So Far So Good!!

Well I have been taking Kizzy out to explore just to get her used to things. She takes everything in and seems to really enjoy herself. I brushed her and am getting her used to walking and stopping in a straight line with voice commands. I did do a bit of desensitizing with a Fred Meyer bag and after a bit she just wanted to eat it. I love her mind and so does Dan.

This week will be all short works on the lead rope and getting her used to ground manners since she sometimes thinks I am just a rock on the road. I want to get her really used to voice commands and moving away from pressure that helps so much down the road. I also want to start getting her used to lunging and long lining. I forgot what it is like having such a young horse and I really enjoy it because everything is new and it is fun to watch them learn everything big and small.

Kizzy is home!!!!!

Well we finally brought Kizzy home. It was a great trip and very uneventful which was good. She loaded in the trailer like a champ with some coaxing from Cindi but she didn't want to get out once we got home. It took an hour to get her out of the trailer she just was scared to get her feet out...She finally decided she couldn't stay in the trailer forever and backed out almost on her tip toes. She didn't even break a sweat the whole trip.

Once she got out it was like she was walking on air..She was pretty unsure about everything but not once did she do anything crazy..What a good girl! I took her into the pasture and walked her around then let her loose. She just walked around and checked everything out. Of course Gunther was strutting his stuff like a young colt again. He is so happy to have company and Kizzy being a mare is just a bonus!! Today I will take her out for a short walk and brush her a bit just to get her used to things.. So here the adventure begins!!!

This weekend hopefully!!!

Well we were all ready to go get Kizzy this weekend. I was really excited because Cindi and I had a lesson planned at Aspen farm on Friday w/ Jonathan. Then on Saturday we were going to Cindi's to pick up Kizzy. Well I threw my back out and a family emergency came up with Cindi which I hope is going ok. What does all this mean well it means that we didn't have a lesson and we will hopefully go down on the 25th and get Kizzy. Dan and I have our anniversary on the 26th so it will be a full weekend, but I hope that all goes smooth and we finally get my new horse. I did get to reschedule my lesson to Wednesday so that is cool. I love having lessons with Suzy and Jon they have a wonderful facility and are awesome trainers.

One more week!!!

Well things did not go as planned.... It all started with an unwanted spigot in the pasture. We wanted to remove this spigot for along time but never got around to it. Since we were bringing Kizzy home and Gunther had to be in that paddock exclusively we thought it would be a good time. Well in the process of digging down about 4 ft Dan accidentally hit the pipe and broke it. This was around 8:00 Friday night and we were not sure if we needed to get a plumber out Saturday or if we could fix it. I called Cindi and asked if we could pick up Kizzy next Saturday because of the pipe. I was worried we were not going to have water for a week... I was also worried that if we needed a plumber they might have to bring in some machinery to dig around the pipe. I didn't think it would be good for Kizzy to come home to all this craziness. It ended up all working out and Dan the ultimate plumber fixed it and learned a lot in the process. We now have the horrible spigot out of the pasture and all it took was a lot of anxiety, panic and hard work...This did let us go to the Littlerock Fire Department for the annual Easter Egg hunt. Gage had a blast a brought home a few treats... He loves those fire trucks. Kizzy will come home on Saturday April 18th...Here is a picture of her last month when we saw her. I took it so it is not good but at least it is a picture.

Fun Weekend!

Well this weekend we did the final prep for Kizzy's homecoming. I cleared the pasture of big rocks and medium sized rocks. We raked out all the brush and branches that had blown down this last week and we washed the truck and trailer. All I have left to do is buy her food and salt block. I am so excited for Saturday and of course it is supposed to rain.

Gage and I went to the NWEC Derby and watched for awhile. We cheered on our friend Betsy who had a wonderful ride and said HI to people we have not seen for awhile. It is always so nice at these early Derbies and shows because everybody is in a great mood and ready for the show season. The warm weather doesn't hurt either I wish it would stick around...

I met a wonderful Lady named Sam this weekend who also has a horse that she wants to get out and about so we planned an outing on May 16th to the Baywood PC one day. I want to bring Kizzy to get her used to all the goings ons at a horse show... Betsy will be there also so it will be really fun.

April 1st

My name is Marney McGovern and this is my adventure with my new horse Kizzy. Here is a little information about me and my family in a nutshell. My wonderful husband Dan and I met in college (St. Cloud State University) and were married in MN in 1997. We moved to Washington State shortly after we were married. We were having a great time and enjoying the good life with friends and our 2 dogs Casey (German Shepard) and Cosmo (Jack Russell). I brought my retired event horse Gunther (Trakehner x App) out to WA around the year 1999 and got a NSH rescue (Brian) around the year 2000. I worked my butt off with Brian and learned about Natural Horsemanship with my friend Leslie who helped me in so many ways. In 2005 we had our son Gage who has added so much to our lives. He is smart, fun and loves life. Dan and I both are so happy that we have such an amazing kid. Brian and I did a few eventing clinics and Derbies but I knew he would make a better endurance horse then eventer and would like it better also. I sold Brian in 2008 to a wonderful lady and she is doing a great job with him. He is also enjoying the trail riding and will be a competitive endurance horse soon. This leads me to why I am doing this blog. Kizzy (Dutch x Thoroughbred) is my new eventing prospect and I feel she will be an awesome partner.

I am getting Kizzy next weekend which is Easter weekend so at this time I am just preparing. This is the first horse that I have bought this young and specifically for eventing. She is very well bred and has a very sweet willing personality. I am so excited and nervous but I feel this is going to be an awesome ride!!!!