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.

Courage in Action

WE HAVE NEW COURAGE PICTURES!!!! 

First off, I want to do a little comparison.

7/27/13

This is Courage, still on the track, the night before he came home. He is racing fit and looking fabulous. He is tucked up like a greyhound with an under-developed neck and he's on high alert.

10/10/13

Contrast that with a conformation shot from last week.

We're looking at the same horse, but he's completely changed in just two months.

His neck is thicker, he's put on weight, his tail is growing, his shoe job is different and he carries himself differently.

His winter coat is substantially darker than his summer look--from almost buckskin to bright bay.


He's still gorgeous and his muscling is going to change plenty more as he works more and more correctly. I knew he'd look different, but these side by side images totally blow me away.

Now, a little look at how he's working these days.

Magnificent

At the trot! Ellie takes a mean trotting picture, regardless of whether she's shooting grand prix dressage or mules. That said, I love this shot of Courage!

He's starting to figure out how to be the best at trotting. We have moments of relaxation and forward and the moments are starting to last longer and come more frequently.

Sometimes it's hard for me to see his day-to-day progress, but shots like this absolutely capture the horse he's becoming.

Fall colors

Our canter is coming along, too. I haven't pushed the issue too much, because I think it's better to let him figure life out in his arena comfort zone (the trot) instead of trying to force him to do something in the canter. He's balanced and rhythmic and the rest will come in time.

That said, the better he gets walking and trotting, the more comfortable he is trying things in the canter. It is absolutely KILLING me to not be cantering fences with him right now, but it's more important to get him relaxed and confident than it is for me to play with his perfect naturally-uphill canter.

So polished

I'm running a delicate balance right now--Courage is more physically able to go forward now than before, but because it's a new concept for him, he isn't quite comfortable at the rhythm I want. I can push him constantly to go forward, but then he gets tense and resists the pressure. I don't want that.

For now, I'm trying to gradually increase his comfort zone. He is the sort of horse that likes to go forward and he loves the chance to earn praise. I'm working to build on that. I get him soft and balanced where he's comfortable, then ask for a little bit more. He only sustains it as long as he's comfortable. I only ask him when he's balanced and I don't punish him for losing his balance or slowing down.

It may be slower than cramming him into the frame I want and spanking him forward at every opportunity, but it seems to be working for him. He comes out willing to work and he's slowly making progress.

He's got this

I have so many beautiful pictures to share, but this post is getting a little long. Let's just look at one more. Since Ellie was on hand with a camera, I really wanted to pop Courage over an oxer and see what he gave us.

We built it up gradually--poles, then crossrail, then added the back bar.

The little dude never even blinked. Here he is, cantering across his first-ever oxer. I thought he'd look at it a little or overjump the first time or you know, react.

But no. I should have guessed--he is the best at oxers. ;) We measured it when we were done. At a whopping 2'2", it was the biggest thing he's jumped so far.

What a guy. It's hard to believe that he's just two months into his new life. Nothing we've done is earth-shattering for the average trained horse, but for an OTTB fresh off the track, I'm thrilled. What does a non-racehorse do after two months of training anyways?

Equine Photography

Taking pictures of horses is really tricky thing to do well. The photographer has to be a horse person to understand what he or she is looking for and to capture the equine at just the right moment, but they also have to be a consummate artist. There's a difference between a picture of a horse and THAT picture of your horse. You know the one. It captures your horse's look, his personality, his spirit, and shows him to the world in the same way that you see them.

For Cuna and I, it's always been this picture. It captures our partnership and the balance we brought each other. It captures his enthusiasm for his job and the joy he taught me to have. It showcases his big brown eyes and tiny little nose with the darling white snip. I love everything about this photo.

It could only have been taken by someone who knew us both. Ellie is a long-time friend of mine. She walked with me through all the struggles of the past couple of years. She was a Cuna partisan from day one. She really captured our journey together, from the early pony-nosing days to confidently jumping big fences to laying down some kick-ass dressage.

She went with me when we hauled Cuna to the vet this spring. She's been by my side while I've dealt with having to retire the red horse that taught me to love this crazy sport we do. He's the sort of horse that makes everyone around him love him more, and through the whole journey, I think Ellie has come to love him almost as much as I do. 

How cute are they??

Since she's been crucial to our whole journey together, it was only right that we do a shoot with the two of them. I'm holding out hope that maybe next summer she can ride him. For now, here's the one and only Cuna Matata with Ellie, his personal photographer and second biggest fan.














His winter coat is coming in. He's like a snuggly teddy bear right now, although he was a bit miffed that we screwed up his daily routine. Nevertheless, he is as adorable as always.


My time with Cuna feels way too short. There was so much more that he and I were supposed to do together before he retired. I can't change the demands his body is making, but I am grateful every single day for the incredible photos Ellie took to document our journey together.


She's given up so much time and energy and invested her talent into our partnership. She's really captured the heart of how I see Cuna and who he is to me. The shots she took are not just "horse pictures". They're a piece of artwork that encapsulates an ongoing and complex relationship in a single frame.

No Cuna shoot is complete without one of these

Doing What We Do Best

Rocking the Micklem

Fun day! C-rage's first personal bridle (ever) showed up and I was beyond excited to play with it. I found a steal on a used Micklem bridle, so I went that route for now. I've had one before, but for a totally different type and size of horse.

My initial impression was that this is the first time I've actually put something on his head that fit. I also think that he has a great face for it. I think they're kind of hit and miss stylistically, but Courage's long, narrow head takes the busyness of a figure eight or micklem really well.

Naturally, I threw on our super classy sparkle browband that I love. I even changed the bead string for fall. :-)

Looking good

We skipped the lunging and went straight to some basic flatwork. There is nothing magical about a new bridle--the little dude is still learning to go forward into contact, but we found a lovely compromise today.

Well... that is, he sort of started rooting the reins out of my hands and stretching down to the buckle while still trotting uphill. I'd like to find a middle ground, but this is better than going around like a giraffe, so I'll take it for now.

Like a little badass

And then we jumped!! Truth: we haven't jumped in probably a week just due to random stuff, so I was a little nervous headed to our first fence. It was a baby crossrail and I totally overrode it. He jumped the snot out of it and landed going forward. I had this tense moment of "OH NO HE'S GOING TO BUCK ME OFF" (random Izzy flashback), but he just cantered nicely.

I love this horse.

He's got this.

After that, we trotted around and popped over everything I'd left set in the arena. Baby x, bigger x, little vertical. I thought he might be a little wiggly or weird about it, but I swear he's already looking for his fences and saving my butt.

As you can see, he's also not that impressed by our baby x any more. Bugger is just cantering across it. I certainly don't want to scare him by moving up to quickly, but I think it's safe to say we can throw in some more verticals and bump the heights up a little bit.

Oh, and maybe add some complexity--baby grid, anyone? I'm getting excited.

Just the biggest vertical we've ever jumped

I'm trying to mix it up and keep his jumps busy so that decorations are never scary or surprising, but when you two-months-post-track OTTB is this awesome, it's hard to be concerned.

I mean, I'm not trying to brag, but I'm still surprised by how great the little man comes out, every.single.day. He's here to work, he wants to be the best at his job, and he gives me 110%, every single time. He certainly has an opinion and likes to mouth off, but at the end of the day, he wants me to be happy with him.

What more can I ask?

Challenge is ON!

Oh, and there's this. After JUMPING ALL THE THINGS, redheadlins and I two pointed around the arena and chatted. I was on a loopy rein, he was totally relaxed. Unfortunately, we don't have pictures of me leaning off his side to take pictures of Lins and her ride from a better angle.

Little man is a stud.

I guess I just don't understand when thoroughbreds get a bad reputation. Sure, there are stupid ones, but I've spent most of my riding life in the irons on one TB or another. They are the hardest working and most generous horses and they always want to please. I'm sure my experience is biased by riding awesome horses (since you can't all have a Cuna), but I'd take Cuna, Courage, or the OTTB I grew up on over any warmblood I've ever ridden any where. Thoughts? Crazy OTTBs out there to contradict me?

Unschooling the Horse

My schedule is changing around again, which is a good thing. It does mean that my man C-rage is adjusting to the slightly different schedule. I'm now able to work him more regularly, but I want to keep in the place the concept that was working so very well for him: time off and breaks. Instead of drilling and worrying about a rigid schedule, I want to keep things mixed up and easy to allow him to progress at the speed that works for him. 

Insert cookies here

Monday was a pretty intense ride. We stayed in the arena, but I picked a couple of specific topics and really pushed them. I wanted him to GO FORWARD, USE HIS BACK, and NOT PUT HIS HEAD UP LIKE A GIRAFFE. At this point in his retraining, those topics are pretty earth-shattering. He did well, but both of us had to work really hard.

In light of that, I wanted Tuesday's ride to briefly cover the same things without frustrating him and reward him for progress made.

We started on the lunge line. SOMEONE has been nagging me about lunging, and I figured that since she's been right about everything else so far, she probably had a point here. I still hate lunging. First I let Courage warm up w/t both directions. He giraffed around like nobody's business and I decided that was enough of that. I clipped on his harbridge martingale and we were off.

An aside here: I don't love gadgets in training. I do like side reins for horse schooled to accept contact, but he is not. Side reins do nothing for us just now, but since Courage is completely responsible for the action of the harbridge, it was worked really well for us. Today was maybe his third time in it, and it has definitely helped him understand how to stretch down and go forward without force.

Engagement! 

Back to the story: For the first time, Courage really got what I was looking for. He is so adorable that you can pretty much see the lightbulb blink on over his cute little ears.

I think his bodywork helped so much with allowing him to go forward that now it's becoming much easier for him. It was also the first time he and I have been comfortable enough for him to canter on the lunge line--up to this point, he just hasn't been relaxed enough in the canter to let small(er) circles be a training exercise.

Add caption

True to the goals for the day, we kept it short and easy. He went w/t/c both directions for a total of less than ten minutes. He was lovely and forward and listening.

I popped the harbridge off*, put the lunge line away, and climbed on. I didn't fuss too much about his upward transitions, and he gave me the softest, loveliest forward trot I've ever had on him, his head and neck stretched forward and down while swinging through his back.

Check.

I got off. Today, I spent more time grooming and doing his stretches than I did actually working with him. I am sanguine that he comes out tomorrow ever better. I compare it to the growing "unschooling" trend among non-conventional educators. There are certainly benefits to drilling and rigidity, but right now, for where we're both at, I really prefer the loose structure.

Other thoughts? Who holds to a schedule vs free handing the training? How do you think that affects the way you and your horse advance?





*Noted: You can ride in these, theoretically. I am REALLY uncomfortable with sitting on a horse that is restrained by a gadget I can't release, so I don't. I think by the time he's broke enough that I would be comfortable with it, he'll be well beyond the point where we need it. Your mileage may vary.

It's Trailventure Time

After two whole months of being off the track, I finally got a group set up to take Courage out into the hills for the first time. I've been really picky about it, because I want his first few excursions to be very positive. Someday, I want him to be a bomb-diggity trail master like Cuna.

WHERE IS THE ARENA?

We pulled into the trail head and unloaded.Courage did his go-to naughty evasion in new places.

He put his head straight up in the air.

That's it.

There were a bunch of other people around, and they all admired him and gave him cookies.

He wasn't sure what he was here to be the best at, but he was going to figure it out.

The OTAB - she came off the track about when C-rage did

We headed through the gate to keep the seasonal grazing herds in and then I climbed on at a cinderblock. I was glad we discussed standing to be mounted earlier in the week--he stood like a statue and just had a look around.

Our group of four naturally divided into two groups--we had the endurance arabs in one group and Courage and his new girlfriend in the other.

Up the hill

Redheadlins rode one of the Arabs and took some pictures for us. That's Courage and Aspen way out in front.

He felt amazing, still developing post-body work. I was completely in awe as he dropped his head and moved through his whole body. 

Bay ears

I wasn't sure what to expect on his first time out. I don't think it's fair to expect him to be perfect for everything all the time. That said, within about 5 minutes of starting the ride, I pulled out my phone and nabbed an ears shot.

He was fascinated by the world around him. This is a landscape he's never been in before. Given his problems with terrain in the past, I was expecting him to be at least a little silly about the hills, the varied footing, and the strange creatures.

On top of the world

He wasn't. He led the way and powered up the first big hill. The riders behind us were impressed by how well he used himself and his steady, ground-covering stride. I was loving every minute balanced over him.

I think it's so important to make the first ides be slow, easy, and non-exciting but OMG HE'S GOING TO BE FUN TO GALLOP.



We posed for pictures at the top of the ridge. It was the only minor snafu of the ride--Couage was enjoying himself so much that he didn't really want to stand still. He did, but if you're a horse that loves to look around, having the whole world at your feet is a pretty amazing experience.

I was pretty much just grinning like an idiot and pestering my fellow riders about how amazing he was being. I couldn't even believe it.

Of course, the big test was coming up. 







Downhill.

This is what he's had problems with before. At our cross country clinic, it took a good five minutes to figure out how to walk through a dip, after the experienced horses demonstrated how to do it. We don't have good hills to practice on at home, so he hasn't really seen anything like it.

So he marched off.

I had to laugh as I felt him survey the challenge, then shift his weight back and power down the hill without so much as a trip. It was like he'd been doing it his whole life.

We waited for the arabs to catch up, then went down an even steeper portion.

Love these hills

Courage led. Courage followed. Courage walked beside his friend. He let the horses behind catch up. He walked at the back. He went happily wherever I put him without throwing a fuss. Towards the end of the ride, we had to cross through a wash that was basically the grandaddy version of the dip that befuddled him on cross country.

I let his trail buddy go through first, then had him follow her. He walked politely down in, then powered out the other side in perfect balance without even a hint of a hesitation.

The trail master

We met a man with a large loose dog, and Courage didn't even flick an ear. When I hopped off at the trailhead, I had this ridiculous perma-grin slapped on my face.

I know he's been awesome about everything, but I can't even believe how good he was. He took to it like he'd done it all his life. I was expecting him to at least fuss about some things, but he took every challenge in stride and was looking for more when we got back.

He loved every minute as much as I did.

He is the best at coolers

The sun was quickly dropping below the horizon, so I pulled out a fleece cooler and threw it on him. As we picked up our stuff and loaded the horses, I was just blown away.

I told redheadlins to find me baby Cuna.

I hadn't actually expected her to do it.











Even on Saturday, when Courage took a well-deserved day off, he came up and visited with me while I scrubbed out water tanks. He was filthy and happy and wanted some scratches.










Courage and I are still a new partnership. I know better than to impose a preset idea of what I want him to be on top of who he already is, but the truth is that the more I get to know this little horse, the more I realize I'm lucky to have him in my life. He is so kind and enthusiastic about about life. He loves his new life and he is fun to be around.

He is the perfect horse to carry on the legacy that Cuna started in my life.

Home on the Range!!

It's the weekend and I officially have no time to post (hello work schedule. Where did you come from?), but I just had to share a quick shot from my ride on Friday.

Trail Boss

Yup. Epic. Full recap later!!