Speedy Gonzalez

Well, Skate's good streak was finally broken. I couldn't be too mad, he had 3 days off while I was out of town.

There's really not much to say about the ride except that it was all at mach 10 and accompanied by constant btv, bit gnawing, and tail swishing. So annoying. I just did loads of circles and hoped for the best : ) Once he gets it in his mind he's gonna book it around as fast as he can, nothing is gonna stop him! If I do a ridiculously strong half halt, which throws me off balance, he will slow for a stride or two. The barn owner remarked that I was getting some nice extended trot. Great...don't have to teach him that one in the future!

Anyhoo...unfortunately, he gets another two days off before I can ride again. 20 meter circles, here we come.

Poofy Pro

Well, it finally stopped raining so I got to ride yesterday. :) Kate had a horrible weekend so it'd been awhile since he'd been ridden but I was pleased with how he went. I worked on trying to repeat the feeling from Tuesday and it seemed to work pretty well. He felt rounder under me and he had lots of foam between his butt-cheeks when we were done so hopefully that means he was using his butt ;). Since he's starting to get his winter-woolies he sweated up despite not getting worked that hard. I'd say we're round probably 75-80% of the time now, with some of that non-roundness being me needing a break. It was hard to tell since I was cantering in 2-point, but it felt like he stayed roundish in the canter. I've been fighting to keep my hands up since when he rounds up he drops his head and neck, which makes me want to follow with my hands.

Nothing super exciting in the ride, but overall I was happy with it. :) We have a lesson scheduled for Friday so my goal for this week is to just try and get our good moments more consistent so we can maybe work on new stuff in the lesson.

Some days I wish I'd gone to vet school...

It's been a rough week at An Otherwise Perfect Farm...

Last weekend, Julia (trainer/owner of Huey/Surf/Barn) took her Intermediate horse to the CCI** at Plantation. Calvin was a superstar on XC and was cleared by the vets to return to stabling, but started having problems walking back to the barn. They scratched from stadium, came home, and the next day found out Calvin tore his butt muscle away from the bone and is on 4months of stall rest...and full recovery is still up in the air. This comes on the heels of Julia's Advanced horse sustaining a career ending injury earlier this year. The same day, the farm's resident wonder pony was permanently retired due to nagging stifle issues, and his lessor was heartbroken. Julia offered to teach a jumping lesson that for Huey and I to make herself feel better, as we'd been planning to schedule a lesson for his first jumping session since his injury...and I said she could be the first to jump him (hey, what else did I have to offer that could cheer her up...other than the fact that I made cookies and brought them out to the barn). I did about 30min of flatwork with Huey -- including canter legyields in his bad direction, then she hops on, and heads for a x-rail...Huey perks up his ears and I swear he smiled as he hopped over the x...and then landed taking funny (as in funny = bad) steps with his Left hind.

It is not good when your super-tough upper level rider trainer gets off your horse and starts crying.

Fast forward to Hannah putting on her psychiatrist hat and attempting a little supportive psychotherapy while attempting to assess the foot situation. Trotting him around, it definitely looked like a foot issue...and on exam, his heel had cracked open where we'd recently been treating for thrush. No pulse, no swelling, and just a little tenderness over where the heel meets the frog...nothing a little rest, some ToMorrow treatment, and a good sole pack can't fix in a few days.

The fun and excitement with Huey was followed by a scheduled jog-up for Surf, who'd felt NQR over the weekend while J had been gone. He was passed by the ground jury of J, J's husband, the barn manager, and myself...just looked stiff from being in...so he got his (overdue...bad hannah) Map-5 IV shot and an easy flatwork session. But, Surf's hind shoe got loosened up by jogging on the pavement, so I've been using every trick I know to keep the shoe on as the farrier couldn't come until Wed...then rescheduled for Fri, then saturday...and had an emergency so will be out tomorrow. I hope. We've been doing short, light workouts this week in an attempt to keep stiffness away (Surf's arthritic self does better with daily work or he gets super stiff)while not losing that shoe...as we've had a TERRIBLE time keeping shoes on this summer. Terrible to the point we've had custom pads, custom shoes, 3 week shoeing cycles, and all kinds of various and sundry supplements and topical agents for helping his TERRIBLE TERRIBLE SHELLY TB FEET! My regular "hoof care" routine takes as long as the rest of my post-ride cool out and grooming :P After ever ride, surf gets his feet picked out, wiped down, the soles painted with a terrible smelling mixture of pine tar and fish oil, and the tops painted with keratex...along with daily farrier's formula in his supplements. Trying to get ahold of some reducine for the coronet bands too.

But...it gets better! Surf has a quarter crack in the L hind...a BIG crack that was through the coronet band, that ended up causing the lymphangitis/puffy leg/lameness earlier in July/august. Well, the crack was opened up in august when I got my new farrier, and showed evidence of old infection. The thurs before my Jimmy lesson, Surf came out for my lesson with J LAME LAME LAME on that L hind, and we worried that the crack was infected again. My farrier came out, drilled out the crack and cut away the damaged hoof below...and surf was off for 4 days until he got a new shoe on (which meant he'd had no riding for 10 days b/c of a lost shoe, then the lameness and subsequent hoof removal). During that 4 days I was soaking the foot in epsom salt solution, then packing with Icthammol/epsom salt goo, cotton, and wrapping with vetwrap/duct tape. Now that surf has a shoe on that foot (held on by 2 nails on one side...and with no actual hoof below the crack...hard to describe...I need to take a picture) we're trying to keep the crack clean and the shoe on. So...after ever ride, I have to clean out the crack and the hoof really well, dry it, pack the crack and the area below (where the missing hoof would go) with goo and cotton, then pack the sole with goo/cotton, wrap and turn the horse out...and repeat after every ride (I'm buying vetwrap in cases of 100 rolls now!) On the plus side, I'm much much faster at wrapping feet than I used to be...goodness knows I'm getting enough practice. Oh...and don't forget the bell boots up front to keep the giant-strided horse from ripping off his front shoes :P

All this combined with the Map-5 shots (I'm way better at IV injections in horses than people!), cosequin, standing wraps for the boys if they're going to be in for any long periods of time, still occasionally sweating surf's fetlock hematoma (another story for another time), sole packing, poulticing, icing, helping J with magnetic blanket treatments and lasering...oh, and joint injections. Don't forget the injections! Huey's getting hocks and perhaps ankles done tomrrow...hopefully just hocks!

Needless to say, I am learning an immense amount of knowledge about how to maintain the high level competition horse or the aging eventer!

Huey has aparently become a dressage horse during his vacation...I'm not sure what happened to the old "I hate dressage" red horse, but I'll keep this one thankyouverymuch! Surf has 3 lessons in the week to make up some lost ground before we head up to PA for the Radnor Hunt HT held on the grounds of the Radnor Hunt Club, site of the old Radnor CIC***. We're doing training, and will be hanging out with the Phillip Dutton/Boyd Martin crew up there, so I need to make up for some lost time!

Kate & Pro - Braaaaaaatty...

So apparently it was time for another "let's test Mom" ride. I guess the combination of riding at dusk and the cool weather made for some frisky attitude. He was doing his tight neck routine where he braces his jaw and neck muscles and insists on gawking at everything. Not the bench this time, but the water trough in the pasture. Yes, the pasture where he lived for many months. Idiot. I think he was also pissy about my hands being up (thanks to Andrea for making that extra super salient lately! I needed a good solid reminder).

Anyway, Pro got some good solid kicks in the butt. Hugely anti-listening. He started to throw some tantrums next to the bench and he was getting into his "I don't care if I hurt myself, I'm going to tell you I'm mad!" mode...rather than allow him to maim himself on the bench, I got off and worked him intensely in-hand with the whip. Head DOWN, he walks off immediately on voice command, stops immediately on voice command. We did this all around the arena, and then I hopped back on. He was a bit better after this, but it was seriously about 45 min of warmup before he was listening to me at all. At least I persisted, so I "won" but I wish he wouldn't be so awfully pig-headed about it.

Oh and the videos are coming...Andrea has them on her camera so she's trying to get them to me on a CD. :)

Here's a pic to keep you all quiet for now! ;)

Manhandling Skate

I had a lesson Saturday morning and a few rides since. Skate has been a good boy, as usual. He actually came trotting up to me in the pasture the other day : ) Nevermind that it's because I am now his treat-dispenser...let me just pretend its because we're bonding! Now, if I can just get him to come to the gate when I call. I've always wanted a horse that would do that.

As a result of that video and my flapping reins, I decided that I would try taking much stronger contact and see how Skate responds. I tried it during my lesson and voila, there's our solution! He didn't like the featherlight contact I had been using...by taking a strong (to me) and steady contact, he settled down quite a bit. He's still not magically through and using his butt/back, but he is no longer giraffing his head...he has limited his evasion to moments of btv. That's easily cured by pushing him forward, as every time he comes btv, his rear motor stalls.

Now, I feel like I'm practically hanging on his face, but that's because I've always used such a light contact...of course, I've always ridden hunters, too. Hey, whatever makes Skate happy makes me happy, so I'll keep the contact.

Lessons in Lunging

Oh my what an afternoon! The weather was PERFECT!

I get to the barn and find out that my lesson has cancelled at the last minute without telling me........parents like this make me not want to teach at ALL. This student is the one I posted pictures of a while back and she is going to her first dressage test in Oct!

I wanted to make sure that Desi was 100% better from her abcesses so I haven't been doing anything with her other than hoof care and making sure she is getting ALL of her anti-biotics.

I got her out and brushed her and did her feet. I wanted to see how she was moving but the roundpen is just..........a mess. So I grabbed a flat halter and lunge line and headed to the arena. She was very tracking left. She was soft and responsive and SOUND! Tracking right......we had a few big bumps. She wanted to pop that outside shoulder and go sideways instead of forward and pull me towards her boyfriends. That was NOT going to happen. When she would pull I would drop all my weight and push the line down towards the ground. When she would stop and come off the pressure I would send her forward again. After 3-4 times of doing this she was just as good as her left and SOUND!!

I am going to get her fat butt in shape with more lunging and then start riding this tank. She needs the work and I need something to ride.

Good Pro!

Today was not a day I expected to have a good ride. I got on around 7, so at the tail-end of dusk. The arena has lights, but only on one side and that throws the bunny tree into shadow. So I opted to stick to the unlighted end near the bench for most of the ride. I started out trying to do the outside rein turning thing, which seemed to go a bit better for me tonight. Then did some quarter-pirouettes before really working on using my muscles properly.

I find I ride a lot better if I tense all of my muscles between my knees and my rib cage. That sounds bad, but it's not like I lock up, but more like those stretches/exercises where you workout against your own muscles so you can't injure yourself. So I do that with my upper thighs/abs and that really seems to anchor me in place. Not to mention doing the butt-squeeze helps keep me lifted up and distributes my weight better so Pro can round up his back more. He did ok at the walk, but the trot was the fun part. If I kept my muscles tight and did the light posting, he would start to round up into his "hunter pony" frame. If I managed to pull my shoulders back and open up the angle from my hip, his head and neck lifted and he got off his forehand. We did that in both directions and then called it a night because the metal doors of the barn were getting shut and the horrible grinding noise kept me from being able to focus.

So, it wasn't really a breakthrough type ride, because I know I should ride like that all the time, but it was a lot of fun (except for the fact that now I feel like I did a 30 min long crunch). I have a lesson scheduled a week from Friday, so hopefully Gayle can help me play catch-up. Oh, and thanks to whoever suggested keeping less of my feet in my stirrups, I think that helped. So now they're on the toe part of the ball of my foot, not on the arch part of the ball of my foot. I also think riding in blue jeans helps (dunno why, my theory is it lets me slide to the deeper part of the saddle easier).

Kate & Andrea & Pro (and the BENCH and TREE!!!)

Alright, let's get this out of the way. Here's the infamous bunny tree, and the bench:












So, THOSE are the big scary demons that annoy Andrea and me each week. ;)

Andrea and I decided to "tag team" Pro on Saturday. I'm sure he was delighted to see us both drive up. Andrea thought it would be nice to have us both ride when he wasn't being a total brat, which ended up being good. She reminded me about my hands (I know! :)) and I was better able to describe the "outside rein turning" in person rather than through a blog post. He was quite nice by the end. Unfortunately, I wasn't smart enough to take pictures and talk at the same time, so there are only pictures of me.

Excuse the horrendous tipping going on with my upper body...I think I'm doing some light posting and my inside hand is scratching his neck ;) but he does look nice!!! Andrea also got some videos of him being nice...AND one video where he got mad that I was telling him where to put his hind end, and let loose with a buck to tell me so. Plus she almost got a shot of him sinking back on his HQ to then bounce up and sort of do a levade/capriole-like leap?! Who knows.

Anyway, Andrea's ride was beautiful, so next time we'll get more pictures of her. :)

Hanging out with Jimmy W. & the Big Kids

I wish I could get time to post about things closer to when they happen...but I'm usually too busy working or riding :P

Last week Surf and I had our first lesson of the season with THE Jimmy Wofford. For those of you who may not be total eventing nerds like me (or read his column in PH) Jimmy is to eventing what George Morris is to Hunters...right down to writing one of the bibles of eventing (Training the Three-day horse and Rider) that is the eventing counterpart to Morris's Hunter Seat Equitation. I could go on and on about Jimmy's accomplishments...but I think a few old photos speak for themselves :)







I still find it weird that I'm on a first-name basis with Jimmy...but kind-of cool :) I rode with him for the first time in NC - took Sprite down to SoPines for a 2-day clinic. When I came up to Maryland, I found out he comes down to teach at my barn every 4-6 weeks in the "off season"...so I jumped at the chance to become a "regular". He teaches group lessons since he's so popular...and I did 5-6 lessons with him last fall while riding Huey. It was so cool the first time I rode Huey with Jimmy...he walked into the ring, where there were 6 horses waiting, smiles, walks over to Huey, pats him on the head and says "Ladies, this old gentleman co-wrote my book on gymnastics."

Well, when I was arranging my lesson this time, I must have momentarily lost mind, as I said I'd join the "Big Kids" group -- the 3'6" group -- which is always composed of my trainer on her latest UL horse, a local MFH, and a couple of steeplechase jockeys. I was starting to have some second thoughts when Surf and I headed up to the ring for our lesson and saw fences set up that were definitely 3'6"...with cups set on the standards to make them even bigger :0 The lesson, as often is the case, was focused on gymnastics...Jimmy is a big believer in using gymnastics because the horses can figure out the exercise on their own, and it becomes a good chance to focus on the rider. The first exercise was x-rail, 1 stride to a vertical, 1 stride to an oxer, 2 strides to an oxer. He started with just the x, then gradually added 1 element at a time, getting it raised to 3'6" or higher, then lowering it a bit to add the next element before raising all the fences. Trotting into that line just looks like a sea of polls...with a GREAT BIG oxer looming at the end. Jimmy always gets on me about the fact that I lean at my fences when I get tense and stop breathing. Those are things that I've really been working on with Julia and he could see some improvement. He laughed at the fact that I've gone back to something he made me do with Sprite -- count the strides on my approach to every fence from the time that I turn onto my line and start to even begin to get nervous or tense (even if that means I'm counting frmo 5-8-10-12 strides out). He also picked up on the fact that Surf is an excellent teacher to correct my tenseness and leaning habits, since he will not reward me with a nice jump (or any jump sometimes) if I'm not sitting up, relaxed and flexible in my contact while supporting with my leg on the way in. The second exercise involved trotting a fence on a circle to the left, then cantering around to the same fence, landing, coming back to a trot, rolling back to jump a single trot fence, canter away, trot, canter back on the other lead to canter the same single fence. The first fence in this exercise (on the circle) was placed among the other gymnastic fences so that you had to stay out on the circle and jump the fence at an angle to get the best approach. Next we had to trot a fence on a circle to the right, canter around to the same fence, then land cantering right off the centerline of the ring, down the long side, then making a 90-degree Right hand turn, 2-strides to jump a single vertical parallel to the long side. Surf and I have worked on jumping on a circle with Julia, so he was definitely the superstar of this exercise. The third exercise started off as a single bounce, 1 stride to an oxer, then 1 stride to another single bounce...and was then increased to double bounce, 1 stride, oxer, 1 stride, double bounce -- YIKES! Let's just say that when your horse has a 16' stride, this gets pretty dicey...but gave surf a chance to show off that he can jump a 3'6" oxer from the walk :O The last exercise was 2 x-rails set at the far end of the ring, at 45-degree angles to the short side, maybe 2 strides from the end of the ring. You started out cantering to the left-hand x-rail (from the middle of the ring, towards the short side), jump, land on left lead, roll back around to the Right-hand x-rail, land on the right lead, roll back to the left-hand fence, and keep repeating on a figure-8. Very very tough for my very big, very one-sided TB. Left to his own devices, Surf would canter everything on the right lead...and I mean EVERYTHING! I swear this horse is more balanced counter-cantering on the R-lead going Left than most horses are on their left lead going left!

I think the biggest thing that I took away from this lesson was that I could survive a lesson with BIG FENCES...without totally freaking out. Usually when things hit 3'3" I start to get a little tense and start throwing myself at the fences. However, having someone like Jimmy, who had no qualms about having you hold your reins backwards like driving reins, carry your whip under your thumbs, flip the reins over the horse's head and have you hold them like driving reins, or threaten to tie your stirrups to your girth is pretty good incentive to be spot-on in your riding!

Jimmy's teaching again on the 30th, but I have to work...but I'm set to do an xc lesson with him in october, so that should be great fun! My goal is to jump the BIG trakhaner out in our back field...so maybe we can do that with Jimmy :)

Dare and Mandros

I rode Mandros yesterday and he was really good. At first I could feel him not pushing from behind (and he was tight when my husband stretched him) so I did lots of laterals and transitions. We did this at the walk and trot. Once he was warmed up, I sat the trot and did the laterals and transitions then and he was great. I really felt him pushing from behind and still light in the bridle. I really worked on keeping the same tempo in the laterals, I tend to let him slow down and not realize it Im not asking him to stay forward.

Then we practiced the canter and he took it right away each time. Im trying really hard to keep my weight to the inside. Thats a huge fault of mine, my left side is so much weaker than my right. This is why he kept changing leads at the show. I have to consisantly think about putting my weight in my left stirrup. I forgot about that at the show. I also practiced the leg yeild to the canter, and he took the canter right away.

Kate & Pro - working on the "poofy"ness

Like he was for Andrea, Pro gave me a slight bit of attitude on the crossties tonight. It was as I was brushing his foreleg so I have no idea...anyway, he got Mom's full wrath so I'm pretty sure he got the message. He may not be the best horse under saddle, but I'm at least mostly pleased with his ground manners so I like to keep those sharp, if possible.

I'm pleased that he's gotten SO much quicker to respond to outside aid cues, especially when I give slightly on the inside rein. As soon as my outside leg and rein comes on, he turns!! It seems so subtle, but it really is significant. Gayle's new mantra for me is "When you control the outside of the horse, you control the horse." I try to repeat that in my head everytime I apply my outside aids to make him turn. And also gently wrap around my inside leg at the same time, rather than counterbending. Counterbending is okay, says Gayle, at this stage, as he's learning that it's now the OUTSIDE aids that turn, not the inside. But we gradually want to introduce straightness, then true straightness, which means slightly bent to the inside. So we're working on it.

Within a few minutes of doing the outside aid turning at the walk, including a few quarter-turns at the walk, he was quite contemplative and chewey on the bit. We had a scooty walk by the bunny tree but then he settled down to business. He's also back on the Magnesium since last Friday so maybe that's helping. :) The trot followed the same way, especially because I was concentrating on my light posting (or I like Alex's term, hot potato posting!!!) and keeping my legs off of his sides to get him to lift his back. He was pretty content to swing along and start engaging that topline. I tried bridging, but he really wasn't in a bridging mood tonight, so I just tried to imagine that I had them bridged...that worked.

We also did some light cantering. Last week's lesson was one of the rare lessons where Gayle's actually had us canter. And true to the whole "Restarting Pro" project...we literally ARE restarting him. Because this whole honestly using his back thing (key word, honestly) is new to him, we're cantering in half-seat, using a wide opening inside rein to guide him. It's exactly like when I helped start Sadie and we taught her to canter.

The only glitch tonight was when I asked for some sitting trot. His ears were tuned back to me as I played at the walk, and then asked for the trot. Then I gave him a light bump-bump with my legs and he actually pinned his ears (he NEVER pins them, EVER), I tried again and he kicked out. Whoa! What was that?! I re-gathered him up at the walk, posted for a few circles, he seemed okay but slightly annoyed, then gradually started sitting again. Hmm. I checked his back and it wasn't sore, so maybe he's just going through some general pissy-ness? He was fine the rest of the ride and his usual sweet self on the crossties after, so it was just that one moment.

Andrea comes to visit tomorrow while I ride so we'll get PHOTOS. :)

Can someone teach me to ride WITH my stirrups?

I know, I know, everyone says they ride better without their stirrups and it's normal, but it's driving me insane. Ok, now, to back up a bit ;).

Pro got an unscheduled vacation (hadn't been ridden since Saturday) but he'd been out for about 48 hours thanks to the nice weather so I wasn't expecting any real problems with him. He was somewhat passive aggressive during his grooming so I lowered my expectations for the ride before I even got on. On the plus side, he didn't really care about the bench from hell. He didn't even pitch a real fit about the bunny tree. Instead he was just apathetic about everything (while sticking his nose in the air). I tried walk-halt-walk transitions, walk-almosthalt-walk, leg yields, serpentines, serpentines with halts, small circles... NOTHING made a dent in his head-up, hollowed-back disconnectedness. I was about to just give up on the ride, but I decided to make one last effort and ditched my stirrups.

Poof, instant dressage pony. Want to trot around soft and connected with a swinging back? No problem. Leg yields? Just hold your position and look (seriously, I just looked and he went straight and laterally across the arena). Extended trot to collected trot? Ok. Extended canter down the long side and come back with just an ab tightening for the turn? Sure (well, the coming back wasn't super fast, but he did shorten some...). So, how do I ride with stirrups like I ride without them? One of my trainers back when I was like 12 or 13 told me I rode better without stirrups than with them (this was huntseat) and I said "thanks" and she gave me this dirty look and said "That's not a good thing" so it's always been a problem for me. But how do I fix it? Am I deluding myself that it could be a saddle fitting issue? I feel like Kate's is a little big for me so I end up with my feet about 2-3" further forward if I pick up my stirrups, but that just feels like making excuses.

Yay! Videos of Skate!

Boo! He wasn't so good tonight!

So...here's a super short video of Skate doing his best giraffe impression. He managed to get his tongue over the bit tonight and was just generally fussy after that.




Some things that came from the video: I had no clue my reins were flopping in the wind! Geez. And I knew my shoulders weren't back, per say, but I had no idea I looked like a hunchback. Oh, and can I get any less bend in my elbows? And...I think I could stand to shorten my stirrups a hole, what do y'all think?

On a good note: we were discussing show names for him - basically coming up with anything related to skating - and we stumbled upon the best name ever:

Pony Hawk!

hee hee...that's only funny if you've heard of the skateboarder Tony Hawk!

Gabby needs a Game Plan!

I rode Skate last night...it was about 7:15pm (shorter days suck!) so I turned the lights on to slowly get him used to riding under lights. He might have done this before, but I don't know, so I erred on the side of caution. As it got dark, he didn't seem to really care that he was riding through lots of shadows and stuff. That's good, because I ride under the lights all winter. One funny part..when we were done and we were walking to the various switches to cut the lights off, I reached up to rub his nose and must have tapped his side with my whip: all four of his hooves went straight up in the air in surprise. When they came down, he looked embarrassed about his overreaction. Funny pony.

Other good stuff:

I think he's really liking the mullen mouth snaffle. He actually accepts and even asks for contact on his own. The only time he inverts now is when I really boot him forward and I think that's a reaction to my leg, not the bit. I think I should start relying more on my whip and less on a strong kick when he gets a little behind me...

He walks willingly through the big puddles in the ring...it took a bit of coaxing at first, but now he splashes on through. This is important, as he will be a trail pony much of the time. He already walks easily over the fake bridge.

Only bad stuff:

I only rode for about 30 minutes last night. He did so well at everything I asked him to do that I didn't want to keep drilling. I really need to have some sort of game plan for when this happens...right now its just to quit! I almost decided to ask for the canter since he was so good, but I decided to wait until my instructor is there to tell me what NOT to do and avoid a meltdown : )

Dare, Mandros, and the SHOW

Thanks for the pictures Kate!! It was SOOOO nice to have you and Erik there!





this is the halt at A, the judge said it was late!? It looks exactly at 'A' to me. 'A' is in the middle of the entrance (the gap in the white fence)









First off, I dont have pictures yet :( my husband took video of both tests, but a girl at my barn took pictures, and so did Kate, so Im waiting to get those.

Before we got on the trailer, he was acting up. He didnt want to have his shipping boots put on. The last time we put the boots on, he went to the vet school, so we figured he was thinking he was going back. Poor guy. Once we got to the show, he was still being naughty and dragging me around. Jennie, his owner, actually told me I could put the chain over his nose. He heard the threat and quit pulling on the lead. We carried the whip the rest of the day, and he behaved. I tacked up by myself (my husband somehow became the video guy for everyone) and Mandros was freaking out. Once I got up to the warmup ring, Kate and her man were there, so they were able to help me get on.

The warmup wasnt great. He was zooming around but finally calmed down. We practiced the canter transitions and then we went in for our first test. Once we got in the ring, we both calmed down and went to work. I was pleased with how he acted during the test. There were some unexpected flying changes but other than that, the test went well. It really did seem like a bug was on him or something, because the changes werent clean. Its hard to tell whats going on in the video, but Im not moving my legs or hands. He kinda hops twice, and then changes behind. I can hear a horse by the arena call out right before this, maybe that messed up his concentration?


The 2nd test also went pretty well. We did have trouble with one of the canter departs, and once I got it, I forgot where to go (and yes, I even had a reader for the test) so I went down the long side to do a circled at B (which is the movement in the other test) and went off course. I came down to a trot and listened to the judge tell me where I went wrong and then I picked the canter back up where I was supposed to and everything after that went fine. I didnt get good marks for the lenghtening in the canter. She said there was no difference shown between the working canter and lenghtening. There WAS a difference, I have video! Its hard to tell from that angle though.

Anyway... I got a 2nd place in the first test (out of 5 people). The PONY that won is amazing and is a champion pony. I received a 62.67% in that test. The 2nd test I got 1st out of 1, but you have to receive a 60% or above to get a 1st. I got exactly a 60%, haha. Mandros did great, he was better than I thought he would be.

Oh, and I forgot to say, on both my tests, the judge said I need to sit the trot better. If she only knew how hard he was to sit.

I tried to upload the video on youtube, but I think my computer is just too old, it didnt work last time either. We ordered a new one today. Ill try and upload it through blogger. ok, it wont load. I let it upload for 3 hours, so it must be too big. Im going to try and get it on youtube soon.

GRRR More Lameness issues!!!

I'm just going to give up. Apparently I'm not going to be able to ride a horse I actually OWN.

I left work early Friday to go to Lexington, VA to see a friend and go to the Professional Acution. The vet was coming to look at another horse so I had her pull a new coggins on Desi. I get a call from the girl at the barn saying that Dr. Mary thinks she is off and can she go investigate. **Traveling through the mountains!** When I get back to them and say OF COURSE they tell me that the vet picked out the dirt from her front right foot and blood and puss came POURING out. Vet thinks its a DEEP abcess. Gave her a tentus booster, SMZs, soaked her, Ichthemal, duct tape bandage, and stall rest. Did I mention this mare has NEVER seen a stall in her life and I'm out of town. GRRRRRR

I had one of the girls at the barn that just went through this with her horse treating her Saturday and Sunday. The girl that feeds for me taking her out to graze her and making sure she has PLENTY of hay. The reports were good and she was handleing this very good.

Got a call late Saturday, looks like she blew ANOTHER abcess on her hind left. Came out the coronary band. They soaked it just in case.

I get back yesterday and pull her out. She is stocked up in her hind legs. I re-did her front right and checked her HL. She is such a good patient. I cold hosed both hind legs and turned her out on a very small grass paddock for about 1hr. When I went to get her I wrapped her hind legs with polo wraps. She wasn't too sure about those but didn't fuss too much.

This morning I was there much earlier before work to pick her stall and let her move around. I had both ends of the barn closed off so she was investigating the isle way. She was sound when she was trotting around so that is good.

I did get a chance to briefly talk to the vet who wants her on the anti-biotics for at least 10 days. We both think this is due to her coming from super sandy soil for 8yrs to hard ground with rocks. Desi is getting shoes this afternoon.

My plan is to turn her out in the arena this evening. It is softer and she needs to move around. She can also get used to the traffic. LOL

The funny thing is this weekend I won a vet package that included some cotton. LOL

It also came with about 5-6 tubes of electrolytes. I have never used them in the tube before. I have used them in powder when a horse was puny or colicky. Do any of y'all use them? When?

I need to call the vet and ask her more questions about Desi so I'll make sure to ask about all my new stuff....lol

I have NO idea what I am going to do with a tube of Surgical Sterile Lubricant.......

Skate's on a Roll

of being a good little guy. I rode Friday and today, just working on rhythm and relaxation. He's doing really well at the walk and trot, which makes me desperate to move on to the canter. I know it will only end in tenseness and annoyance, so I keep ignoring my evil side telling me to just canter already!

I did take the beast out for our first ride outside the ring. He was great, although we only did about 10 min of quick hacking about. I didn't want to test his nerve just yet, so we turned around before we got to the evil junction box (this thing is the bane of all horses - I think it makes a scary buzzing sound imperceptible to humans!).

All in all, Skate was great : )

I know, I have got to get pics and videos.

Kate & Pro...& Mr. Whip

Gayle had said in my lesson on Friday that I should start riding with a whip again, just to get him used to it, but I started yesterday's ride without one. I figured I don't know...maybe I should give him the benefit of the doubt. It was clear after a few circles by "the bench" that we were going to have our typical post-lesson kind of ride where he really tests me since "that lady" isn't standing in the middle of the arena. ;) After a few circles of him ignoring my leg, I walked up to the barn, quietly picked up the whip, walked back, and remounted. I turned him toward the bench and Pro (clueless to the fact that I was now holding a whip) started to suck back and balk. Whomp! Not a HARD whack, just a firm "Excuse me, sir, you will go forward!" Hahaha, his eyes nearly bugged out of his head. He scooted forward, I re-gathered him into my outside rein, and we tried again. He still wanted to pick up his head, but there was no loss of forwardness this time.

After some improvement by the bench, I moved our 20m circle down the arena a little bit and worked on turning from the outside rein. Any whacks from the whip were lighter since he was now quite pissy about the whole ordeal. I didn't end up bridging my reins this ride (especially with the whip) but tried to remember what it felt like to bridge them. Actually because it was so hot, I just stayed at the walk for 30min, and that was our ride. But we worked on the walk pirouettes in making a square rather than a circle, and in chewing. And we had some foam! :) So I was pleased. Not as much as we had in the lesson, but he was still actively moving his jaw and making foam. Overall, not too bad!

Dare and Mandros-show prep

Ive ridden Mandros for the past 3 days but my computer died (it started smoking) and the one Im on now is very slow. Anyway... we had some complications the first ride with me getting him to canter. He just wouldnt do it. The owner got on and he was fine, so I was the problem (which I figured anyway). I got back on and was able to make him canter. He has been acting different since the owner put him on a supplement that is giving him more engery. Thursday he was full of himself and a little hard to control.

Friday was better and he was easier to get into the canter, I just have to remember to sit back farther than I think I should (I tend to lean forward), and keep my legs long. I had a little problem getting him into the canter on the second test I practiced. I leg yeild right, and then right after Im on the rail, I canter right, so I have to change the position of my legs, and gather him up and PUSH with my seat.

Today I didnt have much trouble getting him into the canter, I was just a little late. He did take the wrong lead once, but it was because I forgot to change the position of my legs, so I asked for a flying change and he did it with no problem.

The supplement he is getting is really helping, he isnt wanting to break in the canter as much. The first day I rode him while he was on it he wasnt great, but I hadnt ridden in two days b/c of the rain. The show is tomorrow and I think Im ready. I got help from the owner for the past 3 days, so Im prepared. Ive emptied my camera card, so I can gets lots of video and pictures. And Kate is coming to watch!

Kate & Pro (lesson) - Bridging and bridges

I need to buy a digital recorder, and make Gayle hold it during lessons so I can type out the whole transcription after (or post the audio file!). I had so many epiphanies today that it just makes me frustrated that I'll never be able to remember EVERYTHING she said once I sit down to type this out.

Anyway, here's the short version - he was SUPER today. Very focused on me, which is what I care most about, but he also made some great improvements and epiphanies himself. At one point, Julia walked down into the arena to get her horse and Pro didn't even notice her until she was just a few yards away. Neither did I (we were deep in focus) but I was impressed with him being so focused.

We spent a lot of time at the walk at the start of our lesson. Gayle reminded to pick up my hands, pick up my hands. And then we started playing with my position. We talked about how the lower leg is not intended to squeeze/squish him but to be held slightly off his sides. (My homework is to watch videos of the recent Olympics and focus just on their lower legs!!!). I gently and oh-so-subtly removed my lower legs from his sides and as I turned to ask Gayle a question she laughed and pointed at Pro - he suddenly went "foomph!"...he puffed up!!! His back rose up, his ribcage expanded, and his topline extended. It was SO neat!! I also discovered that when my legs are in the proper position, I *can't* collapse my midsection. The legs...fix the upper body!!! WOW! Gayle said that's why she doesn't fuss over my upper body - she corrects my legs/seat and the rest will take care of itself, for the most part.

We also worked on getting back to the good old outside rein and it's new job as my best friend. Turning only with the outside rein. Imagining how the reins are connected not to my hands...but to my elbows. Ahhh! :) Once I started only turning with the outside rein, Pro at first started to counterbend but eventually softened up. Turn with the outside aids, "catch" with the inside leg to re-establish a gentle bend.

Then...and here's where the lesson got REALLY cool...Gayle had me bridge my reins. Which I'd heard about, but never actually tried. WOW. Once bridged, I was totally unable to give in to my inside-rein-temptation. My hands were stuck at the correct position. It was like having Gayle's hands on mine, telling them where to go. Pro puffed up even more and got ALL inward focused (Gayle says he's getting all introspective) and concentrating. We moved to the trot, which was tricky, but it worked. I continued using my gentle-posting (allllmost sitting all the way down but then rising up again). She had me focus JUST on his back at the trot. Not his head, not forwardness, just his back. She did say that when he gets very introspective and contemplative with these new "learn how to soften your back" concepts, that the forwardness will go away. "A correct horse becomes a push horse, where you need to PUSH them forward"! So I let him figure it out while I focused on his back. Even with the reins bridged I could give with my inside rein, but I couldn't cheat by using it to get him soft. The bridged reins really helped him to work his topline and start developing that "bridge" from neck to back. Hence, the title!

We did figure eights (right by the bunny tree, didn't blink an eye) and circles, and even some canter transitions. Which was adorable...he was SO into himself at that point and when I sat the trot and asked him to canter he paused as if to say, "Ummm...hang on...I know that means canter, but I don't know how to canter anymore now that my back is truly up!!" So we just laughed and regained the trot, tried again. He lurched into a canter that was somewhat= forehand-heavy but truly using his back.

I'm sure I missed a few epiphanies but still...great lesson. :) I'm so thrilled with his progress. He felt like a 14.3h warmblood today! Such a wonderful joy.

One random thing that I forget HOW we were talking about it...stirrups. And stirrup length. And why stirrups are mandatory. And Gayle said something brilliant - "Stirrups aren't a resting point...they're a reference point." Aha! Yes! (Well, for dressage. Jumping is different.) She kept telling me "toes up" instead of "heels down". I asked her why she phrased it that way and she said those things use different muscles. Putting your heels down means tightening your leg muscles which raises you ever so slightly up off the saddle. Pulling your toes up relaxes your leg and deepens you into the saddle. Try it - I could feel it!!!

Gayle also said that since we spent some time at the walk today, it gave me a lot of new ways to explore exercises that I can use in the future, especially for a day when I don't really feel like riding. She said that there's nothing wrong with spending a workout JUST walking and focusing on exercises at the walk. So that's encouragement, especially for rides that follow long days on campus. :P


**Oh and HUGELY exciting...for the past several issues my Arabian Horse Association magazine has been counting down the Top 100 Influences in the Arabian world. This most recent issue, Pro's dad was #14, almost in the top 10!! I was so proud, and they had adorable pictures.
Here he is, the great *Padron:

Alex - when are you coming to see my guy? ;) I think you said you'd be somewhat in this area this fall...

Andrea and Pro - Using up the Goodness

Well, Pro was excellent tonight. I don't know if it's because of his 2 day break or because he didn't have to see me till after he'd finished his dinner, but he was very cooperative.

Since he'd been stuck in his stall for most of the last two days I really just wanted to get him moving around and forward so Kate wouldn't have to deal with soreness in her lesson tomorrow. I told her before I went out that my goals were "Forward" and then "Supple" and anything else would be bonus. So after snuffling the bench we started off at a nice, forward, marching walk. He was actually nice and loose in his shoulders from the get-go, perhaps because of the freed up inside rein. We marched around the ring and used some cones that had been set up to do a little shallow serpentine followed by a rectangle with 1/4 pirouettes at each of the corners. Once he'd gone around a couple of times I switched from shallow serpentines to leg yielding between the cones. I was aiming to send him over while keeping the forward, bump him once with the outside leg to halt the lateral movement, then bump him again to send him off in the other direction. It mostly worked, he lost some forward but went laterally willingly enough. He was good at the trot as well, though at the trot I had to do a leg yield, go forward one gap, then go over, I couldn't get him reorganized fast enough to bounce him back and forth. We broke it up some by practicing on the rail with both shallow serpentines and leg yields.

For our grand finale we did a couple canter circles. He was AMAZING. You know that canter where you're like "oh, I bet this is what it needs to feel like to do tempi's!"? That's what he felt like. He was balanced, on the outside aids, no tipping in, no counter-bending... just... straight! Big Horse's owner was out and saw our canter and commented that it looked very soft and willing and just generally good. Since he was so amazing I didn't want to risk it falling apart in the other direction so we stopped there ;). In general I think the best word to describe him tonight was "happy" and apparently a happy Pro is a soft, willing Pro.

Now, since I've gushed about him being good I'm sure he'll be a snot tomorrow for Kate :(.

Brown ribbons for the brown horse

After having a fabulous jumping lesson last week (that I never got around to posting about...oops!) Surf and I went to the Seneca Valley Pony Club Horse Trial (SVPCHT) last weekend. That's right...the hurricane weekend. Luckily I did all my showing Sunday after the storm had passed through (and just had to deal with some slippery footing spots...but hey, that's why they make studs!), but my poor trainer had 2 rides during the storm :P Our dressage was pretty mediocre (Surf got all wound up with dressage being between the stadium ring and xc) but I was happy with our jumping in both xc and stadium. 

In our jumping lesson the week before the show, we worked on me staying soft and relaxed and giving Surf the freedom to use his head and neck just before the fence. We managed to actually implement this through much of the round, and had what's probably the best-flowing stadium round yet...although we tapped a rail. XC was a breeze...I love this horse's big stride and the only jump he peaked at was the water jump that was literally overflowing from all the rain...however, we had penalties for going too fast (eventhough we were trying to kill time)...and ended up 8th bringing home a big brown ribbon. Amazingly, we would've been in 5th if we hadn't had speed faults on xc. Oh well, we're moving back up to Training...and the speed is faster there :) 

Since this is a pretty brief entry, I'll make up for it with some photos :)

 

Surf over fence 9B in Stadium


Surf heading home over the last fence in Stadium


Over the cabins at 15 on XC (I love this one!)


Off the bank at 18


Over the picnic tables and on to the finish line

Skate is starting to GET it! How about me?

I had a lesson last night and Skate did really well. He started out tense due to the sirens blaring from the volunteer fire department (sounded like an air raid!) so we worked on getting him to focus with shallow serpentines down the long side of the arena. This was not his best move; he gets stiff and tries to protect himself from the bit. We decided getting him to turn is like trying to move a barge - his rear engine slows to a crawl and his head just sorta cranes around...so funny! To fix this, we moved on to figure eights. I spent that time at the walk keeping his butt marching forward and turning off my seat, not my hands. This required some reinforcement with the whip, which I hadn't used up until this point, but he took it well.

We then moved on to suppling..Yay! My instructor was very happy with the progress we've made in just a week. Skate's little head is actually pretty steady now and the nervous gnawing of the bit has subsided. We got our rythym going at the trot and then asked him to spiral in using only outside rein and inside leg to bend. Once he was seeking (or at least accepting) outside contact, I began pushing him forward asking him to stretch down with inside rein massages. The first few times I saw results, I'm pretty positive it was a coincidence. After about 4000 circles, his little brain finally got it and he really got a good dramatic stretch down and softening - so we quit!

We spent a lot of time discussing my issues with him - how I need to get comfortable with his forwardness and make it MY idea. How I need to learn not to compare one ride to another...I need to compare Skate's actions at the beginning of an exercise to the results from the end. And..how I need to get used to the idea of having to 'train' him. With Hobbes I felt like I was just trying to release his knowledge that was already there (although my instructor pointed out I am training with every stride - no matter if it is Skate or Hobbes); with Skate I'm having to give him the knowledge and that really intimidates me. I've never felt like I'm patient enough or have enough of a 'feel' to really train a horse correctly. I tend to get too focused on the end result I want and get panicky that we're nowhere near that. I must stop getting upset that we can't have a collected canter and focus on getting him on the outside rein for today : ) The collected canter can't even begin until that one is there!

Dare and Mandros

I got to the barn today and Mandros' owner told me she had wormed him today and that I needed to ride him VERY lightly. She said "dont ride him hard enough to make him sweat". I went and got him out of his paddock and took his fly sheet off and he was already soaked in sweat.

I tacked up and got on and walked for 25 mins and trotted for 5. So I didnt have much of a ride, but he was pretty good for what I did. Im having a lesson on Wed so lets hope I can have a full ride.

Kate & Pro - 9/8

"There is a time and a place to go dominatrix on your horse. Know those times." -Gayle

So today I was presented with one of those opportunities. As soon as I got on, Pro made it very clear that he didn't have any intention of settling down into whatever I wanted. He cranked his face up by the bench and tried to scoot sideways. I realized I could play with some pirouettes for awhile, or move somewhere else, or just flat out say "THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE." I decided to try the last option so as he whirled his butt away from the bench I "got in the backseat" (as my old eventing instructor used to say), pushed both reins forward and just booted the snot out of him. He bucked a few times but eventually scooted up toward the bench. Then it was HEAD DOWN and 10m circles by the bench (complete with massive booting for any hesitation) until he walked by it like a gentleman. Apparently I effectively conveyed that I wasn't taking any crap today, because after a few circles he settled right down and that was the end of that!

From there, we had a pretty decent ride. I played with using my outside rein to get some shoulder-fore, rewarding him with inside rein pats and practicing maintaining my hand position while using the inside rein to reward. When I was ready for the walk pirouettes I was surprised to see a BIG improvement from the last time I tried them. He's quickly learned that I don't want a 360-degree spin when I relax my inside rein and use my outside aids to turn him to form the "corner" of the "box". Just a 90-degree rotation! He also isn't putting his head up anymore during the turns. From there, the trot wasn't too bad. I managed to keep my hands where they were supposed to, and sort of convinced him that it was still okay. I tried some more "light posting" to get him to step up and under himself and relax his back - seemed to work.

Going to the left was a bit tougher, since he really prefers to counterbend right. I kept resisting the urge to pull with my left rein, and just focused on my outside aids. I did TRY the outside leg back thing that Andrea described but couldn't get it to work for me. However, a few quick canter-trot transitions seemed to get him to soften, and he eventually was mostly straight (ie, bent) at the posting trot. I let him walk on a long rein and ended there. :)

Desi to the Roundpen

I have been working her just haven't had time to do daily posts.


Last Thursday was the first day I could get her into the roundpen. I initially wanted to make sure she wasn't terrified of the flag so we worked on that with the rope halter. I have to brag, this is one of the smartest mare's I have ever met in my life. She is probably the ONLY horse I have EVER worked with that transfers what she learned on one side to the other by herself. She changes eyes VERY willingly and on her own without getting upset.

Initially she wasn't too thrilled with the flag.

After a few minutes she was fine with it anywhere on her left side. When I moved to her right side most horses would have had to get used to it on that side too. She just looked at me like "YEAH.........we just did this, what are you doing??"

Needless to say, she was SUPER comfortable with it before I turned her loose.

I don't have any pictures of me working her. We were mostly focusing on keeping her nose to the inside and her focus on me. I did get some videos though. They may not make sense, some NCHNers asked me to demo some things for them. I have NO idea how to get them on here though.

Teaching sidepassing loose:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_EPp-_9lAo

Following my shoulder in all directions:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gnka97A84og&feature=user

Bits?

I'm currently riding Skate in a single jointed snaffle with a small diameter mouthpiece since he has such a tiny mouth. He doesn't love it, but seems to like it a little more than the french link. He doesn't pull, just seems to want to evade contact. He will toss his head sometimes - I think the joint might be bothering him.

Anyone tried a mullen mouth? I'm thinking he would like the stability of that bit and it wouldn't wack him in the roof of the mouth, either. Plus, I think they are good for horses that are hesitant about seeking contact, no?

Other options: waterford - he's been ridden in this before and I happen to like these bits b/c unless you really crank on them (or they are poorly made) they are pretty mild.
Happy mouth- don't love this option because he's a gnawer and I'm afraid the mouthpiece might start getting rough, nor do I own one, but I'll give it a try.
I dont want to go with anything that encourages playing with the bit...he does this enough on his own. Nor do I want to go with copper - its a little soft for such a gnawer.

Any other ideas?

Andrea and Pro - Breakthrough(s)!

I bet Kate is freaking out right now just from that title ;).

Everyone but Big Horse was outside when I got to the barn so that put me in a good mood (not having to clean 6 of the 7 stalls? score!) so I was all set to give Pro as much time as he needed if he had issues. He started off sort of resistant and was doing the counter-bending trick when I held the outside rein and let go with the inside rein. But then two things clicked in my head "hey, wait a second, outside bend means his butt is swung to the outside" and "Kate said you have to control the outside of the horse." So I put my outside leg back a couple of inches and held it there strongly but passively and anchored his head and neck with my outside rein. A couple taps with my inside spur to tell him to pay attention and suddenly he was a straight, balanced, soft pony! He worked great at the walk, trot, and canter. I was particularly impressed with his trot-canter transition, he just stepped up smoothly and with no head/back tension. Pro didn't even get upset that I'd figured out how to counter his counter-bending (haha), he just did that "Oh, why didn't you say so sooner?" thing they do that makes you feel like you've wasted several weeks.

So we turned around to repeat this breakthrough in the other direction and then I had my second breakthrough/realization of the ride. My left leg is no where near as strong/solid as my right leg. So when I tried to use my left leg as the outside solid wall it was sort of more like a sand dune than a rock wall. I eventually bribed myself into one really solid circle at the trot, but I clearly need to do some strengthening exercises in and out of the saddle to improve that leg. Kate's letting me go back to 3x per week rides so maybe that will help. I was very happy with the way the ride went though.

Pepsi Loves Me!!

So, I went out to see Pepsi yesterday morning (notice I said SEE him, not RIDE him!) and he was a very good boy! Ok, at first he wasn't because he completely ignored me. But then after I called to him for about 30 seconds he finally walked over to me for some petting and some scratches. (I was standing outside the fence, and he just walked over to the fence line to me.)

It was 7:20 at the time, and I had to be at school by 8:00, so I was literally only there for like 10 minutes. But hey, at least I SAW my horsey!

Oh, and Alex- Pepsi's boots FINALLY came last week! I'm going to try them on Monday after my freaking huge Anatomy Test. And Hannah- send me good A&P vibes please!!! Actually, that goes for everyone!

Dare and Mandros-after the storm

Today I didnt do too much with Mandros because he was so tired. He probably didnt get any sleep last night due to the storm. I only rode 35 mins and it was so hard to get him moving.

The ring wasnt bad, it was wet but it had just been dragged, so it was nice. Once warmed up I trotted for about 2 minutes, and he was out of breath. I gave him a walk break and then trotted a little more. I cantered one 20 meter circle each way and he picked up the canter nicely (unlike the previous ride). After that we cooled out.

Im going back tomorrow so hopefully he will get a good night's sleep.

Andrea and Pro

I rode! :D Two days in a row even. Yesterday was just a really quick 15 min ride because I had to get home at a reasonable time. He was good though, until I turned him around and made him trot in the opposite direction towards the bench and then he got a little looky. I noticed that I was tipping forward and dropping my hands though, so I really worked on that tonight.

The barn manager's husband was sitting on the horse-eating bench, so I opted to ride by the bunny tree instead. He wanted to look at that, but I made him do 1/2 walk pirouettes to just walk back and forth in front of it until he went quietly. He did pretty well at the walk and trot, though I still had to struggle with dropping my hands. He'd go to drop his head and stretch into a nice trot, but when he dropped his head I'd drop my hands. We got better, but then he really wanted to canter so I tried to work on keeping him rocked back on his haunches and soft at the canter. I had to push him quite a bit to get him to balance himself. He punished me for it by going into a jackhammer trot after. Well, he'd either tip himself/me onto his forehand or do jackhammer strides. So, not the best ride ever, but I'm still excited when he has an 'honest' ride and is focused on me.

Dare and Mandros-lesson

I had my lesson yesterday but it wasnt much of a lesson. I was practicing my test and about 1/3 way through the first test, I asked him to canter, and he wouldnt. I tried and tried and he wouldnt canter to the left, he was fine to the right.

The owner got on and couldnt make him do it either. He kept wagging his head and neck. It looked like what it would if the rider was seesawing the bit, but she wasnt. He kept trying to throw himself on the forehand. She was finally able to get him to canter, but it was a struggle. I got back on and was able to get him to canter but had to really collect him to do it, and REALLY push from his hindend.

His owner thinks that his arthritis might be acting up. He was fine two days before, but the weather has changed some, so who knows with an old horse. You couldnt tell anything was wrong from the ground. He was x-rayed last year and the arthritis didnt show up, but it did when she bought him 8 years ago.

The show was canceled because of the hurricane, so its probably a good thing. We'll see how he is after after this storm passes. I know it seems like Mandros is always hurt but its because he has had a really hard life. He used to be a grand prix jumper, then he hurt his back, and he was sold and then trained for dressage up to grand prix, so he has been there, done that.

Celebrating my 3 year anniversary of going over to the dark side...

This past weekend Surf and I went down to Lexington VA for the Virginia Horse Center's Starter Trials -- a fabulous schooling show put on by a beautiful facility. Seriously, for anyone who's never been to the VA horse center, it's gorgeous -- http://horsecenter.org/view.asp?id=home -- 600 acres, stabling for 1200 horses, 19 show rings (with 2 big indoor rings, several smaller indoor rings, and a 4,000 seat coliseum), 2 cross country courses, and a combined driving course. They have a xc schooling day saturday, then run a horse trial sunday, so you get a chance to school everything before the show.

Surfie and I drove down from Baltimore -- a 5 hour drive -- because a group of my eventing buddies from FenRidge were driving up from NC. They hadn't met Surf, and I've been missing my NC buddies, so it seemed like a fun way to spend Labor Day weekend :) On the way down, I was thinking about eventing...and how it feels like I've been doing this forever...but I realized that I went to my very first horse trial exactly 3 years ago on Labor Day weekend, with the same folks from FenRidge that I was driving down to spend the weekend with!

What chaos that first HT was -- I'd had big Quincey for a few days, there was an extra trailer spot, and I had NO CLUE about eventing other than what I'd seen on tv, watching Rolex and what I'd read on the internet -- and I promptly got eliminated at the first fence on XC :) This led to much reminiscing over the past few years and the realization that I have made some progress -- a good thing to think about on those days (of which there are many!) where I feel like I'm getting nowhere with this riding thing. I must remind myself that progres...especially in dressage...is S-L-O-W, and that I must remember to notice the small bits of progress -- the 10m circle where surf's shoulder doesn't fall in, sitting up and accepting a tight spot without crawling up surf's neck, jumping up banks out of water without freezing up, jumping my first real trakhaner...and not lose the beauty of an individual tree in the vast forest that is Eventing :) 3 years later, I have no regrets about going over to the Dark Side...I love getting ride times. I love dressage comments (though Dressage is a constant struggle for me...and my goal in life is to be mediocre at dressage...I don't want to be good, just ok...). I love how the skills you need for one phase are reinforced by your training for other phases. I love the technicality of stadium, and how it's so very different than either hunters or jumping on xc. I love color coordinating. I love the people I've met...and how friendly and open and helpful they are. I love the partnership that eventing demands of horse and rider, and the opportunity I've had to ride horses that are trained to think for themselves while at the same time protecting themselves and their riders. And...there's nothing...absolutely nothing...like the feelings you get from cross-country. The pre-start jitters as you circle the box...feeling your pulse quicken as they count you backwards from 10 seconds...the deep breath and focusing as you settle in to your irons, shorten up your reins, and whisper your last words of encouragement (for me, it's always the same thing..."ok big guy, take care of your monkey out there") to your horse as the starter gets to "3...2...1...have a nice ride!"...the relief after you clear the first fence, then the second, then the 3rd, until you get to a point where you're standing in your stirrups, hands pressed into the withers, galloping along and realize that this may be the closest you ever get to flying...the anticipation of your bugaboo fence (for me, produce stands or banks out of water) and the exhileration when you get over it...the nerves as you come to the last fence on course, knowing that it's what's between you and a clear round and a safe trip around...and the absolute exhileration of crossing through those finish flags.

(so have I convinced anyone else to come to the dark side?!?!?!?!)

With that attitude, we had a nice, if short, xc school (it was hot, and we were with a mixed group of horses in terms of their experience level, and Surf spent a good bit of time giving leads over small fences, through the water, etc) . Surf also settled into his stall well, which was good as this was our first big overnight trip away from home and the VA horse center is not the easiest place for horses to settle into. He warmed up like a champ for dressage, but was distracted in his test by the reiners warming up in the ring below us...leading to him being quite tense through his neck. However, he was forward and more obedient than our usual dressage outing, and we were in 4th after dressage with 36pp (64%). He was nicely in front of my leg in stadium, and I was able to stay more with him and remember to give in front of the fence with my hands and not lean at the fence when he got in tight once or twice...and was rewarded with a double clear round. Julia rode him for me while I was out of town 2 weeks ago and has been reminding me ever since that he jumps much much much better when you really leave his face alone -- he's funny that way, as he takes quite a bit of contact in dressage, but jumps like an A/O hunter when you don't touch his face rather than like a girraffe if you have much contact :P. Surf was a rockstar on XC...once I convinced him that the VTO tack store tent near the warmup was not going to eat him alive...and that the start box is OK (seriously, this horse has been eventing for 6-7 yrs and is scared silly of the start box...it's hard to explain to the starters, who often have to lead us into the box, that no he's not green...he's actually and ex-*/Int horse :P...). He clocked around XC and we only had one sticky jump where I had changed my mind about how I wanted to go to the next fence, and I gave him a little more leg than I should've and he attempted to jump me out of the tack...but hey, who needs stirrups anyways since these fences are only 2'11" :) He came in double clear and the fastest in our division...and we moved up to 3rd to bring home a pretty primary color ribbon :)

I don't have many photos on my work computer...so I'll add more in another post...but here's one that I think show's how much surf and I love eventing :)


Huey is doing well too...we've had several nice rides recently. He's trotting almost 15min now...when we hit 20min, we get to see our first cross-rail. He's starting to try to sneak into the canter now...which is what he did with the trot as we got to the point where we were about to introduce it into our work. The old man knows the rehab drill...he's been through this too many times before...and has come back once again. I think this horse loves his job...in a way that he didn't love being a racehorse, a babysitter, or a pasture pet. I don't know how to explain it...but if you could sit on him, even for just a few minutes, you'd know. Huey is an odd duck...when I first started riding him, Julia told me she didn't know if the partnership would work...but if Huey decided he liked me, and he could work with me, then I would have the gift of riding a horse that would jump the moon if I asked him to.

Right now, I don't want him to jump the moon...just an 18" cross-rail will do :)

I have big plans in the works for the boys next winter/spring...but I'm reluctant to put the "A plan" in writing in case things fall apart. Let's just say it involves 2 horses, my trailer, and a week down south where there are old friends, good instructors, and some late wintertime HTs. With 2 boys though, I'll need some help...anyone want to be my groom for a few days?

Desi is SPOILED

Well one of the big drawbacks to having an evergreen 8yr old is that by 8 they are VERY set in their ways. She is smart but she is also a mare with an opinion.

Last night my plan was to do some groundwork with her. I brought her out of the paddock, through the evil barn and to the hitching post. She did SO well. She remembered all of our coversations from the day before and was super soft.

**Yes I do actually occassionally brush my horses!**

Since things were going so well I tacked her up. She stood quietly while I threw my saddle on her and got everything situated. From what I understand she has only been ridden in barrel saddles so mine was a big difference for her.

We headed out to the arena to get some good work in. Tracking left she was SUPER soft, she remembered all her lessons about bending and was very attentive. Tracking right she is more resistant. She gets soft but not until she has done some ugly moves. lol She wants to brace against the line and push her neck and shoulder at me.

Once she was good and soft on both sides I went and got a bridle. She was being so good and attentive. She was a little nervous about taking the bit but didn't fight. So I took it off and put it back on 2-3 times. Then we worked on bending on the ground. I wanted to get a feel for how soft her mouth was or wasn't. She is very soft on her left side and still a little resistant on her right. So I got situated and went to step up. I treated her like a greenie. I hip-popped and leaned over her, rubbed her, bent her neck and just as I was getting ready to step over she took off bucking. I hopped back and ALMOST landed on my feet. HAHA Got up and went to get her. Had another bending conversation and got back on.

Then we started bending under saddle. We went right and left over and over again. I would give her the chance to go forward and if she started to sull up we would bend and bend and bend. We ended after she would walk past the gate 20ft or so in both directions calmly. She is going to need a lot more saddle work than I anticipated but she is smart and willing so that is promising.

I will have to brag a little........she looks DAMN good in that saddle!!

Dare and Mandros

Ive been gone over the weekend so I havent ridden Mandros in several days. His owner did ride him once and said he was good.

When I rode him Monday he was really good. I used spurs for the first time with him and it really helped him stay in the canter. I practiced both the tests that Im doing at the show. I think I have both of them remembered. He did really well in both tests. We had a little mishap with him being scared of the kids on the trampoline, but other than that, he was good.

Im having a lesson this Wednesday so Ill be able to get advice on my tests.

Kate & Pro - alright, who doped him with Ritalin?!

I'm back! Okay so last Thursday I rode Pro after a few days break due to rain. I was surprised to find that he was calm - not looky at the bench or anything else. I generally stuck to a 20m circle and just focused on releasing my inside rein, getting him to relax his neck even though I was keeping my hands up in their proper position.

Friday morning was my lesson. I committed the Student's Mortal Sin of Riding - I left my tall boots at home (#*#&!) so I had to ride in sneakers, but Gayle said she could look the other way. ;) We started off by getting him looser at the walk, since he'd had a few days off. Gayle also said the words "and his age", hahaha - 16 is not old!!!! - so yes, it was JUST from the days off. We worked on getting him moving evenly, tracking up, and then focused on that darn outside rein. For that, walking on a "square" with quarter-pirouettes. Except I had to make sure that I did NOT touch the inside rein during each pirouette. Outside aids only. Which turned out to be very awkward - when I put my outside leg on and started to move him over with the outside leg, his brain thought "oh, Western spin!" so he would put his head up and try to do a 360-degree spin. I had to carefully bump him over with the outside aids and quickly "catch" him and send him forward with my inside leg so he didn't spin all the way around. Stupid Western training.

Anyway, even though at first he kept putting his head up (trying to weasel me into pulling his face around with the inside rein), this eventually softened him. To flex his neck, I was only allowed to half-halt on the OUTside rein. Big mental change for me. Gayle's weaning me off that inside rein dependence. So, we're learning to turn/steer from the outside rein only - it's a difficult mental change for me. But Gayle says that once you control the outside of the horse, you control the horse. That's pretty good motivation to learn this solidly!

Also due to stiffness, Gayle had me adjust my posting to 99% sitting down in the saddle on the down beat. Within two strides, Pro lifted his back!! It was a neat sensation that he clearly liked. It took a bit more effort on my part (haha, no being lazy with this) but it really helped him to develop a better, swingy trot. We also picked up the canter, and then went down to trot without letting me lean on the reins at alllll. I'm still pounding it into my head - "If I don't give him something to pull on, he can't lean on me." Tricky!

Tonight I rode him again and he was still resistant to fully coming soft since my hands no longer drop (much to his dismay) but at least he's not being an angry idiot about imaginary spooky things. He did fuss a bit over the bunny tree tonight, but I kept to a tight volte until he dropped down. But for the most part, he's been fairly focused the past three rides. :) (Hope I didn't just jinx myself!!!)

Sorry for my absence lately...I'll be better about posting!!! Gabby - you win most dedicated poster!! Hey Christie, how's Deuce doing these days? Haven't heard any updates...

My New Girl

This one might be a long one....

This weekend I got my new mare Desi. She is an 8yr old Appendix bay mare. She had 60 days of training as a 3yr old and then about a year ago went for a 30 day tune up. Other than that she has been ridden 2-3 times a year and gotten to enjoy the life of a pasture horse. She needed a job though and I needed a horse that was smart and could stand up to work.

Hopefully she will end up being my training/clinic horse like Apple.

We got back late Sunday night and she was exhausted. She is so out of shape! Yesterday afternoon I got her out for some groundwork/getting to know each other stuff. The paddock she is in attaches to the back of the barn. She isn't used to barns at all. She lead through fine but when I asked her to stop for a moment she got nervous and blew past me..... We had a LONG discussion about how that was not allowed and would not be permitted. So we went back into the barn and backed up and down the isle and let her investigate and realize that nothing was going to eat her.

I tied her to the hitching post and started brushing. She stood very quiet and patiently until I walked away. She started calling and moving around so I made her move and move and move until her attention was back on me. She isn't a very confident mare at all. This is something we are really going to have to work on.

After she was all clean we headed to the arena. She moved out nicely on the line but was WAY too interested in what everyone else was doing. We worked really hard on staying bent to the INSIDE and not sticking her nose to the outside. She isn't very free with her feet yet. When I ask her to back up she gets tense and shuffles back instead of stepping back. We worked until she was staying soft and bent the correct way. As we went to leave the arena, I opened the gate and she saw this as an opportunity to run through it. So we had to stand and wait and wait and wait until she wasn't nervous about the open gate.

I think she is going to be great though. She is a quick learner that just needs guidance and to understand the new rules.....like NO eating grass without permission.

The current plan is to get her out tonight and do more groundwork if she seems more calm and settled then I might ride. For right now riding is going to consist of warming up and cooling down with bending/flexing/moving shoulders and hips and working will be lots and lots of LONG trotting to get her fat butt into shape.

Mary and Pepsi are alive....

Yes, we are both still alive, but I've been too busy studying, working, studying, driving, working and studying some more to do anything other than, well...study and work.

Pepsi was also off for the last few weeks- we know why, but I still had to wait for him to not be so ouchy. We will both get back to a little bit of work this week, so look for some more blogs in the future!

Ps- I'm house-sitting right now, and it's 9:00 and I STILL need to study for tomorrow's quiz, shower, feed the cats, AND get everything ready for my 8 am class and quiz!!

I also have JUST started out-of-class massages, so if anyone is in the Raleigh area next week let me know and I can work on you for a few minutes!

I miss my pony....

Lesson on Skate

Well, this is turning into a blog about Gabby and Skate! Where is everyone??

I had my first lesson on my little horse tonight. She really liked him and said he'll be a very 'useful' horse for me. If you knew my instructor, you'd know that was a compliment! She also watched him go for a few minutes and asked if he was a Secretariat baby...which he is. She said she rode Romantico, Secretariat's son, for about two years and LOVED him. She said he was always the perfect gentleman. I then broke the news that Romantico is Skate's grandsire. She likes him even more, now : )

Anyway, we worked on pushing him forward when he gets behind the bit (I have never had a horse that can curl his little nose in so far his head disappears from sight!) and just keeping him forward. We then moved onto keeping my outside rein from flapping in the wind. Just keeping him bent around my inside leg while keeping contact on the outside rein helped him immensely. He's bad about really gnawing on the bit like a baby, but when I got him moving out and kept the outside rein steady, he actually closed his mouth and kept the bit steady (for a few strides, at least).

So, I have some homework to do...which is important for me. I have a tendency to ride aimlessly for about 30 minutes if I don't have a plan beforehand.

Skate is starting to grow on me, I'm happy to say. He's really so quiet and laid-back, I couldn't have found a better match as far as temperament goes. I'm beginning to get past his small stature and I feel like there is going to be a future for us as far as dressage goes. Phew, my panic has subsided.