Lunging and Murphy's Law

Ok, so after that awesome ride on Wednesday, I had started planning out the rest of the week (silly me, but we'll get to that later). After work on Thursday I went up and groomed him (no stains! He'd been out all night!) and then put surcingle, side reins, etc on him so we could do some lunging. Beforehand I had gone down to the ring and set up some poles and a calvaletti.
The weather was awful, humidity was making the air so thick that it was almost hard to breath. On top of the not so nice weather the bugs were swarming.
So for ha-ha's I brought my camera with me (the real one, not my blackberry). I managed to take one video, as I really suck at filming and lunging at the same time. In it you can see he really doesn't know verbal commands and has no concept of how to walk on a lungeline.



Well after this little video he got fresh the other way. Due to the humidity and bugs I hadn't planned on lunging him long. I'd also never lunged him in side reins before (but I think he had been worked with them before I owned him). However, I couldn't end our lunging session on a bad note, so we had to keep going. Part of the problem was that he seemed to be counting time in his head, and once it had been about 20 minutes he had decided he was done. Threw on the breaks and spun to look at me. I know that habit probably got started as he used to push his last owners around. He'd misbehave and they would back off, essentially training him to repeat his bad behavior.

We eventually got to a place where I lunged him over the calvaletti both directions. It was hilarious! He was so awkward but finally did it beautifully once both directions. So we ended on that good note and by then he was sweaty and almost dripping. So we got a nice cold shower, a hand walk down the road to check things out, then another shower and finally some light grazing before I tucked him in for the night (brushed him off, rubbed legs down with liniment, etc).

So I was all set. I would ride him Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, giving him Monday off. I came home from the barn and found out my best friend's grandfather had died. The wake was scheduled for Friday (which I did attend) and the funeral was at 11am on Saturday. Okay so I would ride Thursday and the weekend, no big deal...
(Again, Silly me making plans.)
I went to work and planned on going out to lunch at the pub down the road (I'd been sent an email for a free entrée of my choice). We had a lovely lunch and went to walk back out across the sand/gravel parking lot. I wasn't paying attention and I stepped in a small hole. Well my ankle collapsed (or as I say "Popped"), I went flying, skinned both knees and had unbelievable pain in my ankle. I then used my father as a crutch, and then it happened.... my ears starting roaring, my vision got funny, I tried taking deep breathes but it was too late. My body was in too much shock and next thing I know I'm on the ground opening my eyes. My father looking petrified, I inwardly groaned.

"I feinted didn't I?"

Gotta love genetics (that's a story for another time). I knew the drill, I had Rescue Remedy in my purse, along with my ankle brace and Advil. As far as I was concerned I was fine. My dad however was not convinced. Long story short, I eventually got dragged to the Doctor's later that afternoon. A couple of x-rays later it was determined I had fractured my ankle. (Son of a B*tch!) I was prescribed a space boot, offered pain pills (HELL NO. I'm good with Advil Liqui-gels, this statement made to doctor chuckle) and was told to come back in two weeks.

TWO WEEKS!?!? I can't ride for TWO FLIPPIN' WEEKS?!?! Stupid Murphy's Law...

So needless to say I'm not thrilled with the whole situation. And the kicker is, I know my body and everybody tells me I'm wrong. The doctor had given me that same disbelieving look when I told him that my Chiropractor describes me as "double jointed to the extreme". Then he tested for himself at my instance that I wasn't making this up and his look said it all. Yes I really am that flexible, yes I know it's just as much a curse as a gift, etc, etc. They said my ankle would swell up huge, I said it wouldn't (guess who was right). They said it would be more painful (I only took one advil this morning, and that was more for my knee then the ankle). At this point I'm highly irritated. The space boot is heavy, makes stairs near impossible, and it chafes and makes me overheat. Plus it makes that awful velcro noise every time I move. Eeew.

I have quickly decided I would have been better off with an air cast and a pair of crutches. If only the fates could have been that merciful. When wearing the space boot I'm in more pain than when it's off. If it doesn't get better in a few days I'm going to call the doctor. The way it makes me move is pissing my knee off to the point it hurts worse then the ankle.


That was my work look today, sexy right?

So despite everything I still went up to barn last night, this morning and tonight. UK is taking everything in stride (he's been a good boy and hasn't spooked at the strange thing attached to my leg). One of my friends may end up riding him for me, and if not we'll be having a 2 week lunging bootcamp (hooray!). I'm annoyed mostly at the fates (or what-have-you) as they keep throwing monkey wrenches in my plans! Well I guess it's true what they say:

"the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry" or the quote I prefer from the Van Zant song "If you want to hear God laugh just tell him your plans"



On that note I leave you now dear readers with this peaceful picture of the horses in their anti-insect garb from this morning.

So... Good night, good luck and watch for holes in parking lots!

-Jessica/EnglishCowgirl

From spooky to awesome

So I managed to get out of work early yesterday! I ran home, ate some lunch and changed into my jeans and paddock boots. Then off to the barn I went!

I was greeted by a stall of epic messiness and a horse seeming to be shouting at me to look at all his lovely new stains... (I should have taken a picture!)

I'd like to explain my frustration a bit. I became a horse owner at the age of sixteen to a fantastic gelding named Jake (Okay, so he was a brat with issues when I first got him). He was a Dark Bay with his only white being his facial markings. You can't really see poop stains on a brown/black horse. Fast forward a bit and I'd picked up Tess. Tess is a bay, just bay, with a few white hairs on her head and some white scars on her legs.

Now I have UK and oh my... the maintenance of those damn white markings! I thought I knew what I was getting into. I mean I managed an "A" Circuit show barn with massive grey jumpers that loved to roll in their own filth. However, I had two heated wash stalls to use and it was my job to keep them clean. I hadn't completely thought this through, and now it's driving me nuts. I have no wash stall (hose in the driveway), and it takes three times as long to groom him (I also now have a use for Green Spot Remover, that's a first!).

Okay, so anyways, I digress.

After cleaning the barn, I brought the critters in and started the massive grooming project. I got the worst of the stains off and then proceeded to tack him up. Betsy stopped in and told me he'd been running back and forth a good chunk of the afternoon for no apparent reason (I think he'd just realized the people behind the paddock have horses, however that's a story for another time). Well that explained why he was still a bit sweaty.
I finished tacking him up, adding a standing martingale (he tends to be a giraffe or try to hard). I got my gear on and we headed out to the ring where I had put out a bunch of ground poles for trotting. Mounted and began walking.

And he started looking, and didn't want to pay attention, and was getting the tense that means he's thinking about spooking. Not at the cars or anything logical. He mostly was looking out into the great wide open field... Horses.
I continued riding like nothing was wrong, just maybe sinking my heels lower a bit. Then while circling at the trot he spooked and went back. Growl, leg and repeat the circle. Still wanting to looky-loo but slightly better, encouragement, and circle again. Paying attention to me, rewarded and move on to the next thing. That was the only real spook, but he did try pulling a few things as we went along.
I know that partially he was testing me, as his last owner would have totally panicked when he spooked and backed off, maybe even dismounting. So not only am I having to battle the ghosts in the field and woods, but the ghosts of bad behavior being rewarded in the past.
Then he finally really started listening, loosened up a tad, and started trying. Needless to say I was happy, but still prepared for more misbehavior. So we finally cantered and it was fantastic! It wasn't all perfect but when he was on, boy was he on! I mean it was that gorgeous on the bit, perfect round hunter/equitation canter. Not a lope, a canter! After getting a great attitude from him both ways we ended on that good note. I hopped off and then we walked out of the far gate, down the side of the road, into the driveway and then the barn. That way he could see what was on the other side of the trees he had been wanting to spook at.

Untacked, bathed (the picture below is him chilling in his stall after his bath and grooming), groomed more and then put him in his stall. I cleaned up, then dinner and tucked them in for the night! I went home with that happy post ride glow, and with a further realization that I'm way out of shape. UK needs muscle and I need to get back in shape, so that's why I'm so glad we can "work out" together!

TTFN!

Shoes, Shots and more progress!

So I've owned UK 9 days now, it sure seems like a lot longer! We did quite a lot last week.
I lunged him a couple of times, just lightly. He needs to learn to relax on the lunge line, he seems to always be waiting for me to ask him to do something terrible. He also has no concept of walking on a lunge line, and we're going to be working on that in the future.
I'm a firm believer that all horses should be able to do all gaits while on a lunge line. Especially the walk, if a horse cannot walk calmly with balance on the lunge line, then the rest of the gaits will be tense and unbalanced. My TB mare I just sold had the same problem when I got her, she was tense and cranky and would never walk. After a lot of work she'd walk on command, loosen up and wait for the next cue patiently. It really helped her figure out how to balance herself without relying on the human to do it for her. She got to the point where we only did canter departs from the walk on the lunge line!
I want UK to learn to have that confidence in himself. I went back through his records and found out he started "headset training" at age 2 and 4. That's a big part of his problem, he tries too hard to please and ends up unbalancing himself by trying position his head the way he was taught. Then he gets nervous and cranky and starts to fray mentally.
So I decided we'd do something different..... I tacked him up western (I'd only ridden him english to this point). I put out a bunch of poles and some standards in the ring and decided we'd play around a bit. I made a box and a V shape to back through out of poles. The standards I set up on the long center line for weaving. I learned some important things about UK!

1. He likes weaving at the trot, he got very perky, and got really enthusiastic when we started treating them like they were set up for pole-bending.

2. He learns quickly when it comes to things like a turn on the haunches in side the box of poles. He quickly figured out that I didn't want him to step out of the box.

3. He has no idea how to turn and back! He backs beautifully going straight, but he could not grasp the concept of backing through the shallow V of poles. He just couldn't comprehend it, and we'll go back to it with ground work.

4. He enjoyed doing something different! He got nice and forward and relaxed a good bit.

So overall it was a good ride, that is until I went to walk him out and Savannah started screaming her head off. He was tired and just started misbehaving and kept trying to turn back towards the barn. With his history of rearing I was cautious. I got him to go forward when he didn't want to, hopped off and led him out of sight of the barn, and then we went in.

Meanwhile his feet were falling apart! His paddock at his old barn was really wet, and he had some minor thrush, no big deal. However, after just a few days out in our lovely rocky turnout he was much more agile, but his bare hooves were chipping away at an alarming rate! I called the farrier and he promised to come out that Saturday. I also had called the vet and he was only available to come out Saturday as well... Oh boy, big day for UK! His rabies was going to expire, so I really couldn't wait.

So Saturday morning dawns and I get to the barn at 6:50am (I'd like to mention that I normally don't feed weekend mornings, However Betsy was away), fed them and swept the aisle real quick. Chuck (Who I love and drives 45miles one way for me), my farrier showed up at 7am as promised, and by the time he was done setting up UK had finished his breakfast with time to spare. Chuck agreed with my assessment that UK needed to go to 4 shoes (did I mention my bank account winced?). We only cold shod him, as we didn't want to overwhelm the poor guys. He did very well, and behaved much better then expected. Chuck believes he wore shoes at one point, but a very long time ago. So put on bell boots for turnout (just in case) and turned him and his girlfriend out. UK had me laughing so hard. I don't think he'd ever worn bell boots before, he was duck-walking!

I cleaned the barn and then ran to the DMV to renew my license (awful picture of course), picked up grain, ran home to grab some late breakfast, etc. Then I came back up to meet the vet. As we had a 2 hour window and it was really hot (90's)! I let them cool off in their stalls for awhile while I tried to map all his markings on his Coggins. Oh-Meh-Gawd! I've never had to draw that much! Jake had a Star, Stripe, Snip and 2 whorls. Tess has 5 white hairs on her head and some scars! His markings completely overwhelmed me.
Then I decided to see how he felt about clippers (DUN DUN DUNNNN). Not a big fan! But he did let me do his muzzle and his bridlepath after he got over his intial shock that I'd do such a thing to him.
Still no vet, so I finished grooming him, threw on the english bridle (Full Cheek with a copper roller), grabbed my helmet and made our way to the ring.

I had decided to ride bareback...

I didn't have the guts to try cantering him yet, but he was pretty good walk/trot. Didn't want to stop going backwards at one point(this is something he would pull with his old rider). A good shove of the hips accompanied by a growled "GIT" solved that. He was a bit pissed I didn't give up, but he finally snorted and gave up the shenanigans. Of course the Vet then pulled in. He was a good boy for his shots. The vet approved my "drawings" and that was it! Fed them dinner and let them back out for the night.

That's pretty much it for now. I'm either going to ride or lunge him tonight, providing the weather holds.

And the adventure continues!

And it begins!

Hi All! (Or Hi great wide internet!)

Let's start by me introducing myself, My name is Jessica and as stated in my brief bio to the left *points*, I'm in my mid-twenties, married, etc. I've always loved horses and started riding at a very young age. I bought my first horse at 16, and now with the addition of UK have owned a total of three horses. I ride english and western, I used to compete (and now don't have the time or the money), I managed multiple barns, including an "A" Circuit barn and taught riding to humans and taught horses too! I currently no longer work full time in the horse world, and just train a couple horses on the side for friends.

But enough about me!

I am the proud new owner of a sweet 8yr old APHA/PtHA chestnut tobiano gelding named The Diversified U K! I've started this blog to chronicle his progress and life in the times to come. He's a big sweety, and worthy of a lot of love and kindness.
I bought him from a very nice Mother and Daughter who bought him in January. The daughter is a novice, and UK was just too green for them. He came to them head-shy and scared. Someone before them did a lot of not nice things to this sweet boy, and it breaks my heart that he went through that!

So here is my mission! To help him know kindness and to forget pain, to know he's safe and won't be beaten. I'll establish boundaries so he feels safe and we'll continue with his training. We'll ride english and western, and do a little jumping. I want to get him in shape, maybe go to a fair, and I'd really love to ride him in The Ride For the Cure this Fall!

I purchased him and brought him home to my friend Betsy's barn on 06/13/10. Then quickly loaded up my TB mare and brought her new home. When I got back I gave him a good grooming.
Day 2: After work we got groomed, lunged a bit and then ridden lightly! He was fantastic, even with the cars and people walking their dogs past the ring!

Today is Day 3: He seems to be finally getting settled, so when I turned him and his pasture mate (The 32yr old QH mare Savannah) I opened the gate to the big grass field. Boy did he get happy, and then he spooked and glued himself to his new friend.

TTFN!

-Jessica/EnglishCowgirl

Test test, test and testing. La-de-da test. Wooo test!