Group Ride Wednesday

I did the treat trick again to save my boots from the mud. It look 1 minute and 30 seconds to get Spyder walking from the back corner to the gate... not bad. I'll take the little wait for the clean shoes!

I rushed to the barn to tack up since I had plans to ride with one of the girls that trailers in (the one I talked about prior that also feeds most nights) I ended up riding with the 2 K's at the barn: the other that I'm doing the pace with. We're all going to the hunter pace so it was great to ride together. We had another little girl from the other farm ride over with the K that trailered in to the farm next door. We rode out to the big ring to get in some riding time, and it was a ton of fun!

At first, it was like a circus. We didn't have rhythm and we were just riding all over the field. We were all jumping different jumps and turning towards each other so it made for some paying attention. What better practice for the show this weekend? Spyder and I did some of the jumps that we don't normally do since we were in the company of others - the stone wall jumps that are beat up (and are missing the top so they are extra scary), the wishing well, a bunch of cross rails, and the brush box thing without the brush. Spyder had no idea what was going on as we don't ride with anyone rather than 3 other horses, and he behaved so well!

Spyder's behavior was so great so K that feeds decided to get on him. She always wanted to ride a stb, and I got on Sassy, the pony she rides (last post talk). Sassy is a fun little pony, but I'm not really sure how K deals with her feisty attitude and endless need to canter everywhere. Her trot is so cute, but she tosses her head a lot. You almost feel like she might rear she gets it up and back so far. K is brave for jumping a pony like that! Her "going round" is backing up to no end. I do think she'll do that all day before she gives to the bit. They are going to get her teeth checked because she's not into the bit AT ALL! She loves riding her so much, and you really get used to the horse you are on.. this was proof! I then traded ponies with the girl that followed K over to get on the one I used to lease/lesson on in college and right before I found Spyder. He's AMAZING and I cantered him for a circle just to be on a "normal" horse.

Pony I used to lease with his owner & the brush/box jump

K that feeds

K on my hunter pace team

Once we got through jumping and trading ponies, we headed back, and Spyder was so happy to eat. For once, he didn't act out in rage because everyone else was getting fed. Again, no spurs called for some great riding, and K even got him to canter for her (and jump a cross rail). I'm excited to be getting my happy horse back. :) The hubby and I picked up the trailer last night, but either the wiring is wrong, the bulbs, or something is up with the truck. The parking lights stay on, but we drove 1.5-2 hours without blinkers and brake lights (through some rain), and it was not fun at all! I'm glad that it's home safe for us to work on the lights, and I think that we might fix the one part that could be reinforced to know it's over with and 100% safe. I can't wait to use it!

Two-Point: Feel the Burn

Last night, I rode figuring I'd get things in order for the 4-h open show Sunday. Spyder had a decent consistent pace at the trot, but wanted to keep stopping and being lazy (until two-point came). Again, no spurs, but he was moving off of leg, and he was forced to listen per my "I'm not putting up with this" attitude. We did circles until he wanted to stay in "go", and then we moved on to two-point exercises (go is exciting to him here). I REALLY need to work on my leg as my right leg is SO must weaker. If I ride and tell myself to step down in to it, it can come close to my left heel, but it's still a bit off.

Trotting in two-point helped a lot and proved to me that I am out of shape. Trotting for three strides posting then two-point for three strides is not the most fun, but it's a great way to get your heels down. You would think that Spyder was a TB in his previous life because every time I would get in two-point, he would canter. I'm not sure if that's because he was like, "Oh, you're doing something different, I guess this is what I do?" OR if he was just like, "Yay, you're off my face, let me go." He was VERY good about his canter, and it was quite controlled. I would sit up in two-point to get him to slow rather than pulling on the reins, and it worked well! He figured out that I wasn't asking him to canter and was very happy to keep on trotting. That transition is definitely coming along, but I wish the canter was better so we didn't have to stick to walk/trot classes. We'll get there, I just have to be patient.

Tonight, I am going to ride with a girl that feeds at the barn that trailers in to ride. She borrows a pony from the woman that helped me get the equestrian club going at college, and I even looked at the pony to free lease out for a while. She's a cute little thing that will jump the moon. I rode her in a judged trail ride (last year? maybe the year before?), and her name, Sassy, fits her attitude at times. We might be swapping so that K can ride a standardbred and I can canter on a "normal horse." I'm excited that it seems to be working out for me in terms of getting new types of rides in, and this trailer is going to really open a whole new window of fun.

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!

Bloodlines

April's horse Shadow and Spyder are related on the No Nuke's side. I've been doing some research just because I was interested in finding out more about the background, and it's seriously insane that they can be traced back to before I even thought possible (1600's). I wanted to see what breeds I could find, and there are actually a lot that make up Spyder (and Shadow).

I've gone through the No Nukes side where I've found breeding from a lot of thoroughbred, morgan, barb, arabian, trotter, hackney, saddlebred, tennessee walker, and angloarabian thoroughbred (whatever that is) horses. I figured I'd keep this separate so April could read that,too.

Exploring the Abercrombie, Most Happy Fella, Laag, and Tyler B lines, I found that most all stb's tie back to one another (I read this, but never looked for myself). Volomite, Messenger, and Abercrombie were those that I kept seeing the most on every side. From this is more hackney, morgan, trotter, arabian, morab?, thoroughbred, barb, etc.

This is Laag which is how Spyder's mom came about with the gray color. Reading into this more, melanoma is a terrifying thing which is big on this side, AHH! :(

Spyder's great grandfather

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

The Transitions

Thursday: Warming up, Spyder was a bit bored. He didn't want to move out, up, or off my leg so we moved on to something that might beabout a bit more exciting... transitions! The trot was slow and steady so the transitions were bound to lift him up. We started one direction with 5 steps of walk, 10 steps of trot, and 15 of canter then came back down with 10 steps of trot and 5 steps of walk to start back up again. I went around about 3 times with that pattern before giving him a break and switching to the harder side.

On the tougher side, we did 10 steps walk, 10 steps trot, 5 steps canter, 10 steps trot, 10 steps walk, and we did this just twice. He was an angel and anticipated each new speed, but I wasn't asking soon enough. Going from walk to trot he wanted to canter, but I was able to slow him to a trot. His canter to trot is a little tough, but it'll get better. Each time we did a transition, it got easier the next time around so I know it was working.

I plan on having a lesson with Danny on Sunday which always seems to help us move along further than I ever thought possible. I hope this one goes as well as the others, and I hope to not get too anxious or nervous! Dom from other posts (and this blog) put me in touch with another rider of a standardbred from SRF. It turns out that her horse and Spyder are related per grandfather (I think? - No Nukes)! She's going to drive down to my house Sunday to head over to the barn for my lesson to see Spyder go. In the beginning of my training, I was right where she is now so it'll be good for both of us to chat and have support for the struggles! :)

Oh, and there was talk on a board on Facebook about bloodlines. I posted a little bit of Spyder's, and Dom let me know this: "Western Paradise is a very famous standardbred sire. No Nukes had a nasty temper but was a brilliant racing stallion. Many of his grandsons make excellent riding horses. His mother comes from Tyler B and Laag lines, both of which are very well bred. Abercrombie was one of the founding sires in the breed." 

There is a book out there that talks about the breed as a sport horse and looks into the lines which I might have to look into getting to read more about the breed. In the near future, I plan to get the links to all of Spyder's lines to see if there are photos available and/or breeding information. I know I came across TB and Morgan when I did a few quick clicks! 

Someone on Facebook told me that grays run on his mother's side... She said, "you have some really good names there -- Albatross, Meadow Skipper, Most Happy Fella, Abercrombie -- Laag is a great gray producer -- and YAY! we're related! Tyler B is my boy's grandsire on his mare's side!" Me, "his mom, "little red light" is called "RED" for short.. but she's 100% gray now!" Her, "well, Arcane Hanover is a Bay and Painted Night is a Roan, which might explain "Red."

My, oh my: The Attitude Change

Wednesday I moved forward with my disciple (if you read my last post, you read about his stopping ordeal). I gave him benefit of doubt and went out without a crop. I wore the usual spurs which I didn't use, but I thought I should have them for reinforcement when the time came. I didn't use them because I wanted him to think it was his idea to head out to work. We went around a set of trees to try something new for a warm up, and he was great (to the one direction). I circled on the side of the trees where the barn is to turn around, and he stopped. GREAT.

We headed back to the barn where we tack up, and he was so excited to be going where he wanted. Little did he know, it was just for the whip which I left out on the mounting block. I didn't even have to use it, and Spyder was a whole new horse (peppy and ready to go - up for listening, too!). All you have to do is hold it, and he's on point. His ears are back waiting for the next command, and it's a lot less arguing. We worked on the track at w/t/c and the canter was the best we've had yet. It was consistent with speed and had little attitude. I am even getting bend by pushing off of my leg. He is holding it longer, but it is still in a circle. Once we go straight, it falls apart, but I think the bending will help him think he's on his circle.

Thursday, I didn't use the whip, but kept it out just in case. I was hoping it  was enough to threaten Spyder as I'd like to think he saw it and thought twice about acting up. We went out to the field, and I kept him on the buckle. Again, I wanted him to think it was his idea to. We got out there without a fight, and rode with another horse. Ok, they rode in the dressage ring, and we went in the field next to it. He was excited to be in the ring with someone else, and because of that, I didn't need much leg to get him going.

We worked on the usual w/t, but went all around the field and worked on circles, bending, and even steering. When the other horse and rider left, he didn't throw a fit like he usually does, either. He was focused. We did our steering, bending, and moving off of leg in the canter, too. Instead of figure 8, we worked on pushing through a few circles and then switched directions. I brought him back down to trot to work on an S up and down the field to work on direction. He was bad at halting so we worked on that for the last 10 minutes for our cool down. He kept pulling to walk back, but I think he learned his lesson from last time. You listen, then you can go back. Our 30 minute rides turn into 40 minute rides because he can't help himself. Let's hope he learns soon.

Monday and Tuesday - Sit Back and Enjoy the Ride

Monday I was able to get the dog back to its owner to get in some riding. I was SO happy to be able to get to the barn as it's been a while! I grabbed Spyder and tacked up quickly. He was dirty compared to usual, but it's the norm for horses that aren't afraid of dirt. I hopped on and warmed up on the track since another person was grazing their horse in the jumping ring. I worked on moving off of leg and pushing into the bit to get a nice bend, and he was working hard on our circle. It was perfect until he saw other horses coming his way. He gets excited and has to look to see what's going on.

He walks to me when I go out in the field.

Napping

There were people going around the track for a trail ride so I walked with them to get the experience. He hasn't been around the track much, and the first time we tried to do it alone, he turned back for the barn and ran off towards it. I was SO happy that he was calm and relaxed. He's quite the follower and is so great with a group that he can trust. I wonder if they spooked if he would, but I'm glad we didn't have to try it. The jumping ring was free so we went in there to work on our trotting (even the sitting trot, ouch). The jumps were set really high so I worked on flat work and did the one small cross rail over and over again. We cantered a bit after the jump, and we headed back.

Nice part

I WANTED to end on that good note, but Spyder kept tossing his head when the other horses left and pulling towards directions he wanted to go. We worked on transitions, stopping, and standing still to make a point. Back to the basics it was until he decided to listen. Backing up was even too much to ask so heavy hands and lots of leaning until he got the point were not very fun with my lack of muscle from the time off. What I thought was a GREAT 40 minute ride ending up ending in an additional 20 minute cool down/listening session. Once we worked on our transitions, he was a lot quieter heading back to the barn. This was one of those rides that took a lot longer than it needed to, but it made me happy to know that we could work through something together. Even a bad ride has turned into a good ride for this reason.

On to Tuesday. I tacked up and warmed up around the barn to head out to the jumping ring. Spyder didn't want to move off my leg so we did some spiraling in and out to work on response time. The bend gets lost when he doesn't want to listen to leg so we have to work on getting that AND moving over at the same time. Since he decided to give up on fighting with me, we moved to cantering. We've got a new exercise to work on, and I must say I am very lucky to have a horse that doesn't want to move without the correct lead. We worked on a figure 8 starting to the left since he's better that way. The concept was to canter the one side of the 8, walk in the middle, then pick up the other lead when changing direction. Lead changes will be fun... not. But the cue is definitely working.

He was much cleaner and super shiny on Tuesday.

He did have an "incident" where he tripped or slipped... something happened. When you're on, you can't tell what he's doing. When he bucks, you can see him thinking about it and warming up to it if you're not looking up and ahead. My new way of riding (how I should have all along, is looking up and where I'm going.. haha) seems to help. Since he's a horse of habit, you have to work through the place on the circle or in the ring where he decides it's the "moment." He had that moment where it seemed like maybe he slipped, but then got mad and maybe tried to buck or he tried to buck, but then slipped.. and then hopped up. Whatever it was, it happened twice, and we worked through it. It ended the ride perfectly. Again, taking a good ride that turned bad back to good by making it a learning experience. I wish it was that easy to think that way in the beginning.

I do believe that we're getting somewhere. It might not be the best looking canter or the strongest, but it's becoming easier to control. We're getting a little bend, we're moving off of leg a tad, pacing is less, and we're getting a faster response time to the cue. I can hug his barrel with my legs and not get an instantly angry response. The tripping and breaking is less and his attitude better. I feel like I can sit back and enjoy the ride because I'm not as worried about what he's going to pull on me next. My seat and hands are better, and I'm sure that adds to enjoyment for both of us.

We walked back to the barn where it was feeding time. I put Spyder in his stall and was taking WAY too long to get his bucket of feed to him so he kept ramming his gate like a crazy horse. I have never seen him so impatient and it bothered me... a lot. This cooler weather should make life more interesting, for sure.

The other boarder cleaned up the tack room for us and it looks amazing!

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! :)

The Little Things

I was beyond tired yesterday at work after returning from San Fran, but I missed Spyder so much (and his birthday! :( June 4th and he's 6!). I knew I had to get to the barn, but I was so unmotivated. On my turn out of the work parking lot, it started raining. GREAT! I went anyway... got changed in my car while I watched it shower, and then I watched it stop. It was off an on the whole time I was getting things together, but it stayed dry for my ride.

Getting Spyder out of the field, I noticed the two newer geldings have figured out the paddock. The one is mean! He assumed it was feeding time, and was lunging at the others coming near the gate - ears back, teeth out, and ready for the kill. He even got his feet off the ground if they were getting too close. This made me so sad because Spyder knows me and gets so excited to come up to me. Since I was never around this new horse, he kept Spyder away and he was so upset he couldn't get over to me. Poor guy - at least now he's getting a taste of his control over the herd. Spyder is to the point where he's just got to put his ears back and they back away, but this horse is just plain sour and nasty!

Next up, the mustang. He came over from the barn next door and always escaped over there. He hadn't that I am aware of at this barn... until I got near the gate when he was close. I did see him following Spyder and I, but I didn't think he'd just bust through the gate! This is his "thing", apparently. He waits for you to close it, and then he puts all of his weight on it and runs. Of course this would be on a day where I was rushing to get on before the rain. Spyder is good with grass so I just let go of his lead since I knew he wouldn't go anywhere. I had to grab this horse quick, and he kept trying to kick Spyder who was near the gate eating. UGH! I was hoping this wasn't how my ride would go.

Spyder was more aware then usual which I expected for 6 days off, but he was back to lazy Spyder in 3 minutes. We rode out in the big field where we worked on "the little things." We would walk then stop, and try to move his hind end over. I slid my foot back, and it took a bit, but he got it. His biggest issue is which part to move. First he wants to move the front so I stop him, then he wants to back because he's like, "OK, next best thing", then he finally moves his butt over. This is fun, frustrating, and the biggest workout ever (not only for his butt, but mine... feel the burn). I find I have more leverage and power without my stirrup so I get to work on getting those back without reaching down to put my feet in them (a bad habit of mine). We worked on moving the hind end over a few times in each direction with a loose trot circle in between for some mind clearing.

Mind clearing was a must because my leg was hurting and Spyder was furstrated. Whenever we try something new, he takes a little bit to figure out what you want, and once he figures it out, he's good to go. Soon we'll have those "buttons", but for now, we have moving somewhere on command. The one time he was backing he decided to rear on command (so it seemed) and another time, he moved into my leg. Oh wow, Spyder... get it together! It was just a few inches off the ground, but let's hope that was his kicking out habit that will come to an end. He only did it once so I think we're good, and I didn't ride long because he was listening and doing so well after that incident.

I got back to the barn, untacked, and gave him a little extra grain and hay because I missed him and he deserved it. I have no idea why Spyder does this (assuming his age and oral fixation issues?), but he licks the wall. He LOVES to taste everything that comes near his mouth, but when he is finished eating, he always licks one of two walls in his stall - this is, of course, after he licks his bucket for 5 minutes to make sure there is not even the flavor of grain. At this point, he probably licks the stall because it tastes like grain from the day prior! haha

Friday Ride

Before heading to San Fran for work, I decided to get in another ride. It was again over 90 degrees, but this time, I was not going to let Spyder get away with not doing what was asked of him. The field is FINALLY mowed 100% except for a few straggling long pieces... all of which Spyder tries to grab while in action. I am hoping that the grass is not going to become a greater issue, but I make sure the signal is apparent as a NO!

Shiny with his feet trimmed

His lovely hair. He's standing REALLY weird.

Before I went out in the ring, I made sure that I got my dressage whip. Since it was hot, I was not going to put up with anything. Do what I ask, and it'll all be over soon. Before moving forward back at the barn, I made sure he was OK with it. I know that he knows what a crop/whip are, but I wanted to make sure he wasn't going to be jumpy or too forward since I have yet to ride him with one. His ears came back as soon as I picked it up, but it was more of a listening act vs. being angry. I rubbed it on his shoulder and back and moved towards his tail to make sure that he would be good with it. I moved it out extending my arm to see if he would spook with it far from his body. He was so good! I switched hands with it in front of the saddle to bring the whip up over his ears. Again, no spook. We were ready to ride, and Spyder was ready to go.

In the field, he was super attentive. He has been getting better with this, but his actions come sooner rather than later when asked to do something. All you have to do is hold the crop, and he knows it is there. He listens and waits, and it makes riding a lot easier. You don't have to kick, scream, push, and pull. You just have to ask while holding the crop. Well, that was easy, and he's also a bit more excitable with it in tow. At first, I thought he was nervous or anxious, but he's just more willing to listen for fear of punishment! Holding a whip in my hand is the new punishment, haha.

After I warmed up, the trainer at the farm came over with a pony to give someone a lesson. To get out of their way, I went into the dressage ring. From here, we did a bit of walking to make sure he wasn't going to spook or act up with other commotion going on. They were working on w/t/c and jumping (then cross country) so I wanted to make sure he would behave around a horse he has never seen. Usually he throws fits when horses are in the ring and he has to do something they aren't doing... he likes to follow or watch what they are doing. Asking him to pay attention and listen to me is too much to ask, but this was not the case today. Since he did so well, we worked on picking up the canter. With the crop, even on a hot day, it was just too easy. We cooled down after TRYING to do straight lines.

Walking back to the barn, we saw the vet on the track. She has kept a two of her standardbreds at the farm throughout their training to get in harness and out on the track for early training. The one two year old at the farm was racing, but I don't think she was doing too well, and her two year old gelding is out for training. She wants to bring the mare back for a new discipline, racing under saddle (or RUS). People are starting to learn about this because of the exhibitions at races in the area. She was pacing under saddle (prior to the cart training), but she will trot and pace with her new trainer (getting 60 days), and the vet said she would love to ride her in one of the races and try it out. How exciting! The vet joked and said she would race me under saddle on her pacer, but we don't pace much if at all (not consistently at least) AND Spyder is just not cut out for fast. Maybe that would be exciting for him to work a little harder?

I untacked and hosed Spyder off since it was going to be a warm night. I took him to the outside cross ties with my phone. I sacrificed it with the water thinking that I didn't want to miss such a scene that I had last blog... the drinking from the hose and sitting like a dog on the lead. I got one of the two acts that I wanted to see, but not 100%. For everyone's viewing pleasure, I got the hose performance on tape. The bad news, it wasn't even half as cute or skilled as it was days prior, but you get the point.

Annoying him with the hose because he won't do it!

Turned the hose down so he would remember what to do!

 Me giggling. He did it, but he usually drinks longer. Today, he just wanted to play.

P.S. I'm in San Fran still (until late Wednesday night) so I won't be riding until Thursday (if I'm awake enough after work because I get back late). It is BEYOND beautiful and warm here for the norm.

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.