Winter Pony! My Brave Happy Boy!

I love this pony.  Namaste.  Rock on.

Easter 2011 in Texas!

Look at that mover and shaker!

Winter Pony! My Loyal Guy!

I love this pony.  And I know that he loves me.  We belong to each other! Namaste.

Easter 2011 in Texas!

Rock on!  Namaste.

Winter Pony! Improving My Training Skills

My little guy is a wonderful pony.  In lessons, he's just a true sport about going over ground poles and cavaletti.  Even if they are set for a distance for the likes of Parker or Pan, he just picks his distances and pops gracefully through them with his hind end engaged.  And he's so sweet about traffic and circling.  He's really coming along.  But I have not been the best trainer.  Though I am quiet and sweet to him and don't transmit fear or concern to him, I have not been working on a few things that I could and should.  I need to get his canter straightened out and sharpened up -- made more precise.  And I do need to start thinking of a way that I could help him learn a flying lead change.  I will put these on my list of tasks for him!

Easter 2011 in Texas!

Stephen, dressed in his best, just jumped up on a ledge and started booking.  He looked so sweet strolling up that hill on Easter morning.  Such a good boy!

Winter Pony! Violet and I Play!

So, because Violet's been on stall rest for part of January and February, we've been working hard to keep her active and happy.  She gets turned out in the indoor arena for a little bit each day which is not much, but at least is a little bit of time "out in the yard" for good behavior, poor thing.  Anyway, this past Friday, the 4th of February, I went out to the barn and was the only one there in the evening.  We had a happy time lunging and working all sorts of trotting and cantering circles.  But the real fun was early Sunday morning. I arrived at the barn and Jen had already put Violet in the indoor ring.  I went to visit her and Violet and I spent the happiest little hour, playing.  Violet is such an intelligent sweet girl.  She was happy to trot and canter and hand gallop around me in big looping circles, and she was happy to change directions quietly.  And she was happy to play the snort and run game when I acted like a tiger.  And she was happy to receive a massage.  Then I rode her and she was terrific, being happy and sweet and very bendy and flexible and giving on serpentines.  And we cantered and cantered and cantered with ease. And then she was happy for a parting grooming and massage session. 

But she will be most happy when she can finally be outdoors with her pals, enjoying her life as a horse should.  I do love my Violet.

Easter 2011 in Texas!

Namaste.

Winter Pony! My Good Patient!



So, here are February photos of my beautiful pony in a snowstorm.  He looks so happy with himself.  I don't have any photos of Violet in this storm because she was on stall rest and was on day 6 of her lockdown, poor thing.  I had Dr. Zimmerman visit her that Monday and he said that he could tell she was having an uncomplicated heal, but that she needed stall rest to let the scab do it's work.  He didn't want it getting knocked off or wet by being out in the snow and ice.  She knocked herself good on her coronary band, but did not damage to the hoof wall, so she'll be fine.  She has to wear bell boots all the time, but I am very happy with the soft gentle tuffrider boots.  I ordered a set of front ones for her.  And she's going to be on three months of Grand Hoof, just to make sure that her coronary band and hoof are okay and to get her through the slow-growing winter.  Her front hooves are pretty short from pawing and non-growth.  Anyway, she's such a good girl.  I just can't wait for her to get a chance at turnout again!

Easter 2011 in Texas!

I am glad for my sister and her family -- her husband is doing well, she is a wonderful mother, and the children are all happy and healthy.  And their home is so beautiful in such a lovely town.  But they live so far away.  I miss them very much.

Winter Pony! We Kiss and Make Up!

So, on Sunday, February 6th, I went to the barn in the morning to have another ride on my boy.  And he just trotted right up to me from his pasture with love in his face.  And he was happy about being saddled and ridden.  I lunged him a bit while Chloe and Belle were riding and something happened to scare all of us -- Renny jumped and tried to scoot away as Belle spooked into him and tipped off Chloe.  I was so impressed by how quickly he quieted down and was fine.  But then Tara and Mattie opened up one of the doors while I was putting away a lunge whip and Renny scooted again.  I was getting a bit worried that maybe he was channeling a new side of his personality, but when I got on him, he was his old sweet self!  We had a wonderful half hour ride and did working, collected and extended trots and precision halts and immediate trots from the halts and a lovely bending relaxed fluid serpentines and big figure 8s of relaxation.  And he was so darn happy to be in the arena with Belle and Mattie. He couldn't keep his eyes off the new girl.  And at one point, he was in a halt and we were facing Tara and Mattie in a halt and were just having a relaxed Sunday morning chat.  And I could just feel Renny's satisfaction.  We were back to being Team Renegade, after our disagreement the previous morning.  He walked back out to his pasture afterwards with his long happy stride and his head in a low hang of contentment.  He has crushes on some of the horsie girls in the barn, but he loves his grandma!

Easter 2011 in Texas!

Namaste!

Winter Pony! My Baby's First Tantrum!

This past Saturday, February 5th, we got a tremendous fast snowstorm with big happy gorgeaus flakes.  I was out at the barn for my morning lesson and by the time I was done riding Renny, we were just getting inches and inches of snow.  My drive home was in a whiteout of snow and it was sort of romantic, if scary.  But the fun thing was that Renny had his first temper tantrum in lessons.  He had to canter all by himself and he didn't really understand what I wanted.  He and I have to work on our upward transitions because I am making him less precise.  He has to move quietly upward from a nice collected trot into a happy agreeable canter.  He's happy to come down into a smooth trot, but we speed up like little demons when we go into the canter!  Something to work on.  Anyway, he got so mad at Grandma!  He kicked out several times to let her know that she's rude and he tossed his head and pinned his ears...but he did try his little heart out.  Everyone at lessons praised him and said that he had been perfect forever and they had wondered whether he had the spirit to be naughty.  Yes, he does!!  I told them that it was all trainer error!  My sweet little winter pony!

Easter 2011 in Texas!

Here they are in their Easter finery.  We were so happy to go to church with them.  And it was really funny because the Pastor was talking about Easter Sunday and how Christ called out to his disciplines, "Hello!" And little baby Stephen, who was sitting in the next to last row of this giant church, gave out a huge bit shoutout "hello" in response.  It was the best.  The best.  Namaste.