A Breakthrough, and a Disaster!

Wow, I have so much to say right now, and I don't really know where to start! I thought I'd skip the goals for now, while my mind is complete mush, and focus on today. I thought it'd be easier to just break the 'chapters' to each blog up by horses, so lets hope this works!

.Evo.
Today was a good day for my big man. He'd had all week off because of me having only enough time to muck out, feed, water and go! And since my good friend from uni is coming out tomorrow to ride him, I thought I ought to make sure that's a good idea!
I expected some major work on my behalf - he's usually really lazy, and I have to nag a lot to sort of 'wake' him up. But today - I'm not sure if the bad wind had anything to do with it - he was rather interested in working, so I used it to my advantage. We warmed up around the outside of the paddock, he did have a couple of nappy moments over the girls grazing down the back, and a hissy fit over the puddles in one area (you'll all soon learn that Evo despises water and its his only true 'ugly side' ), but for the majority he was really well behaved. I didn't want to work on the walk today, although I do admit I could have spent more time on it. He was readily accepting the bit at the walk, but I felt there wasn't enough activity coming from behind. I'll really have to work on that.
But I started doing some trotting in straight lines, and it actually helped me so much! Why the hell have I stuck to circles, when doing straight lines made me find it almost EFFORTLESS to post?! At first I was horrible, and with all the water everywhere (BRING ON SPRINGGGGG!) my paddock isn't exactly the best place to school, so there's only certain parts to use. But once we got going, I was on fire... I felt that with a little more stability in my legs I would have breezed through it! What an achievement! I can't wait to hop up and do the same thing tomorrow while I show my baby boy off to my friend!
After cooling down, I took him back up to the shed and let him eat some of the spring grass coming through... I wish I could rest a part of my paddock for that right now! After some hard feed, and grooming, he had his rugs put back on, and went off back to his girls.


.Honey.
Miss Honey Bee was in a reasonably good mood today! She played the whole 'I'm not really grumpy at you but if I put my ears half back you might realise that I don't wish to be caught and taken out of my paddock for groomies' act. She was much better about going away from her friends today, a lot less reluctant... still a little iffy, but not as bad. Groomed her and only had one issue, when a horse next door broke out of its paddock and started galloping, Honey shied and pulled back so I was quick to untie her. She soon settled down and I went back to grooming, covering and feeding, on the same deal as Evo.
However she did get a little annoyed with Evo crowding her today when I had Bai up in the shed area, and decided to just go through the gate to the big space beside the paddock, since the fence wasn't on. She was thankfully not hurt, and just let me catch her, as she knew she was in trouble, lol.


.Bailey.
Today, with Bailey, I had the worst experience of my life. After grooming and rugging her back up, I gave her her dinner... and she choked on her feed. Her vital signs decreased rapidly and I completely freaked out, watching as she coughed up flemmy stuff, and also had it coming out her nose. She went lifeless and was heaving for awhile. Thankfully with some help from a friend (and useless advice from a vet), we managed to settle her down and she bounced back, now that whatever was lodged had moved down through her system. To be on the safe side, I went back out two hours later to check on her and she was looking much brighter. But I've never seen a horse lose its signs of life so quickly, and never want to see it again. It was one of my nightmares almost come true, and I've realised how much I take her for granted.


Tomorrows notes: Making sure Bailey is better, Irina's first ride on Evo, and another grooming session for Honey!

Chelle x

The Exciting New Blog - Introductions!

I've always been the type to feel the need to express how important the first entry in something is. For example, I used to keep a diary, but the laziness pandemic got to me and it's been years since I've had one. However, every time I got a new diary (more than often it wasn't because the last one was full, but more likely my Gemini characteristics of never having enough concentration to finish things, and I'd gotten bored and wanted a change), the first entry was vibrant, more than one page long and really neat. Unfortunately, I tended to go downhill with it after that, maybe a couple of coloured gel pens, and not longer than a page long... yes it is shameful I admit... but I always have a nice front entry... so what I'm trying to say is, that it is very important to me, for this entry to be good.



For those interested, my name is Rochelle, but I'm more commonly known as Chelle, or Chelle Belle. I'm 22 years old and in my first year at the University of Canterbury, studying a Bachelor of Arts degree; double majoring in History and English. I also love to write fiction, and hope to become a published author one day. My interests, mainly involve horses, writing, reading, and listening to music. I've been horse riding since 1997, and am proud to own my three babies, Bailey, Evo and Honey. I also have a dog called Izzy, two cats Misty and Mikah, and one goldfish named Dougie.


The intent of this blog is purely to keep track of what's happening with my horses. As I have three horses, all with different stages of training and needs, I thought this would be a good idea. Also, after writing up a blog about Evo on my bebo account, a few friends thought a blog would be a good idea for me, what with being the writer I am and all, lol. So here it is... let's introduce these ponies of mine!


Meet Evolution aka Evo. He's a 16.1hh (estimated), dark bay NZ Standardbred gelding. He's by Caprock, out of Gliding Dawn, and currently 10yrs old. I've had the pleasure of owning Evo for the past year and a half, and many claim him to be my soulmate. He's been the first horse that I've started from scratch, although I've had some help along the way! Despite his inexperience, he'd do anything for me, and is super willing. I have to admit this blog will feature a lot about this boy, as he is my main riding horse, and is in training for his first ridden show next year, as well as a few inhand outings this year! My goals with Evo are to do dressage, and I'll elaborate more into them in my next blog!



This is Let's Go Dancin' aka Bailey. She's a 14.2hh, mahogany bay NZ Standardbred mare. She's by Cam's Trickster and out of Lady Module, and is currently 10years old. I've had the pleasure of owning Miss Bailey since she was almost five, when I adopted her from Equine Rescue. She's a difficult pony to ride, as she's very much an alpha mare. However, as much as I've grown to be too big for her, Bailey has got herself a few devoted fans who come and ride her. She was my first pony and naturally I'm very attached to her. Bailey's attitude can sometimes be less than desirable, and to be honest sometimes I get sad watching her potential waste because she 'doesn't want to be ridden' on that particular day. But she's a great friend, and I hope to eventually breed from her. But for now, she's a pleasure hack for some little girls, and I'm hoping to get her going better under saddle in the upcoming months!


And finally, this is my recent addition - Lovebug, aka Honey. She's a 15hh (estimated), dark chestnut NZ Standardbred mare. She's by Live or Die, and out of Ballroom Belle, and is currently four years old. I recently bought Honey and she's my new project for the upcoming spring weather, my good friend and I plan to back and start her under saddle. I already have some loose goals for this wee mare, mainly in the dressage ring, but she may just be the horse to get me back into jumping! We'll see as we progress... the main thing is, she is, like her name suggests, a complete honey, who's personality starts shining more and more as the days go by!



Well there you have it, my three ponies, who this blog is dedicated to! I'll be back shortly to introduce we're we are at with each pony, and what I'd like to achieve in the upcoming months! This will also provide a place for me to describe my feelings about my riding, as I'm the first to admit I have a lot of flaws, but unlike some, I work extremely HARD to make sure I'm getting passed my limitations!


Chelle x