Progression of an OTTB

Because I am a TOTAL NERD about progression shots, here we go. I'm not just posting these shots to brag on how great my horse is (although there's that, too), but to lay out a little bit of a timeline. I feel like there's way too much emphasis on pushing OTTBs to be amazing in no time at all and not enough awareness of the kind of work and time that goes into remodeling the entire body of a 1000 pound animal.

So here we go.

August 2013

This is Courage at 30 days off the track. He has no concept of side reins or contact. His stride is short and stilted, his body is sore, he can't balance on a circle, and his neck is completely upside down.

Even if I wanted to do solid groundwork and make Courage be "good" at lunging at this point, his body simply couldn't do it. He was fit and trim and ready to race. That isn't the same sort of fitness that riding horses use.

February 2014

I had a whole new horse six months later. Part of it was training, but a good chunk of the difference here was simply the time off he had over the winter. Thoroughbreds like to stay fit and it takes a lot of down time for those race muscles to let go.

Courage looks a lot better. He's able to reach forward and move more. He's somewhat educated about circles. He's learned to carry his neck down, but he isn't using himself just yet.

I don't lunge much or take pictures of it, so here's our next shot:

February 2015

I absolutely love that Courage is offering this action up in a halter without any gadgets. I mean, I didn't even have a whip on me. He was just playing, and this is what that looks like now.

Obviously, he's taken forward to a whole new level. He's using his topline (neck and butt OMG), he's engaging his hocks, he's stretching.

I could look at this picture all day.

But the timeline. Look at that. Courage is a solid year and a half off the track. He's had lots of time off and lots more slow, consistent work. Most of the last 7 weeks have been walking and slow trotting and hundreds of transitions in between. He's well past racing fit and he's starting to be sporthorse fit. It's not just about re-muscling the body--it's also changing the brain, one day at a time.

Farrier Insurance

soft eyes=win

Whew. I can positively affirm that Courage now has his dancing shoes back on and his feet feel about 1000% better. (Those of you who have horses who can go barefoot: SO JEALOUS). Anywhoodle. After a certain infamous incident, I have adopted what I call "farrier insurance". It is both to keep said farrier safe and to keep me from getting fired as a client.

Here it is:

WHEE

Exactly what it looks like.

Despite being turned out for hours and playing like an idiot and refusing to be caught, Courage just had this look in his eye when I went to get him before our appointment.

Sooooo despite my dislike of lunging in general, I just let the little man spin around (and around and around and around) until his brain went back into his head and his eyes looked big and soft again.

OMG SO ATTRACTIVE

Oh, and there was this:

Hands off, ladies. This sexy beast is all mine. 

Stump the Tack Ho

totes a dressage bridle. note sparkle bonnet.

Everyone knows I'm like the world's worst tack ho. I see new things and I just get wanty. I'm not a hoarder, so I have really high turnover and sell lots of things too. That makes it ok, right?

Anyways. The last time I owned a dressage saddle was with the hellmare years ago. I sold it around the time I sold her and never looked back. With Cuna, I never bothered to buy one, and with Courage, I was convinced we were just going to be jumpers so I didn't even think about it. I've long since sold/dispersed all the dressage things I had, because why hang on to crap I won't use?

just because my horse is adorable

And then I bought a dressage saddle. Oops. I have a grand total of one dressage pad. (Before you pity me--it's an Ecogold that I snagged for $14. BOO FRICKIN YAH). I borrowed irons, snagged my leathers off my jump saddle, and rescued an abandoned girth out of the tack room. Plus I have a dark brown bridle that sort of looks black if you squint when I'm in the indoor.

It's ghetto-tastic, but I'm making it work.

Here's the thing. I am a sucker for good advertising backed by solid reviews and I will buy new if the right item comes along. And Courage really does need a contoured girth because of where the billets on our saddle hang. And contoured girths are really expensive, except that one with good advertising and solid reviews.

pictured: current girth. too long.

Which one?

The Total Saddle Fit girth, of course. I've always been intrigued and the pricing is completely reasonable and then Stacey over at the Jumping Percheron got one and did a review. Sigh.

I really want one, but I'm not quite in the right place financially to pull the trigger, even though I own the dressage saddle free and clear now. I'm stalling on the purchase by trying to figure out what size I need.

jump ogilvy ftw

I think it's really important for a contoured girth to fit symmetrically and for the contours to fall in the right place. The loaner girth is a 30" (buckle to buckle). I think it's too big--I can't use the billet keepers on my pad and the girth overlaps the pad binding, which can create pressure points.

What size do you think Courage needs in the TSF model? I want to go shorter, but not crazy short. 28"? 26"? 24"?

I've never been a proper DQ. Help a sister out?

WELCOME TO HELL

never been so excited to be here

At the recommendation of my farrier, we pulled Courage's shoes for a cycle this winter. There are lots of advantages to doing that--letting the nail holes grow out and the hoof wall get stronger and the heels expand out and yadda yadda yadda.

What it came down to is that Courage has been on and off for six weeks because his poor tender OTTB feet were not so happy about the frozen ground in winter. Oh, and then it thawed and he started soaking them 24/7 in his muddy run. Guess how that went???

it helps a little when they sparkle

Exactly like you'd think. Someone doesn't have a run anymore.

Anyways. Farrier comes back tomorrow to put shoes on (YAY AND HOORAY I CAN'T EVEN WAIT OMG), and I just realized what that means for us:

A one way ticket back to bell boot hell.

Dammit.

fleecy bell boots

Don't get me wrong: as a confirmed tack ho, I have lots of bell boots in many different shapes, styles, and colors. It's a great collection.

It's just that it's a lot less fun when you're under strict instructions to use them at all times.

snowflakes and sparkles

I'm trying to tell myself it won't be all bad, but the truth is I probably can't use pull ons and just leave them alone until the mud dries up (June?) and until then, it's that same stupid drill, over and over and over.

Bell boots to ride.

Bell boots to turn out.

Bell boots to travel.

Bell boots to eat.

Bell boots to pee.

I can't be the only one. Who else has a permanent residence here?

Teach Me Tuesday: Thin Skinned Horses

he's definitely shiny

I have to admit, I kind of look forward to this post each week. There never seems to be a shortage of topics I don't understand and I've been surprised by the breadth of information available from other bloggers.

Here's a fun one. I love grooming horses, always have. Until Courage, I never had a horse that was what I'd call thin skinned.

But he is. He's twitchy and uncomfortable and HATES being brushed, even with the speshul majikal uber soft body brush I bought just for him. He thinks a soft rubber curry mitt (used only in the direction of the hair) is HORSE TORTURE.

he's shiny if you squint

He wiggles. He lifts his feet. He makes faces. He makes it crystal clear that he hates every moment I'm wielding a brush in his vicinity.

After taking a winter off and living the low key life style and having 1.5 years to recover physically from racing, I've finally come to accept that he is thin skinned and will never like brushing.

Unless y'all have another idea? How do you keep thin skinned horses happy and clean? Is there something I'm missing?

Ammy Hour: Meet Tracy!

As promised, I'm kicking off another round of Ammy Hour. It's a series designed to spotlight the hard working ammies that make up equestrian sport, whether that's A shows, local events, or backyard fun. I hope you like reading this series as much as I like putting it together--I've met some of the coolest people this way and I love the camaraderie of finding other people like me.

So this week, meet Tracy of Fly On Over. She has the best smile of all time --I want to smile back at her every time I see a pic and we've never even met. I'm thrilled to have her participating.

def ottb

1) You’re at dinner with work colleagues. How do you introduce yourself?
"Hi, I'm Tracy! I work in marketing and communications, and enjoy wearing many different hats including social media guru, graphic design pro and techie extraordinaire. When I'm off the clock I spend most of my time at the barn -- yes barn, not bar -- riding my horse Miles who I show over jumps in the summer."

That's kind of a stuffy introduction, but I'm pretty professional at work. Especially when I'm talking about horses, because sometimes people get weird about it. Does that happen to anyone else?

Now if we met at a bar or at a horse show, you'd get the blathering idiot version. Which goes something like: "Hi, I'm Tracy. I'm in marketing/communications and I majored in Agricultural Communications during my undergrad, which means I'm a horse whisperer. [pause for dramatic effect] Haha, just kidding! But I really do own a horse. His name is Miles."

these two. 

2) But what you really meant to say was this:
Allowing me to say anything I want is really dangerous territory. But since you asked... "Hi I'm Tracy. I work a desk job to support my horse habit. Yep, I ride horses. And mine is awesome -- look at this video of him eating treats and making derby faces! Oh, you don't care? You suck. Bye!"




3) Tell us about your horse and how you met him.
About Miles: When I bought him, I didn't know much of Miles's history, including his breed or actual age. The vet and my trainer guessed he was an Appendix Quarter Horse around the age of 8. At the time, I didn't really care, and still don't largely, but just a few months ago I finally tracked down his previous owners and and learned that Miles is actually "Capitalist" a 2007 Thoroughbred Gelding by Congaree. Talk about the shock of a lifetime -- he definitely doesn't look or act like a young Thoroughbred!

As far as how we met...I'd like to tell you that it was love at first sight, but I'd be lying. I first saw Miles at a horse show in June 2013. I'd just started my search for a new horse and my trainer thought I'd be interested in him. Miles did really well that day, including winning the hack in the Intermediate Child Hunters at 2'6". I tried him a few days later, but passed because of his grumpy attitude and the fact that his owners wouldn't allow a trial period. Nearly three months later my trainer got a call that we could do a trial over Labor Day weekend. She picked him up and he's been with me ever since! I give my trainer all the credit for matching us up together; she knew right away that he would be a great horse for me and my only regret was that I didn't listen to her sooner!

4) What do you do with your horse?
Miles is a hunter. That's what I bought him to do and that's what he enjoys. He loves to jump, but doesn't want to go fast [ever] and is always most comfortable in the ring as opposed to on the trails. It's not hard to believe that he flunked out of Eventer training. Miles's favorite thing to do is go to shows, where he really enjoys all of the "action" and being in the spotlight. Seriously, he's a total ham!

We currently compete in 2'6" Intermediate Adult Hunters and I hope to add in some 2'6" Thoroughbred Hunter classes this summer as well. Occasionally we also compete in equitation and hunter derbies, as well as the occasional [very small] cross-country jump and [very short] trail ride.  

5) Where are you going together?
I'm in an interesting spot right now in my equestrian career, actually. I've been working towards showing 2'6" for a long time [read: many years] and I finally accomplished that goal last July. Part of me feels weird not having a goal of moving up to the next division right away, but in my heart I really just want to enjoy this moment. So my goals for the immediate future are to enjoy my horse and have fun. I am, after all, an amateur so having fun is my number one priority!

Secretly though, in the future I'd love the opportunity to see Miles show 3' if my trainer thinks he's capable. I joke with my best friend that when I get pregnant she'll take the reins and show Miles in the Pre-Green Hunters... she just doesn't know how serious I really am! I also dream of competing Miles myself at 3'... but that's a really long ways away.

6) What does success with horses look like for you?
While my blog focuses a lot on training and showing, I'm not really satin-centered. Ribbons are nice, but for me, success with horses is finding balance between enjoying the moment and continuing to learn. In the equestrian world, it's easy to get caught up in everything -- from training for the next level, to jumping higher and riding different horses -- but I want to have fun and enjoy it all. I learned with my previous horse that you never know when a moment will be your last and your time will end; and when that happens the things you miss the most aren't the big jumps and championship ribbons, it's the moments spent cuddling in the crossties or enjoying hand grazing together in the sunshine.

7) How do you finance the addiction?
Currently, I work full-time and have ever since I graduated college so I guess you could say I finance the addition myself. However, I'm also extremely lucky to have amazingly supportive family who helps support my horse habit financially. The most supportive of which is my amazing husband who never complains about how much money Miles costs and was actually the one who pushed me to buy him in the first place!

8) What does your support team look like?
I almost don't want to answer this question because ya'll are going to be jealous. I have a huge team that is ridiculously supportive. From my barn managers and staff, to fellow boarders and my trainer we all have each others' backs. I routinely get texts and pictures and everyone jumps to help everyone else. My family, including my parents and in-laws, love my horse [their "grandpony"] and come to shows all the time -- even my brother and sister enjoy seeing pictures of Miles and ask how he's doing.

But I really want to feature two special people here, who mean a lot to me and definitely don't get enough credit: my husband, Sam and my best friend, Nichole.

Sam has been there for me through everything: he's never missed a horse show as the official holder of stuff [he even has a special groom name!], routinely watches lessons where he inevitably becomes the jump crew and has never said "no" to anything... including going to a horse show the weekend before our wedding.

Nichole is my cheerleader: she inspires me to jump higher and picks me up when I fall. She's always there to talk or listen to my worries [like, omg, does my new saddle fit?!] and is the first person to help. Like the time she rode Miles for a week, prepping him for a horse show because he threw me over a fence and I thought I broke my hip.

9) What are your horse keeping arrangements?
Heaven on earth! Seriously though, it really is. I board at a full-service facility, which provides feed, water, turnout, blanket changes, etc. The farm is set on 130 acres, which includes 100 acres of groomed trails, plus two indoor rings, one outdoor, two grass jumping fields and 23 turnout pastures ranging in size from one to five acres. All the horses have 12x12 stalls with rubber mats and individual windows, plus six heated tack rooms and a lounge with bathrooms, showers and a kitchen. I guess what I'm saying is that Miles lives at heaven on earth. I pinched myself every day for months when I first started riding there because it's just so beautiful and I am so incredibly lucky to board there!!

10) How often do you ride?
Well that's a loaded question this time of year! Currently I hope to ride three times a week, but it really just depends on the weather; during the summer, I get out four or five times a week.

11) What’s the single biggest thing that helps you achieve your goals?
My team. Seriously, in no way could I ever ride, let alone compete and have a prayer of placing without so much support!

12) If there was one thing you could say to people getting ready to join the ranks of riding (or re-riding) adults, what would it be?
Do it! If there's even an inkling in the back of your mind that says you want to get into (or back into) riding horses, you owe it to yourself to try it. Maybe you'll do it for a few months and realize it's not for you or doesn't work for your lifestyle right now, but on the off chance that you do like it, there's no feeling in the world like riding and owning horses.

13) Bottom Line
I'm living the dream and enjoying every minute of it!

Many thanks to Tracy for participating! I'm working on another exciting line up of interviews of ammies from around blog land. If you want to participate or know someone who should, definitely contact me!

The Ammy Manifesto

This whole blogging thing has really been an exploration for me in what life as an adult amateur looks like. As such, I thought it was high time I  wrote the ammy manifesto for myself and other mature riders to rally behind. We're here. We're real. We're the backbone of the sport and we're not going to be dismissed by the 1% of professionals who think they don't need us to survive. 

Nietzsche needed a pony

1) I am here to have fun.

lessons are good

First and foremost, this is the biggest difference between ammies and pros. A professional rider by definition is in horses for the money. That means they have to ride through the tantrums, swing a leg over the difficult ones, and deal with everything life throws at them.

As an amateur, I have to do all those things in the rest of my life. I don't ride horses for the glory. I ride for the freedom, the connection, the challenge, the puzzle, the fun, the people, whatever it is that's personal to me. If my horse scares me, I will get off. If my lesson is too much, I will tell the instructor to back off. It's about having a good time. 

I will put myself in situations that set myself and my horse up for success. I am not ashamed to admit I need a pro ride or a new horse if things aren't working out.

2) I will take care of my horse my way. 

right down to clipping stars on his ass

Just because I'm not George Morris doesn't mean I can't make decisions. I make decisions about much more important things all day at home and at work. When I get to the barn, if I think Pookiekins needs to always only ever eat Trix Cereal and wear sparkle bell boots and have her poo dusted with glitter, I will make no apologies. 

I will take care of my horse in the way I see fit and not worry that my colors match too much, don't match at all, or are 30 years out of date. Whether it's barefoot hoofcare, bareback riding, rocking all the gadgets, or spending all my time trail riding, I'm here to do my thing. And that's ok. 

3) I want to be the best horseperson I can be. 

not everyone can do this

I'm ok with being me. I realize I'm not Andrew Nicholson. Odds are, I'm not a 6 foot tall man in impeccable physical shape with 50 years of experience in international competition. 

And I'm still ok with being me. 

I will strive to be the best I can be within my discipline. That doesn't mean I need to be in international competition or attend all the clinics or hit every single show. I will learn and grow and expand my mind and do my best. I understand that my best isn't necessarily equivalent to my friend's best, my trainer's best, or Andrew Nicholson's best.

And I'm ok with that.

4) I will set my own goals

take that horse show people

I have to compete against limited pay checks, short time, familial relationships, real life problems, car payments, mortgages, and other really intimidating adversaries on a day to day basis. I want to be competent, even stunningly amazing on horseback (or at groundwork), but that is not my end game.

There is no shame in saying that my goals are to event.

Or to never event again.

Or to do the jumpers.

Or to hack at shows.

Or to top out at first level. 

Or to have the nicest horse to handle on the ground at home.

love this pic

My goals are my goals and I will pursue them with gusto and I will not accept derision for recognizing what I really want out of my horse life. 

5) I will enjoy my success. 

yup

I'm never going to go to Rolex as a competitor and I'm 100% ok with that. If my goal was to score 52% at first level at a local school show, you bet your ASS I'm going to celebrate that 55 and change I got. Whether success to me is the world's most perfect tempi changes or getting my horse to stand still at the mounting block, I will enjoy the moments and revel in my accomplishments. 

I will define what my own version of success looks like. I won't beat myself up if it looks different than someone else's version. I acknowledge that comparing myself to someone richer/thinner/prettier/stronger/more experienced/smarter/otherwise qualified will only make me miserable. 

I can be miserable all on my own. I didn't get into horses for more of that. 

6) I will surround myself with a supportive, like-minded community. 

There are way too many hard things about real life to try and do this in a vacuum. Whether it's an adoptive barn family, a supportive SO, or an online group, I will find people to support me and listen and help along the way. 

Life is too short for mean, overly competitive, or small minded people. I don't need to be yelled at, brow beaten, or otherwise dehumanized by the team I keep around me. 

There are lots of great people out there and I am one of them. 

I am an adult amateur rider.

Forever and ever amen.

super cool collage

IMPORTANT UPDATE 

All this to say, Ammy Hour is coming back starting next week! Look for interviews of your favorite ammy rider/bloggers with tips on making life work and keeping things fun! 

Right Hand Woes

right hand

I'm right handed.

I have a problem.

It's called my right hand.

See, it has this weird reflex where it just likes to grab and clamp down no matter what I'm doing. I guess that would be less of a thing if I rode some giant lumbering horse that just blew through my hands, but I ride this tiny and sensitive thoroughbred who loves to WAY overreact to the right rein.

You think I'm joking?

more right hand

Yeah. Just look at the photo evidence. In the above pic and this one, my hands aren't completely terrible, but my right hand hasn't completely released.

I mean, in this one, my hand is even forward doing a crest release on his bloody neck and it's STILL NOT ENOUGH.

For reference, I came up through the junior ranks on a dirty stopper, then greenies, and then did eventing, so a defensive position with minimal release is my shiz. I've never been the prop and pose and throw away the reins type, because on a dirty stopper, that will get you dumped every single time.

I could post this picture all day. All. Damn. Day.

Then look at this picture. It's in the middle of a very challenging lesson. I kept just barely catching Courage with that right rein of mine and he was practically jumping sideways because of it. S finally got me to just do a total throwaway release on the right side and OMG look who jumps straight and round.

So to me, the world's most defensive rider, this picture actually looks like I'm a little more forward than I ought to be, but obviously, to Courage, this feels 100% right.

Huh.




That's all well and good, but we haven't jumped since October (srsly dying here). I always thought that my right rein issues over fences were sort of a reflex due to me being a little tense and didn't anticipate having problems on the flat.

Silly, silly me.

Did you know that if your horse falls left while leaning on the right rein, pulling on the right rein only exacerbates the problem? Yeah, well, now I know that too, ok?

Courage has been going brilliantly to the left (srsly we win at right rein contact), but it's all been falling apart to the right.

see I give the left rein just fine

Until one day I was dinking around at the walk. Courage was falling out his left shoulder. I raised my outside (left) hand to block it and immediately got crooked... so I added outside leg a little behind the girth to keep him straight. That forced me to use my inside leg to get him to bend around and then when I completely gave up my inside rein...

Guess who went right like a total champ?

Huh.

Sooooo. Yeah. We're not jumping until Courage gets his shoes back on, but I'm really excited to see how all this dressage cross applies over fences, both in his way of going and my understanding of the aids.

Teach Me Tuesday: Barn Families

because sometimes you need a tiara on your tophat

I'll come right out and admit that I'm wicked jealous of all you peeps out there who have horsey families. Mine isn't. At all. On any branch. My parents made sure I was self sufficient at horse shows as a kid by literally not knowing how to do anything remotely horsey.

It worked for me.

I'm lucky enough to be perpetually surrounded by wonderful people that I claim as barn family, even though we're not related. It's actually a big part of picking a barn for me--I spend a lot of time and social energy there, so it needs to be a place that I can feel safe and at home.

um yeah unrelated and completely adorable

So far, it's been good. I have met some of the most incredible people and role models through the various barns I've been at and the bittersweet thing about changing barns is always the friends I leave behind.

So what about the rest of you? Is having blood relatives as awesome as it sounds or do you go the adoptive route too?

Slow Down, Then Go Slower: This. Is. DRESSAGE.

first lesson

So last year I had a lot of fun with Courage and did all kinds of things and let's be honest, skipped some pretty critical steps that he really needed covered in order to progress as a sporthorse. Our jumping coach S pointed out that Courage needed to be able to lengthen his frame and go forward in that balance in order to improve his jumping.

And that's something you don't learn by doing course work every week.

ooooh look what an exciting walk picture!

And it's not very exciting.

And it's hard.

And guess what we have been doing all winter at the dressage barn?

I haven't been blogging much about riding because instead of the feel-good updates of "YEAH JUMPING SHIT" it's much more like "well, today we did a hundred walk/trot transitions". Actually, that was two weeks ago. This past week, Courage was a little footsore so instead the update should be "today we did 50 transitions from free walk to working walk to free walk each direction".

he's a hottie

So you know. It's good quality work. His education is progressing in leaps and bounds. It's just not very exciting to read about.

In fact, every time I feel like we should just start accelerating forward, we take a few more steps back to do basics.

I complained to my dressage instructor and she said something like "this is dressage".

Damn.

I'd be discouraged, but Courage has really started developing some sexy muscles in his neck and butt and his attitude has never been better, sooooo we're learning to rock the long and low and slow.

Am I dressaging yet?