I Can't Even

Today is the day of I-Can't-Even. Work? Newp. Motivated to ride? Definitely not. Capable of normal human thought? Not really.

Since I can't sleep (I mean I could, but I would be in major danger of losing my job) I figure... blogtime. What's happened since I posted last? Lots. Clearly I am bad at blogging. 

Since my last post, BB got used in a Natural Horsemanship (Buck Branaman style) clinic as an example of a horse who is spooky/doesn't trust her hooman to keep her safe. She didn't kill the guy, for which I was grateful, since that would have been embarrassing. She also wasn't full on Bellatrix Lestrange crazy... but from watching the clinician and then working with her/riding her, I think I have actually figured that facet of her neurosis. 

Clinician basically started off defining his "bubble" of space, and then worked with the B to get her feet moving when she tends to freeze while staring at something scary. He progressed to having her move laterally to get her to soften her body. By the end (when he had the audience applaud and stop randomly and start randomly) she was showing progress and was also much more respectful of hooman space and hooman guidance. Things I didn't like? When he disciplined her for not backing up on his cue - she's been taught a different one, and I think it's kind of obnoxious to punish a horse for responding perfectly to a cue you don't use. I also didn't appreciate him whapping her in the face once or twice with his flag - I don't remember the exact context, but I feel he could have been more understanding of a horse who hasn't ever been worked with on the ground that way. I am a soft mom, though.

Post clinic, BB was lovely on the ground. I did some basic work again before my ride, and I felt she was better than she would have normally been - more tuned in to me. Our last ride (Monday) was surprisingly not crap. We had farmily photos done on Saturday (thus no weekend ride) and Bails was AWFUL. Spooking, snorting, half bolting on the lead, and of course I wanted her in her show halter so I didn't have a nice rope halter or stud chain to pop her with. We're still waiting on photos, but Monday's ride went pretty well. 

First change? BB felt like she was trying to be good. Drew lunged her while I took the Fox for a spin and I was honestly a little worried - she was a total doofus. Once I got on, we focused on the two door corners of the arena. Right now, I'm trying for the following under saddle:

1. Continuing to go forward at the same pace (not stopping or scooting forward)

2. Not dramatically throwing the body to the inside when passing the scary thing (usually followed by a scoot/bolt)

3. Not locking the base of the neck and the jaw

I'm hoping with 2 and 3, we get the desired result of not losing bend/lead/etc when spooking and that she learns to "keep it in her pants" so to speak. She does well when asked to do shoulder in or leg yield towards the scary thing so I think we'll get to going through normally. I'm also trying to boot her forward and through the spooks and reward her when she relaxes - I also discovered I'm holding my breath at the canter, so I'm also trying to keep breathing, keep my elbows soft and not brace for the spook through my own body. I am sure she reads tension in me and reacts, so I can definitely help us improve by being more in control of my own body while I teach her to relax through hers.

We're not getting much "work" done, but I feel like it's good for her brain to learn to chill out. Her canter will improve from her gaining balance and focus (and hopefully so will her problem of losing the lead in the back when distracted) and she's staying fit and getting sweaty each ride, so I think we're doing the good - if not the fun/desirable - work. She was a little weird through the contact on Monday, as well, so I'm tempted to toss her into the boucher or the waterford for a ride or three. We can only get better, right?

Quick Catch Up

My last post was technically "sent" on the 11th - though I forgot to hit "post" until today - so there is that. The indoor arena #strugfest2015 has continued. I didn't ride Friday - I had a potential saddle buyer meeting me on Saturday morning, so Drew and I trooped out Saturday morning. The girl bought the saddle (YAY DOLLARZ!) and Drew lunged the Fox while I got BB tacked up to jump. I set up something similar to the run-and-jump exercise from the Lucinda Green clinic two years ago, but someone came in to lunge, so my run and jump became more of a turn and jump. Bailey warmed up great and had some serious hops over the warm up fences. By then Drew had appeared (he had to blanket and turn out his horse) and he had fun making the jumps as scary as he could - BB jumped them with no problem, like the silly red star she is. One was an uneven oxer with miscellaneous poles added on and under, while the other was, at first, a single vertical with no fill. Drew added some fill ( a very scary gate that wasn't in cups, just leaning against the standards) and put it up and off we went. 

Outside, Bailey was much better about taking the longer distances, though she got up the butt of the vertical a handful of times, nearly unseating me. I'm thankful she's generally honest and didn't buck me off while I was up on her neck dicking around. I also needed my martingale hardcore (my face is, however, in pristine condition thanks to it) and was wishing for more bit. Once the gate got added to the vertical, she started to duck down right before (like 1-2 strides out, max) and stall out/jump it SUPER awkwardly because OMG scary thing. With one hit/knock down of the gate (which gave me whiplash because Bailey bolted on the backside) I finally got to riding more aggressively and got her over it much more smoothly with a couple of clucks and a few well timed taps behind my leg with the whip. Not only did I feel like a bad ass jumping the big jump with one hand, but Bailey soared over it with absolutely no problems.

Red horse has got some hops!

Indoor Strugfest, 2015

It's not even December yet, and I am already bored to tears when forced to ride in the indoor. I don't care if I am riding in sleet, hail, etc, I WILL be riding outside this weekend. I can't stand the indoor anymore.

Wednesday's ride was great; I didn't ride Friday because we left for a wedding that morning and I didn't want to wake up early (I like sleeping in. Even though I didn't, and I woke the FH up and he was crabby because of it). The wedding was great, and I picked up riding on Monday. 

Drew lunged Foxie, who had a case of the I-wanna-buck zooms while Bailey was similarly unhinged. They are starting construction on a lounge (don't ask me; I don't want it) and the contractor placed some items in the doorway/corner of the arena presumably to keep them out of the weather. These items are clearly horse eating and Bailey lost her tiny little mind whenever she was asked to go near them. Walking eventually got ok past them, and trotting was tough but she eventually got her kimchee together about it, but the canter was a disaster.

The only saving grace of Monday's ride was that once Drew left with the zoomy Fox, I could ride in the middle and far side of the arena. I finally got some semi-normal canter and some great lateral work out of the #FeralRedHorse. She did some very nice leg yields that were, again, mostly straight and not tense in the base of her neck, and I got some great shoulder in at the trot. 

The struggles of the indoor arena are real, and really freaking frustrating, ya'all. Idiot horse kicked sand on the Scary Corner Stuff and then attempted to spook-rear-bolt away from it, and while I shut that down, my saddle moved forward like 4 freaking inches in the process. 

I think I should just move to Florida. 

I iz not crazy I iz cute.

Through

I rode last night and it was actually a pretty awesome thing. I arrived just in time for the lesson kids to be wrapping up, and my horse was hardly muddy and actually seemed to be interested in me. I rode Monday, but with the deathcold, I rode for about 20 minutes and most of it I struggled to think and breathe at the same time. Last night I was feeling much more like myself - and I was ready to take on the inconsistency that I had felt in the bridle the last two rides I've had with BB. 

We started with a lot of walking warm up, and then trot and canter. I really focused on my own position issues (leaning forward, not keeping my heel down, leg under me and thigh applied. hands going everywhere, shoulders caved in...) and tried to use my whole leg to push the red mare up to and through the bridle, while also keeping my reins short and thumbs up. She's always been light, and unlike Foxie, has never really been the time to "hold" the bit and the contact like a handshake. I noticed two very positive things from these changes I made last night.

The first was that I was able to push her through a lot of lookiness and spookiness. I would prefer to not have to "muscle" her through turns or times when her attention wanders, but at the same time, we didn't lose nearly so much work, even though the doors were open and she was very interested in what was going on outside. 

The second was that I felt that I was actually able to push her into the bridle - meaning that she wasn't behind the vertical avoiding a more firm contact, and even when her head came up, I still had her face and was able to push her forward, and bam, the poll would relax and she'd go back to work. From this work, I was able to do a lot last night - it wasn't nearly so hard as I was expecting to get her into this much more malleable and workable frame and attitude. 

We schooled a rather poor dressage test (I mean, spooking in the two door corners, but it was generally obedient) and I actually got some collected canter to extended on one lead - the whole cadence changed, which was awesome to feel and hear as she's struggled with the canter since we started trying it. She also gave me some lovely lateral work at the walk and trot, and even did some somewhat-not-awful shoulder in, and really showed off with some stretchy trot at the end that was actually in the contact. 

Moral of the story: maybe I should ride more correctly before I see the problem as 100% caused by my horse. She's a weirdie, but a goodie. She also will probably end up clipped because I'm OVER her taking her approximately 18 years to dry. 

Wordless Wednesday: Flying Feral Horse

My Horse Is An Asshat (A Variation on a Theme)

On Thursday last week we had a great jump school. I'll do a wordless Wednesday post with the pictures, I promise. I didn't ride Tuesday because of illness, and when the FH and I went to go see our girls on Halloween night, things took an... obnoxious turn.

We arrived at 7pm or so - it's pitch black out, and it looks like no one is at the barn, Except for my least favorite barn worker's car. Why is she here? Because the horses aren't in. FH and I retrieve Foxie and her Boyfriend (because they don't like to go into the barn without the other, and I felt bad for her Boyfriend in the cold wet dark) and grain them. I then go out, in the pitch black, slipping in nasty cold deep mud, to go catch my horse. But my horse, and her friend who is usually all "TAKE ME INSIDE THIS INSTANT PEASANT DONT TAKE THIS RED INFIDEL TAKE ME" when I come out at dinner time are over on the fence, giggling. I now see that the Barn owners gelding has been put out, and I'm pretty sure he's usually put out after these two. Why? Because they were both flirting on the fence line and galloping around wildly when I got anywhere near them, while the other two mares ho-hummed it at the round bale. 

Bailey and her friend continued to elude capture for approximately the next 20 minutes. FH comes out, asks what's wrong, and then goes back for a halter to wade out into the paddock to help me. I finally grab Boots, BB's nasty bitchy friend, and Bailey is lured over in the process (I am luring them with a used kleenex. It showed up in the dark and it was all I had in my pockets) and FH catches her. We get them inside. BB seems her normal cheerful self, and doesn't seem to realize that her two humans are muddy, wet, cold and angry because of her. 

So we went home. FH was wet up to his knees, we couldn't go out for dinner after now that we were coated in mud, and BB was probably going to be a brat anyways.

So we went home. And watched Game of Thrones until bedtime. And it was okay.

Horses can be so frustrating sometimes, but I'm glad I had the FH there to tell me to walk away. Some days you win, some days you lose, but when it comes down to it, one night isn't going to make or break our plans and goals - where a bad ride might set us back in our work.So there's my bright spot in my Halloween weekend. 

On to another day.