Coiled Like a Spring

I had a lesson the day after Thanksgiving. I was tense. Really tense. Laurie had me on the lungeline and the thought was to try the canter out. I guess the thought of it had me really tense.


Sometimes I wonder if I just have issues trusting Divine and she certainly picks up on those feelings. She tends to be reactive to everything I do wrong. I lose a stirrup, it bumps her, she’ll jump. She “shies” at something I’m not even sure of what! It’s hard sometimes, I lose confidence on her when she gets upset because I am not leaning the right way or I’m tense. I have to admit it gets frustrating! On the other side of the coin though the challenge of Divine is that she will tell me what I’m doing wrong…and theoretically I should know what I’m doing wrong and fix it. It’s a lot of pressure thinking about it you know?

Eksodus mug shot!

She’s a pretty good horse for learning on but I think at this stage in my life I enjoy a horse that I can relax around a little more. Sometimes I really feel about of control with her. Grooming and tacking up she still doesn’t stay still, I have to keep moving her back to where she needs to stand. It’s exhausting! But I guess she’s good to learn on, it will give me patience and small problems that occur with my future horse might not seem as big. It can just be pretty frustrating to learn on a very sensitive horse. I have good days and then I have bad.


Towards the end of the lesson at least I started to relax more and Divine was going better. I can be a sensitive person, I think a good match for me would be a horse that is easy going and not so sensitive. I don’t want anyone to think bad of Divine, she’s just a touchy type of horse.  Some riders really dig a sensitive horse, most top horses tend to be.  If I can ride her and ride her well I think I’ll be well on my way to being able to ride a lot of different types of horses.

Darkness Decends

I went out to ride fairly late on Friday.  4:30pm lesson.  I was riding Divine.  She was a bit antzy in the cross ties today, wiggling around and pooing a couple times. 

Today Laurie had me working on keeping collection with Divine and a consistant trot while I posted and sat the trot.  I definitely notice the difference when I ride Divine compared to Willy.  Since Willy doesn't collect much and I'm not a trainer I don't think about collection when I ride him.  I just ride and have fun.  With Divine I get challenged.  I can't wait to have my own horse to take lessons on where both me and the horse are getting challenged and then I can continue on that path during the week on my own!

Divine and I had a few minor arguments while doing some circles but we went pretty well together.  I certainly got a workout! 

Laurie was excited that things were moving forward with the new property and I am estatic for her!  I dream of having land and an indoor arena some day so I know she is just through the roof with excitement!  I can't wait to see the new place!

Pstar in a fly mask from last summer

After I groomed Divine and brought her to the arena with the other mares I visited Pstar.  She was sweet as ever and her sidekick Psylk joined us, her black coat just a shadow.  The only way I could actually "see" her was by a reflection in her eyes.  She was black as the night!  Then all the other mares tried to gather around me and I found myself surrounded by mares in the dark...with the boss mare Sala getting a bit testy that the others were nearby.  I was out of there!  Not a comfortable situation!  Safely on the other side of the fence I gave each mare a carrot and then headed over to see Eksodus. 

Laurie said Eksodus had already been acting much better since the surgery.  When I went over to pet him he came up with his bright eyes twinkling in what little light there was.  A few pets and he made to nip me again.  I tried one more time and he tried nipping again.  Perhaps he still needs more time to mellow or he just senses my timid feelings, I don't like the idea of getting bit.  I don't feel like he respects me and I haven't given him a reason to yet, he always scared me a bit when he went to bit me.  Hopefully as the gelding fully takes effect and he gets put out with the mares he'll start to chill and I can get to know him a little better.  I just don't know what to do around young horses!  I'm certainly not ready for one that's for sure!  Someday I'd love to "raise" one but not anytime soon!

Floating and Gelding

Tooth floating in horses simply put is sanding down the rough edges of a horses teeth.  Horses teeth continually grow throughout their lifetime and being domesticated they don't grind on grass and forage as much as they would in the wild, therefore their teeth don't wear in quite the same way as wild horses.  The lower teeth tend to get sharp edges on the inside, near the tongue and the upper teeth tend to get sharp edges on the outside near the cheek.  This can be an issue since it can cause painful sores and then of course an unhappy mouth can cause bitting issues.  It's best to have your horses mouth checked out once a year and depending on the horse any dental care or floating that occurs will be based on their needs.  Young horses, like any baby animals, can have baby teeth still present when the adult on erupts and therefore need the baby tooth removed to allow the adult teeth to come into the correct position. 

Legs is so sweet as he has his heart checked...he is so cute!

Horse skull showing the wolf teeth and the "gap" area for the bit

Another thing that horses can have are what is called "wolf teeth".  In a horses mouth there are the front teeth (incisors) that tear off the bits of grass and then the back teeth which are the molars that grind the grass.  In between the front and back teeth there is a gap with no teeth present, this conveniently allows a bit to rest across the tongue and be used to transmit aids in the form of pressure to the side of the mouth, tongue and bars (lower gum line on the jaw) of the mouth.  While having teeth floated it's also a good time to remove these wolf teeth that sit right in front of the back molars, where the bit would sit.  It interferes with the bit and can often get broken by the bit which, I'm assuming, would be a more expensive dental cost to remove a broken wolf tooth.  Not all horses develop a wolf tooth and they appear at different ages.

Pstar nose, you can barely see the wolf tooth but it's right in front of the molars

The process was pretty simple.  A halter with a lower cushioned bumper is hung from a rafter in the ceiling so the horses head can be held up at the proper height.  Each horse is sedated, placed in the halter and then a mouth speculum (I looked up the term, I knew it reminded me of the gynecologist!!) it used to open the horses mouth.  Then the vet uses a drill looking tool that has a circular rasping plate on the end.  Then it's just like sanding wood in a sense!

The speculum (shutter...)

The rasping tool (more shutters...)

The victim (shutter...poor Legs!)

The tooth pulling meant that local injections of anesthetic were administered.  Some of the wolf teeth were tiny, others were huge...Pstar had pretty big ones removed.  I wonder if that means she has the spirit of the wolf in her...one who is social and loyal...yep that sounds like Pstar!  LOL.

All in all it went pretty quick and it's a necessary maintenance, same as humans going to the dentist.  The poor babies though!  At least they were sedated for it!  I wish I could be whenever I go in for just my cleanings!

Next it was Eksodus's turn.  He's just  yearling who will turn two in July I think.  I hadn't seen him up close in a while, he's almost as big as Pstar is and she's 4 going on 5!  What a handsome boy!  Since he's still pretty young the vet thought it best just to check his teeth since he still had a lot of baby teeth.  His wolf teeth would be removed but the main job today was gelding (castration).  I've seen castrations before in Leesburg, VA back in 2000 when I worked as a tech in an equine operating room one summer.  Usually the castrations were older horses.  I guess doing it in the OR, instead of doing it in the field, was because of the amount of fat and size of the vans deferens. 

Handsome boy!

Eksodus was sedated, then given another shot that made him even more sedated to the point where he plopped onto the ground.  The vet moved him to a safe location and cushioned his "fall" by holding his head up and then helping him roll down onto his side.  It was pretty much the same procedure as in the OR just not with the nice cushioned walls that you wedge the horse in between or with the cool hydraulic table.  It was quick and easy though.  Make an incision, pull out one testicle, cut the vans deferens and clamp for a few minutes, pull out the next one and do the same.  Then the doctor tidied the area up so fat and other skin wouldn't hang out of the wound.  It's left open to drain, and the swelling that will then happen helps to close up the wound.  I don't remember if they stitched it up in the OR or not but in the field since it's not sterile it's best not to sew up the area.  Esksodus then had his wolf teeth removed.  Shortly after, he started to get up, he layed on his belly for a little while before fully standing and then was led to stall for 24 hour stall rest with two weeks of hand trotting exercise.  It will be interesting to see how Eksodus is as a gelding, hopefully he won't be as nippy with me!  He'll be three next year, still very young and compared to Pstar it would be hard to think of buying a three year old I couldn't ride when I could buy and be riding Pstar.  2012 is far away, yet very close....must keep my head in the debt reduction game (aka Project Buy a Pony!)

An iodine scrub to clean the area

Eksodus: "Yikes, that was a horrible dream I just had!"

I was so happy that Laurie let me come out to witness all of this!  As a future horse owner I want to soak up as much information as I can to learn about the proper care of horses.  I subscribe to Dressage Today, Practical Horseman, Equus and now as a member of the Arabian Horse Association I will be getting their Modern Arabian magazine.  Each horse magazine has articles on behavior, training and care of the horse but nothing beats seeing things firsthand!  Thanks Laurie!  Hope the horses are feeling better after their dental appointments, reminds me I need to get my Jack Russell in for his!

So I'll end this post with a cute pic of Pstar.  Awe!

Heartache

I finally made it out to Lauries today, holidays and really bad weather have kept me away.  How I've missed the lovely Arabians!  I had a little Christmas gift for Laurie so I came totting that and forgot carrots!  Eksodus and Pstar were in the first two stalls.  So I greeted them with a pat, Eksodus being his little saucy self!  Laurie came in and we hugged, catching up on our holidays.  Then she had a gift for me...a beautiful ornament her mother made and an awesome teeshirt with Gadiel pictures on the front and back!  I have a pony shirt to wear with my pony PJ bottoms!  I gave Laurie her gift, the size and shape of the horriblly wrapped present sort of gave it away, I'd gotten her a new riding whip/bat.  I'd been at Big R a couple weeks ago and saw it.  I thought it was perfect since she wanted one a little longer than the one she currently had.

After our gift exchange I got Divine from the arena and began getting her groomed.  She was so fuzzy she looked nearly pure white instead of the flea bitten grey/white color she is in the summer.  I rode on the lungeline today and Laurie had me working on my leg position.  It still comes forward a bit when I post so we worked on that with posting trot, sitting and two point.  Towards the end, I guess after I'd warmed up a bit my legs relaxed into the correct position.

Laurie and I talked a lot about horses, as usual.  I asked about Ekstasha and she said she wasn't sure if one of her younger students was interested in her.  Ekstasha is Eksodus's mom whom someone else owns but is giving up their horse because of a move...honestly that's the excuse, I think they just don't have the interest anymore.  Then Laurie mentioned that she had told the family that Pstar would be a nice match maybe for their daughter.  My heart fluttered a little.  I talked to her more about horses and buying a horse not under saddle, how to judge the fit of the horse. 

Apparently a statement I'd made on my blog about Pstar not being a good fit for an endurance or trail horse was a misunderstanding.  Laurie doesn't know how she'd be.  Pstar isn't herd bound as they say, she just likes to be around other horses but Laurie said that if she's alone with no other horses she may be the kind of horse, since she's so human oriented, that would be fine with her human as the boss mare.  I'm not saying this really eloquently.  It sounds like Pstar could get accustomed to be "alone" on a trail with just me and be perfectly fine.

After the lesson and I'd gotten Divine in the cross ties, untacked and partially groomed Laurie tested out some treat samples.  Divine ate them readily but did a funny smacking motion with her mouth, the treat pieces must have stuck to her roof and teeth in her mouth, it was so cute!  Pstar didn't seem to like them, I gave her one twice and each time she just turned it around in her mouth and then dropped it out.  Eksodus did the same.  Later while talking with Laurie I was petting and snugging with Pstar, her lips toyed with the zipper on my jacket.  Horse lips are so funny!  It was so nice with her in the stall, when she's in the run in shed it's harder to get to her, since because of the design of the door there is also a little electric fence strip.  She's gotten pretty fuzzy too and has that extra poofy hair under her jawline like Divine does.

After saying goodbye to Laurie and the horses I headed home.  My mind wandered to conversations we'd just had about horses and finding that connection with a horse.  Nearly home I started to tear up with the thought that Pstar could be purchased by someone else and I would never see her again.  When I walked into my house the tears started running.  Later when Steve came home I talked with him a seriously about Pstar and he seemed a little hesitant but said he wouldn't stand in my way.  I just don't have the money for her right now, I want to pay off some debt but I do have a small raise coming.  I pondered options that might sound reasonable to Laurie, part ownership or leasing etc.  Steve and I will go over the budget and figure out what we are willing to do.  My debt will still get paid off, just a little more slowly if I have a horse to pay for too.  I haven't felt a connection like this since BC, my favorite lesson horse when I was younger.  Of course I don't want to get ahead of myself, Laurie has said that I'd have to work with Pstar and see if she works well with me and I want to get some idea of how Pstar might act in a new situation or place so I can assess if she'd be a good trail horse.  I know training and positive reinforcement is good and then repetition as I grow in a relationship with her and bring her to new places she'll gain the confidence that it's okay. 

Am I being crazy?  I pay all my bills monthly and on time, I'm not hurting in that sense.  I just want the bills gone, so I wanted to increase the payments on them to get in a better place.  I just don't want to lose Pstar if she's the mare for me...I've felt something in my heart about her for a long time and the scare that someone could sweep in and take her away forever is just heartbreaking to me.  Lots to ponder, some soul searching to do and the practical financial plans to construct....

Loving on Arabs

So it's been a week since I last rode at Laurie's, I rode on October 11th since I missed the Friday because of a painful arm (uge the tetanus shot!).  I could write a lot here about the lesson but the truth be told I can't remember much!  I have to write down at least the points of the lesson right afterwards or else I'm lost when it comes to blogging.  Oh well, you can't write about them all!

Father and Son

I rode Divine and had a few issues but rode her pretty well and Laurie commented that my seat and leg position seemed much stronger after the lessons on the lungeline....SWEET!  After my lesson I watched Ushi's lesson but left after Robin arrived.  I had some errands to run that day and as much as I wanted to stay and play with horses all day long I had to go.

Brownie is cute as ever!

So anyways I've decided to just post some pictures of the horses.  Eksodus and Gadiel were in stalls next to each other.  Gadiel is a magnificent stallion and the father of Eksodus.  They were playing with each other over the doors, Eksodus licking his lips and chewing his teeth in that baby way.  He's a cutie.

Legs

Legacy of Roses was in the barn to so I went to greet him.  I don't quite know what to do around the stallions, they seem nibbly and I would hate to do something I shouldn't and cause an issue. Better to just stay at a distance and admire!

Relax

What an awesome lesson today!  Laurie had me on the lunge line with Divine and we mainly worked on relaxation.  She had me work in the 2 point position while keeping my legs relaxed and not pinching with my knees.  She had Divine transition from walk to trot and back again.  During the beginning I tilted forwards in the 2 point because my legs were indeed gripping but slowly as the lesson progressed my legs began to relax. 

I did sitting trot then 2 point and then sitting trot again, all the time concentrating on my legs and relaxation.  It's amazing how different your seat feels when you are more relaxed.  Your body can truly go with your horse instead of tensing up and flailing about (yeah I never do that! ;-)  )   Later we worked on posting trot with the emphasis on keeping my legs and body relaxed.  Transitions and change in "type" of seat really are times when tension can creep in and ruin a steady seat.  The more relaxed your body is the less likely you are to actually fall.  Makes sense once you are on the horse and feel it!

Hi Brownie, how are you doing?


After the lesson I gave all the mares carrots.  Divine was very excited about the carrots and kept moving Brownie off so I had to go around to the far end of the arena to get Brownie her goodies.  The other mares pretty much took their turns at getting the treats.  Laurie has decided to take Brownie off the market and keep her as a broodmare/riding mount.  She's a sweet mare and apparently a favorite of her kids so it was a good decision.  I'm heartbroken that Pstar is going to be sold, though I understand the reasoning behind Laurie's decision.  I'll just have to soak up the sweet loving personality of Pstar while I can.  Again I'm not in a position where I feel comfortable buying a horse, as I've said in previous posts, otherwise I'd be tempted to purchase her but the price is a little high for what I want to spend on a horse.  Pstar is of excellent breeding and would be an excellent broodmare, something I doubt I'd ever use one of my horses for, so the price is actually cheap for the wonderful mare she is.  I have to keep reminding myself that my horse will come, someday.  I don't want to spend more than $5k.  Granted I may not find a horse with the bloodlines of Laurie's horses and it may end up being a part Arab but that's fine with me, I'm not looking for a breeding prospect or a champion show horse just someone to love and with whom I can share the trail ride of life.

Anyways, I wandered over to Laurie and Eksodus.  Laurie was scratching his withers area and he was in seventh heaven.  Eksodus leaned into the scratch and arched his neck in complete happiness.  I worked on his rear end and he seemed to like that.  He's a beautiful boy, so elegant and tall at only a year old.  His mane is becoming more flaxen each time I see him.  He's just gorgeous!  Again....my horse will come...I have to keep reminding myself. 

What a relaxing day.  It started with a lesson that felt almost like a yoga session and ended with my husband and I getting nice hour long massages....can't find anything to complain about that!

No Stirrups!! Ack!

Running late for my lesson I was doubly happy that Ushi was riding before me.  As I approached the stable I saw Ushi riding Divine.  Once her lesson was done I joined her and Laurie in the ring.  Divine got a nice rest as we all talked.  Ushi stayed to watch my lesson, I always like watching other peoples lessons, you can learn a lot, so I never mind having her watch mine. 

Brownie- looking cute with Legs in the background

My lesson was all on the lungeline as Laurie was going to have me work on the posting trot.  I know it's a common problem, I've seen it in magazines and at shows but often a rider will turn their leg outwards while posting.  So we worked on the proper position for my legs and the proper movement of my hips as I moved up and down in rythm to the Divines trot.  Then she had me work on sitting trot without the stirrups.  Oh the torture!  LOL.  It really wasn't too bad and actually is quite helpful to get balanced without the stirrups.  In a sense stirrups can be as much a handicap as a helpful tool.

Laurie and Gadiel

Later she had me work on the posting trot without stirrups, now it's been a long time since I've ever done that, talk about Thigh Master!  It was difficult to say the least and my inner thighs were rubbing on the saddle, I was thinking that my new jodphurs were too thin and that was causing the problem.  Laurie insisted that I had tension in my thighs therefore causing rubbing that would not occur if I was relaxed and using my lower legs properly.  I'm still amazed at the vast knowledge she has of how little things in our body can affect our seat and our horse.  She even commented about how much Divine reflected my body.  When I was tensed up she tensed up, once I relaxed she relaxed with her head and neck and the gait became even more smooth.  The lesson ended on a great note with me sitting the trot, still without stirrups and using my seat to bring Divine smoothly into a walk and then a halt.  How awesome that felt when I was in complete sync with her.  Laurie was pretty proud too and made me beam even more!

Divine should be a fly mask model!

After I released Divine back into the arena after her grooming session I loved on Pstar a bit.  Laurie had been talking earlier about a mare she wanted to purchase, potentially, as a second lesson horse but needs to find Eksodus and Mystic Magic (Brownie) a home.  If one of them finds a home she could justify getting the mare.  She seemed pretty smitten.  She also mentioned in passing the difficult decision about selling any of her horses, even Eksodus and Brownie.  It made me really hope that she'd never sell Pstar, I love seeing that mare when I come to the stable.  She's always the first to greet me.  I have no idea how she'd be to ride in the ring or on the trail but her beauty is one that comes from the inside out.  There's just something special about her.  Honestly I think there's something special about all her horses.  I just hope when I get all my ducks in a row and I go horse shopping I can find a mount that's at least half as sweet as her horses!

Gadiel gazing at the beauty of Sala

Silly Horse Lips

I had a fantastic lesson on Divine!  We were very in sync!  I barely had to do much to keep her nice and collected, a few times I had to work her onto the bit but for the most part she just went along perfectly.  Laurie had me work the whole riding ring and ride into the corners of the arena but do a nice arc into the corners without breaking stride.  We were doing pretty good aside from one corner since it was after one long stretch of straight rail, I had my mind on the idea of not wanting to hit the fence with my leg so I was a bit distracted.  Divine and I then crossed the arena in the middle to work on the circle again but this time she ignored my one leg (or I didn't use it hard enough) so we veered left instead of right.

Because of that Laurie had us work on lateral movements, where I was walking Divine forward but turning her head slightly left and pressing with my left leg while keeping her collected.  This made her cross over to the right in a lateral pass.  It was a work out for sure!   Not too much else to report except that I felt really great, my hands were doing what they should, and I felt pretty secure in the seat though I lost my stirrups a few times at the trot (still trying to relax into the longer length).  I love it when lessons go like that!

Before the lesson while I was tacking up Divine she was really cute with the baby wipes I use to clean out her nostrils.  Divine kept lifting her upper lip trying to grab a hold of the cloth, it was just too silly!  It really doesn't matter how regal a horse is, their breed or breeding...when they make silly faces like that they are just too cute for words!  I completely forgot to bring a camera with me, I've realized that the pictures I have of Divine are from winter time when she was still pretty fuzzy from the cold.  I need to get some more recent pictures of her!

Another silly horse lip event occurred when I was untacking and grooming Divine after the lesson.  I heard Laurie laughing from outside the barn.  She brought Silk into the barn and cupped her hand on her muzzle.  Psylk wiggled her upper lip from side to side.  I can't explain how funny it was to watch her cute soft muzzle wrinkle up and wiggle back and forth.  Horses can be so ridiculous sometimes!  I can't wait to have one of my own that I can get to know all their idiosyncrasies.  After releasing Divine I went into the arena to love on the mares at their respective pile of hay.  I snuggled Pstar, then Sala, Divine and then Psylky.  Poor Brownie was in the barn since she had a slight fever and a dribble-ridden nose that Laurie was trying to determine the treatment for or I guess whether it warranted a vet visit.  I went back into the barn to grab my purse and gave Brownie a goodbye stroke on her soft neck.  I told her I hoped she felt better soon, having a cold is no fun.  I could have stayed so much longer but I had to meet Steve, my hubby, and some of his colleagues from work.  Sorry no pictures this time but check out Laurie's web page with the new pictures and video she took of Eksodus!  What a beauty!  http://www.quintessentialarabians.com/eksodus.html

Arcs and Wallops

I arrived at Laurie's around 8:30am and got Divine in from the arena.  The boys were in the stalls as I led her into the grooming area.  Eksodus had his head over the stall looking at me, almost pleading to be mine.  After I got Divine hooked up to the cross ties I went over to Eksodus and tried to pet him on the neck, he kept eyeballing me and then moving his muzzle over to nibble me.  I kept saying no, and then went on petting him on his neck until he did it again.  I don't know how to handle young horses, pretty as he is I definitely think he needs someone who knows what they are doing with a young horse.  I grabbed the grooming kit and started working on Divine.  I got her saddle on and then stood for a bit loving on her, I hadn't seen Laurie or her daughters at all this morning.  I wanted to go to the house to see if they were about but I couldn't leave Divine cross-tied and I didn't know the best place to tie her here, plus I'm not too comfortable with the quick release tie.  So, I took Divine up to the front door and rang.  Ashleigh was at the door and said "Oh!" rather surprised and went to get Laurie.  As I walked back to the barn I wondered if I had missed an email or something. 

Once Laurie got to the barn I found out she had thought I wasn't coming since I had a doctor's appointment.  I kind of scratched my head trying to remember my wording in the last email I sent.  I felt so bad but Laurie was very cool about it, we had a good laugh.  I helped bring in the mares by taking in Brownie (aka Mystic Magic).  She's a sweet mare.  I had a bit of difficulty with Divine and the bridle but I think I was a little nervous with everyone moving about the barn, kind of like when I'm typing and someone comes up to my desk I can't seem to type without multiple typos!  It's one of those things I guess!

I honestly don't know what to write for my lesson on Divine this past Friday.  Things started well enough, she was responding to my aids and doing what I asked.  Then it seemed toward the last third of the lesson she began drifting out to the gate or the railing, out of my circle again.  I tried to remember the proper aids but old habits die hard.  I kept lifting the outer rein and pulling the inner rein too much.  A couple times Laurie told me to smack her on the side with my leg, I tried but Laurie said if I was doing it hard enough to correct Divine she should be able to hear it.  She stated that often times she drops the stirrup to get a good swing.  So next time, I tried that and what a wallop of a sound!  I was pretty satisfied with myself, Laurie has been trying to get me to be more bossy, so the mare doesn't get bossy.  I haven't used my leg to the extent I did today and now that I know how it works I can do that again if I need to.  Eventually I got Divine to listen to me and do what I asked, I just wish the first part of the lesson could have continued on without the difficulty.  My problem is that I don't correct hard enough when problems are small, I think I'm trying to correct but I don't think I'm doing it strong enough and Divine takes advantage, she wants to be boss. 

Silly Psylk muzzle from when I was trying to get a picture of Pstar's hooves, you can only see Pstar's chest here. Those two mares are so silly!

Laurie had me to do some counter arcs with Divine.  For those that don't know, I being in that group of not knowing, a counter arch is when a horse is circling to the right lets say, but their body arcs to the left.  It helps in flexibility and leg yielding, anyone correct me if I'm wrong or fill me in on the technique if you will.  I was having some issues with it but eventually succeeded.  Laurie got on Divine after my lesson to do some training on her since she felt she wasn't quite up to par with that technique which might have been some of the problem.  I stayed for a little but had to leave since I did have a doc appointment to get ready for in a couple hours.  I said goodbye to Psylk and Pstar, and headed home....I definitely missed staying for a bit to love on the horses for more than just a farewell pat.  Oh well some days other priorities take place over horsing around but I think next Friday I should be able to stay longer and love on them to my complete content.  I'd love to take some pictures of the horses with my Canon SLR camera, particularly the horses she's trying to find a home for.  She said she got some video of Eksodus this past week, that would be neat to see, I'll have to check out the webpage!

Zoolander and Riding horses....I Can't Turn Left!

My lesson on Divine was very frustrating. I was doing figure eights with her and things seemed to be going fine. Then she started drifting out of the circle when I turned left and went towards the gate. I could not figure out what I was doing that was causing this. Laurie said I was using my inside leg which was pushing her out, then too much inside rein and lifting of the outside rein making her essentially side step out of the circle. I applied my outside leg but to no avail. After awhile Divine seemed to be testing me, doing what she was before but with fewer incorrect aids from me; this was after I was corrected and worked through with Laurie, also after getting a crop in hand which I still don’t think fast enough to use as a correction. I just can’t seem to feel that I have my inside leg on her, I don’t realize it and yet I start all these problems with Divine.

Laurie sidetracked us to teach me the “turn on the tail” whereby you pull one of the reins through your hand, loosening the other and press with the same leg thus causing the horse to essentially spin on their hunches to get them to go in the direction you require. This is a good maneuver for troubled situations, like a galloping horse approaching a cliff at 12 o' clock, turn on the tail, now the horse is still galloping but not headed for danger. I didn’t release the opposite rein as much as I should have and just ended up making Divine go in tight circles, at least it accomplished her not going in the direction I didn’t want her to go! Once we played around with that and I got the hang of it a bit we went back to circling left. Divine was still going out towards the gate, I don’t know if it was her being a pain or my leg work, I tried to keep my inside leg off her. I was getting really frustrated because I felt like I didn’t have any control over my own legs and thus my horse. We eventually made it around the circle turning left with minimal issues but I still felt like I didn’t accomplish much. I can’t really feel that I’m giving aids I’m not intending and thus causing Divine this confusion. Eventually it will work out, I have to keep telling myself that.

After the ride I groomed Divine, hugged her and released her to the arena; then I went to love on the other mares. Pstar is my favorite, her sweet personality is charismatic. She was in the larger outdoor run with Psylk.  Those two together are the cutest pair of curious equine muzzles ever! The two seemed to be “fighting” over who got to stand closest to my stroking hand. Pstar would bump Psylk out of the way to get love but around Pstar’s back end, into the crevice between Pstar and the gate came Psylk. Then it was Pstar's turn to do a round-about and push Psylk out of the way. They were too cute! I was ready to take one or both of them in my pocket and take them home! Laurie wouldn’t notice would she?

The dreamy boy Eksodus

I started talking with Laurie about horses and owners etc. We got on the topic of Eksodus, the yearling colt I find so beautiful. She really needs to find him a home, along with Mystic Magic and Eksmisha. She suggested payments for me to buy Eksodus and a really good deal on boarding him there. It made me think about the possibility of buying him. I’d certainly have to get to know him better, I only really pet him through the fencing and that makes it hard to prevent his little mouth from nibbling on me. I asked her several questions about keeping a young horse. After keeping her for so long I headed home, the ride home was filled with visions of jogging with the colt, taking him on camping trips and leading him on trails to get him used to new places…..of course I’d need a truck and trailer to do that. Then I thought about my debt. I pay $700 in debt each month, this isn’t counting my mortgage. It just counts student loans, grad and undergrad, my car, credit card, other loans etc. Sure, I’m taking home more money now with my new job but the smart thing is to take that extra money and work a debt snowball and pay off as much as I can. In about a year and a half I could pay off all but my student loans, be able to increase payments on those and still have money to save and then eventually keep a horse on. The prospect of owning Eksodus has many pluses. He has great breeding, I know his background and he is a very excellent prospect for endurance. On the downside I wouldn’t be able to ride him for 2-3 years, I’d be paying to maintain a horse that I couldn’t really use. I wouldn’t be able to lease a riding horse if I owned one so my riding time would be cut down by half…but I’d own a horse. My ability to get out from under my heap of debt would be reduced since I would be paying for horse care. I also would be hard pressed to save up for a truck and trailer to haul him to all the places I’d want to. I would be pretty stuck I think.

 

But, honestly the prospect got me really excited since I saw that I could afford it in a round about way. In another, realistically, if I’m still in debt, even if I’m able to pay all the minimums, and pay for a horse I still really can’t afford it, not with the debt over my head (Dave Ramsey!). I have to be responsible. The sooner I’m free of debt the more free I’ll be with my money. I’ll be able to pay for a horse and not stress and also have more money to put into retirement and of course fun things like vacations. It’s just not in the cards right now, even with the extra income. I have to be smart, pay my dues first, so to speak, before I can have play money.

In a couple years I will be in the position to buy a horse and that day will be grand. I would love to help Laurie and buy one of her horses, I just can’t right now. I doubt she’d part with Pstar or Psylk, she has breeding plans for those mares. Eksodus will have hopefully already found a great home. My horse is somewhere, I’m guessing between 2-4 years old right now, since I’ll want to purchase a 4-6 year old in a couple years. Either way, I can’t wait to offer a forever home to a beautiful mare or gelding. Now it’s time to buckle down and put my hard earned cash to work, freeing my income to make the financial side of horse ownership stress-free.

Running Stallions and Falling Frogs

I arrived at Laurie’s for my lesson, half an hour early to groom and tack up Divine. As I got out of my car Laurie was leading Eksodus to his round pen. I haven't pet him lately at her request since he's been getting nippy, her daughters aren't doing much with him either. Since he's been a bit ornery lately Laurie wanted to work with him. As she approached I asked if I could pet him and she said on the neck so I did. He was very soft and it was nice not having to evade his curious lips. I met Laurie's mom who was visiting as well.

As I walked towards the barn her mother was walking over to Gadiel's paddock, and for good reason. Gadiel had his tail up like a flag and was galloping full out in circles around his pasture. He looked like the wind with his mane flying, his head tossing and his ears pricked forward in pure delight. We stood and watched him a quite a while, the sound of the rhythmic hoof beats were exhilarating and calming at the same time! Legs was getting a little upset that Gadiel was getting all our attention so he started running in small circles near the gate of his pasture. He threw his head and kicked out his heels. He was so cute and beautiful! Then Eksodus seemed to join in on the attention getting show and ran in circles around his round pen, his flaxen mane sparkling in the sun and his red coat gleaming. Even though he's not as big and strong as the older stallions he was quite a sight to behold!

Finally I drifted back from fantasies of Arabian horses running free through the Saudi Desert and fetched Divine to begin tacking up. She was quite fidgety today, mostly excited from the sound of pounding hooves I assumed. I curried and brushed her, ridding her of dusty hay and bedding pieces....someone must have rolled on the ground for fun! I started picking out her hooves which were very packed with red clay/mud. I alerted Laurie to some chips of her outer hoof wall that were coming off. She stated she needed to get the farrier out this week. Then while picking one of her front hooves a big chunk of what seemed like frog dropped to the ground. The frog is the cushy part of the hoof. Anyhow the chunk fell off and I freaked out! Was Divine okay? I called Laurie over and she didn’t seem very worried. She said since Colorado is so dry their hooves react more when it actually rains. The frog normally gets trimmed by the farrier so what fell off was the “dead” part, kind of like our finger nail cuticles. I was relieved! I still have a lot to learn about horse health and care, so I tend to worry about a lot of little things, I guess that will subside as I get used to what's a problem and what's not as far as horse ailments go. I know there are some good texts out there that get really detailed and hopefully have pictures of diseases so you know what thrush looks like for example.  I'm glad Laurie is a good teacher of this subject too!

Anyhow I had a good ride on Divine and did a lot of leg work on the lunge line, ouch I'm sore. I love lessons with Laurie, she has a lot of patience and finds my weaknesses and helps me work on them. Trainers like that are worth so much to a rider like me! Well I guess that’s it for now. Happy riding!

Boss Mare

I had my riding lesson on Saturday this weekend since Friday I woke up with a horrible headache, great idea to go to Rock Bottom Liz! LOL. Divine had been ridden a couple of times that day so she was pretty calm for grooming and tacking up. I don’t want to say she isn’t “calm” she just moves a little bit and occasionally paws with her front legs, mainly because she wants to get going. Bridling was slow again as per her usually way but I think I’ve found that my thumb is too short to be effective at getting her mouth open, if I use my pointer finger it can go in her mouth deeper and she’s more inclined to open. I’ll have to try that first the next time I bridle her and see if that is the trick.

Psylk Noir

The lesson tired me out today; I was working on sitting trot and circling, again, and trying to sit straight. Things went pretty well but towards the end I was getting tired trying to squeeze my legs and keep her going, and collected. She was getting tired I think so kept trying to get back to the walk….it was a lose, lose, situation so we ended with just a few nice circles at the walk.

After my lesson I talked with Laurie for a while about horse names and renaming horses. Some horses have an odd name that I couldn’t imagine keeping (Hey Girlfriend, Strike a Pose, Special Forces, to name a few!)  I wondered about how one could change a name, whether you have to do it officially or not. It was interesting.  Laurie mentioned that most horses have a barn name anyways so I guess unless it was a terrible name the registry could keep whatever name the horse already had and you could "name" your horse whatever you desired.  There is just something special about naming your own horse!  After I groomed Divine and let her back out into the arena with the other mares I spent some time trying to give carrots to all of them.

Sala, the boss mare

Sala is the boss mare in the herd. She got most of the carrots and prevented me from giving some to the other horses. Pstar got a few, so did Divine but I wasn’t able to coax Brownie (Mystic Magic) or Psylk to come over for a carrot. I felt bad about that. Psylk is a very pretty black mare, she’s about two and since I’ve been riding there has gone through the odd growth spurts that make any “teenager” look awkward. I’m sure my colt friend Eksodus will go through some more; he’s only a yearling but still is very stunning in his looks. I spent a little time with him, giving him some carrots, stroking his neck, smacking his nose when he tried to nibble….seems he does that a lot and Laurie has told me to smack him and then praise him when he lets me pet him without any nipping. He’s not being mean, he’s just a mouthy baby and an orphan as well, and apparently that makes them even mouthier. He’s still a beauty to behold. Honestly all the horses are quite pretty and loveable. Not much else to report….love horses and can’t wait to have my very own!

Riding Like a Pretzel

Today I had my lesson, we moved it up to 9am since it's getting warmer and 10am might be just a bit too hot.  Divine was in the arena turned out with her daughter Pstar, another mare named Psylk and Sala.  The mares are always really friendly when I walk in to get Divine.  Pstar is my favorite mare, I love Divine but Pstar always seems to come up to me and give me hugs and nuzzles.  I approached Divine talking to her softly but just then all the mares bolted off from what, I have no idea.  So I followed Divine to the other side of the arena, looped the lead rope around her neck and secured her halter.  I walked her to the stable to get her groomed and tacked up.  Nothing to exciting there, the process of grooming essentially is moving some of the dirt on the horse to the rider so they become a matching pair.  Hahaha!  The only troubles I had with Divine again were bridling and then her moving her front legs as I tried to wrap the polo wrap around her feet.  The near leg, which is the same as port side on a boat, was no problem, the far leg, starboard, she kept moving about as I worked.  After the third try I finally got her to stay still.  She's often fidgety to tack up but even more so when the stallions are being moved from the barn to the fields and the mares are being brought in from the arena so I can ride!

I worked on circles with Divine today.  Circles sound easy but they aren't.  Maintaining the perfect arc in the horse, and completing a circle that is not oval, a modified square or some type of egg shape can be challenging.  We also did figure eights.  Apparently as I was riding I felt like I was leaning right, into the turn but instead I was leaning left while using my left leg to push Divine into the circle and prevent her from dropping her shoulder.  Pressing with your left leg and not leaning towards the left is a bit difficult.  Same thing the other way just different sides.  I felt like a pretzel as Laurie told me to lean onto my inside seat bone as I pressed with the other leg to keep my seat "straight".  I couldn't understand why I felt I was leaning one way and yet she said I was leaning the other!  My seat leaned left but my upper body was leaning right....oh the poor horsey was confused!  But we got it all straightened out, literally and the lesson progressed.  I felt accomplished afterwards. 

Pstar and Eksodus

After I untacked and groomed Divine I released her into the arena with her carrot reward and went to love on the other horses.  Pstar is my favorite mare....did I say that already?  She has a beautiful head and a very sweet personality.  Eksodus is a yearling colt that Laurie is selling; I wish I could buy him but it would be a few years before I could ride him, so even if I could I probably wouldn't.  He's a sweet little boy, his neck is very graceful and archy.  His face and head are refined with a great sense of intelligence and playfulness in his eyes.  He was in the round pen as I left the stable.  I always have to give him a couple carrots and give him a few pats.  He's a gorgeous chestnut, my favorite horse color!  Oh to be so lucky to have acreage and several horses on it to love and ride any day you wanted to!  At least I get to come and enjoy these horses once a week!