The Light!

AHHH!! Finally a good day! You know how I was like when we finally get something right it makes it all worth it!? Well, I will write this here so that the next time I'm all upset about my horse being a baby I can see that in the end it is so worth it. When you have that one good ride, that bonding moment, and see just how amazing it feels, it makes it soo worth it.

Duncan has been spooking at this one stupid side of the arena, and we've just been working him through it. Yesterday when I went in I was happy to see him and decided that I needed to ride (when though I had a broken boot). So my friend duct taped it up and we headed into the arena. He didn't spook once at the door, and even worked well with 2 other horses in the ring. Emma was riding Rosie and Rosie got scared in the same spot Duncan did and bucked and Mr. Duncan trotted right on by, not even batting an eye lid. I was having so much fun riding him I looked down and saw how sweaty he was. I didn't even want to stop :) Great ride!

Bang it Out

Just ride, everyday and see where it goes. Try as hard as you can. Try when you don't want to; when you think there is nothing left to give. Just try.

It's Not Easy Training Greeny

Well stupid blogger deleted everything I said, further enhancing my bad mood. Whatever blogger.

Anyways, this will be worth it someday. This will pay off. I will have fun riding again. I will enjoy him someday, and we will have a good relationship in the end. Right?

5 Things I LOVE about him :)

1.) He doesn't have a mean bone in his body! He's amazingly sweet.

2.) How responsive he is to me. How what I say really does matter to him. He isn't some school lesson horse who does his job, he listens to me, and I teach him. What I do matters, and how I do it matters even more.

3.) How far we have come. It's the little things I love. How when I tack up I'm not worried about him spooking anymore. He doesn't break cross ties. He listens if I say no. I can trust him, and I never used to.

4.) His ability to say no. He doesn't let me brain wash him into doing anything. Because when he does do something, he really wants to, and gives me his heart.

5.) How amazing it feels when we get something right. Like no other feeling in the world.

My bad mood is now gone :)))

Updates

Went to an interesting feed clinic yesterday. These are the phone notes I took:
Don't feed grain 3 hrs before show, but allow hay and water until you ride
Provides energy with fiber in hay
Round bales are good, especially in winter
1% if body weight in hay if in diet 2%\3% if regular 
Hives you feed omega 3 or 6? 
Corn oil puts weight on, but veggie oil works better. Use oil and not Alpha cubes or whatever
Feet not holding up, bad coat, means bad immunity 
Vitamin a d and e are important 
Grain=extra energy 
Feed a lot of forage 
Feed a balanced diet and follow feeding directions
 Poor diet results in immune probs
 Energy=carbs

Other than that Duncan has been good lately. Working on some more advanced stuff. It is pretty fun. I think we may be moving soon, which is stressful for me. I really hope it doesn't delay progress even more, but the more places he sees the better it is. I think the indoor will be a lot better as well. For now we will stay where we are, and keep working. 

New Things

I AM SO HAPPY THE SADDLE FITTER CAME OUT TODAY!!! I was thinking I had to buy a new saddle, and that mine would never fit. It was really stressful. This saddle doctor was amazing! She was from Great Britain, well her history was even more amazing - she was born in the U.S, moved to South Africa and then moved to Great Britain. She used to be a diplomat and her husband was some head of the CIA. Like can your life get any cooler? She studied horses and saddle fitting in all of the places she traveled, and it gave her an amazing view and knowledge. She most recently has worked for Lauren, on the American eventing team. She was fitting someone else's saddle, but I asked her some brief questions about my saddle. She looked at Duncan and explained how we define a high withered in the saddle fitting world as negative space. It means his ribcage is lower than the wither, and the space between the top of his rib cage and the top of the wither is just tissue, and you have to have padding to fill it. She gave me this pad called pro light and it is the best bounce pad I have ever seen. It feels so amazing, and has inserts you can take in and out. It has been extensively tested in GB and all of their event team riders used this in the Olympics! Fingers crossed Duncan likes it! Pretty awesome! She left hers with me to try out too :)