June 24th
I got to start my internship today! Dzidra came and picked me up from the hostel. We stopped at an apple cold house and got a bunch of boxes of apples for the horses and then stopped at her house to get rain gear before heading out to the pasture. Dzidra has six horses: Onyx, Paddy, Juice, Moana, Tiara, and Nugget. I'm always a little nervous around new horses but they were all very nice and well behaved. We caught them all and led them to a smaller enclosure for the night. Before letting them go we gave all of them some apples and chestnuts and put blankets on them. We went back to the barn for some hay and fencing supplies. Back at the pasture we took down an electric braid fence and moved it down to a new spot so that the horses could get some new grass.
We drove back to the house to drop off all the stuff and then headed to her father's house to pick up her car that she had lent him while she was gone. I got to drive it back to her house! It wasn't quite as hard to drive on the left hand side as I expected, especially since I was just following her. Dzidra said she might even let me drive myself to work and back eventually so that she doesn't have to come get me.
We drove back to the house to drop off all the stuff and then headed to her father's house to pick up her car that she had lent him while she was gone. I got to drive it back to her house! It wasn't quite as hard to drive on the left hand side as I expected, especially since I was just following her. Dzidra said she might even let me drive myself to work and back eventually so that she doesn't have to come get me.
June 25th
Today the farrier came to do Moana's feet and replace Onyx's two lost shoes. Before he came Dzidra showed me the desensitization training she does with the horses with a milk jug with rocks inside to help improve the horses' behavior. She left me to clean the hooves and do the milk jug with the other four while she went to her house to wait for the farrier. Then, while he worked on them, I groomed everyone and got the burs out of their manes.
Dzidra and I gave all the horses apples and chestnuts and left them tied while we went back the house for lunch. She made me a glass of fresh apple and lemon juice which was phenomenal! We went back to the pasture afterwards and I got to ride Nugget, Moana, and Tiara. They were all very good, though it was somewhat nerve wracking to ride in just a rope halter.
After we were done riding Dzidra I untacked the horses and reloaded her car. She left to go pick up her daughter and I stayed to brush and re-blanket the horses before walking them out to the new part of the pasture.
Dzidra and I gave all the horses apples and chestnuts and left them tied while we went back the house for lunch. She made me a glass of fresh apple and lemon juice which was phenomenal! We went back to the pasture afterwards and I got to ride Nugget, Moana, and Tiara. They were all very good, though it was somewhat nerve wracking to ride in just a rope halter.
After we were done riding Dzidra I untacked the horses and reloaded her car. She left to go pick up her daughter and I stayed to brush and re-blanket the horses before walking them out to the new part of the pasture.
June 26th
I got to go on my first public ride today! We had a mom, dad, and daughter come for a beach ride. I rode Onyx and led Tiara along with me. It was a pretty good ride and we got to go in the ocean a lot which was amazing! Onyx gave me quite an arm workout though to keep her walking in the edge of the water though.
After that ride Dzidra and I rode Onyx and Tiara at the trot and canter. It was kind of scary because both of them like to go fast, the ground seems fairly uneven, and I felt like I had fairly little control. I'm not sure how I feel about going at these faster speeds!
At 1 Dzidra left to go to parent-teacher conferences and I stayed to groom the horses and to do some ground work with Tiara, Moana, and Onyx. I don't feel like I know much about what I'm doing. I need to spend some time reading about training or something.
After that ride Dzidra and I rode Onyx and Tiara at the trot and canter. It was kind of scary because both of them like to go fast, the ground seems fairly uneven, and I felt like I had fairly little control. I'm not sure how I feel about going at these faster speeds!
At 1 Dzidra left to go to parent-teacher conferences and I stayed to groom the horses and to do some ground work with Tiara, Moana, and Onyx. I don't feel like I know much about what I'm doing. I need to spend some time reading about training or something.
Once I got home that evening I ate hokey pokey ice cream with Marissa and then went to Pak-N-Save with Erin to get a frozen pizza. It must not be much of a thing here because there was only like 3 options and it didn't end up being that good.
We went down to the beach later because Jill said that the waves were big and the stars were out. It was stunning, especially the night sky. It was really cool to see where the wet rocks start because it was close to low tide when we were out there. We walked along the beach for awhile enjoying the evening.
We went down to the beach later because Jill said that the waves were big and the stars were out. It was stunning, especially the night sky. It was really cool to see where the wet rocks start because it was close to low tide when we were out there. We walked along the beach for awhile enjoying the evening.