Long Time No Update!

Hey Everyone! Sorry I never updated on the show or anything. Jade had a fabulous time. Fred had an awesome practice ride with Jade on Friday, really was looking like a champ, we were so proud! Saturday morning the temp. dropped from the 80's into the 60's and boy could Fredly feel it! He was acting like a young man again but he still managed to tote her around the ring. She showed 3 classes...

Class 1) Saddleseat W/T (forgot the walk wasnt optional) got the blue but was the only one in her class

Class 2) English Pleasure (still not remembering the WALK part) W/T got 4th out of 6 but was absolutely fascinated she beat 2 horses!!!

Class 3) English Equitation W/T got 5th out of 7 and couldn't be happier. Fred decided he wanted to canter on the second trot and the judge was watching, but hey he walked this time!!!

She got many compliments on how well she handled him and most importantly had FUN!!!

It's SHOWTIME!!

Well the time has come, Fred will be attending his first show with us this weekend (October 17). It is a smaller show put on by the North Florida Arabian Horse Club at the Clay county fairgrounds. I am so excited to see him strut his stuff with his little rider aboard! Jade (10), who has been riding him since he first came here will be showing him in Saddleseat Pleasure W/T, English Pleasure W/T, and Saddleseat Equitation. We will leave Friday night and Fred will stay the night and settle in then it is showtime on Saturday. Hopefully all will go as planned and he will be nice and relaxed.

Fred's weight gain has about leveled out. I want to keep him on the thinner side b/c of his old man joints, but he no longer is looking ribby and has a nice thick saddlebred neck. He got body clipped this week and seems so much happier and cooler considering he had a full winter coat and it has been 90 degrees (in October...what?).

I will make sure to take tons of pictures this weekend and keep everybody update on how it goes!

Fred has found a Forever Home

As many of you know the original plan when we first got Fred was to rehab him fully and rehome him. Well I am glad to say Fred has finally found his home for the rest of his life...right where he is at. I have fully fallen in love with him and realize our riding styles and personalities are very similar. I feel completely safe and trusting with him when we are out on the trail and vice versa. And I have never enjoyed riding a horse on a trail more than I have with him. Yes, he is an old man but you would never be able to tell. He keeps up and passes all the other horses, and his favorite gait is anything but a walk. I only wish I had found him earlier in his life so we could have longer together.

Now with keeping him I have made another hard decision. With the economy being so bad I am needing to rehome a few horses. Fox my first horse will hopefully (fingers crossed) be going to Missouri to be a lesson horse. I know that will be a very tearful day, I have owned him for about 10 years, and we have a bond that will never be forgotten...but I know he will love growing old up there out of this heat, and having tons of little girls to love all over him for the rest of his days. And I have also decided to rehome Cody, at least on a free lease until he finds the perfect home. Cody and I have always gotten along but I have never truly felt a strong loyal connection with him. I am hoping to find him someone who can give him the time he deserves to truly be all-trusting.

But as for this blog it will no longer be just about Fred's recovery, but about our Journey together and all of Drop Dead Fred's adventures.

Fabulous Fred

and he is doing just that...fabulous! I switched him from Seminole Senior Feed and Purina Sweet and I have a new horse! He has taken the energy level down a few notches and is really starting to blossom and trust his rider under saddle. Wednesday he had his first lesson with Jade in a long time and he was on his best behavior, didn't miss a beat!

Weight wise he is looking awesome. No more ribs for Fred and his hips are now beginning to fill out. His neck is also alot thicker and you can no longer feel every ring in his throat, and he hasn't choked since we switched his grain over (which is a HUGE relief for both of us). I promise to try to get some photos soon, I am wanting to hit the trails before we leave for N.C. on wednesday so I will try to get some then!

Happy Trails :-)

Getting Fat and Happy

Fred is doing better everyday and is slowly but surely putting on weight and muscle. We've had to call Nancarrow (vet) out the past week b/c Fred has been choking easily. The first time he passed it in about 20 minutes and then was confused as to why we wouldn't let him finish his dinner. The second time was a bit scarier. He didn't pass it for about 45 minutes and was coughing up mucus, while it nose was getting leaky...not fun. When Nancarrow came out and tubed him he noticed he had a pretty deformed trachea. I had always noticed it stuck out to the left of his neck and you could feel each individual ring. I figured it was just b/c he was so skinny and thought it would go away. Nancarrow said that b/c the trachea is so screwed up it may mean the esophagus is deformed as well, causing him to choke. Needless to say, everything Fred eats is fully soaked. His grain is now reduced to a soup and he loves being messy with it.

We haven't gone riding in awhile due to the 20 some odd inches of rain we have had fall the past week. We are going to try to go out tomorrow though. Right now Fred is just content to finally be able to go back outside and not have to swim.

Sorry it took so long for the update, have an awesome week!

First Lesson and Trail Ride

Fred had his first lesson and trail ride this week. He was very good for Jade during the lesson, she was just a bit timid of his size. She did go from a 15 hand appy to a almost 17 hand Saddlebred. She adjusted well and he tolerated her timidness like a champ.

Chris and I decided to take Charley and Fred on a trail ride together the other day, a bit weary of how Fred would behave. Not sure why because Fred is always impressing us with how relaxed he is. Of course he was very well behaved. He handled riding on the side of the street better than an actual trail. He wasn't too sure about the woods but still tried his hardest. Never flinched when cars passed or when we rode past other horses. All in all he got an A+!

Health/Weight wise he is doing great. His coat looks so much shinier and healthier than before and he gaining weight quite consistently. His back is quite low from not having the muscle to hold it up, he will probably always be sway backed but he doesn't seem to have any back pain from it. The photo is from his ride the other day.

Happy Trails!!

Doing great!

Fred has been here for almost 2 weeks and is doing awesome. Everyone has fallen in love with him and he is finally coming out of his shell a bit. He is greeting us when we come into the barn in the morning, and expecting his nightly carrots after we feed at night. He finally figured out there is a window facing the barn aisle and is actually using it (before he only stuck his head out the outside window). Nancarrow came out and floated his teeth, he said they actually weren't too horrible...which was surprising considering he was have trouble chewing. But all is good now and he was given a clean bill of health. I am starting to see weight gain on him, and his coat is looking alot shinier.

Fred has his first lesson on Saturday and I am excited to see how he does. He is so awesome when I ride him, so it will be interesting to see how well he behaves with a beginner. Yesterday when I rode him we went on a mini trail ride out around the lake and of course he was a perfect gentleman! He walked right over our wooden bridge and everything. I will try to remember to get pictures of his first lesson, he is looking so good!