Teleporting

Can I just teleport to the farm so I can get home and get to my school work? I completed my final, and now it's just my final project, BUT courses start for the summer session start right after this. I get no break for riding in any sort of pattern, but I do have the hunter pace coming up. Remind me why I signed up for school again? I've been enjoying pushing through, but I find it hard to get everything I need to get done and what I want to get accomplished taken care of. The reward has certainly been the farm time I've had.

I'm certainly no where near reaching my March mileage due to the lack of motivation and Spyder's bad attitude. Honestly, there has been nothing to rave about. I rode 2 days last week which were OK. I can't even remember what I did because it was that uneventful. I remember being frustrated and making my broken finger ache again due to Spyder deciding it was a good idea to rear/spook for no reason other than seeing another horse. Ok, maybe there was something eventful now that I'm recalling last week.

I rode out to the big ring and started in the dressage area when the trainer at the farm rode by on the track with a TWH. She ended up coming around the track by us and going up a small hill by the cross country jumps and Spyder spazzed! He stood up on his back feet with a nice rear, and she shouted. "Oh, wow! Are you OK?" and came in the ring so I could settle Spyder. Yes, the horse gaits different and it's a "different" color, but it's similar to a horse in his field and I am sick of the spook/excitement over NOTHING! This is exactly the reason I broke my finger from the "scary" deer that we see all the time. Once I got him calmed down, 30 minutes was more than enough fun for me.

The other day I rode I went out to the same ring to make sure I could tackle the attitude he gave me before. I could tell he was bored since he was listening for w/t/c so we jumped a bit. There were deer all over the place and he was jumping a higher placed cross rail like it was 3 feet so I hopped over the jump until he calmed down and jumped it like the size it was. It's been feeding time after work when I get to the farm so I'm sure we'll begin to get those issues back. JOY! He always gets a little more pumped when he hears the grain bins going so I have been feeding him a little before we ride so he thinks he's had his grain.

This week I rode once so far. I hope to get out again, but this project is stressing me out! I went out to the big ring after warming up on the track to get a feel for Spyder's attitude. There was no argument with my leg so we went out and did some trotting while giving the deer looks. Cantering was decent in a circle and he was moving off my leg, but he was gearing up for some bad behavior. He did throw some rocking horse squealy bucky/reary/whatever the heck he does moves in there so we came back to the trot until he decided to go nicely once again. On the way back to the barn, I practiced moving him off of my leg. We went all the way to each edge of the track using each leg to push him over then we worked on stop, walk, trot, walk, stop, trot, back type exercises. I kept turning back towards the ring then heading back to the barn with some spins (moving off leg with the front of his body and not the back) in either direction so he had to listen and take his focus off of feeding time.

It's really getting old having to dance around his buttons and moods, but I hope to get him under control and move forward. The hunter pace should go smoothly, and hopefully we'll get back to putting in miles.

Life updates in picture form:

We made a fire pit for the back yard Saturday

The grass is getting green and Spdyer has a big butt.

I swept and organized my tack area at the barn

Kaiden sun bathes in his fluffy mess of toy destruction.

Kaiden killed the Easter lamb.

Happy New Year

I got to the barn after some much needed sushi and shopping to get in a ride on my day off. It wasn't perfect because Spyder was a grump, and he decided needed to kick out. I am angry with the weather and a grump about it so I can't blame him! He was a bit up, but not when it came to cantering. He didn't want to go so I didn't push him too much. Again, I was the only one at the farm riding and I didn't want to get hurt. We worked through his one episode, but that didn't stop the pinned ears and obnoxious grunts. We did some sitting trot to change the work a bit.

We worked through some transitions and didn't push to keep moving at the canter. We worked down to a trot from the canter, and we did a lot of w/t transitions. From there, we moved on to jumping. Spyder wasn't nearly as peppy as he acted when I first got on so we worked on picking his feet up over fences. I really need to get off his face, but his rushing is so frustrating so I sit back as far as I can. Since he wasn't too enthusiastic, we went out to the track. I did a lot of trotting in two-point and was trying to get him into an extended trot. Clucking, ears back, squeezing, ears back... he wasn't happy. I think he may have thrown in a few steps of pace to be spiteful, but I got him right back to trot. It was feeding time so I decided to leave it on a good note as he was actually listening (even though he wasn't happy about it). We went on a mini trail through the middle of his old paddock and the new muddy paddock, and I think he liked changing it up.

We cooled out around the barn, and he went in his stall to eat while I cleaned up the dried mud all over his legs. He was actually looking decent because I got off most of the dirt. I waited for him to finish to turn him out because the sun was starting to set, and I knew it would be the last of the sun for a bit. Our temperatures are dropping, and we are getting a snow storm tonight into tomorrow. GREAT! I hope everyone and all of the horses stay warm! I posted a picture below of our crazy changes in temperature. If you remember, I had a post about the 60's... now this! 22 one day, and 50's a few days later.

On another note, I completed a few of my "wish list" items from my page above. I ordered new boots because I found a great deal from a site where you could get a giftcard, and they would add 20% to the amount. That was like getting them for 20% off (but they were also the cheapest I had found so far), so I ordered riding gloves while I was at it! Chris cleaned up the garage so I have a crate to use as a mounting block for the trailer, and I found a hay bag on clearance from the same site. :) Happy New Year!

These changes are crazy.

Back to Once a Week

This time of year is tough with rides coming down to once a week, if I'm lucky. I've been trying to keep busy and pass the time, but I can say that I'm excited the days are getting longer from here on out. I really can't believe it's already January, and we just have to get through February after that... I mean March, too (but hopefully we'll get some warm days). So far, this winter has been brutal and it looks like it'll only be getting colder.

He's certainly thrilled

I was happy to get in a ride in the sun on Saturday before all of our rain Sunday. I don't even want to know what the paddock looks like since we got about 2" in just a day. I was lucky to get to the barn during feeding time so Spyder came right to the gate, and I gave him a good brushing which he really needed because his coat wasn't able to fluff with the weather. It was caked with mud, poop, and sand. This is as cold of a time of year as it is dirty! I hadn't ridden for a week, but I decided to head out to the big jumping ring since it seemed to be mostly dried up.

Warming up around the perimeter was really nice, and there was a whole family of deer to watch our great ride. W/t/c were all good so I did a little bit of jumping. I was looking to keep the pace and sit back so that we didn't rush the fences like last time which worked out nicely. We did some cross rails and verticals. I want to up the jumps, but riding alone doesn't make for a good first try for anything. I am a bit nervous that if I fell and got hurt, I'd be out there a while. I created a group on Facebook for the barn, but it doesn't seem like people want to contribute much. I thought it'd be nice to post about items for sale, events, benefits, riding times, etc, but people aren't interested. I'd like to be able to find a riding partner as it's just getting old riding alone and doing the same old things. I'm hoping people start to participate.

I ended the ride with two-point up and down the track as well as getting Spyder past a cone that he didn't like at first. We've been working through things, and it makes me so happy. My only issue is where to start with cantering straight since we go so nicely in a circle. The leaning and bending really helps him find his balance to pick it up, but when we go straight, we fall apart. I am thinking "BIG circles" where Spyder is kept bent will push out into being straighter. We're no where near ready for a canter class, and I wonder if we ever will be.

I'm excited for this new year, the trailer, and all that is going to come of traveling on the horse end of things! 2013 has been such a wonderful year, and I hope that 2014 brings that same cheer!

This close to a deer.

Weekend of Riding

Tacking Up

OK, I did other things, too... like took the dog to Petsmart, completed homework, rented two movies (which never happens), cleaned up around the house, and raked the whole yard (Chris did most), BUT I ACTUALLY rode both days of the weekend for once! I decided against the combined event at the farm, but instead, I went trail riding with a friend. We went back to the same place where the hunter pace was. It was a bit foggy in the morning and it rained a bit, but it ended up being a decent day to ride less the dampness that made it feel colder than it was. The ride was great, but there were a few spots that were a bit mucky and slippery due to the rain. We rode about 8 miles in two-hours and it was great to get out. Spyder was an angel (and wasn't ridden for a week), and the two got along nicely!

One of the wider trails

I got up early to ride on Sunday because it was set to be almost 70! I think it got up to about 60 during my ride, and Spyder had a little bit of a sweat going for once. We rode about an hour with w/t to warm up (after we went up and down the long side of the track with me in two-point... ouch!) and moved to canter with a crop. Man is my life easier just holding it! We had two kicking out episodes which were controllable with the smack of the crop, and it seemed that he was more responsive throughout the ride because of it... take that! We moved to jumping, and it was decent (except he hit his toe once). We started with just an x-rail turning left then taking the same x-rail and turning right. It's AMAZING thinking back to when we could hardly steer. Now, we're steering over jumps... I'd say it's a plus! From that jump, we kept going right to go over a small vertical - from there, we went left, then right. We added a third jump - right over x-rail, left over vertical, small white fence. We took this jump to the left, and so there was a fourth added that was in that direction the next time around. X-rail, vertical, fence, brush box thing. We weren't all that straight going to the brush box so we went over that a few more times until it was nice. Finally, some jumping!

I am almost positive that I'm going to school xc in Maryland this coming weekend, and I am both excited and nervous being that we haven't done many xc jumps yet. They have elementary jumps so we'll start there, but the facility is beautiful in itself to even work on water and banks if all else fails. Oh, and I finally snapped a photo of the stall name plaque that Chris's dad made me for Christmas last year. We stopped by the farm with the pup and Chris put it up for me. It looks great on his stall!

Following the leader

New name sign

Rain Dance

I know we need the rain, but I'm dreading it! I got in another quick ride Wednesday before it came (and it's raining now and will for a few days), and it literally started the second I started untacking! I headed out to the xc field where we started with w/t. It was consistent, calm, and he wasn't arguing so I picked up the speed. It was windy since the "tropical storm" was coming (so far, it's just showers and patches of rain), and he had a lot more go than usual which was NICE! He was super looky, but he kept his cool even with the "new and scary" plastic chair... ahhh. We worked on transitions with NO SPURS! Spyder was happier and peppy, and I was super excited. He's getting the canter cue without question now.

I did feed before I rode, but he wasn't that grump coming out of the field so I figured I could push for the canter a bit. Once we would pick it up, I pushed through him wanting to stop. Our next step is going to be the "forward and go" as he doesn't want to hold it. This isn't because he can't, it's because he chooses not to. I decided to see what would happen if I changed directions with him, and I was spot on. He HAS to swap his lead because he can't be wrong. It was a very interesting swap with a head toss, but he tried his heart out. After his head toss, he did two steps of trot and was right back to canter, good horse! We did lots of cantering with no kicking out, AND he did everything I asked him to do! Since our transitions were awesome, I did the xc log jump and then trotted around the farm before cooling out.

I decided to reward Spyder with some grazing while I put my tack away, and I grabbed his treats. He is so focused on food so I can let him hang out and eat in peace while I clean up. I had to record this because he KNOWS the sound of the plastic they are in, and e looks at me, looks away, stuffs his face with as much grass as possible. He decides to come over to me because he's ready for them, in which case he chews on them WITH his mouth full of grass. I wish I could canter with a treat in front of his face, he'd keep going all day!

The Weekend Riding Continues

This is long, but I have a lot to catch up on...

Friday, I went to the farm to practice for the dressage test on Saturday morning. While Spyder was eating, I decided to clean up my dressage tack better so I could get a ride in the saddle again prior to the test. I put the test that I printed out in my pocket, and we rode to the ring. I went through each step that I could remember while I walked through the ring. I did this twice, and then thought we should get in some canter to make sure that he wouldn’t kick out again. He did try in the dressage ring to kick out, but we worked through it. I was happy that he was behaving decently so we had a quick 35 minute ride.

Fits him well, I think?

Saturday, schooling show day, I got to the farm and brought Spyder in to eat his grain. While he ate, I cleaned up my dressage bridle since it wasn’t in good shape. I forgot to mention that both were used, but that makes for broken in comfort. Since the tack sat in the barn, it got a bit of mildew on it so I never rode in it being that I never had the time to clean it up (or the desire because we’ve been working on some jumping, and I love my jumping saddle). I got a cover months back thinking that if I cleaned it and covered it, I’d actually use it. Never happened. Now that it's clean, I plan on using it more often.

After Spyder ate, I had to rush to get him brushed and tacked up. The saddle looks so nice on him! Now, I know nothing about this sport, but I think that the buckles should be further down? The straps are really long so we can definitely get a shorter girth, but since I am not sure if this is correct or not, it works for the time being? The bridle was giving me trouble since it hadn’t been used, but we got it figured out with just enough time to get over for our Intro A at 9:18.

It was just a schooling show at the farm, but it was held next door so we had to ride over. Headed down the driveway, Spyder was very up. He stopped a few times, and I had to push him forward to keep going. He listened well, but he wanted to head back to the barn so bad. I kept pushing forward until he spooked at a car that was going fast down the driveway. He always gets funny near the marsh that is on both sides because it’s taller than him and the wind blows through it so it moves a lot. I don’t blame him, but we needed to get over there. I kept pushing even though I wanted to hop off and walk over. We got to the street, and the scary part was over. A car was headed towards us, and he was OK with it passing by which was great!

Once we got over there, the BO asked if I wanted to warm up or go for it. I decided to wing it since I thought I could remember the test, and it wouldn’t have made a different either way. I was SO happy with how we got through both of our issues that I didn’t even care how the test went. Spyder rode into the ring like he had been doing this all along. Although we weren’t straight, we changed from grass to sand, and I was sure he was going to pace (which he didn't.. whoo!). We got a decent transition back to trot at C, and he was perfectly bent down the line. The 20 meter circles were more like squares, but his pace was fairly consistent, and we could at least get the commands going that were given in time. Our halt was perfect (Spyder’s favorite… stopping). 

It was great to hear what the judge had to say, too. She could tell that Spyder resists me asking him to work as he sucks in. She suggested transitions to help with his listening skills and getting what I ask for on point. Schooling shows are the best when you have a great judge because they always offer such wonderful advice. I decided to hang out at the farm for a bit since there was a lot going on: cars, trailers, trucks, unfamiliar horses, unfamiliar jumps. It was all SO wonderful for both of us to experience together. We trotted around the jumping ring, and Spyder didn’t flinch a bit. He did, however, not want to stand still which was annoying. I need to work on standing in one place as he likes to turn his rear end in the direction opposite where he wants to face thinking I won’t notice that just half of him is moving! He’s young and social so I can understand his desire to check it all out, but he doesn’t respond to leg pressure when he’s into what he "needs" to see. He backed himself into a few things moving, but I let him do it hoping it would teach him a lesson. Nothing bad, but annoying. Just stand still! He loves being lazy and stopping… but then he also likes to be antsy and social.

One of the girls from over at "Barn 2" where Spyder is stopped to chat, and her mom decided she didn’t want to wait for her so she drove over to get her  daughter's horse out and brushed for her to ride. It worked out perfectly because she had to walk over to the barn so I went with her thinking it would keep Spyder calm, and it did. We’ll have to work on riding over from Barn 2 to Barn 1 more often, but I usually only do it when I HAVE to. He’ll get better so I need to suck it up and do it.

I let Spyder graze for a while and took pictures of him with his 3^rd place ribbon! We were schooling with 7 people in Intro A for the 18+ division. I was THRILLED with third and just happy that we did everything we needed to do even if it wasn’t pretty. We ended up getting a 66.25%, and a great comment sheet with items to work on. What better? I was unsure of why I decided to do this test prior, but it made me feel like we accomplished something (and it got my saddle and bridle cleaned). I put the cover on it so now I plan to ride in it more often. It was pretty painful since I don’t have the right muscles developed to work in it, but we’ll be working on those. My jumping saddle puts me so far forward that I’m accustomed to bad posture when riding. I’m thinking about looking into Spyder’s saddle fit per my last post, but I am still unsure how I can give mine up (I'm going to end up getting the SAME exact brand/saddle). It’s going to be so hard because it was the very first large purchase I had ever made on my own… and with my very first credit card! :) I’m just in the beginning stages of thinking about this, but I’m also going to wait for what the vet has to say next week.

Had to get the ribbon shot

Sunday, I got up early so Chris and I could go out to breakfast together. We have both been so busy it’s been hard to spend time together so we’re going to try to make a point to set time aside for some relaxing each day. We talked about everything going on including Spyder and my test yesterday which made me happy to talk about overcoming so much. We set out our separate ways – Chris to go mountain biking in Delaware and myself, riding. I am in Georgia for work now so I wanted to get a ride in before my flight. The Atlantic City airport is about 15 minutes from the barn so I had to get tacked up quickly and get in my ride to head there. We rode out to the big field where I noticed the brand button on the saddle flap came off. It's no biggie because it’s not broken (the metal is still there), but the button/cover for it with the brand came off. UGH… I think that’s what got me thinking about a new saddle even more. I know it’s just cosmetic, but I’m driving myself crazy looking at the way it fits him.

Out in the field, we headed into the dressage ring and rode through the test again. I wanted to work on our flaws, and we fixed most of the suggestions I was given.  We rode out to the field and worked on trotting at a steady speed, and went over a few x-rails. Spyder was listening so I moved up to canter, but something is REALLY bothering him there. He is not only grumpy but looks uncomfortable so I can’t wait to get him checked out, and I’m happy he’s getting time off while I’m away. We did not get any kicking out which made me happy, but he’s having a really hard time keeping the gait. Because something is up, I didn’t push hard, but I asked him to pick it up and shortly brought him back to a trot and patted him. He stood nicely to be untacked so I was really happy we only worked for 20 minutes. I got to the airport, and of course, the flight was delayed. It was SO nice and it will be so nice this week so I wish that I looked before I left the farm. I could have been going through my tack trunk since I never finished doing that the day prior.

I’ve been noticing an issue with my ankle, and I can’t decide if it’s from riding in my dressage saddle with the long stirrup or from the fall I had where I tried to catch myself. It wasn’t bothering me much since then so I’ll hope it’s just feeling like I rolled it from the strain in the new saddle, but time will tell. It’s always something, good and unfortunate.

Tired from his mental awareness of all the commotion

Wild Things

Spyder's not the wild one (except for that fall last ride, but he's over it). Oh, well maybe he is. He stepped on the girl's foot that feeds and would not get off then broke his halter in his stall while eating. The breakaway had stretched so far that the leather snapped so I punched another hole in it (with a screw because it's all I could find to use!). I did buy 2 new pieces of leather, but of course, they are no where to be found. Moving still has me unorganized and scrambling to find things at times. I'll have to rip apart the garage later.

Our ride on Sunday was GREAT! I was exhausted and my back and feet hurt, but I knew I needed to get to the barn because it always makes things better. In the near future, I won't be able to rider as often, and it'll only get worse with the hours of daylight disappearing. There were deer on the way out, there was one about 15 feet away that didn't run, and Spyder was perfectly OK with it even though he was looky. With about 20 deer (and some big bucks - male deer haha) you'd think one would be bound to scare him, but one saved that for later in the ride.

He's thrilled, but his halter is fixed, and that's my new tack trunk in the back.

BIG butt.

When we got out to the field, the deer were grazing and I noticed a HUGE red tailed hawk on the skinny jump. We got about 25 feet away from it, and it flew when tried I to get picture. I was expecting to see a coyote since I'd seen all other kinds of wild things, but none came out of the woods. We worked on w/t  and keeping our pace as we went past deer that ran, jumps that moved, and other "scary" things. He did so well that I decided to move on.

We cantered, and he didn't kick out . BUT he got his feet trimmed on Friday so I always take it easy on him since he gets cut pretty short (for his overreach issue). We did two of the x-rails and then headed back to the barn. It was feeding time, and the horses were all excited and looking at something next to Spyder's field. Once I got closer coming down the track, I noticed a deer on the side of the run in. I was hoping that he wouldn't spook being that we were headed towards the barn during feeding time. The deer took off for the woods about 20 feet away from us, and all Spyder had was a jump and spreading out all fours. He came back to calm and cool moment after, and we continued towards the barn. I think he passed the trail test x2!

"Little" feet. He got a pedi!

I was disappointed because I didn't have time to get everything into my new tack trunk. Chris dropped it off on Friday for me, and I can't wait to get everything organized and in there. It almost has my new initials on it as there is "J.O.J" painted on the side, and I am "J.A.J." The person that I share the tack space with thought that I had my own box that someone got for me and personalized it. It was Chris's grandmother's that passed away and I learned that someone had given it to her father, and it was that owner's initials. It would have been pretty neat if they were exactly mine!

I'm back!

Monday BEFORE I left, I never got to write about our ride. A pony came trotting over while I was warming up so I went around  the track and field at walk the the owner. She trailers in to ride, and I had ridden with her and another horse of hers two years prior, but she didn't remember that far back. She also didn't know that stb's came in "colors" because she pointed out Spyder has white on his face and legs. She also never knew "they" could move so good. His trot was lovely and HUGE she said. Oh stereotypes.

The welsh pony Spyder had never seen - at first, he was alarmed.

Tuesday, I did some jumps. Of course this was after we did w/t/c, but he was forward so we worked on jumping. I did forget that we did some trot poles where Spyder really had to think about his feet and REACH to get through all of them. We worked on forwardness through them and then slowing up and getting round after. From there, we'd circle and do the trot poles coming the other way. Since he was picking his feet up, we moved to jumping. I did another new jump because he was feeling our ride. It is what I'd call a brush box?... without brush? haha. It's just an open gate sort of jump that's in other pictures, but I forgot to snap the shot for this post. It'll come back around.

Thursday, I wanted to ride before the flight out, but I didn't want to get hurt or chance any sort of injury/soreness before the trip. That didn't work out for me because I ended up weeding the garden and was sore for a few days from all of the hard labor (sort of). It was nice of a girl at the farm that feeds to instagram a photo of Spyder and tag me in the post with "he misses you" for me to see what I was away. I had her fly spray him when I was gone because I felt guilty not being around to do it (this time of year they always seem to start up like crazy again).

I can post a brief summary of the trip if anyone cares to read it. Switzerland was the most beautiful of all the countries we visited. We got to see quite a few horses there pulling carts and a few on the menu at restaurants.

I wanted to ride 9/9 when we got back, but couldn't fit it in, and I was getting sick (still am) so he had off 2 weeks. Lucky Spyder! Even though my throat was killing me, I went back at it this past Tuesday, the 10th. Fresh air and standing up seems to help my congestion but not breathing. The BO poured cement while I was gone for the tack area/cross ties outside Spyder's stall so I had to walk across it to get my tack, and luckily, it was dry. It was REALLY hot so we did 30 minutes out in the field. There were lots of deer and a coyote, but Spyder just looked and didn't flinch... not bad for having all of that time off! I focused on flat work and making sure he remembered everything we were working on before I left.

Spyder kept moving, but the coyote is right past the fence line. Horrible picture, but it was a big one.

After I rode, I talked to a girl that feeds at the barn and found out about a horse that I got screwed over with a purchase (just before Spyder). It was a good thing I didn't end up getting him because 1) I have Spyder, but 2) he was returned to the people I was going to get him from not just the first time but a second. That story will stick with my mind in knowing that I was let down (and screwed over by people I knew my whole life), but it was totally worth it! I'll leave it at that... everything happens for a reason! :)

I hope to be able to breathe while I ride tonight and then look forward to getting in a day this weekend if all goes as planned.

Jump, Jump!

After working over jumps Wednesday, I decided to get back on and go at it yesterday. Spyder LOVES it, and it's what I grew up doing (and love to do, as well as missed like crazy).  I didn't feel like I had the best control for it, but I decided to tackle the control issue, make him slow down, and make him steer so we can both enjoy the work together. Now that we move off of leg and have a decent halt, we can bring more into the mix. The steering has come along great with the help of all of the bending and shoulder work.

The flies really aggravate him!

I got out to the field to work on a quick w/t, added the canter, then did our bending move along the fence line. Once we get the bend to the left, we go to the right, and once that looks good, we go back left. He's getting A LOT easier to steer and handle which makes taking the next steps a lot better! The canter is more consistent and we can move around the field quite a bit. The cue isn't just in the spot where we learned to pick it up, and it works all over the place.

It was showering when I got on, but that didn't stop me. I stopped to try to get a picture of the partial rainbow which shows the jumps, too. We worked on our "S" again with the jumps - look up, sit back, find the next jump, come back to a trot (then repeat). Oh, and give him his head! It's a lot to think about, but we had so much fun. We did the line both ways and added in a few extra jumps. We did the newly tackled white gate, the same old x-rail, the x-rail with the gap, the x-rail on the far end of the ring that we've done, and the wishing well.

The 2 x-rails, wishing well, and a rainbow

The x-rail with the gap

Around and around and around,  the canter was lovely! :) I tried to keep the trot between each fence, but if he wanted to canter, I wasn't going to stop him. He just gets a bit confused if he is cantering up to a jump as he doesn't know what to do with his feet. Either way the strides are huge so getting to the next fence is a tough squeeze if either of us falls apart. He was so happy and excited to be moving, it was wonderful. I filmed us going back to the barn down the track, and the flies were really getting to him. Even without the flies, he insists that his forelock and mane are biting.

The white gate/fence jump

For those of you that know my horse, you know he's push, push push. His pace back to the barn was the same as it was OUT to the field. I think someone is starting to like his job! Also, you'll notice that he *tries* to sneak some grass. We're working on that, but he'll pull any kind of stunt to get to it. In this case, "Ahh, the flies! Oh, grass!" He'll have an "itch" in which he finds his way to grass, too.

A Little Fun

I thought it would be fun to post a picture of Spyder and then aks people what they thought the breed was. People were guessing a variety of thoughts. Most often guessed was Warmblood and Appendix, and I only listed what people guessed below once (even though there were multiple occurrences). Warmblood was the winner, BUT all Standardbreds look the same, right?

-Cleveland Bay

-QH

-TB

-Appendix

-Warmblood

-Standardbred

-Draft Cross

-Morgan

-Andalusian

-Lusitano

-Mustang'

-TB/Arabain/Standardbred

-QH Cross

-Appendix x Draft

- Morgan/QH

-Standardbred/QH

-Holsteiner/German Warmblood

-Trakehner

-Belgium/Thoroughbred

-Warmblood/Paint

Anyways, yesterday I rode after work. The w/t and moving over are coming along nicely. We also went in straight line at the trot to work on bend so we stayed in one direction and moved bend right, then left, back right, back left.. OK, you get the point. From there, we worked on the canter, and I pushed him off my leg in circle while I opened the outside rein. He went and went and went and never broke the gait. He didn't want to stop! This is the case when working in a circle, and on a straightaway, it falls to pieces. It was a lot of fun to see him happy and peppy so we moved to jumping. I don't get how he was so excited on one of the hottest days of the summer yet, but I'll take it.

We did the white gate/picket fence jump first, and I thought he'd jump 4' since we have yet to take that jump. It's been on the ground for a while, and I was always too lazy to get off to move it. Most of the other jumps were smaller than usual so we got to work with a few. He jumped the gate like he has done it all along, and then we stopped. I did that jump again to the next x-rail then stopped to make sure I had control. I came back to the gate, x-rail, then added a x-rail with a gap. Again, I thought he'd fly over it, but he looked, then jumped it like he'd been doing that forever. I did not even get hesitation for one of them.

We did that line of 3 jumps a few more times so I could work on sitting back in between, getting a half halt, and bringing him back down to a trot for each. He was so good that we ended it there after 30 minutes, and now I can't wait to ride again because I want to do more jumping! The 3 jumps made an "S" so it was nice to get to work on steering, too! They aren't all that far apart for his HUGE gait so it makes having to bring him back together a quicker process which makes me think, as well. I think we were both a lot less bored than usual.