The Yearling Chronicles: September 2018
Last year when I moved back home my parents surprised me with Basilio. Basilio is a PRE gelding, and he just turned one in July. The past year with him has been filled with a bunch of memorable experiences. Watching him grow and develop has been an amazing adventure that I'm excited to continue. This month we're working on a few key skills that will help set him up for his future. Increasing our duration in the stall: Currently Basilio is turned out 24/7 in a 4 acre pasture, which he absolutely loves. The great thing about this is that he gets
Rider Profile: Anu
Name: Anu Discipline: Dressage Horses: Achates (OTTB) and Basilio (Andalusian) Favorite Horse Quote: "When your horse follows you without being asked, when he rubs his head on yours, and when you look at him and feel a tingle down your spine. . .you know you are loved." -John Lyons https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zExrnqFdbcg Each week I will be posting a Rider Profile to help share and highlight the stories of riders in our community. Since I would never ask anyone to do something I wouldn't do this week's post is about my journey as a rider, and how having an off the track thoroughbred has shaped me a dressage rider.
Welcome!
Hi There! Today I'm relaunching this blog with the intentions of cataloging my training journey, and chronicling the stories of the horsewomen and men who create our riding community. In 2012 I started this blog after a friend suggested that it would be a good way to track the progress I was making while training my off the track thoroughbred. So I started Chetak Horses, the old title was 'Warrior Horses in The Making' and the first thing I wrote is something I still believe today and hold in my heart. "Horses are the warriors of my heart. They keep me true and honest
Moving On and Pushing Forward
There are moments where your life changes. They're tiny spaces in time that you change course, reevaluate, or choose to push forward. Since December Achates and I have been stumbling on and into these seemingly insignificant moments that have resulted in significant amounts of growth. It hasn't been easy but I'm thankful. Since my last post a lot has changed, which is to expected since it's been several months. At the beginning of December Achates and I moved to a different barn. The situation that we left behind couldn't be fixed and it became evident that it was time to move on. Moving was hard,
Proud
There are days that I couldn't be prouder of my horse and today was one of them. I've been riding Achates pretty consistently over the past week and it feels great to be getting back to where we were. Since September I've been trying to change how I ride, focusing on getting away from using my hands and concentrating on more of what my body does. It has been both fun and frustrating playing around with exactly how each shift in my own body effects the way Achates moves. Thankfully during those frustrating times I was able to turn to a wonderful friend of
Fight
I haven't been to the barn since my fall mainly due to extreme soreness but tomorrow I will get out there, and I'm so excited to ride! I will also be riding with one of my lovely riding buddies and her magical Arabian, Jasper. I love riding with them so I'm really, really, really excited! Other than sitting tight I've been trying to take stock of exactly what I need to do to keep progressing with training and my goals. Today was a minor setback unfortunately, an opportunity that I had been looking forward to fell through. And if I'm honest with myself
Falling
Today was not the greatest day for me. I fell off of Achates when I went out to ride him and wasn't able to get back on, not exactly the happy reunion I was hoping for. My fall resulted in a plethora of bruises, some more severe than others. I went to the doctor's after to get checked out since I had also hit my head when I landed. Thankfully I got the all clear and was told to take it easy this weekend and then reassess, going from there. Falling off horses and accidents in the equine world happen everyday, all the time.
Bonding
I finally made it out to the barn today, which definitely brightened my week. I share a car with my parents so my time was limited but I wanted to make the most of it. When I got out to the barn Achates was covered in with 5 days worth of mud, poop and other unmentionables. I could have cared less, as soon as I got him inside I gave him a huge hug, and I could tell he was just as happy. I decided to just clean him up a bit and make him look like an actual horse instead of a
Returning
Since Thursday I haven't been out to work with Achates. I had a minor lung infection that was aggravated by my asthma but everything seems to be back on track now. I'm more than excited to get back out there, make my return to training and continue the progress Achates and I have been making. When I'm not riding I miss it. Not just the riding part but everything about it, solving problems, working hard, and more than anything hanging out with my horse. Riding keeps me functional and sane, more than that though it just makes me feel better about what I'm
Lucky
I have mentioned from time to time that I have a wonderful support system. It consists of both friends and family but they are all people that believe and encourage me to do my best on a daily basis. I consider myself very, very, very lucky to have people like this in my life. This support system though would not be nearly as strong without the involvement on my family. They're loud, crazy, in my business 24/7 but without them I don't think I would have the self belief that I do. My parents and my younger brother have never told me "No,