Friday, June 8, 2012

Summer Here I Come!

Hello Friends!

Summertime is here for me and I have just now started back up with the Bogey horse. Bogey has had an unusually lazy spring, as I was not able to get home from college as I was too busy writing my thesis, presenting research in Puerto Rico (Yeah, that's right - Puerto Rico! What an opportunity!), and graduating from college in addition to choosing a vet school to attend!

I got into all the ones that I applied to and ended up choosing Iowa State University! I'm so excited for this fall, but there is a ton to do to get ready.

Ok, enough about my spring, back to Bogey's. He was fat and lazy all spring - he ate and ate and that's about it. :D

Now, that I've been home I've been bringing him back with groundwork and yesterday was our first ride.

He was amazing! For not having being ridden for months he was awesome! We went over to my BHF (Best Horse Friend's) indoor arena and rode around with her. He only had a little buck/refusal on the lunge line while loping undersaddle and was awesome with me riding. We just tooled around and worked on the basics and legging him up again. Tonight, I'm planing on going to the arena up town with him and having our second ride. I hope it is as good or better than yesterdays - he was awesome!


Saturday, February 4, 2012

Updates!


What a year! Apologies for not updating and keeping this blog current. The lack of updates are due mostly in part to my very busy schedule of applying for and working towards acceptance into veterinary school. This past fall I applied, had interviews in January and am now accepted into a school that I applied. I was accepted at the University of Missouri Veterinary school in Columbia, MO. I'm still waiting to hear back from the other schools that I applied to, but to obtain an out-of-state acceptance forebodes well for the future, and now I know that I have a place next year and will be attending a school next year!

The process has been long and daunting but so very rewarding now that I actually have an acceptance. If anyone has any questions about the process or needs advice how to best go about applying, I'd be more than happy to share.

Now, onto the Bogey boy news! Bogey and I had a great summer filled with some local open shows and teaching 4-H horse clinics. There were highs: successfully riding in a western pleasure class with only putting him into a shanked bit less than 24 hours in advance (oh, what can I say - I really trust my horse), and some great showmanship placings, but there were also some lows: blowing a hoof abscess and losing out on the last shows of the season, and some of his ongoing lameness issues.

When I look back over the summer, I can't think of it as anything but a total success - even with the health issues of my horse. I had never treated a hoof abscess before and this past summer Bogey gave me a doozie. What a great learning opportunity for a future equine vet. I also had the opportunity to help a neighbor with a nasty head wound - word to the wise: pull-ups diapers. They make the best and cheapest coverings for large wounds. All in all I had a wonderful summer, a busy semester and now am on my downward slide to graduation and entrance into veterinary school this fall.

This next summer I'm going to try to spend more time with the Bogey boy and showing as it will be my last summer in a long while that I'll have completely free without other obligations or education opportunities. I'm planning on going to a couple of AQHA shows this year (it has been a life-long dream to show at one) and I have the quality of horse in order to do so (Bogey's the only one of his siblings without points at the major shows (Congress & World)). I'm also planning on doing as many shows of our local circuit as the caliber there is unequal as open shows go. They say if you can win in our district you can do very well at MNQHA shows.

Those are the plans! Thanks for coming on this journey with me and just wait, soon you'll be reading about the adventures of a veterinarian and her Bogey horse, instead of a prospective student and the horse she loves.