The past month

    Yikes! It's been a month since I've blogged! I've been keeping up with reading everyone's blogs but just haven't had the time, or really, inspiration, to blog recently. It's been a long, LONG, winter here in the northeast. Going around and around in the indoor has gotten old fast. The trails and roads are still covered with ice, and I think everyone is ready for a good hack, especially me and Finn. Finn has been wonderful and uncomplicated. I haven't been getting to the barn as much as I like, but when I do, our rides are really good. I think the SI injections helped a bunch. He has been so much more supple. When the vet was out for Spring shots a few weeks ago she caught the end of our lesson and commented on how amazing he looked. Yay!
    Speaking of lessons...I've unfortunately had to stop taking them. My trainer has not yet renewed her off property insurance, and without it, she's not allowed to teach at the barn. Michelle has been riding him a few times a week and jumping him once a week, since her horse is currently laid up with an injury, and he is doing really well with her. She's been jumping baby courses with him, and he is really enjoying himself and doing great.
     I've been thinking more and more about moving him. I just can't see us preparing for a show with him an hour away from me. There also aren't any good trainers in that area, and all the good trainers won't travel that far. I found a barn literally 10 minutes from my house, that borders Water's Edge Farm, a very well known eventing barn with a great trainer. If I boarded at the barn next door I would be able to hack over to Water's Edge, take lessons, and use their indoor/outdoor/and jumps for a fee. It would cost about $400 more a month, with regular lessons, than I'm paying now, but I will be saving about $200 a month in gas alone, and be getting some quality training. The barn next door also has acres of grass turnout, big stalls, and miles and miles of trails (including the local hunt club's trails complete with x-country fences). The owner should have an opening on May 1st, and if she does, we will hopefully be moving.
       I just can't have my horse this far away from me anymore. Two weeks ago Finn was playing halter tag with his buddies, and one of the geldings got him right around the sensitive skin on his eye. He had a little cut, that I cleaned and put some antibiotic cream on, and it wasn't that bad even though his eye swelled a bit. He got some bute in his PM grain, and AM grain the next day. The next day the barn manager called me and said Finn's eye was really swelled, even though the cut looked fine. I got about 4 text messages, and two calls about how bad his eye was...until finally she called and said it looked like his eye was disappearing, it was so swollen. So, that Friday night me and Matt drove up to the barn after work in a panic, ready to call the vet. It took us almost 3 hours to get there in rush hour traffic. Matt literally ran up to his stall, threw the door open, and said "you've got to be kidding me". His eye was FINE. It was a little swollen, but no worse than it had been the day before. And that was when I learned that the barn manager exaggerates.
    I hate not being able to just pop up and check on him, or brush him. If I moved him to this new barn I won't even have to get on the highway. I really hope it works out.
    Oh, and we also got a truck!! A 2004 Ford F-150. It is so nice to be a two car family again!

Finn in his BOT sheet, which has made a BIG difference in warm up!

My cute little scarface.

Starting her early...Addie reading her horse book

The new truck!


Here's a video of Michelle and Finn jumping...sorry so blurry, our indoor is dark!

Also, be sure to check out the contest over at SprinklerBandits blog here, for Riding Ninja apparel. Super cute stuff!