We're coming down to the wire

It was another beautiful day here.  As I drove away from the barn, it occurred to me that I won't see Sammy again until Friday and it will be showtime.  But I think he's ready, I know Allison and I are.  I had somehow neglected to spend much time with Sammy in the outdoor ring because I wanted to get him acclimated to the covered arena. (Does everyone know we have one of those at Bridlewood?)  So a week or so ago I thought I'd better get him in the outdoor ring some....and he decided to show me he has skills....not the ones I was asking for but he can sure levitate if he is so inclined. We ended on a good note that day but I was having my doubts that he was really ready for our next adventure.  Due to the weather, today was the first day I got him back in the outdoor ring and he could not have been better.  He cantered a few strides but that was the extent of the fireworks today.  The grown up version was back and I feel so much better.  I know we will have good grown up days and silly brat days, but now I think I can deal with the silliness, knowing the grownup is lurking inside.

Sammy has made good friends in his new home.  Greg and Joey pay close attention and they take such good care of all the horses.  Joey is more comfortable around Sammy now that he knows he just wants his butt scratched when he turns his butt to you.  I warned everyone on move in day but Joey didn't get the memo.  Ooops.  But now, Sammy has him trained just like the rest of us.

Some of you will remember that Sarah introduced Sammy to toes when he was just a few months old. Remember? This was Memorial Day 2007.

And this has lead to some unexpected results.  Sammy still has a thing for feet.  He is always looking for the toes that are hiding.

What we didn't realize was that somehow, Noah would be using this to his advantage.  He was going through bell boots at an alarming rate.  They were ripped in very odd places and very much destroyed.  Then Greg caught them in the act.  Noah was sticking is foot under the lowest board on the fence and Sammy was ripping off his bell boots.  No picture of that but Greg said there was Sammy, looking at him with Noah's bell boot in his mouth.   Somehow, I think this is Sarah's fault. Don't you all think she needs to contribute to Noah's bell boot fund?

They look so sweet and innocent but that Noah, the mature one, is a bad influence I tell you.
Every once in a while I get a glimpse of Lily in Sammy.  He is so much like her in attitude and personality but sometimes, he gives me a look that is channeling Lily. Here she is.

So that's where we are today.  Sammy and I are as ready as we can get.

And he is eager to get started.

The Countdown Begins

There are no pictures for this post, no one is ever around when I need them but I had to share.  Sammy was a superstar today.  Thanks to our friend and mentor, we have been working a bit on the lunge getting Sammy to have slow feet and using his hind end to free up his shoulder.  As we know, I am his handicap and I am working on some coordination issues (I'm sure you all have trouble believing that!)  We don't lunge every time I visit him but try to mix it up a bit.  The  2 times before today have been, oh, rather exuberant on Sammy's part.  This is understandable, new home, cold weather, covered arena.  I get it.  But all I could think of was, uhoh, we could be dead soon.  Because....drum roll please.....he will be started under saddle in less than 3 weeks. (more on that later)  But today....ah, today.  How can I tell you what a good day today was.  I have been working for 9 straight days but got off early today and ran to the barn with Remy.  It was warm, 70 degrees, and sunny and blue skies. Sammy was the perfect gentleman in the crossties and tacking up. And what a good little man he was on the lunge line today. There was no playing, he walked politely, trotted when asked, slowly and with his back round and free.  It was a beautiful thing.  Several walk trots in both directions and then we were done.  He was a grown up today and somehow he knew exactly what I needed.  I don't care anymore that I'm exhausted from all the extra hours at work I've been putting in....it doesn't really matter.  It doesn't matter that I have 3 more 12 hour days to go before I get 2 complete days off.  Today was a good day. Thanks Sammy.

Anne Kenan will be down for 3 days starting March 19 to help us get Sammy started under saddle. She has long been an influence for us both directly and indirectly through Kacee and I could think of no one I would rather have help us get him started.  Her philosophies on horsemanship mirror our own and truthfully ours were probably greatly shaped by hers. This was my hope when Sammy was first born but didn't really think it would be possible.  But here we are, less than 3 weeks away so I am now a believer.  (She has her flight reservations so I don't think there is any turning back now)  I expect there will be more pictures and video than you will ever care to see then.  So start your engines, Sammy will be carrying someone around soon.

I can't post without at least 1 picture.  Here is Remy and Bella enjoying the sunshine.

Everybody is Settling In

It's been almost a week since we moved all the boys and they seem to be settling into their new home just fine. Allison loves the lights in both the indoor and the outdoor arenas because she gets off work late but can still ride during the week.  Sarah has been able to use the covered arena and lights for a lesson which she might not have gotten in because of the rain.  But Saturday and Sunday were beautiful days and we took full advantage.

Noah's rehab is progressing and he felt better on Sunday than he did on Saturday. This is a positive step in the right direction.  And he looks happy and well adjusted.

 

Spenser is looking good and hasn't missed a beat in the transition.  I am loving the beautiful backgrounds available at Bridlewood.

Even Remy has found a new playmate Bella.  Is it odd for him to be the same size as a Great Dane???

I was busy taking pictures and looked over to see what Sammy was up to.  I think he was feeling a little left out of the action

But I put him to work for the first time since our move.  He was a superstar.  He could not let the big boys show him up.I'm really there but Allison has taken the perfect picture of us together!  She's such a good child.

We started out in the covered arena then just walked right on out into the outdoor. This was as bad as he got, not bad at all.

 

 He had to be sure Allison was paying attention and getting pictures of his good side.

I was very pleased with our first work day. He was calm and happy and we called it a day.

It was time to get the flock out

Due to the onset of the monsoon season, it was time to move the flock to higher ground.  So our little group of 3 have found a new place to play that has a covered arena which is quite a luxury here.  In honor of our pending move, we thought we needed a way to celebrate and embrace our togetherness.

New saddlepads were in order....

So, our new residence is Bridlewood Equestrian Center and we hope it will be our happy home for many years to come.

This is the front gate:

 

Here is the front entrance to the barn.  A single row of stalls is to the right and left of the walkway and it opens up to the covered arena with another row of stalls on the other side of the covered arena. (I'm trying to see how many times I can throw the words covered arena in this post)  The open window immediately to the left of the walkway  (or is that technically a breezeway?) is Spenser's room.  He's next to the office/lounge.  He's the partier you know.

Sammy and Noah are side by side across the....you guessed it...covered arena.  They enjoy chatting outside, observing nature.  (Don't ask me about the hawks right outside their window...Sammy is too young for that stuff!) I'm glad Sammy's got Noah right there to explain things.

If you walk to the left and around the barn, you are at this end of the...you guessed it...covered arena.

I'm standing in a turn out - it had been raining for almost 24 hours by the time I took these.  On my left is the outdoor arena.  That big white pole in the foreground happens to be  the light pole for the big lights.  Rumor has it, at night, if the moon is right, you can see the lighted arena from outer space. Looking straight ahead, is a mirrored wall.  Spenser lives on the right hand side and Sammy and Noah live on the left.  We all thought they would be bothered inside walking past the mirrors but it didn't phase any of them.

Now the arena has some serious lights, really. I think they were football stadium lights in another life.

It's very wet but you get the idea.  It's a very nice outdoor arena, when it hasn't been raining for months on end.

 

On the other side of the barn/covered arena, behind the wall of mirrors are the wash racks/grooming stalls.

Are you getting the picture here?  It's all about the covered arena. Sammy got to try out the grooming area.  He really liked the noise he made when he stomped on the concrete in his brand new shoes.  We're going to have to work on that one.  Baby shouldn't need new shoes all the time. It seemed like he was listening.

But I think he was faking it.

 

I don't want you to think we ONLY have a covered arena, there are actually pastures for turn out too. This is Sammy and Noah's view out their back window.

And this is the far lower pasture and next to it is the preserved land that has trails for riding. (Really for the birds but they share)

Walking up from the lower pasture/land preserve area, Spenser paused for a moment. Not a bad place to rest.  Straight ahead of him are pastures on the right and Sammy and Noah's condos on the left.

Not sure where this picture fits into my story but isn't he just handsome?

And here concludes our tour.  I think the boys were getting tired of the papparrazzi

 

They appear to have settled in and are enjoying their new facilities.

A Work in Progress

Sammy and I have been working on our ground driving skills for the most part these days. Although I must admit he's had a break from just about everything due to my crazy work schedule with a new store opening and the holidays.  I was asked if he was good about the walk, trot stuff on the lunge.  Well, we haven't really done much of that since we moved farms. He had gotten very good at it using the round pen but we were a bit all over the place the one time I tried since we moved. So I had mainly been sticking to the ground driving and he's got the stearing thing down pretty well.  So, on to improving our lunging skill set.  Let me just warn you, it's not pretty but here is the video Allison took of our second attempt in 2 days.  I am not sure about his whole video thing.  Pictures are so much easier to crop myself out  edit and I can be much more selective.  So here it is, just remember, I'm not great at it, so don't judge Sammy for my lack of skills!




And in the interest of full disclosure, do you remember the scary blue thing from a previous post? It used to hang over a jump but now it's flat on the ground and filled with water.....who knew it was actually a water jump. We had a sighting:



And once again, here more than ever, his mistakes are really mine. And lets clear up something....how do you really spell lunge, longe, lounge????? Do I need to know how to spell it before I can do it?  Help.

A Sign of Things to Come

This is not a great video....but it is a video and a sign of things to come.  It's a new camera that Santa brought and my first attempt at filming, saving on the computer, editing and then saving onto you tube.  So, it's not good but I expect to get in lots of practice for our under saddle days.

It's been a while

I wish there was a lot of news to tell but things have been quiet and easy.  I've been working too much and Sammy has had a break in the action.  Natalie Some people have been asking for new pictures but it's a hard thing to do with no one around to help. (perhaps that person needs to come down and help) But I tried very hard today to get pictures of Sammy in motion.  His trot is lovely but his canter is to die for.  Maybe one day I'll really get fancy and figure out how to do video....but don't hold your breath.  So I chased him around, finally made him trot, stopped to take a shot and this is what I get:

Sorry you missed it. It was very nice and balanced...you'll just have to trust me.  I even had a longe whip after him, cracking and popping and making all kinds of noises.....it really bothered him.

When do they get past the phase where everything must go in the mouth?  Here's a nice shot for you.....I could have filled up a memory card with these shots alone.

And then why is it that the best conformation shot of the day...free standing out in the field, has his eyes closed?  This is hard work I tell you.

He does have the drop and roll drill down.  They must practice this during recess.

First you pretend to be napping......and look at his cute little white lips.

What? that didn't fool you?

And over he goes.  Never in the grassy field, always in the hot sand.  The majority of the time I'm with Sammy, my view is from his rear end.  I'm ground driving him or giving him butt scratches.  But it's a pretty nice view

Hopefully, it won't be very long until my view has changed perspective and will be between those cute little ears.  Next on our agenda, trying to add some weight to the saddle to see what that means to him.  Stay tuned....