Not-So-Speedy Dressage
From Endurance to Dressage
The boys and I have been in our new home for a full month now. While I can't speak for them, I am loving the new place. Even though they don't speak "people," all signs suggest that Speedy and Izzy are happy too. Speedy shares his living space with a very kind gelding named Willy. During the day, Speedy stays in his paddock while Willy enjoys the turn out. At dinner time, the ranch owner locks Willy in and opens Speedy's gate. The boys get along really well and spend most of their time visiting over the fence. It's been a long time since Speedy has had daily contact with a friend. I think he needed it. I can't say that Izzy is any less energetic in his huge turn out, but I do know that he keeps himself busy. The live-in caretaker has remarked several times how funny it is to see Izzy playing with his barrel or cantering laps. His holes are shallow, but they're still there. No one gets upset by them, and the caretaker kindly smooths them out now and again for Izzy's safety. It took him a while, but Izzy now uses every square inch of his home. He's learned to follow the shade, and he visits with his neighbors when they're around. I see him hanging out next to the stallion quit often even though they are separated by a double fence line. As for me, I am finding ranch life to be very relaxing. I no longer do all of the chores that I did at my last barn which means I spend more time with my horses, yet I get home sooner. I used to shovel all of the cubes into buckets for my boys' twice daily feeding (and ultimately was doing one of the other horse's buckets too). Now, the ranch owner takes care of the feeding regimen. She adjusts the hay quantity each day based on what was consumed the day before. If Izzy leaves a lot, she feeds him a little less at the next feeding, but when he eats most of it, she throws him extra. No one worries about hay scattered on the ground. If there's enough, we gather it up and feed it to the group of horses across from Izzy. I no longer have to buy supplemental hay which saves me both time and money. Speedy gets fed a fair amount less than Izzy, but his hay is also closely monitored. The ranch owner knows how important it is to me that the boys have hay in front of them 24 hours a day, so she makes sure that neither boy's feed bin is ever empty. I also love that the bulk of Izzy's diet is a high quality grass hay with alfalfa to round out his ration. He gets all he can eat without me having to worry about him getting too energetic from the calorie dense alfalfa. And now that both boys are on Platinum Performance with some added beet pulp, I feel that their nutritional and turnout needs are more than being met. That's another way I save time at the barn; I no longer have to rotate horses through daily turnout. Izzy is out all of the time, and Speedy gets out 12 hours a day. On the days I don't ride Speedy (too many of those lately), it's not a big deal as he'll be out all night. I also don't have to clean paddocks anymore. I am not even sure who does Speedy's. It's either the ranch owner or the live-in caretaker. I've done it maybe three times in the past month, and that was because I just wanted to hang out with Speedy. I can't believe how much time it saves me in the afternoons to not be responsible for that job. My absolute favorite time-saver at the ranch is not having to water the arena anymore. I did that for so many years and hated every minute of it. The sprinklers were heavy, muddy, and I always ended up with water dribbling down into my muck boots. While the ranch's arena is a little dusty, it settles so quickly that I hardly notice it. Since the arena is getting used every day now, the ranch owner has already ordered a product that practically eliminates dust. She applied it a number of years ago, but it has since worn off. I love that she is concerned enough about my riding experience to make it even better. When I show up at the barn now, I am not racing around to set up sprinklers, fill feed buckets, and clean both paddocks all before I can ride. I hardly notice the poop in Speedy's stall as I know someone else is going to clean it up. I don't worry about how much hay Izzy has and whether I need to supplement with more. I don't worry about how deep his newest hole is or what part of the barn might be torn down while he was bored. In fact, I don't worry about anything anymore.
So yeah, new barn is working out great, and life is good. Very good. 9/6/2016 06:42:12 am
Not having to clean poop and worry about ponies... lucky you! I keep my girls at home. while I love seeing them out my windows, I am considering boarding out one of my mares come mud season so I can still work her and maybe have less to worry about. 9/6/2016 05:22:57 pm
You know, I've had my horses at home, and I really enjoyed it. It wasn't as time consuming then becauseI I cold do a few minutes of chores in the morning, late afternoon, and even at night. As a boarder, I have to do all of the chores and ride. When i do that it's a 4 hour event. Eliminating the poop cleaning, watering, and feeding saves me tons of times. I love it!
Appydoesdressage
9/6/2016 09:20:07 am
I love it when you think things are okay, but then change situations and find yourself SO much happier than you were. Congrats on the move being so much better for you! 9/6/2016 05:26:32 pm
You said it better than I could. I am so happy that you were able to figure out what I was trying to say. You are exactly right - it was great where I was before, and I WAS happy. It turns out that I didn't like doing all those chores as much as I thought I did LOL! Every time I feel like I would want to keep my horses at home, I remember how I feel on the weekends when I go out and clean stalls/feed/bring in or turnout, and then I remember that I like not having to pick up after my horse 24/7, just a couple hours on the weekend. Not having to do all that makes a big difference in personal wear and tear! 9/6/2016 05:27:48 pm
It totally does! I am much less tired in the evenings and find that my barn time is way more relaxing. I now have time to groom more slowly and just slow things down. :0)
marlane
9/6/2016 03:47:56 pm
I was curious as to what kind of grass hay is fed ? 9/6/2016 05:29:05 pm
I could be wrong, but it comes from Oregon, and I think it's just orchard grass (what we call plain old grass). It looks exactly like cut grass - there are no seed or grain parts. 9/6/2016 05:30:30 pm
Thank you, Teresa. Having them home would be the best, but since that isn't going to happen any time soon (been down that road already), this seems like a great compromise. I still get to do all my own care, but someone else is doing the manual labor. :0) 9/12/2016 05:46:16 am
Thanks, Olivia. The turnout was the number one reason I moved. It's really hard to find here, too. I had an unusual week last week and wasn't able to be at the barn for three days straight (that NEVER happens). I never worried though as I knew my boys were not cooped up. 9/8/2016 01:09:18 pm
I've done a little loop between full care, working board, full care, and now I have my horse at home. It is the perfect medium for me. The part of his stall that actually gets cleaned is teeny enough to only take me a few minutes and it can go a few days if I'm busy. Feeding is easy and I love how happy he gets when I give him his mash. Even in the winter with feeding all of the horses (everyone else is on pasture right now) I don't expect a single "chore" night to take me more than 15 minutes. And the best part is that I am already at home and can mix and match tasks! 9/12/2016 05:48:02 am
You are so right! When I've had mine at home, the good thing was that you could spread your chores out throughout the day. As a boarder, I have to do all of it in one visit which can really add up. Eliminating some of them has really helped me be able to relax and enjoy my time more.
lytha
9/12/2016 02:07:00 am
My trimmer saw how much hay was lying under the hay nets and said "You can make them eat that - don't let them tell you it's no good cuz it touched the ground." I thought, Hm.....how? Well, my first attempt was to make them hungry enough they had to, but that felt mean. So I just shook it around to get the dust off, and then stuffed it back in a net with fresh hay. It worked! 9/12/2016 05:49:36 am
I recycle hay daily! I scoop up what I can and put it back in the feeders. Our hay is so good right now that there are no coarse stems. As long as it doesn't get too trodden on, everyone will still eat it.
lytha
9/12/2016 02:12:30 am
You have such nice bridles and you hang them from hooks!? Oh dear! 9/12/2016 05:50:35 am
They're not that nice, and since they get used daily, none of them have time to lose their shape. :0) Comments are closed.
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About the Writer and RiderI am a lifelong rider.
I began endurance riding in 1996 where I ultimately completed five, one-day 100 mile races, the 200-mile Death Valley Encounter, and numerous other 50, 65, and 75 mile races. I began showing dressage in 2010. Welcome to my dressage journey. About Speedy GSpeedy went from endurance horse to dressage horse. After helping me earn a USDF Bronze medal in the summer of 2020, he is now semi-retired. Speedy is a 2004, 15'1 hand, purebred Arabian gelding. His Arabian Horse Registry name is G Ima Starr FA.
About IzzyIzzy was started as a four-year old and then spent the next 18 months in pasture growing up. I bought him as a six-year old, and together, we are showing at the lower levels. He is a 2008, 16'3 hand warmblood gelding. His Rheinland Pfalz-saar International (RPSI) name is Imperioso.
National Rider AwardsState Rider Awards
State Horse Awards
Working Towards:
CDS Sapphire Rider Award Third Level: 63.514% Third Level: 62.105% Fourth Level: Fourth Level: 2023 Show Season
Show Rating (***) CDS/USDF/USEF (*) CDS (s) Schooling (c) Clinic (r) Ride-a-Test Clinic 2023 Show Schedule
TBD 2023 Completed … Pending 2023 Qualifying Scores
Regional Adult Amateur Competition (RAAC) Qualifying Training Level 3 Scores/2 Judges/60%: Score 1: Score 2: Score 3: Archives
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