Week 11

I can't believe I haven't posted at all this month. Time has really gotten away from me. I've been so busy with my other mare and, of course, with Z. She's really coming out of her shell and starting to show her silly self. She's a bit pushy at times, but has definitely realized that I'm definitely not going to hurt her. It's really going to be hard to let her go in (OMG.) six weeks. She's such a good girl.

I'm so, so close to riding her. She's telling me she's ready, I just haven't been able to catch a break from the rain. I work her with the saddle in the indoor, but I don't want to get on for the first time in such a big space. And her field has been flooded for almost two weeks.

I guess I can list all the things she does now, lol. I don't want to give the illusion that it was all easy, because most of it wasn't. She does, however, seem to just need a night to think about things. She'll get all frazzled about something new, but if I take her to it the next day, she's totally fine. So here's all the accomplishments of the last few months:

-saddle, girth, bridle

-SMBs on all four feet

-canters on the lunge line

-jumps small jumps when lunging

-wears a fly mask and fly sheet

-leads

-stands on cross ties

-stands on the wash cement slab

-stops on voice command

-walk, trot, back when leading

-crosses a tarp

-walks over the "ditch", log and stairs in the jump field

-fly sprays

Today she was allowed to be turned out in a grass field to start to let her field rest and maybe dry out, and she was so good. The only problem was that the fencing is just hot wire tape. She grazed for about an hour before she managed to shock the top of her neck, but she recovered so quickly. She is so cute. She just looked at me like "mom. what was that? it was terrifying. wait, grass. okay." and just went back to eating. I love that she never tries to run away and just lets me walk up to her and walk away without ever running away.

So I think that's an accurate update, and I vow to be more active with this blog again. I figure if I post it online, it will force me to hold myself to it. Thanks everyone who has not forgotten about me. :)

Everyone want to see who the pretty new girl is. :)

LOVING the new grass field.

Prettiest girl.

First time in the cross ties. :)

my lovely, muddy terror. :)

Her typical expression: bored, half asleep, ears going everywhere. <3

"What's that?"

"She's pretty!"

Bath time.

And finally, bonding time. <3 The highlight of this whole experience.

I also want to thank a few people for their continued support over the last few weeks/months. My family, above all, have given me endless emotional and physical support. Next, Desiree Bene and Bekkah Redden, for their physical help at the barn with handling Z while I work with her. Roni Feldman, Carly Dyal, and Cindy Pifer for donating much needed items for the baby girl. Sorry if I forgot anyone, please understand how much I appreciate everything from the occasional "good luck" or "have fun" to the purchases of T-shirts. <3

Week 7 and the start of 8

Okay. I don't want to jinx it, but i really think I've turned a corner with Baby Z. She's been such a champ with everything I've done with her. She now wears bell boots and a fly sheet with neck. She also can wear sub boots front and back, pick up her feet, lead, lunge, and wear a surcingle and bridle for all of that. She met saddle pads today and was so perfect. I really can't believe how relaxed she is. What a perfect baby.

I can see in her face that when something scares her, she looks for help. She wants pets and scratches while she figures it out. Much less freaking out. :) I'm so incredibly proud of her for the maturity she's showing. We play a few times a day and I really think she's starting to look forward to our sessions.

ALSO, shirts can be ordered now! Here's the link and info: http://campaign.customink.com/zonta

Please share the link if you can. :)

Her brand, so everyone can see.

Very first time with a saddle on to buck out. Crazy, wild girl. :)

Mustang who?

Week 6

Z has been so good this past week. Things have been crazy trying to get things ready for my event with Mia. But Z has been so consistent. Just for fun, I played with her ears for a bit and then tried a bridle on. I put a happy mouth French link, the least harsh bit I could find, and she took it no problem. Tuesday, I lunged her with the bridle and a bit connector and she was so well behaved. A few overreactions, but settled right down. She's getting better with leading too. :) Today I went out to just play with her, no new things. We just hung out, played with her big ball, brushed her, picked up her feet. Such a good girl. She also met fly spray today, which was no big deal! It amazes me how easily she's taking things now. :) I'm looking forward to the coming weeks with her. :)

Day 35?

Who's the worst blogger ever? Me. I know, I'm sorry. I have excuses though. Legitimate ones.

So last Friday started so well. We practiced with putting my jacket all over her and letting me rub all the way down her legs. She was being an absolute angel. It was one of those rare perfect days that can come with backing a horse (especially a mare, lol). I tried again, to sit on her, and she actually let me sit here, move a little and kick her sides. All was great until she went to balance herself by taking a step forward. She felt my weight shift on her back, and that was it. She took off toward the fence, which i proceeded to fly into. :) Those mustang muscles have quite a bit of launch, I got right up, meaning I didn't pass out, but it hurt. After taking inventory of my injuries, I knew nothing was broken and Z was just chilling at the other side of the field, totally confused. She definitely had no idea it happened and totally didn't mean to hurt me. I had to change her to her turnout halter, so I was so glad she didn't want to run away. She just stood and let me switch it and take all our toys out of her field. I ended up going to the ER, for a couple of reasons. Turns out I had a brush burn roughly the size of my hand, two cuts on the back of my ear that had to be glued, along with lots of scratching and bruising. This pain, coupled with finals, kept me away fro Z nearly all week. But finals are done and i can finally see my four legged girlies. Finally. Stay tuned for some real updates.

Okay. Now for a bit of a PSA. This may alienate some people, but I've totally turned a corner. I'm going to honestly say I don't think I can ever get on another horse without a helmet. I firmly believe that if i wasn't wearing a helmet when I fell off Z, i would still be in the hospital. I can't get the sound of my helmet hitting the wood out of me head. Granted, my helmet was the reason my ear was cut, but it was also the reason I'm able to type this right now. Horses and falls are no joke. Think before you get on a horse next time, regardless of the level of experience your horse has. Courtney King-Dye will never be able to compete at the Grand Prix level the way she did before, all because of no helmet. I'm just saying. <3

Day 26/27

I am so proud of my Z Baby. I got to sit on her today! No problem. I was way more nervous than she was. Silly girl was falling asleep! I didn't ask for any kind of riding, but I'm still so proud of her. It's such a huge step (though I know everyone else is already riding and such). So now, in terms of huge steps, we can pick out her feet, move away from some bodily pressure, stop fairly calmly, and hold up her feet forever. I really don't even know what to say because I'm so incredibly happy. Here are some pictures to make up for my lack of words:

Day 23-25

Z is really coming into her own! We've been working on calm lunging. She's really getting great with dealing with new things. I've been pushing her limits more and more every day and she keeps surprising me!
The other day, i noticed how dirty her legs were, so i just started running my hand up and down them, she ended up letting me hold her front feet and pick them out with absolutely no problem, just like that. Her back legs aren't so easy, but they're coming along.
Today, she was an absolute angel working on all the things we've done so far, so i brought out an old girth and she let it sit on her back with no problems. Just to push my limits, i brought out a surcingle and she let it go on and get buckled, all the while standing like a perfect angel. Then we lunged and all went perfectly. Rather than pushing it farther than that, I took the surcingle off and left on a perfect note. :)

Day 19-22

Z has been making really, really great strides the last few days. She's doing so well.
I started lunging her with the line on, and the first few times she was an angel to the left, but not so good to her right (as has been typical of her training so far). She is learning whoa/stop and turning very well, leading forward is a bit confusing for her, but she's doing pretty well, considering.
She's definitely getting more social. She leaves her corner to kind of greet everyone who pulls in the driveway. It's crazy for me to think she was totally wild a few weeks ago. I watch her move and see so much potential as a sport horse. I literally couldn't afford a warmblood with her leg action. No one believes me, but in dressage, she'd get nines on her gaits at least. :)
Anyway, her lunging is really coming along, and today I pulled out the Iunge whip just to see if it could make her more consistent. And we took our first steps forward on the lead! She let me touch her face and rub all the hair off her forehead, too! When I finished with her, I brought the green ball back out and, though she still doesn't like it, she let it be and even walked pretty close to it after only a minute. I left it in "her corner" and i swear, she was glaring at me when I left. Silly, girl. :) She's getting noticeably better every day, even though I only get an hour (two, if I'm lucky) to play with her, and even that doesn't get to happen every day...
I can't wait for the semester to end so I can have pony time all the time! :)