Stealing ANOTHER saddle from Lyric!

 Ha ha... Poor little sister.. always getting hand me downs. ;) Ha!

 

So... I rode today in the Loxley dressage saddle. We had our lesson with Liz. And I was excited... excited to see what Liz was going to teach us and excited to see if this saddle really makes a difference. Honestly... I was really hoping that she was magically quiet and soft and round and ... normal... not feral... because then maybe I could stop panicking that I had suck terribly and it's my horrible riding that's making her so awful. And... it's a little bit of both. I mean.. she was sooooo much happier in this saddle. SO much happier! But, she's still a little fussy and a little naughty and not an immediate fancy prancy dressage horse. But I do feel better in ways... better because I really do think that the saddle was bothering her. But worse because I should have listened to her.. and myself... and not just kept trying to make it fit. Because not only did I screw her over... making her go in a saddle she doesn't like, and not listening to her, I've screwed myself over because now I'm really stuck with a saddle that doesn't fit. Sigh... Oh well. Moving on... And, maybe she'll grow into it at some point. Although I doubt it. She's definitely changed shape and most definitely lost some of her roundness. The potato unpotatoed! She definitely looks more thoroughbred-y now and honestly, even has more angle in her back too. She's still very flat from front to back, but she's definitely got more of an angle in her tracings now. And more of a wither. And today, Liz pointed out that she looked "young" again... like she was growing. And I agreed. She's gotten a bit weedy looking... thin.. .and I noticed yesterday that her legs look splayed out in the front instead of square. So... we'll go back to some thoracic sling work and balancing work too. 

 

Anyways... I got her tacked up and hopped on at the trailer. As we were walking to the road, she let out one kick with her hind end. I panicked... like... what, do you actually hate this saddle too??? But then she was fine and marched all the way to the arena. We walked around for a few minutes and she didn't do anything else. And her walk was quiet and not jiggy and lateral. And her neck was soft. Yay. Liz arrived and brought Grace out to the arena and we chatted some. Funny was good with Grace and was sniffing her. (But at the end of the lesson when Grace walked away Funny pinned her ears and snaked her neck at her! No ma'am!!!). 

We started our ride and started in the walk. I let her take her time and shortened my reins correctly... shortening as each forelimb came back... then when she seemed to tell me that was her happy spot... I held it and then brought my elbows back a hair to bring her into a slight contact. Liz then had me take up slightly more pressure and just wait it out... to teach Funny that she needed some contact but could find her happy place. So we did. And Funny did. And our trot stayed nice!! We managed to get a nice swinging marching walk that wasn't running.. wasn't lateral... wasn't jiggy! Yay. We didn't want her to get bored, because she's smart and motivated, so we went to the trot. She had me slightly counterflex her and then as I asked for true bend, pick up the trot. I had to post more up and down instead of forward to my hips. But that really helped me stay more erect, which helped balance Funny and kept her more slow and steady and on her hind end. I tried to keep a soft connection and it required a little bit of counter flexion and true flexion.. but not a see saw! Liz stopped me and explained it better. It was a counter bend to get her into the outside rein, then keep the outside rein, and then use my fingers or elbows to get the inside bend and keep her soft on it. In order to keep her from getting bored, I did some circles in different places. A few times she kicked out but Liz said it was very much my fault! I was blocking her and she was mad about it. As soon as I opened up the door and gave her room to move where I was telling her, she stopped being fussy. Okay... that's fair. 

We worked on the trot and the big take aways are... (if I remember.. it's so much nuances that I'm afraid I'm forgetting some good things!)... my head moves too much... I need to keep my head straight ahead and move my eyes more... because when my head moves, my body collapses on that side. And Funny follows my head. But I can't be stiff with it... I'm so awkward! I have to post up and down and stay upright and use my core and if I do that, I can slow my post a little and Funny will follow me. This was the slowest she has even been!! And I didn't have to get in her face. Although I could actually half halt some today and got results with it too. Yay!

We cantered and she got a little excited and quick. Liz told me that I needed to not rush into it... take the time to get the good walk.. then get a good trot.. take the time it takes.. only go into the canter when the trot is good. And THAT.. is how I will build a beautiful trot. And a better canter too. And, she did! She got quite nice in the trot. And then the canter was better. When we were tracking left, the way she always feels like she's tipping and falling... she sort of did it again. Liz talked me through it and told me to put my weight in my outside stirrup, make sure my head was looking straight ahead, lift my inside hand a little, and then sit to the outside but tip my pubic bone a little to the inside... And... oooooohhhhh!!!! She totally lifted up off that inside shoulder, rocked back onto her outside hind, and the canter got lovely! 

It's soooo cool how such tiny little changes make sure a big difference with her. Like... such a tiny little change in my body posture creates such a big change in her. Liz was excited too! And .... she seemed happy! Funny did. She was tired... but she wasn't angry... she wasn't pissy or bucking or sassing... and honestly... she wasn't chompy either. She was still fussy in the connection and spent some time trying to find her happy place within the connection... and she did go behind the vertical a good bit. But she wasn't chompy... and she got frothy mouth too. YAY!!!! 

 

(She was not a fan of Art's chickens in his yard when we were walking back home! The scary inflatable dinosaur is no big deal but the chickens.... scary!)

Liz got some video of our canter for me. She did say that tracking right, I got a little excited and let her get big and lost that beautiful canter, but.. it's still overall much better. We talked about how it's going to be steps for now... maybe 4 strides of lovely trot... then 3 steps of lovely canter.. but then the next ride it might be 6 lovely trot strides and 4 lovely canter strides. If she falls out of gait.. let her. It's hard work. And if I get a couple of steps of amazing work... consider doing a downward before she falls out of it. We also talked about how transitions are going to be so much more helpful for strengthening her than just endless circles in the same gait. Which... to give myself credit... she used to get so much worse after we cantered that it was hard for me to do a lot of transitions because it all went to heck! But now, I feel like she's progressed enough that we have been doing more transitions, so we can definitely be better about it. 

Good pony!! I let her have some naked time too. It's weird weather today. The sun comes out and the breeze dies off and it gets quite nice.. but then the clouds come back and it's chilly.. and then the wind picks up and it's freezing!

 

Bright spots!

 Tuesday! Lesson day! Except not today. ;) But that's okay because it was ICKY! It rained allllllll day and most of the night before that yesterday and has been misty and dreary all day today. The arena's at Ashland are closed although my arena held up great! But... Jacel had to cancel lessons anyways, and it was cold too! Wind chill of 48 but so damp and chilly. I did end up pulling clothes but left the girls in 100 grams. I let Daniel be naked. I was hoping to jump in my lesson today as Funny and I are dressaged out. And Laura had mentioned me coming over to her new farm to jump, but... that's just a long drive and with the weather.. I figured Funny might be extra feral. And I was sort of leaning towards a long hack... so I ended up postponing with Laura. I ran errands this morning and then ate lunch. And then Nancy messaged me that she could come check my saddles this afternoon, so it was good I cancelled with Laura. 

 

So... after I ate I snagged Funny and we headed to Ashland for a nice long hack. I figured that it would be best to take her out and do a nice long walk and maybe even some trotting to work off some energy before our saddle fitting. So we did. And I timed it just about perfect. We got to Ashland I put the jump saddle on and we headed out. 

I sort of let her pick the way and we ended up over in the magical lane. And then I saw Lucy's dog... and then Lucy. She was chatting on the phone so we just hung out for a bit. I almost turned and went up the hill but figured it would be nice to say hi. She got off the phone and we chatted. She told me that they were contemplating making the Jake's hay field into a pollinator field. Oooooh, that would be soooo pretty! Funny was great and just stood there quietly while we chatted. And then Adam came up with about 8 people behind him. Funny just stood quietly and bravely and they all walked past her... a few petted her nose. It was nice. :) We could NOT have done that with Dan. ;) Then Lucy mentioned that she was contemplating opening up the covered arena to members! OOOOOH yes please! So we chatted about that for a bit. Then we both headed back our respective ways and Lucy made the comment that Funny "could be quite patients at times". ha ha. I laughed at her clarification of "at times" because... yep, she was certainly correct!

 

We headed up the hill and then did some trotting in the fields. Then I decided to do some cantering and figured I"d let her gallop if she wanted to. She opened up nicely and we had fun. So then we went the other way and did it again and she really opened up!! I think she did swap to the left lead when she really opened up and let it rip. Like Dan. But it was sooooo fun. I had tears streaming down my face (This time from the speed vs sadness). She had fun too. We ended up  hitting 30 mph! So... super fast! But not as fast as Dan. Although, honestly, she opened up and reached, but I'm not sure I felt that "drop" you get when they really kick it into another gear. Which... maybe she did and it's just not as obvious as with Dan, or.. maybe she's still got another gear in there! Wheeee!! She came back pretty nicely though. She got sweaty! Oops, sorry girl. One of these days I will get you clipped. 

 

We went back to walking and trotting and then headed back up to the hills behind cross country. I kept myself from jumping the one smaller tree branch alongside the creek because the ground was full of leaves and I wasn't sure how slippery it would be. But I thought we'd go jump that half fallen tree that we did the other day. So we headed that way. Except... the darn tree had fallen all the way down. And it was small enough that it was no fun. Boo. So we carried on and then shortly after that.. there was a bigger tree trunk that had fallen. Oooh, not as cool since it wasn't angled but still fun. So we jumped that. Hee hee. We then headed to XC and I debated popping over a few jumps for fun, but... didn't want to slip and make her extra hot and sweaty again. And I realized that I needed to get back to meet Nancy!

 

Good thing we headed in because once I got untacked and got her sponged off (she was so sweaty!), Nancy texted that she was on her way. I managed to make it home right at 4 pm and Nancy got there at 4:15. Which was perfect. I put Funny in her stall and had grabbed my saddles and bridle and helmet and had just enough time to pee. 

 

So...I told Nancy what had happened so we looked at Funny's jump, the ryder dressage and then the peter horrobin dressage. Nancy immediately noticed how much more narrow Funny was. Yeah.... the potato unpotatoed. The jump one was easy... a hair too narrow, but fixable with flocking! So Yay!  The Ryder... just really didn't seem to fit her. She did think she could make it workable with flocking but admitted it was too curvy and too wide. Then we put the Peter Horrobin on her and... Nancy just didn't like it. Never has. Which is understandable. But she did think that with front shims it would be workable. So then... she asked about Lyrics dressage saddle.. the loxley. I did mention that Funny's jump saddle, the loxley, also had the same gullet plate in it, so... we tossed it on her for funsies... and it actually fit quite nice. Like... Funny really got narrow and angled in her back...she's more of a typical A frame now. 

 

So... since the Ryder was flocked I asked Nancy if she would mind watching me ride in it because of all the chatter I was worried about. So we headed up to the arena and I got on. And... Funny was naughty... fussy, a bit behind my leg while also being quick... and fish tailing. Which... I told Nancy... that was kind of normal. But then she just... seemed kind of worse than usual. So I hopped off and we put the shims up front and I got back on. And she was worse! In fact, she started kicking out and throwing in a few baby bucks and props. Okay... this is definitely not her normal behavior. Though I did mention that I was not sure how much was unhappiness with the saddle or annoyance that I didn't have cookies (She was expecting one when I got on and I had forgotten) or being in heat or annoyed since she had already been ridden once today...  So then Nancy suggested we try the Peter Horrobin on her and offered to go get it. I told her she might as well grab the loxley and she could drive back up, so she did that. I tried to ride Funny a bit longer to see but the longer I rode the worse she got. Okay... so we then put the Loxley on her. And aside from the stirrups feeling really long... she was actually quite nice. Like... she was still her usual sass but... not nearly as quick while also balky... she was still fussy in the bridle but she felt better in her back and neck base. And... she didn't offer to buck up or kick out. I even cantered her and oh thank goodness I can sit down in the canter again!!! I even got a flying change out of her!! I didn't really ask but shifted myself and she swapped so I went with it and changed directions. Wheee! So then, to be thorough, I put the peter horrobin on her and... she wasn't as bad as she was with the ryder, but she wasn't quite as nice as in the loxley. And I was a hot mess in the ryder. Nancy pointed out that it was so shifty and busy up there... maybe that flex tree... 

 

So... very helpful!!! Frustrating... that the stupid ryder doesn't fit her at all anymore... nor does the peter horrobin. And kind of frustrating that she's stealing Lyrics saddle again!! But yay for at least having something that fits her. Nancy did point out that she's likely to change again and might go back to fitting into the ryder again... So... I guess my plan is to ride her in the loxley for a bit. And see what happens. It'll be interesting to see if she really likes it and settles and our dressage becomes less feral or if it's not as big of a change as I'm hoping for. I guess I'll hold onto the other saddles for the moment. Not like either of them are gonna be easy to sell. And who knows.. maybe I can put the Peter Horrobin on Lyric?? I don't know. At this point, I'm not even sure Lyric is going to be sound enough. Ugh.. I hope so, I really don't think she's that broken, but... ugh. 

So yeah... Poor Funny... she was such a good girl today. And note to self... listen to her when she throws in bucks and squeals. She's not just being a sass... she's trying to tell me something. 

 

Extra spicy

 Cold and windy and blustery and she was spooky!

While tacking up at the trailer a bunch of acorns rained down on the truck and trailer roofs and she spun and slung my saddle off. Ugh... but didn't panic, so yay for that. Baylor also spooked and slung his easy boot off. ha! This doesn't bode well ;)

Jumped and did a side to side shimmy at one point. ha ha.. and a little jumpy but other than that good! Came across a diagonally fallen tree... jumped it. :) Tried to pull her hard right to the low spot but she said no need. awkward in a dressage saddle though

had a good hack then flatted in the arena. quite quick but had some good moments. Frustrating because she can do the things... just.. not on the bit. half passed about as good as Dan ever has... leg yield... got a decent trot lengthen... lovely turn on the haunches... but... so darn feral in the mouth... 

sharon got video when I first got in the arena.. tried to be quick since she had to leave. need to get my pivo out... 

but got some decent work so... quit with that and then worked on the walk to cool off a bit. she gets so lateral and tense and jiggy... tried to practice free to working to free to working to trot to working to free walks. 

photos: chilly hack

video

More dressage

 An okay ride. Nothing crazy but nothing amazing either. Except I did get a flying change I asked for :) on the shallow serpentine but still

Spooky Dressage!

 Today was a beautiful day! The ponies got their feet done this morning. And Funny was naughty! She was the worst one. Although she made me giggle because Dan's all snarly and makes all the faces but really doesn't do much. Whereas Funny... she's all innocent looking up front but is really fussy and naughty behind. She doesn't kick but she yanks and pulls and shifts. I'm really going to have to start practicing the farrier moves with her so Patrick doesn't fire me. We joked that she's quite the big girl and packs a punch! Although she did save Patricks life today. Ha ha. When I first pulled her out, she was nosing the hoof knives and we decided she was like "Um Patrick... Dan's gonna be next and you know he tried to cut you, so perhaps you should put these away!". Ha ha... So he did. :) 

 

I told him how she was maybe weak on the right hind and then I panicked it was where her abscess was blowing out. He said no.. it looked great. But he did suggest that maybe we try her in the 3d pads since she was finally starting to show some signs of caudal failure behind. So.. we did. So, maybe that will help her hind end some. Although I did tell him I was more suspicious of hock pain, saddle fit, ulcers, hormones, etc.  

 

Anyways... after he left I went to Tractor Supply for cat food and then lunged Lyric and then played with Dan. Then it was Funny's turn. She probably could have used a lunge day too but... I wanted to ride, so... she got ridden. I used the Peter Horrobin saddle again and... I'm still thinking she likes it. 

 

We just rode at home because of timing and the arena's were closed at Ashland for the show prep. I was tempted to go hack but wanted to have time to do some chores too so.. we rode at home. She was a good girl. We did some walk warm up and played with haunches in and shoulder in. And she was quite decent at it for just starting with it recently. Then we picked up the trot and she was overall quite decent. She was a little quick towards the end but started out much slower. And I even had my dressage whip today! Not that I used it, but... still. We played with some lengthens and back to regular trot and then did some shoulder in and leg yield. We even played a tiny bit with half pass and she's not half bad at it. Then we did some canter work and it wasn't bad either. No more swapping behind today. Yay! We did some lengthens and back to working canter (still haven't quite managed collected canter) and did some shallow serpentines. I'm getting better at my position in this saddle too although I still struggle to really sit down into it. Even when I try to lift her back into the saddle. We went back to the trot and then back to the canter and did some transitions. Towards the end we were a bit quick and behind the vertical. We also played with the halts, which wasn't great. But we got a few decent ones. 

 

So... overall, I still feel like this is the best bet for her saddle wise... although I wish that it would have slowed her down too. Ha!

 

We hacked home via Jean's driveway and said hi to her Halloween inflatables again. Funny barely even glanced at them. I did have to laugh as the dragon looks like it's backing away from her. Ha ha!! FEAR ME DRAGON!!! I AM THE MOTHER DRAGON! Then we chatted with Mike as he was working in the garage. Then we were going to walk to the lake and back but... we just went a little ways and turned around. She wasn't being naughty but she turned around, so... I went with it.