A Little Randomness

I did it, I got an instagram account. I have been thinking about it for awhile and finally decided to do it. It's not just horse stuff, but I will be posting lots of horse stuff on there; so if any of you are on Instagram, I would love a follow!
Right now it's called bitbybits but I am thinking of changeing it...not sure though.

Ya'll have a great safe weekend! I have some fun posts coming up with lots of pictures!

Sunday Pictures!

The farrier came this morning; SO glad that it's done for another two months! You know what's weird though, is that when you have something scheduled for two months away, those two months fly by!
It's crazy how that happens. It seems like he comes more often then six times a year. Which, he could if we did seven weeks instead of eight weeks, here or there. But anyways! =)

Chester did great! He hadn't had breakfast so he could have been a little more patient. But he did really good. I haven't before, but today I decided to stick some peppermint treats in my pocket to give him while he had his hooves done because he hadn't had breakfast. He really enjoyed them and gobbled them up! At one point, since I wasn't giving him any more, he started giving me kisses and wouldn't stop. He was trying hard to get more treats and he knew that normally if he came me a kiss he would get a treat. =) He was so cute!

One Sunday I went out with my sister and took some pictures with Chester. We didn't really have a nice camera so a lot of them were blurry. Yet, we did get some good ones and thanks to Fotor I put some tints/filters on some of them and that really helped! =)
First I'll get the selfies out of the way! You gotta have those! (Actually, a little side note here, I didn't take selfies until I had a horse...hmm.) =)

                                                  "Can I please have a treat, mom!"

                                            Cheese! "Does that camera give treats?"

                                             See the mud? Uh-huh. Yep. Washington.

That's my boy! Tongue is always out! =) Right there he looks like he was licking and chewing. Sometimes though he just leaves it hanging out. (He's SO cute!)

                                                         " Hey there...I'm cute!"
                                                             

Annies Asteroid

I have been a slacker....I know. But when there are horse adventures to be told, I will tell.
I did have someone over the other day that wanted to brush up on their horse grooming and tacking skills. Chester did great! He did try to sneak off when I was busy talking to someone....but I saw him. ;)
I "weighed" him the other day with my weight tape, and he has gained about 100 pounds since the last time I "weighed" him which was maybe a year ago? I can't remember. =)
He actually doesn't like the weight tape. So after he ran around his yard not letting me get within twenty feet of him, I set down the weight tape and got his halter and he submitted to me. When he has his halter on he switches from a free roaming pony in his yard, to, a pony that's like, ok what are we going to do?
I do groom him free though....I don't always put on his halter when I'm doing stuff with him in his yard. Anyways, back to the weight tape. Once I had him standing there I put the weight tape around his heart girth area and lined it up and what not. I wasn't sure what numbers to look at so I read the directions out loud while holding the tape on him. He wasn't super comfortable but he was standing there quietly and being a good boy. As I was reading the directions a loud I came across, "make sure the horse is not holding it's breath." I looked at Chester and asked, "are you holding your breath?" He was looking straight ahead, not moving a muscle, eyes open a little wider then normal and wasn't blinking. I told him, "I think you're holding your breath".  He did great and I was able to finish and when I was done gave him some peppermint treats. (Actually, before I "weighed" him, I gave him a peppermint treat in the same hand that I was holding the scary white thing.) =)

I then went on to de-worm him. He did great for that too. I'm not an expert at giving him stuff orally. He was totally relaxed about oral stuff when I got him but has since taken to not liking it. I think it might be because I'm "newer" at it? It's not that hard to do though....so maybe not.

Alright, you are probably wondering what Annies Asteroid as to do with this post. Well, I wanted to share a game with you all! It's called Annies Asteroid. My dad made it! You can down load it for free off Itunes. It's made for a phone or Ipad, so if you don't have one I don't think you can get it. (If you don't have a phone I totally understand. I just got my first phone a few months ago, and I'm eighteen.) =) If any of you check it out or get it, let me know what you think! Go Here to see it.
 I think it's really fun and can get addicting once you get the hang of it. Please pass on the word! Enjoy!


                           

Wait, Whuuuuut?!?

This past week, inspired by some of my blogger friends, I emailed the past owner of Chester and asked if he had any pictures of Chester or knew of anyone that would. He emailed back and said he had some somewhere, that he would send my way. I also asked him if he knew Chester's birthday.. When we bought him he was sixteen and now he is "eighteen".
So, he told me his birthday was April 13th. I was like, oh that's coming up! My next thought was, what year was he born? They guy was already on it and had sent me his pedigree. I opened it up and started to figure it out as I have never really (maybe one other time) looked at a pedigree before.
His barn name was Shorty when we bought him but I renamed him, Chester. We didn't think Shorty was such a "loving" name....but, come to find out his "legal" name on his pedigree is Valiant Mr. Shorty! I thought that was a pretty neat name; better then just Shorty. =) His name is actually a mix of his mom and dad. His dad's name was Sold Short, and his mom's was Valiant Quest. I thought that was really cool! There was no picture of his dad, and it said that there was a picture of his Grandfather but the picture won't pop up. =( But, I do have a picture of his great-grandfather! I think there is a big resemblance! His face looks like Chester and even his back end is shaped like Chester's! =)
Here, have a look!

                                                       Chester's great-grandfather

Ok, I know Chester has his winter coat on here so he's not shiny like Top Deck. But I think their faces look alike.

                                   In this picture he has his summer coat on so he's shiny. =)

                                                 This is a picture of his great-grandma

Here are some more pictures of grandfathers....

Great, great-grandfather

Great, great, great-grandfather

And I think we'll stop there. =)

Well, I did find this guy down the line and thought he was a nice looking one. He's a big guy! =)

Back to the pedigree....after I found out his pedigree name, I saw the date he was born. 1992. Yep, my horse is four years older then I thought he was. I thought he was 18 turning 19 sometime this year. Well noooo, he's 21 turning 22 in a few weeks! The main reason I was in "shock" was I lost four years I thought I was (possibly) going to have with my horse.
The thing is, if we knew that Chester was 19 years old when we bought him, we wouldn't have bought him. And I wouldn't have the wonderful horse I have now. I would have never met Chester. I would have never met and own the best horse in the world! God knew that he was older all along and yet He had him picked out for me and provided the right horse, nineteen year old Chester, for me. So even if I'm in "shock" finding out my horse is now definitely "an older horse", as my brother put it, "he is still the perfect horse for you." I agree!

Little Letters

Dear Followers: Thank you for being so awesome.


Dear Chester: Why do you have to be so stinkin cute?


Dear Saddle: Don't worry, your turn will come. Just keep on looking really cool.


Dear Round Pen: I want to use you so bad. But when you are full of puddles and silky mud it's really hard to.


Dear Blog: Sorry I haven't been faithful to you. You see, there isn't anything real exciting, horse wise, at the moment.


Dear Grass: You're back from a long winter's rest. As I watch you grow, feel free to fill my hills with lushess long arms for my pony to munch on.


Dear Wind: When I feel you on my face I can tell summer is on it's way. Please, do help it along it's way and get it here real soon.


Dear Birds: I've missed your songs you sing all summer long. I'm so glad you're back.


Dear Garden: I see you growing through the soft brown dirt and am so glad to once again nurture you as you grow.


Dear School Books: I am can see the light at the end of the tunnel and will once again be saying farewell; and this time it will be the last.


Dear Shiny Pony: I'm coming, I really am. I'm looking forward to the warm summer day's when I can ride you bareback with the sun on our faces and a breeze at our back.


Dear Winter Coat and Boots: Your turn is almost over.


Dear Lovely Cowboy Boots: You will soon be put to work. The work entails a horse, so don't worry, it won't be boring.


Dear Lawn Mower: We shall soon be close friends, once again.


Dear Iced Coffee and Iced Tea: Sorry Tea, I already had an iced coffee on a really warm day so I will have to figure out a time to have you.  


 Dear Sunshine: Please hurry!


Dear Rain: I love you, but do hurry up and leave. You have made our property so so wet. And I can't do anything when it's wet.


Dear Clear Night Sky: You. are. amazing. I could stare at you for ages.


Dear Moon: You are beautiful. 


Dear God: You are awesome and I love you. Lord, I need you, oh, I need you. Every hour I need you.

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.

Annul 4H Tack Sale

I went to the annul 4H tack sale. (No, I don't go to 4H. It's open to the public.) =) This was the second time I went and I absolutely love it! I wait for it all year! It is huge! There are rows and rows of saddles, tables full of saddle pads and blankets, racks and racks of halters bridles and ropes, tables full of reins, bits, boots, cinches, wraps, breast collars, books, anything horse related, it's there! New and used! It awesome! For the first five minutes you walk around like a kid in a candy shop, in aw of all the stuff. Then you pop into action and start scanning and scanning, looking, oooing and Ohhhing and fingering through as much as possible!
So many choices!
You really need to do your research and know what you are after before you go. I knew what I was after, but I hadn't done my research. There was lots of options: I had my list so I knew what I needed and wanted but when there are about three options to one thing, it gets hard to chose and what to decided.

This was my list;

                   -Single rein(s)
                   -Bridle with "Lupe reins".....(Hackamore?) 
                   -Shin guards
                   -Saddle pad
                   -Breast-collar? 

That is how my list was, question marks and all! =) The most important thing to me was the reins. When I was riding lots last fall, the split reins where a little hard to deal with while I was trying to pay attention to everything else that was going on. I thought, why not get reins that aren't split. Well, long story short, I found out that besides split reins that have a connector, I don't know if you can get western reins that are "one rein". What do you guys have to say about that? Are there such reins? Or, can you use English reins with all western tack? 

My main throw back though, was all the beautiful headstalls....I don't know how to put a bit on a headstall. I have a question for you all. Do I have to get a special headstall to put on a hackamore bridle piece? I didn't get any headstalls, even though I found two that I really liked! I didn't want to get them and then never use them.

I ended up getting a new saddle pad and a lead rope. It's a nice lead rope, (Was hoping for a longer one, but silly me didn't measure the one I already have before I went.) =/ and I absolutely love my new saddle pad! It's purple! I know none of my other tack is purple but it was a nice pad and (hopefully!) it will go better with Chester's coat then the other colors they had.

I am going to be doing some research, and I might be buying a new bridle depending on what I find out and if I think I really need it in the end. =)
I am thinking about getting a single ear headstall. Like this....

Or this....

 One thing that I was thinking about doing....but not sure of you can.....is getting a single ear hackamore bridle? Is there such a thing? I recently heard, for the first time, about a bit-less bridle. Do any of you have any yays or nays about those?

                                                           Hackamore Bridle


One of my goals for this summer, is to work on Chester's leg cues. I am really hoping that by the end of the summer, I will be able to ride tack-less a little bit. My point is, I don't know if I should spend the money on a bridle when I'm not sure if I'm going to use it a whole lot.

Here are some pictures of the saddle pad and lead rope I got.

                                                                             Purple!

                                             I tied it up like that myself! Did I do it right? Haha!

                                                                  I think it's brand-new!

                                    Lets see how many pictures of a lead rope I can take!
    Just kidding! =)

 Here's my purple saddle pad! Have you ever tried to take a picture of a saddle pad? It can be quite hard. Well, if you want it to stand up. They don't like to stand up on their own. Hence my foot...

                        This might be used, or could be new. It was a good price and I liked it!         



Blessings to all my wonderful followers!