Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Stormy Days Ahead. It's so ominous sounding, but I'm very hopeful there are a LOT of stormy days ahead- Remington Storm days! Welcome! I got this great idea to chronicle the adventures of the soon-to-be-mine 2008 grey Thoroughbred gelding I've been riding since August 2012.

A little about me- please don't run screaming from the chaos that is my life- so you have some background to work with. I'm a 26 year old Rhode Islander finishing her 2nd year of a 3 year Physician Assistant program on Long Island, in NY. I moved in with my fiancee in May 2011, we bought a house with a 1/2 acre lot in central Long Island in October, and I promptly brought home a beautiful Craigslist-rescue Standard Poodle pup- enter Loki! School has been everything I thought it was- grueling hours and no pay with so much frustration dotted by small, shining moments of utter satisfaction. I've never worked harder, been more permanently burnt out, and less mentally stable than I was that first year of school. So when May 2012 hit and I had the summer off... I slept. Upon awakening,  I puttered in the ruin of our backyard and with Chris's help, slowly transformed it into a respite of fresh vegetables, beautiful rosebushes and flowers, and a clear, cool swimming pool for when I got done sweating my ass off making those things happen! haha! In August of 2012, a chance happening put me at the same picnic table as a woman talking about her friend's new "horse with a french name- it's a huge draft horse!" and I asked if it was a "Brabant" (Hole in one!).  From there, she was excited to hear I was a displaced English rider who couldn't afford more than weekly lessons because she had an "amazing  4 year old Thoroughbred who had so much potential!!" (Double exclamation points because she really was that excited.)

Now, who hasn't heard that before?

Needless to say, it's a horse and I was desperate to ride. So I showed up at her house, prepared to keep my game face on when it turns out to be a rearing, bucking screaming maniac. Meet Remy- he's skinny and has no muscle tone, walks through you on the lead and walks endlessly around on the hitching post, doesn't cross-tie, can't do his back feet, etc. BUT... he's calmer than some I've seen, stands when you mount, and doesn't plunge around the small riding space if you ask him to walk and trot. By the way, he's only been cantered once. Maybe twice. But he's great on trails!

He's willing and eager to please. I like him. Welcome to the start of Stormy Days.







These are the earliest pictures I have of him, and they're taken about 4 weeks after I started playing with him. I think that's enough for one day- more tomorrow. I'm on spring break and can spend a 1/2 hour posting! YAY!