I had crazy horse experiences in Yuma for the past 3 yrs, meeting tons of new people, trying jumping, winning my first buckle at fair, learning my love for barrel racing, going through Princess and Sorrelle until I finally found my beautiful girl Phoenix, and learning a ton from a bunch of people who helped me along the way. I'm a little sad to go, but I'm super excited for all that awaits Phoenix and I in Tucson. We are ready to take our competition to the next level and I want to continue growing my horse knowledge.
Here are some pics from the 4 hr drive from Yuma to Tucson (takes a little longer than normal due to the horse trailer).
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| Me and my boy |
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| Max snoozing on me |
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| Snuggling with his daddy |
When we got to the ranch we would be staying at, we had some backing issues (with Phoenix not the truck). Phoenix gave an answering neigh to the interested horses and wanted to get out of the cramped trailer, but since she was spoiled last week in a slant with a ramp where she could turn around, Phoenix acted like she didn't know how to get out of the trailer.
She tried going forward out her window but she obviously didn't get far haha. And then when Phoenix eventually started backing up, she was nervous about stepping down. I eventually got her to exit the trailer and I turned her out into the arena so she could run around and my dad could put the trailer up.
It's funny cause Phoenix usually loves running around in the arena and I figured she would appreciate it after the trailer ride, but she walked around a little and rolled till she looked like a Dun horse and that's about it. While Phoenix chilled in the arena, I worked on transfering all of my horse tack from the trailer and truck into the tack room that Robin kindly gave me part of.
When I finished putting my crap away, I put Phoenix into her stall so she could adjust to the space and the neighbor (a cute palomino mare I believe) and get some cool water. As suspected, Phoenix drank a good amount of water and then inspected every inch of her new space (which is awesome by the way). She seemed to really like her new hay bucket and I think it's super cool. Here are some pics of her in her stall.
As you can see, it's spacious and has shade/rain coverage (when it actually rain haha) so it's perfect for my girl and I'm really happy with it. Robin did let me know that her vet recommended getting some type of sand regimen for Phoenix to help clear out her system because the ground makes the horses more susceptible to it down here. I will have to look into that cause I want to keep my girl as healthy as possible.
While Phoenix was chilling out in her stall, I got to work clearing out all the old poop that was in there and cleaning up her poop and old hay from the trailer. Then I dumped it and took her out to the wash rack to hose her down because I couldn't stand how dirty she was haha and it was 95 out. I tied my girl up and started hosing her off when she pulled her lead rope down the pole and ran to the opposite side of the wash rack. It's a little hard to wash your horse when they keep moving haha.
At this point Robin came out to give me our contract and she showed me how she likes to tie up her horses so they learn to stand still and can't run around the wash rack. I finished washing my girl and brushed her mane and tail out as she dried.
It was slowly getting hotter out and though it wasn't quite 100 yet, I know I would be pushing it riding Phoenix too hard in the heat. So I slipped on her English bridle with her snaffle bit and took her to the arena for a short workout.
I hopped on my girl and walked her around for a few laps before walking the barrel pattern. Not only is the arena big enough to actually have all 3 barrels up instead of just 2 like we used too, but Robin has cones set up to help with cues and turns.
Phoenix was calm and totally fine with the new surroundings. She listened well and stopped pretty good. My girl worked off of leg pressure well during the turns at the walk.
We trotted the pattern a few times while I figured out the turns. On our first run, Phoenix did good on the first two turns and I worked on keeping her shoulders from falling in with the turn, but she tried to turn too early for the third barrel, so I ended up circling her in the opposite direction and then taking her through the turn. The 2nd time was better and Phoenix isn't dropping her shoulder as much so she can take the turns not as wide as she used to, though we still need work.
We loped the pattern once (not race speed) because I need work on setting Phoenix up at the faster pace and she needs work on turning back on her hindquarters to get narrower, more balanced turns. It went well and Phoenix is improving. She didn't brace too bad and though our turns could be narrower, they weren't nearly as wide as she has done before. We took the barrels to the left first the whole day today because her better side is the right, so why not make two turns on our good side. We still need a lot of work but Phoenix and I are getting along well and working to improve our communication and pattern.
After loping the pattern a few times, I let Phoenix lope around the arena. She got excited a few times and I had to check her, but she listened well and slowed a little. We went to the right first because it's our good side, so of course she picked up the correct lead. Then I tried doing a flying lead change while turning to go in the opposite direction, and Phoenix did it! We loped to the left on the correct lead!
I slowed her down to a walk and walked her out (though she wasn't really hot) and then hopped off and took her out of the arena to slip on her halter and brush her out.
I brushed my girl down, put Corona on her cuts, and put her up in her new stall. I'm loving our new place and hope it continues to be good for us.
