Expanding Derpy Days

So I have been thinking of adding some new stuff on to Derpy Days products.

Right now I offer stirrup bags. I am going to be adding personalized stirrup bags and I would like to add on bit warmers as well. If I can get the design for it, I will probably be adding polo wraps as well :)

We shall see!

One example of personalized Stirrup Bags, I had a lot of fun making these:

I have changed my design a little to have elastic tops instead of the drawstrings. I will admit, it's easier on me to make but I like the look better without the strings as well. and it makes them easier to use.

It's the end of the year and i'm feeling nostalgic

So I have not been very good at keeping this thing updated with our progress. I blame school :) Damn education!

Anywho, my goal for next year is to update much more frequently. I have a feeling 2013 will be the year of progress. We are right on the cusp of reaching my first goal of being able to canter jumps again. Right there. Once I figure out what to do with this bit of PTSD I have acquired, we will be there. Though, I would like to mention that in my last lesson I made a huge leap over my fear for the first time ever. I started having a panic attack and somehow managed to push myself through it quite quickly and move on.

Back story: I was doing some gymnastics. First feat of the day was that I got over every jump the first time without any mental run outs. After going through the set a couple times, something triggered my anxiety and I had an attack. I was so frustrated because I had gotten so far already that day. He was being a rockstar. A little fast on the exit but wonderful. Picking  his feet up great. He loves gymnastics. He really has to use his body for it. And then BAM panic attack. I was so angry. I just screamed a profanity. Patted him and told him he was a good boy and forced myself to do it and I DID! holy crap! It was awesome!!!! It's the first time I have ever been able to make myself do something without physically becoming unable.

So we are getting there. 2013 is a new year full of new adventures!

I hope everyone has a great New Year and had great holidays!

Derp says Happy Holidays!

Show Success!

We went to a show last month. We ended up Reserve champion in one of the two divisions we entered. I am so proud of him. He had never been out to this facility. There was a lot going on, kids running around, and he was still a champ! There were so many good pictures! But here is my favorite.

I am going to buy the rest eventually!

We ended up with a Second in Adult Hunter, third in Adult Pleasure and First in Adult Equitation. In the next division, I only did two of the classes. Second in EQ on the Flat and third on Pleasure on the Flat.

Emotions in Riding

"Horses are very keen on body language, and what I refer to as 'presence', and expression. They know quite a bit about you before you ever get to ‘em. They can read things about you clear across an arena." - Buck Brannaman

 

With this thought in mind, I think it's important to realize how much our horses do and forgive us for. They know our moods, our emotions, our thoughts most of the time before we even do and yet they still choose to work with us and forgive us for most things. And those times that they don't, maybe that is their way of challenging us to move on and move forward. It's something to think about.

 

 

Professional Photos??? CHA!!!!

I took pictures of the professional photos I bought from the show! I love them!

Our first show in a year and a half!

He was a rockstar! I was the least nervous I have ever been at a show. I drove us out too :)

We only did flat classes as we are not quite ready for over fences classes. But it was still so much fun. There was about 12 people in each of our classes. So we did not place but I didn't really go to place. I went to get out there. To show myself how much we have improved and improved we have!!! He was calm and relaxed. He listened to me (minus counter bending to look at everything). He was steady in the trot. Not rushing forward and flying around the ring. When we cantered, he got his leads the first time and beautifully straight from me asking for them. I could not have asked for more!

He is pretending to be a Tennessee Walker here :)                               Steady and calm!

Up until now

Riding wise, August was uneventful. Sometime between July and August, I had to change farriers again. The farrier I was using was losing a lot of money by coming out to me and she didn't want to have to charge me a ton to make up for it. She suggested a guy and so I called him.

Awesome awesome choice. I love him. He is thorough and meticulous. A little rough around the edges but he is dedicated to each of the horses he works with. He made the effort to call my previous farrier and get her opinion on America's feet and where she was with him and what she was doing.

The first time he worked on them, America ended up too short. Which is why he called. This was when I started to second guess whether he needed to stay barefoot. It didn't really make sense why he was so sore.

The second time he worked on him, he barely took anything off. Did just enough. By this time, I was almost completely decided on putting shoes back on him, but my farrier wanted to see how he did. When after this very minimal trim was done, I was there watching and when he was cleaning up his feet, I could see the bruising everywhere. All around the edges. The frog. Everything, everywhere. No wonder he was so sore.

By this point, the farrier said to give him a few days. If he was still really sore, he wanted to do xrays because  he believes there is more going on. So after a week of being sore, I called him and told him and promptly got an appointment to get xrays done.

AND BOY O BOY AM I GLAD I DID THAT!

He has two completely different feet. He's got high/low syndrome as well. And the kicker of it all, he literally has half the depth of sole that he needs to have. The vet believes that it is genetic. He said that we could possibly get some  sole to grow but not enough for him to be comfortable. The guy weighs 1300 lbs. He is at .6 cm and should be over 1cm. I instantly felt like a horrible mother :( but the vet said that taking his shoes off helped him to grow healthier hooves all around.

But here are the xrays if anyone is interested in seeing what they look like!