#ireallyneededtofly

So... I've been super blue lately... Fleck is still lame and not improving. Danny was on and off lame and now I'm worried it's not an abscess. Roany's not eating well. I've been so busy working and don't get to see Mike. I don't have time to ride, and even if I did... no pony. And life was just getting me down. 

 

 
My lesson was supposed to be this morning but I cancelled and then it was supposed to storm. I thought about riding anyways, but ended up moving my appointments around to avoid the rain mostly. And it worked. But.. it also meant that the stars aligned. I think God took pity on me. I finished my appointments and the rain stopped and the skies cleared. It was beautiful out. So I loaded Dan up and off we went. 

AHHHHHHH.... I so so so needed that. Thank you God! I'm feeling much more like my normal self again. We had a blast!!

I put on the dressage saddle and we had a nice flat session. He was really quite nice. I worked on keeping a better connection and he was pretty forward and happy. :) So then we went for a quick hack to enjoy the gorgeousness of the day. We had a nice little canter to the lake and played for a minute in the lake. :)
Happy Canter 
It was unreal how pretty it was today!! Seriously!
 


So then we headed back up to the field and Danny had lots of snacks. :) I decided to trot down the bank and felt the shenanigans welling up. So I walked him down the bank. And then he landed in a canter, put his head down and bolted up the hill. Hee hee.. Keep in mind, I'm in my dressage saddle with long stirrups, I had slipped the reins, and... just giggling up a storm! hee hee. I couldn't even get mad. It did take me to the top of the hill to get him stopped. So then we tried a polite trot and canter again and... of course, while it started polite, we ended up going for another gallop. Wheeeee!!! It's bad because I want to be as naughty as he does. So then we finally did trot nicely up the hill and then we had a nice little trot at the top of the hill and then we headed back home. It was so hard to go in. It was so pretty out and Danny felt great. It was hard not to go for another few laps. But... duty calls.
 
Then he was a goof back at the trailer. Man... I love the Danimal and his shenanigans. :) 


Thanks to God for blessing me with such a beautiful day, such a beautiful punky soul, and giving me back my optimism and hope. :) 

Goofy Boy... nom nom nom 

 

Abscess??

 So.... I've been super stressed with work and super busy. On Saturday I had to adjust two dogs at the house and then was able to go ride. But it was a little rainy out so I was debating. Kelli had already left so I decided to go before the rain hit really hard and rushed to meet Kelli. When I loaded Dan up I thought he looked iffy in the right hind and he was cocking it up. But... we loaded up anyways and headed to Ashland. Right as I got there it started raining heavily so we sat in the trailer for a minute. It passed quickly and we were able to get on and only deal with a damp mist. I got a few minutes of walking in and then picked up the trot. And Danny was dead lame!! Like seriously flat tire lame. What?!?! I got off and checked. It seemed like an abscess. So.... all that effort and getting wet for nothing. I'm not going to lie... I went home and pouted and took a nap. Sigh....

So then Monday night I tried lunging him quickly and he was still pretty funky looking, so I didn't do my lesson Tuesday. I was supposed to have a lesson with Kelly on Thursday, but... decided to cancel it too. Because, he hadn't blown an abscess so I figured he'd either be lame still, be sound and go lame halfway through, or it's not an abscess and I shouldn't be riding til I figured it out. And it was supposed to storm. 

So after I told Kelly I was cancelling.... I ended up getting a few minutes to sneak in a ride between patients, so I hopped at the chance. Peri and Kelli were just finishing their ride when I got there, so I hopped on. Peri watched me for a few minutes and he was sound at the trot, even in a circle. So yay!! Maybe he did blow an abscess! It smelt a little funky Monday night. 

We had a good ride. We hacked out and did some walking and trotting. Then we got up to the twix and tween trails and after crossing the creek, we picked up the trot again. And he was lame again!! What?!?! Not nearly as bad as Sat, but still pretty blatantly obvious. Sigh. So we walked back to the dam. And I tried trotting again to see if I could figure out for sure if it was the right hind. And.. .he was sound. ??? So we splashed in the lake a bit and then hit the woods. He was still sound and wanted to canter so we did. And then when we trotted again he was still sound. :) I cut my ride fairly short, for his sake and times sake, but did take him to the ring and lunged him so I could see. He was sound and even both directions but it looked like his pelvis was canted to the right. So... maybe he was protecting something. ???

Growing up

We had a great lesson with Cindy today. I had some aha moments...

He's still a youngster but he's not a baby horse anymore, so it's time to start riding him like an adult. Which means... he can bend and go on the bit. And I accomplish this by getting bend, which I accomplish by laterally suppling him. And it works. And it's easier than with Fleck.

We had fun! We had some lovely lovely work. Now I just need to order him a new dressage saddle that fits him better!

St Patricks Day Snuggles

Awww... Danny was so cute tonight! I had a long day and came home just as it was getting dark. I fed the ponies and then went to turn them back out. Fleck went to his hay but Danny hung out at the gate for a second. I scratched his ears and he just sat there for a good 15 minutes hanging out with me. He pressed his head on my chest, let me rub his ears, and we snuggled. Then he got a little cheeky and grabbed my sleeve so we played for a bit. 

It was nice! We heard an owl or two, saw the first few lightning bugs of the season, and... enjoyed each others company. :) Love this guy. 

There's a part of me that feels a little guilty about not giving him my whole heart, because Flecky has occupied so much of it. So it was nice to be able to snuggle with him today. I love him, I really do. But it's a bit different because it's not Fleck. But I know we'll continue to grow in our relationship and I have a feeling he'll be as special as Fleck, maybe in his own way, but... as special. 

 

more Sunday full days

This was from last sunday...or the one before last, but.  The pictures are cute.

Larking Fun

Today was a fun day. I managed to get out to Ashland around 5 pm and now that the time has changed, we had plenty of time to ride. We went for a hack first and Danny was super polite. There were no shenanigans. We even let Kelli get in front and trotted and cantered. Of course, once we did that Danny had a few moments of porpoising and cavorting. But it was all in good fun. :)

Then we headed up to the cross country field and played around. I wasn't going to do too much, but once I started, I was having too much fun. :) I trotted him straight to the drop into the water and he slowed to a walk but didn't stop and went right in. Then I turned around and came back and he trotted straight in. So then we did the other drop and he trotted straight in on that side so I continued around and let him canter the log two strides from the drop, planning to come back to the trot and let him trot down. Well... he had other ideas. He cantered in so nicely and over the log and then he just kept the canter and very smartly settled his feet and cantered right on down the bank and out over the log. :) SMART BABY! 

So then we hopped over a few more fences, including both hanging logs. He jumped them great. I got a little bit ambitious and thought about taking him over the little trakehner. In retrospect, I shouldn't have tried. And I almost didn't, but Kelli was there and she egged me on a little. In her defense, she forgot I had ditch issues. So I let him look at it and sniff it and he was a little bit more looky than usual. So we came up to it at a trot and I sort of chickened out so he stopped. Well, then I couldn't get him over it. I tried a few tries. And he kept running out. So... oh well. I hope I didn't create a big thing. I'm hoping that if I lunge him over it a time or two, he'll be fine and then we can come again. I really shouldn't have attempted it yet. Argh. Oh well. 

I finished with a small little course and he happily did those, so... Fair enough. :) 

Dressage Fancy Pants

Sunday Funday

Splashy Splashy

lake time... then spook at gun shots.... then XC field larking well despite being high

Danny was as wild as his mane today at first. But then he was wonderful and went down the banks into the water. Even from a trot. smile emoticon and...we were able to canter politely a lap around the field at 320 mpm. Although he much preferred 500 mpm.....

Boring and Exhilirating!

I have an amazing baby horse!!! Who is growing up. Too fast! But it's awesome. 

We had a lesson today with Kelly teaching us. We rode with Julie and Karen and their youngsters. And it was so much fun. And so boring. ;) Danny was good. Like... NO antics good! Nothing. Not so much as a little crow hop even. No bolting or bucking.... Hee hee. We were all actually a little disappointed. :) 

BUT... he made up for it with his amazingness. :) We started off going over the log to the next log and coming back around to the third log. Boring. He was so rhythmic and quiet and nice. So then Kelly sent me over the log, then the baby coop, then she had me loop back and head down the road towards the lake over the cabin and then the roll top. Eeeks!! It was beginner novice or novice maybe... but still! He was perfect! And Julie's husband and son were even walking on the road and he sort of shied sideways for a few steps at them but then I was able to pull him back on the line and he jumped the roll top quite nicely. And then we continued on and trotted down the second bank. Kelly laughed and said I had cheated. She wanted me to jump the middle cabin and then jump the log stack to the bank. So we did. And he was perfect again! *I* however, have to work on keeping my upper body back and my legs forward on landing, reaching with my arms too. 

So then we moved on to the ditches. She had us trot over the medium ditch, then canter the large ditch to the hanging log and then canter up the hanging log on the hill and then... canter around to the ramp jump. UM.... EXCUSE ME!?! Hee hee. Karen and Julie were teasing me. Seriously?! Yep... she was serious. So... he did the ditches, half coffin and uphill jump just fine and then we headed to the ski ramp. Which, for the record, I dislike with Fleck. I can't find my distance very well and they intimidate me. I know that one is small and it's fine, but.. it's still a little intimidating. So the first attempt ended in a run by. Mostly because I can't steer. I cut my corner way too tight and let the hill pull him down to the right, pulling his right shoulder out. He didn't stand a chance really. So we circled and I gave him a much straighter approach and he soared right over! In fact, he over jumped it by a good 2 feet at least! Wheee!! So we came again and he jumped it super politely and super scopily and well. :) It was awesome!!! Karen and Julie and Kelly were ooohing and aaahing over him. I so wish I had video but... it was AWESOME!! It felt great too.

So then we moved to the water and Danny and I cantered in and out over the little log. Then we cantered into the water, up and out of the small bank and over the roll top two strides out. Our first attempt on the out didn't go great. I (again) cut my corner and didn't get him straight and he shot right and missed the up bank. So on second approach, with proper steering and a more kind approach, he jumped right up the bank and over the roll top. :) :)
 
We quit with that. What an awesome boy!!! He really is getting super fun. 
I'm such a proud mommy!

 

Growing up is hard

Today we had to leave Fleck behind as he was still very lame from his abscess even after Wayne busted it open. (I'm not going to lie.. it was so hard leaving him behind... even for the day. Sigh).  So Danny and I headed out. We had a good lesson. We rode in the fusion, which, I didn't particularly like in some ways. It really opened up my hip angle though which was awesome. I could feel the burn but Cindy was thrilled! I liked my leg and hips in it, but unfortunately I couldn't get my seat in the canter. It kept throwing me up out of it. So after getting my hips open, Cindy had me throw her saddle on him. She said the perfection has a more generous seat (and sure enough, I felt like I do when I hollow out a hole in the sand for my butt... it was comfy and didn't pitch me forward) and hers was custom with the more straight up and down flap. She said the last time I rode in it my hips wouldn't open as well and I was climbing up the thigh block but she wanted me to try it again now that I had opened them up in the fusion. So I did. And Danny and I both loved it!! He was much free-er in the back and his lumbars. And she loved my leg and seat in it. 

So... I guess he gets a new perfection with the medium tree, the extra wide gullet, the shoulder gussets and the straight flap. :) Now to decide whether to do black with brown trim, brown with black trim, or just solid brown. Or solid black. Sigh... Although Cindy Adcock wants us to try him a medium wide before we decide, just in case. 

So then poor Dan had to sit in the trailer while I adjusted two ponies, then I turned him out for an hour and a half while I adjusted two more ponies. Then Cindy showed up and we tried both saddles on him to see how they fit. He was MAD as a hornet!! He was so ready to go home and wanted to be done!!!! Poor guy... we loaded up and went home but he had to sit for another hour at Serenity Creek while I lasered 6 horses. He was so mad he tore down his haynet. But he was pretty quiet. 

He was glad to be home!!

And more speed

Today was a fun day. I was supposed to be showing Fleck at Sporting Days but... that didn't pan out. I could have taken Dan and run HC instead, but.... I don't know. I wasn't feeling it. So... I had a fun day at Ashland with the two of them.

Kelli joined me for my ride with Dan. Cindy had come by earlier and had to steal back the Conquest for a few days but left me a fusion to try. So I had to ride Dan in the dressage saddle, but that was fine. We went for a long hack and Danny was a little bit animated. So... when we hit the Halfshire field, I let him do a little work to get some energy out. We trotted and cantered around for about 5 minutes. Then Kelli decided to let Arwyn canter up the hill. Dan was actually really good about it and stayed calm and steady for a bit. :) Then he tried to swap leads and follow her. I kept him under control, changed the lead back and finished our circle pretty politely. But then when we came back around I figured I would let him have fun and gallop up the hill towards Arwyn. 

So I did. And boy did he go! He went all out and blew up the hill in no time! Kelli's eye's got rather big as we came blasting up to her. I managed to steer clear and avoid her and get him stopped. And.... the gps clocked us at 30.58 mph!! Holy smokes!

However, right after that we carried on and he was super polite the whole rest of the ride. We walked pretty much the rest of the ride and he was very flat footed and calm. Then we even trotted down the lane and up the hill. Granted it was the hill next to the one I've been letting him gallop up but still... I was quite pleased he was so polite. Maybe I wore him out. :) 

It was a good ride. 

Right Rein Contact and SPEED!

Tuesday 3/1/16:

Our dressage lesson with Cindy was good, as usual. We decided to attack the lack of true connection on the right rein. Cindy pointed out that I need to take some contact and keep the contact. No more of this flittering back and forth. Take ahold and keep it. Be soft when I can, but I need to not keep throwing him away. When tracking right, more right rein connection, soften the left rein connection to allow, and bend him around my right leg. (hmm... seems like the same hole I have with Fleck! I mentioned that and Cindy laughed and said "I didn't say it... you did"!

Thursday 3/3/16:
 Today was a tight squeeze. I only had about 3 hours to get to Ashland, ride both horse, and get home. And really eat lunch too. But I managed to get it all done. I hopped on Dan first in case Peri was going to be able to meet me for the second ride and brought George and we needed to keep it quiet. We had fun. It was a bit chilly and windy and Dan was a bit rowdy but not too bad. We had two moments of going up and tossing his head but that was all he did. We started in the XC field and I wanted to take him over the ditch and through the water after Jumping Branch. I was going to do it on the way in, but then I thought it might not be smart to do it after I let him canter up the hill. Because... who am I kidding?! I was going to let him gallop up the hill. Especially today. :) So I made him trot around for a second to make sure he wasn't going to go buck wild (literally) and he didn't. So we trotted over the ditch and then trotted into the water. He marched right over and in, and then proceeded to drop his head and play in the water. :) So we carried on and went for a nice hack. He was a bit rowdy and threw in a few weak attempts at a spin and bolt but I was able to contain him easily. We did some trotting and some cantering and kept it fairly short so I had time for Fleck. On the way back in, I let him gallop up the hill. He knows what that hill means now. (I'm going to have to fix that.... ) So... He leapt into a gallop. He was so fast from the start that it was almost like his legs were flying and he couldn't get traction. Hee hee. A wee bit scary! Then he got grip and flew up the hill. It was exhilirating and a teeny bit scary! I got him back before the downhill and he was all snorty and prancy. :) My GPS said we hit 26 mph! So then we went back to the XC field. I had him trot the bigger ditch and he landed, dropped a shoulder and tried to take off. But I reined him in and made him trot it politely a second time and then let him jump the log right after. He did and maintained a polite canter on landing. We then cantered through the water and then finished with a polite canter in both directions in the field and then some polite trotting. 

Not too bad baby horse, considering the weather, your fitness level, the time off you had, and... the gallop. :) Not bad at all.