(Nearly) WW: Short Days

Hard to believe this was the view from our window yesterday afternoon:

A 2:45 PM sunset? Really!?

Silly time change and northern location, don't you know I want to ride my horses in the afternoons?
Maybe the mountains to the west (that I normally like, they are so beautiful to look at) are also catching the winter sun and making it darker so much earlier than elsewhere. Whatever the case, I'm impatiently waiting for a return to longer days :)

She Can't Be Good Every Time

Lesson day was...interesting. I'm the first to admit that I've been exceptionally spoiled by the super easy project that Bridget is turning out to be. With that in mind, I'm not overly upset that a certain pony woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning...like WAY on the wrong side of the bed.

She was generally fussy, super grouchy, and having us believe she cannot move her shoulders one little bit. Actually, she objected to even going on a large circle or steering in the most basic manner. Also moving forward, or stopping, or moving her hindquarters. Or you know, basically anything that involved being a well mannered riding pony.

No photos from lesson day, but these from the day before illustrate things without being totally embarassing to either of us:). An attenpted haunches in outtake. Now add in some head tossing and tail swishing and you get the picture.

At one point I stopped and just flat out asked the instructor "Am I causing this? What am I doing wrong? Please be honest with me." Her response was that I'm fine, but Bridget just seemed like she wanted to be somewhere else and was giving me the equivalent of a pony middle finger. S questioned whether I've changed any tack since last time, with the answer to that being no, so we went over my gear and saw nothing out of the ordinary. The funny part of the whole situation is that, like Ginger, Bridget is really big on using her front feet for everything. Apparently when she's frustrated or upset this manifests itself in something sort of resembling a really messed up passage at the trot and a super stampy spanish walk. Add in some groaning and sighing and it's a sight to behold, I'm sure.

Looks like G caught a bit of a 'stampy' moment the day before too when she was fussing with the contact. Not helped by my riding either, ughhhh :(

So, not the lesson I was hoping for! She was really hot and spooky and quite disobedient and due to part of the ring being frozen, we were a little limited with the exercises we could use. I don't feel like we ever did find a good place to end on, but I guess there's always tomorrow.

I'm hoping Midget pony is just feeling fresh and sassy due to the cold weather, but I will be keeping an eye on the bit situation, and also her saddle. After having zero success with an eggbutt snaffle, I switched to a loose ring french link and she seemed happier, but it may be time to consider another change. The saddle I am using is Ginger's and is a decent fit, but not perfect. I really don't want to go down the saddle fitting rabbit hole again, so here's hoping her recent objections are not her requesting her own saddle!

You know what all this really means though? I'm going to have a FABULOUS ride on Ginger next time. Because that's how these two seem to roll - if one is less than stellar, the other makes up for it in spades :)

Ride Recap (With Pictures Finally!)

Again, I`m feeling uninspired and will let the pictures tell the story!

Here we come!

Whee!

 Maybe we`ll just trot it now?

Being all fancy pants.

Proof she picked up those hind legs once or twice. Also proof of my duck feet.

More fancy pants. She was a wee bit excited today. It looks cute but she's hiding behind the contact again. Although we are by no means established with it,  I later figured out she was extra fussy as she had some objections to the saddle I was trying on her. Pony saddle fitting...ughhhh.

Please flex and give me a nicer contact pony. She says OK but I'll pop that shoulder WAYYY out cause this is hard. Only slightly motorbiking and I'm all hunched up like a gnome- good thing we have a lesson coming up.

We have a baby canter

Whee! Forward is good!

Good pony!

Hoarding

I ended up tackling one of my `to do list`items yesterday. which was to clean out the basement and advertise all the tack I don`t need! Let me just say, G and I live in a house which is far too large for us, which is an entirely dangerous thing when you have a hobby like mine! It's super easy to just hang on to everything horse related. So long as it's all stored neatly out of sight it's easy to forget about.

I wont traumatize you with pics of my messy basement, here's happy Bridget pony from yesterday instead.

Thank goodness Sprinkler Bandit`s post yesterday excluded my saddle pad collection from tack ho status. But the relief was only temporary, since all the discovered bridles, 'extra' saddles, halters, blankets, even sets of brushes definitely push me squarely into Hoarderville. I also have two pairs of tall boots I have no recollection of buying and that would never fit me. So weird :)

Ginny striking a pose

The quest began in an effort to find a bridle for Ginger. I discovered I own about 6 lovely horse size bridles and none of them properly fit either of the girls. Bridget is a cob size, and Ginger`s fat head now needs a warmblood or oversize bridle. For Ginger, I`ve been making do with an old ugly giant bling browband I found in my tack box, and a friend`s old (black) dressage bridle. It`s sort of ghetto. Bridget just fits Lainey`s old show bridle done up to the last holes. GM wouldn`t approve, but honestly, all that extra leather hanging off the keepers IS really annoying.  Blankets, ditto they're mostly 'normal' horse sized and I have two horses that are anything but normal ;)

Ginger's fat head as compared to an actual warmblood. These two are best friends, although it's slightly concerning Ms Warmblood is in heat and pretty sure Ginger is a stallion.

I think the tack collection evolved over the years partly due to the variety of horses I've owned. For example, Lainey had a nice new saddle, which 'needed' a matching girth, and of course then a matching bridle and some boots...and sadly TB size does not fit Welsh Cobs, so into the basement it went, just in case another TB type enters my life, because of course I'd never be able to sell nearly new stuff for anywhere near what I paid.  My little QH rescue and the one before him had a bunch of western tack, and while I will use the saddle now and then on Ginger, the bridles and multiple saddle pads are just sitting. I also own multiple pairs of breeches and a couple of show coats that are now way too big. NO WAY am I keeping those 'just in case' lol.

More treat face. I knew it was a stupid idea.

Where's Bridget? Oh yeah, still obsessed with the treat I gave her the day before and now my literal shadow.

Really long story short - I'm selling all the stuff I don't need and using some of the proceeds to buy nice stuff (that fits!) both me and the girls. They're both here to stay and there's no reason they need to use less than adequate hand me downs.

Ginger has dapples still :)

Happy weekend, everyone. The sun is shining again and I'm heading out for a ride!

Best Ponies

This is going to be a nearly wordless Friday post since Bridget Pony was excellent for our ride last night and there's really not too much more to say about it! Both girls constantly exceed my expectations and now and then I think I just need to sit back and appreciate the present, rather than constantly blogging about goals, what we need to work on, and where I want to be in the future.

Off we go, here are your daily fuzzy pony ears! Had a great warm up with some motivated canter work (and me with no spurs!). Correct lead still somewhat optional, but the cadence is getting there and she can hold almost a whole circle!

Patiently waiting at the gate for me to set up poles and a tiny jump

Pony owned it. After just trot poles, I raised it to a tiny x, then up again to this tiny 18" vertical. Midge says no big deal, and barely picks up her feet, then opts to actually jump the next one and says this is kinda fun! She is getting better at organizing those feet well enough to canter away when asked too.

Champion of the baby jumps

Treat face. She got a pile of them for being so great, which I was later regretting because she turned into insta cookie monster and needed to be reminded of her (already poor) manners regarding personal space. Looking now at this pic though, she's so cute I still want to stuff her face with treats and worry about the consequences later.

 Hope everyone is staying warm this week - we're literally freezing the last few nights, which is pretty rare around here and making for some playful ponies! Ginger's turn for an outing later today, then it's lessons on the weekend while the sun is still shining. It's a pretty great life :)

Thanks 2 Pointober!

No horse time today, instead I'm hanging out in another city for the day due to yet more tests for that potential job at home. I'm still going to do contracts remotely from home for my actual career, but am thinking a second job for the in-between-contracts time will be good peace of mind and hopefully get us that much closer to my dream horse property.

The awesome horse related thing that just happened though? A fitness test that, in part, involved a bent over squat position with a weighted pack - ever so similar to the two point position, just forget the balancing on a moving animal part and add in some weight. They were looking for you to hold the position for 5 minutes to ace that part of the test, which of course was no problem thanks in part to 2 Pointober! 

The rest of it involved lifting a bunch a weights a million different ways and doing what amounted to step aerobics with a weighted pack. The people at the evaluation thing were a little taken aback since I'm not your typical fit looking girl and they saw on my file that I just had pneumonia. They need to learn that horse chicks are super tough! I have no doubt any of you out there that ride regularly and pack hay, etc would easily pass this particular evaluation with flying colors. Yay for horses for helping to keep us all fit! 

I personally still want to be in much better shape and fully intend to keep up with my goals of increased fitness and further weight loss, not so I can show off, but so I can be a better rider, of course :) It always comes back to the horses somehow!

All The Things

I got Ginger out for another ride yesterday. I cheated just a little because G came too and brought Bridget along to eat all the yummy grass around the ring. That counts as cheating a bit because Ginger is much happier and a bit less spooky when she's not all alone out there - company almost guarantees a good ride. It's been a while since I really put the big mare through her paces, but when I do, I'm always left humbled.

Lunging pic because I suck and forgot to ask G to take the camera with him.

The first thing I always notice about Ginger is she feels way bigger than her actual height - she's incredibly powerful feeling and rides like a much bigger horse. Not that 15.3hh is super small, but even so, she rides way bigger than any of the 16-17hh horses I've ridden. The second is how quick and reactive she is. I think I mentioned Bridget was a little full of beans the other day and putting on a bit of a show and it was really no big deal to sit quietly and stay centered in the saddle. With Ginger, I can be left feeling like I'm always catching up and just a split second behind her even just doing basic things. The third thing (that always gets me a little choked up to be honest - it's an incredible feeling) is just how easy it is when we're in sync. Ginger just floats along. Leg yield? Haunches in? Shoulders? Spirals? Extend? Sure, just think it and she's almost there before me. And oh my. That canter that I desperately want to create in Bridget? That forwardness and really coming through from behind? It's there waiting for me with Ginger, and she finds it so very, very, easy. It's not that there's anything wrong with Bridget - she's a nice enough mover in her own right, it's more Ginger is freaky athletic.

As I said to G, Ginger is all the things I've ever dreamed about riding. The trouble is, sometimes I feel like someone handed me a Ferrari when I'm used to driving an SUV :) It's exciting, addictive and fun, but I feel borderline out of control at times. Anyone who's been reading this blog for a while knows there's been a couple of periods where my confidence in myself as a rider was totally shot, in no small part due to just how independent Ginger expects you to be - she's a very sweet girl, but she's not going to wait around or bail you out if you can't stay with her. It's not that I'm a terrible rider even, the problem is I'm just an average one who makes mistakes. That's where the wonderful little Bridget comes in - she's wise way beyond her years and will bail you out of just about anything and be cheerful about it too. She's a super confidence keeper and so much fun in her own right. I'm incredibly lucky that she found her way to me.

Extra points deducted for picture taking skillz- the only other one I took with my phone and it appears Ginger's getting ready to pee lol

My big riding goal, as always, is to be able to REALLY ride this big mare of mine. Not to be along for the ride, not to kind sorta make her look good, but to be able to really ride and show her off. I want to build on these minutes of being totally with each other and turn them into something more permanent and entirely special.

With that in mind, I hopped on for my no stirrups November on the lovely Ms Bridget. Since I didn't bring any tack for her it was just bareback with a halter. She was a little unsure of the bareback thing at first, but adapted super quickly and we had a blast. She's got the bounciest trot I think I've ever sat, and I think that's saying something (looking at you, Checkers!). She's got really high knee and hock action so it's a bit interesting and she's one of the few horses I'd rather post bareback than sit. However, she's a wannabe kids pony and sets herself up to stay under you. I think it would be hard to really get off balance on her. Apparently I'm cheating again - this time with no stirrups November cause Bridget makes it a lot easier than it should be.

Pictures next time to prove it happened, promise :)

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.