Monday, August 24, 2009

This world's gone crazy.....

Or Luke's world has at least! This past month has been a whirlwind for him (and me!) He moved to a new barn, got his feet screwed up, promptly got them fixed, and turned into a monster, all in the same month.

Okay so he's not really a monster, he's just acting like he could be! He's gotten crazy herdbound, and is in love with a little buckskin mare. Agh...I hate herdboundness! He's been screaming and prancing when I separate them for a few weeks now, but yesterday was the worst. He reared up in hand, reared up in the cross ties, broke his halter, and ran around inside the barn like a maniac. I took him out and lunged him, and even while trotting in a circle, he was screaming his head off. He wasn't even much more manageable after I lunged him. Tonight, I'm going to suck it up and ride, because right now, I have more control when I'm on his back then I do from on the ground.

I'm instituting some tough love though...if he tries to get in front of me, he backs up. If he screams, he gets snapped at, and he has to work. If he prances, I make him work. If he invades my space, he gets smacked on the neck. I'm also lucky that my barn is so small, but with so many pastures. There are 6 horses and 4 pastures, which is reaaallly nice. So today Luke and Jodi are out by themselves in a pasture. He can still see the mare I think, and I'm hoping he doesn't run the fence. He'll deal though. He needs to learn to respect me again. I have a lesson tomorrow, hopefully it will go well.

Monday, August 10, 2009

No more lameness, yay!

Luke got his feet trimmed last Thursday. I let the new barn's farrier trim him, which I shouldn't have done. He came up LAME. I called my old farrier and he came out today and put pads and front shoes on. $$$, but it was a lesson learned. Luke walked off mostly sound. He's still a smidge off, but we think in a couple of days, he'll be good as new.

So I haven't gotten to ride since my lesson last Tuesday. It's driving me crazy, because I want to work on what I learned! Hopefully he'll be sound enough tomorrow evening that I can ride for a little bit.

I'm glad he's starting to feel better, because he needs a serious refresher course in mannners. I know he's been ouchy, but it's no excuse for some of the crap he's been pulling. Dragging my sister around when she leads him, trying to kick me when I pick up his feet, etc. He's fallen in love with a little mare he's turned out with, and she's in heat, so they've been screaming for each other. It's making me CRAZY.

I think some of the herdboundness is from recently moving...he's feeling insecure maybe? At first, when I took Jodi away, Luke would throw himself around his stall screaming for him. He's been better about that lately though, but he still doesn't like being taken away from the mare. He's getting better though, so hopefully once I get him back into serious work, it'll be okay.

I think that's all the news I have!

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Lesson!

The rain held off, and I got to have my lesson, so I was a very happy girl!

I got a call on Monday from the new barn owner, telling me that my horse was very smart. Never a good thing to hear. He figured out how to escape from the one pasture. There's a 4 foot "gate" that's just one strand of un-electrified tape - the only part of the pasture that's not electric. I was worried about him figuring it out. So until they figure out what to do to make it more secure, he and Jodi moved to another pasture. I actually like this one better. It has a couple of big trees for shade, not that my horses will use them, and it's connected to the paddock where the other horses go at night, so there's 2 run in sheds.

So I went to the barn yesterday around 7, my lesson was at 7:30. It was just about dinner time, so I put Jodi in his stall to eat, and stuck Luke in the cross ties to tack up. He definitely had ants in his pants. He did NOT want to stand still at all. He only let me pick his front two hooves, and then when I went to pick up one back leg, I think he kicked out, or stomped, and his knee caught my thumb. I heard a pop and had to literally go sit down because I almost passed out. I saw stars...that was the worst pain I've had in a long time. It's still really sore today too. So I didn't pick out his back feet. I threw his saddle on, and waited for my new trainer. When she got there, Luke decided he'd never seen a bridle in his life...throwing his head up, backing up, etc. I figured it was gonna be a horrific lesson.

Once we got out to the arena though, Luke was all business. He's such a good horse. He screamed for Jodi a few times while we were warming up, but once he realized that no one was answering him, he was fine.

We did a long walk warm up with lots of serpentines, circles, figure 8's and changes of direction thrown in. I'm really guilty of just walking aimlessly on the rail to warm up, so it was a good change. I'm really going to work on that. Then we moved to the trot, focusing on pushing him from behind instead of letting him flop around on the forehand. When he was working correctly from behind, he found the bit and was reaching for contact. I could definitely feel him improving from the beginning of the lesson to the end. It was really hot, and I hadn't had dinner, and forgot to bring a water bottle, so true to form, I almost passed out two or three times. I'll be better prepared next time. So we just did a little bit of canter so she could see him go. His left lead felt really nice...he was actually slowing down instead of running around with his head in the air. She told me to pretend my left arm was broken so I wasn't hanging on the inside rein, and voila: less tense rider, less tense horse. The right lead took a few tries to get, but she just had me bring him back to a trot quietly. She said there's no point in teaching him bad transitions, which is all jerking him to a trot will do. She said when I ask him to slow down, not to pull on him with both hands, but to just use my outside rein. Lo and behold, he started slowing down enough that I could sit his trot and ask for the correct lead. He gave it to me that time. We did a few circles on each lead, and then called it a day. I'm really proud of Luke.

I feel like we got a ton out of the lesson, and my only regret is that I won't be able to take them more frequently. I'm gonna shoot for every other week, since I probably will have to stop for the winter.

I can't wait to go ride Luke and keep practicing this stuff!! I'm loving the new barn. Kind of lonely sometimes since I'm the only one riding, and the oldest and only one my age, but it's nice at the same time. My barn time is always relaxing, which I need. And the short drive rocks!

This post is already long, but here are my August goals:

1) Have one more lesson this month.
2) Have a consistent right lead at the end of the month.
3) Ride 4 times a week
4) Work on pushing him from behind
5) Be less tense
6) Have FUN with him!

Monday, August 3, 2009

New Home

The boys are all settled in their new home. They go out by themselves in a huge grassy pasture, and both seem very excited to have it all to themselves. Sometimes they'll come to the gate when they see me coming, but usually they stay out grazing.

Melissa rode Jodi yesterday, but I left my girth at home so I didn't ride Luke. I brought him in and groomed him and fly sprayed him, and then put him back out to graze. I don't think he minded. I'm going out to ride tonight, and I will hopefully have a good ride. I lost my lunge line though, so it could be an interesting ride...

I'll try to get some pictures tonight...it's been too long since I've taken new pictures!

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Nothing much new here...

I haven't been updating, because I haven't really been riding much. I need to kick myself into gear though...I probably won't be competing Luke until September, but still.

I'm moving the boys next month...I'm really sad to leave where I'm at now...I love everyone there so much, and I'm going to miss a lot of things, but I found a place right by my house that's super cheap. I love feeding the horses, but with school starting soon, I won't be able to do it, and I can't afford to stay there without feeding. This new place is nothing spectacular, but they have nice pastures, nice stalls, a (small) outdoor, and I'm allowed to ride in the pastures. It's close enough to home that I can run out and do blanket changes and stuff, so that should work out.

Molly rode Luke on Saturday, and said that he got his leads right away. Maybe it's just me that can't get them. I need to work on them. He needs his feet done soon though. She said she jumped him, and he was okay going up to them, but he wanted to run away after them. So she worked on slowing him down, and it sounded like she was successful. I'm making my dad build me some standards so I can still jump at the new place. I need to get back into riding shape first though!

I might get to go to Bath Pony Club's mini trial on August 23rd...if not, South Farm on September 13th! :)

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Updates!

Let's see...I got to ride both boys last night, which was awesome.

Jodi...Jodi, Jodi, Jodi :) Melissa and I had to go to the back pasture to get Jodi and Luke in, and being lazy, I thought it would be a good idea to hope on Jodi and let him carry me back to the barn. Probably wouldn't have been a bad idea if I'd bothered to tie the lead rope to the other side of his halter to make reins. He got confused when I asked him to turn, and somehow I slid off even though he wasn't really moving. Fall one. So I had Melissa boost me back up..but she was laughing, and somehow she threw me up even though Jodi was walking away. Fall two...I hit the ground in the same position, almost the same spot. Jodi just stood there. Third time was a charm though, and we safely made it back to the barn...it was a piece of cake once I had "reins". So I'm sore today even though I thought I wouldn't be.

I think his supplement is starting to work already. He was full of energy yesterday, and didn't seem nearly as stiff. I actually got to canter him undersaddle! It was the most cantering he's done in years, and it was all I could do to make him stop to cool out. He was charging around like a wild man.

Luke was pretty hyped up too. He wasn't bad, but he made it clear that he wanted to go. We did lots of walk and trot, and I could tell he was starting to anticipate the canter, so I made him do trot/walk transitions for a while. When I finally asked him to canter, I asked for the right lead, which he gave me, but he LAUNCHED into it. Once I got over the initial shock (and laughter), I let him hand gallop for a little bit and made him canter nicely. Second time, he picked up the wrong lead, but when I stopped and asked again, he got it right. Still wanted to go go go though. I switched to the left, and he gave me the wrong lead, did a flying change, and then did another change back onto the wrong lead. So I regrouped and asked again and he gave it to me. I think he's starting to get more balanced, because he's been better about leads lately. After I was done, Molly hopped on him and rode for a while. He definitely had lots of energy left. He was spooking at stupid stuff, but she just laughed about it. He got his leads for her, and she cantered him for a good long time.

It was so cool to see someone else ride him...he looked amazing. He's starting to accept contact more. Now instead of getting offended and tossing his head around, he'll settle down and reach into it. I don't think I need spurs anymore either. He was moving off of my leg pretty well yesterday. I think the grass and the alfalfa hay are giving him loads of energy. He's starting to pick weight up though, and he's looking nice. Except for the sun bleached look, but that's okay.

It was an awesome horsey day yesterday...so good to see Jodi acting young again!

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Nothing new here...

I haven't updated because nothing has been going on. I'm still crazy busy, and super stressed all the time, and feeling like a failure quite often. Let's see...I think Luke's been ridden twice in the last week.

Thursday I lunged him in side reins and then got on him. He was really really good, and picked up the right lead on his first try. Then threw a hissy fit and gave me crap about his left lead. Seriously? But we finally got it, and then Jen got on and rode him around a little.

Yesterday, Molly rode him. She said he was really good and picked up his leads, and then she took him on a trail ride. So I'm sure he had fun. He loves her, and she loves him, so it's perfect.

I have a lesson tonight, hopefully he'll be a good boy. I'm going to lunge him in side reins first...it gets him in the right mindset to work. I'll update after my lesson if there's anything worth reporting.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Ay yi yi

Can there please be more hours in the day? I don't have time to do anything that I want to do. I feel like I'm slacking in all areas of my life - friends feel like I'm ditching them constantly, but it's not like I'm doing it to go ride, because ponees are feeling neglected too. Luke was a jerk on the ground last week, and he's always perfect.

Anyway, I'm not sure if anyone reads this even, but it's good for me to keep track of my progress. I have GOT to start riding him more. I do better during the school year when I don't have to work 40 hours a week.

Molly is gonna start riding him once a week for me, which is super exciting. So hopefully I'll be able to ride him at least three times a week and lunge him once. That would be 5 days. I gotta get moving though....Grand River is in less than a month. Yikes!

So my goal for schedules for next week will be:

Monday: Molly ride Luke.

Tuesday: My turn! Hopefully work on flatwork and a little bit of jumping if he's doing well.

Wednesday: Lunge in Side Reins

Thursday: Day off for Luke

Friday: Outside riding - flat work and jumping

Saturday: More dressage

Sunday: Day off

So hopefully we'll finally start getting somewhere. We're doing very green at Grand River. *sigh*...it would be Baby Beginner Novice if I could just get that right lead. Oh well...one step at a time!

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

We did it!

We went to our dressage show and had a great time! :)


On Friday night, I got out to the barn and discovered that Luke had scraped himself up on something. I stuck him on the lunge line and he wasn't off, but he kept swapping leads behind going to the left, his good direction. I thought maybe he was just being silly. He didn't seem sore so I decided to go ahead and show. He got a bath on Friday night, and then I braided his mane and stuck him in a hawaiian print sleazy...he looked hilarious.

Saturday I got to the barn bright and early - around 7:30. Threw Luke a flake of hay and his grain and packed up my stuff. Once the boys were done eating, we threw them on the trailer and headed off to the show. It was right down the road, like a 5 minute drive.Luke unloaded like a champ, and calmly surveyed the scenery before dropping his head to graze. I tied him to the trailer while I changed, and then we went for a walk. We walked around a while, and then put his saddle on, and then went back down to the arena to watch Molly ride. After her test, I put my bridle on and hopped on. He was perfectly calm and relaxed. He wasn't really reaching for contact, and he was a little distracted, but he didn't spook at all, or speed up or anything. So I was a proud mom.

We went in and did our test - I've done a lot worse, and possibly done better. I blew a movement by walking a letter too early, and she didn't think I was very accurate. She said I was really tense and I needed to relax...but I'm way more relaxed than I used to be. We ended up with a 56% and 4th place. I was really happy with him. I think next month we'll go xc schooling, and then in August, do the Grand River Hunt mini trial and the Bath Pony Club mini trial. Possibly some more dressage schooling shows too, because that's what really needs work.




Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Show's around the corner!

Yikes! I need to get with the program!

I've been slacking lately when it comes to riding...between working 40 hours a week and feeding horses 3 days a week, I haven't had much energy to ride alone. Thankfully, Molly finished drivers' ed last week, so I'll hopefully have someone to ride with at night!

On Saturday, Jen came over and we had a tack cleaning party...it was a lot of work, but fun! I cleaned and oiled or conditioned my running martingale, 2 bridles, and my saddle. My bridle looks brand new, and my martingale looks amazing too...I'm so glad I made the effort to clean everything!

I had a lesson Wednesday night, and I still love my new saddle. We shortened my stirrups, which helped my leg sliding around problem. We got some nice flat work in, but I was really looking forward to jumping some stuff. But a tornado watch happened just as she was setting up jumps, so we didn't get to jump OR practice my dressage tests. As soon as I was untacked, the storm let up...of course. I have a lesson one night this week, so hopefully he will be good. Probably won't get any jumping in though because we have to practice for the show.

I'm riding him in Intro test B, and Mandi's gonna ride him in Training 1. Cross your fingers for correct leads! I predict they will have no trouble - I'm the one that has trouble getting leads...but it might be better since he got his feet fixed. I haven't really been motivated to practice too much lately. I'll ride tonight, hopefully tomorrow, and Thursday for sure though, and then Friday I'll ride him a little bit and then he'll get a beauty treatment...bath, clipped, and I'll probably band his mane...I think it would look better than attempting braids. Molly and Atticus are showing too, so it should be a fun time :) Luke and Atticus are totally in love, so hopefully they will keep each other calm.

I'm getting excited and nervous all at the same time!