Conditioning!!

A fantastic ride on Z at Highline Canal for 14 miles with Melissa and Kholo! Rode in my Barefoot and I dare say I'm starting to like it. Z felt great - she's ready for the Happy Jack. Kholo has great endurance - we're going to have a blast.

Came home and hopped on Starlet briefly and helped Chrissy get through a short riding session with her horse Cowboy. She hasn't ridden him in months, so I was glad she hopped on. She didn't seem very scared at first but she had a hard time getting him to go along with her ideas at first. Starlet felt nice and we trotted a little until it started to rain.

It's really time to get Starlet going!

The Sand Creek Adventure!

Mosquitos, bush-wacking, cars, strollers, bikes, walkers, water crossings, huge cement blocks... this is the stuff dreams are made of.

A whole lotta laughing with Melissa as we rode Sand Creek Regional Park. There was construction so we had to go "off-trail" and loop our way back. The off-trail was not really meant for horses. We had to get off a couple times, for safety's sake, and let the horses make their way w/o us.

We managed to get 8.5 miles in and got some serious obstacle training done with our horses! It wasn't the distance ride we wanted, but it was fun!

I think I have 242 mosquito bites...

There's still a buck in there!

Melissa came down for a day with her horse and I coached her on seat position, improving her hands with bit communication and canter departs. We rode around the front pasture and I chose Gem to help me coach. After some time practicing some new things, we decided to go ride out a little. Gem was doing great and I was calling out transitions on the trail for us (w/t/c). After a couple hours on the horses, we were coming back to the barn and I asked for a canter transition up a hill and Gem bucked! I thought about why he would do that and I couldn't help but think it was pain related. I'd asked for so many transitions and we'd gone up and down hills for a couple hours. It was mild and we rode around a bit so that he wouldn't think he had changed my plan. However, I was perplexed.

Melissa's daughter and Kendall also rode on Rain for a bit. Kendall showed off her ability to jump Rain around and she seemed so happy. Summer rode Rain a bit, too.

Great day!!

Holistic Chiropractor Visit

First, I took a short ride on Z around the property using the Barefoot. This saddle is interesting and it's a lot like riding bareback with stirrups. It doesn't balance you or keep you on, you have to do that yourself. However, it's so comfortable! Z also seems to like it.

Then, Gem, Z and Rio loaded up to see Dr. Wagner. Gem turned out to have a nice report of balance with some tightness associated with his left hock weakness. He's perfectly sound and the dr. decided that anything she'd do would potentially impact the balance he's created for himself.

Z, on the other hand, needed help. She was out of balance and the dr. felt strongly about her poll being locked up. She also tested positive for stomach. Her frogs were very out of balance (each measured at least a qtr. inch different than the others). Apparently, when she's more balanced, her frogs will measure equally. She seemed to enjoy the acupuncture and treatment. I'll be watching to see if she improves.

Kris trimmed Rain and Cowboy. I got Kholo's hinds done. I trimmed one of Rain's fronts and Kris and I compared notes.

I also rode Kholo and practiced isolation of the ends. This seems new to him, but he was beginning to understand the ask.

A HUGE day for Kris and Rio

... while Kholo was my "coaches mount". During the session with Kholo and while coaching Kris, I worked on bending and more vertical flexion.

With Kris and Rio, we started with saddling, in the barn aisle. Rio was quite reactive and decided to buckle his knees and go down. I had put the Barefoot treeless on him and I guess it felt more rigid than the Bob Marshall. I also may have started with the cinch too tight. I loosened it and he was able to walk off.

I played with him on the ground for a bit, then Kris did. He got used to the saddle after about 10 minutes and got his thinking brain back. He has some serious baggage with saddles, poor guy.

I had Kris do a passenger lesson at the trot and this was so good for both of them. Rio and kris both relaxed into this and I saw some great changes occur. I introduced the idea of bending Rio to get a softer feel from him (snakey bends, sort of). This helped Rio engage his back and lower his head. Afterwards, we went outside the arena and rode in the grassy area by the barn. This was Kris' first time riding Rio outside the arena and it was huge!! She and her horse have made such positive changes and I'm ecstatic to see the progression.

Taking it up a notch with Kholo

Tonight Kholo and I played with more vertical flexion. I want to make sure he understands a soft feel. This, I believe, is critical to bit work. There is a place he can hold his head and hold the bit and we can "hold hands" while I ask for nothing else. He has made an assumption that this feel means to back and although his backing is soft and light now, I don't really want that assumption in play. Amazingly, I was able to help him tell the difference in just a few tries. He's come to really understand my intentions and asks. He's a smart, pliable horse who is incredibly easy to train.

We played with canter transitions, lateral work with isolated ends, sideways, and vertical flexion. I still need to trim the hinds, but I was pressed for time due to rain and an impending date with my 12 yr old. :-)

It was a very productive session, though! He has a week left with me and I've very proud of the changes we've made in 3 weeks. He's shown his comfort with our work and he's bonded to me nicely. Tonight, I tied him in the barn aisle while I grabbed something from my trailer and even thought my sister was sitting in the barn, he called and got anxious when I left. He got calm as soon as I returned. I'm glad he finds comfort with me. It tells me I've been able to build communication AND trust. What a pleasurable horse to spend time with.

Zarah and Kholo - not an easy ride!

Zarah hated ponying Kholo! This was our first time doing this and she spent most of the ride telling him to get away. It got a little dangerous once or twice. Z is not the kind of horse to settle when things aren't going the way she wants and I try hard to respect her opinion. Poor Kholo made it through the ride unscathed, but that was mainly because I stayed on top of Z and kept her forward. She had teeth bared and ears pinned 90% of the time! She's funny and she gets so pissed off! I won't ask her to pony Kholo again. My guess is that he wasn't giving her enough respect and she had to continue to make an impression on him. I tried to pony him from 10' (I had a 12' line) and that helped. However, Kholo doesn't seem to know much about being a pony horse and if he had too much line he'd decide to drop his head and graze. Ha - this was a comical ride and I found myself giggling out loud many times.

We kept forward, though. I had Delaney, my son, along on his bike. I wanted it to be fun for him so we kept going. There were also lots of mosquitoes, so stopping or walking was a bad choice. We covered nearly 7 miles, which was ok. We avg'ed 7mph and went 11 mph at our top speed. We were moving along nicely, although probably not a picture of grace with Z's pinned ears and Kholo at the end of my 12' line. Hey, any time with horses is a good time - no complaints!

Afterwards, trimmed Kholo's fronts. He had very high bar with some bruising under the bar on left front. Also, there is some good hoof wall separation at the qtrs on all 4. I put a good mustang roll on with hopes he can get some adhesion going. I'll do the hinds tomorrow, I just got too tired to finish.

I also trimmed up Z's so that she'd be back in balance. She does best when I touch her up every 2 weeks or so. Z's body looks the most fit and balanced I've ever seen her. However, she has a hard time when I trim the hinds and I really need to have a chiro adjust her, along with some massage. Her rump muscles seem tight and I can tell she took a kick to her left. I might get on a stool and try to massage her myself until I can get someone out.

Windy evening riding

Kendall went back in a rope halter tonight. She wanted to go back to the rope hack after trying the bridle on her last ride. Apparently, it's hard on her because she's very concerned about hurting Rain's mouth. She rode Rain the whole evening while I rode a couple horses. I think by the end of the night, she was ready to go back into the bridle. :)

I started with Kholo in the arena. Then we rode the whole property. His canter was quite nice! He wasn't as willing today to flex at the pole - not sure why, but we'll work on it. We did lots of snaky bends at the trot and canter in the arena and then worked on transitions in the front pasture. He is really becoming such a soft riding partner - I'm thrilled.

Then, rode Gem and tried to build more canter gait maintenance. Really need to do ppl at the canter and see if I can teach him to canter until I ask for the next thing. He was so forward tonight as Kendall and Rain rode next to us. What a great trot he was offering! I was sure to praise him and let him know what a good job he was doing. He seems to really enjoy that and I see his ears turn back to hear my words of encouragement. I think he's had some hard training in his life and he wants to feel like he's doing the right thing.

A really nice evening and we put horses back with the herd just as the sky was turning dark. Awesome!

Kholo and Cantering

Today, Kholo and I rode for about an hour around the property. I wanted to focus on cantering and helping him transition between the gaits. I rode him around in the south pasture, which has some nice terrain to help build his strength. His transitions are getting so soft that I can do them with my seat. He could be ridden bridleless in no time at all. He's a smart horse who's very willing to learn and partner. He's just a pleasure.

We played more with isolated ends and that felt improved. He had nice energy today and he was ready to move out. We'll have to get some endurance conditioning going so he doesn't lose too much of his fitness level.

Z, Rain, Kendall and I then rode around the property. Rain was in a bridle for the first time in years. Kendall had to learn how to communicate with Rain this way vs. the rope hack that she's always ridden with. She did great with her hands and stayed soft. Z and I worked on vertical flexion while Rain and KK worked on riding with a bit.

A side note: Z's mane has been destroyed! Not sure how, though. It seems that one of the horses is eating it, but not sure why that would happen after all these years. Z has this amazing, shiny, long mane that is now looking more like a Fjord's mane. Darn, but oh well. It's just a mane. It'll grow back.

Melissa and Kholo

Spent several hours with Melissa and Kholo! It was great to have her feel the changes in her horse and understand some of the techniques I'm using. We spent time in the front pasture with transitions, halting, backing and trot/canter departs. I also had Melissa ride Z briefly to feel the softness I'm after with Kholo.

Afterwards, we loaded up for some trail riding at Hidden Mesa. We went 7.5 miles, but the temp was so hot, we took it slow. Both horses felt listless and drained and we didn't push them. We didn't have water either, so it was a hot and dry ride! However, she did a great job using the bridle to communicate with Kholo and I saw huge progress. We had a really fun time to boot.

Later, Kendall wanted to ride Rain by herself. I had chores to do, but I helped her get Rain safely tacked up and off Kendall went. The rode around, Kendall practiced jumping and rode Rain around the back of the property. I watched while I did chores. I'm so proud of her! She's enjoying riding so much, she just rides around smiling and getting better. Pretty cool stuff.

Dressage Show!

Took Gem today to a dressage show! I was helping a friend who was taking her horse to her first show. I didn't want to show Gem, but I thought the environment would be good for him to experience.

It was a rough day because it was super hot. Gem was fairly calm, but if Nina got too far way, he would call a bit. He called some other horses, too. He needs to go to a few more shows to get more comfortable. I rode him some in a warm-up arena and he actually did beautifully! He was forward and responsive and sensitive. Nina had a hard time and actually couldn't show. She was worried and too nervous in the the dressage arena. It's ok, she hadn't ever been in that environment and had not left her barn in over a year.

Then Kholo bridle work with KK on Rain. Kholo and I worked on lateral flexion, some vertical flexion and backing. KK wants to JUMP everything!! Rode the front pasture, then hung around the playground. She rode alone then while I did chores. She's getting more and more confident. Kholo is getting softer and nicer all the time. I'm really happy with his progress!

Kholo - Day 3

Today, we skipped the arena and rode around my 35 acres. Kendall came along on Rain and we rode the perimeter, went over jumps a little and played on the playground. Kholo and I focused on transitions, backing and isolation. His turn on the fore is pretty sticky and heavy and surprisingly his turn on the hind has some lightness. He's very tuned in to my seat, so if my seat says trot he trots and when I down transition, he does as well. His backup was much nicer today - not quite gliding and smooth yet, but much improved. I expected him to be more forward outside the arena and he really wasn't. We'll take to the trail next week and see what we've got.

Kendall and Rain looked great!! Kendall wanted to jump and jump. Rain is a gaited horse and jumping is certainly not her talent, but Kendall was having a lot of fun! As Kendall grows, she looks better and better on Rain - less like a peanut and more like a real rider on that 16hh horse.

I bought a Barefoot saddle and it arrived today. I've been wanting to get a lighter weight saddle for endurance and I pulled Z out to see if she had any issues with it. It needs a few things, but it's got a great feel for my butt and only miles will tell me if Z likes it too. It came with an interesting saddle pad, but I think I'll be using my CSI. Looking forward to trying it out!

Starlet's wound is healing so rapidly. She could really get back to training with me at this point. I'd like to bring her along as a dressage horse and transfer everything I learn on Gem to her as well. She has more elevation and energy than Gem, so it will be a nice contrast for me as a competitor.

Kholo - Day 2 in the bit

Kholo and I had a positive, successful session today! He was much more comfortable in the bit and we improved his backwards, played a very little bit with sideways, and worked on trot/walk transitions. I am gently using the bit to encourage his nose down a little at a time, while making it clear what I'm after when I halt or backup. I'm using my seat a lot and his starting to respond to my seat changes. He didn't fidget with the bit today at all, a very positive change. He doesn't hurry or get worried, which makes him a pleasure to teach. We trotted for a good period of time, transitioning to walk every 5-10 strides for just a stride or so.

Tomorrow, we'll leave the arena and build out in the pasture.

I wanted to get a little time with Gem, so I took him into the roundpen for a little liberty. The round pen hasn't gotten much use this summer and it's full of grass and weeds. I let him eat in between a few requests like change of direction and trotting left and right. Then, I left him to his eating to finish my chores. More rain was on the way, so I decided to get my work done.

Kris and Kholo

Today was Kholo's first session with me. We both had to get to know each other a little so I took things slow. My back was sore, so I didn't want to do anything overly strenuous. I also didn't want to throw him into the deep end without an understanding that he's safe.

I bridled him and he took the bit nicely. For horses starting in the bit, I follow the bit with a sweet of some type. Surprisingly, Kholo couldn't figure out how to get this treat past the bit so he fiddled with it in the front of his mouth and then gave up. This tickled me! I picked a piece up and put it behind the bit for him. He'll sort this out in time. It was pretty cute, though.

We went into the arena and I started with lateral flexion. He didn't quite understand so I helped him along. He has a great nature - he tries and doesn't over-try. He's confident and calm and he doesn't get worried while learning. I know it's going to be fairly easy to help him understand what we riders are after. We played with isolation of the ends after he started to get a feel for the bit and what to do with the sensations in his mouth. I played the most with backing from my seat combined with bit pressure. Improving his backup will make the most positive changes in his halt. His backup and slow and tentative, so I'll be working on getting his backing motion more fluid and confident.

Kris and Rio were in the arena with me and I coached them along while I played with Kholo. One of the things I've really wanted to get Rio and Kris playing with is passenger riding. Kris has been challenged by Rio's sensitivity and trust has been hard to attain. Over the past year, we've built on Kris understanding how little it takes with Rio and now she can do soft transitions on a loose rein. Rio, in turn, has become a softer horse. He's much less reactive and takes things more in stride. He's pliable and willing to learn. He's a very nice horse and he fits Kris nicely. He has a lot to teach Kris. So, this evening, I was able to get Kris riding as a passenger for the first time. This means, in my large arena, Kris asks Rio to trot. Rio's job is to maintain the trot. Kris' job is to simply ride. Rio can go wherever he pleases and if he breaks gait into walk or canter, Kris responds by bringing him back to the trot. I could tell by Kris' expression when I asked her to try this that she was unsure. I've been waiting to get her doing this type of riding until I felt they could handle it together. It's perfect for this type of scenario - lack of trust in the horse.

Well, they did it and they were great! Rio covered the entire arena after realizing there was no comfort with me and Kholo. He trotted around and seemed to keep asking Kris what he was supposed to be doing. Kris kept him trotting beautifully and a few minutes in, Rio let out a huge blow of relief. I know I had the biggest smile on my face watching this. I'd like her to start each session this way for 7 sessions. She agreed to do that and she was convinced it was a good thing to do. She and her horse have some great times ahead.

Kholo was with me through all of this - feeling of the bit, learning me and beginning to understand. He's a smart boy and tomorrow will be a nice leap off the foundation we built today.

Kris got Cowboy and Rio trimmed after the lesson.

Kholo and the Herd

I don't like to introduce horses to the herd if they aren't going to live here. The herd is a tight knit family with an established heirarchy. Newcomers don't fare well and I keep them safe by separating them from the herd. Kholo had been in the stall and run for 2 days and I wanted to let him out to explore and move. I put my herd in the middle of the track and gave Kholo the track to himself last night. Well, this morning, when I came out to feed, Kholo was with the herd. I'm guessing he jumped the fence as no fence was down. The track is only electrical ribbon on fiberglass posts, so it wouldn't be terribly difficult to get through if the horse didn't mind the electricity. I guess Kholo decided he'd rather be chastised and pushed around by the herd than be on the track alone. I don't know how long he'd been with them, but they were all (especially Rain, surprisingly) telling him to "piss off"! I haltered him out and put him back in the stall and run. He sustained a couple minor bites, but he was fine. All the bites were on the left side, which I found interesting. He also carries his tail to the left. I'll be watching and studying that.

Herd behavior is so fascinating to me. I could watch the dynamics play out all day.

Dawson Butte

Z and I met friends at Dawson Butte today. Rode 10 really fast miles! Z is such an awesome horse and she's just built for endurance. We did 10 miles in 1 hour 35 minutes, with walking and stopping on occasion. I had a great time with my girl. She loaded in the trailer with zero anxiety and unloaded the same way at the trail head. Her trailer nervousness seems to be settling. The practice we've done at home must be helping, as well.

I also brought home the first training horse I've had in a while. I decided to focus on my horses this summer and an opportunity came along for a 30 day training commitment. Kholo is a very nice Arab gelding that just needs some softness and bridle time. His owner will be riding with me once a week while her horse is here so they can develop some new skills together. This will be a very fun project and this is a really great partnership (Kholo and Melissa).

Melissa and I will be riding 30 miles together at the Happy Jack endurance ride in Wyoming next month. Really, really looking forward to that!

Kris came over and trimmed Rain and Starlet. Rain is shedding frog and had some thrush going on. I will soak her this week. We did not have time to play with Rio, unfortunately.