Life Goes On

We haven't been riding much. Actually not at all since October 26 (hunter pace day).

And I was going to get back in the saddle this week (today actually), but on Sunday I got to the barn and River was lame and his right hind fetlock/pastern was hot and a little swollen. Sooo we have been icing (because I think it's too cold to cold hose, probably I'm a wimp but oh well) and not riding!

It's getting a little bit better every day, which is great of course. Last night the lameness was so small as to be almost nothing at the walk, and swelling is down a lot. But it's going to be a bit longer.

So I don't anticipate much more exciting blog content for a while. Just riding out the winter. Kudos to everyone who's using this time to actually try and improve! :)

Food, Nom Nom

Drizzly gray day and what is better to talk about than FOOD?!

Horse food that is.

Riv has been eating basically the same thing every day for almost a year now:

• About 20 pounds of locally grown hay (sometimes better quality, sometimes not so great, but usually not too bad)
• About 3 pounds Tribute Calm-N-EZ (low non-structural carbs, high fat, no corn, no molasses)
• Anywhere from a cup and a half to half a cup (depending on the time of year) stabilized rice bran
• Anywhere from half a scoop to a scoop and a half (again, depending on time of year) beet pulp, soaked up in warm water of course.

With adapting the rice bran/beet pulp depending on what he needed (less in the summer, more in the winter), he's been gaining and then keeping weight quite well and I have been very, very pleased. This is a horse that was on 5 pounds of high-cal sweet feed twice a day when I got him (in very light work), so we've come a long way!

We found a new trimmer recently and so far I'm quite happy with her work, though of course we'll have to see how it goes long-term. Anyhow we were discussing food. She recommended switching his supplemental forage from beet pulp to some kind of an alfalfa mix, saying that she had seen repeated issues with beet pulp making shelly, chippy bare feet.

I've never heard of such a thing. She thinks it's that all U.S. beet pulp is genetically modified--I would lean toward the idea that it would be because all beet pulp has a fair amount of sugar, even if it doesn't have molasses added--but either way I am curious. I know SO many people who feed beet pulp quite successfully and obviously it hasn't been a terrible thing for us, but alfalfa blend would have less sugar and overall higher calories.

Any thoughts? I am leery of changing feed in late November, but I am curious!

Short Version

We finished our second ACTHA ride on October 26, and placed SECOND in our division!!! And that after a ride that I was 90% sure we weren't even going to place in! He tried hard but it was a tricky course...well, apparently it was tricky for other teams too! :D

We finished our first hunter pace (minus the jumps) last weekend, November 2, and placed fifth! Just because of time; we were one second behind our friend, so no big deal. He was a champ at "chaperoning" our less-experienced friend (S and a borrowed horse) and I am super proud of him.

Now we are planning nothing for 2-3 months, because November is his hardest month to keep weight on, December is my hardest month to stick with a schedule, and January I begin student teaching and probably will have next to no time. Hopefully in late January or February we'll be able to get back on a routine to gear up for springtime events.

Maybe I will get some pictures of the rides up one of these days. :)

Rides

Going to try and post maybe once a week these days??

Last week we did actually ride three times! Trail on Sunday, bareback field jaunt Tuesday, and a walk-trot-canter "let's-actually-do-something-productive" ride Thursday.

I knew Sunday would be fun when he started spooking at the bushes walking up to the barn from the pasture. Tacked up, put on his boots, and headed out through the field behind the house. Saw many scary things including a water tub, the mounting block, and the volunteer girls moving a jump. Had to dismount and lead him through the gate up to the gallop hill because he would. not. go. Ugh. Once we got out there he decided it was time to go back home but I got a little firmer with him and he headed up. Once he got moving I was able to get him into a trot and we trotted up and walked down three times before his brain kind of returned. Second time down he started blowing out and relaxing a lot, so we went up one more time and then headed into the woods to do the highest completed trail. Came down the really steep slippery "Man from Snowy River Hill"--fortunately it wasn't muddy--and he was a trooper! He was lathered by the time we got to the back of the fields, though, and breathing hard (for no particular reason other than nerves, I think). Paused and stood and waited for the BO to finish mowing the field. He waited very patiently, blew out a lot and relaxed. Then we headed back to the barn. Perhaps not a relaxing ride, but I felt good that we'd worked through it!

Tuesday he was relaxed and I was fried mentally, so I just threw on the fitted pad, slipped on bareback, and we went out and played in the jump field and the hay field. Chatted with a friend who was leaving for grad school on Thursday, briefly disagreed over whether we should walk or trot round the hay field, and settled for a nice brisk walk around. Perhaps nothing major, but the occasional bareback ride--even just at a walk--does wonders for my seat, so I like to keep it up.

Thursday I wanted to ride him barefoot so he got some stimulation on the tootsies. So we saddled up and went to the grassy spot and did a basic walk-trot-canter circles ride. Nothing special except that I discovered that wonder of wonders, when I get my act together and RIDE, he goes pretty well! Amazing. Even our left-lead canter was good! He will fix my weak canter riding yet--I can't hold his mouth or he will haul on my arms till they come off, so it's a good incentive, ha.

Overall a good week! Then I got sick on Friday. Boo. So I really don't know what's going down this week. We will see!

Radio Silence

Oh yes I have a blog...maybe should write on it!

School started, that's my excuse.

Been actually riding a fair bit though! About twice a week which yes I know it's not that often but comparatively that's pretty good. Ha. This week I think I might hit my three-times-a-week goal, though.

Finally sized him to the EasyBoot Gloves and they came and they fit and they're great!! Especially since back at the start of the summer my "supervising farrier" encouraged me to trim hoofers way too much and he got sore. :( :( He's much better now but I'm still not happy such a thing even happened. Back to what we were doing before (which, though it didn't look so pretty, kept him quite sound!). In the meantime boots are great. Needed them for trails anyways.

Lots of trail rides, did one arena ride and he was greatly displeased ha. Pony gets spoiled by trails. If only the farm's bush-hogging machine wasn't broken, we'd do "arena" work in the fields--so much more fun. But it is broken and so all the grass is about knee-high and you can't see a thing as far as footing. There is one space probably will use--yesterday just went out for a little bareback ride though. Super nice, chill evening. :)

Planning for another ACTHA ride on October 26, maybe sooner if I can find a buddy to go somewhere else with!

Short Rides and Boot Problems

Lots of little rides lately. Trying to get into a routine I can hold when school starts, and not doing badly so far. Unfortunately Riv's Bestest Buddy is up at the barn for a while (hopefully he's not leaving!) and so my own dear Beastie is very anxious to get back to the barn. Overall he is being good though.

Yesterday he was feisty and wanting to trot-trot-trot (well canter would have been ideal, but mean mom said no), but none of the hills and fields we usually work on have been mowed recently, so we trotted round and round and round and round the outside of the outdoor arena till he was tired of it. Had the additional benefit of going past the Monster Hideout (brushy scary area beside the arena) many times, so hopefully he will be less spooky of that now. We'll see.

Today was a much more productive ride. We went to another smaller grassy area beside the covered arena and worked on spirals in and out at trot, and a little bit on transitions within trot. Of course we don't have a proper extended or collected trot yet, so pretty much it was just working on speeding up or slowing down when I asked. He was very good, though he leaned on my hands a bit. I am thinking the leaning is his way of trying to avoid working, since it only comes out when I ask him to actually do something. Ha. But besides that he was very good and listening well most of the time. Yay boy!

I am trying to get him fitted for boots, so we can hit more technical trails without running so much of a risk of bruising his feet. Yesterday our EasyBoot Glove fit kit came and so today I duly tried them on. Only to find that they were way too narrow, all of them. What?!?! Well I came home and discovered I had ordered the regular fit kit instead of the wide. Grrrrr...oh well. So now the wide is ordered, the regular is going in the mail tomorrow, and hopefully one of them will fit!

New Leaf

The bestest ears

So I have written and rewritten this post maybe half a dozen times and the long and short of it is this:

Nobody wants to hear me try to explain my brain, and

I already know what I'm thinking, so...

Riv and I are officially turning over a new leaf, and going full-time into (competitive) trail and (not-so-competitive) dressage. With maybe a little up-to-25-mile LD endurance stuff thrown in if we can find a friend who does that.

Because:

• We knew from the beginning Riv has some arthritic changes. Why push it?
• I'm somewhat more aware of the importance of living staying mostly in one piece being safe and so jumping is not so much a Big Thing, though I still enjoy it and we will practice little stuff.
• Eventing is just not going to be our thing, for a lot of reasons, and that is the main reason I started and continued jumping, so why go there if we're not going there?
• COLORS. I CAN BUY BRIGHT COLORED STUFF AHHHHHH!!!
• Lower stress (for me anyway it's lower stress)
• Not-boring for our ADD selves ;)
• Riv loves trails.
• I love trails. Whether on horseback or on foot, or any other way.
• Dressage is good for us.
• Did I mention we love trails? And exploring new places? YES.

And anyway, why not?!

Especially when your grandparents have offered to buy you a new saddle (!!!!) for a graduation present! Which is good because current one feels like I'm going to be permanently maimed after an hour's ride (I didn't ride for a week after our 6-mile ride!).

Any suggestions in that area?

Proud

You know what makes a girl (this girl, anyway) very, very happy and very, very proud?

This. [can't insert the picture because they won't let me!]

And this.

Long-time readers, recognize that face?

Yep, that's my Rhapsody girl! (Click here for all the stories...)

(And yes, I have been sleuthing the interwebs ever since I left that barn to try and figure out what became of her...)

Going off the bright new halter and the girl-riding-who-I-never-met, I'm guessing that's her new owner.

I'm going to go with that anyway.

Because if any of my ponies can sell on to a teenage girl who needs a friend and if they will let her play around in a halter bareback, then I'm very, very happy and proud!

The Ride! (At last!)

[We're going to pretend this isn't three weeks after the fact...]

Don't know where the pro pictures are, but my friend put hers on Facebook so I stole them (with permission) and here you are! The long-awaited ACTHA run-down! It is also super long so cheers to you if you read the whole thing!

Briefing started at 9 so I got there at 8:30 to sign in and get my number. There were a ton of trailers; I really think we had more people from off-site come than folks from the barn! It was impressive! I walked up, got my number, chatted with folks, ran back to the car (planning to pull River into a stall) and promptly discovered both barns were full of off-site horses. Well then. At least his pasture was close. So I went up for pre-ride briefing!

That went uneventfully and in the process my friend S (who used to board with us at the old barn, and moved to our current barn shortly after we did) showed up! So now we had riding buddies I (and River) knew! We ran back down to the barn afterward. S, since her parents came along to "crew" for her, already had a tacked-up and groomed horse; I ran out, caught River, and brought him in with 15 minutes to groom and tack up and be up at the start point. Eeeks. But he was clean, so it didn't take long, and soon we were on our way up to the XC field, where we were starting!

S on the paint, me on the ginormous bay creature (as always ;)

I found S and her parents (who took all these pictures, btw; they're pretty awesome!) at the XC field and then we stood around and tried to figure out where to leave from and who else we were riding with (we left in groups of about 5). River was astonishingly gentlemanly all through this; his field was totally different with dozens of trucks and trailers, new horses, people all over the place--and to top it off I was asking him to stand semi-still! Really he was a gem. He got ancy at times and we would walk around in little loops and figure-eights and then he'd stand quietly and watch the world. Such a good boy!

We are the best at looking awkward...but look how quiet!

Finally a couple other folks came up and we wandered around together looking for where to start. I must add here that the rest of the trail was very well-marked; it was just the start point that was difficult! Anyway finally we found it and were ready to go! We stood and chatted and got to know each other a little. The other two people riding with S and I were a husband-and-wife team and they both had Rocky Mountain horses! (Saiph, I thought of you! Those horses were gorgeous, and so well-mannered!) Super nice folks and nice horses. We really had good riding buddies.

Me on far left, then S and Chico, then our two other riding buddies

Finally they put up the "start" sign (which apparently had blown off) and let us go, and River and I took the lead heading out since we were the only ones who'd been that way before! He wasn't too sure about that at first, but settled in fairly soon.

We wound out through the woods, through a pretty tight brushy trail, and into a big partly-overgrown meadow on the neighbor's property. None of us had been out here before and River was a bit nervous, so part way out our friends took the lead. They apologized in advance in case their horses were too fast...

But not to worry! River proved he can keep up with any gaited horse! (Goose. I always knew he walked fast, but really?!)

We circled the whole new field and came back onto our property. Then we went up the hill and came to our first obstacle!

I should clarify first that ACTHA (American Competitive Trail Horse Association) rides are six miles long, with at least six timed obstacles. Both you and the horse start with 10 points at each obstacle (for a possible total of 20 points per obstacle) and then points are deducted if you don't meet the predetermined criteria. Ideally, of course, you keep your 20 points, and gain more if you do really well! I really like this system because even a green horse can do well if he/she has a good rider, and a green rider can do well with a good horse, since you and the horse are judged separately. In addition, you have a trot-out at the end to check lameness and general attitude (not a full vetting, but still).

Anyway our first obstacle was a sort of "keyhole" obstacle where we went off-trail and maneuvered around a circular set of logs in the woods, keeping the logs on our right side and avoiding little holes and whatnot that had been pre-marked. I'm really not sure what "official" obstacle it was based on, haha, but it was a fun and easy starter obstacle. River did fantastic as always (fortunately he is used to me asking him to do stupid things like wander off trail) and we got both 10's. :)

Cute Monster to break up huge text block!

We went on and wound our way across the mountain. River was completely barefoot for this expedition--a move I wasn't 100% sure of the wisdom of, but since I hadn't had a chance to buy him boots beforehand, I really didn't have a choice. Surprisingly, his feet did really well. The only time he struggled was when we were crossing creeks (more on that later) and he couldn't see the gravelly/shale bottom. Otherwise, he picked his footing carefully and had very few stumbles and "ouchy" moments. I still plan on getting him front boots, but overall I was greatly impressed with his progress.

There was one super-steep and slippery stretch where I dismounted and led him. I was glad I did because he was sliding pretty badly and I wouldn't have felt safe on top. As it was he was very decent and careful about it and we made it to the bottom just fine. He learned to tuck his feet under and did a pretty good trail-horse impersonation though! I was super proud of him on this event because not once did he rush downhill on the forehand! He always tried hard to tuck his haunches, get his hind legs under him, and balance himself! GOOD BOY!!

After our first loop across the mountain we reached our second obstacle!  This one was a drag obstacle of a big pipe we had to drag from one jump standard to another. It was also the one I was most uncertain of because we have never dragged anything, ever. I figured it would be good if I just stayed on. ;)

The first rider in our group (wife of the Rocky Mountain Horse couple) did fine. Her horse was really amazing, as was she--you could tell they'd practiced a lot and had a wonderful connection! Really a beautiful pair. The second Rocky Mountain though, was quite unsure from the beginning--she wasn't sure about the pipe, wasn't sure about the jump standard--he managed to get her up to it and to start dragging the pipe, but then she glanced sideways and saw the pipe FOLLOWING her and that was the end of that! ;)

S and Chico had a similar go of it and then it was my turn. River had been very restless so we'd been doing loops in the field waiting. He went straight up to the jump standard and stood for me to get the rope. I started to drag it one-handed but then realized, (a) it was way heavier than it looked; and (b) Riv has to have that direct rein. He does not neck-rein at all. So I had to put my drag hand on the reins. He flinched just a little when that caused the rope to brush his hindquarters, but I talked him through and he kept going straight to the next jump standard, and stood for me to hook up the rope!

 SO SO SO PROUD!!!!!! I praised him up and down and told him he was THE MOST WONDERFUL horse in the world!! (because, isn't he?!) And as a bonus we got 20+ points for that obstacle. :)

Another totally random picture of The Most Wonderful Horse

Then we went back across the mountain. This was the lower part of the mountain, though (one of these days I need to get more pics of the mountain trails!), so it was much less rocky and easier riding. Part way across we had a sidepass obstacle. We had to ride up, pick up a basket of "eggs" from a barrel, and sidepass across a pole to put them on another barrel. Yeah. No. Riv does not sidepass. At all. So we got the eggs, tried to get a step or two sideways (he tried hard!) and then just rode to the other barrel and put them down. :) Four points for that obstacle! You get four points if you enter and exit through the appropriate cones and at least try, so we tried. :)

Then we stopped because S's horse had lost a boot so she had to put it back on. That accomplished, she tried to get back on, but her (rather roundish, hehe) horse had a slippery saddle that almost came all the way off. So after much fussing with that (and another group catching up!) I dismounted and helped fix her saddle with a tighter cinch, and then got back on (from the ground, which is impressive when you're just over 5 foot and your horse is 16hh) and we continued. One of our friends' horse had gotten a huge rock stuck in her shoe anyway, so the break was good.

We kept going and came down and across the far pastures toward our next obstacle--the dreaded COWS!

Fortunately Riv has been around the cows quite a lot but for some reason these were still a bit spooky. Perhaps it was because they were in a panel that jutted out from the main fence. Perhaps it was the roping dummy-cow that was next to the fence. I don't know. Anyway we waited and went last...

Forgive my obvious distraction--he was being very restless!
Also. My stirrups are too short. No wonder my knees hurt!

He wasn't very sure but after stopping a couple times and getting scratched and encouraged, he marched right by and was very brave!

Eighteen points for us there! We took the lead again heading down to the first (un-judged) creek crossing. It was actually pretty deep--close to his belly if not up to it--and moving a little swiftly. Not dangerous, but not an easy crossing. We tried to lead across the water but Riv was having no part of that! He made a good try and then S and Chico led us across--with a lead, he went quite cheerfully and seemed to "get" what water crossing meant. :) We went across the lesson horse pasture and across the road (no problems there) and into the pastures across the street. By now I could tell he was getting a little tired, but he still marched along cheerfully and I took every opportunity to let him munch a little or drink. He still refuses to drink on-trail, but he nibbled on grass quite frequently, so that at least was good.

We did the second creek crossing just fine, but with a little stumble in the middle that splashed the photographer! Oops! Haha! Seventeen points for that--not quite sure of why the lower marks but oh well. I was proud of him seeing as it was only his second creek crossing and this time through he really "attacked" the water! He saw it and wanted at it! Good boy! :)

Up and through a bunch of fields, munching on the tall grass, under the telephone wires we went. Nice footing and hilly but not too steep riding. We were making good time, putting some space between us and the people behind us, and also keeping an eye on the clouds as it was starting to look like rain. We came down to our last obstacle--a jump. A hay-bale jump, to be precise. Which means, a jump with width. I've trotted River over little X's without any big deal, but never over anything with width!

We took it second to last and it was a mess. Ha! But we went over! He trotted up, tried to slip out to the left, and I corrected. So then he broke to a walk, which I was fine with--I expected him just to step over. Unfortunately he did not just step over--he LAUNCHED himself and besides having a little bit of a forward seat I was totally unprepared! So we were a disaster over that, haha, but we did go over and I was quite proud of his try and told him so. We only got 5 points on that and I felt it was a little mis-judged--he only got two points which he would've gotten for a run out as long as we exited through the cones. But oh well. It was amusing and nobody was hurt! :)

Then back across the road! After we convinced our friends that the big rock wasn't going to eat them. ;)

Riv is unconcerned by rocks. ;)

And home! And we placed 5th in our division which I say is extraordinarily Great! I have never been so proud of a pink ribbon! :D

We were invited to ride in another ACTHA event today but had to say no because Riv developed a bit of hoof cracks a couple weeks after the ride. Unrelated to the ride but still don't want to stress the footsies. But we definitely want to try again! With more practice, this time! :) I think we just may have found our niche!

Coming up: Things I would do differently next time!

Waiting

...on pictures, that is!

I am about ready to just give you all a very wordy run-down of the whole thing, with gratuitous cute Monster-in-the-Pasture pictures, before I forget it all!

Sigh...

We Are Hooked!

So yesterday River and I went to an ACTHA (American Competitive Trail Horse Association) Competitive Trail Challenge hosted by our barn!

...and this happened:

5th in our division in our first "real-life horse" competition ever (for both of us individually and together), with no coaching and not much exposure to the obstacles ever! I am SO PROUD of my boy!

...and I think I'm hooked! And Riv came cheerfully up to meet me in the pasture today, so he must not think it's too bad either. ;)

More details coming! I'm hoping for pictures from my friend's parents and from the ride photographer before too long. :)

Update in Bullet Points

• I have the best trimmer. Just sayin'. Wish he lived closer so he could do Riv's feet all the time! 

• Summertime barefoot on grass pastures is ROUGH. Especially when you have a mildly sugar-sensitive Beast.

But it's pretty!

• Summertime throwing shoes because of the mud is rougher. (Therefore why my horse is still barefoot.)

• It's SO. hot. Ugh. However, the pony doesn't mind, so I guess I just have to jump in and ride.

• Riv understands transitions now! At least the general concept...now to refine...

• Feeling the need of a lesson at last. I'm quite sure I've gained at least 10,000 bad habits over the last year.

Pretty sure he's fatter yet now...

• Competitive trail ride or no competitive trail ride? Guess it depends on whether I'm going to Missouri for two weeks to be a substitute horse director for a summer camp there... (eeeekks!)

• Field rides/trot sets are the bestest ever. At least according to River.

• Someday I will get my horse a UV fly sheet so his lovely summer coat stays lovely and stops bleaching. Someday when I don't have at least four $150-$200 things I need to buy much more for him...

• Still trying to find a schedule as far as riding that we can stick to. Another reason for a lesson...

Happy One Year! (& photo dump)

One year ago today, I drove down to Georgia to pick up a certain big bay gelding! Happy Anniversary River! 

We've come a long way, and we have a long way yet to go, but it's been a wild and crazy and wonderful ride...I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story. :)

He led (or didn't lead) like he needed a stud chain!

Distracted distracted distracted

So stiff and ouchy

Started coming to me in the pasture

Loves his trail rides :)

His ground manners are perfect now!

Just because he's adorable

Long way to go, but better!

He even gives pony rides to grandmas :)

And very-stiff-and-nervous younger brothers ;) 

I don't have pictures, but when he gets in the mood he's also a huge snuggle buddy. :) Where from here? Who knows! But we're going to have fun no matter where or what it is! 

Good Rides, New Things, Question

We haven't been riding as much as I'd like (do we ever?) but our rides have been great!

We've been out in the fields, trotting in the fields with no runaway nonsense, on trail rides, and in the arena. River's trot-walk transitions are doing much better and he's beginning to learn walk-halt properly (right now we do a lot of circling!). Canter is still a work in progress--his canter is sooo lovely but he doesn't have the strength to carry himself properly in it for very long, so we don't do a lot of it. He played lesson horse when my grandparents and brother came out to see him--and decided he doesn't like that at. all. ;) He was good though!

Sunday we put him over his first tiny baby crossrail under saddle! He's been over them in the round pen before, but not with me aboard. He was an absolute champ, very brave on the approach, trotted right up and over it, no big deal at all.

The grass sugar has been doing a bit of a number on his feet. :( They're not bad--he's fine in the arena or on softer surfaces--but he is a bit more ouchy than he was during the winter. I may need to get him boots for summertime; we'll see. However, he is gaining lots of weight and otherwise looking fantabulous, so I'm not complaining!

And, finally got a decent sweat mark on him and my saddle apparently bridges on the middle sides. It's not making him sore but still. :( Boo. I'm thinking a shimmed pad may be the way to go since he's still gaining weight and also since I don't have the money for a new saddle right now! Any suggestions? What have you used and like/don't like?

Can You Help?

We just got a message from our lovely barn manager. You can read it here.

The gist of it is that the property owners have received an offer to develop the farm into a subdivision. Though they do not want to sell, they need to if they're ever going to be able to retire. Our barn manager and her husband (she's the daughter of the owners) are trying to raise the money to counteroffer and buy the farm themselves. They are proposing creating a "a non-profit that serves the community and beyond as a place of healing and rejuvenation for mind, body, and spirit." Besides horses, it would possibly involve equine and non-equine therapy programs, cabins, and a larger CSA operation.

This has been the most wonderful place for River and I to be, and we would be SO sad to have it go! Though we've been invited back to our previous barn with no strings attached, it would not be the same. Do you know of anyone (or might you be someone) who could help out?  Contact Tara at 423-488-3993 or tara@hiddenhillsfarm.com if you can!

River Says Hai

This is how a horse is supposed to be caught! ;)



Not much exciting going on at the moment. River Man came down a little lame on Friday so has been enjoying his time off. Seems to be getting better; I think it's perhaps a stone bruise or maybe a little abscess since it does seem to be in his foot. Though from the video (taken this afternoon) you'd never know it!



He will get probably the rest of the week till Friday off, and then we'll start some long slow trail rides and see how he does. At the moment it's hard to tell whether he looks lame"ish" in the round pen because he is lame, or because he's so unbalanced on the teeny-tiny 10-meter circles he insists on trotting (pony would be a pro at the "join-up" thing). We'll see.

Still Here, Official Hiatus

So I discover that if I'm not riding, I have time for blogging. If I'm riding, no blog time! ;)

We are still alive and River is making great progress. He has figured out his stretchy trot (love it when that happens) and figuring that out has seemed to make a big difference with his trot/walk transitions--they're much much better now! One of these days perhaps we'll even get a walk/halt transition, who knows?!

He's also putting on some weight, which is very exciting! On Friday they go out to the "real" grass pastures, so hopefully that goes well.

However, since I'd rather be riding than sitting here typing on the computer, I'm taking an official blog hiatus for a while. I'll still be posting now and again but not holding myself to any notions of posting regularly. Hopefully we'll come back with even more progress to report! Happy Spring!

Back At It

Well since the dear Beastie broke my reins last time we rode, and my local stores don't have any English anything, we were stuck waiting and doing groundwork (he learned to walk over the bridge this week, good boy!) till the ones I ordered could get here. They finally did today! Yay! So we had a quick ride.

He was very very good actually, super stretchy stretchy even at the trot--which he's never done before. Good boy! Now hopefully he doesn't get "stuck" down there because he still doesn't really understand how to pick himself up, so while long and low is definitely a good stretch exercise for him, I don't want to spend the whole riding time just doing that. Nevertheless he was super good and transitioning up and down with barely a thought and a half-halt from my seat, so we cut it short and gave him lots of pets and goodies and his grain.

It probably helped that I felt like I was actually riding somewhat effectively for once--I'm always better after a break it seems!

I also ordered a new helmet and I'm super happy with it so far, so one of these days I'll do a review. :) Good weekend all!

Face-plant!

Friday we were going to have a nice bareback trail ride and try out our new bareback pad, that I got over Christmas and haven't tried out since. I even figured out how to attach the camera to the pad, and took some nice pretty ear pictures to show you, like this:

and this...

...and this! Can you tell I was having fun with ear pictures?? ;)

Pony has crazy mane.

He was being pretty feisty and full of himself, but not too bad, so we kept on into the woods. Then I had to get off in the woods to adjust the bareback pad (which will need some serious renovations before it's really usable, it slips awfully. Not impressed so far), and get back on. Getting back on a 16+ hh dinosaur when you're only 5'3 on a good day is not fun. I vaulted up on my stomach, got half over--and he started moving off. Except then he decided he didn't like this awkward weight on his back and started trotting...then he started cantering...then I decided that despite my distaste for bailing, I was going to come off sooner or later and I'd better get off before he started bucking or tripped or was otherwise stupid. So I bailed. :( And face-planted into the dirt, haha it was not the most graceful dismount!

Then my dearly helpful horse decided he'd had enough of me and marched off down the trail on his own. I got up (after making sure I was all in one piece) and followed but he broke into a trot and disappeared. So I had a nice walk through the woods practicing my tracking skills till I finally got down to his pasture and met the volunteer kids getting ready to feed--they saw him over by his buddies' fence before I did, and caught him for me, while kindly making sure I was okay.

Update as of yesterday's lunge is that the pony is much sounder than the person, haha. He is perfectly fine, while I am sore from my torso all the way down my right leg. We would ride today anyway except that he broke my only pair of reins, so I'm stuck unless I want to go all ghetto and get some rope reins from TSC to use while my order from Smartpak or Dover comes through (which I might just do, we are not against being ghetto over here, haha)!

Because I really still want to get some canter video!!

All in all, a good reminder not to do stupid things even when it is my horse. I get lazy and this is what happens. Now the pony is going to get boot camp when it comes to mounting, and maybe we'll have a lesson to help instill the stop button. He has a perfectly fine gas pedal (sometimes too fine), it's the brakes we struggle with!

Can-TER!

So Thursday we cantered in the arena, on purpose and for a reasonable time, for the first time!

River was feeling good and I had set myself a goal to canter in the arena before spring break was out, so I asked for it and he happily (and reasonably smoothly) popped up into his amazing "third gear."

No seriously, it is probably the most amazing canter I've ever ridden. He has a massive stride and it's just unreal. I just want to ride it again and again and again! The one small detail is that I'm apparently unable to sit it to save my life; I have to two-point or half-seat. Haha! I'm hoping to get some video on Sunday so I can figure out exactly why (maybe also a lesson soon); all I can say right now is that I'm apparently totally out of sync with whatever's going on in his hind end because it just springs me right up out of the saddle. Ha. Hopefully we'll figure out why fairly soon! In the meantime, two-point it is.

We didn't do a lot at a time; I let him tell me when he wanted to transition down and we did. Very nice ride though and I can't wait to feel it again! It's addictive! ;)

Stay tuned for what happened today! Hint: It involves getting up close and personal with some good old Southern red clay dirt...but no one's hurt!

Zoomies

Not much riding last week, Wednesday was a great teaching day but I was wiped out afterwards, then Thursday was my huge-ginormous midterm test and by the time I got done with that (found out today that I aced it, yay me) I didn't want to do much. Friday River got his spring shots and a new Coggins pulled, so I gave him that day off plus his normal Saturday. Now this week it's spring break, yay!

So today our first day back and it was super windy, very warm but definite weather change coming. So all the horses were a bit wired, River included. Went out on a half-hour trail ride to warm up and he was very looky but very good. Then we came back and worked in the outdoor, since it has finally dried up enough to ride in! Started out pretty good, then he got a serious case of the zoomies and was whipping around at a mach-10 trot. Haha. Tried slowing down and no such luck. So I just let him go, he had to keep moving though, none of this trot-real-fast-toward-the-barn-then-be-a-pokey-western-pleasure-pony-going-away-from-it kind of nonsense. He tripped a little bit a couple of times, felt a little tired/weak in the hind end, he always gets anxious after he trips but he is learning to get over it. Not too surprised since we did some fairly steep hill climbs on our trail work, he should be a little tired.

Eventually got a bit more under control, and he was getting sweaty with all that hair, so we stopped and cooled out. Probably in an ideal world I would've tossed him in the round pen and let him get all the zoomies out there, but needed to put on his sheet tonight to keep him dry for a quick couple days of blanketing this week, so didn't want to work him too hard. Besides he's not in shape for such things, haha.

Hopefully tomorrow or Tuesday, whenever we ride next, he'll be a bit saner and we'll go in the covered and work on some more productive stuff! ;)

In Which We Try Out Suggestions

Yesterday I wasn't sure whether I was going to ride or not, but turns out I was, so yay. This week is midterms but I had already fried my brain studying so didn't feel bad about taking the evening off. ;)

Brought him in and tacked up, chatted with a girl I hadn't met before and her sweet 20-year-old horse, then went in the covered since it was getting dusky. Dropped my stirrups and spent about 15 minutes just at the walk, warming up. Still sore from my tiny bit of trot no-stirrups on Sunday, so wasn't doing that yet! Lots of leg yields, which he picked up on super fast as long as I also opened my outside hip to give him somewhere to go, haha. He still doesn't get the idea 100% but it was very passable. We started off just yielding back to the rail from a couple feet off, then gradually increased the distance; eventually we were even able to leg yield toward the quarter line from the rail! Yay us! Haha. Also someone had set up a mini-circle-of-death ground pole exercise so we walked over that, did lots of circles and figure 8's. Then we moved up to the trot. I didn't ask for a lot, kept a loose rein, let him cruise and try to find his balance while I worked on mine. Trotted about 5 minutes in each direction, with a long walk break in between. Halted and asked for a turn on the forehand in the scary corner, he did good for not really understanding it under saddle yet. After our second trot I half-halted hard and what do you know, he came right down into walk in 2-3 strides! GOOD BOY!! Walked out a bit, half-halted hard again and just barely picked up the reins, and (with a bit of repetition) he actually stopped!

Big pats and praises, took him in for his grain. Blankets tonight--it's chilly a couple days now. Popping back up into the above-freezing-nights zone on Friday, though.

Maybe ride today, not sure, I'll be in schools all day and usually come back exhausted from that, then I have a ton of tests to grade and my fall semester schedule to plan, so we might have today be our lunge day. Friday he gets his shots and check-up, so no ride then. :)

Obligatory Weekly Post, and Question

Lol, my posting schedule has gone to nothing. Exhausted, good grief. And camera still dead, have been running around like a crazy person and haven't stuffed batteries in it. So boring post, no pictures.

Rode three times this last week, plus today, which is something of a world record I think, especially given how crazy my schedule was. River is really doing well all things considered. It's been so very very nice (60s and 70s! The grass is trying to grow!!), and we're still half-heartedly planning on the hunter pace at the end of March, so we've been spending quite a bit of time cooling out on the trails/fields, and Friday we went for quite a long trail ride all by ourselves, exploring. His tripping on the trail is all but gone, as long as I don't let him literally drag his nose in the dirt, and he's getting the hang of picking the easiest way around obstacles. Such a good boy!

Arena work is so-so, some days really good and some days not so good. I am really struggling with working on getting him off the forehand and using himself. Have talked to Coach and she recommended transitions and backing--well, we can do trot-walk transitions pretty well (most of the time), but walk-halt are very very iffy unless I run him into a wall, and backing is nonexistent at the moment. I'm not pushing it because practicing anything slower than trot-walk makes him worse; he gets even heavier and tries to grab the bit. It's okay to do once or twice in a session, but otherwise not. Any other suggestions? I'm planning on making/getting him a Pessoa-type system to lunge in as soon as I get the time, not sure whether it will help this problem but can't hurt. Also looking around for a chiro in the area to see if that would help, see if he has any pain that would be making it worse. . . In the meantime happy for ideas. :)

He has also learned how to drink from the hose, it's hilarious! :D

Wearing Myself Out

I rode, now I am exhausted. Haha. It's what happens when you actually try to ride properly!

I'm feeling like I'm making some progress though, I'm really trying to start from the ground up and get good habits to start with. Working on my more dressage-type seat since it's a bit more effective (for me) and keeps me more balanced in case of pony shenanigans. Plus River deals with being on the forehand enough already, he doesn't need my perchy hunter-seat up over his withers yet. Today he had a pretty good trip and I hardly got unbalanced at all, so that made me feel good. I really need to "hold his hand" all the time or he can't figure out where to put himself under saddle.

We rode quite a lot, he was very good even though the horses just next door were galloping around like mad and the BO's little girl was jumping back and forth in the aisle making squealy noises and there was an accident up the road and we could hear all the sirens going up there. Very looky but good, really no spooks at all. I was proud of him! We had some very nice trot-walk transitions too actually, he was listening to my half-halts off my seat and not running into my hands.

Finished off with a nice trail ride/hill work up to the top of the big huge "gallop hill" and back. Gotta get that hind end of his muscled up!

In Which We Have Valentines' Day and Yada Yada

I have no pony pictures, because my camera battery died on Thursday taking pictures of this:

My house. Almost 10" of snow!!

It was gorgeous! I took way too many pictures. ;)

Magical.

River got a peppermint on Friday for Valentines', of course he is my Valentine for sure. :) Besides that not much been going on. He had almost all last week off and I am not doing that again unless we have to--he is going stir crazy! He still tries to be good, he's not at all dangerous, but the difference between River-in-regular-work and River-on-vacation is definitely THERE. And I think I prefer the exercised version of my pony. He gets spooky instead of hot, and that drives me crazy.

So we are starting back to work tomorrow. Not anything strenuous, of course--just continuing to build his endurance level slowly but surely, and continuing to work on baby stuff. I am hoping to post more (my posting record this month has been terrible!) but we'll see!

Oh and Hillary is having an awesome giveaway! Go check it out!

Back in the Saddle

...and no time for blogging!

They don't joke about this intensive practicum semester being hard for nothing--so much reading, so many lesson plans, and field experience is deadly to my sanity! Haha!

Really it's going good, last week was rough but those happen. I'm riding though! Only a couple times last week but comparatively that is fantastic! And we started out with another good ride today too!

River has been great, we are mostly doing walk/trot although I do lunge him at the canter in the round pen. Our covered arena (the only arena with good footing at the moment) is a bit small, plenty big enough to canter if your horse is well balanced--but the River man is not. He's getting better, but not there yet!

His transitions are coming along; if I am very careful to be fluid and flexible and move with him all the time, he has nice (albeit a bit slow) downward transitions. If (like today) I'm thinking of other things, he doesn't get the seat cues and then he leans on my hands awfully. It lets me know how I'm doing, for sure! Today we did more straight trot work to figure out where his "tired point" is, but Friday we worked on walk/trot transitions every time we circled the arena and he was really good. Letting a lap or two go by before I asked for a transition again seemed to let him be okay with practicing without drilling. We also did some hill work today out in the big hilly field and he was good, if a bit "up."

I was gushing about his marvelousness to Coach today and she decided she wanted one like him. ;) Well perhaps I'm a little biased, but I've got to say I adore this horse like nothing else! He is so good and tries so hard, it is really amazing.

And if you have finished this random epistle so far, I have news! Our first event is scheduled for March 30! We will be doing the walk/trot division of our farm's hunter pace. :) Maybe with Coach! I'm excited! :D

Who Needs a Superbowl When You Have an OTTB?

River in the snow we had last week!

I don't know if I mentioned this before, but while River is very good on the ground, and mannerly under saddle (i.e., he doesn't tend to bolt, buck, rear, or otherwise be totally obnoxious), he is VERY GREEN under saddle. He has three gaits (mostly) but that's about all. ;) I discovered that he's had groundwork but very little actual riding since he came off the track, which explains a lot. He doesn't understand lateral work very well, or that he has variations in speed and tempo within a gait, or that when I go into two-point it doesn't mean that he has to win a race, or even (usually) that he can truly back up under saddle. His downwards transitions are rough and often include a lot of circling when he gets his freight-train mindset on (he doesn't run off, he just keeps going!), and he doesn't understand bending, stretching, or using his body much under saddle at all.

I finally got my mind wrapped around the concept that nothing but time and miles is going to fix any of those issues! And some good lessons, of course, but Coach is in New York right now and anyway is not keen on tackling issues that I have tackled myself before (love her!). So now I am officially motivated to go ride the Beastie. I know, I know, it took long enough!

So today I went and rode. Much to River's chagrin, because I gave him some hay while I tacked up before the ride instead of grain (he'd been munching in the pasture, but I thought maybe it would keep him busy...it didn't). So by the time we got into the arena he was quite put out, tossing his head and being quite feisty. He spooked at the chickens, spooked at the gates, spooked at the barrels outside and spooked at I don't know what else. Fortunately his spooks are not frightening, lol. But with a lot of walking all over the place--big circles, little circles, half circles, straight lines, figure-eights, ground poles, etc.--he calmed down very nicely and we ended up doing some trot both ways in addition to all our walking. I focused on engaging my core, stretching up, breathing (always my nemesis when I'm trying to focus!), and pointing my body and energy the way I wanted to go, with very nice results, I'd say. We even had a couple half-decent halts. Afterward, he got his grain and was very calm and relaxed going out to his pasture. Score!

Now I'm more motivated than before. ;) Lunge tomorrow, rest Tuesday, and another ride Wednesday!

Snow!

It actually snowed!

It's been cold enough for snow this winter (plenty cold enough), but today was the first day we actually got any!

Out my window:

Shop, and our monstrous wood pile

You can tell we don't have a whole lot, maybe a little over an inch, but the roads are slick as anything and we live at the top of a massive hill, so I didn't get out to the barn. :( I think this is the first day I haven't been out to River since...before Christmas sometime? I don't remember. Somewhat traumatic but he should be fine. Supposed to get sunny and somewhat warmer tomorrow, so I should be out then!

A Picture and A Ride!

That handsome bay gentleman with the chompy mouth? Look familiar?

It's River! :D

SO excited!! I still can't find an actual racing picture, but this is good enough! :)

Just a heads up, if you want nice track photos of East Coast tracks, Nikki Sherman is the place to go to! I've found all my race photos on her site, for Rhapsody, Paradox, and now River! She also has some pictures of QH racing and harness racing in case you're into that kind of thing.

It was crazy warm today (got up to 60!) so of course I had to try to ride! He was great but started flipping his head part way through, so we just walked and trotted a tiny bit, and then lunged in the round pen at all three gaits. I suspect that his ear mites/ticks/whatever-creepy-crawlies are back. We treated him for them about a month ago, and in my crazy researching at the time I learned that mites can lay eggs that hatch in about a month, so we'll re-treat with the stuff the vet recommended tomorrow, and hopefully he'll be A-OK again.

Met another person at the barn, which was exciting! Lol, folks here are pretty mind-their-own-business kinds of people, which is fine with me, but it doesn't lead to a lot of friends made quickly. It doesn't help that when people ask "So what do you do?" my answer is pretty much, "Um, well, we walk...and trot...sometimes we canter--and regret it immediately, and don't do it again for a week..."

Haha. In touch with Coach about the canter--he has a lovely free-lunge canter, but under saddle he dives down and powers along on the forehand--and she suggested some round pen work to help him learn to carry himself properly without me on board first. So along with the hill work, integrating that.

Going to freeze ourselves solid again the first part of this week; I keep hoping that each single-digit low will be the last one! :-/

Defender 1680D High Neck Turnout Sheet Review

So back in the beginning of December River got a new blanket. It was Defender brand--a brand I'd never heard of--and thus I promised a review when I learned how they'd wear! So, I bring you:

Defender 1680D High Neck Turnout Sheet Review!

 

How it looked when I got it!

I chose this blanket because:

• It was cheap! I think I paid around $70-$80 dollars for it on State Line Tack! I didn't know how much abuse River would put into it and didn't want to buy an expensive blanket only to have him destroy it in a few weeks.
• It was one of only a few 1680-denier turnout sheets I could find. With a horse on 24/7 turnout, toughness is important!
• It has shoulder gussets and is nylon lined to help reduce rubbing
• Has all the other important things: clips to attach a hood if needed, belly straps, leg straps, removable tail flap, open front snap closure, and a fleece wither.
• I liked the idea of the higher neck to help keep River dry.
• The color contrast was nice ;)

So River's been wearing it most of the time (usually with a liner) for going on two months now, and this is what I think so far:

• Great: The material and seams are holding up GREAT. I wasn't sure what to expect for the price, but it doesn't have so much as a scratch, even with the transition between barns and the Mighty Evil Donkey at River's last barn.
• Good: It fits big, but isn't really a high-neck--more of what I've seen called a "Euro cut," with extra drop on the sides and a higher neck. I like this, but some people might not. I ordered down a size for River and am happy with the fit.
• Also Good: It's super waterproof! We'll have to see how it does with re-waterproofing, though...
• Bad: The snaps and hardware don't seem to be the best quality. I replaced the top front snap within a week. The other hardware is holding up so far, though. 

Overall: 4/5 stars
 
Overall I'm happy with this blanket--for the price, I really don't think it can be beaten. Depending on how it re-waterproofs, though, I might choose a different option for the midweight I hope to get him for next winter (these cold snaps have me a bit worried!). And if you don't like to replace snaps, you won't want it. But, if you're looking for a cheap blanket with good coverage and a tough exterior, you might want to look into this blanket!

How it looks now!

[Somewhat] Wordless Wednesday

Zzzzzz......

Well she's early today...

I guess I could be bothered to take a few steps...

FEEDZ MEEE NOOWW I WILL DIEEE

Chilly day (I want to move to Florida!), but he was toasty warm in the sun. Trail walk, because I left my saddle at home and didn't have the guts to jump on bareback. It barely touched freezing anyway, so we weren't going to do anything amazing. Nice relaxed afternoon.

Game Plan

So much lined up I don't know where to start, lol!

School is crazy this semester--we are heading into intensive practicum time so lots of reading and lots of field experience--but fortunately still pony time too!


River is having some issues with the new barn building itself. It's rather small compared to our old building (low ceilings, narrower aisles, and smaller stalls) and as he's a big horse, and rather claustrophobic, and prone to being a [big] fire-breathing dragon when he gets claustrophobic, that poses some problems. We had a Very Bad Night trying to feed him Monday evening, but nobody was physically hurt and now that's been temporarily resolved by feeding him outside--he can eat in the dark, and I can mostly groom him and switch blankets in the dark, so no biggy really. I plan to reintroduce the inside of the barn slowly and hopefully he'll learn to see it as a good place and be okay in there.


We have a game plan now, though! It goes somewhat as follows (my game plans are very flexible):

1. Hill work 2-3 days a week on the lunge or under saddle

Right outside the back gate to River's pasture!

You can't see it as well in this pic, but this is an awesome pasture for hill work--some gentle slopes and some steeper ones, plenty of room to adjust and play with. I noticed improvement in River's way of going and ability to do more balanced transitions even with the intermittent hill work we did at the old barn, so I hope that with regular work on the hills he'll get even better!

2. Ride Sunday-Wednesday-Friday at least. 

I would love to ride more, and maybe we will (we have an arena with lights now, after all!), but those three days are definites. Saturday and Tuesday are River's days off from formal exercise/riding, but we might go on a quick bareback trail ride or something on Saturday also, if it's a nice day and we're in the mood. We're not going to do anything fantastical yet, just work on rhythm and relaxation in our forward gait (probably start with trot), and my position. River is great at moving forward, but he doesn't "get" rhythm or relaxation and has had very little serious under-saddle work from what I've learned, so we need to start with baby stuff. :)

3. Stretches, Massage, & Foot Upkeep

Just continuing to try to keep him at the best he can be. :)

4. First schooling show this spring/summer?

Our new barn doesn't have their event schedule up yet, but I'm eagerly awaiting it to see what we might be able to go for. Planning to do some little flat classes and maybe a w/t hunter hack class for his first show experience, depending on what he's ready for. I'll have to see how his under-saddle work is coming before I can set any goals for end-of-year, but we'll see!


And for me:

1. Work out routine every other day--I have a good one I've figured out, just need to stick to it!
2. Stretch routine every day I don't work out
3. Walking/running/hiking would be great, just can't figure out where to put it in......

So that's our game plan as of now--hopefully it won't have to change drastically this year! 

We Rode!

Just a quick post to say I unburied myself long enough to go and ride yesterday afternoon!

We rode in the covered arena and River was great. His typical rather-strung-out and motorcycl-y self--he felt like a barrel horse going around the corners at times, even just at trot--but great. We had several hard stares at the calves in the next-door pen, but gradually he got more comfortable with them. We went over a couple ground poles and he was very careful, much to my surprise, and didn't so much as brush them. Maybe he'll make a jumper yet! Of course, first we have to get him a bit more balanced in himself...

I, on the other hand, have gotten horribly out of shape. Even posting for very long made me tired/sore! But that's going to be fixed soon, with more regular riding and working out.

Wishing you all good rides as the weather warms up! :)

Settling In

Long post, but lots of pictures!

River's continuing to settle in just fine. Yesterday went to feed him, he wouldn't get a drink, but brought him in and after a mild fit about the calves he settled to eating. Hope his shoulder guard gets here soon; the rubs aren't getting worse per say, but they are expanding despite my daily efforts to prevent it, and I don't want to have a hairless horse! :(

Then we went out and walked around and took some pictures: they aren't splendid but they get the idea across!

Inside the boarders' barn. River doesn't have a private stall but they are available if we need them.

From the door to the boarders' barn: looking toward the covered arena

Inside the covered!

Jump field (currently being grazed)

Other jump field and "track" outdoor arena

Stalls by the covered arena, and a chicken!

It was very cold and frosty!

River exploring the covered arena

River was very alert and nervous and had a bit of the fire-breathing-dragon side out, but listened well. We went in the covered arena (only place that didn't have frozen footing!) and did a bit of groundwork, since no one else was riding, just turns on the forehand and hindquarters, and backing up. That really helped him focus and relax, and I took him back out.

Today I went out to get him (he still comes when I call!) and was thrilled to find out that someone had given my horse all his brain back! He was completely calm and relaxed and his normal self again. I was impressed--only been three days!

I fed him outside and he was very good, despite kids screaming in the background, and a little friend who joined us...

Look closely--see anything unusual?

We had a chicken clean-up crew! River was not phased at all.

 He did inform me, however, that I need to start feeding him on a tarp:

Expressing his displeasure that there was some sand that had gotten in his food...

Looking down toward the barns from the back corner of his field

Looking into his field

 

Barns and arena from the back side

Normally I would say we'd be riding by the first part of the week, but it's supposed to get freezing cold (FOUR degrees by Monday night, not counting wind chill--we're all going to die! That's the coldest it's been in seven years down here!), so I don't plan on riding till Wednesday at least, unless I slip in a quick jaunt tomorrow.