About this Blog

Meet my very 1st horse, Lazarus.
I couldn't wait for Santa anymore or ask one more time for a pony for my bday (after age 30 it got embarrassing). I took matters in my own hands and I finally decided to pick a pony that needed a new home. Laz found me as I contemplated with this idea. He was sweet yet very sassy, fresh off the track, Thoroughbred (OTTB).
Join us for our re-training, rehabbing from laminitis and testing all parts of mixed up horsemanship and partnership, and luck...

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Yoga Pants and gym shoes

My husband stretching pre run. He ran a 10K last Saturday that was hosted on a Ranch, so...I drug myself out of bed at 5:30 am to tag along.
"A ranch you say??? Ya, I'll come !"
Plus it was just 30 minutes west of Laz so I knew I could work in a visit on the way back
While he ran, I was stalking the barn trying to get in...to no avail
They had trail rides but the first one left at 10, which was when he was finishing his race.
DARN it
How random is this?! A Perch and a POA?? Now where have we seen this before ;)
Klein and Mocha doppelgangers!
On this ranch, you can CAMP WITH YOUR HORSE! Can you see the two black Tennessee walkers? 
I.want.to.camp.with.Laz.
Campgrounds, miles of horse trails...and um excuse me, a new pool.
Uh yea. I'm down with that.
Good job Billy!
RunnerFace
Next up, our pony visit on the way home!
A quick demo of "How to freak your pony"


Laz is down with a good freakin'
I FINALLY used my new pad I bought in April at the Rolex. 
It's from Horze and it's YELLOW and shiny and puffy as I struggled with his girth.
OOOFff
My tall, dark and handsome boy
 Yoga pants and nikes--yea, it happened
 Laz's cast is still on and this Saturday it will be two weeks..hoping for it to last at least 3

 Oh the truth hurts, nice chin up ;)


 Left lead is so good, Right lead has spotty moments. I'm not pushing it until he has re-balanced 
 Our 'extended' trot


 Loving this barn time

 Classic face
Classic attire ;)
But wait my pad matches my laces-boo ya

Last Tuesday, Mason woke up stiff and sore. The worse we've ever seen. Randomly too as he hadn't really done anything new or different. He couldn't walk. He laid down and would cry when he tried to move. I cancelled my appointments, put a towel around his rib cage and took him right to the vet. I do NOT mess around when it comes to my Mason.
Billy came to meet us there on his way home. Mason was so happy
 
He was diagnosed with overall body soreness. Being 10+ yrs, it's bound to happen.
We got two scripts of painkillers/muscle relaxers and in 36 hours he felt better.
 Pudgie was very concerned and wouldn't leave his brothers side.
For two weeks, Mason has to rest/heal so no barn time for this brown angel.
He will get new bloodwork to make sure meds didn't react with his liver/kidneys and we'll have a script on hand to use as needed for him. For big swim days, etc. Just on days when this old man needs a little additional comfort. It was a jolt of reality for us. Mason isn't a puppy anymore. But thankfuly, he is currently happy and pain free and moving.
***
 This Wednesday, we were supposed to have a lesson but it got cancelled so we worked on cavaletti exercises
This is what Laz thought of them
What was awesome was I had him on the lunge, while I yanked out two of the cavalettis out of our storage stall, drug it out to the field, all the while he walked next to me. Not a care in the world.
 We worked on w/t/c over two poles and stopping, one foot over at a time, backing up, etc and he got a lot of licorice nibs for being stellar
 Thursday am, the BO and I set plans for a trail ride.
The weather was perfect, sunny and 68
 Walking through with our baby boys
Some of our friends we saw out on the trail
 Laz and I leading (side note, does anyone else wear a sad fanny pack so you can carry your phone/treats? I want a nice one, not like Gucci nice, just better than Walmart-le sigh. Why doesn't the horse industry make a cool one?!)
The trails are just so pretty, we are so lucky to have them and do not take them for granted. 
Riding in Michigan is pretty phenomenal.

Posted by at
Labels: , , , , ,

12 comments:

  1. CarlyAugust 16, 2013 at 9:33 AM

    That's why I only buy breeches with deep zip pockets!

    ReplyDelete
  2. julietteAugust 17, 2013 at 9:24 AM

    Way to go Billy on the race!

    That photo of you stalking the barn is adorable!

    Love the horsey yoga - and attire - who really cares - you ride more than perfectly outfitted "equestrians" !

    Sending healing young prayers to Mason. Love that Pudgie for his brotherly nursing and love.

    Yellow pad rocks - and Laz is gorgeous btw.

    Your trails are the very best - so jealous.

    Totally with you about the fanny pack. I looked forever for one and never found it. My mom gave me an ugly black horrible thing she had (surely from Walmart in the 90s) and I use it and hate it the whole time. Another fabulous business for us to do since we never have time to do all these great ideas because we are too busy loving up our four legged sweeties.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kristen Eleni ShellenbargerAugust 27, 2013 at 8:15 PM

      I know..I was like "If I make a cool fanny pack would anyone buy it??" and then I realized NO b/c there is NO cool fanny pack lol. SO handy though!

      Delete
  3. lmelAugust 21, 2013 at 6:23 AM

    Gave up on fanny packs and now use saddle pads with pockets or clip a small water bottle bag onto the dee rings, if your saddle has them, or in my case, onto the front dee and breastplate ring. Cashel also makes an English pommel saddlebag, but I have no experience with it.

    Oooo, camping with horses is so much fun. Did it all my summers as a camper and counselor in VT, riding place to place. So much fun--hope to do it with Harley some day.

    Love the yellow pad, looks nice and soft!

    Hope poor Mason feels better soon. Nice that his brother is right by his side.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kristen Eleni ShellenbargerAugust 27, 2013 at 8:16 PM

      Yes, I have looked at those pads and yes I could clip items to my saddle--BUT the fanny pack is so handy when I do ground work too, so I prefer it on me vs him. xx

      Delete
  4. Liz StoutAugust 22, 2013 at 8:30 AM

    Yellow looks AMAZING on him!

    Positive vibes for Mason-dog!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kristen Eleni ShellenbargerAugust 27, 2013 at 8:16 PM

      Thanks I adore the yellow on him too. He likes vivid colors (he told me) ;)

      Delete
  5. Karen W.August 22, 2013 at 9:40 PM

    Hey there to the best-animal-mom-ever :-)

    Is there a chiro in your area who adjusts dogs? Chiro and acup work great on them too!

    Also, (you may already do this)getting them off grains can have insane pain reduction effects as it reduces inflammation.
    There are some great grain free dog foods on the market now (just please not Blue Buffalo- crappy food).

    My last dog lived 21 years (only started ailing at 20). She was a 75 pound collie mix. I took her when she was 6 from a horrifyingly abusive man, she was eating ant infested kibble and bits. She and all my dogs ate/eat only 1/2 cooked ground beef, steamed veggies, organic chicken organs (heart and liver mostly), probiotics, and freeze dried cod skins from Polka Dog. Sometimes I use Stella & Chewys.

    No dentals needed ever ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kristen Eleni ShellenbargerAugust 27, 2013 at 8:19 PM

      Ok Soooo many thoughts there. First, SERIOUSLY 21 yrs?! Is that for real????! WOW. 2nd; I just am in process of switching him from his Nutro food to Orijen grain free..hoping it helps! Any input on that brand???
      I tried cooking for him/doing raw and he just didn't handle it well digestive wise... I do still feed him sardines or mackeral or salmon in can-no salt added, etc(more for a treat and for the omegas).
      Laz's chiro does acupuncture too and has worked on Mason--he is actually the one who told me LAST year that his right elbow was hurting him--a year before any signs popped up. He'll be getting another treatment soon when I can get him back out to the barn.

      Delete
  6. baystatebrumbyAugust 28, 2013 at 5:55 PM

    It is so lovely how you love your animals. I wish everyone did. Any infested dog food? That guy's going right to hell...if you believe in such a place. (I do for the animal abusers!)
    PS LOVE that yellow saddle pad. What fun!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Achieve1dreamOctober 15, 2013 at 3:28 PM

    I'm glad Mason is okay. :D I feed my dogs raw. The trick is to not mix raw and dog food. A lot of people like to slowly wean them onto it, but it's best not to because they move through the digestive system at different speeds (dog food slows down raw food and causes probs) and use different kinds of stomach acid. It's best to fast him for a day (or as long as you can before he drives you crazy if he's like my Beagle X) and then feed only raw meat. :) After being on raw for a year I can easily give them other stuff and they don't have a problem with it at all. Sometimes they will get gassy but that's all. Good luck if you decide to try it again. :)

    Laz looks great! I'm glad you're having so much fun with him. I hope you get to go camping with him!

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)