Pole work

Ruby was as sound as a dollar used to be this morning, so we'll start riding again soon.  And trying to build muscle along her top line. 

When asked, most horse people will recommend these different activities to help with back muscle development: surcingle work, transitions, hill work, walking, and belly lifts, and pole exercises.

Transitions and hill work are currently out for Ruby and I.  Surcingle would be pushing it until we get clearance from the vet, so we're down to walking, belly lifts, and pole exercises.  But arena work is boring, you say.  Yes, it absolutely can be...even Ruby thinks so.  Unless you start to think outside the box a bit, like this.  

Unfortunately, most of John Marti's videos are not posted on his website - his really impressive stuff is loaded to his Facebook page.  He's German but you don't need to know German to watch the videos and get some ideas.  If you don't want to spend lots of money on special (aka from a horse supply store) poles, these are cheap enough to be worth painting on your own time.  And these blocks might be worth looking into in order to create cheap and easy cavaletti. 



Why not PVC poles?  Ruby likes to kick PVC poles around like they're an annoyance - wooden poles would put a stop to that pretty quick.  She'll still be bored to tears for a few months yet, because we'll be doing these at a walk, but it's something and any work we can start doing on her top line now, only walking, can only help down the road. 

Progress

Abby is doing well.  I've been on her twice now.  Each time, I kept short and sweet because the poor thing is terrified to the point that she starts shaking.  The first time, we just practiced mounting and dismounting until she was nearly falling asleep.  The next day, I had Heather come out and lead her around with me riding.  At first, she would stop every few steps, then nearly jump out of her skin when I gave a little squeeze.  She also jumps each time I pet her from the saddle (though we have practiced this ad nauseam with me standing on the mounting block).  I had Heather let go of the lead rope a few times while leading us around but Abby would stop a few steps later, not sure how to proceed.  We'll practice this, then I'll have Heather move to the middle of the pen in the future.  In the meantime, we are also adding obstacles (from the ground) in order to increase her confidence in both her handler and herself.  I ponied her through a few obstacles this morning, then walked her through an empty kiddie pool all by herself.  This was a big deal for her, so we called it day immediately after.

Which brings me to Pony #2.  Miss Ruby.

All dressed up.  I haven't bitten the bullet and added Velcro to the new saddle pad yet, hence the pad underneath to protect her from rubbing.

Ruby started off this morning by ponying Abby through some obstacles and finished off by taking me for a short ride down the road.  Love my girl! And I can't tell you how amazing it was to climb up on a horse without feeling the need to take a deep, calming breath first.  She was a little bit of a butthead coming home (after something rustled in the bushes behind us as the mail truck drove by), and tried to start trotting so I opted to walk her the rest of the way back to the barn.  She is rusty let me tell ya, but that is only to be expected.  I can't wait to start hitting the trails with her regularly again. 

Abby - first real session

Today was Abby's first real working session.  She did well.  She's stubborn but still sensitive - odd, I know.  She's been allowed to take control of round-penning sessions in the past - she will randomly slam on the brakes, stop, and face me without being asked.  She's terrible at picking up her feet and has been asked to yield her hindquarters way too many times (ever worked with a horse who moved their butt away from you every single time you walked past their withers?  Yeah...)  She also likes to do the leading, instead of allowing herself to be led, and doesn't like to be caught.  But, it's all good. That's easy stuff.

She has muscle atrophy along her topline.  I'm not sure if this is from being completely out of shape, due to a poorly-fitting saddle in the past, or just a side-effect of her being starved before rescue. 

She's small (seems to get smaller every time I see her, actually), out-of-shape, and has no topline...all of which makes me nervous to ride her for any amount of time, even if that is the whole reason she is here.  But I only have a month with her so our first ride will be tomorrow, assuming any of my bridles can be taken up enough to fit her.  Today we worked on ground-manners: standing still for grooming, tacking, and mounting and giving to pressure (dropping head, turning head with nose pressure, backing up, picking up feet).

So little and cute - her name should be Button. 

Vegas' short lunging session today

Luckily she forgave the fumbling of the rope in the very beginning.  She was a bit off today, and really good, so we kept things low-key.  When I let the crop get her, it's because she came in too close on the turn.  This is the first time that she's offered to drop her head within the first few minutes of the session - I am ridiculously excited about that.  Vegas is like the nursery rhyme of the girl who when she was good, she was very, very good but when she was bad, she was horrid.  Really though, we are having more good days than bad - I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

A long overdue update

This pom-pom (terrifying, shimmery, weird-sounding and -feeling, eater of all things equine) touching her face is a huge for her.

Working with and training Vegas is like trying to drive a truck uphill on an ice-covered road.  Every time I get a little closer to my goal, we slide back almost to our starting place.  Then I have to rev the engine to get a little further, only to slide back again.

I understand where she's coming from, but that doesn't make it less frustrating.  She has no real need for people, other than breakfast, dinner, and hay.  She owes us nothing and would much rather not deal with us at all, thank you.

Her skin is clearing up nicely.

Yet, she enjoys attention and scratches.  And is extremely intelligent.  Unfortunately at this time, that intelligence is only used part of the time to figure out what you want - it is generally used to get what Vegas wants...

So much better!  Sorry for the blurriness.

On Sunday, she broke out of her stall again.  Sunday was also the day that I finally saw and spoke with the girl who saw her break out (the 2nd time she broke out).  I was told by another boarder that Vegas had attempted to jump the door, but that isn't what happened.  What this girl told me was that Vegas reared up and put her hooves over the second highest rail on the gate.  She then stepped forward with her back legs until the rail was behind her elbows...then she rocked forcefully back and forth until she'd bent the gate enough that she could step over it.  This shows a level of critical thinking that is unimaginable to me.  Her third stall door/gate was bolted to a piece of plywood and mounted higher (this is the one that met it's demise last Sunday morning).  The plywood was mounted on the inside of the door, but she realized that the door was the same and repeated her escape by breaking the plywood between the 1st and second rails.  At this point, it's probably safe to assume that Vegas is smarter than me.

Getting some muscle!  And I finally got the larger mat worked out of her tail. 

 I cannot explain the frustration that I was feeling on Sunday when I got the phone call.  I messaged Jennie, who said that she had a tall, sturdy stall door that I could pick up, so we made the drive out to her farm.  By the time we got back, Heather and her husband were at the barn stringing up some hotwire for Vegas' stall.  We have (hopefully) built a mustang Alcatraz.  The door is about 5 and a half feet tall.  It has a plastic chain threaded with hotwire on the inside of the door.  The door opens in and there are blocks of wood screwed onto the door jamb to ensure she can't push the door outward.  Unless she figures out how to tear down the entire barn - which I would not put past her at this point.  Btw, I'm pretty sure that I mentioned on before that Vegas is stall-broke.  She was stall-kept at night at Jennie's previous barn, but that barn had the tall, pre-built wood and rail walls and sliding doors.  I foolishly thought her previous experience meant that at least staying in the stall at Heather's barn was a given.

So, this is her last chance to stay here, unfortunately.  I cannot afford to keep replacing stall gates/doors and I definitely can't afford to rebuild Heather's barn if she badly damages it.  Time will tell what happens.

As far as training, we have done no more riding since those last pictures were posted.  Ruby's girth is too long for Vegas so I was borrowing another boarder's girth.  I am waiting for the new girth to show up in the mail so we can resume her training under saddle.

So, we've been focusing on desensitizing, lunging, and tying.  Vegas was doing very well (for her) until the weather got cold.  There are several herds at Heather's barn that are kept separate for various reasons.  Unfortunately, when the weather gets cold, the horses that are normally turned out at night are turned out during the day.  And there really aren't enough pastures to keep everyone separate.  We decided to finally turn Vegas out with the other mares on Thursday for the first time.  We stood at the gate for a while to make sure there wasn't too much craziness; Vegas was very respectful and seemed to integrate into the herd well.

When I went to work with her yesterday morning, we almost had to start from scratch.  She allowed me to catch her in the arena, but only after she thought about it.  When we started lunging, she snatched away from me (she is really good at waiting until I'm changing hands with the line, this is exacerbated by the fact that I also have some residual issues after leaving the military).  I worked with her for a long time, and with a lot of intensity, after that incident and she actually joined up with me.  That was not my goal, but it made me feel like maybe we were getting somewhere.   But when I tied her while cleaning stalls, it was almost as bad as that first day.  Unfortunately, if she was going to get any turnout at all yesterday, she had to be turned out with the mares again when I left.

I'm dreading what kind of monster I'll have on my hands this morning when I pull her out of her stall (assuming that she's still in it, of course!).  If she's an asshole again, she will not be turned out with the other horses for the remainder of her time here.  I talked to Jennie about this and apparently it is a common problem with mustangs; most end up being separated from other horses for at least a few months until they start seeing people as leaders and partners instead of as pests.

Just finished the first round of Sand Clear, then another de-worming next week, the following week more Sand Clear - when will those ribs get covered??? 

So, that's where we are right now.  I'm beyond frustrated and constantly on edge, waiting for her to try something.  I'm hoping that I can stick this out and make some permanent progress with this hard-headed mare.  I truly do enjoy working with her, when she is behaving herself.  It's safe to say that I am way over-horsed at this point, but I'm the only thing Vegas has right now.  Jennie has too many horses in training, and a local mustang adoption event in a few weeks is ensuring that she stays full - so if Vegas has to leave, she'll go back into a holding pattern and everything will have been for nothing.  In the meantime, at least she isn't getting worse. 

More Vegas

But first, a picture of her arch nemesis.

Beware of Daisy the Devil Pig

Vegas was amazing today.  Jennie came by this afternoon, to watch me work with Vegas and offer some pointers.  Her advice - more pressure so she learns the correct way to deal with it.  And she did, with the annoying plastic bag flapping under and touching her belly.  She tried to leave (though not as forcefully as the other day), and I followed so she learned how to deal.  Apparently, I've been way too easy on her.

Some pics of the redhead in question.  S is riding, I'm at the other end of the line, and Vegas was fantastic.  No saddle because she's shown no signs of exploding during riding, S is ridiculously brave, and her belly is scraped up from her run-in with the stall door yesterday.

Disenchantment

Vegas' third ride went so well that I thought it was time to start introducing her to life outside of the barnyard.  My helper saddled up her mare and I prepared Vegas to lead down the road (gloves, tightened halter).  When she was ready, Vegas and I held the gate for them to come through.

Storm (helper's mare) was a little full of herself, though not un-handleable.  And Vegas did not seem to be feeding off of her so we turned left down to the dead end.  Vegas was walking faster than me so we did some circles but it was nothing unexpected.  We got to the end and turned around and she seemed to be calming down.  I was so happy with her!

Then we walked past the barnyard gate and Vegas got a view of the neighbor's runt pot-bellied pig.  Storm was blowing but Vegas seemed to be handling the situation well...until she wasn't.  She wasn't paying enough attention to me so I went to circle her and she blew right through the lead rope and went trotting back down to the dead end.  Okay...I wasn't prepared and should have been, I have wondered if she will try this when we're out somewhere.  But I was more concerned with showing her that everything was okay and I didn't realize what she was doing (remember, I had asked her to circle) until it was too late. 

Vegas trotted past the barnyard and started grazing outside of the pasture fence by some of the other horses. I approached nonchalantly, blocking her when she thought about going back down the road.  Eventually she approached me so walked her back down to the area in question.  This time, I thought I'd lead her on her right so that I was between her and the pig and try leading her by again (pig's pen is probably 30-40 feet off the road and the pig is not more than 30 pounds).  As I went to get on Vegas' other side, she took advantage and took off AGAIN and went down to graze by the other horses.

At this point, I'm trying not to be aggravated but I'm getting there.  I approach her again and this time I have to wait and walk fully up to her as she was not approaching me - she was too busy stuffing her face full of awesome un-grazed grass by the road.  So, here we go again.

By this point, I'm thinking that we need to go to the round pen and work on the pulling-away-from-me thing, again.  Now, she hasn't done this in a while and I thought we'd made some breakthroughs and she trusted me enough not to do this.  I will admit that I was wrong.  So, I walked back to the barnyard gate, but I was ready in case she tried to pull away sooner (pig is maybe another 50 feet down the road, so the gate is not overly close to the pen).  She did, try to pull away that is, but I was ready and she stopped with a pop on the halter.  So she tried harder, and I corrected harder.  So she reared and I held on and popped her a couple times again.  All the while, I'm trying to get her closer to the barnyard gate.  She seemed to calm down so I opened the gate...and she took the opportunity to blow through the halter AGAIN, this time into the barnyard.  By this point, I was pissed.  I held the gate open for the rider, and turned to find Vegas.  She had trotted up to Ruby, who was grazing in the barnyard, then turned her butt to Ruby and tried to double-barrel kick her.  I heard the thwack as one of her hooves connected with Ruby.  At this point I completely lost it and yelled something at her that rhymed with 'You bucking FITCH!!!'  Not my proudest moment but I was seeing red and shaking by this point.  I walked over to Ruby and checked her over.  I couldn't find any marks on her (then or when I checked again later), so I think she was too close to Ruby to hurt her. 

I calmed myself down enough to relax my body language and went to catch Vegas.  She tried to walk off but I was close enough to step on the lead rope.  I put her in the round pen while I went to sit in the barn and tried to stop shaking.  And to formulate my plan.  All the while I was calling her vile names under my breath, I was also trying to convince my helper/boarder-friend that I'm not really this crazy and I can actually control myself.

I went back to the round pen with a longe/lunge line (with a knot near the middle) and my lunge whip.  I approached Vegas and she decided to leave, so I pushed her and made her trot for 10 or 15 minutes, changing direction often. She stopped when I asked and stood for me to attach the line and I asked her to move off again.  She did fine until I asked her to turn around.  She did get away from me a time or two until I got smart enough to hold the line immediately above the knot (duh...).  The last time she tried to get away, I actually had to sit down to put enough weight on the line to get her to stop blowing through my cues.  By the end of the session, she was very sweaty but was no longer trying to get away, no longer leaning on the halter, and was changing direction nicely.  We will work on this again tomorrow (and the next day, and the next day....).

So, slight change of plans for Miss Vegas.  No more riding for now - we are going to concentrate solely on this issue and desensitizing (to build her confidence in us both) until this problem is hopefully resolved.  And, in the near future I'm going to ask if the neighbors will let me borrow their pig...

Vegas' second ride

Still a little sticky-footed but today she walked around a bit.  I called it when she took a few steps without pausing.

She was trimmed today, yay!  Farrier took off a lot but tried to leave enough that she won't (hopefully) be sore.  Her next trim will be in three weeks (assuming Vegas is still here), when he will take her down to live sole.  She was a little hesitant on her 'new' feet before we left.  If she is sore tomorrow, we will do obstacles instead of riding. 

So many firsts...

Mostly for Vegas, but one for me and Ruby also.

I knew when I got to the barn this morning what I wanted to accomplish: Vegas calming carrying a heavy Western saddle.  If she did really well, the plan was to pony her around the arena and through an obstacle (pom-poms tied to two jump standards, making a gate) from Ruby.

I am so thankful that my husband went along today.  He's lukewarm about the horses, so it was a treat to have him (and an extra set of hands) at the barn today. 

First we pulled Ruby from her stall, got her groomed, put her boots on and set her up with a hay net.  Then we went to get Vegas.  She is still not the best at tying so I put her on one of the slipping rings with a hay net (an attempt to set her up for success), then got to grooming her.  She was a bit of a brat about picking up the first hoof, again.  She is used to telling people 'no' for no other reason than she doesn't want to do what they're asking.  Every once in a while, she'll tell me no and expect me to quit -it bugs her to no end that it doesn't work.

After grooming Vegas, I had my husband wait with the horses while I went and got my saddle.  He removed Vegas' hay bag so she would watch me tack Ruby up.  When I was done with Ruby, I took the Western saddle, etc. out to the round pen then returned to fetched Vegas.  My husband held Ruby outside of the round pen as moral support for Vegas.

I sacked her out with the saddle pad, of which my husband got a few pics before his phone died.

My pockets were bulging with hay cubes - don't judge me :)

Pathetic tail - you can see the mat I've been working on for weeks now.  Slowly but surely, it's coming out. 

You can see that while she wasn't thrilled, she wasn't concerned either.

She did as well with the saddle, not minding the weight or the flapping stirrups.  The thing we are really going to have to work on is the girth - whenever I went to tighten it a bit more, she would take a step back.  When she stopped and stood for me to tighten it a little more, she got praise and a hay cube.  Eventually I got it tight enough that I was sure it wouldn't flip under her belly, so I asked her to move off around the round pen. She didn't offer to buck, so we went to the arena.

First I led Ruby and Vegas around together - if Ruby needed to assert herself, I wanted her to have the opportunity to do it before I climbed on.  She did threaten to kick when Vegas refused to remove her nose from Ruby's butt, but she didn't try to connect and Vegas got the hint.  Chris held Vegas while I mounted Ruby.  I was expecting to need to school her on not trying to go back to the gate, etc. but she just pouted a bit that we were in the arena.  I walked back to Chris and Vegas and grabbed her lead rope.  Things went smoothly, especially considering that none of us have ever ponied or been ponied from.  I'm not dumb enough to think it would have been easy to do out on trail though - Vegas was hanging back a bit and couldn't decide which side to stay on, while Ruby is not the best at neck reining and was irritated that I kept having to twist in the saddle (see aforementioned problems with Vegas).  I decided to take them through the jump standards - Ruby did it like a pro, but Vegas rushed through at the last second so we did it two more times.  After that I hopped down and took Vegas to the mounting steps.  I leaned over the saddle, jumped up on and down, rocked the saddle back and forth all without a reaction.  She did take a step the first time I weighted the stirrup a bit but she wasn't being nasty and stopped when I said 'whoa.'  Again, I considered just throwing my leg over already but the time will come soon enough.  We took the girls back to the barn and fussed over them while untacking.

So, it was a very good day.  The girls were great and my heart swelled up with pride at how Ruby handled ponying Vegas for me - she's been ridden, what, twice in the last six or eight weeks?  And generally she likes to go-go-go, but she walked slowly for me and Vegas and was on her best behavior after she let Vegas know to mind her manners.  I could not ask for a better partner. 

Quick update

This past weekend's obstacle challenge highlighted one of Ruby's great fears to me: being followed by something noisy.  When we drug a tire a few weeks back, she did it with no problem but when those empty plastic bottles started 'chasing' her on Saturday, she nearly lost it. 

So, Heather tied a bunch of plastic bottles together with hay string and we've been doing a lot of desensitizing with it.  She was doing so well yesterday that I decided to drag it behind us at a trot (after lots of dragging it at a walk, of course).  It started off really well...and I should have stopped her immediately and praised profusely, but apparently I am one who has to push the envelope.

Ruby neck-reins okay for a horse that hasn't been specifically taught to, so I was steering her around the arena with my left hand, with right hand holding the string.  Then she started to get nervous and decided not to listen to the half-halts, uh oh.  Coming out of a corner, she completely forgot that we'd already been dragging the bottles at a trot for a lap, and started side-passing at which time I decided to let go of the string.  Only, I wasn't just holding the string anymore...at some point during the ride, I had a dumbass moment and put my hand through the loop.  I had to roll my right shoulder to get the string off and Ruby stopped abruptly when the noise stopped - resulting in me nearly flipping over her left shoulder.  And Heather missed the whole thing.  I'm not sure how but she is never looking when I have these near-misses.  Ruby settled right back down and we drug the bottles again (at a walk) in order to end on a good note.  We also drug them around today.  I'm so glad that she's one who gets over these things easily. 

First conditioning ride, sort of

I'm loathe to call it that because it was so ridiculously short, but that's what it amounts to.  No laughs now - it was only 3.5 miles.

For the last few days or so, I've been wrestling with myself over the fact that riding alone at Marshall Hampton was starting to become something that I dread doing...This is where the whole kicking-out, threatening to buck thing started and there's even an exact spot on the trail where it begins.  Ruby's never been a work-shirker before but I have looked exhaustively for another option.  The only things I haven't done are x-rays or chiropractor (seeing a chiropractor is on my list) but considering the circumstances under which this happens, I'm leaning towards the fact that it is just attitude.

I'm not so much afraid that Ruby's going to hurt me, I'm worried that I'm going to ruin her - yes, I can be a bit of a drama queen.  Anyway, this morning I decided to just suck it up already.  But I did take some precautions to, hopefully, put myself on the winning side.

Before loading Ruby this morning, I round-penned her for a bit.  Just to make sure that she was in a cooperative mood and moving out freely.  I packed a lunge line, a whip, and my crop in the trailer.  Even though it seemed like overkill, I planned to lunge her again the parking area before our ride.

When I got to MH, there were seven or eight cop cars in the parking area.  I debated whether to keep driving at that point, honestly, but there was no police tape across the entrance so I pulled up to the trailer parking gate.  By this point, I had attracted the attention of a lady cop so I asked if there was something crazy going on (dead body, meth lab, dire wolf sighting).  She stated that they were just training (with K-9s), so I asked if it would be a problem if I rode.  She walked off to ask her supervisor while I unlocked the gate and explained that I would have to enter the parking area to turn around.   Lady cop walked back over and said it would be fine to ride, but I would need to wait a bit.  They'd just laid a track for the dogs.  No problem.

I left Ruby in the trailer for 10 minutes or so (much to her dismay) while I watched and debated whether to take cell phone pics of them and their cars.  Ultimately, I decided not to be 'that guy' and unloaded Ruby.  She was all excited, not even nibbling her hay while tacking up - things were not boding well for our ride.  I pulled out the lunge line and worked on getting her brain back for 10 minutes or so.  It took that long before she would willingly walk; before that she was all blow, snort, TROT!

After she settled down I grabbed my helmet and led her over to the picnic table - my usual mounting block.  I asked the officers if they minded if I used the table to climb on, they said no and then they all got up.  I laughted and told them they didn't have to move, Ruby only pretends to be a fire-breathing dragon, then I lined her up and mounted up.  We rode around in the parking area for a while, and I got the okay to head out when the blood hound pup came back from the field.

Ruby was surprisingly good while heading towards the trail head - usually I have to use a lot of leg to keep her going forward.

Trail head, a perfect panther trap according to Miss Ruby

We got through the first little section of woods with only a back-foot tap dance at something in the bushes, and entered the second wooded section of woods.   Coming out of these woods, you can choose to go left around the lake, or right.  Ruby always wants to go left, and to the right is her little fit-throwing spot.  She tried to duck to the left so I kicked her up into a trot to the right and we made it through with no fit, success!  We kept trotting until she asked to walk.  It really is a beautiful little trail, I just wish it was longer and had water.  Unfortunately there is no safe way to get to the edge of the lake for a drink as the ground drops very sharply down to the water's edge.  Ruby and I went our usual route through the woods.  I'll have to get a picture of the lake next time.

Between the two main wooded areas.  Flat, dry, and surprisingly devoid of palmettos. 

Love

 

Ruby was asking to walk a lot more than I thought she would, especially because she wasn't blowing or acting worn out.  When she'd ask to walk, I'd encourage her to trot for another 30 seconds or so, then ask for a walk.  I hate to be a hard ass, but considering what's been going on lately this is how it's going to be for a while.  After a short break, I would ask for trot again and she'd go without a fuss.

Nothing exciting happened on trail until we caught up with a hiker.  Ruby gave me her 'oh no' stop a few times because she could hear him long before she could see him.  After he came into view, we walked for a while then I asked if he'd mind if we passed.  He politely stepped off trail and we trotted by. 

By the time we got back to the trailer, all of the police officers had left.  And as soon as I tied her, Ruby peed, which I imagine is why she kept wanting to take so many walk breaks. 

All in all, we had a very good ride.  No spooks, no attitude, and she seemed to enjoy herself.  It looks like I'll be lunging her before solo rides for the next few weeks or so until we're over this little hump. 

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. 

Balloon...

Bourbon - 'OMFG, we're all gonna DIE!!!'

The last time Heather went to one of these obstacle challenges, they rigged up a rope to a metal trash can lid.  The rope was thrown over a tree branch.  Inside the trash can, was a balloon with a face drawn on it.  The rider grabs the rope and backs their horse away from the trash can, balloon pops out, rider releases lid which then crashes back onto the can.  Ruby is pretty steady but I don't want her to come home from the obstacle challenge with a complex, so we practiced this 'obstacle' today. 

Most of the barn horses reacted like Bourbon did above.  Rolling eyes, snorting, etc.

Honey badger don't care

Ruby was another story, she had better things to do - such as grazing, thank you.

Honestly, the video is completely boring.  I tried to get some kind of reaction, by banging the lid down on the can a few times, still nothing.  Even when the balloon escaped and started drifting  towards us.  She was watching and curious but not jumpy.  She is awesome :)

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.

Floridians...

Most keep their A/C set at 68 degrees but wear jackets when it's cooler than 72 degrees outside. I keep mine set at 78 and wear a jacket when it's under 75, lol.  Brrr!

Yesterday, I round-penned Ruby.  The plan is to use the round pen to start building muscle and endurance until I get myself more evened-out.  This is hard to explain, but basically I'm hoping to start increasing her fitness while not adding too much mileage or speed during our rides - at least until I can get myself straightened out some.  Speaking of which, Marie still gives lessons in this area a few times a month so I'm trying to see if she can squeeze me in sometime soon.  Claudia is a great instructor but she's an hour away and charges nearly twice what Marie does, and even more if she comes to you ($75 + travel time, ouch).  And Marie and I just click, so hopefully we can get something going.  Marie is no shabby instructor either - she was on the short list for the 1984(?) Olympics in Eventing before her horse bowed a tendon.  She also has a masters in teaching, and it shows in her instruction.  But she's not one to brag - I found all of this out from her mother during a show last year, when I'd already been her student for several months. 

Anyway, about Ruby and the round-pen.  When I let her have her first walk break, she decided to crop some grass...and took off at a gallop before I even took a step in her direction.  Crazy Mare proceeded to zoom around the round pen at Mach 10, leaned over like a motorcycle racer, for 7-8 laps before she'd calmed down enough to trot when I asked.  We proceeded with her workout for another 10 minutes or so.  I would imagine she's just a little sore after her melodramatic stunt or I would have saddled her up for a short ride this morning.  Instead, I groomed and loved on her a little then let her dive into her hay. 

Trailer loading

Poor Ruby should not have balked when asked to load yesterday.  Before unloading after our ride yesterday, I knew that we were going to do some training today.  Gotta nip this in the bud before it turns into a huge problem.

We practiced sending again before approaching the trailer.  When I attempted to send her into the trailer, she tried some minor evading but nothing too bad - definitely not crazy or dangerous.  I started tapping her left hip when she was lined up with the trailer, and she popped her front feet up there.  She paused so I started tapping again and she loaded right up.  I didn't need the crop again.  I unloaded her, loaded her, unloaded her, loaded her - you get the picture. After a few repetitions, I tied her in the trailer with her hay net and went to clean her stall.  She took turns tied to the barn with no hay or tied in the trailer with hay while I did chores.  By the time we were done, there was no hesitation at all when asked to load.  I think we'll do this once a week for a while to make sure that we have no more issues.

She passed!

One of the skills any good trail horse (not to mention a good endurance horse) has is the ability to go quietly down the trail alone.  In that vein, I have been slowly preparing Ruby for this skill.  In all honesty, this is something that she should have been exposed to by her fifth or sixth year at the latest, but with all of the other holes in her training I am sure it hasn't been done.  Today's ride was a test - I rode her by herself through the gelding pasture.  This is a pasture that she does not graze in and there are areas from which you can't see the barn, so she was definitely outside of her comfort zone.  She did try to duck back to the barn a few times but there were no spooks or hissy fits.  When we turned around she tried to rush back to the barn and was so adamant that I made her trot back AWAY from the barn - if there was going to be a fit, it should have been then.  Instead, Ruby did me proud so tomorrow will be our first attempt at trail riding completely alone.   I'm not going out there thinking that we are going to get down the trail without incident, instead I plan to ride her in the parking area to feel her out. If she has a meltdown, we'll do our usual arena workout close to the trailer.  If she seems good, we'll still do our usual workout but then we'll try the trail.  The place I'm going is small, completely fenced (including the parking area) and has no asphalt or gravel.  Fingers crossed that things go well!  In the meantime:

Ruby bran-mash-face...

and Bourbon bran-mash-face!

P.S.  Miss Anti-PDA now lets me hug her neck without pulling away.  And she comes to me when I call her, even if I'm not in sight.  Huge leaps of faith for her - I officially feel special. 

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!