Updates!!

[Eileen]

Greetings all..I was doing some housecleaning on the computer, (something I very rarely do) and thought that I would give this one more try..Surprise surprise..I recognize a lot of the names here. So nice to get the updates on all. Luna with the weigh loss, keep it up girl, Leena, so good to hear that you are do well in the battle. Soda Poppers, go girl with the shows, sounds like you and Harv are doing great.
TM..I remember when you bought Tokki, I thought, who would have the patience to wait for 5 years to take possession of the horse they just bought. But it looks like it paid off. Don't fret about being 60 and on a green horse. My last horse was 3 and quite energetic, I bought him the year I turned 65, and still have him and he has turned out to be a great trail horse.
I will try and visit here daily now that I know it is running again,
Oh update on me...well...hmmm still wintering in Florida, still have the same 3 horses, my oldest will be 32this spring, although he is having problems this winter, I may have to do something about it when I get home. The other two Walkers are still trail horses and I camp and ride as much as possible. However there last couple of years have been spent rebuilding and finishing the new building. Old one was lost due to fire in Dec 07. Other then that nothing new or exciting.

[Eileen]

Rickie, do you still talk to Kobau? I know she had a child, but have not kept in contact with her as the only way was through EC What is new with her now, is she married? Still living on the farm? She was going through for a nurse I think...did she continue on that after the birth of her child..?? so many questions. Just interested is all.

[Leena]

Nice to hear from you Giddy and Eileen

[TM]

Hey, Eileen! I wondered when you would show up, LOL. Maybe someday we will get to trail ride together. Now I have the truck and trailer, I just have to convince Thokki that trailering is a fun activity. He doesn't believe it yet. One of my spring projects.

[Eileen]

Thanks Leena hope your day will be a good one today, It promises to be a nice one here for the most part anyway, chance of showers later on...I am going riding so hope it stays away for a while
Tina, I bet once the little guy gets the hang of getting on that trailer and seeing all of the sights when a way from home will will be willing to get on there and do it. That is good that you have your own trailer now...for sure we will have to arrange a meeting somewhere up there. I sometimes get up to Perry Sound area, maybe we can do it then. That would be great. I only rode a Icelandic once and it was at the same place where you bought Tokki. That was a few years back. The little guys sure can get those little legs going once you get the hang of how to cue.

[geldinggirlie]

Eileen! So Happy to see you!

Kobau does have an adorable Little man and Is married, Ill send her a message on Facebook to let her know you're asking about her!

[Eileen]

Oh Thank you GG I would certainly appreciate that. That is great that she has her family now and her horses.

[goldendryad]

I'm so happy to see this board back up, none of the others are quite the same and I wondered how everyone has been doing. I'm glad to see so many of you are doing well and even when life has thrown you lemons, you're still trying to make lemonade. I'll highlight my changes:

- Still living in Regina and still have Lacey, the best Arabian ever (in my opinion and my coach's). However she's heading into retirement. I had her schooling level two dressage at home, was planning on showing her level one plus we were jumping and hoping to hit some schooling shows for jumping in the summer. Last June she came up lame, turned out she banged her R front fetlock and arthritis set in. We tried intravenous Legend injections with no luck. In Nov. we injected the joint and I'm slowly getting her going again, but once she's doing alright she'll go into retirement either at my friend's place or back home on the farm. She'll become a trail riding mare and get spoiled.

- That means I'm currently shopping. I want to find a nice TB hunter/jumper/lower-level event prospect. I've already got a few leads!

- At the stable where I board I ride the BO's old mare, a 10 year old Paint/TB/Morab mix who is built for western pleasure but has a ton of heart. I got her started jumping this fall and am going to take some lessons on her this winter while I shop. She's hot and she's fun but very sane!

- My heart was broken almost a year ago when my darling Sheltie who'd been with me through thick and thin had a liver tumour burst and had to be put down.

- I got a new dog, a rough collie named Lily. She's a white collie, so aside from her face and a few other golden patches, she's white. She's a year and a half and keeps me busy!

[Kobau]

Hey all...
GG got word to me that EC was back up and running! It is great to get updates from everyone...
So lets see... My son is 2 the end of march, dirty blonde haired blue eyed angelic looking demolition crew that he is! I got married Sept 27, 2008..seems like way longer ago!.. Still have way too many horses but love them all.

Last year was tough horse year, I lost my 25 yr old Tb gelding last Jan 5th, then a few months later had to make the decision to put down my 21 yr old Morgan mare, and her 20 yr old tb mare buddy... also had to put down my 6 yr old grade paint mare, her legs just had to much twist for her to be comfortable anymore.
I had been enjoying Blue, but yeah i did sell him on since his heart wasn't in working hard at dressage... he'd found the joy of trail riding, and I really wanted him doing what he loved. That was a tough one, I prefer to keep everyone. This year will be another tough year for losing horses, I have a 18 yr old QH mare that I'll have to put down, nothing is keeping her truly comfortable or pain free and it just isn't fair to her. Also may have to face putting down my 25, turning 26 yr old QH gelding, and my 22 yr old tb mare... fingers crossed but facing reality....

I'm working on getting back riding some more but have had to take time off d/t weather and saddle fit issues.. I have 3 big shouldered boys that require wide tree saddles and finding the right one was hard... finally broke down and ordered myself a semi-custom cutting saddle. and so now have 3 other saddles listed for sale! Hoping to sell both my dressage saddles and find a decent wide tree dressage... So I still have Rubel and mouse.... and Sent mister, mickey, jinx and General to the trainer this year. General went because we had a confidence issue.. lady came to try him out, fell off, shattered his nerve is the long story short!

www.kobaufarm.com is my website, I have to update some pages again, since I haven't kept up with other than the sale page in the last year (life got in the way. )

Glad to see all the familiar faces.

[zoodlebrain]

Whoa!!!! The forum is back up!!
My year was fairly good with Zoodles up until December 10th. I brought him in from the pasture and he was dead lame. The first day I couldn't pin point where the lameness was, there was no swelling and no cuts. The next day, his knee was HUGE!! I had the vet out for x-rays, and a bone chip was found. But, after looking closer, she decided that the bone chip was an old injury and may have moved around a little because of a kick or a fall. So, I have not ridden in 8 weeks Zoodles is now 100% sound at the walk and 95% sound at the trot. I expect that after one more month off, he will be sound and happy again. I'm crossing my fingers!
I'm so happy the board is back up! And I'm glad I just happened to check in today, phew!

[Eileen]

i think that we were all equally surprised Zoodle...i know i was giving one last go before wiping it off my computer completely. lol And there it was. it will probably take a while for the oldies to get back into the swing of things. it is very quiet here

[PerfectAngel]

Holy crap! I had no idea this board was back - I'd given up!

Leena - glad to hear you're still doing the things you love, you are definitely an inspiration!

SP - I saw your pic of Harvey, you two look amazing! Very impressed

Luna - WOW! That is impressive, 130 lbs! I had a hard time losing 10!

Chenders - Raymond looks awesome, I hope he doesn't have any more breathing issues - you and he seem to have a great bond

As for me, I've graduated (April 2008) with a B.Sc. in Psychology. I am debating going back for something else, but for now I work at a snowplowing/construction company in the office. Love it, couldn't ask for more fun people to work with.

Horses - still have lots! Sweet Pea is still around, and is playing school pony at Knowlton Ridge. She does best with walk/trot kids, they seem to love her comfy couch ways Shalinda is also there, having fun being a hunter schoolmaster for a few kids.
My own at home, I still have Weebo (of course!) who is lightly started as he'll be 3 this April (crazy!!). He is such a doll, I wouldn't trade him for the world. He has the best personality and I ride him down the road and through the bush all by himself without any worries or problems. He is still a colt, haven't felt the need to geld him yet. He hasn't discovered mares yet, although I do have 3 at home.
I also have Wynnter still, she is due to be started this spring (she'll be 4 July 22nd 2010). She's 15.3hh now and still looks gangly but can MOVE and JUMP!! Not outgrown the big goof stage, but gotta love her anyways!
Also, Ernie is still around - he'll be 5 this March!! WOW! I do ride him on occasion - he still gets to decide where we end up but he's good natured and is fun to have around.
Have a few new ones, a few have moved on. Dexter, big Han/TB gelding that came from Greystone Farm in Collingwood - he used to be named Jimmy Choo. If anyone knew him, he's with me now He's happy, still cranky but I have learned to ignore it and we get along just fine!
Sierra is a coming 2yo AQHA filly - super cute and sweet. Average bloodlines, but I saw both her parents who are really nice. Hopefully will be a western pleasure prospect and later a broodmare for Weebo if all goes well.

Hopefully I will be able to post pictures eventually, can't find my camera right now :S

[Hope03]

really great to hear updates on everyone! And Perfect Angel, I do expect to see some pictures of all your beautiful horses and especially Ernie, when you find your camera.

[jax]

Ernie pics!!!!

[PerfectAngel]

As soon as I get my camera back, I'll be sure to post pics for you

[sugar]

A lot has changed for me, my husband retired in late 2006 and we moved back to where he is from in March of 2007. So, I am no longer in Ottawa working in IT for the government. I now live in Rainy River, by the Lake of the Woods in NW Ontario and we run Naughty Pine Riding Ranch. We live on a beautiful creek and have access to 1000's of acres of land for trail riding.
We do therapeutic riding too as I am still disabled so all the horses are trained for it plus I am a qualified social worker anyway. I use gaited Pasofino horses and have 2 big appaloosas that have a decent running walk. The older and disabled riders just love the smooth ride. I run horse camps all summer and give basic lessons.
To keep busy in the off season, I am training 6 QHs, including a breeding stud, plus 2 pasofino fillies of my own.
We put up a windmill and solar panels this year. We even have a Raspberry U-pick.
We are enjoying our career change, but it has been tight with the recession, however I am hoping this year will be better than last.

[LE123]

Glad to see so many updates, though sorry to hear things have been rough for many.

2009 was a busy year for me. Back to the show ring for me, which was fun. Hit Equus 3D and Grandview, as well as some in house XC fun. Did well, and learned tons. Students did equally as well last season.

Family and cats are good, and this season is just as busy as last season, if not more.

I'm not on message boards much anymore, so if you want to stay in touch, Facebook is where I spend time if I'm online.

Wishing you all a great 2010.

[RobinHood]

I can't believe that this board is finally up and running again - I had given up on it, and then saw a thread on EMG the other day about it and came over to check it out!

So nice to hear all of your updates, and glad that most of you are doing so well, and that those that have had rough times are still in good spirits! Leena - as others have said, you are an inspiration - you have such a great attitude!

As for me, I still have Mr Robin - it will be 10 years this October that he and I have been together, and I don't regret a single minute of it. He is doing really well lately. His allergies have been kept really well under control just with wet hay and I give him respi-free on these humid days, or days when my allergies are bugging me, and knock on wood, that has been working really well the past two years and it is very rare that he will cough or have any breathing issues. I know that I am lucky that his allergies have been so easy to control. Not much show news for me, I have not shown for the past couple of summers, nor really taken any lessons because I went back to school so don't really have the funds for that! But, Robin is doing super well. We had a fantastic ride today - his lateral work is great, and his canter (which has always been his worst gait) has been fantastic lately - we even did canter leg yields, shoulder-in and haunches in today, as well as flying changes and he was great for all of it. I would say we are schooling 3rd/4th level, but he won't be back in the show ring for another couple of years due to the money contraints with being a student. While I haven't been taking lessons, I feel as though we are still progressing well - my coach had really instilled the basics of how to teach him things, and had gotten us started on some higher level stuff (like piaffes, lateral canter work, pirouettes, etc), so we are working on perfecting those, and I may take a lesson here and there as finances permit.

Other than that, I am still married (will be 3 years in September), and we are still living in our first house in Guelph. My parents have their farm still, so Robin lives there with my family's other 2 horses Jewel and Joker, as well as the riding school horses and other boarders (their farm is leased). I just finished my second year of veterinary school - 2 years left! I am looking forward to 3rd year as we start surgical exercises next year, so I think I will learn a lot as I learn more by doing than sitting in a classroom! All of the theory is really hard, and it's a lot of work, but I don't miss my day job at all! It has been totally worth the sacrifices to go back to school and pursue what I really want to do with my life, and my family and husband have all been so supportive I love my summer job at a vet clinic, so know this is most definitely the right field for me, and I have my externship at a mixed equine/small animal hospital all set up for next summer, so I look forward to working a bit more with horses as well.

THat's pretty much it for me! School has kept me very busy, but I still manage to ride 4-5 times a week during the school year, so that helps me maintain my sanity!