Alberta Equest

I've officially owned Sierra 10 days and so far, i'm really happy with her.  It still hurts my heart to glance out to the field and see Kidd, but he's happy out with the herd on the pasture.  When they get galloping, he struggles to keep up and looks a little sore, and that affirms that I have made the right decision, though I don't know if it will ever stop hurting. Last week, we had sporadic weather, but mostly excessive amounts of rain that left me with an arena better suited to mud wrestling.  As such, I took the opportunity to do some short, light hacks down the road.  While she had a few days where she was a little sassier than usual, it's really nice having a horse that I can mount who won't move a muscle, waits to be asked to walk off, and walks off with a relaxed back (for the most part).  Kidd encouraged a lot of fear in those initial 5 minutes of getting on as he was incredibly cold backed and once I was on, didn't like to stand still.  Sier...

Following my last post , after countless sleepless hours, I have reached the decision to semi-retire Kidd.  While the last set of injections helped immensely, I have concluded that my moral compass simply will not allow me to prolong the inevitable for the sake of ribbons on a horse who trots a 3.5 or worse on a flexion without injections in full effect.  His last appointment showed bone spurs where the ligaments attach for his stifle, essentially causing a 'sawing' action with every step he takes.  Kidd is a fabulous partner who's heart and enthusiasm outshone any formal piece of paper boasting big name horses, and he's been a fierce competitor, however I ultimately owe so much to my little red sports car that I can't bring myself to push him in the pursuit of reaching new levels. I'm irrevocably heartbroken, but Kidd will remain in my care until he's no longer comfortable.  While there's no time line, I hope to pleasure ride him for as long as his...

I haven't written much about Kidd lately, and I apologize in advance for the word-vomit that's about to bless this blog.  This post will not be eloquently written or extensively proof read. For those who need a refresher, most of my last posts revolved around Kidd's soundness (or lack of) and multiple visits with the travelling Performance Horse Vet who comes to our area every 4-6 weeks to try and determine, and correct, his issue.  In recent appointments, we isolated his Hocks and Stifles as problematic areas, so we injected both.  The next month, the Vet saw him and stated he was about 75% better - which she was really excited about.  As time went on, we started having some really major behavioral issues - to the point where as soon as I would get on, he would fly backwards, spin, and/or threaten to rear.  At a loss, I consulted an Equine Osteopath, who is also an Animal Communicator.  She lives about 10 hours away, so we did a distance reading and ...

Over the weekend I was really lucky to be able to experience The Mane Event in Red Deer, Alberta for the first time in my life.   For those unfamiliar with The Mane Event, it is essentially a giant Horse Expo.   It features many, many vendors in a booth-fair format, various clinics of all different disciplines, exciting entertainment, breed demo’s, a trainers challenge and so much more.   Months ago, 3 great friends/clients and I decided to adventure some 7-hours south in pursuit of a fun-filled ladies weekend.   We’re safely home, surely exhausted, and all of our heads are spinning with the wealth of information we received over the 3 days.   Naturally, we gravitated towards the English Clinics which were put on by Jeff Campf (Hunters and Jumpers) and Diane Creech (Dressage).   We also took in many presentations such as Overcoming Fear in the Saddle, Horse Biomechanics, Equine Bodywork, Schleese Saddlery, and got to attend a Q & A with Jeff as well...

"V" is a 16.2+ 2009 Jockey Club mare by Finality out of a Dixieland Brass mare. She was given to my close friend from her previous employer, who represented Canada at the 1996 Olympics in 3-Day Eventing and continually produces and trains horses to the CCI*3+ with hopes of making it back to the Olympics. V was a potential Olympic hopeful, but unfortunately sustained a suspensory injury that ended her career at that level of riding despite over a year of attempted rehab with some of the best vets available. While i'm sure it was a tough decision as she *really* liked the mare and regularly joked "don't you know you're a red-headed TB mare?!", it wasn't feesible to hang onto her, as she will never likely return to that level of riding again, though she is likely sound for lower level/basic riding and will hopefully be a lovely broodmare. My friend is going through a very transitional stage in her life and is not prepared to do much with her at this t...

While I have an update coming on my horses, I will save that for another day.  In the mean time,  BLOG HOP TIME! Stay Patient and Trust Your Journey As Equestrians, we invest a lot in our expensive habit regardless if we are ammy's just trying to get through the day with one leg on either side of the horse, or professionals riding 5+ head per day.  Everything costs money, and it adds up quick.  Our expenses are often spread out which lessens the blow, but at the end of the day it's still an expensive investment. We often discuss our reoccurring or random expenses, but what about the items we buy that last 1-10 years? I realize it varies daily depending on what you're doing, what the season is, etc.  But on an average ride this time of year, what's your worth ? Though i'm not really riding right now, I will pretend I am. Right now, it's evidently still Winter despite the Calendar saying otherwise.  I go out to catch Kidd to go for a ...

"If you're going through hell, keep going" - Winston Churchill 1 st  Quarter Goals, ·           Keep Kidd's mane tame ·           Continue to have fun, and literally just enjoy the ride ·           Track my Expenses ·           Find a feeding plan suited to Kidd   (See Post: 1st Quarter Goals ) So at this point it’s safe to say things have not gone to plan in 2018.   Things started well, but the mudslide quickly started and I’m feeling like I’m scraping rock bottom in my riding right now.   I know I will get through this, but this post is really difficult to write at this point as a result.   I’m shining light on my failure in doing this, but it needs to be done. I’m genuinely curious to add the recent expenses up, and perhaps in owing my sh!tshow of an equestrian themed lif...