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.

To sell or not to sell....

Yes, that is the question. I have begun to tell people that our lovely pony is available, and even emailed one family about him (crying the whole time I typed the message!). I also have a flyer extolling his virtues ready to go - and then E put a small kink in the process.

She rode Monte last Wednesday for the first time since June 12. And promptly fell back in love with her pony. During the trip back home from the barn she suggested that she should keep Monte and just give up jumping. Work with the horse she has (and loves) and limit their activities to things they can do together safely and successfully.

How can I argue with that logic?

Lookin' for shade

Well, I thought we had the sunburn thing under control but then I started to feel sorry for Monte, wearing that hot fly sheet in the blazing sun. He was roasting under it! So a few days ago, I tried letting him spend a day with tons of sunblock and no sheet...big mistake. The poor pony got another nasty burn in the same location on his neck.

Beginning yesterday, he will now have to spend the days in the barn and his nights in the pasture. And he was NOT HAPPY about that arrangement at all! We actually had to move him into an interior stall with a solid door because he was attempting to jump over the chain blocking him in his normal run. I'm really hoping that he adjusts to this new routine quickly because I hate to see him so unhappy.

Other big Monte news: E and I have decided that it is time to find a new home for Monte. She is just too tall to ride him over jumps safely; he struggles to stay balanced as they go over the standards since there is just so much of her poised over his neck. I now find that I am just as sad as E about letting him go - in fact, I've been delaying posting him for sale online for over a week now, and I'm sure it's because I don't want him to leave our little family.

Now that the decision to sell Monte has been made, E has transitioned over to using Zoe almost exclusively. Luckily, Zoe is a great horse and it's no hardship to have to use her instead of E's fabulous pony! :)

The only hard part for E (and Zoe) is that Zoe has never jumped, so E will have to help her learn this new skill. So far, E is finding it difficult to be patient with Zoe, who is a very careful horse and hence very hesitant to charge over these poles we keep placing in front of her! But in the end, I think that carefulness will make her an awesome jumper - and she already has the dressage part down pat.....

Sunburns and headaches

E is still banned from riding. Her headaches are less severe and take a little longer to appear, but she does still get them whenever she exerts herself. Poor kid.....

Monte is probably okay with this break, though. He has gotten very sun-sensitive and has a nasty sunburn on his neck and his nose.

There are little cracks on Monte's nose from too much sun....

...and his neck is very pink and peeling profusely in sections.

We have been going out to the barn every morning to apply sunblock and to put his fly sheet on him for additional protection....and then we trudge back out again in the evening to take the sheet off. So far he's only burned those two places - hoping they'll heal soon and that we'll avoid any further burns. Poor horse.....

Recognizing the problem...

....is the first step, right? Okay, so it's not really a "problem" but I am finally beginning to understand what I'm doing wrong as I attempt to post while trotting. Like using my feet and stirrups to propel me up rather than my thighs and knees. And not keeping my leg on her the whole time (which goes back to using the stirrups too much). I also can't keep the rhythm of the up-down motion going for very long - I usually end up bouncing along within a few strides.

But I'm determined to get it eventually! This has become my goal for the summer - learn to post a trot. On my horse. (As opposed to someone else's - Zoe has such a smooth stride that I don't always feel when I should be up and when I should be down! The motion is much more prominent on other horses I've ridden recently.)

I had a lesson with Pat this past Sunday; she hasn't seen me ride in a couple of months and was surprised at how "brave" I had become - she was with me during my first few rides, remember? I no longer begin to hyperventilate when asking for a trot and am actually beginning to look like a real rider. It's nice to look back and see some growth.

E and I have had to cancel our Deary horse camp plans. She had her "big running test" to determine if she was healed enough to ride - and didn't pass. After running a mere .5 miles, she had a headache....that promptly disappeared once her heart rate was back to normal. It's pretty clear that her brain is still recovering. She was sad to miss out - this is one of the big highlights of the Pony Club year for her, but the risk of serious brain trauma is just not worth it.

Monte is dealing with a sunburn on his neck right now. We have begun going out to the barn each morning to put a fly sheet and some sun block on him, and then back out each evening to take it off. Poor guy! It's supposed to get up to 90 today and I'm sure that sheet is making him hot, hot, hot. I think it's kind of ironic that we don't blanket for the majority of the winter but will end up sheeting him the whole summer!

Really??? Another head injury???

E participated in a clinic with Victoria Cliff on Sunday, riding a flat lesson on Zoe and then a jumping lesson on Monte.

The first lesson, the flat one, was beautiful. E and Zoe looked wonderful together and made all the movements seem easy. E was able to get Zoe to round up into her trot and to carry her head in a nice position for most of the lesson - and Zoe appeared to be enjoying the work for the most part.

The second lesson, on Monte, started out okay but quickly went south. As usual, Monte was rushing a little and while they were cantering around the arena in a warm-up exercise his hooves struck a patch of loose dirt over hard-pack. Monte's feet slid out from under him and he fell completely on his side, taking a bit of skin off his left shoulder in the process.

E fell with him, of course, and ended up with a mouth full of dirt and a banged up shoulder, jaw and head. My first concern was another concussion, but her eyes looked fine and she was coherent and as stable as a person can be after having a 900 lb. animal fall on them. And she actually wanted to get back up on Monte - such a brave child! (Monte, by the way, stood quietly by us the whole time we were examining E - very unusual for him to not bolt after a scare! But maybe that's because this wasn't really a fright/flight situation.)

So she spit out some dirt (literally!), took a drink of water, wiped the worst of the dirt off her face and got back on her horse. After about 10 minutes of riding, however, E came over to the side of the arena and told me that she was feeling unbalanced - not dizzy or nauseous, but definitely "off". I told her to immediately get off the horse! (She also added that Monte was stiff as well, so she figured he was not feeling so great himself.)

After last week's concussion, we are a little freaked out about another head injury. E does have a headache again (plus she just plain aches all over!) so I am watching her carefully. We may have another trip to the doctor today - at the very least, she is scheduled for a sports physical tomorrow morning and I'll ask the doctor to check her thoroughly then.

Zoe side note: We gave Zoe a quick wash before E's lesson and she did beautifully. No nervous jigging or bad behavior at all. What a good little horse!

So much going on.....

Another school year done! I'm hoping that summer allows for a lot more riding (of course it will!) and that I finally begin to gain some skill riding my Zoe. I'm ready to get past the early beginner stage. :)

E hasn't had too much time with Monte recently. She took a tumble out of a hammock and got a mild concussion, so there was no riding for her for a bit. I find it ironic that she rides this wild, bucking pony but gets hurt while lying down! A week later and she still has a bit of a headache - poor kid. I let her ride yesterday in the round pen - where Monte spooked and promptly dumped her! Luckily she didn't hit her head again, but she does have a nasty bruise on her arm.

We introduced another friend to Zoe yesterday as well - a foreign exchange student from Portugal. She's going home soon and really wanted to ride a horse before she left. Surprisingly, Zoe was very calm and careful with her novice rider. But after their ride together I decided that we had probably exhausted Zoe's patience so I didn't ride her.

As we were putting her away another barn friend, Angelia, offered to lunge her horse Tantrum for me so that I could get a better feel for posting while trotting. I was plenty nervous (I mean, there has to be a reason the horse was named Tantrum!) but it turned out to be a wonderful ride. I could totally feel the lift telling me when to post out of the saddle - something I've had trouble feeling while riding Zoe because she's so smooth. We'll practice with Tantrum again - and I'll practice on Zoe too, of course.

My mom took us to see the Lipizzaner Stallions last Sunday - what a treat! A sale booth was set up at the entrance of the arena - and I immediately saw and commented on the little Breyer Lipizzaner horse. While talking to the sales guy I told him that my horse is from the Favory line, to which he replied, "They are known for their intelligence." Being the proud mama, I got all smiley and agreed that yes, my Zoe is definitely that. So silly!

It was wonderful to watch the horses and riders working together so beautifully. These horses truly are amazing. I was surprised to learn that two of the riders are local. At one point E did say that she would never attempt to ride such powerful animals, though. Their energy was a bit intimidating!

The show jumping and dressage rallies scheduled for this weekend were cancelled (darn EHV-1 outbreak!) but E will have the opportunity to ride in a clinic at our barn tomorrow. She plans to do a flat lesson on Zoe and a jumping lesson on Monte. Should be fun!