FMNM Blog Hop: The Fear

Alyssa over at Four Mares No Money is hosting a blog hop!

She wins at art!

She wants to know: What is the most fearful moment you have ever had with a horse?
Oh Lordy, as someone who struggles with fear this really may be an insurmountable challenge choosing one moment.  I've actually talked about my struggles with fear several times here on the blog.
Tooth and Nail
PSA: Trail Riding

If you have read those you know that I get scared at wacky nonsensical times.  I'm going to talk here about two actually very dangerous and scary times.  The first one actually took a very special horse (read Tooth and Nail) to help me recover from and the second I wasn't panicy, just very mindful of how bad it could have been.

I was riding this really rank paint mare for a while.  She could buck like none other, we could trot into a fence 3.5' tall and clear it with ease only to land in full on bronco style bucking.  Yes, she had been checked out by vets and such, she was so scopey that it seemed worth the effort to attempt to tame her.  One day we were doing a grid.  Did I mention that this mare had no withers?  Well we jumped the first element and then she stopped, I sat up to pull her to the side and try again when she suddenly leapt over the second element and then bolted towards the top of the arena.  The lack of withers and breastplate meant that the saddle had slid fully to her side and strange thing was I was still on.  Here we were full tilt up the arena and I'm hanging on her side staring at her churning feet unable to make myself let go.  I can hear my trainer yelling to let go let go and still I'm just clinging to her side.  Finally I look forward and realize she is either going to jump the arena fence or turn and bang my head off fence posts as she gallops.  At this point I finally get up the gumption to let go and manage to time it so that I fly between the rails of the fence and land in the paddock on the other side.  Don't even ask me how I didn't wrap myself around a rail, guardian angels doing overtime.  Funny conclusion, I'd landed in the paddock with a very aggressive horse so I quickly scrambled out, and then realized the air had been knocked out of me.  Yep that's it, I wasn't physically hurt, but mentally I was shattered for a long time to come.

Not scared of that rail

It was quite a while before I jumped again, though I did still get on one or more horses every day.  I actually ended up doing a lot of dressage work with that mare and eventually schooling her cross country, it was a good way to find closure and take back control of my life.

Favorite verse

This next story had no long term mental effects, but it was certainly nerve wracking when it happened.  Often in the early spring we train the racehorses at the .5 mile training track in the next town over.  I had been riding a two year old for a friend and she was one stubborn filly.  Seriously, if you could actually get her into the trot or canter you were fine, but most of the ride would end up just being fighting in the walk, and if you kicked too hard or smacked her with a whip she would just sull up more, she also hated other horses so following one didn't help either.  In fact one day someone jogged half way around the track (on their own two feet) with me just so she might get the idea that that was what we wanted.  Well we had some heavy snow fall and then some thaw freeze cycles and the stretch of the track in front of the grandstand that never saw the light of day turned into an ice rink.  The rest of the track was salted and fine, but this part was 4" thick ice.  We all trudged out there with shovels and chipped out a path about one horse width wide and then got to training.  Well here I am on this stubborn filly with her owner on his pony horse out in front and another friend on another young one behind me.  We are walking on our path through the ice rink when suddenly the stubborn filly spooks sideways onto the ice and stops.  It actually felt like the whole world stopped, we were all holding our breath.  It was so cold she didn't even crunch the ice, if she had pulled any of her normal moves we would certainly have fallen down.  The seconds ticked by as we waited for her to do something, I couldn't ask her to step back to the path because as a rule she would just do the opposite.  Well finally she has possibly the first moment of common sense in her life and she calmly stepped back onto the path and all was well.  It was like the colors came back into focus, breathing commenced and the sounds of the world returned to my ears.

All.The.Things

There you have it, my two most fearful moments.

FOO Blog Hop: Day in the life

I actually compete open and am not eligible for amateur status, but for posterity's sake I would like to write about my typical day before I join the 'real' working world.  Winter is freaking all over the place so I will go through a typical summer day.
Between 4:45 and 5:30 Alarm goes off
10 minutes later I actually get out of bed and start the coffee (Breakfast? Hah yeah right)
Get dressed, curse coffee maker for being slow, bathroom stuff, thank God that coffee is done.
Between 5:15 and 5:45 run to car with coffee, purse, bag of clothes, bag of washed polos and saddle towels, etc etc.

Early morning driving makes for great pictures

6:00 get to the track, before this I have often taken care of my own horses or horses I am house sitting for, also I have picked up our exercise rider at his house.

ZoomZoom

6:00-9:30 groom, gallop, clean stalls, drink coffee, etc etc.  Pretty much do whatever needs done.

10:00 Get to first barn, change into breeches and ride two or three.  Drink Coffee.  Later in the summer this included Prisoner, yay!

Yep, occasionally I do western too

Dressaging

12:30 Next barn, ride one or two more.
On lighter days I go back to the track around 12:00 or 1 and help with lunch chores and then go to lunch with the Hubby.

Time to rake

Somewhere in here I run home to let Charlie run around and probably get more clothes.
3:00 Head out to the 100 acres where Diva and Bridger live and ride them if it isn't too hot.

Too smokey

4:00 Either still riding or doing PM chores so I can run back to the track.  Drink more coffee.
5:00 back at the track, races start at 5:30.  Change back into jeans, cowboy boots, and a cute shirt. Help bathe horses for the later races, tack horses up, lead horses to races, cool out horses, help friends with their horses if we don't have anything in.

You know we are in Charge

Waiting for the call to the paddock

Seriously makes all the hard long days worth it when you have friends like this

Apparently I had a good story to tell

Test barn when Waffles won

Good times winning with Yuma

9 or 9:30 go out to dinner with friends who help with the horses
10:30 get home

Charlie has kitty friends to hang out with

11:00 Pass out face down in my pillow

SFTS Blog Hop: three little words

Jenn is doing another fun blog hop, what three words would you use to describe your horse?

I love words and I love my horse so choosing is going to be hard.

Adorable.

Squeee!

Serendipitous.

Always a smirk

Quintessential.

Dream horse

This horse is the answer to prayers I didn't know I had.  He has rekindled long dormant dreams.  He is sometimes cantankerous, he sometimes doesn't want caught or brushed or kissed, but is always ready to listen.  He listens when I ride, when I cry, when I laugh.  He is always ready for a hug.  He thinks, he contemplates, he is genuine.  Yes, I know I'm totally anthropomorphizing, but we are all horse people here and that is what we do.  I look at courses that intimidated in the past and I dream of doing them with him, we are going places.  If I'm dreaming don't wake me up.

Partners.

Show me your barn blog hop!

It is still above freezing and we still have snow, and mud, and water everywhere, bleck.  So lets check out some sunnier pictures of where my horses live.

It's blog hop time!! The Process of Learning and the sprinklerbandit wanted to do a "show us your barn" series to give us something to think about other than winter. Thanks guys! 

It's time for a blog hop of barn tours! Ever wonder where your horsey Blogger friends spend most of their day?  Want to show off the amazing place you get to keep your fur child? Now is your chance to share and get to know your friends just a little bit more!

Here's how it's going to work; its simple and fun!

Share with us the following 5 photos:

1. A View of the Barn
2. Your Horse's Living Space
3. The Tack Room
4. View of Where You Ride
5. Your Favorite Feature of Your Facility 

1. view of barn: Well I don't have a barn so much as a giant field.

Lucky ponies with crazy lots of turnout

In case you want to join my winter bleck check out the sweet mess it was yesterday

Yes that is water flowing down the hill because the ground is still frozen an inch down.  But the horses are content and this too shall pass.

2. Horse living space, um same as above

3. The tack room. So this is my semblance of a barn, but it isn't for horses just stuff.

So cute

Love the classy wood

And who can forget this guy?

I love bridles!

4. View of where I ride: So lucky here, I may not have an arena but I have 100 acres of naturally sandy footing.

My 'circle' 

Same place

 This 'circle' is close to my tackroom, flat and fenced on two sides.  Also it is next to their field so it avoids frantic screaming and running by the two I'm not on.

But the open space is amazing

Bam!

Riding in Diva's and the boy's field 

5. Favorite feature?

The sunsets!

Trailer and car in my 'circle'

I used to keep my horses at my mom's place, but she moved.  So a very good friend that owns this place let me move in (well my horses not me).  We take turns feeding morning and night and it is totally laid back.  I brought some of my own fencing and water tanks and feeders and such.  She has three adorable ponies and two Andalusian/TB crosses.  The strange pile o' stuff seen above is her 'boneyard.'  She is an amazing deal finder and is just finishing up the house with almost all deals.  The 'boneyard' is the left overs and has actually been organized and cleaned up since these pics were taken.  I'm kind of on the backside of things and cleaned out my area.  There are future plans for arenas, but as far as board for free/trade I can't complain.  The arena you have all seen pictures of me riding Diva (and Gunner, Zyda, Gigi, Courage, and Bridger) in is actually where sprinklerbandit is and she did a lovely barn tour.  I ride the BO's horses in exchange for board so that is where my guys are for random weeks.

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