Looking sharp after our walk around the perimeter. I am so excited, I can't even tell you. I will put some videos up soon too!
Thursday, June 7, 2012
A couple photos
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Behind the Scenes: The Premise
I started this blog to document the adventures of me and my new girl (elder sibling to the canines), Cecilia. I'm the proud new mama and friend of a 5 year old, off-the-track thoroughbred mare with a whole lot of heart and personality. This girl is special and I absolutely cannot wait to start our adventure together.
Cecilia retired from steeplechasing in March of 2012 due to an injury to her front right leg. Formerly of Jonathan Sheppard's stable, she came to Greenfields a few weeks ago. The first time Priscilla showed her to me, I thought she was cute. The first time I rode her I thought she was really special. This girl is very much a racehorse at heart-- I can tell she has such a sense of pride from her time at the track, and, from what I understand, she's earned it!
She's relaxed in the field, but as soon as we get about halfway to the barn her ears prick up, she starts walking a mile-a-minute and she gets the wild-eyes. We're cross-tying in the washstall for now. She paws and fidgets as she's learning her new surroundings.
Today was our first ride without anybody to keep us company. We spent a good deal of time walking around the rink, on a shorter rein at the beginning of the ride and on a longer towards the end once she had settled. She has a delightful spring to her step and it's clear she is full of energy and ready to go! She seems willing to work on the small jobs I would give her, and I'm sure our communication skills will improve with every ride. She is even responding to inside leg pressure when I try to move her back out to the rail when she sneak to the inside of the rink. She did not appreciate my request for a moment of stillness as I tried to fix my stirrups, but we eventually figure it out. We walked up the drive a little ways and then back to the barn. She was jazzed from our ride and did not want to stand while I sponged her off or tried to sponge her bridle marks. She also does not like peppermint (will find out if this is just in general or just when she's excited).
We walked back to the field in a zig-zag pattern that I engineered, as her best attempt to bee-line for the gate put her a solid 3-4 steps ahead of me (apparently 4 legs carry a faster pace than 2.) ;) Having her do a couple impromptu circles or a few steps towards the rink seemed to calm her down. I took her halter off and asked her to stand with the leadrope around her neck before I let her go (at which point she tore ass down the field to her buddies, who didn't move a muscle.) Bella was of course happy to see her.
Cecilia is starting her new life off-the track and I am so happy to be a part of it. I appreciate the difficulty that comes with change and I am so excited to start this journey with her. I will post more pictures later, and will also be signing this into reality soon! So very, very excited and grateful to PAG. for her help and generosity getting us here.
Now, I have polo (not on Cecilia of course, haha), so I have to go! Thanks for reading-- much, much more (words AND pictures and videos) to come.
Cecilia retired from steeplechasing in March of 2012 due to an injury to her front right leg. Formerly of Jonathan Sheppard's stable, she came to Greenfields a few weeks ago. The first time Priscilla showed her to me, I thought she was cute. The first time I rode her I thought she was really special. This girl is very much a racehorse at heart-- I can tell she has such a sense of pride from her time at the track, and, from what I understand, she's earned it!
She's relaxed in the field, but as soon as we get about halfway to the barn her ears prick up, she starts walking a mile-a-minute and she gets the wild-eyes. We're cross-tying in the washstall for now. She paws and fidgets as she's learning her new surroundings.
Today was our first ride without anybody to keep us company. We spent a good deal of time walking around the rink, on a shorter rein at the beginning of the ride and on a longer towards the end once she had settled. She has a delightful spring to her step and it's clear she is full of energy and ready to go! She seems willing to work on the small jobs I would give her, and I'm sure our communication skills will improve with every ride. She is even responding to inside leg pressure when I try to move her back out to the rail when she sneak to the inside of the rink. She did not appreciate my request for a moment of stillness as I tried to fix my stirrups, but we eventually figure it out. We walked up the drive a little ways and then back to the barn. She was jazzed from our ride and did not want to stand while I sponged her off or tried to sponge her bridle marks. She also does not like peppermint (will find out if this is just in general or just when she's excited).
We walked back to the field in a zig-zag pattern that I engineered, as her best attempt to bee-line for the gate put her a solid 3-4 steps ahead of me (apparently 4 legs carry a faster pace than 2.) ;) Having her do a couple impromptu circles or a few steps towards the rink seemed to calm her down. I took her halter off and asked her to stand with the leadrope around her neck before I let her go (at which point she tore ass down the field to her buddies, who didn't move a muscle.) Bella was of course happy to see her.
Cecilia is starting her new life off-the track and I am so happy to be a part of it. I appreciate the difficulty that comes with change and I am so excited to start this journey with her. I will post more pictures later, and will also be signing this into reality soon! So very, very excited and grateful to PAG. for her help and generosity getting us here.
Now, I have polo (not on Cecilia of course, haha), so I have to go! Thanks for reading-- much, much more (words AND pictures and videos) to come.
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