We are close to being ready to pull out and soooo excited! Things have been coming together all week, new tires on the truck, Mike has changed the oil and all the filters...gonna re-pack trailer bearing tomorrow and I think our rig shall be Texas bound. We've been getting other stuff together too, props for the freestyle (thanks to the help of quite a few friends and family) and all of Lindsay's traveling gear in order.
She threw a shoe a few days back, it needed to be re-set anyway, it was one I had glued on and only put two nails in...well, she was just a star for me to re-set it. No glue this time, just nails and I could not have asked for her to stand better. Didn't even have Mike hold her, I pulled a "Billy Murray" and put her lead rope in the belt of my chaps and had her basically ground tie and she didn't budge. So proud of her.
We've been riding lots still, morning and night some days and she is holding her own well. She is a pretty fit gal these days and will need to be to go through this next week. 22 hours of hauling is hard on any horse, then competing in 4 different preliminaries, plus warming up...and (Lord willing) the freestyle..all over only 2 days is a lot. Her weight is really really good too, I am so thankful to Triple Crown for sponsoring her. She has gone through quite a bit of feed, I've had her on the TC Senior for quite some time now @ 4 pounds twice a day! Plus hay of course...that's a lot and it's not that she's a hard keeper, but with all the hauling she did to get here, then the consistent work she been doing non-stop, she really did need the calories. If anything she is a little on the thicker side, but she is certainly fit and it seems they all drop a little when you haul that hard, so it will be good for her to have a little buffer.
Mike picked up some round bales yesterday and put tarps over them...Lindsay eye-balled them a little at first, so I took the opportunity to ride her over and check them out...it didn't take much encouraging at all and she let me shake the tarp all around beside her...once she figured out hay was underneath she was especially interested!...At one point Mike was burning feed bags and I asked him to hand me one while I was on her. She didn't even flinch...it's amazing how educated she has become and a lot of it, especially that type thing..new people and inanimate objects....has evolved almost on it's own. I mean, yes of course I have tried to desensitize her as much as possible to things, however we did hit that rut at one point where we just got stuck, the more I pushed to get her desensitized the more she thought she really should be afraid of the scary object...especially me picking things up from her back, that was a biggy. I did do quite a few things like hanging everything imaginable in her stall to spending hours in her stall tossing a plastic bag filled with cans all around until she stopped jumping out of her skin each time they hit the ground...but that said, I also just got to a point where I stopped worrying about it so much and just road her, it seemed like in hindsight that was the best thing to do, because the things she is accepting of now are so drastically different from the things she would accept before. I think many times we need to explain things and then just give those things time to sit in their minds...they keep thinking and remembering long after we do...just giving her time for it all to soak in can make all the difference. 100 days seems like not much time, and it's not, but it's amazing how much they are capable of learning within that time frame. She amazes me everyday.
We will load everything up Sat. and pull out Sun as soon as we can. The Brown family as well as my Mom will be staying here on the farm, feeding and watching over everyone. I can not thank them all enough...there is no way we could do it without them. We have to many critters that need an eye on them at all times to be sure they stay safe and sound to take off without someone here all the time. We are so thankful that they will be in such good hands.
We plan to layover with the Mortons of Golden Gaits Farm Sunday night. Please check out their site if you are ever in the market for a Friesian, a Spotted Saddle horse or a gaited Curly..they have some incredible horses and a gorgeous farm. www.goldengaitsfarm.net
Then Monday we plan to arrive in Texas and stay at a boarding facility about 20 minutes out from Fort Worth until Thursday morning when we can check in to the Will Rogers center where we'll compete. I am excited to have a little time to let Lindsay settle and re-coup from the haul, plus maybe have a moment for Mike and I to check out Fort Worth! Lots to see...but I am certain my focus will stay on her the majority of the time! We'll compete Friday and Saturday then head home Sunday.
I will do my best to keep everyone posted along the way. We are so very thankful for everyone's encouragement and support, without each one of you this would not be possible! THANK YOU!
***A special thank you the the Carolina Classic Horseman's Association for becoming a recent sponsor. The CCHA is a wonderful open horse show association based out of Wilmington, NC. The have classes for all types of riding including Western Pleasure, Hunter Jumpers and Gaming. Check out www.theccha.net to see what they are all about.***
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