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Khaliq's First Time Off Of The Property ~ Ali'i Babysits

Well, today was a huge day for Khaliq. Today she went to the hill with Ali'i, T & I.

I wanted everything really easy for her. A trailer ride that wasn't in the windy canyons and a big, wide road without a lot of scary stuff. I had already been there in the morning and ran into a friend so he and I did another 5 mile loop. Just wanted to get back so I could take her and Ali'i out, but I wanted Tony there in case I had problems. You never know with doing something so new with a young horse.

Ali'i isn't my favorite to pony off of because he's usually a two handed horse to ride, but today he was awesome. He seemed to figure out that he needed to be VERY good because it was Khaliq's first time out in the big world.

She was......

Wild........

And crazy....

And spooky..........

And out of control......Wwwaaaayyyy out of control......

Ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!

She was...

Absolutely......

P E R F E C T ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

We went about a 3/4 of a mile down the road, then turned around and once we started back there was a slight grade that she could feel so she got a little slow and I handed her off to T because Ali'i wanted to walk fast up the hill. She's going to be seeing a lot of the hill later on in her life when she's a big girl. Now is just for socialization. But, you say ~ "Isn't she a 'big girl' now???? She's as big as Ali'i!!" Oh, we already went over that in yesterday's post.

T's a good pony horse too!

When we got near to the top of the road, we ran into Janine and a client. This was perfect timing because not only has Janine NEVER seen my baby, Khaliq got all prancy and puffy when she saw new horses. Janine just about fell over at how beautiful Khaliq is (like me, I fall over every day) and I've been telling her for almost 2 years!! She loved her pretty head and beautiful long neck and clean throatlatch. Plus she loved her size and um, weight......um chubby weight.

Khemistreetu is 24 this week and I would LOVE to breed mom back to him, but now is not the time for Aura as she's got the career thing going but there is such a thing as freezing a follicle.....................for later use..............not that I'm saying.........

 

 

There ya have it!

Baby's First Trailer Ride

Khaliq's in the trailer again today. Just so she don't forget her lesson from 2 days ago. 

It's like she's has been doing this ALL her life!! Does being in mommy's belly count for trailer rides? She did look a little drunk when I got her backed out and on solid ground.

She jumped right in today every time I asked her and started to scarf down the hay ~ This is what the trailer is all about right? To eat??? Her own private HayFest. I had Ali'i in the trailer already because I figure for a first ride with motion I wanted a pro in there (and that wouldn't be her mom......). I stopped several times to check on her and she just took everything in stride. Gosh I love this filly!!! 

Side by side.....Khaliq on the left, Ali'i on the right. So for all of you who think she's little..she's nearly as big as my Tevis horsey and they are 12 years apart! And don't say Ali'i's little then ~ just remember what Red Pollard said in Seabiscuit ~ "Thou he be but little, he is fierce"!!

22 Mile Ride With Aura

I took Aura to the River Crossing yesterday ~ 22 miles exactly, according to my GPS. It was hotter than I thought and for some reason whenever I do that ride I never bring enough water for myself. 2 frozen water bottles and I ran out 5 miles before the end. 

We were able to do a lot of trotting on fairly flat trails with good footing. She made her back boots into slippers, so gotta get some new ones......She's not real confident going out and it made for an inconsistent ride and I gotta say my back hurt a lot afterwards but she's still young mentally and physically in her conditioning for this sport. Just gotta learn to rate her speed a little better, listen to my legs and know those rock outcroppings are not mountain lions. 

We did run into a couple walking with their infant on mom's back and two highly protective dogs. A shepherd and corgi, that of course came out of an old mine opening that's scary anyway and the dogs literally charged right up to Aura's legs with snapping, snarling teeth. She just stood her ground until they were done and we rode on. It took everything in me not to say something to them, but in the far back memories of my mind I remember my first collie Kiita was not so good with things like that, charging kids in parks, etc, so I let it go. Riding back, Aura gave a little jump at the same spot but we were happy no one was in the tunnel.

On the way home we worked on walking fast.....so much easier when there is the big Featherlite Carrot waiting.......Good girl Aura!!

Trailer Loading ~ Today's The Day

What I love about my hoof trimmer???? He's always game to help me with my horses other than just trimming feet. He's an all purpose guy.

I used to be able to train a horse to go in a trailer, but have lost my confidence. And, I maintained that my new Featherlite was way too high for a baby to jump in for the first time. Little did I know my all purpose guy thought that was a bunch o' crap.

He said it would only take a short time but when we got started it seemed like the 25 minutes of baby making all the wrong choices was going to turn into 3 hours. All of a sudden she just jumped in and lo and behold....found HAY!!!

YUMMY!!!! Baby was so calm and relaxed and better yet, was very thoughful and quiet backing out. We did it several times on both sides and she was just so GOOD!!! I am really excited with our new trick and pretty soon she'll be going for rides!!! My all-purpose guy is AMAZING!!! Thanks Phil!!! AND my baby is very SMART!! ♥♥♥♥♥

They're Out!!!

Good snake ~ the tail is pointed like a pencil. This snake also seems to move rather "benignly"......

Bad snake.....and I only say this because they really aren't bad if you leave them alone....at the end of his tail is a little rattle.....they move different from the above snake. I also pushed this one off of the road into the brush and it did turn around and hiss at me.

Both snakes, Aura didn't care about, but I do think she's smart enough if the rattler had turned around and snarled at her, she'd back off. I hope.

Aura did care about two other mares I rode with briefly. Janine and her beautiful Khemi daughter (slated for Tevis this year), ponying an Akele Teke gelding, and a client & her mare. Both those mares thought Aura was very handsome...um they were confused and thought she was a stallion. Here is Aura waiting for them to come by. She stood like this for 10 minutes......waiting, waiting, waiting. Both mares were calling and squating when they got near Aura. Omg. But, Aura is a very dominant mare. Horse behavior. Gotta love it.

I did check underneath the trailer and our surrounding area when we got back from our ride. Just to make sure there were no snakes.......

EasyBoot Maintenance ~ Some Serious Procrastination

I don't shoe ~ I boot. For 12 years now, may I add. I am a booting/barefoot fanatic. One thing I hate to do is fix broken boots. And it happens. So there was a pile in a box in the garage, that then made its way without the box near the side of the house with the honest intention of going thru them to salvage and/or replace the good parts. That was about 6 months ago. Or, maybe longer because they also had a detour near the front door where Sue & I spent hours hanging out with the puppies. 

I finally took care of the boots this afternoon. I am not so sure they won't explode the first mile down the trail because they weren't black anymore, but kinda a sun-damaged greyish/purple. I unscrewed the gators and decided if they were going in the trash or on another boot that was still good. I think all in all, I got 3 or 4 pair of boots. That'd be a horse or 2. I really am so cool. And after making a purchase from Australian Connection today for new boots...I am even cooler. I am in boot heaven. For saving old EasyBoots. And being prepared with new ones.

The green bucket is Ali'i's. The purple, Aura's. Or sometimes the green is Aura's and the purple is Ali'i's. I'm such a dork because they actually nearly wear the same size boot. So, it's a little thing I play in my head with organization. Like that's been one of my virtues! And green really isn't Ali'i's color anyway...purple is. Or teal and purple.Or maybe purple and teal are my colors (and pink and fuschia), but the horses don't care, nor do the boots. Especially if they all are kinda the same size........I am just glad it's done. 

Spring Is Here!!

Our front yard is blooming!!

The grass is blooming!

 

The horses are blooming!!

Khaliq is the one coming right up to me. She sees me and wants to be right in my lap. Then mama Aura is next, especially because she sees I don't have a halter to take her for a ride. (Too hard to wipe eyeballs on mama but aren't they beautiful nevertheless???!!!)

This time of year might be my favorite. The grass is lush and beautiful and the weather is warm but not hot yet. And the horses have almost completely shed out. Love it!!

Training Aura

The new ride season is in full swing....except for some WONDERFUL periods of rain we've had late this year I have been able to ride a lot. I really thought we weren't going to get much, but the days we've had seems to have made up for the rather dry Jan & Feb. It's so beautiful here right now.

I am debating who I'm going to ride in what race this year. Ali'i has been strange at best on the last several rides, ranging from being a little brat, flinging me thru water and giving me bucks, to not wanting to do training rides and being very lazy. I'm sure in his fluffy little mind he's thinking he got me the fuk-king Tevis Buckle and what more does he need to do? I'm thinking I want to do some Multi-Day rides this spring and try him again, but do I want to leave well enough alone and let him have his 100% completion with his one Tevis Ride? The Stars Aligned for him & I that day. So, I'm tempted to just concentrate on Aura. I love that little horse and he went beyond the call of duty to carry me on that race straight out of his blissful life in the pasture.

So, Aura is still my big choice now, being that she is fun to ride, sound, big and motors up hills like nobody's business. I REALLY like that. We just have to go slow and conservative.

Yesterday we got to the hill and she was a little out of sorts with the new trailer. I just didn't feel like saddling her up, especially because she hadn't been out in weeks. So, we just walked to the bottom, then back up stopping periodically for snacking on grass. That hill is HARD. It was especially hard yesterday but my calorie counter thing said I burned a whole bunch so seeing I could pig out on pasta last night & wine, it was worth it!

Today we met Donna & Lily at the hill and rode up and down 4x's. Except for Aura trying to push Lily off of the side of the hill she was strong, very forward and took the last hill like the first. No problem for her and rarin' to go! She also ate back at the trailer so I was happy about that. 

Not sure when her first 50 will be but she sure has a big strong ass!! And, I'm excited to see what she looks like in a few years. The transformation of Ali'i was amazing. Going to the hill is like going to the gym!! Great workout!! So time will tell!!

Good Girl Aura

Aura and I had a good conditioning ride yesterday. 2  1/2 mile walk down, then 3 miles up, then back down 3 and up the 2  1/2. Not only did we ride barefoot, she crossed a nice sized creek 2x's, drank out of a puddle the last hill up, then she ate at the trailer after our ride. That I like. 

She's calming down while tied and getting buff. How fun is that??? Good girl Aura.

I've Been Busy.....

.......but I rode Bucky (shit-head....or Ali'i) on Wed and Aura on Thurs. Ali'i was obnoxious and almost tossed me into the American River because he didn't want to go belly deep into it. I'm thinking he's not getting ridden enough or he's pissed I really like riding Aura. It's a mystery to me.

Aura did 20 miles on Thursday. Long and slow. Good girl. Bad boy Ali'i. He needs to go out more before we start our ride season. I don't like feeling like I'm going to get launched....