Help! I think?

So I take back what I said last post. Monday, I got on went to the track where Spyder didn't want to move. Now, I thought before when he stopped it was because he had to go to the bathroom... he went and he got over it. This time, there was no moving. Kicking, clucking, pushing, pulling - he wasn't moving. Is something wrong? Is this is his new trick? I almost got off to get a crop, but we kept turning until he would move and pushed through it.

Since he wouldn't move on the track, we went over to the field with cross country jumps and deer. He had a fit - jumping up in the front and throwing his head. Oh joy. I handled it well, but he was not steering and wanted to go back to barn. Great! Is my horse going to turn sour? We kept doing circles right where the deer were and pushed past the path to the barn. New idea - I trotted all over the field and then trotted to the track past where we worked (aka tried) making it *almost* to the big field where we usually ride. FAIL. He decided to stop again. There was not a care in the world that we needed to get there, but again, I pushed through it, did some steering work, and we got there.

We trotted and moved off leg and cantered our figure 8.  We had a decent ride, and he was picking up the canter well in both directions so I decided to head back. He could not stand still after I decided to stop him from pulling me to the gate. He was being so rude; therefore, every time he walked and pulled, I'd ask him to trot. You want to go, Spyder, you can go! We went in the opposite direction he was trying to go. We came back down to halt, and he still wanted to lift his head and pull so we cantered..... and cantered... This was until he wanted to stop, of course.

It only ended up being a 40 minute ride, but we're back to the temporary (hopefully) struggles and asking for opinions. Could there be something wrong? Is this him trying to outsmart me? What am I doing wrong? Ideas? Hints? Tricks? We're always cycling. Again, I'm happy we're working through things, but this has got to end. One ride could be great and another could fall apart so we'll hope for the best next ride.

Thursday Ride

I quickly forget what we did on a particular ride if I don't take noted right away so I'm probably missing a ton. Anyways, I got the farm and I wasn't feeling 100%. There were two boarders that I usually talk to that wanted to hear all about the wedding. I was happy to relax and talk to them for a bit because I was feeling better by the time I got tacked up. I got on Spyder a bit later than I was expecting to, but we had a very short ride because it was perfect.

We headed out to the big field where we worked on our trot and bending and quickly moved to canter because he was so good. On the way out, Spyder stopped and WOULD NOT move which was frustrating, but it was feeding time so I figured this was his new tactic. He just had to go to the bathroom... hahaha. After that, he was all for continuing on. Our figure 8 is helping with the command, but the horse of habit is getting the hang of the spots in the field where we pick up the lead and go. I've been thinking about how we can get strong at the canter, but the habits are going to get in the way so we'll need to change things up.

I headed back after about just 30 minutes since he was a good listener and did everything we needed to easily. He didn't even flinch at the deer that were out there taunting us. I'm proud of him for being less fussy during feeding time, as well. I think my baby horse is growing up and finally starting to mature. It's been SO much easier since he's lost his "colt attitude." I did find out that they are just resting the field Spyder was in for a bit to get the grass growing and the mud dried up. I'm happy he won't be staying in the swampy field for long... although it's been dry.

I didn't get to ride this past weekend because I had a migrane Sunday when I woke up. Saturday was nice because we got a lot done around the house and went mountain biking. They took out a lot of the bridges and obstacles to discourage riding where we go, but it was still a good time on the trails. Biking helps a lot with cardio and leg which, of course, helps with riding! :) I'll have to see if Spyder is afraid of a bike because Chris said he'd come with me to try out trails if that would work out. Yesterday was sunny and warmer than usual (but still not up to par with the typical weather) so I had a pool day and relaxed. I haven't had a migrane that bad, EVER. Back to riding this week and hoping for warmer and dryer weather!

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!

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!

Back at it

I got to ride yesterday which was the first day back since the wedding (and the week before). I left work a bit early to make sure that I had enough time in the event he had a lot of energy or wanted to act up from sitting for a week (and I couldn't find him because he moved to the field next to his since his needs a rest and that one has a ton of grass). He did not have a case of energy. Spyder was more peppy than usual, but that lasted about 15 minutes. What a lazy horse! He listened to my leg fairly well and remembered what we had learned in our Danny lesson. We had a smooth, comfortable trot that looked really great since he was staying round and putting forth an effort.

That lasted long... we had to push through some lazy spots. The rhythm gets lost when Spyder doesn't feel like going. I know it's still hot, but it's been low humidity and lower temperatures PLUS he sat. There is no excuse! The cluck is coming in handy to keep him listening and in a steady pace. When I am posting, my voice has to set the pace and keep him going along with my leg. Hopefully we can work through lazy, and it's good switching up the routine to keep him excited.

We did a lot of circles on the bit, and worked on w/t transitions. A figure eight around a jump with walking and changing the bend in the middle before picking up the trot again got his attention. He was very quiet, and I'm glad that I have a horse that picks back up where he left off. Level headed and quiet is better than a crazy peppy one. Go Spyder! I am looking forward to riding this week (only Thursday, though). I have a wedding in Virginia this weekend so next week should become a more steady schedule. I'm excited to get back to a bit of jumping. The jumps at the "adult barn" are always set pretty high because no one changes them so I am thinking of riding next door. The lesson jumps are better. Yes, I am just as lazy as Spyder and don't want to get back on after I get off to fix the jumps. I'm guilty.

:)

Brushed his tail out

Always drinks as soon as he's put back

More Track Time

I got some time on the track this week, but this wedding is really cramping my riding and "what I want to do" schedule. This week has been a lot of what you HAVE to do vs. what you WANT to do. Anyways, I got on for a quick ride as the humidity is KILLER! It's finally cooled off into the 80's, but that doesn't stop the sticky gross air we have this time of year. Spyder was visibly miserable being tacked up so I know it'd be a fun ride.

On the track, we warmed up in our 20 meter circle. I put him into the bridle and made him work on suppleness as he had off 6 days. Moving off of my leg was too much to ask, and since he wasn't too motivated to do anything, we worked on a lot of w/t/halt. FUN... not. From there, we did get into the canter, but the sand is a lot of him to work wit. He's much harder to the right still, but we'll get there. Need to work on that balance and steering! We worked on moving parts of his body so I pushed over his shoulder and did a few spins then worked on moving over his hind end. We need to get back at riding and practice because he wasn't too responsive. We cooled out on the track since the ground was soggy.

He looks thrilled.

I hope that it dries up a bit to get out in the field again after the wedding (Saturday) and get back to jumping. Next week promises more riding. :)