Rafiki X

Goddard Park

2009-09-15T18:24:00.002-04:00

Ok! Where were we?

Thursday had a not-so-great ride in the indoor at night. Things just felt off. I couldn't get a really forward gait from her, and I felt like I was riding her neck, not her back. She was in a pretty bad heat, so I have that some of the credit for her carousel-like-action. Maybe the saddle was in a weird position, too. We w/t/c, ran through a dressage test once or twice once I got her a little more forward, and called it a night. Ride time about 35 minutes.

Saturday actually had a pretty decent ride. We went in the indoor during the day because when I got there it was POURING out. Much better about forward, and when I used my stick on her shoulder to get her to keep cantering, she swished her tail but kept going. Fair. Worked on some softening stuff, she's really getting it. I think it's helpful that I don't ask her to be soft every ride, the whole ride. I feel like that might create some tension, so instead I've just been working on asking her to be soft, releasing when she does, and then asking for some sort of transition. Kind of like what Mugs talks about trying with her young horse on one of my favorite blogs. Elle's been figuring out on her OWN that it's easy to stay soft through the transition, which is pretty awesome.

Sunday a friend of mine from work, Jessie, agreed to come trail riding with us at the beautiful Goddard Park. This was only Elle's 3rd time ever trail riding, and the first time we had to trailer somewhere to do it. I went and got Pepper, Jessie's mare, first, mostly because I wasn't sure if Elle would kick out if a horse came up behind her in the trailer. I'm almost positive now that she would not. After a brief (3-4 minute) struggle with loading, we were off!

Got to the park after an easy drive and unloaded. She stood tied with no problem for me to saddle her up, even though she wanted to stretch down and eat grass (I tie them tight enough that they can't get their heads down below their knees...less of a chance of getting caught on something/tangling themselves up). I had brought a mounting block because I'm an old wimp, so I hopped on after minimal adjusting. Went into the ring to see if she needed to be warmed up at all, and after about 5-10 minutes at the w/t/c (mostly trot), it was clear that she did NOT need to be warmed up. She didn't care when Pepper went back to the trailer and she couldn't be seen, and only called to another horse once. I asked for some through work in the ring, got it, and decided that I was NOT going to work her hard before the trails. If she needed to be worked after, I was game, but I wanted to set this up to be as fun for her as she would let it be.

And let me tell you, did she let me relax!! I would say that 95% of the ride (3 hours or so) was done on a very loose rein (buckle or almost buckle), and while she spooked twice (no idea what about), once she jumped around she settled right back down. There was none of the nervous energy that I had gotten from the past 2 trail rides, no jigging, and she was completely present the whole time. I will say that I think she likes being in the front better, but I'll have to test that theory some more - Pepper is a little girl with short legs, and she doesn't walk as fast as Elle. When she was in the front, Elle may have really just SEEMED to be up her butt a little bit because she's got a bigger stride. We encountered runners (one of which came up behind us stealthily without announcing himself), kids, bicycles, dogs (both leashed and not, grr), people, cars on the road, water, other horses, everything! And there was nothing she was truly worried about. At the real beach, she didn't love the idea of getting next to the waves - but Michael explained to me a long time ago that some horses have an issue with the water coming up to meet THEM. I didn't force the issue, and we went into water up to about her knees at the boat ramp. We'll work on the ocean thing sometime when there's less people at the beach. The other thing she was nervous about was a guy sitting on his bike letting us pass that decided to throw his hand out to try and pet her as we were going by and he was about girth-area. No spook, just a cocked ear, a sideways glance, and a curve of her body. No thanks, sir, I'd rather you not pet me.

She was ALSO really great about hills and trailblazing. Hills had always kind of been a sticky spot, because she was hesitant about going down them, especially if the footing was questionable. Not on Sunday! She was completely willing to go straight down them instead of a) putting on the brakes or b) serpentining down them. Her balance is getting so much better and I think she's starting to trust me.

There was one hill that we would NOT take the girls down, frankly I don't see how people take their horses down it(if they do). It was really darn steep, long, and had hard footing with roots sticking out the entire hill. So, we ducked through the woods to go a safer way, and even with vines, trees, leaves, and pine needles, Elle picked her way through and was very compliant. Good pony! On an aside, I thought maybe I was being a wimp about not taking her down the bad hill - we came back the same way, and when we got to the hilll, looking up it, we decided to definitely not go UP, either. And I'm not a chicken about going up! So it must have actually been pretty treacherous.

Now that I know how GREAT she's going to be, next time I want to trot/canter more (we only walked and trotted a little bit), AND take my camera so I can get some pictures!!!

Yay Elle!!

OK, I'm really past due on an update...

2009-09-10T09:09:00.002-04:00

I haven't felt like updating lately, or my computer has been down, or I haven't had internet. I don't know what's been up. So anyway, I figured I'd use my hour or so before I have to leave for school to give the basics of the most memorable rides I've had in the last few weeks.

After the "great canter" ride, Elle got a day or two off where we practiced trailer loading/trailering. The first day, she went right on but wanted to get back off. Rinse, repeat about 20 times. She finally got in there and stood, so we called it a day. The second day, she went on, stood, Matt put the buttbar up, and we went down to Walmart (because it's a close ride and has a big parking lot to turn around in). She seemed fine. She got antsy when I was making her wait to get off, and tried to paw at me! I was not having that. After a sound beating (not really), she stood and looked bored. Unloaded nice and got put away for the night. So, I think that whole thing that I thought was a huge issue, is going to be fine.

The next night, I rode outside under the lights, and she was kind of looky and silly, nothing bad though. I don't really remember anything from this ride!

Wednesday 8/26 I rode and didn't have a great ride. She was kind of...volatile? Just wanted to go, not use her body, and both of our minds were kind of everywhere. I've sense learned that when she comes out like that, cantering some circles really does us both good. Oh well. It was just an icky ride.

Thursday 8/27 was my lesson with Lisa Aylward. It went pretty well. She gave us some good tools, but Elle was not at her best that day, so that wasn't great. Something that I find working really well that she gave us was insisting our downward and upward transitions are soft, and doing them in rapid succession. It seemed to help. Also, small circles to get her off of her forehand before I asked her to lengthen made it feel like she was actually using her butt and back. So, like I said, the lesson was good, but I just didn't feel myself be energized OR tired at the end of the ride. She kept commenting that it was a lot to process and that I must be exhausted, but it just was not anywhere near the intensity that I enjoy in a lesson - maybe because I had BORING, "schooling" lessons for so long. So, I think I might take a few more lessons with Lisa to learn some stuff, but then definitely switch over to Morgan Adair when I can afford it.

The next memorable ride wasn't until Friday 9/4. I came out at night and decided that instead of working on how she is using herself, I'm going to work on a little bit of stamina. Even though we don't have a track or field, which is where this stuff is fun, I knew how long I wanted my intervals to be and I measured it out a little bit. 1 time around the ring at the walk = 90 seconds, trot is 45s, did not count the canter (yes, I was counting, I didn't have a watch on!) After a few walks, I started her up at the trot and wooooowhee she was hot! Spooking, blowing, being silly! So, as I had planned, we did 10 laps at the trot, for about 7 1/2 minutes of trotting. Every 2 laps, I switched direction. Then, 2 laps at the walk. Went to bring her up to the canter, and a big buck! Not a dirty one, a hot-as-heck one. So, I pushed her forward and she got super strong and on her forehand going down the longside. So, we did 6 circles, went down the longside, 6 circles, and went down the other longside. Then, 2 alternating laps of trot, and cantered the other lead, the left. The left is her much harder lead, so since she had cooled her jets a little bit, we did 2 circles, longside, 2 circles, longside, etc. Then, walked 2 laps. Then, went back to trot for 4 more alternating laps, and finished up with 4 canter laps, switching after 2.

It felt good to go out and work. While this is not the HARDEST ride we have ever done, it was the most work I have asked her to do with a small quantity of breaks. The walks were much longer than we normally do. I like this kind of work, and want to use it once or twice a week. I wasn't asking for round, or gorgeous, I just want to get her muscles and heart ready for longer, faster work. The first time I bring her to an event I want her to be able to canter for the five minutes and jump without feeling sore, tired, or out of breath!

Tuesday 9/8 I had a pretty good ride - she was offering to be round all on her own, and I was seeing glimpses of that great canter I had at one point. I thought it would be a nice idea to pop her over some jumps, which was super stupid in retrospect because it was getting dark out and I didn't have the lights on. The first couple were the best jumps we'd ever had together - she actually made a little bit of a bid for the jump, so I knew she was going before the last possible stride, and I didn't get left behind at all. We either landed on our lead or did a simple change, and did our circle. I then went to trot over a big (the poles are big) CROSSRAIL, and she stopped. 3 times. I understand that it was getting dark (stupid, stupid me), but I did make she that she knew it wasn't ok to stop, and we did get over it, then went back and did our easy, nice fence once more. I'll be more careful next time, I know that especially while she's young I need to make jumping feel safe and right for her, and present her in the best possible way. She doesn't need to be clever yet, she needs to have confidence in both me and herself.

Great canter

2009-08-24T19:45:00.002-04:00

Rode Friday day while a friend was at the barn. She wanted to see Elle go, hasn't seen her since Canonchet. I was apprehensive because it was 11:30am, but not as hot as it has been (although just as muggy). Put our regular tack on and went outside. After a brief wake-up with the stick, Elle was GREAT. I had the best canter on her. She was so balanced, so light, so bouncy. Felt like she was really powering from behind - I was so psyched! And, probably because she was so balanced, she was super easy to keep going through the corners. At the end of our last canter, she offered to be SUPER round, and stay bouncy - the essence of a real frame, and I didn't even ask for it! I guess that's when you know it's real :) Rode for about 30 minutes.

Now, Elle's had 2 days off, so back to work tonight. We DID practice trailer loading last night, and she was AWESOME. So whatever was up before doesn't seem to be an issue.

Will update tomorrow on how the ride tonight goes!

Something wrong...

2009-08-21T08:46:00.002-04:00

Rode last night, something wasn't right. I can't put a finger on it. I changed both the bit and the saddle pad, which changed saddle fit dramatically, and her leg was a little swollen before I even got on. Perhaps the combination of the three things was off. Backwards was the best idea she could come up with, but I will say that with some resolve I got her going forwards, every time.

I knew something was wrong. So, I decided that as soon as she listened to all of my cues in a nice manner, we would quit. So, that's what we did. I DID give her a pop at the canter once - she rang her tail but surged forward. Good girl.

Got off, hosed her off, feeling her all over to see what I could see. Used Sore-No-More shampoo on her back, legs (except the icky one), neck, and butt, and let that sit and make her feel a little better. Scrubbed the icky leg with Betadine, rinsed the rest of her, and cold hosed the leg. So, our ride was short, but our TLC time was long.

No show @ OSHC this weekend, although I don't know when that was going to be posted somewhere.

2009-08-18T23:59:00.000-04:00

Tuesday night. Rode, even though I was in a crabby mood. Elle and I were two mares in heat.

Nothing bad happened. She got a little sticky about staying in the canter. I was probably tipping forward. Again, nothing bad happened in the ride. It just didn't feel good.

That is all.

Getting there

2009-08-18T17:09:00.001-04:00

Rode Elle last night, I got out there around 6:30pm and we both had the sweat running off of us. It wasn't so bad that I couldn't change into breeches, though, so I tacked up and headed into the indoor. The footing is a little softer inside, plus there were lessons going on in the outdoor and it's really dusty out there.

Elle hasn't been worked consistently at ALL in the last week and a half, because of the leg (which looked good, if a tiny bit swollen), so I wasn't really sure what to expect. What I got at the beginning were spooks by one of the doors! Crazy Elle. We worked through that, it took about 8-10 passes before she was completely fine down there (only spooking in one direction). She's cool, though, because she doesn't get hot just because she's spooky in a place.

Lots of trots, lots of canters, not as many transitions or circles as normal. She took what Jackey thought were a few weird steps (we were kind of looking for the worst!), so we did some small circles and then some canter-trot-canter transitions, and she was completely sound, so whatever. After she worked for about 1/2 hour, I called it a day and hosed her off really well. Going up tonight to ride and hose and scrub, and then tomorrow I have my first lesson in a LOOOONGGG time! Nuts!

Back On Track

2009-08-13T21:06:00.002-04:00

So, leg update: Monday the leg was SWOLLEN. Blown up, heat, mushy. I almost panicked! Cold hosed 2x, ended the night with a liniment brace that I didn't wrap. Tuesday, the leg was almost 100%. She was sound, but it was still puffy in the fetlock area - edema follows gravity. More cold hosing.

Wednesday it got cold hosed a couple of times and I decided to ride at night. I didn't want to stress the leg and the outdoor was kind of hard, so we worked for about 45 minutes on 2 different things - 1, being very responsive to the leg and to the reins, meaning go & whoa. The leg got AWESOME. The reins still need work - she stops fine but I want to have that unquestionable HALT when I so much as make a W sound. She was also super easy to do circles with, not that I did a ton because I wanted to save that leg if it was still ouchy.

The other thing we worked on was trotting on a loose contact, and going into and maintaining a nice canter with loose contact. This isn't something we've worked on a lot because I've been trying to avoid bucking fits - I think that that's reasonable! However, it got really good, probably partially because we did all of the sensitivity work prior to me letting her be on the loose rein.

All in all, it was a really really good ride, especially with having 3 days off.

Did more cold hosing & Vetrolin, and she unfortunately got today off because I had a ton of stuff going on. She'll be ridden early tomorrow morning, though, and then every day in the foreseeable future. On the 23 of this month I'm going to take her into a hunter pleasure class at OSHC! Wish us luck...

Bummin'

2009-08-09T21:41:00.002-04:00

Got up to the barn tonight after a long day (fighting with Matt and then spending time with my family raises my stress level to about an 8), and I was looking forward to a nice, long ride on the flat.

Went to pick out her feet and her RH leg was swollen. Not at the back, or on the inside, or in the joint, but on the outside. This, in fibrous tissue language, relates to: the suspensory, the check ligament, and the digital deep flexor tendon. In bone talk, the splint bone.

She was also off. Not head bobbing, not even SUPER off, just...not right. The leg, though, is not mushy or hot, it's pretty firm, but there is a definite bulge on the side of her leg.

So, cold hosed for 20 minutes, and then ended up wrapping all 4 legs, the "bad" one with Kool Out Clay. I didn't want to leave it alone, but I didn't feel comfortable sweating it with Furazone, either, until I did more research on that.

I'll be out in the morning to see what I've got. My theory is that she hit it on something, although I'm not sure how. I've learned from these years with horses though, that sometimes (most of the time) it's better NOT to ask how.

2009-08-09T11:51:00.002-04:00

Rode Elle yesterday in the middle of the day, and the sun & heat again made her a little sluggish and unresponsive. I need to work on that - our shows, events, and trail rides are all going to be in the middle of the day, hopefully with the sun out. She needs to listen.

She wasn't bad, just not very forthcoming with energy. Once I cantered her, the trot got better, and we worked for a little bit on, "more, NOW." It got a little bit better. I felt deep in my seat and heel, but I did feel like I was rocking up her neck a little bit.

We went for a NICE canter, me in my half seat, all the way around the ring, and we maintained it through the corners. It was good, I was happy.

She felt nice after a bit, and the fences from the previous few days had all been lowered to "us" heights. So, we went to the first one, and she was GREAT. I closed my calf a little bit, not my spur, and stayed the same. She pointed her ears to the fence, and made a great effort over it. I was really impressed by her!

We ended up working on 4 different fences, all out of the trot, and she was good to all of them. I even was good! Not spectacular, but I'm so used to jumping Harley, and it's been so long since even that. I keep expecting big jumps over little stuff, or to be jumping big stuff! It'll get there, and she was a star - never even looked at a fence that I was pointing her at.

I think that the place that we need to go, now that I know she's okay with the fences, is to gymnastics. I think they do great things, especially for young horses, and they might keep her momentum going through the whole combination. I need to invest in a tape measure!

Last month's goals and setting some new ones

2009-08-06T09:33:00.002-04:00

July's report:

Elle got ridden 13/31 days this month. Those number suck. Why do I have such a motivation issue?
Didn't get the trail riding done, but looking back it was either pouring or the nighttime when I went to ride, every time.
We CAN canter all the way around the ring, both directions, 2x!

August's hopes:

Ride 20/31 of the days this month.
Trail ride 1x on the other side of the road by the end of August.
Taking her to a busy show (probably H/J) by the end of August to let her hang out and go in the warmup or something (just to see how she is with lots of other horses around)
Trailer out to trails (Carolina? Apple Knoll?) by August 16
Start jumping Xrails and small fences again (have 2 sessions by August 16 and another 2 by the end of the month)
Take a dressage lesson by the end of August
School XC by the end of September
REAL dressage show by the end of September

2009-08-05T20:17:00.002-04:00

Soooo.

Elle had yesterday off, because I suck at life.

Today! I put the Pessoa on her, plus some sheepskin/leather open fronts (since I just found out that polo wraps do nothing good), and hit the ring.

She was super soft and forward at the trot, and GREAT at the canter. She was a little distracted once a car showed up - her head would NOT come to the inside - but her turns and stretch were really good.

I decided to jump today! I looked around at all of the jumps set up, and the one that best suited our needs was a blue wave vertical with a pole kind of over it, kind of just on top of it. We did it from both directions a couple of times, from the trot, and she was GREAT! Actually jumped it, never looked, etc etc. I need work, and lots of it. I was rusty and I was ready for her to just clobber over in the trot, and I got left behind. I'm going to try some more tomorrow or the next day.

After the jumps, she wasn't cantering, but I could pop her up into the canter a stride or two after landing and we would canter our circle.

Don't feel like writing much but yay!

2009-08-03T22:33:00.001-04:00

Not feeling much like writing today, had a pretty lazy and very uneventful ride. I tried one of Jackey's Pessoa's on Elle, but because of how sluggish we both were, I really couldn't tell how well it fit her. So, I'll try tomorrow when I'm riding in lower temperatures.

On the run

2009-08-02T20:39:00.002-04:00

I slacked. I didn't ride yesterday or today. As a quick note, I GOT A TRAILER!! So it's officially time to get my butt in gear and ride, ride, ride. New goals for the month coming in the morning.

Contrast

2009-08-01T07:42:00.002-04:00

Had a not-so-good ride last night.

To make a long story short, she ended up feeling rushy and I grabbed her head back instead of loosening and pushing her forward (what always makes her slow down and balance up). We ended up fighting for our stops with that bit, something I really didn't want to do. I'd honestly rather go back to a bit that she's going to grab at than one that is making her open her mouth and brace, so I'll shop around for a little while but in the mean time I'm going to put either the eggbutt french link or the oval mouth D on her. Actually, what I really want is the french link loose ring, so I just have to stretch the bit guards over that.

I got off feeling like it was a really, really crappy ride, but made myself stop and think about some things:

All except 1 of our circles was easy
We can canter around the indoor, both ways, for "as long as I want" - atleast a couple of times
Her transitions were perfect - we worked on walk NOW, trot NOW, and canter SOON (I give her a few steps of trot from the walk to bump up)
She didn't even THREATEN to do anything mean
Our lead changes are down to 2-3 trot strides, both on a serpentine & a figure-8
I can ask her to counter canter, and she can do the straight sides and about 1 turn before she gets on her forehand and unbalanced

So, honestly, I need to think of how far that has all come and just keep working on it. Rome wasn't built in a day, and her muscles can't be either.

Oh, and another thing worth noting, when she gets "hot," I can either loosen my reins (sometimes she breaks to trot/walk) or circle her and she comes right back.

A Good Ride

2009-07-31T10:16:00.002-04:00

I'd have to say that last night's ride was a good one. I got on (more perfect mounting) and Elle seemed forward and interested in work. She trotted off with only leg, no spur, but was also very sensitive to her halts. It felt good.

We made our way around for a while and then started to do some real work. I'm having a lot of trouble going to the left with her - it's like she doesn't know how to travel that direction. At the trot, she constantly wants to counterbend and pop the left shoulder in. We worked on some leg yields and me riding very straight rather than always having her bent, but honestly I just never got the right feeling. When I take that lesson with Lisa, that's going to be something I bring up.

Right lead canter was great; I even asked her to pick it up off of a loose rein once she was a little tired. I couldn't complain at all, and we even went for a big canter around the whole ring. The left lead canter, not surprisingly, left something to be desired. I've always had trouble bringing her around on a circle to the left, and last night was actually better than it normally is, but not great. It got me to thinking. She was really dropping her shoulder and bulging around the corner. I thought about my shoulder and realized my left one was completely dropped and that I was probably leaning in through the turn (or what I was trying to make into a turn.) I decided to try a form of "arching my back," which is like one of the 7 sins when it comes to riding and being soft. However, what I was really doing was lifting my shoulders and bringing my shoulder blades closer to each other, while leaving my back soft. Let me tell you, it really worked! So, that's what I'll be working on; maybe I'll get one of those Shoulders Back devices...

2009-07-28T10:24:00.002-04:00

Came back from Canada, got an email from Kristine that Elle hadn't been good, but hadn't been bad, and that she was shitty for mounting. I'll take half the blame for mounting, as she's been perfect about the mounting block, but I know she's bad about the "stairs" set up we have so I just avoid it.

Tacked up around 9pm last night (Monday), got on (perfect), and started to circle the indoor.

She wasn't nice for a while. How I'm best describing the feeling was that she felt like she had a ton of energy, and at first decided to use it by bucking. I got the first legitimate kicks and bucks that I have in a WHILE. My solution? Beat the crap out of her for a second (just until she went forward, even the tiniest bit), and carry on my day. It worked. It took about 3 "episodes" to get it figured out, but she got it. After that, we got forward.

She was kind of strong, but for whatever reason, I didn't care last night. We walked, trotted, and cantered, and she was frisky but she had knocked off doing the bad stuff. I didn't like having that bit in her mouth because she was strong and I felt like I had to use it. That's not my intention right now.

We walked, trotted, and cantered, and then moved on to the "course" of poles that were set up. There were 2 lines - a 5 stride (or 6, I can't remember) and a 3 stride, plus 2 diagonal and 2 single straight fences. I started off trotting her over all of them, and then we cantered the singles and diagonals, just meeting them in stride, either straight or on a circle. Somewhere in there on a diagonal she changed her lead, and I was disappointed that I didn't feel it, but I really can not for the life of me think of where she did it! But, alas, all of a sudden we were on the correct lead.

I wanted to try the two related distances with her, because I've only once jumped her down a line that wasn't a gymnastic (not that these were jumps, but they require some planning on her part). At first she wanted to break going into them, or take some funny steps and get weird through them. After a couple of times, though, we got perfect striding through them, and I was happy. She was super jazzed up, which was fun.

I wanted to end the ride on a really relaxed note, so I put her up into a canter and then once we got our stride I loosened my reins, and we went all the way around the ring in a canter to the left. I felt for the first time that she was just listening to my leg and carrying herself, instead of me having to hold her together. Then, going to the right, I started the canter on the relaxed rein and we again went around the ring. As soon as I pulled her up, I hopped off and loosened the girth. She was done after a nice cool shower :)

New bit

2009-07-23T09:00:00.005-04:00

Rode last night, again under the lights, despite the fact that in the barn she was SUPER worried about something. It started with a helicopter, something she's never been worried about (I trail rode her the morning the Blue Angels were practicing...), and sure enough the nervous, wet poops came along with a huge case of ADHD.

Anyway, I decided to try a different bit on her, half because I was meaning to (I had an oval mouth D on her and it was super easy for her to get strong in it), and half because she was spooky and strong feeling. I decided to try a Dr. Bristol Slow Twist Full Cheek.

Now, I don't know a lot about bits, I'll admit it. Everything about this bit screamed that it might be too strong for what I was trying to accomplish (a soft, responsive horse that has a little respect), but I put it in her mouth, pulled my gloves on, and off we went.

I really like the results I got. She wanted to be round like, the entire time (no idea if this had to do with the bit or me INSISTING that she be forward), I had great adjustability within her gait, and our steering was PHENOMENAL. Not that it isn't getting there on its own, but finishing out our circles has been a little tough.

So, I'm going to keep riding in it with a super light hand and see where I get.

2009-07-22T15:09:00.002-04:00

Got my ass in gear on Monday night after the trailering (er, non-trailering) debacle and rode. Rode hard, for 45 minutes. We were both sweaty and tired after the long day and long sessions.

I couldn't get her settled down, but my position felt like dogshit, too. When I say she was unsettled, I DON'T mean that she was bad. She really wasn't. We were riding in the dusk, with no lights on, and she didn't look at anything. She didn't kick or buck, and she was very receptive to leg. But I was in that mode where I didn't feel comfortable, and she felt TOO forward, so I took my legs off. I forgot until the very end how good it feels to put your leg ON when they feel fresh. Just leg, not spur.

Finally, at the end of the ride (which consisted of minimal walking, lots of trotting, and lots of cantering - circles, that is), things felt ok. Not great, but ok. Again, I've got to repeat, she really wasn't being disrespectful, she was actually giving me a lot of what I've been asking for. I was just feeling chicken I guess? That I Can't Get Deep In My Seat-My Stirrups Feel Too Long-I'm Going To Lay Up Your Neck-And Have A Death Grip On Your Mouth feeling. K.O. pointed out that my saddle isn't doing me any favors...brings me down to my next quest, a different saddle.

Tally ho, time to go ride.

Trailering Woes

2009-07-20T14:54:00.003-04:00

Tried to take Elle down to Canonchet today for a field trip & a fun run through the field. Couldn't get her on the trailer. I tried for about 40 minutes, no way Jose. She got really shitty and careless at some points and for that got a big whack, other than that she was just really weird. She looked genuinely concerned about the trailer.

After sweating and swearing, we went up to the indoor for some lunging where she was PERFECT. So, I know it's not that she was just "in a mood" today, at least not completely. Went back, would not go on the trailer. She was willing, however, to go on the off side of the trailer, with significantly less frustration. I can't haul her on that side though, because it's all rusted and f'ed up.

Part of this whole thing is respect, absolutely. At what point do you say maybe she's not just being a bitch, though? Do they have intuition?

I'm going to work this week with the rope halter, really getting her to respond to moving when I say move. I have noticed her getting pretty rude about wanting to eat grass, etc etc, so that needs to be fixed and maybe it'll help. I'm also going to ask Mike if we can do some training with her when he comes to shoe her next. She's due.

Then there's the issue with the trailer - I need to find out what Karen's looking to get for hers. I'm completely of the school that Elle needs to go where I say to go, no questions asked, no matter what, but...let's just say it wouldn't be bad for me to have my own, nicer trailer.

Under the lights...

2009-07-19T19:17:00.002-04:00

Rode Elle last night after a long day of running around. I almost bailed, but it was a really nice night for a ride so I turned the lights on, tacked up, and went out.

Perfect for mounting.

Started off "meh." I just couldn't get my position. It was one of those feelings where my brain was telling me where I needed to be, my body was GOING there, but I just couldn't find the right spot, or tone, or level of relaxed. I started her up and tried to just be soft.

We warmed up and things got a little better. I decided to do some of the stuff I saw Kristine & Lisa doing, which was some of the same stuff Kristine & Eric did. We started off with the exercise where you spiral into the circle and leg yield back out again. I didn't get the right feeling. We were doing it, but I felt like my body didn't stay stacked up, instead it felt like I was leaning forward a little bit. I think it DID help her to get a little more sensitive to the leg, though.

Next we did a TON of trotting. It seems like for the past week all I keep hearing is that transitions get you to impulsion. First with Lisa, and then with Eric, and then I ran into a random article online that was actually titled, "Transitions equal impulsion." So, I took some from everyone. We would trot until we got to a corner, halt, get a walk as soon as I asked (this had to be worked on because "backwards" was easier at the beginning), and then when I had a good walk, get a trot and trot a circle, then straight, until we got to the next corner. Rinse, repeat. We did a TON of this, then moved the exercise to the canter.

I was a little worried I was doing something wrong at first. When we got to the middle part of the exercise, and especially when we got to the canter part, I had a really strong, stiff horse. I almost gave up on the job because I thought I was making her worse, but as we went along and I persevered she got lighter and lighter. So maybe she was getting stronger and stronger because it was hard, but then we broke through. It seems weird, but as I think of it, it's the same thing that would happen with Harley on his hot days. He would get MUCH ranker before he would get soft. So, I'm glad I kept going.

The other thing I worked on was cantering with a loose, but connected, rein. As we would start our circle, I would maintain a stronger contact (because that is where she is still apt to throw in a buck), but when I would have a flowing stride I would soften a bunch. I was really impressed with how she handled this and how it all went. By the end of the ride, when I would collect a little bit, she would anticipate the canter, but not in a bad way. Instead of ringing her tail, bouncing up, and giving me the "screw you" ears, she was offering a SUPER soft canter at the slightest cue of the leg. So, whatever I did last night, got us somewhere that was a better place than where we started.

Where are we?

2009-07-15T10:42:00.003-04:00

Riding all 4 days of this weekend (Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun) FAIL. Rode Thurs & Sat, lunged Friday
Riding at least 12 more times this month, plus extra lunges and hang outs 4 rides & 1 lunge down, 8 rides left to go and I have 12 days to do it in. (3 of which I'll be in Canada. Better get riding!)

Edited 7/19

Head Shaking?

2009-07-11T22:06:00.001-04:00

Rode Elle today, new I didn't have much time but wanted to keep up with what I said, so I planned for a 25 minute ride. What's up with this head shaking? In her stall, naked or tacked up, on the cross ties, when I go to get on, when I'm riding...this random "twitch" where she throws her nose up. It's never side to side.

At first I thought it was being bitchy about flies, bridle, etc. But she does it when there are NO flies. Then I thought it was the saddle making her spasm, or something like that. But now she does it randomly in her stall, naked. I don't know what to make of it! It hasn't interfered with anything yet, but honestly, I can't tell if she's hurting somewhere, or annoyed, or what.

On a good note, we did a TON of canter transitions today, from the walk and the trot. We were working on transitioning up on a circle, and then ended up doing figure-8's...canter, trot, walk, set up new bend, pop into canter. Rinse, repeat. She got the transition and the lead 100% of the time, so I'm pretty happy with that.

Saddle issues...

2009-07-11T08:11:00.002-04:00

I rode on Thursday. I was a little wimpy about getting on, and she seemed really ouchy. So, I put Kristine's saddle on her, and I felt a ton of difference, I'm not 100% sure Elle did. On the whole, I know I need a new saddle, I just don't know what to get and I don't have ANY money right now. I just want something that fits her, I'm not adverse to a changeable gullet right now until she grows.

All in all the ride was ok. Nothing spectacularly good or bad.

Yesterday I forgot my boots at Karen's house (I'm housesitting, which throws everything into a crazy spin for a week or two), so I just lunged after watching Kristine's lesson with Lisa Aylward(sp?). She DID get a big workout lunging, though, and we worked on adjustability within the gait (especially the walk), which is hard to get across on the lunge line. She was a good girl.

I need to go up and ride today before work but I'm just in such a piss poor mood that I don't know what to do with myself. Maybe some quality time with Elle would be a good thing but I've already yelled at all of the animals I'm taking care of about stupid stuff, so I'm not sure...

Setting some goals...

2009-07-09T11:54:00.003-04:00

Elle FINALLY has an engine, and is getting better about using it. She's building some muscle too. Now I just need some brain power.

I'm stuck in this rut (not as bad as before) where I ride for a day or two but then take 2 days off. Hopefully my riding every day this weekend will change that. *crosses fingers* We went to Lynn Smiley's dressage show and she was a star! No bucks, no sticky spots (not super forward but I wasn't asking for much), great trailering, etc etc. I was impressed even though we only got a 60 (=3rd)

Here's what I'm thinking:

Riding all 4 days of this weekend (Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun)
Riding at least 12 more times this month, plus extra lunges and hang outs
Trail riding 1x on this side of the road and 1x on the other side of the road by the end of the month
Being able to canter all the way around the ring, both directions, 2x, by the end of the month
Taking her to a busy show (probably H/J) by August 16 to let her hang out and go in the warmup or something (just to see how she is with lots of other horses around)
Trailer out to trails (Carolina? Apple Knoll?) by August 16
Start jumping Xrails and small fences again (have 2 sessions by August 16 and another 2 by the end of the month)
Take a dressage lesson by the end of August
School XC by the end of September
REAL dressage show by the end of September

I know that it's silly that I have to make goals like this for myself, and I know it's also silly that it's ok with me if I change them, but I need to just not FORGET about them.

We'll see :)

Watching the Meadow

2009-04-01T09:02:00.002-04:00

3/31/09 Zimectrin Gold

So it's Elle's first week at her new place and we both seem to love it. There's a few things I would change (duh) but you can't find a perfect boarding place and this seems to make me happy. I've been up every day, which is something new for me!

I had my first ride on her yesterday, after she had been there for 3 days. She was good! I rode in the indoor and Jackey was there with me. It started off great (she's FINALLY figuring out the whole stand-while-I-mount thing), and then went kind of blah - no responses. So, Jackey had me doing the "ask, suggest, tell" method where I ask with my leg with the pressure I'd like to ask with, suggest with my voice, tell by popping her on the bum in a 1,2,3,4 rhythm until she moved a little quicker. It worked really well, I was happy. She's getting it. I'll see what happens when I'm there alone tonight.

Updates

2009-01-25T10:45:00.003-05:00

First of all, Elle was wormed with Zimectrin Gold on 1/20/09. That's just for my personal records. I usually don't spend the money on Zimectrin Gold, I just do generic ivermectin every 8 weeks and 2 Strongid after the first frost and first big thaw. However, Elle hadn't been wormed in a while (oops) so I just wanted to do ZG to cover all of my bases.

Things have been going okay with the girl. I went to Mexico and when I came back, she hadn't been worked with. I kind of figured that would happen, but oh well. So the first day I got back (Sunday 1/4), we just did ground work and I let her be really silly in the indoor. The Tuesday after that, I just got on and did my thing, and she was really wonderful. She wanted to play, but not be mean, and she never did anything stupid. By the end of my ride, she was giving me every ounce of energy she had and I was really proud of her.

Since then, I've been riding on and off because of cold weather, going back to school, etc. I've probably ridden/worked with her only 7 times in the past 3 weeks, but sometimes other things take precedence. She has been great, though. I even played with a few jumps a couple of days ago.

However, I'm running into a wall a little bit. If I show her some jumps, her attitude gets so much better and she's way more fired up, which is GREAT. Transitions there without the pissyness/beating on the bum, less kicking/bucking. If I DON'T jump her, I can get the same thing, but it takes about 30-35 minutes of riding before I can get her to REALLY cooperate and get fired up. This is only in the ring, by the way. Is this a conditioning issue, a young horse issue, a consistency issue, or something else? A boredom issue? I'll keep working at it, riding more, and see if she wants to give herself over to me sooner and sooner.

Back from Cancun

2009-01-12T11:04:00.004-05:00

The view from where we spent most of our time.

MT DEW > Corona

This is the backwards 2-spotted lady bug that flew into my purse!

Matt with the Cookie Monster that was at the mall!

Me with Cookie Monster...my dress matches!

Me getting ready to go snorkeling for the first time! And then the coral attacked me and I have a huge scratch on my leg, and now I hate snorkeling.

The boat in front of us on the way back. It was slow, we kept almost passing him! But that's not good because it was our guide. 10' fiberglass boat with a 30hp engine & a red gas can as a foot rest (and our fuel supply) in the open sea = fun.

Taking pictures while we're NOT at full throttle in the open ocean.

Getting ready to start the boat up, I think.

After our trail ride...we were alive!

Matt on Duke. Notice the chains used as reins and a tie down, and the long shanked bit :(

When we got off to change at the beach, they all layed down and took a nap (but looked dead).

Matt on his water horse. Isn't he so cute???

Matt on his super cute water horse.

Matt in the ocean!

Matt on the pony bareback.

I have no idea what my water-horse's name was, but he was so good! Coming out after our swim.

Cutie.

Wading out into the Caribbean Sea.

Matt on his little appy-loosa, El Duque.

This is one of the girls that fell off. You can see why.

King. He was so cute! And crazy but that wasn't his fault.

I'm only smiling because I like Matt. We were going home. I was sad.

Oops

2008-12-22T11:40:00.001-05:00

Who ever would have thought that I would stop blogging? Yeah, everyone that's ever seen me start anything. They were all right.

I think I'm going to turn this into a more all-around thing than just Elle. If I start writing daily, she'll no doubt be one of the main topics, but...I need something more to talk about.

So what's going on? Well, I'm done with school. I'm hoping that I didn't fail Orgo because if I did, my scholarship will most likely be thrown in the garbage, and what fun is that? It's my own fault, but I guess I can't do anything but wait and see.

We ended up getting about a foot of snow (maybe a little less) but then we were doused with freezing rain. My driveway is completely covered in slick ice right now. Poor Matt fell this morning and he's feeling it. =( He's so cute when he gets hurt, though, so it's hard not to smile in spite of his pain, haha.

I finally found the girth I want!! It has all of the features that I want:
it's a brand that I know, so I don't think it'll fall apart (Toulouse)
double elastic, in dark green - the elastic, not the girth - instead of that ugly cream color
shaped
a center D ring (and some extra D's)
and affordable.
It's not the PERFECT color, but that's ok.

So, the list of stuff I want is down to:
FITS breeches (they just seem cool)
Mattes pad (I think I'm getting one for Christmas)
Mattes girth cover (the one that velcro's over the girth in different places to leave the D's accessible)
leathers
seat saver
breastplate (that I really don't need until we start higher level eventing, say, 10 years from now haha)
the reins I want (that I don't need, as I have {{counting}} 8 sets, 5 of which still have tags on, but want)
new helmet (but I haven't decided which one yet)

Now that my wish list is out there, I'm off to do some laundry and eat lunch. I don't think Matt is coming home for lunch today, but if he is he's going to kill me if I haven't started laundry yet!

10/3: Friday

2008-10-06T00:27:00.000-04:00

I was supposed to work with Michael today, but he got stuck shoeing some horses so I ended up riding alone. I started out in the indoor because it was a really crappy day out. Not even crappy, just fall-like. Very grey and blustery.

Let me tell you, the work I got in the indoor was GREAT. I decided to do some refined work on the stuff I know we can handle without getting messed up - ie walk and trot - and she was SOOOO pretty! We don't have mirrors but I use the windows to see us, haha.

I concentrated really hard on keeping my hands steady and only massaging the inside when her head needed to come down, not all the time. I also made sure she was constantly stepping underneath herself and using her muscles. She looked absolutely gorgeous!!! The trot work was the best, and we put a bunch of bending on circles and extending in, too, so she had to work but it stayed interesting.

In the canter, she didn't want to do it for long, and my stirrups were long and I just felt discombobulated so we didn't do much. After, though, we went in the field and she was super looky and high - it's the first really FALL day that I've ridden her, and she hadn't been worked very hard before going out there. She never really spooked at anything, but it was an exercise in relaxing. It was almost good for me to have to work by myself because I WANTED to hang on to her mouth and tighten up a little bit, but had to talk myself out of it - I didn't have anyone telling me to relax or to keep conversation with.

I was supposed to ride a bunch this weekend because I was housesitting @ the Beuth's, but I didn't. Back to the grind on Monday...

10/1: Wednesday

2008-10-02T15:04:00.000-04:00

What a beautiful, perfect day! The temperature was just right and Elle was in top shape. She had enough energy for me to be happy, but not so much that I had any want to hold her back, losing some of what we've been working for - FORWARD!!

So we tacked up and did some light bending, engagement/disengagement, moving off of leg warm up work in the outdoor, and then went out into the field. Marty came around with us with Karen's horse (I think someone said something to her about how I felt, because she was REALLY nice and supportive and complimentary) for one lap, and the lap after that we walked and trotted, with a canter up the hill. TJ tried to canter right out of field, haha, but we went back in and Mike said he wanted us to do some canter work if we were ready for that. I was all for it, as she's so EASY to get going forward in the field. So, he said if we got going, go for it, he and TJ would catch up. I brought her up to a canter and cantered down the whole front part of the field. We came to a walk, let Mike catch up, and then cantered the second stretch before pulling up to go through the hilly/zigzaggy part (we're just not there yet). Walked and trotted with TJ and Mike for a bit, and then really let them gallop up the big hill - they all like that.

Next, Mike stayed behind by the entrance and we again cantered up the first long straight part. We started to do a circle like he said to, and she got a little hot and strong when we were headed back toward TJ and also to the farm. Once I got her head down and around, though, she wanted to break to a trot, but I sat just right, hesitated just one step, and THEN asked her to keep going forward - and I got the nicest, roundest canter. I could feel myself wanting and asking for every step, but not because she was slowing down, we were just in sync. It was super nice!

We went around the field the other way so that we went down the big hill, and she was the straightest coming down it she has been (she usually tries to serpentine down it, I think because of lack of balance) and then we trotted and cantered some. She didn't mind at all when TJ cantered up behind her.

When we got back, we went back in the outdoor for a bit and got a SUPER light trot out of her, then she offered the canter and was right there when I asked her to keep going.

Nothing could ruin the mood of this day!!!

9/29: Monday

2008-10-02T14:54:00.000-04:00

So Mike got on Elle first to loosen her up for me. He brought her around, got her sensitive to the leg and reins, and also worked on keeping her in the canter when she wanted to stop. Then he also showed me something else to do with her. Since day one, I've known how to disengage her hind end - essentially making it so that she has to move her hind end in order to stop from spinning out. This is a good exercise to know you can put her feet where you want, but it's also the part of a one rein stop that works - you make it so that they have to keep their feet underneath them, or they won't be able to balance.

Today, though, we learned about engaging the hind end - that is, making her track up with her inside hind to propel herself forward. You do this on a small, but forward circle, where you're giving her some contact on the reins. It'll get better as the hind end gets stronger.

I got on and we did a bunch of slow work, because she wasn't a ball of energy. Once she seemed like she was getting a little bored with that, we switched it up to something else so that she would keep learning. Horses are just like kids in that they need to be interested in the material or they're not going to be in the place where they can absorb.

We started with getting her to respond right off of my leg to go to the trot. That was done by using the whip and letting her trot, then using just my leg and seeing what kind of response we got. It went well.

Then, Mike wanted me to really open her up and gallop her around a little bit. And guess what? She was tired, and done with working, and when I used the whip to tap her, she bucked. Two different times! But it was ok, in fact it was great. Because of how forward she was going, she couldn't give them her all, got unbalanced, and seemed to realize it was easier and more comfortable if you just stayed in stride.

And so I took that, rode her forward, and cantered ALL the way around the ring! Yahoo!! I don't know if I should be excited about all this, but I am!

9/28: Sunday

2008-10-02T14:51:00.001-04:00

I rode in the indoor because it was almost dark out and it was rainy. It could not have gone better! Elle's walk and trot were both super forward and loose. I cantered her around a bunch, and our departs were perfect. Our canters, although short lived, had great downward transitions into the trot unlike the one's we were getting before where she would just quit. The steering was perfect in the indoor, so that gives me something nice to think about - it's still there! It's getting better in the outdoor...instead of spinning around or not coming through, she's just cutting corners.

After working for a while (she was actually breathing hard, I didn't know she had it in her!) we went out into the outdoor in the dark. She wasn't looky about anything and she walked and trotted with NO steering issues. I know it was because I wasn't working her too hard and because she had already warmed up, but it felt nice!

9/24: Wednesday

2008-10-02T14:44:00.000-04:00

If my memory serves me, only I rode on Wednesday. I took my whip, and Mike had TJ out. We cantered first to warm up, and then came back to do some slower work. After working on the corners and the energy level in the walk and trot, we picked up our canter. What Mike had me work on was putting the reins in my outside hand and keeping the whip at her butt the whole time and rhythmically tapping her. This would keep her going forward. All the way around the ring, I tapped that butt until she tricked me and broke to the trot. I get the concept, I just have to learn how to decide when it's time to rev her up a little more.

Marty was watching the whole time, and her comment was, "I really think that saddle is making all of the difference in the world." Hey, thanks. I realize I've been riding for 6 months in this saddle and we were NOT getting this when I was working with you, but...yeah, it's probably the saddle, not the hard work or Michael's help.

Brought a damper on my great ride of using my whip and NOT getting bucked off at the canter, but I'm trying not to get down about it.

9/22: Monday

2008-10-02T14:32:00.000-04:00

After riding both days of the weekend (plus Friday), I had a splitting headache on Monday. The old me would have just called to cancel, but I'm excited about working with Elle and getting her back to where she should be. So, I went down to the barn anyway and asked Mike if he would mind just working with her today - I thought I would be sick if I had to post!

He started her off at a canter, which was what was necessary to get a good walk out of her. After she rolled a little bit, he did some really good work at all 3 gaits and she looked happy. He worked with the whip with her, tapping her when she needed it and getting it so that legs and reins asked for straight and the whip was what was asking for forward. She seemed to get it and didn't cut in the corners.

I asked him what would happen if he used the whip at the canter - that's one of my fears ever since I convinced myself that was one of the original reasons she bucked. His answer? "Let's find out!" So off at a canter they went, and he tapped her butt with the whip in the same rhythm her stride had. What did she offer? More forward. BUT I think one of the keys was, she was already in front of his leg, and who has time to buck when you're going forward? Also, his reins were loose enough that he was giving her somewhere to go - that's one of my main bad habits. I tend to grab the reins back and ask her to go faster all at once - I can see how this would be confusing!! But it's getting better.

He rode her for a good 45 minutes and then we called it quits because it was starting to rain and he was on bring in duty. Before he went in, though, he took of the saddle and got on her bareback because I had asked him about that on a different day. He says he doubts she's ever been ridden like that, but she was good about it. She didn't balk or get weird when he got on, but he was very quiet on her, too. He says if we take that part slow, there's no reason she can't be ridden bareback. It's just a MUCH closer feel for her.

9/21: Sunday

2008-10-02T14:25:00.000-04:00

Lisa asked me if I wanted to ride with her, and I almost bailed but accepted and I was glad. Sunday rides with Lisa normally consist of going out in the field and chatting, but they were haying so we were forced to do REAL work in the outdoor - the horrors! We used a whip and got the engine revved a little bit. We did a few canters/gallops up the long sides and even got one around the short side, plus a BUNCH of nice walks and trots. I think that people underestimate the walk but it really is important. Not only does it get the horse more responsive to your leg and gets the basics down at a slow speed, but it's so good for their muscles.

9/20: Saturday

2008-10-02T14:21:00.000-04:00

I wasn't going to ride, but I went out to the barn to groom and Lynn was tacking up Remi to go in the field, so I got Elle ready, too. We didn't do any work, just walked around the field 4 or so times, but it was a nice, relaxing day. I think it's important to not allow anything BAD to happen, but to have rides where you're not really concentrating too hard, either. Elle was respectful of my leg and hands, and therefore she got to just go see the sights.

9/19: Friday

2008-10-02T14:15:00.000-04:00

On Friday, I got my whip back (it was kindly suggested I take it, haha). And it really did make all the difference. When she was being slow at the walk, I reached back and just once gave her a decent tap across the top of her butt to let her know I had it and that it could be used. I got a big cowkick, but after that all I had to do (for the most part) was hold it back there and she'd go forward again. Because she knew I had it, too, she didn't get nervous if I did have to use it. We used it to just get her to go forward, somewhere...didn't worry about steering for a little bit, just forward. I'd get off her back and tap tap tap until I got a transition of some sort (either within the gait or into the next gait) and then I'd let her be. By the time I got off of her, she was very accepting of the leg and was ready to move off.

9/17: Wednesday

2008-10-02T14:14:00.002-04:00

9/17: Wednesday - First day riding and I freaking CANTERED. Hahaha. We started out in the field to get warmed up, just walking, and talking about what I thought the problem was. I told Mike that for the first day, I would like him to bring Elle into the outdoor and put her through her paces to see if she bucks with him, and what he thinks the problem is.

So we left the field, switched horses (I thought it was hard to get Elle to go forward sometimes, nevermind TJ!!!) and he let her offer the canter, got into his halfseat, and she was happy as a clam cantering around the outdoor. Of course, I felt like a fool, and told Michael as much. I got on at that point, though, and he had me get in my half seat and really encourage her to move forward. And she did! We cantered, forward, with no bucking. We only made it up the long side of the ring, but that's alright. That was the first time I cantered outside for more than 3 strides without her trying to dump me (or at least kicking up her heels).

9/15: Monday

2008-10-02T14:14:00.001-04:00

Got to the barn and Jose had bowed a tendon, so we spent some time fixing him up. Vet work and shoeing isn't what I had in mind for our month of training, but Jose obviously had to be cared for, and that I learned was actually very interesting. Mike put a shoe on (but I forget what it was called) to make Cuervo more comfortable, and let me tell you, it really worked!

We spent the rest of the time after shoeing doing groundwork with Elle. Luckily, she's got a pretty good basis, as she came with a strong set of manners and we've reinforced that every day. We did some lasso work, which I hadn't done, and that REALLY gave her the clear picture. Since then, we just do the work in the rope halter or the leather halter, and she's much better about things like stopping for grass, keeping up with me, trotting if I want her to trot in hand, etc etc.

Starting with Michael

2008-10-02T13:57:00.000-04:00

To give a little rundown on who Michael is, he's my farrier/barn owner/horse breaker/masseuse/GREAT guy and rider. He grew up breaking and riding race horses, jumpers, dressage horses, etc. His brother is a jockey turned blacksmith. He's really a great guy to have around. Some people have trouble with his teaching style, but I personally get a ton out of it, so to each his own.

I knew that Michael would work with Elle if he had time, and with his last project, Rivers, leaving, I decided to ask if we could work out training board for a month or two, whatever we needed. We decided to start on 9/15/08 and work Elle MWF at 3pm. Some people say that it's best to work 3 days on, 1 day off, but I'm convinced that while that MAY be the best, the most important thing is to be consistent and to set a schedule for yourself that you can actually follow. It's very ambitious for me to say I'm going to ride 7 days a week, but when it doesn't happen I've only let myself down.

The story

2008-10-02T13:32:00.000-04:00

Backing up, let me give the run down of what was going on with Elle.

The winter went great, and the spring started out amazing. We were picking up the left lead (the one that used to be harder), and just having a grand time. We had just started our first small courses (!!) of 4 or 5 fences in succession, including lines and roll backs. Then the bucking started.

The first time it happened, I think I hit her on the flank with a crop and she didn't like that. It was totally unsuspected, as she had warmed up great and never bucked before, but oh well. I got unbalanced, lost both stirrups, and she bolted. I made the conscious decision to bail, and I was hurting after that!!

Got back on, went to work, everything seemed good.

Fast forward 2 weeks, she again bucks in the middle of a beautiful canter, with no wrong doing that I can tell on my part. And this one was DIRTY - nose on the ground and feet straight up like a bronc's before I knew what was happening. I was off before she came back up again but then I guess she went REALLY up - straight up - and that's a big no no.

Now, it's been 7 years since I've been bucked off a horse. And the last time I broke my collarbone. So, I think my ego got more bruised than my body did, but none-the-less, I've been scared to ride my horse since April.

We did a lot of roundpen work for a while, which probably only solidified the idea that there was something to be afraid of. When we finally started riding again, it was in the roundpen, and then on a big breakthrough day, the full indoor! I wasn't afraid to ask for the canter in there, but I was NOT about to ask her to keep GOING when she wanted to break to trot. Finally, one day, I asked her to keep going (with my leg and seat, but no whip - we weren't there yet), and she did, and I was happy and called it a day.

In the meantime, we were doing a lot of walks and trots in the field with me telling myself it was to get us comfortable again - but I was already completely comfortable in the field, as the mare is super sensible and doesn't have a true spook in her (what a difference from Harl!) We DID accomplish walking and trotting through muddy water, though, so I guess it wasn't all for nothing.

Working in the outdoor was another story, though. The outdoor is where both bucking incidents occured, and even though correlation does not imply causation ... well, you know where my mind went. Our first works in the outdoor consisted of us going out there and having NO form of forward whatsoever. And then she got weird about the gate...anywhere near it and we would get forward, alright, straight to the gate. If I turned her away or pushed her past the gate, that was cause for rearing (do geldings do the silly things mares do?)

So we finally get where we can walk and trot around the outdoor, successfully getting past the gate most of the time, and took Elle to her first show! We opted for a dressage show, as it would give me a chance to get in the ring with her alone and see how we both acted under pressure. It would also give me some helpful feedback, whereas in a HUS class we'd just pin (or not pin) somewhere and that would be that. It wouldn't be a learning experience, and I thought that that was important for our first adventure.

She was great, absolutely a star. She loaded and rode wonderfully, trailer tied, and warmed up without any yahoos at ALL. The judge's tent was the only thing that was a cause for concern, but by that I mean she wanted to stop and look at it for a minute, and then pooped by it and that was that. She kept offering the canter in the warm up but we got through that and everything was great.

At home after that, though, we decided to bring her back up to a canter again. Then she started bucking again. At that point, I had started riding in the Aussie saddle, and that helped things as far as me coming off (hasn't happened again), but the bucking was still very much there. It seemed to be in the outdoor exclusively, and a couple of strides into a canter SHE would offer. She isn't and never has been back sore, and the saddle fits great. Just a training issue?

The bottom line is that I really felt like I had to get someone else on her, and that's where Michael came in. Marty won't ride her, which is fine. It's frustrating, but fine. I have a hard time taking advice from people that won't put themselves in my position. I knew Mike would ride her, and so we made the plan to do a month's worth of training together, and see where we got.

Got behind...

2008-06-30T11:37:00.001-04:00

04.07.2008 - Chloe left, leaving Elle out with Casey

04.09.2008 - Really kind of crazy in the outdoor - bolting @ gate, not turning, etc. Got through it.

04.10.2008 - Lesson started off really well in outdoor - jumped first little course! Asked for more canter @ one point & got bucked off. Oops, I bailed and I shouldn't have...

04.17.2008 - GOOD lesson!

04.24.2008 - Bad buck off. Everything was going good until I rubbed her shoulder with my crop on the left lead - dirty buck. Marty lunged the crap out of her, and then I got back on in the indoor for some more.

05.07.2008 - Worked with Mike - went well. She went up when he asked for the left lead, but everything turned out fine. Riding in Aussie saddle (I had been using Colleen's Wintec Dressage)

05.13.2008 - Lesson, just lunged with side reins. I have no nerve.

05.14.2008 - First time in wash stall! Nervous! OK about her face, not OK about her butt/teats.

05.15.2008 - Did a lesson in the roundpen. Didn't get a lot of forward.

05.17.2008 - Bath time - very dancy and then bit my elbow! Smacked her nose and then she stood still after that!

05.19/20.2008 - In heat. Tail flagging & leaky. Gross.

05.20.2008 - Lunge lesson w/sweet metal bit.

05.22.2008 - Lesson in roundpen - rode w/Marty "helping" with lunge whip. Once I realized she wasn't going to wig out, things went well.

05.27.2008 - Got all 4 shoes. Mike only had to beat her up once or twice. Ok with hitting outside of feet, and smell, but putting nails in is weird.

05.28.2008 - Lesson. Roundpenned. Rode with Marty helping.

05.29.2008 - Wormed Ivermectin. Good roundpen lesson. After lesson, we went into the outdoor and there were problems. Steering, forward, etc. Went in field w/Cal & Skye, GOOD!

06.01.2008 - Started off lunging in indoor - no roundpen - good. Once I got behind her, she started to turn better. Cantered going into the short side and she was nice and calm. Went outside and did both directions by the gate. Good (no gate stickiness). Went to bottom of ring - good until left lead canter. She picked up the wrong lead and tried to bolt - fell on her butt. Nice and calm after that.

06.02.2008 - Lunged a little in the indoor w/no roundpen, but she was very backed off - didn't do much. In heat maybe?

06.04.2008 - No lunging. Finally slapped her chest to get her to stand - of course it worked! Walked and trotted full indoor. Rode outdoor and field with Mike & Dave.

06.05.2008 - Roundpenned to warm/loosen up. Slapped for mounting, great. Rode walk/trot for the full indoor - carried crop again! used reins/bit for second half of the ride. Walk/trot full outdoor!!!

06.09.2008 - 104 degrees, booooo. Great about her full hosing off.

06.10.2008 - Another hot day. Great about hosing off. Also really good about fly spray in the wash stall. Good with Max. Started on mare herbs.

06.11.2008 - Lunged a little, then rode. GREAT about getting on - only moved over (not back) 1 step. "FIERY" is a good way to put our ride. Lots of walking w/some trotting - rode both indoor and out.

06.16.2008 - Started off lunging at night but she had some "crazy" in her - free lunged in the indoor instead, and then got good transitions on the line.

06.17.2008 - Lunged before lesson, then rode (practiced) Intro A & B in the indoor. Cantered!!! (Felt so good). Rode w/the dressage whip to get my transitions - not even too scary!

06.19.2008 - Did a lesson outside - only walk/trot but good anyway. Rode in Colleen's dressage saddle. Saw that the "gate problem" is really a turning probem - fixed with give & take on inside rein, whip on outside shoulder. Good good good.

06.20.2008 - Trailer training with Mike. Tied in her stall, tied to trailer. Walked on and off about 20 times before we asked her to stay - great! Great at unloading, never looks going in.

06.21.2008 - Full bath, never moved a muscle (except face washing, which is completely normal). Used the small clippers on her nose, great! Did not do ears.

06.22.2008 - SHOW!!! Red Rock Schooling Dressage, the perfect show for us. Only about 10-15 horses total. Trailered great, tacked up/tied perfectly. Mike walked/trotted her around the place, and only really looked @ judges tent. Pefect lady. In warm up, she got a little herdbound when she was alone, but worked through - wanted to canter! God 2 thirds, hah! Had the comments I knew I would - sucky free walk, need to have control over hind quarters, etc. Oh well. I think I'll try riding w/2 dressage whips. SO PROUD! Whole day was good - everyone came to cheer us on, M@ was great, wonderful, AND a good groom. THEN we went home and the dentist came (big day). Best horse in the barn. I like her again :)

(We were planning on the show @ Lynns on 06.30, but we're going to skip it. I'm poor, and we know how she's going to be. I'd rather improve my dressage first!)

Good work, lady

2008-01-15T11:13:00.001-05:00

Didn't feel like riding so I had Marty work Elle in the roundpen. Used side reins, she was very energetic. Got some good "command" and forward work in, then took the side reins off to jump. Went to the big block, spread about as much...Very athletic and nice!

Straighten up and ride right

2008-01-13T11:12:00.000-05:00

Really good lesson, which was encouraging. Fixed the "diving" problem by making my hands really wide and putting my upper body straight. Did more canter work and lots of trot work.

Happy!

Mmmm appley.

2008-01-12T11:11:00.000-05:00

Gave Elle her first wormer - great! No problem, ate it right up. Lesson tomorrow.

Boo!

2008-01-08T11:09:00.000-05:00

Had a lesson today, it was so nice out! (60 degrees). Started outside but went inside - she didn't want to turn right, was cutting in left, etc etc. Good inside. Forgot about wall problem @ walk, figured out/got through it a bit @ trot & canter. It took Marty scaring the hell out of her a couple of times, but finished well!

Matt's bonding

2008-01-07T11:08:00.000-05:00

Matt finally groomed her today - very pretty! During late night, he had her, and she was great for him. Put spray on her for the first time and she wigged out a little. Oh well, it's new! It was so nice to see Matt with her! He had a conversation with her the whole time :)

Lunge line

2008-01-02T11:07:00.001-05:00

Put Elle in the round pen - tried to "fix" wall problems - gahh!! Jumped a bit in the roundpen, then took her out to lunge on a line - for the first time I think! Good! Good enough, anyway.

Chutes and ladders

2008-01-01T11:05:00.000-05:00

We were frustrated with each other today, which didn't help. Got some really nice round work, so I guess I should be happy with that. Tried to make a chute with poles but I'm not sure how well it worked. Will try again Friday (Stacy's lesson is Wednesday and Thursday's forecast is 10*F :( )

Longside, I loathe you.

2007-12-31T11:04:00.001-05:00

Rode Elle and Cal (Cal was sound & good). Elle was much better @ walk and canter with the long side thing, and we did end up getting a few good passes at the trot.

Inconsistency

2007-12-30T11:03:00.000-05:00

No riding 12.28, 12.29, or 12.30

Broke out the weapons

2007-12-27T11:02:00.000-05:00

Another lesson, got right on and went to full ring. Had some weird energy to the left, but she was fine to the right. Really did the long side thing, got a short whip to try and help. We eventually got what we wanted so we quit.

First lesson!

2007-12-26T11:01:00.000-05:00

Lunged her w/the saddle and bridle on for a bit, she's getting pretty good about commands and responding but she needs some work staying in the canter. Then got on and went straight to full ring. Started doing a bit of sideways stuff on the long side - we both got tired.

Christmas!

2007-12-25T10:59:00.000-05:00

Came out on Christmas AM and got right on without any ground work or lunging. She was a little fresh, with tons of canter-hop stuff, but it was 7:30am! Rode for about 25 minutes, at the end she got really soft at the walk. I quit there because she did so well.

Surgery

2007-12-24T10:57:00.000-05:00

Took stitches out - one was really embedded in skin and it hurt her a lot to get out. But, she dealt with it when I said "whoa." Did free lunge work with her and then put her in the surcingle for the first time. She was good! Rode in Sarah's Smith Worthington and it felt WAY better than mine. It's wider and I think it has a straighter cut. She's doing a lot of canter-hop stuff but hopefully we'll get through it. Rode on both sides of the ring, didn't want to "unstick" from the walls, especially at canter.

Carrots?

2007-12-16T10:56:00.000-05:00

Took off sheet before late night. She's sweet. She didn't know what to do with a carrot! How cute :) I put it in her bucket for later.

Gettin' antsy

2007-12-15T10:55:00.000-05:00

Brought Elle in to groom her - stitches look great! Not swollen or sore, look all closed up. Maybe I can take them out at 10 or 11 days? Get the weekend of riding in before Christmas....

Zapped her on the nose, poor girly. She went back, but stopped when I grabbed her, didn't get her head caught. Good girl. Put the thin sheet on under the Landa, I think it's too small. Matt picked up her foot! :)

There's only so much you can do when you can't work them!

2007-12-14T10:53:00.000-05:00

Dec 12 - Took her out to groom her, good girl.
Dec 13 & 14 - no barn, exams.

Stitches & Twitches

2007-12-11T10:49:00.001-05:00

So, went up to the farm today for my lesson - brought Elle in & she had a cut on her RH hock, on the inside. It was fresh and really deep and I could see something white (bone, tendon?) So, I put Betadine on it and waited for Marty to come out - she told me to call Steve out for stitches and to put triple antibiotic ointment on it. Called Steve, he came out. Yelled at me for the ointment. We twitched her to get the leg numb, she didn't like it but once it was on, she was good.

Steve said she cut the tendon a little bit but it's one that doesn't get used. Also cut a blood vessel, so it was bleeding a LOT. He put 2 double stitches in her and said to take them out in 2 weeks, no riding until then. Gave her a tetanus booster. Roy said we can keep her for an extra 2 weeks no problem. I was also supposed to ride Cal today but he's dead lame. Watched Mike dig an abscess out, it was cool. Also, Elle's LH hock was a little swollen - from old cut/kick?

Silly Bella

2007-12-10T10:46:00.000-05:00

Worked before late night, stood on the crossties for 1/2 hour alone with no problem. That made me happy! Groomed her, checked the cut she had gotten yesterday (Eric turned Ben out with the girls on accident). Looked okay. Brought her into the round pen after a good grooming. Worked her a bit, then set up an x-rail. She didn't want to canter it, so I put it up to a vertical. She jumps willingly to the left, but doesn't like to canter them to the right - weird.

Crashed through just one, listened to "whoa" and "no" voice commands :) Kept spinning around after she jumped to right and jumping back to left - weird again. Clever, though!

Finished when she finally cantered one to the right and left it without turning. Good girl! First lesson tomorrow! Oh-at the end, she was finally following me around!

Outside

2007-12-09T10:44:00.000-05:00

Came up in the afternoon. She was a little dancy and looky on the crossties, nothing terrible. Decided to ride outside because the ground wasn't too frozen and marty had a kid inside. Probably should have lunged her first, she was a little up and full of attitude. She didn't want to turn left in the rope halter, and kept making canter departs. Left is definitely her funky direction. Ended after she really softened at the canter.

Couple of days off

2007-12-08T10:43:00.001-05:00

No work Dec 7/Dec 8, I was in Boston for Matt's birthday!

She's not just "the grey mare" anymore!

2007-12-06T10:41:00.000-05:00

Kay & Matt came up to watch me work her in the round pen before late night. Decided to jump her! Cross rails were good, even though sometimes she went over 1 foot at a time. Really crashed through a 2'3" vertical, but then didn't spook - that's good, at least. Cute jump, w hen she jumps. Decided on Rafiki X / Elle - "Ellie." X is for her ID tag that she came with.

But I'm hunnngry!

2007-12-05T10:39:00.000-05:00

First time with her at feeding time - oh boy. Brought in her and Chloe (they're in the third paddock now), put her on the crossties to groom her. I've been calling her Kai but I don't love it. Anyway, once they started feeding, she was all over the place. I worked her in the round pen for a while, naked, and then put her back in the aisle. I thought for sure she was going to hang herself! Tacked up, decided to ride IN the round pen (Probably good thinking). Sarah watched, liked what she saw. This was good for her, to have to wait to be fed!

Goodbye Pops

2007-12-04T10:38:00.000-05:00

Left her in her paddock. Said bye to Harl, then got the hell outta there.

Late night

2007-12-03T10:37:00.000-05:00

Just took her out to groom her so I could spend some extra time with Harl. Late night, she's not too messy, or pushy about food.

No treats

2007-12-02T10:36:00.001-05:00

Eric came out @ night to see the mare, he really likes her. Everyone does! Everyone says how nice she is and how sweet she is to be around. Groomed her, she's getting great about her feet and is good about static. I'm not giving her any treats! Well, I gave her 1, but am not anymore. Did some round pen work, she was good!

Names?

2007-12-01T10:34:00.000-05:00

Went up to the barn, met Colleen, Marty, and Jackey. I want to call her Isabelle, but Jackey doesn't like it. Her and Marty both like Rafiki. She was good in the round pen, not GREAT in rest of ring - some steering problems, plus she wanted to only canter. Oh well. Good on crossties! (Not about clippers, though). Funny about blanket, but good girl. She's out with Chloe & Randy, neither are super nice to her :(

First Day

2007-11-30T10:29:00.001-05:00

Mare came from Canada. Earnie and Sandi from Keyhole Ranch shipped her. Roy and Rod did not make this trip. There was another chestnut gelding on the trailer I liked, but he was $12,000 and young and a LOT of horse (he seemed pretty tame to me, but we didn't see him undersaddle or even in-hand. Mare is grey, full sister to Colleen's Skye, half to Sarah's Dicken (same sire.) She's a lot more TB-y than Skye, thank goodness! I love Skye but he's not for me. Mike rode her in the round pen, few bucks but she'd been in the trailer since Monday! (This is Friday). Then he rode her outside and I got on her - good girl. Needs a few steering and "keep going" lessons, but transitions & brakes are there (yay!) Rode again @ night to let Matt & AP see her, good girl. Only 1 buck. They want $5,000 for her. Called Roy to let her know we'd keep her the 30 days, he was trilled.