Horse Treats!!

1 c. sweet feed
2 - 3 c. wheat bran
1 c. flax seed
1 T. salt
4 large apples, shredded
1 c. molasses
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 c. applesauce

Mix molasses, brown sugar, apples and applesauce in bowl. Mix dry
ingredients in a separate bowl. Gradually combine wet and dry
ingredients together, only using enough of the wet ingredients to make a thick
dough. Add more bran if necessary.

Line cookie sheet with foil and spray with oil. Drop batter onto cookie
sheet in tablespoon amounts. Flatten with a fork. Bake slowly at 300° F. for 1 hour, turn cookies over and continue to bake for another 45
minutes until thoroughly dried. Reduce heat if cookies begin to brown
excessively or to burn.

Store in covered container or zip-locked plastic bag and dole out as
special treats to your equine buddies.

Union Station

 This is Leon this past summer.

Union Station, or Leon, as we call him, was my latest horse. I say was because I don't have him anymore because he is more hard to handle than Sammie and I stress fractured my back riding him, then soccer made it worse. He is still at my barn because a lady at my barn got him for pleasure riding. I still ride him but I can't jump him because he gets excited and pulls on me and it hurts my back. Leon is also a Thoroughbred and an ex-racehorse like Sammie. He is 16.1 hands and is also bay, but a lighter bay than Sammie. I never got to show Leon because last December right after I got him he got kicked by another horse and fractured his leg. I was supposed to show him at 3 foot, but now he can only jump 2 foot and gets really excited and starts running fast which could hurt his leg again. After my back got better, which was like 2 weeks ago, I rode him and just haven't been jumping. Last night, though I rode Sammie and jumped for the first time since August which was awesome.

Special Edition

This is Sammie in 2008. It was summer so he is a little lighter than he usually is.

My first horse ever was Sammie. Officially, his name is Special Edtion, and the announcers at shows call him that, but it is easier to just call him Sammie at the barn. Sammie is a 21 year old Thoroughbred who is 15.3 hands tall. Horses are measured in hands instead of feet and inches. A hand is equal to 4 inches. I don't have Sammie anymore, but a lady at my barn bought him for pleasure riding and so he is still at my barn and I still hop on him every now and then. We showed in the short-stirrup division at shows until last November when I fell and broke my rib(s).After that, we decided his showing days were over. Over the summer,I took him to Big Bear Farm with some other girls at my barn and our trainer to jump cross country. He was perfect and we jumped the highest we'd ever jumped, which is really good for a 21 year old horse! He is a dark bay,which means he is a very dark brown, and he has a balck mane and tail. He is the best horse ever.

Horse Shows

 Jumper Course

 

Hunter Course (that is my trainer's old horse Diesel)

Horse shows are so much fun because it gives you a chance to show off what you and your horse are capable of. I am a hunter/jumper rider and my barn is too. Hunter is more slow and you are judged on how nicely you get around the course. Equitation Hunter classes normally have more complicated courses, with sharp turns and things, but you are judged on how good you look while doing it. Hunter jumps are more natural looking. Jumper  classes are very fun but can also be dangerous. In jumper classes, you are judged on how quickly you can get around the course cleanly. If you knock down a pole off the jump, you get a time penalty. The goal is to have the fastest time. It is hard because you have to figure out the fastest way to get to a jump without making it risky to knock down poles.

Things That Happened On Poplar Place Farm Trip 2 Summers Ago

The Gang at Big Bear in 2010

On day 1, my trainer makes illegal U-turn and gets pulled over. On day 2, my friend's horse Champ rears and my friend falls off, gets stung by bee and gets poison ivy. She has a bad allergic reaction. It storms really badly and our AC unit got struck by lightning. That night we go ride again. When we got back to the cabin it was 100 degrees inside because the AC unit was fried. On day 3, we all wake up and realize 4 girls and our trainer aren't there. A creepy redneck mountain man comes to fix the air conditioning and we are home alone with him and no other adults in our pajamas. We soon find out my friend's horse Stackers got sick and has to go to Auburn University to possibly have surgery. My friend drives us to the barn and we graze our horses to make sure they don't get sick. While we are all grazing our horses, a horse called CP steps in a bee nest and everybody gets attacked by bees, 2 of my friends named Sarah and Larisa get stung and 3 horses named Kody, Cowboy and CP get stung and CP has an allergic reaction. We call the vet and she gives him medicine. On Day 4, a horse called Gizmo pulls a shoe which means he can't be ridden, the guy who drives our trailer, Mr. Mike, loses a tire on the highway and can't get to the barn our horses were at until midnight.2 of his friends though, come and take most of the horses back to our barn in Alpharetta, but my trainer's horses had to stay until midnight. It was a very eventful trip and we will probably never go back there again. Oh and while Stackers was at Auburn, the vet asked where we were staying. My trainer said Poplar Place in Pine Mountain. The vet said oh yes I heard it's very beautiful but it is built on Indian burial grounds so I think it's a little creepy. My trainer thinks that is why we had such bad luck.

How I Broke My Rib(s)

This is me almost falling off into a ditch at Big Bear Farm.

I broke my rib(s) last November after falling off my horse during Friday warm ups at a horse show. We were done with our course and slowing down when suddenly my horse decided to bolt out the gate because it was cold and windy and he decided he was done. He took a sharp turn and I fell onto the corner of a PVC plastic fence which surprisingly is very hard. The reason I say rib(s) is that we aren't really sure how many I broke. When we first went to the doctor they said I broke my 9th rib on the left side. Then, in August I started physical therapy because I stress fractured my back, and the physical therapist said on my file it said I broke 6 ribs. She said either one could be right. So, we really don't know how many I actually broke.