two days in the week so far and 2 awesome rides. lessoned yesterday, still riding western. mare is really getting the idea of pirouettes. although last thursday, she was being a brat. i rode her in a sidepull tonight, got a couple perfectly square stops. she kept poking her nose out, will need to keep working on her staying round.
Hinderella – I am 5’ 9 with long leg bones (I ride in a 17.5" saddle) so I do need a big guy. I wish I could ride a large pony though! It is a much shorter distance to the ground!!!
Tarheel – I wish it were my first day looking, but I have actually been actively looking since September. Ugh. I am having no luck at all in my price range!
I am telling everybody I know that I’m looking just in case they have a cousin who rides or something. If any of you ladies know of anything pretty much anywhere on the east coast, but preferably VA/MD/PA, you could PM me… I am looking for a 16.0+ hunter who can do 3ft+ well enough for B and C rated shows, budget is in the low five figures. Preferably an older gelding or older mare if she has not had babies. But it can absolutely NOT be lazy, it needs to have its own motivation to keep moving. I had an Appendix before and he fit that description and was awesome (actually he was 15.3 but super wide) and he didn’t cost anything like the upper end of my budget even though he was actively showing and doing really well locally at the time, which is why I’m so frustrated. I feel like I am being shown half the horse for twice the money :-\
The market is really strange right now. There are definitely some bargains to be had, but IMO, the people who don’t sell on a regular basis have their prices WAYYY too high for the market. Those same horses are for sale over and over, because they just aren’t selling.
I just saw a horse that a month ago was 6k, and is now 3k, with no discernable difference.
BonneAmmie, I sent you a PM.
BonneAmmie, how about this pretty girl:
http://www.equine.com/horses-for-sale/horse-ad-1669940.html
She moves nicely, and is well-presented by the seller.
or this guy?:
http://www.equine.com/horses-for-sale/horse-ad-1540665.html
I didn’t watch his video.
I’m sure there are many more out there, I love shopping on line! Especially when I’m not the one making the buying decisions.
[QUOTE=BonneAmmie;6088418]
If any of you ladies know of anything pretty much anywhere on the east coast, but preferably VA/MD/PA, you could PM me… [/QUOTE]
Sent you a PM. 
It’s nice to know I’m not the only one that’s been thinking about this! I’d thought about doing something similar this past fall, but things at work went to hell, so I couldn’t get the time off.
But this fall … Hmmmm. Even if I couldn’t make it for the foxhunting weekend, I’d love to do a week-long vacation of lessons/hacks and good food and maybe some tack shopping.
Every holiday we have had recently when I’ve had extra days off from work it has either rained or been very cold. Took off work early last Thursday for a lesson and it got basically rained out. Had a good ride on my own, still working on cantering down lines of poles, but did put together a little course of ground poles. Came out Sunday and rode out on the trails, horsie dear was a bit spooky and friend was riding bareback so we just walked. Lesson this AM was cancelled due to standing water in the ring from all the rain last night. Rescheduled for Friday.
Did wash horsie on Sunday, spent 45 minutes hand grazing him to dry him! Was going to get out Monday to pull his mane but when it wasn’t even 40F yet, I stayed in and he gets to look like a yak for another week.
[QUOTE=iechris;6088933]
he gets to look like a yak for another week.[/QUOTE]
OMG, my gelding’s mane is OUT OF CONTROL. I haven’t shown since October, and I sadly have not done much with his mane since then. Have a show coming up in three weeks, so I know I have to get on it! I don’t want to wait until a few days before. Luckily he has a relatively thin mane in most spots, so I can use one of those nifty little cutters for most of it and just do minimal pulling.
[QUOTE=Opus1;6088817]
It’s nice to know I’m not the only one that’s been thinking about this! I’d thought about doing something similar this past fall, but things at work went to hell, so I couldn’t get the time off.
But this fall … Hmmmm. Even if I couldn’t make it for the foxhunting weekend, I’d love to do a week-long vacation of lessons/hacks and good food and maybe some tack shopping.[/QUOTE]
YES!!! Exactly!
Tarheel, Opus1, a week riding in VA at Hunt’s Rest will be a great experience. Not only will you have a terrific time riding, but you can also get to (and spend money at) places like Horse Country in Warrenton and Middleburg Tack exchange, and a host of other tack spots. If you’re there at the right time of year, you must try to get out with the Bassett pack for a bit of rabbit hunting. And both Warrenton & Middleburg have plenty of nice restaurants to try out.
Contact Hunter’s Rest directly, and feel free to PM me to hear about my experiences.
Photos
My brother went to the barn with me and my daughter while he was visiting for Christmas and took over three hundred photos! (He is a very enthusiastic amateur photographer.) I have spent waaaaaay too many hours over the past several days downloading, renaming, and organizing the shots. Anyway, here are a few albums of the best of these. (Believe me, I have more!!) The first album is of me and the green mare. The second is the mother-daughter one.
I know this crew will not criticize my sometimes spastic equitation or the fact that my shirt is baggy and my helmet is crooked. At least the mare is cute, right?
Enjoy! They look best if you click on “view as slideshow.”
http://s841.photobucket.com/albums/zz333/deweyrooter/Sky%20December%202011/
http://s841.photobucket.com/albums/zz333/deweyrooter/Mother-Daughter%20ride%20December%202011/
[QUOTE=TarheelJD;6088982]
YES!!! Exactly![/QUOTE]
I have just called Hunter’s Rest and am penciled in for March - for lessons (on a schooled horse!:yes:), and to follow in the car…and to partake of the good times! Although I’ve had a hard week with B, and have hit her with so many questions, I’m sure she thinks she has a nutcase coming. I promise I’ll be good. 
Dewey, she looks like such a joy - and you have such lovely weather! Am jealous…
It has been so freezing here, that the riding has been almost non-existent. 
After the continued bucks, made appt with lameness vet on Monday,whose appointment came when the temps were in the teens. Had to wait an hour for our turn - I was freezing, couldn’t feel my feet after the wait, still had a headache from being pitched off on Saturday. It was so bad I fell on my feet when trying to longe B. (Embarassing!) :oShe had to longe him, watched us ride, and cleared him of any “hurting” issues.
It’s just apparent he’s a handful and with the limited turnout, I have to be careful. I’ve had some recommendations made by the vet and another COTHer which I’m going to try… including insisting on absolute manners. I’ve let him get away with little signs of affection, but guess I’ll put those on the back burner as he is getting cheeky and it’s translating into bad behavior and avoiding work. Have a good friend I rode w/ years ago with a very well schooled horse who could do all kinds of things with him - not as I had been trained. So I thought I’d try it as a rerider. I guess the common sense observation is her horse was already well schooled. So back to being a mean old Mom…:sigh: I should have known better.
Couldn’t do anything with B on Tuesday as I spent it w/ the plumber - a septic pipe broke.
Yesterday was in the teens, but went to ride, and there was so much ice everywhere I didn’t dare lead him out from the barn to the indoor. :uhoh: Even those regularly turned out had been left in.
Am leaving eventually for the barn, and hoping for something better. So far the temp has shot up from 8 to 14! but it’s supposed to get towards 20, and maybe waiting until later they will have done something with the driveway?:rolleyes: I’m not worried about the horse, as much as falling on the ice! :eek:
Thanks, CVPeg. She is a joy, and I wish she were mine. She is so sweet: she nickers at me when I call her in the pasture.
And as a native New Englander, I will never take south Georgia winters for granted. (Of course, our summers are #@*&!%!!! hot!)
Sorry it’s been so frigid where you are. Be careful!!! Sounds as if you should wait for a thaw before riding!
Hinderella: Thanks for the recommendation! I try to keep up with the Ladies Foxhunting weekend threads to see who all goes and to see what they’ve been up to. I don’t know if I’d be up for something quite so social, but a relaxing week at Hunter’s Rest is on my wish list this year. I’ll send her a note a little later in the year, once I see what work has in store for me.
CVPeg: You’ll have to let us know how the weekend goes at HR!
Dewey: Please, please don’t take this year’s S. Ga. winter for granted! We got hammered (by Ga. standards) last winter. Oh, and I was going to ask where you were, but one of the painted jumps in your photos let me know. I’m about 3.5 hours SW of you, close to the Fla. border. This winter is shaping up to be absolutely heavenly. We have highs in the 70s forecast for all of next week!
Oh, and in today’s lesson I did my first-ever practice dressage test. I think it was Intro B. But I did all of it at a rising trot and worked on bending the WB I ride in the corners and doing circles, etc. Once I got warmed up, I think I pleasantly surprised her by how well I was doing transitions and getting her guy to bend.
It was kind of cool, but I can’t help but be a bit - apprehensive? suspicious? - of dressage. So, sit on your butt, get off your crotch, toes pointed straight ahead, arms need more bend, your heels are down TOO far(!), post more up and down … It feels like the complete opposite of forward seat hunter equitation.
Great pics Dewey!
And CVPeg - I am jealous! I already have too much going on in Spring and Summer to think about heading to Hunter’s Rest until Fall. I hope I’ll be able to make it then, but it may have to wait until Spring 2013. Just typing “2013” is depressing! I don’t want to have to wait that long!
Opus, I DO appreciate this winter. It actually snowed last winter (gasp!). It’s been lovely.
About dressage: I never did it at a very high level (I did Pony Club and a lot of horse trials when I was young), but I think things have changed since my day. Of course, dressage always was different from “forward seat” riding, but not to the degree you’re describing. I don’t remember it being that hard to adjust to a dressage saddle or being told to sit on my bum or point my toes forward. We just lengthened our stirrups a few holes and concentrated on sitting up really straight. :lol:
Thanks, Tarheel.
Tarheel, I hope you don’t mind me stealing your signature quote.
