Showin’ up
Yesterday morning’s ride was really good. It wasn’t really much different from Tuesday or Wednesday with the exception that Amber was absolutely ready to go. Literally. She walked away from her food as soon as I got her grooming bucket out and waited for me in her empty stall like she couldn’t wait to get out and work. At 6 in the morning.
At least one of us got enough sleep. And food.
I could only get in a short ride since I worked earlier than Wednesday, but we walked out there and she was ready – no lost focus or being careless about where her body was. Her focus would leave every now and then, but when I picked up the reins she was ready and waiting for what I’d ask. Good, sweet girl.
She was still a little labored in the trot work, but I had to work less to get a little more out of her, so I counted that as a win. Her good, flowing stride is hit or miss at the moment, but we hit it more often than not yesterday, and she was a lot more relaxed and willing to move into the contact. And of course, since she was being so good, I was a flop. I didn’t have the proper grip with my legs, kept tilting forward, my lower right leg was wobbly this time, a few chicken wings came back…you know, all great stuff. I did lower my stirrups for this ride, but the lower stirrups overall just seemed to help my upper body into better position (even though I sucked at it) and it also kept me from pushing into my stirrups too much and therefore driving my lower leg forward (which I still do because apparently my lower legs have minds of their own). But our canter is by far getting to be our best gait, so I’m excited for that.
She was superb to the left – great transition and just felt so so soft through her body. Her right lead was a little tougher yesterday than previous days, but she still tried. It wasn’t where I wanted to end the ride, but I had to go and she did try and it did get better so that’s fine. I was mostly just happy her attitude was more focused. Slowly but surely we make progress!
I haven’t noticed any more stumbling, so I may still try to do a raised pole or two this weekend. I’d really like to start doing a few things higher than poles. She shows confidence with them, and a desire to do things correctly, so I’d like to keep that going. I haven’t felt any heat or change in her legs even with her stumble last week, and she’s got some tendons of steel, so I think we’ll be okay to start trying higher things. We’ll play it by ear!
Kick this day….
…..in it’s sunshiny ass. I think I picked super apt socks for the day because it felt like I got a lot done.
But I was up early, and took the Nugget for a walk since it was really nice and cool. Even the old, sleepy doxie needs exercise! And you have to admit the doxie shuffle is adorableness.
I didn’t have to be at work yesterday until 9, so I took that opportunity for another ride. The walk served another purpose – waking up my sleepy ass. My muscles got nice and warmed up so it wasn’t a neither-of-us-are-awake-yet morning. Our ride was pretty much the same as Tuesday – I really had to work to get her out of her fast-step and into her uphill stride I’d found recently. I did have my stirrups up a hole from the last time I did dressage, which is only 2 holes down from my jump legs, but the length felt better yet still weird.
I may go back to one hole down again and see if I just had a really bad day last time or if the longer length is better/achievable as well now that I am working more on position and getting stronger. I’ll mess around with it and see as I keep watching the Master Dressage videos.
Amber’s focus was just not there. It wasn’t there Tuesday, but yesterday it was worse. Perhaps it was that the ride was so early and she was still asleep? She just really didn’t want to accept the contact and work into it – which I totally think is because after western week she realized this was totally harder. But after a couple softening exercises she finally began to switch to what we were doing and to push herself into work a bit better.
I did short spurts, and when I focused on my position, again – magically came together. Of course. But those short spurts help me remember the feeling, and for her to remember it as well. She absolutely showed up for her canter. I kept trying to remember what I’d learned on Tuesday – I was literally talking out loud to myself “long thigh long thigh long thigh.” But it worked! I was able to sit a little taller, hold it a little longer, and her canter felt really nice. Even her right lead was really good, and her transition was stellar! Probably one of the best transitions I’ve ever felt with her. It felt uphill, pushing off of her butt and she was ready in the contact from the first stride.
While the beginning wasn’t really there, all that matters is how it ends. And I’d say it ended great! A very successful ride. My thighs, however, will be killing me.
On another good note, it’s really great to see Amber’s tone and weight changing. I’ve been taking photos from the right a lot recently since I always thought she looked super weird on that side (twisted hip) and now that it’s worked out I think she’s looking much better. Still has a hay belly, but I think she’s looking less fat a little more toned. She’s now even gone from a 30″ monoflap girth to a 28″. Sweet. And yet, still a fat pony hunter right now haha.
Downhill dive
It’s actually fascinating for me that I’m delving into dressage and jumping and then I go back to western as well and ride that in between. It’s just a real eye-opener with how much dressage and cross training helps any horse across any discipline. Because yesterday, Amber was horribly downhill.
Yup. She’s usually really light on my hands, and she’s just been feeling fabulous in our short dressage rides through the week. After our western week….Eek. I could just feel her shoulders plummeting forward in the trot work, and she was back to her shorten-neck-and-give-you-super-fast-itty-bitty-strides. And she’s not heavy in my hands at all but yesterday she was just leaning and her shoulders were a bit all over the place.
Cue lesson for western: don’t let that happen next time.
She was also back to being less focused. Her mind was just a bit over the place, and she kept looking for Whisper. Although it could’ve been because Whisper thought we were out places and weren’t and didn’t even know we were in the arena.
But the funny thing was her canter was great. I mean, really great. She loped up into it like we’d been working on that for a while and she felt a little less wobbly. So in terms of me letting her rediscover her balance and letting her sore muscles work themselves out in western, it ended up working out for the canter. Go figure. But we focused more on trotting and just re-achieving that long, flowing, suspended stride. Well, long, flowing and suspended for her. It feels a bit like a hunter trot I suppose, but I can really feel her pushing and beginning to round into the bridle with a slight uphill in her shoulders.
It was a short ride, and not one of our best, but hey, work in progress right? I’m not disappointed – it’s giving me really great information to take with me when I start preparing for the all around shows these next 3 months. I also watched the first episode of Master Dressage, and tried to implement that. Well, when I was finally able to get the position right, Amber felt really great. Especially at the canter. She just rounded up for me beautifully. So of course, I’m not going to be able to hold it a long while, but I can feel when it works, so yay! Still a good ride!
Also, don’t judge my mishmash of colors. My matchy-matchy princess is already cringing.
Blog hop: change
Hellomylivia had a blog hop yesterday off of Oh Gingersnap!’s original blog hop, and since I’ve never done a blog hop before, I thought it’d be fun to try my hand at this. Plus, I thought the question was a good one.
Question: Have you at some point moved on to a different horse, trainer, stable, etc with the purpose of advancing your progress? What made you realize the time was right for a change? Or did you opt to adjust your goals in order to stay with what you know is working? How did either choice work out in the long run?
Most of the time, my moves to different horses, trainers and stables have revolved around the fact that after 3 years our family was moving to relocate somewhere else. But there are a few times when I was fully aware that I wanted something different.
Of course when I was younger I graduated ponies – from Lacey to Tina and finally Tony, who I loved. I got to ride Cochise, an old paint lesson horse that I liked, too as I grew with my abilities. It was easy back then, because I just wasn’t very old and wanted to ride all the ponies, of course. I wasn’t necessarily paying attention to goals, just that I’d work to be a better rider to ride the other horses, too.
When I trained horses in Texas, my goal and dream was to be a trainer. And I suppose I should have known that shows came along pretty often, but I’m not really a show person. But to get your name out there, you need to go to shows. And shows are always nerve-wracking for me, but with the stakes at these shows pretty high, I was pretty sure I’d fall off the horse at some point – example of the human losing their brain instead of the horse.
But it was a long road of realization for me. It was little things – that I’d dread riding the super talented but pretty quirky and can-buck-you-off-in-a-second-of-inattention horses. I’d dread riding the ones that had baggage from someone else, but I always wanted to try to help them trust again. I loved the simpler horses, the ones that had expectations of me as I did of them but were also forgiving. I was riding all sorts of horses. Then one day around sunrise, on one of my favorite 2 yr olds, I felt that if I stayed this path, I’d be stuck in a rut and never able to do anything else.
So my goals changed. Those many horses taught me that I didn’t want to be a trainer – at least not making a job of it. They opened the door to the realization that my goals had changed, and I left Texas with Amber in tow back to Vegas. The change was extremely daunting at the time because I changed a lot of my life at that point, but now I’m so glad I did. Because of that I’ve decided to jump into a new discipline, and I am beyond excited to try eventing. I want to take lessons again and grow in something different.
However, even now that I am getting my feet wet with eventing, Amber might not be up to it for too long, and I am okay with that. I know that I will formulate my goals to match her because there’s no way she’s leaving me. But that is why I chose to name this blog the Everything Pony. Because she does do a bit of everything. And if we can’t event for a long time, then great – let’s go learn something new. Probably with cows because we haven’t done cows yet.
But it’s not the end of the world. If I don’t want to quit eventing and she can’t do it anymore, I’ll look for a secondary partner that can. Probably one that is young and that I can bring up and train since I’m having a lot of fun going through all of this with Amber. As of yet though, I am so glad those horses taught me what I liked to ride, and helped me with my change. It’s been great and I can’t wait for it to continue!
Amber land
Not too much happening here in Amber Land. I also didn’t get many pictures of this weekend, so yeah sorry about that. I kept the western tack on for the weekend, thinking it would help reset her mind, and it did indeed help.
She definitely knows when she has different tack on – such a smart girl! But this was also a really good weekend and time in our training to step back and really objectively assess our progess in English when we had to do a different discipline with different expectations. It also helped me get a good idea of the potential of doing both English and western at the upcoming shows. I don’t want too much confusion for the poor pony.
But again, going western has alerted me to things that she is really starting to understand. Like the fact that she is no longer pushing her neck down when I take contact on her. I unfortunately realized what she did after I told her to lower her neck (of course), but then I just tried to come up with a new plan. Also that when I give her free rein, she’s totally faking her lift and her butt under her. I had to work a bit at the jog to remind her that loose rein does not mean let’s get heavy on the forehand. She was also straighter on Saturday, which was great, and that doing all of these different things (needing to turn quickly for “jumps”, needing to lift and be soft for dressage) has really helped her western. It’s helped with her steering and overall balance, too. I really love cross training. I think it’s so important for every discipline.
I wore my English spurs since my lower left leg is prone to flop like a mofo when I ride western, and I didn’t want to accidentally poke her with her western spurs. She likes her new rounded spurs just fine with western, too, so yay. But we finally cantered after giving her an easy week, and I think it really helped her that I just left her alone. I tried a bit to just remind her we didn’t have to go so fast and to lift, and she really tried to come right back when I asked and then I’d let go and let her keep going.
We did some reining things, like a mild spin and a few “rollbacks”, and she was definitely tuned in to me for that. Sweet thing even tried to slide for me, which if she’d had sliders on would have actually been a pretty okay stop. But, I don’t want to her slide on account of her hocks, and also she tries so much to do it for me but I can tell she’s not that fond of it. So I just worked with her on a nice use-your-butt-but-it’s-okay-to-keep-all-4-feet-moving kind of stop that she aced to the left but still tried to slide a bit to the right.
It’s really funny to be on top for both disciplines because looking at her when I’m English is so different than when I look at her from above western. Her head feels a little low English, but then when I look down western it’s too high. So I just let her lope on Saturday without interfering much, and I was just chuckling at myself that her neck looked so different based on the different discipline I rode. Again though, it was nice to see that we’re on the right track of her not lowering her neck when the contact comes. It really feels like she tries to go up to meet the contact which is very promising to me. And again since I’m not going to campaign hard for the western buckle, I’m not going to mess with different head positions. Just so long as she’s forward and pushing from her butt, I’m happy.
We also had a friend volunteer to help us with digging our trench for electric. The ponies cared a couple times, but for the most part they were very chill about the whole thing. Hopefully this week we can get the electric into the barn! The neighbor’s son is absolutely in love with Amber. He’s only in second grade, but he gets so excited to see her. He also loves scratching her, which of course is Amber’s favorite thing ever. As shown in the picture above, she demanded pets of anyone who was nearby.
Sunday we went for another hack, and I desperately wish I could at least trot her around here. We crossed a few logs, but until I can either get easy boots or get in contact with those that have xc courses we’re stuck with walking for a bit. She wasn’t the biggest fan of it yesterday since we went to a different area but was still pretty good about the whole thing. It’s good to see that when she needs to focus on something involving her feet getting over the obstacle, she was super focused, but when we just walk around and there’s nothing challenging for her to think about she’s focusing on where Whisper is.
But it was actually a really nice day that had intermittent cloud cover but with a good breeze so your sweat was actually able to cool you down. Or in this case, my waterlogged sleeves and shirt helped me stay cool. We rocked our PS of Sweden polos again, which seriously I need to trim those things. They’re just so long and she has short legs.
It’s pretty cute though because as my mom pointed out, she looks so different based on the tack she’s wearing. She mentioned that Amber looks like one of those fat but super adorable hunter ponies when she’s English, and like a gorgeous foundation QH with her western on. Of course with the clause that she’s adorable and gorgeous in both, but I totally agree with her. I think she looks a bit like 2 different horses as well!
But she still continues to lose weight which is great. I’ve cut back her food a little while still trying to maintain that she always has food in front of her. She’ll go a few hours sometimes without food in front of her, but I personally think her having food in front of her as much as possible relieves stress. She also hasn’t been bolting her food down anymore, and will eat when she’s hungry. Some days there’s a lot of food around, and others she cleans it up.
Today or tomorrow we’ll go back to English and work on our dressage. It was so beneficial to that last Saturday when we’d worked on it all week before going to poles. She’s been a little stumbly recently, and she’s due for a shoeing. Unfortunately the farrier can’t come out until next week, so while I want to actually raise one or two poles Saturday, it’ll probably have to wait until next weekend. We’re still working on it though!
Developing the little muscles and memory
Yesterday morning we rode western again. I’m a little protective of her at the moment because looking at the way she landed after that little mishap looks like she may have strained the front tendon on her left front. Of course, this is me googling anatomy in the search to not freak myself out since – again – she’s so stoic that I want to make sure she’s feeling okay. Her eyes continue to look alert, though. Looking back at the photos of Tuesday her eyes did look a little lower, so her alert eyes are promising. Since then she still feels a bit tired, but the looseness of her stride is feeling better.
So we westerned again Thursday morning, a quick ride, but I think it was important for the both of us to switch gears a little. This let her get very relaxed and do her favored slow jog. The slow work actually felt like it really really benefited her muscles, too. Her walk felt more fluid after, but it was slower, and I really just wanted to work the stiffness out.
It was also good because it showed a few developing holes that I need to keep track of. With the reins slack I noticed she got pretty wiggly – letting her shoulder fall in then out and then looking at something and her body just goes that way. It’s easier for her to keep her shoulders straight when she has contact and reins on either side outlining the boundaries. But I think it’s important for her to find and also be responsible for her own straightness. So we worked on that a little.
I think in part it’s also a matter of her understanding there’s a job to be done in western as well. She’s gotten into the rhythm and mindset that English tack and contact is work and business, and it was actually a good realization for me. By riding western yesterday, I could tell that her focus was really a bit everywhere, whereas recently with English she’s building a focus-business relationship the more we’ve been working towards a goal with it.
Come September through November I’m actually quite excited to show in our local shows, even if most of those classes are more HUS than what we’re aiming for. It will still be good experience for us both. I’m still very excited about continuing our English progress, but it was good to sit western again. I still want to also show her in the reining and ranch riding classes for a potential buckle at the end of the year, but I don’t think I’ll be campaigning with the determination I thought I would. She’s doing really well with English so far, and I don’t want to confuse her too much!
For now, though, we’ll take stock of each day and see where we are by the time the shows come.
Sunset rides
Since most of my work days start at 6 am, I usually have to wait until the evening to ride. But as the sun is hitting it’s weakest around 6:30-ish pm, it’s getting to be the perfect time to ride.
Amber looked better yesterday. Even still, I gave her some more bute in her grain and then headed out for a nice evening ride. We rocked the western gear this time, but I figured that since the saddle has a bigger tree it helps to disperse pressure, and she understands that western is “slower” and I just wanted her to be nice and relaxed.
And she was. She stopped to look at a few things, but I tried to keep her on the road this time since it was the only very flat area without rocks. It was only fifteen minutes but I think it really helped her relax, and it was something different again. She basically walked like this the whole way, I hosed her legs and put her up. I’ll give her some more bute today, but just go a bit easy. Thankfully though, it looks like it’s just sore muscles – her legs remain strong and heat free!
A little sore
Yesterday felt a little cooler than normal. So I tacked up the pony and got out to ride close to sunset.
She felt a little lazy in the beginning, just meandering at her walk and trot. Then when I asked her to pick up her trot, she did and we had some pretty nice trot work. I had rearranged the poles earlier, thinking of doing circles and trying to start the habit of counting strides and rating our pace. It worked most of the time, and had a few that weren’t quite “in stride” but over all it felt okay. She reached for one, and I made sure to praise her for it and she slowed right down to a nice canter.
Then, she tripped. She tripped a front leg and a back, and I let her walk to see if she felt okay. She did for a bit, so we cantered a bit more. Then she was suddenly really stiff and hoppy. It was getting dusk, which she was petrified of at the other place due to the birds fluttering around madly in the trees, so I thought perhaps that was it. We rode for a bit longer, but after I got off I had my mom walk her for me so I could watch, and even though she’d felt fine for the beginning of the ride, I could definitely tell that she wasn’t quite right. She was just a little stiff in her shoulders and she wasn’t as swinging as she usually is in her back and hind end.
So I did a quick palpation test and sure enough she was sore – more over her left hip than right this time. But really, I swear mare. I like that for the most part she seems pretty indestructible, but damn I wish she’d overreact about things that bother her. She’s so stoic about that stuff that many times I don’t know where to start when she feels “weird”. Because it is just “weird”. Only 2 times has she ever been truly off where there is no doubt you can see it and know where the problem is.
However, I’m sure the majority of her soreness was from her save on Sunday. That and two days of pole work in a row were probably too much for her right now. Poor sweetie. This is all new for her, so she’s bound to have some sore muscles. I’ll probably go back to keeping the jump/pole work once a week, or at least a few rides apart with some nice long walks in between until we start getting fitter. Here’s our little mishap since I haven’t gotten it fixed yet on the other post:
So I gave her two grams of bute – which I am ecstatic that she ate because usually she gives me this look like “how dare you attempt to sneak that icky-ness into my food mother”. But she slurped it up and even licked the pan clean. Pretty sure she got all of it! I also stuck some liniment on her legs and while she doesn’t mind it on the front legs, she was not a fan of the hind legs.
But hopefully she’s feeling better today! I’ll check everything over and probably just go for a nice long walk off property – probably stick closer to the road so her footing is more even. If nothing else, more bute today and icing.
Plain jane
I joke a lot about Amber being a sorrel. Before her, I loved the shiny, rich deep brown of Whisper. I adored the gorgeous reddish-brown of a mahogany bay. I sighed at the uniqueness of every dun and roan colored horse. I ogled those bright, copper-penny, Secretariat-colored horses. I loved the look of a gorgeous dapple grey, even though they wouldn’t stay that way. After reading all those Black Stallion books, I have a special place in my heart for a black horse. Palomino Barbie horses feed my love of long, cream manes. I adore contrasts, and buckskins fulfill that perfectly.
But what about those plain horses? The ones that have minimal or no white, or aren’t flashy? The ones that you pass by in the stalls because they just seem “meh”. I’ve realized that over a course of time, Amber has changed my views on these types of horses.
Before Amber, I swore I didn’t want a sorrel. They’re a dime a dozen amongst the QH world. SO MANY SORRELS. And I have to admit I was a little sad when I first saw her because Amber’s siblings were all roans – a blue roan and 3-4 bay roans. And she’s the Plain Jane sorrel. Or course, none of that mattered after I’d worked with her.
If any of you follow reining, you’ll have heard of Gunner, or registered name Colonels Smoking Gun. He is noted for passing on a lot of white to his foals. They always gather a lot of attention, and consequently, I think a lot of money. While many have been successful, somehow, my favorites have always been the Plain Jane ones.
There was a bay that only had a little stripe on her face, no other white, and she was one of my absolute favorites. Tried so hard, always wanted to please. But she was kind of scraggly, a little awkward, and no one really wanted to take a chance on her. Another gelding was sorrel, a stripe and two white feet. Even as a just-broke 2 yr old he was the most dependable horse I’ve ever ridden. More dependable than Amber, even. He had an honest heart of gold. Two other colts that were just chestnut, minimal white, had super honest hearts and willingness to please. A couple other mares were plain, perhaps gangly, but I dunno I’d just watch them and think “I like THAT one”.
Another colt who had talent out the wazoo and was ridiculously smart, but he was kind of quirky so you had to get a bit inventive to ride him. But man he was a real blast to ride. He was plain too though. None of these horses would ever jump out and grab most prospective buyers, but then you’d see them under saddle, and suddenly there was a whole different horse and potential you could see.
I think this is what Amber has taught me. Those other horses taught me what type of horse I like and to always give every horse a chance and what I want to look for, but I think Amber has been the one to really change that thought around. She is absolutely a Plain Jane, was scrawny and tiny when she was little. But not even I knew that she’d look like this at 7 years. Her parents are big, super solid QHs, but that doesn’t necessarily mean she will be.
I’ve had someone say that because her chest is so wide she wouldn’t be able to spin as well as some others (she can when I ask for it). I’ve had others look at me weird because she’s a performance horse doing pleasure. But she can out-jog them. Not out-lope because let’s be honest she canters, but people kind of write her off until they watch her move. It used to bother me, I’ll be honest. Because while I cared about how honest she was, how sweet she was and how hard she worked, they paid attention to the fact that she just wasn’t as talented as these bred-for horses.
But I dunno, to me these Plain Jane horses are better. Personally, I’ve liked their attitudes the best, but more importantly, I think if you can take that Plain Jane horse that isn’t as “talented” as those others, and get them just as far or farther, that speaks more to me about the bond between horse and rider as well as their determination to always making things better that is the best. The quality was there, it just took someone who believed in that horse and put in the work to get it there.
There’ve been a few people who have walked up to me out of the blue and told me they love watching me ride Amber. Most of this was at a show since I usually ride alone, but it really shocked me. And at the end of the day, I realized that’s what I love. I love that people can see our bond when we ride. I love when people tell me how happy she looks, because really, that’s why I do this. I ride because I love it and I love horses. And I want to find the ones that you have to take a little extra time.
Amber is plain. A very orange sorrel if you want to be specific. But I think those Plain Janes (or Joes) are really just the best because you have to look past their outside plainness and see what’s there. Most of the time I don’t think they’re the flashiest horses, so they can’t “hide” anything, but they’re the ones that I think in a way will give you everything they have and more because you took the time to polish that little gem.
This is not to say, of course, that flashy horses can’t be just as giving and sweet and diamond-in-the-rough as a plain horse. I just think that the plain horses get overlooked most of the time in favor of those more flashy horses.
Haha sorry, guys. Too mushy? I swear I don’t usually get this mushy. But I want to know your thoughts. What do you think about it? Do you like those Plain Jane or Joe horses? Or do you like more flashy horses? What about them is it that you like the most? Or does color never matter to you?
Media blast
So be prepared for lots of media. It wasn’t a busy weekend but I got lots of photos. I was also able to mess around with the GIF function on my phone camera and got some good snippets. Friday I didn’t ride, but Saturday I packed up the pony with her new half pad and her breastcollar to get prepared to have some fun over the poles.
She’s starting to look really good, too. She’s gotten more trim (although the picture from her right side she looks fat so…..lol) even just through the week.
The last week of dressage has really helped her. When we starting cantering on Saturday, I could tell the work had really helped the quality of her canter. She felt like she had more suspension in her canter and she was even more adjustable than she had been before. She still seems excited to get out and ready to work.
But thankfully it was very cloudy Saturday, so we didn’t have to worry about the sun beating down on us. We’d had an impromptu bit of rain in the night, so it left the ring nicely wet and the air cool. Amber wasn’t even fazed with the cooler weather, and she was absolutely on it when I asked her canter. Then I went into two point, and it took her a little bit, but when she realized we would be doing pole work, I could feel her ears prick up and she got a bit of a jump in her step.
We had some super pole work, and it helped that the both of us have gotten stronger. I could also feel a nice spring in her canter, and we got the distances most of the time. I’m not too worried about whether or not we get the striding right because I want her to figure out, and so far she’s been spectacular about being smart with her feet. But of course it helps to start familiarizing myself with distances (which, while I count strides, I need a lot of help with).
But she was really super. I didn’t worry about lead changes on Saturday and only switched directions a little bit. By the end though I could tell she was getting tired because she was really starting to plateau and flatten out as we were going around the arena in between jumps. So I just worked on letting her slow down and collecting her for a few strides and ending on that note.
Sunday I decided to stick with a second day of pole work. She was definitely thinking forward when we started to canter, even though I didn’t wear spurs. I’d bought some new spurs with a round knob to use instead of the Prince of Wales spurs I had. The round knob is less abrasive than the Prince and Wales, and though she works fine without spurs, they’re just there as a reminder that she needs to respond to my leg. Unfortunately they didn’t arrive Sunday, so I couldn’t use them, but she was actually quite good without the spurs.
I had just a little work to get her thinking a little slower, a little more suspension in her canter, but ultimately didn’t push it too hard. I could tell she was a little tired – her canter was a little less fluid and adjustable and she felt a little flatter, which is why I think we missed a few of the distances. But I absolutely loved watching the video playback that my mom took for me. Despite her being tired, she had those little ears up, eager to see where we were going and what pole we’d hit next.
I think we’re definitely improving. Despite her feeling a little more tired Sunday, I could absolutely notice the difference in her canter from even two weeks ago when my mom took pictures last time. We’ve definitely gotten strong together, and for the most part it really showed.
She had a few nailed lead changes but I left them alone for the most part. I was focusing more on where we were going and how our approaches were, which we didn’t do so well on Sunday. I was really biffing distances – just couldn’t quite seem to put it together and even count the darn strides. I think that mixed with her slightly flat canter was why we ended up having a go-over like this one:
Which, I really like that she wants to take responsibility for her feet, and she’s starting to make decisions about where her feet should go. I also kind of like that she got pissed off she missed it. She’s funny about that sometimes. And I actually don’t mind it. I like that she gets upset when she thinks she didn’t do something right. She’s just a quirky one. At least I didn’t fall off, she didn’t fall on her face, and we were okay. We just need a bit more oomph if we’re going to go for a long spot lol. But we also had some great ones like this:
Despite that long shot attempt and fail, I feel like the poles aren’t much more than blips on her radar now. Before she was a bit unsure about them, and Sunday she was giving me some good lift over a few as well as just a solid feeling over most of them. She pays attention to her feet, places them well, and is now focusing more on what I am asking her to do with her canter. Which is great, but I think perhaps I may raise the poles a bit. Not high or anything she can’t do yet, but I think she’s having fun with this, and it feels a little easy now.
We’ll also start messing around with a little more dressage and perhaps some cavaletti work that Ingrid Klimke outlines in one of her books I’ve bought. I plan to rearrange the poles so that we’re not making the same tracks but doing a different “course”. We’ll go back to doing some dressage during the week, hopefully finishing one of the Master Dressage videos and trying out the basics.
But she was a superstar Sunday too. Although honestly, I have to admit that any day she tries she’s a superstar to me, because she could easily give me a huge resounding no, but she doesn’t. She wants to have fun with me and I always have fun with her.
I also bought a new girth for her. It should be coming next week sometime but the fleece Smartpak girth just feels a little slippery at times. She’s also already on 5 and 5 and it’s a 30″ and perhaps getting a liiiiiiiiittle stretched, but we’ll see how this leather one does. It’s a 28 which will give me a bit more room as well as prepare when she continues to lose her food baby.
All in all, it was a great weekend. She was awesome, we’re getting stronger, and will be doing a few of the same things for a while yet, but we’ve got time. What about you guys? How was your weekend?
A little too sticky
Amber and I had a pretty good ride yesterday morning. It was only half an hour but I’m pretty sure the first fifteen minutes was the both of us just waking up. We were not all there brain wise. Alas, it was just too early for the both of us.
There was cloud cover, so it was actually cooler than it had been, and it wasn’t so humid that it was unbearable. But for sure we were very discombobulated yesterday. Most of it was my fault, as it usually is, and we were both just still in that “waking up” phase. But I wore my horZe full seat breeches, and I think it was a little too sticky.
I felt like I couldn’t get control of my lower leg AT ALL. I also felt like I was trying extra hard to post, like it was hard to get my butt out of the saddle. Which is probably the full seat compared to how easy it felt with my relatively slick knee patch Ovations. The full seat has helped me tremendously with my stability in my 2 point so I can start getting more confident and stronger in my position, and hopefully, I’ll get stronger is my dressage position to eventually be able to wear them for dressage. I did get them for that after all.
So our left side trot work felt so weird yesterday. I know most of that is because I’ve been trying to shift more weight on my left hip. I think usually horses have let their shoulders fall to the left, so I inadvertently started leaning to the right to fix it and now I don’t know how to put weight back in my left stirrup. But I know that it’s the right fix because when I do fix it, Amber goes straight and into a great frame and is very soft in her body – walk, trot and canter. So I really need to work on breaking the habit.
Also when my weight shifts back to my right hip, I noticed my right elbow starts to pump like a chicken wing. You know, because THAT helps soooooo much.
Her canter though was pretty spot on. She knows how to take off from her outside hind, but she has a huge tendency to just barrel down with her front end into the canter. She’s gotten so much better about that, and once she kind of hits the end of my hands, she gets herself back and softens very nicely. We’ll need to fix that initial step into the canter, but all in good time. She’s doing very well and I’m very pleased with her. I wish we could’ve done some pole work, but I just felt like we didn’t have enough time yesterday morning and I just wasn’t awake enough. Good thing I didn’t because….well. That would’ve been bad.
But I got my new Ogilvy half pad yesterday! I was thinking it might be a slightly darker navy, but I absolutely love it, and I think I got a pretty good deal on it. It’s precisely my colors, and I think it’s going to look great with all my stuff. I’ll be sure to take pictures of it this weekend so you guys can see the full look!
Smooth ride
Tuesday I was finally able to get Amber out and go for a short ride. It was absolutely amazing the difference I felt in just her walk right away. She was so much smoother, and she also just felt so much more content. The problems with her falling in to the left – which just fyi she’s always been prone to do ever since I started her – and her recent tendency to bow out to the right, which I had attributed to a small, oddly shaped arena, appeared to be more because she felt uncomfortable. She was almost dead straight as we warmed up at the walk, and she just felt like she had such smooth swing in her back.
The really smooth swing didn’t last through the whole ride, but it was amazing how much better she felt. Her trot work is really coming along so nicely – she maintains her pace as well as most of her lift when I drop the reins, and she’s starting to give me a little extra when I pick up the reins. It’s a really cool feeling. She still needs encouragement a little more than I’d like to keep a forward pace, but she’s doing well.
I’m not very well-versed in dressage, but I’m really liking the feeling she’s giving me when she’s accepting the contact better. She feels long and fluid, but also collected and elastic. If that makes sense. I’m not very good at all trying ti describe and put into words how things feel when I ride. But I’m really pleased with her trot.
Her canter to the left is doing really well. She had a wheeee! moment when I knew she was feeling better, then settle right back into the work. It was nice to see how much better she felt. She was a lot less focused to the right, and I really had to tell myself that it was time to stop babying that side and get her thinking along the same lines as the left. So I we had a short canter-trot-canter-trot-canter-trot session. She would start off really nicely in the canter, then just let it fall to the wayside, so I worked on keeping her cantering during the good moments, bringing her down to a trot and rounding herself, then cantering again softly. That really seemed to help, and we ended on a really good note. A very sweaty note.
I hopped on for another short ride yesterday, and I was super pleased with her. She really only has to be told something isn’t right one ride. The next ride she absolutely is determined to do it right to the best of her ability, and that’s just what she did. She wasn’t as fluid in her walk this ride, and a bit of her leaning was back, but she was bugging me to get out. She even knocked my phone out of my hands at one point to get my attention. Oh Amber.
I’ve been debating whether or not I should grab a dressage whip since she’s been a bit inconsistent in her trot pace. It would also maybe help with lateral movement to the left, but that’s the direction of her bad hip anyway, sooooo…… But she’s also pretty terrified of whips and their noises. Poor thing thinks she’s done something absolutely horrible if one is snapped just in her general vicinity. But I’ve been riding with my spurs beneath my spur rest, and yesterday I put them on the spur rest, and it was just what the doctor ordered.
She was a little startled when I first asked her to trot and she really felt the spur, but she soon settled. She wasn’t as in the contact in the trot as she has been, but I attribute that to her greenness and non-knowledge yet. We have moments where I can really feel her push forward, and I’m not prepared so it throws me back a bit and she slows down like “oh too much sorry ma” and then I laugh, shake my head and keep going. Sweet girl is trying to understand me and I am not doing a good job of it for her.
But her canter was much better today. She’s still stiff in her ribcage to the left – which due to her issues is totally understandable – and she’s still weak on that right side, but she was trying her best for me. I worked on the right lead to get that over with early since we worked on it more than I’d initially wanted on Tuesday. I could really feel her want to dive her shoulders down on the long side, so I made the command decision to do large circles. That really helped her to soften and relax so that when I let her go straight she stayed that way.
Her left circle was super. She really tried to be softer in her ribcage, and I think she’s right on for developing the softness in the left side of her body while not allowing her right side to drift outside the circle and vice versa on the right lead. All in all she was really great. She’s happy to be getting out again, more importantly she’s bugging me to go out, and I think she’s happy she’s learning new things. She’s not just getting bored anymore.
I finally signed up for Master Dressage! I’ve seen their facebook posts and snippets from the lessons for a while now and I really agree with their theories in training but mostly how the rider sitting can affect the way the horse can travel. I’m super excited to start delving into that.
Today starts the strange August Thursdays, and I don’t start until 8 for the whole month. I’ll be doing a short ride this morning, hopefully right as the sun is coming up. I want to have a little fun with the poles, but we’ll play it by ear. She might be wild. Ha. Hopefully this whole month I’ll be able to ride early outside of the heat for once. Who am I kidding? It’s just muggier in the mornings. There is no heat break in summer.
By the way, as you can tell her face is icky and hairless. Most of that is the salve from TTT over the fungus spray that I haven’t cleaned off yet, but she gets so sweaty in that divot on her forehead where she has forehead muscles that it just grows fungus and is gross underneath her fly mask. So I was attempting to get her forelock out of the way. Well…..I uh….succeeded? Now she just looks funny haha!
Review: the rein battle
Review Wednesday is here again! If I keep this up nearly every week I think I’ll run out of things to review haha. But today’s feature is of reins – this is more a brand/leather quality than rubber vs laced vs webbed (I do want to try the webbed reins sometime) but there is a bit of that. The rein battle is Smartpak laced vs Ovation laced vs Thinline reins.
The Smartpak laced reins I had first – they came with a Smartpak Harwich fancy stitched hunter bridle that is now discontinued. The reins were extra long (~62″), which is why I bought them in the first place. They were raised and had fancy stitching as well.
I didn’t like the rein quality as I did the bridle. The leather laces were very stiff, and even though I cleaned and then oiled them a few times, they just wouldn’t soften. I used them a few times, cleaned them again and then applied Passier Lederbalsam, and they softened a little but not much. They probably would have continued to get softer with use, but I really didn’t like the way the felt in my hands.
The Ovation reins that came with the Ovation breed specific QH bridle was another reason I bought the set – the reins have a very long length of 64″. But that was the purpose of being long – the level, long outline of a QH HUS class would need the long reins. And Amber definitely does need the long reins for when we do HUS.
This leather broke in much easier. I oiled them first, used them a few times, cleaned and oiled again, and got them nice and sweaty. The laces are softer on this pair of reins, and overall I think the leather on the Ovation reins is better. These I still have, and will be using for as long as I show hunter classes. I’m very hesitant to get rid of them because I have yet to find a pair of reins that are this long. Technically now that we’ve been doing a little more dressage work, 60″ inch reins work okay, but I’m still closer to the buckle on them than I’d like to be. Also, I love the color, length, and they’re good, sturdy leather, so I’m still keeping these for the time being.
The Thinline reins are the winners of the three for me. I have been in love with these from the first moment I held them. I had a coupon, the reins were also on sale, so I grabbed them. I would have preferred the English leather, but due to the sale those were taken, so I got the Indian leather. I haven’t been disappointed with the quality of the Indian leather – it’s held up really well so far with all of Amber’s sweat and the dirt, but the length of the reins that hit her neck are mostly the synthetic material.
You can get the reins with leather hand stops or without. These get pretty sweaty, but again, they clean up well. Thinline material encases the reins, and I have to say they’re the softest, squishiest, and most comfortable reins I’ve ever held. They’re 3/4″ thick, and while that may put some people off, I really can’t tell that they’re that thick. The reins come with martingale stops, but I’ve cut those off since Amber won’t need them, and if she does I’ll just grab the lovely snap ones from PS of Sweden.
Most of the time I ride without gloves, so rein feel is a little different for me. But the biggest reason I really do like these is how squishy they are. Amber is really quite sensitive, and I love how I can make the smallest adjustments, the smallest squeeze with my fingers and these reins translate my message to her beautifully. Also, as you can see my hands aren’t very big. That was one of the reasons I couldn’t play piano very well – my fingers were too short. But I don’t even notice that these reins are thicker, and my hands have never once hurt while I was using them.
The longest length for these is 60″. I really wish they came longer. These so far are my favorite pair of reins. However, Amber doesn’t really pull. She’s very soft in her face and the most I need to really grip reins is if she’s bracing a bit. Which compared to most horses is not bracing at all. So far steering in bending lines hasn’t been an issue with grip on these reins. They’re not like the grip of rubber reins, but I think they still have good grip to them. The hand stops help with that grip.
So, for me, the order of first to last is:
Scratch monster
This has definitely become her new title. She will seriously step in front of me as I’m mucking and step on the muck rake to make sure I scratch her. I know I have encouraged this behavior, but it’s just so damn funny. Now though, I try to make sure she doesn’t bug me until I’m done.
So, since I don’t have much else to tell you because I didn’t do anything else horsey yesterday, please enjoy the Scratch Monster at her most itchy.
The days you need
The weekend was a bit of a whirlwind. I posted two tack sales – one english and one western – for ridiculously good prices and suddenly I was scrambling to answer everyone’s requests, get invoices out and send the packages. I’m still going to be sending packages today since I missed the deadline on Saturday. But I’m super glad I was able to get a bunch of stuff sold that I didn’t need, and make a couple bucks while I was at it. Then I saw someone selling an Ogilvy in just my barn colors. I was planning on buying a cover anyway because my lovely white one with navy piping is getting dirty – but not too dirty thank you scotchguard. So I basically got a whole pad for the same price as just a cover. I’d say that’s a win-win.
I didn’t get to ride Friday, but true to form after 2 days off Amber was brilliant on Saturday. She was much straighter in her body and was absolutely less jumpy about my left leg. I left my stirrups long and I also felt I had a better grasp of position this ride, which no doubt helped her. My left toe has a tendency to swing out and look weird and be in the wrong position, but I felt I had at least better awareness of when old habits were taking over so I could change them. We tried out our new PS of Sweden dressage polos which…. were absolutely made for a warmblood. I will definitely need to cut them.
Amber’s trot felt much more springy, but she was also long and fluid. We may not get points for being a flashy mover, but damn her steps were so rhythmic that I’d rather stick with rhythm and cadence vs flashy. We’re never really going to be flashy anyway so as many points for correctness as we can get, right? Her canter to the left was phenomenal. She felt very through in her back and while we don’t get much upward lift in the shoulders, she was really trying for me. She was also a lot less worried about the contact and willing to let me keep just that little bit on her before I let her go, she maintained and we stopped.
Her right was still a little choppy, a little less together in terms of straightness but when she was straight and trying to lift and didn’t rush downhill when I released, we stopped and called it a day. I was very pleased with her, and I think she was actually happy to go back to the flat after having a few days of OMG exciting. And I think it helps her to go back to the flat because it’s something she knows well and can pretty easily succeed in.
But, I also switched back to the Ogilvy, and she just felt so much more fluid in her back, too. I’m still a little concerned the Ogilvy may be too fluffy for her shoulder fit but the saddle is a shoulder free model, and if she feels more comfortable in the Ogilvy, then that’s what we’ll do. I still like the Thinline, and many horses do, but I just can’t get over how stiff in her back she felt on Wednesday and how fluid she was in the Ogilvy over the weekend. Maybe it was the time off, but I’m thinking it’s the half pad. There’ve been a few other instances where I’ve either used a different half pad or none at all, and her reactions were very similar. Also, my back was a little sorer with the Thinline! So, if it makes us both feel good, well then we’re sticking with it.
Sunday we went for a nice 30 minute hack. I’m really loving having a stopwatch and being able to time how long I’ve been on and how long we’ve been performing certain exercises. I’m really enjoying all this detailed work. But anyway she was really really good for the hack. She stayed in front of my leg the whole time – no stop jig stop jig stop jig. Just a very nice marching walk almost the whole way around. She was on a loose rein the whole time, and I just felt utterly comfortable on her yesterday.
The best part though was when we almost ran into a cactus. I’d thought it was a sagebrush but it wasn’t, so I made a command steer. And she did, just….right into a pretty sizable creosote bush. And it was just like she shrugged and went nbd and just powered her way through the bush. Didn’t even care if it scratched her or whatnot. I was laughing pretty hard but was also thinking brush jumps will probably be nbd to her considering how many sagebrush and creosote bushes she just stomps through. Towards the end she kind of just stopped and I figured she’d reached the end of her “this is new and exciting” feeling. Just trail walking is boring for her, so when she seemed a little done I headed home and there was no rushing this time. She was actually a little slower. And she only called once for Whisper. It was a huge improvement from the last time, and it was just such a pleasant hack.
Amber finally got her acupuncture appointment Sunday evening. I’ve been planning it for a bit, even though she’s felt much better. There are still times when she seems to have trouble with that side, and since she loves her massages I thought she’d love this. Plus it should just help release those muscles that have been pulled and shortened and stiff around her pelvis even more.
Her hotspot was predictably her right SI, but the vet stuck her with a few needles on either side and let those sit in there for a few minutes before taking out the laser machine.
The two spots on her spine are usually hotspots too, but after a little while her eyes started to droop. I tried getting photos but every time I’d move to get a pic she’d wake up like wait, what’s going on?! so I didn’t get any. But towards the end of her laser therapy, her lip was starting to curl, and I could tell she was beginning to feel really good. Unfortunately, the laser stopped with 8 minutes to go because it was literally too hot outside for the laser. Thanks, Vegas.
She looked like she felt better afterwards. A little wide-eyed and looking at me like what just happened mom? how could you betray me? which I think is such an amusing expression on her but I hope she’s over it soon haha. And after this, I can’t wait to ride her and see how she feels!
Pronunciation
Going from witty (and let’s admit it – corny) QH names like Gunnatrashya, Gunnamoonya, Copenreygun, Americasnextgunmodel, Big Chex to Cash, Chic N Wimp or even the QH racehorse Red Hot Filly Pepper to looking at the names of horses in these eventing competitions has been almost like “they’re name was what now?” with lots of confusion. And these horses have even more complicated names – at least to my English eyes. I couldn’t say Biosthetique for the longest time. Had no clue. Some of the French horse names were also like big question marks going off in my brain. It’s been a miracle I can watch ERM and a few others and listen to them pronounce it and then finally have a clue.
So, what about the every day things that are even in English that get a weird pronunciation? I am guilty of that. Once my brain sees the word and says it one way, I cannot get it out of my head.
For example – the brand HorZe at horze.com. That Z messes with my brain. I literally say it in my head like “whores”. And I know it’s because of the Z. Yet no matter how hard I try, I seriously cannot get my brain to think of it as horse. Probably because there’s a horse.com as well that’s totally different from horze.com. I feel like one day I’ll say “I bought a pair of breeches from whores” and people will give me the side-eye haha!
Not sure how “English” language Pikeur is, but I’ve wanted to say it like Parkour. I just…. I don’t get my brain sometimes. The first part doesn’t even have an R in it and yet…. The struggle is real.
There’s also Irideon. This one isn’t really too complicated but I never know if it’s actually I-ride-on or ir-rid-eon. I mostly say it like the second one, but still unsure what exactly it’s supposed to be. It all just seems to escape me most of the time.
Another one is Romfh Apparel. Every time I see it my brain either goes Romphfff or ROTFLOL. Which, like…what? I don’t know how I get that. Seriously. Most of the time I just laugh at myself.
The last one I’ll say goes back to La Biosthetique Sam FBW – and I always think “Oh it’s Sam FTW!” Which, he really does win quite a bit but still, the way your brain works is a very interesting thing. Just shake your head and go with it.
What about you guys? What horse names or tack/apparel brands cause you guys to mispronounce it or think of something else? Or even what are some of the best horse names that you’ve heard? I’d love to know!
The slow work
Yesterday was a nice short ride. Amber felt a little stiff, not wanting to reach through her back and I figured she was a bit sore. It showed up in her canter as well, but she was as responsive as she could be with sore muscles.
She’s doing much better with contact now. Not that she was bad about it before, but she’s a very soft horse so if I’d put too much pressure her nose would get behind the vertical, but she’s learning that she can push up and out into my hand. She never pushes much, it’s really more of a “I’ll hold my hands suuuuper still and please continue lifting up” and she’ll move her neck up and down, but so far she’s getting much more confident with my hands.
Her lope was very uncertain today. Not bad, just not like she’s been giving me and usually that boils down to she’s uncomfortable in some way. Part of me wonders if it was just stiffness, or perhaps the half pad…? I’d tried the Thinline today to see if perhaps I felt a difference, and she absolutely wasn’t as soft in her back as she has been. Soreness or….? We’ll test it some more and see!
The ride was relaxing – different since I lowered my stirrups and I think she was assuming we’d be wheeing over poles yet we didn’t – but still good. So the lucky girl gets tomorrow off!
Surprises
Amber was phenomenal yesterday. We had quite a long ride – longer than I was expecting, but Amber was wonderful. I put my spurs back on, hoping she’d be confident enough from the past few days that she wouldn’t be worried once I stuck them on. She’s so responsive that I’ve left them off so she wouldn’t get worried about my feet, but I had to put them back on since she’s been lazy-slow and lazy-fast with her trot work.
When we got out there, her warm up trot was much better. It was really amusing because she let out a sigh and realized she couldn’t be lazy. But we had a nice warm up and she was able to hold her canter better as well. Then it was off to work on the poles. Due to the spurs she was a little more lit in the canter, but she settled soon after. We had a couple other misses over the poles, but again she was really smart with her feet when we tried again.
We had a good moment, too. In her desire to hit the poles correctly, she took a bit of a long shot to one of them. She ended up switching leads over it, but I was very pleased with her and she seemed to realize it. I am glad she’s starting to desire to get it right, a desire to think for herself and be responsible for her feet, and is absolutely committed to going over it.
She was more forward today, and while I think part of it was because of the spurs, I do think it’s because she’s enjoying it and having fun as well as understanding our new things.
But the biggest surprise that occurred was we suddenly had auto changes. I was just in shock and surprise. And she did them both ways! Her left to right has always been tougher, but she nailed those well, too! I was so proud of her, and she just kept changing like it was the most natural thing in the world. And I made sure to let her know how awesome she was for it. And honestly I really just left her alone, and she did them! Smart mare, this one.
Then stupid me asked for a few too many, and they were much harder for her. It was super muggy from all the clouds and she was super sweaty. She’s also never really done lead changes under saddle, so I know she was tired. I was ready to take it and just quit, but I decided to try just one more. A right to left which is her easy side. I really wanted to get a good one and a correct one so we didn’t end on a not-so-good note.
And sweet girl, she knew exactly what I wanted. I took her over a pole, and she lifted herself like hold up ma, I got this and just did this beautiful lead change right after the pole. I had her stop and just loved on her face for a minute. Then I hopped back on and walked her out.
She absolutely adored her bath, itchy thing that she is. But she now looks beautiful. It is nice to see that she is actually starting to lose some weight, too. It’ll take some more time, but I’m happy with it so far. We’re not doing too much extra work than we had done before, but we’re riding a lot more often than 2-3 times a week now. So she’s bound to lose some, and is starting to look good.
Amber has an acupuncture and laser therapy appointment for this coming Sunday, and hopefully it’ll be that last bit to really help release the muscles around her hip and get her feeling really good.
However, she seemed pretty tired yesterday, so today I plan to have a nice, quiet dressage ride with her. Just some nice relaxing trot work, some simple cantering, and we’ll leave it at that. It’ll be a nice relaxing ride, I’m sure. I’m also sure Amber will be making more funny faces at least!
Moving up
Since Amber did absolutely super on Friday with the single pole, I decided to switch things up yesterday. I moved around the few poles that we had and made a “course” of sorts to start to give Amber a little more of a challenge. Since today was a long work day, it was a short, introductory ride.
So my plan developed that I’d stay on one lead this time. I’d hit the middle one first, then the one closest in the picture before arcing to the farthest pole and then finally a small arc to the pole on the left of the picture. Perhaps a little challenging, but that’s why these are poles and not jumps ha!
Well she warmed up her usual lazy self, which I’ve decided if I hop on and she’s like this for a show I just shouldn’t do anything and just go into the ring. Because once we hit a breather and then continue, she gets a bit flustered and cantering is on her brain. Which is fine, we just like calm in dressage lol. But she’s always so willing – I love this little tank. Her warm up canter was like magic too. She’s really beginning to understand what I’d like from her paces. We’ve got about 6 really excellent strides down, now just to keep plugging.
After I was able to get her a little more through in her short fast-jiggy-we-go trot I asked her to canter and it was just wheeeeee! from her. Which made me laugh. But it was so damn adorable because I turned her towards one of the poles, and her head shot up (well, as high as her head goes which is really not that high) and her ears perked forward and she was just on to that pole. It filled me with giddiness. She was a little surprised we crossed another pole, and was a bit confused like “well, I thought maybe one, ma…? We do more? Ooookay….”
But the best thing, was her surprise auto change to the left. I looked at my mom and asked her if Amber had really changed because I thought I felt it but you know, I could absolutely be dreaming. Sure enough, she auto changed to the left not once but twice. I think I’m still in shock. I was not expecting that out of her. She can do it herself on the lunge line but we all know that that doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll transfer to under saddle. But bless her little heart she did it, and kept on plugging, hopping over those poles.
I decided to wing it and see if she’d do it the right, but she got a bit behind my leg and trotted a few steps before cantering off on the right lead. Still, she knew exactly what I was thinking; this little pony’s try is always 100%. I didn’t press it, just laughed off, did a little collection at the end and called it quits. I just absolutely love how she locked on to the poles like “omg this again WHEEEEE!” and then she thought “oh shit I think I really have to work through these” lol.
The bending line was a little tough for her, but after a misstep she was super with her feet. When she thinks she makes mistakes she flicks an ear back at me like “did I do the right thing, ma? was that wrong?” and I’ve really just been trying to let her find her feet, praise her tons for it so she knows she did okay, and she seems to be really responding. She doesn’t like it when the distance isn’t good or she’s got a weird stride (which I like – should create a desire for her to jump correct?), but she always tries and then if she doesn’t get it right makes sure she gets it right the next time. Such a smart mare.
This is also just so much fun to see and feel how much fun she’s having. I think she’s been worried she’ll still hurt, and we’ll just be doing the same old same old and she won’t like the arena, but she’s slowly realizing she’s not hurting anymore, we’re doing new things and she’s out in the open again. I’m just hoping when the real jumping begins, she takes just as much of a liking to it. And I think she will. We’ll keep chugging!
Promising
Friday was another excellent ride, and thankfully my mom was again willing to take some pictures. It was the second time we’ve done the pole exercise, and I think it’s starting to look very promising. She’s very smart about her feet, and I love some of the expressions on her face as she’s concentrating.
She’s been showing some real progress, able to turn in better balance and understanding what we’re starting to do. I’ve let her figure out her feet and she’s been very relaxed when the striding hasn’t been perfect. Before she would get pretty nervous about it, and I really think those cavaletti sessions really got her more comfortable with needing to use the different parts of her body.
Since she’s been settling better this past week, she’s really come around to being more like her old self. I think it’s safe to say the other place didn’t fit her fancy, but I really think she’s starting to enjoy this different work. I love these budding expressions on her face. She looks ready to go!
It’s so great to see these pictures, how she’s starting to use her body differently, as well as looking at her face. It has felt like she’s been enjoying these rides, enjoying the new things we’ve been doing, and it’s really nice to see from pictures that she really is enjoying it!
I will probably start to include those other few poles into a type of pattern and see how she does with just a few more things added to the days, but I think we’ll be having some fun doing it. My hands seem to have a 1 in 10 chance of being correct at any given point, and my elbows are still atrocious but again – goals to check off.
After our really good ride, I packed everything up and headed down to Phoenix. It was a pretty uneventful drive, but it really really good to see the best friend again. We went to see Wonder Woman (which everyone should see btw because it’s the shit) and just had a very chill weekend.
After driving back I was able to get her out for a short time. It was just a lunge, but I think she was happy to get out. I also noticed that recently she hasn’t bucked as much when I lunge her, and I had the thought that perhaps it had been from her twisted hip. She’s gone from pretty lit, to being business-like yet with plenty of energy as she had been a while ago. I know I keep saying this but I’m really glad she seems to be feeling so much better and we’re actually on track as to why she’s just not been herself.
I know we haven’t done much, but I’m so proud of my girl. She puts up with my shenanigans and she really seems to be taking well to our start so far. I’m sure the jumpers, albeit little courses, she would enjoy, but I’ve been really hunting around for potential places to take her that may have xc courses. It’s few and far between, and most I’ve seen are 4-5 hours away, but I’ve potentially found two places to go. I just need to contact them. It may not be for a while because I’d like to get her comfortable with approaching fences and jumping, but xc is the crux of eventing, so I’m crossing my fingers those places work out!
So, it’s not much of a weekend recap because honestly my friend and I just chatted and looked up funny gifs, but Amber and I had a great ride, and hey – there’s tons of pictures!
Down days
Since our ride was so awesome Wednesday, I was super pumped to ride Thursday. It was cloudy and lovely and not too hot so it would’ve been perfect. Except right when I was going to ride, my alarm went off to remind me of an appointment.
Womp womp.
I arrived around a half an hour early for my appointment, and wasn’t seen until an hour and fifteen minutes after my appointment time. Let’s just say that it put a damper on my plans.
Since I’m heading to Phoenix today to see a good friend for the weekend, I had to pack last night so I had a nice hack on Amber while my mom had a more serious ride. Which we just walked. And stood there. And I have to say it’s absolutely one of Amber’s favorite things.
Phoenix was supposed to be a fun camping weekend in Payson, but with the recent events of people dying in flash floods my friend and I decided it’d be for the best if we mostly kept it indoors.
But, uh, at least I got some pretty sky pictures?
Hopefully Amber and I will have a good ride this morning, and then it’s off to Phoenix for a non-horsey, but vacation-ish weekend with the best friend. What about you guys? What are your plans for the weekend?
Let the fun begin
The rains really hit today, but thankfully it wasn’t so torrential like it was on Monday. A light drizzle most of the morning with some heavier rainfall every now and then. But the most important thing was that it was only 83 degrees by the time I got home from work, still cloudy, and perfect for a ride. It was pretty humid, but that didn’t really matter.
So, because of the cooler weather I decided to finally try my Horze full seat breeches. They’re a bit thicker in material, and certainly not specific for hot weather. But they felt better this time than when I initially tried them on, and so far I really love them.
You can see how long these are and that they still bunch at my knee even though they’re right on my ankle bone. The website doesn’t have any length specifications but I think these will still work fine for me at least.
So far as I can tell in the saddle they’re very flattering, and I think the color is super fun. Of course because now I can get a light blue pad to match…. But the full seat didn’t feel restrictive at all like I thought it might – it just seemed to give me that little extra stick when I needed it.
Amber nickered for me when I came out and was excited she was almost all over me. Of course, after the wonderful curry and stiff brush was done, she was back to her usual shenanigans and letting me know just what she thought of the process.
I finally remembered to wear, much less USE my new watch, and started creating a base to grow on. We were well on to a good warm up when my mom came out, offered to take pictures and to move a pole that I’d forgotten to. Of course, can’t say no to pics! Amber was again very very unenthused about a photoshoot.
But I decided to try something new today. That pole I put in the middle of the arena was more to begin putting pieces together. She doesn’t usually canter over poles, and the last time she did she got nervous. But this is a flat arena, and she’d been feeling pretty mellow all throughout our warm up. So because we’d focused on lift and suspension on Saturday, I wanted to take her mind off of that and work on my position, holding her through a turn, and then calmly going over the pole. A different exercise to shake things up and do something different.
This is something that I will have to “retrain” her to do. We’ve done the reining thing for a good 3-4 years, so my weight shifts back, even in 2 point, and she’s there slowing down. Most of the time to a trot but it’s just going to take a little time for her to realize it’s only to slow and lift. And hell, she figured it out so quickly. Now the challenge will be to make it consistent, but I know we’ll be able to get it done. But with her being relaxed and super willing to slow down really helped me to build more confidence in her and the exercise. I even sat back (ish) and held her a bit before the pole and she willingly checked herself just that bit and stepped over it nicely. Of course, it’ll be a different story and more to work on when that pole gains height, but I think we’re okay for now.
It was absolutely a great exercise for us both. She had to get used to and understand my different position of balance, and it really made me realize this tank would probably be a great hunter. Going to that pole she almost never changed pace except those two times I took a hold on her. It didn’t even matter that she spliced the poles. She was confident and willing. It was such a good exercise to just take our minds off of the mundane ’round and ’round.
We’d hop over the pole, break to trot just before the corner and smooth into the other lead just as we turned out. She was really good with that. Overall, it felt like a huge success today. I felt better in my 2 point, opening my chest and keeping my torso up (and full seat breeches sure helped with stability), and she felt just super relaxed yet attentive. She wasn’t wildly falling in like she has in the past, nor rushing through the corners or getting upset when I had to take a little more of a hold. I think she’s finally really starting to settle in to the place, but I think she’s really beginning to understand the new things and so we’re making some great progress.
We probably only rode for thirty or so minutes, but it felt like a such a nice, fun, rideable ride. I’ve missed having challenges to work on with her, and I think once she gets a few fun jumper fences to look at she’ll be well on her way to enjoying it, too.
Review: Harwich Half Chaps
Another Review Wednesday!
Featured today are the Smartpak Harwich Half chaps. They’re advertised as having soft, full-grain leather with reinforced calf panels to support use. There’s an elastic panel to help keep a close fit and allow stretch. It has a YKK zipper and double snaps.
The short of it is that I really like these. They’ve really become my favorite half chap. Now these also seem to be a “love ’em or hate ’em” item from Smartpak because of the fit. Since the fit has been tricky with many people, I’ll outline my experience with the fit first and continue on to everything else after. This might be a little long, but on things that can be on either side of the extreme I appreciate when someone can be really thorough, even if some of the information isn’t necessary or pertinent.
I bought the XL regular. The Smartpak size chart outlines that as 15″ calf and 17.5″ height. I hadn’t measured my calves for a while when I bought these, and pretty much since high school I’ve usually worn 16″ for the calves. I scoured the reviews since they were very polarizing, but about 5 of them caught my eye – they all said the chaps were small, but stretched to a perfect fit. I decided to trust those people and buy them. And those 5 reviewers have been right. Right now, my calves measure just a hair over 15″ at their widest point with bare skin. Obviously that widens with breeches and socks if you wear the tall socks (I don’t). But these half chaps have stretched with me, and don’t feel like they’re going to give out any time soon. The calf actually has stretched to be a little baggy, but I think that’s in part because the half chaps have fallen with use, and I really should’ve gone with the taller option. The XL tall is 18.5″ and the chaps probably would’ve fallen enough to where the 18.5 would end up being 17.5. As a quick note, however, I absolutely loathe all things too tall on my legs. My lower legs get a little numb if the tall boot/half chap is too tall and cuts into the backs of my knees. So If you like tall things, just know that these only go up to an 18.5″ height.
I admit that Smartpak’s sizing with these is a little funky compared to other half chaps. I would say that if you have a calf wider than 17.5″, these probably aren’t the half chaps for you. Plus, they don’t make any chaps wider than that. But they fit me well, and I am ALWAYS difficult to fit – it’s a reason why I’ve put off tall boots for so long. For me it’s worse than saddle shopping.
To continue on the line of fit and to give you an idea of sizing, there were two huge reasons I bought these – many people said the ankles were small, and that the elastic to the bottom of the boot was too tight: music to my ears. You now know my calf has usually measured 15″-16″. My ankles at their smallest point measure 9″. That’s a whole 6″-7″ difference, which is why tall boots rarely fit me well (so many bruises and thick socks and ice packs). If you add an inch, maybe an inch and a half to include the paddock boot, that’s still a big difference between calf and ankle size. I really wanted something that actually fit my ankles. The other problem I have is I have small feet. Not in size – they’re still 9s, but they don’t have much height. The elastic on other half chaps was forever stretching out and bagging horribly underneath my boots.
But these half chaps fit my legs like gloves. FINALLY something that will fit around my ankle without bagging! Since these stretch I actually think my calf could maybe go smaller, but these fit so well around my ankles that I don’t think I could size smaller. Which I am fine with since these are my every day use and abuse chaps. There are many reviews stating the elastic under the foot is tight, but again, this is something that is perfect for me. So far, even after getting wet a lot and tons of dirt, the elastic on the bottom is still nice and tight.
I haven’t been kind to these. I’ve really put these through the ringer. I’ve cleaned them once, and Amber is a massive sweater, so these have mostly stayed gross and used and abused.
The reinforced calf panel has stretched with use, but these have stayed very soft. They also clean up very well. Er, except for the elastic. But….I’m really not sure how to clean elastic so…..
The Spanish cut has a nice clean look, but as you can see they have some space between the leather and my leg. Honestly, I don’t know if that’s normal or not because I’ve been out of the English scene and it looks like Spanish cut is popular but this is the one of the first “boots” I’ve owned to have the Spanish cut so I am horribly uneducated in that.
Honestly though, I really like these. I also got them because I was going to get my calfskin saddle soon, and I wanted something very soft that wouldn’t rub my saddle. These haven’t rubbed at all, and remain one of my favorite pieces.
However, I strongly encourage you to check out the reviews on Smartpak’s website. Some people have had issues with them, and that’s important to look at. I myself haven’t had any issues with them so far, but I am only one person who uses them on a day to day basis, but not for multiple horses. Hopefully though, I have helped you find out more about the Harwich half chap.
Monsoon
So apparently, I was wrong. We did experience rain yesterday, and for a lot longer than fifteen minutes. It even hailed at my house! I unfortunately didn’t get any pictures of that, but the wind was atrocious. It slanted some of our trees and blew a few of our mats over. The worst was that the wind blew our well house over completely. The rain softened the dirt and the wind just lifted the wood – put in 18″ mind you – right out. The house completely came apart and the metal is all mangled. It was enough to even split one of the lumber panels! Which now I’m wondering why I didn’t get a picture of that, but boy was that a bad storm!
Then I found the perfect little spot that looked like a cute water obstacle! The above one is okay, but there’s a lot of cacti around there and that’s where we laid pipe so I don’t think it’s wise to take a big animal over that. So of course I had to quickly halter Amber and take her through because we’ll eventually be doing water.
She actually tried to walk on the sagebrush to avoid the water. I about died laughing. But she went in shortly with little hassle. She kept looking at me like WHY are we doing this and would side-eye me when all I’d do is laugh.
It wasn’t deep, but I think we had fun! Now if only I can convince my mom and dad that I need this area for whenever we school itsy bitsy water…..
Weekends are for nothing
Because let’s face it, I really didn’t do anything. Unless you count finally sorting all of my tack that I need to sell/give away. Thursday and Friday Amber and I didn’t do anything in terms of excitement – mostly just more long warm-ups, trot sets which are not quite trot sets yet, and just continuing the every day getting her used to more contact.
Friday was a bareback hack, nice and chill – in more ways than one because when that sun finally hits the mountains it’s sooooo much cooler.
Saturday was a little more challenging. I think she’s still getting over whatever issues she had at the old place. I can tell the areas in the arena where she gets more looky and a little more spooky are the exact same spots at the other arena. Not that she’s bad, she just really loses focus and concentration so we’re working on building that up. I think she’s also still prone to protecting her hind end from too much load weight, but so far she’s continued to stride very well, and despite an occasional trip while we still work on the footing, she still feels super every time I bring her out. It’s slow going, but I’m just very happy that “issues” we need to get past are now more mental and not because she’s physically in pain. Win!
Now that I’m getting her out almost every day, I can tell she’s happy when we finally get out there, hop on and we have a purpose once again. But, I don’t think she’s happy we’re now riding a lot more, and she has to work the fat off. She’s really beginning to perfect The Mare Glare. Because of course, working off fat is Amber torture.
But we finally had a super long “trail ride” around the empty lots. It was a really nice way to end the day, let them cool out after some work-intense rides and refresh their brains.
I had to then get my truck in to fix the AC, and long story short had to shell out more than $500 because they installed a part I didn’t need. And of course, the part that they replaced wasn’t under warranty, and the part that was wasn’t specified in the old invoice, and I didn’t understand what they’d told me the first time so I told them to proceed….. It was a shit show basically. So now I really need to sell more tack.
Sunday was better – hadn’t planned an arena ride but I was glad I did. Amber was really listening and trying and being so good. Recently she’s been cantering okay if she can lean on me a bit, but when I let her go she just really falls to her forehand and “runs off”. But yesterday she really tried to keep it together for me so we kept it short and sweet. Now we just need to rebuild those self-carriage muscles.
We went around the lots by ourselves this time, and it was really good because I got to feel a few things on her that I’m not used to and haven’t really felt before. I think I actually got a feel for “behind the leg”. Cool experience but not that cool to feel. Eventually though she did settle enough to really power walk but at least we were walking. We nearly ran over some cacti, and though she called for Whisper she was really quite manageable. Not stupid at all. Just jigging a bit but overall I was pleased with our first outing alone. And of course I was a terrible blogger and got no pictures of that.
I’m not too pleased about the forecast of thunderstorms for the entire week, but usually here it’s a deluge for 15 minutes and then it’s done. Rarely rains through the whole day, so I should be able to get some more good rides in this week.
Adorableness
So, it’s pretty quiet around here. Gearing up for stuff at work and then because I’m a really boring person just hacking around with Amber and getting her feeling better (although she definitely won’t be happy once we start trot sets!). Which is good because there really aren’t any shows in summer’s take a right at hell and keep going, so we rest and relax and regroup and train up for the fall.
Looking at some of the videos my mom has taken of me, I really think this horse is Amber’s spirit animal. I totally think this is how Amber might look going around an xc course. She’s a lot more sensitive to leg, but the low head-set, how broad he is and his chill canter absolutely remind me of her. So for your Friday, here’s a dose of cuteness.
I mean, that Fjord is just so darn adorable. I might need one someday.
Breech central
So I received about 3 pairs of breeches all around the same time. I really needed another summer breech so I grabbed another Ovation Aqua X – this time in navy. I was also looking at some schooling breeches for dressage – you know, whenever I manage to do that – and found a cute pair at horze.com. My technically free white RJ Classics gulf breeches came in to the store, so I grabbed them and hurried home to try it all on.
The navy Ovations look very very flattering. They’re just that one size up that fits me very nicely and allows room to grow. Because I don’t know about you guys, but when it’s hot as balls out I…ah….expand. Thank you thunder thighs. But I digress. I am a bit disappointed because the crotch is a bit bunchy in the 32. The waist is a little big too, but I was expecting that. Seriously realizing I’m a 31 waist but need the 32 for the legs. Yippee. Well, at least they don’t slip down even with the larger size.
The RJ regulars fit very nicely. I still may need a 31 but the 30s are actually extremely flattering for white breeches. There is a bit of a pucker in the back of the waistband, but initially wearing them around the house they don’t fall down so that’s a plus.
The Horze Grand Prix breeches fit surprisingly well. They’re silicone full seat and it’s actually super difficult to tell that it’s a full seat. No shiny ass glinting in the sun FTW am I right? After walking around these don’t seem to fall either, and so far conform to my hard-to-fit butt pretty well. Just like the RJs though they’re a little tight at the knee. They’re also sort of long. Not bad, but the regulars would be perfect for tall people. It would explain though why there was no s/r/t in the size chart…. The plaid is super fun to me so I’m probably going to keep them for a while and see how they fair.
I did get a few other things though it’s not as exciting. Lots of scotch guard because now that I’m venturing into the land of White Things I really want to prevent stains. Some WIN detergent specifically for workout clothes and this large but very workable stopwatch. All $12 of it. Yay for cheap!
Now I’ll get to time our rides! Not too exciting but it’ll really help starting those trot sets. If I’m right and Amber has had that twisted hip for 3-4 months, I want to take it slow to rebuild that muscle and retrain the muscles that have been compensating. But it’ll give me ample time to try those new breeches! So I’ll get back to you on them, hopefully review them after I’ve had them for a good time.
What about you guys? Anything new in the inventory or just plugging away?
A new type of dressage
So we all know that there’s dressage, and now there’s a thing called western dressage. But while I was uber bored last week waiting for Amber to feel better, I kept watching this little video my mom took for me before Amber was adjusted, and I just kept snickering.
So, I introduce to you: Huntssage. Because I’m pretty sure that’s what Amber and I will be doing, even if I manage to get lessons and a real dressage saddle and sit my shoulders back. I need to work on things for sure, but I think her head is never going to be “up” and “true dressage” will be out of our reach. Not because we (okay me) don’t want to work on it, but I seriously don’t think physically she has that reach or build. A QH I knew had major hock/stifle issues because the lady was pushing him to dressage and he physically was not able to. Another QH is officially not rideable anymore because pushing dressage caused a previously okay stifle OCD to pop up and it’s resulted in lots of surgeries. Soooooo I’m a bit hesitant. But we’ll probably go at most BN. Which does not require horses to Truly Dressage. So, nbd.
It’s going to be a new thing, guys. Huntssage. Or Dresster maybe? I think I like Huntssage better….
Hacking is awesome
Yesterday was pretty uneventful, except IT RAINED. In Vegas. I know. We were all shocked. And it ALSO got below 100 degrees at 3 pm. Which is unheard of, really. But it allowed my mom and I to ride on a beautifully watered arena in the evening, and it was perfect.
Amber was wonderful as well. She came out walking with purpose and feeling great. She still had trouble with lateral steps to the left, but it’s expected and she was still the best girl ever. She’s always super careful when we’re bareback; she flicks an ear back at me like “are you SURE you wanna lope ma?” It’s pretty adorable. Even though she did a baby “whee! I is excited!” and switched leads so nicely…. Now all I have to figure out is how to teach that to her….. But I am so excited that she’s relaxing into the new arena and is feeling better!
Shenanigans
Well, the vet was originally supposed to come out and do acupuncture and laser therapy Friday evening, but she accidentally forgot. Wonderfully, though, she still popped over and gave Amber a few more adjustments – which she needed. Her twisted hip needed to be tweaked some more. Amber was less sure of the appointment this time, but I could tell she was still feeling better.
I also got some breeches in the mail finally. I’d ordered a super cute pair from Horze and wanted to try some full seat breeches. These came really well packaged, and of course, Choco had to check them to make sure there was nothing wrong with them.
They fit well through my hips and waist, but still feel a little odd in the legs so I’m going to wear them around the house some more before I decide what to do with them.
Saturday morning Amber was definitely feeling better. She did something she hadn’t done (and I hadn’t realized she hadn’t done until that moment) in a very long time – her right shoulder was falling to the inside. That side has always been her tougher side, so usually I’ve tried to keep her straight. But I basically dropped the reins and let her body do whatever it wanted. I was just happy she was feeling good enough and straight enough and not hurting to where one of her old problems came back. She felt pretty fluid. Her canter was much tougher, but I think it was because she’s been unable to feel comfortable in it for a long time. I actually got a few really good strides both directions with her lifting her back so we cut there.
Her icky fungus spots look so much better even after just one Teddy’s Tack Trunk Treatment. Or the 4 t’s. She’s also a lot less itchy since I’ve used TTT’s Leave it be shampoo, but it could also be because I’ve given her two baths and have gotten tons of shedding hair off of her. However, the flaky spots have gone away with one wash, so I’m betting it’s working.
Sunday was an awesome day. I gave her a quick bareback hack – just a lot of walking since I was a little worried I’d maybe pushed her too hard Saturday. But she seemed to walk very freely, and I had my mom video her at a jog. Many times if she’s looking a little off you can tell when she’s slow jogging. Maybe two or so steps she was short, and the rest she looked super. Both of her legs looked even and hitting the ground at the same time. So while we won’t be really getting into things this week, I think it’ll be good to just get her out every day, and saddle or no saddle we hack around and get her muscles moving and retraining them. I’m so relieved we’re finally get a handle on why she isn’t feeling so good.
Sunday was also awesome because a good friend of mine came over for a Harry Potter marathon. It was quite a lot of this between us
and also just a lot of chilling out and enjoying the movies. We only managed to get through 5 because we got a late start, but we’d also watch A Very Potter Musical so….that absolutely counts too.
All in all, a super chill weekend.
If you'd like to follow me on Instagram, please scan the QR code!
The Horses and Hound(s)
Fav Photos
Fav Photos
Horses, Hounds, and Handmade Bounds 