Jake's Story (Part 1)

So back in July I promised to tell the whole story concerning my first horse, Jake. I want to write it, I never tire of telling stories about him, but that is part of the problem. How do you sum up such an amazing being as Jake is just a chunk of written words? Every time I think I have summed things up well, I remember something else that made him, him....
So let's start here: Did you ever have that horse (or dog, cat, etc.) that was so much more then a pet or even a friend? That once in a lifetime animal soulmate that transcends the boundary between normal human and animal connections? That one creature that you swear understands most if not all of your words and actions? Jake was all that, he was my best friend, he balanced me out, and he taught me so much. Jake was a family member, and he had opinions that people had to listen to because he was usually right. (More about that later)

So.... I had always wanted a horse, for as long as anyone can remember, not a pony, a horse. Whenever my family could afford it I got to take riding lessons and thanks to an anonymous donation got to attend a summer riding camp when I was 6. As I got older I rode a different barns, with different horse and trainers with different approaches. I volunteered whenever I could and even got to ride a friend's horse bareback as a reward for helping on her dairy farm when I was 8. Eventually my family and I ended up in CT and the cycle started all over again. A friend of my parent's from church got me a lesson package at a local farm as a thank you for doing gardening work for her. I was ten at the time. Years went by, I, as always, read as much as I could, volunteered as much as I could and took lessons when I could afford it.
By the time I was fifteen I was indispensable as a volunteer at the barn, I would be there from dawn to dusk or longer whenever I could. I was a groom at all the shows, I never missed a day due to bad weather and the horses loved me. My initiative impressed my parents (they were really hoping this was a faze, but they were just in denial). So they sat me down and we had a talk, they were thinking of working things out so I could lease a horse, and maybe even buy one. So I got to try a bunch of horses from the barn. I tried Nicky, a western horse that had a huge chip on his shoulder. Then I tried Willow, a beautiful 3yr old morgan mare who wasn't going to get tall enough for me. Next came Hurley, he was a fantasic TB gelding that had a heart of gold, but he was expensive and one of my best friends wanted to buy him, so I decided to pass on him (he died a few months later).

Then the farm owners daughter who ran the lessons looked at me and said,
"You know what, I forgot about Jake, you should try him!"
"Jake? Which one is Jake?"
"Oh he's the one who's out all the time, the stall next to PJ." (Ok, back then I trusted her, never stopped to wonder at the time why he was out all the time)

So I tried Jake, he did everything I asked, granted with a little attitude, but he still did it. He was a roman nosed blah looking horse with big ears, but his eyes are what got me.... You can tell a lot about a horse from their eyes, and a lot of people will back me up on that. He was 7 years old, dark bay and 15.2hh (barely). At the time I was 5'6ish almost 5'7".
I came home after my lesson and raving about Jake, I had ridden Nicky not long before trying Jake and Nicky had been trying to drag me to the center of the ring and doing the best impression of a donkey I have ever seen. I never thought much when my parents said they had to go talk to Lee (the farm owner). They came home later that night and looked me in the eyes and said,
"We bought Jake, a halter and a bridle, Lee said you can use one of their saddles for now."
I just stared and then pretty much told them they were funny and nice try tricking me (Dad had made promises in the past that were along the lines of "if you do this I'll get you a pony" or something involving helicopter rides). I probably took them a good 20 minutes to convince me they weren't joking....
Then the conditions came, I had to work to pay for his board and upkeep, they would pay for his purchase price. I had already started working for Lee a couple weeks before hand, hoping to start saving up money.
It took a couple weeks for it to really sink in that Jake was MINE! (It involved a stupid girl fight shouting "no he's mine!" back and forth till I offered to show her the bill of sale)
<---So this is us the first week I owned him, he was out of shape (so was I) and he had a bad attitude. He shoved people, liked to stomp feet and loved to itch his bridled head on you when you tried to let yourself out of the ring. Jake was a BRAT. The first time my father saw him he looked at my mom and I and said, "You didn't tell me we bought a Mule!" He was not joking, he was serious and I was offended (It's funny now however). I got to enjoy him for two weeks and then he went Lame..... Now then, as it was July a lot of the girls from the barn had been on vacation (see the stupid girl fight above). One of them was a girl a few years younger then me that had her own horse. She came back and congratulated me on buying Jake, apparently he was ringer in the Eq ring. But then she said "well he was when he wasn't lame, like he is now." I was shocked and I got more information from her (later confirming it with other sources). A sad and horrifying picture was painted.... Jake would do lesson after lesson, show every weekend, and this would go on for a few months. Then he'd go lame and be ignored till he was sound. This pattern had been repeated since he was first bought as a 3yr old. So for 4 years he'd be ridden into the ground and then ignored till he was sound.No wonder he had an attitude! Suddenly I felt like the biggest idiot, here I was, having worked my ass off for this woman (the daughter) for free and she had carefully omitted the truth and sold me a horse with chronic lameness issues. I was pissed. Not only for my sake but for Jake's.
Over the next three months Jake and I learned a hell of a lot about each other. He had a large abscess too deep to be cut out. He was on stall rest with Epsom salt soaks at least 3 times a day. There was nothing we could do but hope the stupid thing would move up and come out his cornet band. So we talked, groomed and fought over keeping his foot in the tubs. He knocked people over, he started nipping (and then went on a no treats ban for 4 months), he would try to step on you and share his misery. He even managed to escape and scare the crap out of me by running around on three legs like a mad man. Long story short the abscess just disappeared one day, which was mind-boggling for the vet.
So then his recovery started, and we go in shape together. By now a lot of his attitude problems were gone. He'd become a large lovebug and finally got to show his heart of gold to the world. We got back into shape together and really started progressing. I did even more reading and decided I didn't like the bit they had been riding him in, a twisted wire full cheek snaffle, I put him in a plain full cheek and he was fine (I later found out he had a hard time stopping due to his QH build, and they had stuck that bit on his bridle, he then proceeded to bolt with many students as he mouth would become painful from their beginner hands banging on it). I captained a Drill Team that winter to finish off getting him into shape, we were a huge success.
We preformed in 3 degree weather in a tiny indoor ring and I'm still proud of that performance to this day.---->

So we struggled over the next couple of years. I got my own english saddle that first winter and thanks to the saddle fitter's warning bought one with an extra long flap (I shot up to 5'9" that spring). I ended up moving Jake downstairs to the lower barn and refused to train with the owners daughter any longer (she refused to let me show in tall boots despite the fact I jumped and was over 16, it was humiliating as she made me show in garters and jods and this was a minor problem compared to some other things she did to us).
My bible was George Morris' Hunter Seat Equitation and I trained myself for those two years. We then dabbled in some western riding and I used him for my work as a trail guide. He was a customer favorite! I would jump off at our arrival back at the barn and leave his reins hooked over the horn. People would pet him and pose for pictures with him. He even made friends with some Japanese tourists and I later found out from their american friends that they had framed the picture of them with him and it was in their living room in Japan.
Jake slowly became famous, all the kids loved him, the other boarders loved him and the kids in the therapeutic riding program that I volunteered in loved him. Jake loved kids, and would be so gentle with them, treating them like they were made of glass. He would be fresh with me, because I was mom and then the calmest horse with a little kid on his back.
I ended up having to put a sign on his stall door "Please don't feed your fingers to my horse" as so many people were feeding him treats when I wasn't around that he was starting to get pushy again.
Somewhere in here Lee found his original Coggins from when she bought him as a 3yr old. It turned out he really was all QH and Canadian to boot.We tried to contact his old owner but were never able to get a hold of him.
Also he got kicked in the nose during a trail ride and it "fixed" his nose, giving him a more attractive profile.
Then we discovered barrel racing! The barn always had huge gymkhana nights as it was, at least 50 horses every time. I started Jake out slow as I didn't know how he'd handle things. My friend Julie and her appy Frank had helped us by teaching us the basics of can chasing. Each time I'd let Jake go a little faster.
Finally at our 3rd Gymkhana I let him go. Holy sh*t! Those of you who have truly fast horses can understand, but my gawd! The sheer power that came out of him was incredible! We left trenches in the sand ring from him taking off. Our turns were sloppy still but our speed was amazing. And then he didn't want to stop! I almost ran over the time keeper and then had to run him into the fence to get him to stop. We were second only to the seasoned Julie and Frank. I was on cloud nine! Then Lee's daughter had to ruin it, not wanting to be beaten by me she went and tacked up her new 16.2hh TB jumper mare western and ran the barrels on her after already having done them on her gaming horse Apache. Needless to say she trounced us and we both got bumped down a place. I was more then a little upset.
Jake and I barrel raced and showed english whenever he was sound. He would go lame on and off and was always unrideable after getting shod. I put him on a hoof supplement and was religious about hoof moisturizer.
Jake and I had been racking up the ribbons and so I entered him in the two day show at our barn. Jake was pulling double duty as I was showing him in the Eq and my little sister was showing him walk/trot (Jake was the walk/trot king). During an Eq over fences class that first day I had an epic fall. Jake tripped on a rock while heading to an in-and-out that was heading straight at the judge's tent. Jake wobbled and somehow manage to scrape together enough balance to jump the first jump, but thanks to his trip right before takeoff my legs had gotten too far behind me. We landed in the middle and straightened in that one stride, both regaining our balance. He jumped the second jump and my mind flashed "YES!" we were perfect! Then I had nothing.... Jake landed and I was flying, I hit the dirt so hard i scratched my brand new tall boots, and almost had my helmet ripped off. Jake slammed on the brakes, he always stood still when you fell. However what had happened was my stirrup leathers had slipped complete off the bars (never happened again) over the second jump and had literally fallen off my feet. The ends of the leathers however were still stuck in their keepers, when Jake stopped momentum kept the stirrups moving and they slammed him in his boy parts and underbelly. His eyes bulged out and he bolted, covering me in more sand. It took my 5 minutes to catch him, he wouldn't stop and the stirrups kept beating him until they each came off completely. He was a nervous wreck, I pet him and talked calmly as I walked around to collect my stirrups. It was then that I realized the whole crowd of people at the show had been silent this entire time. As I picked up the second stirrup I hugged my quivering horse, and people started applauding which pushed me over the edge and I started crying.
We tried to finish the show but Jake had snapped, he was nervous and scared and terrified. For the first time he got reserve in the walk/trot. At the end of the day I walked over to a friend of mine who would be trailering her son's horse home and asked if she would mind dropping Jake off somewhere for me. I had been helping a friend of my parent's with a couple of rescue horse he'd bought and he'd been pestering me to move Jake there. I had decided Jake need a vacation and that's just what he got. He spent two weeks at the quiet barn and just chilled. I had also decided to try a new farrier, deciding that no matter what people said the farrier I had been using was the problem not "Jake's crappy QH feet". Boy was I right! John did Jake and he was sound right after being shod and rideable! I was overjoyed (My current farrier later told me Jake had fantastic feet and that my first farrier's nick name in the horseshoer community was "The Crippler").
I brought Jake back to Lee's after his vacation, we did a 2-d barrel race at another farm and finished the english show season with a bang. I ended up moving Jake to the small barn that winter and he stayed there for almost a year enjoying being king of the barn.

Overdue Update (Again)

UK has been good. I've been alternating lunging and riding him over the past few weeks. Overall he's been progressing well. 2 weeks ago we were having a good ride, and my husband was watching us together for the first time. He did his spooks/tests while we were trotting and then we moved on. He was much more relaxed and we worked on going straight at the trot and canter (through instead of over pairs of poles). We were cantering on the rail, tracking left, when up at the far end of the ring there was a loud metal on metal noise right off of his flank coming from the other side of the brush. He bolted, and I asked him not too. He threw on the brakes so hard he lost his balance and his front end came off the ground with him dropping his inside shoulder. I tried but I couldn't stay on, landing fairly easily on my hip with my head never even touching the sand. Once he lost me as a counter balance he went over the other way and hit the dirt. Then he stood there quivering (I was up within seconds of falling), he was staring at me with fear and confusion and awaiting a beating..... I am so angry at whoever hurt this poor horse! I calmed him and got right back on (needless to say my husband was not happy). We walked, trotted and then cantered and he was fine. Poor guy felt really guilty and I just felt dumb. I had made the mistake of mentioning out loud that I hadn't had a real fall in over 3 years, what a jinx.
After checking UK for injuries again I gave him a shower and then brought him over to talk with my husband who'd been sitting in the truck looking angry. He agreed that UK hadn't spooked on purpose and even said he is a "good horse" (this coming from my husband is high praise for an equine).
So other than that things have been fairly normal. I did find out he is terrified of tarps and there is now one permantly living in the ring until he gets over his fear. I also discovered that someone used to beat him with a whip.... He was feeling fresh and defiant so I went to use one, as soon as it was in my hand he was a quivering nervous wreck. I had to get rid of it, he couldn't even trot on the lunge line while I had it in my hand. Jake had had the same problem and it took me 3 years to banish that fear.... GAH! Stupid people!

So that is pretty much it for the moment. Hoping to have some one to take pictures while I lunge him over jumps soon!

------

On a completely different note, I am terribly excited for this movie to come out! When most children were pretending to be faeries, princesses or superheros I was on the swings pretending to be Secretariat. He was and still is my Equine Hero. (Gem Twist is almost tied with him, but I didn't learn about him till I was older)

SO here you go, the trailer!

Barn Day!

So today was awesome barn and horse wise. My friend Kristy and I had planned ahead for her to come up and ride UK today. (Today was also the first anniversary of her horse's death. Shoamy Luv was a fantastic mare, and is greatly missed!)

So Uke (as I've been calling him lately) got groomed and tacked up and then we went out to the ring. He got lunged a little bit first, as Kristy wanted to see him go over the cavalletti. Then I got on him and rode him through his spooks. He has a two main bad behaviors and I dealt with them both. It was so nice to ride him! Once we had gotten him focused and on task he was fun and I just looooooove his canter (and so does my poor back). We cantered a pole with me on him for the first time. He was, again, fantastic! He really enjoys doing new things!

So I only rode him 10 to 20 minutes, then it was Kristy's turn! She really hadn't ridden in over a year. It's funny, I'm such an equitation rider at heart, so watching Kristy ride is weird for me. She's such a dressage rider! XD

As I wasn't the one riding, I took pictures! YAY! It was so cool to see him go, as sometimes you just need to see how your horse goes with a rider on him.

Anyhoo, here's a slideshow of the pictures I took!

So toodles till next time!

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!

Bath time!

First off, UK would like me to say that I'm a cruel and heartless mommy. I not only forced him to take a bath before he got to go out and play Saturday, but I did the meanest thing to him as well! I WASHED HIS FACE WITH A SPONGE! Oh the horror!

Ok, now then, for my side of the story....

Saturday dawned bright and hot, I had planned on taking an early morning ride after I'd fed the critters. I was forced to rethink my plans however, as I'd woken up with a strange new rash that seemed to get itchier when I got hot (more on that later). So I decided that my mission would be to give my disgusting smelling horse a bath instead. Needless to say he wasn't as excited as I was about getting him clean.

I fed them, chatted with the barn owner's dog sitter, and then started prepping him for his bath. I'd carefully considered Savannah's feelings and made her a small paddock near the bathing area to graze in while I bathed him. Hoping that she wouldn't yell at me for taking him away if she was only 5 feet away.

Then it was bath time! I led both horses out, letting Sav into her grazing area and brought UK over to our very fancy bathing area. The bathing area is the driveway, and there is a tree for tying although it's rarely used (I did use it this time with haystring). Well once he realized what I was doing, he was not pleased at all. Thus began the battle!

In his defense he's pretty good about everything up to half way up his neck. He'll go backwards to test you a few times, but if you stand your ground and don't give in an inch, then he'll pause, give up and walk back towards you (THIS IS THE MAJOR DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MARES AND GELDINGS FYI, as a mare will drag you to hell before she gives in).

So the bath went pretty well, with a couple of silly spooks to try to distract me. However I was determined to wash his face, as it was gross due to daily flymask wearing. So I rinsed him off and filled a strongid bucket (most useful buckets by the way) with water and a small sponge. I proceeded to not give in and just keep at him, never mean, only chastising him when was being rude, and repeating over and over "I'm not going to wash your ears, I promise."

HUZZAH! It took fifteen minutes but I got all the grime off his face with just plain old water and a sponge.

His reward was to get turned out immediately afterwards. So we collected Sav and went back in the barn for flymasks and flyspray.

Normally UK walks calmly out of the barn, but not then! He couldn't get away from me fast enough! So I give him a few minutes, then walked out to the field with some treats as an apology for all the horrible things I'd done to him. I knew how he'd react, so I brought my phone with me. The video is below, the funny breathing noises are me trying not to laugh out loud. I eventually gave in and laughed.

Overdue Update

My what a crazy month July was! After the heatwave broke life just went zero to sixty.
I managed to get to ride a few times, the last time was a week or so ago. The humidity had finally broken and I borrowed my Mother-in-law's Tucker endurance type saddle. Gel seat, english leathers, etc.
I arrived at the barn to discover UK was missing a front shoe. His foot was in great shape so I wrapped his foot and rode anyways. Oooooh it was such a nice ride, despite all the distractions. It seemed to be Mother Nature's play date with us. First a young fox was bounding around, trying to get our attention. Then a doe and her twin fawns were playing in the field alongside the ring. Finally there was a rabbit that kept hopping in and out of the shadows. And with a grand finale, a pack of motorcycles flying by on the freshly stoned road!

And now for why things have been so crazy! I found out I'm pregnant, yay! At the moment I'm about 10 and a half weeks. Riding when it's not too hot really helps sooth the pregnancy symptoms.

Now that UK has new shoes I'm really looking forward to getting to ride again!