A highly productive and successful day

Well, it's done. I jumped Patrick.

And look at how gosh darn cute he is! What a little champ. You'd NEVER believe that jump was all of about 18" high, hahaha:D

He warmed up perfectly again, no issues with his leads. Once he started getting a little unsure of himself about the jumping, he got anxious and it got a little hairy in the canter departure department, but he settled in really nicely and figured it out so quickly it was amazing.

I had him going through the 2.80 ground poles, then 6m to a tiny little vertical at first. It gradually built up to that little oxer you see in the picture. The first few times through were pretty ugly. He anticipated the jump, tripped through the ground poles, demolished a few cinderblocks (thank goodness they're cheap!) and smacked his feet on the jump rail. After about three times through, I added another 6 inches in height, thinking he'd see it better, and it worked! We did it a few more times successfully, then made a HUGE deal over him. He was so pleased with himself:D

I was actually kind of worried about jumping him. I free jumped him about a year ago, and he jumped awfully. No lift in his shoulder, knees pointing straight down...much like an untalented reindeer. The last horse I had that naturally jumped that way was sold as a trail horse he was so dangerous. I guess that's the risk you take in buying young horses, but I put lots of extra effort into Patty's flatwork trying to get him to stretch his back and shoulders. I'd like to think that helped, because there's no evidence of that in the pictures I have! Yay!

I did a quick school over some single fences with Bella today in preparation for tomorrow. She had a minor fit about the flowerboxes that walked themselves in front of the coop, but she jumped around pretty decently after the temper tantrum, and even jumped a decent sized oxer in good form without question. I don't think she could be any more ready for tomorrow! Oh, and I even found all my distances (which I always fret about).

The rest of the afternoon was spent giving Bella an hour long bath (which I will have to repeat tomorrow morning, I'm sure. No more grey horses please!) and cleaning my tack up. I filled her hay net, cleaned the trailer, now all I have to do is pack up, load up, and ship out! I'm already getting a little nervous, so I hope Bella carries her end of the slack. It's been two years since we've shown as a team!

And, as usual, Bailey took one for the team and has a long weekend while I prep Patrick and Bella for the next few weeks of showing. I really don't think she minded too terribly much, except that she had to sit in her stall all afternoon (heaven forbid, she had a fan. What is there to complain about?)

Quinn refused to leave his stall after dinner. He's gotten rather obnoxious in his old age, and I love it. It's absolutely hilarious. He LOVES pretending he's this crippled old man. If he's going to a field he doesn't like (aka after dinner), he walks like someone sucked out all his joint fluid. Point him towards the field he does like, he prances like a racehorse in the post parade. Walk him out the front of the barn towards the round pen and you have to drag him. Literally, you have to haul on the lead rope. Pass the round pen and head towards the top field, and he's dancing on the end of the lead rope. Oh boy, how I love him:D He thinks he's so smart.

Early start tomorrow. I know I'm going to get to the showgrounds at 11am, and my class won't go off until 4pm, but there's no sense tempting fate!

June 2010 photos=)

For some reason, my camera objected to the first few pictures. We have disagreements occasionally, so it's a little overexposed.

Patrick @ 4 y/o

Again, sorry about the exposure.

Bailey @ 3 y/o

His royal fatness, the king of the farm, all 13.1hh of him, and my former short stirrup pony...

Scooter @ 20 y/o

 My little mare=)

Bella @ 8 y/o

 The children, hoping it's dinner time

My retired Junior Hunter/Eq. horse


Now affectionately known as "Uncle Quinn"
                           @ 20 y/o

 And lastly, Bailey's momma/Quinn's domestic partner, who is possibly the most unphotogenic horse I've ever met...(She's standing on a hill, btw...she's not really that goofy looking, though she is strange, by all accounts...)

Fiesta @ 19 y/o





There was some slight soap opera drama when Fiesta became pregnant by another man. Quinn felt rather betrayed and emasculated, but he forgave her after a few months, and they're back to being inseparable. But really, who couldn't love Bailey?


Now, go read my actual post for the day =)

I learned something interesting today

A back pad makes a huge difference on your horse. I've always been pretty old fashioned. I grew up riding my horse bare-legged, jumped without boots, rode in just a regular square pad, and heaven forbid...I rode in my saddle in jeans. Go figure, nothing bad ever happened to me or my horse.

Now that I dabble in the big leagues, my horses (once they're broke) flat in polos, jump in open front boots, get cushy sheepskin back pads, and expensive saddles that don't ever touch denim anymore. Ugh, what an expensive hobby.

Anyways, last summer when I was making money I invested in a really nice Thin-Line half pad. I paid a pretty penny for it, but the barn I rode with swore they made a huge difference in their horses, so I figured, what the heck? I mean, I love my horse and if it makes her happier, then hey, why not right? She already had the $3,000 Antares saddle, I mean, what's another $150 for a saddle pad? Now, my saddle fit her almost perfectly, but it had been drilled into my head that riding without that extra support was terrible for her back. So the day my overpriced luxury pad arrived, I slapped it on and took it for a test drive. Naturally, I thought she felt amazing!! Forward, loose, relaxed. However, up until today, I pretty much just told myself that I felt a difference because I didn't want to admit I wasted that much money on something so silly.

Now, my trainer rides every horse in a riser/wither relief pad. He swears it's all you need, and you do need it. His Olympic horse wears one, his up and coming grand prix mare wears one...you get the idea. Anyways, I never saw the point, since I was so in love with my Antares/Thin-Line combo, but Patrick and Bailey's saddle is just a little off and was in actual need of a riser. So on Wednesday, I bought one.

Here's the interesting part. Patrick has picked up his leads perfectly, and been much more naturally balanced ever since I put it on him. I knew he needed it, and it's made me feel terrible for not buying one sooner, but I simply couldn't afford it (I didn't even actually pay for it, my trainer did!).Bailey was also very content in it, but she's pretty easy to please. Today, I swapped out my Thin-Line on Bella and gave the riser a try. She was sucked back, off my leg, and couldn't do lead changes to save her life. Now tell me that doesn't get your wheels turning? Needless to say, she's going back in the Thin-Line for good, and I'm going to pray it truly was the pad switch, and not something in her brain that turned off the auto-lead change function.

On a not so funny note, Patrick quite literally engulfed my waistline trying to bite me today. I literally had a slobber line that went from my back to my stomach. Thankfully he didn't chomp down! Then when I wheeled around to get after him for it, he just pricked his little ears and had this devilish look in his eye. He's such a little rat...Usually fillies are the clever ones, but I just got lucky I suppose.

One good thing about today, I saved $250 buying a year's worth of dewormer from Smart Pak =)

Tomorrow I'm jumping Patty for the first time. I have a photographer (aka Mom) and a videographer (aka my sister) coming to get footage of the grand event. I'll let you know how it goes!

In the mean time, giggle at this picture of my cat, L.B.

Horse laundry never ends

I love the simple days. Bella had the day off, and seemed delighted to just stick her face in her fan all afternoon while the babies worked.

I put Patrick back in draw reins, once again hoping to trick his balance into being cooperative. It worked. He picked up both leads like an old pro, occasionally even breaking into the correct lead when I'd ask for an extended trot. Go figure. I've decided that he knows his leads. They're in there somewhere. He's a super smart little horse, and I haven't completely decided if he does it just to annoy me, but I'm going to ignore it for now, and move on. If he could do it perfectly today, he's ready to start jumping in every other aspect. So probably Saturday I'll set up a little grid for him to pop over. I'm going to see if my mom can get pictures:D

I pushed Bailey for another 5 minutes today. She's up to a 15 minute w/t/c session, and she's still a total dollface. I'm really not rushing to get her going, especially since she's still growing. I talked with my trainer yesterday, and he thinks we should try breeding her next spring as a 4 year old. He thinks she'll be worth our while as a mare, and he has connections with a really super Quidam stallion in North Carolina. Free stud fee? Why not!? I'm not psyched about breeding her so young, but Germany has been doing it for centuries and they know best! We shall see, I suppose!

A day spent goofing off

So yesterday turned out to be busier than I'd originally anticipated, hence the 'no blogging'.

My trainer actually showed up! Yay! I had the arena all set for him to teach, and Bella was tacked on the cross-ties ready to go at 10:30 sharp. After a quick warm-up, he pointed us straight to the coop (kind of mean, if you ask me), but Bella handled it like a champ. We popped down the line a few times at it's little 3'0" setting, and then almost immediately he jumped the middle oxer up to 3'6" with a 4'6" spread. Now, mind you, Bella hasn't jumped over 3'3" in two years, and has never jumped an oxer that wide with me on her (my trainer 'accidentally' jumped her over our 6'0" liverpool in Florida a few times...). Thankfully, she was a total trooper and went right down that line. It was actually a really amazing feeling. She really cracked her back and kicked out with her hind end! I've never felt her try so hard, and it was the reason why I keep doing this! She's getting today off, and then we'll prep for Sunday. I have a good feeling!

Patrick was left in his stall, since he had been so bad the day before. I told him, he doesn't get to be put on display until he learns how to behave himself. I don't think he really cared all that much, to be honest.

Bailey, on the other hand, got tacked up and put on her little show in the ring for my trainer. I walked her around on a loose rein for a while, then did a quick w/t/c to show him what she looked like under saddle. He was totally in love with her, which made me feel SO good! He said she has a really suspenseful and powerful hind end, and that she's really relaxed in her shoulders. He also exclaimed, "I thought that she was just broke? She's not a baby!" To which I had to inform him that this was only her fourth time being hacked. She's just that good!

He's afraid I'm going to make her into a hunter ;)

So after all of that, I drove two hours with him to visit his new boarding locale. It's a gorgeous facility owned by an unimaginably wealthy French woman, nestled in the VA countryside. Mountain views and everything! The barn is so beautiful, and she has some really nice looking horses. Her arena, however, is so small, a two stride to a two stride combination barely fits in there. Needless to say, I'll be keeping my horses at home a while longer!

All in all, my trainer said I'm doing a wonderful job keeping my mare up to speed, and that I need to start pointing her at some bigger stuff to get her bravery back up there. Soooooo, here's the best news, he's going to try and start coming out at least once a week to help me school all my horses! Yay for uplifting moments like those!

Of course, now he's in love with Bailey, so I received a text at 6am this morning instructing me to "go feed {his} little mare. She's hungry." Oi vey...I guess I shouldn't complain...especially since my old boss Dave called this morning and said a warmblood training facility down the road from me is looking for a part-time rider to work with their horses:) It's a good day! Now I have to go ride the babies, so hopefully it stays that way!

A day of flatwork

After a much needed day off yesterday, which happened to be the hottest day of the week (91 degrees!), all of the horses had a flat day today. Since Patrick had been going so well, I raised his 2.80m cavaletti in preparation for today's ride. I figured I'd just give him a light workout, introduce him to the raised poles, and be done with it. He, on the other hand, had a different idea in mind...

Once again, he outright refused to pick up the correct lead. Every time I put on my canter aids, he fought them and picked up the opposite lead. So, naturally, I tried asking with the opposite aids, and all he did was throw his head in the air and protest that that was not the correct way to ask for a canter departure. So I tried every other combination of leg and rein aids I could think of, until I finally just had Nathan run and grab a schooling whip. Then, after twenty minutes of us both dripping sweat, he finally decided fighting was just no fun anymore, and picked up the correct lead both directions at least once. Sometimes, I really hate thoroughbreds. However, he was a total champ over the raised cavaletti! Bring on the jumps! I'm not quite sure I'm ready to show him to my trainer tomorrow though...=/ I think I'm going to put a chambon on him next time, so he can just fight himself instead of me, and throw him in the round pen until he picks up the correct lead in his sleep. It's frustrating, because I know he's just doing it to be annoying. That's the way he's always been, unfortunately.

Of all of the horses, Bailey was the most pleasant to ride. Go figure. It was her third time being genuinely ridden, and she schooled around w/t/c both directions like a little lesson pony. I'm pleased to say that she, on the other hand, is very naturally balanced and already understands canter cues and how to pick up the correct lead. Thank the higher powers above that I won't have to go through that with her. I think she actually enjoys being ridden. Her big floppy ears are always pricked, and she's so thrilled with herself at the end when I shower her with love and affection. I can tell she's happy to have pleased me. That's when I absolutely adore mares:D

I wanted to take things easy with Bella today, so I just hacked her out on the hills. This, however, turned out to be no easy accomplishment. There were invisible horse-eating deer in the woods, and she was so puffed up that she looked like a welsh stallion. This led to some super fun suspension in her gaits, but it made her A.D.D. nearly insufferable! So I did a few canter sets, and then took her up to the ring for a few laps over the cavaletti and called it quits while I was still ahead!

The rest of the afternoon was spent cleaning up my barn and scrubbing a few weeks worth of grime off of my tack in preparation for my trainer to come tomorrow (which I think is actually happening! I'm in his schedule and everything! Whoohoo!)

I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow!

You know there's a quirk in your training program when...

...your riding horse is terrified of jumps every time they move somewhere new, and your 19 year old retired broodmare keeps jumping out of the field. Talk about strange. I knew I should have bred that silly thing back this season...

And I just realized that there's a handy little button up top that lets you include pictures. I feel really smart (and by that, I mean really dumb).

So today was spent out at the barn, in its entirety. I never anticipated spending 2 and a half hours setting jumps (I mean, I only have 5), but who knew it could be so difficult to get a triple combination straight?? I think that was my own personal form of Hell. Anyways, I wound up with raised cavaletti at 2.20m, a single vertical at 2'6", a triple combination: vertical, oxer, vertical set at 13m in and 13m out, and then the famous coop, all of which I designed for Bella. Then I kept the 2.80m ground poles for Patrick to continue developing over.

As you may be able to tell, I finally got a phone call from the elusive Mr. Trainer last night, and finally received some much appreciated advice:D He claims he's coming to my place Wednesday morning to give me a lesson on Bella and Patrick, and he wants to ride Bailey, who he says is his future Grand Prix horse. I can only hope! I'd be happy if she could make it around the low A/Os! It'll be interesting though. Five Olympic games, but he's never been on a genuine baby. I'll be sure to get video!

So I jumped Bella lightly today, just to introduce her to the new line so on Wednesday we can add some height to the equation. I was a little nervous about the 13 meters. It's meant to be ridden so you jump the first vertical, hold for one stride, build for two, and hit liverpool at the base with impulsion, then balance for the remaining three strides to the last vertical. Here lately, Bella hasn't been doing 'holding' or 'balancing' very well, when it pertains to jumping. She was out of the mix for so long, she just wants to rush and run and get it over with as fast as possible. I've worked really hard about that the last two months, and she's finally relaxing into her old self. She jumped every jump like a pro, and cantered right down the line. I've never had such an honest horse, and it's so rewarding to know that I made her that way.

Patrick, on the other hand, decided it was far too hot and he was worked way too hard yesterday to be cooperative for a second day in a row. I guess that's just how it goes. You can't get brains AND an agreeable attitude all at the same time. He didn't enjoy the left lead today. It took two tries before he gave up arguing and picked up the correct lead. I took him through the ground poles a few times, and they're actually starting to get a little long for him. He's finally engaging his hind end! I think he might be ready for 2.60m, and I'm jumping him for the first time on Wednesday:D I love the look he gets in his eye when he feels like picking a fight. It just screams "I really don't like you right now...". I can't help but laugh every time.

 Bailey has recently decided that the mounting process is absolutely terrifying. This happens occasionally, I've come to realize. They learn new things, and old things become scary again. So I reduced mounting to its simplest form: I now walk in circles around her, dropping the mounting block all the time until she stops jumping and rolling her eyes, then get on her in the stall. So far, so good. Today there was minimal eye rolls. She proceeded to walk, trot, and canter (on cue!) around the arena like a little saint, stopping on a dime whenever I even started to say, "Whoa!". Mind you, this was the second time she's ever been ridden out of the round pen, and only the 6th time all season. I should mention, this filly was the biggest, rudest, most obnoxiously stupid foal I've ever met. She's come a long way!

Now that I've typed too much, I'm going to go sip some iced tea and relax until I return to the barn once again for evening feed. A horsewoman's work is never done, but do we ever really complain? ;)