Incredible!

That is the word that would describe the last couple of rides with Eddie! He has been doing amazing!!

Since the 13th, (my last blog post) I've ridden every day and he has been such a willing and reliable partner. We usually play for the first 20 minutes then ride for the last 20 minutes and things have just been awesome. Usually spring is his least favorite season because it's windy and chilly and cloudy, but this spring has been unusually calm, either that or he is really trusting me lately. So, we've been riding and working on our 180's (which are fun!) going for walks in the pasture, trotting, and hopefully this summer we can try some jumping too! It's just been really nice to have half of our play time for riding. :-) He is such a good horse!

~Lea & Eddie~
P.S. More updates on the way!

Acts 4:12
"Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

A New Video!

Be sure to stop the music that is playing at the bottom of my blog!! :)

Play Along - Pass It On!

A. Age: 16
B. Bed size: Twin
C. Chore you dislike: Cleaning the house
D. Dogs: None! Just lots of cats!
E. Essential start to your day: Um... Food!
F. Favorite color: Blue or green
G. Gold or silver: Silver
H. Height: 5.7"
I. Instruments you play(ed): Piano, Guitar, Cello
J. Job title: Barn Manager
K. Kids: Eddie, Scout and Diesel! lol!
L. Live: Belvidere, IL
M. Mom’s name: Marianne
N. Nicknames: Just Lea :-)
O. Overnight hospital stays: Lots of visits to the hospital for broken arms, nosebleeds, and bad coughs but no overnight stays - thank goodness!
P. Pet peeves: People playing with my hair or eating behind me!
Q. Quote from a movie: Oh there are so many! My fav is probably from Narnia:
"But you shouldn't press Him, He's not a tame Lion." Mr. Tumnus
"No, but He is good." Queen Lucy

R. Righty or lefty: hehe, righty writer, lefty doer.
S. Siblings:  Allison! My sis!
T. Time you wake up: between 6 and 7.
U. Usual routine: Wake up, eat, do chores, do school, eat lunch, play with the horses, do evening chores, eat dinner watch tv or go on the internet

V. Vegetables you don’t like: Hmm... I like most veggies, but I don't like tomatoes.
W.What makes you run late: Playing with Eddie or Scout for too long!
X. X-rays you’ve had:  Lots and lots and lots from my broken arms.
Y. Yummy food you make: Um, I can make pasta, pizza, mac'n'cheese and simple things like that!
Z. Zoo animal favorites: Giraffes, or dolphins

How about you?

 

An Amazing Ride!

Today's weather brought to you by Lea: Windy - Cloudy - Chilly - BORING!
So, I didn't play with Eddie today, but I did play with him yesterday! Here is what we did!
We played in the pasture first and he was really really awesome. Did some neck rope stuff, jumped over things, did some cavaletties, went for a long walk and then finished by doing some fun collection things. We're still working on it, and we're doing a little at a time. I know it will take a while to where we can do it together well.
Then, we went into the outdoor and we had a lot of fun out there! I hopped on him with a western saddle pad (just for fun) and we trotted around, and we started to play with some fun 180's. He really got the hang of them, and we practiced some of our backing up. He seems to not want to do that lately, but he's gotten a lot better at it. :-) He's such a good boy!
Oh, and I also played with Scouty too! We cantered around together in the pasture and rode around out there for a while. He was really happy to run around and burn off some energy!
What a happy herd (or trio) we have!! :-)

~Lea & Eddie & Scout~

The Good & Bad in Spring

Well, I think I can officially say that...

IT'S SPRING!

And with that, come good things and bad things. Good things being:

• It's warmer out
• You can be outside more
• Don't have to wear a coat

Then, there come the bad things...

• There are storms
• There is mud
• High sugar grass

Muddy ponies, horses that are shedding, and their hooves grow faster, so then you have to trim more, therefore your get as covered in mud as the horses are because their feet are muddy. hehe, anyway.... The good things are very good! Even though spring is my least favorite season, it still has its good qualities. ;-)

Summer is on the horizon! Thin horsey coats, lush grass, sunny days, blue skies, shorts, and the ever present battle against high-sugar grass. As you can see, the ponies can get pretty tanky with all the grass, so hopefully this year, the track will be mostly dirt, like how it's supposed to be. We may just have to get out the weed whacker and hack at the grass in the track.
But, Eddie is good with the grass, even though he can colic more easily in the summer. :-/ So, there may be some HorseQuencher in the future for him.
Yup, spring is here, summer is on the horizon and all the challenges and joys along with it!
What are you favorite/not so favorite parts of spring and summer?
Lea & Eddie & Scout & Diesel

1 Peter 3:15
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;

An 'All Picture' Post!

Sandhill Cranes heading north! There were a TON!

Levi, our barn kitty sniffin the camera!

Eddie and I playing the other day!

JUMP! :-)

Mud, mud everywhere!

Hopping off of the pedestal

Frozen Mud

:-P Yuck... There's nothing like riding a horse, or walking a horse on frozen, bumpy mud! And there was a lot of it today! The sun was out this morning, but then it got cloudy and cold. :-( But, I played with Eddie anyway because the pasture was nice and flat with no mud bumps. hehe! I lead him out with the neck rope, and then because he was a little scared I went back online and connected the rope to his halter. We trotted around, did a few circles to get his mind back on me and I made the pedestal a safe spot where I would give him a carrot and scratches. So, he wanted to go to the pedestal a lot and I let him. He needed a place where he could take a sigh of relief. Anyway, we jumped a few things, did the cavaletties and went for a walk around the track. By the time we ended, he was nice and calm and we headed into the barn for a nice grooming. He was very happy for that and I got to get all the mud off of him! :-) hehe, silly ponies always roll in the mud!

~Lea & Eddie~


Psalm 139:23-24
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
         Try me, and know my anxieties;
 And see if there is any wicked way in me,
         And lead me in the way everlasting.

A Sunny Day!

It was beautiful out yesterday. Sunny, warm and muuuuddy!
So, I had a big play day with the horses!
First, I played with Eddie in the outdoor and we ran around at liberty. He was having so much fun! It was muddy though, so we took it somewhat slow. But we jumped over the barrels, trotted around and just got some of the kinks out. Because it was sunny, Eddie was sleepy :-) so I grabbed my helmet, bareback pad, sidepull and reins and we were off! He was a very good boy and tried really hard. But he was a little feisty. hehe! We just took it slow and did some small things. He really calmed down after a while and I only had to get off and correct him once. Which was really good all things considered. Aka, I haven't ridden for a while since everything has been freezing and thawing.
We did some more things like backing up, going sideways and just getting him to relax, then we went for a lap in the outdoor and ended by the gate. We're getting there and he's doing much better! Eddie always tries hard!

Then it was Scouty's turn!!
I led him out to the pasture and I rode around out there with him. He was very happy for the company and exercise and we had a lot of fun trotting around out there. Scout is such a good boy! When we finished, I played with him in the pasture a little bit. We cantered around, almost jumped the log (it's a little too high for him, especially since he's older) and did some cavaletties. Yay!
So, we had a great day all around and it was so nice that the sun was out!!

~Lea & Eddie & Scout~

590 Posts! Wow!

It's March 4th! Wow!! Where has time gone?!
March has proved to be muddy and very spring-like but the warmer temps have been so nice! It's been in the 40's for the past couple of days. Yay!
Anyway, Mike came out today and checked the horses' feet. So, here is an overview of them all:

Eddie:
Mike looked at Eddie first. Ed had a few naughty moments, but overall, stood really well. According to Mike, his feet were really good! He said that Eddie's toes were a little long, but with a few swipes of a rasp P3 was on the same heel/toe plane. But it was a ah-ha moment for me, because on all four feet, Eddie has had itty bitty toe cracks. So, long toe = toe cracks. That's one arrow added to my hoof trimming quiver!
Scout:
Next, was Scouty! He stood very well, had a few silly moments when he had shifted around and got out of balance. But, like Eddie he was a champ! Mike said that Scout was balanced (I trimmed him 2 days ago) but long. Which was ok, because none of our boys really do a lot of hard, hard, work so their hooves don't have to stand up to that wear and tear. But, I have to be a bit more aggressive with my trimming and know exactly where the Internal Arch Apparatus is so I can balance the hoof print to the foot print.
Jigsaw:
Oh boy, Jigsaw! Mike really made him think and got him to respect our (my mom, mine and Mike's) space. Which was really good, because he does walk through my mom when I am trimming him. So, my mom had a big ah-ha moment where she realized that she can be more firm, not mean, but firm and Jigs will be much better. And he was! He stood for 45 minutes like a champ and hardly had any bad moments. Plus, Jigs' hoof cracks have never looked better! These frequent trims, my uber-roll and the Staph-Control spray is the ticket to minimizing the cracks. Yahoo!

Overall, my grade is an A- at the least, and I learned a lot. Can't wait to continue trimming these guys, they are all so great and have so much to teach us about ourselves!

~Lea, Eddie, Scout, Diesel & Jigsaw~

Joshua 1:9
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”