Sunshine in the Fall

Thank you to the bloggers who nominated me for the Sunshine award! I've seen them from Eventing in Color, Polka Dot Periodical, My Mojito, A Collection of Madcap Escapes, Pony Express, and Keeping it Loki. All fun blogs, check them out! I know I'm late to the party, but I thought we'd all rather have a fun contest first and do this later.

The sunshine award is for people who 'positively and creatively inspire others in the blogosphere'. The nominee of this award must do the following, thank the person who nominated them, nominate 10 bloggers of their own, answer the 10 questions given to you, post them, and add the Sunshine Award Button to the blog.

All that and he can pose

1. Mares or Geldings?
Geldings. Geldings geldings geldings. I had mares. I did that. I am done. I know there are nice mares out there. I know that a mare will give you everything she's got when she's in the mood for it. You know who else will give you everything they've got, no matter what mood they're in? OTTB GELDINGS. Yeah. All about that.

2. English or Western?
Western is super fun to an extent. It lacks the extensive history and body of work that make the english sport horse world so interesting to me. I have no doubt that they'll eventually catch up, but it will take like 500 years minimum. In the mean time, give me my English saddle and my Xenophon.

Diva and Courage

3. Do you prefer younger or older horses?
I don't like four year olds. All other ages are fine. (Ms Diva is doing her best to convince me that 4 year olds can be nice. She's a black mare though, so you know she's tricksy.)

4. Have you trained a horse from ground zero?
Yes. If I did it again, I would start with a gelding.

5. Do you prefer riding or groundwork?
Hahaha! I hate lunging so much. That said, I absolutely can not stand horses that are rude on the ground, so mine do plenty of groundwork. I'm probably more confident on the ground with a horse, but 99% of the time, I'd rather be in the saddle.

I want to see this face every morning.

6. Do you board your horse or keep him at home?
For now, I board. Eventually, I will have my own place.

7. Do you use all natural things or just commercial stuff (the products you use)?
I'm pretty sure "natural" is code for "doesn't work but costs twice as much".

8. All tacked up or bareback?
See question 1. I ride OTTB geldings with their attendant withers. Saddle please!

9. Equestrian role model?
Meg Kep, Sinead Halpin's groom. She's smart, she's funny, she works her butt off. I'd love to meet her, but then I'd do my awkward "famous person" routine and just make an ass of myself, so it's best we live on separate coasts.



10. What's your one main goal while being in the horse world?
I want to be capable of competently jumping around 3'3" to 3'6" course in the arena and able to run training level eventing. I'm not sure I actually want to go training level, but I want to know that I could, if I was so inclined.

My 10 nominees:

Just a Girl and Her Horse Ruffles keeps a rotating cast of horses and does a variety of awesome things in incredibly scenic places. She's currently dominating the pony club games scene and training a super cool jumper in New Zealand.

Wyvern Oaks Jenj has had a year of ups and downs and then more downs, but she's hard working, a great problem solver, and OMG PADDYBEAR!!! Check him out.

Hopeful Jumpers Jessica is a real vet, fresh out of school. Not only does she take gorgeous pictures of Florida where she lives, but she also has an older, retired TB jumper who reminds me way too much of Cuna.

We Are Flying Solo A perennial favorite of mine. The home of the Original Solo (tm) and a fun blog with lots of down to earth ideas and videos.

A Work in Progress Shannon lives on a farm while raising her kids and training her horses, oh, and battling through a crazy injury that would make most people just sit down and cry. She inspires me.

Poor Woman Showing How do you even introduce Carly and Bobby? She's the most classy profane person I know and I genuinely laugh out loud pretty much every time I read her blog. RIP Red.

Braymere Custom Saddlery A little off the beaten track for me, but Braymere makes custom show tack for model horses. I know we all did that as kids, her her stuff is legit. You have to see it to believe it.

Beast Eventer A newer blog that I picked up, but the story of an adult ammy and her draftie cross making it as eventer. Lots of fun, great attitudes.

A Mile High on Horseback Emily has a lot on her plate and she never slows down. Single mom? OTTB? Work? School? She does it all.

Happy Jumping

We're going to make it

You know that moment when you just want to shout "He gets it!" and you're all warm and fuzzy on the inside? The last time I felt that was when Courage was prepping for his XC clinic and he figured out that he was always supposed to go over the jump in front of him.

And then there was Sunday. We were in the midst of the fun photoshoot for the Dream Horse Studios contest and I pointed Courage at a little crossrail. I felt him slow down and look at it. I was just beginning to wonder if he was going to slam on the brakes when his front end lifted off and we were jumping over the tiny jump.

Actually jumping. Folding his knees and taking off, landing in balance and cantering away.

I was so proud of him. Of us.

He jumped four tiny crossrails, each one nicer than the last, before we called it a day.

Attack!

Monday we tried again, this time over a little course. Courage seemed to know he'd gotten something right. He regressed a little and tried some stuff he hadn't even thought about in a while--wiggling, stopping, and leaping--but it wasn't mean or naughty. He was just re-establishing that he knew what this was all about.

And he jumped.

He landed cantering, expressing his enthusiasm. I got him pointed in the right direction. I even got him calmed down to the point that we could trot a crossrail without going airborne on the landing side.


I wanted him to accomplish some specific goals that day, so I put a more experienced hand on the reins and watched my little man canter over his first jump. Jump his first related distance.

He did them with vigor and panache. I felt all warm and glowy as he completed a little course with cantering and a vertical and a line. I don't want to push him, so we let him end with that.

And then we jumped Wednesday. It's like a switch has flipped in his brain--no more awkwardly collapsing over the first jump and then going "O HAI THIS AGAIN."

He is the best at jumping me out of the tack

Instead I pointed him at the first little crossrail and he locked on and went for it. He was jumping, just like the past couple of times. We were forward and confident. I started stringing a mini course together--the second jump in the line, the crossrail on the diagonal, around the corner to the vertical. I stayed light in the saddle with my hands wide. I didn't grab him and I didn't scoot him with my seat.

Courage LAUNCHED over the fence. I came flying out of the saddle and landed in a heap on him. My feet were somehow still in the stirrups on the other side as I just barely got him turned away from another jump he'd decided to do.

Knees!

We laughed and laughed and told him what a good boy he was while I got myself put back together. Despite my discombobulation, he'd landed in balance and didn't even offer to do anything naughty.

I hopped him over another crossrail to make sure he hadn't scared himself, but he jumped it like an adorable little hunter and cantered away softly. I couldn't wipe the ridiculous grin off my face. Heck, it's still there.

He gets it. He still has plenty to learn (so do I!), but he's taken another big step forward towards being a sport horse. I'm so proud of him.

Dream Horse Studios Contest!! (plus review)

Dream Horse Studios Carnivale Boot Review

Rocking the C-rage style

As most of you probably noticed, I'm a total tack whore who loves trying new things. I have a wide variety of boots to suit my very different and very picky horses.

I was thrilled when Lauren, the super-nice owner of Dream Horse Studios, reached out to me to see if Courage and I would be interested in doing a review of her Carnivale open front boots. They're standard jump boots with a twist--lovely blue patent leather with a soft black calfskin lining and stud closures on black elastic.

Yes I did just say blue patent leather.

Design and Construction

Still in the plastic!

I tried not to squeal when the box showed up at my house and promptly set up an epic photo shoot to test the boots out. They were neatly wrapped up and smelled amazing right out of the box. I did everything but put them on and prance around the house.

The white stitching is tight and even. The calfskin lining is soft and smooth--no funny edges or uneven patches touching my horse. There are easy to clean--just a simple wipe down. The stud closure looked sturdy enough to handle the demands of every day riding.

Stud closures aren't the most flexible option--there are 2-3 options for how tight to make them. That said, the Equifit T-boots utilize the studs and are massively popular. I've neer had stud closures before, I wanted to know how they would work for a variety of horses with different legs.

Patent Leather Boots in Action

Photoshoot time!!

The gang

We were working with a full set of horse sized boots--open fronts and hinds.

In addition to Courage (16.1 OTTB, medium bone and cannons), we had Diva (17.0 OTTB, big bone, long cannons), and Vegas (15.1 paint, medium bone and short cannons).

Yeah Vegas!

First they went on Ms. Vegas, the completely adorable and awesome paint mare owned by Alyssa at Four Mares, No Money. Vegas is super competitive in the local open shows and has won some serious swag.

She is definitely a candidate for the cob sized boots. The front boots went on her just fine, but her 15.1 self was just too petite for the full size hind boots. That said, she was demonstrating some of her english pleasure/pattern moves and did a couple of jumps in the boots. They didn't move at all and she was perfectly happy.

Diva looking fancy

Next up with the supermodel--all 17 leggy hands of her.

Diva is all legs and built lean, but she has lots of bone. Both front and back boots fit her comfortably. The boots seem to be cut just right--they weren't too tall for Vegas, but they were still perfectly respectable on Diva.

It did take me a couple of tries to get them on right. For reference, the top strap on the front boots goes straight across. The bottom two straps cross. It's perfectly intuitive and fairly obvious when you look at the construction, but somehow I kept messing it up.










AND THEN COURAGE!!!!

Might as well put three rides on the boots for their first day. I put the full set on Courage. He has had mental issues with back boots in the past, but he seemed ok with these.

We had an excellent ride, walk/trot/canter and a few jumps. Courage wasn't bothered by the boots at all and when I got off, they hadn't moved around or caused him any problems.

Plus, they looked totally cute.

At $90 for a full set, they are an excellent value. Even a set of cheap synthetic boots will run you close to that, so I say you might as well have some fun and order a cool color in patent leather. Blue isn't the only available color--there is quite a range available on the website.

CONTEST!!!!

The Calypso boots. Pretty sure I need them too.

Remember how I said Lauren is super nice? Not only did she send me a set of boots to review, but she's also giving another set away to a lucky reader!! Here's the deal: go to the Dream Horse Studios website and look around. Come back and comment on this post with your favorite product. Your comment enters you in the random drawing for a winner. For an additional entry, share the contest on your facebook or blog and let me know you did it.



Entries close on Monday, November 4th (2013) at midnight, so you have a full seven days to enter and spread the word!

Happy Friday!!

Anya the Barbie horse

I had my first (light) ride back on C-rage today after a fun escapade with a Barbie horse in the hills yesterday!


I could go on and on about how fun it is to ride an edurance Arabian on a trail ride, but it's Friday and OMG I HAVE SOMETHING EXCITING TO SHARE NEXT WEEK!!!

Hold on to your horses.

Ha. I can't believe I never made that pun before.

The Best at Time Off

He is the best at turnout

Between the bodywork lady and the farrier and the BO, we have worked out a plan of (in)action for Courage. Best guess is that he did something creative and awesome in the pasture which jammed his shoulders up.

Oh Courage.

He's taking a few more days off to get himself re-aligned. To help his muscles relax from their current state of spasm (ouch!), he got some bute today.

Here comes the cookie monster!

I think painkillers are a great thing when you're in pain, but I use them very sparingly, both for myself and for my horses. I guess my thought is just that if something hurts, I want to know about it and not push through it instead of drug accordingly and just keep going. I know that's it's not necessarily a popular mindset and I have to temper it with the fact that I'm pretty young and have limited aches and pains at this point in my life.

That said, my policy on anti-inflammatories is that they can be given post-exercise as needed. I do not bute in order to ride or pop painkillers to run. If I see the need to give a horse bute after exercise, then they get the next day off, provided they are in a situation with enough turnout to stretch their legs. If exercise is causing the horse to need drugs, then the situation needs to change. I don't see pain killers as a regular part of daily life for horses or humans.

That's a big part of the reason that Cuna is retired--given the right injections and enough drugs, he probably is passably sound to jump around 2'6" or so. I just don't believe in doing that to a creature. If drugs have to mask his pain, then shouldn't I be listening to his body instead of my desires?

Too adorable not to share

Is that just just me? Is it because I don't understand the aches and pains of growing older? How does everyone else use bute/banamine/advil/ibuprofen?

A Progression in Trot, Take II

Since Courage is closing in on being a whole three months off the track, I thought it would be fun to look at what a mere 90 days can do to a horse. 

Baby C-rage

August 2013

Courage was days off the track when this was taken--I don't think it had even been a week. I love this shot because it showed me what he had the potential to do. I mean, I'd never really seen him trot intentionally until he came home.

His neck is actually a little lower than was the norm at the time and his movement is a little more upward than forward, but it's still a lovely shot of a lovely horse.

Local circuit C-rage

September 2013

After a month of work, Courage has made some big leaps forward. His neck/head are dropping down to a more acceptable range and the whole picture is much more relaxed. His tail is lower, his action is more forward.

This pretty well represents where we were at the time. He was trying to figure out what I wanted, I was trying to figure out what ride he needed.

Training level C-rage

October 2013

Two months in! Courage is starting to understand contact and forward. His muscling is changing around and I'm finally figuring out what tack to put him in. (Seriously. Different saddle and bridle in every pic!)

He is moving forward and starting to figure out what his topline is for. This isn't his "100% confirmed always only ever" way of going, but it's becoming the norm. We're figuring life out.







It's really fun for me to lay this out side-by-side and see the changes we're making. I get too hung up on the day-to-day or the fact that a real trainer would move him along a lot faster than his ammy owner (me), but the truth is that we're both having a blast and he's definitely made some changes.*



*Though apparently I have a problem with looking down. At least my hands aren't in my lap!

A Bump in the Road

The best at posing

Last week, I focused on riding effectively. I held contact, rode Courage forward, and didn't let him lean out his shoulders. Not surprisingly, he gave me some really quality work. We slipped in a weekend ride, I got two of the best trot transitions that he's probably ever done.

Then he took Sunday off and we picked things up again today. We started strong--his walk was the best it's ever been. I did very little and he was giving me nice work. We could bend both ways and move off my leg and steer very accurately.

I was elated. We stepped up into the trot with a totally decent transition that I only prepped for just a few strides...

...and there was just the tiniest hitch in his get-a-long.

We dropped back to walk, and he felt fine.

He is the best at time off

Up to trot (another nice transition), and it was more defined. Redheadlins said it looked like left front. I pulled his boots off, checked his legs, and picked his feet. Nothing was immediately apparent. No heat, no swelling, no rubs, no rocks.

I hopped back on without his boots to see if it was a rub problem, but no dice. Definitely off when asked to make a tight left hand turn. Pretty much fine on a straightaway.

Oh Courage.

His farrier will be out to check on him soon and he gets bodywork later this week. He's also taking a little time off to recuperate. I guess it's decent timing, since I am absolutely slammed this month, but I hope he feels better soon. He's just so much fun to ride!

Micklem Competition Bridle Review

I'm sure most of you have noticed that Courage is sporting his very own Micklem Competition Bridle in havana. I was torn between it and a fancy figure eight, but I ran across this one in his size and my color on facebook, so it came home.

Micklem Competition Bridle
 List price: $189.95
What I paid: $150 (noted: these hold their value ridiculously well)

Why a Micklem

I was interested in the Micklem design for several reasons. I like the idea behind it, of fitting a bridle to the horse's face. I like the mechanics of it--it does make more sense biomechanically than a traditional plain cavesson bridle. I've also seen them popping up around the sport horse world more and more frequently. Sure, it could be a trend, but there was one easy way to find out if Courage wanted to get in on the trend.

An adorable Courage face

Up until this point, Courage had gone in a couple of Cuna's bridles. None of them fit him well. He probably went best in the figure eight, but it fit him most poorly. He spent most of his time in the crank/flash on Cuna's dressage bridle.

That was partly because it worked for him, but mostly because it was the only bridle that actually got small enough to fit his tiny head.

Courage looking cute

Design, Sizing, and Quality

When the Micklem arrived, I looked it over thoroughly. Despite being used, it was in excellent condition. The rings that hold the jaw strap and the nose strap on are sewn in to the bridle with nylon, which makes them much more durable. The leather quality is ok. It's sturdy and workmanlike, certainly not the dreamy luxury of an Antares (swoon!!), but it isn't nasty and plastic. I'm actually quite curious to see how it does with regular care--it's a little dry right now.

As for sizing... well, if you've ever looked these up on the internet, you quickly realized that the sizing information available was pathetic and useless. Here's what I can tell you.

Izzy with the bit clips

The people on the internet are correct--there's really no way you can measure this bridle that compare to a normal bridle. The browband? Given that those are changeable, not a super useful number.

That said, my mare wore a full size bridle and could sneak into an oversize. She wore the horse sized Micklem in newmarket with no trouble at all.

Courage, who is too small for Cuna's horse sized bridles, fits perfectly into the cob size.

That said, if you are in doubt, GO UP A SIZE. Seriously. Courage has the tiniest, narrowest, daintiest little face, and the nose strap is on the second hole. We tried this bridle on a 15.1h TrakehnerX, and it wouldn't buckle.

A note on the bit clips: I had these for Izzy's model. They were completely useless. I mean, maybe if your horse just happened to be the perfect size and you just liked how plastic looked on their face, maybe they would work. For the rest of us, if you want the bit more stable, use a full cheek or baucher.

The Micklem in Use

Now the important part: does it work? 

That depends on what you mean. It absolutely functions as a set of leather straps that hold the bit on my horse and facilitate riding, but I doubt that's what anyone is asking. 

Courage has been mouthy/busy, particularly when he was bored, stressed, or distracted. He went in a big shadow roll with his mouth tied shut on the track for a reason. That said, he wasn't presenting with any extreme/unexpected problems. He wasn't a compulsive head-rubber, he didn't seem agitated after rides, nothing like that.

I knew when I put it on him that it wasn't magical--he wasn't going to learn to go into the contact and carry himself just because he was wearing a new bridle. 

All that said. 

I think it works for him. He is noticeably quieter with his mouth and happier in his work than he was in a normal bridle. He doesn't fight me as much about taking contact and he doesn't crank his mouth open and lean on me. He still has other evasions. He twists his head and giraffes around and does normal green horse things. 

Honestly, I wasn't expecting the Micklem bridle to make any difference whatsoever, but he's definitely liking it and going better than he was before.

Final Thoughts

If your horse is happy in a normal bridle, there's no reason to switch over. As I mentioned, I had one of these for my mare and it didn't make one iota of difference in the way she went.

If you don't like how it looks... well, it's not for everyone. It's definitely distinctive and it doesn't work on many faces. Courage has a long, narrow face that does well with some business filling up space. Cuna would look downright silly with this much "stuff" going on.

It's not the magic bullet, but it works for us.

So... the tack 'ho at rest? I guess I don't get to keep hunting for my Antares after all. Courage is a Micklem Man. 

On the Crazy Train

Despite my better efforts, life is totally spinning out of control right now. Nothing bad, just feeling completely and totally overwhelmed. Like "I can't deal with checking my email" style overwhelmed. It's not fun.

Which made this afternoon particularly nice. The weather was perfect, high 60s and sunshine. The trees are changing to red and gold.

Dust dapples

Courage came out just great, very quiet. He's getting a little bit fuzzy right now. Not quite enough that I want to clip yet, but more than plenty to hold dust. I had to laugh when I saw this:


Yes. His dapples are made of dust. I don't think they really show up on his actual hair, but there must be a different texture to hold the dirt in that pattern.

Fall ears

Since we've spent the past two days pushing obedience and contact (and since I seem to have citizenship on the crazy train), today was supposed to be easy and low key, so both of us could unwind.

I opened all the gates to the pastures and we just hacked through them on a loose rein. Big swooping turns, no contact, just walking and taking in the season.

After a while, we both took a deep breath. We watched the neighbor horses play. We looked at the far borders of the back field. We took turns choosing where to go.

And it was lovely.

A softer look, usually for footwear

When I went to put him away, I finally had a chance to take my time. I put dressing on his hooves, did his stretches, scratched his ears, and fed him cookies. We tried on a different sheet, even. I think it looks quite dashing--the color really suits him better than Cuna.

I even took the time to finally clean my much-abused tack. I used to be so good about cleaning it every day, but there hasn't been time.

I love when the barn is like this. A place to slow down and take a deep breath and smile again before returning to the craziness of life. It leaves a little sunny, happy place in my soul that I can go back to when everything else feels bleak.

Testing Boundaries

It was bound to happen sometime.

I made it to the barn in the late afternoon. It was perfect fall weather--sunny and warm with a cool breeze blowing and gorgeous colors just starting to appear.

Courage met me at the gate of his field and dozed off in the cross ties. All was well until I put him out on the line for his once-weekly lunge. He walked and trotted, but when I asked him to canter, he had a mini explosion. Hm.

This pony would never be naughty

Not a huge deal--cantering on the line is still new for him and I'm not crazy about lunging. I take him back to basics that he's comfortable with--walk/halt/walk/trot stuff and he moves well enough. It's the same in the opposite direction. He isn't taking pressure well, even when he's the one applying the pressure.

Still. He looks happy enough, so I put the line away and hop on. After some initial silliness, he stands to be mounted. Then he's leaning through both shoulders and tuning me out and not moving off my leg and giraffing around looking at things that never usually bother him.

Well, that's enough of that. It's time to step it up. I start by insisting that he goes straight. I keep that contact, regardless of whether he giraffes or roots. I push him forward, and wouldn't you know, he gives me some of the nicest work I've ever gotten. We do walk/trot transitions on serpentines and I insist that he hold his line without falling in. He's still a little looky/spooky.

Arena time

I want to just call it a day in the arena, but I refuse to create that same fear I had with Izzy. I will not let myself be confined by the imaginary safety of arena walls when I'm on a perfectly nice horse.

So I open the gate from his back and ride to the field. The water tank is tipped over. He takes a step back.

No. Not on my watch. Izzy did that and I hated it every time.

I kick him forward. He can stop and have a look, but there is no backwards movement allowed. After a few seconds, I ride him past the offending tank and he keeps it together.

Hacking around the field with airplane ears a month ago

We're just walking a lap around the field. The wind is whipping through the trees on the far edge of the field now, but he's never been a spooky one. I'm caught completely off guard as he leaps forward. I catch him with my hands, but then he pogos straight upward. Shit! I hear my instructor in the back of my head, "Give him a place to go. Kick him forward. Give him something to do."

Forward march! Trot on. He's behind my leg, but it's the thought that counts... Shit! We pogo again. This time he's light in the front end. High on the list of things I hate. "KICK HIM FORWARD," shouts my remembered instructor.

Right. Forward.

He tries to leap again, but I'm ready this time. "You can do all those things you just did in the arena out here," I inform Courage. "Ain't nobody got time for this." I push him forward, hold the contact, and insist that he go absolutely straight. I don't take behind my leg for an answer and I insist on quality transitions.

And wouldn't you know, he responded. When he relaxed, I walked him back into the arena and let him stand while I patted them. Then I thought "I don't want this to be his safe place."

So I rode him back into the field. We stood in the scary place on a loose rein and I patted his neck, then slid off his side.

As we walked back to the barn, side by side, the BO says, "You did get off intentionally, didn't you?"

Yes. Yes I did.

It was still a perfect fall day. Courage was testing his boundaries with me, and it went well. He learned about me, I learned about him, and everybody came away with a positive experience.