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Signed up: 3 years ago (1/19/07)
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Guardia
18 year-old female from Ottawa, Ontario
I live in Canada and enjoy weekly horseback riding lessons. I'm usually online playing a variety of different 360 games.

I like meeting new people. That is not an invitation to send a random friend request.

I'm finding myself on RT less and less often. I don't post on the forums anymore and I have fallen behind on my writing. I'm trying to change this.

My FanFiction:
It can be found here.
Latest JournalView Journal

February 24th, 2010

Let There Be Snow!

It's still snowing here. It's kind of odd, because it has already started to melt a little. Oh well, I'm not complaining. ^^

I don't know if I told any of you on here yet, but I finally got my G1 a few weeks ago. Now I don't feel like such a loser anymore. I'm still working on getting a job, but it's hard because most places aren't hiring. I'm going out this weekend to pass around resumes, and I just hope I can get a job somewhere. I feel like a complete bum.

School's going okay I suppose. I got an 83 average for last semester, which isn't too bad. Math was low because I had a huge sinus headache/ stomach flu/ head cold going on the day of exams. Needless to say, I couldn't think straight or reason very well. I got a 66, but my mark only dropped to an 82. For some reason, my sickness enabled me to get an 83 on my Bio exam and an 86 on my Politics. I was very confused to say the least, but I'll take it. It's especially odd, because one of the long answer questions for Politics (worth 10 marks) asked us to pretend we were an adviser to the Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1994, and outline the situation in Rwanda. I barely remember writing the exam, so I went to my teacher afterwards to look at it. Turns out I had outlined an entire 5 paragraph military strategy on how to combat the situation. I feel strategical. And I got full marks. xD

Horseback riding is still going great. My jump lessons stat next week, and I am quite excited to see if I get Mercedes. It's a long shot, though, because for some reason someone scheduled a Jump 1 and Jump 3 class to be at the same time (which usually never happens) and the barn only has a limited number of Jump level horses. We'll see though.

I'm also planning on getting back into writing. I finished an unfinished one that I could have sworn that I had finished, and it has inspired me to get back into writing. I miss reading everyone else's stuff and hope they can get back into it too.

That's about it. School time! Bleh. -.-
Groups4 Groups
Balls 2 That Balls 2 That www.balls2that.com
5 Awesome RvBers 5 Awesome RvBers Weekly video blogs with five members of the RT community
Zero Punctuation Appreciation Group Zero Punctuation Appreciation Group For fans of the charismatic stallion that is Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw
Calling all Writers Calling all Writers A community for Writers of all styles
Games I'm Playing10 Games
The Goods
NAME
Guardia (aka Sarah)
BIRTHDAY
October 6th, 1991
INTERESTS
Horseback riding movies Bluesfest video games late night walks
FAVORITE MUSIC
Drist Bang Camaro Moist Tonic Trocadero Big Wreck Billy Idol Breaking Benjamin Foo Fighters Regina Spektor OK Go Pat Benatar Ah Ha! Kiss Nirvana Prodigy Three Days Grace Sick Puppies Smashing Pumpkins A Fine Frenzy Kanye West Colin James Nickelback James Blunt Van Halen AC/DC Black Sabbath Manteca Dave Matthews The Hoosiers Queen Daughtry Trans-Siberian Orchestra East Village Opera Company Against Me Rise Against In Flames Senses Fail Killswitch Engage Sara Bareilles Panic! At The Disco Sloan Blue Oyster Cult Radio Head Soundgarden Payolas Butthole Surfers Cobra Starship Hellogoodbye Baptized by Fire The Bravery Gob Aerosmith Dropkick Murphy's The Offspring Frank SInatra The Manhattan Transfer The Stills Sam Roberts Stone Temple Pilots The Beatles Lady Antebellum Jet Queens of the Stone Age
FAVORITE MOVIES
The Bourne Ultimatum Die Hard Office Space Cellular The Prestige The Departed October Sky Miracle The Hunt For Red October Clear and Present Danger The Sum of All Fears Ladder 49 Shaun of the Dead Transformers A Clockwork Orange Saving Private Ryan I Am Legend the Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada 21 Swordfish The Princess Bride Iron Man Thank You For Smoking The Mist The Incredible Hulk Hancock The Minority Report Batman Begins Spongebob Squarepants Movie The Dark Knight See You In Youtube The Texas Chainsaw Massacre The Silence of the Lambs Stargate Stargate: The Ark of Truth Stargate: Continuum The Breakfast Club Max Payne W Tim Burton's Corpse Bride Valkyrie The Fifth Element The Day The Earth Stood Still Assault on Precinct 13 August War Inc. Push Face/Off He's Just Not That Into You Sunshine Nick and Norah's Inifinite Playlist Bon Cop Bad Cop Three Kings Star Trek Terminator Salvation Fight Club Phonebooth American History X Defiance
FAVORITE TV SHOWS
24 Bones Crossing Jordan NCIS Criminal Minds Numb3rs CSI CSI: NY Diagnosis X House M.D Mythbusters Dirty Jobs Flightpath Seconds to Disaster Mayday Dogfights Disorderly Conduct Whacked Out Sports Seven Days Spaced Nip/ Tuck Stargate SG-1 Stargate: Atlantis World's Most Amazing Videos Mutant X Family Guy The Simpsons Just For Laughs Di Gata Defenders Chaotic Bleach Death Note Gundam Wing Zoids Total Drama Island Class of the Titans Chaotic Ben 10 X-Play Attack of the Show Reviews on the Run Electric Playground Arrested Development Billable Hours Corner Gas Beat the Geeks Las Vegas Flashpoint The Listener Castle
FAVORITE BOOKS
Break No Bones The Sight Firebringer Fell The Bourne Legacy Aftermath The Snow Spider Trilogy 24 Declassified Unexplained Mysteries of World War 2 Rainbow Six Splinter Cell The Hunt for Red October The Sum of All Fears Clear and Present Danger Eragon Eldest Splinter Cell: Fallout The Golden Compass The Subtle Knife The Amber Spyglass Speak Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Halo Graphic Novel A Clockwork Orange Crime and Punishment An American Lion Supreme Courtship More information Than You Requre The Road Watership Down Charlotte's Web
FAVORITE VIDEO GAMES
Project Gotham Racing 2 Project Gotham Racing 3 Halo: Combat Evolved Halo 2 Burnout: Revenge Viva Pinata Guitar Hero II Transformers: The Game The Simpsons: Hit and Run Call of Duty 2 Call of Duty 3 Halo 3 Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock Call of Duty 4 Soldiers of Fortune Project Gotham Racing 4 Forza Motorsport Forza Motorsport 2 Big Brain Academy Battlestation Midway F.E.A.R. Shadowrun Hellgate: London Starcraft Crysis Rock Band Ninja Gaiden 2 Portal Supreme Commander Army of Two Mirror's Edge Lego Star Wars Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation Prince of Persia Gears of War 2 Fallout 3 Fable 2 Fable Castle Crashers Space Giraffe Texas Hold 'Em Halo Wars Rainbow Six Vegas 2 Prototype
GAMERTAG
NAV Rebel
Friends18 Friends
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BrooKiki
BrooKiki
Posted 6 days ago
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Yeah, mental and physical stimulation is important. If he enjoys jumping, it's good to get him out.
BrooKiki
BrooKiki
Posted 6 days ago
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Glad you go it! It's amazing how much of riding is mental. It sounds like you handled everything really well. It's always good for a horse like that to get a good ride.
BrooKiki
BrooKiki
Posted 6 days ago
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Well, I want to disclaim this by saying that I don't think you should get yourself into a situation where you're in an adversarial relationship with the horse. They honestly aren't out to get you. (I know you know this, but it's so easy to feel that way. ) Also, keep in mind that it's hard to give advice without seeing what's going on. That said:

First, is it a problem with just you or is with everyone? Is it consistent? And have they ruled out any health problems? There was one little Morgan mare that I rode once that was the sweetest horse ever, but she had a metabolic disorder. When she felt good, she would go really well. When she felt good, nothing would make her move.

Also, is it just that he doesn't want to go forward or is he refusing to do anything? Does he stop and turn for you? Because that's two separate issues.

Most horses are either forward (they're easier to get going than to stop) or backward (a lot easier to stop than go). Some are really extreme, others are just a little bit. But if Thomas is backward, that's just the way he is. Personally, I would rather have one that's a little backward, but that's a personal preference.

Blackie, my favorite horse, is backward. Frankly, he's lazy. There are two things with him that you have to remember: intent and be consistent. And since I'm assuming a lot of people are riding Thomas, I think you're going to have a similar problem.

Point blank, horses are smart and they're pretty good at figuring out whether the person riding them really means what they're saying and whether they're going to follow through. First, with Blackie (and this is with everyone that rides him), if you got on him with the intention that yes, we are going to ride today and we're going to do it right, then a lot of times, he'll become a slightly forward horse. When I "ride like I mean it" (as Wayne puts it), I've found myself having to hold him back a few things. So, a big deal is just getting into the mindset of yes, we are going to ride today.

Second, consistency is a huge thing. Wayne's rule (and I'm really, really bad for breaking this) is open the door, squeeze once, kick twice, and then go to the quirt (or crop). Ideally, if you do this every single time, after a while, the horse is going to realize "I can either resist and go through all this, then go or I can just go and get it over with." Most of them choose the latter. And also, don't let him stop on you. EVER. If he stops on his own, push him a little further, then tell him to stop. And also, does he stop at certain places?

Above all, don't let him get bored. Keep him busy and don't give him a chance to decide to start slacking off.

And finally, keep in mind that horses get better or worse when you ride them and every time you ride him, you're going to inherit the baggage of everyone else that has ridden him. That means that if the person who rides before you lets him stop at the gate, slow down, or cut corners, you're going to have to fix that when you ride. Just try to think a few steps ahead of him.
BrooKiki
BrooKiki
Posted 2 weeks ago
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It's been at least that long for me, too. I haven't seen the new series (but I have all the DVDs), so I'd like to go back and watch the old ones before watching the new episodes.
BrooKiki
BrooKiki
Posted 2 weeks ago
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Same here! I've been meaning to rewatch the series for ages.
BrooKiki
BrooKiki
Posted 2 weeks ago
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Awesome. We can try to get something set up soon.
Bayard
Bayard
Posted 3 weeks ago
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Re-write of last "Dark Crusade" chapter. Thought you might like to look.
BrooKiki
BrooKiki
Posted 3 weeks ago
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That's really interesting. I guess it's partially what you're used to and partially just a major personal preference? I guess that if I had started off on bigger horses, I'd probably like bigger. Of course, the thing that really threw me was the difference in movement, I think. Dreamer, the thoroughbred had this huge bouncy trot. Lewis, a really muscular quarter horse, had something a little bit similar, but when Dreamer moved, the motion was really strange.
HurriHam
HurriHam
Never Lost
Posted 4 weeks ago
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Yay. I helped?
HurriHam
HurriHam
Never Lost
Posted 1 month ago
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Get well.
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