Alberta Equest

I'm hoping to do more posts like this throughout 2019, hence the title.. but on Saturday my friends had organized a surprise birthday party for me in the city (for the record, my birthday isn't until Feb 28), and of course, the supper conversation revolved around horses. One of my best friends "C" used to be my right-hand-lady (or side b!tch, if you will :P ) .. She was a client, a friend, a show buddy, a co worker, and a massive support system all wrapped into one.  She's from Van Island and when she moved to AB she left her heart horse, Hershey, behind as he was leased to a lesson barn.  We brought him up a year after  she moved here and she began taking lessons with me and they found so much success together once we got him sorted out.  We rode together almost every day, we clinic'd together, we showed together, and worked our asses off together.. but last year she took a devastating blow when Hershey sustained a break to his Long Pastern in the past...

Post 35 min ride w/ the new Prolite Pad - big improvement! When you video your ride and your phone is out of focus.. at least we're building our stride length Finally got around to mounting Sierra's name plate Squeeeeee - Foal Blanket and Halter arrived for V's foal later this spring! Low quality picture + rider, High quality horse I think she's thrilled with the help of the Prolite Pad Why isn't winter over yet?!

As our record-breaking Extreme Cold Warning has relentlessly continued with its icey grip, my saddle fitting appointment was scheduled for February 3rd but as the temperatures teased -60C (apparently this is -76F? That seems like it should be illegal), we decided to reschedule.  The Saddle Fitter has a busy schedule of travelling for additional training, and travelling for appointments and as such, we had a small window of opportunity.  We rescheduled for the following week on February 10th, and while it was still cold, it had warmed up significantly to a balmy daytime high of -25C (-13F), and like any good Canadian, we emerged from our Igloos, Timmies in hand, and bundled up to face the day.  Initially my appointment was scheduled for 10AM, but I switched with a friend at a different barn to try and time it when the sun was at it's highest for ultimate warmth-ness. I forced myself to pop on her the day before the fitting appointment so she was less likely to kill m...

We have survived the first month of 2019 and as I expected, we were hit with both Snowmageddon AND Mother-Fcking-Cold-Mageddon.. and we were also hit with "oh my god it's nice, I wanna garden and play with ponies outside" as well as "it is so windy, I think my face literally got stretched off my skull".. We have literally had all 4 seasons in the past 30 days, and while some days were glorious, it also put a damper on my January goals . January Goals: Spend at least 4 Hours in the Saddle I'm going to call this a win. I had some issues with my Equilab app that required Technical Support and some of my rides were lost, so while I currently have about 3.6 Hrs logged for January, I'm thinking I hit 4, or just over. Continue with regular Stretching (on the ground) I definitely put a lot of time into this, and also introduced a new REMT who gave me additional stretches to do.  At our 2nd appointment, she said there was noticeable difference! Sp...

It's been quite some time since I have done a "Learning Sierra" post.  I did a few when I first bought her back in June. I essentially used them to highlight things that I learned about her in those first few weeks.  I feel like every day I get to know her a little more but I began this blog to track and document my riding journey - with that, comes times where reflecting on past lessons learned is beneficial.. and I can't reflect if I don't remember to archive the good, the bad, and the ugly. Farm Life has had me busy, and it's always even crazier during the cold snaps! Sierra has had a week off, and my last ride was a walking ride so we didn't expel a tonne of energy.  As the Weather has continued it's ridiculously wavering path in addition to various appointments and personal engagements, I wasn't able to do much with her until yesterday (Monday).  I ventured to the barn after work and took note of the ominous and daunting ice-fog that ...

As predicted in my January Goals post, riding has gone out the window for various reasons.. but for the first time in a long time, I can proudly say it has nothing to do with just not wanting to do it .  I also had some issues with my Equilab App that required technical support and reset a bunch of stuff so any rides prior to last week are gone (boo!). In terms of minutes/hours, I will have to estimate at the end of this month.  I am roughly half way to accomplishing my January goal of spending at least 4 hours in the saddle, but due to an onslaught of reasons, I'm feeling a little bummed that I may not hit it.  Perhaps i'm getting a little ahead of myself considering I still have nearly two weeks, so I suppose this isn't a complete Fail.. not yet, anyway. After turning her loose for 10 min, my saddle moved forward about 3".. Saddle Fitter can't come soon enough!! In November I heard on the radio to expect two weeks of frigid temperatures, followed by two...

Unlike Kidd and Kai, Sierra has been fabulous to own in the sense that she’s very easy on her body.   Knock on Wood, but Sierra has yet to injure herself.   Additionally, we have seen an Osteopath once and she was shocked at how structurally and muscually (I don’t think that’s a word) balanced she was, “especially for an OTTB and a Jumper” as she put it.   Since then, I have done PEMF on her once just as a ‘just cause’, but that’s about it.   Given our slowly developing Canter issues, and my absolute love for this darn mare, I decided to invest a little bit of money to rule things some things out before I lay the boots to her and tell her to get over it.   On this list of priorities, there is the usual.. Structural Concerns, Teeth and Saddle Fit... you know, pain!   While I don’t necessarily believe in babying horses, I do recognize they’re athletes and at any point can hit the ‘eject’ button, so I feel it’s my job as both their rider and primary caretake...