It had only been eight weeks since the mares had been trimmed. Last week their feet looked okay. Friday their feet in serious need of a trim. The farrier took off almost half an inch from both girls’ feet during the trim. Very impressive. Rajiyyah’s feet had grown so much that the hoof wall had overgrown the shoe. Here you can see Rajiyyah’s right foot nearly trimmed compared to her left foot which...
Continue reading...Horses
Horsebackwriter on Tumblr
A friend of mine from work sent me a link to a Tumblr blog written by Horsebackwriter. Like me, she has a bay Arabian. Her mare, Khyssie, reminds me a lot of Isis in her antics and markings. I saw the pictures of Khyssie and immediately had flashbacks to Isis Bint Sirdar. And then I read a post from August 5th that said this: The groundwork was coming along as scheduled. Everything was...
Continue reading...Week six of rain and rain rot
I can barely keep up with the rain rot on Kasane and Rajiyyah — much less help them heal when the rain keeps coming down. They are kept in some times, but that doesn’t help because the rain may come up in the middle of the night. I can’t put a sheet on them because that will just keep reinfecting them by getting the fungus on the rain sheet and then rubbing it...
Continue reading...Summer grooming time
It was raining when I went to the barn. No riding or working in the rings because of the mud so I spent the afternoon brushing and loving on Rajiyyah and Kasane. They are both shedding their summer coats. Rajiyyah kept nuzzling me over the top of the stall door. Both Kasane and Rajiyyah have rain rot. Kasane has it all along her spine from her whithers to her croup. Rajiyyah has it...
Continue reading...Rain rot on the mares
Both girls have rain rot really bad and it’s driving me nuts. Kasane’s back is so sore from rain rot that she flinches when my finger tips lightly touch her. Poor baby. The dew poisoning on Rajiyyah’s legs are at least looking better. The scabs still hurt even when I’m gently cleaning or putting salve on them. She holds up her back leg and moves it forward then reaches around her head to watch...
Continue reading...Claimed again
Two weeks ago when Mom brought down her two mares, all of the mares on Rajiyyah’s aisle of the barn were getting attention except Rajiyyah. She was very jealous. I stepped into her stall to groom her. She looked so happy to have the attention. The second I turned around and looked at Liyah, Rajiyyah flattened her ears and shook her head. As soon as I turned back around to Rajiyyah her ears...
Continue reading...Farrier on Saturday
Yesterday the farrier did Prize, Kasane, and Rajiyyah. Prize has a regular trim. Kasane and Rajiyyah both get front shoes. Rajiyyah is a pro at it, but this was Kasane’s third or fourth pair. Before the farrier arrived, I gave Kasane some Quietex (contains L-Triptophan, think same mellowing agent in turkey). We went into the ring and lunged for about 20 minutes to help her work off any extra energy. She was a...
Continue reading...Free to ride!
I saw the physical therapist today. He said that typically a calf injury like mine takes about three weeks total to heal from the last time it was injured. (So I’m halfway through that time.) The best thing? I’m cleared to ride. Yay! Kasane is going to be so happy. She was bouncing around over the weekend. So much energy because I haven’t been able to do much with her. She’s had rain...
Continue reading...New mares at the barn
Mom brought down two of her mares to board at my barn. The new girls are Cedars KenyaCatchMe (Botswana x Cedars Farah Moniet) and RSA Sahra Nazeem (BB Akeem x Ilehnisa Azeem). Kenya is Kasane’s half sister by the same sire. Kenya is also Rajiyyah’s sister with the same dam. Sahra has some similar blodlines to all Kenya, Rajiyyah, and Kasane. You might say she is their second or third cousin on the...
Continue reading...Jennifer’s ride on Lucy at Classic Dressage show
This weekend, Jennifer (friend from the barn) and Polly took Lucy to a four-day dressage show at the Hunt Horse Complex at the NC Fair Grounds. Lucy is a beautiful bay warmblood. She is a lovely mare and has amazing gaits. Match those gaits with a very sane disposition and you have one lovely girl. Related Images:
Continue reading...Rajiyyah returns
The Grey Wonder Mare has been here a few weeks now and has settled in. We’re riding now with a sparkly new dressage saddle (yay clearance sale rooms at tack shops!), a brand new Collegiate Jessica Dressage saddle. Very comfy and fits her well. It’s interesting riding a mare I had five or six years ago. I’m a light rider with quiet hands and good leg position. The first time I got on...
Continue reading...Grey Wonder Mare returns
Tomorrow, the Grey Wonder Mare™ returns after a six year absence. I’m going to babysit her for a few months for my Mom, who is in the process of moving. I have Rajiyyah’s old bridle and halter (but not her bit, which Mom is bringing). My current dressage and all purpose saddles have been fitted to Kasane, so they won’t work on Rajiyyah. Mom is bringing my old Ashley and Clark all purpose...
Continue reading...Best view in the world
First time I had these two pictures side by side, I was struck by how similar my two Bay Wonder Mares(tm) looked from the back. Same expression of the ears: listening, attentive and relaxed. The bright copper bay ears and neck belong to Isis. I took this picture when we were out on a trail ride around the farm’s perimeter. And then this picture, taken at the end of a ride on Kasane....
Continue reading...Saddles and shoes
Since Kasane has been undersaddle, we’ve gradually discovered and corrected several problems. We did a saddle fitting and discovered that my Courbette Magic dressage saddle didn’t fit her at all. Got a new saddle which made a huge difference. Over this past winter, I’ve noticed Kasane moving oddly on her back legs. For example, her stride when trotting looked uneven like the paces were not the same between one side and the other....
Continue reading...Brahm Queen’s first ride
The people at my barn are trying out a very sweet off-the-track Thoroughbred. She’s a big bay mare with a lot of heart. Fascinating to learn about the differences with Thoroughbreds who have raced and what that means they are used to (like someone mounting and then walking off immediately). A barn name hasn’t been decided upon, so she’s tentatively nicknamed Lullaby or Lulu. (Apparently at the track she was called Drama Queen.)...
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