this.  Blair was chuckling as I was crying yesterday when she called. She knew the relief I was going through. And yeah, Blair showed Izzie in her first and second show, and again after I broke my wrist. I'll never forget the first time she rode Izzie. She was like "I'm SOOO glad I cantered this horse here first and not at the show; I'd be like "can we keep cantering???"" I trust her fully. I emailed her an "instruction manual" to make sure she could cue the right things. She knows how I ask and what I expect, which is why I told her how to do the lateral work. I said "what fun is being sent a pony that knows tricks if you don't know how to ask for them???" So hoping she has fun with her.

Haha, I find out tomorrow night. We are leaving for the banquet between 4 and 4:30, and it doesn't start until 6. So we shall see what happens! I'll let you all know if I win or not 

I sure hope so. She's been working so well when I actually can work her that it makes me desperate to ride. Need to get my house healthy, have everything settle down, and the weather to get nice again. I just want to ride my baby!!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

I brought all of Izzie's stuff down tonight before I went to do our taxes. Man I have a lot of stuff I take to shows....

Also snuck out for a minute to visit her since I was in desperate need of a pony hug. And she had a good amount of them for me. She also thinks it's a pretty sweet deal that the last two days all she got was a handful of treats, lots of kisses, and no work :lol: did snap a couple of pictures that I'll put at the end.

It's a huge relief to have our taxes done too. Izzie and I earned WAY more this year than last year, holy smokes. So it was awfully tough finding stuff to put toward it :lol: all my shows combined was still short of it. So, yeah :lol:

Tomorrow we are going to bring my rings up to get them cleaned, pick up more food for Sheldon, visit Nick's Grandma, and go to my banquet. Izzie is leaving tomorrow morning, probably before we even get up. I'm trying not to be overly emotional about it. It's a HUGE relief knowing she will get the rides she needs in preparation. Blair told me if I'm able to, to go down and show on the 19th. Nick said duh, of course. So, that makes me happy. There really isn't anyone I trust more than Blair to do this.

Almost forgot a bit of an amusing story. Had a meeting for our local club here on Monday. I had mentioned to the gentleman that since Izzie really isn't a halter horse that I wouldn't mind our hunter pleasure class being put where the carriage class was (the lady does show in halter and the carriage class). The guy was like "you could still show in it!" I said well yes, and told him last year she had a girl that hadn't handled a horse until the night before show her in the halter class. Mind you, they trot in, halt, walk up to the judge, stand, and then trot off. The guy was like "well that isn't safe." I told him I had Jim's approval to run on the outside of Izzie as support, and that my two year old daughter leads her all over the farm. But I figure he must have that "all Arabs are crazy" bias. I do also understand that people can't believe a horse that young is that good with kids. But oh well. Izzie was perfectly mannered for the girl, naturally :wink:

Pictures!


































And here was the breakdown for us with how much we earned showing. You can see how it was tough. We didn't even come close with all of our shows this year, including mileage there, hotel costs, etc.


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## DanteDressageNerd

I can well imagine. I feel overwhelmed and don't have anywhere near the amount of stuff on my plate that you have.

Anxiety is terrible but honestly considering what you had just experienced and how close you came to a very serious event, you are extremely lucky and I absolutely can't blame you for being shaken up following an event like that! I have no doubt I'd have been just as shaken up!

I hope all follows for the best and you feel better and your family is able to get through it all. I know you're strong. You have to be strong to go through all the emotions and keep on, keeping on. The strongest people are strong not because they're numb but because they're brave enough to feel it all and still keep going.

I love all the selfies! They're darling! I hope all goes well!!


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## Tazzie

Ugh, yeah, it's just been nuts. I think Sunday will be a nice relaxing day for me now. Grandma passed away on Tuesday, and her layout and funeral are on Saturday. Nick said we could go to the show Sunday, but I'm not sure I can handle it emotionally. If Izzie wasn't so sensitive I'd try it, but she is. So it's not fair to anyone.

It was nuts. I think about it daily driving through there. Since that day it's been packed like normal. I had an angel or something because there was no one around that day. Just crazy.

It's definitely tough. But we will get through it.

And haha, thanks! I actually have more :lol:

Obviously there isn't much of an update since Izzie isn't here. We helped my friend move on Sunday, which went well. And we had our awards banquet on the 11th. We didn't win (we expected it going in, but the excitement is always there anyway), but we still had a great time. I very much enjoy hanging out with my clubs. So it was still worth it (and Nick had some beer bought by a friend, so he was happy :lol

After we got my friend's big stuff moved into storage, Nick had the great idea to bring the trailer to Blair's so it'd be ready to bring our queen home. Both Blair and Cliff said it was fine, and we made sure all three of us were ok to visit Izzie (Blair's barn owner that she leases from wants to know who all is in the barn; I see it as a courtesy to make sure it's fine to visit) Blair was at a show and was SUPER bummed she wouldn't be there to see us. But she was having fun there.

Izzie was happy! She was nickering and all sorts of excited to see us. I was introducing my friend who we moved (Keegan) to the horses, and Nick goes "there is one over here dying to see you". She was so smooshed up against the bars it was hilarious. She wanted her mommy! We gave her a good grooming since she's shedding, and boy did she enjoy that!

We had to leave, but Blair sent me all sorts of hilarious pictures and a video on Monday. First, there was a bar missing on her stall. She kept poking her nose out wanting to see everything. Blair was like "FINE! I get the hint!" And put lead ropes up like we do at shows (only when we can monitor her.) HAPPY pony! Then she got a snack. Apparently when she finished, she tossed the bucket in the aisle, and looked at Blair like "Hey human!! It's empty!!"

She also sent this video. Izzie hates dogs. Hates them. My mom had a lab that knew no boundaries, and though I asked them to keep their dog out from under Izzie, they didn't listen. Well, Izzie now wants to stomp dogs. It's quite lovely (not.) Anyway, she used to be scared of goats. Now I think she believes they are dogs with horns, and hates them too. My friend was like "I love her and I'm keeping her." Apparently this goat is a jerk and none of the other horses put him in his place. Izzie is DOMINANT, so it doesn't shock me that she put him in his place!






Blair has ridden her a couple of times. She was fussy their first ride, and she did a check with me on things. Everything was fine, my mare was just being opinionated. She rode again last night with a friend on the ground. I guess she was riding like a lesson. She didn't do anything wrong and behaved, but there was no energy, no spark. Finally Blair was like "Your mom said FORWARD!" and Izzie was like "FINE!" Blair realized she was riding too conservatively in fear she'd ruin my horse. Once she figured out Izzie won't offer up stuff, and forward is the key, they had a great end to the ride. Blair definitely wants to keep her now :lol: she also LOVES my saddle. Told me it's like riding in a freaking Cadillac :lol: and that her browband is PERFECT for her (Blair is not into sparkly things, but realizes I love sparkly, so she's good with it lol)

So I'm more relieved now for the show. I'm hoping it goes well.

We did have a phenomenal opportunity handed to us on Tuesday night as well. Izzie and I were asked to be the sport horse in hand demonstration at.... EQUINE AFFAIRE!! I'm SOOOO freaking excited! I almost cried in excitement! Sounds like next year they want us to ride, but I'm happy with in hand this year! It'll be Izzie's first HUGE event, but with all the kids I imagine she's going to be mush :lol:

I've put all the pictures I have on. Enjoy!

Pictures from the banquet with Goldie, the US Nationals 50th Anniversary Statue

Nick and I









Nick and I with two of our favorite people, Jeff and Carl









All of the SAHIBA club members who showed up









Visit with my baby!

























And the pictures Blair sent me of my spoiled pony. Don't mind her right front. It is NOT that high, so the angle is off a bit. She was due for a trim and Blair had her trimmed Tuesday I believe.


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## Rainaisabelle

Aw izzie ! Super proud of you guys !!!! Love that she's so opinionated and has a personality, wouldn't life be boring without her aha!


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## PoptartShop

Sooooo proud of you two. <3 Just amazing. & she's such a great horse, and beautiful as ever!
Love love the pictures!!


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## DanteDressageNerd

I'm really sorry it's been so hectic and insane lately. Just one things after another, I really hope it slows down. I think it needs to happen all at once, so it's not constant down pour but hopefully it'll come together soon.

I love the pictures, they're really darling  Izzie and the goat is hilarious and not surprising at all lol. Goat deserved it. But really awesome Blair is enjoying Izzie so much and she's getting some time going, rather than sitting. Hopefully you'll have time for your girlie soon!!


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## Tazzie

Rainaisabelle said:


> Aw izzie ! Super proud of you guys !!!! Love that she's so opinionated and has a personality, wouldn't life be boring without her aha!


Life would definitely be boring without her! I'm not sure I'd want a horse less opinionated now :lol: she speaks her mind freely haha!



PoptartShop said:


> Sooooo proud of you two. <3 Just amazing. & she's such a great horse, and beautiful as ever!
> Love love the pictures!!


Thank you! I love that sweetheart  she really is a great horse, I'm so lucky to own her!



DanteDressageNerd said:


> I'm really sorry it's been so hectic and insane lately. Just one things after another, I really hope it slows down. I think it needs to happen all at once, so it's not constant down pour but hopefully it'll come together soon.
> 
> I love the pictures, they're really darling  Izzie and the goat is hilarious and not surprising at all lol. Goat deserved it. But really awesome Blair is enjoying Izzie so much and she's getting some time going, rather than sitting. Hopefully you'll have time for your girlie soon!!


I hope it does too, but yeah. I'd hate having things staggered out and feel like it's never ending. That would suck.

And thank you! Yeah, it wasn't surprising at all. It blew up on my Facebook since it was so hilarious :lol: I truly watch it daily like "yup, that's my mare" :lol: definitely! I think Izzie's happier to be in work, which makes me happy. And I hope so! Calling for rain Monday and Tuesday, so going to aim for Wednesday and Thursday. We're going on a riding (Nick's kind of riding) on Friday, so the next earliest after that will be Monday. I'm ready to be back in the saddle!

-----------------------------------------------------------

I have a few updates. First, we laid Grandma to rest yesterday. They didn't have anything ready to bury her. It was horrible. They had to do the graveside ceremony in the church because the vault wasn't in the ground. Then they didn't have the equipment in position to lower grandma in. So.... Nick, his brothers, his cousins, his uncles and his dads had straps around her, and they lowered her in as a team. Heartbreaking to watch, but fitting grandma would have her boys lay her to rest. We had a beautiful celebration of her life afterword up in the church's gymnasium (typical reception area). I wound up with all the kids because we prepare for boredom and bring toys :lol: thank goodness I had enough for all of the cousins to play with! No one felt left out because we had enough, whew.

On Friday night Blair called me. While sitting on my horse. To tell me that they had just had the best ride they have ever had together. She said she cut it off at 15 minutes because it was just so good that she wanted to stop without making her mad. I said I wanted to cry with relief because now I feel like as long as they can steer clear of our enemy (I'll explain that in a second), that they should be golden. I'm so excited to hear how it goes today, ugh.

(I'll do this in parenthesis since it's not really an update. There is this girl who is a "trainer" who has been less than impressed with our success. She trains with the yanking in and not allowing to go forward way of training, and from rumors I've heard, is not above doing shady things. She is not pleased an amateur like me without any trainer is repeatedly beating her for year end high point awards. She took second to me in everything we did last year. She's even less thrilled that I hang out with a couple of her ex clients. One had two horses there that came home skinny. My friend paid for entries into classes, and then they told her they could no longer show them. In a super rude way. I showed them instead. The other had their horse choke at a show we were at in May. She asked us to check on him while there. We'd gotten there later than a lot of people, but there was still no one around this horse. He looked ok. They took him back, and he was not to be ridden for a few weeks. The horse was being leased to the girl. They tried pressuring her into letting him be ridden sooner against vet wishes, and tried to pressure her into selling the horse to the girl because "they are ready to buy now." We got him out of there real fast. So yeah. She's not a fan of me in the least, and I have a bad gut feeling she's going to try and sabotage Izzie this year.)

Then I get a picture of Izzie tucked into a trailer last night. Blair is borrowing a 9 horse trailer (I believe the owner of the trailer was driving it haha) because Blair has 8 horses including Izzie. So she needed the big trailer. She put geldings in between the mares so there were no arguments to be had. Blair called me though all proud of Izzie. This rig is HUGE, and totally different than her regular trailer. Blair was like "I'm so proud of your horse. She walked straight up into this rig, let me turn her around, and then back her into her trailer spot. She was the least problematic of all of the horses tonight." Then said she went to load the gelding next to her, who tried to be like "hey neighbor!" Izzie apparently flattened her ears and was like "Ef you!!" The gelding apparently made a look like "well that's not very nice...." but no other issues afterward :lol: my horse just doesn't like other horses most of the time lol she unloaded fine from the rig, and looked all spiffy in her gear.

Now the sit and wait to hear how it goes LOL I won't be texting for updates since she's going to be going crazy with all these horses haha! She's not riding them all, but she's riding the harder ones I believe (Izzie, the road pony, etc) I can't wait to hear about her day though!! I'll be sure to update how it goes! I don't feel anxious anymore since Izzie gave up her attitude and started working with Blair, which was a massive relief.

And just for the record, that was ride number 3 on Izzie. She'll give it up faster if I'm there, but apparently when I'm not she won't start and end a ride on perfection for a few rides :lol: nothing to do with Blair, this is ALL Izzie lol


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## DanteDressageNerd

I'm glad Nick's grandmothers had a suitable funeral with all of her children and family to say good-bye. That's what matters most, the gathering together of family to say good bye.

I'm glad Blair and Izzie are having such a lovely time together! That's really amazing! Cant wait to hear about how it went!

I hope that girls minds her own business, especially with how lacking in talent, ability, any kind of humility or discipline. I agree she sounds like a piece of work to stay away from. It never fails to amaze me the degree of petty some people can be, it's a very dark place beyond reason and beyond any kind of principle or moral ground some people live in.

lol oh Izzie. Please learn to be friends, don't be that mare lol. She's the opposite of Frankie. Frankie thinks everybody is her friend, except for one horse she hates. Arabs lol. They're so quirky. Arabs can be so difficult.


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## Tazzie

I am too, thought it was hard watching Nick and his family lower her in. It's hard enough watching the lift. Having her boys do it was tougher. But I'm sure she loved it. All of her boys there to lay her to rest. Goodness she was a heck of a woman.

I'm glad they are too! Though, Izzie's back home now. I'm guessing the barn is going to miss her :lol: though, not cleaning her stall. She's a PIG. Like, don't overbed and strip it every day kind of pig. She's not a stall walker, so we have ZERO idea how it gets so messy!

She really does. And I'm not someone to mess with. I know her large thing is lame. And she's aiming to show it at Regionals. I'm not the only one who knows that horse is unsound. And using anything to mask soundness is against USEF rules. I may not be the one to make a claim, but I have a good suspicion one will be made against her this year. She's ****ed a lot of people off in the last year, and she's broadcast about showing at Regionals. Couple of the people that she ****ed off used to board/have their horses in training with her. I have a feeling this is the year something big is coming at her. It's amazing how the walls have ears in a barn, and what happens when you **** those people off. I've worked hard to stay out of it. I've worked hard to steer clear of her in the ring (partly because Izzie is a brat, part of it so no one can complain I blocked the judge from seeing them.) I've worked hard to be friends with everyone because our show circuit is tiny. But it's going to get nasty if she's going to purposely sabotage my horse. I have a sharp tongue and a temper.

And yeah... she is one of those mares. We've tried to get to get over it. She becomes ok with the horses you work with her on a regular basis, but it's normally like field mates. Or when we went trail riding she liked Alicia's horses as company, but not to get near her. I wish she liked everyone, but truth is... she'd probably love to have her own field with horses just on the other side of the fence. And they sure are difficult :lol: oh well.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Our update!

So, yesterday we went and got some new windows! We aren't doing all of them at the same time (I don't want my pocketbook bleeding :lol, but we got some for our living room and kitchen. I'm SO excited to have working windows soon! Our current ones are junk that are hard to open and have to be braced open. Also going to add a screen door so we can get some real airflow in the house. Man I'm excited! Next rooms will be Kaleb and Sydney's rooms, then our room. Finally, the bathroom. But that one is going to take a total renovation. Will be replacing the tile in the tub and on the floor... I don't want to since we only aim to be here for another three years. But windows are NEEDED at this point, so been making room in the budget to add them as we can. It'd be amazing if we can get all but the bathroom done before winter, but it's going to be over $800 to do the next 5 (the 3 was $525 total, not bad at all really since the living room has large windows).

Then I got periodic updates from the show. I haven't gotten to hear Blair's take on it all, so I'll have to fill that in later. First was Native Costume. I HATE having that first. Naturally, Izzie bucked with Blair at first since she's a queen and doesn't think she should wear that costume "hmph." Tripped up her leads in the costume class. Apparently my friend's horse messed up too. So the first place horse just didn't mess up. Least that is how Keegan explained it. I was like "Keegan, I told Blair to go get her third place ribbon. The other horses could enter on their heads and we'd still get third since we are not what the judge wants in that class." Next was Sport Horse In Hand. One year I'll learn not to show in this class at this show with this judge (she judges every March show...). She never places us in this class. She typically picks all purebreds.

On a whim they entered Trail In Hand. Izzie hasn't even seen a trail course since early October. Haven't practiced too many of the obstacles either aside from poles. Took a respectable 4th out of 6. The first two horses are seasoned trail horses (it's all the girl does; I've only seen one of them ridden, and only once). I'm guessing the third was whoever paid to have that class added. So I'm pleased as punch with that!

Next up was Sport Horse Under Saddle. Blair called me saying she was worried she screwed up my show record. The way she started though made me worry Izzie was injured. Nope! She was like "well, we walked out of the ring, and they gave us this blue ribbon...." Cue screaming! I guess Izzie rode super happily in that class, though was an energizer bunny :lol: that was the judge's comments. Blair was like "you have no idea...." So, first out of 4!

Last was Hunter Pleasure. It sounds like someone crowded her (gut feeling.......), which let loose her attitude. Took 4th in there. Cliff didn't catch how many were in it. He thinks at least 5 so she didn't get dead last, but I don't really know.

I'm hoping to talk to her tonight to hear what she has to say. She was crazy busy all day so I wasn't going to pester her with updates. They had an epically great day though!

And our fabulous barn owner Cliff took video of her Sport Horse class. Now, please. No critiques. None. I'm well aware there are things I'd have adjusted, but honestly. My horse looks HAPPY. And that was all I was hoping for. Period. And no comments of "you ride her better." No duh. And yes, I was told that comment earlier today...


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## Tazzie

Oh, and the bay in that video is the large thing I mentioned that is lame. You can see he's just.... odd. And the little chestnut with the tail straight in the air is also trained by the same girl. He shows like that all the time. The other grey I don't know the story on. He's not with the other two. Only thing I know is that he is a purebred.


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## DanteDressageNerd

That is true. That's one thing people like that do, they make enemies everywhere and lose all credibility and trustworthiness. You reap what you sew. 

I think Blair did great! Especially since Izzie is a tricky horse to hop on and ride and she is trained differently from how Blair ride/trains. It doesn't make it easy to jump between different style but I'm glad they had such a good outing together and Izzie was so willing to work for Blair which is half the battle. They definitely look the most free and over the back, though I don't know how the classes are judged or what the judges are looking for but I think Izzie and Blair look good. 

There are a few that look a bit back lame or rider/trainer/or saddle lameness cause. It's a shame about the big bay. It never fails to amaze me how people who take their horses for granted are able to get the ones with the most heart and desire to please. He's really a nice horse but it'd be interesting to see how he'd go in a different program. We have a few trainers like that in my area who I'll be polite enough with but wouldn't trust them farther than I could throw them. I know one who I ran into casually and was quite chummy with me until she found out where I trained at then she was cold as a fish. *shrugs* people.

Good luck with the home repairs! That sounds like a lot of investment money but none the less necessary. 

I don't know how arabian shows go or how they judge but I'll say I guess the purebred vs partbred snobbery makes me happy to be in dressage. I think there might be some "type" snobbery but not breed snobbery. Like PRE's I get why they often times wont make the same scores and it's because of their inconsistent rhythm and difficulty in developing a pure gait. But it seems odd to me when a horse might be selected based on "breed" rather than ability. I think it's neat they have so much versatility but I'm just not familiar with it lol.


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## Tazzie

Yup. It's why I just try to make friends everywhere we go. Last year was one of my favorites. At one show I gained a couple new friends. One was a Western Pleasure rider. Her husband was wearing a University of Michigan jacket. Instant friends :lol: the other was a last minute entry into the native costume class. We both agreed to steer clear of one another since both of our horses were EXCITED. When the winner was announced she clapped and smiled at me, not realizing it had been her number called. I was already clapping and was like "honey, they called your number!" Yup, we became friends :lol: Nick makes fun of me for how easily I make friends at shows. I said I'd rather ride in an entire class of friends, and clap for them when they win, than to ride in a class full of your enemies that want to sabotage you.

She really did. I was tentative to put the video up to be honest since Blair rides her differently. I'd already had one people make rude remarks, and I didn't want more of them. Izzie is definitely a difficult horse, and it's harder when I can't be there to walk them through how to ride her. When I can be the ground person, they get her really cooking. But Blair had to do the impossible. Relearn my new, super forward horse, on her own, in a week. So I think she did dang good with the odds stacked against her. The others are exactly how A LOT of our competitors ride. The bunched up, restrained look. The judge is supposed to be looking for a horse that is fluid, not restrained, working in harmony with their rider, and showing an aptitude to move onto a non-rail class. They are supposed to be judged on "would I jump that horse over a fence? Do dressage with that one?" Etc. Least that is how it's been explained to me often. But, that isn't always how it goes. Some judges just reward flashy over correct.

Well, the big guy will have a new rider this year (she honest to god has a youth nationals rider on him now), so it'll be interesting to see if he's changed. I'm really not thinking he will be. In earlier videos he looks the same even with different trainers. Supposedly he's let his owner know who's boss, but I've never seen him do that at shows. He blows his leads a lot. (And I've caught her beating him after a class, in the warm up ring, because he blew his leads.) I'm nice enough to her, but I'll never be chummy with her. There are too many things that she does that I do not agree with.

And yeah.... I hate spending all that money knowing we won't be here long term. But it's needed. I just hate coughing up the money for it :lol:

It's not often we show against purebreds. Basically only in open shows does it happen. At rated shows it's Arabian and then Half Arabian/Anglo Arabian. I do miss the lack of breed bias, but thankfully the majority of our shows are judged fairly. Blair told me one of the horses who beat us, and I couldn't believe it. Izzie may have been a non purposebred horse, but she is put together nicer than the horse that beat her. Even Nick was like "WHAT THE HECK?? Does the judge even know what a sport horse is supposed to look like?!" So yeah, no one was amused.

And as if to add insult to injury, the judge's daughter showed at the show. In the Arabian/Half Arabian Sport Horse In Hand class. As if THAT'S not a conflict of interest!! Apparently the show manager was fine with it. I'm even more disgusted at this point.

Though, I got a bit of a recap on the show.

Blair said Izzie bucked a bit in warm up with the costume (as is typical for that horse...) but was fantastic in the class (aside from blowing her lead.)

She was LIVID they didn't place in the in hand class. Blair said she was perfect and perfectly set up.

The trail class Izzie let Blair know she wasn't amused with the backing up business. The last trail class Izzie did she had to back through an L. This one she had to do arcs and circle around cones. Izzie said it was stupid. And the ground poles to trot over were basically hidden in the sand, and Izzie was wider than they were long...

Under Saddle Blair said she started with her normal, happy trot, and then suddenly was just like "THIS CALLS FOR A BIGGER TROT!!" In the interest of not ****ing her off, Blair just rolled with it. Apparently the judge also remarked on the canter and said it was quite the canter. Blair was like "I could ride this horse's canter all day long." I told her I was glad we got her using herself better in the canter. Before her canter was speedy and on the forehand. Now it's just big, not fast.

I guess it all fell apart in hunter pleasure. By then Blair was exhausted and didn't have much legs and seat left. Izzie took full advantage of Blair. They called for a walk from the trot and Izzie went "I DON'T THINK SO!!!" and tossed her head straight up. Blair had to use the fence to stop her. Apparently after that Izzie got with the program, but it was too late. She'd blown the class. Ah well, Izzie is well known for her opinion by now...

I'm feeding this week for Cliff too, so I get extra snuggle time with my baby  if I had time, I'd toss some pictures up. I'll try to tonight after my chiropractor appointment and after I see her :lol: she missed me though! Groomed me, licked me, and pulled me in for what I'm guessing was her form of a hug. Which was a first. She'll always be my baby girl


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## DanteDressageNerd

I entirely agree. The horse world is way too small to make enemies. I just try to be nice to everyone but not bend over backwards like a welcome mat lol. I know how naive and childish this sounds but I operate under the idea of why can't we all just get along and encourage one another. Like I was explaining to a friend, I don't mind if I'm given advice but make it constructive and give me ideas on how I can make it better. Dont just tear down to tear down or belittle to belittle. Though I'll say there are people I don't like and stay away from because they're untrustworthy and petty. One lady that still goes to the shows is the one who psychologically ruined Gracie (Frankie's mom) and put callouses the size of my palm on both sides of her barrel from spur marks :-( But that's awesome you make so many friends!

That makes sense because I thought the sport horse classes were for picking a horse you might want to take into a sporthorse class, rather than a strictly arabian rail class. But it makes sense they don't always judge how they're supposed to. Judges do that too. And I think everyone makes their judgments and none of us are perfect. I think sometimes people don't put into context the situation when they make an evaluation. I think Blair did great, it's a hard horse to learn to ride, especially if she's trained differently from how Blair rides. Like with me riding Dooley, he's not in a dressage program atm so he's out of shape and with more time we'd be better pair but the base is good, if that makes sense. Same with Blair I think she did great and of course it'd be better with more time together but for the time frame and situation she did awesome. If that makes sense? I just think it's important to be fair to horses and riders. 

But I understand. There are people I would never be chummy with either because I know how they treat horses behind closed doors or when no one is looking or how they talk about people behind their back. Character matters but I hope the big guy ends up going somewhere else, I never will understand how riders like that find horses that will tolerate their [email protected] I know a few horses who would have put me in the hospital if I just smacked them around and blamed them for my mistakes. People, that girl really needs a GOOD trainer to teach her how to ride.

Well hopefully it'll come back when it comes time to sell the house? Maybe?

The other things I wouldn't sweat is because Izzie is a half arab, she uses her hind end and body so much better. She has great mechanics as far as dressage goes. I'm always looking at what makes horses able to do what they do. 

That's ridiculous that they allowed the daughter of the judge to show in a class judged by the judge. That's not okay because clearly there is a vested interest :-/

But I'm glad you got some snuggle time with your girlie! It's never overrated!


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## Tazzie

Yeah, she will be one I say nice pleasantries to, but not much more than that. And yeah, I don't mind getting advice, but I need it in an appropriate way. Not a way to tear me down. I wouldn't probably take advice from this girl though.

This is the exact specifications according to AHA:



> Sport Horse
> In-Hand
> These classes evaluate a horse’s suitability as a sport horse according to movement, conformation and general impression. Movement of the horse is evaluated looking for horses that push from behind, travel uphill, exhibit good length of stride and move with straight, rhythmic, balanced gaits. Conformation is evaluated in terms of potential trainability, potential performance and predisposition to soundness.
> 
> Sport Horse Show Hack
> This elegant, harmonious class is essentially a dressage class on the rail, emphasizing straightness, impulsion, elasticity and balanced rhythm at 10 gaits and transitions – the normal, extended and collected walk, trot and canter plus the hand gallop. Horses should be obedient, expressive, and animated with an uphill build to elevate their front end for collected gaits and longer strides.
> 
> Sport Horse Under Saddle
> In this division, horses are evaluated in performance, manners, conformation, suitability as a working sport horse and quality. The performance at each gait should show quality and suitability for a working sport horse.


Now, whether it is judged that way or not is up to the judge. But the horse should reflect an ability to be a true sport horse. The downfall is these open shows where they have judges that prefer other disciplines (like the main ring stuff). At rated shows they typically try and bring in a Dressage or Hunter judge to judge the class.

I fully believe Blair did extremely well. It really rubbed me the wrong way when a friend of mine critiqued her. Like, I didn't ask for a critique on it. Blair and I actually talked about it last night and I told her what was said. And then how I unleashed my anger to the friend about it and shut her up really quick. Apparently Blair also reads my blog (I was surprised/amused since Blair is one crazy busy individual) and she was like "Let me tell you about this comment." It was the "Poor Blair needing to relearn how to ride my now super forward horse without me there" comment. She's like "You have no idea how many times I thought "Where is Katie?! I need her!!!" while I rode." I told her I knew she had thought that :lol: she did retort to my other friend's comment that she'd like to see her ride that horse without any guidance from me. Izzie's not an easy horse, and it's even harder when I'm not there and you don't have a Dressage friend on the ground to help. So yeah, I think Blair did a tremendous job!

Exactly. I've never believed in punishing a horse for my mistakes. Even more so when a class is over and they now have NO idea why they are being beaten. I'd be shocked if she doesn't end up selling him. She keeps trying to show him in Sport Horse, and then gets REALLY mad when he doesn't place well. Like... the horse is very Earth bound, and I wouldn't jump him. He doesn't have the oomph for Dressage. He's just... there. He was bred for halter (I believe?) so looks kind of funny when not stretched out in the halter stance. He is supposed to be good for main ring Hunter Pleasure, but the judges either love him or hate him. Who knows. And the sad thing is.... is that she is supposedly a trainer. She takes in training horses and she teaches lessons. It makes a lot of us shudder.

I hope so. We plan to sell the house to family, but we should still get money back since it's worth more than we owe. Especially after we upgrade the windows. And we might be able to claim them on our taxes next year. We shall see.

Oh I know. I've always loved how she uses herself. She's frustrating, but I'm good sticking it out with her :lol:

Exactly. I'm not amused and neither are some other people.

I definitely enjoy spending time with her 

-------------------------------------

I GET TO UPDATE!!!

I got to ride last night!!! Oh my god I missed it! Nick even laughed at one point and said "are you having fun??"

She was so good right off the bat. Blair tweaked her bit while she had her, and Izzie has never been happier! Though it's opened up a new problem (I'll explain later on.)

She was loose and forward. Did a lovely warm up and just felt spectacular. Picked her up and went into the sitting trot. Instantly felt the fabulous connection and had her back rounded under me. Just pure bliss. (Insert: I've been reading The Dressage Chronicles (GREAT series; highly recommend it!) and it gave me a couple of useful tidbits.) We went into the shoulder in, and I played with just shifting my weight slightly instead of overdoing it like I knew I had been. Nick looked up and said "THAT LOOKS GREAT!!" Same thing for the haunches in! I stopped Izzie (nice, square halt from a trot *squeee!!*) and was like "so, crazy, but it's from reading that book series..." Continued on and even had a couple of decent half passes at the trot. Let her lengthen and HOLY CRUD THE POWER. It was like I unleashed a monster! Did a few steps of a nice collected trot while maintaining our impulsion, and let her take a walk break with a good amount of pats.

Picked her back up and did some canter work. I REALLY need to work on our downward transitions. She tries to toss herself on the forehand to trot, but immediately pick herself back up to continue. I really need to smooth it out and get her to stay sitting. But hey, if that's my one big frustration right now, I'll take it. I did do a couple walk to canters (to the right only even!) and they were pretty darn good for having not touched them in a while.

Now our new issue. Now that Izzie is super happy and comfy in her bit, she's decided leaning on it is SO MUCH FUN! I can handle it, and I know it'll get better as she gets stronger in the hind. But man! My upper back and shoulders hurt today from that little evasion sneaking in there!

All in all though, FABULOUS ride. We've been working on backing up in an appropriate manner since I believe that is required in Second Level (she's been able to back since like her first show, but she needed work staying in the contact to back up). Love this horse!

And cute video of my daughter in Nick's arms as she leads Izzie around. You can see barely any tension is on that lead line, and how Izzie just wanted to snuggle with the two of them. I do think it's adorable that when I ask Izzie if that's her baby she touches Sydney :lol:






Here is a link to all of the discipline descriptions. I find the Hunter Pleasure one the most laughable to be honest :lol:

https://www.arabianhorses.org/discover/arabian-horses/disciplines/

To show you what I mean...


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## DanteDressageNerd

I think people can be very disrespectful of riders and have no idea how much it takes to ride these horses because they just think the "horse does it" or the horse makes the rider look good or whatever. It takes a lot to ride, especially capable, bigger moving horses. It takes a lot and I think too many people don't have enough appreciation for how much it takes. It's not easy. Even when it looks effortless, they don't just do it on their own. I get off quite a few horses and can't feel my legs or am struggling to catch my breath. Heck Mari has a student who is a marathon runner who can barely go 3 laps before she has to take a walk break. I think you earn a lot of respect for people when you ride their horse, it's way too easy to sit on the side lines and say what you "think" would work better. Too many couch "experts."

Sometimes it shocks me who counts as a trainer. That girl really seems like she needs to be in training, not a trainer. I know quite a few trainers, I think shouldn't be trainers but they have such an air of arrogance and confidence that they can convince gullible people, it's unreal.

But I'm really glad you had such a great ride! It's great you had such a good ride! I love the video with Syd. That's priceless!

And that interesting. They're very incorrect and not truly in the contact or taking it.


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## Tazzie

The part that bothered me is that this chick KNOWS Izzie is a tough ride. I've never hidden that fact from people. I guess she just assumes that since Blair is a trainer she should be able to ride anything. Which isn't exactly fair when her main discipline is wildly different than mine. And Izzie's training is wildly different than her normal horses. This chick is used to show walking horses (yes, the nasty heavy padded ones), but hasn't been in it for years. Dabbles in Quarter Horses now. But still. Izzie is dramatic when being ridden. I keep a slightly open hand with Izzie since even closing my hands too much ****es her off. She wants you there, but not THERE in loud form. I just grr. It really frustrated me.

And yeah. She shouldn't be a trainer. A lot of us shudder than she's teaching kids.

I'm thankful we had a good ride! I was exhausted at the end of it :lol: like, fell/threw myself over the fence. My whole body hurt haha! And yeah, two of my favorite girls 

And that is hunter pleasure. I sure wouldn't want to take any of those horses into an actual hunter class... but the description of the class doesn't come anywhere near matching what we see in the ring. That wasn't even a good example of what we showed against in October. Think a horse that isn't trotting level enough for an English Pleasure class. That's what was in the ring with us, and winning.

---------------------------

Not really any horsey updates today. We went riding on Nick's toy this past weekend, and we were out of service the entire time. It was FABULOUS. We had a good time down there!

We did a toast to Nick's cousin who we lost to Suicide last year. It was very difficult, and the video I took you hear how emotional everyone got during it. I won't be posting the video. I took it purely to share with his mom since it was a toast to Davey. We all toasted with some expensive bourbon (nothing but the best for him), which left me with an upset stomach all day yesterday. I don't care too much for bourbon since I don't really drink, but this wasn't a situation I was going to say no to.

I had planned to ride tonight, but after checking the forecast... going to postpone it for tomorrow. The storm is going to hit right at 5 pm. That is the time we typically get down to Cliff's to ride. Sure, I could try my luck and see. But I know how my luck would go. We'd drive 30 minutes to go get rained out before we even got to the barn. The rain is supposed to clear by afternoon tomorrow, so will do a few light rides this week. Mostly trotting straight stretches. Not too many circles so we won't risk slipping, but tons and tons of laterals and getting her lifting back up and sitting on her hind end. That's the plan at least! Now I will aim to ride Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday. Friday we leave for Michigan since my future sister in law has her first bridal shower on Saturday. So no riding this weekend! Then next weekend is Equine Affaire!!


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## DanteDressageNerd

Unfortunately there are a lot of people like that. I think it's always easier to criticize than to do and a lot of the time people think because they might be able to pick something out, they know the solution or could do it better, even though they couldn't. When I had Dante I over heard a girl who had a 3rd level schoolmaster talking to her trainer about how much better she could ride Dante and how she'd "make him do it" something about half halts and I can't totally remember but had she ever sat on Dante and she did what she thought would work she'd have ended up in the wall or with him rearing up and flipping on top of her at that time. Some people think they know a heck of a lot more than they actually do and have no appreciation for how well someone really is doing. 

Unfortunately there seems to be more of those types than good trainers in some areas :-/

I'm glad you had a good ride and can hopefully get back into some kind of riding routine. I bet youre both anxious!

Interesting

Good luck at Equine Affaire!! I hope it's a great time!! 

I'm sorry of the memory of another loss. A loss like that is never easy :-(


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## Tazzie

Exactly. I honestly was thinking that last night as I was working her. I was thinking "if ANYONE thinks they can ride this horse better than I can without my guidance, let them have a day like today." It's why I don't look at other horses and think "I could ride them better." Instead I think "I wonder what that horse would look like if it was allowed to be ridden correctly (back to front.)" I never think I could ride a horse better, aside from my own.

And yeah. It's rather disappointing really.

I hope so! I just checked the dang weather. Rain next week Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. It can change, and I hope it does. Aiming for a ride on Wednesday though. Hauling her up to Equine Affaire Friday. Might grab a ride Friday night if it's not crazy late when we get up there, and definitely riding Saturday morning. I'll have an indoor arena, so why not??

Thanks! I think we will!

It really isn't. And now another huge hit has hit our community. A very wonderful woman named Jean Hedger had a stroke this week. She was the show secretary for my big May show, the show secretary for the show I qualified for Regionals in Dressage, and the Regionals secretary. She celebrated with me when we qualified for Regionals in Dressage. She is an amazingly wonderful person, as long as you stay on her good side apparently. What I just heard is very grim, so it's making me extremely sad. She will be very missed if we lose her :sad:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ok, need to get out of the depressive topic.

New person started yesterday. I was a bit nervous since I'm very much an introvert meeting new people. But I lucked out  she's a horse person. Makes things SO much easier!

I did get to ride last night, and WHEW. Like trying to direct a freight train using only seat and legs. I did have to use hands a bit more than I like to in the beginning until she started responding again to my seat. Was rather interesting really. Absolutely everything meant canter. Change directions? Canter! Put leg on to keep her from drifting out? CANTER! Everything meant canter. So much for straight lines. Lots and lots of bending, transitions and laterals.

I did change the laterals up a bit on her. Normally I do shoulder in to haunches in and then go straight. Yesterday I changed it up where I'd start with haunches in and go to shoulder in, or even better just rotate between the two a few times down the long side. Confused her and made her sit her hind end down and get to work. Was still a bit quick in her trot through it, but a million times better than what I started out with. I practically slid off that horse from sheer exhaustion when I was done. And my abs are feeling it today!!

She was just borderline unreasonable last night. I couldn't give her a long rein until I'd worked her a bit. She rarely has these kind of days, and I'm thankful for that. Definitely makes me a better rider, but man. I'm tired now!

Here is a short video Nick took where he was like "her trot is so bouncy!!" Lots of transitions brought us to this. This is a far cry from how we started. Still not amazing. And if I'm nitpicking I'd say she needs more lift in the front end. And yes, you see her being a butt with her head. Welcome to spazzy Izzie days. If you watch, my hands stay quiet and still. When her head comes up I'm instead adding leg to ask her to reach under more and bring her head down correctly. No yanking and pulling here (I really try to keep a forward feel on my reins; never a holding back feel).






I do plan to ride again tonight! Probably no cantering again, boo. But such is life. I can choose between riding without cantering, or no riding at all. My choice is clear :lol: supposed to rain tomorrow again, which is fine since we need to pack our car. And rain next week, joy...


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## DanteDressageNerd

Exactly. You just don't know what someone is sitting on until you're in the driver's seat and have to make the decisions. I've had it with Frankie as well where people think she looks so pleasant to ride (she's a good girl but very green) or even Dooley when people think Dooley takes so much because he's not forward and I had to explain no it's because he is so forward and so HUGE moving that it takes a TON of work to organize all that power, forward energy and get it going in one direction, plus he's stiff and not naturally supple. Or if I ride Frankie people think oh she looks good because of her quality and what they don't realize is horses who are that big of movers and have those quality of gaits take that much more to organize and ride to get the quality of gaits. Or explaining to someone when you're riding a young horse that you're not always just riding for quality of paces, sometimes it's riding for basics of going forward and just asking for the right reactions and right way of going for ridability. A do they understand this concept rather than micromanaging and packaging them up to "look" phenomenal or putting a bandaid mask over an issue. Or sometimes slowing down, not more forward is the answer to creating swing and connection. It just depends on the horse and I think man people ride a few horses or a same/similar type of horse and have no concept or understanding of horse's ride differently. They don't ride exactly the same because of their conformation, temperament or whatever else.

Basically all I'm saying is no matter who you are, what you're riding, how good you are or anything else someone is going to make a dumb comment that isn't accurate. I mean just look at youtube and look at all the comments on top riders from people who clearly could never ride the horse in question but they know too little to realize that. It's just people I guess. Easier to criticize than dare take the risk themselves lol. 

It really is :-(

Well there you go. I'm glad the new person is a horse person and that kind of broke the ice.

lol it's okay. She's had some time off and you have too. Sometimes they're just a little tense but you handled and rode it well and got some really nice work from her. Fresh is pretty great sometimes, give you an opportunity to focus on and work on other things. lol but I'll bet you're tired it takes a lot organize all that energy and power! I don't think people always appreciate how much riding really takes but it takes a lot!

I hope you have a great ride tonight!


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## PoptartShop

LOL she was a little speed demon that day! :lol: Redz gets like that at times too, and it definitely tires me out. She was feeling good! 
You guys are so great! <3

Screw those people that say mean things, they're insecure. All talk too. They think they know everything, HA but they don't. Those types of people need to just shut their mouths. It's not always an easy ride. Like, until you are on the horse & know how they are, you can't say a darn thing. We just make it look easy. :lol: I agree with @DanteDressageNerd, there's always going to be that one person who is a wannabe know-it-all and has something to say.


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## Tazzie

Cassie, yeah, I know. It's a shame so many people speak without thinking. I'm just glad for Blair who is like "dude, you all have NO idea how hard that horse is to ride." And yeah. I'd never think any of the guys you ride are easy. Yeah, you make them look amazing, but I can understand just how much work it is to get that quality. Izzie isn't a naturally huge moving animal. She has a ton of power, but the flash only comes from correctly riding it. She'd be happy as a clam if I let her race around on her forehand. But it sure wouldn't look nice!! People are their stupid opinions.

That certainly did help :lol: thankful for that!

It really does. Man I was sore! I'm better today, thank goodness. It was brutal though! And yeah, it's tough when we've both had such time off. She regained some brain though, which was good!

And I did  I'll detail it in a bit!

Allison, she really was! Whew!! Crazy pony. And yeah, it really bothered me. Like, no. You have no idea. And Blair did an awesome job at trying her best. My only requirement had been "two ears up and four legs down" with the classes. She did more than that :lol:

--------------------------------------------------

UPDATE!

First, I'm super happy. While Izzie has always been happy to see me, I usually have to walk to her (hello alpha mare...). Last night though, she power walked to me. The day after a roughish ride. I was SUPER happy!

Groomed her up all nice and hopped on. Thank goodness! I was able to start off on our loose rein like normal! Alright, so this ride is starting well!

A bit of attitude and tense moments in the trot, but fixed with changing directions and insisting on correct bend. Got that all smoothed out.

The ground had dried up enough to do some cantering, but it had to be by MY rules. AKA, collected canter. Too much length would allow for too great of a chance at slipping. Izzie usually likes to try and snort to snake the reins from my hands so she can be in charge, but last night she was like "dude, I'm cantering. I'll take it!!" and did a wonderful collected canter. I was pleased! Gave her a long rein walk break.

Picked her up and did a bunch of laterals. Had some pretty darn good half passes now that I'm working on not overthinking it. I was happy and gave her a long rein again.

Then I picked her up and just worked on solid transitions. Trot-walk-trot and trot-halt-trot. MAN! She FINALLY got super light again. We worked on them on Tuesday too, but not with that much success. Nick was like "She looks REALLY good!!" HOORAY! Stretched and called it a day! Had her back swinging and just super happy!

The kids enjoyed brushing her too. Izzie didn't like them jumping around her, and "scolded" them, but loved the attention from them. She's a one in a million horse for sure! I did take a video as well!

And also, Equine Affaire just got a little bit more interesting. We are now doing the breed conformation demo where they will do the conformation and breed characteristics. Izzie is the only one going tackless in the event, so it made the most sense. But nervous. The guy who will be talking about her.... judges national quality horses. So.... and Izzie is the only half Arabian in the event. Eek!!


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## DanteDressageNerd

Of course you have to be able to ride it and organizing that power and movement requires know how and skill. I think a lot of people just aren't aware of how much it takes or what all goes into making a horse like Izzie or riding her. Some people just can't be appreciative because they don't understand what they're convinced they understand.

I'm glad. Sometimes people's comments would get to me too and my frustration was usually surrounded around but they don't understand and then I realized some people don't care to understand and can't conceptualize that maybe they don't know what they're convinced they do and that's just human nature. 

lol I bet! I'm sure it was a workout to organize all that power and enthusiasm and keeping it from taking over. 

I'm glad you had what sounds like such a good ride together! That's really exciting. Hurrah!

She's a really special girl. Definitely one in a million. She's very aware of her kiddos! 

Equine Affaire sounds like it's going to be super fun and exciting!!


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## Tazzie

Exactly. I'm sure people think I exaggerate with how tough she is. But I really don't. I had dreamed I would turn her into a super fun horse that anyone could ride. She had other plans. And other people CAN ride her, but for it to look similar to how I do I need to be on the ground coaching. She has too many quirks and gets mad FAST if you do something she hates. Like if you're all up in her mouth, you will be enemy number 1 with her. She's just flat out finicky, but I love her all the same :lol:

True. It's why I like to surround myself with friends that get it. And they cheer each other on when they ride Izzie because they get it :lol: they get she's not at all easy. And it is sad too many people don't want to understand. Just ugh.

It sure was, whew. It was so much fun though! Even if it left me totally exhausted!

YES! I feel like we are just constantly improving and finally moving forward. True, we haven't mastered that darn walk to canter, and not quite canter to walk, but it'll be there. I just have this feeling that when I really get her sitting well it will all just click. That and it was too muddy to mess with walk to canters. Have to ride the safest I can in that footing.

She really is. Whenever they are there she's very much in tune with them. It's really neat. She's such a kid lover and very tolerant of them 

I really think it will be! I'm so pumped!! It's the week of, so hopefully Sunday I'll have some epic updates!!

As far as updates, I have none really. Thursday we packed to go to Michigan, and left on Friday. Saturday was my future sister in law's bridal shower in Ann Arbor, so that was lovely. Came home through Chicago so we could visit my Grandpa quick. Got home late last night.

Then this week the one day it won't rain in the afternoon is tomorrow, so will be riding then. Supposed to rain all day today and all morning tomorrow. So may have another no cantering day.

Friday has a high of 50 with SNOW SHOWERS. UGH! So.... Izzie will probably be the only horse that will have her bath prior to Equine Affaire in a garage... I cannot take her in her current state, and WAY too cold to bathe outside. We set up heaters in the garage, shut the door, and use warm water to bathe her. Literally towel dry her off, and we will layer blankets on her for the trip up.

Saturday morning we will be getting there SUPER early. Plan to ride in the morning (hey, indoor arena! I'd be a fool to not take advantage of that!) and wear her out before she has to stand around all day. Going to make her look all fancy Dressage horse like :lol: my show pad and nice white polos to school in. Man I'm excited!!

I ordered my royal blue polo last week, and it arrived on Friday!! Ordered Nick's last night and it should be here before Friday. So that will be good! I'm so excited!

And we've updated our blog too if you can't get enough of Izzie :wink: she has her own domain name now! www.writteninthestars.club!

Also read this great article last night. I just loved it, and reminds me of what I'd do with Izzie if this ever happened to us (or something like it!)

Paid in full - The Horse Owner's Resource


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## PoptartShop

YAY for a nice controlled canter on Izzie!   That's what I'm talking about! Good job. And she is so good with the kiddos. It's so cute! Love the video.
She's a happy mare!
Yeah, too many people think they can ride a horse with ease. Not the case! It takes a lot of work, and not every horse is the same or responds the same. People are just too stubborn to listen.

I'm glad you had a good weekend though.  A bridal shower sounds like fun!
Boo to the snow.  It's April, you'd think it'd stop by now.
She's going to look so beautiful though, how exciting!  Gonna be the most beautiful horse there!! Love the blog too.


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## Tazzie

Haha, yeah! I was pleased. Hopefully we can get it again on Saturday! Hoping someone will agree to record our ride :lol: we shall see!

And she really is  I love how gentle she is with them. Hopefully she will be a hit this weekend since she's so snuggly! And she really is a happy mare 

Ugh, yeah. I figure it's whatever at this point. It's not going to change the past, and it's clearly not going to change anyone's opinions. So whatever.

Bridal showers are ok :lol: this one was in a tea room. Full on tea party vibe. So.... mom and I felt super awkward. It was just odd. And far too fancy for our tastes :lol:

Exactly!! TIRED of cold. Tired of snow. Tired of RAIN. Needs to quit for a bit, ugh!!

Thanks! I sure hope people think she's the most beautiful :lol: she'll definitely be one of the sweetest ones there! And thanks! Alicia really did a nice job on it!

No update right now. Planning to ride tonight! Kaleb has a doctor appointment at 3, so hoping it's done quickly so I can go home, change, and we can head out!

I did a HIIT workout last night too, and ugh! SORE! Oh well, need to get in WAY better shape!!

And my trainer commented on Izzie's video from the open house! I love that woman! Need to get a hold of her this week to schedule a lesson!!!

Said video:


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## DanteDressageNerd

I think people tend to make assumptions about challenging horses and don't always understand what it means to ride a challenging horses or people over estimate their own abilities and underestimate others or can't appreciate what people do well.

Definitely. It's much better to be around people who get it and are encouraging, rather than tearing you down behind your back and smiling to your face or any of that kind of behavior.

But the most important thing is you guys are coming together, having fun and improving brick by brick. 

She seems to be great with the kids! Arabians always surprise me by how mindful and loving they are towards their little ones.

Good luck at Equine Affaire!! I can't imagine how excited you must be! That's going to be really awesome!! 

Awww Izzie is going to feel so fancy all decked out in all her finery! Go Girl! I can't wait to see the pictures!

Alicia did very well with the blog, really a cool thing!

Glad you're doing some HITTS training! Staying fit and doing extra stuff makes such a difference in riding, especially when you don't get to ride as often as you want to. It makes such a BIG difference, I know I can feel it in all the exercises I do. It makes you so much more stable and quiet and effective, it's amazing!!

Hopefully you can get a lesson scheduled in sometime! And Izzie looks like she was having a blast in the video! She was REALLY want to show off and she's off lol!


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## Tazzie

Ugh, sorry it's taken me forever to respond! Least you're used to me being super late responding Cassie :lol:

Pretty much. With how difficult Izzie was this weekend (I'm still sore...) I actually had the thought of "some riders really couldn't ride this horse." She was TOUGH. She made me want to cry. It was just one of those weekends. But she's certainly far from easy.

Exactly. I have a good crew behind me. I know there are girls that tear me down behind my back, or do what they can to beat me. They may best us, but they will never beat us.

Definitely! This weekend was hard. But hoping today will be better for both of us. May have to tweak issues from this past weekend, but that's been pretty common with us when we have a head to head like we did this weekend.

She's so wonderful with the kids. It really just makes my heart swell :lol:

It was awesome! I'll detail it below 

Sadly I failed on remembering to grab my vest from the trailer :sad: and we were lacking in time so nixed the polos. But still rode in our new saddle pad. I'm totally in love with it and want it in a million colors. All of them. It's nice a sturdy, so doesn't fold up anywhere. And Izzie goes super well in it!

She really did! I'm in love with it! And have been WAY better about updating that than I have this :lol: I fail haha!

I've been working on it! I really need to make more time for it. But I've done a few here and there mixed with hardcore riding!

I'm hoping so too! I need to shoot her a text. I should do that sometime soon since I have a bit of a break! And yeah she did! It was hilarious really! (I actually just sent her a text since I had to run into the lab haha! This is why it takes me forever to respond to things!)

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Alright, my update since I fail miserably!

So the day of Equine Affaire was.... interesting. Nick brought her home, I was late getting home. I start bathing her and our darn drain clogs for some unknown reason. So I couldn't scrub her like I normally can. Couldn't hose off outside since it was low 50's with the wind HOWLING. Just ugh!!

Late getting on the road, but the bright side was we hit ZERO traffic. Made for an easy drive!

We arrived just before 10 pm at the Expo Center, and what an interesting adventure that was finding where we need to go! Got it figured out, and we all packed her stuff in in one trip (after we called to figure out where our stall was!) I always thank goodness she is an epic traveler, but even happier that night. She went in, peed, pooped, took a big drink of water, and started tearing into her hay like "mom, I'm good. You guys go to the hotel and sleep." Seriously, even when she drives me crazy, I always remember she's so wonderful in so many ways.

Found the hotel easily, and Nick and I showered. My buddy Keegan opted to shower in the morning :lol:

Got up super early and headed out to ride once Alicia made it to our hotel! All hands on deck had Izzie tacked up in no time! She was so confused haha!

Hopped on without walking her around the ring (since seriously, she's broke and sane), and just had her walk a bit on contact so she could look at stuff. Trash cans with their plastic bags whipping in the wind was our scariest encounter, but even that wasn't bad. Had a mini join us being ground driven (he eventually was hooked to the cart) and then a western rider who rudely rode without purpose in the middle of the ring while talking on his phone. I was heavily annoyed with him. But Izzie put in some nice work for having only been lightly ridden!

And the day moved SO fast! Before I knew it, it was time to load up and go! Izzie loved every second of it! One lady asked her if she gave kisses, so Izzie put her nose up to her face like "I sure do!!" Another commented how hilarious she was because she'd move away from the adult trying to pet her to drop her head for the kid. I told her to not take it personally, kids were her favorite :lol: it was amusing that Izzie was a bit irritated we had to pass kids in strollers on the way to our second demo, and she couldn't snuggle them. She had a lot of snuggling in her second demo though, and then again in her third (we had permission to hang out on the rail and let her snuggle with kids until they introduced us.) We were also late leaving the last two demos :lol: oops! The crowd loved her though!

One super proud moment was when we were waiting for our last demo. I had Izzie in her bridle so no one had to just stand and hold it (I put her in the Arab halter for the second demo; mostly so she could graze in between the demos). This little girl wanted her picture taken with Izzie. I let her grab Izzie's cheek piece so I could step just a bit out of the shot (Izzie will do nothing wrong with a kid near her). Her mom fumbled with multiple cameras trying to get the best picture. Izzie stood there with her ears up and ready for the moment for her picture  this was one proud moment since Izzie rarely puts her ears forward for anything!! The second part that makes me super proud is that while this little girl was holding Izzie and waiting for her picture to be taken, two Halflingers were losing their dang minds in the arena. I'm talking full on spinning, bucking, bolting, etc. I had stepped in just a touch, just in case. I didn't have to worry. Izzie just kept looking straight ahead, ears up, ready for her picture with the little girl  once the girl let go, Izzie checked out what was happening, but she didn't so much as flick an ear at the commotion. I am SOOOO proud of her!

I think Izzie was a bit sad to leave all those adoring fans :lol:

She had Sunday off since Saturday was just so crazy, and I always prefer to give them a mental health day after something so crazy. No humans, nothing. Just letting her be a horse until dinner time.

Monday I went to ride her, and I had one heck of a hard time bending her right. It wasn't that she was resisting, it was that she physically couldn't do it. She gave it her best shot, and gave me some lovely lateral work, but you could tell she was really trying hard. She also was what I call bunny hopping in her hindquarters while cantering right. By this I mean her inside hind wasn't stepping through. Like, not at all. It was basically just moving as much as the outside hind did. Which is always her sign that she's knocked her pelvis out, again. I swear, this horse. I hadn't touched her since Saturday, so she did it while she was out playing. Darn animals!

Since she was ouchy, I didn't ride her the rest of the week. We were able to get her into the chiro on Thursday, hooray!! I love our chiro so much! And lord was she out. Her neck popped and she heaved a gigantic sigh like "THANK YOU." Her pelvis was a total mess, so we're doing the little exercises he taught us to do to try and help it (hard to explain; not crunches, but helping to move it up and down). Her ribs needed a bit of tweaking, and her poll was all sorts of messed up. The softness hitting her eyes as he adjusted was just extraordinary. I wish I had recorded it!

I had hoped to ride on a trail ride Friday with Nick and his toy, but he was exhausted. He'd only had about 3 hours of sleep, ugh. So nixed that.

I did ride Saturday, and it was... not all pretty. She was grumpy because I was grumpy. It was just blah. We did get some nice work, but man was it an argument to get there. We are both too bullheaded for our own good.

Rode again on Sunday. I think I still had some lingering grumpiness (lady issues is my guess at this point), but we started off ok. Nick trimming bushes was apparently just horrifying, but I made he work around it and made her realize nothing would hurt her. But she was certain it would. Mares.

Then another random event happened. Normally we shut the "gate" into our arena (it's just hot wire, but keeps the others out), but it'd been drizzling so we didn't. The other two had been chilling in the barn, not attempting to move. Well, one of the guys came out with his tractor and was messing on the other side of the barn. The two bailed and headed straight through the gate. Nick was on the other end of the field, so couldn't come and get the gate shut that quickly. So, Izzie and I herded her field mates back out. She was HIGHLY confused why we would do such a thing, and even more confused since she's low horse on the totem pole. But she did super well!

Got back to working when suddenly two dogs raced into the arena. Izzie at the point was like "HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO WORK UNDER THESE CONDITIONS!?!" I growled/snarled "GET OUT" at the dogs, and they tucked their tails and sped for home. It was miraculous I was able to end on a good note. That ride was more of a disaster than I had hoped it'd be.

So today I plan to ride and potentially do some damage control (IE, working quietly and relaxed, not speeding up, anticipating dogs, etc. and cantering when asked since I think she's worried she's still ouchy *sigh*) If she's super perfect after a warm up though, I'll just be hopping off. After the disaster that was this weekend, we just need a super positive ride.

Here are a couple of cool videos Alicia made though!

This one is entirely just us riding. No, I was not looking down at Izzie's mane; Alicia had the camera set to look down at her neck :lol:






This one has riding (a lot from the above video) along with some demos






I have photos, but they are on my home computer, naturally, and I'm running out of time today (I get to leave work in about 20 minutes, but I have some lab work that needs to be finished up too!) I'll post them later, after our ride if I get a chance to log on!

And working on a time with Maggy to get a lesson!! WOOHOO! Izzie and I need some Maggy guidance! Love her!


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## Tazzie

Alright, I did get a chance to ride last night, woohoo!

After such a dismal weekend I really just wanted to stress positive. I didn't care if that meant we ended after our warm up. But she had to canter when asked, not trot super fast out of the canter (her evasion she tried pulling this weekend), and RELAX.

At the walk she was good. Did walking leg yields and just softened her up both directions. Asked to trot and she did, but then sucked back and was like "I'm holding my head where you want it mom!" *sigh* she was just tense and tight, trying to control how fast we went, etc. So, we did a lot of transitions, changing directions, etc. Basically just stressed that while I appreciated she wanted to "help" by just holding her head in a spot, that wasn't what I wanted. She hadn't been in the contact at that point. Finally she heaved a huge sigh when she realized everything was fine, nothing weird was happening, and that she could relax. THEN we started getting nice work with her swinging over her back. Thank goodness.

I let her canter after that, and she picked it up really quickly and it was lovely. Her transition down wasn't perfect, but was a lot better than it had been on the weekend. So I took it. And she maintained an even tempo at the trot when I asked her to come down. Stretched her out, which she followed the contact out just as she should, and called it a day.

I had hoped to ride tomorrow but it's not looking good. We have too much stuff going on and not enough time to do it. BUT! Lesson with Maggy on Monday! Totally excited and nervous!

Anyway, some pictures!

All cleaned up and ready for an adventure!









Settled in and eating some hay!









Taking a nap before the big demos 









In the ring for our first demo!









Our second demo, and greeting fans!

















Our final demo, she was loving life at this point :lol:

















At the end of the day before loading up to head home! She was super happy at this point 









A screen capture from the video above. We'd been discussing how well Izzie uses herself. This is just in warm up, so she wasn't even sitting as much as I can get her to.


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## Tazzie

Apparently the forum didn't like I wanted to upload so many haha!

Then some more fun ones after Equine Affaire 

Her reaction when she realized we were riding and not going to see more children again haha!









Picture taken after the chiro. I kept forgetting to bring her barn halter back down from after her bath. Chiro said her halter was very fitting for her :lol:









Selfies yesterday  basically shows our relationship haha!

Happy:









Snuggly (she was pressed up against my cheek haha)









And then just downright goofy haha!

















I also found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow


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## DanteDressageNerd

Wow! Quite the update! It sounds like an amazing time! 

Dam dogs how rude! I'd be ticked at whoever let the dogs out. But the multiple perspective being filmed is pretty neat. It's fun. 

I'm glad the chiropractor was able to take a look at her and help her feel better. Poor girl, it's hard to work well when it hurts. 

I love all the pictures and video! It looks like a great time!


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## Tazzie

I know, I was horribly slacking! I fail sometimes haha!

I was VERY ticked. All I wanted was a normal ride, and it just was nuts. Someone was certainly laughing at me. But oh well. We got through it! And I thought so  she did pretty well for all the crazy stuff going on around her. Not entirely our best ride, but an overall decent ride!

Me too! I swear he's our lifesaver. Not sure what I'd do without him! It really is :sad: I was so impressed though that she still tried so hard to work well. It's amazing how much she's grown up.

And thanks! It certainly was a great time!

I won't have an update until probably Tuesday. I had hoped to ride tonight, but it just won't happen. Nick is finishing up a card box for my brother and sister in law for their wedding shower on Saturday, and I need to finish laundry and pack the car. Joyous. Oh, and take it to get new tires. Even better *sigh* We leave tomorrow, and won't be back until Sunday. But Monday is my lesson!! Man I'm excited!!


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## DanteDressageNerd

lol it's okay. I get how hard it is when you're busy and truly this shouldn't be a priority next to all the other wonderful things going on in your life!

I dont blame you at all. That would tick me off too! That's ridiculous and someone should have been more mindful of others. So frustrating but at least you both survived!

She really has grown up. That's fabulous but I'm glad she was able to be seen, especially as she kept trying despite how much was out!

You're welcome! It's an honor to be apart of such a big show!

Good luck with your lesson!! That sounds super exciting!


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## PoptartShop

You guys just look TOO DARN GOOD!!!!  Love the pictures, & the selfies are my favorite!  She's so silly LOL.
Love the rainbow in the background. Awesome shot!! You should frame that!

I hope Monday your lesson goes well! Rock it girl!


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## Tazzie

Cassie, I'm so glad you understand. I feel like I am just flying through life right now. Everything is always just so busy I barely have any time for myself at this point. Heck, I'm lucky I even get to ride on occasion... It's nuts.

Well, to be fair, the guy moving the tractor lives on the farm, and he's well known for not being observant. I should have closed the gate, that was my doing. I was ticked about the dogs. Sorry, but keep your animals contained. They were not the barn owner's dog. He is a wonderful little Sheltie that knows better than to run after a horse. I am thankful we made it through!

Maggy actually was impressed with how much she grew up. A couple of small tantrums during our lesson, but really. She's grown up. I'm proud of her 

It really was! Supposedly we will be under saddle next year, so Maggy and I will be working hard to do something impressive! Obviously within our training level, but still. Maybe a super expressive half pass? I don't know. Something that makes the crowd go "ohhhh!"

It was interesting at least :lol:

Allison, thank you! And LOL, she's definitely silly! Love my little goofball!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now for my update!

What a butt kicker my lesson was! We were doing better, but things had slipped in the nearly a year since my last lesson. Reinforcing bend right was our big one. But at least we were closer to what we should have been than the last time we went to a lesson! Still though, we have a long way to go.

Our canter was eh at best. But we did get a few decent transitions. Lots of yucky ones since I was riding not 100% correctly at home, but there were a few good ones. Still though, lots to work on. Lots and lots.

We did approach some of our medium trot and worked on our collected trot. Overall it was a good, eye opening lesson. It definitely was needed!

I do have some videos! There are much longer ones you're welcome to try and sift through. Not all of it is good since Izzie does enjoy arguing at times. But I'm showing you mostly good stuff with a few temper tantrums lol































And this is a longer video, but shows some progression of our lengthen to medium trot. And then our stretchy circle at the end.


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## Tihannah

Holy moly! I somehow got like 6 months behind on your journal, Katie! Lol. But you know I been keeping up elsewhere! ;-) Izzie looks amazing! Loved the lesson videos!


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## DanteDressageNerd

It's all good! I know how much you have on your plate and it's not like we don't converse lol. I know you havent' fallen off the edge of the earth.

But I think the lesson looked really productive with lots of good parts. I think you guys did great and should give yourselves a lot more credit than you do. You're doing this on your own and aren't getting at much time in the saddle as you'd like! You're doing great! I'm glad Maggy was able to give you guys so much material to work with and to help you guys with. That's what matters most, building, growing and learning! I'm glad she's grown up so much and is really coming into herself!


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## PoptartShop

I love the lesson videos too.  Don't be hard on yourself, you both look great.  And, you don't look as rusty as I'd be LOL trust me, you look awesome!!  So glad Maggy is helping you. :smile: She sounds like a great trainer.
LOL her and her little temper tantrums. :lol: You guys look so good!!!! Be proud of yourselves! <3


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## Tazzie

Thanks Tina! It happens though :lol: I end up reading journals, and then being unable to respond a lot of the time since I'm at work reading them :lol: but thank you!

Cassie, that is true! I'm still here, just a bit crazy and overworked :lol: but what else is new there?!

And thank you. I felt a lot better yesterday, but it was just like wow. I needed that. One the entire videos was a mess, which is why I only took out parts. They are up for people who want to look through them as I'm not embarrassed, but I struggled to get her to canter. I'm not at all sure why either. I think I'm still harboring a bit of fear for cantering from my accident that was rekindled when her saddle didn't fit. The going up and then bucking knocked my confidence down a bit. But we got through it. But thank you. I told Nick I want a lesson in June for Mother's Day, and I plan to ask for lessons for my birthday. My aim would be a lesson a month. We will have to see how feasible that is, but that's the best I can hope for right now. So we will see...

Thanks Allison! It was frustrating, but good. I'm thankful Maggy worked us through it. I love that she's right there with me, and is aware of the camera so Nick can record what I need to see. I'm very thankful to have her as the other options aren't all that great around here. And she is my temper tantrum queen :lol:

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I did get to ride last night! It was a GOOD ride! A few "I DON'T WANT TO!!" moments, but we worked through them and she did SOO well! Our transitions were fabulous in and out of the canter, FINALLY! Even Nick was like "That was really nice babe!" SO pleased! Though he was like "is it ok if she snorts going into the canter?" I said I'd take that as long as it's a nice jump into the canter! And definitely better than a squeal! It was rather hot out, so we just did some minor work. Worked on straightness while maintaining the bend (which is HARD for her, particularly to the right), and a little shoulder in. Just overall a nice ride and sweat in all the right places!

For our cool down I hopped off and we backed through an L shape created with my cavalletti. It's a bit wider than it'll be on Sunday, but Sunday will just be ground poles and not cavalletti with X's on the end :lol: she did super! Cliff told me she really struggled with bending around things at the last show, which Blair had told me as well. So I had Nick bring cones down. I'm really not sure what their issue was except maybe Izzie doesn't respect Blair? I don't know. But I led her through the cones down and back, then reversed her down and back, zero issues. Set up three cones to make a 90 degree angle, still no issues. I wish Nick had filmed that too, but naturally unless I think to ask, he doesn't do it.

Anyway, I did take video, but I'm not posting it on Facebook. I love Blair, but she's super highly competitive. And she has Sadie in the Trail In Hand class as well, to earn more specialty points. She's worried we will take her champion year end high point from her. I've only done Trail In Hand as a new thing for Izzie to do, and it going toward our high point is just an added perk. I don't want her to see that we are practicing :lol: silly, I know. And I'll probably end up posting it later, maybe. But anyway. It's silly, but it's like the one class we've repeatedly beaten her in, and I'd like to keep it that way since she beats us everywhere else.

Also, @evilamc and my best friend Keegan both want us to try the under saddle trail course. I'm a bit wary since I've never opened a gate from her back, but we may give it a shot if there aren't too many entries. I think Izzie would enjoy everything else about it though!


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## DanteDressageNerd

lol fair enough. I guess rest is only for the wicked right lol? I guess hard work is a virtue and stress lol. Trying to find the silver lining here lol.

But I think you did a good job. Was it perfect? No but it shows what it's really like to train and work with horses, it's not always what you see the arena or watching the FEI videos. There is a lot of exactly this and I think sometimes we as riders put such a high expectations on ourselves that we can't see what we're doing well because we're so focused on "but it's not perfect." And it's not but it's putting in the frame work and installing the new buttons and it's not always pretty and that's okay. Better to address the issue head on and be work through it patiently then get consumed with but it has to happen now. I think it was a great lesson and you did a great job!

But glad you guys had a good time!

lol well kick Blair's bottom at least in the trail class. Lol highly competitive people drive me nuts lol like well we all have our time to shine. It's okay lol. It really is. Mare and horses can also be testy with newer people and very sensitive to their mental state or emotional energy. I don't know what to call it but presence or aura without sounding to hoki or nuts but horses are very sensitive to it! Maybe Izzie is just testy and when someone new gets on they don't have that established relationship and element of trust and respect, so they don't give the same and have to put that person through a series of tests?


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## PoptartShop

Ahh, people that are super competitive...maybe Izzie felt pressured or just didn't like the vibe she was giving off? LOL she loves you to death, you are so good with her.  I'm not surprised you had zero issues when doing it with her! Good job!!

Glad you had a good ride as well.  LOL beat her in it again! :lol: Yeah, it's not always about winning. Sometimes it's just about learning & the experience, & most importantly...HAVING FUN!!!


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## phantomhorse13

Tazzie said:


> try the under saddle trail course. I'm a bit wary since I've never opened a gate from her back, but we may give it a shot


Just as point of reference, I have opened gates with all my Florida ponies.. and they are nowhere near as educated as your mare! Just take it one step at a time - literally - and you will be just fine.


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## Tazzie

Cassie, rest is definitely only for the wicked it seems :lol: I've hit the point of total exhaustion where I feel I could sleep for a solid week. SO not fun!

And thank you. Some of our work is lovely, and a lot of it is not. But it's a differing of opinions with the end result being what was asked. Once, of course, Izzie goes "oh, so THAT'S what you're asking of me!"

Ha, if only it had gone that easy. I'll explain that below. Just didn't go as planned, at all.

Allison, maybe. I know Izzie can feel everything I'm feeling, both good and bad. Which can be helpful in some occasions. Sometimes I'm sure she loves me, other times I figure she's out to make a fool of me :lol: bratty pony.

This is true at least :lol: most of the time I have fun at least!

Thanks Dawn! Some days she acts educated, and other days she doesn't. She's quite the frustrating mare.

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Alright, update now that I finally have a few minutes. It has been an insane week this week. I've been getting into work at 6 am every morning since I have a bachelorette party thing this weekend. So I'm leaving at lunch tomorrow. We haven't done anything in the evenings aside from going to dinner Monday night for Nick's birthday. I had planned to ride yesterday, my one and only chance this week, but a serious of events happened that derailed that decision. Mainly an extremely busy day at work that mentally exhausted me, and Nick getting rear ended on his way home. He is fine and the car is fine, but it put us in a crappy mood. So next chance to ride is Monday. Until then, I fear I'll be beating myself up with stress, anxiety, etc until I can climb in the saddle.

Our show went.... ok.

She was a world class super star in the lead line classes. No joke, in lineup for the walk/walk lead line class the clouds opened up and it proceeded to POUR. It was LOUD in there. All the other lead line horses started spinning around their handlers in a panicked motion. Izzie started to walk a circle around me and the look on her face a moment later was priceless. She recognized it was rain, stopped, and then looked at the other horses like "ya'll are stupid, it's only rain." I actually started laughing at her. Soon as that class finished, we pulled Syd off of Izzie and tossed Kaleb up. He did his first ever walk/trot lead line class. He'd never trotted on Izzie before, and to say that horse is bouncy is a gigantic understatement. Even slow she just bounces. His giggles were heard over the deafening noise of the rain though :lol: the spectators loved it. Izzie was confused, but trotted (well, more like jogged) obediently at my side. I left the ring saying a blank check wouldn't buy that horse.

Next up was sport horse in hand. I ran Izzie 4 times for it, another friend's mare against mine 3 times (beating Izzie at least once), friend's gelding 4 times, and then catch ran a fourth horse once. To say I was exhausted by then was an understatement. But Izzie was the best of them all, naturally.

Did a handful of under saddle classes, where she was ok. Took home a first in one, reserve champion in a second, and left after we took champion. But the rides were eh. Izzie was overly fussy and just not pleasant to ride. At this point I wasn't sure what the heck was going on. Nothing appeared sore, she was just being a gigantic $#^$%. I put liniment on her just in case. Though, before this we cracked up the shaved ice lady. I rode Izzie up to the window to ask how late they were open :lol: lady said she'd never had a horse be ridden up to the window haha! One of my friends ended up buying us a shaved ice though, which was delicious!

Sunday brought the trail classes. Izzie smoked everyone in trail in hand. So much so that everyone is certain we took home the highest score of the day. I was on cloud nine :lol: I'd also talked my friend into showing her horses in it. She can't run with them for sport horse or halter anymore due to health issues, but there isn't much running in trail in hand. She took second to us with her mare  her gelding needs some work.

So we take up ready to tackle the trail under saddle class. Naturally, my best friend entered too. What a total and complete disaster. Doesn't matter Izzie will back up in an L shape all day long. Add ground poles and she gives a gigantic NOPE! The trot cones were too close together (like, not regulation distance AT ALL). Then when I picked up the rain slicker we attempted to exit stage left FAST. The gate was a mess first time around too. Only good luck was the trot poles and crossing the bridge. Judge gave us a zero. Best friend showed us up and won. Talk about humilation.

Tried again and we at least attempted the L instead of a full on refusal. Cones still dinged us since they were too close for her. Didn't panic at the rain slicker, but tried to back away when I was putting it on the post. ALMOST had the gate when Izzie went "Oh, you asked me to back earlier. Let me show you my back right now." @$#%$. Trot poles earned us some points and then she nailed the bridge again. At least got a score that time. Now Nick wants to build me a class this weekend so we can practice. We shall see.

Hunter pleasure was... interesting. Let's just say she rodeo bucked for a minute in there. I found a catch rider for costume since I just didn't have it in me to stick her again. She did ok with my catch rider, but hated my best friends horse.

Got her home and.... she squatted for the gelding and the mare. Lovely. Izzie's always been a royal pain when in heat. Always. I try to work her through it, but regardless.

So, yeah. The show was eh. We show again next weekend so let's see how we fair I guess...

Also, videos of my kids! None of my classes (Nick was a touch busy)


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## DanteDressageNerd

Trust me I understand entirely! It'll be okay. I hope you get a chance to catch up on some much needed rest this weekend! And get a chance to destress and take a breath!

You're welcome. Lessons should be work on something productive which means it doesn't look show ring but it's the steps that make up that end result. It looked good.

Gosh I'm sorry about how this week and day have been. It sounds really stressful :-( I really hope it levels off soon. This whole years seems like an uphill climb so far!

But goodness that sounds like an exhausting show! I'd be falling apart by then! I'm sorry she was spectacular for the show but from the video I saw it looked like you guys had a really successful weekend! 

Shame about the one class with your best friend in it but :-/ I have to say life is funny like that. If you want it to bad, it seems to go in reverse. 

Izzie is a special girl. Look at her with the kids! That's too great!


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## Tazzie

Haha, yeah, no. This past weekend was a bachelorette party. I guess I had a little rest, but A LOT of driving!

And definitely. It's certainly a journey with Izzie!

I really, REALLY hope it levels off soon. This week has already been he!l and it's only Tuesday *sigh*

We did have a relatively successful show. Was a learning show, that's for sure!

Yeah, life is funny that way. I thought about throwing myself into learning trail even more thoroughly before Regionals, but I'd rather take my time with it. If I'm going to do something, I'd rather it be the correct way. And that's about the truth!

She really is special  she made me smile with how good she was!

----------------------------------------------------------

And an update, finally.

Drove to the middle of BFE Illinois Friday afternoon. No joke, nearly to the Missouri boarder. Almost got lost trying to find this place, which induced a panic and anxiety attack as I had no cell phone reception. Finally found the tiny town I needed to find, verified I was going the correct way by which way the trees were casting their shadows, and eventually found the place. HIGHLY stressful.

We went on a guided trail ride Saturday. I was paired with a Missouri Fox Trotter, who didn't gait, named Rocky. Boo. Another bridesmaid was on a gelding named Josie. We will call her S. The bride's sister was in the front behind the guide riding Roy. I'll call her B. The bride was behind me on a gelding named Willy. Josie and S being at the back. We all headed out. The guide (I'll call her J) and I had talked about horses, and she knew I knew what I was doing. So we set off. They actually let us trot a bit, which was shocking. Well, S squealed at one point, but when we looked back all seemed fine. So we continued on. Next thing we know, Josie and S are slow cantering past us, then Josie flings his neck down, does the tiniest buck possible, and then stops. S nearly air planed off of him. J was making sure S was ok, and said we would wait until she calmed down to continue. I asked if she'd be ok on Rocky as I was willing to swap mounts. Boy did that make EVERYONE happy. So we did. I helped her onto Rocky, then mounted up on Josie. Who then thought maybe he would think about rearing because I wouldn't let him file in behind Roy. I was like "go ahead and try it, my mare has done far worse." J laughed and said "it's so nice to have someone else who knows how to ride out here! Normally I'd have to swap mounts and school the naughty one!" Aside from a couple of moments he thought about coping an attitude, he was good. And we all made it back safely :lol: they laughed because I said for once I wasn't dreadfully bored on a guided trail ride!

We spent most of the weekend playing games, hanging out, and eating the best food EVER. But it was a seven hour drive from home, UGH!

I got to ride last night. First time since the show since the rain and everything has kept us at bay. Izzie saw the chiro and had her feet trimmed Thursday, which was needed. Couple ouchy spots, and she was most definitely in heat. But glad to have it taken care of!

Our ride wasn't fireworks and spectacular, but I don't expect them to be. I realized I'd forgotten my whip (which I don't use, just carry) and I couldn't find my gloves. So planned on a short, successful ride. And it was. A bit of an argument when I asked for her to come off her forehand in the canter, but when I really felt her sit I praised her extensively and let her trot. She's getting a lot lighter in the canter, which is wonderful. Her trot is gaining all this incredible suspension too, which I adore. But I did get what I wanted. A nice, short, successful ride. Made it back before the rain came in. Now it's going to rain the next two days *sigh*

Came home to work out. Ran 4 miles in 15 minutes on my elliptical. Need to get in shape!

Then found a devastating thing this morning. Nick had my rings in his pocket when we were down at the farm. Somehow, my wedding band fell out of his pocket. I have my engagement ring, but not my wedding band. We are PRAYING it's by the gate where he pulled my phone out of his pocket, but there aren't guarantees unfortunately. He said he's going to try and go down with his dad's metal detector tonight to try and find it. I've been swinging from wanting to get sick to wanting to burst out into tears over the fact that it's missing. I know it's just material items, and I wouldn't demand it be replaced until it'd be a possibility, but it hurts to have it gone. Even if temporarily. So, pray it's found please....


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## knightrider

Hope you find your ring. My husband has lost a bunch of weight and his wedding ring came off while mowing pasture. We'll never find it. It's really heartbreaking. I feel your pain.


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## PoptartShop

I really hope your ring turns up. :sad: Ugh. Crossing my fingers for you.
I really really hope it's there.

LOL the trail ride sounds like fun! Nice of you to swap! :lol:
Awww, nothing better than a nice successful ride, even if it's short. That's what matters.  I love rides like that. It's great to end on a good note.
Stupid rain...gonna rain here from Fri-Sun so there goes my weekend. :icon_rolleyes: So over it!
I need to get in shape too! 

Praying your ring gets found!!! <3


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## DanteDressageNerd

Jeeze. That seems to be how your whole years has been :-( I really hope it slows down someday!

Oh well lol. It'll work itself out. Just gotta work harder I guess! 

That sounds like quite the drive! I've driven from Lexington to where I am in a day and it took a lot of time. But Im glad you had a good guided tour guide lol. I find them really boring too and never go. I think sometimes those horses get fed up with same old, boring carrying people around who may be unbalanced and maybe not very athletic. 

But I'm so glad you actually got to ride Izzie and have what sounds like quite a successful ride! 

And that's awful! I hope you find your wedding ring! That would be very unfortunate to lose. I'll pray for you to find it!


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## Tazzie

Thanks guys. I'm still just sick to my stomach and fighting tears. I know it's just a symbol, but still. My finger feels empty without it. I'm glad to have my engagement ring still, but I really miss the wedding ring. He had no luck looking last night  one of his buddies said he can go out maybe one night next week with a higher tech metal detector to see if he can find it. There is a lot of ground to cover since Nick walked the perimeter of where I ride, so I'm not sure how that'll go. I'm just devastated right now. I appreciate the prayers.

Allison, supposed to rain today and tomorrow here. Friday we will be at the show, and the entire thing is indoors. So don't care if it rains lol swapping definitely made it more fun. I'd have rather ridden Izzie, but least I wasn't on a boring, plod along kind of horse. Those bore me :lol: it's why I like Izzie. No ride is ever boring with that sassy pants mare :lol: just one more reason to stick with my Arabs haha! Least Izzie and the ones I've met are quirky, but not unreasonable. But thank you. I'm really praying it turns up. I may spend Mother's Day just trying to find it. I'm just so desperate to get it back :sad:

Cassie, man I hope so. My year is just intense. No other explanation fits. This weekend is the show, which I AM excited for it even if I'm coming across as ho hum about it. Sunday is my day to do what I want. Next weekend is my brother's wedding, and then the weekend after that Sydney and I have NOTHING going on! Nick and Kaleb are going riding on the toy all weekend long, so it'll just be me and Syd! And relaxation! The weekend after is my niece's birthday, after that is the Egyptian Event, then a horse show on June 17th. Nothing the weekend of my birthday (well, my birthday is a Monday :lol, then regionals the following Friday. Nothing that weekend. Then I have like NOTHING until the end of July! Things slow down after regionals :lol:

And yeah, we've been working hard lately. There is just so much to do it's nearly impossible to slow down! Friday will feel like a vacation with in hand classes and no crazy amounts of work!

It was nuts and I hated it. I get severe anxiety and start panicking when I think I'm lost. I had flashes of me literally dying out in the middle of nowhere. Ridiculous, I know. But it's what my mind tortures me with. I was glad for her too. It wasn't as boring as it could be!

I am too. Not that I've been able to since *sigh* yay rain. Hoping tomorrow night when we haul down I can at least hack around the arena. We shall see! But yes, for how short it was, it was very good. I felt her back lift and swing, lots of lift in the front end, and a drastic amount of sit in the canter. She's really working hard again!

I really hope so too. Thanks for the prayers. I'm doing everything I can to remain a happy person, but inside I feel miserable. The "why couldn't I just have put it in my car like I always do??" keeps rolling through my head. Then I beat myself up over it. Nick is not losing hope on finding it, but I fear I'm already losing the hope. It's just so much area to go through. So much to look in.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

And I have no real update. Nick went looking for the ring last night, but came up empty handed. Used his dad's metal detector. He's asked a buddy of his to come out one night next week with a higher tech metal detector to see if he can find it. I guess it'd tell him if what he's finding is a ring or now. I'm not sure how, but may be worth a shot. May be asking to go out on Sunday to look for it. Hate not having it.

Tonight I get to do laundry and pack for the show. I sat around miserable most of last night when I should have been doing something. I have some of my stuff packed, but not anywhere near all of it. *sigh* tired of packing. I've done it the last two weekends and get to do it the next two as well. Yippee skippee.


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## DanteDressageNerd

I really hope you find your wedding ring. I'm so sorry it's missing :-( prayers will continue for it to be found.

I really hope things slow down for you. It sounds overwhelming, I can't imagine how much is on your plate atm. It's a LOT that's for sure! 

Yikes panic attack are awful! I've had a few (not in a while) but they're terrifying! 

I hope you get more time to ride Izzie and enjoy her! Im glad you enjoyed your last ride and you felt good things with her! I hope you get more time with her and can get more riding in!


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## PoptartShop

Same here. I feel the same way, like you do with Izzie! That's why I enjoy Redz so much. People think I'm crazy like why are you riding a horse that's difficult, nobody else rides etc. like uh...because 'plod along' la-dee-daaa horses bore me. :lol: I've always been that way.
I love how you never know what you're gonna get into. Like I like having something to do rather than just sit there. I'd get so bored. LOL. Like please don't ever put me on a boring horse and have me just 'sit there'. Like...THAT IS TORTURE. :rofl:

I hope the show goes well. That's a plus it's indoors too, this way if the weather is crappy it won't even be a problem. 
I hope they can find the ring too. Still have my fingers crossed for you. :sad: It has to be somewhere!
Panic attacks are no fun at all. I hate them. I've also dealt with them before (I have anxiety issues) & it's not fun. & people who don't understand, think you're crazy. Like no, it's just my mind- it's not controllable! Ugh.

Let us know how the show goes!!! <3


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## phantomhorse13

Prayers your ring is found. Try not to beat yourself up over it, as you certainly didn't say 'boy I plan to lose my ring today!'

Focus on packing and mentally preparing yourself for the show as hopefully that will lift your spirits (the fun with Izzie anyway, if not the actual packing).


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## Tihannah

Oh no! Hope you find it!


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## Tazzie

Thanks guys! We haven't made it out there to really look yet. I plan to go down and ride tomorrow night. I like to give Izzie at least a day or two off after a show. Just time to decompress and be a horse without any expectations aside from "come in and eat." Plus, Nick needs a night to work on his Polaris for his and Kaleb's riding trip Memorial Day weekend. It's Kaleb's first big ride with daddy, and he is one excited little boy! Picture of him with his gear :lol:










Cassie, I really hope they do too. I'm tired of the go go go way of life right now. Thankfully after this weekend it should slow WAY down! This weekend is my brother's wedding, and then I'm cutting all my hair off and dying it crazy colors (I'm 100% serious, and will post pictures Sunday when it's done :lol

Yeah, I HATE panic attacks. That one was absolutely miserable. Hopefully no more!!

Hopefully next week we can get more consistent ride time in. This week is my brother's wedding, so won't be able to ride much more than tomorrow. At least I get tomorrow...

Allison, agreed! I want to feel like I'm doing something! I get totally bored if I have to just sit. Not my cup of tea!

And we had a blast at the show! It was just wonderful!

Phantom, thank you! I did focus on that, and did have a great time once we got there!

Tina, I hope so too!!

-------------------------------------------------------------

Alright, update!

So, Thursday did NOT go as planned. Not even a little. Nick picked Izzie up while I packed last minute things. Get bathing her, and realize we are already behind schedule. Ok, so we will be late to the exhibitor party. No biggie, I'll deal. Then the dreaded words "I forgot the grain." #%$^$%&#%@ So now we have to trek back out to the farm to grab her grain. Not happy. Oh, and Nick hadn't packed since he worked the night before. Will he ever learn it's a BAD idea to work the night before we leave?? I don't think so. This is where I go "thank god my horse is the best traveler ever." I popped on her shipping boots and put her on the trailer while I helped load mine and the kid's stuff into the truck while Nick packed. Izzie just stood munching hay, oblivious to everything. Finally get going, grab the grain, and hit the road. Yeah, no luck in making the exhibitors party.

Pull in, unload, and set up. I take Izzie out to work on the trail in hand course. We hadn't seen it posted yet, so we weren't sure what was required. So, we practiced side passing in hand. Izzie knows leg yield, but this was a new concept. SUPER proud how fast she picked it up. Did it flawlessly both directions. Then we find out we don't need to side pass :lol: oh well, now we know we can!

Friday was an entire day of in hand classes. So I had Blair pick me up and bring me there, leaving Nick and the kids to sleep in and come to the show when they woke up. I ran Izzie three times, my friend's mare twice, and the gelding once. I took second in hunter type against an international champion (horse as won at US and Canadian Nationals), third in dressage type, and first in amateur. She said Izzie is not a dressage type :lol: and has a plain expression sometimes. "Good amateur type." HAHAHA, ride her. You'll retract that. But I laughed at the plain expression. Izzie gets bored with in hand classes! The mare I showed took third, second, and third I believe. The gelding won all of his classes! Izzie was Reserve Champion in mares, and the gelding was Champion in geldings. Great day!

Went into trail. Had been given permission to run in sport horse in hand attire. But I think he still docked me for it. Izzie did a fabulous course for the open, just knocked the poles once. Earned a score of 69. Said international champion (and well known trainer in our region) had her horse get stuck backing through the L, take a step forward (which, IMO, should have resulted in a DQ or harsher score since that was clearly against pattern), knocked the rails repeatedly, and walked in the cones. Earned a score of 70 to beat me. I wasn't amused. Izzie did even better second round, didn't knock a single pole, and was wonderful. Earned a 71 and won high point half Arabian for trail in hand. WOOHOO!

That evening was halter classes. I showed my friend's mare in a single horse class, which she scored moderately well. Showed the gelding to a second place finish. He took second overall for geldings. The mare went in for supreme champion, the gelding did not. So I was just hanging out. Turns out another friend needed her gelding brought into the class since the trainer ran to grab a different horse. SO, I ran her gelding into the class :lol: everyone thanked me haha! What a night!

Saturday morning I bombed my first class. I was tense as all get out. Blew my lengthened trot by falling into a canter, then blew that canter lead. SO! Best friends gave me a beer and told me to drink. At 10 am. Don't judge :lol:


With my two best friends, Blair and Keegan. Izzie is so amused by her rider!










Our next runs were much, much better earning a second in sport horse amateur and first place in hunter pleasure. Izzie got a well deserved break after that. Our final class was the sport horse championship. By then I'd finished another beer and part of a mimosa. I was feeling GOOD! And Izzie was FLAWLESS. We took home RESERVE CHAMPION! However, I was told by SO many people, including people I didn't know, that I was screwed out of that championship. That I had clearly won that class. Considering the woman who owns the horse, and the rider, I wouldn't be surprised if they were picked on that. Such is life, I won in my head because Izzie gave me her everything.

Another good, long break while I filled out all of my paper work, then back in for costume. Boy did we have a good ride! This horse is just so much fun to gallop! We took second  she was so goo!

After costume a little girl who started clinging to me asked if she could lead Izzie to the barn. So I let her. SOOO glad Izzie loves kids, and can literally walk like an old plow horse minutes after galloping everywhere! LOVE her! Ended up giving the kiddo a pony ride on Izzie while she was still decked out in costume. Not sure who was happier!

Anyway, here are my awards!










Anyway, I'll post about my Saddlebred fun when I get home. Time to go, and my work computer HATES me!


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## PoptartShop

LOL, I love the drink in hand. :lol: So awesome. So glad you had a good time & look at all those ribbons! Yes yes yes!  You go girls! Izzie is such a cutie.

I would be feeling good too after that. But you deserved it, I'm sure it felt awesome having a little buzz at the show too. :lol: 
I'm so glad Izzie did well & you won reserve champion! That is GREAT!! & it's so good that she's good with kiddos. :mrgreen: Izzie is amazing! And so are you!

Kaleb is so adorable in his gear!! Awww!!


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## DanteDressageNerd

haha that sounds like me. I have no natural organization skills and ALWAYS think I have more time than I actually have because I can't organize time in my head. Time is superfluous lol. But I can understand the annoyance! I'd be upset if I had to turn all the way around to go pick up grain. 

I love the pictures, especially with the smiles and drinks! And no judging on drinks, I rarely drink but when I do I'll drink at whatever time I feel it's necessary. So that's awesome! But it sounds like a really awesome show weekend! Big congratulations on being reserve champion, that is stellar! 

Again congratulations!! And hopefully you'll be able to get more riding in and find your ring! But I'm glad Kaleb got some time with Daddy, he looks really happy!


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## phantomhorse13

Tazzie said:


> Went into trail. Had been given permission to run in sport horse in hand attire. But I think he still docked me for it.


Wait, why on earth would it matter what YOU were wearing (within reason of course) - isn't trail judged on what the HORSE does in the course?

This kind of shiitake is why I don't miss the show world at all.


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## JoBlueQuarter

I tried reading the whole thread, but haven't finished yet.  Izzie is soooooo beautiful!!!!! You guys seem to be the perfect fit! I predict loads of fun in your guy's future! lol 
BTW, Kaleb looks so happy!


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## carshon

I love LOVE *LOVE* your post! You and Izzie are quite the team and I love that your best friends had something on hand to help with nerves!


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## Tazzie

Allison, haha thank you! We certainly were having a good time!

It definitely made me relax :lol: which was needed! Izzie thanked them for the drink as well when I finally relaxed. Our rides certainly got better during the day!

He really is! He's SO excited for his weekend with daddy!!

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cassie, I'm normally super good with time and everything. Nick is the total opposite. I'd have been fine being late. But forgetting the grain and missing it entirely was super sad. I missed a good party :sad:

I don't drink that often, but do usually stick to the evenings. Not this weekend :lol: oh well, it helped a lot! And those two are my best friends! And thank you! I'm very pleased about it all really! I'm very proud of my horse in general 

I sure hope so! Not this week, sadly. I get to ride tonight, though I'm going to keep it relatively short for both of our sakes. The weather keeps yo-yoing, and it's mid 80's today. I wouldn't feel right pushing and pushing in this heat. So going to go for good, solid work and sitting more (I'll explain why sitting didn't happen much at the show). And the guy is going out with Nick tomorrow to look for it. I'm pondering about riding then too, but I need to see what I can accomplish tonight. We leave for my brother's wedding on Thursday, so I have a lot of packing to do, laundry to do, and a ring bearer tux to pick up!

And he's super excited! They are going Memorial Day weekend, and I just know he's going to have a blast!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Phantom, I 1000000% agree. But that is the only thing we can figure on how that horse beat us. Her backing through the L was sloppy compared to Izzie, and she walked when she was supposed to be trotting in the cones. That run didn't deserve a 70, yet that's what she got. I do hate judging in our area sometimes. They claim they don't pick based on who is who, but sometimes it's pretty darn blatant. It's more annoying than anything. At least I can say Izzie had a wonderful run and I believe in my horse.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

JoBlueQuarter, welcome! There definitely is a lot to read here :lol: Izzie and I have been together 6 years, so there's a lot written about that journey! And thank you! She's absolutely me in horse form, so we get along most of the time. Until one of us tries to out stubborn the other :lol:

But yes! Kaleb is super pumped to go riding on daddy's toy!!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Carshon, thank you! Izzie is my little superstar  and yes! Keegan and Blair are always perfect in handing me what I need to settle my nerves. Keegan threatened with ace, but I decided to take the beer :lol: (ace for me, not Izzie :lol

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alright, continuation from earlier!

The Saddlebred portion! I do have video of me riding the Park horse but it is not suitable for public posting. It's PG-13 at best.... haha! It was definitely interesting riding one. There is so much motion going every which way. I won't say I hate it, but I definitely prefer my Dressage :lol: I think it's good for everyone to get out and try other disciplines!

And because my computer is being the largest piece of CRUD ever, I guess I'll attach pictures at the bottom. It currently hates photobucket. Hate this computer.

Anyway, the second one I rode was I'm Mayhem aka Hemi! He's Five Gaited, and has shoes on the back to help him gait easier. So the fact he worked like he did for was impressive. Blair was in shock with me riding him as I collected him up and put him on a circle (which he's never done before.) I love him! He's the one where I'm hugging him lol

Video of me riding Hemi:






Mother's Day was lovely! We went and had Chinese for lunch, went to Home Depot where Nick got me some more ground poles to design our own trail courses, and then we got bikes finally! Went for a bike ride that evening! It was an enjoyable day!

Now, one thing I'm pondering is getting Izzie a mesh Back On Track blanket. The last two shows we've found her to have a random tight muscle. This time it was on her chest, and she fought me tooth and nail to sit and lift. We got some, but certainly not the amount we get at home. I'm getting a little tired of having good rides at home, and then finding a tight muscle that limits our ability at a show. Which is why I'm looking into them. Nick is interested too at least. So we shall see.

Oh, and someone stole my husband :lol: he told me on Sunday he wants me to teach him how to ride Izzie. He wants to ride her more. And maybe show. Maybe even in costume. Those are his words :lol:

Hoping for a nice ride tonight! I did a lot of house work yesterday, so I deserve a good ride!


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## DanteDressageNerd

lol well that's good! I'm glad you have good time management skills. Maybe it was just everything happening at once and the stress?

Aww that's great! Kaleb will love that! Papa time.

That's really neat! I LOVE saddlebreds, they have hearts and half and will try their absolute best to please! It looks like you had a blast though and had a really good ride! He's a cutie. You did really well with him! But that looks like a blast to ride!


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## PoptartShop

Ahhh you look so happy on him!  He is such a good boy! What a great experience to ride one. So cute! I'm happy you enjoyed your Mother's day too. :smile: Sounds like another awesome weekend for the books. LOL that's cool he wants to ride her. Awww! Who wouldn't? She's so awesome. Such a queen LOL. :mrgreen:


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## Tazzie

Cassie, that could very well have been it. I'm quite tired of being everywhere at once. I'm ready for a slow down :lol:

He sure will! I'm excited for him haha!

I do enjoy a good Saddlebred. He's one I'd take in a second. He is a gigantic puppy dog, and we really need Blair to not sell him. If only we could just band together and buy him :lol:

Also, I promise I'm not ignoring you on Facebook. I've barely responded to any Facebook messages lately. HOPING to respond to stuff on my way to Michigan. Just don't want you to think I'm ignoring you!! I miss our chats!

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Allison, I was very happy on him! It was kind of relaxing riding him. Just going with the flow of riding him. The Park horse was fun, but I much preferred Hemi. I felt more with him than I did with Nifty. I'm not saying Nifty was bad because he was perfect. Just a totally different way of going!

And thank you! It was a lovely day for sure  definitely a great weekend!

I know! Blair asked if he was drunk when he said it :lol: I'm over the moon that he wants to really learn. Guess we will begin lunge line lessons soon! She is a queen for sure!

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So, an update!!

I DID get to ride last night! Izzie apparently suffered no ill effects from the weekend, and thoroughly enjoyed her game of "catch me if you can!" last night. Once caught we saddled up quickly and headed out for work. Izzie dug right into work. Lots of bending and suppling, reminding her that riding on the forehand is not an acceptable manner of riding and that I do expect her to work through. It's always a fun sensation when you feel her lift her back. It's literally like that song "Whoop, there it is!" So fun :lol:

Did lots of bending lines, some straight lines to work on straightness down long sides. Leg yields, shoulder in, haunches in, half pass, etc. Our canter departures were pleasant and her canter was MUCH nicer than this weekend. One day we'll actually work together as a team instead of her blowing up when I expect similar work to what I get at home. She's one frustrating mare.

But anyway, a good ride last night! I could really feel her using herself during it, and it was just nice.

After our ride we went and picked up Kaleb's tux. The sleeves need to be hemmed a bit, but it's not terrible.

Today I'm getting my nails done for the wedding, last minute errands, and finishing laundry. Oh, and packing. We leave in the morning!


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## Tihannah

Goodness, I'm so behind everyone else! Lol. I got done reading about the show and bout to post congrats and I have to keep scrolling and I see you have MORE updates! Lol. I can't lie, I love the idea of having a couple drinks before a show. It probably helps loosen up the nerves, eh? Lol. So glad to hear you guys did well, even though you were cheated!

The saddlebred looked like a fun ride. Back in '07 or '08 when I finally decided I was going to pursue "English" riding, I found a saddlebred barn. I had no idea there were different English disciplines! Lol. Anyhow, I think I took maybe 1 or 2 lessons. The trainer wan't great. Threw me on horse my very first lesson and had me running around in a fast trot, posting (had no idea how), and feeling like any slight off movement would faceplant me in the dirt! I only stayed at the barn a couple months though. I'd grown up riding on a western ranch where the horses didn't come in except to eat or ride. This barn's horses were stalled 24/7. They had huge beautiful rolling pastures that always sat empty. No one rode in them, and the horses never went out. It was too sad for me and didn't feel right.


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## DanteDressageNerd

I think so. Stress and having too much to do at once often makes us forget the simple stuff that really matters and we wouldn't otherwise forget in a million years. 

Absolutely who doesn't love one on one time with a parent!

That's darling. They're really endearing. That's awesome that you got to ride and enjoy him so much 

And thank you for letting me know. I miss our conversations too but I can imagine how busy you are and how much you have on your plate. Take your time. Hope everything is well!

Overall sounds like a really nice ride with lots of good work and fun for Miss Izzie. But yikes all that running around trying to catch a horse who thinks it's the best game ever sounds like a lot of fun :lol: 

Have fun at the wedding! Sounds like a big affair nails and child tux! Sounds fancy!


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## phantomhorse13

I just have to say I think Hemi's show/full name may be the best one I have ever heard for a Saddlebred. Just awesome and looks like a ton of fun!!


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## PoptartShop

Bahaha Izzie was like 'oh no, I just showed you are NOT getting on me today...WELL OKAY FINE!' LOL. 
Yay for a good ride!  She's such a good mare. Of course she comes with some 'tude but what mare doesn't?! :lol: So sophisticated she is! 
Oooooh the wedding will be fun, have a good time!!! :smile:


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## Tazzie

Tina, it's ok! I get way behind as well! I keep meaning to update my other blog, but haven't had any time! I normally do it at work (shhhh) but I haven't had any time! I've been doing hand isolations, about 96 samples a day, and I'm in the lab all day long. It's insane!

And oh yeah. The drinks really helped loosen me up. I'm not sure I'll be allowed to show without having a beer until I can prove I have a handle on my nerves :lol: and we did! I'm a bit bummed about those two classes, but such is life! Honestly I'm just proud of Izzie. Once I calmed down, she stepped up a bit. Was she perfect, entirely off her forehand? No. But she was HAPPY. Our canter departures lacked the bucking that happens when I'm tense. She actually did a super smooth walk to canter because I wasn't tense. Picking pictures will be ROUGH! :lol:

What I love about Blair is she will break things down for me. She knows how I am as a rider, which is why she kind of just tosses me on. But with newbies she wouldn't. What she says to me is "these horses are saner than Izzie, you're fine." And she knows I LISTEN. If she says something, I do it. No questions asked. Heck, I do that on my own horse. I like being a well rounded rider, so I certainly don't mind getting a chance to ride some of her ponies. I'd gladly take another ride on Hemi though :lol: I've loved a lot of her horses, but I'm absolutely in love with him. He could absolutely do anything you asked of him. Anything. And her babies DO go out. Yes, they are stalled a lot more than a horse like Izzie, but Blair turns EVERYONE out. She wants everyone in the best mental health that she can get. It's why she's who I recommend for people to send their horses to. She's wonderful :lol:

----------------------------------------------------

Cassie, isn't that the truth. I'm tired of being worn so thin. Thankfully we're over the crazy hump now. Yes, we have more stuff we will be doing this summer, but not much this back to back. Which I'm happy with.

Exactly! I'm so excited really  Kaleb is going to have a ball with Nick, and I'm hoping to make this weekend fun for Sydney  they aren't normally split up for this long, so it'll be interesting to see how it goes!

I'm dying to ride him again :lol: I'm hoping Blair will let me do it again soon! She'll be like "I've created a monster" :lol: oh well, she loves me!

I finally got a chance to respond, yay! I'm so sorry I'm such a space cadet! I've missed our chit chats so much!

She just gets high like that and wants to play chase me. I worked her, but kept it very rewarding for her. I don't want to work her and overdo and make her think she really should run from me. I try to keep it fun and light, but really good work. I'm pleased. Now I need to get back on her! Our next outing is the Egyptian Event at the Kentucky Horse Park for the Arabian Demo on June 10th, then a tiny show on the 17th. I need to send in my entries for Regionals as well. I need to discuss with Blair this weekend of what she thinks I should enter. She's my go to since she knows us best and knows the Arabian circuit the best.

It was SOOO much fun! We partied all night! It's been a LONG time since I've had so much fun at a wedding that I didn't want it to end. Man we had fun. And I love my new sister in law! My kid's Auntie Em! Her name is Emily haha!

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Phantom, we LOVE his show name! It's definitely one of the better ones  and he was a total blast to ride! I'd ride him daily if I could. He'd be one to reignite a spark in riding if someone was needing one. Just a total joy to ride and so much desire to please it's unreal!

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Allison, yeah, she just has those moments. She's been that way since she was a baby. Some days she's a doll to catch, other's you kind of have to walk her down. Just who she is. I don't punish her, just channel it into work. I figure if she has the energy to avoid being caught, she has plenty of energy to work!

It was SOOO much fun!!

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Ok, update!!!

So Wednesday I got my nails done, and did my minor shopping I had to do. Nick called to see if I'd bring pizza out to them. They did end up going out looking for my wedding band. So I brought pizza out, had some Izzie snuggles. They put my engagement ring on the ground to see what it would ping at since there was garbage and stuff found around the barn (outside of it). They found it was pinging at 10 instead of the 12-14 that they were figuring. So they ate pizza and went back out looking. I kept telling Nick my gut was right outside of the gate, right where the truck had been parked. I ended up leaving because I had laundry and packing to do, and left the kids with him (Kaleb was riding on the tractor with Cliff's cousin JJ, and Syd was playing with a bucket and petting the ponies (thank GOD for calm, sweet horses)). And then I got a text on my way home....

*THEY FOUND MY RING!!!*

There were happy tears. LOTS of them. The relief was GIGANTIC! And a cast a good light onto my weekend!

Thursday we drove up to Ann Arbor for the wedding. Had to have Kaleb's tux altered since the sleeves were a touch long, and they could do it in 10 minutes while we waited. WOOHOO!

Relaxed in the hotel for a bit, then headed over for rehearsal. It was HOT! And WINDY. But my kids learned very quickly if they walked straight down the aisle my brother would give them each a dollar. Whew! (yes, I'm not above bribes for such a huge event...)

After the delicious rehearsal dinner, we all went swimming! I was SO pleased Kaleb had lost nothing with his courage with water! He has water wings on, and happily jumping off the side of the pool. Didn't mind submerging himself underwater, and shocked me when he willingly laid on his back to float. Last year was a bit of a panic, and I had to gradually introduce him to doing it. So it was a relief that he did it all on his own!

Friday Syd and I had our hair done (well, and the bridesmaids, bride, and my mom.) We went with a French braid for Sydney with a little bun at the bottom to class it up a bit. We went practical since she'd need a nap before the wedding!

The moments leading up to the wedding got a bit... interesting. There was a chick we called the fake bridesmaid. She CLEARLY wanted to be a bridesmaid. She works with my sister in law. She blew up her phone leading up until the wedding, and Emily quit responding. No joke, she showed up in a short, navy dress. Just like the bridesmaids. TRASHY. Then walked straight into the area where Emily was (it was a bathroom too, with the locker room through behind it, which this girl knew), and proceeded to try and take pictures and see if she needed help! Emily's mom and sister kicked her out. The nerve of people! We kept a close eye on her the rest of the night.

But the wedding was phenomenal, albeit FREEZING cold. Everyone said we did so well standing like statues out there, and we were like "we didn't want the pictures to be ruined with us looking like we were freezing..." My kids walked straight down the aisle without any tantrums, and the reception provided A TON of dancing! The kids had an absolute blast dancing!

Now we are home, and relaxing. Tomorrow I chop all my hair off and dye it crazy colors. No joke. I'm going darker/more red than what the top layer of this hair shows, but you get the idea.

Anyway, two pictures. One of my adorable kids walking down the aisle, and the image I'm basing my coloring off of!


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## Tazzie

Just a quick update  I bought pictures from the show end of April. Our riding classes outside really just sucked (nothing worth buying), and they didn't get ANY from sport horse under saddle. It was highly disappointing. But I did like these, even though we failed trail under saddle.

And that was Kaleb's first time ever trotting too


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## DanteDressageNerd

Awww I love all the pictures! The kids look so happy to be on Izzie and you look to be having a blast! You guys look really good and Izzie's coat looks dazzling white! She looks really good!

You'll have to get pictures when your hair is all done. I had the fun colors for a while, it's high maintenance but it is really cool! It's going to look beautiful when it's all done! Can't wait for the pictures!

lol nothing wrong with bribery to motivate kids. They'll learn the value of doing it right and get something for it. Nothing wrong with that. Only when it's ALWAYS the motivator lol. 

Sometimes people really surprise me :-/ they want what they want with no regard for propriety of basic respect of themselves or others and make themselves a burden and unpleasant to be around. It's just rude. Some people just arent mindful of anyone other than their own wants. It's sad :-/

But Im REALLY glad you found your ring!! And really hope you get to ride the saddlebreds again, they looked like blast to ride!

Hopefully everything slows down and you'll get to enjoy some actual free time and get some more riding in!


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## egrogan

So glad you found the ring!


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## Tazzie

Cassie, the kids were pumped to be riding Izzie  it was so adorable! Hopefully soon I'll have the pictures from the other show as well (ordered them the same day, they just aren't instant download). And yeah it is! She's greyed out A LOT this year, and that San Juan shampoo really makes her sparkle. It's amazing! I'm loving how she looks 

I do have pictures  it's not as drastic as the picture, more subtle. But either way I love it! And I love the color I went with on top as well 

Yeah, we don't do it all the time. This was just SUPER important and I couldn't bear to have it ruined. So we pulled out all the stops to make it happen, and it worked!

Yeah, it was truly unpleasant. People just amaze me.

I am too!! EXTREME relief having it back! And I sure hope so as well! They are fun!

I should be able to have some down time soon. And hopefully more riding starting next week. Fingers crossed at least!

-------------------------------------------------

Egrogan, thank you! I'm very relieved I have it back!!

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Not much of an update. I did get my hair cut off and dyed, woo! I'm happy!

We lost power Saturday night due to all the crazy storms. The rain was horrendous. I didn't get to ride yesterday since everything is a mess, AND it rained as soon as I got home. Aiming to ride tomorrow. Have to rotate riding days with Nick since he has to prepare for the weekend, but next weekend I should be able to ride more. Fingers crossed!!

Here are hair pictures. They cut off eleven inches to donate to Children With Hair Loss


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## Tihannah

The kiddos are too cute! And Izzie just looks gorgeous going over those trot poles! She's grown up so much! 

And look out now! LOVE the new hair!!! I think the cut and color really suits you. Had no idea your hair was that long! Lol.


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## Tazzie

Thank you Tina! She really has grown up  even though it was a bit of a failure for our first attempts, we had nice moments. I loved the trot pole picture 

And thank you! No one really knew my hair was that long since I typically wear it all up. It's quite a relief to have it all gone! I do love it


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## PoptartShop

So so so SO happy they found your ring! :mrgreen:  So great to hear.
Love the hair, too! Looks great on you! Change is always good.  I love the show pictures, too. Especially the kiddos, aww!! Kaleb probably had a blast on Izzie's big trot. She's a doll! You guys look like superstars...because you are! :mrgreen:

Love the pictures. Sure it felt weird washing your hair the first time when you got it cut, like...where'd it all go? LOL. Looks great!!!


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## DanteDressageNerd

I think I already said so but I love the new hair. I think it really suits you. And with the wild colors, yes. I used to upkeep a sort of ombre at the tips of my hair with teal, blue and purple (ended up destroying my ends and lost a lot of length). I'm a tow head so the color came out pretty well and unfortunately a lot of people where they put the color they bleach or lighten it so the color comes out more vibrantly. It's a process lol but it looks great!

But I can imagine the kids being super thrilled about riding lol. I cant say that I blame them, it's an honor! And I'm glad. Those san juan products are amazing! 

lol well it's good to know you can always motivate kids with food and money lol. It doesn't change too much into adulthood haha.

Me too. Some people are just unpleasant and have to be the center of attention no matter what the situation is. It's really sad. They cant appreciate another person's day.

But I'm really happy you have it back!


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## Tazzie

Allison, thank you! I'm glad to have it back! And thank you! I love the hair too  also, thanks on the pictures! I felt pretty awesome, and Kaleb loved it! I told Izzie to jog more than trot since her trot is gigantic, but it was still pretty bouncy! He laughed the whole time! And I had to conscientiously think about washing my hair so I didn't have too much :lol:

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Cassie, thank you! I love it! How did you destroy the ends? By dying it? I'm glad they didn't bleach my hair to put the dye on. I've never bleached my hair, and don't intend to start. I like the subtle look of the hair 

They love Izzie :lol: and yes they are! Will need to order more shampoo, but we're sold! Nick definitely is :lol:

Nope, not much changes in adulthood :lol: but I was glad they wanted to participate. Kaleb was VERY proud of his role!

Exactly. It was my sister in law's day, not the fake bridesmaid's day. People are horrible.

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I rode last night!!! It was such a good ride! Izzie was in work mode and it was just absolutely pleasant!

I remembered my whip this time, though I typically don't use it. Just makes Izzie more aware and prompt to just carry it. We had prompt, lifted canter departures which made me SO happy! And lovely downward transitions since she's remembering to SIT more at the canter. Just wonderful!

At one point I asked Nick how we looked and he said "She actually looks really great here, like a real Dressage horse!" Yay! :lol:

Found a couple of weak spots we addressed a bit. Mainly that I've been conservative out of fear and have only been asking for canter departures on a circle. So when I asked on the long side yesterday, she tried to dive in and circle. So... we worked on that a bit and had some nice, mostly straight transitions (better than flinging into a circle, so I took it as improvement). I hadn't worked on true extended canter in a while, and definitely not when she's been up and back. I asked yesterday and it was wonderful. She lifted and lengthened. SO pleasant! Came right back into a bit of collected canter, and right into a shallow loop serpentine to the left. I didn't do the shallow loop to the right since I could feel her tiring (she was picking fights with me; actually had to spank her once when she threatened to rear), but we ended on a GREAT note! Had a great stretchy circle each way!

She seemed pretty content after the work!

And tried on her Back On Track blanket. It's a bit big, but the next size smaller that is available on Dover's website I fear would be WAY too tight in the chest. So... since it's for stall use only, and she's not shod, we will make sure the straps are up out of the way and work with it. Izzie was totally impressed with it :lol:

Not sure when I'll get to ride again. Maybe tomorrow if the rain clears by afternoon. But doubtful for this weekend. Nick is taking Kaleb riding, and not sure I'd have someone to hang around while I rode.

Should also have my latest show pictures soon! I'll share them when I have them!


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## PoptartShop

Love that smile on your face with Izzie!  She is so good! The sheet looks so good on her. I agree, it's best to have something that's a little big than something too small. 
She looks very comfy & it'll give her some extra room!  Glad you had a wonderful ride, her work ethic is so good. :smile: I'm glad you got to work through some stuff and ended on a good note- always always always important. Yessss!!!!


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## DanteDressageNerd

You're welcome. My ends were destroyed by being VERY sensitive. My hair is naturally REALLY light but it's very fine and to upkeep the color, I'd have to color it with the color every 2 weeks or so and it destroyed my ends after a few months of doing it. I put coconut oil in it before I'd color it to help but my hair doesn't like color lol. 

lol Im sure Nick is glad not to do so much scrubbing or leaving it on for so long! It's great stuff!

Awww I'm glad Kaleb took so much pride in his work! What a good little man. Wanting to please is always a good trait in a person, I think.

They really can be. That's really appalling.Hopefully she's able to get some psychological help. She sounds like she's lost.

Aww that's awesome! I'm really glad you had such a good ride with Izzie and got to work on some things and yes lol when you start changing where you ask for canter it can definitely affect them, especially if they're expecting the routine and suddenly have to listen, it's like wait what? Mom! We always do it this way! But I'm really glad you had a good ride and hopefully will get some time in this weekend, even though Kaleb and Nick are going riding! Have fun!


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## Tazzie

Allison, definitely! Don't need her getting upset with something too small! But I couldn't help but smile at that point  it was a great ride! Her work ethic is definitely increasing as she's grown up and realized we are, in fact, doing what we can to keep her totally comfortable. But she can still be pretty rotten sometimes :lol: I am happy we worked through it too! I went "whoa, guess I know what I need to work on!"

------------------------------------------------------------------

Cassie, that sucks! I haven't really dyed my hair, so it's pretty healthy. I don't intend to go overboard with coloring it constantly, but who knows. I do like this darker color on me :lol: even if I don't keep the blue and purple!

Nick usually just holds the horse :lol: but he can appreciate a good product! He's never point blank said she looks awesome and meant her coat condition. This is the best Izzie has ever looked with regards to coat and overall health 

He really is a good little man  Love that little boy!

And could be. Either way, we made sure it didn't shadow the bride's day. She had a great time 

That was it exactly. I just had to laugh like "oh Izzie, this is clearly a hole I've created." I was glad she figured out that circling was not what I wanted, and staying straight was. I'm hoping to have something similar tonight if I get a chance to ride!!

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Alright, update! As of now I'm hoping to sneak a ride in tonight. I have an allergist appointment at 3:30. Last time it took over an hour and a half. So... if it takes that long, I'm going to have to decide how worn out I am from it. REALLY hoping it's not that bad... because I really, really want to ride my horse tonight. I was starting to dread riding a little since I was feeling like we were just doing the same fights over and over again. But Izzie reignited that spark Tuesday night. She's one in a million for sure!

And I got my pictures back from SAHIBA! The picture in trail just cracked me up because it looked like Izzie had a "yeah, I'm rocking this" look on her face. Sport horse in hand she was sticking her tongue out (I've yet to have a picture taken at a horse show where she doesn't have her tongue out haha!), and also snuggling with me. Then the riding pictures  one I had to buy since it showed off her Arab tude haha! Also, hugs for a solid ride in costume with NO bucking (what she had been doing lately, oh Izzie).


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## egrogan

Holy trot Izzie! Wow!


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## DanteDressageNerd

Those pictures are STUNNING! Look at you guys go! That's fabulous!!

That's fair. I don't think upkeep on your slightly darker hair will be too harsh. My sister dyes her hair a reddish/auburn color every 4-6weeks or so and it didnt destroy her hair. And I agree I think the darker color looks great on you! It really suits you!

That's awesome! I'm so glad he noticed the difference of a good product! I can see it in her coat. She looks great!!

lol well at least it's easy enough to address and adjust!


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## Tazzie

Egrogan, she definitely has some extension on her! She's better when working at home, but we do alright in the arena when I can settle my nerves :lol:

----------------------------------------

Cassie, thank you! We sure had a lot of fun there!

Yeah, I don't think I'm going to keep the blue/purple in my hair. Seems it's practically washed out of my hair already, and it's barely been a week. The darker color I plan to keep, but probably not the colors. Kind of bummed really. Such is life though!

Thank you! He's picked up a lot of knowledge, which makes me happy  I'd be lost without him!

It thankfully was :lol:

----------------------------------------

Alright, onto my update! Been a relaxing weekend, one not really spent on the computer :lol:

Friday I got a ride in. She ran around for about 5 minutes while we loaded the RZR up and drove out there. I'm talking full on running, bucking, etc. At one point she aimed for the fence line. Nick thought for sure she was going to jump it. Nope, sliding stop :lol: silly pony! She was huffing before I even got on, so I spent time just walking on a loose rein. Picked her up and settled into a LOVELY workout.

As I had noted earlier I had failed on making a canter departure on the long side a priority in our rides. So each ride I've asked for it and expect her to listen and stay straight. So Friday I'm walking, ask for the trot, and then within a couple strides ask for the canter. On the straight side. Flawless. Did a shallow loop which was wonderful and a lengthened canter. It all just felt so brilliant! She was a bit hyped up from who knows what, so I opted to use her excitability to my advantage by asking for walk to canter. Once I set myself up properly, she just stepped right into it each way. I was like "alright, we're calling THAT a day!" SO PROUD. Stretched her, cleaned her up, and put her away. She only had energy to walk, but you could see a look of satisfaction on her face 

Saturday I didn't ride as I figured she'd need a break from her own exercise the day prior. Instead Nick prepared for his trip, and we visited our old baby sitter who was in town for the weekend. It was her son's fourth birthday. Kids had a blast! We went out that night to watch Blair show at one of the local fairgrounds. Never have I seen such crappy, unfair judging before. I was honestly appalled by it. We're talking horses blowing leads and what not in front of the judge still beating Blair who was putting in a flawless ride. Horses without a "head set" (yes, I hate this term, but it's the only way to explain without saying "Sadie was wearing her head appropriately for Saddleseat, and the others weren't wearing their heads appropriately for their English Pleasure discipline as this show English Pleasure is any style English). It was absolutely horrendous. I don't think they will be back after this year :/

Sunday it was supposed to rain all day. Syd and I were alone, and we decided to chance going to the zoo. We had a lovely day! The rain held off until evening, and it was just wonderful! She had a great time picking where all we were going, and we indulged on ice cream :lol: nice day just the two of us!

This morning I got up and went to ride! She was a bit stiff through her ribs, but I did get her nice and supple. Did minimal canter work since the ground was iffy, and I was a bit tired from all our hiking yesterday. Just focused on prompt transitions and some lateral work. Cliff hung out with us while we rode, and we kept it fairly short. Probably about 30 minutes would be my estimate. But it was quite lovely! She's grown up so, SO much! She had a fly on her neck that she was annoyed with, but we were in the middle of lateral work and I was heavily focusing on them. She just worked right through it without any tantrums. I am SOOO proud of her!

I'm hoping to ride again tomorrow evening, but I need to check the weather. I had seen rain for Tuesday when I last looked at the weather, but hoping they changed it. Wednesday and Friday Nick has softball games so I can't ride those days (well, maybe Friday depending how late the game is).

Either way, I'm SO happy with how Izzie is developing!


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## DanteDressageNerd

Excellent! That sounds like a really wonderful ride! Doesn't it just make your day when you have those rides and it's just lovely and feels so together? That's awesome!

Jeeze. I have essentially NO idea how saddle seat is graded but that sounds awful! I hate it when that happens. Some judges really have NO business what so ever being judges because they don't know what they're doing are UNFAIR. I think we're all pretty okay if it's FAIR but if it's ridiculous and a reflection of the judge inept ability and not following the guidelines then there is a problem!

But at least the kids had a good time. That's always important. Also glad Nick is starting to understand the horse stuff better, I think it's neat he tries as hard as he does to understand.


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## Tazzie

It really does! I was so pleased!

It was pathetic. Honestly, the judging sucked overall. Didn't matter what discipline. It was just gross.

And yes! I'm glad he is too! Kids had a great time! And Kaleb enjoyed his trip with daddy too!

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Update, copied from my blog because I'm running out of time :lol:

Well, had another phenomenal ride again last night! Izzie once again "warmed herself up" by running all over the field. Including jumping the fence separating parts of their field. Came straight up to me though! Nick said she is clearly in the wrong discipline as the fence is chest level on him, and he's 5'10"+. Quickly tacked up and hopped on!

Started with just some walking lateral work. Leg yield, shoulder in, haunches in, and half pass. Getting her bending, working, and lifting. Moved into the trot with multiple changes of directions, bending, etc. Nick commented out as I was trotting by "she looks really good!!" Cantered to finish up that bit of it, and gave her a long rein. It was a beautiful day out, not too hot, and a nice breeze to keep us feeling cool!

After her walk break I picked her up and we worked on some canter. Really focusing on sitting back in the canter. I also need to quit leaning forward when things start getting more complicated; I'm sure Izzie would appreciate that! But we did some shallow loops each direction at the canter, did changes through trot over the diagonal, and then decided to play with something we haven't touched for a while. Three loop serpentine without changing lead in the canter. Left she NAILED it. I need to shrink it a bit since we have SO much room out there, but I asked for smaller loops and got them. I hesitated doing the right lead since it is her weaker way, but decided to give it a go. First attempt she swapped right as we were finishing the counter canter loop. Naturally. Corrected and tried again. NAILED it! I shrieked, and started giving her a long rein to give her a break. It was large, but she did it! LOTS of pats for the good girl!

Finally, the last exercise made me just flush with excitement. Most know our struggles with walk to canter, and that we haven't attempted canter to walk. When I say Izzie is a powerhouse, I'm not joking. Anyone who has ridden this horse can attest to that fact. She's very difficult to get sitting up and back to allow the freedom to step into a pleasant canter, and difficult to get her to rock back enough to make a pleasant transition to walk. Yesterday we got a dozen or so NICE walk to canters. Absolutely AMAZING departures! And attempted some canter to walks. Right was a bit iffy (she tries to blow off all your aids, so you really have to remind her to sit back), but she managed a pretty decent one. To the left though... to the left we got our canter to walk! This is such a tremendous break through for us! It makes me giddy to get out and work some more!

This mare has been trying with her whole heart lately. She's challenging, and she never lets me forget she does have an opinion. But she has more try in her than a lot of other horses I've ridden. There is just no replacing that!


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## DanteDressageNerd

That's truly wonderful! 

lol well Izzie's an athlete and apparently she had to spice things up over a fence lol.

I'm so happy for you both! That really sounds fantastic!! I hope you guys keep having these super positive rides! That really sounds wonderful! And absolutely! Try can never be taken for granted! That's something to always be appreciated!

Aww I love all the pictures. Izzie looks very pleased with herself. She looks really good!


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## PoptartShop

Izzie is just too cute! Love her cute pink nose.  
LOL she is quite the show-off! Jumping the fence hahahah. :lol: Awww! 
I also have to work on that, sitting back when things get a little complicated. I also need to keep my heels DOWN when that happens.
Sounds like you had a great ride. The walk to canter thing is not an easy thing to accomplish. Trust me, Redz is the same way. LOL. Very hard to get that down! That is awesome.

So happy for you guys. <3 She is truly an amazing mare. So willing & eager to please. You guys make such a good team!


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## Tazzie

Cassie, yes, she had to spice things up a bit :lol: she's ridiculous haha!

I sure do too! We've fought off and on for so long that it's nice to go out and work and just be happy. She's been so wonderful and I just can't imagine a better way to spend evenings!

She was very pleased with herself! She makes me smile  and I thought she was looking really good. Getting super muscled up!

---------------------------------------------------

Allison, I love her pink nose too :lol: it's quite kissable! And yeah... I have friends that jump, so I may let her go down for a month after show season and see what she thinks of jumping. I just hate sending her away when we're having so many amazing rides. I don't want her regressing :/

I did A LOT better last night! Was actively thinking to sit back and relax. It felt magical!

It really isn't. And she has such a gigantic canter that it's VERY hard to get her to sit back and prepare to walk from it. She just wants to GO.

And thank you! I really think we are a good team  I'm praying we keep having fabulous rides! Especially at Regionals (I sent my entries out today...)

----------------------------------------------------------------

UPDATE!

Was heading out to ride last night when I found out my demo ride for next Saturday was cancelled. So now my last two demos have been cancelled. I'm pretty bummed. The Secretariat Festival is cancelling their event in hopes that their patrons will go to New York to support an organization up there. Yeah, right. And the event next weekend the horse park gave away our spot. Which is ridiculous. Quite bummed, but nothing I can do about it.

I made sure that didn't set the tone for our ride though! She warmed up AMAZING. Just immediately went right to work for me. Had fantastic transitions up and down, changes of directions, everything. Let her have a break, then decided I'll try walk-canter-walk. And this time, on the long side. As you all may remember, I'd failed working with Izzie on picking up a canter on the long side instead of on a circle. Wouldn't you know it, we had ZERO issues. MULTIPLE walk to canters. Literally was making me think "we had issues with these?!" And oh my gosh. We got a walk-canter-walk!! I was ECSTATIC. Even picked up a canter, walked, changed bend and cantered off on the other lead. YES! I just felt so phenomenal!!

Long rein break was given with SOOO many pats for a good girl! Picked her back up and worked on some trotting laterals. I don't want her thinking that every transition from walk will not be canter, so we did walk-trot-walk, and lots of shoulder in. Did some lengthening too, which was GREAT. I feel like every ride she's lifting more and sitting more. She's sweating in all the right places, and I'm just SO thrilled with her right now!

Some pictures because why not :lol:

Comparing ourselves to the high weeds









Looking at the tractor planting; she used to be terrified of tractors









Wanting snacks for being a good girl









Parking the pony by the Polaris lol









She insisted on a selfie lol









And just a video walking through our fields, showing the tall fields lol


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## DanteDressageNerd

But of course! That's what girls do!

I'm really glad it's all piecing together and she's grown up as much as she has. That's really awesome!

That's great! She's getting stronger and more expressive. Never a bad thing!

I'm sorry your demos have been cancelled. I'd be bummed about that too :-(

Aww that's fabulous! I'm glad you're having so many good rides in a row, it's got to make up for all the time you were too busy to ride! Gotta love the grown up brain and sometimes they just need a break and come back fresh and ready to go!

The pictures are darling! She's such a good girl  the field riding looks fun! I miss doing that. It's so good for them!


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## Tazzie

It's so amazing I could cry some days! She just makes me so proud and happy! And yes! It feels PHENOMENAL!

I am pretty bummed. Nick is the only one happy, figures. Such is life though :/ should have some great shows though!

Definitely! And all the fights Izzie and I used to endure. It's amazing how our rides are becoming!

Thank you! She's pretty wonderful  and yeah, that is our only option. I miss having an actual arena, but this works. I don't have it marked out, so I have A LOT more room than an actual Dressage arena. But it keeps me from riding on the same path more than once and wearing paths in the field. Keeps everyone happier :lol:

----------------------------------------------------------

Alright, updates!!

I did ride Saturday morning! She was antsy and wanted to GO! She's gotten hooked on our walk-canter-walk transitions, so that is all she wants to do. SO! We did a lot of walking and trotting work, with just a touch of canter for our warm up. Just kept it a good ride and called it a day! Hosed her off well, and took pictures, that I'll attach below. I think she's look marvelous!

Had some bad luck leaving Saturday when I jack knifed the truck and trailer, and dented the truck. Nick isn't mad, but I'm pretty hard on myself. It sucks since I've been doing so well learning how to back trailers, and this really dented my ego a lot :/ Saturday evening Nick had to work, but I met my aunt who was in town for work. We had dinner and ice cream! Kids had a blast with her too. It was a truly enjoyable evening!

Sunday I didn't ride. Instead we did what shopping we had to do for Sydney's party (I went birthday present shopping on Friday and got all sorts of goodies for her!) She picked out macaroni and cheese for dinner for tonight :lol: then went to my niece's birthday  she turned 5 years old! Was cranky since I found out that when my barn owner went down to get his new dog, our trailer, and my baking pan from my friend (she borrowed our trailer and baking pan), she forgot to give him my pan. That I SPECIFICALLY said I needed before the 5th so I could make Sydney's cake. Then drove through Cincinnati yesterday but didn't bother to say anything. Kind of grumpy on that since I had to waste money buying a new one.

Yesterday I did ride. I almost didn't. A storm was clearly coming in, and Nick made a rather poor decision. He brought Kaleb's small truck down. We haven't introduced Izzie to it yet, and she doesn't always handle new things well. This resulted in the 32 year old charging around the field after I caught Izzie (who was easy to catch), and tried to get Izzie to join. They were certain the truck was out to get them. I was preparing to tack up when it started to rain. I continued tacking up anyway. Kaleb, Sydney and Nick went into the barn. This triggered rearing with Izzie with her saddle on. Like heck I'm letting go since she has a $2000 saddle on, and I didn't need her tripping on the lead rope and hurting herself. Thus, got a nice rope burn. Finished tacking up anyway. Nick hid in the barn for most of my ride.

So, already all of this against us. Suddenly all the weeds in the field were horrifying now that it was raining and super windy. But I figured we needed this practice. There is no guarantees that Regionals will be beautiful weather. They will not cancel if it's raining. We will show in the rain. One year ago Izzie bucked and bolted in the rain at a show. I wasn't going to have that happen. So onward we went. I didn't see any lightning, but I did hear thunder. We were just getting pelted with rain.

Once Izzie figured out I wasn't joking, I did expect her to work, and that she better knock it off, she dove right on in to her work. Pretty sure I saw a couple snarls at the idea, but she'll deal. Did some super nice trotting laterals. Everything just flowed crazy well. I asked for a walk, and then immediately asked for a canter. Bam! Right into the canter, no big deal. She now gets when I half halt and ask for her to trot or walk that dumping herself on the forehand is not an option. I feel her hind end really sit in preparation to trot or walk, and it's the coolest feeling ever!! I went out on a limb to see what all I could do...

You guys.

We did simple changes. The three loop serpentine simple changes. Simple changes on the diagonal. Totally nailed it. Didn't matter which direction. We would be cantering, I'd ask for a walk, change the bend, and ask for canter all within a couple of strides. The only thing is, is that she gets REALLY excited doing this work. So after a couple of great transitions, I back WAY off from cantering and change to walking lateral work. Then up to trotting lateral work. I don't typically go back to cantering after we work with them. I want to teach that although it's SUPER fun to do this, we must keep our calm, relaxation going. I'm just so proud I could cry! For the longest time I've felt that Second Level was out of our reach. And maybe we won't be show ready for it come August. Which would be fine. But these last few rides have really given me hope. A lot more than I have had. Sure, I've been told we could make it to Grand Prix. But you tend to lose hope when you feel like a constant disaster. I have true hope again, and a true joy in riding my horse. It was feeling like a chore for a little bit, and it's nice for it to be fun again. Izzie and I did have a couple of minor disagreements, but I handled it like a rider and didn't get emotional like I typically do. And she responded positively to that.

Today is Sydney's birthday, so I won't be riding tonight. Instead I made her a pink and purple cake :lol: tomorrow I plan to ride after Kaleb's allergist appointment, providing it doesn't go super long. Thursday Nick has softball, so no riding. And there is something Friday I'm forgetting, but I don't know what time. May be able to squeeze in a late night ride. Perhaps I can talk Nick into a mini trail ride (we follow his RZR lol). Here is a mini video I put together. I think I posted the first part of the video, but not the second. She's learning to follow the RZR around. That and had to pan out to show a tractor plowing up the field. Didn't spook or anything!






Pictures of Izzie after hosing her off, and then there are pictures of the stud I think I'll be breeding her to when we get our farm. His name is Twilight Solstice. Purebred Arabian, 9 years old, and just being backed. The owner lunged him for us so we could see him go, and he has phenomenal movement. His bone is much more impressive in person, and he's SWEET. I met him at his second show ever (our April show), and she was leading him everywhere without a chain. Her son snuggles him. So he literally checks EVERY box (in no particular order): great conformation, great movement, great temperament, great trainability, and clear panel results. Plus, his owner likes Izzie and has approved her :wink: which helps drastically!


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## DanteDressageNerd

I like the stallion from what I can see. He is much more upright with big bones and feet but still has a nice head. And thankfully doesn't have that awful flat croup, he has enough slope! He looks like what I think an arab should, not like a sea horse but something strong and substantial. His neck looks like it might be a little swan like but hopefully shouldn't be hard to work through.

Certainly. I understand that! After all the hard work and effort you've put in, it's nice to start feeling that connection and system of them working for you, rather than against you. It's so great when they grow up and you feel that unison. 

Awww happy birthday for Miss Sydney! I hope she had a great birthday!

I'm sorry to hear about Izzie's "moment" but at least you got through it to have a good ride! Always a positive! 

I'm really happy for you guys, it sounds like you're both really coming together and enjoying your time! That's really heart warming to hear  I understand about losing hope. Sometimes all potential is seems like an impossible hope because there is SO much work between here and there but when it slowly starts coming together, it's like a lights been lit and you feel it'll come with time and patience and being patient in all of it. Really awesome!


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## PoptartShop

Aww I hope Sydney enjoyed her birthday!  Mac & Cheese is a great choice. I want some now. LOL.
You guys are doing so well. She is so beautiful too, I love the hosed-off pictures. You can really see her amazing colors! The stallion looks really nice too.  Omg, they'd make a cute baby! 
I love hearing about how excited she gets and how willing she gets when she works, it's the best feeling knowing your horse LOVES to work! :mrgreen: Lovely!


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## frlsgirl

I just found your thread. What a lovely mare.


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## Tazzie

Cassie, I really like him. He's way more impressive in person too. Overall he's my top pick and I haven't even seen him ridden yet. She's going nice and slow which I've always appreciated, and being very thorough with her training. I think he's going to be a SUPER nice horse, and I'm just jumping on the band wagon before everyone else realizes how nice he is :lol: he's what I think of in an Arab too. He has a VERY pleasing head that I'm hoping will refine Izzie's just a touch (she doesn't have a bad head at all, just get comments about a plain head :lol. As far as the neck I'm hoping it would add a touch of length to Izzie's short neck. Her parent's necks are just not that nice, and both are rather short. So I wouldn't mind a bit more to it. But overall I really think he'd be a good match with his conformation and his temperament. I think I'll feel like I've hit the jackpot with him :lol:

It is awfully nice when it clicks. Unfortunately I think we've slid back a bit, but I really think it's saddle issues right now. Lucky me with Regionals looming... she gets it, and she wants to do it still, but she can't. She wants so badly to do it though that I think she's getting frustrated over it.

Syd had a fabulous birthday! She had a purple and pink marble cake with princesses on them  she was ecstatic over it! And TONS of Barbies for my little girly girl :lol:

The light being lit is exactly how I've been feeling. It's like we know what is going on and we are doing it. And it's been feeling totally magical.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Allison, she sure did! It was all about her HAHA! And she loved her mac n cheese! She also asked for a hot dog (we grilled some hot dogs, burgers and metts so people didn't just have mac n cheese lol) and had an entire ear plus of corn! She was happy 

And thank you! I love her wet look ha! It's the only time you see her coloring now. She's getting all the brown dots of the fleabitten color, so that's kind of cool. I'm hoping it'll outline her patterns so you can once again see them :lol: it should!

Isn't he something?? He also has a weakness for grey mares :lol: I found that funny.

Definitely! When she suddenly doesn't want to work, I need to listen to her. Something is usually up.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks Tanja! She's my heart and soul 

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Alright, updates!

We had a lackluster ride Wednesday night. It was all fabulous until suddenly our walk to canter and canter to walk was GONE. Just *poof*, not there. I was like "what the heck?!" So we argued a bit. Finally I was like "I've gotta take a step back, something is wrong." Her saddle had literally slid onto her shoulders. She physically could NOT lift to step into the canter or sit and walk. Adjusted it, continued on. Did it again. Nick punched holes in my billets (I probably need to invest in a shorter girth, won't Nick LOVE that....) and we snugged it up. Figured the billets must have stretched from riding in the rain. We did a trot to canter basically just to remind her cantering strung out wasn't an option, got it, and finished. I was a bit frustrated, but listened to my horse.

Rode again Friday. Tightened it up well and figured we should be good. Nope, we're still sliding *sigh* had a decent ride, but nothing like we've been having. Nick recorded a bit for me. I REALLY need to get over my tendency to lean forward at the canter. I know it's a bad habit from when she used to stop and threaten to rear, but it's not doing either of us any good. Need to restrengthen my core with other exercises too (been working hard at sticking to a fitness routine; going better this time around) so I don't collapse there.

As of right now we have a lesson tonight. We are keeping tabs on the weather since if it rains, we need to reschedule. She says you can't hear anything in that arena when it rains. I'm hoping it doesn't rain. Even if it's a short lesson I'd like her help coming up with a solution for my saddle until my fitter comes down. The fitter is waiting on a couple of saddles to ship in (she said any day now) and will be heading down this way. She's put us on the list to come out and check. Thank goodness my husband understands this is a part of riding and growing!

Nick couldn't figure out why suddenly a saddle that fit so well could seem wide now. I remember Cassie telling me long ago when I was saddle searching to expect this. That as horses fully make that leap into second level their muscling changes and they actually get narrower. As frustrating as this is, it's kind of a reaffirmation that we are indeed on the correct path.

So, that's our update. I'm also going to be putting Izzie on regumate short term for Regionals. Since the stud will be with us, and if my calculations are correct with Izzie coming into heat right around the show, I want to prevent our BAHA experience with her bronc bucking in the ring. We've thought long and hard on it and it's the decision us and our vet made. I have zero intentions keeping her on it long term, but I've put a lot of money and effort into this show. I don't need something like that ruining it. Along with that I have a distrust in a friend with stabling. I have a feeling we will be stabled right next to the stallion. So... going the legal route and doing regumate. Called USEF and we are good to go with it and don't even have to fill out paperwork for it, whew.

For fun, a video. It could be a lot better, but I also noticed shortly after these videos that the saddle had slid forward. I hoped off and readjusted it. We had some spectacular trot work after it though, Nick just didn't record it (cranky man haha!)


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## frlsgirl

^^^^^goals! This is exactly what I want to do with Ana; canter nicely in an open field. Well done!


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## DanteDressageNerd

It will be neat to see how he goes undersaddle! I hope he's agreeable and has a great work ethic and mind about it all!

I hope the regumate helps Izzie stay sound of mind through the show. I have no problems with regumate. I've known people to keep horses on it because their mares have painful cycles or because going into heat causes their mare so much stress they end up developing ulcers!

And yep as they start taking more weight behind and sitting more they tend to narrower through the wither and get wider over their back and more developed over their croup and base of their neck. It makes sense if they're coming more from behind and taking more weight off their front end and pushing more from behind rather than dragging from the front (which almost all of them tend to do in the beginning when learning to work over their back, better for them to be a little down but through than up and hollow). It's frustrating but neat and a good thing about having a new saddle is it can be adjusted to fit Miss Izzie! The tree width can be adjusted. That's part of why I bought new for Frankie is so if we needed to down the road when she's more developed we could widen or narrow the tree. It's also why Im trying the acavallo pad, I'm tired of messing with saddle fit and making adjustments to Frankie's saddle that work for a ride then need to be adjusted. Horses can change so fast, it's astounding!

And certainly core strength and leg strength is a big one! I had to explain to someone about how powerful, big movers take a TON of strength to seem even relatively quiet and still remain supple. It's a very demanding sport and I don't think a lot of people realize how demanding it really is. Leo for instance takes a TON of core strength because he's so powerful and so huge in the stride. If I don't have good control of it I basically get ran off with on the forehand and cant control his rhythm or stride. And no walk to canters, with him I have to be REALLY strong and arch my back quite a bit to stop the movement of my hip because any movement he collects more, rather than coming down or going to walk. All hip and core control which is hard and I'm still not as strong as I really need to be with him. But that's why he's so good for me, if I'm not correct he won't do it, same with changes and everything else.

I hope your lessons went really well and I cant wait to hear how they went! 

Also glad Sydney has a great birthday! She deserves it


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## PoptartShop

OMG isn't cantering in the open field amazing??????????????? I love it.    YES YES YES! What a great ride! It is hard to 'sit back' more at the canter. I have issues with that too. I hope you had a great lesson yesterday!!!! Let us know how it went!


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## Tazzie

Tanja, thank you! If we didn't ride there we wouldn't be able to ride at all :lol: we board Izzie with a friend, and there isn't a riding arena. We make do with what we have :lol: but I enjoy it! It got a bit hairy when she used to bolt, but we've settled into a good partnership now 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Cassie, I really hope so. I really, REALLY like him. My friend was joking around with a name for a foal (yes, don't judge us haha) and he came up with Twilight Prophecy since Written In The Stars (Izzie's name) is usually something about destiny, prophecy, etc. I like it :lol: I'm excited to see him again next weekend! I'll try and film some of his triangle if he's behaving well. He really is a nice boy!

I just felt kind of like a failure or wanting an easy way out considering why I'm using it. But I've spent too much to have it thrown down the drain. She started it Saturday, so I'll be curious to see how she is to ride today.

And yeah. Nick groaned, and I did a bit when we realized it didn't fit anymore. But then I got super excited like "YES!!! This just proves to me that we're on the right path, hooray!!" But she's coming down next week to tweak it before Regionals. I'll probably just do conditioning type rides until then to keep the proper muscles working, but not full on hard workouts. We have a riser pad to lift in front a bit which she appreciates. But I don't want to use it long term since it's not perfect. But it'll do for now.

Definitely. I feel like I'm getting stronger! Bonus, at last check (last week), I'm down .25 inches from around my waist, about .5 inches from my calf, and I'm down two pounds! Ecstatic! I do weekly measurements and don't set foot on the scale any other day. It helps since I know my weight will fluctuate as I gain muscle and ditch the fat. It's why I take the actual measurements too :lol:

It went FABULOUSLY! My trainer was SUPER pleased with it all! I'll attach the videos as well. Definitely had some of our best work yet. She says she wishes all of her students had my work ethic and my desire to learn more. Makes me happy!

And she had a fabulous birthday!!

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Allison, yes it is! I enjoy it a lot, and Izzie is fun to canter  and yeah it is. I'm working on it. Particularly so my pictures at Regionals are spectacular  and I did! It was superb!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alright, long awaited update :lol:

Sorry it's been so long! It's been NUTS lately, whew!

First off, my lesson was FABULOUS! Maggy just sat back and watched as I warmed up Izzie. Interjected when she wanted me to work on stretching her into the contact more, and then had us walk. Praised us for clearly working hard in our regular rides! She asked what I wanted to work on that night. It was rather hot, so I was wary, but said I wanted to work a bit on our canter. With multiple breaks of course. Just to make sure we were on the correct path, particularly since we'd been working hard with our walk to canters before the saddle issues started (which I have to go back and reshow Izzie that canter to walk won't be painful *sigh*). She agreed, and off we went.

Goodness was she HAPPY! Last lesson I was holding myself back. Whether it was expecting her to explode, expecting her to race into the trot, or expecting her to kick out and possibly hit Maggy, I had issues. This time, I just trusted and went. We went both directions with a couple of transitions, then let her have a walk break while I drank some water.

Pepped her up with some shoulder in work at the walk to get her working and thinking, then started our walk to canters. She was again super happy!! Long sides, circles, where ever I asked her to pick up a canter she did it and stayed straight. Couldn't quite get a clear canter to walk, but we'll get them. She pointed out things I was doing that I needed to stop doing (holding too much on the inside rein when asking her to come down), which I have remembered :lol:

Overall, a VERY productive lesson. She actually told me she was very proud of me  totally made my day!

I didn't get to go out and ride her between the lesson and the show on Saturday, minus a small bareback ride on Friday after she had her feet trimmed. Just was one of those kinds of weeks.

Saturday I woke up with a HORRIBLE stomach ache. Really didn't know how I was going to make the show work. I felt HORRIBLE. Pushed through it and got her bathed. I felt better until I ate. Then felt crappy again. REALLY should have waited to eat like I had planned *sigh*

Anyway, Izzie warmed up WONDERFULLY. Had our walk to canters, a nice steady trot, and a lovely, quiet walk. I was THRILLED. Head into the ring for our first class (sans jacket for me since I worried I'd overheat myself since I felt so crummy) and feel Izzie blossom into this GIGANTIC moving animal. With little regard to half halts of any kind. Nick was like "yeah, you all were in lengthened trot like the whole first way." Thought for sure we'd blow it because of that. She called for walk to canters, and Izzie NAILED them both directions. Had us walk for FOREVER it seemed. Thankfully Izzie was self contained and walked instead of the annoying jig she does sometimes. Head into line up in a class of six horses. One horse parks SUPER close to Izzie and all I could think of is "and if we haven't blown it, here is where we will." Nope. Izzie didn't even flick an ear. Who is this horse?! Ring master asks us to back, which Izzie did with little fuss, whew.

And then....

THEY CALLED US FOR FIRST! I about cried! And we got to take our victory pass!

Let her have a solid walk break since our next class was a few away. She walked on a loose rein as all the fine harness horses were warming up. She couldn't care less :lol:

Picked her up when the harness horses went in since that was our next class. Again, BEAUTIFUL walk to canters and a steady trot. Hit the ring with an actual trot instead of the lengthening machine I had, which was good since they called for lengthened trot and we needed to show a difference haha! Then the judge shocked us. She asked for us to halt along the rail. Mmmk, Izzie does so. Then they call for a canter from a halt! HUH?! I'm lucky my mare walks to canter now, but halt to canter?! SO PROUD OF IZZIE. Took barely a step of walk and immediately picked up the canter. This was repeated second direction as well, Izzie's harder way. She nailed it! But then was kind of shaking her head like she had something in it. She wasn't bad or tossing her head, just flopping her ears back and forth. No clue what happened. Come back to a trot, then lengthen the trot. Izzie did them in a business like attitude. So wonderful! Again, into lineup and the request for the back, and again Izzie does so without a fuss.

Once again it was announced that we were the winners!! This time out of three, but WOO!! Another victory pass for us!

By now I was EXHAUSTED. We cooled Izzie out, and I filled out my paperwork. Izzie had her dinner and relaxed for a bit. Went to load her, and hadn't turned the trailer light on so she could see to hop in. Well, she didn't care if there was a light. She just followed me into the pitch black trailer. She amazes me so much!

She's had the last two days off as that ring is rather tiring to ride in, and she did so well! Tonight I plan to head out and ride 

Videos of our bareback rides:











And highlights from our lesson


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## Tihannah

Wow! She looks amazing Katie! Izzie is a total superstar!


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## PoptartShop

Ahhhhh, bareback!  So awesome! You and her look so good as always. Look at that movement!


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## frlsgirl

I loved the walk to canter video. She seemed to really know that the canter was coming; like "I know you're gonna ask, I know, I'm waiting for you" - very smart and elegant pony!


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## DanteDressageNerd

That's really awesome! How you came by this stud, I think he'll compliment Izzie beautifully! It'll be a nice fit!

That's exciting! Good luck with your fitness program and so awesome that you've done so well with Izzie. In the videos you can really see the development and change in her mechanics. She's starting to take a lot more weight behind and really "get" where she's at. She's grown up and matured an awful lot and looks really good! It looks like a really productive lesson with a lot of points highlighted and built upon! I'm really happy for you guys. I can definitely see she looks ready for 2nd level.


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## Tazzie

Thanks Tina! I'm pretty proud of my little pony 

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Thanks Allison! I love watching her go hahaha! I could really watch her all day long :lol: and I do enjoy hacking out bareback, though she hates anything more than a walk bareback. I think it's my bony rump :lol:

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Thanks Tanja! Yeah, that's honestly one of our bigger issues is sometimes she starts heavily anticipating a cue, and gets a bit jiggy. But she is definitely a smarty pants! And thank you  I think she's quite elegant as well!

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Cassie, thank you! And yeah, I love him. She posted a picture of her son grazing the stallion. Melted my heart 

And thank you! I'm feeling ready. We take a step back here and there, but right now I think it's a saddle fit issue. Saddle fitter is coming tonight to adjust it  just in time for regionals!

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Sorry it's been forever since I've updated! We've had a few good rides in, really just focusing on tempo and getting her bending through the rib cage. As was shown to me a bit in the show Izzie likes to hit the long side and suddenly get bigger and bigger. So, we've been working on staying collected between my aids and to quit trying to create a different ride than I was asking for. It's been going well!

She saw the chiropractor on Saturday, and had very little out, woohoo! So that made me happy!

Saturday night we celebrated my birthday  it was a lovely day with some good friends and family. Too many laughs were had :lol:

Yesterday was my actual birthday. We went out to eat at Texas Roadhouse, and dropped in to give Izzie her regumate and give her dinner. I snuck in a small bareback ride, which I thoroughly enjoyed  she was a super good girl!

The saddle fitter is coming out today to get us all adjusted for Regionals. Tonight will be our last at home ride before we haul down to the horse park on Thursday. I'm giving her Wednesday off so we can do a light ride Thursday at the park, and showing Friday.

I've been extremely tense, frustrated and upset lately. Been trying to train a new girl at work and she is NOT working out. She isn't soaking in ANY information. She claims to have worked in a lab for years. She can't even pipette. She can't open the lid on the centrifuge. She can't remember to wear her safety glasses in the lab. It's extremely frustrating, and I wish she'd find somewhere else to go...

Then drama with "friends". One friend and I have always had a bit of a rocky relationship, which nearly ends when I get tired of being treated like crap so I treat her how she treats me. It settles, and we go back to how it was. So we're all stalling together for Regionals. Said friend wanted to arrange the stalls to "make more sense." AKA, have the tack stall in a corner, and her mare next to it. As in, she gets the prime spot. Whatever, I'm not using a tack stall (after last year Nick REFUSES to split a stall with her). So she puts me in an exit/entrance spot (apparently the ONLY one...) and says "try not to spread out." Couldn't wait a dang day to say this. Oh no. She says it on my dang birthday. Gee, thanks. Then goes on to say that she's taken all this time hanging up stall curtains instead of working her horses, so we need to be aware of our appearance and not make her look bad, blah blah blah. It's not like ANY of us are messy. It was just flat out rude. At this point, the kids are no longer coming with us (I'm extremely upset about this) and we will not be hanging around the stalls except when we finish our riding classes. We need to bathe Izzie and prep for our in hand classes. We will immediately go back up to the ring since I have ZERO desire to be at the stalls. Once we receive our placings, we will pack up and go home. So frustrated with it all.

Anyway, enjoy our cute video from last night, along with pictures from last night and from the show


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## frlsgirl

Awww, I love the bareback birthday ride! Happy belated birthday! 

I'm training my replacement right now, so I know how frustrating it can be; my replacement is really nice and picking up things rather fast but she is super distracted with personal calls etc. Maybe the girl you're training is just nervous? I'm training next week so I know I'll be nervous but thankfully I don't have to handle laboratory equipment, just pen, paper and computer.


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## DanteDressageNerd

Aww those are some great pictures! I'm so glad you had a fun birthday ride! That looks like a blast! 

I'm really sorry the new girl isn't "hacking it" or getting it together, I hope she starts figuring it out soon. It'd be super frustrating to have to repeat OVER and OVER again on what to do and how to do it when the whole purpose of someone taking that job is to be able to do it for themselves. Some people are incompetent because I swear they choose to be, rather than make an effort to learn their trade.

Regionals sounds like a pain but at least you'll get to go! Should be fun!


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## Tazzie

Thank you Tanja! It was a nice birthday  and I love hopping on Izzie bareback, much to her disgust haha!

Ugh, that's annoying. This girl apparently comes from a lab where you're shown it once, and then expected to do it. If you can't, then you're out. So she thinks she can do things when she can't. Our lab is not run that way, and NONE of us trust her to take over anything. It's just annoying. She's very annoying. And isn't getting any better.

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Cassie, it really was! My birthday was just fun 

And ugh, she isn't cutting it at all. She's obnoxious. ZERO accountability. Even over really stupid things. We have this door that will not close all the way unless you physically pull it closed. We never do as it is into the freezer room, and typically our hands are full so we just push into it. Well, since she started I ran into once already before this incident. We went into the freezer room to grab samples. It was just me and her in that room. We came out and straight to the girl in charge. We realized we had missed samples. NO ONE else was in the lab. I literally ran straight into the door, and the girl in charge ran straight into me. This leaves only the new girl. So when we put the samples away I told her to please not shut the door all the way as we don't do that. "I didn't pull it closed." I said "You were the last one out of there before X and I went in there." "I didn't do it." I call so much BS on that. She also claims to not wear perfume, and yet she had a VERY strong floral odor that was giving us all headaches. Zero accountability. I don't trust her touching any of my samples at all.

Yes! It was fun though!

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Alright, update! It's been a while :lol:

We had the saddle fitter out. Not the news we were expecting. Our guess is that when I rode in the pouring rain, I packed the wool flocking down in my saddle (that and it probably packed down in the last six months). So she reflocked it where it should be. Tossed it on Izzie, and she didn't say anything about the fit. I hopped on, and Izzie FLEW backwards. I was certain she was either going to rear or lay down. She's done this once before: when the saddle was too tight. Fitter asked what that was all about. I said she's telling me it's too tight. She watched us for a minute and said "I'd agree with her." Then said she wanted to take it back to Columbus to resize it (I wish she had brought her stuff to adjust it....) Cue nearly puking and passing out. This was on Tuesday night. She asked when we were leaving for the show. I said we've gotta be hauling out Thursday after work. We literally had no time to send it out. We would risk not having a saddle for Regionals. Cue gigantic amounts of stress. And lots of "why the heck did I think this was a good idea?! I had it in workable condition!!!" She pulled some wool out to help a bit, which then caused the saddle to ride onto Izzie's withers and prevent her from bending right. Which I told her. We did "worst case scenario" of how Izzie would ride if it did ride onto her withers, and bless Izzie's heart she still rode well for me. She took out some flocking to help with the bending, and said to either hop off and readjust the saddle just before entering, or get a non slip saddle pad or non slip material to help the saddle stay in place. Cue multiple break downs all evening from the stress of it all, and very strong thoughts of forfeiting the show.

Talked to Blair on Wednesday. We're good. We were all stressed. I confided in her about the saddle issues, and she's like "I know I have stuff; let me look." Oh my god she came through. She had a white, non slip saddle pad. And she set an alarm for 1 am to take it out of oxyclean to toss it in the washer so it'd be clean and ready for us. I cried from relief and prayed it would work (we were going to do a small training ride Thursday night to get Izzie stretched out well before stalling her).

Haul down Thursday and try the pad. HUGE relief, it kept that saddle in place. And Izzie worked SUPER well! VERY proud of her! Got her all cleaned up and bedded down for the night.

Had the best night sleep before a show EVER. Woke up refreshed, but anxious. I really need to get a handle on my anxiety. We hit every time point I set for myself to get us ready and up there by. She warmed up BEAUTIFULLY. Then we hit the ring.

She kept her lovely, lovely trot tempo. But the walk work was crap. She was feeding off me and was jiggy. I kept taking deep breaths, but she was still jiggy. They asked for lengthened walk and she tried trotting. I was certain I'd lost it. Perfect walk to canter, perfect canter, just wonderful all the way around. Called for trot and change direction at trot. She was fabulous. Lengthen trot, beautiful. Called for canter and she was great. Walked perfectly afterward. Lined up but I was certain I'd lost it. Imagine my surprise when we were called REGIONAL CHAMPION in the OPEN division!! I cried! My friend the photographer was like "you gotta get a handle on your nerves, you almost blew that girlfriend." I was so dang happy though!

After our victory pass I hopped off to let her rest. Since the saddle wasn't perfect I didn't want to sit on her for extended lengths of time. Watched my friend take a Top Five in a HUGE class! She looked amazing!!

Hopped back on to warm Izzie back up. Focused on lots of calm walking, which she was fabulous with. Hit the ring again with a nice trot. Called the walk and we were better, but still a bit jiggy. Asked for lengthened walk again and got a bit, but still nothing fabulous. Another great walk to canter with a great, controlled canter. Came back to the trot and reverse direction. Didn't call for lengthened trot, so I figured we'd lost it. Beautiful canter, beautiful walk work, and beautiful backing in the line up. I apologized to Izzie for blowing it since it was all my nerves. Again, imagine my surprise when we ONCE AGAIN were named the REGIONAL CHAMPION!! DOUBLE REGIONAL CHAMPION!! I am so beyond thrilled. I bawled. Like, couldn't freaking breathe. Again, photographer friend was like "you NEED to stop worrying about what is going to go wrong and worry about what will go right." Which I know. Which is why I won't fork over the money to go to Sport Horse Nationals even though EVERYONE says I need to. It's too much money to spend to go blow it. I won't get that lucky again.

We completed the day with two Top Fives in the Sport Horse In Hand classes. We showed the Hunter Type since she doesn't move like a Dressage horse in hand. She was TIRED so she didn't perform her best. But that's ok. I was, and still am, on Cloud Nine for our big wins!

I also had my photographer friend come do a mini photo shoot with Izzie. The stud owner asked if I'd like some with him in the pictures. Heck yes!! So we're going to have some funny pictures to show haha! There will be pictures of Izzie going "oohhh, my boyfriend is HANDSOME!" and some of her with her ears flat on her head and her snarling like "I HATE that jerk!" We about died laughing! Nick gave me a leg up to get a couple of bareback pictures too, and nearly threw me over the other side haha! It was hysterical! I'm excited to see them!!

You'll just have to enjoy these ones. Sorry they are sideways, but my internet HATES me tonight, and I can't get photobucket to behave :/ also no videos. Nick had the kid's cold, and felt horrible. I was just thankful he was there for me!! Pictured also are where all of Izzie's ribbons are


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## DanteDressageNerd

lol well leave it to Izzie to be so expressive in every photo but it keeps you smiling and keeps reminding you of how opinionated and special she is!

BIG CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!! That's so exciting!! Go you two! I understand not going to nationals. That is an AWFUL lot of money and you're still saving for your farm and property. That should definitely take priority. I see many more regional titles to come later. 

lol I was going to say take a xanax next time but Im really happy for you guys! That's super exciting! And hopefully your saddle will be perfect in no time! So happy for you guys!


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## frlsgirl

Congrats on all your winnings! You're gonna need a bigger house so that you can build her a proper shrine!


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## Tazzie

Cassie, it does show her personality :lol: she's such a goofball. I could never forget she has an opinion haha!

Thank you! I'm still flying high from it and it's been over a week :lol: the shock still hasn't worn off haha! And yeah. Maybe when Izzie and I are absolutely perfect with no bobbles we'll talk about it. But it won't be for a while. And yeah, I want our farm. I want to pay off more of our debt and I want to get Izzie home. So it's going to be a while yet.

Haha, yeah, I need to do something. There is no reason for me to be getting that anxious. Izzie hasn't blown up in a show ring since she went into heat in April. All the other shows she's been perfect even when I wasn't. I really need to look into something. And thank you! I just got it back, so hopefully!!

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Tanja, that would be pretty awesome, but Nick will totally shoot that down :lol: I'll settle for a nice tack room where I can hang all of her ribbons and awards! One day.... and thank you! Going to be a while before I come down off of cloud 9!

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Alright, update!

Izzie's enjoyed her vacation. I went out to feed her on Thursday, and she was SUPER excited to see me. Just made me feel wonderful to have her come galloping in to see me. She's definitely my heart 

Her saddle came back today, whew. So my hope is to go out and ride tomorrow. Dying to get back in the saddle and see where we are at now that our saddle is fixed!

I did some thinking, and I don't think we will be ready to do Second Level at our August show. Too many set backs and I really don't want to over face her. So we will just stick with First Level. Kind of sad, but I want her to be confident.

Nick is currently working. Massive storms blew through, and knocked a bunch of people out of power. When he went in this morning there was 12,000 out. Which normally isn't a huge amount, but the issue is that they will go in to fix things, and only a handful of people will come back on the grid. So factor that in with all the people that are out... and it's going to be a long day. They made it an "all call", so EVERYONE had to go in, and they have to work 16 hours. Such is life I guess. I'm hoping we can ride tomorrow, but if he gets called back in, I won't be able to unless Cliff will hang out with me. Monday I have a meeting, so not sure if I can squeeze in a ride or not.

I did get my regional pictures though! There are a ton, but these were some of my favorites 





































For fun, a picture of Izzie with her boyfriend :lol:










There are A TON more under the gallery tab on my blog as well.

http://www.writteninthestars.club/


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## DanteDressageNerd

I understand your reasoning. Sometimes it's best not to push it, even though you desperately want to move forward. I understand. I've wanted a show season for going on 10 years and it hasnt happened yet. Sometimes it's just that cusp that takes forever to come above.

So glad shes been doing well. I LOVE that picture of her with the stallion. No doubts what color the foal will probably be lol but at least their nice greys and not fleabitten.

Anyways the pictures are gorgeous and congratulations!! That's super exciting!!


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## Tihannah

I'm late to the table but CONGRATULATIONS!! Wow! I always knew Izzie was a rock star, but daaaaannngg!! Lol.

Oh and there was a thread on COTH about Photobucket. Apparently, they are now asking for a $299 per year subscription in order to use photos hosted on their site on other websites. They are going through and deleting everyone's posted pics. I see they have already hit your journal too. It's insane. I don't know anyone that'd be willing to pay that much!


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## Rainaisabelle

I love love love Izzies boyfriend!! Is he a flea bitten grey like Izzie? Will he go white ? I don't know much about greys but I am super excited about him! 

So proud of you


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## Tazzie

Cassie, exactly. I'd like to move forward, but I don't want to raise the bar too high for Izzie. We'll get there. I'm super bummed, but it is what it is. I want to keep her happy. And maybe she'll suddenly surprise me now that her saddle fits? Who knows. Right now, I think it's best to wait.

She's enjoyed her vacation, that's for sure :lol: I'm hoping to ride today, but we will see. And :lol: Izzie is actually becoming fleabitten. It's a slow progression, but I imagine she will be covered one day. The grey I'm not sure on. He's around Izzie's age, but holding his dapples. And who knows. I know Izzie is bay based and is Gg (her dam was a chestnut). So while I hope we have a grey baby, if the stud is also Gg we could have a bay/black/chestnut depending on the genetic make up of the stud :lol: and if Izzie is homozygous for Agouti or not (I will be testing her).

Hard to see, but there are some fleabitten spots by her white spot on her hip (you'll have to click on the picture to expand it; has them on her wither as well):










And thank you! I love the pictures!

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Tina, thank you! I'm beyond excited about it all  I still haven't come down off of cloud 9!

And yeah, that's absurd. I've been using the links from my blog to post pictures now. It's just as easy at this point. I refuse to pay that amount to share pictures...

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Raina, I have no idea if he will or not to be honest. Only time will tell! The first horse I ever leased was a fleabitten grey, and I'm pretty partial to them really. It'll show off her patterns again 

And thank you!!

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Not much of an update yet. Nick had to work this morning, and my barn owner is down south being used at the moment. So.... I wasn't sure I would be able to ride today or not. But good news! Nick is off work and on his way home! He's picking up some lunch for us, and then kids need to lay down for a nap so they won't be cranky and cut my ride short. Fingers crossed it's a good one!


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## frlsgirl

The different types of grey coloring are seriously fascinating. I love all the pink on her.


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## DanteDressageNerd

And photobucket will pay for how poorly they've treated their customers. That's horrible. Utterly despicable. 

It'll be interesting to see what the baby turn out to be. Wonder's dam is a grey and his sire is dk bay. But the chance of the foal being grey is still quite high.

But I agree with you. It's always better to take your time then to rush and end up setting a horse up for a bad experience. You want to go in and out confident and happy. Patience is a virtue!


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## Tazzie

Tanja, they fascinate me too! She was so blue when we bought her that we REALLY hoped she would keep it. Sucks she lost it so fast :/ and thankfully the pink isn't super apparent in person! I'd worry about sunburn :lol: she'd just had a bath, which made it VERY striking!

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Cassie, I agree. I'll be pulling all of my pictures and closing my account. Over 10 years (least I think...) of loyalty to them. I've never once looked at other sites. And now I'll be deleting it all. It's a real shame.

They definitely will be higher :lol: if he's only Gg, then we have 25% chance of being GG, 50% chance of Gg, and 25% of gg (no grey). I just looked up both of his parents. I knew his sire was grey, but wasn't sure about his dam. She was grey as well, so there IS a chance he is GG! We shall see! I know my fingers would be crossed :lol:

Yeah, and we're not quite there. I want to be like "man we're ready for this!" I don't feel that way. I did briefly this year, but things happened. We'll see what happens later!

------------------------------------------------------------------------

I did get a chance to ride last night. She was TOUGH. Took quite a bit to get her to supple, but we got it eventually! Just very, very tough.

Had some hilarious diva moments though that cracked me up. I've been joking that it's because she knows she's a regional champion now, and her normal way of working is totally beneath her :lol: she didn't want to go through the weeds like she normally does. First she tried politely telling me no. I was like "you have no choice." So she went through it with a big hmph!! Basically passaged through it like "it's touching me!!! Make it stop touching me!!!" I really couldn't stop laughing.

Our canter work was eh. It always is though after the saddle is adjusted. It's like she has to readjust to it. She is the most finicky mare I know, ugh. Though oh man. I had her SUPPLE by the end. I kept testing it by changing our bend back and forth and it was just flawless. We did a trot half pass both directions. To the right was eh, but to the left just felt SO good! Gave ME chills riding it! If only Nick had been watching *sigh*

Took some photos at the end. What I didn't realize is part of the fence separating the two fields was down. Thankfully, no one came in until the very end. I love that Izzie doesn't attempt to follow or join in on the grazing even with a long rein 

Hoping tomorrow we can ride again. Will depend on the weather since the weather is calling for scattered thunderstorms. Wednesday will be mid nineties, so doubt I'll ride then. Will depend on the humidity. Need to start practicing my tests!!


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## DanteDressageNerd

**** that's perfect. Her normal way of working is totally beneath her now lol. I love it. lol do you ever tell her, her arab is showing?

I've heard the weather is meant to be bad, hot, humid then storms :-/ not exciting stuff but I'm so glad you had some great riding moments and got to really enjoy your girl! 

But photobucket sucks, way to throw your customer base under the bus. Disgusting. Whoever made that decision was a dumb @ss, they're going to lose a lot of customers and I don't know anyone will to pay 200-300 bucks to use it.


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## Tazzie

Oh yes haha! I've told her that on multiple occasions :lol: just never at an Arab show haha! She's a total diva, and it's HILARIOUS when it's not something frustrating. This was just flat out funny!

Ugh, yeah. I'm annoyed. I was going to try and ride today, but we were being forecasted to have MAJOR storms blow through. I watched the darn radar ALL day. Drove home in the pouring rain and figured so much for riding, so took a hot bath (bad, bad day). And it's gorgeous out. Rain stopped and it would be perfect riding weather. SO frustrating. I REALLY wanted to ride!!! We'll see what happens tomorrow :/

Exactly. People will be idiots if they pay that. So absurd.

Not much of an update. Had a bad, bad night. My cousin fled with my aunt's car end of last week after finally coming home (he'd been gone since Easter). It was discovered he is addicted to heroin. He also took her ipad. He was arrested and charged with the theft and for carrying drugs. His arraignment is on Monday. He is currently with my aunt and uncle where has been threatened to stay on the straight and narrow, and is required to be taking his withdrawal medicine if he intends to stay. I just found out he was home when I got off of work, so it was a rough, rough day. We also had NO dry ice, so I couldn't do any work this morning. It was just not a good situation.


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## frlsgirl

Yikes Tazzie, that doesn't sound good. Hope your cousin and dry ice situation resolve soon.


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## DanteDressageNerd

I'm really sorry to hear about your cousin. I don't know if there are any words I can offer, I'm terrible at it but I hope peace can be found and someway somehow things can be made right if at all possible. I wish you and your family the best :-(


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## Tazzie

Thank you both for your thoughts. I haven't heard any updates, but last I heard he was following the rules super well. That's the best I can hope for right now. I'm awkward in these situations too, so I get it. Just a crummy thing in general.

-----------------------------------------------------

I haven't posted because I've literally had nothing to update. Between the crazy storms (or what was SUPPOSED to be storms) on Monday and Tuesday and the heat on Wednesday there wasn't a chance to ride.

Tuesday we tracked the dang storms ALL day. We were going to get totally hammered right around the time we'd be heading to ride, and it did look ominous when I got home. So I enjoyed a hot bath instead. Got out to find the sun shining and GORGEOUS weather. I was not a happy camper. We never did get hit.

Wednesday it was 90+ degrees with 90%+ humidity, just too dangerous to ride in that. So I ran on my elliptical and took the kids over to my in laws to swim. And had to race out of the pool in less than 15 minutes because a storm seriously developed over head complete with thunder and lightning, ugh.

Thursday I had hoped to ride, but Nick worked late. Didn't come home until 1 am Friday morning. So worked out and relaxed all night.

Yesterday I wanted to ride, but plans created on Thursday made other things more necessary....

So that comes to today. And what Thursday's plans were.

My friend had asked me to come to a small show. But there are literally no classes for my high point, so I wasn't going to go. Sure, I could earn incentive fund money, but I do like to earn high point points as well. I said I'd think about it, but never did ask Nick.

Then one of our other favorite people who is in the process of moving out of state started begging us to go. Bribed Nick with a cooler full of cold beer even. I talked it over with Nick, and found the show was only about an hour and 15 minutes from our house. Alright, that's not too bad really. Bonus, the classes are payback classes. So... long as I place 4th place I'd earn back my entry fee. Anything higher would put cash in our pocket. Another bonus. It's a FAIR and horse show. So Nick and the kids could enjoy stuff after the show.

So, haven't ridden Izzie since Sunday. But, let's go to a horse show?! I know, we're nuts. I'm ok with that haha!

But the important thing that became way more necessary than riding? Well... our truck was in pieces as Nick was fixing the brakes. It took us most of the night to bleed them, replace a caliper, and take it on a test run. If I wanted to go, I had to let him do that.

I'll probably give an update at some point tomorrow. We are going to ride early in the morning since I need to ride to some music to determine if it matches Izzie's gaits so we can move forward with a freestyle. If I can't get Maggy to help out, I'll be calling in the help of @evilamc to splice us some music together and I'll create our own like I did last weekend. I LOVE freestyles, but I swear we ALWAYS wait until the last minute to create one. We did it growing up too, so I don't know what it's like having a freestyle put together super early :lol:

Wish us luck! I'm sure Izzie will be her usual perfect self


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## DanteDressageNerd

Good luck with your show, in spite of all the hang ups!


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## PoptartShop

So sorry to hear that about your cousin. :sad: That is definitely not something anyone wants to go through or hear about. I hope he is on the road to recovery & gets his life together! Ugh.
Ack about all the storms! :sad: Grrr. 

I think the show will be fun. Izzie will do lovely as always!  Good luck!!


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## Tazzie

Cassie, thank you! We went and had fun!

-----------------------------------

Allison, thank you. I still haven't heard anything. Will be calling mom when I get off of work to see if my dad called my uncle. We will see. Hopefully we get some ok news :/ I really hope he's wanting to get himself together. Just difficult I'm sure.

Yeah, the storms were bad. Nick was working quite a bit because of them, ugh. Such is life I guess!

The show was fun  we certainly enjoyed ourselves!

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Update!

So the show went well! Got Izzie all cleaned up VERY quickly as we needed to hit the road. Pulling out of the driveway when my friend texts me. Says "good luck today we're not coming." Ugh, seriously? Whatever, we'll still have fun with our guy friends. Tried calling when we got into service (I was shocked her text even came through), and you could tell she ignored it/sent it to voicemail. Yeah, well, two can play that game. Called my barn owner who I knew was there. Gave me the scoop on what was happening. Guess one of their horses decided he wasn't going to load. Sucks, but it happens. Hit the road and get STUCK in traffic. Few expletives were uttered. Called my buddies and they said they would check us in if we didn't make it. Perfect! Once I got free, we hit it! Also had a message from a girl that I do NOT like that is friends with the friend that wasn't coming. She wanted our barn owners phone number. I do NOT give his number out to just anybody, ever. I really wanted to write "f*** off, like h*** I'd EVER help YOU!" Her exact message was "I need ____'s number please." Called and asked him anyway (being the bigger person even though I really didn't want to) and he said send it. I said she's going to have to wait until I was there because I was the one hauling.

We ended up making it there with time to spare! Nick got Izzie settled in her stall while I checked in. I was going to be in class 10 and 14. I asked if I could go into class 10 (halter class) as a sport horse: braided and bridled. Judge granted me permission, whew. So we get Izzie cleaned up and I go hang out with our buddies for a bit. Watch the purebred class go, and just loved how everyone was VERY well represented and how calm, cool and collected they were. No flighty Arabs here!! Our turn came up and we followed one of my friends in. We all had to walk along the rail, which I always let Izzie have plenty of rein to do so. Reversed and came back to line up. Our turn and Izzie sets herself up PERFECTLY. Thank goodness! Trot off and head back to line up. While we're waiting for placings it's announced that there are NO entries in classes 11, 12, and 13, but that they will give me time to get ready. UGH! Still waiting in line up for our placings and stressing about tacking her up (least she was bridled, but I was going to have to toss my jacket on and saddle her up).

Imagine my surprise when we WON the halter class! We went against two well bred Quarabs who are NICE, so it shocked me! As I collected my ribbon and trophy, I asked first how many were in my riding class, and if jackets could be waived so I could speed it along a little. I was the only entry and yes, I could just hop on and ride, yes!

Tack up in a hurry, and Izzie is acting a bit funny. She'd been a bit back sore before her bath, so I was feeling a bit guilty riding her. Figured we would kind of just wing the class, no warm up, as we did quite a bit of walking and trotting in hand prior. She seemed happy with that! She did WONDERFULLY in her class. The ground SUCKED, so we broke out of our lengthened a bit into the canter (it truly felt like a "this is uncomfortable, so I'm going to pick a different gait" as opposed to "I'm unbalanced and falling into the canter." Blew my lead left since I kind of rushed it (I've never asked her to do walk to canter without having at least cantered in warm up, and I felt her bulge against my left leg but asked anyway; entirely my fault.) Corrected and went on. Her canter felt AMAZING; best it's felt in a LONG time, which astounded me. Super light and collected, loved it! Called for a halt, then had to rein back. Reverse and walk. Then canter. Picked that lead up PROMPTLY. Again, BEAUTIFUL canter. Down to the trot, lengthened trot (which I didn't ask as much, and she stayed comfortable), then walk into line up. Victory pass where she got super excited and hopped right into the canter. I can only imagine how pretty it was with her ribbon on her bridle! Gave her a double neck scratch as we passed the grandstand to applause (yes, there WERE people cheering on this tiny show!!) Tucked Izzie into her stall after some mandatory pictures 

We were extremely disappointed though. We paid to get into this show because it was a fair. Had to pay for Kaleb. I was LIVID because the fair wasn't even going! No rides, no fair food, NOTHING! So we paid $15 to go in to show my horse. The class fee was $20 each. But they had paybacks for the class. Each of my first place winnings earned me $50, so I at least came out ahead winning $100 total, but still irked me. Wouldn't have bedded down a stall had I known the fair wasn't going on *sigh* oh well, least we had fun with our favorite people!

She was happy to be turned back outside after her mini show, and shocking! NO MORE BACK SORENESS! It shocked the heck out of me. If that isn't a sign that she works correctly over her back I don't know what is.

Sunday I rode again since we NEEDED to be riding to music to plan our freestyle for the 12th. I always feel like we do things last minute, and here we are again. I know Maggy will work with us, but the stress!!! Izzie was super happy to see us though! Came right up to me  checked her back and still no soreness, woohoo! Tacked up and started warming up when I realized my saddle STILL isn't right. I am ****ED. I felt when I got it back that she hadn't remembered to reflock it since she took some out before regionals. Now I'm positive she didn't. So yeah, NOT happy. She was totally fine riding in it, eager even, but I won't keep riding without assistance to it. We are going to put the riser pad back in and call her after show season unless the riser pad or some other option doesn't make it work. Either way, NOT happy that it was supposedly JUST fixed!!

We did ride to music and we had WAY too much fun with it. Izzie was having a full on blast with it! It was a great time. Nick took a couple of videos with two different songs, but I'm not sharing them publicly to people. It was kind of our gauge and to see what super close friends thought. They are real contenders though! I'm psyched! Next Tuesday I have a lesson with Maggy, so we'll ride to the music then. Then she'll come out to us to actually work through the freestyle and develop it, and I'll work on it afterward. SO EXCITING!

So that's my update on riding! I know at the show this weekend everyone was remarking how wonderful our horses were, and how they couldn't believe Arabs could be so calm and relaxed. They all laughed when our horses would give giant yawns of boredom :lol: I know Arabians and Half Arabians aren't for everyone. They aren't good for people that micromanage everything, or are high strung in general. But I love them. I HATE the breed bias against them. I find them to be a wonderful, willing breed as long as you're willing to work WITH them. I've enjoyed many different breeds, and understand why people like them. Like Paso's. They were fun to try, and I can see why people like them. And Tennessee Walking Horses. I used to be like "NO THANK YOU!" but after trying one (because I WANT to try and not have any breed bias) I realized the appeal for them, and decided that is what Nick should have for his partner.

I just spend so much time working to revive the Arabian in our areas that I hate people ripping them down. It's why we work to get demos at a lot of high profile places. We want to show people Arabians are WONDERFUL, WILLING partners. I just couldn't imagine not owning them. And speaking of high profile places, and this is clearly SUPER early and on the WAY down low, but Izzie and I *might* get to demo at Breyerfest! I know the coordinator of it, and had mentioned I'd love to join next year. She said she'd love that!! So we may be doing both Equine Affaire AND Breyerfest! Izzie may think I've finally gotten the hint and found her a retirement job :lol:

Alright, pictures, since what would an entry be without pictures?? (If you click on the pictures, they'll be upright; I'm not technologically advanced to know how to flip them haha!)

Right after I braided her mane and forelock 









Kaleb talking to Izzie before our classes; I just think it's so cute!









My friend Carl and me after our under saddle class  we got two of those dishes as trophies, though they are a bit different









Jeff, Carl and I with our babies! The little grey on the end won her halter class with her brother (same dam) as third. I LOVE these guys (horses and humans haha)!









Waiting to load up! Better watch my crazy Arab, she may try to leave her stall 









And Izzie Jane on Sunday after our ride. She's just looking so goo!


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## PoptartShop

Awwww! I'm glad you made it there in time despite the traffic. I'm sure you were putting the pedal to the metal after that LOL. & that lady needs to screw off! :lol: Your BO can definitely deal with her. Ugh. Definitely hard to be the bigger person but you did. I don't know if I would've been able to contain myself hahaha. Sucks your other friend couldn't come but at least you still had a good time with the guys. 

I am shocked the fair wasn't running. What the heck!  That would've been fun, games, food...especially the food. :rofl: But at least the show was good. So happy Izzie was great as always. She looks amazing! You can tell Kaleb loves her & she loves him! So good with kids! Sounds like you guys did great.
She is looking really good. Look at those muscles!  LOL.
Congrats on another great show! :smile:


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## Tazzie

I was VERY glad we made it. Though they said they'd hold the show for me if I needed haha! And yeah, I really wanted to tell her to f*** off, but the one friend wasn't answering anyone (she gets that way when she's stressed; not that it's an excuse, but it is who she is), and she knew I had Cliff's number. I just loathe her. It is a shame she didn't come, but such is life. We still had a GREAT time with our two buddies! They will be moving to another state soon, so we're trying to get in as much time with them as we can :lol:

Yeah, I was MAD! SO mad! Like, I wanted a dang elephant ear! I don't eat them often, but MAN I wanted one!!! UGH! They aren't super common down here, but gosh I wanted one! They only hamburgers and hotdogs, which the kids enjoyed. I didn't eat there.

I'm proud of her  I'm bummed there wasn't more entries really, even if we were beaten. Because what fun is it to dance around an arena on your own and be awarded the blue? It's rather annoying really. A friend of mine says regardless if you're alone or with company, you earned the ribbon. Said if no one else showed up, but you did and were turned out for it, you deserve it. I get that, but I always just feel eh about a blue in a class you're alone in.

Yeah, the two of them really have a bond. Heck, she has it with both my kiddos. She's so wonderful :lol:

She is beefing up! I LOVE it! Such a good mare  not sure what I'd do without her. I see so many people selling off their partners and I really just couldn't imagine parting with her. She's family.

Thank you! Next one is on the 29th  the girl I work with (the competent one haha!) is going to come watch the show and hang out at our church picnic afterward. I told her we have deep fried Snickers and she wants one :lol: I'm aiming to introduce her to Cliff, hoping that perhaps a SINGLE, NICE girl will get him away from our other friend who isn't interested in a relationship, but is happy to take the help. He wants to settle down, and she won't ever with him. I asked her the most important questions though if things were to get serious (yes, I'm getting ahead of myself, but she's cute, sweet, and likable). I first told her he owns his own property, and it's in the middle of the family farm in the middle of nowhere Kentucky. She sees no problem with this (that would be our biggest hurdle). The second was about the girl we've always pictured for him. Cliff has a GOOD job, and money is ZERO issue for him. He currently lives in a trailer on the property since he hasn't felt the need to build a house of his own. I said the girl we picture for him answers his "I'd build you a big house with 5 bedrooms if that's what you want" with "I'd rather have a cute little farm house." Her answer was all she wants is a front porch :lol: so, Nick wants them to meet. She likes horses, but isn't into competitive riding and showing. Kind of just wants to trail ride. She WANTS to maintain a job, not be a house wife. And she doesn't want to be dependent on people. So... Nick changed his mind after this weekend when Cliff got in trouble, again. Fingers crossed that we can get something rolling here....

And no update. I had to pick today or tomorrow to ride, and I've picked tomorrow. Humidity will be lower, so should be better riding weather. Got Sydney's hair cut for the first time though!


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## DanteDressageNerd

Overall it sounds like a heck of a good time, despite the cost of entering a fair that isnt even going on, that would irritate me too and the saddle not being fixed despite having just got it back. 

But other than that congratulations on winning a halter class, I think you've mentioned before that she usually doesn't place as well in halter as the sport classes, so that's awesome! And I'm really glad she did so well at the show. It sounds like a blast to go in and actually have an audience cheer you on. I'm glad she's doing so well. The pictures look lovely!

With breed bias. I think everyone has their preferences and there is nothing wrong with having a preference, we all have them. I love tbs, a lot of people don't like tbs. I like qhs, a lot of people don't like qhs. Apples and oranges, we like what we like and that's okay. A lot of people love friesians, a lot of people don't like friesians. It's why we have so many different breeds and disciplines, so each person can find their fit and be happy. But I hope you have fun with your demos!


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## frlsgirl

Glad the show went well. I'm not up to speed on all the point systems out there; I'm assuming you are talking about the Arabian points? 

I've been the only entry in Dressage classes and loved bringing home the blue ribbon especially when I felt my score was respectable; but there was that one time where I got a 58 for Intro C and a blue ribbon, that did feel kind of wrong, lol.


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## Tazzie

Cassie, yeah, I strongly dislike spending money for nothing. HATE it. The fair I can at least put toward my taxes to go toward the incentive fund money. The saddle fitting costs is wasted money.

And yeah, in straight halter classes we usually don't do well. I could have been judged as a sport horse since that is the attire we went in with, but it was still shocking! I was told I was silly for being shocked :lol: it was a blast and Izzie loved having people hoot and holler for her :lol:

I get that everyone has their preferences. I'm glad everyone does as it'd be incredibly boring if we all liked the same things. But I despise the constant bashing on breeds. Hate it. I know each breed has it. But it gets old to hear yours constantly being belittled and remarked as flighty, hard to work with, etc. That isn't true for the entire breed, but could ring true for individuals. The most dangerous horse I ever knew was a Dutch Warmblood (dam was a TB) gelding who would spook and bolt in a blind panic because he saw his own hoof print in the sand in the corner. Whereas the Arab I first leased would canter calmly with me in the down pouring rain while I rode her bareback with wind howling and cars flying by. Everyone will have preferences. Much like I wouldn't pick a Paso or a Walker for Dressage, but I can respect and appreciate why the people who DO ride them have picked them as their companions. Alright, off my soap box :lol:

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Tanja, not quite :lol: we have the Kentucky County Fair High Point awards at the end of the year. The divisions have always been Halter, Western, Hunter, English Pleasure, Sport Horse, and Specialty. I typically try to earn points toward Hunter, Sport Horse and Specialty as we do well in those classes, and you earn points by placing first through fourth in the classes. The show I went to only had Halter and English Pleasure. I did earn what is called a KAHABA point. KAHABA is the incentive fund specifically for Kentucky bred Arabians and Half Arabians. In order to earn a point (which will ultimately have a value attached to it; last year was over $150 I think), the show must be a part of the Kentucky Fair and Horse Show Association and "Arabian" must be in the title of the class. It seems super complicated, but it's not too bad really :lol:

And yeah, these classes you are judged against other riders and their horses, so you will have judges that will pick who they like more (which is hard when you show under a Dressage judge and there is a Warmblood/Arabian cross in there) regardless of how well you did. These grass roots shows are having fewer and fewer entries, and I fear it's both people getting out of horses and the county fairs trying to push us out and switching to tractor/truck pulls. I usually specify when it's just me in the class, though rarely will I admit to it on Facebook :lol:

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A bit of an update.

We went to Michigan for the weekend, which was lovely. We had a good time up there 

Came back and I attempted to ride yesterday to the music since my wonderful husband didn't write down what I asked him to while we rode to music before. I said attempted because Izzie's saddle is not at all right. I ordered a pad that can be shimmed, and without the shims even it would work super well. If I can get the saddle pad under it from shooting out the back. We attempted shimmed, not shimmed, and no half pad to no avail. Everything makes it slide onto her withers. She didn't get mad with the half pad, but she did toss a half hearted buck when I went without the half pad. The saddle sits directly on her withers without a pad. If I sit at the very back of my saddle, the front will pop up. To me, that says exactly what I've been suspecting. She forgot to finish reflocking it. I'm just beyond mad about it. I spent $250 to have my saddle fixed, and it's worse than it was before I had her out.

I got a hold of a different saddle fitter, and he's coming out tomorrow to do adjustments for it. Praying it just needs adjustments. We are not in the position to purchase yet another new saddle.

I have a lesson scheduled for tonight, and hoping she has a couple of ideas on how to keep the saddle stable so we can at least run through the music. Tonight will be the deciding factor on if we are even doing a freestyle soon or not. If we can't get the dang saddle to work, or all the music is crap, then I'm going to have to scrap that idea and hope I can even still show at the show I'd planned to do the freestyle at. Ugh, the stress and anxiety.

I've also been crazy busy, so sorry I haven't been responding to journals. I'll catch up one of these days :lol:


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## Crimson Rose

Tazzie and Izzie <3 I have been following them forever on a sim game, and I am so happy to see them here. This is one of the most wonderful horse and rider teams, and I have very much enjoyed watching all you progress! I love both of you! Give Izzie a snuggle for me <3


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## DanteDressageNerd

Id be furious about the saddle. I hope she makes time to write the wrong, especially if you PAID for it to be fixed. That's not okay. A friend of mine sent a saddle to be flocked and it came back so badly bridged and lumpy it was HORRIBLE. It sounds too narrow at front but can't say for sure without seeing, poor Izzie :-( having the wrong fit in saddle is annoying. Poor girl. 

Good luck in your lesson! I hope it went well!


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## Tazzie

Crimson Rose, thank you! She's a very special mare and I'd be entirely lost without her. Really wouldn't know what I'd do without her :lol: even though she is the sass queen at times! I'm glad you've found us again!! 

---------------------------------------------------

Cassie, oh I am BEYOND furious. I haven't contacted her yet about it. I have no plans to use her again, and the first flocking was apparently free, so seems like I wouldn't have a leg to stand on (I paid for mileage, tracings, and tree adjustment). I didn't technically pay for a flocking. But she needed to right her wrong and she wouldn't without charging me $150 in mileage alone. Yeah, no. And unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately?) the lesson had to be cancelled. I'd been stressing about the dang saddle when I got a text from Maggy. She had a water line break in front of her barn and had to get it fixed IMMEDIATELY. So it worked out I guess. I still need to get a hold of her to set up another one.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

So, super long overdue update :lol:

The saddle fitter came out on Wednesday. It was a very interesting time. He was a bit of an oddball, but it was interesting. He palpated her back/wither/shoulder areas. Apparently Izzie's left scapula is placed a bit further back than her right. Perhaps because her right front is her high foot? He had me walk her away and back to him to evaluate how she uses herself before beginning the saddle fit check and adjusting what was needed. He said she uses herself very evenly and you'd never notice she had anything different going on. So we put the saddle on and he checked it VERY thoroughly. The back is even on her back, good channel through it, all sits evenly, just the front was wrong. And it was EXACTLY what my gut said it was. My original saddle fitter did NOT reflock the saddle after doing her tree adjustment. So he reflocked it and we rode in it. Izzie was like "LET ME SHOW YOU HOW FREELY I MOVE NOW!!!!!" The guy really liked her movement :lol: so Izzie is back to being a happy camper! WHEW!

Thursday she had her feet trimmed. I LOVE my farrier. His name is also Nick :lol: but he's wonderful haha! Is fine keeping Izzie on a 5 week schedule right now to keep her from chipping up her right front too much (her feet grow SUPER fast in the summer). He apparently really likes Izzie too :lol: I guess he's trimming a huge donkey Monday (guessing maybe a mammoth donkey??) and he was like "I want to breed him to her. These two would make an AWESOME mule, and I'll be thinking of breeding them together for the next week!" :lol: I told him he can't tell Nick that because my Nick does want a mule! Men!

Friday we hauled Izzie and her buddy Peppy to the show. Figured both girls would be fine. Goodness I was SO wrong. We got everyone settled in (Cliff wanted Izzie and Peppy together, and since Izzie is normally totally fine riding and being alone I figured it wouldn't be bad. WRONG. I get on Izzie and head into the ring. Peppy was hollering her fool head off, and Izzie was responding. Had warmed up enough to canter, so went ahead and asked. She was good for a bit, then jumped, bucked MASSIVELY hard a couple times, and sent me flying over her shoulder. I landed HARD on the outside of my thigh. It's fairly swollen and SORE. Large bruise is starting to come out too, lovely. Anyway, I got back on and made her WORK until she gave up on the responding to her friend. I HATE working them that hard the night before, but we needed to get through this new, disgusting habit.

Then Cliff hopped on Peppy to tune her up a touch, and then let Lauren hop on. The plan had been for Lauren to show in some western classes with Peppy. I'd had A LOT of friends cancel their stall reservations and decide not to come. Various reasons, but I was still upset about them (one chose another show, but gave me a laundry list of other excuses that didn't include wanting to go to that show, and another wanted to expand her business, but didn't tell me until like 8 pm Friday night with a show starting at 9:30 am Saturday). Yeah, well, riding Peppy was nixed. Peppy appeared gimpy (I blame the crappy farrier he uses (the one we fired) because he doesn't come out as often as needed and she chipped her feet too short), so we were starting to think we wouldn't happen. Well then Peppy decided to literally bronc Lauren off. She's also alright, but yeah. We decided no on riding altogether with her. Cliff schooled Peppy, which was needed, but yeah. We opted to just do the stock horse halter with her so Lauren could at least have fun.

Saturday morning came early (as it always does haha) and we got us checked in for our classes. Took some time to eat our breakfast, then braided Izzie to prepare for her class. Peppy just needed a brushing lol we had a bit of a hold up because TWO horses got loose. They kept the show going (not sure how...) and wanted the stock horses to be out and checked in. We were like no. We are staying here until she can go in. Not risking our two getting loose too. Well poor Lauren. Peppy isn't the prettiest Quarter Horse, and she's FAT. Her class was THIRTEEN horses. Yeah, she didn't make the cut for a ribbon. But she said she had a blast anyway! WHEW!

Izzie's class was up next. I missed count on them getting into the ring, so nearly had the gate closed on me (never happens to me... I'm always early). My class was NINE entries. I'd never done English Halter. We all trotted in and stood up on the rail. Most of us were braided and bridled for the class (maybe all of us?) Well, I was pulled out of the lineup to form a second line. Again, I'd never done this kind of class, so figured he was making it easier to see everyone. Umm, no. We were pulled out in our order of placings. Izzie got THIRD! We were behind two SUPER nice Welsh Ponies, one who was a cover boy for Horse Illustrated one year. So I was in shock! The judge kept saying she was a very nice Arab ! I was the only entry in Arabian Halter, which is highly unusual. So naturally we placed...

We got Izzie tacked up and ready to go for Hunter Pleasure. We opted not to do lead line since Izzie had been so bad the night before. I love doing it, but I will not put my kids in harms way. And sadly I missed entering them in the stick horse class due to a miscommunication with Nick. Oops! Thank goodness the guy in charge is totally fine with my insane ideas :lol: I entered the kids in the stick horse costume class for later in the day, and both kids would be on one stick horse haha!

So after all that, I worked Izzie for a bit, making sure she had a brain and I had all I needed with regards to my aids. She had a bobble right in the very beginning (big moving half Arab/Saddlebred was following us in), but she settled right in and went to work. Did PERFECTLY! We won the class out of three! YAY! This was a class toward my high point 

Kids did the stick horse costume class wearing cowboy hates, and they looked super cute riding on the stick horse together :lol: loved it! Each got a goody bag for it 

Our last class was English Pleasure. Izzie was tired, but also argumentative in the field when I warmed up. The field is bowl shaped, so she REALLY had to use her hind end to work. She tried to spaz out from another horse coming in to warm up, but I made her work harder. Went in and boy did she feel solid and steady. I was excited. Asked for a canter from a walk, and she spazzed and blew her lead, twice. I finally yelled the aids at her and she grabbed it, but I couldn't figure out what the heck was going on. She was bent around my leg, on my aids, and seemed happy. Well, the bobble costed us the win, but we still got second out of three. The horse who won really deserved to win, so I wasn't even remotely upset. After the class I talked to Nick and he was like "well, the third place horse was up Izzie's butt for that canter departure, that's why she did what she did." They followed us most of the canter first way apparently, until I realized it and moved Izzie more to the outside. In the line up the girl said it was hers and her horse's first time in the show ring. So, I'll cut them slack. Regardless, it was a super fun show!

The super cool part of the show was finding out who we were stabled with. This lady looked very familiar, and I knew I'd seen her. I knew it. WELL! She is the wife of the late Bill Pennington, who started the Arabian Horse Association's Youth Nationals AND Sport Horse Nationals!!!! They brought TWO half Arabians to our fun little show! They said it was the perfect show to get horses out and see what they need to work on before moving onto bigger shows. It was like sitting with Arabian Horse World Royalty! Joanne LOVED Izzie. Said she had beautiful movement and that it is VERY clear she's Dressage trained. Before the last class she asked if I was taking her to Sport Horse Nationals this year in Raleigh. I said not this year. Even though we won both of our Regional classes we just aren't consistent enough for such a gigantic show. I want to be super consistent before going there. It'll be back on this side of the country in two years, so I'll be roughly aiming for that. But I'm on air that she loved Izzie!!

Here is an article about how the Sport Horse discipline came about, and comments from Bill and Joanne Pennington

https://arabianhorse.com/pages/arabian-sport-horses

Seriously, the compliment from the judge and Joanne entirely made my weekend. My placings paled in comparison to those comments 

Anyway, picture influx!

As I waited for the saddle fitter to finish (ugh, click the pictures and they won't be sideways...):


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## Tazzie

These are pictures waiting for the farrier :lol: it had started to rain, so I had my umbrella open and sitting in my chair reading :lol:










































































A fun video I took while waiting while it was down pouring haha!






And fun picture! Izzie was in the SmartPak catalog!










One last post to have pictures taken at the show :lol:


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## Tazzie

Show pictures! None taken in the ring since really I didn't know how she'd be and I didn't ask anyone to take some. So a bunch of the kids in stick horse, ribbon picture, and one of the two girls 


















































Her pretty ribbons on her stall sign 










And the girls. Nick didn't bother making sure one picture had Izzie's ears up, *sigh*










Today we both have off since we are sore. Izzie's hind end seemed sore after our riding (probably from the field we worked in), and I like giving her a day off. I'm super sore and will be taking an Epsom salt bath here soon.


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## frlsgirl

Aww the kiddos are cute.

Congrats on making it into the Smartpak catalog. Hopefully that means a discount on supplements?

I hate how dependent we are on saddle fitters and farriers; I remember when Ana lost a shoe 48 hours before year end championships and I thought I was going to lose my mind when I couldn't get a hold of the farrier; and I've be had my own battle with saddles and fitters. Sounds like it's resolved though?


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## DanteDressageNerd

I'm glad you were able to get your saddle fixed by someone FINALLY. It's a pain in the butt when the saddle isn't quite right. 

It seems Izzie wins over new admirers at every show lol she has something! She draws people in and makes them want to watch. She's fun to watch and it's a lot of fun hearing about how well you guys are doing together and hopefully in two years sport horse nationals will be your place of residence! 

I see Izzie has a similar opinion to Frankie about personal space lol. The kids look like they're having fun


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## PoptartShop

Congrats on the Smartpak. That is great! You guys are superstars!

I love all the pictures too. The show looked like a blast. I am so glad the saddle fitter worked out. Glad all it needed was a reflocking! Whew. Saddle fitting can be so irritating.
The kiddos are soooo cute in their outfits! Omg.  
I'm sure you both are sore! The epsom salt bath will definitely help, those are the best.
 So proud of you guys.


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## Tihannah

Omg, the kiddos are freakin adorable! Congrats on another great show and the new found celebrity! How cool is that?? You guys are on a blazing trail this year! So happy for you!

It has to feel amazing to have accomplished so much with Izzie.


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## egrogan

The kids on their stick horses are way too cute. And I love all the nose shots of Izzie. Adorable!

SmarkPak is great about really having personal connections with their customers. One of the horses at the therapeutic riding program where I used to volunteer was their "Therapy Horse of the Month" a couple of years ago- he did indeed get free supplements: https://blog.smartpakequine.com/2015/08/horse-of-the-month-dax/


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## Tazzie

Tanja, I sure thought they were cute :lol:

And no, no free supplements. It was a review that was printed, but I still think it was pretty awesome!

Yes, it is resolved, thankfully! And she's MUCH happier! Our farrier can be a bit tough to get a hold of at times, but he's phenomenal and worth it. He has come when I was desperate though. I'm hoping the new saddle fitter will be easier to schedule!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cassie, I'm thankful too. I was MAD that it was the former saddle fitter failing to ensure the saddle was correctly adjusted. Just boggles my mind that it even slipped her mind! You'd think she would have checked it over prior to shipping it back??

She really does :lol: it amazes us how quickly she gains fans! It's kind of fun though to be the owner of a horse with a building fan club though haha! I'd like to hope we can go in two years! That is at least my goal, so we will see!

And haha, yeah. Izzie is typically respectful, but I was sitting down, and she always feels the need to investigate when someone is resting! She's a goof!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Allison, we are haha! It's kind of cool!

The show was definitely a blast! And yeah, saddle fitting gives me a major headache. I HATE it!

I do have to say I love my kiddos :lol: they rocked their part!

Epsom salt DEFINITELY helped! I feel like a million bucks haha!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tina, thank you! They were pretty darn cute to watch  and yes! The celebrity meeting was AWESOME! It really does feel like we are on a blazing trail! Dying to see how the rest of the year goes!

It is pretty amazing  I enjoy looking back on the journey to see how far we've come 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Egrogan, thank you  and yeah, it's tough to take her picture! She's always shoving her nose up to the lens!

It is pretty cool! I'll have to read that article! No free supplements for us though since it was my review that was used. I'm alright with it though haha! I just think it's cool!

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Time for a CRAZY long update!

We tried riding Izzie the Monday after the show, and it was a disaster. Totally disheartening, and we needed to be working on our freestyle. Went back Tuesday and it was a bit better. Not a ton, but better, and we were able to run through the freestyle. She had the chiropractor booked for Saturday, so I rested her until then.

Brought her to the chiro, and her pelvis was a MESS. I've never seen him have to work so hard to get it adjusted, and it finally went back with a loud POP! UGH! But her relief was INSTANT. He was SHOCKED she'd shown like that (I'd called him prior to the show to have her adjusted), and did all that I asked of her. It was intense!

Sunday we had a lesson. It was a rough one, but a good one. Maggy got on to evaluate what all was going on, and we had some good work done. Nothing crazy strenuous since she'd just had the chiro the day before, but we needed getting back on the right page.

Monday (August 7th) my in laws and I went down to ride, and do one final run through of my freestyle and practice a couple things from First 3 to make sure we were in good shape. Izzie's haunches on her left side were SORE, but I figured they mostly needed stretching and would feel better after a light ride. I kept it LIGHT. I put liniment on it afterward and massaged the entire area.

Tuesday I went down to feed, and there was zero change from Monday. Ran to tractor supply to get DMSO to try and help her as much as I could. I also put in a call to my chiro praying he'd be able to squeeze me in the following day. Had to leave a voicemail, which I had expected. Went home feeling discouraged and torn, knowing there was a high chance Izzie would not be coming with us to Michigan.

My chiro called me Wednesday morning to say I could come after hours to have her looked at. I thanked him profusely for that! The reason I chose him opposed to our vet is that our chiro is a former vet. So I knew if it wasn't an adjustment she needed, he'd tell me what was going on. I was 100% on my own hauling her this time, and I did a good job with it all (I'm still getting comfortable backing trailers up to park them). So we get there, and he sees the obvious soreness, that showed no change since Monday. Her hips/pelvis were all still fine, which relieved us both. Her entire rib cage was swung to the right, so our best guess is she took a hard fall. It was agreed upon that it would be absolutely cruel to load her up and haul her to Michigan. Izzie would be staying behind. He told me to give her a shot of banamine, but only one. Just enough to relieve the pain a bit. Brought her home and fed her dinner. I reopened the top, flat field for them so she could have a flat area to graze on to help her heal. They certainly enjoyed that!

Thursday morning we left for Michigan. We ran down to give Izzie the shot of banamine before hitting the road. She showed slight improvement, but certainly not enough to load her on a trailer. We were bummed to leave her behind, but I'll always put her first no matter what.

We had fun in Michigan though! Bought Izzie a new bridle, which I love! And Saturday, the day the show would have been, we went and hung out at the barn. We watched riders run through tests (Training Level Test 3 being the favorite of the day!), and enjoyed ourselves. I was offered a ride on a large Irish Sport Horse, which I happily took! Boy was he FUN! Just a big, happy boy! His owner was pleased with how I rode him too  and ran through training test 3 haha! I was yelled at the least, woohoo!

Came home Sunday. Nick went to check Izzie on Monday, but took a crummy video that didn't tell me much. He was putting out his deer cameras, and I needed to get the kids.

Tuesday we went down so I could check on her, and hack around the farm. She did have some VERY minor soreness, but it was seriously only noticeable if you knew what you were looking for. Opted to hack anyway! Loose rein most of the way, except when we had to walk by a highboy sitting in a tobacco field (they are topping the tobacco). Once she realized it was no threat she walked past it. I was super happy with her! She hacked out strong and happy away from the barn, but sluggish heading back. Told Nick to go past the trailers and keep going to see if she'd perk back up. Boy did she! Apparently she wanted to do trails! She also tried racing the side by side :lol: cracked me up!

Video from Tuesday:






I love watching her neck:






Gave her the rest of the week off for one reason or another. I had hoped to ride Saturday, but Nick wound up bush hogging all day, so it didn't happen.

Rode early yesterday morning though! She was pretty good! Canter felt STRONG and happy, some of our better work yet. Especially when I GAVE my reins. She's having difficulty bending right, so I'm going to call the chiro to have her checked (make sure her being in pain didn't cause issues elsewhere from compensation). My guess it's mostly because it was the muscles over the left hip that hurt, and those will stretch when bending right. Will make me feel better to have her checked though!

After our warm up, we played with trail stuff. She can back and turn on her haunches and on her forehand outside of poles, but adding poles causes her to worry. So, slow and steady, we convinced her it was ok. And she ended up nailing the L shape. It's probably wider than what will be in a show, but I wanted to set up for success! We can always slowly move it in a bit  gave her a break before moving onto the next thing. Which was side passing down a pole. Izzie knows leg yield and half pass, but I've never asked her to go straight sideways. She worked it out though. Going down a pole made her a bit worried. I had my whip to help direct her haunches in the beginning, and discourage backing, but I didn't need it for long. Soon she grabbed it and had some SUPER nice ones! Called it a day when we could go one way down it, change bend and go back the other direction. It was tough, but she was good!

Then Syd wanted to lead her to the barn. Told her to "whoa" so I could open the gates to let daddy drive the truck out. Izzie took care of her tiny handler. I put my hand on Izzie's crest to ask her to keep her head down, and taught Syd how to take the halter off. She took the halter over one ear, walked to the other side, and removed it from that ear. It was CUTE. I let Izzie go, but she kept her head down for Syd to give her another kiss. Love my girls!

I plan to ride again tomorrow. Have a meeting on Wednesday, and need to grocery shop today. Woo...

Here are cute pics of Syd though!


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## Tazzie

Pictures of Izzie in her new bridle


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## DanteDressageNerd

The pictures with the kids are so freakin adorable! That's precious! 

I'm sorry Izzie ended up being too sore for the Michigan trip but I guess it's for the best? But the hack looks really fun!! At least you got to enjoy her when you came back. 

The bridle looks nice on Miss Izzie, she seems really happy in her new gear


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## frlsgirl

Awww, I love to watch horses interact with little children. So adorable. New bridle looks good!


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## Tazzie

Cassie, thank you  they are quite cute together!

I was bummed, but such is life. Just aim for next year! It'll happen 

I love this bridle, and I think she does too! I'm so pleased with it!

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tanja, I love it too  Izzie is a total sweetheart with the kiddos. Stroller babies will always be her favorite though lol not entirely sure why, but they are what she wants! And I love it!

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And now for my update lol!

I rode last Thursday with some good work. I was just in an eh mood because of family stuff (will explain below), so wasn't up to pushing it. Was told by friends to just go have fun, so I did. It was a nice, fun work. Worked on trot lengthenings and really felt her lift, sit and extend. At this point they are really and truly mediums instead of just lengthened, so I'm pretty pumped.

After I was done, Nick kicked me off :lol: he wanted to cool her out. I had him stay by me since he didn't have his helmet (I really need to put it back in the trailer), but it was just at a walk. We talked about next year a bit. He's decided he wants to show Izzie. But he doesn't want to wear white pants haha! I said at the local shows he could get away with black pants and a clean shirt. He said he could probably be ok with tan, which wouldn't bother me. So after our last big show of the year, Nick and Izzie are going on the lunge line and really start working on their partnership. The goal is for him to do green rider classes at our March and April show. After that, it'll be hit and miss if there are classes for him, so we will see. He wants to work up to showing her in costume, but right now I'm setting sights on walk trot classes (setting them up for success by not making him think of correct leads and possibly reducing her gameness a bit). I'm pretty excited about it really  but want to get through our show season first.

Izzie saw the chiro Saturday to get everything checked up and minor adjustments. I wanted her seen because of the amount of muscle pain she had. She was pretty good with minimal out! Saturday evening was our church picnic, which was pleasant 

Sunday we took a day trip to Chicago (will explain below), so that was all day.

Monday I rode again. She was a bit testy since I didn't feel like carrying my whip, but nothing major. Probably a mix of her wanting to see what all she could do, and me "shouting" aids at her a bit unintentionally. We did quite a few half passes each direction after working on shoulder in and haunches in. We would go down centerline, half pass to the "wall", change bend, down centerline, half pass to the "wall", and repeat. Really had her nice and supple. Picked up canter, which was GORGEOUS. Just oh my gosh. She felt super light, balanced, and like she was just sitting and pushing. So went across the diagonal, around the end of the arena, and back across the diagonal without changing our lead, something new. SHE WAS FABULOUS. Even to the right!! Right is her super hard way, and sometimes takes a couple attempts before she gets what I'm after, and we don't knock each other off balance. I shouted, laughed, and patted her A TON. Nick was like "I have no clue what you just did." Haha! So I explained why I was pumped! Did a stretchy trot both ways and called it a day. Was a good ride!

Yesterday rained, so no riding. Today is our fair parade, so no riding. Tomorrow she is getting her feet trimmed, and I do hope to ride. We will see! We are showing Monday night and Sunday night, so wish us luck haha!

Anyway, family stuff. My grandpa is not doing well. He's had congestive heart failure for years. He went to the ER last Sunday, and it was found he has a mass in his lung and liver. Cancer has spread to his bones. He's 92, and ready. So while he's ready, it's just really hard and sad on us right now. We took a day trip to Chicago Sunday to say our goodbyes, which was excruciatingly hard to do. It helps a little knowing he's ready, but still hurts. Doctor said it is not time for hospice yet, but the original six month time frame we had is gone. We've been told it could be anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months. It's so hard when they get older :sad:

Sorry for that damper on my post... enjoy cute Izzie pictures from Saturday and Monday lol


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## egrogan

Sorry to hear about your grandfather  I lost two grandparents, both in their 90s, this year. It is tough. But what a remarkable milestone to make it past 90. I hope you'll be able to spend the time you want with him in the coming weeks.


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## Tazzie

Egrogan, I'm really hoping we get to see him again. I'm calling him this afternoon to check in with him to see how he is. My mom has said he's been super sweet every time they talk. He doesn't want anyone to have bad last words from him in case it's the last time he talks to us. We will be visiting him again the weekend of the 16th (hopefully...) as that is when we are able to. He's eating whatever he wants whenever he's hungry, but he is still eating. He started picking on me a bit last week, which was funny. My entire life he has always called me Caitlyn instead of Katie, the only one outside of show announcers that call me that. He called me Katie a few times to mess with me :lol: most amazing man I'll ever know.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Update:

I squeezed in a ride on Thursday. Harvey was set to hammer us hard yesterday and today. Kind of fizzled out, but we did get a steady rain for a bit.

Nick and I had a major, major miscommunication. I had asked him if he'd meet me down at Izzie with the kids, and have Izzie tacked up so I could just hop on. I don't often ask him to do this (I prefer tacking her up myself), but the farrier was scheduled for the day, and I wanted to sneak in a ride. He apparently didn't remember that part. I arrived to find him sitting, waiting for me next to the trailer. So then we were rushing out there. Thankfully Izzie was in the barn, but after I haltered her and went to close off the field I ride in, I get a text from the farrier. He'll be there in 40 minutes. It was currently 4:40, and I was standing there with an untacked, dirty horse. Flew through grooming and tacking. Told Nick to let me know when it was 5:10 so I'd have time to hop off and get her ready for the farrier. I don't skimp on warm up no matter the time constraints, so I went through everything. She felt GREAT at the walk and trot. I was mid canter to the left when Nick said it was 5:10. Still hadn't cantered right. So I did. Never had her fully supple, but better than when we started. Her canter is really coming along. Makes me happy!

I've also been riding sans whip to see how she does. For a while I had to carry it because she would not want to canter for fear of a pinching saddle, even with a properly fitting saddle. Just shows how much she's responding to my cues now too.

I also saw a picture of a Dressage horse for sale, and the horse was reaching way under himself with his hind leg. I told Nick I wanted Izzie doing that. He said "babe, she already does. She has really nice movement. She might have been a bit fast today, but she looked good. And I can't believe I even know this." :lol: made me feel good at least!

Anyway, fair for us is tomorrow! Showing in Arabian English Pleasure tomorrow night, and Native Costume and English Pleasure Championship Monday!


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## frlsgirl

Good luck at the show! 

I also decided to ride without a whip half way through the clinic last weekend because Ana was on fire and certainly didn't need any other encouragement. So then I tried without the whip the following ride, and she was like "I see you don't have a whip, let's go around the arena like a snail" - so the whip is back.

Sorry about your grandpa. Saying goodbye to a loved one is the hardest thing I've ever had to do, but I'm glad I did it. I'm glad you got the opportunity to say your goodbyes.


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## DanteDressageNerd

Im glad youre having such a good time with Miss Izzie and having good rides and making progress with Miss Izzie. I hope it continues and go well. Have fun at the show, good luck!

But I'm really sorry to hear about your Grandfather, it's not easy to watch them get older but unfortunate part of life. If we live, we all experience the end too. But it doesn't make it any easier. I hope hospice at some point will be able to make it easier on him.


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## Tazzie

Tanja, thank you!

And yeah, while in the field practicing she did a squeal and a kick like "ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" but settled. She just wanted to see if she could spook me, and when it didn't work, she went right to work. She just likes to voice her opinion haha!

I am too. I'm not sure how he's doing since mom wasn't there. She's there now, but I figured I'd get a hold of her tomorrow to get an idea. She brought him his favorite Christmas cookies though since he won't make it to Christmas. So, why not spoil him?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cassie, thank you! And yeah, I'm excited with the progress we've made 

Yeah, it definitely doesn't make it easier, but I know he's had a good life and he's proud of it. Hospice hasn't been called yet, but he is on some dose of morphine I think. Lowest they could do and still mask the pain. Grandpa didn't want to start a higher dose because he knows he'll need a higher dose at some point. Strongest man I know. World War II Veteran, and just the most amazing person to talk to. We've been so lucky to have him as long as we have.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, fair day!!

It was a rough go morning of with some mishaps that popped up along the way. But we thankfully overcame them to have a pretty decent weekend!

Unfortunately my friend left. She used to work for the judge, and they ended on BAD terms. Really bad terms. My friend had hoped they could all be grown ups about it, but sadly the judge just wasn't going to be an adult. We watched as she was consistently placed last in classes she absolutely should have won. It was ridiculous. So, she packed up her horses, scratched all of her classes, and went home.

Which left me as the only Arabian English Pleasure horse on the grounds. So we went in hoping to just put on a good show! And she did! Aside from when I kind of screamed my aids at her a bit, which caused her to throw a gigantic buck, we were fabulous! Best ride I have EVER had there, and this was my fourth year showing! It was fun!

Went back yesterday to show in Native Costume and the Arabian English Pleasure Championship. Surprised to see my coach was there too! She cheered us on in the Costume class, and said what a HUGE difference that class was from the one she'd seen us in two years ago! I was thrilled! And Izzie grew up. When she got nervous, she dropped to a trot (class calls for walk, canter and hand gallop) instead of the bolting sideways we used to do in that arena. I'll take it!

Our last class was pretty much picture perfect! Just such a good ride!

I'd share more, but I realize it's bedtime now and Nick is getting grumpy haha! Here are a few pictures, edited by @evilamc! I bought the disk, but they came unedited. She did the work to make them awesome!

These ones are ones I took; the attachments are the ones the photographer took and Alicia edited 


























This was Izzie's doing haha!









And ugh! I have got to stop collapsing to the left! I have no clue why I do that *sigh* I'll ride fine, and then suddenly at a show I collapse. Need to kick my butt in gear! Also, bonus fun edit picture hehe!


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## PoptartShop

Sorry about your friend. :sad: Ugh, that's a shame. I would've left too though. That judge needs to grow up.

Great photos!! Love it! I am so glad you had a great show! LOVELOVELOVE the costume, you guys rocked it! Izzie looks great and so do you. Blue is definitely her color. Great job!!!


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## frlsgirl

Wow! Congrats on all your success! She looks like a WB in the trot pics! Is she Half Arab? or Polish Arab? Polish Arabs sometimes look more like a WB.

Speaking of Arabs. A former barn mate's HA mare died yesterday. She was a special horse. I re-learned how to canter on her. I only got 3 lessons on her before she moved barns and I sobbed the last time I sat on her because I knew it would likely never get to ride her again. She wasn't that old either, I think 21? I didn't want to ask about the cause of death as I'm sure her owner is really upset still.


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## Tazzie

Allison, it was a shame. But they say things happen for a reason, and hers became apparent on Tuesday. She texted me saying her boy, Radar, had laid down and taken his last breath. Had she stayed and shown through as planned, she would have been driving back and forth Tuesday bringing horses home. Instead, she was there with him. Radar had congestive heart failure, and she'd literally done everything she could. She had extended his life many, many years as he was morbidly obese when she got him (yellow lab, and his belly dragged the ground when he walked). He was the best dang dog ever, and I'm glad she brought him to the show so I could say my goodbyes. My gut told me I needed to, so on Sunday I sat with him telling him how absolutely wonderful he was and that he was the best dog the universe had ever seen (which was entirely true; dog was a total lamb with kids and other dogs, unless the other dogs were going after kids... then Radar was total attack dog). So as much frustration as she had at this show, she needed to go home and be home. Radar had one last horse show, and he knew it. Labs don't like to make their owners make that call for them. But yeah. I think my friend will be contacting USEF to lodge a complaint about it.

And thank you! To be fair, we were the only entries :lol: but Izzie performed well, so I DO feel like we earned them! And I love her costume! We got TONS of compliments on it  though my trainer said she preferred my black and silver one. It was just SO hot I nearly passed out wearing it. It's when Nick said "yeah, you're getting a costume for Christmas..."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tanja, she's half Arab  her dam is APHA registered paint, and she is about 25% Thoroughbred. Some people have remarked how Thoroughbred like she moves. Personally, I think she has a nice mix of the different breeds. Her canter is smoother than a typical Arab, but her trot holds FAR more power than the Arabs I've ridden. How she uses herself is why I'm picky with who I'll be picking to breed her to :lol:

Sorry to hear about your friend's HA mare. It's always hard to lose your best friend :sad:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So I didn't ride her since the fair. Some to give her time off (we both needed a mental break; I did go and feed her and love on her though), and some because people were hanging tobacco in the barn and Cliff was ripping the fence down to repair it and bush hog it (it's electric fencing, and one of the horses found it fun to play the in and out game...).

Saturday we met up with @evilamc for a trail ride! We went to Elkins Creek to ride, and boy! Those trails were no joke! I know there are harder trails, but I'm a bit of a pansy haha! We hit the road leaving our house around 6, got to the barn around 6:30, and loaded up by 6:40 (I'd aimed for 7 in case someone was at the far end of her pasture). Stopped for fuel and breakfast, and set our GPS to head on out! Got there about 9:45, and let her have a small break before heading out. I warmed her up in the arena beforehand, which I was later thankful for!

We went up some pretty steep inclines, down some steep hills, through some DEEP, slick mud, and just overall a good, challenging trail. SUPER proud that Izzie just went where I pointed her, no hesitation. Actually, she was RARING to go the whole time haha! She listened super well, but if I asked, she trotted straight out with an eager way about her. Had her ears up the entire time even!

Nick and I did talk about it after we left too. In an arena, Izzie HATES horses near her. Hates them. She hasn't kicked, but she lets people know if they are too close. I hadn't said anything to those on the trail since she hadn't kicked before, and was curious to see what she did. Well, she was perfect. Two horses alternated between who was behind us and who wasn't. Both rode right up her rear end for a decent amount of it (unless I let her trot out, which put some distance between us). A few times I could have reached down to pet the other horse because their head was fairly close to my leg. And when Alicia stopped, and we did too, the girl behind me hadn't been paying attention and ran into Izzie. Not a flick of an ear at them. But in the arena they had there? Yeah, no one was allowed by her. So... Nick and I decided arenas she wants to have space so no attention is taken from her. She wants ALL the spotlight. But on the trail? Yeah, it's fine. Everyone is there to have fun. I just have to laugh about it really. This horse is an endless amount of entertainment!

After the trail, Alicia and I swapped rides. She wanted to ride Izzie since there have been many, many comments made in various parts of this forum that contact is bad, that you're holding with SO much pressure. And no matter how much we, as Dressage riders, try to argue, a stand off happens. Izzie only has immense pressure we she puts it there. 99% of the time she's super light and you ride entirely off your seat with the reins to just give some minor help. Izzie walked and trotted BEAUTIFULLY for her. Even did a lengthened trot, which Alicia easily got upon asking. At this point in Izzie's work she knows how to use herself, and knows what is expected. So it takes little to get her there (unless you're letting her know you know more than she does; then arguments happen haha!) It'd also been a while since Alicia rode a horse that trotted, but you couldn't tell with how she rode Izzie :wink: and Jax was SUPER smooth in his gait! He's a fun little horse, even in an arena 

Alicia is currently working on my fun little video I took (she's a better video editor than I'll EVER be!) but she posted hers! And at the end you can see her riding Izzie! Kicking myself for not recording her riding! Nick needs to learn to just pull out a phone and record when something different happens. My helmet camera battery had died, so I didn't get any of it. Wish I had changed it!!






Anyway, some pictures! Some Alicia took, some I took, and some Nick took!  I may have to put them in a second post though haha!










































At home; she was happy to head to the barn for some turnout time!

























More pictures in the next post


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## Tazzie

Alicia finished my video too! 






And the rest of the pictures 










On my wild Dressage pony! Who says Dressage ponies can't go without contact!









Nick and I 









On the terrifying teeter totter. I got two feet on and called it a day!



















And swapped horses pictures!

































Izzie's face in this one cracks me up! She's like "dad, why?!"









Edit: click on the sideways pictures and you'll see them upright. No idea how to make them upright since they are uploaded upright...


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## carshon

@Tazzie - I hope I have said this before. but I am just so pleased to know someone (well kind of) that believes a show horse can do more than just go into the show ring. It is just refreshing to read your posts and see that Izzie is more than just a tool for you to bring ribbons and accolades home. I believe that show horses benefit from time away from the arena and the work it brings.

And I am so jealous! those trails look like a blast! Isn't it great to get to take Nick along? I really enjoyed the videos.

@evilmc can you please remind me what kind of saddle you ride in? I have been having terrible sciatica and back spasms and I think a different saddle would help. My walker is very short backed and long strided so even at a flat walk I tend to get "thrown" forward as her rear end engages.


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## evilamc

carshon said:


> @Tazzie - I hope I have said this before. but I am just so pleased to know someone (well kind of) that believes a show horse can do more than just go into the show ring. It is just refreshing to read your posts and see that Izzie is more than just a tool for you to bring ribbons and accolades home. I believe that show horses benefit from time away from the arena and the work it brings.
> 
> And I am so jealous! those trails look like a blast! Isn't it great to get to take Nick along? I really enjoyed the videos.
> 
> @evilmc can you please remind me what kind of saddle you ride in? I have been having terrible sciatica and back spasms and I think a different saddle would help. My walker is very short backed and long strided so even at a flat walk I tend to get "thrown" forward as her rear end engages.


Izzie does so well with everything Katie throws at her  Shes an amazing horse!

Both horses are in Ez-Fit treeless saddles! I love them! Very secure feeling and comfortable.


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## Tazzie

@carshon, I'm sure you have, but it's always nice to hear  I'm sure some people grimaced when they saw the types of trails I take her on for fear she'll end up lame. But.... regardless Izzie won't be leaving me. And I want her to have more sense than just how to navigate a show ring. Yes, she's won me a lot. But honestly? I felt prouder watching her tackle all the trails. I felt prouder watching her behave for Alicia as Alicia put her through walk, trot, lengthened trot, leg yield, side pass (straight sideways, no forward movement) and rein back. Sure, the ribbons and such are nice. But the trails is where she shows me what kind of a horse she is. And she's brave (most of the time haha) with common sense and self preservation. She'll always be so much more than just a tool for ribbons  if she became permanently lame tomorrow, she'd forever have a home with me. She's our baby 

It's always fun to bring him along! I know he enjoys it! Alicia was worried he didn't like this place as much as Hocking Hills, but he said he liked them both equally. He likes riding Ori because he can relax and let her navigate her way following Jax. One of these days maybe you could meet up with us?? We'd have fun I think!!

And her saddle REALLY holds you in. I hopped on Jax and was like "yeah, I'm not going ANYWHERE!"

And thanks Alicia  knowing I can toss so much at her, and have her just go with is, makes me happy. Well, except the one thing she hated. Nick will certainly be making us a teeter totter :wink:


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## frlsgirl

Oh, how cool, another horse forum meet-up! It looks like you guys had loads of fun!


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## Tazzie

We had a blast! Hoping to squeeze another one in this year  Izzie has three shows left this year, and then will be the lunge line lesson pony (lunging in moderation of course!)

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I rode today.

And oh my god.

This mare. There is no way I own such a nice horse. I must be in the best dream ever.

I think the two weeks off since our last show with just the trail ride in the middle really refreshed her mind. She was like "YES!! Let's do this mom!!" It was like she was reading my mind today.

I warmed her up well and got her going nicely. Walk to canters were fantastic! Canter to walk was not as nice but getting closer. Her collected canter was the best Nick has ever seen her do, score! And said her collected trot was awesome! We did a lot of half pass to get her bending and swinging and I really felt her ribs unlock to the right. It was like suddenly she took this huge deep breath and everything just loosened.

We also NAILED some counter canter today!! I remember mentioning we'd done some small counter canter a couple weeks back. It was just a small amount of it. Today I picked it up, crossed the short diagonal, and then did a lap plus around the arena without her even trying to swap leads! BOTH directions!

I gave her a quick breather after that, then picked her up purely to stretch her out. She was like "ahhh, just what I wanted!" Truly the chewing the reins out of my hands.

I'm so darn lucky to own this horse!

And the kiddos had rides today too! Syd decided she wanted to use the mounting block. Then of course Kaleb had to too. I recorded them climbing up. I missed the initial part of Syd's mounting, but neither had help from us. I also for the first time ever let go and let the kids "ride." Izzie just put her nose at my shoulder and followed me around. But the kids felt like they were actually riding!

Here is that video


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## DanteDressageNerd

Izzie looks amazing in the show pictures. Brilliant! She is such an expressive mare, quite the showman! So glad she's so much fun to work with and keeps so motivated!

The trail ride with Alicia looks like a lot of fun as well.

I'm also glad Izzie is SO good with the kids and takes such good care of them. I'm sure she views the kids as her responsibility. What a kind hearted girl!


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## Tihannah

I just LOVE how sweet and gentle she is with the kiddos. It's like she has the natural momma instinct with them. So jealous of the trail rides! Looks so fun! I've been wanting to go trail riding forever! Izzie has to be one of the most well-rounded horses ever!


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## Tazzie

Cassie, she really is an expressive mare! She enjoys the spotlight haha! And yeah, she's been super fun to ride and work with. We've been giving her breaks as we can to keep her happy and fresh, and it seems to be helping a lot!

It was a blast! I really enjoy riding with her, and I know Nick likes her horse 

We are VERY glad she's so good with them! That has always been a requirement for us, and I'm glad she fills that role super well. I'm sure she does. I was impressed she didn't care at all while the kids were scrambling up :lol:

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Tina, I do too  she's definitely a natural with it! I imagine lunge line lessons for kids will be beginning soon after show season :lol:

I wish you were closer! I know Alicia has a "the more, the merrier!" outlook on people joining us, and we do too! It'd be fun to have more forum meet ups! And I've really tried to help her be well rounded  I didn't want her to only be known as this or that. And I know she loves the trails! I swear her ears were up the whole time like "this is SO fun mom!!"

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No other update from me. Aiming to ride Tuesday and Thursday this week, depending on weather. Hauling to a show Saturday afternoon


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## DanteDressageNerd

I'm so happy for you that you found your dream horse who checks all your boxes and take care of all your little ones, as well as your dressage aspirations. She is a rare horse indeed!


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## Tazzie

She really is  she's my dream come true, and has been for years 

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So, update.

I did not ride Tuesday as planned.

My mom called me Tuesday morning while I was at work. My grandfather had passed away in his sleep.

He'd woken up angry on Monday because he was still there. He didn't want to be. He blamed the meds he was taking (morphine and anti anxiety) for keeping him alive. Mom convinced him otherwise. She said Monday night he'd finally relaxed. His face didn't have the tension anymore. She'd given him morphine at 4 am Tuesday morning, and when they checked on him at 6 he was gone. Snored his way into heaven.

So I wasn't in any mindset to ride. Instead, we took the kids to get their Halloween costumes. Kaleb chose to be Spiderman, and Sydney chose Chase from Paw Patrol. They are super excited with their costumes!

I did ride yesterday and she was SUPER.

Warmed up beautifully with a "what's next mom?" mentality. Everything was nice and prompt, just really nice.

We did walk canter walk yesterday, which still excites us a bit and makes her want to anticipate and jump into the canter without prompting. We finally are getting our canter walks again after the saddle fit issues we had, which is exciting. We ended on a super good note of a good one in each direction. Then stretched her out which she was oh so willing to do :lol:

I do plan to ride today as well, and hopefully do more than just walk canter walk. Probably some lateral work to get her super flexible, though yesterday she immediately suppled up. She was READY to work!


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## DanteDressageNerd

I'm sorry to hear your Grandfather passed but it sounds like he was really ready to go and I suppose we should be happy for him? I hope he is well where he is.

But really glad Izzie has been so good and the walk to canters and canters to walks are improving. That's fantastic


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## PoptartShop

I'm so sorry to hear that about your grandfather. :sad: Glad he was not in any pain though and went peacefully in his sleep.

Glad you got their Halloween costumes early!  Now they're all set! That's so cute. Walking to canter is great, I am glad you are doing so well with it, I know the saddle fit issue was a drag. Love her work ethic!


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## frlsgirl

Sorry about the loss of your grandfather.

Glad you had a good ride. Ana gets really excited when we practice walk/canter/walk transitions. I guess it's a good way to keep them in front of the leg even though it makes them a bit anxious.


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## Tazzie

Thank you all for your comments. It's been tough, and I kind of haven't felt like posting on here. That and it's just a bit crazy.

Cassie, he was. It sucks, but he was ready to go.

They definitely are. I really feel her sit now when I ask for the walk from canter. It's quite the feeling on her. She's on a small break until the chiro tomorrow since she feels ouchy in the hind. Cooler weather here, and I'm sure someone showed their enthusiasm for it...

--------------------------------------------------------------

Allison, I'm glad we got them too  don't have to worry about them anymore. And yeah, I still have to be careful not to over do them since it makes her a bit anxious and anticipating the cue to canter. So I do enough to ensure they are there, and then settle in for some lateral walk work. Not sure other ideas to help her not be so anxious that our walk quality diminishes. Best I have is just lateral work at the walk. And I HATE saddle fit. Just ugh.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Tanja, it definitely is a good way to get them in front of your leg, but I hate the anxious feel. Usually after working on them I'll do some walking lateral work to change the brain, and then ask for a trot transition so not every transition from walk is canter.

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It's been a long couple weeks.

We brought Izzie on the 23rd to a horse show. Unloaded everything, and then hopped on to ride. She felt really good, but had an annoying cough. We figured it was from the tobacco being hung in the barn because it was hurting my lungs. We ended on a few really good notes though.

Sunday the 24th was the show. We started with Arab Halter, which we took 4th in (out of 4; better horses beat us, and I only wanted the Korrina pictures haha). Took her back to the stall to braid her for Sport Horse In Hand. One horse had been working and I pointed out to Nick that if she showed in the in hand class, she was going to win. He didn't like the horse (neither do I really; she has no forward movement and is an awful toe dragger). The sport horse in hand class is normally run one at a time on the triangle. Well, apparently not that day. CRAP. I was supposed to show two horses. I trotted Izzie in, handed her to the ring steward (since I had no one), grabbed Nick and the second horse. Trotted second horse in and handed her off to Nick. Asked if he was confident showing that mare (friend's horse). I said show her like Izzie. He did. The horse I'd pointed out earlier won. We took second. I was happy  showed her gelding in the sport horse in hand (and in halter previously, but got like 4th or something). He also took second in the class. Showed in the halter championship because last time I was there they barely had entries. Yeah, not that day. EIGHT entries. We took 7th behind actual halter horses. Such is life.

Next was trail in hand. She did a fabulous job of it. We were second to go, but had to wait on everyone else to finish. We did our costume class, which could have been better. I turned her too hard entering the ring at the canter and knocked her off balance. So she swapped leads. Also bucked and swapped leads when I asked her to go faster, grr. Second direction was way better. Only entry, took 1st haha.

Second under saddle class was Sport Horse. Izzie was doing well, but then bucked entering the canter. Right in front of the judge. Could have killed her as there was NO reason for the buck. 5th out of 7.

Final under saddle class was hunter pleasure. According to Nick and Keegan, the judge just quit watching us. Friend in center ring said I was hidden on the rail. Clean ride, and 6th out of 9.

So I was disappointed with the under saddle classes. Was not a good show there. But she did win the trail in hand class out of nine entries, so there's that haha.

She had all of last week off to make sure her little cough was gone. That and my grandpa's funeral was this weekend. I just didn't feel like doing anything really except straighten up our house. We left for Chicago on Thursday. Visitation was Friday, funeral was Saturday. Had too much family drama from a side of the family I hope to never see again, but otherwise it was ok.

I rode on Monday. At one point I went "wow." She just came into my contact right from the start and worked. But when I asked for more, she just couldn't. She WANTED to, and still tried her absolute heart out for everything I asked. But it was her body that just kind of went "nope." I felt she was a touch off at the show, and now I'm sure of it. Thankfully we already had an appointment with her chiro tomorrow. We have two gigantic shows coming up, and I need her feeling her best. One is Saturday. The next is next weekend at the Kentucky Horse Park.

She's had off since she tried on Monday. I just don't feel right pushing a horse that physically just can't. Particularly when they want to do the work. We're talking walk canter walk, half pass, etc. She did everything in her power to do what I asked correctly, but we think her rib cage is out again. She was kind of tossing me right as we rode.

Check out the cool little web link they have for the show this weekend. Shows the entries, and will be updated on what places people get :wink: though I'm hoping others show up! Right now I'm the only entry in all of my under saddle classes, and one of I think two in the trail class. I know my friend will be bringing hers for me to show in the in hand, and she will probably show in the trail class too. But right now NO idea who may show up for the under saddle classes. It's sad there are so few right now! Kiosk ?? Silver Sprocket Show Manager

And pictures from Monday because my horse is adorable, and some of my kiddos playing with the baby doll :lol:










































Kiddos:










































And the last family photo we took with grandpa because it's a nice picture


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## Tihannah

I think you've been through a tough couple weeks and she probably felt that. Definitely not a bad show and she's proven time and again that she can wrangle with the best of them.  I'm envious that you are able to do so many shows and different classes with her, and then at the same time, she can come home and be a sweet momma horse to the kiddos. That there, is one in a million and you've done such a great job with her.


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## egrogan

Sorry about your grandfather, that family picture is such a nice thing to have!


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## PoptartShop

That sounds like a good show to me.  Maybe she got a little excited, with the buck. :lol: Silly mare!
You have had an interesting time lately, which could also be affecting it. But that's good she had off a bit & hopefully that cough is gone.
I think she will be fine for the weekend, and you guys always rock it no matter what. :smile: You guys are superstars! That's good she will have the chiro today. I'm sure she will be feeling a lot better, it does sound like something is a little off. You are doing so well, and have come such a long way with each other.

She's sooo pretty! <3 & the baby doll pictures are adorable too, so cute. Makes me wanna be a kid again LOL. Love the family picture too, you should frame that. <3
So nice.


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## frlsgirl

Wow lots going on. Izzy is quite versatile going to all these different classes and shows. My condolences again regarding your grandfather.


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## Tazzie

Tina, I'm sure she's fed off of me. But I don't think that was our only issue. She was really out of whack in her body. She had a lot going on :/ and thank you <3 she's our heart. Even Nick is like "she does a lot for you." She really does. It's amazing the heart this horse has, even when I start having my doubts about her. I really can't wait until my kids hit the ring with her, for real. I'll be so excited for that day!

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Egrogan, it is. I'll be framing it to hang on my wall  we just recently painted and I left all the pictures I wanted to replace down. That will go into one of the frames.

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Allison, it was mostly gone, but we did have a tiny recurrence of it in one of our last classes. I think it was our fourth under saddle one? No idea what caused it, and it didn't happen before (well, except one in the sport horse in hand class, which is normal for our first time trotting out) or after. She drives me batty! And yeah, she was OUT! BADLY.

My kiddos are just too cute lol I know I'm biased, but lol and yeah, I'll be framing it for sure 

-------------------------------------------------------------

Tanja, she really is. We've worked to make sure each show is different and it's not always the same grindstone. Seems to keep her happier knowing not everything will just rail work!

And thank you. We're really going to miss him. He was very special.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Whew, update time.

We brought Izzie to the chiro, and she was a MESS. I LOVE our chiro who can figure out everything that's wrong. Here is her sheet:










I thought for sure that would be the answer. Unfortunately that wasn't entirely it :sad:

I didn't ride her Friday night since she was a wreck. I usually give her a few days, even though I've always said she does better if we get her out and moving the night before a show.

Saturday morning all seems well. We bathed her since we decided to just wait until the morning to do so. All seem good and happy.

Rocked our in hand classes, and the judge loved her! Said I stood her up very well for him (we do the warmblood stance as she looks better that way) and I worked my tail off to present her. HIGHEST SCORES TO DATE! Though apparently all were super high. Highest score I think was a 93? So we weren't far off the highest! Normally we are in the 70's with sometimes high 60's or low 80's. This was HIGH.










The judge said he was excited to see her under saddle.

If only we'd been better.

So, the truth. We were the only entries in ALL of our under saddle classes. Had there been competition, we would have lost all of our classes.

Izzie warmed up BEAUTIFULLY. I was SO excited. Perfect canters, everything. Went in, and first canter (left lead), we bucked HARD. Not excited bucks. Angry bucks. I was mad at that and sent her forward. Our canter work was not pleasant at all. Only class she didn't buck in of the morning was our last one. I was frustrated. Cooled her out, and I threw her back on track sheet on. She wore it for a while. I just left her alone as I cooled off my frustration.

In the afternoon we had three more under saddle classes. I decided to investigate as she is known for getting random tight muscles when stalled. Went first to the right hind as we only bucked and caused a fit going left. Most likely culprit was her right hind as it was the weight bearing leg. I rubbed the muscle on the back of her leg, the muscle that is in use when they are working correctly... and she pinned her ears and flung her head like "THAT HURT!!!!!" UGH. So I massaged it a bit and decided we'd do some lateral work to have her stretch that leg over the other. Didn't know what else to do. I also stretched the leg itself from the ground. I had told a friend of mine about what I'd found, and showed her the reaction. When I got to the front of the stall Izzie had this look on her face like "she knows." My friend was even like "oh my god, she's telling you she's glad you know." I've always said that mare talks to me. Clearly it's not my imagination when others see it too.

So warmed her up with lateral work to get it stretching. I didn't ask for collecting of the canter. Collecting caused her to swap leads in the back. So I was just very careful and rode tactfully off my seat alone. Not a single buck in our last three classes. The canter wasn't her pretty, uphill canter, but it was at least a whole lot better than the morning.

This week we will work on massaging, liniment, and stretching. Might call our saddle fitter to have him come out and check the saddle fit and massage her, and there is someone who may be at the show this coming weekend with a MagnaWave. Debating seeing if she'll work on Izzie. I'm not a fan of this person, but I'd put it aside for the best of my horse.

OH, and we did trail in hand again. This show marks a full year of doing this class. Last year we took 3rd out of 6 I believe. Yesterday, we won out of five  with I believe our highest score to date. We did get a couple penalties. One where we kind of walked over poles meant to be trotted over (I tried to slow her trot to go over them, and she was confused), and a penalty each for poles we nicked. Oh well!










Other fun pictures from the day:

Before the afternoon session, wearing her back on track blanket (best investment ever):









And the end of the day 

















I'm relieved at least knowing it's not just Izzie being a brat. Now just a matter of getting that muscle to loosen up a bit. Might take a hard look at her diet and see if we could do something for her to prevent this from happening. I still don't think it's a muscle disease or anything because it's only an issue on one area at a time, and always a muscle we'd been working regularly at the time. May need to look into better stretches too.

This week we will be spending time working the soreness out of the muscle, and hoping she's good and happy for our final show. It's a big one, but then a break until end of March. We will be trail riding and Nick and the kids will ride her. So nose off the grindstone for a bit.


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## Tazzie

Went ahead and booked her a MagnaWave treatment Friday night. Here's to hoping this will help her out a ton and get her feeling amazing to show this weekend.


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## Tazzie

And got my pictures today from our show the last weekend in September. I've asked her to edit one of them for me, so hoping in a few days or so I'll have that one too! But here they are  there was a photographer this weekend, but we'll have to wait to see how those turn out!


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## frlsgirl

Ana talks to me as well; mostly with dirty looks like "you owe me big time" lol

Lovely pics!

Curious to hear how you and she liked the magnawave.


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## Tazzie

Izzie is usually really good about communicating. It just takes dense me a while to figure it out lol and thank you! I love the pictures!

--------------------------------------------------------------------

So been a while since I updated...

I had Izzie get a MagnaWave treatment on the 13th. She loved it, and I had super high hopes for Saturday.

Our first classes were Sport Horse In Hand. I went to trot her out and she snorted and threw her tail over her back. NEVER has she done that! Nick and I about doubled over in laughter! Clearly someone felt GOOD! She put in some amazing runs for the SHIH as well! Judge absolutely loved her and we topped our previously high score from the weekend before! Won both our classes, took the Half Arabian Mare SHIH Championships, and went SUPREME SHIH champion! I was so super pumped to start my day of under saddle classes!

I get on and warm up. I still can't collect without her swapping. I can get her to swap back without breaking, but it's there. CRAP. Alright, so a touch more regular canter, and use regular or just below as the "collected" canter if it's called for.

Head into the ring and she's on FIRE. We're talking hotter than a pistol hot. Walk was dumb. Canter was all she wanted to do (ridiculous for a horse who couldn't collect at the canter only). So we blew the class and took second out of two. But the judge said one day she would take a huge breath and she'd be incredible. Judge just said she is SO impressive right now that when it comes together, it's going to be incredible. Which at least made me smile.

Decided I was sitting all the rest of the trot for my classes until my final one, Hunter Pleasure. Better able to direct her while sitting. Head into the next class with a total of four entries. I blow my lead (entirely my fault, I quit riding). So we take fourth, sigh.

Go in ready for the third class. And we NAIL it for the win out of four. I'm now excited for the championship class.

Head in for the championship class after a little break. And she blows her lead. I set her up, she opted not to take it. Lord I was mad. They had us hand gallop as well as lengthen in the trot. I feel that is the only reason we took reserve. Kind of sucked since the horse that won only won because she was the only one to not fudge something up. Judge didn't like her (clear from previous placings). (Now frustrates me as she's selling said horse for $15k with one win under her belt.)

Quick bridle change and head into Hunter Pleasure. Realized the judge was switched and it was a judge who really doesn't like us. Didn't matter if we were perfect, we wouldn't place. Izzie decided left lead didn't exist and blew it twice, then a gigantic fight when I demanded it. She grabbed it, but wasn't happy about it. Third out of three.

Later that night she had the MagnaWave again. I explained how she was HOT, but that collection was still not there and left lead vanished. It was sore on the right hind, but the left is far worse. So she's compensating in the right.

The next day I warmed up with lots of lateral work to stretch the hind legs out. Our first class we were the only entry, and she did a clean run. I hand galloped like a bat out of hell for the fun of it and because we were alone. I started laughing during second direction, and apparently it startled the judge. She told me in line up she wasn't sure if I was laughing or gasping/cursing her for having me continue hand galloping. I said oh no, I was laughing. When I'm the only entry I let her open up and have fun. She said she saw the wheels turning in Izzie and wasn't sure what she was planning. Said she's a real thinker. I said she never stops haha!

Second class we do another clean ride and win out of three! Woohoo! I wasn't asking for much collection, just don't run off.

Third and final class with me we do another clean ride, though took a bit to convince her to walk. We took second out of three 

The last class was with my coworker. And oh my. Izzie wasn't exactly naughty... but she was having fun screwing with my coworker. Nothing dangerous, but she definitely didn't go easy on her! I think she felt my coworker get on with an air of "I've got this" and Izzie went "oh yeah?" Everyone remarked they were worried a bit, but could see Izzie was just messing with her. I was like yeah.... I've said that horse is HARD to ride. No one believes me until they get on. She took a deserved third out of three lol

Afterward I went up to have my paperwork signed, and say good bye to some people. The announcer was like "man, I remember when you first brought her here. She was this little scrawny thing. And now she's this massive, impressive animal that is just fun to watch." I said she drives me absolutely insane, but I love her all the same haha!

So now Izzie is getting a vacation to see if the issue she has going on resolves itself. But we're going to begin investigative work to figure out what could be going on. She wants to do it, I just need to see why she can't. Nick is on board to begin that too. At some point we are going to have the vet sedate her and check her ears. She's had an inconsistent head shake, and I want her ears looked at. Check her mouth (even though she just had a dental in August) to make sure all is well. And really work to figure out what could be causing our issues. Hopefully it yields something! My mare has become so game to hit the ring that all weekend I halted at the in gate, and when they let us go in I cued the trot. That way she didn't ramp herself up going into the ring.

Here are a few fun videos:

When she came running to me before going to her chiro 









Getting her MagnaWave treatment. It's just a short clip, but you can see how it works. The muscles jumping are what is sore. And this was a low setting.





Some pictures; I'll post more in another post:










Score sheets:

















After in hand (before we found she won supreme)









First day of classes









After the whole show









Coworker about to go into the ring (ps, that is slobber on her chest, not cuts or anything)









More in next post  click the pictures to see them upright, stupid forum.


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## Tazzie

Ready to head home!


















Happy to be outside!










I'd grabbed all my first place ribbons from this year since a friend had planned to take pictures. Things happened and she wasn't able to come. I thought it was fun to spread them on the table. HOLY SMOKES is all I have to say. Yes, some of those I was the only entry. But that isn't the case for all of them!










My case with one of my Regional plates










And everything put back in it's place 










Also attached are the couple pictures from the show early October. It's so rare for a picture of naughty Izzie to surface, so I had to grab it haha! I'll be getting pictures from the last show at a later date (she's still uploading). For now, riding is pretty much done for the year. It's customary for me to give her plenty of time off in the winter to recuperate from the season. We do plan to maybe work on some walking work, primarily trail under saddle stuff. Stuff that doesn't take extreme collection, works different muscles, and gives her something else to think about 

Edit: once again, click images for the upright version.


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## frlsgirl

Wow look at all those ribbons; it's certainly been a great year for you and Izzy. And I LOVE the buck picture, you have to frame it and hang it up with all her ribbons!


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## egrogan

Naughty? Nah...just working on your airs above ground :wink:

So many great pictures in that bunch!!


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## Tazzie

Tanja, it has definitely been a year for the record books for us! Definitely had our highest of highs this year. And I just may have to do that haha!

------------------------------------------------------------------

Egrogan, hahaha, yes. That's exactly what we were doing :lol: silly mare! And I love them 

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I have done nothing with my horse since the show. We spend a lot of togetherness at the last show, that I like to give her a complete brain break from all of us. No hints of saddle time, no kids to give pony rides to. Just a chance to veg, be a horse, and wind down. Nick has been using the time away from horse stuff to hunt, meaning I have to come straight home for the kids. It's a fair trade as my riding takes up basically our entire summer.

Now, I said in my last entries that Izzie seemed ouchy, and it was confirmed with the MagnaWave. I'd been hoping some time off to do nothing would help it. The good old fashion rest. Doesn't seem to be the case. Nick went to visit her after hunting last night. Said he was going to give her some treats and loving :lol: I guess he went to massage the spot that had been ouchy to see how she was doing, and she squealed and did a half buck. He said it was like she wanted to kick, but knew better than to do so. So vented her frustration in a "safer" way. *sigh* so I have a call into Izzie's chiro (which remember, he is a licensed vet that pursued chiropractor/alternative care) to have him do a lameness evaluation to see if we can pinpoint what is going on. I'm stressed and worried not knowing what is going on with her. She's not ready to be done. Not for my selfish desires because she's far surpassed my hopes. But rather that mare so ready to go in the ring at our last show it was hard to just keep her walking and trotting in the warm up without her trying to bulge her shoulder and drag me to the gate. I had to halt at the gate and wait until we were allowed to enter, and then cue the trot. She's nowhere near ready to be done. I just hope we can figure out the best plan of attack to keep her happy and healthy in her body.

I'm just feeling defeated. I know in my heart it'll be fixable. But I always fear the worst.

I did order pictures from the last show, and I can guarantee you guys won't even be able to tell she struggled at all. She looked strong and powerful, which she was. She wanted to do everything I asked, and we gave her so much pampering she could do it. But ugh, just venting my frustration.

On a quieter note because I'm brimming with excitement even though worry set in with her mysterious thing (which she's not lame by the way; just collection is momentarily gone). This can't be shared for all the world to see (aka, I'm not putting it on Facebook YET). But my friend took over the demo stuff for Equine Affaire here in Ohio for the Arabian breed. She asked me first if I'd like to do another demo, and if I wanted to ride or do in hand again. I'm pleased to tell you that Izzie will be the Arabian Dressage demonstration for the Ohio Equine Affaire 2018  so I need my pony fixed up, and I need to get some lessons so we can do some fun movements


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## Tazzie

It is with great relief that I say we have an appointment on Saturday. He's sad to hear she's having a rough go, and wants to really investigate her hips since that's where the current guess is that she hurts. Fingers crossed we have answers :sad: Nick is just as worried as I am. We hate having her feel ouchy


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## Tihannah

Congratulations on the Demo! And huge fingers crossed for the appointment and figuring out what's going on! Chin up! She's definitely not done with this ride!


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## Tazzie

Thank you! You should come up and we can have fun  @evilamc is already coming with us, and so is my best friend (and of course my husband haha!) There will be cake!! And beer :lol:

And thank you. I'm just worried. I'm hoping he can solve this puzzle because I know we're not done. She has too much desire to still hit the arena. I can't basically just be like "and we're done!" She'd stay with me regardless, but I know she's not ready to be done.

I did get my pictures back. The look on my coworker's face shows what it's like to ride Izzie though haha a powder keg of forward energy is under you when you ride her, and she's used to Western Pleasure/Hunter Pleasure Quarter Horses!


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## Tazzie

Last two because apparently only 10 images are allowed, oops! :lol:


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## frlsgirl

Great pics as always. We got Arabian Nationals in Tulsa this week. I'm not really into the show horse thing as I'm more of a sport horse person but they have a lot of vendors with lots of cool stuff and a lot of their tack is geared to fit Arabs which means that it's likely also fits Morgans; last year I got Ana a pretty leather halter that actually fits. And a lot of the Arabs are lovely; it's surprising to see so many different types; everything from the the dainty Egyptian types to the big Polish types. Have you ever shown Izzy at Nationals? I guess there is also a Sport Horse Nationals but it's not in Tulsa.

You mentioned that you are fearing the worst, what do you mean? A specific diagnosis that you are worried about?


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## Tazzie

Tanja, I've been watching as I could on the live feed for Nationals :lol: it's on my bucket list to one year go just to watch and for the shopping haha! Izzie isn't Main Ring, so unless we start REALLY getting good at trail under saddle, she will never go to US Nationals. We haven't made it to Sport Horse Nationals yet. It comes back to the East Coast in 2019, so we're aiming for that. But there is talk to put it in a centralized location. So we will see. That's our goal show at some point :lol: and thank you about the pictures  I love them!

Far as a diagnosis, I'm not sure. Hidden fracture? Chip in the joint? Need of joint injections for the hip itself? I really wasn't sure what I was full on worried about, but basically anything that would end our riding/showing career. She's not done. She'd always have a home with us, so it wouldn't be about finding her somewhere to go and getting another horse. Just about knowing how much Izzie loves to show and how I'd hate to retire her at this point.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

So, chiropractor worked on her. She was so massively out she actually squealed and gave a mini buck when he was just doing his initial feel to get an idea of what is going on. Major, major issues. The sacrum was all sorts of twisted with the bottom going one direction, the top another, and the top flipped upward as well. We don't know what is causing this. We've been working more on collection, so that could be part of it. And her pasture is super hilly with a super steep spot to go down to the spring. So it could be from tucking her hind end to navigate down it. He also does each individual leg to realign shoulders, etc. He got to her left leg and did her hock/stifle, and then she about blew up. Ears pinned, and I barely stopped her from biting him. He said her left hip was BADLY out. He adjusted some, had to give it back as she was just ANGRY, and then finished it. NEVER has she been that bad. He doesn't think there were any fractures, etc (he WAS a vet, so I do trust him a massive amount). For the first time ever though he wants us back in a week. He wants to evaluate when everything has had a chance to heal after his adjustment, and start doing more investigative work. He said she'd be too sore to give accurate readings right after he realigned her, which I'd agree with. She was UPSET.

Another week off, and we go back on Saturday. I feel bad I keep taking up Nick's weekend days since show season is over and he's supposed to be on his time (I've consistently given time off during the winter to reset both our minds and bodies). But he's being wonderful about it since we're both super worried about her. So is the chiro though. He wants her feeling better since she's such a good horse. Seriously, he said lesser horses wouldn't even canter, and she still attempted to collect in the canter, and didn't ever say NO to cantering. She just shows me how much heart and grit she has.

Here is the paper from him. I'll go down as I can to love on her this week, and hope the adjustment holds so we can investigate further. If it doesn't hold, and we have to readjust everything, Nick will begin building the stall immediately and we will bring her home where it'd be a bit flatter.










And the side eye glare :lol:


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## frlsgirl

Wow sounds like Humpty Dumpty just needed to be put back together again. Fingers crossed that she will soon feel better.


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## Tazzie

I sure hope so. I hate when she doesn't feel well. Nick went to feed her today. Said he got cranky when he would climb over the fence to feed her and such. Like, ears pinned. But he lightly massaged all over her back and hind quarters to see how she's feeling. Apparently there was no reactivity. So a sigh of relief from me.

On the stall front, he still wants to move ahead with building the stall as a just in case. His dad has a tree that he is going to cut into boards for the stall, so that'll save a good amount for the cost. I'm excited it'll happen though! It'll come in handy before shows too


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## Tazzie

So Izzie saw her chiro vet today to be checked over again. All of her adjustments from last Saturday held, so that was good! She still had some soreness in her hips though. We went ahead with doing the acupuncture treatment as planned. He was a bit worried she would react badly to it. Apparently some horses cow kick and such as he's working on them. I told Nick to be ready in case we needed to control the wild beast that is Izzie. HA. There was no need for that.

Chiro began working on her, and aside from being a bit confused, Izzie didn't care one bit. Some spots clearly hurt more than others, but he took his time and was careful. Along with the acupuncture he was injecting B12 into each spot as well. As much as the spot needed (so he didn't do a set amount in each). I was curious and asked about it, which is how I know what he was doing. I said I was just curious, and he said it was a good question to ask  he did quite a few spots on her, leaving four "super sensitive" spots for last. Some horses I guess HATE having those spots done. So he begins working on the sensitive spots, and is clearly watching to make sure a cow kick won't be in the future. He prepared for it when she shifted her weight off the leg near him, which was understandable. But that was as far as Izzie went with it. Heck, the last two he did she had her ears perked forward the entire time :lol: she let out quite a few big sighs throughout the process too, which made us all happy. When he finished, she put her head in his chest lol clearly upset with it all! He did say testing for Lyme would be a good plan of action as well. He checked acupressure spots that are known to be reactive for things like EPM, and nothing was reactive. So that was good.

Afterward he gave her HANDFULS of cookies. Not even joking :lol: he joked she expected a cookie for every needle she got haha! We all decided she's basically perfect. Chiro vet also showed he's fallen in love with my horse  just before Nick took her out to the trailer, the chiro threw his arms around Izzie's neck and gave her a full on hug. It shocked both Nick and I as we've been the only ones to ever hug her like that, but it was just so incredibly sweet. She's just such a model patient 

He wants me to ride either Tuesday or Wednesday to evaluate where she is. Since the regular vet is coming on Monday we decided Wednesday will be the best bet. Since I don't know what's going on with her mouth, I figured a day off in between would do her some good. I'm anxious to see where she will be at on Wednesday. I'm really hoping for improvement 

Nick has also made progress on the stall. We have the posts up and cemented. Tomorrow the two of us will begin framing it. He's cut up the tree to make the boards for the stall, just has to cut them into the boards. I took this small video so people can get an idea of location and the size of the paddock. Nothing gigantic, but it'll suffice as a temporary field. She won't be allowed in it when we aren't home for safety reasons. She's never been 100% alone, so I don't feel comfortable having her turned out while we are gone. But it'll be her home away from home. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited at the idea of her coming home though. It'll be well sheltered from the wind too 






And some fun pictures. Pony is a bit dirty, and I even brushed her beforehand haha!

































Oldest horse in the barn at 32 years old  he is showing his age a bit, but still happy and perky.









And our selfie game haha!

































Click any sideways pictures; they are actually upright.


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## PoptartShop

@Tazzie I know this is very stressful for you. I also experienced 'outer body' experiences - they are not fun. I know exactly what you mean, it feels like you're elevated and seeing yourself from higher up. Glad I'm not the only one.
Love the pictures, cute selfies!! 
Awwww, the older horse is so cute! Looks happy too!
I can't wait to hear what the results are. I know it's so hard waiting for them. :sad: Fingers crossed everything goes smoothly.
She's so good with the acupuncture, that's great!! Such a good girl! <3 As for the stall, that's awesome! I can't wait to see it when it's all done.  Nice turnout too!!


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## Rainaisabelle

I am anxiously awaiting to hear the results you get back from the vet. Sending all my love


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## PoptartShop

Rainaisabelle said:


> I am anxiously awaiting to hear the results you get back from the vet. Sending all my love


Ditto.


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## Tazzie

Don't you just hate the out of body experiences? I HATE it. I haven't had one since, thankfully, but ugh. It'd been a while since I'd last had one.

And I'll keep you all posted. Anxiety is killing me. About to splash some essentials oil to ground me a bit and help me relax. I know if I'M anxious and tense I'll destroy any chance to get a clear picture for our ride tonight.

I keep checking my phone to make sure I didn't miss a phone call. Problem will be when I go to ride tonight. Service is hit and miss.

Ugh, I just want answers *sigh*


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## PoptartShop

Hang in there. We are here for you. :sad: I know exactly how you feel! It's so hard, you get distracted for a little then you're right back to 'what if? what if what if, but what if' like...I HATE IT! Anxiety makes you think of the worst outcome. It's horrible. :sad: I wish there was a 100% cure for it. 

Enjoy your ride, try to relax even though I know it's hard. Give Izzie some good hugs and have a smooth ride.  

Let us know what happens please! I'm anticipating the results as well. Fingers crossed for you. I know you are dying for some answers.


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## frlsgirl

B12 shots in the muscle? Hmmm, haven't heard that before. Does she feel better now?


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## Tazzie

Allison, thank you. I'm thankfully better now, just blah. I want her feeling better :sad: and exactly. That's where I was spiraling. I was basically on the verge of freaking out I'd have to put her down KNOWING FULL WELL that is not even close to the case! But thank you anxiety!

Sorry it's taken a bit to update :lol: I'll post below.

------------------------------------------------------------

Tanja, it was into the acupuncture points. Apparently it helps to get them to relax and not be so tense/angry to allow the body to relax and heal. It was a new one to me too. And eh. Somewhat I think...

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So the ride. The ground was not conducive to riding. It was slick and just gross. Also realized part way through I'd forgotten Izzie's non slip pad. We still struggle with the darn saddle even when it's fit perfectly for her thanks to her down hill build/sloped back. So that didn't help AT ALL.

I couldn't really get her lifted and off the forehand. It was frustrating to say the least. But she was a fire breathing dragon. Like, trotting along and all four feet pop off the ground as she kicks out in the hind. Not being a brat, but in a contained "I have too much energy mom!!!" So commence LOTS of lateral work. Then asked for canter.

We are still swapping to the left. But it's reduced a bit, and I'm better able to use my legs in a position to kind of keep her from doing it. To the right I really, really couldn't get her off the forehand. No swapping, but again. Not really collected. Though when I did a hard half halt to just try it and ask for a downward, she sat up and back, and didn't swap coming down from the canter. So that was an improvement.

I called the chiro vet and left a voicemail with our riding, which I felt was inconclusive really, as well as her testing negative for Lyme and her mouth was totally fine. I went home and emailed my vet, but said I'd like to give her a bit more time off before we go the route of buting and riding her. He wants to put her on a Previcox alternative, but I'd like to hold off on doing that if there are still other options.

Alicia and I had been talking, and she brought up the SI joint. I'd been wondering about it off and on, but had forgotten until she brought it up again. Emailed the vet. He didn't think it was that. Then chiro vet called. He said all the work we've been doing is to stabilize that joint and make it happier. Sooo... looks like the culprit is ultimately that joint. Chiro vet (who, btw, was OUT OF TOWN and yet still called me!) agreed with a bit more rest, try it again this week, and he will see her on Saturday (yes, out of town and he booked an appointment for us lol)

Tonight I have a meeting for my local club up here. Tomorrow Nick wants to work on the stall. Wednesday the kids have a dentist appointment. So Thursday we will sneak in a ride and see how it goes. Fingers crossed we see some improvement!

Also, couple things that are fun! Izzie won four high point awards this year through our county fair awards program! She is the Champion Sport Horse, Hunter Pleasure, Specialty (Costume and Trail) and English Pleasure! Super stoked!

I also did the math for Izzie's achievement awards through AHA. I'm still waiting on the second to last show of the year, but I *think* I'll only be 4 points shy of Izzie earning her Legion of Honor!! I am SOOO pumped!

Some pictures too  from our ride as well as the stall. If any are sideways, click them.


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## PoptartShop

Aww, that is good!!  I hope if you get to ride later this week you will see more improvement, and hopefully the darn ground will be better for riding too.  Which will help.
That's so nice they got you on the schedule and called you even though they were out of town. AWESOME!! I love nice people like that. Makes things easier. I really am crossing my fingers everything gets better & she keeps improving. Especially with some more rest days!
Wow, the stall is coming along nicely! Sooo exciting!

The first picture you guys look so majestic, look at that movement! I can tell her canter is probably so comfortable.  Legion of Honor would be amaaazing!!!! Yes yes yes!


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## Tihannah

Wow, I had no idea how much I'd missed! So glad the Lyme came back negative! I was so worried I couldn't read fast enough! The SI is definitely something to consider and something I'm looking into as well with Forrest after talking more with the chiro. He thinks it would help in conjunction with the adjustments he is doing as they correspond with the SI joint. We will get this all figured out soon with our babies, right?

The stall looks like it's coming along so nice! Nick is such a good guy and I just love how supportive he is about your riding and Izzie! Sending much love and positive vibes your way! She's still a fire breathing dragon, so that's always a good sign! ;-)


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## Tazzie

Allison, I'm really hoping to see some improvement! Trying not to get my hopes up though, ugh. Also now supposed to rain again tomorrow, just my luck. Such is life though. We will manage best we can. Perhaps she won't be AS crazy when I ride :lol:

And they are WONDERFUL people. I know he likes Izzie a lot, and knows we're doing what we can to get her fixed up. And yeah, hoping for the best right now!

I love the stall! Nick is doing such a great job on it!

Thank you! I do love that picture  her canter can be comfy, but the more engaged you get her, the harder it is to ride. Containing her power causes for a bouncier ride :lol: and I am SOOO excited about it being SO close! EEEE! I'll have done it all myself too!

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Tina, haha, yeah! A lot has gone on! I was glad too since that meant no damage done from that. Which is good. And yeah. If it needs injected, I have to find someone else to do it. My vet is not equipped to do it. There is a reason I regularly call him Dr. Dumba$$. He's rather young and a bit cocky. No actual vet building. Just his house. So I'd have to find someone with the means to do it. Which means I'd be looking a couple hours away. Just ugh! And yes! Gosh I hope so!

Nick is definitely a wonderful guy  we'd be SO lost without him! And thank you! I appreciate the love and vibes! LOL yes! She's still a dragon, so she hasn't lost her spirit :lol:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So not a ton of updates on Izzie's front. She's just out enjoying being a muddy horse :lol:

Nick hasn't worked on the stall since Sunday. Yesterday he was cutting up the deer he got Saturday morning. The walk in freezer was full :lol: he's going to work on it tonight.

I went to my meeting last night for the local group I'm in. We were finalizing the show schedule for next year, and I FINALLY got what I'd been wanting! They are moving the Hunter Pleasure class to after lunch, which now allows Syd to do the lead line class! Woot! AND walk trot classes are before lunch. Hoping Nick can do walk trot :lol: they are SO excited I'm going down to the banquet in January. We've gone the last two years because we've won a high point. This year they want to send me as their delegate and I will attend the actual horse show committee meeting. They were worrying about making me late to the banquet. I laughed and said the person running the meeting is the one who starts the banquet :lol: she's also a friend of mine from college :wink: so we're good. But they are SO excited I'm going. They are paying for me to go to the meeting, paying for my hotel room, and are insisting on reimbursing me and Nick going to the banquet dinner. They've never been able to convince anyone to go before! I said I'd be happy to go any time I'm going to collect an award :lol:

When I got home I watched a friend of mine's freestyle video from the National Championships this weekend at the KHP. She was in the I1 Freestyle. She took fourth in the I1 Open Championship  her freestyle was lovely! Nick had to ask where I1 was in the line up though. Originally thought I'd meant Intro (cue tears of laughter). I had to explain to him the levels. He was like "Oh. Izzie has a long way to go to get to Grand Prix then." Yes honey, she does :lol: but he knows Maggie is dying to get her to do Piaffe and Passage. Just have to get us over our current hurdle. I think once we can master getting really light in the canter, a lot of other stuff will come really easily to her. Canter work will always be difficult, but I foresee her trot work really developing. It was just fun to watch the freestyle video with him :lol:


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## Tazzie

Alright, update!

I rode her last Thursday. Not nearly as much swapping to the left. And when she did swap, she'd hold the wrong lead. While not great she swapped, she wasn't doing one tempis in the back like she had previously. So huge development in the right direction. To the right we didn't swap at all. None. I got off feeling quite a bit less stressed out.

Saturday we brought her to the chiro vet. That man is amazing. She had a spots out including her rib cage, but nothing super major. He tested all of her acupressure spots (which include ulcers as well as EPM markers, just FYI). Left hind showed next to nothing as far as reactivity. The right hind still showed a touch but it was a DRAMATIC difference. He opted to not do another acupuncture on her and told me to keep him posted after a bit more down time for her. My guess at the moment is she was just so badly out that it made everything HURT when I was riding and showing her. He manipulated her SI joint all over without any reactivity as well, so that's a plus. He refused to charge me since he said he was the one that wanted to check her over. I love that man :lol:

I'll be riding her again on Thanksgiving to see how she goes. Hopefully we have a decent ride. Someone has also gotten FAT (for her; if she gains too much she gets cresty so we really watch her diet). Nick is getting close to finishing up her stall too, which is exciting. I got a feed bucket to hang in the corner :lol: next purchase will be the hanging lickit things to keep her busy lol

Couple of pictures of my fatty haha


































Another thing I'd been keeping under wraps is this. So three years ago I commissioned an artist on Facebook to paint a model to look like Izzie. It was to be my Christmas present from Nick and the kids. Well, excuses abounded. I finally got fed up and asked for a refund, which I did get. I found another lady on Facebook and explained that I wanted a model, but was gun shy since I'd already been burned. This woman was AMAZING. She got the model that she was painting on October 30th. My Izzie look alike arrived yesterday  perfection is all I can say. Every step of the way she was messaging me to get my approval before continuing. I absolutely LOVE it.


























Her current place of honor 









We also rearranged the living room on Saturday when Nick cleaned the carpets. I'd planned to put my curio cabinet back in the corner where it had been. This was Nick's idea. I was laying on the couch when I took this picture. I enjoy the view  Izzie model on the top of the entertainment center, Izzie's award cabinet to the side.









And as another side, Nick took the kids "hunting" on Friday. They've been BEGGING him to go. Nick had the day off, and they rushed him out of the house to go. Neither were that quiet, but they did see some. They told daddy to shoot them, but he couldn't get a clear shot on them (he doesn't just shoot all willy nilly). Needless to say, I think the kids may end up with both of our passions :lol: because both are already asking daddy when they are going to go out again and shoot a deer for dinner :lol:


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## frlsgirl

I just love the Izzy statue. That might be a good Christmas present for myself; I will pass it on to DH 


So it sounds like overall Izzy is feeling better? Or you are feeling better about how Izzy is going under saddle?


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## RedDunPaint

That model is absolutely GORGEOUS! I might have to get one of Tessa...


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## Tazzie

Tanja, you should! It makes super excited  and I think Izzie herself is feeling better. We still have some work, and the saddle will need tweaking again, but for now she's on vacation until January!

--------------------------------------------

@RedDunPaint, you should! The lady was SUPER nice to work with. Her Facebook page is Shannon's Custom Model Horses. She was wonderful to work with!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So I rode her on Friday and I think we're good with her issue. Finally. What a battle that was. She's on vacation now until January, as was originally planned. I'm hoping this won't be a consistent issue. That is my biggest fear.

She's a far cry from where we were, but in recent weeks it's the best she's been. I'm posting a couple of videos, but please be award these were diagnostic type rides and nothing else. So we are FAR from nice.

This was two weeks ago:





This was Friday:





To the right we stopped having issues two weeks ago. It was trying to get the left to feel better. Highly frustrating and disheartening.

Couple fun pictures with Izzie on a gorgeous Friday afternoon

































And progress on her stall! Nick is calling for the metal today as it's almost ready to be enclosed


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## Tazzie

Not much of an update as Izzie is thoroughly enjoying her vacation.

Thursday she had her feet trimmed. I enjoy chatting with our farrier, and thank him SO much for coming to trim her. We are in the middle of absolute nowhere, and he drives quite a distance for one horse. Yes, I pay for it ($60 for a barefoot trim) but he is worth absolutely every penny. We always end up chatting at the end as we're his last customers typically, and it always amuses me to watch him interact with Izzie during it. Izzie will be sound asleep, and the farrier has his arm across her back just leaning on her. SO dang thankful I have the team I have being out here in never never land!

Couple cute snaps from I found pre farrier appointment haha! Not very attractive photos as she's standing in a hole and awkwardly lol

















She's just so pretty, gah.









Saturday we went to get our Christmas tree and decorated the house. LOVE doing that. Nick also smoked a turkey, which was AMAZING! He's going to smoke one when we go home for Christmas (to Michigan)

















My dogs were also incredibly adorable that night..

















Sunday we were woken up to sad news. Nick's grandpa passed away unexpectedly Saturday night/Sunday morning. He'd been doing better, and had been in rehab. He had congestive heart failure but it was well managed.

I unfortunately had to head south for a meeting so I wasn't even home. Nick was making summer sausage so he didn't care I left. Went to the meeting, which went alright. Found out they'd missed two of my friend's shows and that actually put her horse above mine for English Pleasure. I spoke up to tell the lady in charge of points, and thankfully my friend wears the same size jacket I do. Sooooo, Nick will get his cooler after all haha!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now, since this IS my journal, and I can basically say whatever I'm thinking/feeling, I'm letting it all out here.

Dressage is NOT a bad discipline. Just because people seem to think we force our horses into a frame and make them "bounce" off the bit doesn't mean that ANY of that is true. Period, end of discussion. Are there bad riders/trainers out there? You bet there are. But to basically associate a horse in contact with a horse using you and the bit to balance is absolutely absurd. I challenge ANYONE to ride Izzie. She'll be light in the contact yet so dang powerful you can almost wish you could have more contact. But more contact on her will result in a ****ed off pony. She wants you there for communication. I use half halts as a way to remind her to stay balanced, and how it was explained to me growing up and how I STILL think of when I ask: saying "hey! I'm about to give you a cue! Are you ready?" And guess what? BECAUSE my horse knows me, how I ride, and is 100% aware of every minuscule thing she's always like "I hear you!!" My half halts are soft. If I squeeze two fingers, it's plenty. Majority of the time the contact is there for her comfort zone and I ride off my seat and core.

It just blows my mind to have people continuously bash my sport. I've watched it throughout this entire year and I'm plan sick and tired of it.

I'll also be VERY frank here. If you are unwilling to learn from someone, you are not someone I wish to talk to. I do not believe you can learn everything about riding from a book. There are too many subtle things a horse will "say" and do that you will NEVER learn from a book. To be high and mighty and say "I don't need lessons, I learned from such and such book!" Well, all you are showing to me is you are closed minded and will consistently blow through horses ALWAYS blaming the horse. News flash, it's most likely the rider. My trainer takes lessons frequently. It comes in handy as Izzie is not a "tell" horse. You do not demand things from Izzie. You will end up on the ground, in a tree, or on the wall. You ask, discuss, and come to a conclusion. My best friend shows Saddlebreds/Saddleseat. When I brought her home from Michigan she received a lesson from my trainer growing up. And guess what? She uses Dressage principles on those horses! She sees the value of working a horse over the back to strengthen the back. And it's worked SUPER well for her. She actually frequently asks if her barn kids can ride Izzie as she knows how to stretch into contact. She's very easy to ask to stretch and reach since she WANTS that contact. But she's also an Arab mare and therefore you better be asking her correctly. She's taught a remarkable amount of people how to achieve this.

Another of my best friends is "just a trail rider", though I don't believe she's "just" anything. She's a gosh darn trail rider and she's gone on trails that would give me the willies! She's had events that scare the crap out of me just reading them! And SHE gets lessons. This "just a trail rider."

I've paid to go to the Charlotte Dujardin clinic in January. I didn't send in an application to ride as you all know the crap Izzie went through the last couple months. The clinic is "Back to Basics." I guarantee me, as the person who STARTED AND TRAINED MY OWN HORSE will take away some valuable information from there.

Do I enjoy reading books? You bet. On occasion they've helped explain something a bit clearer. But a book would NEVER replace a valuable instructor.

Sorry for my rant. I am 10000% over people shoving their theories down each other's throats. I don't care if someone rides on contact or someone rides bitless or bridleless. But I do NOT see a point in continuously bashing someone for how they do something without even having a firm grasp on WHAT the other rider is doing.


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## Rainaisabelle

I love your Christmas tree it is gorgeous!! We still have to buy our own Christmas tree. So sorry about Nicks Granpa but that is awesome that he gets the cooler he wanted! Love the puppies they look so cute!

Preach about the dressage stuff it is so complete true!


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## PoptartShop

Aww, the tree is beautiful! That is so fun, I love decorating the tree.  Looks lovely!
I still need to get one, I always had fake ones but I kinda want to try a real one this year. My boyfriend wants to go & cut one out. :lol: So it should be fun.
I'm very sorry to hear that about Nick's grandfather. :sad: Sending my condolences. It's so sad when it's unexpected like that.  
& Izzie is just super pretty!! 

As for dressage, I think it's great! I've incorporated a lot of dressage in my riding over the years. Bits & pieces; I enjoy it. I also agree that a book definitely can't teach you everything; I'd never personally read a book to learn how to ride. LOL, it just doesn't seem like reality. Instructors are key in my opinion as well. A good instructor at that. Totally agree with you.


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## carshon

I have to 100% agree with your post. I don't ride dressage - but would love to learn more about it as my mare has a weak topline and could use more power from her back end. There are bad trainers in every and all disciplines - and most of those bad trainers are probably back yard horse people with no real education of the various disciplines. 

I love to read horse training books but I also understand a book is written from the authors point of view. I would also not quote a book that is 50 yrs old as a training guide - of course you can use some of any book for reference but I am with you that your horse will tell you what they want or need.

Love that Izzy is on vacation- mine are too but not because of heavy training or a strenuous show season. Darn winter!


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## Tazzie

Thanks guys! We get a real one every year. We tried a fake tree once. Once. It'd been left by Nick's uncle. He got the box out and I saw a giant mouse nest. Made him throw it away on the spot. This was our first year cutting it down ourselves. Typically we have to go somewhere like Home Depot or some other garden center, but I rather like cutting one down. Getting a fresh one. It's smaller than we normally go, but this is the fullest, densest tree we have EVER gotten. It's essentially perfect aside from height. So, we made it work.

Thank you for the condolences. We are all in a bit of shock over it. He had congestive heart failure, and had been hospitalized when his meds made his body crazy. He'd been bedridden for a period of time while they tweaked everything. He was in rehab to regain mobility in an effort to send him back home. We had hoped he would go back home as the kids hadn't seen him for a while :sad: it was rather devastating Sunday. The only thing I could think of was his Christmas wish was to be reunited with his wife and daughter (Nick's mom). I'm so glad when we went to visit for the last time I made Nick sit and do all the talking with him, and "hid" in the background just listening to them chat. I had that with my grandpa the last time I saw him, and those memories are priceless.

And exactly to all three of you (@Rainaisabelle , @PoptartShop , and @carshon). I don't expect people to all want to do Dressage. Boy would THAT be boring for everyone in the world to do one style of riding! But Dressage has such a good basis that the majority of disciplines incorporate it without calling it Dressage. A horse running around with his head in the air will eventually have major back issues. There needs to be strength there in order to carry a rider comfortably.

So right on the money @carshon! While there can be some valuable information from books, consistently quoting books from decades ago is pointless. We've learned A LOT in all that time. 50 years ago people didn't CARE if a saddle fit correctly. The horse was expected to do it's job without complaint. And now look. Majority of us won't ride until the saddle fits correctly! But a book will not show you subtle things that can solve a MAJOR issue. There is just so much value to lessons, regardless of discipline, that it blows my mind people would rip down the thought of getting one!

Izzie loves her end of the year vacation  it's partially due to weather, partially due to daylight hours, partially to give Nick his opportunity to do HIS hobbies (aka, hunting, riding his toy, etc), and a major part being she works her butt off all spring/summer/fall for me that the least I can do is turn her out for a bit and let her be a filthy pony :lol:


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## egrogan

Those dogs are just too cute! 

And, going to the Charlotte clinic-wow. What an awesome experience! Can't wait to hear about that!


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## Tazzie

Thank you! Our other furbabies haha! Sheldon (chocolate lab) is rotten but Penny (lab mix) is SUPER sweet. Well, they both are SUPER sweet, but Penny stays out of trouble haha!

And I know!! Man I'm excited! I'm hoping I can bring my video camera and record it! I fear there will be so much good information that I won't be able to get it all in on that day!


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## Tihannah

Catching up late again, but just read your "rant" and could not agree more!! And you already know how I feel about dressage!! Lol. I think people that have never done it will never understand the mechanics of it. It's an amazing sport that teaches you so much about not only how a horse's body works, but how your own body influences that.

And could not agree more about instructors. To me, the more the merrier. Their knowledge is invaluable and nothing replaces having someone on the ground to talk you through the struggle. I feel incredibly lucky to have access to the people that I do. I honestly don't know how people try and do this on their own. There is just so much to learn and understand and every horse and rider are different!

Also, so excited for you about going to see Charlotte!!


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## Tazzie

Tina, I just get so blasted tired of people constantly bashing Dressage like it's some horrible, evil thing. Yes, perhaps there are horrible people out there. But don't the majority of us all have the same thought and love our horses? Why do we have to bash other styles purely because it's not what YOU like. I could claim trail riding is boring (though if you know me I'd NEVER say that), and why would anyone want to just go down a trail when you could do cool maneuvers in an arena. It'd be ignorant and foolish of me to say that only my style of riding is worthwhile and totally ignore the joy other styles bring to people. I'm not much into Western, but that's purely because I learned Dressage first and fell in love with it fast. But I also am smart enough to realize it takes A LOT to develop a bridle horse, or to work cattle, or do a reining pattern. I can 100% appreciate each style, and LOVE watching it, all without having much desire to ride it. You know my best friend rides Saddleseat. I tried it and it terrified the crap out of me. It wasn't my cup of tea. But dangit if I don't have a blast whopping and hollering as they are big trotting around the arena!!

I just cannot fathom how people are so closed minded about other disciplines. I've vowed to try any style I can before I die. Even if it terrifies the crap out of me. I believe you can't have a full understanding of them if you aren't willing to try it. Izzie wants to jump. One of these days my friend will teach her how to actually jump with a person, and then I'll give it a whirl. Will I do jumping in a show? No. But I will gladly pop Izzie over some jumps if it makes her happy. Just like we try to hack out or go on a real trail ride with @evilamc when we can.

And yes! If Izzie had been feeling better, I would have sent in an audition video for Charlotte. MANY people told me I should, but I didn't feel it'd give an accurate point of where Izzie was for a video. That and she wouldn't have been able to have her vacation. I'm a firm believer in vacation time for our hard working animals. It wasn't something I grew up doing, but I feel it's only right. She works epically hard for me all year long. The LEAST I can do is give her at minimum of a month off from any sort of work. If I had more access to clinicians though, I'd go to some. Unfortunately it's not always possible. Either a show is that weekend, or Nick is horsed out. I just consider myself lucky to do what we can  and he loves Maggy, almost as much as Maggy loves him.

I'm so unbelievably excited for it! My best friend is coming with me. He grew up riding Saddleseat and when I mentioned I wanted to go but Nick wouldn't go, he was like "I will!" I said "are you serious?!" He said flat out that he wouldn't be a horse person if he wasn't willing to go to a class taught by an Olympic champion. He knew he'd learn something too 

----------------------------------------------------------------

Alright, I gave in to repost. I'm rather irritated the forum ate my post, and was refraining from posting here. Also need to catch up on the Confession Thread. SUPER frustrated we don't even know why the forum ate all our posts.

Anyway, recap on what I posted....

Last Thursday was Nick's Grandpa's visitation. So much love all in one building. The place was packed from the time it began until well past the time it ended. Friday was the funeral. It was a long day, but we made it. One of Nick's aunts offered to watch the kids while we went to the grave site, which we happily accepted. It was COLD out. He was an Army veteran, so of course they had the gun salute and played Taps. Which always gets me. Our barn owners Grandpa was the one leading the salute, which was touching as well. Just very emotional. We went back to Grandpa's house to visit afterward too.

On the way home Nick and I had an interesting conversation. I'd mentioned seeing Half Arabians popping up for around $15k with less training and showing than Izzie. I said Izzie would be worth at least that with all of her accomplishments and everything she can do. But that it wouldn't matter as I never plan to sell her. So Nick asks what do I want him to do with her if something were to happen to me. Apparently the thought keeps popping into his head and he's stressed over it. I said ideally she'd stay with Cliff or go to Blair as Blair knows how to ride her (though they fight more than Izzie and I did because Izzie has NOT forgotten Blair tried to ride her in a martingale once. ONCE.) He said he was thinking that too. That he does not want to sell her or give her to Blair. He wants to keep her around in case Syd wants to ride and show her at some point. Said he'd do his best riding her if he had to :lol: I said he'd be safer sending her to Blair to get her safe for Syd as only Blair and Maggy can ride that horse effectively, and only because they see through Izzie's bad temper when she gets a new, knowledgeable rider. He brought up possibly free leasing her too, and I shut that down so fast. I just worry someone would shut Izzie down. She's a super opinionated horse and I just can't bare the thought of someone forcing her into submission. She goes how she does because I ask and we negotiate. But it made my heart happy knowing he doesn't want to get rid of her ever.

Saturday night we went to the Festival of Lights at the Cincinnati Zoo. Was definitely a lot of fun!

Sunday we had a bit of time, and I bought Izzie a new bit I'd been DYING to try on her. I'd been eyeing a Baucher for a while, and finally found one cheap enough to at least see if she liked the feel of the ring style. Obviously we haven't tried it for long enough, but our initial reaction is that it's a clear favorite. It's the quietest she's ever been in anything, though it's hard to tell with only about 5 minutes of lunging. But typically when I'm buckling up her bridle she's messing with the bit the entire time. This time I hadn't even gotten to finish buckling the first one up and she'd already quit. I was right away hopeful. We didn't do much work really since the ground was SUPER hard, but we trotted. And she didn't chomp the bit at all. Fingers crossed when I pick back up with our riding in January that she loves it under saddle!

Here are a couple of pictures. You'll notice a bit of foam at the corner of her mouth on the right side. That's with less than five minutes of work. With no saddle, no reins, just the lunge line hooked right on the bit. Fingers crossed we've found The One. It's Dressage legal too, so that's even better! My latex covered bit is illegal, which is why we didn't get in the sandbox this season. Nick wants to get us back in there, so I HAD to find one that is legal. That and we are TIRED of dealing with rewrapping the latex over and over again.


















And a video of me lunging her. You'll be able to see how hard the ground was and why I didn't want to make her work any longer than I did.


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## Tazzie

So, way past due for an update. Motivation in all things has been lacking tremendously :lol:

I tried to ride Izzie about a week ago. It was a disaster. The saddle wouldn't stay put, and she was just BAD. Hopped off and lunged her. I bought a slightly wider bit to see if that helps since I wasn't thrilled with how the bit was fitting. Though my hopes are a bit dashed with that and perhaps she's a horse that will always prefer a loose ring. Least these weren't super pricey to try, and will be in my bit collection for Izzie's babies. It'll just be a matter of finding that loose ring that she likes, blasted horse. Desperately trying to find a Dressage legal bit in hopes of getting back in the sand box this year. I really miss it :sad:

We had some crap hit the ceiling too, which is always fun right after the holidays. Nick's truck is currently down. The truck left me on the side of the road about a week before Christmas. Nick came to rescue me, and it drove fine for him (ALWAYS happens that way). It's the injectors, again. These injectors were bought 2 years ago when they went out leaving my mom and dad's from Christmas that year (we go up there every other year). Nick found a place that tests them and rebuilds the damaged ones. So off they were shipped. They called and said two needed rebuilding. Alright, great. They did that and sent them back. Nick put them in, and the engine was now knocking. It wasn't doing that before the injectors were removed. Nick planned to order injectors that were $2360, but they wanted *$900* for a core charge. Yeah, no. I told Nick he needed to call the place that rebuilt the injectors and it's on them to fix them. Thankfully they agreed, and covered the shipping back.

The exact same day all this occurred, our fridge partially crapped out. It wasn't warming all the way up, but a couple things in the freezer were thawing. We moved all freezer contents into our deep freeze, and salvaged most of the fridge stuff into my old dorm fridge. Only thing I had to chuck was the milk, which was fine with me! Nick did some research, and it looked like the possible cause was the heat coil for the autodefrost. It had zero ohms output when tested. Nick took it out, and it was smoked up. He found the part on Amazon for around $14 with prime shipping. MUCH better than buying a new fridge right now!! Part came, and the fridge lives!!

So between all of these, I've had zero desire to ride. It's cold, it's snowy, and just don't have the motivation. Izzie is happy as a clam not doing anything too. I'm also working excessively long days this week, which will leave little time to try and work her. Saddle fitter is coming February 3rd, which is good. Though she'll be building muscle up again. Hopefully the fitter can account for that, or be ready to adjust it at Equine Affaire (I'd planned to ask her about that too).

Also, we're scaling back Izzie's show schedule. There are a few must hit shows, one possibility, and one I won't miss long as she's feeling ok (the Michigan show). We won't be doing Regionals this year. I just don't feel like spending the money, and I know they will have a hunter judge as opposed to a dressage judge for our under saddle classes. I don't need to pay $55 a class for my horse to be beat because they don't like my style (I watched it happen last year with a friend of mine showing hunter under the dressage judge).

Now our first show won't be until the end of April, and due to massive changes in the show schedule for that, I won't be showing in as many there either. Most of the shows we will be doing are rated shows: more bang for my buck kind of thing (with regards to high point awards). The one open show I'll be doing around here is my local club's show. And Michigan, which Nick said he will never, ever tell me not to do that one as it's a vacation for him too. The one perk about far less shows, is more time to trail ride with @evilamc. I have a friend down near Mammoth cave, and she wants us to come down for a ride! So either I need to find a second steady eddy to ride, or Nick will be kicked out as I do want my friend to join us! Alicia and I also might be doing a parade in September, depending on how Izzie is behaving 

I'll leave you with a couple of fun pictures  Friday was a snow day of sorts, so kids and I got comfy!










I also woke up to this BEAUTIFUL piece by one of my favorite artists. I just find it stunning! She's incredibly creative and I love everything about it!


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## Tazzie

OH MY GOSH. I forgot to put my biggest news here!!

So I'd posted the event schedule for the Charlotte Dujardin clinic this weekend, and how excited I was to be going! A friend said it'll be exciting meeting Charlotte, and I said I probably wouldn't meet her, but I'd be in the same arena and that'd be pretty awesome in itself!

WELL!!

Another friend of mine asked what day I'd be there, and that he'd make sure I got to meet her!!! EEEK!!!!!!

*I MIGHT GET TO MEET MY IDOL!!!!* Alicia printed out some things for her to sign, and I'd totally be getting a picture!!

My life will be complete if this happens!! I'll be making sure said friend has my phone number in case he doesn't have messenger (I know him through our local club).

EEEEEEEEEKKKKKKK!


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## phantomhorse13

Glad you got some amazing news to balance out some of the less than ideal stuff that has been going on. If you aren't motivated to ride, don't beat yourself up over it. A break will be good for you both, as you will return to riding with enthusiasm not just a sense of duty.

Glad someone is enjoying this blasted weather..


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## Tazzie

Yeah, that's what I'm going with right now. When I talked to my trainer I said I wanted to shoot for beginning of March for a lesson. She's understanding when we aren't fit enough to have a long one, which is good. I think once this weather clears up I'll be a lot more excited for it. That and getting my saddle fixed, ugh.

I do hope it happens this weekend! I'm so dang excited!

And man, we were out quite a bit this weekend in those cold temps! Kids just HAD to go sledding! Kaleb has been begging for snow so he could go, so can't deny him that. But BRRRRR!


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## Tihannah

So excited for you!! Can't wait to hear all about it!


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## RedDunPaint

AHHHH that's _so exciting_ you could meet *Charlotte Dujardin!!!* I'm so jealous she is absolutely amazing! I'm writing some articles on Dressage for a school assignment and she was my prime example for a good dressage rider on the first page lol. Can't wait to hear all about it!


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## Tazzie

I'll definitely be posting ALL about it if/when it happens!! I'm just so super excited! I'll be messaging my friend later today to make sure he has my number to call me. The arena is a bit large and I don't want him to have to hunt me down! I'll be there at his beck and call to meet her!! EEEEKKKK!!


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## PoptartShop

That is extra, extra, extra exciting news!  Pictures will be a MUST. I'm so excited for you, that is seriously gonna make your life, yay!!

The artwork is amazing.  & I agree, $55 a class for all that isn't even worth it, especially since it'd be a hunter judge & not a dressage one. I don't blame you! Wouldn't even be worth it...saving that money is good, you can buy more horsey stuff mwahaha! 
I hope you guys do the parade, that would be so fun.

I totally get it about having no desire to ride. Like, it's snowing right now...my friend is like, come ride after work! I'm like nah...just don't FEEL like it! Like, it makes me just want to go home & relax. :lol: Plus, I have a lot of cleaning/laundry to do, so I better get it done.
I'm planning on riding this weekend if the weather cooperates.
But seriously, the winter is when I ride the LEAST, & I hate it! :sad: Come on, spring! LOL


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## Tazzie

I am super excited to ride again now! Unfortunately I worry Izzie will be sore. She's still sensitive on the backs of her legs. So... she's going to take a trip down to Auntie Blair to have Laser Therapy done on her. I'm hoping it helps again. It helped the last time she had a sore/tight muscle. I need to get out and work on her so our saddle fit day isn't an explosion. Let's just see if the weather lets me...

But the clinic was GREAT! I feel I learned SOOO much!

A lot she covered was FORWARD and keeping them soft in your hand. Transitions were extremely important. The words "that was disgusting, do it again" were uttered for every ride all the way through Grand Prix. She was definitely a task master! She stressed the importance of collecting forward, not just making them go slow. They still needed to be going forward and not lose the rhythm. A lot of the riders were turning their horses into bananas going one direction, and they were stiff the other. So she got after them on the straightness.

Some neat exercises were shown too. Some I'd already done/worked with such as shoulder in to travers and back and forth. One I think that could be helpful for Izzie just in the walk was to half pass to the center line, do shoulder fore, and then put the haunches in and bring the shoulders around. It was kind of an introduction to the pirouette without doing one yet. She also had them bringing their haunches in on the circle around her to get them started on it.

SO many people were yelled at to shorten their reins and give with their arms. It's something I've been yelled at too. It's to establish a giving hand instead of a pulling one. I also watched as the Fourth Level horse and rider were NAILED on not having true collection, that it was mostly done with the hand. Charlotte told her to give and take in the collected canter, and her horse sped up. By the end, she was riding more off her seat, though Charlotte was still reminding her too.

A HUGE part was Charlotte had a mini rant like talk about whips. About how everyone WAY overuses them. That they serve the purpose to establish a rhythm when needed, but that a horse MUST go off your leg NOT the whip. So she told a bunch of riders to ditch their whips :lol: and a big part that was also talked about was rider fitness. One rider needed to have a breather, and Charlotte stressed it was VERY important to be fit in your body to be an effective rider!

Once my shoulder/neck area feels better, it's pedal to the metal and I'm getting back my fitness. I've already been working on it, but I have some tight spot myself that is in agony today. Ugh!

Here was what someone else wrote about it too that I felt I would share. Her clinics are SO worth it!

"What Charlotte looks for in horses: 
-over track in walk, but not something that would score a 10 because then they’d have trouble collecting 
-a good hind end that steps underneath the horse 
-a good canter 
-a good temperament w/ confidence. Good with crowds. Hot hot hot 
-a good trot isn’t super important, you can train that, and a big trot here increases risk of injury
1st horse- 4 y/o at training level: 
-THE WALK IS VERY IMPORTANT IN TESTS. It has a x2 coefficient. It is not a break for you or the horse 
-use your voice all you need 
-for young horses, no more than 25 minuets of work. No sitting trot until you are 100% sure your horse is strong enough (it makes them stiff). Understand what he is capable of doing. 
-stretchy trot in the warm up, up and over the back. Take the contact forward and down. It’s ok to not have it on young horses right away
-keep thinking forward, they have their whole life to collect. He must stay working for himself so you can think on other things. Get a reaction 
-don’t let them collapse through the back in transitions. They will get stiff and it will be bad. 
-do transitions within the gait. Smaller steps. Keeps them softer in the hand 
-when he gets stiff in the hand, gently move the bit, don’t let them get heavier
-lots of transitions. It’s about repetition, and it makes them more supple 
-reward with breaks 
-lower leg by the girth in canter. Helps keep your bum in the saddle 
-harder to go forward on a circle, but it helps them not get away from you 
-your upper body should never be in front of your hip. Think pushing his hind end down 
-“whatever you do on one side, you do on the other. You can’t pick your favorite side and then only do work on that one” 
-ease in and out of bigger gaits 
-just keep going if they make a mistake. Don’t pull up, that will make them worried to make another mistake 
-shoulder fore is not bending, it’s bringing the shoulder a bit off the track. Helps transfer weight to hind end 
-self carriage from you and your pony 
-use your legs, not the whip. “Stop being lazy” (both you and the horse) 
-make both directions as even as possible: both horse and rider. Do gym work, acupuncture, chiropractic work etc. 
-have a plan of what you’re going to do/work on everyday. Avoid doing everything in one day 
-forward: not flat but uphill 
-pushing from back to front: lighter in hand
-bring both hands forward to mouth: a test of self carriage and balance 
-downward transitions are not into the hand 
-lower and wider hands in the stretchy trot. Think of pushing the base of the neck down
2nd horse: 5 y/o at 1st 2nd level: 
-hind legs have to come underneath not just up and down
-leg yield: move rib cage away. Outside reign controls shoulder. Shoulders slightly leading/start with shoulders. Should have flexion through the poll, not bending 
-thumb on top, but allow arms to move 
-every transition has to be a good one. Do it until it is 
-2 reigns 2 legs 
-don’t punish, correct 
-when strong and tight, don’t pull and bring up, give down 
-fix it before it happens
3rd horse: 8 y/o in 4th level: 
-shoulder in: angle stays the same. Not a bend, a flexion 
-energy- don’t be afraid- use your legs. A hot horse has to learn to be ridden with legs on, and a lazy horse with legs off 
-don’t drop down to flexion 
-short sides and corners 
-when going more forward, don’t let him get heavier in the contact 
-extended: over track 
-traverse: outside leg back, inside leg on, push his hip in, shoulders slightly in, outside leg pushes haunches in 
-during half pass, think shoulder fore first 
-a well trained rider thinks for themselves 
-learn from your mistakes 
-don’t grip: then you bounce 
-don’t twist neck in changes 
-uphill into changes and as you ask
-collect forward
4th horse: 16 y/o in Prix St. Georges/I1: 
-don’t put the bit where she can use it against you 
-shorter reins towards the mouth instead of long one and pulling back 
-the hind end should literally lower in collection 
-collection from seat and upper body 
-when a horse is collected and independent you can loosen the reins and she will stay where you put her 
-sit to inside in traverse 
-traverse into half pass into shoulder fore + collection: good exercise for pirouettes. Helps control 
-hacking uphill helps develop muscles and walk 
-flickering heel in tempis/changes 
-changes bigger than canter strides 
-long and flat will make them strong in your hand 
-transitions from seat instead of hands
5th horse: 10 y/o in Grand Prix 
-half passes 
-don’t rely on the whip: train them off your leg 
-balance in neck needs to be allowed 
-on the canter zig zags over the centerline, look at the closest diagonal letter
-when training half pass, do it off the rail first 
-up forward into tempis- push 
-don’t twist your body in the changes. Sit in the middle of the saddle. Don’t let him swing in changes 
-think of changes moving forward not side to side. Hold them straight 
-round and forward transitions 
-don’t grip into passage, loose in hand 
-half halt w/o shortening neck 
-more energy in collection 
-don’t think of training piaffe in place, make transitions within. Keep it forward."

The banquet was also a good time! We also found out that Izzie was the SAHIBA Champion Half Arabian Hunter Horse, I was the Champion Adult Exhibitor, and we were the overall winners for it too  yay!

Enjoy some pictures! There was a strict NO PHOTOGRAPHY policy, that unfortunately some people ignored. I, however, am not a rule breaker and would like to go back for more clinics.


























When dreams become reality! We were only allowed to have one item to sign, so my BFF Keegan got one other thing signed for me 


















And Izzie's thoughts about more work and more transitions!


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## Tazzie

Found the notes for day 2  wanted to share here too.

“Charlotte clinic- day 2:

1st horse: 
-it’s important to give your horse just stretchy days for their body and mind 
-top line long and low. Look for swinging tail to know that the back is working 
-ride forward first. Don’t hold with your hand 
-inside hind between front legs = straight. Head in front of chest 
-keep your weight behind him, not on top of him 
-if you have a lazy horse, go outside in a field and run around. Helps get them going, and keeps them happier. You can also do work with poles 
-serpentines are good for young horses. Bending 
-up in the wither and up in the neck 
-a ‘bad’ reaction is better than no reaction 
-study sports phycology 
-visualize your home arena at shows. Keeps you comfy 
-have a routine 
-very important that you keep your upper body back 
-bend over leading leg in counter canter 
-think uphill as you correct
-push them forward in trot, don’t let them hover

2nd horse: 
-leg yield: slow front, keep quarters with you. Don’t hurry. Don’t let them fall out to the rail 
-move and soften 
-think it through 
-keep going until you get what you want/it’s second nature
-around 5 or 6 y/o, she teaches changes. Have to be able to collect and sit first 
-bend with your body not against your body 
-see the corner of their inside eye when they are bent on a circle 
-always be one step ahead 
-shoulder in off the rail to show how much outside reign you have and how much the wall is being used 
-use the momentum to push forward, up, and cover more ground 
-in shoulder fore, the angle shouldn’t come from turning, but from the outside reign 
-to help w/ walk transitions, collect the trot on a circle and make them wait for your aid

3rd horse: 
-think shoulder fore to help with collection 
-don’t let him get down in collection 
-upper body forward to go forward, back to go back 
-lighter on your seat in extensions 
-think with your seat and let him step forward 
-traverse on a circle, then tighter and more collected. Exercise for pirouette/working pirouette 
-don’t stay in the pirouette canter for too long 
-in traverse, don’t pull the neck towards the body 
-think medium in half pass 
-don’t lock your upper body forward or back, you’ll pull on the reign every stride
-eventually, you’ll want to be able to do a transition just through weight 
-if you don’t ride a good corner, your next movement will be not be good. “You’re only as good as your corners” 
-10 to 15 mins of stretchy trot at the end

4th horse: 
-shoulder in to 8m circle at B or E to half pass to G 
-look at the letter much before you get there 
-shoulder fore helps with rhythm 
-don’t let the horse take over a pirouette, every step will either be too big or too small
-keep reigns short and bum in the saddle, so as to not put them off balance
-don’t bent to the inside for a canter trot transition, even bending to the outside is better

5th horse: 
-collect (but not too collected) first before canter zig zag, think shoulder fore to help with bend 
-collect first before changes, then send them forward 
-the first and last changes are the most important 
-bobbing up in down in collection = no engagement 
-think shoulder fore before pirouette 
-7 to 8 steps in pirouettes. Think of doing it evenly over both sides of the centerline. Half and half 
-the first 2 steps of the pirouette should be tight. Then you make the steps bigger. It helps control the amount of steps you have. SMALL START BIG FINISH 
-let him keep cantering 
-ride forward out and around 
-sit to the right in half pass
-make him look at the letter 
-think a bit of passage into the halt 
-take your hands to where you want the shoulders to go 
-longer neck and push the hip in for pirouettes

Each horse (and level) is the same from yesterday”


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## Tihannah

I started to reply to this yesterday and then one of the bosses came barging into my office and I had to hurry up and close the screen! Lol. 

Loved this!! Such great notes! Thank you for sharing. Charlotte is amazing and I would LOVE to sit through one of her clinics. How exciting and sounds like it was so much fun! I would blow that pic up and frame it! Lol. So happy for you that you got to experience such an amazing opportunity!


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## Tazzie

Oops! Glad you got it closed!!

You'd absolutely love it! She's so witty. A couple of times her comments were quite harsh, but I kind of expected that really. You don't become a gold medalist when you don't expect perfection! And it'll definitely be printed :wink:

Not much to update. I meal prepped Izzie's food the other night. Aiming to ride some on Friday and Saturday (after I lunge her since I'll be bareback).

Also making the plans for Izzie to head down for the laser therapy. She'll be there about a week, and the girl is super excited to work on her again. When Izzie loves treatments, Izzie loves the people. And she got quite snuggly with her last time :lol: I'm sure Izzie will remember and trust her though. We haven't had our previous issue at all since the treatment, just this new one. So I have hopes!


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## PoptartShop

Love all the notes. It sounds like she is amazing. SO happy for you that you got to experience it & got to meet her!
Food prepping is definitely easier & Izzie sure is spoiled.  Love it!! That's so cute. Izzie is so lovable! I'm sure the laser treatment will help her feel better. Yay!

Riding this weekend will be nice. & bareback, too! I've been riding bareback lately. :lol: It really helps you have a better seat when you do get back in the saddle. Also...it's good for when you are feeling too lazy to tack up. :rofl: Let us know how it goes!!


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## knightrider

Wow, what an awesome list! Don't you wish you could always do all of those things? I do. If I could just add one every day and always keep doing the ones I'd already managed to do, what a rider I would be! I just love those lists. Thank you so much for sharing.


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## Tazzie

Allison, she was definitely amazing! HIGHLY recommend going to one if you get a chance! Izzie is super spoiled, but I'm ok with that :lol: least now we know she's getting everything she should be getting. I do think it will  it helped last time! Izzie is so gross though that it'll be work to clean her up haha! But such is life. I'll be lunging before I hop on since dying is not in my plans this weekend :lol:

Knightrider, ugh, I know! The few things I remind myself are hard enough! But now I want to work even harder! Hopefully I can up my transition game! I'd LOVE to one day be instructed by her. I'd hate to be yelled at because of transitions! And you're welcome! I love sharing the good stuff!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Not really much of an update. Will see how tomorrow goes :lol: but good news is, is that the truck is ALIVE! YES! Our luck is kind of turning right now, but I can't help to hold my breath as I worry something bad will be coming. Nick's grandpa left him and his siblings a quarter of what he had (since they lost their mom), and he was a very frugal man. My MIL told Nick we might be getting enough to pay off a substantial amount of my student loans. Hence why I fear there will be a tidal wave of bad luck heading my direction. Though my best friend Keegan said perhaps I've been getting blasted with the tidal wave, and it's not receding to leave behind some good luck. One can hope at least...

I'll be sure to update you all when I do ride though!


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## DanteDressageNerd

Sounds like a REALLY amazing clinic with lots of great insight! So glad you got to go and have such a good time! I've heard Charlotte is a perfectionist and a bit fiery personality wise, nothing wrong with that though  I hope Miss Izzie feels better soon and the laser helps her feel better!


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## Tazzie

Cassie, it was absolutely amazing! SO worth it! She definitely was fiery haha! My buddy who isn't a Dressage rider was laughing hysterically at her. It was a lot of fun!!

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So, I only lightly rode on Friday. The ground was slop, and it was expected to rain again in the morning. Though after I got on it was better I only did the one day.

We lunged first since I like my body intact the way it is, and I didn't need to prove anything by hoping on that fiery beast bareback :lol: that and it warms her back up before I get on. I hopped on and holy smokes. I was centered. Spine was directly under me. And yet, I had more horse to the right than to the left. Just standing there on a loose rein, and then while walking. It was a super odd feeling bareback to literally feel her ribcage being out. We kept it mostly at a walk, and she was great to the left. A bit fussy with the new bit, but settled well. To the right it was a battle. But it wasn't Izzie's normal bratty battle. It was an "I can't" not an "I won't." She felt stuck in the poll bending right. Couple that with the ribcage out, and she just struggled. She tried, but it was obvious it was uncomfortable. I did minor trot work to the left only, and called it on that kind of work.

I had Nick drag out poles to set up an L shape so we can practice backing through it. I could walk her through, halt, and get her to back up. But starting without walking through it resulted in her feeling stuck. She ignored all leg aids to turn on the forehand to center the haunches, and would be a brat to do the opposite and rudely shove into my leg. Away from the L? Totally respected the leg. So I had Nick grab my whip to lightly tap to reinforce my leg. She got a bit worked up, but settled well when she realized it was all in her head getting stuck within the L, and that she could freely move. Had a couple of decent back throughs and called it a day. Eventually we have to do it sans whip, but I wanted to instill the idea of it before removing the aid.

Called the chiro on my way home, and he'll be adjusting her on Thursday  spa treatment for the pony! Chiro Thursday, saddle fitter Saturday, going down for a week for laser therapy on Sunday! SPOILED!

She's also gotten so fat :lol: we've cut her grain back more. This was the first year on this grain, and I really didn't know how she'd do through winter. Clearly fine!




























Saturday night I had a banquet to go to. I had signed up for the high point, but had forgotten how competitive it was. I signed up for three divisions, but was still pleased to win one! It was a nice night 










Sunday I hung out with my friend Blair since I'd stayed the night at her house. I got to ride my favorite boy, Hemi, which was awesome! She now wants me to show him lol we'll see how that goes! He's a Five Gaited Saddlebred, but she wants me to show him Hunter and just have fun. I'm all for that! I also watched as my buddy drove the road pony, and then we all drove her mini that she just learned drove. I'm working on uploading the video now, so I'll post it when it finishes 

After that, we went to a clinic/how to workshop for some of my clubs. It wasn't bad, but the highlight was watching this handsome horse work in lines. He's a Dutch Harness Horse, and is undefeated in the Netherlands and mostly undefeated here (I believe he took second in one class). He's broke to ride and drive. Super, super awesome personality. Eight years old, stallion, and barely wears any shoes for weight. He's all natural, no action devices to get him stepping higher, doesn't use the whip on him, and he's in a fat snaffle. He makes me wish I had a purebred Arab to breed to him haha! Videos of him coming in the next post too, once it finishes.



















I also picked up our awards for the SAHIBA highpoint! SUPER excited about them! They include a roller bag for miscellaneous items (the zebra one), a hay bale bag (the black one), a bag for a full bag of grain (blue one), and an awesome bracelet with Izzie's name on it  they couldn't do her registered name since it was too long, but everyone knows her barn name haha!


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## Tazzie

Videos!!

Here is me and Blair driving the mini 






And here is that handsome DHH in action with two different people. Clark is his regular handler. Duane is our region president. I had more of Clark, but it's a longer video (over two minutes), but I'd be happy to post it. He does some exciting airs above the ground in it :lol:


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## egrogan

:rofl:
"Mr. Pickles"!!!!!!!
:rofl:


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## PoptartShop

^I love that, Mr. Pickles! :rofl: How cute!!! Looks like so much fun. That name is just adorable.

What a handsome boy, too! I love your bracelet & that beautiful award from the banquet. Well done!!!   Izzie is gonna be happy on Thursday when she gets an adjustment. Yay!


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## knightrider

Those videos were wonderful. Mr. Pickles looks like a Thelwell horse if there ever was one!


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## Tazzie

Haha! Mr. Pickles is the name he came with too  he's pretty darn awesome! He definitely does remind one of a Thelwell pony :lol:

Allison, he definitely was a handsome boy!! And Izzie will LOVE her adjustment. Her chiro is one of her favorite people :lol: thank you! I need to reorganize my curio cabinet now :lol: too many awards, no where to put them! Oops!


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## Zexious

Izzie is such an awesome student; you two really are a great team! I love, love, love seeing all these wonderful updates from you (and the pictures... we all know that's my favorite part  ). Let us know how this latest Laser treatment goes. Hopefully it continues to do her all that good! As for the weight? It's just them winter woolies ;D (at least, that's what I always tell myself xD)

Congratulations on the high point award! What a gorgeous bust!<3

Post pictures of Hemi, the next time you go out to see him <3 That Dutch Harness Horse is a hunk. Wow ;O;

Love the awards! Keep up the fantastic work! <3


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## Tazzie

Zexious, she really is  I love her dearly! I do love taking pictures too :lol: I'll definitely keep everyone posted how they go! The girl doing the treatment is one of Izzie's favorite people (since she makes her not hurt anymore), and I know I'll be hearing updates! I have a feeling she'll become a barn favorite down there :lol: and she is quite woolly too! She's just extra prepared for winter :lol:

Thank you! And yes!! Hoping to redo my curio cabinet tonight with her awards and make it look better  put all her big awards in there!

I'll post some here too  I posted them in the Confession thread as well! He's a sweetie! I'm honestly super excited to show him! Kind of hoping it'll help with showing Izzie too. Kind of take the pressure off my diva a bit! And isn't he?? Absolutely deserves his man bits. At the end he just stood there with the lines dropped while his owner/handler just talked. And boy when you clapped, he stood TALL and proud!

We will be trying to!! Will be a touch lighter this year, but still fun! Blair wants Izzie to come down in mid June so she can show her (we have a family reunion that day). She has two youth riders that are really good, and Izzie will probably show with them too. Blair was like "they are going to fight over who gets to show Izzie in trail in hand". I was like talk to management. Wouldn't be the first time one horse was shown by two people at one show! It's not like everyone goes at once!

Here is Hemi  he's gotten taller and wider since then too! LOVE him!


















And just ignore the babble here :lol:


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## DanteDressageNerd

Awww you and Izzie make a great team, it's good to see you two together 

The saddlebred looks like a blast to ride! I really like saddlebreds, they usually lack the strength for the higher levels but are just fun, good minded horses


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## Tazzie

Thanks Cassie  she's a good girl! And I've seen some pretty talented Saddlebreds. I'm in a group for Saddlebreds and Saddlebred Crosses for Dressage, and it's fun to watch 

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Whew, update!

Izzie saw her chiro on Thursday. She wasn't out in the poll, but she was massively out in her rib cage. She also had a few spots along her back, her right shoulder, and her left stifle. She was very pleased to have him work on her. Bonus, nothing was ouchy in the hips! YAY! Though of course my Diva would be in heat first day of February *face palm*

Friday evening Nick began putting his dad's gooseneck hitch in his truck since our truck is down until the new injectors come in. He had to finish putting it in Saturday evening.

Saturday afternoon was the saddle fitting appointment. We borrowed Nick's brother's truck (formerly owned by Nick lol) to haul Izzie to the indoor up the road. Our area was slop and not conducive to a really good test. Izzie is not in any shape as her body has been out and the saddle didn't fit. Thankfully the fitter entirely understood :lol: she asked what I thought of the fitter that came out in a pinch in July. I said I did NOT like him, that he never did get the saddle stable, and that it wouldn't stop riding up on Izzie's shoulders. Told her he told us to just use the front billet (I have a three point billet saddle), which Izzie was NOT a fan of. I told her we rode in a non slip pad the rest of the year with plans to have her come out around this time (knowing we always give Izzie time off). WELL. She said she had chatted with him about it. And told me how he had reflocked it made ZERO sense for Izzie and her saddle. Low and behold, my saddle was FAR over flocked. She took out SO much wool it was honestly astounding. She took out a bunch and I test rode. Izzie didn't want to canter and threw a tantrum. I grabbed my whip and got her to, but still wasn't quite right. Fitter said she noticed a touch of rocking at the posting trot, so she wanted to remove more and try again (thinking something was overstuffed in the middle causing the teetering). Well, she took out a bunch. And Izzie was GAME to canter. WHEW! It's not 100% perfect since Izzie is quite fat and lacks a lot of muscle, but it's sufficient to begin fitting her back up.

I talked to her about Equine Affaire since I knew she was there last year. I said I was demoing this year. She was like "with who??" I said I was the Arabian Dressage demo. She was STOKED! Said Izzie would be a great example of a Dressage horse since I really focus on making her through and round and not just worrying about her headset. That I have high standards for her, and that even unfit and fat you could still tell I worked her correctly! So the plan is she'll recheck/redo the saddle at Equine Affaire, free of charge 

She also told us about these new brushes she sells. We couldn't buy them right then, but plan to at Equine Affaire. They are called KBF99 brushes. Izzie gets a weird thing every summer, so Nick and I are keen to try them on her. I'd never heard of them prior, but they are worth of shot! We'd be getting the two dandy brushes (both long and short) and the body brush.

KBF99 Products

Sunday we brought Izzie down for her treatments. She'll be there around a week, and hoping she'll be lasered a few times within that span! I think last time she had four treatments in a week and never had to touch it again. SO! High hopes haha! She also gets to partake in an equine Jacuzzi :lol: can you say spoiled rotten pony?? The barn owner seemed smitten with her, and cracked up when I told her some of her quirks. Like, she only likes drinking out of orange buckets (sad, but true...), grain her before giving her evening hay because she will leave her grain for hay, and that if she pretends something is scary just say "knock it off." I said she's 100% bluff on the ground, and that my kids can lead her. I also wished them luck cleaning her stall because she trashes the place :lol: she is FAR from a lady!

We were able to leave the trailer at Blair's place too, which helped get us home easier! While there I got to snag a ride on my favorite Saddlebred  his top line is severely lacking, and he's still a baby in his mind (he's four). We just have to take it slow. Establishing forward first, and working a bit with leg yield at the walk since he is SO heavy on his inside shoulder both directions. But he's a good egg. You can see how weak his top line is in these pictures. He TOWERS over me on the ground, and has never really been asked to bring his hind end in, so he's a challenge. We had a disagreement about going right which made Nick nervous, but he doesn't make me nervous like Izzie can. Izzie reacts and you don't always feel her doing it. Hemi is so large that you feel as he's about to jump sideways so you can prepare while trying to asking him to stay straight. We did eventually get some decent work though! Anytime he offered to put his head down I praised him immensely for it. So no critiques :wink: he was very, very lightly worked and shown last year, and this is his second actual ride this year. So he's far from perfect, though I think he's perfect just because he TRIES. We are also working up to a longer rein :wink: he's always been ridden on a short rein, and any longer means GO FAST to him. By the end I can get him going a bit longer, and he'll walk on the buckle for a cool out.


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## Tihannah

So glad you got the saddle adjusted for Izzie. It's so frustrating when you're paying people to do things they don't have a clue about and are just guessing and make the situation worse! I think it's great that Izzie is so physically verbal when something is off. She lets you know when something is wrong. A lot of horses just bare through it until it gets really bad and then you have more issues to deal with.

Nice job on the saddlebred! He's cute! It's always fun to get to ride and work with other horses - get a different feel. Will you be riding him more often now?


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## Tazzie

Yeah, I was very frustrated. This lady is GOOD with very wide/round horses, and this other guy just isn't apparently. And yes, even though Izzie drives me INSANE with how verbal she is, I wouldn't change a thing about it. She knows when she just has to relax and work, or when we are seeking her full opinion. It fascinated me after the saddle was readjusted for the second time that she was a lot happier in everything. Always blows my mind!

Thank you! I love him  and yes! I love getting a chance to ride him! I probably won't be able to ride super often since Blair is two hours away from me, but I know if I'm down there for shows I have the opportunity. That and Blair knows exactly how I'm riding him, and can mimic it since I'm riding him how I rode Izzie when she was a baby and learning. So I have full faith Blair will be helping to get him good and fit and ready to show since I won't be able to be down there as often as I'd like. But I should be able to ride him again on Saturday 

And oh yeah! I'd mentioned to our saddle fitter the plans to breed Izzie hopefully next year (through embryo transfer) and she SQUEALED! The fact that all these people love Izzie THAT much that THEY think it's a great idea to breed her is exciting! Haha!


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## DanteDressageNerd

That's fantastic that you got the saddle refitted and have decided to breed Izzie. That sounds super exciting! Equine Jacuzzi? Im jealous! But glad you're back on her and are back to developing together  that's exciting!

I like saddlebreds, they're good horses with honest brains and good work ethics. Im breaking one atm. Are you going to do much riding on him?


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## Tazzie

I'm pretty excited! Exciting times are ahead  and YES! I can hardly wait to hear what she thinks of the Jacuzzi haha! I won't be back riding her until next week since she's down getting the laser therapy, but I'll be excited to get her back and get her fit again!

I'll be getting to ride Hemi as often as I'm down there, and I know she wants me to show him. He can show as a Hunter, but it has to be with an Amateur rider so she can't do it. But he's not ready for a full bridle yet, so she's letting me have fun with him  she'll also be riding him to help get him in shape, and she knows how I'm riding him. I know she'll continue that too 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, yesterday was... interesting. I got news that a family friend lost her daughter. She had severe mental retardation from what was presumed to be shaking at birth (prior to the "shaken baby syndrome" title). She was I *think* in her 20's. We feel horrible and are sending a card as we love this person very much.

Then I walk out to see my car was backed into in the parking lot. So that didn't help my mood at all.

My meeting ran long last night, so I didn't get home until late. And just BLAH!

But Izzie's first day went well. She massaged where I told her was sore (and she found to be dead on) for about 15-20 minutes, lasered it for 30 minutes, and then polticed it. Said Izzie loved it and didn't palpate any soreness after the first treatment. Fingers crossed!

Here is a picture of her looking drunk tied up :lol:










And a picture I was sent with a message saying the guy asked why that horse was grabbing his horse, and then said she's a funny horse and he likes her :lol:


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## phantomhorse13

Hmm, not sure I can "like" the post above - so sorry for your friend's loss.

Glad to hear about the positive saddle fitting and all the spa treatments for your girl. I was interested to read about those special brushes - I hope they publish the studies they say are being done as I find the concept fascinating but admit to being skeptical about it being effective in the real world. Hemi looks like so much fun (my slow internet finally let me watch the video you posted last week) and I think its great for you to be able to ride different horses.


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## Tazzie

I am super glad the fitting went well. And yeah, I'm curious about studies, but with what we battle every year with her... it's worth it to jump in and try them. She's left vets stumped on what it could be, so not like I have much to lose. I'll be sure to give my opinion of them when we get them :wink:

He really is! I love that I get to ride him  he's the one Saddlebred at her place that didn't completely scare me. Her game park horses make me nervous since it's entirely different style. But even when Hemi has his big trot going I never feel nervous. Probably helps I've gotten to ride him in my old Dressage saddle, so I feel more secure :lol:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Exciting news! Izzie was nominated for the Region 14 Half Arabian Horse of the Year  she's against some steep competition (including national champions), but I'm excited!


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## PoptartShop

Oh gosh, I am so sorry to hear that about your friend. :sad:  That is horrible news. Aw. 

That is exciting, CONGRATS!!!  YAY! That is amazing. I would be excited too, and super giddyyyy!!! Psh, you know she will be the prettiest horse there. *hairflip* LOL.
She is such a ham, I love it!


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## DanteDressageNerd

I'm so sorry for your friend's loss :-( that's really unfortunate. I can't even imagine losing a child. 

But CONGRATULATIONS on you and Izzie's Nomination!! That's fabulous  And what a lucky girl getting all kinds of special treatments. She should count her blessings that you're such a great horse mom, I'm also glad you're getting to enjoy the saddlebred! Looks fun! I'm glad you enjoy riding him and are having such a good time!


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## Tazzie

Allison, thank you. I know it wasn't unexpected, but it's still devastating. I just couldn't even imagine 

I am pretty excited! Haha, I sure think so :lol: I know two or three have better records only because they've shown nationally, but Izzie has a higher win percentage overall. That and I know she's personable with people she doesn't know :lol: one of the horses wouldn't allow them to put anything around his neck; he bolted backwards with zero regard if someone was behind him. And one doesn't have a record from what I saw!

---------------------------------------------------------------

Cassie, I can't either :/ it was expected to happen, but still. She's at peace now though. I just wish I were home to give her a hug from us.

And thank you! I'm excited! There *could* be a chance we win, but still. Highly unlikely. The Ohio clubs usually win everything. But I might have two Kentucky clubs backing us... so who knows. I'm sure she does :lol: we are good for each other. He is a lot of fun! Riding him again on Saturday! 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So Izzie is responding VERY well to treatments. She was considerably less sore the day after the first treatment, and just getting better. She's meeting my friend at the door since she knows what time it is :lol:

She's also become the entertainment of the barn. I was sent this video and it cracked me up. She honestly enjoys nose kisses :lol: but I think this guy is becoming smitten with her :lol:

I'm super excited to get her home! HOPEFULLY will get to hop on her Sunday, but they are calling for mixed precipitation, so we will see what the weather does. Dying to get on her though!


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## carshon

I think he is smitten. I love that she responds so well to her name.


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## Tazzie

I think so too  hard not to be with her though :lol: she wants all the love haha! And yeah she does  she's our oversized dog :lol:


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## DanteDressageNerd

Aww she's so personable! She certainly knows how to steal the show, what a ham!

Maybe you win, maybe you wont but either way I'll be rooting for you two  I hope you get it!


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## Tazzie

She sure is a ham :lol: I wouldn't change a thing about her. And I'm hoping I will. Projecting a positive hope on it. It'd be pretty amazing to win it!

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Whew, what a weekend!

Yesterday we went to pick up the trailer at Blair's so we could go pick up our diva. But first we watched my friend drive a road horse that was Amish broke. He's cute, but he definitely needs to be tuned up. I think he's going to be pretty awesome when he gets rolling!

Next I rode Hemi  we tried without the martingale, and quickly realized he's not quite ready to be out of it for the warm up. His head and neck were totally vertical and no amount of asking would bring it down. He hit the martingale a couple times, realized nothing was budging, and gave up. He was game to go though, goodness! Had a few lovely strides at the canter where I felt him bring his hind under him a bit more than normal (he's a very large horse and very strung out at the moment). But I was able to give him a bit of rein and have him lower his head AND not speed up. Progress! Our trot was some of our best work yet. I actually had a few fleeting moments where I felt him lift his back, but he's just not strong enough to carry himself like that for long. And I don't push. We've mostly been working on not diving on the inside shoulder and our rhythm. His trot wasn't mach speed, and while it was hard, he did well with it. Was able to change directions at the trot, which confused him but he handled it well. Even had a baby attempt at stretching at the trot. I just fed the reins out and he followed it down. Not a true stretch since his back was not engaged, but I wanted to build the concept a bit with seeking the contact. His typical response to more rein is to shoot his head up and go faster. He didn't speed up at all. I kept it very short still since this is HARD work that he's not used to. And he tried so hard to do what I was asking there was no reason to push him. He is also getting better about not leaning on the inside shoulder. Overall, very pleased with the progress so far.

After Hemi, we drove Mister Pickles. I rode with each of the kids, and they had a blast! When we finished, Syd gave him a pat, said "I want one" and looked up at me. Blair lost it :lol: I honestly wouldn't be opposed to getting a mini for fun....

Then we went to grab our diva. Miss Diva was NOT interested in getting in the jacuzzi for them at all. So, we tried. Yeah, no. We got her closer than they did, but she didn't want to go down the ramp into the water. My guess is she didn't trust the footing and was worrying about slipping. She didn't make a noise or move when I was splashing water at her, just didn't want to walk down the rubber mats. That's my best guess at least.

But we took her to Blair's to give her a test ride. Her walking lateral work was LOADS better than it's been. For a while her haunches in have been sticky, which made sense with where she was sore. They flowed. I turned down the centerline for a walking half pass, and even Nick was like "WOW! That's the best she's been in AGES!" Picked up the trot with zero fuss, and she stayed perfectly round, through, and on the bit. Her back was swinging happily under me and she was all about doing circles at the trot. Just super, super happy. Picked up left lead canter, which was our really bad, hard way. She picked it up happily (read: NO SQUEALING or grunting), and was happy. Attempted minimal collection and for the most part she was very good. Did swap a couple times in the hind, but always in the exact same spot. Blair said it's a bit unlevel there, so I'm not blaming soreness on that. Moreso no strength to truly collect and carry herself and a loss of balance. To the right we had a bit of bucking, but I blame me. I asked too loud when I already knew she was game. Brought her back, asked her quieter, and she popped right into it. She just didn't like me yelling at her :lol:

So I'm pumped to get her back into shape. We'd already been planning to focus mostly on walk and trot to rebuild the fitness and hind end strength before going to the canter. I'm pretty stoked 

Here is a cute picture of the kids with her at Blair's  Syd had asked to sit on her first, but Nick wasn't around when she was up. They found her scratchy place too, which made her SUPER happy :lol:


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## DanteDressageNerd

I saw the video of Pickles and thought that was pretty cute/looked like a lot of fun! 

Glad you're making progress with Hemi and he's starting to transition to some dressage concepts. And I'm really glad to hear Izzie sounds like she's back on track, I hope all the special treatments help and keep her where she needs to be to get in shape. 

She's a really good babysitter and kids horse, you certainly trade her for the world with all of her qualities


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## Tazzie

It was a blast! I now want to pick driving up :lol:

He's fun! I know eventually he will go back to English Pleasure/Five Gaited, but he's fun to play with now! Hoping to go back down this weekend if I can  Nick is gone riding on his side by side all weekend, so I want to sneak down to ride.

Diva definitely seems back on the right track! Hopefully I can get some rides in this week! It rained/snowed/etc last night, so won't be today. And poured yesterday, so the place is a total mess. Excited to get her working again!

She really is  I wouldn't trade her for anything. Syd actually led her to the trailer too, and she just followed quietly. Until Syd started doing a goofy walk. Then I had to take Izzie so Syd didn't step right where Izzie was about to step!


Really the only update I have is toying around with the idea to send Izzie to Blair this coming winter and have her broke to drive. There are classes at Sport Horse Nationals she can do, and it'd be a change of pace for her. Might be something we can all enjoy too.


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## phantomhorse13

Love the update!

If Ms Diva is ever at the place with the jacuzzi again, you might try backing her in. A place I worked at had one and sometimes the horses that didn't want to go in forwards were fine with backing in. She may be too smart to fall for that trick though. :wink:

I think having her trained to drive would be excellent! Always good to have her learning more skills and it sure would be fun for you and the kids.


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## Tazzie

We tried backing in actually :lol: she was not having it. All she wanted to do was back up, so I said FINE! Backed her around in a circle, and came up to it with her backing. Yeah, no. Even with Nick and another lady blocking her haunches from swinging, she was NOT doing it :lol: she is definitely far too smart for her own good.

And I actually talked to Blair about it this afternoon. She is 100% game, and lending us blinkers when we go down to start just having her walk with them on. Said that'll probably be her biggest hurdle since I've done so much ground work with her already (which she'll have a refresher course this summer). One of the classes at Sport Horse Nationals (SHN) that I'd LOVE to do is a drive and ride class. You enter driving, go first direction, and then park in the middle to unhook and tack up. Looked like a blast!

That and I told Blair how fun it'd be if we got her a cute little carriage and me, Nick and the kids all rode in it for the fair. She was like "Kaleb in a mini tux and Syd in a mini sparkly dress??? SO MUCH YES!" So... she's game haha! Said she's guessing Izzie would only take 30 days, but I assured her if it took longer I'd be ok with it. I'd want her good and broke if we can!


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## DanteDressageNerd

It sounds really positive so far  I hope Blair and Izzie are having lots of fun and can bring in more points! 

Driving is SO fun!! I can't wait to see pictures and updates of Izzie pulling a carriage! She really will be Miss versatile, that's wonderful!! Syd is going to have so much fun with her when she's big enough!


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## Tihannah

Driving seems like it'd be so fun, and Izzie would probably be great at it, like everything else she tries! Lol.


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## Tazzie

Cassie, Izzie's home :wink: she'd be going to Blair's this winter if we can swing it. Blair will probably show her a few times this year for fun (and has a couple kids she wants to experience a horse like Izzie), but that wouldn't be until June. We will see!

And yes! I'm refraining from looking at carriages since we aren't there yet. I'd hate to find one I just couldn't live without and not be able to afford it. That and I would REALLY need Blair's input about it. I truly know zip about driving and everything needed, so she'll have to hold my hand with it. But I sure think so! And Kaleb too! I know he enjoyed driving the mini 

------------------------------------------------------------

Tina, I think so! It'd definitely be something new and fun to play with!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Whew, so I snuck a ride in last night. It's going to rain every day as far as my weather app shows, with the exception of Saturday. So I wanted to get one in!

The ground was a total mess. We had standing water in our area we ride, and in front of the barn is just trashed. Just awful and going to get worse *sigh*

We tossed the baucher back on her now that we know the saddle is fixed, she's in alignment, and her body doesn't hurt. We weren't going to be doing anything at speed, so it was a good day to work in it. I also tossed our new Back on Track saddle pad on her too since it was going to be a short ride. I know you have to start slow with them so as not to overwhelm them.

Oh man. She tried to root a bit in the very beginning, but got over it. We kept everything just super, super simple. Since the ground was excessively muddy I didn't want to work long in it. It's harder to work when the ground is that bad!

Anyway, I did a bunch of walk work. Lots of leg yields to lift and stretch her back legs nicely. Went into a shoulder in, and then haunches in. Man, they are already better than ever. Still need our strength back, but I'm excited. A bit sticky in the walking half passes, but the ground was just soup. They weren't bad, but they can be better.

Picked up the trot and did a couple leg yields that were ridiculously nice. I stayed the whole time in posting trot since her back needs to strengthen up again for me to sit the trot. Did shoulder in and haunches in that were super nice. Half pass she was confused. I've never posted the half pass before, so she kept trying to leg yield instead. I got a couple steps, but nothing to write home about.

Nick asked where she'd been hiding that trot as it was SUPER nice. We bobbled a few times above the vertical, but I really couldn't fault her any. She's had roughly four months off from any true work, so it'll take time for consistency to come back. I was over all very pleased though. I tried to stretch her, but she was begging to canter instead. Canter would have been dangerous on that footing, so ultimately I had to get what stretch she would give me and call it a day. She had a mouth full of foam though! Fingers are tightly crossed she'll love the bit eventually.

After we packed everything up to leave the field, she took off on right lead canter, did a GORGEOUS flying lead change, and cantered so beautifully left she'd make a Warmblood jealous :lol: I just stood there in awe and told Nick I could watch her all day. The motion she had going was just amazing! She REALLY felt GOOD!


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## PoptartShop

Driving would be fun & a great learning experience.  I say go for it! I also agree- Izzie would do well! She is a superstar!

Glad you got a ride in, it's been SO nasty & muddy here too. Ugh, can't stand it. :sad: So happy you ended on a great note too. I bet she felt amazing. YAY!!! Awwwww, so proud! Foam foam foam! Foam is good. I think she will adjust to the bit in no time.
It is really hard to ride in that darn muck. Ugh. But I am glad she was so good for you, and knowing she is feeling better too is great. <3


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## Tihannah

Wow, sounds like she's feeling great! I wish I could send Forrest for some treatment like that. I'm sure he could really use it. So glad you had a nice ride and she's showing improvement. I love that you're one of those owners that do your best to listen to your horse when she's trying to tell you something is off. I've been following your journey for awhile now, and you have always worked hard to put her comfort and health first, and I think this is why she has become such a great versatile mount for you. You always say how lucky you are to have such a great horse, but I think she's equally lucky to have an owner that cares so much to not only keep her healthy and strong, but develop her correctly! All of those lovely ribbons are a true reflection of that!


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## Tazzie

Allison, I really think so too  it'd be fun for sure!

Yeah, the mud is AWFUL! I hate it! But YES! Happy foam is a good thing! She played and moved with the bit some, but I honestly expected that. She hasn't worn a full metal bit in.... nearly four years? Maybe only three. I really don't remember. But I desperately want to have her happy in a bit that is legal for Dressage! It really was great 

-----------------------------------------------------------

Tina, if you message me your location, I can probably ask my friend if she'd know anyone! We've really found them beneficial so far, it's really shown to work! I'm happy too 

And thank you <3 her health and happiness has always been first and foremost on our minds, and we plan to keep it that way. I never want her to shut down and not tell me when something is off. She's not always an easy horse, but she'll always be my favorite! But thank you for the kind words <3 they really mean a lot 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, forgot to say! We are working on finding shows to get Hemi qualified for the Hunt Seat Nationals in St. Louis this fall! We might be bringing him to WV to get it done! She's also now asking about USDF shows, so maybe she wants him to venture into Dressage too?? Obviously low levels, but I don't believe it'd be out of the realm of possibility for him. May have to check with Nick about it!

And if Izzie likes this bit.... and we're already going to be going to USDF shows.... maybe get Izzie into her first rated Dressage shows?? Hemi would at most do Training Level as he's not quite ready for the requirements for First. But Izzie would be more than okay with First Level.

Thus begins my afternoon of pondering :lol:


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## twixy79

Tazzie you would love driving! We have done some with Duke and Loretta since that is what they know and do best. We are planning on investing in a sleigh once we have our own land. I want to be able to offer sleigh rides to friends and family that visit in the winter. And the idea of being able to give them some light exercise whenever I want seems like a win-win for everyone! I know what you mean about not looking at carts you can't afford. I saw that most beautiful Cinderella -esque carriage for sale. Do I need it? Heck no. But do I want it? Well, I'd like to get to ride in it at least once.... I can just imagine Duke with his luxurious hair blowing in the breeze pulling me down a long driveway in the fall with beautiful foliage surrounding us. A girl and her old man (horse). Well my husband said I spend more time talking to Duke some days than I do him (and he is right)


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## Tazzie

I know I would  and Blair is definitely gung-ho about teaching her! I definitely like being able to give them light exercise still. Izzie gets bored lunging, and there are times our saddle just plain doesn't fit. She could still be working when broke to drive  I just have images of a cute little carriage that all of us can ride in :lol: or at least me and the kids! It'd be a blast! That carriage does sound cute! But no way could I show in it :lol:


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## phantomhorse13

Tazzie said:


> I just have images of a cute little carriage that all of us can ride in :lol: or at least me and the kids! It'd be a blast!


The OD had someone donate a carriage/cart of some sort a couple years ago that is still sitting in a board member's garage.. I bet they would take any reasonable offer on it. If you are interested in details, I can ask and get you some pics.

(enabling? me?! )


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## Tazzie

Haha! I may take you up on that later! Right now we aren't in a position to buy a cart/carriage, but I'll definitely be interested in pictures!

And :lol: all I had to do was show Blair the pictures from last year's class and she was like "oh we're doing this." So I don't mind another enabler :lol:


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## DanteDressageNerd

That sounds wonderful Katie! It sounds like you two had a really lovely ride! I'm happy for you guys. Im glad she's doing so much better after her therapy treatments. It's amazing how much saddle fit and muscles can interfere but I'm really glad you're looking into teaching her to drive and having fun with that. Driving is really fun. I'm not an experienced driver but Ive had two driving lessons and got to drive a 3yr old and then a pro which was really quite nice. Also really nice how Izzie was showing how she can show off and show up. She's a really nice mare, very nice mechanics and gaits, I'm still looking forward to seeing you two progress on your journey together :-D


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## Tazzie

Thanks Cassie! I'm super happy  I haven't been able to ride since thanks to this blasted rain, but will today! I'm stoked to get her driving. I've driven the mini a couple of times, and I've gotten to drive the road pony. I liked the mini better :lol:

I am pumped to get a ride in tonight though! Almost did yesterday, but the wind was HOWLING. I didn't need to get on a fresh horse in the slick mud with the wind howling. I'd rather not die :lol:

I did get to ride Hemi on Saturday though! He was super good! Aside from when my barn owner tried to kill me :lol: they use a bag whip to excite the Saddlebreds, and the park horse had been ridden before I rode Hemi. He was fine with it on the ground, but they decided to move it. Well, I was cantering directly toward Cliff when he lifted the bag into the air. Hemi went "NOPE! I'm outta here!" and did a 180 at the canter. He's every bit of 17 hands. I nearly didn't stay on. He was HOT afterward, but I got him settled. Even rode our first Dressage tests! Just Intro A and B, but he was super good for his first ever attempt. Going off the rail is still a very new concept for him, so diagonals were confusing. But he tried and that is all I cared about!

My kiddos got a pony ride on him too :lol:


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## DanteDressageNerd

Im really glad you got to ride your girl! I can imagine how hard it is to ride when the weather isn't cooperating! I hope you had a good ride  Driving is really fun! I cant wait to see Izzie in front of a cart!

Aww Hemi looks like a real sweetheart! I'm glad you're having so much fun riding him and that he's figuring out to go for a non-saddlebred show! Should be fun!


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## Tazzie

It's awful. I HATE this weather! Just doesn't help anything, ugh! And I can't either haha!

I am too  it seems to be helping me a lot too, which is nice  and he is a total sweetheart. We call him a unicorn :lol: he's just so awesome!

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, I got to ride! I was worried I wouldn't. Traffic is AWFUL coming through Cincinnati around 5 pm. I left work at 4:30, so it was before 5 when I got into Cincy. Took me until around 5:30 to get into Kentucky. I was not a happy camper... but I made it! And Nick had Izzie all ready for me!

I hopped on and off we went. Tried to root a bit, but I stopped her from that (on a long rein btw, my horse is special....). Did some excellent lateral work at the walk and trot. Well, excellent for her level of fitness :lol: but her leg yields feel A LOT better than they have in previous years, so yay!

She was itchy to canter, so I found a dryish spot to go for it. Wasn't sure what to expect. Last time I asked her to canter there were some airs above the ground since I asked too loudly. And the last time I cantered her in her new bit she bolted (but we couldn't tell if it was a bit issue, the saddle, her need for an adjustment, or her need for that laser therapy). So, I risked it. And it was MARVELOUS! I actually started laughing while we were cantering, and it was the most relaxed I've seen her go. It wasn't exactly uphill (she is NOT fit enough to navigate the slick mud AND be as uphill as she can be), but she also wasn't on the forehand. Coming down to the trot we slipped in the mud and swapped leads before trotting. But I could feel it was a slip and not a pain thing (I'm believing at least...)

Overall, a very good ride! Once again though I believe I've left my horse frustrated and wanting more of a work because she took off in that beautiful canter I could watch all day. In all fairness though, it was mid seventies and she has a THICK winter coat still. I didn't need to overheat my horse!

Now for the video :lol: she was so unamused with me. And then pictures with the kids


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## carshon

She has the most expressive face!


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## Tazzie

Haha, yeah she does :lol: I've always said that horse can talk better than any other animal I've owned. She can give me a look and I can have an entire conversation with her :lol:


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## DanteDressageNerd

I'm really glad. It sounds like she's doing really well! I'm really glad her leg yields are so stellar. She really is a very exceptional, nice mare :-D I'm so glad your canter was so much better than last time and you felt confident in her, I bet your confidence helped her be confident!

I love how good she is with the kids! She absolutely loves them and really looks after them like a good big sister


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## Tazzie

It makes me excited for this year! The new bit is legal for Dressage too since we don't have to wrap it with latex, so HOPING we can jump back into the sandbox a bit this year! I've missed it!

I'm sure my confidence helped her a lot  almost seven years together and we are still figuring each other out :lol: but it makes me happy! Love her!

And she's seriously the best. Kaleb held the lead while Nick untacked her, and she didn't go far (she fake spooks at her saddle pad...). Kaleb asked her to step up and she did :lol:

Not much to report. It's been raining heavily here the last couple days, so no riding. Tomorrow we are heading to Michigan for a visit, so no riding this weekend. Supposed to rain anyway. So hoping next week! I did get permission to use the indoor up the road, and it sounds like it's free of charge now! So might have to take advantage of that if this weather is going to persist like it is! I won't abuse the privilege obviously, but in our current situation I'll gladly accept that help!


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## phantomhorse13

OMG the grey mare faces - I love it!

Also got a chuckle over your excitement with Hemi. I never could understand the thought process behind sensitizing horses to common things like plastic bags or whips cracking. Goodness knows to get my arabs energized, all I need to do it up my own energy level and project it..


The indoor up the roads sounds like a great opportunity - take advantage.


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## Tazzie

Haha, she has plenty of them, that's for sure!

Yeah, I'm not a big fan. Dislike that and the little plastic bag piece Arab people put on their whips for halter. Just unnecessary in my opinion. They just like Saddlebreds to look excited I guess. Hemi didn't find it exciting, he found it terrifying! But he's also never been exposed to something like that at all. He's kind of a scaredy cat for how big he is :lol: and yeah... for Izzie I just have to point her at an arena and she does the rest. She likes showing a little TOO much some days...

We definitely will! It'll be a bit of a pain since we'll be hooking up the trailer to go a very short distance, but I've ridden it once. Too many blind curves with a steep drop off, and you have to cross a bridge with little in the way of railings to get over it. This time of year that creek is rushing (particularly since everything is flooding currently). So, just have to convince Nick :lol:


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## phantomhorse13

Tazzie said:


> It'll be a bit of a pain since we'll be hooking up the trailer to go a very short distance, but I've ridden it once. Too many blind curves with a steep drop off, and you have to cross a bridge with little in the way of railings to get over it. This time of year that creek is rushing (particularly since everything is flooding currently).




Trailer it is!!


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## Tazzie

Yeah, that's my intention :lol: the bridge is narrow (like, I freak out when Nick is pulling out of there to go back to where Izzie lives since it's turning the "wrong way" out of the driveway (Cliff lives further down the dead end road than this BO, so no one needs to turn left out of her driveway, except us). The rails *might* come up to my waist, and I'm 5'2"... and it's rather high above the creek. The one time I rode it (trailer was stuck in the mud), I got off and walked her across the bridge. I tried to find pictures of it, but there aren't any online. I'll snap a picture one of these days :lol:


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## DanteDressageNerd

Have fun in Michigan and glad the kids are having so much fun with Izzie  at least this weekend that you're out of town was rainy, so you're not missing out.


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## Tazzie

Yup, it's a mess here. The Ohio River is eight feed above flood level. It's astounding how much flooding there is. Nick and I are going to drive around tonight and look at the damage. It's just unbelievable here.

I do hope to squeeze in a ride tomorrow night after work before even more rain comes. Getting super tired of the rain. And the arena I can ride at is at a low point on their farm. I'll be able to survey tomorrow what the possibility would be to bring here there for a ride. Hoping it hasn't come up to the arena. The perk is the arena is by the creek, not the Licking River. The Licking has also flooded too, so I imagine Izzie's field is a disaster too. I told Nick I want to do a bit of work, but then hack around and survey how bad everything is. Going to charge up my helmet cam so you all can see what it's like down there, and it'll be after it's gone down some too. It's just really, really bad here.

We had a blast in Michigan though. Celebrated Kaleb's birthday with my mom and dad, so that was fun. Mom wanted to take Kaleb shopping for his birthday :lol: Kaleb loved that idea haha! His official birthday is the 5th, so we will celebrate then.

Nick also finished the gift for my mom. It's GORGEOUS. It's her birthday/Christmas present for however many years Nick wants it to be for :lol: it was a lot of work making it, and he had no pattern to go off of. The finished product is stunning though! It's for her essential oils since she's into the Young Living oils. She's super, super excited about it!

Here is the box:


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## DanteDressageNerd

Jesus that sounds like an intense amount of flooding, I hope there isn't too much damage. Floods can be devastating. 

Aww I hope Caleb had a great 5th birthday! 

I'm sorry there is so much rain and a swamp field, so no riding but I hope your house and everything is well and no flood worries!

The essentials oil box is GORGEOUS! It looks really well made! Nick does beautiful work, he's really talented!


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## Tazzie

It's totally nuts. Just ugh to it all! His birthday isn't until Monday, but we had to celebrate with my family :lol:

I should get a ride in tonight! Also going to survey the flooding down by Izzie. Ugh. And he is very talented! Love him!



Well, Nick and I drove around last night to survey some of the flooding near us. We are thankfully one of the tallest points in the county, so we won't be under water at all (if we are, it's a national disaster). It's just astounding to see the flooding.

This is the dam near us. Notice how the dam is wide open and water is even on both sides. That is not how it normally is...



















(This is the locks you see on the other side of the river)









The spot where the ferry is. Those poles are typically on land




























Some of the flooding downtown in this city, and a road that is flooded near the river




























I don't know how tall this building was, but it's currently submerged










Under this bridge is supposed to be a boat ramp... (click to have them upright)



















And this is the drive leading to where the boat ramp is; boat ramp is up on the left (click to have upright)


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## Fimargue

Gorsh, the flooding is horrible! :shock: And to think that some places here have this every year. 

We had so much rain as well and instead of having fields around, we had lakes. And some of the walking paths were under water. Now it's pretty much gone, we have minus degrees during the night and morning and apparently it should snow at some point. Looking forward to see that.

Nick's work is beautiful!

Hope you get to ride!!


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## Tazzie

I know! I could never live in a place that floods that bad all the time! And this town wasn't even the worst of it. Parts of Indiana and Ohio declared a state of emergency. Cincinnati is much worse, but Nick didn't want to go back up there after we'd already left (we work up there lol)

Yikes! We are expected to get more rain starting tonight through Thursday. Weather reports are saying it won't cause the river to rise again, but will make it remain steady. It's dropped about two feet in the last 24 hours, so it's moving in the correct direction at least. Thankfully no snow or freezing temps! We woke up to 37 degrees F, and it'll be 61 this afternoon, whew!

I do agree  he's super, super talented. I'm excited for him to make me a coffee table and end tables next for my ribbons :lol:

I should be able to, barring Nick working late! He wants to drive his toy around to check out the flooding around where my girl lives. She's not on the river that caused the major flooding, but the river she's near does flood. Ready for a bit of dry season to start!


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## Fimargue

Tazzie said:


> I should be able to, barring Nick working late! He wants to drive his *toy* around to check out the flooding around where my girl lives. She's not on the river that caused the major flooding, but the river she's near does flood. Ready for a bit of dry season to start!


:lol: Funny. Is it a four wheeler? 

I hope there is not much water where Izzie is. The place where I have my ponies is horrible, with mud, but right now I don't have the luxury to move them because I'm looking for a new job, and I don't know where that's going to be. I feel bad everytime I'm there. I'm so fed up with the person who keeps them, and get fed up with having to complain all the time how there is no hay again and her expecting me to feed all the horses when I'm there... I don't pay you for that sunshine. 

My OH likes working wood as well, and he is looking forward to build me some boxes - or at least renovate them lol. Looking forward to seeing those tables. 

Oh no for the rain. I'm so done with it as well. :evil: Let's hope for the rain to stop and some dry days to really start off the season!


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## PoptartShop

Happy early birthday to Caleb.  
So much water, sheesh!!! Still can't get over how much! AHH!! Lucky, enjoy your ride for me. I'm jealous!


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## Tazzie

@Fimargue, he has a Polaris side by side :lol: he's had it about two years now. It's his favorite toy haha! And I know it's going to be bad. It was bad last week, so I know it's only going to be worse. I hate it. Moving isn't really an option for us either. Kind of an is what it is right now. Aside from the mud it isn't that bad. He feeds extra hay when they've mowed the grass down or if it's excessively cold, and he lets us know if something is off with Izzie. But I have to meal prep for her because he doesn't always feed, and the others that help sometimes forget she gets stuff added. So now I make up little boxes of premixed grain, and all they have to do is dump it. Super easy. 

Here are a couple of pictures of his toy. The one with us standing in front of it was the day we brought it home 

















@PoptartShop, if you were here, I'd let you ride her! She's not fit, but she's still fun!!


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## DanteDressageNerd

Gosh the flooding looks horrible! How awful for people :-( 

I hope you get to ride Izzie and will have a good ride, I'm relieved to hear you guys live well above the flood plain (smart planning) but that's still scary! Hope everyone is okay!

Nick is very talented, hopefully he gets to play with his toy. I bet that'd be a blast!


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## Tazzie

It is awful :sad: it's receding now, so the damage is becoming evident. I can't even imagine :sad:

I did! And yeah, our house was owned by his uncle and he bought it for a good price. It's our starter home since there isn't really any acreage.

He is! And he did! He had fun 

--------------------------------------------------------------------

So, rode yesterday. She was testing me a lot in our trot work, which I guess I should have expected. The ground is soup which makes working hard. Like trot lateral work is so much harder right now because you just sink.

I cantered when I probably shouldn't have. I thought the saddle slid forward a bit (expected as the saddle will have to be adjusted at EA; this was planned), but Nick didn't think so. Wrong. Izzie tried to get me off, so that was a lot of fun. The canter was ok at best, when she wasn't bucking... bad pony.

I hopped off to adjust the saddle and climbed back on. Had hoped for a leisurely ride down to the river. HAHA. Anything but. Izzie has definitely decided Nick's toy is a suitable trail mate, and wanted to keep up with it. It was all I could do to keep her from cantering. On the way back she wanted to be particularly naughty, so lots and lots of shoulder in both directions. Figured if she wanted to be a butthead, she could work a million times harder than I had planned. For the record, I'd planned that we would walk it all. So someone was huffing by the end, which is not what I had wanted. She thinks she's way fitter than she is, and it's a large struggle. I wish it wasn't going to rain today so I could get down and work her again. I could haul to the arena, but I don't think Nick is up to that today *sigh* I'd have to see.

We did get the blinkers though :lol: and so it begins. Only thing she reacted to was Cliff and his pup Bruno walking behind her. Tried to turn to look once, but a quick "no" set her straight.


























Also @phantomhorse13, I took a quick video from right around the arena, and panned up so you could see roughly what I'm talking about. Driving a horse trailer on this road is not for the faint of heart :lol: our saddle fitter said she'd never be able to do it, driving on that road was bad enough.


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## phantomhorse13

So very sorry to see all the flooding.. I do not want to be a part of any "historic weather event." I hope the incoming storm doesn't drive the water any higher as there is already more than enough damage.

The video you shared is very pretty - from sitting here in my living room looking at it. 

Love that Izzie didn't mind the driving blinkers, but curious as to why the cup is so extensive. In my (limited) driving experience, assuming blinkers were used at all, they were the equivalent of full cup to keep the horse from startling at the cart behind it. Do you start out with those extensive cups and then back off when the horse has more training? [I learned with Standardbred racers.. so certainly wouldn't hold that method as the gold standard of anything.]


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## Tazzie

Yeah, it's bad. The arena we ride at is off to the left in that video. Cliff said it didn't look like that creek rose up into the arena. It was inches from it though. Just awful.

And yeah, I'm not comfortable riding across that bridge yet. She spooks, there is only a couple of options... and they include going over that short rail. No thanks. And up ahead is a blind curve (which is why I stopped filming before I got to it). I've ridden it once, but hopped off and led her across that bridge :lol:

Honestly I'm not 100% sure. It's what Blair gave to Cliff to get her started. I'm guessing it'd be to encourage her in particular to lower her head to see with where the open spots are? I know Blair doesn't want her head yanked up in the air like the main ring horses. She's a sport horse and will be driven as such. Blair's eventual goal is to not have any blinkers on Izzie while driving. Said if there is any horse that could handle it, it'd be Izzie. Other than that, I don't know why :lol: this is all far over my head, so I'm relying on Blair who has broke quite a few horses to drive :lol: the good news is, is that Blair is as excited as we are, and excited we are starting early to cover as much prework as we possibly can!


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## carshon

That road! We have to go on one very similar to a park we ride at. One of my very first backing experiences with a trailer was trying to back up the road and around a curve because a truck and trailer were coming up the hill toward me and there was a truck and trailer behind them. I cried (literally) until the driver of the truck got out and backed mine up to the top of the hill for me.


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## Tazzie

That's my every day life if I want to get down to Izzie. Thankfully it's VERY rare to run into someone on that stretch. Another part up the road scares me too, and I have met people there. Thankfully most people will move for you when you're hauling the trailer. Really the only other trailers that would be coming and going out of there would be the people that own that indoor. It's a dead end road. I don't believe I could back the trailer we use down that road without panicking. I'm just now getting better at backing it up to park it..


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## PoptartShop

Wow, that toy is pretty cool! He looks extra happy standing next to it too. LOL. So cute <3 

Love the picture with the beach/sun. Beautiful! & I'd totally ride her! She sounds like a lot of fun with a lot of spunk!


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## DanteDressageNerd

The area from the video looks incredible! I'm so glad Izzie was so good on the trail and you enjoyed her so well! 

Izzie looks unimpressed with the Blinkers but I'm SO excited for you guys to start driving her. I've always been told you always use blinkers are driving horses but maybe I'm wrong? IDK I work with a lady whose a very good driving training and don't have much experience other than the few driving lessons she's given me and what she's taught me. But it's definitely an art form and not as easy as it seems like it would be.


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## Zexious

I don't think I've ever seen such legit blinders xD
Either way, I'm excited to hear you're going to start driving her! The title of your thread is no joke: she really is Miss Versatile!

Give her my love, as always <3


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## Tazzie

Cassie, that's the area we live in :lol: it's pretty for the most part haha! And she wasn't that good. Someone is getting their work ramped up >.> I believe she's yelling that she's bored, so up we go! Hopefully she keeps wanting to work!

Yeah, she wasn't impressed at all. And I think it's typical they at least begin with blinkers, but some horses end up being able to be driven without them. Blair thinks Izzie will be one of those horses. Fingers crossed she's right! It's definitely not super easy, but I think it'll be fun!

---------------------------------------------

Zexious, haha! I've seen half cups, but never three quarter ones. I believe I've also seen ones that only have a small hole in them too. It's a whole new world! Thankfully Blair knows and understands Izzie, and knows Izzie has rules. So I have faith literally everything will be the simplest, easiest thing Blair can do. Perhaps these are because Blair knew Izzie would take it in stride, and went nearly full out with the blinkers? No clue! I'm just trusting her judgement and her knowledge of Izzie :lol:

And haha, yeah! That's what we've always called her. Nick gets so irritated over these awards I get nominated for and never win. He's like "I dare someone to show up with a horse that does as much as her." Most common is swapping between hunter pleasure and western pleasure. Izzie hates western saddles, so she'll never do western :lol:

I'll be riding her tomorrow, so I'll make sure she gets it <3 it's rainy today, so everyone is hiding indoors!

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Nothing really new going on here. Need to clean my house in preparation for Kaleb's party on Sunday, but that's about it!


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## DanteDressageNerd

Ill bet with all this rain, she hasn't gotten as much work as she'd really like. 

Well that's cool. It will be neat to see what happens once Izzie starts driving 

Good luck with the party! Hope all the kids have a great time!


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## Tazzie

Yeah, neither of us have gotten the work we wanted. Just tough! I hate it!

I know! I'm eyeing driven Dressage now too haha I'll have to tell Blair she's ruining me hahahaha!

Kids had a FABULOUS time!

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Whoa, what a weekend.

Friday I got a chance to ride! Had to do a short ride though, so I lunged her before I rode (I do not typically lunge as a warm up). She was HOT. She really channeled her Thoroughbred side and had major zoomies :lol:














I will note, I do not hold a whip while lunging. This was just her feeling GOOD. She bucked a lot more before I brought the camera out, but in the first video there is one. And that was a small one :lol:

I got on, and she was GOOD. A bit stiff to the right but I got her nice and supple at the end. Nick remarked she's starting to look like a Dressage horse again!

Fun photos from then. Izzie was so thrilled with what was coming....


















And told me I was insane putting those blinkers on her again :lol:









Saturday I'd planned to get a ride in in the morning, but it was cold. Kids had been complaining the night before, so we didn't go and cleaned the house instead. It needed to be done anyway... I made the cakes for Kaleb's party, and he decided to ruin one right as Syd and I were about to walk out the door to go to a baby shower. He decided to try and help himself to a piece, from the center of the cake. Destroyed the whole thing. So... instead of two cakes with two layers, we had one cake with three layers. Such is life...

After the shower my mother in law said she'd watch the kids so I could go sneak a ride in. Again it had to be a quick one so I lunged her again. Dusk was approaching, and Nick had to go to work. Not as much theatrics on the lunge line either :lol:

Again, another good ride! We worked a lot of go out and come back using just my seat, and she was responding as well as I could hope. She's not strong enough to take all the weight behind for heavy collection, but we are building up to it. We went both ways, and Nick was saying she was looking really good. The mud is doing us no favors though and is making all of our work much, much harder. Here is a dark video clip of that ride. That was right as we were finishing.






And a fun picture being all dark :lol:










Here is Kaleb's cake after I decorated it on Sunday (I am NOT an artist :lol










Sunday was spent cooking, finishing cleaning, and a little relaxing. Nick had worked from 9 pm the night before until around 10 am, so he took a shower, cleaned up the bathroom (very, VERY rarely do I ask him to clean the bathroom), and then took a nap. Kids and I watched movies, and I gave them a bath :lol:

The party went off well! Everyone ate their fill, and we enjoyed each others company  family photo from that night (yeah.. my eyes are closed)









I was saying goodbye to my inlaws when my phone buzzed. Looked at it was my current babysitter telling me she's enrolling in nursing school, and that I should put Kaleb in full time Kindergarten (which we'd have done so anyway once I knew they offered it...). It wouldn't be until January, but I'm just DONE. She's drug us around and been a flaming ***** to us, that it kills me I'm even giving the kids to her right now. I have my whole family on a mission to find us a new solution ASAP.

So yesterday we were registering Kaleb for Kindergarten when I got a text from my former babysitter (who we ADORED) asking if I'd call her this evening. I said sure, and that we were registering Kaleb right then. She told me her sister wants to take over, but not until later this year. So we have an option, just looking for something temporary now. Which my mother in law is being extremely helpful in working to find us something that will work. She also starts apologizing profusely for all of this, and I ask if I can call her in about five. She said yup!

We get outside after finishing the registration and I call her up. She said my status made her sick and that she just felt awful (I'd posted on Facebook looking for a new sitter, but I have the current sitter blocked from seeing it). We got to talking, and if I had known some of these things earlier this year, my kids would already be elsewhere. So I'm even more desperate to move them now.

Basically, I pay this woman who babysits $25 per kid per day. It's all under the table, untaxed. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement starting with the previous babysitter (it's in the same house; our former babysitter is the current babysitter's sister in law), and it was well known when the kids weren't there, we didn't pay. It's not like we miss several days a week, or even a month. But we do randomly decide to go to Michigan, and thus Nick takes a day and keeps the kids. She watches four other children, and it is at her house. Before Christmas, she dropped on us that she wants paid holidays, and that we get 10 vacation days. When I told her I didn't approve of this, she asked why, and that I got paid holidays. I said I paid taxes with my salary. This woman brings home more a month than I am. Nick doesn't want to stir the pot, so we settle. She also hadn't been working with the kids as had been agreed upon, so I bought workbooks and a journal that she must fill out daily.

All of this was necessary to say because of the following.

I guess after I forced this routine on her, she complained to my former babysitter about the journal. Now, I had talked to the former babysitter as I wanted her input on the matter, and she was the one to suggest the journal. Former babysitter told current babysitter that she had talked to me, and it was her recommendation. Current babysitter blew up and said former babysitter needed to mind her business, and said that she shouldn't be talking to us at all. Particularly without hearing current babysitter's side of the story. Former babysitter said that I had asked her to call, and what was she going to say? "Oh, I can't talk to you, I need to get X's side of the story first!" Current babysitter had the nerve to say "yes, I would have appreciated that!" Now here's the thing. Former babysitter was our sitter much longer than current one. She's BEEN on that side of the story. She knows how our life works. That it revolves trips to Michigan and horse shows. That we don't keep kids home "just because". There is always a reason for it. And I read word for word the letter we received prior to Christmas. NO ONE thinks there is a side of the story she DOESN'T know. Former babysitter asked if I talked to our friend who also brings kids there, and I said no. Her and Nick talked me out of my decision to leave earlier. I'm not letting ANYONE change my mind. I've had it, and I plan to give her absolutely zero notice for all the bullcrap she's pulled on us. Just entirely done.

So that's my drama so far... also had our taxes done, which was fun :lol: glad they are done. Had to tweak how we were doing things, but I'm ok with it. This is why I hire a professional :lol: I like to keep all my horse showing income kosher with the laws and what not, and he's a horseman himself.

Tonight I plan to ride. Nick is working late, but my wonderful barn owner said he'd come chill with me while I rode <3 I'll probably lunge her again to make the ride shorter again (and it gives her a chance to canter, which we are not currently doing under saddle at this time). But hey! I get to ride, and I'll take it how I can get it!

It's supposed to rain/snow tomorrow, so not riding then. Maybe Thursday and/or Friday?? Or even Saturday?? We will see! Hopefully the weather breaks, ugh!


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## phantomhorse13

OMG the paid-under-the-table babysitter expects PAID HOLIDAYS.. as in says she ISN'T watching any kids?! Just that is 10 kinds of crazy, so all that other drama is just blinking lights and sirens to GTFO. Hope you find an alternative asap.

Loved watching Izzie have fun on the line. Even being silly she is such a nice mover.


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## Tazzie

Yup, and since I couldn't find anything right then to switch to (and had been talked out of switching by both the other mom AND Nick), we agreed but with our stipulations she MUST work with our kids. I've just flat out had it. And yeah, she's drama. THRIVES on it. She complained she needed all this because her husband was mad she had to work her other job so often to make ends meet. Though I've seen A LOT of concerts she's asking others if they want to go... which is why I want to give her zero heads up and let her screw herself. I'm a cold hearted witch when I need to be.

Haha, I know! It makes me dizzy watching her run like that, but I just watch the sheer power in her movement and it gives me goosebumps. One of my friends wants her for eventing now :lol:


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## knightrider

I had a babysitter like that too, who got paid under the table, only cash, and expected paid holidays. What ended that situation was when she demanded that she not watch my son (and be paid) so she could have 3 hours to get dressed to go to a mother-daughter tea with her daughter. 

Unfortunately, she was our next door neighbor, we were very close with her kids (our son is named after their son), and she ended all ties with us. She forbid her kids to see or talk to us, ever, after they had been coming to our house daily for years. The things people come up with and think they are justified!!!!


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## DanteDressageNerd

Aww Izzie looks SO happy! And the ride looks great! I'm so glad you got to spend time to 

The cake and party looks great too! Kaleb is very lucky! Hopefully he enjoys Kindergarten! I hope you can find a new babysitter, that sounds like a real mess :-/


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## Tazzie

@knightrider, sounds about right. I get 10 paid vacation days, but have to pay anything over that. Like, NO. NOT ok. YOU aren't pay ANY taxes on a salary MORE than mine. I get the job isn't fabulous (hers), but it's what SHE agreed to. I didn't set the prices of anything. It's what my former babysitter decided, and it worked well to pay their rent (we have a comparable house, so I have an idea on the mortgage payment). She's not quite a neighbor, but she lives out where we do. I just don't care anymore. Hoping my former babysitter comes home and kicks her out of the house (former babysitter owns the house, current babysitter is renting it from her). I know my kids won't cause ill will or meanness to her kids, but guess we will see how her kids treat mine. I'm running out of leads though, which has me a bit panicked. Still trying though.

---------------------------------------------------------

Cassie, she was super happy! I was too  and yes! I was glad I was able to get a ride in!

He was pretty happy with it all  he's a good kid! And he's excited for it! He wants a tractor backpack :lol: and yeah, me too. I'm running out of leads, which worries me. I just want them out NOW. I've had it.

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Got to ride last night, woohoo!

Nick had to work late though, so I had to ask my buddy/BO Cliff to chill with me. SUPER happy about that! Lunged her again before I hopped on and off we went!

Everything just flowed super well. Shoulders in to haunches in. Haunches in, straight, half pass. Also worked on going out and coming back on just my seat. Staying lifted and through the whole time. Lots of good, tough work. Kept it short since she's very hairy and it was close to 60 degrees last night! I was just so pleased! And Cliff was impressed with how well she's working 

Selfie with the bestest best friend/BO (he's single ladies :wink










Other than that, I did nothing. No riding today as it SNOWED last night! And I really, really need to do laundry *sigh*.


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## DanteDressageNerd

Aww that's wonderful!! So glad you had such a successful and progressive ride!! Always good to hear! Though I will say I guess I can't picture Izzie as an eventer :lol: but I haven't seen her jump yet either lol. 

That's so cute! Kaleb sounds like a really sweet and grateful kid. That's adorable! All I can say is you're smart to separate yourself from people that are liars and dramatic, I can't stand unnecessary drama or liars. WAY WAY too much stress. Have your own life to lead without dealing with crazy people.


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## Tihannah

Oh geez! I saw your post about the babysitter, but had no idea! I would definitely be getting outta that situation! Paid holidays?? Are you kidding me?? Lol. I can totally feel your frustration. My kids are all teens now, but when my youngest were still with a babysitter, she informs us one day that she's taking classes now, so her husband was going to be watching the kids. Ummm...whaaa?? We went with her because she had a degree in education and was certified and did classroom work with the kids she kept. Her husband was just some guy who had trouble keeping a job. Several of the parents ended up moving their kids. I think you're making a good decision!

Izzie looks great! Loved the fire breathing dragon lunge videos! Lol. The riding video with the sun setting in the back looked really cool too!


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## Tazzie

Cassie, I feel like she's just getting better and better. I've been lunging her only because my saddle fitter warned me cantering could be bad (she's getting fitter, and losing the fatness; we knew it was going to happen quickly once she started work), and the lunging lets her canter all she pleases with the saddle sliding. I just fix the saddle before I hop on :lol: and yeah, I'm too chicken to try it. It's because her canter is so nice they want to take her out on the cross country course is why they say it. I haven't even seen her jump :lol: but she does so much as it is that I don't feel the need to add MORE.

Kaleb is absolutely wonderful. He's been really sweet to his sister lately, and we make sure Syd knows she's very lucky :lol: he's a super kind little boy. And oh yeah, everything came to a head last night...

----------------------------------------------------

Tina, unfortunately all daycares are now doing a tuition based type thing like this, so of course she felt she was owed it. Never mind the fact she quit working with the kids without telling us, and, oh yeah, was paid under the table so she wasn't taxed. Because THAT wasn't enough of a benefit. She apparently wants to be a nurse. Honestly, it'll take her years since the intelligence isn't there. And yikes! That's just shady :/

She loves being a dragon :lol: I'm just typically thankful I'm not on her when she's being that way :lol: not interested in that!! And thank you! I thought it was neat, though you can't see much. I was just happy I got a ride in!

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Well, update time.

Friday I called a daycare we could afford. Any other place would have added another $300+ to our babysitting cost per month, and we couldn't do that long term. This new place will be $10 more a week. Totally doable. It wasn't the nicest place ever as it's old. But the place was clean, the people were super nice, and the kids were happy. To me, happy kids that aren't afraid of the people there spoke volumes to me. So we put a deposit down and they will start April 3rd when we are home from Disney.

Saturday I had a wedding shower, and one of Nick's cousins came up and asked if I'd still be interested in her watching the kids when she has her third. I said we'd found a new place, but that I would pull them out to send them to family if she was interested. She's having a C Section on May 3rd, and would want some time to settle in (of course). But long as she's up for it for a while, all systems will be go for that! Which would be nice!

Sunday I let my now former babysitter know their last day would be March 23rd, the Friday before Disney. She responded with "ok sounds good!" We went to a gender reveal party for my sister in law, and I found out I'll get my third niece this year! I'll also be getting a nephew just before her 

Sunday night/Monday morning former babysitter texts me. Said she found lice in her son's hair, and she doesn't want our kids going (no duh). I stayed home since I felt like crap (turns out I have an ear infection), and pondered what to do. Talked to multiple people to make sure I wasn't crazy. But Disney is in two weeks. I DON'T want to be dealing with lice when I need to be resting up and packing. So... I told her they wouldn't be coming back. She blew up at me saying "welcome to school life" and "this is what she gets for being honest" along with "I wish we could have ended this professionally but I guess not." Well, everyone who read the messages (and if you ladies want to read the craziness I'd gladly send them, just not putting them on a public forum) said I was the professional one. It's just a nightmare. I'm glad it's done and over with though. I didn't want anything to ruin this trip for us...


Anyway, on a way better note, I rode Izzie both Saturday and Sunday. She was FABULOUS! A little tired on Sunday (first back to back rides in a while), but still SO good! Our half passes are gaining more bend again, and she's getting much more supple through the body. She's FAR from where she was, but she's trying so dang hard to do what I ask. She gets LOTS of pats!

Nick took this video Saturday. If you watch to the end you'll see me drop the reins. It's my little snub to the people that bash Dressage saying we use our reins to control. One of these days I'll do lateral work without reins just to prove my point. Izzie was confused and unamused with me (she likes the contact since she hears my thoughts like I hear hers)






Couple of cute videos of Kaleb and Izzie 











And her first time lunging with the blinkers on. Blair said she's too crazy and there is no way we will ever get her broke to drive :lol:






Also! We might be doing our first ever rated DRESSAGE show in May!! I'm getting the details, but now that we have a legal bit and a happy horse, I want to do it! I want to see what my trainer thinks. I may just do Training Level to get our feet wet with it, but I'm so excited!!


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## DanteDressageNerd

lol that makes sense. She's sure footed and able, she'd be a "safe" mount if she likes to jump! But she already is incredibly versatile, I agree jumping isnt necessary lol.

They're really great kids! I love seeing how Izzie interacts with them, it's really heart warming! Im glad the babysitter stuff has been settled and I have no doubt you will all have a wonderful time in Disneyland!!

The riding video looks really good. Izzie is well engaged, happy and content. It's very pleasant to watch  So glad you're getting more riding in despite the craziness with weddings and cousins and family!


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## Fimargue

Tazzie said:


> @Fimargue, he has a Polaris side by side :lol: he's had it about two years now. It's his favorite toy haha! And I know it's going to be bad. It was bad last week, so I know it's only going to be worse. I hate it. Moving isn't really an option for us either. Kind of an is what it is right now. Aside from the mud it isn't that bad. He feeds extra hay when they've mowed the grass down or if it's excessively cold, and he lets us know if something is off with Izzie. But I have to meal prep for her because he doesn't always feed, and the others that help sometimes forget she gets stuff added. So now I make up little boxes of premixed grain, and all they have to do is dump it. Super easy.


I forgot to comment this one! 

It looks like a nice toy - though, I'm really not a stuff-with-motor person. :lol: Haha. I would have to google what that is and how it differs from other toys.

Making the boxes yourself is what I would do as well. I have very little trust for other people doing things properly for my horses. 

Your former babysitter asking for paid holidays is beyond ridiculous. Jeez. Luckily you get the situation sorted! I hope the kids like it in their new daycare. Making new friends is good.


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## Tazzie

Cassie, I agree. I just don't feel much desire either to jump, so it was something I didn't care if she learned. Maybe super tiny ones that we may find in a trail class? But nothing that would be like a couple feet off the ground. No thank you!

I love it too  she's wonderful with them, which makes life so much easier when we are with her. She didn't care Tuesday night when Kaleb was playing in the arena either. Just went about her work. I'm glad it's settled too. And I can't wait! A week from now we will be in Disney!

I'm glad too! And thank you! She's been trying very hard, which is wonderful! Just gotta keep trucking along haha!

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@Fimargue, it's ok! It sometimes takes me a bit to respond to things :lol: I wasn't into it either, but Nick is getting me to at least appreciate it. It has a fancier name, but we just call it the Polaris (or the razor; it's a Polaris RZR).

I'd had trust, but how far behind we were getting in SmartPaks was proof she wasn't always getting it. So now I'm in charge. Though everyone LOVES it since feeding her got a million times easier. And I know precisely what she's getting :lol:

Yeah, she was nuts. I'm glad I'm good and done with her. I think they will love the new daycare 

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Well I'm a flake again :lol: been crazy here!

I rode last Thursday to see if Izzie would be joining us at the show this past weekend. It was a hard NO. The saddle is getting worse and worse the fitter she gets. Expected, but annoying. Even with the nonslip pad it slid around. So, she stayed home. She did give me a great ride though!

I rode again this past Tuesday. It was... well... I wasn't amused. Every once in a while she does the "you can't catch me!!" game. Only this time she threw in massive disrespect. We are talking rearing up and striking at me, spinning to buck and kick at me, and thinking about charging at me. NOT OK. She put herself into the top part of her field, where I kept driving her off. At first she was LIVID. Nick finally came out to give me a hand, and I had him be the gate. I drove her down the field, and she was NOT allowed to stop and relax unless she walked up to me. She was just being a total witch. Took about 30 minutes for her to give up this stupid charade and walk to me. I REFUSED to walk to her. I was not relinquishing any sort of power to her. At the end she felt pretty sorry for herself. And I didn't take it easy on her when riding. Wasn't my fault she ran herself harder than I'd intended to work her.

The ride started eh. She tried dumping on the forehand badly because she wore herself out. I didn't give a rats ****. She needed to work correctly. So cue a million transitions. Walk now, trot now, halt now, trot off immediately. Lengthen, collect, lengthen, halt. I really had her up and lifted by the end. But I didn't slack a bit. When she was good, she was praised. And ended on a good note. I'm sure she felt it yesterday, but that was her issue (not like I didn't cool her out, but she ran herself HARD).

Yesterday I couldn't ride due to weather conditions (I wasn't interested in hauling her to the arena in the snow storm), and today I'm getting my eyes dilated. Not a good combo :lol: planning to ride tomorrow.

The show went well though! I showed my friend's mare Sadie to a win out of three in Costume, so I loved that! And Hemi and I had a GREAT debut! I'm very excited about it! He needs more show miles, and if I gave him more rein he'd pop up and go all Saddleseat on me. But just need more work. He'll get there. He didn't do anything naughty at all, just green. I'm totally smitten with him though  just remember he's super, super green, and was originally started in Saddleseat before I took over riding him. He has a long way to go, but he's working hard to get there! And according to Blair he measures at 17.3!


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## DanteDressageNerd

You guys are going to have so much fun!! I can't wait to hear about disney!! 

She is. Izzie is an incredible child sitter!

Hemi looks fantastic! He looks like a really fun ride and surprisingly you don't look small on him, even though he's quite tall. Your leg fills him well. He looks like a really nice horse! I'd like to see him in the dressage ring :lol:

I hate it when they play those stupid games! Like I'm not a horse, I am not amused but I'll wait. This is not a free ride my dear! I wouldn't have taken an easy on her either, she has a job and there are expectations. She is not a baby horse, she can up the game.


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## Tazzie

I typed up a whole big thing and it was erased. Cause that helps my mood today...

I'm so excited I can barely stand it! I know Nick is getting ready for the warmer weather, especially since we are about to be hammered tonight *sigh*

She's pretty wonderful! I'd be lost without her!

Hemi is mister wonderful :lol: and yeah, I have long legs for my height, and Hemi is nowhere near as wide as Izzie. So I don't look horribly out of place on him :lol: and YES! That's what the judge was coming up to tell me at the end :lol: he's far from perfect, but he's trying so hard and he's better than he was! Just takes time since he's always gone one way, and now I'm asking for a different, harder way! He's a good boy 

Precisely. Thankfully she doesn't do those games often, but I loathe when she does it. I know she regretted her choice at the end. I just did not appreciate the kicking and striking at me. She's much too big to be playing that game! And exactly. She's an adult and she can take it. I wasn't mean or unfair, and she knew it. I was just strict.

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Well, last night was anything but fun.

So BO asked me if I could feed tonight and tomorrow. I said sure, that'd be no problem! Then I see the vaccine clinic that was scheduled for tomorrow was cancelled due to weather. So I texted BO to ask if he could take the girls...

And he said he had to check and see. Aka, he had to see if my friend needed him. Basically my feelings were trivialized on why I wanted my horse to go to this vet at this vaccine clinic. The clinic was much cheaper than anyone else I'd pay around there, and he'll be our new vet since I'm ditching our old one. I'm just irritated and upset. I'm calmer than I was last night, but ugh. Now Izzie will be making a four hour round trip next weekend to get her vaccines down with my friend. I typed up a paper of what all she needs and HOW. Because strangles she can't get IM. We did it ONCE and it locked her neck up for over a week. We were all miserable. I can't wait until I get back to have this vet do it because that puts it too close to EA and I'll stress myself out on the paperwork for it.

The highlight though is my in laws want to watch my kids tonight while we haul Izzie over to the indoor to ride. Wednesday was NASTY and unsafe to haul her in, and yesterday my eyes were dilated (and the sun hurt them badly even with sunglasses on). So I'm ready to ride tonight.

Tomorrow we will be doing our shopping for the trip, and going to feed. If we get a lot of snow I may try to squeeze a ride in :lol:


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## DanteDressageNerd

You look well placed on Hemi! I guess it's a good thing he doesnt have much barrel lol. Imagine if he were Izzie wide!

Gosh I hope this vet clinic does a good job and Izzie doesn't have a reaction to her vaccines. I'm sorry your feelings were trivialized, that's never a good feeling :-( I hope it all works out!!

I hope you had a good ride on Miss Izzie. I saw the video in the snow, so I know you at least got to ride and that's truly wonderful  when is the big trip?


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## SueC

Just starting to read here. Izzie's such a beautiful horse, Tazzie! :dance-smiley05:


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## PoptartShop

You & Hemi look so good.  As always!

& ugh, sorry to hear that. :sad: Fingers crossed everything goes well with her vaccines. I'm sure you are ready to just get the process over with!

I hope you had a great ride!!


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## Tazzie

Cassie, I know! If he were as wide as Izzie I'd be in MAJOR trouble!! Haha!

She didn't have a reaction to the vaccines, which is good. Only time she ever has was when strangles was done IM (or IV; I can't remember which). But she was segregated to the back hallway because there was a chance she *could* transmit strangles. I've had it done multiple times and never made her pasture mates sick, but such is life. She barely had turnout in the arena, and the kids didn't ride her as planned because everyone was busy. It's making me rethink sending her down in June when they were all supposed to show her...

Our ride was fabulous! And just got back yesterday as you know we were on our trip :lol:

---------------------------------------------

Welcome @SueC! And thank you! She owns a pretty good chunk of my heart!

---------------------------------------------

Allison, thank you! He's pretty special!

Everything ended up fine. Still waiting on the bill though :/ I like to have it all paid immediately, so this not knowing what I owe makes me anxious. I told her the cost breakdown of what I WOULD have spent, so blah. Reminds me I have to stop and grab dewormer since I had a fecal done (as needed for her ColiCare program, and I prefer to do fecal and deworm when we have the results). Now is a good time since our hopefully last big freeze is Saturday.

I sure did!!! Details coming next 

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SO!!

I got to ride TWICE before we left for Disney!!

First I rode her Friday night, as planned. Our lateral work has become sticky, but when I look I see her saddle is now on her shoulders, blocking them. No amount of my halfpads will fix it without it then pinching, and she hates that WAY more than too wide. So, she does what she can, and I praise her. I know I was naughty to allow what happened next, but I wasn't going to make her stop either...

We were working on lengthen trot for funsies, when she stepped into the canter. And didn't buck. So... I let her go with it. She did it both ways. Then I asked again both ways. So apparently there comes a point when the saddle is so wide that it no longer bothers her when cantering. I've now found this fascinating since she's always so opinionated. Got off, praised her to high heaven, and called it a day.

I didn't get to ride on Saturday, but right now I can't remember why... always fun haha!

Sunday I squeezed a ride in before Easter dinner at my in laws with Nick's mom's side of the family. Again, laterals are sticky, but she attempts so I accept it. Asked to canter and had Nick record it. She did squeal a little going left, but that'd be me cuing too hard. I just kind of let her do her own thing and just rode off my seat. It felt SOOO pleasant to canter her again!



























Old Man Flash looking all wooly with teddy bear ears lol


























Left on Tuesday for Orlando, which was a total blast! We stayed at the Dolphin (DEEP discount for our room), and had a ball! Tuesday and Wednesday we had down time. Thursday and Friday we went to the parks, and were good and worn out after them! But we had fun! Saturday we went to Clearwater Beach because my brother's girlfriend's parents own a condo there. It was GORGEOUS and we had so much fun! Sunday was kind of a rest day with some swimming and a delicious dinner at a steakhouse for Easter. Monday we went to Universal since we wanted to do the Harry Potter stuff (I'm a Potterhead :lol and Monday we came back home! SO MUCH FUN! But I'm EXHAUSTED now haha!

A couple of pictures. I have more, but don't want to flood everything :lol:

Syd waving on "It's a Small World"

__
Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18
Show Content










Trying to get all of us on the Safari ride... we missed some people haha!









Family picture  Nick didn't want the ears, and kids wanted to match me haha!









Edit, I have NO idea why those pictures are upside (tried to fix it, so maybe it's fine now...). Edit: nope. Click on them and they will be correct...

Also riding tonight! Hauling her to the arena, yay! Saturday she sees her chiro. Tuesday she goes down to Blair's to then go to EA!


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## SueC

Your photos are upside down because you're in the opposite hemisphere to us, and it's _our_ hemisphere that points up, really! ;-)

Glad I could sort that for you. Fellow HP fan here. I always thought that every horse rider ought to be held down and made to read the bits about the hippogriffs, especially how you must approach them with respect and not as slaves.

Love the snowy landscapes. Late summer here, Mediterranean climate, summer drought, paddocks are getting bare and no rain forecast yet...


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## DanteDressageNerd

Izzie looks great in the snow ride! Looks like so much fun! She looks really happy! I'm so glad you got a few rides in before the big trip!

I'm SO SO glad you had such a great time at Disney and Universal. Being a Harry Potter fan, I can appreciate how amazing your experience was! Overall from what you shared it sounded like an amazing time! Glad you enjoyed it  memories for life.


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## Tazzie

@SueC, haha, could be! Very logical answer :lol:

It probably would benefit a lot of people to read how they respect the Hippogriffs. I know my kids will always respect our animals, and my animals all trust them  glad to find another HP fan!

I wish it was summer here. It got to 80 this past Tuesday, and now it's going to snow on Saturday. Of course, since we have to haul Izzie. And the Ohio River is almost to flood level AGAIN. I'd GLADLY send all the rain to everyone else that needs it!

---------------------------------------------------------

Cassie, thank you! I was very excited with how the rides went. It definitely made me feel more confident heading into Equine Affaire this year 

I am too! They were definitely amazing experiences, and I do think my kids will remember them for life 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, plans changed yesterday. Nick ended up working late last night, and didn't get home until 11:30 last night. So no riding. I'm hoping to get a ride in tonight though. REALLY hoping so.

Other than that, kids had a first good day at their new daycare!


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## frlsgirl

Wow first the rain and now snow? How are people supposed to keep their horses in shape in that kind of weather?!? We've had similar problems here in Oklahoma although no snow, just 30 degree variations in temperature from one day to the next; makes for fresh horses 

I'm just now getting caught up on your thread. So Izzy was sick? Injured? and you took her to a place where they did alternative stuff, kind of like a spa for horses?


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## DanteDressageNerd

Your kids are very lucky to have had such an amazing experience! I hope its something they cherish and look back fondly on in years to come!

You and Izzie will do great at Equine Affair! Can't wait for the update


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## Tazzie

Tanja, I know! It's been just awful with this weather! We've been hauling to the indoor arena up the road when we can, but that isn't always a possibility. And I'm trying to let the field I typically ride in rest because otherwise it'll be a pitted mess for MONTHS. So it's frustrating.

And she had a tight muscle on the backs of her legs above her hocks and leading up her glutes. Like, SUPER tight and sore. I have a friend that does laser therapy that had already worked wonders on her once, and she worked her magic again. Izzie has never felt this strong and happy in work for a while. So I'm pumped  no clue what she did to make it that way, but we are monitoring it every time we ride, and I plan to send her back down this summer for more laser and swimming.

----------------------------------------------------------

Cassie, yes! They loved it so much  makes me happy! I think they will. I overhear them talking about it on their own at times and it's SO cute!

I hope so! Pretty excited and nervous about it haha!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, Nick worked late AGAIN last night. I told him if he worked late again tonight he was in big trouble. He said he wouldn't. My plan is to ride her tonight, tomorrow before her chiro, and then again on Monday. As of right now she's supposed to be going down to a friend's place on Tuesday to ship into Equine Affaire on Wednesday, but I'm super upset about some things that I kind of don't want her to leave and I'll just get her there myself. I just have a lot on my mind, and I'll know more tonight but I have some suspicions that will make me VERY mad if they prove true. And some people will be getting their butts handed to them if I find out I've been lied to.


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## lostastirrup

Just kinda got back into HF and stumbled upon your journal. Super cool pons! I have an arabx as well who is also super super round (his other half is German riding pony though- so hes closer to the ground methinks) and we're stuggling with saddle fit too. His wither tracing is unreal. Really enjoyed the read- Izzy and Nick sound kinda similar. Following from here on out. You guys are going places!


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## Tazzie

Welcome @lostastirrup! Thank you! I can well imagine you're having a difficult time with the fit! I had saddle companies going are you SURE these tracings are for THAT horse?! And making sure they were in the correct spot! It was a nightmare! If he's the guy in your picture (the bay) he's awfully cute! German Riding Ponies are neat! And Nick and Izzie are quite similar :lol: stubborn, but like to go out and get their job done. And thank you! I'm hoping so!!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, I WILL be riding tonight :lol: thinking about tossing the bareback pad on for our last three rides prior to EA. She's getting adjusted tomorrow, and with the saddle fitting so horribly I want to make sure nothing causes pain! We will see if I'll be brave enough to canter, but maybe haha! I think she'll appreciate it!


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## frlsgirl

Hmmm laser therapy....must research that some more. Some days when I ride Ana she is not very forward. I often wonder if she's sore or if she's just picking up on my "blah" energy level. Saddle fitter is coming next week; maybe she can shed some light on this. How did you know that it was a sore muscle versus saddle fit issue or a joint pain issue?


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## DanteDressageNerd

I'm so glad you're getting to ride tonight!! Let us know how it goes! Cant wait to hear about Equine Affair!


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## Tazzie

Tanja, it's a fascinating therapy. Izzie remembered my friend even though it'd been over a year since she had last seen her :lol: she saw her and started licking her lips like "oh yes, I remember you give me relief!"

And it was excruciatingly obvious. She was hardcore swapping leads in the hind end when asked to collect at the canter, a huge unhappiness to canter, bucking, and when I started poking and proding around back there she very nearly kicked me (and she cow kicks) when I got to that area. We did liniment, stretches, and massaging, but it wasn't enough. Now she lets me rub on it, no bucking to canter, and while I haven't collected her up yet, I'm very hopeful there won't be any swapping 

-----------------------------------------------------------------

I'm pretty sure I have the worst luck this week. I'm in a depressive state where I just feel like throwing in the towel and saying "I'M DONE." Nick worked late Wednesday and Thursday. I'm quite done currently with my BO (who is in WV right now anyway) so couldn't have him hang with me while I ride, and then came home to Kaleb complaining he didn't feel well. Started driving to go ride anyway, and Nick had a STUPID moment and gave Kaleb his phone to watch while I drove. Kaleb gets carsick. We barely started on the road heading there when Kaleb complained he didn't feel well. He got sick once and is now running all over the house. Nick didn't bother seeing if in laws would watch (they don't mind watching when kids are sick), so I'm stuck home now. One of my LAST FEW DAYS to ride before EA has been taken from me.

So instead, I'm drowning my sorrows in alcohol and want zero interaction with my family at the moment.


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## knightrider

Lousy, lousy. I am so sorry. Hope things get better!


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## egrogan

Grr...sounds like a frustrating way to start the weekend! Hope you get some ride time soon.


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## frlsgirl

Oh man. I don't know how you manage with kids. Being an adult Ammie is tough; trying to decide between work, horse, family and always feeling like you are neglecting one or the other. I've certainly thrown in the towel a few times this year already.


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## Tazzie

Thank you all for not just telling me to get out of my pity party lol it’s rare I fall that deep into that feeling, and having people tell me get over it never, ever helps lol

I did get to ride yesterday. I’m on my phone right now (waiting on a meeting, joy lol), but I’ll fill you in on our ride and adventures. I rode in the arena, hauled her to the chiro, and then to Tractor Supply where I took her off the trailer :lol:


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## DanteDressageNerd

I'm so sorry Katie :-( Tanja is right, it's really hard being an adult amateur and trying to balance your show career with your actual career and family. I can't imagine the struggle and frustration when you have to choose and more often than not having to choose the selfless path which can be frustrating because your needs need to be met too. It's part of why I chose the amateur route over the professional route. As a professional you don't have a life outside of horses and something has to suffer. The way I saw it, I'd always choose my kids first and never wanted to have to say, "sorry I can't make your play" or "sorry I missed your game" or "I'm sorry I can't be there for Christmas."

But I'm glad it worked out and you finally got to ride your girl and enjoy her!!


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## Tazzie

Cassie, it really is. I do what I can, but coupled with the weather this year I just feel we are so far behind in our riding. Izzie has never felt better, but I just feel like I'll never catch up. Especially since our first show is in less than 3 weeks, and then another one two weeks after that. Just frustrating. And it was smart to not go the professional route. I could never do it. I watch Blair struggle and just think "nope, that's not for me". And yes!

-------------------------------------------------------------

So Saturday we rode Izzie before bringing her to the chiro. Hauled her to the indoor because everything is just slop where she lives. It was eventful to say the least lol we get the trailer backed in there, and a guy comes to see who we were, so I told him and said we had permission. Then a group of two girls and another guy came down. Apparently they were going to run horses alongside the barn to move them from one field to the next. And they had to dig out the doors so they could shut it. No biggie! They chatted a bit while we tacked up 

Lunged her for a bit and noticed she wasn't thrilled with cantering. Odd, but who knows really. Hopped on and she was originally argumentative and wanted to be looky at things. I was like "knock it off, you're too old for this crap." She did settle though.

I warmed her up nice and easy since I was in my bareback pad. Also noticed bending right through the neck and poll was HARD. Like, she was flinging her head around like she'd never done it. Another "hmmm" moment and I told Nick that I thought she was out in her poll.

Dove into our lateral work and I am SO happy to see it's phenomenal. Clearly the saddle was blocking the shoulders in the lateral movements. Shoulder in was great. Haunches in left was great, but VERY sticky right. Another "hmmm" moment. Told Nick I bet her pelvis and/or her stifle was out too. She did try though and Nick said he saw a few nice steps.

Did some half passes as our last thing. WHEW! Half pass left was AMAZING. Stuff of dreams really with us right now. To the right our first couple passes were really sticky. But then Nick was like "OH THAT'S IT!" then we lost it, then we got it back! So we ended there! It makes sense half pass right would be sticky since haunches in right was sticky.

I've also found I cannot sit her lengthened trot bareback. I bounce too much, which annoys her, and then she goes faster instead of longer. She's just so bouncy! We had a few good steps, but I think I'll focus on the lateral work till the saddle was fit.

Due to her "meh" approach to cantering on the lunge, I decided not to push for it bareback. Her canter is HARD to sit bareback, and if she was going to have a come apart I REALLY didn't need to be bareback.

So after our ride we loaded up and headed to our chiro. Sure enough she was out in a couple spots on her back, her right pelvis, right stifle, left shoulder (makes sense with the right hind being out), and her poll was out to the right making right bend OUCHY. She was happy to have it all adjusted!

Afterward we needed to get shavings from TSC. As we are checking out I overhear a girl talking to her parents looking at the toy horses about how much she loves horses. I was like "I have a grey horse out in the trailer outside...." They were SO EXCITED! So Izzie got out of the trailer at Tractor Supply (TSC) so a little girl could pet and love on her :lol:

Yesterday I had a meeting that took forever. Came home, and Syd got sick *sigh* hoping she feels better now so I can squeeze in my last ride before EA.

I will say, I am SORE after doing all that lateral work bareback! My thighs, core, and seat bones are in AGONY!

Some pictures  last picture is Izzie eating some hay after dinner. I thought she was looking pretty darn good  if they are sideways, click on them lol


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## frlsgirl

She looks so content munching on her hay


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## Tazzie

ARG, new I should have copied it before pushing submit. Erased EVERYTHING *sigh* par for my day.

Tanja, she was very content! She'd just finished dinner  though she also had her dewormer :lol: she's so good about it though. I didn't even use a halter!

---------------------------------------------------

I got my last ride in and I couldn't be happier about it!

I lunged her first since we were bareback. She didn't want to canter much on the lunge, but the ground is rather hard. I definitely am not brave enough to canter her bareback :lol: I've done it a couple times, but she's just so big and bouncy it's hard!

She was pretty good right from the start. Didn't have to remind her too much about how we ride (which is typical when we are bareback as she LOATHES bareback).

I did lots of direction changes, changes within the gait, etc. Did leg yields and they felt FABULOUS! May have to toss some of those in the demo :lol:

Then moved on to shoulder in, haunches in, and half pass. Nick was like "those look SO much better than Saturday!" I said they felt much better! The half pass is still a bit sticky and needs work, but overall it wasn't bad for bareback. I'm much more capable when in a saddle to cue clearer for half pass. Again, she's just so bouncy!!

I even got Nick to record some of it 






Some fun pictures of the ponies 


























Our old lady Penny also stole Syd's pillow and blanket and made it into her bed :lol:

















Afterward I enjoyed a nice hot bath and a beer. One of my friends attacked me over text for literally no reason yesterday. She basically told me I never appreciate the help I'm given even though I'm ALWAYS saying thank you for the help! She was throwing stuff in my face she helped me with two and a half YEARS ago. I don't even keep a tally of when I help friends! I always figure it's a friend and we always have each other's back. The ONLY one coming to mind is that I pushed HARD to be a part of our demo this weekend. She always claims that the Arab people don't appreciate her at all. I literally got her a center stage gig for a national event and I'M the ungrateful one! Someone told me to not worry because she's not mad at me. I'm like "she SHOULDN'T be mad at ME! I'M the one that should be MAD, and I am VERY mad!"


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## carshon

Tazzie that does not sound like a "friend" friends don't do that!


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## Tazzie

carshon, sadly I know. I'd love to just break ties with her right now and be done entirely. The bad part is, we show on the same circuit, keep the same friends, etc. I don't need the added drama if I cut ties with her. I just won't be as reachable as I have been, and my house is no longer open for her to crash at during some of the shows up here. I've let her stay at my place when I wasn't home, and one of her barn kids nearly knocked over mine and Nick's sand jar from our sand ceremony at our wedding (we did the sand ceremony as opposed to the candle). Her bag had been placed up on the entertainment center, but apparently no one knows how that happened.... and yet, I've never been allowed at her place when she's not home. SO. My house will forever be locked to her. That and during that previous incident she was to care for my dogs. We were out on a riding trip with little signal. I happened to get a text saying she wouldn't be able to, fair was running late, blah blah blah. I live 10 minutes from the fairgrounds. I had to scramble to ask my in laws (next door neighbors) to do it so my dogs wouldn't use the kitchen as the bathroom. That was LITERALLY all I asked for.

Blah, sorry to keep venting. When I get mad, I don't typically think of times I helped her. But rather when something happened that showed her lack of respect for me.


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## frlsgirl

Izzy looks so fancy; like she knows she's all that and a bag of chips! Sorry about your non-friendly friend. Ain't nobody got time for that!


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## knightrider

So sorry you are having to go through so much difficulty right before your big event. Hope it goes great for you in spite of all the tension.


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## DanteDressageNerd

I think you guys look great bareback! I think Izzie looks quite happy and like she's starting to take more weight behind and come together. It looks good 

I know we've talked about your friend so won't say much here but I hope she gets it together and realizes how lucky she is to have a friend like you in her life.


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## Tazzie

Tanja, she's definitely a silly girl  I'm lucky that she does enjoy her work, even if she gives me grief about it. And ugh, we will see how friendly we are after this :/

--------------------------------------

Knightrider, I'll be making sure I don't let ANY of this bring the weekend down. I'm SO excited for this opportunity, and I LOVE showing off our breed. I bought new shirts to make sure I looked professional at all times, and have told the girl in charge I will happily work the AHA booth as much as she needs me to since that is why I'm there. I at least have enough tact to not make a scene that could make our breed look bad.

---------------------------------------

Cassie, thank you! I'm slowly asking her to take more weight behind. I've really tried to be careful asking more and more since I don't want her getting super sore again back there. But I'm thrilled with how she's coming  I'm going to see if Nick will be willing to live stream our ride on Facebook too 

And yeah... I'm thankful you and I have been able to talk about it.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Not much of an update. Izzie is down with said friend, and I'm regretting allowing her to go. The girl in charge was getting texts last night of all the stuff this girl has to do, and how my horse is disgusting. I told the girl in charge I asked that they leave Izzie at home and I'd deal with her, but they wouldn't have it. I just have a sinking feeling she'll still be disgusting when I get to her :/ I really just wish I'd listened to my gut.

Said friend is also making another mutual friend not want to go, which is even worse. My buddy Keegan is like "don't make me bring my Rafiki stick." I was like look, girl in charge is trying to prevent the fires, not fan them. You know what she did to me. This isn't anyone other than the friend. I told him to take his stick and beat the crap out of her. She's literally blown the chance I gave her to prove she truly cared about our breed. After this, no one wants her at these events. She's too big of a risk.


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## PoptartShop

I hate people like that.  Definitely not a friend. & 'Arab' people? Oh nice, she's stereotyping. Lovely! I'd like to punch her for you. :lol:

Jerk. Just keep doing what you're doing, don't worry about her. Sounds like she is insecure &/or jealous. Like why bring up stuff from YEARS ago? She just wanted a fight apparently, like go fight with someone who deserves it. Ugh.

I love Izzie's pictures with the kiddos too. Soooo cute! You can tell she was enjoying herself! 

LOL Penny with the pillow is adorable!


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## Tazzie

Allison, she's being better at least, which is helping. And by Arab people I mean the Arabian breed. Not anyone of a different race :lol: it is a sad fact that breeds segregate like that though.

I do think she just wanted a fight. I hadn't talked to her for a couple days since I wasn't about to make the first move. I think my BO had a talk with her.

Aren't they sweet?? I love them <3 and Penny is a ham :lol:

--------------------------------------------------------------

Well, Izzie is on her way up! I'm guessing I'll get a "tucked in" picture at some point showing she made it :lol: took three washings to get her tail clean, and some of her winter coat clogged the drain in the wash rack. Oops :lol:


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## SueC

Tazzie said:


> And she had a tight muscle on the backs of her legs above her hocks and leading up her glutes. Like, SUPER tight and sore.


Tazzie, has mild to moderate azoturia (exertional rhabdomyolysis) been ruled out as the cause / a contributing factor in this issue? That's a fairly classical symptom. Mares get it more commonly than geldings and stallions, stabled / lot fed horses get it more commonly than horses on pasture, horses who have high athletic demands on them are more vulnerable. Nutritionally an antioxidant deficiency is the biggest problem - and this is more common when horses aren't on abundant green pick, and at times of year when the quality of the green pick is low. Supplementation with lots of Vitamin E, possibly A / betacarotene, and selenium is standard treatment here (not sure if horses in your area tend to be selenium deficient but in Australia it's a problem because of our ancient, weathered soils). Other things to look at are reducing "fast" carbohydrate in the diet, changing the way the warmup is done / length of warmup, managing for more incidental exercise when the horse is between rides. While the muscles are sore, rest, then mild exercise only (lots of walking) to let the damage heal.


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## DanteDressageNerd

Hope Equine Affair went well, looking forward to the update!


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## Tazzie

SueC said:


> Tazzie, has mild to moderate azoturia (exertional rhabdomyolysis) been ruled out as the cause / a contributing factor in this issue? That's a fairly classical symptom. Mares get it more commonly than geldings and stallions, stabled / lot fed horses get it more commonly than horses on pasture, horses who have high athletic demands on them are more vulnerable. Nutritionally an antioxidant deficiency is the biggest problem - and this is more common when horses aren't on abundant green pick, and at times of year when the quality of the green pick is low. Supplementation with lots of Vitamin E, possibly A / betacarotene, and selenium is standard treatment here (not sure if horses in your area tend to be selenium deficient but in Australia it's a problem because of our ancient, weathered soils). Other things to look at are reducing "fast" carbohydrate in the diet, changing the way the warmup is done / length of warmup, managing for more incidental exercise when the horse is between rides. While the muscles are sore, rest, then mild exercise only (lots of walking) to let the damage heal.


I've never heard of that! But we had a blood panel done sometime last year, and the only thing she was deficient in was Selenium. I upped the amount she's getting, but it didn't seem to help. I'll link everything she is currently getting, diet wise, and any vet I've talked to said we have it good and covered. We had the laser therapy done, and then took everything nice and easy to build it back up. I do my warm up nice and easy, do small parts of harder work, back to long and low, and a thorough cool down. It's stumped just about everyone as to why this happens, and they've all chalked it up to how she's built. She's built down hill, but has a natural tendency to actually sit and use her hind end. Like, when she offered to canter last weekend she was on a fairly loose rein, and I felt her collect herself up because she wanted to, not because I asked her to.

Her diet:
RENEW Equine | Renew Gold
https://www.smartpakequine.com/ps/smartcombo-ultra-pellets-9474
https://www.smartpakequine.com/ps/smartvite-thrive-pellets-11446 (3 scoops)
https://shop.performanceequinenutrition.com/magrestore-p45.aspx

Cassie, if you'll go to my blog I updated about it. I'll update here tomorrow :lol:


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## SueC

Tazzie said:


> I've never heard of that! But we had a blood panel done sometime last year, and the only thing she was deficient in was Selenium.


If she was deficient in selenium, that's an even greater alarm bell for developing azoturia, and as I said, the symptoms are classical. I grew up around racehorses and endurance horses in lot feeding situations and saw a fair few examples, and most of them in mares. Untreated, it recurs and gets worse, and muscles start to scar and even calcify in places, until you can't use a horse for particular demands anymore, like racing, endurance, collection.

Did the panel test for Vitamin E?




> I upped the amount she's getting, but it didn't seem to help.


Be careful doing that with selenium; it's toxic in excess. I'd be addressing green pick opportunities, and supplementing with a truckload of natural Vitamin E at the moment. The industrial foods you have listed promise the earth but often fall short, just like human breakfast cereals. Neither horses nor we evolved on those sorts of diets, and there's a lot of things that _aren't_ in these concocted foods, including things that people haven't even researched yet that chemical companies haven't duplicated. Horses naturally get Vitamin E, betacarotene etc through green pasture. Deficiencies (functional deficiencies...) are common in lot-fed horses, even if the pellets etc say they've got it covered. Synthetic vitamins often don't compare to naturally sourced. When you're suspecting azoturia, try a natural Vitamin E supplement - a supplement, in this case, because a deficiency has gone beyond what you can re-supply quickly even by turning your horse onto pasture, and because the demand for Vitamin E is increased drastically in azoturia and general healing as well. Vitamin E is usually stored in the body fat but once they're out of it, they're out.

These measures won't harm your horse if she doesn't have azoturia, and will assist nutritionally with _any_ muscular issue.




> ...any vet I've talked to said we have it good and covered.


And I've had a vet swear Sunsmart only had months to live and I should dig a hole, because he misdiagnosed him. That was 18 months ago, my horse is fine, and I have a new vet.




> It's stumped just about everyone as to why this happens, and they've all chalked it up to how she's built. She's built down hill, but has a natural tendency to actually sit and use her hind end. Like, when she offered to canter last weekend she was on a fairly loose rein, and I felt her collect herself up because she wanted to, not because I asked her to.


Yep, natural tendency to offer collection is another predisposing factor, because it works those muscles hard, and anaerobically. You may want to read up on azoturia to see if it fits your horse's symptoms.

Best of luck with it! You've got a lovely mare and I hope you get it sorted and out of the way. :charge:


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## Tazzie

@SueC, I know she's never looked better than she has when feeding her this way. We've closely monitored the Selenium, and did a lot of consulting before changing up the vitamin/mineral supplement. I've never just changed something willy nilly that could cause toxicity. She is actually on pasture, and the spring grass is coming in. So she always has access to green grass. But the Vitamin E does not appear to be something that was tested for, so doesn't hurt to start researching what we can get here that she'll eat. She's notoriously picky and doesn't like anything powder. I have some time today to figure out something to try for her to give her an added boost of Vitamin E. I believe Cassie has added it to her horse's diets previously, so may see what she recommends that we are able to get here.

I read up a little on it, and it doesn't quite match. Not throwing out the idea to supplement some Vitamin E since it wouldn't hurt, but she's not reluctant to go forward to the point she'd lay down (and she would if it was BAD). Her urine is normal color (she pees just before I feed her every evening) and doesn't carry an unusual smell. The muscles are never hot or really all that hard, just tight. Still worth a try, but it doesn't quite match what we are dealing with.

Thanks for the help though! She's definitely our baby and I'd like to keep her fully happy at all times 

-------------------------------------------------------

Well this weekend was a complete whirlwind!

Izzie went up Wednesday evening and settled in quickly. And by that I mean while everyone was checking the place out in their stalls, Izzie was passed out in hers :lol: Thursday our BO showed Izzie in SHIH since we couldn't get up there that early! Nick and I hit the road about 3:30 and arrived some time between 6:30 and 7 (had to make a couple of stops lol). Izzie was super pleased to see us though! And we got our snuggles in  Also set up our "brag" table. I went with a more simple set up than some of the others.










Saddle fitter came to check the saddle and was SHOCKED how much Izzie changed. She feared a new saddle may be in our future *groans* Nick actually walked away ready to vomit.

Friday morning came super early due to work traffic (we left early to beat it). Took the ladies on a walk, and the fitter came out to mess with my saddle. She couldn't get it how she wanted it, but brought a different saddle to try. Izzie liked that saddle *groans again*. Our saddle fitter left us with her saddle so she could bring mine back to the stall to mess with it.

Our first demo was at 3:30 that afternoon. I got on and she felt fabulous. I was SUPER pumped about it! And our demo was amazing! I was psyched!






After the demo our fitter can and redid our saddle. We got it well enough, and have decided to work with it as is for now, and she'll come back to recheck it beginning of June when we show up in Ohio. She doesn't want to sell us a saddle (or trade mine in) until we are all absolutely certain this is how Izzie will be from here on out. She doesn't want us needing to swap back and forth between saddles. But she did agree to let me use the other saddle for the demo since it had worked so well the day before. Sadly, that was probably a mistake.

She spent all day Friday and all morning Saturday being a total ham to the crowd. We bought her a stall guard so she could hang out with her head in the aisle. She thought that was a sweet deal! Then it came time for the demo. We hand walked over to where we needed to go. I mounted up and instantly knew it was going to be a bad ride. She was just NOT happy. We did ok, but nothing like we'd done the day previously. Only thing different was she had felt HER saddle fit ok, and perhaps she didn't like the narrower one. Either way, we got through the demo decently enough. At least we weren't the only ones being bad in the ring.

Afterward she had her chance in the breed stall  this is where I met @weedlady! I was SO excited she came out to meet me and @evilamc! And Izzie was a total hit with the kids! You don't have to make her keep her head in the aisle; she wants to be there! She was good and tired when I brought her back to her stall, and she proceeded to pass right out, much to the delight of the people walking by!










That night we saw Fantasia! It was honestly pretty good, though some of it was eh to us. Overall though I'm glad we saw it!

Sunday was a day free of demos! We visited more people and we hung in the breed stall for roughly 5 hours! In that time she had kids believing in magic  she was a HUGE hit! So much so the person who was in the Mustang stall across from us came over to pet Izzie and said "has no one told you that you look stupid with that on??" I was like "well the kids sure like it!" in the snottiest voice I could muster. I found her comment just totally rude and out of line. We figure she's just jealous since my horse was calmly wearing it, and her horse was screaming in his stall. But it was Sunday, rainy, and we were all tired. Which is why we wanted to do something special for the kids that ventured out in that weather (it was also COLD)










All in all, it was a great weekend. We met so many wonderful people from those who used to breed them (the lady pictured, named Shalimar, stole my heart and she was one of my absolute favorites this weekend; she stopped by twice while we were there for Izzie snuggles, and Izzie stood super still while Shalimar hugged her) to those who thought they were all CRAZY! We convinced one person who thought they were nuts that she actually wanted one for her next horse. And a young boy (either early teens or just shy of being a teen) decided he needed an Arab too; his dad was totally on board! They needed to get going if they wanted to watch one of the seminars, and the boy said "no, I'm good staying here! I like this horse!!" because Izzie was being her usual in your pocket self!

She's getting a few days off from people to decompress a bit, and then we will begin riding again hopefully tomorrow!


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## carshon

@Tazzie - that horse is one in a million! Thank you for sharing her with the public. I hope to one day make it to OH to meet Miss Personality!


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## Tazzie

@carshon, she really is <3 I loved watching her put endless smiles on faces this weekend. And she's the screen saver of at least three phones not including mine :lol: the kids ADORED it! And I absolutely hope you can! I know we'd both LOVE to meet you!


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## Tihannah

I don't know how you kept your cool with that rude a** lady! Omg! It made me mad just reading that! I thought Izzie looked adorable as a unicorn and the look on those kids' faces was priceless! The demo ride was also fab, but I kept wanting to yell out for those other people to get outta the **** way so I can see! Lol.

Sorry to hear about the saddle fitting! It took you so long to find that one. It's crazy how much they change over short periods of time! My friend Helen spent $6K 2 new saddles less than a year ago and they no longer fit and she had to sell them.

And finally, where the heck did you get her halter from?? I love it!!


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## DanteDressageNerd

https://www.scahealth.com/scah/product/ultracruz-equine-natural-vitamin-e-plus-horse-supplement

Izzie's such a special mare! I love how well she looks after the kids. She's a special mare! But Good Lord was that woman a [email protected] She needs to get over herself, Izzie looked cute as a unicorn. It's fun, has that snot ever heard of fun?

I'm glad you guys had so much fun, it looks like a blast! Izzie looks really good, especially since she doesn't really like the saddle switch. Hopefully no new saddle and just enjoy the initial one!


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## Tazzie

Tina, I had to keep my cool to be a good representative of my breed. But she certainly proved the stuck up side of it! Which to me was ASTOUNDING because she had Mustangs! I'm not bashing on the breed, but typically they aren't thought of in an entitled sense! I was just like "whatever" after I retorted the kids loved it. I think she was jealous that the kids were flocking to Izzie and ignoring their screaming monster that was locked up tight. Every last one of us with Arabs kept the stall door open so our horses could interact with the public. Not our fault they couldn't. We were the ones with the crazy horses, right? :eyeroll: but we all thought she was adorable 

Thanks about the demo! I know everyone loved our first day! She did super! And yeah, I'm a bit stressed still, but we will see. She got a touch lighter than I liked anyway, so I was already increasing her grain. Plus the grass hasn't come in quite yet either. Not that it gets plentiful there anyway... That sucks about Helen though!! I'd probably vomit!!

As for the halter, Nick had it made for me years ago. The lady who did it was PSYCHO and no longer does this kind of stuff anymore. BUT! Look up Rhinestones N More on Facebook. They don't use the exact halter I have (this halter is crazy nice lol), but the ones they use still look nice! And you can bling it out your way  it'll have the two rows like mine has  they have an etsy shop too (https://www.etsy.com/listing/239916...search_query=bling halter&ref=sr_gallery-1-29)

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Thanks Cassie! I want to get her blood work done before adding anything else to her diet. That and I want to make sure Selenium levels are still in a respectable zone (our area is notorious for being deficient in Selenium)

She really is special  she thought it was a GREAT time there with all the kids! And yeah, I could have done without the woman :eyeroll: it was cold, pouring rain, and everyone was tired. We wanted to have fun.

Thank you! In the demo she liked the saddle :lol: it was after that demo when we tweaked her current one and she liked it better. That's my butthead for you...

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Got a ride in last night! It was rather good! We haven't cantered much out in our field, but we did a bit yesterday. I wanted to make sure we were good after the goofiness at EA. Some stuff was still weird. Played with her tongue a lot, but when she softened, I softened and it went away (think she picked up a new boredom/evasion habit :eyeroll. Our right lead canter was fabulous right off the bat. The left she thought about being a brat but I sent her on and she evened out. It was a lovely canter both directions though. Our trot work was totally on point though. Everything just flowed. I did a very, very short ride though since she's still winding down from being stalled WAY too long (she didn't get home until midnight Tuesday night/Wednesday morning; I wasn't thrilled). Also looks like she got kicked quite a bit, including a spot right where the shoulder would rub on the saddle pad. So I'm sure that didn't help at all (particularly in left lead canter; it's on her right shoulder). Overall though, I was super pleased! Also used her new BoT saddle pad! It was buy one, get one 50% off at EA, so I got a new white one for showing only, and a navy one! I may be obsessed :lol:

Couple of cute pictures. Her neck in that one though! It's coming along for how little I've actually been able to ride this year!

Also, will be updating this again later today hopefully (possibly before we go try and ride again) since I bought some photos from the photographer that was at EA. Couple nice ones given she was a butt head :lol:

Finally, this is Saturday's demo. No harsh criticism since I know it's NOT a good representation of us at all. This was the day she decided she HATED the borrowed saddle...


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## Tazzie

Got the pictures from the photographer! Woohoo! And also paid for Izzie's genetic testing! Will be grabbing hair tonight or tomorrow to send out! Just want to make sure there is nothing icky hiding there :lol:



















And Izzie being far from perfect :lol:


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## DanteDressageNerd

I get what youre saying about Izzie being upset with the saddle, you can see it on her face the entire ride. She looks like she's saying I don't want to use my back, I don't like this. Very opinionated lol. But she wouldn't be Izzie without her opinions. 

She's really maturing well though, even though she wasn't happy with the saddle she looks like she's growing up and trying.


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## frlsgirl

Wow Izzy is certainly one busy horse; doing demos and posing as a unicorn. You are so brave to ride in front of all these people!


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## Tazzie

Cassie, it definitely is clear as day for those of us who know her lol! She was just unamused with it. Which is fine. I definitely prefer an opinion to none at all! And I was telling Nick she's definitely seeming to grow up finally! I'll never ask her to just deal with a crappy saddle fit all the time (I will accept opinions, but ask she understands when we can't fix it right this second; she's learning it WILL be fixed though and to trust). She's our baby 

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Tanja, she definitely is a busy pony! I don't know that we can use the horn at Breyerfest, but least she'll be around all the kids again! And honestly, it's easier riding in a situation like that as opposed to in a show. There, those people have NO CLUE (most of the time) of what I'm supposed to be doing or look like. In a show you're literally being judged :lol: so I like doing demos since I can wing it and people will still think it's awesome lol

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So got to ride Friday and Saturday  kept both fairly short and focused on getting steady gaits in our lateral work, on rounding the back, and her realizing she's ok with the saddle.

After Wednesday and her acting like she wanted to buck and go crazy (I think from anticipation that the saddle would hurt), we opted to lunge her both days. Let her get her yahoos out and feel confident in herself with the saddle. I believe it worked well 

Friday I picked her up and we had a short discussion on how we work. Went right into lateral work and I had her lifting her back and feeling much happier than she did on Wednesday. Progress! Cantered her a bit and I was very pleased with how she did! She was still a bit hesitant to the left (which is the direction she reacted to VERY strongly when we tried using the front billets on our saddle the Friday of EA), but better than Wednesday. We had to hurry back home since Syd had a fever, and my father in law was watching the kids.

Saturday I again lunged her, and then hopped on. Right off the bat she was fabulous. It's been fascinating riding her lately. To the right has always been her stiff direction. But as we work, she's realizing she can remain supple in her rib cage when going right, and that I don't need to ask all the darn time! I was pleased as punch! We did lateral work to the left, and then Nick began recording to the right (I hadn't realized he'd begun recording). We completed a bit work to the right, and then did the canter. I've started asking for the right lead first since the left holds icky memories of the saddle and what not. What is on the video was the first time I asked her to canter both directions that day. I wasn't sure what I'd get :lol: but she felt happy and really strong! So I'm super pleased! We ended on a short note that day too as dinner was in the crock pot, and Nick had taken longer on his truck than he had anticipated. But I was VERY happy with how she worked!






Yesterday she was off as I was at a baby shower, and today is chilly and rainy. Both kids still have a cough, so I don't want to drag them out in it, and Nick has a dentist appointment. I will be seeing if my in laws can watch them tomorrow and if we can use the indoor arena 

I'm definitely feeling better about our show this weekend  I have some pictures too lol it's a good thing Eeyore is my favorite character because Nick said Izzie looked like that in the first two pictures. I also had some tiny helpers to groom on Saturday 

Also gave mini "lessons" to each kid. They've never been taught how to steer, so... my horse is an angel, just in case that wasn't already established haha!


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## egrogan

Oh my goodness, the "lessons" just melt my heart. Izzie is certainly a keeper!


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## Tazzie

The kids really enjoyed it  I only have them ride when THEY ask! I've always promised myself I'd never push the kids to ride, and if they wanted to, they know all they have to do is ask. Saturday, they asked so I made sure they got her for her cool down (which is typically when they ride). She's definitely not going anywhere


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## DanteDressageNerd

Izzie is looking really good! I think you should be looking at competing 2nd level soon. Needs to be a bit more up but it's coming fast! I love how good she is with the kids, that is so heart warming! She's really something! What a good girl!


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## Tazzie

Thank you Cassie <3 a lot of our issues with making the solid jump to 2nd is entirely me. I can cue the walk to canter, and get it. But the canter to walk is my sticking point. I need to gain a better feel of when is the perfect time to ask, and the absolute correct way to ask. I don't know that I ever really learned how to properly ask for it. I never actually showed above 1st growing up, so it's pretty much all new territory where we are at now. Need to get Izzie feeling better so we can get a lesson!

She really is  I adore her so much for how she is with the kids!

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Well, I rode yesterday. Her lateral work was SO good I could have cried. I was THRILLED! Did canter to the right and it felt AMAZING! Even did a walk to canter, our first in at least 6 months! So happy!

And then I cantered left.

And it fell apart.

It appears the backs of her legs are sore AGAIN. I've contacted my friend to have her hopefully lasered this weekend (I'd also planned on doing MagnaWave, which might help, maybe). I also came home and paid to overnight the Vitamin E supplement for her. She can't collect without swapping. If I let her go a little less engaged she's ok, but ugh.

So we will try the Vitamin E supplement. I also plugged her diet into FeedXL to see if there are holes, and she's low in Vitamin E and low in Sodium. Other than that, it seems diet wise is ok. If the Vitamin E doesn't work, then I'll be talking with Nick to bring her to Rood and Riddle or Parks Equine and start full diagnostics on her (provided we can afford it *sigh*). It's clearly linked to cantering. We haven't had this issue until we started adding the canter back in. I make sure she's good and warmed up before cantering, and start slow and easy. Just UGH! We have a show we are leaving for this weekend, so pretty down. I have a plan of attack to help her this weekend, but PRAYING the Vitamin E helps her :sad:


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## lostastirrup

You might run down to the grocery and pick up some of the human vitE capsules. We used to do that in a pinch, a couple brands are pretty comparable in price.


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## Tazzie

The Vitamin E should actually be here today  I guess the lady I talked to Tuesday night didn't realize the place was closing down for the night, so they credited back the overnight shipping charge since it wasn't technically overnight (I did say she didn't have to since it wasn't her fault the place closed, and that it is still technically being overnighted). She just wanted to keep the company's reputation for customer service high (which it still was; I didn't fault her for any of it). It'll cost all of about 44 cents a day to supplement it. Possibly even less if I don't do a full scoop. We plugged the Vitamin E into FeedXL and it more than met her requirements.

Another interesting thing brought up by FeedXL was that she was low in Sodium. Now, they have a salt block out there (I think; it's one of those things I need to be better checking, but they had one), but I have noticed Izzie likes licking hands. Which should have clued me in that she needed salt in her diet. Well Alicia (aka one of my bestest best friends now :lol found this tidbit when helping me research last night:

"For horses that are severely deficient in Na, they will not be able to chew correctly, may have trouble controlling their muscles, and often have an unsteady gait."

We went through a period where Izzie chewed funny, which left our vets stumped. And every once in a while she seems a bit unsteady in the hind end (which I always attributed to the uneven ground we work on). So.... picking up a horse safe loose salt and mineral bag today from Tractor Supply, and will begin adding that to her diet as well (slowly, as my girl is a rather large pain....)

Fingers crossed this works. But I've also gotten the go ahead from Nick if we need to haul her elsewhere for diagnostics. That man is the most amazing man ever (and he's well aware of what this will cost too...)


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## Tazzie

Well, an update....

Izzie was still sore this weekend. I also had a MAJOR chest cold. So even though we had her get two MagnaWave treatments, we chose to scratch all of our riding classes without taking a test ride to see. So I can't say with 100% certainty if Izzie was just anticipating pain, or if she was still ouchy. Had I not had a chest cold, I would have attempted a test ride to evaluate where we were.

HOWEVER.

This doesn't mean I didn't show :wink: the fabulous thing about Arabian shows is the HUGE amount of in hand classes we have available to us. I had entered in all four Sport Horse In Hand classes (SHIH) (Hunter type and Dressage type, with an Open and Amateur class for each), and I showed my friend's two horses too.

I started showing my friend's horses in halter. We had a long wait for sport horse, so there was no hurry. They both did ok, but nothing spectacular.

Then it was time to prep for SHIH. Izzie was the first of the three I'd be showing since I entered in Open and Amateur, and my friend only entered hers in Amateur (which I was thankful for that day as running 12 patterns total would have killed me). It was a double Regional show, meaning each pattern I ran was judged by two separate judges, and therefore it was like running two classes. So the placings could vary!

Now, the competition was steep. I'd have been thrilled with even just one first and a championship. I was also showing my friend's mare against my own, and I HAVE beaten Izzie with that mare too. But I also knew these judges have liked Izzie in the past...

WELL!

IZZIE WON EVERYTHING!

She won all four classes under the Region 13 judge AND all four classes under the Region 14 judge! Meaning she ALSO won all the championships (four in total for us)!

This year they had changed the supreme championship class. In past years it was always based on scores. I had hoped it'd be that way this year. But nope! First year it was ever comparative. So all the champions from ALL the divisions were in there. The geldings, mares and stallions. Purebred and half (though Izzie was the ONLY half Arabian mare!) I had actually won TWO championships with my friend's gelding too, so she ran him in the supreme as well.

Figuring out all the gelding championship winners though took forever. In that time I opted to run up and scratch Izzie from the riding class. I was exhausted, she was exhausted, and what more could I ask for really?? Apparently as Nick was holding her (she was snoozing), the Region 14 judge looked at her snoozing and said "There's my favorite pony!" Cue my heart melting when Nick told me!

So we go in, and I still didn't have THAT high of hope for a supreme. If I had thought my individual classes were deep, this was deeper. I'm talking we went against National Champions in this class. A BIG FREAKING DEAL. So I do my best to show Izzie off. I run has big as I could for the trot side in hopes it sticks with at least one judge (there would be two supreme champions because two regions). They called the Region 13 supreme first, and it was a National Champion. I had expected her to win it as she IS a nice horse. Then they called the Region 14 supreme. AND IT WAS IZZIE! I cried. I admit it. I came out bawling. I've never been that high up in my life. I've won supreme at our fall show when she is FIT, but I'm not sure I have ever even won an in hand championship at this show. I always set her up as a Warmblood since it displays her shoulder and croup the best, and I make sure she keeps her head lower as it highlights the correct work in her neck. It helps she's a friendly horse too since she perks her ears as the judge walks near her.

Naturally, we went out to celebrate :lol: Nick enjoyed not needing to rush around and get me ready to ride too haha!

Sunday came and I was feeling a bit better, but still thoroughly drained from the cold. Izzie still seemed sore (again, could be anticipation, but I won't know until I ride her this week). I opted to scratch the riding classes. I'm not normally one to back down from a challenge, but the deck was against us. I was sick, Izzie seemed ouchy, and the judge Sunday HATES us.

I did enter in mare halter KNOWING I was the fourth place ringer. Which was fine because it was a bonus class for my incentive fund, and it goes out to fourth place lol we did in fact take fourth. Next was trail in hand. Of course in the class we had competition Izzie entirely forgot she knows how to side pass down a pole. So we took second out of two. Then, of course, when we go in for the amateur class, and we are the lone entry, Izzie goes "duh, I can do this" and performs it perfectly. Mares!

Which concluded our show! Nick was THRILLED to leave early! I was bummed, but it did allow me to get ALL of our show gear washed and start on regular clothes! So that made me happier :lol:

I do have to laugh at one comment though. There is this girl that is entirely supported by her mom and dad. She pays nothing for her horses (how do I know? She posted a picture of a super shiny, $500+ riding helmet going "my first big girl purchase EVER!"... she's mid 20's). Her horse was purpose bred for our sport, so she looks down on Izzie as competition fodder aka just a class filler and an easy horse to gain points from. Particularly in the in hand classes. She went top ten at Nationals. Well, the horse was lame. We're talking it appeared to be string halt in the left hind, and short stepping about six inches with the right hind. While being trotted on the ground. The judges apparently didn't like this, and I honestly wish she had been shown the gate. But she placed fourth under both judges (I believe; I saw at least one score sheet and she was fourth). My friend who I showed horses for overheard this comment though... said girl went to pick up her ribbon, expecting an easy win. She saw what she got and said "Are you f***ing kidding me?? ARE YOU F***ING KIDDING ME?!?!" Nick wishes he had been picking Izzie's ribbons up at the same time as her. He isn't a big fan of her either (she's notorious for showing under the lady who broke and showed her horse, and she's never lost under her).

But what a weekend! I'm spent at this point. Izzie will have some time off too to allow her diet change to start working. And PRAYING it helps her.

Some photos are in order though 

Syd fell asleep waiting on the Supreme Championship class lol










Couple pictures of Nick and I with our winning girl (kids didn't want to be a part of it, and I was NOT going to force them)


















Her awards 


















Mandatory picture with all of her ribbons 










Happy pony back out with her friends!


















The full assortment before I put them away 










And the curio cabinet... lol


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## frlsgirl

Congrats on all your winnings.

One thing about the canter, a friend's horse, a Morgan, had problems with the canter and it turned out it was his sacrum even though the soreness showed up in different places. They ended up working with on Osteopath rather than a Chiro and now he's back to his old self. Just something to consider.


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## Tazzie

Thanks!

And it is something to consider. I do know I want her checked out by the chiro again, but haven't really looked into an Osteopath. I did a quick look on this website, and there is one in Lexington. Not TOO far, but I'd have to see WHEN we could haul her an hour and a half, give or take, to be seen. I know compared to others that isn't too far, but involve a non horsey husband and you're wanting to take her to the moon :lol:

https://www.equineosteopathy.org/


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## carshon

congratulations! And I just want to comment again that it makes me so happy to see a horse who is obviously above par in so many ways (temperament, looks and training) put out in a pasture with her horse friends. Who says show horses have to be in padded stalls and never see a blade of grass? Congrats on a job well done - and I hope you are both feeling better soon.


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## knightrider

Congratulations and what wonderful news! I am so thrilled for you. And the wonderfuller(?) amazing part is that you don't have a coach, get almost no lessons, work VERY hard with not much support (just your amazing husband), full time job, two kids. I couldn't be happier for you! You go, girl.


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## PoptartShop

Congratulations!!!   You can tell Izzie is proud, happy, & loves to please. She is such a good girl! So many ribbons, well-deserved!! Yayy!!!!


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## DanteDressageNerd

I'm SO SO happy for you, your family and Miss Izzie. That is absolutely wonderful! You guys are a really great team and should be really proud  it's a shame about your competitors being such poor sports about it but what comes around goes around!


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## Tazzie

Carshon, thank you! I honestly couldn't imagine keeping her cooped up in a stall all her life. She loves her stall to nap in at shows, but she's honestly not a HUGE fan of them. I'll mostly likely always have horses just out on pasture, with stalls for inclement weather. Everyone is happier that way, and I can deal with a few nicks and such lol I'm at least feeling better. Izzie's been getting some rest, so hopefully she is too!

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Knightrider, thank you! I do have a coach, but it's been... nearly a year since I rode with her? I love that she understands I can't go there as often as I'd like, so she packs a ton into my lessons (that I always record because lessons are rare for me). But thank you! It's such a struggle some days, and I get a bit tired of people going "if you want it, do it!" when they don't have a family, and dropping everything to ride just isn't feasible every day of the week. I just do what I can.

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Allison, thank you!! She was definitely proud  and so many ribbons! Nick needs to make me my end tables and coffee table SOON so I have real places to put them haha! Hopefully soon enough!

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Cassie, thank you! I'm very happy  I do feel like a team with her, which is why I'm ok throwing in the white flag when a team mate just can't do it. I don't want to sever that! And yeah, it does get very old :/ she'll get hers eventually.

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Well, I'd planned to ride today since Monday was her required "day after the horse show" day off, and yesterday was Nick's birthday. Sadly, Nick is working late tonight. It's supposed to rain tomorrow and Friday. If it doesn't in the afternoon, I'm planning to ride. I don't want to haul to the arena since the arena can be a bit hard, and I'm seeing if she's still ouchy. Time will tell. Saturday I'm hauling a horse, so next day would be Sunday. Which is Izzie's 8th birthday 

And big news on my end! I found where my friend got certified for laser therapy. They are even having a sale on their courses right now. Well, my mom and dad are paying for it for my birthday!! I'm SUPER excited! Nick put the idea in my head at EA, and now I'm acting on it. SO EXCITED! Now whenever Izzie is sore like this, I can help her more than just calling and begging people. So freaking happy!! It'll also allow me to help a few horses on the side too!


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## DanteDressageNerd

I'm so glad you're going to be learning how to do laser therapy. That's going to be so so helpful with Izzie, I hope the Vitamin E continues to help her!


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## Tazzie

Cassie, I'm so excited about it! I think it'll be a great tool for later on  and I hope so too!!

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Got to ride last night, and man! She was AWESOME!

I got out there and tested her hamstrings to gauge where we were with soreness. She turned and watched me poke around down there. Hmm, cool.

Lunged her since it was gusting pretty good out there, and I felt like I had a fresh three year old on the line! Yikes! Bucking, bolting, etc. She was having the time of her life!

Hopped on and went to work at the walk first. It was windy, so wanted to keep the ride short, but focused. She was totally in tune with me. Wind gusting, kids playing, and they were discing the fields in preparation for planting. Fabulous time to ride haha!

I made my kids sit when I went to canter though since Izzie can be rotten when she feels off at the canter. I started to the right since that was the way she didn't react negatively about last time. Flawless. Had a wonderful canter for a couple circles. Really nice downward transition too! Then to the left. I goosed her a bit (partially on accident, partially on purpose) since last time she was adamant about not cantering. She did one squeal, but then cantered out beautifully. I asked her to collect a bit. She did without swapping. Cued the trot, then walk, and pumped both fists in the air with a shout! SUPER excited!

Fun pictures from last night 



































If it doesn't rain tonight, I'll be riding. Otherwise, trying again on Sunday


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## frlsgirl

So once you know how to do Laser therapy, do you have to buy your own Laser? Or can you borrow it from someone?


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## Tazzie

Tanja, I'll have to buy my own laser, but some are fairly reasonably priced. I found one for $199, and another for about $315. I'll probably start out with the $315 one, and eventually upgrade to a nicer one as I'm able  when you take into account that for two sessions on the MagnaWave I paid $160, it ends up being more cost effective to buy the laser and help her problem spots that way lol!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What a weekend!

We didn't end up going to ride Friday night. Instead, we cleaned out the trailer of all my tack and such in preparation to be on the road all day Saturday. It did end up raining HARD too, and I wanted to be sure my saddle was inside and cozy before it hit lol

My bestest best friend came up Friday night as we planned to go pick up a mare he will be breeding to my favorite Arab stallion for a super nice half Arabian to tool around the arena, maybe do some western Dressage, and hit the trails!

Our Saturday started early. We were on the road by 7, and stopped at our local gas station for donuts for breakfast. Kids thought this was awesome! Dropped my friend's care down near where we would cross back into Kentucky so he wouldn't have to come back home with us! Proper planning and all that lol

We got to @evilamc around 11, where we ate a DELICIOUS lunch of smoked pork and ribs. YUM! I was excited to finally meet her husband, and was very happy he was sociable with us! We left the dogs with her as she was going to shave Penny (we shave her every summer, she stays much cooler that way) and bathe Sheldon. Hit the road again to go pick up the horse!

Get in the middle of nowhere and see the mare. She is STUNNING! Huge show bred Percheron that "didn't have enough motion" for their job. She looked plenty fancy to us! Quick video clip I took 






She loaded up pretty well in all honesty. Kind of was looky a bit, and took a bit of coaxing, but honestly nothing bad. Wasn't even solidly planted, just wanted to survey the trailer. Which was fine. She hauled super well aside from when an ambulance went by and she jumped HARD in the trailer. That's a big girl to be jumping around!

Picked up the pups, and made our trek down to where she will be staying for a bit. The deal is that she is to get some training on her exchange for my friend being able to breed her. Unfortunately, she's had essentially nothing done with her :/ so there won't be any riding for a while. Her feet are a bit overgrown, so need to get those back in shape before they think of riding her, and do plenty of groundwork before really asking her to ride. She at least has been ridden before, but we like thorough over just hopping on and going! She also startled at a moving feed bag, so there is a lot of desensitization needed yet. The girl bought her to be a police horse, but... she's four and is acting like a sheltered yearling that is halter broke. LONG way away from being a police horse...

However, and I'll die if we pull this off... Nick confessed he wants her lol he apparently was smitten with her instantly. So much so he's staked out where a barn and an arena would go on his dad's property that they've offered to us to put horses and/or just buy it. So... while it wasn't my dream property, he wants to make it that way. All because he found a horse he loves. SO! I'm planning to offer to buy her lol it's kind of a sticky situation, but there is a good chance we could buy her. Guess we will see. Hoping Alicia will help us out a bit lol so cross your fingers haha!

Yesterday I got to squeeze a ride in before it got HOT, and before it rained! It was Izzie's 8th birthday, so she got a ton of carrots and good grazing lol we did a short ride since we were in the tiny area I broke her instead of her field. It was muddy, and we had no way to haul her stuff out to the barn. So, we made do. She loved playing on the lunge a bit before my ride lol

And then the ride was amazing. It's a sloped field, so I didn't want her cantering much. I let her canter up the slope, but didn't want her cantering down it. But my word. Our canter departures were the quietest ones yet. And the downward transition from the canter was also better! Sincerely hoping we've discovered why she was sore, and we can continue growing! Now that she feels better, I'll finally be able to get a lesson! So excited!

Couple fun pictures of my babies 


























































And I'll make a second post with pictures from the property lol


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## Tazzie

Pictures when we were checking out the property lol

View from bottom of hill:









Where Nick marked out where he'd put their first barn:









View from top of hill toward bottom. It's a long hill, but it's actually not as steep as what I'd been thinking lol









What ridge there is; it'd need to be leveled for the arena:









And couple panorama pictures 

















One very worn out Penny after the all day trip on Saturday lol yes, she's painted like a My Little Pony :lol:


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## Tihannah

Miss Izzie is without a doubt the horse of a lifetime. Who woulda thought that little gangly filly would turn into such a showstopper! Lol. You've done an amazing job with her, Katie, and should be beaming with pride. And then to see how awesome she is with the kiddos?? That's amazing!

And I don't know if anyone else has said this, but you've got a great husband. I love how supportive Nick is with your riding and the shows. And how exciting that he's fallen in love with that mare! I hope he gets her!!

The property is beautiful!! I'm so excited for you!!


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## DanteDressageNerd

I LOVE the pictures of Izzie with the kids! She is so sweet! What a special mare! She has a such a pretty, soft expression on her face.

I REALLY hope you can bring Noir home at some point too, especially because Nick is so taken by her and it seems like it'd be a good pairing. Especially if she has a lovely temperament. 

Also happy birthday to Miss Izzie! And good luck bringing Izzie home! I REALLY REALLY hope it works well and you can get the property ready! I'm so glad Nick is so helpful and so supportive, you two are so good to each other and appreciate each other. It's really a lovely thing.


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## frlsgirl

Bahaha the poor dog. Izzy is so good with kids! Some mares just have a really good mothering instinct even with human babies.


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## knightrider

Have been wondering what's going on with Izzie. Then I clicked on "Confessions" and wow! Lots of exciting things! Could you update your journal too?


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## Tazzie

Yikes, I guess it has been longer than I thought since I updated it! Oops! Sorry guys! I'll have to make multiple posts!

A lot has happened, some fabulous and some not so great.

Our show was great  Izzie took two seconds and a third in sport horse in hand as well as reserve champion! I was pleased  a test ride Friday night of the show proved Izzie was ready to actually be shown under saddle this year! We also took two first for trail in hand  she rocks that class!

Saturday morning we showed two under saddle classes, taking second in both of them  I had nice, clean rides, so I was happy! Unfortunately we had to leave for a wedding, so I didn't get to show any others 










Also got our show pictures back for our first two shows 

These are from the April show:

















(This is her snoozing with the gelding I show at the April show lol)

















These are from our show in May 

















































More in next post


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## Tazzie

So, major drama also ensued around the time of our last show. My now very much ex friend Blair and I got into a spat about the DUMBEST thing ever (literally, she would look like a tool to her clients if they heard WHY we ended our friendship). Major problem though. She's screwing my ex BO (both figuratively and literally). Well, she was complaining to our mutual friend that our now ex BO wouldn't kick us out WHILE we were at the show. He was nice enough to tell me at least so I could plan accordingly. Blair has power over our kind hearted ex BO, so I knew I had to act fast or he would be berated until Izzie was gone.

We did bring Izzie to her former residence after the show, and I still kept to my trail ride I had planned for Mother's Day. It was mine and Izzie's 7 year anniversary. It also gave us the chance to clear ALL her stuff out of there. I knew we had to go fast with the fencing project, and we wouldn't have time to go down there again. Afterward, we went and bought fencing materials so we could start the following day.

Nick ended up staying home that Monday because the daycare for whatever reason didn't open until 7 (Nick needs to drop off around 6 to be to work at 7). So he got started on the fencing project as well as started the leveling for the barn. We can't buy the land unfortunately, but my in laws are entirely ok with us building a barn/run in shed for Izzie and a buddy. We just ran hot wire along the existing fence line. It's not the best set up, but the hot wire is hot enough they stay off of it. Nick doesn't want to dump a ton of money into everything since it won't be permanent. But I'm incredibly thankful to have our "own" place!

So Nick started that project on Monday. Friday we borrowed my BIL's stock trailer and picked Izzie up for the last time. It was bittersweet, and I was saddened no one was around to say goodbye to. I hadn't told a soul we would be coming to get her then either.

Couple of pictures 

Our last trail ride:

































Mine and Nick's pettiness and desire to be DONE with Blair. Because of all this stress, she could come begging for forgiveness and friendship, and I'd tell her to ef off. BTW, this was Nick's doing even, and he's about as laid back as you can get in a man.

















Izzie at HOME!

























































Expect another post shortly  have to go do some lab work quick.


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## Tazzie

More pictures of Izzie at home 


















































Over Memorial Day weekend, @evilamc and our mutual friend came to go trail riding! We had a BLAST! Alicia will have to post the video she took in my journal since I don't have the link, but we led Izzie up to my house with my car haha! I love my broke pony!























































More in my next post


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## Tazzie

More Izzie at home (there will be a lot of these haha)


























































Leveling out the spot for the barn









We also bought a trailer  nothing fancy, but it's usable!

















New mats in the trailer in preparation for our surprise... 









Details in next post...


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## Tazzie

Well obviously Izzie couldn't live alone forever. So while the barn isn't finished, etc, we started our search for the perfect buddy. And my friend recommended their gelding  well... we met him on Memorial Day, test rode him that Wednesday, and brought him home Friday  so everyone, meet Diego! His show name is Arkynstone  he is a four year old purebred Arabian gelding that was trained Western Pleasure, but they think he'd be happier going Sport Horse and trail riding. SO! He is Nick's horse 


































































Introductions with the diva went well too 









































Best friends already!









And trailer loading practice with both of them 









Just one more post to go lol


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## Tazzie

Videos of their first day I forgot to post 















Just out being horses  Nick loves this little guy so much!


















Diego learning the RZR is not as scary as it looks and sounds.


















Nick working on getting Diego across the creek 






















Spending time with my favorite girl 









And where I found her yesterday morning when I had to bring her to the house for the vet. Needed their out of state health certificates!









Friday we leave for our last big horse show until fall! Diego will be shown in hand, and Izzie will be shown in hand and under saddle! I'm excited about it!


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## Tazzie

With the addition of Diego, it was time for an updated journal title  thank you @farmpony84 for the quick change!

Same adventures, same fun, just a new title


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## frlsgirl

Oh my goodness so many new developments. Congrats on the new horse. It looks like they are getting along just fine. Were you nervous to get a gelding as horse #2 or is Izzy pretty easy going about having boys around?


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## Tazzie

Thank you Tanja! And I wanted a gelding. Izzie a total *itch, so I didn't want to deal with two mares. That and I think mentally, a gelding would be a better fit for both Izzie and Nick 

---------------------------------------

Yikes, I let this really slip.

So, we never made it to the last big show. Izzie ended up with an abscess that sidelined us for a bit. We moved them both home as we didn't trust Diego alone in the field, and we were soaking Izzie's foot at 5 am before work. I wasn't about to go hiking to find her at that hour! She finally blew it out her heel *sigh* it was a mess, but she's sound on it now!

Soaking it...










Where it blew out (by Nick's thumb you can see the pus)










Wrapping it with the help of Dr. Diego 










Rolling once the hoof pack was on his sister; this also shows just how large this "stall" is










Couple random pictures when they were stuck on stall rest




























Diego was fitted for his bridle too










And once turned back out, learned the RZR is not scary at all. Now he doesn't move lol










Back outside since someone (*coughIzziecough*) was entirely stir crazy once the abscess blew



















Few random field pictures 





































More in next post


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## Tazzie

My daughter is becoming a little horse woman with the ponies being home 










We also had Diego's first ride! He's really a good boy (at home) and we've already started hacking him around the field. He's really coming along! I let Nick ride him the first day, and he's in love 










Videos of first ride










Nick's first ride










Ponies at home after a bath and their chiropractor adjustment. Before I got too deep into Diego's retraining, I wanted to make sure all was well. The chiro LOVED him!



















My little horse woman 



















The cows standing in the creek 










And Syd's first ride on Diego since she INSISTED on riding him! He has a long way to go before he can be a lead line pony, but Syd loves him 










More in next post (that may be after I eat lunch lol)


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## Tazzie

I got a packet in the mail right around my birthday having people submit for booth space for Equine Affaire (I'm not in charge of it, so I don't make those decisions). Wasn't I stoked to open it up and see this!










Ponies came home the night of my birthday for a farrier visit, and naturally it rained. So we chilled in the garage. Decided to measure the ponies. Izzie sticks right about 15 hands. Diego? He's between 14 and 14.1 right now lol










During that time I've been working Diego. He's really stuck in his neck from his prior training, so I've been working on getting him to relax and stretch out. In canter he entirely locks his neck and won't bend at all. So we have been sticking with walk and trot to supple his neck up some. I'm working on encouraging him to work longer and lower, but all of his prior education was up and in. Even on a long rein he curls way under. So I try to keep contact, encourage bending, and when I feel him start stretching into the contact, I give him the rein he needs. It's quite the process!










Coming up quickly was Breyerfest! Just before it, Izzie was honored to earn her Legion of Honor! This means she's accumulated 60 points from showing and beating horses. She is now known as Written In The Stars+! I'm super stoked!

Nick and I hauled Izzie down on July 12th for Breyerfest. I rode her super lightly in the arena since there was lots of scary stuff to look at. I wanted to make sure she was settled before the arena was jam packed. I'm glad I did! She's NEVER seen crowds like this before! All in all, it's stated we rode to a weekend total of 15,000 people! I know a lot of them came to see us afterward! Izzie loved every minute of that!



















Video of our ride






Meeting the crowds!














































We signed SO many Breyers it was unreal!










Being silly with my girl 



















Stealing from the neighbors is ok, right?










And we got to meet Donna Brothers, the lady who interviews the jockeys after races like the Kentucky Derby!










Ok, NOW it's lunch time. I'll upload more after that lol


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## Tazzie

After Breyerfest, I gave Izzie some time off to kind of regroup. There were A LOT of people touching her, and it'd be enough to send normal horses straight into the rafters. We did go on a quiet little trail ride the Thursday after since we were sans kids 



















And I found pretty pictures of my girly posted online from Breyerfest!



















Then came show preparation. The next show was July 28th, and I wanted to make sure we were ready. Worked Diego in hand since we are retraining him to be a sport horse rather than a halter horse. At home he started doing well 






And both did well under saddle prior to the show 










Of course lead line rides were a must too...










Showtime came quickly! We hauled the horses over on the 27th so we could do some ring work before the actual show. I'm glad I did! Diego was a bit overwhelmed in a new place. He thought about rearing (just got light, didn't actually go up) and thought about cantering when trotting (which is basically never offered). I just kept him calm and relaxed. Eventually he settled and rode decently. Izzie worked fabulously, so her ride was pretty quick.

Woke up early and got there with plenty of time to practice in hand. Again, glad we did! Diego was nothing like he was at home! After a few practice runs he was better, and Nick had the courage to show him in hand himself. YES!
































































Our first class was English Halter. Izzie didn't place, but Diego got SECOND out of NINE!

Second class was Arabian/Half Arabian Halter. Izzie took second, and Diego took third, out of four 

After that was leadline (will be it's own post lol) followed swiftly by Diego's class: Novice Walk Trot.

Diego WON out of SEVEN! No pictures yet, waiting on the official show photographer (pictures I have are from my mother in law)

Last night Nick fed the ponies alone since I was stuck in traffic. His pony found the mud haha!



















And @evilamc made us a logo for our new farm name!! We aren't a training/lesson farm, but I wanted a farm name to show under. I'm so excited!


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## Tazzie

So lead line! My wonderful mother in law made Syd's outfit. I'd seen the idea in one of my groups on Facebook, and HAD to do it! Enjoy the cuteness 














































Family picture 










Me with my mom 










And of course there is video 







I hope to get some ride time later this week. It's been raining like crazy here! Every time it nearly dries out to start setting posts for the barn, it freaking rains. I'm totally over not having my barn yet lol the horses have a lot of natural shelter, but... I want a barn!


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## knightrider

Am completely thrilled with all your successes! You work so hard and deserve it all!


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## Tazzie

Thank you @knightrider!

Also realized I was typing so fast, and so excited about Diego's success, I forgot to expand on the classes AND share Izzie's results haha!

So Diego was anxious in the ring. He has only shown under saddle twice from the look of it, and in one horse classes. He was a bit overwhelmed, so I talked to him the entire time. By the end he'd settled nicely 

Izzie was a pill for some reason. Had a decent warm up, but I think they over watered the arena, and she wasn't amused. At all. Mud hit her belly (had to wipe it off between classes), and she let me know with a good buck. Naughty mare! She still took second out of six in Hunter Pleasure since apparently the judge didn't see it. Our last class was English Pleasure. Aside from her thinking she was going to grab the incorrect lead, a hard correction, and the correct lead, she did much better. The ring wasn't as muddy by then, and she seemed happier. Such a diva! Took second out of four to a horse VERY deserving of the win! They were our neighbors last year and this year at this show, and their parents are the reason Sport Horse Nationals and Youth Nationals came to be. So I basically stabled with royalty  they showed in the class I added on their request last year, and she put in another BEAUTIFUL performance! I hollered like a crazy lady, particularly her win was over two horses trained by my ex friend :lol: yes, I can be petty when the timing is right. Though, I would have cheered for her regardless since she had a GREAT ride and deserved the cheering!

Our next show isn't until September 15th, so we have time to get better. Originally I'd planned on Nick showing him at this show, but... thinking he needs a bit more confidence building before he can take over. Nick understands, particularly since he watched his pre ride and his class ride. I just REALLY want to get them in the ring together under saddle! At least he's willing to show him in hand!


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## Tihannah

Okay, not only do I LOVE what you have done and are doing with these horses, but that Nick has caught the bug and is actively showing with you now. You already know I love Izzie, but Diego? Omg, he's just too freakin adorable! 

I love the Breyerfest clip. Izzie looks like she KNOWS she's the star of the event and just struttin her stuff!! Syd's outfit was precious! Congratulations on everything! And oh man, I chuckled out loud in the part where you were cheering loudly for the person that beat out the ex-friend. Lol. I hope they heard you! ;-)


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## Tazzie

Haha thank you! I definitely think we struck gold with both of them  and yes! He was always meh about showing Izzie, but he's SUPER excited about showing Diego! I doubt I'll get him learning how to braid, but that's no biggie really lol taking second in that class (oh, and did I mention beating said ex friend's horse in there too? lol) really sealed the deal for him, and has made him even more excited. That and winning that Novice class  he's looking forward to future! I have my work cut out for me, but it's worth it!

Oh she knew! She knew without a doubt she was the star haha! Kids LOVED her! Syd was ridiculously excited about the costume :lol: thank you though! I'm super proud!

As for the cheering, oh you bet. I was in the front row of the bleachers, and she was just off to my left in front of the bleachers by the rail. I whopped LOUDLY, and then ran off the bleachers in an "I'm with THAT horse!" way hahaha! I'm pretty sure she saw red :rofl:


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## Tihannah

Tazzie said:


> As for the cheering, oh you bet. I was in the front row of the bleachers, and she was just off to my left in front of the bleachers by the rail. I whopped LOUDLY, and then ran off the bleachers in an "I'm with THAT horse!" way hahaha! I'm pretty sure she saw red :rofl:


****!! That's awesome!


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## DanteDressageNerd

I love the pictures with the kids! It looks like they had a great time with Izzie and I'm so glad Diego is with you, you're doing such a good job with him. It's so much fun to watch his progress with you. Cant wait for Nick to be able to enjoy him like you do and for him to trust him like he does you. He's lucky to have such a good and loving family  him and Izzie both!


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## Tazzie

Tina, I really enjoyed it :lol: I'm sure she was mad since the horse that won wasn't a super fancy mover. But she was correct without heavy exaggeration from being worked in chains and bungies. It's refreshing to see that rewarded honestly. But I sure smirked 

Cassie, thank you! They sure did! My niece even rode Izzie after Syd's class (though due to privacy I won't post her on a forum). I'm glad he's with us too  he's a bit more of a retraining project than originally expected, but he's at least not dangerous about it. He does seem to trust Nick quite a bit, particularly on the ground. They've only hacked around the property, but he does well with Nick. But thank you <3 we adore them both!


I'm so sick of rain and nastiness. I just want to ride *sigh* though if it'll hold out, we MIGHT be able to set posts for the barn on Saturday. Fingers crossed. If we can do it Saturday morning, I'm hoping maybe Sunday evening we can start building the barn. Really, really hoping so. I'm very tired of not having a barn!!

And Izzie's achievement award plaque came! I'm incredibly excited!!





































And after feeding last night. "Thou shall not pass!"


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## Tazzie

Copying and pasting from the confession thread since I have a shred of mental capacity left lol!

Whew, long weekend! FINALLY got posts set for the barn. What an ordeal! Only have 8 of the 10 we need to put in, so Nick is going to do the last two tonight (they are smaller than the other 8, so shouldn't be AS bad). I rode Saturday and it was eh. Something is off. I have to do some figuring out if it's me, them (as in needing an adjustment), or if it's the saddle. But both had issues going left, and left only. I changed nothing switching sides, but both were a lot less happy to the left. I wanted to ride bareback yesterday to start ruling stuff out, but we were lazy before my nephew's baptism yesterday morning, and it was HOT last night. Ponies were sweating just standing. So didn't get a chance to ride. Hopefully later this week, but we will see...

Barn progress though! Our building inspectors keep making sure all is how they'd like it:














































Moonagement also stopped by to see if we were on schedule. That would be a no sirs/ma'ams



















Super peaceful picture I took of the ponies after they finished dinner while we were finishing up. I like how Izzie is in the spotlight lol










And got professional pictures from the show photographer!


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## egrogan

These two are so stunning. They are what I dreamed about when I was a little kid! I'm such a sucker for a grey.


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## knightrider

When you put down your cement for your barn, make sure you get your kids' handprints, initials, and date somewhere where they can see them in years to come. We did that when my brothers and I were little kids and can still find them when we go back to the house where we grew up. Also I did that for my own little guys when we put our barn in. We can only see them when the hay is all gone every year, and the (now grown) kids love seeing their little handprints in the corner of our hay storage area.

Love the pictures! Your horses are gorgeous!


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## PoptartShop

The rain is a mess, I agree. Every time I've tried to work Promise this week, it has rained when I get to the barn. :icon_rolleyes: Today no chance of rain...so fingers crossed. LOL.

I love, love, LOVE the pictures & the costume.  So cute. Syd is just adorable too all dressed up. I can't take the cuteness, cuteness overload. The family picture, too, just so adorable. <3

Really proud of everything you guys are doing with those two, it is fantastic!!  The fact that Nick is showing too is AMAZING. Like, who knew?!!! Diego is such a cutie too, all muddy bahahaha. I guess he wanted to be a bay? LOL. I love the name of the farm, and the logo.  

Keep up all the good work!! And I hope you get the barn all setup soon too, I know that will be nice for winter! At least you got the posts, that's a START!


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## Tazzie

@egrogan, thank you! They are my dream ponies too  greys have always been my favorite, which is why I originally bought Izzie. It was luck she was just what I wanted under saddle too  and Nick fell in love with grey as well, so it worked out that Diego has the personality we wanted too 
@knightrider, I wish we were putting more in! Unfortunately the only concrete that will be in the barn will be what we used for the posts, and that concrete was buried. Nick is using waste gravel in the hay storage and trailer storage part, and it will be dirt floor in the run in area/stalls and tack room. My next barn (and the permanent one for us haha) will definitely have their hand prints! And thank you! <3
@PoptartShop, it has been miserable! Good luck working with Promise tonight!! It is cuteness overload! And yes! It's rare we get a family picture  thank you! <3 I try hard with the two of them! I'm so excited about Nick showing though! Just makes me SO happy! Diego is a total character  and I'm super excited for the name and logo!  hopefully the barn will be able to move quicker now that the posts are set!


Whew, I'm over the rain. And being in pain, ugh. Monday I woke up with my lower back in AGONY. Thought I over did it working with Nick over the weekend, so took it easy on Monday. Yesterday it hurt just as bad if not worse. Ugh. Called my chiropractor and got her last appointment available. My SI joint was a total mess. I'm achy today, but definitely not like I was yesterday!

Had kindergarten orientation for Kaleb yesterday too, and met his teacher. She seems nice! He goes to kindergarten jumpstart tomorrow before we leave for Michigan for the weekend 

I snagged pictures of the posts all finished too, whew!

From each end:



















From the two posts on each side closest to the camera to the far corner posts (I hope that's understandable haha!) will be two 10'x12' stalls, that will have a gate to allow it to open into a 10'x24' run in shed. We will also be putting fans in for next year to provide some breeze there










From that far right post closest to the camera back, and the space between those three posts will be my hay storage and feed/tack room 










From that far left post closest to the camera back, and the space between those three posts will be where the trailer will be parked for storage 










I'm HOPING I can squeeze a small ride in tomorrow before we leave for Michigan, but we will see. I'm hoping pretty hard :lol:


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## Tazzie

Copying and pasting from the Confession thread since I've lacked time!

Whew, sorry I'm so behind!

After my last post we all went up to Michigan for a mini vacation. Went out to the beach a couple times, and my dad took us out on the boat for tubing and water skiing! Poor Kaleb was thrown off the tube twice (while on Nick's lap), but found courage to go a third time with daddy where grandpa drove VERY carefully. When he was thrown off there was A LOT of wakes, and it was kind of inevitable. I'm glad he had the courage to go again!

Sunday when we got home we rode the ponies. Nick wanted to ride Diego, so I warmed him up with the saddle. He was ok, but not perfect. At home he's very much a push ride, so when Nick would get him trotting, and then try to focus on himself, Diego would go "oh, I don't have to trot anymore since you stopped asking" and would walk. He's a work in progress, but I'd much prefer him being a push ride for Nick right now as opposed to Izzie who is more "apply the brakes" kind of ride. I hopped on Izzie and rode her bareback. While we had some okay moments, it still wasn't great. We both HATE cantering bareback. She's not a fan of bareback at speed in general (and I have to use a bareback pad; plain bareback is pretty much a no go with her), and she's so bouncy in the canter I find it hard to stay centered and balanced. I can walk and trot, lengthen, etc, but cantering her bareback is a nightmare. So we were still clueless as to what it was since it didn't answer my questions. Then it rained majority of the week. It didn't on some of Tuesday and some of Wednesday, but it was muddy and since they had a chiro appointment... I opted to wait and see what his verdict was.

But they were THRILLED to have us home!


















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On Wednesday Kaleb started kindergarten! (not sure why our family photo is upside down... if you click on it, it'll be the correct way)


























And Nick and I got some boards on the barn 

















Sheldon accompanied us...










https://youtu. be/kYq1Cv6Nw_I





This past Saturday we brought the ponies to the chiropractor. Boy were they due! I think it's a combination of the hill plus all this rain we've had. Both I'm sure feel MUCH better! I also discussed with him Izzie's off again on again soreness in the hind, and where I'd been able to locate where the soreness is coming from. He set her hind legs a certain way and began massaging/feeling to figure out what could be the case. And he found it. He had me come look at her. On her left hind she's nice and loose. On her right, she has a small area that is tight. He said it feels like an injury that healed with fibrous tissues. Showed me a couple massages and stretches to help break it up and help it heal better. I was massaging it yesterday with a massage barn and she LOVED it! Fingers crossed we've located what's going on!


















And yesterday we worked in the god awful mud to get the header boards on the barn.  It'll be ready for the trusses when Nick goes to order them this week! YAY!


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## Tazzie

Copied from my post in confession again cause I'm lazy :lol:

So the other night I had Nick record me massaging Izzie while she ate her dinner. Needless to say, you can see the look of happiness on her face. Not as good as last night when I did it after dinner though, and she was grooming Diego!






Last night the ponies had dentals! We weren't sure when the last time Diego was done, so figured it'd be good to have him done during Izzie's yearly one. He had a couple of sharp points, and the vet got a couple baby caps out  one is still in there pretty good, and I think there were a few more. He pointed at a couple baby teeth and said "he's not quite 4.5 yet". I said nope, not till November! Mister Diego also had his sheath cleaned, which he was not amused with lol luckily no beans! I'll begin working with him once the barn is finished so maybe I can do it myself. Right now he cow kicks lightning fast!



















I had told the vet Izzie is a cheap drunk, and that I've always been able to stick her loose in a stall. She kept true to that word being a saint for the stab, and starting to fall asleep before the vet had even left the stall lol he said her teeth looked fabulous. Couple spots to grind down, but nothing major at all. Said she's a model patient and he wishes all of his clients were like her. I said that's a very common comment she gets from the professionals who work on her lol










A few downfalls though. Izzie had scrapped her back sometime last week (I think it was Thursday night?) I believe it was Sunday I put equispot on them, like I typically do during the summer. Only this time they both had a reaction to it  both of them have contact blisters down their back  so riding is obviously put on hold as we wait for it to come down. You can see it here next to the scrape that is healing (that the vet was caused by the equispot; nope, just a klutzy pony)










And my suspicions were confirmed a bit too. Izzie has her first cluster of melanomas. They are super small, but I'm OCD checking her, and noticed them Sunday. Vet just said wait and see. He's pretty confident it is melanomas, but it has a slim chance of being something else. Said he wouldn't remove them right now anyway as they are not causing her pain, and not likely to interfere with her bridle. If either of those were to happen, then he would opt to remove. But ugh. I told him I had a feeling it would be them, but I was hoping I was being a paranoid grey horse owner.




























Cute picture to try and put the post in not such a blah feeling lol










Tonight we are ordering the tin and trusses for the barn. I'm SUPER excited to finally get that! If nothing else, we can get the trusses and roof tin up to have some shelter, and maybe keep that area from being so muddy we can't do any work. We shall see!


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## frlsgirl

Wow you guys are making serious progress on that barn. We just now started on the pad work!

As usual, the pics of the ponies are stunning!


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## Tazzie

Tanja, wish I could say more progress has been made, but sadly... very little has. We got the top boards up on most of them, and the trusses arrived. Nick got the trusses up (hanging upside down for now), but not sure when any of it will be completed right now :/ it's all kind of a mess 


So, I let this slip badly again. Then had to dig through a bunch of closed journals to find it...

Anyway!

So, A LOT has changed lately. We tried to show at the fair over Labor Day weekend. Something was off with Izzie... like, super skittish, and then came up with a fat leg on Labor Day. I try not to let my thoughts run off, but... many people I've talked to all think the same thing. We have suspicions that my ex psycho friend did something to her while we were watching the fair. She kept warming horses up behind where Izzie was stabled, so... I hate thinking that way, but my horse was distinctly head shy around brushes and people in general. Just not like her. And the fat leg was odd (only one, so I'm not sure she stocked up (that and she's never stocked up before)). We only showed in halter, and it was a dismal showing too. Multiple people even said they weren't amused with the placings at all. My ex friend won. Moving on though... so prior, I had called the show manager to reserve my stalls, and my only requests were that I needed full fronts (my horses will attempt to leave) and that I didn't want to be by the ex friend. She was at the furthest point on the fairgrounds... and I was up by the arena in the fancy barns. And he said that is my permanent spot now 

But the big changes....

So, my best friend has a giant draft mare he has on breed lease that is currently pregnant. She was with my ex friend to be fattened (she came slightly under weight) as well as get some training (that was part of the breed lease deal). Well.... it's like she stopped feeding and caring about her. There were reports she stayed in a stall for five WEEKS straight. When my best friend had her picked up and moved, she was in a dry lot with no hay, no grass, no shade, no shelter, and no water. Ex friend came up to my area to set up for the fair. Thankfully people at the barn watered her, but other than that she had been left to fend for herself. Thankfully Nick and I were able to take her on immediately. The first night she was given free choice hay and six buckets of water (I told my best friend I wouldn't hang anything less than four in there since my two can pound four buckets in a night; he bought six). I wanted to make sure she was plenty hydrated and had forage in her belly before I dared to give her grain. She is now getting roughly a pound and a quarter of high quality grain (Renew Gold) as well as U-Gard and an oil (per the vet). She was just turned out this weekend with my two, so she's happily grazing to her hearts content. She will be rechecked for pregnancy next Tuesday (roughly 3 months along) and have her feet done for the first time in four months. I've taken videos along the way to show her improvement as well, though for privacy reasons I won't be posting the videos (I had thought journals weren't able to be seen for anyone, but it seems anyone can view them even if not members of the forum). Mind you, ex friend claimed she was feeding a full bale of hay and four scoops of grain every day. Everyone who has seen this horse says otherwise. And ALL are glad she's in my care now.

In addition to all of THAT excitement, Nick and I celebrated our 7th anniversary last night  we had a quiet evening to ourselves and ate at a cute little restaurant alone. Then this morning I sent him off to Asheville, NC where he will stay until the hurricane makes landfall, then will be heading to Raleigh to begin storm damage. He's expected to stay there for two weeks working 16 hour days, 7 days a week. In the meantime, I'm to hold the fort down with two kids, care for three horses, and show in two shows (already paid for) while he's gone. The stress and depression are already hammering me, so it's not fun.

So I apologize in advance if I seem distant, short tempered, or overly emotional. I know a lot of others have it worse, but right now my anxiety is eating me alive.

Anyway, cute pony pictures, as well progress pictures of the big mare (I can't post videos as they state her name, and in the event the ex friend searches, I don't want this thread popping up due to her name being used; no one knows the mare is with me, and my ex friend could be dangerous).

Trying to take a selfie with Diego...










I told the ponies "whoa" and held a carrot above my head... they stood for this haha!










Nick and Diego having a moment <3










It's love lol










Diego being adorable before we left










Kiddos on the way to get the barn stuff lol










The big mare the night of her arrival:










Big mare after her first ever hose down










After her first shampoo bath










Meeting my two



















Herd shot 










And last night when I went DANG!


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## Tazzie

And I'm crazy far behind again, oops! I'll update this one today, and then maybe start cracking at my actual blog tomorrow...

So big mare left about a month or so ago. I'd put substantial amount of weight on her, but it was time for more food than I could feasibly give in our current set up. Plus, she was at a weight that she could actually begin working! And she's already going under saddle! I call that a win 










Since my last post we did four shows 

First up was a weekend long show. Unfortunately Nick had been in SC doing the hurricane relief, so he wasn't there to help. My best friend stepped in and helped though! Highlights were Izzie winning her hunter under saddle class and a mare halter class, and Diego taking a third in his first walk trot class (on Saturday), beating Izzie in hunter in hand for first place, and taking second in a huge green horse walk trot class (the last two being on Sunday)! Pictures from that show:


























































































Next up was our last open show. I'd been riding Diego and decided he was ready to try cantering in public. I didn't care if it was beautiful or if it'd win anything. I just wanted him to get practice with it. So we scratched him from his walk trot class, scratched Izzie from the Hunter Pleasure class, and tossed Diego in that. Then was talked into doing the Dressage Suitability with him. Poor little guy! They called for extended and collected gaits for EVERY gait. He knew collection (well, not Dressage collection) from his Western training, but he was far from ready to start doing extended gaits. He gave it his best though! Highlights were a win in sport horse in hand for both of them, a second for Izzie in sport horse under saddle, a fourth for Diego in hunter pleasure (in a BIG class), and a WIN in Dressage suitability with I think five other entries? It was a great last schooling show, and Nick called as I was packing to say that I needed to hurry home... that a cute boy would be waiting for me!! <3


















Video of little man's ride in Dressage suitability. Reminder, it is a SCHOOLING show so training tack is permitted. I don't necessarily agree with it on some of the horses there (they've had to show without it elsewhere), but it is not against the rules.






After that show we had a wedding to go to, where we picked up a bunch of saddles. This included my dream saddle! It mostly fits Izzie, with the angle of the rear bars being slightly different. The saddle fitter said if Izzie is happy, she's the one who has the most say...






Second post coming up as I'm about maxed out on pictures haha!


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## Tazzie

Next was our second to last rated show. We tossed Diego in sport horse in hand, and got good comments. Definitely need to get him in better shape before expecting him to be competitive! But he's learning to breathe and relax. This show was a bit dismal. Nick isn't sure what the judge was looking at as horses that beat us had taken wrong leads (in front of the judge), or broke gait.. we took last in our under saddle classes that had competition. Such is life and shows. Diego did well under saddle! He won his first WTC class, and he grabbed the wrong lead because of me for third in his second class. But he was VERY good. He's definitely going to be something super special.


















Then Nick and I both had a chance to ride. He determined he HATES the saddle we currently have for Diego (one of the saddles given to me by my friend; it's not very comfortable). And Diego didn't want to listen to him at all... so I had to take over on Diego after just schooling Izzie (who was SHARP to my aids...). Next thing I see, is this...










We hacked back to the barn through the creeks, which made Nick want to play in the creek. I'm super proud how I trained this little mare.






Diego isn't as sure of water, but it only takes a little coaxing now.






The kids being silly with the horses 






Then came our last show. My parents came down for it since Izzie was getting her award ceremony for her Legion of Honor. It was an amazing day! Izzie didn't best anyone in sport horse in hand (for good reason; the other horse is STUNNING), and Diego did manage to best one other horse! He had "good sport horse in development" written on his sheet  after SHIH came trail in hand. I had entered Izzie in Western Trail for a bonus point, and my best friend was going to show her. When we thought I needed those points to secure a championship, he kind of backed out and Nick stepped in. To say Nick ROCKED it is an understatement. He ran through the course once before the show started, and then nailed it for the class. Took second out of SIX! I was PROUD. We were the only entry for the English trail, but still had a spectacular pattern!



























































































Cute snapshot while we were waiting for Izzie's second pattern










Neat photo from before the show 










More in next post... I'm getting there haha!


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## Tazzie

Then came the under saddle classes! The night before Diego had been PERFECT in the arena. So much so Nick hopped on (helmetless...) and walked and trotted around this gigantic ring. Diego was a saint. Saturday morning, he was SPICY! And Izzie was, well, Izzie. I warmed up Diego first, then had to hop on Izzie to warm her up and then head in to show. My parents even made it before the first class! Izzie was alone in her first class, and was a total cow for it too. Darn pony! She went back in shortly after against one other horse, and took first with a much better ride. Then came Diego. His first class is his hardest. He's distracted and unsure still. He definitely deserved his third out of three. He got a small break, then headed in again. This time he won out of two! I was PROUD! But couldn't enjoy it too much as I had to leap off him, change jackets, and get back on Izzie. We were once again alone, but had a great ride! Small break then she was back in for her championship. The other horse was supposed to show, but they scratched. No clue why exactly... they were calling for a free walk, which is unheard of in the sport horse ring. Izzie loves her free walk, so we dominated there. Diego... looked around. He's still learning what actual contact really is. Hopped off Izzie and right back onto Diego to head right back in (the classes I had to change horses were back to back, AND I was the first one in the ring every time..). Diego well and truly had his head on straight and DOMINATED the ride. It was a thrill to ride. He needs a lot more correct work, but it's going to take longer to retrain than it did to train Izzie. But he won his championship ride out of two!! I was excited! So of course we had to get a picture with our champions 


















After that show segment, Izzie had her ceremony ride  and I got a picture with one of my favorite photographers!










And one of my favorite ring masters 










Group photo!










Picture from the ceremony ride










And the video!






Under saddle pictures of the babies in their sport horse classes!


























































Ribbon pictures (I'll have championship pictures in the next post... boy this is long haha!)


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## Tazzie

Championship pictures!


































After hearing our placings from the championship class 










The judge loved Izzie... and we liked her! We showed under her back in 2015 and loved her then as well!










That evening we did leadline on a whim since we were already showing native costume. Syd was only so happy to oblige haha! The judge was very sweet to her even though she refused to talk to the judge. I told the show staff I'd like to see him back another year.










Last was our native costume class. We were alone, but man did we have some serious fun! I let her go out and it was just a blast!


























And that concludes show pictures, whew! But our year has been FAR from done! There have been cute pictures with the ponies, kids and Nick...










































To be continued... again haha!


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## Tazzie

More cute pictures!


















Missed this picture from the show pictures, oops! Waiting for big sister to finish trail.










On October 30th, Izzie came up with a cracked hoof, so much fun. Thus started soaking and hoof packing, again. She is now sporting two hind shoes to keep the hoof from cracking and she's totally sound on it!


























Hanging out in the now fully enclosed barn! Well, as enclosed as we are making it 










Enclosed barn with run in front area  has stayed nice and dry with all this wetness we've been having!


























Took the kids trick or treating on the 30th  they moved it since we were expecting downpours on Halloween!










Getting new kicks 










I love my little brother...










Next post will be tack room building


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## Tazzie

The building of the tack room!

The platform, in case the barn DOES flood, my room has a chance of staying dry.


















The frame work!










Walls and door are up!


















And in a big hurry we got the roof on and started hanging stuff up and organizing it! I'm super excited with how it has taken shape!


































Saturday we also had to try on the double I was gifted  it's an Otto Schumacher, and though we are FAR from ready to actually ride in one, I love how she looks in it 


































Walking out of the barn on a pretty day 


















And the last of the cute pictures will be in the last post, with a cute video too!


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## Tazzie

Random cute pictures with the ponies 


























































__
Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18
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I'm not allowed anywhere without my shadow...


















And got our house decorated for Christmas!










He wouldn't leave me alone when I was getting duct tape ready for Izzie's hoof pack haha!






Racing for dinner...







Showing the sanity of a true Arabian 















Diego just being goofy 






And that is all for now! WHEW I was behind!! I'll try to do better, haha!


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## Tihannah

Its about dang time!! Lol. Girl...seriously, I LOVE your ponies! Diego is SO freakin adorable I can't even take it!! Lol. And OMG! Nick was so awesome on Izzie! 

Love all the pics and video. Such a great little herd you have. Congrats again on the shows! We're gonna take some Izzie vibe with us to our show this weekend! ;-)


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## Tazzie

Haha, I know! I get dreadfully behind. I dread updating my blog haha!

And thank you! They are the perfect little herd <3 I love them! I love that Nick could get Izzie to look nice. I did always say she'd do better for him haha! He's ready to ride his little guy like Izzie, they both just need more work!

You'll rock your show, I just know it! I can hardly wait to hear how amazing of an experience it was!


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## PoptartShop

HOLY UPDATE!!!!!!! LOL. :lol: Love it!! Everyone is doing so well & the ponies look so happy, the barn is coming together great, so happy for you!! It's so nice to have your little herd back to normal. <3


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## Whinnie

Great update! You certainly have it all!


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## lostastirrup

I wish there was a "love" button. Your barn! Your horses! I'm sure it's not all sunshine and rainbows but it's so lovely to see your showing and adventures. Especially cool to see your kids growing up around animals and horses. 

Out of curiosity what saddle did you end up finding to fit Izzie? Nick is slated to have his saddle widened about 3 cm in January so I'm curious what other arabx people do.


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## Tazzie

Allison, it really is have to everything back to normal! I love it! And I love my little barn <3
@Whinnie, I really do!
@lostastirrup, I've thought that too for posts! Thank you! It definitely isn't all sunshine and rainbows, but I love where we are at  I'm a little obsessed with showing haha! And my daughter asked for show clothes like mommy so she can show too! I love it! Izzie has two saddles. She has her "fat girl" saddle and her "skinny girl" saddle. Her skinny girl saddle is an Arabian Saddle Company saddle, though I don't know which style. One of the more expensive ones I know (it was gifted to me by a friend). Her fat girl saddle is a Jeffries XP in an XW. It has what they call the freedom tree, which is their version of the hoop tree. Izzie has a very round, broad back which made saddle fitting next to impossible! Right now Izzie is too fat for either saddle, so instead of having a lot of wool taken out to accommodate miss fatty, we will be doing the bareback gig when I get her back in work. If it ever dries out or freezes... :eyeroll:

Not much of an update  my parents were in town Tuesday and Wednesday, so didn't do any organization in the barn. They got to see the barn though, which they loved! Tonight kiddos have the dentist, then the Budweiser Clydesdales will be near us... so going to see them haha!


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## knightrider

I loved your updates and photos. I appreciate how hard you worked with almost no coaching or help. You have done such a great job, and I am so happy for you!


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## Tazzie

Thank you! I haven't seen my trainer in over a year at this point, ugh! And with as little riding as we are doing right now... I don't know when we can. I REALLY want to have a lesson with Diego so she can help me unlock him a bit. He's very locked up in the neck from his former training, and hollows badly in the back. I was getting through slowly before our break, but it'd really help to have a professional guide me through a bit! Thank you though <3 you were who I thought of as I was updating this haha! I was like "oh man, knightrider is going to ask for an update at some point!!"


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## PoptartShop

Awww I'm sure they did love the barn! What's not to love?! :smile: & OMG I am sooo jealous you get to actually go see them! Take pictures if you can!  Soo jealous!


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## DanteDressageNerd

Wow!! That was a serious update, I'm glad I've been following and keeping up to date on fb because I sadly dont have time to read it all. Just wanted to say I'm so glad you and Nick have your barn set up now for the two horses. That has got to be really exciting! Also congratulations on all the awards! Always nice to have 

Both horses do amazingly well with the kids, Arabians always seem to do amazingly well with children. Only breed that allows kids on stallions, if I remember correctly. 

Hope the good news keeps rolling in


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## Tazzie

Allison, yes! It's easy to like haha! We didn't go. It was dark and misting. Plus I was seeing in pictures they just drove them around and you only got pictures with the wagon... I didn't feel like staying out later to not even pet them :lol: plus we had stuff to do and we were running out of time.

Cassie, it is a good thing! I lurk on journals, but I always read the Facebook updates for everyone first :lol: thank you! I'm in love with the setup. It's just right for us! And thank you! I enjoy the memories with them more <3 and yes! I love how well Arabians do with kids. Makes me happy! And I believe so! I know not many breeds allow minors to handle them. And I sure hope so!!


Put a couple more touches on the tack room  peg board for my bit collection (I wanted to be able to SEE what I had!), a hanging blanket rack for my saddle pads (it works so perfectly!!), and brought the under the bed truck toolbox down for grain. It latches closed so harder for anything to get in. Right now it has all the grain and supplements, but Nick will be putting up a cabinet for the supplements. He's also going to make a shelf for the SmartPak drawers  and the toolbox will have a stand built for it so it's off the ground with a shelf under it for their pans. It's coming together SUPER well! I love it! Also filled out my white board for when Nick has to feed. No more meal prepping, YAY!!





































Tonight we should be putting up the cabinet, and then my wire basket should be here for my polos. Might need to get another one though as I'm not sure it'll be large enough :rofl: also getting the quarter round down so the floor can be DONE. Then I need to unpack the totes and put all that stuff away haha!


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## PoptartShop

Ah, well good thing you didn't go then, didn't really miss much after all! Pictures are good enough. :lol:
Lovely bit collection. The tack room looks so good. Really starting to look more & more like a tack room now! I love it!


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## frlsgirl

Wow great progress on the barn! Are you guys using a barn kit or is everything custom? We are looking a different options between kits, and pole barns vs building on site vs doing everything ourselves one step at a time. Then there are stall kits that you can put together like legos or you can have them built into the barn...so many decisions.....So far we got two quotes and are waiting for the third. 

Very impressive bit collection and a clever way to organize them!


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## Tazzie

Allison, yeah, we didn't really miss much of anything I don't think. I'd rather pet my own ponies instead of fight for space just to watch them drive around. And thank you! I love how it's taking shape!

Tanja, thank you! And it's all custom. We bought all the materials separately, and Nick is the one who figured out the specs of everything. I just designed the layout in the actual tack room  and I love my little bit wall, even though they were all of Izzie's failed bits lol


I'm so exhausted today lol Friday we played dress up with the ponies. Diego was like "WHAT IS THIS?!" when Nick came at him with the garland. He was ear twitched long before we got him, so he's always been a bit sensitive with his ears. So it took a bit of coaxing to get his hat on. Izzie didn't even bat an eye when I pulled the bells out. She cracks me up lol


































Saturday it rained. And rained. And rained. We had to turn back and try feeding later because the creek was way too high and I didn't feel confident crossing it. I'm sure we COULD have crossed, but I chickened out. The barn got a bit wet, but NOTHING like when we were at our last place. The problem is the hill directly out in front of the barn. Nick needs to cut it back some more and redirect it better. That will be a spring/summer project. We are using this winter as our trial to better prepare us for the future. Thankfully it's holding up well overall!

First attempt to go feed














When we did make it across to feed














The creek crossing is also one of the things we plan to change, eventually. Right now it's too costly to put a bridge in, but it's a hope for the future.

Our drowned rats when we went to go see them. That dry barn, and they were standing in the rain... brats lol you can also see the hill I'm talking about here










Sunday I went shopping with my SIL down in La Grange, and we had so much fun! Checked out a toy store and a Christmas store owned by friends of mine. It was a lovely day just the two of us. Came home to feed, and had ponies begging to be ridden. It's looking like we MIGHT be able to ride this week, fingers crossed!


































But my tack room is almost done! I ordered a second polo wrap holder since the one I ordered wasn't quite big enough to hold all of them. I'm a bit obsessed with WhinneyWear polos, and love all the fun colors. Aside from the second rack, the room is about done except for electric. Which Nick says he doesn't mind that kind of work... gee, I wonder why?? :lol:















Tonight I have a horse show committee meeting, and Nick will be putting the latch on the barn door, woo! I'm HOPING we can get our Christmas tree tomorrow. But a fairly light couple of days ahead of us  so REALLY hoping to get some rides in finally!


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## Tazzie

So the committee meeting went well! They are taking out Arabian Western Pleasure (it just wasn't getting the entries it needed to stay up) and replacing it with Arabian Sport Horse Under Saddle. Since Nick and I will both show in it... the chances of it going away is slim  there was some other entertaining things going on, but I'd rather keep with the positive trend that my journal is on 

Diego loves his daddy 




























And Nick got my second polo wrap holder up 










Tuesday night was conferences with Kaleb's parent teacher conference. It was a good meeting! Kaleb is above average in math and reading at their first testing. He can count to 100 by 1's and 10's, and he can identify words they haven't technically learned in school yet. We are very proud of him!

I had gone down to feed before we went, and couldn't resist playing with the bells with Diego. He was apprehensive at first, but carrots sure warm a pony up 










































Wednesday night we went and got our tree, but it was too late to decorate it! So we did that last night.

First I fed the ponies. Izzie made sure I knew her order:

"I'll take a large bowl of grain, with carrots on top, and drizzled in sweetener" (you can see her actual meal on the board lol)



















Diego noticed me coming out of the tack room before leaving...

"Oh, HI MOM!!! Do you have any snacks???"



















Came home and helped the kids decorate the tree. My entertainment center had been done since Tuesday night, but it's nice to have the tree all up now 




























Tonight we are going to do the Coney Island Nights of Lights with the kiddos 

Tomorrow we are having breakfast with Santa at Kaleb's school, then Nick and I are going to look at a diesel Jeep Liberty that he's been wanting. They are rather uncommon, but it's what he really wants... chances are we will have a new car tomorrow...

Sunday is Christmas with Nick's mom's side of the family!


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## frlsgirl

Awww the pic of Diego peeking into the tackroom is adorable!

Nick is quite crafty! Has he always been this interested/bonded with your horses or do you think moving horses home has really helped them build a connection?


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## DanteDressageNerd

The set up is really cute! I'm so glad you two finally have your own place and are able to enjoy taking care of your horse kids together. I think it is wonderful how you both enjoy the horse's so much. Such a treasure to enjoy together 

I love the Christmas Decorations. I'd love to be able to do some more decorating with Wonder, maybe we will. Denmark has Christmas everywhere lol. The Jule season is HUGE HUGE HUGE!! Your Christmas looks really homey, your kids are really lucky. I really miss that. It's such a special thing to celebrate


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## Tazzie

Tanja, thank you! They have a lot of personality  and he is crafty! I love it! He has always had a good bond with Izzie. I joked Izzie likes him better than she likes me :lol: I do think moving them helped everyone though!

Cassie, thank you! I'm so happy to have my space! I love it! It really is fun to have that together  makes it even more fun! You should! I plan to ride with bells when I can. Hoping for snow to do that though! And I love Christmas decorations. Never cared what others thought, just what made me happy 


We've had a busy week! Friday night we took the kids to see Coney Island Nights of Lights. HIGHLY recommend for anyone near here to go! So much fun!!

Saturday morning was breakfast with Santa! Was very quick since we were early, but the kiddos enjoyed it!










Then we dropped the kiddos off with my in laws so they would be there when cookie baking started, and Nick and I went to buy a new car. It's a 2005 (yes, I was hesitant due to age) Diesel Jeep Liberty. Nick did A TON of research and it's what he's been looking for for about 10 months. So he's happy. Meet Sven (named it because my Cobalt is named Gizmo and has given us zero problems)










I was dropped off for cookie baking, and brought way too many home!










And Nick took care of Winter Storm Diego, who was happy to see him 










Sunday we had Christmas with Nick's Mom's side of the family, which was enjoyable 

Monday Nick and I left the kiddos with my in laws so we could go ride. Both were feisty but overall good. Izzie was MAD I wouldn't canter. Diego was too and gave Nick a small bucking tantrum. Nick quickly got him out of it and continued on. He's a pathetic bucker haha!




























Tuesday we had to take Sheldon to the vet for ear infections. He has a mild one in both ears, and we were given cleaner and meds. The vet LOVED him and wrote Sheldon with hearts on the bag for him <3 our lovable goofball!

Last night I rode. We had a couple of hairy moments (including an emergency dismount off of a very upset Diego (caused by Nick and Izzie)), but overall the rides were really good. Izzie was even more angry we didn't canter. So I'm leaning toward lunging them tonight to let miss Diva have at it. Or I might wait until I get bell boots since she does have hind shoes.... Diego was just testy and feisty, but he settled down really nicely into some good work. We have mainly been focusing on forward and relaxed. I just ask him not to fling his head. You do see him toss his head a bit when we head toward the creek. There is a slight hill there, and he looses his balance a bit coming down it. He also is begging to canter, but he needs the chiro before I want to do that. Just need to work out WHEN we can bring them.

Videos! You'll see Izzie be a butt to her brother in hers. She was in rare form for whatever reason...











Aiming to ride again tonight. Supposed to rain tomorrow, so no chance. Saturday is Christmas with Nick's Dad's side of the family, so that will take up the day. Sunday we are getting the wiring for the barn, going to Dover for show clothes for Nick, and going to the store for cold stuff for Kaleb. He gets his tonsils out on Monday, whew!


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## frlsgirl

Great videos. You can really get a sense for how steep the hills are; that’s a great workout for your ponies! Izzy is all Dressage business “ugh I can’t believe she’s making me do work outside, I belong in an arena, I mean, just look at me!” Lol. 

And Diego is like “look at me prance around...I wanna be like my big sis when I grow up!”


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## Tazzie

Haha Tanja! Izzie only rides in arenas at shows, so I don't think that matters to her. More like "MOM!!! LET ME GO!" She wanted a good gallop! I do think Diego wants to be like big sissy though  the hills are great exercise!


Whew, last night we went on a hack with the ponies around the pasture. I lunged both of them first, and it was hysterical!

First up was Diego. I lunged them on a bit of an incline and wow was he wired lol we're talking flat out galloping, bucking, kicking, the works. He was starting to get a bit TOO ramped up for the amount of running he was doing, so I called it quits and told Nick to hand walk him for a minute before I helped him get on. In the meantime I lunged Izzie. VERY little bucking. I was honestly impressed really. She would canter on the flat part and then up the hill, but as she was about to go down she'd slow down/drop to a trot and calmly went down. I laughed and said "you're such a lady!" Mounting was without any issue. Diego grabbed a quick drink for the road from the water trough (that is frozen, but smarty pants Diego DID learn to push down on the ice to get water; so proud!) then we headed straight up the hill. It was a beautiful night for a ride. Diego was beating Izzie up the hill. Izzie took her time to find the best path since she has hind shoes on. I just let her have her head and grabbed fistfuls of mane to keep from sliding off. Nick brought his gun in case we saw deer. It was amusing following them :lol:






Unfortunately I failed at recording us trotting back to the barn. Nick saw some deer, and he thought they were coming toward the barn. So we hurriedly untacked, and I fed while he crouched by the fence. Sadly they changed directions. But the ponies mimicked Lady and the Tramp, which was hilarious for me to witness haha!














































Probably won't get to ride again for a bit. Rain has moved in, and we will be getting an inch and a half at last estimate. Ugh! Hope everyone has a great weekend!


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## DanteDressageNerd

Izzie looks good, glad you two are happy with each other and enjoying the rolling hills! Definitely good fitness work. She looks pretty sassy but maybe she wanted to make a point about mommy and me time, not including her little brother or Nick :lol:

The ride you and Nick are doing looks so fun!! Even though it's winter it looks beautiful and charming in its way. Will be nice with some snow


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## Tazzie

Cassie, thank you! It's possible haha! We think she's being extra bratty lately because she has to share mommy and daddy time. And the diva isn't happy with that. This is why other horses hate her haha! The hills are fabulous for that! I'm hoping it quits raining so we can ride! So over the rain here. It's been miserable. And no snow in sight for us sadly *sigh* and we are amazed at how green everything still is! It's why neither of them feel like staying in the barn eating hay.

I'm copying and pasting from the confession thread because I'm incredibly exhausted haha

Another long weekend behind us haha! Friday it rained. We went and fed and came home to clean. Got a lot done, but with kids there are just some things you wait until the last minute for. And that's vacuuming and bathrooms. Kaleb is having a teacher in on Wednesday to keep him up to speed for school, AND this week of absences won't count against him.

Saturday we fed the horses and went over to Indiana for Christmas. Had a great time playing cards and left later than anticipated! I came home and got A TON of stuff wrapped. Felt good to have it mostly done. Ponies of course had been out in the rain.. Why on Earth would they want to be inside and dry :rofl:



















Sunday was our big day. First stop was Tractor Supply for my BIL's present and I got myself some new muck boots (YAY!) Then was Menards for wiring. They didn't have everything we needed, but we got the majority. Soon we will be wiring the barn!! YAY! Left there and headed to Dover. Nick tried on his first pair of breeches. While he kind of liked them, he wants to try others on first before he decides. I said it was absolutely fair since you've gotta be comfortable in them. We did pick up cross ties though and one of the last piece's for Sydney's Christmas present. How cute are these gloves??










Ponies in the cross ties. Diego didn't mind one bit.




























Izzie was not nearly as amused. All of these pictures were taken with the carrot waving...





































They were also not friends yesterday. Izzie has been extra bratty lately. We're guessing she's not happy Diego has gotten so much attention and she's tired of it. I say she's a rotten mare lol



















Today, Kaleb had his tonsils out! I'm relieved it's over. Now hoping the healing goes well! He's already digging into ice cream, so I'll have to stop and grab more on my way home!


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## lostastirrup

Love how the barn is coming together!!!! 
Just as a thought, a lot of barns put a tennis ball cut around the buckle of the cross ties nearest the wall, this is so that if the horse pulls back and breaks the tie, they don't have sharp piece of metal headed toward their eye. 

With a barn and riding clothes, the next step is an adorable pony. ... your daughter seems to be getting the childhood we all wanted! So awesome to be able to grow up around horses and love them too.


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## Tazzie

@lostastirrup, we have the cross ties attached to pieces of twine - a tidbit I picked up when I was a working student. The twine *should* break before the cross tie itself does.

And haha! We've been offered a kid safe purebred Arab that was a lesson horse his entire life. Right now we aren't in the financial position to take on yet another horse. Luckily Diego is proving to be a good candidate to show (once he's back in regular work of course). And yes! I'm slightly jealous of her getting what I always dreamed of :lol: she's still going to have to earn it!


I didn't get home until way late last night from work. Had to ship some stuff out and then run to Meijer again for more cold food/soft food for Kaleb. Got home to find him dozing off. Nick unfortunately didn't stay ahead of the pain, so Kaleb was a bit miserable last night. But slept incredibly well considering. I'm hoping Nick will get back in front of the pain so Kaleb can feel better. I'm working four 10 hour days this week to be off on Friday, and Nick is home with him this week. I know he's going to enjoy movie days with Daddy. And Syd is home too. Nick is already gearing them up to watch movies all week long. We don't normally put them in front of the tv all day, but..... I feel this is ok for now :lol: Nick fed the horses last night before I got home so I didn't get to see those babies (my MIL stayed with the kids). Nick said Izzie still was mean to Diego. She's a butthead.


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## PoptartShop

The barn is looking amazing.  Love the cross ties. Of course Izzie gets the blue one. 

I'm sure you are super exhausted. Ugh, what a long day. I'm glad Kaleb at least slept well, but hopefully Nick stays ahead of it today so Kaleb will feel a bit more relief. It's okay to have some tv time when you're recovering. I was sooo sick of tv after I got mine out LOL I felt like I watched everything. :lol: Izzie is definitely going through a jealous phase haha. I hope you get some riding in this week!


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## frlsgirl

I’m glad one of us is making progress on the barn. 
Eek tonsillectomy! A great excuse to consume a unreasonable amount of ice cream. 

Wishing you a very merry Christmas!


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## Tazzie

Allison, of course Izzie gets the blue one haha! But I love them <3 we successfully stayed in front of the pain and all is well!!

Tanja, I felt like ours would never go up. And with all this rain it's showing us issues we will have to fix (like better drainage so my barn doesn't get wet at all!!) And Kaleb truly took advantage of all the ice cream haha! Still is in fact! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas <3


Gonna be a bit of a long update since it's been a bit since I posted haha! Kaleb's recovery went super well after we got him to take his pain meds! He's back to full diet and can be as active as he wants! Yay for that! Ponies have been silly though!

Couple random pictures because my ponies are cute haha!























































My husband hung up the gorgeous quilt I had made out of all of my ribbons from growing up. I'm 100% in love with it <3










My friend made me a custom wreath, and even did a running braid since that's how I typically show my ponies! He's insanely talented at this stuff if anyone wants his contact info for their own!










Tried something new on Diego too... he didn't mind one bit!














































Alright, more in my next post!


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## Tazzie

After trying on the costume, Izzie decided to help clean off the mixing spoon for their supplements. We took it away before she actually crunched down on it haha!



















Then came Christmas! Our house looked festive and ready!










We took a nice family picture at my in law's before going to church too 










And opened up some AMAZING presents! These made me so excited it hurt haha!




















__
Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18
Show Content




























Christmas video!!






Of course we had our jingle ride too 











Syd's first "lesson"






And the kids painted their Breyers too 














































Almost done haha!


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## Rainaisabelle

Omg I love all your presents !! They look amazing and both horses are so **** cute


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## Tazzie

Ok, second to last post since I have pictures I want to add, but I have one more than the forum allows haha!

So Friday Nick worked a bit late, and I had extra free time. I went down and decided to fiddle around with a new braiding technique. I've only done running braids on my two, so I wanted to try something different. I'd seen this style on Facebook and fell entirely in love with it. Going to take some practice to do it, but I think I'm going to love it! Took me about 40 minutes to do both of them 









































































Had a spectacularly good ride on Izzie both Saturday and Sunday. We reiterated that she MUST listen to my seat and abs, and that they are what control our ride. She was super good! I even gave cantering in my new bareback pad a go! I was a bit nervous but she did well! Rode Diego walk trot canter as well and he was fantastic! I'm so proud of how far he's coming! Sunday I cantered both ways in the bareback pad and while I need work relaxing and allowing, Izzie was great! Nick rode Diego walk trot and canter and boy oh boy did they look good! I curse myself for not recording them!

Izzie looking spectacular in her new bareback pad!










Also tried ponying Diego off of Izzie. It was interesting, but we didn't die haha! Needs work, but it's a start!






Nick gave Diego a hug after a good ride, and then Izzie came up all angry like "You do that with ME!!!! NOT HIM!!! You're MY daddy!!" MARES!



















Diego tried on his new blanket too  it hasn't gotten cold enough for it yet, but I wanted one just in case!










What I see 90% of the time that I'm down there haha!










And waiting on daddy to toss down hay, then diving in. For the record, Diego didn't move a foot when Nick tossed it down. He was HUNGRY!


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## Tazzie

New Years Eve saw lots and lots of rain. I swear it didn't stop at all! Our barn got wetter than I would like to see (not flooded, but not as dry as I want), and we know what we need to do once it gets dry enough to actually get the tractor in. I'm so over the rain!

But we made the best of it yesterday! The mud wasn't stopping us as we went out to ride. Aimed to only walk with a little trot tossed in. And, oh yeah, I rode into the New Year on a unicorn :wink:











Kids took their turns riding the unicorn too haha!






And Nick rode his unicorn! Please don't pick Nick apart. He's learning and honestly for zero formal lessons, he's doing really well. Diego is a very solid little guy and really doesn't put a foot out of line. Which is why I'm comfortable letting Nick and Diego kind of learn together. Diego has an idea of what we want him to do, and he tries very hard for Nick.






I did pony horses back too. It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, but we didn't die haha!






And my unicorn <3



















Now we are all caught up haha! I hate getting so far behind!! I hope everyone had a great start to their new year!


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## Tazzie

Rainaisabelle said:


> Omg I love all your presents !! They look amazing and both horses are so **** cute


Thanks Raina <3 they are absolutely my favorite things ever!! I can't wait to show in our new polos!!


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## Tihannah

Love all the holiday pics and video! And awww, Nick is doing so great and Diego is so adorable. Watching him ride reminded me of how hard it is in the beginning before your body becomes conditioned to it and you develop feel. It feels like there are a million things you're supposed to be doing at once and as soon as you get one right, you lose the other. Lol. I think he's doing fantastic and these two are going to be such a great pair together. 

Also loved the Christmas gifts for the farm! What a great idea!

Izzie has such an elegant trot. Love her! She always looks like she's kinda dancing at the trot. Was that a little half passing I saw?


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## Tazzie

I think he's doing pretty well for how inconsistently he's had "lessons" from me :lol: still a long way to go, but Diego is at least understanding we want him in the contact and to not back away from it like he'd been taught previously. He sometimes balances on the reins, but not really as much as you would expect for someone very new to riding! I'm excited to see where the future takes them  and yes! I've told him it seems like I throw A LOT at him at once "Bend inside rein! Squeeze inside leg and outside rein! GIVE!" So he gets a bit flustered, but he tries. I like that he tries haha!

I love my gifts! I wear the jacket daily now haha! At least one of them! And use my cup. Might be the only one I use for a long while :rofl: might have to ask Nick's cousin to make me more!

She's very willowy when I'm bareback :lol: it's like she's afraid of losing me. That and the ground being so wet I think she kind of tries to protect us by riding a bit softer. And yes! In the jingle bell video we did a little half pass. She's not fit enough for a really nice one yet, but the half pass has always helped supple her and get her using her hind end a bit better. We don't do very much of it though since right now she is not at all fit enough to carry that much weight behind! Right now she needs to just supple through her body, and lose some weight :rofl::rofl:


Last night I fed in the dark since Nick ended up working late. I was at least glad I got to spend time with them since originally I wouldn't see them until tomorrow. Nick is going to bring down more hay, and clean out all the waste. With how the barn got wet, it soaked some of the hay. I told him they won't eat it. So we've been tossing the dead hay/manure on the hill either in front of the barn or behind it since we intend to put down grass seed there in the spring. Adding a little extra fertilizer while we can :wink:


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## PoptartShop

I absolutely love the braids.  It looks great!! They both look so cute with them.

Sometimes they definitely need reminders. So glad you enjoyed the new bareback pad too! YAY!! So happy to hear Diego is doing well too. So proud of the boys! <3
The ponying video looks good too, it's definitely a start! I think if you keep at it, it'll get better each time. They are soo darn cute together!!!! So funny how Diego looks at Izzie and Izzie pins her ears like, BACK OFF DUDE! :rofl: Silly mare!

Love the videos. Omg, the unicorn miss Izzie! :lol: I love it. Aw, that's good you at least got to spend time with the ponies last night. I know you are beyond sick of the wet ground and mud, ugh!

Aww, Nick looks good! It's good that they are learning together. I think they are going to make a great team. They can both teach each other. <3

What a great start to the new year!!!


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## Tazzie

Whew, time to catch up since I keep falling behind! In my defense, work has been insane with a bunch of projects that we've had to do, and the last couple weeks I've had the flu! It's been miserable.

So after my last post, we went to Michigan to celebrate Christmas with my family. Which was fun, but sadly no snow again! On the way home we stopped at my favorite tack store, where I intended to pick up a different saddle pad. Online it was CUTE! In person... not at all. I turned around and saw one I need though... and the ponies did a "who wore it better" fashion show. Hint: the pad is specifically for Diego haha



















On the way home from Michigan, my mom sent me a picture of herself about Sydney's age, and said her and my hopeful SIL thought Syd looked like her. I'd have to agree!










We practiced braiding again, and Kaleb brought his remote controlled toy down. Diego watched it while I braided.










And Syd got to sit on Izzie, which made her happy










We brought the hay down to the barn FINALLY, with a little help from my midgets 



















And Diego got his blankie on










Part of the tack I'd been gifted was a double bridle. Since Izzie is INCREDIBLY finicky with new items, I opted to try it on her. She wasn't entirely impressed, but didn't offer anything naughty aside from being sticky.






Nick and I also got some "snow" rides in. This is the most snow we've gotten... otherwise, it's rained every single week since early October.






























On to the next post haha!


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## Tazzie

January was also the month of awards! Our regular banquet gave out some nice prizes this year  this are for winning Champion Sport Horse, Champion Specialty, and Reserve Champion English Pleasure



















Then I went to one of my club banquets, where I won Champion Sport Horse In Hand 










I spent the night with good friends here!



















And it's the only place I get to feel tall haha! I'm 5'1.5" lol










Got some more ride time in too!






And Diego was all about the scratches with daddy!






The ice we had to deal with






And snippets of the rain. Nick and I accidentally went swimming in the creek. He lost his footing and had been giving me a piggy back ride across. I DO know how to swim, and had been planning how to get out of the rushing water, but thankfully Nick had a hold of me! We laugh about it now haha!
















From then on we took the RZR across, which is much heavier!

Cool ice pictures



















Izzie got as nasty as she possibly could... thanks Izzie



















Diego got some love from daddy 



















And we took selfies with the babies. I'm in goggles because I had LASIK on February first!! Best life choice I ever made! (If one of these pictures is upside down, just click it. I don't know why it does that)


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## Tazzie

Izzie has been tired of the rain (but not too tired to get nasty....)










Nick and Diego getting some love in after Nick redug the ditch behind the barn. I hope it dries out soon so we can put a real drain in....



















We did get to ride in the new pad though  now we have barn colors!



















Its hard being a baby dressage pony...










Selfies and scratches with the babies!





































The ponies also got massages before I got sick too. Neither were that impressed to start with, and Izzie warmed up to it better than Diego did. Silly animals!














































We've done some riding too.
















Valentine's Day we swapped mounts. Diego was deciding he didn't need to cross creeks anymore, and was giving Nick trouble going down a hill. Turns out the hill issue was he needed hand holding going down. Nick had too much fun on Izzie, so he's currently riding her while I ride Diego.






Last night we actually did some work. Diego decided to protest me picking the contact back up, even just for walking work. I was bareback, and he proceeded to have a rearing temper tantrum. I half slid, half jumped off, and came up screeching like a banshee. I'm certain he legit thought his life was over and he was about to die. Afterward I hopped on and his answer to everything was "yes ma'am." It ended splendidly, and we walked back to the barn on a loose rein. I hate rearing as an evasion, so I'm not nice about it when they start that crap.






This is a snippet from the above video, but it's taken some serious work to get him here! Super proud of it.






And that catches us up to now. I'm still tired from the flu, but getting another ride in tonight. I have to work Izzie since she's giving Nick trouble (her only answer is canter; no ma'am not ok). I'm hoping Diego will remember the lesson last night and not pull that crap again.


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## knightrider

@Tazzie, we are due for an update. We miss you and love your horses, kids, and photos!


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## Tazzie

I know, I know! I'm terrible!

So we left off with Diego being naughty. We had a good ride, then another rotten ride. I started brainstorming, and figured it had to be something with the teeth. So I made an appointment for him, and rode him in a halter with rope reins. At first he was still bad, showing we do have some behavioral issues too, but he was a little better. By the next ride, he was MUCH happier. Low stress though, so wasn't the full picture yet.

In early March I got tired of not riding, so did hacks in front of the barn when I could. Tossed the double on Izzie again just to play with it, and she was really good. My dream would be to have her in the double in the future.






Diego was confused about what Izzie had going on






Diego trying the halter and rope rein set up for the first time






The next ride had people shooting some rather large guns across the road. A couple city people bought this property, and apparently only come down to target practice. They were LOUD and obnoxious... I was pleased Diego did so well with it.











During the gun fire..










Izzie was NOT amused I was riding her brother, and tried causing trouble. She stopped when daddy came to chill with her.










Then came time with the dentist! Diego had some sharp points that had created an ulcer on the inside of his left cheek. So we had pain that caused behavioral. Now that the pain is gone, I'm working through the behavioral and making progress (seriously, short rides with lots of praise go a long way with Diego). Syd was helping me out with the horses while waiting on the dentist 











































No personal space is allowed...











Random cute pictures before the next post 





































Sheldon put himself and his toy to bed... I guess Penny doesn't need a bed haha!










This one has become my absolute favorite picture of these two <3


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## Tazzie

During all of this, we had our Region 14 Banquet! We were nominated for Adult Amateur (across ALL disciplines), Sport Horse Rider/Handler, and Half Arabian. I was THRILLED to be named the Region 14 Adult Amateur of the Year!!



















The trophy in it's temporary home, until Nick makes tables to store my ribbons in 










And what kind of horse person would I be if I didn't take pictures with the ponies who got me there?


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## Tazzie

Forum crashed, so couldn't post the last part...

We had our first horse show March 17th, and it was bad. We already knew it was going to be rough as a "friend" of mine and her mom were judging. It is not uncommon for judges in our area to place you unkindly, and while Izzie deserved being beat under saddle, she didn't in hand. Said friend is mad I wouldn't drop work on a Friday and come help them move, after I had had the flu twice.

Izzie was just downright bad. I just don't even know where to start with how bad it really was to be honest. Walking was not an option, and we made people watching gasp with her above the ground movements. I'd have sold her right then and there if someone had been dumb enough to offer. Just made an already bad show so much worse.

Diego at least was perfect for Sport Horse In Hand, proving all the work we've done with him has done a tremendous job! So I was proud of that. And I convinced Nick to take him in Trail In Hand. Nick wants to do that kind of stuff in particular, and this was a good, cheap show. Super proud to say Diego took home third out of four for that, and yes, I did record it!






At least my ponies were cute...




























Why yes, my horses DO have personalized hay bags haha!



















They'd had a garage bath prior, meaning Diego is officially part of the family haha!















Monday Izzie was lunged while Diego had the day off. Rode again Tuesday and Wednesday, both giving some really nice rides. Nick now also understands why I love my bareback pad so much!










Nick also worked with Diego in the creek. I was so proud of both of them!











They had Thursday off due to weather, and we hacked them on Friday. Both ponies had fun!






Saturday the ponies had vaccinations! So I got to spend some time with them while Nick grabbed the truck and trailer. The club I'm a part of up here puts on a vaccination clinic where you can get a core package cheaper than buying each vaccine, you don't have to pay a farm call fee (and it's like 15 minutes from our house), and you get a free health certificate too. So it's very beneficial to take them!





































Rode again yesterday too. Diego was very good, so we cut it pretty short to reinforce the good. Izzie has been getting bored with just plain walking and trotting (and not fully brave enough to canter bareback on her), so we reintroduced the shoulder in, haunches in, and half pass. She is not at all strong enough to carry herself for long in it, but she maintains a nice bend and steady contact for the short amount we do. She seems a million times happier having something to think about, and I as a rider just make sure I don't over ask. I'm well aware her body is not fit enough to do much of it, even though she thinks she can. Yesterday she also had a sore spot on her neck from the vaccines, so I was very mindful of that and made our ride shorter/didn't get after her if she needed to stretch. We ended the ride with a nice mosey around the field 

But I did record some of Nick riding!






And that should be caught up. Ponies are in what full work I can do between all the rain. Prepping for Equine Affaire in a few short weeks, where Diego will FINALLY get his own saddle.


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## knightrider

Ahh, your update was everything I could have asked for. So sorry about the rotten show.:| But the rest was so fun and interesting!!!!


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## Tazzie

We knew going in that even if we did well, we probably weren't going to place well. Izzie just iced the cake with her behavior (she's lucky I love her like I do lol)

But yes! Overall it's going well! I just wish it'd stop raining so we could get more consistent riding in. It's rained all day today, so who knows what our field and barn will look like today :/


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## DanteDressageNerd

It looks like the whole family is very happy.

You looked really nice at the rewards ceremony, that must be super exciting!! It's awesome to have so much family support and to feel everything coming together and developing. Developing horses takes time and it's such a treat when you start feeling the progress and ridability improve. Should always put a smile on one's face 

Glad the whole gang is doing well!


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## Tihannah

I already told you, but CONGRATULATIONS on the award!! So well deserved! 

Diego is really coming along! He's so freakin cute! Such great pics and video. And I totally feel you on the weather. I think we had like 3 straight weeks of rain here, but its finally started to break. It really sucks when you don't have an arena with sure footing or cover to work under. Hopefully the nonsense will pass soon and you can get the kids back in a regular work schedule!


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## PoptartShop

Congratulations again on the award. Well-deserved.  
So glad everyone is doing well. Glad Diego and Nick are showing...they look lovely. You can tell their bond is even stronger. I love it! They are definitely a match.

So cute the pictures of them laying down. Happy ponies! They definitely have the life haha. I love the personalized haybags. Such a cute idea. I know Izzie probably didn't behave like you wanted, but hopefully it's only because it was the first show & she was getting all her jitters out. :lol: The weather has been crappy & she hasn't gotten a ton of work consistently, so I get it. Ugh. Once they are back to a more consistent schedule it'll be better. There has just been SO much rain for you.  So frustrating. Then you feel like the ground has dried...bam, back to rain again. :sad:


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## Tazzie

Cassie, thank you! I like that banquet since it's one of the few "fancy" events we attend haha! And yes! I'm super lucky to have all the support I have  it's truly wonderful! Absolutely, I'm thrilled with how both horses are developing. Izzie will always have her quirks, but I think Diego will end up being able to have anyone ride him. He's just that sweet!

Tina, thank you! Diego is definitely one of the sweetest little guys <3 he's getting his happy mood back now that it's nicer out. Makes us realize we may have to blanket him earlier in the fall and graduate to heavier blankets as winter wears on. He just was kind of grumpy this winter. Trial and error! And yes! At least now when it rains it dries out in a day or two as opposed to the constant wetness that was all winter. I'm not so devastated when I see rain in the forecast now. I just work around it best I can! Like today and tomorrow are work days, Friday and Saturday will be rain, and hopefully Monday will be another good work day. My ponies are ALMOST ready for Equine Affaire!

Allison, thank you!! They absolutely are a match  I know people may think Nick looks a bit funny since Diego is a legit pony, but Diego much, MUCH prefers Nick to me. Diego is his baby through and through. It really warms my heart watching the two of them <3 and I love that they were comfortable enough to lay down. Last year Diego stall walked BAD. He was totally miserable and in turn we became miserable. We doubted that he would be the show pony we dreamed of. So we were glad to see him so relaxed. I think he's going to be like Izzie. He'll be ok in a stall since he KNOWS he's turned out full time now. We've had a lot of things grow legs and walk off, so Nick and I are currently in the process of customizing EVERYTHING. And I mean EVERYTHING. Even our muck tub will have our name on it. That and buckets are next. As for Izzie, it was a mix of that and her saddle is a little tight on her. She worked fine with it at home, but at a show she apparently was NOT happy. Such is life.


Haven't ridden since Sunday. Rain moved in as expected Sunday night, and went all day on Monday. Yesterday would have been ok, but Nick had to work on his Jeep. So I went down both days to feed solo. I was glad they both came up! And shedding is in full force now! YAY!










I'm feeling less down about Diego's weight too. He dropped more than I would have liked this winter, and coupled with being under muscled, he looked sad. I'm hoping I'm not viewing him with rose colored glasses and that his weight DOES look better. He just needs muscle so bad...


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## frlsgirl

I think God made horses look cute to make it easier to forgive them when they act naughty

Congrats on the award.


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## Tazzie

Thank you Tanja! And agreed!


Well, life has been insane here.

I got to ride a bit! Izzie is doing SUPER well! I'm incredibly pleased with her. Had another ride last night in preparation for Equine Affaire (we leave tomorrow). She did so well! Fingers crossed we have good rides!

First ride back in a saddle:






Last night she didn't want me to stop riding, and kept trying to turn back to the riding area. It was super short, so I was thrilled she was begging for more!










Prior I was riding bareback, and this occasion Syd wanted to ride back... I've never ridden this length of time with Syd on Izzie with me, but I was very proud of how Izzie conducted herself.































We had some serious issues happen though. Last Tuesday we went down to ride. Nick goes and catches the horses while I prepare their grain. I heard the kids say "daddy's coming!" and walk out to find this:










Adorable, right? Until I realized Diego wasn't with her. He doesn't leave his sister. Nick went to grab him and calls me saying "his leg is messed up!" I ask if he can walk on it, and he says yes. Brings him to the barn and what was a small scrape and blown up into cellulitis. Fabulous. So we trailered them both home and put them in our huge stall (like we have done millions of times). Guess that only works when it's Izzie injured or both are ok. Izzie kicked and bit Diego in multiple spots. So now she has been banished to the field, and Diego is on stall rest to finish out his SMZs for the cellulitis. He is thankfully now sound again, the swelling is gone, and the scrapes are growing hair. But it was a rough period of time!























































Sound Diego






Izzie is tolerating life solo better than she had been prior at least.










And both got new stable sheets for shows!



















This may be the last post I can make prior to Equine Affaire. We leave tomorrow night, and I have a lot of stuff to do between now and then!


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## PoptartShop

Gosh, so sorry to hear that happened with Diego! :sad: I know that was definitely not what you wanted to see when you were just trying to get their feed ready. Whew. Glad he is okay though, & feeling much better. Hopefully Izzie's alone time teaches her to be nicer to him! 

Omg, it's so cute how Izzie is so good with Syd! Like how adorable is that?! Love the videos. And yay for her wanting to work and good rides!

I love their stable sheets. So cute with their names on them! <3 I hope you guys have an AMAZING time!!!!   You will do great! Have fun!!


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## Tihannah

Izzie is such a fancy little mare! Love her and how great she is with the kids! So glad Diego is doing better. That had to be scary! Hope everything goes well at Equine Affair! Can't wait to hear about it and see all the great pics!


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## Tazzie

I'm copying and pasting from the Confession thread because I just don't have the energy to type up something different. So apologies for those who read both places.

Whew, sorry for a long hiatus! I was in a rough mental space for a bit, and just didn't feel up to sitting down and typing everything all out.

Our trip to Equine Affaire went smoothly. The horses settled in quickly and all was well! We were certain it was going to be a great weekend!

The horses thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with the public, but we would shut them up in their stalls and walk away so they'd get a break from it all. We discovered Diego hated being a part of the demo from the ground. Absolutely hated it. So he was kicked out for our final demo. He was also slightly lame on his right front, so it was entirely understandable (the swelling from his flank had gravitated toward the girth area, and then down his leg; we kept him in standing wraps at night). Izzie rocked every single one of her demos, and for that I am extremely proud of her! She didn't like when we were all going around in a circle, but she was fantastic for her one on one demo.

Izzie was in the meet and greet stall back to back on Sunday to allow people to pack up and go home. Nick and I had packed up quite a bit in preparation, and were able to leave right around 5 pm, which was when we were allowed to leave. Made for a much earlier night, thank goodness!

Since then, Izzie has been working better and better each time I get on her. It thrills me to ride her, and it restores my faith in this show season! My saddle fitter tried riding her (it didn't go well, Izzie is a butt head), but she discovered my saddle was collapsing on the right side. I naturally am crooked (my spine is crooked), so I didn't realize it. She fixed it, and majority of the issues we were having dissolved overnight. I was thrilled!

So, onto why I've been in a rough mental space. Diego lost a lot of muscle (no duh, right?) He's not been worked regularly all winter long. He also is coming off of a two week stall rest. So no, he's not a muscled up body builder currently. We also highly, highly suspected ulcers. His old owner was at Equine Affaire. She mentioned she wished his condition was better (you and me both chick). Well, he got upset when Izzie was being prepared for the demo on Saturday and he'd realized he wasn't. He flung himself into the stall wall, which sent me and the old owner running. She'd already made me mad at this point, so when she asked when he started this I flatly said "we bought him like this." He's been a stall walker at shows. We've broken A LOT of the habit by tying him (with supervision right there) until he finds his brain, sighs loudly, and then we release him to eat hay. Well, she felt him and claimed he's clearly sick, he has zero muscling (again, no duh), and I need to have him looked at right away. I told her we suspected ulcers and were going to begin treating him for them once we got home (I have some stuff from my vet that is a nontraditional method of treating them, and no I do not wish to discuss it further as I've had to defend my business for over a week now). Last Tuesday she checks in with a bunch of crap about how she's trying to help, yadda yadda yadda. I explain, again, that I have TWO vets working on this horse, I'd be happy to give her the names and she can check with our former barn owner his opinions on them (he thinks SUPER highly of the nontraditional vet, so there is that), and that we are treating him for ulcers. Silence. Logged into my email yesterday morning to an email that was THREE screenshots worth on my phone. Now I'm mad as heck. It was hard to take it as anything other than belittling my way of taking care of him, and essentially saying I need to overhaul his diet because he may have different diet needs than Izzie (as though I'm going "well, Izzie only needs a 1/2 lb of this grain, so that is all he needs too!!") Umm, no. I do not believe in overhauling a horse's diet WHILE you are treating them for something like ulcers! Because then what?! You can't pinpoint for sure what was the cause of the muscle loss. Sorry, I've been heavily annoyed with this all and I just want to scream at her to go pound sand.

Anyway, here are some pictures and video for you all.

Reunited and it felt so good lol










Pictures from around Equine Affaire























































From the breed booth 























































Meeting a fellow forum member (whose forum name escapes me currently!)










And the demo rides that I saved!
















Progress with the ulcer meds (left is pre treatment, middle is 2 days in, right is 5/6 days in)




















Two horses insanely happy to be turned OUT after Equine Affaire. Diego was SICK of the stall (which that was part of the lengthy email I got; that his mom and uncle are silent stressors and need their stall... Diego loathes stalls)


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## Tihannah

So glad Equine Affair went smoothly and Izzy was fabulous as always. I'm sorry you had to deal with the old owner, and I can totally relate to people questioning your ability to treat and care for your own horse. I'm glad to see that Diego is getting better though. Don't let it stress you out. Love the pics from the show and how happy they were to be home.


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## Tazzie

Tina, it was horrible and exhausting. I'm just glad it's over, though she never did tell me how much better he looks... but thank you! I'm happy with them 


Time for a super long update haha!

First off, I ordered my photos from the Region 14 banquet with my award <3 and some of my favorite people!





































Had our first big show of the year. I had to scratch Diego from the under saddle classes due to him coming up slightly lame. I had him massaged AND Magnawaved that night, and he was right as rain for the in hand the following day. Izzie was eh. Looked like she'd taken a tumble in the field and just wasn't her best. Judges were a bit eh as well, so it was hit and miss. We did try riding in the trail under saddle classes again though! With MUCH better success!











Diego also did his first ever real trail in hand. Watch the second video for a good laugh haha! Nick was not at all upset about it, and his laughing caused everyone else to start laughing haha!











Izzie also had one of my favorite kiddos ride her for the first time <3






Show pictures!

Nick and one of our favorite people <3










Ready for train in hand!










In the trail course. I had to get the second one because Nick was laughing in it. Diego looks embarrassed lol



















My best friend holding our babies while we did the walk through










A candid with me, Nick and Izzie










Izzie in the trail course!



















Diego looking cute after I made the call to scratch him. I felt it at the walk (least I was sure I did) and Nick saw it the first step in the trot.










Horse shows wear the baby out!










Our ribbon haul  it was a double regional show, so I have double the ribbons!


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## Tazzie

In the meantime, the big mare foaled! So I'm presenting to you Jo, a "little" half Arabian/half Percheron filly! Jo is named after my best friend's mom, and the day he picked that name is the day Jo started trotting above level and telling Keegan she will be an English Pleasure horse!


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## Tazzie

We've also been to two other shows. The first was a bigger one. Our in hand was eh at best. A lot of people disagreed with some placings, but Izzie wasn't moving her best. Izzie did win trail in hand though! All four classes! Diego took an astounding third out of SIX since I was able to practice the bridge some the night before. Nick was thrilled! The morning of the riding day I was frustrated. Izzie just wasn't right and I had no clue why. Nick goes "she hasn't moved the same since she had the back shoes put on." Figuring worst would be I blow classes if I have them pulled, which I felt I was going to do anyway. So I had the onsite farrier yank them. We went in and only lost to a multi National Champion horse and rider and another multi National Champion rider on her new horse. I consider that a huge win to be placed up there with them!

I'll have official show pictures soon since I've only just ordered them today lol

But horse shows are tiring!





































The trail in hand videos for Nick 











The junior rider from the previous video, excited to be riding Izzie again <3






Preparing for the horse show last weekend 










Diego took fifth out of six in halter (he was in it just to get an incentive fund point), and Izzie won both of her classes (out of two). Diego looked snazzy in the halter I got for Mother's Day!










He's also looking pretty good after his ulcer treatment 



















What we came home to after the horse show haha!










Check out the difference! The pic on the left was just as we started the ulcer meds. The one on the right was on Tuesday I think.










Izzie was in the SmartPak catalog too!










Cute pic of Diego and Syd 










We put up a gate to help give us a "hospital stall" as needed in the barn. It's kind of nice really!


__
Image uploading. Refresh page to view










Izzie looking flashy in her bareback pad setup


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## Tazzie

And a few more random pictures/stuff 

Cute pony pics!














































Diego trying on Izzie's costume bridle (piece behind the ears was permanently removed; Izzie still hates it...)










Kids caught fish!



















Diego learning how to be a dressage pony <3






Nick and Diego playing in the creek (which was HUGE!)











Also "jumped" Izzie over my cavalletti haha!

















Screenshots from the video. That trot though!!


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## lostastirrup

That's going to be one heck of a upper level extension some day. Wow!!!


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## Tazzie

lostastirrup, I'm hopeful it will be! It's funny, friends all thought collection would be what would come easy for her. But in reality she loves to extend!


Really no news on my front. Nick worked all weekend, so no riding. But I got my photos from our last show! There was a bit of a mixup, and one of the photos I ordered hasn't been sent. I should get it tonight I think <3

But here they are! I'll have to make two posts since there are so many haha!

Izzie's pictures 









































































I was sad to see her mouth here... welcome to life with Izzie. I wasn't pulling on her, but her anxiety comes out in yanking and chomping on the bit. She'd been feeding off me (my guess) and here is the result *sigh* when I'm calm and relaxed she isn't as bad, but this is how she chooses to carry her own anxiety. We've tried bit changes, longer reins, the work. Literally nothing has changed this behavior (and yes, her teeth are always up to date)


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## Tazzie

And Diego's pictures 










This picture in particular makes me happy. The pictures of us in the In Hand classes back in October are vastly different than this one. This shows a horse learning how to stretch out and use his body <3 and yes, he needs muscle and has gained more weight since here. Ulcers knocked him down hard.










Trail in hand classes!





































My boys <3










Under saddle. Again, getting better!



















And fun pictures in my Mother's Day present


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## Tazzie

To better show what I mean, here is the comparison pictures I made earlier 

The top of each of these collages were in October of last year. We'd had Diego for a little over 4 months, and been working on converting him to a Dressage horse from a Western Pleasure horse. He was specifically taught to have no contact with the bit, and actually bumped in the mouth if he tried to take contact. So it's been a long road getting him to accept true contact. His trotting in hand was a mess. He figured everything was a halter class! Which is fine... when you're in halter. The bottom was from Mother's Day weekend, just shy of a year since we bought him (and we held off riding for about 2ish weeks).


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## Tazzie

Got the last image from our photographer <3 Diego totally rocked this!










Not a whole lot else to report. Had hoped to ride on Tuesday, but Nick worked late. Yesterday we hung more gates in the barn since we have to lock Izzie up at night now, and it helps her having Diego close. Izzie would wander a bit from the barn, but Diego is a jerk and stands at the top of the hill. So now we have gates. Izzie started two allergy meds last night, so fingers crossed the coughing will be under control now *sigh*


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## Tazzie

Holy smokes, it's been this long since I updated? I'm so sorry guys  work kind of got insane, along with quite a few other things.

So I'll condense this a bit because a lot has happened haha!

We had a show early June, which was interesting. Horses took last in the in hand classes (Diego was bad, and Izzie was dealing with bad allergies; she couldn't be on her allergy meds because it was a USEF show and no antihistamines are allowed... but hey, you can sedate your horses, so that's fair... right?) Diego was first to be ridden, and he was BAD. I'm talking no cantering, just bucking. Wouldn't stop bucking. SOOO bad. Almost plowed into other horses, almost took out the judge, whole nine yards. Took dead last. Tried to school him, and I think it was just too stimulating with three-four horses lunging, whips cracking, and lots of whistling. I couldn't get him to settle. So I scratched him the rest of the day to prevent an injury to me and preventing him from hating showing. Izzie went and did the best she could. Rode against some large horses. Took a fourth out of I think 7 in our first class. Sixth out of 7 in our second (and no idea WHY we placed so low...). Second out of two in show hack (we were outclassed, but I did it to show with my friend). And won the championship out of two. So we were overall happy. Had nice rides overall.
































































Showing is also a whole lot more fun when you're friend is showing with you  this girl came into my life right when the whole crap with my ex friend happened. Throughout the year we've become better friends, and now we will be spending a week showing together at Sport Horse Nationals! Also, Izzie stands right at 15 hands. Panda is a good 17 hands haha!



















More coming up shortly!


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## Tazzie

This year, Nick joined us at Breyerfest. And because of that, he needed pictures taken for trading cards. My wonderful mother in law came out to take pictures  they turned out pretty good!


















































































It was not planned that I was going to ride, but my MIL needed to test lighting. I liked these 



















Family picture 










Couple cute pictures and a fun comparison picture of Izzie over the years. From 3 years old until now (now is the middle)


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## Tazzie

Next up was Regionals. We did alright in the pre show, with Diego winning his junior horse class. Overall a decent show!

Regionals itself though was a major bummer. So, there is a great divide in the Arabian world: Main Ring horses, and your sport horses. Sport horses are meant to be your horses that would do something aside from rail classes. Think eventing, hunter/jumpers, dressage, etc. It's dressage and hunter tack only. Well, slowly but surely main ring is trying to take over this discipline too. They've been coming in with an inch or more wedges and artificial movement, and managing to win our classes. The whole "the judge picks the best of what there is the most of." Well, at Regionals the judge admitted to the ring steward she didn't know how to judge the class. And main ring horses were repeatedly picked. It turned all of our stomachs. Izzie pulled a top five out of 6 horses (she was third I believe). Diego lost in what A LOT of people claimed politics (the first place horse deserved their placing... the reserve did not.) So overall a bummer. Izzie did legitimately win a sport horse in hand class to earn roses. And then was the only entry in English trail for another set of roses. I was pleased with their rides, which is what I keep trying to remind myself.


----------



## Tazzie

Intermission to show cute baby Jo pictures. Jo is big mare's baby, and she's perfect. Her registered name is A Little Bit Naughty after a Matilda song 




























This was when she was just shy of two months old. I'm 5'2"










And we got our kickboards up! Woohoo!














































I'll continue when I'm back from feeding. Was waiting on Nick to hopefully ride, but that's not happening seeing as it's 8:30 here.


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## Tazzie

Then came Breyerfest! I rode Diego the first day while my best friend handled Izzie in hand. Both were a bit... strong. Izzie took my friend for an exciting trot down the center of the ring while he ran to keep up. Diego felt like he wanted to spook at absolutely everything. But we all kept it together and handled it well. Then came when Nick and I went in together. We got to demo the family horse. So regular clothes and just a laid back attitude. Nick and Diego were total hits! Even the ladies who ran it were saying they thought this was the greatest addition ever!

This will be two posts since there is a lot haha!


----------



## Tazzie

Breyerfest continued 



























































































Family picture from camping the weekend after Breyerfest


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## Tazzie

Next up was our fun local show. To say we dominated was an understatement. Izzie won the English halter out of at least three horses (possibly four?) and Diego took second. Then Izzie took second in Arab halter with Diego third (out of at least four horses). Izzie took Sydney into lead line in full costume getup, much to the excitement of the crowd. Then went back in to win costume out of two  Izzie finished out with two more first in English Pleasure and Hunter Pleasure with some really good, solid rides. Then it was Diego's turn. He won his sport horse dressage type class, and took second (both classes were out of two) after a baby bobble. But the other horse definitely deserved to win that class (and that horse is for sale! She showed against us in costume, of which she had never tried on let alone galloped in it... someone needs to buy her!) We were thrilled to have such a great show!
































































Some cute pictures, like Diego looking chunky lol



















Izzie helping daddy










Nick and I celebrated 10 years together (almost 8 married) by riding  we've added hill work to Izzie's routine to get her fit for Nationals.




























That red circle is where we cantered/slow gallop up from


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## Tazzie

After that show, we went to our first dressage show in a while! Izzie kind of had a couple of "oh crud!" moments when she realized this wasn't a rail class... Diego soaked it all up and seemed to REALLY like it! They also had NICE scores! This was also a rated Arabian show to boot! So a good judge to show under, meaning my scores were earned 

Diego's test










Izzie's tests




























Pictures with their ribbons 





































School started too. Sydney was thrilled. Kaleb not so much....










Nick and I went on a trail ride a bit after the kids went off to school. It was the first time we asked Diego for a bit more "extreme" type trail stuff. We were climbing over fallen trees that were a foot wide and a foot tall. Going through brush that he had to create his own path. And lots of varied terrain. We only had two small temper tantrums. Once when I wouldn't let him buck instead of canter (wide open space, pony wanted to pull some moves), and one when I asked him to cross a creek. He'd spin, and I'd keep spinning him till he was back in the direction I wanted. Eventually he launched himself over it... ugh. Izzie only told Nick "no" once, and it was a huge drop down into a really rocky section. I told Nick that Izzie was being smarter than him lol










Couple of cute pictures from yesterday.





































The last post will have a bunch of videos. It was easier to do all the pictures, and then go back for the videos. Since I let this lapse too long haha! I'll also do a "where we are now" kind of post to go with it.


----------



## Tazzie

My friend's baby  now, she may look normal height... until you realize my best friend is 5'11", and this baby isn't even 4 months old yet.




























So where we are now. Diego is not going to Nationals with us. He's just not ready, and that's not fair to him or anyone that he could potentially ruin their chances (by cutting them off, etc). Izzie is seriously working better and better every single day. She's LOVING the hill climbs so much. It's fun to watch her and feel her power right on up! Makes me so happy!

On to the videos! I'll separate out what is what 

Regionals and preshow for both ponies


























Visiting the baby 






Trail riding!











Nick and Diego!






Izzie and I bareback






Izzie's hill work. We've been doing this every ride (which is roughly every other day)






Kids riding <3 these horses are saints











Izzie says "YES!" to pears haha!






And that's the end of the catch up! I'm hoping tomorrow I'll get to ride in the morning. Then church picnic tomorrow night. Have someone coming to meet the horses on Sunday. Riding Monday through Wednesday.  Izzie gets adjusted on Thursday, prep the trailer Friday, and leave for Nationals SATURDAY! It's getting real!


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## knightrider

You're back! Yay ay ay ay!!!! So pleased that both horses are doing so well! But not surprising, because you put so much time, energy, and effort in them. I'm always so impressed because you get so little guidance, so it's all your own work.


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## Tazzie

Thanks knightrider! Sorry I vanish from here so often! Work tends to overwhelm me sometimes! And thank you! That means a lot to me 


Ponies are doing wonderful. We were noting the changes on Diego's neck, and we are THRILLED! His neck has always been "upside down" with all the muscle under his neck as opposed to on the top. He's finally starting to show true muscle changes for the better!

I rode them both Saturday morning, and they were good! I braided Izzie in our new braid for Nationals, and we love it! Nick hopped on her first and was like "I really like this look!" So I imagine I'll be braiding Diego like this for him too haha! They both worked incredibly well too.

New braids 
























Monday we took advantage of the rain to school Izzie in it. Diego stayed in the barn, happily eating dinner and laughing at Izzie. But since Nationals is entirely outside, we wanted to be sure she'd work just as well. The verdict? Let it rain!

"Mom, do I really have to?!"










Epic work 






Yesterday they got their feet trimmed up. Got Izzie's health certificate to leave, so she's all ready to go! Tonight is our final ride before we leave for Nationals. Tomorrow Izzie sees the chiro. Friday she has off to recuperate from the chiro. Saturday we head on out to Crete! Saturday evening we will do a light ride with my friend to get a feel for the arena. We are both stoked!

It's getting so real and I'm starting to get nervous haha!


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## egrogan

Love the braids, and I especially love when you can see her cool markings.


Have a blast at nationals :grin:


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## Tazzie

Egrogan, thank you! and I do too  it's rare I even get to see them anymore! And thank you! I'm getting so nervous haha!


Well, had our last pre Nationals ride last night! It was challenging, but good. Worked on walk canter walk with Izzie. It always makes her super spicy, so I hate schooling it. But I accomplished what I wanted. A lot of walking in between the cantering. If she was jigging, she was put to work at the walk. I got a fairly decent walk out of her, which made me happy. I rode her first since Nick wanted to canter her up the hill.

Diego was phenomenal. He's come a long way from when we bought him! Nick wants me to keep his work under wraps from people we show with because he wants them shocked when they see him. I'm alright with that haha! But I have permission to post on here 

We had to deal with cows in our arena first lol they did eventually leave.






Diego's work 






And Nick cantering Izzie up. I went up first with Diego, who had his best climb yet! Super happy!


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## carshon

Gosh I am envious of the canter up the hill. Please tell Nick that I can see a difference in his riding as well. His seat and legs are a lot quieter! What great videos. Good luck this weekend!


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## Tazzie

carshon, it's the perfect hill for it! I know it's steeper than some prefer, but I love that it's not at all rough. And I will! A lot came from shortening his stirrups, but Izzie is an amazing teacher to get quieter with his legs and seat  and thank you! It's an entire week of horse showing! I'm nervous haha!


Well, in 24 hours we should be getting close to our destination! So exciting! But I'm nervous too haha! We show Monday afternoon and Wednesday evening under saddle. If we make our cuts, we will show again on Friday and Saturday. Fingers crossed! She also shows in hand on Thursday. I'm hoping we can snag a top ten <3

I had my chiropractor appointment yesterday, and feel ready. Took Izzie to hers and he got her all fixed up! She needed acupuncture as well since her right hip was still a bit reactive, and I noticed when I asked for collection in the canter she'd switch leads to the wrong one and then back in a one tempi type thing. Her chiropractor adores how she handles the acupuncture. there are some spots in the haunches that make horses want to kick, but Izzie just relaxes the leg and flinches. He didn't even brace for a kick with her this time. And on the left side she barely even flinched. She's my good girl  she got a big hug from him afterward, and like two handfuls of treats haha! Diego did well all by himself in the field, which has me relaxing about leaving him behind.

Home from the chiro 










And roughly three years ago, Nick started on a tack trunk for me. It got all the way to needing just paint, my logo, and hardware. It sat in the garage in this unfinished state for over a year. I told Nick a few months ago that I really wanted it down for Nationals. I told him I'd quit nagging, I just wanted it done. Well, last weekend it was no better than it was earlier this year. So I told him I was disappointed it wasn't done. Apparently, he got my in laws to take it and finish it up. It needs shellac over the vinyl logos, but I can take it this week knowing we have to treat it carefully. I'm so excited <3


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## PoptartShop

That tack trunk is absolutely beautiful.  I love it! I'm sure Izzie is feeling lovely after her chiro appt. So excited for you guys. Nationals will be amazing. <3
Have an AMAZING TIME!!!  You guys will do great, as always! Rooting for you!!


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## knightrider

So glad you are back posting on Horse Forum. So many good wishes to you for Nationals!


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## Tazzie

Allison and knightrider, thank you!! I'm sorry I get a bit behind!

In a hurry, so copying and pasting SOME from the confession thread. Since my journal isn't AS read as the confession thread, going to post a couple videos I didn't post there 

We didn't take the show by storm :lol: we didn't even make a cut into either of my classes, so we were done riding after Wednesday night. I was later told I SHOULD have made the cut on Wednesday, and judging by pictures and what other experienced people said, I'd agree. We didn't even make a card (two judge system). Kind of stinks because Izzie gave me the best ride of her life that night. I was nothing short of devastated that I couldn't even make a cut, but I was not disappointed in my horse. Thursday we showed in hand. Izzie laid out the best in hand class she'd ever done. I walked out to Nick who said "they will either love her, or hate her. But it wouldn't be because you didn't try." Well, they hated her. She was second to last in the in hand.

My friend who shows Nationals every year they have it on this side of the country (and brought her National WINS up to THIRTY this past week) said she'd never seen such sketchy judging. So that's my luck of course. The judges were picking high head sets and hollow backs with snappy knees over a horse that was going correctly (and I have picture proof to show it; not just me complaining). But, lesson learned. Setting ourselves up for some lessons, including with my friend's trainer who will shred my position. Which is needed!

We also visited the Planetarium, the Field Museum, and the Museum of Science and Industry. Kids had a blast at all of them!

Some pictures 

Pretty girl in her stall at Nationals! I LOVED this facility!




























My bestest friend Keegan, and my new awesome Nationals friend each got me a lucky pony  I still feel I had good luck because Izzie was ASTOUNDING!



















Four of us outside of the Planetarium on Lake Michigan!










Horse showing is so much more fun with friends! This was my "Nationals" friend. I only give her that nickname since she's the one who won a bunch! Her boy is AMAZING!










A hug from a good friend, who was working the gate for Nationals. He's the best dude ever, and wants Nick, the kids and I to all come down and visit them in SC!










Sunday after Nationals I rode Diego, who was horribly behind my leg. So opted to ride him with a whip on Tuesday. He apparently is fearful of whips *sigh* I love former main ring horse >.<

BUT! Between when we rode on Sunday, and that evening after we baled hay and stacked roughly 140-150 bales (just Sunday night; stacked the last 50 or so on Monday night), this adorable little girl was born! Working on Nick to buy her since he wanted a heifer at some point anyway... and she's CUTE!










Izzie's Sport Horse In Hand run 






Izzie's Sport Horse Under Saddle Dressage Type ATR class: the one we SHOULD have made a cut in.






Izzie and Kaleb at Nationals






My "Nationals" friend's musical freestyle. Her horse thought the end of the dressage ring was past where it was, so they had a bobble. But it was fun!






And the first time I've ever seen them do Fourth Level! They went National Champion Third Level Open and ATR, Reservere National Champion Fourth Level ATR, and Top Ten Fourth Level Open (this specific ride). Now they are headed to USDF Regionals tonight in hopes of heading to USDF Nationals! She's a superstar rider on every horse I've seen her on. Her boy is a tough little nugget in how bendy he is. And the horse she's on in our friend photo is SUPER hard to ride too! He was ruined by main ring trainers, and it's a miracle she can get him to bend at all.


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## knightrider

Just like everything else you do, you handled the disappointment like the champions you two are. What counts is how well she rode for you.


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## Tazzie

Thank you knightrider  she wasn't the disappointment, so the last thing I could be is mad at her. I rode the best ride of my life, so I'm thrilled 


I took both ponies to a show Saturday night. It was supposed to be a tiny show in years past. So Nick took the kids to the wedding we had (and I wanted to go to), and I took the horses to the show. We last minute added it when we discovered there would be no reserve champion english pleasure champion this year. This was the last chance to sneak Diego in... and the payout would be roughly a grand for bringing the two to the show. So Nick wanted me to go. Well, the show was much larger in past years since they had walking horses this time. There were lovely flat shod and barefoot walkers that made me love watching them. Then a few icky padded ones :/

Both horses did well though! My best friend came to help me at it. I showed Izzie to a second out of two for halter, and won native costume out of two  Diego won the english pleasure out of two. So it was a good day. The costume was a last minute add, so no ribbon, no class fee, no payback. I paid $55 for entries ($25 a piece, $5 gate admission), and they gave me back $90. Not a bad deal haha!

Other than that, been riding when I can. Our last show of the year is on Sunday (my regular last two shows were cancelled for this year). It's bittersweet since it'll be the last time I show Izzie myself under saddle for at least two years. Just makes me kind of sad. Diego has been doing well though 

Pictures!

The winnings 










Izzie took a selfie with my best friend lol










Bless this woman who talked to little dude when he was petrified of the tent. He didn't so much as glance at it when we actually showed.










Beware: Izzie will judge you.










Nick hung up all my plaques last night  I'm missing one blue one. The show gave me western pleasure champion instead of native costume haha! Switching with the girl on Sunday.




























Little dude is looking better and better! His personality has finally come back out after the horrible episode of ulcers earlier this year.










And Izzie looked darn lovely trotting on the lunge line at Sport Horse Nationals  my friend took this picture and just sent it to me.










Here is a small video of Nick and Diego last night. Nick is debuting under saddle this coming Sunday 






And we had a bit of fun last week. No, I'm not schooling these. This was a "one time thing" kind of deal. But that day they kind of just felt like they were there, so decided "let's see". It was fun, but won't be something we revisit for a long time :wink:


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## knightrider

Did I miss something? Why are you not showing Izzie for two years?


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## Tazzie

knightrider, she's being bred in March to a purebred Arabian  I'll still ride her at home to keep her in shape, but we are letting her have some much earned time off and let her be a momma


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## knightrider

Oh, lovely, I'll bet her foal will be gorgeous and you'll have so much fun training it! Have the chosen the stallion yet?


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## Tazzie

I'm sure thinking he will be! He's owned by my friend. Perfect with kids, well mannered, and I love his gaits. I love how he's using his hind in the trot picture, and he wasn't even broke to ride at that point.


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## knightrider

He's stunning! Can't wait to see the foal!


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## Tazzie

Me neither! I'm so excited. He has some massive bone in person, which I adore. His head is Arab without being the crazy seahorse look (which I'm not a fan of). And he's super sweet and sane. I can't wait to see what comes from this cross! This is also the sire of my friend's baby


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## Tazzie

Have to copy and paste since work isn't allowing too much time right now, ugh!

So our last show was... interesting.

I'd gotten a message the night before we were hauling out to say a show was going to be running before we haul in. Ok, no worries. They think they will be done around 6. Not a problem. Annoying, but we will deal. Get ponies cleaned up and loaded. Hit the road. Arrive at the show grounds around 6:30 to find the show still in FULL swing. So we park up on the grass and unload ponies. I walk over and ask how many classes there were left (around 7 because we waited a bit to get a feel for if it was wrapping up soon or not). They had ELEVEN more to go. Called the lady in charge of our show. She had no ideas what to do. These people were in the stalls we were supposed to be in. Our two options were find stalls in the bigger barn (which was near my ex best friend) or at least squat in the old, kind of run down barn. We chose the old barn. Nick said "I don't want to leave, just set up the show here and be done with it". So fine. I made my call to my best friend to see what his thoughts were. He was fine with it (he was bringing little Jo). Set up, and head out to eat. Disappointed we couldn't work Diego, but that is life. Went out to dinner with my best friend and his dad. Came back after dinner (around 9:30) to do last checks, and the show was STILL going on. We were thankful we just decided to stay in the old barn. I had three other people who all wanted to stall with us aside from my best friend. Two of the three decided to stall with us even in the run down barn. And let me just say, it was the most fun we've had being in that barn! May make it our regular barn haha!

Show day comes and we school Diego first thing. He was fantastic for both me and Nick. Get back, braid everyone, and prepare to watch little Jo show! It was her first time off the farm. They've practiced being away from momma, but it was still quite new. She totally dominated her classes. She had baby moments, but the judge is understanding of that. She won all three of them, including against seasoned show horses. He had been worried because the judge barely looked at her in the last class (which had money attached to it). I told him to stop fretting. He had this. And he did! I was so pleased 

Next was Izzie in the in hand class. She was her perfect self doing all that is expected of her. She was against a horse she has never beaten before, and one I thought would beat her. NOPE! She WON the class! Our jaws literally dropped when they called us the winner!

Then came Diego. He's known for being a jerk in hand. But he'd been getting better. I'd had him calmed down before getting ready to enter. Ex friend had other plans. She sent her handler TROTTING past Diego to cut him off. Like, nearly took me out with the horse in an effort to mess us up. Well, it worked. Diego spun the entire class and lost because of manners. He SHOULD have won. Their horse won. But no way to protest that at these tiny shows. But karma will hit them one day. I was mostly disappointed Diego was SO bad. I admit defeat when earned, but he'd been calm and ready. So I was peeved.

After in hand came the trail classes. Izzie was unamused with the stuffed cow made of windbreaker material, nearly unseating me. She was just so bad. Nick wanted to try it too, and it was not good either. He stuck her, but bad pony. She got fourth and fifth in the class. She dominated in hand as always though lol we rode Diego outside during break because it had gotten super windy. I wanted Nick to be safe. He was fine. Izzie's costume class came before his classes. And while she did ok, it wasn't our best costume class. Old Izzie returned with a small buck lol but I just laughed and told the judge she's never going to grow up haha! He said "that's ok though!" He couldn't believe she was already nine lol I rode Diego first. I think if there hadn't been a light grey horse with us he'd have done better. But alas, he thought the light grey was Izzie, and wanted to race lol least he showed me something we need to work on! He took fourth out of four because he was tighter than I wanted him (I had to keep a tighter rein on him; he's broken into canter to catch Izzie, and I'd rather not totally blow it like that). By the time it was Nick's turn, he was tired. Little more so than I would have liked, but Nick handled it well. He was showing with two kids, who have Regional Championships to their name. He took it in stride at least! We have to work on our diagonals a bit (which frustrate him), but otherwise I'm SUPER proud! It was fun watching the judge's face though! He sees Nick walking in on Diego, then looks down the rail confused until he sees me, then back to Nick with a smile  Nick took third out of three, but he was seriously fantastic. The cheering is what got me though. I'd give anything to have been recording. Everyone did polite cheers for the two girls, but the grandstand ERUPTED for Nick! I've never heard it get so loud! Even the mom of one of the little girls (the one who won the class) cheered louder for Nick than her own daughter haha! Nick said later he wouldn't mind doing it again!

Better photos coming soon of course  since then ponies have enjoyed their vacation. Which came at a good time because it's HOT!




























Little Jo! She won't be five months old until the 8th I think.



















My wall of plaques 










Diego looking GOOD!










And a sneak peek at pictures we had done yesterday with my mother in law 










Videos!

Izzie in Native Costume






And Nick and Diego!!


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## carshon

the videos are great. Nick looks good! and Diego looks fantastic.


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## Tazzie

Thank you Carshon! I thought they made a great team  and he's looking like a sport horse now! Not overweight like he was when we bought him, and not thin from the ulcers.
Not a bunch to report here. Heading to Michigan tomorrow night for the weekend. Plan to go riding on the dunes in the RZR 

I have picture overload though!

Pictures from the show:













































































































Izzie had a fun photo shoot on Sunday 




























To be continued...


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## Tazzie

More from the photo shoot  Warmblood, or Arabian Cross? Haha
































































Every blue ribbon Izzie has ever won since a yearling (well, one show as a yearling; the rest are from 2015 onward)



















Photos with my little girl <3




























And our new family photo


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## egrogan

Gorgeous as always. Love the last one!!


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## Tazzie

Me too! We needed a new family photo  just wish we could have gotten the pups in too. Nick was kind of done though haha!


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## carshon

Wow he family photo is great!!!


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## Tazzie

Thank you carshon! I'll be getting it printed and finding a nice frame for it 


Sorry for the copy and paste guys... I'm running out of time and will be leaving work soon!

Not a whole bunch to report from last time lol we went to Michigan this past weekend. Was a lot of fun hanging with family and playing on the dunes 

Monday I received Izzie's latest plaque! This means she earned at least 60 points from showing AHA classes, with 25 points coming from under saddle and 25 points coming from in hand 



















Last night I got to ride! Rode Diego first and he was incredible! I was so proud of him! He's actually attempting to lift his back and work over it properly at the trot now (walk is still iffy, and canter is very iffy). We didn't work long since working properly like that is exhausting for babies! I rode Izzie walk trot bareback. She tried to tell me she couldn't possible work over her back correctly *facepalm* worked her through it though.

And gave Sydney her very first lesson <3 Izzie was a bit confused, but she was a super star!


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## Tazzie

Bit of a copy and paste because I'm running out of time lol

So, I'll kind of hit on the major things that happened since I last posted lol

We got lights in the barn! Nick finally got them all put in (or mostly put in) and wired me an outlet to make clipping Diego easier (well, clipping practice). It's so perfect <3



















Sydney got her ears pierced, and she is over the moon from it!










Trick or treating was cold. My nieces didn't join us this year because it was so cold and windy. So Nick and I hopped in the cab of the RZR with a comforter on our laps, and went to more houses than we normally do. We have a "loop" in our area that is popular for trick or treating, so we did part of that. We were passing a road when Nick kind of slowed down and went "I wonder if Sam's parents are home." I asked if it was his friend Sam B, and he said yes. I told him to go find out, so we turned off the loop. Pulled up, and his buddy's truck was there too. They haven't had trick or treaters in about 20 years LOL! But they were SO EXCITED to see our kids. I had never met these people, and they were just excited for the kids until they saw Nick. Then there was screams of excitement lol it made my entire night being a part of that. We were invited inside to chat, and stayed there about 15 minutes. They told us we HAVE to come back next year and they will be prepared! It was so sweet! We didn't get any pictures though as it was COLD! Everyone was being VERY generous with the candy, so we have plenty to last us till Christmas haha!

Other than that, we've been riding a lot. I'll put pictures below. Ponies are getting chiropractor adjustments on Thursday, which will help Diego's sticky right lead canter I think. He's been doing SO well though! I'm very pleased with him! AND! We booked our first lesson  it was supposed to be on the 16th, but had to be pushed back to the 23rd. It's with my best friend's trainer, so I'm thrilled! I'm taking Diego as Izzie is enjoying the calmer life. This weekend we are heading down to the Kentucky Horse Park as my best friend is showing in USDF Finals. Which is a HUGE thing! I can't wait!

Oh, one other thing lol I'm contemplating a tattoo. I've seen a lot of neat tattoos people have done to incorporate scars they hate. I have the giant one inside my elbow from when I came off Izzie 6 years ago. I'm contemplating having this tattooed where she's jumping over my tattoo. The conversations would be hilarious. "So how did you get the original tattoo?" "Well, the horse jumping over it is the one that gave it to me."










Anyway, pictures and videos  Kaleb did in fact ride this week! I laughed that he figured out how to make Izzie walk without kicking her haha!




























































His walk used to suck and be very stilted. It's slowly coming around






He's on a tighter rein than I wanted, but we were spooking at leaves on a longer rein that wasn't a stretching rein (shown toward the end). I'm so proud of the stretching at the end. A former western horse taught to back off the bit, stretching willingly into the contact.


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## Tazzie

Whew, where to begin!

I did get to go watch my best friend show! They did well, but something just wasn't quite right with her boy. He was super sluggish when showing, and that isn't like him at all. Sunday was worse. They brought him home and he seemed ok, but still a bit off. He came in and refused grain. They knew they had a problem. Had the vet out that night, and he was diagnosed with Potomac horse fever. Thank god they caught it quickly! He was on antibiotics for 5 days, and he was off grain for a bit longer. Now he's slowly being brought back up grain wise, and she rode him for the first time this past weekend (two weeks after being diagnosed). I'm just super thankful he's ok! He's a super talented, sweet horse, and she's my best friend.

Her ride. He threw in an extra lead change, but even with that and being sluggish, they earned a 65% and were 16th? out of 35 horses. It was the biggest class at USDF Finals.






My horses had a break as it was very clear they needed an adjustment. Got them worked on two days before what was supposed to be my first lesson, but we had to move it to this past weekend (not a big deal at all and worked out well!) My chiro asked how Izzie did at Nationals, and I said she was phenomenal, but they were picking a style of horse that didn't really belong there. Said if he'd give me his email address, I'd be happy to send him the link to her ride. He couldn't write it down fast enough haha! Both horses were in major need of an adjustment, so I was glad we got in. He asked how they were doing, and said both were still working well, but could just feel they were having issues.

I rode again the weekend that was to be my lesson (only on Diego; it's been over two weeks since I sat on Izzie *sigh*) and he seemed to still be a bit sore. Which made me fret that something worse was going on. Clearly he was just that badly out and the soreness took time to fade. But I'd given him time to rest, and when we went in for my lesson this past Saturday, I hadn't ridden him in nearly a week. It wasn't possible even if I wanted to. Monday we had pictures up at the church. Tuesday my parents came down for the night and we had conferences. Both teachers LOVE our kids. It was a great chat. Wednesday my parents and in laws went to grandparents breakfast, and my parents went home. Nick hunted I think on Wednesday night? I can't remember. Kaleb had basketball practice Thursday, and Friday Nick worked. Saturday I was to go to my lesson alone, but I convinced Nick to come with me. I'm glad he did as he got homework to help me.

Now for my in depth about my lesson. When we got there and unloaded little dude, I was talking to her and just said "he is our horse of convenience. We needed a horse, I knew him, he was sweet, so we bought him. I don't have rose colored glasses on making me think that either of my horses will make the upper levels, so don't worry about hurting my feelings. I'm totally ok getting to whatever level they are most comfortable with and excelling." She said she doesn't judge a horse on how far they will make it because you really just can't tell. My best friend's horse was once for sale because she wanted an upper level prospect and he didn't seem that way at first. Now he's showing Fourth and working on PSG and I1.

So I hop on and walk him around. He's on a long rein, and doing what he always does when there is no pressure: looking around at everything. The trainer knew he was a former main ring western horse. She goes "he sure doesn't look like a western horse here." I said I've spent nearly a year and a half just teaching him to go forward and not have such an issue with contact. I guess when I picked up the trot she said to my husband "oh he has a cute trot!" She yells out to me "he really doesn't look like a western horse!" I said he really did in the beginning, and my best friend confirmed that lol she helped with stuff that I struggle with, mainly my hands are terrible (I knew that) and helping to unlock Diego at the base of his neck. It didn't take him long at all to unlock and start working over his back better. My best friend said when that change was made she could really see the potential in him. We picked up the canter and she goes "oh he has a nice canter!" Worked on that and he had a break. After his break, we worked on leg yields and lateral work. She mentioned she wanted to get him going into shoulder in right away. That it'll help him a lot. I said that I've never done that with him. She asked about leg yields. I said we did work on that a bit, but they weren't great. Better than when I got him, but not good really. Worked on them a bit and he started understanding the concept. She introduced shoulder in and he was very focused with it. She said he seemed like a horse that the more he learned and the more things he did, the better he'd be. I said that I'd just said that on Sunday lol

After my lesson I had my best friend hop on because she may start saddle searching, but hadn't sat in many different types. She seemed to really like mine though! We talked about Diego and the trainer said she really thinks once we fix a lot of his basics, that he should easily be able to show First Level this year. So I'm super stoked! She gave me plenty of homework, which includes a lot of walk stuff since the field isn't in the best condition to work on too much canter work, and even trot is a bit sketchy.

Overall, I'm thrilled with my little dude  my best friend kept saying "I told you that you've been too hard on the little guy!" Not sure when we can get back for a lesson, but I already can't wait!

Video clips from our lesson 




































Pretty sunset from when we got snow a couple weeks ago lol










And cute Diego pictures lol Izzie hasn't done much of anything except look like a giant potato haha





































Dressage work and a good diet agree with him 










And baby Diego


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## carshon

Love the post. I think Diego has really come into himself after the ulcer treatments. Even better looking than when you first purchased him. Great job!


I would be interested in your ulcer protocol just out of curiosity. No critiquing - but it obviously worked!


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## Tazzie

He really has! We are so proud of him. And everyone has said that lol I've had a lot of comments implying he's much better than when we bought him, both in his looks and how he's going under saddle.

And I don't mind sharing! It's a bit of an... off the way protocol. It's from my chiropractor veterinarian, and he likes alternative methods. This product was created for ulcers, but they decided to market it for topical uses since it was easier to get approved.

I ordered two bottles of this. The first bottle we gave 30cc orally twice a day. The second bottle we gave 30cc orally once a day. Mornings I used a syringe, evenings I mixed it with feed so we didn't make him mad always syringing him. But he never minded it, and I could dose him without even haltering him. I saw immediate results, and it's also cheaper than traditional methods.

https://www.bristowveterinaryhospital.com/product-page/draw


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## carshon

Thank you! I am very interested in trying this stuff.


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## Tazzie

I felt it worked really well  and I'm all for alternative methods when possible, even though I'm a scientist haha! I'm not nutso about it, but when something works and it's way cheaper, I'm all for it.


So, I rode little dude again last night. He was MAD the rules changed at home too. But once we got through that, he was SOO good! Nick reminded me about my hands the entire ride, and Diego just feels like a different horse now. So I'm happy about it! He's really using his hind end and loosening his back. It's making me REALLY excited for this coming year! We didn't work super long because this work is very hard for him right now, and I'd rather cut it short and have him just be a bit tired than totally exhausted where he's dreading when we work.

Sydney "rode" Izzie lol and afterward I worked with her to help her learn how to untack a bit. She's just using my bareback pad, but she can still learn. Izzie is a saint to just stand there lol

Videos of Izzie


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## Tazzie

Copying and pasting my last threads from Confession Time here since I'm lazy lol


I rode Diego on Black Friday. I didn't do ANY shopping in stores lol but I did get a new half pad for Diego as well as a shiny new browband for him! He's getting a new bridle here soon (I'm waiting till Christmas dies down a bit lol). He was so good! I was really proud of him. We had a few bumps, but nothing bad really. He ended really well! I rode Izzie too for the first time in a couple weeks. Decided to try the new riding cues I learned in my lesson. She was confused, but she's always read my mind anyway that it'll take no time to completely switch her. But she's riding even more like a million bucks. I'm excited lol
Last Tuesday vet came for dentals and a winky wash for Diego. He gave Izzie very little sedative because "she's a good girl". She groaned when he put his hand in her mouth to check his handiwork. I told him Izzie regularly talks to us haha! Diego didn't have any major issues with his teeth (YAY!) and his sheath was free of beans (double YAY!) All in all it was a good visit. We discussed breeding Izzie since he'll be the vet breeding her. We are all pretty excited about the foal 

Didn't get to ride again until this past Saturday. Monday it rained and then Friday it rained. Thursday was Kaleb's basketball practice, and Wednesday was too wet. I got a lot of Christmas shopping done on Friday.

Saturday was a big day. Rode both ponies again. Diego was incredible. I'm so thrilled with how he's coming along! Izzie also did super well too! Nick recorded a bit of our ride from Saturday 






Came home from the toy store and rode. Diego was a jerk. It was such a bad ride. I had planned to ride them both, but after how Diego's was going I was not about to get on Izzie. I got off feeling really discouraged and told my friend about it. She apparently also had a really bad ride that day. Said not to beat myself up over it, that everyone is allowed to have bad days, and we'd had a lot of really good rides leading up to it. So trying not to take it to heart lol

The end of the bad ride:






But the good part is he walked through some of the creek without much hesitation. That was a huge step for him since he's lived with us.






Anyway, life has been all over the place with holidays! And then I get to work where I currently have nothing, which gives me no desire to do anything but read my book or color in my adult coloring books haha!

Christmas this year was good to us. Kids were stoked with their gifts this year. Santa always brings them light things while mommy and daddy bring more expensive things. This way kids that aren't as fortunate don't feel like Santa doesn't like them as much. Santa brought each kid two large coloring posters for their rooms, a pack of markers, and a pack of colored pencils  they couldn't wait to put the posters up and color them! We got them each a journal since they enjoy writing down whats going on in their lives, and each kiddo got what they wanted (Syd likes Hatchimal stuff and into nail polish, Kaleb got train sets and Pokemon cards). I got some new saddle pads from my mom and dad along with an assortment of other goodies. We got Diego a browband as part of my Christmas present (and a half pad designed by me that isn't done yet lol). Nick and I spent some of our Christmas money to buy him a shiny new bridle too. Pictures when it arrives (hoping by next Thursday!) I got Nick a three person deer blind so he can take the kiddos hunting  no, it did not make the trek to Michigan haha!

I got some rides in here and there. I'm excited I booked my second lesson as I really need it. Diego has been a bit wound up, and I'm not sure what I can do differently. Every time I give him more rein he finds something worth spooking at, and I shorten them back up. The wind hasn't helped one bit, but it's kind of a "you need to get over it" kind of deal at this point. So please excuse the less than stellar riding videos... I'm looking forward to my next lesson to help continue fixing us.

Anyway, some pictures!

Family pictures from Christmas! I just want to say that yes, my now sister (in the green) is transitioning male to female. No, I will not field any questions. No, I will not tolerate negative comments. And yes, I do accept her as she is still my sibling and I'd rather have her in any way that she feels comfortable as opposed to not having my sibling.










The whole family with our spouses  the beautiful lady in red just said YES to marrying my brother last night (pictured in the striped shirt)










Izzie won some pretty impressive awards too  USEF Reserve Regional Champion!










Diego's new browband 



















Disgusting horses; this is what they look like after a week of no grooming haha!



















For all of you Jo lovers, here are updated pictures  she's HUGE! Mind you, she won't technically be one until May. She's wearing a yearling sized blanket already, and I think a yearling sized halter. My buddy (pictured with her) is roughly 6 foot I believe.




























And our yearling holiday pictures 





































Last but not least, our videos 

Diego is WOOLLY!






Latest rides


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## carshon

that browband is gorgeous! And the family pics are great!


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## Tazzie

Thank you! Nick designed it himself, so he's pretty happy! And thank you  I was a bit apprehensive putting it out there, but this is my family and I'm proud of all of them!

And obviously I meant YEARLY holiday pictures as opposed to YEARLING! Haha


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## ChasingDreams

I love wooly Diego. Some people don’t like their horses furry, and for some in heavy work it’s not practical... but I LOVE it, makes them so soft and cuddly [emoji23][emoji3059]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## egrogan

Great update and wonderful photos. Love your holiday family pics, and as always, the videos of your rides are inspiring!


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## Tazzie

Sorry guys! I missed your comments somehow! (Probably read them when I could, and couldn't respond right away!)

@ChasingDreams, I love woolly horses too! Diego is in full work, but since he's not blanketed, I'd rather he have some protection from that! My friend is schooling PSG and her horse is good and woolly too!

@egrogan, thank you! I'm glad you find them inspiring! I love having as many recordings as I can so I can go back and see the actual progress! It helps a lot!


Been riding when I can. Hadn't swung a leg up on Izzie since New Years Day. She's enjoying her holiday. Diego is slowly coming along. I'm super excited!

Had our banquet on the 10th, which was a blast! I love going to that one!

Nick also put up our hay racks! They are WONDERFUL!



















Banquet pictures  the big award are saddle bags. The reserve is a hanging grooming organizer 



















Me with my favorite two men (Nick and my best friend Keegan)










Muddy horse pictures 





































Fun sun pictures





































And Diego modeling his new bridle to go with his new browband 



















Couple of Diego working











And then a couple of Jo. Keep in mind that the bay mare in with her... is right about Izzie's height. And Jo is only 8 months old haha!


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## Tazzie

Had my lesson on Saturday. I wasn't sure how it would go. He was wild when we went to get him. Dancing in the crossties, spinning around as Nick drove the truck and trailer up, hollering when we stopped at the gas station. Just a full on nut. I hurried up and got him tacked up after walking him around the indoor. Hopped on and did a lot of walking. Got started and she had us work on long and low for a bit. Diego isn't great with that due to his western pleasure start, but he tried hard. We had a few more nice moments compared to last time. She said we've definitely improved, which I was glad she said. I'm always self conscious of if I'm making any real progress. But it was so good! She's really helping to unlock him and help him reach his full potential. I'm pretty pleased  after my less, I got to watch my best friend in her lesson, and then we got to sit and watch the trainer and her daughter work my best friend's baby. She's doing SO well! I love all of her horses!

Sunday Nick worked most of the day, and I spent my day doing laundry. Fed and that was about it haha Diego got his blanket on because he was cold lol










Monday Nick called into work and went hunting. Once he got home, we went out and rode in the cold. Totally worth it! It helped riding so soon after my lesson! I felt like she was more in my head this time, and Nick didn't have to yell at me as much. Diego was the best he's been at home, but it was too cold to ask Nick to record it for me. I'm thrilled! I hopped on Izzie and decided that she should be ridden similar, especially since she's so out of shape right now. While she was really confused at first, she settled in and went with it. Had one of our best rides lately too! One telltale sign for us is a nice, foamy mouth. I can personally attest neither chomped their bit. This was purely from them being soft and relaxed in the mouth.



















Shortly after, Diego decided to follow Nick into the tack room :rofl:










Anyway, that's all! I won't get to ride until MAYBE Saturday morning, but that's up in the air. Saturday I have two meetings and another banquet. Sunday I hope to ride. Our next lesson is booked for February 1st, and our first show of the year is February 8th. I'm pumped!

Videos from the lesson. Sound removed so as to not cause discussion/give out my instructor's instruction for free lol


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## carshon

Diego has really come a long way in his self carriage- you can really see it in his back and his back end. Not so stiff looking! Great job!


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## Tazzie

Thank you @carshon! I'm excited seeing his progress  he's slowly starting to understand it more, and his reverting back to western pleasure is becoming less and less often. Both my best friend and trainer think he'll be ready to try First Level by June, and aiming for Second Level next year! Then depending on how he's doing, possibly start following my best friend on up the levels! She's taking her purebred and showing Prix St. George this year 


Not a bunch to report since Tuesday. I worked late both Tuesday and Wednesday, so horse time was just feeding them and cleaning the barn. Yesterday Kaleb had basketball practice, so another day of feeding and cleaning. Tonight he has a basketball game, so again. Just feeding and cleaning lol tomorrow I have a meeting 3 hours from home at 2 pm, another at 3, and a banquet starting at 5. So busy day! If it's NOT raining, we are going to get up early and squeeze a ride in. But not holding my breath. It is currently raining. Sunday Nick says I definitely should be able to ride. No cantering, and possibly minimal trot. But I'll take what I can get!

Anyway, here's a cute picture I snapped of little dude Tuesday night <3


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## Tazzie

We had a fun weekend! We didn't ride Saturday morning. Didn't feel like rushing it. Just fed them instead since I knew it'd be a late night. Went to our first meeting. People were apparently confused on the start time. It started at 2, but it was just the three of us (I brought Nick and Keegan) and then the group that always comes from further south. Since Nick and Keegan were our only non board members, we didn't really do the general meeting lol left that and headed to our banquet  met up with a lot of the ladies I adore, and sat with Diego's old owner (both, but the father is who invited us to sit with them). I ended up having to run the elections, much to my horror. I hate speaking in front of people. I CAN do it, but I usually end up trembling by the end. All in all, it was a fun night. Nick and I both earned awards this year  he won First Year Exhibitor for adults with Diego, and I won Sport Horse In Hand and Sport Horse Under Saddle with Izzie  we won grooming totes!














































Sunday we went and rode. Diego had a lovely surprise for me...



















Took forever to clean him up. But I had nice rides on both horses! It was a bit slick, so didn't do much. But I'm happy it was good!

Syd rode Diego back to the barn. He looks like such a cute pony <3



















Monday I drove past on my way home and saw he undid all my hard work... but only on one side. Jerk lol










Went to feed and he thought he could boss me around. No. So we had a lesson in personal space lol











But came to eat






Rode last night, and he had to put on his big kid pants. We left Izzie in the barn. We had a few spins, and a bit lookier/spookier than normal. But we did get some decent work in. Purposely no sound as I yelled at my children at one point lol






Planning to ride again tonight. Saturday I have my next lesson, so trying to see how much we can improve by then!


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## Tazzie

Well, I rode the following night, and without Izzie again! He was MUCH better, and right off the bat. I'm really, really proud of him. He's having to grow up a lot with all of this, which is good for him.






He's looking pretty darn good too I think <3










And Izzie looks a bit crazy haha!










She enjoyed bathing in the sunshine Thursday though 










Friday night Kaleb had his basketball game, so we went to that. Then Saturday was lesson day!!

He was HOT right off the bat when we went to get him. We danced all the way to where we had to wait for Nick. Seeing as he was muddy on his feet, I let him play in the creek to wash his legs off. He liked that a lot.






But he's not liking when we're stopped lately. He's always been an excellent traveler, but he's not enjoying leaving Izzie. Which is all the more reason to load him up and take him without her. Got in for my lesson, and it was my first lesson with tall boots on. Which I'm uncomfortable in them to begin with, and had never ridden Diego in them. But my trainer wants me to get used to them and start riding in them more. I got on and he was much better. Walked a bit, then started our stretchy trot. All was fine until another horse joined us. He lost. his mind. Not a little, but nearly bolting. Thankfully my trainer walked in at that exact moment and gave me exercises and tools to get him back thinking. Only took a couple of minutes, but soon we had a relaxed trot going again. It was a good lesson on dealing with stuff.

The other horse that came in was in a lesson with my trainer's daughter, who does barrel racing. The little girl was learning how to handle the barrels. So Diego also dealt with barrels in the arena. But by then he didn't even care. He handled that and the exercises around them, as well as a third horse joining us, the second horse leaving, and a doberman running across our path. It was an overall very good lesson! She complimented me on how far we've come not only in the two weeks since the last lesson, but since we started taking lessons. And I've only taken three so far! She's fixing me, which is helping Diego be better. And she complimented how much more over the back Diego was working too  I'm so proud of him! She said our walk to trot transitions have significantly improved, and our trot to canter transitions are miles better than when we started. I'm just thrilled  we have a schooling show this coming Saturday, where we will be showing Training Level Test 1 and Test 2. I'm pretty excited!

Clips from our lesson


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## Tazzie

Whew, another week has gone by.

I rode last Monday, which was my only ride before hauling to the show. We both worked hard, and both were exhausted by the end of it. But it was good for us! He worked really well too.










The sunset was pretty too <3










It rained all day Tuesday and Wednesday. Kaleb was supposed to have basketball practice on Thursday, but it was cancelled. I wasn't going to ride anyway since it would have us doing three days in a row of work for Diego. And that's more than I wanted for him.

Friday we gave him a garage bath with a torpedo heater running lol he actually enjoyed it, and boy was he disgusting!! He needed the bath haha! He was so clean afterward! Haul him up and I walked him around while Nick readied his stall. Hurried and got him tacked up so we could ride before the arena closed. I had been hoping I could do a quick 15 minute ride. Hour and 15 minutes later, we found a brain. He was so bad. So so bad. Spooking at the other horses. Spooking at the doors/corners in the arena. Then we went into the show arena. Mirrors are TERRIFYING apparently. It was so rough. I finally found a brain, but it took so long to find it. I was so disappointed. Told Nick if this was how it was always going to be, Diego was going to burn me out of Dressage before we really even got our feet totally wet. That night I think my show anxiety got to me. I was up way early and felt horrible. I finally started feeling better, and left early. I was thanking everything that we had hauled him up the night before because the roads were horrible. I was in the truck and sliding everywhere on our road. And our road is the only road I've ever gotten nervous driving on in the snow. It's steep hills with sharp drop offs and no guardrail. So I'm not a fan. I did eventually make it there though! And found Diego super happy. Which I was also anxious about as he's a notorious stall walker, and why he almost always has hair missing from his face in show pictures... but his stall was pretty much pristine with very defined piles of poop. I was super happy! He looked happy too 










I watched a lot of the show too, which was nice. A nice, heated viewing room right by the arena! I was seeing a lot of spooky horses, so I was not holding my breath AT ALL for my rides. But seeing seasoned horses acting up helped me realize I was in the right place for our first show lol Nick eventually made it up around lunch (he had a funeral visitation he wanted to attend before coming up), and we started to get little guy ready. I had to snap this as I thought he looked pretty darn good!










I opted to do a running braid as I haven't practiced with him in buttons. And with so much changing... I didn't want to do something different! Goal is to try them between now and the next show (March 7th). At this point my only goal was to keep him between me and the ground. I was certain it was going to go horribly.

My best friend showed up shortly after I had hopped on and been walking him around. He actually had a brain, which Nick said he was completely different than the night before. She helped warm us up, which was good. She noticed a few things that came out that didn't normally come out in lessons, so she's already reported back to my trainer with what we need to work on. One being to uncover the mirrors for our lessons, and my best friend will ride another horse with us and "crowd" us a bit to get him used to it. Warmup was much, much better than the night before. We lacked forward a lot though, which was a downside. He tends to curl when he's not forward enough thanks to his Western Pleasure background. But we ended up going about 20 minutes early for my ride! I was a bit shocked! We go in and I tell the judge right off the bat this was his first Dressage show ever (yes, we did ride one test last year, but at an Arabian show and I promise this is a completely different ballgame; so for all intents and purposes I considered this his first show). The table was terrifying since they had a table cloth on it. He actually got over it pretty quickly, but would suck back a smidge when coming at it in the test. Better than the horses that I know are more seasoned who went sideways by it...

We did Training Level Test 1 and Test 2. His second test was better and I felt him come over his back more often and relax a lot more, but our canter transitions were not that great. Still a work in progress. Nick did record both of them, from the heated viewing room 











After my tests, we took advantage of another horse in there, and stood talking for a bit. Diego HATES horses going behind him, but by the end he was on a loose rein, hoof cocked, and half asleep. I was happy! Nick came to find us though since we were in there for so long, oops lol I asked if he got our tests. He said yeah. I said what did we get (meaning scores). He said "dead last." I told him I expected that, but what were our scores? He laughed and said "actually, you won." I said he was lying, what were my scores? He said "I'm completely serious. You wont them both with a 66% and 65%." I for one could not believe it. So I was shocked when I realized he was indeed serious! The judge was super kind with us. And said she better see us more often throughout the year! The scribe was in our warm room afterward (we were in the outdoor barn) and said she absolutely loved our little Arab, that once he gets consistent he'll be unstoppable. My best friend turned to me and said "SEE! Our trainer isn't lying to you!" :rofl: also no, we were not the only entries lol there were four of us in Training Level Test 1 (I beat the second place horse by 1 point, but the others were 17.5-30.5 points behind me (66.154, 59.808, and 54.808) and Test 2 had two entries (second place was 13 points behind me with a 61.034)

So yeah. The show went FAR better than I expected. Do I expect these scores in our first rated show? No. But it was the confidence booster I needed. Especially that the night before can be absolutely horrible and I can still go out and do a respectable test!





































Now he gets a couple days off, and probably going to do walk work since we need to improve our walk and our halts lol


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## knightrider

Oh yay! Love to read this! You have worked so hard and deserve those wins!


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## Tazzie

Obviously I suck at updating things haha!

I popped onto the Confessions thread a little while ago, but been almost a year since I updated my journal. Oops!!

There have been a huge amount of changes this past year. Obviously COVID made a huge impact. I was stuck at home for a couple months, though fortunately I was deemed critical so I was paid while home. Kids haven't really returned to regular school. They were doing 2-3 days a week (yes, alternating Wednesdays because that isn't confusing at all!!), but we are back to all virtual until MAYBE Monday. But I'm not holding our breath. Our governor is very strict with all the regulations. It helps that for the most part my husband and I are hermits. Sure we've gone to some horse shows, and we've gone to work. But actually having contact with people has been very minimal lol it helps that in general we aren't people persons (I struggled with how to term this haha!) Anyway, on the job front my very beloved sponsor/boss left. We'd gotten a new contractor that was consistently making issues. Our manager stepped in and she's better now, but she's a bit too outspoken in the political sense where I am not. And her views are very different than mine, which makes work stressful when we have to be in the lab together. I've been working on shutting any/all political talk down as I don't feel that's right to have in the workplace. Anyway, after my boss/sponsor left, we got a replacement. Who is SUPER sweet as well and I do like her a lot. But a lot has fallen on me as she's not familiar with our lab work. So that's left me as the sole knowledgeable person in our lab. Which yeah, awesome for job security. But it puts a lot of pressure on me as well. I'm doing projects I shouldn't normally be doing, but since I'm the only one with the understanding to do them, it's completely on me. I look forward to her being in the lab and being more comfortable with everything.

On the horse front, there's been a whole lot of development.

Izzie was bred on April 21/22, so we are expecting our first foal in a couple months. Everyone is incredibly excited for it! Nick in particular as he's claimed the baby as his. Though he says if baby moves like Izzie, I'm expected to get lessons with my trainer and get us coming along to show it in dressage lol I love how much faith he has in me! She's been handling the pregnancy super well for the most part. She's Izzie, so we didn't expect attitude changing for the better, but she's herself lol she's getting wide as a house. It's amusing really lol I'll have to make a couple posts to really update everything that's been going on, so I guess this one will be the Izzie post!

Izzie did show in a couple shows this year. Mainly just in hand, but she did show walk walk with Sydney back in November. I don't know if any of you have seen the run away saddlebred video where she's talking over the runaway and they were excused, but that was in this ring. Which makes me anxious since Izzie is a lot of horse, and I've never turned Izzie and Sydney loose together at a show. She sure showed me! I can about promise you that Izzie was the only horse in that ring that would have get up and go, and by far the most difficult out of the others. There were seven entries, and Sydney got sixth. She was SUPER proud, and we sure were too! She didn't have much instruction, so the judge let me just hang in the ring with her. It's a schooling show, so kind of an "anything goes" deal. Still, I didn't expect her to place since I coached the whole time, but eh! I'm still proud  Kaleb also won first place showing Izzie in hand, and both kids showed Izzie in trail in hand  she's seriously just the best nugget!
















The kids have also been playing with the two of them at home. I was wary to let Kaleb take Diego out to play, but it seems we have his issues resolved in hand at home. Just at a show he becomes a complete and total idiot in the ring in hand. I'm just glad my kids can play with them at home! Kaleb said he likes doing this kind of stuff, so we figure when Izzie comes back into work, we'll let Kaleb show her in the in hand stuff 











And a couple from yesterday where you can see how chunky she is lol









Izzie Lunge 1







youtu.be













Izzie Lunge 2







youtu.be





Give me a bit, and I'll begin all of Diego's adventures this year. He's had far more going on lol


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## Tazzie

Whew, next part! Though Diego's may need to be broken up into two of his own haha! Ok, probably not, I'm too lazy for that lol

So after that show in February, we showed once more before COVID hit. We scored roughly the same with more competition, and wound up third out of I think six. Not bad at all for being completely on our own (my best friend ended up sick and couldn't come assist us). Obviously COVID hit. We still went to a couple lessons here and there, but not as many as I wanted. We showed again in June, but he'd knocked himself so out of alignment it was not the best showing. Of course we only realized this as we asked for the canter in the show since he's a rather stoic boy. The judge adored him regardless. Got a first and a second with high 60% scores under an Arabian National level judge. So I figured that wasn't too shabby! Our next outing was at another Arab show. Our first class was nice and we were SO excited for our second and final class. The arena is open on one side, and wouldn't you know my luck but to have a neighbor begin mowing his yard and run something over causing a huge ruckus right as we turned down centerline. Needless to say, that was our worst Dressage test ever. The weekend after we had a lesson where we had a major boot camp to get us going in the right direction. My trainer keeps saying "you need to stop riding like you are a low level rider. I expect you to ride like an upper level rider. I want you hitting that centerline like you are heading down that centerline in a Grand Prix test. No more slacking off. You aren't staying in these levels much longer." I have witnesses to these comments too, and both Nick and my best friend remind me of them when we work 

Anyway, weekend after my lesson was our very first USDF show. We had a nice warmup ride the night before to remind ourselves that no, the ring isn't terrifying. No, the flowers will not kill you. And yes, you are expected to still work. My best friend showed her horse, jumped off him, and warmed me up for my class. She mentioned her horse didn't enjoy the huge door open with the blast of light coming in, so to be aware of that. Diego wasn't phased by that OR the clear panel separating the judge and the scribe, whew. I had my best friend be my reader as they were not allowing anyone to watch otherwise. I wanted to make sure she knew what I'd need to tweak before our second test, so opted to forgo doing it on my own as planned. We had the TD record our classes so my husband could at least watch (it was his idea to have my best friend read for me). Our first test he was great, and we only lost by less than .4%. The second test was even better. So much so that my friend as we walked back to the barn went "I'd change this, this, and this, but this is literally all nitpicky stuff and I'm so glad I get to just do nitpicky stuff after that class." We waited for the scores to be posted on Fox Village while we packed up and got ready to leave. My best friend had stayed to help me long after her last ride, and waited till the scores were posted. I SCREAMED when I saw we'd won! Again, the second place girl was less than .4% behind me (same girl as the last test), and we beat the score of a trainer (they ran adult amateurs separate from open riders). It was a shock and we were SOOO excited to tell my trainer! Nick couldn't stop telling me how proud he was of me  we also got a score toward USDF Regionals, so aiming to get our second score this year to head there in October 

The rides from that show:











I haven't had another show since then, so we've just been working our butts off. I guess I forgot to mention previously that we got our fancy arena done  it needs a bit of work, but all those months Nick has spent digging with his new tractor paid off. I have a safe place to ride all year long now!










Last month at my best friends urging, we put together a video showing the massive change Diego and I have made from our first lesson to the one we had this last November. Mind you, this was maybe a dozen lessons. We were supposed to have a lesson in December, however my trainer ended up catching COVID. She's fine now, thank goodness!









First Lesson To November Lesson







youtu.be





Diego also got a couple surprises lately  we were named the Majestic Farm Series 1 Champion for Training Level  not a bad way to end our Schooling Show training level rides! We'll still show Training Level at rated shows this year since we want to do USDF Regionals and Sport Horse Nationals. Being legit pony size and former western pleasure makes his lengthening a bit tough to get a true lengthening as opposed to just running away with me. We don't want to be that horse just careening around the arena and essentially drifting around the corners  our goal though is to show at least one First Level test at Sport Horse Nationals in September (best friend said it's very doable), with sights on Second Level for next year.











We also got this awesome thing in the mail too! The Working Western is actually for showing Trail In Hand 










Couple more cute pictures of him. I finally bought this one I just had to have because he's so adorable in it!










And all our Christmas gifts this year 




























And finally, our last lesson. Aiming for another soon. There is nothing more valuable than consistent instruction. Keeps you humble and keeps you going in the right direction! Diego is a typical main ring bred Arabian where he is a bunch of extra hinges in his neck. It makes them so insanely difficult to get them really working correctly and not bulging that under neck. One of the things we've really, really been working on is making sure Diego goes into self carriage and stays there. Our canter has progressed so rapidly that she essentially just does a small tweak with us, and then we go back to focusing on the walk and trot work. She had me give the entire inside rein up to his ears as proof of being in self carriage. Said this will be asked of us in Third Level. Yes, both reins are expected to be given, but Diego right now is in the cementing the correct basics spot while we add on the different movements. Depending on the day, we've worked on Shoulder In, Walk Pirouettes, Counter Canter (he's very good at this now that he's gotten his balance established at the canter), and we've done a couple quarter turns in the canter to build up to the Canter Pirouettes. No, we aren't schooling the Canter Pirouettes since he's not there and we need to really establish the groundwork for them first, but when we did the quarter turns it was incredible to feel how much he sat and turned for them. I did finally get to ride a canter pirouette this year on my trainer's Arab x Percheron cross, though my husband didn't get video. Yes, he was fussed at for that too. Though I had witnesses to show I did in fact do it  it allowed me to have a better understanding of what Diego will have to do and feel like.

I will say, a lot of work lately has been really focusing on my seat controlling the ride and not the reins. She makes sure my body is engaged and I have the right contact with Diego for all of it. Making sure my legs stay on and that I ask through my seat. We've really been working on Diego and I grasping the lift and push to allow his haunches to lower and him to really lift off his forehand and push through with the hind. We had quite a few moments in our lesson where our trainer exclaimed that we'd gotten it! It makes me so proud that we are really grasping what she's teaching us, and that we are showing up for our lessons better than the last time we were there! It helps that I have a best friend who analyzes my videos and sends me private critiques on what to tweak for my next ride so we can be better. My husband has also gained a very valuable eye for a nice transition, and if it isn't up to my trainer's snuff, he makes me do it again (I'm usually in the processes of going back to redo it). His eye has been even more fun to watch other rider's videos too. He'll make a comment going "that was a terrible transition. I'd have made you redo that one." No, we don't watch videos to bash other riders, but I'm also not going to tell my husband to not make his eyes more keen. My best friend thinks it's hilarious he's gained such an eye, though we can promise you he couldn't ride it to save his life. But that's fine with me since it helps us get better! I'm just VERY glad I've found a trainer that believes that I'm more than just some "low level rider" and sees what Diego and I are on the track to become. We just came with a bit of extra baggage 

Also, my lesson videos will never have sound. I figure I'm paying for the lesson, and I'm not even paying much for what I'm getting. So it's not my knowledge to share with everyone 
























Lesson 1/2/21 Part 4







youtu.be













Lesson 1/2/21 Part 5







youtu.be







https://youtu.be/0LDDO7PSnY8


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## knightrider

So glad to get your update. We've missed you!


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## Tazzie

@knightrider, sorry about that! Most of the people have me on the book of faces, which is easier since my phone doesn't hate that haha! And work being stupidly busy/stressful made me not feel like posting. Then it got to be too long and I knew it'd be a lot to update lol

I rode little dude last night, and he was good. He's always fussy the first ride after a lesson since the rules get stricter, and home was always where he could slack off. But we've been making him stick with the work. Nick was amazed at the change in Diego after that lesson. We kept with the uphill trot to canter transition, stayed in the uphill canter, checked our work with releasing the inside rein to ensure he was in self carriage, and then had nice uphill downward transitions. Nick remarked that every single time we come home from a lesson we're doing better. I said I would hope so! Tentative goal is to aim to show Second Level in a schooling show end of this year. We'll see how that goes! He's starting to really grasp that lengthening =/= running faster, and we've been working on getting more overall push from the behind to work our way up to the medium trot. His canter itself is very, very adjustable, which is awesome considering in the beginning it was either running or the hideous four beat lope they made him do. Now I just open my seat and his stride increases. It's actually a fun ride to feel. I half halt to sit him back more, open my seat, and he sits, lifts and lengthens. His shoulder in work was lovely last night too. Our arena has some puddles, and we've been able to remain in a soft shoulder in going straight through the puddle. Amazing for a horse that used to want to kill me over water  Nick didn't record anything last night since the water needed refilling, fence needed tweaking, and the barn needed cleaning.

Izzie just got her lunge, which Nick found hilarious. She jigs out (respectfully) ready to go. Turn her loose, and she's off. Does what she wants, then comes back to a walk. Change direction and same thing. Once she's done that, she walks back to the barn on a loose line and ready to be tucked in for bed. So I'm hopeful we'll keep with the smooth sailing here on out 

She did get a fancy new turnout sheet too. She's never needed one before, but the huge spikes and drops in temperature has made her chilly on the super cold days. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were brutal, and she only had stable blankets. So they stayed in so she could stay warm. Which wasn't bad since everything was ice and no one got hurt. But the blanket is just too adorable for words! I'm glad I snatched it up!










Won't be riding tonight since Nick is hunting. He's getting in the last days he can for that so we can stock up our freezer. Also getting half a cow this year (woohoo!!) and still on the hunt for another pig lol told Nick we've gotta up our gardening game this year so we can have more fresh fruits and veggies. We already buy awesome farm fresh eggs from his cousin, who has completely ruined us on store bought eggs. SOO worth it to pay the extra dollar or two for fresh eggs!


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## carshon

Diego has come so far and he looks amazing! and Izzie - well she is always gorgeous!


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## Tazzie

@carshon, thank you! I'm INCREDIBLY proud of how far we've come  we aren't finished yet, but I feel he's really grasping the basics so we may begin building onto it. His canter has gotten so balanced now that it's such a joy to ride!


I did end up riding last night. Nick had to run an errand so couldn't hunt. It was rough to start with. He came out spooky and just completely distracted. By the end I had him right where I wanted him, all nice and relaxed. I did mention to Nick I think he knocked his stifle out again. He has a chiropractor appointment set for the 16th, and I've gotten to know how he feels when he's knocked himself out back there. He regularly knocks his pelvis and stifles out, so it's not surprising to be honest. He ended up having a massage last night too. She raved about how good he looks and she was SUPER impressed to find no muscle tightness or anything showing we're doing something very wrong. She did confirm the stifle is an issue currently, and massaged it best she could. Also did a myofascial release on his hind end to see if it'll help him pull it back into place. He'll have another massage morning of his chiropractor appointment to help the adjustment stay in place. Ah the joys of a young horse!

I did buy a couple pictures from our photographer. I liked the framing of the under saddle picture even though that show was awful. That's the one where the neighbor's lawn mower started up right as we turned down centerline. No, we aren't perfect at all. But I'm humble enough to know I'll never get anywhere without good instruction. Diego isn't easy, but he's not dangerous. He's just a typical Arabian who finds a million and a half evasions to pull on me, and all those are with what he can do with his neck haha! But I'm excited about our next lesson 



















My pony also clearly hates me


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## Tazzie

So I rode all of once last week, and it was just so bad. I could feel stuff was just not right with Diego. And since he came with the habit of rearing, and he was starting to think about that tactic again, we aborted mission, found a good way to end the ride, and we hung up our tack until he saw his chiropractor. Certainly glad I did that thought (details to follow).

In the meantime, we got busy!

Friday evening we went and picked up all the tin needed to redo Nick's detached garage, as well as put tin up in the spot next to Izzie. We're starting to work toward phase 2 of the barn, which is put the loft up over both sides of the current hay loft, and actually making those two spaces on either side of the tack/feed room into stalls. We will need a stall for baby to go into to eat grain (when ready) away from Izzie, so best to start on it now. And give us a smaller space for them in the event we ever have to actually stall rest them.

Saturday morning we went and picked up our half of a cow from the butcher. Filled a good chunk of our deep freezer! SUPER happy about it! Afterward we brought the ponies up to the house. Izzie was visibly cold, so blankets were brought home to toss on after tail washing. But first, Diego had a massage. Nick made sure to heat up our garage so we were nice and toasty in there! After his massage we washed their tails really well (we're redoing them about every three weeks, and I'm already seeing and feeling a difference; can't wait till we have blinding white tails for Sport Horse Nationals!) While they were air drying, I pulled their manes. Diego is always a butt about it, but Izzie ends up falling asleep lol once tails were dry and rewrapped, on the trailer they went for Diego's chiropractor appointment. Both horses came with as we didn't have time to drop Izzie off. The chiro was SUPER happy to see her anyway, and she got extra treats "for her and the baby" <3 he loves that mare. Diego showed me I truly know my horse, and to have worked him like this would have been completely unfair. Before anyone thinks we are doing something wrong to cause him to be THIS out... you all know how goats jump around and spin in a circle all wild and crazy? That is exactly how Diego plays outside. We call him an idiot because we're constantly dropping $70 to put him back together. He gets adjusted just about monthly, if not every other month. He also roars up the hillside. Great for helping develop hind end muscles, terrible when he comes roaring back down the hill.










Afterward we tucked them in with dinner and hay with their warm blankies. Nick called them spoiled haha



















Sunday we went down to celebrate my best friend's birthday, which was a blast. Came home and put up our new hay net inside the hay rack in an effort to slow Izzie down on her hay as well as keep from wasting SO MUCH of it. She would blow through over a bale of hay a day, and she's barely 15 hands. She was throwing a lot on the ground, and then just not eating it. She wasn't thrilled.










Monday we hung up tin on Nick's detached garage. Also I rode little man while Syd rode Izzie. Diego still felt a bit protective of his hind end, so we kept it short and sweet. He's already a difficult horse to supple through the rib cage coming from a place that never emphasized that, so having a week off made him a lot stiffer. Combined with still feeling like he was a touch ouchie, and I got what he was willing to give and was happy with it. Our next ride will be better (not till Thursday; working late today and tomorrow). But Sydney was super cute. Bareback pad, halter and rope reins, and catching snowflakes aboard the largely pregnant mare made for the cutest video ever <3






And the before and after with some of the tin. I wasn't overly fond of the color, but it'll grow on me. It creates a completely different look for Nick's detached garage. Eventually we will replace the roof so it's not such a stark contrast, but the roof is still in great shape. No sense replacing what doesn't need to be replace 

Before:



















After (the spot left undone on the first picture is where the electric comes in for the garage. Nick is leaving that till last so we can finish all the different cuts we will have to make):



















And finally, Diego and I got nominated for year end awards!! I was nominated for Dressage rider, and he was nominated for Purebred Arabian (his show name is Arkynstone). My friend's large filly was also nominated for Half Arabian (her show name is A Little Bit Naughty) and he was nominated for Amateur (Keegan).











That's about it! Not much else is going on. I'm about to unfriend some people on the book of faces for being two faced/spying on me for people who tried to screw us over. And then I have someone who is hiding everything on their timeline as opposed to just unfriending me lol I laughed about it for a while since that's the route people take when they don't have the guts to just unfriend them. It's cracked me and Nick up long enough, but it's time to do a thorough purge on there anyway. Lots of people I just don't need to interact with anymore.


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## Tazzie

Whew, been crazy here! Nick's grandpa passed away last Thursday evening. Mostly unexpected, but he hadn't been in the greatest health either (hard to explain). I told Nick I hoped he either got better and got out soon, or if this was the end that it was quick and painless. It ended up the latter, and they say he went very peacefully in his sleep. His body was riddled with cancer and an infection came on (he'd had a catheter for a super long time and was constantly fighting infection). It ended up being more than his body could take. But we were comforted with the thought of my grandpa meeting him with a cold beverage going "Leonard, how have you been?", which is how he greeted Nick's grandpa every time they got together. It made my MIL smile when I brought that up and she went "They did like each other a lot, didn't they?" Yes, yes they did. Both were incredibly wonderfully people, and the world will always be a little less sunny without them gracing it.

We also had my SIL's baby shower Friday. All virtual, though us sister in laws got together for the filming/present dispersal. It was a lovely evening  Saturday we spent 6 hours hanging up tin on the garage and I went down to ride. Our rides have been eh lately, but I'll dive into that later. Our garage is really coming along though! Sunday was another ride, but mostly just hiding inside.

Worked late Monday and Tuesday, then off yesterday for the visitation and funeral mass. The priest knew Nick's grandpa personally, so it was a wonderful mass all about how amazing he was. Came home and rode, then we got snow dumped on us haha!

So our rides. We've been just having eh ride after eh ride. I wasn't sure if he was still out, though it didn't feel like it. I did a lot of self evaluation yesterday when stuff that was easy was just flat out HORRIBLE. Realized I was asking him to go down and into the contact, but wasn't actually giving him a space to GO into the contact. Not sure why I suddenly start riding crappy like that when I know better. I did tell myself though "this is good. this is a me issue, not a him issue. this is fixable, and I have a lesson on Saturday. Kim will fix me." Once I actually LET GO, he was wonderful. He actually had the space to allow him to power with his hind and lift through his back/lift up through the withers. Felt MARVELOUS. He's honestly pretty easy to feel when he lifts his back. Being a low backed horse in general causes that feel to be a little more heightened. I blame his years of a western saddle and not being taught to use his back on him being low backed now. We are very mindful when working too. We work REALLY hard to not have him hollow himself out heading into a transition. Starting the next movement with the head flinging in the air will just end up causing more work for me. But if I can get him to step up and through into each new movement lets it continue being nice. I'd be so mortified if I posted anything with his head flinging straight up in the air going into something new. To me, it's a sign they aren't even really with you, regardless of how nice and "put together" they look. Diego also has a tendency to have that gelding "squeak" when he tightens his back. It used to be all I could do to get him to not do it in the first place, and forget trying to get him to relax again after he decided to tighten it. However, I'm SUPER proud to be able to say I can get him back and relaxed whenever he slips into that tight back/gelding squeak moment. As far as riding, we've been keeping it simple with just some leg yields and lengthening. I was SO SO proud of him when I asked for a canter lengthen, then half halted, closed my seat and asked for him to come back to a more collected canter, and he NAILED it. I went NUTS with the praise telling him he was SUCH a GOOD BOY and what a GOOD LISTEN! Nick said he had the proudest look on his face like "I did it!!" He's also getting fantastic that as soon as I make my clear turn onto the diagonal line (NO DONUT TURNS!) and ask, I feel his haunches power us into the lengthen. He still tries to fall a little onto his forehand when he gets going in them, but I've gotten better at my half halt timing which has prevented a lot of that. We've been doing the exercise of lengthen and then almost walk but not quite at the end so he doesn't just think tanking around the arena is an acceptable thing to do.

Overall though, he's a good boy. I'm sure excited for my lesson on Saturday! I wish I could accurately describe how crooked he tries to make his body, and how it's such a tough time getting him to not shove it every which way. Though, to be fair, I'm ok with that now. He started out with me being as straight as a two by four. So now that he's learning he can in fact bend through his body, this is just another of his evasion techniques. I swear riding an Arabian somedays is like trying to ride a noodle!

Anyway, onto the fun pictures and such 

Our updated garage:

Before:









After:









Nick also put tin up where a gate was in the barn. Give Izzie a bit more shelter from the wind. She loves it 










Diego watching Nick work lol (yes, we filled the water tank, of course)










Diego got two new saddle pads because why not haha!



















And made fun collages of all his looks lol the first is Equestrian Stockholm pads, second is PS of Sweden pads


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## carshon

The red Santa one made me smile! You guys are so busy! The garage looks great! I really look forward to your journal!


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## Tazzie

@carshon, he's such a little ham! And yes we are! I prefer being busy, so I'm alright with it  and thank you! It's kind of fun to scroll back through and see where we started and where we are now! SUPER proud of our journey!


Not really any update today. I rode last night and some was fantastic and some was just not. I have my lesson tomorrow to figure out if I'm the reason it's been so bad (90+% chance it's me and I'll own it lol) or if he's knocked himself back out of alignment (he sees the chiro on Wednesday, so already have that on the books). I'm just REALLY looking forward to my lesson though! I strive to improve and get better, and I know I will get there! We're supposed to show next Saturday, but haven't signed up yet and it's calling for snow on that Friday, when we'd be hauling in. Waiting till Monday to decide if we will or not. I refuse to haul in the snow, so it has to change weather wise for us to go. Rain I don't mind hauling in, but our roads are super sketchy in the winter.

Izzie's just plugging along currently too. Loving life lol she'll move home in about a month and a half for foaling out, and I'm pretty excited to have her at the house  her and Diego don't really spend much time together currently since she's locked in her side of the barn, and he's free to go graze. He prefers being outside, which I don't blame him at all.

Excited though. We bought Sydney her own pad for her birthday (I'll post later lol). Her birthday isn't until June, but PS of Sweden pads are never restocked. So it was now or never. In addition, after we wean baby we're going to start bringing Izzie up for lessons with Sydney <3 my trainer teaches kids that age, and I want her to have the best start possible. Kim is a fantastic instructor, so I'm pretty stoked!


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## Tazzie

Well, I had my lesson and confirmed it was most definitely me. Diego came out "wired for sound" as my best friend's mom said. Everything was going to eat him apparently and his focus was totally not there. I'd already told my trainer we desperately needed her, that I'd fallen into some horrible rut and was having terrible rides. She figured out right off the bat that I was holding too tightly, and that I had locked my elbows completely. I was basically always cueing him and giving him zero release. Thank goodness he's such a good sport about life in general and isn't a dangerous horse at all. Just a typical Arabian who can't be drilled as their minds need to stay busy and occupied. It was a great lesson though. Found a couple things we need to fix before we make our jump up to First Level. Mostly our transitions were good, but coming across the diagonal and trotting at X is hit and miss on a nice transition. So I'm to practice that more. Practiced better turns off the outside aids to make a nice, clean turn onto the diagonal. Trot we did okay with a clean turn onto the diagonal, but canter needs work. Not oh my god they were so terrible, but room for improvement so we do well. I tend to still drop my left hand too much going left, and inadvertently pulling him down and onto his forehand. So I NEED to get that better as it's just flat out annoying to me now that I keep doing it. Worked on my sitting trot, which isn't as good on Diego as it is on Izzie, but I'm getting a bit better at it. Need to incorporate yoga into my daily exercising so I can loosen my hips more.

All in all though, I'm thrilled with him. I'd been saying it was me, so I had a feeling going in it'd mostly be about me. I never blame my horse, and even if I do it's in a "he needs a chiropractor adjustment" kind of way. Never "he's being such a rotten jerk!" He does like to find new evasions though. Like his newest one is "oh, I'll break at the third vertebrae!" Like no Diego. Please ignore that majority of main ring Arabians break there. We don't do that and have NEVER asked you to do that. So worked on some exercises to get him to go out into the contact. He's not a put him into the contact and he'll stay there kind of horse. You have to ride and work with him. Thankfully he doesn't usually come up with a million evasions to try and get away with stuff. Majority of the Arab evasions involve contorting their neck and through their body. Can't have them coming up and over their backs through the base of their withers and all the way to the contact if their neck is reminiscent of a snake slithering along the desert! Izzie isn't nearly as tricky when it comes to this kind of work, but she doesn't have all the extra hinges Diego has. Diego is such a good boy though. He's adding a bit more power to his lengthening that had my trainer going "there you go Katie! You've got it!" Considering it was all we could do to get him to lengthen in the beginning, it's HUGE for him to be moving out like that. I think the collected work will end up being so much easier for him from his short coupled body, and the fact that his gaits were essentially shut down when he was a western horse.

Anyway, a couple of videos I spliced together  not in any particular order with how I jumbled them together. The one with music I made for our farm page since I found the song super fitting for how the lesson felt. I saw clearly it was me, and Nick saw what our trainer meant with the third vertebrae so he can be my eyes on the ground (though that I can easily see from above).

















My friend Caitln also had lessons on her horses. Her young horse is looking SO nice (she's coming four and will be looking at the young horse championships this year). Her purebred gelding is currently schooling some of the upper level movements, and is already qualified for USDF Regionals in Fourth Level and PSG with great scores. I just love watching this team go <3 such a pleasant horse and rider team where you can see the horse actually loves his job and understands all the different movements. He wasn't just shoved into upper level movements without a solid foundation, and one of the big time judges wrote it was very clear his basics were very solid and he was brought along correctly. So proud to be in their fan club!


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## Tazzie

Not a huge update really. Haven't ridden since the weather has been gross and my arena is frozen. Diego saw the chiropractor on Wednesday and wasn't super out at least. Was hoping to ride today but the wind is completely horrific!

Izzie gifted us with some awesome scrapes on the inside of her left hind. Not even sure HOW she did it either. It was slightly swollen, so I wrapped them up. Had a small scrape on the right hind, so wrapped both. Otherwise, she's just happy living life right now!




















Hoping to ride tomorrow. Fingers heavily crossed!


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## Tazzie

So we tried a trail ride on Saturday and Izzie said NO! Being that she is not one to heavily say no (she loves her work), I figured it best to listen to her and she will enjoy her leisure till after baby and after recovery. I was a little concerned since Nick rode Diego, who I have not ridden since my lesson on the 30th. Nick has also not been on a horse since September of 2019, soooo. And please please please keep in mind that Nick IS a beginner. This video was a short bit of their ride, where I did have him working on getting Diego to relax. Diego is one who needs a bunch of transitions in the beginning to activate his brain, and being that he had had an entire week off he was a bit on the tense side. It's very, very important to get him stretching out and down when he's like that, which Nick did accomplish with some guidance. Nick was also so thrilled to see that Diego was all foamy when he got off, and not a foamy from chomping on the bit in agitation but because Nick succeeded in getting him to relax and work over his back at the end. Something Nick has never accomplished on either horses. He was shocked how much more rhythmic Diego has gotten since he last rode him. The last ride was before I started taking lessons, and Nick worried he'd mess Diego up. I promised that Diego always starts the same way regardless how good or bad the ride was before, so I knew he'd be fine. The new saddle also got the stamp of approval from hubby  it just makes me so proud that I've been working hard enough to actually have my horses rideable for people outside of me. I think it's a huge detriment to the horse to keep them as only good for their owner rider. I've felt this way since we broke Izzie, and it's why I usually let anyone hop on and ride her. A lot of them are shocked, but there isn't much someone can mess up of my work, or at least set me back any.

Anyway, please also realize the video from the trail ride was prior to arena work, and Diego was HOT. Nick did good not letting him run off.











Also, pictures of the cute, pregnant, sassy mare lol


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## Tazzie

So the weather kept me from riding essentially since my last post. I did get two snow rides in, but not much of rides. On Saturday we had a saddle fitting appointment in addition to a lesson. Diego lost some curve to his spine, and the only thing we could all figure is he's not hollowing out as much through his back, and the muscle is building up nicely under there! My saddle fitter asked how the side to side balance felt, but with me being very crooked (I have a curve in my spine that I'll eventually need to take care of; my grandma's rib cage sits on her pelvis at this point in her life) I have a hard time feeling it. My best friend hopped on him to feel it and found it being unbalanced. It was adjusted, I got on and it felt good. She got on and ended up getting a bit of a lesson on my little dude. He was completely unamused that she didn't let him get away with anything, but she had him going SO nice! I got on after for my own lesson and kept it up for the most part. They had struggled with a lot of the same things I have to deal with when first starting. He starts very tensed and locked through his back and the base of the neck. If you don't get that supple, you aren't going to get any work out of him. It was reassuring to see it wasn't just a me issue, though I take the blame for most of our issues in general.





















This one I actually left sound in because it cracked me up so much lol






And working a little on the walk pirouette. These aren't things I've really schooled before going to her, so I'm mostly a mess. But we actually had good steps in there and helping me to gain a better understanding of what he needs to be doing. We aren't perfect, but we try and we at least are humble enough to know we need proper instruction if we ever want to continue forward.









Diego Lesson Part 4 2/20/21







youtu.be





I did ride yesterday and while we didn't get AS good as we got in our lessons, it was the closest we've ever been. I seriously adore my husband though. We worked on cantering across the diagonal with the trot over X and going to the other lead, which I'll need to do in the first level tests. Some of my earlier transitions were kind of yucky and I didn't know what I was doing. Fortunately Nick has benefited from my lessons. He goes "I see what you're doing. You're dropping him onto the forehand and throwing him away as soon as you make your turn across the diagonal. He can't actually sit and transition nicely into the trot when you do that to him." So, I listened, made a very nice, clear turn onto the diagonal (my trainer rips me a new one if I do a partial circle onto it as opposed to a clean turn), and consciously rode him up like I normally would. Closed my seat to cue for the downward, and I had him so right there we walked. Oops, that was on me, good boy Diego for being that keen on my aids! Did it a couple more times and each time both transitions in and out of canter were lovely. Nick was like "man, I'd call that a day. Those were really nice." It's really exciting to see the super nice horse coming out of him. I'd always seen the potential in him as an unstarted 2 year old, but it's exciting to be the one developing it. Will we make it to FEI levels? Who knows. His neck is low set and he's downhill. But he has a whole lot of heart and try in him, so if I can get my own butt in gear, I think we may at least work up the levels and have a blast doing it!

In Izzie news, we're going to be moving her to the house in just shy of three weeks in preparation of baby! We finally got video of baby kicking Izzie too 









Izzie Baby Kicks!







youtu.be


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## Tazzie

Not a huge update really. I did get to ride twice since my lesson on Saturday  slowly getting better I think. I've been trying to focus on unlocking my pelvis. I'm not even aware I'm doing it, but my friend's horse had shown me previously that I tend to lock up. Then Saturday she showed me it's still me on my own horse when he had no issue with forward with her and the she found him quite sensitive to the leg. Which led me to realizing I basically ride with the parking brake on. Yesterday was spent working on really relaxing my pelvis and sitting into the saddle as opposed to just on the saddle. Walk and canter were easiest for me, though the canter confused Diego endlessly. But I felt his back swinging SO nicely when he realized I wasn't clamping down on him. It was hands down the nicest feeling canter I've had on him, and then opening up to ask for a lengthen canter led to a very large lengthen down my long side. I was pleased! The trot I tend to pull my legs up, especially in the lengthen trot. When I myself stayed nice and long for a decent lengthen trot, I called it a day and let him be done. I'm excited to keep working on it! I've been working out to a lady I found on YouTube, and she's helping me find all the weaknesses I've had in my body and working to strengthen them. My best friend is also working out to her, and found where she was weak. Hoping this year is our best year ever in terms of showing!

And a fun little video clip  this is the horse that used to be petrified of water. Yeah, we cantered through that


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## Tazzie

Finally had a ride last night! He was off for about a week, and we had to have a reminder on what it meant to half halt. Some of it wasn't that pretty. I'm also still trying to really relax and loosen my hips in order to have a better ride overall and to be clearer to Diego what I want. Riding with the parking brake on has to stop! I'll have to see if Nick will record some of our canter work tonight. I feel like I'm better able to loosen and relax my hips at the canter and really give him that space to lift through his back better. He's incredibly hard to open up and lift his back on to begin with since that was never requested of him before. He used to be like a stiff two by four, and while a few times in the leg yield I went "whoa he's really bent there", it's such a HUGE change from when we first started working on them. Our goal is to be showing First 3 at our show in April. Our regional show is in June, where we aim to show one Training Level Test 3, and a couple First Level Test 3 classes. Nationals I'll be doing all three Training Level Test 3 classes, and one or two First Level Test 3 tests if we feel he's capable. Then this fall/winter we'll be buckling down to make our jump to Second and work to school Third. I still have a lot of work to do, but we are getting A LOT closer to it. Nick was making fun of me last night with some of our lengthenings. He goes "you're lengthening too much. You're supposed to just go faster!" He's obviously kidding, but we've been seeing so much of the run faster instead of an actual lengthen. And our transitions were totally on fire last night. He really lifted into the upward and downward transitions. And when I say that, I'm not meaning yanking his head up in the air like an idiot. Only people refusing to see what they're doing think that's what I'm doing. What I mean by that is Diego carries his weight behind and steps lightly into both the upward and downward transition. We go from one nice representation of a gait to a nice representation of another gait. I'm super pleased and proud of how far they've come since he used to be so unbalanced and throw himself every which way while falling flat on his forehand.

I also left his spook in there. Not everything we do is pretty. But I'm thrilled he came back from that and went back to work with minimal issues


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## carshon

He is really coming along and you can see the relaxation through his loins. I mean his back looks better but the tension in his sacrum from your first rides to now looks so much better


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## Tazzie

@carshon, yes! He's much, much happier in his work now. A lot of times if he gets grumpy, it's something I'm personally doing to cause it. Like I have a bad tendency to drop my inside hand. Well, when I do that, I'm basically trying to pull him onto the forehand while my body and aids are asking him to sit back on his hindquarters. So in videos you see where he gets a bit testy, it's purely from me and my horrible habit. I'm working hard at fixing it though.

It has been SO PRETTY out lately! Mid 60's to 70's this week! I rode on Monday and Tuesday after riding Saturday. I'll be riding again tonight. Then rain comes in so won't be able to ride tomorrow or Friday. Saturday he has the chiro to make sure he's feeling his best 

This was from our Saturday ride. Since we're working to show first level test 3 in April, I had to check to make sure we could leg yield off the wall. He's been doing VERY well with moving off my legs lately and understanding bend is through the rib cage not the head and neck. I'm super, super pleased with him! I tend to drop my inside hand the most when I get focused on other tasks. Nick is working to help me, which is why I don't often post video with natural sound but music instead. He doesn't appreciate me posting his coaching, and in order to have him keep helping me I listen to his desires  I do send it to a couple people, which he knows about and is okay with lol






Monday and Tuesday we played with some things we really hadn't before. We wanted to kind of get a feeling for some of the second level movements since our tentative goal is to still show that at the end of the year. I'm feeling more confident in my riding and my ability to put Diego together, so we figured why not. Let's see what we have. We have a lot to polish still of course. Need a lot of work on the canter walk canter from good lead to hard lead. And work to keep him a bit more supple in the counter canter loops. But really, I'm incredibly happy with our starting point. One of the things I appreciate a lot about Diego is whenever he tenses up in the back, he pretty much always gets the gelding squeak going. It used to be that would pop up and good luck ever getting him to soften and relax the rest of the ride. Now I have enough tools in my kit that I can get him back much easier. I also think he really likes the couple new things we've thrown at him this week. I truly think the more we start throwing at this horse, the happier he is going to be. But it won't ever matter if I don't have him nice and relaxed first. I know to a lot of people the tail looks super high, which would typically indicate a super tight, tense back. When in fact that is really super low for Diego. Especially at the canter, his tail was completely vertical. Do I hope to eventually have it nice and quietly down? Sure. But I'm also very pleased with how far it's come down already. Anyway, here's the new stuff from this week. I know it's not "OMG this is the best stuff I have ever seen!" However, I'm very very proud of where we are right now 






On Friday though, we celebrated Kaleb's EIGHTH birthday! I'm not sure how I'm the mother of a child this old!

































And on Saturday I got to go and help/watch my best friend show her absolutely GORGEOUS young mare! This mare will be four next month, and is Half Arabian/Half Hanovarian, Premium inspected Oldenburg while being site champion for the inspection as a foal. This was her second ever show under saddle and she's so gosh darn gorgeous! My best friend is SUPER tall, and this mare is every bit of 16.1 hands (I have video of her next to Diego in our lessons). The other chestnut in the warmup was a 5 year old 18 hand warmblood who was just the sweetest, kindest horse! And his owner was just adorable. We were instant fans!


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## Tazzie

So Diego is getting a little break since he had a chiropractor appointment on Saturday and now it's raining! But his report is the best it has EVER been! Chiropractor told me keep doing what I'm doing! I attribute him building strength and muscle in his hind end to the fact he's not yanking his pelvis out of alignment! I'm so happy!

We had a couple nice work days though! One of the days I worked on leg yielding since one of our directions was amazing and one was terrible. We had a couple okay ones are hard way, and then some SUPER nice ones his good way. Went back and had ick ones his hard way. Reevaluated what the heck I was doing different, and discovered I was bracing SO BAD in my pelvis. Relaxed and allowed him to move over, and it was nearly as nice as his good way! Nick was super happy I figured out what was happening since he's not really that detail oriented currently. We had some super lengthening that night, which unfortunately Nick didn't record. And the lengthening he did record weren't as nice as they had been. But he'd been worked a lot for him last week, so to me he felt a little tired. I didn't overly push, but took what I could get while trying to focus on keeping my legs long instead of pulling them up. He's getting super good at stopping right when I tell him to. I almost felt like he had a bit of a slide to the halt in this video, hence me looking to see if there were any slide marks haha






Saturday before his chiro we did just a nice stretchy ride where we just did easy serpentines while focusing on staying loose and relaxed. Also did nice canter laps around my arena instead of worrying about being on a circle. He enjoyed the relaxing nature of it all  I also love his wild little mane! It used to all lay super flat on one side. But the more supple he's getting, and the more we are getting true bend while changing bends, the more it's standing upright. I know a lot of people aren't a fan of crazy manes, but I love them!










He was also looking super adorable waiting for his chiro 










Yesterday I had to hike my 25 lb vitamin and hay pellets across the creek to feed the ponies. Nick had JUST finished cleaning his baby up, and I couldn't bear to make it disgusting. He does SO much for me all the dang time, that I just couldn't bring myself to take the easy way out. I know he appreciated it though <3 but it's one of the few things I can do to show him I hear him and I care. He hauls me to lessons, he coaches me at home, he cleans the barn while I ride, and he's been preparing Izzie's sanctuary for foaling. I'm beyond fortunate to have him!










And an adorable picture in Diego's trail in hand class. While I will always, always love the challenge of Dressage, the challenge of doing trail courses (and true trail riding) will always intrigue me as well. I'm not one to care if you want to ride my chosen sport as long as you're happy doing it. The only thing that ever grates on my nerves is when someone tries to imply they are far better than someone else, and always have that air that others are beneath them. I take up an even bigger issue if that person can't even accurately do what they claim they are doing. And I take that as ANY sport. I don't like seeing people ripping around a jumping course if they are wildly out of control, dangerous, or do not have the position to be taking the fences they are taking. I don't care for people over facing their horses whether it be in the show ring or outside of it. The trails one of my absolute best friends rides are way above the level I'd take Diego on as it would be horribly over facing him. But Izzie would adore the challenge of it. It's all about knowing your horse and what they are capable of doing. I don't care if people show or don't show. My bestest best friend is terrified about showing under saddle. I tell him to do whatever he wants. One friend gets show anxiety. I talk her through it if she wants to show, and heavily support her when she enters. One of my other best friends lives for showing. And my final best friend is WAY happier trail riding. And I'll NEVER say "just" trail riding because I know the trails she takes. And there is no "just" about it. She's hardcore and I love her for it. Me? I enjoy showing, but I'm also not going to fall into a crying puddle of mush if I can't show. I love showing, but it's not the be all end all of my life. My horses are so much more than dressage horses and show horses. As my best friend always says, "your horse isn't just a Dressage horse, is it? No. It's a dressage horse, a trail horse, a kid's horse, a husband horse, and a costume horse (well, Izzie is). They are so much more than "just a Dressage horse"." And that has always stuck with me. Anyway, onto the adorable photo of Diego I had to submit for his USEF award for winning the region champion for working western (aka trail in hand lol)


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## knightrider

Love the photo!


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## Tazzie

Thank you @knightrider! It's one of the few Nick picked. I was having trouble deciding, and since I had to get a full rights photo (more expensive), I was very indecisive about it. I asked him to pick, and that's the one he liked


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## Tazzie

Time for an update! During all this, I've ridden a few times. We are slowly, slowly getting better. We worked on a few things last night that I'm proud to have conquered. One was we were doing walk to canter and canter to walk. It felt like a good day to do it, so we did  to the left he kept trying to drop his inside shoulder and shove his barrel into me as soon as we stepped into the canter. I re enforced the bend and made sure I wasn't dropping my inside hand (which I tried a couple times while cantering, but Nick yelled at me), and we had much better transitions. To the right is his harder way, so you'll notice I didn't immediately correct the unbalanced moment when we stepped into the canter. I brought him back and tried it again after sitting him back a bit more and they were much nicer. We have to work on keeping the straightness on the long side, but that's something I've slowly been working up to. He's still getting more comfortable keeping a bend through his body, so trying not to do too much work that will confuse him.

As for me, I'm working hard on looking up, sitting up, keep my legs and seat better connected, and keeping my inside hand from dropping so much. It's slowly coming together as well  we are signing up for our first show of the year soon, and I'm excited for that!

Diego also got his USEF High Point ribbons in the mail 










We ponied his sister 






Got face scratches from his favorite kiddo lol






And was a good boy in our workout






Izzie moved home on Friday to go under the cameras, so we are inching closer!










Belly picture!










Her digs lol










And a pretty one from yesterday 










We also tortured her a little lol











We've also signed the papers and having a custom horse trailer built for us! We couldn't find an 8' wide trailer without mangers, and we needed to not have mangers so the RZR will fit in it. So later this year, one similar to this will be making it's way to us


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## Tazzie

Not a huge update yet! Izzie is still holding that baby hostage (check out her foaling thread in the breeding section! There's a poll if you are so inclined as well  )

Diego has been doing super well. Well, aside from last night. Last night was an eh ride, but after so many good rides I'm not terribly upset. I've been working really hard on myself lately. I've been catching myself from leaning, which helps him keep his bend through the rib cage. Though now he's trying to evade with his outside shoulder. So working on fixing that. I've been working on not dropping my inside hand. When I do, I'm yanking him down and he does not appreciate that at all. But all in all I'm pleased! My trainer is on her way back from Florida right now, so hoping to have a lesson on Saturday and get our butts kicked  regardless, I'm happier going into this lesson since I feel we are in a better spot than when she left. Hopefully she gives us some more homework!

I did some silly music to this video because I had one of the coolest moments in my riding journey with him that day. As we were warming up at the canter to the left (his good way), I momentarily confused which horse I was riding and very nearly said "good girl Izzie" to Diego. I have NEVER confused these two horses since Izzie has always been more uphill in the canter than Diego has. So to confuse the two in that gait was HUGE for me!


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## Tazzie

So not much on the riding front. We've gotten some good work in, but it's been a touch sporadic as we welcomed baby Iris to the mix  (need to get a Moderator to fix my title again haha). He's been super, super good though! I'm hopefully having a lesson the 17th, just have to double check with my trainer. But Diego is enjoying being half feral haha!











For those that haven't seen, Izzie had her foal. A little filly named Iris, who we are completely in love with! She's super smart and just a huge joy in our lives! We don't intend to breed again, but we sure have enjoyed this adventure! She may even move as nice, if not nicer, than Izzie, which would be pretty awesome <3 there's more photos in her breeding thread, but I'll attach a few here! Born 4-3-21 (US way of doing the date), which is pretty much the coolest birthday ever! I'll reveal the show name once we get her registered 

























































First turnout, and how we got the name Iris


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## knightrider

Isn't it fun just to watch and watch the babies? Iris is so active and lovely. It reminds me of when my kids were babies, I could just watch them squirm and kick their little legs for hours and never get bored of it. Babies are such miracles!


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## Tazzie

@knightrider, it really is! I could sit watching them all day long! They really are!

I got to ride last night  little man's pelvis feels misaligned, again. Which is his norm really. We have a lesson on Saturday, but I'll be having her focus more on me and not really on him since he's dealing with that. We did some of the stretches we were shown, and we may have helped it a slight bit. But we will see. Other than that, he was a good boy! We had a few discussions on "no, we do have to listen to a half halt." And "yes, I do expect you to bend through the rib cage." Our last ride his leg yields off the wall left a lot to be desired, but last night I feel were at least Arabian show level quality (aka basically like an open schooling show in terms of quality). He's showing First 2 and 3 next Saturday, so I was glad our issues weren't continuing on.

Izzie and Iris got to have about two hours of turnout, which made them SO happy!! Iris has learned halter going on means OUTSIDE. So at only 10 days old she's basically shoving her head into the halter. SO PROUD. My MIL came over to get pictures too  I'll post more in my breeding thread, but figured I'd post a couple here


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## Tazzie

Diego and I went to our lesson on Saturday and it was so good! He started off spooky and super distracted, which he's never like that there though is something I've had to handle at home. My trainer gave me quite a few new tools for the tool box to get him specifically going again. He wants to stop, plant his feet, and completely hollow out while bracing everywhere for his spook. So we have to get him moving and really make him bend to remove the bracing he tries to do. She said she'd never seen him like that before, and I told her we've had to deal with it on occasion at home. So I was glad we were there going through it with her. We had a lot of really good work too. We are showing First Level Test 2 and Test 3 this weekend, though our canter lengthening is a work in progress. Since there aren't qualifications needed for nationals this year, we are just going for practice and get an idea of how other things are testing at. She helped assist us to get a nicer uphill lengthen that felt a million times better than what we had tried to do. And overall she gave me a lot of compliments about how I had improved since we saw her back in February (she goes to Florida for all of March, and then Iris was born the day I was to have our first lesson since she'd been home). It was also nice to have a really good one on one talk with her since it was just us. We talked about how we love going on trail rides, and she loves that I give my horses brain breaks like that. We talked about my accident after I brought up the last time we went to this show and had the lawn mower start up out of sight. I said I have PTSD from that and that I instantly tense when I hear it start. That I'm working on it, but it's really hard to forget that after it nearly ended my life. She understood and it was just nice to talk to her about it. She also knows that while I LOVE learning and would love to move up the levels as we can, that I do not have a set timeline where I HAVE to be doing X Level by Y date. Overall it was just such an enjoyable Saturday! One of these videos is long, but I liked all the random stuff she was throwing at us (she was dictating every second of this part of the ride).


































Diego Lesson 4/17/21 Part 6







youtu.be













Diego Lesson 4/17/21 Part 7







youtu.be





Yesterday my photographer friend came out to take pictures of Iris! I'm already dying for the photos, but it'll be a little bit! She had a horse show she shot Saturday, and did another farm shoot before coming to me. Then she's going to the show we're going to this coming weekend. So she'll have LOTS of pictures! Her and I also sat for a while just chatting and it really just felt great spending my whole weekend chatting with some of my favorite people 









Iris Playing 4/18/21







youtu.be


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## Tazzie

We had a couple of great rides leading up to the show. Got there Friday night and had a really crappy ride (I was not with it mentally at all). My trainer helped salvage it, but it wasn't that great. Saturday morning came. My friend and I were both just wired and feeling it. My anxiety had my stomach just all sorts of off. Nick said it's because my trainer was there, and I HATE disappointing people. Both my friend and I completely botched our first rides. Our horses felt our energy and fed off it. Both of us got our butts handed to us back in the warmup ring, and had MUCH better second rides. Diego got a 59.429% on First Level Test 2, giving us our lowest score EVER. But it was earned. Our second test, and the hardest for that level, we got a 65.833%. I was still feeling blah and I made quite a few mistakes that my trainer made sure I knew about. I had a friend who was SHOCKED I was being so hard on myself. Said that judge is nice, but gives NOTHING away. We actually got an 8 for our second canter loop, and an 8 for the final halt. I was super proud!

Since then we've had some super nice rides. My trainer has been involving Nick a lot more to make sure he sees what she's wanting us to do, so he can come home and coach me. She put him in charge of me at the show when my friend showed while I was warming up, and it's amusing to hear him become a coach lol I'm far from perfect, but we're learning. We've been working hard on the canter lengthening back to normal canter. Our transitions were unclear from having JUST learned how to do them, and they are finally getting clear without him just splatting on his forehand. He's been really enjoying the slightly harder work. Also helps I give him quite a few breaks as he learns to really sit back and carry himself more. He also got front shoes on Monday, which seems to help. Diego is built very much downhill, so adding the shoes helped change his balance just a bit where he feels more confident in what I'm asking of him. I love that he's getting sharper to my aids too, and he's getting to the point where he's ready for me to ask for anything without getting tense and jiggy about it. He has today off since he worked the last three days, and it's raining. Hoping for a ride tomorrow, then I can't ride this weekend. Kaleb is making his first communion on Sunday, so we will be busy with that. And Nick's birthday is on Saturday! So no riding!

Video of our good ride and some pictures  I say good loosely. We have A LOT of work still, and I get a lot of show anxiety that tenses me up hardcore.


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## Tazzie

Been getting as much riding time in as I can  Diego is doing super well, and we are having a lesson this Saturday! On Mother's Day we practiced First Level Test 3, and while we have lots of room for improvement I do feel we are on the right path. I've also been working on having him take a bit more weight behind, which he's slowly getting there. He's hard since he's super downhill, but we love him regardless! He turned 7 on May 10th! Izzie turned 11 on May 6th, and we've had her 10 years as of May 13th! Lots of big days!
















Iris also has her official registered name! I'd love to introduce you to Rewrite The Stars, which is fitting with Izzie being Written In The Stars and she's a copy of Izzie. The song is Nick's favorite song from The Greatest Showman 











A couple pictures of Miss Iris, including a favorite comparison to the day she was born and from last Tuesday  Purple is definitely her color!


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## Tazzie

Whew! We had an AMAZING lesson this past Saturday! My trainer came in as I was warming up. I was consistently failing at the warmup since I wasn't getting him good and supple before going to work. And being his Arabian self, he was super good at locking the base of his neck, which prevented any over the back work. She came in and watched going "well you've fixed your warm up!" High praise for me! Diego has been consistently getting straight into his work mindset lately, which has made our rides so much fun! So we soon after went to work. She asked if I'd ever done "school canter" before. Basically, the thought of cantering on the spot. I told her to just assume I knew nothing outside of First Level and go from there. Truthfully, I have done stuff outside of First Level, BUT we realized I had a horrific amount of bad habits. So it's better to just assume I know nothing. She walked me through how to ask it and how to manage it with my seat. We had some super, super good moments during it, and we just focused on doing it in the corners to help him really sit down on his haunches to do it. I know I keep saying it, but being as downhill as he is this is HARD for him. I post pictures making him look more uphill, but he really isn't. So we do a little and let him out. But he tries SO DANG HARD. We took a break and then did the other way. We did some lengthened trot work, which is coming along really well. And then work on the lengthened canter. He started trying to not bring his haunches up under him to do it (Arabians LOVE throwing their hind end out and just go fast), but we actually had a few really good passes at it. The come back has been his hardest part, so she's having me lengthen and halt at the end. Really get him thinking the come back and sit down to the normal canter. This lesson was the most canter work we have ever done in a lesson since normally she's fixing the slew of other issues I have. But for once she looked at Nick and went "I really have nothing. Just make sure she keeps that inside hand up and doesn't rock (random habit I suddenly started that is mostly gone already) and just watch to make sure she doesn't lose the haunches in the lengthened canter". Told me to work on school canter a bit more too. He was super tired by the end, but it was a great lesson!

We also had some great talks. I had a woman ask me how I'm preparing for Sport Horse Nationals. Mind you, it's May and SHN is early September. I told the woman I'm just riding and taking lessons. My trainer went "you don't 'prepare' for an event, you continue riding and improving, and then you go and show at the events. You don't set your sights and prepare ONLY for that." I'd been asked how many lessons I take, and when I said we aim for one lesson a month (that's the best I can do; she's 2 hours one way from us, and I can't hog EVERY free weekend to do lessons) she very snottily replies "and you think you'll be ready for SHN with only one lesson a month?" I told her it's not like I'm not riding in between lessons, and clearly I'm on the right path now. My trainer was super offended by that. Said "it isn't the quantity of the lessons, but the quality of them. That if we came out and did some seriously amazing work in the first 15 minutes of real work, then you got your money worth. There isn't a need to drill every single ride for 2+ hours." (Which honestly 2+ hours in this kind of work is just not healthy for the animal, especially if they are doing the work correctly.) I was glad she was on my side of that. I told her there are some days that we come out and Diego is just freaking amazing. Like heck yes, I will absolutely cut that ride short when he's giving me EVERYTHING consistently nice. I won't ruin a willing horse by overworking him. We had a lot of other really awesome talks regarding some ways of training that make us raise our eyebrows. I know that I'm still pretty "green" with dressage (green loosely stated since I did ride when younger, but it's clear I wasn't taught well), but some things are just too obvious to ignore when done so incorrectly. We are also super curious to what all will be showing up at SHN since there are no qualifications this year lol

Anyway, some video!


























Diego Lesson Part 6

Iris is also becoming a big kid! We REFUSE to have bad loaders, so starting her early. She's a smart one!

Trailer Loading


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## knightrider

Tazzie said:


> and you think you'll be ready for SHN with only one lesson a month?"


Obviously, this snotty rider doesn't know YOU, how hard you work, how carefully you listen and work on the things you learn, and how amazing you are!!!! But we on Horse Forum know!


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## Tazzie

Thank you @knightrider! We really try hard to improve and do our best Nick is really wanting me to stop showing Training Level this year. We have a ride scheduled for Region 13 in June, but I may cave and discuss it with my trainer. If she feels it's worthwhile for us to just not do Training Level and only do First Level at SHN. But with all the hard work we've been putting it, I'd definitely say we're right there in the "Schooling Second Level" category. We can do a lot of the movements decently, just a matter of cleaning up a lot of them. The work on the canter and trot lengthenings have slowly been edging into the more "medium" category. The more he sits, the bigger they get. I'm just tickled with how he's doing 

We did Izzie's tail again yesterday in preparation of her going to the barn on Friday. I've been keeping tails in bags to keep them clean, and I LOVE how Izzie's is turning out. I cut off quite a bit again since she has a lot that was fried from urine. But above it is looking so nice! Still more that will need to be cut out, but it's getting there! Haven't even been doing this for a full year yet, so I'm happy with how it's going  and Iris measured at 11.1 hands yesterday! She also did some in hand trotting with Nick too!

Couple cute pictures of Diego too. He's looking SO good!


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## knightrider

Oh wow, all 3 horses look gorgeous. That foal is wonderful!!!!


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## Tazzie

knightrider said:


> Oh wow, all 3 horses look gorgeous. That foal is wonderful!!!!


Thank you! I'm glad everyone is looking good! And we love little Iris! Though she's not that little lol


Rode little man last night. We had an off day, but with a temperature drop of 20 degrees it wasn't unexpected. Nick just was like _shrug_ "been a while since you've had an off day". Which is pretty true. We've been having so many good rides that I guess he's due for a not so good one now and again lol

And little Iris enjoyed some more ridge top time! Sad they are heading down to the barn tomorrow, but I'm so grateful they got to stay at the house as long as they did <3


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## Tazzie

Quick update since I'm tired and work has been killing me.

Moved Iris and Izzie down to the barn Friday. Everyone is settling in super well, which I'm thrilled about! Diego is happy to have his girls back home. Thankfully though he's reminding himself he can still be independent, so while the girls may hide in the barn to get out of the weather/heat, he goes up to the treeline. I worried he'd stand at the gate being dumb, but he is not. Yes, we've used temporary fencing. This is short term only, and we allowed Iris to touch it without us making her do it. I didn't want her associating the bite with us. She very quickly learned to respect it. But overall, very happy with how it's going. Enjoy a couple pictures and videos of that. Also, Diego's gotcha day was on June 1st, and Iris's papers came in on Friday 

Ride down!






Field time! Excuse the music. You may want to turn it off (there was a reason I added that song)






Anniversary ride (third ride in a row and the least distracted/naughty boy he'd been since Izzie came down)






Meeting Diego sans gate






Creek time!






And the neat drag made for my arena to keep it in tip top shape 

Arena Drag


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## Tazzie

Had my lesson on Saturday! It went well  my friend was unable to come watch, so had another solo lesson. Nick has been hounding me to give up the thought of showing Training Level at Sport Horse Nationals. To be fair, the training level classes are filled with lifetime training level horses that literally never move their heads. It's the class of fake riding and fake frames. So I understood his point, especially since we are riding and schooling at a higher level than that. Since my friend wasn't there, I decided it was a good time to ask our trainer without any pressure. Well, she sure shocked me and Nick. Not only did she agree with Nick to not do Training Level, but she has CHALLENGED me to do a Second Level class. Now, at SHN you only show the highest test in the level. So we have a whole lot of work to do between now and then. I'm tentatively looking at a couple of practice shows to get him into the ring at Second Level. She did say if it was USDF Regionals I was aiming for then she wouldn't be suggesting it. But Arabian world is a whole different ball game. We've been working our butts off all week to make that jump! Our shoulder in has gotten nicer. Lengthening has improved. Getting walk to canter and canter to walk pretty nicely. Just now learning haunches in, so we may get dinged a bit there. Three loop serpentine at the canter is effortless for him though. So I think it's doable as he works to take even more weight behind. But I'm pretty proud of him! Hopefully next year we can attend a bit/bridle fitting clinic to figure out what he'll need for a transition to a double bridle. That is out of my realm of knowledge, and I definitely don't have any of the equipment for him. Being a little guy I'm not sure my trainer will either. But it's exciting! She wants me playing with a lot of different things, but I've told her straight up that when it's time to learn changes (he is NOT ready for them yet), that I do not want to teach him that without assistance. I see SO MANY people have late changes and I don't want to screw them up on him. He's already not a fancy moving Warmblood, so need to preserve the scores where I can!

Anyway, some video 


























Diego Lesson Part 6

Diego Lesson Part 7

Diego Lesson Part 8


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## Tazzie

Well it's been a bit since I last updated!

We had some steps forward and backward with our lessons, so gave up the idea of showing Second Level this year. Which is fine, it happens. Trying to solidify the basics a bit more before making that jump. We had some rough rides at our regional show, but hoping to do a bit better soon. We went to a USDF show a few weeks back where we held our own at least! Our scores weren't too terribly far off the other horses, so I was pleased! We head to Nationals next weekend, so that's exciting!

This was our last lesson 






Iris is also getting HUGE! And so sweet! She's five months old as of today! Vet came to do dentals on Izzie and Diego yesterday, and she was in his face almost the whole time going "hey! How are you?! I'm Iris and you're my new best friend!!!" I swear the filly has never met a stranger lol































Nick has enjoyed playing with the two as well lol I didn't think this would end well, but I was shocked!










We also got our gorgeous new trailer! We are smitten with it!


















And we went to Mackinac Island for my brother's wedding! My kids were the ring bearer and flower girl. I liked this little comparison from when they were the ring bearer and flower girl in my sister's wedding <3 that one was over four years ago!


















Anyway, I hope everyone else is doing well!


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## knightrider

Iris, Diego, and Izzie are beautiful! I love the photos of your kids. So great to see them growing up. And your trailer is fabulous. I miss you on the forum and so glad to see you updating. More? More often?


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## Tazzie

knightrider said:


> Iris, Diego, and Izzie are beautiful! I love the photos of your kids. So great to see them growing up. And your trailer is fabulous. I miss you on the forum and so glad to see you updating. More? More often?


I'll definitely try to post more! And thank you!


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## Tazzie

Well we did a big thing on Sunday!

Our local fair was going on this past weekend. They'd been looking at the Arabian classes to cut due to lack of participation. Nick and I had already decided we'd bring our horses up for it. He really wanted the fair to be Iris's first show. So, with approval from our veterinarian (who just did dentals on Izzie and Diego on Thursday), we brought three horses home to bathe and braid for the fair! We ran out of time to braid Iris, but I figured the full bath and new environment was enough for her anyway. We truly didn't know what we'd be in for.

Everyone loads well (we've worked on that with her, and she's actually very, very good for loading and just a touch sticky unloading). I rode with her to the fairgrounds (it's like 10 minutes from our house, and we had her in the biggest stall in a non breakaway halter; I wanted her safe and relaxed). We pull in, and she lets out this HUGE whinny. Kind of like "HI!!! I'M HERE!!!" Cracked me up. Get everyone unloaded, and she's a bit looky but not bad at all. I head up to check us all in. My best friend had come to handle Izzie since we didn't know if she'd be safe for the kids to show her. I come back 10 minutes later to a snoozing baby. Not even remotely stressed out. We take tails down, touch up braids, and get ready to head up. Izzie and Diego showed in the bridle while Iris was just in a plain halter. She was supposed to have a black halter, but my buddy who thought he had one for us to use realized he had a horse sized one.... none of my horses can wear horse sized lol so we made do with what we could find.

We walk everyone up the hill to the arena. There are carriage horses and all sorts of excitement. Iris is more interested in meeting everyone. People are shocked to see how big she actually is, even though I always tell people she's huge lol the flag horse goes behind her, and she doesn't notice. Then the carriages go through, including a team of Clydesdales with their giant wagon (they were gorgeous!) with their chains clanking. Iris tried to eat Nick's shirt. Literally nothing phased her! An announcement was made that there were FIFTEEN entries in the Arabian/Half Arabian halter class. We looked at each other and laughed. Said no way will we get anything. We decided to be at the end to go in, with one girl who wanted to follow us in after Diego. Izzie enters fine. Iris takes off in the biggest trot she has with Nick trying to keep up. Diego trot/canters sideways because he's an idiot and no amount of training has been able to fix that idiotness. I actually yell at Diego that his 5 month old niece is better behaved than he is. He just spun around me while Iris looked at him like "why are you doing that?"

Judge walks through the line to look at everyone's horses. I had told Nick don't force Iris to stand still. Don't yell at her if she screams. Just make it as calm and relaxed as possible. She never yelled and she stood beautifully for the judge. Placings start getting called, and we were listening only just enough to see who was taking the top spots. We all about fell over in shock when Iris took FOURTH! Out of FIFTEEN!! Then Izzie took SIXTH! Diego didn't get anything, but wasn't surprising at all.

Either way, we'd say Iris's first show was a major success! She loaded right up to head home, and was super glad to be back out on the field!























































Almost forgot! Took her five month pictures on Friday as well!


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## knightrider

Awww, I'm not at all surprised that Iris took 4th out of 15. She is just stunning! Congratulations!


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## Tazzie

knightrider said:


> Awww, I'm not at all surprised that Iris took 4th out of 15. She is just stunning! Congratulations!


Thank you! It shocked us either way lol at my board meeting last night they were telling me how beautiful and well minded she was  made me pretty proud!


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## carshon

The picture with her tongue out and the ribbon just cracked me up! Like phhsssst Uncle Diego look what I did!
What great pics and a stunning family (horses and people) you have!


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## Tazzie

carshon said:


> The picture with her tongue out and the ribbon just cracked me up! Like phhsssst Uncle Diego look what I did!
> What great pics and a stunning family (horses and people) you have!


Haha, that is such an Izzie thing to do that it cracked me up to see Iris do it too! Loved it! And yeah, she made sure to rub it in Diego's face 😂 and thank you! I love our little family <3


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## Tazzie

Well we are back from Sport Horse Nationals! We had the best rides of our life in the arena this past week. A couple of bobbles that cost us better placings, but we both remained calm and didn't let the bobbles snowball into one horrific test. I'm relaxing more in my rides and actually thinking through it all now. My friend helped me all week, and we unlocked a whole new horse with a couple tweaks to my riding. He was the most uphill he's ever been on Friday (naturally after I'm all done showing). To the point during the freestyles and watching some particularly bad flying lead changes, my friend leaned over and said "do NOT do your changes like that..." This from the friend that expected him to top out at Second Level. So hopefully maybe we CAN make it to Third Level. I know he won't go all the way. He's not built for it. He's downhill. But he tries very hard.

Anyway, we got our very first National Top Ten in the First Level AAOTR! We narrowly missed two more top tens. We were 14 out of 44 in one class, and then 11th in my last class of the show. I'm thrilled with him!















































































Then we came home and weaned Iris! Neither of them care one bit about it


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## knightrider

Oh yay! Congratulations! Beautiful pictures. I have always been such a fan of yours because you work so hard with so little coaching. I admire your supportive family. Great job!


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## Tazzie

@knightrider, thank you! We try really hard to do as well as we have done!

Whew, hadn't realized it's been this long! Whoops!

We took all three horses to a show in November. It was a VERY good experience for Nick and Iris. We figured some things out with Diego. Mainly, his career doing rail classes is completely over. He's miserable doing them and I'm just not that interested in making him do things he doesn't want to do. He's happy as a Dressage horse and trail horse, so I'm good with that. Iris didn't place super well, but it was understandable. She's a bit base narrow in the front (or was), so was moving odd in the walk. Totally normal, just a baby. She took 2nd out of 3 in halter, and 3rd out of 3 in sport horse in hand. Izzie took 3rd out of 3 in halter (with the judge going "you know you don't have halter horses, right?" I told him I knew, and I only showed halter at this show to give Sandy more money lol) and 1st out of 3 in sport horse. The girls showed against each other. HOWEVER. The judge pulled me aside since first place leaves last to have a quick chat with me. Said that Iris is absolutely gorgeous, and explained why he just couldn't place her that day. I told him I understood. He said you wait a year or two and she's going to be completely untouchable as a sport horse! I SO loved hearing that about our baby girl!

Oh, and we did a Special (you'll see the type in the title of the videos) Showmanship class that we sponsored haha

Some pictures and video from that (and I'm going to end up needing to make two posts, so bare with me lol)
















This one is just Nick and Iris at the show






The ponies have also enjoyed lots of playtime! They can only be turned out together while supervised (aka not very often, only to run in the arena). Trying to prevent Iris from trying to nurse again.






We also got a new puppy! Meet Paxton, a little pitbull mix 

Paxton and Sheldon

Paxton and Sheldon

And pictures that go with this post haha


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## Tazzie

Then let's see. We also did a trail ride with Alicia (who I don't know if she's still on the forum or not anymore). I sadly only have this one video, apparently I deleted all the rest, boo.






We had a lesson on New Years Day, which was desperately needed. Still hoping to make it to Second Level this year.





















Diego Lesson Part 5

Diego Lesson Part 6

Cute pictures of all the ponies. Iris is 9 months as of January 3rd, so took their comparison picture again!





































My favorite kinds, holiday pictures!




























And then I downloaded my favorite picture of Sydney from my brother's wedding at Mackinac Island


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## Tazzie

Sorry guys, keep falling off the face of the Earth! And it's about to get even worse (but fortunately!). I accepted a new job, so any forum time will be whenever I have time in the evenings, which is laughable really.

We've had a couple of big events lately. First, Diego and I have now done two shows at Second Level. While the scores aren't WOW at all (highest so far is a 58%), the fact is I've taken a shot at it! It was such a mental block for me to even try it. We're getting there. My friend who is about to start showing I1 rode him Saturday and said he's a whole lot more bendy than he was last year. A lot of the problems are me at this point, that I've instilled really good basics on him at this point to add onto it. The highlight is that my downhill little pony got a comment of "uphill" for his canter transition on Saturday! We actually got a couple 7's mixed with some lower scores (we're really not solidly there yet and I know it). Either way, I'm super proud of us (hopefully I'll have show pictures from this past weekend soon)

Sydney made her first communion and took some awesome pictures with the handsomest little gelding though! (And yes, she had a broken foot for it lol)














































Iris is getting BIG! And while the judge this weekend didn't like her (the judging was very strange.... as in Izzie beat my friends purpose bred Half Arabian, Half Hanoverian mare in Dressage Type Sport Horse In Hand), we adore how she's developing!










We also did a Back to the 80's Showmanship class at this past show, and boy what a blast that was!










Enjoy these videos though, and an adorable picture of Paxton


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## Tazzie

Realized I forgot to explain why it's about to get worse, whoops! I just accepted a new job working at Cincinnati Children's in their Research Lab  I start on Monday!


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## knightrider

On another thread, we wrote about all the people we've missed, and I was thinking of adding you too. It is so great to get these fun updates. Thanks for writing!


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