Who....? Me?

A big Thank You to Kristen (Sweet Horse's Breath ) for tagging me for the Beautiful Blogger Award. I have recently found that I have more followers than I thought. I think that if anyone deserves this award it is her and her beautiful boy Laz, not me. But here goes.....

The rules: state 7 things about yourself and then tag 15 others.

1. I got my first horse when I was four and I haven't stopped riding since. She was a huge (or so I thought at the age of 4) quarter horse with major arthritis. I was pretty much the only one light enough to ride her. After getting hooked my parents had no choice but to get me a horse to keep me quiet. When I was 22 I sold my horse when I was 5 months pregnant (and i was still riding...shhhhh). I took lessons until my three boys started school and then bought my BigRedHorse, Olly.

2. I have three boys, ages 8, 6 and 6. The last two are twins. They are the neatest experience in my life and I wouldn't want it anyother way. My days are filled with crazy ideas and laughter. I could never anticipate their next move. I love them with all my heart.

3. We are an Army family. My husband is in the Military, which at first, I thought was a downfall. Now I would't chnge it for the world. I am so proud of my husband. We move every three years or so and I love traveling the world, or the US so far.

4. I want to three-day event so bad, I can freaking taste it. I grew up barrel racing and needed the adrenaline. I thought that it couldn't get any better, until I started jumping. I took my first jumping lesson from a family friend, Shawn , when I was 15 and I knew that this was something I wanted to do. Since then I have dreamed of the xc courses and the 4 ft jumps in show ring.

5. I love my BigRedHorse. I don't what I would do with out him. His is such a puppy dog. I could spend hours out with him and not bat an eye. He appreciates anything I do for him without question. His personality is set apart from any other horse I have ever had. He has been known to give attitude, but I think that is why I love him so much. He is just another addition to my family.

6. I just enrolled in nursing school. I went to Purdue for animal sciences and became a veterinary technician right out of high school. I LOVE the job. It is my dream job. There is nothing more rewarding than helping an animal to the best of your capabilities. I have chosen a career change because my son was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes at the age of three. It has been a constant balancing act to keep his blood sugar in control. Anyone ever tell a 6 year old they can't eat with out first getting an injection of insulin? It sucks. He is one of the most responsible 6 year olds I have ever seen, but it still breaks my heart. So I have decided to make his life better (and the pay isn't that bad either) by enrolling into nursing school. Wish me luck!!!

AND.....

7. I can't help but to have as many animals as possible. We lived in Hawaii for three years and I totally miss it. But I was unable to have the little farm I had pictured in my head. As soon as we got here to Virginia I started collecting. I brought Olly with me, he was just the tip of the iceburg. Now we have a pony for my son, a cow, which we are going to be seeing in the freezer in another few months, a goat, whom supplies our milk supply (not for me, I pass), three dogs, two Danes and a maltese, and a bird (he also came from Hawaii). Oh, and we just ordered some chickens, they should be getting here shortly.

So for the 15 that I will pass it on to.....

1. Stacey and Klein She has a gorgous Perch, which she jumps. She is one of the most dedicated and interesting people I know. She is my BFB (best friend blogger) lol. If you haven't read her blog, START! She has trained her perch from day one. No one else has set foot on her back.

2. Andrea and Go-Go She has Holsteiner which has overcome just about everything on this earth AND is still AWESOME! She is now recovering from an injury from her last xc course. Check out her progress.

3. Fay She doesn't have a horse, now, but I used to ride in high school with her. She now has a cooking blog that is amazing! She shares wonderful recipes on her blog, even if you don't like to cook, she has great ideas.

4. Shannon-Bitches in Breeches This girl blogs what is on her mind and isn't shy to say what she is feeling. She has had some interesting experiences throughout her journey. Check out her blog, it will keep you wanting to read more.

5.I Will Jump Sweet Jumps I love reading her blog, she is a great jumper in New Zealand. I have learned alot from just reading. She has three horses, which are totally different in every way. Connie and Kate are her two jumpers. Follow their jumping adventures at her blog.

Sad as I am to say, my boys are home today for a snow day and I am running out of time. Here are the remaining blogs. They are all great blogs I follow, and I encourage everyone to take a look. Just because I haven't given them an intro doesn't mean they are any less interesting.

Dressage Pony

Bitless Horse

Adventures in Horse-dom

Greybrook Eventing

Behind the Bit

SprinklerBandit

My Spots Undetectable

Green Slobber on my Shirt

From Racehorse to Showhorse

The Eventing Percheron

To Fall, Or Not To Fall, That is the Question...

Yesterday as I peel myself out of bed and make myself some coffee I start hearing about the earthquake in Chile. Who couldn't? After about an hour my hubby calls me and says "hey there is suppose to be a tsunami hitting Hawaii," STACEY!!! I instantly grabbed my cell and text her telling her to GET UP! The text wasn't as polite. I wasn't sure if she had even heard. Luckily and thankfully she text me back saying she was on it. I followed the KHON2 live news feed for a few hours and then decided that the big worry was not so big, everyone was gonna be fine. Whew! After finishing my coffee I get my Carhart and head out to do some slow canter work with Olly. We start off with pulling and racing, not my favorite. After fixing my seat and lots of circles I decided to take my coat off and lay it next to the camera. We had some jumps to work on. Well, let me tell you this next part didn't go as planned. NEVER, NEVER take your jacket off while on a TB who thinks he is from off the track (he isn't he just thinks he is). I totally wish I had the camera on to film me. It would have been the most embarassing moment of my life to capture it but, it would have been good! As I am walking to the tripod, I decided to kinda hang my jacket a bit further out than normal. At first he kinda shied, but then recovered. Good Boy! So what do I do? Let's shake it a bit! OMG, this totally was not proof of me having a brain. He held for a minute but then started skittering to the right, I had this!!! I sat and rode him about 15 feet, then he spun. I had the reins in my right hand and the jacket still in my left, yup, that's right folks, I never even thought of dropping the jacket. Not even after I was laying flat on my back. I waited for a 3 count to make sure I didn't lose my breath. I hit hard on my left shoulder, I even have a pretty nice bruise on the inside of my left elbow. As I sit up I see Olly looking at me like, "Mom, I am soooo sorry, it was gonna eat me!" I got up and started walking to him and he hangs his head and meets me. I told him I was sorry and it was all my fault. I carried my jacket over to the camera, brushed te leaves off and turned ON the camera. This is the video I got. We worked alot on slowng down. I decided to keep the Boucher on him for the time being. I think that he will be fine with it. I think I need to fix my riding. Until I fix myself I really don't want to change bits. I can already see some habits that are carrying over to him. The speed is the biggest. He is now attacking the jumps with out pausing and I am now the problem. I remembered a lot of information at the lesson that I HAVEN'T been applying when I ride. Like Terri at Brandywine Farms said "the hardest thing is to do nothing on his back." And it is. After trying so hard to get him over those jumps, now all I have to do is nothing....seems too easy. But I am trying to break my habits. After about and hour of going slow, or trying really hard to go slow, Olly was in a sweat. It is hard work to try to exert litlle enegry when you are a big red horse. We walked home, I was on foot. He had worked so hard he deserved to not carry me the last 1/4 mile. After a good brushing and some sugar cubes, I went straight up to the bath with my homework and sat in some HOT water to try to relieve what aches would be there in the morning.
Today we worked on the same thing, no jumping and no cantering. Just a nice even pace at a walk and a trot. We worked in circles alot and collecting. He actually did better than I thought. He is really slow and collected with these two gaits, it is really just the canter we have problems with. My thought: Lets work in the trot for a bit and then make the canter our next project. I am going to set up some low verticals (2ft) and work on speed before and after the jumps. That will be next weeks project. In the mean time, over the next few days we are going to continue working on our flat work, trotting and cantering controlling our speed over ground poles. Our first show is March 27th. So time is ticking. I am curious to see what he will be like in the show ring.

Bits Galore!

The bitless, see how thrilled he is?

So after the bitless bridle tryout, we decided to make our way back to the bit closet and pick out something that wouldn't encourage bucking and head shaking. Next up on the list a French Link boucher. I know Olly likes the french links, but he seemed to have a bit of a high head and being speedy. I did try him in a kimberwike, which seemed to work out great, but I just don't think he needs that "strong" of a bit right now. The middle ground? A Boucher!

Olly and his Boucher!

Still snaffle-y, but with a little poll pressure to keep the giraffe mode in check. He seemed to like it. I did notice that he was more willing to run off a bit with it though. I think he is just testing it out. We started out with a little flat work, just to get used to it in his mouth and then we tried a few jumps. Nothing complicated. He would have done great if we weren't going 80mph. What is up with the speed? I have changed the food, which seemed to help for a short time and I changed his bit. I decided to go back to the barn where I took lessons before I moved. Brandywine Farms, I love that place, I wish Istill lived only 5 minutes away. The people are great and the learning curve is amazing.I packed up all my stuff at like 1445 in the afternoon and headed out for my 1700 lesson.

Saddling up

The indoor, which was awesome in 38* weather and gail force winds

It took me 1h20min to get there, but it was worth it. After not being in a lesson for a few months and working hard on Olly, I had forgotten all the right things to do for myself. It was a nice change to be able to jump anything and not wonder if the horse I was on was going to go over or not. After only a few laps over the jumps I realized that maybe the speed that I was battling with Olly wasn't due to feed or open grass. It was my too forward seat. Now, I haven't been out to try out my theory yet today, but I have a good feeling that this may solve alot. Since that forward seat increases speed, it also throughs off our strides and the actual jump. I anticipate, he anticipates. Maybe that is why I have such a hard time getting him over those spooky jumps? AND!! If I am riding forward, and he refuses, I am on step away from going over his head. I haven't (knock on wood) lost it over a jump, yet. And I am striving with all my power and pride not to. So lter today if I can get my homework done and the wind DIES down to hurrican force level, I am going to put my theories to work.

Oh, and I would like to take a minute for a ProMo, I got these new sturrips, they have the flex bars on the side, they are AWESOME! My knees thank the makers of these sturrips. When we moved to Hawaii, I started running and the more miles I ran the more my knees started to bother me. Anything over 3 miles would kill me. After going to the doctor, he gave me stretches to do, which fixed the running part. Now I can run my five miles with no problems. BUT riding is another story. After a few times around the "arena" posting they start to ache. I tested a pair out and instantly fell in love. So thank you to my Mommy for getting me a pair!

The twinkle adds a nice touch.

Bitless Bridle Anyone?

So I finally got my Christmas stuff from my mom. She got me a bitless bridle. I was totally stoked to use it. So Saturday I saddled up and headed out. I could tell right away before we even got into a trot that he was not feeling this new bridle. I set up my camera and got a bit of video. We started out trotting and he was moving out, but a bit flat. I tried to collect him a bit and he just shook his head. I could hardly put any pressure on the reins. We moved into a canter and that is when the fun started, not for Olly of course. After a few circles he was startig to feel more pissy. He did buck a few times, although they weren't rodeo bucks, they were Olly, get DQ'ed from your dressage pattern bucks. I noted them on the video. He also seemed to feel a bit speedy and didn't want to use his brakes. I really had to use my seat and legs. Basically, this bridle was a glorified halter, I may have better luck with a halter. He was being a good boy, nothing that was unacceptable, I was just trying to stay out of his way so the bridle didn't make him too uncomfortable.

Can't figure out how to get the video on here, so here is the link.


I really felt bad after about 10 minutes. He REALLY didn't like the bridle. He was confused on the reining, I mean he is totally used to direct reining and to have the pressure over the nose he just wasn't feeling it. We walked down our little trail with the creek. Which BTW, he totally went over without a fight. A few weeks back I said that I would post a picture of the "snake filled" creek, so here it is...

Yup, that's it....

We decided to go back to the house and change out bridles. On my way back, my brother-in-law was speeding down the lane and came to a sliding stop next to Olly and I. Apparently my youngest son, Travis, was having a severe insulin reaction and was needing my assistance. So I hauled ass back to the house and threw Olly in the back yard and headed in the house. We ended up in the hospital with an IV dextrose drip, but he is doing ok now. So I haven't been able to try out my new Happy Mouth French Link bit. I have 3 that I will be experimenting with over the next week. French Link D, Mullen Elevator and Full Cheek Mullen. I will have videos on each. Feel free to pick apart my video in any way. I am always open for a good critique.

Ok, so let me tell you why I have blogged in like a month. I started back to school (nursing this time)and I would rather ride than blog...sorry. Alos my Great Dane had 15 pups and I have been taking care of them. They are all in new happy homes...well not all, I did keep one beautiful female for myself. Her name is Casey's Cup of Noodles. I named her after an awesome person I met this year. I think if our ages were a bit closer together we would be bestest friends! So since I am suppose to be studying, I am going to post a shit load of pics and a video to show you what I have been doing. Hopefully I can catch up later.
Fat Kiki

Repetition

I look out my window this morning and this is what I see.

At first glance you might think that my horse is dead, but if you look closely, he is just trying to absorb any and all warm sunlight possible. Today was a bit warmer, I only wore one pair of gloves. It helped that the wind died down to a breeze. We started out like any other ride, walking down the lane to our trail. Remember the little creek I said we went over? Well it took us 15 minutes to go over today. DON'T ask me why!! It was like it was lined with snakes. The first few tries he came close, then I used a bit of aid enhancement, an old dead flower, and after 13 minutes of coaxing and calming I just got off and made him walk over the stupid thing. Tomorrow I will take a picture just so you can see how SMALL it really is. I mean, seriously!!! It isn't the Grand Canyon!!!! So once he made it over I gave him a good boy and repeated the crossing like 15 times, one for every minute he wasted!!! Then I got on and made him cross 15 times again. I would understand if this was a bit of a task, but it wasn't AND(!!!) he crossed it FINE yesterday! I am not sure if I will ever figure out his mind! After the "river" crossing we walk towards the boat launch. I thought he might like to see his friends that he met a few weeks ago. On our way we did trotting and cantering sets. Once we were like a 1/2 mile from the horses he started perking up, he remembered the place. i was actually surprsed. I know horses are smart animals, but MY horse didn't seem to remember a creek that was only a foot wide and how it wouldn't hurt him, yet he can remember a paddock of horses from a month ago. Again, I am not sure if I will get a handle on his mind. He did react better than last time. We ended up riding for about 6.5 miles. And we both enjoyed it alot more than yesterday. This cold weather is taking a toll on all of us. For me my diet has changed too, but not in the way Olly's has. I have cut back on alot of foods that I would normally eat on a daily basis. In the winter I hate going outside in the cold, therefore I am less active and do not need all that much to keep me going. I try to eat more veggies and fruit and as always drink alot of water. Let me tell you this is somewhat difficult since my children were home for vacation. Snack, snack here snack snack there...for the kids that is fine, but not for me. Olly on the other handneeds to take in 3 times as much. He has free range hay and water, and he is grained once daily with Legend Performance (14% protein) and I ass 1/2c oil and 2 oz of a weight builder. He is a tough keeper in the winter, but I think that is due to his TB metabolism. Thankfully winters are usually short in Va! I go out to check the horses every night at like 2100-2200, When I got out and check if it is colder than usual (and it has been for the past 3 nights) I polo wrap his legs. Olly is from a warm temperature climate and HATES the winter as much as I do. He tends to stand and not move around as much when the temp drops, in turn he gets stocked up. Instead of reacting, I try to act. I don't go all out with standing wraps. I don't think he needs that much. Just a little help when it get cold...that is what mom's are for! So tonight the blanket is on the hay is out and the wraps are velcro'd. Good night!!

305 Stats
walk Lap 1 0.35 mi avg speed 1.4 mph
trot Lap 2 1.34 mi avg speed 8.1mph
walk Lap 3 0.75 mi avg speed 3.0mph
canter Lap 4 0.81 mi avg speed 11.8mph
walk Lap 5 0.68mi avg speed 3.7mph
trot Lap 6 0.57 mi avg speed 7.1mph
canter Lap 7 0.85 mi avg speed 14.0mph
walk Lap 80.86 mi avg speed 3.5mph

Total

6.31 miles
1h20m
Avg Speed 4.7mh
Max Speed 18.7mph
Calories Burned 3978cal
**Calories burned is based on human calculations**

COLD is an Understatement

I had planned on riding yesterday and giving Olly the day off today, but I was so cold I couldn't bring myself to take his blanket off. I did open his stall, against all my will, and let him get out of the weather.
So today when I got up I looked out side to see if the wind calmed down, NOPE! High of 31* with winds out of the west at 15-20mph. Super! I waited until like 1400 before going out, hoping it would "warm" up a bit. I realize now how stupid that sounds. I had a great idea to wear over my jeans a pair of my hubby's winter PT's, until I came down and watched my husband look at me like I was crazy. "You wear those and you'll slip right outta the saddle!", he said. Good point. I had planned riding in my dressage saddle, which is even more slippery than any saddle I have ever ridden in. I loaded up in my arms all the items of clothing I would need and headed downstairs to the tack room. By the time I had everything on an ready to go I had on two shirts, two pair of socks, jeans, with half chaps, a hoodie, a scarf, my Carhart, a hat under my helmet and two pairs of gloves. The easiest way I can give you a mental picture is to think back to the movie A Christmas Stroy, where the mom wraps the kid up so much that when he falls he can't get up...that was me today.



While on our ride today it didn't take long to realize that the ground was frozen. We started out walking to get warmed-up. I didn't want to trot or canter on anyting that wasn't grass for fear or hurting his feet. He is barefoot now and doing well. We stared our trot set and happened to come to a creek that was no more than a foot wide. I guess he wasn't paying much attention, because he acted like it snuck up on him. Once he realized what it was he hopped over it and we moved on. 7 minutes later we were back over the "creek" and walking. Since all the crop fieds would be frozen we went to the grassy land where I filmed my flat work. It was big enough to paractice on cantering-galloping-cantering. what a better way to exercise self control :). Once we had done a few sets (which will be posted at the end of the blog)we went to hack out, walking only. By this time I think my nose was frostbitten and Olly was ready to take the first flight back to Hawaii. I couldn't do it anymore, we turned around and headed home. This was the coldest part of the whole ride. I felt terrible making him go out and take his blanket off. What a mean mom. As were walked back to the house I tried to have a uplifting conversation with Olly to try to keep our minds off the cold. It didn't work. I could tell by his attitude he wsn't happy to be out in this nearing Siberia weather. Both he and I resisted the urge to canter home. I could feel it in his step, at any moment if I had given the word we would have been off! As we neared the drive, I waited to hear the neigh of Kiki...nothing! where was that little pony? As we get closer to the barn I see that she is hunkered down in her stall. She has a thermal blanket on and was trying to stay toasty. I didn't blame her a bit. She did come out to greet us once we were at the gate, but soon left us to go back to her stall. I hurried to get olly's blankets back on him so he could be warm and I threw them some hay to hold over til feeding time.
As I was taking my saddle back to the take room, I snapped this pic...



I think she was cold too, I could almost hear her say "let me in, b-itch!"

305 Stats
Walk Lap 1 0.32 mi 7m07s avg speed 2.7mph
Trot Lap 2 1.02 mi 8m02s avg speed 7.6mph
Walk Lap 3 0.3 mi 6m50s avg speed 2.4mph
Canter Lap 4 0.32 mi 5m34s avg speed 15.8mph
Trot Lap 5 0.66 mi 4m58s avg speed 10.0mph
Canter Lap 6 0.74 mi 3m07s avg speed 14.3mph
Walk (hack out away from home) 1.13mi avg speed 3.4mph
Walk (toward home) 0.84 mi avg speed 4.0mph
**Notice speed changes going away from home vs. toward home**

Total
7.46 miles
1h32m
avg speed 4.8mph
Max speed 19.9mph
Calories burned 4433
**Calorie count based on human equations**

Sets

Today I talked my hubby into making, not one, but two coops for me!!! Wow, am I lucky! I had one large peice of plywood. One coop is 2'2" and the other is like 18". Now, they aren't pretty, but they will serve the purpose. I wanted to go out and try them as soon as I got them out there, but decided against it since Olly has jumped two days in a row. And yesterday wasn't that easy for him. He worked really hard and I wanted to reward him by just hacking out and relaxing. So, on that note, instead of the kimberwicke, I grabbed his loose ring and instead of the AP saddle, I grabbed my dressage saddle. I was a bit nervous about the loose ring. I know that is what I have used in the past, but we were doing so good with the kimberwicke and I don't think he likes it. So this, too, was a reward. Today is warmer, so I had on my hoodie, with a few shirts on underneath, of course and forewent the hat under the helmet. BIG MISTAKE! See we are back in the woods, if it feels warm here it will be cold in the field. you would think I would know this by now....
I started my GPS and we were down the road. We sarted at a walk, just to kinda warm up, about 15 minutes. Then we started with the sets. 5 minutes of trotting (which we encountered the huges puddle I have seen in along time. Olly was not so thrilled. He tried in EVERY way to go around, but what do you do when it is all wooded and there is nowhere to go but IN!? He isn't afraid of the water, I mean he will go in and trot and even canter, I just don't think he likes it. If there is a way around then he will find it. We worked on being steady in our pace and not having a high head. Most of the time when he settles into his gait his head will stop being in giraffe mode. The kimberwicke has helped with this alot. Next we walked, mainly to recover. It took us 10 minutes, not to recover, I usually only allow 5 minutes at the most for this, it was because I had nowhere to canter and it took me that long to get to the next field. I hit the Lap button again 5 minutes for the canter. I started thinking to myself, "man we are gonna cover some ground in 5 minutes with his canter," but to my surprise he settled in quickly and we were down the road. No pulling, two-point, or seat shifting. He has a VERY nice canter, the one I know from the hunter ring (not an actualy hunter canter, but Olly's "hunter" canter, which is like a gallop for normal hunters lol). Then we walked for 3 minutes. I only did three minutes because he didn't seem to need a full 5, let alone the 10. Back to a trot. 5 minutes again. Instead og giving he a waslk to recover from the 5 minutes of trotting I gave him a 3 minute canter. Then we walked the rest ofthe way home. It totalled like 4.6 miles. I have the GPS download of all the STATS that I will list at the end of the blog. Oh, and my heart rate monitor is not on my dressage girth so I do not have the HR stats, and even if I were using my AP girth, I am not sure that the GPS would pick up the HR through the wolly mammoth. I have thought about clipping a spot, but I haven't acted on it.
After our sets I looked down and Olly was sweating. Hmmmmmm...I think we need to do more of this type of work. We were only out for an hour and he was spent. Boy is out of shape!!! Time to cross train. We trail ride alot, but not with monitored sets. Walking on a trail is good, but not for the type of riding we want to do. Eventing required alot of different skills. And to just jump 5 days a week is not the way to go. And from what I am seeing walking and trotting occasionaly on a trail isn't doing it either. I run and try to keep myself fit as much as I can, and I should do the same for him. I will be coming up with a schedule that will be applied IMMEDIATELY! Woohoo! More to write about. You just wait, this spring and summer we will be ready for the show ring!!
As always, we went back to the stall to get a good grooming and some love. He ALWAYS has to have the area where his brilde was brushed and scratched.



Garmin Forerunner 305 (with HR Monitor)
Trotting Lap 1 0.58 miles 4m59s average speed 7.0mph
Walking Lap 2 0.66 miles 11m21s average speed 3.5mph
Cantering Lap 3 0.75 miles 3m38s average speed 12.4mph
Walking Lap 4 0.27 miles 5m03s average speed 3.2mph
Trotting Lap 5 0.72 miles 4m55s average speed 8.8mph
Cantering Lap 6 0.29 miles 1m29s average speed 11.8mph
Walking Lap 7 0.67 miles 11m59s average speed 3.4mph

TOTAL
4.61 miles
58m29s
Avg Pace 12.41min/mile
Avg Speed 4.7mph
Max Speed 15.3mph
Total Caloried Burned 2898

Challenge

So yesterday I was looking through my books for a new gymnastic line. I get a messege from Casey telling me to "pick a hard one!" Ok, missy!! You got it. Unfortuneately, I wasn't able to ride that day due to a sick puppy, grocery shopping and a house that needed to be cleaned. But, today....I was ready. I just hoped Olly was too. It was rainy and foggy outside. I hoped the ground wasn't too saturated. We WALKED, yes, you read me right, WALKED to our arena. I set up a line of jumps. I chose exercise 10 from Jim Woffords Gymnastic Line book. It looked easy on paper, but I knew that the distance between the jumps were set it would be difficult for Olly. It was set 20 feet between each jump. That is 4 feet smaller than Olly's normal 2 strided jump. He would have to slow it down. GOOD! I thought. He needs that anyway. the line started out with one jump and 4 ground poles. Easy enough, unless you are rushing. Which he was. We took our time slowing down and tried it a few more times until he got it. Next, pick up the last jump. Now it was more interesting. Ground poles you can just skip over, but a vertical at the end, crap! Again, a few times through and it was over. Lastly, we added the middle jump. I know he was thinking "Oh, Shit!" I mean it does look intimidating. We made a few circles at a trot and then a few at a canter. He never rushes the begining of the jump it is always after the first jump or two. Like a cresendo, just on horse back. So the goal really of this exercise was to stay slow and steady. If he sped up throughout the line, it would be jacked. We worked more on the speed NOT going through the line and using transitions to regulate. If he started to rush at the canter, then we would transition down and the same for the trot. He got it after a fe times. He has a light bulb effect sometimes. By the end of the schooling session, he had done the line with all three elements wonderfully. It took us about an hour and a half to do this, but he did it. He is becoming a very good jumper and is learning exponientally. I can't wait for the next show season.
Tomorrow, I am going to talk my husband into making me a 'real' coop. 2 ft tall and 2ft wide at the base. I also found another 4x4, so there is another set of standards. YEAH!!! And don't be surprised if you start seeing crazy colored jumps now. I am going to start painting. i might even drag out some brightly colored blankets ;) Just to mix it up a bit. He it totally comfortable with the wood-colored jumps. Time to make them look hunter-esk!

After the ride we walked back to the barn and Olly got a total grooming, even his tail brushed and braided. He was in heaven.

Breaking Out the Book

Today I started looking though all my jumping books. The kimberwicke was working great and it was time to try it on another level. i have two books that I regularly turn to: 101 Jumping Exercises and Gymnastic lines. The lucky winner was 101 jumping exercises. I am a little ow on jumps right now and needed to use a few cinder blocks, trashy I know, but hey it works. While I was loading up my "jumps" I found a piece of plywood, just big nough to make a skinny coop. WONDERFUL! Something new. We haven't attempted anything new in awhile. So I dragged all my finds to the field and started counting paces. 18" vertical and 48 ft out I put the coop. Enough strides to slow him and turn him away if I needed to. I want to add that I changed Olly's feed like 2 weeks ago and found that his attitude is much better. He is more calm, I still think we needed the bit change, it was a combo effort. I took exercise 27 and 47 and kind of combined them. Exercise 47 is just an extention of exercise 27.





I set up my jumps like 47, but rode 27. Stay with me, it sounds confusing, but you will soon understand.



After riding exercise 27 a few times, I rode it again with the coop on the end instead of the circles.



Next, we rode exercise 47 as it was intended. First to the right a few times and then to the left. It was set in the book for the two jumps to be a bounce. Olly's bounce is usually 12 feet. Today I set it at 14 feet. I thought that he may need the extra two feet to compensate the turn or "drift" to the right/left. It took him a few times to get the idea, but I hung in there. He never refused and he never knocked down a jump. After three times though he took the right take off and lead. On to the left side...this side was easier. He totally understood what we were doing and tackled it perfectly, leads and all.


In between going though the lines we practiced controling our tempo and postition-without sturrips. Olly is getting better at relaxing himself and trying to focus.

Time for Change

So after getting feedback on my latest video, I decided to change Olly's bit. First, let me start off with telling you what he was in and the problems we were having. He wore a french link loose ring since I have owned him. Lately, the more open field riding we encounter, he has been evading the bit by dropping his head and curling at the pole making it hard to control his speed. I have tried using a lighter seat and making sure I am not shifting my weight. In the end it might be time to move on, so I go into this new "adventure" with light hands and an open mind.
On to the bit of choice. i am not sure if I stated in the last post, but I had a kimberwicke hanging right next to Olly's bridle in the tack room. I ALMOST grabbed it the other day instead of the loose ring. Today, I grabbed the kimberwicke. Now, I am not sure what bits Olly has been ridden in before me. He has a very light mouth and is very sensitive to anything, legs, bits, seat etc. So making this decision was very difficult for me. A kimberwicke is a leverage bit, that being said, new pressure points are about to be used. Before I headed out I thought to myself best not to go hopping on so I looked for my vienna reins. To my demise, moving two times in 5 months really doesn't do well for the organization. No Vienna reins today.
When I put the bit up to his mouth he, of course, opened. Then the realization hit. WTF is in my mouth??!! Alot of licking and chewing occured. I grabbed my lunge line and Olly and walked to our "arena." Just to give him time to feel it out with out any pressure being applied to the bit. I had my camera ready and sighted in to record the short lunging, but I forgot to replace my SD card from downloading the video yeaterday, so the video was 12 seconds long. I have chosen to forego the uploading.
after the lunging, which went well, I got on and walked a bit collecting ever so lightly. The last thing I want to do is grab hold of his mouth and make it a bad experience. 10 minutes of walking (with no sturrips)and taking in the area and it was on to trotting and picking up the sturrips. This is where I saw the difference. His pace and his down transitions were steadier and his head was lower. Not to mention he fell in on his circles less. On the down side, I felt his lateral movements were decreased. I also used this time to work on myself. Knees pointing to the ground, heels and hands down (I even opened my pinky's to check)and post to the pommel. This also may have been a factor in his area too. If I sit and ride better, he will perform better. After using the kimberwicke for a while I am going to drop the loose ring back in and check to see if this was a traing issue, a Pru issue, or a bit issue. For now the kimberwicke is a good move. Next on the schedule...transitions. Up and down transitions walk and trot. I talked about how Olly was having the issue walking. All I would get is this jog instead of a walk. So we practiced. This was another time I used to work on myself with both sturrips and no sturrips. As much as I hate riding without sturrips, it is the best thing you can do for yourself.
Another 30 minutes down and he was responding well. This time around we picked up a canter. At first he was a bit fast, so we down transitioned to a trot. Everytime his pace increased we trotted. It took three times in the cricle and then the light switch turn n. "OHHHHHHH! you want me to go slower!! I get it." FINALLY! I tell ya nothing feels better than for something to click. Even though it is the slightest little movement, it gives you the encouragement to continue on. Olly was quite happy too. At times it seems like he is just trying to piss me off, but I look into his eyes as I talk to him and I can see he that he just wants to do what I want. He really wants to please me and make me happy, it's just that sometimes he has no CLUE as to what I am saying! And when we find the way to communicate it reminds me why we are together. Feeling confident about the cantering I put out some ground poles. 36ft apart. This should help keep the tempo even when we aren't in a circle. First try he thought he was to jump them...fair enough. I reminded myself to relax my leg, sit up tall and keep my hands low and still. And the second try, it was exponientally better! Funny...when the rider makes themselves better, the horse becomes better. I guess I should remind myself more often. We ended our day doing steady transitions. Today was one of the most enjoyable days with my big red horse since I have been here. What a wonderful ending to an already great birthday!



Sporting his new bit

Flat Work

Christmas Eve I said that I was going to get some flat work video on here. I really wanted to ride on Christmas and get the video, but my dog ended up having her puppies and I was up all night. So, today was the day! First I had promised Colton he could ride Kiki. She has quite the attitude! The whole family went for a walk and he got to ride. After making it back home I switched saddles and grabbed my tripod and was down the road. Olly was actually calm today. I changed his food and have been keeping him out of his stall. Today we will see if any of it helped. He walked almost the entire way to the field. We started out just walking and trying to move out with out trotting, which is pretty difficult for him. Then to a trot. On parts of the video you can see where he really wants to canter and takes a few canter steps with the front, but the half-halt changes his mind.
I also noticed that my lower leg SUCKS!!!! Guess what the plan is for tomorrow? No sturrips! Stacy will be so proud. I will be taking video of the no sturrip work for sure! I and so curious what that will look like. Another change: standing martingale. Stacy will be sending me her Olly size martingale. What a friend!! That will give me a few days with the kimberwicke and that way we will know what is working and what is not. I try not to change too many things at the same time so I can make decisions accordingly. So tomorrow will look like this: Me- lower leg work lower hands maintain contact with bit Olly- bit change to kimberwicke (he was in a loose ring french link) I encourage anyone reading this to leave any comments on what I am doing wrong. I am totally open to hearing what needs to be improved, and don't worry about being polite. I can handle it!

Speed

After feeding yesterday morning I went to turnout the horses and noticed upon opening the stall door that Olly's hind legs were pretty inflammed. I should have taken pictures, but I was so freaked I rushed around to fix the problem with out thinking of it. He has been stocked up before, but this time was the worst. It went from pastern to hock, in both hind legs. There wasn't much heat and definitly no pain. I checked for a pulse, strong in both feet. He was a bit stiff though. I ran and grabbed his halter and started hand walking. There was a slight difference after 30 minutes, but it wasn't good enough for me. I have little patience, but enough understanding to be tolerant. I used this break to check temperature (100.4*) and listen to gut sounds with my stethescope (sufficient). We kept walking. After an hour (total)there was a significant difference. I turned him out into the paddock. Over the next few hours I checked to see if the swelling had returned. And it did, but no where like it was earlier that morning. I went and got his bridle and we went for a 30 minute walk bareback.
While we are walking down the lane, I start brain storming.
Being a veterinary techinician, I always look at the clinical signs first.
Inflammation-mild to moderate
No pain
Stiffness-mild
Eating
Drinking
Pooping
Good gut sounds
Normal temp
Strong digital pulse
Feet are cool
After making a mental note of all the signs or lack there of, I moved on to what causes these signs.
Not enough exercise
Too many carbs (grain)
Weather changes
Too long in stall
Not enough turnout
Ok...Well, how about 4 out of 5. Since the kids are on christmas break, we haven't gone on a ride on 5 days. Since winter has fully hit Virginia (weather change, we got snow)I increased his feed. And most importantly, my wonderful Hawaii horse doesn't like snow! He has practically been begging me to put him in his stall. On the flip side, he is turned out every day for the whole day. Either way, it is my fault. I should have seen all the signs adding up.
Next step, after figuring out what he had (stocking up), is what treatment do I apply? My heart is screaming VET, VET, VET! But, my mind is telling me to calm down and handle it. I always have a first aid-ish kit for the horses. bandages, standing wraps, betadine, bute, DMSO...you get the picture. I ran to the tack room to rummage through all the stuff. I dug out the quilts and standing wraps and the bottle of bute and headed back outdoors. I made a mental note of the time (1500) since standing wraps are only suppose to be on 12 hours and attempted to get the bute into my horse. I will be the first to admit that I hate taking medicine. Headaches, sprains, no matter what it is I have to be pretty bad off to take something. A trait my husband LOVES! Note the sarcasm. Well, I found that Olly seems to be the same way. I mixed some bute with applesauce and he wouldn't touch it, adding insult to injury, he curled his lip up at the thought of it. I did take one small scoop and put in the corner of his mouth. Just to make sure he got some of it and turned him out.
At dinner time I skipped the stall and just fed him in his tub(that had the remaining bute in) in the paddock. I also placed his their hay in 5 different spots across the paddock, so he would have to walk throughout the night to eat. Before I went to bed (2200) I made one last trip out to the padock to remove the standing wraps. I didn't want to have to get up at 0300 and brave the icy temperatures to remove them. They were only on for seven hours, but it seemed to help.
I got up early this morning to go out and check and see what my hard work reaped. I made a quick stop in the tack room to grab the standing wraps and quilts(which I had washed the night before) to re-wrap his legs. To my suprise the swelling was almost gone, just a bit of puffiness around the pastern. YEAH!!!! I passed on the bute and gave him his breakfast, NOT in his stall.
I feel really terrible. We worked so hard to find a house that had a barn with stalls for the horses when we moved. Now I am finding that I can hardly use them. Why am I paying all the extra money if I can't use them?!! Oh well. I am NOT moving again!
Later this afternoon I grabbed my dressage saddle and GPS and headed out to go on a nice ride in the freaking cold. I passed on the splint boots and used polos. I thought that the polos would give more to his hind legs than just the fetlock boots. At first he started out stiff and slow, but after a few minutes he was ready to go, just like any other day. I just can't figure him out. I know he wasn't feeling well with his legs inflammed and yet he is still wanting to canter. I made him walk(which is easy going AWAY from the house) for the first 30 minutes. Just to make sure he got all the kinks worked out from yesterday. Then, we started creating the impulsion. Extend the walk and ask for collection by holding the outsde rein and tinkling on the inside rein. He held it for a few strides before he would hollow out again. I praised him with a good boy and we would try it again. He was better at the left than at the right. I guess he is a lefty like me ;). On to trotting! This is where we have the most problem. I find myself getting discouraged every time I ride because of this. Here is a little background before I go on: I don't have an arena. We live on 8.something acres and it is ALL wooded and marshy. The horses have a medium sized paddock that is dry, but no quality for riding. There are, however, open fields and tons of shoulder along the roads. I just pick a field and go with it. Everyone is so nice here, they don't really care, that is as long as there is no corn or beans up. I have one field that I ride around in. It is for sale, I think for developing...maybe and acre or two. Perfect for setting up jumps. I still have to ask the owner about that. Anyway, it is a big grassy field and my ADD TB thinks it is a race track (even thought he has never been on one). Just when you think you are settled into a good working trot, I get "Do ya wanna canter? Do ya wanna canter?" Everyother stride at the trot is a half halt, just to remind him to stay in a trot. It is hard to even think about anything else. After another 25 minutes of trying to focus and getting him to settle I slowly and carefully give him the leg to canter. It always starts off with a nice departute on the correct lead and two strides later I get pulling on the bit and dropping his shoulder into the circle. I can fix the shoulder part easily, but the pulling is getting old. I tried to give him rein and that just makes him go faster. I have tried "whoa boy" and lightening my seat so I am not driving him and I can hardly put my legs on him on a normal day, so I don't even think about laying my legs on him. AND STILL he can't seem to control him self. I know it has got to be something I am doing and don't realize. I just don't know how to realize it. I take lessons, but with out me on him during those lessons it makes it more difficult. Tomorrow I am taking my tripod and camera out there with me so I can video it and maybe make some sense of it. I only cantered him for 5 minutes, since he was a bit under the weather from yesterday, and then we made our way back home. Oh, it wasn't over then. All the way home was a trot-trot nightmare. Every 3-4 strides I had to have him halt, think and then walk on. 3-4 strides later he was trying to trot again. I have changed his food, thinking maybe he was getting too many carbs and inturn making hm a bit hotter than he should be and it even crossed my mind to change his bit. That being last resort, of course. I ride him in a french link loose ring. Pretty mild and he responds well, but in these situations he tucks his head, to evade and slows his pace to a prance. Not gorunds for a stronger bit. Again, back to square one with me not getting the full picture.
So! New goal...go back a few steps and revisit the gaits. Walk means walk, trot means trot and canter means canter. This would be a good time to do some flat work since the ground is frozen from all this crappy snow. Jumping is on hold, at least until the weather gets better and his attitude gets better. Until then, more reading and video watching. I HAVE to figure out what I am doing wrong.
Back at the house I give him a good grooming and lots of hugs, after all he did do alot of work, even though he didn't want to. I grabbed the standing wraps and some DMSO just to cover all the bases. I noted the time (1400, remember standing wraps 101) and turned him out. I think I am going to lay off the stalling until the weather gets better. I know that totally defeats the purpose right now, but I really think he hates the snow and cold. To me, it seems like he wants to hide out in the warmth of the stall and do as little moving as possible, as I would like to do also. I can't really blame him! Unfortunately, I have to give some tough love and keep the blankets on.

Line of the day!

Today I was so tired and almost didn't feel like riding, but like so many others nothing will stop me from riding unless I am in the hospital having my legs removed and then it might be a toss up. I have been trying to manage my time better so I can ride more and it seems to be paying off. Olly is really becoming more confident. He isn't all the way there and has a TON of room for improvement, but I can see that he truely wants to please me. He will put all his heart into whatever he is doing. He strives for the "good boy" and a neck rub. I could spend my whole day just pampering him. Today as I walked out to the barn he saw me from the other side of the paddock hauling a saddle on my hip, bridle on my shoulder and blanket and bell botts in my hand took off galloping to his stall. He waited til I got there to open the door and walked in. I love my boy!!! He couldn't wait to get the show on the road. Saddled and ready to go we walked down to the grassy mile to warm up. We barely make it a 1/2 mile when we round the first hill and see a truck and a man wearing blaze orange...whoops! I called out sorry and made the best of the way home, bending and yielding. He was much more calm and focused today, maybe we didn't need the 3 mile warm-up. Back at the house I had the jumps already set for the day. We started out will a few lower jumps. Crossrails and 2'3" to get the blood pumping, it was a high of 45* today. Not so warm.



After making a few rounds playing around with strides, we raised the last jump to 2'6". For quite awhile now we have been jumping crossrails and vertilces that were only 18" to 2ft. It is time to up the minimum. No more 18" stuff. 2ft only here. Not that it is much of an increase but we have to start somewhere. After a few months of perfecting that we will raise the bar again. Olly can clearly jump upward of 3 ft, but what is height if you have nothing else. We have been paying attention to strides lately and he is actually understanding it better than I had originally thought he would. See, Olly has what I like to call horsey ADD. Tasks that take focusing and concentration seem to bee more difficult. I mean, on a good day I have to ride him for 20 minutes just to get his head on straight. So it is encouraging to see that he is capable of doing it.
On to 2'6"!! He floated right over. He is getting more and more fluid over the jumps too. I can't wait for the next show season. I know he will do great.



Just to mix it up in the end we jumped the bank about 10 feet to the right so he would have to drift to the left to make the crossrail. I wondered how he would handle it not being centered. He had only three strides to make it. I rode in two-point the entire way just to be ready. He actually did it perfectly. He made the crossrail right down the middle and the last jump like he had been straight from the begining. After you hit the first jump, the rest you just have to ride though, I mean, how can you fix the jump when you are one stride from it? You can't. I made sure he was collected before starting and kept my right leg on him to guide him to the left. He followed the direction great! I wish I would have video'd it. I just happened to think of it after I turned it off. Next time I will add it to the list. Tomorrow is Sunday! Long trail ride day! I also promised Colton he could ride Kiki. Pictures to follow.

Rush Against Time

It seems like on the only thing I do is try to beat the clock. If there were only a way to not sleep I would be good. I always have a few more things to do. Today was no exception. I looked at my watch and it was already noon. I hustled to get the jumps set up so I could ride before having to go pick up the kids from school. At this new house I have nowhere to put them. I asked the neighbor to use his excess land, but he was afraid my divots would ruin his lawn mower. I guees if I was 90 yrs old and riding a lawn mower I might have to consider that too. A few of the neighbors have huge "yards" so I will just have to keep working my wy down the lane until I get someone complient. For now, they are in my backyard, literally.



In our backyard we have this "area" that was used for a swimming pool by the owners (we rent). I made sure there wasn't anything that was harmful and decided to use it for a bank. It is filled with sand and holds water really well, too. One more thing to add to the Olly-will-jump list. As usual when I got on Olly today he was just as nutty. Since I have no arena to warm him up, we went on a trail ride to get the kinks out. This time he only wanted to canter, I thought the more you ride the more calm? Well, the beans and corn are down TONS of room for circles! It was really hard to get him to move out at a trot considering all he wanted to do was canter. He was totally on edge, spooking at almost everything. I just can't figure this horse out sometimes. First it was a 12"x12" flag on someones lanai, standard protocol: stop, stand as if you are really still and it won't see you and then dance around like a two year old on candy. Then it was a huge gravel truck, that was more like "oh shit! Where did that come from?" And last, but not least, 7 turkey vultures drinking from a puddle, which is not my favorite: while mom is not paying attention stop quickly (we were trotting), roll back and try to take off leaving mom to land on her ass not inches from the asphalt. Don't worry I had a helmet on! So, after finding out that I actually landed pretty softly and was not in pain, we made sure the vultures weren't plotting to attack us and I got back on and resumed trotting and fighting the will to canter, nay, gallop back to the little Chincoteague waiting back at the house. Even after a few miles of trotting he was still ready to go. Normally we will ride 5-6 miles. Today I didn't want him to be hacked out totally, remember, I have jumps set up back home. He wasn't giving in. Last chance....the nice grassy, hilly trail by the house. Much safer than the road, I let him canter it out there. It is about a 1.5 miles long and it looks like an FM wave. Up, down, up, down....after that, he walked. We used the 1/3 mile back to the house to recover and begin the jumping.
We started out with one of my own creations, but based on Jim's gymnastic lines. I incorperated the "bank" to make it interesting, a crossrail 24ft out. I found that with the bank he needs more room for two strides than with a regular set. Olly's regular two strides runs about 18ft-20ft. With the jump up from the wall I gave him an extra 4ft and it worked out great. From the crossrail I set an angled verticle (??) I came up with this idea after watching some of Lucinda Green's xc clinics. It was really different and that is what Olly needs. It also made him jump in the center. I am totally clueless if there are any other benefits from that kind of jump so if you know feel free to inform me. The first time through the line he wasn't thrilled at the last jump. But after the third try, that's right, the third try, he was jumping it like he had done it a million times. Verdict: I have to jump every single jump in the world so we can be prepared for the show season. lol!!!



Please note the Carhart. It was effing freezing out (44*!!!)

After his great round I gave him some sugar cubes and a good long brushing. He totally needs a bath, but we aren't in Hawaii any more, so, no more baths in December. A through brushing will have to do.

Swimmin!! But not today....

Last night I told myself that no matter how cold it was I was going riding tomorrow.
Tomorrow is here and I am wondering why I ever said that....lol.

We recently moved into a new house. The Army has decided it was time for us to move, even though we just did...I don't try to figure it out anymore I just try to make the best of the situation. On the other hand, we found a house that is WAY better than the one we were living in before. Three stall barn and almost 9 acres. I couldn't beat that with a stick! Bad news...we moved the day before Thanksgiving and I was sick as a DOG!!! No riding for me. It has been TWO weeks since Olly and I have ridden. I chose today to go riding because here in Va they have a law that there is no hunting on Sundays. I could ride where ever, within reason, and not get shot by doe eyed hunters.

So, this morning I get up and look outside, it doesn't look cold...that was my mind trying to reason with itself. My ass! It was like 34* this morning. Layers, that is what everyone is saying. Well, just to let you know, once you have spent 3 1/2 years in Hawaii, there aren't enough layers to keep me warm! After two shirts, a hoodie, socks that went up to my knees, jeans and a beanie I set foot out into a warm, yet cold, looking day. Olly was so happy to go he walked right into his stall and let me saddle him with out a halter or even tying him. I can't bvelieve how much he has grown in the few months that I have had him. I waved to my hubby and we were down the road.

I should have known that he would't be walking today. No riding in two weeks, that is like my kids on Christmas cookies! He was ready to go. I am not familiar with the area too much so we just followed the road. 198 to Harcum and just keep on keepin' on! It is so pretty out here. The corn and beans are down and that means cantering sets are a must. I don't normally do much cantering once he has been off for a few weeks, just because he ends up getting winded faster, but today he just wanted to stretch out so we did a few. As we are trotting, almost a piaffe now, I see a sign that say Public Boat Launch. Well, no time is better than the present...we make a left turn and follow the sign. Tons of open land. I wish I had just a bit of it. I would have the best xc course!
We continue to move along and up comes a field with three horses in it. GREAT! he is gonna have a blast making new friends! The sorrel was the first to the fence line. As soon as Olly saw him he stopped dead in his tracks did a roll back and took off! WTF??!! I totally did not see that coming. And not only did he do it again he made a run for it three times until I got him to face their paddock. Confused, I let him stand and just take in all he was seeing. I could feel his heartbeat and almost smell the adrenaline. A short minute passed and we were down the road like nothing happened. Typical.

So by now I was wondering where the Public Boat Launch was. I mean it had to be a pretty small lake to be around here. Bam! Out of no where this HUGE river, that looked like a lake.

I snapped a few pics with my phone and thought, "Man , this would be perfect for swimming in the summer." Mental note made.

We turn around after checking out the river and head home. It was a short ride only about 4-5 miles, but it was just enough to get the energy out. If I can invest in a carhart or something a bit warmer than a few hoodies piled together we will be in business. Tomorrow the boys are in school and we are going to be checking out a bit more of the area.

Pony Party!

Today after work I met up with Casey to go riding. She is doing me a HUGE favor by riding Kiki. Colton has been working so hard to ride this rotten little pony and she is starting to run though him. He isn't strong enough to bully her. SO...I have a friend that I ride with that is petite and an awesome rider, Casey! As we are saddling up the horses, Colton is looking out my bedroom window waving...until he sees Casey and Kiki. Uh-oh. Not minutes later he was standing on the lanai asking why "she" was here and why Kiki was out. I had to tell him that we were going for a ride. I was worried that a tantrum might be brewing. Surprisingly, he was ok with it. Off we went. We started out by just warming up in my "arena." I set up two crossrails at about 18".



After warming up, we started out with the low vertical. And by low, I mean LOW!



It was the same concept as the other day. Over the low vertical across the canter pole and take what lead was given and continue to the next jump in that direction. Olly did fine on the vertical, but over jumped the crossrail. Mainly because he kept dropping his shoulder into his right lead and cut the corner, in turn that made our strides off for the jump. So instead of cantering out of the vertical we dropped back to a trot until we got the idea to leghten and shorten. He picked it up fast and we were on to the next set. Next up, Casey and Kiki! Just so y'all know i have never jumped Kiki. I feel that I am way to heavy for her and would never do that to her little legs. Casey, on the other hand, is small and a great rider. Just perfect for the job.



Casey took the vertical great, Kiki not so much. She barely picked up her feet to clear it. A 6" vertical transformed into a ground pole in seconds! A vertical is an understatement, it was more like a cavaletti! Miss Kiki!! Casey did a large circle and did it again. Much better. Kiki is actually not a bad jumper. If she were 10 years younger, we might have a little eventer on our hands. She never questioned the jump other than she just didn't want to do it. Casey made her turn, canter and on correct leads. Casey and I took turns perfecting our jumping. We changed up the pattern half way through. I wanted to make a line with one stride. Casey was all for it. We rearranged the standards to make what we needed. Olly was first. He did rush a bit, but we trotted through until we got settled and then continued on with cantering. He is coming along so nicely that we might have to start the whole counting strides thing sooner than I anticipated. FINE BY ME!



Next it was Casey's turn to make the little Chincoteaque fly. It took a few tries, but she made it. Boy are those ponies stubborn.



After about an hour all the bugs were worked out. Kiki and Olly were ready to go home and relax. I think I even heard Kiki thank us for ending the session.

Riding in the Rain

Yesterday I trailered out to Brandywine Farms (where I take my lessons) and rode for the morning. There were all kinds of jumps to explore. I was hoping that the weather would actually be what was forcasted, 69* and sunny...it ended up being 60* and don't-look-up-or-you'll-drown rainy. Still, warm enough to ride. It almost reminded me of the Hawaii winters.
I was hoping that after our ride on Thursday Olly would be calmer. When I unloaded him from the trailer, he seemed ready to go. Don't get me wrong, that is one of the things I love about him, his forward (which is sometimes an understatment) movement. But as usual when I got on he was cool as a cucumber. I talked to Terri about this change in personality and she suggested that is was because when he is with the "herd" he feels comfortable and confident and when he is alone at home is is always on alert. Makes sense to me. I'll take it.
We started warming up by taking a look at EVERY fence that was in the arena. Only two looked normal. The others were eye-balled carefully. There were seven of us riding including me. Hannah, Casey, Darcy, Emily, Lindsay, Terri and I made the bunch. I love riding with all the girls. It makes it so much more fun.
It was only a few minutes until the sky opened up and we were headed to the indoor.

I love Casey in this pic! lol!!

We warmed up in the indoor for a few, trotting and cantering. And sure enough the rain stopped.


Back to the outdoor, Batman!!



After warming up we started over one crossrail, a bit of a what is that and then over. No problem. Then the line. PIE!



Moving on! We next tried the please-don't-eat-me green wall. It took a few swift kicks but he went over.



History was made. From that moment on he didn't refuse another jump. He put his trust in me. A feeling that made me smile from here to Hawaii.



We did alot of trotting in and cantering out of the jumps. Although we can canter, going over the jump versus counting strides is a big difference. We were just focusing going over new and exciting things. Strides will be later. We hit up the wall a few times and then Terri calls out "white barrels" and looks directly at me. Ummmm...I'm not going first!


Terri was confident that I was mostly the reason that my big red horse was not going over the jumps like he should. The anticipation from me was carrying over to him. No arguements there! "What you need is a packer," she suggested. O.k., remember how that went at the show...not in our favor AND it was way smaller than 2ft barrels. How can I say no, I mean, part of me was curious and wanted to try it again. This time Casey was my leader. The first time I watched her ride she was with us at the over fences show. I really think the judge had it out for our barn. I totally think she should have placed higher.

Casey and Breeze

But back to the jumping...Terri calls out "Sit, shoulders back and keep your leg on him." "Oh, and breathe!" I followed Casey and Breeze right over the barrels. HOLY CRAP! He did it! Now that was excitement. I felt like an Olympic jumper. I think that was the first time that he went over a jump without refusing it first. Sad, I know.
Next jump, blue barrels. Again, I wasn't going first. Hannah was the first off the line. She will jump anything. I wish that I was as good as she is when I was that age. One word for her...Fearless. And I still swear that she is older than 14.

Hannah and Neveah

We didn't need a packer this time, he not only went over the jump but cleared it by a mile. It would have been nice to know HOW high he was gonna jump. I had to hang on for dear life!

I didn't even get to my two-point!

At least he was calm after the jump he just cantered away, unlike one of the ponies...LUCY.
I rode Lucy at one of the barn shows, bareback. I have no idea how I did it. Darcy was hanging on for dear life, I mean not like grabbing mane or anything, but her legs were a-grippin' around those corners!! That pony would be great for an Open Jumping class, she can change a lead, cut a corner, and take a jump like nothing I have ever seen. I wish I would have gotten it on video. And Darcy...she rode her like a pro.

Darcy, ride her like you stole her!

After a few times over the barrels we called it a day. I think Olly had a great work out, two hours of jumping...he was WALKING on the trail to cool out.

Hannah and Neveah, Emily and Hailey, and Olly and I