Mostly pictures

"Did you say 'cookie'?"

First day of 'pole work' this morning.  Nine poles, spacing about 10 feet pole-to-pole, in a shifting line, like so.  Walking only, total time about 10 minutes.

I expected a lot of attitude from Ruby, but I only received a little.  One of Ruby's best traits is that while she will tell you what she's thinking, she still defers to her rider when you say 'tough' - though you can bet there will be some sulking and 'you're an idiot' faces involved.

She isn't hard on the eyes, either :) 

And Abby?  Abby thinks that last week's weather was winter's last hurrah.  Yesterday I brushed enough hair off her to keep the neighborhood birds in nesting materials all spring.  As of this morning, she's almost completely shed out.

Sent this pic to her adopter this morning. 

And this is what she thinks about me taking pictures.

There are no plans for me to take on another mustang at this time, if you are curious.  Jennie only has two that need to be adopted out including Rango, the three-year-old gelding mentioned in a previous post.  Jennie has decided that he needs to grow up a bit more, so he'll get a 3-6 month break and then they'll try again.  Then there's Sally, the mustang that Jennie was trying to talk me into taking way back before she even took in Ruby.  Sally apparently 'hates people and hates work'...not that I blame her at this point.

Abby will be leaving on Thursday and her new mom will be out to visit her this weekend.  We've discovered that she was captured Sept. 7, 1996 as a yearling, and is from the White River Nevada, HMA.  No word on how old she was when she was adopted, or anything else unfortunately. 

It's a beautiful thing

Now that I'm actively working on myself (and know exactly what to work on), our rides are getting better and better.

Yesterday, Ruby and I accompanied Heather and Candy on a fence-mending venture.  Ruby was so unbelievably full of herself that I couldn't help but laugh.  She was having the damnedest time standing still, so we did a few laps of the pasture at a speedy trot.  She broke into a canter at one point, as we came around a tree from one pasture to the next, crazy mare.  Towards the end of the ride she finally rediscovered her ability to stand still.

The very aptly named Beauty Berry bush - I can't quite get the colors right but the berries are a very bright purple.  Supposedly, though fairly tasteless, they make a great jelly.

Wondering what all the fuss is about.

Today was supposed to just be an arena ride.  We did a few laps walking while I two-pointed, then moved into a trot.  It was the most beautiful, balanced trot.  She slowed down, lifted her back, it was fantastic - we even were able to weave between some barrels.  When I asked her stop, I praised her profusely and gave her a cookie (I know, I know!), then asked her to walk on...She kicked out with her left hind so I kicked her with my heels.  At that, she kicked out again and squealed at me.  Oh, mare.  We worked for another 10-15 minutes at a working trot, then I dismounted and walked her to the round pen.  There, we round-penned for another 10 minutes or so - enough that she was asking to stop after an initial fit.  I tied her and went to retrieve our road-riding gear (vest and reflective leg wraps).  I put her wraps on and asked her to trot for another lap or two so she could get used to the feeling, then we went out for a road ride.

I brought a crop for the first time, ever.  I have no issue with smacking a horse that really needs it, and I wanted to have the ability to bring the thunder if she tried something stupid/dangerous while we were out - I absolutely hated that I felt the need to bring it, though.  She tried to balk a few times as we were heading out so I popped her lightly with the crop and I didn't have to use it again.  She was very good on our little jaunt.  It's weird, it's almost as if she forgets that she enjoys getting out until she finally relaxes into it.  

So, our rides are getting better besides this one issue.  I'm thinking I should probably bring a longe line to use before rides when we are riding by ourselves.  This way, I can really check to see where she's at mentally and correct any problems before heading down the trail. 

Fun stuff

The last couple of days, Ruby and I have been doing short training rides in the arena, working through the kicking out issue.  As of yesterday morning, we had zero attitude when asked to move out.  And, my brain finally kicked in on how to get Ruby to actually pick up her feet when trotting over poles.  She picks them up fine when longing but tends to kick them around when I'm riding.  Because she picks up her feet to avoid rocks and sticks on the trail, I believe this is a lazy thing.  I lined up two of the heavier poles and laid them beside each other to make them wide and harder to kick and voila - she actually trots over them now. 

Last night, Heather and I took our girls to an obstacle course practice.  Angela brought her palomino TWH gelding, Sparky.  The practice was from 3-7 pm - we arrived at 6:15.  Everyone else had already packed up and left, so we got to try the obstacles without a lot of extra distraction.  We were told that this was the 'tame' version - holy hell.  It was like an equine house of horrors.  Their balloon obstacle was horsey terror-in-a-can.  Their balloon was one of these.  Btw, the fact that the very center of the 'eye' was reflective apparently made it even more horrible.  Attached to the balloon, there were streamers and blowing sheets.  Eventually, Ruby was brave enough to sniff but even when the other horses were lifting the lid and she knew it wasn't going to eat her, she couldn't help but startle a little.  They had a tarp that changed color three times while going through a ditch.  Ruby nearly jumped this one, lol.  She bunched up but at the last minute decided to walk through calmly.  Backing through the L was ugly, but this is my fault because I don't consistently require straight backing.   They had a deep pit full of empty plastic bottles and pool noodle pieces - after sniffing, she had no issue with this obstacle.  We went through closely spaced, painted tires on the ground with pool floaties hanging from the trees. The only obstacle that she refused was a small kiddie pool with a tire in it.  There were old leaves in the pool and a barrel on either side.  It looked difficult to step through and I don't think she was feeling confident enough to jump in the near-dark.  She started kicking out when pushed, so I smacked her on the butt.  I don't mind her saying she can't (actually, I can't remember another time ever when she has said she can't) but I didn't appreciate the attitude thrown in either.  She didn't kick out again.  I asked again, she told me that she couldn't politely, so we went on to something else.  I was worried about the mattresses but she had no problem.  The last thing we tried was a tiny teeter-totter.  It couldn't have been more than 18 inches wide.  Ruby would put one foot on it but I think she was mostly having an issue with it being so small.  By the time we headed back to the trailer, the sun had fully set.  Ruby had a small freak-out in the trailer when she couldn't see Candy - crazy mare.  All in all, we had a great time. It was a good experience for both of us.  Looking forward to the real thing!

Trouble in paradise

Ruby and I went to Marshall Hampton yesterday.  The plan was to trot as much of the trail as possible, doing both loops once.  That plan went out the window almost immediately.

As we got to the lake, Ruby started to refuse to move forward.  Hmm.  When I'd give her some more leg, she'd kick her belly or kick out with her left hind.  I climbed down and did, in fact, find a bloody spot where she'd been bitten by a fly on her belly near that leg.  While I was on the ground, I checked her leg and foot for any burrs, cuts, etc.  I led her over to a bench to climb back on, but when I asked her to walk we had the same problem, only this time with ear-pinning. Damn mare is too smart for her own good sometimes.  Instead of fighting with her, I hopped down again and led her for a quarter mile or so at a pretty good clip, then I remounted.

She was jumpy, not bad, but jumpy which, after the kicking out/almost bucking, I allowed to make me jumpy - FAIL.  By the time we were halfway around the lake, I was telling myself that we would just do the one loop at a walk and call it a day.

When we came out by the trailer, I let her graze for a bit and watched another horse trailer pull in.  Two ladies, one with a big warmblood gelding, the other with a paint horse.  When I asked Ruby to walk again, I got more attitude - ear-pinning and refusing forward movement!  The lady with the warmblood asked me about my saddle.  Most people, the first time they see it, exclaim about how comfortable it looks.  It most definitely is comfy, if you're wondering.  They left for their ride and I went to load Ruby and she stopped at the back of the trailer. By this point, I was barely holding onto my temper. I got her loaded within a few minutes by tapping her butt with the lead rope.  

When we got back to the barn, I unloaded her and immediately asked her to load again, which she did with just a small hesitation.  I checked the saddle pad and girth for burrs (I check before every ride, too) but found nothing.  I round-penned her, watching for any sign of lameness, and saw nothing.

This morning, I checked over her whole body and palpated her back but she was fine.  Within minutes of me mounting in the arena, she was kicking out with her left hind when asked to walk.  With ear-pinning.  To un-stick her feet, we did lots of figure-eights.  When I had actual forward movement, we did a bit of trotting, then we just worked on walk-halt-back-walk transitions.  By the end of the session, she was moving forward willingly with no more kicking out.

Now, a confession.  I know plenty of people that don't feed cookies to their horses often, but Ruby isn't one who loves pats or scratches so I do give treats quite often. She has never been pushy or demanding about them, ever.  But, maybe yesterday she decided to make her move?  She was very obviously looking over her left shoulder at me while pinning ears, then she would kick out - trying to demand cookies?  Maybe it was a combination of factors: cooler weather, windy, maybe she's in heat, and that all put her in an uber-pissy mood? I don't know.  I'll be riding every day for the rest of the week trying to fix this issue (and still watching for any signs of lameness/soreness).  For now (barring unforeseen circumstances), I have Marie coming out on Saturday for a lesson. I'm looking forward to having her watch and critique Ruby and me and getting her opinion on the situation. 

Past two days

Yesterday, Ruby and I puttered around the arena a bit.  She didn't seem to be feeling well, and did her 'I'm hiding my face' routine when she saw the saddle.  This happens occasionally when it's hot outside, but is not the norm for her lately.  I noticed that she didn't drink much water the day before, so after our ride I made her a super-slurpy beet pulp/hay cube mash with molasses. 

She was much, much perkier today, so Heather and I rode in the arena again.  Besides the usual, we practiced opening and closing the 'gate' and I rode a few minutes in 2-point in response to Viva Carlos' 2pointober challenge.  I'm not actually participating in the challenge but I will be making it a point this month to ride in two-point much more often - it is great for building core strength.

Before calling it a day, Heather and I also decided to have the girls pull a tire around.  We're gearing up for an obstacle challenge on November 1st - I don't expect to place but I don't want Ruby to be completely unprepared either.  We took it very slow.  First, I pulled the tire around myself while Heather led the mares some distance behind the tire.  A few times, they were allowed to 'catch' the tire and sniff. Then we each led our own mare around while we pulled the tire.  Candy has pulled a cart so for her this was really no big deal.  Ruby on the other hand, wasn't sure she liked this new game.

My shoulders when we were backing - gah!  Something else to work on.  Anyway, Ruby did very well.  I expected at least a 'scoot' when we turned around and started walking, but needn't have worried.  Before the corner she was turning her head to the right and keeping an eye on the tire, just in case it grew legs and came after us.  The head-toss at the end was when a dragon fly flew by her face.  She does not like when bugs fly within three feet of her head and will toss her head every time. I was very pleased with how well she did and in fact, after Heather and Candy had taken their turn, Ruby and I pulled the tire all the way back to arena gate like she'd been doing it forever.  We have more pony tortures scheduled this week, so stay tuned.

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. 

Circle, circle, circle

Today I dared to tack Ruby up for a short arena ride.  Short because at 8:30 this morning, she was sweating while standing still.  Now that we have the new bridle, it's time to work on our outstandingly atrocious circles.

I have been ashamed to mention this on the blog because it's kind of embarrassing (especially considering how long Ruby and I have been together) but our circles aren't, well, circular.  On a good day, we would be able to make a relatively smooth oval.  On our bad days, our circles were generally diamonds or, if Ruby was feeling cheeky, a shape that on a kid's cartoon would resemble a lumpy pile of vomit.

I wondered if this issue was being exacerbated by the side pull. It's difficult to have any kind of 'supporting rein' when your horse is wearing a rawhide nose band.  This is also one reason why I haven't yet asked for a canter from Ruby - I have steering at the trot, but not smooth, steady steering. It was almost as if we were turning a second or two late which sometimes caused over-correcting on my part.

Let's just say that we made actual circles today, both at the walk and at the trot (with bend, holy cow!).  We did figure eight's that actually looked like eights. We were doing so well that for the first time ever, we attempted spiraling in and out.  They will obviously need improvement but WE DID IT.  ACTUAL CIRCLES.

Ok, I'm done now.  

So far this week

Note: Multi-day posts are written on the day referenced, so will say today, tomorrow, etc. even if posted days later. 

Sunday: I trimmed Ruby's hooves and measured her front feet for boots.  They are 4.75" long and 4.75" wide.  I've put up an ad or two looking for used boots, either Renegades or Easyboot Gloves.  I would like to try out both types to see which fit Ruby best before spending the money for new.  Buying the wrong boots would be an expensive mistake. 

Monday: I finally got to see why there were so many road maintenance vehicles parked on the barn road - they were getting set up to re-pave it this morning.  I debated riding along the road today but I had one last hope for finding a back way into the park, so I saddled up.  I had to walk between some parked vehicles and the 'crazy horse' pasture - there was just enough room.  Ruby was much more concerned about the horses than the moving, beeping, steaming equipment a few feet away on the road.  I walked her down to the first corner before mounting up and rode to the area in question.  It looks like it needs to be explored on foot before asking a horse to follow - I might do that tomorrow.  On the way back, during one of Ruby's 'we're not going fast enough' episodes, I heard the distinct clink-clink of glass.  Luckily she didn't get cut, or even seem to notice but I'll feel much better when we've got boots! I dismounted after the next curve and walked her back home with no issues.  Oh, and my Evolution bridle from Rock Moss Endurance came in the mail! 

Tuesday: I got to try out my new bridle from Moss Rock.  I was very worried going into this - the last bitless bridle that I tried was horribly designed and has been sent back.  I should have trusted though; Lisa knows her stuff and designed this bridle herself.  First, I went to fit it as a halter:

I ended up taking the throat latch up a hole or two after this picture; but it fits!  Ruby is trying not to fall asleep.

So far, so good.  I finished tacking up and decided to try it as a side pull first.  I took her for a spin around the barnyard and she was doing very well - a huge improvement over the last bridle, in which she acted like she had no idea when I was asking for a stop.  Now I was really starting to look forward to trying it as a cross-under bitless bridle.  Ruby was fantastic while I finagled my way through getting the reins on properly.  I decided to stay in the barnyard while she got used to it.  Again, she was very responsive; barely a squeeze of my fingers was enough to get a turn or stop.  I was very happy to see that this particular bitless does not have the release issue that some have.  She was doing so well that I decided to put it through the ultimate on-property test: riding in the larger arena with the gate open.  Ruby has two main bad habits. The first is that, in this arena in particular, she will try to go towards the gate.  She doesn't head towards the gate, she will turn her head in the direction you are asking, but she will bend her body towards it and before you know it, you're doing a half pass towards the gate.  Her second bad habit is that walking is not always fast enough in her eyes - she wants to trot All. The. Time.  Generally speaking she was respectful of the side pull, but there were times that I had to be much harsher than I wanted.  Occasionally at the end of a trail ride, she would have a small rubbed spot on her nose from the rawhide nose band.  I was very happy to see that she cannot blow through this bridle.  Whereas it would sometimes take me 6-7 strides of trot to bring her back to a walk, I was able to do it in 1-2.  She was also unable to blow through my cues and drift towards the gate.   I am more than pleased with this bridle, I'm ecstatic! 

'Cookie?'

Things I like about the design: the part of the reins that cross under the jaw are a thinner width, which seems to ensure that there are no hang-ups when giving the horse their release.  The throat latch lays flat (does it bug anyone else when they twist awkwardly?).  There is only one piece of beta over the poll, so there is no chance that the horse's skin will be pinched or mane/forelock will be pulled.  The browband is long enough that the cheek pieces aren't too close to the eyes, and there will be no pinching near the ears.  Lisa really did a great job designing this bridle.  Heather is going to try it out on Candy tomorrow; she may be putting in an order of her own soon. 

And a quick little side note - Ruby threw in two strides of canter on Tuesday when we were supposed to be trotting.  This is the first time we've done anything over a trot as I wanted to get some other issues straightened out first (including my own!).  She was very balanced but I brought her back down to a trot immediately because I hadn't asked for a canter.  Soon, my dear!

Wednesday: Ruby got a day off while Heather tried out the new bitless on Candy.  Not sure yet that this bridle will work on a more stubborn, less sensitive horse.  She only had a few minutes to try it out so wasn't able to get a good feel for it.

Thursday: a busy day! My kids had their school orientation this morning and the hubby is taking me to a concert tonight.  I have plans (that hopefully won't need to be cancelled again!) to go trail riding tomorrow.  So, no riding for me today; Ruby's starting to look at me like I'm forgetting something :)

Two short rides

Thursday - another short arena ride, though I almost chickened out because it was so hot.  With the new girth, Ruby tends to settle into a steady trot after half a circle or so.  She's not collected but it's nice that she doesn't feel like she could fall on her face at any moment.  We only rode for 15 minutes but it was enough that we were both drenched.

Unenthused before our ride on Thursday

Before I tell about Friday's ride, I should probably describe the roads around the barn.  The barn itself is on a dead-end, one-lane, 15 mph road.  There are wide, flat shoulders on both sides of this road.  The barn road meets a 25 mph, two-lane road shaped like a long rectangle.  One of the rectangle's short sides is a very busy, 45 mph road.  The corners of the other short side are very sharp, blind corners.  The entire rectangle is 2.5 miles long.  On this road, there are sometimes wide shoulders, sometimes deep ditches beside the road. 

Friday - it felt much cooler than usual so I drove to the barn with designs to talk Heather into going on a trail ride with me.  Unfortunately, she was already done with her barn chores before I made it out.   Instead of hauling Ruby, I decided to ride in the arenas and down the road a bit.  We rode in the small arena for 15 minutes or so, then went to the larger arena.  We rarely ride in this arena, and Ruby is more prone to pull back towards the gate for this reason.  When I got a straight, steady trot away from the gate in both directions, we headed off property.  I lead her for the first part of the ride, partially because there were several pieces of road maintenance equipment parked on the barn road, partially because we were going to go by a yard that had a loose dog last time.  The dog was no where to be seen today so I mounted up after the first corner.  Ruby was loose and swingy, relaxed but still alert.  I spotted a pile of tires on our left but she was unconcerned about them.  We trotted a bit on this short side, until Ruby tripped in the tall grass on the shoulder.  I originally planned to ride her all the way to the busy road, but things didn't quite go as planned.  About half way down the long side, I heard a dog bark.  With a sigh of relief, I realized that this dog was behind a fence, so Ruby and I kept going.  Then I noticed that the gate to the dog's yard was wide open. This dog was not behaving aggressively (not charging or biting the fence, he wouldn't even look at us if we were looking at him) but I decided not to tempt fate and we turned around.

Pretty orange grove we rode by

The ride back to the barn was calm and easy (love my mare!).  I let her graze for 5 minutes or so after we left the dog property behind; she acted like she could happily stay there all day.  When we were close to our turn-off for the barn, I heard a truck speeding around the blind corner behind us.  Luckily we were in a spot where we could get off the road and Ruby took me seriously when I asked her to move it.  The driver slowed down after seeing us, which was nicer than you can usually expect around here, but it still irked me a bit.  Anyway, we had a really great ride.  I have no idea if the yard with the dog usually has the gate open or if it was a fluke, but I'll probably be finding out soon.

PS.  Google Maps now shows trails and property lines!  VERY helpful for those looking for new trails. 

This week

Monday: went to see my pony then went to my first lesson with a new instructor.  She grew up riding dressage in Germany, then moved to the US.  She currently rides dressage and working equitation.  So far, I like her a lot - she has eagle eyes and a sense of humor.  Now about my riding: apparently, I go much better to the left.  I also have a tendency to tighten my lower back while posting (causing Ruby to 'go giraffe'), grip with my knees (no wonder they kill me after an hour in the saddle), and stiffen my shoulders.   For now, we are going to focus on developing an independent seat before we get into the fun stuff.  Another really great thing about this instructor - she did LDs for four years with her Paso Fino gelding before having children.

Tuesday: Ruby got a pedicure, a la me.  Usually she is very good, but on this day she was trying to snatch grass and kept moving every twenty seconds, grrr.  I had to tie her really short so that there was no hope of reaching any grass, then she got the hint and stood quietly.  The heels on a couple of her feet have cracks so I finally worked up the nerve to really bring them down.  I was so nervous about this that I took her for a walk down the street to make sure she was still comfortable.  Afterwards, I decided to take her for a spin and try out some things I learned yesterday.  When I went to put the bareback pad on, she tried to avoid it (insert irritated face here) but she did let me clamber up on her like a drunk monkey when I asked her to.  And, she was a very good girl for our ride.

Wednesday, I just groomed and visited with the Redhead.  By Wednesday afternoon, I'd received my new 2-in-1 bitless bridle.  The owner of Moss Rock is still out due to surgery complications, so I got antsy and ordered something similar from a relatively new vendor. 

Thursday: I decided to rig the bridle as a side pull first, since that's what we normally use.  I don't know why I didn't notice in the website's pics, but for the 2-1 bridle from this particular vendor, the side pull is not the usual style.  Instead of the cheek pieces coming down and splitting into two that then attach to the nose band, there is one solid cheek piece all the way to the nose band and they are sewn together.  Where they join there is a D-ring that the reins attach to.  I don't know about other folks, but I had no brakes with this set up.  I'm not sure if it was the beta biothane or the way that the bridle is set up. Now, I normally don't need a lot of brakes - Ruby will stop when asked, even though she oftentimes just tries to speed off as soon as she is given some slack. This time, I HAD to one-rein stop almost like she couldn't tell that I was requesting a stop.  I walked her back to the barn, tied her up, and changed the setup to the bitless bridle.  Unfortunately, the entire headstall may be too big for Ruby. The pieces that cross under the head keep catching on the bottom of the nose band.  I'm currently waiting for the vendor to get back with me - it's likely that I'm doing something very wrong.

Thursday - it's a beautiful blue!  Now, if I could just get it adjusted properly...

Friday: I didn't hear back from the vendor yesterday but I did do some research on how the bitless bridles are supposed to be fitted.  The nose band is supposed to be much lower (hackamore area), than the picture above, then it's supposed to be tightened to allow just one finger between the jawbone and the nose band.  This one is far too big for the Rubes.  I can take the nose band up one more hole, but then the end of the strap goes through the D-ring on the side of the nose band. This, obviously, interferes with the way the chin straps work.  I have sent another email to the vendor; this time asking if I can send it back to have it re-sized.  I would do it myself, but some of the straps will need to be cut as well.  Crossing fingers here.  More Ruby torture ensued as I hooked up to Lee's trailer and did some loading practice with her.  I don't know much about her background - for all I know, she's never loaded in a two-horse straight load.  She was not enthused.  The scariest part, of course, was backing off the trailer.  She was getting so worked up over backing off the trailer that she was making me nervous for her, sheesh.  We practiced, took a break, practiced, took a break.  I don't think we'll have a problem when/if Lee and I ride together next week. 

Another good day

Today was more of the same for Ruby and me.  We tacked up and went to the small arena.  After warming up, we trotted a pole a few times.  She still gets close to chickening out but when I keep posting, she will actually trot over it, funny girl.  At one point I asked her to trot a straight line in between a row of barrels and some poles...poor Ruby kept asking, 'Around the barrel?  No?  Then over the pole?  No?  Maybe around the next barrel?'  She really tries so hard.  And she's starting to respond to my seat when it comes to trot rhythm, yay! She has started collapsing her inside shoulder during sharper turns, so no more baby steering for her - I'm going to have to start supporting her through the turns with the outside rein and inside leg.  I haven't had any luck so far in finding a local dressage trainer for lessons so I might have to *shudder* haul Ruby.  I don't mind hauling other than the time it takes to hook up the trailer, pack all the stuff, load the horse, and repeat in reverse.  To do all of that for an hour-long lesson seems so wasteful.

After our time in the arena, we went for a walk down the road.  She was great, no spooking even when a truck and a four-wheeler drove by us. Mind you, I was on foot but I decided to swing up when we got back to our street.  She was rushy so I decided to keep going passed the gate back into the barnyard - she looked at the gate (on our left)  but kept going straight with just a tiny squeeze of my right hand.  No fussing, no drifting, awesome. 

On another note, Ruby is being bitten by something that is leaving huge welts and holes in her skin.  It caused the knot Ruby's face a month ago or so.  It also caused the welt that made Heather and I cancel our last trail ride before her vacation.  I've never seen anything like it, so bizarre.

And, I ordered Integri-Hoof supplement for Ruby.  I finally figured out that she hates her vitamin supplement (doh!) so it's time to figure something else out.  This is supposed to be a great vitamin and hoof supplement, so fingers crossed that she likes it!

Today's antics and other stuff

Today I thought we'd try some 10-10 transitions (ten walking strides, ten trot strides) and maybe start working on some baby roll backs in the arena.  Ruby was a good girl, especially considering all of the distractions she had to deal with - across the street, there were several large electric company trucks and a group of men (loudly) working.  I ended up moving the strides up to 20 with the idea that as she gets more responsive, we'll start cutting the number down.  As for the rollbacks, we really need to work on her backing.  She was doing very well with it before the trailer slip but we haven't done it much since.  Still, she did so well that I figured we'd take a trip down to the tack shop.

The tack shop is on a very busy road, though I don't have to ride down the busy road to get to it - the cross-street is our slow, country lane.  I've been thinking for a month or two that I need to start seriously working Ruby out and about on our own.  Heather is a great friend and I really enjoy riding with her but she has no endurance aspirations - after we start adding speed and distance, most of Ruby's rides are going to have to be solo.  With that in mind, I had to stop at the tack shop so thought, why not start today?  I left her halter on under the bridle, tied the lead rope around her neck and walked her out.  The plan was to walk past the crazy mares on the corner and the crazy geldings down the road a bit, then if she was calm, I'd mount up and ride down to the tack shop.

She was looky and worried about leaving the barnyard, and it wasn't long before she starting trying to lead me - not happening.  She had this same bad habit when I first brought her home, so I corrected it the same way.  When she walked ahead and wasn't paying attention, I stopped and made her circle around me.  This would have been much easier with a crop but I honestly didn't expect any problems today *sigh*.  She started getting lazy about moving her hindquarters so I began pushing into her with my fingertips.  Instead of moving out, she flinched her muscles then decided to kick out.  She intentionally did not kick me - she missed me by so much that I didn't feel the wind even though she kicked with enough force to easily break my leg and send me flying.  Amusingly, I saw her almost stop herself and then decide, what the hell, why not?  She's never done anything like this before, crazy mare!  Anyway, I started yelling and getting crazy, and backing her up.  When she lowered her head we continued on our walk.  Amazingly, I had no more respect issues.

Several vehicles passed us while we were out and all but one were extremely polite as they went by, hallelujah.   She started to get nervous again when we walked into the parking lot of the shop - understandable because the speed limit is such that the vehicles make a loud 'whoosh' sound as they go by.  I tied her, stood with her until she was settled, then walked to the door.  I was checking to see if they'd gotten something in, so didn't have to go into the store itself and we left a few minutes later.  She started getting nervous again when leaving - there was a large box making a strange noise (an A/C unit) and a dog barking.  She was much better heading back home and I thought about mounting up but decided not to push my luck any further today.  We're going to have to do things like this more often.

In other news, I found a new (to me) endurance website with a conditioning plan.  I really like that this one places so much emphasis on slowly building a solid foundation: Perseverance Endurance  I think we'll start this conditioning plan once I can get her riding solo consistently.  Depending on Ruby's fitness level, we will probably only do 4-6 weeks walking even though she is barefoot.  We will do the full three months for the trotting stage though.  That means that starting LDs this year is unlikely, especially if there are any breaks in training, say for hurricanes or other nonsense.  There are plenty of other things to do  - I may take her to the next distance riding clinic and the fun ride is still a go.

Unfortunately (or excellent training opportunity, depending on your view), it looks like I might be riding alone at the poker ride this weekend. That is, if I can scrounge up the nerve to haul for 2-3 hours by myself.

Nope, she's not that white - she's just that shiny.

Slacker!

At least when it comes to blogging (and homework).  Heather has been out of town, so I've been feeding the horses, turning them out and cleaning a few stalls in the morning.  I've also had no one to go trail riding with, so Ruby and I have been spending a lot of time in the arena.  I'm pleased to report that her arena-attitude is pretty much gone and she's trotting for longer periods, with some steering!  Oh, and in a snaffle bit.  Today was particularly tortuous....

First we did a few stretches.  She had no idea what I was doing, but she tried.  We started out on the lunge line in the small arena.  After she was warmed up a bit, she trotted three poles in both directions so we went back to the barn to tack up.  Now, generally speaking, when we go back to the barn that means work is over.  Ruby was very perky thinking that she was going to be diving into her hay at any moment.

Instead, I tied her up and brought the saddle out.  I could almost hear her say 'Damn' but she was a good girl and stood stock-still while I saddled her up.  Walked back to the small arena and mounted up.  Yesterday I was getting attitude when trotting to the left, but not so much today so I have no idea what was bugging her.  After a while, we walked over the poles a few times, then I decided to see how she would react to trotting over them.  Poor Ruby, she really tried for me but at the last minute lost her confidence and dropped to a walk.  That's ok, we'll just keep practicing.

After thirty minutes or so, I hopped down to open the arena gate, mounted up and rode to the larger arena.  She's never ridden in this arena alone before but she did well.  More circles, more transitions.  She's learning to leg-yield on these circles - progress!

Finally, I decided to ride her down the road a bit.  I have taken her for walks down the road, and ridden down the road with Heather, but I've never ridden her off property by herself before.  We rode down the road a bit, turned around and rode back past the gate a bit and did it again.  When riding by the gate, she would try to scoot over to it but there were no freak-outs or melt-downs.  For a first time, especially considering how little confidence she has, I think she did fabulously.  I'm going to try to make this a regular part of our routine.

Oh, and one more little tidbit.  Ruby does not like taking a bit.  The first time I tried to get her to accept a bit, it took me 45 minutes or so to get her to take it (yes, I had her teeth done before this because I'd seen Jenny try to bridle her once).  Today when I was removing the bridle, something caught it on the other side of her face.  I think the full-cheek snagged on the halter.  Anyway, Ruby went to pull her head away, then realized that she was still tied.  She got that crazy look in her eye and started to really pull back but stopped when I said 'easy'.  Made my day that she trusts me that much :D

I'm on pins and needles waiting for my Evolution bridle from Moss Rock Endurance. Hopefully it will arrive sometime next month, but I won't be surprised if it takes until August or longer.  Patience is not my strong suit!  In the meantime, I found another great blog to read: Wait for the Jump.

Circles are my friends

Today dawned cold and windy ('cold' being mid-60's), making it a perfect day for Ruby torture.

Torture Device #1

I haven't done any real desensitizing with Ruby so I brought out the, well, fabric strips I guess you'd call them and a tarp.  On my way to the barn I even considered stopping for some foil balloons but then decided I was too lazy - soon, my pretty.  Instead, I decided to live on the edge by weighting down only half of the tarp. 

Various implements of Ruby torture

We did our usual 'turn your brain on' routine, which includes long-lining for 5-10 minutes. Then we walked through/over the obstacles a few times with me leading.  Then I mounted up.  No matter how long we've been working in the morning, she is always nervous for those first few minutes after mounting.  This is why circles are good friends of mine.  Doing enough small circles seems to get her refocused and thinking, whereas otherwise she's blowing and constantly trying to move up into a trot/canter.  Karma was another beast altogether.  She saw no reason to do circle after circle and would get pissed if I asked for too many.

When Ruby was ready, we rode over the tarp and through the fabric strips. Then the real test....the arena gate was open so I asked her to walk into the arena.  She asked to turn around a few times but then went in.  We turned in a circle and headed back to the open gate.  She had a bit more pep in her step heading back out - then I turned her back around and asked her to enter the arena again.  We did this over and over until there was no more excitement leaving the arena.  This is something I've been meaning to do for a while now because she's gotten to the point when we are riding that she's constantly trying to get back to the gate. 

This is one of those balancing acts that I'm never sure I'm doing right.  On the one hand, you should set your horse up for success.  On the other hand, sometimes you have to just see how your horse is going to react to a new or irritating or exciting or training situation.  I'm lucky that while Ruby voices her opinion, she doesn't argue.  What I mean is, when I ask her to trot she might pin her ears but when I insist, she trots instead of getting mean about it.  So lucky :)

I can haz cookie?

Continuing Education

Ruby's resigned face

Today, my whole goal was to continue to build on Ruby's foundation.  We rode in the larger arena with Heather and Candy. We did a ton of walking circles and figure-8s of different sizes, as well as walking over poles and trotting.  I will be ecstatic when I finally have steering and trotting at the same time!  We had a moment when Ruby thought about fighting with me, but I made my point and we continued the ride.   I rode until I felt I was getting decent circles as well as a good attitude, then called it a day.  I almost felt bad for her later on - when she yawned a few times while I was chatting with Heather.  But then she got really perky when I came around the barn with her hay, so I got over it pretty fast.  All in all, it was a good day and I think we made some headway.

I took pictures of her back after the ride - the sweat marks looked nice and even, with a dry channel down the spine.  However, when I went to look at the pics later, I noticed that there's a lighter mark high up on her withers only on the right side.  I did not notice this mark when checking her back after the ride and it was not there when I looked at her in the stall.  I checked the saddle and pad (Sensation Hybrid + Equipedic) and there's nothing hard that could make a mark like it.  She has a dip there (lack of muscle), so it may be that the saddle pad isn't touching the skin in that spot; she goes easier to the left and her left side is more muscled up.  I'll check the saddle while it's on her tomorrow and see if I can figure it out.

The offending mark is right below the chestnut spot on her withers. 

Today's ride

Today's arena ride went okay. I don't know why I never noticed before but Ruby's pissy-mare-face only appears when she's asked to trot, and not when she asks to trot (duh!).  Trotting was better for her today because I was two-pointing instead of trying to post her all-over-the-place trot.  We did a lot of circles and giving to leg pressure at the walk, and when I finally got a nice, around the arena trot without pissy-face and tail-swishing, we called it a day.   She's usually a good sport about things, so I think her angst about trotting will go away as she gets more comfortable, but only time will tell.  At least there is no crow-hopping or other tom-foolery going on. 

The last few days

Wednesday, our first day back at it, Ruby and I rode with Heather and Candy through the pastures.  She was very anxious for the first 20 minutes or so, actually calling to the horses at the barn (NOT like her), but considering she was in heat and is jade green, she was great.  She even stuck her face into the bridle as soon as I held it out.  However, I can say that she was very happy to get back to the barn - she's been out at night so daytime is rest-time lately. 

Yesterday, we practiced trotting around the arena.  Ruby gets pissy-mare-face when asked to trot.  It is probably due to the fact that she won't trot in a straight line or at a consistent speed, so I am unbalanced when she's trotting.  Until we get steering and speed control at the trot, I think I'll just two-point it from now on (I'm one of those weird people that has an easier time balancing while standing up; the size of my derriere makes this even less believable, but no less true).  Once she's comfortable toting me around at the trot, I'll bring in the posting and eventually, the sitting trot.

Today Ruby had a scabby, bug-bite-looking mark too close to her girth groove so we went for a walk around the neighborhood.  She was nice and calm, even when we were being approached by a truck doing 30-35 mph on our tiny road.  She spooked a little as the jackass flew by, but was otherwise fine.  She has a power-walk that puts most horses to shame but she slowed down for me when my feet started hurting, without me asking.  We didn't have any drama until we turned back onto the barn road.  At that point, another jackass (this time in a jacked-up diesel truck) decided to tear down the main (25 mph) road.  He had to be doing 40 or so by the time he passed our street (less than a quarter mile from where he started).  He spooked some calves in the pasture next to us, and the horses in the pasture on the other side of us.  That was exciting for fifteen seconds or so while Ruby tried to sort out whether we should also be running for our lives.  I don't understand the people that do things like that.  Would they drive by a dog like that, or someone walking by themselves or a lady pushing a stroller?  Doubtful.  So, what is it about horses that causes some drivers to turn into assholes?  I almost wonder if they want to cause a wreck.  I can only hope that one day, these same jerks have a daughter or granddaughter that sometimes rides her horse along the road - then maybe (I know, it's a stretch!) they'll get it. 

Nope, it's not a great picture but I love her 'my human is crazy' face!

First real training ride

Listening ears

 Went very well!  I didn't do any driving beforehand, lunging only.  I rode her for 15-20 minutes, reinforcing walk, whoa, turn and she was fabulous.  Her main problem today was stopping too soon, whereas previously it was walking through the whoa.  Very pleased.

If things go well tomorrow, I plan to take her to the small arena to see how she handles a more open area.  Monday I want to try her in my S-hack, and hopefully Tuesday we'll be riding the fences in the pasture.  If she handles all of that well, we may be out on the trails and the road by the end of the week.  Fingers crossed!