I think this weather sucks.

Yup, I really hate it. Mid to upper 80's in May is so not okay. The bugs are killer and there is no relief from the heat. Ugh! I've been riding UK bareback as the thought of putting on half chaps makes me wince. I have never enjoyed the heat, and I doubt I will till I'm old and decrepit. 

The upside of riding him bareback (besides making my muscles work twice as hard) is that it's as close contact as you can get, so it's great for working on lateral movements! We do a lot of bending and circles, as he's still not quite balanced enough when tracking right. Counter bend seems to help him the most, and it has the added benefit of keeping him focused. 

This morning before the heat reached unbearable temperatures I lunged UK, first on a lunge line then free over a jump. He was a bit cranky at first, as Dacharia was making a big deal about me keeping him from her. I took pictures using the sport motion setting again. I love going through all the photos, it's like an animation!

Look at him bend! Look at that neck!! 

I am so very, very proud! 

He only knocked a rail down once, and it was because Dacharia distracted him and he got too deep. Other then that he was excellent. (I started him out over a crossrail oxer first before putting it up to the height in the pictures.)

:p

So that's it for now. Hopefully it will cool down soon so I can actually jump him under saddle without getting heat stroke!

Bodyclipping

So I've noticed a few posts and mentions regarding bodyclipping over the last few days. From tips and hints to suggestions as to what clippers to use. I have quite a few opinions on those subjects...

I've done a lot of bodyclipping over the years. I did my first bodyclipping at 16, it was terrifying as I was handed the clippers and left to fend for myself. Also they were the huge and heavyweight Oster Clipmasters. I struggled through however and managed to do a pretty decent job, it didn't help any that it was a black and white paint.

After that I read up and watched other people who had more experience than me. Then I started small, by perfecting trimming noses, ears, feet, etc. Then I moved up to a basic trace clip on my QH. My first pair of clippers were refurbished Wahls that I got for twelve bucks. They lived a good life till a horse spooked and sent them flying down a concrete aisle.

Years passed and I eventually got to a point where people were asking me to clip their horses. Instead of using other people's clippers I ponied up the money and bought a pair Wahl KM2 clippers, which I still have (and love).

For some reason I really enjoy doing a great bodyclip. Maybe it's my small way of showing my artistic side. Once I was barn manager I had some real fun bodyclipping. I started leaving a marking in hair on a hindquarter. It started simply enough, I used a maple leaf and traced it on a horse I was riding at the time. Everyone liked it so much that the next year I got creative. I put a dollar sign (by fair the hardest ever) on a jumper named Show Me The Money and a hard candy on The Sweetest Thing. To this day I wish I had taken pictures!

Well, if you're planning on bodyclipping your horse, make sure your blades are sharp and you have plenty of time. Rushing a body clipping never ends well.



On a different note, things are pretty much the same here. I managed to lunge UK walk trot the other day, then it got warm and things started to melt, followed by a deep freeze so that area is now just ice. So much for being able to lunge again.

Oy, I'm ready for spring, with as little mud as possible please!

Jumping in the rain

So I ended up lunging UK again last night. It was a spur of the moment thing as I hadn't planned on having to be at the barn that evening.
I moved my little jumps around so we had the small cavalletti towards the inside again, and a small ramped oxer slightly higher then the cavalletti on the outside. On the opposite side of the ring I had set up a larger vertical (about 1'8").
I groomed UK and got him all set with brushing boots in the front and polos behind, and then off we went. Well of course, as soon as I set foot in the ring the clouds started getting heavier. By the time we were done it was raining steadily.
We warmed up by starting tracking left as it seems to be his weaker side (I came to this conslusion as he likes to drop his right shoulder). After flatting for a bit we started by popping over the cavalletti at a nice relaxed trot. He's gained enough confidence that he just relaxes and pops over it now instead of the awkward "trot, trot, trot, huh? where do I put my feet, whack, ee, oo, ah, whew, trot, trot, trot." Then we progressed to a canter and eventually popped over the cavalletti a couple times before moving on to the vertical.
You could tell he'd never jumped anything bigger then a cavalletti before, but he was soooo game! I'm really very proud of him! He went over the vertical the first time like a champ! As he landed he got this little gleam in his eye and seemed to glow with pride. He was praised and I didn't even have to ask him to keep going he wanted to do it again! I let him do it a couple of times and then we progressed to the oxer.
UK loves to jump! With little or no prompting from me he did the oxer a couple more times, then the oxer to the vertical. Yes here and then he got a little too fast and messed up his distance, but he never stopped trying. We took a break for me to pick up the fallen rails and then he was game to try again (I never end with a downed jump).
His other big progress was not having a fit over hitting or knocking the jumps. He obviously wasn't happy with himself, but he'd finally learned that just continuing to go forward is better then throwing a fit.
We did everything tracking right next, and he was equally awesome. He really impressed me with how game he was to try new things. It's a completely different side of him, as when he's just flatting he tends to spook easy. Nothing phased him as he jumped, not the rain or the fact that the sun had set and we were basically jumping in the dark at the end.
I'm really beginning to think he was born to be a hunter or an equitation horse. If I hadn't bought him and he'd just continued to do western pleasure the rest of his life..... well, what a waste. It's fairly normal to have a horse who jumps well and looks good doing it, it's another to have a horse that enjoys jumping, it's unbelievable when you have a horse that is both!
So weather permitting, I'm going to continue the lunge work whenever I'm not up to riding. I'm grateful just to have a horse that likes me again!

Toodles!

Our lunging weekend.

So it's quickly become apparent that it's exhausting being pregnant (Yes I know, that should be obvious).
I feel like one of those jugglers that's already juggling a bunch of knives and someone suddenly threw a flaming torch into the mix! The pregnancy brain alone is making things way more complicated. *yawns* Like I said before, this is exhausting!
My juggling skills were really put to a test this week, but I was determined to make time for UK on the weekend, weather permitting. So I got up Saturday and went up to the barn, fed, cleaned and snapped a lunge line on my spiffy Stacy Westfall Training Halter (I'm a big enough fan of this halter to mention it by name!) which I had put on UK.
So out to the ring we went, and we walked over to the nice wide (about 16feet) cavalletti height jump I'd put out for him. I was immediatly given the puppy eyed look, that seemed to say "that's for you, not me, right?" We warmed up by lunging walk/trot over a couple of ground poles both directions, then it was jump time!
He was a good boy, having been lunged over small jumps in the past before I owned him. He's good with his knees, but tends to get distracted and then have a bit of an awkward jump every few times. Half the wide jump was a standard wood cavalletti which I had closest to me, then I had a pole going from the cavalletti to a jump standard on the rail. I'd also given the small jump nice white ground poles on each side.
I was just about to end our little session when he hit the pole and knocked it down. He threw the funniest little temper tantrum! Bucking, head tossing, pure disgust and humiliation radiating from him. But then he slammed on the brakes and stared at me quivering, as if awaiting a punishment from me (e.g., a beating). I had been laughing, but seeing him waiting to be whacked just horrified me! Needless to say he wasn't punished, I just made him move forward and get over himself and then we did it again once I had put the pole back up. He then jumped it perfectly and we ended after he'd done it nicely both ways, as I didn't want to end too close to his little fit.
He was rewarded and released (cantering and head tossing out in the field).
I then had tons of stuff to do at home including throwing a double party for my sister and parents....

Sunday dawned grey and wet. I went up to feed and clean (Betsy is away so it's just me for all feedings and barn cleaning till she gets back). The rain had tapered back to just a disgusting drizzle. Enough to get you soaked, but not enough to really stop you from doing anything.
I was resolute and went out to the ring to modify the jump from the day before. I left our original wide jump/cavalletti but now added a second that was narrower one stride away. Thus I had the option of having him just do the inside of the wide jump, or having him go closer to the rail and do the one stride combination. I left the new jump half down to make it easier, with nice ground lines like the other jump.
I went back and got UK ready, this time putting on his (his in a loose term) brushing boots as it was now cooler thanks to the constant drizzle. This time we warmed up without looking at things first or going over ground poles. Once he was nice and loose and listening well we started out over the inside cavalletti until he was staying relaxed over it and maintaining the same pace. We repeated it the other direction and then did some nice canter without going over anything.
Then it was time to try the new thing!! (As far as I know, he'd never done two jumps in a row before, as he was only trained western and had learned about jumping in order to show a perspective buyer.) So he did it first try, no spooking or stopping. Once he seemed comfortable and had figured out the distance somewhat we took a break and I made it a full jump by picking the rail off the ground.
He was fantastic and really seemed to enjoy the new challenge. Occaisionaly he would test me and get fresh, or throw a fit if he hit a pole (the fits grew less dramatic as he slowly realized I didn't care and he'd just have to do it again). At one point a Red Tailed Hawk flew out of the woods and within 10 feet of his face and he was landing, that caused a fit, but I just made him keep going and ignored his drama.
We wrapped up by doing some groundwork as we cooled off (I say we, as in order for him not to have to be turning as he landed I was running with him so he could approach and depart straight), playing some follow the leader without anything attached to his halter. Then we stopped, I took his boots off and we continued walking, stopping again in a few minutes to remove the halter. We finished by exiting the ring with nothing on him and him politely following me till he was given a treat and dismissed.

Now the rain has finally stopped today, and I'm going to borrow my Mother-in-law's endurance saddle again and try to go for a ride tonight when I go up to feed and tuck them in for the night. I've been have a major pregnancy symptom day and really need to do something for me.

Needless to say, I think my goal of competing in The Ride For the Cure this year is just not going to happen. Which is really disappointing but there is always next year. I promised my Husband I would not jump till after the baby is born, and I think going on a hunter pace is even more dangerous then jumping at home. So my new focus and to continue UK's training over jumps on his own, so that way he can figure out his balance on his own. We'll continue to desensitize him to scary things and help him to get braver. If we eventually get to a point that I feel safe to take him on a trail ride with someone else, that would be amazing.

So simpler goals for this year. Next year? Ooooh trust me, I have ideas already!! XD

Toodles!

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