Life on a Farm

Labels: Bradley, Red Sox, Sweet Pea

Unfortunately, blood tests came back confirming that Sweet Pea did have a seizure. The disappointing thing is that the toxicology reports did not give us any information about what caused the seizures which means we can't be sure if it will ever happen again. Long way of saying, Sweet Pea has to retire from being a school horse. We would never put a rider or a horse into a dangerous situation. Still, this is a really hard outcome and we are all still processing it.

Labels: Seizure, Sweet Pea

Labels: FOCHF, Sweet Pea

Promised the riders in the barn that I would begin a new item occasionally on the blog: a featured rider. They all filled out questions for me and our first featured rider is: Amy! (Her barn name, not her real name....)

Amy has been riding for two years. This summer, she and her mom are sharing a lease on Sweet Pea so she is getting to ride quite a bit. During the school year she tries to ride once a week.

Her favorite lesson horse is Hercules, but for a show give her Sweet Pea! Great choice -- he cleans up nice and doesn't get too rattled.

Amy hasn't done a trail ride yet, but her choice for a trail ride is Buck. Buck has a well deserved reputation as a great trail horse!

Amy hopes to become a professional rider one day. And she keeps coming to Cobble Hill for the FUN and the HORSES!

Labels: Amy, Buck, Featured Rider, Hercules, Sweet Pea

Haven't done pictures and a post lately only about the horses! Now that I am riding a bit, I can actually talk about my impressions of the horses. Looking forward to my lesson tomorrow.

The three horses that beginner adult riders use (for the most part) are: Sweet Pea, Buck and Dixie.

Dixie is a really interesting paint horse. She is older and very well trained. She is a complete witch when it comes to getting her out of the pasture when it isn't feed time. In fact, many months ago when I was out in the big pasture trying to catch her, she stomped on my foot. It was a good reminder of why you wear sturdy shoes around horses, but it still hurt. Dixie can also be a bit hard to bridle. Yet. the minute you ride her, she is the most gentle, predictable and well behaved horse we have. A real steady-eddie. The biggest challenge when you ride Dixie is to keep her moving, especially at the trot.

Sweet Pea is another contradiction. He would be just as happy being in his stall all day. You have to be really careful not to bother him when he is eating as he gets a little aggressive. Yet, put a saddle on him and again -- he is well-trained, and a really fun ride. He consistently performs well at the little shows the riders do. He will keep moving better than Dixie.

Buck is really 'forward' and responds best to short reins. Buck was a barrel racer and I have aspirations to do a barrel race some day. When Buck is trotting I think he has the nicest, smooth trot. I haven't been cleared to canter him yet as he is really fast, but he really is a comfortable and fun horse. I think/hope I am riding him tomorrow.

Labels: Buck, Dixie, Sweet Pea

I know I promised to bring you updates on the favorite horse poll ... and so Annie, Elizabeth and I took a peek the other night. And guess what we learned? We forgot to put Jay on the horses page and the survey! Uh oh -- he definitely would have gotten a vote from Annie! Here is a picture of Jay, anyway!

So far we have 16 votes, and not surprisingly, Patty is winning. I guess it isn't really fair to match up a 3 week old filly against all our geldings and mares!

Even so, it is clear why Patty is stealing everyone's heart. She is beautiful, full of spirit and starting to be a real charmer. She will now come up to most of us in her stall and sniff away at your clothes and then let you pet her. I have no idea how long a foal's coat stays silky soft, but it is definitely longer than the coat stays clean!

The second place horse is Sweet Pea which is somewhat surprising to me. While Sweet Pea is a dream to ride -- even though he is big, he will do whatever you want. However, he has his issues. Don't ever try to pet his face when he is eating -- he is very protective of his food! And while I haven't handled every horse extensively, I think he is the hardest of the beginner horses to bridle. It is a combination of him being so tall and so stubborn about taking the bit. It really is interesting that a horse that is obstinate at one task can be so compliant at another. And I will readily confess that when SP gets 'dressed up' for a show, no horse is prettier.

I'll keep the current survey up for another week ... then I'll take Patty off and add Jay and have a real competition!

Labels: Jay, Patty, Sweet Pea