First canter with Pandora! She cannot hold herself together well, as she has a lot of strength to build, but we are so proud of her try.
She is quite the strong horse, as many Haflingers can be, so our primary focus now is getting her light and responsive to the aids, especially downward transitions, halts, and backs.
And hopefully finding a saddle for her 🤞she is still on a weight loss journey and is so wide currently that our only option is to ride her bareback 😅
Older video of Sirocco and I from the beginning of the summer. He was lovely this ride.
We've taken a break from much of any jumping this summer to really work on flatwork basics. We will pick up endurance rides and jumps schools again when it cools down.
A little bit of fun after baby Pandora's 3rd ride 💓
GA The South Wind at Liberty
Parker and Sizzle the other night.
It has been a journey to get Sizzle to truly relax down and stretch through his back. With his past as a main ring horse, being ridden hollow, and a kissing spines diagnosis, it is so important for his health that he does learn to stretch through and lift his back.
Sizzle can be the easiest and most straightforward horse to ride, but if you are riding him with the goal of relaxation and using his body properly, it does take a skilled rider.
Parker has come a long way in her riding journey with Sizzle. She has learned to become a pilot instead of a passenger and I'm so proud to see it!
My baby Sirocco's first river encounter. I was so delighted with his willingness!
Video from our April NATRC (competitive trail riding) ride in Wickenburg with our Arabian crew.
For Michele and Vern (back on the pack) it was their first trail riding competition and while they are still green out on the trail, they had a stellar ride and ended placing 5th in their division.
For, Sirocco, my 6 year old green Arabian , it was only his third or fourth trail ride and he was a spice monster, but we had a lot of fun and good experiences.
We have endurance dreams for both Sirocco and Vern.
Cant wait to do a couple races and NATRC rides come fall!
We also brought along my two 17 year old ex-show Arabians who were very new to experiencing any sort of riding outside an arena and I was so impressed with their behavior. Cross training is so good for their mental health.
Throwback to working with Trace the OTTB in Florida.
Fun fact - Crime Lab"Trace" is related to our Inconceivable"Finn" through their mothers. The mares Criminologist and Lutess, both by the stallion Maria's Mon.
Finn should be available for adoption through After The Homestretch AZ here soon!
Half-Arabian Mare - Nobody Does It Better "Queenie"
.65 $100 Jumper Derby 1st out of 10
Queenie hacking the other day after a good bit of time off. She has lost a lot of her fitness but was still so lovely for us.
Half-Arabian Mare - Nobody Does It Better "Queenie"
.65 II.2b 4th out of 28
Z the OTTB when he was in the beginnings of his jumping training. He had so much natural ability, such a lovely ride.
Going through some of my older training videos. This was Z, he was absolutely dreamy.
Of all the OTTBs that I have worked with, Z is one of the top ones that I would have killed to have for myself.
Older video of working with Kid when he was still quite green off the track. He was a very tense, up tight, sensitive, hot ride and at this point he was just starting to learn to step out, relax, and stretch down. In the beginning, he was jigging instead of a walk, and a canter instead of trot, so this was a huge improvement in his way of going.
Pandora update:
We went back to Midwestern to remove her sutures. Pathology came back as Ocular squamous cell carcinoma. Haflingers are predisposed so it will be very important she stays protected from UV light and we monitor her other eye for early detection signs.
They think we got the eye out just in time and do not believe the cancer has spread to surrounding tissues and bone!
Just in case though, she had her first chemotherapy bead placed in the socket and we will repeat that twice more monthly.
Also - the techs measured her at 12 hands (i cant believe it, too adorable 😍, we thought she was at least 13 but her being built like a double wide trailer probably makes her seem taller than she is 😂). They say she is definitely very overweight for her height and should drop at least ~100lbs. She is already 8lbs down from her last appointment and now that she can start working that will help the weight loss process!
She also had her first bath!
Haylee on my 6 year old Arabian Sirocco
Rocco is sensitive and particular, as well as being quite green. You cannot simply be a passenger when you ride him, he makes you work for it every step.
So it's really lovely to see Haylee riding him so effectively, it's a huge improvement and I was so impressed with her!
Lots of improvement with Rocco too, working with me behind the scenes.
Second jump school for Parker and Sirocco. Parker is already so much stronger, and Sirocco's rideability is so much improved. They are starting to sync, I love to see it!
I am SO proud of them 🥹 such a great ride.
Haylee has improved leaps and bounds in such a short time
Sizzle has become an absolute beast as well, he has come so far in his confidence. He is quite the cautious horse so it has taken a lot of time and patience in his training to get him here.
Parker had her first jump school with Rocco.
He's a complicated, and powerful horse - especially to jumps. Parker will learn to ride a little less defensively, let him flow, and go with him given more time - but she handled him so well for their first go!
Hard to believe she jumped her first crossrail just 4 months ago, she has totally evolved as a rider
Parker and Queenie from the other week. Parker has gained so much strength and is really beginning to be able to ride effectively and influence the horses way of going. We are in counting strides bootcamp as well.
Totally different rider over fences than 4 months ago when she started jumping, and on a much more difficult to ride horse now too - I'm so proud of her!
Queenie has come far as well. She is definitely an advanced rider kind of horse and was a hot, difficult ride when we got her, but with the several months of training since we got her, she has really become manageable for my intermediate riders.
