I took the first part of this video to show how Fiona looks today, so I can compare it to how she looks later and make sure the deworming is helping her.
The rest is her eating her halloween treat (a bit early but I couldn't resist). Enjoy and keep in mind I am NOT a professional narrator. :)
Enjoy the show!
Thanks to Moniteau Saddle Club for all their great ideas and specifically the one I used in this video.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Saturday, October 16, 2010
This is why I have faith
One thing that this adopting a horse thing has taught me is; When you attempt to realize a dream that's bigger than you truly believe you can acheive, God fills in the gaps for you.
I have a vague idea of where I want this whole deal to go. It's stated in the headline of this blog. I even scaled it down a few weeks ago and took out the part about endurance riding. I thought that seemed a little too "pie in the sky". Every time I start to lose faith in how far I can get with this horse, God places someone right smack in front of me to help me get that confidence back. It hasn't failed, not once. Even if it hasn't been the same person each time, or the "right" person to carry me and Fiona all the way to the end of this journey, it's always been someone who can help.
So after getting the "it's ok to drive a little and go back to work" from the doctor on Thursday, I decided to go see Fiona and give her a little halloween treat (more on this in a later blog post). Once I arrived, I found out that a trainer I'd been looking forward to meeting was back in town and actually at the stables today! His name is Don (terrible I don't know his last name yet). Debbie (the owner of Red Mountain Stables and now my riding instructor) told me about Don and recommended that I start working with him when he got back in town from working with his brother on a ranch. I rode with Debbie over to the other end of the property to meet Don. It turns out, we'd already met, but I had forgotten! He was there when another trainer loaded my horse onto his trailer to take her to his place.
After a few minutes of talking about Fiona's history, we walked over to see her. Immediately, Don said she was wormy and needed Ivermax. I guess that call I made to the vet a couple of weeks ago, wasn't based on complete BS. He said it would be difficult to work with her if she was sick, so I left the stable immediately to get the dewormer. I brought it back and luckily Don was still there. He dewormed her and got some bran/alfalfa mush ready for her.
Don is a very calm, good spirited person and he is going to be great for Fiona and even better for me. He was VERY encouraging and dismissed all the "wrongs" I felt I had done with Fiona. He basically is ready to start from zero and work with both of us.
He did take Fiona out of her stall and worked with her on lunging a little bit. She was quick to pick up his lessons and he was kind and gave her a lot of positive reinforcement. Don said I could ride one of his horses to start if I wanted and I told him I can't ride for 2 weeks. I am still waiting to get cleared by my doctor for full activity. Don replied "Well then we will work with your horse for 2 weeks and you can riding her at the end of the 2 weeks". I have been told stuff like this before and I am a bit skeptical of short timeframes when it comes to this horse. I do feel like she is very close to being ready though! As for me being ready, that's a different story. I still remember ribs smacking against a roundpen.
After he put her back in her stall, we gave her the bran mush and left for the night. I will go back tomorrow and take on the lovely task of doing poop analysis. We need to see if there's any parasites that come out of her. Good times!
I will go take her the halloween treat tomorrow, and give it to her if she seems to be feeling ok. I can't wait, I think it's going to make for some funny video footage!
I have a vague idea of where I want this whole deal to go. It's stated in the headline of this blog. I even scaled it down a few weeks ago and took out the part about endurance riding. I thought that seemed a little too "pie in the sky". Every time I start to lose faith in how far I can get with this horse, God places someone right smack in front of me to help me get that confidence back. It hasn't failed, not once. Even if it hasn't been the same person each time, or the "right" person to carry me and Fiona all the way to the end of this journey, it's always been someone who can help.
So after getting the "it's ok to drive a little and go back to work" from the doctor on Thursday, I decided to go see Fiona and give her a little halloween treat (more on this in a later blog post). Once I arrived, I found out that a trainer I'd been looking forward to meeting was back in town and actually at the stables today! His name is Don (terrible I don't know his last name yet). Debbie (the owner of Red Mountain Stables and now my riding instructor) told me about Don and recommended that I start working with him when he got back in town from working with his brother on a ranch. I rode with Debbie over to the other end of the property to meet Don. It turns out, we'd already met, but I had forgotten! He was there when another trainer loaded my horse onto his trailer to take her to his place.
After a few minutes of talking about Fiona's history, we walked over to see her. Immediately, Don said she was wormy and needed Ivermax. I guess that call I made to the vet a couple of weeks ago, wasn't based on complete BS. He said it would be difficult to work with her if she was sick, so I left the stable immediately to get the dewormer. I brought it back and luckily Don was still there. He dewormed her and got some bran/alfalfa mush ready for her.
Don is a very calm, good spirited person and he is going to be great for Fiona and even better for me. He was VERY encouraging and dismissed all the "wrongs" I felt I had done with Fiona. He basically is ready to start from zero and work with both of us.
He did take Fiona out of her stall and worked with her on lunging a little bit. She was quick to pick up his lessons and he was kind and gave her a lot of positive reinforcement. Don said I could ride one of his horses to start if I wanted and I told him I can't ride for 2 weeks. I am still waiting to get cleared by my doctor for full activity. Don replied "Well then we will work with your horse for 2 weeks and you can riding her at the end of the 2 weeks". I have been told stuff like this before and I am a bit skeptical of short timeframes when it comes to this horse. I do feel like she is very close to being ready though! As for me being ready, that's a different story. I still remember ribs smacking against a roundpen.
After he put her back in her stall, we gave her the bran mush and left for the night. I will go back tomorrow and take on the lovely task of doing poop analysis. We need to see if there's any parasites that come out of her. Good times!
I will go take her the halloween treat tomorrow, and give it to her if she seems to be feeling ok. I can't wait, I think it's going to make for some funny video footage!
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Way more than 2 steps backward...
So I had my first ride on Snowbell, with Debbie Anderson. The lesson was wonderful and Debbie was everything I wanted her to be as a riding instructor; calm, but firm and reassuring. This arrangement is going to work out just fine, as soon as my surgery scars heal. Yes, I said surgery. Can you believe the lousy luck?
We were coming home from dinner Monday night when I started to experience some abdominal pain. It got worse as the night went on and finally at about 11pm, I couldn't take it. I had to go the ER. It was my gallbladder, which thank God is a relatively minor. So the lovely doctors at Mountain Vista Medical Center took it out and stitched me back up..and sent me on my way.
I am feeling fine and will be back in fighting form in a week or so. This little experience makes me so happy that I stable my horse and that Fiona is not a complete maniac like she used to be. I called Debbie and asked her to keep an eye on her and turn her out a couple of times. Fiona even got vaccinated while I was in the hospital and the vet told Debbie that she is a totally different horse! Can you believe that?!?!?!
Anyway, all things consider, this siutation could have been a lot worse than it was. I am very lucky to be young, healthy and to have a great support system for myself and Fiona!
We were coming home from dinner Monday night when I started to experience some abdominal pain. It got worse as the night went on and finally at about 11pm, I couldn't take it. I had to go the ER. It was my gallbladder, which thank God is a relatively minor. So the lovely doctors at Mountain Vista Medical Center took it out and stitched me back up..and sent me on my way.
I am feeling fine and will be back in fighting form in a week or so. This little experience makes me so happy that I stable my horse and that Fiona is not a complete maniac like she used to be. I called Debbie and asked her to keep an eye on her and turn her out a couple of times. Fiona even got vaccinated while I was in the hospital and the vet told Debbie that she is a totally different horse! Can you believe that?!?!?!
Anyway, all things consider, this siutation could have been a lot worse than it was. I am very lucky to be young, healthy and to have a great support system for myself and Fiona!
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