Different Strokes

In the Swim Again

I substituted on Friday, so after school, I went swimming again.  I added two full laps to the program, so I swam 14.  One was backstroke, so I don't know how that counts. *S*  I also walked a lap.  That's kind of interesting as the pool starts off at around 3 feet deep at one end and goes to about 5 feet deep at the other. Walking in 3 feet of water is pretty easy, but when I get to the 5 feet depth, I end up on my tiptoes, bouyed up a bit and I have to pull myself along with my hands to make and headway.  It's a little break from the swimming and allows me to work my knees in a low impact way.

My knees have been achy lately. I don't know if it's just the increase and variation of the exercise or "just how it is."  I will be going to my surgeon in April, so I'll see what he says.  Apparently, however, it can take up to a year for everything to settle down, so I'm not particularly concerned. Regardless, overall, they are so much better than they were before the replacements, that I can't complain.  And, since I was "walking funny" on my bad knees for so long....well over ten years with two bad knees...I would think my whole body and leg structures will take a while to remold and fully adapt to the new alignment.

I have a couple more subbing assignments lined up over the next two weeks, so I should get some swimming in again. And, I always hike up and down the stairs at school a few times during the day.  I don't have any real stairs in my house--unless I go down into the cellar or up into the attic--so stairs are not part of my normal routine. That, I'm sure adds to the "knee fatigue" as well.

The horses seem to think they are finding some fine grazing here. The grass is just starting to grow a little and they are out nibbling away. We are not likely to get thick, rich pasture, however. To do that, I'd have to harrow, lime, fertilize and reseed and then keep them off it for a month or so.  With all the problems people seem to have with horses getting laminitis--and Toby's episode last year--I am not likely to rennovate like that.  Aside from the expense, it's probably far better for the Boy's to have enough to nibble on and not enough to chow down on.  They get plenty of hay and a complete feed, so nutritionally, they are just fine.

I did not ride yesterday, and I just may lunge today as I need to get a chiropractic adjustment and I don't want to mess it up.  I may start raining by this afternoon anyhow and the forecast for tomorrow is more of the same.  If we do get rain, that should kick the grass into action.

It already looks as if I need to give the lawn a mow. Its not so much nice grass, but all kinds of weedy things and crabgrass growing. When it dries out, I can let a horse or two--or three out on the back lawn area to trim some of the longer blades. That way, the Boys get some greenery--but not too much-- and I can get some of the weed whacking done with minimal effort on my part.

Then again, I could get some goats.

Rider Up!

Another Warm Day

It was in the upper 70's F today with lots of sun.  I went out to the barn in the early afternoon to ride--I seem to be an "afternoon metabolism" person--and decided whichever horse got to me and the treats first, would be the one I rode first.

Chance won, with Tucker coming an a close second and Toby cautiously pulling in last, always wary that I just might put the halter on his head.

Chance and I went out for another hack in the woods. He is the only horse I've ever had that definitely goes faster on the route away from home and slows down heading home. That's one of the reasons I haven't schooled him as much in the arena as he really needs.  He just thinks trail riding is a grand adventure. We looped along the edge of the ridge above the trail that goes around the lake. I'm pretty sure most of the lake trail is largely impassible--except with some serious caution--because the minibikers and ATV riders have eroded the path so badly it has huge ruts. That might be OK, but the land is low and borders a swamp, so it fills with water. Then the problem is that if you do try to ride across, it's nearly impossible to tell where the good, safe footing is and where the "sink into the muck" places are.

We came back through the woods with Chance occasionally trying to jog until I turned left to head home. Then his pace slowed to a leisurely walk, almost completely lacking in the concept of "forward."  I should have headed the other way for a bit to see if he marched off again. *lol*  Maybe next time.

Once home, I sponged him off and brought Tucker in with a specific plan in mind. I was not going to tolerate any challenges from him about responding to my leg cues--in particular for the canter depart.  He's not fit enough to do high quality "rock back on the hocks" canters, that's for sure, but there is no reason he can't just canter from my leg aid without "snarling, fussing, pinning his ears, or just generally acting crabby with a final....'Well, all right, if you really mean it, I'll canter' attitude."  It's so typical of him to challenge being told what to do.

I carried the dressage whip, which I did not need,  and once we'd trotted a little to warm up, I cued for left lead canter. (Snarl) I snapped the rein back where he'd tried to shake it from my hand, returned his snarl with one of my own, and off we cantered. Once more challenging depart later, he was once again responding like a trained horse, cantering off to the least cue of my leg like he's supposed to.  Both leads were just fine, although he's a little crooked going to the right.   Then we walked a bit, and I followed up with equally responsive canter departs from the walk.  Three on each rein were enough so we finished up with some trot shoulder ins and a little effort at half pass.  Half pass to the right is good, but he's not quite as willing to go left. The leg yield left is fine, but the half pass---well, half baked.  But he made an effort and didn't fuss.

So all was well to end the ride on a good note.

A good sponge off for Tucker--he rolled in the dirt about 20 minutes later--and carrots for all.

Another warm spring day has passed, and I'm tired. Obviously, have some work to do to get myself fit again.  Thank heavens there's no hurry.

Not Horsing Around

Missed a Nice Day

The phone rang at around 8:30 this morning. It was the school, calling me in to substitute.  I rolled out of bed, fed the Boys and got ready at a fairly leisurely pace, mostly because I wasn't really needed until the afternoon session.

I still got there early enough to cover part of one of the morning classes, so I was able to give another teacher a little break from subbing.  I might have been able to cut another 20 minutes off my time if I'd hurried, but that's not always a good thing when I have to take proper care of the Boys' needs for the day.

I stayed after school to go for a swim.  I figure I need to take advantage whenever I can.  With gas prices ever on the rise, I'm not too likely to drive all the way to the school just to swim very often.

I added two laps to my pattern today, with a set of six laps and a break, where I walked a lap instead of swimming, and then I added another six laps of swimming for twelve instead of ten.  I felt fine and not really tired, so that's a good thing. I guess tomorrow will tell the story of how my knees felt.

By the time I got home, it was time to feed the horses, so that's what I did, deciding that I'd had enough exercise for the day.

I'm sure the Boys didn't mind. Food is always better than work any day.

Two Bottles and More

Lots Of Exercise on a Warm Day

The Weather Channel says it is 77F here. I believe it.

I took a walk out through the woods early on, carrying a trash bag with me. When I got to the woods road at the edge of the field where the minibikers had parked, I found three cigarette packs, two large plastic soda bottles and one beer can dumped in the woods. This is the spot I had cleaned up just a few days before. I don't know if the minibikers I met left the trash or whether someone else left it, but there it was.  I will do my best to clean up, but why should I have to?  If I see anyone out there again, I will at least mention the debris. Perhaps I can jog a conscience or two. *sigh*

I walked rather briskly for about a half hour and the terrain is uneven with a few hills, so I consider that a good little bit of exercise.  It was warm enough that I got a sweaty, so I guess I did some work at least. My knees have been aching the last couple days and I'm not sure why, but I hope the exercise will help them feel better.

I  thought I might ride Tucker out on a trail, so I saddled him up and headed out. But, he was a bit too full of enthusiasm for my taste. He was really walking out and felt as if he wanted to trot off instead of keeping a sedate pace so I turned around, did a little mini-loop behind the riding arena and then went in and rode him in the arena instead.  He was quite good there, settling nicely into some good trot work and then some canter that felt forward but controlled as well.  I may have ridden him for all of 15-20 minutes total, but when I brought him in he was lathered under the saddle and between his hind legs.  I ended up hosing him off just to try to clean it all off.

I then saddled up Chance and headed out to the woods, planning on taking the medium long trail for a change.  We rounded the bend just before the woods road and what did we see????

Another horse and rider!! Oh, my goodness!! Chance stopped and stared. And stared, rooted to the ground.  I managed to urge him into the woods for a few strides but he was getting all "bouncy," so I turned back around, went out to the field and waited for the other horse to reach us.

It was a woman named Wendy from one of farms on the next road over. And her horse's name was....get ready....Chance!  Talk about coincidence.  Her Chance was only seven and a bit green too, so the two Chances made a good team.  We chatted as we rode through the woods together. Then we looped off behind my barn area were I left her to take the trail back to her farm while I brought Chance in.

Toby and Tucker were putting on quite a show in the arena at that point. All Wendy said was, "Oh My!" as the two of them ripsnorted, lept, bucked and galloped all over the place.

Fortunately her Chance was not the least upset, nor was mine--as he is well used to the nonsense.

Hopefully Wendy had a lovely ride home and I do hope I will meet her again sometime. I was nice to have another person out there on my ride.

And besides, she was not a minibike or ATV, so all was well.

Bloggers Unite!!

Such Fun to Meet People in RL

If you are part of my blogging circle, you may well know MaryLou and her horse Tetley. She writes a regular blog at http://www.tettimes.blogspot.com/.

Well, it turns out that she was coming east for a family visit from her home in Colorado and to my delight, my house was "in between" stops.

She and her sister Betsy dropped by today for a visit.  What a lovely experience it was. MaryLou is as genuine and wonderful as she seems in her blog--what else should I have expected?--and her sister is just as delightful.

We had lunch--they dared to risk my French onion soup and a salad--and chatted like old friends. Of course, we have the horses in common, but MaryLou is also a tutor, so we also had our backgrounds in education to link us.

Betsy was first to urge us to "get out there to meet the horses," so as soon as we finished eating, we headed out to the pasture to greet the Boys.  I'm sure the bag of carrots I had helped create the proper mood, but it was only a moment before we were surrounded by three very friendly horses, looking for treats, and, as it turned out cuddles. Of the three, Toby was actually the most affectionate and he enjoyed some nice hugs even after the carrots were gone.

Tucker was the most enthusiastic. And I have to laugh a bit at his persistent efforts to be the center of attention.  Again the "carrot lure" was strong, but even when the bag was empty he determinedly followed us back in to the barn area just interested in whatever we were doing.

Chance was his usual sweet self but he doesn't challenge either Tucker or Toby for "front and center," so he wandered off a bit when the carrots were gone.

I do have to say I was quite pleased with how friendly and generally polite the Boys were for company. I never quite know what kind of welcome people are going to get from them. But I suspect all three horses knew they were amid a group of true horse lovers who were just willing to appreciate them for, well....being horses.

After we used up another half dozen carrots I got from the house, we  left the horses and walked over just to see the sandpit lake. I've posted pictures here, but I don't think they quite show the vast expanse of water I have across the road from my house. It's pretty impressive "in person."

Afternoon had worn on by then and MaryLou and Betsy still had a drive to New York ahead of them, so we had to say goodbye.  Hopefully, they made it to their next stop without getting lost along the way.  I rarely if ever drive to NY myself, so I was useless in giving directions further than to get back to the NJ Turnpike.

It was a super wonderful day and absolutely even more wonderful to meet MaryLou in real life.

Wish I could meet you all some day. The horse blogger community is full of great people.

For now, I will just have to be content with one at a time.  (Well, two, counting Betsy.)

Brisk Day

Chilled Off Again

It never did reach the promised highs today, but stayed hovering around 48 or so, with brief periods of warmer sunshine--mostly clouds.  I opted out of doing anything with the horses.

So, I will, instead, continue my rant about the ATV's and motorcycles on the State lands.

As Merri noted, they tear up the trails badly. Once lovely woodland roads I used to bike over as a child now have low spots of mud puddles and ruts. I don't even dare go out around the lake in back--a former sandpit--if it's been wet as parts of the road around it are virtually impassible without worry that you and horse are going to sink into an undefined swamp.  It's too bad because it was once a really nice ride around the water.

There are no real authorities to report illegal riders to either. The local police could do something if they were there to witness the riders and upon occasion have issued some citations, but the lands are well off the public roadways. The general rule is that the police do not want to chase riders because that could cause accidents and they do not have all terrain vehicles to follow them into the trails.

The State Park officials are non involved in this park. No park rangers are assigned here, and as a passive recreation area with no developed access, it's largely ignored. The last time I called about the problem, some rangers came out and posted signs, but many of them were quickly torn down or shot full of holes by hunters--I hope they were hunters.  There is a forest fire station nearby, but those guys don't seem to be too involved in any kind of patrolling either.

I thought of noting the license plate number of the cyclists's pickup truck, but thought better of it. If I had reported them and they put two and two together, I'd worry that they might decide to do something to my horses since my pasture and paddocks border the Parkland. That's also why I didn't say anything to them as I certainly didn't want to antagonize them--although they did seem like decent kids.

There are not a lot of other places for them to ride. The hot spot used to be on the other side of the Turnpike. ATV riders would show up from all over with flatbeds and ride the hundred or so acres destroying a good lot of the farmer's cornfield and eroding the banks of an already insufficient detention basin.  It was not legal for them to be there either, but at least it was not State Parkland. Once or twice the police raided them, but kids from the school where I taught were totally convinced it was OK to ride there.

A couple issues bother me about all of this beyond the horse safety and annoyance problem.

First, as I think I noted in and earlier blog, a young ATV rider was killed out there a few months ago.  That unleashed a controversy about whether or not anyone--including horseback riders--should be allowed on some of the property.  Now, everytime I see one of these motor riders, I worry. I am thinking I should have said something to these kids, but I was too preoccupied with trying to keep Tucker under control.  I think a warning to be careful might have been in order.

Second, there is a conflict here with the fact that I now know for sure that "out of towners" are riding on the land. I could ALMOST understand some of the local kids's being out there if the Park is actually in their back yard., (It's still wrong, but at least they are neighbors.) but I am not keen about people from other areas shipping in to ride. There's also the worry that someone not too nice might show up. The farmer up the road had the ATV he uses to plow snow stolen from his yard last year. Fortunately, it must have run out of gas because he found it out along the woods as if someone had left it there to pick up later.   So, who knows who may be riding out there?

Third, there is complete lack of respect for the natural resources of the area. Aside from trashing the footing with their vehicles, I'm pretty sure a lot of these riders are responsible for the bags of trash I carted out of the woods this week.  They park, ride and then have an after ride party, leaving all their trash behind. They were also riding around the banks of the lake last year, ripping up the soil and destroying vegetation and animal habitats, including what appeared to be a beaver den.

Simply posting signs will do little if there is no enforcement. The State needs to have a presence there, even if patrols are random.  And they need to prosecute cases. Vehicles can be confiscated and there is a $1000 fine possible.  Trouble is, with budget crunches and constant cut backs in the park system, I don't think that's ever going to happen.

I'm not sure what the best solution is. However, if we do get parts of the Park open and encourage hikers, joggers, more horseback riders, and bicyclists to use the trails, there's a good chance public pressure would drive the ATV riders out. The would just not be welcome and those who enjoy the quiet of the forest would make that really clear.

So for now, all I can hope for is that gas prices will discourage a lot of the recreational riding. And I'll just avoid going out on the trail during the times the ATV's are like to be there.

As one of you said, it's really a shame. I have all that room to roam and ride right in my back yard and I just don't feel safe using it.

Darn Those ATV's and Such

Into the Woods and Out Again

Before I start on today's adventure, just a reminder that pictures of me jumping my horses are in the post below for anyone who wonders about what I did in my "life before dressage."

Today was really warm and sunny--in the 70's? It was truly a spring day.

My hay man came to deliver a load without my calling to tell him my supply was getting low. We had a nice chat before I toddled off to buy some dry cat food at Target. (Lowest prices around, most of the time.)

Once I was back home, I decided I needed to go for my exercise walk, and, rather than ride Tucker to get him all overheated, I'd take him out for an energetic stroll in the woods. This time my plan was to pass the "Tucker Trail" and move up a step to the next road into the woods to add some distance, time, and experience for him.

As we rounded the bend, there they were--a pickup truck with two teenagers and two motorcyle thingies.  The boys were sitting on the tailgate talking and their cycles were not running. Good thing, because Tucker's eyes were already bugged out of his head at the unusual sight of vehicles on the trail.

Now, the truck and the cycles are completely illegal out there on State property, but I didn't say anything to that effect. I'm not foolish enough to challenge two "men" in a strange place, so I simply greeted them cheerfully and asked if they were done riding.

They told me they were, and when I asked where they were from, they mentioned a town some 10 or so miles away. (Mental note of this, if I need it....)  I told them I hoped they weren't planning on going on the trail where I was going as Tucker is not exactly behaved around ATV's and such, and they assured me they'd keep the engines off.

Tuck and I moved into the woods and I guess one of the boys moved because suddenly Tucker startled, leapt about, snorting and flagging his tail like a wild stallion.  The two boys noticed, that's for sure, so they knew I wasn't kidding about Tucker's explosive potential.  A second or so later, as I calmed Tucker back down, two other ATV's came roaring up along the field behind the truck.

I called out to my two new "friends," asking them to please stop the other riders from barreling into the woods on the trail I was on--which I think was their plan.  The first two boys quickly stopped the other riders and assured me they'd keep them out of the woods until they were sure I was well gone. (And I guess they did, because I made it all the way back home and was half done with barn chores before I heard any ATV engines out there.)  I guess Tucker's rather dramatic display had convinced the motor riders that indeed, scaring him would be a dangerous risk.

Bummer.

I had planned to take Chance out for a stroll in the woods after I finished walking Tucker, but that was not to be. I simply could not take that risk.  Good thing, too, because as I said, I did here the ATV's out there again. It is SO frustrating. I know I can get Chance to not be bothered by them, but I'm pretty sure it would be very hard to cure Tucker and the same with Toby.  The instinct to buck and run in both of them is pretty solid.  And besides. the ATV's and cycles are not supposed to be out there in the first place.

I ended up lungeing Chance instead.  So he got a little work without sweating up and all was well.

I do need to ride out early in the day on weekdays so I'll be likely to avoid any teenagers who should be in school during the day. On weekends? Well, I guess the best idea would be to get up really early to avoid the sleep in bed late motorcyclists.

Or, I could just hire a few of them to rip around my paddocks and pasture until my horses are immune?

Then again, my pasture is on State land, so allowing that would be encouraging more illegal riding.

As I said, Bummer.

Chilled Out

Or In as the Case May Be

The weather did turn again, though not too badly. 40'sF and windy, so I opted out of riding. I still did a short, brisk walk, though, so I didn't forego exercise altogether.

A word here about the jumping for those of you who may not know. I used to be a hunter/jumper rider and I evented as well. So jumping for me is nothing new.

I gave it up for various reasons.

First, my Toby--the now senior horse--was not reliable over fences. He has/had tremendous athletic ability, with a huge jump, but not enough courage to go along with it. He would not jump fences "cold," without having a good look at them first. While I might have been able to train that out of him with lots of experience, I was much more focused on dressage at that time and didn't have the time or will to make the effort. I did event PJ before that and, of course, Russell R. who was a fabulous jumper. PJ had tons of courage and Russell had tons of skill and enthusiasm, making them wonderful horses to ride over a fence.

 Here I am eventing PJ at his first competition. He cleared this one with plenty of room to spare! *G*

Here I am on Russell at one of our early events. Later we jumped higher obstacles with equal ease.

But, I shall go on with the second reason to stop jumping--money and the competition. As time went on the hunter/jumper world, in particular, was infiltrated with more and more money. Not only did the entry fees for shows increase, but the quality of horses in the shows kept getting fancier and fancier. I can still remember competing at a relatively small show against a big, fancy horse that bucked his way around the course. He won the classes over Russell. "Back in the day," what really mattered was how the horse carried the rider around the course. In this case, because that horse "snapped his knees" over the fence and was, I guess, an expensive mover, he won over my rounds. OK, so that's the way it goes, I guess. But, as time went on, I, as a true amateur rider, found myself being "run over" by trainers and riders from big stables.  I would put my number in to ride in a certain order, warm up, go to the in gate to do my jumping round, only to find out that "Big Trainer" from "Fancy Stable" had stuffed five of his students into the order in front of me, and I was going to have to wait. It happened over and over, messing up my riding strategy and wearing out both Russell and me with repeated warmups.

The third reason?  Where do you go from here? I've jumped some big fences in my day--even been over some five foo ones--but I didn't have the nerve to do too much of that, even if Russell, and probably PJ were more than able. The amateur owner hunter division, at 3'6" was just fine, and eventing over a similar height was OK too. But add the politics of "Big Trainer" to the hunters, and the revised notions and rusle in eventing, and I wasn't really going anywhere. The eventing world seemed to think that there were too many people going "clean" on the cross country rounds, so they decided to up the difficulty for most levels. I rode successfully a number of times with the newer heights--3'9" for solid fences--but managed to crash once or twice along the way, dampening my enthusiasm for that pretty quickly. I either had to drop down a level or just stop.  I evented PJ, of course, at the lower levels two or three times, and then, despite placing in the ribbons, decided enough was enough. Somebody, most likely me, was going to get hurt. So, there was really no way to progress in the sport as far as I was concerned.

Reason number four? Dressage was fun.  Please note, I said "was."  When I started eventing, I discovered the wonderful notion that if you were scheduled to ride at, say 1:04 PM, you rode darn close to 1:04.  At a hunter show, you might sit around for hours waiting for your class to begin.  Straight dressage was even better than eventing time wise, as with the events you usually did have to wait for the stadium round.  But at a dressage show, you knew when you arrived on the show grounds, exactly what time you were going to enter at A.  Cool.  And, again, at first, the playing field was pretty level.  If I rode a good test, I had as much chance of placing well as anyone else in the class.  Horses and riders were actually being judged on their training and performance alone. Even cooler.  I had plenty of room to move up from one level to another, so there was always a challenge in front of me, and training was, and still is, a fascinating experience. And, with no jumps in the way, it was relatively safe, in comparison. I was getting older, and the prospects of crashing over a jump were not too appealing any more.

Please note, I was extremely well trained as a jumper rider. Prudence Morgan at the Princeton Riding Center, here in NJ, was one of the best teachers I have ever known. I had solid basics and we jumped hundreds of little fences in all kinds of gymnastic exercises week after week to train both Russell and me to manage most any challenge we might meet in the show arena.

Here's an example of no stirrups and no reins over a fence. This might have been during a clinic with George Morris, but regardless, it was exactly the kind of thing we would do in a regular lesson as well.

So, despite my skills, I just kind of gave up jumping.  As I said, Toby's lack of courage helped, but as time went on, I found I didn't miss it too much.  But, every now and then, I do look back and remember the exhilarating feeling of soaring over a fence on a good horse and I take a deep breath of nostalgia.

Here are Russell and I jumping a true outside course over 3'6" at a park that no longer holds shows like this. The smaller shows are largely gone around here.  I used to be able to show every weekend. This park grounds is about four miles away from my house.

Competition dressage has lost much of its appeal for some of the same reasons that I stopped jumping competitively.  Like the hunters, money has stepped into the dressage arena as well. Fancy horses with extravagant movement can and often do place in the top of all the classes regardless of how well they might actually be trained. Riders go out and "buy" the show winner rather than "making" it. I've sat with judges in the booth, scoring, and know full well how this can work.  I can even remember a top and well-respected judge noting to me as a well known rider came up to the arena, "Now we're going to see a really good test,"  before the horse took one step though the in gate. Sure, the ride was good, but I'm not 100% convinced that the scores they received were not inflated by reputation more than by actual performance. (Side note:  This same judge, at another time was overheard to say as my friend entered the arena on her quarterhorse, "I hate this horse."  He still ended up scoring her in the top of the class because her ride was really good, so go figure.)

It's frustrating to spend hundreds of dollars on a show or two (I was paying up to $150 for just one competition) knowing that no matter how well you rode or how well your horse might go, as long as "Fancy Horse" was in the class with you, the top ribbon was never going to end up in your hands. Again, there are still some smaller shows around where the playing field is more level, but they are fewer and farther between nowadays. Judges's fees and all the other costs associated with running a show have put the "smaller guys" out of business.

If I ever get him trained to a level of competence in the dressage levels, I may show Chance once or twice, but no biggie if I don't.  As for the jumping? Now and again, and all just for fun.  It's good for the horses and something else to do in the schooling process.

Do I miss it?

Not much.

Has Spring Sprung?

Or Is It Just Another Teaser?

Temperatures were up in the 60's F today. It was windy, but the sun was out. We are supposed to have some rain tonight, but it will back up in the 50's tomorrow. I will put the sheets on the Boys for the foul weather and just wait to see if it's a nice 50 or a chilly 50.

But I took advantage of the nice day. I started off with a late morning walk. I timed the field I did yesterday and it was about 25 minutes. So today, I added a trek through the woods to bring the total up to around 45 minutes.  I did some physical labor along the way, moving some fairly heavy fallen trees off a section of the trail. My only worry was that I did not have my gloves on and as I tugged at the fallen trunk, I realized it was wrapped with some hairy vines.

"Warning, Will Robinson! Danger!"  (a quote from an old TV show here.)

Hairy vines are one of the signs of poison ivy!  I may have lucked out as I hurried home and gave my hands a thorough wash with cold water--do not use hot water to wash off poison ivy sap--and some good soap. So far, so good. Either the vines were not the evil weed, or I didn't get any sap on me.

Back home, I came in to rest my muscles for a bit and have a good lunch before heading back out to work the horses.

Well, "work" is kind of  meaningless here. I took Chance out on a trail ride instead.  The wind was whipping up quite a bit along the edge of the woods and fields, but once we were back in the shelter of the trees, it was lovely.  We were out for only about 20 minutes or so.

When we got back into the arena, I trotted around and finally decided to take him over the little one foot "jump" I had set up the other day.  First we simply trotted and he just took a big trot stride to get over. But then, I sent him into a canter and we actually jumped.  Nothing too impressive here, as an obstacle that size is just a big canter stride, but I'll count it as a jump. He was great, and I had fun.

I lunged Tucker next, mostly because I don't care to work him too much under saddle when it's windy like that.  After a session of trotting and cantering, I sent him over the little jump and then raised it to about two feet, just so he had to think a bit.

Once again, he jumped quietly and athletically over the rail about five times in each direction. He was pleased with himself, and I was pleased with him, so we called it a day.

By then it was dinnertime.  Carrots all around topped the grain and I left three happy horses munching away.

I will put their sheets on at late feed. The rain should hold off until then.

Walked and Rode

On Another Lovely Day

Warm and sunny today.

I took advantage of the weather and took a moderately long walk. I should have timed myself but I forgot to wear my watch. I think it was about 30 minutes but I'll do the same route tomorrow in the opposite direction and time it to see. The terrain was uneven with several little hills--nothing dramatic, but enough to make me have to work my legs to get both up and down.

The up is fine, but I am a little cautious on the "down" part, but I think it's just habit from my old, bad knees. Going downhill was always a bit tricky, so I am not as bold as I might be. I don't feel any extra strain or instability in the new knees, so perhaps I don't have to worry, but old habits die hard. I had one bad knee for nearly 50 years, so I have to keep reminding myself things have changed.

Aside from the hills, I kept up a brisk pace, so I hope it will help me get fitter and lose a little weight in the process.

After a bit of a physical rest, I went back out to ride. I just chose Tucker today, because I hadn't ridden him the last time.  I warmed him up at the walk on a loose rein and then at a trot on a loose rein, just working on some steering with my weight and legs--no real rein aids.  He's pretty sensitive to that, so I was pleased to be able to make some circles and reverses just by shifting my seat.

As we went on, though, he kept reaching for the bit, looking for some contact on his own.  Once I gave him my "hand to hold" he increased his pace and engagement and began to work a little more on his own.

I did a few leg yields at the trot, then began some hesitation transitions, first going all the way down to walk before trotting again, and then simply super collecting the trot for a stride or two before going on again. Once we'd established a good rapport with that, I asked for a bit of canter on each lead.

He took the left lead almost immediately on my first cue. I only cantered about 50 strides before transitioning back down. Then I reversed, and asked for right lead. Sticky. He laid his ears back for a moment, but I cued again and he cantered. It's hard to tell if his hocks bother him at all--that was an issue last year before I stopped most of my riding--or if it's just habit. Once he starts cantering, he feels fine, although he does tend to carry his hind end to the inside on the right--a sign of a potential weakness--but the stride is regular.  Again, I only did about 50 strides or so before going back to trot.

We finished up with a few trot/halt/reinback/trot transitions, and then I called it a day.  I dismounted and set up a low raised pole to lead him over. This is one of the agility exercises, so I led him over it a few times, using the "command" "over" and praising him when he stepped over the pole. By the time I was done, I had the reins looped on his neck and without my touching him or the reins, he stepped over the pole three times for me as I walked alongside--not going over the pole myself.

It was a good exercise to cool him out--it was WARM today and he sweated even with minimal work--and a fun way to establish some more communication with him.

Winter Drops By Again

Sort Of....

I have to wonder how the horses cope, adjusting to all the changes in temperature. I know I am not having a lot of luck.  When it gets cold, I get chilled, and I can't get myself warmed up.

Saturday morning was a good example of winter's fickle moods around here. It was rainy and miserable in the morning. I had to meet someone in at 10 AM--bit of a drive to get there--and headed out in a drizzle that turned into some pretty soggy rain while I was on the highway.  On the way home, the rain let up and the sun began to nuzzle past the clouds.

By afternoon, it was so warm I took the sheets off the Boys to let them enjoy the day--and some good rolls in what was now MUD.  Because it was so wet, I opted out of riding. I just didn't feel like coping with the sloppy footing.

When I went out for late feed, I put the sheets back on the Boys as a brisk breeze had picked up and the temperatures were dropping. By this morning, it was winter trying to decide which face to show. The sun was out when I went to church and I only wore my heavy sweater. After church, the breeze had picked up again and I put my jacket on. By the time we finished eating lunch at the diner, I could have used a warmer coat.

Tonight temperatures are supposed to drop into the 20's F warm up tomorrow and then drop again.

I figure I'll make hot mashes for the Boys in the morning once again because of the up and down thermometer. Their sheets are kind of midweight and seem to keep them comfortable enough.  I think the big thing is a layer to block the wind a bit.  I make sure they have plenty of hay to munch on as that helps fuel their internal heating systems.

As for me--no such luck. One day it's warm and I'm OK and then it gets cold and I can't get warm. Last night I had three blankets on top of me in bed before I started to feel at least a little snug.

Good thing I'm not a horse.

Hope I have more to post than a weather report next time. But, then again, it's still winter......

Well, That Was Interesting

Not Much Going On--But I Swam!! 

Darn this time of year. Even the mostly reliable weather forecasts are not. I checked two different forecasts which promised the teamperatures were going to be up in the lower 50's yesterday..

All would have been OK, but the phone rang at 8:30 and it was a desperate call for me to go in to substitute. I hate to pass up a chance to make a few dollars, and subbing is fun at the Academy--sweet kids, as I've noted before.  So I leapt out of bed, fed the Boys and tried to decided if they needed to wear their sheets all day. Since warmth was forecast, I took the sheets off.

So, it drizzled in the morning and never did get up above 48 F or so all day with clouds covering the sunshine. Ah well. Toby and Tucker were pretty muddy when I got home, so I guess they must have enjoyed being naked, even if they were a bit chilly. Normally, I wouldn't worry too much but they have been "dressed" most of the winter and I worry that they are not acclimated without "clothing."  I did leave extra hay, so they should have been fine.

It's just "mom" worrying whether the "kids" were dressed right when she left the house.

On my side, I had a great day at school. It was covering for the Phys Ed teachers, so I had to run study halls, but no problem. The students all had computers to use if they wanted them and for the most part, worked on projects for their other classes. These kids are super motivated and really involved in their schoolwork.

The swimming pool schedule was back to the good one for me--open just as the school day ended--so I took a deep breath and headed over to the gym as soon as the last bell rang.

It was wonderful!! I love to swim for exercise.  My knees were a bit sore as I kicked--nothing at all serious. Most of it worked out as I kept going.  I actually was easily able to do the full ten laps which was a bit of a surprise. I kind of expected my stamina to be less than it proved to be. I was a little tired, but not bad at all.

Swimming is, along with riding, my favorite exercise. In the summer, the pool is two roads over from my house--about 2 miles away. The indoor pool at the college is about 15 miles away, and not the loveliest drive--US Hwy 1 is a very busy road. But, on a good day, it takes about 25 minutes or so to get there.  Now that I've swum again, I know I will have to do it more often before the summer returns.

It was not a bad day at all, aside from the worrying about the Boys.

Just a Bit of Lungeing

In and Out

I went to the chiropractor today, so, as I rule, it was not  riding day. It was cooler than yesterday, but dry and a bit breezy.

I did my walking in the mall, timing it at 10 minutes from one anchor store to the other, and that doesn't include the wandering around I did as I browsed the clothing. I started off at JC Penney, where I found the pale blue cardigan I wanted for my Easter outfit. I also found an lovely kelly green blouse and a pair of bright blue skinny jeans in a nice stretch poplin--none of which I needed. But, I had a gift card from Christmas, so in the end, all I doled out was a dollar.

Then, walking briskly, I headed to the other end to Macy's, where I found a really pretty blue flowered tee top that was perfect with the cardigan.  It will depend upon the weather for Easter Sunday as to what top I do wear under the cardigan, but now I'm set for just about any temperature. That top was just under $10, so I felt pretty good about indulging myself--again knowing I really didn't NEED it.

The brisk walk back to the Penney end of the mall gave me my knee walk exercise for the day, so I actually accomplished something besides just shopping.

Home again, it seemed as if the wind had picked up and it was a little chilly despite the moderate temperatures. I decided to leave the Boys's sheets on until I went out later to do the barn work.  I regret that because when I did take Tucker's sheet off to lunge him, he was well sweated under it. Then again, Toby and Chance were not particularly sweaty, so it's possible Tucker was running around on his own.

At any rate, I lunged him, and he was a good boy.  For fun, I set up a one stride in and out jump at about 2 feet or so.  He got a little silly, but negotiated both jumps in both directions with no problem, so to finish up, I set the second fence at about 3 feet. just for a challenge.

Tuck's silliness immediately stopped with no corrections on my part. He slowed his canter into the first little fence, took a nice balanced stride in between, and lifted himself athletically over the second, higher jump with ease.  I sent him through a few more times, and each time he set the perfect pace and impulsion on his own without rushing or worry and jumped the combination perfectly.

Done with Tucker, I took Chance out next.  He too lunged beautifully on the flat and then took the two small jumps with some nice relaxed efforts. This time, he cantered to the fences on his own without much urging from me, but, when he met the fence a little out of stride, he dropped to a trot for the first effort while still putting in the canter stride between for the second fence.  At then end, I raised the second jump for him to perhaps 2'6" and he jumped on through with no fuss. He doesn't just naturally use himself as well as Tucker, but he's catching on. If I were really training him to be a jumper, I'd quickly add some gymnastic puzzles for him to figure out.  I have a feeling that would sharpen his interest a little and encourage him to use himself better.

Carrots went into everyone's feed bucket and I left their sheets off until late feed. We are supposed to get some rain/snow/sleet stuff sometime before daybreak.  All of it should change over to rain by afternoon and then, on Thursday, it may warm up to 60F.

Crazy extremes again. Guess I will be feeding bran mashes.

Into the Woods and Out Again

And All For My Knees

I started a bit of a walking program for my knees, and decided that since I don't have a dog to walk with me in the woods, why not a horse?  Tucker has not been out on a trail in months, so I figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to handwalk him out on one in preparation for an eventual ride. And, it had the other benefit of my walking for my knees.

So, out we went. I put Tuck's bridle on him and then threaded the lunge line through the two rings of the bit under his chin, just in case. I figured if anything happened and he broke away from me, I'd have some fifteen feet of lunge line to hold him from running off. Turns out, I didn't need it.

I did have to repeat the halt and have him step back two paces exercise numerous times, reminding him not to walk too fast ahead of me. He was never out of control, but just wanted to move out a little more than my leg speed.  That was nice in the sense the he was very positive and forward about the adventure. It only took the slightest correction to keep him where I wanted him to be.

I got my knees exercised, some exercise to take off some weight, and Tucker had a nice little trail "ride" with no stress.

After we got back, I changed from my walking shoes to my paddock boots and saddled Chance. Although there was a little wind today, it was sunny and warm, so the two of us headed out for our own hack through the woods. I took the same trail that Tucker and I walked, mostly because I'd cleared a number of branches out of the way and knew it was pretty clear. There are two huge fallen trees across the main woods roads, but both of them have pretty clear ways around. I haven't been on any of the other paths through the woods recently to see if they are blocked, so this trail was a good choice.

When I got back to the arena, I trotted a rather reluctant Chance around, working on my own posting trot which is equivalent to doing modified deep knee bends against the wall. Posting trot is much more fun and instead of the 40 or so I might do in the house, I counted 100 in each direction before I called it a day.

Add all that to pushing the wheelbarrow and riding the stationary bike for 15 minutes and I had a good day for the knees.

And two simply lovely trips through the woods.

More of a Weather Report

Rain and Wind

Seems we are getting some of the same weather other areas of the world have been getting lately--at least for a day or so.

Yesterday, it rained on and off all day. As evening crept in, the winds began to pick up, and today it is very windy.  Things are supposed to calm down by this afternoon, but right now it's a "rush" out there.

When the weather changes like this, I like to give the Boys bran mashes, so last night at late feed, I set up their buckets with bran and feed and brought them in the house. This morning, I added enough hot water to really soak the feed, a cut up carrot for each horse, and took the buckets out to the barn.

There is something delightful about both watching my horses dive into a nice soggy mash and listening to them kind of "slurp chew" it all up. I don't think any one of them pulled his nose out of the feed tub for a second once I'd put the mash in. I won't need to clean out those tubs.  They are licked clean!

I was out with some other horsewomen the other night and the discussion came around to "where do you keep your horses."  Two of us had ours in the back yard and when we were asked how we liked that, the duet of "Love it! Wouldn't have it any other way!" was loud and clear. We both admitted to being somewhat tied down--I, of course, have a marvelous horse sitter to call on now--but the ability to care for our horses exactly as we want to and simply be with them almost any time we wanted to was just too overwhelming.

I have boarded my horses at perhaps ten different barns in the forty years I've owned my own horse. I tended to stay at the good places for many, many years, and to be honest there were at least two places I still might be if the owners had not decided to sell their properties and move out of state.  When the care was good and truly "caring" I had great peace of mind.

Still, there were always the disadvantages. In both cases, the farms were about 15 miles from my house, so travel time was always a worry when something was wrong with one of my Boys. More than once, I'd have to get up super early before work, go to the barn to tend to something, and then go back again after work.  It was not that I didn't trust the barn owners to care for my horse properly, but as well all know, sometimes there are just things you have to tend to yourself, especially if your horse is ill or injured.

And then, there is the extra expense of boarding out. I never begrudge boarding stables the fees they charge, as long as they do everything they have promised as part of the agreement. But, it certainly is less costly to keep a horse at home once you have all the buildings and fencing built. I might have been able to continue to keep two horses boarded out, but Chance and Tucker never would have been part of my life if I didn't have the barn here at home. I simply could not have afforded three at one time.

You do have to have a "solitude" kind of mind, though. If you don't have other people to ride with or socialize with at your own farm, it can be lonely. And, at times, without the motivation of other riders around you, it can be hard to keep up the momentum of working your horse. But always having the arena to yourself or know that you're the only one who could possibly have lost that brush or lead rope certainly does afford a strange sort of peace of mind.

And just being able to look out the window to see the horses playing or simply drinking from the just filled water tub can be moments to treasure.

I really don't want it any other way.

Sorta Windy, Sorta Not

Sunny and Fickle

It was nice and warm today, except when the wind kicked up, which was now and then.

I decided to lunge instead of ride, just because the weather just couldn't make up its mind about what kind of day it actually was. Of course, while I was working the horses, there was just a nice gentle breeze...ah, well.

This time, I just worked Tucker and Chance, once again with the goal of fitness rather than any real training.

I did set up the little jump at about two feet, which Tucker took with grace and style. Too bad I am not much of a jumper rider anymore as it looks to me as if he'd be a really good one. He just naturally knows how to take a fence and stays calm about it. I haven't challenged him to any height, but I suspect he'd manage just fine over 3'6".

Chance, on the other hand, refused the jump at 2 feet, not because he couldn't get over it, but because he really didn't seem to know how. I lowered it for him and he popped it twice before finding both stride and style to jump it nicely. Maybe he just needs a little more practice to figure it all out, while Tucker just has a natural talent for it.

Doesn't matter much since my jumping days are over. But I do think its good physical and mental exercise for horses to jump now and then. And it definitely adds interest to the lungeing sessions.

Besides, once they get the hang of it, it really looks as if they are having fun!

Another Day, Another Horse

Things Settle Down

Today was sunny, warm and calm--quite a change from yesterday.

I went out around 2 PM, and with my pocket full of treats, immediately attracted the attention of the little herd. All three horses came in from the pasture and, a bit to my surprise, Toby led the way right up to me, even though I had a halter and lead rope in my hand. I gave him a few treats, slipped the halter over his head and took him into the barn.

I gave him a nice grooming, brushing off quite a bit of shedding hair. It seems early to me, but all three Boys are shedding their winter coats. I thought shedding was triggered more by the length of daylight rather than temperature, but I'm beginning to think it might be a combination of both.

I fastened the lunge line on Toby's halter and took him out to the arena for a short lungeing session. Since he hasn't had an real work for quite some time, I kept it short. But, as always, I was delighted to see him move out with nice loose strides, and good sound gaits. He's 22 years old and doesn't show any sign of soundness issues. He does deserve to be retired, but I suppose I will work him a little now and then. But I do have to be fair and not ask for too much. If he's not really fit, I have to be careful.

Another day proved the right one for Tucker. He was quiet and calm.

I appreciated Muriel's suggestion about lungeing first, but as a rule, I don't. Particularly with a Thoroughbred, and Tucker especially, lungeing does not necessarily work the horse down. It might be a way of assessing the horse's attitude that day, but again, with Tucker, it's not much of a measure. He may play up on the lunge line and be just fine under saddle, or vice versa. Chance is another story, but lungeing him would just take any edge off and tire him out. He's pretty consistent when I ride, so I don't worry too much about him.

My horses are turned out all day and all night if they so choose, so it's not quite the same as taking a horse out of a stall and needing to take the edge off before riding them.

Anyhow, Tucker didn't need any special handling today at all. We warmed up for a while at the walk, then moved into a nice trot. It took a few times around before he started offering to go forward without too much urging on my part. I just asked him to stretch into the bit, tending to be round without too much serious "on the bit," beyond that. We did some nice suppling exercises--serpentines, shoulder-in, half pass, transitions--and then I did some canter on each lead. I decided mostly to focus on my seat, rather than worry about what Tucker was doing.

I still can't quite figure out what I'm doing when I fall over to the right, but I did find that by dropping my left knee and concentrating on where that leg was, my seat stayed more even. I think what I may be doing is shortening my left leg as my right leg slips back a little. (I think Muriel may have said something like that.) At any rate, as long as I thought about it, I stayed straight. Now I just have to get back to not having to think about it so I can ride the horse instead of focusing on myself.

I finished up riding Chance. I used the full cheek single link snaffle again and he seemed fine in it. For now, it's the bit of choice. He is a little uneven on the left rein, when his right hind is on the outside and I have to work to get his gait even.  Some of it is due to his being a little stiffer in that direction. He drops his shoulder to the inside and the outside hind leg shortens the stride. This may be because he's a bit uncomfortable on that leg, but if I ride to correct it, I can.

What he does need it to be more fit and that will come with regular work. Curiously, his canter is quite nice on both leads, so that's a plus as in the past he had trouble taking the right lead.

I finished with walk/trot transitions on both reins, simply asking him to stretch into the bit and stay there going from walk to trot. Three nice transitions on each rein proved a worthy goal and it didn't take long to get them.  Once again, he was a good boy.

I left the herd naked for the time being as it was really quite warm when I finished up. But we are supposed to have rain showers tonight, so I guess the sheets will have to go back on.

The last thing I want are cold, wet horses after such a nice day of effort from all three.

Long Lines of Irony

Listen to the Horse 

I was going to ride. I had a doctor's appointment in the morning and I went grocery shopping afterwards. (Got some Greek yogurt to try....yummy.) When I got back home it was sunny, warm and around 51F.  Lovely day.

Went in the house to have some lunch and do a few computer thingies, figuring I'd go back out around 3 PM or so to ride the horses.

Well. Talk about finicky weather. The sun ducked behind some clouds--or the clouds ducked in front of the sun and from nowhere, a brisk, chill breeze picked up.

OK, it wasn't really cold, but it sure wasn't 50 anymore.  I headed out, still intent on riding.  I brought Tucker in, saddled him up and headed out to the arena.  He spooked at something windblown in the woods.  But then he settled again, sort of.  I lead him over to the mounting platform and he balked, simply refusing to walk up beside it.

Now, it would have been a small matter to insist that he move up since he will respond very quickly when I insist, but something twirled around in my brain. I honestly think he was telling me, "Don't try to ride. I'm all riled up and I'm not sure I can behave.  Don't ride me. Not today."

I decided to listen to my inner voice. I took him back inside the barn and switched the saddle for the lungeing surcingle and the long lines.

Good move. Tucker was perfectly capable of working well and just as capable of simply exploding into random bucks and bolts in between the good work.  He never really tried to pull away or leap out of control. I had him well in hand, but there was no doubt he could not contain his leaps and bounds.

I am sure a ride would not have been pretty.

It is ironic because I just posted a comment on Caroline's blog that I have been just trying to treat Tucker like a "regular horse," which means, just kind of get on and ride--no questions asked.

Today, I asked questions, and I'm glad I did.  I think the weather change had just been too abrupt. As a matter of fact, by the tine we were done and I came into the house to put some hot water in nice bran mashes for the Boys--something I like to do when the weather turns suddenly--the wind had died back down and the sun was hinting of a return. It was a bit into early evening by then, so it never did warm up again, but it did calm down.

In my daring youth, I would have ridden anyhow. Not so anymore. There is no reason to take a chance when I just have a feeling it's not the right thing to do.

It was a good longlining session and a good lesson to remember.

A Little Lungeing

Another Nice Day

It was a little chilly today, enough for my knees to feel it, so I didn't go out to the barn until late afternoon.

I decided I'd lunge Tucker and Chance, just to get them moving with a little controlled exercise. I lunge them in a halter for basic exercise. If I intend to really work them, I'll put on the long lines and use them to lunge. I'm not keen on side reins, mostly because they are fixed and I cannot change the contact while I am working the horse. If I am just going to use lungeing for exercise, I'd rather the horse have his head without being restricted by rein contact.

Besides, it's easier that way.  I've pretty much taught all my horses to be responsive and reliable--barring a few exciting explosions now and then--in the halter and part of the fun is getting them to change gait with just a simple verbal command instead of all kinds of pulling or pushing.

I lunged Tucker first. He started off a bit lazy, but warmed up quickly and soon offered a relaxed, forward trot with his head stretching way down to the ground.  I guess it must feel good for him to stretch like that, because he does seem to like it.  His first canter depart was prompt on one simple command to "canter," but it took a few chirps along with one or two commands to "trot" when I wanted the downward. Not exactly disobedient, but it's almost as if once he starts cantering he kind of "gets into a zone," and just keeps going.  We practiced a few transitions and in short order, he was responding with a change of gait from one simple command.  Fun stuff, and it was the same on both reins.

I set up a small jump--about 2 feet--along the rail and set him towards it. He kept a pretty steady pace into in the first few times and jumped nicely. Then he got a little silly, rushed the approach, took off from a very long spot and hit the rail with his hind leg, sending the Blox atilt.  Fortunately, he didn't try to run off after that, so I brought him back down to a quiet walk, reset the jump and from then on, his approaches and jumps were far more careful and controlled.--He controlled, them, not me.

When we finished, I lavished praise on him for a job well done and did some in hand leading work. Basically, his job is to stop when I stop, back a step and halt. Then when I move off again, he's to walk quietly with me at whatever pace I choose. He also has to back up and move over in response to either a verbal command or just a hand signal.  Once again, he was "practically perfect in every way" with those exercises.

I did all the same exercises with Chance. He did look just a little "short" on his right hind leg when we started off, but as he warmed up  his stride was pretty even.  I think it's just a matter of getting him fit if something is bothering him in his stifle.

Chance is also pretty responsive on the lunge as well. Not quite as sharp to respond as Tucker, but just fine.  The jumping, though, is quite interesting.  He just doesn't pick up any impulsion on the approach, so that, unless I really get after him to move out, he sort of lunges over the fence, lands at a near standstill on the other side and then kind of trots off.  It's not a lack of talent, just a too laid back effort and what seems to be a complete misunderstanding of just what it takes to really "jump."  But, to his credit, by the fifth time over, with my chasing him into a forward canter, he made some nice efforts and we called it a day.

I did some in hand work with him, realizing that I really haven't taught him a whole lot about the "leading rules."  So I did the halt/back exercise a few times, and then had him circle around me, moving away from my hand.  We finished with the back in hand as well and he was really good about it. Again, his responses are not as sharp as Tucker's but he does try hard and seems to like the attention.

I did not do anything with Toby. He is retired, after all, but I am hoping that as he watches the other Boys work that he may actually want to do something too.  I told him that if I hold up the halter and walks his head into it, I'll know it's time.  He just has to let me know.

I truly enjoy working my horses in hand. Much of what I do on the ground carries over into my riding, and the basic handling skills are so important.

Reminds me...I need to work Chance on trailer loading when I get the opportunity. Trouble is, to be safe, I need to hook up to the truck. He loads all right with food, but my horses really need to be "point and load" without any kind of reward at the end. Sometimes you just don't have a bribe at hand.

We'll get to it. And I'm sure he'll be just fine. He's a good boy.

Erratic Winter Riding

But Riding, Nonetheless

So, one day it's cold, the next it's sunny and warm. Winter is fickle here, but really mild compared to most years.

When it's sunny and warm, that's when I ride. It's a little easier on my knees at the moment, but in general they feel pretty good. They are still a bit sore--mostly behind the knee on the left--and can get a little stiff, depending on just how much swelling there is. If I sit too long in one position, they can hurt when I first move, but that is no worse than it was before the replacements, and actually better.

With the extra high mounting platform, getting into the saddle is pretty easy, although I have a little trouble picking up my right stirrup without using my hand. I don't think the new knee has quite the same lateral flexibility as my real knee did--but that may also change with time as the last of the residual swelling goes away.

Once in the saddle, I am comfortable, but not quite as sure of myself as I used to be. It's more mental than physical, and during the course of the ride, it usually goes away--except when Tucker decides to be a bit
"edgy."  He was jigging at the walk today and got a little "I might buck" action a couple times. I corrected him, of course, but as we all know, he will continue to test the limits anyhow. It doesn't seem particularly crabby, but rather that he's a little too full of himself.

A consequence of erratic.

My biggest annoyance right now it that on both Tucker and Chance, I seem to be sitting off to the right. This is a problem I thought I had conquered, but, like every bad habit, it has once again reared its ugly head. Now, it could be that both horses carry me that way, but even if that were true (Hey, I have trained them so if they are crooked, whose fault is it anyhow???) it's my job to sit evenly.

What I have to do, then is figure out just what part of my anatomy is causing the starboard list. If I recall before, I was riding with my right leg a little too far back, causing my hip to rotate to the right. I am having a few back issues and my pelvis does have to be adjusted, but whether the rotation is due to riding crookedly or riding crookedly is a consequence of the rotation, it's still up to me to fix it. I'll get there. I did before.

Which brings me to bits.  I tried Chance in the Myler comfort snaffle, and I don't think it's the bit for him. But I need to ride him in the regular snaffle again to further assess. When I am on the left rein, his trot gets "hoppy" and he keeps trying to break to canter. When I really focused on making him stretch into the contact, the hops largely went away. That makes me suspect it's more of a bridle/bit lameness--reaction to the bit contact--more than physical. (But I can't rule out physical 100% because he has had some issues with the right hind before.)  I did not see any sign of it when I long lined him in his full cheek single jointed snaffle, but that's the bit he put his tongue over. I do have a straight bar bit to use on him and if I ride him in the snaffle and find that tongue issue happening again, I may go back to that.

I tried Tucker in the Myler as well as someone had suggested it was a really good bit to get horses on the bit. OK, that may be so, but first, the horse has to seek the contact. Tucker does not in the Myler. I swapped back to his lozenge bit and soon he was happily dragging me around the arena rather as if I was water skiing.

Which is both good and bad.

It's good in that his trot is very forward, but it's also potentially on the brink of "runaway," mostly because he's not exactly really balanced. What I should do is just kind of "go for it," when I get that trot, but he can be a little intimidating to me when he gets too strong. Fact is, I just don't trust him.

Too much baggage between us.

But, forward on Tucker is actually a plus and I need to gain the confidence to capitalize on it. And here's where the "erratic" comes back into play. Since I am only riding sporadically--erratically--I haven't quite gotten in sync with what I should be doing, and I'm certainly neither fit enough nor strong seated enough to ride as effectively as I need to.

So, I must be patient with both myself and the Boys. Once I figure out the right bit for Chance, we'll be fine. We went out on the trail yesterday--the same trail where I fell off--and had a nice ride with a bit of arena work afterwards. Tucker? Always a riddle. I am sure we will reach some sort of compromise with me in higher authority.

It's just going to take a little more time, a little more work, a little more fitness, and a little less erratic.

Such a Bully

Middle Child Syndrome

Tucker is such a bully with Chance. I'm not sure Chance really cares too much as he is an independent sort, but he certainly does have to submit to the "Bullybay."

Last night, when I went in Tucker's stall to feed him, Chance was outside, somewhere near the outside door. Tucker squealed and made an aggressive move towards that door. The trouble was, I was in the stall too. I gave him a shout and he instantly behaved, but the mere fact that he would do that when I was there really made me angry. ( I did not have to make any physical correction as my verbal reprimand was just fine.)

I've been watching some of the herd interaction out there and Tucker really does insist on bossing Chance around, even when there is no reason.

For his part, Chance doesn't really run away, but just kind of moves aside far enough to be out of reach and safe from Tucker's attitude.  Tucker makes sure that Chance is reminded of his status when I go out to feed by herding him away from the barn. And Tucker makes Chance wait at the water trough until he has had his fill.

Often, when it rains, if Tucker and Toby are standing under the run in shed, Chance is left with part of his body standing outside, getting wet because Tucker will not let him in.  This is not all the time, though. This week everyone was under cover, so there must be some sort of logic to it all. (Horse logic? Another oxymoron?)

And it's not that Tucker and Chance are enemies. They often play together and seem to be having quite the good time. And, when Tucker's blankets get ripped, I am more than certain Chance is the one who does it. (Toby is just not a "ripper.")

The other day, Chance and Toby were lying on piles of hay in the sunshine in the paddock, napping. Along came Tucker who "commanded" Chance to get up. Perhaps it was the "changing if the guard," and Chance's time to stand sentinel, but it looked more like just another bullying tactic.

Toby is herd boss, no doubt about it, and nobody fools with him when he says so. Middle child Tucker is ever the social climber. I guess Chance's mild manner makes him the perfect "whipping boy," for the schoolyard bully.

Not much  can do about it, despite all my teacher skills from the classroom.

Think I need a graduate course in "Horse Bullies 101?"

Thawing Back Out

It's Getting Nice Again

Warmish again today. I took the Boys' winter blankets off so they would enjoy the sunshine and about an hour later the sun disappeared behind the clouds. I'll be putting their sheets back on when I go out to feed shortly.  It is in the upper 40's F now and will only go down to about freezing tonight, so they should be fine.

I went to the chiropractor this morning so no riding today. I am walking for exercise, though. So far around my property with two fairly decent hills in the pasture. I walk briskly and even tried a little jog, but I am not ready for much of that yet.

I'm not sure what the horses think. I gave them some hay in the paddock while I walked, but they were on the alert to keep track of me. I did have a laugh a little when I got back, though. Peppercorn, the barnkitty, was stretched out in the sand, not too far from Toby, just kind of hanging out with the herd while they ate.

 But, as usual, the camera was in the house. It would have made a cute picture.

I did have my camera when the sun was shining on the lake (sandpit) across the road, though. I only have a lakefront view during the winter when there are no leaves on the trees, though. The lake is huge--perhaps 200 acres and it looks turquoise in the sunlight.  Later, when the sun changed position in the sky, it looked like a mirror.

I hesitate to post this, but one of the homeowner's insurance companies may have refused to cover my property because they figured it was in a "flood hazard area," due to the lake. The lake is below the water table and my property is probably 50 feet higher or more than the surface and I am probably 300 or more feet away. I figure we'd need a awful lot of rain for any of that water to reach me.

It looks like I have a smudge on my camera lens.

It shall be corrected. *G*

Oooops, I nearly forgot...

Happy Valentine's Day to All! 

Sugar Coating

But More Is On the Way

I woke up yesterday to snow. Just a coating. Pretty, actually, especially since it didn't need to be shoveled and it was going to be warm enough to melt nearly all of it by day's end.  We are supposed to get more snow tonight--perhaps several inches--but again when it warms up next week, that too will melt.

Here's what we had last year:

Chance is pictured here and he is about 15.3 h.

This year? Almost the same day?  Here's Toby:

I'll be honest. After last year, we've earned a break. But winter is not yet over and some of the worst storms I remember were in March, so I am not counting on anything at this point.  Instead, I'll just enjoy the beauty of nature when she is not being too cruel to us.

I longlined both Tucker and Chance the day before the snow.  Tucker did some very silly aerial maneuvers, but gave me a lot of nice work in between.   Chance was going absolutely beautifully until he got his tongue over the bit. This was his proper bit too. I don't know if I had it adjusted too low after fixing the bridle, or if he was having a problem with tongue pressure. I raised it up a hole or two for now, but I may try out the Myler bit I bought for Tucker some time ago and never tried.

First, though, I have to look the bit up on the Myler site to see what it says about tongue pressure. If it's the right one to relieve that, it's worth a shot. If not I still supposed it's worth the experiment.

I hope to ride a little today as it's nice out and the snow is not scheduled to arrive until evening. But time's a wasting and I still have to eat lunch--just heard my casserole timer ding.

And here's the "Can You Spot The Ball?" quiz from the other day.

When I left the ball the night before, it was resting at the edge of the mud puddle. Sharp eyes will see it, I'm sure.

Here is the "reveal."

Well, it hadn't rolled down the hill in the pasture yet, but given time.....

Wonder exactly how it got there?

It wasn't very windy that night.

Two Rides, Two Horses

And the Return of the "Magic" Ball

I played with Tucker and the ball the other day. He really understands about pushing it with his nose and is getting better and better at it. The only flaw it that he is also very focused on getting a treat afterwards, and tends to crowd me to make sure I give him one. We'll have to work on that.

Chance doesn't seem to get the concept of pushing the ball yet, but I haven't worked with him alone in the arena as Tucker has also been in there, kind of hogging the attention. I will do some individual work next time I go out to see if Chance can get the idea. He doesn't actually pay much attention to the ball when I push it at him and just sees it as "something in the way."  Nice that he's not spooky, but curious that he doesn't interact.

Toby still thinks the ball is a "monster."  *sigh*

I left the ball outside overnight and in the morning, it was gone from the arena! I found it up against the fence in the pasture. Accidentally blown by the wind?  H-m-m-m. One suspects not, but with no proof, it's hard to say. *S*

I rode Tucker and Chance yesterday. It was lovely and warm again.

It took Tucker a few moments to "get into gear" when I started off. As soon as I picked up contact, he balked. But just a little persuasion convinced him to walk off.  He kept wanting to trot, though, so I kept the walk warm up short and then trotted off.  At first I kept the rein long, just letting him stretch out into the bit.  But as we worked, I gradually shortened the contact so we could maneuver better.  We did a little shoulder in, some half pass, serpentines, a modified Intro level test pattern, and then some spiral in and spiral out on a twenty meter circle.  He stalled on the right rein in the spiral in. I'm not sure if he was a little tired at that point--he was getting very forward and we were about 15 minutes into the ride--but it was relatively easy to fix.  I did a canter depart with about one circle of canter on each lead, then trotted up the center line for a really lovely square halt. 20 minutes for an unfit horse and an unfit rider were just fine.

Tucker is really taking a lot of contact. That's good and bad. But for now, as long as I can contain the energy, I'd rather have that than stuck and not going at all. I'll just have to see how much he can actually rock back on his hocks and carry himself more as time goes on. If it makes him sore, we'll just stick to playing dressage instead of actually working at it.

I rode Chance next. I have to give him some slack because I still didn't fix his bridle with the single joint bit. He was very fussy with his head, but I didn't accept it completely.  My goal was to get transitions from walk to trot and back down without his tossing his head or coming up off the bit.  It took a little doing.  He would walk nicely into the rein, but as soon as I asked for the upward transition, up went his head and down went his back. I'm pretty quick at correcting things, so it only took a stride to get him back, but a stride was one too many.  We took it slowly and methodically and eventually, I had at least two moderately good transitions on each rein.  We cantered about a circle on each lead, mostly because Chance much prefers canter to trot, and then finished up with a nice walk to cool out. Once again, it was about 20 minutes of work all told.

It's amazing how time flies when I am in the saddle concentrating on accomplishing one goal or another. I have to watch the clock to make sure I don't overdo for either the horse or me.  I easily could have kept going with Chance on those transitions as I still had a number of options in my "bag of tricks" to improve them, but I'm satisfied with the progress so far.

Next time, though, he will be in his bridle with the bit he prefers.

The right equipment always makes a big difference.

Things I Wish I'd Known

Lessons from My Horses

When I look back on my riding and horse ownership career, I am largely satisfied. I competed very successfully with my hunter/jumper/event all around horse, Russell R. to the tune of over 150 grand and reserve championships with many many first place finishes. My years with PJ's Folly took me to Intermediare I, with mixed success, but I got there, as I did with Toby.  My competitions with Tucker were somewhat spotty with victories here and there, but far more failures, all of which taught me more than any trophy I could have ever won. I've ridden with international trainers from nearly every corner of the world, and benefited from hours of their expertise and critique.

And yet....

Gee, do I wish I knew then what I know now.

First and foremost is the concept of a treeless saddle. My Russell, despite his phenomenal success in the hunter jumper world,  always proved less of a winner in the dressage arena. He did compete through third level and won many an event based on his dressage scores, but the curious thing was, he always went far better when I rode him bareback. Bareback, he would round his back and simply go "on the bit" with no effort on my part. I am totally convinced he would have loved working in my Ansur and could have been a star all the time working treeless.  I got the Ansur many years after he passed away, and did get to ride PJ in it, but I never competed him in that saddle either. I have a feeling his show arena performances would also have been so much better without a tree to interfere with his incredible trot and perhaps even his more difficult canter.

But PJ's performance in competition leads me to the another thing I wish I'd known about--ulcers. PJ was the obvious candidate. He was erratic from day to day in his work and under the stress of a show, more often than not proved a tricky ride.  He had a ton of talent, but it was so hard to bring it out when we needed it before a judge.  PJ was a perfectionist, and a worrier. I to totally convinced a good part of his attitude was due to ulcers.  But, back then, I'm not even sure many horsemen, much less vets I knew, ever even talked about that. It wasn't until I got Tucker and Patrice Edwards, a trainer from Britain, told me he was suffering from ulcers based upon his behavior that I discovered how common they were in performance horses.

I'm pretty well convinced Toby started cribbing as a a symptom of ulcers too, considering the long story behind his vice. I've treated him since, but at this point the habit is so ingrained, there's no stopping him. At least I feel a little confident that he feels OK internally. It would have been nice to have been able to give PJ that gift too.

I did give PJ the gift of acupuncture and chiropractic, however. He was lucky that way as I owned him when equine acupuncture was just starting.  The vet who treated him has since gone on to a well respected career--no names here as there were some issues surrounding alternative medicine at that time. In fact, the small animal vet who owned the farm where I boarded refused to let a chiropractor work on a horse on his property, so the owner and chiropractor went out into an adjacent field for the adjustments.

I've since used both treatments on Toby and Tucker as well and know how much they can change a horse's behavior.  A joint slipped out of place or a sore muscle can be painful, as we all know. Now add the bulk of a horse's body and our expectations for athletic performances and it often ends in training nightmares.  There are plenty of stoic horses out there that just keep on going no matter what, but I feel a lot better knowing mine don't have to.

Russell R. was on the "cutting edge" of the discovery of glucosamine as a joint supplement. I had a perna mussel powder imported from, I think, Australia or New Zealand.  He also was treated with Isoxsuprine for navicular in the first years it was discovered to be of value.  In both cases, I knew then what I know now, so for a "first horse" he did OK.

I am sure as years go on, there will be more and more discoveries to help our horses and us become sounder, happier athletes. Perhaps there will be a cure for laminitis and a guarantee against colic. Someone might discover a fly spray that really works, or a bit that puts a horse into a Grand Prix frame with no pain and total comfort while still allowing him to develop his muscles properly.  Maybe someone will find a way to give riders perfectly balanced seats, educated hands, and instant sensibility to our horse's responses.

Who knows?

I wish I knew then, what I know now, and I rather imagine that ten years from now, I'll be saying the same thing.

Saddle Up Again

What Incredible Weather!

Who can ignore the weather when it's about 60F and sunny!  I took the Boys's sheets off early this afternoon so they could enjoy the sunshine--and, from looking at Toby about a half hour later--the mud.

I lunged Chance, and even had him jump a little one foot high rail just for fun.  He did really well and seemed to enjoy the attention. He's not happiest lungeing, but he works just fine and I think the jump made things a little more interesting for him.

Then I saddled up Tucker.  He was quite willing to have the halter put on and seemed to want me to do something with him, so saddling was not too fussy. Sometimes he gives me a hard time about the bit--he was trained to do it right at Kenny Harlow's but does need remediation now and again--but today he was fine. He had been watching me lunge Chance and I think he decided he deserved some special attention too.

We started off at a walk which I soon asked to be round and stretchy into the bit.  He resisted a few times and then dropped his head and took the contact.  I did a lot of circle left, circle right, changing him from one outside rein to the other, asking him to step forward into the contact at each change of direction.

Then, still insisting on round, I gave the cue for "trot."  I got "balk."  I cued again. "Balk."  Bummer. I'm not sure what it was all about because with minimal persuasion he was soon trotting off, quite forward and quite connected to the bit.  He will take a lot of contact when he's going like that, so I was working as well.

We did some half halt hesitations, some trot/walk/trot transitions and eventually progressed to a  little canter.  He did not resist at all on either canter depart but for a moment on the left canter he was "strongly suggesting" that he was going to buck.  Since that wasn't exactly in my riding plan for the day, I brought him back to trot for about halfway around the arena and cantered again, keeping his head up a little more.  All was well, but I don't think I would have pushed the issue to do too much more to add to the excitement.

On the plus side, he was forward and willing on both reins. I don't know if that means his hocks are feeling fine for good, or if the time off has just eased any soreness he may have had. Regular riding and the expectation of his working more off his hind end as he gets more fit will tell the story. So far, so good, but I am not jumping to any conclusions at this point.

I had to laugh a bit at Peppercorn, the barn kitty, who really thinks he is "big stuff" around the horses. Today, while I was lungeing Chance, he was lying at the side of the arena snoopervising the whole process. He finally decided to gallop across the arena to watch from the woods side for a while until he disappeared on some sort of adventure or other. He is not afraid of the horses and they seem to take care around him, but I do hope he doesn't get careless enough to get stepped on.

He is getting friendlier and friendlier, so it looks like a trip to the vet is in the near future. I should do it before Spring really does arrive as he is prone to wander in search of ladies and for both his and their sakes's he needs to stay closer to home. As it is, I am sure there are probably a few black gened kittens already in the area. I'm not sure how old Pepper is, but it's not all that important since cats can start breeding at pretty young ages.

I plan to do the right thing for him, but it's taken quite a while to gain his trust and I don't want to lose it too quickly.  That's why I am handling him as much as I can and cementing our relationship.

Meantime, I can enjoy his company and the affection of all three Boys who seem to think I'm OK as long as I bring carrots. *G*