Saturday 29 February 2020

Good Po-neighs

I've been pretty intermittent in my posting lately, but it's certainly a case of no news being good news. Spring is in the air, the ponies are starting to shed, and there's been enough daylight to fit some pretty full days in outdoors.


My husband G has had some vacation time, so we've been doing a ton of hiking and I've been fitting in a Sophie ride most days I'm home. Sophie rides are about as exciting as watching paint dry, hence my lack of things to blog...there is the odd spook and scoot but generally we can be found walking around the round pen, getting our whoa and go solid, plus working on bending and similar concepts new and exciting for baby ponies but less so for blog readers. We're getting close to a point where I'll feel confident riding alone - I'm starting to have a few reliable tools at my disposal rather than just feeling like a passenger, which is always a good thing!

Hiking
And ponies! Every day :)

Today was a leap day, and Sophie took it extra seriously. She was a bit "stuck" today. She sometimes gets a bit of a hump in her back if I push beyond where she's comfortable. I've been guilty of working around that (ok avoiding it) so today it was bad and I needed to step up and be accountable before I cause a bigger problem. So, I pushed, she bucked, and it was tiny. Phew! So with that out of the way I pushed harder, more tiny bucking and crowhopping happened and then the glue broke and we had some nice trot. I immediately hopped off and gave her tons of scratches, because that 'fight' was all my own creation due to being too tentative and accepting too little the few rides before. I think with her being so naturally spicy I was so focused on keeping things relaxed and happy I inadvertently lost the forward.

Knowing Sophie, tomorrow she'll bring ALL the forward to the table, because she wants to be a good girl like that. I'll wear my sticky breeches just in case!

Trots just fine without a human = must be human error.

I so wish I was a brave kid again, but I think we're fine doing what we're doing. Some days we're a little outside Sophie's comfort zone, some days it's mine that needs to be pushed. We seem to muddle through in the end with no one any worse for wear.

Hi Bridget!

Bridget is also doing just great. She accompanies us every time she asks to (I spoil her so badly, lol, and let her hang out in her pasture if she doesn't come up to the barn when she sees me) It works well, because honestly I don't always have time to ride or exercise the both of them on the same day, so Bridget gets out a couple times a week and groomed on the rest, and seems happy enough with that. As always, I love riding her best, but if I want Sophie to be like her, I need to focus my miles and time on Sophie right now.
Showing off.

We're expecting a vet visit mid month to discuss all things baby ponies. I'm very excited, but also trying not to get too ahead of myself - it's something I'm taking very seriously and we have a lot of questions for the vet.

This is getting way too long, so I'll post later on why I'm considering breeding vs buying or rescuing. TLDR; been there done that with the rescues, and there are no Welsh Cob breeders near me. It's not all happy stories, but I'm open to sharing my experiences with the highs and lows of upgrading and rescuing if you're all interested (15 years worth prior to this blog and current pony/Welsh Cob obsession;)
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9 comments

  1. Glad you are having a nice time outside - hiking and ponies - can't beat that!!!

    Super exciting about breeding Bridget - we just went through the cycling/AI part and now we wait the 340 +/- days and hope all goes well. I'd like to hear your thoughts on breeding/rescuing, etc. I went through a tricky thought process on breed vs buy myself.

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    1. Oh, congrats! So excited for you!
      I've been procrastinating on the whole breed/rescue thing because my experiences with rescue weren't great and I'd hate to discourage anyone who lives in a part of the world where it might be a good option. That being said, it's a huge factor in my decision making so I'll get that post done!

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  2. Responsible breeding always has a place. If you'd like someone to bounce bloodline ideas off of, or to give you ideas on what characteristics you should look for in a stallion, Connor's breeder would be happy to give you a sounding board if you wanted to shoot her a Facebook message. She just loves these types of conversations, partially because I think her brain is always at least 10% baseline full of "Hm, I like that shoulder but I hate that neck, I bet that stallion would improve that mare..." sort of things!

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    1. Oh, I will do that once I get the all clear from the vet! I follow her on Facebook and honestly would just buy one of hers if shipping/customs/brokerage wasn't so crazy expensive.

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  3. There's my home again. THANK YOU.

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  4. Oooh a mini Bridget would be awesome. I'm happy for your boring rides on Sophie.

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  5. how exciting re maybe breeding Bridget!! and yay for riding Sophie and getting thru it :) She is growing up so fast!!

    Gorgeous views where you live too!!

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  6. My friend I always trail ride with has 2 mares and rides one and ponies the other so they both get out.
    Glad to hear Sophie's been making steady progress, and very exciting news about Bridget possibly becoming a mom =)

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  7. Glad everything is going well.

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