Futurity Post

Sorry for not posting sooner on Valentine's progress.

We managed to get to two jackpots and a fair prior to the Northernlights Barrel Futurity so needless to say we weren't exactly ready to be at the futurity however Valentine performed above my expectations.

Loping Valentine to first barrel and braking her to a trot around the barrel when we first started going to jackpots was not a great idea as she stopped completing first. Of course I checked all the usual things soundness, saddle ect. and went back to some basic skills but for what ever reason she just couldn't seem to master completing the turn until our second run at the futurity when she turned a beautiful first barrel and changed her lead. She also really impressed me on how well she handled the noise and confusion at the futurity with her limited experience.

When we went to tack up for our practice runs the night before the futurity Valentine had pulled a front shoe and turned it so the clip had dug into her foot between the wall and her sole. She was dead lame so I figured we would have to vet out. My husband, who is also my farrier, fixed her shoe and some good friends gave me some epson salts to soak her foot. I was able to walk and trot her a couple of times around the pattern that evening and she was fine the next day. Even with her limited time in the arena she walked in the ring at the futurity like it was her home pen, departed on correct lead and loped a respectable pattern. I was quite pleased.

The ground at the Northerlights Futurity was great so there were some really exciting runs. I look forward to having Valentine running competetive next year and hopfully take home our share of the prize money and awards.

Sorry for my lack of technical knowledge

Sorry readers for several versions of the same topic. I have been trying to post since Monday and although the new post said it had successfully posting it was not showing up on the blog. After I pressed the refresh button all the posts appeared.

Paddy

Sixth Post

The chiropractor checked out Valentine after I notice she had grown too wide for the saddle I was using. She had two vertebra out in her low back. However they were easily adjusted. She seems to be riding quite comfortably with the current saddle I'm using. We managed to get to a few jackpots where I just asked her to walk into the arena, depart on correct lead, brake to a trot around first barrel, pick up her new lead and lope around second and third barrel. Even though she is high loping the pattern at home my goal was to keep things really simple so she would feel confident going into strange arenas for her first time. Even though she was very nervous and clingy to her travelling partner she listened and focused on the pattern when she went in the ring. By the end of the jackpot she had settled right down. That's the great thing about jackpots especially double headers, you get to take your horse in and out of the ring several times. I hope to get to another jackpot next week and try a bit of a run. In the meantime I am continuing with conditioning and skill development. My husband is going to help me with her cross overs as she is a little weak in that area but that may be because of the two vertebra out in her low back, which would make sence.

Thanks to all the girls who told me that they are reading the blogs. It has been fun sharing my experiences and I hope you are enjoying reading them.

Paddy

Sixth Post

The chiropractor assessed Valentine after I found she had grown too wide for the saddle I was using. Two vetebra were out in her low back but were easily adjusted. She seems to be riding quite comfortably with the saddle I'm using now. We finally got to a couple of jackpots where I asked her to walk in the arena, depart on correct lead, brake to a trot around first barrel and then lope second and third barrel. The goal was to keep things real simple and just build her confidence about going into the arenas and focusing on the pattern. She handled this quite well considering it was the first time she has been away from home since I bought her as a two year old. I hope to take a bit of a run on her at the next jackpot. In the meantime I will continue with conditioning and improving her skills.

Thanks to all the girls who said they are reading the blogs. It has been fun sharing my experiences and I hope you are enjoying reading them.

Paddy

In my last post I explained that I discovered Valentine had grown too wide for the saddle I was using. The chiropractor checked her out and she had 2 vertebra out in her low back, which were easily adjusted. We then went to a couple of jackpots where I walked her into the arenas, departed on correct lead, broke to a trot around first barrel and loped second and third barrel. I wanted to keep things fairly simple so she would feel secure going into arenas (actually I just didn't want to show anyone how tough she's running - just kidding). I was quite pleased how well she handled things being it was her first time away from home since I bought her. I plan to get her to another jackpot this week and hopefully take a bit of a run. Otherwise just continuing on with what we've been doing (conditioning and improving skills).

Thank you to the girls who told me they are reading the blogs. It's fun sharing our experiences and hope you enjoy reading them.

Paddy

I had the chiropractor check out Valentine after the saddle situation I talked about in my last post. She had 2 vertebra out in her low back which were adjusted and otherwise she was fine. We also attended a couple jackpots since the last post. I just walked her into the arenas, departed on correct lead, broke to a trot around first barrel and then loped second and third. I wanted to keep things really simple so she feels secure about going into the arena (actually I just didn't want to show anyone how tough she running - just kidding). I was happy how she handled things being it was her first time away from home since I purchased her. My goal for the next jackpot is to try a bit of a run.

Thanks to all the girls who told me that they are reading the blogs. It's fun to share our experiences and hope you are enjoying reading them.

Paddy