Nippy

Who doesn't like to feed their horse his favorite treats? Kwik would probably do just about anything for a peppermint. He can hear the crinkle of a peppermint wrapper from a mile away, and once he sees you with one, his eyes light up like Christmas, his ears perk straight up, and he makes what I like to call the "GIMME!" face. It's adorable. But the minute I give him a treat, he proceeds to nose and nip around my hands and pockets for the duration of my time with him. He's never outright tried to bite me, but I certainly don't want him to learn how. I know owners who don't allow hand feeding for this very reason. Placing treats in his feed tub after our ride seems to help, but where's the fun in that? Is there a right and wrong way to treat your horse? Is there a way to treat your horse and discourage nippy behavior at the same time? Help! :-)

On another note, we are all set to move to the new barn on the 29th. I can't wait to get Kwik settled into his new home and back to work. I feel like we're just on pause until then, but forget the visions of sugar plum fairies. I've got the promise of trail rides, dressage lessons, and jumping sweet jumps dancing in my head!

Happy Holidays!!!

Why?

"Why?" is the question we are all asking. Why would someone commit such a tragic, senseless act of violence? Even answers will not bring back the precious lives lost on Friday. All we can do now is hug our loved ones a little tighter as we say a prayer for the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting and their families. Now, more than ever, it is important to remember that there are good things and good people left in this world. I was reminded when a certain bay horse greeted me at the gate on Saturday, and it felt good to smile during this time of incredible sadness.

I WON!

I never win anything. Well, that's not entirely true. One time NASCAR was doing a promotion at a hockey game (RIP Atlanta Thrashers), and you could enter to win a pair of tickets. NASCAR isn't really my cup of tea, but we were killing time before the game so I entered. A couple of weeks later, two tickets arrived in the mail. I put them up for sale on Craigslist, and two hours later Adam and I met a nice guy at a Publix and swapped the tix for 100 big ones!

Maybe my luck is changing! I entered a contest over at Behind the Bit for a chance to win a pair of horseshoe earrings from an online boutique called Pinklette and...... I WON!! I received the earrings in the mail the other day, and they are light, super sparkly, and just lovely! I'm definitley Pinklette's new biggest fan. The Equestrian, Nautical, Preppy, Palm Beach, Monogram, and Park Avenue collections include jewelry, handbags, scarves, and many other fun accessories. Basically I want one of everything! Here are some of my favorites:

Horseshoe earrings

Enamel Starfish earrings

Monogrammed Shoe Clips

The Julie handbag

Paris Studs

Belmont Bracelet

A big huge 'Thank You!' to Behind the Bit and Pinklette!

All I Want for Christmas

I love Christmas! I finally got my tree up on Friday, and that really got me into the spirit, so much so that I knocked out all of my shopping on Sunday (poor Kwik)! Then I spent an hour on the phone with my sister, and she asked me what I want for Christmas. Well Santa's Little Helper, since you're asking...

All I want for Christmas is a Danzig Brothers leather halter! For some reason I could never bring myself to spend the money to buy Finn a nice leather halter with a nameplate. To me, this is a special gift you give to your horse, and it is given when the horse becomes a part of the family (the horse probably doesn't care one way or another, but I like to think they do!). Something just didn't feel quite right with Finn, and now I know why. Kwik has earned this gift, and I can't wait to give him one! Plus, with the move coming up, he needs to make a good first impression! These halters come highly recommended via the horsey blogoshpere, and the price is amazing considering the quality. They are all so lovely though, and I'm having some difficulty figuring out which halter I like best. I love Kwik in black tack. He's a darker bay and black makes him look SHARP, but I'm leaning towards a Havana halter with black padding. Oh, I hope Santa gets the message! :)

These halters also come with a brass nameplate. I've been racking my brain for three months now trying to figure out a good show name for Kwik. I got nothing. He's just Kwik. My Kwik Bullet. So that's what he will be, and that's what I'll put on the nameplate!

What are you wishing for this Christmas?

Back in the Swing of Things

It has been hard getting back into the swing of things after Thanksgiving, but I finally made it out to the barn on Saturday. I wanted to free lunge Kwik for a bit in the round pen since he hadn't been ridden in almost two weeks, but when I got out to the arena the round pen was gone (already moved to the new farm). I went ahead and got on, and that ride was definitely not our best. Kwik was looky and full of energy, and I couldn't get my body to do what I wanted it to do at all. We've also hit a point where I *think* Kwik is wanting to stretch down and out, but I really can't tell if its true stretch (and I'm not strong enough to sit back and ride him forward) or he's figured out he can yank the reins out of my hands. This month may be a bust for regular lessons, but I'll get that going again as soon as we make the move in January. Weekly lessons will help up both trememdously.

Our Sunday ride was wonderful! Kwik was much more focused and felt great. Our routine of late has been direction changes- big loopy serpentines and changes of direction across the diagonal. Kwik loves to be crooked, and this type of work really gets him loosy goosy. I definitely rode better than the previous day, and we even got some nice canter work in. As we were finishing up, H and A came out to ride with us, so I took the saddle off and hopped on bareback. We just walked around to cool out, but it was a great first bareback ride!

B, who does night check, sent me this Kwik pic. Apparently he sleeps like this with his head propped up every night, and he grunts and nickers in his sleep <3