November 2-rides 45,46 and trailer

Wow- I was really busy all month working all my freelance stuff and starting at Serenity Tibet.

Sherlock did fine while I was on vacation, the farrier came on October 14th and Sherlock was good for his trim, a bit stiff but we just did a bit of stretching and he held up very nicely. The ladies who own the ponies didn't arrive for their appointment so I held the ponies for their trims. Both were good. Sherlock was very jealous and kept coming over to make sure they were not getting any treats that should by right be his.

The next week it was hot. Sherlock is already quite fluffy and he was sweating in the sun- but I'm not going to clip him, it will be cold soon enough.

October 23 Ride #45 in indoor, English saddle. Still a little footsore and needed to circle out from the gate again and get used to where chairs had been moved to. Trotted a little bit but he was not very willing. Rode over double pole "micro-ditch". Trimmed his mane and practiced with clippers a little.


October 27 Cleaned up really good, played with clippers while he had his grain. Show-sheened legs, belly and neck and face to prep for photos.

October 28. Photographer! Hay net and grain while I groomed, then out to outdoor arena. Very good, didn't mind reflector even when it fell off its stand. Lots of mints. R knee swollen, small shallow cuts inner above knee.

October 29 Grain and BL Solution. Swelling of R knee greatly reduced. Clipped cuts, hand-grazed.

November 1. Grain in paddock. Leg looking good. Small swelling back of knee. T got on Rocket today! Very proud.

November 2. New halter (aqua). Ride #46 bareback in round pen. Still a bit sore on R leg, w/t free longe then got on for 10 minutes easy walking. Grain with BL Solution. Hand grazed then L came by with trailer to take Lady to her new home. Practiced loading! I got in the trailer and he looked at the floor, when I put pressure on he backed up but I just maintained light pressure and he came forward. When he advanced I turned and walked in and he followed. Lots of pets while he settled and had a treat, then turned around and walked out. VERY happy. I feel like a superhero!

Sept 26-ride #44 fittings

This week I helped T set about fitting her self and Rocket for a saddle. My old Stubben fits Rocket pretty well. So over the week me met up and she got up on Sherlock in the round pen in the Stubben and walked around a bit to get a feel for it. He did very well!

Then I got on and rode a bit, just light work on sidepassing and voice commands. We tried the gate again and he gave me a step over to it so I could unlatch it and then backed up to open the gate! Almost like a real ranch horse! Super improvement in body control for us.

Other than this grand success, we've been doing some light ground work and getting lots of feed into the horse so he'll have a few extra pounds for winter. He's shedding summer coat and growing winter in already, despite it being 88 degrees today.

Sherlock and Maya share a snack

 And I also used my new phone to take lots of pictures to use for wallpapers on the phone-

Sept 23- Ride #42,43

9/15 Ride #42 (lucky number?) Rode in round pen English, w/t I wanted to canter but he was a bit stiff and short-strided. Hard ground or just too small a circumference to balance properly? Opened gate from up top- he was very curious what I was doing, then walked over to the outdoor and went in that gate with no arguments. Walked a set of poles then I got down and helped set up jumps.

Nice trot in round pen!

9/17 We tried my Stubben saddle on Rocket. He doesn't have withers as high as Sherlock's as is a bit wider- it fits him pretty well! T wants black, of course!

9/21 Ride #43 in indoor arena. Sherlock's belly was a bit tight with recent weather changes. Walk/small amounts of trot. Walked poles. Sidepass beginnings both directions, back up. Tried hard, very nice.

Maya, Sherlock and Trigger

Sept 13- slow and steady

Weather was crazy and we took it easy. Not only are big weather changes bad for the horses' bellies (Sherlock tends to get a little gas colic when it starts to get cold) but the cooler weather amps up the energy!

8/28 I fed Sherlock in the outdoor arena - handy to be able to set the bucket down on the mounting block and hold it instead of taking its whole weight. Trotted in-hand, walked over trail obstacle course of flower box, cross rail, back through poles, 3-pole curved with varied heights.


9/2 Cold morning! Sherlock was excited so I took him straight to the outdoor to run, but then he didn't want to. Free-lunged in indoor instead, w/t/c, picking up canter more easily and balance seems great. Sideways game work. Hind legs very "poppy" today and a little stiff. Fed and groomed in barn.

9/5 Muddy and slick footing. Fed in the round pen and did some light work, walk/halt.

9/7 Fed and groomed in the round pen, sideways and squeeze game work.

9/9 Fed in paddock, raining.

9/10 Hand-grazing 15 minutes. The cool weather has made the grass really sweet and high.

9/11 Checked on him this am and he was cold but dry. Brought him into the barn to groom, feed and put blanket on.

9/12 Grain in paddock, unblanketed.

9/13 Visited with my friend CA. She was uncertain about horses wanted to try to get accustomed a bit more. Everywhere was full of horses so I just bright him up to the tie rail out front. I led him in with Beatrice- a little nervous but with B tagging along behind they both did fine. She is so big...

A little pacing at first but settled to be groomed and do carrot stretches. I should remember to do the stretches last or he does them the whole time you brush. Very friendly and made a good effort to pose for pictures at the end of the grooming session. REM more mints from car into the brush box.

August 27- Ride #41 hints, switcheroo

Ride #41, August 24. Simco Western saddle with the wither-fill pad. It looks like two felt ping-pong paddles attached by a nylon strap. The paddles fit into the hollow area on either side of the withers to hold the saddle up off the backbone.

Fussy for grooming since other horses were working in indoor arena, but settled. Took him in and let other horse out. Introduced sack of cans, dragged it around a bit. He stepped on it and startled himself, I need to remember to hold it farther from his feet when we start again.

Got on at the mounting block and walked a few minutes- then he brought me back to the mounting block. And stood there and ground his teeth. I put my hand under the edge of the saddle and decided the wither pad had shifted. So I got down, loosened the cinch and rearranged the pads. Got on again and he was much more willing, walking faster and more relaxed. Thank you for the hint, Sherlock.

Walked and trotted all the way around the ring sweet and cheerful. Still very giraffe-y with his neck but balance is much improved, head set comes later. 

Get off and fix the saddle, please.

August 25 came out to feed and the barn sign warned that horses were rearranged and would be fixed that night. Seems the gate between the Pony paddock and the Non-dominant pasture was left open and almost everyone decided to try something new for the night. Only Sherlock was left in the Pony paddock with everyone but Eva from the Non-dominant. He was hiding in the shelter when I called him, and I put him the pasture with his herd after he ate his grain.

At 6:00 I came back and helped catch everyone to go back into the Pony paddock. Allie was a challenge but Tooie was a perfect angel once I'd caught Allie. Sherlock was excellent as usual, if a bit carrot-focused.

August 22- rides # 38,39,40 & saddle shuffle

Lots of riding pics this time!

Bareback stretching

August 1, ride #38. Rode bareback in indoor just to stretch out my sore back. Casual strolling and then some hand-grazing with Rocket. They get along very nicely.


August 4. I'm starting to feel stomach troubles again. Likely just the stress of 2 freelance jobs and 2 eBay selling jobs. Got my custom bridle from Uiseach Saddlery in Ireland today! Thank you G for a great anniversary present!




August 8, grooming and tried on new bridle for pics! Clipper introduction, after photos did some round pen work walk/trot. SO hot. Ugh.

Handsome in new blue-stitched bridle!

August 10, back from overnight trip to Steamboat Springs.  Sherlock's right knee swollen, small cut on the outside of the joint. No heat, not sore to touch. Added  B-L Solution to feed.

August 12. Sherlock saw me coming with grain and came galloping in! Clearly not lame on still-swollen knee. Watching for possible joint fluid leakage on front of joint still squishy, but swelling everywhere going down. B-L Solution and beer grain.

August 17. Trimmed by farrier M. Did great today- another very successful day. Stood well and calmly, we let him stretch between and front and hind feet today instead of after every foot.

August 18, ride #39. Light ride trying out King western saddle. Nice narrow tree with a high wither relief gullet, but twist was too wide for me. I was sore within 20 minutes.


August 21, ride #40. Light ride re-testing Simco western saddle. Still sitting a litle too low and pressing on withers, but was a good fit for me. Talked to A who was aout riding Trigger, and he had a wither fill pad he got at Saddle Up. Went right over and bought one! Can't wait to try it out but this weekend may be full of Sounds True Wake Up Festival instead of horseback riding.

Western today!

July 31- Back..from vacation

Titled as such because I returned from a wonderful week in Vail with a very sore back.

Sherlock did well under CC's care, I think he even gained a bit of weight. He did well with the citronella bands and his feet weren't chipped up or legs stocked up! They were starting to fade over the course of the week, then I took them off due to mud. I expect they will not last the listed 5 weeks- but even 2 weeks was very helpful.

I just said hello the first day back and gave out some carrot slices. The new POA mare, Maya is in with them and Sherlock is a bit grumpy about her but seems peaceful with Trigger now.

Tuesday we had a hand-walking day. Up the hill to the pond, Sherlock was nervous up there. Came back down and grazed the edge of the hay field along the back edge of the lesson horse pasture. Strong walk coming back. Still a little nervous passing by Lady and her foal Dobby.

Went back to the barn and free lunged just a few minutes. He was stiff at first but opened up well. Walk/Trot very nicely. Had grain and groomed up, went home.

I had to go out early on Wednesday, and I beat the girls feed truck. It was already raining quite hard. I just gave him a small amount of beer grain and took off the fly bands for rinsing. Pics of mud coverage for the day- quite good, I guess 85%.