When it Rains

Remember that cute, spring-fed trough I had sunken in the ground? Remember that charming trickle of water which kept it full?

Well, New Hampshire had a bit of a flood today, we got about 5 inches. And the trough turned into this:

Please note the standing water on top of the gravel around the trough.

Thankfully, the horses have a (semi-) dry barn for the first time in their life. It will be the first night in stalls since the move. The pasture is so flooded that the horses would:
a) hurt themselves
b) wreck what little progress we've made on that pasture

Plus, after midnight, it's supposed to turn to ice. Yay!

But who's complaining? This beats a blizzard any day.

Indoor Arena and Manure Spreaders

I love it when someone does your work for free. I have been slowly acclimating to the natural rhythm of this little farm and part of the daily ritual is the March of the Turkeys. There is a rather large rafter, about 12 individuals, that comes through the farm every day. Two toms, three or four hens, and the rest young. Since the turkeys have discovered horse poop, they've been around about three times a day. They scratch and spread the manure in the pasture so I don't have to! Gotta love free labor.

Meet my new manure spreaders

I went for a ride in the indoor across the street. It's a good size, great lighting and good footing. My neighbor is very gracious and is letting me hire it out for a very reasonable hourly rate. I am going to be able to ride twice a week after work and hopefully get to ride on the trails on the weekends.

Brego did very well mentally. He hasn't forgotten anything and his lateral work at the walk was really good. His work at the trot was very stiff, but since it was one of the more recent things we worked on, I was not surprised. He felt pretty even at the trot and I got some nice big stretching trots. After about 25 minutes though, he felt tired so I just cooled him out at the walk. At the canter, he did not feel right at all, so after a few strides we went back to the trot. His leg wound is still open and actively weeping/bleeding. It's not gross or infected anymore, but he's still on antibiotics and it's not close to healing over. I know it still bothers him. I just hope there's nothing more serious going on inside the joint. Since he was noticeably better at the trot today, with only a slight hitchiness in his swing through, I am encouraged that with steady, easy work, he will strengthen and return to normal.

First Hack

Today was warm, but no rain so I decided to go ahead and go for our first hack around the property. It was also our first ride since the big fall, but I was surprisingly unconcerned. It was also the first hack since the kick. Brego's leg looks almost normal, but the hock is very tight. He's been favoring it for some time now. So a slow walk through the woods and up and down hills is exactly what he needed.

It was nice to be back in the saddle again and Brego was eager to go. I can tell from his goofy, expressive personality that he is feeling better these days. We explored the back of the property, getting thoroughly lost, for about 40 minutes and then hacked down the road to the fairgrounds/farmers' market to work on bending on level ground. The boy was stiff and I was not much better. Between his leg and my knee, we were quite the walking wounded. Four good legs between the two of us.

It was quite warm so the walk back home up the steep hill got him sweaty. He got a nice cool down, a little in hand work to stretch his neck, and a snack in his stall before going back to his main job: brush hog.

This whole crazy adventure just might work out. The barn is pretty small and definitely not built like Fort Knox, but since I won't be storing food in it, I think the stalls will hold Big Brego. The property is pretty wooded, but the place across the street is drop dead gorgeous pasture, so I know what is possible. Of course, I can't afford the drop dead gorgeous property across the street, so I am pretty lucky to have what I have (as we all are in these crazy times).

Thanks for all the kind compliments, everyone. Seeing Brego out the window in the morning makes the last year and the big move from Texas worth it. I couldn't afford a place like this in the Austin area. It has been hard leaving my friends and familiarities behind for a better horsey life. And people definitely talk "funny" up here. But everyone is friendly, our neighbors are gracious and kind and it's starting to feel like we've finally come home.

A Week In Review

I apologize for being a bad blogger. I have had a crazy week and am just now getting time to sit down.

On the Brego front, things are going well. My friend/trainer from Texas came up to visit and really liked the progress Brego has made. She was even brave enough to jump him over a big 3'3" oxer and he did really well for her. It was so cool to see him jump a big jump from the ground! He is so BIG!! He was even tidy with his hind end and it seemed so easy for him. She said his canter was much lighter so it was time to fix my position. I could no longer blame my canter position on him pulling on me!

We spent a few fun days being hooligans on horse back while the swelling from my bee stings subsided. The one over my eye caused some pretty nasty, eye-closing swelling. To take my mind off my new ugliness, we rode the horses out and cantered through the woods. Brego was tired from the big foxhunt, but he did very well and even jumped well in the sandy arena. Starting Wednesday, he got the rest of the week off. He has more than earned it.

Then, on Wednesday, I looked at a farm for Brego. I loved it so much we put an offer on it that very night. So now we're officially under contract as of late Friday night. We still have a long way to go before the deal is done, but I am very excited. It's a gorgeous house on 6 acres in the middle of incredible horse country. Less than 20 miles from all the hunt fixtures and shows, sandwiched between two big state parks which allow horses, with direct access miles of double track trails, with riding access to the fairgrounds which holds little open shows all years (and Farmer's markets every Friday), in the middle of a horsey neighborhood with two indoor arenas (which might be available for hire).

So if all goes through, we will be moving in November to a new farm where I get to wake up every morning and see big Brego out my kitchen window. I can't imagine a better life.

But because we will be leaving a wonderful barn which is tailor-made to producing excellent show horses, I am not sure how much real schooling we will get in over the winter without those facilities. But it IS winter, and after the hunting season, Brego and I will be taking a long break.

I still intend to show as much in the Spring (money willing). I am already qualified for the USEA Area 1 Beginner Novice Championships and I need one more top five finish to be qualified for the American Eventing Championships (AECs) at Lamplight in Wayne, Illinois. So eventing is still very hot for us. I also have a few shows still on tap in September and October before the move and all my money being tied up in a house and pastures and a wee barn.

For the near short term, the hunt this weekend was cancelled due to rain from Hannah. My Steuart Pittman cross country clinic on Sunday will be moved to the indoor to focus on stadium instead. I have still much to learn there so I don't mind. The chiropractor comes out Monday to check on Brego which will influence the rest of the season, if he needs a break.

I've got a couple schooling three phases and a schooling jumper show coming up as well. The pressure is off, so I am going for fun and to coach my SO. And, of course, I am going to set aside enough money to join the hunt this year so I have three more months of unrelenting fun on the weekends.