Winter Sum Up!

Hi long lost blog! (That has been in the back of my mind for months!) I haven't forgotten about you. Life just decided to pick up speed and roll in a little different direction. 

Chester, yes, that is what this blog is about. My adventures with my sweet horse. (He will be turning 23 next week!) It's been winter for the past few months so there hasn't been anything real exciting to blog about. Recently it occurred to me, that I used to blog about everything horse. Not just when something exciting happened. Since then a few weeks have slipped by and now it's spring! I have worked Chester three times now and the good old days of horse sweat and dirt smudged cheeks are coming back. (awwww, I love summer.) 

 So here I am to give you a quick update on the past few months. 

January 

.......................

We did a lot of chilling out...didn't do much at all. 

Standing and looking majestic. 

I took him out this particular day to stretch his legs and graze on the lead. Well, he did fine for the first 15 minutes. Then he flipped and wanted back to his barn as fast as possible. I wasn't ready to go back up and I wasn't about to let him get away with telling me what to do. I put him to work by sending him in circles and backing up. He tolerated that for a couple minutes then decided he would have none of that. He freaked out-ran around me like a crazy horse bucking, kicking and tossing his head, sliding here and there in the wet soggy ground and making huge hoof holes in the ground. For about 30 seconds all I did was make sure I didn't get kicked in the head or run over. I'll tell you, dealing with horses isn't easy. And even the sweetest horse in the world can spook, be rusty at ground manners, or just have have a bad day. Since I hadn't worked him in a few months he had tons of energy and I was rusty at knowing how to deal with the situation. Once I got him under control we headed back to the barn as safely as possible. 

You know how people say certain things take blood, sweat and tears? Well that day brought forth the tears. 

Thus in this picture, Chester may look majestic, but he is probably thinking about what just happened. 

           

We took some selfies...or tried. In the first one he was eating my coat. :P

He started losing fur on his face-from rubbing his head on his feeder and from my not keeping him clean enough. I put bag balm on it and some Eden salve. Both helped and he healed quickly. You can see the balm on his face in this picture. 

We had some nice grooming sessions. This day (Same day day as above picture) I tied him to a tree but he ended up just standing there on his own. I just wanted him to work on tying in case I ever need to tie him up. Then when I went to take pictures of him he followed me around and wanted to smell my phone so I clipped on the lead rope again. 

"Are there any treats in there?"

~ Chester ~

 A winter morning- where sunlight shines down on my fuzzy horse and his mud filled yard. 

 Looking in the other direction into the barn. He's enjoying some crunchy hay on a cold crisp morning.

"What are you doing?" 

"Taking a picture." 

"Okay I'll go back to eating my breakfast."

"Okay, sounds good."

  A quick carrot and a selfie between cleaning jobs. 

February

...............................

We sold our trailer. We weren't using it and it was going to need a couple touch ups in the future so we decided it would be best to sell it now. And now I will be able to go to collage in the fall. (Baking Art) Hopefully we will also be able to use some of the profit to get sand for our round pen. :) 

We're goofy and it's okay.

Starting him on fresh grass once again. 

I love this picture. You can see a small part of our little farm. 

One day we hung out on the hill out back. The only dry/firm ground on our property at the time. It was a really nice and warm (54) Saturday. 

One of the things I noticed right away when I first saw Chester, was how big his eyes were. I still love his big soft eyes. 

Hopefully I will be able to have some more exciting posts coming up! So stay tuned! 

~Happy trails~ 

Lets Just Be Who We Really Are

A couple weeks ago my sister had a friend over for a photo shoot. The girl had made a costume and wanted pictures with her costume and a horse. And...I have a horse. :) So my sister got to practice her photography and I got to hang out and watch them take pictures. Then when it was time I got Chester ready and worked with them as they took pictures with him. Afterwards, my sister snapped a few pictures of Chester and I just being ourselves. I think we got some really fun ones.

Chester being his sweet gentle self.

I'm giving him a treat. He's so fuzzy!

(Nummm, I love peppermint treats!)

He was sooo good!

This is one of the best. I love it!

Then he thought (as he does every once in awhile, silly boy) that one of the chains on the hackamore bridle was supposed to go inside his mouth, like a bit. It doesn't, of course. There are two chains that go under his chin. 

                                           Uhhh...do you have any more treats?

 Uhh, Malory I think this chain is supposed to go in my mouth. No, Chester, I have told you before that does not go in your mouth. Smarty pants...

Me loves my pony! 

There is nothing new and exciting on the horse front here. It rained really hard here for about two  weeks straight so the ground is super soft and my round pen is a lake. Chester's exercise consists of walks in the front yard and hand grazing on the hill. I did get on him before the rain came and trotted around in the front yard a little bit. I do love that about Chester. That I can let him "sit" for a little while and still get on him and he's fine. He can get excited to be out and have energy to use, but he's not totally crazy. 

Our farrier moved to another State, so we are getting a new one. He's scheduled to come out on the 24th. I'm not nervous about Chester, (I know he will do great) I am excited to see how it goes and wondering how it will all be though.

 The Lord provided our first (and only so far) farrier at the perfect time. Before we had a horse, he and his family visited our church and we had them over for lunch. Come to find out he was a farrier. We mentioned that we had goats that needed their hooves trimmed and that we weren't the best at it. He was like, "I do goats too!" So we all marched out to the goats and he showed us how he did it while trimming up one of our goats that had hooves that grew about an inch a day. He actually flips the goats and then "sits" on them to trim their hooves. (His wife assured me that doing it that way doesn't hurt the goat. That was nice to hear.) :) 

He gave us his business card and we kept him in mind. Well, four to five months later we got Chester and we called him up and he has been our farrier ever since. One visit shy of three years. He was a great farrier and will be missed. 

In the meantime, Chester and I have high expectations for this new farrier. ;) We like quality work and a good friendly attitude.  

 

 It has been super cold lately so Chester is a HUGE fuzz ball. Like a fuzzy teddy bear. Haha, I will have to take a picture of him with all his fur sticking straight up. 

I hope you all have a great week! Blessings to all!

                          This is me enjoying the cold weather and a hot drink. ;)

Post Spring Cleaning

I brought my main saddle inside the other day. I brought it in so it can warm up, then I will clean it so it will be ready to use when the sun arrives! I have two saddles but one is bigger then the other. I use the bigger one. Even though....the smaller saddle's seat is so much more comfy then the bigger saddle's. My big saddle fits Chester better though so that's the one I go with!
I also brought in and cleaned off my hackamore. It had mold on it from getting moist out in the barn.

Here is what it looked like before I cleaned it.

                                                                      Before...

                                                                      Before....

                                                                      After!

                                                                        After!

  This bridle has a story behind it. It has been loved by a couple horses and people. It was given to my horsey friend for her first horse. After they used it and made memories with it, my friend gave it to me when I got my first horse. (Chester of course!) I thought it was so special to be passed on to me for my first horse, after it had been used for a couple first timers already. It was such a special gift to me and I can already tell you stories and memories I have made with it.

Breaking It In; Bit By Bit!

Well, I didn't exactly break the round pen in bit by bit. The first time I brought Chester in there, it wasn't anything special to him. (Which was Tuesday.) We weren't in there that long, maybe thirty minutes....why? Well, it's winter here and now (hopefully) spring is on it's way. But, for the past three to four months I haven't been doing much with Chester. So from going to the arena almost every weekend, and working him once a week, to not much at all.....my boy has (now had!!) A LOT OF energy. There was one week when I took him for about four walks. Other then that, I have only lunged him a couple times, and a few walks this whole winter.

I had noticed that when I would take him out that he was getting pushy (not respecting my space) and head strong. Plus, last fall he decided he was going to be barn sour. So, a horse with tons of energy + no respect + being barn sour = a "crazy" horse. Now, he was not truly crazy. He was just  "high strung" or something of the sort. I am pretty much a beginner with horses. I have had Chester for two and a half years. I don't really know when you would not be a "beginner" any more. But that doesn't really matter. Before I got Chester the Lord gave me a chance to take care of a friend's horse for ten days and get to know how it is to own a horse. That was a huge blessing and prepared me for my own horse. It was a great opportunity. I also got to take some riding lessons one summer when I was 7 and 8. I started when I was seven and turned eight in the mean time. (If that makes sense.) Those were my only horse experiences before I got Chester.
Chester is the horse that I have learned the most with. He was the one who started my ride through the horse world. =) With that said, when new things happen with Chester most likely it's my first time in that situation and first time dealing with it. He may be just acting like a horse or doing what horses do, and I'm like, "what's my horse doing!?" If that makes sense at all. =)

Ok, now I'll go back to using the round pen for the first time. I didn't know what to do with my horse. He was not respecting me and had loads of energy. After being out there for a little bit, I decided to be done (after ending on somewhat of a good note) and put him away until I knew what to do. Neither of us were too happy. He was the most energetic I have ever seen him. That is saying something since I have had him for two and a half years.

Well, I emailed my horsey friend (aka: my friend who had helped me tons with Chester and even went with me to buy him) and asked her if she could come over and help us both. The wonderful person she is, she actually came over the next morning, on Wednesday, bright and early at 8:15! She worked with Chester for a couple hours and gave us both a reminder on ground work. It was such a blessing and a good needed reminder on how to handle certain situations. Chester was different and calmer just after those two hours. Thank you, horsey friend! =)

I told someone the other day; "the horse ocean is deep and wide. You have to take swimming lessons to learn how to swim and then keep practicing what you've learned to stay afloat. And then, it takes years to become a strong swimmer."
Just think of that all in horse sense. =)

After we had worked him, I brought him breakfast and decided to leave him in the round pen for the rest of the day. To work on his "barn sourness". That kinda sounds weird...oh well! (Sorry about my grammar, Grandma.) =)
Anyway, he stayed out there till about four thirty, to his dismay. He did fine, though, and then I put him out there all Thursday and half of Friday. He's doing better every day! He is very safe out there and I am constantly watching him. I will keep putting him out there for about another week. I feed him his breakfast out there, but so far he hasn't eaten a whole lot of it. Silly boy!

Today I went out and worked him and even hopped on and walked him around. He did really good! I think I am going to set some goals for myself. I probably do a post on them. =)

Chester has done a good job at breaking it in- hasn't he? Well, more like he was running around because he didn't want to be down there- therefore it is 90% mud and dirt now. Not that I wanted it mud; it would have been nice to keep it grass. He's a horse in Washington though, what do you expect?
Isn't he purtty!! =) (Even though he's dirty...) He has a long back. A couple people have told me that. I think it's the Thoroughbred in him.

A quick question for ya'll. What are your opinions on, sweat scrapers? (I know, I know, sorry about the weird sort of question.)
In the past few days he has been quite sweaty, since he has been working and not happy about being in the round pen. Do you guys use sweat scrapers? I know they are pretty cheap, but are they worth your money?

I hope you and your ponies have had a nice week. The weather was nice starting on Tuesday and has been gorgeous! It's not supposed to last and I know it won't since it's only February. (March tomorrow) But it makes me excited for summer. Therefore, I will make goals for this summer and take advantage of the nice weather when I can!  

Have a great weekend!
Warm summer thoughts from Malory and her pony, Chester.

Guess What?? I'M SO EXCITED!!

I am so excited to tell you guys this! I got a round pen! What does that mean? That means; I have a confined area for the first time ever to work Chester in on our property, I can work him more often, we will both be safer, I can work with him in more ways now, and my wild pony can use up his energy!!!

                                                                        Here it is!

                                                                          It's 40 ft.

                                       It's used but really nice!! I'm so happy and excited!
Every time I think about the stuff I can do with him in the round pen, I get excited! I can now work with him loose and don't have to have him on a lead or lunge line.

                           When the sun starts a shining, this round pen's gonna get a lot of love! =)

 Here is a picture so you can see how it is relative to the other parts of the our yard. That's the garden fenced in over there. 

                             Here, I'm taking the picture from up on the hill that our house is on.

 Now, I'm down by it looking back up there. I was standing on the hill to the right of the house. You can see a little bit of Chester's fence and barn up there.

                                                                Lovely round pen!!
    (Oh, that's our play house over there to the right.)

 When we got home, Chester came over to his fence and watched us unload the round pen from the trailer. Then he stayed out there when we set it up. He's one smart horse!
We are planning on putting sand in it. But we're taking it one step at a time! =)

One. Simple. Word....Shedding.

Are you kidding me!? Shedding is not a simple word. The word shedding means- four to five months of horse hair floating in the air, getting it in your mouth and ALL over your clothes.
On one hand shedding isn't that bad, yet on the other hand it is such a bother!
The end results though are gorgeous! A sleek shiny horse! Who doesn't love to see their horse shimmering in the summer sun after a long cold, fuzzy, wet winter? Well I sure do! =)
Chester has started shedding and has been for a few weeks now. It's not too bad yet, but I know the worst is to come! =)


Most of my fellow bloggers are experiencing pretty cold winter weather. I BELIEVE you now! (Not that I didn't before, but you get what I'm saying.) I feel for you! Not just feel, I now know how you feel! We have had some cold spells. Where it will be cold for at the most two weeks and then warm up again. But we had one week, that the really cold weather hit us hard. Someone must have packaged it up and sent it our way. =)
Not only was it cold day and night, but we had any icy wind on top of that.
Since we live in a small valley, the wind funnels up through it to our house. When you step out our back door, you get and icy wind in your face. Not too fun....


Well, a little bit about today; this morning I did every horse chore inmaginable. I fed Chester, swept and scooped his mats, scooped manure from the yard, cleaned around the manure wagon and dumped the wagon, then I decided that I needed to clean the spot were I keep the bale of hay in the barn. I only keep one bale up in the horse barn and all the rest down in the big barn. I stand it up in a corner of the horse barn and then the stall stays pretty clean. (Which is nice because I keep my tack in there too.) So I moved a couple boards that are up there and cleaned all the hay and everything all up, brought another bale up and then I gave Chester I good brush down, (which I haven't done in a while. He thoroughly enjoyed that. He even stopping eating his breakfast and just stood there like, awwwww.....that feels good!) Then I cleaned his hooves, dumped his manure wagon again because I filled it up with the hay that I cleaned out of the stall. Then I gave him a peppermint treat and went to fill his water buckets with fresh water.
I headed inside just has the rain started coming done harder and the wind picked up.
It was a good Saturday morning!
    ~How was yours, friends? 


                                                                    ~Chester And Mal~

Hair Cuts All-around!

 Chester is sorta known for his long thick tail. He does have a nice thick, black tail....I will admit. =) He prefers it tangled and dirty, with leaves or ceder branches decorating it. I have to admit though, brushing his tail is not my favorite thing to do! I don't do it that often. =/ I have conditioner I put in it every once in awhile; it helps de-tangle it. Which is really nice. And then for the next couple days after I use it, he smells really good like hair conditioner. Haha, it's kind of odd to walk past your horse and smell a clean soap like smell. =)
Well, it had gotten quite long. So long he would step on it coming out of the trailer. =/ That's when I realized I needed to cut it. It was dragging in the mud and was such a stringy mess! 
I have trimmed it a couple times. Like, an inch and a half one time and then maybe two inches another time; not much. But I have never cut any of his main, tail or anything else before.

After putting it off- as I wanted to bring the camera out there and take pictures- I finally just did it!
Oh my! Does it look great! It looks so nice and neat! I basically cut it straight across. For a while I had in mind that when I cut it, I wanted it to look natural. I changed my mind though and decided I wanted to look nice and neat; I cut straight across! =) And it looks nice and neat!

Note: I put some conditioner in his tail before I cut it- that's why it looks wet. =) Because it is! =)

                                                                      Before...

                                                                      Before....

                                                                       After!

                                        After! (I think he's taking a step forward there.) =)

                                                   After; I think it looks so good!




Back in December, I decided to cut my hair, too! I have had long hair most of my life. Like, really long hair. In the past few (3-4) years I have started to try different styles. Trust me, my styles are; layers this way, then maybe longer layers that way. Not like black or purple hair. =) Taking it slow, and not doing things too drastic. This is the shortest hair cut I have gotten. It is definitely different for me. =) It has it's pros and cons though. Like you can't make that many different kinds of buns with it. But yet it is loads easier to curl! I like it- it's fun to have something different!

                                                       Before.... (That is straightened)

                                                   After! (And that is curled.)

How often do you guys trim, cut or pull your horses manes or tails? How do you do it? I'd love to hear all about it!! Do tell! =)