Hello,
My horse, Cerveza Fria, and I have been together for a year on January 17, 2014. We have overcome great lengths to be where we are today. We rode quite a few miles last year, even though he was under weight. It was what needed to be done in order for him to receive the care that he has now. He has problem stifles, not sure if there is an actual medical term for him, but he is an off the track thoroughbred who turns 5 in April and last measured, stands at 17.2 hands. He was raced too young and was not allowed to fully develop. The meniscus bone in his back knee caps there fore rotated inwards causing the thinnest part of the bone to be holding his larger bones apart. He is currently on pain medication, but it is an all natural healing process we have gone through. Recently he has finally started to act like a horse and be rambunctious in every way he can.
Our team would be called "The Fighters" for we've fought through it all together and I wouldn't give him up for the world.
Date: January 14, 2014
ReplyDeleteMiles: 0.45 miles
Miles to date: 0.45 miles
Super windy day. 25-30 mph winds. Still continuing on my goal of all bareback riding through the winter. Mister Man was a little pain this morning on standing still to get on him, but I managed. Once we were out of the pen he was happy to be out. His back right leg was bothering him a little bit it is pretty chilly. We did some arena work with going over a couple ground poles and did some light trotting. He was a little rough, not nearly as smooth as we have been but he listened well to my voice commands In pacing himself.
Date:January 19, 2014
ReplyDeleteMiles: 3.72 miles
Miles to date: 4.17 miles
A little breezy and a little cloudy, but mostly sunny. I couldn't wait any longer to take him out for a good ride. Saddled him up, fought a little to get up on him, but not our worst time. We went off the property for the first time this year and also the first time he's actually been off the property since moving here last July. He was a little anxious at first, wasn't confident in himself and his way of going. Went through the first 3/4 of a mile and he soon relaxed and moved himself into a trot. He was a little hot headed until he got himself settled out after a little bit of a mile in. We cantered quite a bit in circles to get ourselves evened out. Did a little over a mile in trotting, little over a mile in walking, and a little over a mile in cantering. We did do some hand galloping just to get him to enjoy himself. He did about half a mile of speed. I don't believe it's his full speed yet. Last 3/4 mile home, head dropped and he started really engaging his hind end.
e: January 24, 2014
ReplyDeleteMiles: 3.15
Miles to date: 7.32
Windy and sunny. Went down the road half a mule, turned and went down a mile. Cantered most of the way down to our turn around point. Came across tumbleweeds piled across our way and he jumped them. Not what I was expecting him to do but I'm not complaining :-) Cantered our way back and jumped the tumbleweeds on the way back as well. Came back to the property at a trot the last 1/2 mile. Rode around the property in the arena going over ground poles and a little make shift jump. Came out of the arena and went over the 6 telephone poles without hesitation. No heat in his legs or any favoring after we were done.
Date: January 26, 2014
ReplyDeleteMiles: 2.05
Miles to date: 9.35
Windy, 15-20 mph winds. 1/4 mile canter, rest was at a medium walk. Back end was a little sore, but moved out fine. Had ate some hay before leaving. Good ride
Date: January 29, 2014
ReplyDeleteMiles: 2.04
Miles to date: 11.39
Very windy, was a little anxious at first but calmed down as he grew used to the wind. All but 10-30 strides were a walk. We did a couple strides of canter. We walked around the property. Trash can was a little iffy. He didn't care much for it. Went over some small cross rails/jumps. He enjoyed himself.
New team mate arrived today as well. 7 year old Arabian gelding named Choco.
Date: February 2, 2014
ReplyDeleteCerveza
Miles: 2.27
Tried going off property and went about a quarter mile off property and he wasn't having it, we came back home and did arena work. Lots of trotting and some small ground poles. Bucked and played a little bit with me on him when we first started to canter. Showed no signs of swelling or heat after our ride.
Choco
Miles: 2.22
First ride together. Was a little timid, didn't seem like he had much confidence in his abilities in the beginning. Went over some ground poles, shied away from the cattle shoot in the arena. Did lots of trotting and working on transitions from trot to canter. Very well behaved. Some side passing at a trot as well
Miles to Date: 15.88
Date: February 8, 2014
ReplyDeleteAbout 32°
Miles: 2.72
Cerveza did very well from the start. Stood still for ground mount. Was very alert moved very well off leg pressure. We did lots of laps in the arena, both walking and trotting. Trotted and cantered out of arena. Moved very well of bit contact and steady speed. No stiffness or heat in legs.
Miles: 1.85
Choco was very alert and interested in being out. Walked down to the arena and did laps in the arena at walk and trot. Worked on maintaining pace and did outside fence line of arena to break through snow banks. Very much a gentleman.
Miles to date: 20.45
Date: February 11, 2014
ReplyDeleteAbout 40°
Miles: 7.52
Choco was very well behaved as it was our first off the property ride. We did the first couple of miles at a walk. We did lots of trotting once we were in the fields. Very well behaved.
Miles to date: 27.97
Date: February 14, 2014
ReplyDeleteAbout 43°
Miles: 3.15
Cerveza was a little spooky. He was edgy over the horses in the pasture and the neighboring horses. He was quick paced and high spirited. It was mostly walking with light trotting and cantering.
Miles to date: 31.12
Date: February 16, 2014
ReplyDeleteAbout 50°
Miles: 6.04
Choco was a little head strong. He was in a bad mood to begin with but enjoyed being out. We went through some attitude adjustment, but he was very well behaved in the end. Did tons of trotting, Was a little fatigued at the end but did well with some groundwork on the trash can and fence.
Miles to date: 37.16
Date: February 17, 2014
ReplyDeleteAbout 53°
Miles: 3.63
Cerveza was a little high strung. Did laps around the arena. Started walking and did trotting and light cantering. Was a little sloppy on the corners.
Date: February 19, 2014
About 50°
Miles: 2.35
Choco was a little head strong. We had some issues of wanting to stop constantly. We worked through it though. Did ground poles & did well.
Miles to Date: 43.14
March 4, 2014
ReplyDeleteAbout 43°
Miles: 3.81
Choco did well even though we had vehicles come up behind us and in front of us down the road. He was a little spooky with semis at first. Still kinda are but we got better as time went on. We did mostly walk.
Date: March 7, 2014
About 40°
Miles: 1.02
Cerveza did really well. We did a bareback mile walk. Got the new bridle so had to try it out. He was really responsive to my hands and seat. He wanted to go but knew better. He was very well behaved considering how long it's been since he's gotten out. It was a little slick for it was a sprinkling rain but he enjoyed himself.
Miles to date: 47.97
Date: March 12, 2014
ReplyDeleteMiles: 2.73
Choco did really well for the most part. He did get a little stubborn half way through and not want to continue working but we worked through it. He worked nicely over the ground poles and enjoyed himself through my makeshift pattern.
Date: March 13, 2014
About 55°
Miles: 2.25
Oh wow what a ride! Cerveza did amazingly well over the ground poles. Kept consistent pace over them and throughout the entire arena. We did a lot of trotting in this work out. He responded well to light aids and moved out nicely. Thought he could use a little run since I could feel energy left in him. We went to the road and I let him run. About 0.75 miles from where we stopped he took off in a dead run down the road, we slowed down for the stop sign and to turn the corner to keep ourselves off pavement. Hit the driveway and got 0.10 mile up the driveway and he took off in a dead run across the yard. We did half a mile in about 45 seconds :-) I was proud of our speed and ride even though I didn't have control and when I regained control he threw my balance off and dumped me on the ground by the arena. He went up to the pens and pasture and continued to run around. Once caught he was sweaty and breathing heavy. We didn't do any work after this. He was sore the next day.
Date: March 18, 2014
About 33°
Miles: 1.06 miles
Cerveza did very well. Our workout was almost all walk with just a little bit of muscle stretching trot around the arena. Maybe a laps worth. Was starting to snow and the wind was surely blowing. We enjoyed our short walk though.
Miles to Date: 54.01 miles
Date: March 29, 2014
ReplyDeleteMiles: 2.77
Cerveza did very well, he enjoyed his time out of the pen. We did a lot of ground pole work as well as some jumping over a small jump. He did buck a little in his usual spot in the arena, but I rode through it. He didn't seem sore or tender after the ride or the day after.
Date: April 2, 2014
Miles: 2.52
Choco was a butt. He wanted to constantly stop and didn't have much go in him. We did quite a bit of trotting and very little cantering. He did have a little spirit in his the second time we cantered. He did buck a little but I rode through it and continued on. He seemed very lazy and had quite the attitude. Will need some more work on turns and transitions next time we are out.
Miles to Date: 59.30 miles
Date: April 5, 2014
ReplyDeleteAbout 60°
Miles: 13.98
Cerveza was a dream. Had a little bout shortly after the first mile but after that we were well behaved. We made it to town and back which is about 7 miles. Rode a mile or so around town and came home. We were in town for 15 or so minutes for a drink. We were sweaty and a little tired in town but we showed no signs of stopping. We made it home in quicker time, mostly due to not having to back track. He worked up a beautiful sweat every where. Our last mile was the fastest at 6 and a half minutes. We trotted almost the last 2 miles home. He cooled down nicely and pulsed down nicely. Showed no signs of swelling or extra heat on any legs or anything else. Was a little stiff the next day but no limping.
Miles to date: 73.28
Date: April 9, 2014
ReplyDeleteMiles: 2.28
Cerveza did well. He was engaging his hind end well. Rounding for corners well. Very well mannered. Lots of trotting in a short amount of time.
Miles to Date: 75.56
Date: April 19, 2014
ReplyDeleteMiles: 13.02
Rode Lil Mama, a friends horse. Rode into town and we did overly amazing. It was a good learning experience by far.
Date: April 23, 2014
Miles: 2.51
Rode Choco and he did exceptionally well. He was keeping consistent contact and really listening to what was being asked of him.
Miles to date: 91.09 miles
Date: April 26, 2014
ReplyDeleteMiles: 5.65
Went to a horse clinic so took a long time to get some miles but Choco did amaziag. We learned leg yields and the start of sidepassing. He was well behaved and a little lazy the first day. Went on a trail ride afterwards and went through our first river. He absolutely loved it. :-)
Date: April 27, 2014
Miles: 10.23
We rode most of the second day. He was quite tired by the end of it. He didn't want much to do with me on Monday but he realized he could relax again. We did arena work on leg yields and disengaging hind quarters in the morning. Then in the afternoon we did some exercises around poles and then hit the trail to use what we learned out there. Choco loves the trail more than arena work.
Miles to date: 106.97
Congrats on getting over 100 miles :-)
ReplyDeleteDate: May 2, 2014
ReplyDeleteMiles: 2.20
Cerveza was well behaved. Had the vet out to clean his eye out shortly before we rode. He didn't seem affected. He was a little energetic for he hasn't been riden in a while but I still love his ride :-)
Date: May 3, 2014
Miles: 3.22
Choco was well behaved. We went down the road a little ways. I wanted to go further but Sugar had followed us for the first time so I didn't want her to be too wore out to not make it home. Need to find a way to get her up onto the horses back after we start going. We only did a walk. Did a littke arena work just to warm up.
Date: May 4, 2014
Miles: 0.14
Rode Choco bareback to the pasture. Was the first time we rode bareback and he was a little tense but as was I. He stood well the first time for me to get up and then he didn't want to stand as well the second time.
Miles to date: 112.53
Date: May 10, 2014
ReplyDeleteMiles: 2.15
Cerveza did well. We did arena work with another horse in the arena. He has a competitive spirit about him that it's been a while since I've seen. I enjoyed our ride.
Date: May 13, 2014
Miles: 1.33
Bareback ride on the property with Cerveza. We just hung out together and enjoyed a little stroll around the arena.
Miles to date: 116.01
Date: May 17, 2014
ReplyDeleteMiles: 2.09
Cerveza was a little stiff in the beginning but once we got moving he didn't question himself. We did quite a bit of cantering and trotting in the arena. He was very well behaved and enjoyed himself. We jumped quite a few times heading east. Once we changed directions on jumping he had some confidence issues but we worked through them. I love his heart :-)
Miles to date: 118.10
Date: May 19, 2014
ReplyDeleteMiles: 1.32
Cerveza and I went for a stroll in the arena. Bareback work again. We worked on some long and low trotting to get him to smooth out. I haven't quite figure out how to post bareback but he's getting smoother in his gait for me to sit hus trot. He was very well behaved and 3 noted himself.
Miles to date: 119.42
Date: May 22, 2014
ReplyDeleteMiles: 13.33
Trail rode on Cerveza with Nikki. She borrowed one if my boarding lady's horses. We went a way I hadn't been before and found some great hills. Cerveza back end got a good workout. We found some logs to go over. Found one that went up to his knees and he loved every little bit. He was well behaved. At the end of our ride we went for a couple laps in the arena. He started going over our jump as if it was just a ground pole. He like stepped over it. It was an amazing fun ride with Nikki.
Miles to date: 132.75
Date: May 23, 2014
ReplyDeleteMiles: 1.41
We just did a little work in the arena bareback. We cantered for the first time bareback together. He did really well but he had a hard time listening to me after we did canter. He didn't really want to slow down but he did, just delayed timing. He didn't act sore, stiff or have any reluctance to work.
Date: May 25, 2014
Miles: 1.91
We did some balance work in the arena. We worked on doing some pole bending with shifting weight and our balance between poles, both at a walk and trot. Also did some stride work with jumping a small jump at a walk trot. We also did some work on our one rein stop at a walk. He excelled at it all. We did a couple flying lead changes but they weren't cued. He switched due to balance. He's so smart. :-)
Miles to date: 136.07
Date: June 13, 2014
ReplyDeleteMiles: 7.09
We were up in Fort Rob. We rode around the outskirts of a couple of marked trails. We did really well for our first time going up hills and such. We went through quite a few valleys and did really well. We went over some logs and through some rocky areas.
Date: June 14, 2014
Miles: 16.47
We rode from the Wood Reserve of Fort Rob to the main office area of the Fort. We rode in the arena and went around barrels for the first time. He did really well and caught on quickly. He didn't wanna go around them a lot of he wanted to be back with his buddies but he did exceptionally well. On the way back we ran into some hot headed issues. He wanted to run, I thought it was a buddy sour issue, but it was a wanting to run issue. I finally let him run a little bit of it off. We then walked down to the lake where he walked in and wanted to go in for a swim. We went up to our stomach in the water. After the lake we no longer had a hot headed issue. He was well behaved the rest of the time back to camp.
Date: June 15, 2014
Miles: 6.07
We went for a short morning ride. We did a small trail by our campsite. There were some hills, but it was mostly going around a cattle pasture. We did look at a few pine tree branches on the ground a little funny after the first one moved from our own feet. He was well behaved a little bit of a turd, but I was very proud of him.
Date: June 15, 2014
Miles: 10.93
We did an evening ride. It was much longer than any of us thought. We went up some steep rocky hills. He handled them well. There were some pretty narrow paths and he had no issues of staying on them. He definitely found it was easier to stay on paths than to wander off. He led the group home in the dark after the sun had gone down. It was a Hunter's Moon so we had little to no light leading us on the way home after we got into the trees. I trusted him and he got us most of the way back to camp before we decided it was too steep of a grade for us to be riding our horses.
Date: June 16, 2014
Miles: 7.61
Nikkie and I went out for a ride on our own. We kinda got lost, more of created our own trail. We went through a cattle pasture where the horses got to be around some more cows. None of them spooked and ran off so the horses weren't concerned about them. We had one cow follow us all the way back to the gate from about 2.5 miles. We worked on a lot of gates throughout the weekend and we will definitely need to be working on some more. We were a little stiff by the time we made it home but he had no swelling or any other issues going on.
Miles for the Weekend: 48.17
Miles to Date: 184.24
Date: June 20, 2014
ReplyDeleteMiles: 2.22
We went down to the arena worked on some pole bending work. We also worked on some trotting for most of the time. We did a small jump and practicing on taking it as we came out of a turn. He did really well. We opened the gate without any issues it took us a few tries to properly shut the gate.
Miles to Date: 186.46
Date: June 23, 2014
ReplyDeleteMiles: 3.25
We worked on our stopping and halting for a few seconds. Did a couple rounds of poles. Then we hit the trail for a little bit to work on going through puddles and moving out away from home.
Date: June 26, 2014
Miles: 3.23
We worked on our halts some more. Did some work with the gate. He got a little frustrated with me. Bucked 3 times and the third time he got me off. I hut the ground and he kept running. He did 7 or 8 laps around the arena and then I got back up on him and continued our workout.
Date: June 28, 2014
Miles: 14.93
We rode into town and back. We went to Sonic and we patiently waited for our beverage to be brought out. We got our picture taken by quite a few people as well as given a carrot from someone passing through. He did exceptionally well. We herded the geese around the pond and worked on our balance. He enjoyed it by far. We walked all the way back home and we were fantastic the whole time.
Miles to Date: 207.87
Yahoo!! Hit the 200 mile mark.. shooting for at least 275 this month
Congrats on getting over 200 miles :-)
ReplyDeleteDate: July 4, 2014
ReplyDeleteMiles: 1.32
Just did some quick arena work. Did a lot of trotting. Went over our little jump effortlessly. We worked on going through poles and he's starting to act like a pro through them.
Date: July 7, 2014
Miles: 1.25
Did a quick riding to get the water filled up. We did a lot of trotting and cantering. We had some moments where we just wanted to go, but he behaved overall very well. We shut the water off without any issue and practiced our standing still.
Date: July 8, 2014
Miles: 5.88
We rode for a little over an hour. We went down the side road to the field by the two mile corner. We ran the back half of the field quite a few times back and forth. We mellowed out a little towards the end. We trotted all the way home and worked up a little sweat. He was such a gentleman with the four wheeler running through the field.
Miles to Date: 216.32
Date: July 14, 2014
ReplyDeleteMiles: 0.51
Rode down to the arena and back. Went for just a short little ride.
Date: July 20, 2014
Miles: 11.77
Rode to town in a little over an hour. We had some pretty quick miles of 7 to 8 minutes on our way. We participated in the saddle club gymkhana. We did exceptionally well. I couldn't have been a happier horse owner for our first outing together. He was a little high strung until I got hot out in the afternoon. He calmed down and drank plenty of water. We git a trailer ride home since it was over 100 degrees.
Miles to date: 228.6
Date: August 5, 2014
ReplyDeleteMiles: 4.07
We just did a little bit of a workout in the arena after lunging our energy out. He was well behaved once I was up.
Date: August 7, 2014
Miles: 9.76
Went for a ride with a few friends up in the wildcat hills. It was a fun ride. I enjoyed the time. My dog rode with me in my back pack. She was well behaved. Rode Lil Mama for a while and then switched to a friends horse and rode him for a while. First time I had risen in a western saddle in a couple of years and it was a good experience.
Miles to date: 242.43