Ground Work

Thanks for your support, all. I'm feeling a bit better now, so here's to hoping things continue to improve.

It was an absolutely beautiful day yesterday--45f and a light breeze with full sun. I had officially decided that I wouldn't even bother putting a saddle on Izzy until she saw the chiropractor, so instead we did some ground work.

We used her leather halter with a chain to give me a little something. I rarely have to use it, but every once in a while, Ms. Mare decides she doesn't have to listen.

Anways. Just putting the chain on was enough. All of a sudden, she remembered how to walk, trot and halt on the lead line, just following my body position instead of trying to run me over. Perfect. I did lunge her in the big outdoor arena and she was actually really good. Still better left than right, but not as bad to the right as she'd been before.

All set for chiro this morning.

Discouraged

Something else is wrong. I suspect Izzy's NQR in her left hind. She was ok going to the left, but had an absolute fit about going right and taking her right lead. This is particularly remarkable because She's a right-sided horse. Even loose, she was taking the left lead when going right, though she did pick it up on the lunge. That said, I could barely keep her out on a circle to the right because she kept leaning in like she was trying to keep weight off that outside hind. Oh, and she absolutely couldn't go straight to the right. She isn't off, she's just a little short on the hind, so I'm thinking she tweaked something.

Sigh.

I will call the chiro today and see what we can do.

I'm just feeling discouraged, though. Sometimes I think I should just sell Izzy to someone who could appreciate/use her more and buy something slower and stupider for myself to putz around on. Part of the problem is that I really can't afford lessons right now. I could maybe, but every time I have some money for it, I get to pay some other equine professional to fix the problem pony. I feel a bit adrift and I'm not sure what to do about it.

Part of me wants to explore other options. There is an eventing barn near me with some high-ish level trainers. Maybe I should explore either moving her there or taking some lessons (with imaginary money, at this point). I know a girl who's a really excellent rider and does some training--maybe I should see if she'd come ride Izzy a few times.

We could take more lessons with Cathy, but I feel like her teaching style isn't really the best for me at this point. She knows how to do a lot of things, but she's not always good at conveying the 'why' which is what I need. If I'm going to work on my own most of the time, I need to understand more than just the mechanics. I need to know the theory behind it so I can develop it more on my own.

Objections to my plans so far:
1) Money.
2) RE: the eventing facility. Pretty sure it's expensive. Plus, the trainer is not known for his kind and sympathetic understanding of horses. More like, most of them run like mad at every jump they see because they know they'll get whipped if they don't. Frankly, I like Izzy's jumping style and don't want to screw with it.
3) RE: the rider. I don't know. She's a rider and not really a trainer and she's pretty shy, so I'm not sure she's really what we're looking for. It wouldn't hurt to have someone more experienced ride Izzy for me, but I don't think it would help me all that much, and I'm the basic problem.

A very large part of me just wants to hunt down a full time good-paying job and move Izzy to some magical facility where a pro rides her a few times a week and I can take lessons like a typical well-to-do adult ammy. The problem? I don't think that mythical facility even exists. I don't know where I would send her. Oh, and job hunting right now? Ha. Ha ha ha. It's that bad.

So... any words of wisdom for the floundering adult ammy who feels like she's just screwing up her perfectly nice horse?

Wondermare Expresses Her Opinions

Let's talk saddles.

Izzy has a Collegiate Alumni saddle. It's a close contact saddle with a convertible gullet designed for high-withered horses. I have the wide gullet installed, and it fits her ok with a front lift pad. Yes, it could be better, but she's happy and that's good enough for me.

When I decided to try out a treed dressage saddle so I could have some extra support, the easiest option was just to get the Collegiate Intellect saddle, which is the convertible dressage model. It fit her back remarkably well. That said, the regular width gullet that came installed was definitely too narrow for Ms. Mare. I tried the wide gullet out of the jumping saddle and had the same result--it fit ok with a front lift pad.

Then I tried to outsmart my horse (never do this): I went to the tack store and got a medium-wide gullet. My thinking was this: if regular is too narrow, and wide is too wide, why not just go for the in between size?

Answer: because your horse LIKES it too wide, dammit.

Yep, did the medium wide thing yesterday. No lift pad, just the fuzzy adopted sheepskin. Izzy had an absolute head flipping cow in which she informed me that she would under no conditions work in that saddle, thank you very much.

I dismounted, took her back to the barn, changed the gullet AGAIN (I am getting really good at it), and put the saddle on again with the fuzzy sheepskin.

Izzy had another cow. NO THANK YOU.

Grrr.

Back to the barn, remove sheepskin, add front lift pad.

And magically... that works for her. I don't know why, but she went forward nicely and behaved herself. We were bovine-less, except for the first few canter transitions. She didn't think she could do them, but she figured it out. Huh. After about a 20 minute ride, she was forward, soft, and stretching into the contact. Oh, and did I mention that we were even able to do some work towards our February goals? Yeah. They might not be a total fail this month after all. Hooray!

Pony Love

I'm still blown away by the fact that I, SprinklerBandit, have a pony of my very own. She's what I always wanted for my whole life, and she's more than lived up to expectations and dreams.

Aimee & Izzy forever.

Option #3

In all fairness, I didn't consider option #3 when I left you with a poll. It's actually the most logical option. You remember that I mentioned how shocked I was that -my- tackstore, the one that never has anything worth having, was carrying something I was interested in.

Well, they didn't have it in Izzy's size. Of course. Fortunately, I'm pretty good at eyeballing her sizes so I didn't just buy one that didn't fit and then have to return it.

On the other hand, after scouring google while on the phone at work for hours yesterday, I found a second Micklem bridle available at the internet. So... yeah... used, super good deal, on it's way to me now.

I think I should get this tshirt:

Stacey over at Behind the Bit is designing them. Lots of fun options.

I'm kidding about the shirt for now, but how perfect would it be for me? Really? Yeah...

Sigh.

So. My horse. The reason I have this blog. I mean, I assume you read this blog to hear about the Wondermare more than to hear my prattle on about tack-whoring and whatnot. Never fear! I even have a picture today.

This is what we call the lazy man's lunging cavesson. Specifically, I was starting Izzy back in a bit for the first time and I didn't want to lunge off the bridle.

I disassembled my jump bridle, then put my leather halter over it. Voila! A lunge cavesson. You might also note the loverly sheepskin halfpad we are using. Have no fear! I didn't buy it. It's just that I am the only person in the tackroom at the small barn, and there is this sheepskin pad that has been sitting there always. Apparently, it was left by a former boarder. I'm thinking I'll adopt it. Poor thing needs a home. ;-)

Since Izzy had Monday off, she decided to play a fun game called "how fast can I run at the fence in the indoor arena". Also "how high can I buck while running". In light of those games, I decided that we would stick with lunging for her re-introduction to the bit. We warmed up both directions, and then I put loosely adjusted side reins on her. She doesn't wear them often (since they tend to make her a bit heavy), but she gave me some lovely work yesterday.

Can't wait to ride tomorrow... hate that I'm too busy to get out on Wednesdays.

Not So Formal

This is the barn lot on Sunday. Yes, more snow.

I hate snow.

Still, we're lucky enough to have an indoor, so we bundled up and got ready.

There's a reason I bought Izzy a fancy cooler this fall. ;-) When it's precipitating, I just tack her up, throw the cooler over her, and off we go.

Yes in a sidepull.

I'm still riding sans whip in an effort to accomplish my goal of getting her more responsive, allow her to heal thoroughly, and give her lots of room to make her opinion known on how she feels. So far, I'm pleased with the progress we've made. She is much more forward now that her face is comfortable. Can't really blame her for that.

As promised, here's our riding get-up as of late. We are stylin'. (Ha.) My inner matchy-matchy wanna-be hunter-princess is appalled. My inner eventer says, "Well, it gets the job done."

My oft-expressed tack-whoring self says "MUST HAVE MICKLEM BRIDLE NOW".

Excuse me while I beat the tack whore back.

Ok, so I do really want to try the Micklem, but realistically, I need to wait and take care of other expenses first. I'm sure we'll be sporting one sometime this summer, but in the mean time, I will find something else to obsess over. (And if you find a horse size one used, do shoot me the link. I'm currently emailing with the seller of the only used one on the internet.)

In other news, I have to go to the tack store today to pick up something that came in. Who thinks I'll be able to walk out without this?

Oh, yeah, it's just an amazing synthetic halter that looks like leather but it comfy and totally weatherproof. As in yes, I could hang it on the front of Izzy's stall and no, the weather would not damage it. Tekna ftw.

I have no idea why my backwoods tackshop is carrying something cool, useful, trendy, and inexpensive, but I like it.

Yeah. They're only like $30.

So. If you think I will emerge from Flynn's Saddle Shop without one of these beauties, take number 1. If you think, on the other hand, that my inner tack whore will seize control of the $30 of cash in my wallet and emerge triumphantly from the store with said halter, please choose number 2.

Starting Over

I just deleted my whole blog entry.

Why? It was rambling and not getting to the point. If I'm bored reading it, I figure you probably will be, too.

Here are the highlights:

1) The dressage saddle is working nicely

2) I'm riding Izzy in a dressage saddle with a sidepull (hilarious looking)

3) Wondermare is still having a head tossing conniption about riding

4) The conniption subsides after we've worked for a while

Now, letting the tack whore out.

In light of the head tossing and general facial sensitivity, I want one of these:

It theoretically removes common pressure points and is super comfortable for the horse. I can believe it. Plus, it's a tack related solution, and you know how I love those. ;-) I'm sure it would look amazing on Izzy/in my apparently massive headstall collection.

Basically, it combines what I like about flash nosebands (bit support) with an interesting design, but doesn't crank the horse's mouth shut, which is what I don't like about flashes. I actually think the throatlatch is in a more sensible place, since the conventional location means that either it's too loose to do anything or it's so tight it restricts breathing. And hey, some people dress them up with fancy browbands.

So... it's a thought. I will continue doing research and see how Izzy does today in our first venture back to a bit.

I will also try to remember to get some pictures of Izzy in our ridiculous sidepull setup.

ETA: I thought I made the picture into a link. Apparently not. For anyone interested, it's a Rambo Micklem Competion Bridle and can be found here, among other places.

Izzy Pictures!!

The Wondermare is still on break. I'm thinking we're going to hold off on riding seriously until Monday. I want to give her plenty of time.

Yesterday, I spent a good long time grooming her and polishing her up, then I took pictures.

Look how cute she is! I did a more thorough mane pull than the first time around. It's still not perfectly even and show ready, but it's a lot closer. I stood on the mounting block this time so I could actually reach the upper part of her mane. It's soooo thick at the top that it's ridiculous.

I also broke out the desitin that's 40% zinc oxide. For those of you who are like me and not into (human) babies, this is apparently diaper rash cream. As per farrier directions, I am applying it to Izzy's frogs 3x a week. It's supposed to help them do something important that I can't think of right now. Izzy did not like the smell at all. I also had trouble getting it off my hands, so I think I'm in the market for some latex gloves. Yuck!

Another headshot. I was on my own and it's hard to be handler and camera person as well as artistic designer of all the shots. I try having other boarders help, but they don't want to be in the picture, so they take it and, well, horse pictures are an art in which few are well studied. You know?

In my spare time yesterday, I was leather halter shopping. The one Izzy has is a little too big, plus I got it used for $20 about two years ago, so not very pretty. I like pretty. There is a side of me that really wants to get her a "pretty" leather halter, but I'm not even sure what that looks like. I'm not wild about crystal studded halters and/or fancy stitching.

I'm thinking we'll just hold off til the tack store has a sale next month and see if we can't get something they have in stock and just put a nameplate on it. Maybe that will help us overcome the nameplate jinx (which is that every time I put a nameplate on something, that thing goes horribly wrong).

Oooooh she's so pretty. I would really like to do some conformation shots soon. This was the closest we got, and obviously, it's nothing exciting.

Also her tail is a wreck, but I'm thinking it's a wreck best approached with shampoo and detangler. When it's warm. I can't wait to bang it off! She's going to have a super sexy hock length tail, because, you know, we jump such massive things that I need to keep it from catching on them. ;-)

This looks like it should be the cover of a book. Or maybe the header of a blog. Hm... the great question: do I try it myself or just call in the super awesome blogger header make Denali's Mom?

Hm. Yeah. I'm no artist, but I actually really like this photo.

I'm going to try and make the header, then throw up my hands in disgust and email it off. This is a job for someone with skillz.

Improvement!

Despite not actually having any time to go to the barn yesterday, I went. I had too--Izzy just got her teeth done for the first time ever and we had a new saddle to try on.

I was surprised when I saw her. She was very perky and she had eaten every single wisp of hay in her stall. All winter long, she's just kind of eaten sparingly except when it was really cold. I let her play in the indoor, then brought her back and groomed her thoroughly. I should have taken a picture--I'll try to do that today.

She was shiny.

She's always been soft and fuzzy, but part of the reason I have taken barely any pictures of her this winter is just that she didn't really have that healthy glow that I love about her. She looked ok and no worse than the other horses, but I knew/know that Izzy has amazing coat genetics and basically gleams in the summer time. I thought it was just winter gunk and junk, but I think the lack of gloss just came her her feeling like crap.

I didn't think that much could change about a horse in a day, but it definitely did. She looked (and I think felt) amazing.

After grooming, I pulled out the saddle. It's got a convertible gullet and has the regular plate installed, which I knew would be way too small for her. After all, her jumping saddle is a wide. I swung it up on her back and it sat there. Perfectly. Balanced. It follows the contours of her back nicely and had nice spine clearance all the way through. There was even pressure under the panels and she didn't make any icky faces, even when I girthed it up.

Oooooh... this could be good. I DID NOT have time to ride, but I couldn't just sit there and drool, so I grabbed my sidepull and took her for a quick walk around the parking lot. She was antsy about putting the sidepull on, but I think it's because the bridle had been hurting her and her mouth is still sore. Once she realized there wasn't a bit, she was fine. She also gave a tiny head flip while walking, but she didn't repeat it, so I think she's starting to figure out that things aren't going to hurt anymore.

Analysis from yesterday: Hm. It's a mighty good start. She was fine with the saddle, I LOVED it. It was shockingly high quality leather for being a cheapie saddle. Once I sat on it, it did sink down on her more than I would have liked. I'm thinking the flocking needs to be redone and I'm 90% sure there's no one in Idaho who flocks or reflocks english saddles. Any recommendations for the surrounding states? I can go to Seattle or Salt Lake pretty easily (since I have places to stay). Portland maybe... no where to stay, but it's easy to talk my mom into a road trip there and split costs. PNW peeps have any ideas?

More General Excitement

Since we all love to be well acquainted with our vets (ha!), Izzy and I were excited to meet Dr. Borders yesterday. He checked Izzy, agreed she needed work, and off we went. He gave her happy drugs--within a minute she was totally loopy. It was really pretty funny. Her lower lip was drooping and she had this goofy look on her face. I wanted to take a picture, but she's such a noble, beautiful creature most of the time that it just didn't feel right.

After opening her mouth and poking around, he looked at me. "Has she been having any problems with the bridle or riding?"

I told him about our various issues.

He frowned, looked back at her, then looked at me again. "Well, all horses are different..."

I just laughed. "Yeah. She has a really low pain tolerance."

"That's what I was going to say."

He did let me feel the points on her teeth, which I thought were huge and nasty and sharp, but he apparently didn't think they were quite worth the fit she was having over them. Oh well. The advantage of an overly sensitive pony is that she points out the problems long before they become serious.

After he finished, I get to feel inside her mouth again. Much better! I'm super excited to start riding again in a few days after she'd had a chance to recover.

Oh, and speaking of riding--I bought a saddle. It finally arrived yesterday. I found it online for a steal, so I figured I couldn't go too far wrong. If I don't like it, I think I can still make a profit selling it. It's a Collegiate Intellect (the convertible model) dressage saddle. I must say, I was very pleasantly surprised by the leather quality. I have a collegiate jump saddle and while it fits us nicely, the leather is crap. This saddle is all soft and pretty.

Depending on how impulsive I feel, I might run out and try it on Izzy this afternoon, but I really need to go straight home after work and get my house cleaned up for people coming over tonight. What to do...