Pony races

Gabe is a rockstar.

Seriously, he is! Well, he's MY rockstar any way. We went to our very first show this weekend and I can't even begin to gush enough about how good he was. It was wet, rainy and VERY windy so the show was moved inside.

Gabe has never been ridden in an indoor arena. And it was LOUD, with the wind and the howling and creaking and occasional clatter of tin against tin when a particularly big gust of wind slammed into the side of building. The indoor was tiny, barely big enough to fit two jumps in on each long side.

And ponies. There were ponies EVERYWHERE, little kids on all kinds of ponies who really didn't seem to know how to steer very well in an indoor during a flat class. You have no idea how many times I said a little thank you prayer that Gabe has good brakes, a good brain and loves those danged ponies. There was more than one time when a kid, so excited to be showing, nearly slammed into us due to not really paying attention where they were headed. It could have been disastrous.

But, it wasn't.

When we arrived he was on super high alert, tail up, nostrils flared and dancing around just LOOKING at everything and throwing a few loud snorts around for good measure. My first thought was this had been a really bad idea. I couldn't ride him like that, not with all these kids around. The outdoor arena was a lake and the indoor was very much occupied so there wasn't even the chance to get him out alone with plenty of space to keep him away from others and work him into his zen place. I couldn't do that in the teeny tiny arena with all those kids. Someone might get hurt if I couldn't keep his crazy butt calm and controlled.

Ten minutes later he was settled, relaxed, munching on hay and saying hi to neighbors and passersby.

So, so proud of my big man. It was all good. He was chillin' and had seen enough to know he could take his brain out of panic/flee mode.

The arena wasn't even a thing for him. I think I was more worried about it than he was. He was more interested in trying to stop at the far end to say hi to all the people sitting and standing there watching the show. He wanted to be friends with ALL the ponies and was pretty convinced they all wanted to be friends with him. It took a little bit to get his mind off all the new potential friends and on to me, but once it was there, we were golden.

We did a couple of flat classes and a couple of hunter over fences classes and he was so, so good. Better than I thought he would be. Once he got over the initial excitement, it was all just another thing I was throwing at him to deal with.

He only lost attention on me once, and I can't fault him for it.

Imagine this: Small (itty bitty) indoor arena, about 10 other horses and riders and Gabe. Flat class. Walk. Trot. Reverse. CANTER. On a Thoroughbred, who, the last time he ran with a big group of horses was on a track. Oh god.

Gabe has a brilliant canter, it's lovely to ride and breathtaking to watch. But I've never cantered him in a group with other cantering horses, some seeming to run hellbent for leather around that arena like freakin' barrel racers. That was a little bit scary to see those ponies ZOOMMM!!! in and out of the other ponies. A lil bit out of control perhaps.

He kept it together very well. He got a little fast, but nothing to worry about because he responded to my seat and request to sloooowwww.

It was the second request for canter in the other direction that made him lose his brain just a wee bit. Cantering along (beautifully and controlled), we came into a corner and all the sudden he had a minor come apart. Nothing horrible, but he squealed, tossed his head around and leaped into the air for a stride, then, settled right back into a nice canter. Think Tigger moment. Bouncy bouncy fun fun fun!

I think he had so much EXCITEMENT built up from cantering with all those other horses and getting passed within a whiskers' distance by zooming ponies that he had to do something with it RIGHT NOW or he'd explode. While not pretty, it was acceptable, in my mind. He got the excess energy out without going over the top and moved on with the work. Maybe that was his "primal scream" moment. You know the ones...scream it all out, then move on.

I don't think the judge caught his minor "sneeze" because we placed first in that class. We placed in every class, which, while fun, wasn't my goal, but, it was kind of cool to have something to bring home with us. Mementos for the day.

We didn't go to earn ribbons, we went to get The Boys some exposure to a different, new environment and the whole day was a huge success. 

Gabe made a few new fans, too. Adults and kids alike were fawning over his highness and he was eating it up. Pet me? Sure! Talk to me? Yes please! Admire me? Oh, yes you may! Have a peppermint? You are my new best friend! Let me slobber on you. He had his head hanging out of that half stall door all day just watching everything with his ears pricked. He was very, very interested in it all and reminded of a toddler who refuses to go to bed because he just might miss something exciting.

One little girl absolutely fell in love with him and every time I turned around, there she was, telling him how beautiful and strong and good he was. She even told me she thought he and I looked beautiful together. Made my day.

It was kinda cool to see my big, handsome, silly, goofy wonderful guy at the center of attention for the day. He was definitely the biggest and flashiest horse showing that day and I may have swelled with pride just a bit.

I do believe he actually had fun and enjoyed all the excitement the day offered. I think we'll be doing that again.

The power of three

I did something this weekend that I haven't done in a very, very long time.

I rode three horses in one day, meaning, I spent ALL DAY in the saddle! It was so nice, although, by the end of the third ride I was definitely tired and a bit sore.

The first ride was long and energetic and I really worked Gabe and got him breathing hard and sweating. This is always an accomplishment, considering he's usually a lazy pants. We went out road riding, rode about six miles, maybe a bit more, and trotted most of it. He's fitter than I thought he was! We got some really, really good lofty, HUGE trot strides out of him. Holy cow. I couldn't even post when he moved up into the "power trot" it was so huge. I had to get into two point and just let it happen and stay out of his way while keeping him on the bit and rounded. If I tried to post it, I felt like he was going to throw me right out of the saddle with each stride...imagine riding a GIGANTIC bouncing ball, that's what his power trot feels like. Now, if I can figure out how to get that out of him in the arena, and not just out on the trails/roads! Guess I need to really start working on strengthening my abs so I CAN ride it well, instead of just getting up in to two point.

The second ride wasn't as long but it still required effort. I rode Montana for about 45 minutes. He's doing very well under saddle, but still has a bug up his butt about me doing anything unusual in the saddle. If I wiggle around or reach around to scratch his butt or side, he gets quite agitated by it. And, he's a dunderhead about standing still for mounting. I must have gotten on and off that horse, from the ground, a good 10 times during the ride, making him stand still during and after, sometimes just standing in the stirrup and leaning over the saddle and scratching his flank area (which he HATES and tried to dump my butt in the dirt). Why is mounting from the ground exhausting for me? Well, he's nearly 16hh and I'm a wee 5'2" tall and not quite as flexible as I used to be. I'm sure it's amusing to watch. By the end of the session, he was much, much more tolerant of all of it. Funny thing is, he doesn't care at all what you do to his flanks unmounted, but as soon as that saddle goes on and you mess with 'em, he has a tizzy. His halt and slow "buttons" are working well...don't even have to touch the reins to get a halt, just tighten the abs and sink into the stirrups and he stops or slows, depending on how much. He's coming along nicely...not as quickly as I had hoped, but we're getting somewhere.

Finally, it was Calypso's turn. I don't think I've ridden her for well over a year, but, she needs work. My daughter, love her to death, has been balancing on her face when she rides, and, unfortunately, that has turned Calypso's mouth hard as a rock. So, she's back in training for fitness and a tune-up while Jaquie works with Kayleigh on her balance. Kayleigh will be riding on the lunge line on Kahlua for awhile, at least until she has an independent seat. Anyway, by the time I got to Calypso, I really was done working horses, I just wanted to ride. So, I worked on softening her mouth for about 10 minutes then Jaquie and I went out for a short trail ride. Jaquie rode Chief (who also needs some work) and we just ambled along, nice and easy. I forgot what a pleasure it is to ride a good, broke, quiet trail horse who doesn't ask questions when you point her at something, she just does it.

I think Jaquie summed it up well at the end of the day: "We have a good herd of horses out there."

And she's right. They all have their individual quirks, but none of them are bad or dangerous or nasty horses and I'd be hard pressed to have to pick one to sell.

Happiness is...

finally figuring out how to get the big gray guy to load onto the trailer with another horse.

I have a two-horse slant load stock-type trailer, and while it is perfectly sized for my smaller beasts, it is about 8 inches too short (length wise) for Gabe to load comfortably (willingly and happily without panicking) at a slant with the divider in place. So, all the off-property riding I've done with Jaquie has involved him traveling, alone, in my trailer and her hauling their own horse. Her trailer is an older two-horse straight load and too short (height wise) for him. It was kind of stupid and very, very frustrating not to mention, not very economical on gas.

He will load and travel just fine with another horse without that divider in there making the space far too small. I can't believe we didn't figure that out before. Duh. Wrap up legs, load 'em up and off we go! We found a new, delightful area to ride just a 15 minute drive from the farm. Five miles of well-maintained trails through woods, hills, creeks and big open spaces for some faster gaits should we feel the need (which we did.) And, it's apparently a well-kept secret. It's not a commonly known place to ride, so I'm going to bet we pretty much will have the place to ourselves most of the time.

The Boys had fun and we had a blast. We'll definitely be heading back there regularly!

Life is good.

It rains

The best reason to clean and oil your dust, sweat and horse-hair covered tack?

Why, ride in the rain, of course!

We've had copious amounts of rain for the past couple of days, (yes! FINALLY!) so of course, the arena is muddy and even with my new lights ready to make night riding a reality, I'm really reluctant to tear up the arena when it's so nice and smooth and lovely right now.

Of course, it decided to rain when I got home from work and decided I was going to ride anyway. Gabe was a turd while grooming and tacking up. He untied himself, tried to untie Teddy, chewed on Teddy's halter and pulled his own saddle pad off. He was one great big wet troublemaker! Brushing a wet, muddy horse is kind of pointless, by the way. And covering your saddle with a towel in the rain? Equally pointless.

We took off down the road and had a very good, energetic ride. Both boys were mostly well-behaved. Gabe was particularly full of energy on the way back and was convinced that an extremely collected canter was what I wanted, not a nice, big forward-moving trot. When he decides he doesn't want to really work at the trot, he slides on up into a canter that is almost slower than his walk and has very, very little forward movement. At least he doesn't try to run away!

By the way, a wet, muddy, sweaty horse is kinda stinky. And that stinkiness wafts upwards, just sayin'.

My bridle was soaked, my saddle soaked.

Which was as good a reason as any to finally get off my lazy butt and get it scrubbed clean and oiled. I'm typically very good about keeping my tack clean, but over the summer we rode SO much that it kind of fell to the wayside. I think it got cleaned maybe twice and it was definitely showing the neglect.

It all looks good now, so we can officially start our fall riding season in clean, oiled, waterproof tack. Gabe won't be embarrassed to be seen out in public in that filthy saddle any more.

Let there be light

After years of basically putting riding on hold during the dark winter months during the week,  I am beyond thrilled that that won't be the way of things this year.

I won't have to give up my riding or put my training on hold due to a lack of light this year because I now have *drum roll please!* arena lights! Yay! My honey spent the day putting together arena lights for me so we can ride at night all winter long and last night I gave them a test run and I'm pleased to say they worked wonderfully. I think we do need to add one more light at the far end of the arena, but other than that, it's fantastic! Granted, the arena isn't lit up enough to hold night time shows, but it suits my purposes more than adequately.

I have always dreaded the shorter days because I can't ride except on weekends and of course the training and fitness schedule gets abandoned. But this year, I'm actually looking forward to the shorter, cooler days because I love to ride in the cooler weather and I think Gabe does, too.

My husband put up the lights as a surprise for me...I didn't even know he was doing it until I got home from work and there they were! All I did was mention earlier in the week that I really wish I had lights because it was getting darker earlier and earlier. I think I mentioned it while I was riding Montana and it was already dark out by the time I finished up and got off. Such an awesome guy, I think I'll keep him.

Feel the burn!

The decision is unanimous, no question about it.

Gabe, Teddy, Jaquie and I all agree: Trot sets in two-point seriously suck rotten eggs. Oh, wow.

I know I should be riding in two-point more often, I've known this for years, but haven't done it very often. I used to do my two-point (with and without stirrups) diligently, every single ride. And I now remember why I just kind of stopped doing it, or, more specifically, my legs are screaming at me, reminding me why two-point sessions kind of faded from my training repertoire.

We did two (TWO!!!!) 10 minute trot sets last night on The Boys (Gabe and Teddy), in two-point (mostly). While The Boys got a wee bit bored, it didn't get either of them huffing or really sweating at all...but their human companions? Not so much.

I set the timer on my watch and off we went. After what seemed like 20 minutes Jaquie asks, gasping for breath, "How long has it been?"

I glance down at my watch and take note of the time passed.

I really don't want to tell her because I can't believe it myself. My legs are turning to jelly, my calves on fire as I hold myself in two-point and work on keeping Gabe moving forward as energetically as possible without falling forward on his neck.

"Four minutes," I tell her.

"WHAT?! I'm HOT! I'm sweating! Oh God."

"I know. It feels like FOREVER! I think my legs are going to fall off." And they really did. My right calf and thigh, which as always been my weaker leg, was BURNING.

"It's been the longest four minutes of my life! I'm dying!"

"I know!" I agree. "This sucks ass."

But we both know we need to do it. We've been doing more jumping and quite frankly, both of us need to concentrate on our base of support. We've been too lazy for too long and need to step it up.

It's a good start, and we'll keep at it, but man, you don't realize how very out of riding shape you are (even if you are in good physical shape!) until you try to do two-point for 10 minutes during a trot set and it feels like a freakin' eternity! But it certainly gives you a much, much higher appreciation and level of respect for those high-level eventing riders who stay up in two-point for the entire course, at a gallop, over fences.

At this point, I'm pretty sure if I tried going much longer than 10 minutes, my legs would give up and I'd just slide right off my horse.

And a door opens

Sometimes all it really takes is asking the right question the right way to get the right answer. You'd think I'd know this by now! Gabe is very particular about how I ask him things, especially new things. He'll offer up everything he knows to try to get what he thinks I'm looking for (he lives to please, he really does) and I can't get mad because he's trying...I just haven't been asking in a language he understands.

My lesson this Sunday opened up a new door for us, one I've been struggling to open for quite a while.

Turns out, I was asking not only too much, but not asking quite right. Once I asked the question in a way he understood, you could see him think "Oh! That's what you want! Okay! You got it."

We have lateral movement! Yes! And it didn't take him long to figure it out...I think it took ME longer to ask the question most effectively.

See, I've been dropping my hip, which drops my shoulder, which puts me in a funky unbalanced position which, in turn, puts him in a funky, unbalanced position and he would kind of wiggle around like a snake: Haunches over here, body over there, head and neck somewhere else completely. Never quite achieving sideways.

All it took was me sitting straight, squeezing with my outside leg, using a shift in my body weight that's a lot like sliding sideways (his body mirrors mine!) while opening the inside rein and leg (turns out I was inadvertantly blocking with those, too), look in the direction I wanted to go and BAM! There he went, right over like it was no thing.

Granted, BAM! is a whole lot more little movement than big, a foot at a time (and I was expecting way too much sideways when I first started asking), but he has definitely figured it out. I learned too that I do have to look in the direction I want to go, not straight ahead, something I didn't realize I wasn't doing until it was pointed out. He taught me that fast...I was asking asking asking the right way with my leg and body and he wasn't getting it...and Cindy (my instructor) caught it fast as she walked behind us watching what I was doing. "Hey! Where are you looking?" Oh crap. Yeah, not looking where I wanted him to go! Turn my head, apply the aids, and over he went. And people think riding is just sitting there letting the horse do all the work!

When I rode again last night we worked on lateral movement (as well as impulsion, rhythm and rounding) and he got it. He might be getting it TOO much, I'd give the aids and he'd fly over sideways...not precisely what I want, but we'll work on tuning that, too. We want to keep it slow, a step or two at a time so he doesn't end up on the forehand or popping a shoulder or leaning too much to become unbalanced. Slowly but surely, we'll get there!