My boy Ace is doing super wonderfully these days. We have just progressed in leaps and bounds since getting access to a large arena back in November. At that point, we were happy to have forward, straightness, bending, and a little bit of ground pole work.
After three months of consistent, hard work, my handsome boy now:

walk, trot, canters
understands leads … most of the time
does amazing walk to canter transitions, and gets mad if I use more than a little bit of seat and clenching my outside calf muscle to ask …

You know that old saying, “time heals all wounds”? Even though I’m pretty sure it’s referring to broken hearts and the like, it sure does apply to our horses! From weight issues to hoof issues to injuries, time and patience seem to be the best thing we can give our horses.
That’s certainly been the case with Ace’s feet … that have dealt with flare issues, an abscess, bad thrush, and a toe crack all within the last year and a half. With patience and regular trimming, his feet are now …

I very much hesitate to put this in writing lest I jinx myself, but Ace has officially been sound for the longest stretch of our relationship. After the abscess of last December, the injury of April, and the infection of June, July, and August, Ace has been sound since the beginning of September! That’s four whole months in which we’ve been able to train without interruption!
Between that and access to a larger arena in which to work, we’re progressing amazingly.
A year ago, I was lucky if Ace went forward when …

My bad boy got a bit of a belly ache on Saturday night and really scared his momma!
Ok, he’s not bad. He’s actually pretty wonderful. We’ve had an awesome month filled with lots of riding. We now have a solid canter with snappy transitions and even have our leads mostly worked out. And we’ve been popping over crossrails and little 18″ verticals. And he’s starting to carry himself better; getting on the bit and rounding through his neck and back.
I left the barn at 4:00 Saturday afternoon after a short …

Ace has had one week and one day in his new home and is doing exceptionally well. We even went on our very first trail ride last Friday!
Moving Day
Moving day dawned cold, windy, rainy, and dropping in temperature. While it was gross for loading up my jump equipment and horse, it fit the mood as we prepared to leave our former home. The new barn owner and I took her trailer to get Ace, and after visiting with my friends for a while, it was time to head out.
We didn’t …

Big news in our world this week: Ace is moving down the road to a new barn on Saturday!
It’s a bittersweet time for us. I’m very excited for where we’re going and the new opportunities we’ll have, but I’m also very sad to be leaving where we are.
His current home is with some of my very closest friends, and we’ve had a wonderful experience out there. I couldn’t have afforded to keep him for the last year without their generosity. And I couldn’t have gotten through Ace’s early training without …