Super Pony

Oh, somebody was FABULOUS today!!!

 

We rode at home and had a good time. I tacked him up with the felt liner pad and the turquoise and black saddle blanket and meh... I don't think it's gonna work. There wasn't any space between the horn and his wither. I don't know if I need shims.. a thicker pad... or it's just not gonna work. So I took it off and put the brown with turquoise pad I bought from Sharon on him. That one seemed to fit him well and he seemed happy in it, so... maybe I just need a thicker pad? I think Sharon has one she's gonna let me try on to see. 

 

We headed up to the arena and warmed up and got to work. He felt pretty good and was fantastic! We did our obstacles and he nailed them perfectly! The livestock pen was marchy and since we had warmed up with some turn on the haunches (and I realized turning left is his happy turn direction) we did a turn on the haunches to go back in and he was lovely! So if we can pull that off it might get us a higher score at regionals. We'll keep playing with it to see. (And hopefully Polly will add Friday to her clinic that filled and I can do that and ask her advice on it). Then we did the switch cup reinback thing and he was perfect! Maybe he could have had a little more march to his reinback, but he stopped square and right on target, back straight and smoothly, and I didn't drop the cup. Good pony! He got a cookie for that. Then we ran through the single slalom and he was lovely. And then we jumped the jump and he trotted it and wasn't stupid. Although he didn't really "jump" it so much as trot it, but... the lesser of two evils I think. We also ran through the drums and he was pretty darn smooth! Another cookie for that! And then he did the gate and the reverse gate quite lovely! Good pony! I do think I need to add some other fun obstacles that maybe are new and different so he doesn't get bored with the same ones. Like maybe some more interactive ones that he can play with. 

 

I also played with the canter. He canters from a smooch consistently now! It's awesome. I also sit back onto his outside hind which helps him lift off too. Since his canter felt pretty decent we played with cantering between obstacles. We did a few walk to canters but I didn't ask for canter to walk yet. But we had fun playing with it. Once he lost his right hind.. it just got hung up behind him. But only once!

 

We also did some leg yields and some regular dressage work at the trot. He felt pretty darn good. Yay!

 

Barebackin' Again

 Daniel was naughty today! I wasn't expecting to ride because it was a big heat warning.. we had cancelled all lessons for the day even. But then.. it wasn't so bad. The humidity was way better, the temps were only as high as 91 (vs 99 yesterday!), and most importantly, there was a lovely breeze. I had ridden Funny that morning but after lunch.. I decided to take Dan out for a hack! Because.. it felt kind of nice honestly. 

He was in the back corner with the girls and they were all a bit sweaty. So I hosed him off before I loaded him up. I let him graze while I turned the hose off and he cantered off down the lane again. POLES! I yelled... as he tripped over them. Then he came galloping back at me, jumping the poles like a bounce-ish. Fool! Then he trotted out the gate and down the driveway and then took off across Art's yard and then down Jean's driveway. DANIEL FLOYD BREAUX!! What on earth!!!?? At least he looked and sounded sound. Sigh... Luckily he got distracted by Jean's horses up by the cabin and was sniffing noses and squealing at them. I was able to catch him and despite the girls screaming and running the fenceline, he kept it together and we got loaded up. Fool!

 

We got to Ashland and I put his bareback pad on and the bosal and off we went. We just meandered around a good bit. He feels sloppy still, but maybe a bit less draggy. We had a good walk and did a little bit of trotting in a few spots. Then I wanted to challenge him just a tiny bit so we got to the smaller hay field with my walnut tree and we cantered some. He picked it right up and felt really round in the canter but after bout 15 strides he swapped behind... and then again. We ended up cantering about 3 times each directin but I kept it super short, like 10-15 strides each time. Then we trotted a tiny bit more and then we went and splashed in the lake. We walked home to cool down, although honestly.. it wasn't too bad in the woods with the shade.

      

  

I do think his topline and posture are looking better!! The shodows make it look a little worse than it is, but I do think it's better!

    

    

 

BUCKLE bunnies!

 Apparently it doesn't mean what I thought it meant. Ha ha.. But Dan and I won that buckle!!! We are now very proudly going to strut our walk trot buckle. Hee hee. I'm so freakin' proud of him though! 

We got up this morning and let the boys graze in the pasture together while we cleaned out the barn and packed up. Then Dan got a bath and we loaded up and headed to Stableview. We got tacked up and headed over to the arena. The boys were super and we warmed up casually... lots of breaks.. because even at 9:30 ish am it was still pretty brutally hot. 

Dan and I headed in for our turn. Cindy had mentioned that the horses seemed to get a bit sluggish in the arena so perhaps I should aim for a bit more pep. Judy offered me her whip so I took it but then Dan got a bit zoomy! Ha ha. I handed it back to her since the judge was still writing notes. Then we trotted around and she blew the whistle and in we went. It was a pretty nice test! The first half was much better than the last half, but.. it was still decent! I thought our trots were decent, our walk was good, our walk half circles felt nice and smooth... our halt and reinback felt pretty darn good, but apparently needed a bit more fluidity and energy. Then when we did our trot circle and back to the rail he did that thing where he almost slams on the breaks for a split second and breaks to the walk but I was able to kick him on THREE times! Dude... we're not done. He recovered in his diagonal line trot. He didn't lengthen because I didn't ask but he got a bit more bold. That's twice now that we've scored our highest score on that line, so... perhaps I need to ride a bit more forward in the entire test. And then our half circle and down centerline got a bit quick and rushed and we overshot centerline a tiny bit. So it wasn't great. However, he didn't bolt down centerline, so yay for that. It was a pretty good test overall. Good pony! We ended up scoring a 64 and change, which put us in 2nd place behind Judy who scored a 66 and change. Yay Judy and Teller! And yay us! And of course... I didn't look at my score or placing til after I had finished Ease of Handling. Also, I had to giggle because as we were leaving the arena the announcer said it was "Holly Breaux and Wapz... Hot... Damn!.. oh, I mean Dan.. no m. Whoops". ha ha... I told her she was pretty accurate. Dammit Dan! Hee hee

 

We headed back to the trailer and hurriedly untacked them and hosed them because we had to get back for the EOH course walk. And of course they got treats and carrots and water. Then we headed over to walk the course. We learned (still learning in this new adventure) that because the bull line was numbered as 7a (get pole), 7b (spear ring), and 8 (replace pole) that we could in fact go between the bull head and the last barrel (8) to get to the water. It didn't count as crossing through the obstacle because they were numbered separately. Ah... good to know! It gave us a better approach to the water too. 

We headed back and let the ponies off to graze, pee, and drink some water. Judy and I sat and had a little snack with the fans too. Then we got a text from Linda that they were running early and we should perhaps get a move on. Apparently for Working Equitation, if they have scratches we are expected to move up on our time. As opposed to dressage or eventing where you are allowed to wait til your allotted time. Doesn't seem fair, but okay. So we tacked up and headed over. And then realized we had about an hour before we rode. Ugh... Oh well. We hung out in the shade and it wasn't too bad. There is always a pretty nice breeze at Stableview at least. And I said a quick prayer. I thanked God for the opportunity to enjoy my pony and have a new "career path" for him. I thanked God for answering my prayers and then some. Dan could easily have only been trail sound... or way worse. And here we were... fighting to hold the lead for our belt buckle at a new sport. And a fun one... and one that Dan enjoyed and is good at! So Thank you God!!!

Once we got closer to our ride times, we warmed up. Dan felt good. Much calmer and more controlled than yesterday! I even joked to Judy that this bosal "had some bite" since he was responding to my half halts very nicely! Or perhaps he was a hot and tired boy. We kept the warm up fairly simple but luckily they had a cross rail so I was able to jump it twice to make sure he wasn't going to launch it. He didn't! Phew. And then we were up! Oooh, deep breaths... 

And off we went. We adjusted our garocha pole... and then we heard the whistle. We trotted over, halted and saluted the judge and got started. Through the start flags! Then we went to the double slalom and had to duck under a tree branch to get there. Ha ha. Whoops. Our double slalom was a bit wonky. We weren't quite in the groove and I overshot my first turn and then we lost momentum/balance and broke gait for  a split second.. but then we recovered decently and it was better as we finished. Then we trotted past the bull head and to the water. We walked through the water pretty darn nicely.. no stopping to drink, no snorkeling, no pawing and splashing. Good boy! (We apparently could have been a bit more stretched down, but.... okay.. that's risky!). Then we went straight to the drums and that wasn't too bad. He was a bit stiff and not as bent as I should have gotten him and one circle was a bit wider than the other, but not terrible. Then we trotted straight over back to the jump. I made sure to keep him soft and rocked back and he actually trotted the jump quite politely and didn't land in a bucking canter! I'm pretty sure he actually landed in a trot. We scored a 7.5 on that! (I think, maybe a 7.. but it was our highest score). Then I was able to go straight into the figure 8, which was my concern. There wasn't a lot of room to circle if he had landed bucking or cantering... not without falling into the water complex or running into the bull line. From the figure 8, we went to the gate. It was a reverse gate. Thank goodness Shannon had told us about it because I had no idea before that last show that there was another option. So we had been practicing at home. He did great, although it wasn't super smooth. We got sticky a few times but not for very long. Then we made the direct turn to the garocha pole, which probably worked in my favor as he didn't have time to build up speed. He felt very steady and controlled and not runny! We even speared the ring and my pole didn't even think about bouncing out on the deposit. Yahoo! We then went around to the gate, which was great (also.. let him stretch more as he walks it), and then we had a decent trot and halt at the switch cup. Right on target. Then we trotted out and went through the finish and then halted and saluted. GOOD PONY!!! Overall I thought we should have scored decently. He was pretty good for all the obstacles although we would probably get told we were a bit stiff, needed more bend, and needed to be smoother. I also worried a little bit that my lines/approaches were a bit too... direct and not as "harmonious". But that was on me, not Dan. :) And I was thrilled about the jump and water!

We hacked back to the trailer because we were volunteering as timers and we didn't think we had much time. On the way back Dan made a snarky face at Teller and then Teller sort of spun his butt around at him a few times, so... we joked that they were hot and cranky. Us too, us too. ;) So another quick "good boy", cookies and carrots, hose off, water, and then a pee for them... then back in the trailer with the fans! Then we were speed walking towards the course again (which was way on the other side of the farm.. probably a ten minute walk on foot). We got a tiny bit away and heard Dan squeal and then he started double barreling or kicking out with his right hind repeatedly. What in the world?!? You love Teller!! We walked back over while I was yelling at Dan to cut it out. He was kicking for a good 45 seconds! Dude! Luckily no one was harmed, except for my poor fan. Somehow he managed to bend one of the blades in the fan, but not the cage itself. And It was on the trailer ramp far back. We decided that probably Dan was pissed and wanted Tellers hay instead of his hay so Judy was so nice and gave me a flake of hers and Dan was happy. Seriously dude?!? We were able to put the other fan I had up and walk away with no further commotion. 

We got back to the EOH course and there was no one there. Um... did we miss the whole thing?? We weren't gone that long were we? No... apparently they were on lunch break and then they had a 30 minute course walk and then the speed rounds didn't happen until 15 minutes after that. Oh man.... We could have done a better job getting the boys settled. Sigh... We debated walking back and letting them out to graze for a bit vs just waiting it out vs... We found a nice guy with a golf cart and hitched a ride back. Since the boys were happily munching hay and seemed content in the shade with the fans, we decided to pack up the trailer and get all the things ready to roll once we were done. Then we took the boys off, let them drink and walk around a tiny bit and then we loaded them back up while we went to volunteer. We stopped at the show office first and got our tests and ribbons. Judy won dressage and I got second and then I won EOH (whoo hooo!) and Judy and Kristin tied for 2nd but Kristin won the tie breaker, so Judy got bumped to third. We enjoyed the air conditioning a bit longer and then headed over. 

It was fun timing. We learned something too! In speed rounds, you can do any gait and don't have to have the correct lead. It's just get the obstacles done, done correctly, and in the correct order. And if you spear the ring, you get a 5 seconds taken off your time. And one girl dropped the cup in the switch cup. The rules are that you have to get off and pick it up at her level, so she would have lost a ton of time.. especially since her horse was tall and the mounting block was far away. So instead of called for a "pass" and left the cup on the ground. That gave her 30 seconds added to her time, but... it might have been smarter because she probably would have added more than 30 seconds to get off, get the cup, get to the mounting block, get back on, get back to the switch cup poles, etc. So.. good to know! 

After that they did the awards so rather than walking all the way back and then halfway back again we just went to hang out in the office. In the air conditioning! It didn't take too terribly long and then they announced the winners. 

Dan and I won champion for intro!! Whooo hooo!! We won a sweatshirt, a rambo halter (cob sized doh!), a big tub of fly repellent supplement, some odor eliminator, and our big champion ribbon. Whoo hooo! Judy won reserve champion! Whoo hoo! She got some handimash and two other things too. Nice! Then after they did the show champion and reserve ribbons, they did the buckle series awards. You had to do two of the three buckle series shows to qualify and they did point totals. And Dan and I won!!! WHOOO HOOO! We got our belt buckle! And it is so pretty. And has turquoise in it too. YAY!! Mission accomplished. :) Good pony!!! 

So then we headed back, deposited our goodies... and let the ponies off for a pee, more water, and a tiny bit of grazing. Luckily becaose of the shared hay, the boys were friends again. And because of the fans they weren't even really sweaty, so... we didn't even have to hose them back off. We let them graze for about 10 minutes and then we loaded up and headed home. 

I'm so proud of him! And us. He was so good and stepped up and did all the things I asked. And did it well. And I think he enjoys this game. So.. now I guess we'll go to Tennessee for regionals in October!!

Feeling good... too good??

 hot and steamy. got to aiken uneventfully. hosed off, tacked up... went to school. on the XC course and dan was rowdy! Put his head down between his nose and crow hopped/bucked a few times... 3 times. once after the cross rail. buckskin horse was hunting us down. :( Lost my phone after the jump and she almost stepped on it. Luckiily not! went back and switched to jenny's bosal wtih the hanger vs my buckaroo bosal with the headstall. three bad rides iin the headstall so nope! trotted back to xc and much better behaved... headstall change? got his shenanigans out? Buckskin gone? who knows, but much better behaved and no more bucking. 

played on the obstacles we were allowed. did slalom in the trees ;) practiced switch cup halt at the sprnkler heads. dark and stormy and thundering so headed back... hosed off... made it to lizs and turned the boys out... happy to eat grass and grazed politely together. put them ini stalls for dinner and to avoidi the bugs. left them iin overnight. all ready for some AC and dinner... and her AC went out... 88 degrees in the house!! took cold shower whicih helped, ordered food... ac guy came... no ac tonight...well, minimal ac tonight... fans... it's all good. took a second cold shower and went to bed with fans and light ac

we'll see how tomorrow goes! Grateful to God that he feels sound... sound enough to be rowdy. ;) and sound on smaller circles. 

photos: 8-26 buckle series

Grateful, and also irritated

 Today was an... oxymoron of a day. :) 

 

I was smart and only scheduled one farm today so I could prep for the show. Which was nice as hot as it's been. And with the ponies all throwing shoes, I kind of needed to ride today. So, I had planned to ride with Kelli. The plan was to go for a nice long hack so Kelli could take advantage of having me and Dan to be Marvin's emotional support buddy, and then do a little arena work. She wanted me to watch and get some videos so she could send them to the vet, and then I told her I needed to ride through my test and then check Dan to see how he was on smaller circles. 

 

So we got to Ashland. I was a hair late because it took me longer than I expected. We tacked up and hopped on. We hacked to the lake and then by then, Kelli had changed her mind and wanted to head straight back to the arenas instead of looping around and staying on the trails longer. So we headed down racoon loop, but we took the long path to see Fern Gulley and minimize the downhill for Marvin. Then we got to the XC field. I asked her if she cared if I trotted a log and then did our "water crossing" practice for the show. She didn't, so we did. And he was great! He's learning that there is a time to work and a time to play. :) With the gate too! (or a time to help and a time to not help). So then I let him trot through it and I also trotted a tiny bit. He felt sound! He was maybe a little .... I don't know.. he felt sound, but.. felt maybe a little uncertain? A little sloppy? I don't even know. I was basically letting him trot around on a loose rein and not asking him to use himself at all. But he was happy and felt decent. We "jumped" a few logs and he only launched himself and cantered a few steps over one. The others he actually trotted or jumped from a trot and only cantered a step or two after. Good boy!

 

So then Kelli did a tiny bit of trotting out there. We headed up to the arena and noticed the sky was getting a little dark and there were a few rumbles of thunder. We got to the arena and Kelli asked if she could ride and do her 10 minutes of trot and 2 minutes of canter and have me video and then she would video me. I told her yes, but... I did want to ride through my test. So she started trotting and I started videoing.. and it got darker and darker. And then the wind whipped up and it was nice and cool and refreshing! And then it started raining. Kelli rode on for about 2 minutes and then it started with some thunder and lightning. She stopped, got off, and took off for the trailer. Um... okay... Bye I guess...

 

So Dan and I walked back down to the small arena and I picked up the trot and we went right in and did our test. It wasn't perfect, but it wasn't bad at all! I mean.. it's walk trot, but still. He was a good boy. We finished it despite a few lightning flashes and some thunder and all the rain. Sigh.. I'm so tired of getting rained on and having all my tack and boots be soaking wet! So then I did a few small circles... ten meters or 8 meters or so to check and he's not lame! Yahooo! So then I decided not to keep pushing it and we headed to the trailers. I untacked him and the rain started to let up. By the time I got him hosed off, it was pretty much only a drizzle. Sigh.. of course. Oh well. While I am painfully frustrated and annoyed... and really wish I had more time so that I could have played with him a little and seen if getting him a bit more collected and rocked back made him sore or if he was still comfortable.... I'm also VERY grateful to God that he is sound... even on smaller circles! Because that was not the case four days ago. I very purposely thanked Him... and also thanked Him for not letting us get struck by lightning because I was being stubborn. And, quite honestly... Dan knows his job.. it's walk trot... and even if we don't have a good show and don't win the belt buckle... I'm still riding my horse! Which is very much an answered prayer. And not only is an answered prayer.. it's more than it could have been. I could have a horse that is only sound enough to walk the trails... and God has been so kind and merciful to let me do more with him. So... I'm grateful. But hopefully I'm also allowed to be aggravated at the weather too. 

  

Now to hope that he stays comfy through the end of Saturday and we can at least give that buckle our best shot!