Trot Poles!

I splurged and bought the barn some more trot poles (8' landscaping timbers). They were going to make their big debut Tues night, but one of the old horses at the barn was mildly colicing (she's fine now) so I didn't actually end up riding.

Last night I set up 6 in a row on what I was guessing was 4-4 1/2' spacing (so he'd have to lift his legs over a pole each time he stepped forward). My idea was that this would force him to lift his back up so he had space to really step under himself and get over the poles. Pro wasn't too sure about the torture device when I pulled him out of his pasture so I walked/jogged him over them in hand before we went up to tack up.

He was actually good about not being spooky heading into them, but the spacing was clearly still a bit big for him as he was rushing through. That wasn't what I wanted at all so I did a lot of circles before and after going through them. He tends to lock onto the poles and tune his rider out so there was lots of "hey, remember me?" moments. Sometimes he went through them great, others it was sort of scary, but overall I think we both had fun. His impulsion hasn't been as good lately so I was mostly fine with him being very forward. A couple of the circles felt like he had pretty good suspension and was actually lifting his back. I tried pushing the poles closer together and things got worse for both Pro and the other horse who was out with us, so I ended up just making them 2 sets of 3 poles side by side and trotting through those a couple times before calling it quits.

I'm hoping to start incorporating poles in a more casual sort of way (poles at the quarter points of our 20m circle, random poles on the ground to just do whatever on) but does anyone have fun-filled pole exercises? Kate and I are trying to find some method to let us lift the poles off the ground some, but for now we've just got the flat poles.

Pictures! (sort of)

After some cold weather and a head cold :P I am finally back in the saddle. On Monday, Pro and I had a brief, impromptu groundwork lesson when we walked into the barn. Three empty shavings bags were lying across the aisle (the barn manager was busy putting new shavings in the stalls) and of course Pro gawked at them. Well that was no good, so we walked over and I made him investigate further. I'm pleased to say that within 5 minutes, I had him walking back and forth over the plastic bags!! :) He even kicked them around and it didn't phase him. That NEVER would've happened a few years ago.

So on Wednesday when I rode, he was actually pretty good. He had some snorty issues about the bunny tree, but we just kept doing voltes (turning off the outside aids) by the tree until he got over it. I made sure he was stretching down over his back and reaching for the bit the whole time. We didn't end up cantering, but we did do lots of walking, some trotting, and lots of bending through circles and figure eights. Every time I felt him start to get tense, I bumped him forward and made him stretch down more. At the trot I did a lot of "light posting", making sure my lower legs were off his sides, to make sure that he was lifting his back.

Pro was still pretty strong though, so my shoulders were sore by the end of the ride. I am getting better about reminding myself that pulling is a two-person game, but he DOES need those "HEY, come here!" reminders a lot. Ugh.

Here are the pictures I got...not sure if you all can see the muscling that I'm talking about, sort of behind his withers. I couldn't get him to do a back lift at the same time that I held the camera...this was the best I can do. We're trying to get him to develop his full back muscles, and stop bracing by his withers.

He is HERE!!!

I am ashamed to say that I didn't think he was coming yesterday so I didn't have my camera ready. I got the call at 4:30 that he was coming so I rushed over after work to ride him and get him settled in with Apple. These pictures were taken with my phone this morning. I promise better ones tomorrow after I ride tonight.

His registered name is Mr Starlight Opa. I will NOT call him Opa. His breeding is interesting its a mix of working cow/reining horses and performance/WP horses. He is one of the smoothest horses I have ever ridden and I LOVE it.

I have a local guy that wants me to come over and help him during some local cutting shows. My horse and I will keep the cows turned back and penned at the end of the arena.

Ideas for names are very welcome. I have a soft spot for "A" names though.

Crappy Lesson

Had a lesson last night...it sucked. I just couldn't get it together to do anything right. Skate wasn't particularly bad, but I just got the impression that he wasn't getting it (whatever it was I was attempting). So, my instructor hopped on and continued the conversation. She wholly agreed he wasn't getting it. He still seems to have no clue about connection...so I guess its time to change the game plan.

My homework is to get him to understand that his rear end is mine and needs to move when I tell it to. I'm supposed to do a nice long warmup each ride, then the working part needs to focus on quarter turns on the forehand, ie. squares, spiral ins to TOF, etc. Plus, some ground work to reinforce the move over cue.

The thing I'm feeling SUPER frustrated about is that he normally does TOF for me, just fine. Last night - he was friggin clueless. I felt like an idiot, b/c I kept wanting to argue and say - 'but he knows how to do that!!'. Instead I kept my trap shut. Obviously, my game plan hasn't been working b/c he still doesn't want to connect at all...I can get a few steps of something, but he immediately hollows and gets rushy. So, maybe she's right - I think he gets what my leg means, but he doesn't really fully respond. Ugh. So annoying. Still, here's where I can't make the connection: Once he understands he needs to use his rear end and step under w/ the inside hind and connect to my outside rein - how is he magically going to start working on the bit? I'm not seeing how this is going to work...

I'm going to do some internet research and see if I can get a better understanding of this. My engineering mind doesn't do well with the froo froo concepts of dressage. I need physical evidence and actual examples to get it. Sometimes I listen to people speak or write about dressage and feel totally annoyed with the abstractness of the description. I'm one of those people that does NOT ride better after reading Sally Swift. Thinking about myself as a dripping ice cream cone or an oak tree just makes me feel ridiculous.

Oh, and I started watching a video called "The Art of Traditional Dressage" narrated by De Kunffy. I fell asleep about 10 min in. The only entertaining part was when he was tottering around on his heels w/ his toes up trying to show how your heel should be down. Dang, that was funny.

Sailing with Skate

Man, it was windy on Sunday! I went out to have a quick ride and found myself wondering what the heck I was thinking? No horse could possibly stay quiet and focused in those winds!

Surprising, Skate handled it very well. I didn't get a whole lot of really good work in...but he was very quiet. Coming down the long side a few times it was so windy I thought I was going to get blown off! I did some good trotwork and some nice cantering and called it a good ride.

I have switched his bit from a plain mullen mouth to a Sprenger due - which is like a Nathe, but cheaper. I was hoping the rubbery surface would reduce the gnawing...and it has, but just a little. Now I just can't hear him gnawing : ) Unfortunately, I'm already noticing some gnaw marks in the rubber...even though its guaranteed for 3 years! Plus, the brakes in that bit are almost nonexistant. That doesn't really bother me, b/c it just shows me I need to work more on stopping him from my seat, but it might not be a good choice for trails or jumping. Ha.

"Back" to basics...

So I know I've been MIA lately, but I have been out to the barn. I lunged Pro on Thursday and did a lot of transition work. He's still being a good boy about stretching down over his back when I increase pressure on the lunge line and then release it. I'm proud of him for understanding that the lunge line really is the inside rein, just without me on his back. So smart! It was windy but despite a few scoots and a buck, he mainly paid attention to me. We even mixed in walk-trot transitions since he doesn't like to walk on the lunge line.

Gayle was out to trim Pro yesterday...back on a short cycle for his feet since he had some not-great growth for the few months that he was without his Mg (which Gayle said is instrumental in helping him regulate sugar and develop proper hoof growth). He's not insulin-resistant, he just needs the Mg to keep things running smoothly. Thankfully it's quite cheap! So we're dealing with some hoof wall separation in his club foot. Gayle also noticed that he's starting to revert back to some of his "old" muscling in his back. I'll take pictures of it tomorrow so that I can explain it better. Mainly, he's bracing right behind his withers instead of LIFTING behind his withers, so he's getting extra bulk there, and starting to lose muscling further back on his actual back. She made him do some belly lifts with her hoof rasp (and WOW did he lift!!) so that I could feel the difference in muscling. So we need to focus a LOT more on really getting him to lift his back. I guess I'd been so focused on him to relax his neck and stretch that I wasn't paying enough attention to really getting after his back.

...which has probably stemmed from the fact that due to the cold winter weather, we haven't had lessons in a few months. Thankfully Gayle gets to devote March 100% to lessons and clinics, so Andrea and I are booking her up! ;) And then we'll get him back on track and back on a regular lesson schedule. Needless to say, I got pretty frustrated/overwhelmed with the constant learning process that horse ownership is, so Gayle had to slip in some therapy while she trimmed. :) She reminded me that Andrea and I have gotten Pro to overcome a giant chunk of his problem - the psychological/behavioral issue. Now we just need to refocus on 100% correct riding to get him to remuscle properly. Gayle also reminded me that even the professionals always have eyes on the ground, and some regression is to be expected when we take a hiatus from lessons.

So, back to work we go! I'm sure Pro will be shocked when he sees Gayle again and again in March... ;)

Deuce...Opinions?

Deuce has just been hanging out and living the easy life. He feels just fine to run, buck, rear and otherwise play in the pasture. I have to admit that the situation with Deuce has really been weighing on my mind lately. Deuce appears to be doing better, ironically since I got Jay. I wouldn't have found Jay if Deuce hadn't had his problems! Jay is just so much my dream horse that I never thought I would be able to have again. I have not had a vet check Deuce over yet, but I can see improvement.

Realistically, I don't know that I would want to ride Deuce much, at least right now. Deuce and Jay are very different types of horses...imagine that! An OTTB compared to a Paint! Now that I have decided that I definitely want to stick with dressage and probably combined training or eventing as well, I don't think Deuce would ever really excel at that. Also, Deuce is a good boy, but he would not help my confidence issues right now just because he is green. He would have to spend some time with a trainer, which I can't afford. I do feel that Deuce would make an awesome child's horse or husband horse with some training, though. He loves kids and is just a laid back, unflappable, push-ride, steady type of guy. Another option for him may be as a driving horse, too. He was started for driving as a 2yo before I got him.

Another issue is how to proceed from here. Deuce's back does seem better, but I have not had a vet look at him again recently. I have considered whether or not to take him to someone else locally, like Dr. Meeker, for a second opinion, or should I go directly to the vet school? I hate to spend the money for another opinion locally and then still end up at the vet school. My DH does not want me to spend a lot of money just to turn around and sell him...or give him away. Do I pay to work a horse up that I am not going to keep, but on the other hand can I sell or place him with this unknown? Things are tight financially. I have also thought about trying to place Deuce as he is with the agreement that if things didn't work out I would be willing to take him back. What do you guys think? Do any of you know someone looking for a horse like Deuce? He really is a nice, good horse!

Here is a picture of us from last June:

From A to Z

I've been riding Pro for the past 3 days because of a scheduling conflict and what it's taught me is that with Kate and I alternating Pro is in WAY better shape than I am ;).

Sunday was a wasted ride. When I showed up the barn manager's dog had run off so she asked me to keep an eye out while she was driving/walking around looking for her. When we got to the arena Pro was convinced something scary was hiding in the brushy stuff behind the mirror. Since I kept hoping to see a little Jack Russell popping out of it, I was looking where he was and well, you all know how it goes when both horse and rider are looking. I did get 2 good things out of the ride. 1) I decided that my stirrups were still at jumping length and dropped them a hole. That made it much easier for me to sit properly in the saddle. I think I could stand to drop them one more but I want to wait and see how I feel after I get used to this length. 2) I got to practice my effective riding position/seat in the face of snorting, stopping, and squirming. Engaging my core made me feel like I didn't really have to worry about what he was going to do and so provides motivation to do it more often.

Monday we had a very good ride. Big Horse was out with his owner having a lesson so that took up about 2/3 of the ring. I staked a claim to a 20m circle in the good footing at one end though and tried to ignore them. Pro worked pretty well. I ended up doing a lot of transitions with him. Big Horse was working on trot transitions and that motivated me. I personally think Pro did his much better much faster, but I guess he's a lot less horse to collect. Whatever the reason, I was happy with it. Pro kept throwing in gratuitous bucks at canter departs, so he wasn't an angel. I think it was partly him demonstrating his lack of equine social skills as the issue was worse if Big Horse was on our half of his work space.

Yesterday was the "Z" portion of the three rides. I'd had an awful day at work and was tired and stressed when I got to the barn. The horses weren't ready to come in yet so I couldn't do my chores so I opted to just walk around on Pro bareback. In the dark. With a halter and lead rope. Pro thought I was crazy. The barn manager and Big Horse's owner thought I was crazy. But I was really in the mood for one of those meandering rides like I used to have on my QH before I got into TBs. Pro seemed very confused about what the goal of the ride was. I don't suppose his owners before Kate were really the "meander around bareback and just chill" sort. He was very good though and just trucked around at the walk. We did a couple brake checks but mostly did circles and serpentines while I worked on getting a good feel for his walk. Nothing strenuous and we were out for maybe all of 10-15 minutes, but it cheered me up and felt semi-productive, so I was happy with that. It was a very dramatic difference from Sunday, that's for sure.

I love my horse!

Skate was such a good boy last night. I hadn't ridden in 4 days due to the "damn shoe", but when I took him out to the outside arena under the lights you would never have known it. He ignored all the things that scare every other horse in the barn and just worked hard for me.

We worked on all the basics...but added in some new exercises. Although his trotwork was much more relaxed than usual, he was still attempting to pick the tempo on his own. I decided to stop politely asking him to quit the motoring off after my half halts - I demanded it! So we worked within the confines of a 20m circle at the sitting trot and every single time he sped up on his own accord he got another reminder(strong half halt) until he quit that nonsense. This is a bit of an epiphany for me because up until now, I have just sort of allowed him to speed up and tried to slow him with circles and other less demanding requests. All that ended up doing was getting him into this awful, hollow, drama llama pose while trucking around with eensy yet incredibly quick steps. I was just getting tense trying to keep up with that so we spiralled further down in trot quality until we just had to stop and walk. This new plan of half halting loudly until he listens seems to work very well. I think he likes being told what to do b/c he actually chilled out and gave me some very nice sitting trot.

I also needed to get his little butt responding better to my canter cue. He is hyper-sensitive to all aids, but we're having a miscommunication in this one area. I am either cueing too strongly or he associates cantering with something bad. Anyway, whatever it is, we gotta get past it. Those little pinned ears and sucking back at my leg won't work. So we did trot to canter to halt to trot to canter and on and on until I got prompt and FORWARD transitions into the canter. We ended on a lovely rhythmic canter into a square halt and called it a night.

So, on another topic - he has been super well-behaved and quiet the last two weeks. I don't know what it is, but I hope he keeps it up. Three things that may be contributing - I switched him to 2 lbs of Alfalfa pellets/meal instead of the 2.5 lbs of Reliance pellets about 3 weeks ago. He wasn't getting anything out of the pellets except junk calories, so I decided to switch to something a little more holistic (plus it may help buffer his tummy against ulcers, which I sometimes suspect with his fussy behavior). Also, he really likes the AP, and is slurping up his dose of Reisport along with it. Before, he was leaving quite a bit at the bottom of the bucket. It could be the influx of good vits/minerals is doing him right. And third, the new saddle might be making him happier with his work - Yay!

And - an old blurry pic; I know how we like pics!

Desi is Leaving

I am sad to have to say that I have come to the difficult decision that Desi just isn't for me. I hate it but her personality doesn't compliment mine. She is so sweet and could care less about anything. I need something that is a little bit......well more of an ass that is responsive and aware.
Desi will sidepass, move her shoulders, has almost mastered neck reining, is finally getting light to the leg, and has a KILLER stop. I have some friends that are looking for a companion trail horse for their super laid back mare and they are going to come see her next week. I will be able to keep tabs on her and make sure she always has a great home.

I have been watching my new horse for a while now. A friend of mine owns him and hasn't been doing much with him. He is a 5yr old reg qh that has been started on cows. I think my biggest challenge with him is that he was gelded late. He will need to get used to not getting to be with the girls and hopefully Apple will whip him into shape pretty quickly. He is super light to ride and I think will make a better all around/clinic horse. I PROMISE to post pictures as soon as he gets here next week.

Pictures of Tango!

Here's the promised "photo shoot" -- my lovely boyfriend Sean snapped some photos of me hacking around lightly on Tango today. Also, I have good news regarding Tango -- his owner and I are beginning to work out terms of a half-lease, woohoo!!

I know Tango has quite a bit of muscle to build back, and a little chub to lose, hence his general "warthog" appearance. I also know that I need to get my hands out of my lap, ride on the inside of my thigh, and SIT THE #&!! BACK, lol... but these are all works in progress as he and I both get back into shape and I search for a decent used dressage saddle. (As you can tell, the Wintec AP saddle we're currently borrowing tips me forward severely, and the tree is a bit too wide for Tango, hence the Mattes pad.) In the meantime, enjoy the photos, and I hope you all got to enjoy the beautiful riding weather too!

Short Update for a Short Ride

Yesterday I had a short but windy ride. Jay was really good, but the canter got pretty strong a couple of times and I felt my seat getting loose. I guess my confidence didn't just go away overnight, although it feels like it did with the sudden realization that there was an issue, and it won't come back overnight. The wind may have contributed some, but I don't think it was a big issue. I am wondering if the footing (somewhat wet and mushy in places) and the fact that Jay still needs to build more muscle to carry himself and me were also contributing factors. Opinions? Here is a picture of us during some trot work yesterday:


I promise more of an update on Deuce soon! He has been living the easy life, and has been running, bucking, rearing, and otherwise just generally having fun and playing with his brother!

Straight on a Circle

Either Pro has discovered his newest evasion or I've actually started to feel what's going on under me, because I could tell Pro was swinging his haunches in on the circle last night. I decided to simplify things a bit and stay mostly on a circle and not confuse him completely. He started out rushing but I got him listening pretty fast and he didn't really complain about collecting. It was actually sort of fun because rather than just bringing him back to a medium walk I asked him to go ahead and collect up at the walk. I always get a kick out of feeling that very deliberate, hesitating walk. Then we tackled the haunches issue. What I noticed is that he actually seemed to do better if I used more inside leg. I don't know if that just helps him establish the correct bend by giving him something to wrap around or what, but it causes issues b/c Kate and I are supposed to be riding almost leg-free. We're not supposed to use constant pressure or squeezing and are just allowed to 'box' him forward. So how do I keep my inside leg on without using pressure? I'll definitely be playing around with that next week to see how little leg I can use. Perhaps I'm using too much outside leg and forcing his butt over? So the answer may be less outside leg rather than more inside. I've been working on being more aware of keeping my outside leg back, so that could very well be the answer.

I also played around with some leg-yielding and shoulder in both on and off the circle. What I found worked great for him was to do a 20m circle but on the long sides of the arena I'd ask him to take 5-6 strides of leg-yield along the fence so that we ended up making ovals. He stayed very steady through the bridle and moved over very nicely doing this, even at the trot. I'm hoping to remember to make this a normal part of the ride for strengthening purposes and also to keep him thinking about what I'm asking for even if we're just on a boring, old circle.

Damn Shoes

When I pulled Skate out of his stall last night I thought I saw him take a funny step...but wasn't sure. He was super quiet while I tacked him up...almost snoozing in the aisle. I wondered if they ran around all day due to the crazy wind.

I took him out to the outdoor arena and hopped on - he was still ridiculously quiet, despite the strong breeze and dogs howling nearby. I kept getting an odd feeling that he was stepping down heavier on one side, but there was no head bob. I went ahead and warmed up and rode for about 20 min, anyway. I was having trouble getting him to move out and release his back...so I knew something was bothering him, but still couldn't pinpoint what it was. After doing spiral in to TOF tracking left, it revealed itself in the left front. The farrier must have misplaced a nail during his reset that morning.

Anyway, I was supposed to have a lesson Saturday morning, but I may have to cancel that if the farrier can't make it out to reset Skate's shoe or the reset doesn't work. We shall see. Maybe this is a push to take Skate barefoot. I hate dealing with shoes and Skate's feet, although tiny, are pretty solid.

Desert Prince conquers the wind!

I can tell the weather's getting warmer from the sudden influx of posting. :) Now that we've successfully navigated anti-motivation due to cold weather, we'll all be great until the dreaded southern humidity hits us this summer...

I knew I was going to have an interesting ride yesterday when I saw that there was a PM wind advisory for Orange County. Thanks to slightly longer days, I still managed to ride when there was daylight, so we at least had that going for us. Pro was great! He's a superstar about finding the end of the rein at the walk these days, and has really developed this big, reaching power-walk. I wasn't going to let him rush, so we had a nice discussion about who gets to dictate tempo and rhythm, and I thankfully won.

He was still strong yesterday, and my shoulders will still sore from Monday, but at least he wasn't throwing any fits. We had a lot of half-halting (Advil for my shoulders, abs, and thighs!) and reminders about tempo. My main goal was to never let him be content with reaching the end of the rein, but to continually stretch and reach and really get into what Gayle says dressage is all about - physical therapy for horses. She said it should always FEEL good for them. And I do admit that when Pro's being a good boy, he really gets into it. He's quite expressive, so he gets the best facial expressions and really enjoys his work. But like a kid who eats vegetables, you can't tell them that it's good for them or they'll suddenly not like it anymore - so when he gets into a really content and happy mood, I just let him think that it was HIS idea to do this whole dressage thing!

The winds were pretty strong for most of the ride - so intense at one point that I had to walk only because I had to shut my eyes. He was fine!!! Maybe the sand blowing reminded him of the desert? He did get a little tense past sundown (after a great sunset) once the wind picked up more and the trees even started bending and swaying, but by then we were stretching out a long rein and he relaxed. We did have a few VERY exuberant circles at the canter, silly boy. But with the warm weather and the breeze and the sunset, it was just a GREAT night. :)