Things to Think About When Buying Your First Horse

As I was trolling Facebook over my lunch hour today I came across an article that my friend and fellow horse trainer Caitlin Gammie had shared called 5 rules to Horse Shopping (which can be found by following this link http://www.horsecollaborative.com/rules-to-horse-shopping/ ). As I was reading through this article I started thinking about the preliminary things people should be doing before they even think about looking at a horse.

Be Prepared
Make sure you are putting the horse before the cart (haha) but actually. Know what you're getting into. It takes A LOT of work to have a horse. I had a lot of support from my family who were all equestrians, had been taking lessons for my whole life, and still didn't get my own horse until I was comfortable enough to do most things on my own. It is OK, preferable in fact to take riding lessons for years before you try and purchase your own horse.

Remember Every Horse Needs Maintenance
I like to use cars to compare with horses and this is a perfect example of why! Horses NEED maintenance. You don`t buy a car and drive it every day, never rotate your tires, never change the oil, use cheap bad quality gas that you got from your neighbour and then expect it to run at optimal performance! The same goes for your horse, When you take it from the trainer, it will be running at its best (hopefully). You are expected not only to maintain its needs but if you hope to keep that animal at its best you should be prepared to send it to the trainer, take lessons and always keep improving.


Consider Cost
Its not just the cost of the horse that's big, its the monthly expenses.The ferrier, the deworming, the vet, the lessons, the trainer, the chiropractor, the tack, replacing the tack when they step on your reins and snap them in half ect ect... So make sure you think within your budget, if you are leasing a horse or have the opportunity to ride many different horses through your training program then remember that is still a really great learning opportunity. When the day comes that you are able to afford your horse and the maintenance of it, it will be a happy day!! but speaking of price...

You get what you pay for
I think we have all come across those ads like this... I am in search of a bombproof horse that my 5 year old can show, who can do all the manoeuvres like a pro, has impeccable breeding, must be flashy, must be sound,must be an easy keeper, must be under $1500. Well I hate to break it to you (not really) but you are going to get what you pay for. If you saw a Lamborghini on KIJIJI for $3000 would you not think that's a little suspicious? you can't get champagne on a beer budget, despite sellers trying to convince you that the horse is champagne.

Consult a Professional
Take your trainer with you to see the horses that you like the best, They can help you out with the more complicated things about our equines friends. Get your trainers help in finding the horse that suites your needs. If you don't know what it does... you probably don't need it. IE, if you want to go on trail rides in the back field... you don't need an eveter. In the long run this is going to save you and the horse trouble. Horses are bred and conditioned for specific disciplines. Going back to the car... Would you buy a ford focus to haul your holiday trailer? or a sports car to off road with? Its best to get the horse for the activity you want to do, and to use the horse you have for what it was made to do! Yes you can and should do a bit of everything with all your animals. However, getting a horse that suites your needs will ensure you and your horse will live a happy life AND... you wont have to spend $100,000 on a sports car when all you needed was a 2005 Honda civic.

No, That Little Bit of Navicular is NOT Okay
As much as I wish it were the case, not every seller is honest. There are going to be sellers who ensure you that the rotated coffin bone will be fine for barrel racing and you won't even notice the hock chip while you're performing your sliding stops. There are some sellers who will even drug their horses so they appear calm and in good condition when you come to see them. Bring your trainer with you, get their opinion, the vet check IS worth the money, Yes some horses with the proper care can be kept in good condition but you have to be very careful and make sure you speak with a reputable trainer and veterinarian that can give you their honest opinion.

There are so many other things to consider when buying your first horse, and I could talk all day! If you would like a more detailed description, I like the one found here...
http://cs.thehorse.com/blogs/horses-and-the-law/archive/2013/10/25/read-this-before-you-buy-your-first-horse.aspx


Horses are wonderful, Life altering, Fun Fun animals and an absolute joy to have around and purchasing your first horse can be a very nerve racking, exciting time. It is scary, and it is a big responsibility, but done properly it can be a wonderful and educational experience.

If you have any horse buying tips please comment below and share your wisdom!

Big News

We Are Moving! 

As many of you know my husband Mark is taking business through the University of Lethbridge Calgary Campus which means he does all night classes. It has been really challenging for us both, not getting to spend much time together, and Mark always being busy what with working full time and going to school full time after work. The grim reality is if we continue the way we have been going it will take us another 5+ years until Mark is done school... No thanks. 

We have been thinking about making the move down to Lethbridge for a while now, it would allow Mark to give 110% towards his school work and get his degrees done much faster. The trade-off being that we would both have to leave our jobs, rent out our home and start new in a new place (new for me anyway).

So we are taking the plunge! On January 1st we will be saying goodbye to Calgary and hello to our temporary home, Raymond Alberta!! 

It will be an adventure, but we are ready to conquer it head on!

PS I've been having a heck of a time trying to set up a job for when we come down there on January 1st. If you know of any medical office assistant/reception jobs let me know! 

  

My Journey to Organization Day 2

Today was Kitchen day!! 

Mark & I have managed to keep the house clean for a few weeks, it almost got to looking like a bomb went off, but we reined it back in and man does it ever feel good! 

After spending the morning getting it back to 100%, I decided to dig a little deeper and get myself more organized and have the kitchen make sense. 

I love our house, I really do. However the kitchen space is less than ideal, it has minimal cupboard/ pantry space. Due to the lack of space everything is a little more crowded than I would like. 

Here are the before and after photos! 

The pantry above the stove

The freezer. I put most of the stuff that was in here into the deep freeze and left only a few things

The fridge

The spice cupboard/ pantry to the left of the stove

The pantry. You cannot see it in the before picture but my slow cooker, toaster, food processor, and a few other random things were on the top of the pantry.

So there you have it! Things are going pretty well. I know it sounds like common sense and my parents tried to teach it to me growing up but cleaning up after yourself really is the key, and making sure that you do it right away, not tomorrow. 

It really does feel great to have a clean house! 

Little Moments

My friend Carron has got me addicted to knitting. Here are a couple things I've made so far

Riding at the Dustin & Shannon Grams Clinic in Forestburg Alberta

Practi

Marks GIANT Halloween pumpkin. We were so excited to hand out candy as this is our first halloween in our house, and we had under 10 kids! Needless to say there was lots of leftover candy

My new mixer!!! KitchenAid Professional 6000 HD 

Some of the yummy things I have been making with it... 

Spaghetti squash with chicken, mushrooms, onions, zucchini, homemade Alfredo sauce and goat cheese to top it off

Butter chicken- I couldn't find a recipe that I liked, So I made up my own!

Some of the fun things Google does with my photos 

Proof that I do my hair sometimes

Allegro's Sliders

Allegro's first set of sliders has come and gone

It was really fun to have them on

they were super smooth so he could slide

kicking up dirt with every glide

we worked the flag, we spun and spun

but winter has officially begun. 

With his sliders he has no grip,

in that big field he would surely slip.

So off them come, another summer over

Now Allegro is cozy in his purple pullover. 

You will still find us riding in the crispy cold snow, 

but we will ride safely, no sliders in tow. 

Allegro's Sliders. October 21st -November 5th 2014

Pipe Dreams

I am a third generation horsewoman

My Mom says that I have been riding horses since before I was born, She often tells the story of how she went on a cattle drive when she was 9 months pregnant with me. 

needless to say riding runs in through my veins... sometimes I think I should have been a horse, since I communicate so much better with them than with humans.

From left to right, Me on Glady, My mom on her horse Cody, My grandma on my moms horse Cody

I can remember taking my first independent riding lesson when I was 5 years old. I rode a white pony named "Glady" and I can remember riding around that arena and sliding off a whole of 3 times, but you can bet there wasn't anything you could do to stop be from hauling myself back on my little English saddle. 

When I was 7 and my parents were going through their divorce my Mom worked crazy hours to support the family, even though we had to go without in a few areas I can never remember a time that I didn't have horses to comfort me.  

When I was 8 I can remember the object of my wildest dreams becoming a reality. My Mom went to a trade show with a friend of hers and among the booths there was also a sport horse sale, being the horse lover that she was of course she decided to go check it out. Having no money as a single Mom of course she was not PLANNING to buy anything. So she sits in the stands and watches as one by one these thousand dollar warm-bloods come prancing out. As quickly as they came in they went out, People were there to buy their jumpers and they were getting them. Then something interesting happened, An itty bitty 3 year old Anglo Arabian gelding named "Rocky" (Registered name Allegro Plus) came out and politely trotted around with his rider in tow. No bids. The owner had made the mistake of not putting a reserve bid on him and the bidding was to start at $500. No bids. I don't know for sure what thought crossed her mind in that moment... But i imagine it being something along the lines of "What the heck". She took him home that night for a grand total of $600 including the cost of the trailer rental and the tickets she bought which won her a halter ( fate much?). She thought she would just ride him for a while and flip him for a profit, when she unloaded him from the trailer at the barn that I was taking my riding lessons someone offered her a large amount of money for him. In that moment I actually cant imagine what she was thinking, but she said no.

4 years later my Mom shipped me off to the beautiful Dawson City Yukon where my routine was sleep, eat and ride. I stayed with my Auntie Julia Fellers who is a truly gifted horsewoman. I blessed to have her in my life and have her genes run through me in hopes that some of that talent resonates in me also. She hosted an annual light horse open show at her property and she set me up with the horse, the clothes and the lessons, she gave me one of her very own buckles to show with (despite winning a few of my own over the years, I always wear hers as it carries a special place in my heart). I won the novice high-point at that horse show.

That was the beginning of the end...

When I got home from that trip that was it, I rode my horse every second possible. My parents put me in the local 4h club where I had another talented horsewoman to help me develop my abilities. In my 4h club I not only learned about record books and horse riding, I learned all about politics, healthy and unhealthy competition.

My dream job has always been to be a horse trainer, When I was 16 I told my parents that I wanted to go to Olds college to get a degree in Equine Sciences, They said no. In their defense they wanted me to go to school for something that wasn't so risky. So that's exactly what I did. I went to mount royal for 1 semester where I met my husband Mark, then I got my medical office assistant certificate from SAIT and have been working in that field part time ever since.

After all that I still couldn't shake the need to pursue the horse training.

I had been teaching riding lessons here and there for a few years and I thought you know, I am going to give this a shot. I posted a very honest ad on Kijiji offering my services thinking I wouldn't get a whole lot of interest ( because why would someone want to take lessons from me). Much to my surprise... I was turning people away. I had SO MANY responses that I could have started a full program right then and there. WOW! what a feeling and a boost of confidence.

Then this happened.
I had a perspective client email me looking for a teacher for her very very young child.I explained that I would be happy to give it a try to see if it would be a good fit, but that i prefer to take students older than a certain age. She freaked. Told me I don't know what I am doing and that she will be telling everyone how terrible I am .. I took down my ad. Doing that was Fail #1

After a few weeks of feeling sorry for myself I tried again, and I found a few really sweet clients who I had the pleasure of teaching this past summer.



Do I know everything there is to know about horses? Absolutely not. I am learning every day and I believe that I will never stop learning. I think it is easy to become discouraged when your "Chasing your dream" because you already think of it as just that. A dream.you think there is no chance it could become a reality. I've now been teaching and training part time for 2 years and am loving it. I have just enough clients to keep me busy on top of my part time work at the hospital.

Chatting with Shannon Grams at their clinic in Forestburg Alberta.



Maybe I will never have a million dollar horse breeding facility, I may not present clinics to more than 30 people, but as long as I am working with horses I am doing what I love. Everybody makes mistakes, If you have no room for improvement then you are not human. What may seem like the end of all hope and possibility or a "failure", is just a bump in the road. We (myself included obviously) need to more positive, yes you can chase your dreams!

Little Moments

Cuddles from the Pup

Enjoying the flames game with my Dad, Thanks to my husband for the tickets!

Fun photo mash-up from the barn 

I get this face often 

The beautiful pups we fostered are now up for adoption. 2/3 of them already found their forever homes! Dwight is still up for adoption. He is the cutie pie on Marks Lap in the photo below. You can find him and other adorable loving animals up for adoption at the Calgary Humane Society

https://www.calgaryhumane.ca/adopt

UPDATE: All three puppies have been adopted, Yay!

Yummy Dinner

Andy getting some Auntie/ Uncle cuddles 

Andy thinking that hiding in the tall grass means I wont see that he is in the arena! 

Baking Toffee & Skinny banana raspberry chocolate chip muffins!