Q vs. ground poles

A hometown friend - we'll call her A - has been training under an incredible trainer for the past 9 months in Virginia.  She's home for two weeks with her Friesian sporthorse, Eli (more on that tomorrow). 

We're exchanging knowledge and I'm lending her some of the beauty of our local riding in our overlapping time in town.  Last weekend she came out for a trail ride on her second day home.  I put her on Q as Mayer can be a royal pain if you are unaware of how much she hates anyone to be up in her mouth.  Since A has been working with hunter/jumpers for the past several months I thought it better to put her on Q who is more accustomed to contact with her mouth than Mayer who is used to signals that come from your legs and seat.

The ride went beautifully and we both had a blast.  I got to hear all about fox hunting and am planning a trip (or two) in the fall to go!  Additionally, I hope to get some flat and jumper lessons from A's trainer who is VERY well respected in the horse community.

Returning to the barn, A was enamored with Q and her forwardness/eagerness.  I pulled out some PVC pipe for ground poles so A could see how Q would do.  She had her going straight within minutes and assured me she could likely have her doing a 2' jump within no time at all.

Look at that big stride on my little 14.1 endurance pony  =)

Tomorrow & Saturday A and I are going to do more trail riding, I will be receiving a lesson from her on Q, she will get lessons on working a new horse on the ground from me, and we just plan to have a jolly good time of it all.  I'm SUPER PSYCHED to ride some Friesians and her Friesian sporthorse.  I mean, come on, what horse crazy girl HASN'T dreamt of owning or riding a Friesian?!?!

Photo spam to follow in upcoming days.  I promise to fit it into a post before I leave Sunday (for 3 weeks) and disappear into the land of little technological service.  My outdoors gear is mostly packed and ready.  Gonna be a blast!

Q hates bears

Lovely ride with Q the past two nights.  Her first two rides solo since the very first ride I took her on when she came to her new home.

She's doing absolutely beautifully.  Resists my guidance a bit for the first half mile or so, but once we hit the woods she's all business (for the most part).  She's really observant of everything around her.  She is happy to move out and let me guide her once we're in the woods/trails away from home.  She weaves like a champ around trees and low branches - at multiple speeds, too!

The majority of our rides have been around 3.5 miles so far.  We've had two 5 mile rides thus far.  Since my current goal is the 30 mile LD in August, I'm shooting to have her maintain a 4-5 mph average speed for our rides or to get in 5 miles in an hour-ish.  (Ultimate goal to get in 10 miles in two hours twice a week prior to ride.)

I know at a walk on Mayer we can do 8 miles in 2.5 hours (this includes stops to tie horses, lift fallen trees, maneuver horses under and through said trees one at a time [we didn't have a saw]).  So if Q can do some trotting for even a minimal amount of time I know she should be able to accomplish the goal of 10 mi. in 2 hr.  (Q's trot is a solid 6-7 mph according to what we've documented with Endomondo so far.)

Currently, I'm pretty psyched that she's doing so phenomenally out on her solo rides.  She's a completely different horse from the first one we did on her first day at the farm.  On that ride she was beyond distracted - but that was fine with me.  I wanted to do it as a base line to see how far she would come as time moved along.

Sure, she's a little more forward moving once she knows we're homeward bound, but with a "whooooa" and some pressure applied to the reins she comes down to a walk nearly instantly.  "Whoa" means "whoa" as far as she's concerned - and I LOVE it.  We ride on a loose rein 90% of the time.

I test her a tiny bit more each day with a little more distance or a little more speed.  (Excluding the first ride I ever had on her that was 6 hours over god knows what distance...I was distracted with the task of capturing a proposal and then slightly intoxicated after the fact - don't judge me.)  We've maxed out at 5.1 miles thus far with a max speed of 16 mph and a max average speed for a ride at 5.5 mph.

We walk all down hills right now, whether they steep or slight.  Down hills are a good half of our rides if not more sometimes and they are good training ground for her to learn to walk down and for me to have boundaries to not push too much too fast.  We do a fast walk or a trot on all of the up hills.  If its excessively steep she has to fast walk, if its a slow, but steady incline we trot for either all of it or half of it depending on how she is doing.  I strive to not max her out, but I still want to challenge her a little bit each day - even if its only for a minute at a time.

I know I pushed Orion too hard last summer.  It was at the urging of friends who hadn't read up on training - but it was ultimately my fault for not reading up either.  Additionally, I knew little about conformation last summer and those who did were afraid to crush my dreams and didn't speak up until he'd been injured - he just wasn't built to do endurance (or jumping for that matter).  I'm bound and determined to not make those mistakes again.

I've done my research well this time.  And many of you have helped me in my learning by posting about your own experiences, and for that, I thank you greatly.  Thanks to you, among other sources, I know to add distance or speed, not both.  I know to focus on time largely in the beginning instead of speed.  And instead of basing my goals for each loop of the ride from my first experience, I'm shooting to just FINISH the ride within the limit allowed with a goal of the most minimal amount of miles per hour possible.  (I was very fortunate on my first LD adventure - I trained very well for 6 months on perfect terrain.  A lot of beginners luck in my training led to me finishing the 30 miles in 4 hours with ease.  It helped that the original track for the race to be held on - that was later nixed due to endangered species issues - was my training ground!)

And now, the source of the title of this post.  Q hates bears.  We were right about 3 miles on my goal of 5 miles for today's ride when WHAM she comes to a stop.  I hear rustling up the mountain to my left and see movement around the turn ahead of us.  I cluck and urge her forward, a little confused.  She takes a step and won't move further, blowing hard, ears erect, body stiff.  I lean down and around her arched neck to see a nice sized sow sprinting away.  From experience with bears up-close, she was AT LEAST 160 lbs, likely more - she looked fat to me!

Q wanted NONE of that bear.  She attempted to turn multiple times.  Danced in place.  Began blowing and snorting. Full-on Arabian behaviors.  I decided with the risk of cubs + momma + Kenai it was probably a better idea to just back track instead of making the loop (with more hill action) as I'd planned.  So once Q stood still for about 10 straight seconds I turned her around and headed home.

I love seeing bears, but I also respect them.  While our Appalachian black bear population is by and large scared of humans (over hunting with dogs), I still have a large respect for them.  I'm happy Q is so alert and can point such things out to me.  It really helps the partnership we're developing.  I can focus on where and when, she can focus on the train under her feet and potential threats around us I may not smell/hear/see.  When you're alone in the middle of no where, that's pretty valuable.

Loving my little mare.

WW - WV travels

Griffin Rolls; Q runs

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

Hosted weekly by Ramblings and Photos 
All photos are my own. 

 1. Shine - The coat of a healthy horse.  (Who remembers Duke?!  He's for sale.)

2. Fast - Q's ability to learn new concepts.

3. Left - Where he always is.

4. Peace - The feeling I have when I'm in my state, my mountains, my home.

5. Plain - The simplest of saddles

Sweet success

Looking at this post from January I was happy to read the following:


My goals [and now his] for the next month (he does most of these in some minor form already):
- be comfortable with all parts of his body being touched and handled
- comfort with having his feet picked up and handled for a far amount of time (need to get his feet trimmed soon - yes, we will be barefoot and natural!!)
- learn to lead and give respectable space to me while leading
- giving to pressure and flexing
- lunging and listening to requests, body language requests, as I don't expect voice commands to click yet
- practice loading happily and quietly
- ground tying and standing politely and quietly to any and all acceptable objects


And guess what?  ACCOMPLISHED IT ALL.  Booya.  In fact, I'm pretty certain other than driving goals, we've accomplished nearly every goal I've had in place.  Goooo Griffin!

What now?  Well, obviously further building up from the solid foundation we've developed!  And the biggest goal for him for the summer is to just be healthy and grow, grow, grow!  He's come a mighty far way...

I have this photo in the little photo-film reel I keep adding to...but it's on my desktop which hasn't had internet access in days and thus is not uploaded for your viewing pleasure....yet.

But seems to be at a bit of a stand still in his growth.  I'm still eager (and scared) to see him when I return from 2.5 weeks of gone-ness.  I bet he's much bigger.  Having Q around makes him seem not so minuscule since they are only 2-3 inches different in height (of the other horses: two are ~16hh and all the others are ~15.2hh).

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Wednesday I ponied Griffin, and then let him follow at liberty on the ride Q and I went on.  She was very pissy on a ride with Mayer the day prior so I wanted to see how she'd do with a different horse.

No crankiness toward Griffin at all.  She was overly concerned about his where-abouts though and had trouble listening to me.  At one point when he lagged behind and then galloped to catch up she even spooked and tried to run away from him.  I think she must have had a few bad experiences with people/animals sneaking up from behind so she's really, really wary.  She would also get concerned when Griffin would take one of his many wrong turns and disappear for 30 seconds or so.  (I find it comical that he thinks he's the trail master-navigator.)

Griffin will be very good for her on the trails since he is so unpredictable.  She has to deal with him coming up from behind, leaving her to go elsewhere, and passing her.  Its good practical experience for the two of them.  It also really helps that he's the only horse she trusts so far at her new home.

By the end of the ride, Q chilled out a lot and was beginning to listen to me a lot better.  I really, truly think she has the potential to be awesome.  We just need to get a trust thing going.  Optimism, I has it.

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Q is coming further along every day. Griffin is the only horse in the field she trusts so far.  It makes me happy to drive up to the barn to see the two of them swishing flies for one another in the field apart from the others.  I'm glad my two can be friends.

He's a good influence on her as far as teaching her a few tricks - like coming when I call and whistle in the field.  She won't come immediately, but when she realizes he isn't coming back she tags right along.  They both get a little treat to munch, halters put on, and in they come.  Good horses.

I honestly believe that she has never had someone be nice to her continuously no matter the circumstance.  She constantly gives me this wild look and will throw her head in the air when I speak harshly to her for doing something she shouldn't.  When she shows poor ground manners I turn about quickly to be in front of her, lead in hand, and give a quick jerk of the lead to get her to pay mind and not be a snot.  She balks in a manner of a horse who expects a harsh blow to follow.  She always seems surprised when I don't give it. As soon as she settles and stands, I resume whatever I was doing. 

We go through the harsh words, about face, exchange stand-the-F-still / are-you-gonna-kill-me? looks maybe two times and then she chills the F out and realizes, Oh, hey, this two-legged person isn't gonna hurt me.  Cool.  I'll be chill.  And then she gets lots of happy words and strokes and pats from me.

Today, I toyed around with her shoeless front hoof.  Goal to rasp it down so it would fit in a boot I had so we could go ride.  She jumped all around to avoid me doing this.  We did our routine exchange of body language, and within two bouts of that she chilled the F out and let me do it.  Such a good girl!  Lots of praise.

Before I prodded around trying to put the boot on I remembered I had some essential lavender oil in the car.  I let her sniff it, she licked and chewed.  I applied it around the base of her nostrils.  I then proceeded to get caught up in conversation for a few minutes.  When I went to put the boot on she was the most docile thing EVER.  I was shocked.  Didn't care that I had to pick up and put down her foot a lot to get the boot settled right.  So, so, so chill.

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Griffin has learned to be a snot though.  He finally realized on our ride today that when he gets unhooked from his lead that he doesn't really have to follow us.  Today he said "Fuck herd mentality, I'm going home.  See you guys later!"  I had to go fetch him TWICE.  My stupid fault for thinking he'd listen the second time. 

He got towed along ponied for a good mile.  Then he got unhooked.  His problem?  Lazy must-eat-everything mentality.  He thinks these rides are for him to get to stop and eat.  Then he runs to catch up.  Well Q and I had some work to do, don'cha know!  We left his ass.  So he squealed.  She got upset and we had to go find him.

He did behave fairly well after that....  Other than throwing a kick at Kenai's head.  Le sigh.  Those antics combined with him thinking he can go "chill" in the tack room whenever he damn well pleases proved to me today that he needs more big-boy work in his life.  If he doesn't have enough stimuli from our workouts and has enough time to throw shenanigans, he's time to learn some more complicated maneuvers. 

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OH.  Last note on today.  Griffin passed Q and I on one of his many wrong-turns on the way home.  This one wasn't so much a wrong turn as a little detour, so Q and I followed.  We came out into the field on top and Griffin took off running. 

I let Q canter.

The boot came loose finally and she FREAKED OUT.

I tried to slow her and tell her it was okay, I'd fix it, just stop (I literally said this aloud to her in a calm voice - thanks subconcious chill-me for taking over).  While chill-Liz was saying these things to crazy-Q, normal-Liz was thinking at the same time, Okay, where's the best place to fall off and how am I gonna do this without killing myself?!

I managed to slow her and one rein stop her.

Griffin was still galloping into his own personal sunset at this point.  I jumped off her and got the boot off my now dancing horse who was upset her buddy had run away.  Fortunately for all involved, he made a safe U-turn at his earliest convenience and came back.  All was right with the world.

Stay tuned for adventures with FRIESIANS later in the week (I'm squee-ing inside constantly over the dream-come-true to ride a Friesian...and a Friesian sporthorse!

On Cue

The first formal photos of On Cue, or as she will be called in every day life (and on this blog)  Q!  (Thanks to my mom for coming up with On Cue, Andrea for suggesting Q, and Funder for teaching me the differences of "cue" and "queue" to help contribute to the name of my new girl.)

And here's a rough video from my phone of Chris trotting her in hand for me.

She's got some weight to lose.  Most definitely.  But with the riding I plan on doing it shouldn't be too impossible to accomplish ;-).

Things about her that attributed to me deciding to buy her (writing this more for myself so I can see how she changes):

• she's very forward on the trail - eager to move up a hill and not a wuss about getting down one either
• she collects over jump obstacles in the woods in a way that few horses I've ever ridden have done
• she's very, very alert and notices everything (even little butterflies) but doesn't spook like a complete maniac, she notes her surroundings and moves on
• she's a quick learner - figured out within only a few tries what she had to do (give me two eyes) to get to stop moving her feet in the round pen
• she's a lover
• she's responsive - side pass you ask?  No problem.
• she backs up under saddle like a reining horse
• her floaty trot is a joy to ride
• her canter is ground-eating
• she's in heat and isn't a complete and total witch!  We even introduced her to the herd last night (let her out with them finally) and she only threw one kick (when Little Bit charged her) and then she was aloof the rest of the time.  She'll arch her neck and pin her ears, but isn't all snarly.  Win.
• stop means stop 

What we need to work on:

• ground manners; ain't her fault (yes, I just used "ain't"), she just hasn't had someone as "her" person in a long time for her to have to focus on these things (leading, standing tied, etc.)
• standing 100% of the time while mounting; she'll stand about 50% of the time right now, and when she does stand she's usually lurching forward as you're plopping your butt down
• immediately after being haltered and brought in to be tied and prepped for whatever, she's super zesty and snorty and prancy - this. must end.  I do recognize she's an Arab and will do these things though.
• overall she just doesn't seem to trust you immediately.  I think she's been hucked around between different folks for awhile and is so cautious that someone is going to be quick and rough with her just to get stuff done (feet, tacking up, brushing, etc.).  When you move slow and talk to her and comfort her through each step she chills out quick; I'm hope to gain her trust and prove to her that I'm not going to haul off and hit her for some tiny indiscretion that is merely a part of horse nature.

Acting innocent about the fact that she was whirling in a circle and
screaming for attention while crashing her butt into the wall in  her
failed attempts to turn around.

• she screams for you when you leave her tied and you walk out of sight.  In part with the above statement, I think she's been left a lot and just isn't sure if someone is going to come back for her.  I'm sure this will stop with time.  She shows that she has potential to be good (will stand quietly and not dig a trench/hole to China) when someone is around.  Definitely plan on leaving her tied up semi-alone (where I'm out of her sight but she isn't out of mine) for a few good stretches of time though!  

Her feet: She came to me with two front shoes on.  I'd intended to just continue with those as long as she kept them on, even though I really prefer booting.  Well, the question about when she'd be transferring to boots was decided rather quickly by her.  I went out Tuesday and she'd tossed a shoe already.  Trimmer is (hopefully) coming next week to do her and Griffin and she'll get sized for Renegades!  Bright orange =)  I like my obnoxiously bright orange saddle pad, so I'm adding to the orange theme.  To prove she's a lady her lead and halter are purple though.  (The temptation to do obnoxiously neon pink was pretty strong though...)

So there you have it.  The current ins and outs of the new Arabian mare that so suddenly entered my life (I really just couldn't bear the thought of her going to auction when I had no great excuse to not accept her into my life).  I'm really excited to see how things go.  (I hope they go well.)  Griffin is the master of ground work, so I hope she can learn from his example as he can hopefully learn from her [hopeful] LD/endurance pursuits.  Maybe they'll whisper secrets deep into the night?  ;-)

Coming to you soon - updated photo timelapse of G-man's growth!

Thanks for reading!

WW: Dressage Dog (giggle)

Memorial weekend videos

Look who, despite his jerking around, loves water deep down inside!  He thinks fly spray and baths may be out to get him still, but when you give him the freedom to approach the hose on his own he tells you what he really thinks about water....its love <3  Only proper he should love it considering his two-legged momma is like a fish to water (I swam competitively for 10 years and held multiple local records).

He trots!  Rough beginning of the clip as we adjusted speed for him so I could get a better video, but you can see how his feet are landing.  We do this once or twice a week for two or three miles to help wear his tootsies a bit.  He gets to see all the scary things of the world, too.  He's very focused on his job most days. This was the hottest of all days he's done this thus far, we only did a mile this day due to it.

My puppy, despite his breeding, loves water, too.  He was even frog hunting last week!!  (He failed, by the way.)  Our Sunday hike was hot, hot, hot.  It was a good thing Kenai knows how to drink from a Camelbak hose!

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By the way, Miss Q has successfully been moved to her new home.  Photos/videos/updates on her to come this week!

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

Hosted weekly by Ramblings and Photos

1. Beneath your feet - He's never far from me.

2. Capturing movement - I love him.  And I love when he plays with me!

3. Texture - All the saw dust and crumblings from the many trees and branches that have been cut.

4. Face your fears - taken with my cell phone, this behemoth was sitting outside my front door on Thursday.  I didn't kill it, but I didn't like it either!

5. Currently - Currently I'm hiking somewhere in West Virginia, but no matter where I am this fire will be burning.  Its been burning for well over a week now.  We've cut down a lot of dead trees and numerous branches that needed trimmed lately in our yard.   And when I say "we" I mean dad and the boys. 

My hoof care preference

One of my favorite parts about having horses is caring for them.  Riding is second to that.  In the four months between owning horses, I sorely missed the responsibility and JOY of going out daily to groom, pick feet, fly spray, and whatever else I could come up with to dote on my equine friend.  Getting dirty in this process doesn't bother me a bit.  Its fun.

Learning to trim and maintain feet is this whole new awesome world to me - another facet of the "Yay, I get to go take care of my pony!" love that I have.  I get pleasure from it.  (Maybe because I can't manage to keep my own nails as neatly manicured and need an outlet?  It just isn't as important to me to have long, pretty painted nails.  Keep 'em short and clean, good enough for me!)


I like being able to be free from relying on someone else for this part of horse care.  This in NO WAY means that I wouldn't have a professional out to do it.  I'm just saying I'd like to be able to work on becoming more self-sufficient with this process in coming years.  Though I wouldn't hesitate to call someone if I was uncomfortable or unable to do something.

I'm on a quest to have happy, healthy, sound horses.  I'm a constant student to the methods of doing this.  Part of this quest includes hoof care.  There is SO much to learn about it though.  And there are ups and downs with any method you choose.  Shoes?  Barefoot?  Boots?

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I know there are a lot of cult-like barefoot gurus out there.  I love, love, love the articles I've been reading on Click and Trim, like this one that point out myth vs. fact of barefoot.  I can't describe how much I appreciate that someone has taken the time to point out the whole story and not just one extreme side.

I really strive to hear all sides of stories and methods and give everyone the benefit of the doubt.  But with so much information on the barefoot cult movement out there it's hard to find something like the above that is more down to earth and accepting about different ways that can, and DO exist.

Learning about strictly-barefoot horses in the past year or so has been this crazy new world to me.  I had no idea it existed.  The diet restrictions, the need for turn-out etc. - these were things horses I've known have always had. 

Most horses around here live in big open fields with run-in barns/sheds.  They get grain occasionally, but its not a necessary thing unless they're under hard work.  They have their grass and hay and salt/mineral blocks.  They're happy and healthy whether they have on shoes or not.

I grew up knowing I should pick out a horse's foot before and after ride.  I never knew a strict reasoning behind this, it was just something that needed to be done according to my mentors, so I did it.  I knew what the frog was, but that was it.  I always wish I knew a little more, but I never really knew who to ask.

Owning my own horses has led me to be a lot more aware though.  I'm learning more because of it and I enjoy the new learning opportunities.

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From what I've learned and soaked in during the past hour + of readings, combined with what I personally have experienced has lead me to this conclusion as far as my horse's feet:  I prefer the boot method - but ultimately, I will do whatever is best for that individual horse.


Why?  Why do I like boots?  Honestly, because it is one of the most frustrating things in the world to me to lose a shoe and then have to jump through hoops to get a farrier out to tack it back on.  It just peeves me for some reason.  I just reckon if I'm going to ride with a couple "back-up boots" just in case I lose a shoe on the trail in the middle of no where, I may as well just strive for booted feet.  This seems the most reliable to me.  Yes, boots could break and then I'd still be screwed, but I can just buy another and overnight it if it's such a huge emergency.



Another push for boots is that, for me, the booted route is a cheaper route in many cases - especially if you can learn to trim and maintain your own horse's feet.  And I'm having SO much fun learning how to do that!  But seriously, the price of having shoes put on, what, 4? times a year vs. buying a pair of boots that may last me multiple years is an easy choice to make.


Booting my horses its sort of a middle-of-the-road option to the whole shoes vs. barefoot dilemma.  But it's worked for me over a lot of the terrain I have pursued.  It's worked for my horses, too.  And if they're happy and sound, that is what really counts.

As long as my preferred method can help out my horses, I plan to stick with it.  It's been a fun journey so far, and I hope I can continue to learn more and improve my horses' well-being as we go along!  ....besides, the boots come in fun colors! ;-)

Film Friday

A little something for everyone.  All the same song (ish).  All LMFAO.

 

Sleeping crazy person

"When a woman gives birth to a crack baby you don't get her a puppy." - I love Gilmore Girls.  =)

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So I've been taking 5000IU of Vitamin D3 every morning for a month now, per the recommendation of Funder (thank you!).  I noticed a difference in my sleep quality the first and second nights, but shoved it aside as a potential fluke because at that point it may have just been in my head, or maybe I wasn't experiencing any stress, etc., etc.

Bigger than a quarter.  Not in my house...yet.

But I can definitely say that after a month of taking it, through stressful times, typical times, and the happiest of times, it is really, truly helping my quality of sleep.  I fall asleep quicker, too.  I know that if I just lie still for a few minutes I'll begin to get drowsy.  Then wham, bam, I'm asleep.

The greatest, most significant difference  though?  Waking up, feeling rested, feeling ready to get up and start my day.  I'm just all, "Okay, yep, time to get up."  Not, "Uggghhhhh, FML whyyyyy do I have to get UP!??!"

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Griffin is doing well.  His I-must-run-from-you-and-play-this-obnoxious-catch-game phase is dying out lately.

He's frequently at the gate with his friends wanting to come in.  Tuesday night I drove up to the barn and went inside to prepare his grain/mineral supplement prior to even putting forth effort to call him over.  I think I may have whistled a little bit as I got out of the car, but definitely nothing major.

Imagine my surprise when I come out with halter and lead to go fetch him and discover that he's taken initiative to leave the herd, walk across the field, and stand waiting at the gate for me!!  Made my little heart go pitter patter to see he wanted to come in and eat spend time with me.

We've worked on driving some more.  Had a second successful lesson.  We moved from the ring to the barn paddock.  Practiced lots of turns and straight lines.

Then I did a mean thing and put the bit back in his mouth for the second time.

No head tossing this time.  No giraffe impressions either.  And he spit it out at the end like a very, very good horse.  We even did a little bit of driving with the long reins connected to the bit (two turns and a halt with two big straight lines).  He resisted a little, but did give to the pressure eventually - definitely gave to pressure before it was evil, head-wrenching pressure.  I just had to apply a little more than previously with the side-pull halter.

We also did some more tarp work and practiced some more my-mom-is-a-crazy-broad desensitization.  The latter consisted of me bouncing up and down in a circle around him while he stood in the middle of the round pen.  While bouncing I made strange noises (don't judge me) and patted my hands all over his body (erry'where) with 2x the force of your typical pat-pat good horse kind of patting.  Enough force to make a tiny noise but not enough to injure him in anyway.

He stood like a good boy.  His eyes rolled around at first though.  He thinks I'm a certifiable crazy person, but he trusts me all the same.  Win.

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As for the mare?  I've been hesitant to say much until most everything has been solidified as far as the details of getting her, but I am slated to pick her up (and go on a trail ride over there once more before coming home) on Monday!

D and I are going to pick her up and ride.

Her name?  I'm going with a combination of what I wanted, what my friend Andrea (heeyyyy, Andrea!), and my mom suggested.  On Queue.  So on any sort of writing (vet records, endurance rides, etc.) she will be On Queue, but in every day life I'll just call her Q.  (I didn't want to just give her a single letter because that would look really weird in written records!)

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This long weekend (a 4-day for me!) looks to be full of beautiful weather and outdoors pursuits.  I can't wait to dive into it.

W.W. - She Said "Yes"

HELP! Buy/Don't Buy?

I have a pros and cons list for this horse where the pros far outweigh the cons already...but, what do you think?  Buy her or don't buy her?

Stats:

• ~9 years old
• Arab,  probably 3/4 at least, but was likely crossed with a paint at some point considering her markings (one tiny crescent moon on her belly)
• 14.2/14.3hh, I'm not entirely positive

She's healthy.  Some lady couldn't afford her any more and dropped her off with the trainer last fall.  He's had her all winter (horse market being what it is and people in this area not wanting Arabs - trainer specializes in working QH - you should see his studs...). I rode her for two days.  She's definitely my kind of horse.  She can lead, she can follow in the very back or middle, she can ride on her own, she can walk off on her own away from a group of horses and be okay with it.  She's forward on the trail.  She moves well up and down steep hills.  She's alert.  She didn't offer a rear or buck any time I rode her.  She willingly crosses streams, logs, and other obstacles.  She collects well over a jump.  She gives well to the bit.  She's going to a sale next weekend if I don't take her.

Oh, and she's IN HEAT right now, and despite two studs on the farm she isn't a complete witch!  (One even went on one of the trail rides with us - everyone behaved.)  Sure, she pins her ears and tossed a kick before I could recognize her warning signals towards a gelding, but after that I learned them and could warn her to behave before she acted.  She listened every time.

Somewhere in this mare's life someone obviously put a LOT of time and good work into her.

She's not expensive by any means.  $600 is his asking price and I wonder if I could talk him down?

A lady was interested and took her home, did tons of vet tests incurring a bill >$300 and then just up and returned her to the trainer with no reason.  That's the sketchiest part of her mysterious past life.

Lots of experienced and skilled horse people were there this weekend.  The lady who keeps Griffin was there.  Her friend who rides endurance was there.  Her friend who is a vet was there.  (And I reckon these are all my friends now, the number of things we've done together merits it.)  EVERYONE thinks I should buy her.  EVERYONE thinks she's the perfect horse for me right now.  The vet says she's built really well and sees nothing the matter other than a crack in her hind hoof that I would need to take care of sooner than later; a crack that she assures me the farrier D uses could fix in one session.

I'd likely keep her in shoes through the summer (and the race) as transitioning would be difficult to do AND successfully ride in the race.  We would do the 30-mile LD.  I would only have a month good conditioning on her, but she's capable, and its not like we'd be trying to win the damn thing.

I've played with the idea of having a second horse for weeks now and fumbled around with my finances to prove it could work.  The hardest part about it financially would be if she for some reason incurred some large medical bill (hopeful this doesn't happen) and the cost of moving two horses whenever I move on.  Its a big commitment and I'm scared.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?!  EXPERIENCED HORSE PEOPLE, ENDURANCE RIDERS, AND FRIENDS?  WHAT PROS AND CONS THAT I HAVEN'T LISTED YET CAN YOU THINK OF?  COMMENT!!!!!!