I have to take a moment to brag
I know I've been pretty absent lately...just been so busy finishing up with the moving, renovating the other house, getting Shelby settled in, and beginning a job search.
Shelby's really made himself at home now, and I'm more in love than ever! I haven't taken any more spills off him, and a week and a half ago, we took our first trail ride. 15 miles, 3.5 hours later, and not a problem in the world! He didn't spook, didn't get an attitude, got along with all the other horses, and though he *really* wanted to roll around in the pond we came to, he was considerate enough of me to resist the urge (though we did get out to chest deep, and he had a great time splashing us both!). We alternated between a nice leisurely walk, some trotting, and even some galloping on the more open areas. We were both exhausted by the end, but damn it was fun!!! Ofcourse, that night and the following 2 or 3 days we both thought the muscle soreness was going to kill us, but it was worth it! :-D We're going down to the river next Saturday with a few of the same friends, so I'm pretty excited. We were going to go for a Sunday ride, but Friday night I changed out his fly spray and he had a horrible reaction to it--broke out in seeping welts or blisters all along his back, flanks, hips, and neck. I had to bathe him, scrubbing a little harder at the really inflamed areas to make sure I got all the product off of him (it's an petroleum-based product, which is probably why he had the reaction). It *hurt*, but he never once bit, kicked, or acted aggressively. Followed up by trying to force liquid Benadryl down his throat, which was a real mess. Finally had to resort to cutting open capsules and sprinkling the contents on his grain, which wound up working wonderfully! It's amazing he still trusts me! Thankfully, his skin is all but cleared up already, but I'm not comfortable with saddling him up for another few days at least, and I'm holding off on applying any more fly spray (even those I know are safe) for another day or so.
I got my horse trailer yesterday. It's a 2-horse, different from the more open, larger stock trailers he's used to, so we've been working on getting him to load up into it. I can certainly understand why it would be so daunting to him--it's pretty small, it makes loud noises when he steps up, and it's completely different from what he's used to. My aunt and I spent an hour last night, and got him to load up twice. I went out there today and he loaded up 4 times in 10 minutes, no problem! I'm thoroughly convinced I have the smartest, most intelligent horse in the world!
Have an interview tomorrow with Pappadeaux restraunt in the airport for a waitressing position. Waitresses make twice the amount in tips there than at other Pappadeaux restraunts, so even though parking and taking the tram every worknight will be a pain in the butt, I'm hoping I'll get the job. I'm nervous though--I've been out of work for a while, I'm not familiar with the airport, and I've never had a waitressing job before. Can't be that hard though, and it certainly beats office work (which I abhor!).
Shelby's really made himself at home now, and I'm more in love than ever! I haven't taken any more spills off him, and a week and a half ago, we took our first trail ride. 15 miles, 3.5 hours later, and not a problem in the world! He didn't spook, didn't get an attitude, got along with all the other horses, and though he *really* wanted to roll around in the pond we came to, he was considerate enough of me to resist the urge (though we did get out to chest deep, and he had a great time splashing us both!). We alternated between a nice leisurely walk, some trotting, and even some galloping on the more open areas. We were both exhausted by the end, but damn it was fun!!! Ofcourse, that night and the following 2 or 3 days we both thought the muscle soreness was going to kill us, but it was worth it! :-D We're going down to the river next Saturday with a few of the same friends, so I'm pretty excited. We were going to go for a Sunday ride, but Friday night I changed out his fly spray and he had a horrible reaction to it--broke out in seeping welts or blisters all along his back, flanks, hips, and neck. I had to bathe him, scrubbing a little harder at the really inflamed areas to make sure I got all the product off of him (it's an petroleum-based product, which is probably why he had the reaction). It *hurt*, but he never once bit, kicked, or acted aggressively. Followed up by trying to force liquid Benadryl down his throat, which was a real mess. Finally had to resort to cutting open capsules and sprinkling the contents on his grain, which wound up working wonderfully! It's amazing he still trusts me! Thankfully, his skin is all but cleared up already, but I'm not comfortable with saddling him up for another few days at least, and I'm holding off on applying any more fly spray (even those I know are safe) for another day or so.
I got my horse trailer yesterday. It's a 2-horse, different from the more open, larger stock trailers he's used to, so we've been working on getting him to load up into it. I can certainly understand why it would be so daunting to him--it's pretty small, it makes loud noises when he steps up, and it's completely different from what he's used to. My aunt and I spent an hour last night, and got him to load up twice. I went out there today and he loaded up 4 times in 10 minutes, no problem! I'm thoroughly convinced I have the smartest, most intelligent horse in the world!
Have an interview tomorrow with Pappadeaux restraunt in the airport for a waitressing position. Waitresses make twice the amount in tips there than at other Pappadeaux restraunts, so even though parking and taking the tram every worknight will be a pain in the butt, I'm hoping I'll get the job. I'm nervous though--I've been out of work for a while, I'm not familiar with the airport, and I've never had a waitressing job before. Can't be that hard though, and it certainly beats office work (which I abhor!).