Re-united at last!

Blondie is starting to look great! Getting back up to weight and being very calm and willing. I thought that she might refuse or buck after getting on her because I haven't ridden her since July. With everything that she went through her attitude was a little more skittish and temperamental than usual. But she did better than ever! Almost as if she had never stopped being worked! I did have a little bit of mood from her when I asked her to canter, but I don't blame her. We're both out of shape!
My legs were shaking just from trotting! We did okay though for the first time in a long time. Now we can only move forward. I've also got several people asking about her sale ad too!

Makes me sick

 I got a phone call last month from the lady I leased Blondie to and she told me that she had gone up to Michigan, where the Breeders had her, and found her emaciated. She immediately loaded her onto a trailer and brought her back to Ohio where I am able to keep an eye on her. The Breeders completely neglected her and had told my leaser that she was gaining weight. Does it look like she's gaining weight to you?! Blondie, being a thoroughbred, is not an easy keeper (meaning it's hard to keep weight on her), but she has never NEVER been this skinny before. Nor should she have ever become this skinny. The Breeders supposedly have grass pastures with knee-high grass.

So obviously, something is wrong here. Especially since they would not release the vet records from the check-ups she "supposedly" received after being bred. When my leaser gave me the phone call I immediately asked for the pictures they took of her, and boiling over, I got the address where she is now being kept under watchful eyes, and went to see her myself. Something in my guy had told me not to go along with the deal, but I gave in because I had no other options. Now I see that I should have followed my instincts. Knowing that this happened to MY horse (or any horse for that matter) completely sets me on fire. Blondie is an amazing creature. She should have never had to go through with this. I can tell you one thing, I WILL be contacting the Humane Society to report animal neglect. Blondie deserves some justice for this spite of cruelty.

Boy or Girl??

Blondie is believed to be in foal!! The tests haven't come back positive yet, but since she won't come back into heat, that very well could mean she has a baby on the way! If so, then she should give birth around the summer. I can't wait to see what the foal will look like :D this will be her first foal at 7 years old. I kinda wish I would have been able to breed her myself and keep the first foal, but life chose otherwise.

She is going up for sale again. My medical bills have been piling up on my desk with no way to get rid of them. Sooooo despite my efforts to keep her, I made the decision to put her up for sale again. There's no way I'll be able to pay for her with the debt I already have to pay off thanks to my trips to the hospital these past 2 months.

IF she does sell, I will never buy another horse again. I will continue riding, but no more horse. Ever. No horse would ever be able to fill the gap that belonged to Blondie. She was the one horse for me. That can't be undone.

Leased!

I leased Blondie to a VERY helpful and generous lady named Amanda (how ironic). She is going to breed her within the next 18 months (that's how long the lease is) and she will be the owner of Blondie's foal while I will then have Blondie back in my possession. Amanda heard about my situation of desperately putting Blondie up for sale from my barn manager and did this HUGE favor for me so that I wouldn't have to sell her!! Thank you Amanda!!!!!!!

**Blondie won't be back until sometime in late August, when I will already be enrolled in the University of Findlay**

A picture is worth a thousand words..and then some

Edits

That moment...when nothing else matters

Blondie. Always there when I need her. Always calm, thoughtful, precise. When others watch you ride, it happens in the blink of an eye. But when you're the one in the saddle, gripping the reins and moving in motion with the horse, years pass by. And you never want it to end. Never.

Blondie Jumping

Blondie Jumping - Celebrity Skin

Perfect weather for riding! Attitude? not so much..

Took my younger sister to the barn to film some riding for a college video. The weather was in our favor with a nice breeze for a day in the middle of summer. Jeans didn't even make me sweat. Blondie's feet looked great today so we went ahead and jumped. She was in a really good mood in the beginning, but that slowly turned around when we started jumping. She did fine over the first jumps, a little over-jumping, but nothing bad. Then it started getting hot and she started getting lazy, trying everything in her bag of tricks to get me to end the riding session early; sidestepping, bunny hopping, lowering her head, running out. It took forever to get her to give me one last good jump and I wasn't going to leave on a bad one!! The bad thing is we're both stubborn, so it took forever for us to work "together" to get the jump we needed. ugh.

Sore Feet

Blondie's feet haven't been looking so great lately. A visit from the farrier this past week told me that she had bacteria build up in her hoof wall that needed to be taken care of. I've been putting hoof oil on her feet for awhile but had no idea that her hoof was much worse than I thought. So I went to the store and picked up some bleach and hydrogen peroxide to make my own cheap hoof-soaking mix. It has been working to get rid of the bacteria so far. Blondie loves the soaking sessions, amazingly, so far. I expected her to be more difficult, but using a small, square soaking bucket that gives her foot lots of room and is shallow enough to not to unsettle her, seems to be in her favor. I can even groom her all over while she soaks her hooves and she just stands there. Mission accomplished! Now I just need to get her set up with the chiropractor to fix her overreaching. I've noticed she's been a little tight in her hindquarters and a little touchy when I clean out her back, right hoof. Let's hope the chiropractor pays off.

Join Up - ACHIEVED!!!!!!!!!!!!

Blondie is losing her winter fur, showing a leaner build, and looking better than ever. I haven't been out to the barn much thanks to work, but the other day Blondie learned how to be a horse again :) 

After several attempts to get her to join up, on April 5th, 2012 I achieved join up with Blondie. 

I felt like she finally connected with the deeper part of my soul. Sure, you can get attached to an animal, just like a person, but you're never really "one." 

But Blondie and I are. 

I also got accepted into both colleges I wanted. Got scholarships to both. And I like both. It's going to be a very hard decision. But whatever is best for Blondie will be my choice.

Don't Let Go

College Video

Blondie and I worked on some riding for our college video! The weather was amazing today; no snow, no rain, and no wind. Perfect day to ride. She was very calm today, but still didn't want to listen. She's always trying to work her way up the hill so she can see her buddies. I'm trying to break her of that habit. AND of becoming barn sour. I can't have a barn sour horse!!

     But she did fairly well for not being worked all week. We did transition work from walk to trot and trot to canter. As always, she needs some practice with the trot to canter. I'm also working on the walk to canter with her. I wish I could have learned how to do the half pass sooner so that I could put it in my riding video. Oh well. I also got my sis to ride her!!! I hope to get more video of her this weekend and make a final video that includes jumping! If I get footage from a couple days, instead of just one, chances are some days will be better than others; meaning my riding will be better and give me a better chance of being accepted to a college!!!

Day to Day

I try to visit Blondie whenever I can now. I went to the barn the other day, practically forcing my internal self to go. I was so worn out that I wanted to lay around all day. I realized I was starting to lose sight of my passion, life, and dream. SO I got my lazy butt up and went for a ride. Good thing I did because Blondie needed it...and so did I.

Getting into a good riding college is becoming tricky. I don't have any way to make a riding video, which is what they need. Nor do I have the leg strength I used to in order to ride like I used to. I'm afraid I'd look loose in the saddle and choppy in my posting that they'd throw the video out anyways. I'm a little stuck on where to go from here. Blondie's okay. She has the talent to take her anywhere. I just wish I could jump her more often to keep her fit and constant with her training. On top of that, she loves to jump so the snow isn't making it any easier. BUT we are almost PERFECTLY in sync. I'm getting used to her different "speeds" and rhythms. I feel closer to her after every ride. 

My barn manager wants me to come out more often during the week so I can work horses for her, but I work 6 days a week on top of school. I'm not really sure what to do. I spend my days-off mucking stalls for a discount on board and it usually takes me till the sun goes down. It's like I don't have enough hours in one day to do anything anymore and I absolutely hate it! I just can't wait until I graduate so I can spend all day at the barn! 

   

     Also, I really want to make t-shirts for the barn! The last barn I rode at sold t-shirts and hoodies with the stable logo and name on it for riders. It makes it feel like a real place with a family of horse people. I just want everyone at the barn to feel that way, connected and belonging to something. A place of their own, so to speak. And the barn is that place. 

     I'm not really sure what the logo would be without speaking to the barn manager for ideas, but it supposed to be a surprise so I'm in a pickle. Of course it has to have a horse on it and represent our barn specifically somehow, but I'm not sure what yet. Guess I better break out the sketchbook and get started?

The Ups and Downs

Working 24/7 can really take a toll on you. Especially when you're still a high schooler with other commitments you have to follow while trying to keep the rest of your life in order. I never have time to clean my room, do laundry, or care for my other pets (cat and rabbit). I'm either working to keep my horse, cleaning stalls to keep my horse, or struggling in school to get into a good college with my horse. There are a lot of expectations people have been putting on me, and I'm sorry to say, but I can't please everyone. My dad always wants us to visit, my teachers expect me to be some great 4.0 student when I can't anymore, my barn manager needs me to clean stalls all the time, work usually takes up 6 days a week, my dog and other animals require attention, and I never have time to take care of my own personal things. I'm starting to get a feel for the "real" world. 

     One thing I'm dead set on is never having kids. I can put up with animals on top of all the stress, but I'm not a people person. Plus, if I want to own my own stable in the future, I need all the money I can get. Kids are too expensive. Speaking of which, Blondie destroyed her NEW winter blanket all in one day. Demolished, totaled. I get the honor of buying her a new one and waiting until next month to make another payment on her loan. Ugh. She also got her shoes done on Jan. 5th which made her walk better. The barn manager said she could wait to get her feet done, but when it comes to horse feet, it doesn't pay to wait. So I shelled out some more cash and got it out of the way. 

     I also took my three younger sisters to the barn the other day to get them out of the house. I let them each ride my horse and for one of them (in the picture) it was her first time on a horse. Being the oldest sister it's always heartwarming to see them giggling and laughing. Especially around horses :) It was nice to share my world with them.