We have a show in one month and Dickie is for sure going. Not sure if he will eat me but I am taking him anyway. That part is set in stone. The giant mule eared beast is getting in the trailer. He is also getting braided even though it is a little super low key show. I want to do as many dress rehearsals as possible before I am trying to ride him AND braid him AND not die.
I really want to take a horse to ride in a few flat classes. I feel like I need to get the feel for showing again on a broke horse. My plan was to take Josey but I have been horribly delinquent in riding her. I have worked a really crazy work schedule the last month and about all I have had energy for is clicker training and ground work with Dickie. Even at that some days I have just been giving him kisses and brushes then going home. The work schedule issues have resolved but I have Christmas next week and some extra lessons with Romeo's Girl to get her ready for a series of three shows in two months. ARGH!! Not enough time in the day. I really really want her to have a good experience and trust me before I got hauling her off to deal with a big crowd of horses. My plan is to be disciplined until the entries close and see how she is feeling about me. If I get the sense she trusts me and won't find the adventure traumatizing she goes. If not this is the first show in a series so I won't ruin her confidence just to satisfy my urge to get back in show ring.
That brings me to the dilemma. If I don't take the Spotted Princess there is one shiny Red Mare sitting in my barn looking pretty. She's a go anywhere do anything kind of girl and wouldn't be stressed at all. We've been together long enough (13 years next summer) that she's happy to go anywhere I am at. However, I am sure we will look REALLY sloppy in the ring. I haven't ridden her in a bit more than five times in the last two years. We trail ride but use her hack. Our arena is a swamp and the indoor down the street has footing that would hurt her arthritis. That means there is not time to acclimate her to a bit. She very much prefers her little short shank hack (hates side pulls and bitless bridles) to a bit and will go all day in that without any prep. Since I don't care how I place, I just want the experience of being in the ring, do you think it is a big deal if I show up in the hack? I know the show won't kick me out of the ring or anything.
I am kind of thinking I will take both the hack and the bit. If she is feeling amenable to a bit (some days she is) we will go traditional. If not the mare gets what she wants. I am only doing this to get my jitters out. Then again maybe miss Josey will decide she would like to go and the red mare will get to stay home stuffing herself with hay.
Ahh the totally trivial things I spend my time thinking about so I don't have to think about real life :)
Showing posts with label Show. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Show. Show all posts
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Romeo's in the Zone
I don't have much to update on Dickie and Breedle. Bre is happily getting fat and getting loved on by Romeo's Girl. We have worked out a great trade systems. For every hour I teach her she gives me equal time in horse chores. It is hard having two horses. The youngest one is the most demanding so Bre doesn't get as much of my time. The barn owner treats her like their own and spends daily time in her stall cuddling and giving her treats. However, it is nice to have RG take her blanket off, look for rubs and cuts, and pick out her feet. I paid her to do this during nursing school and it was a huge weight off my shoulders. Bre think her prime role in life is being admired so the arrangement makes her very happy.
Nothing is new with Dickie. His ear is healing wonderfully and he got his feet trimmed on Sunday. He was filled with naughty both times.
Romeo on the other hand has had some very exciting breakthroughs. It is all a result of his riders wonderful riding. You may recall that Romeo ended the show season a hot mess. He was sore, his gaits were choppy, couldn't pick up the right lead, wouldn't move past a teensy jog, and chomps at the bit like the worries of the world were on his shoulder. He has had a lease for the last year but I didn't think it was his rider causing the issues. I had seen her ride back when she first started leasing Romers and she had the making of a lovely rider back then.
I had a suspicion that it was misguided (although well meaning instruction). That instructor left the state and I graduated RN school so it was great timing for me to take over. She rides western and that isn't my gig. However...... I know more about western that I let on. And, unless you are wanting to do breed shows, good riding is good riding. Romeo is naturally a WP horse so if you ride him correctly he naturally wants to jog around smooth as silk.
I am so impressed with the maturity of the youngster. She whole heartedly accepted that to move foreward we had to go backwards. He was stressed, tight, stiff, unresponsive. To get out of that we had to let him stick his head up in the air, trot/canter too fast, and chuck the curb. I didn't care if he was on the forehand or rush he just needed to remember that leg/seat means go not suck back/chomp the bit and break gait. Nothing could look less like WP than the first few weeks. She got the concept of what we were doing so fast that in just a few lessons he started stretching down and actually using his back. Pretty soon he moved out without the crop and hardly any leg. Somewhere in there he stopped breaking stride when she asked him to move out. Did I mention his young gal can get him to go from jog to working trot without anything visible from the ground? He is back to picking up his right lead canter EVERY TIME even when doing 10meter serpentines from right to left.
Then there's the bitting issue. He has a very sensitive mouth and is a worrier. You wouldn't think it to meet him. He is a mellow slow moving guy. He internalizes things though and it comes out through an incessant spazzy champ champ champ. It is kind of hard to present a relaxed picture to the judge with that going on. I had a feeling when I started with him that a different bit would help. I also know that this type of horse works better when you just leave their face alone entirely and ride them from your seat. Once their back/butt get moving correctly it is more work to have a giraffe then just relax and stretch. If you get into the mode of "headset" it will never work with this kind of horse. I had switched him into a french link snaffle that they didn't use for half the year. Then they added a curb (he is over 5) and he HATED it. He hated every one they tried. They all had long shanks and high ports. A few weeks ago she had him going in the snaffle with pretty much zero champing and sucking his chin to his chest so it was time to try a curb again.
Last week our new curb got here and they looked AMAZING from the first trot. I think he might have liked it better than the snaffle. He still needs some help with tight turns neck reining but he was stretching down and foreward. He didn't champ one time and we were asking him to so some complicated things. I was so proud of how she used that curb. She was using is very differently than what I observed this summer. She gets when to release better than many adults.
I am so proud of the two of them. Things are rusty and I think the upcoming show will be sloppy. High School Eq team will probably be a little messy too. I let her know if she tries to put a headset on him before he is ready they will be back where he was after state last year. They are on track to peak at 4H not this winter and she is OK with that. However, if they keep on this path they will be in the ribbons for High School Eq team next year. The biggest thing I am proud of is that she isn't getting antsy for things to be perfect now. That has to be hard for a teenager. And I see her making such good independent decisions. He was getting all fired up and rushing when we worked on patters. Without me even asking she took him out to the rail got him moving forward and relaxed then brought him back to a WP pace. I think it is a big deal for a young rider to decide "Moving my horse OUT will work better to slow things down more than holding him back".
Sorry it was a novel. I am just so happy at where Romeo and his Girl are. I knew things would get better but I never expected them to improve so fast. I am going to tell her it isn't about the ribbons but I will admit to you guys that I am going to gloat big time this summer if she cleans up.
Nothing is new with Dickie. His ear is healing wonderfully and he got his feet trimmed on Sunday. He was filled with naughty both times.
Romeo on the other hand has had some very exciting breakthroughs. It is all a result of his riders wonderful riding. You may recall that Romeo ended the show season a hot mess. He was sore, his gaits were choppy, couldn't pick up the right lead, wouldn't move past a teensy jog, and chomps at the bit like the worries of the world were on his shoulder. He has had a lease for the last year but I didn't think it was his rider causing the issues. I had seen her ride back when she first started leasing Romers and she had the making of a lovely rider back then.
I had a suspicion that it was misguided (although well meaning instruction). That instructor left the state and I graduated RN school so it was great timing for me to take over. She rides western and that isn't my gig. However...... I know more about western that I let on. And, unless you are wanting to do breed shows, good riding is good riding. Romeo is naturally a WP horse so if you ride him correctly he naturally wants to jog around smooth as silk.
I am so impressed with the maturity of the youngster. She whole heartedly accepted that to move foreward we had to go backwards. He was stressed, tight, stiff, unresponsive. To get out of that we had to let him stick his head up in the air, trot/canter too fast, and chuck the curb. I didn't care if he was on the forehand or rush he just needed to remember that leg/seat means go not suck back/chomp the bit and break gait. Nothing could look less like WP than the first few weeks. She got the concept of what we were doing so fast that in just a few lessons he started stretching down and actually using his back. Pretty soon he moved out without the crop and hardly any leg. Somewhere in there he stopped breaking stride when she asked him to move out. Did I mention his young gal can get him to go from jog to working trot without anything visible from the ground? He is back to picking up his right lead canter EVERY TIME even when doing 10meter serpentines from right to left.
Then there's the bitting issue. He has a very sensitive mouth and is a worrier. You wouldn't think it to meet him. He is a mellow slow moving guy. He internalizes things though and it comes out through an incessant spazzy champ champ champ. It is kind of hard to present a relaxed picture to the judge with that going on. I had a feeling when I started with him that a different bit would help. I also know that this type of horse works better when you just leave their face alone entirely and ride them from your seat. Once their back/butt get moving correctly it is more work to have a giraffe then just relax and stretch. If you get into the mode of "headset" it will never work with this kind of horse. I had switched him into a french link snaffle that they didn't use for half the year. Then they added a curb (he is over 5) and he HATED it. He hated every one they tried. They all had long shanks and high ports. A few weeks ago she had him going in the snaffle with pretty much zero champing and sucking his chin to his chest so it was time to try a curb again.
Last week our new curb got here and they looked AMAZING from the first trot. I think he might have liked it better than the snaffle. He still needs some help with tight turns neck reining but he was stretching down and foreward. He didn't champ one time and we were asking him to so some complicated things. I was so proud of how she used that curb. She was using is very differently than what I observed this summer. She gets when to release better than many adults.
I am so proud of the two of them. Things are rusty and I think the upcoming show will be sloppy. High School Eq team will probably be a little messy too. I let her know if she tries to put a headset on him before he is ready they will be back where he was after state last year. They are on track to peak at 4H not this winter and she is OK with that. However, if they keep on this path they will be in the ribbons for High School Eq team next year. The biggest thing I am proud of is that she isn't getting antsy for things to be perfect now. That has to be hard for a teenager. And I see her making such good independent decisions. He was getting all fired up and rushing when we worked on patters. Without me even asking she took him out to the rail got him moving forward and relaxed then brought him back to a WP pace. I think it is a big deal for a young rider to decide "Moving my horse OUT will work better to slow things down more than holding him back".
Sorry it was a novel. I am just so happy at where Romeo and his Girl are. I knew things would get better but I never expected them to improve so fast. I am going to tell her it isn't about the ribbons but I will admit to you guys that I am going to gloat big time this summer if she cleans up.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
What happens to old horses.....
Recently a former FEI level dressage horse ended up with a horse trader known to take horses to slaughter. He was sold by unsuspecting owners and was on the brink of a very bad ending when someone on Chronicle of the Horse posted his sales ad. By a stroke of luck the person who owned him during his show days (5years ago) saw the posting. She bought him with another person and he will now live the rest of his days in the lap of luxury. Here is the blog about his story.
One of the most heart breaking parts of being involved in the horse show world is seeing what happens to our old friends. I know it happens with recreational horses but show people are big offenders when it comes to selling horses. When someone out grows a horse, the horse gets too old, or the person wants to change disciplines the horse gets sold. Each time the horse is a little older and the little worse for the wear. And worst of all a little closer to ending up at the auction with no one but a kill buyer bidding. In this economy young, sound, and often trained horses are a fraction of what they were even five years ago. With that in mind, why is someone going to chose the old guy with creaks and groans? That isn't to say that there aren't saints who buy older horses. However, in the general public those people are few and far between. When you sell a horse there is no way to guarantee where that horse goes. It is really important to do your home work and if anything sounds fishy then go with your gut. Please please put a buy back clause in the bill of sale but know that people can still sell the horse without talking to you. It is important to keep in contact with the buyer because in five years when they want to sell that horse they will have forgotten about you or lost your number.
My friend sold a horse she started and showed dressage through her teen years. Then, like many teens, she found herself ready to leave for college and unable afford or care for a horse. However, that is where her similarity to the hoards of teens selling their horses before college ends. At the young age of 18 she had the maturity to know she needed to continue looking out for her horse even after she sold him. She had leased him out and sold him to a person who understood part of the sale was a buy back clause and continued contact. Over the years she contacts the owner often and goes to visit her horse. And if the current owner will not provide for a retirement when he is old she is going to see to it. She hasn't owned him in ten years but she is still making sure he is ok.
The best thing you can do is commit yourself to keeping the horse you buy. That horse loves you and depends on you. As soon as you sell them the downward spiral of his/her life has begun. More often than not it isn't going to end well. According to a New York Times article the government reported 138,000 horses were sent out of the country to slaughter. After all they did for you, you owe it to them. I know horses are expensive and it is hard enough to keep one let alone two. In my book you need to think about that when you get the horse. And this will be very unpopular but sometimes euthanasia is the kindest thing. If you are selling the horse because it won't hold up to the rigors of your riding it isn't fair to pass him on to someone else. Give him a kind ending because slaughter isn't kind at all. They don't walk quietly into a box and die without stress. They are shipped in horrible conditions, in holding pens for sometimes months, and killed in a horribly inhumane way. Watch some videos on slaughter and it will make you feel better about humanely euthanizing that old friend who "Won many shows but has arthritis and would be sound for light trail riding"
For me selling Bre has never been an option. She is well bred and when she was a little younger someone would have paid a pretty penny for her as a brood mare. Some little girl could clean up in 4h with her. But I know where she would eventually make her way. So she stays with me for the rest of her days.
One of the most heart breaking parts of being involved in the horse show world is seeing what happens to our old friends. I know it happens with recreational horses but show people are big offenders when it comes to selling horses. When someone out grows a horse, the horse gets too old, or the person wants to change disciplines the horse gets sold. Each time the horse is a little older and the little worse for the wear. And worst of all a little closer to ending up at the auction with no one but a kill buyer bidding. In this economy young, sound, and often trained horses are a fraction of what they were even five years ago. With that in mind, why is someone going to chose the old guy with creaks and groans? That isn't to say that there aren't saints who buy older horses. However, in the general public those people are few and far between. When you sell a horse there is no way to guarantee where that horse goes. It is really important to do your home work and if anything sounds fishy then go with your gut. Please please put a buy back clause in the bill of sale but know that people can still sell the horse without talking to you. It is important to keep in contact with the buyer because in five years when they want to sell that horse they will have forgotten about you or lost your number.
My friend sold a horse she started and showed dressage through her teen years. Then, like many teens, she found herself ready to leave for college and unable afford or care for a horse. However, that is where her similarity to the hoards of teens selling their horses before college ends. At the young age of 18 she had the maturity to know she needed to continue looking out for her horse even after she sold him. She had leased him out and sold him to a person who understood part of the sale was a buy back clause and continued contact. Over the years she contacts the owner often and goes to visit her horse. And if the current owner will not provide for a retirement when he is old she is going to see to it. She hasn't owned him in ten years but she is still making sure he is ok.
The best thing you can do is commit yourself to keeping the horse you buy. That horse loves you and depends on you. As soon as you sell them the downward spiral of his/her life has begun. More often than not it isn't going to end well. According to a New York Times article the government reported 138,000 horses were sent out of the country to slaughter. After all they did for you, you owe it to them. I know horses are expensive and it is hard enough to keep one let alone two. In my book you need to think about that when you get the horse. And this will be very unpopular but sometimes euthanasia is the kindest thing. If you are selling the horse because it won't hold up to the rigors of your riding it isn't fair to pass him on to someone else. Give him a kind ending because slaughter isn't kind at all. They don't walk quietly into a box and die without stress. They are shipped in horrible conditions, in holding pens for sometimes months, and killed in a horribly inhumane way. Watch some videos on slaughter and it will make you feel better about humanely euthanizing that old friend who "Won many shows but has arthritis and would be sound for light trail riding"
For me selling Bre has never been an option. She is well bred and when she was a little younger someone would have paid a pretty penny for her as a brood mare. Some little girl could clean up in 4h with her. But I know where she would eventually make her way. So she stays with me for the rest of her days.
Monday, September 10, 2012
Resolutions for 2013
Everyone is familiar with New Year Resolutions. That is when you decide to work out everyday, never eat candy again, read a new book every week, never leave dirty clothes on the floor, always be nice to your spouse in the morning..... all that stuff you forget about in a month. When it comes to horses I usually find myself thinking about goals in the fall. I am not sure why. Maybe it is because after the crazy activity of summer I start to feel more introspective as a way to balance myself. Some of it is the fact that show season starts to wrap up at the end of the summer so you look back over what you accomplished and think about where you want to go next year. Here in Oregon (and in Alaska) it is difficult to ride outside in the winter so we are often forced inside. Once inside it is nice to have some goals to look forward during those long dark days.
As you get to know me you will realize that I am against pushing young horses. They don't finish growing until 5 or 6 which means it is so easy to cause long term damage in those early years. When I round pen/lunge I keep it at 20 mins or less because all those circles aren't good on their maturing bones/ligaments. If I get on him before he is 3 it will be just to sit on him for a few minutes bareback. Once he is 3 he won't be worked very hard under saddle. I believe in short rides of 20 mins or so for those first 6 months. Slow and easy will give him a better chance at staying sound for a long time. However, I still have some goals for us! My goals for his first year under saddle won't include any statements about the quality of work I expect out of him such as "An energetic working trot, soft downward transitions, bend in the circles." I have no idea where his strengths/weaknesses will lie. And he is a baby. The only thing I expect out of him is go button, a stop button, and some level of steering. Other than that his first year will just be about experiences, not about how he performs. Soooo here are my resolutions for the next 12 months.........
1) Attend two shows before next summer. "Wait, wait" you say "He isn't even under saddle yet, are you nuts?" I am totally nuts for many reasons but not because I want to start showing him right away. We have tons of very low key schooling shows in the area. I am not worried about how he looks or what score we will get. As soon as I feel like he has go button, and brakes, I want to start taking him places. The more he can get used to showing now, the less stress it will be once I am actually a little more serious.
2) Participate in a combined training event next year at this time. Don't panic!! I won't be jumping him. There are trot a pole classes that won't require any thing that resembles a jump. He won't be jumping until he is five. It will just be a fun low key way to expose him to different types of events all in one show.
3) Ride in a clinic next summer. I have a few ideas about who I want to ride with. I am not looking for an intense clinician just yet. I would like to find someone who understands young horses. I plan to start auditing clinics this winter so I can make a good decision.
4) Go on at least two away trail rides. We have fantastic trails nearby and I can't imagine owning a horse who I can't trail ride. As comfortable as it would be just to take Bre on the rides I need to start working on the baby right away if he is to ever have a chance to live up to Bre's trail prowess.
If I find myself in one piece, with no broken bones, and a happy horse after accomplishing these goals I will feel like a winner. Ok, now to start my starvation diet so I can feel OK about white breeches. I will start right after I finish this pepsi..........
As you get to know me you will realize that I am against pushing young horses. They don't finish growing until 5 or 6 which means it is so easy to cause long term damage in those early years. When I round pen/lunge I keep it at 20 mins or less because all those circles aren't good on their maturing bones/ligaments. If I get on him before he is 3 it will be just to sit on him for a few minutes bareback. Once he is 3 he won't be worked very hard under saddle. I believe in short rides of 20 mins or so for those first 6 months. Slow and easy will give him a better chance at staying sound for a long time. However, I still have some goals for us! My goals for his first year under saddle won't include any statements about the quality of work I expect out of him such as "An energetic working trot, soft downward transitions, bend in the circles." I have no idea where his strengths/weaknesses will lie. And he is a baby. The only thing I expect out of him is go button, a stop button, and some level of steering. Other than that his first year will just be about experiences, not about how he performs. Soooo here are my resolutions for the next 12 months.........
1) Attend two shows before next summer. "Wait, wait" you say "He isn't even under saddle yet, are you nuts?" I am totally nuts for many reasons but not because I want to start showing him right away. We have tons of very low key schooling shows in the area. I am not worried about how he looks or what score we will get. As soon as I feel like he has go button, and brakes, I want to start taking him places. The more he can get used to showing now, the less stress it will be once I am actually a little more serious.
2) Participate in a combined training event next year at this time. Don't panic!! I won't be jumping him. There are trot a pole classes that won't require any thing that resembles a jump. He won't be jumping until he is five. It will just be a fun low key way to expose him to different types of events all in one show.
3) Ride in a clinic next summer. I have a few ideas about who I want to ride with. I am not looking for an intense clinician just yet. I would like to find someone who understands young horses. I plan to start auditing clinics this winter so I can make a good decision.
4) Go on at least two away trail rides. We have fantastic trails nearby and I can't imagine owning a horse who I can't trail ride. As comfortable as it would be just to take Bre on the rides I need to start working on the baby right away if he is to ever have a chance to live up to Bre's trail prowess.
If I find myself in one piece, with no broken bones, and a happy horse after accomplishing these goals I will feel like a winner. Ok, now to start my starvation diet so I can feel OK about white breeches. I will start right after I finish this pepsi..........
Bre's first show ten years ago when she was four. I hope Dickie is far less exciting than Bre was.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Country Classic
My friend and I went to watch the Country Classic in Wilsonville. It was really fun to see all those big fancy horses. My favorite events were the jumper classes. They had a mini-prix event and it was exciting. Some of those 18+ hand horses were making barrel racer turns between fences. I know I won't ever have the courage to do jumpers in anything bigger than 0.8m but I hope someday I am riding a pony at the Country Classic. Next weekend I am going to hit up the horse trials at Lake Oswego Hunt Club. Yay for summer.
If anyone finds themselves wishing they had watched, there are still quite a few shows left in the series. Check out the link:
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