Is it Summer? Or Spring? It just can't seem to make up its mind.

Well, there has been a lot going on lately and it seems like spring only lasted for a couple of days before the 80 degree weather kicked in.
Ah well, can't complain. It's been nice to be outside barefoot and hosing the horses off. It was almost warm enough to go swimming today too - if only the pool was open. ;-) hehe!
So, let's see... Eddie and I have been working on lead changes on the ground. His right side is weak, so I am helping him build that up and get equal. So we'll start on the left lead going on a right circle and then I'll have him go over a high cavaletti. So he changes leads and is on the right one! Yesterday he was on his right lead for a whole circle, so that was great! He didn't switch back to his left.
While riding, we've been doing sort of the same thing. Shoulder in going to the left while he leads with his right fore. I know, it's kinda confusing, but it's so much easier when riding him. We did that a lot today and he was getting a lot better with it. "As we leave the rail (coming off a circle), come down the rail." I remember learning that years and years ago and it has stuck like glue. And let me tell ya, it works!
We've also been working on our cutting game while I ride. We'll ride along the fence line and then turn it into a sidepass while he disengages his HQ. So that turns into a turn and then we ride along the fence back the way we came. He's really getting it and yesterday we did it without the fence. Very fun! Now we just need some cows! :-)

Jeremiah 17:7-8
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
And whose hope is the Lord.
For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,
Which spreads out its roots by the river,
And will not fear when heat comes;
But its leaf will be green,
And will not be anxious in the year of drought,
Nor will cease from yielding fruit.

Summertime Ends

  And what a summer it was!

May
Diesel had his laminitis episode in May.
Mom and I also went to the Mark Rashid clinic in Cedarburg, WI.
I helped our neighbor imprint her foal.
We dug up and excavated the track.
Played with the horses a lot.
I turned 17!

June
In June I graduated high school!! After 9 years of homeschooling, I graduated in my junior year!
Eddie and I started to jump and canter.
I started working Eddie a little harder since he was a little plump.
Played with all three horses a lot in one day.
Trimmed the horses a lot, it was cooler and wet for most of the month!
My sister turned 21.

July
It was hot!
Trotted Eddie a lot.

Rode almost every day.

Didn't play as much. We just rode!

Trimmed horses.

Diesel went to the vet and had a tooth pulled. Poor Diesel-doo!

Eddie and I cantered more!

Rebecca came out and played with us too!

August

I can now say that August is over! 0_0

KC La Pierre clinic.

Cantered and jumped with Eddie!!

Didn't play on the ground as much.

It was very hot and very dry. We went through about a month without any rain.

Lots of produce from the garden.

Played with Scout a lot too and he got a small wind gall. :-/ It's going away now, but it's taken most of the month.

And onward!
So, summer is over and fall is almost here.
Autumn colors, apple cider, sweaters and furry ponies!
My favorite season!!
Nonetheless, this summer was incredibly fun and I finally realized that I don't have to play with Eddie before every ride. We can just go and have fun now. We're made some huge progress and Eddie and I are making progress by leaps and bounds!

P.S. Thank you all for following our journey. I hope you learn as much as I do from our herd and the things I blog about them.

~Lea & Eddie & Scout & Diesel~


Ecclesiastes 3:1
To everything there is a season,
      A time for every purpose under heaven:

Feels Like...

The Last Day of Summer

Can I really be saying that?!
It feels like just yesterday it was spring and things were mmmmmelllllllllting.
But alas... Fall is almost here and in a few days the high is going to be in the 60's.
YAHOOO!!!!!
I love fall!!

Eddie and I didn't do anything today. :-( But I did hose him off and give him a bath. He really liked that! Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to play with him and do something productive. It was just so hot today...

Tonight or tomorrow, I will post and sum up summer. That will be a fun post!! :-)
Stay tuned!!


~Lea & Eddie~


Psalm 119:2
Blessed are those who keep His testimonies,
         Who seek Him with the whole heart!

Summer

Wow, it's amazing how fast one week can go!
It has been hot, dry and rather July-ish. Mostly I've been keeping the horses cool, playing and riding in the mornings, and going for walks in the evenings. Oh yes, and hosing the horses off and swimming during the heat of the day! It's been fun though, lazy-ish sort of weather, too hot to trim... Speaking of which I need to trim Eddie's back feet and Scout's back feet too. :-/ I'll probably do them tomorrow, since it's only going to be 78. YAHOO!!!
Yesterday, a small storm rolled through - well actually it was a large storm. More than 800,000 people are without power in Chicago and around northern Illinois. By the grace of God, the bad wind went north and south of us. We're in the hole again! I tell ya, I'm never moving. Tornadoes and microbursts and downdrafts always seem to miss us by 5-10 miles.

Anyway, I took Eddie for a long, 45 minute walk this morning. We went by the gates, took two laps around the pumpkin field, went around the entire house, back up through the gardens and back to the paddocks! We had such a blast and he was so confident. I'm so proud of my Eddie - he has come such a long way and has truly given me his heart. Something that I am privileged to have.

:-)

Picture post on its way!


~Lea & Eddie & Scout & Diesel~

Matthew 4:4

But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’

Warm Weather

Yesterday, no wait... Two days ago, I trimmed up Scout and took a lot of pictures of Eddie's, Scout's and Diesel's feet. They are all looking great! Today, mom and I went out to OEW's and trimmed up Jiggles. I did a full trim! Yahoo!! Jigs' feet look good, flares, but that's ok. Got em back to where they need to be. :-)

So, lately I've just been riding in the morning and hanging out in the afternoon. Today is not so hot, so I'm headed out to play with Eddie once I finish up here!

Our riding has gotten really good though. Eddie is becoming a lot more soft and light, which is really amazing. And I've also worked on becoming more soft and light and not holding any braces in my body.
We've just been having a lot of fun, keeping cool, riding and doing chores. Speaking of chores, I gotta go clean water troughs too!
Here's a pictures of Diesel and I under the apple tree two days ago. We went for a half hour walk and he loved every minute of it! Or maybe he just loved the lush grass.... Hmmm... ;-)


~Lea & Eddie & Scout & Diesel & Jigs~

Psalm 18:30

As for God, His way is perfect;
         The word of the LORD is proven;
         He is a shield to all who trust in Him.

...And Summer's Here

Temperatures in the upper 90's, humid, slight breeze... Yup, it's summer.

I took a day off with the horses yesterday because it was hot and we were so busy. My mom and sister went shopping and I was home alone. Naturally something eventful happened...
Quack, quack!

8 little ducklings were huddled together in the round pen. I gathered 6 of the up (2 ran off) and mom and I took them down to a wildlife rescue. According to the gal at the rescue, they had just hatched and according to dad, he saw a dead mallard duck on the road, on the way to work.
Poor little dears! So, I saved more than half of them and I feel really bad about the other 2, but hopefully they'll show up today.

Then, we picked up my friend and she came over for a while!! It was really fun and even though it was so hot, we just hung out with the horses and hosed them off.
After a few hours, we packed up and headed to Barrington, IL to see Buck the film!
It was so amazing and I really, really liked it. The film was well done and the more and more I see of Buck and Mark, the more and more I want to learn. They are so humble. They're so quiet, and truly understand horses. Buck is coming to Karmik Acres in September 2012, so I'm really looking forward to that!! It will be phenomenal!

Today's another hot one, so we're keeping the horses cool, going swimming and just doin chores. Oh yes, and I'm also looking for a nice outback hat to buy! :-)

~Lea & Eddie~

Playing with our herd

hat a beautiful day!
Sunny, slight breeze and nice and cool. Can anyone guess what I did today? Let's see... I played with Scout, rode Scout, played with Eddie, rode Eddie, trimmed Eddie and played with Diesel! It was a full day! Oh yes, I also bought a new pair of cowboy boots! Justin Gypsy's - oh yeah!
Here's a quick summary of what we did today:

Scout
We went out to the pasture and played for a nice long time! We cantered through our 'shoots' which were poles set up so he could canter through them in a big circle. :-) It was fun! Scout and I also raced each other, running up and down the south line. (longest side of the pasture) I was out of breath, but I'm sure he could just go and go! I hopped on when we were done and rode through all the gates (3 total) to Scout's paddock. We ended on an awesome note and he had such a blast playing. :-) I love him so much and he loves the attention almost as much as I love giving it.

Eddie
We did a lot today!! First we played at liberty in the pasture and then he decided to go to the outdoor. lol! So I followed him and we played in the outdoor at liberty for a while. He just loves the outdoor! We trotted a few laps along the rail and then we switched and did it the other way. He did so well and was really connected! Then after I hopped on, we trotted a little bit, and worked on our backing up. We mostly just had fun and didn't do too much with the riding. Mostly because I didn't have a helmet since mice have decided to take up residence in my brain bucket. :-/ But I'm going to wash it out and then we'll be able to do some more riding! I also trimmed Eddie and  his back feet look so good! :-) I'm so proud of him!

 Diesel
hehe, oh Diesel, Diesel... We headed out for a nice walk and he stops. backs up. and goes the other way. So... I followed him and we ended up going the other way on the track. Ok, I guess he just wanted to go the other way. We trotted the whole south line and east line and I raced him a little bit. Needless to say, he was not thrilled at my enthusiasm and we didn't go above a trot. But, I think he had fun and it's always a bonus when there's a treat in the back pocket! :-) He's such a good boy and I love playing with him. You can learn so much from horses and hinnys are so exception! He has taught me more than I thought I would learn from him and is very patient. Such a little muffin-pie! :-)

That's my day! A typical day in the life of Lea!

Hope that ya'll had a great day too!

~Lea & Eddie & Scout & Diesel~


Psalm 19:1
The heavens declare the glory of God;
         And the firmament shows His handiwork.

Thought this was a pretty cool video to go along with this verse.