Updates and pictures

I really like this new farrier. Everything he did/said went along with Pete Ramey's book "Making Natural Hoof Care Work For You"; which is what I've been reading so it's all good. ;)

Ollie was a total jackass. Tons of rearing. But she calmed down and it ended up being a nice trim.  He said her hooves look really good. Ginger stood really well, so I was able to talk more with Josh(farrier) about what was going on with Ginger's hooves. He said she had/has crushed heels (I knew that, the last farrier called them "impacted hooves". Same thing.) I'm so happy with how her first trim went. I'm excited to see where she is at a few trims from now. I'll take some pictures of both of their hooves soon.

I sold my Stubben (not sure if I've mentioned it on here) and bought a Berny Bros. saddle. I got a super sweet deal, including a pad and the leathers & irons. I have two rides in the BB, and really like it so far. I'm playing around with stirrup lengths. I'm finding that I like shorter stirrups for the most part. The saddle fits Ginger really nicely, but not Ollie whatsoever. But, they're two totally different builds so I didn't expect it to fit them both. I have permission to use one of the barn owners western saddles on Ollie. 

Today I took Ginger up the Big Hill and rode around the field to the left. (I'll take a video one day so it's easier understood) I'm going to use this field as my "outdoor arena". She was pretty anxious up there, so it's going to take at least a few "relaxing" rides up there until we start any real work. Today we walked up and down the field for almost 45 minutes. She didn't do anything bad- just some head tossing, jigging, etc. We did "whoa-ing", turn on the forehands, mini leg-yields, etc. Basically when she tried to get strong or really forward, I asked her to move a different part of her body. It was a productive ride overall. But, like I said, it will probably take a few rides in the field before we can get any real work done. 

Enjoy some overdue mare pictures! The quality isn't great, I broke down and bought a $15 camera on ebay. Lol