Equestrian Journey

Again look at the reach.  That's all for now.  I wish more of them had turned out.  I just need more practice. :)  Let me know which one is your favorite and please share any tips for taking action shots with a manual focus.  Thanks in advance!... [Read more]

I changed the blog design.  It hadn't changed since 2015 and it needed it.  I know it may be bland for some people's taste, but I'm in a simplistic, minimalist frame of mind right now, so it is what it is.  Please let me know what you think! Also I've been meaning to mention this, but Rocky went back to my best friend (his prior owner) during the spring of this year.  I was having trouble managing two horses and she was back on her feet, so it was the best decision.  I miss him desperately, but he is happy and Chrome is happy.  I didn't really mention it on the blog, but Rocky was bullying Chrome, leaving him with almost daily cuts and keeping him away from the hay which caused him to lose weight.  If I had a bigger property I would have separated them, but it just wasn't feasible.  He's over an hour away, but I still get to ride him when I visit her.  I'm grateful for that.... [Read more]

LINK) when I have time.  They are incredible, so try to check in when you can.  That's all for now!... [Read more]

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMuEMEP73quyQ3inhIwV_eDmcb8ThxH310PAlc0J8S0FXaOBLDLkUfs_umdImE4ghPqzI6_8G8tDcMPbsavc1JqID2ahkzydOjgWWGlULYGTZ5lNAFhc4wkIdMQPQwh7HkUNA5LCQ1QW_3/s1600/budweiserclydesdales2cr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="748" data-original-width="1000" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMuEMEP73quyQ3inhIwV_eDmcb8ThxH310PAlc0J8S0FXaOBLDLkUfs_umdImE4ghPqzI6_8G8tDcMPbsavc1JqID2ahkzydOjgWWGlULYGTZ5lNAFhc4wkIdMQPQwh7HkUNA5LCQ1QW_3/s400/budweiserclydesdales2cr.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> <br /> I completed forgot to post these pictures from when I saw the Budweiser Clydesdales in person!&nbsp; I have a bunch more photos, but I can't find them.&nbsp; I seriously need to organize my photos.&nbsp; I'll post them someday when I find them.&nbsp; Sorry for the quick post.&nbsp; Too much to do and too little time!<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQVEElz_2tplFATUuR614UtZb6SA1Wu4vHH4wG4LysW7wCqXmcojDxbe5Fgt-6MKMdC_3iwrSZesHOlIfRbTcxdYT1K1mPtfAY9CQwIdYKe_Y0BkfUXT3c7SCPvciByOchEMJ0Tl9qWihX/s1600/budweiserclydesdalescr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="632" data-original-width="1000" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQVEElz_2tplFATUuR614UtZb6SA1Wu4vHH4wG4LysW7wCqXmcojDxbe5Fgt-6MKMdC_3iwrSZesHOlIfRbTcxdYT1K1mPtfAY9CQwIdYKe_Y0BkfUXT3c7SCPvciByOchEMJ0Tl9qWihX/s400/budweiserclydesdalescr.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> <br />... [Read more]

huge (an inch wide) abscess and walked off sound.  On 8/17 I contacted a master trimmer that has been advising me over the phone and email how to trim Chrome's hooves and treat his seedy toe (he lives in a different state).  On 9/1 I trimmed him for the first time on the advice of the trimmer (there was a delay because I sprained an ankle which hurt my back), so I consider that the start of his rehab. Removed him from the largest portion of the grass (he still has some because I don't have a dry lot). Fenced off the pond so he can no longer get into it (pretty sure the constant wet/dry and mud caused his hoof infections). Soaked with Oxine (off brand of White Lightning) approximately 1-2 times a week for seedy toe and thrush. Trimmed a little at a time based on the instruction of the trimmer. Trimming a little at a time let's him get used to the new angles and keeps me from getting overwhelmed as I learn.  Also if I do something wrong by mistake it prevents it from being catastrophic (I haven't so far, but it's always a possibility).  The trim is what got him landing heel first after years of landing toe first, which allowed his frog to be stimulated which strengthens the rear supporting structures of his hooves. Exercise.  Once he was landing heel first I started hand walking him daily.  I started at ten minutes a day because of his weak stifles and we slowly worked up to 40 minutes of walking a day with a couple of trots in hand on soft ground.  We walk two to three times a week on the asphalt roads to stimulate hoof growth and help self trim between my trims.  The rest of the time we walk on grass or dirt.  I try to walk him on as varied terrain as a I can find in my limited selection (slight slopes, tiny loose gravel, over limbs, etc.) to strengthen his hooves and teach him better proprioception.   http://rockleyfarm.blogspot.com/).  I've learned so much from her and it's been an amazing resource to have during all of this.  I've never actually contacted her, but I've heard she is super helpful by email if you don't live near enough to send your horse there (they live in Exmoor so I'm definitely not close enough).  http://www.hoofrehab.com/) which is where my master trimmer trained. Let me know what you think of Chrome's progress so far and if you have any good resources for equine diets and mineral balance.  Thanks guys!! P.S.  The only thing I'm upset about is that I let Chrome get as bad as he did because of pure ignorance and fear of taking things into my own hands instead of depending on other people.  I'm not going to beat myself up though.  He has already made huge progress and at this rate it shouldn't be long before most of the damage is healed.  Horses are incredible creatures and more resilient than we give them credit for (except of course they love trying to kill themselves to give us heart attacks.......) most of the time.  I'm forever grateful to the people who helped me through the most terrifying thing I've experienced with Chrome (the founder scare) in the ten years we've been together.  I'm going to stay positive and look forward instead of dwelling on the past and the "couldn't, should've, would've" mentality I sometimes get trapped in.  Chrome for sure isn't blaming me and is back to his happy, silly self and that I am also grateful for.  Go hug your horses people!!... [Read more]

I'm going to keep trying to post updates on the blog about Chrome and his rehab, but they still may be sporadic because of my schedule. I have really been enjoying posting to Instagram and I'm planning to post to it regularly so you might want to follow me over there @chromechevalier to see more regular updates.... [Read more]

Before we get started I have two things to address.  One, please don't laugh at my baling twine Vienna reins.  I'm going to order real ones, but I'm on a tight budget right now because of the emergency vet bills.  I also wanted to see how he would do with them before I spent the money on a set.  Second, sorry for the quality of the photos.  They are screenshots from video.  I don't have time to process and upload the video right now so I just grabbed some screenshots for you. Okay, next I'm going to update all of you on what we've been doing since the founder scare.  I'm still working with the master trimmer to get his feet healthy and he is finally landing heel first!!!  I'm so excited because that is something that has bothered me most of his life.  I was beginning to think it was a conformation issue that caused him to land toe first.  Oh how I wish I had known all of this years ago.  I could have saved him so much discomfort and wear and tear on his body. The main two things I've done to get him landing heel first (diet is always first and foremost, but I've always been careful with his diet aside from grass which he is restricted from now) is backing up his toes to improve his break over and soaking them weekly in Oxine (off brand of White Lightning).  He obviously won't always have to be soaked that frequently, but until I get the seedy toe grown out and his white line tight I will keep doing it.  It can take a year to grow a new hoof capsule so this is a slow journey!!  I'm in it for the long haul, so I don't mind.  I'm just so happy I finally know what I need to know to get him rehabbed.   For the last two weeks I've been hand walking him everyday.  I'm walking him two days a week on the asphalt roads and the rest of the days in the pasture.  I'm not longeing him because of his stifles.  I'm hand walking him, but I'm making sure he's walking out and not dragging along like a lazy slug.  His walk has improved SO much in the last two weeks!!  He used to chronically short stride in his front legs and now he's reaching forward freely (because of the corrected break over).  I slowly worked him up to twenty minutes a day of hand walking up and down a slight incline in the pasture. Over the years of being a pasture ornament and having an incorrect break over on his hooves he has lost all of his top line and is even getting a ewe neck!  Ugh!!  So in an effort to start very slowly correcting that (yes I know it can take two years) I decided to try him in Vienna reins.  Today I longed him in them for five minutes on each side, just so he could learn how they work, but from now on I'll just be hand walking him in them.  When I'm hand walking him I'm sort of facing him with my upper body as if I were longeing, but we're going in straight lines to protect his stifles.  I'll try to get video or pictures some time to show you what I mean. Such a good boy!  I ended the longeing session on a nice downward stretch.  We finished his last ten minutes of hand walking moving around the pasture in straight lines.  Hubby didn't get any video of that (he was busy building something and I interrupted him, so he was impatient to get back to it).  He did really well and was relaxing a lot more with our familiar routine of hand walking (longeing is not familiar for us!).  I didn't take him up and down the incline we normally work on because he needs to build strength on flat ground before I ask him to do that with his head down.  Pushing uphill with his rear end is what will strengthen his stifles, but I have to be very careful not to overdo it. I'm really proud of how well Chrome has done during the last month or so of rehab we've been doing.  I'm so excited that he's landing heel first and we're able to work in hand again.  His feet will improve the more miles I can put on him, but I have to take it slow because of his stifles.  As they get stronger we will be able to do more.  For now everything is in walk only.  I've asked him to trot a few times just to see that he's sound, but I don't want to stress his stifles with too many circles and I can't keep up with him on straight lines at the trot.  We might have to start ground driving again... eventually. I'm not looking forward to the cold, rain and mud of winter, but I'm going to keep working him every day that it's not raining when I get off work and I'll update you guys on the weekends when I have daylight to get pictures.  I hope you all are doing well and I want to thank Chrome's loyal fans who have stuck around during our long absence.  Fortunately the over time at work has been cut back drastically which I'm very thankful for so that I can rehab Chrome and give him the exercise he needs and deserves.  I'll update again soon!... [Read more]

Rest in peace sweet girl!... [Read more]

Direct Link very important for correcting hoof issues). Also I just want to say thank you to those of you who have stuck around during my absence.  I feel bad for not updating my blog and I'm going to start doing better because it's important that I can track the progress of his feet.  For those of you who are not hoof nerds I'm sorry if this is boring!  It's just a really good way for me to see our progress.  Thanks guys!!... [Read more]

Today is Chrome's tenth birthday!!  I just can't believe he's ten already.  How has the time flown by so quickly??  We were lucky to have a pretty day to get photos.  It's been raining constantly all spring, so it was a surprise.  I started out by giving him a bath.... [Read more]

This photo was taken on my cell phone from Rocky's back.  That's how close the fire trucks were.  They were blaring their horns and sirens the whole time!  I was so proud of how well Rocky did!!  That was an experience I won't soon forget.... [Read more]

I'm posting this way after the fact, so I don't remember all of the details, but for my records I just wanted to write it down.  I hopped on Chrome bareback for a short ride (I forget how long, but probably 20 minutes) before the rain started.  He was very good and we even went for a bareback canter.  We just rode around the house.... [Read more]

It's sad that my last post was in November talking about my new camera and how I was going to be posting a bunch of photos.... and now I'm posting in April with cell phone pictures lol!!  I have been taking photos with the new camera (I LOVE it!), but I haven't had time to edit or post them.  I have to figure out how to manage my time better because during the week I go to work and then come home and spend an hour or two doing chores (feeding/watering/haying all the animals), then go inside, shower, eat supper and pass out.  On the weekends I'm catching up on cleaning the house and my outside time is spent working the goats (shots, pest control, deworming, trimming hooves, etc.) or doing ground stuff with Chrome (trimming hooves, pest control-sweet itch sucks-pasture maintenance, hand walking, etc.).  By the time I can ride I'm too tired.  It will get better when all of the goat kids are weaned... at least there are no more pregnant ones!  Oh and it's been raining non-stop for months!  Today was the first sunny, warmish weekend day which is why I finally hopped up for a ride.  I'm going to try to do better now that the weather is improving.  Anyway, enough whining!  Let me tell you about my adrenaline filled ride. After the ride he had to spend some time tied up to think about his misbehavior....  but look at that sweet face!!  He was an absolutely turd while tied up (he wanted to go graze) and even set back on his halter so hard it took pliers to undo the knot.... even the quick release knot wouldn't release.... I need to get a cotton rope instead of the boat marine rope.  That's why I don't go far.  He has only set back while tied maybe three times in the almost ten years I've had him, but horses are horses and it happens, which is why I don't go far.  Thankfully he immediately stops pulling as soon as I yell at him.  So I probably should have named this post 'the good, bad and ugly sides of Chrome' haha.  Even with everything that happened I'm not angry at him or anything, because I know he's not normally like that. It's spring, he's eating green grass and he's feeling sparky.  It happens.  It's part of the gamble with horses.  I know he'll be right back to his normal self after a few more rides, so I'm not letting it bother me.  I'm just super proud that I didn't dismount, because that's what I used to do when he would scare me.  I have to recognize the small wins and stay positive!! Again, sorry for the SUPER long post.  I get carried away.  On that note I have SO much I need to get done so I'll see you when I see you!  Bye guys (if anyone is still here)!!... [Read more]

my other blog HERE for pictures of them), but I will eventually start using the manual mode.  I want to practice on still objects and landscapes first. I'm afraid I'll get frustrated if I try to practice on uncooperative animals lol. It's so much easier to take pictures of him because of his amazingly wonderful sit/stay hehe.  :D... [Read more]

I've never been a huge fan of Halloween or wearing costumes, but everyone at work dresses up for Halloween so I joined in and dressed as a Dementor from Harry Potter (costume was cheap).  Halfway though the work day I got to thinking how cool it would be to get rid of the mask and accessories and wear the cape as the headless horseman on Chrome!  So much more fun than dressing up at work hehe.   For the record I blacked out my face in most of these pictures to make it creepy, but I left one with my face.  Also I did not wear a helmet because the hood wouldn't fit over it.  I know how stupid that is, but it's my decision to make so please respect that. Now check out this fun video. Click here for direct link to video. For those who can't see videos I have some screenshots below.  I'm so proud of Chrome.  How many horses can go six months without being ridden, get taken out of the pasture on a cold day with the wind blowing and a neighbor zipping around on a four wheeler next door, have their rider dress up in a costume they've never seen and canter with fabric snapping in the wind and be totally cool with it?  Chrome can!! P.S.  I have stuff to share.  I've just been too busy to blog.  I do want to reassure you that nothing was wrong with Chrome over the summer other than his sweet itch.  I've just decided to give him summers off because it's not fair to ask him to concentrate when he itches and we are both pouring sweat just standing around in the shade.  Now that the bugs are gone and it's cooling off I'm going to try to ride more (if I can stop spraining my ankles that is!).  I'll catch you guys up on some other stuff as soon as I can.  For now I have to go.... [Read more]

Did you all get emails from noreply+subscribe@blogger.com asking if you want to maintain your subscription to each of your blogs?  Are these legit emails? Is this the "fix" for us not getting notifications of comments?? I'm too chicken to click on the subscribe button in the emails so I wanted to see if anyone else has gotten them. Thanks in advance for any help!... [Read more]

Look how flexible my boy is!  his tail is touching the ground!! Just ignore how filthy it is lol. Well I guess..... the end!... [Read more]

Happy birthday Chrome!  Can you believe he's nine years old?  Where did the time go??  I spent a long time brushing him before these pictures, but I didn't bathe him until after our ride because he would have gotten sweaty and gross, making the bath pointless.  I rode for about thirty minutes, just casually around the yard.  Mostly walking with a little bit of trotting and cantering.  Please ignore my eq... I'm very out of practice. LeeAnn standing on the fence cracked me up when I was looking at the pictures.  I was using a branch full of leaves to try to get Chrome's ears forward.  I was waving it around in my right hand and LeeAnn was standing on the fence watching longingly lol.  I wish I'd noticed her and I would have fed it to her after the pictures, but we were being attacked by buffalo gnats and I just wanted to run away. The neighbor across the street had removed his horses for a month or so.... and of course chose this day to turn them loose in the field again....   After the ride he got his bath. Then I completely forgot to get pictures of him once he was clean!  Fail!!  Just trust me that he looked very handsome and white lol.  Sorry there aren't a whole lot of photos and that we didn't dress up fancy.  It was over ninety degrees and I was tired from lack of sleep.  I also shaved my goats and did a bunch of other chores.  I hope you enjoyed what few there are.  I'm still blown away that Chrome is nine.  It makes me sad that he's basically a pasture puff and that we never learned dressage or competitive trail riding together like I wanted to, but things outside of my control have prevented it.  Hopefully someday we can still do those things.  I'm choosing to focus on the positives instead.  Chrome is happy and healthy and I love him with all my heart and I get to see him everyday for hugs and scratches, so that's what is important.... [Read more]

I couldn't pass up the chance to ride today since it was the first time in sixty years that Easter and April Fool's Day landed on the same day (I do still have a goal to ride on every holiday hehe).  This is supposed to happen again in eleven years if I remember right, but why wait that long?  Sorry I only got one picture, it was starting to rain so I just snapped a quick one and got on with my ride.  I rode bareback, only for fifteen minutes.  I wanted to see if he felt sore from the ride yesterday.  He started out a bit stiff, but worked out of it quickly (we only walked with two very short trots).  I worked on some backing up and I could hear and feel him dragging his right hind leg back instead of picking it up.  That makes sense because that's the side his stifle is weaker on.  I'll get back into his stifle exercises during the week when I feed since it only take a few minutes in hand to get him strengthened back up for riding. He felt really good and was happy to mess around in the yard again.  I hope you all had a wonderful Easter and April Fool's Day!!!!!... [Read more]

We goofed around in the yard for thirty minutes.  I had him do several short trots and even a few canters, just to see if he could still do it and to see if his canter scared me again.  None of it did at all.  Even when he ducked his head and felt like he wanted to crowhop the first time.  I corrected him and he didn't try it again.  He was very eager to canter and we had fun.  I haven't felt that carefree cantering him probably ever.  It felt so effortless and easy.  His stifles gave out a couple of times and he was doing the whole slow walk away from the house and fast walk toward it, but overall he was great.  We also worked on some backing and learning how to yield his hindquarters from the saddle without a ground cue (needs work lol). He sweated a little, but never even got his heart rate up.  I was worried I could hurt him even though that makes no sense.  I was relieved to see him galloping around and bucking in the pasture when I turned him loose later (I trimmed and soaked his hooves after the ride).  He was so wound up and obviously felt good. He was a total butt during his hoof soaks (but fine during the trim that we did beforehand) and I think it's because hubby left and he couldn't see where he was, but he could hear him feeding the goats.  He was such a brat that I didn't feed him when I put him back in the pasture.  I can't stand when horses act up in anticipation of food.  It put a damper on my mood after such a fabulous ride, but I'm not going to let it get to me.  He was just feeling good and being a turd. It was a wonderful ride to get back into things and I can't wait to ride again.  Also I really want to thank you all for your comments on my last post. I don't know why weekend warriors have such a negative association in my area, but you're all right.  If I'm smart about it and take things slow, he will be totally fine.  So thank you all so much.  Also thank you for sticking around.  I know I've been very absent.  I appreciate my loyal friends.... [Read more]

Hey guys!  I wanted to give you an update on the hay net and ask you a question (if anyone even still reads my blog since I'm so absent).  The hay net is doing great.  I can't tell for sure if it's actually slowing them down at all, but it definitely helps with boredom and prevents a lot of waste.  Rocky also seems to chase Chrome off less because he's distracted with pulling hay through the net instead of being a brat. Now, my question.  What do you guys think of weekend warriors?  Growing up I was always told it's really bad to only ride your horses on the weekends.  Of course the people they were talking about were people that would take horses who've sat all week in the pasture and then ride them ten miles with no prior conditioning, so that is definitely bad and I know that. What I need to know is if it's done right (start with short rides, gradually build distance and duration, proper warm ups and cool downs, etc.) is it still a bad idea?  Is it even possible to build a horse's fitness level if you only ride once or twice on the weekends?  I have to always keep his locking stifles in mind and I'm terrified of having another tendon injury (although I have no idea what caused the previous one.... probably him being overweight, but his weight is really good now that we have the hay net).  I can't longe him because circles are bad for his stifles and our ground is really messed up right now from all the rain and flooding. The reason I'm asking is because I work anywhere from 7:30-8:00am to 6:00-7:00pm every weekday.  I have to do chores after work, then take a shower and eat supper.  By then it's late.  We rarely get inside or eat supper before 8pm.  I also have to keep a very strict sleeping schedule or I have insomnia, so I can't just stay up late a couple of nights a week.  I barely fit in all of the chores I need to do after work, so fitting in a ride is almost impossible.  Now that the time has changed, if the weather is decent, I could probably just throw on a  helmet and a bridle and toodle around the house for fifteen minutes but really it seems pointless because we can't really do anything productive and walking circles in the yard by myself gets really boring, especially in the dark. So what are your thoughts?  I was looking back through my blog and realized it's been over a year since I've ridden my horse.  I've only ridden him 16 times in the last two years since I started working at this extremely stressful, fast paced, mentally exhausting job.  I have time to ride on the weekends (when the weather is okay), but I keep talking myself out of it because I don't want to be a weekend warrior.  So if you work full time and/or a lot of overtime, do you ride only on the weekends?  Is being a weekend warrior as bad as a lot of people make it sound?  I miss riding and I know Chrome needs the exercise for his stifles, but I'm terrified of hurting him.  I'll stop rambling.  Please share your thoughts!  I would really appreciate any advice.  Also because I know someone will mention it, having someone half lease him or come over to exercise him when I'm at work is not an option.  Thanks in advance!... [Read more]

Direct Link Look at how filthy my horse still is.  I'm glad for the rain because we've been in a bit of a drought (we were under a burn ban) but I'm so tired of the mud.... Anyway I'll update more after we've fed a bale or two out of it.... [Read more]

Just had to share my gross boy.  I hope you all are having a great weekend!... [Read more]

He's still as feral as ever.  I'm beginning to think the only way I'll be able to tame him is if I trap him in a stall.... maybe when we finish building the barn I can try it.  I just don't 100% trust him because he has kicked and threatened to bite before.  Hopefully if trucks and tractors will stop breaking and if animals will stop needing vets maybe I can get him gelded finally.  That should help.  I know someone who had a twenty something year old jack that they gelded and it completely changed his personality, even though he had been breeding for years.  Zep has never been bred so maybe the change will be even more drastic.  We shall see.... [Read more]