The Terrible Fives: Baby Draft Mare Style

So last year I get this absolutely fantastic baby horse who is the champion of all things baby horse. She's calm and honest and straightforward and adorable and sweet and fun and brave and yeah basically I think she's perfect.

can you even? you cannot.

But anytime I said, "she's four" to other people, I straight up got the JUST YOU WAIT FOR THE TERRIBLE FIVES.

Which like. 1) Whether or not I'm having fun with my horse does not impact the amount of fun you can have with yours, so chill TF out about that. It's not like there's a finite fun pile and my heaping portion is taking away from yours. 2) While horses certainly start to push boundaries once they understand them, the whole point of ZB is that she's not evil or fried, so while yes, some resistance is expected, it's not like she's going to turn into some horrific hellion harpie.

well i mean. this aside lol. 

Now my baby mare is the dreaded five. She's been in training for a while and she's starting to really understand what we're asking her and where the boundaries are.

I've gotten a couple texts from trainer lately indicating that ZB has been less than 100% foot perfect. Which is still like 95% foot perfect, which I think is pretty damn good.

But hey. After spending most of a week out of state, it was time to hop on and reassess what was going on.


If you're not a video watcher (like me!), here's the relevant stills:

R LOOK AT CHAMPION BABY MARE

Her good moments were really super. 

R SHOW MOM HOW ZB R CANTER CHAMPION

Yup. 

She was cracking me up. She juuuuust figured out how to put the pieces together in terms of canter being an expected behavior under saddle so now she's like "HOKAY MOM I R CANTER LIKE GOOD BABY" and then after 1-4 strides she's like "R BERRY TIRED PLZ TO STOP NAOW HOKAY". 

But like. Constantly. Before I snagged this video, I couldn't get ten strides of trot without popping into the canter. Also #babyhorseproblems, we can't really canter and steer yet. 

R NEED COOKIES NAOW

I mean, when your baby mare "acting out" is just her being proud of herself for learning something hard? 

That's basically the cutest thing ever. 

Oh and this is what her good moments look like right now:

omfg baby mare champion

I was going to write a sarcastic comment here about "too bad she's not more fancy", but again after almost a week out of town, I came home and got on my baby mare with zero prep and had a super excellent ride and yeah... ZB is the best. I adore her. That is all. 

ZB: The Wild West Saga

The last month I owned Courage, I went on a western kick and bought a bridle and a saddle. The saddle of course fit ZB somewhat like a banana boat on the top of a hill.

pictured: rocking chair

So obviously that was never going to work.

HOWEVER.

The bridle. Omg. I was super duper in love with it and I'd LITERALLY JUST BOUGHT IT and the advantage to living where I do is that custom western stuff is super accessible. 

I took this bridle to a shop that's like a mile from my house:

And one highly custom throat latch later, I had this:

well and upgraded slobbers straps #hosgonnaho

Of course, given the saddle situation, the western bridle was mostly relegated to bareback days. 

i said mostly

BUT

OMG

The other day, I walked into the tack room and was greeted by this glorious sight:

UNKNOWN. TACK.

I tracked down the owner, got permission to play with the saddle, and. Well. 

me: the light is perfect
me: ZB strike a pose
ZB: R WANT LOOK OVER THERE

See, once you have the set up all ready, it's time to get on and ride. 

boom. western zb.

Here's a wee secret about me: I am completely terrible at riding western. 

It's never been a part of my daily life. I super admire those people who just effortlessly sit there and flow with the horse and look like they were born in a stock saddle, but those people are so not me. I'm an obsessive detail person who is like HOW DO I WESTERN

The best feedback I've gotten was this: 

"Just. Stop. Doing. That."

STOP DOING WHAT?

"Whatever the hell that is." 

Curious? 

NOW ITS ON VIDEO.

I think it's best described as some sort of hunter perch with my hands singing a discordant duet of FALLING FREE FALLING. Who knows. Props to ZB for being a major sport and just letting me do whatever the hell that is.

Maybe I'll figure it out. Maybe I won't.

The important takeaways are these:

1) ZB is stinking cute as a western pony.

2) We look super legit as long as I don't get on

3) CHECK OUT WHO IS BOSS AT DITCHES

uh possibly we have our own way of doing them

I Pay A Trainer and I Like It

I am totally "that amateur" right now. My trainer rides my horse. I'm not there for it. I don't know what they do unless I ask (I don't require neurotic updates since I don't actually think my horse will kill said trainer). I barely know what she eats. I don't document every detail of every day and track patterns and obsess over every moment.

ZB R WANT OWN MINIATURE HOOMAN

When I go to the barn, I mess around. I don't even always hold on to the reins.



I spend a lot more time toodling and feeding treats and watching ZB knock shit down than actually "training".

can you even? you cannot.

Part of me justifies it by saying I don't want to fry Zoe or push her too hard. She's still a growing baby and no one wins if she thinks work hurts.

Even when I have grand illusions of showing up and like "training" or something, I'm easily sidetracked by finding a western saddle that actually fits my 55 gallon drum of a horse and then staging "Old West" looking photos in the dressage arena. (Note to self: walk 100' to the sagebrush next time you're in this mood.)

Needs windmill 

Like right now--the biggest thing Zoe is struggling with is body awareness.

I haven't started her in a 12 step program. We aren't obsessing over cavaletti and jumping small fences and whatever. I'm not freaking out at all. At. All. 

We're planning to do a bunch of trail riding this summer. 

I figure that will help her. 

photo by Courage Has Opinions

I did actually get my rear in gear and "do dressage" one day this weekend. 

omg baby mare!

Let me tell you something. 

um hellooooo

Being "that amateur" is freaking awesome. 

Her good moments are lovely. Her bad moments are sane. I get to enjoy the progress right now without being the one putting in long hours in the irons.

It's hard to explain. After 4 years of having to read every muscle twitch and ride every day and be on my A game for every moment, it is unbelievably relaxing to just... not.

hair goals

Every day, Zoebird is the horse I always wanted. She takes the stress out of horsemanship. 

On the Bit or on the Buckle: Dressage Clinic Round II

Let's just agree cold medication does not make organizing one's thoughts easier and bear with me as I try to put words in an order that make sense.

Let's also agree that trainer rides are THE BEST THING ever for working ammies because omg "phoning it in" would be a generous description of how I'd been riding the two weeks up to the clinic, but the combination of trainer rides and having a champion baby mare means it was actually a really good experience for everyone. WUT.

Soooooo we last rode with this clinician back in like... October? At that point, she said many wonderful things about ZB's ability and told me 1) ZB will be very easy to get on the bit and ride correctly but 2) she must learn to come up and over to the bit, never ever down. This is a function of conformation--if I pull her head down, she'll dig a hole to China she's so on the forehand.

This is a concept that I really stressed in my daily riding. That's why you saw lots and lots of photos like this:

I wanted her going forward with her head up out of the way of her shoulders.

Right of the bat, clinician was like "wow she looks like a different horse have you done turns on the forehand?"

I sort of made a croaking noise. (Answer: trainer has done them with her. Go trainer!)

The idea was to teach ZB that leg=stretch down. Thus, I'd ask her to stretch in the halt, then ask for a single step of turn on the forehand, then immediately ask her to stretch down again. The idea being that she'd start to anticipate the stretch and associate it with the leg. (omg let the anticipation work for you. horse nerd training brain loooooved this.)



Of course, there are other answers then the right answer and because ZB is a clever lady, she started offering those as well. I think my favorite quote here was, "You do the right thing and wait for her to come to you." The was no punishment or rushing and because ZB is a champion baby mare, she pretty consistently started picking the right option. (um swoon srsly can you ever she is just the best).



Then we had to overcome some mental obstacles on my part--I'd give up to easily (but she wants to look at that other horse!) or overcompensate and do too many other things. Since I was asking ZB to bend to the inside, she just kept taking a smaller circle and I was getting all pretzel-y trying to make it big. Clinician pointed out that "she's not going to want to stay on the smaller circle. Let her make the mistake and then let her learn to listen to your leg."

Oh yeah I guess that super makes sense too huh.



The funny thing about this lesson is how I'm describing it in so many complicated sounding steps, but the actual riding of it was very simple. Once ZB was stepping up with her inside hind and reaching down with her neck, if I rode consistently and correctly and let her come to me, she connected across her back from inside leg to outside rein.



Of course, leave it to me to find interesting ways to screw things up. The moment we switched directions, I started overbending ZB's neck, which would cause... nothing good, haha. (It's not like I have a massive amount of baggage about turning right. OH SNAP YES I DO.)



The next video is a long one, but we started really putting it all together. Basically, I needed to be aware that she's learning every stride. If she's pulling, I need to change something so she has more good strides than bad strides. "On the bit or on the buckle" is our new mantra. That means either I am expecting her to work correctly or she is free to do whatever, but no weird half assing things in the middle.



We didn't actually get to canter this time out, but we talked about how to transfer those same concepts across.

It was a really fantastic lesson for both of us--I've felt like Zoë was ready to take the next steps, but I wasn't quite sure what those steps looked like. Now I feel confident going forward that we can work on these concepts and progress. At no point did I feel like either of us was overfaced or out of our depth and there was definitely a huge change in ZB's way of going in the lesson.

And now it is time to re-up my DayQuil.

buckle sass

Sagebrush Over Satin

I'm not feeling it on the horse showing front right now. I'm just not. I love riding Zoëbird at home and I'm excited about doing a series of clinics with her and I'm thrilled that I'm able to keep her in part training and that's all well and good.

But like. Nothing about a horse show sounds fun to me right now.

Oh and I've been watching Westerns lately and like.

godless. watch it.

I live in the west. And I have a ranch bred horse.

And that is a literal thing I can actually do.

SO WE'RE DOING IT. (Soon. Snow melting off the mountains as we speak.)

guys she's not even trying yet

Don't get me wrong here--ZB is a talented, good-minded, hard-working lady and the progress she makes in her dressage training every day is phenomenal. And yeah long term I want to get my bronze medal on her.

This isn't me abandoning those goals.

A huge part of getting Zoë to me was finding a horse that I could just flat have fun on. And y'know.

Whether it's our first outside right lead canter....



Or just hanging out with friends on a gorgeous day...



She makes me smile every day.

It's not a sayonara to horse showing. We'll get back to it. There are just so many other fun things to do right now.

I'd be silly not to.

Where We're At, Right Meow Style

So much going on, so little time. Needless to say, Ms. ZS Zoëbird has been completely fabulous. We have:

Acquired a sheet

Acquired a cooler (with a more fancy one on the way--anyone up for sacrificing a virgin to USPS so they'll start delivering to my house again?)

Played outfits (a lot, clearly)

We've been riding too. Nothing huge or ground breaking, but it's really fun because Zoë learns from day to day and the ride on her changes accordingly.


Since our last check in, I'd say she's more forward and more consistent in the bridle and has gotten more comfortable seeking the contact from time to time.

Are you feeling nimbly bimbly?

Sometimes I Ride Too

If you're sitting over there like "yes SB is shopping and thinking thoughts about horses, BUT WHAT IS A ZB DOING PRECIOUS?", well, this post is for you.

SHE IS WEARING POM POM HATS

When we left off, Zoëbird had just figured out cavaletti and I took a lesson her.



 That's pretty much where we are.

Ha.

Before all y'all Zoëbird fans riot on me, the little lady is doing fantastic.

We're in the middle of a streak of unseasonably warm weather, which means we got to put in record-early first rides outside the tiny dark indoor.

Full disclosure: every time I rode C-rage outside the indoor the first time, he bolted with me. Baggage much? YES.

EARS OUTSIDE

I am pleased to inform you that ZB was a freaking CHAMPION OF OUTSIDE and like.

I R REAL TIRED MUM

Yeah one of our best rides lately and she didn't put a foot wrong. What's more, I'm starting to trust her and expect that and I was actually able to keep my stupid brain stuffed in it's head and things were good.

Then we had our second ride outside, so like honeymoon's over.

pic actually from first ride, but is representative

Yup still a champion. The one big thing I'm learning is that if I want to work her hard when it's above 40f, I will definitely need to clip her. I'd been avoiding clipping because I was so much enjoying not blanketing and she seemed super happy with our mild winter buuuuut that's just going to have to happen.

I do make an effort to mix things up, so I set a wee tiny jump for her.

Uh.

It's a work in progress.

10/10 cutest horse

I definitely wondered how it would be to start with a baby draftie type. Would the training be boring? Would my brain get on board?

What I've found is that my favorite part of horse training is learning to communicate with the horse, which I am already doing with Zoë on a basic level and she certainly has no shortage of things to communicate right back.

Plus.

I cannot say enough about how fun this little lady is. She shows up and tries her hardest every single day. She wants to do the right thing. She's sassy and opinionated and just a darn cool creature.

AND THEN WHAT HAPPENED

I've probably mentioned this, but in case you do something with your life other than obsess over my Zoebird, here's the background:

She's four. She spent six months last year being a driving horse, which is fantastic in terms of being low-impact while engaging her brain and showing her the world. However, as a baby driving horse, she was asked not to canter. And as a baby draft horse, cantering on her own wasn't a high priority. 

When she came home in July, we had lots and lots to tackle and one of those things was learning to canter. We started in the round pen. She could only do a few strides at a time. It was not coordinated. 

awwww babeh zozo

When she got more coordinated, we moved to the big arena! 

sunset lunging picture. yup. 

First I was just thrilled if she got a canter. Didn't matter if it was crossfiring, wrong lead, whatever. 

Then over the course of a few weeks, I upped my expectations to a WHOLE HALF CIRCLE and she had to do it EACH DIRECTION. 

As she got more comfortable, I upped the distance until she was doing 2-3 upward canter transitions each direction for a total 2.5 circles each way at the canter. 

All that was on the lunge line. 

And like.

safety first, kids!

Lunging a Zoebird is a real stupid thing. This is the horse I get on bareback with no prep to toodle and I don't want her to think running is a prerequisite to riding. 

Hence, we've been backing off the lunging but I want her to keep cantering and improving and building strength and muscle memory. 

Which means.

Prolly it's time to try that shit under saddle. 

good thing i don't have a shit ton of canter baggage.
HO SNAP

Soooooo. I seriously considered farming out the cantering process. 

But I have to do it eventually, and after several months of watching a Zoebird canter on a lunge line, I knew she wasn't going to be naughty. 

Last week, I was trotting around. I thought canter might be a good idea, so I asked Zoe to go. She went OH HAI BIG TROT and I was like HO SHIT DEATH NOPE. Plus we didn't have a media person, so even success would have been undocumented, which is clearly the most important issue. 

and then we went on the ditch bank and she was real wild
or like
not

But earlier this week, I was having a real nice ride. We'd done transitions and figure eights and Zoe was being a super lady.

And I thought.

What the hell.

plus media person obv

We got big trot, but instead of panicking, I giggled. 

And then I thought about farming out the process again. 

And then I thought let's do this thing.

If you're a video hater, here's the relevant still:

wheeee!

You can't really see it from this angle, but I have a stupid grin on my face because Zoe is so fun. You can see in the video that she sort of four beats and then is like SMOOSH GOES WOOSH (credit to AA with RA for my new slogan).

It's cute. It's fun. It's SUPER to ride.

AND BRAKES EVEN

I should probably have a cooler wrap-up than, "it was real fun and I can't wait to do it some more", but that's where it's at.

Ms. Zoebird.

The wonder baby.