Gypsy Sporthorse Filly Update

Growing, growing, growing!

As sweet as can be, too.

She's at a really awkward place in her growth right now, but I cannot WAIT to see where she levels out in a couple years.

Kenai, Atticus, Hodor

Because my life couldn't be busier right now (work is crazy, I've been on travel for work for 3 weeks in 3 different places, I had the club ride to prep for and help put on, the OD is this weekend...), I'm going to schedule a series of posts with some backlog media from the past week or two for your viewing pleasure.

Always guarding his food because he is convinced the cats will take it.
He goes in his crate with the door open *just to be safe*.

Om nomnomnomnommmm. Mike was making Atticus be a "show cat". Atticus took the time to eat fingers.
Kenai photobombed.

Hodor! HODOR. HODORHODORHODOR. hodor.

This is how Atticus likes to sleep with me. By sitting on my chest/neck/face. Le sigh.

Hodor had JUST moved his paw off of Kenai's. <3

What's that? You're trying to cut this to prep it to make a saddle cover?
Oh, let me HELP. -_-

Strange sleeper....

Cuddling SO HARD.

I'd placed Ashke's halter-bridle out for

Kenai just doesn't get it.

Kenai at the office with me sporting his new Dublin Dog collar.

And his Dublin Dog nomad pad. This thing has a rubber/plastic polymer bottom and rolls up like a sleeping pad.
IT IS AWESOME.
You all can expect a Dublin Dog giveaway on this blog in the near future...as soon as my life calms down a little bit. :-)

I got up in a hurry one morning, a flurry of things I needed to complete before rushing out the door.
 I didn't have time to let Kenai out *immediately*. So in the 2 minutes I was out of bed doing a couple things, he stole it.
This is so very UNLIKE my husky dog that I couldn't help but laugh and take photos.

Big Ride

The 4wheeler and chainsaw I manned for 14 hours of clearing

A few weeks ago I, with others, spent about 14 hours clearing the main trails I typically train on behind the barn. These trails are all on private land and I am beyond lucky to have such access. The trails are superb.

We cleared them with what we referred to as a "10 year plan" cutting anything that could become a problem in the next 10 years. The first half of the 10 mile loop is successional forest while the second half is mature forest. This lent itself to lots of clearing over the first 4 miles and minimal effort afterward.

As we cleared the trail, we marked it heavily.

The goal behind all of this clearing and marking? Preparation for a big club ride in following weeks.

: : : : :

The weekend of the ride dawned last week. Folks began arriving on Thursday night and remained through Sunday morning.

Food was incredibly and plentiful. Alcohol was present in mass quantities. An awesome time was had by all.

They used a blow torch for custom fire rings

I'd managed to coax my coworker T into coming Friday night for dinner (four grilled turkeys, some chicken, green beans, baked beans, and pie). She isn't a horse person, but she's game for just about anything. I knew her Irish drinking tendencies and the way she could bring fun to any gathering would mix really well with these new-to-her horse folks.

In no time, she was joking around like she'd known folks forever. It took little effort on my part to goad her into riding Griffin on the 10 mile trail ride the following day. I had to only mention the words "drinking" and "alcohol" in the same sentence as "trail ride" to have her attention, haha. She's ridden Griffin and Q in short bursts before, and for a non-rider has an incredible natural balance and seat - you know, the kind we all envy and hate because it doesn't come so naturally to us all! I was confident that she could get down the trail safely on Griffin. All the same, I encouraged her to ride in Mike's Aussie saddle because it would help keep her most secure.

The following morning, T met me at my apartment around 8:30a. I made us breakfast and we headed out to the barn to get the horses and ourselves prepped for the ride.

The ride was supposed to depart at 10a, but my horse club is a herd of turtles the morning after drinking and merry making.

We slowly got everyone rallied to bring in their horses - most of which had been turned out into the field with our own (mine, Tina's and my BO's) - and get tacked up.

The barn was such a cluster of activity! Ack. It was quite the ballet moving in and around so many people, horses, a last minute farrier set up, etc. I stood talking with numerous friends who had come for the ride while I waited for everyone to be ready. One of our friends arrived only to get his horses off the trailer (one for him to ride and one for another friend) and receive a call from his wife that she was in labor! So he tossed his riding horse into the field, handed off the other to the friend who would ride it, and booked it back home. (Healthy baby boy, Ashton Blake, was born that afternoon at 4:45p)

White and black with orange highlights. We're endurance folks, obv.

Q was very jazzed up from the get-go, but the longer she was tied in the barn amidst the chaos, the more she calmed. Griffin was a doll, per his norm, snoozing after dining on his grain despite the chaos that reigned all around. I was thrilled as it helped T to be more certain in her decision.

This was the first day in a long while that I tacked Q up for a trail ride with a bit. She's been doing SO well in her ported kimberwicke that I decided to see how she did on this day. I had hoped that because she will accept contact and work in a frame so much better with the kimberwicke that perhaps I could get her to focus on me a bit more on the trail by providing her some dressage-esque exercises to work through and focus on instead of panicking about her surroundings.

Originally, the plan was for me to lead the ride (which had evolved into 30-ish folks). However, I somehow missed the "we're leaving now" memo. So, the ants-in-their-pants crew departed before I even knew what happened! (I'd been standing around chatting with my vet and the farrier who was setting shoes on her gelding.)

T on Griffin winding through the leaves

Missing the first group was fine by me though, as I got to head out with a smaller group that included my endurance riding friend Jen and her daughter K. (This was pivotal as it helped me to hash out some logistics for the OD ride that we'll all be at next weekend.)

The first five miles of the ride were at a faster pace than I'd planned (trying to catch the first group instead of riding with everyone), which I had to apologize to T for. I'd promised her a mostly-walk ride with continuous drinking (the norm for our club rides, haha). Instead, she got a walk, trot, canter, gallop ride with continual drinking...and continual cursing at Griffin for "spilling her beer" whenever he'd trot. ;-)

Fortunately though, T was a REALLY good sport about the whole thing (all day!) and squealed and giggled with glee whenever we'd go faster. She laughed a ton at how ridiculous everything seemed, too, as Griffin ran her into the edges of the woods as we went along.

T struggled to both control Griffin, ride, and open her beers (hard ciders, actually). So I confiscated her bottle opener so that I could open all of them for her and save her a step. Q was AWESOME about stopping, backing, and side stepping to allow me to maneuver to both fetch and return T's drinks. Additionally, there were multiple times that I'd turn around and taker her beer from her before we'd canter up a hill for a spurt. T learned to two point to safeguard her beer by the end of the day, but those first 5 miles were tough. (As for me? I had mini-wine bottles. Wine doesn't fizz or go flat. Liz wins.)

By mile 3, we'd caught an intermediate group of folks. We all paused to chat, then reset and headed along the trail (which was really well marked, so everyone was able to do their own thing all day!). The reset ended up placing Q as the penultimate horse and Griffin in the dead-last position.

*cue baby horse freak out*

T shrieked in surprise behind me as we went along. I turned to find Griffin grunting and squealing as he crow-hopped and baby-bucked in place, T's beer fizzing down her arm and onto the ground. Fortunately, the saddle was keeping her locked squarely into place despite his antics.

As soon as it started, the fit stopped. And then Griffin REFUSED to move unless he was in front of Q. Damn kid didn't want to be last! So I rode behind them for a time, popping the stubborn grey horse on the rear with my long reins when he'd try to refuse.

Judy, Dee, Regina, Tina
Riding: Ruger, Oliver, Champ, and Little Bit

Both T and I couldn't help but laugh at him. His fit reminded us so much of a kid at the grocery store check-out whose parent has refused to buy them the candy bar they wanted. It was intense and short-lived. He wasn't trying to get T off with his antics, merely expressing his extreme displeasure at his predicament. Little ass.

He tested T much of the day, actually. It was really comical. I always credit him with being my easy-going, steady eddy, smart yet dull-minded fella. He was out to prove to me on this ride that he IS sharper witted than I originally thought. He knew what was expected from him, but he sure as hell wasn't going to just "go along with it" if his rider didn't care otherwise! He walked her into as many branches as he could throughout the day and made minor refusals over silly things in addition to his fit about being last.

T took all of his antics in stride though, heckling him the whole time tongue-in-cheek: "Griffin. Why?! You're such an asshole. Why'd you have to go and do that. Seriously? Oh come on. You little bastard. Yeah, you eat those leaves. Clearly you're starving. Oh, yeah? Yeah. Eat that leaf, too! And that one. Ugh. Really? You're an ass. Oh, oh, oh! Q's in front of you! You're last now! Ut oh! Whatcha gonna do NOW?! We might die back here. Whoops. Yeah, go ahead and eat another leaf, just don't do anything to make me spill my beer. Little bastard."

Some of the many horses at the mid-way rest point.

Aaahh, the sounds of friendship. ;-)

By mile 5 we'd caught up with the whole group. We rendezvoused at a cabin for a time, letting the horses drink and catch a short nap before we headed home.

On the return journey, we really picked up the pace. We were pretty confident that the trail was marked well, so smaller parties of the large group headed out bit by bit. T and I took off with the endurance riders, which T enjoyed more than I'd thought. I was able to verbally coach her through two-pointing and posting techniques to help her through the trot, as well as giving her pointers on how to ride the canter. We even discussed the finer points of how many beats there were in each gait.

Jen on her little mare who will be debuting in her first LD this weekend.
The picture is poor, though the best I could do, but this filly reminded me of
Mel's Tig. Jen, who really knows her shit about Arabians on all fronts even
agreed that they were very very very similar when I shared a couple FB
photos of Tig. Their conformation and angles were SO eerily similar!
However, pedigree wise, the red horse behind this grey mare is more similar
to Tig as they share a grandsire.

When we reached a long downhill, Jen and K kept trotting while I slowed Q to a walk. The incline isn't bad, but it's still enough of a downhill that I didn't feel like subjecting my first time trail rider to a beating as we trotted downhill!

T and I mosied along the final 2.5 miles to the barn, chatting amiably about horses, work, friends, and life.

Q led most of this section and was more level headed than she's been of late, but still VERY looky and "scared" of things. I decided to just make the best of it.

Back at on the farm property, T and I walked the horses up the creek to help rinse off and cool off. We still hosed the horses down back at the barn before turning them back out, timing it perfectly with the arrival of most other riders so that the barn was less of a cluster this time around.

Beautiful browbands by Karen!

T and I changed into shorts once the horses were taken care of. We realized that the top of a water bottle had been knocked off and headed back to the creek we'd just ridden through to check if it had been scraped off when Griffin made his final attempt to whack T through some branches and a limb. We waded through the creek and found that, sure enough, the bottle cap was there!

Upon our return to the barn, Jeanna, owner of the little gypsy sporthorse filly, asked if I would look at the filly's hooves. She'd brought the filly to the barn for the day to see how she handled a bunch of activity. I told her I would, and she led her into the shady barn.

Jeanna was concerned about the flaring and the long toe on the filly, and noted that her farrier refused to take off more. This worries her a bit because she is more versed in the benefits of a shorter toe.

It was nice to work with this filly - now a yearling. She's just as sweet as she was as a foal; her temperament really cannot be beat! All the same, it was intimidating to trim a horse that wasn't my own - especially a horse whose feet have a ways to go to be in better shape! I'm no pro by any means, so I just tried to safely do what I could to help the filly out.

A hind foot; I was far too hot to want to
nip any more, so Jeanna's hubby did it.
The filly's hinds were only half as bad as
her fronts!

Her toes were over long, the heels a bit high and underrun, but nothing too crazy. I told Jeanna I would shorten her toes today, but I wasn't comfortable doing any more right now. After all, this little filly was the first horse that I'd trimmed who wasn't my own horses and her feet are a lot different!

I got to use nippers for the first time (scary and thrilling) and carefully nipped around both front hooves, leaving a safe bit of wall left to guarantee I didn't take too much. Then I used a rasp (they had a brand new rasp, mmmm!) to do the rest.

Visually, the change was drastic. But honestly, what I took off wasn't anything very crazy. If that filly had had access to a larger area to move out on with more varied surfaces, she'd have fixed her own feet. In fact, I told Jeanna that I wasn't going to do any more than her toes this time because I knew that with the shorter toe, the rest of the foot would follow suit if she could get her out and moving a bit over the next two weeks. I gave her instructions for some maintenance trimming, too, so hopefully this filly doesn't get so long again! (And despite her feet going through that change, she was totally sound afterwards.)

After trimming the filly, T and I headed up to the house to shower. When we'd finished, we saw my BO who told me I better get down to the barn to help with the fun show for the kids!

A crooked photo of a front hoof after I
feared doing any more than I'd done.

I knew my horses would give me laser death stares if I pulled them back out of the field for this, so I asked our friend Tina if I could ride her SE Arabian gelding Saja for the fun show. She gave me the thumbs up.

I fetched this horse I've never ridden from the field, tossed a bareback pad and one of my halter-bridles on him, and headed out to join the two kids who were a part of the fun show (we thought we'd have more originally). One girl was on a pinto pony (named Pinto lol) and Jeanna's little girl was on her mini horse Charlie. I was the only adult on horseback, the others participated on foot.

We participated in events like egg and spoon, ride a buck, Simon Says, and apple bobbing amongst others. Saja was a doll for me, and a great representative of his SE Arabian heritage as my first SE ride (I've been on many Arabians, but he was my first SE).

The dynamic of adults on foot during these fun events was HILARIOUS. My BO's hair is grey, so at one point one of our guy friends who was participating in the egg and spoon class on foot was heckling her:

"Don't break gait! NO! You are supposed to be WALKING. HEY! (she was speed walking)"
"I AM walking, Mole! Like a gaited horse!"
"NO. NO you CAN'T do that! She's CHEATINGGGG!"
*giggle*
"Alright, fine. Hey everyone! Watch this! I'm gonna get this grey mare here...just wait!"
*Mole sped up and crowded my BO like a horse would do on the trail. She squealed and kicked out a leg - just like any mare who dislikes the horse near her rear end.*

Hilarious.

Saja bobbing for an apple!
Me in shorts trying to stay cool (so hot and humid!)
Only in long sleeves to avoid getting burnt further.

Mole even got T in on the apple bobbing event.

We were supposed to start on one fenceline, take our horses as fast across the barnyard to the mini-trough with apples in it, jump off, bob out an apple, get back on with the apple in our mouths, and go back to the start as fast as we could.

The three of us on equines went first. The little girls had help from their parents. Saja tried to bob his own apple out for a time before I jumped off, bobbed one, and vaulted back on bareback (to much heckling from my friends haha).

And then it was the two-legs turn. Mole and T and some 13 year old boy were in competition - they all wanted to win "the big cock" a large stuffed chicken that was in the prize area. They had to put their butts against the fence at the start. When signaled, T got a huge jump on Mole running across the barnyard. She hip checked the 13 year old right before the trough, knocking him down, and got a few second head start bobbing an apple before the Mole and the boy - it still took them all a little while! T still got her apple first and sprinted back to the fence, spiking the apple into the ground like a football running back who just made a touchdown. Mole was pissed he lost out on winning "the big cock". T pranced around the rest of the evening with that chicken.

A blurry shot of the table of food and merriment
prior to the Belmont

After the fun show, we assembled in the house while my BO's husband and friends finished cooking dinner. We had about 15 of us in their living room awaiting the running of the Belmont snacking on a variety of amazingness (grilled shrimp with some amazing seasoning, a spicy ham spread, and a blueberry-cheese spread) and sipping the official drink of the Belmont....that may or may not have sometimes contained scotch instead of bourbon.

We betted on the race, watched the race, yelled at the TV, and then ate one KICKASS dinner that contained the. best. ham. I have EVER eaten. EVER. OMG.

Despite not drinking much alcohol all day (two mini wines and one Belmont), I still acquired a wicked headache that wasn't remedied by food or water. T and I headed out before the evening had really begun, but I hear there was much more drinking and merry making through the night, followed by a big brunch the next day.

We do it right, folks.

Hogged

Don't think I mentioned it on here. I got fed up and hogged Q's mane off, too. Left a handle for the time (visible from other side). I'm a fan.

The Low Down

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Candles

Light them. Please.

A huge decision I have zero control over could flip my life around in a big way that is more negative than positive.

The animals and I and Mike are all fine, but the way we go about everyday life may change drastically in the near future.
So light a candle for me that this doesn't happen. That the decision makers make the decision that is smart and logical and supported by the myriad of data we have provided them supporting our side (and yes, a true wealth of data in our favor exists with very,  very few facts in their favor).

Knowing you have zero control over something that could up heave your life in a big way is terrifying,  angering, humbling, and saddening.

Updates on All the Animals

(presented to you in the order the animals arrived into my life)

Kenai: Still rehabbing from his groin injury. He's getting stronger, but we're still not there yet. I need to really buckle down and start getting him out for daily walks so he can build back what he's lost in terms of muscle. It's been particularly difficult of late to get him out because of my foot being effed up from Q trampling me a few weeks back. (We (doctor and I) suspect a hairline fracture of the joint that connects my big toe to my foot due to the pain that I am still in over two weeks out from the injury. No there have not been x-rays to confirm because foot fractures are hard to x-ray and even if I got an accurate one it the diagnosis would still be the same as without one: rest, ice, stay off it.)

I hope to get Kenai out on some more adventures throughout the month. He's certainly loving having a yard to himself though this spring! He's at a point in his maturity level where he is perfectly content to lounge in the yard or on the small porch and observe all that passes by his little kingdom.

Griffin: He's progressing very well with his training! Both mentally and physically. Mike and I did a 9.5 mile training ride a couple days back that involved 2200' of climbing. We did all of this climbing at a trot or canter to really work those butts! (There was plenty of downhill walking, too, where they could recover!!) Griffin's got a great head on his shoulders and I'm so totally thrilled to see where he goes in the future.

With the horse field now open across all 40 acres (both on the flat and in an open field atop a small mountain/large hill), he's getting even more exercise when in the field than he was before. The herd really utilized the ENTIRE area and moves a lot throughout the day. (It's really an incredible facility for 24/7 turnout!) His constant turnout, nearly-constant play with the other geldings during turnout, and his more-focused workout sessions have me very much considering his first LD late summer/early autumn. He trains on terrain as rough as or rougher than any race we'd participate in, so he's quite prepared. Ultimately, we'll see what the summer brings for him, but considering what his typical week is, I think he could definitely be ready for a nice, slow LD in several months!

Q: With two or so rides with Mike since her super psycho session US with me, she's doing well. We've begun the SmartMare Harmony (which contains the raspberry leaf and chaste tree berry herbs (among others)) and the Mg supplements. Surprisingly (or maybe not so surprising because she could potentially be craving the mineral), she gobbles down both supplements with almost zero masking with a secondary substance!! She's visibly thrilled the days I show up, ride the 4-wheeler to the upper field where they've been a lot lately, and just present her with a small handful of grain/supplements.

Through this month, I plan to ride her more and really work on the WAY that I ride her to try to support her through her spookiness and help (hopefully) be a better leader for her in her weak moments. We're a team and I've been a pretty shitty team member lately. I need to step it up. It's going to be a challenge for me, but I'm willing to tackle it. I'll be better for it.

I also plan to work more on jumping and flatting exercises this month. With every additional ride I had on her since introducing the ported kimberwicke into our work, she's gotten better and better. She's using her body SO MUCH MORE efficiently. And when she's "on the bit" she's really, truly on it, not fighting it or behind it as she would so often be when we were using the double-jointed snaffle. And she SEEKS the contact out to boot! All of these changes are likely a combination of the bit + my aids being feather soft in comparison to how they were with the snaffle. She really seems to enjoy our non-trail work a lot more than she did before.

Don't get me wrong, she's still a pill about trying to rush home at times, but I'm able to redirect those attempts without HAULING on her mouth to get her to listen and not run away with me (something that yes, indeed, she has done in the past though I never documented it on the blog).  Rapid transitions between walk, trot, canter, halting, and backing are amazing with this horse. She buckles down and focuses.

She's always a challenge, but we're really getting some breakthroughs this month that leave me optimistic for the future - albeit a little intimidated, too!

Atticus: A mouse a day keeps the vet away? 'Cause this shitten is a bomber mouser. He brings me one daily. And now that the starlings are fledging, he's honing his starling killing skills. He has yet to bring me a half-dead animal that he has played with and tortured. He tends to EAT nearly everything he brings to me (as most times they are half-eaten when I see them and later they've disappeared completely, often only a gallbladder remaining, haha!

Little shitten is also much less shitten of late and more sweet cat. He's quite the cuddler and not afraid to tell the world about it. I'm pretty freaking thrilled with him. =)

Hodor: Hodor...is....well, Hodor. Still the most simple of cats. Still the most clueless of cats. But he's also one of the sweetest, most loving cats I've ever encountered. He wants nothing more than to have you to himself for a few hours so he can lie beside you (he squirms if you hold him) on the couch and just be pet, pet, pet. This cat craves petting more than any animal ever. He follows you around plaintively mewing until you pet him if you don't make time for him. He even goes so far as to stand on his rear legs to try and get you to pet him!

His ultimate love of just wanting to curl up beside you on the couch (seriously, he'll rest his head against you and put a paw up on your leg and cuddle HARD) and be loved has had me considering rehoming him to someone who wants a cat to love - I feel guilty that I don't have enough time to give him! He's that perfect cat that so many people wish they had. One who is super sweet and loves affection and attention - but without picking him up and holding him close. He sleeps politely at the foot of the bed, loves dogs, has never hissed at human or cat or canine. His only vice? If I don't pet him enough or if I'm gone for a few days, he spitefully throws up near my bed. This has only occurred when I have not given him enough love.

So if you're ever nearby, and you want to give a kitty some lovin's, there is a certain orange cat in a barn who'd love some pettin'!

Goal Review & Creation: May & June

May Goals

Q is in orange and Griffin is green; "both" is written where they were both doing something.
I slacked a bit writing everything down in the middle of the month - obvious with my mis-marked days and arrows!
I think this was everything we did...might be a day or two I missed though.

Q

• Bareback ride 1x week (dressage emphasis) I GOT TWO (ISH) OF THESE IN THIS MONTH. NOT GREAT, BUT NOT A COMPLETE FAIL!
• Hill sprints 1x week SOLID! ONCE OR TWICE ON THE HILL SPRINT HILL, THEN ALL OTHER TIMES ON SHORTER TRAIL RIDES. Q'S REAR END IS NOTICEABLY MORE MUSCULAR AT THE END OF THE MONTH. LOVE IT!
• Reintroduce jumping regularly WE BEAT THAT DEAD HORSE WITH A STICK. STILL HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO, BUT REGULAR JUMPING HAS RETURNED.
• Would like to try to get a total of 50 miles on trails/otherwise in prior to her next race on June 14 47 MILES OF MEASURED TRAIL RIDING, MANY OTHER NON-MEASURED, NON-TRAIL WORKOUTS, I'D SAY A SUCCESS HERE!
• Successful May 27 with elementary schoolers (more on this later) SUCCESS!Y'ALL READ ABOUT IT  COUPLE DAYS AGO.

Griffin

• More trailering away for rides/events TWO AWAY FROM HOME RIDES. ONE LARGE RIDE AND ONE SMALL RIDE. ONE HOUR RIDE AND ONE HALF HOUR RIDE. HE'S STILL A BIT NERVOUS ABOUT TRAILERING (EVIDENT IN HIS DRENCHED WITH SWEAT BODY) BUT GETTING LESS NERVOUS WITH EACH RIDE.
• More miles 36.65 MEASURED MILES WITH MANY OTHER SMALLER TRAINING RIDES OFF TRAIL. I'M VERY HAPPY WITH THIS FOR A NOT-QUITE 4 YEAR OLD.
• Time US with bridle, you know, since I didn't put a bit in his mouth at all in April. HE HAD SEVERAL RIDES THIS MONTH WITH THE BIT REINTRODUCED BOTH US AND IN SIDE REINS. 

June Goals

Q

• Remain happy and healthy through the Old Dominion 50
• Become calmer under saddle (this goal is all for me in part)
• Try to get ~ 80 miles in this month (including the OD)
• Continue once weekly jumping, hill sprints, dressage

Griffin

• Find more time to get off property with trailer
• Steadily increase length and intensity of workouts (but not necessarily at the same time!)
• Continue work in side reins

Griffin's Browband

Karen did it again! Absolutely stunning handmade browband. Perfect match to his halter bridle! Thank you Karen! 

If anyone would like a custom browband for their bridle, contact Karen. Her work is absolutely one of a kind and so striking.

2 Years Ago: Q's Gotcha Day

The Facebook notification I posted the day we brought her home.

Two years ago today, we brought Q home.

My BO and another mutual friend and I all headed 2 hours south to get her from the cowboy. He was gone at the auction he'd originally planned to take her to, so we were on our own fetching her from the mare's field.

I'd planned to take her on a short trail ride before we trailered her home, you know, get out some energy and stuff.

I brought her to his barn and tacked her up under one of the ~10' horizontal beams that made up the perimeter of the cowboy's barn. It was a very unusual architecture for a barn - very open with no external wall around the whole facility. Pseudo-barn/pavilion area that encompassed a few stalls, a round pen, and seating above the round pen wall. Instead of cross ties, he had ropes from higher beams that dropped down. When mounted, the lowest beam that made up the structure's perimeter walls was right about clavicle height for someone mounted on a 14.1hh horse.

I mounted Q, talking to my BO and the other lady as I did. They cautioned that I should be careful Q didn't run under that beam--- She took off before I had my right foot in the stirrup. Shot right under the beam which I held onto with both hands as she went. She ran right out from under me and I swung, holding the beam for a moment before dropping lightly onto my feet on the ground.

Q tore off through an open field at break-neck speed back toward the mare's field. My BO and friend stared at me in disbelief then complimented me for being forward thinking and agile.

I stalked through the field after Q, brought her back to the barn, and rode her in the round pen for a few minutes before deciding that was enough for today.

I'd almost forgotten how horrible her ground manners were
originally! She'd whirl around and call and call if you left her
for more than a few moments. Call and pace and paw.
I spent a lot of time leaving her tied both with a friend and
alone. With time and persistence, she overcame her issues.
Now I can leave her tied - alone - for a long while and she has
no issue. #winning

I untacked her and we loaded her into the trailer with minimal issue (wish she'd still do that!) and headed home.

The 2 hour haul was uneventful, as was Q's introduction to the herd when we arrived at the barn. A few bitchy mare faces, some half-assed stomping and striking with her fore hooves, and then she trotted off from everyone, giving them her snake face when they got too near. My BO would later report that that was all the more she ever did toward the horses. They respected her for it and that was that. She didn't seek to be boss mare over the current mare in the field, she just simply dictated to the other horses that they were to leave her the eff alone unless otherwise invited.

And after that, its history! From day one, her story is chronicled here on the blog under the "Q" label.

She's my challenge horse on all counts, but I still enjoy her greatly despite all of the recent nonsense she's put me through (including my still bruised ribs and still busted toe/foot).

Q Redeems Herself

Off property, of course! Because on property = crazy lady.

Tuesday I got to fulfill a childhood dream: ride and jump my horse at my elementary school!

Because seriously, what horse-crazy little girl didn't run around the playground play-acting like she was a horse or had an imaginary horse to gallop around and jump over everything!?  There were even a few things on the playground I had decided I would indeed jump one day...they'd sadly (and probably for the better, haha) been removed.

So when an opportunity to do a jump/English demo for 220+ elementary schoolers with my local riding club was presented to me...oh you bet I accepted right away!

We had minis for petting, pony rides on some burly QHs, and Qbert doing a jump demo.

I took the jump standards Mike & Dom made for me, figuring the bright teal and purple would please the kids. I had no idea how much space I'd have to use, so 3 jumps seemed to be enough.

After yesterday morning's trail ride with Mike (pre-planned not only to see if Q would behave better for him, but also to wear her down before presenting for kids), Mike and I bathed her and prettied her up.

Mike was hilarious throughout the bath process, talking to Q and telling her all about how her First Day of School was going to be. "All of the kids are going to love you, Qbee. Don't be nervous. It'll be fun. Your momma needs to braid your mane all pretty because its your first day! So be good so she can do that - nope, no moving your head. Be good. You know? My favorite part of school was always recess - I think you're going to get to go JUST for recess! You'll love it. All of the kids will love you. Don't worry."

Its really no wonder she loves him more than me lol.

We had her all done up and the jumps loaded in no time.

Q was a bit of a horror to load on Dee's 2 horse slant load. We even led her on because there was a great escape door to slip out. The new routine: Plant Feet and Do Not Ever Put More Than Two Feet On The Trailer. Rear Up and Back FAST If Provoked. Back Off Fast If Door Closes. Use Ass To Push Door Open. Do Not Move Feet To Get Back On.

This is frustrating...but at least her heart rate isn't super elevated. She's not freaking out any more. She's just being obstinate without being panicked. The rapid backing off is awful, but le sigh. I suppose the whole ordeal is better than how things originally were with loading! (grumblegrumblegrumble)

Finally, we were off like a herd of turtles.

We arrived at the school and learned that we'd be on the playground and I'd be setting my jumps up between  the soccer goals. Cool. Not a lot of space, but cool.

I prepped Q and in no time we were walking across from where we'd parked to mount up! I was a bit apprehensive, but Q's body language since getting off the trailer was already demonstrative of Away From Home Q. This helped me calm some. (Away from home I am her herd. At home she doesn't care for any human as much as the other horses. Strange horses away from home aren't as appealing to her. She makes me her rock at endurance rides, following my every movement, nickering at me every time she catches site of me, etc. She even gave my Fort Valley crew the same treatment. We were her herd away from home.)

I'd decided to dress in eventer attire more than show jumping attire for the day. I had all the orange, kids like colors, and wearing the crash vest would 1.) save my ass some if she dumped me, and 2.) promote that safety is important around horses for the kids.

Guys, we had 220+ kids to present to! 220! Eep!

They were seated on either side of the field in the soccer goal area. I wouldn't have a ton of space to maneuver. Q needed to be ON POINT if this was going to work.

Big stride for a little mare!

I mounted up and walked her around. The Monster!mini horses weren't in sight of the jump demo, so that was a plus. Also, for safety's sake, we started the jumps low at about 1'3" - 1'9" - two verticals and one X.

I focused completely on Q, trotted her around, trotted her over each jump, decided she was in a good calm mood, and breathed a sigh of relief. Away From Home Q was here. Excelente.

I guided her over to the first group of kids and said, "Can you guys say, 'Hi Q?" and was welcomed to a chorus of "Hiiieeeee QQQQQ!" I told them about Q, about how jumping was only a secondary job for her because endurance was her primary job. I warned them about being too loud or too fast with their movements (something they were VERY attentive to and very, very good about any time Q was within 20' of them). I answered a few of their questions, then did all three jumps 1x through. I then stopped at the opposite end of the soccer field and did the same talking song and dance with that group of kids. Then I jumped some more.

Cantering between the verticals. We'd circle and do the X first and then
travel clockwise to hit the two verticals, sometimes going around the whole
area a second time after the second vertical.

By the time I'd done all of the jumps 4 or 5 times, the kids were chanting "higher, higher".

I obliged, taking them up to the 2' range. We did the jumps again to ooo's and aahh's. I answered some more questions, explained that this was pretty high jumping for Q! I told them that she doesn't do this all the time and that most horses who jump so high that kids see on TV are usually at least a foot taller than my little girl.

They grew bored with me again, so I took both verticals up to 2'9" ish.

That satisfied the little buggers.

Good girl, Q!

Q was a doll. She was borderline LAZY even. She chipped most of the jumps during the time we were there, no matter how much I urged her forward and egged her on. I never thought I'd see a day where this little horse would be SO LAZY.

I dismounted, letting the kids on each side line up to pet her neck. I answered questions all the while about Q, her age, her job, her likes and dislikes, how long I'd been riding, if jumping was scary, how pretty her browband was (Karen, she got SO MANY compliments on that browband!), what was on her feet (some kids hadn't seen hooves before! lol), why she was eating grass, what is she scared of (butterflies, flowers, the sun, the wind, the rain, other horses, mini horses, dirt......), if I owned her, etc. etc. I also entertained many mini stories about kids who had horses/had ridden a horse/had seen a horse/had read about a horse.

I was standing with one group of kids while they petted Q.
You can see the tight area we had to work with!
Lucky Q was so calm and SLOW about everything.

After petting Q, the first group (grades 3 - 5) were dismissed to the pony ride area and I got to entertain the next group (grades K-2).

I gave the same speech song and dance to both sets of kids on each side of the field, jumped some, answered more questions, "Do you have to wear a helmet?" "Yes. I have been trampled and have fallen off this horse twice this week. My big toe is broken, my ribs are bruised, I have lots of bruises, and I hit my head pretty hard, too. I choose to wear this helmet or I'd probably be hurting more!" (Whoops, just realized I never mentioned all that on the blog - only Facebook. I'm fine - healing, but fine mostly. But Q needs to learn to stay the hell out of my space when she's feeling scared. Trampling me is NO BUENO. NO BUENO.)

I jumped a little more, then let the kids all pet her again, fielded more questions, and then it was over.

I had a water and I dumped another water on Q's neck since we'd been standing around in the hot sun.

To the left of the slide and the right of the mini rainbow monkey bars
there used to be a curvy balance beam about a foot high.
That was what I wanted to jump my horse over when I was a kid.
Now...its a bench.

For a rider who has only had two formal jumping lessons ever (hey thanks, Dom!) and a horse that
has NEVER been ridden during a jumping lesson, we're not too bad. One day I'd like to get some proper instruction, but I'm pretty proud of what Q and I have achieved in just two years of largely self-instruction.

And more than anything, I'm so thrilled with this little mare's performance yesterday. I needed that boost. I'm glad she chose to redeem herself. I know it isn't a lasting thing and she'll be wiggy a lot more at home, but the fact that she can step up to the plate and be so awesome when it really counts means a lot. She was so stellar with all of the kids, standing with a hind leg at rest, eyes half closed through all of the 220+ pettings.

Thanks, Qbert, for putting up with me and these silly childhood dreams. From parades to endurance to a showcase at my old elementary school, this horse - despite our issues with one another - has helped me fulfill a heckuva lot of pipe dreams.

It's Personal

Well after an exceptionally awful ride on Q yesterday where she proceeded to spook at EVERY TINY THING and be a complete and total Tense Bundle Of Nerves, she redeemed herself today.

She made it quite obvious that this attitude and nervous spooking extreme issue she has is completely personal. And this is completely okay with me. This option, while not awesome, is so much cheaper and less stressful to deal with in the bigger picture than some medical issue. And I'm not ruling out things like saddle fit, hormones, Lyme's, or something else. I'm just pretty certain that it's something more simple....

My horse doesn't like me [anymore].

But she ADORES my boyfriend. (Hrrrumph!)

After yesterday's 3.5 mile trail ride, I was feeling pretty down. Pretty sad and freaked that she had something bigger than just hormones (she's not even in heat!) going on. I decided after the ride that I would have Mike ride her today. Same tack. Same trail.

Main differences in yesterday and today: Time of day; amount of cloud cover; speed traveled down trail; rider.

Yesterday's ride was at 1p; today's was at 9a.
Yesterday it was mostly sunny; today it was partly cloudy.
Yesterday it was mostly a walk ride; today it was mostly a trot ride.
Yesterday I rode Q; today Mike did.

And yesterday Q was so horrible and freaked out. Even my trail partner who rode Griffin noticed it!

Today? Today, under Mike's guidance Q was a total and complete doll baby. She was relaxed. Alert, but relaxed. She didn't spook stupid at anything on the trail. She gave a few things a wide berth, but she wasn't dumb about it. The only spook she had all day was at the very end and I'll give her that one - a rusty piece of sheet metal had fallen from a truck on a driveway we sometimes ride to connect back to the property. It was a new object and looked a bit like a dark hole, something she gets wiggy about usually. So I'll give her that.

So clearly, it's personal.

Its my way of riding vs. Mike's way of riding. Its not the tack. It could be time of day and it could definitely be the difference in how the sun's rays that stream patchily into the forest light things up really weird. But the end of the ride had the same sun spotting today and Q was FINE.

Mike says its because he keeps contact with her nose with the bitless bridle. I keep contact, too, though most of the time.

I asked him what he's looking at as they move down the trail, he says the back of her head half the time and the upcoming trail half the time.

Okay, that's different. I'm usually peripherally focused on her while I'm scanning the trail and surroundings. I always scan and take quick note of all places and things that might induce a spook. I don't focus long, I just keep a continually moving list in my head of potential moments. She's slammed on the breaks and had me off or had me jerked so hard to keep my balance that I feel I have to do this.

I have to quit.

I have to find a way to trust her a little bit more. To be MORE relaxed than I already am around her. To control my emotions MORE than I've been trying to do for the past 6 months (wow, its been so long). I have to relax and stop micromanaging all of the "what ifs". I have to trust my horse and ride.

This is going to be hard. But I have to do it. It'll be yet another personal challenge for myself. I seem to tackle a couple of these every year. They make me grow and better me overall. The process is never fun or easy, but its good for me!

I don't know quite how I'm going to go about tackling this, but I'm going to give it a go nonetheless. We'll get there. It'll just take time. And if I can't get back to where I was with this horse, that's fine, too. I'll give her to Mike. She's clearly chosen her person. For now, until Griffin is older, I'd just like to see if I can get her to tolerate me! She's certainly a challenge!

Her SmartMare Harmony arrived today (Saiph you are the bestttttttttt) and her Mg will be here a little later on. I'm hopeful that both of these (herbal supplements + a mineral I think she really may be lacking) will help give her just enough of an edge to help us to get back on the same page.

Mares. I swear.

The Battle Continues

(I am about to kill Blogger's formatting, or lack thereof, so I apologize for the way photos are portrayed in this entry. I had to post it before I deleted the whole thing in a rage. Grumble.)

The battle to regain the horse I bought and not this new spazz mare that has emerged.

Things I have changed and things we have been doing since the initial freight train episodes:

Flat work with tons of transitions and changes in direction in the field - Walk -canter - trot - halt - back - canter - walk - halt - trot - canter - walk - trot - halt - back - trot - halt - back - canter - walk - etc. Add lots of directional changes to that mess and you'll have nearly every day since that entry about the freight train. This is working. She is more focused on me than ever. She's not overly rushy in the home directions either. However, she is still spazzy and super cued up and on edge. Its insane. I've got her focused, but she's still manic and panicky about things. To the point where a blade of grass blew in the wind and she balked and her whole body shuddered violently. She's not even in heat! When she's in heat she can be like that, but she's not usually that way out of heat. Its getting ridiculous.

Video still: A nice halt. Go Q!

Video still: Backing - halt - canter!

Ported kimberwicke > snaffle - Yes, I bitted up. I did it initially to see how she would even respond before making a final decision. And, guess what? Miracle difference in her. She was a bit appalled at first when the curb action made contact, but after her initial disgrace at my added control against her evasions, she shuttup and focused. My aids are light and she is responsive again. Its amazing. I hated the force that I had to apply to the double-jointed snaffle to get any sort of response from her when she was having A Moment. It wasn't good on any level. She likes this kimberwicke more it seems. She's responsive and light again.

Running martingale - She hates that this is on still. But her hate of it is only evident when I request something she really wishes she didn't have to do like SLOW DOWN and STOP instead of making moves to push forward. While she's not rushing like she had been, she is trying now to make the Correct Answer be Going Toward Home Direction As Fast As Permitted And Not Stopping. So when I ask for a downward transition or a halt she will shake her head no more than 3 times to demonstrate her dislike of my request. Its not very predictable, but the times it happens are always in the home direction and usually when asking her to downward transition from the canter.

Flat work with *surprise* jump - I'll march her around with flat work and then pop her over a *surprise* jump. There is no rushing in any direction. She gets a little excited when allowed to canter a jump, but she's not a completely crazy bat about it, just exuberant. I can deal with that.

Video still: Hunt that jump!

Video still: launch!
Yes, no ground pole, shame be on me. They'd brush hogged the field, a surprise to me, and all my jumps
had been moved everywhere.

Video still: Wee!

Video still: Clearly the fence is much higher and wider than the naked eye can see.

Video still: Wee!

So, yes, lots of positives. 

A looming negative though is still her elevated spazziness lately. It has reached new levels. I don't know what crawled into her head to whisper things in her ear about how awful the world is, but it needs to end. SmartMare Harmony and a Mg supplement will be arriving soon. I hope that in the next 45 days there is a marked difference in her behavior because it is getting OLD.

Our first really awesome breakthrough ride with lots of transitions and her attention on me was a really big high for me. It felt great. I thought I was getting somewhere. Only to come back to the barn and have Q flip her shit over Mystery Something. She flailed and thrashed about in a manner that made me think she was likely to flip herself onto the ground. I wasn't about to step into that, so I just turned around and set to putting her bridle away as I had been doing. She would either stop her thrashing or hurt herself, but I wasn't about to get in the middle of it and get hurt, too. That helps nothing. When I emerged from the tack room seconds later, she had slipped her halter and was running the far fenceline in the barnyard, visibly upset. Ugh. 

I brought her back and finished untacking her and turned her loose, but the whole thing - even though I had NOTHING to do with ANYTHING that caused her alarm (I was in the tack room during the whole ordeal) - really put a damper on my spirits. 

She's not even in heat! This elevated spazzy behavior is outrageous. Typically she's FINE around the barn/barnyard. No problems. Calmest horse you ever met. You'd have a hard time believing she could ever be a spazzy witch. But ugh. Its hit or miss lately. I don't know what's going on with her hormones or the hormones floating around from the little mixed herd of 9 horses she lives with, but eegads. 

Tomorrow we do a demo for 200+ elementary schoolers. All I can do is pray that she is her usual away-from-home self. Calm. Happy. Cross your fingers and light a candle that this is the case!