Horse Hunting :)

I never thought this day would come... or at least not so soon. It has been a dream of mine since I joined a local riding school in 2004 (or was it in 2003... it seems so long ago!). However, things just wasn't working out at the time and I got by riding riding school ponies and horses owned by other people. This journey has led me to meet some very interesting horses, and ponies, and have taught me a lot.

Imagine the excitement and joy when my dad finally decided to buy me my first horse as my 21st B-day present :) I was over joyed. The excitement was constantly threatened by some hiccups along the way, but I stuck through it and am one step away from my dream.

At first I was given a chance to get a 7 year old Arabian mare for “free”. The owner valued her at around R15000 and would have had to for her owner to pay her off. I had grown very attached to this mare, because she wasn't the easiest horse to work with and I love challenges! She had been abused before and had very little training, but I just fell in love with her from the first minute I saw her. I was very tempted to take her, but after a lot of thinking I decided not to take her. There was just too much at stake and I wasn't quite sure what I would be getting myself into (with the owners that is). All I will say is that you get some dodgy, greedy people in the horse industry.

So the hunting started... and how very exciting and educational it was! I had a very good friend help me with my search, giving me opinions on conformation etc. And eventually found the perfect horse for me...

Before I talk of my chosen horse I thought I would first show some horses that were available at the time. My heart was set on getting a TB, relatively young, something between the ages 3 and 5 and at least 16h.h.

The first horse I found was a beautiful dapple grey gelding. He was absolutely stunning! However, he got sold before I could make an offer (I'm not surprised though!). He was more or less what I was looking for in my horse and so set a very high goal for the other horses to meet :)


Ain't he stunning!

The very same owners had a couple of other Tbs for sale and I saw a couple that looked promising, but I wanted to wait a little longer. These owners take Tbs off the track and then rehab them for a bit before selling them. They have gotten some lovely Tbs off the track in the past, so I was willing to wait. At the time 2 of their horses caught my eye.





At some point they had a lovely light bay mare for sale. His conformation wasn't what I was looking for, but I loved his colour. It was just something different to the usuall bay and chestnut colours.


Do you see what I mean about her colour?

Then I saw my boy! He is a dark bay, 4 year old gelding standing at 16h.h. He has an honest looking face with a real sparkle in his eye. His conformation is as good as it will get for me so I decided that he was the one :)





If all goes well he will be coming to me end January the latest... so fingers crossed!

The Importance of Saddle Fitting

I recently bought the latest issue of the HQ (a South African Equestrian magazine) and found a very interesting article on saddle fitting. The article was about Norman Hyett (ECBS.ESEBT UK Qualified Saddle Fitter) and the saddle awareness workshops he hosts. I've been rather interested in the biomechanics of the horse's back, especially how the rider and the saddle influence/affect it. The more I've been learning on the topic, the more I have become to realize how important a correctly fitting saddle is. It is amazing how something so “small” can have such a BIG affect on your horse way of going and its wellbeing. Here is what I found most interesting in the given article:

(Note: the text written in italics are my thoughts and not necessarily that of Norman)

Modern Materials

Most modern saddles are made with plastic trees. This is not necessarily something to be afraid of. Old saddle are made from wood that can bent out of shape throughout the saddle making process.

Does this mean that plastic trees are less likely to loose its shape when compared to a wooden one?

Uneven Padding Causes Muscle Tension

The flocking used to stuff a saddle is very important. Balling up of flocking causes lumps underneath the saddle which will be uncomfortable for the horse and lead to uneven weight distribution. One must be careful not to over flock a saddle, because it makes the saddle harder and more unbalanced. “A harder, more padded-out area of the saddle will create rigidity that the horse will brace against- hardening the muscle against it”. However, atrophy of muscles are more likely to occur on the side (or areas) that do not press down hard on the horse. This is because the horse does not use the muscles on that side (or in that area). To fix this problem the saddle must be fitted evenly and the problem area be padded out to allow enough room for the muscles to develop. The saddle must then be checked regularly. The pads are eventually removed once the muscles have developed evenly.

Fit For The Future

The saddle must always be fitted where you expect the horse to be. In other words the saddle must not be fitted to fit the horses as he is now. A narrow saddle will atrophy the muscles either side of the withers (because the muscles do not have room to expand) and inhibit free movement of the shoulders.

The Young Horse

It is not advisable to use any old saddle for lunging a young horse. If the saddle doesn't fit the horse correctly it can put it off saddles for life and even cause damage to the back. I for one believe this. Remember that young horses have weaker and more vulnerable backs than older horses. A young horse's saddle will have to be checked regularly because it will be developing muscle as it trains. However, this is true for horses of all ages.

Girths and Stirrup Leathers

It is best to have stirrup leathers that don't stretch. This helps prevent uneven wear of the saddle. The correct length of girth should be used. The ideal is for a girth that will be on the 3rd or 4rth hole when tightened. Always make sure to tighten the girth equally from both sides to prevent uneven wear and/or pressure. Guard against over-tightening the girth as it can lead to nerve damage. Avoid girths that have one end elasticated will cause uneven pressure on the horse's back (one side pulled down more), resulting in muscle damage. A girth that is elasticated on both ends would be better.

A new beginning :)

I haven't blogged in ages. The main reason for this is because we recently moved to a new town where I will be going to University :) The internet has been a royal pain in the BUTT and has taught me the value of patience... or at least I hope so. Anyway, we have now managed to get internet that is a little better and faster, so now I can blog again! Yipee!!!

I really suck at blogging. I never really know what to say and when I do know what to say I never know how to begin. BUT, I'm doing it anyway. After having watched the movie Julia & Julia, I 've been thinking to change my blog a bit. I will still be typing about my journey with horses, but i wanted to make it something interesting... something some people could use.

So, here goes...

Going back to the topic of moving and University... I am FINALLY (after 3 years of waiting) going to University! I am so excited. I will be studying Equine Science (duh!). I am very amped for it and can't wait to start. This is what I have been waiting for... a chance to learn even more about horses and in greater detail. I've been doing my SANEF modules (it's like South Africa's version of the BHS exams) and found it fun, but not challenging enough. And I don't really seem to see myself as a teacher, even with others reminding me otherwise (to this day I still have "students" writing to me and saying how much the miss me... and I'm only 21!). However, I will see to complete my first level in the distant future.

Anyway, so that was part one of my blog. The second part will consist of my horse! Yes, I am getting my own horse. Finally!!! It is like a dream come true :) I have found the perfect hrse to start with. It is a TB (since they are easy to come by and make good all rounders), dark bay, 4 year old gelding. I fell in love with him the second I saw him :) At the moment he is still by his old owners and will only come up next month when I pay the rest of his fee. I will be keeping all of you updated on our training together. I will be attempting to combine Natural Horsemanship and Traditional horsemanship together, a lot like what Karen Rolhf does. More on this later ;)

So, this is it for my first blog in what seems to have been FOREVER. Stay tuned for my next blog!!!!

A Merry Xmis for everyone!!!!!!!

Testing

Testing Testing Testing Testing

Hello, it's me :)

It has been a VERY long time since I have had the patience to sit down and type something for my blog. If I had any sense in me, I would say that I am lazy, but that would be me just being hard on myself. Usually, about 90 % of the time, I'm actually busy with something. I hardly sit still for a moment, but when I do I'm not in the mood to type away on a keyboard (that and I never know what to say or where to start). Yet, I really want to start blogging about what I am up to :)

Anyway, so lets start with what I've been doing this past 6 months. I spent most of it at a private dressage stable which is run by the very people that first taught me to ride! I was really excited to run into them again, even more so when I was allowed to work there for a bit. As usual, I didn't get paid for my work, but got riding lessons etc. I even had the honor of taking a Lippizaner x Thoroughbred schoolmaster to a show (this was the best show ever!!!!!). My days would start of around 7 am and end at 6 pm. My daily work involved feeding, grooming, lunging and riding the horses. I also went as a groom to shows when I wasn't riding myself.

After having worked at a dressage yard, I have a little more respect for this discipline than what I initially had. I was shown that there are people out there that does it correctly without having to compromise the horse at all.

My family and I have now moved up to Pretoria which is approximately 1400km (870 miles) from where we lived. As per usual I found myself a horsey place to go work at. The owner is a very friendly lady. She used to be an endurance rider when she was younger. She is now a qualified child psychiatrist and uses horses, more specifically miniatures, to help them. At the moment she has 26 horses of which 6 are miniatures. The rest are Arabians and Arabian crosses with one Welsh pony.

At first I was a bit apprehensive about working with these horses. Firstly because they are Arabians (they are a feisty breed!), secondly because some of them are a handful, and thirdly because some of them have little experience under saddle. However, I am going to give it a shot and see what I can do with the lot of them.

I am still torn between following a natural approach or a traditional approach. If I had a horse of my own I would do Parelli with it all the way, incorporating just a little bit of traditional riding into it. I have found Parelli to be something that works for me and the horses I used it on seemed happy to me (they sure looked it!). However, I still believe in the values of lunging as long as it is done correctly. And I have seen horses that sorrowly need a bit of lunging to get them to carry themselves better. I cringe every time I see a horse carrying a rider while hollowing its back and bracing its neck. It looks so painful! I just wish I could find a way to mix natural horsemanship with traditional horsemanship. The question is how much of each to use??? Trust me to get myself mentally entangled :@ !!!!!

Well, this is all I have for now, but I will write some more later ;)

Keep it horsey, lol !!!

Sockies :)

Life is good this side :)

I have been working really hard with the horses and am learning loads every day :) I have been "given" a horse to ride for the time being. She's a tiny little "farm" horse... a beautiful bay mare. I really like her. She's very tricky to ride. You have to be VERY soft with your hands and use your legs and seat more than anything else. She's teaching me so much!



Working for these people have really showed me how much I still need to learn about riding. They are helping me to improve my seat, teaching me all the basics. I don't seem sit evenly in the saddle and tend to fall in to the inside, especially when riding circles. I also seem to tense up in my upper leg ( a terrible habit I need to break). It will take a lot of work to get my seat sorted, but I WILL get it right :)

If all goes well I will be taking Sockies to a small show in April. I can't wait! I would love to do a dressage class on her. She moves so beautifully when I ride properly! Well keep everyone updated on our "training". For the next week we need to take it slow though, because she got her seconds AHS shot and must not sweat. But after all that we will be in full work :)

I am also studying like mad when ever I find the time to. I have my third stable management exam on the 20th of March. This is one of the biggest exams by far. There is so much we need to know! I really want to do well!!! I passed my first two exams with 84 percent, but want to do even better with the next one. Fingers crossed!

Tum Tum Tum :)

It has been a loooooooooooong time since my last post. So I managed to find Joy a good home. She has settled in and is loving her new home. I couldn't have found her a better home.

Anyway, so we recently moved down to a little town (well it is more like a fisher's village). I got back into touch with some old friends of ours and got given the opportunity to work by them. They run a dressage/ training yard and was in need of some help (the wife had broken her arm two days earlier). At first I was very nervous, because they are REALLY good at what they do and I really wanted to impress them. They taught me how to lunge, properly, and lunged me to see how my seat was. They seemed to see some hope for me and “hired” me :) They needed the help. The wife has six horses to work on everyday!

BTW, they were the people who first taught me to ride! Even chose my first pony for me back in the day :)

Currently our focus is on three horses in particular: Sion, Llywd and Kishma. Sion is a little Welsh Cob (a cute little pony!). Llywd is a 14.3 h.h. Welsh Cob X Arab (the most docile horse I have ever come across). Kishma is Boerperd (very sensitive).

Sion is struggling with some confidence issues. He was apparently doing fine until a little girl fell off him. Ever since then he has been very spooky and very saved to have a rider on. I can see how some Parelli can help him, so I am slowly throwing some Parelli in the mix. Today I just played around with draw with the halter. He usually turns his head away when the halter is put on. I tried to get him curious enough to tough the halter. With some persistent approach and retreat I got him to sniff it, but he would move his head away again (like he can look at it but then needs to feel safe again). I also did some flexion, getting him to move his head towards his shoulder. I am hoping playing around with this will help him some. It is as much Parelli as I can do for now .

Llywd is VERY lazy but so cute! He is so calm and can't be bothered by anything. Lunging him is a bit of a mission. At times it takes two people to get him going! He is learning though :)

I am so tired writing this. Today we managed to work 6 horses in total! Anyway, I just thought I would write again :)

My goals for 2010

So these are my goals for this year. This is the first time I've done this to be honest. It will be interesting to see how much I will get accomplished at the end of the year :)

1. Save up for the NEW Parelli levels packs!!! A W S O M E N E S S

I am really excited about the new parelli levels. I am dying to get my hands on them, but will have to wait :(
What is really cool is that they now have a level 4 on DVD! I wonder what this looks like :p I have seen some photos of what level 4 students are doing and it looks really interesting!

2. Complete an equine physiotherapy course

This involves me ordering the books, self studying NOW, attending the 5 day course and doing my practical. This is my BIGGEST goal for the year. Since we will only be moving over to the USA later this year (not sure when, hopefully April) I decided not to waste money going to University this year. In my opinion I will rather wait one more year and start when I am in the USA. I have been wanting to do this course for a while now. I definitely want to go into this direction with horses. Fingers crossed!!!!!

3. Complete my SANEF Module 2

I'm still debating on this one. My last attempt really put me off BIG time. Why? Well, because the people are bloody disorganized, full of shit and can't do their jobs properly. My application was never sent through and when it came to exam day they didn't have a spot for me. Luckily, they organized an examiner for me (they better have!) and I got to do my exam. The longing was my biggest worry. I did okay, but don't know if I did well enough to pass. So, IF I get my results I will know if I have to redo my module 2 AGAIN. At the moment I don't think I will go again if I don't pass.

4. Start writing a novel

Em... I got these ideas for a novel. This will be a first for me :)

5. Get my own horse and do only parelli :)

A long shot, but you never know! I hope to eventually get my own horse. When I do I will start working towards my Parelli levels. And I will only do parelli. I have had enough of the traditional part of horses (no offense to anyone). However, it doesn't mean that I won't have any interest in traditional riding. I still believe in the classical seat and way of riding. This is just a personal journey :)

6. Get married

…. just kidding :p

Pictures of my holi :)

The naughty husky at the place where we stayed in Joburg.



Sasha the husky.



The room I stayed in, in Bloemfontein. Pretty :)



The garden. There is no fencing separating the garden from the moutain. Ona good day you will actually see all kinds of buck grazing on the mountain side.



This is by far he biggest cat I have ever seen. It is a Norwegian Forest cat. HUGE!!!!



This cat like playing with the tap :)



A garden inside the house. There is actually a waterwall, but you can't see it in this photo.



The whole house was filled with art. I love this sculpture one :)



This painting is in one of the guesthouse rooms. It is so cool.



Bibi the pretty kitty cat :)






The beautiful karoo






Pretty :)



Meiringspoort



Meiringspoort. This pass was absolutely stunning!!!!!!!



Beautiful sunset!



Misty :)

My holiday :)

Ok, so I will just share with you guys a little of my holiday. It wasn't the most amazing holiday ever, but I got to see some places that I only heard of in conversation. I also made a lot of friends :)

Note, this was my first bus trip on my own. I was REALLY nervous, because knowing myself, I was bound to get lost somehow. I could just picture myself getting off at the wrong bus station (believe me if it could happen, it would happen to me, lol). Fortunately, everything went well. It felt a bit odd sitting on top of the double decker bus, way in the front, feeling the bus tilt from side to side almost like a boat at sea. Yes, that is how bad the wind was the whole trip up to Joburg! It literally felt like the bus wanted to capsize :p You get used to it though. So, after a VERY long trip (close to 21 hours?) I finally arrived at the bus station (an hour late, I might add). Late but safe. Cool with me :) My friend found me and we left for another 2 hour drive to the little town where I was going to stay.

I stayed with a friend in a little town called Machadodorp. It's a very small town. Very green! Perfect for horses! I spent about 2 weeks there. I didn't get to do much besides going out a couple of nights, meeting friends and all. For reasons I won't mention I didn't get the chance to explore the area (which is b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l!). I don't care much for partying and clubbing (no offence to anyone that does) and really enjoy hiking and seeing everything. Like a nature person, just not all tree hugger like lol. There was this small town close by called Waterfall Boven (we called it Boven for short) which is soooooooooooo pretty and has a waterfall. I never got to go have a look (sob sob). So, this holiday was a slow one, but relaxing. I really needed it after a year of HARD work!!!

The day after christmas we left for our road trip back home. We decided to stay over in Joburg, then drive through and stay over in Bloemfontein and then doing the final stretch back to George.

The people we stayed with in Joburg (well, actually, a small town just outside Joburg called Boksburg). For reasons I won't mention,again cough cough, I was in a bad mood. Depressed would be a more accurate person. I was left alone with a house full of strangers all on my own. At this point I just wanted to be home. Luckily, these 'strangers' were really friendly and quickly made me feel right at home. Thank you guys!!! The had some really cool pets: 2 huskies, 1 playful hamster, 1 very friendly cat and a lot more. I loved the hamster :) So cute and cuddly!

Again, for reasons I can't mention (cough cough), we left for Bloemfontein really late. The trip to Bloem was easy enough. We folllowed the directions easily and got to our next stop something to 10 at night. The people we were staying with are friends of my dad (they baught many of my dad's art). Their house is massive!!!!!!!!!!!!! When morning came we got a chance to have a look at the house and it is beautiful! It is like the whole house itself is a piece of art. I wish I had a better camera to take photos with (me being blonde forgot mine at home so just had my phone). We also got to see the guest house. STUNNING! If ever anyone needs a place to stay in Bloemfontein, I'd say go there!!!

You can check out their website to have a look at their guest house :)

Anyway, so we got loaded with food for the road thanks to my dad's friends and left for George. They were even so kind as to get us a map and showing us what roads to take. Thank you! The trip went by really well. I got home safe and sound. I was just dead tired :)

All in all I enjoyed myself. I also believe that if I hadn't taken this holiday I wouldn't know what I know now (on a personaly level). I saw the place where I was born! Yes, I was a Bloem baby :) Of all the places I have visited this holi, Bloem is still my favourite. Home will be home.

I am BACK :)

I am finally back from my little holiday. I really enjoyed it; I met so many people, made so many friends and saw so many places. I will write a blog on it, but first need to finish unpacking :p

Thanks to my family I was able to get a vet to fill in Jot's passort yesterday :) Yes, I found my lovable pony a nice home. The family she is going to has two kids (one six and one 8, both girls). They own three horses, but want something small for the kids. I really jope Joy settles in without hassel.

My family had to trailer Joy to our local riding club to have her passport filled in. This was just to cut costs as it would have cost a fortune to call out the vet to our farm. I was very worried about the trailering. Joy had only been in a trailer twice since I have known her and the last time she put up a BIG fight. Thank goodness for parelli! My dad (being creative as ever,lol) build a a tunnel with tyres and poles to simulate a trailer. My sister played around with Joy getting her to go in and out. So, when the day came to actually load Joy it was a piece of cake compared to the previous encounter.

Joy was unloaded and met some of our riding club friends. Everyone loved my pony! Yes, she is CUTE (told ya :p he he). The vet commented that Joy has very interesting markings. I will see to post a photo of Joy's passport so you can see. Very interesting stuff :)

So,now, if everything goes to plan Joy will be leaving on Wednesday. I'm both sad and excited. This little pony really krept her way into my heart... GONNA MISS HER!!!!!

... tum tum tum :)

I had another great session with Joy again yesterday. Did more or less the same stuff as I did yesterday, but worked some more witht he plastic sheet. This time I used a smaller white one (thought a change in colour would be interesting, lol). I realy tried to push Joy's buttons to see if I can find any hints of her being worried about the tarp. I know it sounds mean, but Joy really couldn't care less :p She just stood there with this look of "mom, I think you forgot to take your pills this morning, maybe you should go lie down" :) I love my pony!!!

I had my sister ride her for a change. I thought Joy would benefit from having to cope with another rider. I showed my sister what I usually do, gave her some tips on how to use her aids :) My sister and Joy got along really well which is great, because I will be away for a few weeks and she will have to work Joy for me.

As I mentioned I will be going away for a few weeks. I am going on a short holiday with a friend. We not going anywhere special, just gonna go on a road trip through South Africa. I am really excited! I haven't seen much of my own country, so this will be very interesting :)

Unfortunately this will mean that I might not be able to post again soon. I will do my best to, but I don't know if I will have access to the interent :)

Until I blog again... Happy Holidays!

PONY :)

Hey there :)

I'm sorry for the delay in blogging... I have been so busy of late that I don't seem to get the chance to sit down in front of my computer ;)

So what have you missed? Well, I am still on the lookout for a home for Joy. There has been no development of any kind and it is getting to me, and not in a good way (lol). But I will keep on trying :p

Today I finally got the time to work with Joy again. I did work with her on Sunday, but that didn't go well at all. It is my fault though. I wasn't concentrating as much as I should have. I am glad to say that today's session was the best session we have had in a long time :) I played around with the parelli ground games... Joy has a very tricky horsenality. She is VERY dominant and doesn't seem to like being told what to do (at least not when you have her respect). And on top of that she gets offended very quickly, something I haven't come across before. For example, when I want to ask her to do something, like back up, she will walk forwards past me as if she wants to get the heck away. To not offend her I have to gently correct her in the right way which is very tricky. I'm learning how to get this right. This has been my greatest challenge with Joy. I have to learn how to assert myself and still be gentle and forgiving :p

Anyway, so today I thought I would try playing the games more naturally. My goal was to work on Joy's response to my "requests" and still have her enjoy being with me. I sat on the crate, which is always in the arena, and played the Yo-Yo game at first. She is really good at this game now... all I have to do is wiggle my finger!!! We did this a couple of ties and when things felt good I had Joy rest by me (still sitting on the crate). I took my carrot stick and played some friendly game. Joy just stood there all relaxed. She didn't mind me swinging the savvy string (attached to the carrot stick) onto her back.

The next thing I did was take Joy to the big blue plastic sheet (tarp). Joy loves playing with it! Today I thought I would see if I could get it onto her back. At first I had Joy check it out. As usual she just sniffed and pawed it. So I took it, rubbing it against her kegs. She didn't mind at all. I continued up her leg to her shoulder... still nothing. Next thing I know I have the tarp on her back... and NOTHING!!! She didn't care at all :) This got me wondering what else I could do with the sheet... I had Joy stand with the 12ft line on the ground (it wasn't tied or anything, just lying there). I started shaking the sheet while standing at her shoulder. When she looked okay I started walking around her shaking it. Joy just stood there :) I'm so proud of my pony!!!!

I also set up two trotting poles (spaced out for Joy walking over them). I used the squeeze game to get Joy to walk over them. This has been the game we have been working on lately, so using the trotting poles really helped me to stay focused. Joy didn't mind the poles... she just walked over them as if they were twigs :p

Our ground work was really good today and i left on a good note (yipeeee!!!!!!). For me the most important thing about my working sessions themselves is to have a session that ends well. It make both me and the horse feel like we have done ourselves proud.

After doing my groundwork with Joy I put on her bridle. At the moment I have her in a french link snaffle, with no noseband and clip on reins. I try to keep it nice and simple if I can. Anyway, so I put on the bridle with no fuss from Joy :) I hopped on bareback and we headed off to play the pushing passenger game. I haven't done this game in a while with Joy. It really was nice for a change to just follow Joy :) I let joy go where she wanted to, allowing her to stop when she needed to.

Eventually I got round to doing 15 minutes of follow the rail and freestyle riding. I started off just having Joy walk around the arena alongside the rail. She always starts off fighting to go to the centre, but today she was quite happy to follow my suggestion (could this have something to do with us having done the pushing passenger first?). I then started incorporating small circles. They start of quite big, but once Joy knows what I am asking they get smaller. We also walked over the trotting poles. She didn't mind them much, but she was a little bit difficult on the left rein (probably coz that's when we are facing away from home).

After 15 minutes I decided to hop off. Joy really behaved herself beautifully :) I couldn't have asked for more. It made me feel a little more positive about finding her a good home. She will make an awsome pony for kids :)



This photo was taken last week. The little girl and I thought we would make Joy all pretty :)

Update

I have been a little stressed lately. Joy has been advertised and, so far, I have only received two inquiries. I know this will take some time, but I only have 4 weeks to find her a home and this is week one. I'm praying for a miracle!

Anyway, my one friend asked me a sipmle question recently. She asked what my favourite breed was. I was surprised that I couldn't answer her immediately :p To be honest I don't really have a favourite breed. For me each horse is unique in their own special way.

But if I have to pick these would be my top 3:

My first would be the Boerperd. This breed is a very hardy breed. They have strong hooves and limbs. They can compete successfully in all disciplines making them good all rounders. They are known to be even tempered and gentle.



Hehe, I know this horse :) She is an SA Boerperd!

My second choice would be a Thoroughbred and Thoroughbred crosses. I still think they make excellent riding horses. I have only ridden a few, but I have seen what some f them can do in the showring :) Oh, and I love Thoroughbred cross Andalusians! That is an awsome cross!!!!

Thirdly, if I had to choose a Warmblood, I would choose a Trakehner. I don't know that much of the breed, but Linda Parelli's Allure got me hooked on the breed, lol.

Now, if I had to choose my favourite breed of pony there is only one breed that I really like and that is the Nooitgedagter. This is an South African pony breed (of course!). They get to around 15h.h but are excellent weight carriers. They have strong limbs and hooves, adapted for traveling on hard terrain. They are even tempered and make excellent childrens ponies :)





Mmmmmmmm, talking about horse breeds... I have been reading up on the Akhal Teke horses a bit and read that they are excellent endurance horses (able to survive very HARSH conditions). They are like the Thoroughbred of the desert. I wonder how this breed will compare to the Arabian in an endurance race? I would bet on the Akhal Teke :) There is rumors (can't say for sure if they are true) that the Arabian breed comes from the Akhal Teke.



Another breed I find rather fascinating is the Marwari. I love how their ears curl inwards!!!

Beautiful Rain :)

I woke up this morning hearing the sound of rain on our roof :) What a relief! Even though the rain won't be enough to fill the dams, it sure is a step in the right direction. I am hoping it will rain like this for the next few days, so, fingers crossed ;)



Just look at all the mist. I wish you could see the rain in the photo, but it isn't raining THAT hard.

I went to go feed our two equines and thought I'd take some pics :p The two of them were soaked, but didn't seem to mind (?). I guess they were enjoying the rain as much as we do. Regardless, I let them walk around the house just in case they would like some shelter (we have two shelters at the back of the house for them to use).



My Joy all pretty and wet :)



Renny all wet :)



Renny is a SA Warmblood cross American Saddler. She is only 2 and a half years old, but already a big girl. I won't be surprised if she turns out to be 17h.h like her dad :)



Joy taking shelter :) I love my pony!!!!




Last but not least my puppy (em, he was a puppy like 8 years ago, lol). He is my baby boy and I love him to bits! And he loves me too :p He is what we call a pavement special (aka a mut), but his looks and character makes up for his lack in pedigree. His mission in life is to become a wolf ;)

All clouds, but no rain :(

Hey :)

Well, our area has now officially been declared a drought disaster area. According to the newspapers we only have enough water to last us until end December, maybe January if we lucky! Scary stuff!!!

But I am a bit angry, because municipality should have seen this drought coming. All the signs were there, but they waited until it was glaringly obvious before enforcing water restrictions. My one friend has lived his whole life here and he says that our area has always had a history having 3 years of rain (including floods) followed by 3 years of drought. And now that I think about it, we have had a lot of flooding the past 2 years. Idiots! I am sure global warming is making the drought worse too. And if this is only the first year of drought then I don't know what it is going to be like the next 2 years! There is already talk that all water will be cut off from everyones houses and people will have to physically collect water at central points :o

We lucky here on the farm. We don't have piped water (shocking I know) and survive only on rain water. Yes, it is possible. Despite the drought we are doing good. We save as much water as we can. Bath water gets recycled to be used for tasks like washing the car, washing the dogs (lol), flushing the toilet and watering the grass :) The water we drink we buy from town.

Next door to us there is a diary farm. They are really feeling the heat of the drought. Their massive dam that they have is running extremely low. They never thought that would ever go dry... well now it is! If they don't have water to use on their pastures they won't have the grass for their hundreds of cow :( The sad thing is, the clouds are there, but it just doesn't want to rain! Stubborn clouds!!!!



The lovely green pastures belongs to the diary farm. You will be able to see what is left of the big dam.



Here is a close up of it. You can see the dry banks... now all of that use to be covered in water.



You can see the pretty clouds in this photo :( But they won't let go of those rain drops.


Anyway, so I finally posted an add for my pony Joy. I am waiting for the website to approve it (when they do i will post a link) and then I just have to wait and see :)

I went out this afternoon to take a few photos of Joy for the add. Poor thing had flies all over her face :( That is the only thing about living right next door to a diary farm- the flies!!! Well, as soon as I took a couple of photos I put Joy's fly mask on. And Renny's too. Renny (full name Serenity) is my friend's 2 year old. She is Joy's best friend :)



I love this photo of Joy :) She was posing for the camera ;p



My baby in her pretty pink fly mask! She was so happy when I put it on. No more flies :p



Renny playing Hide and Seek :)

Long time... no blog ;)

Hey

I've been itching to get writing on this blog, but I keep on finding myself either extremely busy or someone is using the computer :(

Anyway, so I have this little Welsh Cob X pony called Joy. She looks like Black Beauty, but only cuter :p She is black with three white socks and a star! And shiny as hell... in the sun, lol.

I got her because her previous owner didn't want her at all. The ass wanted to use her as a riding school pony and the poor thing was only 2 and a half at the time. I was supposed to train her for him, but how do you do that two a horse (em, pony) that's not even 3. I thought I would take it slow with her. She was a very nervous little thing. The owner, however, wanted her ready NOW. I didn't bother to go any faster :) She's young for goodness sake! Anyway, he ended up deciding to get rid off her. Not sell her... he just wanted to get rid of her NOW aka give her away. I felt so sorry for the little Joy and decided to take her myself :) Why not? She is young, hasn't had any training (no bad habits learned yet), good conformation and moves like a dream (so much potential!).

When she got to our farm she was VERY nervous. I had to leave her halter on to make sure I can even catch her! She didn't like people at all. At the time I was still working for the owner and didn't really have the time to start working her straight away. So I left her to graze on the farm and did the occasional "halter training" aka Parelli :p My family helped a lot too. They gave Joy (oh, and her half brother Jack who came with her to my farm to be trained) a lot of attention.

Joy is now a completely different pony! SHE LOVES ATTENTION and won't pass on the opportunity to get her bum scratched. You can touch her anywhere, even her face and ears which was impossible when we got her :)

About a month or two ago, I started backing her. I was expecting some fireworks considering she was a right brain (Parelli term, lol) when I got her. I rubbed the numnah over her... nothing. I put the saddle on... nothing. I got on her... nothing! She trusted me to the point where I could get on her with no fuss :) And in a halter!!!

We are now just doing basic training involving halt-walk-trot etc. transitions and turns. She has been doing extremely well :) I even had a little girl come ride her a bit and Joy behaved like a star!

So, back in the present now :) I was a little worried about Joy, because I found some heat in her right fore leg. She wasn't lame at all and there was hardly any swelling, but something just didn't feel right to me. Knowing how serious lower leg injuries are, I didn't want to take any chances. I've rested her for the past week. I sponged her leg down at least twice a day with icy water, applied ice man during the day and cooling clay at night. Looking at her this morning I would say she is looking good. When I called her this morning for breakfast she came cantering. When she trotted there was no bobbing head or signs of pain. Good.

I am now going to advertise Joy for sale. I have done as much as I can in terms of training. She is not nearly as well schooled as she could be, but she knows the basics and handles herself well with kids. I have less than two weeks to find her a new home (a stretch I know). I will be visiting a friend in Joburg on the 10th and will be staying there until January. And since we are moving end of December, I can't keep Joy. I am a little sad, but I know it is for the best. I am really gonna miss my baby girl :)

Hello there :)

Ok, so I have finally got this blog up and running. This will by my personal blog and I will talk about my life with horses, my journey to becoming a trainer (for now, lol) and much more.

I will just start off with my goals :)

Ever since I fell in love with horses, I knew I wanted to work with them for a living. I get too derpessed when having to spend a day without the smell of horses. Growing up I have come to realize that the horse industry is very BIG :) There are so many fields you can go into. So much to learn! I still don't know exactly what I want to do for a career. What I do know is that I enjoy training horses and find the whole process very fascinating. So, maybe I will go into this, even if just part time. The other career that has caught my eye is equine physiotherapy. I have always wanted to become a vet, but never had the tolerance for blood. Physiotherapy is a good alternative, I think :) There is also hydrotherapy and acupuncture!

Talking about horse training. I have been bitten by the natural horsemanship bug :) One of my goals is to get my parelli levels one day. To do that though, I have to have my own horse, which is my other goal.

I hope to one day own my very own horse :) So, far, I have been blessed with horses owned by others. I've looked after them, trained them and loved them. In return they have taught me everything I know today, preparing me for the day I get my own equine partner.

Anyway, I won't bore you guys further :)