Uffda

Another week creeping towards half gone... this time crap is making me feel old. I rode Friday and Sunday this week, and meant to ride yesterday. My beloved FH reminded me that perhaps if I am home sick with strep-like symptoms, maybe I shouldn't be riding, either... so I didn't ride. Instead I stayed home and we burned through most of a season of How To Get Away With Murder, which is intense and I love it.

Friday's ride was both naughty and nice - nice, because the baby horse was generally well behaved. We did lateral work, walk-canter and collection-extension work, and I don't remember anything spectacularly bad. In fact, she was quite well behaved, despite being kind of wet-about-the ears (literally) because she'd been out in the rain all day. 

The old lady mare, however, has a perpetual case of the zooms and somehow decided that every time we crossed the center line, we were doing a flying change. This is humerous, because Foxie can't do a real flying change, especially now that her hind end is messed up from the suspensory injury. Because I was holding her into the bend, she couldn't actually throw the new lead, so she was basically herp-derp-grunting while leaping randomly into the air. I was riding Fox in my usual set up of Thinline bareback pad and her french link pelham, but I really could have used stirrups for that ride. We had a 30 minute come-to-Jesus ride with lots of tension and Fox spent most of that ride not wanting to come through her back, relax her jaw or move at any gait other than a canter. 

That set of rides was delightful, half sarcastic, half not. 

On Sunday, I was in a bit of a rush; I had a birthday cheesecake and dinner to concoct, I had woken up later than I'd like with less sleep than I wanted due to a late night out with friends, and had forgotten that I had about 2 hours to ride before the Halloween party festivities and horse decorating were set to begin. I set up 3/4 of a pinwheel set up, with a low vertical, crossrail and a decent sized vertical. I breifly had to chase BB down when she realized I wasn't holding on to her while setting jumps (mostly because I got tired of dragging her lazy ass along with the jump standard) and when I took a few quick steps to catch up with her, the trit-trotted away like "NEENER NEENER I AM FREE!". I pretended to have a peppermint and she stopped dead in her tracks, and set off to ride. 

Even with a quarter sheet, Bailey was feeling the morning chill and was a bit up and hot. I do, sincerely, appreciate the fact that she enjoys jumping but cannot/will not/can't even fathom rushing the fences. In fact, when I try to rush her, she usually puts another one in. She's clever, and goes from about anywhere, though I do wish she was a bit bolder in chasing down the fences. She pricks her ears up, keeps her head up, and instead of accelerating like I'm used to, she waits for it to come. We played with getting a variety of spots  on the verticals once she was warmed up. I found that on the little vertical (probably 2'3 or 2'6... it looked weenie...) she was much more comfortable letting me push her into the air sooner. On the bigger vertical, she really wanted to bury herself at the base and I had to develop a very gallopy forward canter with clucking and major motoring and leg on the turn to keep her up and willing to get something that was a bit more free off the ground. 

It's odd - when she is more free off the ground and really flies, she feels awesome and I am perfectly pulled by the momentum and muscle memory to give her a great ride, proper release, and I stay very balanced. When she comes up from the base, a lot of the time she hits me in the chest with her withers and I feel like my leg tends to slide back. This problem is approximately 18,000x worse on XC, which I really can't do much with until next year...

I guess I need to get enough jumps together to get a decent gymnastic set up, and find a decent time to put it up!

The Days, They Fly

Seriously how is it already Thursday?! It's crazy how fast weeks and months and a year has flown by - and I feel like I haven't done a damn thing. 

Monday, we did dressage. Shocker. It's dark when I arrive at the barn, or almost there, so to the indoor we go. BB and I worked on general dressaging - we had the indoor to ourselves and I foolishly left the door open, so she had a direct something to spook at, because hey, it's dark out there. The idiot girl is driving the gator back and forth getting hay from a round bale (why don't they just move the round bale?!). We did a long walking warm up, and I had a whip, and it was a pretty ok ride. Things were just about to get better because I finally got over the door spooking and closed the fucking door.

Cue shitshow girl arriving with ugly paint horse, riding bareback in a halter, who opened the door with a giant BANG and then was like "....door."

That's not how that works, honey. And don't tell me you like my horse, either. You admire my horse because she's well trained and well cared for - something neither of your horses are. You jump your TB in a barrel racing bit and can't figure out how to teach your horse to jump calmly and not bolt after every fence. And you're too damn proud to ask for help or take a lesson. So don't look at the horse that I've poured two plus years of my life into and tell me she's wonderful. I know she is, I trained her.

I is best poneh, mahm.

Anyhoo. Sorry for the bitch moment; I'm not actually sorry. Monday's ride was pretty ok. Wednesday's ride, despite a natural horsemanship clinic where the clinician was using a stand speaker which he parked at one end of the arena and then rode on the other half. So we rode with a giant speaker randomly emitting a man's voice, and Bailey mildly lost her shit for the first 10 minutes. The spook-rear-throw-self-sideways routine is lovely to witness, I'm sure. The thing is, after about 10 minutes, she picked up her shit, and while she was spooky in a "MUST LOOK AT THE SCARY SPEAKER" way, she went to work.

This is monumental, folks. 

We had a nice ride, and she didn't work herself up into a lather like Monday night. We worked on getting quiet, controllable gaits at the walk, trot and canter, did some walk-canter transitions and did a little compression-extension within the gaits. She was pretty good about not getting braced against my hand despite wanting to carry a lot of tension in her whole body - she alternated wanting to brace, softening and then trying to stretch down into stretchy trot because "oh, gosh, that was stressful". The walk canters are still rough to the left, but are prompt and GREAT to the right, so we have clear homework there.

Fanciest baby.

The compression-extension is another area that needs work. For a while there, BB was able to pull up through her withers and just power herself forward in this glorious trot with a little snap at the end of the stride that felt sooooo fancy. She showed a little in the canter too, and is so much more willing to condense her body and try than she has been before - but again, she's a little weak, and in the trot she doesn't quite get the lift she used to, and in the canter, she often pops her lead in the back.  So we have some strength to go after, too.

I put the baby in the Back on Track blanket to eat dinner and relax while I rode Fox. Fox was crabby, and totally had the zooooooms last night - this doesn't work well when we don't have the indoor to ourselves, so she was tense and just wanted to go forward forward forward (and possibly buck me off...). She did feel strong and was more supple by the end of the ride, so I was happy. Next time I'd like to stick her in a full BOT outfit beforehand to try to reduce any soreness on both ends of the ride, and hopefully will be able to let her go a bit to work off those zooms. She zoomed on the lunge the other night, too, so I think she's just enjoying the weather and needs a little time to play. Bailey has been playing hard this week - running and bucking and running some more, so she's taking care of herself. They both seem to enjoy or be lit up by the cooler weather. Bailey also sincerely enjoyed the BOT and was sleeping when I got back from riding Fox. 

This horse still has the best muscle tone ever, at 19.5!

I still need to do laundry, clip, and take care of a handful of errands - the days need to slow down! I've got too much to do. I also was reminded by an annoying boarder that I should clip legs down - her horse has scratches from pastern to hock, and she didn't know what they were. Come on, lady. You said you've owned horses for years, and you currently own two loud paints with lots of white leg. Scratches seems totally a thing around here; and I'd like to avoid it. I also want to look into ways to keep the girls' hind legs cleaner. Both look like they're splashed with pee - probably from the wind since we're on a hilltop and it gusts and changes a lot. Maybe baby wipes? I'll have to go looking. 

More work to do! 

Weekend Catch Up

Whale hello, Monday. You came a little too fast for my tastes.

After my #GOALS post, I was all filled up with motivation and was ready to rock and roll on my plans. Naturally, the plans went awry. I rode Thursday last week - Drew lunged Foxie while I worked with the #feralredhorse. We were cursed to the indoor arena due to a late start to the evening and the fact that the sun goes down before 6:30 now. It sucks. I hate the indoor.

At least someone had watered.

But still. It sucks. Mostly because BB does this super cute thing where she spooks at everything, all day, erry day. The doors were open, and so our usual circle turned into "spook at the crap in the corner, spook at the human door, STARE OUT THE HORSE DOOR INTO THE DARKNESS LIKE WERE IN A HORROR MOVIE". And this happened at every gait, and for basically the whole ride. Same/similar thing the other direction. Even when we're at the end of the arena with less doors, we still had the most crooked circle ever from spooking at the open door and then scooting away from it like the hounds of hell were waiting in the darkness.

I rode in dressage tack, and once we got warmed up, I was already ready to quit because I finally got her soft and somewhat listening. Luckily, the arena cleared out (another boarder finished her ride, Drew finished lunging the McSassyPants Von Fox) and we did some walk canter work, and some counter canter. The left was really, really rough - she shut down on one end of the arena and just would not make a clean upwards transition for love or money. Mostly because every time she tried, she ended up on the wrong lead, or threw her front half up in the air or otherwise just put in crappy work and I kept shutting her down to re-balance at the trot. I moved her away from the door to the middle of the arena and was able to get it (finally) though it wasn't pretty. The right was pretty good - she gave me a handful of decent walk-canters with good leap and a nice counter canter loop. We did some lateral work (which was surprisingly straight and obedient for not having practiced... basically all summer) as well on both sides and the left is definitely a problem, as is the spooking.

I'm not sure what it is about our arena that makes the red horse insane; is she bored? Is she actually scared? It's pretty much crap regardless of the junk in the corners, the door being open or closed or the presence of a calm horse. A hot horse will set her off, as will people doing abrupt weird stuff like flagging a horse back and forth in the indoor. Last time, a whip helped. She loses momentum inside - and loses it further when spooking. My spurs are pretty much a daily wear item and she honestly doesn't seem to really care unless I'm doing something weird with them. Without spurs, she's lazy and obnoxious. I'd like to transition to smaller ones (I've already transitioned back from the smaller/slightly "sharper" spurs I had been wearing all summer to my longer, but very round/soft nubs) or maybe try something with plastic rollers. The loss of momentum is in part because of the weird uneven footing in the indoor, and probably encouraged by me putting SMBs on her to try to protect her legs in the weird ass footing. 

I think, if I am not able to have a decent ride tonight, I am going to look into doing something about the spooking and the crap. Ear plugs, maybe? Calming supplement? I am going to do my very best to remember to carry my whip, though I'd love to replace it with one that is a little bouncier and has a better handle. My current whip has a narrow handle with a fancy silver end cap. Pretty - but hard to hold on to. It's also got a stiff lash, and is very stiff in general. It's great for ground work but my hands already suck and they suck further when I'm trying to figure out how to make a whip lay nicely against my hip and do more than twang my horse in the face when I try to use it. The martingale is essential supplies until next spring - I've got them on clips now which is super handy, and I might as well protect my face from the idiot's head tossing. .

Tonight's ride will be pretty quick as I have some other things I'd like to do with my evening, but I'll be more in depth come Wednesday and Friday evenings. The horsey docket also includes doing the last of the laundry I need, hopefully finally clipping bridle paths and a jump school on Sunday morning. The Fox will also get some love and attention. She is sound and sassy post trim (which is a miracle, seeing as her feet SUCK). I'm considering a particular brand of hoof oil as a possible purchase for her, and will be doing the good work to continue rebuilding and maintaining her topline muscle. I'm happy to get her back into work and feel badly that she fell off the schedule as my other priority - the show horse - took up all of my time. No more! Fox will hopefully take Drew on a trail ride yet this year and will play all winter with riding and lunging. 

We'll see you later on this week. 

#GOALS

Yep, I'm a hashtag girl. The #feralredhorse and I have lots of things to work on now that fall is upon us and show season has officially ended.

Here's my wishlist:

1. Confirmed walk-canter transition, both leads. 

2. Flying lead changes

3. 3 speeds within each gait - we have 2 at the trot, and are just now discovering two at the canter...

4. Fix issue where Bailey likes to bury herself at the base of the fence. 

5. As always, my strength, position, annoying need to over release/jump ahead, inability to stay back where I need too... etc.

Basically I have a lot to do before we thaw out next spring, and I really aim to do it. Because once we thaw out, Bailey needs to go out on every XC course I can find locally. She needs to jump the solid fences and the XC questions until she is confident. 

Bailey really loves going to the base, as you can see here: 

  

So that's really something we need to work on. Not all XC fences are that friendly!

I'm getting lucky, too, because my favorite local XC course has TWO schooling shows next year. And two dressage shows. Plus the usual line up, which includes super reasonable schooling fees. I need to start saving now, because I'd like a nice nest egg to spend on developing my horse next spring-summer-fall.

Here's the plan for next spring, in an extremely preliminary form:

May 7 - Roebkes Schooling Show, BN

May 21-22 Otter Creek Spring HT, BN

June 5 - Carriage House Combined, BN and N (Dressage and SJ only)

*June 25 - RRHT Dressage Show*

July 8-10 - Roebke's Run HT

August 12-14 - Otter Creek Summer HT

September 3-4 - Roebkes Dressage and Schooling Show, BN

September 16-18 - Otter Creek Fall HT

I may scratch both dressage shows depending on fees, but I definitely want to do what's highlighted. Its hard to know where we will be next spring, but I'm looking forward to more time on XC, and getting more confidence under our belts!

Feral. Red. Horse

I iz most pretty

My Feral Red Horse, Bailey, has Feral Red Horse in her blood. Bailey, now 6, is an "OOPs!" baby, conceived when her Mama was 3 and born when she was 4. Mama herself was a bit of a Feral Red Horse, and had her training and early horse education put off because of the baby on the way.

Bailey herself was left basically untouched until she turned 4. I picked her out from a picture and a brief meeting while visiting Wake Robin Farm to attend a Lucinda Green clinic. She came running when called, and was interested and inquisitive with people, affectionate, and willing to yield her body to pressure.  A sales video showed her to be a lovely mover, athletic and playful.

The feral red horse, the week she came home

I was hooked! I brought Bailey home in late August of 2013 with 6 rides on her. She was "kind of" broke, and "kind of" steered, stopped and responded to leg cues. Two years later she has two years of showing under her belt and we're prepping for another confidence building year at Beginner Novice. Bailey has blossomed, and grown up, and has really become her own person. I still call her my Feral Red Horse because she continues to be quirky and wild and, well... feral, occasionally. 





The Rider
My name is Ashley. I hang out on the internet under a variety of usernames, but usually am known as TheFoxRider, in homage to my beloved first horse, an OTTB named Foxie. I'm a young professional, and spent my first real paychecks after college on the Feral Red Horse. Foxie, who is now going on 20, is mostly retired with a blown suspensory ligament in a hind leg and is generally enjoying being a curmudgeonly older lady. I have aspirations to do a T3D before I get too old, and find that riding is a much needed light in corporate life. I have been out of the blog sphere lately, and have missed it. I'm not sure how this whole job + blogging thing will work, but I'm going to give it a go.

The Horse:
Bailey, known in USEA Area IV as "WRF Come Along Pond" and around the barn as "BB" is a 16.1h Thoroughbred cross born in 2009. She is 3/4 TB, 1/4 Zangrischeide (Holsteiner x Hanovarian) and 100% sassy redhead. Bailey is very friendly and inquisitive, and is often referred to as being like a giant golden retriever. She loves treats, food and running around "like an idiot". She feels that praise is her human confirming her Bad Ass status and has a slightly bucky, head-shaky happy dance that she enjoys doing after any Bad Ass action, like jumping a jump (regardless of whether there is another one coming up that she's not paying attention to). She considers her mom to be a dispenser of treats, slave to her glorious looks and lately, the fun police. 

BB would also like to note that she is a badass.

** Note: As of 4/13/16, I've loaded an older blog into the back end of this one, which means you now get to see the story of Bailey unfold a little bit more. I wasn't a great blogger getting back into it with a new horse, but hey, History! We have it.