Thanks Everyone!

It's my last post of the year, and I really feel like you guys deserve the credit for this one. As an adult re-rider on a limited budget in a non-english-riding area of the country, my options are not what they could be, shall we say. Nevertheless, my readers have really stepped up to the plate. Whether it was counseling me about saddle options, helping out with ground work, making supplement recommendations, giving me feedback on boarding facilities, or just generally being encouraging, I am so thankful I get to interact with all of you. The blogging community really is pretty cool.

I've been really discouraged the past week or so--Izzy and I aren't really accomplishing anything and I felt like we've been stuck in that mode all year. Last night, I read through most of my blogs from this year and realized how far we've come. At this time last year, Izzy and I were -barely- w/t/c and we were venturing inside the doom bubble. Now, she's a solid training level horse and a joy to ride.

So, thanks for your comments of counsel and encouragement and for blogging about your own activities, which inspires me to keep on going, even when the high for today is 17... Happy New Year!!

Izzy and I approaching the dip of death while XC schooling in May. We're off to the New Year!

Some Pictures

We rescheduled the farrier (he said scheduling conflict, I suspect weather, but either way, it's cool). It was so cold and horrible that I just got Izzy out and lunged her again. I'm so thankful to have an indoor arena to do that in, but when it's 30f and blowing 30mph, I just don't have a burning desire to ride. I don't have burning anything at that point--it's just cold.

I will distract you from how boring this post is by posting pictures.

Here is a cute picture of Izzu in her western stuff. I think this is from last week. I've been riding her with her halter under her bridle so I can lunge off of it. Plus, it makes her look more authentic, don't you think?

It's sort of a "cool, tough trail pony" vibe instead of the "warmblood playing at western pony" which is actually what's going on.

Isn't she so very pretty? I want to get her a blue halter, too, but I haven't been able to find one in stores and the person I tried to have custom make one online flaked out.

Such is life.

In the nasty wind yesterday, the trashcan blew over. As Izzy is pointing out, this is a very scary turn of events. The trashcan is not supposed to look this way.

Silly mare. For all her posturing, she didn't even look at it when we walked by.

I am officially having trouble with the stupid uploader again. I thought I had it figured out, but apparently not. Oh well. You may see Izzy's unconcerned face below. I would add a few more pictures, but I am tired of messing with this... again.

Pony Loving

I didn't have time to ride yesterday, plus it was pouring rain, which I guess is not a bad combination. I stopped by the barn for a quick lunging session just to get the mare out of her stall. I would have let her be, but the farrier is out today and we're trying to continue in the trend of not trying to kill him. Thus, best plan of action=keep Izzy busy and moving until he shows up.

So. I bridled her up and we waded off to the indoor arena. Did I mention it's been raining like crazy here? Also it's blowing snow sideways at about 30-40mph right now. Ugh.

Izzy was so good. Yes, she had a massive bucking fit, but I just kept her going forward and she looked a little sheepish. I don't worry too much about those; if she has something she needs to get out, I'd prefer she do it on the lunge line. Other than that, she was polite, forward, and responsive. I was so bummed I didn't have time to ride.

Then I got home and the new Dover catalog was there. I can't buy anything now, but there's nothing to stop me from making and editing lists, right? Sorry for the lack of pictures lately. I'll try to get some today, maybe. In the mud and snow.

Seattle!!

I am going to Seattle to see one of my good friends who lives there. So, for those of you wh live in/near Seattle, what are some wicked good tack shops to check out? (She loves horses and will happily go along.)

Dressage Bridles

I am contemplating selling my current dressage bridle (which is pretty) to get one that is amazing. Nothing is set in stone yet.

Sooo... I LOVE LOVE LOVE this one. (You may have to be signed in to facebook to see it.) The only problem is that the model has been discontinued and I'm too late to the party to get one new. I have tracked down a used version that is reasonably priced, but it's in oversize. Not sure if we can swing that.

I also like this one. (No need for facebook.) It's not as elaborate, but it's pretty and quality and (best of all!) on sale.

However, the new line of bridles launches in late February, I think. They will be re-releasing the bridle I like, but it's hard to know how that will go. On the one hand, they might make it more awesome. On the other hand, it might suck. I generally just like original versions of things. I can always just cross my fingers and hope that one in the model I like comes available in the correct size, but let's face it: quality bridles are rarely sold used.

Ideas?

First Western Lesson!

That's right, Izzy and I had lessons on two consecutive days. I feel like one of those cool rich people who can have more than one or two lessons a month, except I didn't pay for either of them. (Cathy is letting me use up residual credit with lessons and Teri doesn't charge for lessons).

This was our first ever western lesson. Heck, it was my first ever western lesson. The truth is, whoever put 30 days on Izzy before I got her probably rode her in a western saddle, so Izzy probably has a better understanding of what's going on then I do. Then again, she probably doesn't really remember it.

We actually did very little riding and a lot of talking about theory--specifically, the biomechanics of how a horse moves and how it effects the rider, which leads to how the rider can be most effective with the horse. I felt a bit overwhelmed by the volume of information, but I did better when we moved to applying it. Oh, how to summarize... I'll just highlight the main points that I plan on continuing to practice until our next lesson.

1) Halt. This is important. (Der... for most of you, I'm sure.) In order to achieve a quality halt, we need to focus on preparation--set the horse up to succeed. It is a 3 beat count. One, prepare your body, two, say "whoa", three enforce with the reins only if necessary. I think I have the sequence right. In order to allow the horse to lift her back and use her back end properly, I am to put my weight into my stirrups instead of my seat.

2) Back. This is an important step following the halt. There is a pause in between, as the horse must only back when asked. In order to ask for the back, push your weight into your stirrups and move your legs in rhythm with the horse. I need to understand and influence which legs she moves. Thus, if I want her to back starting with her right front, I need to lift my right rein, while pushing my weight into my stirrups and using my right leg. Then left leg for left front, and so on. On one level this made sense and I like understanding which leg the horse will use and being able to influence that, but it's different than what I've learned before (close the leg to engage the haunches, close the rein to block forward motion, allow backward motion).

Izzy had no problem with it. We're still ironing out my aids as far as selecting which leg she starts on, but when I do it right, she responds correctly. So. Weird. I'm barely grasping the concepts, and she's like, "Ok, now what?"

3) Jog. I was glad we spent some time on this, because it's been a struggle for us. I had been asking Izzy to jog directly out of the walk, which she would do for a little while, but then fall forward and either run on the forehand or break to walk, both of which are non-desirable. Teri explained that I basically want a slow collected trot (also not our forte). In order to get it, I take Izzy out on a loose rein (encouraging the long and low outline) in working trot. I am posting. Then, I sit and half halt, bringing her back to a collected trot. Right now, I also need to shorten my reins. We hold the shortened trot for a few strides (<5), then I give her the reins and we trot on, continuing long and low.

It worked so incredibly well. We had some of our best work ever, and Izzy only broke to a walk once. It makes so much more sense... slow collected work, then forward as a reward. Plus, it keeps Izzy thinking forward and should alleviate our stickiness problem. It only took a few circles for her to get the idea, and then she was fabulous.

Overall, Izzy was really good, though she did get bored of the standing and learning part of the lesson. It's good for her, right?

The only bobble we had was when a couple at the barn (who are very nice) brought their horses out in the indoor. They are Clinton Anderson followers, so I guess they were doing Clinton Anderson stuff. I don't know; I don't keep up with all that. Anyways. One of the horses got popped with a whip a couple of times (I wasn't watching, but it didn't seem excessive). The horse reacted rather strongly. Izzy and Panache (who Teri was riding) both got pretty worried and acted a little silly, but we kept things under control and they settled down quickly. Fun times.

Dressage Lesson and a Thought

Our scheduled dressage lesson was yesterday. I wasn't able to make it out Monday, so I intentionally arrived about 2 hours before the lesson, turned Izzy out in the arena, then took her to one of the turnouts and let her graze for an hour. I figured that since she'd had a day off, she'd be wild and need all that.

Boy was I wrong.

She trotted and cantered in the indoor, but no galloping and bucking. She was very happy and relaxed in turnout, and when I went to ride, she was so ridiculously relaxed that I could hardly get her to go. At all. I guess it's good that she's always at her worst for lessons, since we get to work on more, but sometimes I wish she'd show how well we've been doing. Silly horses.

And of course, PAB (passive-agressive bitch, from my last post) was there to ride during my lesson. She was a little bit better to ride with this time, as she does know my instructor, but that meant she spent plenty of time watching me and commenting on Izzy to Cathy. It's fine, I guess, but it's annoying. I guess it's just that when I ride, I'm focused on me and my horse and staying out of the way, instead of trying to evaluate everyone around me and buddy up to the instructor.

Funny side note: PAB's horse has relatively crappy gaits. They are improving, but it's been a long, long road. So PAB says to Cathy, "Izzy has a pretty nice canter." Cathy, unaware that I want to hit PAB in the face regardless of what she says, answers, "She has three really nice gaits."

Har har har. Izzy win.

Basically, Cathy reminded me that I need to insist with Izzy and not let her get away with saying no to me. Ok. Be more aggressive. Check.

When we were done, I hopped off, pulled off Izzy's saddle and bridle, and put on her leather halter and her oh-so-pretty cooler. I left her pretty white boots on. I stopped on the way back to the barn to talk with another boarder, and a lady I'd never seen before came up. She introduced herself, explained she was an amateur photographer, and said she'd taken some pictures of Izzy. Then she asked if she could enter the pictures in a contest.

;-) I told her she could ONLY if she also emailed them to me, which she promptly promised to do.

Sometime soon, I may have some pretty pictures to post. Yay!

Ok, now the thought: in order to deal more effectively with PAB and her kind, I need to be more willing to assert myself. Part of the reason I don't usually do that is because I'm a really quiet person, and no one can ever hear me. Thus, I have resolved to work on projecting my voice to assist in my goal of being more assertive. Also, I need to be less naive and not totally floored when PAB acts like, well, a PAB.

Boarding Frustrations

I love where I board. It's out there. You all know it.

The problem is that I don't always love who I board with. I'm sure most of you who have ever boarded can relate.

For example: yesterday, I rode Izzy. Yay! Love that mare. For the second time in her entire life, I put a back cinch of the western saddle and I lunged her in a curb bit. (Note: I lunged her off the halter. She was wearing the bridle over it.) She was being really, really good, especially since Teri warned me that some horses buck on feeling the second cinch. Not Izzy: she was being fabulous.

I took her over to the rail to put away the lunge line and get ready to ride. Another boarder (who rides only dressage) was getting ready. She started talking about Izzy, so I mentioned that it was her second time in these accouterments and how proud I was of her. The boarder promptly informed me that the second cinch is the most useless piece of tack in the world and she doesn't know why anyone who is a non-roper would use one. Weird, but ok. Whatever. I didn't bother to mention to her that 1) my relatives own a working cattle ranch and I WILL find a way to bet the pony mare up there and 2) I firmly believe in getting Izzy used to just about everything so we never have an issue with new stuff. I mean really. She was giving me an unasked for opinion and I didn't feel the need to defend myself.

I got on Izzy and we rode around, mostly at the walk, just working on stopping, going, and turning, relying almost entirely on my seat and legs. If she didn't respond, I'd give a little 'bump' with the bit, but the point of a curb is to not use it, basically, and that was the plan. I want Izzy to be accustomed to carrying it and I want to be able to ride in it, but I have no aspirations to ALWAYS ride in it or anything like that. The dressage lady got on and went about her business. Now, our indoor arena is relatively small, so it can be a challenge to share. That said, we both have equal rights to ride in it, and I've never had a problem before.

Nonetheless, the dressage lady proceeds to ride around in n discernible pattern, constantly cutting Izzy and I off. I figure it's not a big deal; we're walking and working on stopping, so I guess that's as good an opportunity as any to put a stop in. I'm frustrated, but it's manageable.

The lady cuts us off again, but instead of going on, stops and says, "Izzy, you need to tell your mom that she's not backing you up right..." and goes on, criticizing us and my riding. I was floored. I was so shocked that I didn't say anything. I just moved Izzy around the lady and went on my way. Izzy to this point, had been lovely. She wasn't super-responsive, but it's a learning curve for both of us, so when she figured out the right answer, she would do it. I was/am very pleased with her.

Within one lap of the arena, I realized that I needed to get off, no ifs, ands, or buts. That lady had so gotten under my skin that I needed 1) to not be around her and 2) to not screw up the ride for Izzy. I dismounted (as out of the way as I could be), took Izzy's bridle off (no sense in leading by a curb and she was wearing her halter underneath), and led Izzy out of the arena with the bridle hanging on the saddle horn.

The lady rode up to the rail and halted. She then proceeded to berate me for (gasp!) using a curb bit on my horse. I looked at her, didn't speak, and took Izzy back to the barn. I was LIVID. Izzy is my horse and I'll do whatever I bloody want with her. I do not owe any sort of explanation to the other boarders for any reason. If I wanted their opinion, I would ask for it.

Izzy was (and is) fine. Throughout our entire ride, she was calm, relaxed, and soft. There was no head-throwing, tail-wringing, bit-chomping, back-hollowing or any other behavior that would lead anyone to believe she was anything other than comfortable and believe you me, she is a very expressive horse when she is not happy. I am willing to consider other options and opinions from people I pay to have them or people I respect who are equally respectable in sharing their opinions, but it just plain pisses me off for someone to butt in and give their (stupid) opinions unasked.

I don't think I have words to express how angry and irritated and upset I was. Fortunately, I am beyond wanting to just swear at the lady and tell her exactly what I think of her (not much). I know that it is in all our best interests to remain civil since we will continue to see each other on a regular basis. Yesterday, I tried the do-not-engage-and-let-it-roll-off method. Let's just say it failed miserably. I'm still pissed about this. Obviously, if this comes up again, I need to say something to let her know I don't want her opinion, but I need to say it in such a way (at least as first) that will not cause too many relational problems. I am not opposed to pissing someone off to get them to leave me alone, but I don't think it's a good first approach. You know. Peace and goodwill towards men and all that.

Ideas?
Picture of Izzy being cute for good measure.

Harmony

I rode Izzy in dressage tack yesterday. She was great! All the work we've been doing on her maintaining her own balance and carrying herself really paid off. It was one of our best rides. She was soft and even into both reins. She moved over when I asked and didn't make a fuss about anything I asked her to do. I love it!

Then, today we pulled out the western tack again. I meant to do another dressage ride, but it was too cold to want to change into breeches. I went back to using the snaffle bit to work on some softness issues that we encountered last time in the sidepull. She was great again! The dressage work really benefited us in that was was calm, collected, balanced, and in tune with my aids. We worked primarily on her holding her own balance in the jog doing figure 8s. Anytime she got heavy on the forehand, I quietly brought her back to walk, halted, backed her until she lightened her front end, and then jogged off again. After a couple of tries, I was doing the whole thing off of my seat and leg.

So nice.

I'm volunteering at a jumping show tomorrow, so I don't know if I'll get to ride or not. I should be back in the saddle on Sunday, and we have a dressage lesson scheduled for Tuesday. Life is good.

Awkward Moments

Izzy and I had a much needed discussion last night about whether or not she had to canter when I asked her to. It went like this:

Me: "Ok, right lead canter... now."
Her: Trot a little quicker and otherwise ignore me.
Me: Smack her with the ends of the split reins pretty hard.
Her: Angry pony takes off bucking and galloping "Ouch, that bloody hurt."
Me: Pulls Izzy up and shouts, "Knock it off, you horrid horse!"

Unfortunately, the BO's husband walked in to feed just as I was shouting, so all he saw was the crazy b*tch who rides her warmblood western calling the poor thing a 'horrid horse'.

You just can't win some days.

Overall, she was pretty good, aside from being really, really distracted that everyone else was getting fed and she was not. That annoyed me, so I made her canter around the arena A LOT, then left her out there to roll while I put some stuff away, then tied her up outside the tackroom to groom and resaddle her (no way I'm toting that massive thing across the road alone), and then made her stand in the cross ties in her barn.

It wasn't all cold heartedness--she was soaked in sweat, and I put her new cooler on her.

It looks great and works really well. I let her eat her grain in the crossties, then left the cooler on her while I cleaned up the aisle, so about 20ish minutes probably. She was nice and warm and dry when I took it off before leaving for the night.

That makes me feel better. Before, I was nervous about working her very hard because I didn't want to make her sweat, then leave her wet and cold in her stall. No fun.

I'm looking forward to actually putting some english tack on and doing a real dressage ride this afternoon. I'm curious to see how it will go after our western work. (Plus, maybe the outdoor arena will finally be rideable).