The Greeting Committee

Lester and I have done this "greeting" job several times (wow and this time we got paid!). We stand at the front gate and wave to the people driving in. They wanted us up there starting our greeting at 6pm and I felt pressed for time :-x Kirsten and I agreed to not braid the horses manes because I wasn't going to have the time to do it coming from work and she wasn't going to have time coming from school...Too bad we didn't know the first person wasn't going to show up until 6:30! In order to stick with the color scheme I had to use a "hunter" pad which worried me the whole time. I felt like any minute his girth would start pinching sense part of the saddle billet was right next to his body. I also didn't get to really warm him up before heading up to just *sit* on his back. I had wanted to lunge him or work him a little bit to loosen up his back some. He was very good for the most part, did his job of mostly just having to stand around. Sometimes people have their windows down so you can talk to them and "greet" them, but most of the time not. One car drove in with some kids and the dad asked "Is this Dairy Queen"? I said, "No, it's the petting zoo, would you like to pet the horsies?" Course the kiddies did and they got out of the car, I had some sugar cubes in my pocket so I let them feed a couple to Less. Both horses were very good and stood like perfect gents, but a motorcycle went whizzing by and Less did turn to look at it, scared us all really, but luckily-he didn't-but if Less had swung his butt around more he would have just hit the car and not hurt the kids, would have scared mommy in the car, but that would have been better than stomping one of the kids. But again, Less just turned and looked, no harm done :-)

I sat on him for OVER an hour :-o and I don't even work him for that long! My left ankle was cramping and hurting and I know his back was getting tired. Less turned around and headed for the barn, he was done and so was I. At that point I hopped off, he got a bit jiggy and it certainly wasn't worth fighting over.

Me, Kirsten, Lester and Chase preforming our greeting duties

@one point the horses turned their heads and touch noses, but the "photographer" wouldn't take the shot cuz he said they looked "gay" :-x

Could have been a cute shot!

Pretty huh? I was asking him to step over closer to Chase

Perfect equitation:-)

Less is done:-)

Man I'm crooked!

Spring Pics

I have an awful time of trying to take pics of Lester unless Less is doing what he does best, eating:-)

This one just makes me bust out LOLing :-D

Wish I hadn't chopped his ears off in this one...

This one doesn't even "look" like him

Concentrating on chewing...

Pre-riding rituals

So Monday Less Man got the day off, he deserved it. He celebrated with a Reese's p-butter cup- he loves'em! I love'm too so he has to share.
On Tuesday he was pretty "trippy" with his hindend at the walk and trot. He got better though and didn't stumble at all in the canter. He *spooked* :-o though and I don't know what it was about, it wasn't a big one, and we were at a walk- just a hard stop and small turn.
He seems to be a bit more "girfy" (I like to replace th's with f's :-) at the moment. Is it due to shedding his coat out? Due to muscle development? Has he gotten way thinner and I haven't figured out what hole the girf should be on? I had to learn the hard way that Less is a gify boy- too lose and too tight are both equally as bad in his opinion. I've learned to position him so that he can walk off straight and get a "feel" for it after the first few girf ups, he also gets treats, either a carrot or sugar so that he's taken a breathe and not holding it in all this fuss seems to help on most days. If not this is what happens. First his eyes get really big and you can see the panic in his face, then you hear the sigh/squeal/grunt, then comes the *bow* (which would be rather cute and impressive if it wasn't followed by more squealing and a leap forward) :-/ most times after this I can settle him, but sometimes I have to start the whole process over again- sounds kinda lengfy, but it's not. I've got this ritual down to a science. After we leave the barn I tighten it the last few holes and make sure the saddle isn't sitting right on his shoulders and withers- yay I learned how to put on a saddle last year um about 20 years too late :-x I then proceed and buckle that stupid strap on the dressage pro Wintec that goes around the girf to hold your flaps down- for 11 years I have said I'm going to cut it off. If I don't lunge him I always trot him in hand before I get on, here's why :-) Yesterday's tacking up went pretty fine, I got a couple of those *looks* , but he walked off calmly and we made it out to the riding area. We did are usual *pivots* and turns to reintroduce Less to his back legs and he did those with no prob, walking -no prob. I go to jog him and he *blew up*, squealed and just rounded his back and *hopped* high into the air, I don't' even think it was a buck. He did it again. We walked some more and then I jogged him again, head shake, but no hop. Walked, jog again and he's fine :-) I never get on him until he will pick up the trot in hand nicely and calmly and comfortably.
He was a bit full of himself yesterday, but they stayed in all day, it was cool out and the Event tent was delivered... he was very forward,round and he wasn't stumbly, but he just seemed really keyed up. We went and scoped out the event tent which really got him worried, but he didn't spook so I was proud of him for that. He'd prefer people be in the tent I think, it's really *scary* when it looks like the tent ate up all the people that should be in there.

Conformation shot, feel free to critique, (I know your first instinct is to say how purty he is )I don't know much about confo and don't care, esp with him... and he looks grumpy because I made him stand there without being allowed to graze on that yummy grass, I know I'm so mean....

It's been a YEAR!

TODAY marks 1 year since Lester had his life saving surgery! I have to admit this makes me both ecstatic and a little nervous...I just don't want to jinx us. This year with Lester has been incredible and amazing, it was like getting to know him all over again and I am thankful for every day we are given now. It took me almost losing him to wake my ass up and appreciate him for well him! As we got closer and closer to this date I started to worry some, something this time last year caused him to colic. I know the vets said nothing I did made him colic and that it's something that just happened, but it's my nature to over think things. Less had lots of hurdles he had to pass and one of the big ones was time! VERY HAPPY 1 YEAR LESTER, HIS FIRST REBIRTHDAY!
If you're curious and haven't done so already you can scroll to the bottom and read about that fateful day or you can click here and read all my posts on the Ultimate Dressage BB as things happened... my username is LESSISMORE17 ;-)

I just can't even express in words how happy and thankful I am and how much I LOVE this guy!

Blown Away!

That title can describe the kind of day it was (very windy) and how I feel about Lester! The wind gusts were 25 to 40 mph and I rode him anyway. He didn't bat an eye at anything, the trees were blowing hard and he didn't shy once! We did walk, trot and canter both directions. He was soft in my hands and willing as can be, in fact I haven't worn riding gloves in a week now, he simply just doesn't pull anymore. Sure he's still a bit stiff to the right, but it is no where near as bad as it was... I rode him on Friday and he was a perfect pony then too. His canters were absolutely amazing, I could have cantered him forever, he was round, "up" and working off his hindend. I have always loved his canter, when we showed way back when he used to score a couple of "8's" back in the dressage show days;-) I even asked him to canter a couple of sepentines on his left lead which is difficult on a horse because this can really throw them off balance and they will swap leads or break to the trot. He didn't falter:-) After a ride like that was it possible I could love, enjoy and appreciate him more? Yes! I also rode him up the driveway for our cool down. We have an Event to get ready for, we are part of the equestrian greeting committee next Friday for a rehearsal dinner at the farm and then again for the Wedding in 2 weeks. We just get decked out in the show gear and smile and point to where the guests need to park. I hadn't taken him around the farm in a while so we needed some practice. He was a little tense going over the bridge, he almost felt like "ok I should be spooking now, but..."- it's like not in him anymore to spook. I know he will spook again at something, but it's not at *nothing* anymore :-) We got over the bridge fine and he relaxed some. The funny thing is when we turned around and headed back towards the barn he relaxed even more and was slower than he was going up the driveway.

Tomorrow marks 1 year since Lester had his colic surgery! I'll of course have alot more to say on that subject.

This photo is from John and Laura Parker's wedding in 2004, Less and I preforming one of our Equestrian Greeting committee duties...