Bummin'

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.

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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...

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

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.

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

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...

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?

• 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?

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...

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...

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

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

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

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.