Working hard

Heidi has been working hard as have I been to get her working in great shape.  Sunday I was photographer and ground crew at Tamarack while a bunch of the girls were riding.  They were jumping and doing coarses and getting their horses all working.  Sadly none of their pictures are on my laptop.  It was fun, chilly, but still I kept moving none the less. Good exercise.
Then after about 2 hours there, we packed up so Kylie, Megan and I could go over to Lucky Charm.  Megan was the coach, photographer and ground crew this time around. Luckily for her, Rayna and Heidi are both green, out of shape and big drafty girls that don't jump much at all.  Megan made us get a good workout and gave me something to work on.  Hopefully we can work some more while the temps are down, I'm such a wimp for the cold!

So we'll be working on this again some more over the next couple of weeks and I hope by February to be ready for a lesson from Shana.  I have also picked up a bag of safe choice so I can give Heidi yummies after she works so hopefully she learns to enjoy her workouts again.
Willow has lost, so far, 1.5 pounds on the Royal Canin food so I've upped it yet again.  I don't want her to drop below 27 pounds and today she was at 27.1 So we're now up to 1.5 cups of food.   Half cup am, 1 cup with 1/3 cup green beans and a spoonful of pumpkin and her oil at night.  She's much happier with more food in her belly.

The start of something fresh

Happy New Year! 

     Today being the first day of the new year I fully intend to make every little bit of this year be as awesome as possible.  Today I started the year, on lack of sleep I went up to the barn to ride.  Heidi moved to Lucky Charm two days ago, 12/30 and so far she seems to be happy and today she was eager to go out and ride.  I'm very glad she wasn't super up and was able to ride it.  She's still very stiff to one side.  After a really decently long ride, I put Heidi in the round pen.  We worked in the round pen, and I did make her do some bending as well.  Then called it a day.  It's been a day and I'm very happy and proud that she worked as well as she did.  She's quite happy in her pasture, it's good sized with fewer horses on it.  It still does have a little bit of grass in it but they are tossing hay I'm pretty sure. Either way she was happy.  

     I have swappped the bunnies today to water dishes.  It seemed like the right thing to do with the bottles going to start freezing again at night. I'd rather not bust any water bottles that I don't have two.  I only have 2 newer ones out of 6 bottles, and Kylie's got one or two new bottles out of her bunch, she's got a couple of my older ones.  The older ones will be the most likely to bust.  Now hopefully Athena has kits soon, I forgot when I bred her, and I know I bred Natalie to Willie when I bred Huffy to Butters.  I'm going to swap Connie into Kylie's cages and move Huffy over if she palpates positive so she has more room to raise her kits. Thinking.  Sherry got herself a new cage for Blue and offered me her old cage, which is a 30x30" cage .  Like my stacked cages so I went ahead and said yes please.  I know I will not get anymore rabbits myself but it would work really well for Whiskey and her kits.  it still needs everything else pan, legs what not BUT Whiskey has more room.  Whiskey lost her runt baby which was also her only broken colored kit.  To me she has two Chestnut Agouti's, once black or steel kit and four ruby eyed whites.  Still not bad at all for her first live litter.  They should be ready to go February 19th as that's the 8 week old mark and next weekend I shall sex them and find out what she's got.  
     Willow has been super hyper now that she's on a different food.  She's on a vet exclusive Royal Canine diet and it seems to be trimming the fat, upping her energy and helping her build muscle.  She's on the Weight Management- Satiety and she's doing really well.  Only thing I have noticed so far was that she's got a bit dryer stool than she used to.  I do want to work on that as she gets green beans and pumpkin on her dinner I just want to make sure she doesn't get constipated at all.  She does poop more often and everything I've read up on it says that is normal for that food.  I just hope she keeps trimming the fat and building the muscle.  We have to go back to working again soon because I do want to finish her Beginner Novice, Novice obedience titles and I do want to get Advanced Rally.  Eventually I want to try agility with her as her food is helping her build the extra muscle plus she's already really good at running and jumping.
     I'm so ready to get this year under way.  I'm looking at new jobs, an extra part time job or whatever to build some savings as well as continue my search for the right guy. 

Merry Christmas, and the count down begins

Merry Christmas to all, with much love from myself, Heidi, Willow, Oasis, Connie, Natalie, Athena, Willie, and Hercules.
Christmas brought a lot of things for me to help get myself ready for my own place.  I do lack a few things still needed for my own apartment, but they are still things that I can pick up as I go.  I figure to be at least a few months out as I need to put aside money for deposit and the last few things that I need.  There's nothing wrong with where I am now, with Kylie, but her present engagement to Doug, I just feel intruding.
The count down has begun to moving Heidi to Lucky Charm.  While the farm is a touch further away, towards Lexington, it's about 2 miles further to this farm from Kylie's than Tamarack was, there's not many boarders and it's usually quiet.  No more Sandy stress from trying to micromanage, and Heidi off grain.  She's gained so much weight, her neck is thick and she's got huge fat deposits along her crest, tail head and a ton through her belly so much that she looks pregnant.
Willow has been wonderful.  She's taking everything else in stride that we've done and I think she'll take to working off leash, with plenty more work, quite well.  She only barked at Allen once yesterday, and he came outside to get dad's Christmas present out of my truck, in a big black hoodie.  We jokingly called him Darth Allen.  
Today I plan to pull some of my things out of Tamarack.  First step will be to drop the trailer over at Lisa's.  Spend some time with them, get my stuff from Allen and Dad that I forgot and then to Tamarack.  I'm going to get my blankets and some of my stuff that I don't need there anymore in my tack box and grab my mounting block.  Then the truck can happily sit for a little longer until moving day comes, cause then I can just toss my tack box in the back and lead them over to Lucky Charm.  I may even be able to put my tack box in the back of their truck.  Well I need to get myself moving. I have to check and make sure the trailer will be okay, cause if not I have to make new plans quickly.  So much planning, so much to do but it'll be worth it in the end.

Roads ahead

     Things have been just going steady as can be.  Kylie and I switched out and started trail riding and Heidi has really blossomed into the mare I always wanted.  We've gone to riding without a crop or spurs or anything.  We can canter or trot out in the open fields and we're both relaxed.  Eventually I may invest in a western saddle and do both.  I also talked to Michael and he's going to check into a friend of his that may have a harness for me that I can either do payments on or he might give it to me. Here's for hoping.
     Willow's been training really well.  We take 20-30 minutes of our lunch break to go out and walk.  We did really good and for the first time I made her work with distractions and it worked!  She did get up on a long sit and I was able to correct her.  She's always been perfect about it and it's hard to keep making her go forward  when there is nothing there to go forward with.  I hate waiting for her to screw up to correct and more forward.  I'm hoping eventually we'll be able to go with Mikey over lunch with one of his Pits so he can keep working.
     My bunnies are going to sell out and then I am going to keep my retirees and eventually colonize them all together.  Athena, Connie, Natalie and Clover will join them eventually.  Athena's not that old but she's been so abused by the other doe that I don't want her to get roughed around.

Learning

     I've been learning quite a few things since the last post.  I've been very lightly working Heidi, but been mainly at the trot.  I might try and canter again soon too. depends on how much time I get to work Heidi.  She'll get a day or two of work and then several more days off and I'm just not getting the consistent work into her that I should be to get but I'm too busy to really do it and I'm too inconsistent.  I guess maybe for a little longer that is just the way we are going to be.  It'll be  a long time until I get the time to do everything with her. I will do what I can. 
     I have been slacking on Willow's training, I haven't done hardly ANY at all since the last show.  We've chosen to get to a show in mid November so I have to get her back at it and training.  We'll be ready for that show.  Just need a few good swift kick in the ass days. 
     I have yet to finish Rachel's wedding pictures.  I didn't work on them at all today.  I was out fishing with dad most of the day got home and had to do laundry, dishes and then get dinner in the oven.  Gotta get them done, I have another wedding to do this coming Friday!  

Crossing Bridges

     Heidi and I have been making strides forward.  I gave her some time off after getting her butt kicked with cantering and jumping.  Today I had been intending to just take it easy but Shana helped me see a few things and taught me a few more things to help improve Heidi and maybe it will help me improve as well. We have a ways to go.  It's really actually quite impressive watching Heidi work from the ground.  I know fully watching Shana on Heidi is a lot better than me on Heidi but we're both greenies.  Hopefully soon I'll be able to ride more often with Shana and we'll get Heidi pushed more forward that maybe by late spring next year we could enter a schooling show.  I don't think I will bother trying to get her to jump for a little while, just get the solid walk, trot, and canter under her and keep her working efficiently.  Then work on me as well.  Maybe afterward I will consider trying to teach her to jump.  I may not bother either.  While I remember quite enjoying jumping Phoenix back in college- the last jump experience I had was not a pleasant one.  Guess hitting the sand was not a good thing for my confidence when it comes to jumping.
     I am still dreading my vacation trip back to NY for Rachel's wedding.  A long train ride and some long nights are coming up and I just dread leaving Willow.  Not for the sake of her well being, I know she's good and safe with Lisa.  It's I hate being away from her.  I've gotten so accustomed to having her right there with me constantly that it will be very strange to not have her there with me.  In a way I wish I had brought her along with me but maybe being away from her will make the trip home a lot easier to take, knowing I'll be coming back as soon as possible.
     Waffles is doing okay.  I want to try and get some water removed from his tank and then get some fresh water in tonight.  I haven't had another bubble nest since the first one he made me.  I looked for a new tank heater this morning while I was out at Wal-Mart but no joy.  Did find some freeze dried bloodworms for food, but I have plenty of food for him right now.  I give him a few of the pellets that Kylie gave me to feed him and some of the mixed food that I have as well.  He's still as bright and vivid as he has been from the get go.  He really is such a pretty fish.   I never realized exactly how pretty these fish really were.  Hopefully I can do him justice since it's been FOREVER since I've been around fish.  I hope he's alright while I am gone.  I am sure Kylie will take care of him and the bunnies while I am gone.  Thinking of Bunnies . . .  The bunnies are doing okay.  I hope to have a couple of them ready for the show the Saturday after I get back.  I may not have anything really ready to show except a few chin's and *maybe* a steel.  Either way I should be alright showing.  It's more for Kylie to see how her Mini Lops do than anything to me.

Me

      I have had a whirl wind two weeks so far  at Kylie's.  Willow still has her spats with the dogs.  The only one she hasn't really bothered with is Eli.  I know it's only been two weeks but I need to get this figured out.  Something will have to give.  I need to do a little study and research of dog behavior.  Most of the time so long as I am watching I don't worry too much about letting her play.  I can yell at her and pull her up on the couch next to me for some time out.  I hope that either I can figure something out or I will have to make a Plan B.
     I have made some huge strides with Heidi this past week.  I made the mistake of saying Heidi's never cantered under saddle  so Megan played musical ponies with me and she got Heidi to canter under saddle.  Then afterwards we went for a mini trail ride down to the creek and back, this time Heidi cantered up the hill behind Amber(Kylie) and Rayna(Megan).  It was one of the most exhilarating things I have done in the 4 years I've had Heidi.  I couldn't wait to canter her under saddle.  I knew once I was riding more and around people I was comfortable with I would be fine.   First Canter on Heidi 9/3/15- then on the 4th I attempted to get her to jump a little cross rail- Well she's not a jumping pony.  First fall off Heidi too.  Hopefully my last one but I'm just not ready nor fit enough to jump yet.  Today I cantered her in the outdoor arena.  Took a little bit but I've got some work still to do on myself as well as balancing Heidi.  We did better in one direction with picking up the correct lead opposite direction we counter cantered.   Shana and Megan both told me it was harder for Heidi to pick up the wrong lead but she was doing it for me.  Still need work, apparently that was what I was telling her to do.  I have been ecstatic with our progress.
     Willow was okay at her show on August 30th.  First time out in Beginner Novice Obedience and all off a sudden that day her sit for exam was GREAT, her automatic sit upon stopping- well lets just say I think she forgot how to sit.   Otherwise we did really good.  Class originally was supposed to be 6 people.  3 showed up, including us.  The Min Pin NQ'd and the blue heeler was first place with a 195, we got second with a 185.5  We were marked down on tight leash(partly me partly she was lagging) and no sits.  So I've let her have this down time to try and settle in a little more at Kylie's and once I get back from New York I will get back to the grind of training with Lisa again.  I will get her going good enough I do want to get a first place at some point.  That's more of me than anything else.  I just have this drive to get a first place.  We've got a couple seconds and a third but I want a blue ribbon.  
     Also bunnies have been good.  This prolonged heat and drought is taking it's toll on them.  I lost one to heat but hopefully the last ones can make it these next 3 or 4 days until it finally cools down again.   Once it cools down I'll try to get Juliet re-bred and from there I either need to make or buy more cages or I have to get rid of a couple and then I can go from there.  Part of me wants to continue the Chins only and move the others all on, but I have Connie, Natalie, Raven and Willie still left.  Willie I am sure I can probably sell on, possibly Raven as well.  Natalie and Connie are both too old to sell on. 
     I have been job scouting a lot lately and I've put in for this photography job.  I worked hard pulling 56 photos and had Allen critique them and we got it down to 42 images in my online portfolio.  Now hopefully it will yield a job out of it.  The pay isn't bad, $135 a day plus my travel expenses which is more than I am making now, and it'll mean every weekend off- so I can continue showing rabbits and Willow as often as I want.  Right now I have it at Boonesboro my set day off is Saturday's if this last photography job gig doesn't lead to a new job then I will be picking up a second job so I can afford Heidi's board.  I've already talked to Sandy and told her ahead of time that I will pay what I can as I can until I get the second job up and running and paying.  Also with the spats y dog has caused on a few occasions I have also looked into income based apartments.  There are several in Winchester that I am going to get after and see if I can qualify for them. I just don't want Willow to create a disaster for someone else.  I can leave her crated while I am at my second job on the weekends.  She still does bark at Doug but she let him pet her today so it's a step in the right direction.