Happy Birthday to Jetta!

Happy Birthday to Jetta! She turned five today and is ready to get some serious miles under her belt. I hope my new busier schedule will allow it. I need the saddle time!

I feel like things will get better. The time will change soon, so we'll have lighter evenings--not to mention warmer evenings--so we'll have those hours. Plus my Equine Solutions: Sports Massage Therapy business is going to grow--probably into weekend hours because show season is coming, but that may free up some weekday time for me. Only three more months till school is out, so then I'll have summer mornings, too! I am trying not to add more hoof trimming clients as I want time to grow the massage side of things. I'm hopeful!

For her birthday, Jetta got a full sports massage session. (Not a real birthday pressie since she was due for massage anyway, but I tried to make it extra good for her!) She was tight in her poll and base of the neck, and as soon as I got started she was stretching, yawning, and sighing big time. This was her most expressive session by far! I think her trust is growing and she is able to relax and let the tension go. Her back is much improved--no longer as tight and tender as it was a few months ago, but I am not convinced about my saddle fit, since there is still some mild tension. I just changed saddle pads last week, back to the Skito, so we'll see if that helps. Jetta was also a little sore in her hips. That surprised me. It wasn't dramatic, but it was noticeable. I'll check her tomorrow to see if I gave her the relief she needed. From her reaction with the yawning and sighing I was getting, I think I did!

Jetta also got a scoop of Safe Choice to top off her afternoon. She stood in the sun and snoozed while Keno got his bodywork. It's quite a contrast massaging the "lean/not-an-ounce-of-extra-fat" Jetta and the "way-too-many-extra-ounces" Keno! He's a bit squishy feeling and need more miles, too!

Spring Is Coming!

This was a good week for my riding; I had a good ride on both horses on Monday at the arena, got in a good trail ride out alone with Jetta on Thursday, and again on Saturday! These days that's a pretty good week for me!

Jetta was actually good in the arena with some softening and relaxing at the walk and trot. Granted, everyone else had left so there were no distractions, but it was still an improvement. We ended the ride with several soft, straight, relaxed figure eights and called it good.

Thursday's ride was out by the freeway exit. It's not an exciting trail, but hey, I can park without getting stuck in snow or mud! There are several long uphill jeep roads that offer possibilities for some aerobic work, and there are miles of sagebrush covered hills for off-road riding. Deer and jack rabbits add interest. All in all, it's not bad riding for this time of year. Jetta was happy to be out and was very well behaved. She has a TON of bottled energy, and at times I feel a bit like I'm riding on an unexploded land mine, but it's fun. The footing is wet right now, so we can only trot in a few places, one of which is a jeep road that goes gently uphill for half a mile or so before it becomes too rocky to be fun. We trotted up, walked back down, and trotted up again several times. Got a short canter in  also, but that got too exciting for her to handle and she threw in a couple of exuberant bucks. At least I think they were exuberant. Maybe they were frustrated bucks since she really wants to flat out run!

Yesterday's ride was very similar. It was great to be out in the sun and warm (50 degrees!) weather. Come on spring!!

Trail Today!

Believe it or not I got out on another trail ride this afternoon! The 10-year-old girl who takes lessons on Keno came along and rode him, while I rode Jetta. It wasn't like southern Utah, but hey, we'll take what we can get up here! It was sunny and not too muddy or cold. Jetta was well behaved minus a thwarted attempt at jigging. Keno was gentlemanly as always but got super sweaty after carrying his fat self up a few hills. Jetta didn't even break a sweat. Still, it was fun and I can tell that subtle (very subtle!) changes are coming and spring really will get here eventually! For that I am grateful!

I didn't take any pics today, after all, who wants to see mud and slushy ice? But here are a couple more pics from southern Utah. If I close my eyes and squint, I can almost imagine that's where we were today. I said, almost!

Crossing the Virgin River

Time Flies

No excuses here, but just let me say that no one knows what life will throw your way. My life has taken a very dramatic turn the last few months, and as a result I have been unable to concentrate on blog-writing. No, I do not have a terminal illness or anything of the like, but it's still been challenging.

But moving on, Jetta and I just spent a fabulous 26 short hours down in the red sand desert near St. George to get out of the snow and see the sun. I was desperate for sunshine. This has been a long, cold, dismal winter with tons of snow and  overcast skies. I needed a break and my good friend Judy invited me down. Jetta was certain we were only heading for the arena when I loaded her into the trailer. Three hours later I unloaded her in desert paradise. I'm sure she was as happy to see the sun as I was.

The indoor arena has been the only dry, ice-free place to ride this winter and I can honestly say she hasn't gained much from our work down there. Two reasons stand out: lack of consistency due to the fact that I am working most of the time due to paragraph one, and the simple fact that she is very anxious about arena work. I'm not sure where the anxiety comes from, but she's had it from day one, although I didn't do much arena time while the trails were good all summer and fall. But we get resistance, teeth gnashing, hollowing, stiffness, etc. Poor me--I was thinking my sane, fun horse was gone, but thank heavens she was still a good trail horse when I got her out on a short snow ride two weeks ago. And she was stellar on our first over-night outing this weekend! Check out the videos!

I will try to post more regularly. I hope as evenings become lighter (and warmer!) I will have more riding time. I am trimming a lot of hooves, doing sports massage therapy, teaching riding lessons on Keno, and working part-time at the school still. It's a lot, but it's good!

Long Time Away

OK. I know I've been a major slacker, but believe me, I've had good reason. Yes, I've still been riding my girl, but time has been short for a lot of reasons. I have started a business called Equine Solutions: Sports Massage Therapy. (Look for me here: http://www.facebook.com/EquineSolutionsESMT ) I am massaging horses here and there as well as trimming 12 to 15 horses a week as well as teaching three riding students each week. Of course I still have my part time job at the school. So. Ahem. I have good reasons for not writing!

I will try to post on a regular schedule again. My riding time has been challenged, but I still manage to get Jetta out on a good ride 2-3 times each week. (Not enough really, but enough for now.) Keno gets out, too, but he needs more.

Today I took Jetta to my trimming appointment, and after trimming three horses, the owner and I headed out for a ride. We've had incredibly nice weather for December and it was wonderful today. Jetta was good and it was wonderful therapy for me. Here is the one picture I took:

I have some video from my crazy ride on Monday. I'll try to catch up on my blogging this weekend and post some photos and report on other rides.

Last Ride In The Canyon?

My friend Gail and I had a glorious ride in the canyon last Monday. Unfortunately, I think it may have been our last chance to ride up there unless we want to ride in the snow! The first photo below is from Monday, the next photo was my yard this morning! A big contrast to say the least!

Personally, I prefer the first photo! However, we do have an indoor arena close by, so this morning I headed down there to teach a lesson. I found eight horses already there, so Olivia had her first lesson with other riders and lots of activity around. She and Keno did great! Afterwards I took Keno home, and brought Jetta down for a taste of the action. This was our first ride in a "crowded" arena. There was a farrier working, kids running around, more kids practicing their saddle-bronc skills, and a guy working a green colt, and of course more horses tied to the railings. Jetta definitely got an eye full, but I'm happy to say that after the initial "whoohoo," she remained sane and calm. We worked in the "scary" corners and carried on with our ride in the midst of a noisy, busy place. I was very happy with her! We even made some progress with bending and softening. I was especially relieved she didn't freak out when the snow went sliding off the roof making a big crash--a lot of horses do! 

Canyon Ride

Nothing lifts my spirits like riding through the woods on a forward, enthusiastic mare on a glorious fall afternoon. Yesterday was such a day. Jetta and I missed our dream of riding at the Moab Canyons endurance ride this year due to various unforeseen and uncontrollable circumstances, but we met our fitness and readiness goals. So today we celebrated that fact by taking a "leisurely" stroll around the Ponderosa Trail. "Leisurely" is a very relative term when it comes to Jetta. Yes, I asked her to stay at a walk for most of the ride, but she "power-walked" up the mountain, around and down the other side with enthusiasm.

The deer hunt is over and the deer must have known it; we saw several deer out and about, and we saw six elk--the first I've seen all year! One bull had good sized antlers, too. Jetta's head went up and she stared, but that was her less-than-dramatic reaction to her first elk sighting! We also saw a sage hen, and lots of wild turkeys. The woods were beautiful even though the leaves have fallen. Check out the pictures:

It's kind of hard to feel sorry for yourself on a ride like this, so I didn't. We missed Moab, but we'll still get to Jetta's first endurance ride. In the meantime, we'll continue training and work on getting her saddle fit issues sorted out. And we'll keep enjoying rides like this one!