New Hope Eventing

04/04/2022

To say it has been awhile is an understatement, but Norman and I will be sharing posts over the next couple months on his journey back to work.

Back in November, I had Norman x-rayed after multiple failed attempts at bringing him back to work since 2020. It was discovered that he has a mild case of kissing spine in two separate areas along his vertebrae. Both of the locations are directly under my seat when he is undersaddle and was causing the back and forth behavior when attempting to work. I knew I wanted to bring him back to work competitively this year, with work being a bit more balanced, and knew I had to have a vet out for rads to be 100% positive about his health and behavior (since everything else was tried to no success).

Our vet and I decided to allow him the winter being a horse still until I knew the weather was consistent for regular conditioning work. We will be doing lunging and stretching for 4 weeks to build up his topline some and then complete our first injections. After the first round I should be able to start light work undersaddle continuing to build up muscle. We will have him rechecked at 4 to 6 weeks to see how the injections are holding up and then go from there.

With this diagnosis, coupled with some other reactive areas that have grown not so great over the years, we will be focusing our sights on working as partners in Dressage specifically. I discussed it with the vet at his diagnosis and jumping would not be fair to his health.

So we will be documenting our journey over the next few months to see where we land. No matter what happens, I will just be happy to get back on my handsome red beast again even if that means just dancing in the sand and enjoying the beautiful venues for some trail riding.

05/09/2021

Norman had alot of dirt and grime on his coat from the winter months, so we had a long warm bath getting curried and soaped from head to hooves! So much red dirt came off him, but his coat so much softer and cleaner now.

This will be a normal cadence along with a regular brushing and currying before and after works.

My boy is so HANDSOME 😍🥰😍🥰

04/04/2021

Spring is in the air!

I have many plans for Norman over the next several weeks. Days being longer, weather warmer, and a fire in my heart to get back out galloping fields with my big red beast are all motivating me to get back on track. Not to mention having personal time with my handsome pony will allow me to create balance between work on personal 😊

01/16/2021

Educational day spent at the Liz Halliday-Sharp Clinic at FENCE. I observed several stadium groups listening to the coaching from Liz and learning a ton. As riders, we must continue our education. Its not always available to pay the fees to ride in a clinic (because they can be expensive) but a rider can learn through observation! There were a couple horses that seemed to ride like Norman does and it was great hearing that coaching specifically for me to take back to my riding at home when the time to jump comes around.

Thank you Jennarose for putting the clinic on and FENCE for the beautiful facility as always!

12/31/2020

New Hope Eventing wants to wish everyone a Happy New Year!

We hope all our friends and family stay safe, healthy, and sane with the coming 2021 year. The past year has tried us in ways that we would never have imagined, but we are stronger because of it. New Hope Eventing is welcoming the new year with new journeys and progress in our relationship and training. We will be posting more information, videos, and will be offering lessons and barn clinics on multiple aspects of the equine world! Stay tuned for the posts and reach out for any and all interest!

Happy New Year Everyone!



12/30/2020

12/29/2020

Two great lunge sessions with Norman this week leading up to 2021!

Who works their horses on the lunge weekly?

There are amazing benefits from working a horse on the lunge line regularly. There is relief from carrying weight and lunging lessens the impact on joints and ligaments. Another great benefit is the bond established and built upon between horse and rider when lunging. A horse needs a healthy level of respect for his handler and a lunge sessions help form, build, and nurture those respectful boundaries.

Over the last two weeks, lunging Norman 3 to 4 days a week, I have seen a better respect when I am walking him in from his pasture. He is listening to voice commands that he wasn't two weeks ago, and willfully showing my personal space respect when I am grooming and tacking him up. And this is all just after two weeks!

Try it out for yourself and if you are unsure about how to lunge, I will be posting a video in the next week for you to see a demonatration!

12/21/2020

One small. . Itty bitty step forward, but in the right direction 👏👏👏

On vacation from work, so definitely spending lots of time with my handsome red beast! He was actually CLEAN when I got out to his pasture 😂 so it was a quick groom and with plenty of light left, we got saddled up to lunge and do some walking undersaddle.

Norman lunged so quietly, stretching, and floating around like a gentleman. I figured it was a good day to take a walk in the arena even though it was chilly and super windy, but his temperament seemed fine. He stood quietly at the mounting block when I threw my leg over and walked off easily. He didn't spook at the bows tied to the fenceline whipping in the wind just walked around relaxed and happy (so it seemed). We did some circles and I asked a bit more out of his walk which he responded by picking his back up some and stretching forward in his stride 😇 I was so excited he felt this good. I asked him to move forward again down the long side and he picked up a quiet trot so I let him continue forward to the corner where I asked for the walk again. We did this about 4 times and called it a day. He felt AMAZING in his trot too just floating, head nice and set, not having to pull to the walk, just so RESPONSIVE!

We will be doing a lunge session tomorrow in the side reins and some undersaddle walking light trotting later this week. We will keep moving forward, but at a steady slow pace as not to throw anything out of wack! Especially his quiet mind lately. . . .there was no anxiety or anxious behavior today at all.

11/25/2020

Take me back. . . .

Take me back to galloping fields of green watching your ears flick forwards and backwards listening to my praise and encouragement of your amazing talent. . .

Take me back to flying gracefully over jumps others found intimidating because I know on your back that I have the wings of angels guiding us each each stride, takeoff, and landing. . .

Take me back to your hoofbeats and my heartbeat in rhythm through our course. . .

Take me back to those days. . . my red dragon. . . Where others could see our partnership, the love of each other, and the love of this sport. . .

11/21/2020

Norman thoroughly enjoyed his session with Natasha from The Animal Chiro today! 😍

He has some knots in the backside of his right shoulder and on the connecting muscle in his right side of his hip, but with the PEMF therapy on Tuesday next week and the stretches we do those knots should work themselves out.

11/17/2020

Norman is smiling from ear to ear hearing he is going to have some Spa days this week and next!

The amazing Natasha from The Animal Chiro will be coming out Friday to pop and crack my boy back into alignment and then on Tuesday Elyssa will be out for PEMF to help his muscles relax and increase circulation.

Fingers crossed that these two things will help him feel a bit better to start back up lunging and riding undersaddle at the walk over the next month!

11/16/2020

We have been quiet over the last several months. There have been alot of changes that have happened and plans for the 2021 season!

Thor was placed into a successful new home to be a low level eventer. He shipped out in October and his connections are super excited and pleased with the amazing boy! We have missed him, but am so happy with his future 👏👏

Norman has had alot of time off since 2019 😞 He has been on and off lunging work due to some discomfort he is having. We are getting a regular chiro, PEMF, and work routine going to bring him along this winter and hopefully do some shows and get back undersaddle next year. It will be a process and I have a vet coming out first of December to make sure our routine is on track for success.

What are some of your favorite winter exercises to do with your horses??

Here is a throwback picture of Norman and I schooling some training level cross country 🤩🤩