Trail Ride Tuesday

So I got to go trail riding on Tuesday (it's been raining ever since). I brought my sister-in-law along and let her ride Jet who belongs to a friend of mine. A bomb could go off next to Jet and he wouldn't care. My friend does cowboy mounted shooting on him.

Anyhoo, UK is green as all heck when it comes to trail riding. He gets bored and starts being an asshole, and so I need the other horse with us to just ignore his antics. My SIL had her hip broken two years ago by a nasty horse and is still recovering, so I wanted this to be a positive experience for her.

UK and Jet say hi.

I tacked up western, put on my big spurs and used a jury rigged tie down made out of a rope halter, some snaps and a leather strap on UK (my real tie down is being repaired as a dog ate part of it). We put on high visability vests as it's hunting season and hit the trail.

Amy enjoying herself.

My barn is smack dab in the middle of a huge wildlife management area. So just and 1/8 mile down from our driveway is the main trail head. UK was an ass a few times, but when Jet didn't react and I used my spurs he gave in a little. Once we were a mile or two away from home he stopped thinking about being a brat and started to enjoy being were we were.

We had a blast. The weather was beautiful and no one else was out, so we had the trails to ourselves. UK was a rockstar by the end, even leading through the water on the way back (he hates getting his pretty little toes wet).

The overlook at the dam.

I can't wait to get out again once it stops raining and dries up a bit. We're going to be attempting his first hunter pace next month. I am equal parts excited and scared.

Well we haven't floated away yet.

The lack of updates is due mostly to the weeks of rain we've been getting. We're stuck in a constant state of muddy despair. So much for fall being crisp and clear...

UK got ridden twice last week, and it was bootcamp due to him pulling some attitude while trying to go on a trailride. I'll just suffice it to say that what should have been a 40 minute ride was forced to be over 2 hours. He wasn't scared, he was just being a rebellious ass.

Oh and then thanks to the mud he pulled a front shoe again, but I'm not going to bother to call the farrier out till things dry up a bit. He's got an easy boot on the foot for the moment, so he'll be fine.

It's cold, wet and grey out almost constantly. UK is snug in his shed with a turnout sheet on, as he started to loose weight again due to his wussy nature and the cold nights. For a horse born in upstate NY he sure doesn't handle cold weather well!

Apologies!

I know I haven't been good about updating lately. I'm really sorry! Things have been busy!

Last weekend my sister-in-law came up to ride again. This time she rode first and then I hopped on to take UK over a few jumps.

I'm still not back in shape, but both UK and I are improving. Oh what I'd give to have the body I had five years ago with the skill set I have now!

UK's had it pretty light this week as my ankle decided to give out on me. I'm hoping to ride tomorrow, weather permitting!

Dressage practice and corners!

I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I sort of married into a dressage family. Both my mother-in-law and my sister-in-law do dressage. Then Betsy who owned the barn where I had UK before was a dressage rider, as well as my friend Kristy who owns Dacharia. I felt a bit outnumber to be honest, as I have always considered myself a huntseat/equitation rider.

Anyways, the reason I'm pointing this out is when it comes to dressage as a sport I'm really rather clueless. I can watch and evaluate just fine, as I know a lot of dressage as flatwork, but competing in dressage is a whole other ball game. I did drill team and I know where the basic dressage letters are, but other then that I'm just not up to par. Considering I want to event with UK, I really need to learn how to do a dressage test. So I asked my sister-in-law, Amy, to come to the barn last Saturday and give me some help.

We never got around to practicing an actual test because it dawned on me that I didn't know exactly how big a 20 meter circle was. So we mostly practiced those after warming UK up. Plus I didn't want him too tired because Amy was going to ride him for a little bit after me.

The other big change was I decided to ride in spurs. UK actually didn't seem to mind them, and was much more willing to listen to the spurs then listen to a crop/whip. He's a lot of work on flat, he really needs leg every step of the trot and canter. He's very responsive but tends to want to suck back more then move forward because of his western training as a baby. And as I'm still not exactly at peak physical condition I could use the extra help.

UK has no trouble tracking forward, which is why we now use bell boots.

Look at the muscles!

Amy getting a lovely working trot from UK.

UK's still weaker to the right, but he has improved. We can go straight without dropping our shoulder now, and even have a fairly balanced circle if I give him lots of help. All the bending and stretching has done wonders for his confidence. He's much more willing to try new things because he knows he's stronger now.

Amy finished her ride on him by trotting over some poles someone left in the ring.

So I lunged UK on tuesday and ended up lunging him over a jump as well. It wasn't a regular jump either, it was a corner! Using two barrels, I lay them down and put a pole on each end, then had the poles resting on safety cones so it all made a triangle. I let UK take a good look at it and then asked him to trot it. He did it every time, and never tried to run out! In fact he was enjoying himself so much he kept jumping the widest part, clearing it by at least a foot. After that display I decided that purchasing a neck strap might be a very good idea.

It rained for three days straight, so he got them off to chill in his shed with LD. The rain stopped yesterday afternoon, finally, and I went up to ride. He didn't have a whole lot of energy so I just flatted him lightly, and then decided to jump the crossrail that someone had left up in the ring. My corner jump hadn't fallen down, so I asked him to jump it tracking right (I always start out jumping off his bad direction as it gives him confidence). He did it great! We trotted it again, and then cantered it a couple times, switched directions and did it off the left just as well! I was able to point him right at the end of it and he never tried to run out. I'm ridiculously proud of my little paint horse!

I hope to do some more jumping with him tomorrow! 

We survived!

I have to admit, I was a bit nervous last week. Hurricane Irene was bearing down on Connecticut with a vengeance and there wasn't much anyone could do about it. We prepped the barn and pens, bedded the sheds and reinforced fencing and then just had to wait. It's the waiting that gets to you. 

All that hard work paid off however and the horses made it through okay. Over 60% percent of the town the barn is in lost power, but by some miracle the barn and Sally's house wasn't amid that number. The only casualty was a section of fencing in an empty paddock that got blown down. Everything else stayed put!

Before the hurricane hit I rode UK almost everyday.English, western, bareback.... The video below is from one of the days I rode him bareback. He'd been really good undersaddle the day before. 

I gave him yesterday off, as I rode him on the flat Tuesday and really made him work. We did lots of lateral work and transitions. Then just to see how he'd do I begin doing some counter-canter exercises. We were able to pick up a lead, change directions and then keep cantering all the way around without loosing the lead. I was pretty impressed. We finished up by doing simple lead changes in the center of a figure eight. He was really good so ended on that happy note.

I'm dreading teaching him how to do a flying change. I hate doing flying changes. It might have something to do with the fact that Jake would never do a flying change on the flat, he always refused. If you were jumping a course he would get his changes every time and not care, just never ask him for one on the flat or you would be punished. 

Well, I'm off to go feed the barn, toodles!

Okay, I'm overdue for an update. Sorry!

There has been a lot going on lately. UK's been pretty good. I've been alternating between english and western (mostly for my own comfort). After forcing him to work hard in the round pen a couple weeks ago he's been pretty much back to his normal self and less of a rebellious teenager.

The biggest change has been in what bit I use when I ride him over fences. Normally I rode him in the same bit that I flatted him in: a full cheek three piece snaffle with a copper roller. Last week I decided to see how he'd be in my full cheek slow twist snaffle, as when he'd get excited or fresh I felt like he was able to ignore the bit. Boy! What a difference! I swear that a full cheek slow twist snaffle is the ultimate bit for any downhill horse. It's got just the right amount of twist to get their attention and be able to stop them.

The first time I rode him in the slow twist he was shocked. He'd gotten strong after jumping a vertical and tried to pull and demand that I let him do what I want. I closed my legs and my hand and he went "OMG WHAT WAS THAT?!?!" and slowed down and went back into a frame. I actually felt a bit bad for him as he was that surprised. But I wasn't about to go back to less bit as this bit really kept him from trying to sneak sideways.

I jumped him again today, in the slow twist, and he was fantastic!!! I'd flatted him the night before and he'd been a bit off (I found out that he'd had a rough night) so I wasn't going to demand too much from him. I let him know from the get-go that if he was good then we'd be done quickly.

I've been setting up a pole 9feet in front of our verticals to help him not try to always take the "big one". The bounce poles have really been making him think, and he's starting to understand what I'm trying to teach him. He only messed up once, getting distracted and then doing an "oh crap" jump when he realized there was a bounce pole he had to navigate. He jumped from the pole and over the vertical and cleared both, good thing I'm in better shape or I wouldn't have been able to keep up with him! I let him know it was okay and then picked up the canter again and went right back to it, he got it right that time. We finished with jumping an oxer a few times and making him wait, rather then take the big one again. His biggest problem is he knows he can jump the smaller jumps with very little effort and tries to be lazy and take the long distances in order to jump the jumps sooner.

What I realized tonight was how happy he got after jumping something successfully. I'd tell him he was a good boy after landing and he'd be all happy and energetic, wanting to keep going and jump more rather then take a break and walk. He wasn't jigging or anything, but I could feel how ready he was. Really made me proud at how far he has come.

We were only in the ring for maybe 15 minutes tonight, there was no point in making him do more when he kept learning and doing what I asked. We went for a walk outside the ring and then he got to chill and graze for a bit before I put him back in his paddock with LD.

If he could perform at a show like he did in the ring tonight, we could have won every green hunter class I could ride him in.... He was that good. I love that I don't have to fight him or have a lot of contact to get my message through (that was Tess, she always thought she knew better). I have soft hands, and I prefer light contact in the reins at all times, as I prefer to use my legs more then anything. It is so nice to have a horse that is willing to respect that.

Well, let's see what tomorrow brings.... (hopefully I'll be able to take him over some XC jumps before winter!)

Millbrook Horse Trials 2011

Saturday I met with my sister-in-law and we hopped in my car and drove out to Millbrook, NY to watch the crosscountry portion of the Millbrook Horse Trials. I'd made the decision to go when I found out that Peter Atkins was bringing Henny down and competing in the Intermediate division. Millbrook is less then an hour away from my house. 


Amy and I had a blast! It was fantastic to be around so many horse people. All the volunteers (especially the little girls running the raffle tent) were friendly and helpful. It was cloudy and breezy and bug free, you really couldn't ask for better weather. 


It was awesome to watch so many top quality horses and their riders negotiate the XC course. Having Boyd Martin, Phillip Dutton, Karen O'Connor, Leslie Law, Doug Payne, Peter Atkins, Buck Davidson and other professional riders so close was a great learning experience. 


Below is a small selection of the photos I took. Over all I took almost 1200 photos. Unfortunately my camera just wasn't powerful enough to get the shots I was trying to get. 

"Millbrook Horse Trials 2011"

(Here's the link to my album)

I also took some video:

There is more video on my youtube channel. 

I shared some of my better shots with Eventing Nation and John has used a couple for today's Millbrook showjumping recap entry. I'm a huge fan of EN and can't help but be tickled pink that my photo is gracing their blog. ^_^

Here's hoping that next year I'll be lucky enough to be competing in the beginner novice with UK! It's a big dream, but it is a dream that was made all the more tempting by walking the course once all the advanced riders were done. 

At least I know I won't have any problems with the show jumping, as that's my thing.... hehe!