What a long day

Well, yesterday was an interesting day, to say the least.

I trailer Patrick down to this girl's barn so that she could take a lesson on him someplace unfamiliar and give her trainer a chance to see him. Regardless of whether or not they buy him (and I really hope they do. He's the perfect horse for her), I am so proud of my little guy. He stepped off that trailer like a champ. They gave him very little time to settle in. I think the trainer took one look at me and decided it wasn't going to work out, and really wanted to prove the parents wrong in their choice. So they threw his tack on and led him on up to the ring.

Not once did he do anything bad. He was a little forward, which I expected, but the girl wasn't intimidated in the least. A few quick corrections from me would have set everything right, but this particular trainer is very 'new world' hunter: upper body 30 degrees from the verticle, no direct rein contact, low hands, etc. Patrick wasn't trained this way, but I did do a few quick schools to get him acclimated to that type of ride, and thank goodness he's a quick study. It wasn't the perfect ride at first, but I was such a proud mom. Then he proceeded to jump around the horribly ugly jumps (thankfully, mine are uglier!) without a second's hesitation. Any distance at all, he took, and boy were there some bad ones!

Once it was all said and done, the trainer determined that come February, when it's cold and the wind is whipping, he may be too much horse for her. I really wanted to interject that if she isn't good enough at her job to have this girl comfortable on her horse after a year then maybe they needed to find a new trainer. However, they decided to write me a check contingent on this weekends' rides and a vet check on Monday. So she's going to hack him around today and take another lesson tomorrow morning and then they'll let me know if they're going to go through with the vet check. Cross your fingers!

On another note, Fiesta contracted the early stages of aspiration pneumonia yesterday. She had a really bad episode of choke, which has never happened to her before. Then yesterday morning when I went to feed, she hadn't drank anything, wasn't eating enthusiastically, and seemed kind of out of it. At first I wanted to just assume she didn't feel good after a long choke episode and was upset that I turned her breakfast into soup. But something kept nagging at me, so I had my mom call the vet and let him know what was going on.

He drove right over.

He said if she had gone 24 hours like this, she would have been beyond saving. Thank God I followed my gut instincts! So he gave her mega-doses of a few antibiotics and put her on a heavy dose of Doxy. Almost instantly she perked up, so hopefully that means we're on the right path! I'll keep you posted on her progress.

Anyways, I have to go wolf down some coffee and muffins and hold horses for the farrier. Then it's Derby Day!

Oh, Weather...You never fail to ruin my plans

Still no pictures from Culpeper...apparently printing them, stuffing them in an envelope, and labeling it is VERY difficult...

So the trial on Sunday went fantastic. Patrick was a doll, though I did have a moment when I was a bit worried!

Despite driving up in a brand-spanking-new beamer and touting that their daughter attends private school, the poor girl was riding in the most god-awful saddle I've ever seen in my life. When I mounted up and asked Patrick to walk away from the mounting block, he started hopping like he wanted to rear...wonderfullll. So I yanked the saddle and stuck a riser pad underneath of it, and that helped. You could tell he still wasn't happy, but he didn't do anything bad.

Whew.

The girl hopped on after me, and you could tell she was nervous and tense. Patrick, once again, did nothing to take advantage of her. He. Was. A. Superstar. He hopped around a few little crossrails for her, and seemed really happy with her. I'm a little worried that he might be too much horse for her until he's back in work,  but he seemed happy with the match. I know if she had tried him last summer when he was fit and in training, they would have been absolutely perfect for one another.

So they asked to take him on trial, to which I told them that won't be happening. I don't know them or their trainer, and I've never had a good experience with a trial (and neither had my consultant; thanks Steph!). So we compromised. I'm taking him to their barn on Friday so the girl can take a lesson on him. If it goes well, they are going to cut me a check right there, and consider him sold pending a vet check. Ahh!!! So I've been working really hard these last couple of days to make sure he's ready for her. I would really love for him to go to this girl. It would be absolutely wonderful for them both. She's 15 and 4'11". She fits him beautifully, he's quiet enough for her to do the 2'3" stuff on now,  but he can jump around a 3'6" course and take her up the ranks. Plus, he's 5 years old! She'll never need another horse. Plus, my boss's farrier knows the trainer very well, does the feet at her farm, and says he'll have a  great home and that she's a confident enough rider to school him up for the girl if necessary. Doesn't this sound too good to be true? I hope not! That money would fund the rest of my show season and really jump start Bailey's future.

Cross your fingers for me! Hopefully I come home with an empty trailer Friday afternoon!

Culpeper Results are In!

My sincerest apologies!

So nothing really went as planned since last I wrote, nearly two weeks ago!

That Sunday, the show was cancelled. It had rained and rained and rained all week, so they just 'postponed' it until June...really? So needless to say, Patrick and Eden hit the backburner while I prepared Bella and Bailey for Culpeper. Wednesday afternoon, my mom and I loaded up and made the 2.5 hour haul to Culpeper, Va. It was a pretty easy drive, minus the fact that I got a spectacular redneck sunburn on my left arm from hanging it out the window of my truck while I was driving.

The girls settled in pretty quickly. It was pretty awkward at the barns because I was stabled right next to my old barn and Amanda was also one of their students and still boards her horse there. I was a little worried things would be weird, but it didn't come to anything.

The whole week, both girls were fantastic. Bella started in the level twos on Thursday, mostly because I was a chicken. She handled it like a total champ and jumped around clean. Friday and Saturday I bumped her up to the level threes, and yet again, she was amazing. We were 5th on Friday, and that was against several professionals! I do have a video of the level 3 on Saturday, where we pulled a rail because the footing was dreadfully soupy and I overrode her to the jump. Oh well! I'd rather have to blame myself than my horse! It went so well, that I'm actually going to try her in a level four next time:)

Bailey gave me a few bronco shows, but once I got her moving she was great. The occasional buck, but nothing unmanageable. I'm really excited to get her going. My goal is to have her in the level 0 by the next show, and then I want to aim her towards the 5 year old divisions, which means she has to be jumping 1.20 by next spring...that's a level 5! Ahhh, that's nerve-wracking, but I know she's talented enough. I just have to find the confidence within myself and believe in us both!

I did order three fantastic photos of Bella and I, and as soon as they come in I'll post them. The video will go up as soon as I get it loaded as well! Between work and the weather, I haven't ridden since the last day at the show, so I'm off to finally sit on the horses since I have a gorgeous weekend to play around with!

Tomorrow a woman and her 15 year old daughter come to see Patrick. I'm hopeful. It sounds like it could be a good match, and I would LOVE to get him sold! Not only would it make my life easier and give Patrick the attention he so desperately wants, but the money would definitely fund my show season:) Then I just have to get Eden going and sold, and I'm on my way! But, let's not get ahead of ourselves!

I'll keep in touch! How is everyone doing?

And Voila!

This will have to be a brief update; my mom will be here any minute so we can go treat ourselves to a manicure:) Ah the spoils of being a woman...

This week I tried my old Bates on Bella again. It's not a perfect fit, but combined with a back pad, it's better than the Antares I bought for her two summers ago. My position isn't perfect, but it's significantly better than before. It never ceases to amaze me how much we can take for granted in this industry. Sometimes we blame our issues on the bigger picture, but it's the simple things that make all the difference!

When she felt about 75% better, I couldn't help myself and took her down a line I had set up earlier this week. It was a verticle-one stride-wide oxer w/liverpool-two strides-verticle-one stride-wall. I was SO excited to ride it; and I knew seeing the wall for the first time would give me an idea of how brave she was feeling. Not only did she jump right down the line, she jumped straight! No leaning or twisting. Again, I know that it wasn't ALL thanks to the saddle, but I hope I'm on the right track!

Yesterday I had someone come out to look at Patrick. I have to admit, I was a bit worried. He hasn't been on his best behavior lately. So over my lunch break I took him out and jumped him around all the jumps so he'd seen everything; more for my peace of mind than his, because he could have cared less. Low and behold, when they came out and asked me to hop on him, he was an absolute SAINT. I swear, he's trying so hard to get someone to buy him so I don't have to ride him anymore.

It was a husband/wife team looking for a new horse for the wife, but the husband asked to sit on him too. After I took him around for them, the woman hopped on and I could tell from the beginning that it was a disaster waiting to happen. They made it clear that they were pleasure riders (so why they came to try a horse that is 5 and CLEARLY labeled as a show prospect I have no idea) and did not and had not taken 'real' lessons, though I heard mention of a trainer in the picture. The woman kicked poor Patty right off the bat, asking him to walk on. All he did was lift his head and swish his tail. I don't need to kick my horses...he had no idea what she wanted. So again, she walloped him with her leg, and he hesitantly walked forward.

I swear Patrick knows when he has a novice on his back. With me, he's always very forward but from the get-go, he barely moved with this lady. Despite her kicking, clucking, and unstable position, he varied between a slow trot, breaking to a walk when she wobbled, and a relaxed smooth trot when she had her balance back. It was ugly and a bad match to say the least, which was emphasized when she asked him to canter by creeping up his neck into a jockey position and pony-club kicking his ribs in. He did NOTHING. He just kept putzing around at the slowest trot known to mankind, and when her huge kicks knocked her off balance and she teetered on his mouth, he went right down to the walk. Never once did he even try to canter with her, and I swear it's because he knew she wasn't skilled enough to do it. God bless this little horse.

When the husband got on, it was a different story. He was all of about 6 foot 2 on my poor little narrow 15.2 hand horse, and right away Patrick was nervous. His ears were back, he started grinding the bit, and his eyes were clearly unhappy. I sent him a silent plead to be good, and off they went. Immediately, the man's death grip on his sides sent him into a canter, but it was a hoppy nervous canter, not his usual relaxed one. The transition sent the man sprawling backwards, catching himself on Patrick's mouth, but Patty grinned and smiled through it, not breaking stride because I think it would have put the man on the ground. Again, this little horse saved the day. He pissed his way through the walk, trot, and canter both directions, ears back and unhappy. He even jumped a little oxer for the man, nice and flat so as not to disrupt him (and got the flying change on the backside!). I was leaping for joy inside that I had such a wonderful little horse.

The husband dismounted, upset that he was far too large for him, stating that he'd take him right now if he had fit. "He's a lot of fun! What a good boy to put up with my position! I was all over the place!" At least he could admit it! The wife, however, was sour and displeased, and seemed to think that since SHE couldn't get him to canter, I clearly had done something wrong with him. When they left, I kissed that little horse so many times, and threw three handfuls of treats in with his dinner.

Boy, did I pick a winner four and a half years ago! At least now I know that I did a wonderful job with this little fellow. Now it's just a matter of finding his person! (*cough*cough..AMANDA!)

So today will be spent shaving Bella and Bailey's beards...so they don't look like mountain goats at Culpeper, and hopefully finishing Patrick's body clip for the Howard County Opener at McDonough tomorrow. If it comes down to it though, he'll be doing the classes in a trace clip. I'm sure, on this political little circuit, that will guarantee him out of the ribbons, but who cares so long as he puts in a good trip for me. We'll worry about that later.

Anyways, next time you here from me, hopefully I'll have at least a few photos and show results for you!

I love late mornings

I've turned into a form of early riser. I like waking up at about 8 in the morning, lounging in my pajamas and drinking coffee. I've also developed quite an addiction to muffins. Especially cinnamon streusel muffins. MmmMmm.

So to start, I would like to comment on how old my horses are getting. It makes me notice my own aging process, and I'm not particularly fond of it. Bailey just celebrated her 4th birthday on April 2nd and Bella turned 9 on the 7th. It's hard to believe we've been together for over 7 years now. Then, of course, Patrick turned 5 on St. Patrick's Day.

I don't believe I mentioned this before, but I was a bit worried that I would have to cancel taking Patrick to the hunter show this Sunday because I got put on the work schedule without being asked. I had resigned to doing it, since I've already requested next Wednesday-Friday off for Culpeper. However, our newest employee, who as it turns out is pretty awesome, offered to cover the morning feeding for me so that I can take my little monster to the county show. Now it's rush rush rush! Oh wait...it's pouring rain outside.

I registered him on the circuit under the show name 5 & D Court Jester. I've been debating his name for a while now. I bought him with the name "It's The Luck of the Irish!"...which is just plain stupid, and yes, it DID contain an exclamation point on his sale documents. But I thought long and hard about it, and I decided I wanted something that clearly stated that he is the class clown (which, now that I say that, THAT would have been a cute name...). So on a whim, I chose Court Jester. It's not in the USEF yet, so any thoughts?

Now, on to the good stuff.

The last two days were a bit of a setback and a realization period for me. I mentioned that I've been having difficulties with Bella on our right sides. The other day the mares were left in for 48 hours because of our dreadful weather, so after riding them I let them stay the night outside so they could have some time to be horses. When I brought Bella in the next day, she was dead tired. I didn't think much of it until I started to curry her and she was hollowing her back out under the grooming! Thankfully, I HAVE owned Bella for 7 years, and we know each other like the back of our...hooves? Normally she loves being curried. She leans in and makes faces and cocks a leg and just enjoys it. This was clearly something different. Her eyes were worried, her ears were dialed to 'stressed', and she was flinching. Now, we have been jumping back into some serious training to prepare for next week, so a little bit of soreness is to be expected, but I had a hunch.

I decided to check my saddle fit. Low and behold, my $3,000 saddle bought just for her doesn't fit her anymore. At all! It was a horrible fit, even with any of my pads. My old Bates fits her slightly better, especially with a riser underneath, but it's still not the greatest. I know a lot of this is because I fit her saddle at the peak of fitness and now her topline and shoulder aren't muscled out like they should be. However, this has created quite the dilemma for the time being. Now I know why top trainers get saddles in all tree sizes...

Anyways, I realized an important lesson. Sometimes preparing for the marathon is more taxing than the race itself. It's easy for us to realize when we're sore and don't feel like working hard, but our horses, even on a light training day, still have to wear a potentially ill fitting saddle and carry the burden of our weight on their backs. Despite what our goals are and when their deadlines may be, sometimes we just have to step back.

So that day I just put her on the lunge with really low set side reins and let her stretch out. She was visibly stiff (she DID run a lot in the field because I put Eden out with the girls for the first time) and quite uncomfortable in the beginning. So I kept pushing her forward and encouraging her to stretch those muscles out. By the end, she was a little better but still not herself. We rounded out the afternoon with a nice bath, a body brace rinse with liniment, and a gram of Bute. I repeated the lunging again yesterday, and there was some improvement. Hopefully I'm on the right track, because we only have a week until Culpeper!

Eden, on the other hand, has been simply fantastic. I've never worked with a horse off the track before. Those OTTB people talk like they're something special and the horses require a certain knowledge. I haven't found that to be true. It's just a matter of knowing your basics and sticking to them. Naturally, a certain amount of patience is necessary, but it's just training.

Here lately I've been starting her on the lunge with low-set elastic side reins. One thing that is nice about racehorses is that most of them (given the correct conformation) already know how to set their head. However, the challenge lies in moving forward, believe it or not. When racing, they lean on the jockeys hands for support. This causes more of their weight to be shifted onto their forehand, which when translated into the arena means they don't track up. It's a tricky thing to notice because they aren't heavy in your hand. Quite the opposite actually; you can possess no contact with the mouth and they still carry their head 'in a frame'. I think this tricks a lot of people into thinking they just need to slow the horse down, and ta-da! They have a show horse!

So my mentality has been to shift Eden's balance and push her forward, forward, forward. Rein contact with a jockey is high up. Then they bridge the reins, plant their hands, and the horse moves into that contact. By placing the side-reins low and using ones with elastic, I've forced her head and neck into a position to engage her topline, however I've given her nothing to lean against. Naturally, in this position, where she off balance and unfit, she moves about at a snails pace. So this is when I constantly push, cluck, and encourage an extended trot. She's catching on so quickly, I'm genuinely impressed.

I originally thought I'd just sit on her, get her going w/t/c in a ring, and then throw her online for some small bit of money to flip her fast. Nowww....I think I'm going to keep her around for a while ;) After I lunge her, I hop on her and walk trot around a bit. She. is. smooth. as. glass. to ride. I'm so excited! I never expected this, but I'll admit, I DID hope for it! Hopefully video will come soon!

I don't know if the whole re-training a racehorse thing is interesting at all...is it worth documenting?

Hopefully this post comes with things to look at...

So yesterday I went to the local (Joe Schmoe) tack store to look for a few things I needed for Culpeper. It's still a week and a half away, but my work schedule is going to keep me from doing anything other than procrastination, so I decided to swing by and grab a few things. Naturally, I walked out spending $253.00, but what one of us hasn't done that? They had the $140.00 Cosequin on sale for $99.00, so I bought the next two years worth of Cosequin and saved $80 in the long run. It made sense. Sort of.

Anyways, their customer service was particularly shotty yesterday. I waited at the cash register for nearly 30 minutes trying to get someone to help me! This is against their norm; usually you can't walk in there without getting hounded. However, it wound up being a rather fruitless shopping trip, aside from my supplement spending spree. They don't carry gag cheek pieces. The only reason I even looked is because they're on backorder at Dover until July, and that doesn't do me any good! Oh the frustration of living in a rural area.

I've decided to try Bella in a gag. I got the softest mouthpiece I could; a rubber snaffle. It's not that she's strong...quite the opposite actually. She has a very soft and willing mouth. However, her balance has always been a little off, and she tends to pass my distances a bit, which gets us into trouble over anything bigger than 1m. I figured I'd give an elevation bit a try, but I don't want leverage. Then she just tucks her nose and gets nervous. Hopefully I'm on the right track, I guess we'll find out IF I ever get cheek pieces for it! Grr...

I went to ride yesterday with the intention of putting Bailey over a few little jumping exercises. I really wanted to see how she'd handle herself since it had been a while since I showed her a jump. So I got there and my arena was still pretty wet. Boo:( But since Bailey doesn't wear shoes yet, I went through with it. I figured the footing would provide her with another challenge. It wasn't dangerous, just sloppy.

To say the least, I am jumping out of my SKIN with excitement over this filly. The first time over it, which I didn't catch on video, she jumped very square and tight. Not exactly a 'green' baby jump, just very nice. By the third and fourth attempts, which I recorded, she was already comfortable and relaxed.

Enjoy, I sure did!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgfeMNkEFKQ

The other horses got the day off (again). I was worried about Bella pulling a shoe, and I didn't want to risk Patrick because we have a show next weekend. Besides, if he's going to be a hunter, I don't want him fit anyways!

So for the rest of the afternoon, I headed out to Pickwick and rode Luna again, hoping for a better ride than before. It would have been the perfect day to get some video or photos of her. She was fantastic! Go figure. I guess all I need to do is get after her a bit, and she raises her standards a bit. By the time we finished our ride, she was almost consistently on the bit and moving forward (and even seeking!) into the contact. Maybe I've actually gotten through to this little mare, finally!

After these photos upload onto to Facebook (we have satellite internet, so you'll get those tomorrow), I'm going to head out and hopefully sit on five horses today. I'll let you know how it goes:)

Will winter ever end?

It's very difficult to train your horses during a monsoon. Not only is the footing standing in inches of water, but your tack gets sticky and your breeches get leather stains. So once again, the rain prevented me from riding any of my horses yesterday. Instead, I had to give myself a swift kick in the butt to go ride Luna, my training project for a client of mine. I've been working with her since mid-November and she's doing well, but she has quite the attitude. Normally I'm very lenient with young horses and their fussy nature. Bailey likes to give me a run for my money during the first 10 to 15 minutes of our rides, but normally I can just canter her around a few laps and then get down to 'real' work. Luna, however, will fight you tooth and nail for every second of your ride. Some days are better than others, but all of them come with their quirks. Now I know why they hired me to break her...Unfortunately her temper tantrums are nothing over the top. They're never dangerous or threatening...just really annoying and unproductive. Yesterday, for the first time since sitting on her in her stall all those months ago, I actually had to get after her a bit with a crop. She's lived there every day of her life for the last 4 years, and yet somehow every little thing in the arena was traumatizing. Finally I stopped treating her like a baby and raised my expectations a bit. After a few rounds, we finally ended on what I thought was a pretty decent note. Maybe I'm finally getting some respect in that little mare brain of hers!

Since the weather hasn't been cooperating, I still don't have any fun photos for you to look at. Sorry! Hopefully today I can get some things accomplished.

I did get to ride on Thursday evening, which was spent schooling Patrick and Bella up for the spring shows. I've been attempting to re-perfect my hunter seat, and finding it really difficult to do. Patrick naturally goes a little on his forehand, despite having a decently uphill build. This is what really convinced me to turn him into a hunter. However, I can't ride in a light hunter seat, one that is so favored in the ring today, and still get him to the jumps correctly. I have to sit and elevate him to the jumps. So now I'm spending my rides on him trying to figure out how to ride him correctly (which takes a bit of work) and still make it look like I'm not doing anything at all. Oh, the drama.

Bella has been schooling really well lately, but we're both crooked. We have the same weak side, and mine is unfortunately emphasized by barn chores: I always clean stalls/rake/shovel on the same side. So now we're slightly crooked, which makes riding to the right really uncomfortable. Talk about frustrating. So we're going to grin and bear it for now, long enough to survive Culpeper, and then head down to Middleburg for a dressage lesson and see if two pairs of experienced eyes can help us out.

Patrick is going to the Howard County Horse Show Opener on April 17th, provided I can find someone to work for me in the morning. Work really gets in the way of living, I've decided. I know this is something that every adult realizes and copes with, but it doesn't work for me.

I'm going to be successful doing what I love, and I WILL continue to love it.

On that note, I've created my business card and I just emailed my advertisement to the local equine paper. After a LOT of swearing at Microsoft Word and Adobe, I finally created (then forwarded to Nathan to perfect...) my advertisement. Now I just have to right a check for $255.00 per month it's run, and we're good to go. Holy cow, that's a lot of money. It better work.

So if anyone knows someone looking for board, lessons, or training in the area, please tell them to support their local poor up-and-coming professional and give me a chance!

Once I'm on my computer (I'm typing from Nathan's) I'll load the picture of my ad and card:) I'm pretty proud of myself!

Take care!