The Bitch Barn

Call me Leah, She/Her, 20’s I yap about horses

[the-bitch-barn]

Long time, no see

I’ve been doing dressage lessons on a Percheron to piss off my farmer ancestors that bred Percherons for farm work.

I’ve been also riding saddle seat but we won’t talk about that because my riding is shit.

Also, my favorite horse died from intestinal cancer and I wanted sell all of my horses and off myself when it happened.

But good news! I didn’t! (yet)

Please laugh with me about that and appreciate my dark humor. I don’t need another intervention. I promise :)

Edit to add: Going back to riding English is kicking my ass.

[the-bitch-barn]

ASS🍑🍑🍑🍑

and a tiny baby head

We worked on leads today. She’s a genius who makes training super easy. Next Thursday we haul to a different barn so the horses can see news sights and get comfortable in new settings.

*Please ignore her wonky hoof angles. My farrier and I are working through the shoddy work her previous owners had done on her*

[the-bitch-barn]

Having a young horse is like walking into a comedy show of a very self deprecating comedian because she’s always pulling some sort of stunt that makes you laugh but in the back of your mind, you worry for her when you leave the venue (barn).

[the-bitch-barn]

Three years ago I was on the big beast at a local indoor arena!

Crazy how time flies. This horse has taught me so much. I’ve owned her since she was three, now she’s eight years old. She’s had down time due to Lyme disease and injuries. Yet, I’ve never rode a softer or immensely powerful horse in my life. She doesn’t care that she’s had time down, she picks up at a walk as if she were an Olympian on the day of their race. Such a fun horse to ride, such an intimidating mount! Her supple handling is such a contrast to the power she possesses; she’s a very hard horse to understand and even harder to ride but she’s a testament to the cowboy that trained her and I’m thankful that she’s mine ❤️

[the-bitch-barn]

If I can’t ride soon I’m just gonna go to the assisted living and hop on some old men’s backs and start spurring. It’ll give me the same thrill

[the-bitch-barn]

Cold winter days in the midwestern prairies mean the horses rest while we prioritize chores and survival. My personal herd of dogs comes out with me every morning and evening chore time. They’re not happy to be locked out of the barn while I throw hay bales down from the loft.

The wind was whipping the snow around in a violent whirl yesterday evening. From inside a heated home, it was warm and peaceful. Outside in the elements, I wondered how many animals were hunkered down in their dens, waiting out the violent wind and piercing snow; waiting for the warm sun tomorrow. I throw extra hay for the horses that night, hoped the heated buckets kept working through the night, and cursed myself for not having a third blanket ready for the newest in the barn.

Thanksgiving was last Thursday. I have a lot to be thankful for but yesterday, I was thankful for my dogs. Rather, the loyalty of dogs because while I wondered and worried over every little living thing, big and small, that readied for the coming harsh winter night, they remained sitting and waiting for me outside the barn. And although, they have a warm beds to sleep in in a heated home, they still braved the storm with me. Their objective not to feed and care for the horses (they couldn’t care less for those big toddlers of an animal) but to watch over me and wait patiently as I do so.

[the-bitch-barn]

This just in! The stinkiest horse you know just got stinkier!

[the-bitch-barn]

I didn’t ride today. It was a horrible day at work and my head wasn’t in it. Instead, I went and sat in Hook’s stall and cried for a bit to relieve stress. Hook, being the ever so sweet horse she is, came over and dribbled water on my head from her bottom lip.

[the-bitch-barn]

I started giving Twang a magnesium supplement because she has head bulbs indicating TMJ which is stress and blah blah blah. Anyway, she was so chill on tonight’s ride. Maybe I should start giving myself magnesium.

The plan tomorrow is to ride Hook. She has sort of been put on the back burner and I know she’s sad now. Let’s hope the big beast doesn’t decide I deserve a reckoning for letting her sit.

[the-bitch-barn]

Redeeming ride today.

One bad ride ≠ one bad horse/rider.

You are not a robot, your animal is not a car. Allow mistakes for living creatures.

[the-bitch-barn]

Had a bad ride. Everything sucks. The world exists for nothing.

[the-bitch-barn]

Twang-A-Bang (her new nickname) and I have our first outing on the 19th. The last time I rode a young horse to their first outing, I nearly rolled off its back when it spooked at a boy practicing with his rope. To say my stomach is not already in knots would be a lie. This is the worst, yet, most rewarding part of training young horses; taking them out to show the world how they’re doing. I have confidence she will be just fine but I am getting in my own head a bit.

[the-bitch-barn]

I decided to put her in a bit that’s primarily used in English riding. It’s a loop ring gag with a French link mouthpiece. I decided she probably was not a fan of the nutcracker action in the mouthpieces others had on her and after trying her my hand Dutton teardrop dogbone snaffle, I felt like my thesis was correct. However, I was not a fan of how stiff she was in that bit and figured a soft gag loosen her up. Again, I was correct; she was very soft and fluid today through her movements and when I put her on barrels, I was able to ask for arc and counter arc without any problems in communication.

My next step is learning how to get her to lift herself when asked and bring her hind end underneath her sooner when asked to disengage and cross over. I still have a lot of work in front of me, I think we will be trying multiple bits to see what the perfect fit is. I think for everyday use.

I’m still not working on great ground, my arena is overgrown so I’m in the fields. Since ground is not great, we are only trotting and jogging when doing barrel work. I think this turtle’s pace is quite fun. She is picking up a nice jog, I wonder if she would like to do some pleasure classes for fun next season.

Her stop is becoming so beautiful. She has now learned when I stop riding and sit, to do a jump stop. She is a little sponge. It won’t take long before we have a really nice, healthy, safe stop on her from higher speeds. I think having a safe stop on a speed horse is more important than having speed first. I’ve seen too many horses that have ran into gates or fell down at the end of their run because they have no brakes. Although a jump stop isn’t something I want to ask for on a regular basis, it’s nice to make certain a speed horse has that. Her progress with the stop is nearly entirely her own.

Okay, this is the longest diary entry ever. Peace ✌🏻

[the-bitch-barn]

The energy you exude will set the precedent for your ride

[the-big-mood]

[the-bitch-barn]

[the-bitch-barn]

One of my favorite things about breed registries is the amazing record keeping done within the registry to preserve the history of the lineage. Specifically, finding these wack ass names in the lineage