Small One
So the mare has been here for about a week and a half. We brought her home a week ago Saturday after trying her out a bit more. She is still on "probation" of sorts. She did pass the soundness exam with flying colors and our Farrier will be here today to trim her (and the rest of the crew) up. Hopefully I'll get home before he is done (I usually do, there's 10 horses between us, my parents, and Chris' parents) and can ask him his thoughts on the mare. I've taught two lessons with her and have done some riding and longeing work with her. She is picking it up fairly quickly despite not ever being longed before. By the looks of it she'll be staying, unless something "exciting" happens.
I'm trying to get all of my students to submit names and then I'll narrow it down to about two and have them all vote. Rather democratic, I think. Some of the suggestions thusfar: Cutie Pie, Pumpkin, Ginger/Jinjer, Strawberries and Cream, Sundance, and Dusty. There are more, but I can't think of them at the moment. I've been calling her "Small One" in lieu of an actual name because I refuse to call her "Sassy" (I already have one "Sassy" horse in my life and don't need another! Plus, the name doesn't really suit her).
So the good news is that I have another horse that I can use for lessons that might be as good as Chewy and, added bonus, should be able to do canter work so I don't have to subject the more timid students to the boy. The bad news is, well, I have another horse, ha! I really wasn't expecting to get another one until Chewy was closer to retirement, but with her injury back in October I couldn't afford to have her out like that again without another good back-up.
Not to say that Ruby hasn't been a wonderful, tolerant stand-in, but, y'know, she is a BELGIAN after all and weights just shy of a TON and asking a kid who doesn't even weight as much as the horse's jaw bone (let alone her head) to steer her around precisely is a bit much, especially since Ruby doesn't have the softest mouth. I do love seeing the little tiny kids riding around on her, though, and the kids to find her quite fun, if gigantic and sometimes hard to steer.
So life is pushing onward. I have five horses instead of just four, and we are a little less eclectic as we now have two horses of the same breed (well, ponies, the small one is a Haflinger like, but not like Chewy, slightly smaller and not as impressively drafty). That's okay, maybe when Chewy retires I'll try and find a Fjord to take her place *grin.*
Of course, I never expected to own anything more than one of the more popular breeds, and yet I ended up with two Haflingers, a Belgian, and a mostly Percheron pinto draft. I blame Chris. He got me into the drafts *grin.*
And can I say that I do NOT like the hitch-type draft horses? Not that I don't find them somewhat aesthetically pleasing, but I want a draft horse that LOOKS like a draft horse, not a heavy light horse on stilts. Drafts should look like DRAFTS. QHs should look like QHs (not thoroughbreds!). Morgans should look like MORGANS (not saddlebreds!). But that's a rant for another time.
Not quite three weeks left in school! WOOOO! I can't wait for the break. And at that it'll be more than just a break. I'll have two classes. Tuesday and Thursday, one in the morning (don't leave the house until 8.00) one in the evening (leave house around 6.00, but have at least three hours at home to dink/teach lessons/hang out with husband). Both studio classes. SO NICE.
The first thing I'm doing during Winter break is cleaning the house. I'll start with the shower and work my way to the door. The floors will be SCRUBBED and there shall be dusting! Much dusting! The house shall be clean enough to eat off of any surface!
And after that I get or reorganize all of my art supplies and my desks because they tend to be come disastrous during the semester (and clear off the kitchen table... and that corner where my school stuff collects...).
I'm trying to get all of my students to submit names and then I'll narrow it down to about two and have them all vote. Rather democratic, I think. Some of the suggestions thusfar: Cutie Pie, Pumpkin, Ginger/Jinjer, Strawberries and Cream, Sundance, and Dusty. There are more, but I can't think of them at the moment. I've been calling her "Small One" in lieu of an actual name because I refuse to call her "Sassy" (I already have one "Sassy" horse in my life and don't need another! Plus, the name doesn't really suit her).
So the good news is that I have another horse that I can use for lessons that might be as good as Chewy and, added bonus, should be able to do canter work so I don't have to subject the more timid students to the boy. The bad news is, well, I have another horse, ha! I really wasn't expecting to get another one until Chewy was closer to retirement, but with her injury back in October I couldn't afford to have her out like that again without another good back-up.
Not to say that Ruby hasn't been a wonderful, tolerant stand-in, but, y'know, she is a BELGIAN after all and weights just shy of a TON and asking a kid who doesn't even weight as much as the horse's jaw bone (let alone her head) to steer her around precisely is a bit much, especially since Ruby doesn't have the softest mouth. I do love seeing the little tiny kids riding around on her, though, and the kids to find her quite fun, if gigantic and sometimes hard to steer.
So life is pushing onward. I have five horses instead of just four, and we are a little less eclectic as we now have two horses of the same breed (well, ponies, the small one is a Haflinger like, but not like Chewy, slightly smaller and not as impressively drafty). That's okay, maybe when Chewy retires I'll try and find a Fjord to take her place *grin.*
Of course, I never expected to own anything more than one of the more popular breeds, and yet I ended up with two Haflingers, a Belgian, and a mostly Percheron pinto draft. I blame Chris. He got me into the drafts *grin.*
And can I say that I do NOT like the hitch-type draft horses? Not that I don't find them somewhat aesthetically pleasing, but I want a draft horse that LOOKS like a draft horse, not a heavy light horse on stilts. Drafts should look like DRAFTS. QHs should look like QHs (not thoroughbreds!). Morgans should look like MORGANS (not saddlebreds!). But that's a rant for another time.
Not quite three weeks left in school! WOOOO! I can't wait for the break. And at that it'll be more than just a break. I'll have two classes. Tuesday and Thursday, one in the morning (don't leave the house until 8.00) one in the evening (leave house around 6.00, but have at least three hours at home to dink/teach lessons/hang out with husband). Both studio classes. SO NICE.
The first thing I'm doing during Winter break is cleaning the house. I'll start with the shower and work my way to the door. The floors will be SCRUBBED and there shall be dusting! Much dusting! The house shall be clean enough to eat off of any surface!
And after that I get or reorganize all of my art supplies and my desks because they tend to be come disastrous during the semester (and clear off the kitchen table... and that corner where my school stuff collects...).