Lesson That Wasn't

I was borderline wondering whether I'd be up for a lesson or not this morning, so headed out at the normal time just in case but didn't bother calling or confirming ahead of time. I figured if she showed up I'd suck it up and ride, if not I'd just do a bit of ring work.

We ended up doing a little bit of ring work in the rain, then playing hooky and heading out on my favorite trail and back along the road home when the sun made a surprise appearance.

It was a nice ride, but a little weird. Maybe Ginger told Bridget about how 'mean' I was yesterday? More likely it was the combination of really high winds and the weather change, plus a lot of people out and about catching the bit of sunshine. Whatever the case, my normally sane pony was all revved up! I love forward Bridget, but I'm happy that super spooky Bridget has only made a couple of appearances so far. One really silly pony is enough for me, thanks :) Since I feel like she's more of an appropriate size for me, fingers crossed I so far have had no problem sitting any of her antics and don't feel intimidated at all. It's more annoying than anything, although a part of me has to love how good she's obviously feeling! The plus side to that is we had some really good work in the ring, including the best canters yet. I saw her cruising around the field a couple of days ago with a lovely uphill canter, so now that I know it's in there and am feeling hopeful that one day I am going to be able to recreate it under saddle.

Sunshine! One day I'll beg G to come out and take actual pics so you can have a break from looking at pony ears only.

Finally, let it be noted that Ginger forgave me this morning. When I showed up to the barn I was wearing THE coat and she was all big eyes and snorty at my daring. To the point where she was hiding from me outside in her paddock. After I went into the tack room and got some treats for Bridget, Ginger magically overcame her 'fear' and was leaning over her stall door demanding I come say hi. Silly pony had to make a point of gently sniffing me all over and trying to 'groom' the back of my neck like she does with her horsey friends in the pasture...guess that means she wants to be besties again?

Ginger and The Raincoat of Terror

I took the lovely Ms Gingersnap for an outing this afternoon. Unlike her friend Bridget, Ginger does not do well with time off.

Drama pony is cute tho

First, there was drama because I brought her into the barn all alone. I know, I'm so mean right?

Then, the saddle pad was SUPER freaky. And I proceeded to rub it all over her, which was absolutely horrifying and left her feeling hugely violated.

Next, I dared to wear a raincoat. So sorry, Ginger, that I didn't have you there to give your approval when I purchased the offensive raincoat. The silver lining IS quite eye catching, I admit, and it does make that crinkly sound you so hate, but remember, you're a West Coast pony and raincoats aren't exactly a rarity around here.

Offended pony

Long story short, rather than my planned 5 min of lunging, I spent the better part of an hour waving that silly coat around until I could actually touch her with it. She wears a rainsheet of her own all winter, but I guess the tiny human version is evil? I eventually got on, wearing the raincoat, and had an alright ride, until I coughed, which is apparently still terrifying. So I spent a bunch of time pretending to cough and sniffle and generally offending her.

Wearing the hated coat

 It was one of those days where nothing was really going to go right - as far as she was concerned my sole purpose in life today was to potentially beat her to death with either a saddle pad or a raincoat and cough nasty horse killing germs all over her. I knew she'd been far too quiet lately! :)

View from the top.

Two Weeks

Sunshine + Ponies = Happy T

Today marked two weeks since I last sat in the saddle, and it also marked the end of my patience with being sick. Bridget and I popped out for a short hack in the sunshine. I'm so lucky have her around! I know I'm not physically up for a ride on Ginger yet, but Bridget is quite happy to wander along with little input from her rider and requires no prep in the form of lunging or apparently even regular riding. She's exactly the same as I left her - which in default mode is a mobile couch on which you may get out and see the sights :) I was feeling a little out of shape and wobbly and of course the very first vehicle to drive up behind us on our way to the trail head was a logging truck with a b train. As always, even though she was unsure, she opted to just take a hard look, keep going and carry her rider safely along :)

Off we go through the forest

The only sticky spot requiring any extra attention from me was caused by the many (new) puddles. I ride out on the trails as I do in the ring -  I pick my line and expect to stay on it. Horses that weave in and out and tiptoe around the edges of things drive me crazy. This is the west coast and puddles and mud are a way of life for most of the year. Also, wannabe eventer ponies can not be weird about water or footing! When pressed to stay between my aids she opted to politely jump a couple, but Midge does not have the motivation to jump them all and was quite happily wading through in short order. Being the good girl she is figured out what I wanted very quickly and I went back to being able to point her where I wanted on a loose rein without having to nag. I asked for a couple of short trots and canters, but since I'm still very easily tired it was pretty minimal, just a few strides here and there. I was just looking for nice transitions, which I immediately got, so I happily left well enough alone.

Conquering the dreaded puddles

So there you go, no fabulous training breakthroughs or progress to report, just a really nice ride out on a very well behaved pony. I'm so pleased with her, particularly considering we're only at just over 2 months under saddle (which includes a two week break)!

Off she goes to check in on Ginger.

Sadly, we're missing out on the spooky trail challenge event this weekend, which I fully expected her to dominate :) It's just too much for me at the moment. I do hope to attend whatever our local club schedules next on the calendar - it could be anything, but we're game! (Seriously hoping it's the dressage clinician or the eventing coach though, rather than trick riding or something!)

(Nearly) WW: The Mane Challenge

The comment on my last post re: my girls super thick manes gave me an idea for a post. Here`s 4 years of me struggling to tame Ginger`s mane, with varying results.

2011. She still looks so young! Looks somewhat tidy in this pic, but subsequent ones show it was pretty wild without any styling.

2012. Those little short bits were from some summer itching and all my in the saddle pics show a mane that wasn`t overly tamed.

2013. Longer seems to lie a little nicer - this is the first year I think I was getting a handle on it although I definitely needed to spend more time thinning and evening it out.

2014. Stupid sweet itch = worst crazy mane yet!

 I`ve been tempted before to just let it grow because it`s so thick and pretty, but it`s really unflattering on her, even more so than my poor attempts to pull it.

Lots of hair

Not terrible, but it makes her pretty neck look really short and cobby.

Focusing on What Matters

I've been so stressed out this past week. As mentioned previously,  I've been sick, and life has chosen this same week to throw all sorts of demands and curve balls at me. I've also been feeling all the anxiety that goes along with not being able to check in on the ponies in over a week. I know they have excellent care, but I still worry!

Finally, this morning I couldn't handle feeling stressed and guilty anymore. I cancelled out of a bunch of the life related stuff I was worrying about, and basically gave myself permission to put my life on hold for another week or two until I'm better. More importantly, I hopped in the truck and took a drive out to the barn :)

Missed this face!

I don't think I've ever seen the horses quite so happy to see me! Possibly they were actually very happy to see the treats I brought, but I'll take it :) I credit peppermint horse treats as the only reason that Ginger was willing to be domesticated way back when. I haven't found the same ones again since, until I lucked out and found giant bags on sale the other weekend. Ginger hasn't forgotten them and is one very happy girl. I'm glad I made it a priority to go see her today! She's looking wonderful at the moment, her super dark winter coat has come in and she's a nice weight. As always, it was impossible to get a nice picture of her because she is constantly either in motion or right beside me. She got a good grooming, some keratex on that foot and lots of hugs.

Best I could get, but at least shows the nice dark winter coat!

This is her more preferred distance from the camera/potential treat bearer.

Bridget was also very excited to see me. I think she's quite bored - she basically put her halter on for me and seemed quite excited at the prospect of doing something. It's been 10 days and counting since our last outing off the farm! She's a bit misleading when you meet her, since she seems so laid back and nonchalant about life. Really though, there is a wickedly intelligent little mind in there that likes to be occupied. Ginger and her are very similar in a lot of ways - both being easily the most intelligent horses I've ever worked with, and both with a very similar work ethic.

Little Miss Bridget unfortunately has two wounds across the back of each hind fetlock. I'm thinking she kicked out and cut herself on either a fence or gate. It looks like it must have happened near the beginning of my absence, since it's all well scabbed over and there is a bit of proud flesh already.  I trimmed of the feathers that were hiding it and scrubbed it all pretty good. I have some of the 'magic' Dynamite Wound Balm left over that did such an amazing job on Lainey's leg wound (I'll spare you the graphic pics, suffice to say it was bad and now you can barely feel where it happened), so here's hoping we can replicate those results on Bridget's way more minor injuries. Bridget of course, was not concerned about it at all and just wondering why I was so fascinated by her back legs and whether I was going to share any of Ginger's treats with her.

Please refrain from kicking things!

At any rate, I'm glad I cancelled the real life things that can wait and made it out for a short visit with the ponies. A bit much at the moment, but I do have all afternoon free to sleep and not worry :)

October Recap/November Goals

October Goals:

-Sell Some Things
 Managed to sell a bit of tack, so on the right track!

-Fitness
 Meh. I opted to use our elliptical and treadmill at home rather than signing up for the gym, so cardio is going OK. I spend half an hour or so first thing in the morning or before bed, so the convenience factor is working for me. Was imagining hiking/running/biking outdoors as well but the weather was surprisingly horrible. Pneumonia is now making me sleep on the couch all day so I'm currently full of reasons not to work out.

-Build/paint some jumps for use at our little community riding ring. 
Yes! It cost more for materials than I expected, but I got 4 sets of jumps ready to go.

Ta da!

-Bridget - more flatwork, as per goals outlined in Progress:Bridget Edition post.
Yes! Fingers crossed, we have a forward, responsive pony. We haven't had a single head toss or shake for about a month now and she's looking for a light contact more often than not. Straightness is also much improved.

Cute pony is also pretty smart

-Ginger - continue getting her out and about!
Since I didn't quantify this one, we'll say it's good. I only got her out twice a week or so and do want to improve on that. The crazy weather and trying to reno our rental house played havoc with my riding time and when push came to shove and I only had an hour to ride, I opted to take Bridget a bit too often, since I can just hop on and go and don't need to lead her on the busy road and/or lunge prior to riding.

-Volunteer 
Yes! Spent a few afternoons volunteering at our fair grounds. Our main ring looks amazing - just need to get over there and ride in it!

-Lessons 
Yes! They're working out really well. S is a great 'eyes on the ground' resource. (And she can get Bridget to canter an entire circle. Win :)

-Two Pointober!
Meh. I was being pretty good about warming up in two point, then life happened and I went for a last minute trip then got sick so my 'go all out for an awesome time in the last week' approach completely failed. I think I started at around 4 minutes, and my last time I recorded from a week ago was 6:21.

November Goals:

-Fitness/Diet
Get back into it (fitness within reason when doctor gives ok). For now,watch what I eat better. I'm frustrated at being the person who ended up with pneumonia when everyone around me either just got a little cold or not sick at all. Asthma sucks for that and makes a likely culprit, but  honestly, I'm always the person who catches everything. I need to keep my immune system happier.

Either that or I'm getting one of these! Photo via Google search from THIS site.

-Bridget
She's done so much in the last two months I think I'm going to be less ambitious for Nov/Dec. As mentioned above, she's already got really solid basics and knows her job, so I think it will be good to let her have a little mental break and just continue to pick away at improving her strength and balance, and get her out for a few rides with friends, maybe the odd lesson. I'm thinking 3 or 4 rides a week.

-Ginger
Ginger mare is getting signed up for my weekly lesson. We'll see where that takes us. I do have those jumps sitting there, after all. We'll see if I'm brave enough to open that can of worms!

Recycling this one again because I like it. I know it's not super flattering and just looks like a normal horse and rider cruising along in an imperfect and uninspiring way, but that's exactly what I like about it! We're both so much more relaxed and content of late and just having fun.

-Clinics/Schooling Days
We've been talking about setting up a schooling day at our main arena. It's going to be super informal and just a bunch of us getting together to run through trail courses, small jump courses, and
a mock flat class or two. Just for fun and no prizes. I think it would be an excellent outing for either horse and am going to try to get it organized as a monthly thing for the winter to help us all get ready for the spring shows.
There's also an upcoming dressage clinic I really want to attend, We have use of an indoor for that, and hoping we can book the lady to travel here for a weekend later this month.

These are kind of 'blah' goals, but I'm slightly overwhelmed (renos and all kinds of testing for a potential job -yay!) in real life and need to focus some effort there when I'm feeling better.

Pardon the Interruption, More Fave References

The doctor has informed me I have pneumonia. And it's contagious. Ewwww. Apparently the recommended treatment includes lots of sleep and heavy duty antibiotics, and no big adventures with horses (or even outside the house). Since I promised to behave so I can stay at home rather than in the hospital, the ponies are going to have a little time out for a few days. I'm feeling super frustrated about the situation. This is going to be a huge exercise in patience for me!

I am going to use this chance to catch up on all the training books and videos I keep meaning to look at. And I'll read the horsey blogs all day, of course. If anyone wants to suggest a great video, book, blog, anything, please do so in the comments. I'd love to check them out and I'll put them all into a post in a few days for future reference!

To get us started off, besides all the great blogs listed on the right of this page, here's a few more of my favorite references :

-Horse Hero
UK based video site with hundreds of different training videos. There's a minimal subscription fee and maybe 10 or so new videos a month, so I tend to subscribe for a month or two every three of four months and binge watch them all. Lots of big names and 15-30min videos, so a really great resource. Also, it's British, so even if they were talking about mundane subjects, they'd sound super educated and sophisticated and you'd feel smarter for listening ;)

-CoTH
The forums quite frankly scare me, but I can still get lost reading for hours. The articles are usually good and well written.

-USEF Network
I find this one to be a little finicky with our internet connection, but when I do get things to play, it's amazing! Tons of live feeds, and lots of videos on demand as well. I watched a lot of the Devon horse show, and keep going back to re watch my favorite Rolex rides. I love the George Morris clinics when they're available. And it's free!

Happy riding, everyone!

Fave Resources: Books

I managed to catch a nasty chest cold at some point in my travels, and we also have the remnants of a hurricane from Hawaii bringing us heavy wind and rain today. Our basement flooded last week in a crazy storm, so I'm a little over the west coast weather at the moment! I shouldn't complain too much because we got off relatively lucky with only a few inches of water and our basement is not a finished one. Some of our neighbours got flooded with 8 feet of water or more :( I'm crossing my fingers they stay warm and dry today. Days like today are also when I'm super grateful the horses are well cared for at the barn so we can all just stay safe and cozy in our respective homes! Long story short, this is an excellent day to review my clinic notes and re-read a few of my favorite training books!

Here are a few of my favorite written resources (in no particular order):

1. Basic Training of the Young Horse. Reiner Klimke.

I've probably read this one a few dozen times and I always learn something new. It covers everything from halter training through lunging and the training scale. It also has a lot of useful information on cavelletti and introducing jumps through to advice for your first competition. My favorite book for young horses. There's an updated version of this one cowritten with Ingrid Klimke that I haven't read, but is probably just as excellent.

2. 101 Exercises From Top Riders. Jaki Bell.

I can't recommend this one enough. It features chapters that read like mini lessons, complete with diagrams. Laura Bechtolsheimer gives advice on everthing from exercises to practice transitions and quicken the hind leg, to extensions and collection, to schooling a correct shoulder in and halt. Lucinda and Clayton Fredericks give exercises to help you see a stride, and David O'Connor gives a few variations of his circle of death. There are lots more notable names, and, as the title suggests, 101 different exercises ranging from dealing with rushing over fences to teaching a canter pirouette. I have a lot of pages bookmarked in this one!

3. Training the Young Horse. Pippa Funnell

What I really love about this one is the photos, and it's straighforward, common sense approach. Again, everything from halter breaking to riding a drop fence into water. There are tons of interesting personal insights, and even conformation photos of some of her top horses, where she discusses their strengths and weaknesses. This is a good one as well because it has whole pages dealing with common problems (straightness, bucking, napping, canter leads, etc). While not super in depth, this one always leaves me feeling like riding doesn't need to be super complicated and anything is possible with a little hard work!

I have a bookcase full of books with topics from natural horsemanship to veterinary issues to barn construction. There are of course several more excellent ones that I go back to, but these are the three that seem to live on my nightstand.

So Much To Learn

 My friends and I had an excellent horsey weekend away.

 I'm not really much of a shopper, so I dread the crowded shopping area and usually make a beeline for the clinicans. I have been needing some new breeches for a while now though, so went to the store nearest the entrance and immediately found 2 pairs. I was hoping for navy blue to go with the brown tall boots I'm getting for Christmas, but the closest they had was black. For the price I had to be cool with that. My bill came to $110 with taxes, saving $175 off retail. Nice. Black is the new navy, I guess ;)

The rest of the weekend was spent watching every session with George Morris. As you all know, there can be almost an overwhelming amount to be learned by watching him ride and teach. Whoever lined up the riders for one of the sessions made some 'interesting' choices, so George had his hands full. While I'm sure it was disappointing for some to see horses and riders who maybe weren't quite technically ready to be jumping, it was actually really good for me to see him really go back and patiently teach basics and get green horses jumping. Look out, Miss Bridget! The other session had some excellent riders, but again, the focus was on correct basics for the riders and lots of suppling exercises for the horses on the flat. Fantastic. George was apparently sitting in on the dressage clinic with Jan Ebling and nicely dovetailed a lot of what Jan was teaching into his own sessions. I found that very helpful! I find the man himself incredibly intimidating, so when he addressed a couple of (kind) comments to me I wanted to run and hide! He had, after all, just gone on a huge rant about 'fat people' and I'm not exactly tiny....thank goodness for the Jan Ebling clinic next door....

I watched as much of Jan Ebling as I could. I really enjoyed his teaching and training style - he's very upbeat and positive. He mentioned a few times to the riders to never get disappointed or upset when your horse makes a mistake because it's just an opportunity to train them. If we never made mistakes we'd never learn anything. Basic concept, but I think sums up pretty much what he was all about - very kind and fair and not in a rush for anything, There were a couple of riders and horses who seemed a little nervous about being in the clinic, and others who were worried about attempting certain things. He had everyone relaxed and happy fairly quickly and even had one girl ride a pretty nice line of two tempis when she was worried about trying 4's. I'll definitely be making an effort to see him again,

I literally spent 12 hours on Saturday watching demos and clinics, so I even watched some barrel racing ladies, a reining clinic, and a NH guy. I think I got my $ worth :)

The funniest part of the weekend? The whole time I was watching clinics, my friends were shopping. When they were telling me all about what they bought later that night it was like 'boots, spurs, some chaps, a halter, a hat, a hoodie, this mineral block, a pony, a blanket, horse treats..." I was like "Whoa, back up... BOUGHT A PONY!?!". Yep, they adopted the middle mini from here:

G, remember I didn't come home with a pony:)

(OK guys I just realized when I linked to Jan Ebling's page that he was the really nice guy with the german accent I had sat next to at another demo later in the day. Didn't recognize him without his hat on. Cool :)

Hope everyone else had a fun weekend!

Weekend Happenings

I'm heading out with friends this weekend to a horsey expo in the big city. Looking forward to seeing Mr George H Morris one more time so I can get all kick started on the road to perfection (ha ha). Since it's a girls only weekend, I have the extra benefit of G (who finds GM hilarious) not being there to pick up new tips from the master himself. G has a great memory and 5 years later still randomly does his GM impersonation without any warning, shouting insults and 'advice' while I ride. If only we could train him to give me all that saved up advice in the appropriate context!

Anyways, here are some happy pictures from last night to tide you over until Monday:

How Ginny and Bridget are planning to spend their weekend

Midge conquered this yesterday, trotting over it like no big deal. Her first one so I had to be all proud parent and take a picture. She's a total pro at this blogging thing and stands and poses for pics so you can see her awesomeness first hand. It's kind of freaky how proud of herself she looks, actually.

Ginny also loves posing for pics. I didn't want to leave her without any exercise for 4 whole days, but when I returned for her she was happily napping in the sun, and also proudly modelling the local dirt and vegetation.  I'm a big softie so of course I let her stay home and enjoy the brief bit of sunshine instead of pony boot camp. 

Happy herd of bays.

Hope you all get out for some quality time with your horses this weekend!

From The Horse's Mouth Blog Hop : Thankful

First off, I'm thankful to Emily at From The Horse's Mouth for the great blog idea! She's saving everyone here from boring recaps and obsessing over the minutia of the daily rides on the ponies :) 

She asks:
What are a few horse-related things that you are super grateful for?

1. So grateful to G for being beyond supportive of this crazy hobby!

2. Grateful for my two horses. They complement each other so well, and are both fantastic in their own rights. Ginger keeps me inspired with all the possibilities, Bridget keeps me confident and wanting to try more. 

3. The blogging community. Particularly the readers/commenters on this one. I live in a small, isolated community so it's easy to feel like I'm alone in some of my horsey struggles (and triumphs). So thankful to have all the knowledge and support here!

4. Love where I board. Great owners. Acres of green grass. Lots of nice turnout, even when the rest of the region is totally flooded.

5. The nice lady up the road who lets me use her ring. I'd be lost without a place to practice, and this one is close by and never busy.