Ride Today

Well I finally rode today ! I actually made it out to the barn yesterday with the intent to ride but I ended up trimming feet AGAIN (just did it wednesday !) His fronts were a little wonky and I had to redo some stuff to get them right.

Anyway, I did go on a nice trail ride today. I brought along a newish boarder and her horse today, he was great on the trail. The only issue with Cowboy was the grass arggggggg but he did eventually settle down about that. He ended up getting a little workout because I kept trotting him to catch up after he would sneak grass breaks.

But, then there was drama part. The other gals horse shoots out of the trailer like a ROCKET !!! We put him about 1/2 back on and made him back out slowly and nicely a few times, apparently the only time the owner had seen him come out of a trailer was when he was brought to the barn and there was an issue with the the trailer. So anyway, he loaded fine etc. When we got back to the barn however, we put the ramp down and the horse started trying to slam himself out. He ended up bending the top door. And yes, it gets worse, he stops and then Im trying to get the butt bar off and the owner was supposed to be unhooking him and about that time Cowboy things he has to come and I said NO to Cowboy (who immediately stood still )but the gal thought I was talking to HER and she didnt unhook him! So he came slamming out of the trailer, the tie didnt break until he was all the way out and had reared up twice. Gosh it was SO ugly and scary !!! So now we have this horse freaked, we have Cowboy still on the trailer going WHAT THE HELL and Im trying to calm HIm down while they get the other one. MAN ! The horse didnt hurt himself amazingly. And I got Cowboy off with no problems. But what an icky ending to a great ride !

Im trying to come up with some ideas to make it safer for his owner to work with him on this issue. So far Im thinking not to tie him ? Im thinking you gotta put a butt bar on him but thats his cue to shoot out like a rocket ? I dont know, Ive never encountered this problem before, mine have always been getting horses ON a trailer. Im open to any suggestions !

Knight and Pepsi (As usual, very long)

So, I rode both horses today which was good, but I'm EXHAUSTED. I was going to go to the CDI dressage show, but I'm too tired to make it now. Oh well.

I'll start with Knight, since I rode him first. He was very good, but a little lazy. I'm not sure if he's still a little sore, or if he was just hot. I DO know that he's still VERY out of shape, and that he wasn't thrilled with leaving his herdmates. ;) But he wasn't bad by any means- just a little sluggish.

I only rode Knight for about 30 minutes, and most of that was walking. We did a few trot 'sets' but only for about 30 seconds each. He just wasn't very forward, and I didn't want to push him since he is still SO out of shape. But he didn't put up a fuss about anything, and eventually we went back to the barn to hose him off and give him some yummy alfalfa cubes. ;)

Now, on to Pepsi. Like Kate, this post almost became a 'for sale' ad.

He started out VERY well and was very responsive and listening. When I got on (after doing groundwork!) he was a little up but I was thrilled with that, because that means his bruising is growing out.

Anyway, we worked on some walk-trot-halt transitions and some bending and collection. He was SOOO good and I was really happy with him. Then it started to get windy (a front was coming through) and the barn manager was doing stalls for the night. He was a little worried about the muck bucket cart that she was wheeling around, but it was really quite cute because he got all tucked underneath himself and was really using his hind end! I was just about ready to walk him out to cool him down when some JACKASS decided to start shooting RIGHT OUTSIDE THE RING!!! (Unfortunately, that land is NOT part of the barn, so people are pretty much allowed to do whatever the hell they want to out there.) Also unfortunately, Pepsi lost it. Now, for once in my life, I don't blame him, because the shots were close enough that they scared the hell out of ME! The poor thing started freaking out, and when I could get him stopped long enough I got off and tried to get his attention back on me. Yeah.....not so much. We walked/jigged/chomped on the bit all the way back to the barn. And when we arrived? He promptly tried to bolt back to the field. Finally, after watching me struggle for nearly 10 minutes trying to get Pepsi's bridle off and his halter on, the barn manager came over and helped hold him for me. It then took both of us to get him in the wash stall (he was COVERED in sweat and foam and NEEDED a shower) and also took both of us to keep him there.

Honestly, the poor horse was so distressed he was SHAKING. But even while he was shaking he was trying EVERYTHING he could think of to get OUT of that wash stall, out of the barn, and back to his pasture, where (I'm assuming) he thought he'd be safe. He tried rearing once, struck out about 15 times (and nearly got me in the head once and almost got Debbie- the barn manager- in the thigh once or twice!) and then, on TOP of all of that, he actually squished me against the wall TWICE! The first time wasn't so bad, because he pinned me so I couldn't get arm out to beat him off of me, but it didn't hurt. The second time however, I SMACKED him as he was swinging his body toward me, but I don't even think he noticed. He just slammed right into me, and he pinned me against the wall so tight I could hardly breathe. Debbie was REALLY worried about me, but Pepsi was just being so crazy that even between the 2 of us, a lead line, cross-ties, a crop AND a sweat scraper (great for smacking when nothing else is available!) we could STILL barely control him. I swear, I've been around horses my entire life and I have NEVER seen a horse react to ANYTHING like that. It was truly frighteneing.

Anyway, after a while we got him calmed down enough for me to start leading him out and back to his pasture. We had to wrap the rope around his nose (I can't find my chain!) for extra control, and that STILL barely kept him from bolting. Debbie even told me 4 or 5 different times, if he takes off YOU LET HIM GO! Do NOT try to hang on to him like this, especially with your ankle! And believe me, if you knew Debbie, she does NOT tell people to let go of their horses. At that point though, I think she was truly scared for my safety.

Anyway, we got back to the pasture ok and when I let him go he took off running and bucking like a looney toon. I wish we had a gigantic 15 acre field where I could just gallop him around until he exhausts himself and calms down, but we don't. So, tomorrow we're back to more ground work and HOPEFULLY a good ride!

Kate & Pro - 5/31

This was almost a "for sale" ad.

The barn has been in much chaos with the New Horse arriving, new fencing being put up, New Horse's owner buzzing around with new things. Also, *something* has Pro looking out of his stall window all day, I have no idea.

The ride started okay (after our usual hand-walking session) - I've found he's better when I really get him chewing and working the bit in both directions at the walk at the start of our ride. So I put him on a 20m circle and just play with some shoulder-fore and get him to relax, drop his neck, and reach for the bit and chew it. Then I move our circle elsewhere - near the "new fence", the jump poles by the side of the arena, the Tree. He started off with a tense walk, so I had to work to get him out of it. Then it wasn't so much tense, but it wasn't open and free. Kept working on it, and he was finally where I wanted him.

Then the trot work, which was super on the circle. He felt good enough to where I started to go large around the arena...and then came the TOTAL MELTDOWN by the poles. It all starts when his head comes up and his back tightens up. Hands forward, kick on. Then the temper tantrum. Total refusal to go by the poles/tree unless it's in a frame that resembles those crazy-eyed saddle seat horses (neck straight up, tight back, etc.).

Alright. Get off, more hand walking with Mr. Whip. Back on, with the whip. He *loathes* the whip. Back to working solidly at the walk. He will, but it's with a sort of "pissy resignation" where he's just really annoyed with the whole deal. Trot again on the circle, seems okay with that. Refuses to go by the poles in anything resembling a nice frame.

Okay, then. Off, lunge line. Trot and canter work right by the poles. Scoots by the area each time like something's chasing him. Repeat 50x until he finally drops his neck and chews the bit.

By now it's been an hour and a half - I'm nearly dead from the heat, and of course Mr. Arab is not even showing signs of fatigue. I really wish I had a horse that I could tire out!! He did give me some good effort on the lunge, so I call it a day and take him in to hose off. He knows he's in trouble, so he let me hose him off, even his face. The other boarder was pretty impressed that he'll stand in the wash stall with no halter and let me hose him off from face to butt, and never try to move. He'll move his head around when I try to get his face, but he's excellent about standing.

At least he has superb ground manners.

I guess we all have rides like this, right?! It's interesting...my work at Duke is on achievement motivation, and I've read some stuff lately about teacher's evaluations of student's effort and ability. Teachers report being the most frustrated when students are high on ability and low on effort. My mom was a first grade teacher and always said, "Give me a slow kid who tries over a smart kid who's lazy ANY day!" And I think that's (part of) why I get frustrated - when Pro's good, he's brilliant and a complete joy to ride. When he's bad, he's SO bad. And I know he has the ability, so it frustrates me.

Hopefully Andrea (other rider) will have a better ride on him tomorrow. What a brat!

Christie's Week

Well, as you might have guessed I haven't been riding this week. :( I thought I would share why.

First, here is a picture of my schoolmaster Sam and the "old" me I miss so much! Sam came to me underweight, and was a HARD keeper, but worth his weight in gold. After he passed, I found out for sure that he had malignant metastatic melanoma. Sam has a long story.

This is Sam and me at our FIRST jumping show, in a hunter class we crashed! We took home the blues that day. :)

Monday 5-26-08 I went to look at a potential lease horse. I have decided that it would be good if I could ride a made horse again to work on ME. This horse is pretty awesome. The owner showed his lunging, which was very impressive. "Little trot" to "BIG trot" to "little trot" again all on voice command. Walk, trot, whoa, walk, canter, etc. ALL on voice command with instant responses. I was impressed. Then she rode him. He was her Pony Club horse and has evented through Preliminary Level. Not a packer, but a definite schoolmaster!

Now it is my turn to ride. Walk, halt, walk transitions. He is in front of my leg. He is VERY soft in the bridle with NICE contact, on the bit. Nice comments from owner about my contact and soft hands. Trot...WOW! Looks can be deceiving! Huge trot! Back to walk, now I know what to expect. More trot to left. Trot walk transitions. He is SO responsive. Still soft in the bridle with amazing contact, using himself well! He would collect and then go long and low beautifully. Now we go to the right. I ask for trot, at least that is what I intended to ask for. He picks up the canter. I wasn't prepared, but the first few strides feel lovely. Then he starts going faster. I already knew not to get in his face, so I am giving with the reins and trying to slow him...but my body isn't cooperating! I am leaning forward too much with too much leg on, and that along with the giving rein means go REALLY fast. (He is a former steeplechase horse, too!) We are heading towards a jump...better to fall before the jump than over the jump, so off I come, hard.

I get up, and the owner collects the horse. She comes over and seems COMPLETELY shocked when I tell her I would like to get back on!?! I do get back on. More walk, halt, walk transitions, both directions. Especially where we got too fast and I fell. Trot, walk, trot transitions. I am reluctant to use too much outside leg, and he drifts out. Put leg on and he comes back in. I could learn so much from this horse! I would definitely need to ride him again before deciding to lease him.

The owner and I have talked. Here is her assessment:

I think your biggest challenge is adjusting to your time out of the saddle and the change in your body at the same time. Even just one of these things is enough to deal with, but you have 2. You know exactly what to do, the hard part is just making your body do it.

Working on ME because of the time I have been out of the saddle and my body changes is why I want to ride a made horse. Plus, when I DID get back into riding two years ago it was on a green horse who takes a LOT of leg, not the sensitive TB type I rode before.

So, I haven't ridden this week because my back and hip have been bothering me quite a bit, with numbness in some places and hypersensitive spots in other places that feel like hot needles are poking me, even though there is not a mark there.

Then, Thursday 5-29 I get a call from the barn that Deuce has cut his leg and is bleeding badly! Sometimes the reports I get like this are accurate, and sometimes they are exaggerated, but thoughts about what happened to Teddy (Theodore O'Connor) pop into my mind as I go rushing over. I get there, and Deuce is grazing happily! The cut is right above his right front fetlock, but is pretty superficial, thank goodness!

I'm going to be brave...here is a picture of Deuce and me after our second hunter pace together 10-21-07:

Another one, the day I had him exactly two years. :)
Deuce is a pretty unflappable guy and a VERY good boy! He is also a red roan overo Paint, but his red roan is hard to see! He has a medicine hat and some other roan markings. He basically looks white with blue eyes, though! When I take him places people try to guess his breed, and I get some of the wildest guesses!

Mandros' Surgery

I thought everyone would appreciate an update about Mandros.

Mandros had his surgery Friday and came home that night. An ultrasound was done on his leg Thursday and he had far more scar tissue than originally thought. A normal amount of scar tissue for an injury like this is 4-5 cm long, he had 20-25 cm of scar tissue. Because there was so much, the vet wasnt able to cut the scar tissue out, he had to cut a slit in it.

Mandros is doing well so far. He has been upset from being at the vet and doesnt like his very small paddock. He isnt supposed to be on stall rest, but is supposed to be in a small area where he cant run and buck around. When I went to see him tonight he was waiting at the gate, which he NEVER does. And when I tried to put him back in his paddock, he wouldnt go. He seemed very lonely. I spent alot of time brushing and loving on him.

He is walking better already! He wont be able to be ridden as soon as we thought because Mandros had too much scar tissue to remove. We will start to hand walk him in 2 days, and do that for at least 10 days. I did take a pic of his leg and the wound, but it was draining and kinda bloody, so I didnt post it. Ill get a cleaner pic of it later. I did get a cute pic of his face today. I figure we need pictures up here as much as possible. Maybe thats becuase Im a very visual person.

Mary Rode Twice Today!

I started off today by working with Pepsi. It went really well right up until the end. (Again )He started out a little hot (obviously most of the bruising has grown out!) but we worked through it on the ground. He seriously thought about taking off toward the barn a few times (the first time I asked him for a jog in-hand he cantered, bucked, and tried to run out the gate!) but we worked through it. After about 10 times of asking him for a CORRECT jog and not a free-for-all gallop, he settled down and really listened.

After he was being a very good boy and listening I got on him and he was SO good. I think I finally have my 'hot' horsey back and not my lazy little horse! I can do SO much more with him when he's up...it's hard to collect the energy when there's nothing coming through to begin with!

So, we worked on listening and some leg yields. Our leg yields are no where NEAR being great, but he's starting to get the idea. He likes to pop his shoulder out a lot (we're definitely still working on balance!) but today I tapped him with my heel ON his shoulder when he did that. After a few times of him moving off my foot, I could tell a light bulb went off in his brain..."Oh, so THAT'S what you've been trying to get me to do! Ok!" :D

We trotted and walked around a bit more (I was on bareback again, but I think tomorrow the saddle is coming back on so the REAL work can begin!) and then I finally got off. We did a few more minutes of groundwork before I took him in, and he was VERY responsive.

Anyway, upon taking him in and hosing him off, I decided I should soak his foot. I noticed it started smelling yesterday, and while I don't think any thrush is developing, I'd rather be safe than sorry. Now, one thing you should know about this horse is he HATES having his feet soaked and standing still. Like, he needs horsey Ridalin to be able to even THINK about standing still for more than 50 seconds at a time. So, this is where it STARTS to get bad. I'm trying to get him to stand with his feet in a bucket of water and he's trying his best NOT to stand with his feet in a bucket of water. Finally (after about 10 minutes and 3 re-filled buckets of water later) I give up and take him out to graze. As I'm walking him out a student having a lesson falls off and screams as she hits the ground. (And yes, she was fine- just bruised pride.) Still, as if the screaming wasn't bad enough, her horse decides to gallop arond the ring for 5 minutes instead of being caught. Finally, Pepsi just can't take any more and goes galloping off toward the pasture. I hung on for a few strides, but finally let go when I tripped and nearly fell down! (NOT the best thing for my ankle right after surgery!)

So, he takes off GALLOPING AND BUCKING toward the pasture, and I've just had it. I go catch him, and it's been a LONG time since this horse has seen me this mad. As in, he starts backing up away from me as soon as I touch the lead line. He's blowing and snorting too, probably because he's telepathic and could tell I was thinking of throwing him in the nearest river and letting him fend for himself. Anyway, after YET ANOTHER 10 minutes of groundwork, he's settled down but is still listening to everything I ask of him, and I'm too freaking tired to do any more with him. I throw him out in the pasture (note: NOT the nearest river!), give him a pat, and leave.

I then make my way down to my friend's house to ride Knight. By the time I get there, it's almost 8:30 and there's hardly any light to see by. So I tack him up and hit the trail in the almost pitch dark. We're out all of 7 minutes before it IS pitch dark and I can't even see, so I finally turn him around to head back home. Of course, like all horses, he doesn't actually have to SEE anything in order to go home. You could probably blindfold him and tie 2 of his legs together, and he'd STILL find his way back to the barn. ;) But he was angel about everything (even my BIG SCARY TRUCK with lots of stuff inside the bed!) and got lots of petting and grazing time when we got back.

Anyway, tomorrow I'm going to 1) get out to ride Knight earlier and 2) put a chain on Pepsi for hte next several weeks or so. I want to be SURE that when I say stop he STOPS! I'm also going to throw a saddle on and make him WORK tomorrow. Then maybe he'll be too tired to pull anything when it's time to go back to the pasture. ;)

Kate & Pro - 5/30

So I got a "naughty" report from my co-rider about Pro's behavior yesterday. Apparently a new fence was put up by the arena and he just had a meltdown. Well, we're not having any of that. Mom has a Zero Tolerance Policy toward spooking (I really do try hard to enforce this).

I started off hand-walking with our friend Mr. Whip and he was fine - didn't even need the whip. So I got on and had a fairly decent ride. No silly stuff near the fence or his usual bunny tree area. He wasn't as giving with the inside rein (both directions) as I like, but it was okay overall. Tara (barn owner) even set up some trot poles at the end of our ride.

Well OH. MY. GOODNESS. You'd have thought that I had set up a 3' fence for him to go over. He trots up, ears perked, staaaarts to baaack offff...BALKS. I kick. Scoot forward, jig, LEAP the first pole, LEAP LEAP the next two poles. Needless to say, we repeated this process until he got the hang of it.

She then spread the poles out a bit further and that was a bit trickier. He would trot the first, then canter/trip over the next two. Repeated several times. FINALLY he was a good boy and just pushed through all three at a big trot. However, he really liked the new "spice" in our ride so I'm going to keep them set up in the arena for awhile. :)

Alright guys...it's getting hotter but this blog is for motivation. GET OUT THERE AND RIDE. I don't see enough posts!!! ;)

Hello from Ellen (Gabby) and Hobbes

Hi everyone! Just wanted to introduce myself and my favorite thoroughbred, Hobbes. Hobbes is a 16 yr old OTTB that I have been leasing for over a year now. He's quite a packer, although he is not what I'd call a schoolmaster. He was a show hunter for years until he became too lame to do the bigger stuff, so he was donated to a school in VA, where I found him. I've been dumping money into him trying to keep him sound enough to teach me a few more things and take care of me! I've been riding since I was a kid, but I have a tendency to be a nervous rider due to too many dishonest horses in my past...Hobbes is very level-headed and trustworthy!

We're currently concentrating on dressage, but all of our flatwork is revealing some lameness that I CANNOT get rid of; my vet is great and has done as much as he can. When I told him I was thinking about buying Hobbes, his reply was, "Dont make an emotional decision." So...I'm now starting to look at sound horses to purchase. I am so heartbroken about returning my giant pony, but it would be such a bad decision to buy him now as I'd have to board/pay for a horse that couldn't show. He's sound enough to ride regularly, and does better w/ regular work, but I'm not comfortable showing a horse that has even a minor hitch in his giddy up.

I will attempt to keep ya'll updated on my new horse search and my training w/ Hobbes.
Speaking of training, I've been riding in my dressage saddle for months now. I switched back to my cc saddle for a change last night and I felt like I've never ridden before! My hands were all over the place, I felt like I was gonna tip straight over his shoulder, and he was loving the opportunity to dig a whole while he was on his forehand. Note to self: switch back and forth more often.

Good Boy!... and some BAD BOY!!... and finally good boy again!

Today my horsey was VERY good almost the whole time! (He was VERY bad one time, but we'll get to that...)

So I had my A & P test today (2 in fact) and my brain was FRIED by the time I was done with class this afternoon. So I went straight to the barn after supper for some wind-down time with Pookie-head. I groomed him (isn't that the most soothing thing EVER?), threw on his bridle and jumped on him bareback for a hack around the ring. Well, that was my plan. As it turns out, we ended up working on some transitions and some bending and baby collection. It was still nice and relaxing even though I ended up thinking a LOT more than I had originally planned to when I first got on.

Anyway, nothing major happened, I was happy and relaxed, and got off to let him graze while I put his stuff away. While doing that I noticed some of my barnmates 'playing' in the ring with their horses. I went over to watch and see that they're doing groundwork games! Just what I've been trying to do with Pepsi! So I crash the party and immediately start picking their brains. (Bless them for being so nice to me too! Thanks Jennifer & Becky!!)

Anyway, I go get Pepsi and Becky works with him for about 3 minutes. She says he seems willing and that he generally understands what she's asking for- he just isn't very quick and doesn't respond IMMEDIATELY. She uses the crop to get a few points across to him, and then works with me on my body language. After a few minutes I have him doing turns on the forehand, turns on the haunches, backing up, and generally moving any part of his body I ask him to. Since I am a MUCH better rider than I am a groundwork person/handler, this is a MAJOR accomplishment for us both. Becky just tweaked a few things with my body language/positioning and reminded me to stay consistent no matter what! (Another self-admitted weakness!)

Anyway, Pepsi has been SO good and I'm SO happy and I decide to put him up for the night so we end on a fantastic note. (This is the GOOD Boy part!) So I walk him over to the gate, open it, ask him to walk out, and as I'm turning around to close the gate he just TAKES OFF! He pulls the rope out of my hand and heads straight for the barn. So here I am thinking that I've just done ALL this groundwork and really feel like I'm getting somewhere with him, and I drop my guard for a SECOND to close the gate and he takes off! (And really, this came out of NOWHERE! I can read his body language really well, and he walked out of the gate calmly, started turning around calmly, and right as his nose was pointed to the barn he just decided "I'm done!" and took off at a canter away from me.) In case you haven't figured it out yet this is the BAD BOY part!

I was SOOO frustrated, and he knew better than to try anything else after that! He followed me back into the ring, we worked for about another 10 minutes, and when I went to take him back out again we stopped and backed about 5 times before getting near the gate, then stopped about 4 times through the gate, and then did a nice turn on the haunches so I could turn around and close the gate WITHOUT his nose getting away from me. ;)

The good news though is that when we went back in to work, since he knew I was upset, he did EVERYTHING I asked absolutely IMMEDIATELY. There were no delays or evasions, just "Yes ma'am!" and "Did I do that right?" So, thankfully we ended on a good note, which is of course the 'finally a good boy again' part.

Ok, now I need to go to bed and get some sleep!

Mandros's surgery and our ride today

I couldnt sleep last night, so I ended up staying up until morning. I figured I'd go ahead and ride Mandros early. I havent ridden in the morning in years (not including shows). I thought it would be a quiet day at the barn. Well, the weather was crazy, hay was delivered today, and the vet was there. The hay came in a bright orange 18 wheeler. Mandros thought he was going to die when he had to walk past the truck. He is a pretty calm guy and after we passed the truck he wasnt really bothered by everything going on.

Our ride was terrible. Well, it wasnt that bad, it was just frustrating. I havent had a good ride on him in 2 weeks. His leg is causing him discomfort and he isnt as willing to work. He has to be ridden so that the muscle doesnt get worse, but it has anyway. The past two weeks Ive had trouble getting him to take his left lead and keep it, and today he didnt want to do leg yeilds. When his leg is sore/tight, he will try and cheat and not do what I ask him. For example, I was asking him to do leg yeilds, but because lateral work stretches that muscle, he tried to get out of it by piaffing. He's thinking "this is hard and kinda hurts, if I do the hardest thing I know how to, I wont have to do the thing she asked". This is why we are having the surgery done. Before, he wasnt sore and it seemed to be getting better, but now its getting worse.

He goes in for his surgery tomorrow (Thursday). They will either do it Thursday or Friday, depending on the radiographs and how hard it is to find the scar tissue. He will come home the day after the surgery. He is supposed to be ridden 36 hours after the surgery. Ridden lightly of course and then working his way back up. If he isnt ridden soon after surgery, the scar tissue will grown back quickly. Im going with the owner to take him tomorrow. I wasnt planning on going, but it seemed like she really wanted to go with someone, so I agreed. Fingers crossed that it goes well and his recovery is speedy. If not, Ill be riding Pro, Kate's horse (she doesnt know this yet ;)

Mary (Juby), Pepsi and Knight! -- Long

Warning: This post will most assuredly be very long, with lots of random twists and turns, and probably even some sentences that seem to make no sense at all. This is mainly because my brain is now FRIED from studying (seemingly NON-STOP) for over 4 days now, and I will apologize now, in advance, for any confusion or mental instability that comes from reading this blog. You have been warned...

Ok, so my name is Mary and I'm juby2be on NCHN. I own Pepsi, who is currently going through some issues with on-and-off lameness due to some bruising. Therefore, I am also riding Knight, an ex-jumper who is owned by a friend of mine. So some posts will be about Pepsi and some posts will be about Knight. They are both COMPLETELY different horses which will be fabulous for my riding!

Pepsi (otherwise known as "Brat", "Pookie-head" or "you little imp!") is a 13-ish year old gelding who is intelligent, dominate, stubborn, and completely and UTTERLY adorable when he wants to be. This, of course, is usually only AFTER he does something impish, mischevious, or just plain BAD - which is why he then gives you his 'I'm such an angel, obviously *I* couldn't have done that!' face. (Kind of like the time he dropped and rolled in the round pen with my BRAND FREAKING NEW SADDLE ON HIS BACK! Yes, I seriously considered killing him that day.)

When he ISN'T being bratty though he's actually quite a pleasure to be around. Well, now at least. For the first several years we had 'discussions' almost everyday about what was acceptable and what was not. For instance- running me into the gate while trying to get back to the herd? Not acceptable. Trying to run me over because he didn't like where we were going? Not acceptable. Breaking the cross-ties? Not acceptable. Although he is INCREDIBLY intelligent, he is also incredibly stubborn. This tends to work against his handler/owner. Because he can figure out how to evade you/ignore you, and as SOON as you figure out how to get him to listen, he has already figured out 10 MORE ways to evade you/ignore you. However, he has FINALLY decided that it's less work to listen to me in the first place than it is to get run around in a round pen/on a lunge line/ on a lead rope and has now decided to stop arguing with me and to do what I ask. We now quietly stand in the cross-ties and get a bath WHILE the scary tractor goes behind us AND our herdmate walks past us to leave on a trail ride.

Needless to say, this horse has been a HELL of a lot of work. But progress is being made, and I'm happy about that.

Actually, I just recently discovered (this week) that my horse really DOES love me. For two days in a row he came RUNNING up to me from the VERY back of the pasture when I called him. It wasn't feed time, the other horses weren't running up to greet me (meaning he left his herdmates!) and he came STRAIGHT to ME!! Now THAT is what I call gratification!!

Ok, so goals for Pepsi:

1) Get him consistent with his lower-level dressage movements (solid collection, half-passing, shoulder and haunches-in, etc.)

2) Get him balanced enough to pick up a nice, rhythmic canter and keep it around turns without speeding up or generally feeling scared and stiff.

3) Get him solid on the trail (no jigging, pulling/yanking at the bit, etc.) I just want a nice, RELAXED ride where we can walk and trot with no issues. (Canter would be great eventually, but right now we need to take baby steps!)

With Pepsi's on and off lameness from the bruising (which is being resolved but will still take a while) I am riding him inconsistently. Usually when I ride it's bareback, both to help my balance and because my ankle is still healing from surgery I recently had and using the stirrups can make it more sore. So, for now at least, we're just working on long and low at the walk and trot and quick, responsive transitions. (Remember how I said he was smart and stubborn? Well, he's recently decided that ignoring my leg is a fun new game! Dressage whip, here we come!)

Ok, on to Knight...

I've only ridden Knight 2 times, but this horse is SO kind and sweet. He's a rehab and is still on the thin side. He is VERY forward and responsive to leg however, and I'm sure he'll only get more energetic as he puts on more weight. He'll probably end up being 'hot' but that's fine with me- I like hot horses! Plus, this guy is going to re-teach me how to use my leg correctly and SIT!

He's out of shape, but from the way he cleared a creek a few days ago, he DEFINITELY has the makings of a jumper! He's very forgiving, but you need to know how to ASK for collection in order to get it. Otherwise he tends to carry himself more in a hunter frame...which is ok, but I'd like for him to really step underneath himself and use his butt.

I'm going to try to get out and ride him a few times a week- he needs to get legged up again and after that I can start popping him over a few crossrails and see how he does. If he's good, we'll start working on simple, easy lines and slowly move up from there. I don't know how long I'll have him to ride since my friend will sell him eventually, so I want to get as much riding time on him as I can!

As far as MY goals: I just really want to better my riding and get more secure in my seat and legs again. My hands are pretty quiet (they've gotten a LITTLE nippy lately with Pepsi pulling on me so much as an evasion) but as a general rule they're pretty good. My legs REALLY need to get stronger and I want to get my seat nice and quiet again. Other than that, riding will be one of my only sources of sanity during school, so while I might not need much motivation to RIDE, I will certainly need a lot of motivation to WORK while I'm riding instead of just hacking along all the time.

If you've read through all of that- congratulations! I'm officially done! ;)

Dare and Mandros!

Hi! Im Dare and Im leasing a semi-retired, 20 y/o Grand Prix Dressage Swedish Warmblood gelding. When I say semi-retired, I mean from the upper levels. We still school some upper level movements, but not consistanly. He has taught me alot in the past two months. He isnt a schoolmaster, so if you dont ask for a movement 100% correctly, he wont do it. This is good though, because it teaches me to ride correctly.

Mandros hurt himself a couple months ago in the pasture, and he re-tore a muscle in his hip. It healed, but it tighten that muscle and while he isnt in pain, the tight muscle makes his gait irregular. It hasnt gotten better, so he will have surgery to cut away the scar tissue.

Because of this muscle being tight, we have worked mostly "long and low" and doing alot of laterals to try and stretch the muscle. Ive been doing a fun lateral exercise lately where I will go down the quarter line (half way between the centerline and the rail) and leg yeild him to the rail, then I half pass back to the quarter line.

Well, thats all for now. Ill be riding tomorrow so hopefully all will go well. I dont have any recent pictures. It seems that everytime my husband comes out to take pictures, I have a terrible ride. Ill try and get some soon. The picture of us is from a while back, probably a year ago. Oh, and my NCHN name is PiaffePlease

Kate & Pro - 5-26/27

Hello, all! I'm glad to see a few more of you posting your introductions and rides. This is exciting!

Yesterday (on Pro's birthday) I split my ride with Andrea, the other graduate student who rides him 2x/week. I'm SO fortunate to have such a wonderful lease person riding him, and she takes lessons with my trainer so it's even better! It was really helpful to watch her ride and share tips/tricks/hints face to face as we rode. Pro felt great. My dear sweet boyfriend, Erik, graciously took some more pictures.

Today I went back out and began my ride by hand-walking (briefly) over by his trouble spots - the infamous Bunny Tree and the jump poles by the side of the arena. Yes, we've been here since September. Yes, he still tries to pull crap in these saaaame spots. Car roaring down the road? Geese chasing him? Neighbor's dog snarling at him? Nah, not a problem. Inanimate jump poles that have been there for months? OOOOH, SCARY.

However, he was super!! I'm still astounded at his progress. There have been days when I've seriously contemplated driving out to I-40 and dumping him on the highway to fend for himself. But thanks to Gayle, I have a COMPLETELY different horse. I never thought I'd gain control of that squiggly neck or get rid of that BULKY underneck. And yet now, not only has he submitted his head, the underneck is mostly gone, he's developing a beautiful topline...Gayle's rebalanced his feet 100% so he moves better and has developed a super butt and back. I mean, check out that cantering picture. BALANCE! Pro! Finally!

Tonight was one of those rides where he felt light, responsive, and eager. Not easy - not for a second - I have to stay right on top of him (watch those ears like a hawk for any signs of ADHD) and adjust constantly. He's always testing...asking if he can throw his HQ's one way or the other, asking if he can tilt his head to look for something spooky, asking if he can drop his balance forward, ask for any evasion. Simply to keep him forward, rhythmic, and straight is a huge commitment to FOCUS...intense focus. But I'm finally seeing the payoffs.



I won't lie - my grand goal is Grand Prix. Yup, I said it. My 16yo Arab...I want to go Grand Prix. With him. I don't care if he's 30 when we get there. Heck, maybe he'll be a bit more QUIET when he's 30!!! Gayle told me yesterday that she's never had a horse where her work didn't pay off. She assured me that he will return my work in full, someday.





I'm posting this (ugh) picture from last summer - check out the complete morph his body has undergone. Check out that underneck, GROSS! Look at the lack of butt!!! So when I get discouraged, I remind myself that he looked like this only a year ago. If that's how much progress I can make between September and May (my time with Gayle), imagine two years. Three. Ten. I feel like we can do it!!!! And with tonight's ride, it felt within reach. Someday. I can do this! Gayle said we'll be ready to (correctly) (re)introduce lateral work in our next lesson. Grand Prix...here we come!!! ;)

Alright now...there are some hot and humid days coming up in the future. Temptation to chill out inside with the AC is going to get bad!!! Let's keep motivated! :)

-Kate & Pro

Christie Intro, and Deuce Ride #100! (Long)

My name is Christie and, of course, my passion is horses. By way of introduction, here is more about me:

I first rode at a western riding camp when I was ten years old, and then at a saddleseat riding camp when I was eleven. I got my first horse, my summer camp favorite, when I turned twelve. After that I had horses until my junior year in high school, and without any further lessons I now say in retrospect that I could “walk, trot, canter, and stay on most of the time!” I got back into horses my senior year in college, at which time I leased an aged Quarter Horse gelding who had done some low-level dressage.

I entered Veterinary School at NCSU in the fall of 1994, and became friends with a classmate who invited me on a hunter pace. While hanging out with my friend at the barn where she boarded, I began to meet many people who were involved in eventing. I knew I had found the equestrian sport that I really wanted to pursue, and I began to search for my own horse.

I was very fortunate to find a very honest and careful 12yo OTTB gelding named Sam that had evented through training level and schooled preliminary, and I purchased him in February of 1995. I began to take regular lessons for the first time in my life. I spent many hours on the lunge line, and I also had the chance to ride a number of other horses.

I always like to have fun with my horse, and while I had Sam I participated in various activities such as trail riding, hunter paces, and schooling shows including dressage, combined training, 2-phase, and eventing. I have done training level dressage, and have jumped full courses through novice level, although I mainly did beginner novice.

I focused on horses during vet school, and even did an externship between my second and third year (summer 1996) that I arranged with Richard A. Mansmann, VMD, PhD. I worked with Dr. Mansmann three days a week, with a mixed animal practice one day a week, and with my farrier one day a week so I could get comfortable working under a horse.

Unfortunately I began having a number of health problems during late 1996 and into 1997 that resulted in my having to leave vet school at the end of July 1997, after I had already started my senior rotations. I would have graduated in May 1998. What I thought was a temporary leave at the time turned much more serious, and I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, CFIDS, and several other illnesses.

I continued to ride as much as possible. Sadly, Sam was kicked in the mandible during a freak feeding time accident in November of 1998 and he had to be euthanized. I was devastated, but I continued to ride until my condition worsened to the point that I was bedridden for several years.

After much searching, I finally found a team of doctors who could help me, and began to see some improvement in my health in 2005. By late 2005 I was fully feeling the need to return to riding.

In March 2006 I found a very green, just backed Paint gelding named Deuce, with the most docile and forgiving attitude and personality. I purchased him, and since that time I have been riding and enjoying him, and just seeing how far I could take him myself. I was the first person to canter him under saddle. We have done trail rides, hunter paces (placing second both times out in the slow division), and little fun shows (walk-trot), as well as just riding around the pasture and on the flat. I recently have begun trying to work more on his canter and picking up the correct leads in an arena, even though I am not a trainer!

I am ready to take the next step, including working to improve my own physical conditioning. I am out of shape and I am unhappy with the weight I gained during those years of being bedridden. I am currently looking for riding instructor(s)/trainers. The hot summer months are the hardest on me, though, so I need all the encouragement I can get! Also, I am reaching the point that I am realizing how much I miss being able to ride a made horse, so I am checking into possibly leasing a horse for a while. My ideal is to have fun and improve my riding and how that translates to and influences my horse’s performance, and ideally to also improve the horse!

I am planning to continue to ride and balance my life schedule. Currently I am not working, but I soon hope to start working for a vet and plan my future from there, possibly including returning to vet school. :)

Sunday was a milestone for Deuce and me! I took him on a trail ride, which was only his second solo trail ride, and it was his 100th time under saddle! He had been ridden walk, trot 12 "whole" times before I got him in March 2006, and the rest have been me. So, from March 25, 2006 to April 25, 2008 I have ridden him 88 times. That tells everyone how much encouragement I need to get things going and get out there on a regular basis, especially since hot weather is hard for me! Any and all encouragement, advice, etc. is appreciated!

Laura and Cowboy

If you havent guessed my name by now, its Laura ! (aka Lauralind NCHN) I am owned by a 18 year old (gosh when did THAT happen !) QH named Cowboy. We basically do mild to moderate (no adrenalin junkie here !) trail riding and some very basic dressage with a natural horsemanship slant. It's pretty interesting at times, at others, its boring.

Cowboy seems to like to test me in the ring and that makes for some tense moments so it makes me not do it as often as it should. I think thats my biggest issue, is making myself do something with him that may not be necessarily FUN but I know in the end it will translate to better communication?

Hannah & Surf - May 25th XC school (LONG)

Before I get into yesterday's ride, let me introduce us. I'm Hannah -- tarheelmd07 from NCHN -- a NC girl born and bred but now living in Baltimore. I got into eventing in medical school and have gotten even more serious about it after moving up here and having the opportunity to train with Julia Wendell (a *** rider, and owner of An Otherwise Perfect Farm -- http://www.otherwiseperfectfarm.com/) and ride 2 of her old campaigners. The horse of the moment is Surf Guitar, a 14yo 17.3h OTTB who Julia rode successfully through Prelim/*, but never quite made it as an Intermediate horse, and is now out of semi-retirement to further my education while Huey (the 20yo campaigner I worked with last year) is on sabbatical recovering from a suspensory injury. I've only been riding Surfie since the beginning of April, and we're still figuring each other out. Surfie is very different from Huey. Huey is a brave and bold a horse as I've ever sat on. You could put anything out ona cross-country course and he would jump it without batting an eye. In stadium, he hunts down his fences, and has a tendency to really take you down the lines to your fences. He's not the best mover, or the softest, roundest jumper, but he's got heart and a desire to jump like you would not believe. Surfie, on the otherhand, is equally as honest but much more shy to his fences. He'll jump whatever you point him at, provided that you can be brave for him on the way to the fence, support him with your leg, and really be clear about what you want and where you're going. HE's much softer and rounder -- and a better overall jumper -- but he lacks Huey's joy de vivre...it's hard to explain really, without having sat on both horses. Luckily for us, our trainer has competed both horses...

We started the season at Novice (2'9" division, for those unfamilliar with eventing) and are hoping to move up to Training (3'3") soon...but more on that in a bit. In preparation for our upcoming show (in the short term) and pending move-up (long term) we went cross-country schooling yesterday at Fair Hill (http://www.fairhillinternational.com/ -- a BEAUTIFUL venue on the MD/PA/DE border that hosts many events every year, including a *** event). There was much chaos at the schooling, as tons of folks showed up because the schooling days at Fair Hill are few and far between. We started out yesterday with a quick flat warm-up -- the goal of which was to get Surfie in front of my leg. He's a big, long horse, who likes to get behind your leg, slug along on the forehand, and lengthen out behind you (when he needs to get that butt under him!). The best way I've found to get the engine going, is to soften him up with a little walk work on the flat, then go for a nice canter/gallop on a loose rein without worrying about his frame...just to get him thinking foreward. Then we go back to the walk and trot, trying to keep the energy while getting him to step under himself and use that big behind to push into the bridle...easier said than done! We've spent a lot of time working on our flatwork...as Julia's horses really drive home the point that jumping is really just dressage with Speed Bumps. Surfie is very responsive to the aids to come back from a gallop into a more collected canter before jumps, and it's been amazing how much my ability to rate him out in the open has progressed as our half-halts have gotten better in our dressage work.

We started off over some simple logs, jumping them on a circle in both directions. I had to remember not to lose the impulsion through the turns -- to keep pushing the horse through the turn, to develop a tick more canter than I need so that I would have something I could half-halt and balance on the approach. Surfie also wanted to go back to the other horses, so it was a good lesson in keeping him straight -- pushing through the turn with the inside leg, then straightening him from the outside...with my legs, not my hands. After a few trips over the BN, N, and T logs, we put the T log together with a gallop down to N fence 2 - a maxed out cabin off a tight turn. Then, again working on balancing and keeping forward through the turns, we made a loop, first jumping the cabin, then around to a T roll-top/ramp. I have a tendency to lean at the fences...which makes Surfie's job harder and makes him put in an awkward chippy stride at the fence...and my tendency to lean increases with the size of the fence. Yesterday the goal was to get my but down, legs under me, and shoulders back and WAIT WAIT WAIT for the fence to get there...to support Surfie on the approach and stay out of his way and let him do his job in that last stride. We cruised over a few N and T fences and went to tackle the turning combination -- 2 skinnies set at angles to each other so that you had to jump the first, resist the urge to turn too sharply and go straight for a stride or 2, then turn right to the other skinny...riding in 3 or 4 strides depending on your horse's stride. I had to work on having a polite jump at the first so as not to eat up my turning space...which translated into working on getting Surfie to collect into a smaller stride without losing his "jump" or forward energy...easier said than done! From there we worked on the N & T open log ramps and oxers...a bit of a bugaboo with me after an accident where my little Sprite got his feet stuck in a similar jump and went down with me aboard. Then it was on to my other bugaboo -- up banks! Again, due to an accident with Sprite at a bank (out of water, he chested it and flipped, I went flying) they make me nervous. Julia and Surfie were very patient with me and helped me to work through waiting for the bank and not jumping ahead...I have to remember that there's always another step to the bank than I think there will be, so I need to sit, push, and grab mane! We but the bank together with other fences in combination, then went to play with putting some big Training Tables together. The vertical face of tables makes them quite intimidating...and having to string several together in a row was a good reminder of how to sit back and wait for the fence, land galloping, then get your horse back together into a more collected step to the fence. I can't tell you what a great feeling it was to nail that line!

After the tables, our last group of fences was 3 of eventing's most imposing questions -- trakhaners (logs suspended over ditches), water jumps, and coffins (jump...ditch...jump). Now, I'd never jumped a trakhaner before...and they're fenced that bother riders much more than horses. My heart was in my throat as we took a long spot and swum over the N trakhaner...after which Julia reminded me that my job was to be there to support Surfie and be brave for him. I had to be 110% committed to the fence for him to jump it as well as he can...and boy did it jump better the 2nd time around. Then it was the T version -- a GREAT BIG log over an EVEN BIGGER ditch...with the top of the log sticking right at the 3'3" max. All the way to the base I was chanting "leg leg leg leg --- release" and Surfie took it in in great style, and cruised over some smaller fences to the water. At the Water, we again had to face my fear of up banks out of water...and Surfie was a great sport putting up with my backwards monkey riding...after several sucessfull but not-so-pretty jumps, Julia got on the old man and showed us how it was done (boy can that lady RIDE!). Up banks will be my homework over the next month...and I'm OK with that. The last exercise of the day was the coffin...coming downhill to a skinny, 2 strides to a ditch, then pushing 2-3 strides up hill to another skinny. It was a test of accuracy, balance, and ability to expand and contract your horse. Coming downhill, I have to remember to sit back...way back with my shoulders, and use my legs to push Surfie's hind end into contact, without pulling on his face...or leaning at the fences. To end the day, we put the T coffin together with a long gallop over the final fence on the T course....and with big smiles, called it a day.

I want to get another showjumping lesson in before the show next weekend...and work on our dressage test (plenty to do this week!), but I felt good about the school. Lots of things to work on at home, both on the flat and over fences. Oh...and the icing on the cake is that Julia gave us our blessing to start sending in entries for Training! Yikes!

Kate & Pro - 5/24

Well...first post! Let's give this a try. :)

First things first - HAPPY SWEET SIXTEEN, PRO!!!! Yup, today is Pro's birthday! I can't believe he's so "old" but I think he looks really fantastic for his age. And shhh, no one tell him he's 16. He thinks he's 6.

Yesterday I did some hand walking (with Mr. Dressage Whip) through/around the scary jump poles by the side of the arena and he was fine, didn't even need to tap him. Then I warmed up at the walk and made Realization #1832 with Pro - if I start at the walk and get him chewing the bit, I have a better ride. So I do some steps of shoulder-fore on the circle, some halt-walk transitions and then he was all interested and focused and chewing the bit.




Trot and canter was great, although he was a bit weird to the left at the canter when we were over by the pole area (kept trying to switch leads or something, who knows what). I did a lot of "almost walk, then push on to a forward trot" at the trot. He likes those!!! Especially when I mix it up with some actual walk transitions to keep him guessing. And when I do the "almost walk" transitions, really PUSH off into a springy, energetic trot so he gets that cute little butt engaged.


I need to remember to keep my hands up (as I'm trying to remember the 58329 other things Gayle's told me) but at least I'm getting better about consciously pushing him out in front of me. His other evasion is to curl under the bit now that he knows "giraffe-face" is no longer an option. BUT he's developing a gloriously sexy butt, which Gayle was thrilled about when she saw him for his trim yesterday. The canter picture isn't the best shot, but he's rocking back!


Well, that's it for now! Thanks for following along with yesterday's ride. Let's hope this test post goes alright...

Happy riding, and welcome! And happy birthday to my sweet boy!

Welcome!

Welcome to the first entry of the JustSaddleUp "motivational" group blog! This is mainly a test page. I'm so excited to get this group going and learn more about everyone through our posts.

Happy Riding!

-Kate