Happy Birthday Chrome!!! - Ride 153

The dark spots on his shoulder is where his hair grew back in dark after he rubbed it out...

he actually doesn't have any open sweet itch sores on his shoulders this year so far.

Happy birthday Chrome!  Can you believe he's nine years old?  Where did the time go??  I spent a long time brushing him before these pictures, but I didn't bathe him until after our ride because he would have gotten sweaty and gross, making the bath pointless.  I rode for about thirty minutes, just casually around the yard.  Mostly walking with a little bit of trotting and cantering.  Please ignore my eq... I'm very out of practice.

LeeAnn standing on the fence cracked me up when I was looking at the pictures.  I was using a branch full of leaves to try to get Chrome's ears forward.  I was waving it around in my right hand and LeeAnn was standing on the fence watching longingly lol.  I wish I'd noticed her and I would have fed it to her after the pictures, but we were being attacked by buffalo gnats and I just wanted to run away.

He's going so gray!!

He would not stand square in any of these photos!  Grr! 

You'll notice he has a bonnet in some pictures and not others... he decided he didn't want to wear it and shook his head until it came off...

The neighbor across the street had removed his horses for a month or so.... and of course chose this day to turn them loose in the field again.... 

 His ears were touching the clouds!

 He was surprisingly calm even though they were galloping around right across the street.

 No clue why I was leaning forward so far... his enthusiasm caught me off guard lol.

 After the ride he got his bath.

Then I completely forgot to get pictures of him once he was clean!  Fail!!  Just trust me that he looked very handsome and white lol.  Sorry there aren't a whole lot of photos and that we didn't dress up fancy.  It was over ninety degrees and I was tired from lack of sleep.  I also shaved my goats and did a bunch of other chores.  I hope you enjoyed what few there are.  I'm still blown away that Chrome is nine.  It makes me sad that he's basically a pasture puff and that we never learned dressage or competitive trail riding together like I wanted to, but things outside of my control have prevented it.  Hopefully someday we can still do those things.  I'm choosing to focus on the positives instead.  Chrome is happy and healthy and I love him with all my heart and I get to see him everyday for hugs and scratches, so that's what is important.

Happy Easter & April Fool's Day! Chrome Ride 152

I couldn't pass up the chance to ride today since it was the first time in sixty years that Easter and April Fool's Day landed on the same day (I do still have a goal to ride on every holiday hehe).  This is supposed to happen again in eleven years if I remember right, but why wait that long? 

Sorry I only got one picture, it was starting to rain so I just snapped a quick one and got on with my ride.  I rode bareback, only for fifteen minutes.  I wanted to see if he felt sore from the ride yesterday.  He started out a bit stiff, but worked out of it quickly (we only walked with two very short trots).  I worked on some backing up and I could hear and feel him dragging his right hind leg back instead of picking it up.  That makes sense because that's the side his stifle is weaker on.  I'll get back into his stifle exercises during the week when I feed since it only take a few minutes in hand to get him strengthened back up for riding.

He felt really good and was happy to mess around in the yard again. 

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter and April Fool's Day!!!!!

Chrome Ride 151

Finally!  A weekend without rain! It was a gorgeous day and I was so excited to get back in the saddle.  Chrome seemed happy to be doing something different too.  I actually forgot to get his sugar cube until he started trying to grab the bit out of the air!  I completely forgot about the training we did with taking the bit.  So I ran inside, grabbed a piece of sugar and then held the bit up for him.  He took it without hesitation and I gave him his sugar.  So funny that he remembered and I didn't.

I spent a bunch of time grooming him.  There was snowy fur flying everywhere.  He is shedding like crazy.  He enjoyed the full grooming immensely.

 This is a view I missed!

It's funny because the days leading up to this weekend I was actually nervous.  It had been over a year since I had last been on Chrome and I was worried he would be stupid or I would just suck at riding or something.  Once I had him groomed, tacked and I got on I wasn't nervous at all!

We goofed around in the yard for thirty minutes.  I had him do several short trots and even a few canters, just to see if he could still do it and to see if his canter scared me again.  None of it did at all.  Even when he ducked his head and felt like he wanted to crowhop the first time.  I corrected him and he didn't try it again.  He was very eager to canter and we had fun.  I haven't felt that carefree cantering him probably ever.  It felt so effortless and easy.  His stifles gave out a couple of times and he was doing the whole slow walk away from the house and fast walk toward it, but overall he was great.  We also worked on some backing and learning how to yield his hindquarters from the saddle without a ground cue (needs work lol).

He sweated a little, but never even got his heart rate up.  I was worried I could hurt him even though that makes no sense.  I was relieved to see him galloping around and bucking in the pasture when I turned him loose later (I trimmed and soaked his hooves after the ride).  He was so wound up and obviously felt good.

He was a total butt during his hoof soaks (but fine during the trim that we did beforehand) and I think it's because hubby left and he couldn't see where he was, but he could hear him feeding the goats.  He was such a brat that I didn't feed him when I put him back in the pasture.  I can't stand when horses act up in anticipation of food.  It put a damper on my mood after such a fabulous ride, but I'm not going to let it get to me.  He was just feeling good and being a turd.

It was a wonderful ride to get back into things and I can't wait to ride again.  Also I really want to thank you all for your comments on my last post. I don't know why weekend warriors have such a negative association in my area, but you're all right.  If I'm smart about it and take things slow, he will be totally fine.  So thank you all so much.  Also thank you for sticking around.  I know I've been very absent.  I appreciate my loyal friends.