# Life with Arabs.



## EquineCookies (Mar 22, 2012)

I really enjoy sharing my barn journeys and stories with others, and the progress I've been making with my horses. I work/ride/board/whatever else at an Arabian facility with a few reining quarter horses on the side and when you have to juggle three horses that all need regular work for different reasons with school, it gets interesting! To start off I should probably tell a little bit about the three horses I rode to save myself from a lot of explaining later. 

Rosie (registered as BA Rose of Safir) is my own horse and my primary riding/show horse. She is a grey mare, 16 going on 6!! She has a very mature attitude about everything but is showing no signs of aging other than how light grey she is. She was sold as a three year old to a lady who brought her up using Parelli and she turned out to be an extremely nice horse. At the age of 11 she was sold back to her breeder/my coach/BO/her former owner and won championships while also being used as a lesson horse. She developed a respiratory issue after she was left in a dusty barn while being leased out, and it affected her performance a lot last year, but we made it through. In May of 2011 we bought her as my first horse and I couldn't imagine having anyone else as my first horse. We have come a long way in those past years, winning a championship last summer. She is happiest being ridden 3-4 days a week, and that is cut down to 2-3 in the winter. She competes in the hunter pleasure, sport horse, show hack, showmanship, and equitation divisions in the show ring and has excelled in every one. This year she has also taken the role of being a drill team horse which is a new experience for her.

Rowdy (BA Ashanti) is my 8 year old western pleasure project. At the age of 4 she began her training as a western pleasure horse but when she was 6, a girl who rides here decided she wanted to show her hunter/sport horse. Rowdy was extremely tense and unhappy with what she did during that period of time but did well that year in shows nonetheless. Last summer I began riding her English and she was much less tense and happier, but still didn't completely enjoy her job. I later learned she was originally a western pleasure horse and made the switch last October.. I am so glad I put her back where she's happiest. I had never ridden a pleasure horse before, let alone a trained western horse. It's been a long road getting her back to where she was, and she's still a long way from home, but she has come along well. 

Cody (DP Black Munster) is my coach's 21 year old stallion. He has absolutely no signs of aging other than a few grey hairs, and miraculously is still 100% able to do reining. About two months ago my coach surprised me with letting him learn to rein on him, and is he ever fun to ride! He is extremely well behaved around mares and a horse someone would have a lot of fun with. He's definitely one in a million! 

Every day that I can, I'll write a journal entry about how my day went, how my rides were, new things going on at the barn, et cetera. I will post pictures of the horses as well, first post coming up tomorrow!!
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## EquineCookies (Mar 22, 2012)

Journal for Monday, May 27 2013

Got to school my trainer's SE gelding for a bit! He is so bouncy but somehow also extremely comfortable. He has so much natural impulsion and suspension in his gait, he rides like a dream. He is currently in training for western pleasure but has amazing potential as an all-arounder. Afterwards I had my lesson on Rosie and that was pretty much a bust. She was cranky and PMS, and as a result she basically stuck her head in the air, hollowed out her back, and refused to listen to me. With a show in two weeks. I swear, I love her most of the time but there's days where I would really like to pound her face in. 


Journal for Tuesday, May 28 2013

My riding plans were quickly gone when I got a text from Mom saying that our old cat with kidney failure was being taken in to the vet to be put to sleep. The rest of the night was spent crying and moping around the house with going to the barn to give my trainer an update. 

Journal for Wednesday, May 29 2013

Today I rode Cody completely independently with no supervision and made my own decisions on him. It was a big milestone as I have ridden with the trainer watching and telling me what to do the whole time. We made out alright considering he hasn't been ridden in a week! I will also be taking Rosie down to the show barns next week to school her before the show  Starting to get very excited, 16 days away!!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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