Blog hop!

A blog hop I can relate too!

I’m A Loser, Baby

Let’s talk about your horse’s biggest fail.  What did Thunderhooves do that embarrassed you, scared you, shocked you or just annoyed the hell out of you?

To all those brave souls out there working their way through young/green horse crap, I commend your efforts. Take comfort in knowing you are not alone in that feeling when your horse leaves you lying in the dirt, sand up your nose, wrist may be broken, wondering why is my horse running around, jumping all the jumps now when I am here and NOT when I was up in the saddle. We have all at one point or another been through humiliating/terrifying moments with our horses and we all pray that the fewer people around to witness it the better.

I was not so lucky on the witness count a few years ago at Miss Tea's first horse show. It was early June and one of the first shows in our area. She was five years old but not totally broke...I knew she needed to get out and see the world before she became a yard ornament but I was certainly worried we were not ready for public scrutiny.

Our one and only class was walk/trot and yes, I was the oldest competitor. The class was scheduled for after lunch so I had tons of time to warm up and settle in. It was an outdoor show and had a great turn out. I realized quickly that walking around other horses that were trotting, cantering and coming too close was a problem - we did not have much experience with that. I survived the morning ride in the warm up area and after lunch, saddled up again for another go before my class.

Miss Tea had not settled one bit by then though. I was out in the field planning to mount. I tried to mount but the saddle slipped a little, perhaps a bit further than she was used to. She was just so clean for the show, it must have added to saddle movement. No problem, I thought. Just slip the saddle back up a bit and tighten the girth.

Everything here on in went in slow motion. I attempted to straighten the saddle. Miss Tea panicked at the feeling of it. She bolted backwards and sideways and I felt the reins slip through my fingers one millimeter at a time - and she was gone.

She first bolted towards the crowd of people, bucking and then the saddle was completely under her. She spun and ran the other way towards the open field. OH-MY-GOD the OPEN field flanked by NO fence beside a busy highway. In the middle of this open field was the warm up arena - fenced with a gate. It is quite possible she ran into the arena instead of off into the sunset because that is where we had been earlier that day to ride. I ran and closed the gate behind her and a couple people helped me retrieve her.

With the moment of terror over came the embarrassment, #Many onlookers, #Someone just kill me.

She fortunately had no injuries to her legs despite all the stirrup flopping/galloping/bucking.

And, I went in my walk/trot class. #Badass!

Miss Tea's Christmas Wish List

Contrary to what my mom says, I am a simple horse. I don't want that many things...

But there are a few items that would be nice to see Christmas morning!

So I have made a list:

1. I want a new moving box of death. You know those things. Yet get in, mom closes door, (shake-shake-shake) and POOF! You're somewhere different. I hear from my friends there are nicer, quieter, less shaky ones.

My blender on wheels.

How about this mom! Then we can see each other while we shake-shake-POOF!

Well, mom says that doesn't exist in Canada (whatever Canada is) so hooves crossed for anything better.

2. Now this one I know my mom can do. My mom helped me learn all my human/horse manners and I think I am quite a good girl. Now how about mom shows my sister some of these manners? Really, she is such a brat. Now I love her and all, but she just doesn't know when to quit!

Out of my space, sis!

I said MOVE!

Such a pain in the hindquarters.

Please mom! Give her some lessons!

3. My next wish would be for a large bowl of scrumptious, mouth-watering, brain-exploding OATS!

Mom won't let me near the stuff! She says it makes my brain fall out. But, just. one. bowl!!

4. My last item (yes, just four things. I told you I was easy to please!) is kind of for both me and my mom. You see, sometimes she's scared. I know she tries to hide it, but I can tell. My wish is for her to be brave and trust us. When she's brave, I feel like I can do anything and it feels so great! So mom, like our T says, "Ride me like you stole me!".

Won't Do's Blog Hop!

Equestrian Journey Hop: What won't you do?

Blog Hop topic from Equestrian Journey: 

        "We all like to share on our blogs what we do with our horses and what we would like to do, but I want to know what you will NOT do.  For example I will not carry a bag of feed into the middle of a herd of horses, especially if I don't know some of them.  I will not teach my horse to rear on purpose.  I will not ride my horse into a field full of loose horses that could kick me in the leg and break it.  Things like that.  I look forward to hearing what you have to share!"

 

When I first read this I laughed and thought more like what will I do because that would be the shorter list! After a bit of consideration though, I realize perhaps I have come further than I thought and that blasted list of things I won't do (or can't yet) is getting a smidgeon shorter.

 

I did not always have a huge list of "won't do's". When I was a kid growing up on a farm with my super little pony, I did everything. In fact, all the things that would give parents heart attacks and lived to ride another day.

 

As a teen, I still had that fearless nature and had no trouble working with difficult horses in all sorts of riding situations and the "won't do" list was non-existent.

 

Enter adulthood, a couple of very unsuitable horse purchases equaling is some very scary riding situations. Add on top of that a knowledge that my bones are indeed breakable and my family needs me around (at least they seem to need me when a school lunch needs to be made or the laundry hamper is full) and then you have a pretty big "won't do" list in your midst. BUT, I'm working on making it smaller!

 

So here is a look at my list two years ago (at the height of my fear) and now. Let's see just how much progress I made! 

 

My "won't do" list - THEN:

• Lead a young horse out of the fenced-in yard area.
• Ride on windy/chilly days (because horses be crazy!)
• Allow the horses to run around in the pasture without panicking inside and running to throw them some hay to stop that dangerous shit!
• Ride out in my hay field.
• Take my horse on the trailer, anywhere.

Okay, you get the idea. I was officially completely terrified. I almost quit horses at that time. But I didn't. After mucho work at concurring my issues, here is my list today:

 

• Canter in the hay field is still a firm no. I got over my fear of being out there in the open with my spooky mare. We can now walk, trot and do somewhat concentrated work out there relatively calmly without thinking I am going to die.
• Heading to a jump without a nice good warmup over at least one pole first to see where my girl's brain is at.
• Jump when I am shaking afraid. I firmly know my limits now and know when to push myself. 
• Finally, I WON'T let a coach push me to do anything I know I am not ready for. Only I can know my own limits and even though most coaches are amazing, I know myself best!

That's it for my list! That "then" list is pulverized! I can't wait to see where I am at in the future. Here's to dreaming of safe canters in an open field...:) 

Work dat ass!

My horse and I are both lacking something. And I hear it is the key to all things great. When you have it, mountains move, you may even hear violins...

The result of it is a horse working from behind and you not pulling on reins like some first-day-of-lessons newbie. It's called muscles y'all. I have none and Miss Tea has none, and it sucks.

So many muscles involved--maybe I should switch to trail riding.

Lesson Monday was all about working this issue. Miss Tea is kind of like riding a plank; straight, long and rough. And then there is me; kind of like a bag of Jello, jiggling and wiggling along on said plank. My goal was to bend that darn plank and keep the Jello in the bag!

We started with exaggerated flexion at the walk, inside bend and counter-bend, and once that felt soft we moved on to trot with the same exercise. I discovered her right bend was much more of an effort for her and subsequently for me and my weak legs.

Then the canter. I am ashamed to say both Miss Tea and I can only make it about three quarters of the arena in good form and then fall apart. After two laps of canter (with most of it looking like ass) both Miss Tea and I were huffing and puffing and needed a break in the middle. This is where having a group lesson comes in supper handy--the other person goes out for a turn while you get a nice long break (collapse on your horse and die a little) before heading out for more torture much-needed practice.

We didn't get in any jumping this lesson, but really, I don't think I could have even managed to hang on over a jump by the end.

We ended the lesson with a lovely blow-dry for the girl as it was -10 outside and she was quite lathered from our workout in the heated arena (Yes, HEATED!!XOXO). She had never seen/heard a blowdryer before, but she stood beautifully for it--scared to death, but willing to be good for me--love her!

Now who thinks I will work any of those muscles again before my next lesson? Silly girls, I don't use muscles outside of lessons!

Winter play

This morning as I sat down to start work, I got a lovely little email from my boss not to log on this morning as work was low...you know what that means! Horse time!

When I had fed horses an hour earlier, it was cold for sure, but no wind, no snow. With news that I had some free time, I ran to bundle up and head out to full on snow and wind. *^&%$!!.

Too stubborn to be defeated, I grabbed Savvy girl from the paddock and brought her to the outdoor to play.


Isn't she beautiful!? :)

But even this attention-loving beast was a little pissed at being out in the nasty weather, so I brought her into the cozy little tack shed for some loving up.

So happy to be inside!

And just when my fingers were frozen solid, the sky started to clear.
Right. &*%$ you winter.

Snow baby. XOXO

Marathon struggles begin

I hate you winter. Go away!

 

It is now no longer about my horse's training. Forget the jumping. Don't even think about cantering. The ground is frozen and slippery.


I just want to riiidde!

It is now all about keeping water from freezing. Storing hoses in the house to keep them thawed. Freezing my fingers trying to do barn yard maintenance.


Feeding and feeding and feeding the beasties and swearing at them when they eat the wood fences if there is a two-minute gap in hay being available.




And this is just the beginning! The snow will get deeper and temps will get much worse.

The struggle gets harder and harder every year.  All I can do is feel so defeated today.

Maybe tomorrow I will buck up, bundle up and play with the horses. Or maybe I'll just keep all my fingers and stay the heck inside.

 





Know thy self, know thy horse

Many of us who ride come across times where issues will come up with our horses where we are unsure if we are dealing with a physical or a behavioral issue. It can be incredibly frustrating not to mention expensive to sort it all out. If praying for the anomaly to magically disappear doesn't work, we are left with endlessly analysing the issue in our minds, annoying anyone who will listen with the details and then perhaps bringing in the specialists.

The dilemma is, if your horse is misbehaving, you may need to push through the behavior, but if your horse is sore, you really need to stop and fix the issue if you can...so what if you are not sure?

My Miss Tea has left me wondering what the heck is wrong with her more times than I can count. To my own defense, I am dealing with a hypochondriac of a horse--she can be seriously over dramatic.



Melman and Miss Tea would get along fabulously.

She will definitely not hesitate to let you know she is uncomfortable, and quite possibly dying. When her teeth are floated, she will be found with her head in the corner of her shelter, leaning on the wall, and will not move for TWO DAYS.

If I change her tack in anyway, lunge first or regret my fool heartedness. Seriously. Different saddle = buck. Different girth = buck. Different saddle pad = buck(just to let me know she's paying attention).

I have had this horse since she was 6 months old, and 7 years later, I can say I am catching on to her form of communication. It was actually quite simple--uncomfortable in any way = buck. Great, I like simple math. But then there was the overwhelming task of figuring out what nuances in her bucking style meant so we could possibly, oh I don't know, something like MOVE FORWARD with her training?!

Who me? I don't know what that human is talking about, I'm perfect.

When I was first training her, bucking happened when introducing the canter. Not that uncommon in horses and we got through it after a few months. From there she was fabulous for about a year, and then came up sore. The soreness first presented itself as bucking in the canter. She would initially start to canter just fine, but then it would feel like a moment of panic and then bucking. I eventually discovered it was a back issue and was luckily back to riding after about two months.

Another type of buck I have come to know is the "you are not riding good enough" buck. Usually this presents itself after a jump where my timing was off.

And then the "I think I would rather just trot today" buck where the tail gets involved and she basically gives my legs the finger.

At the end of the day though, I feel encouraged to know I am better equipped now to tell when she is hurting versus being naughty, when to push and when to back off. This horse just keeps bringing on the lessons!