ERMEGERD RIDING

As I've complained about at length, it's been frozen hard here, then there was the melting/snowing/flooding problem.

Then we had epic winds for about 12 hours.

So beautiful

And then?

The arena dried up and my BO was able to work it for the first time this year. It was lovely.

Ears and sun and 50f!!

The little dude had taken advantage of the weather and galloped himself into a lather in the field, so I figured we didn't need a lunge or anything. Plus he is a rockstar.

I hopped on and off we went.

We did some walk/halt/walk stuff to get him listening to my leg. I tried to focus on keeping my heels down and thumbs up. Maybe someday, right?

I asked him to step up to the trot and was completely blown away. Instead of giraffing and tensing up his underline, the little man kept his body relaxed and stepped right up into the tot.

Looking oh so balanced

Hot damn.

I love this horse.

Then I just rode around the arena announcing to everyone that they had to look at how cute he was. I couldn't even believe it. Last year, we struggled a lot with him feeling behind my leg even when my eyes on the ground would tell me he was going forward.

This year?

he's my badass ottb jumper

Yeah. That 12 weeks off was good to him. Whatever lingering body soreness he had to work though must be gone, because he felt AMAZING. Forward, fluid, responsive. LOVE.

We kept is short, but he gave me some really quality work at the trot and canter. He was stretching down, stepping underneath himself, and trying hard to remember how to move off my leg.

We actually trotted a lot, but I like the canter shots

We had a lovely, wonderful canter on both leads. We stood in the middle and took pictures of the other horse going around. I tightened my girth from the saddle.

I've been dealing with a lot of stress lately, and this was just the perfect antidote. My little man did me proud and I'm still smiling about it.

It's been a long, rough winter, but this is why I dump all the blood, sweat, tears, and dollars into a horse--moments like this when the troubles of the world just fade away from a few glowing moments in the saddle. I'm so glad to be riding again.

Don't believe me? Here's a quick video of how cute he was!

Fit to Ride

I'm not a gym junkie. I actually hate working out indoors and I find the very idea of running on a treadmill to be mind-numbingly boring just to contemplate. Or heaven help us all--a track. HATE.

It's also been winter. I've been taking all excuses to not be active and then I've been trying to offset overwhelming stress with food.

As you can imagine, I am not happy with who I am right now.

Nothing will change overnight, but I'm taking steps to get to where I want to be. I went for a run this morning, which puts me at over 10 for the year. It doesn't sound like much, but I don't think I ran that many times in all of 2013. I'm finding ways to eat more vegetables and less processed food.

And hopefully, I'll have the first real ride of 2014 today.

Starting point

All those things are good. It's going to be a long road for me. I actually quite like running and I don't mind pilates. I realize the heart of my problem isn't a lack of desire, but rather the dream-crushing sadness of watching my old red man go downhill.

It's a new year. I'm focusing on the little bay horse who needs me to be fit and strong to give him the best ride possible for all our upcoming adventures.

No more excuses. I'm laying down the miles, even when I don't feel like it and can only sort of breathe.

Thank You

I've tried to write this post several times, but I can't get beyond the first paragraph. 

By Polar Square Designs

I just wanted to thank Kate at The Adventures of Lucy/Polar Square Designs, Team Flying Solo, Andrea at The Reeling, Wingman to Witching Hour, Lauren at She Moved to Texas, and Allison at Blue Eyed Horse, plus Jana, who doesn't seem to have a blog. They commissioned this lovely portrait of Cuna for me. 

Alyssa at Four Mares, No Money also did a Cuna portrait. I love them both and and beyond thankful to have friends like this. 

Every time I try to write out a proper thank you and say something about what this means to me, I realize that I'm just not ready. Please know my silence isn't ingratitude. I'm still grieving and I'll say more when I can. 

Bridles Part 3: Extra Features

Now that we've discussed aesthetics, fit, and function, it's time to look at a couple a bridle parts that have a range of options available. Crown pieces and bit attachments have more potential variation than any other single piece of the bridle and it's worth knowing the different types and their uses so that you can figure out what best suits your needs.

Starting at the top:

Crowns: 

Courage with a normal crown

Most bridles are made with a standard crown piece. In this model, the cavesson hanger is a narrow strap that runs under the crown and both pieces are held together by the browband. It's easy to adjust, easy to clean, and inexpensive.

There is nothing wrong with this kind of crown piece. It's worked for decades and horses are pretty much fine with them.

Courage with a padded monocrown

Then someone said: "horses are sensitive and there are a ton of nerve endings in the poll area. What if we padded the crown area to cater to sensitive horses?"

And someone else said, "I don't think horses really care, but their owners will. MARKET THIS SHIT."

It's called a padded monocrown.

Instead of two separate pieces, the cavesson hanger is merged with the crown and there's padding on the bottom. Do horses care?

I don't know. Mine haven't. I do like these in the winter time because long winter hair can't get pulled when it's caught between the straps.

That said. I really and truly haven't noticed a difference. At all.

And I specialize in sensitive horses. Your mileage may vary.

contoured padded monocrown

After the padded monocrown, someone thought to add contouring to make the crown go around the ears better.

It seems like a good idea. I did contact Brita at justbridles.com (love that site!) and she said that she gets a lot of returns on the contoured models because they can rub if they don't hit the ears just right. She doesn't have that problem with non-contoured crowns.

I've never had them rub, but I go through bridles at kind of an alarming rate.

Mojito and the comfort crown

There is also the padded crown (aka "comfort crown") option. I always think of it as the bastardized monocrown and I've never actually owned one. It operates on the same principle of alleviating pressure, but the cavesson hanger is just threaded through the crown piece. Does it work? Sure. Is it a PITA to adjust? Yeah. Easy to clean? Probably.

Now let's move down the horse's face:

Bit Attachments! 

And yeah, I get pretty excited about these. There are three different kinds.

The first is sewn. You sometimes see this on double bridles, but mostly only in old photos. It's super safe and very tidy looking, but good luck ever changing your bit or cleaning your bridle. These are a remnant of a different era. I'd steal a picture for you to see, but I just don't believe in stealing. Google it if you're curious.

Cuna with hook studs

The next kind is hook stud ends. I could write a long section about how these are the only acceptable end for the hunter ring, but but why take my word for it? Here's JenJ of Wyvern Oaks to deal with hook studs in a more comprehensive manner:

"My biggest issue with them is that they can fail unexpectedly and at the worst possible time, and because they are hidden, you have no idea when they might be ready to go. I've had two sets of reins fail in the last year - both times, the hook just pulled out during a ride. Both bridles had been disassembled and cleaned completely within a month of failing, and I check over equipment condition pretty carefully when I do that. I had no idea there were problems with the hooks. With buckle ends, it's easy to see all the hardware and leather, so it's easy to check the condition of all the parts.

"My other big complaint is that they tend to be VERY hard to get apart. Granted, I don't have super high-quality bridles, but for the most part they are well-oiled and broken in... but they are STILL very hard to get apart, especially when it's cold. Since I'm currently in a position of switching out bits on a regular basis, this is an extra pain in the butt."

Yeah. Not much I can add to that. Thanks JenJ!!

If you aren't up for sewn and are disenchanted with hook studs (and don't ride hunters), there is another option! World, meet buckle ends.

Courage has buckles

Buckles are easy to use, easy to clean, and very safe. They're also not as tidy looking as hook studs, so they get no love in the hunter world. They tend to be the attachment of choice in the eventing and dressage worlds.

There are so many bridle options. I sure hope you have half as much fun reading this as I do writing it. Crown pieces and bit attachments are just another piece of the puzzle. At the end of the day, you have to figure out what works best for you and your horse. I'm just trying to cover available options so you can make an informed decision (and/or spit fire at me in the comments. I like that too.)

Next time, I'll talk about bridle brands, leather quality, and common myths. :-D

Idaho Winter Explained in Memes

PS Thanks to redheadlins for inspiration

2014 Goals-ish

The best at stuff

I'm trying to  be positive and focus on the things that I want to do when winter finally ends. In light of that, here's the list I'm aiming for this year.

2014 Goals

-go chase cows
Let's face it: I live in the west and there are plenty of horses that still make a living on ranches. Courage is going to have to embrace cows if he's going to live out here. They're everywhere. I might as well take advantage of that. I've never done it before and it sounds like fun.

So spunky

-do a mini endurance ride
I'm still working out the details, but it's something I've wanted to try for years. Might as well give it a go. I'm in contact with an endurance friend about finding an actual ride to participate in. We'll see how it goes.

-jump 3'
This one should be wicked easy. I'm going say that I want to be competent at 2'9" courses by the end of the year. Not "hunter round" polished and perfect, but safe and sane without being over faced.

Practicing for the water jump

-run BN cross country (maybe school some novice?)
We'll do our best to hit a couple of clinics and local derbies. The little man is brave and clever, so I don't think it will be a problem

-do some local jumper shows
I don't have the finances to haul to big out of state shows, but I just want him to get out and learn about the show environment and hopefully start his own ribbon collection. Up til now, all he's won is money... wait...

Long Range Goals

-Do a hunter derby
Not even kidding. Upper level eventing doesn't call my name, but these look so incredibly fun.

Photo by Lauren at She Moved to Texas - used with permission

Dream goal

-Qualify C-rage for the derby finals in Kentucky. I'm still on the fence about whether I'd want to ride him myself or hire someone with a much better shot of winning, but I'm confident that we're way too far out for that to be a big deal right now.

Unrealistic? Totally. Fun? Absolutely. I know absolutely nothing about hunters, beyond their fixation on braiding (gag). I don't know if Courage is going to be fancy enough. I don't even know how to go about qualifying. I do know that giving him a solid basic education, including lots of desensitization, natural obstacles, and practice at being handy will only help.

Squint and pretend the jump is huge

We'll try to do a couple clinics with hunter-type people and get some realistic feedback. I have no idea if it will all work out, but a girl can dream.

I'm getting excited for riding weather.

More Winter

There are really not a lot of things to do with a horse when the entire world is under 4-6" of slush and snow.

Let me back up. It's been a cold winter here, but very dry. Our ground is frozen solid and has been for months. Then we finally broke the dry spell with some crazy snow. Now the snow is melting, but the ground is too frozen to absorb anything, so the sludge just sits there and floods and it's cold and awful.

Sexy sporthorse body

That saddle I talked about buying? Yeah, Courage tried it on in the crossties of the barn. It looks like it fits him pretty well. I haven't gotten to even sit in it, because the only "safe" footing that isn't frozen mud topped in ice covered in slush is the road. Asphalt.

I just don't think it's a good idea to take a horse who hasn't been able to run around in weeks, tack him up, and walk down asphalt and expect anything useful to happen.

Out for a walk

That said. Courage seemed pretty quiet yesterday. I meant to bring him into the barn for a thorough grooming, but the driveway had been plowed. The road was clear.

Off we went.

We headed down the road on a loose rope. He was unbothered by the prancing Arabian stallion, passing vehicles, the runner, the dog, or the garbage cans.

I'm crossing my fingers for better weather this week, but if we don't get it, it's possible we will resume riding on the road. Nothing like exposure to create a nice broke horse, right?

Tack 'Ho Therapy

You all knew this post was coming.

The borrowing can't go on

I'm tack 'ho on the best of days, and it certainly hasn't been the best of anything lately. Naturally, when you combine a tack 'ho with severe emotional vulnerability and top it off with a sale, you get a shit ton of new pony toys.

First things first: I ordered a sparkle browband for Courage. He goes in size midget and he deserves to have something that fits. More on this later, I promise.

Nunn Finer "bridge" breastcollar

Then Tack of the Day made a move that can only be called "wildly exploitative of my mental state" and put the breastcollar I've been drooling over on sale for a wildly low price. So yeah, this baby will be coming home whenever the TOTD gods see fit to actually ship it.

I guess the advantage to having a midget horse is that when things go on sale only in XL and XS, you just grab the XS and march to the checkout like you earned it. BOOYAH AVERAGE SIZED HORSES. WHO'S THE BEST AT WEARING TINY SHIT??

Ahem.

That would be Courage.

Berney Brother jump saddle

I thought I'd done enough damage at that point, since I also bought a couple of dvds and a magazine subscription (not horse related), and then I ran across this beauty:

Hm... I own three saddles. Two don't fit C-rage at all and the third is sort of ok for both of us, but not really ok if we want to jump much of anything (we do).

And this was our size and going for a song.

I closed my eyes and pulled the trigger. You're welcome for the overly grim metaphor. My bank account insisted.





Naturally, before I found the saddle, I'd already bid on a saddle pad on eBay. It was in our colors with custom embroidery and sparkles and I wanted it. I was trying to be semi-responsible, so I only bid the minimum and figured I'd be outbid almost immediately.

Only I wasn't. Now C-rage is going to be the proud pony sporting a custom chocolate pad with teal sparkles and his name on the side. I'm not even going to pretend to apologize for how blingy and un-traditional it is. Tradition can stuff a sock in it and my little man is going to shine.

I'm back on a very strict budget, as per the usual. I HATE HATE HATE not having money, so it's going to be a slow tack year (ok, quarter) until I feel like I'm back on track.

In the mean time, keep your drool off my toys.

Getting Started

And pose dramatically, obviously

It's been cold and frozen here, so Courage has really exciting things on his agenda most days. It reads something like "eat breakfast. go in my field. eat dead grass. drink water. come back in the stall. eat dinner. sleep."

Sometimes we go for handwalks or brush him. Always cookies.

NOPE

That said, I'm trying to very slowly start easing him back into work as the weather allows since we don't have access to an indoor. We can't do a lot--even when the weather was "warm" the arena was still frozen enough that the little dude declared it "absolutely impossible to canter".

So much walking

That's ok. I have lots to work on. When it's really frozen, we just walk. We do walk/halt/walk transitions to educate him about forward. We practice baby leg yields so he can start to think about what leg pressure means. I try to think about basic riding errors I'm working to correct--weight in my heels, thumbs up and we play with contact just a little bit.

Seriously. How cute is he?

I'm running a fine line with him--between all the work we did last fall and the long layoff to let his muscles relax, he is finally starting to give up the giraffe method he was so fond of. Now he's running in the other direction that sensitive horses are prone to: curling! We're working towards a happy medium and eventually, I hope I can get him happy in the contact.

Look at that neck stretch!

We haven't done much trotting (see: arena conditions), but the little we have has been pretty focused. I want him forward PROMPTLY and moving out, covering ground. We haven't even trotted a circle yet this year, but I'm hopeful that the basics we are doing now will pay off once we finally get rolling.

It's still just early February and I can't hope for much regular riding time until the end of the month. That said, the little dude is pretty good about thinking over the lessons we cover and coming back better than before.

He is going to be a very cool little horse and there is no reason on earth to rush him. I'm looking forward to more consistent riding time, but taking advantage of what I have.

And yeah, soooooo ready for spring.

Ammy Hour: Meet Paige!

We're mixing it up this week. To this point, I've feature adult amatuers in the jumping/eventing world, but Paige is a rodeo queen. It's like nothing I've ever attempted to do, but it's one more way an adult amateur is having fun with horses. Paige blogs over at A Pony and a Payday from the sunny state of California.

Horse showing

1) You’re at dinner with work colleagues. How do you introduce yourself?
Hi my name is Paige I work at Stanford handling Communications, Websites and Social Media. I have a corgi named Raleigh and I ride horses.

2) But what you really meant to say was this:
Hi my name is Paige, I take care of all sorts of techie stuff for Stanford. But honestly I'd rather not be in front of a computer, but in the saddle. Did I mention I have a corgi, he is the best thing ever. No I don't race, yes I jump, yes I rodeo... Well no actually I don't rodeo I just am the pretty girl carrying a flag with a tiara.

Color

3) Tell us about your horse(s):
I have two ponies, yes I am 23, yes I still call them ponies.

My old show horse Sugar Ray Knox, or Ray, who is essentially the horse version of a 40 year old gay fashion designer. We have won a billion World/National Championships (Ok like 5, close enough) he's 20 but every time I try to retire him he goes crazy, so he still shows for his sanity!

Then there is my reiner, sassy Princess pony, KSU Mighty Mouse, or Mouse. This time pony is applicable, she barely sticks at 14.3. Pretty much everything you assume by hearing that name is accurate. She is equivalent to Cady on Mean Girls, she thinks she is the bomb, but quite honestly when faced with detention she will begrudgingly give up her sassiness.

Chrome

4) How did you meet him/her?
Mom found Ray through some sale postings with the American Paint Horse Association, he was coming off being 8th in the nation with his previous owner. We were looking for a youth how horse for me. When we went to try him I didn't like him, like at all. I wanted a 17 hand hunter not a 15'3 western pony. But we ended up buying him and winning state and national titles in both hunters and western so jokes on me!

Mouse was the opposite, pretty much completely and entirely loved her at first sight. I was taking a colt breaking class in college at Kansas State, there was this shaggy mousy colored little filly. I had no clue how at almost 6 ft tall I would even be able to ride something the size of large yearling, but I had to have her. Sick as a dog, in freezing cold, I went to the yearly auction. Walked in, grabbed a buyer's number, bid, signed the form, and walked away with my little pony.



5) What have you done together?
Ray and I have accomplished everything and anything a rider could ever hope for. Unanimous World Champions, numerous top 5 and 10 World Show awards, Nation leader in several categories, and Top 20 in the nation all around. I don't generally brag about myself, but I could tell you all day about how awesome my horse is. He is my one true love after 10 years together.

Mouse has been an accomplishment in her own right, different victories, but exciting nonetheless. She is the first horse I picked out myself. She was broke to carry weight but I put all the beginning training on her, taught her to spin, carry her body, move her hip shoulder anything I wanted. My trainer helped me with the sliding stop and flying change and really finish her out. Our hard work has paid off, in her first two shows she was top 20 at NRHA Rookie Day, and 3rd in the AQHA show at the Grand National.

6) Where are you going together?
Ray is going to get very fat and happy, as long as he wants. I am hoping I can show him a few more times as an Ammy. He just came off a year lease with a cute little one, the ended up 13th in the nation. Looks like he's still got it!

Mouse and I are prepping for our next rodeo queen pageant. Until I can afford to truly hit the reining circuit I am trying my hand at one of my lifelong dreams to compete as a rodeo queen.

7) How do you finance the addiction?
I work 6 days a week. My big kid job is communications with Stanford University. My weekend job is fitting little kids for their up down lessons at a local tack shop.

8) How often do you ride?
Currently my horses are at the ranch, so my riding is sporadic. But when my horses are with me usually I ride 6 days a week.

9) What’s the single biggest thing that helps you achieve your goals?
Tenacity. I am a hard headed stubborn person. Failure and losing are not an option.

10) If there was one thing you could say to people getting ready to join the ranks of riding (or re-riding) adults, what would it be?
Find a trainer you trust and take lessons. Regardless of how much you have or haven't ridden there's always something to learn. Also spend your money on the right things, a $5,000 saddle won't help you if you have a $500 horse. The show Rodeo Girls is absurd, but very accurate, spending $500,000 on a horse doesn't guarantee you will even stay on!

11) What are your horse keeping arrangements?
My horses rotate between the Stanford Red Barn and my parent's 10 acre ranch. Also I routinely send Mouse to my trainer in LA for tuneups.

12) What is/are your long term equine goals?
I always have goals... Ever evolving but completely serious. I generally don't ride just to ride. For now it is to win the Mother Lode Round-Up Queen and then compete for Miss Rodeo California. Ray and I have plans to do a bit more showing, but nothing serious. Eventually I would love to take Mouse to the NRHA Affiliate Finals. At some point I would like to own another hunter and go back to the hunter ring/jumping some.

13) Bottom Line:
Bottom Line, I am not typical to any one discipline. I love rodeo queening and I couldn't imagine doing anything else right now with my life. But rodeo to hunters, I love and do it all.

Strong legs, steady seat and soft hands win; from the roping box to the jumper ring it stays the same.

Thanks to Paige for participating! There are so many different equine outlets for the ammies among us and I love hearing about one that's so unfamiliar to me. It takes all kinds of awesome people and I love getting to talk to them. Are you an adult ammy who should be featured? Contact me through the comments or via email at hakuna.matata at gmail dot com!