Western Lesson

 Fun day!!

And kind of chilly! Which was a nice bonus. I was expecting humidity to the max but while it was humid, it was more clammy and chilly than muggy. There was a nice breeze too.. a cool breeze, like a storms a brewin' breeze. But no rain today, so yay! We've had enough that I was grateful to not have it today. Anyways... I wore my Fleck shirt! The one that I had made with his sunset photo on it. And it's such a cool shirt...even if it doesn't really match anything. And I rode all three horses today, so it was kind of cool that Fleck joined us for all three rides. ;) Ha ha. Not really... I do need to make myself a hat band or something so he really can ride with us. 

Anyways... today was lesson with Kelly Eaton day. I opted to take Dan first because I wanted to hack Lyric after and felt like she needed a longer hack than Dan. And I was hoping to get there early enough to do a little hack with Dan too. Which I did. We were able to hack around the small lake and then head to the arenas. I told Kelly where we were at and my concerns.. basically that I needed "more bend" and was worried about his posture and him not using himself correctly - whether it's saddle fit or just.. the work in general. We had done a tiny bit of leg yielding before my lesson started as she was finishing up with Caroline, so she had us pick up the trot to see what we had. And then we went back to "shock and awe" to get him moving off my inside leg. BUT... it didn't take much shock and awe. :) He was actually quite good. He's so freakin' smart. I swear.. he kind of cheats. Ha ha.

So, we had halted and she had me very lightly tap him with my right leg, slightly back. He should step his right hind over. And he did. It took a few tries to get him more prompt and I had to use the whip to remind him once or twice, but.. .in general, he was pretty anticipatory. So then we did it at the walk and then at the trot. I have to make sure I'm timing it right... when the outside fore comes forward, that's what I ask, because that's when he's lifting up the inside hind. I *know* this, but I think sometimes I get sloppy and don't make my aids clean. So I need to consistently ask very softly and not keep getting louder and I need to make sure my timing is right. And when I did that, he was actually quite nice. And quite bent in the trot even. 

So then we went the other way and he was actually worse with the left hind. Interesting! Ha ha. A nice pat on the back for me... way to rehab that right hind Holly. Ha ha! We did the same thing tracking left and got some nice bend too. And he was soft and forward and quiet in his mouth. 

We also did some leg yield on the rail to help him engage the hind end and use his core. At the walk. It also gets him more even in both reins. She did tell me that I do need to keep the contact, especially with the outside rein, even in the bosal. Don't throw him away. 

We finished up and she mentioned that he had a few bobbly steps here and there, but more so in the beginning and not really at all towards the end. She didn't see anything worrisome and said that basically if he needs to warm up out of his discomfort, so be it. He's 15 and has had a lot of trauma! Poor guy. But she also said that she didn't see anything else and thought he looked mostly symmetrical and happy. He was soft in his mouth and seemed to be enjoying himself. Yay! She did say that she saw the neck muscling that I saw and agreed it wasn't great but that he was using himself nicely, so... give it time. So, maybe it isn't the saddle or too much work in general. Maybe it's just... getting back into work and compensating and me not being as balanced in the saddle myself. We'll give it time. As long as he seems happy, which he does. Mostly. And he tells me when he's not, so.. as long as I listen, we will hopefully make progress. I did mention that I wondered if some of it is from him throwing himself up into the canter with his head, vs pushing with his hind end. But we had run out of time, so.. she told me to try the leg yield on the rail, then turn for inside bend and canter and see if that helped. So we'll try that next time I ride. 

 

I was going to do a cool down ride but ended up talking to a friend I hadn't seen in awhile briefly, so I opted to just head back to the trailer and head home so I could swap ponies and come back for lesson number 2. I don't think he minded. 

So yep... good pony! He felt pretty decent so hopefully we can keep building on this. 

Obstacles

 photos: 5-26 sat obstacles

trying hard. good boy. backing is way better. stirrups shorter is helping me. got good circles on cloverleaf but still struggling a little bit with double slalom. may need to walk in the show.

neck still looks awful, but was using himself better today i think. rounder. left lead quite round and nice but right lead still a bit wonky. using his neck (hence the awful neck muscles???)

dressage and hack

 hacked hills... 

then hacked with marvin to lake. saw one snake

then arena work. shortened stirrups two holes. big help! felt silly but could ride. still wider twist but doable. even canter, even in cowboy boots only. 

pretty good kid. trying hard. didn't feel bad and had a decent ride despite the fact that i think his stifle is bothering him. but has only been 2 weeks and 4 days since noltrex, so.. will shockwave it in a few more days. may consider osphos too.

frothy though! lathered like shaving cream under his rear cinch straps. need to pull them off or use the rear cinch

hosed off and chilled while i shockwaved marvin. good boy

photos: 5-26 hack and dressage, video of hose and in the woods

spa day

 chiro, acupuncture and myofascial work on accessory nerve

Poor Daniel. He really is trying!

Today was a rough day. Long story short, but I had to adult this morning and ended up having the ATM eat $17,000 worth of checks that I deposited into the business account. I'm hopeful that it will get resolved.... eventually, but... gah! That's stressful. So... I finally did all my errands and ate some lunch and then grabbed Dan for a ride. The sun was out and it was a beautiful day but, it was very cleary not going to stay that way. There were some ominious dark clouds in the distance and the radar was not looking good. But I figured it was a decent enough chance and since we were at home, I could always head back in if we had to. So... we rode. 

I put him back in the expensive bosal to try it and see and put my roller spurs back on. We headed up to the arena and did a hill or two while Jean was finishing up and exiting the arena after her lesson. Then we did some walk work and he was much bendier today!

We did the gate and.. man, that's a tough one. It's like... sometimes I can nail it and other times.. we let the cows out! I'm so glad that I can keep practicing on it, because I need to get a "technique". But he's getting better about not helping. Then we did some trotting and he felt pretty decent. He tripped once or twice but was more forward. But he's still dragging that right hind. I can hear it. We cantered too and he's more forward for sure and hasn't tripped/fell out of the canter in the last ride or two. BUT... he got a little proppy and I think I'm jabbing him with my spurs! So I took them off. Sorry Buddy! I think my leg isn't as stable in the western saddle with the longer stirrups and then the long roller spurs are more pokey! So, I took them off and he was still pretty forward and bendy but not as goosey. Okay... I hear yah! I'll either have to get proper western spurs or try my nubs again. I need to ride in jeans with the paddock boots and my nubbin spurs to see if that works too. Or just go back to no spurs. But he definitely struggled at the gate without the spurs. Or... *I* struggled more. So.. hmmm... gonna have to figure something out. We also played with the sidepass. I decided NOT to drill the obstacles today. Mostly because Mackenzie had moved some of them for their lesson, but... also because I felt like maybe I needed to give him a break. Even the intro division is a lot of tight turns. So we worked on our western dressage.. just suppleness, circles, etc. He felt pretty decent but was a bit forward and maybe not as soft in his topline today. 

We finished our ride with a tiny bit of turn on the forehand and then I noticed he had stuck his tongue out and flailed it a tiny bit. It's not as obvious when he has a bit in.... and he didnt seem quite as stressed, but... it's there. And then I felt horrible. I really do think it hurts him to bend his right stifle. And I'm asking him to do all sorts of sitting and engagement... and he's trying. Bless him, he's trying. And.. honestly... this happens everytime I put him back to serious work.. he starts to look like crap again. His neck is getting that sag at the base of his withers... his traps are maybe filling in, maybe not... but.. his neck looks awful. Sigh... I wanted to cry. Bud... I'm so sorry. I just wanted to find a job that you could be comfortable in and enjoy and... now I've turned it into something that isn't. Ugh. And I don't know how much of it is the saddle itself... but my gut is it's more likely the stifle creating all the issues. Ugh... I should be mad at Funny, but I really am not. In the same way I'm not mad at Dan for breaking Fleck's jaw. It's just.... sad. And.. I'm mad at me.. because I can't just enjoy something... I have to be all competitive about it. And while I tell myself, Dan likes to be the center of attention ... he likes to show and show off..., maybe he does, but... it doesn't mean he still can't hurt too. So.... maybe he'll be okay. Maybe the noltrex will really make a difference soon. Maybe I can do some more "things" to help him out. Maybe I just need to back off and give it some more time. Maybe not.. maybe I need to realize that his comfortable place is the trails and only the trails. Or the occasional obstacle challenge. Sigh... But it's so hard to tell. Am I just emotional today and putting too much into one ride? Or is this something I"ve been ignoring in spite of the obvious signs for ... heck, probably years? I don't know. Maybe both? I signed up for a lesson with Kelly Eaton on Sunday so I'll see what she thinks. I guess at this point, I might as well continue to do the whole buckle series show and just take my foot off the gas pedal about trying to win it. I'll just go and do the series for the fun and joy of it. We'll go and have fun and maybe we'll walk the ten meter circles instead of trotting them. And we'll just have fun and enjoy it for what it is... a weekend with my bestie who's trying his heart out for me. And in the meantime, we'll simmer down on drilling and just do more hacking. 

I just pray that I hear him and put him first. I know that I do... but sometimes I think I stop listening for a bit so I don't have to hear. Because I just want him to be happy and comfortable SOOOO badly. So hopefully he'll get a nice trail ride before our lesson on Sunday. Or two. :) 

Oh, and poor guy... during our ride today I didn't realize that my get down rope had come loose and he stepped on it twice and stopped short twice before I realized what had happened. Ouch! Sorry buddy! My bad! When we left the arena, I let him shut the arena gate with his nose... to make him happy. :) Then we headed home and I untacked. Poor guy was sweaty! It's so humid though. It was starting to look pretty dark when we were finishing our ride and sure enough, the skies got real dark as I was untacking. I just managed to get him untied and was walking to the wash rack when it started pouring. Like.. my timing was SPOT ON!! ha ha.. Just like with Lyric yesterday. :) 

 

I hosed him off anyways cause he was dirty and still hot and turned him back out. Good pony. Thanks for trying. Then later tonight after dinner... he snuggled. Or used my face as a napkin. Whatever. ;) But we snuggled a bit. I hope he forgives me. 

Birthday Boy!!!

Happy Birthday to my baby boy! Who is somehow now 15!!!! What?!? I remember that email post with the first photos of you... and then meeting you and scratching your bum at 10 days old! My how time flies. But we've had some fun haven't we??!

 

I'm so grateful your mine. Even though God's plan was not for you to be my Prelim 3 Day horse. You've taught me so much. And we've had so much fun anyways. I really hope that the next 15 years hold more adventures and trail rides and beach rides and shenanigans galore!

 

To celebrate today we rode at home. I probably should have taken you on a trail ride with Baylor and had a pool party, but... I really wanted to play with our new gate. And mess with your saddle. So... sorry bubs! We'll trail ride soon. I promise. 

   

I started with checking his saddle fit. I think it's too wide for his angles but then too narrow for his barrel. If that makes sense. But with the shim pad on, it seemed to fit quite nicely. I took photos and sent them to Mark. And at first, I thought he was looking worse than he did almost 1.5 months ago, but... I do think he's actually filling in some trapezius. His neck just looks worse. I don't know how much of that is saddle fit vs going back to hard work. Because I feel like every single time I bring him back to work and come out of the bareback pad.. he gets like this. Every time. Sigh... Mark said he thought he looked better and is hopefully sending me another shim to use. So then i put his expensive bosal on and played with it and got it fitting a little better. 

 

So we headed to the arena in hand. I wanted to do some in hand work and set up another ground pole to serpentine over. When we got to the arena I tossed his reins over his horn and let him wander. While I was getting another pole, he wandered over to the new gate and immediately investigated. He took the rope part and pulled it off the post and went to open the gate. No way?! You are sooooo smart sir! Except when he did that, apparently we didn't have the gate weighted enough on the outside so it tipped. ooops! So then I had to go get two things to put on the other side of the standard to help keep it from falling over. Good boy though Dan! Then he wandered around and was at Jean's end of the arena. They were apparently riding around their farm and had come up the backside and saw Dan there without a rider. She yelled for me. Awww, sweet! I'm fine!! Just letting him wander while I set something up. :) Once I got everything set up, I grabbed him and we played with the sidepass pole. He can go left way better than he can go right. Which, I think makes sense with the right stifle. Maybe?? Anyways, he did a pretty decent job and got cookies. 

 

So then I got on and we rode. It was a pretty good ride. His canter felt quite good and forward, although I do wonder if I'm goosing him with the spurs! I didn't see any marks after my ride though, but doesn't mean I'm still not goosing him. And we were bendier. And the gate was so much fun! I'm so glad I have it. We tried it and the first pass was pretty darn easy. Like... okay, why do we need to practice this? And then the second pass... I totally forgot "how" to do it. Ha ha... Okay... yep, this is why. Then we did a few more tries and it's definitely going to take us a minute to find a technique. I can't do the two steps back, turn, and two steps back thing because... it doesn't work with him. He's long, the gate isn't bendy, it stabs us...  But I can get it fairly consistently if we halt, then back up almost to the hinge letting my hand glide along the gate (drop the rope), then we turn through and then half pass back over. This also, in theory, keeps the cows in! But it's also way easier right handed vs left handed. And it definitely isn't consistent yet. So I am very grateful that I have it to practice. We played a bit more and got some nice work in and then we headed out. 

 

I figured... the weather is cooperating.. let's take a walk through the neighborhood. It's your birthday... let's enjoy it. So we did. We had a nice ride and there was only one dog who did not follow us. And then another neighbor saw us coming and put his dog in the house. I thanked him and we chatted briefly, in a neighborly way. It was a lovely ride. 

    

Happy Birthday Dan. Thanks for being you and being such an amazing guy!

 

RAIN!!!

 RAIN!! We finally got rain! Of course it happened while we were hacking at Ashland, but I don't even mind. :) 

 

We had Patrick come to do feet this morning and I asked him if we could try Dan in the 3d pads instead of the big full frog support pads. So we did. Not sure it'll be any better, but... we're gonna give it a whirl. Then I hopped on Lyric for a quick ride.. then I took Funny for a lesson with Jacel at Barbaras. And then I headed home and swapped ponies and headed to Ashland with Dan. Knowing that it was likely to rain on us, but hoping that it would wait just long enough. It's been "scattered storms" that have just missed us for days, so... we desperately needed the storm to actually hit us today, but you know... 6 pm or later would be fine. ;) On the way to Ashland I got an emergency broadcast alert of 60 mph winds and large hail possible in certain areas. Greeeeeaatttt!

 

Anyways.. I got to Ashland before Sharon and groomed his filthy butt. He was nasty! And hairy! We got tacked up and hopped on. It was rumbling in the distance and the skies were getting kind of dark. So we opted to stay in the woods mostly. We hacked down to the lake because I figured Dan would want to splash. It's been so hot and humid this week. He splashed a tiny bit but not that much. He was more interested in snacking than hacking today. Ha! It had started to sprinkle a bit by then. And the thundering was still rumbling here and there. We then headed back to Raccoon loop and up the cross country field backside. We got to the top of the field and the rain had kind of stopped and the skies cleared a tiny bit. So we debated.... We decided to go around the small lake and then as we got back towards the parking lot... it still wasn't really raining. I told Sharon I really wanted to keep playing and even do a little trotting but that I wasn't sure if the weather would cooperate. I looked on the radar and it showed a light green for the moment but pretty quickly the red spot would be upon us. And looking out towards cross country again, it was getting quite dark. So we decided we should probably be smart and head home. 

  

We untacked and I hosed Dan off since he was so filthy and sweaty and wet. And while I was doing that, he grabbed the sign that asks us to unhook the hose when we're done and pulled it right off the post! Daniel! He was chewing on it briefly but I couldn't get my phone out quick enough to take a photo. Oops! Luckily he didn't break it.. just pulled the nail through it. Whooops! I stuck it back and then we headed back to the trailer. At this point it was starting to rain again so we loaded up and headed home. On the way home it started raining hard and then there was a LOT of lightning. Big streaks! Yikes. We definitely made the right call. I got home and let him out and he galloped up to the hay feeder with the girls. 

   

And then it rained pretty steadily for a good few hours tonight. Yay!! And we might get a little more in the wee hours of the morning. Thank you God! My pastures were getting crispy.

 

I took some photos of Dan's back as I do feel like he's filling in. But... when I tried to do comparisons, he almost looks worse! I think it's my positioning though. Sharon offered to help me next time we ride together so we can get the same positioning and have a fair comparison. BUT... I do wonder how much is related to his stifles and hocks too. I really do need to do some focused bodywork and rehab on him again. Arghhh..