Updates!!

[jax]

Leena, I'm glad to hear your update. And everyone else as well.

Things are ticking along here. Moo the Mare is doing very, very well, as is Jackson the dog. They are both 17 now. Our office unfortunately moved closer to "the city" so traffic is now the bane of my existence. Nothing earth-shattering has happened, just carrying on and enjoying it. Well, other than the whole winter thing. That's not enjoyable.

[LookOfEagles]

Hi everyone --- wow, I never thought this board would be back! It's great to get caught up with everyone again.

Well, the past year has had lots of challenges for me as well.

On the horsey side -- luckily the Wide Guy is still doing well, and we continue to be very happy at the farm we are at. So at least some stability there! This past year, we continued to work on our dressage. Also, I finally graduated to hacking out on my own -- a real dream come true for me -- and so with all that, the Wide Guy has come into this winter probably in the best condition of his life. Which now in the winter weather = very frisky pony!! He has lots of go-go-go, but fortunately my seat has improved enough that I'm actually enjoying having this energy to work with.

Unfortunately, the past year has had lots of challenges for me personally. I had some bad test results late in the summer and had to go through some surgery this fall. I'm just now coming back from all that and getting back in the saddle. Luckily, my horse seems to recongnize when I am having a bad time of things & tries to help me out. In our first rides after the surgery [once riding was allowed] we actually did a lot of walking and he was very good with that.

So now, I'm just starting back to my regular dressage lessons & my coach has set some exercises I can do even if I am feeling weak -- plus I am taking Leena's advice to ride softly with the aids, and not to set up "force against force".

So I hope everyone & their horses will have a happy & healthy 2010 coming up. Sounds like we've all had some things to get through, that's for sure!!


p.s. Leena -- my prayers are with you in your battle with cancer. I'm glad to hear that you are still riding & training & spending time with your horses -- we have to try to take each day we are given!

[Sunny Side Up]

It's great to see the board up and running again! Hello to everyone!

Leena, you're an inspiration to all of us. I wish you all the best on your journey. You've got the right philosphy - one day at a time. And Infamousluna, way to go! There's no excuse for me whining about the 20 lbs I need to lose.

My horse is all mine now that my daughter is away at university. I've moved the poor boy more times than I care to count, but I'm at a wonderful barn now with tons of hacking, which is what we both love most. I plan on riding a LOT more. IF the thermometer ever gets about -10...

[Kaleena]

I agree, so very nice to hear from everyone.

chenders - I meant to say in the photo thread that you and Raymond looked awesome at your show! Sorry to hear that the last little while with him hasn't been so great. Crossing my fingers that the study OVC is doing will help him.

BT - I'm sorry to read that the last year or so hasn't been the greatest for you and your family. Hopefully 2010 will bring you some good fortune. A new baby girl? a new baby babytigger that's exciting!

Leena - I'm glad to see your update too

Jax - wow Moo and Jackson are both 17 now... man time flies. Traffic is definitely the bane of my existence too. One of my co-workers lives in Courtice and it took him 2 hours to get home last night on the 401...I'm glad that at least my drive to/from work keeps me off the 401!

[jax]

2 hours?? It was crazy last night, a girl that works with me leaves earlier than me and called 35 minutes after she'd left. She'd only made it from Brock Road to Brock Street. I took the back way home, which unfortunately doesn't take me past the barn.

Yes, Chenders, that's great that you got into that study

[RioG]

Wow... it has been a loooong time since visiting this neck of the woods! I'm not even sure if people will remember who I am.

I guess the biggest and most exciting "horsey" change for me is that I'm on the home stretch of becoming a Certified Barefoot Trimmer. I was able to restore complete soundness to my old girl by rehabbing her feet (and her body) with a good healthy trim, and I was hooked. So I'm soon to be certified and growing a small side business. I have met some amazing, amazing people on this journey.

Otherwise... bought a house, got married, lived life. The usual.

[BlazingColours]

YAY... I thought this board was never going to come back. What the heck took so loooonnnggg

Lots has changed here. Built a HUGE riding complex, got a couple more stallions, had 2 foal crops, been riding lots and 2010 we are going to be showing a TON!! I have a couple new girls working for me and a couple new riders too. It has been an amazing couple years here at Blazing Colours Farm.

[*rickie*]

Glad to hear everyone is doing really well, or at least still rising to the top as best as possible with the best frame of mind!

Lots of changes have gone on around here!

I sold B to Kobau......I think that was before the boards went down, and she has since sold him onto someone to enjoy doing trails I believe, as he didn't enjoy the work like he use to after a few years off

I remained horse-less til just this past Aug. I always had something to train/ride in the mean time though.

In Aug I bought my next future Dressage Patner! I always wanted a full Andy of Lusitano, but couldn't find one to fit the long list of "must haves" within budget. So I found a lovely 1/2 Andy, 1/2 Holsteiner cross in South Dakota, and brought him home and named him Fez....yes that's short for Fezzik, the giant from the movie the Princess Bride! So Fez is a coming 3y/o, who is just totally unflappable! He is 100% exactly what I wanted, and I look forward to starting him this spring/summer. Mr Rickie is thrilled with his disposition as well, and no longer worries when I'm at the barn.....a great plus for our relationship

Here's a Fez Head Shot:

Dunno if any of you remember the little DWB gelding I was training named Wonder, but he sold to Michigan Christmas 2008. I then started his 1/2 uncle Torreau, which I am happy to report we still have and he's coming along great after a bunch of ups and downs with Chiro stuff & his rider (yes me )picking up some bad habits. I'd like to keep him as my own personal play toy, but sadly I don't have the time, nor the funds for 2, and I have 2 awaiting my attention to train, and well another on the way this spring!!!

Hubby had to put his kitty down fall 2008, as he started severely attacking people. We did all the work up possible and tried different meds, but when it came to viciously attacking hubby when hubby opened the fridge, that was the end. Hubby still has the scares, so there was some adjusting there. Our other little kitty, the poly-dactyl orange and white *freak* is still a freak, and even more so. He has an enlarged heart, so is on meds for that! *sigh* He's doing well on his meds since the ultra sound to have it diagnosed properly. Our westie Duncan is doing well, despite the never ending battle with allergies! We went to see the animal allergy specialist after MANY large complications, and we are now have a great routine, and he's doing well. We're planning to foster a breeding female Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever puppy when she's born in Feb/March. Eventually we will owner her, but hubby is very excited to be getting a new biking partner

Aside from that all is well over here. I'm continuing to learn each day at work, and with the horses! I would say I've grown as a person the most over the last 1-2years

[GoDDeSSofWiNgS]

Awesome to see everyone's updates!

I have been taking lessons the last 2 years and started to half lease my first horse this summer (a grouchy but reliable TB school horse)! It was a great experiance and I learned a ton! I showed a bit (just schooling level) and defiantely improved! I love hunter-land. I decided to take a break for the rest of the winter and evaluate my riding goals after my company restructured and I lost my job. But it looks like a new job is very soon on the horizon. Maybe a horse or a full lease will be next? Who knows!

[Howie]

Nice to see the board back again....I couldn't remember my old log in so had to register again (I was Skeeter or Gibbs before....not sure). Not much new on the horse front with me...both Teddy and Skeeter are doing great. Skeeter has completely recovered from his mystery illness from Sept 08. My niece has started jumping with Teddy and he's loving it. That's about it. We are at a great barn that we love.

The only thing really new with me is I just got a new puppy...Boston Terrier I named Howie.

[Prime Suspect]

Hi everyone - welcome back!

I never really posted much on here to be considered a regular but I did miss this BB when it went down.

Lots has happened in my life over the last year & a half. In Jan. 08 we welcomed our first child, a little boy. A year later I started an awesome new job that's so much closer to home. When I was pregnant with our son, my then 3 yr old filly whom we'd had since she was a weanling started acting up & being BAD, really bad. Not sure if she was bored or maybe she was picking up on me not feeling well with the pregnancy but anyways, we sent her off to a trainer for bootcamp & to be started under saddle. He did an amazing job with her & she turned out to be a real nice mare who loves to work. Unfortunately, due to baby, full-time job & household responsibilities, plus the barn being an hour away, I barely saw her in the almost 2-yrs she was there (Yes, I became one of those absentee owners - shame, shame on me. ). So now just before Christmas we moved her to a dressage trainer MUCH closer to home. She is in training board to get her going again. I am also back riding now, taking 3 lessons a week to get back into it & to get to know my girl again. I cannot believe how much I missed having a horse regularly in my life. I hope to do some shows with her this year & I'm so looking forward to having a wonderful trainer accompany me to those shows. So that's the horse update.

Personally, last year for me was also a year of losses.

I had a falling out with my parents in Feb., we lost my Oma in July, my uncle had a major heart attack in Oct., my Grandma we also thought we were going to lose but she has since picked up & is doing well for 92. Then at the end of Nov. we lost my beloved Sasha, my 16.5 yr old miniature Poodle who was my little barn dog when I had my old gelding. Fortunately my parents & I are back on good terms but it was a good 7 months of anger (on their part) & loss because I wasn't welcome there at their place anymore. I will never get those 7 months back. Plus, it was 7 months of Sasha's last year that I missed out on.

Anyways, here's wishing everyone on this board lots of good health, happiness & prosperity for 2010 - may it be a much better year than 2009.

[horsemad!]

I admit, I’m somewhat ambivalent about the return of this board… it’s kind of like after the baseball strike how I never got back into it. It is, however, nice to see some people I don’t see on the other boards – or don’t recognize their user names on the other boards.

Updates? Well, the last year or so was altogether craptastic for me. My dad was fighting cancer, my husband unemployed, my neighbour’s dogs attacked my cat and we ended up having him put to sleep despite our vet’s best efforts to save him, and my mum died very suddenly in March. Thank goodness for the horses. I think I’d have gone crazy without them.

Congrats to those of you who have gotten married, had babies, gotten new horses or sold old ones, and especially to Luna on her amazing weight loss! Leena, it’s so nice to see you’re still kicking cancer in the arse! And Angel your new project horse looks sweet, as does Cirrus, Kaleena and Fez, Rickie!!

Onward and upward… 2010 has to be better than 2009 – Dad’s better and hubby’s working and things are looking up.

[naughty by nature]

OMG it was such a fluke that i checked and the BB was back up I was bored at work and was gonna look at classified and happen to decide to see if it was up and here we are!!!

WELL for me the biggest news is that I got engaged this year to my boyfriend of almost 7 years. we don't have plans to get married anytime soon want a farm first lol.

I also switched disiplines from hunter/eventing to Barrel racing lol. I started working for a friend of mine that rides western and ended up deciding to try it I can say that I don't think I would go back to english my horse loves his western saddle and seems so much happier with what he's doing. I took him to one show this summer we didn't place but it was good to just get him out and exposed to a totally different type of showing.

I've had a couple of weird experiences with BO's my mom and i used to rent a barn and do all the work our selves my parents were going to buy a farm but the deal feel threw and the guy decided he didn't want the horses there anymore. I went to a boarding barn which i really loved then mom was asked if we wanted to board at our friends old barn the new people that own the place don't know horses much and wanted knowledgable horse owners for their first boarders (or so they said) however we only lasted there a month they renigged on the agrement we had they decided to try and make my mom do all the stall in the barn and pay full board then they decided they would allow us to board but wanted to keep all of our tack ?? then the icing on the cake was when it was pouring for almost 2 weeks straight they would not put my horse in his stall (which i pay for the use of ) he had no shelter outside and when i asked them to put him in they said if it 's bad we will. (I decided i had enough i advised them that i pay for the stall and i wasn't asking i was telling them to put him in) well they didn't like that and we decided to take the horses out of there that night. I went to another barn on a fluke that i loved Target had a 30 acre feild with run out stalls and a best buddy but the people moved and so did i he's back where i originally had him they are great people but being really stingy with the supplies (hay bedding ect ) which is annoying but i can't afford to move him right now and he's not being neglected just less bedding and hay then i would like so i end up buying more to off set what they don't supply anymore.

i'm so excited for the bb to be back up and running I missed it I'm not from ont so didn't get to speak with many of the ppl on here after it shut down.

[cnigh]

YAY EC is back. Always was my favorite site.

Sorry to hear about everyones troubles. Life has been hard for my family as well. I had to sell Beauty last Feb but she did give me many many wonderful trail rides while I had her.

But there is a light at the end of the tunnel now and although I was totally crazy I did purchase another horse in November.

Meet my new boy - Bakkir (2008 Pure Straight Egyptian Arabian colt )

http://s415.photobucket.com/albums/pp23 ... g&newest=1

Bakkir & his Dam Carina (by RZA Orient Express)
http://s415.photobucket.com/albums/pp23 ... g&newest=1

Sire: MB Ibn Sehnab (his stud book was open to the public in 2007 only)
http://s415.photobucket.com/albums/pp23 ... g&newest=1

A short video of him from his ad (He is not for sale now)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJX82X_S6V0

He has an amazing pedigree and could be a real stud prospect IF I had the time/money/knowledge to promote & show him. But a nice stallion makes a nice gelding, so he will be gelded asap. For now he is easy to handle and enjoying all the pamering he gets. I lucked out and have a barn 5 mins from my house in Brantford and I am there morning & night for him. Or at least I would be there tonight if my car hadn't broken down. The girls at this barn are great and its kind of turned into a co-op thing where everyone is sharing the work.

I am still a die hard trail rider and all I want to do is Endurance, so he is my prospect. I simply fell in love. He has his mother's great legs and should be as stunning as his sire when mature. Not sure how tall he'll end up, but he feels like a big horse because he stands so upright & straight. He's 14hh now @ 19months.

I am learning tons about the Arabian breed and find the history facinating. Bakkir is pure Al Kasma which means his blood lines can be traced back to the desert tribes of Arabia.
http://www.alkhamsa.org/openservices/pe ... 09941.HTML

I can't wait to ride him - but for now I love watching him float as he trots around his paddock.

[Leena]

This is so fun to read everyone's updates..

Thanks for your support..I really appreciate it. I'll be celebrating my 3rd battle years and hope to be ready to show again my new greenies.

[pmc]

You are an inspiration, Leena.

[pawsnhooves]

Well holy cow, look what is back up and running.
Hi everyone. I enjoyed reading your updates.
We're still kicking here. More dogs, more cats, more horses.
Leena, I was so excited to see you here.
GoW, how the heck are you, girl?

[fusspot]

Hi Everyone!! It's great to read all the updates, many of you have had many up and downs and I'm glad you are still here & enjoying horses in whatever form you can. Lots of nice new horses here too.

Not much new to report. My un-dressage gelding went out at First level in 2009 and we have managed to keep a very consistent record of second-last or last place at every show we entered!! Yeah, the competition was stiff, but really, he is a 1300 lb WP bred Paint, not exactly what the judges are looking for. Doesn't matter one bit to me though, we are having a blast, and he tries so hard...I just love the big lug! Here's a pic from one of the shows where it rained and rained and rained....



I got a new filly in November 2008, my next 'real' dressage prospect. Her name is Georgia and she is a WB/TB cross, coming 3 in May who (I fear) is going to be HUGE! I'm 5'3" on a good day so it should be fun riding her. Here she is in July 2009, just over 2 years and about 16 hands here.

[Patricia]

I have to say LEENA your ARE an inspiration. Love your riding photos. All the horses are lovely. Love the chestnut. I log in at COTH once in a while and catch up to see how your doing. I rarely post there though.
So many great updates, new babes, new ponies. Great to see everyone!

[babytigger]

BT - I'm sorry to read that the last year or so hasn't been the greatest for you and your family. Hopefully 2010 will bring you some good fortune. A new baby girl? a new baby babytigger that's exciting!

Yes, a girl...another one.

RioG - that's so awesome! I'm glad to hear you got your mares soundness sorted out.

Leena - you are one tough chick.