Finally, a Nice Weekend

Sunny Saturday with the pup

Finally - the 50's! The temperature has been a little bit more consistent, but the nights still feel like winter at times. It's just so damp which makes things so much worse (and soggy). Saturday and Sunday were busy for me with running around and making plans so I didn't get in much riding time. The dryer decided to break right when I was going to leave so I had to hang everything which took up more of the time I had to ride. It's always something, right? For whatever reason, I found the motivation, and I'll say it was the sun. The goal was just to have Spyder cooperate and not give in to his fussiness. I'm not sure why he's been so sour, but I have been, too. It seems when you put in more riding time, that mood always turns around.

GREEN!

Both days, I worked on the track since I wanted to remind Spyder of our exercises. I started Saturday with a dressage whip, and he was already a better listener just holding it. Another boarder that hasn't been out in a while was riding her trail horse on the track, and she was having some listening and "up" issues. I wished I had time to ride with her, but I had to get home to get ready for beer fest - priorities. We did a lot of walk, halt, trot, halt, back, and I felt like I had to really lay into his mouth to get him going backwards. I feel bad having to go back to these basic commands, but it's best to "start over" until the baby horse's mind can catch up to his adolescent self once again. We also did a lot of open rein turns in both directions and some were even in a tight canter. He certainly kept his feet moving with the whip in hand! I find it funny because he acted like he couldn't do it in our lesson earlier in the week. He knew I meant business that ride. I had about 30 minutes of really testing him before I had to cool out and head back.

Smoke over blueberry fields

Sunday, I had a very short ride because I had breakfast with my parents, sister, and her boyfriend and was heading into Philly for lunch. The sun was shining, but like the day before, the wind made it feel cooler. Spyder wanted to buck SO bad, and so we turned and turned until he decided to chill out. I had 20 minutes in total so we worked on transitions again. I did get in some cantering with angry ears, but no buck! I wasn't feeling my finest since I was running off little sleep and even less hydration so I took it easy and ended it when he was nice and calm. We cooled out, and I snapped a photo of the green grass. It's finally starting to grow and makes life feel so much happier. On the way home from Philly, there was a HUGE fire which I found out burned what they think was 1,500 acres. They were working on controlling it through Monday. It was in a remote part of the forest which took 35 minutes for fire crews to get to, and they still don't know what caused the fire. It was back behind Batsto where there are no homes, but it is still devastating to the area.

In total, Saturday was just .75 miles because of all of the stopping and standing that was nearly 40 minutes of boring! Sunday was a bit more exciting with 1.5 miles in 20 minutes. I really want to surpass my March count for miles, but I feel like this month has so much going on that I won't be able to do as many long rides. I do need to keep conditioning for our hunter pace the first weekend in May but not nearly what I thought I had to do for the 30 that didn't happen. Hopefully in the fall, I can get back in gear and do a 15 or 25, but horse life will depend on the trailer status for the time being. The picture for miles is for both riding and a few shorter dog walks. We've been taking the dog to the lake by our house and to Bass River State Park so he can get some off-leash running time. It wears him out fast!

He watches TV

Few weeks ago at the lake by our house

Older shot of Kaiden being "free" in Bass River.

Putting in the Miles

New gear

Saturday, my goal was for 2 hours of riding and 12 miles which wound up being perfectly met. I know I could have ridden longer, for further distance, and for better time, but I didn't want to push things since the most I've ridden on the trails is about an hour and a half at any amount of speed. Spyder was UP because the track was getting leveled out, and he wasn't paying attention to me from the very start. We started in a small warm up circle to make sure he was listening to me, and everything was SO SCARY! He was spooking at birds flying from the bushes, jumps that didn't move, and his own shadow. I didn't let it stop me, and I kept pushing until he'd get over things.

His ginger snap face.

About that pushing... Spyder was not focused when another horse came out in the area to graze with his owner, and the kids from the barn next door came over to get in the trails around the track. Spyder forgot where his feet were because he was too busy paying attention to everything else. We were going up a very small incline, and he wanted to stop because the horses were out of his sight. I pushed him to keep moving and he fell flat on his face - face plant! I managed to stay on with him coming down on his knees, and I really don't know how, but it was awesome. Awesome? Is that the right word? It was awesome that I stayed on, that is. We walked it off and kept on keeping on like nothing happened.

Spyder was getting bored of the trot and it was HIS idea to canter. I let it happen and didn't push for fear of more tripping, but he did a great job. We moved out on a larger circle to try the "going straight" thing, but he would get off balance and come back to a trot. Good horse, he did it on his own! We cooled out around the barn and I decided to hose him since it was "warm" at 50-60 for a change. I put him in his stall to eat so he could dry off before I put him back out because it is still very cold at night. He was happy to have his food, and I was happy to have him trot in hand after all of those miles! Ginger snaps > Being Lazy.

I rode while my husband took his enduro out in the woods by his brother's house. The woods connects from his town to ours, and the trails are ENDLESS. In a car, it takes about 45 minutes to an hour, so you can imagine how big it is. 115,000 acres of FUN (and over 500 miles of paved roads)! ... and there are many more woods and trails attached to them from other parks that are easy to get to (and sort of attached). The picture is for reference of the size, and for the size of the state, it's a lot of open space. While they were in the woods, they found a rider that said she does endurance rides. I posted in the NJ Trail Ride Association group to see if anyone would know who this was, and it ended up being a rider that was in the group! She friended me, and the owner of the horse did, as well. I plan on trying to ride with them soon, and it turns out, the horse belongs to a member of the equestrian club that I knew from Stockton. It's such a small world!

The red is the area we live by (from above) to compare to the size of the state, and the blue is where the endurance ride is.

Is this a bad idea?

Sunday, I did a 45 minute quick ride with w/t/c. I wanted to make sure that Spyder was listening to my leg since the day before, I just let him trot along without asking for much else. I pushed him off of my leg around a circle and had him go round to really round out our turns and get him focused. The canter was collected and I was able to sit way back in the saddle, but pushing straight was an issue. I tried to open up the circle, but he would lose his balance and begin to trot. The good news is, each time he broke, I would ask him to canter again and he would pick it right back up. He got off easy since I pushed so hard the day before, and I went home to help Chris work on my horse trailer (sort of, but not really, he did all of the work). It's ALMOST there!

Worked him more than usual. Furry, sweaty mess.

Tired after pushing for 12 miles!

Training - I Think? x2

Sunday my friend and Sassy came to ride again. We went out to the ring to switch it up, and did a whole bunch of trotting and cantering. Cantering only because Spyder was ready to go! He didn't want to trot, and I guess that's proof that he has the ability to push harder. I thought I was pushing a bit just because of distance and not so much speed the day before, but he needs more. After doing a bunch of jumps and trotting the perimeter (and trotting HUGE, moving out REALLY REALLY BIG), we headed out to the cross country jumps for Sassy. Spyder and I trotted behind, and Sassy went over all that she was asked until the ditch. She refused it, and Spyder thought she spooked so he had a head tossing fit. Sassy went around to do it again and "popped out of the woods" so Spyder freaked out again, but it didn't stop Sassy from jumping. I am proud of the way that I handled it, and we continued to follow until Spyder pulled me out in front of her. He was a feisty thing and wanted to be in front!

We went to the xc jumps that are along the edge of the woods, and these are ones that Spyder always looks at while coming around the track. There was a black pipe, a white pvc fence rail (which he huffed at, but went over), and a log that we skipped since he was worked up. We followed Sassy at a trot into the woods and let her go over some larger logs while we trotted around them. Wait, let me rephrase that, bucked, reared, and head tossed passed the jump down a hill in the woods. That was fun... not! I handled it well and he got over it to continue on.

We decided to head back out to the track since they were feeding off of each others spooky attitudes. We trotted around the track 2-3 times, and by that time, I realized it was close to when I had to leave to meet my sister and mom for lunch before the snow. We were 1/2 cooled out when we realized this so we decided to call it a ride. It ended up being 7.15 miles of handling some not so great situations, but getting in a ton of trotting and cantering. Back at the barn, I saw the cat soaking up the sun in a weird spot (or hunting because she's always getting birds).

Sweaty mess

Spyder and I trotted out before the ride with a crop that I took to the paddock, and we worked on it after the ride with a lunge whip. He didn't get it the first try, but the second, a light bulb turned on. We trotted up and back twice, and we ended it on the PERFECT note. I'm going to keep practicing, but I was so happy with his progress that I gave him all the treats he could want... OK, OK, 4! haha.

I contacted the farrier to get a trim in before the ride, and he's going to come 2 weeks out. He's clicking a bit from his overreach so I need to get his back toes trimmed shorter. I bumped up his grain a little bit since we've been working harder, and I hope he keeps his weight for this upcoming adventure. With spring, the grass should be getting better so I know that will help if this snow ever melts! I'm SO annoyed we got 6-8 more inches Sunday into Monday, but the 40 degree weekend was nice. Let's hope it melts before next weekend. I'm also battling this finger hurting, but I do know I am sacrificing healing each time I get on to ride. It'll heal slower than it should, but it is getting better.

Training - I Think?

So I decided that since I am leaning towards this limited distance ride, I should try out some more distance. My goal for this weekend was to see how we both felt after putting in the miles. I knew going to the farm that I needed to work on "trotting out" since Spyder's not so willing on the ground. I taught him to be nice and quiet while on the lead, and now I have to take it back? OK, maybe not take it back, but adding in a new level of complexity (well, knowledge) would be tough. I started by grabbing him in the field with just a lead (added crop the next day). We walked out of the gate, and I asked him to trot towards the barn. He hesitated, but he went, and so we went back and forth by the barn to practice. Not bad for the first try. For this ride, we have a vet check where we have to trot on a loose lead to and from the vet for a soundness test. The level of his trot before, mid, and after the ride will determine part of the score we get if we finish.

I've adjusted it since this. He's just thrilled.

I tacked up with a new breast plate and tried out my non-slip pad I've had for quite some time. It looked sharp, and more like he was ready to event - not partake in an endurance ride, but whatever. It's what I've got to work with to determine if I like it. My friend texted me about riding on Sunday, but I replied, "how about now?" She didn't have boots with her (or so she thought), but she put the pony on the trailer and headed over. She had boots in her car and low cut socks on, but she managed to get out of the ride without any blisters. Just as I was getting on, the woman I rode with the prior weekend was getting tacked up. Horsey fun! For the first time in quite some time, I wasn't having to ride alone.

You can see the pad we tried, sort of.

My friend and I headed out to the track and went on the short loop of a trail by the killer guinea hens. We turned before we got to the farm behind where I board and headed back to the track (and saw deer, but it was good - PLUS Spyder led!).  Heading back to the barn, the other woman was ready to go, and so we started by going on the same loop again. We went down the street to the other property the farm owns and did the trails over there before heading back to send my friend off. I decided to stay on with the other rider, and we did a bit of trotting on the track before going on more trails I had never been on. We could only get so far before large puddles were frozen so it was safer to turn around.

We rode the area by the bank and ditch jump to work on the hills again. The gray mare decided to trot/canter down a hill so Spyder followed suit. He decided to race up to her in which case she bucked, and Spyder finally realized we weren't racing (or she wasn't spooking), and he calmed down. Boy, I wish horses didn't feed off of each other so much. I'm glad this ride is going to have a ton of experienced horses, but I'm not sure we'll keep up to be around their better behavior. We headed back into the trails in the middle of the track which ended up being 8.78 miles total! Although much was walking, I was VERY happy with our progress and his attitude. All of the deer he saw called for a racing heart, a hop, and quickly calming back down. It was a great day, and ibuprofen gave me the rest of the night to relax and get started on my next graduate coursework. Perfect timing for great riding weather (who am I kidding - we just got 6" of snow today).

Barn kitty always runs you when she wants food. "Miminski"

After the two hour ride, I decided to try trotting on the lead again. After those miles, it was a great test. I tried with the crop, but it wasn't working so I had the woman from the barn chase Spyder in to a trot while I clucked for him to go. He wasn't all that willing, but I think he was confused. Since he trotted, I gave him a ton of pats, "good boy," and treats. Since this post is getting long, I'll keep Sunday's ride to it's own. I am so very proud of our progress and my questioning in gearing up for this ride. I still have to get some work done to the trailer and the truck, but I will have no choice but to put in the time to practice with it during the week. Daylight Savings is less than a week away! I have SO much more time to be happy and do fun things after work. WHOO!