Posts Tagged ‘ammo
First Ride in Months
I haven’t ridden a horse in 3 months…there I said it. Christmas happened, then the EVEN colder weather set in, and with my mom and sister injured – I have no one to ride with. And honestly, I just didn’t feel like riding. So after 3 months I finally decided to saddle back up – even though there is still snow on the ground.
I thought that with the warm (when I say warm I mean 40 Degrees) would soften the snow enough to ride – I was wrong. So I ended up riding up and down our small private road. I decided to ride Blitz first, because he’s the most laid back….sometimes. He actually hadn’t been ridden since my mom had her accident on him. So when I took him back to the scene of the crime I could tell he had some naughty thoughts in his head. But, he didn’t try anything and I made sure to click and reward him when he did as asked.
I then got Boomerang out of the pasture and attempted to pony him off of Blitz. Boomer can be a bit mouthy and likes to bite the saddle and leadrope – so ponying him was good practice for him to “keep his hands to himself”. I was actually kind of surprised at how well he did – I’m hoping with more practice I can take them out by myself. My mom tagged along on foot to make sure none of the ponies acted up.
When I got back from my short ride I worked with Boomer a little bit on ground manners. Asking him to move away from my hand pressure on his chest and neck. He’s really picked it up quickly and I put it into effect when I asked him to move away from the gate so that I could get Minnow out.
Minnow got to work on his rear after a few weeks off. And I can say he was more then enthusiastic – he really got pretty high! My little rogue pony!~
Hopefully I can keep up with the riding – it just better get warm soon!
Fun with Ammo
Just thought I’d share some photos of Ammo the Dachshund. He’s been braving the winter cold with me at the barn in his three (yes 3) winter coats. I think he’s longing for summer too. Here’s some cute shots of him from the past week….I just love that little dog.
Ammo’s favorite chair in the dining room. Hoping for scraps from the table.
Ammo checking out winter from the comfort of his leather chair
My Adorable Dachshund Valentine
Multitasking
Enjoying his Valentines Day Present
“I think it broke mom!”
Ammo starts dog training classes with me in March, and I can’t wait! I think it will be a great experience for him and I’m looking forward to transitioning him into other things, perhaps agility or maybe even flyball. He’s so smart I’m sure he could do anything. The tricky part will be channeling that Dachshund stubbornness in him. If you’ve ever owned a Dachshund you know what I’m talking about. Ammo is my very first Dachshund and I never imagined what a difficult breed they could be. He challenges me everyday, sometimes he frustrates me to no end….but for some reason his antics make me love him even more. I think I will forever be a “Dachshund Person” just like I will forever be a “Chincoteague Pony Person”.
I’m hoping to do some updates on Ammo when he begins his training classes (I also plan to use clicker training in them). And if I get myself in gear, I also plan to keep working on Ammo’s painting training so he can join the Trick Ponies in creating masterpieces. I will keep you posted!
Happy Valentines Day
Valentines Day – you either love it or you hate it, but if you are like me, you know that no matter what day it is the love of your furry companions will always be there. They love you unconditionally and always stand by your side. I’m thankful that I have always been able to have my animals in my life. From the guinea pigs I played dress up with as a kid to the white rat my dad found in our basement and let us keep as a pet….I have loved them all. So here’s my little tribute to the ones that always love us back. Happy Valentines Day!
2008 Trooper and Ammo - best friends forever
2008 Trooper and Ammo
1999 My little sister and Oopsie Daisy
2007 Me and Minnow
2006 Kissing Minnow
2004 The late Big Jack Attack playing dress-up for me
2004 Nitro always knows how to make me laugh
2003 Me and the Late Oopsie Daisy
2008 Me with Minnow and Blitz
2009 Ammo and Minnow
2009 Boomer and Minnow give eachother a scratch
2009 Kisses from Boomer
Blizzard Number 2
Ammo looks longingly at what used to be his yard
Yes, 5 days later and Eastern Pa finds itself in another massive Blizzard. We already had 24″ of snow, now we’re at an additional 20″ and its still snowing outside. Thats a lot of snow. But the good news is I got another snowday. The shop is closed, but the ponies must still be fed. I made the treacherous journey out to the farm with my parents and husband and we were able to get the horses out for a few hours. The bad news is we lost power while we were out there. So needless to say the automatic waterers my dad had installed in all the stalls were not going to function. So we were resourceful and filled water buckets with snow hoping it would melt into drinking water until power is restored. We generously hayed all of the horses and tucked them in for the night at 1pm – hoping they could make it until our return tomorrow morning, whenever that may be.
Not sure what tomorrow will entail, hopefully I can dig myself out. And I am shocked to see they are predicting that we may be getting MORE snow on Monday. I’m starting to think we’re entering into the ice age.
But despite this bout of bad weather, I do still enjoy the snow – maybe I’m crazy. Get back to me after a few more weeks of more snow and maybe I will have changed my mind.
So for your viewing pleasure….here are some of my snowday photos:
Ammo is thrilled to wake up and find more snow outside
Blitz struts his stuff in the snow
Boomerang is only concerned with what yummy treats await him outside
Blitz
Minnow bounds through the snow
Chincoteague Minnow
Iron Horse Farm
My husband, Mike, giving my dad a thumbs up for good work
My dad and his trusty "snowplow"
Ammo begging to be let outside
Ammo convinced there are badgers hiding in the snow
The Dachshund Snowplow
You just have to see it for yourself.
