Saturday, September 27, 2014

Um, owwww

Apparently my little escapade yesterday gave me whiplash.  I'm not sure if it happened during the first second or two when I was stupidly wondering what was going on, or when Ruby and I bonked heads.  I didn't see it coming - I was much more worried that I'd tweaked a muscle in my back when she bolted and I was still turned in the saddle.  Ibuprofen is the order of the day.  Hopefully this goes away soon? 

Friday, September 26, 2014

An exciting ride

The mornings are (finally!!!) cooling down some, so right before I threw the kids in the car to take them to school, I texted Heather to ask if she wanted to go to Tenoroc. We didn't want to feel rushed, so just decided to take the short northern loop today.

Right from the start Ruby was slogging along - the norm when she has to pee.  Knowing that she won't go until we get back to the trailer, we pushed on.  This particular loop is a little over three miles long.  I felt bad for her, and I'm hoping that one of these days, she'll just get it over with already.  I haven't figured out why some horses hold it like this, but to each their own.

The good thing about Ruby's extremely un-Ruby-like pace is that Candy was able to keep up easily.  No stopping and waiting.  Heather and I moseyed along the trail while she updated me on another boarder's Great Saddle Search. The plus for Heather is that she is also in the market for a new saddle, so she gets to try out All The Saddles.  We were coming up on a hill when Candy started blowing.  Then Ruby did her death stare stop and I let Heather know that there really was something in the brush.  Because her saddle screws with her balance, she opted to climb down and lead for a ways.  She remounted at the crest of the hill and we went on with our ride.

Now, I'm going to confess something here. I think I've already made it clear that I'm not a great rider.  I'd like to think I'm at least a decent one, but probably not.  Candy and Heather trail behind when we ride together because even when Ruby's doing the pee-pee dance she just naturally moves faster than Candy. This results in a lot of head-turning on my part so that Heather can at least hear me when I respond.  So, we were plodding along, talking, me with my head turned back over my left shoulder when something moved in the bushes just behind and the right of us.  I barely heard the rustle and before I knew it, it felt like I was laid back over Ruby's butt as she bolted.  The first bound forward, I remember thinking, "What the hell?" Second bound, "Ruby's bolting!" Yes, it took me that long to get my shit together.  I sat up, and knowing that I'm not always organized when gathering my reins, decided to lean forward and grab the reins a few inches from the headstall.  As soon as she realized I wanted her to stop, Ruby put on the brakes, hard. So hard that her front legs bounced twice...and we smacked heads twice.  It hurt, even through my helmet.  I started rubbing her forehead as I looked back to see what had become of Candy and Heather.  Luckily, Heather was still in the saddle but it was a close one.  Candy did one of those flat 180 degree spins but stopped when she realized Ruby was hauling ass in the other direction.  The whole thing was over 4-5 seconds after it started.  The girls calmed right back down.  I'm proud of them and so thankful for my helmet.  And thankful for my saddle, which felt like it was glued to my pants for the whole episode.  I seriously cannot believe that I didn't flip over backwards, phew.

Neither of us saw what was in the bushes, but it was probably a pig.  A bit further down the trail, we decided to trot because the biting flies were getting bad.  Ruby is a trip. She started out slow but soon was seriously motoring down the trail.  We were leaving Candy way behind so I asked her to slow up a bit.  We took a short walk break, and finding that we still had not left the flies behind, decided to trot again.  These were short stretches, maybe a couple hundred yards or so.  We slowed again as we came to a curve that should have taken us back to the beginning of the trail.  Only it didn't.  Coming down off the hill, this stretch of trail looked exactly like the beginning and went to the road, as it should.  But there was a gate closed across the trail.  Oops, missed a turn.  There was just enough room beside the gate for a horse to be led through, so we dismounted, went around the gate and mounted back up.  We rode by Ruby's favorite horse-eating-rock and discovered that Candy is also a fan.  The rest of the ride was uneventful.  Ruby seemed surprised and, dare I say, disappointed to see the trailer again.  Candy was relieved that the ordeal was over.  Right after tying her, Ruby peed for what seemed like forever.  We rinsed the girls, loaded them up, and headed back to the barn.

So, lesson learned.  Wear your helmet - you don't have to fall off to need it.  My head hurt for a good 10-15 minutes after bonking it on Ruby's; without the helmet, I'd probably have knocked myself out.  And, learn to take up your reins properly.  I had plenty of time to gather my reins, but I didn't know if Heather was still mounted or if she was hurt so decided not to.  In hindsight, I probably could have just asked Ruby to whoa; she was ready to stop as soon as she realized that's what I wanted.  I honestly did not think about it, bad rider!  All in all though, it was a very good ride. 

Thursday, September 25, 2014

My absenteeism

Immediately after I fully recovered from whatever hellacious cold I had, life knocked me right on my ass.  Finally, I'm hobbling along again.  We did not make it to the intro ride.  Bummer but I just was not up to it.

Ruby is good, though she was a little starved for attention for a while.  I wanted to ride but I wasn't sure how I would react if she wasn't absolutely perfect.  Not fair to her at all, so I didn't ride for a week and a half or so. When we did ride again, she was, of course, perfect.  She enjoyed getting out and spending time with me.  We had a great time.

Waiting for Heather and Candy, Ruby kept looking pointedly down the road.  "Let's go already!"
Two days ago, I figured we should probably start learning some actual lateral movements. When she was moving straight sideways when asked, we practiced opening and closing a 'gate' (two jump standards with a rope strung between).  The first time, she didn't get it at all. The second time, she focused on the rope and seemed to get the point.  We stopped for the day.

Today, we just did some lunging.  I need to start building her topline.  It is so much better than when she first arrived, but not enough to make me comfortable.

One of the better, recent pictures I have, taken on Sept 10. Not a protruding spine, but not much muscle development either.
The only surcingle I have access to puts too much pressure on her withers, so I'm going to start looking for a used one with wither clearance.  Maybe something like this.

In other news, I finally know who Ruby's sire is!  I never had any grand illusion that he was some world-class stallion (and he isn't), but it's nice to have another piece to the puzzle that is Ruby's mysterious past.

Photo of WS Royal Sultan, shamelessly borrowed from allpedigrees.com.
Now I know where Ruby got her withers.  He hasn't done much, if anything, that I can find but he is a beauty.  If Ruby was born in 2000/2001 like it appears, he bred her dam as a yearling or two-year-old.  Not impossible, but not the norm for responsible, knowledgeable breeders either.  I don't care too much - whatever the circumstances were, I'm glad Ruby is here.

One more thing...something that bothers me.  On Monday when I went to take care of Ruby, I noticed that someone had braided a bit of her mane.  Her hair is wiry enough that it was still mostly there and obviously not a tangle.  Ruby is not a horse that enjoys scratches and cuddles, so I find this to be bizarre. And, it totally creeped me out that I don't know if it was another boarder or some random person who saw the pretty ponies and helped themselves to an unwelcome visit when no one was around.  It doesn't really make sense for it to be another boarder - they have their own horse's mane to braid, so I'm leaning towards 'other.'  I'm feeling a little paranoid about the situation. 




Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Short road ride

Went for a short road ride with Heather this morning.  It was short, and slow, but still a nice little ride.  I won't be winning any equitation classes anytime soon!

Love her appy butt and strawberry blonde tail. 



And this isn't her fast walk. 

Notice her left knee - a split second away from walking off, hence the crazy-tight reins.
When we got back to the barn, we proceeded to the round pen and worked on voice commands.  I started her to the right and she did very well.  When I turned her to the left and asked for canter, she offered to buck.  Hmm.  We'll do it again tomorrow without tack but it might be time for a chiro appointment.  Until yesterday, I'd never seen this mare buck, even out in the pasture.  Something may be up. 

Monday, September 8, 2014

Cranky mare and cantering

So, it probably wasn't a good idea but we did it anyways.  While warming up, Ruby wasn't exactly throwing a fit but she was making her opinion known: she hates (my kind of) arena work.  But, other than a mare with a piss-poor attitude, it was the perfect day to try.  It was nearly cool at 73 degrees, the ground was soft but not muddy, and Heather was there to be my spotter. After warming up for 15-20 minutes I called Heather over, took a deep breath and started Ruby trotting on a huge circle to the left.

I gave her the usual canter cues, to which she didn't respond so I started kissing, clucking, and squeezing to ask her to move out faster.  I knew the mare could trot fast, but wow, we were zooming around that little arena.  It took several circles (and several minutes of screaming thigh muscles) before Ruby finally tried to canter for me.  She took three strides, and just as I was about to ask her to come back to a trot, pissy mare threw in a buck.  A real, honest-to-goodness, head down, hind feet two feet off the ground buck - I couldn't believe it.  We did a one-rein stop (while I grumbled and yelled and told her what a terrible horse she was) and immediately went back into speedy-trot in an attempt to get another few canter strides.   We did several more circles at warp speed before I decided we both needed a walk break.  Then we tried to the right.  It only took a circle or two before she cantered for me.  Three strides, no buck, success.  I asked her to halt, hopped off, and walked her back to the barn.

I have no idea if Ruby's ever been asked to canter, but I do know that trot is her preferred gait.  Her buck was definitely not one of those 'I'm so happy' bucks but she also wasn't trying to dump me - she was voicing her opinion.  It's been a while since we did any consistent round pen work, so I'll be incorporating more round pen before asking again for a canter. 

Sunday, September 7, 2014

What a week

Last Saturday, warning: not horse-related.  A few weeks ago I started really looking into something that we can all do as a family.  See, I'm the only horse person in my family.  My husband would like to have a horse so he can ride with me, but it's not something that he's considering until we have our own place again.  So, I started thinking about the dogs. Growing up, my family was involved in AKC conformation showing and obedience.  It was fun (isn't winning ALWAYS fun?) but I've just gotta point out...there are a ton of stuck-up dog show people.  I'm sure the same is true in the horse show world but I seriously doubt they can trump the dog show folks - it's impressive in a sad way.  We never really did fit in, and honestly, didn't really want to.  We stopped doing things with our dogs when we returned to FL. 

Twenty years later, there are so many more dog clubs and activities (or maybe the internet makes it seem that way, I dunno).  One of our dogs is a Jack Russell terrier and is absolutely the funnest dog I've ever owned in my life.  We didn't buy him from a breeder; he was given to us by a guy my husband used to work with.  Apparently he and his wife just couldn't stand Cooper.  They asked us to watch him while they went out of town for Thanksgiving in 2010 and Cooper never went back. I've done some research on the breed and came across terrier trials. It turns out that the local club was having a fun day on the last Saturday of August.  We signed Cooper up for everything but the group races and planned to get up really early on a Saturday - a true trial for my family.

We made it to the trial around noon and were immediately welcomed by everyone we saw.  People we didn't know were asking about our dogs (even for Stella, who is obviously not a JRT).  Cooper was unenthused when it was time for him to go to ground, so we're going to build him a tunnel and practice (some day).  He was allowed to run the race course by himself with a borrowed muzzle and had a blast. Then it was time for the lure-coursing.  I'm not sure I've ever seen him so excited as when he was watching the other dogs run. Then it was his turn.


This video shows his second run, which was fast enough for a first place in his class over five other dogs.  Yay, Cooper!  The video is wobbly because Stella was trying to yank my arm off in her attempt to get the bag before Cooper.

Cooper, looking smug, with the hubs
They let Stella run twice, too, which was awesome of them since there are no classes for off-breed dogs.  By the time we left, everyone was pooped and hooked.  I see this becoming a regular part of our lives in the near future.

When I woke up Sunday, I was miserably sick and stayed that way until Wednesday.  I still have the headache so it may have been some kind of flu. Anyways, on Wednesday morning, I woke up thinking I was feeling well enough to take Ruby out for a ride.  We went to Marshall Hampton but weren't more than a quarter mile into our ride before the flies caused Ruby to go bat-shit crazy.  In desperation I kicked her up into a trot in an attempt to outrun the flies....then Ruby kicked her belly while trotting.  I've never been one who likes to land on her head, so I pulled Ruby up and hopped down to help her out, which is when I realized that these vicious little bastards were biting her udder (ow!!!) and the inside of her legs.  I killed 7-8 of them and she stood completely still so that I could.  I decided to lead her to the next grove of trees and we got maybe another 50 feet before she started kicking her belly again - she had another 7-8 flies biting her.  We tried one more time but when she stopped this time and I started killing flies, my hand came away from her udder dripping blood.  That's when I called it and we walked back to the trailer.  It was INSANE.  I swear I think fly spray is just expensive, smelly water because it doesn't seem to do a damn thing for the flies out here.  Swat works until it sweats off about 15 minutes after application.  We won't be going back to MH until it cools off some.

On Saturday, Lee (with Paso gelding, Copa) and I went to Tenoroc.  The flies were bad in parts but nothing like MH, thank goodness.  I put Ruby's Gloves on for this trail ride and I'm happy to say that they stayed on the entire time.  They don't twist but I'm going to have to order power straps due to the gapping at the front of the boots.  We did the actual north loop this time. I like this loop other than for the first half mile or so, the trail has been torn up very badly by the hogs.  After that, it smooths out and there are a few steep hills to climb.  There's also a mile or so of nice, flat straight away - one of these days, Ruby and I are going to canter this part of the trail. When the flies got really bad, Ruby and I trotted while Copa and Lee gaited - Ruby rather enthusiastically leaving Copa in the dust every chance she got.  In poor Copa's defense, I think his neck was sore from shots received on Thursday night. 

The north loop is very short, maybe 3 miles, so it wasn't long before we were back at the trailer.  Lee needed to stretch so we hung out for a minute before going back out onto the southern loop.  The trails out here are not always well-marked and I missed a turn so we ended up back at the damn trailer maybe 20 minutes later - oops.  Copa was non-plussed when we rode right past it up the dirt road. This time, Lee was leading the way, and she missed a turn. But things worked out well - we found a very nice little trail through the woods where it was so much cooler.  The trail took us to another little dirt road and continued on the other side, but it was obvious that Lee and Copa were pretty well done.  I am looking forward to following this trail next time I ride at Tenoroc - I seriously love exploring on horseback.

We did about 8 miles, though Strava shows 6.6 - somebody forgot to start it again when we left the trailer after our break.

Saddle and other update stuff:
Nickers cannot change saddle rigging after the saddle is completed, but I expected as much.  I was told that they can make me a special bolster to support my left hip but I'm not sure my unevenness is quite that bad.  I haven't yet ordered the new saddle inserts, partially because I'm still not feeling 100%.
At my last lesson, Claudia had me move my stirrups back an inch or so - on Saturday I had zero knee pain, hallelujah!
My saddle did not shift during the ride but I made it a point to use my left leg.  Ruby's back is not sore today but I'm not sure 8 slow miles is enough to cause a problem.
I did not start yoga this week but I did start roller-blading with my dogs.  If you have a dog, you owe it to yourself to give it a try.  My dogs seriously love it.