# Operation Sexify



## pintophile (May 18, 2011)

I am really in need of some motivation to keep riding. After temperatures of 30+ (celsius) every day, I have a headache from the heat, I'm tired, and usually the last thing I want to do is go out and ride. So I figure keeping a journal will keep me going, knowing I have to be diligent in following it every day.

I don't ride my younger mare every day, but she doesn't really need it. She's chubby, but not horrifically, alarmingly overweight. My older pony mare, however, is horrifically, alarmingly overweight, and she really needs worked daily to help her shed some pounds. She's so heavy that it's beginning to affect her balance. 

Pictures are attached below, but the potbellied little mare you see below is Dee. She's about 17, 13 something hands high (13.2 or .3, maybe?), and I've had her since the beginning of May. She's very well broke, knows a LOT, is sensitive, but she's still your typical lazy, test-you pony. 

Anyhow, I rode her almost every day for the last two months, but then she started getting really stiff so I gave her a week off, fearing the worst. I speculated it was her arthritis finally kicking in, but I didn't learn until the end of the week that regular work is the best thing for arthritis. So, in a week of no work and all the pasture she could eat, she gained back a large amount of the weight she'd worked off in the last while. 

And thus, we come to my quest. Even though the last thing I want to do after a hot, tiring day is drag a saddle out to the barn and ride, I'm doing it for the good of her health (and mine).

So, I'll start my entry with yesterday (even though I've been riding her religiously for a few days now). 

Wednesday July 20
As usual, it was sunset when we started off, and I must admit that riding with the shadows long and the sun casting a warm glow over everything is really pretty. I walked her to the trail head, then trotted for about half a mile to warm up (with intervals of walking), and then cantered down the open fields and between the rows of potatoes. The only good thing about a foreign-owned company buying and desecrating our land is that they don't know how to plant potatoes, and this year the rows are nice and wide, and leave plenty of room to canter comfortably. We walked home by the road, and then around home I rode her around the pool. She is TERRIFIED of the pumps and hoses, and it's a little ridiculous, so every day I just walk her around and around the pool and work her near there. By the end she's always a little bit calmer, but it's a daily work in progress.

And now, enjoy the pictures.
:lol: I have no idea why she's standing so ridiculously in the first picture. What a dweeb.


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## pintophile (May 18, 2011)

I have more pictures! Just didn't want HF to log me out as I sat there doing nothing waiting for 'em to load:


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## Mocha26 (Oct 27, 2010)

Good for you! The only time I have time to ride is like really early morning (6 AM). And I have trouble motivating my self to get out of bed. This heat is kicking my butt. It's terrible!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## pintophile (May 18, 2011)

I know. I'm hoping the heat wave will break soon (I'm guessing sometime near the end of September :wink. Though of course, then when it's January we'll all be moaning and complaining because it's too cold.


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

Just curious as to the title of this thread? Gets one's attention, then where's the beef?


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## pintophile (May 18, 2011)

tinyliny said:


> Just curious as to the title of this thread? Gets one's attention, *then where's the beef?*


Sorry, what do you mean? If it's offensive, you can...change it (I'm assuming you can)? It was just snazzy and the first thing that popped into my head. I didn't intend it to be offensive or negative, and I apologize if it has come out that way.


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## RATHER BE RIDING (Dec 7, 2010)

Great pics! Love the butt shot. If I had wide open spaces like that to ride in, I would definitely be more motivated to ride. I mostly ride in a 10 acre field and it gets very boring. While it may not be exciting for you, I'm jealous.


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

Oh, heck, not offensive to me! I am just curious. It does seem rather unrelated to your thread, but maybe a good advertising gimick?


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## pintophile (May 18, 2011)

tinyliny said:


> Oh, heck, not offensive to me! I am just curious. It does seem rather unrelated to your thread, but maybe a good advertising gimick?


Oh! Yeah, no, I guess I forgot to explain that one.

"Operation Sexify": because I'm trying to "sexify" Dee. I know she's never going to be a thin animal unless we starved her, but as long as I can get her reasonably fit, that'll be enough.

And thank you, Rather Be Riding. I sort of take it for granted how priveleged (don't know how to spell it ) I am to live in such a place, and have so much land to ride on. My friend pointed it out a few weeks ago, and I guess I am really lucky. It's better than riding around the back yard day after day, anyhow.


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## pintophile (May 18, 2011)

Thursday July 21
I had a particularly bad headache today, but of course I rode. The same route as yesterday; cantered a bit more. I know long trots are better to build fitness, but cantering is just more fun. 

When we got home, my mom's friend was over with her granddaughter and the little girl (maybe 3 years old) wanted up on Dee. Dee's just a been-there, done-that old packer horse, and the little girl really enjoyed it, and didn't realize she was getting soaked in sweat .

No pictures today, sorry; my camera was almost out of batteries.

I don't have time tonight, so I'll post more later.


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## MHFoundation Quarters (Feb 23, 2011)

I feel you on the heat! I've been at fair shows with students all week and today we hit 102 actual...miserable though I'm certain I've melted away a few extra pounds! I've been doing my barn work & lessons after dark. 

Cute girl, good luck with her sexification!


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## pintophile (May 18, 2011)

It's not even the HEAT so much around here, it's the humidity. It feels like you're suffocating the minute you step outside, and the air pressure just gives me a headache. But I suppose it's just something you've gotta live with. It's always either too hot or too cold, too dry or too rainy.

And thanks


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## pintophile (May 18, 2011)

God, this hasn't been a very interesting journal so far, has it? The heat wave FINALLY broke yesterday, and I was planning to take her out for a good long ride, maybe back to the gravel pit (steep, rocky hills and lots of exercise :twisted, but then my cousin called and wanted me to go over. I always feel so terrible leaving the horses, but you have to admit that I almost never go out as it is. I am ALWAYS at home with my horses, or always talking about horses, or always at horse-related events. Getting out with non-equine people, and doing non-equine things is probably good for me once in a while. Anyways, I have a lesson on Dee today but I'll be back tomorrow with more pictures and a (hopefully interesting) update.


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## apachiedragon (Apr 19, 2008)

Totally unrelated, well, sort of, but if you will double (or at least really increase) your water intake on those hot days, most of those heat headaches will go away. The headache is actually a sign that you are starting to get dehydrated, and the best thing for that is water and lots of it. 

But I feel you on the needing motivation. This heat wave has just been sapping the energy out of everyone.


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## pintophile (May 18, 2011)

apachiedragon said:


> Totally unrelated, well, sort of, but if you will double (or at least really increase) your water intake on those hot days, most of those heat headaches will go away. The headache is actually a sign that you are starting to get dehydrated, and the best thing for that is water and lots of it.


Thanks, I never knew this. I'll keep myself hydrated. 

Saturday July 23
Lesson today, and I, for the first time, hauled the trailer. I have ALWAYS wanted to, and I have always been so excited for when I have my license and I can go camping with the horses up north and such, but never thought I would today. We loaded Dee, dad said: "You're driving", and away we went. It's actually not rocket science. It's different, and it was strange, but it was simple enough. All you have to do is take things wide, and be gentler than you usually would (slow down earlier, don't slam on the gas or the breaks). 

At lessons we worked on issues I've been having at home with the canter, which is balance. She slips and just bombs around and I haven't been able to get her going right, and we've been having lead troubles too. I don't take lessons every week; just when I need them, but I definitely needed one. We went back to trot and worked on leg yielding and bending her around small circles (all she's been doing up 'til then is lean around the circles-hence her slipping), and after we had all that down, I really didn't have much of a problem cantering. She leaned a bit, but using lots of inside leg and rein picked her up. She got all her leads, too. 

I know now what I have to do at home. I knew what it was supposed to feel like, I just forgot what I was supposed to do to get her going properly. It's nice to know that I'm developing "feel" for things, and that I can (mostly) tell when she needs leg, when she needs rein, when she doesn't need it, when to let off etc. I just needed a bit of a reminder.

My instructor wants us to get her a grazing muzzle and keep her from eating so much, but...hmm. She will work the weight off again. It took me a few months to get her down to a decent weight the last time, and she'll lose it with time, but...it's summertime, and she's a horse. That's what horses do when they've got pasture.

I drove home again and everything was going good until we had to back up in the yard. I CAN'T back up. I just can't do it. Dad was bickering at me (I know, he's helping), and I got stressed out and thus got p*ssed off, and I tried some, but eventually dad had to do it. I'll practice another day when I don't have live cargo in the back.


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## pintophile (May 18, 2011)

Sunday July 24
Took Dee for a trot and another long canter today, different route this time. After going for that little run, we went back to the cut 20-acre hayfield and practised what I learned yesterday, but poor fat Pon was so tired that we could only do about two circles before she was ready to collapse. The good news is, she got one of her two leads right and wasn't leaning much on the circles.

Not so many pictures today because they take way too long to load.


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## pintophile (May 18, 2011)

Ah...forgot to post yesterday.

Monday July 25
I figured I might as well actually do WORK, and RIDE Dee, so I took her out into the hayfield and did leg yielding, circles and getting her bending, and then cantering. A bit of trouble cantering at first, but nowhere near as bad as we were before. I am realizing how little I actually know as a rider. I'm decent, but I still lack a lot of knowledge. Anybody can sit on a horse and run down the fields, but actually riding and getting the horse working properly is a whole different ball park. I think I'll spend the next week or so just doing work. I need practise.


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## pintophile (May 18, 2011)

Wednesday July 27
My dad trailered me and my friend up to a public forest with nice trails yesterday. My friend rode Dee, and I rode my younger mare. Dee was typically lazy as always, and it was a nice ride.


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## pintophile (May 18, 2011)

*Sigh* The heat's back in full swing, so I'm going to start writing again.

On Saturday, I rode Dee on one of our "Horse Rides"-a bunch of friends take teams and wagons (there were a couple of other riders) and just go. I had a lot of fun, and poor old Dee got rode hard. I always give her a few days off after these rides-she's getting older, and trotting and cantering for hours on hard roads is quite the work.

I should've rode yesterday, but it was rainy and cold, so I'm going out in a little while to work with her. I want to try perfecting bridleless stuff. I can get on her and just run around bridleless, but that's not real hard. Getting her working properly and responding well to cues needs some work. I'll try to take a video if I can find a place for the camera to sit.

Man, I haven't rode my younger horse in a LONG time...at least last week sometime. I think Friday. Ah well. She's not horrifically fat, and I guess I'm doing something wrong if she has a meltdown after standing for a week. I've gotten on her after 3 months of no work and had her move off almost the same...a bit rusty. 

I need to ride :lol:


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