Where is Summer?

Ahh, this chillier weather is not making me very happy. The days are getting shorter, and daylight "savings" is NEVER making me any happier. When it's dark before I leave work, I'm miserable... and it's getting closer. Hopefully it'll stay dry so I can use the outdoor flood lights to get in a few quick rides before it gets too cold at night once it starts! I sound like a brat, I know, but I love sun, warmth, and being outside so winter kills the mood.

Anyways, yesterday, we worked on reinforcing what we learned on Sunday with bending and shoulder in/shoulder out exercises.This was in the side field which is near the barn so I had to work on pushing through a circle. He always sways back to the barn on that side of the circle which is annoying to say the least. I had to push harder to keep the pace with counting to keep the tempo I set. We went around until he was consistent then circled obstacles in the field. We started with the bush, tree, trakehner, roll top, and finally went to the brush box (which he was looky with so we circled that again). We went back to all of the others again to keep our cool since we haven't ridden out there in a while. 

Spyder was the opposite of our lesson where he wanted to go forward and pull. I had to push to keep the speed which is the exact opposite of what I've had to do all along. He kept pulling me for Danny, and yesterday, he had more excitement than he has had in a while, but it was a collected and he listened despite the excitement. There were a lot of deer in that field, and he didn't care to look at them. A few even splashed into the water along the field, and he kept his cool. He didn't flinch which was a relief being that he FREAKED out when I first got him and it was hot so the BO's dogs jumped in. The splashing sound was obviously going to kill him so he did all kinds of crazy moves. I was SO proud of him because he's finally trusting me and listening so his focus is elsewhere. He's ready for a trail? Maybe?

Cooler weather has something to do with it, but since he was so good, I rode to cool out around the barn. We worked on being patient with me on board while they started feeding because I'm sick of him getting so anxious and acting like he will never get to eat. He went in his stall to eat (and was so rough throwing the bucket around like he was angry), and then I helped catch two horses that decided to take off when coming in to eat. 

The take off: They are semi-new so they don't get the routine just yet, and the one is a runner. Normal horses stick to those that are close by, but I guess since they had each other, they went. They ran into the field by the house and took off down the track. I ran through trails on the track to meet up with grain, but they were too busy galloping all over the place. I was so nervous because it was getting dark and hoped they would be smart enough to stay out of the woods or stay clear of the street. I took off into field where the BO had her golf cart and was trying to herd them. The girls that were feeding helped chase them back towards the barn when I caught up to them out of breath (haven't ran like that in a while). We all went in the golf cart after them, and they decided to stop for a bite of grass. I hopped out with the grain and caught the "better" one's attention so he came towards me. The "bad" one followed, but was very cautious knowing I was going to grab him. Since I had one hand, I grabbed the calmer horse and we walked back leaving the one that decided to flea to follow. The girl feeding grabbed him once he gave up, and they got back into their stalls without grain until they cooled out. It was complete chaos for about 20 minutes, but I am thankful nothing bad happened.Oh, and chiggers... they are terrible! When I got home I showered as fast as a I could because I saw a few. Glad I realized to check after running through the woods, fields, and tall grass.

He can't let me go behind him without seeing what I'm up to. New cement!

Danny Lesson x4?

April came to watch me ride since her stb is just started under saddle. I thought the Danny lesson would be good for her to see, and hopefully she came out of it with something to use with her horse. I hope to see her have a lesson in the near future with Dom so I can see him move and offer encouragement. She's already started her horse Shadow off on the right path, so I know he'll come along great!

I think this was the 4th lesson we had with Danny. First was just steering and stopping. The second was posture, steering, and stopping. The third was bending and getting him off my leg/into the bit which I have that video in prior posts. So yes, I think this is the 4th like I said. It started off with compliments! Danny knew that I'd been working on what we've learned as he could tell Spyder was more manageable, more flexible, and more prone to respond to aids.

We worked on the bit and did some steering, and Danny could see that  I kept him in a frame well (last lesson this is basically all we worked on with moving off of leg). We worked up to the trot, and it was inconsistent with speeds as well as sloppy. I remembered the two items I was in control of so when I was asked, direction and speed. When Spyder would speed up, I had to turn him and continue the other direction. The turn started with me being sharp, but Danny let me know I needed to guide him and keep my leg with him to hold his balance. Oops. He was getting a bit off balance which made for a few pacey steps, but Danny told me to change my diagonal to put him back in balance. He said, "who cares what diagonal you're on for this  exercise, that's for crap, like showing!"

I had to keep the rhythm and slow him every time that he wanted to speed up. I had to change the pace of my posting and work on squeezing my knees/thighs into Spyder's shoulder to encourage slowing the speed. We did this working in a circle, and when he was listening, I took him around the field to make sure it would stay consistent. It did! Another step that he added was always asking him something at every point of the ride. I would ask him for a transition up to trot, but push him into it moving him off my leg. When in the trot, I'd still ask him to move over with my leg, and then ask him to walk, but use my leg to move him out. This seemed to help Spyder a lot because he's paying attention. Instead of nagging him here and there, you're constantly working and asking. I think he was happy about it!

Now that we have the steering and the stop/go, we can work on the speed and consistency. It must be nice to be blessed with a horse with tempo. My legs, back, arms, and thighs can feel ever bit of the "slow down" steps that we took! I'd say we're getting somewhere... FINALLY! Walking back to the barn, a mini was following us/coming with us because the girl was going over to barn 2 to ride with others. Spyder was fine until we let the mini catch up to us and the moment he stepped in front, he looked at him like it was going to eat him. In his defense, the little girl did have a pink sparkly crop and used it lightly. I'm thinking that maybe Spyder saw that? I have no idea why he was OK with the mini following until it got a bit closer/up to him, but we'll have to work on being around other horses.

When we got back to our barn, I showed April his canter and was curious to know if it looked "normal." She let me know that it looks just like any other horse she's seen which makes me happy because she wasn't a standardbred person before hers (as was I - I had owned one, but never trained him for anything that mattered, I just rode him). It is great to know that someone else is exploring a new breed and trying to make it work. She saw that it could, and we have each other to talk about "horse problems" with!

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.

The Mystery Creature

On Sunday we had a long drive home from Virginia, and I was happy to be able to relax once I got home. What I wasn't happy about was not being able to ride all weekend because it was actually nice out. The heat and the rain have been killing the riding time, and I have been looking forward to getting in more time since we made it through the wedding. Needless to say, the traffic didn't help my mood. My parents stopped by, and when they went to leave, I noticed something on the porch. I grabbed my mom to head back inside because I wasn't sure if it was a wild cat, a skunk, a raccoon, or some other woodsy creature. My dad started walking towards it, and I was screaming, "If you get sprayed and the house stinks..." We had to get to a window and shine a light on it to see that it was actually a really tiny dog. Why'd it come on the porch and sit in the furthest corner? I'm guessing it head us talking inside and found comfort in our voices. It was a silent dog, and was a bit nervous since it was outside all alone in the dark.

After I grabbed the dog, it was like she had always known me. She didn't want me to put her down and just kept looking at me. She was so cute, but I had to figure out where she came from. As much as I love dogs. this one is just not my type. My parents saw her following people down the street on their way over, but was she following them because she was theirs or because she was lost? Who were the people she was following? We just moved to our new home in May so I was hoping the neighbors knew something. I felt back knocking so late, but it was about 9:30 and they had lights on. The neighbor to the right didn't know anything and said the one to the left knows more people. I've seen her running a bunch so I probably should have gone there first. She was so excited to get to talk to us since we've hardly met her, but she had let me know she's been chased by all the dogs in the area... and never this one. They gave us some of their dog's food to hold us over until a store opened the next day or we found her owner. I brought the dog back home and put her in the laundry room which is part of the garage. She started to wag her tail and was very thirsty. Since she didn't eat, I knew she couldn't have been away from home for long.

The happiest pom

Now what? I called the police department to see if anyone reported a dog missing, my parents looked for people searching on their way home, and Chris rode his bike around the development twice to see if he could hear them calling a dog or find someone walking the street to look for her. Nothing. I decided to go online where I posted her on two local groups that I belong to as well as the police page on Facebook. This was prior to calling animal control and leaving a message. On Facebook, I was getting a million offers from friends to take her if I was unable to find the owners which was nice, but I was sure someone was so upset to have lost her. I called a few vet offices to get their hours thinking I could take her to get scanned before work in the morning. I had no luck before going to bed.

In the morning, I woke up to a message from a girl saying I may have found her sister-in-law's dog that lived on the next street over. She had also messaged me "I think you have my dog." No phone number, no address, no thank you, no excitement. I don't know about you, but If I lost my dog and knew who had it, I'd BEG them to give me their number or call me ASAP as well as thank them and appreciate the fact that she was safe and in good care. Anyways, with some prodding I found out she is not micro chipped. Reason being? She's an Amish dog she got when her son was little. Does that even make sense? Also, she didn't offer to come get her, she said I can bring her whenever I have time and left me the address. She had my number from the SECOND I responded to her, and she didn't even call me. Come to find out, the dog has fleas so I was sure to call her out on that since I was frustrated. She had an excuse for that, too.

I left work early to take the dog back, and the girl I talked to on the computer wasn't even there. The person that took 3 minutes to get to the door grabbed her and threw her inside. I let her know that I had taken her for a walk to use the bathroom before I left plus she had water and seemed to eat a bit, as well. I got, "Yeah, she doesn't eat much. She never goes far." Not a where was she? How'd she get there? Was she good? Is there anything NICE these people could say? I just left in shock. I'm really hoping that she gets out of there and comes back over our way. A 5 lb. dog smaller than a size of paper should not be traveling as far as it did. I can't believe they weren't even looking for her! Since I was frustrated, I let the in-law know that they didn't even ask questions or thank me... AND she chose to ignore me, as well. GREAT FAMILY. I was just happy to be able to ride since I had gotten her back. I didn't have to be home to walk her any other day that week. I'm bad, I know. If it was my dog, I'd be happy to do it. Gracie needed to go, and I think her owners felt the same way.

I made her room on the floor to head home, and I went to get in the car - she hopped right up on the seat!

The Weather

Interesting... the local news meteorologist posted, "Pretty impressive that we're only one day into August...and the Philly International Airport has already broken the rainfall record for the wettest summer ever! (Meteorological summer is defined as the months of June, July, and August.) Over 2 feet(24.78") of rain since June 1st in South Philly...breaking the old summer rainfall record set back just a few years ago in 2011. So while we've been wet this summer here in South Jersey...it could be wetter..."

AHH! The it could be wetter part is not good! I won't be around this weekend because I have a wedding in Virginia, but I hope to get back to a better riding schedule next week. Let's hope it dries up a bit... and stays that way!

With Hard Work, We Progress

So Friday was a great ride. It was a bit warm, but we had the perfect breeze. Spyder wasn't in the mood for a ride, but he perked up quickly and was easy to handle. We started with w/t and got balance going. From there, we picked up the canter. It was AMAZINGLY easy to pick it up (to the left, of course). Once we trotted to the right, I was having trouble getting him off my leg. It took a few circles, but FINALLY, he started listening. Since he was moving over, I pushed up into the canter which was also very easy for whatever reason. He can hold it longer because he's finding his balance, and he's starting to get moving off my leg at the canter, as well. Whoo, maybe soon we can do BIGGER circles.

On to the Danny lesson yesterday - OH BOY! We walked over to the indoor very bravely, and he was just a bit perky/excited/nervous. It was100% my fault because I was nervous, but the heat made me realize that he wouldn't be moving anywhere too quickly. It was 95 degrees, and I had a 2:45 lesson. Had I known it would have been so hot, I may have not signed up, but I sucked it up because he doesn't come too often. The indoor was nice because we got out of the sun, and the ceiling fans were going which helped with air flow a bit. I'll have to go over to the indoor on days when it's really hot if I want to ride without the sun. Normally I wouldn't have ridden on such a hot day, but we had things to accomplish.

To start the lesson off, Danny asked me what I would like to work on. I had to think about it, because I'm not sure where we left off with our other two lessons. I remembered - the first was w/t/STOP because stop wasn't working... and the second was w/t/STEER because we worked on my posture, but steering was not an option. I decided to ask to work on rhythm and balance because I let him know we get a running walk or a pace when he's off balance (but it's also a laziness issue). We started off with a quick trot warm up in both directions around the indoor. Danny could see that I've been working with him as the trot was a lot better than prior lessons. It was great to hear I did something right since the last time he saw him move.

We worked on a circle around Danny while moving the shoulder out. I used a dressage whip to push his shoulder out when he wouldn't listen to my leg. At first, he kept speeding up with the whip in which case my outside rein had to dictate the pace. He kept trying to trot off which was frustrating so I had to keep bringing him back down. Danny let me know I let my horse get away with murder... bad habit, I know. Once he got over that the whip didn't mean SPEED UP, it means MOVE OVER, we were looking great. Danny was pleased with his form in the walk so we moved up to trot... failure. We looked like a sloppy mess, and he let me know it. Then I got asked, "why can you do it at the walk and not the trot?" Good question? It's because I was too busy flopping around. So lesson #1: Outside rein to set the pace, inside rein to pull in his nose for the bend. Easier said than done so we worked at the walk again. I had to keep my outside rein and hand at the saddle and close my inside hand until we got the bend.

Keeping my hands steady at the walk was easy, but the trot they were all over the place which was the problem. We then moved back up to trot once I got my hands under control. This time we got it, but Spyder was picking the pace. We worked on slower, slower, slower, and Danny assured me that there is no rhythm issue. Once he is balanced, his rhythm is great. I just had to learn how to keep him there and to keep his shoulder out. Spyder was getting frustrated on the one half of the circle and pulled a little angry/rear/hop up stunt, but I rode through it well (oh no, being asked to get off my leg is SOOO terrible). I am so happy that he pulled the act just once and that I could keep riding him like it never happened. We took a walk break, and I needed it! It was so hot, and I was bright red/feeling like I could pass out. Whew, summer is killing me.

I wanted to switch to the left because that's my stronger leg and the easier direction. So when Danny asked me to grab my reins to start up the same exercise, I said, "Same direction?" He said, "Of course, you think I'd let you do the easy way? I remember that the right is the weaker side!". I thought I could catch a break, but he let me know the once a month or so was not enough time to work on the "easy side". We were doing so well on the "hard side" so I got to switch direction at the trot. I had to keep using my weak right leg which was now the outside leg since he gets it so easily to the left. I knew I'd be sore the next day (but it's not as bad as expected). We kept switching back to the right since the "bad side" was getting to be so easy.

I REALLY enjoy Danny lessons because he's tough, and you get a lot accomplished in just one hour. You're always getting questioned and ideas handed to you that make you think. He's always asking you things over and over again so they stick. The next ride, you know EXACTLY what to do because you repeat what you're doing throughout the lesson out loud. It's a great way to teach because you can't forget unless you are not participating in which case he lets you know it. You might get asked (which I did), "Now what are you doing wrong?"... when you're puzzled because you're doing things right (so you think). The point is, you think, "What am I doing wrong?". Well, nothing. The answers are sometimes complex and usually simple, but you don't think to say, "Umm, I'm doing everything right." It's positive reinforcement to remind you that you know what you're doing while you're doing it.

I had to repeat to Danny (out loud) "this is the hard side" a few times while we went around to the right in a perfect circle to remind myself that we accomplished what we were looking to do. Also, "outside rein sets the pace, inside rein turns his nose" must have been repeated ten times. Then I got asked, "and what else are you doing?" I also had to add "if the inside rein doesn't make him move out his shoulder, then push him out with the inside leg."  Saying this over and over again is going to help my next rides immensely. I'm looking forward to the next lesson because we were looking like a dressage team! The trainer/BO took a video of us once we got through the rough spots and changing direction. It's hard to see the difference between either side because he was so good in both directions! :)

Wednesday and Thursday Fun

[I updated last post with pictures for further opinions!]

Wednesday was another hot one, and when I say hot, I mean hotter than usual. Usually it's much warmer this time of year. We've been getting so much rain which has really screwed up my riding schedule as well as my mood! We did w/t/c, but he didn't want to go to the right at the canter. UGH, Spyder. I know it's hot, but it was my goal to get him to canter to the right even if it was just for a few steps. We finally got it after a lot of fussing!

Since it was so hot, we worked on our square which was walking to a halt on the corner and pushing his hind end over to turn in the next direction. We worked on the track by the ring so we could see the lines, and I was happy he behaved. He thought he was going back to his paddock or stall to eat, but we worked for a bit longer on those "buttons". I hosed him down after the ride, and you could tell he appreciated it!

Thursday it cooled off a lot because there was a storm coming (surprise, surprise) and tornado warnings. The wind was AWESOME for a ride considering it's been so hot. He was a lot happier to work with than the day prior!

We did some w/t/c canter in field, and used a much larger area than usual. Again, we had a hard time to the right, but it was easier than last time. Even with the commotion in the woods (mowing of the trails), he was such a well behaved horse! The wind was blowing like crazy, and nothing seemed to phase him. I finally feel like we're both more trusting as things are getting easier.

I went out on track and trotted because they were feeding so we took a few laps up and down the area we've walked on for a while. I have yet to turn the corner where you can't see the barn, but hopefully we'll get there soon. I went over to his stall area and worked on moving his front end without the hind end. How fun! It took him just 2 days of working on it, and we can do a full circle like we're some sort of western reining team. OK, it's not that fast, but it's still exciting.

He ate and I hosed him down since he worked up quite a sweat from our lovely canter out in the open! :)

It's a Hot One

Yesterday was the first day that NJ got above 90 degrees. I love hot weather so I am not complaining! Of course I had planned to ride so I didn't let that stop me. The breeze was nice, but it was not cool enough for Spyder. I was sweating tacking up! Oh boy, this was going to be a fun ride.

At first, I stuck to w/t and worked on that bit pressure business. I think Spyder is starting to catch on... you give, I give. What's so difficult to understand? He got a lot of walking time out in the field, and we worked on the canter for just a few strides in each direction. UGH! When it is hot, I know he is lazy, BUT we needed to at least pick it up. He didn't want to go, but I hadn't ridden since Monday and I spend a lot of time and money on this horse. He needs to listen (if only they could understand).

And so I kicked and kicked and kissed and kissed, and Mr. Grump has his ears back. I used my spurs, but 90 wasn't making him move. I'll have to use a crop when I ask him do so something that he doesn't want to do because we don't need to get in the habit of not doing something that's being asked. Once he picked it up (finally), I brought him back down to a walk. Hopefully he'll start to get that if he at least tries, he won't have to work that hard. We're going to go when I tell him to and stop before he feels like stopping on his own free will (his favorite move). I hate riding with a crop, but when it's hot, we'll save us both the trouble of getting hotter and more tired than we need to.

We walked back to the barn where I hopped off, and he was DEAD. He didn't move while I untacked, and I put him in his stall while I put everything away. I was so surprised that he didn't even move to check his grain bucket like he always does. He waited a few minutes and checked like I knew he would! If he didn't, something would have been VERY wrong.

I took him over to the outside wash stall to hose him down because he was so miserable and sweaty. He stood perfectly like he always does, but the bugs really get to him so he was aggravated. I made sure that I got every inch of him and he looked like he was so happy to be getting wet. He is REALLY loving this new hose trick, and he makes faces when he wants a drink. I put it near his face and he learned to put the end in his mouth to get more water! He used to just put his nose through the water or stick his tongue out to try to get it, but he's learned that biting the end of the hose, the water goes right in. I wish I had a video because it was too funny, but I didn't want to ruin my phone at the farm.. again.. for the third time.

I walked him back towards the barn to get my phone in the event he did something else cute and hilarious. I was about 10 feet away from it, and I felt a tug. I look behind me to see why he stopped. HE SAT DOWN... like a dog... butt on the ground and front feet on the ground still straight! This is the second time I've seen him do this, but I never thought it would be on the lead! He was in such "distress" from his relaxing/easy ride in the heat and his hose that he HAD to sit, lay, then roll in the grass while on the lead! I have a big dog. I was laughing, but REALLY? I had the shank on him (just because he can't help but help himself to grass the entire walk to/from anywhere) so I tried to get him up, but nothing was stopping him from rolling all over the clover. Hey, at least it wasn't dirt. It's just too bad I was [     this      ] close to having that on camera.