Holding Pattern

 Not much is going on over here. Cinder finished her round of Adequan yesterday. I've put a couple of easy rides on her to gauge how she's feeling, but honestly, my mental and emotional state is pretty shitty right now and I don't trust myself to assess her soundness. She did feel more even behind, but still has some anxiety picking up the canter. But the canter work itself was really nice. So 🤷

She has been working on her hunter bod with help from the spring grass.

I will say this downtime has been good for her body. Cin's always been a bit of a string bean, and I was told her siblings were similar till around 6 when they all chunked out. Cinder's bulking up happened this spring and she's gone from wearing a 50" girth in March to a 54" now. I barley had time to break in the 52" I bought her. She's also in a warmblood sized fly mask now because the regular size was too tight across her jaw. I had to let her throat latch out a hole from where it used to be. Apparently the only part of her head growing is her cheeks. I've told her that between a new saddle, vet bills, and new girths, she's not allowed to grow out of anything else she wears for at least a year, if ever. 

First ride back in 3 weeks and she was almost asleep

 

Our trainer situation is still up in the air. I haven't heard back from Trainer M on when/if a stall will be open, but we do have a lesson tentatively scheduled in two weeks. She's at a show this weekend and next week. I do plan on going up to the show this weekend and doing a little recon watching her and other trainers. I also have a lesson planned for next weekend with Trainer A. She knows Cinder better than anyone, so if Cin is still having any soundness issues she'd find them. And honestly, part of me still wants to be in her program, even if I'm the hunter in a barn full of eventers. 

Peebs is still the best boy ever. We've been doing some bareback walks once or twice a month and he's been great. He's back in the bigger paddock 24/7 and thankfully hasn't gotten too fat. He's the easiest of easy keepers and I was worried he'd gain too much weight being on grass and out of work. I do plan to do at least once a week walks with him once Cinder is in training, just to help keep his weight down and so I can ride one more day a week.

Back to My Pony Kid Days

I'm a visual learner. I need to be show how to do something in order to do it. When someone explains things as they're doing it, I'm golden. I also love visual clues or reminders for things. No matter how many times my trainer tells me to keep my hands closed, or shorten my reins, it just doesn't stick.

My inability to keep my fingers closed around my reins, especially my left rein, became very apparent in my last lesson. I just could not keep my reins short. I joked with my trainer that I needed to be a pony kid again and break out some rainbow reins to remind me to keep my hand on a certain color and she told me to go for it.

So I swung by the local farm store and picked up a pair or $30. Now I can very easily tell if my left hand has gone rogue and if my reins are even. My current joke is that I'm playing Twister and the prompt is always "Left Hand on Blue". And even after only a few rides with them, I'm finding it easier to keep my left hand where it's supposed to be.

Ugh

Ugh pretty much sums up the last month or so.  Work was incredibly busy and stressful, but *fingers crossed* we should finally be back to normal (or at least fully staffed). Life with ponies at two different barns has me feeling like I'm being torn in two different directions, but that's going to change this weekend. And last but not least, winter sucks. 

When everything sucks, just hop on for a bareback toodle

Peebs and I started December off pretty well.  We had been focusing on our flat work and I felt like we were making progress.  Until I took my bridle apart to clean and condition and then screwed up putting it back together again.  I somehow swapped the cheek piece and noseband attachment on one side, causing the the top of the full cheek bit to dig into his face and didn't notice it at first. We had two really, really bad rides where Peebs just felt MAD. He was flat pissed at something and I couldn't figure out what and actually texted my trainer on the verge of tears to see if she would be willing to ride him instead of me doing a lesson. Then I thought about what happened in the space of two days between our last good ride and the bad ride and took a good look at my bridle and figured out my mistake.  Sorry Peebers!!

Cinder modeling her new big girl halter

In our first, and so far only, lesson this year Peebs took great exception to the puddles in TCF's arena and at one point ran my leg into a standard rather than trot through the puddle. I then got off and put my spurs on and we had a slight CTJ about moving off my leg. He then had a meltdown about my spurs and our lesson was spent almost entirely at the trot, but our rides since then have been good. He's more responsive and attentive, and I've been able to put the spurs away for now. We haven't been consistent in our schooling at all in the past couple of weeks, but hopefully that will change.  Peebs is moving back to TCF this weekend. One of the boarded horses at TCF had to be put down and Peebs is taking that stall. It will be so nice to have the ponies back together again.

Princess pony loves the new hog fuel footing at the pasture entrances

Temperature wise, it's been a fairly mild winter. But we've gotten a lot of rain, and a fair amount of wind. Cinder's feet have had a hard time coping with the moisture. Last winter she didn't have turnout in the pasture, just the arena, and this year she's out 6-10 hours a day. She's also growing out some not so great hoof from when she had her big allergy attack last spring and we were switching up her diet trying to figure out what she could/would eat. All that combined has lead to her chipping off chunks of hoof, sore feet, and her first abscess. Luckily my farrier was able to come out the day after I suspected she had an abscess and dig it out. Cin was not a fan of having her hoof soaked, but surprisingly didn't chew off her hoof wrap. I've started painting her feet with Keratex as she's still a little tender footed. Next winter I'll start that sooner and hopefully she'll have better feet all around.

Terrible Twos

Cinder officially turned 2 last Thursday.  I had originally planned to do pics for her birthday, but since I got back from Africa life has been beyond crazy.  I caught a cold, then majorly tweaked my back; work has been incredibly busy and unfortunately the ponies kinda got put on the back burner for a bit.

 Right before I left for Africa Cinder's hives that had been off and on for weeks finally decided to stay on.  The vet came out two days before I left and we put her on steroids for 3wks and started the process of trying different bedding.  So far the sawdust the barn gets and one brand of bagged pine shavings don't agree with the princess.  We're trying pellets at the moment, and she comes off another round of steroids tomorrow so fingers crossed!

She was so mad

But there's progress!  Vet wanted me to try and rinse Cin off after each round of failed bedding to clean her up.  Only problem is she absolutely HATES the hose and getting wet.  I was able to sponge her off, but no time like the present to work on getting hosed off.   We had one major come to Jesus moment after she busted the crossties and jumped half way into a wheelbarrow during our first attempt at bath time. But with the help of a stud chain and cookies I've slowly been able to work our way up to a full bath.  She still hates getting her hind legs wet and will kick out (not at me, more stomping angrily) but she hasn't tried to vacate the wash rack or run me over again, so I'll take it.

So grown up!

We also started working on the longe more and revisited wearing tack.  She's totally fine being saddled and having the girth tightened.  She's fine walking with the saddle.  She's very not fine being asked to trot while saddled.  There was much rearing and head snaking involved. At one point she almost went over backwards but caught herself.  I was internally screaming as I had used my saddle instead of the crap Wintec on her.  We'll go back to using the Wintec until she's over her feelings about working under tack. I'm also internally screaming as she fits perfectly into Peeb's 48" girth.  Like, it was on the exact same holes as he uses. Just how big is she going to get?!

I Feel Good

I'm a big believer in the magic of Back on Track products.  I had a sheet and saddle pad for Buddy, and they made a huge difference in the winter for him.  Peebs is similar to Buddy in that he tends to get more muscle sore/stiff than joint stiff (furiously knocks wood).  So I bought him a sheet over the summer.

I had the chiro out a month or so ago for him and she noted that his hips and back feel much better than usual but his neck is still his weak spot.  He loves to impersonate a giraffe; part of it is how he's built, and part is he likes looking around. I always know when it's time for him to see the chiro because he stops being able to bend his neck to the right and will brace and hold tension in his neck.  So my one Black Friday/Post-Thanksgiving Sales purchase was a BOT neck rug for 20% off.  Then last week SmartPak had one of their 25 days of Christmas specials as a BOT pad with free polos.  It also combined with another 15% sale, so I got a pad and polos. 

I've been using the sheet since we started blanketing the horses, sometimes layering it under another sheet or medium blanket once the temps dropped. Peebs started wearing the neck rug Tuesday and I just started using the saddle pad and polos last night.  He's been warming up much faster than before and feels good.  Almost too good.  So good he needs a lunge before we ride if he's had a day off or a couple of easy days.  So good I dropped my whip earlier in the week and didn't use one last night.  So good that I had to do our canter work last night in a half-seat or two point because if I sat he impersonated a race horse.  I'm happy he's feeling great, but I'm knida worried about the monster I've created. 

It's Here

My saddle finally came Thursday night, after my lesson of course. I was only able to squeeze in a ten minute ride Friday before heading out to a birthday party but I could feel a huge difference. I can sit  down, I can two point and balance, and it seems to put my leg in the perfect place. It felt like I was being hugged by a soft, squishy leather cloud!

Sunday I was able to get in a longer ride. Our flat work felt very nice; I was able to balance myself better which in turn helped Peebs balance himself. We picked up a few fences and even when we got an iffy distance I felt secure. I've never ridden in a saddle with short flaps before and it makes a huge difference. This was seriously the best purchase ever. 

Added bonus: The leathers I got from L match perfectly!

The only downsides are that I had to use a girth two sizes larger, and it wants to slide back a bit. I doubt my 46" County Logic girth will fit again, but I'm hoping that once the billets stretch I can use a 48". The 50" is a little too big but there's no way the 48" fits right now. So we're currently rocking a fleece girth till I can sell the 46" and find a 48".  I've also ordered a hunter breastplate with a standing attachment since my trainer suggested he go in a standing.

New Pony, New Tack

First off on the name front: After a couple days of having him I don't think Paddy fits his personality.  I'm taking a little bit to see what I call him consistently before ordering a name plate for his halter, but already I can tell it's not going to be Paddy.  So far I'm leaning towards PB or Peebs.   And I'm open to suggestions on show names.

Already a master of the selfie

It actually looks like I'm going to get away with not having to buy much in the way of new tack for PB.  I guess that's the plus side to having three horses at once who all wore different sized boots, blankets, and girths.  The only things I know I need are new open fronts, a new halter (ordered) and nameplate (once I decide), gallons and gallons of whitening shampoo, and a new stable sheet.  PB and McKenna wear the same size blankets but I don't think McKenna's pink stable sheet will look good on PB.  He's not exactly a gelding that can pull off the pink.  It's not a super critical purchase, he can wear what I have and just look bad for now, and hopefully in the spring I can get a deal on a new sheet when everything goes on sale.

Houston, we have a problem here...and it's just not that they chopped off his tail

While McKenna and PB are also about the same height, the mare being 15.3 and him being 15.2, they have substantially different sized legs.  The first thing my vet said when he came to look at PB was "Good bone."  Peebs' has that good stock horse bone for sure!  My medium EquiFit boots just barley fit so I think I'll be looking for a large sized pair.  This is a little more of a "need to buy soon" item since I prefer to jump with open fronts, but he can wear polos for now.

I'm hoping someday this will be our "before" picture for a #transformationtuesday

And what's everyone's favorite whitening shampoo?  Buddy had a couple socks but was very good about keeping them clean so I didn't have to do much in the way of extra washing for them.  But Peebs' has much more white and I can already tell I'm going to be washing those stockings a lot more often.

Growing Pains

 We had a lesson last Wednesday, and will hopefully continue to have weekly lessons for a while, and we rode right during feeding time.  The mare was up and not super happy to be working at first but we held it together.  But when we started jumping all she wanted to do was run at the baby crossrails. We spent close to 45 minutes trying to get her to trot the fences without running at them, sucking back behind my leg, hanging on my hands, throwing her head, or going sideways.  Both my trainer and I were really happy with how I handled it.  I didn't get mad or upset just kept on asking for a decent trot, straightness, and connection. Even a couple months ago the antics McKenna pulled would have A) freaked me out and I would have have my trainer get on her and/or B) sent the mare into outer space.

Strike a pose

Saturday I wanted to jump again but this time I set out trot poles before the jumps to try and slow down the beast.  After we warmed up on the flat we started jumping and the mare decided that trot poles are really supposed to be cantered.  We attempted to trot nicely but she was completely ignoring my hands and plowing thru the pole and fences.  I stopped her hard in front of a couple jumps and circled around to come again which usually gets thru her go-go-pony brain but it didn't work.  I decided to pull out the big guns and got off to switch her bit. 

I don't like big girl bits

I've been riding her in a French link but obviously that doesn't have enough brakes.  I grabbed my slow twist and got back on to see how she would do with it on the flat. Other than stopping once when I half halted strongly she didn't seem too upset by it. Sunday we attempted the trot poles to jumps again and what do you know?  I had a pony with brakes!!  She was still wanted to go go go, but came back at my half halts and listened.  I think I'll leave the slow twist on this bridle and set up the French link on another so we can have a jump bit and flat bit.

Happy F-ing Mother's Day

I find it fitting that I so completely pissed of my pony on Mother's Day she had a tantrum of epic proportions.  She was acting like a total teenager and was in a snit our whole ride but instead of making me upset I was able to laugh it off.

We attempted to canter but it was more flailing and leaping

I haven't done much with McKenna this week.  We were supposed to have a lesson on Tuesday but she was just so slightly off.  The inside of her left front shoe had slipped a little, creating a tiny gap between it and her hoof.  Trainer thought that there were some pebbles/sand stuck in the crack making her sore.  The farrier was already scheduled for Thursday so the mare got a few days off till her shoe could get reset. Just to be safe the farrier took the hoof testers to her, but she didn't react at all and when I lunged her afterwards she looked normal.

Friday she got lunged as I was completely exhausted after a long work week and barely had the energy to clean my stall and feed. We did have a pretty decent ride Saturday considering she hadn't been ridden since Monday.  McKenna was full of energy, but it was controllable.  Lots of transitions, lots of circles, lots of keeping my calm and focus and riding her through it.

 

The dressage bridle I ordered came this week so I decided to test it out today.  I really just wanted to try the flash, as McKenna like to grab anything that comes into range of her mouth and stick her tongue out when she's upset or doesn't like something.  When I first got on I could feel her confusion about the flash; she attempted some head tossing and shaking but seemed ok with it.  During our trot work she would get upset mostly during changes of direction/bend and try to open her mouth, hit the flash, and then fling her head.  She wasn't super bad and it was easy to ride past it so I kept going. 

About five strides into our first canter she gave me the equine middle finger and took off. Her head was as high as my martingale would allow, she had the bit between her teeth, and I had very little brakes.  I pretty much had to run her into the wall to get her to stop.  She's taken off with me before, but it's always been an "I'm so full of energy and baby OTTB" explosion involving some bucks and/or leaps. This was an "I'm pissed off and f-you bitch" type of take off. She had let her inner witchy mare come out to play and she's never done that with me.  I got off and took of the flash and she immediately rubbed her nose on the wall of the arena. 

I got back on but she was having none of it. She would hop up and down in the canter, try to take off in the trot, way over bend and go sideways when I asked for leg yield, and almost ran my leg into the wall multiple times.  We did another 20minutes or so and I just asked for some nice, soft work but she was beyond reason.  We finally quit with some somewhat relaxed walk leg yields.  So note to self: The mare does not like flashes and we'll probably never rock a figure 8 in the jumper ring.

As the Withers Turn

Tia is very hard to fit saddle wise; she has those shark fin TB withers. I was riding her for a while a few years ago, and borrowed her for a medal final, and had a hell of time trying to get a saddle to work for her.  The only saddle in the barn that fits her really well is a Wintec all purpose that I hate.  I can't get my calf on her and I can't get out of the saddle over the fences. My saddle fits ok with a large Beval wither relief pad but after our last ride I noticed it was rubbing her.

Today after our warm up, when I started asking for more bend and for her to come on the bit, she stopped.  We were trotting along and she just petered out and halted.  When I got after her she got pissy and hopped up on her front end.  I've been through enough saddle fit issues with her to know that's her way of saying "Ow" so I got off and took her back to the crossties.  I pulled my saddle and was staring at my BO's saddles trying to remember what I've tried on her in the past. My BO has 2 dressage (one fits Tia, but obviously not going to jump in it), 1 all purpose (hate), 1 jumping Wintec (doesn't fit), and 1 Dover Circuit jumping saddle.  The last time we went through this with Tia she didn't have the Dover so as a last ditch effort into not having to use the all purpose I tried it.

Dover Circuit

Surprisingly it fit pretty well.  It's maybe a touch narrow but gives really nice wither clearance.  I used the same Beval pad with it and did some easy w-t-c and jumped a small crossrail and the mare was happy with it.  I however, felt like a fish out of water.  It's narrower than my saddle, and while it's stamped the same size as mine it felt smaller. The knee rolls/pads are kinda weird and my leg goes over them a bit but I think it will just take some getting used to. 

Close up of the odd knee rolls

The Sprenger offset jointed stirrups just about killed my ankles and I think I'm going to need to punch some half holes in the leathers. The saddle came with a horse my BO's got last year, which it actually doesn't fit very well, so it's not used much and my BO said I can use it as much as I want and I can switch the stirrups. I gave it a good conditioning and swapped out the stirrups for my regular jointed ones and put my composite stirrups back on my saddle. I had taken the composites off because I can't show in the eq in them, but since I won't be using my saddle to show Tia in, I can have them back on mine.

My Poor, Poor Debit Card

This weekend was our state's yearly horse expo.  It's held about 10 minutes from my house but I haven't gone in a few years because they haven't had any (to me) interesting clinicians and because my former good friend and I used to go every year together before we had a major falling out.  It seemed weird to go without her, and I didn't want to chance running into her because that would be my luck. I had today off work and I wanted to hit a couple booths from the nicer tack shops that are an hour plus away from me.

Reason #1 why I can't go to horse expos by myself

I had spent the morning getting new tires for my car so my debit card was already in pain.  I wasn't really looking for anything in particular, maybe some new gloves to replace my holey ones and maybe a new blanket for McKenna.  Her current one rubs her shoulders and she's in between a medium (too small neck hole digging into her neck) and large size (slides around and doesn't do anything) shoulder guard so if I could find a deal I'd do it.  At the first booth I stopped at I saw a Rhino medium weight turnout over half off with only one left in her size. And bonus, it was a cute grey and purple plaid!  Got that and decided I was done for the day.


Blanket fits, with no tightness over the shoulders! Also enjoy the Tia photobomb

I walked around a little bit more and ran into a former boarder from my barn.  We chatted and caught up and it was great to see her.  She had left to put her horse in training, and had a bit of an issue with my former friend I mentioned above.  Once I said that the ex-friend had left she perked up and asked if we had any open stalls.  I said in a month we would and told her to talk to the BO. It would be nice to have her back in the barn.  Funny how you don't realize you missed someone till you see them again.

McKenna's super embarrassed over the giant hood though.

After our chat I found the booth of a relatively new higher end tack shop.  I haven't been in the actual store yet, but I've seen their ads.  They had a lovely display of Ogilvys and I talked to owner for a bit about them.  I've been going back and forth over getting one.  McKenna's had some back soreness and I've done the usual "are Ogilvys the great or is it just a fad" thing. The shop owner said she has a demo pad she sends out with people to test ride in, only I would have to drive an hour north to get it and return it.  I was seriously considering doing that when she mentioned one of the gummy half pads on display was half off.  It was custom ordered with someone's initials but they didn't like it/didn't buy it once it got to the store so they were selling it cheap.  I contemplated for a bit before biting the bullet and saying I'd take it.  Once the pad was paid for and bagged up I hurried home before I did anymore damage. Then it was off to the barn to try things on!

We'll just pretend those are my initials

Baby Steps

McKenna and I had our best ride so far tonight.  I put a running martingale on and lunged her in it first so she could figure it out.  She's obviously been in one before, she didn't seem to care at all about it.  After about 10mins on the lunge I stopped and hopped on.

She's gotten so much better about standing still at the mounting block.  No more moving or wiggling around.  We walked around for a bit, working on bending and softening.  She'll drop her head and start to stretch down at the walk but it's not consistent yet.  She felt quiet and relaxed enough that I could work on my two point.  We did two, two minute sets at the walk.

The martingale helped tremendously in the trot.  No more head flipping or lightening of her front end.  The upwards transitions were pretty decent and we were able to maintain an almost normal pace and rhythm.  She does try to stop/slow down passing the gate, but we trotted twice around each direction without stopping, the longest we've gone yet!  She felt much more consistent in my hand and not nearly as reactive to my leg. 

We did a few laps at the trot then another few at the walk and repeated.  She got a little upset when my barn owners started feeding dinner so once she quieted down and walked nicely we quit.  I am so happy with how much better she was today.  I know the martingale helped, and that it's not a permanent fix, but hopefully we'll be making a lot more progress now.

Slow Progress

I managed to not only make it out to the barn but also ride last night. I was worried that getting out would be a problem, since lifting my right leg high was painful and Tia's 16.3h.  It turned out to be a non issue and we proceeded to do a long walk warm up.  When I felt secure enough, I bumped her up to the trot.

Trotting and posting were not painful in the least. We did a few walk-trot transitions trying to get her to focus.  She was distracted, was sure that there was something in the bushes along the far side of the arena that was going to get her. I wasn't wearing spurs and that didn't help matters at all. At one point Tia actually spooked.  She did the legs splayed out thing, but tripped and ruined the whole thing.  I think that's first time I've know her to spook.

We took a walk break and tried to canter.  Going to right, I automatically wanted to put my inside right leg on the hold her shoulder up and support her.  Bad decision.  Hurt like a mother and I could only do about 5 strides before taking my leg off and she would break to the trot. We tried a couple times before I gave up.  We walked a bit more then I decided to go left to see if it was any better.  It didn't hurt nearly as much and we were able to do a full lap before I gave in.  I decided to quit with that and not push my luck.

To get off I had to walk Tia up to the 3-step mounting block and dismount onto that.  I didn't want to try getting off onto the ground with a bad leg from that high up.

Today I had to go back to work, so I opted not to ride. My tailbone was pretty sore after work but I plan to ride tomorrow and Friday.  Instead tonight I cleaned my leather open fronts and tall boots.

Before

Shop till you drop

I'm down in San Diego for a wedding shower this weekend and have had my trip planned for months. Imagine my joy and surprise when I saw that my favorite tack store ever, Mary's Tack and Feed, was having their yearly tent sale the same weekend! I told my parents that I had to go, even to browse.

Mary's is next to the Del Mar Showpark, a huge show and boarding/training center. For the sale, they make you park at Showpark and walk over as the Mary's parking lot is covered by a huge tent. It brought back some fun memories of showing at Showpark.

My plan was to just get new paddock boots as mine have been patched once and have holes in them. Their boots were 15%off, so I got a pair of Ariats that lace up the front and zip up the back. My mom and I then walked around for a bit while I drooled over all the pretty tack.

When I was just about ready to check out, Mom said she'd get me something for one of the boys, if I really needed it. Buddy is using an old pair of EquiFit boots that I got for Phoenix like 6yrs ago and they are starting to wear out. So we went to look at open fronts for him. The horse boots were also 15% off. After an agonizing 15mins comparing boots, I went with what I know and like, the EquiFit. Thanks Mom!!

Getting Fancy

When Jen said in our last lesson that Buddy could benefit from going in a figure 8 noseband I immediately started looking for deals online.  I do have a flash noseband that I've been using on him, but figure 8's are so fancy and I've always wanted one.  I found this one. I have a HDR girth that I really like, so I thought I would try their bridle.

I got it yesterday, and it's lot nicer than it looks. The padding is very nice and I really like the one piece crown.  It took me a bit to fit it to Buddy, and he was not amused.  I think he looks very fancy!

I still need to tweak it a bit, but I liked it when I rode last night.  We have a lesson with Jen tomorrow so we'll see what she says.  I also want to see if I can get a regular noseband to swap out the figure 8 with when we show in the hunters.

Tack Sale

Twice a year there's a huge 4H tack sale about an hour north of here.  I went today with some of the 4H girls and another boarder, and scored a couple good deals.  I was looking for a western bit for Buddy, draw reins, and a figure 8 (either just the figure 8 or a whole bridle.  Jen suggested putting him in either that or a flash for a bit and I've always wanted a figure 8).  I didn't find the draw reins or a figure 8, but we did find a nice western bit for $15 and a very cute new set of polos for $9.

Green argyle!

Buddy proudly modeling the new wraps.

Anna got a pink set for Phoenix.  I'm sure he's going to look fabulous in them!

Being a bad blogger

Not much has happened this week.  Had a couple ok rides on Bud.  I worked him in the draw reins again on Wednesday and he was better.  Still not great, and still resistant to the left but I was able to see some improvement. By the end of our ride I was able to drop the draw reins and he would carry himself at the trot nicely both directions. 

Tuesday I had my last field ride with Zoe.  There were some x-rails set out that we worked over, and I ended up giving Anna and Phoenix a little lesson.  I've been pleasantly surprised with how sound Phoenix has been and he looked great working out on the grass. 

Yesterday it started raining, so we brought all the ponies in for the winter.  Luckily I only had to do a half day at work, so I was able to make it out to the barn by 1 to bring them in.  Phoenix and Zoe were utterly offended at being out in the rain.  Both of the trotted up to the gate to come in and Zoe was nickering the whole time.  Buddy could have cared less and seemed offended that he was left in.  I put coolers on all of them for a couple hours and gave each a pile of hay.  We got a new load of timothy this week, and it's super rich.  I'm slowly starting to wean them on it so hopefully no one gets colicky! 

Once I had their coolers on, I realized that I have bought the boys matching black ones with blue trim.  Wasn't my intention and I'm slightly embarrassed. 

Buddy

Phoenix....he makes the 10x14 stall look tiny

Breaking out the big guns

So in our lesson tonight, we basically stayed on a circle to the left the entire time.  Jen had me start trying to get Buddy soft and bendy by doing some figure 8's at the trot.  He was ok, but not great.  I was really having to thump him with my inside leg to keep him going. Same thing in the canter.  I dropped my inside stirrup to try and thump him and push him out to create the bend.  Still not working.

Jen got on him for  only the second time in the two years I've had him. She really got after him and boy was he pissed!  They duked it out for about 5 minutes with him occasionally giving in.  The whole time Jen was cussing him out and calling him names.  She had me grab a set of draw reins and we tried again.  I hopped on him again, and after figuring out my reins (it's been such a long time since I've ridden with two reins!) we tried again. 

I started with the reins loose and slowly started shortening them and asking for flexion.  He gave it to me to a point, then decided to fight me.  I was able to get him back and we moved up to the canter.  He was still pretty fussy, but better.  Jen decided to hop back on and took no mercy.  Once Bud gave in, they had some beautiful trot work.  He was moving forward and really stepping out and Jen was able to loosen up on the draw reins and have a light, quiet contact.  His canter was also miles better.  He was a little over bent to the left, but he was using his hind end and really driving forward with little effort from Jen.

The plan for now is to keep using the draw reins, but do short 20mins or so hacks mostly at the walk and trot while he builds up his top line.  Hopefully he won't fight me as much and I won't have to use the draw reins but we want  to make sure he gets the point.

Winning!

A couple weeks ago a won a contest on Facebook with ThinLine. I had submitted a photo of Bud and I jumping with our Trifecta half pad. We were picked for Ride of the Month, and won any saddle pad of our choice!  I of course picked the most expensive pad they had, the Sheepskin Comfort half pad.  I got it this weekend, and Zoe got to be the test pony. 



It's a little big but looks super fancy

 





It felt great!  I really like the look and feel of sheepskin, and the ThinLine material really helps to absorb the shock.  Yesterday we just did some flat work.  We did some leg yields and worked on her flying changes.  They are definetly getting better!  Today we jumped and she was great!  I used bigger spurs than I normally do because I could only find one of mine.  She was really in front of my leg and willing to move forward.  We schooled a couple 2'6" fences and she felt really good.  She even jumped one of them pretty big and jumped me out of the tack a bit!

On Saturday I jumped Bud.  We did a nice and easy flat warm-up and I tried not to pick fights with him.  We just cantered all the fences, trying to have a nice rhythm and flow.  Some of the fences were 2'9" and he jumped them with no problem!  We only schooled everything once or twice, and since he was being good I decided to quit while we were ahead.



Western Monday

I jumped Buddy a little on Saturday, and he was great.  There were a couple other girls riding western in the ring while we were jumping, so it was hard to put fences together so we just worked over a couple single fences. 

After my ride Rick brought out a western saddle that a friend of his is selling and that Rick is doing some repair work on.  It's an old Crate roping saddle, and while it does need some work, it's very well made and should clean up nicely.  They are asking $500 for it, and if they would take payments I might be able to afford it.  It fit Buddy well, and while I don't ride western that often, I would like to have my own saddle instead of having to borrow one.

In that vein, I put Connie's saddle on Bud today and we played around.  He was pretty good, we had a nice little jog.  After we finished in the arena, we walked down the road to see how the grass fields were drying out.  I can't wait till we can go gallop and jump in the grass again!!