Lesson #12 Another New Trainer

So now that i am settled into the new barn i have started taking lessons again with a new girl Nat i have watched her ride she is very patient and what she says makes sense i have gotten the opportunity to watch a few of her lessons as well so i figured she would be a great fit... But of course she is an eventer and teases me constantly that my horse would make a great eventer ha ha... we will see....

One down side is i prefer private lessons (i like things to be all about me ;) lol) but i dont like the cost of $50 each but luckily i found a girl that i get along with really well that is fairly close to the same level as i am in my riding so she is jumping into my lessons slot with me and now i only have to pay $30 yay for saving money that means i can now afford a dressage lesson 1x a month!

Anyways, i brought G in from his paddock (loving him being in paddock especially now that he is in there with a little baby Trakehner that he gets along with really well) i didnt notice anything off with him because we were outside but he was very hesitant to walk on the cement in the barn and on the wood around the arena but i tacked him up and let him warm up a bit before lunging him.Nat was in the arena teaching a lesson when i went to lunge him and G was definitely a little sore on his front feet from getting his shoes off he was worse in one direction than the other but as he warmed up he started moving much better still a little short in his reach but better.

I got on after a few minutes of fighting him at the mounting bucket and walked him around the arena to feel how he was moving at the walk he was fine but the trot he didnt want to extend very much but all in all was moving good in the sand so we decided to go forward with the lesson but keep it at a walk.

One of the big things that Nat wants me to work on is my inside bend currently we have none lol G does not like to bend to the left so we spent a good amount of the lesson walking around the arena with me trying to hold an inside bend and not allow him to push through my outside leg then we would do a few circles in this same movement the circles were the worst because G tends to ignore my outside leg.

Nat pointed out that i take up so much of my reins which isnt a bad thing but currently where we are at in our riding i want to be promoting him to stretch long and low and to allow for him to reach for the bit. She had me go to the buckle and try to same exercise and it helped a little.

The lesson went really well i am really excited to continue with her consistantly, she suggested moving G into a rolling snaffle to help stop him from grabbing the bit (she hopped on G for a couple minutes after my ride to help her determine were to go from here kind of thing) She also suggested draw reins to help teach him that being a Giraffe is not pretty in an event horse or a dressage horse. So now i am going to troll my barn to see if anyone will lend me a rolling snaffle before i go out to buy one. The girl i ride with in my lessons said she has a set of draw reins that she will lend me to try out before i go and buy some as well.

Friday-day off (i work both jobs and G needs to feel better)
Saturday-lunge in side reins and ride to work on what we learned
Sunday-possibly a dressage lesson if i can make it work with my 2nd job

Have a great weekend everyone :)

Weekend Woes

Im typing this on probably the smallest computer ever so hopefully i manage to catch all my typo's so i apologise in advance.

This weekend was interesting i went out friday night to ride and had a great ride G is really starting to get used to the sand arena which is great he was very hot however and saucy but it was forward so i cannot complain to much.

I went out saturday to ride brought my room  mate to see the barn since she is considering possibly moving barns. I brought G into the arena to lunge him and sure enough he was stocked up in his hind right leg so i took all his tack off and lunged him and he was definitely off. So we put him in a stall for the day and night after cold hosing a few times for 10 minutes each time.

Sunday i went out to check on my boy and sure enough stocked up in both legs but he lunged really well so we decided to put him in a paddock after cold hosing him again.

Monday he was fine both legs looked great and by Tuesday he was lunging out properly again but i have decided that pasture is probably a bad idea especially now that we have gotten snow so my boy will be in a paddock to prevent further injuries.

Wordless Wednesday

first pic i got gave me a heart attack

Its looking so much better :) im glad he is healing there shouldnt be any sort of permanent damage thank fully.

Stressed to the max!

Sorry for the long absence I still have no computer so no way to post pics at this time and the new job is keeping me very busy. Last weekend I went out and rode 3 days trying to cut down some of G's fat. Our weight problem has gone from one extreme to the other now he is like riding a rain barrel very lazy and pokey thankfully this month the horses will be moved off of the summer pasture and back into the winter pasture no more hiking a mile to get my horse and a 30 minute walk back into the barn with a horse who does not want to come in.

I also picked up a new saddle, I got a great deal on a brand new Mondega Dante Dressage saddle that fits G perfect for now until I can afford something better I'm slowly upgrading all my tack it is a work in progress. G loves the new saddle he is so much more forward well as forward as he can be with his extra 200 lbs. now to sell my winter All Purpose and my Paris tack dressage saddle.

We got a new horse at the barn a big retired OTTB when I initially met the new owner I really liked her she seemed really nice and like she knew her stuff... So I thought. My barn has Very strict quarantine rules that have to be followed when you bring in a new horse you can read about some of them at the beginng of my blog, anyways the new lady at our barn handled her horse who is in quarantine then went out into the herd and touched all the other horses. So now no horses can leave or enter the barn for 2 weeks we are on lock down because someone felt the rules didn't apply to them.

*sigh* last weekend on Monday I put a fly sheet on G and sprayed him with his fly spray and put him out to pasture since for what ever reason MY horse cannot be moved off of pasture even though everyone else's horses can should they see fit. Any ways I got a call on my way out to calgary yesterday that G's blanket got stuck under his chest and rubbed all the skin off of his chest to the point it was bleeding in some spots. I'm sure about 20 people have gone into that field in the past 3 days and no one noticed him. My poor boy I feel terrible that I'm not there to take care of him. Almost in tears on the drive to Calgary I called the vet and got her recommendations unpasturized honey until the cut parts heal then dermagel until it heals up completely and swat to keep the bugs out. Luckily I have an amazing roommate who is taking care of him for me while I am gone, I am very lucky to have such a great friend but I am very unhappy with my barn, I just need to make it through the winter at this point then I'll move G in the spring.

Pictures to come its not as bad as it sounds but I felt so helpless. Hopefully the hair comes in properly and not white *fingers crossed* I can't wait to be done in Calgary and heading home to be with my horse .

Yet another injury

I went out to catch G and wouldnt you know it his chest is all swollen and cut up *face palm* this horse is going to be the death of me. I noticed a broken fence board that is at about the same height as the cuts on G's chest it would appear one of 2 things happened;

1- G's new found love of jumping tempted him to make an attempt at the fence which he was unsuccessful and ended up going through the top board instead of over it.

2- Because all the horses are still trying to figure out were they fall into the herd with the mares and geldings being put together in the big pasture he was trying to avoid a bite/kick and turned quickly being caught off gaurd by the fence.

Either way there was a broken fence board and a swollen scratched up chest. So G got a bath which he hates... lol!

mom i hate baths

Lesson Cancelled- yet another injury

Last night i was suppose to have a lesson but it would appear that G has decided that he is going to grow a little bit more *sigh*.

I brought G in at lunch because it has been raining here non stop for days on end so i figured he would need to dry before i could ride him. When i got back later i took him out of his stall and while tacking him up BAM he has a few little cuts and was swollen on his right hind leg just above the hoof. He was visably stiff so i went to the arena and started to lunge him he was incredibly fiesty on the lunge line trying frequently to rip the line right out of my hands and stopping and trying to run the opposite direction.

I called my trainer in and he didnt look sore to her so i got on once he settled a bit to trot him under saddle to see if we could see anything. And immediatly he took off at a quick walk ignoring me completly the second i so much as touched my reins he threw his head back at me. I asked him to trot and i had very little control so we came back to a walk he was giving me such a weird awkward walk like he was bow legged it was the weirdest feeling in the world T couldnt help but laugh and be confused as to why he was walking like that some of the time.

T couldnt see anything but we both agreed that his head was not in it. From when i saw him on Sunday he has grown he looks all legs again all gangly and awkward so we are assuming that with everything we have been throwing at him and him growing that he is in no condition to learn and have a productive lesson with.

I love T i will be devistated when she leaves, i love how she works with people and their horses she really focus's on the horses mindset.

So last night we just worked on the lunge line doing walk trot canter transitions trying to get G to be more responsive to my cues and make sure he picked up the right canter lead EVERYTIME in both directions. He was exhausted afterwards so it was still worth while and he stopped with the duck walk which was good.

We are going to try for a lesson on Sunday again and hopefully work in the round pen if it is dried up so we can work on the canter leads in a controlled area were i can focus on keeping him balanced and myself balanced and not so much on keeping him going were i wanting him at this time.

I hope he stops growing soon, hes already almost 17 hh he doesnt need to be any bigger than that ha ha. Then i can get a chiropractor or massage therapist out to work on his back and make him feel good. The duck walk is not something that he does often nor is it due to an injury its just his hind end and front end still are not quite in sync especially when his head is off in the clouds.

Lesson #10 Contact and... ugh... canter

My lesson last week was cancelled so we made up for it on Sunday. My Trainer had a fall off of a horse she was working with, and ended up with a severe concussion and a bad neck sprain and possibly a broken rib so we had to put the lesson off for a few days until she was able to move a little better and could coach me from the ground.

Sundays lesson was hard because usually if i cant get my horse to do something with T's instruction she will get on and work on it with him, so on Sunday i had to fight that fight by myself but im glad i did. We started out with a warm up loose rein with a nice swinging walk around the arena and a nice loose trot around the arena before picking up the reins.

We started with getting G on the bit in both directions (my legs were burning from pushing him up into the bit) i am still struggling with the concept of inside leg to outside rein give away the inside rein, i also need to focus on not bracing with my elbows. Hes starting to pick up the contact much quicker and its getting easier to keep that contact which i am assuming it is due to him strengthening his neck muscles making it easier to keep his head in that position.

We attempted to keep the contact at a walk and a trot which wasnt bad he would occasionally have a moment were he would attempt to head butt me while i was on his back which was lovely lol being pulled forward then leaning back quickly to avoid a head butt... man wish i had that on camera.

Then T asked me to try it at a canter and to make sure he is picking up the proper canter lead, i tried not to think about it and just got him cantering.. i managed to stay on and counter clock wise he picked up the correct lead everytime, i was trying my best to stay balanced and help him find his balance it was ok not as beautiful and graceful as it was on a lesson horse i used to ride Kyra (but she was also only like 14hh and had a tiny stride) but G practically clears the arena in 2 strides. We tried a change of direction and it all went down hill, he would not pick up the canter when i asked him too, when he did it was the wrong lead and he refused to listen to my leg as i tried to keep him along the rail he would pull me accross the arena. We got to the point were he wouldnt even keep the contact he would just toss his head nonstop and lose all forward momentum we had. I tried asking him to canter in the corners i tried with a kiss like he knows on a lunge line, i tried more leg pressure i tried using the crop to reinforce my aids... nothing i got nothing from him on that side. We even tried on a circle and he still wouldnt pick up the correct lead.

I tried to take him for a trot nice loose and long hoping we could get his head back in it to get it just once on the correct canter lead.. but nope he had mentally shut down so we called it quits and i gave him lots of love for trying and getting most of what we were doing.

I know some people would say... "you let him win next time will be harder... blah... blah... blah" but honestly my trainer is leaving in 3 weeks and we are trying to fit in as much as we can into our lessons before she leaves so i have some direction and the tools to be able to work on it more. G is an amazing horse and always tries his best to do what i am asking with occasionally a little bit of a fight but in 2 weeks we have taught him contact and engaging the hind end at a walk trot and canter and now as he is still learning that we are throwing in canter leads... i dont care we got it one direction thats a win for me... AND and i didnt fall off or feel like i was going to fall off which has done tons for my confidence at the canter.

Horses are like kids

You feel the need to wrap them in bubble wrap instead of forever dealing with the cuts and bruises. Sorry everyone but this will likely be a 3 post day i have a bit of catching up to do. All last week i was on barn duty which means every night i have to be out to do the pasture feed. On Friday night we integrated our herd to prepare them to be put out on the summer pasture (which i am super excited for, this should solve our weight problems we have been having) doesnt it look amazing, unfortunatly it is not as close as the winter pastures so catching is going to become a little bit more work but thats ok.

One of the girls i ride with at the barn and i have worked out an arrangement to alternate bringing each others horses in, because we are at a co-op barn we have to do all the work for our own horses as well as the maintenance of the property. So some nights she will bring G in to his stall and ill put him and Bella out other nights it will be reversed but at least now they will both be in the same pasture and i can grab them a ther same time.

So Saturday night i went out to get in a quick ride before my dinner date with a friend, i brought G in before we did the feed so he could get in a little extra hay with no competition in his stall when i noticed a nice little cut on his left hind leg. I didnt take a picture of it initally only when i had it all cleaned up. He seemed really sore and was really uneasy about me touching it so i put off the ride and just set him up in the stall for the night to allow him time to relax without being chased around by everyone trying to redetermine where they fall into the herd.

It doesnt look that bad after it was all cleaned up the dirt removed and some Gel stuff put on it, i was still a little bummed out that i couldnt ride though we had so much stuff i wanted to work on before out next lesson on wednesday. Theres always tomorrow though, im hoping he wont be as stiff and sore tomorrow.
Unfortunatly i have to work Job #2 in the morning and N will be putting him out so i wont be able to see how he is first hand but ill be right out once im off work for some much needed pony time.