Hard choices delayed

I just love that big, velvety nose of his!

I was reminded last night that I haven't written on the blog for a while. It's not that we haven't been spending time with our boys - quite the opposite, in fact.

I've been anxious about Curly. For so long there hasn't seemed to be any change in his level of pain; he just plods along, stiff and slow. I've continued to hand walk/trot him and E even ponied him with Monte. Curly always does what we ask, but he just doesn't feel very fluid and happy in the doing.


And then a couple of days ago my barn manager approached me at a party we were both at and informs me (with a huge smile on her face!) that Curly suddenly appears to be doing much better. He has begun to quickly trot out to the field in the morning and then back to his stall at night (food - the great motivator!). And yesterday, when I went out to check on him, I saw him actually galloping across the grass. I'm getting excited just thinking about it. :) All those acupuncture visits, steroid shots and supplements must be finally making a difference.

I had honestly resigned myself to the fact that we would have to put our big boy down in a few months at most. I couldn't, in all good conscience, force him to live in continuous pain. Plus, we really can't afford to keep just a pasture pet for a decade or more - and Curly could easily live that long since he's only 12.

I still have to determine if he'll be ridable...and if he's not....well, I still may have to put him down. Seems so harsh. These are the times when I wish we had our own property so I could just put him out to pasture where he could be fat and happy for the remainder of his life. But with boarding, I have to consider the financial impact of owning a non-working horse. Such a hard choice.

Winter coats

The temps have finally fallen to below freezing around here. It is expected to be around 18 degrees tonight, even colder this weekend.

So far this fall I have not used the horse blankets (except for one really wet, cold day - and it was the damp and wind that prompted me to put them on the boys) but tonight I decided that Curly really needed his.

The poor boy appears to have a cold or some other bug. He's off his feed a bit and pretty lethargic. I hear that this has been going around our barn and that the other horses that have had it recovered without incident within a day or two - so I'm hoping Curly will be back to normal by tomorrow.

At any rate, I figured he didn't need to work to stay warm while also trying to fight off some virus. Plus his coat just doesn't seem as thick as it has gotten in past winters. I hope that either I'm not remembering correctly and it really is the same, or that it's still a bit early and will thicken more as the winter goes on.

Monte, on the other hand, is a little teddy bear! I went ahead and put his blanket on as well, but he probably would be fine without. I'm glad that I bought only a lightweight one for the little man - I don't think he's going to ever need more than something light to help keep the wind off and just a bit of body heat in.

A Trip to the Vet

E and I have been talking quite a bit about when we think the bucking and head tossing started and we decided it might have been around the time they both fell and E broke her ankle (Sept. 2007). But I'm not completely sure about that - we were relying on my often faulty memory! (I'll have to go back and read through this blog to see if I can tell from my postings. I know he came to us with some head tossing issues - but they were different than his current head shaking.) It is possible that he may have injured himself but we didn't notice right away because not long after the fall, he had his first (of three!) hoof abscesses and then the shoulder inflammation that required even more time off.

I had a lengthy visit with the vet today and as he examined Curly I gave him all this information and we talked about possible causes for the obvious pain the horse is in. So, he agreed it could be from an injury or it may even be something called "kissing spine" syndrome. It also could be caused by a saddle rubbing on the area just behind Curly's withers. (The connection between his withers and the rest of his back is a rather dramatic drop off instead of the more normal slope. Consequently, the saddle may be putting too much pressure on this spot.) The vet does not see any problems with Curly's legs/other joints, so he doesn't think the back pain is a symptom of some other issue.

Dr. Kress uses a lot of common sense in his practice, so his first suggestion is to use several cut-away pads that will elevate the saddle off of the area just behind the withers to see if this alleviates Curly's pain. He also suggested moving the saddle back an inch or so, putting more of the weight farther back as well. And thirdly, he'd like me to take Curly on a longish ride, but being ponied rather than ridden. This might help me see if he reacts at that magic 20 minute mark only when he's saddled up and being ridden or if he starts the head shaking/bucking routine even without the rider.

Since there is no way to x-ray Curly's spine here in Walla Walla (and I'm not ready to make the commitment of driving to Pullman) we really have no way of knowing if there are some vertebrae rubbing together or some other injury to the spine. We went ahead and administered a steroid shot to help with any possible inflammation (second shot to be given on Wednesday) and Dr. Kress wants me to continue with the joint supplement we started last week. Both things could possibly help and neither will hurt him.

It's so hard to know how much of all this is truly originating from back pain and how much might be originating from his brain/personality. As I've spent more time with the big guy over this past month, though, I've begun to believe that he isn't all that naughty and it breaks my heart to think he may have been in immense pain for a long time.

Learning To Jump

E and Monte had their first Pony Club mounted meeting today. E was so excited, she was determined to go no matter what. And I probably shouldn't have let her....

Last Wednesday, she (possibly) fractured her right ankle. The pediatrician didn't see anything on the x-ray but he said the location and amount of pain indicated more than a sprain. He thinks we'll be able to see the (healed) fracture on the follow-up x-ray later this month. He asked her to wear her walking boot for as long as she thought was necessary and then to move on to a brace until it was all better.

Anyway, like I said, E was excited so I let her decide if she could ride or not. I truly didn't think she would last more than 20, maybe 30, minutes of the lesson but she didn't decide the pain was too much until the last 5 minutes of the ride. She even managed to post while trotting for much of the time!

The instructor, Marla Foreman, was working on jumping with the kids. The other 2 riders have jumped previously, but this was E and Monte's first go at it. They started with trotting over poles placed on the ground and worked up to going over two crossed poles (approx. 12" high). Monte really wasn't sure what was supposed to happen and managed to trot over the crossed poles instead of jumping. So they actually only "jumped" once during the whole lesson. But they'll eventually get it.

Daily walks

I started Curly on a joint supplement this week, hoping to relieve some of his back pain. How long until the stuff starts doing its job, though?

I also made an appointment with the vet to begin looking for the cause of these troubles. My internet "research" is making me worry too much so I need to begin eliminating some of the more horrible possibilities. Today I convinced myself that he has some sort of degenerative arthritis in his spine and will just continue to go downhill, quickly. Of course, I have nothing to base that on, just a web site that may or may not be accurate. Gotta love the internet!

I have been hand-walking Curly several times a week as well. I don't know if it is helping at all, but I do know that I am enjoying the time with him. Plus the boy needs to drop a few pounds so the exercise has to be doing some good in that department. The walking and jogging can't be hurting me any either!

Today I took him into a pasture that has a few dirt hills in it - along with 2 other horses and a donkey. Curly wasn't too sure about the little donkey and kept an eye out for the him the whole time we were going up, over and around the dirt piles.

Catch up

Life has been busy around our house (nothing unusual there!) so I've been ignoring the blog for a while. We've actually been spending a fair bit of time doing horsey things lately so I thought I'd write a quick entry and record some the recent events.

Curly is still receiving weekly visits from the acupuncturist. After 4 visits, the poor boy appears to be in the same amount of pain as before. And both Dr. Norris and I are stumped as to what may be causing him so much pain. He has never had an animal not respond at this point, and the doctor has said he will discontinue treatment after one last visit. Curly, bless his heart, patiently stands through each treatment even when we can see that it is quite painful for him. Makes me love the big guy even more....and as I've already said before, it helps explain some of the bad behavior he has dished out over the past year.

Electrical currents have been added to the acupuncture treatments - Ouch!

The next step is a trip to the vet. It is possible that the back pain is secondary to another problem - like arthritis in a joint somewhere. So we'll begin the process of testing for bunches of other things as soon as I have a penny or two in my pocket to pay for all of this. I'm crossing my fingers that we discover the cause quickly and easily.

E has been working with Monte on a consistent basis and things just keep getting better and better for them. At her 4-H Halloween ride she was able to ask for, and get, a counter-canter for the first time. Their costume, by the way was very cute. Monte was very patient with the whole mermaid tail thing. (I'll post a picture of them as soon as I remember to download from the camera!)

She joined Pony Club this week and will begin riding with that club very soon. I'll be curious to learn which she likes better in the long run - Pony Club or 4-H. For now, I'll be taking her to both (Tuesdays - 4-H, Sundays - PC).

A roll in the mud....

Fun times at the barn yesterday. The weather is wonderful (60+ degrees and sunny, sunny, sunny!) so we pulled out both horses for a couple of hours.

I spent my time with Curly working on leading. Simple stuff, I know, but the boy tends to turn into an anchor at the end of his lead rope whenever we walk off and I wanted to correct that behavior. We practiced in the round pen, with me walking on both sides. He wasn't too sure about me being on his off-side since this isn't something a person usually does, but I think it is important for him to learn this.

E had to work to get Monte clean enough to saddle up but once they were out in the arena they had lots of fun together. She said that he really wanted to go, go, go but he's really out of shape and couldn't maintain the pace he was setting for himself.

Monte was dripping sweat (and mud!) when they finished. E spent 10 to 15 minutes washing him down, really getting all the dirt off his coat before releasing him back to the pasture. As she walked back around the barn (100 steps?) another rider walked past us smiling and saying, "You missed a spot." Huh?

And then we saw him.....in the short amount of time it took E to walk around the barn, Monte had rolled and completely covered his nice white coat in mud! It was amazing, really. Only his the spots on his head and the insides of his legs were anything near white.



E will be brushing him out again today......

:-)

Pincushion

We had the acupuncturist come out to do some work on Curly this afternoon.

The other day when I was brushing our boy I noticed that he has quite a bit of back pain and since no one has been riding him, that had me concerned. I've already written about how I think some of his behavioral issues may be related to pain and poor saddle fit; seeing that he's in pain even when a saddle hasn't been on his back for a while has me thinking that there may be some other underlying problem beyond just the saddle.

Anyway, I thought we would try something a little different to take care of this.

The doctor placed several needles along his spine and one at the base of his mane. Curly did not really resist during the process, but I won't say he enjoyed it either. I'm just happy that he didn't try to kick or bite!

If you look real closely, you can see a couple of needles along his back...

The needles were left in for about 15 minutes and when they were pulled, many were bent into a "c" shape. The doctor briefly tried to manipulate some of Curly's vertebra back into alignment, but the horse wouldn't relax into the process.

On his next visit electrical currents will be added to the needles. And hopefully after the third visit Curly will no longer be in pain and his back will be healthier.

All of this doesn't give us the cause of the pain, though. I need to remember to ask the doctor about that next week....

Gingerbread Man

Farrier came today to take care of both horses. Since the appointment was at 3:00 I had to go out by myself - no big deal....or so I thought!

Curly was easy to bring in - he always is. Just walk up, throw the lead rope over his neck, put the halter on and head on out. And E says that Monte is just as easy, if not easier. He'll actually follow her with the halter barely on and her not even holding the lead rope.

But that's not how it went for me.

I walked into his pasture and he's immediately on alert mode - head up, watching. So I play it cool, meandering back and forth, not looking at him directly. As soon as I got within 6 feet of him he would charge off with his head and tail held high. I swear he was singing, "Can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man!"

We played this little game of his for more than 20 minutes before he finally wandered over to the watering trough and waited for me to put his halter on. Geesh! What a little stinker! (But I have to admit that I was smiling during this whole thing. He was pretty cute with his sassy little attitude.)

Sooo, finally both boys had their hooves trimmed and were released back to their fields. Curly's shoes were removed. His conformation is not the most conducive for being shoe-less, but the farrier and I agree that it is something we should try again. The hope is that he can go barefoot during every winter. Cross your fingers!

Just a pet?

We spent some time out at the barn yesterday afternoon, grooming the boys and just basically hanging out. E took some time to ride Monte bareback - a first for the two of them. She had great fun and really loved how responsive he is. Just a slight shift in her weight or leg pressure and he was moving. She did find that his springy little trot is not so pleasant when riding this way, though.

Curly is becoming rather pushy lately, always bumping into me when I work around him and basically being a brat. He hasn't tried anything too aggressive, and I try to correct his transgressions as quickly as I can, but I don't like the way it's all heading. He is just too darn big and powerful to not be respectful; a disrespectful horse is a dangerous horse.

So this bad behavior (even if it is still minor stuff) got me to thinking about how Curly lives. Basically, he has become a very big pet. No job, no expectations from us. Is this okay?

Initially, I thought sure, why not? I mean, he's got it great with plenty of food, sunshine, space and a herd to hang with. What more could a horse want?

But I'm beginning to reassess those thoughts as he becomes more of a pest over these past few weeks. He is less willing to do even the simple, little things I do actually expect him to do - like standing quietly at the hitching post, picking up his feet nicely to be cleaned, etc.

I think he may need to be reminded more regularly, and in a more physically challenging way, just who is in charge. All this probably requires someone riding him more often than he is now ridden. He just doesn't appear to be one of those animals who can be left to pasture for long periods of time and then brought back out and ridden/handled as if the work had been left off only yesterday.

The question is, though, who will ride him?

Lame boys...

On Friday, E and I went out to the barn to check up on Monte. The swelling in his hind leg was almost invisible, but we decided to not push it with a lesson since he still seemed a little stiff in his movement.

I asked E to pull Curly out for a quick ride instead, with the thought that she could do the next day's lesson on him. But guess who was also lame! With swelling in the same spot, no less! Curly also has quite a bit of tenderness in his mid-back; when we ran our fingers down his spine there were several areas that were painful to him.

So no lesson on Saturday.....which ended up being okay because it rained so much I think we would have had to cancel anyway.

We checked back on the boys on Sunday and Monte was in high spirits with no limping/lameness at all. Curly was still a tiny bit swollen in the hind leg, but seems to be on the mend.

Watermelon Bliss

Wednesdays are a great day around our house. Both the girls and I are done with school early enough that we can easily spend a hour or so out at the barn and still have time to finish homework and chores at home.

E has been asking to go ride lately; she's found a "happy place" with Monte and sees riding as a fun thing rather than work. So today, when we discovered that there was tiny bit of swelling in his right hind, she was sad that she couldn't practice cantering (controlled speed is the goal) and haunch turns. She did take a moment to lead friend L around, however; Monte was very accommodating of the little person on his back. :-)

E leading L on Monte...

After removing all of his tack, E shared her afternoon snack with Monte:

What a generous friend!

We found out a few months ago that Monte and Curly both LOVE watermelon rinds. E was a little more generous today and shared some of the actual watermelon as well.

Mmmmmm, watermelon drool.....

Bath day

It was a glorious, sunny day around here yesterday - not a cloud in the sky and only a small breeze blowing through. I took advantage of this good weather and finally gave Curly a bath.

There is such a contrast between the two horses when it comes to bath time. In most aspects, Monte is the better behaved, better trained animal. But when it comes to water, I'll take Curly any day! It's not that Curly actually enjoys his bath time, but he is tons calmer about the process than Monte is.

Once I washed a year's worth of dirt off his back, Curly turned that wonderful reddy-gold brown that I absolutely love. He is amazingly beautiful when he's all spiffed up.

I had to spend a bit of time working some nasty snarls out of his mane. This was probably the only difficult part of the process. Other boarders from the barn were coming back from a fundraiser ride up at the local reservoir by this time and Curly was anxious about all the activity swirling around him. But we got the job done.

I know that when we go out again today, he'll be back to his regular dirty self. Nothing like a good roll in the dirt right after a bath! (sigh)

Summer's last hurrah?

It was a very warm 98 degrees this afternoon when we went out to the barn. Sweat was dripping down my face and back before I had even half-way groomed Curly. It felt like summer was making one last stand before the coolness of autumn takes over.

We took some time off from horsey activities this past week. I needed to re-energize after the fair, and I think E did too. Today was our first trip back out to the barns since last Monday. I'm not sure if the boys were happy to see us, but I was definitely delighted to be with them!

I spent my hour with Curly making his coat shiny and clean and then working with him in the round pen. E tacked up Monte with her Western saddle and headed out to the the arena to practice riding with one hand. She's gotten into the habit of riding with two lately - not at all acceptable in Western classes!

About 15 minutes into Curly's workout I heard E shouting "Whoa!" over and over. By the time I figured out it was her and got myself turned around, she and Monte were standing in one corner of their arena. After heading over to make sure she was all right (she was -although she was upset and crying) I found out that he had bolted for no apparent reason and it had almost unseated her. Luckily, she stayed on and was able to stop him.

I encouraged her to practice her disengagement exercises (move front legs, back legs, side pass, flex neck, etc.) to regain his attention, and then to continue riding. It was imperative that she regain her control and confidence, as well as practice some patience. All hard things for her to do while her heart was pounding a mile a minute.

But she did it.

E says that he wasn't perfect after his little episode, but was acceptable.

Our barn manager commented that as long as E kept her seat and then made him work after his naughtiness then all was good. And she is actually quite surprised that he isn't naughty more often given that he was a stud.

Helps me remember that Monte really is a good boy...and even good boys cut loose every once in a while.

The importance of saddle fit

Today was a day off - of sorts. E and I took a quick trip out to the barn so she could try out our new saddle pad with Curly.

Old saddle....New saddle pad!

We recently got this pad to help Monte with his saddle issues. It's made by a company called Equipedic and they claim that it goes beyond just cushioning the impact of a rider on a horse's back. This saddle pad is supposed to disperse the downward force over a greater area, thus making the ride more comfortable for the animal. Sounds good to me...and so far it seems to have contributed to Monte's improved well-being. Of course, we also bought him a better fitting saddle.

I started thinking about Curly and all of his behavior problems and wondered if perhaps a poor fitting saddle could be the source of much of his naughtiness as well. We already knew that his saddle was not the best fit, but had always assumed that it was "good enough." Maybe we were wrong in this assumption.

When E saddled up today, I asked her to use the new pad. Remember, this is the first time one of us has ridden him since June - and he definitely enjoys his "retirement" status. So I was anticipating some resistance from Curly - and possibly even his head shaking/bucking routine. But E found him easy and attentive. Watching from the sidelines, he seemed to have a wonderful, full stride...and well, he just looked darn gorgeous!

R working Curly in the round pen. She's been the only person to
really work with him much this summer.

Maybe a poor fitting saddle has had more to do with his behavior issues than we previously thought. I don't really know. E will work with him a bit more, pushing him a little to see what his response is.

I'm crossing my fingers that he becomes the good boy that I so want him to be...and I know that Rachel is hoping too.

Fair days....

Entering the arena to compete at the fair...

Today is the last day of the county fair. (Can you hear the big sigh relief???) And overall, I have to say it was a rather successful one. There have been no tears and E's outlook each day has been generally positive and upbeat. I couldn't ask for more.

Riding in the Open Command Class....

So here's the ribbon count: (4-H uses the Danish judging system)

Showmanship: White
Western Equitation: Red
Western Pleasure: Blue
English Equitation: Red
English Pleasure: Red
Trail Course Challenge:
Team Judging: 4th place (out of 10 ranked)
Individual Educational Poster: Blue
Open Western Command Class: 4th place (out of 6)
Plus, E won the high-point award for her breed class - she'll get a special award for that one.

E receiving her high point award.

In non-horse competition, E entered 8 photographs and received blue ribbons for 6 of them, red ribbons for the last 2. I'm pretty sure she'll forward 2 or 3 of her blue ribbon winners on to the Washington State Fair later this week.

To celebrate, she and I shared a funnel cake topped with raspberry sauce......mmmmmm.......

I'm looking forward to taking the horse home tonight and getting back to my regular life. :-)

Breathe, just breathe....

I feel like I am running on fumes right now. The rush to start school AND prepare for fair is just overwhelming at times. Consequently, I don't feel like I'm doing all that well at either task.

E's 4-H group has been decorating and practicing for competition almost non-stop. "Pre-fair" events were held last Thursday; E competed in a halter/showmanship class. As she and Monte completed their pattern I was hopeful that she would get at least a red ribbon, possibly even a blue. We knew she would get dinged for not shaving his whiskers (she disagrees with the practice, since those whiskers are there for a purpose!) but he was attentive to her cues, picked up his trot right away, did so-so on his fore-hand turn and set up decently for inspection. E was attentive to the judge and quartered nicely. And then the judge told her to hold her lead rope directly under the metal clasp. Huh???? We've been taught from the get-go to leave space between your hands and the clasp - that the rope is to act as an extension of your arm and that this extra space helps you SAFELY lead your animal. E, of course, did as the judge asked, and then trotted her horse off the field.

And that judge gave her a white ribbon. I don't get it....I think of white ribbons for the horses that totally mess up the pattern or refuse to do something. Her horse did as asked - on a loose lead rope!

So I became what I had promised myself I would never become - the parent that blames the judge (or referee or ump....) for their child not succeeding. After hearing the ribbon placements we kept muttering "Stupid judge" for the rest of the evening.

Saturday was a busy day trying on saddle after saddle after saddle..... Turns out Monte will be difficult to fit, so we drove all over attempting to find anything that might work. We eventually found one in Hermiston (about 50 miles away) and the shop owner is letting us borrow it for a week to really make sure. Which is good, since the dang thing costs almost $1K! Plus we are probably buying a new saddle pad (to the tune of $200) to ensure that whichever saddle we settle on is as comfortable as possible for Monte. Geesh!

I feel broke now. And I hate to think what fair will end up costing (imagining food, rides, parking, entrance fees, etc.) for the week.

Okay, enough whining....

On the bright side, E is riding Monte again. He seems to be much better. Curly is getting fat and appears happy in his new herd. I hope to work with him more next week and E said last night that she'd like to ride him after fair is over.

Which I think is a grand idea......

Time off

A certified massage therapist made a visit to the barn this morning...and he ranked Monte's pain level within the top 10 of his experience. Mike has been doing equine massage for 6 or 7 years and he said he could recall only 2 or 3 other horses who he deemed to be in worse pain than Monte was in this morning. (Hearing this made me admire our little man even more...he really has a great heart and so wants to please his young rider. Plus, even when he's in extreme pain, he has trusted us and has not struck out or bit at anyone. I couldn't ask for more in a horse!)

At first Monte did not like having Mike touch him, let alone massage his sore body, but gradually the horse understood that relief could be found in Mike's hands and by the end of the session Monte was actually leaning into the pressure.

Monte is still sore - but he is soooo much better than before. He will have the weekend off, just relaxing in the field. Mike will come out to reassess him on either Sunday or Monday.

We all think that most of this was caused by poor saddle fit. It was okay when E was going at a walk/trot but the addition of cantering - and hard turns - did some damage. So, we need a new saddle. And preferably before fair.....because we are NOT putting the old saddle back on him.

Beyond plain muscle soreness

Monte is a true trooper. Despite severe back pain, he tried to please his rider during the local schooling show tonight. We knew he wasn't in top form - each time a hand was run down his spine his whole body would twitch - but he didn't balk at going into the ring for the showmanship and English classes.

E could tell that he was sore while she was riding, too, but we didn't realize how much until she tried to mount him for the Western classes. The saddle hit him so that he almost fell over in pain. It was horrible to watch. We immediately took his tack off and a friend gave him a quick massage to try to relieve some of his agony. As she worked on his back we could see him relaxing, licking his lips and finally closing his eyes.

Back at the barn E gave him another liniment bath. I will call someone for an equine massage tomorrow.

E was so happy with Monte's performance. He really showed that he wants to give his best to her and she knows that with time and practice, they are going to be an awesome team.

Sore muscles

No riding today - both horse and rider are sore after yesterday's workout.

E spent 30 to 40 minutes giving Monte a massage this evening, and then washed him down with a solution of water and liniment to help relieve any lingering aches. He wasn't too sure about the whole process (It's those scary buckets full of water! We all know they eat horses!) but he definitely seemed looser after she was done.

They did take a moment to practice some halter skills before we left. E was happy with Monte's performance and hopes he can do as well in the show ring.

Curly has also been getting a workout these past few days. He has taken to standing at one end of the field he is in, looking forlornly out towards Monte. The other two horses in his pasture want him to join them in the main part of the field and routinely chase him out of the corner. So he's been doing quite a bit of running. Hopefully he'll fall in with his new "herd" soon and all will settle down. I hate to see him being chased about and bullied. And honestly, I don't know why he's missing Monte so much. Heaven knows Monte bullied him and pushed him around all the time, and even bit him last week!

A pink horse

E and I gave Monte a good wash today. He wasn't too happy about it, but boy did he need it. We mostly focussed on his body, knowing that one day soon we will have to do a thorough job on his legs - and oh, what a job that will be! We used several different products in an attempt to whiten some of the stains he has acquired, but a few were stubborn and will have to be tackled again. And his legs are even more stained than the areas we washed today...

So, even though we didn't get him completely spic-n-span, his coat was clean enough that several of E's 4-H friends told her that she now has a "pink horse." And he really did look pink in the sunlight! His skin shows through the clean, white fur. It's kinda cute, actually.

On top of our cleaning session, E had a lesson with Ruben out at our new barn plus it was a 4-H ride night out at the fairgrounds. Ruben had her cantering and doing very quick turns for a good 20 to 30 minutes; both she and Monte were tuckered out when they finished. But Ruben was satisfied with their progress and told her that since she now appears to have pretty good control over her horse, the real work can begin.

She then hosed Monte down to cool him off, loaded up the trailer and we were off to the fair grounds where they worked on equitation patterns with the 4-H trainer, which involved even more cantering.

By the end of the evening both horse and rider were completely pooped.

Unrealistic comparisons

E did not have a good ride yesterday. She tried to perfect the skills Ruben taught her the night before but was soon frustrated by what she deemed to be unsatisfactory results. After a hour of tears, anger, disappointment, etc., she untacked the horse, sat in the trailer and had a good cry.

Unhappy rider, heading back to the barn...

Later, she told me that she wasn't a good rider and didn't think she'd be able to ever get it right. I asked her who she compared her riding to and she told me it was her friend G. I then asked her how long G and her horse had been riding together. The answer: "About 4 years." And how long have E and Monte been riding together? "About 4 months." Hmmmmm, something for E to think about.

Crunch time and greener pastures

Fair is almost here and E & Monte are not ready. There are so many skills they haven't practiced (forehand turns, haunch turns, backing, etc.) and what they have done was with Western, not English.

Another lesson with Ruben last night. They worked on cantering, stops and those turns I mentioned up there. He's starting to ask more of E, which is good. She has a habit of using direct reining rather than neck reining, plus she doesn't release soon enough when she asks for something. E gets frustrated trying to keep it all in her head. There are so many things you need to do at once when riding a horse! All of this will just take practice and time.

Sweat marks - proof of a hard workout

Curly is semi-sold. The young woman from Seattle did call and is very interested in him but doesn't have the full purchase price in hand. She asked if I would either lease him or accept payments. If she had been local I wouldn't have hesitated; it's easy to check up on your animal when he is close by. But because of the distance, I'm not comfortable with letting him go until he is fully not my responsibility. There are too many horror stories of leases gone bad. So, I gave her the option of getting her finances together while I "saved" him for her. I won't sell him to another buyer for a period of time and if she isn't able to pay in full by the end of that time period, he's back on the market. And I was very generous with the amount of time I gave her....R was happy that he's not leaving right away.

In the end, the amount she pays me might be not much more than what I'm spending to hold him....hmmmm......

We move the horses to a new boarding facility tomorrow! The new place is much closer - 7 minutes from our door to theirs. It's a full-care facility, so we won't be buying our own hay anymore (Yahoo! Glad to let go of that responsibility!), plus they take care of the daily stall cleaning for us. I know I'm weird, but I think I'm going to actually miss that part. Although the barn owner did say I was welcome to pick stalls anytime I wanted. ;-) One of the best parts of this barn is that the animals get daily turn-out. Every day. All year. In green, irrigated pastures. It'll be worth the increase in board expenses....

Curly gets to play

Actually, the title should be "R gets to play and Curly gets to work!"

Twice this week little sister R has asked to come out the barn with us so that she could learn to round pen Curly. And she's not doing too badly for an eight year old! She tells him what gait she wants, twirls the lead rope and does a decent job keeping it up until he complies. And to Curly's credit, he seems to be giving it an honest effort as well. It's not always easy to figure out just what exactly she's asking for. :-)

She has also been leading him around the barn and trail course, making him go through, over and around various obstacles. This is all very good practice for both of them.

Little sister R, showing off her new cowboy boots!
(Don't you just love the outfit??)

I asked her if she wanted to take a ride on the big boy, but she's afraid. I don't blame her, but I also think he would behave just fine. Anyway, it's nice to see her enjoying herself out at the barn and it's nice to see Curly with a job, even if it's an easy one.

Friend A showed Curly to a young woman looking for a horse yesterday. The potential buyer seemed to really like him and told A she would call me about purchase terms (leasing? payments?). R heard me talking on the phone about all of this and got REALLY upset. She's fallen for Curly now and wants to keep him. It's so hard to break your little girl's heart.....

I told her that we would find a better horse for us and that she could work with Monte until we did get that new one. She wasn't appeased with this answer; her loyalty is definitely with Curly.

But he's not sold yet...the young woman hasn't called - and quite possibly never will.

E rode Monte with a larger group of riders (her 4-H club) on Tuesday. It's been months since she's done this - and they both need to do more of it before fair! Her control of Monte slipped in this situation. She admitted to being distracted by all the other riders (it was a bit crazy at times!) and consequently, Monte had a tough time doing his job. Ruben was there and noted the things she needs to work on. This Friday's lesson might be a tough one!

Show clothes update: New jeans have been bought - 38" inseam! Also, borrowed English riding boots couldn't be found so we ended up buying some. They are nice but oh-so-expensive. Uhg! Grandma has offered to sew a riding jacket for E. She's modifying a regular pattern to look as much like a traditional jacket as she can. Yeah for grandmas who can sew! Also, we found some Western boots at Goodwill yesterday that are in almost-new condition and only slightly too large for E - and they are reddish in color, which will look so much better than her brown boots with her Western outfit (black pants, white shirt with a tiny bit of red stitching). I think she might be ready....

Riding strong

E had her third lesson with Ruben last night.

It has been raining recently, so when we went to pick up Monte we found a horse who was more brown than white. After 45 minutes of brushing he sort of resembled the horse we bought - with a gray tinge to that white body of his, though.

The lesson started with E showing Ruben how she's doing with the tasks he gave her last time - softness in her hands, getting Monte to keep his head tucked and gaits collected, etc. Ruben was amazed with her progress; E was able to do most of what was asked, showing more confidence in her riding than I think I've ever seen.

I couldn't manage a decent picture - kept cutting body parts off!

Because of her success, Ruben added the canter to their lessons. It was quickly obvious that Monte is still testing E; he pulled his nose out, playing with her and the bit but was sneaky so that it was difficult for her to feel. Monte managed to time his head-bobbing with her hand movements. After being shown what the horse should be doing, E was able to begin asking for the correct form. They aren't able to keep the nice frame at this gait all the time yet, but with practice both horse and rider will do wonderfully.

Ruben sat with me for a few minutes as E practiced in the round pen; he was pleasantly surprised by the progress she had made since her last lesson. And was even more surprised when I mentioned that they hadn't ridden since last Saturday. He was also happy to see that E is not letting the horse get away with anything, either. She has learned to be more consistent and intentional in her requests, and knows to keep at him until he complies. And she's figured out that he's not going to purposefully dump her on the ground, even if he is throwing a temper tantrum. Her fear while riding is decreasing.

If they keep up the hard work, winning a ribbon or two at fair might actually be a possibility!

Show clothes update: Second try at getting an English riding jacket arrived yesterday - this time too big! We'll take it over to grandma's to see if it can be altered and made to work. Also, E has gotten taller this summer and the jeans she was planning on wearing for herdsmanship are too short. (sigh)

Morning rides

The heat has been horrendous around here - topping out over 100 every afternoon. But there is a benefit to that - in my mind at least. E has been motivated to get to the barn to ride before the sun really starts baking everything in sight. She has actually gotten out of bed willingly at 7 a.m. for the past few mornings, and plans to continue with that schedule until school starts. Amazing what a cool breeze can accomplish! And I much prefer mornings at the barn to middle of the day excursions.

At her second lesson with Ruben (Monday) she practiced timing her stops, turns and lead changes. Everything is still being done at a walk, but her communication with Monte is improving dramatically. Ruben also showed her how to assess muscle soreness in Monte and what to do when she finds a sore spot (he had many). By the end of the hour Monte was fully engaged and was listening intently to E's requests. She's finding that she has to have a goal in mind to keep her horse interested; he isn't one to be happy just aimlessly walking around.

Since fair is fast approaching, E is stepping up her riding time and plans to go out to the barn every day that she can. That gives her only about 25 more rides...to perfect her Western, English, trail and halter/showmanship skills. Piece of cake. Ha!

Actually, she's doing really well and is comfortable with most of her skills in Western at a walk. She'll add the trot and canter over the next few rides. She's been ending each ride with some time on the trail course. Monte is learning to think right along with her as they approach the various obstacles. Showmanship is something that E really enjoys doing, so I expect them to click on that skill fairly quickly. That just leaves English...and my hope for them is to just get through the classes. E knows that winning ribbons isn't very likely at this year's fair. And she's okay with it.

Show clothes

Did you know that we have abnormal, mutant bodies? At least that's what I would conclude after trying to buy some English riding clothes for E.

I must admit to spending inordinate amounts of time recently, trying to find the best bargains in breeches, show shirts and show jackets. I am blown away by the high prices for everything! I felt overjoyed to find a jacket for $40 and breeches for $30 - and immediately ordered what I thought would be the correct size. I even went so far as to measure E and compared that to the sizing charts; should'a been accurate, right?

Guess again! Sleeves on the jacket are inches above her wrist and the breeches look small enough to fit R! ARRRGGGGGHHH!

So now it is a race with time to send it all back, get better sizes and hope it all arrives before fair....

Lesson #1: Relax

E had her first lesson with Ruben on Friday. It was hotter than heck out there (about 100) and she wasn't too motivated to ride in the blazing sun, but the anticipation of riding with Ruben and the occasional little breeze got her out into the dusty round pen with her horse.

Immediately Ruben could tell that Monte has lost some of his softness and responsiveness; the horse was taking advantage of his inexperienced rider and backtracking in his training. First off, E was shown how to make Monte lower his head and tuck his nose - a feat that Ruben made look easy but proved to be a bit more difficult for E.

The main lesson that she walked away with was to be more relaxed. E holds herself somewhat rigid and tight, which is communicated through her hands. The horse is less likely to want to work with her because of this. Several minutes were spent showing her how loosely to she should hold herself and then also how quickly she needs to react and release. Simple ideas - hard to put into practice.

At the end of the lesson, Monte no longer looked like a white horse. He was a muddy mess! Ruben invited E to hose him off before we left - which is where we discovered a new type of super scrubby. It was a plastic thing with soft bristles, attached to the hose. And it worked wonderfully! Gotta get one of these:
(and they're cheap too....Yeah!)

Back in the (Western) saddle again...

E threw her ol' Western saddle on Monte yesterday. After a few moments of confusion, they both remembered what they were supposed to do to make it work. One of the hardest things for E was to keep her bum in the saddle while Monte trotted; she much prefers posting to being bounced along. After working on slowing his stride down to a more respectable Western pace, though, she found that his gait smoothed out a bit and she was more comfortable.

It's really cool to watch her change the speed of his gait through her seat alone. The movement of E's hips/pelvis tell him how big of a stride to take. I think it is magic, actually, because the whole process is completely invisible to the people on the sidelines.

Neighbors

Monte got to move to a larger stall/run today out at the horse barn. And he now shares a fence line with Curly.

When E brought the little man to his new run he was very excited and immediately began prancing all around, head and tail held high. Curly was curious and excited about the new neighbor as well, and walked up and down the fence to watch the show.

Monte soon discovered that this new space is big enough to actually get up to a canter - as long as you're able to make a quick turn and immediately slow-down at the end. He also felt that he needed to assert some dominance over the other horses that border a small portion of his run. Again, he held his head and tail up high, snorting and striking out at the fence between him and "his subjects" (as I'm sure he sees all other horses!). They just mildly looked at him and eventually walked away.

E has decided that she wants to try competing in both Western and English at the fair this year. This could be challenging since she's still very much a beginner at English and hasn't ridden Western in many months - and never on Monte!

I think many riding hours are in her near future in order for her to even be marginally ready.

Reconnecting

Spent the morning out at the barn, cleaning both horse and run. Curly has had the last two weeks off and he was full of energy and attitude. I had to re-establish some ground rules - like not getting in my space and waiting until I ask before moving. But he's a smart guy and quickly fell into line.

I had a few minutes in between finishing chores and the arrival of the farrier so we spent some time in the round pen. Curly started off running around like a madman, snorting and kicking up his heels. At one point I was sure he was going to fall because he was cutting the corners at such high speeds, but he managed to stay upright. Curly is terribly out of shape and starting to get flabby. The boy needs to be ridden! After he had burnt off some of his excess energy, we got down to work.

Again, I had to re-establish some expectations but he came around and did his usual good job following my cues. I truly enjoy watching Curly trot around me - he is just so darn beautiful with his glossy coat and flying mane and tail.

Being a predictable soul, Curly played his same old tricks with the farrier: lifting his hoof willingly and then leaning slightly into that same foot making it difficult to finish the shoeing job at hand. I wonder if we will ever be able to fully end this bad habit.

I had a nice visit with the farrier as he went about the business of trimming up Curly's hooves and resetting his shoes.

Overall, a wonderful morning at the barn.

Back on the trail

E's 4-H group had a trail ride at the local reservoir last night. I wasn't sure I would be able to join in the fun; Curly was sedated earlier in the afternoon to have his teeth floated and his sheath cleaned. The poor boy had been so drugged he could barely walk himself over to the trailer to leave the vet's office.

But by the time we were ready to take off for the trail he was clear-eyed and full of energy. I ran him in the round pen for a bit to make sure he was attentive to me (which he was) and then A tried him out in the arena to make sure he wasn't hiding any sneaky tricks up his sleeve. He did challenge her a bit when asked to canter but A brought him back around - no bucking her off! (Although he thought about it!)

Curly was full of forward energy when I mounted. I let him take the lead on the trail, but kept him at a walk. He decided that he really didn't like one of the other horses and tried to bite him at one point. And he decided that a dead skunk and a watering trough were potential horse killers. But other than that, all went well for the first half of the ride.

On the second half he began his head shaking. At first I thought it just might be the bugs, but as I noticed that no other horses were moving around so much I decided that he was actually starting to let me know that he was done. I rode for about 15 minutes with him doing this before I decided to dismount and walk him the rest of the way. And he immediately stopped shaking his head. I'm glad I listened to my gut and got off - even though I felt like a wuss for doing so at the time.

We had to walk about 3/4 of a mile to get to the trailers - with a hill or two on the way. I actually enjoyed doing this; Curly wasn't too sure. I think he thought that he'd have it super easy once I got off, but I kept the pace up and forced him to keep going. We didn't slow down the mounted riders one bit. Very good exercise for me!

E felt great after the ride. She had been worried before we started; her last two trail experiences had been hard - and wet. Both she and Monte were happy this time, and she only dismounted once (to go over the water channel - which she later admitted she probably could have ridden him over). I think it was a good break for him to go out on the trail. They have another lesson with Anna today.

On Sunday's lesson, when Anna asked E to take it up to a canter E had to use her whip to get him to respond initially. And boy did he respond! It was the fastest ride E has ever had. She was totally unnerved by it at first but discovered that she can keep her seat even at high speeds. She later said that she could tell that he had even more speed in him. I bet he'd be fantastic on barrels!

G'pa J is healing from his fall. He's still in a wheel chair but can stand for short bits of time now. He says he's feeling stronger every day.

A Kind Spirit

The 4-H club had a special treat tonight - a couple of local horsewomen who are successful in the show ring gave them pointers on showmanship. They spent 2 hours learning what it takes to take a horse to a world-level show, plus the girls got to try out their own skills on a horse who has recently qualified for the world appy breed show.

And poor E, I think every ride night has to include tears. As she was working with one of these fabulously trained horses, the animal reached over and bit her. Hard. She tried to play it down but finally admitted that it did hurt. The horse's owner spent more time with her so that she'd end on a good note, seeing that she could control this animal (naughty though he was!). The owner also helped E with leading Monte. E was so excited that she was able to get him to trot along beside her.

As the girls were loading up I went to say thank you for helping E and for making sure she had a positive experience. I said something about E's "bad karma" with horses lately and the trainer replied, "No, it's not her karma. It's that she's a kind spirit and the horses sense that. And they will take advantage of her."

But can I fault the child for having a kind spirit? That is part of what is so wonderful about her!

Now to find a way to maintain that kindness while still being assertive and tough....

Decision made

Okay, it's been an eventful horse-life around our house lately. And there was more to add to all our drama on Monday evening.

G'pa J has wanted to ride Curly for quite a while now and I must admit to being hesitant to having him out to the barn to do so. My trust level in Curly is not all that great and while I seem to be willing to risk my own neck and my daughter's on him, I haven't wanted to be responsible for anything that might happen to someone else.

I should'a stuck with that gut feeling.

G'pa J came out with us on Monday and had his first ride on Curly. As I anticipated, Curly was a bit frisky and stubborn. He was not too sure about having someone new on his back - especially a 6'7" someone! But they were managing together okay. G'pa J took some time to help teach Curly more about neck reining, but mainly they just walked and trotted around the arena.

I didn't see what started the bucking, but I turned away for a few moments and when I looked back Curly was trying his best to rid himself of his rider. G'pa J did what I probably would have done - grabbed the horn to hang on! (A better response is to grab his reins and turn him into a tight circle or stop him. Hard to remember when all you can think about is that hard dirt looming before you!) After bucking down a good 25' of the arena, G'pa J finally came out of the saddle, landing hard on his side. Curly bolted out of the arena (a section of fence was down) - I had to send E out to catch him and then work him hard in the round pen (since none of us were willing/able to get into the saddle to ride him).

Long story short, G'pa J broke his pelvis in 3 places and will not be moving around much for the next 6 weeks. And Curly is now officially for sale.

E and I talked about our feelings of fear when we ride Curly and how he is learning that he can successfully rid himself of unwanted riders by bucking. Neither of us is a strong enough rider to handle what he may potentially dish out. So he needs a new home. With a more experienced rider.

I'm going to miss the big guy.

Pasture pests

Curly and Monte are spending quite a bit of time out in their little pasture these days - Curly almost full time and Monte most nights. The back edge of the field is bordered by a river...very beautiful to look at but also the source of many mosquitoes. And poor Curly seems to be the meal of choice for those little bloodsuckers! I have to be pretty religious about spraying him these days; I missed a few days a week ago and found him covered in mosquito bites. Sure hope the West Nile shot he got this spring keeps him protected.

Monte, strangely enough, does not seem to be bothered by the mosquitoes. And flies appear to leave him alone for the most part as well.

Yesterday evening, as I was standing at the pasture fence watching the boys graze, five large wild turkeys decided to cross through the field. Neither horse even looked up from their eating even though these big birds were within 10 feet of them. I think this is a clear sign that Monte is fully settled in at the barn now.

Tears

E ended her 4-H ride last night sobbing in the tack room of our horse trailer. Monte spooked as a few too many riders (in his mind) came up on him, and although she stayed on, she didn't get him to stop immediately. (She'll have to practice quick stops in the near future.) We already knew this was an issue for him, but I think her tears stemmed from frustration, some fear and some feelings that had been building throughout the night.

Not being a perfect rider on the perfect horse, mistakes were made by both E and Monte. These were pointed out to her frequently and after a while, she felt like she was under a microscope, with every move being analyzed. And she didn't feel that all the riders in the arena were receiving such scrutiny.

Made my heart break to see her so upset.

Nervous Nellie

It's been a month since I've been on the back of a horse so E and I took a quick trip out to the barn today so I could ride. As we progressed in the tacking-up process, I became more and more nervous about climbing on - which kind of surprised me. But I made myself go ahead anyway. It helped my confidence a little that he performed well in the round pen prior to saddling up.

Once we started, I kept Curly to a walk, which he then frequently tried to turn into a stop. He was not minding my (admittedly often imprecise) cues and made me work at steering him. But I persevered and ended up where I wanted the majority of the time. I could see that I need to work on being more consistent. I found it hard to keep all the things I needed to do in my head. Riding is hard!

I was happy that he didn't try to catch up to Monte or try to break into a trot when E and her horse passed by at a faster speed. Of course, I should have known he'd stick to his walk; it's not exactly like he enjoys going fast or doing arena work in general.

Curly was sweaty when we finished but I think the heat of the day had more to do with that rather than the intensity of our riding session. :-)

At the end of the short ride (25 minutes), I was still nervous but I had shown myself that I could do it....and that I wouldn't necessarily fall off. Overall, a success.

Bath time

A clean Monte, sporting his new fly mask

Today was bath day for our boys. Curly has not had a hose-down for at least a year now and Monte, being white, looked like he hadn't had a bath for over a year! The initial rinse water was muddy brown when we started but with a little soap and elbow grease, both horses were shiny and clean in no time.

And as is usually the case, we were almost as wet as the horses by the time we were done.

Dismounts and demanding respect

E learned a new dismount technique last Thursday - unintentionally. She has just begun cantering on Monte during her English riding lessons and her seat is not very steady yet. As they were coming down the arena something happened and she lost her stirrup leather; it completely came off - which it is supposed to do in a fall. E lost her balance and slipped out of the saddle and off the horse. By the time he had stopped, she was standing next to him with her arms wrapped around his neck. Tears of frustration and fear were beginning to fall as her instructor walked up to her, cheerfully saying, "Congratulations! You just learned to do an emergency dismount at a canter!"

Yeah, but did anyone know how to do CPR to restart her mother's heart?

Anna told E that it really is easier to start learning this skill at a walk, then trot, first. ;-)


Curly has enjoyed the life of pampered pasture pet lately. I haven't ridden him in forever but I hope to change that this weekend. I do take him into the round pen at least twice a week, though, and I make him move his feet while on the lead line every time I move him back into his stall. He is no longer just released back into his run because he has been showing a lack of respect, trying to run over me when we head in and out.

He and I work very well together in the round pen - but I am still very awkward when trying to get him to move on the lead line. Friend T helped out on Thursday by snapping a whip just outside his run when he wouldn't move out around me. Curly really hopped to it whenever that whip was making its popping sound. He's obviously felt the sting of it somewhere before! I think I will need to learn to handle a whip and lunge line at the same time - and soon.

I want it all!

It's so hard on nice days like today to decide what to do - stay home and hang out with the family, doing a few yard chores and playing with the kids, or go out to the barn and hang out with my horse-family?

Ultimately, I decided to stay at home today. But I have to admit that every once in a while I would think, "I could be riding Curly right now!" And heaven knows, I need the practice....but weeds also need to be pulled, laundry needs to be washed and games with the girls need to be played.

Overall, it's been a great day....adding a little horse time would have made it absolutely perfect.

Attitude adjustment

The farrier came out to reset Curly's shoes yesterday. To the casual observer, Curly appears to be well mannered while the trimming and shoeing process is taking place. But in reality he is quite naughty and is constantly leaning down on whatever foot/leg the farrier is working on. Very passive-aggressive! He even willingly lifts the hoof when requested, but will immediately begin exerting downward force once you have your hand under it. Eventually, he pushes hard enough that you just have to drop the foot.

By the third hoof, our kind-hearted farrier had had enough so Curly was put to work with the lead line and made to do some turns and backing and other movements for 5 or 10 minutes, all meant to refocus and re-adjust his little attitude. He quickly learned that it really is easier to just do your job to begin with!

I think a small portion of the problem is that at the end of each farrier session, we have always released Curly back to his stall/pasture. So he wants it all to end as quickly as possible so that he'll have his freedom back. Yesterday, I had E change this expectation up a little by making her work with him in the round pen as soon as the farrier is done. Hopefully that will help keep Curly from "running back to the barn" before we are really finished with the job at hand.

Scratch

Second 4-H show of the season was yesterday...and E decided that she and Monte were not quite ready for the competitive arena yet, so she scratched. We trailered the horse out to the venue anyway to help him get used to the hustle and bustle that accompanies a show.

I expected Monte to be nervous but he surprised us all by calmly taking it all in, only pawing at the ground when he got a little too bored at the trailer. E rode around with the other girls as they warmed up their horses and he again did better than we expected. He was attentive to her and she felt safe and in control the whole time.

I think they are beginning to form a good bond. He's got some of the reactive nature that I would expect in an Arab, but he appears to be a willing partner in most respects. Plus he's just so darn cute!

Lacking confidence

Monte and E had their first trail ride on Saturday. Unfortunately there was a steady rain during much of it - and as we all know, Monte doesn't do mud very well!

Turns out that he doesn't do trail rides in general very well. E had problems with him spooking as other riders came up on him from behind, plus he became nervous each time they left the actual trail. She also had to lead him over a shallow flood channel; he refused to walk through the water while she was riding.

I was supposed to participate on this ride, but when it came time to go I decided that my back wasn't quite up to snuff yet. I wonder if Monte would have been calmed by Curly's presence on the trail. Having a friend (or at least a familiar face!) lead the way often helps when you are in a new place.

We'll be taking more rides up at Bennington over the summer, partly because it's fun, but also to help Monte gain more confidence while out on the trails.

Beautiful Thursday

I'm running late this morning, so today's post will be mostly pictures, all taken by youngest daughter, R!

R played with the camera during the lesson and
snapped this beautiful shot of the sky.


Great closeup of one of the barn cats...


Capturing E and Monte as they pass by....


You're always looking through the rails when you're only 7...

More firsts

Monte attended his first 4-H ride night yesterday. I was a little concerned that the mares (who are all in heat at the moment) might bring out some bad behavior in our recently-gelded guy (5 months ago), but he proved himself to be a gentleman and mostly ignored the girls and their excited "flirting."

He was quite nervous, however, and E had to work while riding. We assume that this is his first experience in an arena full of girls and horses, all careening around at different paces. It will take time for him to get used to the other riders and also to trust E and know that she won't purposefully put him in any dangerous situations.

During the last half hour of the ride, E dismounted and lead Monte around different parts of the arena, allowing all the commotion to swirl around her and her horse, in an attempt to help desensitize him.

I am still a bit stiff from Saturday's tumble and certain movements cause lovely facial grimaces, but overall I am feeling better. We are supposed to participate in an orienteering ride on Saturday. Today, the thought of sitting in a saddle for any length of time is not all that appealing. Hopefully that will change!

Ibuprofen is my friend

Took my first ride on Monte today. Also had my first fall.

E discovered a few days ago that Monte is not a fan of water. I learned today that this also extends to muddy spots. He placed one foot into the mud, and shied to the right while I flew to the left. I am happy to say that I have enough padding on my backside that, although I hurt, I am doing fine. Just pretty stiff and sore now. After I first fell I had trouble standing up - kept blacking out - but within a few minutes I climbed back up into the saddle and had him walk around the arena partway. I quickly discovered that I wasn't able to lift my right leg over the cantle, so I had to perform a rather inelegant dismount from the off-side.

E, who is also afraid of mud (that's how Curly slipped when she broke her ankle), led a very nervous Monte through the mud. Friend T also helped him get over this fear by riding him through it.

While I was on Monte, it was the strangest sensation to feel his entire body bend under me. He is nothing like the stiff barge named Curly! I also learned that I haven't got a clue on how to make him go or turn. Everything is so different on him.

It is abundantly clear that I do not know how to ride a horse. Yet.

Fear

I discovered this past week that I am very nervous when I get up in the saddle on Curly's back. I rode him twice, and both times was too afraid to do more than a walk. It is obvious that I just don't trust him - I've seen him be naughty with E a few too many times. With every twitch and head-shake, I imagine myself being bucked off and lying in the dirt. Each time that I found myself getting too tense, I stopped him and just sat and breathed deeply. Seemed to help a bit.

I did learn to "steer" him more precisely. We wove in and out of poles and around cones; he managed to figure out where I was asking him to go pretty accurately.

My goal for the next ride is to take him up to a trot.

Yesterday's ride

Cleaned and rode out at our home barn yesterday. I rode Curly for a bit (I was nervous.) and E tried out English tack on Monte for the first time.

As she described the afternoon's activities to her dad E said, "It was the best ride ever!"

Need I say more?

Horse eating grocery sacks...

Found out yesterday that Monte is not so fond of plastic grocery sacks. E pulled him out to the round pen for a little conditioning when she discovered this fear of his. So now our lucky guy will get to go through some desensitizing exercises with a grocery sack until he gets over it. :)

Curly is getting much better at having his hooves cleaned. He still puts too much weight on the back ones, making it difficult for me to hold them up, but he willingly lifts his feet now. I also practiced leading him a bit and found that he is trying to be a bit more attuned to his handler (me). We wouldn't win any blue ribbons in the show ring, but at least he stopped and started at approximately the same time as I did.

Lessons on Monte

We trailered Monte out to Black Walnut Farm Thursday afternoon for his first riding lesson with E. We discovered that he is not the calmest animal to haul; he stomped his feet, rocking the trailer, for much of the ride over.

We were running a little late, so E had to groom him at the riding arena rather than at our home facility. She quickly learned that the expectations are higher in the realm of English riding instruction. With previous lessons, the cleanliness level of your horse was really a personal choice, and she has always limited her grooming to picking hooves and getting the dirt off the parts of the horse that come in contact with any tack. Anna told her that in the English world, some instructors expect the horse to be show clean. It is considered a sign of respect to both horse and instructor. Thankfully, Anna does not expect quite this level of cleanliness, but she did ask that E be sure all signs of visible dirt be removed, including any mud that is dried to the outside of the hooves. Since Monte is essentially a white horse, she understands that he will have stains on his coat. But no dirt is allowed! E got to work...

This actually allowed Monte more time to acclimate to the new arena. He was calmed by the grooming and was ready to work when she led him through the gate.

E used her Western tack, as this all we have at the moment and it is all that Monte knows. E and Monte worked on staying on the wall and not cutting the corners. They also practiced walking diagonals across the arena. This all sounds so very simple, but until the horse and rider are in sync, it can be difficult to accurately "steer" the horse.

Yesterday, E tacked up at the horse barn and practiced these skills a little more. Monte was very energetic, so she spent some time in the round pen first. He's so much easier to move and responds to her much more quickly than Curly ever has.

Practicing "new" skills...

I was curious what his actual height is - when asked lately, I've just said, "He's small!" And he is. The tape we used put him at 14.3 hands. It's not the most accurate measure, but I bet it is pretty close. Curly, on the other hand, is closer to 15.3 hands. (When we arrived at Black Walnut on Thursday, the barn manager asked if Monte was the horse that E had grown out of....she was a little surprised when I said that no, he was the one she had just gotten. I'm sure they think of him as a little pony when compared to the huge warm bloods that most English riders use!)

Curly the goofball

The weather is so perfect today - so I played hooky from a class I was signed up for (a work thing) and skipped out to the barn instead. And it was glorious!

While cleaning Curly's stall, I released him into the round pen which still has a bit of standing water on one side. Curly walked right up to the water, gingerly tip-toed into the middle of the puddle and then proceeded to blow bubbles in it with his big ol' nose. He then would lift his head up high, curl his lips back and snort. Such a funny guy!

And of course, I didn't bring my camera today.

Pintara Monte Carlo

Sounds pretty regal, doesn't it? That's Monte's full name (and, yeah, I was spelling it wrong before!). We got his paperwork today and brought him home to the horse barn. E and I are both super excited - practically giddy, in fact.