It begins!!

Ruby (known in some circles as Ginger) arrived early this afternoon!  I had mentally prepared myself not to judge her for how she was going to act after unloading from the trailer.  After all, she is young, and green, and half-Arab and knows not the ways of the world.  Besides all that, Jennie was sure to tell me - a few different times - that it took Ruby a good two weeks to settle in at her place...I felt like it was a warning not to do anything crazy, like try to ride, until I was sure Ruby had her brain screwed back in.  Turns out all of that preparation was for naught - she unloaded calmly, walked calmly to the round pen, and then stood looking at us all while we talked.  At one point she trotted half way around the round pen, decided it was too much work, and started grazing.

Ready for dinner - she looks like she's all legs in this picture.

Bringing her in for dinner was just as easy.  So far, so good!

Today's the day

Ginger/Ruby will be delivered around 11 this morning.  I'm excited and so nervous at the same time.  Excited to start this journey - nervous that I'll somehow screw it up.  Jennie has repeatedly told me that Ginger takes a week or two to settle down after a move...makes me wonder if she's going to unload a fire-breathing dragon at the barn this morning.  This will also be the first time that Ginger's ever been separated from her dam for any length of time, so we'll see how that affects her.  Today she'll be spending her day in the round pen, getting used to the sights and sounds of her new home.  Here's to hope.

AERC Is Trails Contest

The AERC held a recent essay contest.  They put all of the essays into a .pdf you can access here.  Karma ears are about halfway down. Enjoy!

Sticker Shock

Ginger should be headed my way early next week so I went shopping for some essentials yesterday.  Ya know, hay, beet pulp, whatever sweet feed she's currently eating, etc.  I've been asking around for months, getting folks' opinions on the best place to get hay and overwhelmingly I have heard about a little place about an hour from here.  Early Thursday morning, Heather (barn owner) and I headed over.  I was very impressed by their selection - they even have a 'hay menu' by the door to the warehouse - but wow, is hay expensive here!!  Seriously, $18.95 for a two-string bale??  I didn't even know they came in two-string bales...they weigh around 50 lbs.  So hay in Florida is TWICE as expensive as the good stuff in CA.  Literally.  Three-string bales of Timothy/Alfalfa or Orchard/Alfalfa were $39.95.  I thought California was supposed to be expensive?  

While I was there, I started pricing out supplements.  I've found good prices online but thought I'd give the local business a chance - they are three times as much as online.  So, I did my good deed and tried, but I'll be ordering from online vendors instead.  As for the hay, it's time to suck it up buttercup. I've come to understand that most people don't buy a years-worth at a time, due to the humidity.  What I'm going to try to do is make two large purchases a year - once in early spring, once early fall - when hay is abundant and (hopefully) a smidge cheaper. 

Anyway, I'm almost official.  I cleaned out my new cabinet at the barn, brought in the hay and beet pulp, hung up my halter, and bedded Ginger's stall.  We've decided to do a 90-day free lease to make sure that we are a good match for each other.  Assuming all goes well, Ginger will be mine in a few short months.  In the meantime, I'm considering renaming her.  I like Ruby, but would that be presumptuous?  Probably, but I'll probably do it anyway :) 

Revelation

So my riding has basically been stagnating for a little while now.  I was getting more comfortable, but not really progressing until three lessons ago.  At the beginning of that lesson, I just couldn't get it together.  I was all over the saddle, balancing myself on my hands (also known as poor Eclipse's mouth) - it was ugly.  After a few laps of this, Marie put me on the lunge line.  At first, I was a little disappointed - I knew that I wasn't doing what I was supposed to, but I haven't been on a lunge line in months!  We did a lot of work towards developing an independent seat and also learning to ride vertically - I have a bad habit of leaning forward while riding.  Anyway, by the end of that lesson, I was riding so much better.  I could feel how much better. That day I told Marie that I wanted to forgo all jumping and just work on my seat.  I cannot tell you how much I've improved, but even at the beginning of a lesson I'm doing tons better.  This last lesson, I rode almost the entire time without stirrups, this included two-point at the trot, posting the trot, and of course, canter work.  My butt rarely comes out of the saddle unless I want it to, and I can't remember the last time that Eclipse had to support me with his mouth.  Phew!

Stuff

So, with things getting more serious as far as Ginger is concerned, I've been really thinking about what I have, what I need, and what I want as far as horsey stuff.  Here is what I have come up with so far.

Feed:
Orchard/alfalfa or timothy/alfalfa hay - about the best we can do around here
Beet pulp (sans molasses)
Great vitamin supplement
Hoof supplement
Probiotic (she sometimes has runny stools, may be taken care of just by removing grain from diet)
Joint supplement

Needs:

Snap-on headstall
Extra rope halter
Extra lead rope
Manure fork
2 small buckets
3 large buckets
Sponge
Horse shampoo
Reflective vest
Reflective wrist/ankle wraps (for horse legs)
Riding gloves
Slow feeder hay net
Baby oil
Large locking trash can (for feed)
Wire brush (for hooves)
Fly spray

Wants:
Extra treeless saddle pad (would like to try HAF) - have an Equipedic that is ok, don't care for the Toklat Woolback
Extra girth
Dressage/English saddle
Nice leather bridle
White saddle blanket (for dressage shows)
Helmet cover
Hair net with bow
Renegade boots (before first 50 mile endurance ride)

Yep, we're looking at a ton of cash here.  I started making this list mid-December and really began wondering what I was doing.  Do we really have this much extra money that I can just throw it away??  It took some soul-searching for me and in-depth discussions with my husband before I decided that yes, we will move forward with this endeavor.  This is the culmination of a 30-year-old dream for me, literally a dream come true.  My husband is completely on board, partially because he is harboring some unwarranted guilt regarding my first horse, partially because he wants to see my dreams realized.  So, this is the deal - if Ginger works out, then Ginger works out.  If not, I'll probably be taking a good long break from horse-shopping and getting some other things done.  I will still be taking lessons though, I just can't give that up if I don't have to.

Ginger

I went to see Ginger again this past Wednesday.  The plan was for me to take her for a test spin.  Unfortunately, it started pouring when we got there, and she was being a bit of a pill, so we only got to work in the round pen.  It's been a few weeks since she's been worked so it took a few minutes but eventually she started to remember that the point is for her to listen and not just zoom around in circles.  When she does listen you can see so much potential in this horse - even the hubby, who at first had the 'you have got to be kidding me face' when I started working with Ginger was digging on her by the time we walked back to the barn.  I tried my saddle on her and it seems to fit her well, though we will have to poke more holes in the breast collar.

Although I didn't get to ride her myself, I did see her ridden a few weeks ago.  The rider said she was very responsive to leg pressure and is light enough to be ridden in a mild snaffle (ETA - Ha!!!).  This weekend, Sunday most likely, I'll be going out for the actual test ride.  If things go well, Ginger will probably be coming home with me later this month.

Plans

For the first I dunno how many months, we'll just be building on her riding education.  I hope to take at least two lessons with Marie every month and really practice in between.  I want to take a year and a half or so to build up to our first 50, but hope to be ready for 25-30 mile LDs (long distance rides) and Competitive Trail Rides (CTRs) by fall.  The following spring, I hope to participate in the annual Florida Cracker Trail ride.  Before our first 50, I would like to do two LDs in a row, to be sure both of us are ready.  On another note, I hope to start showing in some of the small local dressage shows at the introductory level by this summer.