Buck has a lesson with Meredith

I did something TERRIBLE to my back the other day...and since then I have not been able to really walk, let alone RIDE. So instead of my weekly lesson, I took Buck for a ride with Meredith.

I have been working with Meredith Scarlet since October of 2008. At that point Buck was just walking and trotting - not on the bit, and certainly not bent or flexed properly! So the last few months we have been working with him on the flat mostly, with some jump schools thrown in between. It's REALLY strange to have a horse that is better at jumping then dressage! WOWEE. What a strange reality I have!

Anyways, Meredith had a pretty good ride today. She rode A LOT of trot->walk transitions to get him off his face. Buck's MO is to bear down like he's plowing a field. And then he gets "stuck" there because HE thinks he's doing it right! LOL. So lots of transitions, and doing different "things" during the work. Some of the things she did today besides transitions was lots of leg yielding. Leg yielding in to every transition, leg yielding to get more bend, etc, etc. The canter work STILL has a lot to be desired. He previously would THROW his head up in the air, brace against his neck and lean around the corners a la motorcycle style. EEEEK. Today she got good transitions, and he wasn't bracing his neck. Still not round, and still against the hand aid (read: giraffe) but definitely better than before!

Hopefully I'll be able to ride again SOON....it's supposed to be FRIGIDLY cold over the next few days so I won't be riding anyways.

Buck's Allergies?

So back in December Buck was fed a not-so-good flake of hay....and then promptly started coughing. Unfortunately Buck didn't STOP coughing and I ended up having the vet come out
promptly. That vet told me to give him some Benadryl....well after a week of Benadryl and still
coughing, I called another vet. She came out and listened to his lungs, bagged him (to hear any crackling) and perscribed 8 mL/day of Ventipulmin.

The ventipulmin helped - no more coughing....but once I started discontinuing the cough started up again. We put him BACK on the venti....4 mL/day in the AM. And now we're adding Prednisol - 18 tabs per feeding for 10 days, and then discontinuing it slowly.

Free Jumping with Denise Goyea!

Today we took Buckingham to a free jumping clinic with Denise Goyea at Scarlet Hill Farm. Buck took right to it, like he knew what he was doing. We ended up jumping him 3 foot 3 inches, which is mighty big for a pony that is of his size!

Here's video of the cootie patootie and his last jump set:

Contry Hill Farm Horse Show

We took Buck to his first official horse show today! Cadence and he did AWESOME, winning 2 first places and a 2nd place. I took him in a trail class and also won the class! YAY Buck!

Buck and Cady displaying their ribbons proudly! They are tiny ribbons - she is holding it if you can see it ;)

Buck and Cady after getting 2nd in their equitation class. This was a schooling show - no jackets allowed. Still, we braid for every show and Cady and Buck looked awesome!

Buck and Cady

Here are Buck and Cady. Cutest picture ever of a little girl and her pony!

Buckingham's Blog!

Buckingham, affectionately known as "Buck" "Buckin" or "Buckinskin", is our family's Welsh cob pony. Pony but he's almost a horse! He's 14.1 hands and BIG. He wears a size 75 blanket!

We got Buck at the end of July as a companion to our mare, Johara, and for Cadence, my daughter. Buck was green broke, and in order for him to be a good kid's horse, he needed more exposure. So I started riding him - 5 to 6 days a week, and taking him to shows, trail rides, hunter paces, et cetera.

It just so happens that I fell in love with Buck. So now he is not only Cady's pony, but he's mine too! Buck is too nice to just be a "kids pony". He is actually a cute little mover and very willing. He loves to jump.

Buck was bought after my beloved "Dancer" died on June 28th. Johara was distraught, and Cadence was very sad as well. Buck found us quickly (as I had started the search for a companion after Johara couldn't handle being alone). It was meant to be!

RIP Dancer