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This Week Was Merely Wildly Hectic
Oct. 7th, 2005 09:22 pmMissions accomplished: Return to Luna book three. Delivery of first book in new Tor series. Return of various equines to training roster. Investigation, Angstification, and ultimate booking of shipper for filly.
Not necessarily in that order.
Ms. was delivered with usual strewings of rose petals and singing of hosannas. Ye Ed was glad to see it for once--it's late! It needs to be put into production!
I was deeply disappointed however to discover that I failed to qualify for the Bad Author Cup, having been conclusively closed out by the ms. that was six years late. Four months simply did not cut it. I must try harder next time.
Thanks to all of them as expressed pleasure at my return to the lj fold. To them as asked and many thanks for asking, the Roc book, King's Blood, is the story of William Rufus. It's technically a sequel to Rite of Conquest but is written as a standalone and was a classic example of History Does Cooperate.
William Rufus of course is the ultimate historical-fantasy monarch, what with the whole arrow-in-the-wood thing. Though I do still need to write Henry I and the White Ship. That's on the endless list for later.
In the meantime I'm back in Luna-land with the blowout conclusion of the first trilogy. Second trilogy is under contract and already gestating happily.
Amid all this, I spent the week researching shippers for Tia. There are literally hundreds, and weeding out the good, the bad, and the ugly was making me very cranky. I had a good quote from the one I usually use, but he lost me when he refused to email (despite having been email-capable previously) and insisted on faxing me his contract, which did not accept plastic so I would have to trek to the bank for a cashier's check. I was feeling hassled out by all of that, so I found someone else who for the same price would provide the same equipment (Air-Ride van and box stall so baby can be loose and lie down), would email promptly, and took plastic, thereby saving me that trip to the bank. The catch: he would give me a discount if I would sign her up for the October 17th run, a good four weeks sooner than I'd been planning on, but what the hey. I determined that the wonderful person who is boarding her could get her to the vet clinic for her paperwork (health certificate, brand inspection--no, she has no brand, I don't know what that is about--and Coggins or Equine Infectious Anemia test, which all horses must pass or they have to be quarantined for life), and that said paperwork could be done before the 17th. So in went the contract and deposit, and now we see if it all goes smoothly. If it does, she'll be here in just under two weeks.
BABY FIX!!!!!
She's charmed everybody so far; she's a real people pony and she gets along with other horses. She'll like being part of my herd, I'm sure.
So now I get to fuss over shipping a not-yet-six-month-old baby 1635 miles from one climate to another. Adult horses are nervous-making enough. Fuss.
Meanwhile the home team has had an interesting week. Camilla had a pivotal life experience, namely, she got out Tuesday morning with the rest of the herd, and when the rest of them went in as asked, she first ran me down, then kicked me. I lost it. I told her flat out that nobody is here on a free ride, I can't use her as a broodmare because she's Pooka's full sister, she's not being very cooperative about the riding thing, she's dangerous to handle and she has a nasty temper, and with that star-quality evaluation score, she can make somebody a very nice addition to their broodmare band. In short: shape up or go on the sales list.
She was shocked to the core. She got away with a lot during evals training--kicked Joni, kicked her runner, displayed major 'tude on the day and got top mare anyhow. She thought she was immune to criticism. But you don't live on this farm and kick your human, that is strictly not allowed.
She also got some big-juju groundwork and obedience work as part of this process. And next day Curt the Wonder Shoer was here, and grabbed his driving lines and put her through her paces and declared that she's a natural.
Diagnosis: She needs a job. I made a mistake by giving her a vacation after evals. I should have put her straight to work and kept her there. So, she's been getting work almost every day, learning to drive. Our goal: Rodeo Parade 2007 (biggest nonmechanized parade in the world; big local deal and really really cool, full of horses and wagons and people in costume). 2006 is too soon, but maybe we can do a show in the spring. She's a kickass candidate for driving competition; Lipps are some of the best driving horses in the world, and she's a very fancy Lipp. The benefits for her future as a riding horse are that she can learn to move and balance in harness without worrying about my weight on her back, and if she acts up, she's a bit safer to handle. Plus driving is all about the forward gear, which she has a problem with (though she's infinitely better than she used to be).
So, she's working on steering and moving in the lines now. In a couple of weeks she'll get a breast collar and will start pulling a tire. Then we'll work up from there. Curt has a cart he thinks will do for her. Eventually she'll learn to pull it. Et voila! New job for the War Mare, and new equine skill for me. Driving is something I've always wanted to do, but done very little of except for a tiny bit of sulky-driving years and years ago.
So far so good, she says. She likes having work to do that she's good at and gets praised for. And she's off the sales list as long as she acts like a civilized person.
Meanwhile Pandora has had more ridden work, which she loves. Big big horse! Zoom! Zoom! Wheee! Capria and keed have had innings--keed got ground-driven when he bugged for it, and he thought it was OK. He used to do a lot of it before he started under saddle. And Pook finally got back to work. First ride on Monday was a bit like riding a rocket. He wanted to go-go-go, which was new; he used to stick at the trot and worry about his balance and not wanna, and steering was never his best skill.
His approach to being ridden has changed completely. Steering is now very nice indeed, and he wants to trot under saddle. I let him decide when on Monday, just told him where, and was a little cautious because he was borderline explosive. That's when the testosterone kicks in and he can buck or bolt, but he didn't do either. He ended up with three days off because of day off, then shoer day, then rain, but tonight he was splendid. For the first time he feels like a real horse: imperfect, needs help with balance and using his back, but he's within the aids and his trot is free and forward and willing. No more sticking and fussing. He really wants to do this. And wow, what a trot! It needs lots of refinement, relaxation, engagement and all of that, but it's big and boingy and dead-on rhythmic. Lots and lots of fun, in short.
I just love it when they take a vacation and spend it studying dressage. (i.e. latent learning, which horses are big on and Lipps, being genetically engineered for it, are naturals at)
He really is my custom-fitted pony. Though so is Pandora and she's 'way on the other end of the size spectrum. It's true what they say, a good horse is always the right size.
Not necessarily in that order.
Ms. was delivered with usual strewings of rose petals and singing of hosannas. Ye Ed was glad to see it for once--it's late! It needs to be put into production!
I was deeply disappointed however to discover that I failed to qualify for the Bad Author Cup, having been conclusively closed out by the ms. that was six years late. Four months simply did not cut it. I must try harder next time.
Thanks to all of them as expressed pleasure at my return to the lj fold. To them as asked and many thanks for asking, the Roc book, King's Blood, is the story of William Rufus. It's technically a sequel to Rite of Conquest but is written as a standalone and was a classic example of History Does Cooperate.
William Rufus of course is the ultimate historical-fantasy monarch, what with the whole arrow-in-the-wood thing. Though I do still need to write Henry I and the White Ship. That's on the endless list for later.
In the meantime I'm back in Luna-land with the blowout conclusion of the first trilogy. Second trilogy is under contract and already gestating happily.
Amid all this, I spent the week researching shippers for Tia. There are literally hundreds, and weeding out the good, the bad, and the ugly was making me very cranky. I had a good quote from the one I usually use, but he lost me when he refused to email (despite having been email-capable previously) and insisted on faxing me his contract, which did not accept plastic so I would have to trek to the bank for a cashier's check. I was feeling hassled out by all of that, so I found someone else who for the same price would provide the same equipment (Air-Ride van and box stall so baby can be loose and lie down), would email promptly, and took plastic, thereby saving me that trip to the bank. The catch: he would give me a discount if I would sign her up for the October 17th run, a good four weeks sooner than I'd been planning on, but what the hey. I determined that the wonderful person who is boarding her could get her to the vet clinic for her paperwork (health certificate, brand inspection--no, she has no brand, I don't know what that is about--and Coggins or Equine Infectious Anemia test, which all horses must pass or they have to be quarantined for life), and that said paperwork could be done before the 17th. So in went the contract and deposit, and now we see if it all goes smoothly. If it does, she'll be here in just under two weeks.
BABY FIX!!!!!
She's charmed everybody so far; she's a real people pony and she gets along with other horses. She'll like being part of my herd, I'm sure.
So now I get to fuss over shipping a not-yet-six-month-old baby 1635 miles from one climate to another. Adult horses are nervous-making enough. Fuss.
Meanwhile the home team has had an interesting week. Camilla had a pivotal life experience, namely, she got out Tuesday morning with the rest of the herd, and when the rest of them went in as asked, she first ran me down, then kicked me. I lost it. I told her flat out that nobody is here on a free ride, I can't use her as a broodmare because she's Pooka's full sister, she's not being very cooperative about the riding thing, she's dangerous to handle and she has a nasty temper, and with that star-quality evaluation score, she can make somebody a very nice addition to their broodmare band. In short: shape up or go on the sales list.
She was shocked to the core. She got away with a lot during evals training--kicked Joni, kicked her runner, displayed major 'tude on the day and got top mare anyhow. She thought she was immune to criticism. But you don't live on this farm and kick your human, that is strictly not allowed.
She also got some big-juju groundwork and obedience work as part of this process. And next day Curt the Wonder Shoer was here, and grabbed his driving lines and put her through her paces and declared that she's a natural.
Diagnosis: She needs a job. I made a mistake by giving her a vacation after evals. I should have put her straight to work and kept her there. So, she's been getting work almost every day, learning to drive. Our goal: Rodeo Parade 2007 (biggest nonmechanized parade in the world; big local deal and really really cool, full of horses and wagons and people in costume). 2006 is too soon, but maybe we can do a show in the spring. She's a kickass candidate for driving competition; Lipps are some of the best driving horses in the world, and she's a very fancy Lipp. The benefits for her future as a riding horse are that she can learn to move and balance in harness without worrying about my weight on her back, and if she acts up, she's a bit safer to handle. Plus driving is all about the forward gear, which she has a problem with (though she's infinitely better than she used to be).
So, she's working on steering and moving in the lines now. In a couple of weeks she'll get a breast collar and will start pulling a tire. Then we'll work up from there. Curt has a cart he thinks will do for her. Eventually she'll learn to pull it. Et voila! New job for the War Mare, and new equine skill for me. Driving is something I've always wanted to do, but done very little of except for a tiny bit of sulky-driving years and years ago.
So far so good, she says. She likes having work to do that she's good at and gets praised for. And she's off the sales list as long as she acts like a civilized person.
Meanwhile Pandora has had more ridden work, which she loves. Big big horse! Zoom! Zoom! Wheee! Capria and keed have had innings--keed got ground-driven when he bugged for it, and he thought it was OK. He used to do a lot of it before he started under saddle. And Pook finally got back to work. First ride on Monday was a bit like riding a rocket. He wanted to go-go-go, which was new; he used to stick at the trot and worry about his balance and not wanna, and steering was never his best skill.
His approach to being ridden has changed completely. Steering is now very nice indeed, and he wants to trot under saddle. I let him decide when on Monday, just told him where, and was a little cautious because he was borderline explosive. That's when the testosterone kicks in and he can buck or bolt, but he didn't do either. He ended up with three days off because of day off, then shoer day, then rain, but tonight he was splendid. For the first time he feels like a real horse: imperfect, needs help with balance and using his back, but he's within the aids and his trot is free and forward and willing. No more sticking and fussing. He really wants to do this. And wow, what a trot! It needs lots of refinement, relaxation, engagement and all of that, but it's big and boingy and dead-on rhythmic. Lots and lots of fun, in short.
I just love it when they take a vacation and spend it studying dressage. (i.e. latent learning, which horses are big on and Lipps, being genetically engineered for it, are naturals at)
He really is my custom-fitted pony. Though so is Pandora and she's 'way on the other end of the size spectrum. It's true what they say, a good horse is always the right size.
