Christmas Family Visits

WOW it's been busy around here!  We've been chugging along getting fully organized in the house and then the holidays arrived!  We had Steve's parents here for about 3 weeks and his daughter Cierra for just over 1 week.  Cierra is 20 years old, almost 21....she's counting the days and goes to school at Salisbury University in Maryland.  She took some riding lessons in high school and simply loves animals.  We were pleased that we had some nice weather finally during her visit where we could ride.  We've received non stop rainy days for several weeks.

These pictures are all from Cierra's phone either taken by her or my hubby Steve.  We started out grooming the two horses and getting them tacked up.  Steve and I hopped on first to get a feel for how the horses were.  It'd been a while since we've worked them or ridden due to weather so we wanted to see how they were feeling.  Steve rode Chance for the first time and was doing quite well.  Chance seemed to follow Dani around mainly, we rode in The Shire.  A couple times I circled her around and Steve seemed to do well with directing Chance.

Then Steve had some issues getting Chance to listen to him and what Steve says is that he sped up or kicked out or something like that.  I was in front and didn't see anything but Chance going one way and Steve going the other with the saddle spinning to one side of the gelding.  Luckily the ground was soft and Steve also wears a helmet so he wasn't hurt.  I dismounted and gave him Dani's reins.  I think Chance maybe had some beans pent up from the rain and lack of exercise lately.  I worked him from the ground and told Steve and Cierra that Dani would be fine to ride.  I think Steve rode her some but I know Cierra did and had a pretty good time from what I could tell.

I needed to have a good note to end on with the pony boy, he certainly was worked up a bit and when mildly asked to trot in a circle we was kicking up his heels and snorting a storm.  The soft ground at one point seemed to slip from under him and he actually fell on his side!!!!  Oh my goodness my heart nearly stopped!  I took nearly all pressure off him to see if he would just walk in the circle and he did with no indication of any leg issues.  I brought him into the smaller riding pen to work him in there so we wouldn't add more area that is torn up.  I have so much I need to do with this property to include getting a safe lunging area completed.  I didn't ask for anything more than a trot but the silly boy cantered at times and spun when asked to change directions or simply snorted and bucked on the line.  A couple times I reprimanded him for the bucks.  I knew he just had pent up energy and we haven't had much of a chance to work with him but I didn't want him to get so worked up he hurt himself.

Cierra on Dani enjoying a nice ride.  They look so cute together!

While Cierra and Steve played around with Dani I continued working with Chance to get him to use the thinking side of his brain.  He finally got to a better place so I asked Steve to come lead him around with me on top.  I was scared for sure but I breathed deeply and mounted up.  We walked around in a couple circles and then when I felt more confident I asked Steve to step back.  Chance was still a little hesitant to walk on-wards with me on top, it felt like I was doing most of the work to get him walking instead of just asking and him going at a steady pace.  I've had horses that wouldn't move under saddle and I know I just need to work with him; ground work and in the saddle.  The balking has a tendency to make me more tense and thus perpetuates the cycle and then the horse responds with either more balking or running off.  I'm okay with the former at this time but I need to find a place where I can mount up and be comfortable with Chance and he with me.  We'll get there.  This exercise just showed me that he's not really what I'd label a cold backed horse but he's not a horse like Dani that can sit in the pasture for several weeks and then go for a ride with few issues.  He has a more active mind and Steve and I have to learn how to work with him.  

Doesn't my step daughter have a nice natural seat??

Since then Steve and I went out in the neighborhood, me astride Dani and him leading Chance.  It's best to work from the ground up.  Steve did well and so did Chance.  I'll post about that later.  At least over the Christmas holiday ride no one was injured and I think there was some quality father/daughter time though not the quiet trail ride together for which I was hoping.

Hot to Trot

I've done very little trotting with Dani, honestly it's been really hard to get to the point of feeling like I could trot her.  I've done some trots in the round pen, then short spurts in the arena but never much concentration on it.  Each time I've tried it's a little freaky.  She tosses her head and goes into her trot....which is pretty big (or at least feels that way).  I don't know if it's fast, short-strided or what but it's gonna take some getting used to.  She's also squirrel-y to steer at the trot, but that's probably my fault.  She's sensitive and doesn't require much to steer her, I'm tense with the trot so I probably cue her too much...hence the squirrel-y feel.

Yesterday I was riding in the north arena.  This one has a little grand stand to the west for viewers to sit during gymkhanas or other activities.  When we first got into the arena I longed her to get her in the right frame of mind...she's really good at realizing it's time to work and to soften rather quickly.  An owl flew out of the stands and off to a field.  Dani glanced but didn't seem too worried.  I was distracted and kept glancing to watch him fly off.  

Finally we were done with our warm up and I was ready to mount up.  I tightened the cinch one last time (been using the western saddle a lot lately).  Dani hasn't been ridden in about 2 weeks I would guess.  I tried to Sunday but had a hoof chip issue that scared me to my hubby and I forfeit that idea until the farrier could come and take a look at it.  Dani was a bit fussy about mounting, doing her backing and/or moving her hindquarters but a swift pull on the reins and a whoa seemed to suffice.

I started by walking her around the arena perimeter and discovered she was just a tad worried about the grandstand.  So we walked past that many times, where she was really worried I turned her in small circles each way, yielded her hindquarters etc.  Then in a couple more passes she had no issue with it at all.  The issue I'm talking about is just a hard stare and snort...no spooking, but I want to prevent that if I can.

After walking around a bit, doing some flexing I decided to trot.  The first attempt she turned quickly due to a panicky aid I must have applied.  Further on we tried again, and I tried my best to keep my reins calm.  I had my hand on the horn at first (gotta love western saddles) but eventually was riding free with light contact.  

We did short spurts of trot at each end of the arena, each time felt a little better but each time the shift into trot started with a head toss.  I think I'll be able to work on this on the ground this winter.  Since it will get dark soon my ability to work her during the week will be limited but my plan is to get one of those light stands people use when painting their house.  It will give us enough light for ground work, not sure I'll feel safe enough for riding so I'll be limited to weekends for under-saddle stuff.  Anyways I felt accomplished.

I've been scared to death of speed and have needed time to build a solid relationship and foundation with Dani.  It's been almost a year of being owned by her, so it seems silly to some that I haven't done much trotting but honestly I haven't been ready yet.  I've been so scared since those falls I had before buying her, the fear is deep and I've slowly been working on it.  It'd rather take the time and work on fundamentals, concentrating on my seat and hands, getting her softer etc.  We have a ways to go but I feel that the trot will continue to improve on both our parts.  What a good little mare she was, she could easily have gotten upset at my tension but she just trekked on and was still her sweet self after the ride.  I love her.

Thanks for the Adventure, 2012!!

I wanted to do a year end review sooner but my busy end of the year overlapped into the beginning of this new year, so here I am January 8th, 2013 looking back at my horsie year. I have to say that all in all it was a good year! I mean come on! I finally got a pony!

January

I began the year frustrated with schedules and not feeling like I had enough time to see horses (I think that’s still an issue at times!). Nothing was able to be done really, my instructor had time constraints and that just didn’t mesh with my time availability. It happens. I filled my time with new horse magazines and enjoyed a fire horse museum at a meeting location for my work.

February

I fell in love with Vantage Point Farms, it became my top choice for boarding facilities. It had a nice outdoor arena, no fence, nice indoor, large paddock for geldings, and good sized paddocks for mares with run in sheds. No round pen but there was easy access to trails right off the property.

March

Quinntessential Arabians had a client get together where we made horse treats and talked about….uh, horses! Uschi tried to play match maker and have me buy the cute chestnut mare of Amy’s. I wasn’t in a position to buy but found it fun to dream.

Steve and I attended the Rocky Mountain horse Expo in Denver. We really enjoyed Julie Goodnight! I also posted an article by a gal from Tampa that wrote in her local paper about being 40 when she got her first horse. I can relate! Then during a lesson Divine reached around after I dismounted and got the stirrup caught in her mouth!! Crazy! I went to another instructor and rode a really big Arabian named Ramses. I liked the lesson but just didn’t feel we clicked. I wasn’t sure what direction I was going with horses at the time.

 

 April

This month I did some canter work with Divine and felt I made a few good steps forward! On a sad note a couple mares, Gretchen and Cleo at Fawor Foundation Arabian Rescue, whom I had wanted to meet for so long were adopted. I never got the chance to meet them but glad they found homes.

July

In late June and early July I was consumed with my job 24/7 for two weeks. We were dealing with the Waldo Canyon Fire here and I was activated in the Emergency Operations Centers. It was a busy time! Later that month I saw Esprit, while she was a beautiful little mare she wasn’t the right horse for me. Then I left with hubby to Cancun!!

August

I began my horse shopping in earnest! My first horse was a skinny Arab named Khan. I ended up calling the humane society and apparently he was already a case. So sad, I wished I could have taken him to a better home but hopefully he will be taken care of.

I viewed Whispering Winds Farm and placed it at the top of my list. I loved the large fields for my future horse!

August had some traumatic instances for me. I had three falls. First one was riding Divine and my foot got caught in the railing, Divine spooked and I went overboard. The next one was really horrible; I tried out a horse for purchase, Desperados Storm. He spooked under a tree and raced into the barn; I went flying into a stall door and landed hard on my rear on a cinder block or something in the aisle way. Ouch. Needless to say I didn’t buy him. Then I wanted a calm lesson on Divine, we were walking around the arena, we got to close to the wall post (the railings had since been taken down). I tensed and sort of freaked having my knee up to the post again, not sure how I guided Divine that direction. She spooked at my tenseness and trotted off and since I was so freaked out I ended up on the ground again. I fell REALLY hard and knocked the wind out of me. Never have done that before and it was SCARY!!!

September

I went to Kenlyn to check out two mares. Linda was very kind to me and I explained by recent falls and subsequent lack of confidence. The first mare I tried started to move off and I panicked a little. Linda jumped off her horse and grabbed the mare and had me get off and mount the other. She made me feel okay for being fearful and let me try out the other horse at my own pace. I was grateful to her kindness and understanding. The mares were fabulous but not for me.

Then I met Heidi the cute as a button, neighs when you dismount, Haflinger mare. She was too short and I looked ridiculous on her otherwise I would have probably taken her home! Next I met Brio a dark bay Arab and really liked him. I wasn’t entirely sure but he had potential. He got sick with a cough before Laurie could evaluate him....

Of course I ended up going to see a chestnut Morgan mare and there was just something about her, she was the one, I knew it. I liked her attitude her mannerisms and felt she was very kind and forgiving but not a push over. I made an offer and began setting up veterinary exams and had my trainer come out. This little mare had something special about her!

October

Vet exams went well and Dani moved to her new home, after training with Laurie for loading on the trailer. Dani has issues with trailers so I knew it would be an ongoing thing to train her but I felt she was worth that effort. The beginning weeks I worked with Dani on grooming, standing while tied and facing her fears of the wash rack which is much like an enclosed trailer. She even encountered a flapping flag and a Bobcat hauling huge hay bales quickly and loudly down the aisle of the barn! She seemed easy to teach and began looking to me for guidance. Laurie also hosted a “clinic” with a couple of us students, I don’t think I posted about it but it was a great clinic talking about communication and trying to be positive but not looking through “rose colored glasses” when it comes to working with horses. The three students each rode Divine through some simple exercises and while I was VERY fearful to get back on her I knew the fear was a bit exaggerated. The support from Laurie and the other riders during this clinic was awesome!

Dani got injured the night before I left to see my newborn nephew. Her left hind swelled up and the vet came out. She was bandaged for a couple weeks and stall bound. I couldn’t even do groundwork until the week of Thanksgiving!

November

Dani healed and when finally able to be back in her paddock raced off with tail high! I worked on getting her used to the indoor arena that was pretty scary and new to her. I also was selling items at home to start my saddle fund since I didn’t have one to fit her. Dani had her teeth floated (and man she needed it!) and her hooves trimmed for the first time under my ownership. The time change and then the beginning of friend and family visits reduced my time to spend with Dani. This is the reason she is on pasture 100%, I know she’s happy and content even if I can’t get out to visit her. I finally did buy a saddle and worked on finding the right girth and then found out my one bridle was way too big! LOL. And so it goes!

December

I did finally get the tack situated and rode Dani for the first time since I bought her. The ride went well for the most part and wasn’t complicated. Serpentines and changes of direction to calm me down and work Dani’s mind a bit. I got my cowboy hat that I love wearing, keeps my hair out of my face when not wearing a helmet and it looks cute! I also dealt with snowballs forming on Dani’s unshod feet and my hubby finally replaced his car that died in July with a nice GMC Sierra 2500!! The trucks name is Buddy and he should be a good trailer hauler! Most of December we had Steve’s parents back again in our house so it was fun to spend time with them, Cierra Steve’s daughter came for a week at Christmas. Dani got hurt again; her blanket butt bungee snapped and cut her leg. Another vet bill and some antibiotics for a few days, I got really good at giving her the pills turned to paste. At least this time the injury didn’t require too much maintenance. With lack of time and the injury I really couldn’t do much with Dani so I just visited her when I could to groom and hug her then it was off to family fun!

So....

This year was a whirlwind towards the end. I dove into the deep end of the pool of horse ownership and have loved every minute! I look forward to spending more time with Dani and getting a little closer to our goals of riding trails together. I’m so happy to have met Dani and that she’s my first horse, she’s a great first horse, challenging but not too challenging and cuteness galore!! Happy belated New Year!!

Move Those Feet...Just a Little.

Yes! Finally a weekend with nothing scheduled and nice weather! It was 40-50 this weekend and the snow was melting….for now, we’ll get more the end of this week, uge. This weekend I wanted to start some Clinton Anderson round pen exercises.

The round pen had drifts of snow in it when I arrived. I grabbed a shovel and started to see how deep it was but decided that perhaps doing the indoor arena jump set up would work. I took about 30 minutes to get 6 jumps set up in a corner of the indoor arena. I was mostly a circle…. A couple riders asked me what I was doing, cocking their heads in curiosity. Once I explained it made sense to them.

I went out to get Dani. We approached the “round pen” and I let her sniff it as I walked her around a couple times. Then I released her and asked her to trot. Attitude!!! She reared up away from me at the fence line and then went around a few times and tried to change directions which I corrected. Then she looked downwards trying to climb under the jump. This she could have easily done since you know that jump cross bars are only held with cups and meant to fall down easily. After a couple times of her trying that I decided this just wasn’t going to work. How could I fully apply the pressure I need to get her moving if she could easily escape through the jump and perhaps run loose in the arena, interrupting the lesson happening on the other side.

Uge. I grabbed her and tied her up to the fence and began taking down the “fences”. What a pain. I decided to go back out to the round pen outside and see what I could do. Dani explored the pen while I began shoveling snow out of the area. There was no hard ice at least so I felt it would be safe at least at the trot. When I finally finished, I want to say about 1 hour to 1.5 hours since I first arrived at the farm to do this, I was finally able to start working Dani. Point, cluck and spank to get her in the right direction. At first Dani needed more incentive to trot where I was pointing, the spanking of the stick and string on the ground behind her was enough to get her to know where to go.

 

 

After she went around a couple times I stepped out in front of her drive line and stepped backwards to get her to turn into me.  A couple times I went flying because that darn step in the middle of the round pen!! On a side note someone here trains their horse to stand on the step and it's really heavy, needs the bobcat to move it so it stays, I've asked and really don't want them to have to move it if I can work around it.  I just have to learn to work around it and pay attention to where it is behind me!  I fell twice, landed pretty hard on my butt and one time my feet went up in the air as a car was driving past the pen.  Oh how embarrassing!!!

Anyways, Dani did well when turning into her left side (despite her owner flipping over the darn step!) and then moving off clockwise but she had issues with her right side. When she was going clockwise and I stepped and backed up she ignored me so I ended up walking a ways around the fence line to her, applying pressure near her shoulder to get her to turn. I can’t say that ears didn’t get pinned and hind legs didn’t kick out at times…she is feisty and not happy being told what to do and will certainly let you know! I think she is one of the higher ranking mares in the paddock by her behavior, so she's got a bit of spunk. I just kept moving her feet when any disrespect was given. It will be a process.

 We continued for a time, she never fully turned in on her right side but we both needed a break and I wanted to yield her hindquarters and have her follow me in arcs. A++ on that! We came to a stopping point, I made sure she had her rests on her difficult side to help encourage her to do what I wanted.

When we were finally done, I hosed off her legs since they were very muddy. She had worked up a sweat too so walking her to cool her down was part of our post round pen activities. All in all I think she did well for the first time.

The next day the round pen was even less snowy so Dani and I went directly out there. I kept having issues with her right side turning, I may have to use the “insurance plan” of a halter and long line to SHOW her what I want since it doesn’t seem to be clicking. I have to work more on that side. I’ve tried getting really close then doing the backing away to draw her inwards to turn. I’ve hustled her, stepped and backed up and then when she ignored me went back to chasing her hip like in the instructions and tried again. It will just take time and consistency, and the long line may help.

Still all in all, it feels good to start this program and feel like I have steps I can take towards a final goal.  I’m not sure what I can do this week because of how dark it gets once I'm off work but honestly if I need to use the halter and lead I can do this exercise in the indoor arena sans round pen.  I also don’t want to have a lot of concentrated effort on her running around the pen for several reasons, right now the footing isn’t the best and she's kind of a pasture puff right now.  She needs to get in better shape before I demand too much from her physically.

Yesterday I only swung by the barn to check on her legs, no swelling or heat she seems to be holding up well.  The awesome thing was Dani walked away from her hay and came up to me!  She’s never done that!  Usually she looks at me and goes back to eating, she doesn’t have an issue with me walking up to her or catching her but she’s never left her food for me!  Perhaps she thought I had a treat or perhaps she is starting to realize I’m her mom and the boss mare.  Either way I scratched her and loved on her so much!!  I know this hard and slow work will pay off!

Shattered confidence

I write this blog with a heavy heart.  My love is horses and the past couple months have created instances that have made me question whether horses make sense in my life.  But rest assured those thoughts were fleating, I cannot so easily turn my back on horses.  If I ever get fearful enough I can just stay on the ground, buy a mini or just do driving instead of riding.  Lost of options but I'm not near that now.

In late June I rode Divine and had quite a nice lesson that ended on a horrific scary note.  We were riding a nice cadenced trot down the main side of the arena when I think my right foot fell out of my stirrup bumped her and she shied, either that or she shied and my foot fell out.  It all happened so fast.  The left foot got pushed into the railing on the side of indoor and got caught.  I think Divine spun as I pulled on the reins in panic at having my fear of the railing come to fruition and then I landed hip and head into the sand.  Ouch.  I was dizzy and really shaky.  My right hip still has some pain even now, I had whiplash for weeks and I still have a bump below my ankle bone. 

Well after this incident I did not get another chance to ride.  The Waldo Canyon Fire in Colorado Springs broke out and my Emergency Preparedness Team for Public Health was activated in the emergency operations center.  After the 2 weeks or so of constant running I left for a week for a conference in L.A.  Then I came back and left with my husband for a vacation in Cancun!  Divine is always overly sensitive in my opinion, if the stirrup did indeed bump her and cause her to shy into the fence then that's just par for the course.  I'm overly sensitive too, and react in a way that just aggravates the situation.  I see all these clinicians that desensitize horses, how about desensitizing humans so we stay calm when a horse shies or moves suddenly.

Last week I rode a horse for a trial, Desparados Storm.  He seemed sweet and the owner rode him around a bit.   Then we put the saddle on him for me to ride.  I walked him in a small circle in the driveway area of the property, when we approached an overhanging tree Storm started and then raced off towards the barn.  Only one door was open and I was afraid I would be scraped off.  We made it into the barn with all its junk and pieces lying about in the aisle.  Storm stopped and turned left quickly and I flew into the side of the stall door.  There was a tree stump, some bricks, other machinery....thank goodness no circular saw!  I hit the stall door hard and scraped my back along the bolt.  Not sure what I landed on but the aisleway was hard even though it was dirt.  Below is the picture of my rear, a cutout of course.  The largest part is about 7.5 inches across!

Just this Saturday I had arranged to have a lesson on Divine, I told Laurie I wanted to stay at the walk.  That sounded perfectly fine.  I arrived a few minutes early and watched Megan on Divine.  As Divine trotted by the entrance in which I was standing she shied away.  Crap.  What the?  Then Megan worked on the canter with Divine and she raced around the arena.  Laurie kept telling Megan to sit back and relax, it took Divine a while to finally canter nicely.

Next I got on and we did sepertines and some leg yielding at the walk.  One time we got near the wall and I was frustrated why do I always end up putting Divine into the wall (it no longer has the fencing since Laurie removed all that after my accident, but there are still the posts that hold up the roofing).  We went around a few more times changing which way I leg yielded her down the center of the arena. 

We then turned right and headed to the wall.  This time my knee was right at that post, like it had gravitated to it!  I pulled my leg up a bit and reached my hand out to the post to brace...that's when Divine lurched to the right away from the wall and bolted (actually I'm told she only trotted but when you are unsteady and freaked out does it really mater?) off 20 feet with me flailing about trying to control any of my movements and failing terribly.  I ended up flying off the far side of the horse, the left stirrup lay across the saddle when I finally saw it again.  I hit the ground with a big grunt and then, I couldn't breathe. I have never had the wind knocked out of me before but it is a very scary thing.  You make such a horrible sound of grunting and groaning as you are trying to get your temporarily paralyzed diaphragm to work.  My eyes must have been wide as saucers as I stared at the ceiling and I vaguely remember seeing Laurie above me telling me to look at her. I'd hit my right hip, same one I'd fallen back in June but the shock of the fall hurt my whole pelvis since only three days before I'd fallen hard on the other side while falling from Storm.  I eventually came to and was able to breathe, my ribcage hurt my hips and pelvis hurt. 

 I started crying in frustration, why does this keep happening?  I was ready to give up completely and wished for the days of easy riding with Willy.  Divine has always been hard and my fears have become more apparent with her, almost to the point where I don't feel I can deal with those fears with Divine.  I'm so afraid of the speed and I tense up and she tenses up and goes faster.  We feed off each other in a very negative way and I feel like I've lost trust in her.  I am afraid to be afraid and then that just makes me more afraid and tense.  Of course from the horses side I'm sure she's lost trust in me too!  That's just the way it goes.

Can I find a horse that is laid back enough that when I tense it doesn't bother them as much as it does Divine and therefore allows me to more easily relax?  I only had one bad incidence with Willy, I was cantering in an open area and he just got too excited and started running.  My big fault was trying to grab his bridle therefore unseating myself.  I should have just stayed with the run and slowly alternated the reins.  Other times I've been tense and he has been fine.  Steve has even suggested me buying him but he's 22 years old and I'm not sure I want to go that old even though I love Willy.  Plus there are some training issues that I would rather not work on in an older horse, a younger one yes but of course I don't want to go too young either.  I just need to heal up right now....



Calm before Desparados Storm

 I went to meet Deparados Storm in Sedalia last week.  He was a nice looking horse, a former stallion and former western pleasure show horse.  He'd been with his current owner for about 6 years.  The owner told me about his past and that he was pretty unhappy being a show horse.  We groomed him and then she mounted up bareback.  She walked and trotted him with a little try at canter.  We then got the saddle on him so I could test ride him.

He seemed very sweet and calm in the stable and while being tacked and groomed.  He was interested and curious about me.  When I mounted it was obvious that he was a little nervous so I walked him to this open area in a circle.

We circled the driveway area of the property, when we approached an overhanging tree Storm started and then raced off towards the barn. Only one door was open and I was afraid I would be scraped off. We made it into the barn with all its junk and pieces lying about in the aisle. Storm stopped quickly and turned left and I flew into the side of the stall door. There was a tree stump, some bricks, other machinery....thank goodness no circular saw! I hit the stall door hard and scraped my back along the bolt. Not sure what I landed on but the aisle way was hard even though it was dirt.

I got up and limped over to a staircase to sit down as the owner was running into the stable to get Storm and she came by me to ask how I was.  I couldn't answer, I didn't know what just happened.  She said she thought that after he spooked the dog went after his heels.  Note to self and others

ALWAYS DEMAND TO RIDE IN THE SAFEST AREA AND WITHOUT OTHER ANIMALS OR CHILDREN AROUND.

I was shaken up and dizzy.  She asked if I wanted to get back him and have her lead me around on him.  I said no thanks, she understood.  Sometimes it's not the best thing to get right back on the horse after a fall.  She even hugged me as the tears fell because I was so upset.  She also said, "why do we women always cry after a fall!".  She was very sympathetic but surprised at Storm.  I felt bad for in that sense since he seemed like a great horse but with the Egyptian blood perhaps he's another sensitive horse that I should steer clear of.

What are we teaching our horses?

Now what do you think this girl taught her horse?

I know it's hard to think in the moment but we train horses any time we ride and something I always want to become more aware of is "By doing _____, what am I teaching this horse?"

A little paint mare

So I have been absent on my blog for way too long.  Bad blogger!!  I don't know why and I'm sure why but I make a pact right now to be better!  I do have to say through most of May I felt really horrible, I had bronchitis and was out of work for a week and the recovery seemed to take forever before my lungs felt normal again.  Needless to say I didn't feel like doing much, including riding!

Muddy Millie

 I've been leasing a cute paint mare for a little over a month now.  Her name is Millie and is a nice bay paint (hahaha, I know I leased Willy and now Millie ;-)  I ride her on Sundays as well as Wednesday for $200 a month.  The only catch was I had to pay for my 6 month lease all up front....anyone ever heard of that?  Or well.  The lease price is average for a two day a week lease.  She's boarded at a pretty rickety place, the Flying W Ranch, I would have never guessed.  It's very bare bones but there is a 3 acre paddock owners can let their horses out on for 2 hours to graze.  The location is fantastically close to my house but again, no free grazing for most of the day.  I think horses should be in a paddock as much as possible!  When I first started riding Millie she wasn't very affectionate with me, she was a bit stand-offish but as we've gotten to know each other and grown more comfortable she's sweetened up; not that she was ever nasty by any means!

Cute foal friend

So since riding her I've had another fall, yipee!  I'm getting good at these!  I've been kicked in the knee (back leg hoof picking and she jerked her hoof) and dealt with a couple rearings (while I've been on the ground thank goodness!).  Now this all may sound terrible but let me explain a little to catch you all up on my horsie adventures.

The hoof picking incident occurred because I found she had a habit of kicking out her legs as I was releasing them from being picked.  I just happened to have my knee in the way...oops!  I've since worked with her and held her leg while rubbing her rump and slowly placing her hoof back to the ground.  That seemed to work for her and now she's just a complete rag doll when it comes to moving her legs!  Yea for me and Millie!

Squeals of delight or annoyance?

The fall, happened when we went on our first "trail ride" into a cow field behind the barn areas, she spooked at her shadow, grass, a rock...something!  I came off and nearly hit a cactus...whew!  I need to stop falling and freaking out about falling so I can relax my seat and stay steady!  This is no fun!  Since the fall I did a lot of ground work with her and it seems like she has become a bit more responsive to me.

The rearing occurred because she started getting really upset when ever I put my hands up towards her face.  The first time she did this was one time I was about to bridle her and she reared and pulled way back on the halter and lead.  Those Aussie tie rings are great for horses that need work with tying, she was able to give herself room and then calm down.  Go Clinton Anderson!  I spent many times out to see her just working her on lunging in the halter and then repeatedly moving my hands in the "offensive manner" until she finally calmed down to where she was before.  Her owner thinks she was smacked in the face one day by the remnants of an electrobraid wire that is looped around the top of her pen.  Who knows I may have poked her wrong one time I was bridling her I'm just glad Millie and I worked it out but I'm very steady and cautious as I bridle her now.  I place my hand with the brow band part on her nose and slowly slide up her face...slightly different technique than I'm used to but it seems to work with her.

The good husband!

The first time I tried lunging her I had the same issues with Willy where it felt like the horse was just swinging their butt out of the way of my stick.  I've since watched and re-watched a Julie Goodnight and Clinton Anderson show on lunging and have a better idea of how to get her started.  I don't think I had enough patience to have her catch on to where she needed to go to "relieve the pressure".  After our first round pen session I found myself stuck in the pen.  The chain link was stuck in the opening that you slide it through to secure the gate.  I worked on it for about 10-15 minutes and finally just pulled out one of the sections, and moved it to create a gap wide enough for a little paint mare and me to get through.  Millie just calmly stood by like nothing out of the ordinary was happening.  Oh the embarrassment!  Luckily no one was there to witness it but Millie and of course I'll tell all of you about my mishaps when I could have never even mentioned it...but to laugh at oneself is fun right?  After the fact of course!

Millie is not really responsive to leg yielding and the first time I tried to canter her she spun in a tight circle instead of continuing in the strait line we were on.  Yeah, that freaked me out.  But for the most part I feel I've worked through some of the biggest difficulties.  I'm hoping to make it out by 10am on Sundays to catch a group that goes for trail rides on Sunday mornings. 

How a horse should always be!

I'll have to go into other details about the waterer issue or the muddy fetlocks or the constant bit chewing but I can only take on so much at a time in life and in my blog!  I've only been out to Laurie's a couple times, seems I always forget I want to ride on Mondays and when I remember it's too late notice to call her.  Other times she's been on vacation or I have, that's been the past couple of weeks!  I miss Quinntessential Arabians with a passion!  Anyways, I promise I will not been gone from this blog for so long again!  Hope you all are having happy rides so far this summer!

Hi Millie!  Um I'm trying to take a picture stop coming at me!

Centripetal Force and The Saddle

I had a lesson on Divine this past Monday since I had the day off and it worked out for Laurie. I did two lessons back to back. The one on Divine and then one following where I worked with Pstar.

Laurie had me on the lungeline and had me work on my leg. It doesn’t seem to stay back where it should. I wonder if my cheap English saddle I use on Willy puts me in a different position or I just don’t concentrate on that unless I have Laurie there to pick apart my seat. She had me doing trots on the lunge and use my seat in the posting trot to encourage Divine to go faster, take longer steps and then also to slow down. By creating more energy in my rise and fall it makes Divine speed up to catch up to me. It was a lot of fun.

One bad thing that I still don’t understand why it happened (actually I do, tension and leaning forward) I fell during a lungeline canter. Laurie had me hold onto the front of the saddle with my inside hand while she had Divine begin the canter. I think it was something about cantering in a small lunge circle that threw off my balance. Usually on Willy I’m cantering in a straight line, not a circle. Perhaps I should work in the round pen with him and see if I can work better on my seat at the canter. I’ve mainly just farted around with the canter on Willy; I can’t work much on collection with him because of his head tossing, nose to the wind style. I definitely feel with the canters on Willy I’ve done well, moved with him well and tried to at least work on loosening my seat and going with the movement. Why did I tense up so much? Was it holding the saddle instead of having reins and going with the movement of the horses head with my hands? Was it the centripetal force pushing me out of the circle?

No matter what it was I was pretty embarrassed about the fall. Laurie said it was almost in slow motion as I pretty much rolled off Divines left shoulder. I kind of hit the reins and the lungeline so I was worried that Divine got jerked by me…that was the first thing I asked when I popped back up was if she was okay. I felt bad but at least the fall didn’t hurt and Divine was okay, a sandy arena is a nicer place to fall than a hard gravel road! I needed to get my thoughts together since my face flushed and the tears of embarrassment and frustration welled up. I know Laurie doesn’t judge and she’s on my side, she’s a horse person and has had her share of falls but still, falling on your own is one thing but falling in front of someone is downright embarrassing. I’ll continue on though… “just keep swimming!” as Dori the fish would say!  At least I'm in good company! A year with horses  and then Simply horse crazy have had recent "falling" posts!  LOL.

Next lesson was with Pstar. I got her groomed up, hoof picked (which went a little smoother this time, though the back legs where a challenge with getting underneath quick enough while she “kicked” out) and front legs wrapped. Laurie had put a saddle on Pstar once during a lesson with Robin who had questioned how long it took to train a horse to ride. She had explained that all the work leading up to putting the saddle on a horse would make it a pretty "easy" transition. Apparently Pstar had done fine with getting the saddle on and just stood tied with it…that was all. Today Laurie was going to put the saddle on, tie her and if all went well we’d get her moving on the lunge. All went well!

Laurie lunged her at the walk and then the trot. Pstar didn’t very well! Then I got to try and had Pstar change directions many times and also did the two eyes game by having her back away from me and then come towards me using body language. I still need to work on that one. I just received a ground work book in the mail that I got off Amazon. It looks like it has a lot of games to play! I also want to work some “bombproofing” things. Tarps, plastic bags, bikes, umbrellas…scary objects to get her desensitized to weird things or at least to stop and think first.

The more I think about it I think I am up to the challenge of leasing Pstar, working with Laurie to get her worked on and eventually to the point of riding her. I talked a little bit about what I would do with her if I leased her and Laurie told me some of the games we’ve worked on among other games would be good to work on. I could do a lesson with her every other week, with the off week being a riding lesson for me since I’ll not want to lose much ground with that, and can then work on Pstar with what we did on the lesson. I’m excited at this thought! What an opportunity! Pstar is the only “unbroken”, I don’t like that term, horse I would consider buying and here I have the chance to lease her and get my feet wet (kind of have my hand held by Laurie) before I go head first and buy this young mare! I love her and am impressed with her smarts so far!

So what can I do with her during the week after work? I can do groundwork, spooky object work, perhaps get her used to being led by the halter while I jog…something she’d need to do as an endurance horse. I’d like to get her out to a couple new places but I’m sure that will come later on in her training, perhaps as a “lesson abroad” so to speak with Laurie. Since she’s not under saddle and not been on trail rides I want to test all these different things with her before deciding she’s my horse. This lease is going to be a great way to determine that!  Now I just have to talk seriously with Laurie and figure out when to start this since I also have to give notice I assume to Susan that I won't be leasing Willy anymore.  I'll miss him but working with Pstar....SIGH!

A flying horse and a flying rider

Well I fell today.  4th time falling from a horse.  Falls are inevitable for every rider. 

Anyways, the day was quiet when I arrived.  I got Willy in his cute blanket and brought him into the indoor arena.  I groomed him up and got his tack on.  I rode him around the yard a little bit and then headed to the drive to set out on a "trail ride" in the neighborhood.  Willy felt pretty spunky and broke into a trot without me asking as we turned onto Eggar Road.  I brought him back to a walk and then later asked him to trot.  He trotted a bit with me working hard trying to keep him at a nice pace.  He always starts out nice and those goes really fast into a short choppy trot that is torture to sit and difficult to post.  I brought him down to a nicer trot and then to a walk.  I decided not to do much else but walk until we came down the second culdesac.  Then I asked him for a trot and then a canter.  We cantered up the hill but Willy didn't respond when I asked for a slower pace, he was galloping.  I could see the shadow of us on the ground, Willy's nose was to the wind and his legs were picking up more and more speed.  I finally slowed him back to a walk.



We walked some more and I decided to ask for the canter again and work harder at keeping the pace nice...big mistake.  Willy took off again, I tried to sit deep, lost my stirrups and kept asking him to stop, verbally and non verbally.  He wanted to run and didn't pay any attention to the bug on his back.  Why I didn't think to pull him to the side with one rein, the one rein stop I don't know.  Finally I leaned forward in an effort to grab his neck...I'm assuming, I have no idea what was going on in my mind.  Off I went plummeting in front of him and rolling on the gravel road about 6 feet ahead.  I barely came to a stop when I jumped back up and towards him to grab ahold of the reins.  He was at a dead stop and looking at me like "Why are you on the ground?".  I stood for a few minutes with him catching my breathe and assessing my injuries.  I knew I'd feel it later since there was still too much adrenaline in my body to sense much pain.  My left knee area hurt and my right ankle but nothing was broken.  I mounted up and walked...rather "jigged" Willy back to the stable.  He sure was feeling his oats today!

I rode him around the yard for a bit once I got back.  I asked for stops, trots, stops etc.  I figure I need to get back to basics with Willy and figure out why he ran off like that.  Why didn't he listen to my whoas and the reins?  I'll do some groundwork and basic ring stuff for a while to gain some understanding and respect where he is concerned.



Willy has had a few issues that need to be fixed, not sure what I can do with riding him only once a week.  He is very hard to stop, even at a walk.  When I get ready to mount, by putting my foot in the stirrup he immediately starts walking forward in a circle with me at the pivot point.  He'll walk on without a cue from me and he doesn't collect.  Keeping him at a nice trot pace is hard, he always wants to go really fast and do short choppy steps.  I have a lot to work on him so I think I'll be staying in the arenas for a while with an occasional walk only trail ride.  If he was my horse he would have been at my trainers long ago so Laurie could help us work this out.  Willy is a good horse and very sweet, I have no idea where his spunky attitude came from today.  As always I want this experience to help me grow as a rider, and I want to learn to ride the canter and gallop better!  My rear hurts!  LOL