Facebooking

Hi Guys,

Because of the fact the i still can't get photo's loaded i've decided to change over to Facebook, so you can still follow me and Prince on there, of course i can't write detailed reports, i might possibly do that on here.

Until Later...

The First Few Weeks

Congrats to Ruffles from the blog Just A Girl And Her Horse for getting a marvellous new horse called Romeo! He looks awesome! I hope everything works out really well with you three..

This these past few weeks have been filled with DRAMA!!

Firstly, i thought it would be great to try out that new arena. Hmm, doing my usual groundwork, the sideways game along the fenceline, i kept pushing prince to do the best sidepass at a trot, long the long side of the arena. i wanted him to at least the half i had picked out for him. i pushed him along way to hard and i was watching his body language but i wasn't LISTENING. I saw him panic, but to what i've seen it was so little i ignored it, and he jumped the arena fence. Straight from a standstill to a full metre. It was impressive (IF he had missed the top rail) but since he hit the top rail the boards just busted. The boards were nailed on the outside of the arena just so you know. It would have been a perfect jump too, only if he had been trotting or cantering he would have cleared that last inch or so.

I decided to get on and ride him after that because he was calm. Well! that was a wreakage waiting to happen! he was hot and tired (well it was a boiling afternoon) he didn't want to do anything except stand there, or walk. Boring! i wanted to work on my trotting and maybe canter again.

So anyway, i've been so busy i haven't had a chance to ride him again although i desperately want too. But tomorrow is another day..... if it's not raining.

Prince's mane is growing back already, from the cover, Ruffles gave me. Its already an inch and a half long. Amazing! its only been what, two months or less?

Oh and the other drama, my stupid blog is playing up, it won't let me load anymore photos on here. i can load them on the the little thingy, but they don't show up, they just come up as little white squares.. Pain in the - you-know-what!!

Anyway, maybe it will let me load videos! I think i might have one of prince having a canter after i let him go... I'll go and see..

New Grazing! New Moving Date!

Wow! I have had an amazing week, hectic but amazing!

My moving date has been changed to the 17th because of a bunch of things, mostly from Tony. I don't mind anymore because i found out the real reason on Wednesday.. Nobody saw this coming!

My sister rang me up on Wednesday, apparently she had been trying to ring me for a while. I had been working in my room preparing it for the moving date.

So my sister had come to Sharon and Tony's place for a visit and apparently Sharon had got a flier in the mail about this horse grazing just down the road - i mean literally just down the road - walking distance from where i'm going to be living. The grazing is with another lady called Sharon- she is married with a ten year old daughter. The grazing is twenty-five a week - just within my budget and you would believe the things that come with it! I'm enclosing photos hopefully, of it and pictures of Prince at the moment.

So for twenty-five a week, i get : A stable, grass, a SAND riding arena, covered tying up yard- just outside the stable, and an big yard to put him in closer to the house, and use of the fencing gear!!!! The thing i'm most rapt about is the riding arena, cause i'm always worried about messing the paddocks up, and i get worried about the mud.

So i think this has been the best week ever!

Hmm, the photo's won't load so i'm gonna try another post...

 

Scary Keys, Grazing, and a Float!

Everything is sorted! i have a place to stay, and Prince has gazing and Mahony Hire is gonna let us have a float for $90 for the weekend- with bars in the back!

Prince's gazing is about fifteen minutes away from Mt Munganui. He will be grazing with Standarbred's. The people who he will be staying with, they harness race them. The grazing is five dollars a day, thirty-five a week- which is a little out of my price range, but i am thankful for my mummy, who is helping me out.

As for the float, we went to Hawera hire and they wanted to charge us 145-195 for the weekend, and that was for a horse float with chains. I am glad Tony knew where to look!

The people whom i will be staying with are a lovely couple with a little darling daughter called Ella - Elizabeth Jane. Their names are Sharon and Tony.

As for the scary keys.. I had my car keys in my pocket (yes i passed my restricted! Also i own a car!) and i was jingling them and Prince started to get wide eyed and started to snort. i slowly pulled them out and let him sniff them.
  He shot backwards when the wind jingled them, so i started shaking them. He starting running around the paddok like a loony, so i just stayed calm with my leg relaxed and calming thinking about what i had for tea last night. After about ten minutes (i'm not kidding) he finally stopped running so i stopped jingling the keys too. he was fine after that, so just a tip! check to see if your horse like's keys lol.

I'm not sure when we are moving, Tony is worried about a few things, like he's not sure if he can pick up the float, and Jackie (his sister) isn't going to be there for this weekend (we were going to stop for a break there). i was hoping we could moving me on the tenth, but now it might be the 17th. Who knows now..

If we have to change it, i have so much more to do... ugh!

Fingers Crossed!

I am starting to get a little nervous. Two weeks left to get everything sorted and nothing has changed from last week on things sorted. Even the place where I am supposed to be staying isn't 100% sorted yet either.

As for floats, i have a few more ideas. Thank heavens! There is a friend of mine called Rach, and she has a float - one problem, its got chains instead of a bum bar.
  Also there is Majestic horse floats, which i'm still waiting to hear back on the price. Putting Prince on that will save me so much stress and Prince will have less stress too, because he likes trucks.
  There is a place just out of Inglewood called Mahony Hire, apparently its cheap and all right if you don't mind your horse travelling with a slightly not so nice looking float.

As for grazing, i have gotten Mum to put a notice on Parelli Connect, a wanted grazing in Tauranga thing. I am still looking on trademe, and asking friends who live in Tauranga. Fingers crossed something comes up.

Prince this week as been a real grumbler. He complained about his hay (didn't touch it even though he was hungry), complained about the grass (too much buttercup and not enough grass), complained about the weather (by been hunched up as close as possible to the hedge) and complained about been locked up in his paddock. My response - Too bad!

I've noticed he has been leaning across the barbed wire fence, and he has ripped two holes in the front of his rug. So on a sunny day, that rug is coming off and is getting a wash and a patch up!

I haven't had time for riding at all this week, but since this is a four day weekend, i am planning to do at least two days of riding. Although i have to mow the lawns first! Maybe i'll just park prince on there and give him a groom while he is eating because his hair is just falling out in clumps!

I got prince to give me a kiss on his nose finally! I have been trying to teach him for months and finally succeeded after picking a handful of grass..

Big News!

So I haven't blogged for a while. I've been kinda busy (that and going to tauranga) trying to sort my life out.

I have been given notice to move out where i've been boarding for the past year and three months. The reason i went to tauranga was to see if i could sort out a place to live. i have found a place where i can live (much to my relief) but i still have to sort out details and stuff. i haven't found somewhere to graze Prince yet. i've been thinking maybe the pony club grounds or a place we (my sister and i) drove past called the Horse Haven - it looks really nice.

I've also booked my restricted (here in New Zealand we have three stages for our driver's licence. One- learners permit where we can only drive with an assistant driver who has held their full licence for two years and it must be current. Two- restricted you can drive on your own but only between the hours of ten pm and six am. You are not allowed to carry passengers with you unless you have a fully licenced driver with you. Three- your full licence you can carry passengers, tow trailers, and go driving at any hours.) for the 25th of this month, only about two weeks away. oh and it is at three pm.... Rush hour in Hawera.. fun!

Does anybody know somebody local who wouldn't mind lending me a horse float for the weekend? not this weekend but maybe the first one in November.. its so i can move my horse up when i move..

Also i have been thinking, if you have been keeping up to date with Wilson Sisters, who have been training Kaimanawas then you will know that Memo lost her foal :-( i was gutted but these things happen i suppose and she has been under a lot of stress.
  I've been looking at one of the geldings they have been training, Ranger. he looks so much like Prince it makes me wonder if they are related. i'm gonna post two pictures of their heads on here - mine isn't as good as the one of Ranger.

 

Don't forget, my horse is a scruff! Ranger has been made into a show pony :-)

Trotting, Trotting - Where's My Canter?

Sunday.

I missed my ride, so i thought i'd make the best of the situation. Prince was across the river, and had no grass. i was on the normal side that the house is on - with all the grass!

I walked across the swing bridge and wound up the fence reel i wasn't using and i gathered up some standards, prince's water trough, water buckets (used to carry water up from the river as we don't have hose) and the electric fence unit. i set up a the fence on the roadside and poured water into a bucket

i then dashed into my room to get changed, and then grabbed prince's rope halter and lead and marched arcoss the swing bridge (jumping and swinging it as i ran) and when i got to Prince's paddock i jumped the fence and waited. And waited. i waited until i felt his nose touch me, then i slowly turned around and rubbed his neck and then i haltered him.

i walked down the bank to the river and waited at the bottom for Prince to jump down. he half jumped and the kinda waddled the rest of the way down. Once down he snatched mouthfuls of Native New Zealand trees. he knows he's not aloud to eat them. this is why he pinches bits when he can - because they taste soooo good!

anyway i took him across the FREEZING cold river, numbing my legs off after two seconds of been in there.. and plonked him in his paddock on the roadside.

About three o'clock i got my butt into gear and decided i was going to ride that naughty horse of mine. i did a bit of groundwork. jumping and such. i made a long jump - by laying the barrels down and putting three fence posts horizontally across them. He didn't want to jump it but i put more 'ask' into it and he jumped it. Then to my surprise he offered and from a standstill (just checking for traffic) and jumped clean and clear!

then when i asked Prince to do the circling game he switched in to play drive mode and galloped about fifteen circles either way (him throwing in a change of direction for fun) and plenty of bucks chucked in for a good measure. i'm not kidding about the laps either..

So when he calmed down i tightened his girth and jumped on and started off by doing lots of walking to get me used to his gait again. i also did backing through the two barrels, and sideways over some poles and up a barrel (this one was done on the ground).

i then started trotting. i trotted posting, and i trotted sitting. When i got confident enough i wanted him to canter. No matter how many times i tried - going through my fazes and asking and asking he still didn't. Our ride was two hours long. i gave up but finished on a posting trot. i figured if i couldn't get him to canter then it was something i was doing.

i talked to mum and she told me i was me. She told me how to fix it so i cant wait to get back on and try again.

i won't be able to ride in the holidays because i am going to tauranga for five days.. maybe I'll do it on saturday...