5/29

Time with Kris - worked on moving the fore and hind from the ground, then the hind in the saddle.  Also played with the send on the circle.  Then rode up the driveway and let her leave on the trail between Jena and Sue.  She went alone and felt for Rio to hit a threshold.

I had Starlet for the lesson.  Starlet struggled to find a neutral and she worked hard to eat grass.  She got better and her mouth feels improved and less hard.  She's getting quieter in the bit.  We'll keep working on it.  These quiet sessions are doing her good.

Gem, for the first time since I've owned him (5+ years), called for us as we left.  He stood at the end of the pasture and watched us leave.  He was the there the whole time until we returned.  I've never, ever seen him do that.  I wasn't sure I understood it, but I thought it was probably because he didn't want to be left behind.  He wasn't calling for the horses and he wasn't happy when we returned.  So I finished with Starlet and pulled Gem out, tacked him up and took him down the rode.  He was happy and didn't think about home a single time.  It was so interesting!!  He wanted to go out and do something!

5/27

Finally, the wind has calmed down.  I felt like I was getting a little sick, but that subsided today as well.

Rode Starlet.  Her mouth and feel with the bit were all but ruined by the person who took her for a few months.  I'm in repair mode.  Making a program of softness with the bit.  We did figure 8 until her mouth got quiet.  Poor girl - she's just thinking brace all the time.  She might be my dressage horse someday, but for now we've got to rebuild fundamentals.

Then played online with Z on the 45'.  Really focusing on the relationship and listening to her.  Her maintain gait needs practice, but otherwise, she's nice and soft on the end of the line.  I think we're getting close to filming.

Dentist

Phil checked:

Gem
Z
Rain
Fantzy
Cowboy
Rio
Sky
Starlet

Gem and Z needed some minor work.  Rain was good to go except for a hollowed out tooth that will probably crumble over time.  He didn't feel the need to pull it.  Fantzy will probably need some work done in the next round (6 mos).  Cowboy, Sky and Starlet were good.  Rio had a little work done.

Trimming

Kris got Starlet and Cowboy's fronts trimmed.

Rain and Starlet work up a sweat!

Rode Starlet after a few minutes of falling leaf and circle game. We rode in the front pasture and I kept it to walk/trot as I haven't ridden her in quite some time. We worked on lateral flexion, backing and maintain gait. She was nice and soft and easy-going. Next session, I'll up the ante and ask for more speed and some maneuvers to stretch her. She did quite well though.

Then, I pulled Rain out and decided to pony Starlet off of Rain and move on out. We left the property and headed down the trail. Rain left the property so easily which is impressive as I haven't ridden her off the property in months. She was full of life, too. We cantered some, which got Starlet excited - but it was fun! Starlet is so much faster than Rain, so we did more trot than canter just to keep things manageable. Coming back, the herd was anxious for their missing mares and a couple geldings called, but Rain and Starlet stayed on task - not at all concerned.

A really nice time and I was out with them until the sun went down and the sky was dark.

Practicing Dressage and Playing with Starlet

I was able to leave work early enough to play with some dressage techniques with Gem today! Love it. We played with cantering (just maintain the canter) simple lead changes (trot change on the diagonal) and left lead canter departs. He actually started to hurry, which is just amazing! I'm playing with my own way of getting him round by slightly lifting one rein. I'm hoping to refine this gesture enough that he can feel for me, get round and a judge will never see that I've lifted my rein slightly. He has become so willing and softer all the time. I am so impressed by this horse. I also look forward to our first show in a couple weeks!!

After Gem, I pulled Starlet out to play online for a bit. I asked her for some circles, some squeeze over jumps and some falling leaf, all on the 22'. She surprised me by being appreciate of the leadership and came trotting in every chance she could. She is such a nice mare. Someone is coming to look at her and may find her to be a good match, but when I play with her I feel sad at the thought of not keeping her. I know I don't need 4 horses. Three horses is really too many, but I will always have my 3 as long as they live.

The days are getting so short!! I need my arena lights in quickly.

Trimming

Kris got Cowboy and Starlet caught up. I was planning to get Gem trimmed, but epic fail.

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!

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.

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.

Day 1 of Camping

Phew - 3 dogs and 4 horses is a handful. I would have brought only 2 horses, but my vet wanted me to bring Starlet so I could care for her wound every day. I brought another horse so that she could be left behind with a buddy. I couldn't figure out any other way.

We decided to try to head out with the whole group: Kendall on Rain, Marla on Z and I was riding Gem. Starlet was our pony horse. Kendall immediately was having some trouble with Rain's energy level. All the horses wanted to hurry down the trail and everyone's adrenalin was up. About 1/2 mile in, I called it. It just felt like an accident waiting to happen. Rain was starting to get light in front and Marla was learning how to handle Z's very forward nature. My hands were overful and it seemed dangerous.

We went back and Marla and I headed out, me on Z and Marla on Rain. We had a nice ride, about 2 hours in the gorgeous mountains. Marla was struggling a bit with the altitude and I think the riding may have exacerbated the situation. I'm glad we got to ride, but the first ride of our trip was less than simple.

Later on, I pulled Gem out and just rode him around the campsite. I was trying to further develop his left and right circles. It was just 30 mins, but I enjoyed him.

Horse Camping at Beaver Meadows

We headed up to Beaver Meadows Resort for 5 days of camping with horses, kids, dogs, and family. We arrived late at night in the rain. It was a little tough as one of our sites was occupied and one of our horse pens was taken down. The horses spent the night tied to the existing pen, eating the luscious grass that grew around the area. I slept like a baby after the long haul up (about 4 hours and much of it in the rain).

Looking forward to a fun-filled trip in the mountains.

Kendall rides again!!

She just wanted to. Badly. She's ready to come back and hang out with me on horses. I'm elated!

We started in the arena, then walked around the property a little. She had fun in the arena and worked on teaching Rain to halt w/o reins. Rain already knows this, but Kendall worked on finding it with Rain. She was smiling ear to ear the whole time! She trotted/gaited and cantered around happily. Oh, what a sight.

Z and I played with keeping her nose down and trot/canter transitions. She was confused at first and a little anxious, but she figured out what I was after and did it gracefully. I am now going to be more conscious of building that into her regularly. It's ok on the trail sometimes, but we need to get good at rounding up and getting efficient with movement.

Starlet hung out with us around the property and trotted with us. She's moving wonderfully and I'm so relieved. Her wound is huge and she has a lot of skin to grow, but she's feeling pretty good. Thankful.

5 days with Jinita - Day 1

What an amazing start to a new perspective! We talked for a bit and then watched "If Horses Could Speak". A very eye-opening video about the anatomy of a horse and how we, as riders, can get top performance without jeopardizing the horse's physical self.

We then went out and played with some concepts such as riding more forward (to avoid weighting the back farther back where the muscles don't support weight well). We played with the web halter vs the rope halter, to avoid intense pressure on the nucal ligament. We watched how the horse moved with these changes from the ground. They naturally extended the hind legs slightly more and dropped and relaxed their head and neck. Very interesting!! Gem had a decent headset already so I didn't see much of a change when I went to the web halter. The saddle placement was definitely better, though.

We were going to ride next and I decided to start with Z. Well, when I went to the pasture to get her, I noticed Starlet was in a bad way. As I got closer, I saw that her rump had been torn open vertically just under the tail. Oh, poor girl - she was very hurt. I let Z go back to the herd and I led Starlet in to the barn.

I have no idea how she did this. There was no indication in the pasture of a struggle against fencing. We'd had a terrible hail storm and I thought maybe she sustained a kick where a hoof snagged her skin. I just don't know. Regardless, my vet couldn't come for about 5 more hours and instead of finding a different vet sooner, I decided to wait for my tried and trusted Dr. Walters. I didn't treat her besides 2 grams of bute and putting her in the stall with hay and water. I decided to do the rest of the day with Gem since he was already with me and ready to go.

We rode for a bit then and Jinita started to help us address our riding flaws. My big offense: over-riding! This was a little tough for me to understand. We took some video so that she could help me understand. After some discussing and watching the video, I think I realized that my legs are too far forward. Once I started riding with my legs more under me, she became happier with the picture.

It was a neat first day full of information that caused me to rethink my existing views on riding, saddling, and online play. I ended up meeting Tom about 9:30 to get Starlet stitched and we didn't finish until 1:30am. Day 2 was going to be a challenge with a lack of sleep.

Gem reaches a new height!

He's made it to the title of trail horse! We had an amazing ride yesterday and I hopped on Gem and ponied Z at Hidden Mesa. We went for 7.5 miles and he handled being my main mount beautifully. I was just so proud of him and how he's developed.

We didn't ride too fast, which was good. I met Deb and her 2 horses and she wasn't up for riding crazy fast, either. Also got to see my great friends Lynn and Nancy.

Before we left for the trail, I gave Z and Gem each a quick trim.

When I got back, Kris was here ready for a quick lesson. First she trimmed Starlet and Rain.

Then, I taught Kris the catching game. Rio caught on so quickly to that game, as did Kris. Afterwards, we went into the arena for some sideways and then some mounted work on transitions. Rio is so smart and he's learning to relax very nicely. Pretty impressive.

Breaking through barriers with Gem

Best ride with gem on the trail yet! Took him alone to Hidden Mesa and made it to the bridge. I believe this was #5 for solo riding with Gem at Hidden Mesa. It was the furthest we've gone and he was such a good boy!

Rode him at home first and it seemed like it wasn't going to be a great day. He went to bucking in the arena just before I rode. He had energy and wasn't very compliant in the beginning. I decided after playing around the property a bit that I was bored of riding at home and since I was on my staycation, decided to just load him up and drive away. He was saddled already, why the heck not!? I was so glad I did.

When we returned, I rode Starlet a bit and coached Chrissy. Today we worked on simply backing up. She was more tense today for some reason. So, again, I felt like knowing that she can stop him and back him would make her feel more confident. I decided to teach her to stop him and back him bridleless. It seemed like a good time to open her eyes to the power of her seat. I think she was quite surprised that she could do it and she had some great, soft moments with her horse. She didn't stay on as long today. I hope it's not because she did too much the previous session.

Starlet and I just played with Chrissy, practiced more lateral flexion and worked on bridleless backing. She got a little agitated at one point and needed to move forward. I obliged and trotted her around a bit. She settled again and we got back to helping Chrissy out. I'm really enjoying Starlet!

Another active day!

I started on Gem today. We did trot and canter ppl around obstacles on the property. I have only done trot ppl outside the arena on Gem, so it was a good step to move to the canter. He loves to jump, so that makes canter ppl especially interesting. He'll decide last minute to go over instead of around the obstacles. We rode in the front pasture, around the playground and around the arena. Then, we rode off with no issues around the east of the kreitzers and up the road. No threshold issues whatsoever. I was so glad I didn't push him yesterday - I'm sure we would have had threshold issues if I'd not honored them the session before.

Deb came over and rode her 2 horses again today, as well.

Starlet - I brought her into the arena and we did ppl at the trot. We started to build more lateral flexion in the rope halter. She felt so nice!! I'm ready to work her more into my riding routine. She's ready and acclimated to her changed lifestyle here with my herd. She looks amazing - muscled, shiny coat, good weight... she's ready for something more.

Z - we did some arena riding today. FTR at the trot, snaky bends at trot, some ppl at canter. She was moving quick today at first, but seemed to settle and get more even impulsion quickly.

Chrissy rode Cowboy 3 different times! Throughout the day, I'd coach her and we built on yo-yo, then some circling around obstacles or me, then a little passenger at the walk. Huge steps, Cowboy was great for her. I tried to find the right times to ask her to quit. She'd quit, but then want to do more a while later. So she pulled him out 3 different times and really made great progress. Good for her!

Kendall also got some more time riding. This time, she wanted to ride Z over the obstacles like she did yesterday on Rain. I explained that Z is a much different horse - faster and more spirited. I think Kendall really understood what I meant after we got started. She did well and she was in a saddle this time. She got scared once or twice, but we ended on a very high note. Z jumped unexpectedly at one point which surprised both me and Kendall! Kendall did great though, her seat is solid and she just needs to let her desire grow. She talks about riding some, but I think the desire isn't really very strong right now. Still, it's great time with my daughter and horses.

Dr Phil

Had the equine dentist out to take care of the herds teeth. He did dental corrections on Z, Rio and Starlet. Gem, Rain and Cowboy held their balance from the previous work.

Z was so anxious she had to be sedated. Yep, she's a Thoroughbred-Arab cross. Her teeth had held some of the balance he put in place last time, but he still needed to do a decent amount of work.

The journey with Starlet begins...

I had only a little time but decided to spend it with Starlet. I haven't done much with her since she got here and I really need to get her higher up on my priority list.

The ground work started nicely. She was extroverted at first and a bit over-reactive, super sensitive. But it took very little time for her to calm and get with me. I was pleasantly surprised.

I was a little concerned about having her in the western saddle, mainly because I'm not sure how comfortable she is with the rear cinch. I found myself wanted to take a little caution, as she has gone a year without being ridden.

I took her into the round pen and had Steve stand watch just in case. She was just fine. We walked and trotted and got to know each other a little. I didn't ride long, just enough to get a feel for where she is about going back to work. It felt nice to do something with this wonderful, athletic mare. I plan to do more with her over the summer.

Trimming

Kris got Cowboy, Rain and Starlet trimmed today.