Day 253

Sunday

The farrier came out today and surprisingly he wasn't more than an hour late! While we were waiting for him, we let everyone out in the paddock to play. Harry and I played "I'm gonna get you!", which is basically where I walk around all cool and calm while he's eating, then stop and look at him and he looks up at me, then I crouch down really fast and he takes off. It's really cute, I need to record it. He knows to come by me or not be bothered by me when I'm standing upright, but when I crouch down, he speeds away! It's adorable =]

We only had enough tranquilizer for Nina, so Harry didn't get his shoes back on. I just remembered that I forgot to bring them with to school for luck. I left them at home. I'll have to get them when I go back this weekend. Harry was a little nervous at first and kicked out with his front foot when the farrier was trying to pull the shoe off and he knocked the hoof stand and then got scared because it fell down, but after that I put light pressure over his nose with my hand when he started to get tense and he relaxed into the whole process. After that, there weren't anymore issues.

Kimmy was looking for someone to ride with, since Sadie doesn't like to ride alone, and Brie was already trimmed so I took her for the first ride we've had in a while. I hate getting preoccupied with one horse over another, but it happens. She was so calm today and I think a lot of it has to do with my attitude. I was determined to keep a light rein and steady contact with my legs and seat. I've been trying to rely more on my lower body than my upper body while riding. We walked for a long time, each time she started to speed up I only lifted the reins when she started to jerk forward in anticipation or if she started to steadily start trying to increase, I sank my rear down into the saddle and gently started closing my fingers more tightly around the reins and she would slow back down before I even closed my hands all the way. After much walking to make sure that she got all of the kinks out of her arthritic leg, we sped up for a nice corto and then again for a smooth largo. I could really tell that she was happy with today's work. I also focused more on my legs than my hands for some serpentines and figure 8's throughout the ride.

At the end of the ride I put both reins into one hand and just let it rest on the pommel all while trying to direct her solely from my lower half and she responded wonderfully. She never tried to take off, so eventually I just dropped my stirrups and my rein and let her walk herself around the arena to cool and then gave her a nice warm shower. In all, a great day.

Day 252

I started off Harry today in the same way as yesterday and I've learned something --- he does not like the outdoor arena. We made a little more progress in the Friendly Game, and I got him to step up onto the concrete pad in the middle of the sound board outside all by himself, but he was very anxious and skippy once we started riding and we had to take lots of circle breaks.

Then we heard a dog barking and thought it was Paco's dog in the woods, so my brother and I rode out towards the back of the barn and as soon as we left, Harry started walking and was super calm. We ended up finding the dog -- she was just mad she was in her kennel.

Once we went back in the arena, Harry tensed back up. So my goal was to just get him to walk, since he started skipping only when I asked him to work. We ended up going out on trail again, me, my mom, my brother, and Kimmy with her horse Sadie. We rode in the road next to the property and followed it back about a half mile past the barn, going down a slow incline. Everyone was well behaved! I was a little iffy going back up the incline because there wasn't much grass to walk on and Harry has shoes, but we made it up just fine. There was even a car creeping behind us for a while and everyone was totally normal! I'm so proud of Harry and Brie for being so good.

When we got back from our ride, the horses were kind of sweaty so they got showers. Harry was falling asleep in the shower, silly thing! He must have been tired from doing something different and stimulating and having the chilly breeze in his face. Everyone will sleep well tonight, including me!

Day 251

During the past week, I signed back up for Parelli Connect after reading a bunch of articles from their blog archive. As I've said, recently I've been feeling a little lost with what to do with Harry and Brie. I didn't really have a goal or a purpose with either of them and that was not making any of us feel too great, so with Parelli Connect, I have a bunch of goals that I want to meet and they give you guidance through reading and videos on how to get there. Now my goal is to basically build trust and further our relationship in order to add performance on top of that in the next show season. This goal was really established after reading this article on enhancing performance naturally. It discusses how so often competitors get so caught up in the competition that the horse suffers through lack of guidance or becomes bored or strung out, which I think is what is happening with Harry. In a way, building up to your best performance is like baking a cake -- it can look really nice on the outside, but can taste terrible when it comes down to it. The only way to really perfect it is to make the best batter and only then is it worth it to decorate.

Source

After thinking about all of that, I approached Harry in a very different way today. Instead of throwing on the jaquima as usual and having him longe, I put on the rope halter and lead line underneath his first bit, along with the saddle. Then we went into the outdoor arena because there was construction in the indoor. I figured between the two distractions, the construction might be scarier. Instead of longing him, I took a long time playing with him. I played the Friendly Game and rubbed him all over and then tried to swing the rope at him, which he was not having anywhere past his shoulder, so we need to work on that. We played the Yo-Yo Game, which he loves. Then we just did some follow the leader and I walked backwards and forwards around the arena in zigzags and through the poles and once he realized that I didn't want him to longe, he snorted and just went along with what I was doing. Once I felt like he was calm enough, I got on.

He was a little scared because it was very gusty out, but I made sure to do my best to keep a loose rein and not let myself tie up with him because that makes him very anxious. So with a loose rein, we tried to calmly go around the arena. He was going a little fast and tap dancing because of the wind, so every time he started to get anxious, instead of pulling back and making him stop, I let him go in a little circle and went into it very calmly and he followed. We didn't have the best performance across the board, but he was calming down, so that's all I really cared about.

Meanwhile, my mom and brother were riding Brie and Nina and my mom wanted to go outside to walk around, so we all went. Nina was voted trail leader and she stayed in the front while Brie was in the middle and Harry was in the back. I made sure to keep a manageable rein on him and he was totally fine! Then my mom wanted to venture out along the road, not very far, just down the neighboring field and then come back. We were all a little hesitant, since we never have really gone outside of the property with them, but we put on our brave faces and guess what...everyone WALKED! Even Brie! Harry didn't get scared of anything, even a sports car that zoomed by! We were so amazed and proud and it was just the best feeling. No one got crazy, even on the way back. It was such a beautiful ride and I think it really did something for their confidence as well. 

Days 249 & 250

Saturday

I was all excited to try riding Brie without a bit this morning and then we only realized as we were 10 minutes away (and 50 minutes away from home) that we forgot our saddlepads and girths at home...so we couldn't ride. We let them all out to play, stayed a while, brushed them off, and then headed home, disappointed.


Sunday

We remembered everything today! And I decided that, since John had asked about a picture on Taco previously, I would bring my show clothes today so that we could have a little Taco photo shoot. Here are a couple of my favorites.

After our photo shoot, I got on Harry. I was kind of disappointed today with him, not because he was bad, but because I couldn't get him to focus on me. The construction workers were burning garbage outside the barn from the new round pen, so he was jittery because of the smell of smoke. Then he started that awkward sidepassing away from one of the walls again that he hasn't done in a while. And then I just felt like he wasn't responding well to the bit. We switched back to his second bit, where he had been riding with his first bit for a while. I think I might change back to that, because he was not even stopping when I asked him to, which is definitely not good. I was having to use a heavy hand, and I hate doing that, and I know he doesn't appreciate it, so the other bit would be better for him.

Meanwhile, my mom rode Brie without a bit and Brie was being absolutely crazy. She was sticking her nose out like a racehorse and nothing made her set her head back! So I think that adventure is done. She clearly needs a bit.

We got those Easy Boots for her in the mail this past week, so we put them on her to hope that it would absorb some of the impact from kicking the wall, since she's started that up again. Paco says that she kicks a lot in the middle of the afternoon, between meals. My suggestion was to cut up her daily rations into three and give her a lunch, but that's apparently unheard of, so that's not going to happen. Instead, we moved her to the end stall where she has a big view of outside towards the woods. She had a window in her old stall, but it's tiny and now she can fully stick her head out and see a lot of the outdoors. But now she can't see Nina or Harry because we had to scoot them down one stall each so Harry wouldn't be harassed by the other mares, so I hope that's not stressing her out too much.

Days 247 & 248

I completely forgot to write this over the weekend, so I'm going from memory here. I'm going to try to write it like it was that day.

Saturday

If there ever was a "best" day for riding, today was the day. It was absolutely gorgeous out and I wanted nothing more than to go around with my little Harry. I wonder what he's really thinking when I imagine he's looking at me with such love in his eyes. He was a little iffy in the warm-up, and wanted to go pretty fast, which is always a surprise to me. I changed his bit back once again and it's too early to tell how he's responding to it, although I can say that he is not having issues flexing anymore, so whatever his deal was with that must have worked itself out, although I still take extra caution stretching him before we start up.

After his ride, my mom, brother and I walked around outside, enjoying the weather. Not the ideal Quarter horse type walk, but enjoyable nonetheless. It was so cute, he couldn't keep up with Brie and Nina's power walk, so he broke into the tiniest canter I've ever ridden and didn't get psycho about it. After that, I don't mind letting him canter around outside a bit. He truly has gotten a lot more confidence outside.

Sunday

Worming day! And well needed, the horses have begun ripping their tails out. Poor things. They look so shabby now, but hopefully it will smooth out soon. Brie has been kicking the stall again and we have no idea why, Paco has supposedly increased her food rations. So we tried on one of Judy's trail boots and Brie didn't seem to mind it, and so she suggested that, since the impact of the kick must be affecting her arthritis, we should buy a boot of our own and just leave it on her all week. It's not so much as a boot, but more of a hoof covering. It doesn't go up on the meaty part of her leg at all. All we can do is give it a shot.

The Easy Boot, via Horseloverz.com

So since we're pretty much decided on not showing Brie again, I've been wondering about how she would react if I started riding her bitless again. When she was being trained, the only reason she started wearing a bit was because we wanted to show her, and it's required, but before she was age 5, she hadn't had one. I think that next week I'm going to try that out and see how she is. She was being pretty compliant today, but I felt like she could have relaxed even more. My goal for her now is to just get her into a calm mindset and keep her there for the entire ride. We walked around outside by ourselves, in which she didn't bolt, so that was a plus. I managed to keep her at a speed-walk the entire way through.

While I was waiting around by myself in the outdoor, I noticed that the serpentine boards had been filled in where the gap was that she got her hoof stuck in, so I hopped off and tried to have her walk over them. She wasn't too keen on the idea, but she walked over them a couple of times before everyone came out and we got back on and walked around some more. She's really doing well lately, I think it might be because she's getting out a little more since the heat wave has subsided. Her leg wasn't swollen at all this weekend and she didn't really limp either day too. I hope that as autumn sets in, she's much more comfortable.

Day 246

Sunday

I really didn't want to post this because of extreme embarrassment, but I figured that I should, as it is a learning lesson.

I brought my cousin out to ride today. She's been out before, when she was little, when we were still at the first farm, so she knows Brie and Nina, but not Harry. So they met and she seemed to click with him right away. It was just her, my brother, and me today, and when we got there, we each got a horse and let them out in the pasture. Good thing too, since Harry went crazy running around and kicking and bucking and flying in the pasture. Glad that wasn't me on him! So they played and my cousin and I went in and chased them around, then we all caught them and brought them back. We groomed and she chose Harry to groom. I helped her tack up Harry, but told her that I wanted her to hold Brie while my brother and I rode Nina and Harry and then she could ride Nina. No problem.

Harry was okay. He could have been better if I felt like I had the time to work with him, but since she was there, I wanted to make sure she got all the riding she wanted. Once Harry settled into an acceptable gait, I got off, my brother got off, and we put my cousin on Nina while I stood there with Harry and Brie on the ground. My brother took my cousin by the pisador around the arena and she was all happy. Then he said that she wanted to go outside, so I followed them out there.

My brother asked, once she got more comfortable, if she wanted to hop over the little ditch in the back and she said sure. So he was running with Nina over the ditch, back and forth, but Nina was just walking through it, but my cousin was laughing and having fun.

Here's the beginning of my stupid mistake. I said, "Hey, Nina isn't jumping, Harry will. Do you want to go on Harry?" And she gets on. My brother takes Harry and he's just running through it too and I say, "Let me take Harry, you're not giving him enough rope to jump. He doesn't want to trample you." So I take Harry. We run over one way and he hops a little. I was going to run back over towards the barn and then go in.

So I turn around and run over the ditch. Harry hops over it just fine. Then my foot catches on a divet in the grass. I stumble, try to regain my balance, but I go down, holding on the rope. I see Harry coming towards me, since I was in front of him, and roll out of the way, still holding on the rope, while my cousin pulls him away from me. He feels the tug of the reins and the pisador and, like a good boy, spins around to face me and wait for me to get up.

But my cousin was not prepared for that sharp of a turn, so she starts to lose her balance, the saddle slips, and she tumbles off, on her butt, thank god. Harry is standing there, slightly shocked, but standing there. I run over to my cousin and she swears she's fine, but I make her stand back up, move her limbs around, and then have her turn her neck and head to make sure there isn't any damage up there. She swears she just landed on her butt and that's all that hurts. She says that the first thing she did when she knew she was going down was pull her wrists in, since she pitches for softball and angled her butt out to catch the fall. After many hugs and asking if she's okay over and over again, I ask her what does she want to do, go back in the barn and get back on.

I was surprised that she wanted to get back on! So I helped her back on Harry after I fixed the saddle. I was mad that it shifted, I had tightened it before I got on too. He's a little buggy eyed, but I pet him and tell him what a good boy he was and then lead him of (AT A WALK!) back over the ditch and up the little hill in back, then around the pond and then back to the barn, where my cousin gets off and helps my brother wash Nina and Harry.

Now a little side note of appreciation: When there are days when I think Harry is the absolute worst, and when he's spooking at stupid little things, and when I'm trying to get him to walk over a tarp for an hour, it's days like today where I see how everything has really paid off. From his calm response, I can tell that he has built up trust in me and gained respect for me, because I can only imagine how terrible everything could have been had this been even a year ago. He would have bolted. I know he would have. But just the fact that when he saw me trip and fall and stepped away from me even before my cousin started to pull and that he turned, looked at me, and waited patiently through all of the commotion after my cousin fell off, it truly means that we are growing as a partnership and that's something I can't forget when I think he's just being a brat.

Afterwards, I hop on Brie and walk with Jane, who asked if my cousin was okay because she saw. She tells me Taco is being nasty so after I walk Brie enough both ways to stretch out her legs, I give her to my brother to wash and then hop on Taco, who is a little challenge, but he ended nicely with a beautiful board.

I can't imagine what my cousin is thinking, since she was still like "Oh I had a great time! It was so much fun" even though it was completely my fault that she fell. I feel absolutely terrible.

So the moral of this lesson is: Let the horse do the walking for me and we won't trip and fall! Guess I better put away my running shoes.