24 Hours - Saddle Up for St Jude

Over the weekend, my barn hosted a 24 hour ride-a-thon for St Jude Children's Research Hospital!

You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.  -Mae West

(Have I mention that I love my daily calendar's inspiration?)

 

I didn't make it the whole 24 hours...  But, there were still adventures!

I rode a total of 17 hours.  I totalled 14 of those hours on the Fancy Pony!  She stepped up to the plate and never complained.  She even happily drank water with her bridle on!

We entered a costume contest.  I wore a big fancy renaissance-inspired dress with dagged sleeves and draped the mini-train over Pony's butt...  She never even noticed!  We even jumped like that!!  Maybe I should start calling her "honey badger"?
My team mate wore her rennaissance inspired garb with a long cape draped over her Arabian's butt...  That mare didn't care either.  When we WON best team costume, we took our victory lap side by side and jumped a little jump together, in tandem, still side by side...  Somewhere there are pictures, and I WILL share them when I find them!!

Another game we had fun playing was called "Turtle Hurdle".  There were 3 cross-rails, a bridge, then 3 more cross-rails.  We were timed.  We placed 4th because Fancy Pony was convinced that the bridge was a jump and couldn't figure out how to put her feet on it...  It was really funny watching her try to figure it out, though!

During the magazine race, I gathered my dress into my lap before racing down, hopping off, grapping my page, and hopping back on...  I dropped the dress as I sent Pony back 'home', and as the dress fell around her while we were cantering... She bucked!  It was coming to get her!
...Oops...  Guess I should have warned her...

Then there was an Egg and Spoon game!  We walked around and I tried to find my soft joints...  We trotted in half-seat, and I meditated...  We cantered, and I was amazed at how smoothly Fancy Pony made the transition and how collected she cantered...  Then, they announced, "We have a winner!"



What do you mean??

I thought, "No, we don't...  I still have my egg!!"

And when I looked over my shoulder, the rest of the field was standing in the middle....  We WON!  Oh, Pony, you are the coolest of ponies!  How did you know how to pull that off??

After the games were over, I went back to play on the bridge.  It took many minutes of centering Fancy Pony in front of the bridge and sitting quietly while she pondered it...  Finally, she shuffled close enough to bump her legs on the edge...  Then, she stepped on!
Oh, how I praised her!  We stood half on the bridge while I made such a fuss over her, and she took a breath and committed to hanging out there all day!  We walked off the bridge and reapproached.  She took it like she's been doing it forever!!  We got so good, we could walk half-way on, pivot the haunches around the corner, side pass to the other end, pivot the haunched around the other corner, then walk across it!!  WOW!  This pony...

Could she get any cooler??

Inspired!

The Fancy Pony is a wonderful creature!  She is willing, forgiving, and above all, tolerant.  However, like many of us, she has her own baggage…

THE HISTORY:
Once upon a time, Fancy Pony ran with all of the other foals her age.  One by one, the others left, and she was left all alone.  When I say alone, I mean that she was the only foal left her age.  She was surrounded by the rest of the herd, which included other horses of all ages – including the ‘old mustang mare’ who taught her everything she knows about how to be top dog horse…

THE TRAUMA:
Fancy Pony was distraught that her bestest of friends left her.  She was sure that they must have sailed off the ends of the earth to their certain demises…  She spent a good chunk of time (measurable in weeks) being uncatchable by one of the savviest horsewomen I know.

THE BAGGAGE:
In large open spaces (sometimes even in the small space of her paddock), Fancy Pony will sometimes refuse to be caught until she is herded and cornered.  When she is finally caught by these methods, she is tense and ready to flee at the slightest provocation.

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I follow Bad Eventer and have been mesmerized at the unfolding of THE PLAN (parts 1, 2 and 3).

The turn-around in Klumsy is just incredible!  I want to have THAT tool available for the horses that I work with!

I have a good grasp on Operant Conditioning, I think.  I have created or changed associations for my pets based on conditioning theories.  I have even applied them to my horse.  The Old Man would come *GALLOPING* from the back of the pasture if he heard my whistle.  All I had to do was stand at the gate and wait.  I allowed him to associate coming to the whistle with dinner.  I have never applied this theory with the clicker.  I wanted guidance on how and where the clicker fit in.  Thanks to some helpful people on the internet, I was directed to some great DOG training sites that talked in detail about clicker training, and a light went on for me!  Suddenly, I could see some real possibilities!  So, I did what any knowledge-hungry student would do…  I immediately bought a clicker and started priming all the animals around me!

While I was priming Fancy Pony to the clicker, I only clicked if she was standing perfectly still in the cross-ties… Suddenly, she went from shifting occasionally to standing like a rock.  At attention.  Square.

An opportunity came to let Fancy Pony run around like a wild beast in the outdoor arena.  I jumped on it!  While she was left to run free, I walked up to her to touch her and try to teach her that I’m not trying to catch her *every* time I approach.  She quivered, but she stood and let me just pet her neck.  I walked away, and she went back to racing around like a thing possessed.

When it was time to catch her for real, I grabbed a few treats for one pocket, and my clicker for the other.  I admit that I was a little discouraged when she walked away from me.  Twice. Neither time did she even look at me.  Finally, she stood at a halt and gave me 2 eyes and 2 ears.  I clicked the clicker!

I took 2 steps toward her, and she took 2 steps toward me. *Click*

I stood still, and she took 2 more steps toward me.  *Click*

I remained still, and she took 4 more steps toward me.  *Click*

Four more steps, and she was in my pocket! *Click*treats*

She stood quiet and relaxed as I threw the rope over her neck and haltered her.  No stress.  It was like magic!

She has always stood and made me come to her, but this time, SHE came to **ME**!
That Bad Eventer…  She might be on to something!

Cricket Learns Gymnastic Lines! (video)

She was fine with the poles on the ground, but when they turned into X's, Cricket became dubious...

Try, try again...

Until you succeed!  Check out that pony's confidence!



Playing Games

There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want.  -Bill Watterson

It was a late evening arrival to the barn, so I knew I would probably be short on time.  I was hitting up Fancy Pony for a ride, and my riding partner arrived!  Alas, her pony is currently on the mend from an unidentifiable something in a hind leg.  I asked her, "Do you want to ride with me?"
Oh, the look of longing on her face as she said, "Noooo..." followed by some excuses as her mom looked on with sympathy...

Long story short, she tacked up Cricket and rode with me!
Bonus, both horses got a longer ride for it!

Cricket has been cross-cantering behind.  Both direction.  On the lunge, as well as under saddle.
We are coordinating chiro and/or massage and considering a thorough soundness evaluation.

In the meanwhile, I've been focusing on teaching Cricket to stretch and step through with the hinds, move forward into the bit, and stay rhythmic and relaxed.  This is in opposition of her tendency to compress and suck back from the bit.  She has been picking up on it pretty well, and the longer we trot, the looser and more relaxed she gets!  I have not been cantering...  Strength and relaxation.  I told myself that if she ofered it, I would ride it, but that I wanted to focus on these other fundamentals first.  So, In our trot work, I've managed to keep her balanced enough that she hasn't fallen into the canter as I pushed her trot for more length.

So, as RP (riding partner), is tooling around on Cricket and learning her buttons and feeling for what I've been working on, she begins to play with the flexibility and elasticity of Cricket's gaits.  RP quickly pics up on Cricket's stiffness both directions, as well as her perma-bend to the right.  They trot over poles in all manner of configurations, and suddenly, Cricket offers the canter.  She did it for 2 strides, then RP pulled her back to the trot.  RP was worried that she *shouldn't* be cantering the pony, so I explained that I only wanted to if she offered.  You know, just to make sure that I wasn't forcing her to do it through pain...

Relieved, RP proceeds to canter Cricket all over the place!  This turned out to be an excellent opportunity for me, because I could see from the ground many of the factors at play, and which ones helped or hindered Cricket's canter issues.  But, *OH*, how I wanted to feel that canter!  I wanted to play, too!
Don't get me wrong, I was thoroughly enjoying my own play on the Fancy Pony, but I was still getting to know Cricket, and I wanted to hear her whisper those secrets to me that she was whispering to RP...  On the other hand, I was also thrilled that RP was able to enjoy this experience!

Cricket did her best to maintain her lead behind, but she would sudden;y hop-and-switch behind then swap back within a couple strides.  If she couldn't swap back, she would break to trot and resume with a united canter.  Cricket did all of these things on her own!  If RP held her to large, smooth, sweeping turns, Cricket held the lead.  If RP turned suddenly, Cricket swapped.  Cricket offered walk-canter transitions all on her own.  In all, Cricket looked thrilled to be cantering around so freely.  Well, free for Cricket...  For the rest of us, it was a canter like a pogo stick...

I set up a cross-rail for them to play over, and we addressed Cricket's boldness.  Yes, she stopped the first several times, but she never retreated or swerved.  She considered, then stepped delicately over the cross-rail.  The finished by cantering up to, then trotting over, the cross-rail!!

It was a game played for the sheer joy of trying new things.  Our enthusiasm carried over to Cricket, and she joined in on the fun!

I'm pretty sure Fancy Pony was jealous that she didn't get to jump, though...

Cricket with RP  -  Fancy Pony with me

What a lovely time!  I can't wait to show Cricket more fun games!

Fancy Pony is Back in Action!

Life is simple.  It's just not easy.

It started with the ever-so-not-noticable not-exactly-a-limp in the left front.  I attributed it to the knock she appeared to have taken to the inside of her lower leg.  There was evidence (a wound), and she seemed to feel better and better as the wound healed or when the scab was soft...

Minor wound.  Probably kicked herself when she slipped in the mud in her paddock...

Then, she was off in the left hind!  Felt like in her hip.  We deliberated that perhaps she was 'sitting' more than she was really strong enough to handle while trying to hide the 'offness' in the left front...  Muscle soreness made sense and she was leaning into her massages.

Not rearing.  Levade to puddle jump...

And, then!!  She wasn't visually lame or off on any particular leg... She just wasn't herself.  Once in a gait, she would plod along, but she wouldn't come together.  She couldn't be light in the bridle.  She was fine if I tooled around like a western pleasure horse.  We even chased killdeer around the arena like a cutting horse!

Yes.  I'm *that* cool.

I finally started making a connection...
You see, I've been treating a little bit of 'girth itch'.  She seems to get it every spring in the wet season.  At least, she had it last year about this time...  I've been cleaning it, and treating it with scarlex.  The girth doesn't sit on it, thanks to the offset design, but it does sit close to it.  After beginning another ride and finding the Fancy Pony not herself A-G-A-I-N, I decided it was time to change stuff around.  I grabbed the fluffy girth.  It's straight.  Nothing special.  When I put it on, it went *right over* the girth itch.  But when I got on, she walked right out.  She settled into the gaits faster, and the transitions in and out became quieter.  It was instantaneous.  I had my Fancy Pony back!!

Magic!

When you suddenly realize...

While I was helping Cricket and YR keep it together, Fancy Pony was giving Pony Rides.  All by herself!
Not everyone has their own helmet.

So, I loaned them mine!

Cricket started getting a little fussy (as she typically does when the box you set for her gets too small or compressed).  YR was getting nervous and wasn't sure how to make Cricket happy again.  I asked her, "Do you want me to get on?"
"Yes, please!"

So, I hop up and try to figure out what is bugging Cricket today...
She continued to be a little fussy, but quieted as I insisted nothing was changing and she could relax.
I 'put her in a box' where she will experience increased pressure from a leg or rein depending on how she evades with hips or shoulders.  Once she finds the edges, she tends to relax inside the boundaries.

Just as she settled, the wind blew and I realized...
...I wasn't wearing my helmet!

Oops!
THAT was rectified immediately...

But, it really got me thinking.  AGAIN!

YR's mom commented, "Jacq is a real advocate for wearing helmets!"
And, I am!  To hear someone say it, though, told me that I really am making a statement.  My statement is being heard!

We all sort of noticed it at the same time...  I even said, "I just realized that I am not wearing a helmet..."
I felt so naked and exposed!

Later, I realized how much I **don't** notice my helmet!  I never think of it as too hot or too heavy...  It becomes a part of me as soon as I put it on.  And that is how is *should* be!

I put my helmet on, and go about my horse activities!  It doesn't come off until I go back into the barn.  And THAT is how I got caught riding without a helmet...

Baby Steps

Cricket and her girl:



They both look so happy!

I was pretty excited to have some company and to see Cricket looking so happy with her young rider!  Eventually, they want to jump.  We are slowly building Cricket's strength.  She is learning all about poles on the ground.  Eventually, I'll turn them into a jump course of ground poles and see how game she is!

 

Upping the ante:

These poles were terrifying when Cricket first saw them...

Killing time:

Isn't it liberating to drive your pony everywhere?

YR (young rider) is learning how to ground drive her horse!  She did this for at least 20 minutes straight and never once got bored!  She also trotted in the driving lines, which I hadn't done yet.  Of course, I was focusing on tinier details like correct bend...  They were practicing "go where I tell you."

While Fancy Pony was feeling better, she was not 100% yet.  She felt fantastic at the walk, but only OK at trot and canter.  I couldn't feel any definite lameness, but she struggled to balance and get connected in the bridle.  We kept the rest of the ride walk-only.  Fancy Pony also played "solid school pony" giving rides to new riders and she could not have been more perfect!