Oh, I forgot! PICS!

My friend Patricia came into town this past weekend, and we had a ball- went to see the Hunger Games, bar hopped (definitely not my usual thing), hung out with some other fun people I hadn't seen in a long time... and took pictures in the bluebonnets!

I was seriously going to go get Ramses for these pics, but trying to get 4 animals to sit still was hard enough with the full use of my arms...

I LOVE this picture. And yes, they were looking at me while I said, in a very high-pitched voice, "Are you hunnngry? Want to go for a riiiiiide?" Boy were they/did they.

My sweet boy. Surprisingly, he was the worst behaved during the pics of the three of us. All he wanted to do was roll in the grass... but who can blame him?

For forever, I've wanted to get a picture of Chica and I in the bluebonnets. I haven't because it always required me trailering out and unloading on a highway somewhere- not the best idea. But, since my property is covered with them right now, I was able to mark that off my life's to do list! Up next: ride her on the beach. Unfortunately, she is back to being lame, so that may not happen. I wish I had just gone and done it during our golden years... if she gets back up and running, it's on.

I LOVE BLUEBONNET SEASON!

Read More

Rain, rain, rain...

Don't get me wrong. I love having my horses at my house. In fact, if I had the means to, I would never board my horses again. It is a lot of fun having people to ride with. It is fantastic having classy facilities to use that you didn't have to buy. And it's always nice to have someone that will feed your horse if you're sick or if you need to go out of town.

However, there's nothing like being able to look out your window and watch the sun glint off your horse's back as it rises/sets. There's nothing like getting home from a long day and having quizzical faces demand you feed them before you get a chance to rest and eat dinner yourself. There's nothing like being able to make all decisions without having to clear them with anyone- if I want to leave my horse in the round pen during the day, I do. If I want to put her on stall rest for 24 hours, I do. If I want to run through my pasture wearing only a bikini and mud boots and wave my arms like a chicken at my horses while making high pitched noises, I do. Not to mention the fact that during any sort of natural disaster, sickness, or other emergency, they are only a few steps away.

But boy do I miss having a covered arena!!!

I absolutely refuse to complain about any rain we receive, since there was such a shortage of it last summer. Paying upwards of $12/bale for hay really puts things into perspective. But all of this rain, while being a very good thing, definitely limits my riding/training time with Sienna. On top of not being able to ride when it is raining (which has been happening for several days in a row, lately), my round pen is set up in such a place that it floods and stays very sloppy in the bottom "corner" (yeah, it's not as round as it once was). I've had several close calls while riding on what looked like dry ground that was discovered to be mush when Sienna slipped almost out from under me. Not to mention that I live in a flood plain, so when we get a lot of water, the horses don't have many dry places to go. We do better than a lot of our neighbors, but if I had to evacuate during a flood... I couldn't. Not without swimming the horses (and dogs, and cat) through. But I digress.

If I am ever blessed with my own property and future equines, I definitely want to build a cover arena. I know, I need to start saving up like, 10 years ago. But seriously. I feel like as far along as Sienna is now, she could be even further if we didn't have to take so much time off for the weather. We could possibly be getting our leads down now instead of still working on cantering off on command. She's doing much better on that now (minus almost bucking me off Sunday). But, you have to make do with what you have, and she is doing remarkably well despite our inconsistent schedule.

Speaking of Sunday, my last few rides have been... interesting. Sunday, my parents came up to fix my riding mower (battery was completely dead). They had not met Sienna yet, so I dragged her from the way back of the pasture to say hello. Since they had some time, I saddled her up so they could see everything I had done with her. Things started out great- she showed off her pivot, she flexed well, jogged around happily, tra la la. What I did not take into consideration, however, was that was our first canter-ride where I did not longe her before hand. Oops! I set her up, asked her to canter- and then we bucked the whole way around the pen. I laughed it off, as these were not very big bucks, and kicked- trying to rile her up, as it was- and I was rewarded with a humongo buck that threw me out of the seat and made me lose my right stirrup, followed by several more bucks. I had a vision of me flying into the side of the round pen while she ran by without me. However, I managed to gather myself and get back into the saddle, pick up my stirrup, and keep going. Apparently it didn't look like much to the bystanders (it never does), but it was a pretty close call for me.

After my parents left, Sienna got a good longing in- and then we tried again. She was still hesitant about the right lead, but she picked the left lead up immediately. It was a good note to end on (and, my parents decided to come back so that my dad could mow my grass and my mom could take me to lunch- everyone won (except maybe my dad)!).

Our ride in the pen Monday was excellent- no bucking, and better canter pick ups. I decided to cool her off by riding through the pasture, which I've done before, only this time I thought I'd cross the ravine and go ride over to the barn. I figured she was a big girl, she could handle it, even though Bo and Chica stayed on the round pen side. It wasn't like I was riding in unfamiliar territory, after all.

I figured wrong.

We barely got to the ravine, and she was already walking along on tip-toe, staring at the familiar strip of land like it was the newest, scariest thing in the world. We started serpentine-ing down the ravine, since that was the only way she would walk forward- and then a burst of NOTHING happened, but we were suddenly in reverse. And we stayed in reverse. Like, she forgot that horses usually move by going forward. It was a strange sensation. So, being the stubborn female that I am, I dismounted and we HAULED it through the ravine. I then remounted on the other side, and we kept on course.

But! But! The cows in the pasture next door were mooing! "They've never mooed before!" cried Sienna. Her attention was only on them as we tried to make it a few more steps. My landlord and her children took this time to go out into their backyard, where they had a great view of us. We trotted in circles, strangely drifting closer and closer to the ravine on each circle- she hadn't forgotten that her amigos were waiting on the other side. I started digging into her with my leg, and she responded by kicking at me. Or, at least as at me as she could while I was sitting on her. Someone didn't give her the memo that I don't like that kind of thing. So we did more circles, and then we longed, with me just holding onto the reins. By this point she was all hyped up, and every time she got to the ravine side, she either stopped and faced me or she freaked, simply put. It was frustrating, considering how great our ride had started out. At one point she strided up to me and I backed that thang up while screaming "STAY OUT OF MY SPACE!". It was a show for the non-horse landlords, to say the least. I'm sure I looked like the Wicked Witch of the West, getting after the poor horse who was "not doing anything wrong!". However, I could feel that she was a ticking time bomb in those moments, ready to throw my butt and haul it back to her friends. Her mind was COMPLETELY gone. We longed and backed some more, and then I got on again, and we sat. Quietly. For about 5 minutes. Then I got off and we showmanshipped all the way back across the ravine. For every 3 steps we took forward, we took 5 back. Or we pivoted. Or we stopped and set up. Anything to remind her that I was the one to be worried about- not the absent horses.

I got back on after we crossed the ravine, and the rest of the ride was uneventful. I'm not sure we'll be trying that again for a while, at least not until we have a more consistent foundation. Maybe the weather will be nice to us for the next few weeks- but again, I'll take whatever rain I can get!

Maybe I can convince my landlords to cover our arena. Right after they repair the fences, take down the deer feeder, repair the stall door, repair the outside run...

Read More

Accomplishment.

Now, I'm not one to make a big deal out of nothing (hehe), but I'd like to take a minute to celebrate something that is a pretty huge deal to me: I have succeeded in teaching my new pony how to pivot in hand. YES. It needs polish, of course, but last night we did about 7/8 of a turn before I stopped her. Her half pivots are pretty rockin', so I just wanted to see how much further we could go. Fortunately, Sienna took no offense to my squeals of joy in her ear.

Why is this so HUGE? Well, never having been interested in showmanship before, I never saw a need to teach Chica how to pivot. I thought it was a cool thing to be able to do, but she moves her hindquarters and shoulders away from me when asked, and that serves its purpose. When I started trying to teach her how to pivot, it was like trying to teach someone who only spoke R'lyehian how to formulate the hypothesis of the space-time continuum. Just like that. However, with Sienna, it clicked into place. I'm not really sure why; maybe it's because she's a lot touchier than Chica is. In any event, teaching Sienna is helping me to teach Chica, which is exciting. Hopefully she'll be pivoting her way around the yard soon enough, too.

Hopefully I'll be able to get some video tonight! I forced my roommate to come outside last night so she could watch us pivot around, and Sienna didn't disappoint. I'm so glad for the time change, since now I have more light to work with!

Read More

Intelligent Challenge

Phew! I am not good at this keeping a blog thing. However, since today is looking to be a pretty boring day at the office, I think I'll take some time to write a little and indulge in this double-chocolate-chocolate-chip-muffin I have in front of me.

Yes, it is as good as it sounds.

I'm not sure where I left off last time, so I'll just start at the beginning of the year. I have been wanting a second horse for years; I love Chica to death, and she's so well broke, I can do just about anything with her. As great as she is, though, I was ready for a horse that would offer me a new challenge. An intelligent challenge, if you will. What do I mean by that? I've met many horses that were certainly "just" challenges- these horses reared, tried to rub you off on fences, struck at you, etc. You could work with them until you were blue in the face, hours a day, but when it was all said and done, they still reared, tried to rub you off on fences, or struck at you. Training them was very unfulfilling, because you never saw anything accomplished- or if you thought you did, the next day you would be proved wrong. I don't mind a challenge by any means, as long as it is something we can work through, get over, and be better for after it's done- so I guess by "intelligent challenge" I mean, I wanted a (green) horse with a brain. I wanted something that I didn't feel like I was throwing my efforts away on, that I could connect with on a psychological level.

Chica was a challenge, and I almost got out of riding because of her. However, once I met the right people, we were able to use her attitude against her and make her realize how much better it was to work with me instead of against me. Chica is an incredibly intelligent horse; she knows when she is being seriously asked to do something, and she knows when you're not sure if you want her to do it or not. She definitely knows when the right moment is to get away with something, when she had better do what she's told, or when she needs to get out of there. She is intuitive, and she has picked up English better than a lot of non-native speakers. She knows that shows are for working and not for acting up. I trust her probably more than I should, but I also know when to not trust her. I wish I could turn back the clock for her, because if she were able to do the things a younger horse could again, I think the world would be at our feet. Chica was (and sometimes still is) an intelligent challenge.

Which brings me back to the beginning of 2012. I had decided not to get another horse at the moment, mostly because I did not have the upfront money for buying one. "Ok, God," I said. "I'll try to wait for your perfect timing... but in the meantime, I'm going to keep looking at dreamhorse.com and day dreaming. And hoping that something changes soon, because I feel like a waste of space right now."

January 3rd, 9:23 AM: I am sitting at work, minding my own, when my grandmother calls. I answer, thinking it's an update about her health, as she had a scare over the Christmas holidays. "So," she says, "how would you feel about a free, registered horse?" The only thing I could think to say was, "... ... ... ... ...I'm listening."  She then proceeds to tell me about a friend of a friend who has too many horses and not enough riders. One of these excess horses is a 2006 APHA solid paint bred mare. I almost turned her down right away, on account of the mare being a SPB and therefore not being worth much to prospective buyers. However, the more we talked about it, and the more I wrapped my mind around the fact that my grandmother was calling to offer me a free horse, the more the idea seemed more like Someone's perfect timing rather than something out of the blue.

Long story short, I went and checked out the mare (who they called Gemma), and I ended up bringing this home:

Of course, it rained on me from the time right after I loaded her into the trailer all the way home. I unloaded her in a strange place, in the rain, with Bo and Chica running around like maniacs, by myself... and she didn't kill me, so I figured we were off to a good start.

She integrated SO well with Chica that it had to be more divine doing. Chica normally likes the boys more than the girls, but she and (now) Sienna became bffs from the moment they were turned out together. Chica is still top dog, and Sienna is at the bottom of the totem pole, but she's a great pariah- she never questions her placing, and she gets out of anyone's way to avoid being bitten/kicked.

Training Sienna has gone SO smoothly and so well. She backs up better in hand than Chica ever has. She can now do a quarter pivot, something I could never figure out how to teach Chica. Wednesday she started squaring up for the first time on command. She has gotten me interested in showmanship, something I never really cared about before. She picked up longing very quickly, too. She knows "walk on", "trot", and "canter" now. I KNOW that she knows "whoa" as well, but she likes to try to convince me otherwise occasionally.

As far as riding goes, she has picked things up so quickly there, too. The first time I rode her was in a halter, as her previous owners said she had never had a bit in her mouth, and that did not go so well. We did not whoa, we did not turn, and we walked wherever she thought was best. I introduced her to the bit after that, and drove her a little, and the next time I rode her went SO MUCH BETTER. She has progressed leaps and bounds since then. Transitioning to the trot was nothing. We can trot to the moon and back, and she would not care. I started riding her out in the pasture, as opposed to the round pen, so that she would not look for the rail to lean on- and the first time we rode out there, she definitely felt it's lack. But we got to where we were trotting figure eights, small circles, large circles, etc. We even went on a trail ride in the pasture, with my sister riding Chica. I wore a helmet, hehe. She did so so well, even with my sister trotting Chica towards and away from us. There was only one time when she thought she might take off for Bo, who was calling to them the whole time, but I shut her down quickly and she was fine.

Which brings us to the next big step- the canter. The weather this past weekend was perfect, and I decided to give it a go. Nevermind that Courtney was out of town- I had my trusty helmet on! We warmed up, trotted around, I braced myself, and then I slid my foot back, kissed, and said "canter!" like I do when we longe. Our trot picked up speed, Sienna's ears went back. I gave an easy kick, as she sometimes likes to overreact. "Canter!" Suddenly, we were crow-hopping across the round pen, but then we were cantering! It was so like my first experience cantering Reyolena, my project colt for a class I took, that I had to laugh. We tried it both directions, and we quit after she made it around without falling out of it. I definitely found out that day that her weak lead is her left, like Chica's. She will pick it up, but then she switches to cross-firing in the back.

We still have a lot of work to do in order to pick up the canter when first asked and stay in it. I'm just thrilled that she hasn't thrown me so far, although there have been a couple of close calls. Unrelatedly, I am also thrilled that Sienna has shed a lot of her winter coat, and her summer coat is starting to look slick and shiny. With her brand new feet from getting shod Friday, and her recently (very) shortened mane, she looks almost nothing like she did when I first got her.

I have to say that she is the intelligent challenge I was looking for. I have to constantly adapt my methods to explain something to her, as she is a lot touchier than Chica. Yet every time I interact with her, I can see improvement from our last pow-wow.

Here is a link to a video of us trotting from Monday (2/26) night. I am so proud of her "whoa" under saddle, it's not even funny. There is also an... interesting video of us cantering on that account. Well, cantering, trotting, cantering, trotting, whip, whip, KICK, cantering. It's not very pretty, but until she learns that she can canter off immediately under saddle like she does when being longed, I'm not going to worry about that.

I'm very much looking forward to what the future will bring for us. I thank God every day for giving me another great horse to spend time with. I hope that He will continue to make the decisions for my future mounts, because so far, He's 2 for 2!

I will end this rather long post with the most adorable thing that happened last weekend:

Fiona is so presumptuous in assuming she can lay on whoever she pleases. She does it to me in the mornings when I wake up- she crawls up to my face, sticks her nose in my eye, lays on top of my chest, then stretches and howls. She crawls on top of Romeo when they are playing. And that night, she decided to stretch out and use Ramses as a pillow. He actually didn't mind, either- until she started cleaning out his ear. He got out of there pretty fast once that business started.

Have a great weekend!

Read More