Bear with me...

 Today has been a rather emotional day. And I believe I'm hormonal again. I got up early to get Dan ridden because I had Dr. Barrows coming at noon to do foot rads on all the ponies and then I had Dr. Febles coming later this afternoon to do teeth on all the ponies. 

So I got up and got everyone fed and then Dan and I headed to Ashland. I tacked up and put on the new bit again, with no flash and we headed to the arena with the pivo. I didn't have a ton of time so I did a tiny bit of in hand work and then got on and tried to do our pillar work under saddle. It was better today. At least pillar 1 for sure. And maybe pillar 2. But it's like... any changes in gait and especially asking him to back/pillar 2... he braces immediately. And then asking for pillar 3 is a hot mess. I can't figure out how to do it. I guess I need to go back and watch the videos and read the instructions again. I didn't stress it today during the ride, but tried a little bit... went back to pillar 2 and got a successful one or two and quit. He didn't necessarily rein back smooth, but he shifted back a hair and kept pillar 1. I think. I hope. Maybe he lost it a tiny bit but way better than before. Sadly, Pivo recorded but didn't save my recordings for some reason. Argh! Oh well. Oh, and... a tiny bit of chomping, but no tongue issues! Yay!

 

So then we went for a quick hack. We saw a raccoon scurrying across the pasture. And we saw some deer.  We did a short hack as I was running out of time, but we trotted some and we did some bigger hills. Dan seemed game. And we stayed in pillar 1 for most of it. And no tongue! Yay! Although I definitely need to get Cindy out to fix my saddle as I'm still feeling like I am being tipped to the right. 

 

So then we got home and he got some time to chill and I had lunch. Dr. Barrow did rads and his feet look pretty good! We just need to change the trim plane a hair to help get rid of his neutral to negative angles. So that should be an easy fix. Yay. Flecky on the other hand... did not have happy rads. His soles are still soooo thin but his ringbone on the right front has gotten way worse since last year. WAY worse. So I ordered him some osphos and we're going to try to get him in some sort of shoes to help him feel better. But... that's depressing. My old man is getting old. And at some point, I will have to make a quality of life choice for him. I mean... I knew it.. he's 25... but... it smacked me in the face today. 

 

Then, I had some time before Dr. Febles came but I just couldn't really motivate myself to do anything. I could have (and should have) adjusted Dan, or any of the others. I could have done nerve release work.. bemer... acupuncture... I could have done more pillar work. And I did try to do some pillar work with Lyric, but.. meh. I just don't feel like I'm getting anywhere with her. 

So then I came inside and just... pouted. I'm just bummed. I'm blue. I'm concerned that I can't seem to get Dan to do pillars under saddle despite being so good at them in hand. What am I missing? Is it me? Do I suck? Is he painful still? Is it his saddle? His feet? His stifle still? Or am I just going too fast and expecting too much? And then, if that's the case... ugh.. I'm so tired of being a good patient owner and waiting... and doing my homework. At this point (and it's just hormones talking... and frustration)... it's tempting to just say "eff it... I'll just ride him and enjoy him knowing he'll break down sooner, but at least we get to do fun things"!. Ugh... And I can't seem to get Lyric to get any releases or the full benefits of pillar work. I feel like I'm getting nowhere with her. And then poor Flecky...  And Funny, she's my "shining star" in some ways... but she's got wimpy boobs still and while I am so grateful I'm doing right by her... it's easy because I don't have a choice! I can't ride her yet. Sigh. So yeah.. just a blue blue day. And now I have to work tomorrow (because I took today off for vet day) and Friday, and supposedly it's going to rain all weekend... although that's looking better now. Oh well. I'm sure it'll be better tomorrow. Or by Saturday. 

And then Dr. Febles came. She said that Dan had a beautiful mouth! (Ha, of course... she's been doing him for years). But he was developing a slight wave in his incisors. To the left. Which correlates with the right hind stifle. So...hopefully it will be dramatically improved when she comes back in 6 months, and that may be a good indicator for me that his stifle is bothering him. (I mean.. I guess I should have better clues than checking his mouth every 6 months, but... when it's subtle, it's another piece of the puzzle). And also... there wasn't anything major, so no reason for him to get his tongue out relating to his mouth or teeth. Which.. yay, but... also sigh... 

So yeah. Tomorrow is another day. 

Weird day

 Dan and I headed to Ashland today. Again. :) I'm anxiously awaiting my arena repairs so I can ride at home some, but I still do love hacking too!

I started in the arena on the ground doing our pillar work. I had the unicorn fanny pack full of timothy pellets, so Dan was much more interested in playing with me. We got some good work, even without me bribing him non-stop. Yay! And his pillar 2 and 3 are fine. (Although tougher with treats because then he curls trying to find the treat when I touch his chest to ask him to do pillars 2 and 3). 

 

After that we went and lunged for a few minutes. Like, literally 6 min total I think, based on my video. Ha! He was a good boy and there were no shenanigans or even really any attempts. 

 

Then I put on his bridle. Today we tried the ported bit with the roller for the tongue. Yeah... that's a no go. Dan got his tongue over it as soon as I asked him to halt and back. Granted, after I raised it he didn't get his tongue over again, but he wouldn't stop chewing on it. And not in a good way. Plus he felt like he spent a lot of the ride behind the vertical and curled. He was soft in the contact. And maybe he was just playing with it instead of being anxious about it, but.. I didn't like it. Kelli agreed. But we put in a good chunk of riding time working on our pillars under saddle. I'm not sure what I need to do... whether I'm just rushing too fast... working too long... or there's a piece I'm missing. But he seems like he can do Pillar 1, 2 and 3 easily in hand. When I get on... I can get pillar 1. And I even feel like I can get a half halt, but to get an actual rein back or static pillar 2 with a step back... he gets all fussy and I have to ask with my hands. And when I go to do pillar 3... he gets anxious and fussy and rooty... he comes out of pillar 1, and fights me in pillar 2 and usually, moves the wrong leg back first. And I'm clueless... clearly I have no clue which leg is going to move first because it's always the one I'm not aiming for. And watching the video... he actually has a much better abduction when he starts, vs stepping back first. Which makes me wonder if I'm doing it wrong... over asking??? Or is he cheating somehow by going sideways first. So.... sigh. I'm not sure what to do.

 

Anyways... we rode longer than we should have because I was trying to give Kelli time and not rush her. But I did try to be cognizant of that and not drill pillars 2 and 3 again. And again. But I may not have been as successful as I'd like to have been regarding that. Sigh. 

 

After our arena ride, we went out on the trails. I went back to the trailer first to drop off my pivo and cavesson and decided to switch Dan to the ported super lightweight bit instead of the roller one since he was still chompy. Then off we went. We just had a nice long walk with a tiny bit of trot. We played in the lake a tiny bit and then headed home. When we got back to the parking area, I did take Dan into the arena for 5 more minutes to see if he liked the new bit any better. He was MUCH quieter in his mouth and didn't get his tongue over the bit, even without a flash. Granted, the trail ride was no pressure and in the arena I didn't do a ton or push it because he had already been worked so hard. But... it seemed like he liked it. I'll ride in it again tomorrow and see. 

Dan got a rinse and we headed home. They all got ulcer tea tonight with dinner and they seemed to like it. Tomorrow I'll ride Dan in the morning and then they've got Dr. Barrows coming to do foot x-rays on all and then Dr. Febles coming to do teeth on all. Yikes! Big day. I'm hoping to also do some bodywork on them all in between too, but we'll see if that happens. If not, I'll do it this weekend when the rain hits. 

Babysitting Sissy and an Ambush

 Ahhhh... I love Sundays! Especially Sundays with glorious weather! I got the fields bush hogged and then after a little lunch, I went to ride. I decided to take Funny with us today. 

We got to Ashland and I left Dan on the trailer while I worked Funny. He was good! Then she had to get on the trailer and hang out while Dan and I worked. She was NOT as good. :) Ha! But he was. We got some good pillar work in hand. I bribed him a little with treats, but he was really good even when I wasn't treating him. We got some nice walks in pillar 1, some nice pillar 2s, and even some decent pillar 3s in the corner. So, then I lunged him. And he was pretty good. But there was two friends riding in the upper arena and pretty soon after I started lunging him he grabbed the lunge line and turned. I didn't want to drop him entirely because I didn't want him to run into their lesson and interrupt. But I also knew I couldn't hold him. Luckily he went out of the arena into the grass and went around a tree. I used it as a pivot point and that stopped him! But then... freakin' hilarious.. it was like a game of cat and mouse. He kept going around the tree and I kept circling behind him trying to catch up so I could get the lunge line from around the tree. Hee hee.. I was thinking "this is ridiculous"! ha ha. Good thing no one saw us. :) Finally after like 3 or 4 laps he veered off a little and I was able to put him back on the circle. After that he was good. We got some really nice work. And... he had looked a bit off all day today. I couldn't get him to trot long enough to say for sure, but... I was worried. While lunging right... I really didn't see anything. Maybe if I used my imagination he was slightly off tempo... he either kept that leg down longer or swung it longer or something. I just seemed to not be exactly the same timing as the outside hind. But it's so hard to tell. And he seemed happy enough, although he was chewing on the bit a little bit. But, no tongue.. and no flash either. 

So then I went back to the trailer and put on his bareback pad. I took the lunge line off and put reins on the cavesson. Like on the sides of the nose piece, not attached to the bit. And then I realized they were both left reins (or right reins.. both had the same buckle end) so I couldn't attach them. Meh.. it'll be fine. So we tried some under saddle pillar work. It wasn't great. I think he's better with going into pillar 1 with the reins on the bit. He seemed more likely to just brace and pull against me this way. But I did get some decent moments. I think. I hope. We trotted some too. 

Then I went and got Funny and went back to the arena to see if Kelli was ready. She wasn't so we walked around and then I decided to try trotting some to get in Dan's trots. They are such good ponies. They just trotted around together, happy as clams. Well, until we passed Marvin, then Dan would pin his ears and snake his head at him. Doh! 

So then we went on a trail ride with Marvin. We went around the lake, by the barbed wire balls, and then stopped at the lake. Funny and Dan had some spashes and played. Dan went for two little swims. Luckily I only went under to my waste and I was bareback! Aha! I planned ahead! Funny almost went for a swim too!  Kelli headed out without us as Marvin didn't want to swim and my two hippos were having fun. 

 

After they had their fill we headed off down Raccoon Loop. We got just around the bend, and I had turned on the video camera anticipating a nice cool walk in the woods with the sunlight filtering through the leaves. Ha ha... I got about 4 seconds in and apparently we had flushed a herd of like 10 deers. I didn't see them in time and both horses spun and bolted. I'm not quite sure who went where, but the lead rope wrapped around my waist... then Funny and Dan slammed into each other... and neither knew which way to run. Then they both tried to run. I managed to keep them from stepping in the hole right off the path and wrangled them in enough that they didn't slip or fall on the bridge, and then I got them stopped. And in the process, my phone flew out of my hand, but bounced off his neck and back into my hands!!! And I kept my whip and the reins and Funny's lead! Somehow!!! Dang. Then we saw the deer. Oh... it's deer!! Jeepers. 

So then we carried on and they settled within a minute. We got out in the XC field and trotted the hill up to the top and then headed home. Good ponies!!!!!!

He may be silly and cranky, but... damn he's a good boy!

Better Pillar Day and Good Hack

 Today was a good day. Mike and I went for breakfast/brunch on the bike. I had french toast! Yum. Then I met Kelli at Ashland. We started out in the arena and did our pillar work in hand. It was much better, but he was not nearly as distractable. Plus I had cookies, so that helped. The problem with the cookies is that I can't quite work on our relationship to connection because he's so into the cookies. So, I should have brought my fanny pack with timothy pellets or hay. Oh well. Next time. But he was good and we got great pillars! All 3 even! 

 

Then I hopped on and Kelli watched us go. I wanted her to clarify when he was in pillar 1 and when he was cheating. Turns out, I'm right. I can tell. I'm not sure what was happening in my video the other day, although I do think maybe that day I thought he was in pillar 1 also. So.. I don't know. But Kelli said that when I thought I had him in pillar 1, she thought he was too. And when I thought I had lost it, she agreed. She also reminded me again that in general, Dan is much more correct when I slow his tempo a hair! So we worked on that too. I did a tiny bit of trot just to see if I could get him in pillar 1 there too. She also agreed with my assessment at the trot. So... okay! Maybe it was just a very bad day to video the other day.

 

Anyways, then we headed out on the trails. I tried to keep him in pillar 1 and also tried to ride him slightly on contact. And he was good. No tongue today but I had his flash on. It's still super loose, but it's there. He was also in his old fager bit. Anyways, he did good. We did almost the same path we took last time. We did try trotting in the halfshire field and... he felt wonky again. Like... lame behind. Like he was leaving a leg out behind him for 3 exta seconds. But he was also not settled and we didn't trot long enough for him to settle into it because of Marvin. So then we walked a little bit more and Kelli let me trot him while she and Marvin watched. She didn't see anything unless she really really nit picked and again it was more of a longer stance phase on one leg maybe. He did feel better when I was trotting alone. And he felt much happier when I'm on my left diagonal vs my right, no matter which direction we're going. So... who knows!? Maybe he's just a little sore from yesterday? Maybe my saddle is a bit more twisted than I thought. Maybe I'm twisted!? We carried on and Dan and I waited for Kelli and Marvin to cross the creek. Dan was so patient and just stood quietly. 

 

Then we got to the lake and Dan didn't even want a drink. So we headed to the cross country field and I did a bit more trotting. He felt much better this time, though still not as good as yesterday. Kelli thought he looked better again too. And when I slowed his tempo and got him soft and relaxed... wow! His trot felt really nice. I tried to keep him in Pillar 1 and he was good about trying to stay there. Then, I thought about slowing my tempo through my core and seat and thought about asking for pillar 2... a true half halt. And holy moly if he didn't give it to me!!! It was a glorious little bit of trot. He felt soft and light and fluffy and supple and over his back and in self carriage! He couldn't hold it for long of course, but it was nice! And we got it two or three times. :) Good boy.

Then we headed back and I untacked him, hosed him, and tossed him in the trailer quick. Mike said we needed to leave for his boss's house at 4:30 and it was already 3:45! Whooops! I still had to shower! So once we got home, I pretty much threw Dan out and showered and left. Sorry buddy!

Trotting!... maybe too much trotting.

 Whoops!!

 

Today I managed to get off work early so I was able to sneak in a ride. Dan and I headed to Ashland. I started in the arena with the lunge cavesson and was intending to do our pillar work. My last videos show that he's not really in pillar 1 under saddle like I thought, so I thought that I would try it in hand first to remind him and then do it under saddle. But good gravy he was not having it. I was getting so frustrated. I think I even said to him, in my sweetest singsong voice "I'm trying VERY hard to not be predatory right now, but I want to eat you! I want to cut you up and eat your innards because you are soooo freaking frustrating!". ha ha.. He was just distracted by every single little noise. There was no one else at Ashland, yet he was convinced there was creatures in the woods. And he would freeze, brace his neck, hold his head up high and just completely ignore my pressure. Sigh. I was trying hard. But I was getting super frustrated. I tried grounding myself.. focusing on my breathing. But I was just so annoyed with him. I was able to get a teeny tiny bit. Then I thought, fine, I'll bribe you with cookies if that's what it takes. And it kind of helped. Very briefly. So then I just gave up. I decided to lunge him. Because he seems to get very relaxed while lunging and he tends to lunge nicely in pillar 1 and even pillar 3 it seems. So, I just did that. And sure enough... he was happy and drooling and soft and quiet. We went right, then left, and then right again. It's weird because now I feel like right is his harder way. Anyways, he was doing pretty well. So then I stopped and we tried pillar 1 again. And again he was like "nah... I'm gonna look over here". Seriously Dan?! Still!?! Ugh. We did manage to get a little bit more than before lunging, but still not great. 

 

So then I headed back to the trailer. I was thinking.... maybe I just really need to focus on his connection relationship for a bit. Maybe I need to clicker train this. But it's hard because it's like... when he's focused he's brilliant at it. At home in the round pen the other day he was superb! Yawning.... licking and chewing.. totally relaxed. But at Ashland, he was just not having it. And maybe it is fear/anxiety. I mean... he's such a cocky little bastard and Ashland is "home away from home", so like... really dude!? But... maybe I'm expecting too much from him. Oh well. We'll keep trying. 

 

So I tacked up and decided that I still wanted to do some pillar work. Because I apparently can't take a hint or give up or decide to reward the try and try again later... but to be more kind, I decided to do it in the jump arena. So we headed up and did our pillar work under saddle. I basically only asked for pillar 1 and a handful of pillar 2's. We didn't go anywhere near pillar 3 today. And.. he was better. I was thinking too... I'm thinking I'm doing it wrong in ways, because... I ask him to stay in pillar 1 the whole time, no matter how frequently I have to keep reminding him. But, maybe that's wrong. Maybe I need to be asking... when he falls out.. stop and let him rest. Except, I don't really think it's fatigue so much as distraction. So.. I don't know. But anyways, we got a fair amount of it. I think anyways. I also thought we were doing it the other day too and he really wasn't. We also did a little bit of trotting and he's still feeling pretty decent. I swear, I think he almost does pillar 2 better in trot than walk. Oh  well. We played for a little bit and then when he was really good for a small stretch of time... we quit. 

 

We headed out on the trails and went backwards compared to our usual path. And it was fun. We trotted some of the straighter smoother paths. We did some more hills than previously. And we had fun. We did make sure that we were in pillar 1 as much of it as possible, even when we were trotting. It was maybe a little better than last time. Although some of the times he would get distracted. 

 

But we had fun. And as we were heading home, Clay was on the tractor bush hogging in the XC field. Except it sounded like he was spreading gravel or shredding gravel! Dan was aware and alert but not scared. And originally he could hear it but not see it. We just trotted on by when we did see it and he didn't pay it any attention. Good boy! Then as we were heading home I realized that my hips and legs actually looked pretty good today! Early in my ride I still felt like his saddle was off kilter and it was making my legs feel like I was having to push on one side more than the other, so... I raised one stirrup one hole. And I think it totally helped! And for whatever reason (my stirrup change, maybe the fact that he's carrying himself differently now???), my knee was able to face forward rather than out. Hmm... That's cool!!! So then I decided to trot a little bit more to see if I could hold it in the trot. And kind of yes!! yay. 

 

When we got back to the trailer I realized (according to equilab) we had trotted for 12 minutes. Ooops!! That's probably a lot more trotting than I should be doing now. But we split it up so much hopefully it's okay. He seemed happy and not at all resistant or uncomfortable. But whoops!