Day 118 | May 28, 2012

Normal graining day today. Measured her and she officially clocked in at 16hh (possibly 1/2 inch taller). She also got to put on her new fly mask and she loves it a lot. Here she is showing it off. Aren’t we cute? It looks like she’s being affectionate, but really, she was looking for carrots (my mom brought her one, sigh).

Tomorrow, we ride!

Day 117 | May 27, 2012

Hot sweaty gross muggy uncomfortable day. Normal graining day. Danz was very muddy and covered in flies and unhappy. I did get her a new fly mask today though! Of course it’s lined in hunter green trim. Of course.

Day 116 | May 26, 2012

I was going to head out early this  morning with my mom and ride… but she had a rough night at work and decided to sleep instead. So I didn’t ride. Wooo.

Normal graining day then, no big deal. So here’s her bitch plz face from the other night.

Day 115 | May 25, 2012

Just a normal graining day for Danz. No big deal. So here’s a photo from yesterday, in which she actually looks like she was listening to me and carrying herself correctly.

I’m hoping I can ride her in a halter tomorrow. Then Kelly’s coming on Monday so we can ride then too!

Day 114 | May 24, 2012

Morning: Just grained her in the pouring rain. I’m really glad she isn’t scared by thunder or lightning.

Evening: Went out and met up with Stephy and Sarah. Watched Stephy with Aspen, watched Sarah with Hazel a bit, then brought Danz in for riding time. I had to use every trick in the book to get the bit in her mouth (she was an absolute cow and actually tried to kick and paw at me a few times), but when I finally got it in, she was good. We basically just walked around the arena and tried to work on steering, but she was being a distracted cow because Sarah and Hazel were still in as well and Jess kept moving horses around and EXCITEMENT and SHINY. You know how it goes.

I’m trying really hard to not yank on her mouth. She has kind of a hard mouth as it is (don’t most racehorses?) and I don’t want to make her despise the bit any more than she does right now. But, at the same time, she won’t listen until I apply an incredible amount of pressure on the bit, so I think that’s something we’ll be working on in the near future.

Grained her, put her back, etc. Photo is from tonight.

I’m ordering her a new bit tonight (yay french link!) and I will be ordering new cheek pieces for her bridle after my next paycheck (as her new crown and old cheek pieces don’t fit together).

Day 113 | May 23, 2012

(copy+pasting from my post on my main blog because I am far too lazy to type everything out again)

Morning feeding: We just worked with her bridle a bit, since she was such a cow the last time I had it on her and we’re going disgustingly slow. She took the bit first try (I didn’t even need to stick my thumb in her mouth or anything) and stood so nicely while I adjusted things (definitely an improvement).

Then when I took her into the arena, she lunged both directions perfectly (she’s usually terrible tracking right because she was a racehorse and only knew left), and when I let her free to play with the bit on her own, she listened to every command and actually cantered until I said whoa (which is strange because she usually does a lap at a canter and then slows to a trot without me asking for it).

She was super patient while I fiddled with the bridle, super patient while I had her in the crossties, and super patient while I mixed up her grain right in front of her face.

Today was just a really good, solid day, that’s all.

Evening feeding: Grained her, praised her, gave her cuddles, etc. She was feeling very affectionate tonight and it was lovely.

Photo is from yesterday because my camera died today.

Day 112 | May 22, 2012

As of today, I’ve owned Danz for four months. How crazy is that?!

Grained her in the morning (and reveled in how shiny she was). I had so much stuff to do around the house today (as in: painting and putting up fences and gardening and ugh) that I didn’t work her.

Grained her in the evening with my mother. No work. Sigh. She’s going to be such a lazy bones when I get her back in the arena. Hopefully sometime in the next few days?

Photo is of her and her lovely boyfriend Red (who wanted nothing more than to eat my camera).

Day 111 | May 21, 2012

Good day today! Went out in the morning and groomed her up and took lots of pictures. She was an absolute doll the whole time, but refused to get any further than three feet away from me unless I drove her off, so photo-taking was difficult. The woes of having a horse that likes me.

Went out in the evening with Kris, made her run around the arena a bit, grained her, put her back, no big deal.

Tomorrow, my friend Alexx is coming out to meet her. I’m bringing my saddle and putting my bridle back together just in case. Photo is from today, during her shiniest time.

Day 110 | May 20, 2012

I actually had a social life today, so I didn’t work her, just grained her. Kris and I went out in the afternoon and fed her, caught two movies (The Avengers and The Hunger Games), hurried back and fed her again, and left it at that.

Of course, she won’t come up to the fence if I whistle to her if it’s dark. Of course. So I had to wade through the pasture to get her, and when she saw me, she had this look of, “Oh, you’re here! How wonderful!” on her face.

Sigh. At least she was well-behaved and followed me around as I tried to figure out why her halter was all screwed up.

Photo is from yesterday.

Day 109 | May 19, 2012

Went out and just grained Danz today. It was super hot and humid in the morning so it was ultra-miserable. In the evening, it was pouring rain. She was fine with her day off.

Cool story: If I whistle as I round the corner of the barn, she’ll be waiting for me by the gate by the time I get down there. She knows it’s me and every time I whistle and see her trot up to the fence, I get all asdghjkl. Smart horse.

As you can tell, I had a wet pony tonight. Oops.