WIN!!!

 Today was a good day! 

I had (somewhat hesitantly) signed up for the XC grid clinic with Beth today. Hesitantly because... I didn't know which horse would be sound and if it was Funny, if she would be feral or not. Honestly, Lyric may have been feral too. :) Heck, even Dan could be feral at this point. 

 

But I'm so glad I did! I ended up taking Funny and we got there in time to groom and tack up. She was a good girl and we were ready a few minutes early. I ended up walking with Alexa and Teddy but rather than head to XC she opted to warm up in the arena, so.. we did. Funny was a bit amped up and I was questioning my life choices. But we managed to walk without mishap and even braved two trots. Steering was questionable at times but... I seemed to have brakes, so.. phew! Everyone else was finally ready and we all walked down together. Beth had brought her new 3 year old TB to do some in hand work while she taught and Danielle had Sparrow, her 4 year old OTTB, and Elisabeth had Nat, her 5 year old OTTB who had spent a year rehabbing. They were smart and were also on foot with halters and lunge lines. Doh... Maybe I should have done the same thing too!

 

As we headed out Funny was a bit silly and Nat was being spinny and jumpy behind us, which put her more on edge. We managed to make it down in one piece and Alexa and Teddy went to warm up in trot and canter around the field. Beth asked if I wanted to trot some or just put her brain to work. I opted for Plan B. I figured if I went trotting about she would just escalate and get more amped up but if I put her brain to work, she would settle. And, it worked. Although somehow we had to stand still and hang out for a good 5-10 minutes before she got to use her brain. We walked to the banks and Beth sent her horse up and down it a few times... Then Sparrow went up and down a few times. Luckily Beth was like "hey Holly, why don't you go next before Funny self implodes". Bless you thank you! She was actually holding it together fairly well considering... she was snacking and I was letting her walk around. But she was still fairly jumpy. So... we walked up the bank and she did it perfect! Then we turned and came down and she was perfect! Remember, last time we did this she kept saying no and Jacel had to walk her down. We did it up and down again and she was happy and calm. Then Nat went and was a bit reactive and "loud" so Funny jumped a few times but... was fine. Then she noticed the geese had started to wander over and she was watching and on high alert but not scared. The other horses started looking so we decided to use it as a training opportunity and go see the geese. Luckily Sparrow is used to chickens and turkeys at his farm so he didn't care. Funny was a hair behind him and was still concerned but fine. Yay! So Funny and Sparrow chased them off (calmly) and the other horses followed. We got them far enough away and then went back to the bank. Next Beth had me and Funny trot it. Eeeks. But she was perfect! I had to be a bit braver and sit quietly and slip my reins vs throwing my hands and shoulders at her. And it worked. She went down a little more smoothly and non-chalantly the second and third time. Awesome. She even landed in a polite canter and I let her canter off. We got both leads too!

On our way to the ditches, we stopped at the log and Funny walked over it. Then we trotted it. She was super! So then we went to the ditches and Funny walked right over it both directions. Whoo hooo! Then we trotted it and she was super. At this point I had relaxed and started to trust that she wasn't going to be stupid and was able to get some photos. I was still letting her snack some and she was still a hair reactive but nothing bad at all. The other baby horses were being good too!

Next up.. the water. I mentioned to Beth that Funny would stop and roll so we just wanted to trot through.. maybe walk. She put Handsome in first and he had fun playing in it so we all waited. Then Funny walked through happily and didn't roll. Then Teddy. Then Nat, who had already schooled it while we were playing at the log. Then Sparrow went to go and he said NOPE. So we sat for a good 30 minutes waiting on him to get through it. Totally fine but in an effort to keep Funny (and to be honest, myself) from getting bored... we walked through the water a few more times. She was fussy and said no a few times... I don't think it was the water itself.. and at first I thought it was where we were approaching (sand vs just grass into water), but I think she was just testing me and being naughty. It took a couple of tries and she won a few but it was almost like if I just looked ahead and trusted her to go, she went. Weird. But we got her through it. And then I even walked her UP the bank out of the water a few times. Both banks! I was tempted to go down but figured I wouldn't push my luck, especially when the other horses were so green there too. Then we trotted around the water complex and she behaved. Then we trotted the log and she behaved. So then, Danielle kept at it and Beth came back to us. She gave me a mini course to do. It started by the start box at the edge of the woods. Earlier in the lesson a tree fell at the edge of the woods. We heard it anyways. And nobody spooked but everyone looked and heard it so... Funny did NOT want to go that direction. Or maybe she didn't want to leave her friends. I don't know. But it took us a minute to get over that way and then twice I had to pull her off the fence because she was so sideways. And yes, in a show, I could have turned her nose and made her walk over it and she would have, had I done it today. But honestly, I wanted her to see it and be fair so we circled a few times. I finally got her convinced enough that there weren't monsters and we did our little course. She cantered and I wasn't quite brave enough to canter a jump with her so we slowed back to the trot. But it was so much fun! And she didn't go crazy or try to buck me off. She didn't bolt, although she wasn't slow and she did take a few to respond to my half halts and halt aids. But we survived and she jumped all the things without any hesitation. I really think she loves this job. I continued back out to the scary area and let her walk up and relax and she took a breath and settled, so we even went through the start box and then jumped the two fences again. 

 

At this point Beth asked if I wanted to do anything else and remarked at how super she was being. Isn't she?!? I'm so proud of her! I told her that as much fun as I was having, I figured I should be done with her. So while they finished up I went back to the trailer and pulled her saddle off and put the bareback pad on. Then we hacked back down to the XC field and by this point, Sparrow was in the water while being ridden even! We all hacked to the lake and had a pool party. 

 

Of course Funny barged in first and immediately dropped and rolled a few times. Then we splashed and had fun. The others joined in and Funny acted like she might want to swim. She actually did get a few steps where there wasn't any ground underneath us but she panicked and turned and almost rolled a hair and then bolted out of the lake. I was holding my phone and almost slid right off her backside. For a few seconds I thought I might get launched but luckily she was scared and just reacting vs... actually trying to dump me. Once she got on dry land she stopped (thank you God because otherwise I was going to be a goner). Phew! After a minute I asked her to go back into the lake so she wouldn't be scared and she did. And she pawed and splashed and rolled again, so phew. But no more swimming today! 

 

We hacked back afterwards and she was good. Then after untacking and a rinse she had to stand at the trailer eating her hay while I worked on Beth's horse. She was good! Today was a good day to learn some patience! There was lots of standing and waiting while we rode, lots of standing and waiting our turn at the lake, and then standing and waiting at the trailer. GOOD BABY GIRL!!!

 

Oh, and... I think we both love our saddle! And Beth didn't notice the gold so it wasn't that "wonder woman"y. :) 

 

New Saddle!! Wonder Woman!

 So... Funny's new saddle came! It's .... gold! Ha! Like... a lot of gold! I think I really like it though. I do wish that there was only one "roll" of the gold instead of two in the back. Or that they would have had copper/bronze but... I can always use a leather paint pen on it if I decide I really don't like it. I do feel like it has a "I pity the Fool" vibe.. or a Wonder Woman vibe. But.. she does look pretty in it. And I think she likes it! 

 

Anyways... so first today we had our vet visit. I told Dr. Barrow what was going on and asked if she would just watch her in the roundpen to make sure I wasn't losing my mind and she agreed. She thought that she looked super sound but noticed she was super tight in her back. She was bracing and bending her neck but couldn't bend through her body. Hmmm... once she pointed it out you could totally see her tight back muscles. Interesting. I have no idea if that's what's been bothering her all along... and it was just extra noticeable tonight.. if that's newer because I switched her back to the Peter horrobin for a few rides... or ??? So... she said to do some more robaxin and shockwave her and I figured I would also acupuncture her, like I've been meaning to for weeks now. Sigh... But she thought she looked sound, so phew!

 

We x-rayed her feet and she was a pretty good girl! But... girl has very thin soles. Ugh... why?! You've been barefoot your whole life.. you're on a forage only (mostly) diet... you get Vermont blend... sigh. So... she's going to talk to Patrick and I guess I'll have to decide if I want to put her in shoes. She mentioned that she's probably fine in good footing but not on trails, which... is pretty much true. And as much as I don't want to pay for shoes and have her have issues from having shoes... I also don't want her to be sore and uncomfortable because I'm being cheap. Sigh... This is going to be an expensive farrier visit!

 

So... after Dr. Barrow left I noticed a big giant box on my porch! Her saddle!!! And the stirrup leathers. It's really quite pretty on her. It matches her better than I expected it would. And I love the leathers.. they have the bliss logo on them, which is that cool celtic design. Anyways... I was torn because I wanted to ride her in it and try it out but I didn't want to if her back was sore. So... I palpated her and she really wasn't that bad, so... I figured what the heck.. just do it! So I tacked her up. I was a little worried it was going to be too wide on her, but... its' really not. It looked quite perfect when I first put it on and then after our ride, it was a little lower but I could still get four fingers in. AND.... I didn't roll around hardly at all! Much improved compared to the peter horrobin. So, maybe the peter horrobin is too narrow and thus.. the roll. I did use the anatomic girth but not the total saddle fit one. Just the wellfleet one. So... we'll keep trying that one. I ended up putting her bridle on over her rope halter. She was really good and we started our ride in the rope halter. She was a bit quick in her trotting but not terrible. And still a bit hollow but not too terrible. I wonder if some of that is the back tension? So then I tried using the reins and bit and she started chomping again. But... I went back and forth between the reins and the rope halter and she settled. We had better steering with the reins although she was quick with those too. But I did get some acceptable half halts with both the reins and the halter, so... progress. I was also able to drop the contact much more successfully than I had been with the reins so that's a success. I even tried some canters. The left lead is still hard but it wasn't quite as difficult today. So... yay! At the very least, she can still canter under saddle in this saddle. 

 

After our ride she wasn't sore via palpation so.... yay! She did flinch a tiny bit when I hosed her off though. I'm still not sure if that's tension/pain or just.... ahhhh water! I did shockwave her back after I fed her because.... that is the plan. Even if the back pain is secondary to whichever saddle. And I started her on robaxin. So... I guess I'll just have to see how she progresses (or doesn't) in this saddle. I did find it very comfy for me although it almost feels too big. I wonder how much of that is because my other jump saddle is too small for me. :) I definitely have more butt room but also this seat is a flatter longer seat, so... even if it was also a 16.5, it would still feel more roomy. And hopefully that gives me more room over bigger jumps when we eventually get there. So... yay. Overall, I do like it! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She's a UNICORN!!

BRAVERY!

 Well... I was supposed to have a lesson today with Jacel and I was excited because I was hoping to get her opinion on what was going on with our canter issues... whether she thought it was weakness, greeness, or pain, etc... But she was sick so she cancelled. Laura asked if I wanted to come ride with her anyways, so... I was brave and said yes. She wanted to jump around but I only had Funny and Dan to ride because Lyric was still lame as of the other day, so... I opted to bring Funny. Dan gets annoyed because Smarty walks faster than him (a feat) and since he's barefoot behind he's been extra slow, so... Funny it is.

I walked out to get her and she came right up.. and then the rest of the hoodlums came up too. Hee hee. Cookies for all! She loaded up great once we broke free from the crowd and we headed to Ashland. Laura was running a bit behind but it worked out beautifully. I was able to get tacked up and up in the arena and do some work before Laura got there. Which, took some pressure off. I put the peter horrobin jump saddle back on and despite it maybe being too curvy of a tree for her back, it seems to fit. No rocking... but good gravy it tips side to side something fierce. Like, when I ride her, I roll off to each side easily.  So I'm slightly stressing that while she dislikes the thorowgood... the saddles she likes, I can hardly stay on. I don't know if it's a short girth vs long girth situation... if it's a narrower tree.... but ughh..... kind of worrisome. I guess we'll see what she thinks of her new saddle as it should be arriving by the beginning of next week if not sooner. I'm also stressing that perhaps Kim Eichorn's words of wisdom were true. "Don't ride her in a stride free tree or she'll never allow anything else on her back". Sigh....  Oh well... All I can do is wait and see what happens with her new saddle. And.. there is a chance it's not the new saddle so much as me adjusting her/time/???

 

Anyways... I was brave and put the rope halter on because I still want to try riding her with the bit in her mouth, but no reins attached for a ride or two before I go back to the bit with reins. And the Ashland crew was doing some work... picking up the dressage arena's, so they were driving the flat bed around. Funny was a little on edge but she was pretty chill considering. I got on at the trailer and we walked up to the jump arena and did our walk warm up. I tested my breaks and turns and... she seemed to be doing really well. She did spook once at something in the woods and I stayed on but my saddle slid a little. Then she did a few other tiny spooks. I ended up being brave and we picked up the trot and she was great! She was pretty relaxed and soft. Not peanut rolling but not quick and choppy. Not even inverted or braced but not quite as soft in the neck as I would have preferred. After a bit of trotting... I got brave and cantered. She did the right lead pretty nicely and we had one buck I think, but... nothing bad and we carried on. Then we tried the left lead. And oh my... it took multiple attempts. She kept cantering but it was the right lead. And I know I was making it worse. I was tipping her, collapsing... doing all the wrong things I think. But, she eventually got it and held it. YAY!!!

   

We finished up and were talking a walk break when Laura walked up. GOOD timing... I was a little afraid she would have walked up while I was cantering and spooked us. Funny did stop and stare but then realized it was just another horse coming up. I did ask Laura to watch us trot both ways and canter both ways before she did anything just to see what she thought. When we went to canter to the left, Funny saw another horse and rider walk by and they sort of popped into view and she spun hard! I almost came off and my saddle was tipped sideways  but I didn't. I let her stop and look and then we carried on. And it was awful getting her into the left lead, but we did get it. Laura said that she maybe looked a little weak on the left hind but she didn't look lame. So... yay!

 

After that I was done so I just let Laura play while Funny and I sat around. Although I was videoing her and at one point... I don't know if Funny tried to lay down and roll and caught herself or if she spooked at something and dropped, but as I was videoing... my body sank about a foot or two and then we lunged forward. Girl!! What on earth? After Laura finished that particular jump course, I decided I should just get off Funny. She worked hard and it was hot and I was going to take my saddle off so she could roll in the lake anyways, so... I hopped off. She kept pawing and acting like she wanted to roll so maybe that was it? Laura finished up and we went back to the trailer so I could pull off Fun's saddle and my boots and put the bareback pad on. I was brave and left the rope halter on. We hacked to the lake and Funny had a grand old time rolling. We were wet. She splashed a good bit too and then we went for a decent hack. She was a little jiggy at times and trotted a few times to catch up with Smarty but she kept up with him mostly. And at one point, Smarty was kicking and bucking up a bit at a horse fly and the look on Funny's face was hilarious. She was behind him and was so offended that he was kicking at her! I told her "no... it's the fly, not you'" and she was like... Oh... that's acceptable then. Ha ha. We walked Laura home and she showed me her new trailer. And then Funny and I had to leave and go home. I tried to go the long way to avoid the pipeline construction and at first Funny said no! She liked Smarty! I had to take two attempts to get her leave but we finally did. And once she was marching again, she was a good girl and we made it home uneventfully. :) 

 

  

Whoo hooo!!! I'm so hopeful that either she didn't like the thorowgood saddle or she just tweaked something and is feeling better now. Now to pray hard that she likes her new custom saddle I just bought her because... it's a bit blinged out so I'm not sure it'll be an easy sell if she doesn't like it.