Girl Power!

I don't think I have talked about it too much on my blogs, but I have a deep love for mares. I know some people detest them, refuse to even consider owning one...but I love them, hormones and all.

Casey put me with Amber in my last lesson. Around 15hh, give or take, stocky. I didn't ask, but I am 99.99% sure she's a QH. I mean, she is QH up and down and all around.

She's chestnut, and in a totally non-serious way I joked about 'chestnut mare syndrome'. You know, everyone says chestnut mares are 'crazy'.

Anyway, this is a cute mare. Neck is a little 'upside down', but it looks like more lack of muscle in the right area than conformational. I know she's in a corkscrew full cheek snaffle, and even Casey admitted it was too harsh for her at this point, but at one time she really needed it because she was very hard-mouthed when she first came to the barn because she had been cowboyed and rough ridden a bit in her previous home. She was a little mouthy at first, I suppose she's used to beginner's hands, but she figured out very quickly that my contact was going to be soft and quiet and lowered her head and stopped chomping so much.

Now, I have fallen in LOVE with this mare, because her trot is like nothing I have ever felt before. It was INCREDIBLE. Just incredible. It was so smooth I could, no exaggeration, just sit it like I was walking. I almost thought she was gaited at first. It was amazing...

I'll be cantering next week, but Casey has stated to me she's not trying to hold me back, just scoping out my riding skills at a slower pace - which is good. I have a feeling she sometimes gets students who...exaggerate about their riding experience. Haha.

So all is well and I'm very happy. Even though I miss Jack, I cannot seem to stop myself from being attracted to this mare. I just loved her! And she even saved me when I was cleaning her stall. I tripped on the corner of the stall mat, and went flying, and crashed into her, and she stood stone still and allowed me to gain my balance on her without even flinching, although she did look at me in a way that I knew in some equine way, she was laughing at me.

She's only 8 too. Not totally green, but still young. Really a great age. Most of the baby 'sillies' are out, but at the same time, the energy is still there, and there is more ahead of them to learn. Kind of like when young teens move up to high school. ;)

I may not be riding next Tuesday though. Well, I might. I dunno, we'll see. I stumped my toe this afternoon outside and I ripped my big toenail half off and jammed the toe pretty bad. Man, it is hurting. I have to say it's more painful than anything I've ever experienced up to this point. It aches, burns and throbs all at once. The exposed nail bed is okay, it's just the sides where it was ripped out...it's just disgusting and painful, and I almost want to have an amputation done.

I hope it's better though, I want to ride. But it's too painful for me to bend it back down, and it's too swollen for me to cut the pieces digging into my skin on the sides of the bent part. I have the worst luck sometimes...you know, I meet up with this awesome mare who may be a great help in helping me not get depressed and 'closed up' about giving up Jack, and I injure myself clumsily after the first ride, in a way that renders me possibly unable to ride. That's okay, I'll ride stirrupless if I have to. Promise to get pics next week.