Big update!

Hi everyone!!!


Sorry i haven't posted in a while!


Life is pretty busy, so don't have much time for the forum anymore..



I have asked to have my mod status removed, because i can never just sit and do all the mod duties like i used to, so i am not bringing much to the team, plus the other mods are brilliant so have it all handled! hahaha



Uni has started, absolutely loving it! I am the biggest nerd if it is something i am interested in.. School, i hated it.. But uni, i love it, because you get to study what you love!

Studying 4 courses this term- Human Body Systems, Health Science, Chemistry and Paramedic Science


Requires 40 hours a week minimum on study, hence, i am very busy haha

Course lectures each week, which are about 2 hours... So that is 8 hours just listening to professors!

Each course has something due each week, online quizes, practicals, assignments!

Lucky, being the nerd i am, enjoy listening about chemistry as i ride Kyros!


My huge textbooks, have 2 others but they are just communication skills and such!





Kyros is amazing, like usual.. Training each day, going to jump clubs and lessons... Everyone comments on how gorgeous he is hahaha

An olympic showjumper thinks we have great potential haha

This was us just after our lesson, was just messing around over little jumps in a big jumping arena!






Jumps 1.15m like a pro! Today i spread the jumps out into like a grid jump.. So first one was 30cm, then 50cm, then 1m, so he had to get a far distance as well as height, and he just loved it, felt like he was flying over them!

Although his giant body makes jumps look very small.. -_-



So Kyros and I basically have a competition book every weekend each month!


GREAT NEWS.. Is Kitai my thoroughbred, who was close to being put down in december, has FINALLY improved, after 8 months of basically living at the vets haha

Got the go ahead to start riding him again <3 Had my first ride in 8 months last weekend and he was a gem, such a special boy!


So now i have 2 horses to train, so that is at least 3 hours in my day with them!





Lastly Mister Fargo... Not much has changed, he is still incredible each and every day hahaha Learnt to yell 'mum' alot though!

Still his loveable, friendly, adorable self!

Such a good boy whilst i study, he will just sit and get scritches whilst i am reading my textbook!


Learnt to paint, because he is just so talented haha





I also forgot to tell you guys that the birdkeeper magazine wanted another article about Fargo! So he is in this issue!




ANYWAYS..


On top of alot of studying, volunteer work at a station, riding and training 2 horses, competing each weekend, playing with Fargo.. Plus alot of family issues at the moment.. Everything just keeps me occupied!


I just don't have much time for the forum at the moment unfortunately, hence i can no longer be a mod!



I will try and come online, but just won't be able to be on as much as i used to!


Busy busy life!

The time spent on the forum is now spent cuddling Fargo and watching more movies and shows! haha


Oh Fargo also won the My safe bird store valentines day competition, as well as the judges choice award for their best friends competition!

So the past month Fargo has won 3 things, lots of money, lots of toys!!






Just wanted to let you all know so you don't think, oh my gosh, why isn't Tab a mod, why isn't Tab online.. What has happened to Tab ! hehe


Shall talk to you at one point in time or another!


Ok that is about it, sleep time now!

Wow, I really, really like the picture he painted!

That's awesome Tab. I'm glad things are going so well at the university.

Your family is gorgeous as always!

Hey, Tab! Just want to say, first off, that you will be terribly missed... both in your capacity as moderator, as well as your status as a frequent contributor. I have always enjoyed your posts and often look forward to them.

That said, I'm also very happy for you, Fargo, Kyros and Kitai! I'm glad you're enjoying your courses so much, (Nerd indeed! Lol!) It's a beautiful thing when you know what it is you want to do in life and can focus wholeheartedly on achieving that goal. I have no doubt that you will do exceedingly well in this, as you appear to have done in so many other things that you have put your mind to.

And on a side note, I often find it rather amusing how used to the extraordinary you seem to have become, mentioning amazing things in such an off-hand manner:

"An olympic showjumper thinks we have great potential haha"

"Learnt to paint, because he is just so talented haha"

"I also forgot to tell you guys that the birdkeeper magazine wanted another article about Fargo! So he is in this issue!" (This one I found particularly humorous. You FORGOT that Birdkeeper Magazine wanted yet ANOTHER article about him?!? Really?!? Lol!)

"On top of alot of studying, volunteer work at a station, riding and training 2 horses, competing each weekend, playing with Fargo.." Good Lord, woman! The question isn't why you're stepping down as moderator, but rather WHEN DO YOU POSSIBLY FIND THE TIME TO SLEEP?!? Lol!

Anyhow, continue to enjoy your time at Uni, and we'll look forward to your posts whenever you find time to put them up!

Good luck with all that! :eek! Wow!

We will miss you and look forward to updates from time to time.

Sometimes 'life' just gets in the way, and yours sounds very full. This forum will be here whenever you want to drop in to say 'hi'.

BTW, your horse is ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!!! I'm in love with your animals. And Fargo painting??? Wow! Love it!

Sorry to hear you won't be visiting the forum as often. We will miss you. Congrats on all the wonderful things you are doing!! Glad you like uni! Nerds Rock!! You have a beautiful family, enjoy every minute. Fargo needs to wear a beanie while he's doing those lovely paintings.

wow that's a lot going on! Congrats on the shows and soooo glad kitai is getting better!!!!!

Hi Tab,
You will definitely be missed as a mod, but I am so happy that everything is going so great for you! Great news about Kitai being better as well
Looking forward to hearing from you when you have time to post! And of course, looking forward to hearing more about Fargo, the most famous B&G in the world

Oh Tab, I seriously got teary eyed when I saw your mod status being gone so quickly. You know we will all miss you TREMENDOUSLY on the mod team! You did one heck of a good job.

You are THE most determined young lady I have EVER met, and I am so happy that you are pursuing your dreams, both with your education AND with your horses. Now you have 2 you can ride, in another year or so you'll be riding Klaatu, too.

When I found out that Kitai has been recovering, and that you can finally ride him again, I was in tears. You and I both know that if he belonged to anyone else, he'd no longer be in the land of the living. Your devotion, love, and utmost care + countless vet and farrier visits helped him mend his broken feet.

As for Kyros: I believe the 2 of you will go FAR! I've seen what you've done with him in the short time you've had him.

And here's a promise: I'll be pestering the living hell out of you to post updates on Fargo as regularly as your time allows. We ALL love him! :smile015:

XOXO Love you!! XOXO

I'm quite proud of you Tab!!!! Doing all that work, school, and caring for your animals. I hope the very best for you always!!!! You will be missed on the mod team!!!

Look at Fargo all grown up and painting!! I love it!! Enjoy your studies--sounds like you are super busy but all good busy.

Snif! It won't be the same. Gonna miss you being around every day.

Kitai's progress is nothing short of amazing! What's even more amazing is that he's sound again with no leftover disability from the injury!

As luck would have it, my sister's quarter horse, Chippy, half cast a shoe last week and trod on it. The nail punctured right up to the pedal bone (but luckily not into it). Then, of course, he stood in $#!+ for half a day and now he has the most awful infection in the foot. He's having bute three times a day and is onto his second course of antibiotics and still the foot is hot to the touch and he can't walk on it. The vet dug away the proud flesh and opened the foot right up and it's supposed to just drain for now. Whoever said 'no foot, no horse' wasn't jokin'! Thankfully, my sister is like you and spares nothing for her horses: she's out there morning and evening taking the best care of them and now she has her new foal, Reuben, to keep her more than occupied.

Questions I have: has Kyros always worn the breastplate? I don't remember seeing it before... Do you always ride that short or is Kyros really that big?!?!?! How's his dressage going? Also, what will you be doing with Kitai? Dressage?

I so envy you starting out on your Uni career. If I were ten years younger, I'd do it with you, as it sounds like a fascinating course. You'll love it, I bet! My poor old brane is rusty, but if you ever need help with stuff, sing out. I still have a few memory cells left and maybe you can help with hints for avoiding Old Age? (Look it up in that impressive textbook, which I bet cost a wing and a leg).

Snif. It won't be the same...

Nawwww thank you all very much!!!!


On a quick break now... Human Body studying today.... It is a 87 page lecture!! 23 pages done with note-taking.. 64 left to go haha





Just wanted to let you all know that because i am no longer a mod, my inbox capacity is only allowed 100 messages i think? and i have way too many..

So i can't receive any PM's until i go through and delete the old ones!

Can always message me on facebook! haha






Trish!

Those pictures are in my jumping saddle, so my legs are higher up for jump position!

His five point breastplate is new!!! I got that last week, because after a jumping night, after the first course, his saddle was slipping back and the saddlecloth got all messed up hahaha


So got the breastplate which now holds the saddle in place!!


At home we just use the dressage saddle and a martingale! At home i just jump in the dressage saddle, too much effort changing to the jumping haha


Here is Kyros, and me fixing a jump, but you can see how chunky he is!
His neck has gotten alot thicker!







This is in the dressage saddle, although these pictures were taken whilst we were approaching a jump hahaha

But you can see my leg comes to about his belly






and this picture ALWAYS makes me laugh... Kyros being ridden by me, and previous owner..... She is so tiny it is ridiculous




I am 6 foot exactly, and he is 17hh!

Oh and Kyros's dressage is getting better!! Getting alot better at flexing and agility in the past week or 2, and he is doing side passes/side stepping? now! Very good boy...




Kitai is actually taller at 17.1hh... But he is alot finer, although the vet thought he was a warmblood because he is apparently chunky for a tb :S

He looks terrible, has no bottom or neck, and a bit ribby because the vets wanted him to stay skinny so there was less weight on his hooves, but now he will be able to start bulking up again!


And Trish, start with dressage for a few months, and Craig- farrier- thinks that he will be able to start jumping and eventing after a few more shoeings!!!!!





Oh gosh! Poor Chippy, that is definitely right.. The hooves are the most important part!




Ok back to studying now! haha

Tab, you deserve the very best!....gee I got tired just reading about your busy schedule.
thanks for being a fantastic mod on here-- you were always so helpful.

wonderful news about Katai- I am truly so happy for you that he has improved, I'm sure you love that horse like crazy.

well done on your studies, and please keep us updated on Mr.Fargo!!

I wish you the best Tab. It sounds like you are doing great with school, caring for your animals, ect. I will miss your frequent posts. I have no doubt you were great as a moderator.

Tab, Kyros is GORGEOUS!! Great color, he's almost black but not quite.
Will miss seeing you here, but I know you'll say hi to us now and then.
Congratulations to Fargo He's so talented painting too! Good luck with everything

ROTFL! Yeah, the pic of the previous owner was funny - she should've gotten a Shetland pony instead of Kyros! I see how his neck is thicker - that's exercise for you. He looks a lot more mature all around since the last pics I really studied. His jumping is coming along (please forgive me) in leaps and bounds. Clearly, height is not a problem but you want to spend a good bit of time concentrating on his timing and rhythm at this stage. LOL! Of course you knew that already. A jumping grid is a great way to bring on a young horse and I bet your Mum would agree. (Psst! Does she have a BHS certificate???)

I can't get over the progress you've made with Kitai! Fancy him coming back from that? Yeah, he's a bit ribby, but he doesn't look poor. I can't wait to see him back in working condition! Dressage (although I know it's not your favourite) will give him the muscle strength to support his jumping and set him up to move correctly and so (hopefully) avoid injuries. Same goes for Kyros. Jumpers can tend to be a bit stargazy and develop a huge muscle mass under their necks, especially if they've been over-corrected with a martingale (they can learn to fight against it in rather the same way a puller will fight the bit). So, dressage helps lower the head carriage and strike a balance between the lower muscle mass and the crest.

Our Anglo-arab, Tristan, developed the most awful ewe-neck when my sister put a martingale on him without showing the kids how to use it correctly. It took literally years to work it down again! (Not that I'm against using martingales, just not with little kids who have no clue).

Anyway, I love talking horses with you and will still be following the 3Ks with great interest as you bring them along.

I'm new, but keep up the good work!

I wanted to be a doctor too but gave up! I'd rather be an ornithologist.

Julie, Kyros IS black!


Unfortunately, owning a black horse is the WORST :/ Honestly, i love the colour, but black and grey horses are annoying to own, because their coats change!

In summer, especially our blazing hot summer sun, a black horse will most likely go 'sunbleached'..


So in summer, my 2 black horses, look brown, and even red!

In autumn, winter, they are pitch black! Then summer comes around again, and they just go a bad colour



The main way to stop it, is by keeping them inside in the day, and letting them out at night time..

However i ride Kyros during the day, he gets sweaty, is out in the sun with sweat for 2 hours, hence he gets very sunbleached!


He is getting darker already than what he was during the main bit of summer! Yay...


Here is Klaatu, my black clydesdale cross...

Summer at the top, winter in the bottom!


Even Kitai, the thoroughbred some people thought he was black because he gets very very dark.. But he always has a brown nose, so he is brown, not black, just dark brown! haha

But here is Kitai during autum/winter.. This was when i first got him back in April/May... So don't look at his condition.. Haha


Then you can see the picture of him today where he is brown/reddish as well!!




Trish-

Kyros is getting a more athletic figure, it is hard to see in pictures, but he has lost his belly now.. He was tubby when i got him, but now he has a athletic belly! Plus thicker neck and bottom! haha

Yes that is exactly what we have been working on now the past week, the line up, timing, strides between jumps ect ect!


What is a BHS?



Yes exactly.. Trish, don't tell anyone, but... I actually enjoy dressage now. Shhhhh! hahahaha

Kyros has made me love it!



Oh wow really? That is just like a bit... Any bit can be harsh in a riders hands! Just depends on how you use it..


and thank you everyone, you are all too sweet! haha