Ups and Downs

The weather here has been all over the place. This weekend it was over 60, I had the chance to ride my horses, get their feet trimmed, and we even did some free jumping with Java. But today it is back down to feeling like -20, with a true high of under ten.
I really don't mind winter, but I also don't like the temperatures fluctuating so much. If it would stay at 20 all winter, I would probably be okay with it. But I don't like it being 60 and then 20. It makes me worry about my horses, and I just can't get used to it.

I wish I could say that I have been able to ride my own horses often this last month, but I unfortunately have not been able to. Between the weather and work there hasn't been a lot of time left over.
The one good thing about Pepsi is that I can ride her like this. I hadn't sat on her in over a week, I didn't lunge her, and she let me do this without throwing any tantrums. I love this horse so much!

The Indoor Animals

Along with having my three horses at home, I also work at a job where I am around horses all day, with 6 of them being in my "care." Meaning that I keep them behaving, and have them saddled and ready to go when a client comes to ride them. I love my job for so many reasons, I get to be around wonderful people, wonderful kids, and great horses. I couldn't ask for anything better.
I love my job, but working outside in the cold all day can be kind of taxing. Even the indoor arena is not that much warmer, although it does block the frigid wind.
Because of the cold I haven't been able to work my own horses very often, I don't have an arena at home, and it is quite muddy right now! But I do try to keep myself busy when I get home from work, so that I am not just sitting around all day. My current thing has been teaching my indoor animals tricks.
We currently have four cats at home. None of them were planned, all four were dumped by someone at one point.
Nomad is my buddy. He is now 6 years old. He was dumped when he was very young, under 6 weeks, and I almost didn't pick him up. I was riding my bike down the dirt roads and there he was in the ditch. He chased my bike and I couldn't leave him, so he came home with me. He is so unique. He loves to ride with you on a bike, follows me around when I am outside with my horses, and LOVES to be held. He loves my dog, she pretty much raised him when we brought him home. Slept with him, licked him, and played with him. They are still best friends. Its a good thing too, because he doesn't get along with any other animal, including our other cats. He isn't that great with tricks, because he tends to spend his time glaring at the other cats trying to get a treat as well. :)

Rue is a four year old kitty that showed up when he was at least a year old. He was skin and bones, which is exactly the opposite of what he is now! He is quite.... fluffy at the moment. When he first showed up he was extremely skittish, but we finally got him calmed down enough to pet. And then he was off to the vet to be fixed. He was extremely mean the first couple of months. He would attack without warning and would NOT stop. He would jump at your face and was not easy to get away from. It was bad enough that we were thinking about having him put to sleep because we were afraid he would hurt someone. =[ But he turned a corner and is now so neat. I call him my trick cat, he loves doing tricks! His current list include, sit, speak, spin, high five, sit up, stand up, jump, through the hoop, on(pedestal), down, come, go get it, and he is working on roll over and heel. He also knows Hide and Seek, he will find you (by crouching and "stalking",) and then he will hide (badly, pretty much just sticks his head under something.) He is truly one of a kind.

Tux is our old guy at around 14. He didn't up until he was guessed to be about 10 by the vet. He had definitely not had the easiest life, he is missing many teeth, and his ears are chewed up, and he is terrified of men. But he is very comfortable around my sister and I. He does have some... neurological problems that are sort of hard to explain, such as excessively eating wet hair. He is just learning some tricks, he can speak, sit, stand and give a high five. 

Pixel is the newest cat member of the family. She showed up in November of last year. She is much different than the other cats, not near as cuddly, but equally affectionate. She loves to be touched, but not picked up. And everything is on her own terms. :) She has quickly figured out that if she sits, speaks, and stands on command she gets something good to eat. And that is the best thing ever in her opinion. 

And Paden is my 12 year old border collie, lab mix. She has been the best dog to grow up around. She loves to be outside with me, and loves to come along when I ride. I will always remember her waiting by the bus stop when I was in public school. She will always be special to me! Sadly she can't do as much as she used to be able to, as she does have hip dysplasia, but she still enjoys feeding the horses and hanging out with us. 

All of my animals are super special to me, from the ducks, to the horses. They all have one of a kind personalities and are so much fun to be around. I couldn't ask for anything more. 

Brrrr....

The last few days have been frigid. There have been temperatures that we haven't seen for three years, and that has been long enough to get used to not having them! Monday was -30 with wind chill, and I really feel for the other areas of the country that are feeling much colder temperatures than this!
The horses are doing very well, even my thin skinned, wimpy Thoroughbred. The three of them have their winter blankets on and all the hay that they could want. They all actually really seem to be enjoying the little bit of snow that we have, and most likely the time off as well. =]
I do wish that there was more snow. If it is going to be cold there might as well be snow on the ground too!

 Pepsi spends most of her time chowing down. She may be fuzzy but she tends to feel the cold a lot more than the others.

 Java is looking cute, as always!

I was really worried about Addie when we heard about the temperatures that were being forecast. She has very little winter hair, and cannot handle being stalled. She will walk herself into a lather. But surprisingly she is handling everything in her usual cheerful way.

The other animals all seem to be handling the cold fine. The cats and dogs are inside, and may venture outside for two minutes at the most. They are definitely not liking it out there!
Our duck are allowed in or out, and tend to be outside if the winds not blowing to much. Sadly their pond is frozen solid so they don't have to much swimming space at the moment.

I really do like winter, but I would love to be back up above 20 for more than a couple of days!

Wow...

So it looks like  I may not be a very good blogger in the long run. I totally forget about even having a blog for months!
I will probably have to spend the next couple of posts going over 2013 and my journey with the three "ponies." I figure that even if no one else ever sees this blog, at least I will have something to look back on. =]

So my goals were pretty simple for 2013. Get Java more comfortable with new things, work with Pepsi as often as possible, and let Addie sit and rest. I also was trying for a job (a horse job!) and was focusing on trying to make that work. I really wanted to get the job.
I of course did have a ton of goals for each of the horse, but none so much as Java. He had pretty bad feet when we bought him in September of 2012, and we were still working on getting them set right. Thankfully after a couple of trims he was looking, and I am sure feeling, much better! I also wanted to get him started under saddle. My ultimate goals with him is to do some jumping and dressage, but it has yet to be determined if he will enjoy this. He is my little (big in his opinion) project.
He is a tough pony. He has a ton of energy (WAY more than my thoroughbred!) and he can be a spooky thing too. We worked a lot on desensitizing and laughed a lot on what he thinks is scary. Bags, tarp, whips? No big deal! That leaf blowing the wrong way? Horse eating monster right there! So getting him fully desensitized is still a work in progress.
But really 2013 was a good year for Java and I as a new team. Especially considering my time constraints! He is now going walk, trot and canter under saddle, with some calvaletti and lateral work. There is still a long way to go but it is a start!
 He has turned into quite the handsome fellow as well. He just needed lots of TLC.

Addie did spend her year doing just as I had planned for her... doing absolutely nothing but being a horse. She is my money vaccuum that I love with all my heart. Thankfully the time off has been great for her and she is once again SOUND. Although she will never again be a dressage horse or jumper I do hope to get her back to some sort of work eventually. I don't really care if she can only walk around the pasture, she will stay here forever either way.

Pepsi has just been awesome this year. We have been on a few trail rides, went to a clinic, and just plain had fun together. She is such a cute little mare. She has also done well in giving my sister more confidence in riding. My sister will even canter on her now, which was a terrifying thing on any other horse! That alone makes Pepsi worth the money that I spent on her. =]

I really hope that I get into a blogging routine. I am not the best writer but I feel like I could enjoy it!