Nostalgia;

"Throwback Thursday" always makes me extremely nostalgic, and because of this I started to try to figure out what exactly makes me nostalgic about the past. You can't really be nostalgic when you have future things to look forward to. I'm no longer nostalgic for my horses, or ponies, past, because I have three horses with fantastic futures to look forward to. I'm more excited for Dodger, Remi, and HR than I ever was for Splash or Cisco, Pony Finals included.

What's the absolute worst thing about nostalgia is that we're most often nostalgic for feelings.

What's the worst thing about my nostalgia is that I'm nostalgic for pain. I miss emotional pain so badly that I would go back to a time where I had it. I've become so numb to the idea of caring about someone that every boy in my life is so irrelevant and I'm beyond detached. I miss feeling something. I more than anything miss feeling something for the person that's single-handedly cause me the most emotional pain I've ever felt in my entire life.... excuse me while I call my own self stupid. 

This picture brings back so many memories it's ridiculous... and it was taken out of spite. 

That's nostalgia, my friends. Everyone speaks of this "nostalgia" with somewhat high regards... but it's shitty. It's miss the things you can't go back to. It's the things you lost. 

-3

My Home Run

Sorry for my absence, but my composition class I'm taking this semester has re-inspired me to write on a daily basis.... and what better way to force myself to sit down and write than by writing about my horses on a daily basis.

So expect to hear more from me and my daily (or semi-daily) struggles.

With that being said.... I'd like to introduce my newest struggle:

So it's not the most flattering picture of either of us, but it shows how to-die-for in love I am with him and I think he's an excellent addition to my pack of equines. 

However, he's definitely a challenge. I have a new job (I'll explain in future posts) that is basically how I stumbled across this guy and how it worked out well enough that I'm blessed and fortunate enough to take on a third horse in full training (dear God).... cue struggle #1, college senior with three horses (spread across two different barns) and a full time schedule. 

Struggle #2 is that he's completely different than any horse I've ever worked with. He's an Off-Track Thoroughbred... which sure yeah he's green but he's a drastically DIFFERENT kind of green. Where most of the horses I've trained have been uninfluenced by any training, I have the task of re-training him from track horse to hunter/jumper. WOO.

Sarcasm aside, I'm extremely excited about him and what his future holds regardless of which ring he ends up in.... and also eternally grateful for my patient mother who follows me into the depths of my horse ventures!

-3

Horse Show Prep;

So today I'm prepping to leave for a show with Remi AND Dodger! So excited to have him back in the ring this weekend, even though the forecast is calling for rain :[ And since I'm showing them in the same division, my sister gets to hack Remi which she's about to die over haha

And some of you are aware of my extreme OCD organization issues and so at age 21 I still make lists for every horse show; but on the plus side I rarely ever forget anything!

Dodger:

• Bridle
• Saddle
• Martingale
• Girth
• Show halter
• Show Pad
• 2 Baby pads
• Neck stretcher
• Equifit Open-Fronts
• Ankle Boots
• Black Polos
• Pillow Wraps
• No bows
• Standing Wraps
• Stable sheet
• Poultice
• Poultice Paper
• Liniment

Remi:

• Show Bridle
• Figure-8 Bridle with Elevator
• Segunda D-Ring
• Martingale
• Girth
• Show Pad
• 2 Baby Pads
• Pillow Wraps
• Standing Wraps
• Stable Sheet
• Show halter

General:

• 4 water buckets
• 4 bucket straps
• Dodger's feed bucket
• Remi's feeder + attachment straps
• Bucket Covers
• 1 bale Coastal Hay
• Remi's Feed
• Dodger's Feed
• UlcerGuard
• Lunge Line
• Lunge Whip
• Fly Spray
• Tail Detangler
• Tack Trunk
• Halter Hooks

:[

so update:
my boyfriend and I broke up...
that's all I have to say right now.


and exams this week. fantastic.
-3

exposur3;

So almost a week late and I'm finally getting picture up from the Aiken Spring Classic Finale. I've finally picked a favorite:

I just like the lighting. It was after the show was over on Thursday and my friend was hacking and everything was so quiet. I feel like the photo is quiet. Like there's nothing interfering with the horse and rider. 

That is until the water truck came and sprayed me while I was sitting on the fence... photographer problems.

Just to compare the last photo to something, this would be the chaos of the show bustle that the first picture lacks. A intimate moment is rare at a horse show and I just like the picture.

Lame explanation I know.

If you'd like to see some more of my photography you can visit my photography blog here: 

http://equinefocus.tumblr.com/

and also on facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Equine-Focus/561314737242764?ref=hl

That's all I have for now. I have some more personal horse updates but I'll handle those over the weekend.

-3

WTR

As my semester classes came to a close, i switched from one grind to the next.
Instead of homework, it's not desk work (mixed in with some last minute exam studying before my two finals).
So for the summer, aside from beaching it up every possible chance I have (which is not much) my schedule will be consumed with WTR'ing. Work. Tan. Ride.
Aka nothing will be very interesting. I realize I've been MIA here, and actually someone brought it to my attention, but all of my social networks have suffered neglect over the last month of college work hell. I'm back though!
-3

mini rant/

it bothers me so badly when people on YouTube eventually get thousands of subscribers and then they turn into diva trolls.

I talk to basically anyone and appreciate everyone that has the desire to follow me. Every single person counts.

People that bash how other people edit are scum.

Sorry I haven't been on in awhile.... it's the end of the Semester and I'm dying a slow, painful death.

PEACE.
-3

catch ride;

I want so badly to find a catch ride for this nugget for the Camden Spring Classic.

I feel like all his talent is wasting. I wish I could get him qualified and either sell him or let Sarah take him as a green this year. I honestly don't even care if he places I just want to take him and be a part of it. He's so freaking talented. 

I dreamed last night that I got to take him to Pony Finals. And then I woke up and realized how shitty it is to be an adult. I freaking hate it. I just want to go back to my pony days. :[

Stuck in that pony daze.

-3

pet-peeve;

I've hauled horses a lot this week, and aside from people pulling out in front of of you just because you're pulling horses, but they also love to TAILGATE.

I've decided that I'm getting a custom bumper sticker made for my new trailer that reads:

CAUTION SHOW HORSES

(meaning you'd have to sell your car to replace them)

too much?

Oh well, hopefully it gets the point across.

/endrant

-3

PS- I've had a super busy week, I'll be posting about my lesson on Remi and what's going on this weekend soon! Spring Break is almost over :[

Official announcement:

Splash has officially rejoined our family for the 2013 show season. My sister is leasing him and taking him to Pony Finals this year and she's super excited! They're great together!!
-3

re-dubut;

So I took Dodger to a small schooling show this weekend and was amazing.

He had a few breakdowns, but nothing major.

He hacked really well on Friday after a very energetic lunge:

and needless to say he attracted a lot of attention all weekend. I seriously got so many compliments on him and of course it made me happy :3

And then at the end  of Saturday we celebrated the big baby's birthday! He turned 6! And all his buddies were at his party and they got to eat cake before we al headed home. 

Left to Right:

Woody, Dodger, Cowboy, and Splash

It was a great weekend! Can't wait to actually show him next month!!

-3

college lyfe;

If I could morally discourage you away from college I would. It's so overwhelming 99% of the time.... and I'm a junior. If they tell you that you'll figure it out... you won't. It's an impossible system of bust your ass or fail.

I'm an A student. I've always been an A student. I personally don't accept anything less from myself. I want to succeed. I have this great picture driven by ambition that if I study harder, or plan better I'll get it all done. FALSE. 

Sometimes stress takes the wheel and you cartwheel out of control.
Today was a stress day.
Thankfully I got to hack Dodger for a whopping 20 minutes + a 10 minute lunge. It was a second to relax... but even then I was more focused on school work.

Tomorrow will be better. I'm giving my first "constructive criticism" type thing. It's not a lesson. I'm just helping a local girl with some of my knowledge on green horses. It'll be something new, and something else to add to my agenda; but new is good. And "I'll make time."

But I'm excited about it.

I also have to bake three dozen cookies and a horse-safe birthday cake for Dodger's birthday party on Friday/Saturday, and I promised my roommate I'd make my famous Eggplant Parmesan tomorrow night. And I have to pre-make my breakfast casserole so it'll be ready Friday morning. Can you tell I like to cook?

And I have to finish packing and loading for the show so I can leave at 11:05 on Friday for the show!!

See.... this is what college does to you, instead of blogging I gave y'all an itinerary for tomorrow. Oh Lord, please help me... Spring Break is only two days away!
-3

Froyo&Fruit

So as I mentioned earlier in the week I've been doing a lot of collection and lateral work with Dodger. Well today I started a fight to get him collected AND working correctly at the same time.

I have to say that I'm obsessed my new hack routine that I've started. It's the perfect amount of work to make them tired, but not make them bored; AND it's been helping both Dodger and Remi tremendously. So Dodger worked fabulously in the trot today, and he's caught on so well to the idea of collection he almost didn't need any help from me today when I asked him to collect. Because he was so quiet and working well I decided to jump him a little today. I'm really bringing him back slow after his injury because I don't want it to reoccur; so he hadn't been jumped in about two weeks. I've just started doing line work again with him too. So I trotted a jump a couple times with him then I cantered one line and he was perfect. He was straight, he was collected, he was together and not rushy, and on the other side of the line he gave me the most gorgeous lead change he's ever done. I was so proud. Flat work really does pay off and I can feel him turning into an amazing horse. So excited to have him back out at a show next weekend!

Saturday, which will be spent at the horse show, is Dodger's sixth birthday... so I'm planning something cute to do with the ponies. I'll let y'all know what that is when I figure it out --- haha

----on a side personal life rant. My boyfriend is one of the most critical people I've ever met. He makes me ridiculously mad sometimes. Like he'll critique my driving or something I say... or he'll go out of his way to make sure I know I did something wrong and that he has a better way that it could be done. I really hope this is just an immature guy thing, because I can't take him if he'll be like this forever. I can't handle it. It drives me completely insane.

Also, in breaking news.... my addiction to Starbucks has been replaced with a new, equally expensive, addiction to frozen yogurt with strawberries and blackberries. Mmmmmmmm.

-3

Field Hack Friday!

This mare never ceases to amaze me. She is just so mentally mature. She just makes me so happy. 

So I've been working on top-line and hindquarter fitness with her because she has some trouble carrying herself behind through corners sometimes. Well she used to. For about a month I've been hacking in the fields (40 minutes of trotting hillwork) doing mainly a lot of lateral work on gradual hill them some straight trot work up the bigger hills. And it has improved her fitness 10 fold. She never swaps off anymore, unless she's exhausted. However, I don't ever do anything except trot the fields because I'm just scared something might happen and she'll get hurt. But today, while my trusty roomate/best friend/aspiring photographer was out there I decided I'd try to give her a good shot. So we galloped up the hill a few times. Remi LOVED it. She got so into it, but never stopped listening. She would halt with a simple "Whoa" at the top and very quietly walk back down to the bottom. 

I couldn't be more happy with this mare. Considering she was headed for an auction house if we didn't buy her, I think it was a good save.

-3

Equitation Horse?

I had THE BEST ride on Dodger today. I hacked to a really old playlist, so obviously good music= great ride.

But last night I was looking at how awful our first horse show was and it inspired me to do some collection work at the canter. And if any of y'all have ever ridden a slug, that's the best comparison I can possibly make to give y'all an idea of what it's like to ride Dodger. He's SOO lazy. If you shift your weight a little towards a downward transition he's going to halt, and god forbid you touch his mouth without having a spur in his side or he's going to halt. So I hope that you can imagine out difficult collection work at the canter might be.

But aside from the fact that my thighs and calves got an extreme workout today, he was FABULOUS. He caught on really quick to the idea (he was a tad rusty at first) and he worked for 15 minutes or so in the canter doing collected lateral work.

He was SOOOO FREAKING HANDY by the end of the ride. I was ready to go jump around a derby course or ride a equitation course or something. He felt amazing. Even his downward canter-to-trot-to-halt transition at the end was far more fluid and less "OH MY GOD SHE SAID I COULD STOP" *collapse*.

I was very, very proud of my boy today! Taking him to a show to hack around next weekend. Very excited to have him out and about again!

Happy Thursday y'all!
-3

Horse Decisions;

So my family (aka my mom and my sister, Sarah) relies on me for horse decisions and they have been so dramatic lately. We've been trying to decide if she's going to lease a pony as well as show her horse Cooper this year, and also if we're moving her horse(s) to my trainer's barn instead of boarding them off-site (off-site is half the price). But if she's serious about going to Pony Finals and moving up to do derbies on Cooper then she needs to be in a more constructive enviroment. She's just not very organized and constructive by herself. At my trainer's barn she can have 4 lessons a week (2 per horse) and she has less to worry about as far as horse care goes, because it's full care board.

I just want to be done with all the drama and stress. Even though she might be entering a more dramatic situation.... kind of. It's so complicated.

I just want them to make a decision. Personally I'd wish she'd just focus on Cooper, since we just bought him less than a year ago. But I guess it's up to her. I just have enough stuff on my plate with my two horses and two sale ponies.
when will it all end?

-3

Study Habits;

I'm such a bad procrastinator... Like some consider me a PRO at it (; but seriously I sat around and did nothing yesterday (it was raining and I couldn't ride) so instead of studying I slept and watched episodes of The Lying Games. Now it's crunch time. I have my Interpersonal Communication Exam I'm an hour and a half and instead of studying I'm blogging about it. How constructive right? This is why I have such awful tension/stress headaches every single day. It's also why my wardrobe that I choose to wear screams "BUM."
Time to change? Maybe.
New Goal: Be more studious.

Have a good day y'all!
-3

PS- 98% chance I fail this exam ....

The worst part is that I'm OCD Major about my notes and their organization.... then I don't study.

New Years Resolutions..... In March

Okay, so here's to new beginnings right? How about a new blog. An actual blog, not a tumblr. Big difference. 

I had my list of New Years Resolutions laid out in my head (bad decision, I'm a list person; I'm very visual. I need to be able to see goals to reach them) but anyways, at the top of my list was starting a blog & also keeping a written journal.

So here's to checking one (or half of one off the list because the other half is keeping it active). 

I'm also kind of superstitious(as in I believe in luck, promises, not telling wishes. I guess that could be considered superstition?) and I thought maybe if I didn't tell any one my Resolutions that maybe I'd actually get them accomplished. So much for that one. 

So cheers to a new blog, a new year, new ideas, new goals, new growth, and a new life direction.... or at least some of those new things!

-3