It's getting better!

Wow!  I have been quite delinquent in my blogging and so much has happened in my horsey-world.

A couple of weeks ago Elizabeth Anderson was up from California visiting her sister (a dear friend of mine).  And lucky for me, Elizabeth agreed to give me a couple of lessons while she was here!  Now, I've only had instruction from 2 or 3 people, but I've watched E with many more instructors...and I have to say that I clicked with Elizabeth the best out of any of them.  It was amazing!

Our first task was to teach Zoe (and me!) to walk/trot/canter in the round pen.  As Elizabeth said, Zoe has been "leading the dance" and it is time for me to take control of her feet and her pace.  Easier said than done.  :)  With practice, however, Zoe and I are getting better at this; I can consistently get her to transition between trot and canter.  Getting a walk is challenging, but we will eventually get it!  After working with Zoe on this before each ride, I have found that I have a more willing, less "rushy" horse.  Just this one thing has changed my rides for the better so much.

When tacking up, Elizabeth had me change back to the French link (I had begun using the curb/Kimberwick again a week or two before, to get some control back).  I was a little nervous about this, but she's right that I need to learn to ride my horse correctly and not rely on tack to do the job for me.

Our second task was to work on my seat and position.  Elizabeth really had me concentrate on where my seat bones were and how I was sitting in the saddle at all times.  The visualizations she gave me really clicked in my mind and by shifting my body just a bit this way and that, Zoe and I achieved a more synchronous ride.  I have so much more control over my horse's pace and direction and I can actually (finally!) feel when I should be posting!  Yeah, a major breakthrough for me!

Now don't go thinking that we are ready to start competing or anything;  I am still very much a beginner and quite frankly, I can barely keep myself together for more than a few seconds at a time.....but it's a beginning.

After Elizabeth left, I had another lesson with Patti Jo.  Towards the end of our hour we were doing an exercise that involved small 10 meter circles and for a brief moment (5 or 10 seconds) it ALL finally came together!  Zoe was going smoothly, back rounded up, nose down, and I was in the right place as well. 

It was heaven!  I could feel the difference and I want more of it!  :)

Unfortunately, I haven't had many rides this week (I went from 3x a week to 0x!  Yikes!) Cold weather and mud season are fast approaching.  In fact, here's a pic of my princess, in all her grimy glory!

This is what I find most days when I arrive at the barn now - a dirty, muddy horse.  There's no quick grooming these days!

Other big news:  I finally posted Monte on DreamHorse.  It is so hard to sell our little guy, I just love him so much.  But it really is time to find him a good home...of course, that may take a while (which is okay with me 'cause that means I can have that many more pony-snuggles with him!).    :)

Why can't you just walk?

Zoe has been more than a handful the past couple of rides.  She is so full of energy, I can barely keep her to a walk.  I made up my mind that I wouldn't allow her to trot until I achieved a decent walk and stop.  Yesterday it took almost 10 minutes to get her to fully stop at the mounting block while I got on and another full 30 minutes to get a single circuit of the round pen at the walk....we never did try (purposefully) trotting - although she had trotted plenty!  I was so frustrated with her at that point that I wanted to get off at the first "good moment" I could find.  After talking to E about my not-so-fun ride, we both decided that perhaps I should go back to the harsher (Western curb) bit for a while to re-establish some control over my rushing, headstrong horse.  Crossing my fingers that that helps.

Catherine has been riding Monte fairly regularly.  She seems to enjoy riding him and even commented that he is easier than Zoe, which I would agree is true in some respects.  He is much more willing to please his rider and he is super responsive to the slightest cue.  It's really just his spookiness that makes him a non-beginner horse.

Back to work, Monte!

Catherine wasn't too happy this past Sunday about my decision to take Zoe back for my own use.  She really enjoys my pony (Well, she is rather fabulous!) and didn't think the other horses being offered would measure up.

After considering her choices (Monte or Dawn for Sunday's lesson, possibly Sally for future use if neither of those suited), she decided to give Monte a try.  I talked her through some of his quirks (spooky, fast, headstrong) and warned her to be aware of any pain he might experience in his withers.  Her host-mom was very nervous when I told Catherine that he would try to seriously buck her off if she ignored his pain-signals.  I was nervous because I know that Monte performs best with a very light hand - and I wasn't sure Catherine would give him that.  I didn't know what his reaction would be to her more aggressive riding style....

I watched just a bit of their lesson with Patti Jo, holding my breath the whole time.  As I expected, Monte was not very happy with the stronger hands and signals, and let his displeasure be known by giving little crow-hops, bolting and shaking his head.  But Catherine was able to get him back, make him tuck his chin and perform as he should.  It didn't look like a fun ride to me (way too much work!) but she seemed to enjoy it.  Go figure!

I don't know if she'll continue to use Monte.  She was surprised that he knew as much as he does; I think from hearing other conversations about Monte, she had assumed he was a very naughty, untrained animal, which is so not true!  He's just not the easiest horse to ride.  I told Catherine that if she gave it time and developed a relationship with him, Monte would give her everything he had.  He really is a special little horse who wants to work hard for the one he connects with.

Lovin' my birthday present

My mother-in-law generously sent me some money for my birthday this year - which I promptly spent on some tack!

I purchased a new black leather bridle and a French-link bit for Zoe, and I love them!  The black looks wonderful against her white/gray fur and it is much more supple than the cheaper-quality one I had been using.  I also got a new dressage saddle pad (white with gold trim, of course!) and a couple of other little items.  There was also a new saddle pad for Monte - a nice, thick one that will hopefully ease some of his wither woes.

Zoe and I have been struggling the past week or so.  She now believes that whenever a saddle is placed on her back and she enters the big arena it is time to run, run, run.  E and I spent an hour on Tuesday just trying to get her to lower her pretty little nose, round up her back and give us her nice trot.  I could barely keep her to a walk and E had difficulty getting her to perform a controlled trot; neither of us let her go into anything resembling a canter.

It wasn't a fun ride.

But we will work through this and get her back to where she was.

E rode Monte as well and declared that he is healthy - and lazy.  She thoroughly enjoyed her pony.

Transitions

I managed to get three rides on Zoe this week - that may be a record for me!

After riding her on Monday, I decided it is imperative that I ride her frequently if I want to be sure she maintains her responsiveness and softness to my cues.  With another person using her (who rides very differently than I do) Zoe is picking up what I consider bad habits.  I found her to be rushing and less sensitive to my directions - both things I DO NOT want!

So during yesterday's ride I began the (somewhat boring) exercise of working on transitions.  Zoe was choosing to not immediately transition up or down to either the trot or walk when I would ask.  After a bit of work (maybe 30 minutes), we were working more in sync again and she was doing as asked most of the time.  She still was rushing and jumping into her bouncy trot...but that's a problem for another day!

Catherine rides Zoe at least 2 times a week - and rides her hard!  Cathy has even moved her into a new pasture, with lush grass to fatten her up a bit.  I think the exercise is good for my horse, but the practice of running Zoe full-out without maintaining softness or control is showing up in undesirable ways.

Stephanie, the chiropractor, is coming out on Monday to do an adjustment on Monte.  Assuming, he's back to full, pain-free, health after that,  I think I will ask Catherine to transition over to him.  He needs the exercise, plus I think he would be a great challenge for her. 

I wonder how she'll feel about moving on from Zoe.....

Green snot

Yesterday was E's last official 4-H ride. She decided a while back that she didn't want to continue in the club once she started high school - a reasonable choice given the number of extracurricular activities and amount of just plain school work she has. Last night the club hosted its yearly potluck/awards ride night. E wanted to take Zoe since Monte is still plagued with a sore back (we have a call in to the chiropractor).

As she was loading up her tack, E heard Zoe coughing in the trailer. Being a little concerned we all peered in the windows and saw what appeared to be coughs caused by choking. E had hung a hay bag up in the trailer to give Zoe something to munch on while we drove out to the ride...and it seemed that Ms. Zoe gobbled down her treat too fast, causing her to choke on some.

We quickly unloaded the horse and watched anxiously as she coughed so much that green yuck came out of her nose. E ran to ask a visiting vet/instructor who happened to be in the arena just what the heck we should do. She was told to get Zoe's head down if possible and try to get her to drink some water to help with any obstruction in her throat.

Zoe was distressed and a bit panicky at this point - and still coughing green slime out her nose. I found a syringe and forced her to drink some water (about 180 cc's worth). About then her coughing subsided and she seemed to be okay. We put her into her stall to keep her from eating anything for a while....and then loaded up Monte and headed off to the ride night. All of this took about 30 to 40 minutes.

Upon return from the 4-H ride, we checked on Zoe and decided that she was just fine. I might have a new gray hair or two, but the horse is going to be okay. :)

Zoe has been used quite a bit lately by our foreign exchange student friend, Catherine. Catherine is a very good rider and has been schooling Zoe in jumping. I have noticed a change in Zoe, however. Her responses to my cues aren't as quick or as easy as they used to be; she just seems less reactive/responsive than before. I knew that this would probably happen to some extent, but it does make me a little sad. In hopes of stopping this change in Zoe, I have decided to ask Catherine to use a gentler bit while riding her(a french link); since Catherine is tighter with the reins than I am, perhaps this will help me regain some of that soft feeling that's been lost.

Going down the trail....

Saturday was my first time riding Zoe outside of our arena. I decided it was time to just suck it up, get over the fear and head on down the trail on my pony...and she was fabulous!


E has taken her to the reservoir one other time (and I believe she has been there with her previous owner) and discovered that Zoe, while not the most courageous horse, did okay. Her biggest quirk is that she insists on being behind another horse. As soon as she is in front, she just stops. No spooking or jigging....just. stops. and. waits. Once another horse (Monte in this case) is in front she's more than willing to move forward. Funny girl.

We did have a little spooking incident before I got on her. Don't know what caused it, but she ended up stepping on my left foot, bruising my big toe. It isn't a serious injury and didn't even delay our ride more than the few moments it took to take off my boot to make sure I wasn't bleeding. (I wasn't.)

It's been a busy month of competing at the fair and starting school. E and Monte weren't able to compete in the Western disciplines at fair this year; we discovered that his saddle is causing him pain (sitting too low in front, pinching his withers/shoulders a little...and he's a sensitive guy!). This would explain some of the bad behavior he's exhibited the last few times E's used the western tack. It all hurt the poor boy!

Zoe is being used by a third rider recently - an exchange student from France who is living with a Pony Club friend. She's quite taken with my pony and announced yesterday after their lesson together that if she were to live here, she would buy Zoe! I smiled and said, "Ah, but she's not for sale." :) It makes me happy that someone else loves my pony too, though.