Success!! …it’s the little things…

It’s been wickedly cold.  And on the days it hasn’t been wickedly cold, I have had other obligations (like going to the grocery store because there is no food in the house!!) that prevented me from playing with ponies.Finally, I drug my friend’s Christmas tree to the barn to add to my tree as jump filler!  YAY!It was still bitterly cold, so I just fed the ponies and decided I just wanted to sit on the Fancy Pony while she ate. 

I had donned my helmet and grabbed a halter before heading out with the grain.  I lined them all up, fed the grain, and then haltered the princess for what may be an exercise in futility.

I haven’t been able to swing up bareback since I bulged my L5-S1 disc 2 years ago…  I had thought this through, somewhat.  You see, if the Princess hangs around rather than running off when I attempt to swing up, she is rewarded with more dinner, which is right in front of her face!
Smart, huh? 

I attempted to swing up, and her head came up as she drifted sideways away from me.  When things settled, she stuffed her face back in her bowl.

Take 2: No drift, but that head came up again.  Back to the bowl.

Take 3: I almost made it!  My leg was hanging on just in front of her flank, but she never moved.  The head didn’t come up, either.  She just waited patiently for me to wiggle on or slide off!  I decided it was going to happen today…

Take 4: I finally made it far enough on that I could wiggle the rest of the way!  The Princess Pony was nonchalant and finished her meal quietly.

Once the meals were finished, we practiced cutting some of the other horses away from the herd – just for fun, you know!  By then, I had had about all of the fun in the cold that I could stand, so I documented my success, and headed back to the warmth of “inside.”

I feel incredibly accomplished!

She is *sooooo* impressed...

 

 

Holiday Horse Show - Part 2

I took Baby Dax to his very first outing!

I had no idea what to expect of him.  When he was unloaded and tied to the trailer, he was obviously confused...
Where are we?
Why are we here?
What am I supposed to be doing??

I knocked the mud off of him, tacked him up, and climbed right up to head to the ring to school a little.

Well, in the ring, lots of chaos was going on and everyone was cluckiong and smooching to keep their horses forward over scary ground poles and cross rails.  And I just wanted Dax to walk around like a sane horse!

He just **KNEW** that everyone was clucking and smooching at *him*.
Baby Dax almost had a melt down...

So, before it got too bad, I hopped down and just held the reins in the middle of the ring, letting him absorb the choas without asking for a thing.  That derpy head finally dropped and he started breathing again.  Luckily, the goal at this show was *just* to get some miles on him!
I had entered him in the ground pole division.

I only managed to lead him over a couple ground poles before it was time to show.
So, in we go for our simple little baby ground pole course.  We weren't even going to make it over the first one!  All the decorations were so scary!  But, Baby Dax trusted that he wouldn't die, and went over all the poles...  although he never went over them straight...

Round 2, we were getting the hang of it on one side, but down the side with the spectators was still scary!

Round 3, though, takes the cake!  We were approaching the line on the spectator side, and we were actually headed straight!!  We were headed confidently forward with quiet purpose...  when a spectator blew her nose just as we came next to her!!!
Poor Baby Dax lost his mind and slid stright sideways!  I started cackling so hard, I don't know how I managed to get him back onto the line and over the pole, but somehow we managed.

We hit the under saddle classes, and he derped along with very little concern.  We lined up, then they announced the placings...  And he just didn't know what to do when everyone started clapping!  When all was said and done, I walked him over to check out the spectators, and he decided that maybe they were OK after all.

Sleepy Baby Dax in the back...

Once his duty was over, he ate a little hay, then promptly fell into a deep sleep...  You might notice his head (behind Cricket) his hanging as low as his rope will allow.  His eyes were closed, and he might well have been snoring...  I was worried I would wake him up if I got any closer, and Baby Dax had definitely earned that nap!!

Ribbon Tree!

Holiday Horse Show - Part 1

What could be better than meeting a fellow blogger in person?
Running into them by accident an a horse show!!


There I was waiting around for my turn to ride the Fancy Pony in the 2'6" hunter division, and a fellow comtetitior came up and said, "Pardon me, what is your horse's name?"
Of course, I had to list them off:
Whisper
RSA Talk ofthe Street
She interjected, "I read your blog!"

No way!  Did I actually just meet someone in our blogging circle?
I was, indeed, talking with A Gift Horse!

I wanted to squeal and jump up and down!

Same place, same time!  PROOF!!

Not that Fancy Pony would approve of such shenanigans...  She is way more sophistocated than that...

So sophisticated...

Of course, it's not real on the internet unless there are pictures...
I'm looking forward to getting together with her again.  You know...  On purpose...
I'm thinking I might need to sway her to the dark side...
I mean, cross-country schooling is a great excuse for a get-together, right??

Opportunities

When coach said, "I want you to come ride this horse!", I couldn't refuse.
Well, I guess I could have, but I sure wouldn't want to!

I understand that JoJo is established at 2nd level dressage and schooling most of the 3rd level movements.
I suddenly felt like I didn't know how to ride...

JoJo - Fancy TB dressage horse

JoJo is responsive.  He is also very forgiving.

I walked a bit as I tried to help him relax...  He didn't like the rain hitting one side of the indoor arena...

Finally, I felt ready to find my place in the trot.  Constantly Coach yells at me: "Get your lower leg forward!  You're kicking him in the flank!"

I insist that I was fighting against the saddle...  So, I tried to feel like I was "waterskiing".  And it helped, sometimes.

 

We explored shoulder-fore, where I was able to find the easy bend.

We explored shoulder-in, where I could easily put too much angle in because JoJo is so responsive!

Once shoulder-in started getting consistent, I got to explore completely foreign land: HALF-PASS!

 

Putting theory into practice is never as easy as you think it should be.

I got a few decent steps at a time, but I always dropped his inside shoulder, which I'm sure JoJo didn't appreciate.  That leg kept creeping back, and I would think I was asking for half-pass, but instead would get a canter transition...

 

In the cold, I worked up a sweat trotting around in the indoor arena!  This was seriously hard work!

And I loved every moment!  What a priviledge to get to ride this horse!!

 

We wrapped up with some canter (on purpose, this time), then cooled out.  We were both toast.

 

----------

 

But, the fun didn't stop there...

 

Next, I had the opportunity to ride Ultaire, a dutch warmblood who used to own the hunter ring!

He needed to hop over a few fences, and his owner ran out of time, so I dared not refuse when offered the ride!!

 

I was told he is a "kick ride."

In fact, I would need my spurs (well, someone's spurs, anyway).

His nickname is The Grumpy Slug.

Oh, boy!



Ultaire - The fanciest slug I have ever met!

We warmed up with lots of walk.  He was scared to death of the water coming from the hose as Coach dampened down the arena.  So, of course, I insisted that we get ever closer to it!

 

We trotted, and I found out how hard I was going to have to work!

He leaned on my left leg. The entire time!!

 

But, going through the jumps, he was as "point and shoot" as they come!  His demeanor never changed, wether we came in at the right spot or not.  He just shrugged and made it happen.  I could focus on me!  What a treat!

We were both too tired to actually get one of those automatic changes Coach had mentioned, so we accepted the simple change and moved on to cooling out.

 

When I voiced rhetorically, "Why does it feel like I don't know how to ride whenever I get on a new horse these days?"

Coach actually replied, "Because you don't get to ride different horses every day."

 

Hmm.  Good point, Coach!

Something should be done about that!!

 

Here's to more catch ride opportunities!  Never turn it down!

Raising the Bar a Little Further

The Fancy Pony has shown us that she really does like to jump.  When I let others ride her, she will try to take them over the jumps (against their will!) on her own accord.

Actually, it is rather amusing to see the panic on a beginners face when their mount wants to quietly trot over a 12" elevated pole...

So, we asked her to show us what she's got!


Just in case that didn't work, see it here:
Fancy Pony free jumps 3'6"

She also made is laugh as she demonstrated her understanding that "forward is always the right answer:


And, in case that doesn't work:
http://youtu.be/vzfQLkRHukQ

Another Taste of Our Driving Adventures - video!

Our workouts have begun to look like this:

What would I do without willing minions?
I feel like I should post an add:

Seeking MINIONS!

Flexible hours!

Excellent benefits!

No experience required!

Will train!

Translation: Come get exercise for free while walking for hours dragging my horse cart!

How many takers do you think I would get?

Of course, wherever we may go on our adventures, we must always return home...

And in the hell that is WINTER after the end of DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME, we face dusk way too early...


In case you can't watch that, try viewing it here:
http://youtu.be/RA4J7hbOLDc

It isn't very exciting, but I think it's bridging the gap between ground driving and hitching up quite well!

Driving Adventures

We are still working at it!

 

So, I finally determined beyond a shadow of any doubt in my mind that the crupper (when pulled by the harness surcingle) is what initiated the bucking fir that led to our cart wreck early this year.

 

Luckily, no one was hurt.

 

I have not given up...

See my determination...

 I took a page from Jane Savoie's instruction manual, and I broke the process down into more abby steps....

 

I put a crupper on my saddle and let her buck it out on the lungeline...

This was quite impressive, as she pointed her feet to the sky and let them hang there while she continued to trot on her front legs....  It looked like a game of "wheelbarrow" where God was holding her back legs...

 

I also picked up a training cart.

after removing the shafts...

And decided to refinish it!

Point A...

So, I sanded...

sanded on the left...

And I primed...

primed...

And I painted...

painted!

And I sanded and stained...

Yay for stain!

In the meantime, I continued my "baby steps" approach...

 

Step 1: bang stuff against sides and legs...

 

Step 2: Add a load...

Now, we're following the cart around and walking next to it until it doesn't bother her wherever it goes or whatever noises it makes.  I think we're getting there!!

 

Who is up for driving?