Day 29: a style/trend in tack/riding apparel that you don’t like
This one’s a little difficult for me since I don’t necessarily have a “style” I tend to like – I just like matching things. Other than matching, I like what I like and it goes along with my general style I wear every day. Classic, practical and function pieces.
So when (a WHILE ago, like 2015) Amanda C posted about lace show shirts….. I just don’t really get it.
I mean, yeah they’re really pretty, but I am honestly not a fan. Now don’t get me wrong – I really like me some lace just….not with horses. I’d snag that on legit everything lol. Not to mention you would probably have issues with sports bras, and I don’t know about you, but I sweat a lot between my shoulder blades, and even if I don’t sweat a lot near my collarbone, that lace would probably itch like the dickens for me. My whole chest and back would be red from itching. Plus, I feel that the lace may not hold up to the rigors of washing horse clothing. Especially if it starts to discolor from sweat and sloughed skin…. Ick. It just is not for me.
Now if someone were to be showing in the lace – I don’t care. You spend your money on what you want and if it makes you happy, then you buy as many lacey show shirts as you want. I just won’t lol. Now that last one – the navy shirt – I might go for. It looks like the lace is over the shirt, which I could probably do. And I do like the very very subtle lace on that stock tie. But the lace is just not for me.
Next up are some….interestingly patterned breeches. As you guys know, I like plaid. I bought a plaid pair of breeches. I don’t think plaid is bad on breeches, but these are perhaps a little much for me.
Leopard….Floral….Paisley….I get cross-eyed trying to find the pattern lol Well, except those light blue ones with flowers. And maybe I’m being a little hypocritical since I like plaid but really not these other colors lol. But it’s just like the shirts – you love and want to buy them then power to you lol.
I think that’s it. There are other trends that are happening, like crazy colored tall boots or horse onesies – oooohhh forgot about those! srsly, what are those all about?! – and other things, but honestly, I don’t care about any of them. Yeah, they’re around, and those people who like them will get them and enjoy them. They’re fun, and they allow people to express their style. So while I may not like them, I’m glad there’s an option for those that might love them!
Day 28: Helmet or no helmet?
If you’d asked me this even just a year ago, I’d say it depended on what you were doing. Riding an old, safe horse in a schooling ring? Optional. Going out on trail (rocky, long or endurance)? Yes. Jumping or cross country? Absolutely. Dressage? Rider’s choice. Western pleasure? Nope, no need. But, that has since changed – gone back to when I was younger and was sure that helmets were necessary.
One thing solidified my slow acceptance that I needed one. It was my second ever fall off of Amber. And neither of these falls were really bad. The first one, I couldn’t sit her canter bareback at the time and slipped off and hit the ground. She was 2 and a bit shorter then. This last time, there was a very quick start/leap/stop that jarred me and I slipped once again. That time, the ground was much harder, and my left hip was bruised and very sore for nearly 6 weeks. I hadn’t been wearing a helmet. I hadn’t hit my head – but I could have.
But I hesitated a lot to actually make the change to wearing a helmet full time also because I’ve had such issues with heat. My heat stroke was not good, and with me not knowing and not getting to the hospital – I was very lucky it wasn’t much worse. I had an issue with my Troxel helmet and almost had heat exhaustion here even though I’d taken plenty of water and food. I felt such relief when I saw that Ovation schooler helmet – cheap, it came in a light color to help reflect the sun, had tons of air vents, and would do in a pinch.
And it’s been great in the heat. It’s really wonderful getting back into English, because the apparel and tack has come such a long way from what I remember that it’s like going into something unknown, and I like it.
I had a couple other falls, ones that made me determined even when I got made fun of to wear a helmet when breaking the babies. Once they were more broke I’d nix the helmet, but no more. (I also don’t have to ride babies anymore lol) After that fall on Amber, though, I knew I had to always wear a helmet even with her. Helmets keep you as safe as they can, in a sport where nothing is ever guaranteed. And not just eventing sport, but the sport of horseback riding. Whether you’re a leisure trail rider or the world’s best endurance rider, a western pleasure rider or top reining rider, helmets keep you safer. Any horse can trip anywhere at any time, and it can be game over for you. It’s not just subject to “faster” or “more intense’ horse sport. It’s horse sport as a whole, and I think everyone should wear a helmet.
Weekend Recap and NaBloPoMo
There’s really not too much to recap in horsey terms. I hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving! My Thanksgiving was good, especially with my little niece. There was great food, good company and we had an all around good time.
What was especially precious was that after sitting on my lap watching me play my horsey game (and interacting as well as Kaylee understood how to press the space bar to make the horse jump) with such intensity Friday morning, when I opened my computer to transfer music for my drive Saturday, Kaylee immediately trotted over to me and said “up peas!”. My sister and brother-in-law laughed quite a bit. Kaylee knew that when Auntie Mandy opened her computer, she had the horsey game! Just so precious lol.
Sunday morning Amber and I went for a nice hack, which wasn’t as nice as I’d planned lol. She got extremely herd bound to the point where she kept looking back for Whisper, jigging, and at one point getting worked up enough to hump her back. No feet even lifted off the ground, but it was to a point where if she hasn’t been out in a while, she can get like this. It was never as bad as it had been Sunday, so I just hopped off and we did a little groundwork there. She worked herself up pretty well before she settled, and while it wasn’t more than five minutes, her worrying got her working up a sweat.
I was lucky enough to find a bucket out in the nothingness to step on so I could hop back on, but while she was definitely not as explosive, she was absolutely really pulling towards home. So whenever she trotted I did a semi one-rein stop, just to get her bending and then circling around bushes and everything and only when she calmed down did we walk straight again. She got that message really fast, and walked fast but no more jigging. She FINALLY let out this big whinny, and when another horse answered she snorted back, and then was totally fine. Silly, silly girl. We jumped the ditch, and sauntered home. Not our best hack, but all in all still a good ride. Even though she got out over Thanksgiving and my other sister rode her for me, I know she was happy to be back under saddle, and I was happy to be on her.
Day 26: Your biggest riding pet peeve
Hmm. I have a few. I guess one of my biggest ones is warm up arena etiquette. Like people watch where you’re going! I’ve almost been run into dozens of times because people suddenly looked up and OMG there was a horse in their way! Also, be observant in the warm up arena. Trust me, it pays off.
But probably my biggest riding pet peeve would be trainers shouting to their students in the warm up ring at a show. Stuff like “make them go slower; pull back with your reins” or “reprimand the horse harshly in here but not in the show arena; we don’t want the judges to see that” or “what are you doing?! we practiced this at home!” or “don’t let up for a second; just make them keep trotting until they get all that energy out” and the horse will be in around 5-6 classes. The students don’t actually know how to ride, merely how to take instruction. Although honestly, who am I to actually judge? But I dunno, I think you can see those that know how to ride and are constantly working on things, or those that don’t. But, those types of things that trainers shout are probably my top peeves.
Day 27: You know you’re an equestrian when….
- Every single article of clothing you own someday makes it out to the barn, whether you’d planned on it or not
- You find an old, horsey teen magazine, look at the “how to be a proper horse owner” list, and realize you own a horse, but BREAK ALL THE RULES that they have
- Your barn clothes are so good they can double as your “fashion” clothes (with the “equestrian” style being “fashionable” now, I don’t know how many times people have told me they love my leggings, which are in fact kneepatch tights LOL)
- You don’t care about anything from horses – they snot on you, no problem. You’ve handled them sweaty and gross and still eat with your fingers before washing your hands. What you do care about are people germs (unless that’s just me haha)
- Apart from work, OF COURSE everything you do is centered around your pony
I really thought a lot about these, and maybe they’re not TOO original, I think they’re mostly lol. I did think it so funny though because for #2 I really did find an old magazine, Young Rider, that I used to subscribe to and just loved, and I found that horse owner list, and I answered all the choices and legitimately got that I should not own a horse yet LOL. I worked around them in flip flops, I didn’t always wear a helmet (at the time), and quite a few others I can’t quite remember, but I just remember I got ALL of the questions wrong haha.
It was definitely a good laugh, tho. And really, who needs leggings when you have super warm breeches/tights that can also be leggings? lol
NaBloPoMo days 22-25
Day 22 – The importance of riding in your life
Riding is definitely the most important thing in my life. I have always felt a lot more at ease with animals than people, but I have always been drawn to horses. The little moments are the ones I love – grooming, groundwork, spending time with the horses, loving on them. But even as much as I love the little moments and just being around horses, I feel a huge need to ride. There’s just something about hopping on a horse that is soothing to the soul for me. Be it bareback or with tack I feel the best when I’m with horses.
I love their beauty, their grace, their giving spirits, their try and their bravery, and I always feel at peace with horses. I found this quote a bit ago from Buck Branaman, and it really articulates the way I feel about horses.
“Horses don’t think the same way as humans. Some things that are most unique about the horse, that I love, is not what he possesses, but what he doesn’t possess. And that is greed, spite, hate jealousy, envy and prejudice. The horse doesn’t possess any of those things.”
That just about sums it up lol. Horses are what I love most about life, and I’m so glad I have my special one.
Day 23: Critique a famous/well known equestrian jumping round
So…….I am just going to say: they look great. I can’t do that at all, sooooooo…..yeah lol.
Day 24: Your best riding friend
I would have to say that so far, my best riding friend is my mom. I have had many riding friends, and still do that I used to ride with from my previous barns, including great friends Kayley and her husband and Tatia and Susan – all that I had a blast riding with weekends and some weekdays all last year. But throughout all of the years, my mom has always been there on pretty much every lesson, every show of mine and has been super supportive. In turn, I’ve helped her at shows and been her support as well. I’ve been able to share everything horsey with her, and it’s been great to always be able to have someone to talk to about that.
Day 25: Your dream trailer
My dream trailer would definitely be on the new list – as in a new trailer. But what I think would would be a super cool dream trailer would be a 3-4 horse reverse load trailer with living quarters. I like the idea of the reverse load perhaps helping horses with balance versus the traditional slant loads. I also like the fact that with a reverse load allows for a huge tack room in the back, so it doesn’t take away room from the living quarters. I’d ideally like 13ft LQ or larger because hey we’re dreaming here lol.
On thankfulness
I’m sure most of us will have these posts – Emma already had her gratitude post and L. Williams has what she’s thankful for each day. As this is my first year blogging, and my first year of having a huge, set goal since I was fifteen, this is a bit of a reflective post.
I have to admit when I saw that little divot in Amber’s stifle joint on the x-ray, my heart sunk. My dreams and goals of entering eventing started fizzling before me. But I knew, even before I asked the vet what he thought, that if he said no jumping, that’s what I’d do. I’d do lessons for myself, but I’d find something else for Amber and I to do. I’d continue english, perhaps mosey into dressage, but I wouldn’t jump her.
Relief was part of it when we were talking about management plans and when he said jumping was okay – but honestly, I was just determined that while we could, we’d make the most of it and be sound and healthy while we were at it. I want my first eventing experiences on Amber. She’s game, smart, extremely sensible, she likes jumping, and I trust her with my life. There’s really no other horse I’d rather start new things on than her.
So I’m extremely thankful the diagnosis while a bit jarring is still very promising.
Strange as it may sound, it was a weird feeling to bring my western saddle inside, place my bridle next to it and give it a “till next time” nod. I’ve ridden western since 2004 and have loved it (still do), so to put it away almost felt like closing a chapter. Like I was putting a part of myself away. Yet as sad as I felt, I also didn’t feel sad. I wasn’t putting it away to forget about it, or to not want anything to do with it anymore. It was just…a pause. After feeling lost for quite a few years, this year I had the goal to event. I haven’t had a goal like this since I decided I wanted to be a horse trainer when I was fifteen. The past few years have been a never-ending question of where now? And suddenly I was watching Rolex, and the idea to event festered in my brain almost all of last year. I read blogs, I followed along with people’s quiet adventures, and I realized I could do this, too. So I decided to start a completely different discipline, and in doing so I rediscovered my passion for horses and the horse people around me. I rediscovered what it felt like to have an all-encompassing goal and to go headlong into it. I’ve rediscovered the partnership Amber and I have – growing and competing together – when we had quite a few years where she was on the back burner.
I’m inexplicably thankful that finding eventing, finding this blogger community, and putting myself out there to overcome my fears has been integral to my healing process.
While I am of course thankful for my horsey mom, my family, my friends who have all been supportive of me in everything, it’s really been a generic thankfulness every day. Just thankfulness for life, for new purpose, for everything.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
All I want for Christmas
As we make the drive to Reno for Thanksgiving, I thought I might as well write this lovely post.
There’s really only 4 horsey things I want to get for Christmas (usually it’s like 10 things so I’m doing good this year lol) – that doesn’t include the breeches I got on an SP sale, or the breeches, maybe boots and earmuffs I’m going to get Black Friday should RW have a giant sale. These are Christmas fun things, because two of them I just want and probably won’t be getting any time soon, and the other two I’m going (one’s a maybe) to get anyway, but they’re still just a want at this point lol.
The first one is pure want. I don’t need a hackamore because Amber does fine in a bit on our hacking trail days. But I dunno it’d be fun/nice if she didn’t have to wear a bit. I probably could ride her in a halter no problem, but add rocks and trains and the predatory Condor birds that came back to our neighborhood for the winter, and I feel that a halter is a little unsafe if something goes wrong. She’s a little meh in a halter and doesn’t respect it as much as I wish (tho I probably just need to stick her back in a rope one). I’d be a little more comfortable in a hackamore. So enter this beauty.
Yup. The PS of Sweden hackamore. Unfortunately, this thing retails for $275. I really don’t want to pay that much. I checked out Eponia because I’ve been wanting to try one of their bridles, but…I dunno I just like the look of the PS better. I like that on the PS you have that extra piece of leather that keeps the bridle straps from potentially hitting the eyes (although I don’t think I’ll be pulling hard enough ever for the bridle to do that). Also like the look of the metal piece on the PS one better, too. Just…smoother? Cleaner lines? Like I said, this is a purely want item, but I am really considering getting at least the nose part. Any one of you guys have ideas? What hackamore do you have? I’d love to know! Most of the ones I found had bad reviews lol. Also, I’d ideally like to spend less money than that haha.
My next want: Merlot matchy matchiness. Would it look good on Amber? Eh, maybe not, but I’m really into merlot at the moment lol. I’ve always loved that color scheme, and at the moment I don’t really care if it doesn’t really “go” with Amber’s color. The merlot color is just so pretty and gorgeous to me lol. Who knows. I’ll probably get them anyway someday, not only for the color but also because I just really like the fit of the gulf breeches lol.
Next on the list is this lovely helmet. I tried it on on a whim at my local tack shop. It was a small, and holy crap it fit my head like it was made for it. It didn’t look big and bulky on my head, and the visor didn’t come down too low on my forehead. Because my head is small (6 7/8 so buying head stuff is a pain), usually even smalls in helmets are too big and hit the tops of my ears. This one doesn’t. AND IT’S NAVY. I really like my Ovation schooler helmet – it’s a light color that helps reflect the sun and keeps me cool, but this helmet just looks sooooo pretty….
It just fits my small head beautifully, and with the visor also being higher, it has plenty of room for what’s next on my list….
This bad boy: Cambox Isis2 helmet camera. I will be getting this hopefully soon. Ish. Maybe around Christmas if they go on sale. I definitely want a helmet cam, and this one seemed much less bulky than the GoPro. Ultimately, I’d like to be able to buy this before our first cross country school. My mom has volunteered to get media for me at my jump lessons so no need for helmet cam on that, and we’ll be learning jumping in the arena first so I probably won’t xc school until January or February. So, this one is a someday purchase, but definitely still a want lol. I have started to tell my family that if they come up with nothing to give me for Christmas, or if it would be easier for them, just give me money that I can put towards this thing lol. We’re all adults anyway – nobody really needs the “I must surprise/be surprised!” Christmas anymore so it works.
What about you guys? What are your wants this Christmas?
NaBloPoMo 18-21 and Lund bridle
Day 18: Your grooming routine
I am not the world’s best groomer. I used to be more into grooming, but since Amber stays pretty clean and only likes to be scratched, I’m a little meh on grooming lol. I don’t have any special brushes. If Amber seems particularly itchy I’ll grab her generic rubber curry and give her a good scratch, but most days I take her stiff-bristled plastic brush and she lurves that thing. It’s kind of a two for one – gets out the itch and flicks away a lot of dust. She’s dirt colored but not sand colored, so she usually looks ashy on one side.
If I really want to get her semi-non-dust-ridden I will use a soft plastic flicker brush and then two natural brushes in each hand – one horsehair and one goat hair. I’ll work in sequence with both arms, the horsehair first and goat hair as a finisher, and the quick strokes but soft bristles seem to bring up the worst of the sand dust and bring up the oils in her coat. (Somedays tho that dust just does NOT come out lol). I really never pick her feet. She doesn’t step in her poop, does not appreciate smelling like poop or pee, and the sand is dry and not going to pack in her feet unless it’s super wet and cold. Which it generally isn’t in Vegas. However, since it is so dry here, after a ride I will liberally coat the underside of her hooves and her heels with rainmaker – she has amazing feet that have never needed any special treatment, but since we use sand for bedding and that’s drying, she needs the moisture rainmaker offers. I can only use it on her coronary band though. If I put the Rainmaker over the nails, her feet will be too soft and she’ll pull her shoes.
Her face is either the first or last thing I’ll groom, and generally with only the horsehair or goat hair brushes. I give her many nose kisses when brushing her face. She gives me the mare glare, but she secretly loves the kisses lol. I do put Mane & Tail detangler in her mane and it seems to help it grow but to also keep it from getting in knots and her being able to pull it out easier. Other than that, I throw the tack on and go.
Lots more currying is involved when she’s shedding, but most days, that’s it.
Day 19: A discipline you’ve never done that you want to do
Well, I’m going to say top of my list is eventing. I may be doing a bit of dressage and mini jumping, but I’ve never even schooled xc or properly schooled jumps, so I feel that I have yet to do it! And so excited that Amber and I can now jump into eventing with all six feet!
The other discipline I really want to try is endurance actually. Riding all day on horseback with somewhere to go and a keen horse? I think that’d be awesome. Now, me needing to get in shape for that….eehhhhh that’s something else entirely lol. But I think endurance would actually be a lot of fun. Very difficult and challenging, but when in college I went on a trail riding trip with my class and was assigned the one-eyed Quarab mare. If you think that’s a combination…well, it was lol. But I’ll tell you that mare was so sure-footed, despite the fact that she decided to Man from Snowy River jump this huge log on a downhill slope and petrified me at the time lol. But man, she wanted to go, and she could go and go and go all day. It was that Arab in her for sure. So having that experience, I think endurance on a similar horse would be a lot of fun.
Day 20: Your favorite horse show
This is a hard one! I’ve loved all my shows with Amber, but I have to say my favorite show was a little bitty show in North Texas I believe. I was riding a seasoned show mare that I’d been practicing on, Chica Whiz (LOVE that mare) and I was about to loose my head with nerves before going into the show pen. I even drank a beer before hand and that helped lol. But Chica was calm as could be, and it was a canter-in reining pattern that I’d never done before, so I started off timid. Chica went in there like “okay, if you want to go that slow” and just gave me this amazing boost of confidence. So I said “okay Chica let’s go!” And she took off. We did three amazing sliding stops, our spins were pretty good, and I felt confident in the circles. It was just such an awesome feeling for her to give me such confidence that we were going to slay my own expectations. And we did! No win, but sooooo close to my goal of 70 – a 69.5. She was such a great mare and taught me so much about horse personalities.
Day 21: Your perfect schooling outfit
I love these! My perfect schooling outfit are my Ovation Aqua-X breeches, my Kerrits shirts and the sleeves, my Ovation schooling helmet and my Ariat paddock boots and Harwich half chaps. I wear that combination all summer and love it. My breeches and shirts will differ for the winter, but since it’s my perfect schooling outfit, I should move somewhere where it’s summer all year long. Yup, I like the sound of that lol.
And now the Lund bridle! I think it looks FABULOUS. I can’t wait to ride with it! Everything is so soft but definitely sturdy and I thought the raised and laced reins would be stiff – not out of the box! The lace is a little squeaky, but with how soft everything is and how I plan to darken them, I think they’ll be perfect!
Taking it slow
It’s slow here in Amberland, getting colder but still staying nice during the day. I wasn’t able to ride Amber at all last week – mostly because I didn’t want to stress whatever was wrong with her leg, and then because of her injection Thursday, and long work day Friday. So when I got her out Saturday, she was almost pulling me to the mounting block. She wanted to GO! Which manifested itself in walking faster lol. Wild thang this one is for sure.
I asked my mom to watch and did a small half circle of slow trotting, just wanting to see how she felt. She felt a little strange at first, but then after a few very slow jog steps, she picked up pace and I could feel some float there. Not as much float as when I got her SI done, but the float and softness was definitely there and she felt really good. So I brought her down to a walk, she felt a little disappointed, but ready and anticipating for when I was going to ask again. I just worked on the walk, and at the end of our 20 minute walk she almost stopped, and I swear her ears flicked back like “OH we’re doing this walk-all-the-time-shit again? Ugh” lol. And was then content to really mosey her way around. She really doesn’t think walking has any purpose haha.
Sunday was a good mix ride. We kept it to a walk once again, but she felt smoother and her footfalls sounded softer. Throughout Saturday I’d kept an eye on her, and noticed both days that she wasn’t dragging that right hind anymore. Sometimes she’d just stick her toe in the dirt, like she couldn’t get her leg up. Other times she’d just drag it along if she was walking slowly. Now, she really looks like she’s picking that leg up and it feels much better.
So we walked for about fifteen minutes in the ring, then I decided to take her on a nice walkabout but only on the street or just to the side of it. I didn’t want to stress it by making her go up and down on uneven terrain, so we kept it at that. She was a bit looky, as she is I’m finding when I can’t get her out sooner than 2 weeks apart. Not that she’s horrible, she just focuses on everything – stop, look, walk fast, look, stop, walk behind your leg, walk very fast, look, stop, stop and look and then walk fast lol. Which don’t get me wrong I LOVE about her because I’d much rather have that than one that takes off, but I was wary on Sunday since our only outing for a week was Saturday and I really didn’t want to get dumped since she has a mean leap-to-the-side lol.
She’s really never pulled that with me (only time was when she was 2 and got startled, whirled around so fast I’m surprised I didn’t come off), and even when she really wants to go she is able to focus on work (cause she knows we’ll work lol). But, I really love that even when she’s a little lit, she controls it well. Of course I couldn’t stick her on a lunge line and let her play even though I wanted to, but like I said she was fine.
Towards the end of the ride, she knew when we were headed home and really started walking, being a little barn sour, so I took that as a mwahahaha opportunity that she had to work and so I gathered contact to work on the walk. And dammit if she didn’t do it immediately. And pretty well. Well, nuts lol. But, we still worked on it, and it was good doing it without a fence because I could still feel her curve to the right, and even without spurs, wanting to go home, she said “well, sure ma, I will move my hip a little left, walk straight and lift my shoulders, and I’ll even get it for five steps until you release”. I love this little horse. She’s just so willing, and on any other horse, it may have been an issue, but it was even a little difficult to keep her actually moving forward when I took contact! After she’d been almost power walking to get home. She’s just the best.
Since we’re stuck at the walk for a bit, I’ve been trying to make it a little less boring by practicing contact, circles, asking her for a haunches in (I hope I’m doing it right), matching the shoulders up and then pushing them back out and lining the haunches up (again I hope I’m doing it right. It feels good so I think so lol). She’s been really developing in the contact, learning that I want her push forward, but not so much that she’s leaning. And she’s really coming around to me asking her these new lateral things – like she sees them as a challenge and is bound and determined to do it right.
But the injection and the small step back came at a really opportune time. Wednesday the fam and I will be driving up to Reno to spend Thanksgiving with my sister, brother-in-law and niece. I’ll be missing my horsey time, but my other sister who couldn’t make it up there is taking care of the horses for us. By then, Amber will be cleared to start back into light work, and we’ll both be very happy about that.
Also, my Lund bridle is supposed to come today. I’m so excited! I’m a little worried the 57″ laced reins might be a little short, but they will be used for jumping for now (the 60″ dressage reins I have sometimes feel short lol) until I can try a pair of their eventer series rubber ones. Can you tell I’m excited? lol
The vet verdict and day 17
So first, Day 17: Your equestrian idol
I’m not usually a “oh this person is my idol or inspiration” type of person – most professionals I’ve found in every field I see something I like and equally dislike about them. I think sometimes people get into trouble by idolizing professionals too much to where they can’t look at something objectively and decide if that person is in the right or not ( be it horse care, a questionable decision in a bad situation, or similar things).
But one of the professional riders who has not let me down so far to where I can say that I respect and admire the hell out of them is Michael Jung.
I got to see him in Kentucky this past April. And the atmosphere I got from him was an all around kind person. It’s a little weird to say, but sometimes you can just feel it from a person, you know? And while walking around the tents I kept looking over at the giant line to get his signature, and you know what? For every person he had a smile. He was soft spoken, took pictures with them, and it never looked like he was getting annoyed how I felt like a few others were. He always seemed ready and willing, a smile and kind words always present for those in line.
That to me is important, in all honesty, the way he treats people. And while I bet a lot of these are fans, and pros want to be good to their fans, he just felt like he genuinely enjoyed being there with those eager faces. The pros that I’ve met have generally been the opposite (which for sure could be different in eventing – I haven’t met many eventing pros).
But the most important to me is how he rides, how he handles challenges and disappointments, and a big one came when Sam had his first ever xc penalty. Michael’s response? He didn’t point the horse at the jump correctly, and Sam had nothing to prove. So he opted to retire. Then another big show and he pulled Sam because he felt off. Some people were using that to say the course was too hard so that’s why Michael pulled Sam. But for me, looking at the record Sam has and the way he goes xc, that horse would’ve eaten the course for breakfast. So whether or not that’s true that he pulled him for the course, I like that he pulled the horse, and is making sure he’s okay.
And don’t get me wrong – there are other pros I like, too – ones that make great decisions and do things very much like Michael. It’s not that I dislike a lot about them, it’s just that the one that automatically comes to mind first is Michael Jung lol.
The vet visit
It’s been cloudy recently more than sunny – which is slightly depressing because it means that here pretty soon the winter weather will hit. Which is really not THAT cold but I am a cold weather weenie. When I was in Texas I would no joke have on a ski mask, a beanie, my polyfill suede jacket with warm long sleeved shirt and vest on underneath, with under armour leggings under ski pants and then my normal leather western boots. I love being warm lol.
Well, the vet consult turned out to be a vet visit because the vet was going to be on that side of town anyway. So, why not? Come view the pony, sir. I got off of work early and met him at home for a windy assessment (WHY does it always have to be windy when something important is going on?).
And it was a good thing he did come to view the pony. Though she was definitely moving better Thursday than Sunday night or Monday, she was still off, and definitely not wanting to bring that leg forward. I agreed to have a couple radiographs done since we definitely wanted to make sure we weren’t missing something. Also, it has been about time she gets a new set of pictures. I have only had her checked a few times, and I really need an updated baseline of her joints. So he took a radiograph of both stifles.
Unfortunately, it looks like she has a bit of reconstruction and degeneration in her right stifle. He did say it’s been developing for a while, so she might have actually injured her stifle when she twisted her hip back in February, or she could have fallen on that stifle when she injured her knee, and when she twisted her hip in February further aggravated it. But, either way, it seems that kick really brought it to light.
In a way, I think that’s good. I’m glad I’m FINALLY able to get to the bottom of what this problem really is. And we’re keeping her healthy and sound, and it’s soon enough that we’re not past the point of no return. I asked him about Pentosan, and he thinks that’s a great additive to what we’re doing so I’ll be doing that. She got an injection to stop the inflammation to help slow the progression of the degeneration as quickly as possible. But, the big question:
What does this mean about Amber and I doing eventing?
Thankfully, he thinks it’ll be fine. He actually thinks the jumping will be less stressful on it than reining and certain aspects of ranch riding, and I agree. No big jumps, though. Which is totally fine with me because I don’t want to do anything big lol. But it’s a big sigh of relief that we can still do eventing. It’s just going to be a bit of a slower progression, which is okay. The biggest plus I think about all this though, is that the vet’s assistant is the lady that I want to take lessons from. So she’s seen the radiographs, she knows about Amber’s sore SI, she knows about Amber’s knee, and all the other things that might crop up, so I feel very comfortable that when we get to jumping and doing this that if Amber feels weird, she’ll believe me and understand our history.
It’s also great because she has this Connemara lesson pony that she said is very patient and forgiving, which I can lesson on and I think that’s a perfect idea. I definitely want to work on myself, get myself back in there and redevelop my jumping so that when Amber and I start she can have a better, more informed human on her back. So, while it’s definitely not the verdict I really wanted to hear, I think knowing is half the battle, and a lot of good has come out of this well.
Another good thing is that I’m not in a hurry with this. I was already planning on taking it a little easy after the show – lots of hacks and easy days to get her out since Amber doesn’t like days off. Not that she gets crazy. She wants to be out and doing something with her human lol. Her brain benefits but she’s always staring like “okay, can we go work now?” lol. But now we’ll really take it a bit slower, make sure she’s good and probably get some lessons mid to late December. We’ll see how it progresses.
NaBloPoMo Days 14-16
Day 14: Your dream barn
So I had one that I’d been keeping tabs on for the past year or so, which I knew it wouldn’t be on the market forever and also that I’d never be able to afford it, but it looks like it was officially sold since I can’t find it (and can’t remember where exactly it was; stupid me for not writing it down). It had 2 small houses and garages, a small pool, a 25 stall barn with indoor arena, an outdoor arena, 5 or so fences pastures and ~31 fenced acres. All for the amazing total of $575,000. Like, whaaaat?! They didn’t have too many pictures of the place, but hey, that is damn affordable. I’d put xc jumps up there, invite people to stay or like pay a small fee to come school and overnight if they wanted…. (because I wouldn’t board many people if any and I can’t afford 25 horses lolol).
But I found this other one that’s a little more, but has more acreage. I’d need to repair some fencing because Amber would so get out of that, but the grassy arena looks big enough, the house is small, old-fashioned and quaint which I love, and it has tons of space to do a lot of xc. Yes lol. Plus it’s got fruit trees, tons of space, and looks pretty neat. It’s in Florence, looking a good distance north of Austin, but hey we can dream, right? lol
Other than that, though, I’m pretty darn content with our current dream home. I get to have Amber near me, see her every day, be in charge of her food intake, stall quality and happiness, and it’s pretty amazing!
Day 15: If you could speak to a horse dead or alive, what would you say?
Well, obviously I’d speak to Amber and ask her why she loves other horses and then decides to hate them when they so much as look at her (or not for that matter, she doesn’t discriminate lol). I’d ask her and Whisper what happened that day I brought her to Vegas. Whisper had never seen Amber before, never met her, and Whisper in all the years we’d had her (at that point it was 7 years) she’d never done this before. But she just glanced at Amber, and started whuffling up a storm. Amber, who I knew hadn’t been around or was best friends with a chestnut mare, responded in kind. My mom and I stood there dumbfounded as these two mares who had never met each other just seemed to be talking to each other like they knew the other was family or something. Like Whisper knew Amber was mine and that I was related to my mom or something. It was so wild and one of the coolest horse things I’ve witnessed.
This next one is sad, though. I’d talk to one of my favorite little guys. He had an “official” nickname, but I called him Snips and I thought it fit much better. He was a little orphan foal – his momma contracted strangles, had him early and didn’t have any milk for him, and rejected him. So he fell into my care. I’m not too sure how long it lasted, but I’d say about 3 to 4 days I bottle fed him every half hour to hour. I did the night shift and most of the afternoon until a surrogate momma was found for him. Unfortunately, he didn’t make it. He got a bone infection and that’s extremely hard to fight for a little foal. But I’d tell him I was sorry I couldn’t do more to help him, sorry that I knew so little and that even when I tried to make things better it didn’t work. I’d tell him that I miss his little face, and that I was sorry he wasn’t able to grow up to be big and strong like I knew he could be. RIP little Snips.
Day 16: Your favorite equine memory
On a happier note, my favorite equine memory is a few months in the summer of 2012 bunched together. I had just gotten Amber back from Steamboat Springs, she was in the back pasture and it was the first time I’d ever had a horse – much less my own and first one on top of that – so close to me. I loved seeing her, hopping on her, spending toodle and goofy time with her after such a serious first year of us together. It was when I first rode her bareback, when I first took her swimming, when for the first time I was a horse owner and fully enjoyed that. I went on tons of trail rides, rode her in the back pasture, and just had the greatest time with a new horse.
NSHA V show: part 2
Western day dawned a bit cloudy and colder than I am ready for. But still, I was ready! So was she. Amber was much calmer Sunday, but still worried when faster horses would come too close. Every class on Sunday Amber did the patterns by herself, and she definitely seemed happier that way. The only class I was concerned about was reining. We hadn’t really worked on circles – just the quality of her canter – we only practiced spins once, hadn’t touched rollbacks or soft stopping, and didn’t really visit potential lead changes. Sooooo that was going to be interesting lol. But we had been practicing our left to right simple changes.
Ranch riding was first, and instead of poles, they used sticks of wood. Which makes total sense, and because other horses were freaking out a bit at them, I had the sudden apprehension that Amber would be like OMG WHAT IS THIS but no. She had seen these and walked over them before on plenty a hack at home! She was great. Tense at first in the pattern, but after realizing no more uber scary people on the other bleachers she went into her left lead so soft and nailed her left to right simple change! I let her out a little, and she sped up a bit, but felt so manageable that I knew I’d be able to collect her back up. I was smiling so big at the end of the pattern, and knew we’d done a solid one. And we did! We earned a 70! We were in the lead for a while until the last person got a 72, but still, second out of ten was great.
I may not ever get a 70 with her in reining to fulfill my goal, but I will gladly take a 70 in ranch riding instead! Goal fulfilled! Also, sorry I only got snippets of my first few patterns – I’m just glad I got snippets at all lol. Next up was reining. Her spins were cute but not amazing, but her right lope off into the slow circle felt very soft. She was a little reactive at the top of the arena next to the cattle chute, but short of letting her shoulder fall in and shaking her head a fraction she didn’t do anything. Such a good girl. I took a chance and asked for the right to left lead change, and we nailed it even going into a small slow! Which Super Good Girl, Amber, because we didn’t practice that at all lol. I went into 2 pt just like the right circles, and I felt her respond – a bit but just enough. You can see her ears flicking in the first large fast – it’s when I was smiling huge and telling her she was awesome and she had this. I tried the left to right lead change, and it was a nope so a penalty there but I figured we’d have one. And then our stops were a bit abrupt and our rollbacks a bit non-existent but I was over the moon with her for how little reining practice we’d actually done. We got a 62 which was enough to earn us 3rd out of 7 (not bad!).
I practiced trail then for a bit, loping over the lone pole. It’s hard for her to maintain pace and lope slowly AND go over poles – not to mention we have been jumping so that’s one thing lol. We schooled that for a bit then I hopped off for a quick rest before heading back out for our horsemanship pattern. I went to walk her up and she felt really odd for a moment. Then felt really odd again as we jogged off, as you can see on the video. Well, throughout the pattern and then more walking after, I didn’t feel it again. So that was weird. It was a hard pattern, starting without stirrups and then picking them back up in the walk, but the class was called, and we managed 2nd out of 7!
Then I hopped off and it was lunch time. She got all her tack off and we ate, then hopped on a little early to walk around for our western dressage test. Again, we were the only ones, so first place, but I wasn’t quite in agreement with the judge for this test. A couple things I think we should’ve scored lower on, but hey, it’s fine. The judge told me at the end of the test that she really liked Amber as a western dressage horse. Well, that was nice!
We had a bit of a wait for trail, so I hopped off again and Amber snoozed while I looked tired. We were both pretty tired lol.
She got a little tense before the start of our trail pattern, but was a Super Good Girl and responded so well to everything I asked. You can see the big smile on my face after the lope over, even though she sort of hopped it. I was just so pleased with her regardless. She tried so hard after such a weird previous day, and was with me in everything I asked her. I couldn’t have asked for more from this little Miss Thang that always gives me 110%.
Amber got to rest and eat at the trailer as we waited around for the buckle announcements, and I took that opportunity to speak to the judge and ask her what she liked, didn’t, and what I could do better. She asked my number, and I told her, and she said “Oh! God, I loved that mare.” I didn’t really hear much of what she said after that lol. Even after our hectic English day, it really made my heart soar that the judge could see just how special of a little mare she is. She said she absolutely loved her as a western dressage horse, better than an English dressage horse. Which Amber is very stock-type and is not your typical dressage horse, so I can very much see that. And who knows? Maybe after eventing we’ll do western dressage lol. But she explained the tension she’d see in Amber which caused her to be fast-legged, and she preferred a little slower-legged horse. Good to know.
Then, the buckle winners were announced, and we won! Which, you guys already know, but still it was really great. Amber and I won a buckle for one show in 2016 for walk/jog to get us back into a show mentality as well as getting Amber used to showing, but this was canter. Amber is not your winning western pleasure horse, though she is very nice to ride. It just meant a lot to me that I could showcase Amber’s true versatility, her “everything pony” attributes that I know she has and can succeed at many things.
Unfortunately, after we were back at the trailer and packing, it was clear that whatever hitch I’d felt in her step was bothering her. She was very careful with her leg, didn’t want to put undo pressure on it, and of course, my heart sank. Looking back at the videos, I can see in the western dressage, and a bit in the trail that she was short in that hind leg. Except for the beginning of the horsemanship pattern, I couldn’t feel that shortness. She was so responsive with everything, and unfortunately, perhaps I’m used to feeling her a little short on that leg since she twisted her hip that when she was a little off it felt normal.
Either way she was happy to be home, and I gave her some bute in case something was swelling. Just like Saturday with it being weird, my mom and I brainstormed what in the world she could’ve done to her hind leg to have such a reaction by the end of the show. After a few hours, video watching, and feeling around on Amber, I think it was her kick on Saturday. I went over and over our rides the previous week, how she felt Saturday morning, and I couldn’t find anything to suggest I’d missed something before/at the start of the show. But I might have felt something Saturday after she’d kicked. I brainstormed for Sunday, too, and she actually felt super that morning. But then, she had those few very jarring stops in reining. And her right spin was on her inside hind. Then, she’d tripped over a pole while practicing trail. Maybe her body compensated in a weird way to where then she was sore for horsemanship? Then after that, we kept moving, didn’t stop too much or for too long and every time I looked at her she was walking okay. So my mom and I think she strained something when she kicked. Because she kicked out hard, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen her do that. Kick at another horse, sure, but that was when she sidled to the fence and kicked the fence. Not too hard, but certainly not out to the side and with the acrobatics she displayed Saturday. So then after straining or pulling a muscle, it wasn’t worked too hard Saturday so after a bit of rest she was fine Sunday, but then the reining perhaps took it over the edge.
Which of course I feel terrible about continuing to ride her, but like I keep saying – she could have her hoof dangling or something and she’d be like “it’s just a flesh wound!”. Ugh, mare, I swear. Sometimes I do wish she was a special snowflake, but nooooooo. She has to be stoic about pain. I’m going to try to get a phone consult with the vet that saw her for her SI injection. I really like him, and if he’d like to see her maybe he can make a farm call since I really don’t want to trailer her again for a bit. It’s 45 minutes to an hour drive to the vet, and with her being uncomfortable I’d rather not restrain it after I might have restrained it by continuing riding lol. I’ll for sure keep you guys updated, but needless to say, we’re both exhausted!
NSHA V show: part 1
Friday was a day off of work, which was providence because I hadn’t gotten to ride Wednesday or Thursday. So, I made a point to practice a few things – a few goes over poles for trail, our left to right simple changes, and getting that sternum UP to the right. And she did all of them wonderfully. We rode for maybe an hour and fifteen minutes, but not much of that actual, hard work. Her left lead was on point, I got her sternum up at the right lead after a few circles (I have to admit the spurs did most of the work lol), but it’s more that it’s going to take a while for her to understand to replicate what she does to the left to what she does on the right. I put markers up for myself to help with the practice, and we practiced our western dressage pattern like 3 times. That’s actually what contributed to the ride being so freaking long – it takes FOREVER to ride a walk/jog pattern in a 125×187 arena lol.
But she felt ready to go. I didn’t think I needed an English prep day – our last English ride on Sunday felt great so I figured we’d be fine. But, Amber had her little tantrum again, thankfully not smashing the actual barn before we rolled on out to the show. We got there with enough time to warm up, and she was feeling good if a little tense. But her canter was so on point. Her left felt phenomenal, her right felt uphill and beautiful, and I could feel all our trot work really coming to the fore. I felt like the both of us were really getting this whole dressage thing, and I was so happy. There were a lot more people than usual, so a bit more atmosphere, but that doesn’t usually bother her.
We trotted in for our first class, and she got really tense before the gate because people weren’t clearing the way, but once we were in the ring she really started to settle in the trot. You can even see in the video how well her trot is coming – I think it’s been our best yet. Come the canter and she was just so great. I only focused on breathing because if I knew I said something she’d break gait and I had to tap her a few times with my inside leg to keep her going but it felt so soft and manageable and elastic and a culmination of the work we’ve done so far. I felt like we were doing awesome. Get to the walk and a trainer on the outside starts loudly clapping. Amber startled, but we regained it. And reversed. Aaaaaaand the class promptly went horrible. Here is video proof lol.
Right in front of the judge watching us lol. I finally talked to Amber, pet her, figured “well, there went the class” and she was nervous but once we trotted again felt like she was settling, getting it back. Aaaaaaand then it fell apart again. I was just mostly trying to keep it together at that point, and the last time around she really tried to be calmer, so I was telling her what a good girl she was. At the end after lining up I was just petting her and asking what was wrong since that’s so out of character for her. The judge was really nice and joked with me about Amber being silly, and we didn’t place but I had no expectation that we would. So I went to the warm up ring, got her relaxed and just walked a lot and she was okay.
Next class – jackpot – was worse.
We trotted in okay but she was super tense. Really looking and definitely stiff in her movements. Once we got away from the stands, she was okay, but unfortunately, the class was big, people and horses were in a bit of a crush and I don’t think she liked that at all. And at the canter she was near explosive. And then suddenly Amber full on bucked and kicked out. Probably the first real buck I have ever felt this horse do. A crow hop yes. But a buck? Never.
So I backed a bit, letting her know that was not okay, and then proceeded to canter again. She was still a little lit, but better after that. The right side was a bit better but still just ready to come out of her skin. I figured this class was also a bust so I did some schooling in the pen, trying to get her off of my hands since she felt like she was trying to pull my arms out of their sockets. She remembered, tried for a bit, broke gait but I cantered again for a second even after they called for a trot and to trot into the center. That was about the craziest ride I’ve ever had on her. We were both breathless by the time we were done.
And I’m not sure if the judge just didn’t see everything that happened, but we still got reserve (6th) out of 8 or so horses. Ones that didn’t have issues lol. So cue a lot more walking. She was wound like a spring when I’d take her to the short alley between warm up and main arena, and then was okay back in the warm up. It was just so strange for her. But when we went in the arena for our equitation pattern, she was just fine. Still pretty tense, but felt a lot more manageable. No crazies this time. And our pattern was good but not as crisp as the other horse, so we got second. At least no DQ and I didn’t fall off, right? lol.
So off her stuff went and she just looked a bit overwhelmed at the trailer. My mom and I went over what in the world happened because that was legit the weirdest thing. I worried that I missed something, that she was hurting and finally lashed out, but like I said, the beginning of that class was phenomenal. Discussing it more over the next few days though, and watching the video several times, I think it was just a lot of things. It was the clapping, the little kids roaming in the grandstands that she couldn’t see clearly, the extra people in the stands on the other side of the booth that startled her, the saddle seat horse, and that I personally think she felt too enclosed with all those horses.
In all the years I’ve had this horse, the only time she has ever done something similar to this was when she wasn’t mine yet, and another student had her for switch week. I am not too sure what the student did, but when I got her back Amber was scared as hell to canter. She would only crow hop. Poor thing was petrified. The only thing I can think of is that something in those classes was making her scared, petrified, frustrated, and then angry enough to lash out when she felt trapped. I mean, this horse just doesn’t do anything like that. I’ve felt when she’s a bit stubborn, or when she wants to say no, and this was not it. She was plain scared.
Even for dressage she was a little tense, but there were less people crowding around the fence, no saddle seat horse and we were on the other end of the arena. And she was fine except for a bit looky. It felt like our very best dressage test yet. And it even looks almost as good as it felt. And I memorized it like twenty minutes before I had to do it, and didn’t have a caller this time! Progress lol. We were the only ones in the class, so our only 1st of the day, but hey, I really didn’t care about that. I felt that was a progressive test, so points in my mind.
I very much agreed with a few of her sentiments – especially my left circles. Usually that’s my good side, and both days my left circles were so bad lol. It was like I couldn’t figure out the 20 meters at all lol. But those circles are Amber’s bad side anyway, and I was just pleased to see her trying to move into the contact on that left circle despite it’s weird shape. The judge forgot to do the collectives, so I have a weird test, but like I said, it felt better, so I’m not concerned about the score.
So while it sounds horrible, and looks bad, I was surprisingly not upset about Saturday. It helped that none of those classes counted towards our buckle we were working for, but even still I wasn’t even frustrated. Just really puzzled and determined to figure out what had happened to my poor girl. Which is a huge progressive step for me. Years ago, I would have been pissed at the horse or myself or both and just frustrated and upset, but this time I was just worried about her. And it was a really weird day for everyone. One person got bucked off, one kid’s horse ran off in response to that, my horse was wired, others were wired, too…. It was just an interesting day lol.
We got home and she promptly napped lol. And got a ton of treats. Poor girl deserved it. I fixed up the trailer with my western stuff, took out her braids and re-braided for western (so glad that I’m only going to have to braid ONCE now). She got lots of food, and I got an Epsom salt bath lol. Lots shenanigans for the day, right?
Next up: western day! Everything that actually counts towards the buckle!
NaBloPoMo: Days 12 & 13
Your fav horse color and a video of you and your horse riding.
So in a previous post I had talked about plain versus flashy horses, and while I’m currently in love with sorrels due to Amber, my all-time favorite horse color is buckskin. Sooty, dappled buckskin to be exact. Like this horse here.
Just….wow. I really love the contrast of color. I’m pretty artistic and arts and crafts creative, and I love how the black and gold and sooty brown all play together. For me, color is huge. It’s not too important to many people, I know, but I just love richness of color. Plus, buckskins can pretty much wear every single color on the rainbow so….free rein to be uber matchy matchy lol.
As for a video of me and my horse riding, I’ll stick with one I’ve shared before but still love because it’s one of my favorite things to do on her – riding bareback. Such a fun mare.
And, for you guys wondering about the show, shenanigans abounded (serious shenanigans; Amber had many opposing opinions to mine on English day), but in the end….
We pulled it off!
I also did a thing. Or really bought a thing. It’s coming to me soon. I have wanted one desperately for a while now and the new eventer series snaffle bridle and reins was on a slight sale since it was used in photos….so IT’S MINE. I didn’t really want the laced reins it came with (I’d prefer to try the Kris grip), but I don’t care. I now have an official jump bridle! (Though did I really need one? Not really. Not really)
Day 11: Find a horse for sale you’d want
So, obviously I’m not writing this uber early in the morning before the show. But, I really liked this prompt, so I have it posted for Saturday. Tomorrow I will not post, but will hopefully be able to get show media sorted by Monday. But we’ll see. If not, you’ll get days 12 and 13 on Monday lol.
This April, I browsed a lot through the LOR facebook page looking at the horses they had for sale. This girl was my top pick, being half TB and half QH so she should have some athleticism in there. She looks a little interesting confirmation wise – I’d have to actually see her – but she is only 2 so it’s understandable. Her description looked good, too, but of course, I am not buying another horse anytime soon. I do think I’ll end up buying a young one to bring up through eventing again instead of a “seasoned” horse because this journey with Amber so far is super fun. Plus I really liked her name lol.
However, my absolute favorite of the auction lot was this girl. Three guesses why.
Oh, hey! She does look like Amber! haha But as a 4 sixes horse she went for more than I could spend. And obviously the bay filly was sold, too. Since I’m really not looking and content with Amber and I in eventing, I scoured dreamhorse for something I might like. And unfortunately, found one I did. If money was no option, this is the horse I’d buy – One Divine Dream (I even love the name!).
He was on the first page, appendix, and while I’m not a fan of greys, looks pretty darn adorable. Turns out I really do want him lol Could I like win the lottery to buy him or something? I’d prefer a mare just because I love mares, but he’s only 4 and how adorable is his jump?! I mean, he’s going around that xc field so nonplussed about life. Also, kind of low maintenance and chill but with some go. I mean, that’s my kind of horse right there. You can tell he’s got some more oomph in him if you pushed, but he really looks like while he’s not super fast, he has a can-do, very forward attitude and wants to do it.
I mean look at how cute he is. He looks like he has good movement as well, and is probably a sweetheart. At least I hope so after how adorable he looks xc. With his airy jump. Heart pound. In love. Don’t tell Amber!
Day 10: How your friends/family feel about riding
I’m very lucky that my mom has a horse of her own and is just as horse crazy as myself. After many, many years of jumping and hunters, she’s quieted down and enjoys the slow gaited, slow minded brain of Whisper. It is amusing because we seem to have switched disciplines. She did English forever and is now doing western, and I used to do western for a long while and now do English. I also have the more western looking horse lol. But she understands my horse crazy, and we talk for hours about horses.
The rest of my family isn’t into horses much. My dad not at all – he prefers airplanes (although he really does like Amber). One of my sisters is allergic to horses, but her daughter (the one that came to visit) seems to adore horses. She (my niece Kaylee) carries around her MLP Luna I got her while she was here all the time apparently. And of course, though horses are not my sisters favorite animal (she likes them like oh they’re cute and that’s it lol), I know she’d never deny her daughter should she want to ride. My other sister is on the fence. She may or may not have a horse and went pretty far riding but quit in her teens. None of my extended family is into horses either – just me and my mom.
Most of the friends I have are not horsey at all. I have a few horsey ones, but since moving barns I haven’t been able to talk to them much. My other friends though try to understand I can tell, but most of it goes over their heads. So I keep it simple, and don’t talk about horses much. I talk about Amber to them generally if we’re talking about pets and how they’re amusing, but as far as real horsey stuff I don’t talk about because you really have to be into horses to understand it lol. I’ve tried a few times and poor people are just like “uhhhh I am trying to understand but I reeeeaaaaallllyyyy don’t” lol.
My mom is the only one that really understands eventing, though my best friend is coming close. She loves horses and wants to know a lot about them but doesn’t ride and I don’t foresee her doing so. But I explained eventing to her and she thinks it’s super cool but also very scary lol. But she and my mom are the only ones worried about me with eventing. They’ve been gracious enough to let me ramble lol.
I have one friend at the moment that events – she has her own OTTB war horse, and though we can’t talk often, we share horse pics and messages. She unfortunately lives in Washington, so we can’t see each other much at all, but it’s really nice to be able to share eventing fun with her. And of course, you bloggers that do eventing and are kind enough to read my posts and comments. A great community!
Yesterday evening I was finally done dogsitting. Not that I didn’t love taking care of those pups. They were great and snuggly and I love them both.
But it is nice to finally be home again and relax. In show news, it’s tomorrow! We’re going to do some more practicing today, and I’m going to come up with a game plan for both days. It’ll be an early morning, but here we go!
Day 9: injuries that occurred from riding
This one’s going to be a doozy! So remember how I said I didn’t have many falls as a kid and that I got my comeuppance? Here you get to read all about it!
Most people I’ve met have had their falls as a young kid. I got mine later in life – I was lucky enough to stay on a kid. So, I’ve sustained quite a few. My worst fall was off of a huge 3 yr old QH stallion. The girl working with him had become afraid of him, and essentially taught him how to get away from people. I knew I was not capable of handling him, but was pressured by those above me to ride because I knew more than the girl. Not the case, everyone. If your gut is telling you no, you should listen lol. Anyway, I hadn’t even gotten my leg over his back before he locked his jaw and took off bucking. I immediately came off – landed on a rock on my left side and cracked 3 ribs, his hoof smacked my shin so I have a nice bump there, and since I landed on my back my head whipped back (yay whiplash) and my head smacked on the 1 inch of my ponytail because stupid me wasn’t wearing a helmet. I’m still amazed I didn’t get a concussion from that. So, helmet up, guys.
I’ve been bucked off and hit the dirt so hard I actually have a bit of surface nerve damage. If I scratch one place I feel it elsewhere or I just feel this weird sensation on the numb spot. I got bucked off and the horse stepped on my ankle and it now has a bit of weird growth on it, but so far does not seem adversely affected. I got run over by a horse I was trying to stop so I have a weird smooth patch on my lower left leg. I got bucked off of a very very quirky stallion that caused a knot to form in my neck that I still can’t get rid of. The most colorful injury was getting cowkicked in the leg. I still have a weird-looking lump-slice in my thigh from that. Thankfully, it doesn’t seem to affect my leg’s general musculature. Sure looks weird though!
I’ve come off Amber only twice – both times bareback funnily enough – but so far no lasting injuries. My left hip is occasionally sore, but nothing major lol. Thankfully, none of these falls – while they definitely could’ve been worse – have seemed to really adversely affect me. I’ve healed well from them, and physical therapy has helped fix the rest.
So, some bad injuries, but they’re all okay!
Practicing
Amber and I are hard at work. She’s doing phenomenally, being a Super Good Girl. Her jog, being more solid before our transition to more English this summer is good but….worse in a way haha. Not that she’s not uphill. She is. She’s just being lazy and wogging. (which is a mix of walking and jogging – it’s not a true jog or a true walk – like troping lol) Not badly, and nothing we can’t honestly fix.
I was disappointed in myself Monday. I seem to have no control sometimes when my brain seems to switch severely to a different mindset when I ride western (oh hey, baggage; yes have a seat on my shoulders), and I was expecting a few impossible things with her that day. Impossible meaning expecting a different headset or pace when I know we’ve been working on different things, or getting frustrated when I know I haven’t worked on something with her but she’s just not doing it like she should (even though, you know, she doesn’t know). And after a much needed self-scolding, I brought myself around and finished the ride on a good note.
Monday still had some good practice in there, so I just kept it going for Tuesday. Again, I tried to keep things the same and yet get some different things in there. Amber’s canter has been doing super in English, so in lieu of that I shortened my stirrups a hole, and took a loose hold on her, sat my upper body like dressage and bore down with my abs. And her canter was great. I even let out the reins a little, and she really remained nice. I have to admit the western was just what she needed for lifting her sternum on her right lead. I think she’s still realizing she’s able to do it just as well as her left lead.
We practiced those canter poles again, only a few times, and she leaped one again. Both my mom and I laughed. So we tried once more and while she spliced the first, she’s handling me turning her tightly well, even though I never ask her for that. Our horsemanship pattern is coming along better, and while we sort of missed a departure because I said “yes!” to her and she was went “oh, okay, I had the right thought” and didn’t canter, we still had to canter lol. So we bumbled through it, almost nailed the walk and picking up stirrups, and then had a gorgeous right lead departure. So I hopped off and gave her many pets and head scratches and love.
I’m actually not too worried about the trail. I think we’ll be okay in that one, even if we jump lol. She’s been really great with that, and while we may or may not do well in our horsemanship pattern, I think we’ll do okay there too. Leads will still be an issue in reining, but hopefully, with our work on simple changes, our ranch riding will be a little better! I’m going to try to do a ride Thursday but….with it getting dark by 5 and me getting off work at 5….not sure how successful that will be. But we’ll try and see.
Friday will be our last ride before the show, and then I’m going to go all out for this one – braiding! Both days. My fingers will be dying.
NaBloPoMo Day 8: About the barn where you board
Well, the ponies are in the back yard! It’s actually super super nice to have them there. My mom and I were pretty stressed with having them at the other place, but I think they absolutely love it here!
The barn is a simple 36×36 with outside runs. There are officially 6 stalls, but 4 are semi-enclosed and 2 are fully enclosed and are used as the hay barn and tack room. Seeing as the place is ours, the girls have the run of both indoor stalls on their respective sides. Since there are no other horses either, the runs did not have to be divided, which allowed us to give them very decent sized runs. Amber’s run is only 24×24, seeing as she’s on the hay side and we really don’t want her smashing the garage hay barn door when she’s having a fit. Still, she technically has a 48×48 stall when including the indoor portions. She’s naturally a stall walker, so to encourage this we divide her food at feedings to encourage her to walk out of one side and into the other side. The indoor stall divider is kept as more of a support for the barn.
Whisper only has the run of one indoor stall at the moment since we’re waiting on concrete so we can put the extra mats in that second stall. But, though the inside stall is only 12×12, her run is 24×36 since she’s on the tack room side and the run can be extended all the way to the end of the barn.
Amber is absolutely loving her new digs. My mom often sends me pictures of her laying down to snooze in the sun. At the other place, her stall was barely large enough for her to lay down, much less very hard even though I tried laying down shavings (somehow within 2 days 2 bags of shavings would completely disappear. Hmm…). But here, with sand, shavings and pellets she loves laying down in the softness and standing in the sun. Right now, Whisper’s side is getting the most shade, but it works out for both horses. Amber hasn’t grown much of a winter coat yet, and Whisper has poofed out like wooly mammoth, so the shade feels GREAT to her right now. Perfect!
The arena is nice and huge, with plenty of space for the both of us to ride in. Just big enough for a small jump set-up, and anything else we want to do. We feed the horses 3 times a day – sometimes 4 if they need. We muck 2-3 times a day as well along with ordering fly predators that help keep the flies down. We have close access if Amber needs a thin cotton sheet at night, and it’s very time efficient to have them so close. Plus, I can go out and hang with the horse any time. She’s also much happier now that she sees me more often.
Unfortunately there’s no pasture, but hopefully we’ll be able to use the arena as a turn-out soon!
Blog Hop: NaBloPoMo 1-7
So this is supposed to be posting for everyday, but I’m going to slip these in amongst my usual updates. So since I’ve missed the first 7 days, here’s AAALLLLLLLL seven of them in one post. Enjoy!
Day 1: When and why you started riding
I started actually riding and taking lessons when I was six. I was a wee sprout but determined to FINALLY start riding. But I was put on the backs of horses and led around probably since before I could walk. I was the definition of horse crazy – I didn’t want to even watch a movie that didn’t have a horse in it. Or a book without a horse. Black Beauty and the Black Stallion books/movies were my go-to. Also adored Misty of Chincoteague (1961) and Horse in the Grey Flannel Suit.
Day 2: The last time you rode your horse and what you did
I rode my horse yesterday actually, starting western again to prepare for the show this weekend. We practiced our horsemanship pattern as well as parts of the trail pattern with a little bit of reining thrown in there. She was a good girl, and we got nice and sweaty.
Day 3: Your best riding
I am disappointed in my riding at the moment, but I would still have to say my best riding has been recently. Over the past few years I’ve become a better, more sympathetic rider, trying to once again view riding through the ammy lens with only a dash of trainer thrown in there instead of the other way around. It’s a major work in progress still, but so far, I’ve had a lot of success with it with Amber.
Day 4: A ride that impacted your life
I rode a pony named Air Myles for the 4 years my family lived in Hawaii. Once we retired in Las Vegas I got to go back after 2 years and ride him once more. He was ecstatic to see me, and my coach let me take him out to jump “cross country” in a field (the fences were super low and it was only a very small section of field). But that ride planted the eventing seed – it just took me a few years of doing other things before really wanting to start eventing!
Day 5: Your first fall
The first one I actually remember was at a show. Thankfully I don’t think I fell much as a kid (don’t worry; I got my comeuppance later in life when the falls REALLY hurt), but this one was at a show in a hunter under saddle flat class. I was riding pony Air Myles and he was already feeling really lit that day. I remember he just felt like something was really bothering him, but anyway, we were cantering, and someone in the stands sitting right next to the covered arena opened a giant neon green umbrella as we cantered by. I don’t remember whether Myles sidestepped or bucked or what, but I just remember landing on my tailbone really hard and standing there ready to cry. I was super embarrassed but also just really shocked. Myles was a sweetheart and walked right back to me after a lap or so around, and I hopped back on as we stood in the center and the rest of the class finished. I pet him a lot though since it calmed me down and of course he hadn’t done anything wrong. I’ll tell you what though – since that fall, I can’t do sit ups on a hard surface or even one of those mats. I have to do them on a bed or something thickly cushy because otherwise it hurts lol.
Day 6: Favorite tack and riding clothes you have (brand/color/other details)
Oh, I love these! My favorite tack items are my PS of Sweden Flying Change bridle and their Golden Delight browband. I think the gold brings out the shine in Amber’s coat and really makes her color pop. Next we have my Prestige Sinead monoflap event saddle. I adore that thing. My butt loves it, Amber’s back loves it, and I love that the monoflap allows me a super close feeling to her body and I don’t feel like I’m sitting on a wider barrel than I already am lol.
My favorite riding clothes are my Ovation Aqua X breeches and my Mountain Horse Sovereign tall boots. The breeches are so cooling in the summer, but they also have the best fit of all the breeches I have. I just wish the exact same fit and style was available for winter…. And my new tall boots I just love. So far, I’m only keeping them for showing with a few rides every now and then to keep breaking them in, but so far they feel better and better every time I put them on.
Day 7: Your favorite ribbon won at a show and why
Now we’re all caught up! Air Myles features in this one again. Although Amber’s third place ribbon means a whole lot to me, too, I have to go with the Amy Rich trophy and champion ribbon I won with Air Myles before I left Hawaii. He was a pony, so naturally he had sass in spades, and that always transferred to the show in flat classes. He hated flat classes. He wanted to jump, dammit! But a flat class we were in, and he was bucking and kicking and tossing his head in the air and being a right ass and you know what? We won the class. I was so confused until learning that that specific class was to reward a young rider’s determination to get the horse or pony to continue to be forward and going somewhere. And, well, Air Myles was worse than the other pony in the class, so I had work harder to get him to behave and actually, you know, trot. While it’s very nice to win a championship ribbon and trophy, it really had a positive affect on me to keep going, to keep working and develop a determination that I could do it. I could work through it and succeed.
Down to the wire
The show is this weekend! In a way, I’m really excited – I’d love to win a buckle with this girl for performance, and it’s something that’s been a hopeful goal of mine as a “someday” achievement. And in another way, I’m really excited because with this show over that means dressage lessons, JUMP lessons, and getting into gear for eventing. I think both Amber and I are getting a little confused and frustrated – there’s just not enough time in between shows (it would be easier tho if I were doing QH HUS English instead of Dressage English).
But, it is getting down to the wire. Originally, I’d been oscillating back and forth between practicing more western or not, but after looking at points, it’s a tight race between me and someone else for that buckle. So, time to pull out all the stops we can! (haha sort of literally. Unintended pun lol) So that means one more class, and we’re really going to be practicing these patterns. Western it is for this next week! But, I’m crossing my fingers it won’t be too confusing. We’ve made a few breakthroughs on my position, and it really helps her canter get sooooo nice. She still likes to let her sternum drop on that right side, but we’re making progress.
I couldn’t ride Friday, but the wind was horrid on Saturday. She was just fine though, and it was our first ride after jumping so she was pumped. I’d set the poles differently, and since it was poles she thought we were jumping. What a girl for trying, and she felt a little disappointed they were merely poles. But she settled rather quickly upon realizing my different leg position as well as body position (hopefully) and we had a good ride. No breakthroughs, but just building, so some of it was good and other parts not so much. Still, it was a good ride, and we ended on a good note.
Sunday was almost as breezy as Saturday and not pleasant (for me; she was like “whatevs I’m happy to be out” lol) and I had planned one more dressage day to ensure a “coming down” from jumping. She settled right in really well, and we did that for a bit before working on a few aspects of some of the patterns. I’m the most nervous about doing trail, because I tried to stay up and supportive and she was like “OH POLES ARE WE JUMPING” and I had to really take a hold of her at times. It wasn’t pretty, but we figured out a few things that worked, and it gave us info for heading into western this week. That trail course is going to be TIGHT so it’ll just be a matter of being able to do it okay…. I’m taking the eventer philosophy on this one that it doesn’t need to be pretty – you just need to be able to get it done. I’ll need to enter trail if I potentially want to get a really good chance for that buckle so uh…..I swear if she jumps over those poles at the canter in the trail class I’m just going to be laughing like I did yesterday. She did a very nice leap over one of them at one point and came back nice and soft so….can’t be too bad right?
It’s going to be tough with this show transitioning disciplines, but I think if I keep as much as I can the same we’ll be on target – even if that means I have to take a tighter hold on her face though the judges like a more draped rein. We just need to be as correct as we can because while we might not get “the prettiest pattern” award, we’ll do it as correctly as we can. That’s got to at least not knock us points, right?
It’s such a weird dynamic. She’s really starting to feel like a dressage horse (as much as I think a dressage horse feels like since I’ve only ever ridden one) but we’ve been having some really great trot work. She’s been on the vertical more, and sometimes it feels like she’s trotting out from under me but it feels so powerful and like wow! at times. Definitely to the left she’s feeling more comfortable and her left lead is feeling much more elastic than before. I’ve been fixing my defensiveness when she drops that shoulder, and it’s making it so much easier not only for me to ask her to put it back in the center but for her to actually do it. Her right lead is still very much in the works, but it’s getting there. We’ve been working on stopping from the trot, canter to trot transitions, and while we don’t get it all the time, it’s getting there for sure. I have a feeling her western will feel awesome with all this dressage work. I never was able to teach her how to really stop correctly before we discovered what had happened with her hocks, so all she knows are the developing stages before I was able to solidify stopping through her back. Right now she’ll stop from her butt but her sternum will drop, her head will go up and she’ll hollow, and working on dressage halts has been very beneficial because keeping that contact is encouraging her to push herself through. I know I keep saying it, but I love theory and a well-rounded horse, so mixing all this stuff together is fascinating for me.
So, we’ll be practicing the patterns this week, or at least all the parts of it so that she’s not memorizing the patterns! Lol Cause she would. But, once the show is over, the western saddle will get packed in its saddle bag, put in the house and then it’s full steam ahead to eventing!
Jumping into fun
Even though I said yesterday that I couldn’t wait to get to dressage, I wanted to switch it up (because I’ll get to dressage over the weekend. Let’s do fun things! lol). So we jumped! She’d been so good the past few days that the last thing I wanted to do was seem like we were drilling the dressage work.
The second time I’d ever jumped Amber, I could tell we were doing the right flat work because her canter felt better. It felt active and on her butt. I’ve sort of been chasing that feeling for a while, wondering if I could get it back since it didn’t seem to be forthcoming, and Thursday it was nice to see that we could get it back. By working on lifting Amber Wednesday, I could feel the different power and jump in her right lead. Even her left lead felt really good. So I focused on keeping her shoulders up even if we weren’t quite in the right dressage frame.
And she was really super. She warmed up very nicely in both leads, and even though I wasn’t wearing my sticky pants, she was really calm and focused. She would anticipate a bit, and that caused her to push her shoulders to the left, but a few soft reminders (although a little harder with the leg since no spurs lol) and she willingly let me help her make the canter transition easier.
I set poles on either side of the jump to help her with a ground line. Although with it looking different than before the first few times we popped over it she nearly got me unseated. That horse has freakin roundness when she wants to! (those first two my mom didn’t get unfortunately lol) But I’ll tell you what – Amber’s injection and dressage work and my 2 pt work outs sure made this short jump session feel so much better! I felt more in control of myself (although my hands need so much fixing) and more able to not over jump her (though pretty sure a few times I did) and I think she also realized she felt much better!
But she was so great! We only had one slight funky jump (the one my mom actually cut off a little lol), and the others I felt jumped really well. So much fun! The first videoed jump though was about my favorite (more for being humorous than an actual favorite lol). She’d gone over it this point twice, and had way over jumped it both times, but there was never a question of if she’d jump it. She just felt like she thought “oh THAT’S what it is” and then as you see full on stopped afterward like “okay, I did it! I figured it out!” It was so adorable lol.
After that, I lengthened my stirrups back down to dressage length. I wanted to stretch her muscles, and also let her relax and understand that sometimes after jumping we go do calm things. And she was so good. She could feel my leg and upper body in a different position, and it was almost an “I get it now!” feeling from her. She was very relaxed and moved right into a good dressage trot in frame. We’ve been working a bit on halts, and when I asked her for one, it was our best one yet. And square front legs! So we were done!
She gets today off since I work a long shift, but it was the perfect ride to have a bit of fun. NOW I’m ready to go do dressage again.
That time of year
It doesn’t seem to matter how hard you plan for this time of year – the time when Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas things are ALL in the stores at once. (Can’t we just have one holiday at a time, people?!) But everything ALWAYS seems to blow up in your face. At least for me it does. I’m sitting here kind of shocked it’s already November 2. I mean, where did the year go?!
Also, congrats to everyone who participated and completed and won and got top 5 in 2ptOber! You guys are awesome!
Tuesday we had a great ride. I had determined to change my schedule a bit when I ride. I’m a bit set in my structure, and she knows it. Amber is a busy-minded horse, but not in a bad way. She very much wants to please you, so if you’re not careful and give her something to do (AHEM MANDY) then her anticipation levels go out through the roof. She gets tense, fast-legged and behind the movement while simultaneously managing to trot me out of the tack.
For the most part, she’s very good at waiting for me to ask. And I think she’s just such a sensitive horse that my position and my developing defensive riding and then the movement of cues from western to English are all confusing her at this time. I needed to be clearer. I needed to get myself together. I needed to do my part so her part was easier.
So, I stepped into my full seat breeches. I mean, I had bought them for dressage, but after a few rides found that I couldn’t post. Oh, hey! Cue lightbulb lol. Second, I implemented longer stirrups, and canter in our warm up as well as a few other movements. I usually do trot work, pause and walk, and that’s when her nerves heighten. I know we’re going to canter ma!! Because, yes we are lol. Also in her walk, I focused on shoulders up, not speed, as well as little haunches-in here and there. I actually think the haunches-in has really helped her understand how much she’s feeling better. This gave her something to focus on and succeed, and really helped her to relax. Third, I had to be clearer about contact. She’s used to contact telling her where she needs to be, then the contact is released. I have to be clearer to her that contact is okay, and that when my hands are still that’s the right place, not when I release. That one is challenging, but she’s already showing improvement.
And it worked into a very successful ride. (And I don’t want to go back to western now for the show lol). Because I “couldn’t post”, she couldn’t launch me out of the tack as badly. I’d had shorter stirrups because otherwise I flailed when I’d post, but the shorter stirrups hurt my leg position as well as my body position at the canter and walk and even consequently the trot that I couldn’t sit. I could get my leg longer now, keep my thigh and knee in the proper place despite being in a jump saddle. And that helped me use my calf, not my spur as I had been, to ask her to bend around that. And she took to that so much better. With my position less moveable, she could actually feel my seat – not the bumbling mess it had been before. OMG magic lol.
And since I did the canter in the warm up – oh, she just flowed into it so nicely. Her left canter was pure magic. Aaaaand then she got tense and anticipated, and we couldn’t get it again quite like the first time, but I was able to do better. The right was better, but I can tell she still compensates and lets her ribcage fall down while trying to pretend to be “up” by lifting her poll. Not working little girl. But I took what I could get Tuesday, working on cadence and pace and at the end another epiphany! I’m not sure why it resonated with me, but I was slowly figuring out what I needed to sit her canter well. And I just shouted at myself “omg Mandy sit with your abs!” And miracle of miracles it worked. I just bore down with my abs, still keeping tone in my thighs, and it was like my midsection grew, my arms stilled and worked with Amber, and Amber said “oh, this is nice I can lift and canter and be soft to this”. And I quit before that failed lol.
I was on air after that ride! So, I was super determined to do the same things Wednesday. And it was even better. I was a little more hit or miss in my position cantering, but I just have to find that magic sweet spot of ab work and keep working on it until it becomes habit. But all we did Tuesday worked wonders. She was actually too slow in the trot work, and I had to encourage her a little more. She was out of contact more because she was a bit behind, but we had so much less tension that I didn’t make it a big deal. But she was moving better and understanding the outside rein better. I was very amused though because while Tuesday she was super responsive to my calf, my calf had way less meaning Wednesday lol. So I had to use a bit of spur. And then she started to realize it’s a bend around. And I think she’s realizing too that she doesn’t hurt anymore. At least I’m hoping!
We worked more on that right lead, really trying to get her to lift her ribcage up. I think of it a little more as raising her sternum, but she was pretty resistant for a time. Just seemed difficult for her, but once she could do it a bit, I could sit better, and I think by the end she realized she could do it. I’ve also been working on trying to still my seat bones to cue a downshift, but that has not been so successful lol. I should wait on that one, but we are doing better in our down transitions. I’m trying not to use my verbal cue because then she just drops her sternum into that trot and we want to work on keeping it up.
This also must be the week of epiphanies because I also had one in her left canter. She seemed to understand I was not upset at her but at myself after realizing that whenever she starts to waver in a certain area of the arena to the left I get extremely defensive. My hands move funky, my weight is STILL shifting to my right hip bone, and my rib cage collapses to the left and my shoulders hunch and I stare down at her neck. Ick. So we paused, I got my bearings, and while we were cantering chanted to myself “hands forward, don’t be defensive, calf, look up you idiot, sit with your abs for god’s sake” and you know what? It worked. When my position went wonky, she couldn’t do her job. And that included lifting that shoulder for herself. I swear angels sang. I actually felt that for a few moments we were actually dressaging. How about that.
I was so proud of her. She was really listening to me, really trying, and we felt so much more in sync than before. I can’t wait to ride today. I’m also sad that I’ll have to practice western soon. As much as she’s a very good all around horse, I think it’s a little hard on her to have the back and forth. I ask her to be in a dressage frame – not really a hunter frame. Which then when we western a lot of times she’s like “oh hey wait I am not pushing into a bridle anymore and hold on I really need to hold myself and I can’t yet”. And while it’s good to switch every now and then, I’ll be glad when the show season is over and we can really dive into eventing. I just think that while the back and forth is good, between shows we don’t have enough time to really get it confidently. When we start really getting the English or the western, then it’s time to switch back and I think that’s where her confusion is coming from. So one last show (maybe only one western ride before so we can keep our English mojo going) and then it’s forward!
Also, today begins dogsitting for my sister in their new house. Which is great but they don’t have internet yet lol. So I will try to get all my blog posts done next week!
On the upswing
So, the great news is she seems to be doing well. She still has her moments of tension (I swear I watch video and it does NOT look how it feels lol) and anticipating, and that’s where you can see she short steps a little, but the overall consensus is that she’s still doing well.
Yippee!!
At times she still seems a little funky, like maybe she pulled a hamstring at one point or something. But, as we rode, it really did seem like she was expecting things to feel uncomfortable. Her walk has been more consistent, her trot, and when I ask her to sit a little more on her haunches in the canter, she really tries and it feels much easier for her. She feels so much better to the right, and even in the span of from Friday to Sunday I could feel that she was a little more comfortable realizing things were easier on that right lead.
Friday’s ride was really good – longer than I expected (same with Saturday and Sunday) but there was a lot of walking in between. I found that with the way I’ve put a few buttons on her for reining, when I put pressure on the outside rein, I’ve taught her to arch her neck and lift her shoulders and turn her nose in a touch while she turns. Which is why her left was always funky – she always turned better to the left, so I never fully enforced it. Now, when I hold more steady pressure on the outside rein to the left, and remind her with my leg, she’s realizing she knows what that is and I’ve had a lot more success with that to the left over the last three days. On the Friday video you can see that as she comes down from the canter, she crossfires first. This is a little bit of a concern for me because she doesn’t do it the left, but then she’s mostly just responding to a verbal cue – there’s no help from me and I haven’t actively taught her to correctly come down from a canter. So that’s another thing I’ll be working on in the future and will take time.
Saturday she was good as well – we had a few other issues, but it was more that she just wouldn’t listen to my voice or seat for cues and would just take off expecting me to ask her to canter or trot when I wanted something else. We worked on that for a time until she relaxed, but looking at how she was traveling she was still good, and all the other aspects related to the injection were positive. Our canter work was by far the best on Saturday – a few things seemed to click so nicely buuuuuuut it was really difficult to replicate Sunday (of course lol).
Our best ride was on Sunday, still working on getting her to wait for my cues (but she was much better!) and she felt really nice. Not as lofty and bouncy when going slower, but I’ve noticed no strange hitch when we switch direction since the injection. She’s been the same both sides, improving on the previously tough aspects of left trot and right canter. She’s been able to stay in frame better and for longer, and while that frame is low for now, I’m pleased that she can do it. I also didn’t give her the verbal cue for slowing to a trot, and she felt much better. It wasn’t pretty, but there wasn’t crossfiring or a weird hitch so I’m going to keep working on that. After that ride, we headed out for a small walk about the property, and that really helped her mind, I think. Plus, a roll for the excellent ride, and she was a happy girl.
I of course need to ride better and put my stirrups back down. I feel like the shorter stirrups help me when her trot gets really bouncy (because I seriously can’t even post a very bouncy trot well) and that it would help if I actually sat a bit straighter, but I know that when I canter, I feel like I’m trying to replicate the trot feeling and I’m just sitting on the back of the saddle and not in the middle where I’m supposed to. It doesn’t help that the saddle flaps allow my knees to creep up and sit me back, but I just need to plug away watching videos and improving with the help of the videos my mom takes (god bless her!). My hands need to be fixed for sure, but hey, my elbows haven’t been flapping horribly! Baby steps lol.
If you guys would like to torture yourselves and watch 15 minutes of our rides Friday and Sunday, then please tune in below. Please forgive my riding at times – body parts have minds of their own, I swear. But, I don’t think we look half bad, and I’m super proud of her for all her tries. Heart of gold, this little girl.
Plus, she still seems to be tracking those hind feet into her front footprints more often than not!
So, I’m going to stick with my verdict of waiting to see how this turns out. Time is such a huge factor with horses that while I’m so relieved she’s shown improvement in the past few days adding more work, that only time will tell if this was the issue or if something else may need to be done. She’s been doing good things I haven’t seen her do in a while, she’s been feeling better, and it could have been the un-dragged arena and tension that caused a bit of shortness but overall, I think we’re on the upswing (knocking furiously on wood). Yay for progress!
Scratching the brain
So far, Amber has been doing well. Feeling good, walking very nicely. But I noticed Wednesday that she seems to be shortening her hind legs again. Not by much – mere inches – but I have been watching her like a hawk since that injection.
The good – she feels so much smoother. I think I actually feel a swing in her back now, and her right side feels amazing. Switching directions at the working trot, I used to feel a hitch in her step, an awkwardness until either it felt normal to me or she actually got better. I haven’t felt that awkwardness at all. When I sit to change diagonal, her back doesn’t feel hard as a rock anymore – more like a soft spring. I can tell it’s much easier to go more into the bridle for her than before, and everything feels better and easier for her.
The bad – she still sort of seems to refuse to center her weight and push more into the outside right rein as we track left (which was very easy and fluid for her directly after the injection). She still wants to come out of frame and look to the right – the latter I’m thinking is because she was consistently startled on that side at the other arena. But, this was Wednesday, and our ride kept going until past dusk. Birds were calling though no fluttering wings, and whereas just minutes before our ride was calm and soft and rhythmic and purposeful, she became agitated to the left and didn’t want to stay in frame for more than a few seconds. Trying to center her shoulders and get a little push to the outside rein was like smacking the EVADE AND RUN FORWARD button. But, again, it WAS past dusk at that point, and while she’s gotten much better about dusk, it juuuuuust might have been a little too dark for her because by the end when I circled once more she actually really tried to stay focused, to center her shoulders a little more and come into the contact and relax a little. Her walk also calmed as soon as I relaxed my back, so fingers crossed that it was the dusk factor and that I wasn’t relaxing.
Keeping what happened on Wednesday in mind, I set out on Thursday planning to do all of our first work to the left with as much light as possible and then dabble a bit to the right and then work on our 2pt.
The good – I’ve been noticing that she’ll actually eat her food with her right front forward and left hind supporting – I haven’t seen her do that in a very long time, so that makes me feel super optimistic! She had a huuuuuuge overstride at the walk. Almost more than what she had the day after the injection. She was not too good in the warm up to the right, mostly because we went like a half-circle that way, then switched to the left and she was better. Not much better like I was hoping, but while still looky, she was much more relaxed. I only had to remind her once that she can’t do things the old way, and she settled right back in instead of getting upset. We got another good circle, and called it quits. Worked on her walk and figured out that I need to do something different that’ll hopefully help in circles to the trot. I’m eager to find out! Our ride was a grand total of 15 minutes, but I thought it was very productive! I was so happy with her tries.
The bad – No 2pt work. Womp womp. It was a little too dark, and I’d purposefully wanted to keep it short and sweet so as a “reward” for really trying and doing the work – no dusk. I thought perhaps I felt a little hitch switching directions, but it could’ve been my imagination. Her back didn’t feel as swinging at the trot, but everything felt better as weird as that sounds. And she still wants to really drop that shoulder at times.
But look! As opposed to Wednesday, there’s a lot more good than bad! So I think the majority of the problem Wednesday was dusk, but I’m still waiting until Sunday for a final verdict. The vet may be absolutely right that her hocks are bothering her a bit. She did strain them when she was injured, and sliding stops and hard ground may have aggravated them sooner than expected. So I’m going to watch over the next few weeks, and if she goes back to really dropping on that left side, then I’ll look further into that left hock the vet saw. It could also be that she’s so used to it hurting that she expects it, which I am more than willing to have the patience to get her through it. She was still much softer through her back though, and while not typical dressage pace, I think her trot feels good (although I bet when I take that dressage lesson it will be like OMG MOVE YOUR HORSE FORWARD lol).
On to the weekend!
Review Wednesday-ish: first impressions
So this is a partial Review Wednesday. I’ve had some things come to me recently and I’ve been able to use them a bit finally, so here’s my first impressions on these!
RJ Classics Prestige Gulf breeches – hunter
I tried these on after reading Amanda Chance’s review on these (you can find her thoughts here), because she and I seem to be the same shape. I was pleasantly surprised with these that they actually fit. The waistband does gap a bit on my back, which I honestly wasn’t surprised at, but so far, I have never needed a belt with these. They’re on the thinner fabric side, but not quite as thin or specialty fabric of my Ovations. I like that they’re different from my Ovations, but still fit very well. No Velcro bottoms – that’s a plus. Front pockets = yay since I’ve sort of become a pocket snob. (Hint: I love pockets). I have 2 pairs of these actually – white and hunter, and since the fabric is on the thinner side the white pair does reveal some not-so-flattering things (or thigh cheese, whichever you prefer), but I still think the white looks good and they are still somehow slimming despite the not-so-flattering things. I haven’t ridden in them yet. Saving those for a first official dressage show or something weird like that, but so far, I’m really liking these breeches!
Mountain Horse Sovereign tall boots – brown
It could be the fact that I’ve never owned a GOOD pair of tall boots. But whatever it is, I adore these tall boots. I love the way they look – especially the two-tone. I think that’s fantastic. I love that they’re actually MADE to be leg conforming (which, yes I know is not all that uncommon these days) and that I have had little to no break-in time whatsoever. They were gorgeous out of the box, even more gorgeous on, and I wore them for probably an hour before deciding I’d show in them the whole morning the next day. And you know what? Only towards the end of the show day, after wearing them for about 5 hours as a first wear, did the boot start to hurt the back of my right ankle (and I wasn’t surprised – for some reason in every shoe that goes above the ankle my right one needs extra breaking in). I unfortunately didn’t get the chance to wear them to the October show, but I’ve ridden in them a few more times to continue breaking them in, and so far, every time I put them back on they feel better. I’m expecting them to fall a little more – I think they’ve maybe fallen 1/4″ already, and for someone that doesn’t like uber tall boots, even if they don’t fall more than that it will be fine because the back of the boot doesn’t bother me.
The only cons for me so far are that 1) they’re a bit narrow and 2) the footbed isn’t very supportive. My feet are definitely not very wide, but when they expand the boots do feel a teensy bit tight. I think though that since I’ve been sticking boot trees in these after every wear, the foot either will stretch a little bit to be very comfortable or just remain the same. The footbed is nice, but maybe I have old feet, and they just don’t seem as cushiony as I’d expect for a tall boot that you’re most likely going to be walking/riding in all day.
Ariat Cooling Sunstopper show shirt – white
This shirt is great. I’ve used this at shows and just around the barn, and so far, I really like it. It does exactly what it says. I love the snap collar, and how you don’t need an extra collar that chokes you and then you have to put on the stock pin…. Yeah this has none of that! Super easy to snap up and you’re ready to go. Stain factor….the barn stains have come off of the shirt with some Clorox 2, but it’d be nice if I didn’t have to always C2 the sleeves after wearing it.
Equine Athletics hunt jacket – navy windowpane
So far, I really love this coat. This is the first time since I was 14 that I’m branching out again and trying to figure out what the best materials are for show coats, keeping in mind that I’m in the desert and I also need something relatively cool. I bought this at a booth at Rolex on a ridiculous sale, and I’ve always been a fan of windowpane, and this fit that bill. Then, it also offers so much freedom of movement in my shoulders by being a wool/poly spandex blend. It fits me pretty well, although because it was one of the few sizes left I did end up getting a tall. But I still think it looks nice, and hopefully before I show next year I’ll have gotten it tailored.
Roeckl gloves – white chester summer and navy performance
I bought the white ones at my local tack shop on a great sale, and the navy at Rolex. I show in the navy, and use the white for everyday use. I may use the navy once we get into winter, but I’m not sure. Either way, I love them both. Both gloves are grippy but not sticky – a reason I haven’t worn gloves much. They fit nicely and remain flexible, and the summer ones do keep my hands cool while the mesh still keeps the sun off of my hands. Not too much to say about these except I love them!
It’s a Haggerty’s sunshirt – solid sunshirt
I’ve wanted to try this shirt for a while, and the opportunity came up to get one with the Presto logo on it. First off, I love that it’s custom. Second, SO MANY COLORS. It’s definitely worth it. I love how the vents keep me cool. I’m still a little iffy on the fabric. It’s heavier than my Kerrits, and that has been a not-so-good combination for me in the summer. I have another sunshirt with similar fabric that I get way too hot in, so for now I’m a little skeptical. But, I haven’t gotten too hot in this one so far. Definitely glad that I got a size up – it fits nicely around my torso and a teensy tight in the arms, but I still like the shirt. The sleeves are a little long for me, so while there are a few things I love and a few things I don’t like, the jury’s still out on this one. I’ll probably have a better idea for them after next summer, and let you know the full verdict then!
Digital Sports Watch LED screen
I’ve had this watch since July. It’s about $12-13 from Amazon. It may not be fancy, or come in cool colors, or beep as you set your timer down, but it’s a great stop watch. It times my rides, and has helped me get my butt in gear so I actually work Amber. It helps me target a warm-up time for us. Good, cheap purchase for the win.
WIN detergent – regular (the blue bottle)
I’ve been using this since July as well ever since I noticed my equine specialty summer clothing started retaining some funk. I’d read about this from Amanda Chance as well, and since it’s not expensive, bought a bottle from Amazon. I love it. My clothes no longer retain funk. Even some of my non-athletic clothing that is still a synthetic blend I’ll wash with this detergent. Still has that clean scent! I still have like half the bottle, even though I’ve been doing laundry about every week. It’s small loads, though, and I really love it so far! Plus, it’s septic safe.
Coronet Prince of Wales spur round end – 3/4″ and Camelot spur straps
My normal, pointy Prince of Wales spurs were too long and poked Amber a little too much, so I decided a round end spur was the ticket. I had a hell of a time trying to find 3/4″ though – everything was either a half or full inch. I looked at some other places, like those lovely Signature Spurs, but in the end I just didn’t need engraved spurs at the time. Maybe later when I get more money (HA! like that’ll happen). But, these were cheap, they were the right size, and they’ve been the perfect fit for Amber. So far they’ve held up well – nothing wrong with them! I’ve been impressed with the Camelot spur straps. Usually it’s “you get what you pay for” and for $9 bucks these were great. I got black and brown, and the black I’ve used more and have really broken in well but don’t feel flimsy like I thought $9 spur straps would. So far so good with these!
Schneiders Dura-Tech neoprene ice boot – full leg
These I am still on the fence. I bought them since I loved that they went over the knee, and that if Amber moved in them that they wouldn’t fall down and spill everything like ice water boots. The first time I used them, they were fantastic. But all the ice just seemed too pookie, and I worried I’d put pressure somewhere where it shouldn’t be. So I used my own homemade “gel ice packs”. Ugh, the whole thing smelled like pungent rubbing alcohol. Too much. So I broke down and bought the advertised gel inserts to go with the boot. Aaaaaand they’re hard as ice. No bend like people gel packs. Which does NOT work for a horsey leg that is not perfectly straight. Plus, one of the packs had leaked in the box, and they’re just not really working. So, I will return the defective one and probably the others. I’m going to try some other gel packs here soon, and I hope those will work, but we’ll see. I’m “meh” about these for now.
The walkies
This is mostly a boring recap. All we really did was walk. All weekend. But, I have great news.
Amber looks great!
Friday I took her out for a short walk, and Choco accompanied us. It was just to get her out with a purposeful walk, let her really stretch her legs and go somewhere after being in her stall after the injection. She looked good, but of course I wouldn’t know until I sat her. Per my questions to the vet, he said 20 minute walks under saddle were just fine, and to start putting her back into light work mid next week.
Saturday my mom rode with me – just a walk for Whisper too but she’s looking better as well! It was a targeted 20 minutes, walking all over the arena playing follow the leader. But when we first walked out there, she was ready to go. Just really swinging in her walk and not stabby as I’ve felt her be plenty of times. My mom watched for a good time, too and promptly told me she looked awesome. I agreed since I couldn’t feel her hip kicking mine forward on the left, and you can never be too sure! After, I watched her walk, and though I’ve never aimed at getting her to do past her ability, her hind feet landed smack in her front hoof prints. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen her do that. It was just so nice to see that she was feeling really well!
I really wanted to go out of the arena for our Sunday hack (and I know Amber did too) but we kept to another follow the leader day with Whisper. Amber still felt great. Even though the vet had warned me that the injection might take up to three weeks, I knew this would be a relatively immediate feel-better for Amber, and I was right. She was power walking! Just ready to go places and felt smooth. We walked over a pile of poles every now and then, and it was really good to feel that while before she’d generally chip in a step to get her left front over first, she had no hesitation whatsoever when we kept getting to the poles with right front leading. And she felt so soft going over those poles.
So, I decided to trot just a little. And holy crap it felt like riding air. I don’t remember much about how smooth she was when I was trying to sit her bouncy trot western so long ago, but compared to how she’s been recently, it’s like night and day. Like sleeping on a foam mattress pad after a hard bed. She felt so nice. She wanted to pull her old compensation stuff, but with just a few fixes of “let’s try it this way”, she seemed to really move into it. I quit there – didn’t want to ask for too much – but her right side felt marvelous while her left side felt much better. It’ll probably take her time to realize the trot feels much better and is much easier for her to the left, but I am so okay with being patient.
I am so happy she feels so good. I plan to hop on again today and just do another 20 minute walk day, and maybe by Wednesday or Thursday I can start adding back in some trot work. I definitely want to keep this slow if it’ll help more in the long run! I can’t wait to feel her canter, because after how airy her trot felt I think her canter will be great, but it gives me a lot to look forward to later this week!
Time change isn’t until November 5 this year, so I’m crossing my fingers we’ll have enough daylight for a short walk by the time I get home from work this week!
Life happens
Well, it has been busy. October through February seems to be the busiest times of the year, then it dies down again until it begins to build steam around September. It’s been busy here, but more for the fact that I have work and then most of my free time is riding, buying more shavings/food/vet bills for the horse, blogging, and getting errands and phone calls and everything else done that I couldn’t while I was at work.
So, because it is busy, next week you may not hear from me much. It’ll be getting darker sooner, and people at the office will be gone, so I have the 10 hour shift for 4 days in a row. But, that means 3 day weekend so yay. It’ll also work out since Amber had injections yesterday.
But first – after the show. I was pleased with how she came back from the show and that she didn’t look as sore as I feared she’d be. I could tell from some of the videos where her hips were bothering her, and I’ve been keeping in mind a few videos my mom took for me where she looked extremely sharp in the way she’d lift her right hind. Kind of like snapping her hock up. It’s the only time I’ve seen her do that, and she felt weird that day, so I’m thinking it’s still her hip but I’m going to watch and see.
Tuesday we went for a nice 20 minute bareback hack around the arena, and she was good. Learning that even in a halter she needs to keep her walk consistent with clear 4 beats instead of fast and stabby. So Wednesday I pulled her out, saddled her up with the intention of working just a little and then trying to get in some 2pt times (spoiler alert – I was not very successful in those times lol).
Oddly enough, though I could tell she was a bit stiff when we started walking, her trot work was some of the best I’ve ever gotten from her. I’ve mostly left her head alone, letting her find the right place as I use leg to remind her to pick her shoulders up, but she reeeeaaalllly wants to be lazy and not go into the bridle like I know she can (and I know part of that is her hip). So I was a little more insistent that she place her head where I’d like it to be, and she did really well. At times it was too low, but I was also glad that she maintained really nice pace through it and didn’t seem to lose her forward. Her left canter was nice, her right one choppy but she really tried, and I left it at that and proceeded to attempt a really good 2pt time. Aaaaand only did slightly better, but we’re working at it though!
However, it was also so weird because before and after the ride, she tripped and went down on her knees – outside the arena. The first was because (I’m 99% certain) there was a hump in the ground, she hit it with her right leg and then her knee just couldn’t lock and she went down. I checked her out and walked her out a bit. She seemed to buckle slightly again, like she hit a rock or something. It was a bit strange, but she seemed okay, so we rode and no tripping in the arena. After the ride it looked like she stepped on some pretty sharp rocks by the gate and almost went down again.
Her knees have buckled before – both of them while riding (especially on trail if she hits a sharp rock) but only ever at a walk. Never when she’s trotting or cantering in all the years since her knee injury. And she’s never gone down like this before. I do know that sometimes she’s not the brightest about where she’s putting her feet. She’s just not paying attention, and that’s usually when the buckle happens; it also happens when the arena sand gives way a little too much. But it was just extremely strange, and it does worry me.
So, since Thursday I drove her to the vet for an appointment to get her SI injected, I talked to the vet about it. Thankfully, he didn’t seem worried about the stumbling. Said he couldn’t notice anything in her front end that would suggest a problem, but did agree with me that she was really sore in her hips. He actually saw a bit of “off-ness” in her left hind, but said that the SI for right now was a good place to start and we’d go from there.
For about 2 weeks now she’s got some very light work ahead of her, but like I said above it works out perfectly since all I’ll probably be able to do next week is walk anyway, so that’s a plus. Nothing stood out to him for me to really watch in the next few weeks, so we’re crossing our fingers that it’s just general soreness and this injection really helps!
It also turned out super productive because the vet’s assistant does training and lessons as well, and trains out of the same barn that the dressage trainer I’d like to see does. She was really nice, and really seemed to love Amber, so I’m thinking of starting lessons with her. She also knows another vet’s wife who loves eventing, and has a huge field full of xc jumps. That’s only, like, 40 minutes away. Um, YES!! So I grabbed her number, and hopefully after the show and a bit of rest, we’ll grab a few lessons! A very productive day indeed.
Blog Hop: October 10 Questions
Another blog hop! These are pretty fun! Today, we’ll be going over 10 questions blogger In Omnia Paratus shared with us about fall.
1. Most equestrians quote fall as their favorite season to ride. Are you one of those that does? Or maybe not; what is your favorite season to ride, if so?
It’s 2-fold. I absolutely love fall and the leaves changing and the new nip in the air, (you know, for those climates that actually have trees and cold weather), but it’s also bittersweet because that means winter is coming. Spring is my favorite season to ride. The days get longer and it’s the promise of summer.
2. Do you clip your horse in the fall? Or maybe you wait a little longer?
I have actually never clipped a horse lol. This year, though I’m considering it. Amber doesn’t and probably won’t need much of a trim because she only grows enough hair to be warm, but my mom’s mare Whisper grows hair like she’s in the arctic. Now that she’s at home and it’s easier to blanket, we’ll probably have to clip her this year so she’ll stay more comfortable during the day.
3. Have any costume riding events in October on/near/around Halloween? What will your horse be dressed as? What about yourself? What would you dress as if money/time were absolutely no issue?
Ha, we just had a show with this! I was a pirate. Amber was…..a sort of pirate lol. If money were no issue I’d be a knight. With Amber dressed in battle armor. That or the Amazons and their horses from Wonder Woman lol.
4. Is your horse afraid of any autumn colors? Or maybe has a certain quirk that appears only in the autumn?
No, not really. She’s only wary of dusk. She’s not afraid of much.
5. Pumpkin spice. It’s everywhere right now. Find any natural pumpkin [squash] spice-esque recipes for your horse?
I haven’t! I actually don’t even know if she’d like pumpkin. She gets picky about carrots lol. Apples are one of the only things she’ll eat no question. And butterscotch.
6. We’re getting to the end of the calendar year, any final few “big-bang” shows to look forward to?
Our last show is in November, and it’s the cumulative show to win a buckle! Looking forward to seeing who can win!
7. Winter is coming. What are you doing to winterize your trailer/rig/car?
Even when I was in a snowy climate, I didn’t do anything. I mostly just went to a parking lot with my car, swerved it around a bit to test it, and then continued. Then I’ve had trucks, so snow isn’t a problem, and then here in Vegas we usually don’t get any snow so….yeah.
8. Do you have any autumn traditions you/your horse follow?
Unfortunately not. We’re pretty boring lol.
9. October in many places marks the beginning of deer hunting season. Does this affect your riding at all? Do you wear blaze orange or modify your schedule to accommodate the season?
No deer in Vegas, so no worrying about that!
10. What are you most looking forward to goal-wise as the final months of the calendar year approach?
I’m looking forward to that last show, but really looking forward to crossing off the dressage and jumping lesson goals. I’m super excited to start diving head-long into eventing!
Weekend recap part 2: NSHA V show
The morning was bright and crisp, and unfortunately, again, I hooked up truck and trailer and Amber proceeded to buck and kick and smash and let me know that she was not up for another trailer ride. Well, too bad, pony. We’re going. Aside from that, though, she loaded right in and we were off!
I got there with enough time this time (thank god), and walked around with her a bit and “lunged” her with just her lead rope to assess her and see how she was. She baby jogged around twice (and looked okay) and then stopped and faced me. Okay, then. That’s always a good sign that she’s ready to get to the work and won’t pull any shenanigans (though, really when does she ever?)
So we geared up for our first class – ranch riding. I took her around a bit, loped a circle, and stopped. She felt good. Relaxed, not completely listening with so many things to look at, but she was really steady. So I repeated last time and stood around waiting. She seemed just so much more relaxed this show day, and I was thinking all that standing around and relaxing helped. I want her to think when we come to shows, she’ll get tired because it’s an all morning thing, but that it’s actually easier at shows. We sit and do nothing. Relax. At home we work really hard. And she was very much up for the “relax” portion of this show.
Since I focused a lot on relaxing, when we did our pattern, it wasn’t our best. She got a bit excited and distracted so missed a few cues, but I thought we did okay and got fourth! Out of 5 or 6 I think. So when back in the warm up ring I worked a little more on the canter, played around with a few lead changes to get her thinking about them for the reining, and then sat again to wait.
I actually really loved that go round we had. At the first lope off, she could hear someone kissing to their horse from elsewhere and got really upset because she thought it was me, but then settled so nicely. Our stops are….not really stops, and not nice at all, but she’s doing a try-slide-but-missing-it-and-collapsing thing, and I know that without slides we’re not going to score too well. Her spins could’ve been better, but I was actually quite happy with our circles. She felt really solid in those the whole way round, even though we missed our first change. I knew it probably wouldn’t happen because she was still a bit sore and she’s not good left to right, but we got the right to left one! She surprised me in her right rollback by jumping into the canter, and while it wasn’t really nice, I was very happy how hard she was trying for me. It earned us a tie for 4th in reining!
After that I hopped off and let her grab some water and munch on food. She was really doing well with the show that day, and I felt that our work for 2-4 minutes and rest for a while at the previous show really helped her this time. Like I said she wasn’t as on target with cues, but I’d rather start relaxed and work up to that since I can get worked up at shows and would rather she not take that cue from me lol.
Next was our horsemanship pattern. We walked around and chatted, got her a little warmed up with a jog, then popped into the ring to stand some more. She was much more responsive and calm in the thru-way walking into the arena. Before she was a bundle of nerves, but today it worked out! I really liked our horsemanship pattern better than the one last show, she was just a little touchy for the spin, and not quite on it for the simple change, and there was some tough competition but we still got 3rd!
We walked back to the trailer, got all of her tack off and then I was changing for the fun class which for October was the costume class! I had forgotten a bit of my costume, didn’t have any time prior to the show to get Amber anything really good to wear, and so we ended up with this:
All in all though, we had a blast. There was a hippy girl and horse, a faery and her unicorn, the evil queen and Grumpy, and Harley Quinn (who I couldn’t get a pick of). And of course, the winner – this little girl and her mini! Coincidentally, the pony’s name was Oreo lol.
Forty-five minutes later and we were ready for western dressage. My mom called for me again even though I’d wanted to have the pattern memorized; I’d just had a lot going on that I didn’t have it fully memorized. One of the board members took the video for me, and it’s a little choppy, but I’m glad she got video! Amber was really good, and you have an option to go one or two-handed, and for this one, I decided on two. Partially to practice my hand/arm/body position, but it just seems to flow a little better with two (which seemed to pay off since the judge really seemed to like my position – a 7.5. Wow 0.0).
I was….a little confused by this test. I thought the judge last show echoed my thoughts on the ride, but this one was a bit confusing. She was a USEF judge, but some things just didn’t make sense. Something that I thought she’d ding me for and even commented on it, she gave me a 7. And then one where I thought we’d get a slightly better score based on her previous notes she gave me a 6. I mean, even still I got a 35 and won the class (thankfully I wasn’t the only one lol), but it was just a little strange. I know I’ll have to get used to it since every judge has different preferences!
Either way, we were done! And silly, stupid Amber – I don’t know what it is about mares – or at least our mares – but she refused to poop or pee until she stepped into the trailer. She just HAD to hold it. I really don’t understand that lol. Just pee where you are, mare! But, I was very happy with our day. We got more points towards the buckle, Amber felt much better and the work in the walk was paying off! She was still a little short, but much smoother and cadenced.
We still have things to work on for the next show, but we get to relax a little since we’ve got 4 weeks until the one in November. And now, we have an appointment at the vet tomorrow to look at and inject her SI. So hopefully, she’ll be really ready to go for November!
Weekend part 1: Ren Fair
Friday I got home from work, talked to my mom, and decided to scratch the show for Saturday. She told me that Amber was super reactive in her back and hips, and when I went out to feel how she was I could see the same thing. Plus, with my sister here, and not taking a day off of work, I’d had very limited time with her and Kayley up to that point, and I just decided to scratch. It allowed me another day to really focus on getting Amber stretched out as well as spend some time with my sis and my niece.
So, after Amber got a good massage, we got dressed and headed to the fair! I’ve never been to one before, and neither had most of my family, but my oldest sister is an amazing seamstress and had sewn a costume for herself and Kayley to match. Apparently, the one here in town was pretty extensive. There were first the shops and everything to browse through, and they had some pretty amazing things like a pressed paper, leather-bound notebook (which I almost bought but know I won’t ever use) and some good, super sharp Game of Thrones looking knives.
Kayley very much enjoyed browsing around and looking at everything.
Just about as many people that were dressed up were also in regular clothes, so a good mix of half and half. Many of the people were dressed in the more revealing costumes I suppose you could call it, but my absolute favorites were the people dressed traditionally in those time periods.
It was also really cool to see that with all the tents around, that was where most of these vendors slept – and even had their laundry out! Whether it was for show or they really did their laundry, I still thought it was a good touch.
They had jousting and knights fighting, and other knights dressed in great armor with fake blood walking around… It was really a lot of fun. They had sections where the people walked around and didn’t interact with the crowd too much but (I forget what it’s called) were there to show the day-to-day life of the people of that era. They had what looked to be soldiers’ tents with a long banquet table, and some areas of gypsies with a real Gypsy Vanner horse – complete with mustache (can you believe that I DIDN’T get a picture of the horse?!).
There was an enchanted forest with faeries and mermaids. There was one very very nice lady dressed as a mermaid that was so sweet to entertain Kayley’s desire to come give her a hug and sit on her lap for a bit. It was very sweet.
My favorite part were the singers that sang little ditties for the crowd. It was pretty damn hilarious, and I’m glad I got video instead of just stills! Also the people were so nice. Most of the stuff that we were able to do was free, and at most other places it would have cost for you to do that.
All in all, though, it was a blast.
Saturday saw Amber and I doing a quick ride which did seem to ease her muscles a bit when I massaged and stretched her before and after. After she was all clean I decided to have some fun since I had the time to braid her mane as I’d seen in one picture before.
I have to admit, it turned out well. After packing everything in the trailer, we were all ready to go to the show bright and early!
Busiest of weeks
I had every intention to post yesterday…. That didn’t happen. I had some great rides, got great pictures, but Wednesday my sister came to town with her daughter, who’s now walking and talking a bit, so of course I’m spending time with them. We have an inspection at work coming up (though the final day hasn’t been decided) so I’m trying to get everything sorted for that EARLY since everyone at the office tends to be last minute procrastinators like me.
Not to mention we’re all going to the Ren Fair (Age of Chivalry) today, and then tomorrow and Sunday Amber and I show, and I’m looking at work and my afternoons and just trying to nod and say “I can do it” lol. Amber got ridden yesterday, may or may not get ridden today, and we’ll see how that’s going to go for the show. Probably the same as last time. But, for today’s post, let’s recap and start at Tuesday, shall we?
We took our usual hack after a tough jumping day, and after massaging her again (did a bit the previous evening) and doing a few stretches we headed out. This was probably the best she’s ever been going around the desert. She’s never been bad before, but this time she kept up that long, easy walk I’ve been working towards in the arena. She just sauntered out there, and I think she’s realizing it’s becoming a routine and that she also really likes going out there. She wants something to focus on, and this time we did the itsy bitsy ditch the other way. She looked down, was confused for perhaps a second, then seemed to shrug and did this teensy arc over the ditch and then settled right back down like we’d been doing it all week.
We went a little farther than normal but came back through familiar territory, and she took everything in wonderfully, and I could tell our last time out working on steering had helped. She was much more willing to take direction from me this time, and it was a really really pleasant ride on Tuesday.
Wednesday she was great. Walked out as calmly as she had the previous day, keeping that long, sweeping walk in mind. She got a little stabby in her walk at times, but was much quicker to settle into that pace. She was a teensy bit slow in the start of her trot, but she actually came around really nicely and again didn’t have that downhill dive she did before (YAAAASSSS thank god). She got tense waiting for those transitions, but now that I’m usually asking for the canter from the trot, she’s getting less touchy about them. Learning that she doesn’t have to do it that instant, but within a stride or so. Waiting is always the best game with her. If I work at home making things slow and asking her to wait on me, at shows when she’s fired up she responds much faster, so it works out in the end.
Since her trot is a little more established we worked on that a little more. This time there was a lot of new stuff to feel after western. With both hands and light contact, I could feel her leaning on my left rein. To the right she was leaning on that rein less, more pushing into it but understanding it was a barrier, and the trot work felt fantastic. To the right, I felt her fall into old habits, and as she fell into those so did I – letting all my weight sit to the outside and completely losing my left leg. I’ve been realizing that while I need to use that spur, I can’t let my weight shift like that and lose the support/boundary of my leg for her.
I tried the softest approach first, a little leg, but she seemed dead to that so then I just tightened that inside rein more and kept it at the base of her neck. With a little more spur added, I tried to be steady as I posted, and within a couple circles she was starting to lift back up to that outside rein. I think getting her teeth done has been exactly what she needed. She was super soft, and a little low headed, but I can work on that a little later.
Her right lead was still a little tougher, but after a bit of work and regrouping, she was cantering better. It’s been getting better as well the more I try to remember to keep my hips straighter. It feels like I’m so off and sitting so weird but I know I’m not because when I sit better, it’s allowing her to relax better and (I think and hope) push both hind legs underneath her instead of just tilting her hips to the inside.
I could tell the reining work we’ve been doing helped her left lead. In the more energetic trot she was reverting to old habits and yet in the canter I put my left leg on and instead of pushing into it she really tried to round out for me and stay relaxed and focused. She’s absolutely getting there, and I’m excited for the show.
Thursday I finally hopped on late afternoon as soon as I got home from work. And guess who came out to see the pony?! Yup, this cutest of nieces.
Amber absolutely adored her. Just wanted to sniff her and was like OMG LET ME HAVE THAT TINY HUMAN lol. Just loved her. Kaylee flittered around Amber’s legs and that mare kept both ears on her and barely moved a muscle the whole time Kaylee played around. I was so proud of Amber.
Kaylee was a little unsure of the horses at first, but it’s so cute because if she hasn’t seen you or the horses for longer than 30 seconds to a minute she’ll say “hi!” and wave. So adorable. She kept saying hi to both Whisper and Amber, and she brushed Amber a bit and good little pony stood stock still.
So then of course we had to put her on the pony! Kaylee was thrilled. Just loved it. I was a little worried she’d want down after we walked for a bit so I handed her back to my sister and Kaylee cried! She desperately wanted to be back on Amber, and when we’d ask if she wanted down she throw herself back into me and shake her head. We were all laughing so hard. It took her a bit to realize we weren’t leaving as I was riding around to say hi to her and she’d wave at me and watch Amber. Just the cutest niece ever.
As for the ride, Amber seemed a bit off, and my mom helped me by informing me she still seemed short in that right hind. And she felt more stabby today, and was very tight over her SI. Probably time for me to take her over to the vet and do her SI. So, in lieu of that I’m not sure how many classes I’ll do Saturday. I may keep it short and sweet with a jackpot class and dressage intro, but I’d like to have her feeling better for the western day. That counts towards the buckle and I’d like to compete for that but of course if she’s really not doing well then I’m scratching.
But her canter came around really well, and it was even really super both directions. Just needed a bit of lift as usual, but I wasn’t asking too much because of that leg. I just didn’t want to make things worse, and when she realized I wanted her to just relax, her trot got much better and softer to the left and she relaxed in the canter work so I’ll take it.
But today, on to the Ren Fair (of which we should get many pictures) and we’ll see how the weekend goes!
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